The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-12
M E N w o M EN
 A ND T H N c s

| 1 it was Hamlet who remarked to Horatio, there are more things in I heaven and earth than are dreamt of
 in your philosophy"
 1
 l I may have the quotation wrong, l but it carries the meaning l wish to convey here and I'll not stop to look
 it up. l never did have any verbal memory, and for the life of me l can 1 even remember the Lords prayer with any degree of exactitude.
 l All I want to convey at present is the fact that when one gets in to the realm of telepathy, floats around in spiritualism, plunges into psychology {, takes flyer in metaphysics. becomes | tangled in speculative theology. it be- hooHes it is best not to be too cock sure In plain English there are lot
 of things all about us which we fail
 to understand.
 All of this preface is born of the fact that on Monday l wrote story in this column based on remark which made more than 20 years ago to friend in neighboring state to the effect that I-never intended to do any more reading along prescribed course either for information or cul- ture, but that I expected to peruse only those things which might give me immediate pleasure.
 l
 There was nothing special in the
 story I wrote, yet now l have some
 thing which, to say the least of it, is
 strange coincidence. Get this into your
 head In my early ministry before my
 marriage I was located in a lovely
 southern town in nearby state, and during my pastorate came into inti- mate and pleasant relations with two young lawyers, and did most of my downtown loafing at their place.
 Not only this, but like most lawyers in the county seats of the southern states. they were fond of hunting. Kept good dogs had fine guns. owned horses, and in every way were equipped to indulge themselves to the full in one of the greatest sports in all the world, that of partridge shooting. I put it way beyond any pleasure to be gotten out of sitting in a baited field to slangh- ter doves
 Like young lawyer, a young preacher has great deal of surplus time on his hands, and while I was fond of my library and conscientious in my pastoral calls, yet I never let either of them keep me out of the fields during the bird season. l remep Der in one of my pastorates in Geor- gia, on my taking charge l asked one would kick if I went hunting. He replied, Not if you do it in modera- tion. Your predecessor spent five days a week at it, and unless you make it six, you will not be criticized
 It is needless to say that my two friends and l spent many happy days together on our horses following the i dogs. One of the best ways in the world to learn a mans real character is either to travel or hunt with. him. If he is selfish, mean, or little in any way it's bound to crop out. Travei is severe test, even Paul of old found companions and they had a split. I won't call it a row.
  in in ic ,isrh fv 1ar of disposition in many ways. There are l score of ways in which one can show his disposition. Every little while there | arises an opportunity for 8 difference l of opinion as to route, where to stop !, which part of a field to cover first l They are too numerous to mention. Any | hunter will think of them, but the | acid test comes in the way fellow 1 claims birds. I have seen the best of i friends, even brothers, fall out over | whose shot brought down the game
 I was with these brothers for less than two years, but in spite of the | passing of more than 20 years we have | kept in touch with one another, all | though we have been together anu l seen one another only few times in | the intervening years. At rare inter- vals l have been back to my old pas 1 torate. and on several occasions have 1 run across them in Atlanta, but all the l time we have known about one another 1 and this in a cordial and sympathetic | way.
 had to set all this down to lead | up to the coincidence which in my opinion is most striking and not to be explained by any ordinary interpreta tion and the only way to deal with it is on the basis of Hamlet's remark to l his friend Horatio, and let it go as | being beyond our ken. 1t was a bit | strange that after years of absence from one another and miles interven' ing that I should have sat down at my | cesk and without rhyme or reason built story around one of my friends. l
 But this in itself was nothing out of | the ordinary, but the thing which got | me guessing was that on Monoday morning when l reached The Age- Herald shortly after getting to work l was called to the telephone, and | some one in the office downstairs said | there was gentleman down here asking for you, and l just wanted to know if you were in. I answered,.l Send him up. without asking his name"
 l kept digging al my daily story. and | in few moments I heard voice which recognized and there stood be- fore me the friend about whom I had written and with a merry laugh. he said. T see you were writing about me in this mornings paper. | am just