davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

nothing but this speech to guide us, We
should confidently say that lothian was
gifted as stump speaker.
Eliab must have been a master of sar-
castle wit. In 1st Samuel 17:2S. he speaks
two or three sentences which seem to
settle this point beyond reasonable ques-
ton Let us briefly review the circum-
stances: The raw STRIPPING. David, visits
the Hebrew camp. bringing "a box from
home for his three older brothers in
the army. David has probably never seen
a battle. He is standing among veterans
who were familiar with scenes of carnage,
and yet in all that host he Is the only
man who is willing to face Goliath in
single combat His talk reminds us of a
captain of raw militia who volunteers to
charge a battery from which the Stone
wall brigade has just recoiled.
Eliab, David's big brother" naturally
enough, thought this presumptuous, and
those few sheep in the wilderness?" 1t
may well be doubted If Thomas Carlyle
ever made a more singing sarcasm.
In LIST Kings, 1927, we have a specimen
of genuine wit from that grave and SOL
emn prophet, Elijah. A deity who is so
busy talking, or pursuing or travelling,
or is so sound asleep that he cannot be
aroused by the desperate cries of 400 Of
his prophets yelling after him for half
a day Is certainly q funny god; and
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
A GROUNDLESS CRITICISM-By J. c. Hden, D. D.

Elijahs sarcasm was intended TO make
this god ridiculous.
The book of Proverbs is by no means
destitute of wit Some of the situations
described in the 18th chapter cannot fail
to be witty to any reader who has mag
nation enough to picture the scenes to
his minds eye" The wit in the 18th,
18th, 18TH and especially the 18th verses,
is quite sharp The man who has the
dog by the ears "can neither hold on
with comfort nor let go with safety,
as Judge Jere Black pointedly puts it.
Again. "Paronomasia," a play upon
words, is common in the Bible and occa-
sionally occurs in the most solemn pas
sages of the Prophets. Now and then
1t takes the form which we call "a pun. %
Paul frequently introduces 1t, but as the
play Is upon Hebrew words in the Old
Testament and upon Greek words in the
serve 1t for the English reader in his own
tongue. In Romans 1872. however, our
translators have stumbled upon a case
which does not occur in the original.
"Be not conformed to this world; but be
We transformed etc. The Westminster
revisers here have fashioned" instead
of transformed and thus escape the
paronomasa of which Paul's Greek here
shows no trace.
Once more: When Paul wrote Bear
with me little in my folloy"-2 Corin-
ians, 11:1-he was decidedly sarcastic, and
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
THE MYSTERY OF BEING-By The Rev. George Eaves

or less contrast and antagonizing with
each other 1T is not immoral so much
as immoral"
Meantime in every man. dormant and
as yet unrealzed is his true self, seek
ing to awaken, commissioned to get the
mastery of all this lower and contradie-
tory soul-stuff. ] should liken 1t to the
stock of a rose-tree. budded at low
point and left to develop roses. Forth
with spring from the ancient bramble-
root suckers" sturdy and antagonistic
to the rose, fighting for its own life and
space it's own right to the vitality of
the root Yet in the human rose is the
consciousness that nothing will do but
the perfect flower of human rectitude and
character Moreover the human rose can
even choose to sacrifice these native wild
sucker impulses for the sake of the
ideal flower That is to say, our emperical
self exists to be sacrificed for the sake
of our true self. And life therefore con-
sists in the value of personality. The
self we know, and in our heart of hearts
despise. is but the basis on which we are
constructing. not with hands, but with
life, our ultimate and true personality.
The scaffold rises, but the house is not
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

