davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

| The men who win in a big way are
those who dare This does not mean
recklessness. but the very opposite. 1t
means the ability to plan a campaign,
the quick understanding to perceive
how the plan will work out and the
courage to take chance.
| Recklessness is blind. but the lead
ers required for the work of the world,
for the great enterprises, must be any
thing but blind.
They must know the psychology of
men and be able in some degree TO
read the future.
| This reading of the future requires
no clairyoyance or second sight That
which Is to come is seen by the light
of that which has gone. The currents
of the world are perceived; the proba-
bilitiies are taken into account; the
chances are worked out to as near a
mathematical exactitude as that is pos
sible
|. The winner is the one who banks on
future progress In an intelligent way,
who SO shapes his affairs that he will
profit by this progress. who looks
ahead
knowledge is required. We must
know our business down to the last de-
tail. know 1t SO that 1t becomes habit
of thought
Imagination Is also necessary. With
our knowledge of the business, of the
trend of the times and of human na.e
ture, we must build the picture of that
which is to be.
The successful chess player is he
who plans many moves ahead. He
knows In advance how to meet any
possible attack. tf
The young man who Is wise in this
day looks to the future more than TO
the past. or IL he studies the past it
is only that he may better know the
future.
He does not take up a profession
that is on the wane. but one that is
growing, and he grows with 1t.
Who can measure the marvellous
strides that humanity will take in the
next 25 or so years?
Think how this development will call
for men,
Even now big employers will tell you
that there Is dearth of $4,000 men,
Imagine how much greater the chances
for such men will be with the expand
ing enterprises OF the next generation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

vas less necessary than the money she
represented. Therefore this courageous
man himself navigated her from the
mouth of the zambesi to Bombay, where
she was sold and he returned to Eng
land.
AT this point begins the enterprise to
discover the sources of the Nile and the
entire waterway system of Central
Africa
But when urged by high authorities TO
give up the missionary side of the work,
Livingstone replied that the gospel must
stand as the first motive and geograph-
ical discovery serve as its instrument.
l remember the impression which the
Last Journals" made upon my mind
as a youth and with what reverence
followed the story of Stanley's meet
ing with the tireless explorer and
heroic gentleman. once weaver, a cot
ton operative at a Glasgow loom Zahl-
zibar was indeed more than Il name
now; Sierro Leone had become a neigh
boring place, and those new names,
the Victoria Nyanza. the Tanganyika.
Lake Moero and Lake Bangueolo. Ujiii,
the Victoria Falls and the rest. to say
nothing of tlrk new world for which
the Congo now stood as the gateway,
were making Africa a garden where
il had always been impenetrable
desert.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

A TTENTION has been recently
"a called to the fact that the most
\ valuable results to our common
humanity arise as sort of indirect fruit
OF the evangelistic passion. The most re-
markable illustration of this is unques-
tionably the Continent of Africa, and its
most shining glory the immortal Scottish
independent, David Livingstone. whose
centenary occurs on Wednesday next,
March 10. My thought responds just now
all the more readily to this anniversary
because in my childhood David Living
stone was a hero of our family, and of
our most intimate circle. which included
relatives of Robert Moffat and the widow
Of another member of the same splendid
band who had given themselves to the
work of saving South Africa. 1t will
he remembered that DIR. Moffat's daugh-
ter became Mrs. Livingstone, and was as
heroic and as splendid a soul as he
| take Livingstone therefore as a text
on practical religious sacrifice, most
proper Lenten meditation. Much of our
Lenten discipline has little aim outside
ourselves, becomes a sort of heathenism
because so centered in self-will; even de-
feats it's spiritual object because it pro-
vides no useful outlet of emotion and
thought. People go without dances, par
ties, amusements, cake, candy, or COM
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16
MISSIONS-By George Eaves, D. D..

