davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24
IF YOU WERE OLD

that we, as a people. are said to be al
together without respect Our children
are not taught the respect for the aged
that Is common to even the heather ma
tions. and the American lack of rever-
ence Is quoted as a crowning failure.
Reverting 10 the aged who have main
tained their position and clinched the
friendships of their earlier years, they
have done SO at some expense of per-
sonal effort They have insisted upon
growing old gracefully. and have delib-
erately brought it about by letting IN
dignified ease to the exclusion of sharp
ness. Grabbed old age has not succeed
ed in clutching them in his grasp and
urging them TO vent their fury on
coming generation. The long years ac-
emulation of failures has left only
sweetness that has submerged the bit
ter past. They have grappled with each
of life's disappointments and have come
forth triumphant-smiling.
Aged people usually draw US or repel.
and while youth owes its respect to age.
no matter what its lapses. there Is no
gainsaying the fact that you and | will
get more attention after awhile IL we
have succeeded in reserving some of our
lovable qualities for the time when we
are old.
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

House Perhaps-perhaps might
have hidden him lift you up and carry
you little part of the way along that
road. Your legs were so suddenly tired;
the dust was so strangely deep and
heavy. The sunset glow that clung to
the blue hills was deepening slowly into
dusk. all grayly soft. all faded like a
far-flung handful of blown old rose
leaves.
You eyes looked deep into that heart
of dying light. Then-Oh, very Little
Boy, your two fists shut out the glory
visioni
With stumbling, eager feet you
turned and ran down the 'long brown
path" Than their deep tiredness pulled
you back into a hurrying. desperate
little walk and the tears tore tiny fur
rows across the dustiness of your
cheeks.
Way down the road you saw a figure.
a dark figure that grew swiftly into a
cantering horse-a horse and a man
"a
You screamed suddenly, Father! Fa-
ther." and in breathless minute
Father himself had come up to you.
leaped to the ground at your side,' and
catching your out-reaching little arms,
drew you close into the warm, deep
safety of his own.
Father" you sobbed And Father
just said> "Old Man." and set you high
up on Biddy's back. and mounted be-
hind you. Along the road you canter
ed-you two-and then suddenly there
were the low stone wall. and the white
gate and Mother. standing there.
She only held out her arms, and Fa-
ther. leaning over. dropped you into
their circling tenderness. Then you and
Mother went up the gravel path to the
white porch and to the warm, glad light
from Way Indoors without one back
ward look at the faded sunset and the
blue hills-and the Open Road.
PATRICIA GRAY.
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

man and to the boy. These last are,
as rule, more interested and more
politely attentive to the aged than
are younger women and girls.
The man who Is respectful to his
grandmother will rarely fail in courtesy
toward his mother. and will not be bru-
tai to even his teasing sister; and IL is
just these small amenities that mark
him as most considerate husband-to-
be for somebody else's sister in the none
too distant future.
Foolish the woman who would marry
a man in whom she has not detected
just these everyday gallantries toward
the women of his immediate family.
Courtesy to woman is never beneath
manly dignity, and particularly that
certain chivalry toward the aged, who
have left the lighter charm OF youth in
the far-distant past.
There is no pleasanter sight, none that
will call forth more quiet admiration
from the young and old of both sexes,
than the strong young man bestowing
his ungrudging attentions upon the
white-haired lady at the feast. be she
the hostess or be she relegated to the
middle distance or the background.
Old-time gallantry has so far passed
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

