基本信息
breath, to continue in the good old way, to follow his steps, and those of his father before him, and let my highest ambition be, to walk honestly through the world, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left, and to transmit the paternal acres to my children in, at least, as flourishing a condition as he left them to me. `well!--an honest and industrious farmer is one of the most useful members of society; and if i devote my talents to the cultivation of my farm, and the improvement of agriculture in general, i shall thereby benefit, not only my own immediate connections and dependants, but in some degree, mankind at large:--hence i shall not have lived in vain.' with such reflections as these, i was endeavouring to console myself, as i plodded home from the field, one cold, damp, cloudy evening towards the close of october. but the gleam of a bright red fire through the parlour window had more effect in cheering my spirits, and rebuking my thankless repinings, than all the sage reflections and good resolutions i had forced my mind to frame;--for i was young then, remember--only four and twenty--and had not acquired half the rule over my own spirit, that i now possess,--trifling as that may be. however, that haven of bliss must not be entered till i had exchanged my miry boots for a clean pair of shoes, and my rough surtout for a respectable coat, and made myself generally presentable before decent society; for my mother, with all her kindness, was vastly particular on certain points. in ascending to my room, i was
