Year: 1861

tOWnS anu villages through WDlCn tue IfaIn
bears me. l am particularly interested in
the faces Of those who gather at the smaller
stations to gaze at the passengers get the
papers, and feel the rush for single mo-
ment, Of the worlds great life. l love to
listen to the smart remarks of some rustic
wit in shirt.sleeves, who if the train should
happen to be behind time intimates to the
brakeman that the old horse didn't have his
allowance of oats that morning, or commits
serates the loneliness of the conductor OF
train not crowded with passengers, all OF
which is intended for the ears of a village
girl who stands in the door of the Ladies
Room" with the tip of parosol in her
teeth, and the hat on her head which was
jaunty last year.


Riding iuto the country recently, saw
at one of these little stations a pair ofyoung
men, leaning against the station house.
They had evidently been waiting for the ap-
proach Of the train, but they did not stir
from their positions. They we're young
men whose life had been spent in severe
aud unremitted toll. Their hands were
large and coarse and brown their faces
and necks were bronzed their clothing was
of the commonest material and pattern, and
was old patched besides; they had hard
| look generally. There was the usual hustle
about them, but they did not seem to mind
| it, AT last they started, and these are the
words that one of them spoke Come,
Bob, let's go over and see if we can't tuck
away some of that grub" So both turned
their backs upon the train, and upon me !;
and as they went over to see if they couldn't
"tuck away some of that grub" l got q
view of their heavy shoulders and their
shambling awakard gait. A pair of old
draft horses going out in the morning to
take their places in front of their truck,
would not move more stiflly than these reI,
lows moved.


Now these young men taught me nothing,
for | had seen many such before but
through them / took fresh and a very i'm
pressve glimpse into a style Of life that
abounds among the rural population Of
America, and shows but feeble signs OF i'm
proyement. These men, who, when they
eat, only "tuck away grub" of course 'go
to roost" when they sleep. They call the
sun "Old Yaller" naming him in honor of
favorite OK. When they undress them
selves "they peel off," as if they were on
ions or potatoes and when they put them
selves into their Sunday clothing, they "sur-
prise their backs with a clean shirt" When
they marry they Glitch on" as if matrimo.
ny were a sled, and a wife were q saw log.
Eyry thing in their life is brought down to
the animal basis, and why should it not be?
They labor severely as any animal they
own they are proud of their animal
strength and endurance; they cat and
work and sleep like animals, and they do
nothing like men. Their frames are shaped
by labor and they are only the best ami
mails, and the ruling animals, on their farms.
AS between the wives and children, who
live in their houses, and the horses aud
cattle that live in their barns, the latter
have the easier time of it.


Having brought every thing down to the
animal basis in their homes and in their
lives, their intercourse with other men will
naturally betray the ideas upon which they
live. They are usually very blunt men,
who "neVer go round" to say anything,
but who blurt ont what they have to say in
q manner entirely regardless of the feelings
of others. They enter each others houses
with their hats on, and help themselves
when they sit at each others tables, and af
feet great contempt for the courtesies and
forms of polite life. They are exceedingly
afraid of being looked upon as stuck up :
and if they can get the reputation of being
able to NOV more grass, or pitch more hoy,
or chop and pile more wood, or cradle more
grain than any of their neighbors, their
ambition is satisfied There is no dignity
Of life in their homes. They cook and cat
and live in the same room, and sometimes
sleep there, if there should be room enough
for bed There is no family life that is
not associated with work, and no thought
Of any life that is not connected with labor.
and if they sit down five minutes, either at
home or at church, they go to sleep Their
highest intellectual exercise is that which is
called out by the process of swapping houses
and the selling Of their weekly product of
eggs and butter at the highest market
price, They invariably call their wives
'the old woman" or "she )" and if they
should stumble into saying, "my deOr," in
the presence of neighbor, they would
blush at being seIfconvcted of uniustifia-
BILE politeness aud objectionable weak
ness


These men have learned to read, but
they rarely read anything, except the week
y newspaper, taken exclusively for the pro-
bate notices. The only books in their
house are the Bible and two or three vol
ums forced upon them at ungarded moments
by book agents, who made the most of in
ternal wood.cuts and external Dutch metal
to place them in possession of the "History
of the World" or the "Lves of the Presi-
dents" or some other production equally
extensive and comprehensive. There is no
exhibition of taste about their dwellings
Evrything is brought down to the hard
standard of use. If their wives should de-
sire border for flowers, they regard them
as very SILLY, and look upon their attempts
TO "fX up things" as great waste of labor.
They never 60 out with their wives to min.
gle in the social life of their neighborhood
and if the wives of their neighbors come to
spend an afternoon, they harness their hor.
ses, and drive off to attend to some distant
business that will detan them until the
women get away. 1t is useless to say to
me that this is an extreme picture, for |
know what l am writing about, and know
that l am painting from the life. / know