Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-09-01
misreIlaneous.


~ has OIIuIItu tb INT tut v i d eIistfit III
patronage in the way the average city res
ident speaks Of ''the country" A good
deal is said Of the narrow-mindedness Of
rural life, but the most cultivated men
and women can sometimes scarcely see
beyond the metropolis. To hear them
talk one would think living in tire country
was quite an exceptional thing, a sort Of
indiscretion committed BY few scattered
and unimportant individuals. Or rather
that the country is an immense garden or
field, cultivated for the accommodation Of
the town, to supply her with water, veg
tables and fruit. To great numbers of
city folk, rain Is something which merely
settles the dust and keeps the reservoir
full. 1t would, indeed, be terrible it-
convenience to 90 10 market and lind no
potatoes and peas there, but the necessary
connection between these edibles and a
moist summer seems scarcely thought Of.
suppose it is that large aggregations
III people are in condition 10 feel their i'm
portance more than the same number Of
people scattered over a wide area, or even
twice or thrice the number. Being to-
gether somehow gives a sense Of conse-
.quence. Each borrows little from the
other, and becomes, so to speak. bigger
than he is. But in the coutry one i sim
ply ones self.
This patronage is best seen in some Of
those who spend the summer months at
their country place. They imagine they
have a passionate love for rural life.
Generally they have horses and carriages.
books. pictures n round Of company. all
possible luxuries, and are pretty sure TO
run into town every few days. They drive
out in state, just as they do in winter on
Fifth avenue They have numbers Of ho,
house plants and rare flowers, but they
scarcely know the names Of them. They
return to the metropolis in the autumn
fancying they leave paradise behind
Their love would scarcely stand the test
OF the first snow-storm'
Quite another love for the country is
that which finds it comfortable all the
year round, and feels a great lack in the
amplest town life. There are such natures,
rich. overlooking ones, who find their hap
piness in the outdoor world. who rejoice
in every aspect of the fields and hills,
roadside, liver and woodlands, every tint
and shade of sky and horizon. Generally
they were born among rural scenes, and
have spent their early years in their midst.
such natures can live in great secluslon
and be happy. Indeed they live the ideal
life. Every day is a fresh miracle per-
formed Tor them, bringing its own fine.
sweet joy, which nothing can take away,
and which nothing else can give so fully.
Nor are they necessarily cultivated
people, There are those who can pro-
foundly feel the charm Of the natural
world who would express their admira
ton in quite ungrammatical phrases; or,
more likely would not express it at all.
They are scarcely aware of their own gifts
looking out of unconscious eyes upon the
wonders and beauty about them. | re-
member my own earliest impressions of
the loveliness of the world \ child OF
six or seven. filling little cart with fall
ing beechnuts. on the edge of a wild. un-
cultivated field looked up through the
yellow LEAKAGE of the tree. radiant in the
autumn sunshine. and received fresh
strong sense of its charm. There was
nothing unusual in the scene. but it
painted itself suddenly and in enduring
colors upon my senses. There was moth
ing in the way of incident to make it
memorabe-no companion. no voice.
nothing happened. Simply ray of com
mon sunshine came to me and spoke "a
ie never had done before. For the first
time caught its divinity and worshiped
il. No one knew il then or afterwards :;
in one sense. scarcely knew it myself
Such experiences do not define themselves
to children. but they are as real rs the
nuts they gather or the apples they eat
They live. and bidc their time TO be ex-
planned and interpreted afterwards.
Utility Is the great curse of rural life
II seems TO me half the restessness felt by
farming people comes from the desire Ia
accumulate. Everything is sacrificed to
that Mountains are nothing. and lakes
but only fat plains. Whatever cannot
yield money is of no account, whether it
he animal or soil. Surely there is no
remedy for this but change of nature
The other half OF the restlessness springs
from want of entertainment. What is
called the monotonv, kills. Books have Il
great deal to answer for, for this unrest is
product of modern civilization and d
general enlightenment. They alone can
undo their own mischief. Ii may seem
irony. but it is true that only when the
best part of town life. all that makes it
most attractive. goes into the country. will
the great rural population live in content
This is best proved by exceptional small
villages. chiefly perhaps in Massachusetts
In these places the people do not pine to
live in cities. for they have the best fea-
lures of metropolitan life. besides their
own distinct enloyments. Ii is not noise.
i'll odors. many flights of stairs that peo-
pie go to cities for. but to get rich faster.
to hear great sermons. lectures. music: to
catch the excitement and stir of the crowd
Comfort, convenience. the social amen
tiles are what they most want; it is not
distinctively town or country.
When II comes to using the means for
improving and amusing the people there
is good deal of Sinking even on the part
of those who want diversion most. | can
now think of society iromed in a small
New England village. 1t is almost unique
in character. combining the literary. the
educational. the social. For several years
il has been delightful center OF informa-
ton and entertainment. 1t established
the first library in the community. The
genius of one woman founded it the same
have chiefly continued it. and with her it
is not likely to die. IL is so much easier
to 60 on in the old rut than to make an
effort to get out. But every effort made
10 amuse. to entertain and instruct, to
vary the monotony that fatigues and con
tracts the spirit, TO tighten the solitude
that presses upon SO many. is help