those customs and amusements which are now rapidly decaying, but which his attachment to that form of society with which they are connected, leads him to look back upon with regret, This work, like Spenser's Calendar, or like Mr Grahame's own Rural Calendar, is divided into twelve parts, each of which relates to one month of the year, and details the operations to be performed, the scenery exhibited, and the sports and festivals then celebrated. January, as the first month, naturally begins the series. The author, after a general enunciation of his subject, begins an address to Night, which appears to us very poetical. Hail, Night! pavilioned 'neath the rayless cope, I love thy solemn state, profoundly dark; Thy sable pall; thy lurid throne of clouds, Viewless, save by the lightning's flash; thy crown, That boasts no stary gem; thy various voice, That to the heart, with eloquence di. vine, Now in soft whispers, now in thunder speaks. Nor undelightful is thy reign to him Who wakeful gilds, with reveries bright, thy gloom, Or listens to the music of the storm, And meditates on Him who sways its Improves, transmutes from bleak and shivering cold To genial warmth; no graduated scale Is needed to demonstrate this plain truth, Obvious as true; for there a vivid green Tinges your early sward, there lingers long, When winter winds have blanched the neighbouring lee. Some fences tend but little to abate The biting cold;-the wall, unless around A narrow field, or raised of towering height, But small degree of sheltering warmth affords. It is by artificial calm that fields check The sweeping blast. The liquid air is ruled By laws analogous to those which sway The watery element. Our author next proceeds to the grand grand characteristic of this season; the fall of snow and the striking change which this phenomenon produces on the aspect of nature. He then takes occasion, somewhat boldly, to enter the lists with Thomson, in describing a shepherd losing himself in the storm. The termination, however, is different, since, instead of perishing, he reaches his cottage at length in safety. The labours of the season are then résum ed; the driving of manure, and the care of providing food and shelter for the different domestic animals. After this follows the description of a frosty morning, which may be pleasing to This naturally leads to a description of the amusements of skaiting and curling. He then goes under the domestic roof of the peasant, and describes the occupations of it at this season: A faithful portrait, unadorned Of manners lingring yet in Scotia's vales. disposition of the Scottish peasants, He notices particularly the reading tfonal instruction, and to inveigh against those who have opposed its extension into a neighbouring country. and takes occasion to recommend na ice breaks, and some faint symptoms February now succeeds; the river appear, of approaching spring. Our Ruddy is now the dawning as in author now recommends the labours our readers. June, And clear and blue the vault of noontide sky: Nor is the shining orb of day unfelt. By lonely river side, is heard at times, stream of the plough, and particularly points out the best mode of bringing under culture lands formerly sterile. He then hails the increasing symptoms of Spring: How sweet, when winter's roughest mood is o'er, The first note of the lark! How beautiful The crocus shooting leafless through the ground Its simple floweret, prized because it blows The harbinger of Spring! To me more sweet The first song of the lark, though briefly thrilled, Than all the summer music of the More beautiful to me the vernal bud The bees now sometimes begin prepoet advises a supply of food which maturely to venture forth, and the may relieve them from that necessity. He then strongly recommends the planting of willow, with an ennumeration of the uses to which its twigs may be put. March next succeeds, the appear ances of which are nearly the same as those of the preceding month, only more strongly marked. All the operations rations of sowing, ploughing, harrowing, &c. are busily carried on. Our author particularly recommends the practice of paring and burning, as well as the use of fire in general.The garden, poultry court, and apiary, afford materials for some observations. April brings with it the sowing of barley and the lopping of hedges. Mr G. condemns, we think justly, the barbarous practice of reducing the last to mere stumps, in expectation of a second growth. He censures also the use of hawthorn alone, and advises a mixture of various plants suited to the same purpose. The verdant shade of this season seems favourable to courtship; hence our author is led to describe a penny wedding. The music on this occasion calls forth the following tribute to the of Gow. memory The blithe strathspey springs up, reminding some Of nights, when Gow's old arm, (nor old the tale) Unceasing, save when reeking cans went round, Made heart and heel leap light as boun. ding roe. Alas! no more shall we behold that look So venerable, yet so blent with mirth, And festive joy sedate; that ancient garb Unvaried, tartan hose and bonnet blue, No more shall beauty's partial eye draw forth The full intoxication of his strain, Mellifluous, strong, exuberantly rich! No more, amid the pauses of the dance, Shall he repeat those measures, that in days Of other years, could soothe a falling prince, And light his visage with a transient smile Of melancholy joy,-like autumn sun, Gilding a sere tree with a passing beam! Or play to sportive