Martinsburg Gazette And Public Advertiser

Rural Taste—I regard the man, who surrounds his dwelling with objects of rural taste, or who even plants a single shade tree by the road side, as a public benefactor; not merely of the country, and to the pleasure of those who travel through it, but because, also, he contributes something to the refinement of the general mind: he improves the taste, especially of his own family and neighborhood. There is a power in scenes of rural beauty to affect our social and moral feelings. A fondness for these scenes is seldom found with coarseness of sentiment and rudeness of manners. One may judge, with confidence, of the taste and intelligence of a family by the external air of their dwelling. In my excursions in the country, if I pass a habitation, however spacious, standing naked to the sun, with nothing ornamental, nothing inviting, around it, I cannot help saying to myself, however abundant may be the slovenly possessions of its owner, there is no refinement in that house, there is no delicate and kindly interchange of sentiment among its inmates, and if ever they are sociable, their sociableness consists in rude and fitful loquacity. Their books are few, and those ill chosen and unread. But if I notice a dwelling, however humble, which is apparently as snug as its owner has means to make it, displaying neatness and taste in its fences, and shades and shrubbery, and flower pots at the windows—I feel assured that this is the abode of refinement, this is the home of quiet and rational enjoyment, of intelligence and kindly intercourse.—Christian Spectator.