davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

hood lie far beyond the mountains in
the east 1t is not for the solitary old
man, but for the man whose sunset of
life is compounded of the beautiful
smiles of the little ones. 1t is for
those who hear hundred times day
the tones of the little chaps and mai
dens calling:
"Gran'paH
It's "gran'pa this" and pa
that" until man can't rest, isn't it?
It's "Granpa, answer questions" and
"Gran'pa, where's my dolly?" and
"Gran'pa, when will supper be ready ~
DO you know there are few things
on earth that are more wonderful and
beautiful than the trust which little
ones place in their grandparents?
Mother is busy with her household
cares. and father can't spare time from
his business or his work to bother with
the babies, but grandpa or grandma is
always there, always patient and kind
and indulgent.
The man who said God could not be
always everywhere, so He made moth
ers," voiced a great truth. But If a
substitute must be had for mother-oh,
of course only when mother is busy,-
who can fill the bill better than a
grandpatent? Not even a maiden aunt,
with loving, kindly ways and genuine
affection for the. little ones that are
hers and are still not hers, can do as
much for them as grandparent who
is still hale and active.
And, when grandma or grandma is not
well and must sit in an armchair and
be tended to- how often are the posi-
tions reversed and grandpa or grand
ma becomes the cared for instead Of
the caring. Then the little ones delight
In helping grandpa of grandma to
fetch books or pipes or sewing ma
terials. Then the true loving kindness
of children, SO often overlooked or
deprecated, becomes manifest
The invisible bond that unites grand
parents and grandchildren becomes
stronger as the older lives wane. In 1t
is found touching testimony of the
power OF blood. Can you think of
closer kinship than that which is ex-
p,.essed in terms of loving care by
grandchildren and grateful affection
by grandparents?
There is a light that illumines the
sunset path that Is not seen in earlier
years.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

is not entirely without guile Else why
that shrewd talent of approach as if
through stealth? And why, pray answer
does this man who bears so patiently
his overpowering burden adorn his
shoes with rubber heels? And why
does he persist in his daily pursuit
whereas visit a week would probably
be more fruitful of results?
There we learn the lesson 1t re-
quires a man of acute understanding
of certain well defined adroitness and
of strange and highly developed tai
ent to make of himself capable bill
collector. He must know how to cringe
when he approaches. how to whisper as
If in pain that he must disturb and In
flct pain-cringe again as if expecting
a, lusty kick or a punch to the Jaw
obsequiously bow himself away, and in
stantly prepare to return. And there
are physical attributes which he must
possess. He must be able to appear at
the elbow when the victim is dream
ing of Elysian fields, or planning
nightly ride on the bony back of poor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

The prepossessins manner of the prin-
cess, her immense fortune. and her ability
to discuss Russian affairs, served to win
not alone the confidence of all. but their
sympathy well. Her wrongs were the
burden of her conversation. and her own
reported station in life elleted much def
erence which was duly and promptly ao-
corded by all alike
Great as the credence was. as a result
of the recital of her wrongs il received
a reinforcement from another source that
seemed to place it beyond question Chev-
alier d Aubant. a young French officer
had seen the wife of the Russian prince
and he declared that this was none other
than she. He could not be mistaken. for
he had seen her at st. Petersburg. This
insistence on the part of d'Aubant con-
clusively settled the identity of the
princess, in the estimation of all.
But d'Aubant did not stop at this point
of mere recognition. His profound SYM
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

an apparently universal charge that ds
only true in part. But wherever It is
true, and in so far as it is true. the only
appropriate and Christian response is
the most hearty and thorough going re-
pentance.
read 1t to a Catholic priest who
happened to be my fellow traveller
Good said he. "All that is only too
true"
But what is the use of reiteratinr
it?' | asked.
only to help us all see the remedy.
which is a truly religious education"
he answered
And In the long run we may all come
TO believe that the stern chase for
dollars and dividends, in which millions
are being drowned. millions of money
and millions of souls. is a result of de-
tectlVe, materialistic. 'Manchester
schoof education. But on the other
hand, we must not miss the evidence of
social evolution which Is putting men
through the fires of greed and suffer-
ing and class oppression only that thew
may all be forced to find the wav ont
into social peace and welfare.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13
TORY-THE RUSSIAN PRINCESS-By B. F. Riley

