s rhymes
Thy friendly guardianship; secure from aught
Save lifting winds and porter's curious eye.

At second-hand 'tis ten to one thou wert
A Jew's possession, got in honest barter;
Next, John the ostler's; last of all, past doubt
A vagrant's hat; the equitable purchase
Of an ill-sung song. Till quite worn out
With rain, and wind, and sleet, and other 'ills
Thy race is heir to,' the beggar cast thee
From his plebeian pate--and here thou liest.

_St. Alban's, Vermont._

THE COUNTRY.

There is something very pleasant in the country, particularly about
Thanksgiving-time, when families gather together from north, south, east
and west, around the huge roast turkey, and many pairs of jaws masticate
vigorously in gratitude for blessings received. At this season of the year
the bird which was fortunate enough to excite the enthusiasm of
Brillat-Savarin, and to be the theme of many chapters in his immortal
'Physiologie,' is the emblem of our republic. A bald eagle indeed! Who
ever heard of a roast eagle? But a turkey:

'The state of a fat turkey, the decorum
He marches in with, all the train and circumstance!
'Tis such a matter, such a glorious matter!
And then his sauce with oranges and onions;
And he displayed in all parts! for such a dish now,
And at my need, I would betray my father.'

What native American does not respond _Amen!_ from the depths of his
stomach to these appetizing verses of Beamount and Fletcher? But higher
far rises the gastronomic phrenzy of the Travelled, who have known the
bird, grand in his stuffing of chestnuts, sublime when swelling with the
bliss-bringing truffle!

And the country is at all seasons a pleasant idea, if properly considered;
but beware of the man of one idea, if that one be Country, as you would of
the _homo unius libri_. If you cannot distinguish timothy from clover, and
beets from carrots; if, agriculturally speaking, you don't 'know beans;'
he will annihilate you with his rural wisdom. For his whole existence is
in the soil. He worships things under the earth. Dust he is, and to dust
he shall return; (the sooner the better!) He prattles of potatoes, talks
of turnips, harangues about horse-radish, knows no composition except
compost. Speak to him of manners, and he will answer of manures. Like the
Egyptians, he worships a bull; and has all the fondness of Pythagoras for
beans. His only literature is Liebig's Animal Chemistry; his li