CHARACTER OF THE PEASANTRY. 75 



their dress, how different their dwellings ! An 

 incident shortly before probably conduced to 

 the train of thought. It was the assistance 

 given me by a working man, an angler, who 

 seeing my flies entangled in a tree, out of my 

 reach, without being asked, mounted into the 

 tree, cut off the branch without saying a word, 

 or more than a word, and taking, without 

 thanking me, a few flies I gave him, with thanks 

 for his trouble. 



PISCATOE. There is good and bad in both, 

 and perhaps tolerably balanced. Steadiness 

 here is commonly associated with a repulsive 

 silent gravity ; levity there with an agreeable 

 conversational sprightliness ; neatness and pro- 

 priety of dress here with thrift and parsimony ; 

 raggedness and little attention to dress there 

 with less regard to saving and lucre, and more 

 devotion to the kindly feelings. Here bastardy 

 is common ; there it is most uncommon ; 

 prudence, in one instance, checking early 

 marriages; early marriages, in the other, 

 fostering female virtue, and that virtue en- 

 hancing respect for the sex. But I am 

 running into a parallel, tempted by the subject, 

 which, pray, excuse. 



