davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

= UPPOsE we enter Italy by way of
the Mont Gents tunnel, right
~ through the granite heart of the
Alps, with a mile or so of solid rock
over our heads. and before us a tube
of darkness about eight miles In length.
This tunnel is wonderful tribute to the
skill of the civil engineer. The surveys
for this great work were made from
opposite sides of the Alps. At each
side the work of the excavation was
begun, the workmen expecting to meet
about midway after each gang had work
ed through four miles of stone. AS the
time approached for this expected meet
Ing the world eagerly watched and
waited to see the perfection or the i'm
perfection of the alignment drawn by
the engineers. Difficulty of convergence
was anticipated, since one side of the
mountain is much higher than the other.
As the work progressed the workmen
themselves listened for the first sounds
of blasting or of the pickaxes from the
other side. Finally the longed for sounds
were heard Day by day the rock parti-
ton became thinner, and at last, before
the blast of dynamite, it fell. To the
Joy of the engineers 1t was found that
the tunnel for eight miles described a
straight line. There are many openings
cut through the side of the mountain
Go let in fresh air, but for these 1t
would be almost impossible to travel
through the tunnel from one end to the
other
AS you emerge from the long, deep
darkness of your underground ride into
the light and loneliness of Italy. which
SO suddenly burst upon you, and which to
behold at an altitude Of about five
thousand feet above sea-level. you feel
like saying. Behold. a new heaven and
a new earth"
On the other side of the railroad lie
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

| they talk of returning {" to Gods coun-
their own azure skies and their bound
less horizons, and they know as well as
we do where the country Is in which
Gods law runs. One result of this con-
dition Is that insurgence and non-con-
formity are emphatically western traits.
Where our strong and sturdy Roose-
welt will come not at last 1t is hard
to say. He may be about to hatch a
| brood of royalist affinites, with over
| GENERALIZATION as their aim. But in any
event he must be frankly recognized, with
Hughes and LaFollette and Gaynor, as
a non-conformist, moral idealist with
the superb conviction that nothing is
strong but justice and truth.
! 20 ct praesidium ct dulce decus meum."
But at least he is no fanatic, bent on
wrenching things asunder that he may
build a new world. a la Roosevelt, on
the inglorous ruins of the old. He may
yet lead the van of Anglo-Sa democ-
racy and radicalism in the imminent bat
lege. Perhaps he is the man of des-
tiny" Theodore indeed, who will realize
through America the world-peace and
world-justice prophesied by Tennyson.
That role Is full of dangers; for every
idealist has a thorny path so soon as he
begins to achieve and expound. Never
the less, the man, the colonel, the world
figure. is very evidently a symptom.
product of forces immanent in Gods
country"
What keeps the moon and the stars
in the skye" So inquired that artless
questioner, the Little Child
God holds them there" replied the
Wise Mother.
IT sh'd think He'd get awful tired
holdln em so long!' sighed the Child,
unable to recognize Personality in Law.
We smile at the simplicity of that
and then roundly curse events in human
affairs where the divine patience is no
more needed than among the stars. and
the divine law no less manifest Ulti-
mately the universe grows automatic.
inevitable, vigorously self-executing, self
propagating. Disease works out It's own
remedy, both in physical and social path
ology. There are moral, political, ma
teral. civic. leucocytes whose function is
health, and they are always ready Greed
and oppression stimulate conscience and
provoke rebellion, appeal for justice, and
resolutely defy tradition. For every yawn-
ing chasm there is a Marcus Curtius for
every national detection an Elijah and
blazing flash upon his deluged altar.
So I conclude that the Zeit-geist is
neither blind nor lame. That splashing
fountain makes this century the fairest
and most promising land in all the do
mnipns Of old Chronos, rains it's waters
in tumutuous rhythm and in all direc-
tons; but they come from one Source,
they express one vital energy, and their
rhythm is as real as their tumult. The
on-conformist is the man of the age
the challenger of the past, tie moulder
of the present. No alien anywhere he is
always the believing patriot. and, there
fore, is nowhere so ubiquitous, so in
evitable, as in this Columbia of ours,
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

