davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23
HEART TO HEART TALKS-By lanes A.

has his country home and automobile
and possesses the proud provlege of turn
ing down editors instead of being turned
down by them.
He won because he had no Illusions, did
body was in league against him and did
not stop till his stuff was good enough"
Americans are uniquely democratic.
They want the best of everything not
,only for themselves, but for everybody
else. Trusts, graft, coarse luxury, haste
ITO get rich-these and other evils our
kinsmen have, yet the spirit of the peo-
lple is ever haunted by Lincolns Get
tysburg speech.
Nobody in the UniteI1 States says that
education is carried too far or that
we want sensible workingmen not too
we'll educated. Such treachery to de-
mocracy one can hear in England and
even in Canada. but seldom, indeed. in
the big republic. where sO,OO0,00O people
are being prepared to understand their
own problems and to govern them
selves.-Margaret MCCLELLAN. well known
English writer, recently in America
The time has come when every
American should study fundamental
democracy. He should understand the
peculiar genius of his country the
spirit chiefly responsible for its tre-
mendous development. the ideal that has
been so powerful in revolutionizing
other governments the world around.
| This is especially necessary at the
present hour because that ideal Is on
trial, Because We are in a mighty strug-
gle between plutocracy and democracy,
because we are in a state of change
when 1t Is necessary to look for the
Old landmarks and get our bearings.
| The fundamental democracy exam
plified by the American experiment in
government has been the leaven that
has leavened the whole lump of hui
manity-from France and Switzerland
to South America, from Portugal to
China. That leaven is still at work
and will be for centuries to come. And
| It Is at work not only in foreign lands
but in our own
| Aside from the classic beauty of Lin
coins Gettysburg speech. that little
gem of oratory makes universal appeal
to the hearts of men because 1t states
I'm brief and simple form some Of the
philosophy underlying the American
idea 1t Is worthy to take its place be-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

few lines from one of them. This was
written to a Staffordshire lassie, who af-
terward became his Wife Yes! | will
steal from the world, and not babbling
tongue shall tell where am. Echo shall
not so much as whisper my hiding place.
Suffer thy imagination to paint tia lit
tie sun-gilt cottage on the side of a
romantic hill. Dost thou think J. will
leave love and friendship behind me? No.
they shall be my companions in solitude,
for they shall sit down and rise up with
me in the amiable form of my l.. -.
Let the human teinpests and hurricanes
rage at distance, the desolation is be-
yond the horizon of peace. No
planetary influence shall reach us, but
that which presides over and cherishes
the sweetest flowers Then, in another
letter; "Dost thou not mark with delight
the first yernal buds of the snowdrop and
primrose, these early and welcome visi-
tors, spring beneath thy feet? . The
feathered race are all thine own, and
with them untaught harmony will soon
begin to cheer thy morning and evening
walks. Sweet as this may be, return
return the birds of Yorkshire will tune
their pipes and sing as melodiously as
those of Staffordshire.'
why, good reader this is poetry And
can you believe that Uncle Toby wrote
1t? 1t reminds me of Claude Melnott'
description of his palace home ON the
banks of the Como-'Shut out from the
rude world'-''We'd have no friends that
were not lovers. 1.-The birds should syl-
liable thy name. ."-"Wed wonder which
star should become our home, etc. II
Is all therein Sterne, and in Bulwer's
Lady of Lyons" Sterne's love letters
were published by his daughter in 1775;
Bulwer wrote the Lady of Lyons in
1885,
Notwithstanding the universally ac-
knowledged fact. that all the world loves
lover, doubt the literary and moral
propriety of publishing ones love letters
even after he shall have passed away
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