children on the green Dancing at gloamin hour, or willing cheer, With strains unbought, the shepherd's bridal day. May comes next, and presents the And thus in pleasing solitude he spends His harmless, not unprofitable hours, Till, by his brazen dial warned, he drives Homeward at noon his flock. O simple times Of peaceful innocence, fast giving way To trade's encroaching power! Mr G. now treats of draining and the clearing of moss. The last subject calls to recollection the number of wild fowl which are dislodged from the now cultivated fields. This leads by comparison to another, on which our author is ever prone to expatiate. As this passage is, we think, in Mr Grahame's best style, and contains some very pathetic passages, we shall transcribe a large part of it These tribes, exiled, another resting place Adapted to their wants, soon find ; but man, When forced his dwelling place to leave, the fields, Remote in woodland solitudes, transplants To his rank garden mould, soon droop the head, And languish till they die so, pining, sink These little ones. June, the month of midsummer, is now ushered in. The poet begins by describing the deep repose of its noon. He recommends a pause from labour advises rather to rise in the morning, during the intensity of its heat, and which at this season is so fresh and beautiful. This is not a busy month, yet it presents the occupations of weeding and hoeing. Mr G. while he approves generally of these operations, claims an exemption for some plants of an aromatic and balsamic nature, which are usually classed with weeds. He then proceeds to the more gay and cheerful employment of haymaking. In complaining of the intensity of the heat, he regrets the loss of that ample shade which was afforded by the ancient forests of Scotland, and laments that the pride of Ettrick and of Cheviot should be now cut down. The change has certainly injured the country in point of picturesque beauty; yet we suspect that, in almost every other respect, it must be considered as an improvement. July presents nearly the same general features as the preceding month. The poet here employs himself chiefly in describing the various circumstances relating to the culture of bees, for which this month is peculiarly favourable. He takes occasion, at the end, to recommend cold bathing, and the cold affusion in fevers. August and September, being the harvest months, may be supposed to afford ample subject for the poet.He has not entered so minutely as we should have expected, into the moral accompaniments of this season. migration of Highland shearers, a circumstance peculiar to this country, forms the most prominent object, and The cer certainly an interesting one. This too is the sporting season, to which the author occasionally alludes, though not with approbation. September concludes with a description of the kirn, or harvest home. October presents a variety of miscellaneous circumstances. First, potatoes are to be taken up; then the ground is to be prepared for wheat; and, lastly, that grain to be sown.Horses may be best purchased at this season, as their defects are most easily seen. This too is the best season for planting; in treating of which, Mr G. takes occasion to reprobate the pine tribe as the bane of all rural beauty. In answer to the plea, that they present an aspect of verdure, even in winter, he exclaims: Verdure! O word abused! Does that dark range, Dingy and sullen, sable as the cloud That lours on Winter's brow, deserve the name Of verdure?-lovely hue that makes yon field Of wheaten braird smile chearful 'mid the gloom Of autumn's close, and threats of muttering storms, To eyes unprejudiced by Fashion's law. Morepleasing far the leafless forest scene, Whether beneath the storm it undu late A deep empurpled sea, or tranquil rest In moveless beauty, while the frosty power Adorns each spray and turf with fleecy plumes. The month closes with the celebration of Hallowe'en. November is marked by the symptoms of winter's approach. Great care must be taken of cattle and sheep, which are liable to suffer from the decaying year. The gloomy and hazy weather now gives rise to the appearances of the ignis faruus, or Will o' the wish. The withered appearance of the grass, unless in the vicinity of water, gives rise to some remarks on irrigation, At length "bleak December comes, and shuts the scene." Sleet and snow begin to fall, and the redbreast seeks the habitations of man for shelter.-The chief occupations of the labourer must now be within doors, and of these Mr G. gives a description at some length. He laments that those who might have it in their power to mitigate the hardships of the peasant's lot, should now all repair to the city. Then surveying the various species of reigning gaiety, gaming, the fashionable drama, and fashionable music, he contends for the superiority of rural amusements. This naturally leads to consider those which are resorted to in order to disperse the gloom of this season. Of these the most remarkable is Hoogmanay, and the rural masquerade by which it is celebrated.— Few of our readers probably have forgot the time when this was to him the merriest night in all the year, and they will be pleased to find its varied scenes painted by Mr Grahame. The poem concludes with a description of the new year morning and some pious reflections suggested by it. A considerable number of notes are appended to the volume, which are chiefly employed in adducing authorities in support of the agricultural practices recommended in the text. |