Village Annals Con 00 Philia La

7/27/2019 Village Annals Con 00 Philia La

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FRONTISPIECE.

FILMEK HOPEWELL


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LLAttE ANNALS.CONTAINING

\USTERUS AND HUMANUSSYMPATHETIC TALE,

EMBELLISHED WITH FINE KNGRAVINGS.

PHILADELPHIA.'PUBLISHED BY JOHNSON oj WARNER,

\0. 147, MARKET STHEKT.s cir Dickinsons, Printer

1814.


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LOS ANGELESIChcOliDtPcmoal

HollcctionofChildren's jBooks


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VILLAGE ANNALS.

IT was in that season of the yearwhen nature wears an universal gloom,and the frost arrests the run-


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Skaiting.

massy solidity to the lake that latelycurled with every breeze, that Sir Fil-mer Hopewell, having lost his road mthe Dale of Tiviot, was met by twoyouths that swiftly skimmed the surfaceof the slippery brook, and sought anantidote against the inclement cold inthe wholesome though dangerous exer-cise of skctitine;. Of these hale andruddy young villagers he enquired hisroad, or where he might meet with alodging for the night, for the sun wasdeclining in the shades of evening fastencompassing the dale. They directedhim to the summit of a neighbouringhill, on the declivity of which there-


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Village Ale-House.

he might meet with accommodation >Though wearied and fatigued, this information gave him vigour, and he has-tened up the hill, and soon beheld withpleasure, beheld the sign of the Lionand Dog ; that on a lofty post invitedto the village ale-house. He entered ita seasonable and salutary asylum fromthe wintry blast, and was conductedinto a neat little parlour, with a cheer-ful fire. Being seated, his host quicklymade his appearance, with such refresh-ment as his house afforded. Sir Filmeron his first entering, immediately per-ceived there was character in his coun-tenance ; a quick dark eye and sharpfeatures that gave him that appearance


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The Landlord.of intellect, which is seldom found tobe belied upon further acquaintance,He therefore gave him an invitation tospend an hour or two with him ; whichhe accepted without hesitation : andafter taking a bumper to the health ofhis guest, entertained him with nume-rous anecdotes of the village.

" You must, at this inclement sea-son," said Sir Filmer, " witness manyscenes of distress, and have many callsupon your humanity." " Yes," repliedthe worthy man, the tear glistening inhis eye, " to weep with those that weep,to lighten the burden of human woe,and to administer comfort to the deject-


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Scenes of distress.

ed soul, are offices, to the exercise ofwhich, we have frequent calls. Havinglived here for some years, and beingwell known, I am sometimes called tothe houses of neighbouring peasants, inwhich poverty and affliction seem tohave taken up their abode ; yet, believeme, sir, I never return from those hou-ses with greater pleasure, or with moreheart-felt satisfaction, than when I thinkI have contributed my share in wipingaway the falling tear, or whisperingpeace to the troubled breast.

" Small, however, sir, as the villageis, it produces two characters, as oppo-site almost in their natures, as the dark


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Two opposite characters.ness of a stormy night is to the splen-dour of meridian day. These charac-ters as they are unknown to you, allowme to introduce to your acquaintance,under the names of Austerus and Hu-manus ; the former a man of calloussoul ; the latter one who thinks, and feelswhile he thinks.

" Austerus possesses a fortune of threethousand pounds a-year, has an eleganthouse, and keeps a large retinue.

" His lands yield abundant crops, andhis flocks are heard bleating on theneigh-bouring hills. His tenants are prettynumerous, and his dependants many.


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Character of Austerus." One would imagine," says Sir FUU

mer, " this man was destined by hea-ven, as a blessing to the part of the coun-try in which he lives ; that the familiesaround him, would hail him as their libe-ral benefactor, and that his domesticswould bless the hour in which they en-tered his spacious hall."

" However natural this conclusion,Sir," replied the host, " it is far frombeing well founded. Extremely pas-sionate, he rages and storms ; and evenafter the storm has subsided, his facebespeaks the anger which he can ill con-ceal. Sour and austere, haughty andoverbearing, he is dreaded by his ser-


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Lordly Oppression.

vants, and despised by all. His tenants,whose lands are rented to the full, barelysubsist, and regret the moment theywere so unfortunate as to tread theground of hard oppression ; one ofwhich poor man ! how often have Iwitnessed the tear drop from his eye, onthe approach of quarter-day, when, withthe spade in his hand, he ceased fromtoil, to awaken bitter reflections over thesad state of a destitute family.

" But what adds an indelible stain tothe character of Austcrus, is that he ishard-hearted to the poor, and unfeelingto the sons of distress. It is a painfultruth, that his cane has been lifted


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Hard Treatment of the Poor.over the head of poverty, as it approach-ed his lordly door to beg a pittance.What ! O hardened Austerus ! wereriches given thee to indulge thy pam-pered carcase, and to steel thy heartagainst thy poorer brethren? for theshivering beggar at the gate is still thybrother !

