ENJOYMENT or LIFE. 288 



them that desire it. Wisdom is a great thing, too, but 

 for all that, rich men and wise men ain't always happy 

 men, nor their lot in life the easiest. Now Pm rich, 

 because I'm contented with what I've got. I'm rich 

 for another reason. I live just as I want to live, and 

 just as I like to. My way of livin' suits me, and all 

 the wealth of the world, and all the larnin' of the 

 schools, wouldn't better my condition, or make me 

 any happier by day, nor sleep any better at night. 

 Never pity a poor man, Squire, who isn't hungry or 

 cold, and is contented with his lot. That's pity thrown 

 away. It does nobody any good. I've been around 

 among poor people a good deal, not the poor, and 

 the ragged, and starvin' people, that live like pigs, 

 huddled together and mixed up in dirty rooms, and 

 in the filthy streets of the cities, but the poor people 

 of the back settlements of the new country, and let 

 me say to you, Squire, them hard-workin' people ain't 

 objects of pity. They enjoy life as much, and are as 

 happy, accordin' to their ways, as the richest man in 

 the cities, or the wisest man either. They laugh, and 

 sing, and joke, and are as merry as the best. If their 

 food ain't as rich and dainty as yourn, they've a better 



