In a year Reuben was earning a dollar a day. He wore a white shirt and pointed shoes, not because they were more comfortable, but because other people did. He had no debts. Lucien had fair crops, but they yielded no more than enough to pay interest on the mortgage. He wore a ragged shirt, patched breeches and cowhide boots. People said that Reuben was making a gentleman of himself and learning a trade in the bargain. In two years, Reuben had completed his apprenticeship. He was now earning $10 a week. He lived in a house that had a fancy veranda and green blinds. His clothing improved. Lucien was still ragged, but he paid his interest and $300 each year upon the principal. People said that Reuben, the harnessmaker, was bound to come to the front. In ten years more, Reuben was still foreman of the shop at $50 a month. He lived in the same house, and smoked Havana cigars. Lucien built a new house and a barn. He smoked a pipe. The neighbors saw that every year he made some improvement on the farm. He wore a white shirt when he went to town, and he had a pair of button shoes. People said that Lucien was becoming a prominent man. His word was good at the bank. Reuben began to complain that harnessmaking was too confining. His health was breaking down. The proprietor was selfish. He would not die and leave the business to him. Harnessmaking was not what it used to be. Lucien bought more land. He went fishing when he wanted to. Reuben came out now and then to spend Sunday. The birds seemed to sing more sweetly than ever before and the grass was greener. Lucien endorsed Reuben's note. Lucien has pigs, and cows, and sheep, and chickens, and turkeys, and horses. He raises potatoes and beans, and corn, and wheat, and garden stuff, and fruit. He buys his groceries and clothing and tobacco. Reuben buys everything. At the close of the year Lucien puts from $100 to $300 in the bank or takes a trip to Washington. Reuben does well if he come out even. Lucien does not fret; Reuben grumbles. The picture is true to life. It has been enacted and re-enacted in every one of the older communities of the United States. It has always seemed to the writer, however, that the author of this suggestive story left out two important personages. They were Sarah, the wife of Reuben, and Mary, the wife of Lucien. Sarah liked to make tatting and to go to pink teas. Mary preferred to raise flowers and fluffy little chickens. Nothing is to be said for or against the taste of either. Each has a right to her preference, but their point of view cannot be left out of the problem when a young man is considering his future occupation. It has been said, and probably with considerable truth, that most congressmen would not hang around Washington if it were not for their wives. No one must mistake this story as an attempt to compare harness making with farming, much less to compare living in the city with life in the open country.