KT OW, this fellow Weldon Brinton
nj Hepburn, senator from the
state of Idaho. is not as much
of a fanatic as you would think. In
fact, he is very able and very bril-
liant man, but a crank. He don't hate
the south. He knows Robert E. Lee
is the grandest figure since George
Washington, another rebel and slave
holder. This fellow knows all that, and
that Is what makes him mad. He is
full of envy, the basest passion after
avarice.
you, and had Hepburn been there, he
would have put the torch to the Temple
of Diana and taken care that his name
was in the papers next day. We would
not have done that. Don't give him
out. There is method in Heyburn's
damph oolery.
He wants you to talk about him.
When he first got here, he schemed to
have himself chosen to read to the
senate. February 20, Washington s
farewell address. I heard him. and he
did 1t pretty WELL but he was as to-
tally unconscious of the tremendous
thoughts of the great document as the
duck. drawing two inches Of water,
and sailing on placid lake." was ut
utterly and defiantly ignorant of the
fathomless depths beneath him, as Ed
Marshall said of Joe Black S
of "feenance."
Now. Hepburn is not bad fellow.
On the other hand he is good fellow.
and brave enough to cuss Teddy's poll
icies. the fakirism of which he sees
and denounces. AS . debater he has
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

deep valleys of rare fertility stretching
away to the bases of the lofty noun
tains, whose majestic SUBMITS tower
away to unmeasured heights and whose
slopes are covered with outrageous
chestnuts. pines, grass and tangled vines,
with here and there a rolling stream
whose source lay in the melting snow.
Picturesque villages are basking In
this beauty, from which occasionally you
hear the parish church bells, making
musical the historic valley of the Pied
mont. Far away among the greenest
specks of mountain pasturage. you may
see the drowsy cattle. browsing and MIN
ble-footed goats feeding among the
wild flowers.
This is Italy, one of the most gorgeous
scenes that God has painted upon the
canvas of Nature. It is Italy; not Switz-
erland. Switzerland has higher noun
tains, whittier snow. madden torrents,
deeper valleys and blacker gorges; but
1t lacks the warmer coloring, the poetic
responsiveness, the romantic suggestions,
and the tender grace of Italian flora.
Switzerland for sturdy pine and hardy
cedar; Italy for orange, lemon and the
olive trees; Switzerland for glittering
glaciers Italy for sunny plains of brill
liant flowers and fields of corn and bar
ley; Switzerland for its storm defying
granite. ITALY for its snowy marble from
the quarries Of Carara. Switzerland, a
perfect picture of winter; Italy, an ideal
summer-scene toned and softened by the
Divine Artist; Switzerland, a mighty
Torso sculptured by a Hercules; Italy,
Gods Venus de Medici.
AS the train was flying southwark we
passed many orange groves and orchards
of lemons and olives, and plains aflame
with a peculiar crimson wild flower.
For some reason the train stops.
tumbled out to pluck some Of the flowers.
An American young woman In another
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

"WENTY-sEvEN years ago, one
beautiful June morning, little be-
L fore sunrise, we took the train in
Charlottesville, Va, breakfasted in Wash
ington city and dined in New York on
the same day. The o'clock dinner over,
we were pleasantly quartered in nice
ly furnished apartment already provided
for US on Twenty-third street, two doors
from Fifth avenue and Madison Square
After a short rest from the fatigue of
the day Brother George Vanderlip comes
around to look US up and see If we are
comfortable and ready for the work
cut out for you on Sunday" !. e., to
preach for the old and honored First
Baptist church of New York. 1t Is pleas
ant to recall memories of Spencer Cone
and of Kingman Knott, two pastors of
this church, whose biographies we have
read with so much interest. The man
who is to stand, even for one Sunday,
where those men stood, ought to feel
deep In his heart the earnest desire to
speak out a real message from the Mas
ter.
Well, the Sunday morning comes, and
we must see the Sunday school of the old
First What an admirable room they
have to meet in. And how busy these
teachers and scholars are with the lesson
on Paul and Barnabas at Lystra! Here
is a Bible classroom in which adults.
male and female. are talking over the
lesson. N
A speaking portrait of Spencer H. Cone
and a picture of Kingman Knott. and one
of the late Deacon Hillman, look down
unon them from the wall and remind US
of that noble sentence about the great
cloud of witnesses in the 18th chapter of
Hebrews. After brief talk in the study
with several brethren who meet us here
we have the pleasant privilege of preach
ing to the congregation. These people
listen admirably. They behave as If they
had come to get some help.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

