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diff --git a/old/63243-h/63243-h.htm b/old/63243-h/63243-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 047991b..0000000 --- a/old/63243-h/63243-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8526 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hope Farm Notes, by Herbert W. Collingwood. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -h2.nobreak { - page-break-before: avoid; -} - -hr { - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -div.chapter { - page-break-before: always; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -table { - margin: 1em auto 1em auto; - max-width: 40em; - border-collapse: collapse; -} - -td { - padding-left: 2.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: top; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.tdpg { - vertical-align: bottom; - text-align: right; -} - -.total { - border-top: thin solid black; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.dedication { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - line-height: 1.5em; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.noindent { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza { - margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; -} - -.poetry .verse { - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent0 { - text-indent: -3em; -} - -.poetry .indent2 { - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.poetry .indent8 { - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.poetry .indent10 { - text-indent: 2em; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.tb { - margin-top: 2em; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 3em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -@media handheld { - -img { - max-width: 100%; - width: auto; - height: auto; -} - -.poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Hope Farm Notes, by Herbert Winslow Collingwood - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Hope Farm Notes - -Author: Herbert Winslow Collingwood - -Release Date: September 19, 2020 [EBook #63243] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOPE FARM NOTES *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p class="titlepage larger">HOPE FARM NOTES</p> - -<p class="titlepage larger"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">REPRINTED FROM</span><br /> -THE RURAL NEW YORKER</p> - -<div class="figcenter titlepage" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/hb-co.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">NEW YORK</span><br /> -HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY<br /> -1921</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY<br /> -HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC.</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY<br /> -RAHWAY, N. J.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="dedication"><span class="smcap">To<br /> -L. D. C. and A. F. C.<br /> -who represent</span><br /> -“<i>The Hen with one Chicken</i>”<br /> -<span class="smcap">and</span><br /> -<i>The Chicken</i>.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p>Most of these notes were originally printed in the -<i>Rural New-Yorker</i> from week to week and covering -a period of about 20 years. Many readers of that magazine -have expressed the desire to have a collection of -them in permanent form. It has been no easy task -to make a selection, and I wish to acknowledge here -the great help which I have received from my daughter, -Ava F. Collingwood, in arranging this matter. It has -been thought best to arrange the notes in chronological -order. “A Hope Farm Sermon,” and “Grandmother” -were originally printed in 1902. The others follow -in the order of their original publication. The reader -must understand that the children alluded to represent -two distinct broods,—the second brood appearing just -after the sketch entitled “Transplanting the Young -Idea.” From the very first the object of these notes has -been to picture simply and truthfully the brighter, -cheerful side of Farm Life.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> - -</div> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Sunny Side of the Barn</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_SUNNY_SIDE_OF_THE_BARN">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Hope Farm Sermon</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_HOPE_FARM_SERMON">21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Grandmother</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#GRANDMOTHER">26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Laughter and Religion</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#LAUGHTER_AND_RELIGION">33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Day in Florida</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_DAY_IN_FLORIDA">38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Baseball Game</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_BASEBALL_GAME">45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Transplanting the Young Idea</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#TRANSPLANTING_THE_YOUNG_IDEA">51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Sleepless Man</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_SLEEPLESS_MAN">58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Lincoln’s Birthday</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#LINCOLNS_BIRTHDAY">63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Uncle Ed’s Philosophy</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#UNCLE_EDS_PHILOSOPHY">69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A God-forsaken Place</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_GOD-FORSAKEN_PLACE">75</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Louise</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#LOUISE">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Christmas Every Day</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHRISTMAS_EVERY_DAY">88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“The Finest Lesson”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_FINEST_LESSON">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“Columbus Day”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#COLUMBUS_DAY">107</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Commencement</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_COMMENCEMENT">114</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“Organization”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#ORGANIZATION">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Face of Liberty</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_FACE_OF_LIBERTY">130</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Captain Randall’s Hour</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CAPTAIN_RANDALLS_HOUR">138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“Snow Bound”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#SNOW_BOUND">147</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“Class”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CLASS">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“I’ll Tell God”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#ILL_TELL_GOD">163</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Day’s Work</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_DAYS_WORK">171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Professor Gander’s Academy</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PROFESSOR_GANDERS_ACADEMY">181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Colonel O’Brien and Sergeant Hill</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#COLONEL_OBRIEN_AND_SERGEANT_HILL">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">How the Other Half Lives</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#HOW_THE_OTHER_HALF_LIVES">198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Indians Won</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_INDIANS_WON">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Ike Sawyer’s Hotel</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#IKE_SAWYERS_HOTEL">214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Old-time Politics</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#OLD-TIME_POLITICS">224</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<h1>HOPE FARM NOTES</h1> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_SUNNY_SIDE_OF_THE_BARN">THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE BARN</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">As a boy on a little Yankee farm I had a “stent” set -out for me every day. During the Winter it was sawing -and splitting wood. Our barn stood so that somehow -on a Winter’s day one side of it faced the road, -and it always seemed to be warm and sunny. The other -was turned so it was always cold and frosty, with little -if any sun. The hens, the cow and the sheep always -made for the sunny side of the barn, which represented -the comfortable and the bright side of life. The old -gentleman who brought me up always put the woodpile -on the frosty side of the barn. He argued that if -the boy worked too much on the sunny side, he would -stop to look at the passers-by, feel something of the joy -of living, and stop his work to absorb a little of it. We -were brought up to believe that labor was a curse, put -upon us for our sins, a serious matter, a discipline and -never a joy. When the boy worked on the frosty side, -he must move fast in order to keep warm. He would not -stop to loaf in the sun, he could not throw stones or -practise baseball so long as he had to keep his mittens -on to keep his fingers warm. Thus the argument was -that the boy would accomplish more on the frosty side, -and realize that labor represented the primal curse which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -somehow seemed to rest particularly hard upon the -farmer. And so as a child I did my work and passed -much of my life on the frosty side of the barn, silent -and thoughtful, while the hens cackled and sang on the -sunny side. It seemed strange to me that people could -not see that the thing which made the hens lay would -surely make the boy work.</p> - -<p>There will always be a dispute as to whether a boy -or a man does his best work under the spur of necessity, -or out of a full bag of the oats of life. And -they do it with greater or less cruelty as more or less -of their life has been spent on the frosty side. I never -yet saw a self-made man who did anything like a perfect -job on himself. They usually spoil their own sons by -giving them too easy a time, while work is a necessity -in building character. Work without play of some sort -is labor without soul, and that is one of the most cruel -and dangerous things in the world. I have noticed that -most men who pass their childhood on the frosty side -of the barn have what I call a squint-eyed view of -youth. They spend a large part of their time telling -how they had to work as a boy, and how much inferior -their own sons are since they do not have chores to -do. That man’s boys will pay no attention except when -his eye is upon them, and rightly so, I think. The -man looks across the table at mother, with a shake of -his head, for is not the Smith family responsible for -the fact that these boys do not equal their wonderful -sire? I have learned better than to expect much sympathy -from my boys for what happened 50 years ago.</p> - -<p>The old gentleman would come now and then and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -look around the corner of the barn to see if I was -at work. The frosty side of the barn in youth has one -advantage. It forces the boy to think and reason out -the justice of life. Uncle Daniel had not read enough -of history to know that Guizot, the great French historian, -says that the only thing which those who represent -tyranny, injustice or evil are afraid of <i>is the human -mind</i>. What he means is that whenever you can get -the plain, common people to think clearly and with -their own brains, they will sooner or later wipe off the -slate of history and write freedom in big letters. On -the sunny side I think I should have talked and so -rid myself of my thought before it could print itself -upon my little brain, but there on the frosty side of -the barn I know that I said little, but reasoned it -out with the clear wisdom of childhood. If Uncle -Daniel had been a student of Shakespeare, he would -have gone straight to that famous passage in Julius -Cæsar which probably expresses the thought of 90 per -cent of the humans capable of thinking, who have ever -lived to maturity:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Let me have men about me that are fat,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Yond’ Cassius has a lean and hungry look;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I was thinking out my problem, and I want to tell -you younger men that the questions which started at the -teeth of my saw on the frosty side of that old barn have -cut their way through the years, and chased and haunted -me all through life. The injustice of labor and social<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> -conditions—that is the foundation of the trouble in the -world. Upon it all helpful education should be based. -Youth’s ideals will always chase you like that, if you -give them half a chance, and you never can have better -mental companions. I was trying to reason out one of -two resolutions. Off in that dim future of manhood -when I should grow up, my time would come, and I -might have power over some other boy, or maybe a -man. I could put him on the frosty or on the -sunny side of the barn, as I saw fit. What would I -do to him to pay for my session on the frosty side? -Somehow I think it is natural for human beings to seek -reparation and promise themselves to take their misfortunes -out of someone else when their power comes. -I think I should have grown up with something of -that determination in mind had it not been for the poet -Longfellow.</p> - -<p>Now you will smile, you successful farmers, you -dry old analyzers and solemn teachers and you budding -young hopes. What has poetry to do with farming -or agricultural education? What did the poet Longfellow -ever do for farming? Did he ever have a hen -in an egg-laying contest that laid 300 eggs in a year? -Did he ever raise a prize pumpkin, or a prize crop of -potatoes? Did he even originate the Longfellow variety -of flint corn? Do not men need solid pith rather than -flabby poetry in their thought? It is true that Longfellow -would have starved to death on a good farm. -Yet his poetry and the thought that went with it were -one of the things that made New England dominate this -country in thought. My childhood was passed at a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -time when we had no science to study. Bacteria were -swimming all about us in the air, the food and the -water. I had, no doubt, swallowed millions of them at -every mouthful, and we grew fat on them. We had -no books on science or bulletins, but every farmhouse -had its copy of Bryant, Whittier, Longfellow, Emerson -and Holmes. The best duck-raiser in our town was a -man who could recite Bryant’s poem, “To a Water -Fowl,” with his eyes shut. I think I could safely challenge -many famous poultrymen to recite even one verse -of that poem, yet who would say that he would not be -a better poultryman and a better man if he could carry -in his heart a few verses of that poem?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There is a Power whose care</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Teaches thy way along that pathless coast.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse center">...</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“He who from zone to zone,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In the long way which I must tread alone,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will lead my steps aright.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I had recited Longfellow’s “Resignation” in school. -I gave it about as a parrot would, but on the frosty side -of the old barn one verse shoved itself into my little -brain:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Let us be patient;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">These severe afflictions</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Not from the ground arise;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But oftentimes celestial benedictions</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Assume this dark disguise.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Just think of that, a “celestial benediction”—it -was a great thing for a boy to think about. I looked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -both words up in the dictionary and got, perhaps, half -of their meaning. In all our town there seemed to be -no one except our old minister to come around on the -frosty side of the barn with comfort or promise, but -this celestial benediction which the poet told about got -right to you. It might even live under that awful -pile of wood which I was to saw, and it would be worth -the job of sawing it if I could find such a thing under -the pile. I heard people speak of a “nigger in the -woodpile” in terms of reproach, but a celestial benediction -down under the wood was certainly entitled to all -respect. I did not fully understand it, or what it meant, -but it got into me and stayed there, where the multiplication -table or the rule of square root never would -remain. My belief is that if I had committed to memory -in place of that poem some excellent classroom lecture -at college I should have become a little anarchist, -and gone through life pushing such people as I could -reach toward the frosty side of the barn. As it was, -that poem, repeated over and over, made me vow as -a child that if I ever could influence or direct the lives -of farmers I would do my best to see that they lived and -did their work on the sunny side of the barn.</p> - -<p>In my day children were brought up on “the Scriptures -and a stick,” both well applied, and yet all these -“lectures and lickings” never stuck in my life as did -the noble poetry we read in school, and the few pictures -which hung on the walls of the home. There is a curious -thing about some of these pictures. I am told of a -case where two boys in the Tennessee mountains volunteered -for the navy. Their mountain home was as far<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -removed from the ocean as it well could be. They had -never seen even a large pond. For three generations -not one of their ancestors had ever seen the salt water. -Yet these boys would not listen to any call for the army, -but they demanded a place in the navy. The story -came to an officer in a nearby camp, and he became interested -and visited that home. Both father and mother -were puzzled over the action of their boys, and they -could not understand why Henry and William had demanded -the ocean. As the officer turned away he noticed -hanging on the wall in the living-room of that -house the crude picture of a ship under full sail and on -an impossible blue ocean. It had come into that family -years before, wrapped around a package of goods, and -mother had hung it on the wall. From their youth those -boys had grown up with that picture before them, and -it had decided their lives. It was stronger than the -influence of father and mother—they could not overcome -it. I speak of that in order that you men and -women with children of your own may understand how -the dreams, the poetry, the visions of youth may prove -stronger influences than any of the science, the wisdom, -or the fine examples you may put before your -little ones.</p> - -<p>On the wall of our old living-room at home was a -chromo entitled “Joseph and His Brethren.” It was -an awful work of art. It showed a group of men putting -a boy down into a hole in the ground. It would have -made the head of an art department weep in misery, -and yet it affected me deeply. I used to stand and -study it, with the result that at least one chapter of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -Bible gave me great joy, and that was the story of -Joseph and his brothers. That story helped to keep me -sweet and hopeful on the frosty side of the barn, for -I reasoned it all out as I worked. Here, I thought, was -a farm boy. He did rather more than his share of living -on the frosty side, and see what he came to. I -used to picture Joseph in mind as he came walking -over the desert carrying his father’s instructions about -the sheep and the management of the farm. His -brothers saw him coming, and they said among themselves, -“Behold, this dreamer cometh.” You see, even -in those days, practical men could not understand the -value of a dreamer, a poet or a thinker as the first aid to -practical agriculture. I have no doubt that Joseph the -dreamer often forgot to water the sheep. I have no -doubt but that they got away from him when he was -herding them, and so his brothers quickly got rid of -him, and they sent him off to the place where they -thought dreams never came true. And that is where -they made their mistake, and the same mistake is often -made in these days by other practical farmers, for -dreams that are based on faith and pure ambition always -come true. If Joseph had not been a dreamer, -carrying the ideals of his childhood into Egypt, we can -readily understand which side of the barn his brothers -would have gone to when they appeared before him -later. But Joseph was a man who remembered the -dreams and the hopes of his childhood kindly; he gave -those brothers the sunniest side of the barn, and by doing -so he made himself one of the great men in history.</p> - -<p>You may surely take it from me that at some time in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -your life, if you prove worth the salt you have eaten, -your State or your country will call you up before the -judgment seat, and will say to you:</p> - -<p>“I demand your life. In your youth you had ideals -of manhood and of service. I have trained you and -given you knowledge. I now demand your life as proof -that your old ideals were true.”</p> - -<p>That comes to all men not only on the battlefield, but -in all the humble walks of life—the farm, the factory, -the shop, wherever men are put at labor, and it means a -life given to service, the use of power and knowledge, -in order that men less fortunate may live on the sunny -side of the barn.</p> - -<p>We had something of an illustration of this when -America entered the great war. Many of us felt honestly -that our boys were not quite up to the standard. -We thought they were a little lazy, inefficient or -spoiled, because they did not think as we did about -labor and the necessity for work. We did not realize -what the trouble was, and so we generally charged it to -the influence of mother’s side of the family. We could -not understand that by education, training and example, -we had simply taught those boys only the material and -selfish side of life. They demanded unconsciously more -of its poetry and romance and thus the war swept -them away in a blaze of glory. We suddenly woke up -to find that under the inspiration of an unselfish desire, -our lazy and careless boys had become the finest soldiers -this world has ever seen. They were made so through -the power of poetry and imagination, for “making the -world safe for democracy” is only another name for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -making the great life offering in order that helpless -men and women may know the comfort and glory of -living on the “sunny side of the barn.”</p> - -<p>I think I have lived long enough and under conditions -which fit me to know human nature better than -most men know books. Our present improved man -came from a savage. Originally man was a confirmed -dweller on the frosty side of the barn. As human -life has developed, the tendency has been for this -man to run for a warm place on the sunny side. In -order to get there, his natural tendency has been to -crowd some weaker brother back into the frost. We may -not like to admit it, but as we have crowded poetry -and imagination and love out of agricultural education, -we have lost track of the thought that there is one -great duty we owe to society for the great educational -machine she has given us. That one great life duty -is to try to carry some more unfortunate brother out of -the frost into the comfort of the sunny side of the barn. -We are too much in the habit of trying to leave this -practical betterment to the Legislature or to the Federal -Government, when it never can be done unless we do it -ourselves, as a part of human sacrifice. You must remember -that in spite of all our scientific work, the world -is still largely fed and clothed by the plain farmers, -whose stock in trade is largely human nature and instinct. -The shadow which undoubtedly lies over farming -today is due to the fact that too many of these -men and women feel that they are booked hopelessly to -spend their lives on the frosty side of the barn.</p> - -<p>It is in large part a mental trouble, a feeling of deep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -resentment, such as in a very much smaller way came -to me as a little boy, for you will see how real and true -are the ideals of childhood. The great aim of all education -should be to find some way of putting poetry -and imagination into the hearts of the men and women -who are now on the frosty side of the barn. There is -more in this than any mere increase of food production, -or increase of land values. A great industrial revolution -is facing this nation. Such things have come before -again and again. They were always threatening, and -every time they appeared strong men and women feared -for the future of their country. Yet in times past these -dark storms have always broken themselves against a -solid wall of contented and prosperous freeholders. -They always disappear and turn into a gentle, reviving -rain when they strike the sunny side of the barn. That -is where the errors and mistakes of society are taken -apart and remade, better than ever before, by skilled -and happy workmen. It is on the frosty side of the -barn, in the unhappy shadows, where men tear down -and destroy without attempting to rebuild, for there can -be no human progress except that which is finally built -upon contentment and faith. Men and women must be -brought to the sunny side of the barn if this nation is to -remain the land of opportunity, and such men and -women as we have here must do the work.</p> - -<p>If you ask me how this is to be done, I can only go -back to childhood once more for an illustration. I know -all the characters of the following little drama. We -will call the children John, Mary and Bert. John and -Mary were relatives of the old gentleman who owned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -the farm, and they came for a long visit. Bert was -the farm boy, put out to work on that farm for his -board and clothes, one of the thousands of war orphans -who represented a great legacy which the Civil War -had left to this country. John and Mary were bright -and petted and pampered. You know how such smart -city children can usually outshine and outbluff a farm -boy. The woman of the house, a thrifty New England -soul, decided that this was her chance to get the woodshed -filled with dry wood, and so she put the three children -at it. Before Bert knew what was going on, those -city children had it all “organized.” Bert was to -work on the frosty side of the barn where the woodpile -was, and he was to saw and split all the wood. John -played until Bert had split an armful, then John carried -it about two rods to the shed, where Mary took it -out of his arms and piled it inside. I have lived some -years since that time, and I have seen many enterprises -come and go, and if that arrangement is not typical of -thousands of cases which show the relation between the -farmer and middleman and handler, I have simply lived -and observed in vain, <i>and Bert represented the -farmer</i>.</p> - -<p>And the distribution of the rewards received in exchange -for that combination was still more typical. -Now and then the woman would think the woodshed was -not filling very fast, so that some form of bribery to -labor was necessary. She would then come out with -half a pie, or a few cookies, to stimulate the work. -Strange to say, the distribution of this prize was always -given to the girl. She was doing that absolutely useless<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -work of piling the wood, and yet the pie and the cookies -were handed to her for distribution. For a great many -centuries, it must be said that the farmer never had -much of a chance with the town man when it came to -receiving favors from the ladies, and in the distribution -of that pie John and Mary usually ate about seven-eighths -of it, and handed the balance to Bert, for even -then those city children had formed the idea that a -silent, unresisting farm boy was made to be the beast -of burden, fit for the frosty side of the barn.</p> - -<p>And just as happens in other and larger forms of -business, there were, in that toy performance of a great -drama, forms of legislative bribery for middlemen and -farmers. Those children were told that if they would -hurry and get the woodshed filled up, they would receive -pleasure and a present. John and Mary, as middlemen, -might go to the circus, while the boy on the saw would -receive a fine present. This would be a book which -told how a splendid little boy sawed 15 cords of wood -in two weeks, and then asked his mother if he couldn’t -please go down the road and saw five cords more for a -poor widow woman during his play time. Ever since -the world began, that seems to have been the idea of -agricultural legislation. The real direct pleasure and -profit have gone to John and Mary, while to Bert has -gone the promise of an education which will teach him -how to work a little harder. Looking back over the -world’s history, the most astonishing thing to me is that -society has failed to see that the best investment of -public money and power is that made closest up to the -ground, the great mother of us all. Other interests have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -received it, largely because they have been able to organize -and make a stronger appeal to the imagination.</p> - -<p>Of course in every drama of human life there has to -be a crisis where the actors come to blows, and it happened -so in this case. There came one day particularly -cold, and with a special run of hard and knotty wood -to be sawed. That gave John and Mary more time for -play, and put an extra job on Bert. I cannot tell just -how the battle started; it may have been caused by -Mary, for a thousand times in the history of the world -the relations between two boys and a girl have upset -all calculations and changed the course of history. Or -it may be that the spirit of injustice boiled up in -the heart of that boy on the saw, and swept away his -peaceful disposition. At any rate, when John found -fault because he did not work faster, Bert dropped his -saw and tackled the tormentor. If I am to tell the -truth, I am forced to admit that there was no science -at all about the battle which that boy put up for the -rights of farm labor. He should, I suppose, have imitated -some of the old heroes described by Homer and -Virgil, but as the rage of battle came over him, the most -effective fighter he could think of was the old ram, and -I regret to say that he lowered his head, and, without -regard for science, butted John in the stomach and -knocked him down. Then he sat on his enemy, took -hold of his hair with both hands, and proceeded to -pound his head on the frosty ground, while Mary danced -about, not caring to interfere, but evidently waiting to -bestow her favors upon the victor. And just as John -was getting ready to call “enough” the kitchen door<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -opened and out came the woman of the house with the -old minister.</p> - -<p>She certainly looked like a very stern picture of justice -as she peered over her spectacles at the boys on the -ground, and the three children were arraigned before -her. “What shall I do with these children? I shall -never get this job done. I have spent nearly five pies on -these children already, and see how little they have -piled, and here they are fighting over it. I think the -best thing I can do is to whip that lazy boy at the saw.”</p> - -<p>I wish you could have seen the face of the old minister -as he rolled up his wrinkles and prepared to answer. -It was worth a good deal to see how he looked out of the -corner of his eye at the boy on the saw.</p> - -<p>“My good friend,” said he, “this is not a case for -prayer or for punishment, or for investigation, or for -education. It is a case for an adjustment of labor and -pie. That boy on the saw has been doing practically all -of the work, and getting almost nothing of the reward. -He is discouraged, and I don’t blame him. You cannot -crowd more work out of him with a stick. Move him -out into the sun, give him the pie, and let him eat his -share and distribute the rest. Make the other boy split -and carry and pile all that wood, and put that girl at -washing windows. <i>The closer you put the pie up to -the sawbuck, the more wood you will have cut.</i>”</p> - -<p>Now tell me, you scientists and you wise men, if that -does not tell the whole story. It is the pie of life, or the -fair distribution of that pie, which leads men and -women to the sunny side of the barn. What we need -most of all in this country is some power like that of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -the old minister, who can drive that thought home to -human society, and it will not be driven home until our -leaders and our teachers have in their hearts more of -the poetry and the imagination which lead men and -women to attempt the impossible and work it out. You -will not agree with me when I say that in a majority of -the farm homes today there is greater need of the gentle, -humanizing influence of poetry and vision than of the -harder and sterner influence of science and sharp business -practice. As the years go on you will come to see -that I am right.</p> - -<p>I know that is one of the hardest things on earth for -some of us to understand, for modern education has led -us away from the thought. In our grasp for knowledge -we have tried to substitute science entirely for sentiment, -forgetting that the really essential things of life -cannot stand close analysis, because they are held together -by faith. In reaching out after power we have -tried too hard to imitate the shrewd scheming of the -politician and the big interests. We have failed thus -far because we have neglected too many of our natural -weapons. Over 200 years ago Andrew Fletcher wrote:</p> - -<p>“I knew a very wise man who believed that if a man -were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care -who should make the laws of a nation.”</p> - -<p>Andrew Fletcher’s wise man knew what he was talking -about. Very likely some of you older people can -remember the famous Hutchinson family in the days -before the Civil War. I have seen the New Hampshire -farmhouse where they were raised. It was just a group -of plain farmers who traveled about the country singing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -simple little songs about freedom. That plain farm -family did more to make the American people see the -sin of slavery than all the statesmen New England -could muster or all the laws she could make. There -was little science and less art about their singing, but -it was in the language of the common people and they -understood it.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The ox bit his master;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">How came that to pass?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The ox heard his master say</div> - <div class="verse indent2">‘All flesh is grass!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There came a crisis in the Civil War when soldier -and statesman stood still wondering what to do next, -for they were powerless without the spirit of the people. -Then William Cullen Bryant wrote the great song in -which he poured out the burning thought of the people:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent8">“We’re coming, Father Abraham,</div> - <div class="verse indent10">Three hundred thousand more,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">From Mississippi’s winding stream</div> - <div class="verse indent10">And from New England’s shore.</div> - <div class="verse indent8">We leave our plows and workshops,</div> - <div class="verse indent10">Our wives and children dear,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">With hearts too full for utterance,</div> - <div class="verse indent10">But with a silent tear.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We’re coming, we’re coming, the Union to restore;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We’re coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Had it not been for such songs and the spirit they -aroused the Civil War never could have been won. We -now understand that during the great war the French<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -army was at the point of mutiny, and was saved not -by stern discipline but by a renewal of its spiritual -power. I think it will be as hard as for a man to try -and lift himself by his boot straps to try to put farming -into its proper place through science and material prosperity -alone. We need poets to give us songs and playwrights -to put our story in such pictures that the world -must listen to it and understand. The one great thing -which impels us to work on and fight is the hope that -the property which we may leave behind us will be safe -and put to reasonable use. Some of us may leave cash -and lands; others can give the world only a family of -children, but at heart our struggle is to see that this -heritage may be made safe.</p> - -<p>For most of us make a great mistake in locating -a storage place for the heritage which we hope to leave -to the future. We work and we toil; we struggle to -improve conditions; we strive to capitalize our worry -and our work into money and into land in order that -our children may carry on our work. Have you ever -stopped to think who holds the future of all this? Many -of you no doubt will say that the future of this great -nation lies in the banks and vaults of the cities where -money is piled up mountains high. We have all acted -upon that principle too long, digging wealth from the -soil and then sending it into the town for investment, -until we have come to think that our future lies there. -We are wrong; it is a mistake. The future of this land, -and all it means to us, lies in the hands of little children, -who are playing on the city streets or in the open -fields of the country, and it is not so much in their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -hands as in the pictures which are being printed on their -little minds and souls. And this future will be safer -with poetry and imagination than with the multiplication -table alone.</p> - -<p>I know about this from my own start in life. I was -expected to be satisfied with work until I was 21, and -then have a suit of clothes and a yoke of oxen. One -trouble with the farmers of New England was that -they thought this a sufficient outfit for their boys. I -think I might have fallen in with that plan and contented -my life with it had it not been for a crude picture -which hung in the shop where we pegged shoes. It was -a poor color scheme, a perfect daub of art, in which -some amateur artist had tried to express a thought -which was too large for his soul. A bare oak tree, with -most of its branches gone, was framed against the Winter -sky. It was evening; a few stars had appeared, and -the sky was full of color. The artist had tried to arrange -the stars and the sky colors so that they represented -a crude American flag, with the oak tree serving -as the staff. His great unexpressed thought was that -at the close of the Civil War God had painted His -promise of freedom on the sky in the coloring of that -flag. As a child, that crude picture became a part of -my life. I have never been able to forget the glory of -it, as I have forgotten the meanness, the poverty, the -narrow blindness of our daily lives, so that all through -the long and stormy years, wherever I have walked, I -have seen that flag upon the sky, and I have waited -hopefully for the coming of the sunrise of that day -when, through the work of real education, when with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -help of such men and such women as are here today, -every hopeless man, every lonely woman, every melancholy -child upon a sad and desolate hill farm, may feel -the thrill of opportunity, and the joy and the glory of -living upon the sunny side of the barn.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_HOPE_FARM_SERMON">A HOPE FARM SERMON</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">No use talking, the best part of a vacation is getting -home. We were all sorry to leave Cape Cod. To tell -you the truth duty seemed to be stuck full of thorns a -foot long as we looked back at it from the easy bed of a -loafer on his vacation. No wonder the poor little Bud -cried when our good host kissed her good-bye. We -looked at her with much the same expression as that on -the face of the woman who missed an important train -by half a minute and listened to the forcible remark -of a man who was also left! We got over that, however. -The harness was put on our shoulders so gently -that we hardly felt it, and here we are again with a soft -pad of gentle and happy memories to put where the rub -comes hardest. Everything was all O. K. at home. -Grandmother was in good spirits, the Chunk reported -good sales, and the weather had been fair for farm work. -The boys had the corn all cleaned up and the weeds -mostly cut. The strawberries have been transplanted; -the alfalfa clipped off; the squashes have grown into a -perfect tangle of vines, the sweet potatoes look well, -and there is no blight in the late white ones! The children -found nine new little pigs and 30 new chickens -waiting them. Yes! Yes! It was a happy homecoming. -I climbed the hill on Sunday and looked off -over the old familiar valley. There were the same -glorious old hills with the shadows chasing along them,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -the little streams stealing down through their fringes -of grass and bushes, the cultivated fields, and the homes -of neighbors peeping out through the orchards! Surely -home is a goodly place after all. Other places are good -to come away from, but home is the place to go to!</p> - -<p>Now, I know that many of my readers are in trouble. -I am, and every mail brings news from people who are -carrying crosses and facing hard duties with more or -less bravery. There are women left alone on the farm, -striving to drag a heavy heart through life. Men have -seen wife and child pass away. Others have seen hopes -and ambitions crushed out. This season has been hard -for many. I will quote from a letter just at hand from -central New York, where flood and storm have scarred -the hillsides and ruined crops:</p> - -<p>“One neighbor hung himself; one says he shall have -an auction and go to the old ladies’ home; another had -the blues until he cried.”</p> - -<p>Now, in spite of all the talk we have of the Nation’s -great prosperity, I know that there are thousands of -sad hearts in country homes, sad because they have seen -the cherished things of life and the work of self-denying -years swept out of their grasp by a power which they -could neither master nor comprehend. The picture of -a strong man dropping his head upon the table and crying -like a child is the saddest vision that can rise before -our eyes. Farm life has its tragic side, and the sadness -of it would crush us down at times if we would -permit it to do so. No wonder men and women grow -despondent when with each year comes a little more -of the living blight which slowly destroys hope and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -faith in one’s physical ability to master the secret of -happiness. I do not blame men and women who give -way to despondency under pressure of griefs which -have staggered me. I only regret that they cannot -realize that for most of the afflicted of middle years -the only true help is a moral one.</p> - -<p>I feel like repeating that last sentence, though it -may come like the application of a liniment I knew as -a boy. The old man who brought me up invented a certain -“lotion.” Whenever I cut or burned my flesh that -lotion bottle was hauled out, a hen’s feather inserted -and a liberal allowance smeared over the wound. It -was like rubbing liquid fire on the flesh, but it <i>did</i> pull -the smart out and carry it far away. I used to imagine -that the “lotion” gathered the pain all into a lump -and pulled it out by the roots with one quick twitch. -One of the most helpful books I have ever read is a little -volume entitled “Deafness and Cheerfulness.” I read -it over and over, and I wish that every deaf man or -friend of a deaf man could have it. I find in this little -book the following message which I commend to all -who feel their courage giving way:</p> - -<p>“The noblest dealing with misfortune is in manly -silence to bear it; the next to the meanest is in feebleness -to weep over it; the wholly unpardonable is to -ask others to weep also.”</p> - -<p>With the first and third of these propositions I fully -agree. It is not always a sign of weakness for a man -to get off into solitude somewhere and find relief in -tears. When the tear glands are completely dried up -the man loses an element of character which all the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -iron in his will cannot replace. But “manly silence” -<i>is</i> the “noblest dealing with misfortune”—and also -the hardest. It is human to cry out and complain at -the pain of what we call injustice, but if the child is -human should not the grown man be something more? -What are years and the burning balm of experience -given us for if not to enable us to rise up nearer to -divine strength? As I look about me it occurs that most -of us who have reached middle life or beyond have -grown unconsciously away from childhood and youthful -strength. We somehow feel that people ought to regard -us as others did 25 years ago. The fat man of -45 is no longer the young sprout of 20, though he may -think so. If I am not mistaken, one great trouble with -many of us is the fact that we crave and beg for the -things that go with youth when in reality we are grown-up -men and women! It is our duty now to face life -and its problems, not with the careless hope of youth, -but with the sober and abiding faith that should come -with mature years. Run over a child’s ambitions and, -after his short grief, his spirits rise again for the next -opportunity. The man’s hopes are shaken by repeated -defeat, and hope of physical victory finds itself caged -at every turn by former defeat. We may grieve or -despond over this and play the child; or we may act -the man, raise our hopes and ideals above the range -of former defeat, and find comfort and courage in doing -the things which shame infirmity and affliction. I -know some of you will say that this complacent man -may moralize—but give him a touch of trouble, and how -he would whine! I hope not! Trouble has taken many<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> -a mouthful out of us but, if I thought any honest friend -really meant that, it would be the greatest trouble of -all. I repeat that the greatest comfort to the despondent -must be a moral one, yet the riding of some harmless -hobby helps one to walk with fortitude. Let a man say -to himself that he will study and work to breed the -finest pigs or raise the finest strawberries or master -some science or public question, and he will find strength -and comfort in his work! I’ll promise not to attempt -any more preaching for a good while if you will let me -end this little sermon with a quotation from Whittier:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Soon or late to all our dwellings come the specters of the mind;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Doubts and fears and dread forebodings, in the darkness undefined.