Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-08-04
Sunday.SchOOl Lessons.
CAN'T THERE no P'RAPSv,


An old laborer is leaning on a gate in
the quiet evening, on the way home
from his days work. Presently the
trot. trot of horse breaks in upon the
stiffness. Muffled in the distance, but
drawing nearer, and loud now on the
hard, dry road. 1t is the farmer COM
ing home from the monthly sale at the
small town three miles away, and he
draws rein, seeing the old man leanino
on the gate. He is disposed for a chat,
at least he is pleased to have some one
10 whom To tell the thoughts that have
been busying his mind during his ride;
and the old man is somewhat of favor
lie with him-he bears the character
(alas! 4 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, helpmeet for him. But
ne must have things bit straight first,
and look about him on the land. Mean
While he IS full of plans and schemes.
and he is minded to please himself to-
night by unrolling some of the piano.
rama of them before the ewes of the old
peasant
Fine night, my man!'' This Of
course commences every British CONVEX
sation; and the prospects of the weather
must now, as always, receive their due
NEED OF first 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
Inc ,productiveness of the land was TO
be doubled.
" You see the rushes in this pasture
iand, my man? Well, all thdt will
nave 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-
iand suppose you never saw a steam
pillow hereabouts. Soyou 90 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
1eet under the soil. Then, of course.
you can't have the proper drainage, and
the water stops at this hard caking. All,
l snail make vast change here. / shall
nave steam-plow at work that will
turn up the ground twelve inches
deeper than the common plow does.
and without a foot being set on the
ground. Then / shall improve the
breed OF cattle. You have lots of WOOL
ana poor mutton: zee 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 deal to be done vet in crossing
breeds, and believe that I'm the man
to do it. I've capital, YOU see, andH
can stand little waiting, and even a
BAD season or two. And it mayn't be
TINS year, nor next. no, nor the year
alter that, but I'm sure to turn over
heaps OF money in the end. l shall
want some one to help me. of course,
Ia the home work. And I flatter my
sen I've got nice, sensible lass, with
no fne-lady ways about her, and I'm
going TO bring her home about Michael
mas. 1 shall have all ready in the
house for her by then. and I'll warrant
she II 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 zee have the price of
them? All, shall institute reform
IN good many things about here.
snail make my own fortune and the
fortune. l dare saw, of many another.
TOO. L shall-well, l can't tell you half
OF what I've decided to do, even this
very year"
Amt 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-
sumptuous predictions of the farmer.
Something he felt constrained TO say.
and the lessons that had sunk into his
mind from his study of Gods Word, the
teaching of a chapter in St. James
Epistle General, had thus simply and
naturally shaped itself into this artless. |
yet subtle question:
Ant there no p'raps?'
The farmer, hereupon. as one who |
had had an unwelcome truth brought !
home to him, rode off in silence, if not
in dudgeon.
Yet who knows what effect that sim