But while the latter is too frequently the character of 

 the home-view, we must remember that not every one 

 who enters into western prairie life can make sure of his 

 thousand acres ; and many of the broad fields of grain, 

 and large flocks and herds which thrive in the imagina- 

 tions of ambitious emigrants, never come into the region 

 of the actual for them. 'Tis true, they are beheld here 

 and there. Certain prairie farmers become possessors of 

 immense estates, which they manage with great success ; 

 but, like the overgrown fortunes sometimes accumu- 

 lated in mercantile communities, they are exceptional 

 cases ; they are the achievements of those who have 

 special qualifications for the pursuits in which they are 

 engaged; and it is barely possible, to say the least, 

 that ?/ou may not have the " special qualifications" which 

 are necessary for the acquisition of such an estate. 



But suppose you should emigrate and succeed in get- 

 ting your thousand acres, well-stocked, well-cultivated, 

 and generously productive. What then ? Is it certain 

 that your enjoyment of life would be greater than in 

 your present surroundings with a smaller domain ? It 

 may be that you will need educational advantages for 

 your children; but such advantages cannot be very 

 great on the broad prairies where farms are large and 

 neighbors are " few and far between." It may be that 

 you love the house of God, and "the sound of the 

 church-going bell ;" but worshipping assemblies are ne- 

 cessarily far apart on those wide plains ; and the Sab- 

 bath bell never sent its sweet echoes over the threshold 

 of many a domicile where, amid boundless fields of corn 

 and wheat, there are hearts that long for its solemn mu- 

 sic, and sadly acknowledge the truthfulness of those 

 words, " man shall not live by bread alone." 



