CHAPTER IV 



GETTING THE RURAL SAVOR INTO CITY LIFE 



I wish you joy of this and that; 



The new look from a path's quick turn, 



The sunshine on the long home street, 



The unexpected fern; 



I wish you power to draw delight 



Because a bow blows so or so; 



I wish you joy of everything 



Of all the living, singing lands, 



And of the smiling, sleeping sky 



That no one understands 



Zona Gale. 



TURNING now from the negative to the positive 

 side of our subject from the god-of-things-as- 

 they-are to the god-of-things-as-they-ought-to- 

 be let us consider to what extent it is possible to put 

 country scents into city air. Our quest is for a way 

 of life that may be brought within reach of the multi- 

 tude, giving them a richer and fuller experience than 

 they now enjoy. It must be an experience compre- 

 hending more than creature comforts ; more, even, than 

 social satisfaction and intellectual opportunity. It 

 must square with the great ideals of American life. 



Now, there are some people in this world so fortu- 

 nately circumstanced that they determine their own 

 way of life; they do as they please. Often they hap- 

 pen to be people of taste and refinement, blessed with 

 a liberal education, since those advantages naturally 



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