SOUND So 
123 
must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The 
natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his 
indolence. 
I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over 
those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, 
to society and the theatre, that my life itself was be¬ 
come my amusement and never ceased to be novel. It 
was a drama of many scenes and without an end. If 
we were always indeed getting our living, and regulat¬ 
ing our lives according to the last and best mode we had 
learned, we should never be troubled with ennui. Fol¬ 
low your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to 
show you a fresh prospect every hour. Housework 
was a pleasant pastime. When my floor was dirty, I 
rose early, and, setting all my furniture out of doors on 
the grass, bed and bedstead making but one budget, 
dashed water on the floor, and sprinkled white sand 
from the pond on it, and then with a broom scrubbed 
it clean and white; and by the time the villagers had 
broken their fast the morning sun had dried my house 
sufficiently to allow me to move in again, and my medi¬ 
tations were almost uninterrupted. It was pleasant to 
see my whole household effects out on the grass, mak¬ 
ing a little pile like a gypsy’s pack, and my three- 
legged table, from which I did not remove the books 
and pen and ink, standing amid the pines and hickories. 
They seemed glad to get out themselves, and as if un¬ 
willing to be brought in. I was sometimes tempted to 
stretch an awning over them and take my seat there. 
It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these 
things, and hear the free wind blow on them; so much 
more interesting most familiar objects look out of 
doors than in the house. A bird sits on the next bough, 