But at what a costl See the lone
man. with insufficient food supplies.
attempting to subsist on native corn
and to eat It. raw. breaking his teeth
upon it. suffering agonies of toothache.
beating out tho teeth by the most
primitive dental apparatus on record.
See him at last, reaching 1lala. In a
condition of utter exhaustion. where
the King Chitambo had a hut ready
for him. See him kneeling there be-
side his bed on May /, 1873. at mid
night. his head buried in his hands
and his flesh chill in death. The swamps
had claimed their victim, but the boys
who attended him understood how pre-
cious their master was to the great
world which had sent Stanley to find
him and Of which he had so often told
them. They took out his heart and
leaving all the most perishable parts
of his body in a grave at Ilala. they
made their way to England. via Zan-
zibar. with the dried frame of him
whom they honored and loved as few
can, love better than Africans. over
the grave at Ialila Is a stone to re-
place the rottng tree where Susi and
Chuma left their record. In West
minister Abbey lies the frame. so
weathered and reduced to its least
shreds. which moved a world to tears
and praise.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

4 s had before occurred, couriers pre-
~ ceded De Soto. warning sthe In
4 \ dams of other settlements and
tribes of his coming. Numerous Indian
towns were passed by the spaniards as
they wended their way, following the
wide and well beaten paths of the Indians
as they threaded the primeval forests.
The Spaniards were cautious and wary
and kept a sharp outlook for lurking
danger. They would invariably pitch
their camps at night on the outskirts Of
an Indian village, and at times we'll with
in its limits. If an attack or misfortune
should come there was an evident adj
vantage OF close proximity to supplies
The spaniard was suspicious, the Indian
distrustful.
Much after the fashion OF the ancient
cities of Europe and of the farther east.
some of the larger towns OF the Indians
were surrounded by massive walls. Tim
bers hard and heavy, of cured oak and
hickory, sometimes sunk deep into the
earth and standing upright. at others
lying horizontally. but in each instance,
strong and compact, made the walls most
formidable to attack. Along the submits
4of these ramparts, high and rude, were
watch toVers of lookouts warily senti-
neled. There was evident the sense of
geometrlcal order, skilled workmanship
and resistfu'ness to attack from without,
all of whic, served to heighten the won
der of the. Spaniard, II indeed 1t did not
deepen his solcitude
The Tallapoosa river was reaci1ed-a
stream flanked by dense woods, and pene-
trating soils of blackness and of a dingy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

We're speaking face to face to his corre-
spondents. His letters for the most pa
were brief and without warning came II
a close. He seemed to follow the wise OBJ
servation of Sam Weller. When Sam was
reciting the valentine" TO his father the
latter objected to its abrupt ending,
whereupon Sam remarked That's the
VERY art of letter writin' it makes
you wish there was more Among the
most charming letters published in modern
times are those written by Robert Louis
Stevenson. They are bright witty, de-
scriptive, informing and full of matters
of general interest Notwithstanding the
long continued ill health of the writer.
Stevenson labored under one disadvan-
tage. however, in the writing of his stories
and letters. He never knew how to spell
correctly. With how vast multitude of
people did he stand, How few correct
spoilers are there! | knew president of
a well known college who could not SPELL
Bad spoilers are wont to say that good
spelling is a gift. But 1t is not. Good
spelling betokens early training and at
tention to simple rules that are accessible
to all. Sidney Colvin, in his Life of
Louis Stevenson, quoting Stevenson,
says. According to his own account, he
was alike at school and in college, an
incorrigibile ider and truant.' 1 dare
not say this of all bad spoilers; but | do
say, from my observation of many years,
that the bad speer in school and college
days was inattentive to rules on spelling
and grew up careless of them; or per-
haps, he lacked the opportunity to attend
school where correct spelling is taught.
The cacography of some letters that one
receives excites an emotion of astonish-
ment close akin to shock But there
is one thing that must be said, namely:
No one thinks the second time of the mis-
takes in spelling made by one who is
loved Love too highly appreciates the
writer and the missive to notice errors.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

