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vertical-align: -10%;} - sup - {font-size: .6em; vertical-align: 30%;} - table - {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; border-collapse: collapse;} - table.pinmoney - {margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em;} - table.pinmoney td.article - {text-align: left; padding-right: 3em; vertical-align: top; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;} - table.pinmoney td.cost - {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom; padding-left: .25em; white-space: nowrap;} - table.toc - {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} - table.toc td.chaptitle - {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 3em;} - table.toc td.pagno - {padding-left: 1em; vertical-align: bottom; text-align: right;} - th - {font-weight: normal;} - .titlepage - {margin: 4em auto; text-align: center; border: solid medium; width: 30em; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 2em;} - .tnbot - {border: dashed thin; margin: 1em 10%; padding: .5em;} - .tnbot h2 - {font-size: 1em;} - .tnbot p - {text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;} - .tnbox - {border: dashed thin; margin: 1em 20%; padding: 1em;} - .w250 - {width: 250px;} - .w300 - {width: 300px;} - .w350 - {width: 350px;} - .w400 - {width: 400px;} - .w425 - {width: 425px;} - .w500 - {width: 500px;} - .w600 - {width: 600px;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Silas X. Floyd's Short Stories for Colored -People Both Old and Young, by Silas X. Floyd - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Silas X. Floyd's Short Stories for Colored People Both Old and Young - -Author: Silas X. Floyd - -Release Date: November 25, 2019 [EBook #60780] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SILAS X. FLOYD'S SHORT *** - - - - -Produced by hekula03, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from images made available by the HathiTrust -Digital Library.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="tnbox"> - -<p class="center">Please see the <a href="#TN">Transcriber’s Notes</a> at the end of this document.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover_sm.jpg" alt="Cover image" width="406" height="600" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<div class="figcenter w425"> - -<img src="images/illo001.jpg" alt="" width="424" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Silas X. Floyd, Augusta, Ga.</span></p> - -<p class="caption blankabove"><i>Corresponding Secretary National Association of Teachers in -Colored Schools.</i></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1><b><span class="fsize300">SILAS X. FLOYD’S</span><br /> -<span class="fsize200">SHORT STORIES</span><br /> -<span class="fsize125"><i>for</i></span><br /> -<span class="fsize200">COLORED PEOPLE</span></b><br /> -<span class="fsize175">BOTH OLD AND YOUNG</span></h1> - -<p class="center highline5 fsize125"><i>Entertaining</i> <span class="padl8 padr8"><i>Uplifting</i></span> <i>Interesting</i></p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center fsize125 highline2 blankbefore2"><b>PROF. SILAS X. FLOYD, A. M., D. D.,</b></p> - -<p class="center">Author of “The Gospel of Serv’ce and other Sermons,” “Life of<br /> -Charles T. Walker, D. D.,” “National Perils,” etc.</p> - -<p class="center highline4 fsize150"><b>ILLUSTRATED</b></p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="center blankbefore2"><span class="fsize80">Published by</span><br /> -AUSTIN JENKINS CO.,<br /> -<span class="fsize80">BOOK AND BIBLE PUBLISHERS<br /> -WASHINGTON, D. C.</span></p> - -<p class="center blankbefore2">AGENTS WANTED</p> - -</div><!--titlepage--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="copyright"> - -<p class="center highline15"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted</span> 1905<br /> -<span class="fsize80">BY</span><br /> -HERTEL JENKINS & CO.</p> - -<p class="center highline15 blankbefore2"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted</span> 1920<br /> -BY<br /> -A. N. JENKINS</p> - -<hr class="sec" /> - -<p class="center fsize80">CAUTION</p> - -<p class="fsize80">The entire contents of this book are -protected by the stringent new copyright -law, and all persons are warned not to -attempt to reproduce the text, in whole or -in part, or any of the specially posed -illustrations.</p> - -</div><!--copyright--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page5">[5]</span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>Truly the boys and girls of to-day ought to be -thankful that they are alive. There never was -such a golden age for childhood and youth as the -present. To say nothing of the rich opportunities -for mental and spiritual development, what a -multitude of things have been provided for the -innocent pleasure, the wholesome recreation of -the young people of to-day, inventions that -remind one of the magic of the “Arabian -Nights”; tools of sport so perfect that one cannot -imagine how they could be bettered; fascinating -games, all unknown in the days gone by; -books and papers upon which science, art and -literary skill have lavished modern resources—all -these and many other wonderful things have -fallen to the lot of the favored boys and girls of -to-day.</p> - -<p>And now enterprising publishers of our grand -country are going to put the boys and -girls of America—and especially the colored -boys and girls of America—under obligation to -them, because they have decided to add to the -list of good books for children and youths -already on the market. I use the word “good” -advisedly; for from the day that I was engaged -to write this book I have had in mind constantly -the thought of making it such a book as would<span class="pagenum" id="Page6">[6]</span> -tell for good. It is an old saying that “evil communications -corrupt good manners,” but evil -reading does more than this: for evil reading -corrupts good morals.</p> - -<p>I have endeavored to put into this book of -stories for children only such things as might be -freely admitted into the best homes of the land, -and I have written with the hope that many -young minds may be elevated by means of these -stories and many hearts filled with high and holy -aspirations. Our nation has a right to expect -that our boys and girls shall turn out to be good -men and good women, and this book is meant to -help in this process.</p> - -<p class="right highline2 padr4">SILAS X. FLOYD.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page7">[7]</span></p> - -<h2>PUBLISHER’S NOTE.</h2> - -<p>The publishers of this book have spared neither -pains nor expense in trying to make it as nearly -perfect as a book of this kind can be. The typographical -appearance and the illustrations will -speak for themselves.</p> - -<p>We consider ourselves fortunate in having -been able to secure the services of the Rev. Dr. -Silas X. Floyd as the author of this volume. Mr. -Floyd’s life work, aside from his literary training, -has made him the ideal man to speak to the -colored boys and girls of the South. Soon after -graduating from Atlanta University in 1891, Mr. -Floyd became Principal of a Public School at -Augusta, Ga., and remained in that city for five -years consecutively as a teacher. In June, 1896, -he was called from the school-room into the Sunday-school -work, having been appointed by the -International Sunday School Convention as one -of its Field Workers throughout the South. He -continued in this work for three years, retiring -from it to become Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist -Church, Augusta, Ga., one of the largest churches -in the South. After a year and a half in the pastorate, -he returned to the Sunday-school work, -becoming Sunday-school Missionary for Georgia -and Alabama under appointment of the American -Baptist Publication Society.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page8">[8]</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Floyd’s work, as the record shows, has -been conspicuously for and in behalf of the children, -and he is known far and wide as a competent -writer and speaker on topics concerning -young people. He has contributed to the Sunday -School Times, the International Evangel, the New -York Independent, The World’s Work, Lippincott’s -Magazine, and many other journals and -periodicals. He is the author of a volume of sermons -published by the American Baptist Publication -Society, and listed in their catalogue as -among their standard works, and is also the -author of the Life of the leading colored Baptist -preacher in America, published by the National -Baptist Publishing Board. From the beginning -of the Voice of the Negro, Mr. Floyd has had -charge of the Wayside Department as Editor, -and his work as a humorist and writer of negro -dialect is known to many through that medium.</p> - -<p>In 1894, Atlanta University, his alma mater, -conferred upon Mr. Floyd the degree of Master -of Arts, and in 1902, Morris Brown College conferred -upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page9">[9]</span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table class="toc" summary="ToC"> - -<tr> -<th colspan="2" class="right"><span class="smcap">Page</span></th> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Cowardly Hero</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page17">17</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Spelling Lesson</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page22">22</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Truth About Luck</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page31">31</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">An Evening at Home</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page35">35</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Making of a Man</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page38">38</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">False Pride</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page42">42</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Thanksgiving at Piney Grove</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page46">46</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Loud Girl</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page55">55</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Rowdy Boy</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page60">60</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Honesty</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page62">62</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Uncle Ned and the Insurance Solicitor</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page65">65</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Strenuous Life</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page70">70</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Humbug</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page73">73</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">How to be Handsome</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page76">76</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Patience</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page78">78</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Going With the Crowd</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page81">81</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Mary and Her Dolls</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page85">85</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Jaky Tolbert’s Playmates</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page88">88</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Valentine Party</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page92">92</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">No Money Down</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page95">95</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Tommy’s Baby Brother</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page99">99</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="pagenum" id="Page10">[10]</span><span class="smcap">Keeping School</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page102">102</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The School of the Street</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page105">105</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Fox Hunt</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page109">109</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Bold Venture</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page114">114</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Road to Success</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page117">117</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Keeping Ones Engagements</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page120">120</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Midnight Mishap</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page122">122</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Frederick Douglass</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page124">124</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Our Dumb Animals</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page127">127</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Plucky Boy</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page129">129</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Heart to Heart Talk</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page132">132</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Ghost Story</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page135">135</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Good Cheer</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page141">141</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Life a Battle</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page144">144</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Hunting an Easy Place</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page149">149</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Big Black Burglar</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page153">153</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Pin Money Made With the Needle</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page156">156</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Self-Help</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page160">160</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Aiming at Something</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page165">165</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Black Sheep of the Reynolds Family</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page167">167</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Holy Bible</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page175">175</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Andrew Carnegie’s Advice to Young Men</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page178">178</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Directions for Little Gentlemen</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page179">179</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Right to Play</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page181">181</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="pagenum" id="Page11">[11]</span><span class="smcap">A Christmas Present</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page183">183</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Nickel that Burned in Frank’s Pocket</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page185">185</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Monument to a Black Man</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page188">188</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Bad Boy—Who He Is</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page190">190</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Bad Boy—How to Help Him</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page193">193</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Thomas Greene Bethune (“Blind Tom”)</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page197">197</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Not Fit to Know</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page200">200</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Right Way</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page202">202</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Keeping Friendship in Repair</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page205">205</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Little Annie’s Christmas</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page208">208</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Velocipede Race</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page211">211</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Fault-Finding</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page213">213</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Random Remarks</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page216">216</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Benjamin Banneker, the Negro Astronomer</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page220">220</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle">“<span class="smcap">A Little Child Shall Lead Them</span>”</td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page224">224</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Directions for Little Ladies</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page230">230</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Three Words to Young People</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page232">232</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle">“<span class="smcap">A Lamp Unto My Feet</span>”</td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page238">238</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Three Brigades</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page241">241</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle">“<span class="smcap">Home, Sweet Home</span>”</td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page243">243</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Each One of Us of Importance</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page247">247</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Poetry of Life</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page248">248</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">On Being in Earnest</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page250">250</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Young People and Life Insurance</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page252">252</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="pagenum" id="Page12">[12]</span><span class="smcap">The Little Sailor Cat</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page255">255</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Advice to Little Christians</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page257">257</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Word to Parents</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page259">259</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Unseen Charmer</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page262">262</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Our Country</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page265">265</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The “Don’t-Care” Girl</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page267">267</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">Frederick Douglass to Young People</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page270">270</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">A Good Fellow</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page274">274</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Future of the Negro</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page275">275</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="chaptitle"><span class="smcap">The Training of Children</span></td> -<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page277">277</a></td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page13">[13]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter w600"> - -<img src="images/illo012.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="327" /> - -<p class="caption">STATE, WAR AND NAVY BUILDING, WASHINGTON</p> - -<p class="caption blankabove">Most remarkable Office Building in the world. Right next door to the White House. -Built of solid American Granite with over 500 rooms and over two miles of marble halls.</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page14">[14]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter w600"> - -<img src="images/illo013.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="329" /> - -<p class="caption">LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON</p> - -<p class="caption blankabove">Most wonderful Library building in the world. Erected at a cost of $7,000,000, upon -a ten acre site. $20,000 worth of pure gold used in covering the Dome. Has room for -4,000,000 books.</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page15">[15]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter w600"> - -<img src="images/illo014.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="354" /> - -<p class="caption second"><span class="smcap">The “President’s Sheep” are a -Picturesque Sight on the South Lawn of the White House. The President -“Taking the Sun” on the South Porch Frequently enjoys Watching the Gambols of the Flock.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page16">[16]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter w400"> - -<img src="images/illo015.jpg" alt="Dog attacking man" width="400" height="599" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">“Great Heavens, the Brute is Mad,” Gasped Evans.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page17">[17]</span></p> - -<h2>THE COWARDLY HERO.</h2> - -<p>George Washington Jones was his name. -Where he got it nobody knew,—least of all himself. -For two years he had sold newspapers one -block from the big St. Charles Hotel in New -Orleans. Very slender, with great big hungry -eyes, this little colored waif presented a pitiful -sight to the crowds that hurried by. He was -scorned by the other newsboys, who yelled and -jeered at him, causing him to shrink up even -smaller and to glance fearfully at his tormentors, -for George was what the other boys called a -coward. He would not fight,—when attacked and -imposed upon by his more sturdy associates he -would throw up his hands and cower down against -the ground like a whipped dog. All boys know -what this means,—for months he was the mark -for all of the coarse jokes and abuse of the rather -rough lot of boys who were also engaged in the -newspaper selling business thereabouts. He had -lived ever since he remembered with an old colored -man in a wretched attic over on the South Side,—the -old man was a rag peddler and permitted him -to share his miserable quarters for the payment of -fifty cents every Saturday night. Poor food and -poorer sleeping quarters had their effect, and -George soon developed a hacking cough that -made people turn their heads to see who it was<span class="pagenum" id="Page18">[18]</span> -and then hurry on faster than ever. One cold -morning in December, while George stood shivering -on his corner, scarcely able to shout loud -enough to attract the attention of the passers by, -a lady about to enter an automobile glanced at -him, noted pityingly his emaciated and half-starved -appearance, and the cough that wracked -his slight frame,—she stepped up and asked him -his name and address, which he gave, gazing in -spell-bound admiration at this beautiful, fairy-like -creature from a different world.</p> - -<p>It so happened that this young lady’s father -was a very influential man, and so in course of -time the lady who had in the meantime called -several times at George’s wretched quarters, with -eggs and milk and other dainties, prevailed upon -him to arrange for George to spend the spring -and summer in the country.</p> - -<p>So one bright day in April, George arrived at a -big Louisiana plantation where he was to have -good food and clothes, and when able, to do odd -jobs and chores about the place to pay for his -board. The Grahams were a couple who had been -married seven or eight years and who had a little -daughter of six who was a dainty and pretty little -miss, somewhat spoiled, but naturally kind and -good-hearted. To George she was the most beautiful -thing he had ever seen, an angel, not to be -thought of at the same time with earthly things. -He soon became her devoted slave, following her<span class="pagenum" id="Page19">[19]</span> -about and trying to think of something he could -do that would make her happy.</p> - -<p>Now George did not change in the first few -weeks of his stay with the Grahams. He was -afraid of the cows, of the horses, even of the -geese that ran around the yard. Little Louise, -who had been raised in the country, could not -understand this feeling and did not hesitate to -let George know that she had nothing but contempt -for his running wildly away from an inoffensive -cow who happened to turn her head in -his direction.</p> - -<p>“But, dearest,” her mother said, “he has never -even seen a cow before. To him that cow is only -an awfully dangerous thing with horns, a long -tail and big mouth.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but mamma, he is such an awful fraid -cat,—whoever heard of getting scared at a lot of -silly geese?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I fear he is a hopeless coward,” said -Mrs. Graham, “but he certainly does work well.”</p> - -<p>But the one thing that George feared above all -other things was the dog that lived on the Evans -place next door. There was considerable excuse -for this fear, as the dog was a surly and somewhat -dangerous brute, an immense Great Dane, -who had no love nor respect for any living thing -except his master. He seemed to take a savage -delight in dashing to the fence and making strenuous -efforts to jump over and attack poor George -whenever he had to pass by. On such occasions,<span class="pagenum" id="Page20">[20]</span> -George would shriek and dash wildly up the road, -screaming in terror,—he feared the Great Dane -more than anything else on earth.</p> - -<p>The days and weeks slipped by until the month -of August. There had been a long dry spell; -everything was hot, parched and burning up, and -it seemed as if the earth was crying out for rain. -Every one was cross and irritable and although not -meaning to be unreasonable, Mr. and Mrs. Graham -took considerable of their irritation out on -our little colored friend George,—he was ordered -about and shouted at to move faster and scolded -and generally made the target for the ill humor -of the entire household.</p> - -<p>For some days the Great Dane had been acting -strangely,—no one dared to approach him, and on -one occasion he even snapped at his master.</p> - -<p>“Guess I’ll chain him up until the rain sets in,” -said Mr. Evans. However, the dog refused to be -tied, avoiding his master and snapping whenever -he approached. Suddenly he gave a roar and -sprang right at Mr. Evans’ throat,—the man -tripped and fell, which was the best thing he could -possibly have done under the circumstances, as -the dog ignored him, and, snapping right and left, -dashed out of the gate and down the road towards -the Graham place.</p> - -<p>“Great Heavens! The brute is mad!” gasped -Evans.</p> - -<p>If any one has seen a dog go mad, he will testify -that it is not a pretty sight. The maddened animal<span class="pagenum" id="Page21">[21]</span> -raced at top speed along the road, snapping -wildly at sticks and stones along the way, with -froth and foam flying from his mouth, his mammoth -jaws closing and unclosing like the teeth of -an enormous trap.</p> - -<p>Straight down the road and straight through -the gate that opened into the Graham yard dashed -the enormous Great Dane—he was a hideous -sight to the bravest; what he looked like to George -no one will ever know. Graham, sitting on the -porch, realized in an instant what had happened, -and sprang to the dining-room to get his rifle,—right -in the path was little Louise, with her dolls, -sitting around a little table, in the midst of a party—she -rose to her feet, the great frenzied brute but -a few yards distant, her face paling, her lips unable -to utter a sound. Graham was quick, but not -quick enough,—the dog would be upon the child -before he could possibly get ready to shoot, but -quicker than Graham, quicker than the dog, was -George,—what he felt, what he suffered in those -few seconds, the Lord alone can tell—with a wild -scream, he threw himself right in the path of the -maddened Great Dane, right at his throat, shrieking -and striking wildly with both clenched fists -at the huge head and body of the dog. With a -snarl, the dog turned and caught the negro boy,—but -it was here that Providence took a hand, for -he grabbed not George himself, but his coat, worn -and shabby from much use, and the coat came off -in his jaws,—before the dog could turn and renew<span class="pagenum" id="Page22">[22]</span> -the attack, Mr. Graham shot twice rapidly from -the porch and the dog fell, writhing terribly in his -death agonies.</p> - -<p>White as a sheet, Graham ran quickly down the -path and snatched Louise up in his arms,—but -Mrs. Graham, who had been an agonized eyewitness -of the near-tragedy, was almost as quick -to reach George—throwing her arms around him, -she sobbed, “God bless you, George; that was the -bravest thing I ever saw.”</p> - -<p>And in this way, George, the despised and ignored -newsboy, who had always been called a -coward, came into his own. Such is true courage. -Poor boy, he was afraid, fearfully, awfully afraid! -But he did not hesitate to risk everything to save -the golden-haired little daughter of his employer.</p> - -<p>George still remains on the Graham plantation, -but you would scarcely know him—he coughs no -longer; he stands erect and is becoming strong -and sturdy; he has found himself, and no one -will ever again have cause to say to him, “You -coward!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE GREAT SPELLING MATCH.</h2> - -<p>There was no doubt about it,—of all the little -colored boys and girls who went to the Peabody -school, Margaret was the dullest. Her teacher -said so, her friends said so, her parents were of -the same opinion, and if asked herself, Margaret<span class="pagenum" id="Page23">[23-<br />24]<a id="Page24"></a></span> -would undoubtedly have frankly acknowledged -that her undisputed and proper place was at the -foot of the class. Her brother Charles, who was -one year younger than she, had proudly graduated -from the fifth grade and was making rapid -progress in the sixth. He did not spend one-half -the time studying that Margaret did, and yet when -it came time for recitations, he would stand up -and recite in a manner that warmed his teacher’s -heart and made him the envy of most all of his -schoolmates.</p> - -<div class="figcenter w600"> - -<img src="images/illo022.jpg" alt="School children" width="600" height="367" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">An Exciting Moment.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>If Margaret was backward in her studies, little -Mable Green certainly was not. Arithmetic, geography, -writing, reading, she excelled in all of them. -She was a very bright little colored girl and a -very good looking one, too. Mable knew this just -as well as all of the boys and girls did,—she was -not exactly foolish and vain, but she had been so -praised and petted by her school friends and -teachers that she was inclined to be a little conceited, -what we all would call “stuck up.” Once -a month a prize was given for the scholar who -stood highest in certain studies, and Mable had -twice been the successful pupil,—she had two -highly prized silver medals to show for her skill.</p> - -<p>Now one of the members of the school board -was a farmer about forty years of age, kind-hearted, -but a little old-fashioned. He believed -in boys and girls knowing how to read and write -and spell correctly, but he did not care for what -he called the “new-fangled” ideas of some of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page25">[25]</span> -other members of the board. He was very much -opposed to a course in music and elocution that -was being considered by the school board, and -did not hesitate to let every one know how he felt -about it. Now he knew Mable and liked her—he -was very much interested in the way in which she -stood at the head of her classes and wanted to do -something to encourage her in sticking to the -old-fashioned forms of education. He thought -over this for a long time, and finally decided to -hold a spelling match. Now you all probably -know what a spelling match is. Two sides are -chosen who stand up on opposite sides of the -room, and the teacher give out words, commencing -at the head of the row,—any one who misses a -word has to sit down, and the last one to stand -up wins the prize for his side, also is pronounced -the best speller and gets the personal prize.</p> - -<p>The board all thought this a fine scheme, and so -it was decided to hold the spelling match on -Thanksgiving evening at the schoolhouse. The -teacher was to pronounce the words, while the -members of the board were to give her lists of -words from which to choose.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to give for a prize, Mr. -Edwards?” asked the teacher.</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought I would give twenty dollars,” -replied the man. “Yes, I rather plan to give a -bright twenty-dollar gold piece.”</p> - -<p>The news spread like wild fire. Never had there -been such excitement. This was a small fortune,<span class="pagenum" id="Page26">[26]</span> -and Mable’s mother pinned a bright red bow in -her hair, and put on her prettiest frock,—Mable -had already considered the prize as won,—in fact, -she had planned just how she would spend it,—she -was a good speller and felt confident that she -could win.</p> - -<p>The night arrived, bright and crisp November -weather, with a bright moon overhead,—the little -schoolhouse was packed. It was decided that all -children in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades -would be allowed to compete. Now, Margaret had -been in a highly excited state ever since hearing of -the contest—strange to say, she was a good -speller. It has often been said, and quite correctly, -too, that spelling is a gift,—that some people -spell correctly quite naturally, while no amount -of study or practice can make a good speller out -of any one who was born with a head that ached -and throbbed at the mere thought of spelling. -She had never had fifty cents of her own in her -whole life—twenty dollars in gold—it did not -seem possible that there could be that much -money in the whole world.</p> - -<p>Sides were chosen and Margaret was almost -hidden by fat Reggie Andrews, who stood next to -her. Mable was right across the room from her, -and smiled in a somewhat scornful manner at the -girl she thought was a “dummy.”</p> - -<p>The teacher began to pronounce the words and -you could have almost heard a pin drop; the first -few times around but few scholars dropped out,<span class="pagenum" id="Page27">[27]</span> -Reggie going down the third time on “mucilage.” -Margaret gave a sigh of relief—Reggie had made -her very nervous.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened that amounted to much until -the teacher began to give out words containing -“ie” and “ei.” Now these words are very difficult -unless a speller knows the rule—“ie” is almost -always used except after the letter “c,”—following -this letter “c,” it is always “ei.” Margaret -had learned this rule in the second grade, -and these words had no terror for her—she was -gaining confidence now and the audience began to -sit up and take notice. Soon but five were left -standing,—three on Margaret’s side and only -Mable and one little colored boy on the other. It -seemed for a time that these five would have to -divide the prize,—word after word was spelled -and no one missed—the audience was hanging -spellbound on every syllable, and the dignified -members of the board were trying to act naturally, -although in reality, greatly wrought up.</p> - -<p>“Exhaustible,” suddenly said the teacher.</p> - -<p>There was a moment’s hesitation, and then Ann -Houston, on Margaret’s side glibly said:</p> - -<p>“E-x-a-u-s-t-i-b-l-e.”</p> - -<p>“Wrong; be seated,” and with much sniffling -and rubbing her eyes, Ann walked sorrowfully to -her seat.</p> - -<p>The boy on Mable’s side shuffled his feet, looked -up, down and around the room, and finally blurted -out:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page28">[28]</span></p> - -<p>“E-x-h-a-u-s-t-a-b-l-e.”</p> - -<p>“Wrong!” and Bobbie joined Ann in sorrowful -silence.</p> - -<p>Rose Holcomb, the one remaining girl on Margaret’s -side, had become rattled—she rolled her -eyes wildly up and down and then guessed,—she -made a very bad guess.</p> - -<p>“E-c-h-o-s-t-i-b-l-e!” and Rose was also counted -out and took her seat, tossing her head and looking -indifferently around.</p> - -<p>It was now Mable’s turn, and she had sufficient -intelligence to have profited by the experience of -Ann and Bobbie—had the word been pronounced -to her first, she would probably have misspelled -it, but now she spelled it out firmly and confidently, -letter for letter, without a hitch.</p> - -<p>Now Mable faced Margaret for the final test—both -were greatly excited, but their nervousness -had passed—it was now that Margaret’s natural -ability came to her aid. Word after word she -spelled, and the crowd watched her in amazement. -Here was the supposedly dull and backward pupil, -the recognized “foot of the class,” standing up -gallantly to the last against Mable, the favorite, to -whom everybody had conceded the prize as already -won.</p> - -<p>The largest cities in America, in South America -and Europe, proper names, animals,—the words -became more and more difficult. Finally, the -names of flowers were given—Mable had studied -botany and was familiar with flowers—Margaret<span class="pagenum" id="Page29">[29]</span> -was now relying on her natural ability and nerve—all -things come to an end, and at last the teacher -pronounced the name of the <span class="dontwrap">flower—</span></p> - -<p>“F-U-C-H-S-I-A.”</p> - -<p>Now it is a fact that there is probably no more -tricky word in the English language than this—it -all depends upon where to place the letter “s.” -Mable knew what fuchsias were,—knew all about -the different parts, the petals, the stem,—she had -spelled the word correctly many times, but, alas, -she was a trifle hasty and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“F-U-S-C-H-I-A.”</p> - -<p>“Wrong!”—Mable burst into tears,—and with -loud sobs ran to her seat and threw herself down, -her face buried in her arms.</p> - -<p>All eyes were now on Margaret. She was -strongly tempted to spell this commencing “ph”—it -seemed correct, but something told her that -Mable had been almost right. Almost, but not -quite! Mable’s dramatic finish had given her time -to think for a moment, and when the word was -once more pronounced she was ready—without -hesitation she spelled slowly and distinctly:</p> - -<p>“F-U-C-H-S-I-A.”</p> - -<p>“Correct,—Margaret, you have won the prize.”</p> - -<p>Margaret’s knees almost gave way under her—surely -she must be dreaming—it could not possibly -be herself to whom the committeeman was -advancing with a light blue plush case—every one -was clapping their hands, and the boys had so -forgotten themselves as to whistle through their -fingers and noisily stamp their feet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page30">[30]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo029.jpg" alt="Teacher and pupil" width="367" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Margaret, You Have Won the Prize.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page31">[31]</span></p> - -<p>“It gives me great pleasure,” said Mr. Edwards, -“to give this twenty-dollar gold piece to -Margaret Hawkins, and to pronounce her the best -speller in the school.”</p> - -<p>Poor Mable cried herself to sleep that night, but -it was a good lesson for her—it taught her to be -more considerate of others, and that there were -something at which she could be beaten.</p> - -<p>Every one treated Margaret with increased respect, -and her success was also good for her—she -began to improve in her other studies, and as -she gained in confidence, gradually became, if not -one of the best, at least a very good scholar.</p> - -<p>Mr. Edwards says his next prize will be given -for the best all-around pupil at the close of the -term—and Mable is once more looking forward -with hope.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE TRUTH ABOUT LUCK.</h2> - -<p>How often we hear some one say:</p> - -<p>“My, but he’s lucky!” or “It’s better to be -born lucky than rich.”</p> - -<p>Boys and girls are too often in the habit of -thinking that one of their schoolmates are -“lucky” because they always stand well in their -classes and frequently have spending money in -their pockets.</p> - -<p>It is not likely that “luck” had anything to do -with it. They probably stood well and were at<span class="pagenum" id="Page32">[32]</span> -the head of the class in school because they studied -and tried harder than the other scholars, and had -money to spend because they spent their time out -of school hours in working to earn it instead of at -play.</p> - -<p>Some years ago I happened to find myself near -the terminal of the great East River Bridge in -New York City. Two little boys were standing -near one of the large iron posts crying their -afternoon papers. I tarried near them because -I was waiting for a particular car. One little -fellow said to the <span class="dontwrap">other,—</span></p> - -<p>“How many papers have you sold today, -Tommie?”</p> - -<p>“Nearly one hundred an’ fifty,” was Tommie’s -quick reply.</p> - -<p>“Honor bright?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; honor bright.”</p> - -<p>“Whoopee! but ain’t you in big luck, Tommie?”</p> - -<p>“Luck!” exclaimed Tommie, wiping the perspiration -from his brow. “There ain’t no luck -about it; I’ve just been everlastingly at it since -four o’clock this morning—that’s all!”</p> - -<p>And that is the <i>all</i> of real success. Those who -achieve success are “everlastingly at” what they -are trying to do. Tommie was right in declining -to have his hard and honest work cheapened by -calling the result of it luck.</p> - -<p>“You are the luckiest chap I ever saw,” I once -heard a little boy about sixteen years say to another -boy of about the same age.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page33">[33]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo032.jpg" alt="Two newspaper boys" width="424" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">How Many Papers Have You Sold Today, Tommy?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page34">[34]</span></p> - -<p>“Why do you say that?” asked the other.</p> - -<p>“Because you have had your salary raised -twice in the same year.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” was the reply, “you may call it luck; -but I don’t. I have always done my work the -very best I knew how. I have never once in the -whole year been a single minute late in getting to -the office, nor have I ever left a single minute -before it was time for me to leave. When I have -worked over-time, I have not made any fuss about -it. My boss said when he raised my salary last -week that he had taken these things into account. -So, I don’t see where the luck comes in.”