THE FIRST PROBLEMS 87 



In another letter he writes: 



"I have received a copy of a Trenton paper (the 

 Daily State Gazette) which I send you by this mail. 

 You will find there the article: 'The Farmers in Ses- 

 sion/ and you will see the one point I am after, and 

 which I have been advocating lately: teaching agri- 

 culture in public schools is earnestly discussed." 



He was ever reluctant to engage any personal friend 

 to work in Woodbine, fearing misunderstandings and 

 the breaking of friendship. One Summer day I hap- 

 pened to be in New York and found that an old friend 

 of ours who had been a high school teacher on the 

 other side, was in New York with his family. I went 

 at once to see them and found them in terrible straits, 

 all their money nearly gone, the friend's eyesight badly 

 affected, and he in poor health. His health would 

 be assured, I was told, if he could work in the country 

 somewhere. I returned next day to Woodbine, and 

 told my husband of the meeting. 



"Why," he said, "I am in a position to help him at 

 once, as I am badly in need of a teacher of mathe- 

 matics." This was exactly the position he had occupied 

 in the high school on the other side. My husband 

 wrote to him to come, which he did. For about two 

 years he was a teacher in the loft above the bam, 

 which had been turned into the Agricultural School. 



One day he told my husband that he was eager to 

 go back to the old country, but that he did not have 

 any savings. He asked my husband to keep him on 



