,illustration3 ,in the glowing heart of 
the fire she saw her home warm with holy
 love4  ,,their ,,yesterdays   ,by3     
,,harold ,,bell ,,wright   ,author of   
,the ,winning ,of ,barbara ,worth etc41 
etc4      ,with illustrations by ,f4    
,,graham ,,cootes      ,to ,mrs4        
,elsbery ,w4 ,reynolds  ,in admiration  
of the splendid motherhood that1 in her 
sons1 has contributed such wealth of    
manhood to the race4 ,and1 in her       
daughter1 has given to human-kind such  
riches of womanhood4 ,with kindest      
regards1 ,i inscribe this book4  ,h4 ,b4
 ,w4  ,relay ,heights ,june #h1 #aiab   
,behold the child1 by ,nature's kindly  
law1 ,pleased with a rattle1 tickled    
with a straw2 ,some livelier plaything  
gives his youth delight1 ,a little      
louder1 but as empty quite2 ,scarfs1    
garters1 gold1 amuse his riper stage1   
,and beads and prayer-books are the toys
 of age2 ,pleased with this bauble      
still1 as that before2 ,till tired he   
sleeps1 and life's poor play is o'er4   

,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,man--,pope4         
,,proem  ,there was a man4  ,and it     
happened--as such things often so       
happen--that this man went back into his
 days that were gone4 ,again and again  
and again he went back4 ,even as every  
man1 even as you and ,i1 so this man    
went back into his ,yesterdays4         
,then--why then there was a woman4  ,and
 it happened--as such things sometimes  
so happen--that this woman also went    
back into her days that were gone4      
,again and again and again she went     
back4 ,even as every woman1 even as you 
and ,i1 so this woman went back into her
 ,yesterdays4  ,so it happened--as such 
things do happen--that the ,yesterdays  
of this man and the ,yesterdays of this 
woman became ,their ,yesterdays1 and    
that they went back1 then1 no more alone
 but always together4  ,even as one1    
they1 forever after1 went back4         
,what ,they ,found in ,their ,yesterdays
  ,and the man and the woman who went   
back into ,their ,yesterdays found there

 the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of 
,life4 ,just as they found these things 
in their grown up days1 even unto the   
end1 so they found them in ,their       
,yesterdays4  ,thirteen ,truly ,great   
,things of ,life there are4 ,no life can
 have less4 ,no life can have more4 ,all
 of life is in them4 ,no life is without
 them all4  ,dreams1 ,occupation1       
,knowledge1 ,ignorance1 ,religion1      
,tradition1 ,temptation1 ,life1 ,death1 
,failure1 ,success1 ,love1 ,memories3   
these are the ,thirteen ,truly ,great   
,things of ,life--found by the man and  
the woman in their grown up days--found 
by them in ,their ,yesterdays--and they 
found no others4  ,it does not matter   
where this man and this woman lived1 nor
 who they were1 nor what they did4 ,it  
does not matter when or how many times  
they went back into ,their ,yesterdays4 
,these things are all that they found4  
,and they found these things even as    
every man and woman finds them1 even as 
you and ,i find them1 in our days that  

are and in our days that were--in our   
grown up days and in our ,yesterdays4   
,and it is so that in all of these      
,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of ,life
 there is a man and there is a woman4   
,,the ,,thirteen ,,truly ,,great        
,,things ,,of ,,life  ,,dreams          
,,occupation  ,,knowledge  ,,ignorance  
,,religion  ,,tradition  ,,temptation   
,,life  ,,death  ,,failure  ,,success   
,,love  ,,memories      ,,their         
,,yesterdays     ,,dreams  ,the man1 for
 the first time1 stood face to face with
 ,life and1 for the first time1 knew    
that he was a man4  ,for a long time he 
had known that some day he would be a   
man4 ,but he had always thought of his  
manhood as a matter of years4 ,he had   
said to himself3 when ,i am twenty-one1 
,i will be a man4 ,he did not know1     
then1 that twenty-one years--that indeed
 three times twenty-one years--cannot   
make a man4 ,he did not know1 then1 that
 men are made of other things than      
years4  ,i cannot tell you the man's    

name1 nor the names of his parents1 nor 
his exact age1 nor just where he lived1 
nor any of those things4 ,for my story1 
such things are of no importance        
whatever4 ,but this is of the greatest  
importance3 as the man1 for the first   
time1 stood face to face with ,life and1
 for the first time1 realized his       
manhood1 his manhood life began in      
,dreams4  ,it is the dreams of life     
that1 at the beginning of life1 matter4 
,of the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things 
of ,life1 ,dreams are first4  ,it was   
green fruit time4 ,from the cherry tree 
that grew in the upper corner of the    
garden next door1 close by the hedge    
that separated the two places1 the      
blossoms were gone and the tiny cherries
 were already well formed4 ,the nest1   
that a pair of little brown birds had   
made that spring in the hedge1 was just 
empty1 and1 from the green laden        
branches of the tree1 the little brown  
mother was calling anxious advice and   
sweet worried counsel to her sons and   

daughters who were trying their new     
wings4  ,in the cemetery on the hill1   
beside a grave over which the sod had   
formed thick and firm1 there was now    
another grave--another grave so new that
 on it no blade of grass had started--so
 new that the yellow earth in the long  
rounded mound was still moist and the   
flowers that tried with such loving1    
tender1 courage1 to hide its nakedness  
were not yet wilted4 ,cut in the block  
of white marble that marked the         
grass-grown grave were the dearest words
 in any tongue--,wife and ,mother2      
while1 for the new-made mound that lay  
so close beside1 the workmen were       
carving on a companion stone the        
companion words4  ,there were two other 
smaller graves nearby--one of them quite
 small--but they did not seem to matter 
so much to the tall young fellow who had
 said to himself so many times3 when ,i 
am twenty-one1 ,i will be a man4 ,it was
 the two graves marked by the companion 
words that mattered4 ,and certainly he  

did not1 at that time1 feel himself a   
man4 ,as he left the cemetery to go home
 with an old neighbor and friend of the 
family1 he felt himself rather a very   
small and lonely boy in a very big and  
empty world4  ,but there had been many  
things to do in those next few days1    
with no one but himself to do them4     
,there had been1 in the voices of his   
friends1 a note that was new4 ,in the   
manner of the men who had come to talk  
with him on matters of business1 he had 
felt a something that he had never felt 
before4 ,and he had seen the            
auctioneer--a lifelong friend of his    
father--standing on the front porch of  
his boyhood home and had heard him cry  
the low spoken bids and answer the      
nodding heads of the buyers in a voice  
that was hoarse with something more than
 long speaking in the open air4 ,and    
then--and then--at last had come the    
sharp blow of the hammer on the porch   
railing and from the trembling lips of  
the old auctioneer the word3 ,sold4  ,it

