270 HAMPSHIRE SOCIETY. 



cided advantage. The unforeseen changes which so oflen carry 

 confusion and ruin to the mercantile and manufacturing inter- 

 ests scarcely affect him. His subsistence rests on a surer basis, 

 and on the fulfilment of that promise which says that seed 

 time and harvest shall continue to the very end of all things. 

 Is his a toilsome life ? That very toil, taken as it is, in the 

 open air and amidst the fragrance of the fields invigorates, his 

 whole nature, and prepares him for that repose which lubricates 

 the joints and strengthens the muscles and prepares him for the 

 labors of the coming day. 



It has been asserted by some that the human race is degen- 

 erating ; — that men do not live so long as formerly ; — that they 

 are not so tall and strong as they used to be. There surely 

 must be a reason for this degenerating, and in our humble 

 opinion it is found in the fact, that under the influence of a 

 false refinement, our youth are too eager to quit the farm- 

 houses of their fathers, and crowd into the cities and large 

 towns, with the mistaken notion that such is the surest and 

 shortest road to promotion ; they turn away from the pure air of 

 the forest, for the clouds of dust, the continual bustle, the con- 

 fining employment, the pestiferous influences of the latter. It 

 is in this class of people, if in any, that the degeneracy is 

 to be looked for. And it is only by a steady adherence to 

 those pursuits which all past experience declares to be conge- 

 nial with our physical and moral nature, that the evil can be 

 remedied. 



Were we to ask you to look at that condition of life which 

 in our opinion, is preferable to that of every other, we would 

 not take you to the manufactory, amidst the buzz of spindles 

 and the clank of looms ; or to the merchant, perched upon his 

 high stool, the live long day looking over his ledger, or to the 

 state officer who is expected to please every body but himself. 

 But we would say to you, just go with us yonder to that house 

 that stands a little from the road, environed by beautiful trees; 

 with a well planned garden in its rear ; with lawns spreading 

 out to the right and the left ; look at the thrifty herd and the 

 well fed flock, the fruits and the flowers ; then enter its com- 

 fortable and neat apartments, and on the healthful and intelli- 



