dscape brighten under the influence of the welcome
shower; and as it becomes more rich and extensive, all nature seems to
rise up and rejoice. The birds chirp merrily among the foliage; the
flowers raise their drooping heads, and the thirsty ground drinks in with
eager haste the mellowing rains. All day long, perhaps, does the rain
continue to fall, until the earth is fully moistened and "enriched with
vegetable life." At length, towards evening, the sun peeps out from
among the broken clouds, and lights up, by his sudden radiance, the
lovely scene. Myriads of rain-drops sparkle like gems beneath his beams;
a soft mist that seems to mingle earth and sky gradually rolls away, and
"moist, and bright, and green, the landscape laughs around." Now pours
forth the evening concert from the woods, while warbling brooks, and
lowing herds, appear to answer to the sound. Such are some of the
delightful effects of spring-showers.

In summer, when the heat has been very great, the rain is often ushered
in by a thunder-storm, and falls in torrents, which at an earlier season
would do harm to the young buds and blossoms of spring; but now the
vegetation is strong enough to resist the floods so necessary to maintain
moisture in the parched earth. But when the summer has been moderately
warm some gentle rains generally fall about midsummer, which, from the
frequency of their occurrence about this time, have obtained the name of
"Midsummer rains." These rains are popularly associated with St.
Swithin's Day, as will be noticed in another chapter; but when they fall
early, mildly, and in moderate quantity, they operate to a certain extent
as a second spring. "Many of the birds come into song and have second
broods; and it is probable that there is a fresh production of
caterpillars for their food, or, at all events, a larger production of
the late ones than when the rains are more violent and protracted. Many
of the herbaceous plants also bloom anew, and the autumn is long and
pleasant, and has very many of the charms of a summer, though without any
very powerful operation on the productions of nature, further than a very
excellent preparation for the coming year, whether in buds, in roots, or
in the labours of man. Such a season is also one of plenty, or at all
events of excellent quality in all the productions of the soil. The wild
animals partake in the general abundance, as that food which is left for
them in the fields, aft