The Atlanta constitution., 1900-08-27
Bill Rrp'S L8ft6r

corn when 1t Is strewn around the cir
conference Of O circle. They say that
their presiding elder couldent tell. and
advised them to ask me. 1 supposed 1t
was q conundrum. or that there was some
catch In the question-a catch Ike the
one. Why will a guinea pigs eyes faIi out
II you hold Il w. by the tail! Al the
guinea pig has no tail. of course ms eyes
ere in no danger. But lady friend VINO
raises geese assures me that she has
often seen them tempted with corn Vi
other gram strcwn thickly round a cir
Gle. and they will not venture near IT,
hut II scattered. they will. after c1refui
inspection, approach and eat What tiie
circle has to do with 1t is past my hei''
though We do know that geese marCh III
straight lines and the wild geese iy III
straight angles. A goose is very sus-
picious fowl and is always on the iooh-
out for danger. A goose hasent iiu0ii
sense In fact goose Is q GOOSE o"s
their devotion to each other when Ina.eo
is beautiful. How faithfully the e~huei
will stand by his mate while sne sitS oA
her nest She plucks the down from ms
breast ami covers her eggs no" ga
Iantly he escorts her to the grass an"
escorts her hack when she leaves 'hci'i
for food. How tenderly they care io'
the brood when il comes. and never Iea'o
them until feathered and grown ihefe
are no divorces nor grass widows IN the
Anserian family-what a pity We are not
all geese.
But. speaking of conundrums rcHiihaS
me of how a lady caught me YESTERDAY
when she asked me how the water sot
into the watermelon. and as i procseueu
to expound the chemical processes that "a
fruits and vegetables had to go through
she stopped me and said: ION, major, the
water gets into the watermelon because
it is planted i'm the spring" l got even
with her. though. by asking her ny was
an elephant like lady's belt When she
gave it up. 1 said. "Because there rs a
i'm both ''W n.y." she said. there is no
b i'm elephant" There is %
in both" said |. " 'B-o-t-h'-you can't
spell both without b =" II takes
little time to see that. And there is an
other conIndrum that was classic when
| was young
Charge. Cheste- charge-on' Stanley
on
Were the last words of Marmon-
Had but been in Stanley's place
Tears would have moistened Chesters 5
face"
-
brought tear or two. l reckon Now
let those sweet school girls strain their
minds over that. and then let them
search the scriptures and tell me ms.
There is reference made in the old ana
new testaments to a person who died as
no other person ever died; whose pody
never saw corruption, whose name Is heF-
or spoken and the material OF whose
shroud is found i'm every household There
& c
presiding elder.
am induIging in these thoughts TO
please the children. for that is the big
gest and best part of parental life. ana Is
what the rid Is working for. Sometimes
| cannot help ruminating upon What
pleased me when | was young ana my
mind was expanding into knowledge day
by day. How | did strain over the
problem of the fox and the goose AMI the
bag of corn. And there was the elephant
puzzle, where an old man died leaving
eighteen elephants 20 his three sons-one
to have half of them. another one-1hird
of them and the other on--ninth. But
before the division one elephant died, ami
seventeen wouldent divide even at all 50
they consulted wise old nabor who had
but one elephant. de generously drove
his one into the herd OF seventeen and
then divided them. giving To one of the
boys nine. to another six and 10 the
other two. This took but seventeen. and
so H. drove his own elephant back home
again How is thatH Wasent he smart
old fellow to satisfy the boys and save
MS elephs mt?
But by and by these school children
advance into their teens and begin 10
choose swectheartS. and The boys brush
their hair more carefully and the girls
east slances that are shy and sly and read
poetry and mark the loving passages, ami
flowers grow lovelier ard the birds sing
sweeter ard the world grows br.s ter,
andthe days of loves young dream havv
come. Delightful days. delicious memor-
ies-even ar old man loves to rCEtl is
them No wonder the poets wrote 50 ten
derly of love and the uovclsts made It
the chief subject of their story. 1 was
Eliminating the other day about compil-
ing and publishing a book-a little book
that could be- sold for less than a dollar.
n book OF gems-poe-ic gems by the best
authors and urging every parent to buy
IL for the children. for il would help -
mold and refine their characters and give
them pleasure and comfort all their lives
Ny good father encouraged me 10 COM
nit to memory some of the sweetest
poems tina: were ever written. / ran re-
peat The Hermit" now, and Gray :
Elegy" and "Genevieve" and "Byron's
Address 20 the Ocean and "HoheniIn-
dem" and such these were inspird-
tion To me as l grew to manhood. II /
were teaching school | would have the
boys and girls 20 recite them. What d
book of gems could be made of selections
from the old authors. such poems as have
not been written in fifty years and could
not be written nov. What poet could ap-
proach sGch beauty of language ami
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathUmed caves of ocean
belr;
Full many Il flower IS born to blush un-
And waste its sweetness on the desert
air"
or those two verses from Goldsmith be-
ginning.
And what is friendship but a name,
A charm that lulls to Sleep
or his sad warning to the weaker SEX
"N Nhen lovely woman stCOps to folly
And learns too late that men betray,
What art can soothe her melancholy.
What charm can drive her grief dway;
The only art her grief can smother
And stilie every burning sigh
And bring repentance to her lover
And wiring his boSo1n-is to die
Then there is Tom Hoods Song of the
Shirt" that awakened all London. and his
other sweet sad poem. II Remember. |
Remember the House Where 1 Was
Form" / would include those heroic
poems. 1.-The Burial of Sir John Moore"
nv Nnlfe and ''Marco RozariS" q" hy Hal