Simple？I\'llsayitis!PositivelynothingcouldbesimplerunlessitbethestarksimplicityofthemindofanauthorwhofiguresthatwhentheAtlanticOceanstartsboringitswaythroughacrackinaseawallyoucanstopitbypluggingtheholeontheinnersideoftheseawallwithasmallboy\'sarm。NedBuntlinemayneverhaveenjoyedthevogueamongparentsandteachersthatMr。
McGuffeyenjoyed，butI\'llsaythisforhim——heknewmoreaboutthelawsofhydraulicsthanMcGuffeyeverdreamed。
AndtherewasPeterHurdle，theraggedladwhoengagedinalongbuttiresomeconversationwiththephilanthropicandinquisitiveMr。Lenox，duringthecourseofwhichitdevelopedthatPeterdidn\'twantanything。Whenitcameontostormhegotunderatree。Whenhewashungryheatearawturnip。Rawturnips，itwouldappear，grewalltheyearroundinthefieldsofthefavoredlandwherePeterresided。IfthechillwindsofautumnblewinthroughoneoftheholesinPeter\'strouserstheyblewrightoutagainthroughanotherhole。Andhedidn\'tcaretoacceptthedimewhichMr。Lenoxinanexcessofgenerosityofferedhim，because，itseemed，healreadyhadadime。WhenitcametobeingplumbcontentedthereprobablyneverwasasoulonthisearththatwastheequalofMasterHurdle。HeevenwassatisfiedwithhisnamewhichIwouldregardastheultimatetest。
Likewise，therewasthecaseofHughIdleandMr。Toil。Perhapsyourecallthatmovingstory？Hughtriestododgework；whereverhegoeshefindsMr。Toilinoneguiseoranotherbutalwayswiththesameharshvoiceandthesamefrowningeyes，bossingsomejobinamannerwhichwouldcosthimhisboss-shiprightoffthereelinthesetimeswhenunionlaborissotouchy。Andwhatisthemoraltobedrawnfromthisnarrative？IknowthatallmylifeI
havebeentryingtogetawayfromwork，feelingthatIwasintendedforleisure，thoughneverfindingtimesomehowtotakeitupseriously。Butwhatwastheuseoftryingtodiscouragemefromthisagreeableideabackyonderintheformulativeperiodofmyearlieryears？