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Round us throng the grim projections of the heart and of the brain,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And our pride of strength is weakness, and the cunning hand is vain.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In the dark we cry like children; and no answer from on high</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Breaks the crystal spheres of silence, and no white wings downward fly.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But the heavenly help we pray for, comes to faith and not to sight,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And our prayers themselves drive backward all the spirits of the night.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="GRANDMOTHER">GRANDMOTHER</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The last celebration of Thanksgiving was about the most -startling that any of the Hope Farmers remember. I -have passed this holiday under quite varied conditions. -“Boy” on a New England farm and in a boarding-house, -cattle herder on a Colorado ranch, sawyer in a -lumber camp, teacher in a country school district, hired -man and book agent on a Michigan farm, “elocutionist” -in a dramatic company, “professor of modern languages” -(with a slim grip on English alone) in a young -ladies’ seminary, printer’s devil in a Southern newspaper -office, ditcher in a swamp, and other capacities -too numerous to mention. A man may perhaps lay -claim to a bit of helpful philosophy if he can find some -fun in all such days and carry along in his mental pocket -“much to be thankful for.” He is sure to come to a -time in life when these “treasures of memory” will be -very useful. I would not refer to family matters that -might well be marked “private” and locked away -with the skeleton in the closet if I did not know that -the plain, simple matters of family record are things -that all the world have in common.</p> - -<p>A pirate or a man trying to hide himself might have -seen virtues in the dull, misty fog that settled upon the -city the night before Thanksgiving. Grandmother had -been slowly failing through the day. The night brought -her greater pain than ever. All through these long<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -months we had been able to keep from her the real -nature of her disease. I took it upon myself to keep the -children happy. If we grown-ups found it hard to be -thankful we would see that the little folks put out -enough thanks for the whole family. I took them down -to the market to pick out a turkey! We had a great -time, and finally found a turkey fat enough. The -market man gave each of the children a handful of -nuts—and they now want Mother to give him all her -trade. They went home fairly radiant with happiness. -Was it not better for them to go to sleep with the -pleasant side of the day in their hearts rather than the -shadow which the rest of us could feel near us?</p> - -<p>The morning came dark and dismal. It didn’t seem -like Thanksgiving as the Bud and I went after the doctor. -The clerks and professional people seemed to be -taking a holiday, but the drivers, the diggers and heavy -workmen were at their jobs as usual. The streets were -filled with children dressed up in ridiculous costumes, -wearing masks or with faces blackened. These urchins -went about begging money from passers-by. Our little -folks were rather shocked at this way of celebrating -Thanksgiving. Where this ridiculous mummery came -from or how it crept into a Thanksgiving celebration is -more than I can say. It may be as close as a city child -can come to thanking Nature for a bountiful harvest! -Charlie and his family came in from the farm, and -Jack came from his school. Grandmother made a -desperate struggle and was finally able to sit up so -that her children and grandchildren might be about her. -As the children grew restless in the house I took them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -out and we walked along the river. My mind was busy -with other matters relating to other days, but the little -folks, happily, saw only the great bright side of the -future. Their past was too small to cast any shadow. -We went as far as Grant’s Tomb and passed through -the room where the great general’s remains are lying. -As we passed in, the Graft and Scion saw the men take -off their hats and they did the same.</p> - -<p>“Why do they make you take off your hat?” asked -the Graft, when we came out.</p> - -<p>I tried to explain to him that this was one of the -things that people should not be <i>made</i> to do. They -should do it because they wanted to show their respect -or reverence. I doubt if I made him understand it, -for when a boy is hungry and other boys are playing -football in a nearby vacant lot even the gentlest sermon -loses its point. Our dinner was such a success -that we did not have chairs enough to go around. The -children had to sit on boxes and baskets. A taste of -everything from turkey down went in to Grandmother, -but she could eat little. The plates came back again -and again until the Hope Farm man was obliged to -say:</p> - -<p>“Well, Mother, I shall have to turn this turkey over -after all.”</p> - -<p>He had not only to turn it over but scrape many of -the bones clean. The farm folks finally went home -and Jack too was obliged to go. Happily the little folks -were tired out and they were asleep early. About two -o’clock Mother woke me. She did not do it before, -because it might have alarmed Grandmother, who did<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -not, I think, clearly understand her true condition. -There was apparently no pain or struggle at the end. -We noticed that her face lighted up with a strange, -puzzled look, of surprise and wonder—and well it might -when one is called upon to lay down the troubles and -toil of such a life as hers in the dim, mysterious country -which one must die to enter.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the hardest part of it all was to tell the -children about it. They must have known that some -strange thing was happening. They woke up early and -saw the undertaker passing through the room. Then -Mother got them together and told them that poor -Grandmother had suffered so long that God pitied her -and had taken her to Him. The little folks sat with -thoughtful faces for a while and then one of them said -with wide-open eyes:</p> - -<p>“Is Grandmother <i>dead</i> then?”</p> - -<p>And so the body of poor Grandmother passed away -from us while her spirit and memory passed deeper -than ever into the lives of the Hope Farm folks. Life -with her had ceased to be comfortable. It was merely -a steady, hopeless struggle against pain and depression. -Mother was able to go through these long months calmly -and hopefully because she knows that her mother had -every service that love could render. It is with that -thought in mind that I feel like saying a solemn word -to those whom I have never met, yet who seem to be as -close as personal friends can be. Do not for an instant -begrudge the money, the time or toil which you may -spend upon those of your loved ones who need your help. -That is a part of the cross which you must carry cheerfully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -or reject. Do not let those whom you serve see -that it is a cross, but glorify it from day to day. It -is not merely a part of hard, cold duty, but the vital -force in the development of character. It may be that -I am now talking to someone who is putting personal -comfort above the self-denial which goes with the sacred -trust which God has put into our lives. Where will the -flag of “comfort” lead them when the discomforting -days come? A conscience is a troublesome thing at best, -but one that has been gently and truly developed through -self-sacrifice is a better companion than the barbed finger -of trouble thrust into the very soul at last by the relentless -hand of fate!</p> - -<p>A novelist could weave a startling romance out of the -plain life record of this typical American woman. She -was born in Massachusetts—coming from the best stock -this country has ever produced. This is not the narrow-eyed, -cent-shaving Yankee, but the children from the -hillside farms who went to the valleys and at the little -water-powers laid the foundations of New England’s -manufacturing. These sturdy people saw clearly into -the future, and as they harnessed and trained the power -of the valley streams they cultivated and restrained -their own powers until the man as well as the machine -became a tremendous force. Honorable misfortune befell -this manufacturing family, but could not crush it. -In those days the boys, under such circumstances, -dropped all their own ambitions and took the first job -that presented itself, without a murmur and with joy -that they could do it. The girls did the same, though -there were few openings for women then outside of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -housework and the schoolroom. Grandmother had a -taste for music, and became a music teacher. She -finally secured a position as teacher in a little town in -Mississippi, and in about the year that the Hope Farm -man was born she went into what was then a strange -country for the daughter of a Massachusetts Abolitionist! -What a journey that must have been, before the -Civil War, for a young woman such as Grandmother -was then. The South was in a blaze of excitement, yet -this quiet, gentle Northern girl won the love and respect -of all. There she met the man who was to be her husband—a -young lawyer, able and ambitious, but weighted -down by family cares, political convictions and ill -health. He was a Union man whose family had made -their slaves free and who opposed secession to the last. -Grandmother was married and went to the South just -before the storm broke. What a life that was in the -dreary little town during those years of fighting! Her -husband was at one time drafted into the Confederate -service and sent to the front only to have a surgeon -declare him too feeble and sick for even that desperate -service. He cobbled shoes, leached the soil in old smokehouses -for salt, and “lived” as best he could. Once -he took Grandmother through the lines with a bale of -cotton which he sold to pay passage money to the North. -After the war he was State Senator and Judge under -the patched-up government which followed. Carpetbaggers -and rascals from the North lined their pockets -with gold and brought shame upon their party and torture -and death to the ignorant black men who followed -them. In the midst of this carnival of shame and thieving<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -Grandmother’s husband never touched a dishonest -dollar and did his best to give character to a despised -and degraded race. Of course he failed, for the race -did not have strength enough to see that what he tried -to offer them was better than the hatred of their old -masters and the dollars which the carpet-baggers held -out. It was not all lost, for when he was buried I am -told that around his grave there was a thick fringe of -white people and back—at a respectful distance—acres -of black, shining faces which betrayed the crude, awkward -stirring of manhood in hearts untrained yet appreciating -true service to country.</p> - -<p>I speak of these things to make my point clear that -Grandmother was a woman capable of supporting her -husband through these trials and still capable of holding -the love of those who opposed him. In the face of -an opposition so frightful that few of us can realize it -this quiet, unflinching woman kept steadily on, respected -and trusted by all. She took up her burdens without -complaint, hid her troubles in her heart, and walked -bravely on in her quiet, humble way, until at last she -found a safe haven with her children. A true and sincere -Christian woman she lived and acted out her faith -and did her life’s duty with dignity and cheerfulness. -The little folks as they sit beneath the tree at Hope -Farm and talk of Grandmother will have only blessed -memories of her.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LAUGHTER_AND_RELIGION">LAUGHTER AND RELIGION</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">I have learned to have deep sympathy for the man who -cannot laugh. He may have great learning or power or -skill or wealth, but if fate has denied him a keen sense -of humor he is like a McIntosh apple with the glorious -flavor left out. Most of the deaf are denied what we -may call “the healing balm of tears.” Unless there -chance to be some volcanic eruption of the heart they -must go in dry-eyed sorrow through their years. Yet, -if they are able to laugh it is probable that the deaf -see more of the ludicrous side of life than do those who -have full hearing. It comes to be amusing to notice -how men and women strive and worry over the poor non-essential -things of conversation, and waste time and -strength trying to make others understand simple things -which the deaf man comes to know at a glance. Those -who are so unfortunate that they are forced to hear all -the litter and waste-basket stuff of conversation may -wonder why the inability to hear may act as a torture -to the tender heart. They do not know how closely -sound is related to the emotions. They cannot understand -without losing many of the finer things of life. -Yet, as between the tearless man and the unfortunate -soul who is denied the joy of laughter, the latter is more -deserving of sympathy. One may be nearer insanity -but the other is nearer the gallows.</p> - -<p>One great reason why the negro race has come through<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -its troubles with reasonable success is because fate has -given the black man the blessed privilege of laughter. -Many a time when other races would have gone out to -rob and kill the black man has been able to sing or -laugh his troubles away. So, as between the man who -cannot weep or lash himself into a rage and he who cannot -laugh, the latter is a far more dangerous citizen and -far more to be pitied.</p> - -<p>I suppose I ought to be an authority on this subject, -as some years ago I was in the business of trying to -inoculate some very serious and sad-minded people with -the germ of laughter. We had some specimens so -tough and so hard-boiled that it was a difficult matter -to start them. I was stranded in a farm neighborhood -in a Western State working as hired man through a very -dull winter. Back among the hills, off the main roads -when prices are low and crops are poor, you strike a -gloom and social stagnation which the modern town man -can hardly realize. I did my work by day and at night -went about to churches and schoolhouses “speaking -pieces.” We called those gloomy and discouraged people -together and tried to make them laugh.</p> - -<p>I remember one such entertainment held in a country -schoolhouse far back in the mud of a January thaw. -The dimly lighted room was crowded with sad-faced, discouraged -men and women to whom life had become a -tragedy through dwelling constantly upon their own -troubles. At intervals during my entertainment two -sad-faced women and a couple of men who would have -made a success as undertakers at any funeral sang doleful -songs about beautiful women who died young or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -children who proved early in life that they were too -good for this world. During one of these intervals -a farmer led me outdoors for a conference. Your modern -artist can command a salary which enables him to -ignore criticism, but in that neighborhood the financial -manager was the boss.</p> - -<p>“See here now,” said the farmer, “we hired you to -come here and make us laugh. Why don’t you do it? -I’ve got my hired man in there. He’s all ready to go on -a spree and he will do it if you don’t make him laugh. -We have paid you $2.50 to come here and speak. That -means $1.25 an hour or $12.50 for a 10-hour day. No -other man in this neighborhood gets such wages. It’s -big money, now go back and earn it. <i>Make that man -laugh!</i> It’s a moral obligation for you to do it.”</p> - -<p>There was the hired man, a great hulk of humanity -feeling that he would be a hero, the champion of the -neighborhood, if he could hold humor at bay. When I -went back into the schoolroom the teacher stood up by -the stove and said it was the unanimous request of the -audience that I should read or recite the “Raven,” by -Edgar Allan Poe. That was not exactly in my line, but -who is large enough to resist such an appeal? Years -before I had heard a great actor in Boston recite the -poem, and with the noble courage of youth I started the -best imitation I could muster. No one, not even the -author, ever considered the “Raven” as a humorous -poem, but it struck the hired man that way. I had -cracked jokes in and out of dialect. I had “made -faces” and played the clown generally without affecting -the hired man. Yet, at the third repetition of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -“Quoth the Raven—Nevermore!” the hired man exploded -with a roar that shook the building, and the rest -of the entertainment was one long laugh for him. The -rest of the audience joined with him, and long after the -meeting closed and the lanterns twinkled down the dark -and muddy roads, you could hear roars of laughter from -the farmers, as they journeyed home. Just what there -was about the “Raven” to explode that man I have -never known. It changed his life. It broke a spring -somewhere inside of him and his jokes and roars of -laughter changed the whole social life of that neighborhood. -The minister told me in the Spring that his -people had received a great spiritual uplifting during -the Winter. He gave no credit whatever to Poe and the -hired man.</p> - -<p>That same Winter I went to a church for another -entertainment. I sat in the pulpit beside the minister -and every time I stopped for breath he would lean over -and whisper:</p> - -<p>“<i>Make them laugh! Give them something humorous! -Make them laugh!</i>”</p> - -<p>He saw that laughter was religion at such a time. It -was a gloomy night. The people were sad and discouraged. -Their religion was a torment to them at the -time. Nothing but laughter could cure them, and I -did my best with discouraging results. I will confess -that I lost faith for once in my life and quit trying. -There was one intelligent and prosperous farmer in the -front pew. He seemed to be a leader and I directed -my efforts straight to him. It came to be the one desire -of my life to make that solemn-faced man laugh, and he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -would not do it. It seemed to me as if he sat there -with his solemn face a little bent forward, like some -wise old horse listening to the chatter of a young colt. -I could not stir him and I confess that I quit ingloriously -and “took up the collection.”</p> - -<p>But, when we all went out on the church steps while -lanterns were being lighted and the boys brought up the -horses I saw my solemn-faced friend talking with another -farmer.</p> - -<p>“John,” said the farmer as he snapped down the -globe of his lantern, “how did you like the show?”</p> - -<p>“Well, Henry, it was good all the way through. I am -so sore around my ribs that I’m going home to rub -liniment on my sides.”</p> - -<p>“How’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, Henry, that young feller was so funny that -<i>I never come so nigh to laughing in the House of God -as I done tonight</i>. When I get home out of sight of the -elder, I am going to stand right up on my hind-legs and -holler.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_DAY_IN_FLORIDA">A DAY IN FLORIDA</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">A man told me last week that Florida was too dull for -him. He would rust out. There was “more life and -human nature on Broadway, New York, in 15 minutes -than in a week of Florida.” So I thought I would see -how much “real human nature” the sun could observe -as Putnam County revolved beneath his eye.</p> - -<p>As I came outdoors the sun was bright with hardly -a cloud in the sky. The mercury stood at about 65 -degrees. Most of the bloom had fallen from the orange -trees and the young fruit had begun to form, while the -new leaves showed their light green against the darker -old leaves. On the tree by the gate, there were peaches -as large as walnuts. A drove of half-wild hogs from the -woods went slowly along the village street, with one -eye open for food and the other watching for a possible -hole in a fence through which they might crawl into a -grove or garden. For while no one seems to think it -worth while to bolt or even shut a house door at night -except for warmth, there must be barbed wire around -every growing thing that a hog could fancy. Two red -hens with their broods of chickens ran about under the -orange trees. In front of the house I found a group of -“redheads and towheads” gathered around a fisherman -who carried a fertilizer sack. He had caught three -young alligators and the children were buying them. -They finally got the three for a dollar, and they intend<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -taking the hideous things back to New Jersey to “raise” -them. You may yet see an improved breed of Hope -Farm alligator. Finally the school bell rang and the -older children scattered while the little ones played on. -I have said that the child crop is a vanishing product -in this locality. I understand there are but four white -children of school age—not enough to maintain a school! -There is a broken and abandoned schoolhouse here, but -it has not been occupied for some years. There is a -school for colored children. Our people opened a school -here, but in this locality the State actually does more -for educating colored children than for whites. Think -over what that means and see if Broadway can match -the “human nature” which comes out of such a situation. -Our own children are rosy as flowers. They -ought to be, for they have played out in the sun every -day since December 1. They would have gone barefoot -nine days out of ten, but for sand burrs and hookworms—for -that dread disease gets into the system -through the feet. Florida is surely a Winter paradise -for children and elderly people. As these children pen -up their alligators and separate for school and play, an -old man walks with firm and active steps down the -shaded street to the store. He is 89 years old and is still -planting a garden—very likely for the seventieth time! -On the platform of the store he will meet a group of -men who will sit for hours discussing the weather or -looking off through the pines toward the blue lake. On -Broadway, people are rushing to and fro with set, -anxious faces, tearing their hearts out in the fierce -struggle for food, clothing, amusement and shelter.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -There is quite as much “human nature” about these -slow and gentle dreamers, basking in the Florida sun. -In this little place where our folks have wintered there -are nine different men who live alone. There are perhaps -30 voters in this district, and strange as it may -seem they are about evenly divided between the two -great parties. That is because a number of old soldiers -have moved in here. They draw their pensions, work -their gardens or groves and live in peace in this carefree -land. “Human nature?” Ask these old soldiers -with “warfare over,” as the sun goes down and they -look out over the lake, why they ever came to Florida, -and if they are disappointed. If you started a contest -with a prize for the man who can take the longest time -to travel a mile, I could enter several citizens. Yet -it was in Florida that the world’s record for speed with a -motor car was recently made. While some of our neighbors -might consume two hours in going a mile, it was in -Florida that Oldfield drove a car one mile in 27⅓ -seconds. This contest in speed is a very good illustration -of the contrary character of Florida climate and -conditions. Many people fail here because they try to -fit Broadway “human nature” to this balmy gentle -land. You cannot use the same brand!</p> - -<p>The forenoon wore off lazily. Across the road a man -was working a mule on a cultivator—tearing up the -surface of an old orange grove. The only auto in the -town went by over the pine-paved road, the very cough -of the exhaust pipe sounding like a lung rapidly healing -in the soft air. Charlie went by followed by a big -colored man. They carry spades and axes for Charlie<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -is sexton, and this is one of the rare occasions when a -grave is to be dug, for some old resident is being brought -home to be buried.</p> - -<p>Mother and I had planned to take the train at noon -and go south for a few miles to do some shopping and -look up a “colony” or land boom scheme. So we got -ready and went to the station in ample time. And -there we waited, as everyone else does in this land of -tomorrow. An hour crawled by, and still there was -nothing in sight up the track except the distant pines -and the heat rising from the sands. No one quarrels -with fate in Florida—what is the use? Under similar -circumstances in New Jersey I should have been held in -some way responsible for the delay, but here it did not -matter—if the train did not come, another day would -do. We waited about 100 long minutes and then the -good lady announced that she was going home, as there -would not be time to get around, and home she went, -good-natured and smiling as the Florida sun.</p> - -<p>Let me add that the next day we waited nearly two -hours again and then went home once more, but who -cares whether he goes today or some future “tomorrow”?</p> - -<p>Having been cut out of our trip I became interested -in the funeral. A little group of wagons was drawn up -under the pines waiting for the train. I have said that -an old resident was coming “home”—to be buried by -the side of husband and relatives—in the rough little -cemetery behind the pines. At last, a puff of thick -smoke up the track showed where the dawdling train -was showing the true speed of a hearse. Down the grade<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -it came, halting with many a wheeze and groan in -front of the little station where the fated box was taken -off. Our little funeral procession was quickly made up. -Uncle Ed drove old Frank ahead with the minister and -the Hope Farm Man as passengers. Then came the -dead in a farm wagon, and half a dozen one-horse teams -straggling on behind. Your funeral on Broadway with -its gilded hearse, black horses and nodding plumes -might be far more inspiring. Who can say, however, that -there was less of “human nature” in this little weatherbeaten -string crawling over the Florida sand? I was -thinking as we went how this dead woman had seen -what seemed like the death of hope in this land. For -right where we were passing, on these dead fields, she -had seen orange groves in full fruitage, and had seen -them all wiped out in a day of frost!</p> - -<p>You would have said that Charlie stood leaning on -his spade beside two great heaps of snow. The soil was -pure white sand, and as they threw it from the grave it -had drifted in over the sides until no dark color showed. -On Broadway there would have been an imposing -procession, the organ pouring out tones that seemed to -carry a message far beyond the comprehension of the -living. Here in this lonely little clearing, my friend -the minister led the way, the little group of mourners -followed, and Charlie and Uncle Ed with a few neighbors -carried the dead. I wish I could have had you -there with me—you who say that life and human nature -crowd into the “lively” places. I wish I could paint -the picture as I saw it.</p> - -<p>The minister and the station agent’s wife began to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -sing. One of the men who helped carry the coffin laid -down his load and joined the singers. They wanted me -to make a quartette, but I am no musician and I could -not have made a sound. It was better for me to stand -in the background against a tree, by the side of the -colored man who leaned on his shining spade and bowed -his gray head. For does not the color line fade out at -the grave? I wish you could have seen it, the trio of -singers, the sad group under the pines, the earth piled -up like snowdrifts, the pine tops quivering and moaning, -and the Florida sun streaming over all. I felt the pine -tree against which I leaned tremble as the wind blew -through it. In a tree over us a gray squirrel turned his -ear as if to listen. For gathered around those piles of -glistening sand were men and women who carried all -the world holds of “human nature”—tragedy, despair, -hope, sorrow and peace. Not 100 feet from where I -stood was a row of six little white stones where six old -army comrades were buried. I studied their names, -six men of the army and navy from New York, Maine, -New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and Ohio. -There they lie in the sand, sleeping “the sleep that -knows no waking.” And this woman wanted to be -brought back to this lonely place that she might rest -with her people. “Human nature?” I made a dull -companion as old Frank toiled back with us to the -village.</p> - -<p>Our folks had left the house and I followed them -along the shady path to the lake. The younger people -had been in bathing. They were sitting on the lake -shore, the children were shouting and playing as they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -ran about the beach. I am glad they were not at the -funeral. As Mother and I walked slowly back, the little -ones came trailing on, waving branches of palm and -singing. And there over the fence was our famous -gallon-and-a-half cow—easily the most energetic citizen -in the place.</p> - -<p>Night comes quickly in Florida and brings a chill -with it. The sun seems to tumble directly into the west -and to leave little warmth behind. Before we ended -our slow walk home, darkness had fallen and Uncle Ed -had started a grateful fire of logs. As if to demonstrate -the Florida axiom that there are only two absolutely sure -things—death and taxes—we found the county assessor -before the fire. He had reached us on his rounds and -was ready to tell us how much we owed the State. You -will see therefore that the human life in Florida is -much the same as anywhere else only “more so” for -here there is no artifice or straining after effect. Men -and women are naturally human—as they were meant -to be.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BASEBALL_GAME">THE BASEBALL GAME</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">“<i>Two strikes, three balls!</i>”</p> - -<p>A silence so intense that you could feel it fell upon -60,000 people who saw the umpire put up his hand to -announce the second strike. It was the crisis of the first -baseball game for the world’s championship between -New York and Philadelphia. The great stands were -black with people, and thousands more were perched -upon the rocks which rose above the level in which the -ball grounds are laid out. The boy and I sat on the -bleachers. It was the only place we could get; we sat -there three hours before the game began—and we were -among the last to get in. Of course you will say we -should have been at home picking apples—but without -discussing that I will admit that we were packed away -in that “bleacher” crowd.</p> - -<p>There were some 25,000 of us crowded on those -wooden benches with our feet hanging down. Here -and there in this black mass of hats a spot of lighter -color showed where a woman had crowded in with the -rest. There may have been 100 women in this crowd. -The “stands” where the reserved seats are placed were -bright with women’s gay colors. Our seats were not -reserved, but well “deserved” after our struggle for -them.</p> - -<p>I enjoyed the crowd as much as the game. Many of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -you have no doubt read that description in “Ben Hur” -of the motley crowd which surged out to the Crucifixion. -Gibbon describes the masses of humans who attended the -Roman games. The world as known at that time gathered -at these spectacles, yet I doubt if those old-time -hordes could produce the variety of blood or color which -showed within 1,000 feet of where we sat. Within four -feet sat two colored men showing traces of two distinct -African races. The young man on my right was certainly -an Irishman. The fat man, who was wide -enough to fill two seats, was a German. In front an -Italian, behind a Swede, off there a Frenchman, a Spaniard -and even a Chinaman. There was an Arab whose -father ate dates in the desert. The son looked forward -to this date as an oasis in the desert of hard work. -Here were Indians, Japanese, Mexicans, Russians, -Turks—the entire world had poured the blood of its -races into that vast crowd. I do not believe the great -Coliseum at Rome ever held a larger company. Yet this -crowd was different. In the savage hordes of centuries -ago the air was filled with a babel of sound—each race -shrieking in its own language. This vast army of -“fans” thought and spoke in the common languages of -English and baseball. For there is a true language of -baseball. Nothing can be popular unless it acquires a -language of its own. It was an orderly crowd too. -Somehow these waiting men seemed to feel that they had -come to the hush and dignity of a great occasion. You -may laugh at us—you poor unfortunate people who do -not know a home run from a fly catch, but you have -missed a lot of the thrill and joy of life. We feel sorry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -for you. To the true baseball crank this game represented -the climax of the year, for here were the best 18 -players in the world ready for the supreme struggle. -So these thousands sat silent and watchful. As you -know, when stirred by passion 60,000 people can give -vent to the most hideous and awesome sound. Yet when -stilled by the thought of what is to come the silence of -this great army is most profound. Now, of course, you -and I may say—what a pity that all these people and -all the energy and money they represent could not be -used for some more useful purpose. I could name half a -dozen things which this country needs. If it were possible -to gather 60,000 people in behalf of any of these -things with the claws of elemental savagery barely covered -with thin cotton gloves no Legislature in the land -would dare refuse the demanded law. That is true, but -it is also true that human nature has not yet evolved -from the point where at the last analysis the physical -power and what it stands for appeals first to the young -and strong. You cannot get away from that, and it -must be considered in all our regrets about the “younger -generation.” We can have anything we want in legislation -and reform whenever we can work up a spirit and -a demand for it which is akin to this baseball feeling! -For in this silent, orderly crowd there was nothing but -cotton over the claws. There was a dignified-looking citizen -not far from us who looked like a fair representative -of the “City of Brotherly Love.” You would choose -him as one of a thousand to take charge of a Sunday -school. Yet when a Philadelphia player raced home -with the first run there came a hoarse cry that might<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -have startled even a listless Cæsar 2,000 years ago. -There was our Philadelphia friend on one foot waving -his hat and shrieking defiance and taunts at the crowd -of New York “fans.” Why, the germ of that man’s -mind was back in the centuries, clad in hairy flesh and -skins shouting a war cry at what were then its enemies! -And when New York tied the score the entire bleachers -seemed to rise like a great black wave of humanity with -shrieks and cries and waving hats. For the moment -these were hardly human beings—as we like to consider -the race. They were crazy barbarians lapsed for -the moment back to elemental motives. And as I came -back to find myself standing up with the rest I was not -sure but that the brief trip back to barbarism had after -all been a profitable one!</p> - -<p>But we left the umpire standing with his hand up -calling <i>two strikes</i>! It was the fifth inning, with the -score one to one. There were two out and New York -had worked a man around to third base. One more -pitched ball would tell the story. Consider the mix-up of -the races in this “American game.” The man on third -base straining like a greyhound to get home was an -Indian. The man at bat was of French blood, while -the next batter was an Irishman with a Jew close behind -him. The catcher was an Englishman and the pitcher -a pure Indian. This Indian stood there like a silent -representative of fate with the ball in his hand, eyeing -that Frenchman, who shook his bat defiantly. I presume -neither of them thought for the instant how 200 -years ago it would have been tomahawk against musket -in place of ball and bat. Yet the race traits were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -evident—the light and airy nerve of the Gaul and the -crafty silence of the red man! Oh, how that ball did go -in! “Ball!” shouted the umpire and the batter took his -base. Then it seemed as if bedlam had broken loose. -Men and women shouted and cheered and laughed and -cried, for they thought that the Indian was “rattled” at -last. But his ancestors went through too much fire for -that. He stood in the center as cool as a cake of ice. -The play for the man on first was to run to second -when the ball was pitched, and run he did. I noticed -that the catcher jumped six feet to the right as that -Indian threw the ball. It went like lightning right into -the catcher’s hands. The second baseman had run up -behind the pitcher and took the throw from the catcher. -Of course the runner on third tried to run in on this -throw, but back came the ball ahead of him and he was -out! Then in an instant the mighty crowd saw that -New York had been ambushed. It was a great trick, -and played so accurately and quickly and with such -daring that even the Philadelphia “fans” were mind-paralyzed -and forgot to cheer. The silence which followed -the Indian to the players’ bench was the most -eloquent tribute of the day. And it happened, as every -“sport” already knows, that New York finally won -two to one. The needed runs were made on mighty hits -by an Indian and an Irishman, and the great crowd -filed out and home to talk it over. I wish I could tell my -children how some Cape Cod Yankee had a hand in it, -but too many of these are occupied in telling what they -or their ancestors used to do. I think the game was -invented and developed by Yankees, and that they have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -made the most money out of it. Probably Cape Cod is -willing to rest content with this and let the others -handle the ball. I am ready to admit we ought to have -been home picking apples, but we saw the game, and -the apple harvest will go better to pay for it.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="TRANSPLANTING_THE_YOUNG_IDEA">TRANSPLANTING THE YOUNG IDEA</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Of all the planting that a farmer finds it necessary to -do there is nothing quite equal to transplanting home-grown -plants in the garden of education. Some homes -might be called hotbeds, others are very cold frames, -and there are grades running all between. Children -grow up away from childhood and show that they are -ready for transplanting—with evidences around the -head to be compared with those on a tomato plant. -You cut off their roots, and try to trim their heads -and plant them in the hard field of practical life or in -the sheltered garden of education. It is a large undertaking, -for here is the best crop of your farm put out -at a hazard. You may not have grown or trimmed it -right, and the soil in which you plant it may not prove -congenial, or some wild old strain from a remote ancestor -may “come back” when it should “stay out.” -You cannot tell about these things except by experiment, -therefore there is nothing quite equal to this sort of -transplanting. That is the way Mother and I felt as we -took the two older children off to college. My experience -has taught me both the power and the weakness of -an education. He who can grasp the true spirit of it -acquires a trained mind, and that means mastery. He -who simply “goes to college” and drifts along with -the crowd without real mental training is worse off than -if he never had entered. He cannot live up to his reputation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -as a college man, and when a man must go -through life always dragging behind his reputation he is -only a tin can tied to the tail of what was once his ambition. -I can imagine an intelligent parrot going -through college, and perhaps passing the examinations, -but all his life he would be a parrot, unable to apply -what he had learned to practical things. I made up -my mind long ago to give each one of the children -opportunity. That means a chance to study through a -good college. Each and every one must pay back to me -later the money which this costs. My backing continues -just as long as they show desire, through their -labor, to think and work out the real worth of education. -Should they become mentally and morally lazy -and assume that “going to college” is like having the -measles or raising a beard—out they come at once, for -if I know anything at all it is the fact that the so-called -student who goes through college just because his -parents think it is the thing to do makes about as poor -a drone as the human hive can produce.</p> - -<p>Where should the children go? The case of the girl -was quickly settled by her mother. Years ago this good -lady had her own dreams of a college education and -knew just where she wanted to go. Denied the privilege -of going herself, she nominated her daughter as -her substitute. That settled it—there was no primary -or referendum or special election. There seemed to me -something of poetic realization in this setting of the -only bud into the long-desired and long impossible tree -of knowledge. As for the boy—the case was different. -I would like to send at least one child back to my old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -college, and I think a couple of the smaller ones will -go later. I know better than to try to crowd boys into -associations which are not congenial. If your boy has -intelligence enough to justify his going to college let -him use his intelligence to decide something of what he -wants. I advised the boy to select one of the smaller -colleges of high reputation and keep away from the -great universities. He made what I call a good choice—an -institution of high character, lonely location and -with one great statesman graduate who stands up in history -like a great lighthouse, to show the glory of public -life and the dangerous rock of his own private habits.</p> - -<p>Well, Mother and I traveled close to 900 miles up -and down through New England on this trip of planning -in the garden of education. I could write a book -on the memories and anticipations which filled the minds -of this Hope Farm quartette. As the train rushed up -the country, winding through villages and climbing hills, -we took on groups of bright-faced boys on their way to -college. Before we reached the end of our journey -the train was crowded with them. There was one sour-faced -old fellow on the train who viewed those boys with -no benevolent eye.</p> - -<p>“A lazy, careless lot. I’d put them all at work!”</p> - -<p>The old man was wrong—he was sour. Even the -evidence of hope and faith in the future which those -bright-eyed boys brought could not sweeten him. Here -were the thinkers and dreamers and workers of the future. -Underneath their fun and careless hope they -carried the prayers of their mothers and the poorly expressed -dreams of fathers who saw in those boys the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -one chance to carry on a life work. While the old man -scowled on I found myself quoting from “Snow Bound,” -Whittier’s picture of the college boy who taught the -winter school:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Large-brained, clear-eyed, of such as he</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Shall Freedom’s young apostles be.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The responsibility of acting as “young apostles” -would have wearied these boys, but unconsciously they -were absorbing part of the spirit which will fit them -for the work. Finally the train stopped and poured -us out into a dusty road. There were not teams enough -to carry 10 per cent of the crowd, and the rest of us -cheerfully took up our burdens, crossed the river and -mounted a steep and dusty hill. It took me back 30 -years and more, to my first three-mile dusty walk to -college. At the hilltop, as the glory of the college -campus stood revealed in the shimmering light of the -setting sun, it must have seemed to the freshmen that -they had surely been “walking up Zion’s hill.” To me -it was like old times patched up and painted with perhaps -a few ornaments added. Two boys went by bending -under the weight of mattresses. When I first hit -college I bought a bedtick, carried it to the barn and -stuffed it with straw. It was all the same, only there -was the difference which the years naturally bring in -comfort and convenience. But finally the darkness came -and the moon seemed to climb up over the college buildings, -flooding the campus with long bright splinters of -light. As we walked back under the trees there came -back to me the one, unchangeable, holy thing of college<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -life—the undying, gentle, kindly spirit of the -college which a man must carry as long as he lives.