OR
THE GLEANER.

BY MRS. HUGHS.

"Come, papa," said Cecilia Beldon, "come and sit down beside Louisa and me, in this arbour, and tell us something about England. You have described St. Paul's Church, Westminster Abbey, Blenheim Castle, and a great many other fine places; but we want to hear something that will give us some idea of the manners of the people, and the impressions that were made on your mind by the appearance of the country generally."

"That is a request that I shall be very glad to comply with to the very best of my power," returned the father, as he seated himself between his two daughters, and put an arm round the waist of each; "but it will not be a very easy task to give you an idea of scenes so very different from any thing that you have ever seen."

"Well, try at any rate, papa," said Louisa; "describe things as well as you can, and we shall, at all events, get a few ideas, though they may not, perhaps, be equal to the reality."

"True. Then to begin. It was the middle of September when I landed in England; but unless you had experienced the monotony of a sea voyage, you could form little conception of the pleasure with which I exchanged the continuous prospect of the 'dark blue wave' of the Atlantic, for the bright and gay scenes which England presented. You know I had left our own dear land at a time when, of all others, it appears to the least advantage; for the fervid heats of a July sun had scorched every blade of grass, and a long and distressing drought had given an almost autumnal tint to the foliage of the trees. The few inhabitants, too, that remained in the city, looked pale and languid, and crept along the streets as if deprived of all the energy that was requisite for the performance of the business of life, and wishing for nothing so much as a comfortable place, to rest on the brow of some mountain, and a portion of Rip Van Winkle's power of forgetfulness, that they might sleep away the sultry hours, till the moderated sun, the cool and bracing nights, and the clear pure air of the autumnal months, should again give life a zest. But when I arrived in England, all was life, activity and bustle in the towns; the people were fresh, ruddy, and animated; while the humidity of the atmosphere had preserved the bright tints of vernal beauty over the country. Few things in the world, perhaps, present a more strikingly beautiful picture to the eye than an English landscape. The graceful undulations of the country—the deep rich verdure that overspreads the ground—the high cultivation that every where meets the eye, and speaks of industry and wealth—the gothic edifices, telling tales of former times—the country seats, which display at once the elegance and taste of their inhabitants; and above all, the neat cottages, which impart a truth most delightful to the benevolent heart, that comfort, and a considerable portion of refinement, are enjoyed by even the lowest ranks, are all points of beauty which are particularly striking to an American traveller; for they unfold a train of new ideas to his mind, and he at once realizes all the fairy pictures, the outlines alone, of which, he had before been able to trace; and for the first time in his life, he becomes fully sensible of the magic of Shakespeare, the richness of Thomson, and the graphic paintings of Cunningham. Nor did I find the English people less interesting than the landscape. My letters of introduction placed me, at once, in the most delightful society, where, if it had not been for the little girls whom I had left behind me," added the father, as he pressed his daughters closer to him, "I might have been in danger of forgetting that I was not at home."

"But I always understood, papa," interrupted Cecilia, "that the English were exceedingly cold and reserved in their manners."

"They have that character amongst their neighbours, the French, who, you know, carry their ideas of politeness to perhaps rather an extravagant height; but such they did not appear to me; nor have I ever met with an American traveller, that had had an opportunity of seeing English domestic manners, who did not bear willing testimony to their frankness, refinement, and hospitality; indeed, there is a cordiality in their manner of receiving a stranger, that is an irresistible evidence of their sincerity.

"A gentleman, in whose house I became early familiar, told me one day that he was going to take his wife and children the following morning to have a day's ramble in the country, and kindly invited me to occupy a seat in one of the carriages; and you may be sure I was much pleased with the opportunity of peeping at the beauties of nature, amongst a happy group of children, some of whom, from a similarity of age, as well as other circumstances, often reminded me of yourselves.

"For the first half hour after we had set out on our little journey, the presence of the 'American gentleman' rather checked that buoyancy of spirit, which the suppressed smile, the half whisper, and the side glance showed was waiting only for a little better acquaintance, to burst out with the most frolic gayety; nor was it long before a few well-timed inquiries, and a happily applied anecdote or two relative to the scenes of this country, removed the embargo under which their little tongues had lain, and in a short time, their mother and I became the listeners, instead of the talkers, of the company." "This is the birth-day of these two," said the mother, who seemed, at length, to feel it necessary to make some apology for the volubility of the party, and pointing, as she spoke, to two lovely little girls, who were twins, "and as this treat is given on the occasion, their father and myself are disposed to make it as complete as possible, by allowing the whole party unrestrained indulgence in the pleasures of talking; an enjoyment, which, I suppose, as you have children of your own, you can form some idea of."

"Are your daughters fond of talking?" asked a fine, open-countenanced girl, about ten years old.

"They are, indeed. They will not yield the palm even to you, in that respect, I assure you."

"I should like to see them. Why did you not bring them with you?" asked another.

"If they were here," said one of the little twins, "I would give them some of my pretty flowers. Are they fond of flowers?"

"Oh! certainly; but they have not an opportunity of cultivating them so much as you do here, for the excessive heat of our summers, and the severity of our winters, are particularly unfavourable to flowers. Besides, you must know, my little girl, that mine is a very young country, and my countrymen have hitherto been too busy in draining marshes, felling forests, and extending the boundaries of civilization and government, to think much of what is purely ornamental."