</p> - -<p>“All the same,” said the first boy, “some -bosses wouldn’t have raised your salary.”</p> - -<p>“Then I would have the satisfaction of knowing -that I had done my duty.”</p> - -<p>Boys, I tell you that’s right. Nine out of ten -employers know that it is to their advantage -to show appreciation of faithful work and they -show it. When this appreciation comes luck has -had nothing to do with it. The thing that passes -for luck is in nearly all cases the just reward of -honest endeavor.</p> - -<p>Do not, therefore, start out in life with the -expectation that some “lucky turn” will bring -you sudden honor or wealth or position without -any effort on your part. Substitute that fine old -word “<i>work</i>” for that deceitful word “<i>luck</i>,” -and base your hopes of future success and usefulness -upon the honorable labor that it is a God-given<span class="pagenum" id="Page35">[35]</span> -privilege for every well and strong and -right-minded boy to give his heart and hands to -performing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>AN EVENING AT HOME.</h2> - -<p>Boys and girls between the ages of eleven and -seventeen ought to spend their evenings at home, -as much as possible. In these busy, bustling twentieth -century days, there are many families—so -much the worse for them—that scarcely know -what it is to spend an evening at home together. -Not only the young people but the older people -are “on the go.” The evenings are crowded -with calls and invitations, which come from far -and near. It is nothing to go five or even ten -miles to an evening concert or social gathering, -the trolley is so near, so cheap and so universal. -But I tell you, boys and girls, no matter -what the pleasure or amusement afforded—no -matter what the instruction or culture received—there -are no social or similar opportunities good -enough to displace the home circle. The sooner -young people realize this the happier they will be.</p> - -<p>Boys and girls ought to plan for some evenings -at home. Let other things have a share, but do -not give up all the time to other things. Once a -week the young people ought to arrange for an -evening at home. Decline everything else for<span class="pagenum" id="Page36">[36]</span> -that evening, the same as you would for any -other engagement. Gather the family together. -Make a special place for grandma and grandpa. -Sing merry songs; play innocent and amusing -games; take time to tell the home folks about -some of the things that you do and that you have -seen in the world; get acquainted with the home -folks; be delighted in their delight; by special<span class="pagenum" id="Page37">[37]</span> -appointment, spend one or two cheerful hours -with the folks at home each week.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo035.jpg" alt="" width="461" height="450" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">An Evening at Home.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The young folks themselves should take the -lead in this matter. A home is not merely a -place with four walls where people meet to eat -and drink and sleep securely beneath a roof. -Nay, boys and girls, a house is reared to be a -<i>home</i>—the center where a family may gather -into one; to be a serene retreat where the tenderest -affections may find rest; where love may have a -dwelling place, and the <i>amenities</i> of life gain -ample scope; where parents and children may -press one another heart to heart; where sorrows -and joys may be freely shared in sacred -confidence; in a word, where the great work of -training human beings for the duties of the present -life, and the perfection of another, may be -begun and carried on.</p> - -<p>There is one special reason for making much -of the evenings at home that young people are -not likely to think of. <i>Inevitably</i> the <i>family</i> circle -will be broken up very soon. Perhaps not by -death, but most certainly by change. When Fred -goes to college that is the beginning of new ties -and new associations, and the home privileges -can never be quite so complete to him again. -The years of the complete unity of the home -are very few indeed. While these years are passing, -young people especially should make the -most of them. My dear boys and girls, get the -benefit of these years; get their joys; store up<span class="pagenum" id="Page38">[38]</span> -memories of home life, for they will be in future -years the most beautiful pictures of the heart. -However some may sneer at it, the memory of -home and mother is a great power for righteousness. -It has saved many a person to God and -native land and race.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Be it ever so humble—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There’s no place like home.”<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE MAKING OF A MAN.<a id="FNanchor1"></a><a href="#Footnote1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></h2> - -<p>Mr. Stamps, seated near the table, was glancing -over the afternoon paper. Mrs. Stamps, in -an easy chair, was doing some fancy work. Little -Bobby, six years old, more or less, was playing -with his toys on the floor. All at once the precocious -little boy stopped short in the middle of -his sport and, looking up at his mother, <span class="dontwrap">asked,—</span></p> - -<p>“Mama, who made the world?”</p> - -<p>“God,” replied Mrs. Stamps, sweetly.</p> - -<p>“Who made the sea?” continued Bobby.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Stamps answered, “God.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Bobby, “did God make everything?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my son; the Lord made everything.”</p> - -<p>“And did he make everybody?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page39">[39]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes; the Lord made everybody.”</p> - -<p>Bobby was silent for a moment. Presently he -looked anxiously at his father, and then, turning -to his mother, he <span class="dontwrap">asked,—</span></p> - -<p>“Mama, did God make papa, too?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; God made papa also.”</p> - -<p>After a lengthy pause Bobby <span class="dontwrap">asked,—</span></p> - -<p>“Mama, do you think that I could make a man, -if I was to try real hard?”</p> - -<p>“You had better run out to play now, Bobby,” -said Mrs. Stamps, somewhat non-plused by her -son’s curiosity.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo038.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="323" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Bobby and His “Man.”</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Bobby left the room almost immediately. He -went straight to the beach in front of the house, -and labored long and earnestly in piling up some -wet sand. Pretty soon he was joined in his work<span class="pagenum" id="Page40">[40]</span> -by two other little boys. For some time the three -little fellows worked vigorously in piling up the -mud. Mrs. Stamps called her husband to the -window, so that he might see what the boys were -doing.</p> - -<p>“Wife,” said Mr. Stamps, “I believe those little -Satans are trying to make a man.”</p> - -<p>Toward sunset Bobby ran into the house and -exclaimed with <span class="dontwrap">delight,—</span></p> - -<p>“Mama, we’ve got our man almost finished. -We didn’t have but one marble, and we used that -for one of his eyes. I came in to ask you to give -me a marble, so that we might put in his other -eye.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too late to bother now, Bobby,” said Mrs. -Stamps. “Wait until to-morrow morning; then I -will give you a marble and let you finish your -man.”</p> - -<p>The next morning, bright and early, Bobby went -out to look for his man. Lo and behold! the sea -had washed the man away during the night. But, -Bobby, of course, did not suspect that. He thought -that the man had gone away of his own accord. -So the little fellow spent the entire morning looking -for his man. He looked under the house; he -looked in the stable; he went up to the garret; he -walked up and down the beach; he went into the -woods—looking for his man. But his man was -nowhere to be found.</p> - -<p>Two or three weeks later an African Methodist -Episcopal Conference assembled in Bobby’s town.<span class="pagenum" id="Page41">[41]</span> -Among the ministers present there happened to -be a short, chubby, tan-colored brother with only -one eye. When Bobby spied him he examined the -man curiously and cautiously from head to foot. -The examination ended, Bobby concluded that that -was his man. At once the little fellow left his -mother and went over and took a seat beside -the man. Bobby’s mother was somewhat embarrassed. -The man was evidently pleased, although, -to be sure, he himself was not quite certain -why he should be an object of special interest -to the little boy. The man went to the secretary’s -table to have his name enrolled—Bobby went with -him. He went into the vestibule to get a drink of -water—and Bobby followed him there. But all -the while the man was still in doubt as to the -cause of the little boy’s apparent affection. By -this time, thoroughly exasperated, Bobby’s mother -decided to go home. She approached the pew in -a very ladylike manner and <span class="dontwrap">said,—</span></p> - -<p>“Bobby, dear, come; we must be going home -now.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Mama,” said Bobby in dead earnest, -“but you will please let me take my man -home with me—won’t you? I just found him -to-day, and you know I’ve been looking for him -for over two weeks!”</p> - -<p>Then, for the first time, it suddenly dawned -upon Mrs. Stamps what was the matter with -Bobby. In spite of herself she laughed heartily at -the boy’s perversity. Finding that his mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page42">[42]</span> -hesitated to reply, Bobby turned to the man and -<span class="dontwrap">said,—</span></p> - -<p>“Come on: we’re going home now. Why did -you leave before I finished you?”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote1"></a><a href="#FNanchor1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> -Published in the Voice of the Negro.</p> - -</div><!--footnote--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>FALSE PRIDE.</h2> - -<p>Once upon a time the head clerk in a carpet -store requested one of his junior clerks to go to -a patron’s home to measure a room, and suggested -that he take along a five-yard sample. The junior -clerk objected to “carting” such a big bundle, as -he said, “all over town,” and asked that one of -the boys be sent with it. The proprietor of the -establishment, who happened to overhear the remark, -privately told the head-clerk to inform the -proud young fellow that a boy would be sent on -after him with the roll. Shortly after the young -man reached the house, the proprietor of the establishment -covered him with confusion by appearing -at the house in person with the roll of carpet under -his arm. Handing the bundle to the bewildered -young man, the proprietor remarked:</p> - -<p>“Here is the carpet, young man. I hope I have -not kept you waiting for it. If you have any other -orders, I’ll take them now.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter w350"> - -<img src="images/illo042.jpg" alt="Proprietor and junior clerk" width="350" height="571" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Here Is the Carpet, Young Man. I Hope I Have Not Kept -You Waiting.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p class="center highline2"><span class="padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span -class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3">*</span></p> - -<p>A young woman of my acquaintance refused to -carry home a yeast cake, though it was needed at<span class="pagenum" id="Page43">[43-<br />44]<a id="Page44"></a></span> -once for the family baking and she was bound -directly homeward. She said that she wasn’t a -delivery wagon, and so the yeast cake had to be -sent to her home.</p> - -<p>A great many foolish young people are so absorbingly -regardful of their trim appearance on -the street that they will never under any circumstances -carry a basket or bundle, however much -inconvenience they may cause others by refusing -to do so.</p> - -<p class="center highline2"><span class="padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span -class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3">*</span></p> - -<p>Now, it is not proper pride or self-respect which -prompts people to act as the young folks acted -whom I have just referred to. It is silliness which -prompts them to act so. Any honest work is honorable -that is honorably done, and you will notice -that young people of good social position and -strength of character are above such pettiness. -Only inferior people act that way. Superior people -do not act so, because they are well aware that -they cannot be compromised by doing straightforwardly, -without fuss or apology, whatever needs -to be done. Yet, I admit, that it seems to be -human nature that whatever is distasteful or supposedly -menial should be done by somebody else. -When young people, or old people for that matter, -are tempted to be foolish in such things they -should remember the lesson of humility that Christ -taught his disciples, when in that warm Oriental -country, where only sandals are worn, He performed -the necessary service of washing the disciples’<span class="pagenum" id="Page45">[45]</span> -feet. For us to be above our business—for -us to think ourselves too good or too dainty -to soil our hands with honest toil—for us to feel -that it is a lowering of our dignity to carry a bundle -through the street, is to prove by our conduct -that we are not up to the level of our business, that -we are possessed of a great amount of false pride, -and, in a higher sense, it shows that we have a foolish -and wicked distaste of true service. There is -nothing low, nothing degrading, nothing disgraceful, -in honest labor, in honest work of any kind, -whether it be to boil an egg properly, to sweep a -floor well, to carry a bundle or package through -the streets, or bring a pail of water. In fact, if -somebody were to say that “chores” done or undone -are the making or the unmaking of boys and -girls, it would be a homely way of putting an important -truth. Bringing up coal or bringing in -wood, weeding the garden bed, running errands, -washing dishes, sewing seams, dusting furniture, -doing any odd jobs where there is need, cheerfully, -faithfully—these lead to the highway of -greater opportunities and are the usual avenues to -the only manhood and womanhood that is worth -having. My young friends, the castle of your -noblest dream is built out of what lies nearest at -hand. It is the uncommonly good use of common -things, the everyday opportunities, that makes -honored lives, and helps us, and helps us to help -others, along the sunroad. “He that is faithful -in that which is least is faithful also in much.<span class="pagenum" id="Page46">[46]</span>” -“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty -spirit before a fall.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THANKSGIVING AT PINEY GROVE.</h2> - -<p>The people of the Piney Grove settlement, both -white and black, had been free for nearly a generation. -The whites had been freed from the curse -of being slave-holders, and the blacks had been -freed from the curse of being held in bondage. -But never in the history of this little town, in the -very heart of the so-called “Black Belt” of -Georgia, had the people known anything about the -proper observance of Thanksgiving Day until -189—. And in that year the revolution was -brought about by a young colored woman named -Grace Wilkins.</p> - -<p>Grace Wilkins was the only daughter of Solomon -and Amanda Wilkins. Solomon and his wife -were farmers—plain, simple, ordinary country -folk. Amanda was literally her husband’s helpmeet. -She went along with him every morning to -the field, and, in season, chopped as much wood, -picked as much cotton, hoed as much corn, pulled -as much fodder, and plowed as much as her husband -did. Up to her fourteenth year Grace had -been reared on a farm, and had learned to do all -the things that any farmer’s child has to do—such<span class="pagenum" id="Page47">[47]</span> -as milking cows, feeding hogs and chickens, hoeing -cotton and corn, picking cotton, pulling fodder -and the like. In her fourteenth year, acting upon -the advice of an uneducated colored preacher, her -parents sent Grace away from home to attend one -of the great normal and industrial institutes for -the training of the black boys and girls of the -South.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo046.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="462" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Grace Before Going to School.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>At first her mother and father were filled with -forebodings. It was the first time that they had -ever allowed their daughter to be away from them,<span class="pagenum" id="Page48">[48]</span> -and they missed her so much and longed for her -so constantly that they thought that they had -made a mistake in sending her off to “boardin’ -school.” Ignorant and superstitious neighbors, -though they knew as little about such matters as -did Solomon and Amanda, were loud in saying -that “Sol” and “Mandy” would live to regret the -step they had taken in sending Grace away from -home. The only rays of sunshine that came in to -brighten these periods of mental unrest and gloom -on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were found -in the letters which they received regularly from -their daughter. Grace invariably informed her -parents, whenever she wrote, that she was “well -an’ doin’ well.” Thus reassured from time to -time, Solomon and Amanda managed somehow to -undergo the terrible strain of having their daughter -absent from them for eight months. But meantime -they were firmly of the opinion that, once -they got their hands on her again, they would -never allow Grace to return to school.</p> - -<p>With glad and thankful hearts Mr. and Mrs. -Wilkins joyously embraced their daughter when -she came home at the close of her first year in -school. With keen and genuine interest, they listened -to her wonderful accounts of the great school -and of the great man at the head of it. Grace -dressed differently and talked differently; and her -mother said, speaking one day in confidence to her -husband shortly after Grace’s return, “Dat gal’s -sho got a new walk on her!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page49">[49]</span></p> - -<p>Grace Wilkins brought back a toothbrush with -her from school. That was something which she -had never had before. She used that toothbrush -every morning and night. That was something -that she had never done before. She was now careful -to keep her hair well combed every day. That -was something that she had been accustomed to do -on Sundays only or on special occasions. She -washed her face two or three times a day now, as -her mother and father noticed. Before she went to -school she had been in the habit of giving her face, -as the old people say, “a lick and a promise” early -each morning. Besides, Grace kept the house -cleaner than she had kept it before. She brought -home with her a brand new Bible which she read -regularly at home and always carried to church -and Sunday school. She also had a song book -called “Jubilee Songs and Plantation Melodies,” -and it gladdened the hearts of the good “old folks -at home” to hear their daughter sing from a book -some of the very songs that they had sung all their -lifetime and which were so dear to them.</p> - -<p>All these things and others made a deep and -abiding impression upon Solomon and his wife. -And finding that withal their daughter was just as -loving and kind as she had been before, and that -she was just as industrious and faithful as formerly, -Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins were not long in deciding -that their daughter should go back to that -school another year, and that they would work -hard and stint themselves in order that they might<span class="pagenum" id="Page50">[50]</span> -keep her there until she had finished the normal -course.</p> - -<p>So back to school Grace Wilkins went—that -year, and the next year, and the next. It was the -proudest day in Solomon’s and Amanda’s lives -when they sat in the magnificent chapel of the -school and heard their daughter read her graduation -essay on “The Gospel of Service.” Glad tears -welled up in their eyes when they heard the principal -call their daughter’s name, and then saw -Grace step up to receive her certificate of graduation.</p> - -<p>Coming back to Piney Grove to live, “Miss -Gracie”—everybody called her that after graduation—established -a little school which she called -“The Piney Grove Academy.” It was the first -public school for colored children ever opened -within the corporate limits of the little village. -Before that the schools were district schools or -county schools, which were taught about in different -places for only three or four months in the -year, mainly during the summer. Miss Gracie began -her school the first day of October. By special -arrangement she used the first three months for -the public term allowed by the state, and supplemented -that with a five-months term, for which the -pupils were required to pay fifty cents each per -month. The plan worked well, the parents joining -in heartily in the movement, and the Piney Grove -Academy soon became the model school for the -surrounding counties.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page51">[51]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo050.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="555" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Grace’s Graduation.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Among other things Miss Gracie had learned -at school what was the import of our national -Thanksgiving Day. At the opening of the second<span class="pagenum" id="Page52">[52]</span> -year of the Piney Grove Academy she decided -that she would inaugurate an annual Thanksgiving -service. Accordingly on the opening day of the -second year Miss Gracie informed the pupils of her -plan, and told them that she would begin the very -next day to prepare a suitable program for the -exercises. Afterwards Miss Gracie secured the cooperation -of the village pastor—the same man who -had been instrumental in having her parents send -her away to school. Through him she was permitted -to talk to the people at the church two or -three times about the proposed celebration. She -was careful to tell them that the Thanksgiving -festival was meant specially to be a home festival -in addition to being a time for the people to come -together in their accustomed places of worship to -thank God for the blessings of the year. She urged -them, therefore, as far as they were able without -going to unnecessary expense, to have family dinners -and bring together at one time and in one -place as many members of the family as possible. -She explained to them how this might be done -successfully and economically, and with pleasure -and profit to all concerned. She also urged them -to be planning beforehand so that nothing might -prevent their attending church Thanksgiving Day -morning. She was going to hold the exercises in -the church, because her little school was not large -enough to furnish an assembly hall for the people -who would be likely to be present.</p> - -<p>On Thanksgiving Day nearly everybody in town<span class="pagenum" id="Page53">[53]</span> -went to the exercises. Many white people attended, -including the county school commissioner and the -school trustees. It was the first Thanksgiving -service that any of them had ever witnessed.</p> - -<p>The program was made up, for the most part, -of choice selections from negro authors, composers, -orators, and so forth. A selection from Frederick -Douglass on “Patriotism” was declaimed; one -from Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Exposition -speech was also delivered. Paul Laurence Dunbar’s -poem entitled “Signs of the Times” (a -Thanksgiving poem) was read by one of the -pupils, and also “The Party,” another of Dunbar’s -pieces, was rendered. “The Negro National -Hymn,” words by James W. Johnson and music -by his brother, Rosamond Johnson, was sung by a -chorus of fifty voices. At the opening of the service -the president’s Thanksgiving proclamation -was read and appropriate remarks were made by -Miss Wilkins. The closing remarks were made by -the Rev. John Jones, the village pastor. The remarks -of Mr. Jones were in the congratulatory -mood. He was naturally proud of Miss Gracie’s -achievements, because he had had something to do -with putting her on the road to an education. He -spoke of the teacher as the leaven that was leavening -the whole lump, and the applause which followed -the statement showed plainly the high -esteem in which the teacher was held by all the -people. Everyone enjoyed the service. None of -the villagers had ever seen anything like it before.<span class="pagenum" id="Page54">[54]</span> -After singing “America” all of them went away -happy, many of them, in obedience to Miss Gracie’s -previous counsel, going home to eat for the first -time, well knowing what they were doing, a -Thanksgiving dinner.</p> - -<p>At the home of Miss Wilkins there was an excellent -spread of ’possum, potatoes, rice, chicken, -pickles, macaroni, bread, a precious Thanksgiving -turkey, and the inevitable mincemeat pie. Besides -Miss Gracie, there sat at the table that day her -parents, Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Wilkins, John and -Joseph Wilkins, brothers of Solomon who had -come from a distance, Mary Andrews, a sister of -Mrs. Wilkins, who also came from a distance, -Grandma Wilkins, Grandma and Grandpa Andrews, -the Rev. John Jones, his wife, his daughter, -and his only son, Jasper Jones.</p> - -<p>Jasper had gone to school at T—— one year -after Gracie went, and, of course, was one year -later in finishing the course there. On this Thanksgiving -Day, nevertheless, he had been out of school -long enough to have successfully established himself -in the business of poultry raising and dairying.</p> - -<p>Just before the dinner party was dismissed the -Rev. Mr. Jones arose and said:</p> - -<p>“There is another little ceremony you’all is -invited to witness befo’ you go out to see the baseball -game. I am authorized by these credentials -which I hol’ in my hands to unite in the holy bonds -of matrimony Miss Grace Wilkins and Mr. Jasper<span class="pagenum" id="Page55">[55]</span> -Jones. If there is no objection, these two persons -will please stan’ up, an’ I’ll tie the knot.”</p> - -<p>Of course there were no objections. The knot -was tied. And when the villagers learned of the -occurrence not long afterwards they had additional -reason for believing that they were right -when they voted that Piney Grove had never seen -the like of such a Thanksgiving Day, and that -Miss Gracie Wilkins was one of the best women -in all the world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE LOUD GIRL.</h2> - -<p>I do not know of a more sorrowful spectacle than -that of a girl who is loud in her dress, loud in her -manners, and loud in her speech. It is a great mistake -for a girl to suppose that this loudness will be -mistaken by her friends and acquaintances for -smartness. The desire to be regarded as bright and -witty has led many a girl into the folly of being -loud in her manners. She often cherishes the illusion -that the attention such manners attract is -combined with admiration, when the truth is that -those who witness her strange conduct are simply -wondering how it is possible for her to throw to -the winds that charm of all girlhood—modesty.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo055.jpg" alt="Two girls" width="550" height="591" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Blab-Mouthed and Noisy.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<div class="figleft"> - -<img src="images/illo057.jpg" alt="Girl" width="264" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Modest and Quiet.</span></p> - -</div><!--figleft--> - -<p>One afternoon not long ago I saw a group of -girls of the loud type. They came into the street -car in which I was sitting. They all wore<span class="pagenum" id="Page56">[56]</span> -boys’ hats. One wore a vivid red jacket with brass -buttons, and another had on a brass belt. A third -one had on a most conspicuous plaid skirt. This -third one had a box of bonbons, and when the three -were seated she opened the box and offered it to -her companions, saying as she did so, in a voice -loud enough and shrill enough to be heard in every -part of the car:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page57">[57]</span></p> - -<p>“It’s my treat; have some, chums!”</p> - -<p>Upon this invitation one of the girls dived down -into the box like a hungry bear, and held up a -piece of the candy in triumph and then dashed it -into her mouth with a great guffaw. “O, Mame!” -said one of the girls, “if you ain’t just horrid to -go and take the very piece I wanted!”</p> - -<p>“Mame” laughed and, taking the candy from -her mouth, offered it to the other girl, saying as -she did so:</p> - -<p>“Well, here it is, Lulu!”</p> - -<p>“Lulu” struck the candy from “Mame’s” hand, -and it flew across the aisle into the lap of a lady -sitting opposite the girls. This set all three of the -girls to giggling and tittering, and they seemed -in danger of convulsions when the owner of the -box of candy let it fall and a part of the candy -rolled out on the floor.</p> - -<p>The conductor came forward and picked up the -box and candy and handed them to the owner. -She giggled out her thanks, and “Lulu” said: -“Why didn’t you give him a gumdrop for his -trouble?”</p> - -<p>This seemed to impress the other girls as a most -brilliant witticism, and they fell to tittering violently -over it.</p> - -<p>Presently a gentleman came in and stumbled -slightly over the feet of one of the girls thrust -out into the aisle.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said the gentleman, as he -lifted his hat, whereupon the three girls grinned<span class="pagenum" id="Page58">[58-<br />59]<a id="Page59"></a></span> -and giggled and giggled and grinned immoderately, -and one of them said:</p> - -<p>“Roxy, you had better ride out on the platform, -where there is more room for your feet!”</p> - -<p>“Roxy” then struck “Lulu” for making this -speech. “Lulu” pretended to be much offended -and flung herself over to the other side of the car, -where she made a grimace at the other girls.</p> - -<p>The conduct of these girls during the half hour -that they were on the car was such as caused every -father and mother who saw them to regard them -with pity. The loud girl, my dear readers, is -always an object of pity. She should be a -sorry object for her own contemplation. An old -writer has said: “You little know what you have -done when you have first broken the bounds of -modesty; you have set open the door of your fancy -to the devil, so that he can represent the same sinful -pleasure to you anew.”</p> - -<p>Now, the loud girl may be entirely innocent of -any actual wrong-doing, but she is regarded with -dislike, distrust, and even disdain, by the better -class of people. She acquires a reputation for rudeness -and coarseness, and the people of refinement -will not associate with her. Her character suffers, -no matter how innocent she may be of any intention -of doing wrong. Delicacy, modesty, is the certain -sign of sweetness, purity and gentleness of -character, just as indelicacy is the certain sign of a -lack of these beautiful traits.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page60">[60]</span></p> - -<h2>THE ROWDY BOY.</h2> - -<p>You can tell him wherever you see him. There -are certain marks or appearances which he carries -about with him and which are never absent. For -one thing you will find him with a cigarette stuck -in his mouth, and a cigarette is one of the deadliest -poisons in the world for boy or man. He wears his -hat on the side or cocked back on his head. Frequently -he stuffs both hands in his trousers’ pockets. -He doesn’t attend school regularly; sometimes -he starts for school and ends at the bathing pond -or the baseball park. He is late at Sunday school, -if he goes at all, and he stands ’round on the outside -at church while the service is going on inside. -He steals rides on trains and on trolley cars, and on -passing vehicles of all descriptions. He is saucy -and impudent to older people, and is always ready -and willing to quarrel or fight with his mates. He -is what the boys call a “bully.”</p> - -<p>The loud girl and the rowdy boy are two things -of which we have seen enough in this world. They -are things; they are hardly worth the dignity of -being called human beings.</p> - -<p>I saw one of these rowdy boys in his own home -not a great while ago. His mother said to him:</p> - -<p>“Johnnie, you must always take off your hat -whenever you come into the house.”</p> - -<p>“Good gracious alive,” he said, “I can’t do<span class="pagenum" id="Page61">[61]</span> -anything right. What is the use of grabbing off -your hat every time you come into your own -house?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo060.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="482" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">He Stuffed Both Hands in His Trousers’ Pocket.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>His mother looked sad, but said nothing. Presently -she discovered that her little boy had -brought some mud into the house on his shoes. -In her sweetest tones she said:</p> - -<p>“Johnnie, you must go to the door and wipe<span class="pagenum" id="Page62">[62]</span> -your feet now. See how you are tracking up the -floor there!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the rowdy boy with a snarl, “can’t -the old floor be scoured? You must think this old -house is gold.”</p> - -<p>Now, I am a preacher, boys, and, being a preacher, -of course I am what is called a “man of peace,” -but I tell you that that was one time I came pretty -near wishing that I wasn’t a preacher so that I -might have given that boy what he deserved. I -was sorry, for the time being, that he wasn’t my -son. No manly little boy will ever talk to his -mother in any such way. I suppose that boy -thought it made him appear to be a very important -personage, but he was very much mistaken. -Don’t be rowdy, boys; don’t be rough; don’t be -rude. You were made for better things.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>HONESTY.</h2> - -<p>Early in the morning two little boys came to -the market place. They arranged their little stands -and spread out their wares, and sat down to wait -for customers. One sold watermelons and fruit, -and the other sold fish and oysters. The hours -passed on and both were doing well. By-and-by -Sammie had only one melon left on his stand. A -gentleman came along and said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page63">[63]</span></p> - -<p>“What a fine, large melon! I think I will buy -that one. What do you ask for it, my boy?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo062.jpg" alt="Two boys and a gentleman" width="550" height="586" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">How Much for the Melon?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“This is my last melon, sir; and though it looks -fair, there is an unsound spot on the other side,” -said the boy, turning the melon over.</p> - -<p>“So there is,” said the man. “I don’t believe I’ll -take it. But,” he added, looking straight at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page64">[64]</span> -boy, “is it very good business for you to point out -the defects of your goods to customers?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps not, sir,” said the boy with becoming -modesty, “but it is better than being dishonest.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, my boy; always speak the truth -and you will find favor with God and man. I shall -not forget your little stand in the future.”</p> - -<p>Then turning to the other boy’s stand the man -asked:</p> - -<p>“Are those fresh oysters?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” said Freddie, “these are fresh this -morning—just arrived.”</p> - -<p>The gentleman bought them and went away.</p> - -<p>“Sammie,” said Freddie, “you never will learn -any sense. What did you want to show that man -that spot on the melon for? He never would have -looked at it until he got home. I’ve got an eye to -business, myself. You see how I got rid of those -stale oysters—sold them for just the same price -as fresh oysters.”</p> - -<p>“Freddie,” said the other boy, “I wouldn’t tell -a lie, or act one either, for twice the money we have -both earned today. Besides I have gained a customer -and you have lost one.”</p> - -<p>And it turned out just as Sammie said. The next -day the gentleman bought a large supply of fruit -from Sammie, but he never spent another penny -at Freddie’s stand. It continued that way through -all the summer. At the close of the season he took -Sammie into his store, and, after awhile, gave him -a share in the business.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page65">[65]</span></p> - -<h2>UNCLE NED AND THE INSURANCE -SOLICITOR.</h2> - -<p>Life insurance is something that every married -man should carry. In fact, it is a fine investment -for a young man to take out a ten- or twenty-year -payment policy in some good company, which can -be made in favor of his father or mother in the -event of his death, or obtained in cash ten or -twenty years later by himself.</p> - -<p>The following story tells of an insurance agent -trying to insure the life of an old colored man—the -story is amusing, but only as a story. We do -not advise any one to follow Uncle Ned’s example.</p> - -<p>Charles Turner, an agent of the Workingmen’s -Industrial Aid Insurance Company, called upon -Edmund Grant, an elderly colored man, with a -view to getting him to insure his life.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Uncle Ned,” said Mr. Turner.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Mr. Turner,” said the old man, -raising his hat and making a low bow.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Ned, do you carry any insurance?” inquired -the agent.</p> - -<p>“Do I carry what?” asked Uncle Ned.</p> - -<p>“Do you carry any insurance? Is your life insured?” -asked the agent.</p> - -<p>“Bless the Lord, yes, indeed, sir,” replied the -colored man; “long, long ago.”</p> - -<p>“In what company?” asked the solicitor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page66">[66]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo065.jpg" alt="Two gentlemen in the street" width="371" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">That’s Just What My Religion Does!</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page67">[67]</span></p> - -<p>“I’m a Baptist, sir,—a deepwater Baptist,” -answered Uncle Ned.</p> - -<p>The agent realized that the old man had not -understood him, but, anyhow, he asked him:</p> - -<p>“How long has it been since you joined?”</p> - -<p>“I joined the same year the stars fell,” replied -the old man.</p> - -<p>The solicitor knew that the old man referred to -the year when the great meteoric display of shooting -stars took place, and said:</p> - -<p>“That’s quite a long time ago. Does your company -pay any dividends?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Turner,” said Uncle Ned, with a smile, -“that question is out of my reach,—just what do -you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Why, Uncle Ned,” said Mr. Turner, “a dividend -is interest paid on your money; and if you -have been paying your money into one company -for more than thirty years, surely you ought to -have been receiving your dividends long before -now, especially if it’s an old-line company.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Uncle Ned, “it surely is the oldest -line company that ever was. The Lord set it up -himself way back yonder on Calvary’s tree. But I -haven’t ever heard of any interest or dividends—nothing -of the kind. And you haven’t heard me -talk about paying in money for thirty years,—you -know you haven’t. Salvation’s free, man,—salvation’s -free! You know that as well as I do.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I see,” said Mr. Turner; “I see that I -have misunderstood you. You’re talking about -your soul’s salvation.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page68">[68]</span></p> - -<p>“I certainly am,” answered the old man.</p> - -<p>“Well, I came here to talk to you about insuring -your life in case of death or your body in case of -accident or sickness,” replied the agent.</p> - -<p>“Accidents, sickness and death come to all of -us,” said Uncle Ned very solemnly. “There’s no -way of getting away from death.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” replied the agent patiently; “insurance -companies cannot prevent sickness and -death any more than you can, Uncle Ned, but insurance -companies can and do help you to bear -your burdens in time of trouble.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what my religion does,” said the -old man, with great satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“But we do it in a different way,” persisted -the agent.</p> - -<p>“How do you do it?” asked Uncle Ned.</p> - -<p>Then the agent went on to explain all about insurance, -the benefits, the premiums, accident -benefits, sick benefits, etc., dwelling particularly -on the fund that would be paid in the event of the -old man’s death. Uncle Ned listened with a great -deal of interest, and after he had finished, -inquired:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Turner, who do you say the money goes -to when I die?”</p> - -<p>“To your wife,” answered Mr. Turner, “or to -your children, or any one else you name.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Turner, let me ask you one question: -Don’t you think that would help the other -fellow more than it would me?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page69">[69]</span></p> - -<p>“What other fellow?” asked the agent.</p> - -<p>“My wife’s second husband,” replied Ned. -“You know as well as I do that if I was to die -and leave five or six hundred dollars to her that -some other colored gentleman would be trying to -change her name before I got cold in the ground.”</p> - -<p>The agent could not suppress a smile, and Uncle -Ned went on:</p> - -<p>“Women are mighty curious; if I went into this -thing, I wouldn’t dare let Dinah know about it. -She is a mighty fine and loving wife right now, but -if she knew there was all that money waiting for -her when I died, wouldn’t she be sort of looking -forward to the time when she would get it to -spend? Why, Mr. Turner, she might even be -tempted to put something in my tea, and the first -thing I knew some morning I’d wake up dead. I -don’t want anything to do with this insurance. -The Baptist Church is good enough for me.”</p> - -<p>When Mr. Turner gave it up and laughingly -left him, he heard Uncle Ned <span class="dontwrap">singing—</span></p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I’m a Baptist bred and a Baptist born,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And when I die, that’s a Baptist gone.”<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page70">[70]</span></p> - -<h2>THE STRENUOUS LIFE.</h2> - -<p>They were having a rough-and-tumble time of it -and Pansy was getting some pretty hard blows. -She took them all good-naturedly, nevertheless, -and tried to give as good as she received, much to -the delight of her little boy friends. A lady who -was standing near, afraid for the little girl, chided -the boys and said:</p> - -<p>“You shouldn’t handle Pansy so roughly—you -might hurt her.”