</p> - -<p>We got up before five o’clock and traveled far down -the Connecticut Valley to plant the family flower. -Those of you who have read “The Princess” and have -fairly active imaginations may realize how the Hope -Farm man felt at this institution. Here men did not -even reach a back seat. There was absolutely nothing for -me to do except stand about, hat in hand, and pay the -bills. At the railroad station three good-looking girls -of the Y. W. C. A. met us and told us just where to go. -At the college another girl took a suitcase and walked -off with it to show my daughter’s room. The express -business and the trunks were all handled by a fine-looking -woman who gave points on good-nature to any -express agent I ever saw. The sale of furniture, the -bureau of information, the handling of money—the complete -organization was conducted by women and girls. -It was all well done, in a thoroughly business-like manner -and with rare courtesy. True, the girls who conducted -the information bureau stopped now and then -to eat popcorn or candy. College boys of equal rank -would probably have smoked cigarettes. There was -just one other man in the hall, who, like me, had brought -his daughter there to plant her in the garden of education. -I caught his eye, and knew that our thoughts -were twins. I fully expected at any time to see “two -stalwart daughters of the plow” approaching to do their -duty.</p> - -<p>The spirit of this college seemed excellent. It may -be a debatable question with some as to whether a school<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -taught, organized and conducted entirely by women is -more desirable than one taught by men or where co-education -is permitted. There is no debate in our family, -since the ruling spirit, whose instincts are usually right, -has decided the question. It seemed to me that the -training at this school is sure to give these girls responsibility -and dignity. My two girls went into a store to -buy furniture for the room, and I stayed outside until -the time came for my part of the deal—paying for it. -Across the campus and up the street came a beautiful -woman walking slowly and thoughtfully on. Tall and -shapely, but for her years she might have represented -Tennyson’s Princess. Every movement of her body gave -the impression of power. Her face seemed like a mask -of patient suffering with an electric light of knowledge -and faith behind it. I remember years ago to have -seen another such woman walking across the village -green in a country town. A rough man a stranger to -me, took off his hat and said:</p> - -<p>“Some woman—that!”</p> - -<p>Yes, indeed—“some woman!” It is possible that -some of these “daughters of the plow” had an eye on -the Hope Farm man for watching ladies walking across -the campus, but had they arrested me I should have -told them the story of Billy Hendricks. Billy was -apprentice in a printer’s shop in England. The boss -offered a prize and a raise in wages to the apprentice -who could set up a certain advertisement in the best -form. Billy needed the money. He went to the foreman -and asked:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p> - -<p>“How can I make this ‘ad’ so it will show true -proportions?”</p> - -<p>“Look at me!” said the foreman.</p> - -<p>There he stood, big and broad-shouldered, a true -figure of a man, and as Billy studied him he found -the words of that “ad” shaping themselves in his -mind. The others were mechanical. Billy had vision -and won. Some of us who must admit that we have -neither beauty nor shape are glad to have before our -children an example of what the coming woman ought -to be.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_SLEEPLESS_MAN">THE SLEEPLESS MAN</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Some of our people are telling us about the best or the -most satisfying meal they ever ate. This question of -food seems to depend on habit, hunger and personal -taste. I saw a man once in a lumber camp eat plate -after plate of a stew made of meat, potatoes and carrots—cooked -in a big iron kettle over an open fire. At -home, this man would have growled at turkey or terrapin, -but here he was pushing back his plate again and -again asking the cook to put more carrots in. “Why,” -he said, “I thought carrots were made for horses to -eat. I didn’t know human beings ate them!” He -never had been a real human before—not until hunger -caught him and pulled him right up to that iron pot. -At his club in the city he could not have eaten three -mouthfuls of that stew.</p> - -<p>It is different with sleep. The man with no appetite -can get on after a fashion, but if he cannot sleep he is a -pitiable object. I met one once—a rich man who had -worked too hard—starved himself for sleep in order -to get hold of rather more than his share of money and -power. He had passed the limit of nerves and was -denied the power of sleeping. A few snatches of rest -were all he could get, but through the long still nights -he lay awake, thinking, thinking with the constant terror -that this would end in a disordered mind.</p> - -<p>We sat before this man’s fire late at night, and he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -told me all about it. To you sleep seems like a very -common and simple thing. The night finds you tired and -you shut your eyes and before you know it you are sailing -off into a peaceful, unknown country. Here was a -man who could not sleep. He must remain chained to -the cares and terrors of his daily life, and the bitterness -of it was that all the money he had slaved so hard -to obtain could not buy him what comes to you and me -with the mere closing of the eyes. It seemed to me the -most despairing mockery for this man to repeat Sir -Philip Sidney’s “Ode to Sleep”:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Come sleep; O Sleep! the certain hour of peace,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The indifferent judge between the high and low;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With shield of proof, shield me from out the prease</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O make in me these civil wars to cease</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Make thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A chamber deaf to noise and blind to light,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A rosy garland and a weary head.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“That’s it,” said my friend, “<i>A weary head, a -weary head</i>. Mine is weary, but sleep will not come.” -He sat looking at the fire for a long time, and then -he turned suddenly with a sort of haunted look in his -eyes.</p> - -<p>“I wish you would tell me about the <i>best sleep</i> you -ever had. Men may tell of their best meal, but I want -to know about rest—the best sleep.”</p> - -<p>It was a strange request, but as I sat there, my mind -went back to a hillside near the New England coast -where the valley slopes away to a salt marsh with a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -sluggish stream running through it. A low, weatherbeaten -farmhouse crouches at the foot of the wind-swept -hill. It is a lonely place. Few come that way -in daylight, and at night there are no household lights -to be seen.</p> - -<p>It had rained through the night, and the morning -brought a thick heavy fog. It was too wet to hoe corn, -and Uncle Charles said we could all go gunning. He -was an old soldier, a sharpshooter, and a famous shot. -So we tramped off along the marsh following the creek -until it reached the ocean. What a glorious day that -was for a boy! I carried an old army musket that -kicked my shoulder black and blue. We tramped along -the shore and through the wet marsh, hunting for sandpipers -and other sea fowl. Now and then a flock of -birds would seem to be lost in the fog, and Uncle Charles -would whistle them to where we lay in ambush. It -all comes back,—clear and distinct,—the cries of the -sea fowl and dull roar of the ocean as it pounded upon -the beach. Late in the afternoon we tramped home wet -and tired, but with a long string of birds. The ocean -roared on behind us louder than ever as the wind arose.</p> - -<p>It was not good New England thrift to eat those -birds—the guests at the Parker House in Boston would -pay good money for them. While we had been hunting, -Aunt Eleanor and the girls in the lonely farmhouse -had been busy with a “New England Dinner.” There -was a big plate of salt codfish, first boiled and then -fried crisp with little cubes of browned salt pork mixed -with it. There were boiled potatoes which split open -in a rich dry flour, boiled onions and carrots and great<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -slices of brown bread and butter. Then the odor from -the oven betrayed the crowning act of all—a monstrous -pan-dowdy, or apple grunt! Ever eat a genuine pan-dowdy -in a New England kitchen as a wet dreary night -is coming on after a tiresome day? No? I am both -sorry and glad for you. You have missed one of the -greatest joys of life, but you have much to look forward -to. When Uncle Charles began to cut that pan-dowdy, -we boys realized that we could not do it full -justice, so we went out and ran around the house half -a dozen times to make more room for the top of the -feast.</p> - -<p>After supper the dishes were washed, the house -cleaned up, and we washed out our guns. The old -musket had kicked my shoulder so that I could hardly -raise the arm, but no human being could have made me -admit it. We got Uncle Charles to tell us about the -time he shot at the officer at Port Hudson during the -war, and about the humpbacked man who carried the -powder from Plymouth to Boston during the Revolution. -Then through the gloom and fog came two young -men to call on the girls. In those days it seemed to -me very poor taste for one to listen to the conversation -of girls rather than war stories. True, the war stories -were time-worn, but the girl conversation was older yet. -Soon the little melodeon was talking up and a quartette -was singing the old songs of half a century ago. It -may have been the day’s tramping, the old musket, the -last plate of pan-dowdy or the tap of the rain on the -windows, but sitting there by the warm kitchen stove, I -felt a delicious drowsiness stealing over me.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<p>Bed is the place for sleep, and we boys climbed the -stairs past the great center chimney, and quickly tumbled -into bed. In the room below that quartette had -started an old favorite:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Along the aisles of the dim old forest</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I strayed in the dewy dawn</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And heard far away in their silent branches</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The echoes of the morn.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“They stirred my heart with their low, sweet voices,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Like chimes from a holier land,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As though far away in those haunted arches</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Were happy—an angel band.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There was one great booming bass voice which had -unconsciously fallen into the key of the dull roar which -the distant ocean was making. The rain was gently -tapping on the roof, and all the joys and pleasant memories -of youth were whispering happy things in our ears -as we sailed off on the most beautiful voyage to dreamland.</p> - -<p>I told this as best I could before the fire while my -weary friend listened, leaning back in his easy-chair -with his hand shading his face. And when I stopped -sleep had come to him at last—sweet and blessed sleep. -There are very few of us who would stand for a -photograph taken while we were asleep, but this man’s -face was free from care. An orator might not think -it a high tribute to his powers that he sent his audience -to sleep, but I am not an orator, and I would like to be -able to give my friends what they consider the blessed -things of life! And Peace, blissful Peace, had put her -healing hand upon my poor friend’s head.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LINCOLNS_BIRTHDAY">LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">It brought the worst storm we have had this Winter. -This season will pass on into history as about the roughest -we have had in 20 years. There came a whirl of -snow which filled the air and sifted in through every -crack and hole. We let the storm alone, and got away -from it. Merrill sorted out seed corn at the barn. -Philip had some inside painting to do, the women folks -kept at their household work, and the children got out -into the storm. They came in now and then to stand by -the fire—with faces the color of their hair. As for -me, I cannot say that I hurt myself with hard labor. -We piled the logs in the open fireplace and started a -roaring fire. With a pile of books on one side and a -pen and paper at the other, my big chair gave a very -good foundation for a Lincoln celebration. I presume -we all have our personal habits of reading. Some people -read only one kind of books, and stick to the one -in hand until it is finished. My plan is different. -Right now I am reading Dante, “Rural Credits,” -“Manufacture of Chemical Manure,” Whittier’s Poems -and Lowell’s essay on Abraham Lincoln. A poor jumble -of stuff for a human head you will say, but I turn from -one to another, so that instead of a mixed-up jumble I -try to have these different thoughts in layers through -the mind. In this way one may get a blend which is -better than a hash. It may seem absurd to think of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -putting poetry into rural credits or fertilizers, but unless -you can do something of the sort you can never get -very far with them.</p> - -<p>That was the great secret of Lincoln’s power. As -judged by knowledge or training or what we call “education,” -there were many abler men in the country at -his time, but Lincoln knew how to appeal to the imagination -of the plain, common people. Read his speeches -and papers and see how he framed a fact with a mental -picture which the common people could understand. -There were some wonderful pictures at the World’s -Fair in Chicago. Some were called masterpieces of -fabulous value. People stood before them and went on -with something of awe in their heart—not quite grasping -the artist’s meaning. One less pretentious picture -was named “The Breaking of Home Ties,” and day -by day a great throng stood before it, silent and wet-eyed. -It was a very simple home scene, picturing a -boy leaving his country home. Men studied it, walked -away and then turned and slowly came back that they -might see it once more. As long as they live people -will remember that picture, because the poetry of it appealed -to them as the higher art could not do. I think -Lincoln held the imagination of the plain people much -as that picture did. He was one who had suffered and -had been brought up with plain and simple family habits -which were fixed.</p> - -<p>The children have come running in to warm their -hands. They are lined up in front of the big fire, rosy-faced -and covered with snow. They stand looking at -me as I write. Dinner is nearly ready, and there is no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -question about their readiness for it. Here comes -Mother to look out at the storm, and she forgets to remember -that this group of snowbirds by my fire have -forgotten to stamp the snow off their feet. There will -be a puddle of water when they move off—but it will -soon dry up. As I watch them all it seems a good time -to pick up Lowell’s essay on Lincoln:</p> - -<p>“<i>He is so eminently our representative man, that, -when he speaks, it seems as if the people were listening -to their own thinking aloud.... He has always addressed -the intelligence of men. Never their prejudices, -their passion or their ignorance.</i>”</p> - -<p>Now I think that intelligence and power to speak as -people think can only come out of good family relations. -Do I mean to say that the family group is superior to -the college, the school or the other great institutions for -training human thought? I do, wherever the family -group is bound together as it should be by love, good -will, ambition and something of sacrifice!</p> - -<p>This nation and every other is ruled by the family -spirit. All public government is based on self-government, -and the family is the training school for all. -What could the college or the school do with a great -crowd or mob of students who have never known the -restraints of good family life? Ask any teacher to tell -you the difference between children reared in a clean, -careful family and those reared where the family relations -are much like a cross-cut saw. Line up the adults -you know, make a fair estimate of their character and -see whether you can select those who in their childhood -had a fair chance in family life. There are, of course,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -exceptions to all rules, but generally the boy or girl will -carry through life the habits and the human policies -which are given him in the family. As a rule these will -be carried into the new family which the boy or girl -may start, and thus be handed on like those qualities -which are transmitted through blood lines. No use talking—the -family unit is the most important element in -human society. A nation’s fame rests upon the nation’s -family.</p> - -<p>I think a man may fairly be judged by the way he -treats his parents, his children and his wife. I do -not care how he gets out and shows himself off as a -great man and a good citizen. He might get an overwhelming -vote for Congress or Governor, but God will -judge him more by the votes of father, mother, son, -daughter, wife! To me there can be nothing more -beautiful than the best relation between a man of middle -years and his aged parents. Perhaps the latter are -feeble and not well-to-do. When they can sit in their -son’s home happy and comfortable, knowing that the -entire family has been taught to put them first of all -in family regard, you have struck about the finest test -of a man’s character that good citizenship can offer. -When the children chase their father about and, out -of their own thought, run to anticipate his wants, you -can make up your mind that in that family are being -trained men and women who can go out and absorb -education and financial power which will be used for the -true benefit of humanity. Most of us can never hope to -be great men or to handle large public affairs, but we -can make our family a training school for good citizenship.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -I have no thought that in this group of bright-eyed -youngsters lined up by my fire we are to have -any great statesmen or authors or merchant princes or -big folk generally. On the whole I hope not, as it would -seem to me that the great man has a rather lonely life. -I do expect, however, that these children will always -remember Hope Farm, and that in future years when -the world may turn a very cold side to them they will -remember this stormy day and will feel the warmth of -this kindly fire.</p> - -<p>I have wandered away from what I wanted to say -about Lincoln and his power over the people. It was -this family feeling which made him strong, and if you -want your boy or girl to be really worth while you -must give them and their mother the best family surroundings -you can possibly secure. The man who taps -the spring or the well and sends the water running -through his house does far more for his country than -he who runs for Congress and taps the public pocket-book.</p> - -<p>But here comes Mother again, with “Come now, -dinner’s ready. Don’t let it get cold!” Get cold? The -children are already at the table! I wish you could -come right along with me. I would put two sausage -cakes on your plate and fill it up with mealy potatoes -and yellow turnips. Then you would have rice in another -dish. There is a dish of thick, brown gravy and -nothing would suit me better than to have you call for -an egg—fried or boiled. The Reds are laying well now. -There are two kinds of bread and plenty of butter, and -we will take a family vote as to whether we shall take<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -peaches, strawberries, Kieffer pears, cherries or raspberries -off the pantry shelves. I vote for Crosby -peaches, but you will have a free choice and all you can -eat. Surely the table makes a very strong family tie. -Come on!</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="UNCLE_EDS_PHILOSOPHY">UNCLE ED’S PHILOSOPHY</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Uncle Ed had his home in Florida, but spent the Summer -working at Hope Farm. At the time I speak of -we were hoeing corn at the top of our hill. We had -just planted the apple orchard, and we both realized -the long and weary years of toilsome waiting before -there could be any fruit. It was a hot day, and at the -end of the row we stopped to rest under the big cherry -tree where the stone wall is broad and thick. It was -a clear day, and far off across the rolling country to the -East we could see the sparkle of the sun on some gilded-top -building in New York. It gave one a curious feeling -to stand in that shady retreat on $50 land in a -lonely neighborhood, practically untouched by modern -development, and glance across to the millions and the -might crowded at the mouth of the Hudson. Most of us -feel a sort of pride on viewing the evidence of wealth -and power, even though we have no share in it, or even -when we know it means blood money taken from our -own lives. I felt something of this as I pointed it out -to Uncle Ed, and told him how probably the overflow -of that great city would some day make an acre of our -orchard worth more than a farm in Florida.</p> - -<p>This did not seem to impress him greatly. He ran -his eye over the glowing prospect and then slowly filled -his pipe for a smoke. I am no friend of tobacco, but I -confess that sometimes I enjoy seeing a man like Uncle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -Ed slowly fill his pipe. I feel that some sort of homely -philosophy is sure to be smoked out.</p> - -<p>“The trouble with you folks up in this country,” -said Uncle Ed, “is that you work too hard. You get so -that there is nothing in you but work and save. And for -what? How many of you ever get the benefit of your -own work? Down where I live we don’t exist for the -mere sake of working. I have known the time when -I got up determined to do a good day’s work cultivating. -I got the horse all harnessed, only to find that my neighbor -on the south had borrowed the cultivator, and I -couldn’t do that. Then I thought I’d hoe, but the boys -lost the hoe in the brush and couldn’t find it. Then -there was the woodpile to be cut up, but my neighbor on -the north had borrowed the ax.</p> - -<p>“Now up in this country if fate challenged a man -like that he would start picking up stones and making -a stone wall. Here is one now that we are resting -against. I’ll bet some old owner of this farm piled up -this heap of stones because he was determined that the -boys never should play or go fishing. It is now the -most useless thing you have on your farm. If, instead -of picking up stones and building this useless wall, that -old-timer had quit when fate gave him the sign, taken -a day off and let the boys go fishing or play ball, this -farm would be worth far more than it is today. Down -in my country when the cultivator and the hoe and the -ax all get away from us we accept it as a voice from -some higher authority, and we <i>drop everything and go -fishing</i>. After that I notice things straighten out and -work goes right. You fellows work too hard, and don’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -know it. But this won’t buy the woman a dress—we -must hoe this corn out.”</p> - -<p>The rows ran to the south, and as we hoed on I could -see, far away, that bright sparkle on the gilding of -the big city. And I answered with the old familiar -argument:</p> - -<p>“You have just told in a few words why there are -more savings of the poor and middle-class people in -that big city yonder than there are in the entire State -of Florida.” That was 16 years ago and the statement -was probably true at the time. Florida has gained since -then.</p> - -<p>“Up in this country we believe that the Lord gives -every man of decent mind and reasonable body a chance -to provide for himself and family before he is 45. If -he doesn’t do it by that time, he isn’t likely to do it at -all. We think that there are three ways of getting -money. You can earn it through labor, steal it, or have -it given to you. For most of us there is only one way—that -is to dig it out by the hardest work, and then practice -self-denial in order to hold it. Up in this country -the men who quit and go fishing when conditions turn -against them, spend their declining years without any -bait. That money off there where you see that sparkle -was produced by men who did not go fishing when conditions -turned against them.”</p> - -<p>As I look back upon it now that seems pretty cheap -talk, but it was the way we looked at it in those days.</p> - -<p>“I know,” said Uncle Ed, “but how much better -off are they when you sum it all up? I claim that the -man who goes fishing gets something that the man who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -built that stone wall never knew. Who piled up all -that money in the big city? Some of mine is there. -The interest I have paid on my mortgage has come into -one of these big buildings for investment. The profit -on many a box of oranges I shipped before the freeze -never got away from New York. It stuck there and you -can’t get it out. And that’s just what I mean. You -fellows work your fingers stiff and make a little money, -and then you put it into some bank or big company or -into stocks or bonds. In the end it all gets away from -you and runs down hill to that big city. The hired man -took $25 to the county fair. Ten dollars of it went -for beer and rum. The local saloonkeeper passed the -$10 on to the wholesaler, he to the brewer and he sent -part of it to Germany and the rest to Wall Street. The -other $15 mostly went in chance games or petty gambling. -He lost $5 betting that he could find the little -red ball under the hat. The man who won his $5 lost -it that night playing poker. The gambler who won it -lost it a few nights later in a gambling house. The -gambling house man bought bogus oil and mining stocks -and lost it that way. The oil stock man had sense -enough to salt it down in respectable securities, and -there it is now under that bright sparkle in the big city. -You and the rest of you do pretty much the same. This -man who built your stone wall did it. The money he -made was not invested here. If it had been you never -could have bought this farm. It is off there under -that bright sparkle—and the boys and girls run after it. -<i>You fellows work too hard!</i>”</p> - -<p>I undertook to come back with that text about the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -man who provideth not for his family—but I never was -good at remembering texts. That is probably because -I do not study them as I ought to. But at any rate I -undertook to argue that it is a man’s first duty to provide -for his family and also for his own “rainy day.” “<i>The -night cometh, when no man can work.</i>”</p> - -<p>“Down where I live,” said Uncle Ed, “we don’t -have such rainy days as you do up here. Life is simple -and straight and old people are cared for. We want -them to live with us—we are not waiting for them to -pass off and leave their money. Off in that big city -where your money is turning over and over, thousands -of human lives get under it and are crushed out of all -shape. Down there under that sparkle only the poor -know what neighbors are. Many a man lives his life in -some tenement or apartment house never knowing or -caring what goes on in the room on the other side of the -wall. There may be joy or sorrow, death or life, virtue -or crime. He doesn’t know and he doesn’t care, because -this never-ending grind of work has changed sympathy -into selfishness. And in the end that is what all those -dollars which you folks dump into the big city come to. -If the habit is so strong that you’ve got to work and try -to catch up with the man who has a little more than you -have, why not invest your money at home and in the -farm? Those fellows off under that sparkle will come -chasing after your money if you invest it here, and you -would be boss instead of servant! <i>Am I right?</i>”</p> - -<p>That was 16 years ago, and many things have happened -since then. Uncle Ed has passed away—after -many troubles and misfortunes. The world has been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -shaken up by the war and by great discoveries, so that -we hardly know it. Yet there is a brighter sparkle -than ever on the gilded roofs of the big city—greater -wealth and more blinding poverty crouching beneath it. -The hill where we hoed corn is now covered with big -apple trees. Where then Bob and Jerry toiled slowly -along with half a ton of fruit the truck now flashes down -the hard, smooth road with two tons. But sitting on the -old stone wall of a Sunday afternoon in late August -I look across the valley and wonder how much there -really is in Uncle Ed’s philosophy after all. What do -<i>you</i> think?</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_GOD-FORSAKEN_PLACE">A GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">James and William Hardy were twins—born and bred -on a New Hampshire farm. The family dated far back -to pioneer times, when John Hardy and Henry Graham, -with their young wives, went into the wilderness as -the advance guard of civilization. It came to be a common -understanding that a Hardy should always marry -a Graham, and through four generations at least this -family law had been observed until there had been developed -one of those fine, purebred New England -families which represent just about the highest type of -the American. As the father of these twins married -a Graham girl you had a right to expect them to be as -much alike as two peas in the family pod—both in -appearance and in character. Here you surely might -expect one of those cases where the twins are always -being mixed up, when not even their mother could be -sure which was Jim and which was Bill. In truth, -however, the boys were distinctly different from the -day they were born—different in size, in appearance -and in character.</p> - -<p>These twins innocently brought to the surface a sad -spot of family history which both the Grahams and the -Hardys hoped had been buried too far down ever to -show itself. Far back in the French and Indian war -a band of raiders from Canada burst out of the forest -and carried off a dozen prisoners. Among them was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -the pride of the Graham family—a beautiful girl of 16. -The settlers, hiding in their blockhouse, could only -look on and see their relatives start on the long march to -Canada. The next year some of these prisoners were -ransomed, and came back to say that the girl had married -a young Frenchman. She was happy, and sent -word to her parents that she preferred to stay with -her husband. Years went by, until one night there -came to Henry Graham’s house a Canadian ranger and -a young girl. It was their granddaughter and her -father. The mother had died and had begged her husband -to take her daughter back to the old folks as her -offering of love. The father delivered his message, -bade his daughter farewell and silently vanished into -the forest. They never saw him again, but they realized -that he had given full measure of devotion to his -dead wife. The girl grew up to be a beautiful creature -much like her mother, only darker, and at times there -was a bright glitter in her eyes. She married a Hardy -and settled down as a farmer’s wife. She was dutiful -and kind, but sometimes her husband would see her -standing at the door—looking off into the Northern -forests with a look which made him shake his head. -Years went by, and this spot on the family history had -been forgotten until these twins uncovered it! Their -mother knew in her heart that the spirit of the restless -Frenchman was watching her from the cradle through -the black shiny eyes of her strange baby. James, the -light-haired, steady, purebred infant, slept calmly or -acted just as a good Hardy should, but the wild spirit -of the forest had jumped three generations right into<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -the cradle, where this black-haired little changeling -stared at her!</p> - -<p>There never were two children more unlike than -these twins. Jim was solid, sound, a little slow, but -absolutely trustworthy—“a born Hardy” as they said. -Bill was bright, quick, restless, full of plans and visions. -He did not like to work, and had no respect for the -family skeleton. This was a mortgage, which for many -years had sunk its claws into the rocky little farm. -The truth was that this farm never should have been -cleared and settled. It was rocky and sandy; farther -out of date than the old mill rotting unused by the old -mill pond. The mortgage hung like a wolf at the back -door, demanding its due, which came out of the little -farm like blood money. Jim Hardy, like his father -and grandfather, grew up to regard that mortgage as a -fixed and sacred institution. It was a family heirloom -or tradition—something like the old musket which an -older Hardy carried at Bunker Hill, or like grandmother’s -old spinning-wheel. As for the poor, rocky -farm, Jim and his father would stay and grind themselves -away in a hopeless struggle just because the -Hardys who went before them had done so. It was -different with Bill. He had no use for the mortgage -or for the rocky pastures, for the dash of French blood -had put rubber, or yeast, into the covering of the stern -New England thought. His father never could understand -him and one day, when Bill was 17, the blood -of the “changeling” burst into open mutiny. The -father knew of only one way to act. He ordered the -boy around behind the barn and took the horsewhip to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -him. As a Hardy, Bill was expected to stand and take -his punishment without a murmur. As the descendant -of a wild forest ranger he could only resent the blows. -What he did was to catch his father’s arms and hold -them like a vice. Neither spoke a word. They just -looked at each other. The older man struggled, but he -was powerless—he knew that his son was the master. -He dropped the whip from his hand and bowed his head. -The boy released him, broke the whip in two, and threw -it away. The father walked to the house, a dazed and -broken man. Bill watched him and then walked out to -the back lot where Jim, the steady and faithful, was -building a fence.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Jim,” he said. “I’m off. It had to -come. I’m different, and yet the same, as you will see. -You stay here and look after father and mother. I will -help some day.” It was the Hardy in both the boys -which made it impossible for them to come any closer in -feeling. Bill walked on over the pasture hill; at the -top he paused to wave his hand. Then he was gone.</p> - -<p>Bill was clean and sound at heart, and the French -blood had given him a quick active brain. Instead of -striking for the wilderness he headed for New York -and he prospered. The old French ancestor drove him -on with tireless energy, and the long line of clean farm -breeding kept him true to his purpose to go back some -day and show the old folks that he was still a Hardy. -Years passed, until one day there came to Bill an uncontrollable -longing to go home. Just a few brief, unresponsive -letters had passed between him and Jim, but -the time came when Bill longed with a great longing to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -see the old farm once more. And so, the next day, a -well-dressed, prosperous man walked into the old yard -and looked about him. There was Jim, the same old -Jim, walking in from the barn with the night’s milk. -Father was cutting wood at the wood pile and mother -stood at the kitchen door—just the same home picture -which Bill knew so well. Bill did great things during -his short stay. He paid that mortgage, ordered a new -barn built and left capital for Jim to improve the farm. -He did everything that a Hardy ought to do—and -more—and yet he could not satisfy himself. It all -seemed so small and narrow. He had hoped to find -great music in the wind among the pines, but it filled -him with a great loneliness, which he could not overcome. -He had hoped to find peace and rest, but these -were for the untried farm boy—not for the restless and -worried business man. It broke out of him at night on -the second day, when he and Jim were on the pasture -hill looking for the sheep. The loneliness of the early -Fall day fairly entered his heart.</p> - -<p>“<i>Jim</i>,” he said, “<i>old fellow, I don’t see how you -live in such a God-forsaken place</i>!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Bill,” said Jim, “New York must be like -Paradise to beat the old homestead.”</p> - -<p>“Better a week on Broadway than a lifetime on these -lonely hills.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to try it and see!” said Jim.</p> - -<p>So Jim Hardy, the plain farmer, went to New -York to visit Brother Bill. He had everything he could -call for. Bill lived in a beautiful apartment, and he -gave Jim a white card to see and do what he wanted.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -Bill was too busy to go around much, but Jim made his -way. For a couple of days it was fine—then somehow -Jim, just like Bill at the old farm, began to grow lonesome -and oppressed. Right through the wall of Bill’s -apartment house was a family with one child. The janitor -told him the child was sick, so Jim knocked at the -door to sympathize with the neighbors. They froze him -with a few words and got rid of him. He saw a man -on the street and stopped to converse with him. “Get -out!” said the stranger. “You can’t bunco me.” Day -after day Jim Hardy, the farmer, saw the fierce, selfish -struggle for life in the big city. The great buildings, -the theaters, Broadway at night—they were all splendid, -but behind and under them lay the meanness, the selfish -spirit, the lack of neighborly feeling, which galled the -farmer to the heart. On the third night Bill took his -brother to a great reception. Just as they walked into -the brilliant room Jim glanced from the window and -saw a policeman throw a weak and sickly man out of a -public room where he was trying to get warm.</p> - -<p>“What did I tell you, Jim?” said Bill. “Isn’t this -worth a year on your old hills?” And Jim could only -think of one thing to say:</p> - -<p>“<i>Bill, old fellow, I don’t see how you can live in such -a God-forsaken place!</i>”</p> - -<p>What do you make of it? One brother thinks God -has forsaken the country, while the other says He has -forsaken the city! To me they prove that God is everywhere. -Some may not find Him, since they look for -Him only in things which are agreeable to them, and -those are rarely the places in which to look. I think,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -too, that, like Jim and Bill, all children come into the -world with natural tendencies and inclinations which, if -worthy, should be encouraged rather than repressed. -Both Jim and Bill are needed in American life.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LOUISE">LOUISE</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">“<i>How is Louise now?</i>”</p> - -<p>“<i>She seems a little better!</i>”</p> - -<p>That message came over the ’phone on Friday evening, -just as the members of the Hope Farm family were -separating for the night. Early in the year we had a -letter from a woman in the West who came back to -the paper after 15 years’ absence. As a girl she -lived in New York State. Father took the paper and -she remembered the talks about the Bud, Scion and -Graft. “What has become of those children?” she -asked. “Since I left home I have lost track of them. -Now that I have a home and children of my own I -would like to know what they came to.”</p> - -<p>These were the names given to the four children of -our first brood. We had one little girl of our own -whom I called the Bud. Her mother did not want her -brought up alone, so we took in a small boy—a little -fellow of an uncertain age. We did not adopt him, but -he was treated just like our own child, and “grew up” -in our home. I called him the Seedling! A noted -botanist argued with me to prove that these names should -have been transposed—but I let them go, for we tried to -graft good things upon the Seedling. Then came two -other little ones—Mother’s niece and nephew, needing -home and protection. We took them in, and I called<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -them Graft and Scion. These names may not have betrayed -any great knowledge of botany, but they seemed -to fit the children, although as the little ones grew up -we were glad to let those names drop.</p> - -<p>This quartette of little ones grew and thrived. It was -at times rather hard sledding for the Hope Farmers in -those early years, but youth greases the runners with -hope, and kids never know the true taste of tough mutton. -They grew on through sickness, the wilfulness of -childhood, powers of heredity and all the things which -confront common children. For they always seemed to -me just kids of very common clay, though Mother -would at times come back from places where other children -“behaved” and say: “You must understand that -we have some very superior youngsters!” Of course I -realized that the “Bud” would most likely be pretty -much what her parents were, and it was a long-time -hope that she would throw out our many undesirable -qualities and concentrate upon the few good ones. Now -comes our friend asking what has become of them—and -I will try to answer for all! The Bud is a senior -at one of the great Women’s Colleges; the Graft is with -an engineering party running a new railroad through -the Arizona wilderness; the Seedling is a captain in the -Salvation Army—the Scion! ah! That is why I am -writing this!</p> - -<p>Louise grew up a small, rather delicate young woman, -ambitious, clear-brained and with a quick, active mind. -There came a time when greater family responsibilities -came upon us all. Her father died, and her mother -became hopelessly ill, and four younger brothers and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -sisters came to us to form what we call our second brood. -Even as a young girl Louise began to realize the stern -responsibilities of life for those little ones. When she -finished high school her ambition to be of service to this -family group became fixed. She wanted to become self-supporting -and to have a hand in helping with these -younger children. Teaching is the great resource of -educated women who are naturally fitted for the work, -and Louise saw in the schoolroom her best chance for -useful service. I think this was one of the rare cases -where women are willing to work and prepare themselves -for true unselfish service. Louise was timid -and naturally nervous—not strong or with great dominating -power. I do not think any of us understood -how much it really meant to her to face direct responsibility -and force her way through.</p> - -<p>Mother and I have always felt that if any of our -children show real, self-sacrificing desire for an education -we will practise any form of needed self-denial that -the child may be college-trained. For an education -worked out in that way will become a glory and an -honor to all who have to do with it. So we felt it no -burden, but rather a privilege, to send Louise to the -Normal School. How well and faithfully she worked -no one can ever realize. I often think that most reputations -for bravery in this world are not fairly earned. -Some strong, well-bred, naturally optimistic character, -with health and heritage from a long line of dominating -ancestors pushes and smashes his way through obstacles -and acquires a great reputation for courage. I -think such are far less deserving than women like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -Louise, small and delicate and nervous, who conquer -natural timidity and force themselves to endure the -battle. It is even harder to win confidence in yourself—to -conquer the inside forces—than to fight the outside -ones.</p> - -<p>Louise did this. She did it well, without boasting or -great complaint and without flinching. At times she -was depressed, for the task seemed too much for her, -but she rose above it and won. She won honors at her -school, and long before she expected it, on her own -little, honest record in the schoolroom, she was employed -to teach at a good salary. It was to be only -four miles from home—amid the best surroundings—and -there was no happier woman on earth than was -Louise when she wrote us the first news about it. It -came just before Christmas. There are many women -who could not see any cause for Christmas joy in the -thought of long years of monotonous and wearying service, -but Louise saw in this something of the joy of -achievement, for through honest, trained labor, the outcome -of her own patience and determination, she was to -become self-supporting and a genuine help to the children. -I presume no one but a conscientious and ambitious -woman can realize what that means. I know -women who would look upon such power of self-support -simply as selfish freedom. Louise saw in it the power -of greater service. We have tried our best to train our -children for that view of a life work.</p> - -<p>You may therefore imagine that the holidays at Hope -Farm seemed like holy days indeed. They were all -there except the Seedling and the Graft, and <i>they</i> sent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -messages which left no regret, no sadness to creep in -out of the past. Somehow I hope all you older people -may know before you pass on something of what -Mother and I did about our two broods as the old year -passed on.</p> - -<p>Yet there it comes again—the old question. I came -home a little later than usual on Friday night. The -night was wet and foggy, and Mother met me at the -train. One of the little boys who usually comes for -me had gone to meet Louise. Her first week of school -was over, and she was coming home—a teacher! As -we drove into the yard the family ran out to meet us—“Something -has happened—they want you on the -’phone at once!” Ah! but these country tragedies may -flash upon us without warning. Halfway home Louise -had been stricken desperately ill, and she now lay at -the parsonage—three miles away—helpless. Just as -quickly as fingers could put the harness on our fastest -horse, Mother and “Cherry-top” were driving off into -the fog and rain. We waited until they reached the -parsonage and then we kept the ’phone busy. The poor -girl, riding home after her first fine week in the schoolroom, -had been stricken with an internal hemorrhage—and -it was doubtful if she could rally! At nine o’clock -came the message: “She seems to be better.” The -little boys were coming home—and they soon appeared, -white and troubled. Mother was to stay all night and -she sent a hopeful message about coming in the morning -with Louise. We went to bed to get strength and nerve -for any emergency. In the early morning Mother -walked into my room and turned up the light. We<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -looked at each other for a moment. Then there were -six words:</p> - -<p>“<i>How is Louise?