COMMUTER'S THANKSGIVING 235 



sary to normal living as fresh air, food, a clear 

 conscience, and work to do. 



If so, then the question is, Where shall one 

 make his home ? " Where shall the scholar 

 live?" asks Longfellow; " In solitude or in so- 

 ciety ? In the green stillness of the country, where 

 he can hear the heart of Nature beat, or in the 

 dark gray city, where he can feel and hear the 

 throbbing heart of man? I make answer for him, 

 and say, In the dark, gray city." 



I should say so, too, and I should say it with- 

 out so much oracular solemnity. The city for the 

 scholar. He needs books, and they do not grow 

 in cornfields. The pale book-worm is a city worm, 

 and feeds on glue and dust and faded ink. The 

 big green tomato-worm lives in the country. But 

 this is not a question of where scholars should 

 live ; it is where men should live and their children. 

 Where shall a man's home be ? Where shall he 

 eat his supper ? Where lay him down to sleep 

 when his day's work is done? Where find his 

 odd job and spend his Sunday? Where shall his 

 children keep themselves usefully busy and find 

 room to play ? Let the Commuter, not the scholar, 

 make answer. 



