The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-01-26

three nights OF the session. The
school convenes in the scnool house
a. 7:3O o'clock Monday and Thurs
Gay nights. New pupils are received
each night.
the old dean who owned the ranch
we'll, he Was a tine character and one
OF natures nODlemen who was hon
est and true ana Il uthful and real
philosopher. The dean and Patches
Patches was the man who went
away from the shams of The world
to this land which is so beautifully
described, to find Eimself-weL,
Patches and the dean often had dia-
logues together-that is they discuss
ed questions. The dean on one occa-
sion was talking to Patches about
Kitty-now Kitty was the daughter OF
a neighbor of the dean who had gone
off to the east to school, and had goI
some of the modern notions of So
ciety, and came back somewhat dis
satisfied with her lot and her sur
roundings-they were talking about
her, | say, and Patches said: "Is
seems to me that education, as We call
it, is a benefit only when it adds to
ones life. If schooling or culture, or
whatever you choose to term it, Is
permitted to rob one of tie funda-
mental and essential elements of life,
it is most certainly an evil"
And that is the truth. An educa
tion that takes US away from the life
that We should lead, and in which
one is happy and contented, it is GER
tainly not good for the citizenship
of the country. Now, am not one
who believes that it is best to be
absolutely contented with our lot, be-
cause as l have aforetime remarked,
it means stagnation and death and
lack of progress for a person or
community to be entirely satisfied
with itself. The right sort of discon-
tent and unrest means growth and
progress, but that education which
gives one a false and wrong estimate
of life is an evil, and sometimes We
find just that kind Of education.
iAnd then the dean continued the
conversation something after this
fashion:
That's the idea. You say it like
a book. But that's it, 1t amt the
learnin' an all the stuff that Kitty
got while she was at school that's
worryin' US. It's what she's likely
to lose through gettin' 'em. This
here modern, down-to-the-h1ihute;
higher livin', loftier sphere, inteliee-
tual supremacy idea is all right ii
folks'll just keep their feet on the
ground. =.
you take Stella and me now.
(Stella was the deans wife, l know
we're old fashioted an slow an all
that, an we've seen 8 lot of hard
ships since we was married over in
Skull Valley where she was born az
raised. She was just girl then,
an l was only kid, punchin' steers
for livin'. | suppose We have seen
about as hard times as ANYBODY At
least that's what. they would be call
ed now. But, hell. we didn't think
nothin of it then; We was happy, sir.
and we've been happy for over forty
year. l tell you, sir, we've lived!
just lived every minute, and that's a
blamed sight more than a lot of them
high-cultured, top-lofty, half-dead
couples that marry and separate ana
marry again nowadays can say.
'No. Sir, 'tain't what man gets
that makes him rich; it's what he
keeps. And these folks that are swop-
pin thu old-fashioned sort of love
that builds homes and raises families
and lets man and wife work together,
an meet trouble together. an be
happy together, an grow old bein
happy together-if they are swoppin'
all that for these here new. down-to-t
date ideas of such things. they're
maxim damned poor bargain accord
in to my way of thinkin'. There is
such thing. sir. as educatin' man
or woman plumb ont Of reach Of hap
piness.'
o
That's what I say sometimes when
note some Of the new things that
see going on in many of tn" walks
Of life-when they are swappin' off
some Of the old ways for them-they
are making a damned poor bargain.
hut then if the reader Will excuse me.
70" saving this. will add that am
not kicking because can adapt N.Y.
self very readily TO all the changes
they gro mnI'nr and oct along. but
you can't keep ono from thinking
about all these things But this is
already too long and I will continue
my reflections at another time