</p> - -<p>And then Pansy looked up in sweet surprise and -said with amusing seriousness:</p> - -<p>“No; they won’t hurt me. I don’t break easy.”</p> - -<p>It was a thoroughly childlike expression, but it -had more wisdom in it than Pansy knew. She -spoke out of a little girl’s experience with dolls, -some of which, as she had learned, broke very easily. -Pansy knew how delightful it was to have a -doll that didn’t break so easily. Though she was -not a homely girl by any means, and though she -was not a wicked little girl, yet she wanted it understood -that she was not like a piece of china. -That was why the other children liked her so -much—because she knew how to rough it without -crying or complaining at every turn. Pansy was -not a cry-baby.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo070.jpg" alt="Lady and children" width="450" height="522" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">I Don’t Break Easy.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>There is all the time, my dear boys and girls, -a great demand everywhere all through life for<span class="pagenum" id="Page71">[71]</span> -people who don’t break easily—people who know -how to take hard knocks without going all to -pieces. The game of life is sometimes rough, even -among those who mean to play fair. It is very -trying when we have to deal with people who -break easily, and are always getting hurt and<span class="pagenum" id="Page72">[72]</span> -spoiling the game with their tears and complaints. -It is so much better when we have to deal with -people who, like little Pansy, do not break easily. -Some of them will laugh off the hardest words -without wincing at all. You can jostle them as -you will, but they don’t fall down every time you -shove them, and they don’t cry every time they -are pushed aside. You can’t but like them, they -take life so heartily and so sensibly. You don’t -have to hold yourself in with them all the time. -You can let yourself out freely without being on -pins as to the result. Young people of this class -make good playmates or good work-fellows, as the -case may be.</p> - -<p>So, boys and girls, you must learn to rough it -a little. Don’t be a china doll, going to smash at -every hard knock. If you get hard blows take -them cheerily and as easily as you can. Even if -some blow comes when you least expect it, and -knocks you off your feet for a minute, don’t let it -floor you long. Everybody likes the fellow who -can get up when he is knocked down and blink the -tears away and pitch in again. Learning to get -yourself accustomed to a little hard treatment will -be good for you. Hard words and hard fortune -often make us—if we don’t let them break us. -Stand up to your work or play courageously, and -when you hear words that hurt, when you are hit -hard with the blunders or misdeeds of others, -when life goes roughly with you, keep right on in -a happy, companionable, courageous, helpful<span class="pagenum" id="Page73">[73]</span> -spirit, and let the world know that you don’t -break easily.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A HUMBUG.</h2> - -<p>A boy or girl who is pleasant and agreeable -everywhere except at home is a humbug. I know -one boy who is a good deal of a humbug, although -you would never think so if you were to see him in -any place outside of his home. He is good-looking, -neat and tidy, and carries himself like a little man. -I do not know of a boy who can tip his hat more -gracefully to a lady, or who can say, “I beg your -pardon,” or “excuse me, please,” more pleasantly -than he can. But, for all that, he is a humbug.</p> - -<p>I visited his home the other day. I heard his -mother speak to him.</p> - -<p>“Alexander,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you want?” he asked in a voice -which plainly indicated his displeasure.</p> - -<p>“I want you to do something for me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you are always wanting me to do something -just when I want to be doing something -else,” said Alexander, and this time he was whining.</p> - -<p>In departing on his errand Alexander accidentally -ran against his little sister in the hall. I expected -to hear him say, “I beg your pardon” in<span class="pagenum" id="Page74">[74]</span> -the pleasant way that I knew he could say it, but -he snapped out instead:</p> - -<p>“Oh, get out of the way, can’t you?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo073.jpg" alt="Alexander and his sister" width="450" height="569" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Oh, Get Out of the Way, Can’t You?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>When he returned from the postoffice, Alexander’s -mother was out in the yard trimming the<span class="pagenum" id="Page75">[75]</span> -flowers. While Alexander was reporting to her -she happened to drop her scissors. I expected to -see her polite and dutiful son pick them up, as he -was close by when the scissors fell; but the boy -paid no attention to the scissors. When his -mother said, “Please pick up my scissors for me, -Alexander,” he said:</p> - -<p>“What did you drop ’em for?”</p> - -<p>I spent the best part of one whole day at Alexander’s -home, and never once during all that day -did I hear him speak politely to his mother or -sisters, nor did he observe the ordinary rules of -courtesy and good behavior in their presence. He -was continually grumbling and complaining and -finding fault. So I think I have a right to say -that this boy is a good deal of a humbug. Any -boy is a humbug who is polite and gracious to -others and in every way discourteous and disagreeable -at home. Don’t you think so, too?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page76">[76]</span></p> - -<h2>HOW TO BE HANDSOME.</h2> - -<p>Do you want to be handsome? I’ll tell you how.</p> - -<p>First, look well to your health. Eat regularly -and simply, and take proper rest, in order to be -healthy. Do not crowd the stomach. The stomach -can no more work all the time, night and day, -than a horse; it must have regular rest. The body -must have proper rest also. Do not keep late -hours. Go to bed early. If you have work which -must be done, it is a good deal better to rise early -in the morning and do it than it is to sit up late -at night and work.</p> - -<p>Secondly, good teeth are essential to good looks. -Brush the teeth regularly with a soft brush morning -and night, especially at night. Be sure to go -to bed at night with clean teeth.</p> - -<p>Thirdly, look well to the ventilation of your -bedrooms. No one can have a clear skin who -breathes bad air. Fresh air is a preventive of a -multitude of diseases. Bad air is the cause of a -great many premature deaths.</p> - -<p>Fourthly, cleanliness of the entire body is of -vast importance. Some one has said that “Cleanliness -is next to godliness,” and some one else has -added, “And soap is a means of grace.” Handsome -people not only eat regularly and simply; -they not only sleep regularly and look well to<span class="pagenum" id="Page77">[77]</span> -proper ventilation; but handsome people will take -regular baths.</p> - -<p>Fifthly, more than all else, in order to look well -you must wake up the mind and soul. When the -mind is awake, the dull, sleepy look passes away -from the eyes. Keep thinking pleasant and noble -thoughts; do not read trashy novels or books; read -books which have something good in them. Talk -with people who know something. Be often in the -company of those who know more than you do. -Hear lectures and sermons and profit by them. If -we listen and understand and heed, the mind and -soul are awakened. So much the better if the spiritual -nature is aroused. Sometimes a plain face -is really glorified with the love of God and of man -which shines through it.</p> - -<p>Lastly, keep a strong and vigorous body by taking -plenty of wholesome outdoor exercise, and do -all the good you can.</p> - -<p>Why not begin to grow handsome today?</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo076.jpg" alt="Portrait of a girl" width="450" height="401" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page78">[78]</span></p> - -<h2>PATIENCE.</h2> - -<p>Patience is one of the marks of a high character. -It might well be called the habit of closing -the mind against disagreeable and annoying conditions. -To acquire this habit so effectually as to -hide even from one’s self any sense of suffering -or offense from contact with such conditions is -what the truly cultivated aim at. Life, it is true, -is full of trying things, but to let the mind dwell -upon them only serves to increase their offense to -the feelings or the senses.</p> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo078.jpg" alt="Chopping wood" width="300" height="528" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Patience.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figright top078"> - -<img src="images/illo078a.jpg" alt="Top part" width="199" height="352" /> - -</div><!--figright--> - -<div class="figright bot078"> - -<img src="images/illo078b.jpg" alt="Bottom part" width="300" height="176" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Patience.</span></p> - -</div><!--figright--> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<p>There are people, of course, who are incapable -of self-concentration, and whose imagination, if -left free to gad about, seems always to fix upon -and exaggerate every element of disturbance. They -live in what is called an elementary stage of moral -discipline, and are perpetually fretting about -things they cannot help. They are never able to -shut down the will against any unpleasantness. -They permit merely accidental conditions to exercise -a kind of tyrannical sway over them, which, if -their minds were once bent to the practice of putting -up with things, would cease to present any -annoyance whatever.</p> - -<p>It is difficult, no doubt, to acquire this habit, but -this is what patience means in its highest sense. It -is spiritual endurance, and its chief power consists<span class="pagenum" id="Page79">[79]</span> -not so much in adding to the number of our -joys as in lessening the number of our sufferings. -It is, therefore, a mark of power over one’s self -and a means of power over others. With patience -the outward success or failure of a man is a small -thing compared with that -success which he has achieved -within himself. And that -kind of success—the success -which enables a man to -laugh at failure and rise superior -to discouragements -and difficulties—that kind of -success is a means of help -and inspiration to all those -about him.</p> - -<p>If we consider the works -of nature we shall see -that nature’s most -beneficent operations -are the results of patience. -Anything -which grows must -have time, and the -best things in the -world are generally those things which demand the -longest time for their growth and development. -The rank and short-lived weed reaches its full development -in the shortest possible time, but the -oak, which is to stand for centuries, demands the -sunshine and the storm of years before its strength -is fully developed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page80">[80]</span></p> - -<p>Now, boys and girls, one of the hardest demands -which nature makes upon people (especially upon -young people, full of strength and energy and ambition) -is to wait for the results of growth. No -man becomes instantly strong morally; he must -grow into strength. However great his ambition -and his zeal may be, no man becomes a scholar in -a year. It takes time, and lots of it. No man -reaches at a single bound the full development of -his whole nature. He grows into strength. A -good soldier cannot be made without war, nor can -a skillful seaman be made on land.</p> - -<p>So in the race of life we must fight hard for all -we get and be patient. Whatever else may be true, -or may not be true, only patient and continued -efforts—not hasty efforts—lead to success.</p> - -<p>Before me lies a block of wood. It is full of -knots. It seems to me I can never split it. But -I bravely make the attempt. The first blow makes -little impression. The axe springs back with a -bound. Again and again I strike. Then a tiny -crack appears. A few more licks—and the block -yields. I have succeeded. Can you tell me which -blow did the work? Was it not the first blow and -the last and all between? You have tried something -and failed. Try again. If you fail, try once -more. And on and on, keep trying until you win -the victory.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page81">[81]</span></p> - -<h2>BEAUTIFUL EYES.</h2> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Eyes like the violet—in them I see<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All that is fair, that is holy to me!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Eyes that shed fragrance, so constant, so true,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Pure as a clear drop of morning dew.<br /></span> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Eyes like the violet, gently along<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lead me to vespers—to prayer and to song.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Eyes like the violet, let me I pray<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Live within range of thy glances all day!<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>GOING WITH THE CROWD.</h2> - -<p>“But all the girls went, mother. I didn’t like -to be the only one left out. Besides, when I said I -wouldn’t go they all laughed at me and said that -I was a coward.”</p> - -<p>It was Wednesday morning, before school time, -and Anna was dreading to go back to school—dreading -to meet her teacher. The day before a -circus had been in town. At recess, while the -children were on the playground, they heard the -noise of the band, and one of the girls said:</p> - -<p>“Let’s go and see the parade.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Anna. “I’ll go and ask the -teacher if we may.”</p> - -<p>“No; don’t ask her—she might say no. We can -get back before the bell rings, and she will never -know that we left the grounds.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page82">[82]</span></p> - -<p>Anna and one or two other girls held back. They -all knew that it was against the rules to go off the -playground at recess without permission.</p> - -<p>“Oh, come on! Come on!” insisted one of the -girls. “You’re afraid; you’re afraid! Come on! -Don’t be such a coward; all the rest are going.”</p> - -<p>And so Anna went.</p> - -<p>When the girls saw the parade pass one point -they wanted to see it once more, and away they -went through the cross street to get to another -corner ahead of the procession. School was forgotten; -and when they did remember, recess time -was long past and it was too late to go back.</p> - -<p>The next morning, as Anna stood in the kitchen -talking it over with her mother, her little heart -was very heavy. She knew she had done wrong; -she dreaded to go to school; and she was very -unhappy.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” said her mother, “if you had been -brave about not going, the other girls would have -stayed on the school grounds too. Or, if you had -asked the teacher, I think she would have let you -all go. But whether she did or not, it is never safe -to do a thing just because ‘all the rest do it.’ Going -with the crowd is not a good plan unless you -are sure that the crowd is going in the right direction. -The only wise thing for you to do is to be -sure you are right, and then stick to it and never -mind what the crowd does.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to do wrong,” said Anna, as the -tears started in her eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page83">[83]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo082.jpg" alt="Anna and her mother" width="371" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Mother, I’m So Happy. Teacher Forgave Me!</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page84">[84]</span></p> - -<p>“I know that, my dear,” said her mother, “but -you were more afraid of being teased than you -were of doing wrong. I hope you will remember -from this day forward that the brave girl is not -the girl who dares to do wrong, but the brave girl -is the one who does what she knows to be right, -in spite of the taunts and jeers of her playmates.”</p> - -<p>“What shall I tell my teacher?” asked Anna in -a low voice, as she dropped her head.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said her mother, kissing her, “you go -right straight to your teacher and tell her that -you have done wrong, and that you are sorry for -it. Ask her to let you say so to the whole school. -Be sure to beg her pardon, and promise not to do -so again.”</p> - -<p>Little Anna did as her mother told her. That -afternoon, when she came back from school, she -ran into her mother’s arms and said:</p> - -<p>“Mother, I’m so happy. Teacher forgave me, -and I mean to be good.”</p> - -<p>And the smile on Anna’s face spoke plainly of a -happy heart.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>MARY AND HER DOLLS.</h2> - -<p>Was there ever a time when the first doll was -born? Was there ever a time when little boys -and girls, especially little girls, did not love dolls -and did not have something of that nature to play<span class="pagenum" id="Page85">[85]</span> -with? It would appear that dolls, or playthings -somewhat like unto dolls, are as old as babies -themselves—that is to say, boys and girls, that -ever since there have been little children in the -world there have been little things for them to -play with. And I never saw a sane person in my -life who regrets that it is so. It is not only amusing, -it is inspiring to see the little children making<span class="pagenum" id="Page86">[86]</span> -merry with their dolls and their toy animals and -their little express wagons and their wooden guns -and their toy steam engines and their whistles and -their balloons and their brownies and their jumping-jacks -and their hobby-horses and a hundred -and one other things.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo084.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="486" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Mary and Her Dolls.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Mary had put away her dolls for the night and -was cleaning the doll house when papa came in.</p> - -<p>“How many doll babies have you now, Mary?” -he asked.</p> - -<p>“I have five dolls now, papa,” said Mary, “but -only one is a baby—that is little Flossie. Robbie -and Nell are three years old now; Mattie is two -and Jerusha is one year old. Flossie is now the -only little baby.”</p> - -<p>The Rev. Dr. Smithson smiled.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he said after a time, “five dolls make -a big family, I think.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t,” said Mary quickly. “Rolla Mays -has thirteen girls and two boys in her doll family, -and I haven’t but five in all!”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think,” said Dr. Smithson, “that -Rolla would know what to do with so many.”</p> - -<p>“Why, papa, of course she does!”</p> - -<p>“Mary,” said Dr. Smithson, looking thoughtfully -at his little daughter, “I have a little girl in -my Sunday school class who hasn’t a single doll. -I thought you might like to give her one of yours. -You could spare one—couldn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, papa, I couldn’t—not a one,” exclaimed -Mary.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page87">[87]</span></p> - -<p>“Not one—when this poor little girl hasn’t -any?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, papa, I love my dolls so—how can I give -them away?”</p> - -<p>“You’d have four left—wouldn’t that be -enough?”</p> - -<p>Mary thought a long while before speaking. She -looked distressed.</p> - -<p>“Papa,” she said at last, “Mrs. Grant was over -here the other day, and she said that she wished -you and mamma would give me to her because she -didn’t have any little girl of her own. You’ve got -five children yourself, papa—but would you give -any of ’em away just because you would have four -left?”</p> - -<p>Dr. Smithson took his little daughter in his -arms and kissed her.</p> - -<p>“No, dear,” he said; “papa wouldn’t give any -one of his children away. You may keep all of -your dollies, and we’ll think of some other way -to help poor little Hattie.”</p> - -<p>The next morning Mary said:</p> - -<p>“Papa, I have thought it all out for Hattie. -You know I have been saving up a little money -to buy me a little iron bank—but I can wait for -that. I have saved up fifty cents—don’t you think -that will be enough to buy a nice little dolly for -Hattie, and let me keep my babies?”</p> - -<p>Dr. Smithson knew that Mary had long been -planning for the bank. So he asked:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page88">[88]</span></p> - -<p>“Are you quite sure that you want to spend -your money in this way?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, papa, I’m very sure,” said Mary with a -smile, though there was a hint of sadness in her -eyes.</p> - -<p>Dr. Smithson and Mary bought Hattie a pretty -doll. Hattie was overjoyed when she saw it. Mary -went back home, glad that her papa had understood -how she loved her dolls, and glad to find -that not one of her beloved children was missing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>JAKY TOLBERT’S PLAYMATES.</h2> - -<p>“Well, Johnnie, where are you going this morning?” -asked Mrs. Jones as her little boy started -towards the gate.</p> - -<p>“I’m goin’ over to Jaky’s, mamma; you know -I must go over to Jaky’s every day.”</p> - -<p>“What do you find at Jaky’s to make you so -anxious to go over there every day almost before -you are out of bed good?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, mamma, Jaky has the nicest playmates -over to his house you ’most ever saw.”</p> - -<p>“Who else goes over to Jaky’s besides you?” -asked Mrs. Jones.</p> - -<p>“Jaky don’t have no reg’lar visitor but me,” -said Johnnie proudly. “Me an’ Jaky is the whole -thing.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page89">[89]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, you are saying a good deal for yourself -when you say that Jaky has the nicest playmates -in the world—don’t you think so?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo088.jpg" alt="Circus manager and his mother" width="386" height="500" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">I’m Going Over to Jaky’s, Mamma.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“I didn’t mean me,” explained Johnnie.<span class="pagenum" id="Page90">[90]</span> -“Jaky’s playmates ain’t folks at all. Jaky’s playmates -is animals—just animals, but I do believe -that they have got as much sense as some folks I -know.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of animals?” asked Mrs. Jones, becoming -interested.</p> - -<p>Then Johnnie went on to explain. He said:</p> - -<p>“Jaky’s got chickens and dogs and cats and -birds. He’s got names for all of ’em, and they -all know their names and they just run to Jaky -when he calls them. The chickens and birds, too, -will just walk right up and eat out of Jaky’s hand. -And his trained dogs and cats are just the funniest -things I ever saw. His little dog, Trip, can carry -a gun and obey the commands, “Carry arms!” -“Present arms!” “Parade rest!” just like a little -soldier. One time at a fair he saw trained dogs -and horses, elephants, and even lions. Then he -decided that he would train some animals himself. -And, mamma, he has done well. Why, he’s got a -cat that can spell some words. Jaky printed some -letters of the alphabet on separate cards, and he’s -got a cat that will pick out the right ones every -time. One of his little dogs can play the fiddle. -It may seem strange, but he certainly can do it. -He can hold the fiddle, and draw the bow across it -just the right way, and he can play a little tune. -Jaky calls it a dog tune, and I think he ought to -know.</p> - -<p>“You just ought to see Jaky’s chickens—he’s -got six of ’em. He calls them and they all come<span class="pagenum" id="Page91">[91]</span> -running. Then he holds out his arm, and calls -them by name, and they will jump up on his little -arm, one after the other, and will sit there until -Jaky tells them to jump down. And Jaky is so -kind to his two birds that they won’t fly away -when he lets them out of their cages for a little -while. He can take them up in his arms and pat -them gently, and then he puts them down, and -they will lie still right by Jaky until Jaky calls -them by name and tells them to go into the house—that -is, I mean, into their cages.</p> - -<p>“By the way, mama, I forgot to tell you. Jaky -is getting up an animal show, and he says -that I am to be his manager. He’s going to print -the cards to-day. He’s going to call his circus, -“JAKY TOLBERT’S GREAT ANIMAL SHOW—THE -GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH,” and -he’s going to make me the manager of his circus. -Won’t that be fine? You’ll come and see it—won’t -you? We’re going to charge only one cent -for you to come in. Oh, it’s going to be great, -and I don’t want you to miss it.”</p> - -<p>“To be sure, I’ll come,” said Mrs. Jones. “Tell -Jaky I’m glad to hear about how much he loves -the dumb animals—every manly boy ought to -love and protect them.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you,” said Johnnie, as he hurried out of -the gate, “Jaky will fight anybody who hallooes -at one of his pets or mistreats one in the least. -He’s just as kind to them as he can be. Don’t -you forget the show. It’ll come off next week.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page92">[92]</span></p> - -<h2>A VALENTINE PARTY.</h2> - -<p>It was one week from St. Valentine’s Day, and -the Berry children had already provided a number -of the tokens, comic and otherwise, which -they meant to send to their friends. Jack produced -a grotesque and awfully exaggerated caricature -of a withered, stoop-shouldered old woman, -with some cruel lines of doggerel printed beneath -it.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to send this to old Mrs. Gray,” said -Jack, as he exhibited the comic picture.</p> - -<p>Nearly all the children laughed, and said that -the picture and the words beneath it would just -suit the old woman. Mrs. Gray was an old and -poverty-stricken widow woman, and many of the -children of the little village took delight in playing -tricks on her on Hallowe’en and Valentine -nights. In this way, the children, especially the -boys, had made her life so miserable that the old -woman often said that she hated even the sight of -a boy. In the midst of the merriment over the proposed -venture of Jack Berry, it was Lillie Berry -who spoke up, <span class="dontwrap">saying,——</span></p> - -<p>“Jack, I tell you what I think. I think we -ought to give Mrs. Gray a genuine surprise next -week. She has had so many ups and downs in this -life, I really believe that we can give her a little -pleasure if we give her a true—true surprise. Of<span class="pagenum" id="Page93">[93-<br />94]<a id="Page94"></a></span> -course, all the boys and girls will be invited to -join in, but it is not going to be like a regular -party, but something like the ‘surprise’ parties -or donation parties that we sometimes give the -preacher; we’ll just put the things on the doorstep -and run, the way we do with valentines, you -know. What do you say to that, Jack? And what -do the rest of you think?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo093.jpg" alt="" width="373" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Old Mrs. Gray.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Very quickly the Berry children agreed with -what Lillie had said, and immediately they set -about planning for the valentine party.</p> - -<p>The night of February fourteenth was clear, -cold and moonless. Across the fields in the darkness, -a throng of merry young children, with a -wagon or two (little goat wagons) piled high with -baskets and bundles and wood, slipped silently -toward the little house where old Mrs. Gray sat -shivering over her scanty fire. A sudden knock -at the door aroused Mrs. Gray from her musing. -She hobbled painfully to the door. Opening it, -she saw by the light of the tallow candle a basket -of rosy apples and another of potatoes. Nothing -else was in sight.</p> - -<p>A second knock followed almost as soon as the -door had closed on the two baskets which were -hurriedly drawn inside. This time a can of kerosene -oil held a lonely vigil on the doorstep.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t had a drop in my lamp for two -weeks,” Jack heard the old lady say, as she peered -out eagerly into the darkness before closing the -door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page95">[95]</span></p> - -<p>As she was busy filling her lamp, she was interrupted -by a third knock, which resulted in a -basket filled with groceries in parcels in all shapes -and sizes. Great tears stood in Mrs. Gray’s eyes, -and a great lump arose in her throat.</p> - -<p>At last knock number four revealed the real -Saint Valentine—a group of laughing boys and -girls, every one of whom carried an armful either -of pine or oak wood for the stove.</p> - -<p>“Where shall we put it?” asked Jack Berry, -as eager now to help as he had been the week -before to tease. Mrs. Gray was rubbing her eyes, -and wondering if she could possibly be awake and -in her right mind.</p> - -<p>“Wish you many happy returns of Valentine’s -Day!” said Lillie Berry, as she slipped into the -withered hand a small purse containing the valentine -money of the boys and girls; and before the -bewildered woman could say more than a fervent -“God bless you,” her guests had melted away in -the darkness, and she was left to weep tears of -thankfulness among her new possessions.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>“NO MONEY DOWN.”</h2> - -<p>Boys and girls, I suppose you are quite familiar -with what is known as buying things on the instalment -plan. You have seen people in your own -neighborhood—perhaps in your own homes—buy<span class="pagenum" id="Page96">[96]</span> -things that way. Chairs, tables, bed-steads, rugs, -pictures, things for the kitchen and things to -wear, and many other things are bought that way. -Most people think they are getting a great bargain -when they are able to buy things by paying -a small amount in cash as the first payment—say -fifty-cents or a dollar—and then pay the balance -in small weekly or monthly payments. And especially -do some of our mothers and fathers think -that they are getting a great bargain, if they are -able to buy things they want for “no money -down” and so much a week. In such matters, my -dear boys and girls, your parents are making a -terrible mistake and are setting you a wrong -example. They lose sight of the fact, when they -fall into the habit of buying anything and everything -on the instalment plan or on the “no money -down” plan, that a day of reckoning is sure to -come; that the time comes when they must pay for -everything that they have been led into buying. -Thoughtful people—wise people—prefer to pay -“money down” when they buy anything; and -this habit of paying as they go helps them in at -least two ways. First, it saves money in their -pockets, and, secondly, it keeps them from running -in debt.</p> - -<p>Children, these men who come to your homes -with great packs on their backs always charge -you double for whatever they may sell you on the -“no money down” plan—no matter what it is! -That is why they are willing to make the terms so<span class="pagenum" id="Page97">[97]</span> -“easy,” as they say. In the end they profit by -their schemes, and nobody else does profit by their -schemes except these peddlers. You ought to -avoid them as you would a wild beast. You do -not know now, boys and girls, what a terrible -thing debt is. I honestly hope that you may never -know, and if you will take the advice of older and -wiser persons I am sure you will always be free -from the bondage of debt.</p> - -<p>Not long ago, I saw two women standing at the -window of one of these “no money down” or -“hand-me-down” stores. One said to the <span class="dontwrap">other—</span></p> - -<p>“I just believe I’ll get me a new cloak this winter. -My cloak didn’t cost but three dollars, and -it is so old and shabby that I am ashamed to wear -it in the street. Look at that beauty over there in -the corner. Only ten dollars and ‘no money -down’.”</p> - -<p>“Yes;” said her companion, “but I guess the -money will have to come down sometime.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, of course; but, you know, I won’t have to -pay it all at once. I could probably get it for fifty -cents a week.”</p> - -<p>“Well, why don’t you just save the fifty cents a -week until you have enough to pay ‘cash down’ for -the cloak, and in that way you would save, I am -sure, three or four dollars; because you can buy -that same cloak for six dollars or seven dollars in -cash.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said the woman, “I’d never save it as I<span class="pagenum" id="Page98">[98]</span> -would if I had the cloak and knew that I just had -to pay for it.”</p> - -<p>“But, Delia, the cloak would not really be yours -until you had paid for it, and I would feel kind of -cheap wearing a cloak that didn’t belong to me. -If I were you I would stick to the old cloak until -I could pay the money down for a new one. That’s -what I would do.”</p> - -<p>And that is exactly what anybody should do -who wants a new cloak. It is what people should -do, no matter what they want. I know a boy -fifteen or sixteen years old who had the courage -and the manliness and the honesty to wear a very -shabby old overcoat all of last winter rather than -buy one on the “no money down” plan. It is his -plan always to “pay as he goes,” and be debtor -to no one.</p> - -<p>I heard the other day of a young fellow who -goes two or three blocks out of his way to avoid -passing certain stores because he owes the proprietors -of those stores money that he cannot pay. -That boy, I know, is miserable night and day. -Mr. Longfellow, in his “The Village Blacksmith,” -tells us that the honest old blacksmith could look -“the whole world in the face,” because he did not -owe anybody anything—he was out of debt. And -boys and girls, if you are level-headed, you will -fight shy of the “no money down” plan. By -choosing the “money down” plan, you will save -your self-respect and your good name.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page99">[99]</span></p> - -<h2>TOMMY’S BABY BROTHER.</h2> - -<p>For several months Deacon Tadpole’s little son, -Tommy, had made constant and repeated reference -to the fact that he had no little baby brother or -sister to play with. One day, when he was feeling -unusually sad over his misfortune, he said to his -<span class="dontwrap">father,——</span></p> - -<p>“Papa, I ain’t got no little baby brother to play -with—you might at least buy me a little pony.”</p> - -<p>“Papa can’t buy a pony, son;” said the deacon. -“A pony costs too much. I thought you wanted -a little brother or sister.”</p> - -<p>“I do,” said Tommy, “but if I can’t get what I -want I’m willing to take what I can get.”</p> - -<p>“But, you would rather have a little brother -than a pony, wouldn’t you?” asked Mr. Tadpole.</p> - -<p>Tommy thought awhile and then said he -thought he would rather have a little baby brother -than to have a pony.</p> - -<p>“You see,” he said, “it costs so much to keep -a pony, and we would have to build a stable for -him, wouldn’t we, papa?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered his father, “and we haven’t -got any room in the backyard for a stable.”</p> - -<p>“And we’d have to buy hay, too,” said the -child.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said his father.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’d rather have the little brother.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page100">[100]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo099.jpg" alt="Tommy and his father" width="408" height="550" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Papa, Won’t You Buy Me a Little Pony?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>So the matter was left in abeyance until a month -ago, when little Tommy was told one morning that -a little brother had come to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page101">[101]</span></p> - -<p>He was delighted. He danced around in the hall -and made such a racket on the stairs that the -nurse threatened to have him sent away. When -he was permitted to see the baby, Tommy went -into ecstasies. He wanted to kiss the baby, and -cried because they wouldn’t let him hold it in his -arms.</p> - -<p>But Tommy’s enthusiasm for the new baby -began to wear off in about a week’s time. It was -always, “Sh-sh! Sh-sh! You’ll wake the baby,” -or “Tommy, you must be more quiet!” or “You -can’t come in this room now!”</p> - -<p>In fact, the little baby brother seemed to be interfering -with little Tommy’s fun to such an -extent that he decided to go to his father and see -if some new arrangement could not be made. -Tommy found his father in the library. He ran to -Deacon Tadpole and climbed upon his knee, and -said:</p> - -<p>“Papa, I don’t believe I want my little brother -any more. I can’t have any fun with him. I’ll -tell you what let’s do. Let’s trade him for a -pony.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we couldn’t do that,” said the deacon.</p> - -<p>Tommy was silent for a time. Then he said:</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t suppose we could find anybody -that would want to trade a pony for him, but don’t -you think you could trade him for a goat?”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page102">[102]</span></p> - -<h2>KEEPING SCHOOL.</h2> - -<p>Every boy and girl in America ought to go to -school. The public school is one of the best institutions -connected with the life of our nation. But -did you ever hear of a little girl who went to -school to herself? I have, and I want to tell you -about it.</p> - -<p>We will call her Tootsie.</p> - -<p>There was no school-house, and no teachers; -nothing only just little Tootsie; not even her dolls; -just simply Tootsie sitting all alone on the couch -near the window. That was all there was to this -little school, so far as anybody could see.</p> - -<p>But Tootsie said she had a large school, with -some sixty pupils. Sometimes she would say that -her scholars had been naughty and that they -would have to stay in at recess; and then again -she would say that they had been promoted to a -higher grade; she often talked to her pupils as if -they were real live people, telling them how they -should stand and how they should sit and giving -them permission to be excused, and so on. So you -see it seemed in Tootsie’s mind very much more -like a real school than it could to us.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo102.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="384" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Tootsie!</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Every morning, when Tootsie’s sister would -start for school, Tootsie would watch her until -she was out of sight, and then she would go and -sit down on the couch. Not having a true-true<span class="pagenum" id="Page103">[103]</span> -school book, she would take her Christmas story -books. At first she would only look at the pictures -and try to think what the story about them -must be. Then she would ask mamma or grandma, -or whoever happened to be nearest, what the -words of the picture-story were. She would then -say the words of the story over to herself and look -at the picture. Next day she would read over the -words of the same story as far as she could remember -them, and when she came to a word that she -did not know, up she would jump and go and ask -some one what it was. When she had learned a -story herself, she would then talk to her sixty<span class="pagenum" id="Page104">[104]</span> -imaginary scholars about it, showing them the -picture and explaining the story to them just as -though the children were all there before her in -her little school room.</p> - -<p>In this way Tootsie went through one after -another of her story books, picking out the stories -that had pleasing pictures.</p> - -<p>But the nice thing of it all was that Tootsie was -really learning to read, and she did get so that she -read real well; for she knew just what she was -reading about, and often, when she would find a -story that was funny, she would laugh right out -even if she was at school, and then she would find -mama or grandma and read the funny part to -them.</p> - -<p>Maybe one reason why Tootsie learned so fast -was because her school was just like play to her -and not like work. Of course, it is easier to play -than it is to work. But could you think of any -better thing to play than to play keeping school? -Why not try it? It helped Tootsie wonderfully, -and I believe it would help many other boys and -girls. What do you think about it?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page105">[105]</span></p> - -<h2>THE SCHOOL OF THE STREET.</h2> - -<p>Little Joe, ten years old, had followed his business -as a newsboy and bootblack in Smutville for -three or four years, and, of course, had turned out -to be a first-class little citizen of the street. He -could curse and swear, and drink and smoke, just -the same as any old hardened sinner.</p> - -<p>One day, after Joe had finished one of his daily -fights with some other small boy, a kind-hearted -gentleman stepped up to him and <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“My little man, do you go to school?”</p> - -<p>“Nope,” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“Do you go to Sunday-school?”</p> - -<p>“Nope.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the gentleman, “what do you -expect to do when you are grown?”</p> - -<p>“I ain’t going to wait till I’m grown—I’m -going to be a jockey; that’s what I’m going to -be.”</p> - -<p>“How would you like to be bank cashier or -president of a great bank? Wouldn’t you like -that better?”</p> - -<p>“Yep,” said the boy, “but a poor boy can’t get -no job like that—now you know he couldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; he could if he were to prepare himself -for it. But a poor boy, and no other boy, will ever -be a great business man if he is going to live forever<span class="pagenum" id="Page106">[106]</span> -in the street—cursing -and swearing -and fighting and, it -may be, stealing, and -having no higher ambition -than to be a -jockey.”</p> - -<p>“Are you a parson?” -asked the boy, -becoming interested.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo105.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="473" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Little Joe.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“No, but I am interested -in little boys. -I am the secretary of -the Young Men’s -Christian Association -and we have a boys’ department. I want you to -join it. I have found out about your habits and -your surroundings; I was told of the death of -your mother and father; and I made up my mind -to come and ask you to come over to the Young -Men’s Christian Association and live with us. -You may continue to sell your papers and black -boots, but, you see, living with us, you can go to -school at night, and some day you will have a good -education—and you might be a bank cashier.”</p> - -<p>Little Joe took this good man’s advice and went -to live in the Y. M. C. A. building. He did not -turn out to be a bank cashier or president, but -what was better, Joe turned out to be a General -Secretary of one of the largest Y. M. C. A.’s among -the colored people of this country, and in that way<span class="pagenum" id="Page107">[107]</span> -has been instrumental in saving a great many -other boys from the gutter.