davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
EXTEMPORE SPEAKING

that one of the very finest speakers that Virginia ever produced once attempted 1t in Richmond, and the result was the most dismal of failures. Even William L.. Rives could not make it a success
 Henry A. Wise, in the gubernatoriai campaign against the "know-nothings, in 1855, spoke almost daily Sundays ex- cepted) for many weeks. His conduct or that campaign was a wonderful exhibi- ton of skill, courage, determination and manhood.
 The accuracy and elegance Of style which some extempore speakers have at tained, seem almost miraculous to other speakers, who imagine that they must write out their speeches, and deliver them as they are written. Dr. William H. Me Guffey, late professor of rhetoric in the University of Virginia, said once to his class: q heard William c. Rives speak for an hour and half without scrap of paper. I listened critically; and there was not an # to dot, nor 't to cross The style was absolutely perfect And ne added: q have heard the Rev. John A. Broadus preach sermons of which I can say the same thing"
 The three greatest extempore speakers that I ever heard on the stump in Vir- ginia were Henry A. Wise, Shelton F. Lealxe and John Randolph Tucker Gov ernor E. B. Vance, and Senator Lewis T.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

ingly, have made the attempt. Witness Picketts charge at Gettysburg, when, as he told General Lee it will be certain death, yet, undaunted, with 5000 of the flower of Lees army, he made the charge and marching under the most galling fire of shot and shell. he accomplished the object of his mission-the taking of the heights, even though it required a hand to hand fight with the enemy in their own trenches; yet he could not hold the po- sition, because of the fewness of his numbers, and bravely retiring, he reached the Confederate line with only about 1250 of the 5000 that had started in the charge, leaving about 3750 men dead and wound- ed on the field. Search history for a par allel.
 For four long years, made up of march, ing, and fighting, and hunger, and naked ness. and worry about wife and child, or mother and sister. you fought bravely and gloriously against increasing num- bers. recruited from the nations of the world, while your own ranks were being daily depleted. With these great and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

tion? This statement by the adjutant will prove to be a sweet morsel for the members of the c. A R.. to roll under their tongues. I mean those of them who fight against any fellowship between the gray and blue: these will emphasize the fact that republics are ungrateful.
 It may be that the public will not give you work because of your age; you know that a learned @ professor says that men should be chloroformed after they pass 40 years. 1 will soon pass my 10th mile-board. and yet there is no man. care not how young he may be, who knows more of the science of bookkeeping or who can do more clerical work than I can do in a day. I cannot get employ ment only because of my age. But thank God, I am not yet forced into the class that Brother Darby inveighs against.
 But has it really come to pass that men, who stood in their young manhood for all that is grand and glorious in life. should now, in their decrepitude, and because of misfortunes, be told to suffer on and die but do not worry the public,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

that is a congregation that included some of the finest scholars in America, and also many people who were innocent of the all phabet-once used, in sermon, homely illustration from plantation life, with which he had been familiar in his youth. A rather fastidious lady member of his church criticised him for using so ''com- mon'' and homely an illustration. He re- piled: Well, Jesus is supposed to have known how to preach, and He drew His illustrations from things as common and homely as making up bread, and patch ing old clothes To be homely is not to be coarse. Indeed 1t is not easy to be truly eloquent without some touch of the homely.
 Longinus, the great Greek critic, in his famous treatise "On The Sublime" men, tfons the Hebrew law-giver, who, as he says, was no ordinary writer, and then quotes as a fine specimen of sublimity: God said let there be light, and there was light" In this fine sentence, as it occurs in our authorized version of Gen esis, the words are all monosyllables, and the longest word has only five letters. Could any language be simpler, or more homely?
 Extempore speaking, in or9er to be ef- fective. must come from a shead and a heart full of the subject. The speaker must believe that it is really important
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

the year amounted to $16,67S,952, divid- ed among 330 institutions. The insti- tutions reporting gifts of over $1,000,- 900 are Harvard, Yale and Columbia, Harvard leading with $2,330. .42S.
 The chapter devoted to the statistics of the various professional schools con- tains some surprises. We read here that the number of men enrolled in theological schools in 1904-5 was 74l1, only slight increase over the number 15 years be- fore The number of law students was larger than ever before-14,714. The num- ber of medical students, on the contrary decreased by 1114, to 25,S35, which is smaller than the number of students in any one of the four preceding years. The number of deta1 students decreased by 176, to 7149 although the number the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
THE LoRELE

THE LORELEI. By Heinrich Heine. I know not whence it rises. This thought so full of woe. But a tale of the times departed Haunts me and will not go. The air is cool, and it darkens. And calmly flows the Rhine; The mountain peaks are sparkling In the sunny evening shine. And yondeT<sits maiden,
 The fairest of the fair; With gold is her garment glitterng, And she combs her golden hair. With golden comb she combs It, And a wild song singeth she That melts the heart with wondrous And a powerful melody. The boatman feels his bosom With a nameless longing move; He sees not the gulfs before him, His gaze is fixed above. Till over boat and boatman The Rhine's deep waters run. And this with her magic singing The loreloi hath done.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

