824 
RURAL HOURS. 
Full of simple piety and benevolence, temperate, frugal, and indus- 
trious, single-minded, and upright in word and deed, his conduct 
in all these respects was such as to command the respect and 
veneration of those who knew him. It was like a blessing to meet 
so good a man in one's daily walks. Such an instance of honor- 
able integrity and simple piety was a strong encouragement to 
perseverance in duty, among the many examples of a very oppo- 
site character — examples of weakness, folly, and sin, which hourly 
crossed one's path. 
Not long since, during the cold weather in winter, the village 
heard with regret that their venerable old neighbor had fallen on 
the ice, and broken a leg ; from that time he has been compelled 
to give up his field labors, having become quite infirm. Bowed 
down with age and debility, his mind often wanders ; but on 
the subject nearest his heart, he is still himself. He may be seen 
occasionally, of a pleasant day, sitting alone in the lane near his 
daughter's door, scarcely heeding what passes before him ; his 
eyes closed, his hands clasped, and his lips moving in prayer. If 
one stops to offer him a respectful greeting, he shakes his head, 
acknowledging that memory fails him, but he still bestows a bless- 
ing with his feeble voice and dim eye — " God bless you, my 
friend, whoever you be !" 
The little patch of ground enclosed by logs, just Avithin the 
edge of the wood, and the frequent turning-point in our walks, 
was the good man's clearing. It now lies waste and deserted. 
A solitary sweet-briar has sprung up lately by the road-side, be- 
fore the rude fence. This delightful shrub is well known to be a 
stranger in the forest, never appearing until the soil has been 
broken by the plough ; and it seems to have sprung up just here 
