davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

A N acquaintance of mine was relating
~ In my hearing the many things
\ that engaged his attention IN the
course of the day.
He arose every day at 6 o'clock,
and was on a continual drive under the
Hash of business until or o'clock at
might. If he had been a poor man my
sympathies would have been awakened;
but he was not. and I knew that he
|spent his time and energies in money
making. I. therefore, asked him: why,
when do you do your reading?" He
replied: "Wel. don't read at ALL" This
was an honest confession, and I knew
lit, SO, said: ''Why man, you are a
|great loser of the best things of life.
You will experience a mental drying up
land after awhile you will find that the
world has gone on by you and left you
la pauper so far as real riches are con-
|cerned. What do you talk about when
|you go to your wife and children at
|night?" ''well, the truth is, 1 don't talk
about anything. I'm too tired to talk and
too sleepy" he answered.
OF course. this reply was about what
expected. OF course, he does not talk
at home. for he has talked out while
|away from home, and is too sleepy to
|read when he reaches home.
During the day he is loquacious enough,
and his counting room rings with peals
|of merry laughter when his business
friends are around him. But when he
|goes to his home. to the little woman
who has passed the day alone, with a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
MENTAL PROCESS IN DREAMS
Mind Turns Waking Experience Into
Work of Art

In the interesting discussion upon
dreams at the meeting of the British as
sociation, T. IL. Pear gave an instance
took dramatic form. says the I.ondor
Times. The wish of the dreamer wal
represented by one person. and his senss
of duty. which opposed It, was repre-
sented by another. In fact. the dream
turned this mental conflict. which in
waking state would have been one
mere thought. into a work of art. a kint
of problem play, In which the two op-
posed influences became human beings.
All dreams do not take this drar1Atip
form. but they all turn some kind OF ex-
perience. whether mental or physical. into
some kind Of work of art. 1t may be that
they seize upon an external pretext. such
as real sound. or upon a physical dis
comfort. such as Indigestion; or it may
be that they draw upon previous expert
ences of waking hours. which IN waking
hours are not remembered.
But In all cases they transform the en-
perience. whatever 1t may be. into soms-
thing different from itself. something
which has more or less independents
reality for the mind of the dreamer. Some
times. as In the instance given. It Is Z
drama In which he plays his part: some-
times 1t is music all about him. in which
he himself seems to have his being. no-
merely enjoying, but sharing in it,
rhythm and harmony. There is the same
inexplicahle intensity in dreams as In
great works of art, so much so that we
often say that a picture which moves
us greatly. We cannot tell why. is like
a dream; and we experience the glory
of dreams when we heard movement of
mlsic. and carry away from 1t or from
the fine performance Of q great play =
memory which is like the memory q
dreams. at the Same time vivid an6 ~
accountable In its viv1dnssA
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

was at once raised for the purpose of
placing a high marble shaft at his
grave. and in the cemetery at Marion
it still stands conspicuously. with the
Inscriptions undimmed by the storms
OF more than half a century. On the
front of the shaft is the inscription;
Harry. servant OF H. II. Talhird. d.
D. president of Howard college. who
lost his life from injuries received
while rousing the students at the burn
ing of the college building. on the night
of October 15. 1854, aged 2s years" On
another side appears the inscription:
"A consisten member of the Baptist
church. he illustrated the character of
"a consistent member of the Baptist
DEATH" On still another side appears the
languages: "As a grateful tribute to
his fidelity, and to commemorate noble
act, this monument has been erected
by the students OF Howard college and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

the Alabama Baptist convention" The
fourth side of tho monument bears
this inscription: He was employed as
waiter IN the college. and when
alarmed by the flames at midnight, and
warned to escape for his life. he re-
Piled, Il must wake the boys first and
thus saved their lives at the cost of his
own
Here humanity asserted itself to the
full. Uninfluenced by any other consid-
Grafton than that young man had
proved himself n hero in a dire crisis
every worthy man and woman was
ready to accord to dead, but heroic
slave the merits of his just deserts.
In the Dred Scott decision Is years be-
fore, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Ia
ney, of the supreme court of the United
States had said that negroes had no
rights which the white man was bound
to respect" While this deliveranoe
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