</p> - -<p>But Joe would never have amounted to anything -if he had not been taken away from the wicked -influences of the street, and placed on the road to -higher things. The worst school in this world -that any boy can go to is the school of the street. -The school of the street turns out the most impure, -the most dishonest and the most illiterate boys, -and those boys and girls who ever rise to be anything -or anybody in the world are the ones who -leave the influences of the street in due time, as -Little Joe did. The street offers most of its work -and most of its attractions at night, as many boys -can tell. The life of the street leads to no career -that is worth following. The good careers are made -by those whom the street has not had a chance to -spoil, or by those who are taken out of the streets -before they become hopeless cases.</p> - -<p>There is no greater error than the common -notion that it is a good thing to let a boy run the -streets and become “hard” and “tough” and -“have his wits sharpened” and make “a little -man” of himself, as some foolish people say. A -boy learns more downright mischief in one night -in the street than he can unlearn in the home in six -months. And so, what will the teaching of the -home, the public school and the Sunday-school -amount to, if we are going to give our boys in -their young and tender years the freedom of the -streets? If now and then a street boy—that is to<span class="pagenum" id="Page108">[108]</span> -say, a boy hardened in the ways of the street—does -get a good place, in most cases he will lose it -and fall back to the old, free life of the gutter. -The boys who succeed are the boys who get away -from, or who are taken away from, the influences -of the street and who are surrounded by better -and more wholesome influences. Those who remain -under the influences of the street become in -the course of time members of the great army of -beggars, tramps and criminals. It is a great pity -that there should be so many stories going the -rounds which tell about newsboys and messenger -boys and so on rising to be bank clerks and telegraph-operators -and so forth. On the whole, these -stories are misleading, and for the reason that -they seem to give the impression to many innocent -boys and to many thoughtless parents that the -surest way to give a boy a good start in life is to -send him out into the streets to “rough it” and -fight his way to the front over beer bottles, games -of chance, the race-track, and the pool room, to -the accompaniment of vulgar jokes, profane -swearing and evil associates. I repeat: The school -of the street is the worst school in the world, and -the sooner boys get out of it the better it will be -for them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page109">[109]</span></p> - -<h2>THE FOX HUNT.</h2> - -<p>Uncle Hambright used to pride himself upon his -ability to invent amusing games for the children. -Sometimes he found it hard to think of anything -new, but the demands of the children were so -insistent and his desire to please them always was -so intense that it often happened that Uncle Hambright -could almost make a way out of no way.</p> - -<p>Dinner-time was fast approaching. All the -morning, the half-dozen little children, who were -spending the day with Uncle Hambright at the -Sunday-school picnic, had been playing every conceivable -sort of game and had been enjoying every -imaginable kind of story told in Uncle Ham’s -inimitable way,—but still the children were not -satisfied. “Just one more story,” or “Just one -more game,” or “Give us your best game now for -the last before dinner,”—the children clamored -one after another.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Uncle Ham. “You all wait -until I come back, and then we’ll play fox-hunting.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Ham went and told his sister and her -husband, the parents of the little children, to take -the dinner-baskets far into the woods to the place -which they had already agreed upon as the spot -where the dinner-table should be spread. Coming -back to the children, Uncle Ham <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page110">[110]</span></p> - -<p>“Now, we are ready. -Come close and listen -while I explain.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo109.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="368" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Uncle Hambright.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>With anxious hearts -and eager faces, and -clapping their glad -hands, the children -gathered around Uncle -Ham.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “I -have a piece of chalk -here in my hand. I am -going to make something like this wherever I -go along.” While he was speaking he made a -round ring on the fence close by. He put marks -for the ears and feet and a mark for the tail. -Then he continued: “This is the fox. I’m -going to make foxes along the path that I take -into the woods—sometimes these foxes may be on -fences, sometimes on trees, sometimes on rocks, or -anywhere I wish to place them. Whenever you -find a fox you will know that you are on the right -road, and you must be sure each time to follow in -the direction that the head of the fox points. Then -you won’t lose your way. You must give me a -little start, because I must be out of sight before -you all begin the hunt. At the end of the hunt, if -you follow carefully, you will find a large present -waiting for each one of you. You may help yourself -to whatever you like, and then we shall all -come back together, because, you know, I will be<span class="pagenum" id="Page111">[111]</span> -at the end myself waiting for you when you come.”</p> - -<p>It seemed that the ten minutes start that the -children had agreed to give Uncle Hambright -would never come to an end, so eager were they -to begin the hunt. By-and-by the time came, and -they were off. The first few foxes had been drawn -on the board-walk, so the hunters had easy sailing -for a little while. Pretty soon, however, one of the -girls discovered a fox on a tree, and the head of -the fox pointed right into the woods. At first the -children halted. The eldest girl said finally, after -studying a few <span class="dontwrap">minutes,——</span></p> - -<p>“Let’s go on; Uncle Hambright wouldn’t take -us where anything could hurt us, and, besides, he -said he would be waiting at the end.”</p> - -<p>Thus re-assured, all of them plunged into the -woods. Once in the woods the little foxes drawn -on trees and stumps carried them right along by -the side of a babbling brook for a long distance. -Sometimes they would find one fox, and then they -would find it very hard to locate the next one. It -was great fun for them to scurry about in the -woods, examining trees, stumps, rocks and everything, -hunting for the foxes. Finally one of the -little girls found a fox on a fence. The head of -the fox pointed upwards. The little child <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“This little fox seems to be pointing to heaven; -I’m sure we can’t go up there.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no;” said the oldest girl, again coming to -the rescue,—“I think that that little fox leads over -the fence—that’s all.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page112">[112]</span></p> - -<p>So, over the fence they jumped and continued -the chase.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo111.jpg" alt="Uncle Ham and the children" width="450" height="541" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Wait Here Until I Return.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The course proved to be zig-zag now for a few -minutes, and the children found the foxes more -and more difficult to locate. They felt safe again, -when the foxes were found on stones or rocks leading<span class="pagenum" id="Page113">[113]</span> -up the side of a hill. The woods began to thin -out, and the children were no longer timid. Up -the hill they went with a merry laugh and a shout. -Once on top of the hill, they lost their course again. -After a time, they found a fox, though, and that -fox pointed straight down the hill. The children -bravely followed. At the foot of the hill, they -came suddenly upon an open space, and close by -there was a great big fox marked upon a piece of -black paste-board and standing right over a bubbling -spring of water.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Hambright must have meant for us to -stop here,” said one.</p> - -<p>“Maybe, he meant for us to stop and get some -water,” said another.</p> - -<p>One or two of the fox-hunters stopped and -drank some water. Then the oldest one <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“Come on now, let’s look for another fox; I -guess we are most through now.”</p> - -<p>About twenty yards away from the spring, the -children came to another open space that was well -shaded. What was their delight and surprise to -find there stretched out before them on a large -white table cloth, laid on the bare ground, a sumptuous -picnic-dinner. And in the middle of the -table there was a true-true stuffed fox with a large -red apple in his mouth. For a few moments the -children stood around the table in bewilderment. -But they were not to be kept in suspense a great -while. Pretty soon, Uncle Hambright and mama -and papa came out of the woods near by, and such<span class="pagenum" id="Page114">[114]</span> -a laugh as went around that picnic-dinner was -never heard before or since!</p> - -<p>At the close of the meal, the children all voted -that that was the best game that Uncle Ham had -played during the day.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A BOLD VENTURE.</h2> - -<p>“Mr. Slocum, good morning, sir; I came around -to ask you to lend me five dollars.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Slocum, Manager of the Harlem Steamboat -Company, looked up from his desk in surprise -when he heard this abrupt announcement.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” he asked curtly.</p> - -<p>“Lend me five dollars,” said the little boy who -had first addressed him.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” demanded Mr. Slocum.</p> - -<p>“I’m nobody,” said the boy,—“nobody, but I -want you to lend me five dollars.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Slocum, who was generally said to be a hard -man to deal with, was surprised at the boy’s presumption, -yet, nevertheless, he was secretly -pleased at the boy’s frank and open manner.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what borrowing money means?” -asked Mr. Slocum, rising and looking down upon -the diminutive figure standing before him. The -boy was barefooted, held his hat in his hand, and -his hair was nicely combed. Mr. Slocum continued:<span class="pagenum" id="Page115">[115]</span> -“Don’t you know when a person borrows -money he is supposed to pay it back?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” said the boy; “I know that. You -lend me the money, and I’ll pay it back all right. -I only want it for three months. I’ll pay it back.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo114.jpg" alt="Slocum and Tommy Tolliver" width="450" height="427" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Lend Me Five Dollars!</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>There was something about the boy’s face and -general deportment that won Mr. Slocum’s favor. -He ran his hand into his pocket, pulled out a five-dollar -bill and handed it to the boy.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” said the boy, as he turned to -go,—“thank you, sir; I’ll pay it back.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page116">[116]</span></p> - -<p>Three months later, the same little boy entered -Mr. Slocum’s office.</p> - -<p>“Here’s your five dollars, Mr. Slocum,” said the -little boy. “I’m much obliged to you, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” as Mr. Slocum, as he reached -out and took the money.</p> - -<p>“I’m nobody,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Well, why do you bring me this money?”</p> - -<p>“Because I owe it to you,” explained the little -fellow.</p> - -<p>The boy told Mr. Slocum of the loan made three -months before, and made Mr. Slocum recall the -transaction. Mr. Slocum asked him to have a -seat.</p> - -<p>“Well, what did you do with that money?” -asked Mr. Slocum.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “I was hard up when I -called on you. Me and my ma had been selling -papers for a living up to that time, but somehow -we had got behind with our expenses. House rent -was due, and we didn’t have nothing to eat. I had -to find a friend somewhere. So, after trying two -or three places where I was known and failing to -get any help, I decided to drop in here and see -you. You know the result. Well, I paid my rent -for a week; rented a little stand for my ma to sell -papers on the corner, while I continued to hustle -in the street. That five dollars you lent me give me -good luck, and I’ve been going right up ever since. -Me and ma are living in a better place now; we’ve -got a plenty to eat; and we’ve got a plenty of fine<span class="pagenum" id="Page117">[117]</span> -customers. I told you when I came here before -that I was nobody then, but I’m somebody now, -Mr. Slocum,—anyhow, I feel so—and I want to -thank you again for the help you gave me.”</p> - -<p>The boy’s story pleased Mr. Slocum very much. -It is needless to say that he took an interest in that -boy, and continued to befriend him.</p> - -<p>This happened many years ago. Today Tommy -Tolliver—that was the boy’s name—is the Assistant -General Manager of the Harlem Steamboat -Company, and a very well-to-do man. Mr. Slocum -says that there is nobody in the world like him. -Tommy’s mother died some years ago, but she -lived long enough to see her little boy taken out of -the streets, put to school, and started on his career -of usefulness.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE ROAD TO SUCCESS.</h2> - -<p>The world is constantly looking for the man -who knows the most, and it pays little regard to -those who are proficient in the usual degree in the -same things. One must excel, or, in other words, -know more than his associates in order to succeed -notably. The world will bid high for you if you -know more than other men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page118">[118]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo117.jpg" alt="Studying student" width="450" height="280" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Road to Success.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>So that boys and girls who are preparing themselves -for the duties of life should not aim simply -at being as good as somebody else, but they should -aim at being the best that it is possible to be in -any chosen line of life or business. I have noticed -in my short life-time that there is a great tendency -on the part of -young people to -cut short their -education. Being -able to shine in -the intellectual -and social worlds with the small attainments made -in some college or normal school or industrial -school, the average young negro man is content to -stop with a diploma or certificate from one or another -of these institutions. They will never realize -what injury they have done themselves by so doing -until it is too late. On the other hand, there is -another large class of young people that stop -short even before they have finished the course in -even any one of the normal or industrial schools. -They must go out to work; they know enough to -make a living; what’s the use of so much education,<span class="pagenum" id="Page119">[119]</span> -anyhow? This is the way some of them talk. -This is what some of them believe. Boys and -girls, no man or woman with such low ideals will -ever reach the topmost round of the ladder of -fame. Such boys and girls will always play a -second-rate part in the great drama of life. The -boys and girls who are going to the front—the -boys and girls who are going to have the leading -parts—are the boys and girls who are willing to -take time to prepare themselves. And preparation -means hard work; and not only hard work, -but hard and long-continued work. A person can -learn a good deal in one year; a person can learn a -good deal in two years; but nobody can learn -enough in one or two years, or in three or four -years, to make it at all likely that he will ever be -sought by the great world.</p> - -<p>Aside from the rudimentary training, it ought -to take at least ten years to make a good doctor, -or a good lawyer, or a good electrician, or a good -preacher. Four of these years ought to be spent -in college; and four in the professional school; -and the other two ought to be spent in picking up -a practical or working knowledge of the calling—whatever -it may be. The young doctor obtains -this practical knowledge in hospitals and in practice -among the poor. The electrician obtains it by -entering some large electrical industry or manufactory, -in which a thoroughly practical knowledge -of mechanical engineering and electricity -can be secured. It is true that some men have<span class="pagenum" id="Page120">[120]</span> -become distinguished in these callings without -this long preparation of which I have spoken; yet -it is, also, true that they would have been better -off—they would have been more likely to have -become eminent—if they had taken the longer -course. College is a little world which every one, -other things being equal, ought to enter and pass -through before launching in the great world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>KEEPING ONE’S ENGAGEMENTS.</h2> - -<p>What would happen if everybody should begin -tomorrow to keep all his promises and fulfill all -his engagements? I think it would make a new -world at once. There is great need that the attention -of young people should be called to the importance -of keeping engagements. Much of the -confusion and annoyance and trouble of this world -would be done away with if people would learn -to keep their promises. The oft-repeated excuse, -“I forgot,” is not reasonable. If the memory is in -the habit of playing tricks with you, then you -ought to make notes of your engagements, write -them down in some way, so that you will not -forget them. Arnold of Rugby said: “Thoughtlessness -is a crime,” and he was right. The great<span class="pagenum" id="Page121">[121]</span> -Ruskin has also uttered strong words in condemnation -of thoughtlessness in youth. He said: -“But what excuse can you find for willfulness of -thought at the very time when every crisis of -future fortune hangs on your decisions? A youth -thoughtless! when the career of all his days depends -on the opportunity of a moment. A youth -thoughtless! when his every act is a foundation-stone -of future conduct, and every imagination a<span class="pagenum" id="Page122">[122]</span> -fountain of life or death. Be thoughtless in any -after years rather than now, though, indeed, there -is only one place where a man may be nobly -thoughtless—his deathbed. No thinking should -ever be left to be done there.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo120.jpg" alt="Knocking on the door" width="300" height="492" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Keeping One’s Engagements.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>And, then, boys and girls should remember that -promptness should always accompany the fulfilling -of an engagement, otherwise the engagement -is not really kept. A person’s time is a valuable -possession, which should be respected by all. Who -has not been exasperated by some one with apparent -indifference keeping (?) an engagement a half -or three-quarters of an hour late! And often a -whole train of troubles will follow in the wake of -tardiness. The punctual boy or girl in this life -is the one who advances most rapidly. The punctual -boy or girl will make a punctual man or -woman. A promise-breaker, or one who is late in -keeping his appointments, cannot in the true sense -of the term be considered a first-class person.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A MIDNIGHT MISHAP.<a id="FNanchor2"></a><a href="#Footnote2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></h2> - -<p>Uncle Ned returned from his ’possum hunt about -midnight, bringing with him a fine, fat ’possum. -He built a glowing fire, dressed the ’possum, pared -and split the sweet potatoes, and pretty soon he -had the “’possum an’ ’taters” in the oven. While<span class="pagenum" id="Page123">[123]</span> -the meal was cooking Uncle Ned amused himself -with his favorite old banjo. When the ’possum -had been baked brown and -crisp he took it out of the -oven and set it on the -hearth to give it time to -cool. Mentally congratulating -himself upon the -glorious repast he thought -soon to enjoy, he sat -silently for awhile in the -old armchair, but presently -he was snugly wrapped -in the arms of “tired -nature’s sweet restorer—balmy -sleep.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo122.jpg" alt="Uncle Ned and the 'possum" width="200" height="507" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Midnight Mishap</span>.</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>It happened that two -young fellows who were -pretty well acquainted -with Uncle Ned’s habits -had been stealthily watching -about the house waiting -this particular chance. -As soon as they were convinced -that the old man -was safe in the arms of -Morpheus, they crept into the house and hurriedly -helped themselves to Uncle Ned’s supper, including -even the coffee and bread. When they finished -the hasty meal, by way of attempting to -cover up their tracks, they smeared Uncle Ned’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page124">[124]</span> -hands and mouth with the ’possum gravy and -then beat a retreat.</p> - -<p>After a time Uncle Ned aroused from his peaceful -slumber. It is needless to say that he had -dreamed about his supper. At once he dived down -to inspect the viands, when, lo and behold, the -hearth was empty! Uncle Ned steadied himself -and studied awhile.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said he finally, “I must ’a’ et dat ’possum; -I must ’a’ et dat ’possum in my sleep!”</p> - -<p>He looked at his hands. They were greasy. He -smelt his hands. As he did so he said:</p> - -<p>“Dat smells like ’possum grease! I sho must ’a’ -et dat ’possum.”</p> - -<p>He discovered grease on his lips. Out went his -tongue.</p> - -<p>“Dat tas’es like ’possum grease,” he said. He -got up. He looked about the house. There was -no sign of intruders. He rubbed his stomach. He -resumed his seat, and, giving up all for lost, he -said:</p> - -<p>“Well, ef I did eat dat ’possum, hit sets lightah -on my appertite dan any ’possum I evah et befo’.”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote2"></a><a href="#FNanchor2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Published in Lippincott’s.</p> - -</div><!--footnote--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>FREDERICK DOUGLASS.</h2> - -<p>In 1893 the World’s Columbian Exposition, or -World’s Fair, was held in Chicago in commemoration -of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery -of America. A negro man, the Hon. Frederick<span class="pagenum" id="Page125">[125]</span> -Douglass, attended that exposition and delivered -an address on negro day. Speaking of this -great man’s visit the Advance, one of Chicago’s -great religious papers, said:</p> - -<p>“It was fine to see at the Congress on Africa -the tall form and magnificent head of the grand -old man, Frederick Douglass, now seventy-five -years of age, perfectly erect, kindly, majestic, the -‘ancient fires of inspiration welling up through all -his being yet’; affable to all; finding it still to be -as natural to be eloquent as to speak at all; sympathetic -to the core with the people of his own -race, yet none the less loyal to the common interests -of all the people of his country; neither blind -to the obstacles in their path and the cruel social -injustice and meanness to which they are often -exposed, nor, on the other hand, unmindful of the -friends they have in the South as also in the -North, or above all to the over-shining care and -purpose of God Himself, with the ‘far-off divine -intent’ that so clearly takes in the future of both -the American and African continents. Few Americans -have had a more conspicuously providential -mission than Frederick Douglass. And hardly -anything in this remarkable congress was more -eloquent or more convincing than his personal -presence.”</p> - -<p>Frederick Douglass was born a slave, and his -life as a slave was one of peculiar hardship. Of -it he himself says in his autobiography:</p> - -<p>“I suffered little from any punishment I received,<span class="pagenum" id="Page126">[126]</span> -except from hunger and cold. I could get -enough neither of food or clothing, but suffered -more from cold than hunger. In the heat of summer -or the cold of winter alike, I was kept almost -in a state of nudity—no shoes, jackets, trousers, or -stockings—nothing but a coarse tow linen shirt -reaching to the knee. That I wore night and day. -In the day time I could protect myself by keeping -on the sunny side of the house, and in bad weather -in the corner of the kitchen chimney. The great -difficulty was to keep warm at night. I had no -bed. The pigs in the pen had leaves, and the -horses in the stable had straw, but the children -had nothing. In very cold weather I sometimes -got down the bag in which corn was carried to -the mill and got into that. My feet have been so -cracked by frost that the pen with which I am -writing might have been laid in the gashes.” With -regard to his food he said that he often disputed -with the dogs over the crumbs that fell from his -master’s table.</p> - -<p>Now this man, born so lowly and surrounded -by such circumstances, turned out to be in the -course of time by hard work and self-application -one of the most influential American citizens and -one of the greatest orators that this country has -ever known. Among other high offices of trust -and responsibility, he was once marshal of the -District of Columbia, recorder of deeds of the District -of Columbia, and United States minister to -Hayti.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page127">[127]</span></p> - -<p>He died February 20th, 1895, at his home in -Anacostia, D. C., at the age of seventy-seven years. -A monument to his memory has been erected in -Rochester, N. Y., where he once lived.</p> - -<p>What Frederick Douglass made of himself is -possible for any American boy with grit. Every -boy and girl in America should read the life of -this pre-eminent negro and strive to emulate his -virtues. His memory is worthy to be honored to -the last day of time.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>OUR DUMB ANIMALS.</h2> - -<p>Domestic animals—like horses, cats and dogs—seem -to be almost as dependent upon kind treatment -and affection as human beings. Horses and -dogs especially are the most keenly intelligent of -our dumb friends, and are alike sensitive to -cruelty in any form. They are influenced to an -equal degree by kind and affectionate treatment.</p> - -<p>If there is any form of cruelty that is more -reprehensible than another, it is abuse of a faithful -horse who has given his whole life to the service -of the owner. When a horse is pulling a heavy -load with all his might, doing the best he can to -move under it, to strike him, spur him, or swear -at him is simply barbarous. To kick a dog around, -to tie tin cans to his tail, or strike him with sticks,<span class="pagenum" id="Page128">[128]</span> -just for the fun of hearing him yelp or seeing him -run, is equally barbarous. No high-minded man, -no high-minded boy or girl, would do such a thing. -We should never forget how helpless, in a large -sense, dumb animals are—and how absolutely dependent -upon the humanity and kindness of their -owners. They are really the slaves of man, having -no language by which to express their feelings or -needs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo127.jpg" alt="Dog, horse, cat" width="600" height="305" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Our Dumb Animals.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The poet Cowper said:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I would not enter on my list of friends,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though graced with polished manners and fine sense,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yet wanting sensibility, the man<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.”<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<p>Every boy and girl should be willing to pledge -himself to be kind to all harmless living creatures, -and every boy and girl should strive to protect<span class="pagenum" id="Page129">[129]</span> -such creatures from cruel usage on the part of -others. It is noble, boys and girls, for us to speak -for those that cannot speak for themselves, and it -is noble, also, for us to protect those that cannot -protect themselves.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A PLUCKY BOY.</h2> - -<p>The boy marched straight up to the counter.</p> - -<p>“Well, my little man,” said the merchant, -“what can I do for you?”</p> - -<p>“If you please,” said the boy, “I came in to -see if you wouldn’t let me work for you.”</p> - -<p>The boy was not yet ten years old, and he was -small for his age. But there was something in his -speech or manner that held the man’s attention.</p> - -<p>“Do some work for me, eh?” said the man. -“What kind of work could you do? You can -hardly look over the counter.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; I can,” said the little fellow, as he -stood on tiptoe and peeped over the counter.</p> - -<p>Out of sheer curiosity the merchant came from -behind the counter, so as to get a good look at the -boy.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” he said, “I see you’ve got copper taps -on your shoes; I suppose your mother couldn’t -keep you in shoes if they didn’t have taps on -them!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page130">[130]</span></p> - -<p>“She can’t keep me in shoes anyway, sir,” and -the little boy’s voice hesitated.</p> - -<p>“How old are you?” asked the merchant.</p> - -<p>“I’m older than I look; folks say that I’m small -for my age.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what is your age?”</p> - -<p>“I’m going on ten,” said Davie, with a look -of great importance. “You see,” he continued, -“my mother hasn’t anybody but me, and this -morning I saw her crying because she could not -find five cents in her pocketbook, and she thinks -she must have lost it—and it was—the—last cent—that -she had—in the world; and—I—have—not—had—any—breakfast, -sir.” The voice again -hesitated, and tears came into the little boy’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t cry, my little man; I guess I can -help you to a breakfast. Here, take this quarter!” -He pulled a quarter from his vest pocket and -handed it to the boy. The boy shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Mother wouldn’t let me beg,” was his simple -answer.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” said the merchant. “Where is your -father?”</p> - -<p>“We never heard of him, sir, after he went -away. He was lost in the steamer City of New -York.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad. But you’re a plucky little fellow, -anyhow. Let me see,” and he looked straight -down into the boy’s eyes, and the boy looked -straight up at him. Turning to the head man, -after awhile, the merchant said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page131">[131]</span></p> - -<p>“Palmer, is cash boy No. 5 still sick?”</p> - -<p>“Dead, sir; died last night,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry; but here’s a boy you might use. -Put him down in No. 5’s place. We’ll try him for -awhile, anyhow. What’s is your name, my little -man?” he asked, turning again to the boy.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo130.jpg" alt="Davie Thomas and the merchant" width="600" height="528" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Boy Marched Straight Up to the Counter!</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“Davie Thomas.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Davie, we’ll give you three dollars a -week to start with; you come tomorrow morning -and I’ll tell you what to do. Here’s a dollar of -your wages in advance. I’ll take it out of your -first week’s pay. Do you understand?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page132">[132]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; I understand, and I thank you, too. -I’ll be back in the morning.”</p> - -<p>Davie shot out of the store, and lost no time in -getting home. The old creaky steps in the old -ram-shackle house fairly sang with delight as the -weight of the little boy hurried up them.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got it, mother;” exclaimed Davie. “I’m -a cash boy! The man’s going to give me three -dollars a week, and he says I’ve got pluck, too; -and here’s a dollar to get some breakfast with, and -don’t you cry any more, for I’m going to be the -man of this house now.”</p> - -<p>At first the mother was dumfounded; then she -looked confused; and then she looked—well, it -passes my power to tell how she did look as she -took Davie in her arms and hugged him and -kissed him, the tears streaming down her cheeks. -But they were tears of joy and thankfulness!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A HEART-TO-HEART TALK.</h2> - -<p>“Henry, I asked you to remain after school a -few minutes because I wanted you to help me re-arrange -the desks and furniture, but I had another -reason for asking you to remain, and I think -it is more important than the one I have just -stated.”</p> - -<p>The desks had all been arranged according to<span class="pagenum" id="Page133">[133]</span> -the teacher’s notion, and Henry Holt had gathered -up his books to go home. It was then that his -teacher, Miss Ada Johnson, addressed him.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you sit down here a minute, David?” -she continued. “I wish to speak to you a minute -or two.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo132.jpg" alt="Ada Johnson and David Oliver" width="600" height="453" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Heart-to-Heart Talk.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>David quietly took a seat. He was one of the -largest boys in school, and had been giving an -unusual amount of trouble during the day. In -fact he had been a source of annoyance ever since -the new teacher had taken charge.</p> - -<p>“David,” the teacher went on, “I wonder if you -realize how hard you have made it for me in -school today? Is there any reason why we cannot<span class="pagenum" id="Page134">[134]</span> -be friends and work together? And I wish to be -a friend to you, if you will let me. You could -help me so much and you could help your schoolmates -so much if you only would. I want to ask -you if you think your conduct has been manly to-day? -Has it been kind?”</p> - -<p>David said nothing, but hung his head.</p> - -<p>“I heard before I came here that you were an -unruly boy. People say that you will neither -study nor work, and some people say that you -are a very mean boy. Some of these things may be -true, David, I am sorry to say, but I want to tell -you that you are the only hope of a widowed -mother, and I want to say, also, that I think that -you are breaking her heart.” The teacher’s voice -faltered at the last words.</p> - -<p>“I know that your father,” the low voice went -on, “was a brave and noble man; and when I hear -people say, ‘It is a good thing that Henry Oliver -died before he knew what his son was coming to,’ -I think what a pity it is that they cannot say, -‘How sad it is that Henry Oliver died before he -could know what a fine, manly fellow his son -would be, and what a stay and comfort to his -mother’.”</p> - -<p>The boy’s head dropped to the desk in front of -him, and he began to sob. The teacher went over -to him and said gently:</p> - -<p>“You can be all this. It is in your power to -be all that your father would have you, all that -your mother would have you. Will you not turn<span class="pagenum" id="Page135">[135]</span> -over a new leaf now, not only in your behavior and -work in school, but in your whole life as well?”</p> - -<p>David raised his head.</p> - -<p>“I am with you—I’ll do it, teacher,” he replied, -a new resolve shining in his face. All that day -he did some of the most serious thinking of his -life. And he kept his promise.</p> - -<p>The years have been many since then. The little -teacher has long since passed to her rest, but -David Oliver is a living monument to the power -of a few searching words, the potency of a little -personal interest and kindliness manifested at a -critical time.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>A GHOST STORY.</h2> - -<p>Uncle Mose, an old-time colored man, once said -in a company of people who were talking about -ghosts that he wasn’t afraid of any ghost that ever -walked the earth.</p> - -<p>“No, sah; not me,” he said; “I’se got my fuss -time to be skeered uv anyt’ing dat’s dead.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon Noah Johnson told Uncle Mose that -he would bet him a load of watermelons that he -couldn’t spend one night in the “Widder Smith’s -house.” Now, the Widow Smith’s house was said -to be haunted, or, in other words, it was filled with -ghosts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page136">[136]</span></p> - -<p>“Des name de night,” said Uncle Mose. “I’ll -stay dar; no ha’nts won’t bodder wid me. No, sah; -no ha’nts won’t bodder wid me, an’ yo’ watermillions -is des ez good ez gone already!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo135.jpg" alt="Uncle Mose and the ghost" width="600" height="456" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Huh! Huh! There don’t Seem to be but Two of Us -Here To-night.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The details were arranged; judges were appointed; -and Uncle Mose was to stay in the haunted -house that very night. He got him some pine-knots -to keep a good blaze in the old-fashioned -fireplace, carried along an extra plug of tobacco, -secured a large drygoods box to be used for a -chair, and then he set out for the house.</p> - -<p>He made a blaze and seated himself on the pine -box. For a time he sung a number of old plantation<span class="pagenum" id="Page137">[137]</span> -songs for his own amusement, as well as to -keep him company. About midnight, feeling somewhat -drowsy, Uncle Mose got up, took a light -and went on a tour of inspection. He examined -every room in the house. His search revealed -nothing unusual. He wound up his search chuckling -to himself:</p> - -<p>“I sho is makin’ dis load uv watermillions easy. -Noah Johnsing didn’t know who he’s foolin’ wid. -I’m a man myse’f; I ain’t afeared uv nothin’—I -ain’t!”</p> - -<p>Down he sat on the box, and pretty soon he was -dozing. It was not very long before he suddenly -awoke. He was at once seized with strange and -sudden fear. He was too frightened to move. Although -he did not look around, he was conscious -that there was another presence in the room. His -hair stood on ends. He felt a cold chill run up and -down his back. By that time he knew that the -object in the room, whatever it was, was moving -towards him. Still he did not move, because he -could not. The ghost (for that was what all the -people said it was) stood over Uncle Mose for a -little while, and then quietly sat down on the box -beside him. Uncle Mose looked straight into the -fireplace, but his heart was beating like a runaway -horse. The silence in the room at that moment -was like unto the silence of death. Everything -was still and solemn. Uncle Mose could almost -hear his own heart beating. The ghost finally -broke the silence by saying, with a loud sigh:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page138">[138]</span></p> - -<p>“Huh! Huh! There don’t seem to be but two -of us here tonight!”</p> - -<p>It was then that Uncle Mose looked around for -the first time. As he did so he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Yas; an’ f’um dis out dah won’t be but one!” -And with that he jumped through the window, -taking a part of the sash with him.</p> - -<p>The judges had been waiting in the open air -near the house, so as to watch the proceedings. -They called to the fleeing Uncle Mose, as he passed -them, and ordered him to stop. They said that -they were all there and would protect him. But -Uncle Mose, as he kept on running, hallooed back:</p> - -<p>“I’ll see y’all later!”</p> - -<p>He ran at the top of his speed for more than a -mile, for he was well nigh scared to death. By-and-by, -from sheer exhaustion, he was compelled -to stop for a little rest. He was wet with perspiration -from head to foot, and his clothes were as -limp as a wet dishrag. But the poor old man had -no sooner seated himself on a stone by the roadside -than up jumps the ghost and sits down beside -him once more.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” said the ghost. “You seem to have -made pretty good time tonight.”</p> - -<p>“Yas,” said Uncle Mose; “but what I hase done -ain’t nothin’ to what I’se gwinter do!” And up -he jumped and lit out once more.</p> - -<p>He had not gone far on his second trip before an -old rabbit ran out of the bushes and took out down<span class="pagenum" id="Page139">[139]</span> -the road ahead of him. Uncle Mose hallooed at -the rabbit and said:</p> - -<p>“Git out uv de way, rabbit, an’ let somebody -run what kin run!”</p> - -<p>On and on the poor old man, almost scared to -death, ran and ran. Perhaps he would have been -running until now but for a very unfortunate accident. -About five miles from the Widow Smith’s -house he came in contact with the limb of a weeping -willow tree that hung across the road. The -poor old fellow, already tired out, was knocked -speechless and senseless. Toward the break of day -the judges, who had followed him, found him lying -on the ground doubled up near the tree. Dim -consciousness was slowly returning when they -picked him up. They rubbed him, and walked him -around for a little while, and soon he was able to -move himself.</p> - -<p>The first thing Uncle Mose said was:</p> - -<p>“Tell Noah not to min’ ’bout dem watermillions. -I stayed in dat house des ez long ez I could -keep my conscience quiet. My ole mammy allus -tole me dat hit wuz a sin an’ a shame to bet, an’ -now I b’lieves hit!”</p> - -<p>And to this day, boys and girls, if you want to -see a really mad man, you just ask Uncle Mose if -he ever saw a ghost.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page140">[140]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo139.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="360" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Group of Happy School Children in the Sunny South.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page141">[141]</span></p> - -<h2>GOOD CHEER.</h2> - -<p>Everybody loves the cheerful boy or girl, the -cheerful man or woman; and everybody ought to -love such people. I wish all the boys and girls in -America would organize one grand SUNSHINE -SOCIETY, whose chief object should be the promotion -of good feeling, good cheer, peace and happiness -among all the people everywhere. But, first, -a boy or girl, man or woman, must have sunshine -in their own souls before they can communicate -sunshine to others. And, boys and girls, it would -greatly assist us in securing sunshine in our souls -if we looked at our mercies with both eyes, as I -might say, and at our troubles and trials with only -one eye. What we enjoy in this world is always -a good deal more than that which we do not enjoy; -but we do not magnify our blessings sufficiently. -We do not make as much of them as we ought. -We do not rejoice because of them as we ought. -We ought to keep daily a record of God’s goodness -and kindness and patience and love. The -Lord’s mercies are new every morning and fresh -every evening; but we do not realize that they are -so, because we do not stop to count them up; we do -not think about them. If we stopped to weigh the -matter I think we should find more in our lives -to be happy about than to be sorry about. Our<span class="pagenum" id="Page142">[142]</span> -good fortunes always outweigh our misfortunes; -and we should find it so if we only acquired the -habit of remembering God’s goodness to us as well -as the disappointments and sorrows and afflictions -which are for us all.