St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-03-31
LEAVING THE FARM.

The work of the farmhouse was
over for the day; the children-with
the exception of the eldest son, who
had gone to the village-were in bed,
and in the big, comfortable kitchen,
Farmer Hardwood, his wife and his
wife's sister, Mrs. Lucas, were sitting
around a center table. The farmer
was reading the paper, his wife was
putting patch on the knee of little
Harrv's diminutive knickerbockers,
and Mrs. Lucas was crocheting a
hood of blue-and-white zephyr for
small niece.
There was silence in the kitchen
save for the swapping Of the fire in
the stove, the ticking of the big
eight-day clock in the corner and the
rustic of the farmers newspaper, and
when Mrs. Hardwood sighed deeply,
both her sister and husband looked
up in surprise.
"What's the matter, Sarah ?"
asked the latter. THAT sigh was
the loudest l ever heard you give.
Has anything gone wrong? You
look as though yon had a big load
on your mind"
II have" answered his wife
"And it is a load which you must
share, Eli; have borne it alone as
long as l can bear it. There is great
trouble in store for us, husband
George is going to leave the farm"
The newspaper fell to the floor,
and for moment the farmer looked
at his wife, too much surprised to
utter word.
70 he II, I,n
repeated at last. Sarah, you must
be dreaming"
Mrs. Hardwood shook her head
sadly.
II wish l WERE" she said. mo,
Eli, it is true. George has made up
his mind to leave us. 1 have noticed
for months past that he seemed dis
satisfied and restless, and since you
sold Vixen he has grumbled a great
deal about the work, and the dull
ness of his life. And today heard
him say to Jasper Flint that he
would not be here a month from
now; that he had had enough of
farm life, and intended to leave; and
if we refused our consent to it he
would run away and take his
chances"
well see about that" said the
farmer angrily. Consent to it! l
rather think not. 1 won't consider
it for moment. What would he be
worth a year from now if l let
him go? He'd fall in with all sorts
of rascals in the city and get us all
into trouble. Besides, | need him
here. It'll be ten years at least be-
fore Harry can take his place, and
he's got to stay if | have to tie him
down."
why don't you make him want
to stay, Eli?" asked the gentle voice
of his sister-in-law
IF he's got the city fever on him, all
the talking in the world wouldn't do
any good" rejoined the farmer.
"He wouldn't listen to a word"
Don't talk. Don't let him even
suspect that you are aware of his
desire to leave you. Try new plan
that have been thinking of all day"
THE best plan know of is to tell
him my mind freely, without any
beating about the bush; and the
sooner it's done the BETTER
Now, Eli, don't be above taking
a woman's advice. Let me tell you
how to deal with George. I have
been here three months now, and
have taken a deep interest in the
boy. l have seen his dissatisfaction
and recognized the cause. | have
overheard him talking to Jasper
Flint more than once, and only
yesterday 1 heard him say that if he
went to the city what he earned
would be his own, but that here he
worked from dawn to dark, and
was no better off at the end of the
year than at the beginning. He
said that Tom Blythe, who is in q
grocery store in the city, gets $1E
a week, and Tom is only II. Now
ify you want him to stay on the farm