AUGUST. 
See now at work the reaper bands, 
With lightsome heart and eager hands, 
And mirth and music cheer the toil ; 
While sheaves that stud the russet soil, 
And sickles gleaming in the sun, 
Tell jocund Autumn is begun. 
Pringle. 
§ OLDEN Autumn now is come. ’Tis glorious 
August, time of harvest ! The year has now 
reached its fullest maturity, like a man in prime 
of life, with health, wealth, and vigour. The .corn is 
fully ripe, and in the fields the busy reapers are hard at 
work from early morn till late at eve. The days are 
perceptibly shortening, but the sky is blue and clear ; 
and though the sun at noon is strong, there is a light 
breeze during the day ; the heat is not so oppressive as 
it was last month, and the evenings are delightful. 
August was called by the Romans Sextilis, or sixth 
month of their year. It had originally twenty-nine 
