The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-26
= AAtAAS.s ZOE woMAN's

The " S~UA414Ahx, 4. IN. ~ a.
!, a. hsman,s Auxiliary of the Y. M.
mari giet at IL a. m. yesterday in the
Ser ~ of the Association building on
; y Street. +.
IS. q. w. Barnett presided in the abb
~ ice of the president. The election of
= .ew officers resulted in Mrs. w. G..
/, Patterson, president; Mrs. Oliver F.
Gregory, vice-president; Mrs. E. Gay,
treasurer and Mrs E. P. Morrisette, sec
| Rotary
| Mrs. J. w. Jones, chairman of Enter
tainment Committee made report OF
progress Of preparation for Thanksgiving
dinner for the young men. and the ladies
| are assured .tf1at the occasion will be all
that could be desired
Mrs. Patterson made few remarks ex-
pressiee OF her own deep interest in the
auxiliary work. and her earnest hope that
the enterest of the good people OF the
community could be increased.
| Among the books in the Y. M. c. A.
| library is one presented by Mr.. George
F. Peabody, containing the account OF
the Y. M. c. A. Jubilee celebrated last
year In Boston. when speakers from every
part of the country told of the various
departments of work-among railroad
| men, factory men. miners, sailors and SOL
diers; and on that occasion one speaker
the anxiliaries.
| One address. found in this book was on
the service of the association to our SOL
diers. and was delivered by Colonel Guild
of a Massachusetts regiment. An extract
! from this address is as follows:
"Vice is followed not because 1T Is vice.
but is fallen into while entertainment Is
being pursued The Y. NJ. c. "A. took
up the problem at that point. and kept
| many soldier from following the down.
| ward path in the great camp at jack
sonville. through the Y. M. c. "A = enter
tainment tents. I" In those tents the
men found a table where they could play
games; they found paper on which they
could write home; they found the home
newspapers in which they could read the
accounts of the old home baseball nine;
they found all kinds of innocent amuse-
ment, and they found, best of all, an old
fashioned melodeon, with plenty of good
simple music-good old-fashioned hymns
FOR Sunday and hearty healthy clean en-
thusiastic music for week days as well.
No money was ever better spent than the
money that was put into the hands of
the agents of DISSATISFACTION for the help
Of thessoldiers in their time of need.
I'VE have to thank the Young Mems
Christian Association, not only for the
good work it has done for the soldier and
the sailor but for the good report of the
United States army and navy (which 1t
has spread throughout the world. There
is no career in the world in which man
can lend, If he will. a cleaner. sweeter.
more Honorable life than in the ranks of
the defenders of the United States of
America. ." whenH hear the army
slandered. like to remember a scene on
the soil of Cuba on Christmas Eve. We
were seated out in front of my quarters
an old brown tent in sweet potato field
Major Niche of the regular army, my
dearest friend and comra'ae, Robert E.
Lee Niche of Virginia, 1t means some
thing when Massachusetts,. and Virginia
go to war together, talking together on
Christmas Eve about the things-well
about the things that men do talk about
when they are hundreds of miles away
from home and it Is Christmas Eve. 1t
was a bright, clear, moonlight night, and
across the road a great rose garden sent
up a thousand scents into the air. and
above our heads another Sharon waved
in solemn praise her silent groves OF
palm. 'Ak We sat on talking long past
taps, suddenly there came the challenge
of sentinel, No. 10. of the 40 Iowa:
Twelve o'clock and alrs WE'LL 1t was
Christmas morning. Scarcely had the
cry of tins, sentinel died away than from
good old Christmas hymn, the Portuguese
hymn al Id one clear, high baritone voice
struck up with the good ola words:
How firm a foundation ye saints Of the
LoI d."
and ano Their and another until the whole
regim en- was singing. The 9Th Missouri
Joined in, the 4th Virginia and End ILL.,
nois tn 161st Indiana and so on down the
line, until there on that line of hilltops
above the Queen City of the Antilles. a
whole American army corps was welcom-
ing iii Christmas Day with Christmas
hymns. OF course they sang Corona
ton" and Nearer My God to Thee" and
America" and all the rest.
"Fs,rhaps there may be some even here
who think that that first hymn was sung
by chance. Well. there are some of us
who go to war when we think we may be
needed. who make little parade upon the
housetops perhaps of our religion. yet
who like to think that those things do
not happen altogether by chancellor,
think just a minute: that Portuguese
Ehymn. the music of 1t, "Adeste fideles
aeti triumphantes'' is the oldest Chris
rian music of the Roman Catholic Church.
The words How firm a Foundation, we
saints of the Lord" is a good old Calivist
Protestant hymn. The Northern soldier
knew that hymn as one he had learned
beside his mothers knee, but to the
Southern soldier 1t was that and some
thing more. 1t was the favorite hymn of
General Robert E. Lee. played at that
1 great Generals funeral. Catholic and
Protestant. North and South singing
together on Christmas day in the morn
ing-that's an American army
Not every soldier is a saint; not every
soldier leads a pure life; but when the
rank and file of our soldiers and sailors
are slandered by their enemies, like
to remember that moonlight night; / like
to remember. whatever else may be said
, of the boys that wear the blue. that never
since Cromwell sent his ironsides to bat
tie has any nation produced an army that
q 'oud open it's first Chuslean year on
I oreign soil, not with drunkenness and
d ebauchery, not even with sports and
g ames, but with voluntary Christian
$ ervice Of prayer and praise"
] FEEDS AT THE
BOYS REFoRMAToRY.
Tomorrow is the one day set
a part for the expression of thanks.
i he day when 1t is hitting that
those who are truly thankful for
all the blessings and privileges that
come into their lives. should give evil
dtnee in a substantial way of their in