46 With Feet to the Earth 



town prices confront you everywhere. In 

 the back country a more Arcadian condi- 

 tion exists. If it is people you wish to 

 see, you will find them more original and 

 transparent in the unspoiled hills than 

 among the hives of summer boarders and 

 the stylish hotels where honest country 

 folk are looked upon with amusement or 

 condescension. 



If there is little wealth among the 

 farmers, there is little poverty ; if there is 

 narrow politics, there is never anarchy, and 

 no socialism other than the practical one 

 of mutual help and interest. Wages and 

 gains are small, and there is an anxiety 

 over pennies that surprises townsmen, who 

 are careless with their gettings. This 

 thrift is taught and practised and respected, 

 but standards of wealth are different from 

 those in town. From a village street, one 

 evening, I saw an old man in a little office, 

 a sort of bay-window, attached to his house. 

 He was bent over some papers and was 

 scratching earnestly with his pen, his work 

 lighted by one of those dismal oil lamps 

 that are peculiar to rural districts. A 



