710 
■She RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Pastoral Parson and His Country Folks 
I - - 
He Buys a Big.— Tlio Parson was 
down county the other day and got track 
of a Snell article.s are very scarce 
around here and those six weeks old 
hring twelve didlars a pair. This was a 
shote weighing about 120 pounds. The 
Parson hit a very bad tiail with his car 
for about a mile, and then came to the 
idace. Foianerly this place was the home 
of a large family of ])oys. noted for their 
Shingling the Church Sheds 
ioiig ](‘g.s and long necks, hut now, ]»eo- 
jde from a strange land fill the house. 
'I'lie man is away working in the amniu- 
iiirion factory. The Parson agreed to 
give his wife her first price for the pig. 
He paid a dollar down ami would 
eoim* and g(‘t it the next day on his way 
home. The next day we shingled the 
horse sheds down at the church, and be¬ 
fore the Par.son got to where the pig 
lived he got stuck in the mud and had to 
be pulled out with a jiair of .stcer.s, so 
he was late in arriving. 
A PKi's StiPi’EK. -This Bohemian 
woman had just f<‘d the pig his supper, 
and was much di.sgruntled over it. Was 
not meal high and going higher? She 
declared the Parson ought to ]iay her a 
(piarter for his suiiiSM-. If a pig’s sup- 
jier costs a quarter, what ought pork to 
b(‘ woi'th a pound? She said I must not 
tell anyone how cheaply T got this pig, as 
.she had given the neighbors to under¬ 
stand 1 gav(“ eighteen doll.-irs foi- it! 
Some queer ideas tlu'sc pecqde have! 
I-ate at night the jiig was gotten safe¬ 
ly in the pen at home. 
The Pig Takes I-kave. —^Xoxt morn¬ 
ing one of the boys came running in to 
say the pig was looking out of the win¬ 
dow as though he might jump out. No 
pig had ever gotten out of that Avindow 
and the Parson did not hurry over, and 
when he did go the jiig had gone. We 
tracked him up into the woods ;ind there 
we lost him. The neighbors s.aid he 
would go home, but as it was 11 mile.s, 
it seemed doubtful. He was duly ad¬ 
vertised and in tliia'C days we got Avord 
of him—some two mih's aw.ay—over the 
range on .Tohn WcNary’s pl.ace. So Mrs. 
Pai’son and I and old Doll went aft(*r 
him. 
The At'TO Beate.x.— .\s avc wore 
climbing a long hill on this perfect 
Spring day, suddenly Mrs. Ibii'son ex¬ 
claimed: “This beats lading in the car 
to death,” And so Ave agreed. For the 
back coTintry roads there is nothing like 
the horse. You can really take in the 
country and enjo.v it. You can pull up 
.and chat with every team, you can make 
.a call at every farmhou.se. You can 
really drink in and digest the glorious 
countryside and not just gulp it doAvn. 
A Sad Sight. — ^'rhen. Av.iy over the 
other side of that hill, wo came to the 
f.armhouse Avhere the ]iig Avas. Such a 
trim, neat, fine specimen of the old New 
Fngland home, so well equii)ped for 
everything. There Av.as the bigge.st grind¬ 
stone the Parson ever saw. There in the 
shed Avere counted 10 hoes and potato 
ho(d\S hanging in a roAA’ on the sill. 
■Veross Avere four cross-cut saAV.s. In a 
corner a Avhole pile of cattle yokes. And 
who is to carry on this place? There 
was the owner, 85 years old, and never 
married. Tlnu-e was his sister, .88 years, 
.and her one son Avell on toward 70. and 
that Avas all. The aA’erage age of the 
household was ’most eighty. Oh! for 
grown-up and groAving children ! Who is 
going to cai-ry on this grand old farm 
Avith its massiA’e stone Avails, laid to 
stay by this man’s oavu grandfather? 
There is something tragic in the thought 
of the future of .such places having in its 
buildings and its meadows the family toil 
of a hundred and fifty ye.ars. Why had 
these men never mai'ried! Where Avas 
the quilting party and the husking bee 
to bring the youth together? 
The Best I.xseka.vce.—T he Pastoral 
Parson carides a A’ery hea\'y and a A'ery 
Siife insurance for his old .age. He ha.s 
been putting in money for 12 yeai's, ,an<l 
has no idea how mindi it has cost him. 
