THE SKY-LAKK. 229 



the lark, though loving the sky well, has ties to 

 earth; and now it descends slowly in a slanting 

 line, till it is about twelve feet from the land; 

 when darting onward like an arrow from a bow, 

 and gradually lessening the power of the song, it 

 reaches the earth in silence. 



That hymn of joy is heard not only as early as 

 February, but it is sung during nearly eight 

 months of the year. It is one of the first which 

 reaches the ear of the husbandman, when he goes 

 forth to his daily labour. That matin hymn is 

 silenced at noonday; but when the afternoon is 

 come with its coolness, or evening with its length- 

 ened shadows, the lark again chants forth its 

 melody. In ancient Greece, the afternoon song 

 was the signal for the reaper to recommence the 

 work which had been intermitted during the heat 

 of noon. Wherever the lark is plentiful, it is sure 

 to be heard at this time of the day, over the corn- 

 field or other cultivated land. To rise with the 

 lark, as well as to lie down with the lamb, has 

 long been a rustic precept in our country ; and by 

 two o'clock in the summer morning, our lark has 

 arisen to salute the dawn, though even then the 

 redbreast may have sung its song before it. 



Shakspeare, like many other poets, loved the 



