And here's a hand, my trusty frien', And we'll tak a right guid willie waught, And surely ye'll be your pint stowp, And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne; We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne. M. Garnerin mounted in his balloon and descended in a parachute near London today in 1802. August 22. St. Hippolytus Bishop and Martyr. St. Symphorian Martyr. St. Timothy Martyr. St. Andrew of Ireland Deacon and Confessor. St. Philibert Abbot, CHRONOLOGY. - Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Battle of Northalerston in 1187. Duke of Northumberland executed in 1553. CERES. In most parts of the South of England and the North of France the harvest is now proceeding rapidly, and in early years we have known wheat carried by or even before this day. In the North of England and in Scotland they are somewhat later with the harvest. In Scotland it is usual for the women to reap as well as the men. They choose their partners for the harvest; each by the lass he loves, has his station in the field-the maid takes part of the reap, and goes on before, leaving what corn she cuts in small heaps, called Cats, which, when her partner comes up, he adds to the sheaf; the whole business being enlivened by the occasional song of hope and merriment. In Suffolk husbandry, the man who, whether by merit or by sufferance we know not, goes foremost through the harvest with the sithe or the sickle, is honoured with the title of Lord, and at the Horkey or Harvest Home Feast, collects what he can, for himself and brethren, from the farmers and visitors, to make a "frolic" afterwards, called "The Largess Spending." By way of returning thanks, though perhaps formerly of much more or of different signification, they immediately leave the seat of festivity, and with a very long and repeated shout of a "Largess," the number of shouts being regulated by the sums given, seem to wish to make themselves heard by the people of the surrounding farms; and before they rejoin the company within, play a number of pranks, and give themselves up to jollity. See the Horkey, a very humourous provincial ballad by Bloomfield, in which a successful attempt has been made to preserve the memorial of a custom fast going out of use. Home came the jovial Horkey load, Last of the whole year's crop; And Grace among the green boughs rode In Norfolk and Cambridgeshire customs nearly similar still exist. Some curious ceremonies have been and are still used in various parts of the country, at the conclusion of the harvest. The manner of celebrating Harvest Home in Queen Elizabeth's time is thus described by Paul Heutzner :-" As we were returning to our inn, we happened to meet some country people celebrating Harvest Home: their last load of corn they crown with flowers, having besides an image richly dressed, by which perhaps they would signify Ceres: this they keep moving about, while men and women, men and maid servants, riding through the streets in the cart, shout as loud as they can till they arrive at the barn." In ancient times persons were allowed to glean in orchards and vineyards as well as in corn fields. Esdras seems to allude to this custom: In an orchard of olives, upon every tree there are left three or four olives; when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters, for them that diligently seek through the vineyard.-Book II. c. xvi. v. 29, 30. An interesting account of an Italian harvest in the neighbourhood of Rome is given by Mrs. Graham, in her recent work descriptive of that country: -"The wheat is reaped towards the end of June, and throughout July, ten days later than the harvest of the Campagna. FAUNA.-Lapwings Tringae Vanelli begin now to congregate. Matins and Swallows also assemble in vast congregations, and lodge on the roofs of lofty buildings or trees, and sometimes even on the ground. Linnets, Sparrows, and other birds, are also seen in flocks. The insects that make their appearance are the Apis manicata, one of the species of solitary Bees; the Papiliones Machaon, Semele, Phlaeas, and Paphia, some of the latest Butterflies; Phalena picta a whitish moth; and the Ptinus pectinicornus, which, in its larva state, is well known by the holes that it bores in wooden furniture. Flies also abound in windows at this period. Bulls begin their shrill autumnal bellowing. The nest of the Harvest Mouse Mus messorius may now be found attached about midway to the straws of some vegetables in our corn fields; they are very fond of fixing it to those of beans or peas, with which it sways backwards and forwards, when they are agitated by the wind: it is the only English Mouse that elevates its nest above the ground; they are sometimes found in the shape of a pear with a long neck, at others round, the size of an orange. Travelling through the sandy plains of Alsace, early in August 1822, we observed millions of Field Mice crossing the road, and apparently running to and fro into their nests by the roadside. Vipers now bring forth their young. They are distinguished, by being viviparous, from Snakes who deposit their eggs in dunghills or in the ground. August 23. St. Philip Benite Confessor. SS. Claudius, Asterius, Neon, Domnina, and Theonilla Martyrs. St. Apollinaris Sidonius Bishop and Confessor. St. Theonas Bishop and Confessor. St. Eugenius Bishop in Ireland. St. Justinian Hermit and Martyr. CHRONOLOGY.