Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1852-06-10
The Philosophy of COntentment.

HE TullOSOpHy vi OOutCHtiuOhH
The following letter copied from the
Journal of Commerce is intereting and
profitable, as exhibiting state of content
ment which is as rare as it is worthy of
imitation. The letter is written by gen.
tlemen in Maryland to friend in New
York, who had expressed wish that some
good luck might occur to make him
rich:-
My DEAR FRIEND:-But I am rich
1 have got boy whose eyes sparkle like
''jewels of the mine," and whose smiles
are purely Angelic, and there is so much
of Heaven in his face, that, when | see
him am out of the ills of this life. Why,
I have such tranquility, such bliss, that
the moments flying are Of more value,
each of them, than the brightest sands of
California.
I am rich !! for I daily witness scenes
in the "drama" of the Worlds affair that
make me humble, make me thoughtful,
make me thankful, make me peaceful.
1 am rich! for I live in an age big with
events of the Worlds progress. In my
boyhood I read of the string scenes of
American Revolution; of the Meteoric
whirl of Napoleon: of all such events as
would fire the mind of youth, and [ wish
ed that I could live at time when could
be in the midst of such mighty events;
and now here [ am at period in the his
tory of the World more interesting than
any before it, when there is a more gen.
eral, greater development of mind than
ever before; when there are mightier rev.
olutions than ever before, and not so
much by leading individual spirits, as by
universal and voluntary spirit pervad-
ing all classes.
There was time when the poet sang
thus
GLOW fleet is the glance of the mind!
Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself lags behind,
And the swift winged arrows of lightw
Not so could he sing now, for we fol-
low in the lightning's wake, and are up
with the "glance of thought"
1 am rich! for 1 witness the struggle
for the gold of California, the lives sacri-
feed, the desperate reaching forth of tot
tering old age for that gold which it
worships in the rays of the setting sun,
and I am happy that the current has not
born me thither.
[ am rich! for [ have virtuous mind,
and have no relish for the society of the
dissolute and vicious; and their pleasures,
to me, seem all blackness.
1 am rich! for [ have peaceful mind;
and though the vicissitudes of life have
been many and severe to me, their effct
upon my mind has been such that the re-
Prospect is softenened, and 1 look back
upon my experience, and dream-like
vista welcomes my view. am at times
annoyed in my pecuniary affairs, and l
feel that destiny has given me to service
that is unworthy of me; but l rally from
the influence of those stings when 1 can,
as the tree rises when the storm has pas
sed by, and l have hours of tranquility
that afford me balance for all the trials
Look out from the window; perchance
you see the fine carriage and the trap
pings of wealth-(which things do not
object to; speak not of them in cynical
way) gay in dress may be the occupants,
but possibly the weight of sorrow upon
their hearts, if expressed in pounds, would
stop the wheels of that carriage. Such
reflections must teach us that we each
have our share of wealth in the true sense
of that word.
| live on, and in trouble something al
ways comes to my rescue; and my wish
to be rich is prompted less by desire
for my own qualification than to be able
to reciprocate acts of kindness [ have ex-
perienced from others.
You see that ( turn at the touch of
your pen to show you that the sun shines
here and that it is not such serious thing
to live, and taken all in all, this world is
about what it was intended to be.
Yours truly.