Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1860-10-25
Rambling Thoughts.

Although Autumn has come and almost gone,
choy days." "the saddest of the year, for the air
is yet balmy and the sunshine glorious, "gilding
all the wales below" and "the hills seem burnish.
cd dgold." The forest foliage is all splashed with
crimson, and the leaves glitter in the sunlight
like daggers stained with the blood of summer
The green grasses have grown brown and crisp,
and the beached stalks of the flowers stand like
headstones to mark the grave of beauty. 1t is
"the season of msts and mellow fruitiulness,"
and the morning landscape is bathed in silver
mists, while the scenes of even are adorned with
fmy vail of blue, as if Mother Natures like her
fair daughters, sought to hide the ev8eaces Of
decay October is, to us, the meS sSSjoya&
month of the year. 1t is the artist. month, and
not less because he bears upon his back the ripen-
ed sheaf, and that the "sons oflsummer" may rest
contented as "lords of wine and oil'' for every
where we see "his gold hand giltng. the falling
leaf" 1t is the month of mellow moons and
glorious sunsets -"while barred clouds bloom the
softdying day and touch the stubbed plains with
rosy hue. Walking abroad into the open country,
it most delicious. The stubbe fields, the "tedded
hay and cora sheaves in one field" the young
springing grain, set in borders of green, and god
and crimson, and yellow forests, form picture
most charming. Painters may linn the objects,
but they never make us feel the sentiment that
possesses us when VIC look upon one of these
beautiful October scenes. And especially is de-
scription unsatisfactory when one attempts to
portray the beauties of the yellowing arches of
the woods, while "sallow autumn fills thy lap with
leaves" For the varied hues ofthe sweet naples,
tho war-liko beeches the silver birches, and "the
ash for nothing ill.," are not easily painted in
words, as the tap to catch a sunbeam is not yet
patented. When the genius of Autumn applies
for caveat none will dispute his claim. What
a slow people the ancients must have been! They
had no newspapers to read, and no telegraph to
electrify them with the feelings of another world
they read of revolution, of war, of famine, or of
dire disaster by land and sea. We have all these,
and thousand sources ofpleasure and instruction
that they had not. Not having them, made them
dreamers. "Thoughts that shock mankind were
not in their time. Each nation was isolated and
distinct, and it had not those tics of commerce, of
religion, of race that link far countries in our time
fanation's neghbors were peaceful, all was sat
isfactory, and every one went on dreaming pic
lures, carving visions of beauty in stone, or sing
ing the exploits of ideal heroes. Nowadays we
read the acts of all nations and comment upon
greatbattles. The telegraph and the newspaper
are the types of civilization, and without then'we
were no better off than the Greeks or Romans in
their day. "A writer very truly describes the
misfortunes of ofjournalism: "Ah me. we wound
where we never intended to strike; we create an
ger where we never meant harm; and these
thoughts are the thorns Of our cushion. Out of
mere malgnity, l suppose there is no man who
wouldk to make enemies But here in the ed
itorial business you can't do otherwise; and a
queer sad, strange, bitter thought it is that must
cross the mind of many public man. Do what l
WILL be Innocent spiteful, be generous cruel,
there are A and B, and c, and D. who will hate me
to the end of the chapter-to the chapters end-to
the. .fnis Of the page-when hate and envy, and
fortune, and disappointment shall be over"