The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-12

| lRHNG( HEN you see a gentle-soued \V\W man like that" Miss Petunia
 Angelface was saying, in the discussion of a mutual friend of hers, and the majors who's afraid to call his soul his own for fear his vixen of 8 wife will jerk what little she s let him keep of it away from him? l say, when you see something like that, I don't know so well about gold frames and incense burners for the old martyrs who were stoned and burned and hurried off with hanging"
 You don't mean, the major interrupt ed, with a twinkle in his eye. that you are questioning the teachings of youy catechism or the church?"
 Not at all" she returned, but I do mean that the longer l live the more absurd it seems to me for us to be for ever looking back over our shoulders at the good people of yesterday, at the brains of yesterday. The wonderful day that yesterday was is all a tremendous joke as I see 1t. Today, the day we live in is just as good and maybe better, and we are ungrateful and blind not to see it."
 And the noble army of martyrs" the major pursued, what is it you started to say about them?"
 Just this" Miss Petunia replied, ''even if they were stoned, burned. hanged and neglected, there are plenty of martyrs living today who are going through a great deal worse, and they don't get any sympathy from us or appreciation, and precious little love. The shadowy past 2,000 years ago-we can see, was full of meek and uplifted martyrs but I've dis covered that Up and down this street 1 live on, just around the corner, maybe here in the same house with me are those who are putting up as brave fight as any saint of the olden days"
 The major agreed about the truth of her theories and waited for her to continue
 "One of them has just left here," Miss Petunia said, presently.
 The major was all interest.
 Didn't you meet that queer, little drab- colored women as you came in with the black veil on, and the funny little bon net?" Miss Petunia asked
 Yes" drawled the major, but didn't notice her especially"
 You wouldn't said Miss Petunia, but she's worth noticing, just the same. 1 haven't seen Mamie Jones in thirty-five years until yesterday. We were children 1 in the same town in South Alabama and sat together in school. She's been work ing for the government in Washington | for the past twenty years, and she's down south now on a little mission. She's a | martyr yet I doubt if she'd know what 1 the qualifications are for the job if the 1 direct question was put to her She even said yesterday, when she was talking to
 me, that she often wondered if she was as much of a church woman as she might 1 be; that she reproached herself because l she doesn't seem to have the time or the
 money to give to foreign missions and i the various other charities women are in- terested in today. Then she told me
 without a thought of -glorification wha tshe' s been doing all these years that
 kept her bound hand and foot To be- 1 gin with. her family lost all their money and that's why she had to go to work She started in teaching music. She hac
 a sick mother to support. They couldn't afford a servant, so she had all the house
 work to do, and cooking besides The mother soon died of broken heart, be- cause her only other child was a con