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 how 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 suhject — 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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