| larly. and made deep set in the earth
and the thick coat of plastering made
of lime mud, gave 1t the appearance of
a wall of stone There were two gates
in the walls which stood oppositely
and when closed were very strong.
Within there were so large edifices any
one of which would accommodate 1000
men. The grounds were well cared for
with their carpet of natural grass. The
city viewed from without looked like
one of the ancient cities of Asia with
its lookouts of sufficient size to ac-
eommodate In each eight men, At reg
ular intervals around the walls but a
few feet above the ground, We're port
holes for bowmen.
The exact location of Maubila has given
rise TO much speculation, and not little
discussion. Plausible reasons are as
signed by different writer's in support of
derance of testimony seems to favor the
present site of Choctaw Bluff, in Clarke
county, as the location. In opposition
TO this view, however, il has been urged
that it's distance toward the south Is in
compatible with the time given for reach
ing it by the DeSoto band.
The arrival of the troops on horse
back, under Desoto, aroused terror on
the part of the Indians, who seemed to
regard more the terrible horses than the
men themselves. At the head of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23
BREWING-By B. F. Riley, D. D.

within the walls OF Maubila. Hideous
cries from thousands of throats. min
gled with the unmusical notes Of mang
reeds made the scene one of terror.
Silently but with much ostentation.
they ride upon the public square be-
meath the wide-spreading oaks. At a
given signal all dismount. A canopy IN
derspread with rich mating had been
prepared for DeSoto and the chief. They
slowly repair thereto and are seated With
the suddenness of a flash Tuskaloosa
leaps to his feet, his eyes flashing with
pent-up anger, and in stentorian tones
demands that he receive the honor due
him within his own walls, and that he
be no longer treated as a common pris-
oner. DeSoto is taken quite OFF his guard.
He is, as silent as the tomb. An awful
hush falls suddenly ON the scene. Wheel
ing on his heel, the indignant monarch
steps forth and leisurely retires to one
of the buildings. DeSoto, usually very
resourceful, is now at his Wits end. Hop
ing to placate the stormy chief. he sends
an invitation to join him at breakfast.
but the offer is not only sternly declined,
but Tuscaloosa notifies the Spaniard that
the sooner he betakes himself without
his dominions. the better it will be for
him. A crisis had come and DeSoto must
face it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23
3R WRITING-No. BY DR. W. E. Evans

from these earthly scenes. It is a pity
that we have any letters that passed be-
tween Jane Welsh and Carlyle. Carlyles
letters to Emerson and TO other men
friends, his letters on history, philosophy
and current events, are all of universal
value. But man writes his love letters
And it is a desecratlon to give them to
the world. Yet, men seem to have no
sense Of the fitness OF things, nor any
checking of conscience, in this particular.
One of EngIand's greatest poets left a
dying request, that, his love letters. writ
ten TO her who became his wife, be not
published. But the poets song had not
been hushed three years before his pri-
vate letters were published in two
volumesi 1t would have been seemlier to
bury the letters with him, near his heart,
in the coffin.
l have always admired the sentiment OF
John Ridd, in Lorna Doom. He feared
that he had lost lorna forever, for she
had to go up to London to visit i'm a
sphere of social life ever so far above his.
But he sees her in the church, and she
casts look at him. Lorna quickly writes
a note. which John receives. Saws Mas
ter Ridd of that little, precious letter,
Not that it began so well. but that in
my heart (ere three lines were through
mel that / was with all heart loved-and
beyond that who may need? The darling
of my life went on as if L were of her
own rank, or even better than she was,
and she dotted her is and crossed her
It's as If I We're at least a schoolmaster.
All of it was done in pencil but as plain
as plain could be. In my coffin 1t shall
lie with my ring and something else.
Therefore, will ] not expose it to every
man who buys this book, and haply
thinks that he has bought me to the
bottom of my heart. Enough for men OF
gentle birth (wlro never are lnquisitive)
that my love told me in her letters, just
to come and see her.
All honor to you, John Riddl Bury the
letter with your heart! If poet makes
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