that the future of his beloved country
depended upon the adoption of the pro-
posed scheme of government-the consti-
tuition of 1887, and hence he was in no
mood for making jokes, and doubtless
would have thought them out of place,
and utterly impertinent to the matter in
hand.
Still, if our critic had carefully scanned
his Bible he would scarcely have written
so dogmatically in denying wit to the
ancient Hebrews. Shaw, in his English
Literature an admirable book makes
the fine remark that nature has placed
the springs of laughter hard by the foun-
tain of tears, and it is noteworthy
fact that our greatest masters of pathos
are also our greatest wits. Shakespeare
easily leads the van in both departments
the pathetic and the humorous. The
overwhelming pathos of Lear and the
side-splitting fun of Falstaff are perfect
y familiar to the educated world, and
are of themselves enough to establish
Shakespeare's fame as our greatest mas
ter of pathos and of humor.
Burns, perhaps, should come next, and
then, with a long interval, Hood and
Dickens.
But to our original theme: The first
specimen of wit which we find in the
Bible is in the 9th chapter of Judges"
and naturally enough, occurs in a polit-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

puts new questions even in the childish
mind. Alas, without the new age life, be-
ginning anew in each individual was
already prolific enough of these perplex-
tiles, which not all the thinkers since
thought began have been able to solve,
Start asking the child's questions and
trying to answer them; forthwith thou,
too, art a theoogian. 1t is indeed one of
the most notable things about the most
modern theologian that he also has be-
gun again to ask the simplest, most
child-like questions. The historic move
ments of thought have been much like
the revolutions of a Ferris wheel. How
ever far UP you go. you come back close
to earth at last, and perchance step out
Of your specious logic machine and pluck
roses for relaxation. or haply roll in the
dust by way of protest.
All this apparent cynicism comes apro-
pos of a book which a good friend of the
stern, Calvanistic school first read, then
annotated, and finally passed on to me as
a warning. One thing that l cannot get
out of his otherwise open mind is that
Congregationalist is responsible for the
views of every other Congregationalst,
and hence this book, being produced by
a professor in the Pacific Theological
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

so also when he wrote, LAS a fool re-
ceive me"-verse 16, same chapter-and
II speak as fool'-verse 20. Equally
sarcastic is Cor, 4:10, I'VE are fools for
Christ's sake, but We are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but We are strong: We are
honorable, but we are despised" This Is
really fine irony
But perhaps the sharpest and most
palpable hit the Apostle ever made is
in 2 Cor, 12:13 "Forgive me this wrong
My space does not allow elaboration on
this point, but in brief the situation was
this: The Corinthian church had allowed
the Apostle to preach for nothing and
find himself by hard work at tent-mak-
ing and then they had been inconsistent
enough to express doubts as to the real
ity of his apostleship. and to put their
doubts upon the ground that he had not
required them to pay him a salary. Did
not such meanness deserve the apostles
most sarcastic hits?
This recalls modern instance: A
pastor of my acquaintance who had
served his church for some months with
out receiving a dollar of the stipulated
salary, heard that some of the members
were saying, I'VE shall have to get a
cheaper preacher He accordingly
mentioned the matter from the pulpit,
and said: Brethren, by all means get
him. if he is to be had, for ] am preach
ing for nothing and finding myself, and
If any man can do cheaper preaching
than that 1 want to see him.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
Cause of Seine Flood

FROM the Sclentlnc American.
| There appears to be a consensus of
opinion among the French scientists
that the causes of the recent phenome-
nal rise of the Seine. when it reached
the record height of thirty feet two
inches, are to be found more in geo.
logical than in meteorological condi-
lions. The basin of the Seine and the
streams that are tributary to that river
consist of a light absorbent soil; and,
as the slopes are gentle, any sudden
precipitation is ordinarily absorbed by
the ground. In winter, when the soil
is either frozen or saturated by the
rains. there is risk that the run-ofr
of heavy precipitation will be so large
and sudden as to overtaX the capacity
of the river channels. These condi-
lions obtained to marked degree dur
ing the recent continuous heavy rain
fall and flood Meunier, the geologist,
is of the opinion that the heavy rains
preceding the food found the soil of
the Seine watershed so thoroughly inn
permeable because of saturation that
the water ran off as swiftly as it
would from an asphalted or cemented
street. Furthermore, 1t seems to be
generally agreed that the denudation
of the forests in the higher regions
of the watershed has been a contribu-
tary cause to the food. Not only do
the trees assist evaporation, but the
forest underground also eXerts a ma
teral influence in retarding the flow
of the water.
Referring to the question of the pre-
vention of future floods at Paris, there
is an alternative plan to that of dredg-
ing or widening the channel and the re-
moval of the river piers which, were
1T not for the enormous expense in
volved, would afford an absolute safe
guard against future disaster. We refer
to the heroic measures employed by
the Austrian engineers to prevent the
flooding of the city of Vienna by the
river Danube. This consisted in cut
ting an artificial channel entirely
around the city, through which. after
the water reaches a certain elevation.
all the surplus waters are diverted and
discharged into the river below the city.
| 1t would be possible to create a SINH
| lar bypass around the city of Paris.
| but the cost, due to the great value
| of the land which would have to be
| condemned. would probably be found
| to be prohibtive.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

