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turn to intellectual pursuits & become one of the leading men in that part of the state. You know a farmer who is really intellectual stands a better chance of eminence than a professional man. I have always made it a rule from my youth up of trying to do the best I could & when I had done the best I could to elevate myself & to surround myself with home comforts than to be thankful & contented with my lot, & yet always be preparing myself to take advantage of any opening there might occur for advancement. It always seemed foolish & wicked to me to be unhappy because I was not the recipient of wealth & luxuries which my ancestors had not left me & which I had not earned. It seems to me unmanly to let misfortune develop in us only a repining & faultfinding spirit. Where misfortune lays its heavy hand upon us, is it not better