The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1852-04-14

sages have anywhere seen. Speaking o.
the vicissitudes OF our American Seasons, he
says;--"lf lf they annoy us occasionally by
changes from hot 10 cold. from wet 10 dry
they give US one of the most beautiful eli
mates in the world. They give us the bril-.
liant snnshnes Of the south OF Europe, with
the fresh verdure Of the north. They float
our skies with gorgeous iints Of 1eccy white
ness, and send down cooling showers 10 re.
fresh the painting earth and keep it green.
Our seasons are all poe,ical the phenom-
ena Of our heavens are full Of suLlinity and
beauty. Winter with us las none of its
provcrbial gloom. II may have its bowling
winds, and chilling frosis, and wlirling
snow-siorms but il has also its long inter-
vals Of cloudlcss sunshine, when the snow
clad Garth gives redoubled brightness 10 the
DAY when at night the stars beam with in
tense lustre, or the moon foods the whole
landscape with her mnst limpid radiance
and then the joyous outbreak Of our spring,
bursting at once into leaf and blossom, re-
dundant with vegetation, and vocilorous with
life .-and the splcndor Of our summer-ils
morning volup.uousncss and evening glory
its airy palaces of sun-gilt clouds, Piled up
in adeep azure sky and lis gusts of tenn
pest of almost tropical grandeur, when the
torked lightning and the believing thunder
vollcy from the batlements Of heaven and
shake the sultry atmosphere-and the ,ub-
lime melancholy Of our autumn, magnificent
in It's decay. wthering down the pomp and
pride of a woodland country, yet rejecting
hack from lis yello. forests the golden Sc
renity Of the sky. Surely ~e may say IL AT
in our climate " the heavens declare the
glory of God, and the armament showe.h
hh hsndivork; day unto day utter,th
speech, and night unto night showeib
knowledge"
You say, "it 10 a favorite assertion with
the elitors and correspondents of the New
En1lond Farmer, that there is no other
pursuit or business productive of an eqnal
amount Of pleasure with practical farming
aud gardening" The assertion may have
been often made, though do not this mos
menl recoect by whom made it is net n
assertion ofmipe However, Socrates ssid,
" Agriculture 10 an employment The mos
worthy the spp,iva ion Of man, the mot
suilsbls 10 bic nature it is the common
nurse OF all persons, in every age and con-
ltion OF lie il is the source Of health,
strength, plenty and riches, and Of thou
sand sober delights and honest pleasures
il is the mistress and school OF sobriety,
temperance, justice, religion, and. in short
Of all virtues" This j. a high encomium'
and, in general terms, is pretty true. II
the condition. all things considered, OF
class Of persons engaged in any one of the
leading practical pursuits Of man be coln-
pared with that OF an equal number, Of like
Intelligence, engaged in farming, the result
will be likely 10 prove favorable to the latter
class, IndividuA! comparisons may result
quite differently from general ones: for ev-
cry man is not best fitted by tase and ia'en'
70, farming, any more than every man is
best ftied Tor teaching. The truth is, tue
world is wide, every on. Of taste and talent
is wanted to carry forward civilization, and
may find an appropriate sphere OF action
and the great poin; is, for each individual TO
ascertain bis prope. place, hi. own peculiar
,hing 10 do and then il he does that thing,
with an energy ard decision Of purpose
which leans over the obstacles it cannot
cas- Gu, OF the way, he will be apt TO suc>
ceed, may be useful to others, and will
probably EMO, lie, SO far as enjoyment is
granted in this sis:c Of being.
To mind capable Of approaching, as YOU
term il, " the almost infinite value of intel
lcetual culture" greater delight is unloubt
edly found in its pursuit than in the mere
execution of the manual operations pertain
ing to any of the practical callings by which
man earns bread. But il is the inevitable
lol Of us mortals to gain our bread by the
sweat OF the brow" As a general thing,
We cannot give ourselves up 10 the improve
ment Of the miad, bu. must engage the
gre ator part OF our lime il hard malter-of,
fac, lnbor, only calehine the passing hour,
as it were, for pure intellectual pleasures
and improvements. There are Of course
few enviable exceptions 10 this the general
lot, seen in the caso OF individual men, who,
by peculiarly favorable profession in life,
or Otherwise, are permitted TO iuxuriatc in
purely mental pursuits and pleasures and
there are other exceptions, not env;ab'e, Of
persons who, Tor want Of n necessity laid
upon them of cxeliion, labor hard 10 kill
time and keep OF eunui--of persons who,
sweating not IN the earning Of bread, are
made to sweat most tremendously in dgesl>
ing it.
Our nature here is compound. Of matter
and spirit, aud the two must be harmonized
as well as may be. In general, if we attend
too exclusively TO the culture Of the mind.
giving ourselves up 10 its cravings under such
circumstances. the physical nature will be
neglected and enfeohed, which vii, ulti.
malely clog the workings Of the mind, and
prevent it from attaining to hose useful re-.
suits it might otherwise reach in connection
with avisorous physical me,-snl so, too,
if we give ourselves exclusively to mere
manual employ mcnis, we dcyelope buI little
mind, and make no Advancement worthy Of
a being gifted with the sublime faculties Of