Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-05-14
WEEps.

THAT cabin rude Of rotting logs, whose door
its hinHeg lacks;
Before It stand two starveling ours, brush.
Behind Il, ranged in crooked rows, is maize Of
One side, some stupted oabbages, that sore
the slug worms smite;
A broken worm fence round the place,
which much repairing needs,
Where inthe, corners densely grow the rank
est noXlOus weeds
That has been William EllSln's home, # home
should be the name
OF any place where folk reside with idleness
and shame
And yonder house across theroad, low.roofed
well keptlawn before the door, its owners
honest pride;
The kennel snug where Bose for years alter.
nate watched and dozedi
The long, straight rows OF deep green maizei !
the garden filed with all
The toothsome plants in thrifty growth, from
The fruit trees in the angles Of the weedless
ziWzag fence
Budd Martin closes there life OF well earned
competence.
quite remember whom they came - was Of
age that year;
Twas nothing but wilderness when these
two settled here.
Each took a quarter section as a homestead
land was free;
Each built cabin, and attacked with vigor
rock and treei
But Elkin coming FIRST secured the choicer
piece of land,
A gentle sioping knoll that had brook on
either hand
While Martin got a patch of ground more
broken and less rich,
With fourteen acres lying low, that he must
drain or ditch.
Both laborcd long and labored well, and
broke and cleared the ground;
And field on field was put in tilth, and all
lOpEpn well urpmnn
The virgin soil gave heavy crops, sweet. grass
and golden grain
Filled hay-mow high and corn crib full, while
creRked the loaded wain
And All the settlers far and near I'm passing
by the place,
Agreed that TO a prosperous goal the two
And ali was well Til Barton came, and he, his
bread to win,
Where crossed the roads, a mile away, opened
the Farmers Inn.
A pleasant man was Barton and he kept q
pleasant place,
And bore look of welcome in his round and
Jolly face;
And Elkin, twice a week or so, to taste /" the
fine old rye"
Would saunter out to Barton's there; but
Martin he was shy.
"His farm engaged his mind too much" che
had no time to spare"
But Ell1iu only laughed at that, and Knocked
And mimicked ali he said so well that Bartor
and the rest
Declared of all drOl fellows round, Bill Elixir
was the best.
They bore all this to Martin. "Well," he said
che means no harm;
But every weed grown in n man, brings thou
sands to his farm.
I've many here to trouble me; clean cultures
hard TO win
But, as with those that spring from earth,
try to pillow them in.
Bad habits are rank growing weeds; yet
You persevcre,
And pull them up, plow them in, the grounC
will soon be clear;
But he who waits and lets them grow ant
bloom and come to seed,
Win have TO harvest in the end a fearful crol
indeed"
And so the weeds in Ell1in's life, and weed
on Elkin's farm,
Grew both apace, and I'm the end brough
farm and nun to harm.
While Martin throve, and found his ground 1t
yearly crop increase,
And won his way to competence, and happi
ness, ana peace,
Poor Elkins farm and EllIin's self went dow
in every way,
Until the mortgage which he gave has bee
fogeclosed to-day,
And all his wretched family, homeless an
scant of friends,
Are pensioners on Martin now-and so m
story ends.
-Thos. Dunn English, in N. Y. Ledger.