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he does not see God bringing the great clouds above him, the 

 watering pots of heaven, to empty on his parched fields, — God, 

 in the Spring, unbinding the sod, stirring the seeds and buds with 

 pulsations of life, blind movements of the year. The farmer may 

 not be religious according to this, or that creed, and yet be very 

 religious if he feels the Providence in every thing ; and then he 

 will say, 



All as God wills, who wisely heeds 



To give or to withhold, 

 And knoweth more of all my needs • 



Than all my prayers have told. 



The farm and farmer's life, next of all go to make cliarader. 

 The lonely, steady work of the farm gives prudence, persever- 

 ance, self-denial, self-reliance, and all the manly virtues. City 

 life, with its talk, and bustle, and noise, makes us superficially 

 smart and bright, quick and ready. The farmer's boy, slow in 

 his mental movements, coarse in his dress, and clumsy in his 

 muscles, may perhaps envy his city brother, who comes to spend 

 a week in the summer, in the country, and who is so well dressed 

 and so knowing that he captivates the hearts of the village belles. 

 Nevertheless, it is from the country boys, and not the city boys, 

 that come our great merchants, lawyers, statesmen, generals ; 

 our Jacksons, Clays, and Lincolns. When Abraham Lincoln was 

 clearing his father's farm in Indiana, he was getting that strong, 

 rugged, manly intellect, that faithful, quiet, unpretending force of 

 character that has made his enemies honor him, the whole land 

 love him, and even an English poet say — 



" We, also, have been with him all the while, 

 We knew his worth and honor long ago ; 

 Rejoice, that, in the compass of our isle 

 There is no room at last for Lincoln's foe." 



Yes — when Nature made Abraham Lincoln, she made him care- 

 fully, and built up his character on a farm, in a log-cabin. 



" For him, her old world mould aside she threw — 



And choosing sweet clay from the breast of the unexhausted AVest, 



With stuff untainted, shajjed a hero new, 



Wise, steadfast in the strength of God, and true." 



