The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1849-04-28

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he isnlnoffal ia the civilized to descend so'
seek amusen,elIf in .tbe same way. But
what excuse is there for noisy disyipated
forHs Of amusement 10 a polished comnrl-
litys - Z z-sssf =
The effective action of the niipd, also in
the performances Of the duties Of life re-
qMired amusetnens Brightness and elasti-s
city were the atulosphere IN which the
mind acted most freely and Effectively.
Ainusements were to the mind what Nhe
bath was TO the body the means of clean
sing aud inyigorating IT. a. machine,
though il may not break, viii one day wear
out. Anxiety by some has been pronoun-s
ced a better cGfwater than hope, but the
II cuts the fIinn more than the
watcr.~F - z -; * -. Z
Some there are who require ainasencnts
exclusive of their business, and showed
that certain kinds Of business were all la-.
bor, and of Necessity inlist continue 10 be
so.s> He also:spokH Of the difficulties which
besct the yonng during the critical period
of theifslives from Is to % from the time
when they first leave the family THAT safe-
guard of morality to the period when the;
man ASSUMES the duties of his own family.
II blameless amuseinents are not furnished,
pernicious ones will be sought--if unIaw-
fully pursued A siudieious management
should be adopted at home, not too much
restraiHt-nor too much freedom. The lee
turer did not believe, and it certainly did
not become him to say that minister's sons
were of necessity the devils grandsons.,
The dangers of the young arose chiefly
from two sources: reaction and over excite
ment. If the young men were unduly re-
strained in the family, reaction on becoming
their own masters, was most certain. Some
parents were so much afraid that their
children would do wrong, that they would
not let them do anything. But when they
obtained their liberty, with nonesto control
their pleasures-never having learned to
act aright--they were qnite sure to riot in
self indulgence. The danger from over
excitement was no lass eminent. When
the young were overworked, were shut up
TO hard toll, and had very little time for
amusement, they were anxious to compact
and concentrate as much pleasure as posi-
ible,in the shortest possible time; and tccor-
dinghy, went into ainuseinents with a con-
lcentraiion, of soul, which indicated their
determination to extract tire most pleasure
that it was possible TO get, from the small
est amount of amusement. The Rev. gem
tleman urged his young friends, if honor
blade Il man to his ruin in business, or to the
iai', scrupnlously TO follow her lead, for
he declared g The hurdle of man to be bet
/ ter than the chariot of viiiain.'' -
A,nusefnents were nessary to deyelope
originally of character. The development,
of man was as yet exceedingly imperfect,
aud we did not know what MANS capabili-
ties were. We have never yet seen a sym
metricaI mind among nsereinen. They are
all ona-sided. Ne have seen all the good
qualities of mind in a high. state of per-
fiction, separaleIy-in separate individuals,
but never have we seen them all together,
combined in one person. When perfect,
the mind Of man would exhibit lustre as
well as substance. The elements of mind
developed by the fathers of New England
were the best the world had ever seen b,.,
in their circumstances it was Impossible ia
cultivate all the qualities of the mind. The
sterner and stronger ones were the mos,
essential to them, and they were cultivated
hut the softer and finer ones--the graces OF
the mind-their circumstances forbade them
to cultivate. He hopefl the tine.would- ar
rive when the Bible would no longer be in
lterpreted by the ascstic.
I The sources of amusement may be found
in the exercise of the physical powers-as
in walking, riding, the bath, SIC. in the so
+ of man and woman. Man without woman
would soon degenerate into brute. 1t is
said that but one sex of the Lombardy pop
lar has been Introduces into this country.
g. This tree, the emblem OF the old baclle-
! Tor, soonest dies at the top, and grows rag
ged all the way down. % The aesthetic fac
uites also afforded another source of alnuse-
nent.
The f;t,nily circle was "A source of atp,iS..
ment. Music was another. And there was
40 one of the arts which furnished such "A
pure and uniformly pure source Of amuse-
ment as this The canvass might blush.
and cause others to blush, aud the marble
might be Iirosltuted to the encouragement
of vice but music, however employed,
Ico,ld not, IN itself, eversbe other than pure.
Music might be enjoyed without fear.
Three fundamental laws should govern
lamusements. Firstly, they should agree
with the natural laws OF health. Every
thing that served to strain one part to the
injury of another part, was contrary to the
laws of heath, and should be avoided.
Secondly, The result must be beneficial,
to be neutrality-suspicious. of vigor of
body, mind and morals. And of this every
one must be his own judge. What might
be good for one, might be poison to another.
There must be variety and adoption to
character, pursuits ami circumstances must
be observed. 1t any amusement was found
to unfit Us, in mind or body, for the better
discharge Of the duties of life, however it
might be regarded by others, we were bound
TO abandon il at once He declared the
game of. ten pins are most excellent exer-
else. but that it could not be recommended
owing to the demOraiiZnr associations con-