some member of his family many years
ago. As he looks at it now, he sees
letter that could serve as a copy
plate Every word is perfectly traced
and every single letter stands for the
perfection of grace and beauty. Yet,
he is looking at letter that contains
simply an account of family matters,
and was one of many thus written. 1t
WAS not written for exhibition 1t was
the usual custom for men and women
of culture thus to write In the long
ago. The writers of those old letters
had plenty time. So, they slowly traced
their letters, and sent them off perfect
in sentiment and in caligraphy In
these days we are all hurried. We
have no time for the graces of rhetoric
in our letters. nor leisure to consider
the manner in which we form our let
ters. We want to say something, and
1t saves time to say it at once, and
this we do. Many of us write our let
ters on a machine. (PeccaviD And |
speak as man who receives. many
letters. this is far better than to dash
off a hurried and illegible letter.
though in polite circles of personal cor
respondence the machine written letter
still finds disapproval.
Some time ago a clergyman wrote
me letter. l wished he had used a
machine / was busy man and yet
gave that letter much of my valuable
time on one of my busiest days. trying
to decipher his almost sinful1y wretched
handwriting. / wrote him of the annoy
ance he had given me, and begged him
to consider '.the party of the second
part" when he wrote his letters. 1 hope
he now has a writing machine For a
man is positively wrong who imposes
his careless and illegible handwriting
upon another. 1 am writing as one
who has suffered. ! am not astonished
at the curious mistakes that compos-
itors often make, and some of their
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

mistakes are very funny to every
body, except to the man who sent the
manuscript, and he generally loses his
temper and blames the good natured
proofreader. am not astonished, / say
for of all the bad penmanship in all
the world. I have seen some OF the
AS II another person could know what
is in ones mind by few staggering
scratches. 1t is preposterousl
Lord Macaulay, himself a fine letter
writer. pronounoes some of the letters
of Lord Byron among the best in our
language" He says: "They are less af-
fected than those of Pope and Walpole;
they have more matter in them than
those of Cowper and we must
confess that if the epistolary style of
Lord Byron was artificial 1t was a
rare and admirable instance of that
highest art which cannot be distin-
guished from nature" His style was
not artificial, however. If anywhere in
the world Byron was natural it was in
his letters. He cafEe as near fulfilling
Steele's view as an other man in lit
erature. Said Steele; There is no rule
in the world to be made for writing
letters, but that of being as near what
you speak face to face as you can."
This rule Byron seemed unconsciously
to observe. Hence, the charm of the
great poets epistoary gift to the world.
Compare Pope's letters with those of
Byron, and they are as far from nature
as Pope's translation of the Iliad is from
Homer, The most stilted letters In the
epstolary world are those written by
Lord Chesterfield to his son; while among
the most natural are Thackerays. By
the way, Thacl<eray once said, There is,
perhaps, no greater test of mans reg
ularity and easiness of conscience than
his readiness to face the postman."
Dickens was past master in the art OF
letter writing. He ever wrote as If he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16
HEART TO HEART TALKS-By James A. Edgerton

There is a new freedom that is yet
wider.
In the past we have been slaves to
mary things that could have been BAN
ished by proper exercise of reason and
will power.
We have been slaves to Ignorance.
IN this age of public and private
schools, colleges, universities, libraries
newspapers, magazines, public lectures,
churches, study clubs instructive enter
tainments and the thousand and one other
agencies for imparting information and
culture there is no excuse for any hi-
man being to remain in ignorance. In
telligence is the great emancipator. The
truth shall make us Free
We have been slaves to prejudice.
Prejudice is but another name for mar
rowness, for lack of information. for pro-
vincialism, for egotism. for the absence
Of sympathy and understanding. If the
prejudice is against person 1t would
.probably be dispelled If we knew this per-
son better If it is against some new
idea it usually argues that we have not
advanced sufficiently to see what this
idea means. In any case 1t hurts only
ourselves. 1t but advertises our own lin
itations. We should ever be open to the
truth and accept it from whatever source
it comes.
We have been slaves to our appettes.
The appetites have beneficent func-
ton They are given us for the preserva-
tion of our individual lives and the life
of the race We should use them with
temperance, and sanity for these func-
-tions. Beyond this we should be free
from them They have no power over Us
except what we ourselves give them.
Rightly controlled they contribute to our
own happiness and do not Interfere with
the happiness of others. The body should
be servant, not master.
We have been slaves to false habits, to
imaginary ailments, to real ailments that
could have been overcome by right think
ing. will power and correct living.
The hour of our emancipation has
come. and we are our own liberators.
The sovereign spirit of man is too biz
for such petty bondage.
Come up into the free air and let the
self imposed shackles drop away.
How much we owe mankindi
Every hero that died for liberty died
for you and me-
Every martyr who gave his life to keep
the faith was . sacrifice for W.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

