Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-03-21

Talking with an old farmer once,
he said: "When l die, / am going
to leave behind me, as heritage for
my children, the home where they
were born, made as beautiful as my
means and uneducated taste will al
low, pleasant memories of the home
tireside and of the sunny summer
days, and q true regard for the dig
nifty and worthiness Of the calling
which their father followed" The
old man was so full of emotion when
he talked in this wise, that he had
to use his handkerchief to prevent
the tears telling their tale Of manly
sensitiveness. His boys were wide
ly scattered, having a varied expe-
rience in life; but there WIS not one
of them who did not honor the old
farmer they called land reverently,
too) "Faihcr;" nor one Of them who
was not glad to visit the old home
stead once a year.
Now, we repeat the question:
"What will you leave behind?"
Money? 1t will do your children
little good, comparatively. Money
is easily obtained But homes are
scarce. The associations which
the men of the world value most are
the associations with their early
homes. No man, no matter what
his position, circumstances, or rela-
tions in life, who has had 4 happy
and pleasant home in his youth,
fails to remember, love and long for
it. 1t is the haven he seeks, one
toward which his heart goes out
whenever he is in trouble; it is the
shrine to which he makes pilgrim
age whenever he has means and OPP
portunity; it is the one spot on earth
upon which he is willing to lavish
the wealth he may have acquired,
and where he desires to die and be
buried.
What will you leave behind, good
friend Of the farm? Shall the
homestead be your monument
Shall the children return thithcr as
the pilgrim seeks the shrine of
saint? Shall each tree tell its story
of your taste and good sense-re-
vive in the minds Of your children
the time and circumstances of its
planting? Shall it symbolic by its
growth, and extended and extending
branches, the growth Of your chill
dren's affections for you, and the
influence your example and precepts
are exerting through them? Shall
each stone in the wall, addition to
the house, the barn, out-buildings,
improvements, orchard, garden and
field, speak to them of the love you
once bore them; of the labor you
once performed that they might be
fed, clothed and educated? Shall
each blade of grass lift itself up
toward Heaven and testify to your
providence and care? Shall each
apple blossom in the orchard shed
its perfume in memory of the man
who planted the seed from which
they sprang, or the tree on which
they bloom and laugh in the sweet
May air? Will money compensate
your children for the loss of such
a heritage? No, sir. emphatically,
No.
Let us try to leave behind us
something that shall soften the
hearts of men and women when they
remember us-be they our children
or not; but especially let us who
have homes, who are blessed with
a title to Rportion of Gods green
earth, see that it is. rendered so
beautiful in the eyes of our off
spring that their hearts will always
find anchorage there whenever the
longings Of loneliness come over
them; whenever the rough elbow
lngs of an unfeeling world jostle
them out of humor with it. Let the
coming spring witness some effort
to leave the old farm better and
more beautiful IN the autumn. Let
the boys and girls feel that we have
left something behind that memory
cannot purchase, and for which it
can be no substitutc.-Ruyul Ne,c
Yorker.