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Show -- asrthe old hood. Consolidation of districts as the, French, not as profound as the Germans, not as iascinating as the Italians or fcpamards, cut in their sum total, as valuable, as much to be respected c& pisted. Their prcserva-- " tion ii' to hereof eteatheirnHnuance bo- matter of national concern, and even of. world-wid- e consideration. Hero is a blood largely of English and Scotch oridn, receiving a peculiar, a New England, a new. world tinge. A specimen of this stocK is observing and analytical to th6 keenest shrewdness; . loyal to inclined to order and worship; lovprinciple, a ing regulated liberty, natural leader and em- -' nlaver of-fellow Th village, largely Irish, with3j7oorthreeYan-- at me its business, iheselead- f , :jteesmen i ..i Lug appreciate tne services, the wjt, the religious and other rights of: all the men in' their employ, it may be, to a most admirable" extent. In multitudes of cases the employees i. vua uvu Jim- vuuuiu uuj uuuy cisc a service. Often these men run factory, shop, or store at' a loss, for the timeeins: at least,-rath- er than" distress the help b v shutting down the fate. o e t lhe man may Tbe a farmer undertaking large improvements which will not pay, as Ins wife well knows; but lie. in his heart, loves to im prove, to renovate, to" direct, .and above all, to iajr uui niuiicj, liuucstiy earneu, wnere the recipient will be grateful, or will behelpedto -live and sn nnfti-f--- "rurV'.Rdmansj-DoKifraitil- ck-ofchildren.- less. Woman, as we see her by the eye of history stepping upon the rock of Plymouth, woman "as represented by.our.grandmothers, woman as a helpmeet, woman ever the central figure in social life, the marked, the Puritan woman is failing the Puri tan man. Who then will help hi almost shudder at the I know oOather3-whtheir mention of They daughters' names. of riches the man other can7 as no goodknow, ness, the sparkle of love and genius iu the bosom of these girls; but how shall lhe father be able to dress, school, and rear them as other folks do, and they retain their health, freshness, animation, and innocencj? If he would limit -them to hi3 income, instruct them in hygiene, render them philosophical generally, who will' aid him? How many, will thwart him and render those dear daughters discontented, treacherous to his wishes and wisdom. His -own friends may plot against him. Fortunate is he if he have a son who is patient, who honors his father, who eschews popular vices' and all vice, wlur respects the family name, who -- o hi ;" .... . . - f r:.fr'': wvr. rcu ifefsizG 's, hXaHFTIke a mount i in of firmness by what is. prudent and solid, by eternal common sense and undying righteousness. There are Puritans that have. such sons. Is the number comparatively large? Is the percentage on tho .veres4he-who-le-vast- od's-lavv- r.ei r ' - . -- fJITin - - . FAh-vn-l- 9 A nTTTA- - Li T increase? ' , had a wide experience, who were brought up in. audi aoil&ty,aud la.viftn.o4 1k Wt; and thereupon the billows of a wandering life. All thatHenry Ward Beeeher ha asserted, or his sister Stowe has illustrated, and so many, many others have 'delineated in praise of the kind of folks to 'whrch he Beech ers,Kl wards es Dickensons," Winslows, Robinsons', Larrieds, Bates, Xincoln3, Quincys Adamses, Garfields. ana an innumerable host of others belong, has had its foundation in everlasting verity. Well, is there danger that this kiml of neo. pie, this class of families, mav disarmear? Yea and .the "danger is personal, fundamental. Their influence may be getting muffled, be waning; still there i3 much more than may that to fear. In some instances the old sharpness is blunted, the quiet confidence is passing into uneasiness, the perseverance becoming less marked, the church tendency lessening' along with the partial loss of simplicity, and some parting, alas! with purity. Nor is so much all. There are fearful clouds rising upon different parts of the horizon, and u non one. larre and dark, we seem to read in raised black letters the terrible word, Extinction. ....... The time has come to sound an alarm, to run with the truthful message, to put awaveverv embarrassment and "cry aloud.'.' Just where the writer happens now to be, in a country "town, in Worcester Co... M to startle one. lu Worcester iteelf, "the Ireart of the coramonwealth'in all the New England cities, in sections of the Middle States, and in the far West, there are .Trim arv nirnnmofon which startle all who are We very find families where children thoughtful. liad have a might heaven to grow up m, childless! Like households with only one or tvw children. These may not be rugged. In not uufrequcnt instanceswhere there have been many children,, all have gone to early graves! Districts that as-- -tcembracefifty orsixlypupil3-noor ten. eigut it a district now keeps to its older w up number of pupils it is because Joreigu families have Fettled in the neighbor : into the by- I- Jitt ft O 'TTT T. " X -- . -- rrniltv tViinrrq inrlpp'rl. T?nf is it customary for schools, in a motherly way, to spare at all the young ladies suffering from these dissipations? Do they spare them for anything? Do they not make telling, ceaseless, TiPrS." " THpsp. VrrJ 7 - ingenious appeals to the large cautiousness and approbativeness of the girl pupils? Which hr usually tinnprmost. the welfare of humnn hp. ings or the feats of disciplinarians, the pride of the school board, and the astonishing feats of professed educators? Lr Ride through the country towns of New England, and on roads away from depots and factories, you will find deserted houses, old cellars, dyingz orchards, and the .like, showing , that the rural population is declining. 