Russian prince. on her ill-gotten wealth
he lived for years and died in blissful ig-
norance of her huge pretention.
Ii Is said that the pretender died at
last in absolute penury in Paris leaving
an only daughter as the result Of the
marriage with. Chevalier d Aubant. Tn
story has been related in different forms
By different writer's. and at one time was
quite prevalent as sensational romance
in the literary circles of Europe The
particulars of this rare adventure may
be found recorded in much of the liter
ature of that period some insisting on its
accuracy, while others deny 1t. Duclos.
prolific writer of European romance,
furnishes the amplest details of the af-
fair. while such writer's as Levesque In
his Russian history. Grimm, in his cor
respondence and Voltaire straightway re-
pudate the genuineness of the story, on
the basis of its mprobability. The in
cdents of the time. at the Russian court
the career of d'Aubant, and much else
afford some reason for believing that there
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

therefore, that thoughtful men In all
the churches and in every profession
and walk of life should give careful at
tention to messages like theirs. The
Conference of Charities and Correc-
tions provides dispassionate and un-
sectarian platform for the plain dis-
cussion of the common welfare. 1t puts
forward no man to speak in whose calm
and honest convictions it is not unwil-
ling to confide. One may say that the
conscience and the intelligence of
American sociologists find annual ut
terance in these deliveries
In the first place, DIR. McKelway up
braids the modern ministry. Passing
by those priests that teach for hire and
prophets that divine for money" he
finds Catholic and Protestant and Jew
ish pulpits alike unawakened to the
demand for social justice that so rings
in our ears. | am convinced he con-
tinues, that the greatest obstacle to
enlisting the powerful agency of the
church in the cause of social reform Is
the indolence of the pulpit"
The pulpit has been asailed by work
ing men and their self-advertising
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

Pegasus. He must be able to appear
without warning when the victim is in
the midst of jocund friends to whom
the fact that he is a debtor is. un-
dreamed, or that he is ever cramped
by the absence of money, unsuspected.
And then he must be of an artistic tenn
perament. for how could he cause the
victim to pony up unless he gazed
with eyes lighted in sympathy with the
hungry pouch. eyes the anxious glare
of which brings visions of an empty
home. a cheerless hearth where the
laughter of children never rings and
only shadows fall? II is that artistic
temperament which teaches the value
of voice infection, and which causes
the attachment to his shoes of a pair
of perfect treading. approach conceal
ing. diabolical rubber heels.
The writhing victim of long and fine
experience in the distressful and self
despising necessitys of writhing, feels
at times that the bill collector is a hypo-
critic He is irritated In that the long
and hungry Cassius Is ever at his ell
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

is at bottom some occasion for a romance
so remarkable.
Without here insisting on its genuine
ness such is the story. in one of its
forms as 1t has come 10 the present
However. this, as well as much else indl-
Gates how much of interesting matter lies
In literary mines anworked in connection
with our primitive history. The literary
spirit of the south has never been properly
encouraged by due appreciation. with the
consequence of scant literature. The,
industrial spirit seized our fathers in other
years and the fabulous fertility of our
soils. the cultivation o. which beneath
fervid skies in an even climate, has tsr--.
~ materialized our thought and still does.
Who now reads n book2 If so. what is
the character of the book2 We scan the
morning daily, or read at sleepy leisure
the evening press, skim the magazines and
this usually tells the story. From sire
to son, this has been the way gone for
generations. Permit the bare statement
without the moralizing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

