In taking up a new life across the

In taking up a new life across the Atlantic, the early European settlers of the United

States did not abandon the diversions with which their ancestors had traditionally

relieved the tedium of life. Neither the harshness of existence on the new continent nor

Line the scattered population nor the disapproval of the clergy discouraged the majority

(5) from the pursuit of pleasure.

City and country dwellers, of course, conducted this pursuit in different ways. Farm

dwellers in their isolation not only found it harder to locate companions in play but

also, thanks to the unending demands and pressures of their work, felt it necessary to

combine fun with purpose. No other set of colonists took so seriously one expression of

(10) the period, "Leasure is time for doing something useful." In the countryside farmers

therefore relieved the burden of the daily routine with such double-purpose relaxations

as hunting, fishing, and trapping. When a neighbor needed help, families rallied from

miles around to assist in building a house or barn, husking corn, shearing sheep, or

chopping wood. Food, drink, and celebration after the group work provided relaxation

(15) and soothed weary muscles.

The most eagerly anticipated social events were the rural fairs. Hundreds of men,

women, and children attended from far and near. The men bought or traded farm

animals and acquired needed merchandise while the women displayed food prepared in

their kitchens, and everyone, including the youngsters, watched or participated in a

(20) variety of competitive sports, with prizes awarded to the winners. These events

typically included horse races, wrestling matches, and foot races, as well as some

nonathletic events such as whistling competitions. No other occasions did so much to

relieve the isolation of farm existence.

With the open countryside everywhere at hand, city dwellers naturally shard in

(25) some of the rural diversions. Favored recreations included fishing, hunting, skating,

and swimming. But city dwellers also developed other pleasures, which only compact

communities made possible.