24 



NEW E N CI L A N D FARMER 



JH.V2S, 1h:m. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



THE HOME OF THE FARMER. 



Still let nie live among the hills. 



The rocks, the trees, the flowers, 

 Where I have passed my earliest years, 



My childhood's happiest hours. 



How oft beneath an a?cd oak. 



Near by my father's dwelling. 

 Have I reposed with liindred youlh, 



Some playfuLstory telling. 



The tiirds above would plume their wings. 



And raise their happy voices ; 

 Oh sure it is a pleasant pl.ice. 



Where every thing rejoices. 



Surrounded bv the friends I love, 



And freed from every letter ; 

 lam an independent man. 



And wish for nothing better. 



My little children round ine sp<irl, 



So blooming, bright, and healthy, 

 I often t.iink that nature's gifts 



Have made me very wealthy. 



My wife is all that she sh >uld be. 



Kind, gentle, prepossessing; 

 I 'm sure if ever man was blest, 



Mio^S the greater blessing. 



THK R.'VIL-RO.AD STE.AMEK. 

 (Concluded from page 16.) 



Tlie niiVoiid travHiliti^' possesses intiny pecu- 

 liarities, ns well its advaiitnjfKS, over tlie coinmoii 

 modi!? of conveyance. 'J'Ik; velocity witli which 

 the train moves through the air i.s vwry refre.shini; 

 even in the hottest weather, where the run is for 

 «omo miles. The vibratory, or rather oscillatory 

 molioii communicated to theliudian frame, is very 

 difTereiit from the swiiigiiifj and jolting motions 

 of the stage coach, and is productive of nitvre saln- 

 tiiry t'ffects. It equalizes the circulation, promotes 

 digrstion, traiiqiiiilizes the nerves (after the open 

 country is {jaineil,) anil o(ten causes souiul sleep 

 during the succeeding night, the exercise of thi.s 

 kind of travelling being unaecoiupanied hy tli.it 

 lassitude, aching and fatigue, which, in weakly 

 eonsiiiiitions, prevents the uightlj' repose. The 

 rail-road hids fair to he a powerful remedial agent, 

 in many ailments to which the nielrqpolitan and 

 civic inhahitaiits are subject. 



To those wlio'are curious, and not very timid, 

 the open carriages are far preferable to the closed 

 ones, especially in fine weather. In bad weather, 

 and particularly at first, invalids may travel with 

 more advantage under cover. I have no doubt, 

 that to thousands and tens of lliousaiuls of valeln- 

 dioari ins in this overgrown Baliylon, the rim to 

 Boxinoor, or Triiig and back, twice or thrice a 

 week, will prove a incnns of preserving health and 

 prolonging lifo, more powtrl'ul than all the drugs 

 in Apothecaries' Mall. 



in tine, a man may travel from the pole to the 

 equator — 



"A Giidibus nsijue ad Gangein " — 

 vvithont seeing any thing half so astonishing as the 

 yvonders of the railroad. The pangs of ^tna, and 

 the ciinvtilsions of the eli'ineiits, exciti; iVeiings of 

 horror and terror, without any thitig of pride. — 

 The magic — the miracles of the railroad, eiigen- 

 Jler an exulting consciou.sness of superiority in 

 tlie genius of man, more intense ami conclusive 

 than any effort of poet, painter, or phiiosoplier. 



The railroad journey, however, is not without 

 its iiicoiivetiiences, maiiy of wliicli may be proven- 

 led by a little ingenuity. The greatest is the dis- 



charge of cinders, some of ihetn ignited, from the 

 chimney, which arc not only disagreeable, but oc- 

 casionally dangeroMs to the eyes of those in the 

 open carriages. This might be prevented by an 

 awnitig — a |)rotectioii which is adopted on some 

 railroads, and one that must ultimately be a<lo|>led 

 on all. It is a protection from the elements of 

 fire and water, which every company is bound to 

 afford to the pa.sseiigeis, and is atteniled with tri- 

 fling expense, 'fill then, glasses or a veil are 

 necessary guards for the eyes. 



'Ihe transits of the tunnels, in hot weather, 

 cau.sing a sudden vicissitude of temperature, to 

 the < xtent of 20 degrees of the thermoiiieter, or 

 tlierraboiits, require some precaution on the pan 

 of sensitive invalids. A shawl, or large haiidker- 

 chii'f, thrown ovtr the head, is a sufficient protec- 

 tion, and those who do not take this tnensiire, 

 should keep their eyes shut, during the passage, 

 since sparks and cinder.-! are, unavoidably, thrown 

 in closer showers over the passengers here-t'ian in 

 the open space. 



To specnh'te on the normal, physical, political 

 and econnmical effects and consequences of rail- 

 roads and steam navigation, when carried to their 

 full extent, is beyond my province — perhaps be- 

 yond the bounds of hninan foresight. If the semi- 

 civilized peasants of the remotest isles of tife He- 

 brides, of Orkney, and of Shetland, can even now, 

 tran.smii, in a few hoiir.s, the produce of their huts, 

 their tiionntains, their rnoors, and th^ir farm. yards, 

 to the markets of Glasgow aiid Edinbiu'gh, so as, 

 in three or four days, to jiay the annual rents of 

 their tenements ar.d wi;dernegses, what may we 

 not expect ftoin the extension and iierfactiou of 

 this (iicility of interconiinunication .' In days of 

 yore, the imponderable products of thu iiitell«ct 

 travelled as slowly as the material merchandise of 

 mankind. They will now be diffused, fr.)m the 

 centre to the periphery — from the remotest out- 

 lines N the foci of society, with a rapidity little 

 less than that of tlioiight it.self ! The ultimate cjh- 

 sequences cannnt be appreciated at (iresent; bin 

 we may safely conclude, that the lienevolent au- 

 thor of our existence did rot endow the mind of 

 man with such e.xtraordinary powers of invention, 

 without the ciesif(n of final advantage to his physi- 

 cal waiif-i, his .soci.ll relations, and his spiritual 

 nature. — Medico- Chirurs-ical Review. 