</p> - -<p>Then we should study contentment. We should -study to be content. We must cultivate the habit -of being satisfied with what we have at present, -and we should not worry about those things which -we do not possess. Worry because of things they -did not possess has made countless thousands -mourn. Let us enjoy what we have. Let us make -the most of what we have. And let us not worry -about things which we do not possess. No matter -how miserable our own lot may be, there is -always some one whose lot is more miserable still. -Worry kills more people than work. In fact worry -unfits a man for work. The man who has learned -the philosophy of being content in whatsoever -state he is is the man who is and will be happy. -One of the things in this world that pays a hundred-fold -is contentment, and there is nothing that -casts so much blight and mildew upon life’s fairest -flowers as discontent.</p> - -<p>Again, it would help us to keep cheerful if we -kept steadily engaged in some work of usefulness. -Let us go about doing good. Let us go about -seeking opportunities of doing good. Doing good -makes the heart healthy, and heart-health makes -sunshine, happiness and good cheer.</p> - -<p>A little thought will convince you, boys and<span class="pagenum" id="Page143">[143]</span> -girls, that your own happiness in this world depends -very largely on the way other people bear -themselves toward you. The looks and tones at -your breakfast table, the conduct of your playmates, -the faithful or unreliable people that you -deal with, what people say to you on the street, -the letters you get, the friends or foes you meet—these -things make up very much of the pleasure -or misery of your day. Turn the thought around, -and remember that just so much are you adding to -the pleasure or misery of other people’s days. And -this is the half of the matter that you can control. -Whether any particular day shall bring to -you more of happiness or of suffering is largely -beyond your power to determine. Whether each -day of your life shall give happiness or suffering -to others rests with yourself. And there is where -the test of character comes. We must be continually -sacrificing our wills to the wills of others, -bearing without notice sights and sounds that annoy -us, setting about this or that task when we -would rather be doing something else, persevering -in it often when we are very tired of it, keeping -company for duty’s sake when it would be -a great joy to us to be by ourselves; and then -there are all the trifling and outward accidents -of life, bodily pain and weakness, it may be, long -continued, losing what we value, missing what we -desire, deceit, ingratitude and treachery where we -least expected them; folly, rashness and willfulness -in ourselves. All these little worries which<span class="pagenum" id="Page144">[144]</span> -we meet each day may lie as stumbling blocks -across our way, or we may make of them, if we -choose, stepping stones of grace.</p> - -<p>I want all the little boys and girls who read -this book to be joy-makers, to be burden-bearers, -to be among those who shall assist in filling the -whole world with good cheer. It is our duty to -cheer and comfort others; it is our duty to make -the world not only better but happier—happier because -better—for our having lived in it. To all -the other beatitudes might well be added this one: -Blessed are the cheerful people, for they shall inherit -the earth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>LIFE A BATTLE.</h2> - -<p>Boys and girls, I want to repeat to you now -some words which were delivered long ago by the -Hon. Schuyler Colfax, a man who was once the -vice-president of the United States. These words -are wholesome, and should be read and considered -by parents and school teachers and by children -themselves all over our land:</p> - -<p>“Above all things, teach children what their -life is. It is not breathing, moving, playing, sleeping, -simply. Life is a battle. All thoughtful people -see it so. A battle between good and evil from -childhood. Good influences, drawing us up toward<span class="pagenum" id="Page145">[145]</span> -the divine; bad influences, drawing us down to the -brute. Midway we stand, between the divine and -the brute. How to cultivate the good side of the -nature is the greatest lesson of life to teach. Teach -children that they lead these two lives: the life -without and the life within; and that the inside -must be pure in the sight of God as well as the -outside in the sight of men.</p> - -<p>“There are five means of learning. These are: -Observation, reading, conversation, memory, reflection.</p> - -<p>“Educators sometimes, in their anxiety to secure -a wide range of studies, do not sufficiently -impress upon their scholars the value of memory. -Now, our memory is one of the most valuable -gifts God has bestowed upon us, and one of the -most mysterious. Take a tumbler and pour water -into it; by-and-by you can pour no more: it is -full. It is not so with the mind. You cannot fill -it full of knowledge in a whole lifetime. Pour in -all you please, and it still thirsts for more.</p> - -<p>“Remember this:</p> - -<p>“Knowledge is not what you learn, but what -you remember.</p> - -<p>“It is not what you eat, but what you digest, -that makes you grow.</p> - -<p>“It is not the money you handle, but that you -keep, that makes you rich.</p> - -<p>“It is not what you study, but what you remember -and reflect upon, that makes you learned.</p> - -<p>“One more suggestion:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page146">[146]</span></p> - -<p>“Above all things else, strive to fit the children -in your charge to be useful men and women; men -and women you may be proud of in after-life. -While they are young teach them that far above -physical courage, which will lead them to face -the cannon’s mouth; above wealth, which would -give them farms and houses and bank stocks and -gold; is moral courage—that courage by which -they will stand fearlessly, frankly, firmly for the -right. Every man or woman who dares to stand -for the right when evil has its legions, is the true -moral victor in this life and in the land beyond -the stars.”</p> - -<p>These brave and true words were spoken by Mr. -Colfax long years ago. They were true then; -they are no less true now. Every boy in America -should treasure them in his heart. Every girl in -America should commit them to memory and make -them the rule of her life. Mothers and fathers, -school teachers and preachers, and all who have -the care of the young in any way would do well -to study these wise counsels and reflect upon them -and strive to impress upon those for whom they -are laboring.</p> - -<p>If you would win the victory in the battle of life, -my young friends, you must watch the little -things. It is said that there is a barn upon the -Alleghany Mountains so built that the rain which -falls upon it separates in such a manner that that -which falls upon one side of the roof runs into -a little stream that flows into the Susquehanna<span class="pagenum" id="Page147">[147]</span> -and thence into Chesapeake Bay and on into the -Atlantic Ocean; that which falls upon the other -side is carried into the Alleghany River, thence -into the Ohio, and onward to the Gulf of Mexico. -The point where the waters divide is very small, -but how different the course of these waters! So -it is with people, young or old. A very little -thing changes the channel of their lives. Much -will depend upon the kinds of tempers you have, -boys and girls. If you are sour and cross and -crabbed, no one will love you. If you are kind -and cheerful, you will have friends wherever you -go. Much will depend upon the way in which you -improve your school days; upon the kind of companions -you have; and upon the kind of habits -you form. If you would win a great victory in -fighting the battle of life you must look well to -the little things.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page148">[148]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo147.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="357" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">On One of New York’s Many Playgrounds.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page149">[149]</span></p> - -<h2>AN IDLE BOY.</h2> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">An idle boy one idle day<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Played with a gun in an idle way:—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And now the grasses idly wave<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Above his idle little grave.<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>HUNTING AN EASY PLACE.</h2> - -<p>A nicely dressed young man, fifteen or sixteen -years old, who had just finished his course in the -high school, stepped into the office of the president -of the Smutville Short Line Railroad.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the president, looking up from a -mass of correspondence, “what can I do for you, -sir?”</p> - -<p>“I have just finished my course in the high -school,” the young man began nervously, “and I -thought that I might be able to secure a desirable -position with your company. I came in to talk -with you about it.”</p> - -<p>The president asked the young man to have a -seat.</p> - -<p>“So,” said the president, “you want a desirable -place, eh?”</p> - -<p>“I do, sir,” said the young man, his heart beating -high with hope.</p> - -<p>“A place,” continued the president, “that -would pay you something like a hundred dollars -a month?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page150">[150]</span></p> - -<p>“Something like that,” said the young man -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“I guess you would like it very well, too, if I -could arrange it so that you could report for work -at nine o’clock in the mornings and get off every -afternoon at three or four o’clock. In other words, -you want something easy. I can see by looking at -you that you are not accustomed to hard work, -and you could not fill a place that required you to -report at six o’clock every morning and work until -six every afternoon. Do I size you up correctly?”</p> - -<p>“I think so, sir,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“In plain English then, you are looking for a -soft place with the Short Line?”</p> - -<p>“I am, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir,” said the president, smiling for the -first time, “I regret to inform you that there is -only one such place on our railroad. I occupy that -place myself, and I am not thinking of resigning.”</p> - -<p>The young man’s face flushed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo150.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="520" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">I Have Just Finished My Course in the High School.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The president continued: “I hope you will not -think that it is going beyond what is right and -proper for me to say, but I must tell you, young -man, that you have started out in life with the -wrong notion. No brave and strong young man is -going about looking for an easy place. The brave -and true man asks only for work. And the men -who are occupying what you call the easy places -in this life today are the men who have climbed -into them by hard work. You are very much mistaken<span class="pagenum" id="Page151">[151]</span> -if you think that they have stepped into -them from the high school. In fact, and you’ll -find it out soon enough for yourself, there are -really no soft or easy places in this world, and the -man who goes about seeking such places stamps -himself at once as a failure. Nobody will ever employ -such a boy, and such a boy would be no good -if he were employed. Let me, as a friend, advise -you, young man, that the next place you go to to<span class="pagenum" id="Page152">[152]</span> -apply for a job, you ask for a chance to begin at -the bottom. If it happens to be a railroad, ask -to be given a chance to do anything—firing an engine, -or cleaning cars, or laboring in the roundhouse. -Be willing to begin low down in the business, -and, if you’re made out of the right stuff, -you will fight your way to the front. I started in -with the Short Line as a day laborer myself, and -if I had not done so I would not be at its head -today. You advertise your own folly when you -go and ask a sensible business man to put you at -the start at the head of something. You must begin -at the bottom and work up to the top. That is -the rule everywhere, and you will not, I am sure, -prove an exception to it.”</p> - -<p>Let us hope, boys and girls, that this young man -left the president’s office a wiser young man. Be -sure not to follow his example. Don’t go around -hunting for easy places.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page153">[153]</span></p> - -<h2>AT THE ZOO.</h2> - -<p>Father and son, making the rounds of the -Zoological gardens, paused before a cage containing -a beautiful zebra.</p> - -<p>“Oh, papa,” exclaimed the little boy, “see that -donkey with a baseball sweater on!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figleft"> - -<img src="images/illo154.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="491" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Hunting the Burglar.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<h2>THE BIG BLACK BURGLAR.</h2> - -<p>One cold winter night, about midnight, my good -wife called to me, saying:</p> - -<p>“Dan! Dan! Get up! Get up!”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” I asked, with much -alarm.</p> - -<p>“Somebody’s in the dining-room; I heard them -rattling the dishes just a minute ago.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t hear anything, wife,” I said slowly.</p> - -<p>“There’s somebody in these sure; I heard them -myself. Do get up, Dan, before they take everything -we’ve got.”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t got a gun or any kind of weapon,” -I said, still fighting for time.</p> - -<p>“Well, get up and make a noise—walk around -heavy—that’s frighten ’em and make ’em leave.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page154">[154]</span></p> - -<p>I got up quietly, turned up the lamp, and looked -about me with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Be quick,” said my wife.</p> - -<p>“In a minute,” said I.</p> - -<p>I tipped around to the wall on the side of the -bed, and took down an old iron sword, which had -done duty in the Mexican war, and which we had -preserved as an heirloom.</p> - -<p>“Hurry, hurry, Dan!” said my wife.</p> - -<p>“All right,” I said with meekness.</p> - -<p>I took the sword in one hand and the lamp in -the other, and moved gently toward the door, -which opened from our bed-room into the dining-room.</p> - -<p>Pausing at the door, I <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“Hallo! Hallo, in there!”</p> - -<p>The response came from my wife in bed.</p> - -<p>“Open the door, Dan; open the door!”</p> - -<p>Humbly I placed the lamp on the floor close by -the door, caught a tight grip on my old war-piece, -and then quickly shoved the door wide open. I -intended, of course, after getting my bearings, to -pick up the lamp and enter the dining-room on a -tour of inspection. But, I assure you, there was -no time for any such careful procedure. As soon -as the door was opened and the light went streaming -into the dining-room, something fell to the -floor with a terrible thud, and quicker than it -takes to tell it a great big black something, that -looked to me like a buffalo or elephant, came -bounding toward me. It was all so sudden that it<span class="pagenum" id="Page155">[155]</span> -surprised me, and I fell back trembling. Over -went the lamp. It broke. Out came the oil. It -took fire, and pretty soon the Cambrequin close by -took fire. Down I snatched it. I reached for the -first thing handy, and tried to smother the fire on -the floor. In doing so, I stepped on a piece of -glass and cut my -foot. I burnt my -hands terribly. My -night shirt caught -on fire. I ran to -the bed and sat -down in order to -quench the blaze. -This shows I still -had some presence -of mind left, although, -as a matter -of fact, this new extinguishing -process -scorched my legs -awfully.</p> - -<p>When all was -quiet again, and I -lit another lamp in -order to take an inventory, -my bedroom was a sight to behold! I -found that in the struggle, my old army sword -had been plunged amidship into the handsome -mirror of our dresser, and had also -made havoc of a reproduction of Millets’ Angelus.<span class="pagenum" id="Page156">[156]</span> -I discovered, also, that I had used my brand-new -$50 overcoat to extinguish the fire, and that -many of the handsome photos of our friends -that stood on the mantle had been ruined. Altogether -that one night’s experience cost me in the -neighborhood of $100, not to mention my own personal -injuries. It was a terrible night, I tell you. -And far off in one corner, I saw, crouching in -abject fear, the cause of all my troubles—the -burly black burglar. And what do you think it -was? It was nothing in the world but an old black -Tom Cat, who had been a member of our family -for many years!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>PIN-MONEY MADE WITH THE NEEDLE.</h2> - -<p>Surely all young girls ought to know how to -sew, and, not only sew, but all girls, I think, ought -to love the purely feminine occupation of sewing. -Since I am sure that many of the little girls who -will read this book know how to sew, I am going -to tell you about some little sewing that my wife -did.</p> - -<p>In 1913 the Ladies’ Home Journal, of Philadelphia, -offered a prize of fifty dollars for the best -way to make pin-money at home. You know,<span class="pagenum" id="Page157">[157]</span> -girls, that pin-money means pocket change or -spending money. Many hundreds of women all -over the world sent in suggestions to the Ladies’ -Home Journal, each one hoping, I am sure, that -her suggestion would win first prize. The following -letter sent to my wife will tell you just how -her suggestion was received:</p> - -<p class="lhj">“THE LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL,</p> - -<div class="lhjletter"> - -<p class="right padr2">“Philadelphia. February 5, 1913.</p> - -<p class="noindent">“Dear Madam:</p> - -<p>“It gives me much pleasure to tell you that -among the hundreds of letters received in response -to the offer made in our January magazine in connection -with The Editor’s Want-Box, Mr. Bok has -chosen your offering as the one entitled to the first -prize of fifty dollars. He congratulates you upon -your success and thanks you for the interest you -have shown.</p> - -<p>“Our Treasurer will send you a check within a -week.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr10">Very truly yours,</span><br /> -<span class="padr4">“Wm. V. Alexander,</span><br /> -<span class="padr2">“Managing Editor.</span></p> - -</div><!--lhjletter--> - -<p class="addressee">“Mrs. Ella Floyd.”</p> - -<p>The check came all right, girls, and my wife -thought, as she said to me, that in winning the -prize she had found a new way to make pin-money—that -is, by telling others how to make pin-money -at home.</p> - -<p>Two hundred of the little articles were afterwards -published from time to time in The Ladies’ -Home Journal. The first article of the series appeared<span class="pagenum" id="Page158">[158]</span> -in the magazine for January, 1914, and my -wife’s little story, which won first money, was at -the head of the list. I am going to give here the -whole of the little article, as published in The -Ladies’ Home Journal. Of course, I am proud -that she won the prize, and I hope other young -ladies by-and-by may be the happy winners in -such contests. And here is the article:</p> - -<p>“When one’s pin-money is all gone but twenty-five -cents the question comes as to the way to -replenish it. One day when I found that I had -only that amount I invested it as follows:</p> - -<table class="pinmoney" summary="Investment"> - -<tr> -<td class="article">1 yard of lawn</td> -<td class="cost">.10</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">1 yard of lace</td> -<td class="cost">.10</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">1 spool of cotton</td> -<td class="cost">.05</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article"> </td> -<td class="cost bt">.25</td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<p>“The same day I made three baby caps as -daintily as I could with these materials. The next -day I sold them for twenty-five cents each, and -then I had seventy-five cents. I then bought</p> - -<table class="pinmoney" summary="Investment"> - -<tr> -<td class="article">1 yard of lawn</td> -<td class="cost">.15</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">2<sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>2</sub> yards of lace</td> -<td class="cost">.25</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">2 yards of ribbon</td> -<td class="cost">.25</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">2 tiny buckles</td> -<td class="cost">.05</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article">1 spool of cotton</td> -<td class="cost">.05</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="article"> </td> -<td class="cost bt">.75</td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<p>“With these materials I made two baby caps, -somewhat larger than the first ones, and trimmed<span class="pagenum" id="Page159">[159]</span> -more prettily. I found no trouble in selling them -for $1.50. Straightway I invested the sum in -lawn, lace, ribbon, etc., and as I had done so well -with the caps I thought I would try my hand on -little bonnets. I made two. A friend offered me -$5 for them before they were finished. I accepted<span class="pagenum" id="Page160">[160]</span> -her offer and from that day to this I have never -been troubled about pin-money.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo158.jpg" alt="" width="470" height="550" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pin Money Made With the Needle.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“In four weeks’ time I made and sold twenty -caps and eleven bonnets. The material for the -caps cost me $2.50—twelve and a half cents for -each. I sold them for twenty-five cents each. The -material for the bonnets cost me $8.25, or seventy-five -cents each. I sold them for $2.50 each. So I -netted $21.75 for my work. The time which I -devoted to this enterprise was that which ordinarily -I would have used in calling or in running -up bills for my husband to pay.</p> - -<p>“Since the first four weeks of which I have -spoken in detail I have made more expensive caps -and bonnets for babies from six months to about -three years old. The last one I made was of silk, -beautifully trimmed, tucked and hemstitched. I -sold it for $6, making a clear profit of $3. My -husband says I’ll soon be in position to organize -a trust.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo160.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="359" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Game of Marbles in the Shadow of the Washington Monument.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>SELF-HELP.</h2> - -<p>If there is one idea for which more than any -other the public school system should stand, it is -the idea of self-help. Self-help is the best kind of -help in the world, and one cannot learn this lesson -too early in life. Even little children—three, four, -five, six and eight years old—should be taught to -work. Any little child is just as capable of doing -the little things in work as he is in play. Why<span class="pagenum" id="Page161">[161-<br />162]<a id="Page162"></a></span> -should not the little girl be taught to trim and -wash the dress of her doll? Why should not the -little children be taught to sweep up the dirt that -they have scattered in play? Why should they -not be taught to remove the dishes from the table, -brush up the crumbs, set back the chairs, pick up -chips, put the kindling wood in its place, bring -the potatoes in from the garden, help to pick over -the berries, and so forth? We might argue this -question from now until doom’s day, and nobody, -I think, would be able to give any good reason why -children should not be taught to do the little -things. Little children who are accustomed to having -everything done for them by others are very -soon beset with the rust of laziness and the canker -of pride. Whereas, on the other hand, if children -are taught to help themselves as soon as and as -much as they are able, it will tend to improve their -faculties, and will, at the same time, have a good -influence upon their dispositions.</p> - -<p>Childhood and youth are periods of life which -materially influence all of its following periods, -and whether the earlier years of one’s life be -passed in idleness and indolence, or in well-directed -industry, is a point on which greatly depends -the worth or the worthlessness of human -character. Where is the man who guides his -affairs with discretion, or the woman that looketh -well to the ways of her household, and yet was not -in some measure imbued with industrious and -provident habits in early life? On the other hand,<span class="pagenum" id="Page163">[163]</span> -who that has been treated until the age of fifteen -or twenty like a helpless infant, and had every -want supplied without being put to the necessity -of either mental or bodily exertion, was ever good -for anything afterwards?</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo162.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="482" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Washing Dollies’ Clothes.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page164">[164]</span></p> - -<p>The tendency of the age is by far too much in -the direction of keeping our young boys solely for -the purpose of loafing about the streets, or standing -around the soda fountains on Sunday—and -our young girls for parties, social entertainments, -picnics, excursions and the like. So that by the -time our boys and girls reach manhood and -womanhood, they despise honest labor and are -afraid to engage in real hard work. A young -woman may know how to read and write—may -understand grammar, history, and geography—may -sing sweetly and play the piano well; but, -whatever else she may know or may not know, if -she does not know how to bake a hoe-cake of -bread, make her little brother or sister a pair of -pants or a plain dress, she is only half educated. -In fact, every young woman should not only know -how to perform every duty connected with a -household, but every young woman should take -some part in household work. No girl need tell -me that she really loves her mother if she is willing -to leave to her mother the work of washing -the dishes, sweeping and scouring the floors, caring -for the little children, doing the Monday washings, -the house cleaning, and the like, while she -devotes herself to pleasure, novel reading, social -calling, butterfly parties, or playing rag-time -music or singing rag-time songs.</p> - -<p>The home and the public school are the two -great agencies which are jointly engaged, or which -should be jointly engaged, in teaching children to<span class="pagenum" id="Page165">[165]</span> -help themselves. If children are taught, as boys -and girls, to think for themselves, speak for themselves -and act for themselves, when they are old -they will not forget the precious lesson, and will -be less likely to become burdens on the community. -The highest ambition of every American -man and woman should be to be of some useful -service to the world; and the first step will be -taken toward this noble end when we have thoroughly -learned the value and importance of the -lesson of self-help. First, learn to help yourself, -and then you will be able to see more clearly how -to help others.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>AIMING AT SOMETHING.</h2> - -<p>It is true, boys and girls, that it is what you hit, -not what you aim at, that counts; but, nevertheless, -it is a very important thing to take the right -aim. The man who aims deliberately at the center -of the target stands a better chance, a hundred to -one, than the man who shoots without taking aim. -So, in life, that boy or girl who has a purpose—who -is aiming at something—will be more successful -than those boys and girls who have no plans -and who aim at nothing.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo165.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="553" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Aiming at Something.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>It is not sufficient, in the moral world, to aim at -something, but every boy and girl should aim at -the best things. The best and highest things in this -world are the unseen things, the eternal things, -the things that will last forever. Money is a good -thing, but there is something higher than money. -A high position in the business or professional or -political world is a good thing, but there is something<span class="pagenum" id="Page166">[166]</span> -higher and better than office and position. -Character is the grandest, the highest and best -thing in this world. We include in this one little -word “character” a world of things. Honor, uprightness, -speaking -the truth, dealing -fairly with people, being -willing to help the -lowly and unfortunate, -paying your debts promptly, -these things, and many -other things like them, are -included in the one word -“character.” And these -are the things that are -worth while in this world. -These are the things that -every boy and girl should aim at. It may not -be possible for every boy and girl to become -a millionaire; it may not be possible for every -boy and girl to fill high offices in this world, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page167">[167]</span> -succeed in large business enterprises; but one -thing is certain: every boy can be a good and true -boy, every girl can be a noble and beautiful girl. -Beautiful as to conduct, as to words and deeds, I -mean. Good boys are the fathers of good men. -Pure girls are the mothers of pure women. For, -what, after all, is a boy? And what is a girl? -What is a man? What is a woman? I will tell -you. A boy is a little man—that’s all; and a man -is a grown-up boy. A girl is a little woman—that’s -all; and a woman is a grown-up girl.</p> - -<p>It is important, then, that boys and girls should -aim at the right things, the good, the true and -noble things early in life. What boys and girls -aim at, in nine cases out of ten, they will reach as -men and women. And to help you in taking the -proper aim early in life, I am going to give you -something to aim at. Let every boy and girl make -this little motto his rule of life:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Know something—know it well;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Do something—do it well;—<br /></span> -<span class="i4">And be Somebody!<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>“THE BLACK SHEEP” OF THE REYNOLDS -FAMILY.</h2> - -<p>Will Reynolds was “the black sheep” of the -Reynolds family. He knew it and felt it, because -he had been frequently slighted and treated with<span class="pagenum" id="Page168">[168]</span> -contempt by his relatives. The only person who -never lost faith in him was his mother. She -always felt that there was something good in her -wayward son, and often said that it would show -itself some day. But Will’s mother died in the -early stages of his backslidings. Will’s father -married the second time, and the boy, finding it -impossible to get along with his stepmother, left -home. He went from bad to worse. Being -arrested on the charge of drunkenness and vagrancy, -he sent to his two brothers, who were prosperous -brokers in D. St., asking them to pay his -fine. Word came back that they would not interfere -in his behalf. His brothers sent word that he -had brought the trouble upon himself and he must -get out of it the best way he could. Will was sent -to the Work House for six months. And nobody’s -hand was raised to help him.</p> - -<p>While he was serving his time, his only sister, a -young woman not yet grown, died. He knew -nothing of it until about a month after it occurred, -and then he read the account in an old newspaper -which he had borrowed from a fellow prisoner. -The news of his sister’s death deeply affected him. -His sentence was shortened by one month on account -of his good behaviour. The first thing he -did, on coming to the city, was to visit the family -lot in Myrtle Hill Cemetery. He carried with him -some wild flowers and green leaves, being too poor -to purchase a floral offering from the dealers in -such things. With uncovered head, he knelt and<span class="pagenum" id="Page169">[169]</span> -placed these tokens of respect on the graves of his -mother and sister. This done, he stood in silence -for a moment, and then wept like a little child. -While riveted to the spot, he made a solemn vow -that he would quit the old life and make a man of -himself. “It’s in me,” he said to himself, “and -I’m going to prove it.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo168.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="565" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">He Carried With Him Some Nice Flowers.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page170">[170]</span></p> - -<p>Slowly he turned away from the sacred place. -He went directly to the offices of his brothers. He -had been furnished with a new suit of clothes, -according to custom, upon leaving prison, and so -made quite a decent appearance. He found his -oldest brother, John B. Reynolds, seated at a desk -in the front office. He entered at once and <span class="dontwrap">said,—</span></p> - -<p>“Well, John, I suppose sister is dead?”</p> - -<p>“How dare you,” exclaimed John, rising to his -feet,—“how dare you to speak of Annie as your -sister, you jailbird, you miserable convict! Get -out of here this minute! Leave this room at once, -and never set foot in it again!”</p> - -<p>There was fire in the man’s eye as he spoke. -Will attempted to speak, but was not permitted. -With tears streaming down his cheeks, he left the -room. He had gone to tell of his new determination -and ask for another chance, and this was the -reception which he met. On his way down the -steps, he came face to face with his other brother, -Thomas Reynolds. Thomas tried to pass without -speaking, but Will intercepted him.</p> - -<p>“Tom,” he said, “I’m your brother still. I’m -not asking help now; I only came to tell you that -I’m going to do better. I thought you would be -glad to hear it.”</p> - -<p>“I want to hear nothing from you,” said -Thomas. “You’ve disgraced us forever, and you -can go your way; we don’t want anything to do -with you; we don’t want to see you again!”</p> - -<p>Will went forth into the street weeping.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page171">[171]</span></p> - -<p class="center highline2"><span class="padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span -class="padl3 padr3">*</span><span class="padl3">*</span></p> - -<p>Thirty years have come and gone since Will was -driven away from the offices of his brothers. What -changes have these years worked?</p> - -<p>Soon after leaving prison Will was a constant -visitor at the Railroad Men’s Branch of the Y. M. -C. A. Through the Secretary of the Association, -he soon secured a place as a day laborer in the -machine shops of the Big Bend Railroad. After -securing regular employment, he went to live in -the Y. M. C. A. building. At the close of his first -year’s service with the railroad, he was promoted -from a common laborer and made an apprentice. -After four or five years, he had learned the trade -and was receiving the daily wages of a machinist. -After twelve years with the company, he was -made the Master Machinist. At the end of fifteen -years’ service, he was made Superintendent of -Construction. Five years later he was made a -Division Superintendent. At the expiration of -more than twenty-five years of faithful service, -Will Reynolds was able to write after his name, -“General Manager of the Big Bend Railroad.” -He had, also, been married for several years, and -was the father of five children.</p> - -<p>Will’s father and brothers lost sight of him for -nearly twelve years, or until the papers announced -his appointment as Master Machinist of the Big -Bend Railroad. They suddenly awoke to find that -their conclusions that he had probably long since -died a drunkard’s death, or had gone off as a<span class="pagenum" id="Page172">[172]</span> -tramp and had been killed, or was again serving -a sentence in prison somewhere—were wrong.</p> - -<p>The same week that Will was made Superintendent -of Construction of the Big Bend Railroad, -the newspapers spread all over the country the -news that Col. Oliver P. Reynolds had committed -suicide. According to their way, the newspapers -gave all the sickening details of the tragedy, together -with the whole family history. They said -that Col. Reynolds had been driven to suicide by -his wife. They said that she was much younger -than he; that she was extravagant; that she was a -leader in gay society; they told how, on her -account, Col. Reynolds had driven his son away -from home fifteen years before; they declared that -the old man’s life had been a hell to him; and that -his wife had brought him almost to the verge of -bankruptcy, and, in order to escape facing open -disgrace, he had murdered himself.</p> - -<p>When Will heard of his father’s death, he hastened -at once to the city, but was denied admission -to the family residence, and had to attend the -funeral in the little church around the corner not -as a member of the family but merely as an outsider.</p> - -<p>We are not concerned in this story with the fate -of Will’s stepmother. But, as to Will’s brothers,—well, -the crash came eight or ten years after the -death of Col. Reynolds, or a short while before -Will became the General Manager of the Big Bend -Railroad. John B. Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds,<span class="pagenum" id="Page173">[173]</span> -members of the firm of John B. Reynolds & -Bro., had been arrested and placed in the Tombs, -charged with misappropriating $175,000 of trust -funds. Again the family history was rehearsed -in the newspapers. The papers did not fail to -recall the suicide of Col. Reynolds, nor did they<span class="pagenum" id="Page174">[174]</span> -fail to tell how these two brothers had earlier in -life turned their backs on a younger brother.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo172.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="535" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Well, John, I Suppose Sister Is Dead?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Will read the papers, and, saying to his wife, -“Well, Mary, perhaps they’ll be glad to see me -this trip,” he went immediately to offer his services -to his brothers.</p> - -<p>He had prophesied correctly. John and Thomas -were very glad to see him. They had no friends -among those high in financial circles because they -had for many years conducted their business in -such a way that business men had no confidence in -them. They had no credit and could get nobody -to go on their bonds. Will took in the situation at -a glance. He had been thoughtful enough to -bring along with him the leading attorney of the -Big Bend Railroad, and he put matters straightway -into his hands. Bail was arranged, the -brothers were released, and the lawyer then -turned his attention to the prosecutors. It was -discovered that almost half of the amount stolen -was the property of Simon B. Nesmith, President -of the Big Bend Railroad. When Will -Reynolds and the lawyer found that their own -superior officer had been so heavily hit by John -B. Reynolds & Bro., they came near fainting. Fortunately -Nesmith when he heard the whole story -agreed not to prosecute, and not only said that he -would be satisfied with any settlement that the -Railroad’s Attorney might arrange but also volunteered -to see the others concerned and use his influence -in having them do likewise.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page175">[175]</span></p> - -<p>In a short time matters were adjusted, and John -Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds were saved from -prison. But they lost all their earthly possessions -and their brother, “the black sheep” of the -family, had to secure them for the sum of $40,000 -besides.</p> - -<p>John B. Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds came -to their senses. It was their time to cry now. -Amidst great sobs they <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“We treated you wrongly, brother Will; we -ought to have helped you many years ago; we are -so sorry we didn’t; and it was such a small matter, -too.”</p> - -<p>But Will <span class="dontwrap">said,——</span></p> - -<p>“Don’t talk about the past: I’m your brother -still. Go and do as I did. Start over and make -men of yourselves—you’ll have enough time. -That’s all I ask.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE HOLY BIBLE.</h2> - -<p>I heard a minister say the other day that a -mother had not necessarily done much for her boy -because she had bought him a nice Bible and put -it in his trunk, when he was about to leave home -to seek his fortune in the world. I think it wrong -for anybody—minister or what not—to indulge in -such loose and flippant talk. The effect is bad—always<span class="pagenum" id="Page176">[176]</span> -bad, and no hair splitting, and no higher -criticism, and no curiously ingenious explanations -can mend the matter. As for me, give me the -old-fashioned mother who sends her son out into -the world with a Bible in his trunk, and give me -the old-fashioned boy who reads that Bible every -night with tears in his eyes, as he thinks of the old -folks at home and of their simple lives devoted to -Jesus Christ. Give me the man, woman or child, -whose hands touch the Bible reverently, instead of -slinging it about as a dictionary or some common -dime novel. Give me the plain old fellow who -quickly takes leave of that circle in which critics -are proceeding to ably explain away certain chapters -of the Bible.</p> - -<p>As for me, I want no new theories about the -Bible—no new versions—no new criticisms. No -man has a right to weaken the faith of others. -No man has a right to knock away the staff that -supports the crippled wayfarer. And no man has -a right to tell an aged mother that it does no good -to give her boy a Bible unless he can suggest a -better substitute. Destroy the old-fashioned idea -concerning the Bible, and we shall have a nation -of infidels defying God, defying the law, and -repeating the licentiousness and horrors of the -French Revolution. We should make the Bible -first in all things. Make the Bible first in the -family, in the Sunday-school and church, make it -first in state and society, and we shall have a -Republic that will grow brighter and brighter as<span class="pagenum" id="Page177">[177]</span> -the years come and go, and then we “shall go out -with joy, and be lead forth with peace: and the -mountains and the hills shall break forth before -us into singing, and all the trees of the field shall -clap their hands.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter w500"> - -<img src="images/illo176.