Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-05-19
For the Journal.
OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE.


Hans Schnapps is Dutch rustic living in
little village in Gelderland, where he has worked
all his life ON plot Of ground that belongs to
his neghbor Niederstein, lie was born in the
village, and 50 were his father and his grand
father, and believe, his great grandfather, too.
And he is Just as well off as his remotest known
ancestor is supposed to have been--neither bet
ter nor worse, He goes to his daily labor, makes
the scanty means he has suffice for his existence,
and lives in peace with all men. There is only
one day in the year when this does not keep good.
On that day lIgns takes holiday and goes with
his friends to make merry at the ncighboring
township of Ko0twzk. On that day he always
spends more than weeks reyenue--sometmes
Quarrels with his acquaintances at kootwyk, and
has been known to return home under stern
conviction that he had become the centre Of the
world round whom everything was circling as
round a right royal king. But this is only once
year, During the other 36l days Hans leads
steady, peaceful life-in the firm faith that Koot-
wyk is the greatest city under Heaven, and his
own native village next important. He has new
er gone farther from home than this, and it has
possibly never occurred to him that the world
reaches farther than the limitsof his own vision
introduce Hans to notice in this place for
when made his acquaintance it occurred to me
that he was type Of large class amongst us,
Myrads of men--and women, too--are quite as
content as he to live within narrow circle not
physically only, but mentally, too. And if one
among those myriads should perchanoe meet me
here invite him to 60 with me to the top OF yon-
der mount-he knows it well--and gaze for few
moments into the world beyond. The prospect
may prove useful, but let me at least hope that it
shall be interesting,
Our ideas respecting any given subject are gen
orally relative. We form estimates by uncon-
sciously comparing the object before us with
something else. And the greater the number of
those something's which any particular mind has
stored away within its recesses, by so much more
does the critical power increase, and oftentimes
the readiness to be pleased diminish. This latter
effect may, however, be countencted by culture,
and then it often results in giving ground for
those numerous anecdotes where great men are
truthiuly described as taking delight in simple
recreations.
There was little stream running by the vii
lage, and poor Schnapps thought tia magnificent
river; just as the green, eheeriul-looking hills
that bordered on his native valley We're regarded
by him as majestic mountains. For he had never
seen larger river, although he knew one con-
sderably smaller in the rppling brook that skirt
ed the foot of his own garden and the range of
hills behind which the sun sank at night and rose
in the morning were in like manner objects of the
greatest magnitude that his mind had ever been
called upon to comprehend. So he appreciated
a sublmity in what might hardly have suffced to
make any extraordinary impression on less hum
bic minds. The fact convey here may cause
some people to smile the smile of sceptcism, but
the chances are that the condition Of such is not
far removed from that OF Hans of Gelderland.
Let us see. What intelligent sceptlc---are your
ideas OF magnitude? Perhaps the question has
not occurred to you before Without, then,
pressing for reply, will briefly indicate what
they ought to be.
This world is wide place so we think, and
50 II is, for all human purposes. Wecannottrayel