'Many a field once cultivated, is now growing to wood.-Manhas passed from a Yankee to. : : - - ways' of cities, the country stores, the note what you see and hear. Confine now to th.a janrt or the- I liernms. yoae.it on cannot forget, that these young men are soon to stand in the place of the older, and thai the mortality, ido; of elder and prominent men at present is very great. Repair to the church on ISuriday, tfter all the swearing, and so boasting, mocking, tobacco-mulchin-- on, been have to witness week the obliged you find before, and many of these fellows there, if can. you Say over to yourself, Puritan, "New England." Repeat tae names of the New England States; think of what were their characteristics. Let, their history, their lead, their eminence pass" beore you. Interrogate your very soul; question the lessons and warnings of the world's history; inquire relentlessly, whether without reformation the youth of these States are going to bear up and lift still higher, as tliey ought, the prestige of these ' i: States.' The writer 13 not trying to make out a case. He is not saying or intimating that there is to be seen. He does not aver that there is no flickering hope in his sobered heart, that 1 there will be repentance and- rescue; that a remnant,at the worst, will be saved. Yet he is thoughtful, awakened, whispering to himself, "We must be resigned if this choice blood becomes weakened, corrupted, and is even finally lost out Gf all human sight in the great, surging, endless river of events." , 1 have in my list of acquaintance a few young men in whom I delight. Some of- - them are married. Half of these I deeplv pity. h ave They very fashionable or invalid wives.-Themay be both. A fashionable invalid woman of the northeastern States i3 the most expensivo creature, if we except Barn urn's white elephant, "uuder the whole heaven." The number of ,maladies, the number of reme dies, the mysterious aiImentsh5Jtinue--o- f from them, CK0T37the1tntipTIeTqu the noted resorts to be visited, the tremulous conditions to be observed, the breathless exigencies extant and forecast, excite, confuse, y - ' g, . ' ' i . no-go- - -- fccmyie if you please, post-office- s; . used Go, go in disguise, u clear-heade- -- . - vu counsel may be obtained, but I have rarely found welcome for my advice. When out of my own rather slender purse I have ordered some vital literature? sent to their address' if - has, perhaps, been accepted 7as "a faint or 'distant curiosity, or a kind of flat proof that somebody has a funny hobby. We may well glory in our common schools. j.nai is a ruruan giory. uut 1 uo not see why school committees, including physicians, should be so confident the curriculum is perfect, and that no young person is ever iniured by study or confinement. The savants declaro that even t.hfl normal snhnnlPi arp hp.vpt tnn p.vpr'p. for thu' ... physical integrity of girls. The evils alleged all rtrnfiPfid f'rnm "lata danp,!nr and lat.p Riin- - -- Some may have an antipathy against this ' species of men, exult in the least prospect of T their AYfinpfmn vpiinA..:.n I... t i, JiitUljr lll'JUll c, liuw Call,.v."mi, j we spare; them socially? What community wa3 better to live in, than a typical New "Em'- - ji ous income. Really I see he needs it all. In or my Biraplicity stupidity I may recommend to a husband or wife, or to a brother or sister of the samp,- some nraetinal hpalth J'nnKlJnflt? VVViUU d or hvmenic Dhvtician. or a jinmo. like institution,, where good treatment and . . htstA-iir?rfttly(iit'7?Z?Z- i ' ' . self-denyin- g, -- Er gojng There axeangerWEich indeed are not strain on" life prows' severe, the fashion stylish, the habits expensive, the struggle to keep up or surpas3 intense, piti . . .. -k- 13 -- od have rented their farms and moved into some fashionable centre. Poor health, on both sides of the house, is the common reason given. It may sometimes be added, my son docs not like farming, or, my daughter work3 in the shop, and if we moved she could board at home. It would not be usually expected that the daughter would like housework, even at home. Now, our fathers sometimes plowed and harrowed rocky hills, which, now we know of so much better land, should always be left simply to growth of wood. It still remains that there is much laud in the northeastern States, poorly tilled, or not tilled at all, that could be worked-with profit. There are multitudes of farms that "could be Dought for two thousand dollars what the buildings cost, say which would nicely support an average family of fru- - , gal habits. In some sections a little more than half that, sum wnnlrl hnv n farm nn vhirJi one could easily keep a "horse, ten head of cattle, . and so on. With good markets near by, and postal arrangements whereby a daily paper could be read on the day it was published,why are not these homesteads rapidly taken up? Because there is so .little science and so much Because of restlessness and extravagance. hot, unrea -vanity. Because of a later-borcities soning tendency to rush toover-crowde- d and other crowded centres. Because of a lack of the lore of Nature. Because of a fatal disregard of the best sources of health, and an undervaluing of every sort of, purity and. natural excellency. "Greece was never more adorned, with arts, fuller of schools, more resonant of music,. richer in genius, more showy in religious sacrifices, than when she was struck with hopeless death! " It was the decay of virtue, the triumph of selfish T)veFpuBIic tastes, the absence of self-- " denying men, the enervation of luxury, the pride of vain philosophy, the - hypocrisy of rehrenoiogieql JoW ligion, that killed her!" n, . 1W, . . f ' . : . . |