WINTER MEETING AT LEBANON. 255 



mental labor, a few hours' light work in the garden or among the flow- 

 ers is not only restful and elevating to the mind, but also a profitable 

 accomplishment. 



But, on the other hand, let us examine the indolent class. We find 

 their yards a waste ; the land, rich enough to furnish them with all the 

 vegetables they cnn consume, is usually occupied by a pack of dogs. 

 We venture into their homes, and as we look around as, we wonder if 

 they belong to this progressive age or to the American Indian. They 

 are the ones who are heard to complain of " hard times. " They think 

 not farther than the next day ; soon old age overtakes them, they find 

 themselves without homes and their lives a waste. Indolence not only 

 invites poverty, but is a natural consequence of it. 



There are times in our domestic life which may be called waste 

 time. This may be used to great advantage by reading good literature,, 

 work in the open air and trying to make our homes attractive and 

 pleasant ; or, it may be perverted by gossiping, tearing the character 

 of others in shreds, making ourselves miserable and all those around 

 us — not merely using the waste time to a disadvantage, but neglecting 

 those duties which are necessary. 



It is in our hands to reclaim the wastes, to make those places beau- 

 tiful and profitable. It is to a great degree in our hands to make our 

 lives a waste, or beautiful and profitable. In other words, "we are the 

 architects of our own fortunes." This world is open to us to choose 

 for ourselves, the life of the indolent or of the energetic. 



Let us endeavor to do our part in this progressive work, which 

 will not only prove a benefit to us but to the community in which we 

 live. 



STUDIES I.V THE WOODS. 



BY J. M. RICE, EDITOR VINDICATOR, SARCOXIE, MO. 



Why I am supposed to know of anything about the woods when I 

 live in town, perhaps Mr. Goodman can tell ; yet it is true, I am 

 decidedly in " the woods " while trying to find something to say to- 

 night. 



I suspect my friend Wild has told our Secretary of the current 

 rumor, that I sharpened my apple trees and drove them in the ground 

 with a sledge-hammer. 



