25- DIALOGUE BETWEEN A COUNTRYMAN AND A TOWNSMAN, BRINGING OUT THE COMPARATIVE AND ADVANTAGES OF TOWN AND COUNTRY LIFE

Toloo: Asslam-o-Alaikum! Mr. Poloo.

Poloo: Wa’alaikum-us-Salaam! It is a long time since I saw you in town. Are you staying long?

Toloo: I only came up on business for a few hours, and hope to get home again this evening.

Poloo: Running away so soon? Why not stay a few days and enjoy yourself in this lovely weather?

Toloo: Not I, I don’t find much enjoyment in the smoky air of a town, and all its noise and racket. Give me the clean air, the sunshine, and the quiet of the country.

Poloo: Well, I grant you have the advantage of purer air in the country but as for noise, you soon get used it. In fact, I could not stand your quiet---it would drive me crazy. I like to feel plenty of life and movement about me.

Toloo: Really? Why, I could not get a wink of sleep in a noisy town. And towns are so ugly---nothing to see but ugly smoke-grimed houses, dreary streets, hideous advertisements on every hoarding, factory chimneys belching smoke, and a dull, smoky sky. I have the beauty of the green fields and shady woods and flowery meadows of the country.

Poloo: Ah! My friend, but do not forget what Dr. Arsal said: “When you have seen one green field you have seen all green fields; come with me down Fleet Street and study man.”

Toloo: Well, all I can say is that Dr. Arsal never saw a green field in his life, or he would have known that there is an infinite variety in nature if you have the eyes to see it.

Poloo: But what in the world do you do with yourself in your village? It must be a very dull and slow life, with no theatres, no concerts, no cinemas, no public lectures, no exciting political meetings. You must lead a stupid vegetable life, like a cabbage.

Toloo: Not so stupid and dull as you imagine. I have my garden, which is a great source of pleasure; and there is fishing, and a little hunting. And then I love tramping over the hills, and seeing the beautiful scenery. And in the evenings I have my books.

Poloo: Well, every man to his taste; but to me yours would be a dull life.

Toloo: Dull or not, it is much healthier. In the pure country, we don’t ge the epidemics and dirt-produced diseases you have in the towns. And our quiet habits give us longer lives.

Poloo: Yes, you may live longer in the country. But you don’t get so much out of life as we do in town. A short life and a merry one, I say.