much engrossed In the career of his son
as we'll as in his own
Here's success to both of them
From the Apache country comes an in
teresting tale. 1t tells how, many years
ago, a band of Apaches went on the war
path and could not be put back on the
reservation. But they went back willinl-
ly when persuaded of the white mans
good intentions, and this is how ii came
about
The soldiers found n stray Indian kid
die, papoose. and brought her to the en-
campment. Too young to have the adult
|, Indians stocsm. she cried and could not
be soothed until she was given white
child's doll to play with
Several days later the Indian baby. st.ll
grasping her dolly. was sent back to at
as peacemaker Her mother would not
let her keep the hated white cilds tov.
but took her and it back to the post 20
return the dell. Then the mother ~ turn
was received Hospitality, and thu ,eace
was made.
doll at that. since French dolls were
scare in Arizon years ago.
Under the Indians red skin beats the
same kind OF heart as that which pull
safes in the white mans breast. Get
under the skin ana you get to the real
man. The Apache was grateful for tie
kindness shown to his baby and his baby S
mother.
Some of the old indian fighters, who re-
member the days of Geronimo and his
bloodthrsty, cruel, treacherous braves
may scon at the story. But 1t happened
just so.
Can't you see the poor little rost red
skin eying the palefaces suspiciousiy with
her big black eyes, bur holding Oh FOR
grim death to the pretty dolly? Can't you
hear the wall she set up when her mother
told her sternly she must give up her
"baby'-that white folks dolls and white
folks ways we're not for ner?
IL makes ones heart feel for the poor
little Indian kid. Happily for us and fog
the Indians better days have come along
what used ODE the frontier. There is no
more frontier, and there is no more Indian
hghting. Please God, there never will be
any more,
You who have babies need not be told
think. that they are alike the world over
in their love of lollies. Visit any of the
big ethroloeical collections, the National
museum In Washington. the American
Museum of Naturol History in New York,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

of the week. at wages barely suffi-
cient to support life, and we propitiate
by putting into effect a beautiful plan
of workmens compensation. We atone
for the facts of poverty and misery and
inhuman toll and needless accidents
and deaths by building libraries out
of the income of bond issue whose in
terest Is paid in bloody sweat. We
crush our competitors through the en-
ployment of spies as bookkeepers in
rival establishments, through rebate
arrangements with complacent rail-
road systems, and we endow UNIVERSE
ties and foundations for the instruction
of youth and the alienation of human
suffering We work women and chill
dren in cotton mills l / hours day; we
resist every effort to raise the age linn
1t for working children and to shorten
the hours for the mothers of the race
and then out of the profits of their in
dustry, beyond that which satisfies the
stockholders, we build schools and
churches and hospitals and Fairgrounds
do all manner of betterment work We
erect tenements with little regard for
light and air and even decency that we
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13
VIHEN the Romans wanted to name
M what they thought the hest
Wv thing In the world they called it

W/HEN the Romans wanted to name
M what they thought the hest
w thing in the world they called it
''surimum bonum," the ''chief good" Let
us see now what is this chief good
+, IL is not the selfish qualification of our
own desires tiat passes away as tale
that isftod. 1t is not perhaps the aiding
in the material and moral welfare of our
fellows, although that is an object worthy
of our highest endeavors.
What, then, Is the chief good? 1t is
leaving tiie world a better, cleaner, purer
place for those who shall come after us.
1t is working for the benefit of our chill
dren and our neghbors' children and
their ehildrens children to the end OF
time.
To that end has been born the science
of eugencs, of which we have been hear
ing so much, Briefly described, eugenics
is the throwing of safeguards around mar
Iiage to prevent the perpetuation of the
unfit.
1t means the throwing up of the hand
of warning when two persons who should
not marry contemplate passing on the
torch of life" 1t means the saving OF
the world from many evils
1t places at the side of the clergyman
or civil authority, whenever a marriage
is to be solemnzed, the stately figure of
science, jealous In the cause of protect
ing humanity from disease and blindness
and malformation and crime.
Science scans the man and woman de-
string to wed. If she sees on either of
them the signs, visible or invisible to
humans, of unftness to marry, by reason
of physical or mental weakness or i'll
ness. she steps forward and says, with au-
thority, Nay, forbear.''
1t is the answer of science to the priests
challenge, "If any man can show just
cause why they may not be Joined to-
gether let him speak now or forever after
l., Id his peace"
To hold peace in such a case would be
to condone crime. Let no one be guilty
OF such III doing!
More and more clergymen are enllsting
in the cause of eugenics and are refusing
to celebrate marriages unless both parties
can show 'clean bills of health" physical
and mental More and more scientists and
social workers are urging heavier war;
fare on the diseases which, transmitted
from person to person, bring woe and suf-
fering to an amount incredible to the un-
informed mind.
More and more parents are coming to
see clearly their duty in this matter and
gre imparting to their children the in
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