 was as though that hammer had fallen on
 the naked heart of the boy4 ,it was as 
though the auctioneer had shouted3      
,dead4  ,and so the time had come1 a    
week later1 when he must go for a last  
look at the home that was his no longer4
 ,very slowly he had walked about the   
yard2 pausing a little before each tree 
and bush and plant2 putting forth his   
hand1 at times1 to touch them softly as 
though he would make sure that they were
 there for he saw them dimly through a  
mist4 ,the place was strangely hushed   
and still4 ,the birds and bees and even 
the butterflies seemed to have gone     
somewhere far away4 ,very slowly he had 
gone up the steps to open the front     
door4 ,very slowly he had passed from   
room to room in the empty1 silent1      
house4 ,on the kitchen porch he had     
paused again1 for a little1 because he  
could not see the steps2 then had gone  
on to the well1 the garden1 the         
woodhouse1 the shop1 the barn1 and so   
out into the orchard that shaded the    

gently rising slope of the hill beyond  
the house4 ,at the farther side of the  
orchard1 on the brow of the hill1 he had
 climbed the rail fence and had seated  
himself on the ground where he could    
look out and away over the familiar     
meadows and fields and pastures4  ,a    
bobo-link1 swinging on a nearby bush1   
poured forth a tumbling torrent of      
silvery melody4 ,behind him1 on the     
fence1 a meadow lark answered with      
liquid music4 ,about him on every side1 
in the soft sunlight1 the bluebirds were
 flitting here and there1 twittering    
cheerily the while over their bluebird  
tasks4 ,and a woodpecker1 hard at work  
in the orchard shade1 made himself known
 by the din of his industry4  ,but the  
man1 who did not yet quite realize that 
he was a man1 gave no heed to these busy
 companions of his boyhood4 ,to him1 it 
was as though those men with their      
shovels had heaped that mound of naked1 
yellow1 earth upon his heart4 ,the      
world1 for him1 was as empty as the old 

house down there under the orchard hill4
 ,for a long time he sat very           
still--seeing nothing1 hearing nothing1 
heeding nothing--conscious only of that 
dull1 aching1 loneliness--conscious only
 of that heavy weight of pain4  ,a mile 
or more away1 beyond the fields1 a      
moving column of smoke from a locomotive
 lifted itself into the sky above the   
tree tops and streamed back a long1     
dark1 banner4 ,as the column of smoke   
moved steadily on toward the distant    
horizon1 the young man on the hilltop   
watched it listlessly4 ,then1 as his    
mind outran the train to the cities that
 lay beyond the line of the sky1 his    
eyes cleared1 his countenance           
brightened1 his thoughts went outward   
toward the great world where great men  
toil mightily2 and the long1 dark1      
banner of smoke that hung above the     
moving train became to him as a flag of 
battle leading swiftly toward the front4
 ,eagerly now he watched--watched until1
 far away1 the streaming column of smoke

 passed from sight around a wooded hill 
and faint and clear through the still   
air--a bugle call to his ears--came the 
long challenging whistle4  ,then it was 
that he realized his manhood--knew that 
he was a man--and understood that       
manhood is not a matter of only         
twenty-one years4 ,and then it was--as  
he sat there alone on the brow of the   
little hill with his boyhood years dead 
behind him and the years of his manhood 
before--that his manhood life began1    
even as the manhood life of every man   
really begins1 with his ,dreams4        
,indeed it is true that all life really 
begins in dreams4 ,surely the lover     
dreams of his mistress--the maiden of   
her mate4 ,surely mothers dream of the  
little ones that sleep under their      
hearts and fathers plan for their       
children before they hold them in their 
arms4 ,every work of man is first       
conceived in the worker's soul and      
wrought out first in his dreams4 ,and   
the wondrous world itself1 with its     

myriad forms of life1 with its grandeur1
 its beauty and its loveliness2 the     
stars and the heavenly bodies of light  
that crown the universe2 the marching of
 the days from the ,infinite to the     
,infinite2 the procession of the years  
from ,eternity to ,eternity2 all this1  
indeed1 is but ,god's good dream4 ,and  
the hope of immortality--of that better 
life that lies beyond the horizon of our
 years--what a vision is that--what a   
wondrous dream--given us by ,god to     
inspire1 to guide1 to comfort1 to hold  
us true6  ,with wide eyes the man looked
 out upon a wide world somewhat as a    
conquering emperor1 confident in his    
armed strength1 might from a hilltop    
look out over the scene of a coming     
battle4 ,he did not see the grinding    
hardships1 the desperate struggles1 the 
disastrous losses1 the pitiful          
suffering4 ,the dreadful dangers did not
 grip his heart4 ,the horrid fear of    
defeat did not strike his soul4 ,he did 
not know the dragging weight of         

responsibility nor the dead weariness of
 a losing fight4 ,he saw only the deeds 
of mighty valor1 the glorious           
exhibitions of courage1 of heroism1 of  
strength4 ,he felt only the thrill of   
victories1 the pride of honors and      
renown4 ,he knew only the inspiration of
 a high purpose4 ,he heard only the call
 to greatness4 ,and it was well that in 
his ,dreams there were only these4  ,the
 splendid strength of young manhood     
stirred mightily in his limbs4 ,the     
rich1 red1 blood of youth moved swiftly 
in his veins4 ,his eager spirit shouted 
aloud in exultation of the deeds that he
 would do4 ,and1 surely1 it was no shame
 to him that at this moment1 when for   
the first time he realized his manhood1 
this man1 in his secret heart1 felt     
himself to be a leader of men1 a        
conqueror of men1 a savior of men4 ,it  
was no shame to him that he felt the    
salvation of the world depending upon   
him4  ,and he was right4 ,upon him and  
upon such as he the salvation of the    