</i>”</p> - -<p>“<i>She is gone!</i>”</p> - -<p>We said nothing more, but we were both thinking the -same thing!</p> - -<p>“<i>The first break in our big family has come. How -is Louise now?</i>”</p> - -<p>There was no way of saving her. Human skill and -human love had failed. She was dead!</p> - -<p class="tb">It was a beautiful service. There were only our -own family and perhaps a dozen friends. We all -wanted it so. We do not like the wild grief and public -curiosity so often displayed at large funerals. There -was just a great bank of flowers, a white casket and a -simple service over this brave and loyal girl. I do not -say “poor” girl, nor do I dwell upon the sadness of it. -I thought that all out as Mother and I sat at the head -of the casket. She died gloriously—like a soldier at his -duty. She died when life was young. She had just -won her little battle in the great world of affairs. She -died in the joy of victory and in the faith that all -things are possible. The wine of life was full. She -never knew the sting of defeat, the shame and meanness -of false friendships and ambitions, which has come -to those of us who linger on the way. And so at the end -of it all I ask the old question once more:</p> - -<p>“How is Louise now?”</p> - -<p>“She is better! Thank God! She is better!”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHRISTMAS_EVERY_DAY">CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">It is well enough to keep the Christmas tree standing -until Spring cleaning at least. There may be those -who open the closet door once a year and let the Christmas -spirit out—somewhat like the family skeleton, to -food and water—and then lock it up again. That does -not suit me, for I would like to keep the door open so -that Christmas may be with us every day in the year. -The celebration just closed is about the best our family -and community ever had, and it will do us permanent -good.</p> - -<p>On Wednesday evening the children had their celebration -at the church. It was a cold clear night, with good -sleighing, so we hitched the two big grays to the bob -sled and filled the box with straw, and the children cuddled -down into this nest and pulled blankets over them. -The Hope Farm man drove, with Mother on the seat -beside him to direct the job and tell him when and -where to turn out. Tom and Broker seemed to feel that -they were, in their way, playing the part of reindeer, -for they trotted off in great shape—a little clumsy on -their feet, perhaps, but with strength enough to pull -down a house. Broker is inclined to be lazy, and Tom -did most of the pulling unless we stirred his partner up -with the stick. Through the clear starlight we went -crunching and jingling on over the hills and through<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -the narrow level valleys, for our country has a badly -wrinkled face.</p> - -<p>Part of the way lies through the woods, and then -a stretch along the banks of a little river. There was -just enough wind to make a little humming in the -trees. Now and then a rabbit jumped out of the -shadow and went hopping off across the snow. There -was no danger—it was Christmas, and we do not carry -firearms. I think I can tell you much about a person’s -character and circumstances if you will tell me what -comes into mind on a lonely road, when the wind is -playing its wild tunes among the trees.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Over the chimney the night wind sang,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Chanting a melody no one knew.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To some this melody brings sad memories or fear of -trouble, but the happy group in our big sled heard nothing -of these in the sound. As Tom and Broker pulled -their load on beneath the trees I think each one of us -heard in the wind’s singing something of the song which -the angels sang when the shepherds listened long years -ago. This may be but a fancy of mine, yet I think our -little group came nearer to understanding what Christmas -means—on that lonely road—than we had before.</p> - -<p>You know how pleasant it is to come trotting along -a country road on a cold starry night and see the lights -of the church burst into view far ahead. Our church is -an old stone structure, full of years and honorable history. -It was here, at least part of it, during the Revolution, -and at one time Hessian prisoners were confined -in it. There were no prisoners except those of hope<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -inside the church that night. The boys and I made Tom -and Broker comfortable and then we went inside to find -a big Christmas tree and a crowd of happy children. -Surely Christmas is children’s day, and they owned the -church that night. Mother marshaled her big primary -class for one chorus, and it seemed as if the entire end -of the church was made of children. A couple of our -Cherry-tops lent a little color to it. The Hope Farm man -was escorted up to a front seat, where he was expected -to look the part of prominent citizen. They ran him -into the programme too for a Christmas story, so he -got up and told the company about “Pete Shivershee’s -Miracle”—a little Christmas memory of life in a lumber -camp many years ago. Finally the simple presents -were distributed, the sleepy little ones aroused, good -wishes spoken and we all piled in once more for the -home trip. Broker takes life as it comes, but Tom -was chilly and disposed to be a trifle gay over the -prospect of barn and cornstalks once more. He proceeded -to pull the entire load, Broker trotting on with -dangling traces! It was a sleepy and happy crowd that -finally turned off the road into Hope Farm. “<i>We had -a big time!</i>”</p> - -<p>In two of the villages near us the people organized -community Christmas trees. These trees were placed in -the public square or some prominent spot, the electric -wires were connected, and colored bulbs hung all over -to take the place of candles. These were lighted on -Christmas Eve and kept going all through the holiday -week. It was a great success, for it brought people -together, made a better community spirit, and helped us<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -all. In addition to this community tree arrangements -were made to have singers go about the town singing -the old Christmas carols. This revival of the old English -custom was a beautiful thing and a great success.</p> - -<p>Shortly after three on Christmas morning our folks -were awakened by music. I think the Cherry-tops -thought it was Santa Claus, as it probably was. Out in -front of our house a motor car carrying six young men -had turned in from the road. There in the frosty -morning they were singing:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“O come, all ye faithful,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Joyful and triumphant,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O come ye! O come ye</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To Bethlehem.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Come and behold Him</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Born the King of angels,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O come let us adore Him,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O come let us adore Him,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O come let us adore Him,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Christ the Lord.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They were beautiful singers and our folks will never -forget that Christmas morning.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Silent night! Holy night,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All is calm. All is light.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">’Round young Virgin mother and child</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Holy infant so tender and mild,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sleep in heavenly peace.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Finally the car started off, moving slowly down the -road with the music creeping back to us through the -clear air:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Hark, the Herald angels sing.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span></p> - -<p>Our folks heard them at the next neighbor’s, far -down the road. I have no doubt many a weary and -troubled soul waking in the night at the sound went -back to happier dreams of a better tomorrow. It was -a beautiful thing to do, and never before did Christmas -morning come to us so happily as this year.</p> - -<p>I thought of these things all day, and the conviction -has grown upon me that what we people who live in -the country need more than anything else is something -of this spirit which binds people together and holds -them. We need it in our work, our play and in our -battles. It is another name for patriotism, which means -the unselfish love of country. The Duke of Wellington -said the battle of Waterloo was won on the playgrounds -of England, where boys were trained in manly sports. -He told only half of it, for the spirit which turned -that play into war came from the singers who in English -villages sang Christmas carols or English folk -songs. In like manner the wonderful national spirit -which the German nation has shown has been developed -largely through the singing societies which have expressed -German feeling in song. In 1792 a band of -Frenchmen marched from the south of France to Paris -dragging cannon through a cloud of dust and singing the -Marseillaise hymn, and even to this day the loyal spirit -of France traces down from those dusty singers. Do -I mean to say that farmers can come together and sing -their troubles away? No, for some of the troubles have -grown so strong and penetrated so deep that they must -be pulled out by the roots. What I do say is that before -we can hope to remove these troubles and make our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -conditions what they should be we must feel toward our -friends and neighbors the sentiments which are expressed -in these beautiful old songs. The time has -gone by when we can hope to obtain what we should -have from society as individuals playing a cold, selfish -game of personal interest. We have tried that for -many years and steadily lost out on it. The only -hope for us now is in a true community spirit of loyalty -and sacrifice, instead of the effort to get all we can for -ourselves. That is why I say that there should be something -of Christmas in every day of the year, and why -I give these holiday memories.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_FINEST_LESSON">“THE FINEST LESSON”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">It is the privilege of youth and old age to make comparisons. -One has little or nothing of experience to -use as a yardstick—the other has everything life can -offer him. One compares with imagination, the other -with fact, and youth, having a wider pasture for -thought, usually finds pleasanter places for feeding. -My children have spent nearly every Christmas thus -far before this open fire, while I have ranged far and -wide, from Florida to the Great Lakes, and from Cape -Cod to Colorado. As we sit in silence before our fire -the boys can imagine themselves in some hunter’s camp, -or with the soldiers in France, while the girls can drop -themselves down from the wings of fancy in Cuba or -Brazil. I might try that, but stern fact drags me down -to other days, and old-time companions come creeping -out of the past to say “Merry Christmas” and stand -here, a little sorrowful that they cannot give the children -something of their story. So I must be their spokesman, -it seems, and the children give me a chance when -after dreaming a while they come and ask me to tell -about the real Christmas. “What was the finest -Christmas lesson you ever had?” They do not put it -in quite these words, but that is the sense of it. So -there comes to me a great desire to live up to the highest -test of story-telling—that is, so to interest your audience -that they will forget to eat their apples.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span></p> - -<p>The room seems full of the shadowy forms of men and -women who have stepped out of the past to bring back -a Christmas memory. Which of these old life teachers -ever gave me the best lesson? They were all good—even -that big fellow who tried to kick me out of a lumber -camp—and failed—or that slimy little fraud who beat -me out of a week’s wages! I think, however, that those -two women over by the window lead all the rest. One -is an old woman—evidently a cripple; the other -younger—you cannot see her face in the dim light, but -she stands by the older woman’s chair. Yes, they represent -the best Christmas lesson I have had. So come up -to the fire, forget the wind roaring outside, and listen to -it. I was a hired man that Winter in a Western State. -Some of the farmers who read this will remember me—not -for any great skill I showed at farm work, but because -I spent my spare time (that meant nights) going -around “speaking pieces.” I am greatly afraid that as -an agriculturist I did better work at keeping air hot -than I ever did at heating plowshares through labor.</p> - -<p>You see, it was this way. I was a freshman at an -agricultural college, at a time when these institutions -were struggling hard to live. The average freshman -thinks he is the salt of the earth, forgetting that he is -salt which has not gained its savor through losing its -freshness. A man gets very little salt in his character -until he goes out and assaults the world! At any rate, -I had no money salted down and no fresh supplies coming -in. I had to get out during the Winter and earn -the price of another term at college. I tried canvassing -for a book. We will draw the curtain down over<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -that act. Some men tell me of making small fortunes as -book agents. From my experience I judge these men -to be supermen or superior prevaricators, to put it -mildly. I worked the job for all I was worth in spite -of all obstacles, such as the wrath of farmers who had -been cheated through signing papers, the laughter of -pretty girls and the teeth of dogs, and sold four books -in two weeks! At last I struck a farmer who offered -me a job digging a ditch. I made him a present of my -“sample copy” and went to work.</p> - -<p>A dollar makes an interrogation point with a barb -on it. About all a farm produced in Winter, those -days, was enough to eat and drink and something to -sell for the taxes. The farmer I worked for had a -red colt that was to settle with the tax man, but just -before the taxes were due the colt ran away and broke -his neck. I cannot say that my labor was worth much, -but education is not one of the few things which come to -us without money or price. Then I suddenly made the -discovery that I was “a talented young elocutionist.” -At least that is what the local paper stated, and do we -not know that all we see in print must be true? I suppose -I could tell you of one Christmas long ago that I -spent as “supe” in a big theater and what befell us behind -the scenes. At any rate, I could “speak pieces,” -and I had a long string of them in mind. So what was -a rather poor mimic in a city became a “talented elocutionist” -far back over muddy roads. You want to -remember that this was a long time before the bicycle -had grown away from the clumsy “velocipede.” There -were few, if any “good roads.” No one dreamed of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -gasoline engines or automobiles. During an open Winter -the mud was 10 to 20 inches deep, and every mile -of travel was to be multiplied by the number of inches -of mud. Amid such surroundings it is not so hard -to be known as a “talented elocutionist” when your -voice is strong, your tongue limber, your memory good, -and you have had a chance to see and hear some of the -great actors from behind the scenes.</p> - -<p>I made what they called “a big hit” at night, with -audiences all the way from four or five up to 200. When -life was dull and blue a neighbor would come with his -family to our farmhouse and I would sit by the kitchen -fire and entertain them. Once a farmer had a little -trouble with his mother-in-law, who seemed to hold the -mortgage. On his invitation I dropped in one night and -a few of my “funny pieces” made this good lady laugh -so that she forgave her son-in-law. Then I was called -into the chamber of a very sick man to recite several -“religious pieces.” I shall not soon forget that scene. -The poor sick man lying there with eyes closed, the -entire family and some of the neighbors grouped around -like a company of mourners, and the “talented elocutionist” -standing by the head of the bed in the gray -light of the dying day. Yes, sir, the man recovered! -They have a famous saying here in New York. “It’s -a great life if you don’t weaken!” I found it so that -Winter, and as life was young and full ambition had not -been severely wounded, I did not weaken.</p> - -<p>But all this, of course, was mere practice for larger -occasions. Whenever I could work up a crowd I would -go about to schoolhouses and churches, entertain as best<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span> -I could and then “pass the hat”! What evenings they -were! They were usually in old-fashioned schoolhouses -with the big iron stove in the center of the room. -Such houses were rarely used at night, and there would -be no light except as some of the audience brought -lamps or candles. The room was usually crowded and -the stove red-hot. In most cases the meeting would be -opened with prayer and some local politician might -make a speech. Then the “talented elocutionist” would -stand up near the stove. He never was an “impressive -figure” at his best. In those old days the best he -could afford was a pair of thick cowhide boots, a second-hand -coat which came from a long, thin man, and trousers -evidently made originally for a fat man. Still, -the light was dim and the speaker remembered hearing -James E. Murdock say that if you could only put yourself -into the <i>spirit</i> of your talk the audience would follow -you there and forget how you looked. I had seen -a great actor play the part of Fagin in “Oliver Twist,” -and at these entertainments I tried giving an imitation -of him, until a big husky farmer tried to whip me. I -had a job to explain to my friends that he was trying to -punch Fagin—not me. The audiences knew no middle -ground. They wanted some burlesque or some tragedy of -their own lives which would tear at their heartstrings. -Now and then as I recited in those hot, dim schoolhouses -the keen humor of the thing would come to me, -or like a flash the poverty and pathos of my own struggle -would sweep over me with overwhelming force. -Then I could feel that audience moving with me and -for a brief moment I got out of the ditch of life and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -knew the supreme joy of the complete mastery of -one who can separate the human imagination from -the flesh and compel it to walk with him where he -wills.</p> - -<p>These moments were all too brief. Back we came -finally to the dim, stifling room, and the rather ignoble -and commonplace job of trying to measure the value of -a thrill by a voluntary contribution. I have had many -a high hope and many a dream of a new suit of clothes -blackballed on “passing the hat.” At first, when a man -got up and said: “Gents, this show is worth a dollar, -and I will pass the hat,” I took him at his word and expected -a hat full of bills. Yet even when I shook out -the lining I could find nothing larger than a dime. -During that Winter I made a fine collection of buttons. -It may be that most men want to keep the left hand -from knowing what the right hand is up to, but evidently -you must have one hand or the other under public observation -if you expect much out of the owner. I have -learned to have no quarrel with human nature, and I -imagine after all that the hire fitted the value of the -laborer’s efforts fairly well.</p> - -<p>Christmas came to us in that valley with the same -beautiful message which was carried to all. It was a -cold Christmas, and as we went about our chores before -day and at night the stars were brilliant. The -crinkle of the ice and snow and the hum of the wind -over the fences and through the trees came to me like the -murmur of a faraway song. It touched us all. We -saw each other in something of a new light of glory. -The woman of the house, I think, regarded me as a sort<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -of awkward hired man. Now she seemed to see a boy, -far from home, struggling with rather feeble hands -against the flood which swept him away from the ambition -to earn an education. I am sure that it came to -her that the Christmas spirit must be capitalized to help -me on my way. So she organized a big gathering for -Christmas Eve at which I was to “speak” and accept a -donation. It was to be over in the next district, and -that good woman took the sleigh and drove all over that -county drumming up an “audience.” I am sure that -there never was a “star” before or since who had such -an advance or advertising agent as I did on that occasion. -She was a good trainer, too. The day before -Christmas I husked corn in the cold barn, and this -delicate woman ran through the snow with two hot -biscuits and a piece of meat. There I worked through -the day husking corn with my hands while I “rehearsed” -a few new ones with my brain and sent my -heart way back to New England, where I knew the folks -were thinking of me.</p> - -<p>In these times there would have been a fleet of automobiles -moored near the farmhouse, but in those days -no engine had yet coughed out the gasoline in its throat. -We came in sleighs and big farm “pungs.” Standing -by the barn in the clear moonlight you could see the -lanterns gleaming along the road, and hear the tinkle of -the sleighbells and the songs which the young people -were singing. Far down the road came a big farm sled -loaded with young people who were singing “Seeing -Nellie Home.” Sweet and clear came their fresh young -voices through the crisp, frosty air:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Her little hand was resting</div> - <div class="verse indent2">On my arm as light as foam</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When from Aunt Dinah’s quilting party,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I was seeing Nellie home.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I was seeing Nellie. I was seeing Nellie.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I was seeing Nellie home,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">’Twas from Aunt Dinah’s quilting party,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I was seeing Nellie home.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The old farmer on the front seat sat nodding his head -to the music, and his wife beside him took her hand out -of the muff and slid it under his arm. These were the -fine old days of simple pleasures, when the country -entertained itself and was satisfied. The other night -my young folks took me off to a moving picture theater -where we saw a great actress portraying human emotion -in a way to make you shudder. My mind went -back to my own feeble efforts as a star performer, and -I was forced to admit that the usual Sunday school -entertainment could have but a small chance in competition -with this powerful exhibition. The thing to do is to -carry this strong attraction to the country and not force -our young people to travel to the city after it.</p> - -<p>Each sleigh brought not only its load of human -freight, but a big basket of food, for there was to be a -feast of the body with food as well as of the spirit with -oratory. As the guest of honor I rode over with one of -the school trustees, and he proved a good local historian.</p> - -<p>“This farm we visit tonight is owned by the Widder -Fairchild. A nice woman, but homely enough to stop -a clock. Her father left her the farm, and she got to be -quite an old maid. We all thought she had settled down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -for such when she up and married the hired man, a nice -man, but no farmer, and no property except a cough -and an old aunt mighty nigh bed-ridden. Then the husband -died and left the old lady on her hands. She -might have sent the old thing to the poorhouse—ain’t -no kin of hers—but just because her husband promised -to keep her, Mrs. Fairchild has kept the old lady on. -There the two women live on one of the best farms in -the county.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the best because the Lord has blessed it.” That -came from the wife on the back seat. She had tried to -get in a word before.</p> - -<p>“No, no! Farms are made good by hard work and -judgment. The minister went and talked to her about -it, but all he got out of her was ‘And Ruth said, Entreat -me not to leave thee or to return from following -after thee: for whither thou goest I will go.’”</p> - -<p>“But, Henry, ain’t you ’shamed to call her homely?”</p> - -<p>“No, because it’s the truth. It wouldn’t be about -you, now, but I told the minister that once. He has to -be diplomatic and he hemmed and hawed and finally -said, ‘She has a strong face.’ He’s right! Mighty -strong!”</p> - -<p>If you ever acted in the capacity of <i>donatee</i> at such a -party you know the feeling. The big house was filled. -Out in the kitchen the women sorted out the food -and arranged it for supper. In the front room, beside -a little table, sat “the hired man’s old aunt,” a beautiful -old lady with white hair and a sweet, patient face. On -the table stood a few house plants in pots. One geranium -had opened a flower.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p> - -<p>“The only one in the neighborhood for Christmas,” -said the old lady. “You don’t know how proud I am -of it. It has been such a joy to me to see it slowly -grow, and, oh, think of what it means to have it come at -Christmas!”</p> - -<p>But the donatee has little time for small talk. He -always earns his donation, and whatever happened to it -later, I earned it that night. They finally stopped me -for supper. The minister alluded to it as “the bounteous -repast which we are now asked to enjoy.” My -friend the trustee stood by the door and shouted:</p> - -<p>“Hoe in—help yourself!”</p> - -<p>It was getting on toward Christmas Day when I stood -up in the corner to end the entertainment. I had intended -to end with Irwin Russell’s “Christmas Night -in the Quarters,” with negro dialect, but as I was about -to start my eye fell upon a group by that little table. -The “old aunt” sat looking at me, and by her side -stood the “homely” woman, her hand resting upon the -older woman’s shoulder. I wonder if you have ever -had a vision come to you at Christmas—or any other -time! A great, mysterious, beautiful vision, in which -you look forward into the years and are given to see -some great thing which is hidden from most men until -too late. It came to me as I watched those women that -the finest test of character, the noblest part of the Christmas -spirit, was not the glory of caring for helpless childhood, -but the higher sacrifice of love and duty for the -aged.</p> - -<p>And so, almost before I knew it, I found myself reciting -Will Carleton’s poem, “Over the Hill to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -Poorhouse!” What a sentiment to bring into a happy -Christmas party—by the donatee at that—one who had -been hired “to make them laugh”!</p> - -<p>I knew it all, yet my mind jumped across the long -miles and I thought of my own mother growing old and -waiting in silence that I might have opportunity!</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Over the hill to the poorhouse</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I’m trudging my weary way.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I a woman of sixty,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Only a trifle gray,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I who am smart and chipper.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">For all the years I’ve told,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As many another woman</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Only one-half as old.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Over the hill to the poorhouse!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I can’t quite make it clear;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Over the hill to the poorhouse,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">It seems so horrid queer!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Many’s the journey I’ve taken,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Traveling to and fro,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But over the hill to the poorhouse</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I never once thought I’d go!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It was a great 10 minutes. It is worth a good many -years to have 600 ticks of the clock pass by like that. -Could all of us have lived, for 10 years with that 10-minute -feeling—what a neighborhood that would have -been. I was looking at those two women by the table. -I saw their hands come together. It is true that the -trustee had not done great injustice to her appearance, -but as she stood there by “the hired man’s old aunt” -there came upon her face a beauty such as God alone -can bring upon the face of those who are beloved by -Him. A light from within illuminated her life story,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -and I could read it on her face. A love that endures -after death—until life! And when I stopped I was -<i>done</i>. The power had all gone from me. Not so with -my manager, the trustee. He could sense a psychological -moment even if he could not spell it, and he got his -hat into action before the rich spirit of that crowd could -get to the poorhouse. I saw him coming with the hat -full—there were surely several bills there. Say, did -you ever spend money before you got your fingers on it? -I never have since that night. I know better. As I saw -that money I figured on several Christmas presents, a -new coat and at least one term at college. The trustee -cleared his throat for a few remarks and I stood there -pleasantly expectant, anticipating a few compliments—and -the money.</p> - -<p>“Now, friends, we thank you one and all for your -generous gift, and we thank our talented young friend -here for the great assistance he has given us. He will -rejoice when he learns the full amount, for, my dear -friends, <i>this money belongs to the Sunday school</i>!”</p> - -<p>And he proceeded forthwith to gather up the money -and stuff it into his pockets, leaving me with my mouth -half open, and my hand half extended.</p> - -<p>What could you do? There was a roar of protest -from several farmers who demanded their money back, -though they never got it. Happily the humor of it -struck me. The first thing that came into my mind was -an old song I had often heard:</p> - -<p>“<i>Thou art so near and yet so far!</i>”</p> - -<p>There is nothing like being a good sport, and so I -bowed and smiled and took my medicine, although I am<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -sure the party would have ended in a fight if I had said -the word. But the “old aunt” looked at me for a moment -and then cut off that geranium bloom, tied two -leaves on it and handed it to me without a word. And -the woman with the shining face took my hand in both -hers and said: “Do not get discouraged. I know you -will win out.”</p> - -<p>I rode home with a farmer who, with his two big -sons, roared profanely at what they called the “injustice -of that miser.” They vowed to get up another donation, -which they did later. They offered to go and -“lick the trustee” and take the money from him. I -think they were a little disappointed when I told them -that he needed it more than I did.</p> - -<p>“Why, from the way you talk, anybody’d think you -had fallen heir to a big thing!”</p> - -<p>I had. That little flower in my pocket carried a -Christmas spirit and a Christmas lesson that the whole -world could not buy. The thing paying the largest -dividend, the finest companion that ever walked with -one along the roadway of life—unselfish love, and sacrifice.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="COLUMBUS_DAY">“COLUMBUS DAY”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">I would like to know where you are tonight, and what -you have been doing all through this “Liberty Day.” -With us the day has been cloudy and wet, and just as -the sun went down Nature took the liberty of sending a -cold, penetrating rain. So here I am before my big fire -with a copy of Washington Irving’s “Life of Christopher -Columbus.” That seems the proper way to end -Columbus Day, for in trying to tell the children about -him I found that I did not really know much more than -they do about the great discoverer. So here I am back -some 400 years in history wondering if any of these -pompous and bigoted ways of seeking for new worlds or -new methods can be applied to modern life in New -Jersey.</p> - -<p>My back aches, for I have been digging potatoes all -day—and I thought I had graduated from that job some -years ago. Perhaps you will say that we should have -been out selling Liberty bonds or parading. Personally, -I am a poor salesman, and we all subscribed for our -bonds some days ago. There are eight bondholders in -this family. The influenza has left us without labor -except for the children while the school is closed. There -are still over 100 barrels of apples to pick, potatoes to -dig, plowing and seeding to be done, and a dozen other -jobs all pressing. So I decided to celebrate Liberty Day -by digging those Bible School potatoes. We planted a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> -patch of potatoes between rows of young peach trees -and promised the crop to the Bible Teachers’ Training -School. Last year we tried this, and I put in a few of -the latest scientific touches which the experts told us -about. The plant lice came in a swarm and ruined the -patch. We had a few potatoes about the size of marbles. -This year we avoided scientific advice, and just planted -potatoes in the old-fashioned way. They were not cultivated -in the best possible manner, but they made a -good crop. So when Liberty Day dawned with a thick, -gray mist over the land I decided to get those potatoes -out instead of going on the march or singing “The Star -Spangled Banner.” From what I read of Columbus I -imagine he would have chosen the parade and left the -digging to others. The world has taken on new ideas -about labor since then.</p> - -<p>So, after breakfast, Cherry-top and I took our forks -and started digging. The soil was damp and the air -full of mist and meanness which made me sneeze and -cough as we worked on. Happily, out on our hills we -are not fined $20 for sneezing outside of a handkerchief, -as is the case in New York. If anyone has discovered -any poetry or philosophy in the job of digging potatoes -he may have the floor. I call it about the most menial -job on the farm, and therefore fine discipline for “Liberty -Day.” While we were working Philip and the -larger boy went by with the team to seed rye. They -have thrashed out enough grain by hand, and this is not -only ideal weather, but about the last limit for seeding. -The land was plowed some two weeks ago, a big crop -of ragweed and grass being turned under. If we only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -had the labor this ground would have been disked twice -and then harrowed. As it is, we can only work it once -with the spring-tooth. Then Philip goes ahead seeding -in the rye by hand, while the boy follows with the Acme -harrow to cover the grain. It is rough seeding and -would not answer for wheat, but rye is tough and enduring, -and it will imitate Columbus and discover a -new world in that decaying mass of ragweed. So I -watch the seed sowers travel slowly along the hillside as -I dig, and wonder what was doing on this farm 427 -years ago, and what will be doing here 100 years hence! -Such reflections were the most cheerful mental accompaniment -I could find for digging potatoes. They are -impractical, while digging is the most practical thing on -earth!</p> - -<p>As we dug on a man and woman came up the lane. -They came after apples, having engaged them before. -The boy went down to attend to them, while I kept on -digging. Then the boy came back with two more apple -customers. The trouble with us is that we have more -customers than apples this year, but these were old -patrons, and they were served. The boy finally came -back with $41.80 as a result of his trading, and we went -at our job with new vigor. As we dug along we noticed -a curious thing about those potatoes. Here and there -was a vine large and strong, and still perfectly green. -The great majority of the hills were dead, but those -green ones were as vigorous as they were in June. The -variety was Green Mountain, and we soon found that -on the average these big green vines were producing -twice as much as the dead hills. Some of these living<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -vines carried three or four big potatoes. Others had a -dozen, with seven or eight of market size, while others -had about 16 tubers, mostly small. Just why these -vines should act in this way I do not know. There are -so many possible reasons that I should have to guess -at it, as Columbus did when, as his ship sailed on and -on into the west, the compass began to vary. The boy -and I decided that here was where we might discover a -good strain of Green Mountain on Columbus Day. So -we have selected 15 of the best hills. They will be -planted, hill by hill, next year and still further selection -made. We discarded the hills with only a few big -potatoes and also those with many small ones, and -selected those with a good number of medium-sized -tubers. It may come to nothing, but we will try it. -Experience and careful figures show that an ordinary -crop of potatoes in this country does not pay. The -same is true of a flock of ordinary poultry, or a drove -of scrub pigs. There is no profit except in well-bred, -selected stock. That’s what we think we have in pigs -and poultry—perhaps we may get something of the -same thing in potatoes.</p> - -<p>But there is one sure thing about digging potatoes—you -work up a great appetite. At noon there came a -most welcome parade up the lane. It was not a woman -suffrage procession, but Mother, Aunt Eleanor, Rose -and the little girls bringing the picnic dinner in baskets -and pails. The boy had built a fire up above the Spring -and piled stones up around it. By the time I had -washed my hands and face in the brook Mother had a -frying pan over this fire with slices of bacon sizzling and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -giving up their fat. When this bacon was brown the -slices were taken out and the fat kept on bubbling and -dancing. Then Aunt Eleanor cut up slices of Baldwin -apples and dropped them into this fat. They tell me -Ben Davis is best for this fried-apple performance, but -I found no fault with Baldwin as it jumped out of that -fat. The chemist will no doubt explain how the bacon -fat combined with the acid of the apple, etc., etc., etc. -Let him talk; it does him good—but have another fried -apple! Men may come and men may go, but they will -seldom find more appetizing food or a more perfect balanced -ration than the Hope Farmers discovered around -that fire. There were bread and butter, fried bacon, -fried apple, pot cheese and several of our choice Red -hen’s eggs boiled hard and chopped fine with a little -onion. Of course, eggs are worth good and great money -just now, but nothing is too good for an occasion like -this. And so, on that cheerless day, sitting around our -fire, we all concluded that Columbus did a great thing -when he discovered America.</p> - -<p>But our job was not to be ended by eating fried -apples and bacon, pleasant as that occupation is, and -when I put out my hand I was obliged to admit that the -first faint evidence of rain was beginning. The larger -boy went back to his rye seeding, and very soon Tom and -Broker could be seen on the lower farm pounding back -and forth over the field like gray giants hauling up -the guns. All hands went to picking up potatoes. -Mother picked two bushels and then had to go back to -her housework. Little Rose claimed that she picked up -20 potatoes. Her chief job was to hold on to her throat<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span> -and ask if it was not time to eat one more of those -sweet throat tablets I had in my pocket. The rain -slowly developed from mist to good-sized drops. I know -what it means to get wet, and in any other cause I -would have left the job, but we were there to finish those -potatoes, and we stayed by it until they were all picked -up. The last barrel or two came up out of the mud, and -our hands and feet were surely plastered with common -clay—but we finished our job. Then came the boys -with Broker and the fruit wagon to carry the crop to -the barn. One of these boys had on a rubber coat—the -other a sack over his shoulders. They went on up -the hill to get a load of apples and on their way back -brought down the Bible potatoes, where they will dry -out and be ready for delivery. When we got to the -barn there was another party after apples.</p> - -<p>We finished it all at last, dried off before the fire and -found ourselves none the worse for the day. In the -present condition of my back I would not from choice -go to a dance tonight, but that will limber out in time. -The fire roars away, the rain taps at the window, and -we are safe and warm. We have had our supper, and -I suppose I could tell where Aunt Eleanor has hidden -a pan of those famous ginger cookies. I will make it a -one to five chance that I can also find a pan of baked -apples. I think I will not reveal the secret publicly -at this time. The Food Administrator might accuse her -of using too much ginger or sweetening! School has -been closed on account of the influenza, but the children -are still working their “examples,” and I give them a -few original sums to work out. Little Rose listens<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -to all this, and finally proposes this one of her own:</p> - -<p>“If a woman paid three cents at a hospital for a -baby, how much would a horse cost?”</p> - -<p>Personally, I will give that up, and go back to the -“Life of Columbus.” The most interesting thing to -me is the account of the council of wise men to whom -Columbus tried to explain his theories. They told him -that since the old philosophers and wise men had not -discovered any new world, it was great presumption for -an ordinary man to claim that there remained any great -discovery for him to make. Seems to me I have heard -that same argument ever since I was able to read and -understand. Perhaps it is well that all who come, like -Columbus, with a theory and vision of new worlds must -fight and endure and suffer before the slow and prejudiced -public will give them a chance. But here comes -a message for me to come upstairs and see a strange -thing. Little Rose cannot have her own way, and she -has gone into a passion altogether too big for her little -frame. She will not even let me come near her, and -back I come a little sadly to my book and my fire. They -are not quite so satisfying as before. But who comes -here? It is Mother carrying a very pink and repentant -morsel of humanity—little Rose. She hunts up my electric -hearing device and with the ear piece at my ear I -hear a trembly little voice saying:</p> - -<p>“<i>I’s awful sorry!</i>”</p> - -<p>And that is a fine ending for Liberty Day. Perhaps, -like Columbus on that fateful night at the end of his -voyage, this little one sees the first faint light of a new -world! Who knows?</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_COMMENCEMENT">THE COMMENCEMENT</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">You could hardly have crowded another human into -the great hall. From the gowned and decorated dignitaries -on the stage to the great orchestra in the upper -gallery every square foot of floor space was packed, as -the president of the great woman’s college arose to open -the commencement exercises. This followed one of the -most impressive scenes I have ever witnessed. The -great audience had been waiting long beyond the appointed -time for starting, when suddenly the orchestra -started a slow and stately march and we all rose. A -dignified woman in cap and gown, with soft gray hair, -marched slowly up the aisle, and following her came -long lines of “sweet girl graduates,” as Tennyson puts -it. The woman walked to the steps which led to the -stage, and standing there reviewed the long lines of girls -as they filed silently in and occupied the seats reserved -for them. In their black gowns and white bands they -seemed, as they were, a trained and steadfast army. As -they seated themselves and rose again it seemed like the -swelling of a great ocean tide. And following them -came men and women who had gained distinction in education -or public life. They, too, were in cap and gown, -with bands of red, purple, white, green or brown, to -designate their college or their studies. The bright sunshine -flooded in at the open windows. Outside, the -beautiful green college campus stretched away in gently<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -rolling mounds and little valleys. I noticed a robin -perched on a tree with his head on one side, calmly -viewing the great professor who with the bright red -band across his breast was delivering the address. Very -likely this wise bird was saying, “You should not be -too proud of that dash of red on your gown. There are -others! Your red badge is man made. It will not -appear on your children, and it may even be taken from -you. The red on my breast is a finger-print of Nature, -and cannot be removed.”