The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-05-09
THE LUCK OF DOOLITTLE.
BY CHARLES MONROE.


Doolittle had not been to see us for
so long that we bvgau ~ tninA that
maybe he had begun to work regular
ly; but one day recently he came
over and convinced US that he is still
inclined to let work alone as long as
it will let him alone.
When Bill Johnson asked, "What
are you doing these days, Doolittle 7"
Doo1ittle turned up his eyes lit with
satisfaction and said, ''I'm resting"
care you making any preparations
for planting crop this year?" Bill
asked.
"No. When I'm resting, I don't
allow nothing to interrupt me-" Doo-
little replied, as though giving away
the secret of great success.
"That's good plan," commented
Bill, eff you can make it profitable. I"
"Mske it profitable, profitable, y
snorted Doolittle. "I rest because 1
like it. Ny family complain at me
because I rest so much, but l tell
them that if they don't like resting,
they don't have to rest. I like it,
and I'm going to take all of it cam
"But don't you have a good deal
of trouble when you rest too much r.
inquired Bill
"How would that make me have
trouble?"
"I've never known anybody who
was not busted with work of some
kind, that wasn't complaining about
a lot of things. If it wasn't one
thing it was another. If it wasn't
anything else, it was a headache, a
pain in the back, sleepless night, or
indigestion. I've known of families
that were working hard to make both
ends meet, and were enjoying good
health, when they had what proved to
be the misfortune of suddenly coming
into possession Of much more money
than they had been used to. If their
remarks can be taken as authority,
some or all of the family lost their
health Immediately. Their only oc-
cupation was telling how bad off they
were, and it kept them pretty busy,
tr1~ TSsscnSs5, lfS wOulu uc Souiung
a certain opportunity of telling hard
story, it strikes me, whether he told
tale of bad health or not. That's
why I asked whether you're not hav-
ing a good deal of trouble while YOU
are resting"
"I'm no mule. Mules were made
to work. I'm not going to begin
work till 1 have to. Maybe the work
will get easier after while"
"My idea is" said Bill, "that work
is usually the easiest done the first
time you come up with it. After
you've SHE'D from it a couple of times
you begin to feel that it's got you
worsted. You go about lodging and
avoiding it. If it's on one side of the
farm you feel more comfortable on
the side farthest from it. You soon
have a habit of looking the other
way when you pass it. You don't
feel any more friendly toward any
body who mentions the subject. If
you are finally compelled to tackle it,
you do it with a ludicrous amount of
fear and trembling, and approach it
with the spirit of a boy who is to get
a whipping because he has let some
body else whip him before. 1t has
robbed you of your strength. 1t has
sapped your mind and unnerved your
body. Weak of courage and of limb,
you have to tackle it at last. The
necessity of accomplishing your OBJ
ject will probably compel you to push
the undertaking to finish. The
finish may be all you can wish and it
may be a sorry finish. Courage is to
man what keen edge is to sickle.
By procrastinating you have lost
courage. Work does not yield to you
any more than grass goes down be-
fore dull sickle. Occasionally work
may get easier by being let alone for
time, but the man who makes it
his rule of life to wait for work to
get easy had better get substitute
who has never learned to wait for
snaps"
81 never find work easy" said
Doolittle. "I don't like to work,
and l do like to rest. When I'm
resting, don't let my pipe go out
often, and when it does go out, have
plenty of time to light it again."
While delivering this weighty and
true statement Doolittle was operat-
ing his pipe with a forced draught.
Bill looked at me and then at Doc
little. A smile was overrunning his
eyes, but he did not allow it to reach
his mouth. Doolittle's confession was
so earnest that visibly laughing at it
would have given me the feeling of
having scofed at the prayer Of an
unctuous soul and l covered my
mouth with my hand, to laugh in my
sleeves as it were. was merely the
audience, though, with Bill and Doo-
| little for actors. Bill was taking part
in the play, and was not struck by
Doolittle's sentiments as was and
said: eyes, | admit that work may
occasionally interfere with smoking,
but what do you think of pushing
your work little, SO as to have the
lead at planting time, with the pros
pect of keeping the lead till your rice
is sold early in the season at good
proft3"
"I'm opposed to doing anything in
the way of work." said Doolittle,
with an impressive pause, "before ]
have to. To me work is trouble.
I'm not hunting trouble of any kind
-.ao;o11,y fbot bind ,,