IN a review of Henry Heine, the Ger
man Byron" distinguished British
\ critic says that the history and the
literature of the ancient Hebrews give
the idea of a people who went about their
business and their pleasure as gravely as
a society of beavers, the smile and the
laugh being often mentioned metaphor
ically," though the smile is one of COM
placency and the laugh one of scorn.
Judging from these statements alone
one would naturally infer that in one par
tcular at least this critic was like one of
the characters in the Canterbury Tales"
1. e., the character of whom Chaucer
says that This study was not much on
the Bible" Somebody once asked Talley-
rand if he believed the Bible Yes said
TalIeyrand, and for two reasons: First
because / am Bishop of Antem, and, sec
ondly, because | know nothing whatever
about it,
Now, as we know almost nothing of
ancient Hebrew history or of ancient He
brew literature outside of the Bible, it
may be fairly assumed that the criticism
mentioned above was intended to apply
had these writer's in mind, then he is
certainly astray in his reckoning; for
this scribe has read the English Bible
through 81 times. without once meeting
the word smile while the laugh oc-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

seen as yet. though 1t is for the coming
house that the scaffold exists.
Very interesting is the relation of all
this to social experiences and the subtle
law of brotherhood The author finds
that freedom and brotherliness are the
stuff of personality. In other words IL
is God in a man that makes him a per-
son. The more he is surrendered to the
presence of the Eternal Love the more
strongly marked is he as a creative force
in the world of persons. This compels
recognition of God, not as an indidivual,
bounded by limitations, but as the su-
preme personality, outfiowing from CEN
trial consciousness of being and loving.
It compels, by the same logic. acknowl-
edguent of the independence of condi-
lions given to true souls, souls that have
found themselves in the lift of God. For
them there is no death. The true self IS
ageless.
BY the same token I conclude that this
is not very far removed from the preach
ing of 1.-The simple gospel though the
phraseology comes from the schools. The
voice is the voice of Jacob but the
hands are perhaps needlessly reminiseent
of the psychological Esau, huntsman and
pragmatist
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

Seminary, is flung at my head. But hap
PLY, where freedom has her perfect work
even theological professors are set at lib
erty. If we dare not muzzle a Lyman
Abbott, why should we cross the CONT
nent to abate the prophesying of poet
philosopher like the author. who dares
discuss the problems of personality in a
semi-popular, semi-mystical dction? His
title is Personality and the Christian
Ideal'' and he himself Is John Wright
Buckham, the memory of whose brother
James Buckham poet, nature-lover
comrade," is lovingly enshrined here.
There is an atmosphere of Materlinck
in the style, limpid-clear, yet crystal
challenging; nevertheless originality is
perhaps the last gift to which Professor
Buckham would lay claim. He is only
one of the great band. of unprecedented
students who today are so fruitfully re-
examining the eternal questions: Why
am I myself and not another? What is
this identity of mine? And shall I per-
slst after death? or again. how am 1 re-
lated to the Being we call Society, or the
Being we call God?
All that the most recent experiments in
psychology have to teach concerning
these questions of consciousness is frankly
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
New Authority on Graft

