davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

"Who ever heard red-bird sing?" Why, have many a time. Their tones are not very numerous, and their repertoire is quite limited but their notes are as clear as the moclxing- birds, and won drous beautiful.
 Sitting here alone on the long front gallery, l see a world of quiet activity, where little while back only the bleak ness. and the death brought about by cold winter, confronted me. Can it be possible that the grain sowed last fall lived through the long cold days, and colder nights, and now is covering the fields with velyety green? Can it be possible that when I bade farewell to the bush that bore ''the last rose of sum mer" and afterwards looked upon it's withered and dead twigs and branches through something akin to tears, is still living? Yet, here is the tiny bud upon that same bush. l can see it's delicate pink and white petals trying their best to burst out into full florescence. How won derful it is. How mysterious is the gov ernance of God.
 l know the analogy is not satisfactory to the scientific uotad but my training in study and the natural tendency of my mind lead me to think of the likeness between the resurrection in nature of plant life, and the resurrection in the last day. A great Thinker employed the analogy nearly 2000 years ago. l suppose he used the thought simply as an analogy, because abstract reasoning could not com prehend, nor even apprehend, the sub ject of the final resurrection. fore, he said, "Verily, verify, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, 1t bringeth forth much fruit He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto the life eternal" This great Thinker said these words with alluslon to Himself, but the application Is wide as
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

Under the pressure or oppression of Lat time, a new spirit was born, which has ever since been the synonym of all that is noble in humanity-the spir- it of chivalry. It had it's germ in up- per Germany among barbarians, but even in its rough incipiency, it yield
 ed harvest of good, for from 1t came the idea of respect for the weak, be- cause 1t was weak. by the strong. Then it was but a slight Till, but it swelled into mighty current and widened with progressing civilization The pro- tection of womanhood and of child hood was one of its dominant features, while the principles embodied in inter- national law were embodied in its na- ture. From enyeloping darkness chival- " emerged into modern life as a prin- ciple which has been wrought into the texture of civilized nations. But the persistent and industrious preserva- tion of letters by the toiling scholars
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

gins for memoranda of financial transae- tions, making the former actually do duty as an I. .. U Who the rascal was 1 know not, though apparently one of my forebears. It was worse rascal. proh- tried to ohllterate that writing and left a scar on the old board cover Quarles lived long before Crabhe and Crabbe long and "B. NJ rather too saccharinelv sad. religious minds Quarles quaint and mNs- tically humorous, Crabbe most respecta- bly, English. the acme Of common sense, and "B. NJ. s rather too saceharinely sad. The bookbinders of three several centuries have indeed by selecting their form pre- destined them occupants of a common three-iuch tomb, hard by the monuments of Goethe and French, Shakespeare Mill ton and eke Euripdes,
 Ah, that Euripides Give me space. dear printer. son of Benjamin Franklin, to say that here is a book that costs, in English siS and sixpencs. or about Si 60. It is leather bound, printed beautifully. Greek and English CNay's translatiom on opposite pages, edited by Loeb, and puh- lished by 1leinemann. London. Such book it is that becomes a member of Loebs Classical Library, and comes II company with many more of the oldest lmmortals. Furthermore Il helps recall your lapsed Greek and Latin and puts tho rarest scholarship at your beck and call
 But enough Wonder is Buddhist work. written and translated hy n Jap anese, cheek by iowl with r. D. Maurice, and Renan is entombed with Matheson. Wonder see too the Koran between the Report of q Missionary Conference in osaka, and Spurgeons lectures to hls stu. dents Strange tombmatesi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

of the gloomy and turbulent time. de- mands special attention. Wrought though it was in the gloom of monastic life literature was maintained. Be- hind pondvrous and thick oaken doors, studded with heavy nails and ereaking on rusty hinges, were many sombre figures of long-robed and sandaled monks. plying their literary vacations. Little inspiration comes either from without or within to these men. busy and thoughtful, their aim being to study, to record, to preserve. They were in no sense creators of new thought
 they only sought to keep the embers of the past stirred. so that the fires go not out. Without is the clash of arms and the tnmnlt of struggle, while within the walls of thick stone, on which the green damp had traced its grotesque velvet work, where there was little to quicken and enliven. patient scholars were bent over rude tables
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

creased freedom came increased energy and activity. and the minds of men sought orbits of expression.
 In the dazzle of development as the tides of progress swept toward the fu- ture. the world forgot those preservers of thought and custodians of letters. who with diligent hand, kept trimmed the lamp of literature amidst the pre- vailing darkness. While the rust of barbarlsm gathered hard and thick, the more laborious these men became With no concert of action. no touch of congenial sympathy, but each apart in his own seclusion. preserved ana thus nerpetuated the classic literature which was bequeathed to generation under the cultivation of which it flow cred and fruited to the glory of Eu- rope. Nor should 1t be forgotten that the roots of the harvest of the renais= sance run far back under the dark ness and tempest of the middle ages
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