</p> - -<p>I know that there are those who would call this impressive -service mere pomp and vain parade, yet, to the -plain man and woman sitting in the front row of the -balcony, it all seemed a noble part of a great proceeding, -and a great pride for them. Just where the balcony -curved around like a horseshoe this gray-haired couple -sat—just like hundreds of other men and women who, in -other places, with strange thought in mind, were watching -their boys and girls pass out of training into the race -of life. The Hope Farm man is supposed to be a -farmer, and “as the husband so the wife is.” He -worked out as hired man for some years and otherwise -qualified for the position, while Mother probably never -saw a working farm before she was married. But at -any rate there they were—like the hundreds of other -plain men and women, while down below them the best -work of their lives was coming to fruition. For the -daughter was part of that army in cap and gown and -was about to receive her certificate of education!</p> - -<p>To me one of the most interesting characters in the -universe is “the hen with one chicken”! These women<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -with one child of their own! Having added just one -volume to the book of life it is their duty and privilege -to regard it as a masterpiece. When you come to -think of it, what a day, what a moment, that must have -been for a woman like Mother. Here was her only -child, a girl who, from the cradle, had never given her -a moment’s uneasiness or a single lapse of confidence, -now standing up big and straight and fine to take her -college degree. It had been the dream of Mother’s girlhood -to go through this same great college, but that -had been denied her. Yet the years had swung around -in their relentless march and here was her daughter, -big, trained, fine and unspoiled, making noble use of the -opportunity which failed to knock at her mother’s door! -Many of you women who read this will know that there -can be no prouder moment in a woman’s life. Is it -any wonder that there was a very suspicious moisture -on Mother’s glasses as the minister read the 25th chapter -of St. Matthew?</p> - -<p>“<i>And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in -the earth.</i>”</p> - -<p>Would you not, as she did, have sung with all your -power when that great audience rose like a mighty wave -to sing “The Star Spangled Banner”? The members -of the orchestra stood up to play the tune. As you -know, a group of musicians will usually show a large -proportion of European faces, but all these markings of -foreign blood faded away as they played, and there came -upon each countenance the light of what we call -<i>Americanism</i>.</p> - -<p>But what about “father” at such a time and place?<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -Where does <i>he</i> come in? At a woman’s college he stays -out—he is a mere incident, and properly so. If he is -wise he will accept the situation. For this big girl -marching in line has his shoulders and head; she walks -as he does, and people are kind enough to remark, “How -much your daughter looks like you!” Now this is no -fly in the ointment of Mother’s pride and joy, unless -you refer to it too much. Far better take a back seat -and let the good lady take full pride in her daughter. -I confess that when those 200 girls sat together at the -front of the room, all in cap and gown, and most of -them with their hair arranged alike, I could not be sure -of my own girl until her name was called! My mind -was back in the years busy with many memories. More -than a full generation ago at an agricultural college I -walked up to receive my “certificate.” I remember -that I had on some clothes which had been discarded -by two other men. I played the part of tailor to clean -and press them into service. There were no be-gowned -and decorated dignitaries on the platform—just a few -farmers, several of them right out of the harvest field. -I remember how two of these tired men fell asleep -through our class “orations.” I had in my pocket just -enough money to get me to a farm where I had agreed -to cut corn. And this proud and happy lady beside me! -At just about the same time she was graduating from a -normal college at the South. She was then a mere -slip of a pretty girl, not out of her ’teens, with a plain -white dress and a bright ribbon, and no “graduation -present” but the bare price of a ticket home. And -within a few weeks she was off, giving the acid test to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -her certificate of education by teaching school in Texas! -What a world it all is anyway! The years had ironed -out the rather poor scientific farmer and the smart -girl teacher into the parents of this young woman who, -as we fondly hope, has adopted the good qualities of -both sides of the house and cast out the poor ones. A -great world, certainly a good world, and probably a wise -one!</p> - -<p>The orator of the day made an impressive speech. He -made a powerful comparison between Crœsus, the rich -Persian king, and Leonidas, the Greek hero. Then he -compared the life of the Emperor Tiberius with that -of Jesus. It was a powerful plea for a life of service—for -making full use of training and culture. I saw -my old friend the robin on his perch outside regarding -the orator critically. I take him to be one of these exponents -of a “practical” education. Very likely he -was saying:</p> - -<p>“Very fine! Very fine! ‘Words, my lord, words.’ -But if I had a daughter I would want more of housekeeping -and practical homemaking in her education. -With all your culture and literature you cannot build a -house as my daughter can. You cannot tell when it is -time to go South, as we can, nor can you defend yourself -against enemies as we are able to do. All very fine, -no doubt, for human beings, but if birds were educated -with any such ideas the race would be extinct in three -generations. Reading, writing and housekeeping are -the only things that women need to know.”</p> - -<p>I have heard human robins talk in just exactly that -way, and for many years the world listened to them and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -believed what they said. Their talk was about like the -song of the robin, only not 10 per cent as musical. -They were opposed to the “educated” woman, and most -of all to the woman’s college. There are still some of -these pessimists left. I thought of one in particular -as one by one those girls stood up to receive their -diplomas—and the robin flew away in disgust. Woman -can never again be set aside as a slave or underling or -inferior partner of man. She has a right to the best -there is in life. Some of those who read this will say, -“What will become of farming if our country women -get the idea that they are entitled to education and culture, -as others are?” Farming will be better off than -ever before, because when our women get this idea firmly -in mind we shall all proceed to demand the things which -will enable us to give opportunity to every country girl.</p> - -<p>Of all the wonderful changes in the past 25 years, -few have been so remarkable as the growth of opportunity -for women. The full ballot is now to be given -them, and the war opened many a door of industry. -Those doors cannot be shut. They have lost their hinges. -A new element is coming into business and political -life. I do not think we need new development of science -or mechanical skill half as much as we need vision, -poetry and the finer imagination. It must be said that -while man alone has done wonders in developing material -power he has failed to combine it with spiritual -power. That is what we need today more than anything -else, and I think the finely educated women are -to bring it. I was thinking about this all through that -great day. Suppose my daughter and the 200 other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span> -graduates had all been trained as lawyers, doctors, business -women, etc.; would they really benefit the world -more than they will now do with broad, strong culture -and with minds stored with the best that literature can -give them? I doubt it. No matter what they may do -hereafter, their lives and their influence will be strong -for this sort of training. I can hardly think of any -better missionary to go into a country neighborhood to -live than one of these hopeful, trained and useful young -women. Mother selected the college for her daughter -before that young person was out of her cradle. I -thought some more practical training would be better, -but I never had a chance to argue. I now conclude that -Mother was right. She knew what she was doing, and -evidently sized up the spirit of her own flesh and blood. -If you ask me what I think is the finest thing about a -college education I can quickly tell you. It is having a -son or daughter go through a great college with credit -and come out wholly unspoiled by the process. It seems -to me that most people use the college as a trading place -in life. They bring away from it knowledge and culture, -but they leave behind too much of youth, too much -of the plain home life, too much of the simple, homely, -kindly things which the world needs and longs for. So -that we may all pardon Mother her pride and satisfaction -as she looks down upon this big girl in cap and -gown and knows that her daughter has mastered the -course at a great college and still remains <i>her daughter</i>, -with a sane and fine understanding of her relations to -the home and to society.</p> - -<p>Ideals are what count. One of the most beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -ceremonies of this commencement was the placing of -the laurel chain. The senior class, dressed in white, -marched to the grave where lies the founder of the -college, carrying a great chain or wreath of laurel. -While the students sang, these seniors draped the laurel -around the little fence which enclosed the grave. It -was as if the youngest daughter of the college had come -to pay reverence to the founder. A beautiful ceremony, -and after it was over I went back and copied the inscription -on one side of the little monument. I have -seen nothing finer as a message to educated youth.</p> - -<p>“<i>There is nothing in the universe that I fear but -that I shall not know all my duty or shall fail to do it.</i>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="ORGANIZATION">“ORGANIZATION”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The other day a city man came to the farm after apples. -He loaded up his car and, rendered good-natured by -eating three mellow Baldwins, he proceeded to tell us -where farmers were behind the times. It is a pleasure -for many city men to do this and the average farmer -good-naturedly listens, always glad to have his customers -enjoy themselves. This man said he wondered why -farmers have never organized properly so as to defend -and control their business. It is quite easy for a man -of large affairs to see what could be done if all the -farmers could get together in a great business organization.</p> - -<p>“The trouble with you folks is that you don’t know -how to do team work,” said my city friend. “Suppose -there are twelve million farmers in the country. Suppose -they all joined and organized and pledged by all -they hold sacred to each put up $5.00 every month as a -working fund. Suppose they hired the greatest organizing -brain in the country and instructed its owner and -carrier to go to it. It would simply mean world control -by the most patient and deserving class on earth. -Why don’t you do it?”</p> - -<p>That’s the way your city business man talks, and he -cannot understand why our farmers do not promptly -carry out the plan. Of course that word “suppose” -takes the bottom out of most facts, but it is hard for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -the business man to realize why farmers have not been -able to do full team work. This man said that large -business enterprises in the city were controlled by -boards of directors. There might be men on the board -who personally hated each other with all the intensity -of business hatred. Yet when it came to a matter of -business policy for the company they all got together -and put the proposition through. He said it was different -with a farmer, who if he had trouble with his neighbor -over a line fence would not under any circumstances -vote for him even if he stood for a sound business -proposition.</p> - -<p>That is the way many of these city men feel. It is -largely a matter of ignorance through not understanding -country conditions. Those of us who spend our lives -among the hills can readily understand why it is hard -for a farmer to surrender a large share of his individuality -and put it into the contribution box of society. -Many of us, I fear, would dodge or cheat the contribution -box in church unless we felt we were under the watchful -eye of our wives. Possibly we shall contribute more -freely to society now that our wives and daughters have -the privilege of voting. When a man has lived his life -among brick and stone with ancestors who have been -constantly warned to “keep off the grass” he comes to -be incapable of understanding what is probably the -greatest problem of American society. That is the -effort to keep our country people contented and feeling -that they are getting a fair share of life, so that they -will continue cheerfully to feed and clothe the world. -You cannot convince a man unless you can understand<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -his language or read his thought. One of the worst misfortunes -of the present day is the fact that city and -country have grown apart, so that they have no common -language.</p> - -<p>Those of us who live close to Nature realize that in -order to know the truth we must find</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Tongues in trees, Books in running Brooks,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The trouble with the city man is that he has been -denied the blessed privilege of studying that way. -Therefore, if you would make him know why in the -past it has been so difficult for farmers to organize -thoroughly you must go to the primary motives of life -and not to the high school.</p> - -<p>When our first brood of children were small, I -thought it well to give them an early lesson in organization. -There were four children, and as Spring came -upon us there was a great desire to start a garden. So -we proceeded in the most orderly manner to organize the -Hope Farm Garden Association. We had a constitution -and full set of rules and by-laws. These stated the -full duties of all the officers, but somehow we forgot to -provide for the plain laborers. The largest boy was -President and the smaller boy was Vice-President. My -little girl was Secretary, and the other girl Treasurer. -It was an ideal arrangement, for each one held an important -office, and all were directors. I had a piece of -land plowed and harrowed. I bought seeds and tools -and the Association voted to start the garden at once. -They started under directions of the President and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -went up the hill to work in the orchard. It proved -to be a case where the controlling director should have -remained on the job. Halfway up the hill I glanced -back and saw the Hope Farm Garden Association headed -for the rocks. The President and Vice-President were -fighting and the Treasurer and Secretary were crying. -No one was working except the black hen, and she was -industriously eating up the seeds.</p> - -<p>I came back to save the Association if possible and -the Secretary ran to meet me with the minutes of the -meeting on her cheeks. Her hands had been in the soil -and she had succeeded in transferring a portion of it -to her face. Through this deposit the tears had forced -their way in a track as crooked as the course of the -Delaware River, in its effort to carve the outline of -a human face on the western coast of New Jersey. -The poor little Secretary came up the lane with the -old industrial cry which has come down to us out of the -ages, tearing apart the efforts of men to combine and -improve their condition.</p> - -<p>“<i>Oh! Father, don’t the President have to work?</i>”</p> - -<p>The minutes of the meeting clearly revealed the trouble. -It seemed that the President of the Association -made the broad claim that his duty consisted simply in -being President. There was nothing in the constitution -about his working. Of course, a dignified President -could not perform manual labor. The Secretary -followed with the claim that her duty was to write in -a book; how could she do that if she worked? Then -came the Treasurer proving by the by-laws that her duty -was to hold the money; if she tried to work at the same<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -time she might lose the cash. So naturally she could not -work. Thus it happened that there was no laborer left -except the Vice-President. He had resigned and the -President was trying to accept his resignation in italics.</p> - -<p>These were the same children who had settled a debate -on the previous Sunday afternoon. The question -was whether they would rather have the minister read -his sermon or talk off-hand. The vote was 3 to 1 in -favor of having him read it. The prevailing argument -was that when the minister read his sermon he knew -when he got through. The one negative vote was passed -on the hope that when he talked off-hand he might -be a little off-head, forget one or two pages and thus -get through sooner. You may learn from that one -reason why it has been so hard in the past for certain -farmers to organize.</p> - -<p>And one reason why there has grown up an industrial -advantage in the town and city may perhaps be -learned from another sermon in stones. Some years ago -we had two boys on the farm. Largely in order to -keep them busy their mother made a bargain with -them to wash windows. They were to be paid so much -for each window properly cleaned. Of course their -mother supposed that the work would be done in the -good old-fashioned way of scrubbing the glass by hand -with a wet cloth. The object was more to keep them -busy than to have any skilled work performed. One -boy was a patient plodding character who did not object -seriously to hand labor. He took a cloth and a pail of -hot water and slowly and carefully rubbed off the glass -in the old-fashioned way. The other boy never did like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -to work and after some thought he went to the neighbor’s -and borrowed a small hand-pump with a hose and fine -nozzle. He filled this with hot water with the soap dissolved -in it and sprayed his windows with the hot mixture. -He got them just as clean as the other boy did, -but he did three windows while his companion was doing -one. Then there arose an argument as to whether this -boy with the pump should be paid the same price per -window as the other boy who did the work by hand. -These boys both went to the Sunday school and the -boy with the pump was able to refer to the parable of -the man who hired the workmen at different hours -during the day. When they came to settle up the men -who had worked all day grumbled because they got no -more than the men who had worked half a day. The -answer of the boss applied to this window washing. -“Did I not agree with thee for a penny?”</p> - -<p>Now in a way the city man with his advantage in -labor is not unlike the boy with the pump. The city -workman has been able to take advantage of many industrial -developments of much machinery which has -not yet reached the country. Some day there will be -an adjustment and then the countryman will have his -inning.</p> - -<p>Some years ago I spent the night with a farmer far -back in a country neighborhood. After supper he described -in great detail a plan he had evolved for organizing -all American farmers in one great and powerful -body. His plan was complete and he had worked out -every detail except one which he did not seem to think -essential. I looked out of the window through the dark<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -night and saw a light far down the road. Some neighbor -was at home. I thought it a good time for action.</p> - -<p>“There,” I said, “is a chance to start this big -scheme of yours. Down the road I see the light from -your neighbor’s window. Put on your hat, take the -hired man and your boys and we will go right down -there and organize the first chapter of this organization. -No time like the present.”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s face clouded. “Why, I haven’t spoken, -to that man for three years. He would not keep up the -line fence and I had to go to law and make him do it.”</p> - -<p>I looked out of the window once more and saw another -light to the north of us dimly visible in the darkness. -“Well, then let us go to this other neighbor. I saw -several men there as I came by.”</p> - -<p>“That man! I wouldn’t trust him with fifty cents, -and he would be sure to elect himself Treasurer.”</p> - -<p>“Well, far across the pasture I see still another light. -Shall we go there?”</p> - -<p>“No, that man doesn’t know enough to go in the -house when it rains.”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife looked up from her sewing as if to -speak, but the man answered for her.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the women meet at the sewing circle and church, -and while they talk about each other they keep together -and do things for the neighborhood, but somehow the -men folks don’t get on.”</p> - -<p>Yet here was a man who planned to bring all the -farmers of the country together and yet could not -organize his own neighborhood, because men were kept -apart by little prejudices and fancied wrongs. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -women combined because they knew enough to realize -that these petty things were non-essential, while the -great community things could only be remembered by -forgetting the meanness of every-day life.</p> - -<p>Your city men will smile at this sermon in stones, -and say that those farmers never can forget their differences -and organize. Yet city life is worse yet. -Many a man lives for years within a foot of his neighbor, -yet never knows him. There may be only a brick -wall between the two families, yet they might as well -be 10 miles apart, so far as any community feeling is -concerned. If dwellers on any block in the city could -combine as a renting or buying association they would -quickly settle the High Cost of Living burden, but while -their interests are all in common they are unable to play -the part of real neighbors. Farmers are coming to it -largely through their women and children and the great -National Farm Organization is by no means impossible -for the future.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_FACE_OF_LIBERTY">THE FACE OF LIBERTY</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">I suppose every person of middle age wears a mask. -It is his face, and as the years go by it settles into an -expression of the man’s chief aim in life, if he can be -said to have one. That is why a shrewd observer can -usually tell much of a man’s character by looking keenly -in his face and observing him under excitement. One -of the most observing dairymen I know of says he can -tell the quality of a cow by looking at her face. I notice -that the expert hen men who select birds for the poultry -contest spend considerable time looking at the hen’s -eye and face! There she seems to show whether she is -a bad egg or a good one! Lady Macbeth put it well -when she said to her terrified husband:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Your face, my thane, is as a book</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where men may read strange matters.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>We all go about wearing a mask, and those who care -how they look may well ask how the mask is made.</p> - -<p>I once roomed with a young man who used to get -before a mirror and practise a smile and a laugh. He -was a commercial traveler, and thought it paid him to -laugh at the jokes and smile as he talked. So he trained -the muscles of his face and throat into a machine-made -twist and noise which represented his stock in trade! -He wore a mask. I have heard people say that the face -powders and massage and tricks of rolling the eyes about<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -gave them a mask of beauty. Not long ago I talked -with a great business man who had simply given his life -up to the accumulation of property. He had succeeded, -but this success had stamped his face with a mask as -hard and flinty as steel. This man sat and told me that a -good share of his money had been made by his ability to -read character in the face. When he found a man showing -indecision or fear in his features this man knew he -could handle him as he saw fit. He claimed that thought -or sentiment had little to do with it; it was simply what -a man did or did not do which made the mask of life. -As for this theory that character or sentiment “light a -candle behind the face and illuminate it,” he said that -was simply “poetic nonsense.” “If a woman wanted to -be thought beautiful after she got to be forty she must -rub the beauty in from the outside.”</p> - -<p>This seemed to me a mighty cynical theory, for the -most beautiful women I know of are over fifty and never -use anything but soap and water to “rub the beauty -in.” They wear a mask which seems like concentrated -sunshine, and it comes from within. Yet my friend -sat there and spoke with all the conviction of a man who -has only to write his name on a piece of paper to bring -a million dollars to support his word. And he had come -to think that is about the only support worth having. -I asked him if he had ever read Hawthorne’s story -of “The Old Stone Face.” No, he had never heard of -it before—had no time for fiction or dreaming. So I -told him the story briefly; of the boy who grew up -among the hills, within sight of the “old stone face.” -This was a great rock on the side of a high mountain.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -The wind and the storm had slowly eaten it away until, -when viewed from a certain angle, it bore a rude resemblance -to a human face. It was a stern, gloomy, -thoughtful face, and it seemed to this boy to have been -carved out of the rock by the very hand of God to show -the world an ideal of power and majesty on the human -countenance. To most of the neighbors it was merely -“the old man of the mountain”—merely a common -rock with an accidental shape. But this boy grew up to -manhood believing in his heart that God had put on the -lonely mountain his ideal of the mask of noble human -character. And the boy went through life thinking that -if he could only find a human being with a face like -that on the mountain he would find a great man—one -carrying in his life a great message to mankind. And -so, whenever he heard of any great statesman or poet or -preacher appearing anywhere within reach this man -traveled to see him in the hope of finding the mask of -the “stone face” upon the celebrity. He was always -disappointed. These great men all showed on their faces -the marks of dissipation or pride or some weakness of -character, along with their power. He would come -back and look up at the face on the mountain—always -showing the same calm dignity and strength whether -the happy June sunshine played over it, or whether the -January storm bit at its rude features. So this man -lived his simple life and died—disappointed because he -had never been able to find God’s ideal character worked -out in a human face! One by one men who were considered -great came to the valley, only to disappoint him, -but finally, after long years of waiting and searching,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -the neighbors suddenly found that their friend, who had -carried the ideal so long in his heart, also carried on his -face the nobility and grandeur of the figure on the mountain. -Search for the ideal in others had brought it home -to his own life.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, the rich and strong man who, I -supposed, had no poetry or sentiment in his heart, -listened attentively and nodded his head.</p> - -<p>“I have seen that stone face in the White Mountains. -Your story of course is a mere fancy. There -might have been some idle dreamer to whom that happened. -I will not deny it, because I know of a case -which is somewhat in the same line. I confess that I -would not believe it had I not seen it myself.”</p> - -<p>So he told his story, and I give it as nearly as possible -in his own words:</p> - -<p>“It must have been fifteen years ago that I was returning -from a business trip to Europe. On the boat I -met a college man from my city, an expert in modern -languages. We were much together on the trip, and -one day we went down into the steerage to look over the -immigrants. My friend figured that this group of -strange human beings talked with him in fifteen different -languages or dialects. One family in particular -interested me. They were from the south of Poland; -a man and woman of perhaps thirty-five, with two little -boys. They were of the dull, heavy, ox-like type—mere -beasts of burden in their own country. The woman -seemed to me just about the plainest, homeliest creature -I had ever seen. Low forehead, flat features, small eyes -and great mouth, with huge hands and feet, she seemed,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -beside the dainty women of our own party, like some -inferior animal. I offered her a good-sized bill—they -looked as if they needed it—but the woman just pulled -her two black-eyed boys closer to her and refused to -take it.</p> - -<p>“They passed out of my mind, until one fine, sunny -morning old Sandy Hook seemed to rise up out of the -water, and we headed straight for New York Harbor. -I stood with my college friend in front, looking down -upon the steerage passengers as they crowded forward -to get their first view of America. Strangely enough -that little Polish family that had interested me stood -right below us, and my friend could hear what they -were saying. The ship crawled up the harbor, past -Staten Island, and then came to the Statue of Liberty. -Most of us have become so familiar with this bronze -beauty that we do not even glance at it. I think her -strong, fine face and uplifted torch mean little more than -old-time habit to many Americans. Not so with that -flat-faced, plain Polish woman. As we came even with -the ‘bronze goddess’ this woman tore off the little shawl -she had tied around her head, reached out her hand -and talked excitedly to her husband. My college friend -listened to the conversation and laughed.</p> - -<p>“‘What is she saying?’ I asked.</p> - -<p>“‘Why, the poor, homely thing is telling her husband -that it would be the pride and joy of her life if -she could only be as beautiful as that statue—if her -face were only like that.’</p> - -<p>“‘That is the limit. What is <i>he</i> saying?’</p> - -<p>“‘Just like every other husband. He is telling her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -that to him she is handsomer than the old goddess, and -for good measure he tells her that under freedom in -America she will come to look like “Miss Liberty.”’</p> - -<p>“In all my life I had never heard anything so ridiculous, -and I laughed aloud. The little family below us -looked up at the sound and saw we were laughing at -them. A great shadow fell over their day dream and -they were silent until we docked, though I noticed -that they stood hand in hand all the way. The story -seemed so good that I told it everywhere, and it was -called the standard joke of the season.</p> - -<p>“It faded out of mind and I never thought of it -again until about ten years later one of the foremen in -the factory died suddenly. I asked the manager who -should be put in his place.</p> - -<p>“‘Well,’ he said, ‘there is a man out in the shop -just fitted for it. I can’t pronounce his name, but I -will bring him in.’</p> - -<p>“He did; a great black-haired man who looked me -right in the eye as I like to have people do.</p> - -<p>“‘How long have you been in this country?’ I -asked.</p> - -<p>“‘Ten years. You may not remember, but I came -in the ship with you; in the steerage, with my wife -and two boys.’</p> - -<p>“It flashed into my mind at once; this was what -America had done for the man. I smiled as I thought -of the flat-faced woman who wanted to look like the -Goddess of Liberty, and the man whose faith in America -was such that he told her this dream could come true.</p> - -<p>“The man more than made good. It is wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -how things happen in this country. Those two black-eyed -boys were at school with my boy and played on -the football team with him. They were all three to go -to college together.</p> - -<p>“Then you know how, before we entered the war, -the women organized to do Red Cross work? One day -my wife came home and told me how a Polish woman -had made the most wonderful talk before her society. -Before we knew it America had entered the war, and -we were all at it. You couldn’t keep my boy here. He -volunteered the first week after war was declared, and -these two black-haired boys belonging to my foreman -volunteered with him, and they all went over the sea -to fight for America.</p> - -<p>“I had not seen their mother, and I was curious to -see what she looked like after American competence -and success had been rubbed in. We had a big -parade in our town during one of the Liberty Loan -drives, and there was one division of women who carried -service flags. I stood in the window of my club watching -the parade, and as it happened within six feet of -me on the sidewalk stood John, my foreman. I did -not laugh this time, nor was he shamed into silence for -what he thought of his wife.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how that war did stir up and level the elements -of American society! There passed before us -in parade, side by side, my wife with a service flag -of one star and John’s wife with two stars in her -flag! And as they passed they turned and looked at -us. My wife told me later that they had been talking -as they marched. My wife had asked her comrade if<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -she did not feel dreadfully to think of her two great -boys far away in France. And the woman with the -flat, homely face had answered:</p> - -<p>“‘No, I feel glorified to think that I, the poor immigrant -woman, can offer my boys in part payment for -what America has done for me and my people.’</p> - -<p>“And it was just then that I saw her face. I give -you my word that at that moment it was the most beautiful -face I ever saw. There was a calm beauty and -dignity, a light of joy upon it which made me forget -the flat nose, the narrow forehead and the great mouth. -They passed on, and John, the foreman, looked up at -me. We were both thinking the same thing, master and -man though we were. I couldn’t reach him with my -hand, but I did say:</p> - -<p>“‘John, she has had her life wish. She has come -to look like the Goddess of Liberty. It was a miracle.’</p> - -<p>“And John answered in his slow, thoughtful way:</p> - -<p>“‘No, not a miracle—always she has had that great -spirit in her heart; always that great love in her soul. -She has kept that love and spirit pure all through these -hard years, and now at the great sacrifice it shone out -through her face. Said I not right that my wife would -come to be the most beautiful woman on earth?’”</p> - -<p>My friend told the story in a matter-of-fact way, and -then fell into a silence. I did not ask him how he reconciled -this experience with his statement that beauty is -rubbed in from the outside. It wasn’t worth while; we -both knew better. The face of mature years is a mask. -It is the candle behind it that gives it character and -beauty.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CAPTAIN_RANDALLS_HOUR">CAPTAIN RANDALL’S HOUR</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Uncle Isaac Randall was the last Grand Army man -in our town. All the other old comrades had passed on. -As a boy I used to try to imagine what “the last Grand -Army man” would be like. Poets and artists have -tried to picture him, but when he actually appears you -know how far the real must travel to reach the ideal. -For poet and artist would have us look upon some calm, -dignified man, carried by the wings of great achievement -far above the mean and petty things of life which -surround us like a thick fog in a narrow valley. For -that, I fear, is what most of us find life to be unless the -memory of some great sacrifice or some great devotion -can lift our heads up into the perpetual sunshine. Those -who knew Uncle Isaac saw little of the hero about him. -He was just a little, thin, nervous man, very deaf, irritable -and disappointed. No one can play the part of -a deaf man with any approach to success unless he be a -genuine philosopher, and Uncle Isaac was unfitted by -nature for that. Sometimes in Summer, when the sun -went down, you would see the old man standing in the -barn looking off to the crimson West, over the purpling -hills where the shadows came creeping up from the valley. -A man with some poetry and philosophy would -have seen in the darkening notch where the hills gave -way, to let the road pass through, an approach to the -beautiful gate through which wife and children and old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -comrades had passed on, to wait for him beyond the -hills. But Uncle Isaac was cursed with that curiosity -which is the torture of the deaf—he saw the hired man -up on the hill talking to the neighbor’s boy, and his -burning desire was to know what they were talking -about as they stood in the twilight.</p> - -<p>The Great War came, and Uncle Isaac’s two grandsons -volunteered. Before they shipped overseas they -came back to the farm—very trim and natty in their -brown uniforms. It irritated the old man to think that -these boys—hardly more than babies—hardly to be -trusted to milk a kicking cow—should be sent to fight -America’s battles. And those little rifles! They were -not much better than popguns, compared with his old -army musket. The old man took the gun down from -the nail where it had hung for years. He had kept it -polished, and the lock with its percussion cap was still -working. He would show these young sniffs what real -warfare meant. So they went out in the pasture—the -old soldier carrying his musket, carefully loaded with a -round bullet—pushed in with the iron ramrod. In -order to show these boy soldiers what real warfare -might be, the old man sighted the musket over the fence -and aimed at a board about 300 yards away. The bullet -went at least five feet wide, while the old musket -kicked back so hard that Uncle Isaac winced with the -pain. Then one of the boys quietly raised his “popgun” -and aimed at a bush at least half a mile away across the -valley. In a fraction of a minute he fired half a dozen -bullets which tore up the ground all around that bush. -Then the boys hung one of their brown uniforms on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -fence across the pasture, and put Grandpa’s old blue -coat beside it. You could hardly distinguish the brown -coat against the background, while the blue coat stood -out like a target. It was hard for the old man to -realize that both he and his musket belonged to a vanished -past. The boys looked at the gun and at Grandpa -marching home—trying to throw his old shoulders back -into military form—and smiled knowingly at each other -as youth has ever done in the pride of its power. They -could not see—who of us ever can see?—the spiritual -forces of patriotism which walked beside the old man, -waiting for the time to show their power.</p> - -<p>The weeks went by, and day by day Grandpa read -his paper with growing indignation. You remember -how for months the army in France seemed to stand -still before that great “Hindenburg line” which -stretched out like an iron wall in front of Germany. It -seemed to Uncle Isaac as if his boys and the rest of -the army were cowards—afraid to march up to the line -and fight. One day he threw down his paper and expressed -himself fully, as only an old soldier can.</p> - -<p>“I told you those boys never would fight. At the -Battle of the Wilderness Lee had a line of defense -twice as strong as this Hindenburg ever had. Did General -Grant sit still and wait for something to happen? -Not much!</p> - -<p>“‘Forward by the left flank!’</p> - -<p>“That was the order, and we went forward. Don’t -you know what he said at Fort Donelson? ‘I propose -to move on your works at once.’ If General Grant was -in France that’s what he’d say, and within an hour<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span> -you’d see old Hindenburg coming out to surrender! -My regiment fought all day against a regiment from -North Carolina. I’ll tell you what! Let me have my -old regiment and that North Carolina regiment alongside -and I’ll guarantee that we will break right through -that Hindenburg line, march right across the Rhine, -hog-tie the Kaiser and bring him back with us.”</p> - -<p>“But, father,” said his daughter gently, “don’t you -remember what Harry writes? They don’t fight that -way now. The cannon must open a way first. Harry -says they fire shells so large and powerful that when -they strike the ground they make a hole so large you -could put the barn into it. Suppose one of these big -shells struck in the middle of your regiment?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care,” said Uncle Isaac. “<i>We’d start, anyway! -We’d move on those breastworks and take our -chances!</i>”</p> - -<p>And mother wrote about it to her boys in the army -over in France. The young fellows laughed at the -thought of those old white-haired men, with their antiquated -weapons, lined up before the death-dealing power -of Germany. It seemed such a foolish thing to youth. -The letter finally came to the grey-haired colonel of -the regiment—an elderly man who had in some way -held his army place in the ocean of youth which surrounded -him. His eyes were moist as he read it, for he -knew that if that group of wasted, white-haired men had -lined up in front of the army they would not have been -alone. Down the aisles of history would have come a -throng of old heroes—the spirit of the past would have -stood with them. They would have stilled the laughter,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -and if these old veterans had started forward the whole -great army would have thrown off restraint, broken -orders and followed them through the “Hindenburg -line.”</p> - -<p>But Uncle Isaac, at home, humiliated and sad, went -about the farm with something like a prayer in his old -heart.</p> - -<p>“Why can’t <i>I</i> do something to help? Don’t make me -know my fighting days are over. What can <i>I</i> do?”</p> - -<p>And Uncle Isaac finally had his chance. Perhaps -you remember how at one time during the war things -seemed dark enough. Our boys were swarming across -the ocean, and submarines were watching for them. -Food was scarce. Frost and storm had turned against -us. Money was flowing out like water. Spies and -German sympathizers were poisoning the public mind, -and the Liberty Loan campaign was lagging. Uncle -Isaac, reading it all day by day in his paper, felt like -a man in prison galled to the soul by his inability to -help. There came a big patriotic meeting at the county -town. It was a factory town with many European -laborers. They were restless and uneasy, opposed to the -draft, tired of the war and not yet in full sympathy -with America. Uncle Isaac determined to go to this -meeting, though his daughter did all she could to dissuade -him. There was no stopping him when he once -made up his mind, so his daughter let him have his way, -but she sent old John Zabriski along with him. Old -John was a German Pole who came to this country -as a young man out of the German army. He had lived -on Uncle Isaac’s farm for years, and just as a cabbage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span> -or a tomato plant seems the stronger and better for -transplanting, so this transplanted European in the soil -of this country had grown into the noblest type of -American. So the daughter, standing in the farmhouse -door with eyes that were a little dimmed, watched these -two old men drive away to the meeting.</p> - -<p>They had the speaker’s stand in front of the court -house. The street was packed with a great crowd. -Right in front was a group of sullen, defiant foreigners -who had evidently come for trouble. The sheriff was -afraid of them, and inside the court house out of sight, -but ready for instant service, was a squad of soldiers. -A young man who was running for the Legislature -caught sight of Uncle Isaac and led him through the -court house to the speaker’s platform, and John went, -too, as bodyguard. The old veteran sat there in his -blue coat and hat with the gold braid, unable to hear a -word, but full of the spirit which had come down to him -from the old days.</p> - -<p>Something was wrong. Even Uncle Isaac could see -that, and John Zabriski beside him looked grave and -anxious. That solid group of rough men in front began -to sway back and forth like the movement of water -when the high wind blows over it, and a sullen murmur, -growing louder, came from the crowd. A small, effeminate-looking -man was making a speech. Very likely -his ancestors came originally to this country two centuries ago, -but somewhere back in the years this man’s -forebears had made a fortune. Instead of serving as -a tool to spur the family on to finer things it had been -spread out like a soft cushion to carry them through life<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> -without a bruise or bump. And these rough men, whose -life had been all bruise and turmoil, knew that this -soft little American was here talking platitudes when he -should have been over in France. Perhaps you have -never heard the angry murmur of a sullen crowd grow -into a roar of rage, until the crowd becomes like a wild -beast. The sheriff had heard this, and he was frankly -frightened. He started a messenger back into the court -house to notify the soldiers, but old John Zabriski -stopped him.</p> - -<p>“Wait,” he said, “do not that. You lose those -men by fighting. We gain them.”</p> - -<p>Then, before anyone could stop him, old John stepped -up in front and barked out strange words which seemed -like a command. Then a curious thing happened. The -angry murmur stilled. The crowd stopped its movement, -and then every man stood at attention! Almost -every man there had in former years served in one of -the European armies, and what old John had barked at -them was the old army command which had been drilled -into them years before. And through force of habit -which had become instinct, that order, for the moment, -changed that mob into an army of attentive soldiers. -The bandmaster was a man of imagination, and as -quickly as his men could catch up their instruments they -began playing “The Star Spangled Banner.” Poor old -Uncle Isaac heard nothing of this. He could only guess -what it was all about until John Zabriski laboriously -wrote on a piece of paper:</p> - -<p>“Dey blay der Shtar Banner!”