Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1857-10-21

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DROPS not at the lightning threat they stand ready for the
unknown trials OF war. I'll
But on the other side mark the flower of the p>pulace
trembling nervousy beneath the auskes weight and wilt
ing like any other flower beneath the Here
are the contents of the counting oo the office the factory
and the saloon Here is the of ayarce whose hiyeled
form has sought in vain to the dimensions of the microscopic
soul within The of ncied courage whose teeth chat
with fear lest he should be thought afraid the of
vice who farey rushe into any that promises to free
him from hmself and last but not least Young Amerl-
ca escaped in an untmely hour from yet unfinished pa
rental discipline clad in the ideas Of his greatness like
David in the of SAUL and ready do carnage upon
the tented field he has already done it the bar and the
billiard table. need ask which of these regiments you
would with sanguine hopes lead battle need
not appeal to the ladies' the accredited and worthy judges
vaor all ages to know from which ranks you would choose
your favorite knight
But physical excellence alone does not lift above
barbarism The progress of civilization marked still more
by the development of the mind and heart of manthe
increase and diffusion of intelgencethe elevation OF pub
lie moraltythe purity of private life and social intercourse
These essential elements in the formation OF firm and
reliable national Observation-Disclosures without which no other
form of government, much less democratic one can long
sustain itself 1t becomes then pertinent inquiry how far
agricultural pursuits contribute to their growth The
estimate of the comparative intelligence Of the towns
and the countyman is far from just The gentleman
from the rural districts the rustic are newspaper par
lance the representatives of gkenness and simplicity. The
arises from substituting the outside polish of fash
ionabe life for intellectual superiority and judging men by
this false misunderstanding at the expense of all others
that style Of mental capacity which exhausts itself upon the
bow of cravat the turning OF compliment No lower
test could be instituted for if God made the country and
man the town-the devil certainly made the fashions.
That city life affords peculiar advantages for mental
cultivation that among limited class there higher de-
cree of cultivation than elsewhere be admitted But
if to this limited number add the tens of thousands
whose daily thoughts and studies do not pass beyond the
storeroom the dngy workshop where they toll
who by poverty and vice buried in living tombs, the
average of mental wealth will be greatly reduced The OPP
pounes for acquiring knowledge have not hitherto been
SO widely spread easily accessible the farmers child
but under liberal legislation particularly in your own state
they rapidly increased and by the circumstances which
surround him he better prepared and has more induce
profit by them. The city lad, who has penetrated
the mysteries of long measure and square measure and
especially short measure has completed his education His
business henceforth monopozes all the hours which sleep
does not require and escape from the charmed
circumference of his day book and his counting
find in surrounding cobwebs cacoes the genius of pho
ophy poetry science. But the farmers work lies in the
midst of this grand old museum of Nature full of wondou
mysteries for the solution of which the systematic discipline
of the school has given the magic key Not flower
blade of grass but tempts him inqury-and offers him
engmas yet unsoved And then outside of the reach of
the naked eye but open the microscope lies world
still more wondrous in its composition Here he may find
vrad of insect life repoSng upon the bosom of the
lilly and rocking themselves sleep in its golden cradle
feeding amid the down of leaf like cattle beneath
the towering forest He may discover in the weed
that oend the sghta decacy and symmetry Of proper
tonmysteres of human architecture which human art has
abored in vain rival Nor Investigations of this char
trivial obectess though apparently disconnected
with the practical Every fact thus elected is contr
button the general stock of human knowledge 1t the
rough apparently useless fragment of rock which when
trimmed and onted is fill place in the of the
fair temple of science The facts Of Nature the basis Of
art the germs Of invention the formation Of all true phos
ophy.
with the physical health essential to unimpaired mental
power, free from the and anxeties of city life and
possessing long winter evenings in which to improve these
advantages the farmer needs only equal educational facilities
give him the decided peennence above his city brethren
1t remains for us to inquire into the influence of rural
life and pursuits upon the moral character of the people
The immortality of cities is proverba among the high classes
the nature of the business pursued Its being measured
by the necessities meres of Others the strong incutve
to avarice the false excitementS and unnatural restraints
which fashion imposes all tend to pervert the affections and
impair the moral While among the inferior ranks
the lack of rational and the everywhere preva
lent temptations to cheap but vicious indulgence spread
broadcast ruin. The extremes of poverty herewito
poverty too which prefers city vice rags well provided
virtuous country home In cona-dsncton from all this
we find in the circumstances and scenery which surround the
farmer well in the of his labor much to elevate
and purify and nothing to demoralize. He deals with Ma
ure and has occasion to concoct financial schemes
overeach her and thus crafty his avarice He dwels in
the midst of plenty, and has temptation selshy
drive the beggar from his door, His lessons from the