The premiums conu' eA'cry day—some¬ 
times many times a day—and the ])ay- 
ments .are of the defen-ed tyjie. Yet not 
so deferred after all. for as he sits writing 
this letter to his friends, he is drawing 
the first diA’idends. The milkpails are 
being pulled off the shelves and jingling 
toward the barn. Th(> boys are going out 
to do the chores and get the eggs. And 
AA'lien tin- Parson is old he id.ans to live 
with his boys. He Avill want tender 
loving care and affection then, and cash 
divi<lends will not buy either. If he can¬ 
not live with his oavu it will be Ix'c.ause 
he is so cro.ss ami cranky, or else be- 
cau.s<i his children don't AA’ant him, and 
it's his fault either Av.ay. It is all A'cry 
Avell to laugh and even sneer about chil¬ 
dren Avhen you are young and in your 
|)iime, but Avhen you are getting old and 
lieliih'ss, it is quite a diff('i‘eut matter. 
Mas. Pai:.s()X. ’I’oo.—And Mrs. Parson 
The Parson Visits Old Timers 
hits ;i small insurauct* too. ’True, it is 
ver.v small, only live yetirs tdd. But the 
love that binds the two is big enough to 
last through all the ytairs. It is h.-ird 
for a Avoman lo livt; Avith her son's Avife, 
the daughter-in-law may b(> Inu’s. but she 
is not of her. But she can liA(‘ Avitli her 
oAvn diiughter and receive back .again in 
her Aveakness that very mother's care and 
(leA'otion Avhich she g.ave in her strength. 
Home Agaix.—A nd there, regul.ar 
ju'cacher fashion, have Ave Avandered 
clear aAvay from Avhat aa'c Avere talking 
about—that blessed jdg. Yes, Ave got 
him home ag.ain, and he took his supper, 
and Avent to bed and the next morning, 
of all the acting beasts! He Avas yank¬ 
ing and tAvitching and running around 
in ii cii'cle like the crazy thing he Avas. 
I ’j)honed a Auderinarian and he s.aid he 
Avas having .a lit. If he Avill but step in 
it. thought I. the last chapter Avill be 
finislnal and the story made comideto. 
But he stepped in the trotigh instead 
and to(dv a long drink of skim-milk, and 
is noAV Avell on the road toAvard bacon 
and h.ams. 
The Au.\.xjk).xei) CiuHuir.—^’There are 
many such; I have heard it estimated 
that there Avere IKK) in one State. ’The 
Parson kncAV of one Avay doAvn <;ountry, 
and the other Saturd.ay night he headed 
for it. He loaded in the old stereoi)ticon 
Avith a lot of pictures, and hymns and 
jisalms and some confections to pass 
around and a big freezer of ice cream 
.and a hundred cones. One had a queer 
feeling as he opened the door .and Avalked 
in. ’The j)lace h.ad not been used for 
seven yeai's. I'nder the front peAV Avas 
ihe oil can—still h.alf full of oil. We 
found sonu' Avnod in the Avood-box in the 
corner—it Avas AAadl seasoned. ’The old 
stove Avas soon Avhite hot. and every 
man as he came in tried to shut off the 
draft, but it aagas too rusty to move. 
’The roi'XTHA' Fgi.k.- Then Ave rang 
up the bell. Its .sound echoed against 
the hillsides Avhere it ought to have been 
sounding for seven years. The people 
he.ard it and came—17 of them. Such a 
good time Ave had ! What a lot of chil- 
drcji there Avere there, and how they 
looked at tho.se pictures and ate the ice 
cream. I doubt if there Avas an Ameri- 
('an child there—I do not knoAV of one. 
’The Parson promised to be doAvn again 
in three AA'etdvS. From there he AA-ent to 
a masquerade .social ov(‘r at the church, 
Avhere there Avere 7.5 jieople having the 
time of their live.s. It Avould be a poor 
man Avho could not put in tAVo socials 
in the same evening only three miles 
a pa rt. 