Love is blind to the faults of friendship.
Indeed, love finds no faults in the lover.
There are many letters that have been
given to the reading world that express
in superlatiye degree what the Greeks
called lakonilSos and what we call la
comic A aconism is short, concise,
pithy phrase or sentence Samuel Foote, a
celebrated wit and comedian of his day,
received an appeal from his mother for
pecuniary aid, The note read. Dear Sam,
am in prison. Come and assist your low
ing mother. f. f." Sam, unfortunately,
had likewise been imprisoned for debt,
and wrote, Dear Mother, So am /; which
prevents his duty being paid to his loving
mother by her affectionate son. S. F.''
There was, in the time of Garrick. a
celebrated actor by the name of Quin,
Garrick's triumphs in London had an
gered Quin, so he removed to Bath. De-
string to make an engagement a little
later in London, he wrote to John Rich,
manager of Covent Garden theatre, thus:
II am at Bath. Yours, James Quin."
To this laconc note Rich replied, stay
there, and be d. Yours, John Rich.'
Love of the laconic cost worthy Ala
bamian his office under the United Stahes
government some years ago. L refer to
S. Dnsmore. at that time collector of
the port of Mobile. He received a letter
from w. II. Crawford, ,Secretary of the
Treasury, at Washington which read,
This department is desirous of knowing
how far the Tombigbee river runs up
You will please communicate the infor-
nation" Dinsmore received the Secre-
tary's note and answered. Sir, 1 have
the honor to acknowledge the receipt of
Your letter of the 10Th ult., and of in
forming you in reply that the Tombgbee
does not run up at ALL" In few days
Dinsmore received the following letter
from the Treasury department at Wash
ington, Sir have the honor to inform
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

JORACE said, "Scribimus indocti
doctique," and If this statement
were true in his time. how much
more universally does 1t apply today.
All of us write, the ignorant as wen
as the learned We do not all write
books essays. or stories; but we are
all writer's of letters. If 1t were pos
sible to give wings to the letters that
are written daily: and If it were greed
by the governments of the world that
al certain hour these winged letters
should be permitted to fly to their des-
tinations; so numerous are they that
the very sun would be darl<ened as
they flew through the air. Millions and
millions of them would be over our
heads They would cross seas, noun
tain ranges, vast plains, and valleys;
they would come from and go to dis
tant continents; they would f1utter to
the shores of strange islands, and like
white winged birds come therefrom,
and finally rest in remote hooks across
the hemispheres, or in populous cities,
towns and villages. What host there
would be! When the Titanic went down
she carried with her over a million
mail parcels. most of them letters. This
of one ship While all over the world
of civilization men. women and chill
dren continue to write letters There
are long letters, and short ones; letters
of business interests and letters of
friendship; letters of sorrow, and let
ters of gladness; letters of enmity, and
letters of love; letters of loneliness,
and letters of happy family life-O, in
in one way or another we are all
writers of letters
Our letters, as a rule, partake of the
changes of modern times. Formerly,
letters were written with a higher re-
gard for the handwriting than now.
Doubtless the reader has in his pos
session letter or letters written by
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16
LETTER WRITING-No by Dr. W. E. Evans

you that this department has no further
Respectfully, w. II. Crawford This
correspondence took place In iS22. Tha
poet Rogers invited a celebrated wit to
take breakfast With him, IN iliese words.
"NilI YOU breakfas. with me ,nmor'pw2
S. r." The reply was "Won't lf.!1 ~
Lord Berkeley wrote to his friend, sMY
dear Dorset, have just married, and ann
the happiest dog alive. Berkeley" The
answer was, my dear Berkeley. every
dog has his day. Dorset" A teacher
In a public school received this explana-
ton of the absence of one of her pupils,
Dennis wasn't at school because the
goat eat up the seat OF his pants and
that's egcuse enun, God knows"
Many letters are written that should
never be posted. Butler. in Hudibras,
says:
Full oft have letters caused the writer's
To curse the day they were inditers"
Some of them were written In anger, the
pen being dipped into vitriol. Some ac-
complish nothing but the qualification OF
ones temper. / have written letters at
night which l have been glad to destroy
in the morning. I have posted letters in
haste. and sorrowed that L could not re-
call them. Before a tart letter is an
swered, a man should be in perfect COM
posure of mind and master OF himself
A man came to the postmaster of n city
and begged that a letter which he had
dropped into a box be returned. He was
REQUIRED to identify the letter. 1t was
handed back to him. Whereupon he tore
it to pieces and scattered 1t to the winds,
the while saying, "Ah, I've preserved
a friend" The letter had been written
in condition of irritation, and was UNI
Just. Better is It. by far. that one de.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