world does depend4 ,but it is well1     
indeed1 that these unrecognized1        
dreaming1 saviors of the world do not   
know1 as they dream1 that their crosses1
 even then1 are being prepared for them4
 ,it is their salvation that they do not
 know4 ,it is the salvation of the world
 that they do not know4  ,and then1 as  
one from the deck of a ship bound for a 
foreign land looks back upon his native 
shore when the vessel puts out from the 
harbor1 this man turned from his years  
that were to come to his years that were
 past and from dreaming of his future   
slipped back into the dreams of his     
,yesterdays4 ,perhaps it was the song of
 the bobo-link that did it2 or it may   
have been the music of the meadow lark2 
or perhaps it was the bluebird's        
cheerful notes1 or the woodpecker's loud
 tattoo--whatever it was that brought it
 about1 the man dreamed again the dreams
 of his boyhood--dreamed them even as he
 dreamed the dreams of his manhood4     
,and there was no one to tell him that1 

in dreaming1 his boyhood and his manhood
 were the same4  ,once again a boy1 on a
 drowsy summer afternoon1 he lay in the 
shade of the orchard trees or1 in the   
big barn1 sought the mow of new mown    
hay1 and1 with half closed eyes1 slipped
 away from the world that droned and    
hummed and buzzed so lazily about him   
into another and better world of        
stirring adventure and brave deeds4     
,once again1 when the sun was hidden    
under heavy skies and a steady pouring  
rain shut him in1 through the dusk of   
the attic he escaped from the narrow    
restrictions of the house1 and1 from his
 gloomy prison1 went out into a         
fairyland of romance1 of knighthood1 and
 of chivalry4 ,again it was winter time 
and the world was buried deep under     
white drifts1 with all its brightness   
and beauty of meadow and forest hidden  
by the cold mantle1 and all its music of
 running brooks and singing birds hushed
 by an icy hand1 when1 snug and warm    
under blankets and comforters1 after an 

evening of stories1 he slipped away into
 the wonderland of dreams--not the      
irresponsible1 sleeping1 dreams--those  
do not count--but the dreams that come  
between waking and sleeping1 wherein a  
boy dare do all the great deeds he ever 
read about and can be all the things    
that ever were put in books for boys to 
wish they were4  ,oh1 but those were    
brave dreams--those dreams of his       
,yesterdays6 ,no cruel necessity of life
 hedged them in4 ,no wall of the        
practical or possible set a limit upon  
them4 ,no right or wrong decreed the way
 they should go4 ,in his ,yesterdays1   
there were fairy ,godmothers to endow   
him with unlimited power and to grant   
all his wishes1 even unto mountains of  
golden wealth and vast caverns filled   
with all manner of precious gems4 ,in   
his ,yesterdays1 there were wicked      
giants and horrid dragons and evil      
beasts to kill1 with always a good      
,genii to see that they did not harm him
 the while he bravely took their baleful

 lives4 ,in his ,yesterdays1 he was a   
prince in gorgeous raiment2 an emperor  
with jeweled scepter and golden crown2 a
 knight in armor1 with a sword and      
proudly stepping horse of war2 he was a 
soldier leading a forlorn hope2 or a    
general1 with his plumed staff officers 
about him1 directing the battle from a  
mountain top2 he was a sailor cast away 
on a desert island2 or a captain        
commanding his ship in a storm or1      
clinging to the shrouds in a smother of 
battle flame and smoke1 shouting his    
orders through a trumpet to his gallant 
crew2 he was a pirate2 a robber chief2 a
 red ,indian2 a hunter2 a scout of the  
plains--he could be anything1 in those  
dreams of his ,yesterdays1 anything4    
,so1 even as the man1 the boy had       
dreamed4 ,but the man did not think of  
it in that way--the dreams of his       
manhood were too real4  ,then in his    
,yesterdays would come1 also1 the       
putting of his dreams into action1 for  
the play of children1 even as the works 

of men1 are only dreams in action after 
all4 ,the quiet orchard became a vast   
and pathless forest wherein lurked wild 
beasts and savage men ready to pounce   
upon the daring hunter2 or1 perhaps1 it 
was an enchanted wood with lords and    
ladies imprisoned in the trees while in 
the carriage house--which was not a     
carriage house at all but a great       
castle--a cruel giant held captive their
 beautiful princess4 ,the haymow was a  
robbers' cave wherein great wealth of   
booty was stored2 the garden1 a desert  
island on which lived the poor castaway4
 ,and many a long summer hour the bold  
captain clung to the rigging of his     
favorite apple tree ship and gazed out  
over the waving meadow sea1 or the      
general of the army1 on his rail fence  
war horse1 directed the battle from the 
hilltop or led the desperate charge4    
,but rarely1 in his ,yesterdays1 could  
the boy put his dreams into successful  
action alone4 ,alone he could dream but 
to realize his dreams1 he needs must    

have the help of another4 ,and so she   
came to take her place in his life1 to  
help him play out his dreams--the little
 girl who lived next door4  ,who was    
she8 ,why1 she was the beautiful        
princess held captive by the giant in   
his carriage house castle until rescued 
by the brave prince who came to her     
through the enchanted wood4 ,she was the
 crew of the apple tree ship2 the robber
 band2 the army following her general in
 his victorious charge2 and the relief  
expedition that found the castaway on   
his desert island4 ,sometimes she was   
even a cannibal chief1 or a monster     
dragon1 or a cruel wild beast4 ,and     
always--though the boy did not know--she
 was a good fairy weaving many spells   
for his happiness4  ,the man remembered 
well enough the first time that he met  
her4 ,a new family was moving into the  
house that stood just below the garden  
and1 from his seat on the gate post1 the
 boy was watching the big wagons1 loaded
 with household goods1 as they turned   

into the neighboring yard4 ,on the high 
seat of one of the wagons was the little
 girl4 ,a big man lifted her down and   
the boy1 watching1 saw her run gaily    
into the house4 ,for some time he held  
his place1 swinging his bare legs       
impatiently1 but he did not see the     
little girl come out into the yard      
again4 ,then1 dropping to the ground1   
the boy slipped along the garden fence  
under the currant bushes to a small     
opening in the hedge that separated the 
two places4 ,very cautiously1 at first1 
he peered through the branches4 ,then1  
upon finding all quiet1 he grew bolder1 
and on hands and knees crept part way   
through the little green tunnel to find 
himself1 all suddenly1 face to face with
 her4  ,that was the beginning4 ,the end
 had come several years later when the  
family had moved again4  ,the parting1  
too1 he remembered well enough4 ,a boy  
and girl parting it was4 ,and the       
promises--boy and girl promises they    
were4 ,at first many poorly written1    