" This I have frequently witnessedwith a poor old woman, who travelsround the country with laces and otherlittle things, and asks the boon of thewealthy, to enable her to exist ; whilehis children, who dare not, with hisknowledge, assist her, let down triflesfrom their chamber window, to relieve


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Distressed Family.this poor old creature, bent with the win-ters that have past over her head.

" Besides the poor, Sir, the afflicted,who are tossed on the bed of sickness,implore his assistance in vain. Pity iseven denied them.

" I ventured once to recommend tohim a peasant's family, in the neighbour-hood, on whom affliction's rod had sud-denly fallen, by sad accident. As theywere boiling their frugal meal of pota-toes, the vessel upset, and scalded thefather and one of the children mostdreadfully.


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Hard Heartedness.to him, a tear, some how or other, hadforced its way down my cheek.

" He heard me with a shocking in-difference ; said he

^would think of it,and turned away rudely from me, though

I assured him (what was too true, andaggravated his shame) that they residedin a corner of his own estate, and thattheir situation admitted of no delay. Ashe retired, I could perceive that he wasindignant at my freedom."

Here the good landlord's looks be-trayed his detestation of this unfeelingconduct ; and while he thought of the


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Pleasures of a Liberal Mind.exclaimed with the patriarch, " Cursedbe his anger, for it was fierce ; and hiswrath, for it was cruel !" I envy not hiscrimson bed of state, nor his faringsumptuously every da\jfevhile he pos-sesses an unfeeling heart and a niggard!}-soul.

"Better (says he) infinitely better, i^

that man, who, though his share oiwealth may be more, scanty, is blessedwith a noble, a liberal heart ; and suchis Humanus.

" Humanus honours me with his atquaintance and his confidence. I knowhis heart and his feelings almost as well


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Character of Humanus.from worthy ancestors, he retains nosmall portion of their virtues. Possess-ing a moderate fortune, he has no ideaof extravagance. He lives in a neat lit-tle house, adjoining a small freehold-farm, which descended to him from hisfather, and which has been held by onefamily for many years, at a rent that ena-bles them to live comfortable, and to tillthe land with pleasure.

Unlike the tenants of Austerus, thisfamily is always cheerful ; and the father,while he ploughs his fields, is frequentlyvisited by his little prattlers, whom helooks upon with the greatest pleasure,while he to


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Benignity." Nor is it only among those withwhom Humanus is immediately con-nected, that his benevolence is felt : he

seems to walk about doing good, and isnever so happy as when he sees all na-ture rejoice, and when, as is his custom,he is seen with his grandson, feeding theparent hen and her chickens : his benigncountenance seems to say, The poor andneedy, how should I like to shelter youunder my wing, as the hen shelterethher chickens.

" His charity is indeed wonderful.It often puts me to the blush, when I re-flect how far I fall short of it. It was


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The afflicted Cottage.let us make a short excursion." I fol-lowed him. We entered a thatched cot-tage ; I shall never forget the sight, northe part the good Humanus acted onthat occasion.


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Toil of the Tillager.

Ilumanus hurried home to give direc-tions to his servant, and came quicklyback. His attentions were now renew -ed to the afflicted mother, for she wasthe wife of a poor thresher, who rises atthe crowing of the cock, and toils tillthe going down of the sun, to maintaina numerous family.

" He now ordered some wine, whichhe had brought with him, to be admi-nistered with success : and the arrivalof the doctor, who expressed hopes other recovery, changed, I could perceive.the face of my friend ; the joy of his heartshone forth in his countenance; and never


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The Reward of Virtue sure.and more amiable. Happy Humanus Isaid JJ to myself; the rewards of virtueare sure. Thou already enjoyest thosewithin thy own breast, and Heaven hasstill greater ones in store for thee. Maythy laudable example become more uni-versal ! He repeated, frequently his visitsto the humble dwelling; nor were thosevisits dropped till he saw there was lit-tle occasion for them : and the wife ofthe poor thresher is now recovered froma dangerous fever, as much throughthe sympathy of the good Humanus, asthrough the skill of the physician, histender heart prompted him to send tolier aid. She now lives useful to children;


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Kffects of Beneficence.-

. . ..... ..seen weeping on the village green, forthe distressed state of her sufferingmother. The flail of the father nowawakens echo with the dawn of themorning, and he goes on with his workrejoicing ; and the whole family is oftenheard to pray heaven's richest blessingon the head of their compassionatefriend and benefactor. Such are thecharming effects of beneficence, and,*uch the disposition of Humanus!"

So finished our landlord his tale, andSir Filmer prepared for bed. I shallonly ask my young reader whether,upon a review of the two characters, hewould be an Austerus, or an Humanus ?


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Conclusion.

possesses a generous, a heaven-bornsoul ? If he would wish to be the latter,let him endeavour to make all aroundhim happy, and frequently call to mindthe distresses of human life the soli-tary cottage, and the weeping orphanfor graceful in youth is the tear of sym-pathy, and benigo its influence on thesons of affliction.


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Documents

Village Annals Con 00 Philia La