garden. II was merely a dry stick when I planted 1t. But To. here is rose. Here are colors and fragrance. and beauty. Last fall l saw my work man scattering hard. dry. brown seed over newly plowed field. But now. as result. I behold a field of lovely green grass which after a whNe, please God. will ggow tall and every blade will bow its head with single seeds which in all the ages past never had an existence. A little while since | saw the robins flying above me. htch one wore a crimson badge upon his gray breast. Here Is my little friend. the red bird There Is not a gray feath- CT among the red ones on his graceful body They eat the same insects, and devour the same quality of seeds and living plants. Why are they not all of one color? Whence the red? Why and how the gray? From where l sit the watermelon patch of last year Is in full sight l planted dark brown seed. After some weeks the seed sent forth green vines. Then were formed great green oblong globes. Sore of them were striped with ornamental rows of dark green. The melons were cut open. There was an outer shell of green, layer of white, and bordering it was a mass of crimson melon meat. holding rows and rows of seed some dark, some white. The mcse was charged with sugar and water ret l planted only some hard dark seed
 We live in world. of mysterJ. The philosopher confronts' mystery. The scientist postulates his deductions upon mystery. The Christian man believes certain things in spite of their mys- teres, and Is thereby like the scientist and the philosopher, for to him Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

ing the things which ought to have been done.
 Now here Is an example from a far different source. The following are the words of a man condemned to death for murder. spoken on the eve of his punishment in the electric chair:
 "I have never done anything wrong in my life which brought me any good. If some kind friend had only placed his, hand on my shoulder when l was 15 years old and beginning to listen to evil influences instead of good, there would have been chapter in my life different from the one tonight"
 There is general but deplorable tendency in mankind to hesitate before offering advice to the young. There is a tendency to say or think:
 "Oh, the young person will get on well enough without my putting in. had to learn from experience. Let every one else get along in the same
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

without the preserved memorials Of which the revival of letters could not have been
 Just desert has never been accorded 10 those who labored in obs@irity through the generations of that dis mal period in saving the remnants Of thought of the past, and in preserving it's continuity in spite Of the odds against them.s The cloister life of the dark ages developed meditative hab Its of mind which was followed by spirit of Inquiry which sought divers channels when the hour of liberation struck. This dismal period not only furnished the materials from which was reared the later wondrous superstrue- ture, but 1t created the teachers of A new era which at last dawned and gladdened. Through this age of gloom were strained the ancient classics which have contributed SO much to the nomenclature of our modern sci ences.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

the spots are being cleaned up-came re- gently Dan Crawford, one of the men who are helping to remove the darkness
 He tells interesting stories of his a years experience as missionary among to Christianity. He is no long range doer of good He gets right in among those whom he is trying to benefit. He lives their lives.
 He. tells us that he feared he would forget his native language among the African tribes, and so from the first he talked for hours every day to himself.
 The native languages took hold of him and superimposed themselves on his broad Scotch dialect SO that now 1t is somewhat hard for an American to un- derstand him. But the honesty and trans parent purpose of the man to do good stand out shining above the difficulties of language. They speak common tongue to all mankind.
 Moreover
 Crawford thinks black That is his own phrase. By 1t he means he endeav- o,s to think as do the African natives among whom he labors. He wants fo think like them, to feel like them, to enter thoroughly into their lives. Only thus. thinks Crawford, can he fully un- dcrstand their problemS and help them in the solutions.
 If "thinking black'' means entering completely into the spirit of whatever one is doing
 Let's all think black"
 It is only another name for concen- tration, that word which means so much when rightly understood. It means ab- sprption in the thing that is to be done, the shutting out of all outside influences the straining of energy to reach a goal.
 Think black
 And think it hard and continuously Don't speckle it with white or gray Good. straight, unbroken black is best when black is called for. Too many of us let our attention wan- der from the thing that Is to be done and thus mottle our black with streaks and spots and stripes.
 Whether he Is worse who commits an active wrong or he who omits doin 2 that which he knows to need doing is a question that is as old as the world The Book of Common Prayer says: We have left undone those things which we ought to have done. and we have done those things which we ought not to have done"
 Placing first in order of sinfulness you see. the sins of omission, not do
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

