The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-03

the walls of his home town were too
narrow, the rising of something in his
chest requiring greater expansion,
the birth of courage and the gnawing
of ambition to go abroad like a night
errant and throw down cruelty and
oppression. achieve the right and up
hold it.
In all Of these memories he is very
tender. and sometimes 1t becomes nee
essary to brush away tear. And
then he gets up and walks down the
aisle thinking of the farewels, In
which his father tells him to be I'M
afraid, to be honest and worthy, and
assures him of his support "as long
as he tries, and is true to himself; In
which his mother says nothing-just
holds him in her arms as If he was
only a big baby, after all; in which
his little sisters stand trembling half
way to tears in that he is leaving
home-for good-and yet in their
smiles showing pride in that he is
strong enough to go out and fight the
battle.
And almost before he knows it the
conductor cries out, Montgomery.
With all the other passengers he
gathers together his coat and his suit
case and takes his first view of the
world into which he is gong-not
afraid, but with certain warm ap-
probation of the worth of others. He
notes that the other passengers hustle
away and leave him. He has no friend
among them all. They are so vigor-
Gus, so well groomed. so strong that
they must have certain grip on their
professions, their jobs, and he won
ders If he will ever be able to dislodge
the one or the other. and by superior
merit, take their places.
In Montgomery. while the objective
point of the voyage is still far away,
he realizes that the struggle will be
strenuous, one of titans, as a matter
of fact He is introduced to a lawyer
who is well established, and wonders
If he will ever be learned In the law,
able to tilt with shrewd talent before
the court He beholds a statesman,
and begins to fear 1t impossible for
him ever to become so well known for
true worth that the people from all
over the state will rush to the polls
and drop their ballots for his honor
and advancement-and with patriotic
instinct. he adds, ''for the good of the
state and the people of the state" He
reads newspaper, and marvels at the
cleverness of the reporters; how they
can put touch here and another
there and round out thrilling and a
logical whole how they can say and
yet not say things. He fears that he
can never learn to do likewise. And
when he boards the train for Birming-
ham. where on the morrow he is
scheduled to make his first appear
ried along almost against his will He
begins to believe that down home"
that the folks are eating supper. and
that they are silent save for only an
occasional remark-for there is a
missing figure. chair untitled.
plate unturned, and a napkin un-
touched. The folks at home. he knows.
feel as blue as he. and he wonders why
it is necessary that he go out and
spoil the happiness of all concerned.
And he reaches Birmingham. How
different from down home" How
different from Montgomery, for Mont
gomery, after all. is nothing more than
grown up down home" But Bir-
mingham is hurrying all the time, the
lights are flashing and fiickering and
fiuttering in many colors, the street
cars CRATE and groan and twist along
their rails; the automobiles dash
among the pedestrians and the car
riages and the street cars with Shrek
ing horns and binding headlights.
There Is everywhere a policeman, big
and heartless. the boy thinks, austere
In his demeanor, stern in giving direc-
tons and Instructions. Nowhere is
there friend. No one of the hun
dreds of fellows who scurry along
have ever had tender thought, In
all of Birmingham there is never
kind word spoken. There is never a
tear trembling on the edge of a lash.
The boy finally realizes that he is
all alone, that it is now, for the first
time imperative that he stand
alone. At first he is deeply oppressed.
He Is timid in his speech and apollo
getlc In his manner He is not afraid,
butts filled with the knowledge Of his
apparent helplessness. with the knowl-
edge that he must prepare for a real
struggle against real men of a real
world of business. wherein sympathy
is out Of place, and the law of the
survival Of the fittest firmly en-
trenched.
He has become aware that Birming-
ham has prepared a crucible-a melt
ing pot-into the fiery furnace Of