"HE first letter that was ever writ
ten is said to have been the inven-
Il ton of a woman. Fer name was
Atossa, and she was the mother of
xerxes. But with all respect for tradition
| think letters were in use before the
times of this distinguished lady. albeit,
] think 1t quite probable that woman
was the first letter writer. Letters seem
to have been employed about 500 years
before the age of Atossa, or about 1000
years before Christ.
In the Old Testament, originally written
in Hebrew, there are several references
to letters. \ In the book of Ezra We read
of q letter that was written by the Israel-
ties in the Syrian language. In the book
of Samuel we have an account of most
treacherous letter that King David wrote
to Joab concerning one of his subjects
named Uriah, with whose wife. Bath
sheba David had been sinfully intimate.
David warned Uriah out of the way, and
wrote to his general, Joab. to place him
where ne would most certainly be slain.
This was done, Uriah was killed and
David sent and fetched Bathsheba to
his house and she became his wife. Uriah
had been deceived by the pretended
friendship of David and bore his own
death letter to Joab. Hence. in literature
missives of treachery have been called
..Uriah letters Scott uses the phrase
In Redgauntlet
The most graceful letters of ancient
times are those that were written by
Cicero, Pliny, Tully and Seneca. Indeed,
with these letters. many of them written
for the public eye, letters became rec
ognized department of litrature; and
many facts of history, and many old GUS
toms, have been revealed to us through
letters, of which we could never have
known otherwise. 1t is a little curious
that Homer In his history of the wars be-
tween the Trojans and the Greeks no.
where mentions letters as a means of con-
veying news of the battles that were
fought. If there is single referenc to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

1t is 100 to / shot that they could
not.
The writer has been in the newspaper
game off and on for nearly 30 years.
He has covered the ground from coun-
try correspondent to Washington CORE
spondent, from editor of country week
ly to editorial writer on a New York
| daily, from type stcker" to special
writer on the biggest newspaper syndi-
cate in the land.
| Throughout this experience his respect
for the country editor has constantly in
creased until today 1t is his deliberate
| opinion that the men who run our week
| lies and smaller dailes render a greater
public service for less return than any
other class of men in America.
| l once heard a lecture by Col. Robert
G. Ingersoll, the agnostic. In which he
likened reason to a candle in the brain.
Frequently throughout his discourse
he made effective use of the phrase:
LET the little flame burn"
| Character Is also flame that is be-
held by those about-us.
With some this flame burns high
enough TO be seen by whole world;
with others by an entire nation; with
still others, and these are the vast
majority. it is beheld only by their
own communities
With all. however. the flame OF their
character Is visible to some body.
This light has an influence on all
who behold 1t.
This Is but another way to say that
we live not to ourselves alone.
And ii is just as important relatively
that the flame seen by a hundred be
kept bright and shining as that wit
messed by thousands or millions.
Some of these character candles burn
redly and with much smoke; some
lsputter and flicker unevenly; some are
blown this way and that by the winds
of opinion; some are almost smothered
by appetites and passions. and some
burn steadily with clear, white light
To soul struggling in darkness the
rays shed abroad by the good character
lof another are as welcome the light
in the window at night TO the way
farer.
lf not for our own salSes, then for
1.-THE sake of others let us see that the
CLEAN Is not clouded and that it Is
far shining.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

a confdant of the public and publishes
his love for a woman, as Petrarch told of
his love for Laura; or as Burns declared
before the world his love for poor Jean
Armour; or as-but, why go on? Nearly
all of them have done it--then the case is
different. But for another to publish the
sacred literature of the heart, is, at least
most questionable.
John Godfrey SAKE. one of our Amer
ican poets, represents himself as looking
over an old love letter in this lines:
And can it be? Ah, yes, I see,
'Tis thirty years and better,
Since Mary Morgan sent to me,
This musty, musky letter.
"a pretty hand, she couldn't spell,
As any man would vote 1t,
And twas, as / remember well,
A pretty hand that wrote 1t.
''And this alone remains, ah, welll
These words of warm affection,
The faded ink, the pungent smell.
Are food for deep reflection;
"They tell of how the heart contrives
TO change with faneys fashion,
And how drop of musk survives
The strongest human passion
I think. however, that only an abnorm-
ally flippant mind can thus treat an old
love letter. / prefer to hear Mrs. Brown
ings musings over hers. The lines are
too long to quote, but the reader Will
find them in the 2Sth of her Portuguese
Sonnets.
Ia L.. q
that at this moment are carried by the
innumerable mail trains north, SOUTH
east and west. Some of them bear mes
sages of gladness to sorrowing hearts,
many of them carry words of sympathy
to souls bereaved; many of them contain
brave words that will help halting hearts:
others will assure doubling lovers, and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23
SOUNDS ONE CAN'T HEAR
The Limit Too High or Too Low for
the Human Ear