From the Denver Republican
Every patriotic American will be glad
to o. K. that paragraph in Secretary
Wilson's new cook book, issued by the
department of agriculture, in which spe-
cial emphasis is laid on the fact that
the gravy of all meats should be saved
and utilized.
Although our Fourth of July orators
seem to have overlooked the fact, gravy
has done much to make the American
people what they are today. No poet
has ever sung of it, but gravy has had
much to do with inspiring our warriors
to win the countless victories that have
filled our halls of fame with heroes.
Gravy has strengthened alike the hand
that welded the sword of Bunker Hill
and the hand that rocked the cradle.
Out here in the west bacon gravy on the
Aapjack has Injured our frontiersmen.
and the surplus has been used for soften
ing saddle leather and for curing the
Niger brands" on pack-sore horses. II
has creased the prairie schooners that
brought the dawn of new civilization
to benightsd wilderness, and 1t has
soothed the cries of the growing gensg.
alton in the prairie cabin.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

one and then another becomes dominant.
In certain we'll known instances these
various characteristic selves have become
SO differentiated, each so strongly marked
that with all the threads of a single con-
seriousness and memory to hold them to-
gether, yet 1t is as though they were dis
tinct persons. All this is ground familiar
enough to students of psychology.
So also is the conception of the So
called "Emperical Self" In other words.
we are all of us constantly acting in
more or less consistency with our most
predominant characteristics, our self
as we know 1t by experience.
Yet that self Is not our real self. 1t Is
a self that we are producing, shaping.
By the line of conduct we pursue, the
tastes and hal bits we cultivate. But all
the while we are haunted by the convic-
ton that the self we know is a self-con-
Trajectory thing. There is a very pain Of
mperfection that stabs our consciousness.
We are aware of moods and the influ-
ence of the weather on our temper and
on our very nature. This is the channel
eon-like, shifting way of the self whom
we have learned by experience 1t Is not
a bad personality and not a good per-
sonality. 1t is simply a complexity of
good and bad impulses acting in greater
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

conspicuous an ornament And only as
yesterday a splendid woman who gave
delight of mind, courage and heart, and
pleasure of reverie to thousands of us
became Mrs. Belmont What a splendid
woman she is And there is Maude Ad-
ans. who has added more to the sum of
human happiness than Nero or Herod
subtracted from it. What a delightful
woman she must bel
What would you not give to walk down
Fleet street with sBetterton, or old Quinn.
or that grand old sinner, Colly Cibber?
Claverhouse died the death of fame
"Conquering Graeme"-but Siddons was
worth a regiment of him. and lives in a
thousand hearts where ClaverhOuse is
In one memory. 1t is recorded that one
night kitty Give was in the wings
waiting her cue while Garrick was filling
the stage with Lear" She did not love
the man, but she dashed the tears out
of her eyes and exclaimed: Damn him.
he could act gridiron!'
There is nothing In Shakespeare that
surpasses his rehearsal of the players,
| and its keynote is Hold tho mirror up
TO nature. Inc most curious tn1ng In
history or literature is the indictment
John Milton brought against Charles
that in his early youth he had associated
with play actor Of the name OF
Shakespeare" But in our century that
same Shakespeare IL held as the very
first personality Of profane history since
julius Caesar, with the single exception
of Napoleon Bonaparte. More has beer
written about the play of Hamlet" alone
than any other production of profane
pen.
The mighty issue Joined between Egypt
and Canaan Is the Jarndyce and Jarn
dyce of our civilization that must lag
and wait for Anal Judgment It'll time UNI
wells eternity" for each of us. 1 ar
rather inclined to favor Egypt in the lit
igation myself. but shall try to patiently
wait till, passenger on Charon's boat
read the final decision paper OF tn.
sweet bye-and-bye.
have boy on the stage, and I hop'
that somebody who reads this may som,
day be good enough to give him q
hand" 1t Is what your actor lives for
It is the very breath of his nostrils.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

