noble; and though he has never heard the chant of the cathedral choir,
or listened to the consecrated melody of an organ peal, the sublime
transports of religion have thrilled his bosom beneath the solitary
sky, amid the wild, or by the margin of the cataract that rolls its
unvisited torrent over nameless cliffs. It is a mistaken belief that
poverty and toil shut the shepherd's eyes from the loveliness of
nature--nor is it true, that, because he is rude in speech, and
possessed of little book-learning, he does not feel keenly, and
translate faithfully, the beautiful language which she utters to the
heart of man. Wordsworth has so exquisitely described what we are
wishing to express, that we shall, without apology for the length of
the quotation, repeat his words:--

"Grossly that man errs, who should suppose
That the green valleys, and the streams and rocks,
Are things indifferent to the shepherd's thoughts:
Fields, where with cheerful spirits he has breathed
The common air--the hills, which he so oft
Has climb'd with vigorous steps--which have impress'd
So many incidents upon his mind,
Of hardship, skill or courage, joy or fear,
Which, like a book, preserves the memory
Of the dumb animals whom he has saved,
Has fed or shelter'd; linking to such acts,
So grateful in themselves, the certainty
Of honourable gain;--these fields, these hills,
Which are his living being, even more
Than his own blood--what could they less?--have laid
Strong hold on his affections, are to him
A pleasurable feeling of blind love--
The pleasure which there is in life itself."

It was with this well-spring of quiet happiness in his breast, that
David Riddell had gone from day to day among his flock, and returned
to his cottage fireside. His wife Rachel was one of those women of
whom, notwithstanding the habitual discontent and sneers of men, there
are thousands in this world, in this kingdom--nay, among our own
Border hills--who, like the stars of heaven during the daylight, hold
on their course noiselessly and unseen, but are, nevertheless, shining
with a sweet and steady radiance, every one in its place, in the
firmament. Placid, pious, and cheerful, with a quiet but kind heart,
that ever and anon displayed its workings in the sweet light of her
eyes, or in the "heartsome" smile that arranged her still lovely
features into the symmetry of benevolence; in adversity--f