From the Strand Magazine.
In the sense of hearing numerous prob
lens have interested the experimental
psychologist Among these may be men
toned the range of sounds that can be
heard by an Individual. that is. the limit
both above and below which no sound
can be heard.
The solution of these two problems, the
determination of the upper and lower limit
of sound, has occasioned great deal of
careful work and the construction of
many forms of apparatus. For determine
ing the upper limit of sound for any
individual. and individuals differ consid>
erably. the Cation whistle is generally
used.
1t consists of a tiny pipe, which is
heightened or shortened by a piston ad-
justed by a micrometer screw This little
instrument can be regulated to make d
tone which is too high for any human
ear to hear, and which will finally pro-
duee only painful sensation.
The Galton whistle was devised by
Francis Galton for his study of whistles
built into the end OF his cane. and as he
walked through the Geological Gardens he
would blow 1t near the ears of the vari-
Gus animals. He adjusted the whistle
too high for his own ear to hear. and IL
the various animals responded to the
sound he knew that their upper limit
was greater than that of the human ear
The ordinary human ear can detect a
tone whose vibration rate is at least $500
vibrations a second. while the whistle
will produce $4,000 second. This upper
limit varies with the age of the individual
to such an extent that. II the upper limit
at Is years of age were 5000 vibrations.
at 50 years OF age it would BE- about e5.-
0QQ q second.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23
IN OPULAR religion never gets so
- near to being pagan supersti-

IN OPULAR religion never gets so
near to being pagan supersti-
L tion as in its attitude to OBJ
servanees. The church seeks in vain
to establish a large intelligence along
with her dogmas and her precepts, but
especially along with her routine holy
days.
What justifies these observances is
that they are supposed to cultivate,
as we'll as express. a greater repent
ance, larger courage, mightier con-
viction. From these roots shall spring
also fidelity and obedience But men
and women play at religion as chill
dren play at parties, with doll tea-
cups but no teal They make believe.
Lent becomes a delusion and Easter a
snare because repentance goes not with
all drab gowns or drab days, and
Easter JOY does not express itself in
the form of Easter bonnets. Gayety and
Its absence alike are wasteful, vulgar,
irksome Lent and Easter need pur-
cation, the cleansing passion of real
penitence, the dignity of an intelligent
faith. Hence there are godly souls who
repudiate all feasts and fasts and
symbolic acts because they so readily
become. as l said. delusion and a
snare
Always it is selfishness that blights
the flowers and fruits of our religion.
Easily enough, we can see that a true
keeping of Lent would be vast COM
munity repentance. and that the true
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

TN this age of specialization, fads, the
orists, extremists and people running
i around in circles the saving grace
of common sense is needed as never be-
fore.
1t is needed especially by public men,.
The American people as whole possess
not only large fund of common sense,
but also a very healthy sense of humor.
The public man who gets too far to
one side in the pursuit of the "grotesque
and arabesuue" is in danger of exciting
the risibilties of the populace.
There has been more than one man in
our history blown into oblivion on a
gale of laughter.
The moment the antics of any cult or
school start guffaw across the conti-
nent it is all off with that cult or school.
The only safety from this real peril is
common sense.
1t is hard to argue with nation or
community laughing at you
We are very tolerant of fads, but when
they get too far from the line Of COM
mon sense we laugh them off the stage.
Common sense Is the essence OF human
wisdom and experience IN all lands and
ages.
it comes from real life, from actual con-
tact with things.
1t fits Bill Jones down on his little farm
on Possum crick, also Mr.. William Pinck-
ney Etheridge. art collector and globe
trotter, of Pelham Manor-that is, II
William Pinckney has not followed some
fad that led him off at a mental tam
gent.
A robust supply of common sense is the
first requisite for success in any and every
calling
1t is the only safe guide for genius or
clodhopper.
1t is the fundamental requirement, with
out which there is rrorhing-the starting
point for the pursuit of all special knowl-
edge. 1t is as necessary as a thorough
grounding of 'the three RS is neces-
sary as a basis of higher education.
1t is the foundation on which special
knowledge and training constitute the
superstructure.
Seek We first common sense, and all
other things shall be added unto you.
Some slang expressions hit the spot
better than a sermon.
They may not be dignined, but dig
nifty Is often only SNUG front with
large section OF nothing behind It,
Hoa1 dignity IL all right, but there
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

