Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-10

too long by this time to shrink from
the dangerous exaltation which
knew the occasion would cause, 50
when the day came ] went to the
hotel in d fever Of pleasure and pride
The luncheon was nearly over, the
speeches We're about to begin, and
the ladies' gallery was buZzing like
a hive Of bees when | took my seat
in It, Two bright young American
women sitting next 10 me We're all
most as excited as myself, and look
ing down at men through a pair Of
opera glasses they were asking each
other which was Martin whcreupon
my vanity, not to speak of my sense
OF possession, was so lifted up that ]
pointed him out to them and then
| borrowed their glasses to look at the
| chairman.
He seemed to me 10 have that Light
Of imagination in his eyes which was
always blazing In Martins and when
he began to speak | thought ! caught
! the note of the same wild passion
| He said they we're there that day
| opening new chapter in the wonder
ful book Of mans story. and though
the dangers Of the great deep might
never be entirely overcome, and the
wind would continue to blow as it
listed, yet the perils of the one and
the movements Of the other were go
! ing to he known to, and therefore
| checked by, the human family.
After chat, ana a beautiful tribute
to Martin as a man chat everybody
| who had met him had come to love
! him. and that there must be some
| thing in the great soltudes of the
silent white world to make men sim
! pie and strong and great, as the sea
made them staunch and true) he
| drank to the success Of the expe-
| oition, and called on Martin to re-
| spond to the toast
There was a great deal Of cheering
when Martin rose but / was so ner-
vous that | hardly heard 1t. He was
nervous, too. as ! could plainly see,
for after a few words of thanks. he
began to tumble the sheets of
speech which he and | had prepared
| together, trying to read it, but los
Ing his place and even dropping his
| papers.
Beads of perspiration were start
| ing from my forehead and | knew
] was making noises in my throat
when all at once Martin threw his
papers on the table and said, in quite
another voice:
Shipmates, ] mean gentlemen, /
never could write a speech in my
life, and you see | can't read one,
but ! know what | want to say and
| If you'll take it as It comes here
| goes"
Then in the simple style Of a sailor,
not always even grammatical, yet
splendidly clear and bold and natural.
| laundering along as he used to do
when he was a boy at school and
/ Ia IL 1,
| his blue eyes ablaze. he told of his
aims and his expectations.
Martin s Speech.
And when he came to the end he
| said:
His lordship, the chairman, has
said something about the good effects
of the solitudes of Nature on a
mans character ! can testify to
| that. And l tell you this--whatever
| you are when you're up here and
| have everything you want, it's Won
derful strange the way you're ask
| ing the Lord to stretch out His hand
| and help you when you're down there
all alone and with an empty, hungry
stomach
81 don't know where you were last
Christmas Day, shipmates
mean gentlemen, but / know where
| was. | was in the S5th lititude,
longitude 1853. four miles south and
thirty west of Mount Darwin. 1t was
my own bit of an expedition that my
commander has made too much OF,
and | believe in my heart my mates
had had enough of it, When we got
out Of our sleeping bags that morn
Ing there was nothing in sight but
| miles and miles of rolling waves of
thnngQnl n
windy plateau, with glaciers full of
| creVasses shutting us off from the
sea- and not a living thing in sight as
far as the eye could reach,
I'VE were six In company and none
OF us We're too good for Paradise,
and one-hc was an old Mapping
sailor, we called him Treacle-had
the name of being a shocking old
rip ashore. But we remembered what
| day 1t was, and We wanted to feel
| that we weren't cut off entirely from
the world of Christian men-our
| brothers and sisters who would be
going to church at home So | dug
out my little prayerbook that my
mother put in my kit going away.
and We all stood round bareheaded i'm
the Snow--a shaggy old lot | can tell
you, with chins that hadn't seen a
razor for month-and | read the
prayers for the day, the first and sec
ond Nespers, and Laudate Dominum
and then the DE Profuudis.
81 think we felt better doing that,
but they say the comical and the
tragical are always chasing each
other TO see which can get in first, and
1t was so with us. for just as | had got
to an end with the solemn words.
out of the depths we cry unto thee,
q Lord, Lord hear our cry in jumps
old Treacle in his thiCkeSt cockney,
| And Gawd bless our pore ole wives
and sweethearts fur awe"
If Martin said any more, nobody
| heard IL. The men below were blow
| ing their noses. and the women In the
| gallery We're crying openly.
We'll the man who can talk like
that may open all my letters and tel
| egrams,' said one of the young Amer
! lean women. who was Wipins her eyes
| without shame.
What ! was doing, and what / was
! looking like, | did not know until the
| lady who had lent me the opera
/ glasses leaned over 10 me and said.
Excuse me, but are you his wife
may ! ask"
"Oh, no, no" l said nervously and
| eagerly but only God knows how the
| word went through and through me
had taken the wrong course, and
knew IT, NV pride, my JOY. my hap
/ piness were all accusing me. and
| when I wont ~ bad that t,fy,Af f,ft