1/4 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



the State ; he ate no flesh, he drank no wine, 

 he never knew the use of tobacco ; and 

 though a naturalist, he used neither trap or 

 gun. When asked at dinner what dish he pre- 

 ferred, he answered, ' the nearest.' " He was 

 no ascetic, rather an epicurean of the noblest 

 sort. And he had this one great merit, that he 

 succeeded so far as to be happy. He was con- 

 tent in living like the plant he had planted and 

 watered with solicitude. For instance, he ex- 

 plains his abstinence from tea and coffee by 

 saying that it was bad economy and worthy of 

 no true virtuoso to spoil the natural rapture of 

 the morning with stimulants ; let him see the 

 sunshine and he was ready for the labors of the 

 day. These labors were partly to keep out of 

 the way of the world. His faculties were of a 

 piece with his moral shyness. He could guide 

 himself about the woods on the darkest night 

 by the touch of his feet. He could pick up an 

 exact dozen of pencils by feeling ; pace dis- 

 tances with accuracy. His smell was so dainty 

 that he could perceive the fcetor of dwelling- 

 houses as he passed them at night ; his palate 

 so unsophisticated that like a child he disliked 

 the taste of wine ; and his knowledge of nature 