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="432" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Carnegie Library, Washington, D. C.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Colored People are Welcome Here.</span></p> - -<p class="caption long blankabove">Andrew Carnegie, Greatest Philanthropist of the Age, who -has climbed from the position of messenger boy and telegraph -operator to become America’s richest steel manufacturer, a -Multi-Millionaire, has given practically every large city that -would accept it, a Library for the general public, averaging in -value $500,000.00. His gifts have had enormous money value, -but the value to humanity cannot be estimated.</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page178">[178]</span></p> - -<h2>ANDREW CARNEGIE’S ADVICE -TO YOUNG MEN.</h2> - -<p>“Do not make riches, but usefulness, your first -aim, and let your chief pride by that your daily -occupation is in the line of progress and development; -that your work, in whatever capacity it -may be, is useful work, honestly conducted, and as -such ennobles your life.</p> - -<p>“Whatever your salary be, save a little; live -within your means. The man who saves a little -from his income has given the surest indication of -the very qualities that every employer is seeking -for.</p> - -<p>“The great successes of life are made by concentration. -Do not think you have done your full -duty when you have performed the work assigned -you. You will never rise if you only do this.</p> - -<p>“You hear a good deal about poverty nowadays, -and the cry goes up to abolish poverty, but it will -be the saddest day of civilization when poverty is -no longer with us. It is from the soil of poverty -that all the virtues spring. Without poverty, -where will your inventor, your artist, your philanthropist, -come from?</p> - -<p>“There are three classes of young men in the -world. One starts out to be a millionaire. Another -seeks reputation, perhaps at the cannon’s -mouth. A third young man, who will be successful, -is he who starts out in life with self-respect -and who is true to himself and his fellow-men. -He cannot fail to win.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page179">[179]</span></p> - -<h2>DIRECTIONS FOR LITTLE GENTLEMEN.</h2> - -<p>1. The essential part of good breeding is the -practical desire to afford pleasure and to avoid -giving pain. Any boy possessing this desire requires -only opportunity and observation to become -a little gentleman.</p> - -<p>2. Never be guilty of what are called practical -jokes; that is to say, never place a pin in a chair so -that somebody may come along and sit on the -pin’s point; never pull back a chair when a person -is about to sit down, and in that way cause -such a person to fall on the floor. No little gentleman -will play such tricks.</p> - -<p>3. Whenever a lady enters a room, it is proper -for boys to rise, if they are seated, but you must -never offer a lady a chair from which you have -just risen, if there is another chair in the room.</p> - -<p>4. Never engage in conversation while a person -is singing. It is an insult not only to the singer -but to the company.</p> - -<p>5. Always take off your hat when assisting a -lady to or from a carriage.</p> - -<p>6. If in a public place, you pass and re-pass -persons of your acquaintance, it is only necessary -to salute them on the first occasion.</p> - -<p>7. Do not wear anything that is so conspicuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page180">[180]</span> -as to attract attention; and, particularly, avoid -the ruffian style.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo179.jpg" alt="" width="442" height="600" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Directions for Little Gentlemen.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>8. Do not lose your temper. Particularly if<span class="pagenum" id="Page181">[181]</span> -you are playing innocent games for amusement -and happen to lose; avoid the exhibition of -anxiety or vexation at lack of success.</p> - -<p>9. In all your associations, keep constantly in -view the old adage, “too much familiarity breeds -contempt.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE RIGHT TO PLAY.</h2> - -<p>The right to play is one of the divine rights of -men and women, of boys and girls, and is just as -essential to the peace, happiness and prosperity -of the world as is the right to pray. Never be -afraid or ashamed, my young friends, of honest, -vigorous, healthy play. Dominoes, lawn tennis, -baseball, football, ping-pong, golf, foot-racing, -leaping and jumping, boxing and wrestling, pole-vaulting, -punching the bag, swinging dumb-bells -or Indian clubs, and a hundred other things are -perfectly sane and wholesome amusements for old -or young. To refrain from all forms of amusements -is just as destructive of happiness and injurious -to character as is the other extreme of -indulging too freely in pleasures and pastimes. -Puritan austerity and unrestrained excess are -alike to be condemned. But a certain amount of -play—play of the right kind and within proper -limits—is a divine right of young people. Young -people must have fun and relaxation, and, if they -do not find it in their own homes, it will be sought -in other and perhaps dangerous places.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page182">[182]</span></p> - -<p>For myself, I believe that anybody is an enemy -to young people who desires to repress and crush -out the naturally buoyant spirits of childhood and -youth, and he is a benefactor of humanity who -makes it a part of his business to see that proper -places of amusement are provided for the young -people. Aside from the physical advantages of -play, there are moral advantages also. A man -who helps to keep his body in good condition by -regular exercise is, in that way, beyond a doubt, -adding to the number of his days; that is to say, -he will live longer than the man who doesn’t play. -But beyond and above that, he is a happier man -while he lives; he gets more joy and satisfaction -out of life than the other fellow. Sane and healthy -play tends to blot out the remembrance of cares -and hardship; it gives our minds something else -to think about. But young people must be careful -not to become absorbed in these things. I believe -in play; I believe in pleasure, in fun. But -when I see young people, or old people for that -matter, devoting all their time to wheeling, footballing, -card parties, the giddy whirl of the dance, -the bacchanalian hilarity of the dram shop, and so -on, I am forced to say that things which may be -right when taken in moderation, and as a relief -from the overtaxing burdens of life, are wrong -when they become the chief object for which one -lives.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page183">[183]</span></p> - -<h2>A CHRISTMAS PRESENT.</h2> - -<p>A forsaken little kitten wandered up and down -the street on the day before Christmas. It had no -home; it had no name; it had no ribbon around its -neck; and it had no saucer of nice milk in one corner.</p> - -<p>It began to grow dark, and colder too, and the -stars came peeping out, and the first flakes of a -real Christmas snowstorm began floating down -through the air. The kitten mewed a trembling -little mew, which told as plainly as it could that it -was very hungry, and it fluffed out its fur to keep -itself warm.</p> - -<p>Now, somewhere along that street, up on top of -a house (hiding behind a chimney where he -couldn’t be seen), was Santa Claus, getting everything -in shape before starting on his evening -round. When old Santa saw that lonesome little -kitten strolling around he smiled—yes, old Santa -Claus smiled. He smiled because he knew that two -blocks up the street a little girl was standing with -her nose pressed against the window, looking out -into the deepening night.</p> - -<p>He had seen her as he went by. And he had also -seen the poor little supper laid out for two on the -table, and heard her say to her mother, in a quavering -voice:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page184">[184]</span></p> - -<p>“Not even one present, mamma—not the teeniest -little one!”</p> - -<p>“No, Susie,” her mother had answered, “I’m -sorry I couldn’t get anything for my little girl this -year, but—you know there wasn’t any money, -dear.” And there was a tremble in her mother’s -voice, too.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo183.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="557" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Mamma This is the Present -Santa Brought.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Susie wiped away -the tears, and turned -to look out of the window. -Perhaps she -said to herself, “perhaps -Santa Clause -has something for me -after all!”</p> - -<p>Now, the sad, really -dreadful part about -it was that Santa -Clause didn’t have -one single thing for -Susie in his pack. -Perhaps it was because -she had moved -into that house since -last Christmas, or perhaps for once old Santa had -made a mistake. Anyway, he was just saying to -himself: “Why, bless me, what shall I do about -it?” when he caught sight of that shivering little -kitten.</p> - -<p>“The very thing!” he thought. “I’ll give them -to each other!” and he chuckled till his reindeer -looked around to see what was the matter.</p> - -<p>And what happened next? Well, that kitten<span class="pagenum" id="Page185">[185]</span> -never knew really. It only seemed as if there was -a sudden rush and jingle of bells, which frightened -it so that it flew up the street as fast as its -four little legs could carry it, until it saw a small -friendly face at a window, and rushed up some -steps nearby. Then a door opened, and two soft -little arms picked it up gently from the cold snow -and a voice cried:</p> - -<p>“Oh, mamma, see the poor little kitten—it’s so -cold—oh, we’ll keep it, won’t we, mamma! The -poor little thing. Do you think it would drink -milk?”</p> - -<p>Would it drink milk? What a question to ask -about a little kitten. While the little kitten was -nearly choking itself trying to drink a saucerful -of milk and purr at the same time, there was a -jingle of bells outside, and Susie said:</p> - -<p>“Mamma, I hear old Santa’s bells, and, of -course, this is the present he brought.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE NICKEL THAT BURNED IN FRANK’S -POCKET.</h2> - -<p>Deacon Hepworth kept a little fish market.</p> - -<p>“Do you want a boy to help you?” asked Frank -Shaw one day.</p> - -<p>“Can you give good weight to my customers -and take good care of my pennies?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” answered Frank.</p> - -<p>Forthwith he took his place in the little store, -weighed the fish and kept the room in order.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page186">[186]</span></p> - -<p>“A whole day for fun, fireworks and noise tomorrow!” -exclaimed Frank, as he buttoned his -white apron about him the day before the Fourth -of July. A great trout was thrown down on the -counter by Ned Tant, one of Frank’s playmates.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo185.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="521" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">You Have Forgiveness, Frank.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“Here’s a royal trout, Frank. I caught it myself. -You may have it for ten cents. Just hand -over the money, for I’m in a hurry to buy my firecrackers,” -said Ned hurriedly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page187">[187]</span></p> - -<p>The deacon was out, but Frank had made purchases -for him before, so the dime spun across to -Ned, who was off like a shot. Just then Mrs. Sinclair -appeared.</p> - -<p>“I want a nice trout for my dinner tomorrow. -This one will do; how much is it?” she asked as -she carefully examined it.</p> - -<p>“A quarter, ma’am,” and the fish was transferred -to the lady’s basket and the silver piece -to the money drawer.</p> - -<p>But here Frank paused.</p> - -<p>He thought to himself: “Ten cents was very -cheap for that fish. If I tell the deacon it cost -fifteen cents he’ll be satisfied, and I shall have five -cents to invest in firecrackers.”</p> - -<p>The deacon was pleased with Frank’s bargain, -and when the market was closed each went his -way for the night.</p> - -<p>But the nickel buried in Frank’s pocket burned -like a coal. He could eat no supper, and was cross -and unhappy. At last he could stand it no longer, -but, walking rapidly, tapped at the door of Deacon -Hepworth’s cottage.</p> - -<p>The old man was seated at a table, reading the -Bible. Frank’s heart almost failed him, but he -told the story and with tears of sorrow laid the -coin in the deacon’s hand.</p> - -<p>Turning over the leaves of the Bible, the old -man read:</p> - -<p>“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper,<span class="pagenum" id="Page188">[188]</span> -but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall -have mercy.”</p> - -<p>“You have forgiveness, Frank,” he said. “Now -go home and confess to the Lord, and remember -you must forsake as well as confess. Here, you -may keep this coin as long as you live to remind -you of your first temptation.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2 class="noshow">A MONUMENT -TO A BLACK MAN</h2> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo187.jpg" alt="Monument" width="500" height="533" /> -</div> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figleft top187"> -<img src="images/illo187a.jpg" alt="Monument top" width="500" height="102" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot187"> -<img src="images/illo187b.jpg" alt="Monument bottom" width="260" height="431" /> -</div> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<p class="monument">In the city of Columbus, -Georgia, there was -erected in the year 1904 -a monument to the -memory of a colored -man named Bragg -Smith. Mr. Smith lost -his life in the autumn -of 1903 in an effort to -save the life of the city -engineer of Columbus, -who had been buried -under an excavation in -the street. A large -crowd of colored men<span class="pagenum" id="Page189">[189]</span> -was at work digging deep trenches in which were -to be placed pipes for running water about the city. -In some way the sides of the narrow trench had -not been properly supported by planks or otherwise, -and by-and-by a great stretch of dirt caved -in. Unfortunately the city engineer, a white man, -was caught underneath the falling dirt. Bragg -Smith did not stop to say: “Oh, it’s a white man; -let him die!” but at once jumped down into the -ditch and tried to pull the white man from under -the heavy dirt. It was while he was engaged in -this work that the dirt fell from both sides a second -time, and Bragg Smith, in his effort to save -the life of the white man, lost his own life. The -Bible says: “Greater love hath no man than this, -that a man will lay down his life for a friend.”</p> - -<p>The city council at its first regular meeting after -the accident voted to erect a suitable monument -to the memory of Mr. Smith. The monument was -dedicated in April, 1904. The monument is of Vermont -and Georgia marbles, and bears on one side -this inscription:</p> - -<p>“Erected by the City of Columbus to mark the -last resting place of Bragg Smith, who died on -September 30, 1903, in the heroic but fruitless -effort to save the life of the city engineer.”</p> - -<p>On the other side appears this quotation from -Alexander Pope:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Honor and fame from no conditions rise;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Act well your part; there all the honor lies.”<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page190">[190]</span></p> - -<h2>THE BAD BOY—WHO HE IS.</h2> - -<p>My dear children, I am happy to say that all -boys who are called bad boys are not bad boys. -There is quite a difference between a bad boy -and a merely mischievous boy. A boy is not necessarily -bad because he makes unearthly noises -about the house, or now and then twists the cat’s -tail just to hear her mew, or muddies his clothes -in an effort to catch crawfish. He is not bad just -because he likes to “play fantastic” on the fourth -day of July. So many people complain of their -boys being bad when they are only mischievous—that -is to say, when they are only full of life. Some -people think that a good boy is one that has a pale -face and looks sickly; one that wears a sanctimonious -look and moves along through the world as -though he were afraid to put one foot in front of -the other. That isn’t my kind of a boy. I do not -think that kind of a fellow is a boy at all—he is -’most a girl! A boy who never enjoys a romp in -the woods, who never climbs the apple tree before -or after the apples are ripe, who never plays ball, -who will not shoot marbles, etc.—this sort of a -boy usually dies young, or he grows up to be a -“male woman.” I mean by that, that he grows -up to be a man who acts like a woman; and that -kind of man is hardly fit for anything.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page191">[191]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo190.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="552" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">“Play Fantastic” on the Fourth of July.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>But there are some bad boys, I am sorry to say—really -bad boys, bad in heart and in deed. I -have seen some on the chain gangs; I have seen -some hanging around the street corners—especially -on Sundays, with no clean clothes on; I have -seen them smoking cigarettes—and a cigarette is -something which no manly boy will use; I have -seen them in saloons, drinking, playing pool and<span class="pagenum" id="Page192">[192]</span> -playing cards; I have sometimes seen them shooting -dice in the street for money. There are probably -one thousand boys in the jails, reformatories -and in the penitentiaries in the single state of -Georgia. To form anything like an adequate estimate -of the total number of bad boys in the South -we must add to the above number the boys imprisoned -in the other states; and, also, that much -larger number who have never been imprisoned -because they happen never to have been arrested, -or who have been arrested and have had their -fines paid in money; and, finally, we must add -those who have already served their time and are -again at large. So, you see, there are many -thousands and thousands of bad boys in the world, -and they are very easily found. Are you a bad -boy or a good boy? Isn’t it better to be a good -boy than to be a bad boy?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figleft top192"> -<img src="images/illo192a.jpg" alt="Broken window" width="95" height="118" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft mid192"> -<img src="images/illo192b.jpg" alt="Top boy" width="315" height="143" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot192"> -<img src="images/illo192c.jpg" alt="Bottom boy" width="149" height="283" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Bad Boy</span></p> -</div> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<h2>THE BAD BOY—HOW TO HELP HIM.</h2> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo192.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="544" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Bad Boy</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<p>Almost anybody can make something out of a -boy who is naturally good, but it takes one of very -Christlike power and patience to make anything -out of a really bad boy. Yet all boys may be reclaimed, -reformed, saved; at least so I believe. -And the first step in making a good man out of a -bad boy has to do with the boy’s body. The Holy<span class="pagenum" id="Page193">[193]</span> -Bible tells us that our bodies are -the temples—the dwelling places—of -the Holy Ghost, and every boy, -and every teacher of every boy, in -the home or day school or Sunday -school, should give more time and -attention to the body in -order to make it a fit place -for such a holy being. It -is as true now as of old -that plenty of soap and -water will exert a wholesome -influence in making -bad boys good. Some one -has said that cleanliness -is next to godliness, and -somebody has added that -soap is a means of grace. -A boy who is taught to -bathe regularly and who is -taught to keep his clothing -neat and clean at all -times will in that way<span class="pagenum" id="Page194">[194]</span> -learn the great lesson of self-respect quicker than -in any other way; and, in my judgment, the shortest -way to the purification of a boy’s habits, a -boy’s morals, a boy’s character, is to teach him -first to keep his body pure. Keep it pure not only -by baths and clean clothes, but keep it pure and -sweet by keeping it free from whiskey and tobacco -in every form. Exercise, regular and systematic -exercise, whether as work or play, will go -a great way towards keeping the body clean and -healthy. Every boy is mistaken, every parent is -mistaken, who thinks that labor is unworthy, or -that any kind of honest work is degrading. The -body needs to be kept alive and vigorous by the -frequent use of all its parts, and there is no better -way to keep the body vigorous than by doing some -kind of work—work that requires the use of the -hands and legs and muscles, work that stimulates -the blood and makes it flow freely through the -body.</p> - -<p>Another step in the process of making a good -man out of a bad boy has to do with the mind. The -body grows not alone by exercise, but the body -grows by what we put into it: the food we eat and -the water we drink, etc. We might say, I think, -that the body grows on what it feeds on. It is the -same way with the mind: the mind grows on what -it feeds on. If we feed our minds on obscene pictures, -on bad books, on vulgar stories, told by ourselves -or our associates, we cannot expect to have -minds that are keenly alive and active for good.<span class="pagenum" id="Page195">[195]</span> -Our thoughts control us, boys and girls, whether -we understand the process by which they control -or not. Our thoughts control us. If our thoughts -are pure and sweet and noble, we will be pure and -sweet and noble. If our thoughts are impure, vile -and ignoble, we will be impure, vile and ignoble. -Our thoughts rule us. So every boy should guard -well his thoughts; every boy should guard well -what he puts into his mind. Every boy’s mind -feeds on what he puts into it, and every boy’s -mind grows on what it feeds. It goes without -saying, then, that a boy should not read “blood -and thunder” detective stories, stories about the -“James Brothers” and other outlaws and bandits; -nor should a boy read filthy so-called “love -stories.” All such literature should be shunned, -as a boy would shun deadly poison. A boy who -desires to become a good man should read only -those things which will give him confidence in -himself that he can and may become a good man—good -for the service of God and the service of his -fellow-men. Bad company must also be left behind -if a bad boy wants to become a good boy. Those -boys who tell smutty jokes and stories should not -be allowed to associate with that boy whose eyes -have been opened and who wants to feed his mind -on good and wholesome food. Character, boys, -in its last analysis depends chiefly on three things: -Heredity, environment and will. Now you cannot -do much to change your inherited tendencies—the -tendencies you receive from mother and father<span class="pagenum" id="Page196">[196]</span> -at birth, but you can do much in offsetting, in -overcoming these tendencies. You can also do -much with the aid of a generous and enlightened -public to change your surroundings if they happen -to be bad. I confess that your mothers and -fathers, your teachers and pastors ought to do -much more in this regard than you; but if they will -not exert themselves to get you out of evil surroundings, -then, as you value your own life and -time and possibilities, by the help of God, try to -get out yourselves. The will is very largely influenced -by your surroundings. Hence you can -see the importance of having good books and good -associates.</p> - -<p>But whatever you do, boys, do not forget Jesus -Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin -of the world. The highest part of your nature is -your spiritual nature, and, while you are building -up the body and building up the mind, do not forget -to build up your soul. If others will not assist -you in this greater matter you can help yourselves. -The Master said: “Suffer the little children to -come unto me, and forbid them not.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page197">[197]</span></p> - -<h2>THOMAS GREENE BETHUNE<br /> -<span class="smcapall">(“BLIND TOM”)</span></h2> - -<p>I suppose there is not a little colored girl or -boy in America who has not heard of the wonderful -“Blind Tom,” one of the greatest musicians -of the world. I wish that every boy and girl -might have seen him and heard him give one of his -remarkable performances with the piano. I had -that high favor and privilege myself. During his -life on the stage, or for more than forty years, -“Blind Tom” was seen probably by more people -in the world than any one living being. His stage -career was closed somewhere in 1900. Everywhere, -in this country and Europe, those who -observed him most closely, and attempted to -understand him, pronounced him a living miracle, -unparalleled, incomprehensible, such as had not -been seen before in the world, and probably never -would be seen again.</p> - -<p>Thomas Greene Bethune, better known to the -public as “Blind Tom,” was born within a few -miles of the city of Columbus, Georgia, on the -twenty-fifth day of May, 1849. He was of pure -negro blood, and was born blind. He was little -less than four years old when a piano was brought<span class="pagenum" id="Page198">[198]</span> -to the house of his master, for he was born a slave. -As long as any one was playing he was contented -to stay in the yard and dance and caper to the -music. Sometimes he was permitted to indulge his -curiosity by being allowed to run his fingers over -the keys. One night the parlor and piano had been -left open. Before day the young ladies of the family -awoke and were astounded to hear Blind Tom -playing one of their pieces. The family gathered -around him to witness and wonder at his performance, -which they said was marvellously strange. -Notwithstanding that this was his first known -effort at a tune, he played with both hands and -used the black as well as the white keys. Pretty -soon he was allowed free access to the piano, and -began to play off-hand everything he heard. As -young as he was, he soon mastered all of that and -began composing for himself. The record of his -public life is too long for me to give, but that -Blind Tom was known and honored around the -world is known to everybody.</p> - -<p>But feeling that every colored boy and girl -should be justly proud of Blind Tom’s record, -I will give some words from the book of Hon. -James M. Trotter, himself a colored man. His -book is called “Music and Some Highly Musical -People.” He says:</p> - -<p>“Blind Tom is unquestionably the most wonderful -musician the world has ever known. He is -an absolute master in the comprehension and retention -of all sound. You may sit down to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page199">[199]</span> -pianoforte and strike any note or chord or discord, -or a great number of them, and he will at -once give their proper names, and, taking your -place, reproduce them. Complete master of the -pianoforte keyboard, he calls to his melodious -uses, with most consummate ease, all of its resources -that are known to skillful performers, as -well as constantly discovers and applies those that -are new. Under his magnetic touch this instrument -may become, at his will, a music box, a hand -organ, a harp, or a bagpipe, a “Scotch fiddle,” a -church organ, a guitar, or a banjo; it may imitate -the “stump speaker” as he delivers his glowing -harangue; or, being brought back to its legitimate -tones, it may be made to sing two melodies -at once, while the performer, with his voice, delivers -a third, all three in different time and keys, -all in perfect tune and time, and each one easily -distinguishable from the other! He remembers and -plays fully seven thousand pieces. Some persons, -it is true, have had the temerity to say that Blind -Tom is an idiot. Out with the idea! Who ever -heard of an idiot possessing such power of memory, -such fineness of musical sensibility, such -order, such method, as he displays? Let us call -him the embodiment of music, the soul of music, -and there let our investigations rest, for all else -is vain speculation. No one lives, or, so far as we -know, has ever lived, that can at all be compared -with him.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page200">[200]</span></p> - -<h2>NOT FIT TO KNOW.</h2> - -<p>Susan and Mamie and Lillian and Marjorie were -always close friends. They usually went together -and played together and it was very unusual to -see one of them without the others. At school they -always made it a rule to lunch together and play -together. One day at recess they were standing -in a little group all by themselves -when Frances joined -them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo199.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="505" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Frances.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“What are you talking -about, girls?” asked Frances -in cheerful tones.</p> - -<p>“I’m telling them a secret,” -said Susie, “and we will let -you know, too, Frances, if -you’ll promise not to tell any -one.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll promise you not to tell -anybody but my mother,” said -Frances, “for I have made it a -rule to tell my mother everything.”</p> - -<p>“No; you can’t even tell -your mother,” answered Susie; -“you must not tell any one in -the world.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page201">[201]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, then, I refuse to hear it,” said Frances, -as she walked away, “for what I can’t tell my -mother is not fit for me to know.”</p> - -<p>Don’t you think Frances was right, girls? I -think so. As soon as little boys and girls begin -to listen to words and stories which they would -be ashamed to repeat to their mothers they are -on the road to temptation, and nobody can tell how -soon they will reach the end, which is always disgrace -and death.</p> - -<p>I wish all the boys and girls who will read this -book would make the reply of Frances their motto: -“What I cannot tell my mother is not fit to -know.” Stick to this rule through thick and -thin, and you will avoid many of the snares and -pitfalls by which many of your companions and -playmates sink into shame and sin. Don’t read -a note that you would be afraid to have your -mother read. Don’t look at a picture that you -would be ashamed to have your mother see. Don’t -speak any word, and don’t allow any to be spoken -to you, that you would not like to have your mother -hear. A girl’s best friend is her mother. A -boy’s best friend is his mother. And, boys and -girls, be very sure that if a thing isn’t fit for your -mothers to know it isn’t fit for you to know.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page202">[202]</span></p> - -<h2>THE RIGHT WAY.</h2> - -<p>Henry Oliphant always considered himself -lucky whenever he was able to get a ride on the -street cars without paying for it, or get a glass of -soda water or be admitted to some public place, -where an admission fee was charged, without paying -the price. He was bragging one day to some -of his boy friends that he had not paid anything -to witness the school exhibition the night before. -Frank Sewall was brave enough to chide him for -having done so. Frank was a plain-spoken boy, -and Henry didn’t like what Frank had said. He -thought what he had done was all right, while -Frank had said that it was all wrong. Anyhow, -Henry decided to get his father’s opinion on the -matter.</p> - -<p>“Father,” he said, when night had come, “I got -in the hall last night for nothing.”</p> - -<p>“How was that?”</p> - -<p>“I just walked by the doorkeeper and he didn’t -ask me for any money.”</p> - -<p>“Did the doorkeeper see you?”</p> - -<p>“Well, father, that was his business; he was put -there for that purpose; he ought to have seen -me.”</p> - -<p>“But I asked you, Henry, whether the doorkeeper -saw you. I want you to answer that question.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page203">[203]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think he saw you?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Henry, if he had seen you, don’t you -think he would have asked you for your money -or a ticket?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter w500"> - -<img src="images/illo202.jpg" alt="Henry and his father" width="500" height="491" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Father</span>,” <span class="smcap">He Said, -When Night Had Come</span>, “<span class="smcap">I Got in the -Hall Last Night for Nothing.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“I guess so, father; but he didn’t ask me for -anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well, now, Henry, you know that a charge of -ten cents was made at the door, and that no one<span class="pagenum" id="Page204">[204]</span> -had a right to enter who had not paid the ten -cents. You did go in without paying. Now, -whether the doorkeeper saw you or not, do you -think that that was quite honest on your part? -Was that the right way for you to act?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I would have paid him if he asked me. I -wasn’t the doorkeeper.”</p> - -<p>“I guess the man who stole our wood last week -would have paid me if I had seen him and asked -him; but we called that stealing.”</p> - -<p>“But, father, I did not take anything from the -doorkeeper.”</p> - -<p>“Who gave you the money with which to pay -your admission?”</p> - -<p>“Mother.”</p> - -<p>“Where is that money now?”</p> - -<p>“I have it; but I didn’t take it from the doorkeeper.”</p> - -<p>“But you kept it from him, Henry. It belongs -to the doorkeeper. He gave you its value. My -son, the right way is, whenever you buy anything, -whether it be a ride or a glass of soda water or -permission to see a concert, whenever you buy -anything you ought to pay for it. If you don’t -you are no better than a common robber. You must -go today and give Mr. Hall that ten cents.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page205">[205]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo205.jpg" alt="Washington children" width="600" height="357" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Is Everybody Happy? Sure We Are.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figleft top206"> -<img src="images/illo206a.jpg" alt="Road top" width="230" height="146" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft mid206"> -<img src="images/illo206b.jpg" alt="Road top" width="600" height="218" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot206"> -<img src="images/illo206c.jpg" alt="Road top" width="403" height="161" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Two Paths.</span></p> -</div> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<h2>KEEPING FRIENDSHIP IN REPAIR.</h2> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo206.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="525" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Two Paths.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<p>I sometimes think that boys and girls, and even -old people, are often careless in the matter of their -friendships—not careless in the matter of selecting -friends, though I am sure there is room -for improvement along that line—but careless -in trying to keep the good friendships we have -already formed. We ought to keep our friendships -in repair. Perhaps you think that our -friendships are not things which need to be -kept in repair. How foolish it is to think so! -Does a garden need to be weeded? Does an -old fence need to be kept in repair? Do we -paint our houses only once in a century? What -about the musician—does he not need to keep in -practice? Supposing that you never kept your -muscles in repair by constant use or exercise—how -long would you be strong or healthy? And -do you think that your friendships, because they -are in a way intangible—you cannot see them, -handle them or taste them—do you think that -they grow and thrive of their own accord, and, -therefore, do not need to be kept in repair? -Slights, snubs, angry words, unpleasant conduct, -long continued lack of association, long continued -lack of familiar intercourse, and coldness, even -where the meetings are periodic—these things,<span class="pagenum" id="Page206">[206-<br />207]<a id="Page207"></a></span> -boys and girls, will kill the warmest friendship -and choke the tenderest love. So we ought to be -careful to keep our friendships in repair. If we -had no friends in this world, no playmates and -companions, no kindred spirits into whose keenest -sorrows and highest joys we entered with deep -and full sympathy, and who -did not enter into our sorrows -and joys in the same way—if -we had no friends in this -world, with all of its wealth -and splendor, we should not desire to live very -much longer. But to have friends and to be -friendly goes a long way towards making the -world a beautiful and blessed place to live in.</p> - -<p>How, then, may we keep our friends? Easy -enough—by cultivating them; and we cannot keep<span class="pagenum" id="Page208">[208]</span> -them in any other way. We should take time to be -friendly. Little notes, little presents, little visits, -little social entertainments, little kindnesses—these -things, and things like them, go a great way -in cementing our friendships, in tying people to -us, as it were, with hooks of steel. We should not -neglect these means of keeping our friendships in -repair. Always give your friends a cordial welcome -in your homes, and at your little children’s -parties; let them feel, make them feel, that their -coming adds to your pleasure without increasing -your burdens. Don’t be selfish and narrow; be -broad-minded and liberal. Keep your friendships -in repair, and then see if you do not find your -horizon broadened, your life sweetened, and the -weary weight of this sad old world lightened.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>LITTLE ANNIE’S CHRISTMAS.</h2> - -<p>Christmas morning came.</p> - -<p>Daylight was just peeping into the room.</p> - -<p>Poor little Annie, the cripple, awoke and turned -her eyes towards the corner where she had hung -her stocking the night before.</p> - -<p>Surely, she thought, as she watched it, there -could not be very much in it, because it didn’t -seem to be any larger than it was when she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page209">[209]</span> -hung it up. After awhile she crept slowly to where -it was.</p> - -<p>She did not take her crutches, for fear she would -disturb her mother, who slept in the same bed -with her. It was hard for her to move around -without her crutches, but she persevered and -finally she reached her stocking.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo208.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="537" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">She Put Out Her Thin Little Hand and Felt It.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>She put out her thin little hand and felt it. Yes, -there was something in it! Then she put her hand<span class="pagenum" id="Page210">[210]</span> -inside and took out something which seemed round -and soft. She took it out and looked at it. It -was a little cake. Poor little Annie smiled, and -put her hand back into the stocking. This time -she found something which was done up in paper. -She opened the paper and found a whole dozen of -gumdrops. How brightly her little eyes flashed! -She was only six years old and she had never had -so much candy at one time in all her life.</p> - -<p>By-and-by her mother awoke. She raised her -head and saw Annie’s happy face. “Poor girl,” -she thought, “how happy I would have been to -have bought something else for her, but I wasn’t -able. I hope she will be happy with what she -has.”</p> - -<p>“See, mother,” cried Annie, “I have twelve -gumdrops and a cake. We will eat half of the -gumdrops today and save the other half for to-morrow. -You’ll eat three and I will eat three.”</p> - -<p>“No, Annie,” said her mother, “you must eat -every one by yourself.”</p> - -<p>Annie smiled, but did not say anything.</p> - -<p>Little Annie’s mother was a widow, and she was -very, very poor; there were many times when they -had only a little dry bread and water for the day’s -food. For this bright Christmas season there were -many things besides food which she would like to -have bought for her poor little crippled child; but -she did not have any money to pay for playthings -or toys.</p> - -<p>After breakfast on this Christmas day Johnny<span class="pagenum" id="Page211">[211]</span> -Ray came to see them. He brought with him a -good thick shawl for Annie’s mother and four -pairs of warm stockings which his mother had -sent for Annie, and, also, a large package of nice -candy.</p> - -<p>Little Annie’s mother cried for joy.</p> - -<p>Little Annie was too happy to speak. She had -never dreamed of having so much candy at one -time!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE VELOCIPEDE RACE.</h2> - -<p>One bright day Archibald mounted his velocipede -and rode out into the long green lane, where -he could ride for a long distance without interruption. -He had left his coat in the house because he -knew that riding would make him very warm.</p> - -<p>When he reached the lane the velocipede moved -along so smoothly that Archibald was very happy. -By the time he had gone nearly a half mile he was -tired and stopped for a rest.</p> - -<p>Pretty soon he heard a noise coming from behind, -and he wondered what rider it might be on -the same track that beautiful spring morning. He -looked up and saw John Smith coming, riding a -large velocipede and going as fast as he could.</p> - -<p>Archibald quickly mounted his wheel and -started on a swift run, trying to overtake the flying<span class="pagenum" id="Page212">[212]</span> -John. Before they reached the end of the road -they saw Clara Hempton, standing by the fence -with her little velocipede. Clara watched the boys -as they flitted past. She thought that she could -keep up with John, but she was not sure that she -could ride as fast as Archibald.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo211.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="509" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Velocipede Race.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>While she was meditating Archibald cried out:</p> - -<p>“Clara, you wait until we finish this race, and -then we three will go back together.”</p> - -<p>Archibald reached the end first, but John was -not very far behind.</p> - -<p>When Clara reached them Archibald said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page213">[213]</span></p> - -<p>“Now we will all have a fair start and see who -will reach the other end first.”</p> - -<p>So they all started on a line. Archibald knew -that he was the largest and could go the fastest, -but, as he had won the other race, he did not ride -this time as fast as he could. He thought this -was the right way to give the others a fair chance.</p> - -<p>Clara and John reached the other end of the -lane at exactly the same time, with Archibald a -short distance behind them.</p> - -<p>John and Clara were greatly delighted because -they had won the race from the big boy, Archibald. -Archibald was pleased because they were -pleased. This was not the only time that Archibald -had proved that he was a good and kind boy, -and that he was thoughtful of little children -younger than himself.