"How can America be a young country, mamma?" asked the other twin sister. "I thought the world had all been created at one time."

"Julia, can you explain that difficulty to your sister?" asked their mother, of one of her elder daughters.

"I suppose," replied Julia, colouring at being thus called upon, yet speaking without hesitation or awkwardness, "the reason of America being called a young country, is because it is only about three hundred years since it was discovered by Columbus; and before that time, it was only inhabited by savages, who knew nothing of building houses, or cultivating the ground, or any of those things."

"We had a great deal of conversation of this kind, which proved the children to be both intelligent, and accustomed to think and inquire for themselves; and the time went over so pleasantly, that I was quite surprised when the stopping of the carriage announced the termination of our ride. The farm house, at which we stopped, was a neat, substantially built stone house, with a pretty green, enclosed by well painted white rails in front, and a large garden at one side, surrounded by the same kind of enclosure, and proving, by its clean walks, its neat well weeded beds, and the variety of flowers and vegetables which flourished in it, that horticulture was considered a part of the owner's business. Though we arrived early, the cattle, which had been collected for the purpose of being milked, in the neat well paved farm yard, were already dispersed, the business of the dairy despatched, and the cheese made; but we were just in time to see the wholesome breakfast of bread and cheese and milk, set out for the troop of reapers, whom we saw in the distance, following each other with beautiful regularity, cutting down the ripened grain, and binding up the sheaves. On the summons for breakfast being given, the whole group, with good humoured, though noisy hilarity, hastened to the house; and I, whilst astonished at their number, which was so much greater than I had ever seen engaged in a similar way at home, was amused with the variety of young and old, grave and gay, and male and female, which it exhibited. I was surprised, however, to find, that even after the reapers were all assembled round the breakfast table, the field which they had left was still covered over with a great many stragglers, who appeared to wander about without any definite object in view, whilst the master, with his stick thrown over his shoulder, strolled about amongst them, as if his work was not yet suspended. Upon inquiry, I found that these were gleaners, a race of beings of whom we know nothing in this country, except through the poets; and my imagination instantly taking flight at the name, I hastened to the field, not doubting that I should find a Ruth, or a Lavinia, to fill the only corner that was now vacant of the brilliant picture before me. For a long time, however, creeping age, and infant hands, were the only objects which met my view, and I was about to leave the field, disappointed that no 'form fresher than the morning rose' had met my view, when, turning to a remote corner, a being attracted my attention, whose loveliness would require the pen of a Thomson to describe. It was a young female, who had laid an infant, of which she was evidently the youthful mother, upon the bundle of corn which she had just gathered, and left it under the protection of a faithful guardian, a large dog, which still kept watch by its side. I conjectured, that the infant had been asleep when first laid there, but it was now awake, and was tossing about its little hands and feet, and crowing in great glee, highly delighted with a flower that it had accidentally caught in its little hand. The mother had, probably, come when the reapers left the field, to take her breakfast of bread and milk, which was in a basket near her, as well as to look after the safety of her child; and finding it so happy on its rural bed, she had allowed it to remain there, whilst she, with a mother's vanity, amused herself with ornamenting its little hat with some of the ears of corn that she had just gathered. I do not know that even Thomson would have described her as beautiful, though certainly, 'a native grace sat fair proportioned on her polished limbs,' and the sweet expression of maternal tenderness, which beamed from her eye, and illumined her whole countenance, would have afforded ample scope to his descriptive powers. I stood riveted to the spot, and gazed on this interesting young creature and her child, both as lovely as poet's dream, or the flower that the traveller sees springing from the arid sand of the desert. I took my pencil and endeavoured to sketch the group, with the farm house and the village spire in the distance; not however, for myself, for the picture rests on my mind in more vivid colours than ever were spread on painter's palette, but with the hope of giving you some faint idea of the loveliness that had so much seized my own fancy."

"Ah, papa," said Louisa, archly, "I see, though you are always so anxious to keep us from setting much value on personal beauty, that you admire it as much yourself as any body does."

"You must remember, however, Louisa," returned her father, "that what I have spoken of, is that most delightful species of beauty which is expressive of high moral qualities; and this depends not on regularity of feature, or perfection of form, but on that which is infinitely superior to both, good and amiable dispositions. Where the mind is pure, the thoughts elevated, and the sentiments liberal and kind, a pleasing expression will be found to pervade the most rugged set of features that were ever bestowed upon a human being. Besides, this species of beauty is highly improvable, for as the mind becomes cultivated—as it takes a wider range among the works of nature, and a deeper interest in the happiness of its fellow-beings, and the cultivation of its own powers, the expression of the face will become more refined and elevated. The chief beauty which struck me in the English gleaner, was that of expression, the expression of a kind and amiable heart, and the light of moral goodness illumined her countenance: and it is that species of beauty alone, my dear children, for which I am anxious to see you conspicuous."

"But, papa!" exclaimed both the sisters at once, as their father now rose from his seat, "you must not leave us so soon, we have not heard half enough about England yet."

"I have spent as much time with you as I can spare at present, but will take an early opportunity of indulging myself in retracing some more English scenes, many of which were as new, though few more interesting than the Gleaner."