awkwardly expressed1 laboriously        
compiled1 but warmly interesting letters
 were exchanged4 ,then the letters      
became shorter and shorter2 the         
intervals between grew longer and       
longer2 until1 even as childhood itself 
goes1 she had slipped out of his life4  
,even as the brave dreams of his boyhood
 she had gone--even as his ,yesterdays4 
,the bobo-link had long ago left his    
swinging bush4 ,the meadow lark had gone
 to find his mate in a distant field4   
,the twittering bluebirds had finished  
their tasks4 ,the woodpecker had ceased 
from his labor4 ,the sunshine was       
failing fast4 ,faint and far away1      
through the still twilight air1 came the
 long1 clear1 whistle of another train  
that was following swiftly the iron ways
 to the world of men4  ,the man on the  
hill came back from his                 
,yesterdays--came back to wonder3 where 
is the little girl now8 ,has she changed
 much8 ,her eyes would be the same and  
her hair--only a little darker perhaps4 

,and does she ever go back into the     
,yesterdays8 ,it is not likely1 he      
thought1 no doubt she is far too busy   
caring for her children and attending to
 her household duties to think of her   
childhood days and her childhood        
playmate4 ,and what would her husband be
 like8 he wondered4  ,there was no woman
 in the dreams of the man who that      
afternoon1 for the first time1 realized 
his manhood and began his manhood life4 
,he dreamed only of the deeds that he   
would do2 of the work he would          
accomplish2 of the place he would win2  
and of the honors he would receive4 ,the
 little girl lived for him only in his  
,yesterdays4 ,she did not belong to his 
manhood years4 ,she had no place in his 
manhood dreams4  ,slowly he climbed the 
rail fence again and1 through the       
orchard1 went down the hill toward the  
house4 ,but he did not again enter the  
house4 ,he went on past the kitchen     
porch to the garden gate where he stood1
 for some minutes1 looking toward the   

hedge that separated the two places and 
toward the cherry tree that grew in the 
corner of the garden next door4  ,at the
 big front gate he paused again and     
turned lingeringly as one reluctant to  
go4 ,the old home in the twilight seemed
 so lonely1 so deserted by all to whom  
it had been most kind4  ,at last1 with a
 movement suggestive of a determination 
that could not have belonged to his     
boyhood1 he set his face toward the     
world4 ,down the little hill in the dusk
 of the evening he went1 walking        
quickly2 past the house where the little
 girl had lived2 across the creek at the
 foot of the hill2 and on up the easy   
rise beyond4 ,and1 as he went1 there was
 on his face the look of a man4 ,there  
was in his eyes a new light--the light  
of a man's dream4 ,nor did he once look 
back4  ,to-morrow he would leave the    
friends of his boyhood2 he would leave  
the scenes of his ,yesterdays2 he would 
go to work out his dreams--even as in   
his ,yesterdays1 he would play them     

out--for the works of men are as the    
plays of children but dreams in action1 
after all4  ,would he1 could he1 play   
out his manhood dreams alone8  ,and the 
woman also1 for the first time1 was face
 to face with ,life and1 for the first  
time1 knew that she was a woman4  ,for a
 long while she had seen her womanhood  
approaching4 ,little by little1 as her  
skirts had been lengthened1 as her dolls
 had been put away1 as her hair had been
 put up1 she had seen her womanhood     
drawing near4 ,but she had always said  
to herself3 when ,i do not play with    
dolls1 when ,i can dress like mother1   
and fix my hair like mother1 ,i will be 
a woman4 ,she did not know1 then1 that  
womanhood is a matter of things very    
different from these4 ,until that night 
she did not know4 ,but that night she   
knew4  ,i cannot tell you the woman's   
name1 nor where she lived1 nor any of   
those things that are commonly told     
about women in stories4 ,but1 as my     
story is not that kind of a story1 it   

will not matter that ,i cannot tell4    
,what really matters to my story is     
this3 the woman1 that night1 when1 for  
the first time1 she knew herself to be a
 woman1 began her woman life in dreams4 
,because the dreams of life are of the  
greatest importance--because ,dreams are
 of the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things 
of ,life--this is my story3 that the    
woman life of this woman1 when first she
 knew herself to be a woman1 began in   
dreams4  ,it was the time of the first  
roses4 ,for a week or more she had been 
very busy with a loving1 tender1 joyous1
 occupation that left her no time to    
think of herself4 ,her dearest          
friend--her girlhood's most intimate    
companion1 and1 save for herself1 the   
last of their little circle--was to be  
married and she was to be bridesmaid4   
,they had been glad days--those days of 
preparation--for she rejoiced greatly in
 the happiness of her friend and had    
shared1 as fully as it was possible for 
another to share1 the sweet sacredness1 

the holy mysteriousness1 and the proud  
triumph of it all4 ,but with the        
gladness of those days1 there had come  
into her heart a strange quietness like 
the quietness of an empty room that is  
furnished and ready but without a       
tenant4  ,at the wedding that evening   
she had been all that a bridesmaid      
should be1 even to the last white ribbon
 and the last handful of rice1 for she  
would that no shadow of a cloud should  
come over the happiness of her friend4  
,but when the new-made husband and wife 
had been put safely aboard the ,pullman1
 and1 with the group on the depot       
platform frantically waving hats and    
handkerchiefs and shouting good lucks   
and farewells1 the train had pulled     
away1 the loneliness in her heart had   
become too great to hide4 ,her escort   
had made smart jokes about her tears1   
alleging disappointment and envy4 ,he   
was a poor1 shallow1 witless1 fool who  
could not understand2 and that he could 
not understand mattered1 to her1 not at 

all4 ,she had commanded him to take her 
home and at her front door had thanked  
him and sent him away4  ,and then it    
was--in the blessed privacy of her own  
room1 with the door locked and the      
shades drawn close1 with her wedding    
finery thrown aside and the need of     
self-repression no longer               
imperative--that1 as she sat in a low   
chair before the fire1 she looked1 for  
the first time1 boldly at ,life and1 for
 the first time1 knew that she was a    
woman--knew that womanhood was not a    
matter of long skirts1 of hair dressing1
 and the putting away of dolls4  ,she   
was tired1 very tired1 from the         
responsibilities and excitement of the  
day but she did not feel that she could 
sleep4 ,from the fire1 she looked up to 
the clock that ticked away so           
industriously on the mantle4 ,it was a  
little clock with a fat1 golden1 cupid  
grasping the dial in his chubby arms as 
though striving to do away with time    
when he might better have been busy with

