Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-10-05

cr.
rREs. AsCELL's ADDREss
Mr.. Angel after recognizing the honor done
him by the request 70 address the Society and
citizers q tbs ancient city. .aid that though
stranger be trusted be was not wholly uupre-
Jared TO enter into the spirit Of the festival for
! s was farmers hoy, who tll he was 20 had
b Il his 10Y and novel hi swarth with the
r.a in the field. lie consequently locked at
,.e farmers work through no mist of romance.
H. well knew that it was good hard, back-aching
rk, srd that no class better earns the full re-
ward Of their toll than the farmers Of New Eng
] "a.
Reiuarzirs On th, teaut,s Of the SPOT where
o.. y hal gathered to display and compare the
J. sults Il their labor and skill, he said that
Gioek or Roman never gathered for their games
il such an amphi;heatre as this, which Gcd
reared when he laid the foundations Of these
ancient hills aId stretched the arms Of the
mountains around this ma,chless Valley, spread
between the Green Mountains and the Adlron-
dl-s. Seeing these, and the homes Of relce and
,aieuimout from which they had ccme, he un-
d. rstoli now hoS the hardy virtues were nur-
turei, which had always given victory wherever
the Green Mountain boys had charged.
Aimiring their display, lie came not to talk
Of their crops Of cattle and sheep and horses.-
lie wished to speak Of another crop, the best
cop you raise, your crop Of joys-He begged
laidon ior lie mistake; the bright faces before
Ll reminded him there was a still better crop;
t-t the crcp Of boys was the best save one, and
O. boys could tell what that Is
Every vocation has its peculiar drawbacks
a,l trials. His own was 10 exception People
complain hat teachers only talk the dialect Of
their profession, and that they lack common
ssuse; and they cite Us such Instances as that
e the German Professor who lectured for a week
o. an accent in a Hebrew manuscript, which sfler
oil TUNED ont to he only fy-speck. Nor is
tie Farmers calling exempt from It's errors and
ais, and it was his object to-day to inquire if
netting could not lie done to correct those
e'rrs and mitigate the trials
at the common Disadvantages of the life of
t. farmers, boy he mentioned first its seclUsiOa.
Tae boy Is often surrounded BY a small circle,
c! fixed and narrow hatits. He foon reaches
their level; is able at IA to carry on the farm in
the came old way, and there his development
stops. Thence forward he gees through the
world half asleep fer want Of some one TO shake
him up. This shaking up it is the office Of the
school teacher to give. Dropped into the mid.tof
such a community he creates a stir throughout
II. He carries its young men past the dead point
.r their life. He holds cut a higher STANDARD.
Ald once possessed with higher ideal Of life
ad nobler incentives to action, thence
{ ith he becomee more Of a man, scclude him as
J Il may.
Another and most noticeable characteristic
tendency Of the life of the farmers boy is to dis
content with his home and occupation. How
many vibra;e between New England and Califor-
MA till the undertaken is a, their door
How many go West to spend lie of toll and
deprivation in acquiring a competency which
might be gained at home with equal effort and
with the advantages Of far pleaslnter sO;iety
and better influences for the family. How
many meyer settle in life, like the man who
ircze on the edge Of his bed because he couldn't
make up his mind which side to lie down on
Another Is the centralizing tendency, which
tends TO gather the population Of the country
iuto the cities. The great city Of New York
consumes its own population once in three gen.
erations, and If not renewed from the country
would perish hom the earth in hundred
years, as many think j, ought to. Denying to
these great centres none Of their true attrac-
tons, We must still not forget the warning
which Napoleon received when be undertook to
concentrate France into great citiss, and found
the population decreasing so rapidly that he
s,w that he must change his policy or the days
/ Of his dynasty would be numbered for want Of
/ subjects. From the cities come the strongest
stimulants to sensuality,-tke vile literature
which corrupts the morals Of the young. In
! Wall Street originates the spirit Of Speculation
which ere now has reached and ruined even
the farmer at bis plow. leo many Of cur sons
driit into ths cities. They hear Of bg salaries