DR. ROWDIiCH. 



'I'he character and life of the late lamented Na- 

 thaniel Uowditch presents such » striking and 

 iKiuiiiful example of devoted and siiceessliil in- 

 dustry in the employment of time, in the husband- 

 ing of small portions and turning them all to some 

 good account ; and likewise of systematic attention 

 and punctuality in business, that we gladly avail 

 ourselves of an opportunity to tnuisfer to our col- 

 umns the following extracts from Judge While's 

 Kulogy recently delivered in Salem. Such an 

 example is far more powerfid than many eloquent 

 discoiirses. 



.After Dr Bowditch removed to Boston, as well 

 as liefore, " he was always ii|) as euriy as sunrise, 

 and long before it in winter. He had formerly 

 been in the habit of walking before lireakfast, but 

 during nearly the whole period of his residence in 

 •Boston, he lu'eukfiisted immediately afier rising. 

 lie always brea1<lasled alone, as none of the family 

 were ready till long afterwards. He then applied 

 himself to nnithematics, getting from two and a 

 half to three hours study before (lie time arrived 



for going to his ofKce. He then took a walk of 

 about a mile or a mile ami a half, ivith one of his 

 sons, and was iti State street at a few tniiinles after 

 nine o'clock. There also he had bis malheniHti. 

 cal books beside him, and when not rngiiged with 

 the business ofjiis office, or with visitors or t'lienda, 

 he ilevoted himself to his .studies. He freipiently 

 took a wadi home in the forenoon for a few ndn- 

 iites, as he found his eyes strengthened ami re- 

 freshed by being at intervals dining the forenoon 

 in the open air lor a short time. Every tiny, a 

 li'tle before two o'clock, he balanced the cash ac- 

 count of the office, so that every tiutisaction which 

 had been completed was duly entered and exam- 

 ined, and the right balance of ca.sh found to be in 

 the bank before he went home. HetlM^n look the 

 same walk again, usiiady with one ol bis friends, 

 and dined anout a quarter before three o'clock. 

 .Vfter dinner he took a short nap or "siesta," as 

 he called it, varying from fifteen minutes to an 

 hour, sometimes even longer. He always awoka 

 bright and prepared for recommenciiig bis studies, 

 which he pur.sued for about an hour ami a half to 

 two h)urs. The regular hours of business at his 

 office ended at twn o'clock ; but he always, to- 

 wards the close of the ufternoon, went tiiere again 

 for it Uiw minutes, to see if any thing needed his 

 attention or explanation ; and, toward the end of 

 the year, he was frequently detained there a con- 

 -siderable time. He then took the same walk a 

 third time, and returned to tea. During the even- 

 ing he continued his studies, atid from time to 

 time joined in conversation with his family, or 

 threw aside his books to devote himself to his visi- 

 tors and friends. ' He always expected ail the 

 members of his household to return by ten o'clock ; 

 the house was then closed, and he usually retired 

 between ten and cieven. During the sinnnier, he 

 was ill the habit of taking a horse ami chaise and 

 riding eight or ten miles in the aftermjoii. 1 here 

 is no doubt that, taking the whole year togelher, 

 he got as much as six, and perhaps as much as 

 eight hours a day b)r his mathematics, besides the 

 time devoted to bis business and other pnistiits. 



In his habit.s of busjnes.s, he was most exact and 

 methodical. He made it a rule to do but one thing 

 at a lime, and hardly u day passed which did not 

 witness the a. plication and enfortemtnt of' this 

 rule, lie was very rapid and exact in all liiscal- 

 culations, c.oiijpiiting interest, &,c. ; and each one's 

 business was, in succession, finished wiih the ut- 

 most desjiatcb ; so that it was vvondei lul how 

 much he was able to accomplish. He disliked 

 being obliged to leave any thing unlinisbed, and 

 recommended as a motto, "end what yon begin." 

 Only the day before his deatl.', havitig a week be- 

 fore he foinid himself loo feeble toiiinkean endoisc- 

 nient U|)on a promissory note of half the principal; 

 and to look over and execute a deed of release of 

 half the mortgaged premises, lie sent to Mr Hale, 

 the Secretary, to bring him tlie j.apers again, say- 

 ing, "You know I never like to leave any thing 

 unfinished." He made the endorsenieiit and exe- 

 cuted the reiiase in question, only (brty-seven 

 hours before he died. 



THE HEW li:iMCilL.A.^D FARIUEB. 



Is published every Wednesday Evening, at *3 per annum 

 payable at the end of l!ie year — but those who pay wiibin 

 sixty days from the tunc of subscribing are eniuled to a de- 

 duction of 50 cents. 



TOTTIE, DENNETT AND CHISHOLM, PRINTERS, 



n SCHOOL .STREKT ....BOSTON, 



