Evening star., 1914-09-27

| what he would consider learning. When
sitting in the office of the chairman of the
lecture committee, a particularly alert young
man, lawyer, and graduate of the Har-
ward Law School, the door opened, and
splendid specimen of physical manhood,
typical pioneer in appearance, stalked in.
The chairman introduced me to him.
aMr. Bangs said he. Il want you to
know my father.
The caller gave my hand grip that even
now makes my fingers ache every time l
think of it. He then led me to comforta-
BILE, leather-covered arm chair, and, after
almost showing me into its capacious depths,
seated himself directly in front of me.
@Sit down, young man, said he. Il want
to talk to you.'
3Fire ahead!' said 1. @And thank you for
calling me young man. I've been feeling
a trife old for couple of days."
swell, you are young compared to me-
he said. am eighty
1Good Lord!' said I. @You don't look
over sixty, anyhow.
NO. he smiled, II don't-but that's
Ioway. I've been farmin' out here for nigh
onto seventy years, and we're all too busy
to grow old. We live forever in Ioway. It's
the grandest country on the footstool."
didn't feel at all inclined to dispute him,
considering his more than six feet of tower
ing height, the fresh, healthful hardness of
his weatherbeaten face, the breadth of his
shoulders, and depth of his chest. con-
tented myself with agreeing with him. And
didn't have to work hard to do that,
either; for have known magnificent Iowa
as most sa1ubrious State for many years.
@Well, you see, Sir" said, 1--WE can't all
pick out Off birthplaces. l was born in New
York through no choice of my own. Some
are born at birthplaces, some achieve birth
places, and others have birthplaces thrust
upon them-which last was my CASE
@Same here" said he. II was born in
was babby. I've lived here ever since
and I'm glad of it. Of course hain't had
your advantages in gettin' an eddication,-
most O mines in my wife's name,-but I've
got some, and I've had to work so damn
hard to get it that sometimes l think l ap-
preciate it just leetle more than you East
ern boys do who have it served to you on a
silver platter. 1 didn't know how to read
| till l was twenty-five"
| 7 CONGRATULATE you," said l. 3Con-
sidering the sort of things the greater
part of our young people are reading today,
| wish that condition might prevail little
more widely than it does"
comes too easy we're not likely to make the
best of it. When l think of how had to
sweat to learn to read you don't ketch me
wastin any O my talents in that direction
on trash.'
@Then,' put in, Athe chances are you've
never read any of my books
"Not many of EN-" he answered; @but
one or two folks 1 know has read 'em, and
they tell me there's nothin' deelyterious
about em. But l tell We it was some work
for me to get the knack O readin'; but when
it come it come! Ye see, when first come
out here they wasn't any schools, and wasn't
any too much help around in those days,
either. What with farmin', and diggin' food
out O the ground, and fghtin' Injuns, there
wasn't much spare time for children to spend
in schools, even if we'd had 'em. But
along about the time I was twenty-three
years old we started one. We built little
schoolhouse, and then we sent East for a
schoolmarm, and when she come she boarded
WORTH WHILE FO