HAPPINESS AND THE PURSUIT OF IT. 
fifty acres, not at all taking into consideration the 
woeful plight he would have been in, without the good 
crop, to make up for the failure of that portion afflicted 
with bug. In fact, the capital crop on the clean portions of 
the property increases his iinhappin ess, when be thinks 
of that held covered with bug. He never considers 
that bis neighbour whose estate is covered with it, 
and has no crop at all, thinks he is a lucky fellow. 
On the contrary, he has a secret grudge at his unlucky 
neighbour, being convinced that your trifling misfortune, 
-as compared with his, is all owing to him, and his 
estate, for without doubt the bug has spread from 
his to yours Now, how are we to reconcile all 
these conflicting ideas of happiness and contentment ? 
Let us see what the Scotch say on the subject, for 
they are so rich in proverbs and quaint sayings, 
that this never could have escaped them. We have 
found it. Eureka ! Here is the secret fully ex- 
plained : — “ Contented wi’ little, but canty wi’ mair,” 
‘‘That’s the ticket for soup !” exclaimed Mr. John, as 
lie started up, and walked up and down the verandah, 
rubbing his hands with glee, ‘ ‘ and the best of it all 
is, that it always holds good, because, even after you 
have got a ‘wee mair,’ it just succeeds its prede- 
cessor, and holds the same place as ‘ little’ did be- 
fore, so that one just resumes the old position, still 
contented and still looking in advance for ‘a w^ee 
mair,’ for another very pleasing entry into ‘Canty 
Bay, ’ which really is the name of a small bay, a little 
south of the entry into the Firth of Forth. In order 
to reach Canty Bay, if a boat is taken, the Bass rock 
stands up, right in your way. Don’t pass it by, take 
in the, or some, ‘ Bass’ (Bass and Alsopp), and so 
yon wull all the sooner reach, or become, ‘ Canty.’ 
Never mind the expense : if you have the cask to spare. 
What is the use of money to a man, if he not only 
will not use it, but stints and scrimps himself of ail 
enjoyment, in order to get or save more ! No doubt 
he intends to spend it, and enjoy himself some time. 
When is that time to come ? ‘ Some time ’ is just 
another ‘will-o’-the’ wisp.’ Before it comes, his own 
time is come, or done, and he finds out, when too 
late, that he never has been ‘ contented wi’ little,’ 
never ‘canty wi’ mair’; quite the reverse, for the 
more he made the more he wanted, and the more rea- 
son he had to be contented just made him all the 
more become most thoroughly discontented because 
he could not make a great deal more than he did. 
Well,” bethought, “if I could only manage to be con- 
tented, it would be, and no mistake, wi’ little.” As 
he leaned against the rough jungle stick verandah 
posts, and gazed out upon a dreary desolate waste of 
