AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
15 
A LADY'S DIARY OF THE FIFTEENTH CEN¬ 
TURY. 
The following extract from the Journal of 
Queen Elizabeth 'Woodville, before her 
marriage with Sir John Grey, is taken from 
an ancient manuscript in Drummond Castle. 
It gives a curious picture of the great in 
former times. After Sir J. Grey’s death, 
she became, in 1645, the Queen of Edward 
IV. On the accession of Henry VII., who 
had married her daughter, she was confined 
in the nunnery at Bermondsey, and died 
there, but was interred at Windsor : 
Monday, 9th March.—Rose at four o’clock, 
and helped Catherine to milk the cows ; Ra¬ 
chel, the other dairy maid, having scalded 
her hand in so bad a manner the night be¬ 
fore ; made a poultice for Rachel, and gave 
Robin a penny to get something comfortable 
from the apothecary’s. 
6 o’clock.—The buttock of beef too much 
boiled, and the beer a little of the stalest. 
Memorandum : To talk to cook about the 
first fault, and to mend the second myself by 
tapping a fresh barrel directly. 
7 o’clock.—Went to walk with the lady, 
my mother, into the court-yard. Fed twenty- 
five men and women ; chided Roger severe¬ 
ly for expressing some ill-will at attending 
us with some broken meat. 
8 o’clock.—Went into the paddock behind 
the house with my maid Dorothy ; caught 
Thump, the little pony, myself, and rode a 
matter of six miles without saddle or bridle. 
10 o’clock.—Dined. John Grey, a comely 
youth, but what is that to me 1 A virtuous 
maiden should be entirely under the direc¬ 
tion of her parents. John ate but little, stole 
a great maney tender looks at me, and said— 
“ Women could never be handsome, in his 
opinion, who were not good-tempered.” I 
hope my temper is not intolerable ; nobody 
finds fault with it but Roger, and he is the 
most disorderly serving-man in our family. 
John Grey likes white teeth; my teeth are 
of a pretty good color, I think ; and my hair 
is as black as jet, though I say it; and John, 
if I mistake not, is of the same opinion. 
11 o’clock.—Rose from the table, the com¬ 
pany all desirous of walking in the fields ; 
John Grey would lift me over every stile, 
and twice he squeezed my hand with great 
vehemence. I can not say that I should 
have any objection to John Grey ; he plays 
at prison bars as well as any country gentle¬ 
man, and he never misses church on Sun¬ 
days. 
3 o’clock.—Poor farmer Robinson’s house 
burnt down by accidental fire. John Grey 
proposed a subscription for the benefit of the 
farmer, and gave no less than four pounds 
himself with this benevolent intent. Memo¬ 
randum. Never saw him look so handsome 
as at that moment. 
4 Osiclock.—Went to prayers. 
5 o’clock.—Fed the poultry. 
7 o’clock.—Supper on the table ; delayed 
in consequence of farmer Robinson’s misfor¬ 
tune. Memorandum. The goose pie too 
much baked, and the pork roasted to rags. 
9 o’clock.—The company fast asleep.— 
late hours very disagreeable. Said my 
prayers a second time, John Grey distracting 
my thoughts too much the first time. Fell 
asleep, and dreamed of John Grey. 
DO SOMETHING. 
There is no doubt that in some countries 
persons are found who are willing and able 
to work, but can really find nothing to do. 
The enterprise of the people is crushed by 
enormous taxes, and by the extortion of ty¬ 
rannical rulers ; and labor is so poorly paid 
for, as scarcely to supply the laborer with 
bread. But in our country it is far other¬ 
wise. Here all heads, and hands, and feet, 
with all the skill, and industry, and strength 
they can furnish, may find full employment 
and reasonable wages. 
A man who has ordinary health and 
strength, and a knowedge of the simplest 
principles of farming, can soon secure the 
means of a comfortable support. While as 
rich land as there is on the globe, can be had 
for two or three dollars an acre ; and while 
produce of every kind is in such wide and 
general demand, no man of enterprise, with 
but little means ahead, need be idle or poor. 
If there is any country in the world where 
labor is rewarded, and where the laborer is 
protected in the possession and enjoyment 
of the fruits of his toil, that country is the 
United States of America. 