 his bow and arrows4 ,the hands of the  
clock pointed nearly midnight4 ,the     
young woman looked into the fire again4 
,already her girl friend had been a wife
 several hours--a wife4 ,already the    
train was miles away bearing the newly  
wedded ones to their future home--their 
home4 ,the hours would go swiftly into  
days1 the days into weeks and months and
 years1 and there would be boys and     
girls--their children4 ,and the years   
would go swiftly as the days and there  
would be the weddings of their sons and 
daughters and then--the children of     
their children4  ,and the woman who that
 night knew that she was a woman--the   
woman whose heart1 as she sat alone     
before the fire1 was even as an empty   
room--a room that is furnished and ready
 but without a tenant--what1 this woman 
asked herself1 would the years bring    
her8 ,the years of her childhood and    
girlhood were past4 ,what of her        
womanhood years that were to come8      
,there are many doors in the life of    

these modern days at which a woman may  
knock with hope of being admitted2 and  
this woman1 as she sat alone before her 
fire that night1 paused before them     
all--all save two4 ,two doors she saw   
but did not pause before2 and one of    
them was idleness and pleasure4 ,and one
 other door there is that stands open   
wide so that there is no need to knock  
for admittance4 ,before this wide open  
door the woman paused a long time4 ,it  
is older than the other doors4 ,it is   
very1 very1 old4 ,since the beginning it
 has never been closed4 ,but though it  
stood open so wide and there was no need
 to knock for admittance1 still the     
woman could not enter for she was alone4
 ,no woman may enter that old1 old1 open
 door1 alone4  ,three times before she  
had stood before that ancient door and  
had been urged to cross the threshold2  
but always she had hesitated1 had held  
back1 and turned away4 ,she wondered if 
always she would hesitate1 if always she
 would turn away2 or would some one come

 with whom she could gladly1 joyously1  
confidently1 cross the threshold4 ,she  
could not say4 ,she could only wait4    
,and while she waited she would knock at
 one of the other doors4 ,she would     
knock because she must4 ,the custom of  
the age1 necessity1 circumstances1      
forced her to knock at one of those     
doors that1 in the life of these modern 
days1 opens to women who seek admittance
 alone4  ,i cannot tell just what the   
circumstances of the woman's life were  
nor why it was necessary4 ,nor does it  
in the least matter that ,i cannot tell4
 ,the necessity1 the circumstances1 have
 nothing to do with my story save this3 
that1 whatever they were1 ,i am quite   
sure they ought not to have been4 ,i am 
quite sure that any circumstance1 or    
necessity1 or custom1 that forces a     
woman who knows herself to be a woman to
 seek admittance at any one of those    
doors through which she must enter alone
 is not right4 ,this it is that belongs 
to my story3 the woman did not wish to  

enter the life that lies on the other   
side of those doors through which she   
must go alone4  ,alone in her room that 
night1 with the shades drawn close and  
the only light the light of the dancing 
fire1 this woman who1 for the first     
time1 knew herself to be a woman1 did   
not dream of a life on the other side of
 those doors at which she must ask      
admittance4 ,she dreamed of a future    
beyond the old1 old1 door that has stood
 open wide since the beginning4  ,and it
 was no shame to her that she so        
dreamed4 ,it was no shame that she      
called before her1 one by one1 those who
 had asked her to cross with them the   
threshold and those who might still ask 
her4 ,it was no shame that1 while her   
heart said always1 no1 she still        
waited--waited for one whom she knew not
 but only knew that she would know him  
when he came4 ,and it was no shame to   
her that1 even while this was so1 she   
saw herself in the years to come a wife 
and mother4 ,in the glowing heart of the

 fire she saw her home warm with holy   
love1 bright with sacred companionship4 
,in the dancing flames she saw her      
children--happy1 beautiful1 children4   
,nor did she in her dreams fear the     
flickering shadows that came and went   
for in the dusk of the room she felt the
 dear presence of that one who was to be
 her other self2 who was to be to her   
strength in her weakness1 hope in her   
sadness1 and comfort in her mourning4   
,it is well indeed that the shadows of  
life bring no fears into our dreams else
 we would not dare to dream and life    
itself would lose its purpose and its   
meaning4  ,so the woman saw her future1 
not in the shadows that came and went   
upon the wall1 but in the glowing heart 
of the fire4 ,and1 as she dreamed her   
dreams of womanhood1 her face grew      
beautiful with a tender1 thoughtful1    
beauty that is given only to those women
 who dream such dreams4 ,with the       
realization of her womanhood and the    
beginning of her woman life1 her lips   

curved in a smile that was different    
from the smile of girlhood and there    
came into her eyes a light that was     
never there before4 ,and then1 as one   
setting out on a long journey might turn
 back for a last farewell view of loved 
familiar scenes1 she turned to go back  
for a little into her ,yesterdays4      
,there was a home in those ,yesterdays  
and there was a mother--a mother who    
lived now in a better home than any of  
earth's building4 ,a father she had     
never known but there was a big1 jolly1 
uncle who had done and was doing yet all
 that an uncle of limited means could do
 to take her father's place in the life 
of his sister's only child4 ,and there  
was sunshine in her ,yesterdays--bright 
sunshine--unclouded by city smoke2 and  
flowers unstained by city grime2 and    
blue skies unmarred by city buildings2  
and there were beautiful trees and      
singing birds and broad fields in her   
,yesterdays4 ,also there were           
dreams--such dreams as only those who   

are very young or very wise dare to     
dream4  ,it may have been the firelight 
that did it2 it may have been the vision
 of her children who lived only in the  
life that she saw beyond the old1 old1  
open door3 or perhaps it was the wedding
 finery that lay over a nearby chair3 or
 the familiar tick1 tick1 tick1 of the  
clock in the arms of the fat cupid who  
neglected his bow and arrows in a vain  
attempt to do away with time--whatever  
it was that brought it about1 the woman 
dreamed again the dreams of             
childhood--dreamed them even as she     
dreamed those first dreams of her       
womanhood4  ,and no one was there to    
tell her that the dreams of her girlhood
 and of her womanhood were the same4    
,again1 on a long summer afternoon1 as  
she kept house in a snug corner of the  
vine shaded porch1 she was really the   
mistress of a grand mansion that was    
furnished with beautiful carpets and    
furniture1 china and silver1 books and  
pictures4 ,and in that mansion she      

