Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

32
ANNALS OF OUR ANCESTORS
read a little, so that the Bible would be open to her; but writ-
ing was no necessity.
Our grandparents thought the "three R's" the climax
of knowledge, and further education, such as a knowledge
of foreign tongues, dead languages, and advanced mathematics,
the height of folly. Because of this attitude, which
was quite in accordance with the opinion of the neighborhood,
our grandparents refused their aid to the education
our father so deeply desired. This opposition grieved his
sensitive spirit; and yet he was never one to hold bitterness
long in his heart, and he became the shield of his parents in their
age. Since his efforts to obtain a classical education were a
success, and the discouragement and lack of aid did not frus-
trate his aspirations, he could let all pass and consider the
difference in the times upon which he came upon the scene.
We must remember also that all within and without his
home were not against his fond wishes; in the time of his longing
for opportunities to obtain a higher education, his elder
brother came forward and stood in the stead of a father. He
knew his younger and more afflicted brother desired knowledge
above all things, and when the time came he was ready
to help him. One day the professor told father he would need
a new book for his advanced work. The announcement came
almost as a shock, for he knew not how he could obtain a new
book. As his parents so disapproved of his literary career, it
would be useless to ask them for money for more books; then
it was that his brother stepped in, teUing him that he was in
need of some extra help oq the farm that day and would hire
him to perform the task. In this way he obtained the money
to buy the needed book. When he met the professor he displayed
with pride his new purchase. "Well," asked the pro-
fessor, "how did you come by that?" In reply our father held
up his bruised and blistered hands, while his countenance
beamed with dehght. An earnest soul will soon be known;
even in a backwoods country there is always some one to speak
his praise, so it was that he drew to himself friends who loved
learning. Though I have spoken in general terms concerning
the spirit of the neighborhood in regard to education, I must