1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
875 
Hope Farm Notes 
A sermon of some sort is needed to 
make Thanksgiving complete. I do not 
know that I can get a better text than 
this extract from a recent letter: 
A friend of the family, who was poor, but 
married a man with some money, delights 
in telling what pleasure she derived troin 
l>eing poor, in contriving, etc., all of which 
makes me wish that 1 was twice as poor as 
1 am, if that were possible, in order to have 
all the additional felicity that would come 
from it. Oh. it is delicious, this thing of 
being eternally hard-up. What superlative 
joy to wake in the morning to the sweet 
consciousness that your finances, are flat, 
that the flour barrel is showing its bottom, 
and that Jones will be to see you at ten, 
to collect that little bill, long past due 
IIow passing sweet, yea. I know that I 
should be a wretched wretch with a million 
in bank to my credit, but alas I would try 
to get used to it. 
Having been through all that in my day 
I can appreciate the feelings of this cheer¬ 
ful philosopher. The chances are that if 
he had a million dumped into his hands 
all at once he would be miserable after 
the first feeling was over. He no doubt 
thinks he could give it away so as to do 
great good, but the chances are against 
it. It requires experience and rare judg¬ 
ment to give away money so that it will 
not curse those who receive it. In the 
few cases I know where people have been 
made suddenly well-to-do most of them 
have become so close and stingy that they 
are unhappy. Poverty has its trials and 
drawbacks, but there are worse things. I 
once attended a dinner given by a million¬ 
aire. He sat at the head of the table 
unable to eat any of the rich food— 
obliged to content himself with a bowl of 
bread and milk! Would he have ex¬ 
changed his wealth for the ability to di¬ 
gest and enjoy a plate of pork and beans? 
I doubt it, for when a man gets the gen¬ 
uine love of money he seems unable to 
give it up. After a good many years of 
experience I can say that the greatest 
thing any man has to be thankful for is 
the ability and the inclination to do hon¬ 
est work. If he does it as a necessity, 
too, so much the better. It is a question 
in my mind whether the idle rich are a 
greater menace to society than the idle 
poor. Of the latter I do not mean those 
who cannot get work, but those who loaf. 
I know that wealth and power are not 
fairly distributed in this country, because 
this distribution is not based on produc¬ 
tion. The inequality is the result of spe¬ 
cial privileges in handling and the manip¬ 
ulation of prices. I am hopeful that fairer 
times are ahead. The plain working peo¬ 
ple are slowly wakening, and will see that 
justice is done in the end. I am glad, on 
the whole, that it is coming slowly—an 
evolution instead of a revolution. We 
must have patience—not the dull hopeless 
patience of the ox, but the hopeful pa¬ 
tience of the patriot who is willing to give 
up something of his own comfort to the 
service of his country. By “we” I mean 
the great middle class of the people who 
find productive labor a necessity, and are 
glad to perform it. The “money mad” 
people and the envious on one hand and 
the criminal lazy and the hateful on the 
other cannot acquire the qualities needed 
to shape injustice into justice. And here 
is another side to it. During the past few 
years the papers and magazines have bit¬ 
terly attacked the rich men who have 
made their money illegally. Much of this 
have been just, and was needed to arouse 
public sentiment. These papers have gone 
on to show the evil of money loving or 
“money lust” as they call it. I think this 
has been carried too far. ft has induced 
some young people to be careless about 
saving, and what is worse, careless about 
paying just debts. I see instances all 
around me where people are inclined to 
shirk responsibilities of this sort. Be¬ 
cause some millionaire has robbed the 
public and gained a “money lust” is no 
reason why we should go to the other ex¬ 
treme and dodge our bills or spend every 
cent we earn as we go along. Large 
property rights are not to be settled by 
people who are not just to their families 
and others in handling their own small 
means. 