</p> - -<p>From this little story of the velocipede race -many other little boys and girls may learn a -good lesson, I hope, that will do them good all -through life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figleft w250"> - -<img src="images/illo213.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="476" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fault Finding.</span></p> - -</div> - -<h2>FAULT-FINDING.</h2> - -<p>Faults are the easiest things to find in all this -world. A fault is something that can be found -without looking for it. And I guess no little boy -or girl in all the world knows anything that is<span class="pagenum" id="Page214">[214]</span> -easier to find than something that he or she -doesn’t have to look for. Well, faults are things -that we can find without looking for them; so -faults are the easiest things to find in all the -world. Yet, boys and girls, the habit of fault-finding, -or the habit of finding fault, is one of the -worst habits that anybody could form. It stamps -the person who is so easy to find fault with everything -and everybody as being -a mean, low, envious, -evil-hearted person. It is -better to look for something -to praise, than it is -to look for something to -blame. Yet there are -some people who are so -constituted that they do -not see any good in anything. -When it is cold, it -is too cold. When it is -hot, it is too hot. They -don’t like “vici kid” -shoes; they want patent -leathers. The singing at -church or Sunday school -last Sunday was just horrid. -Old Mary Jones ought to be taken out of -the choir. The preacher preaches too long, -or the deacon prays too loud. The school -teacher isn’t any good. So they go on from<span class="pagenum" id="Page215">[215]</span> -day to day, finding fault with everything and -everybody. Nothing pleases them; nothing delights -them. If by any chance or mischance they -should get to heaven they would, I believe, find -fault with the way the Lord has arranged things -up there. They are miserable people to have -around—these good-for-nothing, lazy and trifling -fault-finders. If you try real hard, boys and girls, -you can find something good in everything and in -everybody. That is one reason why we do not -always see the good in people or things—we -don’t look for it. We can find out what is bad—can -find out the bad things without looking for -them, but if we want to see the good things we -must be on the lookout for them. If we are on -the lookout—if we make up our minds that we -are going to see the good, and only the good, we -are always sure to find it.</p> - -<p>There was an old woman once who was noted for -being able to say something good about everything -and everybody. She was never heard to -speak evil of anything or anybody. Once upon a -time a gambler died in the city where she lived. He -was a miserable sinner, and nobody liked him and -nobody had a good word to say for him, even after -he was dead. Aunt Maria, the good old lady, went -to see him after he had been put into his coffin. -The people who were present wondered what good -thing Aunt Maria could possibly say about the -dead sinner. Aunt Maria entered the room and<span class="pagenum" id="Page216">[216]</span> -walked around on tiptoe. After awhile she raised -her head and said:</p> - -<p>“Friends, I tell you, he makes a mighty nice -looking corpse.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>GROSS DECEPTION.</h2> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Wistfully down the street she strolled,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From side to side her eyes she rolled,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till far away her eyes she cast<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On the grateful form of a man at last.<br /></span> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">She smoothed her hair and she quickened her pace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hoping she’d meet him face to face;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But when she reached him she felt awful sore:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Twas a figure of wax in front of a store!<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>RANDOM REMARKS.</h2> - -<p>In the olden times parents used to rule their -children, but in these days and times there are -many people who believe that the children rule -their parents. So many misguided parents in these -days and times believe in sparing the rod and -spoiling the child. Boys don’t get many whippings -at home nowadays, and if a boy happens to get a -good flogging at school it will cause a big row, -and sometimes cause the teacher to be threatened -with arrest. Whenever my teacher used to whip -me I was always afraid to mention it at home for -fear of getting another. I heard a man say the -other day: “Never whip a child; raise your boy<span class="pagenum" id="Page217">[217]</span> -on love and kindness and reason!” Yes; and when -that boy is twelve or thirteen years old somebody -will have to go to him and talk to him and try to -persuade him not to whip his father or mother.</p> - -<div class="figcenter w400"> - -<img src="images/illo216.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="556" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">I Just Wish I Could Have My Way With Those Boys for -about Two Minutes.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>I was at church the other day and I saw two -boys about ten or eleven years old. After service -they lit their cigarettes and went marching off<span class="pagenum" id="Page218">[218]</span> -as big as Trip. A man of the old school looked at -them for awhile, and then, turning away, he said:</p> - -<p>“I just wish I could have my way with those -boys for about two minutes.”</p> - -<p>I didn’t say anything, but deep down in my -heart I sympathized with the old man, and felt -that both of the youngsters ought to have had -a good whipping.</p> - -<p>Some girls are almost as bad as some boys. -Girls are most too fast in these days. As soon -as they get their dresses to their shoetops they are -gone. They go crazy over their clothes, for they -think that they must keep in the fashion. They -read too much trash, for they think that is the way -refined and cultured people do. Old-fashioned -modesty is at a discount. The girls don’t wait -for the boys to come now—that is, many of them -don’t; they go after them. I have seen some girls -running around in these new-fashioned night -gowns, and they call it a Mother Hubbard party. -If their mothers don’t allow them to go with the -boys they will slip around and meet them somewhere -anyhow. And where they are allowed to -go with the boys they generally go to extremes. -What business has a little girl—ten or twelve or -fourteen years old—to be locked-arms with a little -stripling of a boy, going home at night from -church or some social entertainment. It always -disgusts me whenever I see it. Worse than a -mannish boy is a womanish girl. What business -has a little girl, or a larger one, to allow<span class="pagenum" id="Page219">[219]</span> -a man to throw his arm around her waist in the -round dance? It is immodest, to say the least, and -there is not a good mother in the land who approves -it. A girl who goes to a promiscuous -ball and waltzes around with promiscuous fellows -puts herself in a promiscuous fix to be talked -about by the dudes and rakes and fast young fellows -who have encircled her waist. Slander is -very common, I know, especially slander of young -ladies; there are not many young ladies who -escape it; but the trouble about it is that it is not -all slander—some of it is the truth.</p> - -<p>In the olden times when folks got married they -stayed married, but nowadays the courts are full -of divorce cases. The land is spotted with what -are called “grass widows,” and in many a household -there is hidden grief over a daughter’s shame. -Why is it? What causes it? Lack of proper training -and care of the young. Habits are great things—good -habits or bad habits. If girls are reared -to clean their teeth and keep their fingernails -clean they will keep them clean all their lives. If -boys are reared to chew tobacco and smoke they -will never quit. The same about loving and courting -and getting married. Much depends upon -training, upon habits. Young flirts make old flirts. -Young devils make old devils!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page220">[220]</span></p> - -<h2>BENJAMIN BANNEKER, THE NEGRO -ASTRONOMER.</h2> - -<p>The little colored boys and girls of America -should be proud to know, as I suppose the little -white boys and girls will be surprised to learn, -that the first clock of which every portion was -made in America was made by a colored man.</p> - -<p>The colored children will also be glad to know, -I think, that among the earliest almanacs prepared -for general use in this country were those -which were published for several years by this -same colored man. His name was Benjamin Banneker. -I have found a good and true account of -this wonderful man in The Atlantic Monthly for -January, 1863. I am going to give a good portion -of that account in this book, because I believe -every colored person in America should be acquainted -with that man’s history. The account -says:</p> - -<p>“Benjamin Banneker was born in Baltimore -County, Maryland, near the village of Ellicott’s -Mills, in the year 1732. There was not a drop of -white man’s blood in his veins. His father was -born in Africa, and his mother’s parents were -both natives of Africa. What genius he had, then, -must be credited to that race. When he was approaching -manhood he went, in the intervals of<span class="pagenum" id="Page221">[221]</span> -toil, to an obscure and remote country school. -At this school Benjamin acquired a knowledge of -reading and writing, and advanced in arithmetic -as far as ‘Double position.’ Beyond these rudiments -he was his own teacher. Young Banneker -had no books at all, but in the midst of labor for -a living he so improved upon what he had gained -in arithmetic that his intelligence became a matter -of general observation. He was such an acute -observer of the natural world and had so diligently -observed the signs of the times in society -that it is very doubtful whether at forty years of -age this African had his superior in Maryland.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps the first wonder amongst his comparatively -illiterate neighbors was excited, when, -about the thirtieth year of his age, Benjamin made -a clock. It is probable that this was the first clock -of which every portion was made in America; it is -certain that it was purely his own invention as if -none had ever been made before. He had seen a -watch, but never a clock, such an article not being -within fifty miles of him. He used the watch as a -model for his clock. He was a long time at work -on the clock,—his chief difficulty, as he used often -to relate, being to make the hour, minute, and -second hands correspond in their motion. But at -last the work was completed, and raised the -admiration for Banneker to quite a high pitch -among his few neighbors.</p> - -<p>“The making of the clock proved to be of great -importance in assisting the young man to fulfill<span class="pagenum" id="Page222">[222]</span> -his destiny. It attracted the attention of the Ellicott -family, who had just begun a settlement at -Ellicott’s Mills. They were well-educated men, -with much mechanical knowledge, and some of -them Quakers. They sought out the ingenious -negro, and he could not have fallen into better -hands. In 1787 Mr. George Ellicott gave him -Mayer’s “Tables,” Ferguson’s “Astronomy,” -and Leadbetter’s “Lunar Tables.” From this -time astronomy became the great object of Banneker’s -life, and in its study he almost disappeared -from the sight of his neighbors. He slept much -during the day, that he might the more devotedly -observe at night the heavenly bodies whose laws -he was slowly, but surely, mastering.</p> - -<p>“Very soon after the possession of the books -already mentioned, Banneker determined to compile -an almanac, that being the most familiar use -that occurred to him of the information he had -acquired. To make an almanac then was a very -different thing from what it would be now, when -there is an abundance of accurate tables and rules. -Banneker had no aid whatever from men or rules; -and Mr. George Ellicott, who procured some tables -and took them to him, states that he had already -advanced very far in the preparation of the -logarithms necessary for the purpose.</p> - -<p>“The first almanac prepared by Banneker for -publication was for the year 1792. By this time -his acquirements had become generally known, -and among those who were attracted by them was<span class="pagenum" id="Page223">[223]</span> -Mr. James McHenry. Mr. McHenry wrote to Goddard -and Angell, then the almanac-publishers of -Baltimore, and procured the publication of this -work, which contained from the pen of Mr. McHenry, -a brief notice of Banneker. When his first -almanac was published, Banneker was fifty-nine -years old, and had received tokens of respect from -all the scientific men of the country. Among -others, Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State -under George Washington, wrote him a most flattering -and complimentary letter. In his letter Jefferson -said, ‘Nobody wishes more than I do to see -such proofs as you exhibit, that Nature has given -to our black brethren talents equal to those of -other colors of men, and that the appearance of a -want of them is owing only to the degraded condition -of their existence both in Africa and America.’</p> - -<p>“Banneker continued to calculate and publish -almanacs until 1802.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Benjamin H. Ellicott, who was a true -friend of Banneker, and collected from various -sources all the facts concerning him, wrote in a letter -as follows: ‘During the whole of his long life -he lived respectably and much esteemed by all -who became acquainted with him, but more especially -by those who could fully appreciate his -genius and the extent of his acquirements.’</p> - -<p>“Banneker’s head was covered with a thick -mass of white hair, which gave him a very dignified -and venerable appearance. His dress was invariably -of superfine drab broadcloth, made in<span class="pagenum" id="Page224">[224]</span> -the old style of a plain coat, with straight collar -and long waistcoat, and a broad-brimmed hat. -His color was not jet black, but decidedly negro. -In size and personal appearance, the statue of -Franklin at the library in Philadelphia, as seen -from the street, is a perfect likeness of him.</p> - -<p>“Banneker died in the year 1804, beloved and -respected by all who knew him. Though no monument -marks the spot where he was born and lived -a true and high life, and was buried, yet history -must record that the most original scientific intellect -which the South has yet produced was that of -the pure African, Benjamin Banneker.”</p> - -<p>The above is the story of that wonderful black -man told in splendid terms of high and well-deserved -praise by a white man. Every little black -boy in America may well be fired with inspiration -to do something beyond the ordinary by reading -the story of Banneker’s life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>“A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM.”</h2> - -<p>It is truly astonishing what a boy can do when -once he has made up his mind to do his best. Dr. -Len. G. Broughton, the famous pastor of the Tabernacle -Baptist church, Atlanta, Ga., in a little -book, which he calls “The Modern Prodigal,” has -told a very pathetic story about a little boy. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page225">[225]</span> -so true to life, and so typical of what a black or -white boy may do under similar circumstances, if -he only decides for the true and the right, that I -have decided to reproduce the little story in this -book. It is well worth reading. Dr. Broughton -says:</p> - -<p>“Not long after I entered the ministry, I went -to a certain town to hold a series of meetings. It -was one of these good old Southern towns, the inhabitants -of which banked on aristocracy and fed -their souls upon the glory of departed days. They -had never known what it was to be spiritually -warm. The first night I was there I preached to a -great audience. It was in my early ministry, when -I made many propositions. The first one I made -that night was for any one to stand who wanted -prayers offered for their friends. As soon as I -made it a little boy got up and walked out in the -aisle, where he stood looking me square in the face. -I said, ‘God bless you, little man,’ and he sat down. -I then asked any one who wanted the prayers of -God’s people to rise. That boy got out in the aisle -again and looked me in the face, and again I said, -‘God bless you.’ I asked if there was anybody -present who was willing to accept Jesus. That -boy stood up again and looked me in the face, and -again I said, ‘God bless you.’ Nobody else stood -up that night, and I began to think I had struck -about the hardest and coldest crowd I had ever -run up against.</p> - -<p>“The next night I preached as hard as I knew<span class="pagenum" id="Page226">[226]</span> -how to sinners, and when I finished, I asked anybody -who wanted to be prayed for to stand up. -The same little rascal popped out into the aisle, as -he had done the night before, and stood looking at -me until I saw him and said, ‘God bless you.’ I -thought I’d vary the thing a little, so I asked if -anybody present was willing to come forward and -give me his hand as an indication that he would -accept Jesus. That same boy came shuffling out of -his seat, straight down the aisle and gave me his -hand. I saw smiles on the faces of some in the -congregation. Nobody but the boy showed any -interest, and I went off somewhat disheartened. -The third night I preached, and when I asked all -who wanted prayer to rise, that boy popped out -into the aisle. The people had begun to regard it -as a joke, and they nudged each other with their -elbows, while a broad smile flared from one side -of the house to the other. When I asked anybody -who was willing to accept Jesus to come and give -me his hand, that boy came, and the congregation -smiled broader than before. After the meeting -the deacons came to me and told me that the boy -must be stopped, as he was a half-idiot, and was -throwing a damper on the meeting. I said: ‘Stop -nothing! How are you going to throw a damper on -an ice-house?’</p> - -<p>“For the whole of that week that boy was the -only person in the house who showed any interest -in the meeting. Then he wanted to join the -church. The pastor was absent, and I was to open<span class="pagenum" id="Page227">[227]</span> -the doors of the church. The deacons came to me -and said I must not receive that boy, as he didn’t -have sense enough to join the church. I said: -‘Look here, brethren, I won’t take this responsibility -on my hands. I’m going to put that boy -on you, and if you choose to reject him, his blood -be upon your hands.’ At the conclusion of the -morning service, I invited all who wanted to unite -with the church to come forward. That boy came. -I asked him if he had accepted Christ for his personal -Saviour. That’s all I ever ask. He said he -had. ‘Brethren,’ I said, ‘you hear what this boy -has to say. What will you do with him?’ An -ominous silence fell on the congregation. After a -time, from ’way back by the door, I heard a muffled -and rather surly, ‘I move he be received.’ -Another painful silence followed, and then, from -the middle of the church, I heard a muffled, ‘I -second the motion.’ When I put the motion, about -a half dozen members voted ‘aye’ in a tone so low -that it seemed as if they were scared. I gave the -boy the right hand of Christian welcome awaiting -baptism, and then dismissed the congregation.</p> - -<p>“The next day the boy went out to see his old -grandfather, a man whose whitened head was blossoming -for the grave, and whose feet were taking -hold upon the shifting sands of eternity. ‘Grandfather,’ -said he, ‘won’t you go to church with me -to-night and hear that preacher?’ We always feel -kindly towards those who are afflicted, you know,<span class="pagenum" id="Page228">[228]</span> -and are willing to please them; so the old man -agreed to go.</p> - -<p>“That night I saw the boy and the old man sitting -away back by the door. When the sermon -was finished, one of the members of the church -arose and said: ‘I have a request to make. We -have with us tonight, Mr. Blank, one of our oldest -and most respected citizens, but he is out of Christ. -I want special prayer offered for this my special -friend.’ With that he laid his hand upon the head -of the old man, down whose furrowed cheeks the -tears were streaming. The next night I saw the -old man sitting about half-way down the aisle. -When all who wanted to accept Jesus were invited -to come forward and give me their hands, I saw -the half-idiot boy coming down the aisle leading -the old man by the hand.</p> - -<p>“That little boy’s father kept a saloon. The -following day the child went there, and climbing -up over the high counter, he peeped down upon his -father and said: ‘Papa, won’t you go to church -with me to-night to hear that preacher?’ ‘You -get out of here, child,’ said the father; ‘go out of -here; don’t you know you mustn’t come in here?’ -Strange, strange, how fathers will keep places -where their children cannot go! ‘But, papa,’ continued -the boy, ‘won’t you go to church with me -to-night?’ ‘Yes; I’ll go, but you get out of here.’</p> - -<p>“That night the man came with the half-idiot -boy, and sat about where the old man had sat the -night before. When I asked all who would accept<span class="pagenum" id="Page229">[229]</span> -Jesus to come forward, he walked down the aisle -and gave me his hand. He asked if he could make -a statement, and when I said ‘Yes,’ he faced the -congregation and said: ‘My friends, you all -know me, and I want to say that so long as I live -I will never sell another drop of whiskey, for I -have given my heart to God to-night, and from -this day forward I propose to serve him.’</p> - -<p>“The meeting warmed up at last, the town was -set on fire for God. Every saloon keeper was converted -and every saloon was closed. The feeling -spread and a saloon seven miles in the country was -closed and the keeper was converted to God.</p> - -<p>“At the close of the meeting I sat on the front -seat and saw the pastor lead three generations -into the baptismal waters, the old man in front, -his son behind him, and last in line the little half-idiot -boy. The only mistake that was made, to my -mind, was that the boy who had led the others to -Christ should not have been first in line. Where -is the little half-idiot boy now? He has grown -much brighter within the last few years, and is -now going to school. He says he wants to be and -will be a missionary.</p> - -<p>“What a lesson for the young to-day. Persistent -self-surrender, ever doing the best we can, -is a never failing way that leads to victory.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page230">[230]</span></p> - -<h2>DIRECTIONS FOR LITTLE LADIES.</h2> - -<p>1. A little lady always says, “I thank you” -whenever anybody assists her in any way, and -always says, “If you please,” whenever she makes -any kind of request.</p> - -<p>2. A little lady is never loud and boisterous on -the streets, in public places, or at home. Sometimes -girls are so rough that they are called -“Tom-Boys.” No Tom-Boy ever was a true little -lady.</p> - -<p>3. A true little lady will always see that her -linen is clean and spotless—collars and cuffs, -aprons and dresses, handkerchiefs, and all articles -of clothing. Every true little lady hates dirt.</p> - -<p>4. A little lady will not be guilty of idle gossip. -She will not tattle; will not go around hunting all -the evil things that are said or known about other -little ladies. She closes her ears tight against the -slanderers of the town.</p> - -<p>5. A little lady will love the Sunday-school and -the church. She will love the society of good -people and the society of good books. She will -have higher notions of life than that life is something -to be spent in a merry round of pleasure.</p> - -<p>6. A true little lady loves her mother, and she -will show that she loves her mother in various -ways. She will help her about the housework.<span class="pagenum" id="Page231">[231]</span> -She will be fond of going out in company with her -mother often. She will not think that anybody -else’s mother is or can be better than her own -mother.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo230.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="530" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Directions for Little Girls.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>7. Every true little lady will be a Christian. -She will early give herself to Jesus. She will delight<span class="pagenum" id="Page232">[232]</span> -to help the poor; to visit the sick, carrying -the cheer and comfort and something good to eat -and flowers and many other things. She will love -everybody. Do you?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THREE WORDS TO YOUNG PEOPLE.</h2> - -<p>The first word is, Be true. The second word is, -Be trustworthy. The third word is, Dare to do -right.</p> - -<p>First: Be true! Be what you seem to be or -what you pretend to be; do not be a hypocrite; -be firm and steady in adhering to friends, -promises or principles. Be a true boy; be a true -girl.</p> - -<p>Secondly: Be trustworthy! Be worthy of trust; -be reliable; make your word your bond. Conduct -yourself in such a way that people can depend on -you.</p> - -<p>Thirdly: Dare to do right! Whatever comes -or doesn’t come, stand by what you believe to be -right, even if you have to stand alone. Be honest, -upright, faithful, sincere, abhor that which is evil, -cleave to that which is good.</p> - -<p>True boys and girls are scarce; they are not -easily found; they do not grow on trees. But, to -tell you the truth, we need good boys and girls, -true boys and girls, much more than we do educated<span class="pagenum" id="Page233">[233]</span> -boys and girls. All education without character -is a dead weight!</p> - -<p>Let me give you one or two reasons why you -should be true, trustworthy, and brave for the -right. In the first place, for the sake of your influence. -Every boy and girl in this world has some -influence. Every boy in this world, white or -black, rich or poor, high or low, is helping his -friends and playmates to grow better or worse, -higher or lower in the scale of being. Every girl -in this world is likewise helping or hindering -others. If we are harsh and unkind, cruel and -unjust—in every wrong, every baseness, meanness, -selfishness, we are harming not ourselves -alone but the whole great family of man. On the -other hand, when we speak fearlessly a brave, true -word, when we perform cheerfully a hard and trying -task, whenever we are faithful, honest, earnest, -patient, pure, trustworthy, whether we know -it or not, we are strengthening the unseen impulses -which make for nobility and higher manhood -and womanhood throughout the world. In -the economy of God, by his infinite wisdom, the -humblest life reaches forward to the highest and -the highest life reaches backward to the lowest.</p> - -<p>But perhaps you are saying that I am taking -too much for granted. Perhaps you think that it -is not true that there is not one of the very least of -the great human family who is not every day exercising -some personal influence for good or evil -upon the world. If you think so, boys and girls,<span class="pagenum" id="Page234">[234]</span> -or older people, you are mistaken. No human -being can escape from the world’s atmosphere. -Though you fly to the uttermost parts of the sea -or hide in the depths of the dense city, some life is -affected by your life. Not only some life is -affected by your life, but many lives are affected -by your life. It is a thought of this kind that -Charles Dickens beautifully expresses in his story -called “David Copperfield.” He says:</p> - -<p>“There is nothing—no, nothing—beautiful and -good that dies and is forgotten. An infant, a -prattling child, dying in his cradle, will live again -in the better thoughts of those who loved it, and -plays its part, though its body be burned to ashes -or drowned in the deepest sea. There is not an -angel added to the hosts of heaven but does its -blessed work on earth in those who loved it here. -Dead! Oh, if the good deeds of human creatures -could be traced to their source, how beautiful -would even death appear. For how much charity, -mercy, and purified affection would be seen to -have their growth in dusty graves!”</p> - -<p>No, children, it is no idle dream, no fancy story -that I tell when I say that the humblest member -of the human family, as well as the highest, is -exercising daily, whether he is conscious of it or -not, some influence for good or evil upon the -world. Viewed in this light who can measure the -possibilities—the divine possibilities—that are -wrapped up in little boys and girls? Viewed in -this light, how the slightest action, the smallest of<span class="pagenum" id="Page235">[235]</span> -our little duties, takes on new importance! It was -with this thought in mind that James A. Garfield -said: “I feel a profounder reverence for a boy -than a man. I never meet a ragged boy on the -street without feeling that I owe him a salute, for -I know not what possibilities may be buttoned up -under his shabby coat.” Yes, boys and girls, by -every brave and cheerful effort that we put forth -we are reforming, uplifting, renewing, inspiring, -hearts and souls we never heard of, never -knew, the whole world becoming stronger for -every bit of moral courage we create, sweeter for -every kindly look we give, and holier for every -good deed we do. And, of course, the contrary is -true. When we fail, when we come short, when -we sin, the consequences are not ours alone—they -extend to all humanity. We are all, white and -black, rich and poor, old and young, male and -female, children of one family. Just as the quivering -circles from a pebble thrown into a lake -stretch on and on from shore to shore, so the silent -impulse of a single life thrills from heart to heart -until the very edges of humanity are touched.</p> - -<p>There is another reason still why we should be -true, trustworthy, brave. That reason is that -somebody else takes us as his ideal—his standard. -Poor as we are, weak as we are, as unworthy as -we are, somebody else is looking up to us—especially -those of us who have been favored with -educational advantages and opportunities. And -you know that the failure of one who is invested<span class="pagenum" id="Page236">[236]</span> -in another’s mind with ideal qualities is a failure -beyond the actual. That is one reason why people -say that, as a rule, a preacher’s children are the -worst children in the world. As a matter of fact, -they are not the worst children in the world; but, -being the children of preachers, everybody expects -more of them than of others,—they are taken as -ideals, as standards—that’s all. And what might -be excused in others will not be excused in one who -is taken as an ideal. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of -America’s greatest writers, in speaking of this -truth says in his story called “The Marble Faun:”</p> - -<p>“The character of an individual beloved one -having invested itself with all the attributes of -right—that one friend being to us the symbol and -representative of whatever is good and true,—when -he falls, the effect is almost as if the sky fell -with him, bringing down in chaotic ruin the -columns that upheld our faith. We struggle forth -again, no doubt bruised and bewildered. We stare -wildly about us, and discover—or it may be we -never make the discovery—that it was not actually -the sky that has tumbled down but merely a -frail structure of our own rearing, which never -rose higher than the housetops, and has fallen -because we founded it on nothing. But the crash, -and the affright and trouble are as overwhelming, -for the time, as if the catastrophe involved the -whole moral world. Remembering these things, -let them suggest one generous motive for walking -heedfully amid the defilement of earthly ways. Let<span class="pagenum" id="Page237">[237]</span> -us reflect that the highest path is pointed out by -the pure ideal of those who look up to us, and who, -if we tread less loftily, may never look so high -again.”</p> - -<p>Now, I have said my three words. You see they -have stretched themselves out to a great length, -but I hope the boys and girls who read this book -may profit by them. Strive to be true, strive to be -trustworthy, strive to be brave. In the long run -the prizes of this world, and of that which is to -come, are won by boys and girls of strong moral -character, not by those who are merely learned or -rich. But, of course, I believe in education and I -believe in money. I think you ought to strive to -obtain both—both are useful, and both are necessary; -but, with all your getting, boys and girls, be -sure to get those things which will reach beyond -this world and which will count for more than -money or good looks or education or any such -thing when the world is on fire, when the moon -shall be turned into blood, when the trumpet -sounds, and all must go to stand before the Great -King to give an account of the deeds done in the -body.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page238">[238]</span></p> - -<h2>“A LAMP UNTO MY FEET.”</h2> - -<p>Once upon a time, so it is said, a little ragged -boy was carefully printing these words with a -stick upon the ground, “Thy word is a lamp unto -my feet.”</p> - -<p>On looking up from his work, the little fellow -was surprised to find a kind-looking old man -watching him.</p> - -<p>“Where did you learn that, my boy?” asked -the man.</p> - -<p>“At Sunday-school, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What’s your name?”</p> - -<p>“Crawford.”</p> - -<p>“So, Crawford, you learned that text at Sunday-school. -Do you know what it means?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What is a lamp?”</p> - -<p>“A lamp? Why, sir, a lamp is a thing that -gives light!”</p> - -<p>“That’s correct. Well, what is the word that -the text speaks of?”</p> - -<p>“The Bible, sir.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. Now, how can the Bible be a -lamp and give light?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said the boy, “unless you light -it and set it on fire.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a better way than that, my lad. Suppose<span class="pagenum" id="Page239">[239]</span> -you were going down some lonely lane on a -dark night with an unlighted lantern in your -hand, and a box of matches in your pocket, what -would you do?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I’d light the lantern.”</p> - -<p>“Why would you light -it?”</p> - -<p>“To show me the road, -sir.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo238.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="477" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">A Lamp Unto My Feet.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“Very well. Now, -suppose you were -walking behind me some day, and saw me drop a -quarter; what would you do?”</p> - -<p>“Pick it up and give it to you, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t you want to keep it yourself?”</p> - -<p>Crawford hesitated; but he saw a smile on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page240">[240]</span> -old gentleman’s face, and, smiling himself, he -finally said:</p> - -<p>“I should want to, sir; but I shouldn’t do it.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Because it would be stealing.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know?”</p> - -<p>“It would be taking what wasn’t my own, and -the Bible says we are not to steal.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the old man, “so it’s the Bible that -makes you honest, is it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“If you had not heard of the Bible you would -steal, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Lots of boys do,” said Crawford, hanging his -head.</p> - -<p>“The Bible, then,” continued the old man, -“shows you the right and safe path—the path of -honesty, does it?”</p> - -<p>“Like the lamp!” exclaimed Crawford, seeing -now what all the old man’s questions meant. “Is -that what the text means?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my boy,” the man answered, “there is -always light in the Bible to show us where to go -and what to do. Don’t you think it would be a -good thing to take the Bible, the good old lamp, -and let it light you right through life?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you will be safer with it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page241">[241]</span></p> - -<p>“Because if I’m honest I will never go to -prison.”</p> - -<p>“And what else?” asked the man.</p> - -<p>Crawford thought awhile. By-and-by he <span class="dontwrap">said,—</span></p> - -<p>“If I mind the Bible I shall go to heaven when -I die.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and that’s the best reason for taking the -lamp. It will light you right into heaven.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THREE BRIGADES.</h2> - -<p>There are three brigades, or three little companies, -which I think ought to be organized -among the boys and girls in every Sunday-school -in America. Can’t you form them in your Sunday-school? -It is a very simple matter. It will -not cost any money: only a little time and forethought, -and a will to do. One brigade is called -the Rainy-Weather Brigade, and all the little boys -and girls who join this company pledge themselves -to go to Sunday-school every Sunday, when -they are not sick, even if it is raining. The second -brigade is called the Front Seat Brigade, and all -the members of this company pledge themselves to -occupy front seats in the Sunday school during -the opening exercises before they pass to their -classes. The third brigade is called the On-Timers’ -Brigade, and the children in this brigade pledge<span class="pagenum" id="Page242">[242]</span> -themselves to be present on time at the opening -hour.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo241.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="461" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Members of the Rainy-Weather Brigade.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>You can see at once how helpful these little -brigades are in every Sunday school (where they -exist) to the officers and teachers. Some children -will not go to Sunday school when it is raining or -when it threatens to rain; some will not go forward -and occupy front seats when they do go; and -there are others who are always tardy. What a -blessing it would be if all the little children would -organize these brigades at once in their schools, -and try to get every scholar to join each one of -them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page243">[243]</span></p> - -<h2>“HOME, SWEET HOME.”</h2> - -<p>Go with me, boys and girls, to the gay streets -and gilded saloons of the great city of Paris far -across the sea. Here is said to be the centre of -all the world’s follies and pleasures. It is at night.</p> - -<p>An American, who has left his home and native -land to view the splendors of the wicked city, is -passing along the street. He has beheld with delight -its paintings, its sculpture, and the grand -and graceful proportions of its buildings. In the -midst of his keenest happiness, when he was rejoicing -most over the privileges which he possessed, -temptation assailed him. Sin was presented -to him in one of its most bewitching garbs, and -he yielded to the voice of the siren. He drank -wildly and deeply of the intoxicating cup, and his -draught brought madness. Reason was overthrown -and he rushed out, all his scruples overcome, careless -of what he did or how deeply he became immersed -in the hitherto unknown sea of guilt.</p> - -<p>The cool night air settled damp and heavy upon -his heated brow. Walking on and on, not knowing -or caring where he went, by-and-by strains of -music from a distance met his ear. Pretty soon, -following in the direction from which the sounds -came, he was able to distinguish the words and air -of the piece. The song was well remembered. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page244">[244]</span> -was “Home, Sweet Home.” Clear and sweet the -voice of some singer, using his native tongue, rose -and fell on the air; and the poor wild man stopped -and listened to the soft cadences of that beloved -melody.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo243.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="516" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Home, Sweet Home.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Motionless he stood until the last note floated -away, and he could hear nothing but the ceaseless -murmur of the great city. Then he turned away -slowly, with no feeling that his manhood was<span class="pagenum" id="Page245">[245]</span> -shamed by the tear which fell as a bright evidence -of the power of song, and also as an evidence that -he, the guilty sinner, was not yet absolutely lost -beyond recall.</p> - -<p>The demon of the wine cup had fled, and reason -once more asserted her right to control. As the -soft strains of “Home, Sweet Home” had floated -to his ear, memory brought up before him the picture -of his own “sweet home.” He saw his gentle -mother and heard her speak, while honest pride -beamed from her eye; she seemed to speak again -of her son, in whose nobleness and honor she could -always trust. His heart smote him as he thought -how little he deserved such confidence. He remembered -her last words of love and counsel, and the -tearful farewell of all those dear ones who gladdened -that far-away home with their presence. -The tide of remorse swept over his soul as he -thought of what the sorrow of those at home would -have been could they have seen him but an hour -before. Subdued and penitent he retraced his -steps, and with his vow never to taste of the terrible -stuff that could so excite him to madness there -was mingled a deep sense of thankfulness for his -escape from further degradation. The influence -of home had protected and shielded him, although -the sea rolled between.</p> - -<p>How strong such memories are to prevent the -commission of crime! How powerful is the spell -of home! How important, then, is it to make home -pleasant and lovable! Many a time a cheerful<span class="pagenum" id="Page246">[246]</span> -home and smiling face will do more to make good -men and good women than all the learning and eloquence -that can be used. It has been said that -the sweetest words in our language are “Mother, -Home and Heaven”; and one might almost say -that the word “Home” included the others. Who -can think of home without remembering the gentle -mother who sanctified it by her presence? And -is not “Home” the dearest name for heaven? Oh, -then, may our homes on earth be as green spots in -the desert, to which we can retire when weary of -the cares of life and drink the clear waters of a -love which we know to be sincere and always unfailing.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Mid pleasures and palaces<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though far we may roam,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Be it ever so humble<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There’s no place like Home.”<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page247">[247]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter"> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<img src="images/illo246.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="266" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Little Soldier Boys.