thing" Without starting nothing can
be accomplished. The first mason had
to put down the first stone before the
pyramid began; somebody had to get
the idea of erecting st. Peters before
its unsurpassed dome could rise.
Same thing in private life-if you never
begin you never get anywhere.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle in the
path of worth while accomplishment
Is the fear Of starting wrong. BE sure
lyou are right, then go ahead,'> said
Davy Crockett. But how, in a world
which has many false appearances. can
one be sure that one is right? The only
way to test the matter is to make be-
ginning, to start. If you find that you
are on the wrong road retrace your foot
steps. 1t is better to 60 back than to
continue wrong.
"For Gods sake, give me the young
man who has brains enough to make q
fool of himselfl'' said Stevenson. Note
that he did not say: Give me the young
man who Keeps on making fool of him
self" He meant that he wanted to see
in the world young men with brains
enough to start something to make an
essay of their powers, to put them into
the crucible of experience, to analyze
them and get at the percentage of gold
which they contain.
Fear not to make fool of yourself.
Other men, bigger men, greater men. be-
fore your time have made false starts
and have been derided for their pains. But
in every case they have had sense
enough to see their mistakes and to re-
trace their steps. Nothing is gained by
continuing In the wrong road once its
error is seen clearly.
But
Just as the wrong line of reasoning
leads to the wrong conclusion. SO no
reasoning at all leads nowhere. The
premise must come before the conclu-
sion If the syllogism is to be perfected.
You have to lay a foundation of facts.
There is a keynote of the mighty cho-
rus of energy which thrills the world
Get busyl' Whatever your hand finds
to do. that do with all your might"
Don't me a Micawber. waiting for
something to turn up. Get out with your
physical or mental shovel and turn 1t
up for yourself
Goodness" says Gerald Stanley Lee
in his interesting and seed-bed-of-thought
book, Crowds lis by-product of eff
ficency."
That is, when you are efficient you are
creating goodness besides the thing i'm
mediately IN hand. If your work takes
you to the field for plowing and you plow
with all your might and intelligence, you
throw up burrows of goodness as well
as of dirt. And IL your work is writing
books and you put into them all the sim
cerity and clear thinking and command
OF language OF which you are capable,
you are writing not only book, but an
example of goodness for the world to
read
Expressing the underlying thought In
another way
x sssry one had some good work to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

and twine have gone by. Tha mer.
chant nowadays who succeeds has 9th
er and bigger things to occupy hi:
mind.
So It is with those whose years are
increasing in number. but who are moi
aging physically or mentally. If they
engage themselves in worth while af-
fairs they have neither time nor incli.
nation to hoard every pin, every empty
box, every bit of string. They know
that such things lie outside the prov
ince OF the really busy person.
II you find yourself inclined to bt
"cussy" about little things
,, Stop and ask yourself, Am I getting
old?"
Let the answer be 'No!' and reform
your ways. Fix your mind on broader
wider outlooks. Push away your hori-
zon. Don't shut yourself in by an ever
narrowing round of little things, little
duties, little pleasures. Do not feel
that because you were born long ago
you must give up interest In the af-
fairs of the present. You may be truly
just as much alive in 1t and enjoy ev-
cry hour and day and year as any
youngster.
Beware of that symptom of old age,
the inclination to make much of little
things and to hoard them. That way
lies senile decreptitude, which is but
one remove, and a short one from
mental and physical death.
In hospital in Baltimore lay man
afflicted with cancer. He was man
of strong. vigorous intellect, leader
among men, a member Of the national
House of Representatives. Throughout
the country he has friends and ao-
quaintances who had heard with SYM
pathy of his illness.
His disease entailed much bodily suf-
fering, as we'll as distress Of mind.
owing to Its hopeless nature
Nothing was concealed from Con-
gressman Robert G. Bremner. The
physicians told him that his case was
hopeless.
They would do for him what they
could with the marvellous new mineral,
but they held out no hope Until the
moment when death eased this suffer-
Ing he retained MS courage ana cneer-
fulness.
This is the message he sent from the
hospital:
'Tf experimenting on me has added
a new fact to science. then my life has
not been In vain, but has helped the
race. I feel that the cutting and the
doctoring have added to the knowledge
of how best to fight cancer. Some poor
soul who comes after me may benefit.
The question is not whether | am
going to get well. but rather IL l am
going to live up to ideals for dying
gamely, which are just as helpful to
the race as living bravely.
Ger, and I think would rather be in
the category of those who were in the
fight and helped to win the victory
than to be one of those who placidly
reaped tho benefit.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
ROMANCE OF ALABAMA HISTORY-HARRY, THE n

