The state chronicle., 1883-10-27
A PICTURE FROM LIFE.
An Outline Description of the Life and
Habits of a Chatham Farmer.

Special Correspondence Of The Chronicle
PITTsBoRo. Oct 22-To carry out your
instructions to the letter-that | can hard
" pretend TO do. For an accurate des
cription Of any mans daily life. Of his
home his habits and his family. and TO
suggest improvements in the art OF living
would require a philosopher; and when
undertook the fob OF writing for you occa
sonallv | did not propose 10 become his
torian or wise man.
But | have a neighbor in mind who
think is a representative man, and whose
life and condition ! have every reason to
know. Well, he lives in a house Of four
rooms, which is comfortable. at least he
finds it so. But ii is plain. There is not
carpet in it, nor picture except a few
photographs and a chrome. The old lady
has one rocking chair but the others ere
plain and without rockers or cushions.
The best thing among all the furniture and
fiXilgs are the beds, which are as good
beds as any millionaire has.
l can't quite endorse the bill of fare. for
how could |, as your correspondent, feel
friendly to the frying-pan? But they are
fond Of baked apples, and there is nothing
better. The most serious criticism to be
made of our living is that we eat too much
heavy food. too much bread and meat and
too little fruit and other light things. Yet
this may be all nonsense for my neghbor
is healthful and he has reared seven health
| ful children. But they might have been
more healthful-lOOking than they are if
| they had eaten more easily di2ested food.
The old gentleman has been a farmer all
| his life and successful farmer. But |
| know that he could be bought out of house
and home-f he had to sell--for ST 800 or
/ 81 800. He has never been worth mucl,
more, but he has some how or other man
aged to start all his children in life, except
t the two youngest ones who are yet at
| home. He has several times been in debt
and been mighty tightly pinched." but
he has always managed to pull through
| believe that there never was a country
| in the world where men have been so sue.
cessful on so small a base as here in North
Carolina. This man is not what you might
call cultivated gentleman but / had a
lief trust his common sense on any Occa
| sion as the common sense of the biggest
man in the State.
If | must criticise him freely | should
| say that the chief misfortune is that he i:
not very progressive. He has no improved
machinery and he has no new ideas. He
lives now precisely as his father lived sixty
| or seventy years ago, and it is probable
that his sons will live in the same way.
He has no idea of such fine things as the
aesthetic homes that the girls of the Greens
bOrO and Charlotte schools seem to know
how to arrange. He even regards piano
and bangs as evidences of insanity. Blu
| am not so sure that he is wrong. [ ad
NIT that new ideas are valuable and neces
sary but the old ones have for long tim'
been pretty safe. He couldn't be bette
neighbor il he was rich as Vanderbilt
He does love hard cider, and / have known
it to get the better of him, but the best o
us do not like to see our faults in print.
Take it all in all, like him. You ma,
say what you will, but l like the old way
too. II.