few peers in the Senate, and 1t Is a
even when disagree with him. He
knows about as much about the real
economy of the tariff as I do about tn e
political situation on the planet Jupi-
ter. but he Is a standpatter all right.
and would freeze a thousand of his
fellow citizens, women and children,
to protect" the fleece of single sheep
In Idaho. Brilliant as is his intellect.
and wide as Is his reading. Hepburn
finds Section of Article 1 of the con-
stitution of the United States Greek.
He don't understand 1t, and cannot I'M
derstand it, because he will not under
stand it. There 1t is provided that
to "lay and collect" taxes. 1t has never
occurred to Hepburn that it is tyranny
and infamy to LAY" taxes that you do
not collect. When a government 'lays"
taxes with no view to collecting them
and to make a Carnegie, 1t is all that
is the use to talk to a man like Hey
burn about that? He has no eyes to
see it and no ears to hear.
l said Hepburn is a damphool, and so
he Is, and was, as I shall relate, but
brilliant and a delightful damphool, all
the same. He had been here but a little
while when he proposed to abolish the
press gallery of the Senate Now, he
didn't want to do that. I was sitting in
that gallery at the time, and turned to the
man next me and remarked, That man
would be more chagrinned and disap-
pointed than any of his fellows down there
If we were abolished" and that was true.
Now, what Hepburn was after was to
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

compartment was moved by the same
impulse. I knew that she was an Amer
lean, for In France I had heard her talk
ing with friends from Boston in the
most improved Bostonese, of which I
understand a little myself For the sake
of our common nationality, 1 presented
her with cluster of the beautiful GRIM
son flowers. She graciously bowed and
at once began to speak in French. I
answered in French. We met again;
this time in the Vatican in Rome. She
now really wants information which she
thinks I might impart, and. therefore,
comes to me, and asks her question In
New England English, for she had evil
IDENTIFY exhausted her French on the
roadside. among the wild flowers.
1 shall ask you to make your first stop
in Italy in the old city of Pisa, pro-
nounced Peesa, at the Hotel Rationale.
1 had heard of this hotel In France. and
was astonished to learn that the pro-
prietor was an honest man. This Is a
rare discovery to make in Italy. For,
while 1t is true that every prospect
pleases,'' 1t is equally true, that the aver
age hotel keeper us Vile" If you ask
the hotel clerk his terms per day, and he
should reply, 50 you would believe him,
of course. But his reply is a delusion
and a snare. For he means 50 plus 20
cents for the candle. plus 20 cents for
the servant that brings water to your
room, plus 10 for the bootblack, whether
you need him or not plus 10 cents for the
butter on the table. 1t was not long
before I learned to make special bar
gains in writing, and one of these items
hat ms tc tod WIS /
not be expected to pay for the candle.
Having paid for the candle, 1t became
mine, and I put it into my valise, with
only about one twentieth of it consumed.
Therefore. in, triumphant manner after
wards I could ask, What are your
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

| One of the deacons asked us just before
we entered the pulpit, how we felt about
preaching to a congregation of people not
one of whom we had ever seen before.
We told him we felt that they were all
sinners, just such as we had been preach
/ ing to for Is years; that they needed the
same Savior that all other sinners need
ed, and hence we had no very strange
| feeling about it."
| At the night service we were surprised
and gratified at the presence of our
quondam friend and co-laborer In VIII
mington, N. c.. Rev. r. s. Moran, D. D..
who now lives in New York. He was
| for several years pastor of the Front
Street Methodist church, while we served
as pastor the First Baptist church of
| that city. His is the only face present
we had ever seen before today. He tells
me, since coming to New York, while
still a Methodist, he has served as pastor
Presbyterian church, How was that?'
ask ''Oh, they don't care here of what
denomination you are, II you can
preach he replied. And he can preach.
He is brilliant Irshman, with a highly
cultivated mind. He has left the minis
try and is now a New York broker.
The next morning he calls to take my
wife and myself in his fine brougham to
the Metropolitan Museum of Art where
we spend the morning studying pictures
by old masters, in the East Gallery"
The celebrated picture Of Raphaels Ma
donna del Candelabri has been recently
Loaned to the Metropolitan museum for
two years. exhibition, by its owner,
Mr. -Butler-Johnstone, of England.
This picture has long been known In
italy as the Madonna dele Fiaccole,"
from the torches or fiambeaux borne by
the angels on each side of the Madonna
and child. The Madonna is inexpressibly
beautiful The eyes are cast down and
the countenance breathes forth a gram
deur and purity of soul.
There are tears in the eyes of one of
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