These things being so, do our readers want 
to know why there are so many poor and 
unemployed persons about, and why so many 
who have seen prosperous days are now 
poverty-stricken, we can only say that every 
general principle has its exceptions. So 
long as our boys and young men are eager to 
wield the yardstick rather than the ax and 
the sledge, and are ambitious to measure 
tape rather than to raise wheat and corn, 
we shall have crowds of persons who com¬ 
plain that they have nothing to do, and some 
that, for want of better employment—will 
turn rogues. 
We counsel our young friends to fix on 
Some useful, gainful, and manly occupation, 
and not float down the stream of life like a 
chip or feather, to be turned thither by every 
flaw of wind or change of current. 
We can not better express what we have 
to say than to use the words of the good Mr. 
Frelinghuysen of New-Jersey, who lately 
addressed some college lads as follows : 
“ Resolve to do something useful, honor¬ 
able, dutiful, and to do it heartily. Repel the 
thought that you can, and therefore you 
may, live above work and without it. Among 
the most pitiable objects in society is the 
man whose mind has not been trained by 
the discipline of education ; who has learned 
howto think, and the value of his immortal 
powers, and with all these noble faculties 
cultivated and prepared for an honorable 
activity, ignobly sits down to do nothing; 
with no influence over the public mind; with 
no interest in the concern of his country, or 
even in his neighborhood ; to be regarded as 
a drone, without object or character, with 
no hand to lift, and no effort to put forth to 
help the right or defend the wronged. Who 
can think with any calmness of such a mis¬ 
erable career? And however it may be 
with you in active enterprise, never permit 
your influence to go into active hostility to 
the cause of truth and virtue. So live, that 
with the Christian poet, you may truthfully 
say that 
“ If your country stand not by your skill, 
At least your follies have not wrought her ill.” 
UNCLE SAM’S FARM. 
The American Union now embraces thirty- 
one States, seven organized Territories, and 
one unorganized Territory, (the Indian.) 
The total area of territory is estimated to 
be 2,946,166 square miles.* The limits of the 
United States, when their independence was 
achieved, did not exceed 820,680 square miles. 
Our territory doubled itself in the first twen¬ 
ty years of our national existence, and has 
increased over three-fold in less than sixty 
years. We have now a domain nearly ten 
times as large as that of Great Britain and 
France combined, three times as large as 
that of Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, 
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland and Den¬ 
mark, together; one and a half times as 
large as the Russian empire in Europe ; one- 
sixth less only than the area of all Europe; 
of about equal extent with the Roman em¬ 
pire, or that of Alexander, neither of which, 
it is said, exceeded 3,000,000 square miles. 
The eight Territories include an area equal 
to that of the thirty-one States. Three 
hundred and eighty States of the size of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, or two thousand three hundred 
as large as Rhode Island, might be carved out 
of the national area. The slaveholding 
States have 851,598 sqare miles, and the 
non-slaveholding States, 612,597. North of 
the old Missouri compromise line, there is 
an area of 1,970,077 square miles, and 966,- 
089 south of it. The New-England States 
have about one-fortieth of our territory, the 
middle States one-twenty-fifth, the southern 
States one-eleventh, the north-western one- 
seventh, and the south-western one-sixth. 
Only about one-thirteenth of the whole area 
of the country is improved. In the New 
England States about twenty-six acres in 
every hundred are improved ; in the south, 
sixteen acres ; in the north-west, twelve ; in 
the south-west five. There are about a mil¬ 
lion and a half of farms in the country. 
Such is Uncle Sam’s domain. Surely, a 
goodly heritage is his, and he has room 
enough to expand for a century, without 
casting a covetous look upon the lands of 
his neighbors. Mexico, Central America, 
Cuba and the British North .American prov¬ 
inces, with their 1,750,000 square miles, may 
look inviting, but Uncle Sam does not need 
them. Let him but improve the domain that 
already belongs to him, minding his own 
business, keeping to his own side of the fence, 
and fifty years of steady, persevering labor 
and prudent management, with the blessing 
of Heaven, will make this land the wonder 
and admiration of the world—the “ prize 
farm” of the nations.—N. E. Farmer. 
*This is 1,885,540.240 acres, or about 75 acres for every 
man woman, and child in the country.—E d. Am. A a. 
Happiness can be made quite as well of 
cheap materials as of dear ones. 
