"Habberton, John - Everybody's Chance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Habberton John)

in which he was born, and which he had kept for years just as his mother left it
when she died, and he had been too busy to hurry home to receive her dying
blessing?
There was nothing mean about Pruffett; he contributed liberally to all church
subscriptions, and when any neighbor chanced to fall into any trouble the old
man was the first to offer counsel and substantial aid; still, why did he not be
wholesouled and tell younger men how and where to find their chance in lifeЧ the
chance which Brundy persistently denied every one?
One morning the entire village was thrown into a fever of excitement and sarcasm
by the appearance of the following notice, which was posted on the
bulletin-board in front of the town hall and on trees in the several streets:
"Everybody has a Chance
"A lecture on the above subject will be given at the town hall next Friday
night. The lecturer has nothing to sell, nor any medicines or other goods to
recommend, nor anything to advertise. It is to be a square talk by a square man,
who can prove what he says. No charge for admission; people who like the lecture
may, if they desire, drop some small change into a box which will be at the
door."
"Everybody has a chance, eh?" said the natives to one another. "That man doesn't
know what sort of town he's coming to. If he is depending upon the collection at
the door to help him to the next town he'll have to walk."
The more the lecturer's subject was discussed the more ridiculous it appeared,
and as most people rather enjoy the spectacle of a man making a fool of himself
the town hall was absolutely jammed on Friday night, half an hour before the
usual time for the appearance on the platform of such strolling entertainers as
did not know of the impecuniosity of the natives.



When the town clock struck eight the audience saw coming from the ante- room to
the platform a middle-aged man with the garb and the eye of a well-to-do
mechanic and the manner of a preacher, although he soon manifested an
unpreacher-like disregard for grammatical rules. The lecture, too, although
humorous enough at times to set every one laughing, was somewhat like a sermon
in its general character.
"People talk about not havin' a chance," began the lecturer. "Why, if chances
were eggs, none of you could move without steppin' on 'em. When a man says he
hasn't got his chance in life he's talking about the particular chance he wantsЧ
that's all. What we want most isn't always what we need most, my friends, though
few of us are honest enough and smart enough to see it an' say so.
"I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that the chance an' the only oneЧ that every man
in this room is simply achin' for, so that he won't look at any other, is the
chance to make a lot of money! Did he ever see anybody that had made a lot of
money? Did the rich man look any happier than other folks? If not, why not? Can
any of you tell the difference between the rich and the poor by their faces? I
can't, except that generally the richest man looks most anxious and most
discontented."
By this time every one in the house was looking at old Pruffett, who was looking
at the back of the seat in front of him, although the expression of his
countenance did not imply that there was anything particularly cheerful and