Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-01-16


even she never gets leisure to look at {;
book. She gives more attention te
dress than Ter elder sister, and so plea
ses more generally at FIRST sight; but OF
further acquaintance, when it is disco
| yered that she has not word to say
but answers in most cases with 81
lent giggle, she is generally neglected
Tor more sprightly girls. One young
man, asurveyor, who put up for week
or two at her fathers, was so much
| pleased at her appearance-for she is
really conely girl-that he had ser-
Gus thoughts of paying his addresses
to her; but happening to pass whole
day in her company, away from home,
he discoveredthe extreme emptiness OF
her mind, and being an intelligent
young man, he turned his thoughts in
another direction, and Sarah Dickson,
seeing him depart with as much indlf-
ference as she had seen him arrive,
wenton making butter and cheese, as
If that had been the business of life
Euery one to his taste, but ace think
butter and cheese may cost too much. J
Farmer Dickson's third daughter dit
fered from her sisters in many respects.
She was considered the beauty of the
family, and she used to spend all her
leisure in preparing various adornments
for her person, and particularly in cur
ling her hair with hot pipe-stem, that
produced ringlets very charming in her
eyes. On one occasion she was inyi-
ted to DIN sleighing party which was
to conclude, as is generally the case,
with ball in the evening. Resorting
to her favorlte expedient, in herzeal to
outshine herself as we'll as everybody
else, she heated the pipe-stem too
much, burnt off a conspicuous lock
close to the head, and letting fall the
instrument in her CONSERVATION, DIST
! cured her neck with several blisters, so
/, that she was obliged to stay at home.
The story got about, and caused so
much joking among the young people
in the neighborhood, that the poor girl
became quite sulky, and would not go
out at all. She consoled herself by ga
thering quantity of siIkweed, of which
she is now sewing for herself cape of
pelerne, which is to be very elegant
! { Every one to has oscn Taste, but to our
eye, a silkweed cape looks somewhat
as if it had been made of the skins Of
green gosliEs.
five seem, in these remarks, to cast
some reflection upon our friefids the
Decisions, it must be noted that all this
extra industry is entirely superhuous,
as far as pecuniary circumstances are
concerned. Many ye srs of unwearied
toni, together with an increase in the
value Of land, have make Mr.. Dickson
rather richer than most of his neigh
bors, and secured an ample provision
for his family. So that what we find
fault with, is the miserable plan of tot
ling on, year after year, laying up
jstores of articles which are to be use
less for length of time, requiring
much care to prevent their being spoil
ed by moth or mould, while the pre-
cious mind is left uncultivated, and the
high and ennobling pursuit of self-im-
provement entirely neglected. In pow
erty, constant toll is dreadful neces-
sity; and what is the consequence
Too often crushing of minds, which
under happier circumstances might
have brought forth fruit an hundred
fold.
| s.Where penury is felt, the iho't is chain'd,
And sweet colloquial pleasures are but few"
But where is abundance, it is but sin
and shame to narrow down our cares
and efforts to the "things which perish
in their using.'' 1t is certainly both
the duty and the privilege ofthose who
have enough and TO spare Of this
worlds goods, to devote some part OF
every day to reading, for old people,
whose habits are obstinately fixed, it is
usuallp difficult TO begin a. plan of this
kind but for the young, nothing more
is necessary than, first, sense of its
propriety, and, secondly, one effort of
resolution at the CONNER .ment. Ii
terature has, in its very nature, some
thing so attractive, that, once begun,
it wins its own way. The young wo-
man who has once found pleasure in
book, will be anxious to economist her
time that a portion of every day may
be safely devoted to reading; and we
will answer for it that those who spend
their leisure-the proper leisure which
every one ought to have who is not OBJ
|liged to labor beyond health and com
fort--in this way, will be the most a.
greeable girls in their neighborhood. -
.4gficultrist.