side the Declaration of independence,
which states more of that philosophy.
We may think that the truths en-
bodied in these immortal utterances are
forever established, but II so we have
work or the direction these forces are
taking
The task of the present generation
of Americans is to complete and fulfll
the work of Washington and Lincoln.
The country press of America is the
peoples pulpit.
1t has more influence in shaping the
thought of the nation than any other
single factor.
1t has more influence than the city
press because of the widespread belief
that the city press is controlled by spe-
eal interests.
Yet the average country editor gets
less return for the labor and ability ex-
pended than any other class of the popu-
lation, schoolteachers and ministers of
the gospel possibly excepted
The average man does not realize how
much the local paper does for the com
munity.
1t supports the moral standard of the
neighborhood, its public spirit, It's patriot
ism. 1t speaks for every good cause.
II exposes unfaithful public servants and
unit men who are trying to enter the
public service. It prints the local news
and brings in the news of the outside
world. 1t gives publicity to the schools,
the churches and every local Institution
for betterment If there is town boom
the newspaper is its mouthpece and pro-
moter. 1t tells of entertainments and So
cia life. 1t announces births and mar
riages. 1t praises those who have gone.
1t is the avenue through which the mer-
chant announces his bargains. through
which those in business solicit trade. 1t
praises improvements. 1t voices public
opinion on questions of the day. 1t is
one of the chief factors that make DEM
ocracy and free government possible.
For all this service the editor receives
money return ludicrously small.
He has no eight hour day 1t is more
like IA hour day and often for seven
days in the week.
There are a few discriminating people
who appreciate all this, but there ara
many others who do nothing but grumble:
say they could run the paper better
themselves.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23

food the sky with gold: still are there
some that will break hearts, ruthlessly
tear up the very roots of friendship, and
smireh regulations that are
"Chaste as the icice
That's curded by the frost from purest
snow
And hangs on Dians temple"
And the writer's of the latter epstles
will not think for moment that they
are assassins of the most cowardly sort
But with the jaunty, triumphant air of
the king, in Shakespeares Henry VIIIa
as he handed the cardinal certain LETT
ters, they will seem to say, as did he.
Read DER this:
And after, this and then to breakfast;
With what appetite you have
notwithstanding the fact that mil
lions of letters are In transit tonight,
tomorrow morning, the next day. and
on all the morrows that shall break
upon the world until the crack of doom,
there will be men and women that
look for letters that never come They
VIII inquire at postoffices, but Will
receive the stereotyped answer. Moth
ing for you" and they'll wearily turn
away with dumb lips and leaden hearts,
Nothing for YOU" aged mother, WHO
expected letter from your absent boyi
Nothing for you,' you who hoped for
aid TO tide you over a rough place - :
to avert the awful crash that must
now GOMEZ Nothing for you" you, s. -
look through tears upon the gold band
on your finger and wonder IL he still
livesl Nothing for YOU" young wom-
an, though his voice still fingers in
your ears as he declared his love that
night when the air seemed full of the
perfume of roses and jessamine--you
are learning the meaning of the saddest
word in woman's life, Forgotten" o.
this hornssle Nothing for you" which
is so often flung through the postoffjce
windows, or unfeelingly uttered by the
disinterested postmanl What bewilder-,
ment, what heartaches. what tragedies
the words stand for!