The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-07-17

of fataliSm. That which all OF us De
lieve in, though some of US affect to
doubt it, the thing called luck as per.
sonal asset, is neither ordinary good
judgment nor the favor of heaven. II
is the faculty of relying upon deep
seated, guiding power resident in the
individual and nearly If not quite In
fallible.
This power is not limited by the
fneness of the physical senses. 1t will
help you to dodge an invisible microbe
just as a more obvious instinct will
help you to dodge a SNOWFALL. 1t is
natural to step out of the snowball's
path, but if you hesitate and try to
reason about it you will get hit. And
the same thing is true of that mysteri-
Gus force within you which is absolute
ly at one with nature.
In Donald there appeared singular
combination of spontaneous judgment
and deliberate action. AS q child he
would respond to questions slowly and
with care, even when the expression
of his eyes showed that the correct
answer had flashed through his mind
instantly. His greatest and most OBJ
| stinate fault was secretiveness. Though
his nature was very affectionate and
his sympathy most tender he lacked
the natural tendency to contide his
troubles, his joys or his hopes to those
he loved, even to his mother. He had
no slyness. He was at no pains to
keep a secret He simply said nothing
| about it and gave no sign of its ex
| istence.
| We were often grieved to find that
| he had left us in ignorance of some in
cident of his daily life, some act nei
| ther praiseworthy nor blamable or one
perhaps involving moral question be-
yond the appreciation of his years
When reproved for such an omission
his customary-and, l believe, sincere
reply would be:
why, it never occurred to me that
you didn't know"
1t was frequently necessary to give
him quite an elaborate explanation be.
fore he seemed to realize that we had
had no means of knowing.
By all this / do not wish to give the
impression that he was a markedly
phenomenal boy, but it is important, of
course. that l should point out all par
ticulars in which he differed from the
average. l have therefore with great
care selected these three peculiarities:
He thought very quickly and spoke
very slowly.
He had an unconquerable habit OF
keeping his own affairs to himself.
He enjoyed remarkably good fortune,
including a notable immunity from i'll.
ness and injury, in which connection
may record the fact that he never had
one Of the so called diseases of child.
hood
In other respects he was the typical
American boy. He played as much as
possible and studied when his con
science or his elders compelled him to
do so. He had his friendships and his
childish loves. He romped gayly In
the long summer evenings and COM
mitted clever and amusing mischief
once in awhile, in regard to which
think that even the recording angel
sion and never attempted to know the
facts in advance of it,
AT the age of sixteen he was ready
for college. He was then six feet in
height and weighed 10 pounds. He
resembled both his parents, but was
generally called his mothers boy, for
he had her red gold hair and bright
On 10,
deeper in him. 1t came to the surface
most plainly in moments of excitement,
and at such times, even during his
childhood, young Donald would exhibit
the solemn, superficial calm and eX-
IRENE precision of speech which had al
ways characterized the deacon" when
in high state of nervous tension.
If he had during his youth such
psychic experiences as are not the COM
mon lot of humanity, l was not able
to observe them. A few vague hints
of no more Importance than the school
girls remark which l have quoted
would have been the best evidence
that could have adduced previous to
the month of June in the year 1890.
We We're expecting him home from
college in week or two when we were
surprised by receiving this telegram:
Last exam, today Leave Immediately.
You will see me tomorrow.
We knew that he had intended to
stay beyond class day and that the
varsity baseball nine, of which he was
member, had not closed it's season, so
the messdge Puzzled us and gave rise
to considerable anxiety. His mother
telegraphed for an explanation, but no
answer came, On the morrow, how
ever, came Donald himself, hale apd
happy, and handsome beyond the
dreams of romance. When we assailed
him with questions, he stared at us
"Why there's no particular reason
for my coming" said he. II merely
felt like it; that's ALL -.
Then after a pHHse he added:
u wonder why the dickens did
come? can't think. unless it was be-
cause / wanted to see my very best
girl"
WAereupon he put his arm across
his mothers shoulders and kissed her
tenderly. upon the forehead and hair,
To all Appearances Dorothy might IN
| deed have been his Every best girF' or
perhaps his sister, but surely not his
mother. She had preserved her youth
full looks to degree that is beyond the
| n,.adanno ne tho rnadpr so that i shall