friends in manhood. Some stage people
are bad; some church members are not
saints. Miss Clara Morris, the retired
emotional actress, in my presence once
expressed such lofty religious thought
while the tears streamed down her face
as any clergyman might be glad to ut
ter Her life of suffering and chasten-
ing gave power to her words.
All these spiritually lofty things in his
life fitted the soul of Booth to penetrate
and interpret the philosophy of Hamlet
and to understand his needs in his sor-
rows.
1 referred to Booths financial reverses.
They were brought about by his purpose
to give a more exalted and classical tone
to the stage and to maintain its dignity
and artistic grace. He also hoped 10
educate the general public up to sin
cere appreciation of the loftest Shake
Hundreds of thousands of dollars was
thus invested. But the enterprise failed
and left Booth poor indeed The great
building was sold for other purposes. l
witnessed a magnificent production there
of one of Shakespeare's master plays;
vacant seats were abundant, while but
a few blocks away, at Wallack's thea
tire, where some light play was enacted,
the audience packed the building. Booth
realized, as many have done who would
elevate mems thoughts, the truth of the
old Latin proverb "E multis paleis, paul
lum fructus collegi''
As to the excellence of Booths Hamlet
hardly too much in the way Of praise can
be said He won his laurels. They were
not thrust upon him. His natural mel
ancholy, his great magnetic eyes," his
wondrous reading, his precise and classi-
cal use of language. his innate refine
ment, his alert intellect and his tender
gentleness, all combined to make him the
great Hamlet that he was.
Mr.. Booth was no slave to stage tradi-
tons. Most actors are I asked an ac-
tor sometime ago, How is it, that at
certain places you actors do stage bus
mess which is not indicated in the print
ed plays? The answer was, Many of
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

saying, LAS I gaze upon the pltiahle
face and at the same time recall
my experience with one of similarly
cratic brain (his father | am convinced
that Kean's aberratio were constitu-
tional and beyond his control. -
In the light of his experiences he in
terpreted Hamlet and the descriptive
words are alterations "erratic BRAIN
"overwrought brain and the like.
Since the death of Edwin Booth, there
has been no great, distinctive Hamlet.
Not even could Sir Henry Irving take the
place of Booth. He was at once Hamlet
the prince and the prince of Hamlets.
Hamlet: 30, | die, Horatio.
Horatio: Good night, sweet prince.
and fights of angels sing thee to thy
rest"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

the Winter Garden theatre in New York.
Mr. William Winter, the Nestor of dra-
matte critics, has given graphic de-
scription of that night at the Winter
Garden "A series of nine cheers hailed
Booth as he appeared. The spectators
rose and waved their hats and handSer-
chiefs. Bouquets fell in showers upon
the stage, and whenever he came upon
the stage there was a tempest of ap-
plause.'
Booth was singularly fitted by nature
for the character of Hamlet. AS a boy
he was always thoughtful beyond his
dignified. His bearing always command
! ed respect. An actor told me that when
Booth passed down Broadway in the
neighborhood of the Rialto, where actors
congregate. every actor, whether he
knew Booth personally or not. would
lift his hat with profound respect. His
life was lofty and chastened with many
sorrows. He could. therefore, play the
part of the troubled Dane from out his
own soul.
The beautiful Mary Devlin, the wife of
his early love, and whom he married in
Richmond, Va, died while he was al
sent from home and he was denied the
sad satisfaction of ministering to her in
her last moments. She left little daugh-
ter, Edwna. Later came the sorrow to
which 1 referred; and still after his finan-
cial losses All these were agents of his
Christening. His soul was being refined
by them.
Edwin Booth was religious man, and
once out of his sincere heart, after ex-
pressing his confidence in God and moral
ity he wrote this sentence, which 1 have
taken from a letter: God is wise and
just and good in all things.
tell you. 1t is not we'll to forget God in
our prosperity; we do not when we are
sinking
All! what a mistake it is to think that
all actors are bad. 1 know many of
them. have had them in my home, at
my table, sleeping beneath my roof; some
of them were my boyhood's friends, and