Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1906-07-07
.MY BEST FOURTH IN 1850
By on. WASHINGTON GLADDEN..
Author. Preacher, 5oeiollalst


Tao Fourth 0i iuiy ma ] remember
best found me q uoy of "a o1 The farm
IN central NoW York three miles
from county twn ~ 5ooO or 6pn
people
it was 6G years ago
There are few country 1ys any
where in America today Whn can De-.
gin io imagine hcW lonesome NE was
on "a back country farm In iS5
Boys who can lnlk up from their
work almost any minute and see an
auiom0l,ic 20 whigyIug hy or who
can hear the roar oi a railway train
iusi over the hili, or 90 whose doaa
the t. II. d. man comes riding daily.
have a sense of being % the world
whlch was not ours in The middle 0l
the last century.
There nse holldnys. TOO nowadays.
holidays gai.re, but ours we're few
aud Tar between lu that county
town there is now IN the Gan a county
fair. but IN has come in since my
time Christmas we kfew hy name.
cut % meant nothing more than a
strife tp SEQ which could say the
word nrgt un Christmas m mInR
Decoration Day was not yet The
boys walch were 90 hll most of those
graves had not come 10 their teens
they were yey much alive ln 1850.
The grange. with iis good gifts 20
farmers boys and farmers girls. had
MOI been dreamed o. Now aud then
q circus came n.ong But a circusi
some Of us knew What would become
OF us u we dared 20 wish 90 goi
The cnly holiday We hld was The
Fourth, and you had better believe
We spelled both OF those words with
a capital letter it meant a uAiule
day DO the village. and such larks,
such caDusalsl M-nrmi
But there was work to DO before
We could take our holiday Those
cows' They were sure t0 De- in the
farihcst corner OF the far,hest pas.
turo-s0mc OF them hiding in the
Woods They must be brought ln aud
hh.ked aud driven away again and
the calves and The pigs must De fed.
ana the wOod for tho day must be
p.led hy the kitchen stove. and all the
rcsi OF the chores must Boz attended
Hreakfasi. There D. little app,-
titc and who wants to waste min.
utca ON matter So mmonplRco!
One tlS H boz che amber--fhr sunday
clothes. or course. We must wear
ihem. The unhlcacntd shirt and the
denim trousers would neYte 90. bat
how can a fellow iet himself 20 ln
these sin togs3 They are made for
winter too aud lt o. going to be a
sweliering day But @ litilo ihiug like
that must me- spoil our holiday
so on We go. The sun ia au huuf
high and there isn't a cloud lu sight.
We are soon down he stony lane and
oui upon the smooth .tsiway. Shoes
are AN impeachment, od they come:
the soft. warm dust 0t the country
road ls grateful % the bare feet aud
the speed IS Increased. ae socks are
tucked into the shoes. which are tied
together by .-.a strings and slung
over the arm, before We get TO the
pnycments We viii don them again.
Three beautiful mllcs The hedges
are sweet with blackberry blooms,
meadow larks ON the stump fences
are shouting Cheers three cheerai''
and hoboliuks, poised above grassy
tufts, are going crazy with a Yankee
Doodle Of their own invention. Ia a
Little more than half an hour the VII.
laBr spires are Ia sight. and IL takes
but a moment 20 slip down 10 the
river bank and rinse our feet from
the dust and make ourselves pre-.
hentHbip fur the IaFemeG's
There are three u as. and anxious
consultations have been held about
he SPEEDING ~ our money one of us
has silver quarter. thar 20 the
o'ncrs. who have but a shilling each.
seems We I'm beyond the dreams oi
avarlee, That York shllllng the old
spanish coin which passed for 81 "a
cents-how its possibilities we're can.
t1saedl The boy knew. % begin vita
that be- was never going 10 rot
moneys worth out 90 H. Twelve and