So
one might milk the cow with stirrings of wonder, and mow in the
meadows to the rhythm of "Knee-deep in June."
From which you may divine that Samuel was what is called an
Enthusiast. He was disposed to take rosy views of things, and to
believe what he was told--especially if it was something beautiful and
appealing. He was given to having ideals and to accepting theories. He
would be stirred by some broad new principle; and he would set to work
to apply it with fervor. But you are not to conclude from this that
Samuel was a fool. On the contrary, when things went wrong he knew it;
and according to his religion, he sought the reason, and he sought
persistently, and with all his might. If all men would do as much, the
world might soon be quite a different place.
CHAPTER II
Such was Samuel's life until he was seventeen, and then a sad
experience came to the family.
It was because of the city people. They brought prosperity to the
country, everyone said, but old Ephraim regretted their coming, none
the less. They broke down the old standards, and put an end to the old
ways of life. What was the use of grubbing up stumps in a pasture lot,
when one could sell minnows for a penny apiece? So all the men became
"guides" and camp servants, and the girls became waitresses. They wore
more stylish clothes and were livelier of speech; but they were also
more greedy and less independent.
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