The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-01-16

belts Of woodland, smooth hill-pasture, green,
homesteads Of the villagers, were seen on one hand
while on the other was the bright, clear river, with
here and there a white sail, relieved against bold
wooded banks, juttiDg rocks, or tiny islands, dark
with dwarf evergreens 1t was quiet rural pic
ture, happy and peaceful contrast to all | had
looked upon for weary, miserable months 1t
soothed the nervous excitement Of pain and suf-
fering. forgot myself in the pleasing interest
which it awakened. Natures healing ministra-
tions came to me through all my senses. felt
the medicinal virtues Of her sights aud sounds
and aromal breezes From the green turf Of her
hills, and the messy carpets of her woodlands, my
languid steps derived new vigOr and elasticity. /
+ 1t, day by day, the TRANSMISSION Of her strong
life
The Doctors domestic establishment consisted
of Widow Matson, his housekeeper, and an idle
slip of q boy, who, when he was not padding
across the river, or hunting in the swamps, or
playing ball on the "Meetin' us Hill, used to
run of errands milk the cow and saddle the horse.
Widow Matson was notable shrill-tongued wo-
man, from whom two long suffering husbands had
obtained what might, under the circumstances, be
well called 81 comfortable release" She was neat
and tidy almost to fault, thrifty and industri-
GUS, and barring her scolding propensity, was
pattern housekeeper For the Doctor she enter
tanned so high a regard that nothing could exceed
her indignation when any one save herself, pre-
sumed to find fault with him. Her bark was
worse than her bite; she had warm, woman's
heart, capable of soft relentings; and this the
--,-r7tt-,t Syssnd-boy 90 7pta IS1NsJea that he
bore the daily inhiction Of her tongue with
good-natured unconcern which would have been
greatly to his ors5S lad il net resulted FROM his
confident expectation that an extra slice OF cake
or segment Of pie would, ere long, tickle his pal
ate, in atOnement for the tngling Of his ears.
1t must be confessed that the Doctor had certain
little peculiarities and ways Of his own, which
than that of the Widow Matson. He was care.
less and sbsent-minded In spite of her labors
and complaints, he scattered his superfuous cloth
ing, books, and papers, over his rooms in "mucb-
admired disorder" He gave the freedom of his
house to the boys and girls Of his neighborhood,
who, presuming upon his good nature, laughed at
her circumstances and threats as they chased
each other up and down the nicely polished stair
way. Worse than all, he was proof against the
vtuperations and reproaches with which she in
directly assailed him from the recesses of her
kitchen. He smoked his pipe and dOzed over his
newspaper as complacently as ever while his sins
Of omission and commission were arrayed against
him.
Peewawkin had always the reputation of a
healthy town; and if it had been otherwise, Doc
tor Singletary was the last man in the world to
transmute the aches and ais of its inhabitants
into gold for his own pocket So, at the age Of
sixty, he was little better off, in point of worldly
substance, than when he came into possession Of
the small homestead Of his father. He cultivated
with his own hands his corn-feld and potato
patch, and trimmed his apple and pear trees, as
wen sa,i5nvd r.a hiS fVss, ,...O,y rrv.'~~
with his rustic Sabine villa. In addition to the
care Of his homestead and his professional duties,
he had long been one of the overseers OF the poor
and a member of the school committee in his
town and he was sort of standing reference in
all disputes about wages, boundaries, and cattle
trespasses, in his neghborhood. He had, never
theless, good deal of leisure for reading, errands
of charity, and social visits. He loved to talk
with his friends Elder Staples, the minister, Dea-
con Warner, and Skipper Evans. He was an ex
pert angler, and knew all the haunts Of pckerel
and trout for many miles around. His hvorite
place of resort was the hill back of his house,
which afforded a view Of the long valley of the
Tocketuck and the great sea. Here he would sit,
enjoying the calm beauty of the landscape, point
ing out to me localities interesting from their his
torical or traditional associations, or connected in
some way with humorous or pathetic passages Of
his own life-experience. Some Of these auto
biographical fragments affected me deeply. In
narrating them he invested familiar and common
place facts with something of the fascination Of
romance. "Humsn life,n he would say, "is the
same everywhere If we could but get at the truth,
we should find that all the tragedy and comedy Of
Shakespeare have been reproduced in this little vii
LACE God has made all Of one blood what is
true of one man Is in some sort true Of another !;
manifestations may differ, but the essential ele-
ments and spring Of action are the same. On the
surface, every thing about us just now looks pro-
sale and mechanical you see only sort of bark
mill grinding over Of the same dull, monotonous
grist of daily triHes. Bot, underneath all this
there is an earnest life, rich and beautiful with
love and hope, or dark with hatred, and sorrow,
and remorse That fisherman by the river side,
mr. that woman at the stream below, with her wash
tuh-vho knows what lights and shadows chequer
their memories, or what present thoughts OF theirs
horn Of heaven or hell the future shall ripen into
| deeds of good or evil All what have not seen
and beard2 My profession has been to me, in
acme sort, like the val-genii of the Salamanca
studeut ; Il has unroofed these houses and opened
deen dark chambers to the hearts Of their tenants,
which no eye, save that Of God, had ever looked
upon. Where | least expected them, have en-
countered shapes OF evil, white, on the other hand
have found beautiful, heroic love and selfdenial,
in those who had seemed to me frivolous and
selfshn
So would Dr. Singletary discourse, as we
strolled over Burberry Hin, or drove along the
narrow willow shaded wood which follows the
windings Of the river. He had read and thought
much in his retired, solitary life, and was evil
IDENTIFY we'll satisfied to find in me gratfed list.
ener. He talked well and Huently, with little
regard to logical sequence, and with something Of
the dogmatism natural to one whose opinions had
seldom been subjected TO scrutiny. He seemed
equally at home in the most abstruse questions Of
theology and metaphysics, and in the more prac
teal matters Of mackerel fishing, corn growing
and cattle raising II was manifest that to hi
book lore he had added that patient and close OBJ