</p> - -<p>Then there came into Uncle Isaac’s sad life the great,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -glorious joy of power and opportunity. He walked -down to the front of the stage, took off his gold-braided -hat and bowed his white head before them all. And old -John Zabriski, the transplanted European, came and -stood at his side. A young woman, dressed all in white, -caught up a flag and came and stood beside the two old -men. Then a wounded soldier with one empty sleeve -pinned to his breast followed her. And there in that -sunlit street a great, holy silence fell over that vast -crowd. For there before them on that platform stood -the glory, the pride, the precious legacy of American -history. The last Grand Army man, the European -peasant made over into an American, and the young -people who represented the promise and hope shining in -the legacy which men like Uncle Isaac and John Zabriski -have given them.</p> - -<p>When the band stopped playing a mighty cheer went -up from that great crowd, and one by one the men of -that sullen group in front took off their hats and joined -in the cheering. They made Uncle Isaac get up again -and again to salute, and no less a person than Judge -Bradley shook both hands and said:</p> - -<p>“We all thank you, Captain Randall. You have -saved this great meeting and made this town solidly -patriotic.” It was a proud old soldier who marched -into the farmhouse kitchen that night, and in answer to -his daughter’s questioning eyes he said:</p> - -<p>“Annie, I want you to write those boys all about it. -Tell ’em they are not doing it all. Tell ’em Judge -Bradley called me cap’n and said I saved the meeting. -I only wish General Grant could have been there!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span></p> - -<p>All of which goes to show that those of you who have -come to white hair should not feel that you are out of the -game yet. Material things may go by us, but the spirit -of the good old days is still the last resort!</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="SNOW_BOUND">“SNOW BOUND”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">This is the one night of the year for reading “Snow -Bound.” Every man with New England blood in -his veins should read Whittier’s poem at least once a -year. That becomes as much of a habit as eating baked -beans and fishballs. For two days now the storm has -roared over our hills and shut us in. It must have -been on just such a night as this that Emerson wrote:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The sled and traveler stopped; the courier’s feet</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Delayed; all friends shut out, the housemates sit</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Around the radiant fireplace enclosed</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In a tumultuous privacy of storm.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Of course, Emerson lived at a time when the telephone -and the electric light and the steam-heated house -were dreams too obscure even for his great mind to comprehend. -So, in spite of this fearful storm, the strong -arm of the electric current still reaches our house, and -while the telephone is slow, we can get our message -through, after a fashion. But we are shut in. The car -and the truck are useless tonight. The horses stamp -contentedly in the barn—not troubling about the head-high -drifts which are piled along the roadway. A bad -night for a fire or for a hurry call for the doctor; but -why worry about that as we sit here before the fire?</p> - -<p>I got my copy of “Snow Bound” in 1872, and I -have read the poem at least once each year since, and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -have carried it all over the country with me. It is a -little shabby now, but somehow that is the way I like to -see old friends:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Shut in from all the world without</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We sat the clean winged hearth about,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Content to let the north wind roar</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In baffled rage at pane and door,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">While the red logs before us beat</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The frost-line back with tropic heat.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse center">...</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Between the andiron’s straddling feet</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The mug of cider simmered low,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The apples sputtered in a row</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And close at hand the basket stood</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With nuts from brown October’s wood.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse center">...</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What matter how the night behaved?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">What matter how the north wind raved?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Blow high, blow low, not all its snow</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Could quench our hearth fire’s ruddy glow.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse center">...</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There is no finer picture of the old-time Northern -farm home, and we Yankees are bound to think that -with all her faults New England did in those days set -the world an example of what a farm home ought to be. -So I lay aside the book and look about me to see how -close New Jersey can come on this fearful night to -matching this old-time picture.</p> - -<p>Here we are before the fire. Great logs of apple -wood are blazing up into the black chimney. In Whittier’s -day the open fire produced all the light, but here -we have our electric light blazing, and I think as I sit -here how miles away the great engines are working to -send the current far up among the lonely hills to our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -home. For supper we had a thick tomato soup, a big -dish of cornmeal mush—the grain ground in our little -grinder—pot cheese, entire wheat bread and butter, -baked apples and all the milk we could drink. Just run -that over and see if it does not furnish as fine a balanced -ration and as good a lot of vitamines as any $2 dinner -in New York—and nearly 80 per cent of it was produced -on this farm. Now the girls have washed the -dishes and planned breakfast, and here we are. Mother -sits in the first choice of seats before the fire. That is -where she belongs. She is mending a pair of stockings, -and as her fingers fly, no doubt she is thinking of those -warmer days back in Mississippi. My daughter has -just put a new record into her Victrola. The music -comes softly to us—“Juanita.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Soft o’er the fountain</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Lingering falls the Southern moon.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I wonder what Whittier’s folks would have said to -that! Two of the little girls are looking over some -music, trying to get the air in “I dreamt that I dwelt -in marble halls!” There is no “frost line” in this -house for the fire to drive back, for there is a good hot-water -radiator in the corner. The pipe from the spring -seems to have frozen, but the faithful old windmill, -standing over the well at the barn, has stretched out -its arms to catch this roaring gale and make it carry -the water up to the tank. Thomas and three of the boys -are playing parchesi, while the rest of the company -give them all advice about playing from time to time. -I have a big chair by the corner of the fireplace—where<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -grandfather is supposed to sit—and little Rose is curled -up on my lap eating an apple. I wish you were here. -We could easily make room for you right in front of -the fire, and we would surely call on you for a new -story.</p> - -<p>The wind is howling on the outside. As we sit here -in comfort there comes an eager, pitiful face at the -window pleading to be taken in. No, it is not the old -story of the wayward child coming back to the lights of -home. The nearest we can come to that at Hope Farm -is the black cat with the dash of white at her face and -throat. She and her tribe are expected to stay at the -barn and catch rats, but there she is out in the cold -looking in at the window. Mother is as stern as a -Spartan mother when it comes to cats in the house. She -<i>will not</i> have them there. But, after all, they are Hope -Farm folks, and the little girls plead so hard that the -good lady looks the other way when the baby opens the -door. In comes the black cat and, though they were -not invited, three of her brothers and sisters run in -with her! So now I shall sit with little Rose on my -lap, while on her lap is a cushion on which the white-faced -kitty purrs contentedly. In the original “Snow -Bound” the mug of cider simmered between the andirons. -No hot drinks for us. A little of that cold -pasteurized apple juice goes well. We see no use in -cooking apples before the fire. There is that big basket -of Baldwins by the table. Help yourself—we like them -cold. Cherry-top was ahead in the game, but Thomas -has just taken his leading “man” and sent him back -to the starting point. The boy is a good sport. He takes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -a big bite out of a fresh Baldwin and goes after them -again. The nearest we can come to “nuts from brown -October’s wood” is a big bag of roasted peanuts. We -have all been eating them and throwing the hulls at the -fire. They have accumulated so that Mother’s idea of -neatness compels her to get up and brush them all into -the blaze. I did not tell you that we are starting up -our little Florida farm again. Jack will grow a crop -of sugar cane and peanuts.</p> - -<p>And so, here in New Jersey, as well as in old-time -New England, we care not how the wind blows or how -the storm roars. This is home, and we are satisfied -with it—all of us, from the white-faced kitty up to the -Hope Farm man. We have all worked to make this -home. It is a co-operative affair. None of us could -be called rich or great, yet nothing could ever buy what -we see in our big fire. Every now and then Mother -looks up from her work and glances across the room at -me with a smile. I know what she has in mind. Some -of us rise to the power of animals in our ability to -communicate thought without words. Life has been -very much of a fight with us, but it seems worth while -as we look at this big room full of eager young people, -content and happy with the simple things of life. As -little Rose snuggles up closer to me and pulls the kitty -with her I begin to think of some of the complaining -fault-finding people I know. I <i>do</i> know some star performers -at the job of pitying themselves and magnifying -their own troubles. On a night like this I will -wager an apple that they are pouring out the gloom -and trouble like a man tipping over a barrel of cold<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -water. It’s their rheumatism or their debts or the -Administration or the Republican party, or something -else that they hold responsible for their troubles. I wish -I could have some of those fellows here tonight, and -also some of you folks who know the joy of looking -on the bright side. We would do our best to rub some of -the gloom out of them. I will guarantee that any one of -us could, if we wanted to, tell the truth about our own -troubles so that these gloomy individuals would look -like “pikers” in their poor little self-pity! I would -like to read extracts from two new books to them. One -is “A Labrador Doctor,” by W. T. Grenfell; the other, -“The Great Hunger,” by John Bojer.</p> - -<p>I have just been reading these books, and I shall read -them over again. Dr. Grenfell has given his life to -service in the far North among the fishermen of Labrador. -A man of his ability could easily have gained -fame and wealth by practising his profession in some -great city. He went where he was most needed—into -the cold, lonely places where humanity hungers and suffers -for help. It has always seemed to me just about -the noblest thing in life for a man of great natural -ability to gain what science and education can give him -and carry that great gift out to those who need it most. -Grenfell did that, and this modest story of his life -is wonderful to anyone who can get the message. I -have always thought that the greatest teachers and -preachers and wise men generally are not so much -needed in the big cities as in the lonely country places. -The city owes all it has in men and money to the country, -but it will seldom acknowledge the gift. The city<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -itself is able to offer as a gift knowledge, science and -training. Yet those who receive this gift desire for the -most part to remain in the city, when they should carry -their gift out into the lonely and hard places where the -city must finally go for strength. The storm seems hard -tonight, but it is a mere zephyr to the Winters which -Dr. Grenfell’s people endure. I wish I could tell you -some of the wonderful things which have happened in -that lonely land. At one place the doctor found a girl -dying of typhoid. There was no way of saving her, -and as soon as she was buried it was necessary to burn -the rude bunk and the straw in which she lay. They -carried it to the top of a hill and built a fire. For several -days one of the fishing boats had been lost at sea -in the fog, and had been given up for lost with all on -board. The despairing men in that boat—far out at -sea—saw the light when that hideous bed was burned -and were able to get to land! Some of you self-pitying -people ought to read how Dr. Grenfell organized a -little orphans’ home to care for the little waifs of this -lonely place. In one case a little girl of four, while her -father was away hunting, crawled out into the snow, -so that both legs were badly frozen. Gangrene set in -halfway to the knee, and the father actually chopped -both legs off to save her life! Think of such a child -in the frozen North. I think of her as little Rose -hugs the kitty close. Dr. Grenfell took this child, -operated on her, obtained artificial legs, and now she -can run about like other children. I wish I could tell -you more about this book. At one time two men came -together after medicine. One took a bottle of cough<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span> -mixture, the other a strong turpentine liniment for a -sprained knee. By mistake they mixed up the medicine. -One rubbed the cough medicine on his knee, the -other drank the liniment. If I had some fellow who -thinks the Lord has put a special curse on him before -our fire tonight I would tell him what others have endured. -The chances are we could make him contribute -something to the cause before we were done with him.</p> - -<p>The other book I mentioned, “The Great Hunger,” -is a story of Norwegian life and, as I think, very powerful. -A boy born to poverty and disgrace grew up with -a great hunger in his heart—he knew not what it was. -He felt that power and material wealth would bring him -the happiness he sought. He gained education, power, -wealth and love, yet still the great hunger tortured him. -Poverty, sickness, the deepest sorrow fell upon him, -and at last the great hunger was satisfied by doing a -needed service for the man who had done him the most -hideous wrong! I wish I could tell you more about it. -It is a powerful book; but it is time for little Rose to -go to bed. Off she goes with a hug for all, and the -children follow her one by one. I am not going to -put more logs on that fire. Let it die down. The end -of the day has come. Let the storm howl through the -night like a pack of wolves at the door. They cannot -get at us. Even if they did they can never destroy the -memory of this night.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CLASS">“CLASS”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The other day the papers announced the death of the ex-Empress -Eugénie. She lingered along, feeble and half-blind, -until she was nearly 95 years old. She has been -called “the Queen of Sorrows,” for few other women -have lived a sadder life. Very few of this generation -knew or cared anything about her. I presume most of -our young people skipped the details of her life as given -in the papers. Yet when I was a boy, shortly before -the war between France and Germany, the women of -the world regarded this sad empress as the great model -of beauty and fashion. I suppose it would be hard for -women in these days to realize how this beautiful -empress dictated to people in every land how they -should arrange their hair and wear their dresses. At -that time most women wore their hair in short nets -bunched just below the neck, and it was the age of -“hoopskirts”—most of them, as it seemed, four to five -feet wide. Just how this woman managed to put her -ideas of fashion into the imagination of her sisters I -never could understand. From the big city to the little -backwoods hamlet women were studying to see what -“Ugeeny” advised them to wear. I have often wondered -if in her last days the poor, blind, feeble woman -remembered those days of power.</p> - -<p>Her death brings to mind an incident that had long -been forgotten. I had been sent to one of the neighbors<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -to borrow some milk, since our cow was dry. In -those days, any caller—even a little boy—was like a -pond in which one went fishing for compliments. The -woman of the house, an immense, fat creature, with -the shape of a barrel, a short, thick neck and a round -moon face, had arrayed herself in glad clothes of the -latest style—several years, I imagine, behind Paris. -She wore an immense hoopskirt, which gave her the appearance -of walking inside of a hogshead. Her hair -was parted in the middle and brought down beside her -wide face to be caught in a net just below her ears. I -know so little and care so much less about style in -clothes that I can remember in detail only two costumes -that I have ever seen women wear. This outfit is -one of them.</p> - -<p>“This is just what Ugeeny is wearing,” said the fat -lady as she poured out the milk. “You can tell your -aunt that you have seen one lady dressed just like -Paris.”</p> - -<p>It did not strike me as very impressive, but I was -glad to have the experience.</p> - -<p>“You can tell her, too, that a very fine gentleman -came here today and said I looked enough like Ugeeny to -be her half-sister—dressed as I am now. He has been -in Paris, too.”</p> - -<p>“It was a book agent,” put in her husband, “and sold -her a book on the strength of that yarn. Say, Mary, -you don’t look any more like Ugeeny than old Spot -does—and you don’t need to.”</p> - -<p>“The trouble with you, John Drake, is that you have -no idea of beauty.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span></p> - -<p>“I know it. I may not have any soul, but I’ve got -a stomach, and I know that you can make the best -doughnuts and Indian pudding ever made in Bristol -County. That’s more than Ugeeny ever did, or ever can -do. You are worth three of her for practical value to the -world, and I think you a handsome woman—but you -can’t look like her, because you haven’t got the shape, -and I’m glad of it.”</p> - -<p>But where was there ever a woman who could be -satisfied with such evident truth, and who did not reach -out after the impossible? She turned to old Grandpa, -who sat back in the corner, away from the light.</p> - -<p>“Now, Grandpa, you seen a lot of the world. What -do you say? Don’t I look like Ugeeny?”</p> - -<p>Old Grandpa nodded his white head and looked at -her critically.</p> - -<p>“You’re in her class, Mary—that’s what I’ll say—you’re -in her class!”</p> - -<p>“You’re in her class,” repeated Grandpa. “The -people in this world are divided into two classes—strung -together like beads on different strings. Some -strings are like character, others like looks or shape or -thinking or maybe meanness. You can’t get out of your -class—for the Lord organized it and teaches it. You -look at me; I’m in the class with some of the finest men -that ever lived on earth!”</p> - -<p>“Now, Mary, see what you’ve done,” said John -Drake. “You’ve got Grandpa started on that class -business. He’s worse than Ugeeny.”</p> - -<p>But Grandpa went right ahead. “Ain’t I in the class -with the old and new prophets? Here I have for years<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -been telling what is coming to the world. Folks won’t -always be down as they are now. My wife killed herself -carrying water and fuel to get up vittles and keep -the house clean. Some day or ’nuther every farmhouse -will have water and heat and light right inside. -There’ll be power to do all this heavy work. In those -days farmers will be kings.”</p> - -<p>The old man’s face lighted up as he talked.</p> - -<p>“You don’t believe me now, but it will all come. -I’m out ahead of the crowd. So was Wendell Phillips -and William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Sumner on -the slavery question. Folks hooted at them, laughed -them down and did all they could to stop their ideas. -But you can’t stop one of these ideas when there’s a man -back of it. Those men lived to see what the world called -fool notions made into wisdom. They just had visions -which don’t come to common men. That’s what I’ve got -now, and what I ask is, <i>Ain’t I in their class?</i>”</p> - -<p>“If I was in your place I wouldn’t mind, Grandpa,” -said Mary, as she shook out that great hoopskirt. -“That’s not good talk for boys; it makes them discontented!”</p> - -<p>“But that’s why they’ve got to be if the world is -going ahead,” put in Grandpa. “What’s the matter -with farming today, I’ll ask? Education has all gone -to other things. Farmers think the common schools are -plenty good enough for farmers, while the colleges are -all for lawyers and such like. You mark what I say—some -day or ’nuther there will be <i>farm</i> colleges as big as -any, where farming will be taught just like lawing or -doctoring. Then people will see that farming is <i>agriculture</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -and the difference between the two will change -the world. This Ugeeny doesn’t amount to much as a -woman, and I don’t believe this Prince Imperial will -ever rule France, but Ugeeny has put women like Mary -<i>in her class</i>. These clothes look foolish to me, but every -woman who follows Ugeeny in dress gets into her class, -and it’s like a schoolgirl passing from one grade to another, -for some day they’ll pass out of that hoopskirt -and that bob net for their hair and rise up to better -things, and it will be Ugeeny that started them. She -may be only a painted doll, but she has given the women -ideas of beauty and something better than common. -Sometime or ’nuther you will see the result of her idle -life. That’s why I say Mary’s in Ugeeny’s class. She’s -got the vision of beauty and something far ahead of you, -John. You are smart and strong, but Mary’s getting -<i>class</i>. That hoopskirt and that net are not prisons—they -help to set her free.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Grandpa,” said John, good-naturedly, “I -suppose, according to you, I ought to put on a swallow-tailed -coat every time I milk.”</p> - -<p>“No; not when you milk, John, but if you shaved -every day and put on your best clothes once a day for -supper, you would get in the upper class, and carry -your boys with you. But I ask this boy here, <i>ain’t I in -their class</i>?”</p> - -<p>I was sure of it, but just then we heard the horn sounding -far down the road. I knew that Uncle Daniel had -grown tired of waiting for the milk, so he blew the horn -to remind me that I was still in the class of errand boys.</p> - -<p>In August of that year I went up on Black Mount<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -after huckleberries, and ran upon Grandpa once more. -He sat on a rock resting, while Mary and three children -were picking near by. The hill was thick with a tangle -of berry vines and briars, with snakes and woodchucks -as sole inhabitants. Old Grandpa sat on the rock and -waved his stick about.</p> - -<p>“In my younger days this hill was a cornfield. I -have seen it all in wheat. Farmers let education and -money get away, and, of course, the best boys chased -out after them. But it won’t always be so. Some day or -’nuther this field will come back. It won’t pay in these -coming days to raise huckleberries in this way. They -will be raised in gardens like strawberries and raspberries. -This hill will have to produce something that -is worth more—peaches or apples.”</p> - -<p>“But how can they make peaches grow on this sour -hill, Grandpa?” asked one of the boys. “There’s a -seedling now—10 years old and not four feet high!”</p> - -<p>“They will bring in lime for the soil as they will -coal in place of wood. I don’t know how it will be done, -but some day or ’nuther they will use yeast in the soil -as they do in bread to make it come up, and they’ll harness -the lightning to ’lectrify it. You wait till these -farm colleges give us knowledge. And farmers, too. -They won’t always stand back and fight each other and -backbite and try to get each other’s hide. Some day or -’nuther grown-up men and women are going to see what -life ought to be. They will come together to live, instead -of standing apart to die. I may not see it, and -people laugh at me for saying what I know must come -true. But didn’t they laugh at Columbus? Didn’t they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -try to kill Galileo? Wasn’t Morse voted a fool? -Hasn’t it always been so with the men and women who -looked far over the valley and saw the light ahead? -And, tell me this: <i>Ain’t I in their class?</i>”</p> - -<p>That was 50 years and more ago. I had forgotten it, -and yet when I read the headlines announcing the death -of Empress Eugénie I had to put the paper down, for -there rose before me a picture of that sunny Summer -day on the New England hills. On the rock in that -lonely pasture sat old Grandpa pointing with his stick -far across the rolling valley, far to the shadow on the -distant hills, where he knew the immortals were awaiting -him—as one who had kept his soul clean and his faith -undimmed. I wish I could look across the valley to the -distant hills with the sublime hope with which he asked -his old question:</p> - -<p>“<i>Ain’t I in their class?</i>”</p> - -<p>A year or two ago I went back to the old town. Ah, -but if Grandpa could see it now! The old house with -its “beau” windows and new roof seemed to be dressed -with as much taste as Eugénie would be if she were still -Empress of France. There were power and light and -heat all through it. Two boys and a girl were home -from an agricultural college—one of the boys being -manager of the local selling organization. Black Mount -was a forest of McIntosh and Baldwin apple trees, the -old swamp was drained and lay a thick mat of clover. -Grandpa’s vision had come true—all but one thing. -Education and power had brought material things, -which would have seemed to be miracles to John and -Mary. Yet farmers were not “kings,” after all, as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -Grandpa said they would be, for there was still discontent -and talk of injustice. But, after all, that is what -Grandpa said—“That’s what they’ve got to be, if the -world is going ahead.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps, after all, a “divine discontent” is the -noblest legacy of the ages.</p> - -<p>But in the churchyard back in one corner I came -upon Grandpa’s grave. It was not very well cared for. -It had not been trimmed. A bird had made her nest and -reared her brood right by the side of the headstone. It -was a lonely place. As I stood there a cow in the adjoining -pasture put her head over the stone wall and -tried to gnaw the grass on that neglected grave. And -this was what they had carved on the stone:</p> - -<p class="center">“<i>The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away!</i>”</p> - -<p>If I could have my way I would put up another -stone with this inscription:</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Grandpa.</span></p> - -<p class="center">“<i>He has entered their class.</i>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILL_TELL_GOD">“I’LL TELL GOD”</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Just at this time many people seem to be concerned -about what they call “the unseen world.” That means -the state of existence after death. Many of our readers -have written asking what I think or know about this. -Most of those who write me seem to be living in lonely -places or under rather hard conditions. They have all -lost wife or husband, parent, child, or some dear friend. -Now like most other reasoning people, I have tried to -imagine what really happens to a human being after -what we call death, and I have had some curious experiences -which you might or might not credit. When I was -a boy, I was thrown much into the society of avowed -spiritualists. I knew several so-called “mediums” and -attended many “séances.” The evident clumsy and -vulgar “fakes” about most of those things disgusted -me, yet I must admit that some of these “mediums” did -possess a strange and peculiar power which I have never -been able to understand.</p> - -<p>Most of these sincere “mediums” seemed to be people -who had suffered greatly and had carried through -life some great affliction or trouble over which they constantly -brooded. I have come to believe that the blind -and deaf and all seriously afflicted see and understand -things which most others do not. An afflicted person is -forced to develop extraordinary power in order to make -up for the loss of the missing limb or organ or faculty. -The blind man must learn to see with his fingers and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -his ears. The deaf man must hear with his eyes or -develop a sort of quick judgment or instinct of decision. -The man plunged into grief or despondency at the loss -of fortune, friends or health must rise out of it through -some extraordinary development of faith and hope and -will-power. Someone has said that the blind or deaf -man is “half dead,” and in his efforts to do anything -like a full man’s work in the world, he must borrow -power from the great “unseen world.” For -example, I will ask you this question: Take a woman -like Helen Keller, without sight or speech or hearing. -Take a man who is totally deaf and also blind—<i>how -would they know physically when they are dead</i>? I -think I can understand why it is that real advancement -in true religion and Christian thought has for the most -part been made by some “man of sorrows,” or people -who through great affliction have been forced to go to -the “unseen world” for help!</p> - -<p>Years ago, in a Western State, there lived a farmer. -I do not know whether he is living now or not. Perhaps -he will read this. Perhaps he has gone into the silent -country to learn what influence the little child had with -the Ruler of the universe. This man was deaf. -Through long years, his hearing had slowly failed and -its going left a dark discouragement upon him. He -owned his farm and was moderately well-to-do. A hard -worker and honest man, he went about his work -mechanically, through habit, with a great hunger in his -heart. He did not know what it was; a longing for -human sympathy and love. His wife was a good woman -but all her childhood had been starved of sympathy and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -poetry and she could not understand. She made her -husband comfortable and loved him in her strange, inexpressive -way, but it is hard, after all, to get over the -feeling that the afflicted are abnormal and strange. -They had no children, their one little girl had died in -babyhood. Sometimes at night you would see the deaf -man standing in the barnyard at the gate, looking off -over the hills to the west where the clouds were glorious -in the sunset. And his practical wife would see him -standing there with the empty milk pail on his arm. -She could not understand the vision and glory, the message -from the unseen world which filled her husband’s -soul at such times. So she would go out to the barnyard, -shake her dreaming husband by the arm and -shout in his ear:</p> - -<p>“<i>Wake up and get that milking done.</i>”</p> - -<p>She meant well, and her husband never complained. -She meant to save his money, but he knew in such -moments that money never could pay his passage off -through the purple sunset to the “unseen land.”</p> - -<p>Some day, I think I will tell some of the “adventures -in the silence,” which fall to the daily life of the -deaf man. One Saturday afternoon this man and his -wife drove to town together. While his wife was doing -her shopping the man walked about to meet some of his -old friends. As he stood on the street, a sharp-faced -woman came out of the store followed by a little child. -It was a little black-haired thing with great brown -eyes which carried the look of some hunted wild animal. -A poor thin little thing with a shabby dress and tattered -shoes. As she passed, the child glanced up at the farmer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> -and saw something in his face that gave her confidence, -for she smiled at him and held out her little hand. -The woman turned sharply and the frightened child -stumbled over a little stone.</p> - -<p>“You awkward little brat,” shrilled the woman, “take -that,” and with her heavy hand she slapped the thin -little face. Then something like the love of a lioness for -her cub suddenly started in that farmer’s heart. Many -fool jokes have been made about “love at first sight,” -but it is really nothing short of a divine message when -two lives are suddenly welded together forever. Under -excitement, the deaf are rarely dignified, but they are -strangely and forcibly emphatic. The woman quailed -before the roar of that farmer and the little girl ran -to him and held his hand for protection. A crowd gathered -and Lawyer Brown came running down from his -office.</p> - -<p>“I want this child,” said the farmer. “You know -me; get her for me.”</p> - -<p>It was not very hard to do. The woman had married -a man with this little girl. The man had run away -and left her (I do not much blame him), and this -“brat” had been left on her hands.</p> - -<p>“Take her, and welcome,” said the sharp-faced -woman. “A good riddance to bad rubbish.”</p> - -<p>So Lawyer Brown fixed it up legally and the deaf -man walked off to where his wagon stood, with the -little girl hanging tight to his big finger.</p> - -<p>When the woman came with her load of packages, she -found her husband sitting on the wagon seat with the -little girl sitting on his lap. She had found that she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -could not make him hear, so she just sat there looking -into his face, and they both understood. But the good -woman did not understand.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by picking up a child like you -would a stray kitten? Put her down and leave her -here.”</p> - -<p>But that was as far as she got. Her husband looked -at her with a fierce glare, and there was a sound in -his throat which she did not like. I can tell you that -when these good-natured and long-suffering men finally -assert themselves, there is a great clumsy force about it -that cannot be resisted. And when they got home and -the little child sat up at the table between them, something -of mother-love stirred in the woman’s heart. She -actually tried to kiss the little thing, but the child trembled -and ran to the farmer and climbed on his knee. -The woman paused at her work to watch them as they -sat before the fire, and something that was like the beginning -of jealous rage came into her heart, for it came -to her that this little one had seen at once something in -her husband’s life and soul that <i>she</i> had not been able to -understand.</p> - -<p>There was something more than beautiful in the -strange intimacy which sprang up between the deaf -farmer and the little girl. In some way she made herself -understood and she followed him about day by day -at his work or on his lonely walk of a Sunday afternoon. -You would see her riding on the wagon beside -him, standing near as he milked, or holding his finger -as he came down the lane at sunset. On a sunny Sunday -afternoon, you might come upon them sitting at the top<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -of a high hill with the old dog beside them, looking -off across the pleasant country. And as the shadows -grew longer, they would come home, the farmer carrying -the little one, and the old dog walking ahead. I cannot -tell you the peace and renewed hope which the little waif -brought to that farmer’s heart through the gentle yet -mighty force of love. And the farmer’s wife would look -out of the window and see them coming. She could not -walk with her husband through lonely places and make -him understand, because she had never learned how. -Yet the little one was drawing the older people closer -together and was showing them more of the greatest -mystery and the greatest meaning of life. But there -came a Sunday when the little one could not walk over -the hills. The day was bright and fair, the farmer stood -looking at the cool shadows of the blue pines sadly and -the old dog put his head on one side and regarded his -master curiously. They could both hear the voice of the -hills calling them away. And the voices came to the -little one, hot and weary with fever, tossing on her little -bed upstairs. The doctor shook his head when they -called him in. The child was done with earthly -things,—surely called off into the Country Unseen just -as love and home had come to her. The farmer went -up into the sick-room where his wife sat by the little -sufferer. This man had never regarded his wife as a -handsome woman, but he was startled at her face as she -bent over the child. For at last in the face of death and -sacrifice, love had really come to that woman’s lonely -heart, and the joy of it illuminated her face like a lamp -within.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p> - -<p>The farmer was left alone with the child. She knew -him and beckoned him to come near and moved her -lips to speak. The man lay on the bed beside her and -put his ear close to the little mouth, but try as he would, -he could not hear her message. I suppose there can be -no sadder picture in the book of time than this denial -by fate of the right to hear the last message of love from -one passing off into the long journey from which there -comes no report. Hopeless and bitter with disappointment, -the man found pencil and paper and a large book -and gave them to the child. Sitting up in bed with a -last painful effort the little one painfully wrote or -printed a single sentence and gave it to him with her -little face aflame with love. He hid the note in his -pocket as his wife and the doctor came in—for the message -from the unseen world seemed to him too sacred for -other human eyes.</p> - -<p>The woman watched her husband closely and wondered -why he felt so cheerful as the days passed by. -The little one was no longer with him, yet he went about -his work with cheerfulness and often with a smile. She -could not understand, but now and then she would see -him take from his pocket an envelope, open it and read -what seemed to be a letter. He would sometimes sit -before the fire at night, silent and thoughtful. As she -went about her work, she would see him take out this -mysterious letter and read it over and over, as one would -read a message from a friend very dear of old and -happy days. And she wondered what it could be -that brought the happy, beautiful smile to his face, and -then there came the time when one evening in June the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -sun seemed to pass behind the western hill with royal -splendor. It seemed as if there had never been such -gorgeous coloring as the western sky put on that night, -and the practical wife looked from her back-door and -saw her husband standing in the barnyard gate like one -in a glorious vision. The cows stood in the lane, the -empty milk pail hung on a post, yet the farmer stood -gazing off to the west unheeding the call to his work. -And as the woman waited she saw her dreaming husband -take that mysterious letter from his pocket and -read it once more. She could see the look of joy which -spread over his face as he read it. And this plain, -practical woman, moved by some sudden impulse, -walked down to the gate and put her hand gently on her -husband’s shoulder. He started out of his dream and -looked guiltily at the empty milk pail, but she only -smiled and pointed to the paper he had in his hand. -He hesitated shyly for a moment, and then he passed it -to her. It was just the scrawl which the little child -had written after her failure to make him hear. It was -the last message from one who stood on the threshold -of the unseen country, and was permitted to look within. -And this was what the woman read, written in straggling -childish letters:</p> - -<p>“<i>I’ll tell God how good you are.</i>”</p> - -<p>And the shy, unresponsive man and woman, starved -of love and sympathy through all these years, standing -in the lonely silence of that golden sunset knew that -God’s blessing had fallen upon them out of the unseen -country through the influence of that little child.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A_DAYS_WORK">A DAY’S WORK</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">“Well, boys, I’m going to quit and call it a day!” -As the Hope Farm man spoke he got up from his knees -in the strawberry patch and proceeded to straighten out -his back. It was half past four on Saturday, September -4. Our week’s work was done—all but the chores. Our -folks had picked and packed and shipped four big -truckloads of produce, with a surplus of nearly 100 -bushels of apples and 60 baskets of tomatoes ahead for -next week. This in addition to regular farm work—and -one day off fishing for the boys. It does not seem -possible that September has come upon us! I do not -know how she even got here—yet the big hand on the -clock’s calendar points to that date. When the foolish -finger of “daylight saving” appears on the clock we -can discount it, but there is no discounting the mark on -the calendar. That is like the finger of fate. Yet it -seems out of date. We have not finished picking -Gravenstein apples. In former years Labor Day found -us clearing up the McIntosh. This year we have not -even touched them! Last year the Mammoth sweet corn -was about cleaned out in August. Now we are beginning -to pick. The season and the calendar are fighting -this year. Now if they will both turn in and hold Jack -Frost up for a couple of weeks later than usual we will -forgive the season.</p> - -<p>This morning I took this strawberry job from choice—surely<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -no one else wanted it. Thomas had not come -back from his night on the market. Philip cleaned up -the chores, while the rest went to picking apples -and tomatoes. My daughter goes across the lawn -with 100 or more chickens at her heels. They are -black Jersey Giants and R. I. Reds going to breakfast. -Out on the cool back porch Mother is playing the part -of family “Red.” That is, she is canning tomatoes. -This porch is screened in, and there is an oil stove to -put heat into the canning outfit. The lady is peeling a -basket of big red fruit; her hands and arms are well -smeared with the blood—not of martyrs, but of tomatoes! -This job of mine would make one of those model gardeners -too disgusted for comment. We set out the -strawberry plants in April, in rows three feet apart, the -plants two feet in the row. The soil is strong, and we -wanted to push it hard. So in part of the patch we -planted early peas between the rows, and in the rest -early potatoes. The theory of this plan is sound enough. -You get a big crop of peas and potatoes, and take them -out in time for the berry plants to run out and cover the -patch. In practice this does not always work. While -the pea and potato vines stood up straight we kept the -patch clean. Then came a time when these vines fell -down and refused to get up. Then came the constant -rains and the crab grass, and weeds came from all over -to seek shelter under these vines. Before we could interfere -the patch was a mass of this foul stuff, and the -long rains kept it growing. The richness of the soil -delayed ripening of the potatoes, and by the time we got -them out the strawberry plants seemed lost in the tangle.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -Here I am cleaning up this mess. Most of the work -must be done with the fingers—a hoe would tear up too -many runners. You have to get down on your knees and -pull. As I crawl across the patch I leave a pile of -weeds behind me like a windrow. I hold up my fingers -and it seems surprising that they are not worn down at -least half an inch. If I had kept those peas and potatoes -out of here the berries would be far better, and I -would not have this crawling job. I am not to be alone -here after all. That big black chicken leaves his crowd -on the lawn and comes over here to scratch beside me. -The Jersey Giants are very tame and enterprising. This -one stays right at my elbow for hours—the only member -of my family to take this job from choice. He will -have all the worms I can dig out!</p> - -<p>There is a rattle and a sputter on the driveway and -the truck comes snorting into the barnyard. At the -same time Tom and Broker, the big grays, come down -the hill with a load of apples. Tom scents the gasoline -and pricks back his ears with a snort. You can see him -turn his head as if talking to sober old Broker:</p> - -<p>“That fellow thinks he’s smart, but what fearful -breath he has! For years we went on the road like honest -horses and did all the marketing on the farm. Why -does this man keep such a great awkward thing around? -It may have speed, but I’ll bet it eats him out of house -and home!”</p> - -<p>“Well, now,” said old Broker, “every horse to his -job. Working right on this farm is good enough for -me. Let that truck do the road work, says I. No place -like home for an honest horse like me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span></p> - -<p>“Not much. I like a little life now and then. I -want to get out on the road among horses and see what is -going on. That great, lazy, smelling thing has got us -farm-bound where nobody sees us or knows what we are -doing. And look at the gasoline that thing eats up, and -its keep—my stars!”</p> - -<p>“Well, you have something of an appetite yourself. -A gallon of oats costs something, too. I’ll bet this man -can’t feed and shoe and harness you for less than $200 -a year! Let’s be glad this thing takes some of the work -off our shoulders!”</p> - -<p>“But I saw this man’s bill for repairs”—but there -came a jerk on the lines and “Get up!” and Tom put -his mighty shoulders into the collar and pulled the load -up to the shed, while the truck with a snort that sounded -like a sneer moved on into the barn—just as if a repair -bill for $273 was a very small matter.