"o read most histories and to credit
 them, one is made to feel that for tA the period of about 1000 years the people of the earth were in a limbo of gloom-dark, stagnant. and inert, but in the light of historical disclosure. this pie ture is found to be exaggeratingly oyer drawn. The period was in many respects backward, as compared with later ones, while in other respects 1t was any other than backward. It was an age of the cloister and of the monastery, but to as- sume that it was an age of long slumber and sluggishness, when the world was asleep, is erroneons. It was an age of in cubation. accumulation, assimilation, and of preparation.
 To be sure, the age was encountered by many clogs serious drawbacks. and much superstition, but it was the winter of the worlds history. As among the seasons
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

twinkling of an eye, at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (who still live when the trumpet sounds) shall be changed. For this cor ruptible must put on interruption and this mortal must put on immortality"
 When l lay the body of a friend In the marrow house appointed for all the living" l do not expect to see that same body again. I know that it will disintegrate. It may appear some time in tender grass. In colored fruit, in fragrant flowers. Hamlet said of Ophelia's body,
 Lay her in the earth
 And from her fair and unpolluted flesh May yiolets spring"
 This seems to be Gods way ii nature. When l SOW "a corn of wheat" l do not expect to see 1t again. It will die. But there is contained vital spark somewhere from which the new wheat springs-"thou sowest not that body that shall be"
 But does not this view contradict the statement of identity whereby we might know our friends in another world? Not for a moment. The physical body is not essential to recognition. 1n- deed, the body prevents recognition here in this world quite often. Our friends undergo such changes by req son of age and absence that 1t Is im- possible to recognize them, sometimes, But when their minds souls. spirits, recall some past act, event. or circum- stance, memory bridges the past and soul knows soul and fails the disgulses that have been wrought in the loom of time.
 l am not unconscious of the many mysteries that enfold this whole sub ject I am mystified at the springtime development of the rose bush in my
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

his play was work; he made it a business to get the best out of everything. He was well along in life. but he was one who could never really grow old. How ever advancing time had nodded his fig .ure, whatever lines it had grayen upon his face. in bodily movement and play of feature hew as ever active. replete with energy, responsive to wholesome fun and keen with mental stimulation. Youth ever sought his company and accepted him as one with themselves; and his contcm- poraries in age. as did his elders, always esteemed him young fellow
 So runs part of a tribute-to the memory of the late Frank Millet, the famous art ist who perished when the Titanic sank. His was 8 wonderful personality; the story of his life surpasses in interest most novels.
 The posthumouss tribute printed above was not the only one he gained. for in his lifetime friends. delighted to honor him. Twenty years before his death Kate Field wrote of Millet:
 If I were asked what man ought to be exhibited at the worlds fair as the best representative of an American from all points of view I should answer, Frank Millet, cosmopolitan Yankee l"
 What made him representative?
 Was not it his ability to keep young and to maintain touch with all that was alive and stirrhg and best about him?
 There is the touchstone of real Amer ican-he does not permit himself to grow old. All that occurs, in his own country and everywhere, interests him and en- gages his sympathies if it be worthy.
 In proportion as you live in touch with your times you are a real American.
 When you drop out of the contempo- rary procession, when the coming of each days newspaper Is no longer an event in your life when you decide that 1t is time to be old, to take in sail," you fall behind fin your Americanism.
 Old? There's no such thing as age. It's false image dwells in the mind. It will take entire possession if 1t be not cast out as were lhe devils in the scripture.
 Emulate Millet, the famous artist. the civil war veteran, the brilliant writer, the war correspondent who taught their business in the Russo-Ta-kish war to the best of the foreigners!
 Keep youngl Keep in touch not only with your contemporaries. but with those younger ones who are joining the process sion from day to day.
 From Africa, the formerly dark con- tinent-it is dark now in spots only. ant
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

court to ask why she did not send her 14-year-old daughter to school
 Judge" said she, "I don't want her to get too smart. If she goes to school and gets a whole lot of education she becomes a suffragette. I want her to get married some day and she doesn't All she has to know is how to cook and sew and take care of house and children. That's what a woman is for. Now. what happens is, if she gets too smart and becomes a suffragette, she will run around to meetings and all that business"
 But, despite her reasoning, the judge ordered her to send her daughter back to school. Like all sensible folks, he failed to see the force of her reasoning, although there Is a certain plausibility about it.
 The fact that the mother could req son thus showed that she was not de- void of sense. And her references to suffragettes and meetings proved that she kept in touch with the movements of the times, even if she did not ap- prove of them.
 It may be that in higher circles than the one in which this foreign woman moves there is the same idea about girls-that too much education units them for the duties of wives and mothers
 It is a mistaken idea.
 It has been demonstrated amply by investigation of the post graduation careers of high school girls and college women that a knowledge of Greek does not conflict with the proper run ming of kitchen and that familiarity with the higher mathematics may be used to prevent the butcher from un- derweighing and overcharging.
 There cannot be such thing as too much learning, for any one. housewife, professional woman, business man or artist.
 As the mind Is properly trained in academic pursuits it broadens and de- velops and acquires strength for the attack on the little, everyday things which matter so much in the aggre- gate.
 So- If your son or daughter shows an inclination toward study do not att tempt to bend the twig the other way. 'He loved the companionship of the worlds best, and the worlds best sought his company. His work was pleasure and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

