“We can imagine the effect of novelty in producing admiration; when travellers, who having been toiling for many days or weeks on the burning sands of interminable deserts, come suddenly upon some lovely valley, watered by cooling streams, shaded by groves of trees, and beautified with clusters of flowers. Or, we can fancy the pleasure which would be produced on wayworn voyagers, who had been long toiling on the great deep and they come to some blest isle,
——‘Where the voluptuous breeze
The peaceful native breathes, at eventide,
From nutmeg-groves, and bowers of cinnamon.’
To the infant everything is novel, and almost everything is a source of admiration. The people who move to and fro; the walls and furniture of the room; the fire and the candles; the bustle and movement of men and carriages; the heavens, sunshine, and rain. These occasion interest and surprise. Dr. Brown has inquired, ‘What metaphysician is there, however subtile and profound in his analytical inquiries, and however successful in the analyses which he has made, who would not give all his past discovery, and all his hopes of future discovery, for the certainty of knowing, with exactness, what every infant feels?” But he would, probably, meet with few who would sacrifice so much for the purpose; and yet the feelings of an infant must be exceedingly interesting.
“We can easily suppose the effect which would be produced on a company of savages, if, in the midst of their woods, one of our best military bands were to strike up a powerful strain of martial music. At first they would sit motionless, or stand as statues; then look toward the place whence the sounds proceeded, where they would behold a company of persons, in many-colored dresses, and splendid ornaments, with curious musical instruments, dropped, as they would fancy, from the clouds.
“But the effect of novelty may be painful; and this feeling will be powerful in the same proportion as the circumstances are important and new. Suppose, for instance, a person who had been trained in the ways of propriety and virtue were introduced, for the first time, to a village-wake, or some such brutal holyday, where he would behold bull-baiting and cock-fighting, boxing and drunkenness; where he would listen to quarrelling and profane swearing; how would his feelings be shocked! He would scarcely have fancied that a spot so small, on the surface of the globe, could have exhibited so great a variety of wickedness.
“Or, we may imagine some one endowed with a delicate ear for music, who had been accustomed to the practice of delightful harmony, obliged, for the first time, to listen to the harsh scraping of some barbarous laborer on the violin, or the useless attempts of some tasteless practitioners to perform a piece of music! How irksome and insufferable must such an ordeal be to a man of refinement; and how would its painfulness be increased by its novelty!
“By the same rule, a person who may have been accustomed to luxury and dainty food, but is obliged, for the first time, to feed on loathsome bread and nauseous water, feels doubly the misery of his condition. And thus the man who has been used to salubrious air and grateful scents, will be the more effected by disgusting smells.
“Novelty operates also in powerfully exciting the passions. Suppose a general to be usually unfortunate in his combats with the enemy, and his army to be consequently dispirited; but, upon some particular occasion, the favors of fortune and of Providence are bestowed upon them, their efforts are successful, and the main body of the enemy begin to waver, how would this inspirit them, and brighten their courage! They would rush forward, unconscious and careless of danger, and the foe must fly before such unconquerable ardor!
“If a man who had lived in poverty, in dependance on others for a subsistence, had constantly wished for independence and comparative influence, and had endeavored to swim against the stream of adversity but had never succeeded, and, all at once, a handsome fortune were left to him, how would his eyes sparkle with exultation! If a person had been separated from his friends and doomed to spend his days in the solitude of a foreign land and he met, unexpectedly, with some of his nearest and kindest friends, how would his countenance beam with delight! The novelty of the circumstance would increase the amount of his joy!
“A traveller in a foreign country would be exceedingly pleased to discover some trinket which had been made in his native city; and especially if he saw on it the name of an intimate friend as the manufacturer. A toy, a dog, or a cat, under some circumstances, has occasioned tears. A beautiful female has appeared more lovely, when interesting events have introduced her to our notice; and one who is not usually attractive, has appeared so, when novelty has thrown its fascinations around her.