ing. The basement was one mass of roll
ing flames when first the building was
reached. In a house near by. the janitor.
a negro boy of q was sleeping. and when
he reached the scene. the flames were
moving steadily up the stairway. He
made a movement as If TO plunge into
tho flames. when he was warned TO keep
clear. He replied that he must save the
boys who were sleeping on the two upper
floors. and did plunge through fire and
smoke, and disappeared beyond.
Within a short time. many of the people
of the town had gathered, and the boys
began to leap one after another to the
ground. Ladders were brought into red
uisition to aid those on the highest floor
to escape. Every student was aroused by
the heroic colored janitor, and all but one
had descended safely to the ground.
The young man who was still missing
soon appeared at window and was saved
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
y, THE MARTYR JANITOR-By B. F. Riley. D. I

The following morning elaborate prep
arations were made for the becoming
burial of the heroic Harry. Negro slave.
as he was. he was honored with a burial
from the leading white church of the town.
The building was packed with wealthy
planters, merchants. lawyers. and their
families to do honor to the hero of the
fire.
In the funeral services, leading citizens
arose. one by one. to pronounce euiogies
on the dead slave.
Flowers We're in profusion. and the
procession to the cemetery was COM
posed of the carriages of the wealthy
Greater distinction could not have been
shown the most eminent citizen of the
town.
At the grave every possible consid-
Grafton was shown, and mournfully the
vast crowd turned from the grave of
an humble slave. A sum of money
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

through the exertions of the late DR..
Noah X Davis. late professor of phil
osophy in the universiey of Virginia, and
several others.
About this time. the negro boy, burnt
almost bare. and raw from his burns his
hair burnt from his head, and his eye
brows and iashes gone. appeared at one
of the highest windows ana flung himself
to the ground. about % feet below.
He rolled over on the grass a dead man.
His body was drawn from under the in
fluence of the intense heat, and every
effort was made to restore life, but he
had been burned to death, and evidently
had thrown himself from the window to
prevent his body from being consumed in
the burning building.
The terrible fire was now lost sight of
in the attention which was bestowed on
the faithful negro janitor. He had given
his life for others.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

was hailed as an expression of the SEN
timent OF the south. in the agitation
which then shook the country. It was
forgotten when human sympathy and
the recognition of the genuine worth
was put to the test. For when an is-
norant slave boy became a rare hero.
and voluntarily gave his life for others.
the decision of the highest tribunal of
the land was forgotten at tho bar of
tested humanity.
Tho name of Harry was heralded
through the press Of the country, and
on the floor of the Baptist state con
Vention of Alabama, wealthy slave
owners euloeized him a hero, and freely
opened their purses TO give expression
to their appreciation of his chivalrous
conduct in saving the lives OF so many.
Worldwide apart. and yet akin,
As shown that the human heart
Beats on forever as OF Old
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