very becoming and helpless attitude.
and who refuses to exert herself. eX-
cept to call for assistance, needs to
be seen in her right light.
have no pity for a woman who.
possessing a normal mind and the use
or her body. cannot cut out and make
a plain shirtwaist. who cannot check
her trunk. who cannot remember
whether she paid for her coat. or
who is worth nothing when her
womans judgment and action are need
ed in times of distress. That type Of
person needs TO be disciplined by
friends and relatives She needs TO
be thrown on her own resources so
absolutely that following the law of
self-p preservation. she will be com
PEELED to make an effort, no matter
how weak or futile.
OF course it is good to be taken
care OF, What woman does not like
to be petted and consulted and led
by a strong hand occasionally? But
let us have an end of the helpless
one who. through lack of use, has
lost the powers of normal. think
ing human being.
The demands Of our helpless friend
do not stop at the veranda of the sum-
mer hotel She takes her general in
ability into the home. and because she
cannot do things. some other woman
does the work for her. DO you ever see
the woman who just positively can't
sew stitch with a limited wardrobe?
Never. sister or a friend comes to
the rescue. and IL there be a lack in the
supply. 1t is usually in the willing help
er's outfit.
The joy of work that is the natural
activity of mankind is denied to the
helpless woman. The joy of the proper
amount of this activity is wrested from
the Independent one. for an Overbur-
dening of strong shoulders means drudg-
cry. Surely this must not continue. Let
the discipline Of consequences" stir the
lazy one to degree of usefulness. This
is not the place for Idle creatures. Life
is too great to be frittered away in
weak protestatiOns Of ones inability to
do things. A reform. of course. must
come from within. In order TO be ef-
fectual
But the person who simply cannot
Cor will no) be up and doing must be
shown the way by her strong hearted
and efficient sisters
Upon you. my independent one. de-
wolves the work of showing the little
hands of the helpless that some work
must be done by them. For you there
is the pleasurable task of saving little
brain from pitiable condition OF
atrophy. Do not think or act for a per-
son who refuses TO do this for herself
Be cruel only TO be kind. And begin
nowl BARBARA LEE
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

did. | thought that you addressed me.
l may have been mistaken. but 1 hope
that you had no other man in mind"
(Settles down in his collar behind his
paper.)
In her rnind)-"Well. of all the jeal-
Gus, childish babies, you are the
worst! Wouldn't 1 ike to train you
all over again? Wouldn't I like to
show you thing or two? l can just
see how you might be if your mother
had thought of your wife. Well, sI
was foolish, that's all l married you
because l adored your strength, and
besides always did like gray eyes.
Yes. and then father and mother and
Aunt Louise insisted that l was maxi
ing a mistake, so of course l wanted
TO prove that it was they who lacked
judgment And to my girlish mind
there was something heroic and great
in proving to the world how much 1
would give up to show my love for
you"
He-"Can't Nora pull down those
blinds? Upon my word, Constance. I
must say that something is lacking
in that girls training Moral"
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

VTYHAT of the older people you
wv know? And how would you
w like to be old? To each of US
the thought suggests a few sad. lone
some souls who dwell apart, but when
we recount them there stands out
alone the remarkable mind of one
who has stayed young while she has
gathered unto herself knowledge and
bearing and a dignity not usual in
those of a younger generation.
The older woman who has kept up
her interest in affairs is a delight,
and If we but realized ii there is no
more charming member OF the house
hold we visit than she whose reminis-
cences take us back TO a period that
is otherwise lost to US.
A little self-control we need to sep
arate ourselves from the younger cir
Gle, and little patience to listen
while age recapitulates, but the
game is worth the candle as
Grandma herself would say.
For the well-informed elderly
woman, man has more admiration
than has woman. This masculine ap-
probation and even forbearance
twhere that is necessary extends
down the years to the quiet young
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

and lighthearted.' followed the Open
Road. all on a<summer's afternoon.
There was enchantment over all the
land The Whole Wide World sang
a strange, sweet song to you, song
of high achievement, of great glad
games wherein even you, a very lit
tie boy, in a dusty white suit and
small stubby white shoes, might
ulay your Little Boy part.
Nature things trooped past, and
came, and went Your eyes widened
at what they saw, and your heart
joyed at the much unseen" that you
knew lurked just beyond.
No adventure drew nigh: you did
not need it. The call from out Of
Story Book Land had come the
promise was there the fulflment lay
over there, where your eyes climbed
to the SUBMITS of those far hills,
mistily blue as the Hills of Dream.
With curly head held high, you had
walked away from the Little Gray
House. away from the garden gayety,
away from Wee Sister, and Father
and Mother
And then, as your toes kicked up a
swirly cloud Of golden dust, you
sighed faint, tiny sigh, and sud
denly you set your straight little jaw
in funny big rush OF determination.
long wagon passed you, rafting
by in a whirl of dust, and you
glimpsed swiftly a flying whiplash
that crackled In the air as a blue
coated man swung it about his head.
and sang out gruffiy gracious
"Howdy" to- you as you stared at
him.
You half wished. with a sharp little
choke. that he had been driving his
great gray horses in the other direc-
ton, with his face turned away from
the low sunlight that, on the hills.
turned straight along the road that
led to the very gate of the Little Gray
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