IU7 HENEvER the assertion is
 Xx/ made that Americans are Anglo
 W Saxons 1t is customary to state that this assertion is based upon two facts, namely. the laws and language of the two nations. It is true that Ameri- cans speak the English language and that American jurisprudence is based upon the English common law. but the language and laws in use in America today differ in many respects from the original, and to such an extent as almost tS be entitled to claim a place separate and apart to themselves among the lan- guages and laws of nations.
 The difference in language is self evident to those who are familiar with current English and American literature. The introduction of new words and phrases, the new meanings given to old words and the new style of orthography are all the result of an admixture of foreign clements seeking a common form of expression. This difference is more marked in conversation than in literature, but it does not take long to make the spoken word, which at first may be merely a provincialism, to become the written word of the essayist.
 The difference between English and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

to impress the audience with his views, and to persuade them to act accordingly. When full of his subject and properly equipped for discussing it, he will be reservoir of power The reserve force, which does not-visibly come into play, IS a most powerful and effective element or his success. If he be reduced to the ne- cessity of pumping" as Governor Vance graphically called it-that is, if he be obliged to be thinking every moment what he shall say next-his failure Is as- sured. Pumping thunder is poor bus mess.
 An old-fashioned overshot water-wheel turns quite rapidly, and yet there seems to be but little water flowing over 1t. But there is pond of water, stretching away out of sight, behind that wheel, and the unseen depth, and incalculable weight of many millions of gallons of water are really furnishing the force that turns that wheel. If the water which you see run ming over it were the only force acting upon it there would be no grist ground in that mill.
 One very important reason for tine power which some of our greatest stump speakers have had, and for the phenom- enal success they have attained, may be given in one word-practice. l never heard any man read manuscript speech from the stump. There is tradition
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
BY N. 4. STUART, Member of Fifth Alabama Regiment.

ments. before the spirit shall have left it's tenement of clay. your mind should revert to the four years of conflict, and your heart should then be saddened by the reflection that the public does not care to be worried with your stories' of dis tress. you can yet console yourself by the fact that the lustre of your deeds Of daring and greatness are still undmmed and that they will shine on and become brighter and brighter as the never-end- ing cycles go circling down to mingle with the years of eternity.
 And when your frail barque shall leave the shores of time. may it drift gently over the River of Death, and when the keel shall rest upon the golden sands of Eternitys shore, loving relatives, kind friends. and dear comrades, who wilt not be worried" by your coming, will be there to give you a cordial, loving well come that will be eternal.
 Until then may God send his ravens to feed you, and keep you from being a worry to the public!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

daily increasing odds against you, you were yet unwhipped. when our beloved banner was furled at Appomatox, and the bright star of the southern Confectionery sank below the horizon, being plotted out from the galaxy of nations and going down in darkness, carrying with it, and extinguishing forever the only hope of civil freedom, the rights of men and of the states.
 Beloved comradesl Grand as you are, and glorious as were your imperisha ble deeds, you are now told that you are worry to the public For shame that such a cry should have been heralded to the world. It is greatly to be regretted that the adjutant of Camp Hardee should have published you to the world as men, dicants, objects of public charity, for 1t is sad commentary upon the present, and is not only reflection upon the great state of Alabama, but upon the people of the south that they would permit you to reach such a state of poverty and destitu ton. if such be the fact. Who's fault IS it if you are in such a deplorable condi-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

\ T is not my purpose dlere to present
 systematic, nor a rhetorical discussion A of this subject but to set forth in a somewhat discursive way some practical observations which may be interesting, and, perhaps, useful, to such readers as are accustomed to speak in public.
 Some of the most worthless books in the world are books which treat of this sub ject and, strange to say, one of the most consp;cuously worthless of them all was written by a man who is reputed to have attained high eminence in the art of ex- tempore speaking. Bantain on "Extem- tempore speaking. Bautain on "Extem- and yet the author was distinguished extempore preacher.
 The truth is that the rhetoricians con fine themselves almost exclusively to the task of telling us "how not to do it." The professor of rhetoric who can teach us to speak and to write has not yet appeared. When the teacher has pointed out the er- TOTS and corrected the inaccuracies of your composition, spoken or written, he has done you a valuable service; but he has not taught you to speak nor to write.
 The highest homiletical authority of America held that preaching has. or ought to have, much in common with stump
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
FEW York is once more paying the
 . penalty of frenzed finance.