Coux I.x ’The Criu.—’T he Parson 
lo(d<s out of the AvindoAV as he Avrites 
and se(> the yelloAV corn in the crib. He 
must have nearly a hundred b.'iskc'ts of 
it still—enough to last till the mwv croj) 
comes in. W(‘ had cornmeal mush and 
milk fur bre.akf.-ist .and the buys thotight 
it gr('at. and av(j li.-id j<dinny-cake in 
jdace of bi'cad on the tabh' fur supper. 
’The boys Avanted milk agaiu. .and a great 
pitcher full Avas brought on. Why should 
we buy meat Avith .so much milk on the 
farm ? 
11.ai.sk Corx.—W ith all this ado about 
fuoil supitly. the Parson feels sure the 
first thing to id.in about is hoAV to raise 
Avhat Ave h.-ive to buy iu the gr.ain line. 
’That Avill help both tis and the other fel- 
loAv. saving u.s the money and saving the 
f<iud for him. I-et us nut go crazy oA'cr 
the potato mattt'r. Fvery fluAver-bed and 
backyard is tu be full of them. ’The seed 
for an acre costs $.50 or .$00. and it is 
a most uncertain crop. ’The seed for ,an 
.acre of corn Costs .50 or 00 cents, and 
cuiai h.is not faihsl in N(‘aa' Fiigband for 
neaily a hundred .and tAvent.v years. ’The 
toAvn people c.annot rai.se coiai to .any ex¬ 
tent—they have not the tools and can¬ 
not u.se the fodder. With us it is dif¬ 
ferent. The corn AA'ill feed us and the 
poidtry, .and the fodder Avill feed the 
stock. On the P.arson’s .farm it Avill be 
potatoes for mir oavu use, more pole beans 
than before; '.and coi-n. corn, corn. 'This 
A’cry minute a tnilkm.-tn is going home 
from the creamei-y Avith six bags of grain 
on top of his cans. Do you sui)pose the 
milk in the cams paid for the gr.'iin on 
top of them? 
The He.x.s A(i.Ai.x’.—The te.am has 
just come from toAvn and repoi'ts eggs at 
40 A'cn'ts Avholes.'ile. Of course they 
ought to be, the Avay grain is, l)ut if you 
ha AC your oavu grain Avh.at a time to get 
got^d jirices! ’The second boy bi'ought in 
4,8 eggs from ,a jiossible 00 last night. 
’They never saAV .-i dry mash or a fancy 
scratch feed, but still get their Avheat 
bi'an and skim-milk, and corn at night— 
The Best Insurance 
j'ight on the co'l)—never shelled. But 
they have all outdoors for a run. Shut iu 
the garden and it Avill not hurt it; shut 
in the hen .and it costs yA)U about tAvice 
as mui'h to kt'ep her .and get less eggs at 
that. ’The other night it Avas almo.st 
dark Avhen I .-ipproached a 'White Leg¬ 
horn Avay dA»Avn under an old aivple tree, 
scratching and Avorking jiAvay for .all she 
was Avorth. She had not lost a minute 
since daylight. AVorking to get an egg 
ready for me to t.'ike to town the next 
morning. It .seemed as though I reall.v 
ought to take off my h.at to her as I 
pa.ssed. She started up as much as to 
say. ‘T didn’t dream it Avas so late.” and 
made off for the barn. 
'The Ho.aie Fve.xixg. —In a happy 
family Avhere love reigns, Avh.-it can be 
compaia-d to the evening at home? To¬ 
day one of the boys av.-is helping little 
sister out of the exi>i'ess Avagon. and her 
thumb caught in the iron by the seat and 
got a very bad Avrench. 8o she has been 
fretty and upset all day. Her hand is 
done up and in a little sling. IMother has 
a very bad cold and has to lie doAvn after 
supper, and so it Av'as up to the Parson 
to put aside his paper and take a hand. 
Fi.xdixg ’The Watoii —The first game 
May in, 1917. 
that made “Sit” quite forget her .sore 
hanil Avas “finding the AA-atch.” 8he 
shut.s her little eyes tight and Daddy puts 
aAvay his Av.atch in some of a man’s many 
pockets; then .she comes and finds it. The 
chain is attached so she shakes, and pulls 
his clothes till she hears a jingle. Such 
excitement! Yhe Parson had been mak¬ 
ing fence all day; so there were many 
f.ilse alarms of rattling nails and wire 
fence staples. But alAA"ays in the end 
till' Avatch is brought forth in great glee 
and triumph. 