thing done for her by other capable
hands? OF course you have. 1t were
unnecessary to excuse this parsonage
IN our midst, but 1t Is time to institute
a few changes In the reception Of a
condition that obtains and that can IN
many ways be altered by the strong
ones.
1t Is a moot point whether the help
less one is such by nature, unfor
tunate circumstances or by choice. In
my mind there is a slight accent on
the last Any healthy. normal woman
who cannot conduct the affairs Of her
life unassisted Is dependent because
she chooses to be. She has found that
the role of the appealing. clinging vine
with a dash of the modest simplicity
OF the violet, is the most successful.
You cannot deny that to a strong
man there is something fattering in
the helpless "open-eyed" childishness
Of a woman. His superior strength.
intellect and ability to control affairs
are given the chance for a little self
satisfying exercise, and the helpless
woman is cared for in way that her
strong-minded sister never will ex-
perience.
You find the place for me, please;
I never could understand those wretched
timetables murmurs our little one
(who is at least five years older than
the rest of u.s., and there is a mad
rush to the front. Some OF Little
Ones friends are catty enough to in
sinuate' that this method is the only
way that she can claim the attention
of the willing men. Others merely
shrug their shoulders and smile at the
clever little hoodwinker.
81 have always been taken care OF,
you know, so 1 must ask you TO as
sumo full charge" There is only one
answer to that. I have seen an able
bodied man dangling between the
love for his wife and the call of duty
to his immense business, just because
his pretty sister-in-law chose to pro-
claim her helplessness from the
housetops. Now do not mistake this.
I am standing firmly for chivalry and
a gallant attitude toward woman. 1
am elated to find an occasional oasis
in the desert of the present day busi-
ness life. There is something mex
pressibly sweet in the performance
of the little courtesies that make the
wheels of the social existence run
more smoothly. But the woman who
has deliberately placed herself in a
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

" EMPUS will fugit. and already
there is a marked difference to
Il be seen in the length of the
days. Old Sol has refused to come
out of his cloud land and shine on
Us for a week. but we know of him
of old, and If we only have patience
to wait. he'll soon warm us and
brighten us with his beams. Some
girl said to me, This weather gives
me the blues" Nobody ought to have
the blues. girls least of all. And yet
girls do suffer from moods OF depres-
sion and are miserable. because they
are misunderstood, or because their
lives are vague and indefinite, or be-
cause they are hedged in by circum-
stances and cannot see their way out
When we are young we do not real
ize that we cannot force affairs as
we choose; that is lesson which we
learn as We grow older. There is
great peace in living for single day
as 1t comes.
If we try hard to be cheerful for
the sake of others. 1t rebounds to
ourselves. There is a hidden secret
which has made many woman fas-
cinating. You need not be aristo-
cratic; the great Catherine was
nameless waif and a slave. You need
not be beautiful; auburn haired Eliz-
abeth was plain and wore a ruff to
hide hideous neck. If you are sym
pathetic and appreciative; if you
never for an instant seem to be bored
by the almost endless tales, uninter-
esting, poured into your ears; If you
talk reluctantly and listen with de-
light: If you are a mirror for chang
ing moods and a violin for respon-
siveness; If you are quick to find hid
den virtues, seeing an exotic in every
weed and an eagle in every crow.
and your tact as smooth as cream,
then you are the real empress, COM
mander and queen and final court Of
the world, a fascinating and attract
i've woman. whom everybody loves
to meet and who leaves a ray Of light
in her wake that will chase off i'll
feeling of all kinds. Henry Van
Dyke has written:
Life Is an arrow. therefore you must know
What mark to aim at: how to the bow:
Then draw 1t to the head and let it GO
Plenty OF food for thought and ap-
plication there. One of the very i'm
portant things for us to control is
the growing restlessness and rush
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

She-'I wouldn't speak quite like
that, if were you. Nora is probably
very busy, browning your toast to
just the right shade. You are very
particular, you know"
Gn her mind)-'It would be easier
to pull down the shade yourself-but,
of course, 1 am not going to suggest
that. L remember when you would
have done that with gracious haste
You were so polite then. 1 don't
understand why people cannot be
civil and thoughtful. even though
married" (smiling).
He-"What's the matter?"
She-'I was wondering something"
He-"Lets have it."
She-'To be perfectly candid with
you-you don't mind. do your
He rsing and passing around the
table to her chair. With his arm
around her shoulder)-"No, dearest; tell
me what is worrying my beloved"
She-"I was wondering why 1 ever
married you. But know. II was
because (smiling UP at him) well
I guess it was because 1 love you"
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