K FEW York is once more paying the
 M penalty of frenzied finance
 ] .It's the President who has caused all this; he has destroyed credit walled the gentry of high finance when the bank furry was at its height. The people, however, are not likely to be hoodwinked. They are more likely to put it down that a few gentlemen were caught gambling with other peoples money and made to pay the penalty there for, the innocent scffering with the guilty as is always the case. To those who have been observing the trend of the banking business for the last few years, the threatened panic was not sur prising.
 To get at the cause of the present disturbance one must go back to 1901, an era of mad extravaganza in Wall street promoting schemes. It was 'ften remarked at that time by conservatives that absurdly high figures were being bid for the stock of New York banking institutions. At first this buying was ascribed to important financial interests who desired to gain control of banks to aid them in their syndicate undertake ings. It wasn't long, however. until the truth came out. The buying was being done by the adventurers of Wall street, second rate financiers, men Who sometimes gain notoriety by running shoestring into millions.
 Each mans idea was to secure control of a string of banks and trust com panies. This was his scheme: He would buy a controlling interest in the stock of one bank, put up his stock as collateral for loans in another bank, and use the proceeds of such loans to get control in still another nstitution-repeating the operation with each successive purchase. The result was that in short time a few reckless men of no standing were in control of a group of banks through mere stock ownership on margin. I'm mediately they packed the boards of d- rectors of the different institutions with their tools and proceeded to use the funds of the banks for their private specula- tions.
 For the half dozen years that this has been going on financiers of standing have realized the grave danger that mens ced the banking situation, but they were pow erless to do anything. No one outside of the national banking department had the right to examine the affairs of the inst- tutions that were being undermined or to question their methods of operation.
 It was the collapse of the attempt to corner United Copper stock that furnished the opportunity for house cleaning. The Mercantile bank applied to the clear ing house for assistance and. of course, the clearing house had the right to die tate the condition under which it would furnish assistance. The institutions loans and collateral were examined and it was found, as had been suspected, that the speculative owners had been loading up its surplus account with their own doubt full securities. The bank was cleared of C. w. Morse aud E. R. Thomas and .their immediate associates and then as- sistance was furnished. Then came the suspension of the Knickerbocker Trust company. due to the same causes. but the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

for they are "too busy to listen to your stories?s
 Poor old menl Do you thing this an echo from the southern people-those who should, if they have ever learned the lesson of gratitude. feel it an honor to be aworried by you? Those who claim to be worried by you cannot be the chivalry of the ante-bellum south, nor of the sons of those grand men, They must be aliens. and not southern born. It is true that much is made of old Con federates-that Is. the officers, whenever there is to be a Confederate reunion, but this can be explained by the fact that the communities expect 'quid for their quo," and are the more benefited of the two.
 Comrades. pray God that it may never come to pass that you shall become a burden upon a people who have lost all regard for the cause for which you bat tied in your young manhood-those days when life to you was fresh, rosy and bright-when you could listen to the sing ing of the wood birds with gladness-and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
Italians Admire Roosevelt.

From the New York World.
 Supreme Court Justice John w. Golf, who arrived with Mrs. Golf on the Car mania last evening. commented on the popularity of President Roosevelt with Italians.
 When discussing America with me-" said Justice Golf, Italians invariably spoke of the President as new heaven sent leader, sort of Moses, who would lead us out of political wilderness.
 "One Italian believed Roosevelt was the Caesar or the Marcus Aurclius of Amer ica come to lead us to power and estab- fish us as a successor to the glorious Ro- man empire"
 What do you personally think of Roosevelt?" the justice was. asked
 He is man of brilliant parts" was the reply, "but in my opinion he has es- tahlshed some dangerous precedents, whose final effect we have yet to real ize."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

The herald of greater The pale white Turned slowly to pale rose, and up the
 height Of heaven slowly climbed. The gray sea
 grew Rose-colored like the sky. A white gull
 flew Straight toward the utmost boundary of
 the east, Where slowly the rose gathered and in-
 creased. It was as on the opening of door By one who in his hand | lamp doth hold Cts flame yet hidden py the garments
 fold)- The still air moves, the wide room is less
 dim.
 More bright the east became, the ocean
 turned Dark and more dark against the bright
 ening sky Sharper against the shy the long sea line. The hollows of the brsakers on the shore Were green like leaves whereon no sun
 doth shine. Though white the outer branches of the
 tree. From rose to red tho level heaven burned; And tell the starA and tell yon rising
 sun, Earth, with her thousand voices. praises
 God.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

increasing numbers to the study of the pharmaceutical profession.
 Other instructive figures in this sec tion are those relating to the ratio or the number of members of the different professions to the total population or the country In 1880 there was one clergyman to ever 77o of the population, while 20 years later there was one to every 6S1 inhabitants. Similarly there was, in 1880. one physician to every 5so of the population, as against one to every 576 inhabitants in 1900; there was cue lawyer to every TSP of the population in the former year, and one to every 665 persons in the latter, while there was one dentist to every 4073 persons in 1880, and one to every 2565 inhabitants in 1900.
 A name that Is being better and better
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