Afflictions. —There is another side to 
1 hanksgiving thoughts. The majority of 
people who come to middle age are very 
likely, when holidays come, to compare 
their troubles with those of others. This 
is never a fair comparison, because we 
magnify our own and make light of the 
others. Go with me into the heart of the 
blind, the deaf or the crippled, or those 
who constantly fear death through dis¬ 
ease, and you will be ashamed of yourself 
this Thanksgiving Day for complaining. I 
know a woman who has been stone blind 
for many years. She is patient and com¬ 
plains little, and has taught her hands 
almost to see, so that she can do useful 
work. Her children have grown, old 
friends have passed away or changed, but 
to her the sight of their beauty or strength 
or power is denied. Sitting in the dark¬ 
ness she has been denied the power alike 
to see how age has crept upon the faces 
of old friends or how youth has fulfilled 
its glorious promise on face and form 
of the young. Take your small portion 
of trouble and honestly compare it with 
such a sorrow as this, and see how bravely 
this, shadowed spirit rises above it, and 
we shall hear but little more from you. 
“The cross if rightly home shall he 
Not burden hut support to thee!” 
An old poet who had more than his 
share of burdens said that many years 
ago, and he was right. 
I know a deaf man compelled to live 
not in silence, but in the midst of “head 
noises,” which pound and ring and shriek 
and roar at all times. The few voices of 
friends which come to him are distorted 
and out of gear. It seems to him that all 
are scolding even when they try to be 
pleasant and kind. This man had a little 
child that he loved as only the desolate 
and afflicted can. .This little one died in 
his arms trying to tell him something—to 
leave a little message of comfort —but he 
could not hear it! 
I know another man with a most hide¬ 
ously repulsive face. Burns and scars 
have seared it so that he wears a mask 
in public. He is a man with great brain 
and noble heart, fond of children, and yet 
they run shrieking from him in fear. 
“Angel of ratience—sent to calm 
Our fevered brows with cooling nalm 
To lay the storms of hope and fear 
And reconcile life's smile and tear 
The throbs of wounded pride to still 
And make our own our Faiher’s will.’’ 
I know of other cripples, broken in 
body, marked by disease, brave of heart 
and spirit and keen of mind, eager to do 
a full man’s work in the world, and yet 
denied the right to do so. Some of these 
people are patient and fairly well recon¬ 
ciled to their lot, while others are burn¬ 
ing out their hearts in grief and discon¬ 
tent. Those who are patient have looked 
bravely into their fate, realized how life 
has been narrowed for them, and taken 
up some useful work within the limits of 
their powers. A man is unhappy when 
he is sick or idle. He is at his best when 
mind and body are occupied with useful 
labor which has seme growth in it. What 
do I mean by that ? Some labor in which 
there is a chance for you to excel—to do 
that one thing better than anyone else 
has done. Be the job chopping wood, 
washing dishes, making bread, raising 
hens or cows, writing poetry or planting 
potatoes, it is one of the great compensa¬ 
tions of life to feel that no one has vet 
reached perfection in these things. Here 
then is the best Thanksgiving for the 
afflicted. We may have been denied a 
sense or a power and yet God has not de¬ 
nied. us the power to labor or the ability 
to rise to mastery in some useful work. 
Having seen all sides of life and lived for 
years under the shadow of affliction, I 
know that the greatest blessing which can 
fall to the lot of any human is the love of 
honest labor and contentment with the 
gains from honest production. The great¬ 
est curse which life can bestow is lazi¬ 
ness, the fear of soiling the hands and 
the desire or willingness to live upon the 
productive labor of others. Sometimes 
I meet people strong, healthy and self- 
reliant who say these things are not for 
me, as I have no complaint with life! 
These people I refer to once felt that 
. way. At any rate, it is the better part of 
life to feel for the afflicted and try to 
make life easier for them. 
Thanksgiving comes to Hope Farm 
pleasantly this year. The older people 
will be thoughtful, for, as the years go on, 
they grow heavier with memories. The 
children are happier than ever before. 
As I write T can see through the window 
the big white gobbler strutting through 
the last few proud days of his career. 
Tile cellar is well stuffed with vegetables 
and apples, so that the feast is sure. And 
we have much to be thankful for. On the 
whole the year has gone well with us. 
My eye runs up the great sweep of the 
hill. The strawberries are the best we 
have ever had, the peach trees are loaded 
with buds, the plowed ground is green 
with young grain, while at the top the 
four-year-old apple trees stand bravely 
against the sky. I remember when they 
were little sticks. Next year thev will 
bear some fruit. So we are thankful that 
we have a home on a farm, thankful that 
we would not exchange it for anv other, 
thankful that it represents the labor of 
our hands and thankful that we must con¬ 
tinue to labor if we are to keep it. 
