THRALL OF CITIES

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 168, 12 April 1932, Page 8

THRALL OF CITIES

Fuller Life in the Country LESSON OF HARD TIMES X * In spite of, and, indeed, because of, hard times, country life has many advantages over the town, in the opinion of “R.L.JR;” who has put his views into verse as follows: — I am sitting by the camp-fire, for the autumn night is chill, And the breeze is softly murmuring, in the bracken on the hill. As I rake the sticks together, the woodfire's fitful light, . Is playing on the hillside, making pictures in the night.

I am once more in the waybacks, and it thrills me through and through, For I love tho heart, of nature, and its rugged wildness, too; And I, sort of feel a pity for the chaps I’ve left behind, That are crowded in the city, with its everlasting grind.

With its haste, and with its bustle, with its din and. with its roar, With its avenues for spending, that are counted by the score. Where mankind is paying dearly for the luxuries of life. Where the god of competition is a factor in the strife.

I suppose it’s only human, and it sort of grips the mind. And we feel humiliated if we’re left too far behind. And we strive, and go on striving, caring little of the toll That the city is imposing on man’s body and his soul.

And I then compare the freedom that the country seems to give, Though a man is paying interest, yet he manages to live. And my heart is stirred with pity, for the chaps I’ve left behind. That are bound by city sections, and it’s one infernal grind.

Leave it to tho man in business, for they’ve got their daily beat, But it’s spending, spending always, for the man upon the street. The country speaks of freedom, as the country dweller knows. And the land king wears complacently the patches on his clothes.

And he never has to trouble with a collar stiff and. white, And his neighbours don’t get squinting if his pants aren’t fitting right. I am glad tho State is trying to place men where it can, For the country life is better for the average working man. • It is true that in the country there is much that could be said, Of the loss and disappointment; still man gets his daily bread. And he isn’t, always dipping in his pockets, deeper down, To meet the drain upon him of tho charities in town.

Now calamity has met us, I am talking man to man, Take the country work that -offers, and just do Ihe best you can. Not a soul will call you waster, nor will treat you as a wag, For a man can wear his manhood, even ’neath an old worn swag. —R.L.J.