The Washington times., 1923-05-02

of a blind species which had
grown eyes under treatment.
breeches ran out to meet me and
asked me into the shack, and in
moment more Garland appeared.
knew him instantly; almost
could have picked him out in a
crowd-and that even though had
never before seen him or ever heard
him described. He just looked the
sort Of boy who could refuse a
great fortune and go off to freeze
all winter and sweat all summer
amid boys and wastes of sand. He
was magnificently tall and broad.
shouldered; in that low-ceilinged
shack he looked positively gigan'
tic.
His dark face with its close
cropped mustache was strilxingly
handsome and would have seemed
severe had it not been for his great
brown eyes that shone strangely
with warm light. He was clad
in white duck trousers and a leather
jerkin; his head was bare, and about
his neck one could see the open
collar of a thick mackinaw shirt.
Enthusiastically he was a rare soul
in rare body, a distinctly superior
creature. In more credulous age
have no doubt Charles Garland
would have been called a. saint.
Showed Magic Smile.
He greeted me with smile that
magically sOftened the severity of his
face, and in a low, musical voice he
made me throw down my luggage
and feel at home. He seemed not in
Al a Al
and, though rather silent, he seemed
not in the least awkward or strange.
It was as though he had known me
already many years, and had mere
iy returned after a brief absence. He
talked for moment, and then sud-
denly lapsed into silence. That was
his way, discovered later; to talk
for a moment and then let his words
trail off into long silences. But that
early knew nothing of this way Of
his, and felt i'll at ease.
asked a question, a second,
third; he answered them all, but
briefly and in that same low, hest
tant. sombre way he had. He would
answer courteously, patiently, frank
ly-but with not an unnecessary
word. He wasn't curt. lie didn't
bite off his words or cut his sentences
short; rather, he let them wander off
into meaningful silences.
But imagined-not knowing he
was always reticent-that perhaps
he wished to get back to his work.
Everybody about the place seemed 70
be working. The girl in the khaki
breeches was down on her knees
scrubbing the floor; through the little
windows / could see another girl
working in the garden outside, and
two men were breaking rocks over in
field. So, in desperation, sug-
gested to Garland that go out and
help him in his labor, and at once he
assented.
Sees Work As Joy.
Without a word of the polite re-
monstrance one would expect of
host under such circumstances,
he took me, right off to the barn
to change into oyeraIIs and
khaki shirt To him it seemed
only natural and proper that 1
should want to go out into the
field and work there. Work to
him is not at all what it is to
most people; work to him is lovely,
joyful, gloriously cheering. Espe-
cially work on the soil, work that is
close to the black, sweet-smelling
soil that mothers all life. He seems
the hoe in his hand. his eyes shine
with wondrous luster, and his whole
body seems tense with Joy.
I'm convinced all this isn't an
affectation with him. He isn't just
a silly youth playing with a new
fad. The sight Of him toiling in
ceSsantly and almost a fierce inten-
sity, is absolute proof of that; and
the fact that he has stuck to the
work for almost two years is itself
quite convincing. He really loves
to labor-and expects others to love
it just as much. And the strang-
est part of it is that others do get
to love it-when they are around
him.
For almost the first time in my
life / enjoyed welding a shovel,
taking up great loads Of soil and
There I was, an effete rabbi, with
hands never accustomed to any
thing more weighty than walk
ing-cane, and muscles trained only
to make graceful pulpit gestures,
bent over double and shoveling
with might and main until my
back seemed broken and my arms
seemed made of lead.
Attitude Infectious.
It was infectious, that gluttony
of Garland's for work. You couldn't
be near him and not catch the
fever. At least, I couldn't.
And it wasn't his love of labor
that / found infectious: all his
strange ways and ideas caught my
Imagination and held me enthrall.
ed. 1 had no idea, when first
came to see Garland, of ever writ
ing about him or his place. But
after seeing what he is trying so
sincerely to do. after learning his
unconventional ideas of love and
marriage and the future of society,
after meeting and coming to admire
hio fina.CniTsifad FaII4rr1 Y