He Soothed Her. 'Then ti e tAvo lit¬ 
tle ones were off tc bed. 'The Parson 
ami the older boys Avent ahead AA'ith a 
turn at “setback.” But sister Avas 
fretty ,‘ind Avanted mother to come to her 
every minute for something. Little 
f’lo.s.sie in the next room in his little bed 
AV.-IS Avorried because mother didn’t come 
(piicker. Pretty quick we heard his lit¬ 
tle feet ticross the hall. He AA-ould go 
and soAithe her. Hoav he does loA’e her! 
Such tones of affection came doAvn the 
stairs! ’Then back again and into his 
little bed again. And pretty quick a 
voice from Sit. “IMamma, he gaA*e me 
tAvo nickels and tAvo pennies,” Yes, he 
had cr.'iAvled out iu the dark and gone 
over to his little box in 'the corner and 
dr.-iAvn from that his AA-oman’s handbag 
and taken out tAvo nickels and tAVo pen¬ 
nies (a .serious hole in his little treasure) 
and had taken them in to Sit! And fast 
ash'ep we found them—-.Sit Avith her little 
gifts held tightly in her AA-ell hand, and 
little (llossie Avith the sAveetest expres¬ 
sion of peace. ’Truly, “Of such is the 
Kingdom of Heaven.’’ 
An Old-time Letter from Rural New York 
IThe folloAving extracts from an old let¬ 
ter noAV in my pos.scssion, dated at Fre- 
donia, N. Y., June 28th, 1820, may be of 
interest to your readers: , 
“Dear Parents: 
“. . . It has been A-ery dry Aveather 
here for three months past; for one AA-eek 
their has been double the rainfall than 
in four months before it. Ilaj' Avill ^ 
verry scarce: Avheat AVorth 50 cts. pr. 
bushel: corn, 25 cts.; Avry, .27^>. Stock 
verry Ioav ; good five-year-old cattle $.25 
a yoke; good coavs $10 apiece. I Avill 
now precede to Avrite you my sittiation. 
Ist, I am poor; 2nd. I am rich. I Ha’O 
seven miles from Fredonia in the toAvn of 
Portland. I have perchased 50 acres of 
land. I pa.v $7 pr. acre for this land; 
four years to pay it in. I mooved here 
(he first day of March last. ’This land 
lies on the main road from Buffalo to 
Erie; first rate of land. Better if pos¬ 
sible than your medoAv land on the point 
as you call it. I have .a verry fine house 
that I Ha’C in. I Avill giA’e you a discriii- 
tion of it: It is 20 feet long, 14 feet 
Avidth. build of logs, high enough to stand 
up in—a fcAV stone to one end to make 
a fire. I noAv Avill tell you hoAv mutch 
land I have cleared this Summer. I let 
out a job of 20 acres to be cleared .and 
fenced by the 15th day of .Itine, Avhicli 
Avas done according to agreement, and I 
have idanted it all to corn—if it should 
do Avell likely I should raise six or seven 
hundred bushels (it looks very Avell noAv). 
I intend Avhen the corn comes of to put it 
all to Avheat—I jiaid $10 pr. acre for 
clearing this lot. in property Avhich takes 
most of my loose jiroperty. I havi* one 
horse left, one coav, one calf, four hogsA 
one old soAA’. .8 pigs. 1.5 sheep, about $125 
due me the fir>*t of January next. I h.aAe 
paid the tirst jiayment for my l.nid. first 
of January iiixt I have got to make an¬ 
other. I have my lumber all ready for 
building my hou.se, but shall :.ot build 
The Abandoned Church 
until I can see my Avay clear. . . • 
’Their is a merchant in Freilonia by the 
name of Walter .Smith, from Wethers¬ 
field [Conn.] Avhich I clo a good deal ol 
business for in the course of a year. Last 
Fall I Avent to Ohio and bought lO*' 
hoags for him. ’This Summer I have done 
a good deal of business for him in Buffalo 
—the first of August I expect to start to 
go to the Ohio about 200 miles after 
hoags for him again. I calculate to drive 
(Continued on page 714) 