* CENE-A breakfast table. Man in
business clothes reading his news
~ paper. Opposite. a young woman
in negligee. large coffee urn OBJ
structing the view of each
Qn her mind)-"Welll He has on the
tie that he knows I positively hate!
Stubborn today. I suppose III not
ask him for that new driving blanket
for If he should refuse, there's an end
Of it. He never changes his mind-for
the convenience of others. l wonder
why l never discovered this selfish will
fulness when we were only engaged?
I suppose it was force of character
then. My. how things change!
Not very talkative today. He wouldn't
care if 1 were not here. He's busy
with the sporting news or the Wall
street topics. Goodness What a
scowl. Something is wrong. evidently,
and that means that the whole day
will be one of mistakes and trouble
Oh. dear"
He-'Dld you speak?"
She-"No, think not
He-"Pardon me. Constance, but you
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24
Of Interest to All

THIS page overlooking that
this offers It's readers there are SUBJECTS that
~ appeal to all types of the thinking
II mother with naughty little and the other
Lutte the blossoms of spring read the
ana that the love innate all
embracing and impartial and that faced with sudden part
with little would do the mother and father did
Some good sound philosophy launched the little chat that puts
the secret Of happiness a nutshell
Did "Ihe Open Road literary road
aso along the path dicton back
htteboy quickly the
the humor and of fate
little play this The
scene that probably repeated homes Read it. anyhow Speak
homes, houseceaning
being dignity dining table of the unfortunate
sufferers observations that ought the
who
penates.
womanknd their
charm the older who frequently neglected
thing
pretty self. brought TO your attention.
Read these You be of any special but there
possibility
inclined subjects of life n
this afford valuable recreation.
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

you, still very little boy, opened
the gate in the stone wall, and
- stepped into the road, and turn
ed your face toward the sunny hills.
You were running away; that you
knew quite perfectly Away from the
Little Gray House amid it's big trees
shelter; away from the gayety of gar
den and far-sweeping meadow; away
from Wee Sister, who laughs soft little
laughs alike at sunbeams and raindrops;
from Father, big. with hearty care and
comradeship; from Mother, who sang
her love-songs of life while you played
and dreamed
You thought back to them, but your
eyes sought the hills. fold upon fold
Of deepening sun1it green, and be-
yond; those others, mistily blue as
the Hills of Dream.
There had come a call-out Of
Story Book Land-a call bright and
compellingly clear; a call athrill with
a big promise of daring lure and
adventure; a call more forceful than
beckoning hand. And you answered
it. You with all your Little Boy soul
athirst for the wonder of dreams
come-true.
You kicked the golden dust beneath
your feet. Above, like feet of fairy
boats, sailed pearl-deep clouds on a
sea of light, blue as the eyes of a
boy" Like a great rope, the sunlit
road stretched away from you until
it lost itself in the deep embrace of
woodland greenness.
pin wit 6n f+
the answer to the call, and your heart
sang in high response to the trill Of a
thicket-hidden bird. Your soul bloomed
like flower under the spell of the
long brown path" running away from
you into the blue distance that was the
hills, under the witchery that lay in
tree and blossom, in bank and hedge.
So you. just a very little boy, 'afoot
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

ing. and crowding of everything into
our heads and lives.
If we could but stop this rushing
and take things quietly. what a new
world we could make. Why do we
rush? Because in our country. by
some sad fate. the belief prevails
that a man or woman must keep
ahead or fall, wear out or rust out,
that there exists not that blessed
state of neither poverty nor riches"
This is a mistake. We do not need
half we require. We can have much
simpler homes. simpler tables, sim
pier clothing, and be far happier and
healthier
Our complex lives may be the re-
suit of civilization. but they tend TO
make the discomfort greater and the
results harmful Be peaceful and Sc
rene and calm, And always smile!
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