</p> - -<p>Thomas was tired—as you might expect after a night -on the market. The load sold for $106.95. It was a -mixture of corn, apples and tomatoes. That looks right -at first thought, but one year ago the corresponding load -of about the same class of goods brought $143. That -is about the way they have gone this season. Our prices -are certainly lower, and every item of cost is higher. -There can be no question about that, yet our friends who -buy food are paying as much as they ever did. But -for the truck we would be worse off than we are now. -We never could handle our crop with the horses. It is -more and more necessary to get the goods right into -market promptly and with no stop. While the truck -has become a necessity, let no man think that it works<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span> -for nothing. Old Tom is right in saying that I have -a bill for $273 for refitting the truck this year and putting -it in shape for the season. That item alone will -add quite a few cents to the cost of carrying each package. -Some of the smaller farmers on well-traveled -roads are selling at roadside markets. This is a hard -life, and includes Sunday work, and I understand that -for some reason people are not buying such goods as -they did. The retail trade is rarely satisfactory when -one produces a fairly large crop. I think the plan for -the future will mean a combination of farmers to open -a store in the market town and retail and deliver their -own goods co-operatively.</p> - -<p>My back feels as if there were three hard knots in -it. I must straighten them out by a change of occupation. -I am going up on the hill to look at the apple -picking for a time. Little Rose, barefooted and bareheaded, -dressed in a pair of overalls, trots along with -me. She eats two tomatoes on the way up, and then I -find her a couple of mellow McIntosh. The dirt on the -tomatoes has been transferred to her little face, and I -think some of it follows the apple into her mouth. Oh, -well, these scientists will probably find vitamines in dirt -before they are done. We are picking Gravensteins today—big rosy -fellows—some of the trees running 15 -bushels or more. I planted a block of these trees as -an experiment. Now I wish I had more of them. -The last lot brought $5.25 per barrel. I do not care -much for them for eating, but as baking apples they sell -well. This year any big apple brings a fair price. For -instance, that despised Wolf River has been our best<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -seller. The boys own several trees of Twenty Ounce, -which are bringing about $20 per tree this year. Cherry-top -is going to Paterson this afternoon to put some of -his apple money into a bicycle. I have told in past -years how I gave my boys a few bearing apple trees -and how they have bought others. These trees have -given surprising returns. The larger boy is just starting -for college, and his trees will go a long way toward -paying expenses. The objection to giving such trees or -selling at a low price is that the boy finds the income -very “easy money.” It would be better for him to plant -the young tree and stay by it till it comes in bearing. -The only chemical I know of for extracting character -out of money is warm sweat. I’d like to spend the -day on the hills—here in the sunshine with the apples -blushing on the trees and the grapes purpling on the -walls and the clouds drifting over us. But that would -never clean up those strawberries, and so little Rose and -I go down on a load of apples—big Tom and Broker -creeping down the steep hillside as if they realized that -here was a job which the truck could not copy.</p> - -<p>I got at those weeds once more. Philip had carried -several bushels to the geese, and these wise birds make -much of them. The big sow, too, stands chewing a big -red root as a boy would chew candy. Nearby on a -grassy corner little Missy has been tied out. She is a -very proud little cow, for just inside the barn her yellow -daughter lies in the straw—pretending to chew her small -cud. We shall have to call this young lady Sippi to -complete her mother’s name. Missy has given us a taste -of real cream already. But here is a pull at my shoulder,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -and little Rose, her face washed and hair brushed, -comes to lead me in to dinner. There will be 14 of us -today. I wish you could make it 15. The food is all -on the table, so we can see what there is to start with. -Have some of this soft hash. That means a hash baked -in a deep dish, with considerable liquid in it. You -may think we live on hash, but a busy Saturday is -a good time for working up the odds and ends. Then -you can have boiled potatoes, boiled beets, sweet corn, tomatoes, -bread and butter, baked apples and all the milk -you want. We are all hearty eaters, and I figure that -if I took my family to the restaurant in the city where -I sometimes have my dinner, the bill would be about as -follows:</p> - -<table summary="Bill for the restaurant meal"> - <tr> - <td>Hash</td> - <td class="tdpg">$4.20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Potatoes</td> - <td class="tdpg">1.40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Beets</td> - <td class="tdpg">1.40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sweet corn</td> - <td class="tdpg">3.60</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Tomatoes</td> - <td class="tdpg">1.40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Milk</td> - <td class="tdpg">.90</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bread and butter</td> - <td class="tdpg">1.40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Baked apples</td> - <td class="tdpg">2.30</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg total">$16.60</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>That is a very low estimate of what this dinner would -cost us. Now what would a farmer get at wholesale -for what we have eaten? Not quite $1.30 at the full -limit. Last week I ordered a baked apple and was -charged 30 cents for it! But no matter what this -dinner would cost elsewhere, it is free here, and I hope -you will have another baked apple. Try another glass -of milk. Our folks have a way of pouring some of that -thick cream in when they drink it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p> - -<p>That dinner provided heart and substance to all of -us. I am back at those berries, and Philip has come -to help me. Our folks have stopped picking apples for -the day and will cut sweet corn fodder—where the ears -have been picked off. That will have to be our “hay” -this winter. The women folks and a couple of the boys -have started for town to do a little shopping. Philip and -I have a pile of weeds here as large as a henhouse, and -the strawberry plants as they come out of the tangle look -better than I expected. A car has just rolled in with a -family after apples. One well-groomed young man is -viewing me appraisingly over his glasses. He is talking -to the soft, fluffy young woman at his side. “Is <i>that</i> -the Hope Farm man? A rather tough-looking citizen! -Why does he do that very common work? He ought -to hire that job done and get up out of that dirt!”</p> - -<p>This young man will never know what it will mean -next Spring when the vines are full of big red berries -to know that he saved them and with his own labor -turned them from failure to success. He probably never -will know any such feeling—and that is his misfortune. -This weed-pulling gets to be mechanical. It doesn’t -require much thought and I have a chance to consider -many things as we work. A short distance away is that -patch of annual sweet clover. The plant we have been -measuring is now 60 inches tall and still growing. The -plants are seeding at different dates—some of them -earlier than others. What a wonder this clover will be -for those of us who have the vision to make use of it.</p> - -<p>But my day’s work is over—I’m going to adjourn. -I am quite sure that I could have picked 50 bushels of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -Gravenstein apples from those low trees instead of -working here, but this seemed to be my job for the day. -What now? I’m going to make an application of hot -water and get this soil off my hands and arms, shave, -put on some clean clothes and take my book out on the -front porch until the girls come home. What book? -Well, I found in an old bookstore a copy of James G. -Blaine’s “Twenty Years of Congress.” As I had just -read Champ Clark’s book I wanted to read Blaine’s. -I can well remember when about 40 per cent of the -people of this country considered James G. Blaine a -hero. The trouble was that about 60 per cent thought -otherwise. His book is a sound and serious discussion -of the legislation which covered the Civil War and 20 -years after. As I worked here today I have been thinking -of what Blaine says of Senator Matt Carpenter. -This man was a brilliant student, but suddenly went -blind. For three years he sat in darkness. Yet this -affliction proved a great blessing, for he forced himself -to review and analyze and prove what he had read, so -that when sight came back to him his reasoning powers -were remarkable. This book contains the best statement -I have ever read of the reasons for trying to impeach -President Andrew Johnson, and how and why the -effort failed. What’s that got to do with farming? -Well, I think the political events which clustered around -that incident came about as near to smashing the Constitution -and wrecking the Government as anything that -has yet happened. But here comes Cherry-top on his -new wheel. He actually got home ahead of the car. -I must hurry, or our folks will not find that literary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -reception committee waiting for them. Better come -along with me. I have some other books that will make -you think, and I’ll guarantee that thinking will do you -more good right now than a day’s work.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PROFESSOR_GANDERS_ACADEMY">PROFESSOR GANDER’S ACADEMY</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Our Thanksgiving turkey this year will be a goose—or -rather a pair of geese. As you read this they will be -browning and sizzling in the oven, with plenty of “sage -and onion” to stuff in the desired quality. They will -come to the table flanked by half a dozen vegetables and -backed by several big pumpkin pies. I shall resign the -position of carver, remembering my old experience with -the roast duck and the minister. The duck got away -from my knife, and slid all over the table, ending -by upsetting the gravy in front of the minister’s plate. -After the usual objections Mother will apply the carving -knife to the geese, secretly proud of her skill as an -anatomist. She can do everything with a roasted goose -except provide white meat. Since Nature decided not -to implant that delicacy in the breast of a goose, man -cannot supply it. Therefore the lady must content -herself with brown meat. I’ll guarantee that most -blind men eating the white breast of a turkey and then -the brown breast of a goose would call for more of the -latter. It is something like this rather foolish preference -for white-shelled eggs. Like “the Colonel’s lady -and Judy O’Grady,” they are sisters under the shell! -Anyway, a goose, well stuffed and roasted, is a thank-offering -well suited to the Hope Farm table.</p> - -<p>No doubt as we pour the thick brown gravy over -Mother’s generous slices Mr. Gander will lead his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -family across the lawn and find something to be thankful -for. I have learned, this Summer, to have great -respect for Gander and his wife, the gray goose. Nature -may have left the white meat out of the goose in -order to prepare a finer delicacy, but she put an extra -quantity of gray matter into the goose brain. It seems -to me that Mr. Gander and his able assistant are about -the most successful teachers of youth I have ever known. -To many a learned educator I would say, “Go to the -goose, thou wise man, and learn how to train the young -for a successful life.” Take this young bird, whose -meat is rapidly disappearing from the Thanksgiving -altar. Mother has scraped the bones nearly clean. -What little remains will be boiled out as soup. This -bird has lived what I may call an eminently successful -life. He ends his career in the highest place possible -to be conceived of in the philosophy of a goose. He -was trained and educated from the start, and as I look -at Gander and goose on the lawn I cannot think of -any human teachers who have had any greater success -in training their charges into just what a man or woman -ought to be.</p> - -<p>In the Spring the gray goose selected a place in the -old barn and laid 21 eggs. We rather expected more, -but the goose was master of ceremonies. She came back -to the same place each day, and finally we found her -there hissing like the steam escaping from a broken pipe. -It was her signal that she was ready to serve as incubator. -So we put 13 eggs under her and eight more -under a big Red hen. This big hen was a great failure -as a layer, but as nurse and incubator she had proved a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -wonder. She had raised three broods of chicks with -great success. Surely she ought to be a better guide -and teacher of youth than a young goose with her first -brood! If you were selecting teachers for your children -would you not choose those who have had experience? -In due time, and on the same day, the goose -walked out with 10 goslings, while the Red hen sat on -her nest and compelled five to stay under her. The two -broods kept apart. The hen was evidently disappointed -with the way the goose handled children, and she punished -her brood whenever they tried to mingle with -their own brothers and sisters. They all lived, but after -about eight weeks I noticed a strange thing. The hen’s -brood, though eating the same food, would average at -least 30 per cent lighter than the goslings which ran -with the goose. There was no question about it—the -hen’s charges were inferior in size and weight and in -“common sense,” or the art of looking out for themselves.</p> - -<p>There being no chance for an argument about it, I -concluded that it was very largely a matter of education, -and we began to study the methods of teaching -employed by Mr. and Mrs. Gander and Mrs. Red Hen. -The first thing we noticed was the influence of the male -side of the family. Roger Red, the big rooster, paid -no attention to his wife’s family. All he did was to -mount the fence and crow, or go gallivanting off after -worms or seeds. If one of the goslings got in his way -he kicked it to one side and gave not even a suggestion -to his busy wife. He was like one of those men who will -not even wheel the baby carriage, but make the wife<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -carry the child. On the other hand, Mr. Gander was -a true head of the family. He kept right with the -goose, brooded part of the flock at night, fought off rats -and even a weasel, and was ready to battle with a hawk -or a cat. In time of danger the rooster ran for shelter, -but the gander stepped right out in front of his brood -with his wing extended like a prizefighter’s arm, and -that great bill open to nip a piece of flesh out of the -enemy. He taught his children to graze on weeds -and grass. When anyone forgot to feed them the -gander wasted no time in complaint. He led his family -right into the garden, where they picked up their share. -He led the goslings through the wet grass and into the -brook, where they cleaned out all the watercress and -weeds. On the other hand, the hen hung around the -barnyard and cried if breakfast did not come on time. -She would not let her children wade through the wet -grass or get into the water, and she did not know that a -young goose can eat grass like a calf. The hen worried -herself insane when her family followed the natural instincts -of geese and headed for the brook.</p> - -<p>Now, Mrs. Hen is not the first teacher who has failed -to understand the first law of education—to train a child -properly you must understand his natural instincts -and tendencies and build upon them. For many generations -the hen has feared water, and has been taught -that all feathered young must be kept away from it. I -have no doubt that a race of swimming hens could be -developed, provided the fear of water could be taken -from the mind of the hen. <i>For the hen must swim with -her mind before she can swim with her feet!</i> I have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> -seen many cut-and-dried teachers as much afraid of the -truth as this big Red hen was afraid of water. At any -rate, we learned why one set of goslings was far superior -to the other. One set had the benefit of father’s example -and influence. Their teacher knew from long -experience just what a young goose ought to know. The -teacher knew that because she had been a goose herself, -and could remember her youth. The hen’s brood -knew nothing of their father’s example—no more than -some little humans who only seem to know there is a -man in the world who claims to be the detached head of -the family. The hen’s goslings were brought up in one -of these beheaded families. Their teacher ranked as a -successful educator, but as she had never been a young -goose herself she could not teach her children what they -ought to know. It was not unlike trying to make a -blacksmith out of a poet, or a drygoods salesman out of -a natural farmer. These feathered children were fed -and warmed and defended, but they could not make -perfect geese because they were not trained to work out -a goose job.</p> - -<p>The result was clearly evident. The young geese -under the hen were undersized and fell into the hen -character. After centuries of domestication or slavery -the average hen loses the independence of the wild bird. -Now and then a nobler specimen will feel some dormant -brain cell thrill within her, remember the freedom of -centuries ago and fly into the trees, but for the most -part the modern hen is a selfish, fawning, tricky creature. -She drives her family away as soon as the children -become tiresome, and there is little or no real<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -community life among hens. When their usual food is -not forthcoming all but a few adventurous spirits stand -slouching about waiting for help. Thus the goslings -were taught to fawn upon man for their food and reject -their brothers and sisters in the other brood. It was an -unnatural life for a goose, and these little ones could -not thrive under such training. On the other hand, Mr. -Gander’s pupils were taught by an expert on goose -training. They were taught to swim, to bathe in the wet -grass, to eat grass or hay, to get out and find their own -breakfast if man did not do his duty. As a result they -grew up with strong independence of character. While -the others might fawn and beg for food, the gander’s -class were taught to scorn such subservient behavior. -And they were taught family life and co-operation. -While the hens separate and lead their selfish, separate -lives, the geese live in a group. There they go now in -a solid bunch across the lawn. Throw a stick into a flock -of hens or let a dog run at them, and they will scatter -in all directions. Try the same with a flock of young -geese, and they will line up in solid array “all for each -and each for all.” I do not know of anything finer in -the education of geese or children than this thorough -idea of co-operation. In the future those groups which -are taught like the geese will rule the nation. Those -which are taught to fear strange things or live the selfish -life of a hen will always serve. In other words, the -future of this country depends on its teachers and their -wisdom? You are right!</p> - -<p>But the real, final test of a goose’s education is made -with the carving-knife. Judging from the empty plates<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -I think this one will pass a good examination. If I am -not mistaken this was one of the hen’s goslings. When -we saw that their teacher was a failure we put them into -Mr. Gander’s class. He looked them over and knocked -them down with his wing a few times. Then he put his -wise head to one side as if to say:</p> - -<p>“I’ll do my best with them. They have been spoiled, -and I must take some of the conceit out of them first. -If the law forbidding corporal punishment holds in -New Jersey I will resign the task, because no goose -can ever live a successful life unless those foolish hen -ideas are whipped out of him. And another thing: I -won’t have that Red hen bothering around me. The -influence of a foolish mother is the worst thing a teacher -has to contend with. I’ll try to make geese out of them, -but keep that hen away!”</p> - -<p>The Red hen put up a great cry for a time. She ran -out and called for her “darling children” to leave -those low companions. The goose took those “darling -children” right by the tail feathers and pulled them -back. The gander waddled up to the hen and took one -nip which sent her squawking to the barnyard, where the -big rooster was challenging the world.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been insulted!” she screamed, “and my dear -children have been stolen from me. If you have the -courage of a mouse you will defend your wife!”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?” roared the rooster, and he started -on a run for the orchard. There was the goose with all -her children at school, and right in front was the gander -with his great beak open and that right wing all unslung -for a blow. The rooster got within about six feet of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -him and then halted. He didn’t like the looks of that -sharp beak.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Mr. Gander! I saw you over in the -next field, and I came to ask how the worms are running -over there!”</p> - -<p>As he went back the rooster, after the manner of husbands -generally, sought to pacify his wife.</p> - -<p>“After all, your children are in a good school, and -you will now have more time for your neglected household -duties. Nursing those children has been a hard -strain on you. Now for a little recreation!”</p> - -<p>From my own experience I can testify that Professor -Gander is right. No one can train a child properly if -the mother is foolish naturally, and seeks to interfere -with the child’s education. Those who undertake to -“take a child” into their family may well take heed -from Professor Gander. It were far better that such -a child never saw his mother again. She may easily -ruin the life which she brought into the world.</p> - -<p>But at any rate, this bird on the table was well educated -to live the perfect life of a goose. Have another -slice! I know you can eat another helping of this -dressing. Pass back your plate. Of course I know -Mother would like to hold that other goose back for a -later meal, but that is not the true Thanksgiving spirit. -Pass back for another slice and I will use my influence -with the housekeeper to carve the second goose. Its -education has been finished.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="COLONEL_OBRIEN_AND_SERGEANT_HILL">COLONEL O’BRIEN AND SERGEANT HILL</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">I imagine that most of us, at one time or another, expect -to set the world on fire. So we start what we consider -a nice little blaze and stand back to see it spread. -For we think the world is as dry as a stack of hay in a -drought—only needing our little flare of flame to start -it going. We find the world more like a soggy swamp. -It does not flare up—our little blaze strikes the wet -spots, and not having heat enough to dry out the water -it comes to an end. Missionaries who have been among -the savage tribes of Africa say that the most wonderful -thing to the average savage is the simple act of striking -a match. These men and their ancestors have for centuries -obtained fire only after long and patient rubbing -of two sticks together. Often many hours of this -laborious friction were needed before they could obtain -even a glow at the end of a stick, and then nurse it into -flame. Here at one scratch this “magic stick” produced -the effect of hours of hard toil! One savage stole -a box of matches and undertook to “show off” before -his friends. He could start the little flame of the match -well enough, but he tried to make a fire out of big logs -or damp sticks, direct from the match. Of course, the -little match flame could only spread <i>to things of its -own size</i>. You cannot jump flame from a glimmer to a -giant log unless the latter is full of oil or gunpowder.</p> - -<p>Two things have brought that to mind recently. My<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -young friend, Henry Barkman, came the other day with -an oration which he was to deliver before some political -society. When a man is well satisfied with his own -literary production, he goes about shedding the evidence -of his admiration. When you come to be as old as -I am, you will recognize the signs. I knew Henry -felt that he had produced a world-beater—one of those -great bursts of mental flame which every now and then -set the world on fire. Yet no honest person, except perhaps -his mother or sister or sweetheart, would imagine -that society would stumble or even pause for an instant -at its delivery. Henry would deliver it with a loud -voice and many gestures, and then wait for the world to -blaze up. When there was no blaze he would feel that -he had been casting pearls before swine, when in truth -he had thrown his match into a soggy pile of large -sticks, where it sputtered for a moment and then flickered -out. Youth cannot understand how long years of -drudgery are required to split and splinter those big -sticks and dry them out with the fire of faith before the -match can start the blaze, and then in after years the -man who throws in the match gets the credit which -belongs to the patient workers, who have been silently -splitting and drying the wood. I tried to tell Henry -that when Lincoln delivered his speech at Gettysburg -few people realized that it was to become a classic. A -new generation with the power to look back through the -mellowing haze of the years was needed to give it a full -place in the American mind. Henry could not see it. -When did youth ever know the back-looking vision of -age? It is a wise thing that youth must ever look ahead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span></p> - -<p>I had all these things in mind as we came to the -last lap of our journey to Starkville, Miss. That pleasant -town lies west of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad—on -a side road of its own. When I went there 37 years -ago the track wound on through what seemed like a -wilderness, with here and there a negro cabin. Now it -seemed like one continuous stretch of farm villages or -blue grass pastures. In former years the streets of -Starkville were just ribbons of mud or dust, as the -seasons determined. I knew a man who came to town in -November and bought an empty wagon. He could not -haul it home until the following April, so deep was the -mud. Now the main street was as smooth and solid -as Broadway, and firm stone roads branched out into -the country in all directions. The streets were thickly -lined with cars. Here, as in Kentucky, I saw men -riding on genuine saddle horses, which shuffled quickly -along like a rocking-chair on four animated legs. It -seemed like a moving-picture show taken from some -old fairy tale, and it is no wonder that the years fell -away and I went back in memory to those old days.</p> - -<p>It was in 1883 that I was graduated at an agricultural -college and went down to “reform and uplift -the South.” Since then I have heard the motive or -spirit of such a wildcat enterprise variously called -“cheek,” “gall,” “nerve,” “assurance” or “foolishness,” -with various strong adjectives pinned to the latter! -Yet, looking back upon it now, I feel that while -perhaps all these terms were appropriate, they do not -cover the essential thing. I had a smattering of such -science as could be taught in those days. I had a great<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -abiding faith in the power of education to lift men up -and set them free. A few years before I had given up -the thought of ever being anything except an ordinary -workman, because I had had no training which fitted -me to do anything well. It seemed to me that the agricultural -college had given me almost the miraculous -help which came to the man with the darkened mind. -Who could blame youth for feeling that the great joy -and power of education could actually remove mountains -of depression and trouble? I had been told that -the chief assets of Mississippi were “soil, climate, character -and the determination of a proud and well-bred -race to train their hands to labor!” That was surely -in line with my stock of material assets, and so I came -to set the South on fire with ambition and vision.</p> - -<p>Well do I remember the day I walked into the little -brick building where <i>The Southern Live Stock Journal</i> -was printed. Colonel O’Brien and Sergeant Hill looked -me over. Colonel O’Brien was tall and straight—every -inch a soldier. Sergeant Hill was short and fat. You -would not think it, but he was with Forrest when they -captured Fort Pillow. Sergeant Hill’s remark was:</p> - -<p>“Another one of them literary cranks, I’ll bet.”</p> - -<p>Colonel O’Brien was more practical.</p> - -<p>“Come out and feed the press and then fold these -papers.”</p> - -<p>And almost before I knew it my job of uplifting -the South was on. I suppose you might call me a “useful -citizen.” I fed the press, set type, swept the office, -did the mailing, acted as fighting editor, tried to sing in -the church choir, taught “elocution,” pitched baseball<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span> -on the town nine and filled columns of the paper with -soul-stirring editorials. At least, they stirred me if they -had no effect upon any other reader. Those were the -days when living was a joy. Some days there would be -a little run of subscriptions and perhaps a big advertisement -would come. Now and then some ball club -would come to town and our boys would send them home -in defeat and disgrace. These occasions were bright -spots on the calendar, but they were as nothing in the -bright lexicon of youth to the great editorials I ground -out at that battered and shaky table in the corner. -Among other things I broke a labor strike in that town, -alone and unassisted. It was the talk of the town, but -to me it seemed a very poor thing beside the great editorial -on “The South’s Future,” which I wrote on that -stormy day in Christmas week.</p> - -<p>It comes back to me now as I write this. In those -days everybody “knocked off” during Christmas week -and we printed no paper. Yet we all seemed to come to -the shop a few hours each day as part of our “holiday.” -It was cold and wet, with mud nearly to your hips. -Colonel O’Brien had started a fire in the fireplace, and -he and Sergeant Hill stood before it smoking their -pipes and telling war stories. Colonel O’Brien was telling -how he heard the soldiers around their fires at night -saying it was “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s -fight.” Sergeant Hill told about the Indian who went -after the molasses and glue to make into printer’s rollers, -and how in consequence the Yankees captured the -printing outfit. I must tell you that story some day. -And while these two old vets kept down on the ground<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -in thought I was up on the heights developing a glorious -future for the “Sunny South.” And at the last flourish -of the pen I cleared my throat and read it to these old -soldiers. And, honestly, I did not get the humor of it. -These two men had given all they had of youth, ambition, -money and hope to their section. They must walk -softly all their remaining days amid the ruins and the -melancholy of defeat. And here was I without the -least conception of what life must have meant to the -Southern people, with the enthusiasm of a boy, pouring -out dreams of a future which seemed even beyond the -vision of an Isaiah. Great is youth and glorious are its -prophetic visions. At any rate, the old soldiers let their -pipes go out as they listened.</p> - -<p>“Fine,” said Sergeant Hill. “Splendid. I reckon -you’ll have us all in Heaven 40 years hence?”</p> - -<p>“Fine,” said Colonel O’Brien. “Fine. I hope I’ll -be here to see it; but today I saw that paper collector -from New Orleans in town. We can’t pay his bill. -He’ll have to leave on the night train. Better shut up -the office.” And they tramped out into the mud, and I -knew that as they plowed up the street they were looking -at each other as men do when they feel a pity for -some weak-minded lunatic who has stepped out in front -of the crowd with a thought or an act that is called -unorthodox. And I locked the door and sat before the -fire polishing that editorial. Collectors might pound -on the door, paper and ink might run short—what were -these poor material things to one whose winged thoughts -were to save the country? Surely, I had it all planned -out that night, and went home, rising far up above the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> -fog and rain, and bumping my head against the stars! -Do I not know just how Henry Barkman felt about -his great oration? Heaven give him the philosophy to -endure with patience the day which finally came to me -when I had to realize that I was not an uplifter, after -all! And yet cursed be he who would, with a sneer, -deny to youth the glorious foolishness with which he</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Longs to clutch the golden keys;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To mold the mighty state’s decrees</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And shape the whisper of the throne!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And now, 37 years after, there is nothing left of all -these dreams. Colonel O’Brien and Sergeant Hill have -answered the last call.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“They know at last whose cause was right</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In God the Father’s sight!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Old Sol, the black man who turned the press, has -passed on with them. Years ago <i>The Southern Live -Stock Journal</i> was absorbed by a stronger publication. -It is doubtful if in all the town or country you could -find an old copy of the paper. Those great editorials -which I climbed into the clouds to write were evidently -too thin and light for this world. They have all sailed -away far from the mind of man. The little building -where we started the candle flame which was to burn -up all the prejudice and depression in the South seems -to be occupied as a negro hotel or boarding house. The -little shop where (with Sol on the crank of the press and -I feeding in the papers) we turned out what we felt -to be a mental feast, is now a kitchen where cow peas,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -bacon and greens and corn bread form a more substantial -food than we ever served up in printer’s ink. It -was no longer a molder of public opinion.</p> - -<p>“<i>To what base uses we may return, Horatio.</i>”</p> - -<p>And yet the sky was blue, the day was fair—the -vision had come true. I wished that Colonel O’Brien -and Sergeant Hill might stand in front of the old building -and look about them. No longer a sea of mud, but -smooth, firm pavements. The sidewalks were lined -with cars. Beautiful trees shaded the streets, until the -town seemed like a New England Village with six generations -behind it. Outside, stretching away in every -direction, was the thick, beautiful carpet of blue grass -and clover. Here and there was a young man in the -uniform of the American Union. In the vaults of the -banks were great bundles of Liberty bonds. And a -gray-haired man on the street corner told me this:</p> - -<p>“<i>You will find that the very States which sixty years -ago tried to break up the Union will, in the future, -prove to be the very ones which must hold it together.</i>”</p> - -<p>Yet let me tell Henry Barkman and the millions who -felt as he did about his oration, that no one in all that -town remembered my former editorials or the great -work of the <i>Journal</i>. My literary work has been blown -away as completely as the clouds among which it was -composed. At the end of the great college commencement -exercises a man came on the stage with a great -bunch of flowers and bowed in my direction. I am not -much in the habit of having verbal bouquets fired at me, -but I will confess that I thought: “Here is where my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -soul-inspiring editorial work is appreciated. All things -come round to him who will but wait.”</p> - -<p>But this orator, like the rest of them, never dreamed -that I ever tried to “uplift the South.” He said I -entered into the young life of the town and was remembered -with affection because I played baseball with skill -and taught that community how to pitch a curved ball!</p> - -<p>And let me say to the Henry Barkmans who read this -that the lesson of all this is the truest thing I know. -Many a man has gone out into life like a knight on a -crusade, armed with what he thinks are glorious -weapons. In after years people cannot remember what -his weapons were, but he got into their hearts with some -simple, common thing which seemed foolish beside his -great deeds. Nobody remembered my brain children, -though they were embalmed in ink and cradled in a -printing press. But I put a twist on a baseball, overcame -the force of gravity and made the ball dodge -around a corner, and my memory remains green for 40 -years! Not one of my old subscribers spoke of the -paper, but seven of the old baseball club, gray or bald, -near-sighted or rheumatic, yet still with the old flame of -youth, got together.</p> - -<p>I think you older people will get my point. For the -benefit of Henry Barkman and his friends perhaps I -can do no better than to quote the following:</p> - -<p>“<i>God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to -confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things -of the world to confound the things that are mighty.</i>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="HOW_THE_OTHER_HALF_LIVES">HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">“<i>Then I began to think that it is very true which is -commonly said, that the one-half of the world knoweth -not how the other half liveth.</i>”</p> - -<p>That was written by François Rabelais over 500 years -ago. It is so true that it has entered the language as a -proverb, or “old saying.” We hear it again and again -in all classes of society. It is true that the great majority -of us has no idea of the life or the life ambitions -of the great world outside of our own little valley of -thought. I suppose this failure to understand the -“other half” is one of the things which do most to -keep people apart and prevent anything like fair co-operation. -It is the basis of most of the bitter intolerance -which has ever been used by the “ruling classes” to -keep the great mass of the people in subjection. Years -ago some old lord or baron would build a strong castle -on a hill and make the farmers for miles around believe -that he “protected” them. Therefore, they built -his castle free, gave their sons for his soldiers, and toiled -on the land that he might live in idleness. And what -did he “protect” them from? Why, from another -group of farmers a few miles away, who, in like manner, -were supporting another idle gang of cutthroats in another -strong castle. These two groups of farmers did -not need to be “protected” from each other. They -had the same needs, the same wrongs and the same desires.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -Left to understand each other and to work together, -they would have had no trouble, but would have -led happier and far more prosperous lives. As it was -they did not understand “how the other half liveth,” -and thus they fought when they should have fraternized.</p> - -<p>I find much of the same feeling between city people -and farmers—consumers and producers. They do not -understand how “the other half liveth,” and they find -fault when they should from every point of economy -work together. Your city man thinks the farmer has a -soft job, and that with present high prices he is making -a barrel of money. Either that or he is a slow-thinking -drudge—a sort of inferior being, who doesn’t know any -better than to carry the load which others strap on his -back. He is “the backbone of the country” all right -in a political campaign—but the backbone is merely -a mechanical contrivance if you detach it from the -brain. And the average farmer regards the city worker -or commuter as a grafter—getting far more than he -earns, and putting in short, easy days. It isn’t all graft -and ease by a long way. Many of these city workers -must travel miles to their jobs, and some of them put -in longer hours than the average farmer. Many of them -save little or nothing, and the wolf is always prowling -around the door. Between these two classes it is a case -of not knowing “how the other half liveth,” and this -failure to understand has created a form of intolerance -which separates two classes about as the old barons separated -the groups of farmers years ago.</p> - -<p>And something of the same lack of tolerant understanding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -has separated classes of farmers. The grain -farmers, live-stock men, dairymen, gardeners and fruit -growers all think at times that they have the hardest -lot. The labor question, the markets or the weather all -seem to turn against them. For instance, the dairymen -usually think their lot is harder than that of others. -They must work day after day in all sorts of weather -and under hard conditions. I know about this, for I -have worked on a dairy farm where conditions were very -hard. Yet I also know that at this season the average -dairyman has a good job compared with the life of the -market gardener or fruit grower. On our own farm -it has rained each day and night for many days. Get -into a sweet corn or tomato field and pick the crop in a -pouring rain, or pick early apples while the foliage is -like a great sponge. Then sort out and pack, load the -truck and travel through the rain to market, stand out -in the rain and sell the load out to peddlers and dealers, -and then hurry back home for another round of the -same work. The fruit and vegetables are nearly as perishable -as milk, and must be rushed promptly away. -The dairyman knows beforehand what his milk will -bring. The price may not be what he thinks is right, -but he knows for weeks or months in advance what he -can surely expect. We never know when we start what -our stuff will bring. We must take what we can get -for perishable fruit. We know what we have already -spent, and what each load must bring in order to get -our money back. Thus far corn is about equal in price -to last year, tomatoes are lower, apples are at least 30 -per cent lower, and so on. The dairyman has his troubles,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span> -but let him follow this job for a month and he -would realize that “there are others.” In much the -same way I can show that the potato men, the hay and -grain farmers, the sheep men and all the rest, have -their troubles—and hard ones at that. If farmers could -only understand these things better, and realize that -there are thorns and tacks in every so-called “soft job,” -there would be greater tolerance in the world, and that -is the only thing that can ever lead to true co-operation -and fair treatment.</p> - -<p>Pretty much the same thing is true of business. We -ran upon a strange incident the other day. The city of -Paterson, N. J., is a good market town. Work is well -paid and the workmen are free spenders. It is a city of -many breeds and races of men. On the market you will -probably hear more languages and dialects than were -used on the Tower of Babel. A large share of farm -produce is distributed by peddlers—most of them of -foreign blood. They are shrewd and tireless workers. -I never can see when they sleep. Night after night they -come on the market to buy produce, and day after day—through -heat and cold, rain or shine—you see them driving -their horses up and down the streets and lanes—always -good-natured, always with a smile. Well, we -sold Spot, our black cow, to one of these men—an -Italian. Thomas had done business with him for some -years. We had sold him many goods—he had always -paid for them. He made part payment for the cow by -giving about the most remarkable looking check I ever -saw. It was on a first-class bank made out in a -straggling hand, and signed by two names. We had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -passed several like it before through our bank, so -I deposited it, as usual. In a few days it came -back unpaid.</p> - -<p>Thomas and I went to Paterson that night to see what -was wrong. I wish some of you whose lives have been -spent entirely in the country could see how this “other -half liveth.” This man lived on a side street. The -lower part of his house had been fitted as a little store. -In the small backyard were several milk goats, a small -flock of chickens and a shed, in which were two horses. -Under a small, rude shelter of boards was old Spot, -chewing away at green cornstalks. The man was a big, -pleasant-faced Italian. You would mark him for an -honest man on his appearance. There was a brood of -children—eight or nine, I should say—and a pleasant-faced -little wife, who carried the latest arrival around -at her work. When confronted with the protested check, -this man merely smiled and waved his hands. He could -not read it! Two small boys—the oldest perhaps 12 -years of age—seemed to be the only members of the -family who could read and write English. They read -the protest paper to their father and made him understand. -He only smiled and spread out his hands as -people do who talk with their shoulders. These two -little boys had made out the check and signed it for -their parents. They either did not figure out their -bank balance, or figured it wrong. There was no attempt -at dishonesty, and the check would finally be honored. -That seemed to be all there was to it. These little boys, -through the public school, represented all that these older -people know of the great business life of America.