The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-02-13
MANKATo FREE Press
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10. 1885.
An Ideal American.

II there is any person in the world to
be envied, 1t Is the one who Is horn to
an ancient estate, with a long line Of
family traditions and the means In his
hands of shaping his mansion and his
domain to his own taste, without losing
sight Of all the characteristic features
which surrounded his earliest years.
The American is, for the most part, o
nomad, who pulls down his hou>e as the
Tartar pulls up his tent-poles. II !
had an ideal life to plan for him 1t
would be something like this:-
His grandfather should be O wise,
scholarly, large-brained, large-hearted.
country minister, from whom he should
inherit the temperament that predis-
poses TO cheerfulness and enjoyment,
with the finer instincts which direct life
to nobler aims and make 1t rich with
the qualification Of pure and elevated
tastes and the carrying out OF plans for
the good OF his neighbors and his fell
low-croatures. He should. II possible,
have been born, at any rate have PASS
ed some OF his early years, or o large
portion OF them, under the roof of the
good old minister. His father should
be, we will say, a business man In one
OF our great cities,-a generous manip-
ulator of millions, some of which have
adhered to his private fortunes. In spite
of his liberal use of his means. His
heirs, our ideally placed American,
shall take possession of the old house,
the home OF his earliest memories, and
preserve It sacredly. not exactly like
the Santa Casa, but, as nearly as II
may be. just as he remembers it He
can add as many acres as he will to the
narrow hodse-lot. He can build q
grand mansion for himself If he choos-
es, In the not distant neighborhood.
But the old house, and all Immediately
round it, shall be as he recollects II
when he had to reach his little arm up
to reach the door-handles. Then, hav-
ing well provided for his own house.
hold, himself included, let him become
the providence of the village or the
town where he finds himself during al
least q portion of every year. Its
schools, its library, its poor,-and per-
haps the pew clergyman who has sue.
ceeded his grandfather's successor may
be one of them,-all its interests. he
snail make Ills own. AuQ ITOm tnls
center his benetcence shall radiate 90
far that all who hear of his wealth
shall also hear of him as friend to his
race.
Is not this . pleasing programmed
Wealth is steep hill, which the father
climbs slowly and the son often tum.
bles down precipitately; but there 10 Q
table-land continuous with It, which
may be found by those who do not lose
their head looking down from its sharp
" cloven summit. Our dangerously
rich men can make themselves hated
held rs enemies OF the race. or beloved
or recognized rs its benefactors. The
clouds of discomfort are threatening
but if the gold-pointed lightning-rod'
are rightly distributed the destructive
element may be drawn off silently anG
harmlessly. For it can not be repeated
too often that the safety Of great wealth
with us lies in obedience to the new
version of the old world, axiom. Rich
eSse Oblige. OR"er Wendell Holmes IL
February Atlantic.