The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-02-03
LIFE IN A SMALL TOWN.
The Old Song of the Big Toad in the
Little Puddle Tested by
New Yorker.

tieu W IL Out IL any JOuhG maj
wants it he can have it, Maybe there
are some who could win out on it, but
/ couldn't be fixed in any way to try il
again."
The man who opened the talk had
been asked by several men much young
er than he what he would do if he had
an offer that had been made to them.
81 don't know who said it," he con.
tinued, "but it was by some one who
had been there, you can gamble, and
this is what he said: There are critical
times in every mans career when de.
cision decides destiny
"The critical moment in my life was
when a Yankee from a New England
town played the siren to my hopes.
am sure l am not the first man who
listened, but 1 believe l am one of the
first to tell the result. He demon
strated to me that young man could
live cheaper in small town-on one
half the money he could earn in New
York and get more out of the existence.
He applied the theory to me personally
He had the place and half the money to
offer.
"Some of the allurements of this
gold-brick dealer were, as l viewed
them, enumerated in the following or
der: No competition, unlimited credit
a social position at the jump and no
questions asked, immediate member
ship in the club, the acquaintance of
the leading men. To these were added
the possibilities, namely, chance to get
in on the ground floor of the business
and matrimony in rich family.
ITO man who had been sleeping in
a hall room, third floor, back, and eat
ing an occasional meal under the same
roof, in the house of Hungarian over
on the east side, this picture of the New
England man looked like the sweet
fields beyond the swelling flood.
II reached the New England town, or
city as you call it, Sunday morning. If
any of you are going to New England
town on trial don't go in on Sunday.
If the forecaster can locate tornado
in the place select that date. In that
case you might find things lively. OF
course all depends upon what you are
going for. l lived in the house of one
of the descendants. l could not have
stopped at the tavern on the salary l
had accepted. This was the first awak-
ening. My venerable landlord and his
good wife were frugal indeed. They
had family prayer and retired early. !
had been drilled in both. | might have
changed my quarters, but inquiry
brought information about other
places which made them no more desir-
able. Whenever l left the house in the
evening | was requested to return early.
so as not to be nuisance. They didn't
call it that, but that was what they
meant; and ON the following morning
/ was Intercepted much closer than !
had ever been at my home.
1.-The man who had led me into this
beautiful dream life said to me one day
that as soon as the season opened he
hoped to introduce me into society. He
said society would be home in abou.
two months. | asked him if there were
no people in town On whom | could re-
hearse, as it were, until the elect re-
turned. But / learned that there were
no rehearsals. There were but two
classes in the place, the aristocrats and
the commoners. Any association with
the latter cut off approach 10 the circles
of the former.
FINALLY l was posted FOR member
ship in the club and was blackballed
But that turned out to be a mistake.
The man who did it apologized. He
thought l was another man of the same
name. ! was afterward accepted, but
| think there were some who never
quite understood it. Whenever game
became interesting to me the other fel-
lows had engagements and went to full
fill them.
81 had some friends to dinner at the
club one Sunday. 1t was dry affair in
spite of my attempt at bribery. for
which l was lectured by the officers Of
the club. When the season opened
found some invitations and accepted
them. The same rule applies to accept
ances in New England town that ap-
plies in other towns. To accept creates
an obligation. The obligation is can
celed only by reciprocity. l like the
RECIPROCAL dea. But the obligations
were created more rapidly than l de
sired, or, TO be honest, than l could af
ford to reciprocate. You will pardon
the coinage of my speech, but before
knew it l was up to my neck in the So
cial swim of this New England town,
You know you can swim out in New
York. You can't do it in a small city
And you can't stop once you are in it
And in New York you can lose yourself
when they begin to crowd you. But in
the New England town you have bell
on your neck, and wherever you go it
rings. In New York you don't have to
drop anything on the plate if you dom,
want to. You can't drop a penny in a
gum slot in a New England town but
everybody knows the brand you chew
II did not remain in the New England
community to'which had been enticed
long enough to test the possibilities Of
which the siren whispered. But when
l did leave, in fact before l left, l dis
covered that while | could secure the
necessities of life in a New England
town at reduced rates as compared
with home living in New York, the half
salary paid in the New England COM
munity does not even start the recipient
in the social race which he must make
if he expects any sort of recognition.
If you have money you can live in
New England town. but if you have
money you don't want to live there.
81 have my old room in the Hun