bow even though he does, when dis
covered, cringe in a fashion that would
put the bushes on the face of an Uriah
Heap. The victim seems to see below
the saddened surface a laughing devil.
overjoyed in the digging of a prong
which is dug through the lowered tones
of a perfectly trained vocal chord. He
thinks for an instant that the eyes are
sad, and that underneath. the heart is
glad in having laid a trap and caught
its prey. And too often, the victim
turns in his fury. sarcastic, biting, even
insulting. He shows no pity when the
collector cringes and would fall at his
feet. and smiles in scorn as he makes a
hasty departure. For in some way he has
come to believe that though beaten for the
once. the collector, with never changing
tactics, will return, and return until in
the end he is paid-not because the
payer admits his debts, or a Willingness
to discharge his financial obligations,
but because the sight of the merciless
intruder who never let's up. who never
permits breathing spell. has become
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13
HEART TO HEART TALKS-By lanes A. Edgerton

struction which alone can save them from
suffering and death. More and more the
light of a better day in this respect is
broadening in the east.
Help to speed the coming of the broad
daylight of eugenics
beatrice Newman had a birthday Lots
OF other little girls have birthdays-may
they all be happy,-but only few of them
deliberate their birthday as 10-year-old
Beatrice celebrated hers. She kept her
birthday you see. by giving it away.
Beatrice lives in the crowded East Side
of New York city, where there is more
| misery to the acre probably than any
where else on earth, and also more char
itableness and mutual self help But
beatrice is happier than most of the other
little girls of the East Side for her father
is well to do
or course, like all good daddies when
his little girls birthday came around he
wanted to make her happy. He asked her
what she wanted for gift and suggested
Things which are dearsto the hearts of all
httie girls. But to each suggestion
Beatrice shook her head. Then her daddy
asked, We'll, what shall l get for your
Head beatrice's answer, you who think
that human kindness has died out in the
world, that selfshness sits enthroned
above all else:
Papa, there is something that will
make me happier. In the school where
go there are poor children who think l
have prettier clothes than they have. Let
me buy each of them a lovely dress. I'll
be happy then.'
So the father of Beatrice sent word to
the woman principal of Beatrice's school
that he would buy dresses for the poor
girls whom she might select. Seventy
children between the ages of and u
were chosen. They formed In line in
front of Mr.. Newman's place of business.
and provision was made for each to re-
ceive dainty dress.
You who are fortunate enough to have
little daughters know the pride and joy
which shone in 70 pairs of eyes as they
donned Beatrice's birthday gifts There
was happiness to overfowing in the
crowded East Side streets.
But it does not need a sage or a philos-
opher 10 tell where the happiness vas cen
te. ed
It's the best birthday l ever had," Be-
atrice told her father.
Into the crowded subway station train
comes roaring. With strident grinding of
the brakes it comes to a stop. Between
the car platform and the station is q
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

pathy awoke interest which brought him
frequently within the circle Of the charms
of the fair Russian, and in turn interest
deepened into tenderness of affection, To
the vivacious Frenchman. the glitter of
wealth was far from proving an obstrue-
tioa to the valiantness with which he as
sailed the citadel of her heart. AT any
rate the chevaler and princess became
one. lived In comparative splendor for
years, and removed to Paris, where in
sumptuous apartments they resided till
the ueath of the chevaler.
The deep shadow which had come into
the life of the princess, according to her
own story, won her hosts of friends whom
she was able to retain by reason of her
charms. The we'll known character of
the second Peter, a dissolute. worthless
wretch. and the fact that his father had
sent him abroad in Europe, to travel. with
the hope that his ways might be reformed
by wider margin of observation of the
affairs of the world, lent increased cred
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