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p> - -<p>I know a good many Americans whose pedigrees run -back close to Plymouth Rock. If some of them had -let that check go in this way I should have loaded old -Spot right on the truck and carried her home. Thomas -knew this man and his reputation, and his way of doing -business. He will pay, and in a few days of peddling he -will pad out his bank account and then the check will -go through. So we shook hands with him and came -home. But that is the way “the other half liveth.” -This man and woman came to a strange land too late -in life to acquire a business education. They can work -and plan, but must depend upon those little boys to -do business which requires bookkeeping or banking. All -the boys know about American business is what they -learn at the public schools. I wish you could have -seen the way that check was made out—yet any old -piece of paper may be worth more than a gold-plated -certificate if there is genuine character back of it. I -am told that in most mill towns the banks carry a good -many accounts just like this one; in fact, a good proportion -of the business is conducted in about that way. -It is said that some of the smaller manufacturers do not -keep any set of books which enable them to figure their -income tax! There are some men who could not buy -a cow or a cat from us on credit, while others could -have what credit they need right on their face and reputation.</p> - -<p>There is another thing about this trade that will -interest dairymen. We found old Spot giving about 18 -quarts of milk per day, on a feed of green cornstalks and -a little grain. This milk will sell for 18 cents, at least.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -The cow can live in that little shed until the middle -of December, or about 120 days. In that time she will -give 1,500 quarts or more, which, at 18 cents, means -$270, and she can then be sold for at least $90 for -beef! That makes $360 gross income for one cow in -four months. Her feed will be mostly refuse tops and -stalks from vegetables and a small amount of grain. -She will be well cared for, carded and brushed every -day, and made comfortable. Thus not half the cows -know “how the other half liveth.” Someone will take -these figures, multiply them by 25, and show what tremendous -incomes our dairymen are making. The fact -is this man can keep just one cow at a profit. If he -kept two the extra cost of food would about eat up -his profits. So we went whirling home through the -dusk, thinking that we had had a glimpse at a little of -the life of the other half, and it made me feel something -more of charity for my fellow men. When you come to -think of what the American public school means to that -family, you realize the immense responsibility that goes -with education. We can hardly be too careful about -what our schools teach and how they teach it. I wonder -how many of us, if we were transplanted to some -foreign land, would be willing to turn our business over -to our children and let them conduct it as they learned -to do it from the schools! I think we would all be more -tolerant and reasonable if we would let our children -bring to us more of the spirit of youth and more of -hope of the future. The rain had stopped, the sky had -cleared, the wind had dried the grass, and on the lawn -in front of the house our great army of children were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span> -dancing and playing as if there were no such thing as -tomato rot, wet corn and low prices. I think that these -handicaps would have seemed much lighter if we could -have gone out and danced with the kids. I wonder -where, along the road, we gave up doing that.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_INDIANS_WON">THE INDIANS WON</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Thanksgiving is a time for physical feasting and mental -fasting. By the latter I mean trying to think out -some of the problems of life which come as a sort of -shade when we remember all our mercies. A bunch of -these problems came up to me through a cloud of memories -as I sat with my feet on the concrete and my collar -turned up.</p> - -<p>It was a gray, raw, miserable day—good Indian -weather as it turned out. It seemed as if the sun had -covered its face with a blanket in one of those fits of -depression when the impulse is to hide the face from -human eyes. Some 12,000 people were grouped—piled -up tier above tier—around a great field marked out -with long white stripes. It was a cold crowd, for all -had their feet on a concrete floor. At one side a devoted -little band of college boys screamed and sang their -songs, but for the most part this great crowd sat cold-eyed -and impartial. At one side of the field there was -a dash of bright color where a group of stolid Indians -sat wrapped in big red blankets. Just across from these -was another group of men with green blankets. Between -them in the center of the field was a tangled mass -of 22 husky boys in red or green, all fighting for the -possession of a football.</p> - -<p>Ah, a football game! What is this so-called farmer -doing, wasting part of the price of a barrel of apples<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> -when he ought to be at work? Of course it is my privilege -to say, “That’s my business if I want to,” but I -will answer by saying that I was renewing my youth -and studying human nature. You can’t improve on -either operation for a man of my age. Up some 250 -miles nearer the Canadian line the boy had been one -of the 1,000 yelling young maniacs who sent these -green-clad boys down to meet the Indians. He could -not come, but he wrote me, “Be sure to see the game; -it will be <i>a peach</i>.” As a peach grower, I am interested -in all new varieties, and this certainly turned out to be -one. It must be said that these green-clad boys came -down out of their hills with a haughty spirit, wearing -pride as conspicuously as they will wear their first high -hat. They had not lost a game, but had trampled over -two of the greatest colleges in the country. They represented -the section where the purest-bred white Americans -are to be found. One more victory and no one -could deny their boast that they could stand any other -football team on its head. So they came marching out -on the field, very airy, very confident, and fully convinced -of the great superiority of the white man!</p> - -<p>I know very little about football. When I played it -was more like a game of tag than a human battering -ram. Here, however, was a round of the great human -game which would make anyone thoughtful. Here were -representatives of two races about to grapple. The great -majority of the white thousands who watched them -were unconcerned—for a New York audience is composed -of so many races and tongues that it has little -sentiment. All around me, however, there seemed standing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -up hundreds of swarthy, dark men whose eyes glittered -as they watched the game. You could not realize -how many there were with Indian and Negro blood -until such a test of the white and red races was presented. -Then you began to realize what a race question -really means when the so-called inferior race gets a -chance to test its real manhood on terms of equality.</p> - -<p>It would have made a theme for a great historian as -these young men lined up for the game. The whites -trotted out confident and proud. Why not? The “betting” -favored them, their record was superior, as their -race was supposed to be. The Indians slouched to their -places and shambled through their motions, silent and -without great show of confidence. It came to me as not -at all unlikely that a few centuries before the ancestors -of these boys had faced each other under very different -circumstances. Francis Parkman, the historian, tells of -a famous battle in the upper Connecticut Valley. The -white settlers had built a stockade as protection against -roving bands of French and Indians. One day this fort -was attacked by such a band, which had come down -the valley capturing prisoners and booty. It was a savage -fight, but the white men held their own, and finally a -Frenchman came forward with a white flag for a parley. -He actually offered to buy a supply of corn, as they -were out of food, and then to retreat. In that gray mist, -with my feet on the concrete, I could shut my eyes and -see the ancestors of these football players. Stern white -men, gun in hand, peering over the stockade, and silent -red men creeping noiselessly out of the forest to pile up -their booty in sight—as price for the corn. The frost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -on the leaves told them that Winter with all its cold -and peril was approaching. Here were the necessities -of life—a tremendous bargain. Yet back in the shadow -of the woods were the captives—men, women and -children—and the white settlers held out for <i>them</i>. -For at that time, if not now, New England <i>knew the -value of a man</i> to the nation. He was far above the -dollar, even though the women and children would be -a care and a danger.</p> - -<p>In a way, something of the spirit of those grim old -fighters lay in the hearts of these green-clad boys who -had come down from these historic old hills. At that -instant, at least, they, too, knew the value of a man. It -was expressed by their little band of singers and cheerers -led by the writhing “cheer leaders”—the glory and -fame of the good old college on the hill. You could not -have bought one of these boys for $1,000,000.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, these shambling and big-boned -Indians seemed to have something of the same spirit in -their hearts. Silent and impassive, they seemed for the -moment to have cast off their college training and gone -back to the free, wild life, only carrying the discipline -which authority and college training had given them. -I wonder if any of these red men thought as they lined -up on that field that it was the lack of just this stern -discipline which lost them this country and nearly -wiped out their race? Men fitted to play this game of -football never would have given away Manhattan Island, -or permitted a handful of white men to drive them from -the coast. Over 1,000 men, each with the burning drop -of Indian or Negro blood in his veins, were hoping and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -praying that in this modern battle the red men would -humble the pride of Manhattan, as their ancestors had -lost the island. Out of the gray mist there seemed to -stride ghosts of stout Dutchmen and thin Yankees and -silent, noiseless Indians to watch this fairer combat.</p> - -<p>At the signal the ball was kicked far down the field -by a white man whose ancestors may have come with -Hendrik Hudson. It was caught by a red man, whose -ancestors may have been kings or chiefs while the white -man’s were European peasants. Back he came running -with the ball to form the basement of a pile of 10 struggling -fighters, and the game was on. You must get -someone else to describe the game. I do not understand -it well enough. The two groups of players lined up -against each other, and one side tried to batter the other -down, or send a man through with the ball. Again and -again came this fierce shock, and a strange and unexpected -thing was happening. The Indians had no band -of singers or cheer leaders, no pretty girls were urging -them on, no pride of superior dominating race, but -silently and resolutely they were smashing the white -men back. It was hard. These boys in green died well. -There was one light man who took the ball and ran -through the Indians as his ancestors may have run the -gauntlet, but they pulled him down. Inch by inch the -white men were battered back over the line. The air -seemed full of red blankets, for those substitutes at the -side lines were back into the centuries coming home -from a season on the warpath. Yet the green singers -yelled on and shouted their defiance. Then the white men -made a great rally and forced the Indians back, grimly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -battling over the other line. At the end of the first -half the score stood 10 to 7, in favor of the white men. -“It’s all over,” said a man who sat next to me. “They -will come back and trample all over the Indians, for -white men always have the endurance.” A man nearby -with a touch of bronze in his skin glared at us with a -look in his eyes that was not quite good to see. Back -came the players, at it again. There was great trampling, -but of the unexpected kind. These slouching and -shambling Indians suddenly turned into human tigers, -and the plain truth is that they both outwitted and -walked right over the green-clad whites. There was no -stopping them. All the cheering and singing and sentiment -and “race-superiority” went for nothing. For -here was where pride and a haughty spirit ran up -against destruction, and great was the fall thereof. Yet -I was proud of the way these white boys met their fate. -They had been too confident, and had lost what is called -the “psychological drop” on the enemy. The Indians -had them at the stake with a hot fire burning, for no one -knows what a victory right there would have meant for -the good old college far away among the hills. Yet, -face to face with fate, cruel, silent and relentless, those -boys never faltered, but fought on. I liked them better -in defeat than in their airy confidence before the game. -When it was all over they got up out of the mud of defeat -and gave their college war cry. There may have -been a few cracked and corner-clipped notes in it, but -it was fine spirit and good losing. Nearby the Indians -waved their blankets and gave another college yell. And -the 1,000 or more men with that burning drop of blood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -in their veins went home with shining faces and gleaming -eyes, with better dreams for the future of their race. -For they had made the white man’s burden of superiority -a hard burden to carry.</p> - -<p>My football days are over. No use for me to tell -what great things I did 30 years ago. This age demands -a “show me,” and I cannot give it. If I had -my way I would introduce football, baseball, basketball, -pushball and all other clean and organized games -into every country town. I would organize leagues and -contests and get country children to play. Do you ever -stop to think that work, long and continuous, for ourselves -and our children, has not taught us how to organize -or use our forces together as we should? It is -true. <i>Organized</i> play will do more to bring our children -together for co-operative work than anything I can -think of. It will give discipline, which is what we -need. Two of these green-clad boys stood an Indian -on his head and whirled him around like a top. It -was part of the game. He got up good-naturedly and -took his place in the line. Imagine what his grandfather -would have done! One white boy was running -with the ball and two Indians butted him, while another -got him by the legs. The boy simply held on to the ball. -It was discipline and training in self-control. Step on -a city man’s foot in a crowded car and he would want to -fight. Our country people need such discipline and -spirit before they can compete with organized business. -If I could have my way I would have our country children -drilled in just such loyalty to the home town or district -as these college boys displayed on the field. Tell<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> -me, if you will, how it can be gained now in any way -except through organized and loyal play for our children. -You know very well what I mean. Work is -an essential of life, and it must be made the foundation -of character. Organized and clean play is another -essential, as I see it now, and I think its development -and firm direction is to be one of the greatest forces in -building up life in the country.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="IKE_SAWYERS_HOTEL">IKE SAWYER’S HOTEL</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">It was last year, as I recall it, at about this season, one -of the children asked me a strange question:</p> - -<p>“<i>What was the thankfullest day you ever saw?</i>”</p> - -<p>Now I have seen somewhere around 20,000 days -come and go, and every one of them has brought a dozen -things to be thankful for. I sometimes think as the -hands crawl around the clock at Hope Farm that the -day they are recording right now is about the best of all. -I have passed Thanksgiving Day in the mud, in the -snow, in a swamp, on a mountain, in a crowded city, -on a lonely farm—under about all the conditions you -can mention. I have given hearty thanks over baked -beans, salt pork, bread and cheese, turkey and all the -rest, but before the fire tonight somehow they all burn -away except that experience in Ike Sawyer’s Hotel.</p> - -<p>They were stuck in the mud—with a broken axle—in -a swamp in Northern Michigan. No one had -dreamed of an auto in those days. You forded the -swamp and stream in the primitive old way. It was -a rich, middle-aged lumberman and his young wife. -How this tough, hard pine knot of a man ever selected -this soft-handed and selfish girl I cannot see. She had -come with him into the woods on one of his business -trips, and the silence by day and the whispering of -the pines at night had filled her with terror. The -rough, sturdy man suddenly saw that, unlike his first<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> -wife, this girl was not a helper and a partner, but a -toy—a hothouse flower who could not live his life or -help fight his battles. He had a great business deal on -hand which required all his energies, but this girl could -not understand or help him. She had begged and cried -to go back to “civilization,” and they were on their way. -And in this lonely place the axle of the carriage had -snapped and left them in the mud.</p> - -<p>It had been one of those gray, melancholy days -which seem to fit best into the idea of a New England -Thanksgiving. Now twilight was coming on and there -were dark shadows in the swamp. The woman had -climbed out of the mud and stood on a log by the roadside. -She had been crying in her disappointment, for -she had expected to reach the railroad that night, and -spend Thanksgiving in the distant city—far from this -lonely wilderness. Her husband was bargaining with -an old farmer who finally agreed to haul the broken -carriage back to the blacksmith shop for repairs.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got entertainment for beast,” he said, “but -not for man—so I can’t put you up. Quarter of a mile -down the road Ike Sawyer runs a sorter hotel.”</p> - -<p>He hauled the carriage out of the mud and started -back along the road. There was nothing for us to do -but hunt for the hotel. You may have seen some strong, -capable man come to a crisis in his life where it suddenly -flashes upon him that the woman of his choice is -after all made of common clay, with little of that spirit -or courage which we somehow think should belong to -the thoroughbred. It was a very doleful, unhappy little -woman and a sad and silent big man who walked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span> -through the mud and up the little sand hill in search -of the hotel. They had nothing to be thankful for, and, -yet did they but know it, they were to find the most -precious thing in life in this lonely wilderness.</p> - -<p>Around a turn in the road we came in sight of a -long, rambling building, weatherbeaten and out of repair. -Over the door was a faded sign, “Farmers’ -Rest.” On the little porch just under this sign sat a -white-haired woman in a wheel-chair. In front of the -house a little man with a bald head and a pair of great -spectacles perched at the end of his nose was chasing a -big Plymouth Rock rooster about the yard. The old -people had not noticed us, and we stopped in the road to -watch them. The old man finally cornered the rooster -by the garden fence and carried him flapping and -squawking to the old lady. She examined him carefully, -and evidently approved the choice, for the old -man, still holding the rooster, pushed the wheel-chair -into the house and then, picking up his ax, started for -the chopping block just as we turned in from the road. -We startled him so that he dropped the rooster. The -gray bird did not stop to welcome us, but darted off -into the shadows. He mounted the roost in the henhouse -from which the old man easily pulled him a little -later.</p> - -<p>You may have seen old pictures of country hotel-keepers -bowing and scraping as their guests arrive. Ike -Sawyer could not play the part. He just peered at us -over his spectacles and rubbed his hands together.</p> - -<p>“Walk right in,” he said. “Me and Annie can put -you up.” Then he led the way into the rambling old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span> -house. It was dark now, and the old man lighted a -lamp so that we could look about us. The old woman -did not rise from her chair, but she smiled up a welcome.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t walked for 10 years,” explained her husband. -“I play feet and she plays hands, and between us we -make out fine.”</p> - -<p>The old man bustled about and started a fire in the -big fireplace. The young woman had entered the poor -old building with an angry snarl of discontent on her -face. It was all so mean and hateful to be obliged to -stay in this lonely, dreadful place. As the fire blazed -up and filled the room with warm light, I noticed that -the snarl faded out and she sat watching the old lady -with wondering eyes. She went to her room for a moment, -but soon came back to sit by the fire and watch -the sweet-faced old lady “play hands.” On the other -side of the fireplace, silent and strong, her husband sat -watching his wife with eyes half closed under his -thick, bushy eyebrows.</p> - -<p>I have seen the cook in a quick lunch counter stand -in his little box and toss food together, and I have seen -a chef earning nearly as much as the President daintily -working in his great kitchen, but nothing will ever seem -to equal the way that meal was prepared when Annie -played hands and Ike played feet. Ike pushed a little -table up in front of his wife, and at her call brought -flour and milk and all that she needed for making biscuits. -He stood beside her chair as the thin fingers did -their work. Now and then he laid his hand upon her -shoulder, and once he touched her beautiful head. As<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -though forgetting her guests Annie would smile back at -him—a beautiful smile which brought a strange look to -the face of the young woman who sat watching them. -At first it seemed like an amused sneer. Then there -came a puzzled, curious look—the first faint glimmering -of the thought that this old man and woman -<i>out of their trouble, out of their loneliness, had found -and preserved that most precious of all earth’s blessings—love</i>!</p> - -<p>When a fellow has eaten more than 60,000 meals, as -I have in my time, it must be a very good performance -in that line to stand out like a bump or a peg in memory. -Through all my days I can never forget that -supper in the fire-lighted room where Ike played feet -and Annie played hands and brains. Ike started a roaring -fire in the kitchen stove. Then he brought in a -basket of potatoes and Annie selected the best ones for -baking. He came with a fragrant brown ham, and cut -slices, under her eye, she measuring with her thin finger -to make sure they were not too thick. She cut the bread -herself, selected the eggs for frying, mixed the gravy -and seemed to know by the sputter in the pan when the -ham was done. Ike pushed her chair over to the table -so she could spread the cloth and arrange the service. -Then at a word he pushed her chair to the window -where half a dozen plants were blooming. She cut two -little nosegays and put them beside the plates of her -guests. Ike brought in the ham and eggs, the great, -mealy baked potatoes, the brown biscuits and the apple -pie. In her city home a servant would have approached -the lady and gently announced:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span></p> - -<p>“Dinner is served!”</p> - -<p>Ike Sawyer, when Annie nodded approval, simply -invited:</p> - -<p>“<i>Sit by and eat!</i>”</p> - -<p>It was all so simple and human that it seemed a perfectly -natural thing to do when the discontented and -peevish young woman picked up the little nosegay at -her husband’s plate and pinned it on his coat. She even -patted his shoulder just as Ike had done with Annie. -We were all ready to begin, when Ike, standing by -Annie’s chair, took off his great spectacles and held up -his hand.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know who you be or whether you’re church -folks or not, but me an’ Annie always makes every -day a season for Thanksgivin’.”</p> - -<p>Then in the deep silence with only the popping of the -fire and the dim noises of the night, as accompaniment, -the old man bowed his head and made his prayer. He -prayed that the “stranger within our gates” might find -peace and strength and go on his way thankful for all -the blessings of life. Under those great bushy eyebrows -the eyes of the strong, rich man glowed with a -strange light. The young wife glanced at him, and the -sneer faded away from her face. Then Ike became the -landlord once more and he bustled about, tempting us to -eat a little more of this or another piece of that, and -at every word of praise falling back upon his stock explanation:</p> - -<p>“It’s her—Annie plays hands and I play feet. -Everybody knows hands have more skill than -feet.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span></p> - -<p>After supper the big man and his wife stood at the -window looking out into the wet, dismal night. After -a little hesitation he put his arm gently around her. -She did not throw it away as she did when he tried to -comfort her in the swamp, but rather pulled it closer. -After Ike had cleared up his dishes and caught and -dressed the gray rooster we all sat before the fire and -talked. With a few shrewd questions the lumberman -drew out Ike’s story. Years before he and Annie had -owned a good farm in New York. There they heard -of the wonderful new town that was to be built in -Northern Michigan. A city was to arise there, the railroad -was coming, and fortune was to float on golden -wings over the favored place. It is strange how people -like Ike and Annie cannot see how much they need -home and old friends and old scenes to make life satisfying. -They are not made of the stuff used in building -pioneers, but they cannot realize it and they listen to -plausible dreams and go chasing after the impossible. -So Ike and Annie sold the farm and came to start the -great city. It never started. The railroad headed 20 -miles west. Out among the scrub oaks you could find -some of the rotting stakes marked “Broadway,” “Clay -St.,” or “Lake Avenue.” The swamp and forest refused -to be civilized. Ike built his hotel in anticipation -of the human wave which would wash prosperity his -way. It never came, and only a rough, rambling house -remained as the weatherbeaten gravestone of Sawdust -City. Of all the pioneers there were only Ike and -Annie—last of them all—celebrating their happy -Thanksgiving!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></p> - -<p>“Why don’t you sell out and move to some town?” -said the practical lumberman.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir—it would be too far from home! Me -and Annie know this place—every corner of it. Every -crick of a timber at night brings a memory. We are -just part of the place. And the little girl is buried off -there by the brook. We couldn’t go away from that, -could we?”</p> - -<p>“But isn’t it so <i>awful</i> lonesome?”</p> - -<p>It was the young woman who asked, and it was Annie -who softly answered her.</p> - -<p>“No, for we have great company. I have Ike and -he has me. All these long years have tried us out. We -know each other, and we are satisfied. Each Thanksgiving -finds us happier than before, because we know -that our last years are to be our best years.”</p> - -<p>The rich man looked over to Ike and Annie with -something of hopeless envy printed on his face. His -wife nodded her head gently and then sat gazing into -the fire until Ike gave us clearly to understand that 10 -o’clock was the hour for retiring at the “Farmers’ -Rest.”</p> - -<p>We stayed for our Thanksgiving dinner, and the gray -rooster, stuffed with chestnuts and bread-crumbs, might -well have stood up in the platter to crow at the praises -heaped upon him. The forenoon was gloomy and dull, -but just as we came to the table the sun broke through -the clouds. A long splinter of sunshine broke through -the window—falling upon Annie’s snow-white hair. -Ike hurried to move her chair out of the sun, but the -rich man asked Ike to leave her there, for I think something<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span> -in that sunny picture took him back to childhood—where -most men go on Thanksgiving Day.</p> - -<p>And shortly after dinner the farmer came up the -road with the carriage. The axle had been mended and -the horses rested. We all shook hands with Ike and -Annie. I was to go my way and the other guests were -to pass out of our little world.</p> - -<p>Annie held the young girl’s hand for a moment.</p> - -<p>“My dear, I hope you will soon be back in the city -among your friends, where you will not be so lonely. -It must be hard for you here.”</p> - -<p>The girl hesitated a moment and then put her hand -on her husband’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“John, would it mean very much to you if we went -right back to the camp so you could finish your business?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it would—but I am afraid——”</p> - -<p>“Then we will <i>not</i> go home yet, but we will go back -until you are through. I have had a beautiful Thanksgiving. -I would rather stay in the woods.”</p> - -<p>And so they turned in their tracks and went back -through the swamp. The night before she said she -should always hate the place where the accident had -made Ike Sawyer’s hotel a necessity. Now as she passed -it she smiled and gave her husband a pinch—a trick -she must have learned from Annie. And so they went -on through the sunny afternoon of the “thankfullest day -of their lives.” They were thinking of the working -force at the “Farmers’ Rest”—the feet and the hands!</p> - -<p>And the thought in their minds framed itself over -and over into words:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span></p> - -<p>“<i>Out of their poverty, out of their trouble and loneliness, -this man and woman have found each other, and -thus have found the most beautiful and precious thing -in life—love!</i>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="OLD-TIME_POLITICS">OLD-TIME POLITICS</h2> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">“What is the matter with this political campaign?”</p> - -<p>An old man who can remember public events far -back of the Civil War and beyond asked that question -the other day. He said this campaign reminded him -more of a Sunday school convention. Nobody was -fighting, and very few such epithets as “liar” or -“thief” or “rascal” were being used. In these days -no one seems to care who is to be elected. We are all -too busy trying to pay our bills. The old man bewailed -the loss of power and interest in this generation. He -thought this quiet indifference meant that as a nation -we have lost our political vigor. Having been through -some of those old-time battles, I cannot fully agree with -him. It is true that few people seem interested, yet they -will vote this year, and I think the quiet and thoughtful -study most of them are making will prove as effective as -the big noise and excitement we used to have. We are -merely doing things differently now. Whether the great -excitement of those old political days made us better -citizens is a question which has long puzzled me. I -know that in those nervous and high-strung days we -did many foolish things as a part of “politics.” On -the other hand, I wish sometimes that our people could -get as thoroughly worked up over the tribute we are -paying to the profiteers as we did in those old days over -the tariff and the slavery issue.</p> - -<p>I can well remember taking part in the campaign between<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -Garfield and Hancock. The Democrats felt that -they had been robbed of the Presidency in ’76, but as -they failed to renominate Tilden the Republicans called -them quitters. I had dropped out of college for awhile -to work as hired man for a farmer in a Western State, -and we certainly had a great time. This farmer was -an old soldier; he was a good talker and thought well -of his own exploits. When you found that combination -40 years ago you struck a red-hot partisan. The man’s -wife was a Democrat, because her father had been. -She was one of those small, black-eyed women who acquire -the habit of dominating things in the schoolroom -and then concentrate the habit when they take -a school of one pupil in the home. Her brother lived on -the next farm. He had turned Republican because he -wanted to be elected county clerk. It was fully worth -the price of admission to sit by the fire some stormy -night and hear this woman put those two Republicans -on the broiler of her tongue. They were big men, fully -capable of holding their own in any ordinary argument, -but this small woman cowed them as she formerly -did her A B C pupils. It was enough to make any -young man very thoughtful about marrying a successful -teacher to see this small woman point a finger at her -big husband and say:</p> - -<p>“Now John Crandall, don’t you dare to say it isn’t -the truth!”</p> - -<p>And John didn’t dare, though from his political religion -it might be a base fabrication. One day, after a -particularly hard thrust, John and I were digging potatoes, -and he unburdened his mind a little:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span></p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you one thing: any man who marries a -good school-marm takes his life in his hands—his political -life, anyway!” and he pushed his fork into the -ground as though he was spearing a Democrat! “And -yet,” he added, as he threw out a fine hill of -potatoes, “sometimes I kinder think it’s worth the -risk.”</p> - -<p>My great regret is that this lady did not live to celebrate -the Nineteenth Amendment! With the ballot in -her hand she would have stirred excitement even into -this dull campaign!</p> - -<p>We worked all day, and went around arguing most -of the night during that hot campaign. The names we -had for the Democrats would not bear repeating here. -The other side went around with pieces of chalk, making -the figures “321” on every fence and building or -on stones. That represented the sum of money which -General Garfield was said to have stolen. The Republicans -marched around in processions carrying a pair of -overalls tied to a pole, representing one of the Democratic -candidates. Oh, it was a “campaign of education” -without doubt! And then Maine voted! John -and his brother-in-law had been playing Maine as their -trump card.</p> - -<p>“Wait till you hear from the old Pine Tree State. -As Maine goes, so goes the Union!”</p> - -<p>John felt so sure of it that even his wife was a little -fearful. The day after the Maine election John and I -were seeding wheat on a hill back from the road. There -were no telephones in those days, and news traveled -slowly—we were eight miles from town. In the late<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -afternoon we heard a noise from the distant road. -There was Peleg Leonard driving his old white horse -up the road at full speed and roaring out an old campaign -song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Wait for the wagon! Wait for the wagon!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Democratic wagon, and we’ll all take a ride!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The demand for prohibition in those days was confined -to a few “wild-eyed fanatics,” and Peleg was not -one of them, especially on those rare occasions when the -Democrats got a chance to yell. We saw him stop in -front of the house and wave his arms as he told the news -to Sarah.</p> - -<p>“Looks sorter bad. Can it be that Maine has gone -back on us?” said John as he saw the celebrator go on -his way.</p> - -<p>We usually had a cold supper on such days, but now -we saw the smoke pouring from the kitchen chimney, -and the horn blew half an hour earlier than usual. John -and I put up the horses, washed our faces at the pump -and walked into the kitchen as only two dejected Republicans -can travel. You see, it wasn’t so bad for the -Democrats. They were used to being defeated, and -had made no great claims. I was young then, and -youth is intensely partisan. Since that day I have voted -on four different party tickets, and glory in the fact that -I am not “hide-bound.”</p> - -<p>Sarah had on her best black silk and the white apron -with lace edges. She had cooked some hot biscuit and -dished up some of her famous plum preserve and actually -skimmed a pan of milk to serve thick cream.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span></p> - -<p>“<i>Maine is gone Democratic!</i>” she cried. “<i>Hurrah -for Hancock!</i> Bread and water’s good enough for Republicans -in this hour of triumph, but I know the fat of -the land will taste like gall to both of you. Sit right -down and feast, because the country’s safe!”</p> - -<p>Physically that supper was perfect. There never -were finer hot biscuits or better plum preserve or finer -cold chicken! Spiritually it was the saddest and most -depressing meal on record. We made a full meal. I -can go back into the years and see that big farmer gnawing -half a chicken under command of his wife. You -remember “King Robert of Sicily” in Longfellow’s -poem:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The world he loved so much</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Had turned to dust and ashes at his touch.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And so with poor John. That fine chicken tasted -exactly like crow as Sarah sat by and “rubbed it in.” -Oh, politics, where are the charms we formerly saw in -thy face?</p> - -<p>John and I surely dawdled over our chores that night. -We had no great desire to go in and hear the news. -Finally Sarah came to the door and called us.</p> - -<p>“Say,” said John to me as we started for the house, -“you go to college. Have you ever studied logic or -what they call psychology?”</p> - -<p>“While I am no expert at either subject, I know -what they mean.”</p> - -<p>“Well, now, suppose your wife got after you like -that, how would you use those studies to keep her quiet? -What’s the use of an education if it don’t help you -keep peace in the family?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span></p> - -<p>So I unwisely told John that he ought to tell his wife -that a woman by law obtained her citizenship from her -husband. That citizenship was the essence of politics; -therefore the wife should by law belong to her husband’s -party. I am older now in years, and I know better than -to give any man arguments in a debate with his wife. -The Maine election, however, had made us desperate. -So John marched in with a very confident step and -elaborated my arguments. He was quite impressive -when he assured her that the law declared that a woman -acquired her political principles from her husband. It -did not work, however.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you tell me! I didn’t marry any principles -at all when I married you. How is a man going to give -any principles to his wife when he never had any to -give? My father was a Democrat, and I take my politics -from him. He was the best man that ever lived, -and you know it. I inherit my politics, I do—I didn’t -marry them!”</p> - -<p>The truth is that Sarah’s father was an old war Democrat -who came near being tarred and feathered by his -neighbors, but one of the saving graces of modern civilization -is the fact that a woman’s father is always an -immortal—never needing any defense—his virtues being -self-evident, while her husband is a de-mortal who -can hardly hope to become a good citizen except through -long years of patient service! His only hope lies in -the future when he has a daughter of his own.</p> - -<p>And Henry Wilkins, Sarah’s brother, was running for -county clerk. We held a caucus at the blacksmith shop, -where John and I and two farmers were elected delegates<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -to the county convention. We all went to the -county seat one Saturday afternoon to nominate a ticket. -The last we heard from Sarah was:</p> - -<p>“Now, Henry, if you get nominated on that renegade -ticket, I know one man that won’t vote for you -and that’s John Crandall. I won’t let him vote if he -has to stay in bed all day!”</p> - -<p>Contrary to what some of the “antis” say woman -has always exercised political power.</p> - -<p>When we got to town we found the “drug-store -ring” in control. This was a little group of politicians -led by Jacob Spaulding. It was the “Tammany -Hall” of Oak County. This ring had decided to nominate -an undertaker from the west side of the county for -clerk. Most of the farmers were all ready to quit when -Jake Spaulding said the word, for he usually handed out -the little political jobs. I was young and inexperienced -in politics and ready for a fight. It hurt me to -see that great crowd of farmers ready to give up the -fight when a big, fat brute like Jake Spaulding and a -few of his creatures shook their heads. So I called our -delegates together and proposed that we go right in -where Jake was and “talk turkey” to him. Strange, -but John Crandall was the only outspoken supporter -I had. John was bossed at home until he was like a -lamb, but get him out among men and the pent-up -feelings in the lamb expanded that innocent animal into -a lion. So we had our way, and about 25 of us marched -down the street to the courthouse, where in the sheriff’s -room the county committee was making up the ticket.</p> - -<p>You would have thought the destinies of the nation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -were at stake as we filed into that room. Half of our -delegates were ready to quit when Jake Spaulding -glared at us over his spectacles.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?”</p> - -<p>Dr. Walker was our spokesman, and Jake Spaulding -had a mortgage on his house. You could see that -mortgage peeking out from behind every sentence of the -doctor’s speech. In effect he asked those politicians if -they wouldn’t please nominate Henry Wilkins for -county clerk. It didn’t take Jake long to put us where -we belonged.</p> - -<p>“No; the delegates to this convention are going to -nominate Hiram Green. Nothing doing here. Just -fall in and work for the grand old Republican party! -And now, boys, good day; we’re busy.”</p> - -<p>Several of our delegates started for the door. They -were well-disciplined soldiers. I was not, and I did -what most of them thought a very foolish thing. Before -I well knew it I was up in front making a speech to -Jake Spaulding. At that time no one had ever heard -of the 35-cent dollar. The word “profiteer” was not -in the language; but I think I did make it clear that -these farmers were there to nominate Henry Wilkins or -“bust” the convention. As I look back upon it now I -think it was the most bold and palpable “bluff” ever -attempted at a country convention. And John Crandall -stood beside me and pounded his big hands together -until the rest of the delegates forgot their fear and -joined in. When I finished there was nothing to do for -us but to file out of the courthouse.</p> - -<p>Then they turned on me in sorrow and anger. Everyone<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -would now be a marked man. They never could get -any office from Jake Spaulding. Even Henry, the candidate, -felt I had injured his chances, for if he kept -quiet perhaps he might make a deal to get to be deputy -clerk. But John Crandall stood by me.</p> - -<p>“Good,” he said; “I’m a fighter. Get right up in -convention and give ’em another. I’m going to vote for -Henry till the last man is out.”</p> - -<p>But these faint hearts did not know what was going -on inside the sheriff’s room. When our delegation -marched out the county committee sat and looked at -each other.</p> - -<p>“Boys,” said Jake Spaulding, “it looks like they -mean business. We can’t let that spread. I guess we’ll -have to take Henry on!”</p> - -<p>There was a big crowd in the courthouse, and the -convention went off like a well-oiled machine. They -nominated sheriff and probate judge and then the chairman -asked:</p> - -<p>“Any nominations for county clerk?”</p> - -<p>I had my throat all cleared and stood up with: -“Mr. Chairman,”—but no one paid much attention -to me. The chairman turned to the platform and -said:</p> - -<p>“I recognize Judge Spaulding,” and there was the -big, fat boss on his feet.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Chairman,” he said, “today our glorious country -lives or dies! The grand old Republican party is on -trial. Every patriot is needed in this great crisis. Ho! -Israel, every man to his tent! I therefore take great -pleasure in nominating that splendid farmer, that incomparable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -patriot, that popular citizen, Henry Wilkins -of Adams township. I ask you in the name of our -glorious citizenship to put him through with bells -on!”</p> - -<p>I stood there all through the speech too dazed to sit, -until John Crandall pulled me down. Then I realized -that for once a bluff had worked. And after the convention -I met Jake Spaulding in front of the courthouse. -“Young feller,” he said, “if you decide to settle down -in this county, let me know. I’ll have a little job for -you.”</p> - -<p>We all rode home in the candidate’s wagon. Sarah -was waiting for us at the gate.</p> - -<p>“Well, how did you come out?”</p> - -<p>“Nominated by acclamation,” said Henry. “John -and the young feller here did it. They made Jake -Spaulding come up!”</p> - -<p>“John?”</p> - -<p>If some actress could put into a single word the -scorn and surprise which Sarah packed into her husband’s -name her fortune would be made. And John -and I stood there like a couple of truant schoolboys -waiting for the verdict.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I said. John was fine. Only for -him I’d have been defeated.” And Henry drove on.</p> - -<p>“Now you two lazy Republicans, get out and milk -those cows.”</p> - -<p>We went, but when we got back the kitchen stove -was roaring, and Sarah was just taking out a pan of -biscuits. There were ham and eggs on the stove.</p> - -<p>“Now you sit right down and eat. If I’ve got to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> -be sister to a county clerk I want to know all about it. -Now, John, you tell me just how it happened.”</p> - -<p>Ah, but those were the happy days of politics. Do -you wonder that we old-timers consider the present -campaign about like dishwater—in more ways than one?</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Hope Farm Notes, by Herbert Winslow Collingwood - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOPE FARM NOTES *** - -***** This file should be named 63243-h.htm or 63243-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/2/4/63243/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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