But I did not go to Harpersfield. When the time drew near for
me to go, Father found himself too poor, or the expense looked
too big--none of the other boys had had such privileges, and why
should I? So I swallowed my disappointment and attended the home
district school for another winter. Yet I am not sure but I went
to Harpersfield after all. The desire, the yearning to go, the
effort to make myself worthy to go, the mental awakening, and the
high dreams, were the main matter. I doubt if the reality would
have given me anything more valuable than these things. The
aspiration for knowledge opens the doors of the mind and makes
ready for her coming.
These were my first and last days at the plough, and they made
that field memorable to me. I never cross it now but I see myself
there--a callow youth being jerked by the plough-handles but with my
head in a cloud of alluring day-dreams. This, I think, was in the
fall of 1853. I went to school that winter with a view to leaving
home in the spring to try my luck at school-teaching in an adjoining
county. Many Roxbury boys had made their first start in the world
by going to Ulster County to teach a country school. I would do the
same. So, late in March, 1854, about the end of the sugar season, I
set out for Olive, Ulster County.
Pages:
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102