236 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



his neighbor as having at his command sources of 

 happiness denied to himself. The poor man envies 

 the stately mansion, the horses and carriages, and 

 the luxurious table of the rich. The rich man 

 would give all his possessions to buy the health, the 

 sweet slumber, and the freedom from care that his 

 poorer neighbor enjoys ; and so we recognize the 

 wisdom of Providence in establishing the immutable 

 law by which happiness is meted out in about equal 

 measure to all who seek it with pure motives. 



Happiness depends much upon the sensibilities, 

 and very much upon how we educate ourselves. 

 We may live in the midst of the most beautiful 

 manifestations of nature, and through insensibility 

 or sordidness be incompetent to enjoy them. It 

 is true, also, that in order to enjoy city or country 

 life it is necessary that we experience some of the 

 toils, inconveniences, and vexations of both, and be 

 able to escape from the one or the other at will. 

 By contrast with the brick walls and the hurly- 

 burly of the city, the country seems a paradise ; 

 but for those tied to the country, and compelled to 

 toil in the fields, the city possesses extraordinary 

 attractions. From our present point of view rural 

 life appears beautiful, and the language of poetry is 

 quite inadequate to describe the peacefulness and 

 delights of the scene. We are -under the trees, 

 with the glorious lake before, and the farm behind 