H. W. C. 
Edison 
Ph onogra ph 
OFFER 
Read Every 
Word of 
This 
Straight¬ 
forward 
Offer. 
Mr. Edison 
Says: 
‘7 want to see a phonograph 
in every American home.” 
ip you love music, 
if you enjoy entertain¬ 
ment, if you want to make 
your home more cheerful, BE 
SURE to read every word of 
this great offer. 
While this offer lasts 
—every responsible per¬ 
son can get A GENU¬ 
INE EDISON PUG¬ 
IN OG It A PII direct 
from us to your home 
vrlthout deposit, with¬ 
out guarantee from 
third parties—no C.O.D. 
J ry I ?. n y° ur home, play the stirring waltzes, marches, two-steps, concert pieces, minstrel dialogues, 
Deautiftil vocal solos, and other beautiful Edison gold moulded records, play all these, and If then 
you don t care to keep the outfit send It back at our expense. We charge you nothing for the trial. 
After the free trial, if you find this king of entertainers acceptable, you can send the cash 
or pay on terms as you prefer. Your credit is good. We know from experience that we can 
trust honest people all over the country the same as we trust the people here in Chicago. 
$2*00 A MONTH 
Mr. Edison’s latest improved phonographs are by far the finest talking machines ever made 
now offered at such remarkably low prices that imitators of Mr. Edison’s patents, with their 
inferior and much more expensive machines, simply cannot compete. You will be surprised when 
you get our catalog and see the wonderfully liberal offers on genuine Edison instruments. 
now pays for a genuine Edison 
Gem phonograph (larger install¬ 
ments for larger instruments). 
A nickel to a dime saved a day will buy a genuine Edison without 
interest on payments — and at exactly the lowest net cash price. 
Don’t delay, if you are a responsible person and want this great 
oner write at once for free Edison catalog and free list of 1,500 Edison records. 
FREDERICK BABSON, Edison Phonograph Distributers, ' 
i51- ,5 ° Mi c h lgan Avenue. Suite 3498B Chicago 
Before You Build 
^Be sure you GET SAMPLES and prices of^ 
Paroid Roofing 
Just to compare with others to see how 
much more flexible and durable it is. 
Send your name to-day. 
Enclose 4 cents in stamps and we 
will send you our 48 page book 
“Plans For Farm Buildings.” 
C W Rirrl X Snn 29 *111 at,Ewtwaipoi..Ha.«. 
I • If • Dll U 01 011II, 1429 Monadnoek Chicago. 
Established ISI7. 
BEATS THE 
Grindstone 
TEN TIMES OVER 
No pressure, no drawing 
temper, if you use the 
Practical 
Alundum 
Grinder 
with wheel revolving 
3,000 times a minute. 
Far superior to emery 
or stone. Grinds any 
tool, knife to sickle. 
Different sizes. Foot 
power attachment. 
Write for circular of particu¬ 
lars. Good agents wanted. Address, 
ROYAL MHk CO., 226 E. Walnut St., Lancaster, Pa. 
BUY THE BOOT 
With The 
“BUFFALO BRAND” 
The test of a rubber boot 
is where the wear comes. * Agrafrl* Established 
Buffalo Brand rubber boots fe llllply oven 
stretch where the bend comes, && yeans 
because new, pure Para rubber is 
used in the making. The canvas is lighter and Jthere is more 
rubber in the boot. Don’t buy rubber boots made of old re¬ 
melted junk rubber when you can get the famous Buffalo 
Brand for the same, or perhaps a trifle more cost. 
Buffalo Brand 
rubber boots are built for wear and comfort. The sole is more 
elastic and pliable, and in rough work will outwear and outlast 
any other rubber boot made. That is what it is made for. 
These famous boots can be had in all sizes and styles. Wool 
or Fusion lined. To help you to remember the Buffalo Brand 
we will send FREE a beautiful souvenir Buffalo Warch Fob if 
you ask for illustrated Booklet C. Send 10 cents to pay cost 
of postage and packing. 
Wm. H. Walker & Co.,77-83 South Pearl St., Buffalo, N. Y. 
