Common Sense
[IT has been said that common sense is the most uncommon of all
sense; but we suppose the term must be understood to mean " good
sense In common things." This rare and valuable quality cannot
be obtained from books, or bought for money. It must be the result
of clone observation and careful thought, while actually engaged
in the duties of every-day life, bearing its burdens, meeting
its trials, and sharing its responsibilities. The following lines are
so suggestive, that, although the style is not exactly according to
our taste, we give them, hoping they will teach a useful lesson.
They are from the pen of B. Frank Russell, in Wood’s Household
Magazine. G. H. BELL.]
'"Tis plain to me," said a farmer's wife,
"Those boys will make their mark in life;
They never were made to handle a hoe,
And at once to college ought to go.
There's Fred, he's little better'n a fool,
But John and Henry must go to school."
"Well, really, wife," quoth farmer Brown,
As he set his dish of apples down,
"Fred does more work in a day for me
Than both his brothers do in three.
"Book larnin' will never plant one's corn,
Nor hoe potatoes, sure as you're born,
Nor mend a rod of broken fence;
For my part, give me common sense."
But his knowing wife was bound to rule,
And John and Henry were sent to school.
While Fred, of course, was left behind;
For his mother said he had no mind.
Five years at school, the students spent;
Then into business each one went.
John learned to play the flute and fiddle,
And parted his hair, of course, in the middle;
While his brother looked rather higher than he,
And hung out a sign, "H. Brown, M. D."
Meanwhile at home their brother Fred
Had taken a notion into his head;
But he quietly trimmed his apple trees,
And weeded onions, and planted peas;
While somehow, either by hook or crook,
He managed to read full many a book,
Until at last his father said
He was getting "book larnin'" into his head;
"But, for all that," added farmer Brown,
"He's the smartest boy there is in town."
The war broke out, and Captain Fred
A hundred men to the battle led,
And when the rebel flag came down,
Went marching home as General Brown.
But he went to work on the farm again,
And planted corn, and sowed his grain;
He shingled the barn, and mended the fence;
And people declared " he had common sense."
Now common sense was very rare,
And the State House needed a portion there;
So the "family dunce" moved into town,
And people called him Governor Brown;
And his brothers who went to the city school
Came home to live with "mother's fool."
YI
