The pure air of heaven steels the muscles of
his body, and the primeval order of nature forces his thoughts too into
a regular orbit. Other species of industry may become obsolete; his is
enduring as the earth: other tastes may prison men in narrow walls, in
the depths of the earth, or between the planks of a ship; his glance has
only two boundaries--the blue sky above, the firm earth below. His is
almost the rapture of creation; for whatever his edict demands from
organic or inorganic nature, springs up beneath his hand. Even the
townsman's heart is refreshed by the green blade and the golden ear, the
quietly pasturing cow and the frisking colt, the shade of the woods and
the perfume of the fields; but far stronger, higher, nobler is the
enjoyment of the man who, walking over his own land, can say, "All this
is mine; all this is a blessing upon my energy and insight." For he does
not merely supinely enjoy the picture before him: some definite wish
accompanies every glance, some resolve every impression. Every thing has
a meaning for him, and he a purpose regarding it. Daily labor is his
delight, and it is a delight that quickens each faculty. So lives the
man who is himself the industrious cultivator of his own soil.

And three times happy the proprietor of land where a battle with nature
has been carried on for long years. The plowshare sinks deep into the
well-cleaned ground, the ears hang heavy on the well-grown corn, and the
turnip swells to colossal size. Then comes the time when a new form of
industry is added to the old. Strange shapes of machinery are seen near
the farm-buildings, giant caldrons, mighty wheels, and huge pipes, while
the grinding and turning of the engines goes on ceaselessly by day and
night. A noble industry, this! It springs from the energies of the
soil, and increases them a hundred-fold. When the fruits of his own
ground are devoted to the factory, the ancient plow without, the new
steam-engine within, unite in perfect harmony to make their owner
richer, stronger, and wiser. His life is linked by many ties to men of
other callings, and strangers rejoice to hold out their hands to him,
and unite their efforts with his. The circle of his interests goes on
widening, and his influence over others increasing.

Near to the dwelling of a man like this a new race of laborers build
cottages of every degree, all comes right to him, and can be turned to
profit. The value of the land rises yearly, and