do and joyed in it and performed 1t to
the best of his ability the worlds stock
of goodness would be augmented More
over. the earth would be filled with good
ness.
Now for the authors definition of good
ness. He says:
''I would define goodness as doing what
one would wish one had done In 20 years
20 years. % days. 20 minutes or 20 Sec
onds, according to the time the action
takes to get ripe"
That is if you would estimate and
weigh the goodness or badness of an ac-
guidance as to whether you should or
should not do it. ask yourself
| Twenty years from now, or 20 days,
or 20 minutes. or 20 seconds, according TO
the Importance of the action and its ex-
pected influence on myself and on others.
will 1 be glad or sorry that have done
| it?'' If do it will wish that had not ?
And II I do not do 1t will regret that
L left it undone?''
| That is good. working, everyday
standard by which to measure ones ac-
| tions. 1t is practical yardsticl1 of moral
ity to be laid alongside of an action to
measure up it's erect.
Criminologists say that one of the char
acteristics of offenders is their inability
! to reason out the effects of their mis-
deeds on themselves and others. They
see only the immediate end to be gained
Good men stop to reason. They know
| that axyfl doipC hou over eaov,,iry,x, aa.t,
| able the immediate end to be attained,
does not ''pay'' in the enA. It brings
| with it it's own penalty. It is self-destruc-
tive.
1t is this feeling which makes so strong
motto OF the old saying, Honesty is
the best policy" even though it has been
said with wit and wisdom that "the man
who thinks so is not really honest"
Here's new creed. It is far from being
what the poet Wadsworth called "a creed
outworn." Professor Charles P. F'agnani
Of the Union Theological seminary. New
York city. is the father:
II believe in the humanity Of God. I
believe in the divinity of man. I believe
in the miracle of life. the courage OF
faith. the blessedness or hope and In
the friendliness of the passing years."
A preacher Of the Presbyterian denomi-
nation said it. All of us. of whatever de-
nomination or of. none, may accept 1t
freely and fully and, aspiring to live up
to it, becoRe better, nopler men and
women.
Analyze it sentence by sentence:
II believe in the humanity of God. .
Let carping critics write and speak sneer-
ingly. if they Will, of the ''anthropomor-
phization OF God--which means showing
the Creator with human attributes--it re-
mains true that to the great majority
of thinking, feeling persons, God, the
Divine Ruler of the universe, is the
Father who exercises over us all his
watchful. loving supervision. That is the
humanity Of God.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

"I believe in the divinity of man."
Instinctively. intuitively. man cherishes
the idea that In him is implanted some
Of the spirit of higher being. He
gives to that higher being various names.
to the same thing-a spirit in which are
embodied the attributes which man feels
and knows to be good, such as right
dealing with ones fellow man. respect for
truth telling. decency in conduct These
are sparks OF the celestial fire which
man calls conscience" and are revea-
tions of the divine in man, if all human
experience through the centuries is to be
believed.
THE miracle of life is the constant
joy in feeling growth in power and
usefulness. 1t expands in the soul like
the opening flower. from the first day
of its realization in the youth until the
time when the work of earthly exist
ence is laid aside.
''rhe courage of faith" is the win to 10
right, according to the inner voice, in
the hope and belief that in the end it
will be justified by results 1.-The bless
tuiltSS VI icpc HttuS uO tApldIdl1On
or elucidation. 1t is an inseparable part
of human thought.
And "in the friendliness of the passing
years. That, indeed, is harder to hold
fast unto. for to some the years seem
to bring increase of burden instead of
relief. The true lover of mankind can
only say with Tennyson:
I can but trust that good shall fall
At last far off-at last to all
And every winter change to spring.
There are other signs of advancing
age than the silvering or the shedding
of the hair, the bending of the back
and the weakening of the faculties.
Here's one:
When you begin to put undue value
on trifles; when you begin to hoard
things of which you formerly took lit
tie or no account; when you expatiate
on the value of pins. for example
You are getting old.
Now, it is an old and sound belief
that the truly wise person never be-
days he retains an interest In life and
Ieels hlmselIs ike the poet Terence, a
part of all that concerns humanity.
With the passing Of the years ones in
tercst In human affairs should become
wider and deeper and broader and flow
along with greater rather than with
diminished force, as the current Of a
stream gains<momentum when 1t nears
tho place where it merges with the
great sea- t
So should it be with the river of each
persons existence as it joins the inex-
haustible reservoir of life
The truly wise person does not spend
time and energy, mental and physical
in worrying about trifles The days
OF the merchant who went shopping
around his establishment to see that
his clerks and arrand boys picked up
every pin and saved every bit Of paper
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

