ON THE MISTAKES OF CITIZENS IN COUNTRY LIFE. 



307 



have brought as many as possible of their 

 town habits into the country, and find that a 

 moderate income, applied in this way, gives 

 less here than in town. To live economi- 

 cally in the country, one must adopt the rus- 

 tic habits of country life. Labor must be un- 

 derstood, closely watched, and even shared, 

 to give the farm products at a cost likely to 

 increase the income ; and pates de foie gras, 

 or perigordpies, must be given up for boiled 

 mutton and turnips. (And, between them 

 and us, it is not so difficult as might be ima- 

 gined, when the mistress of the house is a 

 woman of genius, to give as refined an ex- 

 pression to country life with the latter as 

 the former. The way of doing things is, 

 in these matters, as important as the means.) 



Now a word or two, touching the second 

 source of evil in country life, — undertaking 

 too much. 



There is, apparently, as much fascination 

 in the idea of a large landed estate as in the 

 eye of a serpent. Notwithstanding our insti- 

 tutions, our habits, above all the continual 

 distribution of our fortunes, everything, in 

 short, teaching us so plainly the folly of 

 improving large landed estates, human na- 

 ture and the love of distinction, every now 

 and then, triumph over all. What a ho- 

 mily might there not be written on the ex- 

 travagance of Americans ! We can point 

 at once to half a dozen examples of country 

 residences, that have cost between one and 

 two hundred thousand dollars ; and every 

 one of which either already has been, or 

 soon will be, enjoyed by others than those 

 who constructed them. This is the great 

 and glaring mistake of our wealthy men, 

 ambitious of taste, — that of supposing that 

 only by large places and great expendi- 

 tures can the problem of rural beauty and 

 enjoyment be solved. The truth is, that 

 with us, a large fortune does not and can- 

 Hot (at least, at the present time,) produce the 



increased enjoyment which it does abroad. 

 Large estates, large houses, large estab- 

 lishments, only make slaves of their pos- 

 sessors ; for the service, to be done daily 

 by those who must hold aloft this daz- 

 zling canopy of wealth, is so indifferently 

 performed, servants are so time-serving 

 and unworthy in this country, where intel- 

 ligent labor finds independent channels for 

 itself, that the lord of the manor finds his 

 life overburdened with the drudgery of 

 watching his drudges. 



Hence, the true philosophy of living in 

 America, is to be found in moderate de- 

 sires, a moderate establishment, and mo- 

 derate expenditures. We have seen so 

 many more examples of success in those of 

 even less than moderate size, that we had 

 almost said, with Cowley, — " a little cheer- 

 ful house, a little company, and a very lit- 

 tle feast." 



But among those who undertake too 

 much, by far the largest class is that whose 

 members do so through ignorance of what 

 is to be done. 



Although the world is pretty well aware 

 of the existence of professional builders 

 and planters, still the majority of those 

 who build and plant, in this country, do it 

 without the advice of experienced persons. 

 There is, apparently, a latent conviction at 

 the bottom of every man's heart, that he can 

 build a villa or a cottage, and lay out its 

 grounds in a more perfect, or, at least, a 

 much more satisfactory manner than any of 

 his predecessors or contemporaries. Fatal 

 delusion ! One may plead his own case in 

 law, or even write a lay sermon, like Sir 

 Walter Scott, with more chance of suc- 

 cess than he will have in realizing, in solid 

 walls, the perfect model of beauty and con- 

 venience that floats dimly in his head. We 

 mean this to apply chiefly to the production 

 as a work of art. 