powerful heap" of cash to most per- sons.
 But
 Suppose you had the 5000 coming in to you every day of the year. How would you spend it?
 That's the question which confronted Charles Page of Oklahoma. He an- swered it by adopting children at wholesale. By recent report he had 300 youngsters to call him father, and he said he hoped to make it 1000 soon.
 Probably MT. Page holds the worlds record for adoptions And he is bring ing up all of his large brood as though they were his own kiddies
 More
 He has provided that the bulk of his large estate shall go toward aiding poor children and to maintaining home for them which he has founded. He has promised that any boy or girl who completes the course in the free school which he conducts at the home may select any college for further edu- cation, and he promises maintenance to such boy or girl. In the school he has placed skilled teachers, who con- duct all branches of manual training and domestic science. It is recorded that he enjoys nothing better than a romp with his adopted children at the home. His heart takes them all in.
 Not long ago it was learned that 8 young girl inmate of the Wisconsin State Industrial School for Girls is q niece of MT. Page. When the relation ship was established he sent for her and gave her a home with himself.
 It would be idle. of course, to say to any one while pointing to Page oi Oklahoma, "Go, thou, and do lil<ewise.' The great majority of us have not the means to adopt 300 or 30 or even three children even if we had the desire and courage to do so.
 But
 There Is no doubt that most of us could do more to help the children of the poor than we do. Whatever may be the faults and failings and misdeeds of their parents, these little ones in country byways or city crowded streets are not to blame for the conditions which deprive them in so many cases of health and opportunity and life. Perhaps there are many other per- sons~who think as does a certain New York woman.
 Her name indicates that she is of foreign birth. She was summoned to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

with tremulous smiles and tears. Frances Ridley Havergal, next to Dante? Beyond Miss Havergal. in a tall monument Of green, is F'renchman clothed in English, Alphonse dc Lamartine, whose poetic meditations' I keep only as a dreadful example of the fatal In poetic metamor- phosis. Some day in some astral sphere myself may perhaps find the French originals and learn how great crime was wrought by the we'll meaning Eng fish gentleman who thus dressed the poetic meditations of the Frenehman. 1 catch as I glance at the pages. proof that the book was last opened more than 20 years ago, and also this'awfu line which puts the teeth on edge with the ''resound- ing seaf
 Upon sorrento's sea $ resounding edge"
 Great Ruskin's ghost All these marshalled s.bilants should stay far from the laundering tide. with those hissing geese that trot across the village green in the musical evening mist
 Possibly in some forgotten paper l have discovered concerning Francis Quarles. whose "Embems' are here, side by side with a Plymouth Brother, who is really a sister, "B. M," and fanked on the other side by George Crabbe. I wonder how many of my readers know Ezekiel and Other Poems" They had quite a vogue among good evangelicals and naseent preachers 6 generation ago. Of a deeply dejected religious tone, these poems have facile smcothness and a certain labor ious sincerity. 1 think that invalids and devotees will quite frequently find solaca of sort In The Meeting Place, "tzekiel'' and so. on, but the appetite will sicken and so die" So much for "B. NJ"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

up the mud. which lay ankle deep. and pumping over the hollows and obstruc- tions which had so far escaped the at tention of a not too ooservant munici-
 raiity, we saw the governors head ap-
 pear at an upper window and that of a
 she goat at lower one simultaneously. The governor. a middle aged man of dignfed bearing. greeted us gravely and
 kindly. From his conversation he ap-
 reared to be somewhat of a pedant. im-
 nued with the chauvinistic tendencies of the Jeune Turc. and hardened bureau- crat.
 The habits and wants of the population
 pre simple and likely to remain so
 for some to come; but the sanitary
 state of the town Is deplorable. Tho
 creeks. which arc tidal, supply 1t with
 drinking water, but are used indscrim- inately for all household purposes, and
 the stench arising fspm them at low
 water Is overpowerng.
 His excellencys salutations as he bade
 us farewell were expressed with becom- ing gravity: We trust that God may bs please to preserve your excellency's
 health. Our town Is yours. as we'll as our house. May we order our soldiers | to accompany you on Sour ride to z0- bier2 Your person is more precious to
 us than our eyes and there are evil men. enemies of our lord the Sultan, abroad | in the desert"