some dav lessen the terrors of this
annual siege by increasing those OF
the perpetrators.
Latimer seemed almost dangerous
when roVsed. but safety for house
winch preceded his bite; which, IN
fact. paralyzed all action. Latimer
ard nothing: he mostly talked. and he
had been known TO write at times.
lie was only seized with positive
mania for letter-writing when his
~vsk was under a displaced mattress.
Dear old boy" ran the letter that
reached Chalmers in England ten
days later. when the wheels were once
more running smoothly in the Lat
amer household.
Dear old boy: Never in my life
have ] seen a worse place to~write in
or less reason for doing it. therefore.
very ink from under a concealing
mattress. I believe / get frenzy TO
drsve N into you whenever things go
wrong with me. Oh, no, don't be
alarmed; nobody has gone to the bad
its only the house. The ladies are
merely indulging fancy for spring
They do this thing twice year, and
though father and I hear their pro-
testations against carpet raising, be-
cause that part Of ii was done last
fall we see no difference and my
dress suit is out on the clothes line.
keeping company with a carpet or
two. Just why It should be there
I can't fathom, for I haven't been
walking on IL that I know of.
Mother. who is a dear, as you know,
IS, nevertheless. putting camphor or
something IN the corners of my bu-
reau drawers. and I shall go out into
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

thing keeps up much longer BY Jove,
when / get married this state of affairs
won't be semi annual or I'll know why!
II say. Chalmers. If you and 1 kept
house we'd let little beautiful gray
dust soften the edges of things-wouldn't
we? I'm with that old literary gent
who said he would have the dust Of ages
removed only when IL began to incon-
venience him. / can't see anything in
this digging-out process before it's deep
enough TO disturb Somebody's calling
for the stepladder and the great annual
picture spree is on. Old Aesop is wait
ing to be hung.
Let me make a last statement before
j go-I don't see much in woman's suf-
frage that appeals to man, but I do see
In 1t an interest in life that will take
a few bra1ny ladies out of doors and
make them little less eternally ferni-
nine.
I'm OF for the hanging--So long,
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24
Abolish the Kiss:

TYHILE it Is generally asserted by
M the serious that there is an sx-
w cess Of kissing in this world.
this little act of tenderness goes steadily
on. Although lovers protest that there
IS too much wasted sweetness (when
Miriam bestows Just one. on fatnerl
hearts keep on beating and pulses throb
the same as ever
Much has been said against the habit.
and science has stormed its denuncis-
tiors against a mechanical duty" that
disseminates disease. but she sees little
hope of abolishing the kiss
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24
LATIMER'S OBSERVATIONS ON
SPRING CLEANING

AS 1T come TO
this? ?" said Lati-
mer with a groan
as he tried to
get into his very
own bedroom by
way Of a steamer
trunk, a rocking
chair. a flower
ing window box
and a dismantled
bureau.
He had done II
year after year.
and he ought to
have been used to
II. but he wasn't
The steady growl
that he kept up
was calculated TO
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

AVE you q helpless,
irresponsible. cling
ing. d e D e n d { n {
friend of a woman
who, in some mex
plicable way. man
ages to have every
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

the world henceforth smelling like an
animated moth ball.
MY clean linen has been dumped
somewhere. and though 1 had sort
OF an engagement, it hardly seems
feasible to keep it; besides, Emily
hints at my rehanging library pic
lures and restoring the back of a
mirror-pleasant jobsl
You never had a houseful of sisters,
old chap. You know mine, though,
and I happen to be aware that you
don't bunch them all as a bad lot
/ don't either; but, personally, / see
nothing in this way of living-it's
deadly, on the whole
Yesterday they tore up a mile or
two of carpet and took down a mil
Hon or so of shades, which left us
with the neighbors looking In on our
discomfort Then they mopped every
thing within reach and asked moor
rheumatie dad to swim ACROSS the hall
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

10 a strange bed
room that wasn't
under water yet.
THE limit was
r e a C h e d tonight
when we were for
hidden the dining
room and asked to
eat standing. They
seated father - be-
cause he's a digni-
tary of the church,
/ suppose-but / ate
off the sink. / don't
mind doing the prim-
itive with a frying
pan as plate at
camp, but roughing
1t at home is incom-
patible with common
ordinary decency.
"Ill stay downtown
at the cll1b If this
The San Francisco call., 1910-04-24

The moving Finger writes. and having
writ.
Moves on; nor all your piety nor wit
Can lure it back TO cancel half a line.
Nor all youI tears wipe out a word
of it.
-Fitzgerald,s "Omar Khayyam.