The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-07-28
CAN'T THERE no P'RAPS!,

"A'N'T THERE no P'RAPSY
An old laborer is leaning on gate in
the quiet evening, on the way home
from his days work. Presently the
trot. trot of horse breaks in upon the
stiffness. Mutfied in the distance, but
drawing nearer. and loud now on the
hard. dry road. 1t is the farmer CON-
ing home from the monthly sale at the
small town three miles away, and he
draws rein, seeing the old man leaning
on the gate. He is disposed for chat,
at least he is pleased to have some one
to whom to tell the thoughts that have
been busying his mind during his ride;
and the old man is somewhat of favor
lite with him-he bears the character
(alas! rare one) of being thoroughly
reliable. And the evening is still, and
the days work is DONE And there is
no one awaiting the farmer at home. In
the autumn he talks of getting himself
companion, a helpmeet for him. But
he must have things bit straight first,
and look about him on the land. Mean
while he is full of plans and schemes.
and ne is minded to please himself to-
night by unrolling some of the piano.
rama OF them before the eyes OF the old
peasant
Zine night, my man" This CT
course commences every British CONVEX
satlon; and the prospects of the weather
must now, as always, receive their due
need OF tirst'place in the talk.
Then they go on to talk about the
crops and the likelihood of the year,
about the farming in the country that
the farmer had come from, and the
great superiority of the ways there.
Great alterations were to be made, and
The productiveness of the land was to
be doubled.
You see the rushes in this pasture
land, my man? Well, all that will
have to be drained. There is a
capital fall, and there is no reason why
two blades of grass should not grow
where one is growing now. You'll
hardly know the place when I've been
mere year or two. As for the plow-
land suppose you never saw a steam
pillow hereabouts. Soyou go on, blowing
the same ground over again. turning up
Just the same depth. And the tramp of
men and horses upon the land, year after
year, makes it as hard as a road two
feet under the SOIL Then, of course.
you can't have the proper drainage, and
the water stops at this hard caking. All,
shall make vast change here. [ shall
have steam-plow at work that will
turn up the ground twelve inches
deeper than the common pillow does,
cnf hn
ground. Then l shall improve the
breed OF cattle. You have lots of WOOL
and poor mutton: ne had first class NUT
ton, but little wool. Now l mean to
get the two things together here. l am
certain to do it; it's to be done by what
some people call science, and other
folks common-sense. Then the bull
locks, l have an idea or two about those;
there S deal to be done yet in crossing
breeds, and believe that I'm the man
to do it. I've capital. you see, and
can stand little waiting, and even a
bad season or two. And it mayn't be
this year, nor next. no, nor the year
after that. but I'm sure to turn over
heaps of money in the end. 1 shall
want some one to help me, of course,
in the home work. And [ f1atter N.Y.
self Eve got a nice. sensible lass, with
no flne-lady ways about her, and I'm
going to bring her home about Michael
mas. l shall have all ready in the
house for her by then. and I'll warrant
she'll soon make all tidy and COM
Portable. She'll see after the cows and
poultry and the eggs. Why, there are
millions of eggs sent to this country
from France. from Ostend, every year.
Why shouldn't are have the price of
them? All, l shall institute a reform
in good many things about here. l
shall make my own fortune and the
fortune, l dare saw, of many another,
too. shall-well, / can't tell you half
of what Eve decided to do, even this
very year.
"A'n MT there no p'raps"' This was
what the supplemented old man said,
and thus he checked the flow of the
farmers talk. The God-fearing peas
ants thoughts had been troubled and
bewildered by the confident and pre-
predictions of the farmer.
Something he felt constrained to say.
and the lessons that had sunk into his
mind from his study of God S Word, the |
teaching of a. chapter in st. James
Epistle General. had thus simply and
shaped itself into this artless.
ret subtle question:
Amt there no p'raps?'
The farmer, hereupOn, as, one who |
had had an unwelcome truth brought |
nome to him, rode off in silence, if not |
n dudgeon.
Yet who knows what effect that sim
pie word. spoken thus in season, might
nave had uDOn his heart?