forms OF amusement, is thai, I'd
versally fascinating as TO eng
time that should be devoted
and to general reading. In III
to culture the tango stands as
rival Yet, l am not sure tht
greater menace IN this partic,
the game OF bridge. for whi a
women neglect not only reading,
homo duties, their children, al
other responsibility. In order I
might handle the pastboards an,
themselves I'm the mysterious NJ
Now, there can be no doubt tha
body needs amusement and re,
for Il is still true that "all we
no play makes Jack a dun boy
we must earn our right to rec
by an expenditure of work, for {
and no work makes Jack O very
fellow whom most people of Ju
will condemn.
IL man has entirely lost his "a
literature. supposing that he on
sessed 1t, is this any reason '
should cause hia children TO grow
ignorance OF books and without
of reading? Can he suppose Il
anything that can take the pl
books In his home? II he is Il
his purpose to starve his mind
right to starve the minds OF those
God has committed to his care, @
whose present and future he is re
Bile? O. man. IL you will not rea
IL you do not love books, for TIL
of your family, furnish your hon
the possibilities of tho mental enri
that lies In the printed page.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

Better the loss than the gain, the
fight than the victoryi
With flesh subjected to torture. the
brave man found space in his brain to
think of those who might be benefited
by his sufferings. His body was fee
BILE. but the light of the spirit shone
out bright and strong from his hos
pital bed.
1t cannot be said that he gave him
self g. willing sacrifice for others. OF
course, as did the brave and good
Father Damien, who went to Molokai to
minister to the lepers and contracted
their disease. but 1t must be said that
in his affliction he made the best of
things"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
OWARD COLLEGE, then at Ma
rion, was burned on the night
NJ notohar TX 12sA

TOWARD COLLEGE. then at Ma
rion, was burned on the night
of October Is, 1854.
DIR. Henry Talbird was at the time the
president of the institution. and his night
y habit was to make thorough inspec-
|ion of the grounds and buildings in order
10 see that all was well. After making
bis usual and uniform round on the night
Just named, he went to ped somewhat
lLfter 10 o'clock. He had fallen into deep
Eleep when he was aroused by the ring
Ing of bells. and the loud cry of fire
fire. fire" On rushing out he found
|he lower floor of the dormitory all ablaze
|he fire already having begun its ascent
bp the stairway.
To this day. the origin of the fire Is a
hystery. It was in the fall of the year,
the weather was still warm. and there
|ras no occasion for fire about the build
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
<<FY~

Kun HE things which have caused
me the most worriment in my
rfe," said an old man, "are
| the things which never happened"
Every year for many years past, a
woman in Paris has made 1t her busi-
ness to prophesy concerning the things
which are to come in the new year.
She has a great vogue in Europe, for
she has made some shrewd guesses
concerning future events-just as you
or I might have done IL we had read
1.-THE news closely and made deductions
/ from our readings and observations
(For example, if we had noticed that
an aged and feeble king had retired
from active court life and was threat
ened with serious illness, we might feel
safe in predicting his death.)
Well, at the close of 1912, a man
who reads the news rather closely no.
ticed that this Frenchwoman was UP
to her old tricks and had again proph-
esied all sorts of things, principally
evil, for the year 1918. So this Ameri-
can reader kept copy of the preo1c-
tions. saying to himself:
'.At the end of the year I'll see how
many Of her predictions will be full
filled"
The year passed. At its close this
man Checked up" his recollections OF
the year and compared them with the
prophecies. They were nine In number.
OF the nine not one had come to
fpass, save one which was the vaguest
Of the lot! And that one "came true
only partly.
Folks who believe in signs and
omens and the predictions Of fortune
teliers, take notice.
Here were the printed. recorded. un-
doubted words of a past mistress OF
the gypsie's art. None of her sayings
came true.
4 How much should you believe, then
Of the mouthings of the minor mem
bers of the fortune teller's craft?
When a person prophesies evil to you
or about you just smile at him and
say:
Well, Nine. de so-and-so. grand
high mistress Of all the star gazers and
crystal readers and spook investigators
of Europe, couldn't tell what was 60
ing to happen to the statesmen and
crowned heads of Europe, SO I guess
you; ca ~-"ch about me-.
Dom tsn .a 'oakers. Their
words s oa ach ngness. They
cannot har advance you
Laugh so the cheeriness
Aof Opt air ssion of which
y wor IS as much as
tie glee5f. H of the croak-
ers. X net
God Ills right with
the we
starr sefn, slaney folks
when tlx4 the usual or
der Of ''- the monotony
which Il fff s, and start
somethii ~ arrpsno.
we'll
= ~ sf 3 ~GtAxt sounod