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<h2>EACH ONE OF US OF IMPORTANCE</h2> - -<p>Never think yourself, whoever you are, of small -importance. Never think that it is of little account -whether you are good or bad, or what your example -is to others. Each mere particle of dust, every -tiny grain of sand, the minutest atom, is an active -agent in the whole universe. So each one of us is -of importance in our sphere, however isolated and -insignificant that sphere may appear to be.</p> - -<p>A few particles of dust in a watch will stop its -motion; small barnacles on a ship’s bottom will -hinder its journey; and a little shifting sand in the -great river will change its current. So, little boys -and girls exercise their influence for weal or woe -upon the world. Don’t you believe for once that -the world is moved only by the great forces, the -great men and the great enterprises. Little folks -and little things likewise help to move the world -along. Great generals are necessary; but what -would they be without the soldiers behind them?</p> - -<p>Every boy has his part to do in the great work<span class="pagenum" id="Page248">[248]</span> -of the world, and every girl has her part to do. -Every boy and girl is of importance; how important -nobody knows, and perhaps never shall know -until eternity reveals it. There ought to be in -this truth great encouragement and great comfort -to all who think that they are insignificant and -have no work to do in this busy world. Perhaps -in the distant future many a man who estimated -himself great shall be found to have been insignificant, -because of unfaithfulness to his trust; and -many another man who perhaps thought himself -of little worth will find himself glorified because -he did what he could.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2 class="noshow"><span class="smcap">The Poetry of Life</span></h2> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo247.jpg" alt="Sunrise" width="600" height="380" /> -</div> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figleft top247"> -<img src="images/illo247a.jpg" alt="Sunrise top" width="600" height="189" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot247"> -<img src="images/illo247b.jpg" alt="Sunrise bottom" width="293" height="191" /> -</div> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<p class="poetrylife">Poetry is more than -verse-making, more -than the jingle of words, -more than the sing-song -of meter.</p> - -<p>Sunshine and flowers, -brightness and joyousness, the harmonies of the -passions and the inspiration of love-these are -the poetry of life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page249">[249]</span></p> - -<p>Without poetry, life is a tread-mill; a veil of -tears; a dreary waste. Even religion is only a crucifixion—a -death to sin—if we have not the resurrection -into the new life of joy.</p> - -<p>Many of us make hard work of life by bending -our backs too much. We get dirt in our eyes by -keeping them too near the dust, and we get narrow-minded -and selfish by our narrow radius of -vision.</p> - -<p>To become truly rich we must stand in the dignity -of our manhood; walk in the integrity of our -calling; and run in the rhythm of a poetic nature. -Out of harmony is out of sphere. The dignity, integrity -and poetry of life are all lost by inharmony; -only the ashes of disappointment are left; -but with these we can dance at our work, and turn -irksome duties into joyous privileges. Instead of -moping in the valley of the shadow of death, we -may live in the sunshine, where beautiful flowers -and luscious fruits and delicious sweets grow.</p> - -<p>Yes; yes; we might as well live in light as in -darkness; make life a joyful song as a funeral -dirge; live amid glory as shame. With a radiant -countenance, a beaming eye, and a loving hand, we -can do more work and have more to do; we can -get more out of life and have more life to enjoy; -we can scatter more sunshine and have more left -for ourselves.</p> - -<p>Christ came to bring to every toiler, heaven. -Let us get into it quickly. It is here—and here -only—that we find the poetry of life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page250">[250]</span></p> - -<div class="hh"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo250.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="593" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Being in -Earnest.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -</div><!--hh--> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="figleft top1st250"> -<img src="images/illo250a.jpg" alt="Catcher top" width="400" height="57" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft top2nd250"> -<img src="images/illo250b.jpg" alt="Catcher bottom of top" width="213" height="168" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot1st250"> -<img src="images/illo250c.jpg" alt="Catcher top of bottom" width="285" height="44" /> -</div> - -<div class="figleft bot2nd250"> -<img src="images/illo250d.jpg" alt="Catcher bottom" width="181" height="324" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Being in -Earnest.</span></p> -</div> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<h2>ON BEING IN EARNEST.</h2> - -<p>Of ten men who fail in life, nine men fail for -want of zeal, earnestness, courage, where one man -fails for want of ability. This half-heartedness, -this lack of zeal, this timidity, this shrinking from -duty and hard tasks is seen on all sides and among -all classes. But I tell you, boys and girls, that -the least enviable people in all the world are those -who think that nothing is particularly worth -while, that it does not matter much how a thing -is done if it is only done with; who dwaddle along -in a shabby sort of a way, considering only their -own ease, with little sense of responsibility, and -with no shame in being shirks. Every boy should -make up his mind to live a round, full, earnest, intense -life. Every girl should do the same. Don’t -be satisfied, boys and girls, to be jellyfishes, with -only a capacity for drawing in nourishment and -lingering on until your time comes to die. Be -vertebrates, people of backbone, purpose, aim, enthusiasm, -earnestness.</p> - -<p>At a public dinner President Roosevelt asked -Governor Odell of New York if he knew anything -worth doing that was not hard in the doing, and -the governor could think of nothing. As a rule -perhaps there is nothing, and yet things once hard -in the doing become easy as skill is gained by repetition.<span class="pagenum" id="Page251">[251]</span> -Be in earnest, be faithful and resolute, -and it will act like a tonic, giving light to the eyes, -springiness to the step, and buoyancy to the heart.</p> - -<p>Don’t be overcome by your circumstances. No -matter how distracting a -man’s surroundings may be, -he may yet be able to focus -his powers completely and to -marshal them with certainty -if he makes up his -mind to do it. If -things go hard with -the self-mastered man or boy, -he will be able to trample upon -difficulties and to use his stumbling-blocks -as stepping-stones. -If a great misfortune overtake -him he will simply use it as a starting -point for a new departure, a turning -point for more determined effort. He -may be weighed down with sorrow -and suffering, but he always starts -anew with redoubled determination -to do the thing he has set his heart -upon doing. He will not be discouraged; -he will not give up; he will fight it out to -the end. Put him in prison, and he will write the -“Pilgrim’s Progress.” Deprive him of his eyesight -and he will write the “Paradise Lost.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page252">[252]</span></p> - -<p>It was the spirit of earnestness which fired the -soul of Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, who, -after being urged to recant, said: “Here I stand; -I can do no other; God help me!” It was this -spirit which characterized William Lloyd Garrison, -the champion of the abolition of slavery, who, -when he was urged to stop fighting slavery, exclaimed: -“I will not equivocate, I will not retract, -I will not be moved one inch, and I will be -heard.” So be in earnest, boys and girls, at home, -at school, at work and at play. It will help you -a thousand-fold.</p> - -<hr class="chap allclear" /> - -<h2>YOUNG PEOPLE AND LIFE INSURANCE.</h2> - -<p>Every little boy and girl, and, of course, every -man and woman, of the colored race in America -should carry a life insurance policy of some kind -in some reliable company. In this matter the old -people, as in some other things, ought to set the -example for the young, but there are some reasons, -growing chiefly out of their previous condition of -slavery, why our mothers and fathers have not, as -a rule, taken very largely to the business of having -their lives insured. But because our parents have -been negligent in this matter there is no reason -why the younger generation should be. Life insurance -is a good thing, boys and girls—one of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page253">[253]</span> -best things in the world. American life insurance -companies alone pay to policy-holders or estates of -policy-holders over one hundred million dollars -annually. Only a very small and almost insignificant -portion of this vast sum goes into the hands -of colored people, and for the reason that very few -colored people carry life insurance policies.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo252.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="542" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Taking Out a Policy.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Now use a little common sense about this matter. -Whatever is good in life insurance for other -races is good for our race; whatever in life insurance -benefits other races will benefit our race. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page254">[254]</span> -business as in education, whatever is good for a -white man is good for a black man. I would, -therefore, urge every boy and girl to join a life insurance -company, and where your mothers and -fathers are not insured I would urge you to do -your utmost to persuade them to join at once.</p> - -<p>For one reason, a life insurance policy is not expensive. -You might as well talk of the expense of -buying bank stock, or the expense of putting your -money into a savings bank or any other safe place -as to speak of the expense of keeping up a life -insurance policy. It is accumulation and not expense. -Every dollar put into life insurance is a -dollar saved to yourself or your estate.</p> - -<p>For another reason life insurance is a good business -investment. Carefully collected statistics on -file in Washington City prove that investments -in life insurance are much safer and yield much -larger returns than money placed in a savings -bank. When you are older you will perhaps be -able to make these comparisons for yourself. For -the present you can take my word for it.</p> - -<p>A third reason, life insurance is cheap. You can -in an instant create a capital of $1,000, though you -may be ever so poor, by laying aside only a few -cents a week. Young people chew up and drink -up and smoke up and frolic up more money every -week than would be sufficient to protect them -against the rainy days that must come to everybody.</p> - -<p>And, then, life insurance has a character value.<span class="pagenum" id="Page255">[255]</span> -It makes a young man a better man; it makes a -young woman a better woman; that is to say, it -makes them more economical, more business-like, -happier, and, I believe, it will make them live -longer.</p> - -<p>It is high time that black boys and girls were -learning these things and acting upon them. When -God commanded us not to serve money as a false -god He did not say that money could not serve us, -and I beseech the boys and girls, and the old people -too, to exercise the same foresight and the -same good sense about life insurance that other -races exercise.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE LITTLE SAILOR CAT.</h2> - -<p>In September, 1893, grouped on the Fall River -Line pier at the foot of Warren Street, New York, -there stood a party of twenty-three sailors waiting -for the Puritan to take them on to Boston. The -central figure in the group—a short, thickset man, -with bronzed and grizzled moustache—stood erect -with arms folded over his chest. Upon the solid -foundation thus made nestled a little white kitten. -The man and the kitten were the Boston contingent -of the crew of the steamship City of Savannah, -which had been wrecked the week before on Hunting -Island, off the South Carolina coast.</p> - -<div class="figright w300"> - -<img src="images/illo255.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="163" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Little Sailor Cat.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>The story of the beaching of the steamship and<span class="pagenum" id="Page256">[256]</span> -of the taking off of her crew by the City of Birmingham -had been told in all the newspapers, but -nothing had been said about the cat, so the Boston -Herald said. Before the shipwreck the cat was -nothing more than an ordinary ship’s cat, and the -captain had named him Mascot; but that was the -end of his distinction. After the disaster, nevertheless, -all the sailors swore that the kitten was as -good a sailor as any of them.</p> - -<p>“He’s a wonder,” said the short, thickset man, -surveying the cat proudly; “nobody thought of -him in the rush, but he got there just the same. -He climbed the rigging -in that gale like an old -tar and held on for -hours. He wasn’t a bit -frightened either. Only -he would ‘caterwaul’ -when he got hungry. -We were on board of the boat fifty hours after -she struck before the sea was such that we could -be taken off in boats. At night the captain -ordered all the crew into the rigging and made us -stay there. We each took a piece of rope and -lashed ourselves on, so as to keep from falling -off when asleep. That’s what the captain said the -string was for, but I never slept at all. I don’t -think many others did. The cat got along without -any rope, and she was there in the morning all -right. When we got away at last, nearly crazy -with thirst and so faint that we could hardly<span class="pagenum" id="Page257">[257]</span> -climb down the ‘Jacob’s ladder’ into the Birmingham’s -boats, that little fellow climbed out of -his nest in the rigging and wanted to go too. We -were glad to take him.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2 class="noshow">Advice to -Little -Christians</h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo256.jpg" alt="Church" width="600" height="505" /> -</div> - -<p>1. Be punctual and regular at all the services -of your church.</p> - -<p>2. Give close attention to the pastor in the public -service. Good hearers make good preachers.</p> - -<p>3. Whenever you are aided by a sermon tell -the pastor about it. In this way you will help him -more than you think possible.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page258">[258]</span></p> - -<p>4. Do not neglect morning and evening prayer -at home. Pray daily for God’s blessing upon the -preaching and other labors of the pastor.</p> - -<p>5. In the world let your light so shine before -others that they may be led to glorify your Father -which is in heaven. Let your light shine.</p> - -<p>6. Invite your friends to attend divine services. -A drawing congregation is as good as a -drawing preacher. Call for your friends often.</p> - -<p>7. Remember day by day that you are not your -own, but have been “bought with a price,” and -that you are Christ’s servant. Watch and pray.</p> - -<p>8. If any service is required of you in the -church or in the Sunday school, do not shirk it; -always say: “I will try for Jesus’ sake.”</p> - -<p>9. In the prayer meeting speak briefly and to -the point. If you pray, ask only for what you -want. Be short and direct. “Ask and ye shall -receive.”</p> - -<p>10. Never subscribe more than you are able to -pay, and be sure to pay whatever you promise. -Whether much or little, give it cheerfully. “God -loveth a cheerful giver.”</p> - -<p>11. Having found eternal life, use all appropriate -means to develop Christian character. Prayer, -reading the Bible, attending church and Sunday -school, reading good books and Christian newspapers, -keeping the best company—all these will -help you.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page259">[259]</span></p> - -<h2>A WORD TO PARENTS.</h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo258.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="530" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">The Drummer Boy and His -Dog.</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>Children are a gift from God. Children are a -heritage from the Lord. It depends largely on -parents whether they become a heritage of honor -and delight or of sorrow -and shame. It is not -simply incumbent upon -parents that their children -be well cared for, -fed and clothed, properly -educated and so -forth; but more than -this, they are to be -brought up “in the nurture -and admonition of -the Lord.” This being -true, then, the highest -aim of rearing children -is not simply that they -may win success and -command respect in the -world. Respect and success -are greatly to be desired and sought, but beyond -them and beyond everything else is the highest -and chiefest aim of parental love and care; -that their children may honor and command the -righteousness of God in the life that now is and -magnify the glory of God in the life that is to be. -This is the mark and prize of their high calling.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page260">[260]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo259.jpg" alt="Children en parents" width="389" height="600" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page261">[261]</span></p> - -<p>Admitting this, then, the early conversion of -children is all-important. But if they are to be -early converted, is it not wise—nay, absolutely essential—that -mothers and fathers prepare the way -by restricting their natural impulses by which -they are led to desire indulgence in the gay vanities -of life? Is it not positively wrong for parents -to indulge that pernicious and destructive delusion, -which some allow, of permitting their children -to have their own evil way in the hope that -in due time they will in some way see their error -and turn to the right path of their own accord? -Father, you are a Christian. Mother, you are a -Christian. Now, in your home, in the management -of your children, are you doing the best you can -to show what a Christian family should be? How -is it, my friends? I leave that question with you.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page262">[262]</span></p> - -<h2>THE UNSEEN CHARMER.</h2> - -<p>Carl Brickermann, a collection clerk in an uptown -bank, in his accustomed daily routine found -it necessary, among other things, to call by telephone -the downtown brokerage firm of Hopegood -& Co. One day he missed the familiar feminine -voice which had usually responded to his calls. -But the new voice seemed sweeter and much more -passionately penetrating. For two or three days -Brickermann was puzzled, not only because of the -change at the other end of the ’phone, but also -because of the strange and unaccountable fascination -which the new voice possessed for him. At -length one day, almost in desperation, he turned -aside from his regular business inquiries to ask:</p> - -<p>“Where’s the other girl?”</p> - -<p>“Which other girl?” asked the mellifluous voice -over the articulate wire.</p> - -<p>“The one who used to answer the ’phone for the -Hopegoods,” explained Brickermann.</p> - -<p>“Promoted,” came the response, with a merry -little laugh.</p> - -<p>“And you have her old place?” asked Brickermann, -somewhat encouraged.</p> - -<p>“Yes; for awhile,” said the same still, small -voice at the other end, and it sounded more and -more sweetly to the would-be masher.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page263">[263]</span></p> - -<p>“Well,” said Brickermann, laughing the while, -“I used to know her quite well, and I should like -to meet you face to face, if you don’t mind, I am -so charmed with the music of your voice I am sure -I should be perfectly entranced with the magic of -your face.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo262.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="512" /> - -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Is Er-Er-Mr. Hopegood In?</span>”</p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>A merry peal of laughter from the other end -greeted this sally. The young man continued:</p> - -<p>“I used to come down some days about four<span class="pagenum" id="Page264">[264]</span> -o’clock to see Margie. Will you, my Unseen -Charmer, grant me the same high favor?”</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly! Come any day,” answered -the sweet voice which had so strangely bewitched -the young man. In ecstasy Brickermann shouted -back:</p> - -<p>“I’ll be down this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>Brickermann hung up the receiver, and, chuckling -with delight, he turned to his other duties -with the alacrity that a young spring chicken displays -when it suddenly discovers a big fat worm.</p> - -<p>By three-thirty o’clock he had arranged his -toilet, and stood before the mirror giving the finishing -twirl to his budding moustache. He brushed -his clothing the second time, brushed his hat, and, -figuratively speaking, arrayed in purple and fine -linen, he sallied forth. He boarded an elevated -train bound for the downtown district. On his -way down he tried to picture to himself the kind -of a girl he should meet at the Hopegoods. Would -she be tall or short of stature? Blonde or brunette? -Above twenty-one years of age or only sweet sixteen? -The quick arrival of the train at Park Place -put a period to Brickermann’s reverie. He went -tripping across a few blocks to the place where all -of his hopes had been centered during the past few -hours—in fact, days. Arrived there, he stepped -into the front office where “Margie” had formerly -presided. It was the same snug and cosy room, -but he failed to behold there the eagerly expected -young lady. Instead he ran amuck a chubby little<span class="pagenum" id="Page265">[265]</span> -boy, with a ruddy face and curly hair, and perhaps -not more than fourteen or fifteen years old, -sitting in “Margie’s” place.</p> - -<p>Brickermann was visibly embarrassed. He did -not know where to begin or what to say. He -twitched nervously at the glove which he carried -in his hand, and finally he stammered:</p> - -<p>“Is—er—Mr. Hopegood in?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said the boy. “Can I be of any service -to you?”</p> - -<p>Brickermann’s face turned blood red, and great -drops of perspiration stood out upon his forehead. -The accents of the little boy startled him, for they -were the same that had been wafted to him almost -daily along the wire and with which he thought -he had been enamored. In the midst of his confusion -he managed to say, hoping almost against -hope that his identity had not been discovered:</p> - -<p>“Well, er—er—I’ll call again.”</p> - -<p>And, without waiting to hear the Unseen Charmer -speak again, he hastily retired with as good -grace as was possible under the circumstances.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>OUR COUNTRY.</h2> - -<p>Boys and girls, we are all American citizens, -the last one of us. This is our country, as much -as it is the country of any other race, and we<span class="pagenum" id="Page266">[266]</span> -should love it and fight for it as our fathers have -loved, fought and died for it on many a battlefield. -We may be the descendants of Africans, but -we are citizens of the United States. This is our -home—our country. Let us believe it, in spite of -what some foolish people say. Therefore I am going -to give you one or two sentiments which you -should learn early in life in order to stimulate -your patriotism.</p> - -<p>1. May the honor of our country be without -stain.</p> - -<p>2. May the glory of America never cease to -shine.</p> - -<p>3. May every American manfully withstand -corruption.</p> - -<p>4. May reverence for the laws ever predominate -in the hearts of the American people.</p> - -<p>5. The sons and daughters of America, may -their union be cemented by love and affection, and -their offspring adorn the stations they are destined -to fill.</p> - -<p>6. May the growth of the American union -never be prevented by party spirit.</p> - -<p>7. The boys of America, may they be strong -and virtuous, manly and brave.</p> - -<p>8. The girls of America, may they prove to be -such in heart and life as will make them worthy -mothers of a strong and noble race.</p> - -<p>9. Health to our president, prosperity to our<span class="pagenum" id="Page267">[267]</span> -people, and may Congress direct its endeavors to -the public good.</p> - -<p><span class="dontwrap">10.—</span></p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">May Peace o’er America spread her wing,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And Commerce fill her ports with gold;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">May Arts and Science comfort bring,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And Liberty her sons enfold.<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE “DON’T-CARE” GIRL.</h2> - -<p>About the worst girl in all this world is the girl -who doesn’t care what people think or say about -her conduct; the girl who goes to every “hop,” to -every party, who stays out late at night with the -boys, who hangs over the gate and talks to them, -and who cuts a number of foolish capers, and then -when any one speaks to her, shoots her head ’way -up in the air, and turns up her nose, if she can, and -says boldly: “Oh, I don’t care; nobody has anything -to do with me!” She is the worst girl in -the world, and she will never come to any good -end. Every girl who is a law unto herself in regard -to all that she says or does is certain not -only to bring upon herself the condemnation of -those whose good opinion it is worth while to -have, but she will most certainly incur the punishment -of a just God. And sometimes, I am sorry -to say, I think that when a girl proudly declares -that she doesn’t care for the good opinion of others<span class="pagenum" id="Page268">[268]</span> -she does so because she knows that she has -already lost all right to that good opinion.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo268.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="536" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The “Don’t-Care” Girl.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>It is wrong, boys and girls, to undertake to run -roughshod over the so-called prejudices of the public. -It is a foolish thing to take delight in trying -to shock people by your boisterous and unladylike -and unbecoming conduct. Every really wise and -nice girl does care a good deal for the good opinion<span class="pagenum" id="Page269">[269]</span> -of others, and particularly for the good opinion -of persons older than she is. She recognizes -the fact that the laws of conventionality and of -good society are based upon what is right and -what is proper, and that no girl can with propriety -set them at naught.</p> - -<p>Some girls go so far as to say that they “don’t -care” what their own fathers and mothers think. -The wild girl who says this is setting at defiance -not only the human parental law, but also the law -of God, which plainly commands children to obey -their parents.</p> - -<p>Haven’t you ever seen a “don’t-care” girl? She -is nearly always reckless in manner and speech; -she is bold and defiant; she is impudent beyond -mention; and she is very fond of ridiculing girls -who do care a great deal what others think about -them.</p> - -<p>No matter whose children they are—no matter -what schools they have attended—these “don’t-care” -girls are no good, and good girls ought not -to associate with them. Every day such flippant -girls are treading on dangerous ground, and some -day, unless a merciful God prevents it, she will -come to open disgrace and die and go to torment. -I am hoping to see the day when all the “don’t-care” -girls will have passed out of existence, and -then all our girls will be of the refined and womanly -kind who do care a great deal about their conduct, -their manners and their morals. I don’t -want my daughter to associate with any other -kind.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page270">[270]</span></p> - -<h2>A PRAYER.</h2> - -<div class="poemcenter"> - -<div class="poem"> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">As the potter moulds the clay,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Slowly, gently, day by day,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till at length he brings to pass<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Beauty from a shapeless mass;<br /></span> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">So, dear Lord, with patient art,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Take Thou, now, my forward heart,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, O Lord, in love divine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mould and make me wholly thine.<br /></span> -</div> - -</div><!--poem--> - -</div><!--poemcenter--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>FREDERICK DOUGLASS TO YOUNG -PEOPLE.</h2> - -<p>Shortly before he died Frederick Douglass made -a tour through the South. Among other places he -visited Atlanta University. At that place he made -an address to the young people. It is so full of -hope and help that I wanted to place it where -every ambitious black boy and girl in America -can see it. It has never been published before, -except in the Bulletin of Atlanta University. Mr. -Douglass said:</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/illo270.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="589" /> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Frederick Douglass.</span></p> - -</div><!--figcenter--> - -<p>“My young friends: I see before me an assemblage -of young people, full of the blood of youth, -just entering upon the voyage of life. It is an interesting -spectacle to me, as to us all, to meet such -an assembly as I see before me this morning in -an institution of learning, of knowledge, and of -ethics and of Christian graces. I experience great<span class="pagenum" id="Page271">[271]</span> -pleasure in what I see to-day. There is no language -to describe my feelings. It was no mere image -that John saw and described in the apocalypse. -It was a new heaven and a new earth indeed. When -I look back upon the time when I was a fugitive -slave I recollect the evils and cruelty of slave-hunting.<span class="pagenum" id="Page272">[272]</span> -No mountain was so high, no valley was -so deep, no glen so secluded, no place so sacred to -liberty that I could put my foot upon it and say -I was free! But now I am free! Contrasting my -condition then and now the change exceeds what -John saw upon the isle of Patmos. A change vast -and wonderful, that came by the fulfilling of laws. -We got freed by laws, marvellous in our eyes. Men, -brave men, good men, who had the courage of -their convictions, were arrested and subjected to -persecutions, mobs, lawlessness, violence. They -had the conviction of truth. Simple truth lasts -forever!</p> - -<p>“Be not discouraged. There is a future for you -and a future for me. The resistance encountered -now predicates hope. The negro degraded, indolent, -lazy, indifferent to progress, is not objectionable -to the average public mind. Only as we -rise in the scale of proficiency do we encounter -opposition. When we see a ship that lies rotting -in the harbor, its seams yawning, its sides broken -in, taking water and sinking, it meets with no opposition; -but when its sails are spread to the -breeze, its top-sails and its royals flying, then there -is resistance. The resistance is in proportion to -its speed. In Memphis three negro men were -lynched, not because they were low and degraded, -but because they knew their business and other -men wanted their business.</p> - -<p>“I am delighted to see you all. Don’t be despondent. -Don’t measure yourselves from the white<span class="pagenum" id="Page273">[273]</span> -man’s standpoint; but measure yourselves by the -depths from which you have come. I measure -from these depths, and I see what Providence has -done. Daniel Webster said in his speech at the -dedication of Bunker Hill monument: ‘Bunker Hill -monument is completed. There it stands, a memorial -of the past, a monitor of the present, a -hope of the future. It looks, speaks, acts!’ So -this assembly is a monitor of the present, a memorial -of the past, a hope of the future. I see boys -and girls around me. Boys, you will be men some -day. Girls, you will be women some day. May -you become good men and women, intelligent men -and women, a credit to yourselves and your country.</p> - -<p>“I thank you for what I have experienced to-day -and I leave you reluctantly, and shall always -carry with me the pleasantest impressions of this -occasion.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page274">[274]</span></p> - -<h2>A GOOD FELLOW.</h2> - -<p>He was a good fellow.</p> - -<p>He spent his money like a Prince.</p> - -<p>There was nothing too good for him to do for -those with whom he kept company.</p> - -<p>He lived rapidly, and had no thought of to-morrow. -He burned the candle of life at both ends.</p> - -<p>To-day he is dead,—and those vampires who -sucked his life’s blood and helped him to spend his -money have no time to give him one thought.</p> - -<p>Ah, how insincere and empty is the title of -“good fellow” when it is applied to the man whose -money is always on tap for those who are desirous -of having a good time! And how corrupt and undesirable -are the so-called friendships which -spring from a lavish expenditure of money! Boys, -the roof over your heads covers the best friends -you could possibly have on earth. Those who slap -you on the shoulder and say hilariously, “Good -boy!” are seldom ever worth their salt. They like -you for what they can get out of you—that’s all!</p> - -<p>Real happiness in this world comes, if at all, -from living right and doing right. If you are a -good fellow in the sense of giving everybody a -“good time” with your hard-earned means, I -warn you that, when your money gives out, all -your friends will desert you, and when you die<span class="pagenum" id="Page275">[275]</span> -they will be the last ones to come near you, and -may even laugh at what a fool you made of yourself!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>THE FUTURE OF THE NEGRO.</h2> - -<p>My dear boys and girls, I have written nearly -one hundred stories for this book and I have not -said one word about the so-called Race Problem. -I have done this on purpose. I believe that the less -you think about the troubles of the race and the -less you talk about them and the more time you -spend in hard and honest work, believing in God -and trusting him for the future, the better it will -be for all concerned. I know, of course, that the -sufferings which are inflicted upon the colored -people in this country are many and grievous. I -know that we are discriminated against in many -ways—on common carriers, in public resorts and -even in private life. The right to vote is being -taken away from us in nearly all the Southern -states. Lynchings are on the increase. Not only -our men but our women also are being burned at -the stake. What shall we do? There are those -who say that we must strike back—use fire and -torch and sword and shotgun ourselves. But I tell -you plainly that we cannot afford to do that. The -white people have all the courts, all the railroads,<span class="pagenum" id="Page276">[276]</span> -all the newspapers, all the telegraph wires, all the -arms and ammunition and double the men that we -have. In every race riot the negro would get the -worst of it finally. But there is a higher reason -than that. We cannot afford to do wrong. We -cannot afford to lose our decency, our self-respect, -our character. No man will ever be the superior -of the man he robs; no man will ever be the -superior of the man he steals from. I would rather -be a victim than a victimizer. I would rather be -wronged than to do wrong. And no race is -superior to the race it tramples upon, robs, maltreats -and murders. In spite of prejudice; in spite -of proscription; in spite of nameless insults and -injuries, we cannot as a race, afford to do wrong. -But we can afford to be patient. God is -not dead. His chariots are not unwheeled. -It is ordained of God that races, as well -as individuals, shall rise through tribulations. -And during this period of stress and strain -through which we are passing in this country I -believe that there are unseen forces marshalled in -the defense of our long-suffering and much-oppressed -people. “They that be with us are more -than they that be with them.” What should we -care, then, though all the lowlands be filled with -threats, if the mountains of our hope and courage -and patience are filled with horses and -chariots of Divine rescue?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page277">[277]</span></p> - -<h2>THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.</h2> - -<p>My last words shall be to parents. Many parents -neglect the training of their children until -the boys and girls have grown to be almost men -and women, and then they expect all at once to -develop them into well-rounded characters, as if -by magic. Others fix upon a definite time in life—say, -ten or twelve years old—before which time -they say it is unnecessary to seek to make lasting -impressions upon the minds of children, all unconscious -of the fact that the character may have -been long before that period biased for good or -evil.</p> - -<p>I say it deliberately—it is a deep and abiding -conviction with me, that the time to begin to -shape the character of children is as soon as they -begin to know their own mothers from other -mothers, or as soon as they, become awake to the -events which are taking place around them. The -farmer who has the notion that his child can wait, -does not dare to let his corn and cotton wait. He -has observed that there are noxious weeds which -spring up side by side with the seed he has -planted, and, marvelous to say, the weeds outgrow -the plants. They must, therefore, be cut -down and kept down, or else they will ruin the -crop.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page278">[278]</span></p> - -<p>Side by side with your tender babe in arms -there are growing now, dear mothers, the poisonous -tares. They are rooted already in the child’s -heart, and, unless they are stricken down pretty -soon, they will dominate the child’s life. And, of -course, there is only one way to destroy evil—that -is, to plant good in its stead. If there is one untenanted -chamber in your child’s heart, inhabit -it, I pray you, with nobler and purer thoughts -which before long shall bring forth fruit unto -God. Satan does not wait, I assure you; he never -allows a vacancy to remain unoccupied in anybody’s -heart, old or young. He rushes into empty -hearts and idle lives and sows tares thicker than -the strewn leaves of autumn. It is an old and -senseless and barbarian custom which has taught -us that the child can wait or must wait. If anybody -must wait at table to be served, it is usually -the little child, who may be the hungriest of all; -if some one must remain away from church or -Sunday-school, it is often the youngest child, who -perhaps needs most to go; if some one must be -kept out of the day-school, it is the smallest child, -of course; and during the year that he remains -idle he may receive impressions and learn lessons -that will mar his whole future life. Let us have -done with this barbaric practice. Make room for -the children; give them not only the first place but -the best place.</p> - -<p>In almost any city in the South any Sunday in -the year you will find more children—more boys<span class="pagenum" id="Page279">[279]</span> -and girls—outside of the Sunday-schools than you -will find inside. There is a loud and crying call -sounding from the past and from the future and -bidding mothers and fathers to be more diligent -in the matter of having their children embrace -opportunities of growth and spiritual culture -which are almost within a stone’s throw. If -mothers and fathers will not hear and obey this -clarion call I believe that they will be brought to -account for it in the day of judgment. Not only -so, but in the years to come they will be compelled -to wail out their sorrow over prodigal sons and -daughters who might have proven to be ornaments -to society and to the church if their parents -had devoted half the care upon them that they -expended upon colts and calves, kittens and puppies -that grew up with them!</p> - -<p>In all earnestness I implore those to whom God -has given winsome little children to begin early, -as early as thy find it possible, to train their -young lives for God and heaven. Let their little -voices learn early to lisp the precious name of -Jesus and be attuned to sing His praise. If you -leave them this legacy—than which there is none -greater—there will come peace and joy to your -old age, and the light of heaven, like the golden -glow of a radiant sunset, will rest on your dying -bed.</p> - -<p>And now, as I close these stories, there comes to -me across the intervening space of silence and of -tears fond memories of a sweet and patient<span class="pagenum" id="Page280">[280]</span> -mother. I cannot remember when she began to -talk to me of Jesus nor read to me the word of -God. I remember well when she taught me how to -read, and the old-fashioned blue back spelling -book is as plainly before me now as in those long -past days. But, long before that, I had heard her -read the Bible and raise her voice in prayer for all -whom she loved. And to-day those memories live -when a thousand busy scenes of after life lie dead. -And when old age comes on—if God should spare -me to be old—the memory of my mother’s words -and her reverential prayers will be the brightest -of all the joys that shall light up the evening of -my life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center highline4">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="tnbot" id="TN"> - -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>The language of the original publication has been retained, including unusual and inconsistent spelling, except as listed below.</p> - -<p>The cover image (the dust jacket of the source publication) and possibly some of the illustrations are for a -combined edition of two different books; this e-text only contains the Short Stories for Colored People Both Old and Young.</p> - -<p>Depending on the hard- and software used not all elements may display as intended.</p> - -<p>Title page, The Gospel of Serv’ce and other Sermons: as printed in the source document.</p> - -<p>Page 31, ... that there were something ...: as printed in the source document.</p> - -<p>Page 65, Uncle Ned and the Insurance Solicitor: the source document has a footnote marker on this page, but no footnote. -Possibly the footnote refers to an earlier, slightly different, publication of this story in Lippincott’s Magazine. </p> - -<p>Page 133, Henry Holt and David Oliver appear to be the same person.</p> - -<p class="blankbefore1">Changes made</p> - -<p>Footnotes have been moved to directly under the story in which they occur; illustrations have been moved out of text paragraphs.</p> - -<p>Some obvious minor typographical errors have been corrected silently.</p> - -<p>Page 216, the verse Gross Deception has been treated as a separate chapter.</p> - -<p>Page 263: illustration caption changed to small capitals as other captions.</p> - -</div><!--tnbot--> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Silas X. 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