received her distinguished guests and   
entertained her friends with charming   
grace and dignity1 even as she set her  
tiny play table with dishes of thimble  
size and served tea and cakes to her    
play lady friends4 ,again1 as she rocked
 her dollies to sleep beside the evening
 fire and tucked them into their beds   
with a little mother kiss for each1     
there were dreams of merry boys and     
girls who should some day call her      
mother4 ,and there were dreams of fine  
dresses and jewels the while she        
stitched tiny garments for her newest   
child who had come to her with no       
clothing at all1 or fashioned a         
marvelous hat for another whose features
 were but a smudge of paint and whose   
hair had been glued on so many times    
that it was far past combing and a hat  
was a necessity to hide the tangled mat4
 ,and sometimes she was a princess shut 
up in a castle tower and a noble prince1
 who wore golden armor and rode a great 
war horse1 would come to woo her and she

 would ride away with him through the   
deep forest followed by a long          
procession of lords and ladies1 of      
knights and squires and pages4 ,or1     
perhaps1 she would be a homeless girl in
 pitiful rags who1 because of her great 
beauty1 would be stolen by gypsies and  
sold to a cruel king to be kept in a    
dungeon until rescued by a brave soldier
 lover4  ,and1 in her ,yesterdays1 the  
master of the dream home over which she 
was mistress--the father of her dream   
children--the prince with whom she rode 
away through the forest--the soldier    
lover who rescued her from the          
dungeon--and the hero of many other     
adventures of which she was the         
heroine--was always the same4 ,outside  
her dreams he was a sturdy1 brown       
cheeked1 bare legged1 little boy who    
lived next door4 ,but what a man is     
outside a woman's dreams counts for     
little after all--even though that woman
 be a very small and dainty little woman
 with a very large family of dolls4     

,the woman remembered so well their     
first meeting4 ,it was at the upper end 
of the garden near the strawberry beds  
and he was creeping toward her on hands 
and knees through a hole in the hedge   
that separated the two places4 ,how she 
had jumped when she first caught sight  
of him6 ,how he had started and turned  
as if to escape when he saw her watching
 him6 ,how shyly they had approached    
each other with the first timid         
offerings of friendship6  ,many1 many1  
times after that did he come to her     
through the opening in the hedge4 ,many1
 many1 times did she go to him4 ,and he 
came in many disguises4 ,in many        
disguises she helped him put his dreams 
into action4 ,but always1 to her1 he was
 a hero to be worshiped1 a leader to be 
followed1 a master to be obeyed4 ,always
 she was very proud of him--of his      
strength and courage--of the grand deeds
 he wrought--and of the great things    
that he would some day do4 ,and         
sometimes--the most delightful times of 

all--at her wish1 he would help her1 in 
his masterful way1 to play out her      
dreams4 ,and then1 though he liked being
 an ,indian or a robber or a soldier    
best1 he would be a model husband and   
help her with the children2 although he 
did1 at times1 insist upon punishing    
them rather more than she thought       
necessary4 ,but when the little family  
was ill with the measles or scarlet     
fever or whooping cough no dream husband
 could have been more gentle1 more      
thoughtful1 or more wise1 in his        
attention4  ,and once they had played a 
wedding4  ,the woman whose heart was as 
an empty room stirred in her chair      
uneasily as one who feels the gaze of a 
hidden observer4 ,but the door was      
locked1 the shades drawn close1 and the 
only light was the flickering light of  
the fire4 ,the night without was very   
dark and still4 ,there was no sound in  
the sleeping house--no sound save the   
steady tick1 tick1 tick1 of the time    
piece in the chubby arms of the fat     

cupid on the mantle4  ,and once they had
 played a wedding4  ,it was when her    
big1 jolly1 uncle was married4 ,the boy 
and the girl were present at the        
ceremony and she wore a wonderful new   
dress while the boy1 scrubbed and combed
 and brushed1 was arrayed in his best   
clothes with shoes and stockings4 ,there
 were flowers and music and good things 
to eat and no end of laughter and gay   
excitement2 and the jolly uncle looked  
so big and fine and solemn2 and the     
bride1 in her white veil1 was so like a 
princess in one of the dreams2 that the 
little girl was half frightened and felt
 a queer lump in her throat as she clung
 to her mother's hand4 ,and there was a 
strange ceremony in which the minister1 
in his gown1 read out of a book and said
 a prayer and asked questions2 and the  
uncle and the princess answered the     
questions2 and the uncle put a ring on  
the finger of the princess2 and the     
minister said that they were husband and
 wife4 ,and then there were kisses while

 everybody laughed and cried and shook  
hands2 and some one told the little girl
 that the princess was her new auntie2  
and her uncle caught her up in his big  
arms and was his own jolly self again4  
,it was all very fine and strange and   
impressive to their childish eyes2 and  
so1 of course1 the very next day1 the   
boy and the girl played a wedding4  ,it 
was up in that quiet corner of the      
garden1 near the hedge1 and the cherry  
tree was in bloom and showered its      
delicate blossoms down upon them with   
every puff of air that stirred the      
branches2 while1 in the hedge nearby1 a 
little brown bird was putting the       
finishing touch to a new nest4 ,the     
boy's shepherd dog1 who sat up when you 
told him1 was the minister2 and all the 
dollies were there1 dressed in their    
finest gowns4 ,the little girl was very 
serious and again1 half frightened1 felt
 that queer lump in her throat as she   
promised to be his wife4 ,and the boy   
looked very serious1 too1 as he placed a

 little brass ring upon her finger and1 
speaking for the brown eyed1 shaggy     
coated1 minister1 said3 ,i pronounce you
 husband and wife and anything that ,god
 has done must never be done any        
different by anybody forever and ever1  
,amen4 ,and then--because there was no  
one else present and they both felt that
 the play would not be complete         
without--then1 he had kissed her1 and   
they were both very1 very1 happy4  ,so  
it was that1 in the quiet secrecy of her
 dimly lighted room1 the woman who that 
night knew herself to be a woman1 felt  
her cheeks hot with blushes and upon her
 hot cheeks felt her tears4  ,so it was 
that she came back from her ,yesterdays 
to wonder3 where was the boy now8 ,what 
kind of a man had he grown to be8 ,was  
he making his way to fame and wealth or 
laboring in some humble position8 ,had  
he a home with wife and children8 ,did  
he ever go back into the ,yesterdays8   
,had he forgotten that wedding under the
 cherry tree8 ,when the one with whom   