-The first eruption of Mount Vesuvius is recorded as having happened today in the year 79. Pliny the naturalist was suffocated while examining it. This Volcano, as well as that of Mount Etna, only burn occasionally, while Stromboli in America burns continually. Hecla in Iceland burns periodically. Volcanalia in Circo Flamines.-Rom. Cal. The Vulcanalia were festivals in honour of Vulcan, brought to Rome from Praeneste, and observed in the month of August. The streets were illuminated, fires kindled every where, and animals thrown into the flames, as a sacrifice to the deity. Varro. de L. L. v. Dion. Hal. i. Columel. xi. Plin. xviii. c. 13. Some very ancient tradition respecting the first person by whom iron or other metals were wrought, perhaps the same called Tubal Cain, was at last transmogrified into Vulcanus, a god of the ancients who presided over fire, and was the patron of all artists who worked iron and metals. He was son of Juno alone, who in this wished to imitate Jupiter, who had produced Minerva from his brains. According to Homer, he was son of Jupiter and Juno, and the mother was so disgusted with the deformities of her son, that she threw him into the sea as soon as born, where he remained for nine years. According to the more received opinion, Vulcan was educated in heaven with the rest of the gods, but his father kicked him down from Olympus, when he attempted to deliver his mother, who had been fastened by a golden chain for her insolence. He was nine days in coming from heaven upon earth, and he fell in the island of Lemnos, where, according to Lucian, the inhabitants seeing him in the air caught him in their arms. He, however, broke his leg by the fall, and ever after remained lame of one foot. He fixed his residence in Lemnos, where he built himself a palace, and raised forges to work metals. Vulcan has been celebrated by the ancient poets for the ingenious works and automatical figures which he made, and many speak of two golden statues, which not only seemed animated, but which walked by his side, and even assisted him in the working of metals. It is said, that at the request of Jupiter he made the first woman that ever appeared on earth, well known. under the name of Pandora. The Cyclops of Sicily were his ministers and attendants, and with him they fabricated not only the thunderbolts of Jupiter, but also arms for the gods and the most celebrated heroes. His forges were supposed to be under Mount Aetna, in the island of Sicily, as well as in every part of the earth where there were volcanoes. The worship of Vulcan was well established, particularly in Aegypt, at Athens, and at Rome. It was usual in the sacrifices that were offered to him to burn the whole victim, and not reserve part of it as in the immolations to the rest of the gods. A Calf and a Boar Pig were the principal victims offered. He appears on some monuments with a long beard, dishevelled hair, half naked, and a small round cap on his head, while he holds a hammer and pincers in his hand. The Aegyptians represented him under the figure of a Monkey. Vulcan has received the names of Mulciber, Pamphanes, Clytotechnes, Pandamator, Cyllopodes, Chalaipoda, &c. all expressive of his lameness or of his profession. He was father of Cupid, by Venus; of Caesulus, Cecrops, Cacus, Periphetes, Cercyon, Ocrisia, &c. Cicero speaks of more than one deity of the name of Vulcan. One he calls son of Coelus and father of Apollo by Minerva; the second he mentions is son of the Nile, and called Phtas by the Egyptians; the third was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and fixed his residence in Lemnos; and the fourth, who built his forges in the Lipari Islands, was son of Menalius. Vulcan seems to have been admitted into heaven more for ridicule than any other purpose. Hesiod. Theog. & in Scut. Herc. 140 & 320. Apollod. i. c. 3, &c. Homer Il. i. v. 57. & l. 15. v. 18. 1. 11. v. 397, &c. Diod. v. Herodot. The Fables about Vulcan soon became mixed up with certain facts in the history of the atmosphere, and the thunderbolts were meteoric phenomena. See August 29. Jupiter himself, for whom the bolts were forged, is in fact the atmosphere personified. Vulcan, as old stories tell us, The ugliest of ugly fellows, Whylome to Pallas fein would proffer Would ill accord with trade and learning. Her enmity to him we see; For, willing to make reparation 'Gainst his consuming devastation, She has established conventions With antivolcanic intentions, Whereof each Warehouse, House, and Shop, And we in trade may safe embark, We trust all prudent persons will avail themselves of the above tutelary deity; and as a matter of curiosity and information we hope to subjoin a list of the principal Fire Offices in London on a future day. See our Index, article Vesta. August 24. St. Bartholomew Apostle. SS. Martyrs of Utica. St. Ouen Bishop and Confessor. St. Irchard Bishop and Confessor. Orises at IV. 58'. and sets at vII. 2'. If the twentyfourth of August be fair and clear, Ray's Proverbs. COELUM. This is about the time when the watery spell of a weeping St. Swithin has nearly ceased to draw down the tears of Coelum, the forty days lamentation ending yesterday. The proverb, therefore, relates to the steady clearing up and settling of the weather today. Another saying will explain well the above adage : All the tears that St. Swithin can cry |