"Really!"
"Yes," continued the smith, proudly, "we have amongst us musicians, quite capable of tempting us to dance.Moreover, twice a week, nearly all of us sing in chorus--men, women, and children.Unfortunately, this week, some disputes that have arisen in the factory have prevented our concerts."
"So many voices! that must be superb."
"It is very fine, I assure you.M.Hardy has always encouraged this amusement amongst us, which has, he says--and he is right--so powerful an effect on the mind and the manners.One winter, he sent for two pupils of the celebrated Wilhelm, and, since then, our school has made great progress.I assure you, Mdlle.Angela, that, without flattering ourselves, there is something truly exciting in the sound of two hundred voices, singing in chorus some hymn to Labor or Freedom.You shall hear it, and you will, I think, acknowledge that there is something great and elevating in the heart of man, in this fraternal harmony of voices, blending in one grave, sonorous, imposing sound."
"Oh! I believe it.But what happiness to inhabit here.It is a life of joy; for labor, mixed with recreation, becomes itself a pleasure."
"Alas! here, as everywhere, there are tears and sorrows," replied Agricola, sadly."Do you see that isolated building, in a very exposed situation?"
"Yes; what is it?"
"That is our hospital for the sick.Happily, thanks to our healthy mode of life, it is not often full; an annual subscription enables us to have a good doctor.Moreover, a mutual benefit society is arranged in such a manner amongst us, that any one of us, in case of illness, receives two-
thirds of what he would have gained in health."
"How well it is all managed! And there, M.Agricola, on the other side of the grass-plot?"