ed from distant climes, and ingenuity has prepared for his use,—in his family, servants obedient to his nod, a beloved partner of his bosom, and dutiful children, who kindle while they reflect the glance of a parent's eye. Such is civilized man, favoured by Heaven in a land overflowing with the gifts of nature. Look now at the opposite picture presented by the inhabitant of the frozen north. For him no tree waves, no verdure smiles, no flowers display their beauties or diffuse their sweets; the rigid earth rings beneath his feet, or is hid from his view in its cold and cheerless mantle of snow; no fruits drop to please his palate; scarce a vegetable springs from the barren earth to contribute to his subsistence; he hears no music of birds, no lowing of cattle, no bleating of sheep; all around, not a whisper is breathed, unless when the solemn and profound silence is interrupted by the occasional sound of the human voice, or the raging of the tempest, or, perchance, the growl of the polar bear, or the wolf's long howl, or the barking of the domestic dog the devoted companion of man in every region of the earth. His house is a temporary structure of snow, to be dissolved when the sun, absent for many a dreary month, again raises himself in the heavens, and cheers the scene with his languid smile, or a rude hut of earth and stones, to be abandoned when hasty winter again comes to extend his rigid sway over that region of gloom. In such a land of sterility it would be impossible for human beings to exist, were it not that what the niggardly soil denies, is supplied by the prolific ocean; and the native, rendered inventive by necessity, and adventurous by habit, has discovered the means of drawing his subsistence from the bosom of the deep, by boring the solid ice, or launching his slender skiff on the stormy waves. To the man who has been accustomed to the comforts and conveniences of a genial clime, nothing can be more repulsive, or more full of horror, than such a condition as this. To him it seems passing strange that a fellow creature should possess sufficient energy of mind to survive such a complication of evils. Yet he not only survives, but enjoys life. So true is this, that if we regard mere animal gratifications, it may justly be questioned if the inhabitant of the most favoured climate, amidst all his abundance, has in reality a greater share of pleasure than the inhabitant of the polar regions in his wastes of snow; and if we regard mental enjoyments, these depend so much on circumstances unconnected with external comforts and possessions, that still the superiority may be doubtful. There is nothing to create a smile in the question, whether the patient, humble, pious Greenlander, scantily supplied though he be with natural light and warmth, but illuminated by the Sun of Righteousness, is not as happy in his inmost soul, as his brother of earth, the servant of the same master, and the cherisher of the same immortal hopes, when surrounded with all the luxuries of the East. There appears at first sight to be something paradoxical in this statement; it is, nevertheless, capable of being supported on satisfactory grounds. When we come to analyze and practically to examine the enjoyments arising from the mere gratification of the senses, we find them subject to many abatements: Long possession satiates, constant indulgence cloys, the pampered appetite becomes dainty and craving. There is a point beyond which delight changes its very nature, and is converted into pain ;— 'Tis pleasure to a certain bound, When we deduct all these circumstances from the sum of enjoyment, and when we farther remember that over-indulgence in any of the grosser gratifications of the senses induces disease, premature old age, and death, we will be forced to detract materially from the amount of enjoyment received from this source, even where the means of indulgence is unlimited. The truth is, that we are not formed for the intense and constant gratifi cation of our appetites and passions; and he who violates the moderation of nature in this respect, may lay his account with suffering the punishment due to his selfishThis result is altogether independent of remorse of conscience, which is another element that occurs to limit most materially the bounds of corporeal enjoy ness. ment. If we now turn to the simple inhabitant of the northern regions, we shall find, that as his fellow of the south has his means of physical gratification limited and fettered, so to him the susceptibility of physical discomfort is abated with an indulgent hand. His body is rendered, in a great measure, callous to the sensations of cold, and, wrapped in his skins, he can sleep as sweetly on a bed of snow, in a dwelling of snow, as the most luxurious of the children of more genial climes can rest on a couch of down, in an apartment where art has lavished all her refinements. If his appetite has been less delicately pampered, it is at least accommodated to the fare provided for it; and those who have witnessed the inhabitants of Labrador, indulging in a plentiful meal after a period of necessary abstinence, will not hesitate to place the pleasures of the feast at least on an equal footing with those enjoyed by the most refined epicure, when gloating over some favourite repast. Thus equally are the pleasures derived from our physical constitution, divided among the human family. With regard to intellectual enjoyment, its distribution is every where partial, depending as it does, in every climate, upon mental improvement; and it is only enjoyed more abundantly in less sterile regions, because opportunities of improvement are more abundant. The time was, however, when even remote and dreary Iceland was enlightened, by the beams of science, and, till this day, her natives alleviate the tedium of their gloomy winter by the enjoyment of their intellectual feasts. But where this source of pleasure is wanting, there is at the same time wanting all knowledge of the priva tion. The desires and the hopes of the untutored natives are limited to their means; and this adaptation is another proof of the beneficent administration of a Father-God. Such considerations lead us to the conclusion, that, under all circumstances of climate and produce, enjoyment, so far as it depends on physical condition, is nearly equal; and we are, at the same time, reminded that it is vain for us to expect any very intense satisfaction from the mere indulgence of the senses, destined, as we are, to aspire far higher, and to drink of happiness far deeper; and as to this purer and nobler happiness,— 'Tis no where to be found, or every where. THIRTEENTH WEEK-TUESDAY. HAY-MAKING.-PLEASURES OF RURAL SCENERY. I BELIEVE few people have contemplated the occupations of the hay field, which this beautiful season every where presents, without feeling a very pure and elevated delight. The mowers moving gracefully in concert, the grass falling sheer beneath the scythe, its grateful fragrance, the maidens raking or tedding the hay, the loading of the carts to remove it to the barn-yard, all excite a sensible pleasure in almost every mind. "Wide flies the tedded grain. All in a row, VOL. III. 2 B Whence arises the enjoyment which this rural occupation calls forth, both in the bystander, and those who are engaged in it? It seems almost entirely the result of association. Something, indeed, may be attributed to the mere animal pleasure of a healthy employment in the open air, while breezes, freighted with sweet odours, breathe softly, and shed their salubrious influence around; but if we consider the matter calmly and discriminatingly, we shall find that by far the deepest and most exhilarating sense of the emotion, lies in suggestions and feelings chiefly of a moral and benevolent kind. How far there may be a pleasure of taste arising from the swinging motion of the mowers, moving as if actuated by one common impulse, independent of any other principle of the mind, I shall not pretend to determine. Mental operations are so recondite, and the seat and moving cause of inward emotion is so mysterious, that, when we attempt to analyze, we may, in our ignorance, overlook some important element; but undoubtedly a chief part of our enjoyment arises from a secret sentiment of sympathy. A concerted movement implies a common will; and this, of itself, excites an agreeable sensation in the mind, when that will is directed to some useful object. The pleasure, too, arising from a scheme of utility successfully completed, is another moral element that enters into the feeling. The farmer has sown in hope, he is now reaping in joy, and we feel a sentiment of congratulation, even where we have no opportunity of expressing it. We place ourselves in his situation, and shadow forth to our imaginations what he must feel at this consummation of his labours and anxieties. That this is a very principal part of our enjoyment, will appear obvious, if we only consider, that the feeling is much enhanced by the luxuriance of the crop, and the favourable nature of the weather. Let any man fancy to himself, what would be his sensations, were he to see the very same operation going forward in a field overgrown with weeds, or where the hay was stinted in its growth, |