JULY. 



The clouds poured out water ; the skies sent out a sound ; thine 

 arrows also went abroad. 



The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven ; the lightnings light- 

 ened the world ; the earth trembled and shook. 



PSALMS Ixxvii. 17, 18. 



Look upon the rainbow and praise him that made it ; very beautiful 

 it is in the brightness thereof. 



It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands 

 of the Most High have bended it. 



ECCLESIASTICUS xliii. 11, 12. 



SUMMER ! glowing summer ! This is the month 

 of heat and sunshine ; of clear fervid skies, dusty 

 roads, and shrinking streams .; when doors and 

 windows are thrown open : a cool gale is the most 

 welcome of all visiters, and every drop of rain is 

 worth its weight in gold ! Such is July commonly ; 

 yet it is sometimes, on the contrary, a very showery 

 month, putting the haymaker to the extremity of his 

 patience, and the farmer upon anxious thoughts for 

 his ripening corn. Generally speaking, however, it 

 is the heart of our summer. The landscape presents 

 an air of warmth, dryness, and maturity: the eye 

 roves over brown pastures, corn-fields already white 



