160 SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. 



we are all concerned, and in the farmer's prosperity 

 we all in some degree share. The sight of fruitful 

 fields should, therefore, gladden the heart of each in- 

 dividual, as it does that of the cultivator himself; and 

 the blessing of a bountiful harvest should raise in every 

 breast a common feeling of gratitude to the Author of 

 all good, who sends us " rain from heaven, and fruitful 

 seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." 

 (Acts xiv. 17.) 



In the three months previous to harvest there has 

 been more of actual beauty to please the eye, as there 

 has been also greater melody to charm the ear. The 

 loveliness of spring, " when wheat is green, and haw- 

 thorn buds appear,", when all is fresh, dewy, and bright, 

 and the hand of man has not yet swept away with 

 scythe, or with sickle, the fair produce of the meadows 

 and fields, that loveliness is not to be equalled, far less 

 surpassed, by any of the glories of autumn. Sweetly 

 does Bishop Heber describe a journey taken at this most 

 beautiful of seasons. 



" Oh ! green was the corn as I rode on my way, 

 And bright were the dews on the blossoms of May, 

 And dark was the sycamore's shade to behold, 

 And the oak's tender leaf was of emerald and gold. 



" The thrush from the holly, the lark from the cloud, 

 Their chorus of rapture sang jovial and loud ; 

 From the soft vernal sky to the soft grassy ground, 

 There was beauty above me, beneath, and around. 



" The mild southern breeze brought a shower from the hill, 

 And yet though it left me all dripping and chill, 

 I felt a new pleasure as onward I sped, 

 To gaze where the rainbow gleam'd broad over head. 



" Oh ! such be life's journey, and such be our skill, 

 To lose in its blessings the sense of its ill ; 

 Through sunshine and shower, may our progress be even, 

 And our tears add a charm to the prospects of Heaven ! " 