terms? I have my own candle" Now,
this is a small matter, but it is a spe-
cies of robbery The candle that you
pay for today, and leave in your room
will be paid for by the man who fol-
lows you on the next day. II a man
is going to rob you, you want him to
do 1t in a big way. Who wants the news
papers to report that he was robbed of
a scent piece? Nobody. But let the
same papers report that ''he was robbed
of hundred thousand dollars which he
was In the habit of carrying in his
trousers pocket and at once a man
begins to feel like somebody That is,
suppose he does; for, truth to tell
never had that much taken from my
pockets; or If 1 had. I never missed it.
While at Pisa you are apt to get your
first view of the ideal Italian flower
girl. She enters the cafe from the
street and comes at once to your table.
She greets you with a bewitching air
of genuine JOY. You wonder II she has
mistaken you for a returned cousin or a
long lost brother But do not be deceiv-
ed. This flower girl is full of art. She
is a natural actress She has flowers
for sale, and with her dancing eyes and
graceful curtsies she would beguile you
into purchase of her wares. If you
refuse to buy, the fact chases not a
ray of sunlight from her face. She will
then slip a flower into your button-hole
with her tapering fingers, all aromatic,
and then look at you coquettishly, and
in spite of yourself your coin passes
from your pocket into hers.
She is Enthusiastically arrayed, this flower
girl About her head she wears the
Inevitable handkerchief of Italy, tied
about in some bewildering manner that
no man can understand; here and there
are revealed her rich treasure of raven
tresses, gathered at the back In many
ooi1s Her costlIme Is com osed of all
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

perfect all work was suspended, and.
therefore, the world. the flesh and the
party of the third part were all QUE
DOORS
In the crowd near the cathedral I
saw figure in long black robe, and
upon his face he wore a black mask I
exclaimed. i've found him ar last.
Dumas Man in the Iron Mask" But
no, he bore no relationship to the old
royal family of France. He was simply
a penitent, doing the penance imposed
upon him by the sentence of his father
confessor. Like the ghost, in Hamlet,
he was Doomed to walk the earth thus.
until the foul deeds done in the days
of nature be purged away" Nobody
knows him. and in that garb dearest
friends could not swear to his identity.
Not an inconsderable part of his peni-
tential outfit, is box which the penitent
presents to your notice. He wants
money Bless. me- Are all the people
who want money penltents? Then I'm
a penitent.
At the railway station In Pisa In
stead of ringing a bell on the Locomotives
as a warning that the train is about
to depart, they blow a horn. The tones
of the horn mean. .1f everybody is ready
we'll go" If you are not ready, the
train will wait for you. If you are seen
a block away, coming in the direction
of the station, you will be waited for.
never saw such polteness anywhers
else. This would be of especial value
to women in this country who take such
an interminable time In saying Good
bye" Just before the train starts. Good
bye, give my love to Mary to Susan and
Salie. There, kiss me, dear; remember
me- to John, and don't forget to give
my love to Liza and Amelia, and, o,
tell Cousin Dick to write to me, and
tell Adeline got her last letter; goodbye.
| dear, and don't fail to give my love
to the Browns, and. goodbye, and tell
Dolie I think of her often. and-and-
hurry on the train; my, you'll get left"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