she would go through the old1 old1 door 
into the life of her womanhood dreams   
should come1 would it matter if the hero
 of her childhood dreams went in with   
them8 ,he could be no rival to that one 
who was to come for he lived only in the
 ,yesterdays and the ,yesterdays could  
not come back4 ,the fat little cupid on 
the mantle neglected his bow and arrows 
in vain2 he could not do away with time4
  ,very slowly the woman prepared for   
her rest and1 when she was ready1 knelt 
in the soft dusk of her room1 a virgin  
in white to pray4 ,and ,god1 ,i know1   
understood why her prayer was confused  
and uncertain with longings she could   
not express even to him who said3       
,except ye become as little children4   
,god1 ,i know1 understood why this      
woman1 who that night1 for the first    
time1 knowing herself to be a woman had 
dreamed a true woman's dream--,god1 ,i  
know1 understood why1 as she lay down to
 sleep in the quiet darkness1 she       
stretched forth her empty arms and      

almost cried aloud4  ,in to-morrow's    
light it would all be gone1 but that    
night--that night--her womanhood dreams 
of the future were real--real even as   
the girlhood dreams of her ,yesterdays4 
,,occupation  ,in a small1 bare1 room in
 a cheap city boarding house1 the man   
cowered like a wild thing1 wounded1     
neglected1 afraid2 while over him1 gaunt
 and menacing1 cruel1 pitiless1         
insistent1 stood a dreadful need--the   
need of ,occupation--the need of        
something to do4  ,in all the world     
there is no danger so menacing as the   
danger of idleness3 there is no         
privation so cruel1 no suffering so     
pitiful1 as the need of ,occupation3    
there is no demand so imperative1 no    
necessity so dreadful1 as the want of   
something to do4  ,occupation is the    
very life of ,life4 ,as nature abhors a 
vacuum so life abhors idleness4 ,to be  
is to be occupied4 ,even though one     
spend his days in seeking selfish       
pleasures still must he occupy himself  

to live1 for the need of something to do
 is most imperative upon those who      
strive hardest to do nothing4 ,as life  
and the deeds of men are born in dreams 
so life itself is ,occupation4 ,a man is
 the thing he does4 ,what the body is to
 the spirit2 what the word is to the    
thought2 what the sunshine is to the    
sun2 ,occupation is to ,dreams4 ,one of 
the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of  
,life is ,occupation4  ,from the cherry 
tree in the upper corner of the garden  
near the hedge1 the cherries had long   
ago been gathered4 ,the pair of brown   
birds had reared their children and were
 beginning to talk with their neighbors 
and kinfolk about their winter home in  
the south4 ,in the orchard on the hill  
back of the house1 the late fruit was   
hanging1 full ripe1 upon the bending    
boughs4 ,from the brow of the hill1     
where the man had sat that afternoon    
when1 for the first time1 he faced ,life
 and knew that he was a man1 the fields 
from which the ripened grain had been   

cut lay in the distance1 great bars and 
blocks and patches of golden yellow1    
among the still green pastures and      
meadows and the soft brown strips of the
 fall plowing4 ,in the woods1 the       
squirrels were beginning to take stock  
of the year's nut crop and to make their
 estimates for the winter's need1       
preparing1 the while1 their storehouses 
to receive the precious hoard4 ,and over
 that new mound in the cemetery1 the    
grass fairies had woven a coverlid thick
 and firm and fine as though1 in sweet  
pity of its yellow nakedness1 they would
 shield it from the winds that already  
had in them a hint that summer's reign  
was past4  ,but all this was far1 very  
far1 from where1 in his small bare room1
 the man crouched frightened and        
dismayed4 ,the rush and roar of the     
crowded trains on the elevated road     
outside his window shook the casement   
with impatient fury4 ,the rumbling      
thunder of the heavily loaded subway    
trains jarred the walls of the building4

 ,the rattle and whirr of the           
overflowing surface cars rose sharply   
above the hum and din of the city       
streets4 ,to the man who asked only a   
chance1 only a place1 only room to stand
 and something--anything--to do1 it was 
maddening4 ,a blind1 impotent1 fury took
 possession of him4 ,he clenched his    
fists and cursed aloud4  ,but the great1
 crowded1 world heeded his curses as    
little as it noticed him and he fell    
again into the silence of his           
hopelessness4  ,out from the sheltered  
place of his dreams the man had come    
into the busy world of deeds--into the  
world where those who1 like himself1 had
 dreamed1 were putting their dreams into
 action4 ,out from the years of his     
boyhood he had come into the years of   
his manhood--out from the scenes of his 
,yesterdays into the scenes of his      
to-days4  ,for weeks1 with his young    
strength stirring mightily within him   
and his rich1 red1 blood hot in his     
veins1 he had been crying out to the    

world3 ,make way for me4 ,give me a     
place that ,i may work out my dreams4   
,give me something to do4 ,for weeks1 he
 had been trying to convince the world  
that it needed him4 ,but the busy1      
happy1 world--the idle1 dreaming1       
world--the discontented1 sullen1        
world--was not so easily convinced4 ,his
 young strength and his red blood did   
not seem to count for as much as they   
should4 ,his confidence and his courage 
did not seem to impress4 ,his high rank 
in the boyhood world did not entitle him
 to a like position among men4 ,his     
graduating address had made no stir in  
the world of thought4 ,his athletic     
record had caused no comment in the     
world of industry4 ,his coming did not  
disturb the world of commerce4  ,a few  
he found who wrought with all the vigor 
and enthusiasm of their dreaming4 ,these
 said3 ,what have you done that we      
should make room for you8 ,prove        
yourself first then come to us4 ,many he
 saw who had wearied of the game and    

