The Indianapolis journal., 1886-05-06
The Farm Boy.

1 Detroit Free Press.
My son, do not smile derisively at the farm
| boy, toiling contentedly yonder by the wayside.
| He is not attired as trinity as you are; nay, his
trousers bag at the knees and hang on him loose
| ly with one suspender, his hat was less shapely
than it was spring before last, and his boots are
| may be down at Washington begging his infiu-
ence to help you get little s., 600 postofice.
| And the farm boy may not write as prettily
rs you do but in the near future his plain every
| day signature may draw great deal better than
| your beautiful autograph, at the bank.
No, my son, the farm boy does not begin his
active career under sen-dollar plug hat neither
does he leave his victuals untasted and fade
| away to a shadow because he cannot have a
single barrel eyeglass, but not infrequently he
| goes up front in due season, without plug hat
or a single barreled eye-glass to his bank
The farm boy is not familiar with the lap Of
luxury, and In his working clothes he does not
resemble fragile hot-house flower, but he is
full of grit, my son, chock full of grit Very
likely he is not getting much more than his
board and clothes for his labor just now; silver
dollar may seem almost as big as cart-wheel to
him, but he is storing up experience that is bet
ter than gold-fne. all-wool experience full two
yards wide-experience that will pull him
through places in which you may get mired in
| spite of your college education and highly cul-
tured legs.
know that you can waltz all around that un-
couth farm-boy, my shapely son, for he has not
had time TO educate his feet SO that they might
not get tangled up with each other in the mad,
mazy whirl, but if you don't keep your eyes open
and the inside works of your head busy he will
be likely to waltz so far ahead of you on the
race-course of success that you won't his
coat-tails after the end Of the first quarter.
Oh, no. the farm boy hasn't much time to read,
but do not doubt but that he uses well the little
he has. He has great deal of exercise in the
He works like barrel of new cider, and when
his resonant voice is heard laundering through
his ancestral halls at A. NJ. there is general
resurrection on the premises
At noon our merry farm boy comes in with an
appetite like sausage machine. and after he has
swallowed his dinner his father invites him ont
under the early harvest apple tree to turn the
grndstone while he is resting his back. The en-
ergetic old farmer can always find something for
the farm-boy to do while he is resting his back
at noon, and he generally finds it.
In the evening the tired farm-boy reads his
few books and papers and is thus soaking in val
uaEle information in small but effective doses,
whilst you, my beautiful son. are forgetting a
large part of that valuable knowledge which cost
me very high price. Mayhap it does not seem
SO valuable to you because paid for 1t.
But you are not such bad boy, after all is
sad and am not finding fault with you at ALL
merely suggest, in a gentle sort OF way, that
you should not smile derisively at the toiling
farm-boy.
Look about you my son, among the success
full men in every calling large majority Of
them were once toiling farm boys, who alb
sorbed book knowledge out of business hours;
and there are not many hours which are not
business hours on the farm, my son.
The farm boy early learns the value of time.
He can't help but learn that, and he learns it SO
hard that he never forgets it. If he leaves the
old farm to satisfy swelling ambition you will
most likely soon find him on one of the front
seats Of the synagogue, and whenever you do
| find him, my son, in the editorial chair, in the
| White House at Washington, in the halls of Con-
| gress Governor of his native or adopted State,
an eminent professional man, at the head of
some great commercial or manufacturing firm or
corporation you will find him knowing the value
of time, and making use of the large and varied
stock of priceless experience he soaked in on the
old back country farm.