lives. and will continue to live. where
as with a dull blade of a cast-off razor
or pinch or two of strychnine, he
might end all his trouble in the twink
ling of an eye. How much easier it
would be, it seems, for him to wrap
the drapery of his couch about him.
and after having indulged in an over
dose of the tonic of eternal sleep, lie
down 10 pleasant dreams. Instead, he
lives, this man Injured to perpetual
hardship, for whom the sky is never
blue, TO whom no person directs word
OF kindness, into whose lap no child
climbs to fond1e. and about whose neck
no wife wraps her arms in love.
Practically every man, and especially
the newspaper man. is familiar with the
bill collector. See him approach. He is
generally tall, angular of feature. with
the sallow complexion of a constant
dyspeptic. with the apologize gaze of a
dog which approaches forewarned of a
coming kick. You note his entrance
ana make study. And then you real
7e ,.r the first time, perhaps. that he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13


HHE annual conference sermon of
that great national gathering of
philanthropists and socfoloefsts.
known by the unfortunate title of
charities and Corrections" is always
significant. Last year this function was
discharged by a we'll known Baptist
theological professor from Rochester
N. Y. This year Dr. A. j. McKelway a
Presbyterian minister, and the southern
secretary of the organization. was en-
trusted with the task Last years
message was from the church to the
social worker. This year the sermon
was most pungent and noteworthy
message from the social worker and
student to the church and also to the
whole legal profession, with a slant
at the rest of us.
None can charge men like Rauschen-
busch and Mckelway with being noisy
and blatent demigogues. No one can
suppose that the great body of social
workers in America are fantastic rev.
olutionists or dangerous fanatics All
the more inevitable necessary is it,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

this in order to conceal the scandal of her
forced Hight from his castle and in order
too to explain her absence from the
court circles of st. Petersburg.
All this she explained to be a mere ruse.
and that she was the real princess who
had escaped his tyranny, preferring the
inhospitable wilderness of distant con-
tinent TO the roS al palace with its tvran-
nous cruelty. Fhs story received general
credence since the splendor of her attire
and her familiarity with the inner Sc
crets of the Russian court proved that she
was no ordinary. parsonage. Besides all
this, there was increased evidence af-
forded by her conduct. Her beautiful
face was saddened by some evident
trouble over which she seemed to brood.
as with a far-away look she would sit and
muse for hours together How else could
all this be explained save by the story
which she related? This is just the ev-
fdence one would look for in substantial
tion of a story of cruelty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

enee to the pathetic story and elected
fresh installments of interest and SYM
pathy Chevalier d'Aubant died in the
belief that he had married the repndiated
wife of the eldest son of Peter the Great
of Russia.
But a fatal revelation was inevitable.
1t is said that while strolling In the gar
den of the Tuileries, she was one day met
by the marshal of SAKE, who recognized
her as one of the attendants of the Rus
sian princess. an humble female. who
greatly resembled her mistress, and by
reason of her contact with the most ele-
waited of Russian society, had acquired
the manners of the best, and while in the
service of the princess had means of ac-
cess to her wardrobe and purse, and by
stealth had enriched herself and at an
unconjectured time fled the palace and
escaped to America. The chevalier having
seen the princess once was easily de-
ceived by the appearance of this woman,
her wealth, and by the reputation of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

n BOUT the year 172l body of Ger
~ man eolonists reached Mobile and
= settled in the region adjoining.
Among them was a woman of unusual
personal beauty and of rare charm of
manner. Her dress and especially her
levels, indicated not only her station,
but her wealth. She caused 1t to be un-
derstood that she was the daughter of
the Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel. and
the Wife of Alexis Petrowitz. the son Of
fetef the Great, and accounted for her
strange presence in the wilds of south
ALABAMA as due to the fact that she had
peen cruelty treated by the heir to the
Russian throne; that she had fed the
dominion of the great Peter, and for Sc
eurlty had sought the most distant region
known to her. She Furthermore asserted
mat the younger Peter had duly adver-
used the death of his wife, but insisted
that the monstrous Muskovite had done