be talked about. He wanted every fell
low in the gallery to jump on him and
denounce him. have reason to know
that without any concert or influence the
press gallery ignored the man and al
lowed him to stew in his own grease.
and he had great big bellyful of it, too.
And so 1t went. The press gallery,
recognizing as all of them did that Hey
burn was one of the most brilliant men
In public life, accepted his defiance and
ignored him. I would have advised diff
ferently. l would have pictured him as
he is as full of tommyrot, all right, but
rather charming tommyrot it is.
Time passed. Virginia sent Robert E.
Lee to the national valhalla. Here was
a chance for Hepburn. He didn't care
anything about the real merits of the
question, no more than Marion Butler,
OF North Carolina cares about the e. o. d.
and its fortunes in Vermont; but 1t was
opportunity, and the Hon. Hepburn never
let such condition pass to make an ass
OF himself. And that he did to his own
satisfaction and to the dissatisfaction of
every decent man in all America.
And the other day he made a greater
ass of himself than he ever achieved be-
fore. He ran amuck against the tune Of
Dixie" that Abraham Lincoln loved
Now, I am satisfied that Hepburn loves
that tune. He only wanted to be talked
about.
Vanity! Vanity! You are more than
Solomon said of you. You make fools by
the bushel. by the yard, by the ton every
hour of every day we are here in this
wicked world we live In.
l file Hepburn as an exhibit, and he
gains my case. Ask Tom Pence. or Jo-
sephus Daniels.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

laws for labor, improved dwellings,, a
South Africa purged of Chinese barracks.
1t will work its will on the opium trade
and every other national shame.
Looking at our own national experiences
in these days, one is impelled to the ejac-
ulation, THE American a non-conform-
istr'
We are passing through one Of the most
amazing eras of reform ever known
among men, and in the process non-con-
formists have become plentiful as rain
drops in a shower Every American to-
day is a non-conformist, save and ac-
cept 1.-The interests" We all alike hunger
for the promised cake and ice cream; the
ancient pessfmist, like damaged goods at
auction, is going, going. gone. so that we
even believe the promise and expect
melon into the bargain! 1 read that the
city of Denver, which for 16 years. or
even % years, has been striving to get a
municipal water supply, actually voted as
long ago as last spring, first to refuse
renewal of it's franchise. second to make
fair offer to the company which held the
franchise these many years. A popular
vote taken in spite Of the interests
It Is not long ago that we read Judge
Lindsay's proofs Of the corruption of city
affairs by the Denver business corpora
tions. the water, gas and traction COM
panies. how even the state and county
courts were overawed by those concerns
and the peoples interests were snapped
with cynical contempt for law, decency
and liberty. But there are too many nom
conformists even in Guggenheim's Colo
RADIO for the corruptionist to sleep in
peace The days Of the water company
are darkened.
We are looking on just now while that
embodiment of sturdy non-conformity,
Theodore Roosevelt, shakes his head at
New York straight republican loyalists,
and they. poor men. suffer from spiritual
ague. He breaches political and civic
righteousness to western farmers, and
they weep for joy and lift their boys to
grasp his hand. In John Browns old
home he utters his own peccavi, his con-
fession of sin. his Reputation of tradi-
tional republicanism. Having described
himself as radical and democrat in Eu-
rope he returns to rub sand into Mr.
Tafts spinal column.
Back of all this, at least In the popular
mind. is adhesion to the ancient, irrefrag-
able law, once clothed in Semitic speech
Strike hands upon it! The wicked shall
not go unpunished' Whether we be
Puritans or cavaliers. roundheads or rum
tubs, millionairies or the unconsidered
sons of toll, that law claims us at every
pore. With precision Uncomfortable, the
mills of the gods grind on. in revolutions
now slower and now more rapid, and the
grist is not money nor preferment, but
national character, institutions convic-
ton. Out of the mills come men, nom
conformists.
1t would be an immense gain If all the
citizens of this vast republic could d.
gest this truth which we know is being
forced upon us in these days. Take for
instance, the sickening specimens of
journalism for which the people of Chi
cago are paying 1 penny each every aft
ernoon. Do you ask what Philistine eff
frontry insult your intelligence by
printing on one-half, or more, Of the front
page huge letters only At for the bill