| Government with us has been too much
a matter of private arrangements, oil
deals between special interests.
We have got to write that WORD
"PUBLIC" large before the eyes of all
the people.
We need more public spirit, more pub
licity in things that affect the nation.
| We need a new motto that will rur
something like this:
| The man who permits private consid-
Grafton to influence him in the perform
! ance of public duty is a traitor to the
public.
| Nor should this motto be for officials
alone 1t should De kept before the eyes
of every voter in the land.
True standards will not obtain among
those in office so long as false standards
are accepted by those out of office.
We must take our public spirit with
rs to the ballot box. We must use it
| in reviving the old fashioned public meet
ings, in which men of the neighborhood
discussed the questions of the day.
Government is not matter OF private
favcrs. It's only legitimate field is the
good of all.
The man who holds to some party be-
cause he expects an office from that party
is actuated by private consideration IN
the performance of a public duty,
The man who supports those who will
give him special privilege is as much
oorruptionist as the fioater who sells
his vote.
We must learn to separate our private
interests from our public responsibilities.
We must have vision of the public
good.
The laws of nature treat all alike The
laws of man should afford the same equal
treatment.
"A public office is public trust"
Government Is not a matter of favor
ties. of classes, of patronage or of priyi-
lege.
1t Is a matter of justice.
1t is of all, by all and for all.
Three prime requisites are needed for
success IN this age. The first is ener-
gy. The second is faith. The third
is vision.
Never did the future so call to the
spirits of men as now. 1t holds out an
alluring prospect of the progress Of the
world. Vision is needed to see the
mighty things IN store.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

Every scientist who devoted his years
to patient investigation added to our
light
Every soldier who fought for righteous
ness helped to carve out the civilization
we enjoy.
We are the heirs of all these men, They
toiled for us, planned for us, agonzed
for U.S.
When we think of the infinite pair8 by
which our institutions were built up, that
human blood was used for the mortar
between all the stones in the temple OF
our civilization, that the heights on which
we dwell were erected out of the bodies
Of men, as the coral isle is made up OF
gered by the obligation placed upon us
How can we ever tell our gratitude to
those who thus gave their all for our
happiness?
The thought implants in us a reverence
for our institutions and a desire to be
very loyal to society.
It's rules were made for our benefit.
Even though sometimes defective, as
human institutions are apt to be, they
yet are necessary until something better
can De put In their stead.
Our. peace, prosperity liberty, enlight-
enment. security; our inventions, scientific
knowledge, philosophy. religion, art, liter
ature; our schools, clubs, churches. great
cities, beautiful villages. railroads, steam
ships. ocean cables. wireless, aeroplanes,
comforts, conveniences-all these and
other blessings are free gifts to us. They
have been patiently wrought for us
through the long ages of the past
All that is asked OF us in return is that
we use them to the best advantage; that
we do not abuse or ruthlessly destroy
these precious -inheritances.
If We were keenly' sensitive of all that
has been done in our behalf we would
never rest easy one moment unless we
We're doing for others.
Humanity has placed on us a debt of
sacred honor
This debt we must repay to humanity
from many sources comes the cry that
there Is something the matter with Amer
ica-that the natioh Is sick
What is the trouble?
Without going into the political phases
OF the subject, is not one of the sources
o1 our difficulty something like this?
We have failed properly to distinguish
between public and private.
we have permitted private considera-
s1ons 70 tnnuence US in our public action.