Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-11-22
How 1 Came to Buy q Farm.
Ely BAYARD TAYLOR.

In the first place it runs in the blood IF
there is any law believe in, it is that Of he
reditary transmission Of traits, qualities, ca
pacities and passions. Ny father is q far
meT, my G andGahcr was, and his father be.
fore him, and his, and his again, to tho seventh
ancestor, who came over in one Of William
Pe0n's vessels, and Immediately set about re-.
duci"g the suporauOus ayIyanism Of that Apos.
ties Sylvauia.
Ain, st my first recollection is that Of q
swamp into which [ went bare legged at morn
ing, aau out OF which | came, when driven
by hunger, with long stockings OF black mad,
and mask Of the same.
If the child WAS missed from the house,
the first thing that suggested itself was to
climb upon tne mound which overlooked the
swamp. Somewhere, among the tufts OF tho
rushcs and the bladcd leaves Of the calamus,
little brown ball was sure to be seen NOV
ing, no" dipping out ofsight, row rising again,
like bit Of DRIFT on the ripping green. 1t
vs. my heak. ThA,ss4ss9res ! there enl-
locted we're black terFspins with orange spots,
baby frogs, the size Ut chestnut, thrush's
eggs, and stems OF purple phlox.
cannot say that my boyish experience Of
teamwork was altogether attractive. l had
constitutional horror Of dirty hands, and
my first employments-p picking stone and
wedding corn-were rather torture to this
suporfno taste. Blu! almost every field had
its walnut tree, and many of the last years
nuts retained their flavor in the spring, mel
ons were planted among the corn, and the
meadow which lay between never exhausted
lis store Of wonders Besides, there were
eggs to hide at Easter; cherries aud straw
berries in May; fruits all summer; fishing
parties by torchlight; lobelia and sumac to
he gathered, dried aud sold for pocket mon
oy; and in the fall chestnut8, pcrsimmons,
wild grapes, cider, and the grand butcher
ing after fros. c3me--so thGt all the pleas
urea / knew were those incidental to farm
cr's life. Tie books | read came from the
village library, and the task Of helping to
"lodder on the dark winter evenings. was
lightcned by the expectation Of sitting down
to Gibbons Rome, or Thaddeus of Warsaw,
afterwards. To be sure, sometimes envied
tho storekeoper's boy, whom | had once seen
shovelling sugar out of hogshead, and who
now and then stealthily dipped his hand into
the raisin box; but it is not in the nature Of
any child to be perfectly satisfied with his
lot.
A life Of three years in . small country
town cfcOtualIy cured me Of all such folly
When returned to the homestead as a youth
l FIST felt the delight aud the refreshment Of
labor in the open air. l was then able to
take tho ploug h-handlc, and l still remember
the pride felt when my burrows wero pro.
nounced even and well turned. Although il
was already decided that l should not make
farming the business Of my life, thrust into
my plans the slender wedge of hopo that
might enc day own bit OF ground, FOR tht
luxury Of having, If not Tor the profit Of Gull
tiyating it. The aroma Of the sweet soil had
tinotured my blood; the black mud Of thu
swamp sill stuck to my feet
II happened tina. adjoining my father
property, there was an old farm, which wa
fast rclapsiag into state Of nature. Along
the road which bounded this farm on The cas-
stood grove Of magnificent cake, mere thar
hundrgd fee. in hight
AZ tho foot Of the oaks, Gu tic border O
tho field, there was an old gnarlcd notho
pine surrounded by her brood Of young ones
who, always springiug up IN the eamo d;reo
tion from the fact that the seeds were scat
tered by the nor'wcSt winds, seemed to b.
running off down the slope, as if full hcdg.,
end eager to axe their way into the wolld
The old pine had an awful interest to me a
boy More than once huge black snake