~ RAND old men who wore the gray. \ Y The world has never seen your
 $ equal, and it may never witness again such uneonauerable bravery, such brilliant and glorious heroism, such purs and unalloyed patriotism, as you evinced and demonstrated on an hundred bloody and hard-fought battlefields, during the four years of warfare between the states, which, for deeds of daring, is unparalleled fin the history of the world.
 You are indeed the grandest heroes that ever drew a blade in defense of the civil rights of man. Neither Napoleon in his happiest and most glorious successes. when his eagles scared the highest. nor Alexander, even after he had conquered the known world, and wept because there were not other worlds to conquer-neither of these great captains of war could mar shal force equal to you in courage and daring, for If you had been asked to storm hell itself. you would, unhesitat-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
THE PAPER ON MY NURSERY
 WALL.

September Lippincott's. The paper on my nursey wall
 Shows meadows bright and green; A narrow, winding road runs on
 The little hills between. There. crook in hand, roams sad Bo-peep Trying so hard to find her sheep! I wish that she could turn and look
 Around the nursery wall. She'd find them then, as plain as day,
 Waiting to hear her call It's mean she cannot understand Her sheep are there. so near at hand, At night l lie In bed and think
 How jolly it would be If she could only turn her head
 As easily as me; Then. while I'm thinking of Bo-peep. l generally go fast asleep!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
THE OVARIAN NONSENSE.

Justin Huntley Mccarthy. Man is today what man was yesterday Will be tomorrow; let him curse or pray. Drink or be dull, he learns not, nor shall
 learn
 The lesson that will laugh the world
 away. The world is gray or just as golden
 shines,
 Tine wine as sweet or just as bitter
 flows For you as me; and you. like me. may
 find
 Perfume or canker in the reddest rose. The tale of life is hard to understandS But while the cup waits ready to your
 hand
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

previous year. 1903-4, showed a falling off of nearly 1000 students from the year 1902-3. The students in pharmacy, 4944. showed an increase of 4S7 over the pre- vious year.
 The decline in the number of medical students may be traced to three causes: 1-Overcrowding of the profess sion. 2-Advances in preventive medicine. 3-Strengthened requirements for entrance to and advancement in the leading medi- cal schools. The dental profession has likewise been somewhat overcrowded of late, and, besides, a four years course was adopted by the most prominent den- tai schools several years ago. but quite generally discarded after one years trial. The prosperity of the average druggist Is so evident that it naturally attracts
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
THE LAMPLiGHTER.

By Robert Louis Stevenson. My tea is nearly ready and the sun has
 left the sky; It's time to take the window to see Leerie
 going by; For every night at teatime and before
 you take your seat, With lantern and with ladder he comes
 posting up the street Now Tom would be a driver and Maria
 go to sea, And my papa's a banker and as rich as
 he can be: But I. when stronger and can choose
 what I'm to do. O,Leerie. I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you. For we are very lucky. with lamp
 before the door, And Leerie stops to light it as he lights
 so many more: And o, before you hurry by with ladder
 and with light, O, Leerie. see a little child and nod to
 him tonight!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
POEMS YOU OUGHT 70 READ

Drink, and declare the summer roses blow As red in London as in Samarcand. Lips are as sweet to kiss and eyes us
 bright
 As ever fattered Omar with delight; English or Persian, while the mouth is
 fair, eWhat can it matter how it says good
 night?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
ON FAM E.

By John Keats. Fame. like wayward girl, will still be
 coy To those who woo her with too slavish
 knees, But makes surrender to some thought
 less boy, And dotes the more upon a heart at
 ease; She is a Gipsy-will not speak to those Who have not learnt to be content
 without her. A jilt, whose ear was never whisper'd
 close, Who thinks they scandal her who talk
 about her; very Gipsy is she, Nilus-born. Sister-n-law to jealous Potiphar; Ye lovesick Bards. repay her scorn for
 scorn; Ye Artists lovelorn. madmen that ye
 are, Make your best bow to her and bid adieu, Then, if she likes 1t, she will follow you.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
ERE WE BE YOUNG AGAIN.

By Robert Louis Stevenson.
 (From ITO Minnie.'D "Can I get there by candlellght?" So goes the old refrain. I do not know-perchance you might But only, children, hear it right, An, never to return again! The eternal dawn, beyond doubt, Shall break on hill and plain, And put all stars and candles out Ere we be young again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
DAWN.

Bv Samuel Taylor coleridge The night was dark, though sometimes
 faint star little while a little space made bright Dark was the night. and like an iron bar Lay heavy on the land. till OCT the >ea Slowly. within the east, there grew
 light Which half was starlight, and half seemed
 to be