330 CAPACITIES FOR FRIENDSHIP.
down to a succession of homely toils or petty emolu ments ? Need it be so, if there was a spirit of content ment with moderate gains, and if the desire of becom ing rich was not made the ruling motive ? Rural life, as it is seen in many parts of England, combined with simplicity and systematic diligence, love of letters, refinement, and active benevolence, is but another name for true independence and rational happiness ; or, in the words of Cowper,
" Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace, Friendly to all the best pursuits of man."
I have already spoken of the hospitalities of Eng land. In city and country, in many varieties of rank and style of living, it has been my lot to find them always perennial and pure. They surpass my power of either description or praise.
The English, more than most nations, may be char acterized by capacities for true and enduring friend ship. They do not put forth their best virtues at first sight, nor overwhelm a stranger with courtesies, nor incur risks, like King Hezekiah, by the display of their most precious treasures to foreign eyes. They make no protestations beyond what they feel, and are willing to embody in deeds.
A similar principle of integrity seems to pervade social intercourse. They speak what they conceive to be truth, whether it is likely to render them popu lar or not, whether it coincides or not with the opin-
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