were dreaming new dreams4 ,these said3  
,we ourselves are without ,occupation4  
,there are not places enough for all4   
,stand aside and give us room4 ,many    
others there were who1 with dreams      
forgotten1 labored as dull cattle1      
goaded by brute necessity1 with no      
vision1 no purpose1 no hope1 to make of 
their toil a blessing4 ,and these       
laughed at him with vicious laughter1   
saying3 ,why should anyone want anything
 to do8  ,so the man in those days saw  
his dreams going from him--saw his      
bright visions growing dim4 ,so he came 
to feel that his young strength was of  
no value2 that his red blood was        
worthless2 that his courage was vain4   
,so his confidence was shaken2 his faith
 was weakened2 his hope grew faint4 ,he 
came to feel that the things that he had
 dreamed were already all wrought       
out--that there were no more great works
 to be done--that all that could be done
 was being accomplished--that in all the
 world there was nothing more for a man 

to do4 ,disappointed1 discouraged1      
disheartened1 weary and alone1 he told  
himself that he had come too late--that 
in all the world there was nothing more 
for a man to do4  ,he did not look out  
upon the world1 now1 as a conquering    
emperor1 confident in his armed         
strength1 might look over the field of a
 coming battle4 ,he did not dream1 now1 
of victories1 of honors1 and renown4 ,he
 did not1 now1 see himself a savior of  
the world4 ,the world had stretched this
 man also upon the cross that it has    
always ready for such as he4  ,it was   
not the man's pressing need that hurt   
him so--gladly he would have suffered   
for his dreams4 ,it was not for         
privation and hardships that he         
cared--proudly he would have endured    
those for his dreams4 ,nor was it       
loneliness and neglect that made him    
afraid--he was willing to work out his  
dreams alone4 ,that which sent him      
cowering like a wounded1 wild thing to  
his room was this3 he felt that his     

strength1 his courage1 his willingness1 
his purpose1 were as nothing in the     
world4 ,that which frightened him with  
dreadful fear was this3 he felt that his
 dreams were going from him4 ,that for  
which he cared was this3 he felt that he
 was too late4 ,this was the cross upon 
which the world stretched him--the cross
 of enforced idleness--the cross of     
nothing to do4  ,it is not strange that 
in his lonely suffering the man sought  
to escape by the only way open to       
him--the way that led to his            
,yesterdays4 ,there was a welcome for   
him there4 ,there was a place for him4  
,he was wanted there4 ,there his life   
was held of value4 ,it is not at all    
strange that he went back4 ,as one flees
 from a desolate1 burning1 desert waste1
 to a land of shady groves and fruitful 
gardens1 of cool waters and             
companionable friends1 so this man fled 
from his days that were into his days   
that were gone--so he went back into his
 ,yesterdays4  ,it may have been the    

soft dusk of the twilight hour that did 
it3 or it may have been the loneliness  
of his heart3 or1 perhaps1 it was the   
picture he found in his trunk as he     
searched among his few things trying to 
decide what next he should take to the  
pawn shop4 ,whatever it was that brought
 it about1 the man was a boy again in   
the boyhood world of his ,yesterdays4   
,and it happened that the day in his    
,yesterdays to which the man went back  
was one of those days when the boy could
 find nothing to do4 ,every game that he
 had ever played was played out4 ,every 
source of amusement he had exhausted4   
,there was in all his boyhood world     
nothing1 nothing1 for him to do4  ,the  
orchard was not a trackless forest      
inhabited by fierce1 wild beasts2 nor an
 enchanted wood with lords and ladies   
imprisoned in the trees2 it was only an 
orchard--a commonplace old              
orchard--nothing more4 ,indians and     
robbers were stupid creatures of no     
importance whatever4 ,there were no     

fairies1 no giants1 no soldiers left in 
the boyhood world4 ,the rail fence war  
horse refused to charge4 ,the apple tree
 ship was a wreck on the rocks of       
discontent4 ,the hay had all been cut   
and stored away in the barn4 ,the       
excitement and fun of the grain         
harvesting was over and the big stacks  
were waiting the threshers4 ,it was not 
time for fall apple picking and the     
cider mill1 nor to gather the corn1 nor 
to go nutting4 ,there was nothing1      
nothing1 to do4  ,the boy's father was  
busy with some sort of work in the shop 
and told his little son not to bother4  
,the hired man was doing something to   
the barnyard fence and told the boy to  
get out of the way4 ,a carpenter was    
repairing the roof of the house and the 
long ladder looked inviting enough1 but1
 the instant the boy's head appeared    
above the eaves1 the man shouted for him
 to get down and to run and play4 ,even 
the new red calf refused to notice him  
but continued its selfish1 absorbing1   

occupation with wobbly legs braced wide 
and tail wagging supreme indifference4  
,his very dog had deserted him and had  
gone away somewhere on business of his  
own1 apparently forgetting the needs of 
his master4 ,and mother--mother too was 
busy1 as busy as could be with sweeping 
and dusting and baking and mending and  
no end of things that must be done4     
,but somehow mother's work could always 
wait4 ,at least it could wait long      
enough for her to look lovingly down    
into the troubled1 discontented1 little 
face while she listened to the plaintive
 whine3 ,there's nothin' at all to do4  
,mamma1 tell me--tell me something to   
do4  ,poor little boy in the            
,yesterdays6 ,quickly mother's arm went 
around him4 ,lovingly she drew him      
close4 ,and mother's work waited still  
as she considered the serious problem4  
,there was no feeling of not being      
wanted in the boy's heart then4 ,as he  
looked up at her he felt already renewed
 hope and quickening interest4  ,then   

mother's face brightened1 in a way that 
mother faces do1 and the boy's eyes     
began to shine in eager anticipation4   
,what should he do8 ,why mother knew the
 very thing of course4 ,it was the      
best--the very best--the most           
interesting thing in all the world for a
 boy to do4 ,he should build a house for
 the little girl who lived next door4   
,out under the lilac bushes he should   
build it1 in a pretty corner of the     
yard1 where mother1 from her window1    
every now and then1 could look out to   
see how well he was doing and help1     
perhaps1 with careful suggestions4      
,mother herself would ask the carpenter 
man for some clean1 new boards1 some    
shingles and some nails4 ,and it would  
all be a secret1 between just mother and
 the boy1 until the house was finished  
and ready and then he should go and     
bring the little girl and they would see
 how surprised and glad she would be4   
,it was wondrous magic those mothers    
worked in the ,yesterdays4 ,in a        

twinkle1 for the boy who could find     
nothing to do1 the world was changed4   
,in a twinkle1 there was nothing in all 
the world worth doing save this one     
thing--to build a house for the little  
girl next door4  ,with might and main he
 planned and toiled and toiled and      
planned2 building and rebuilding and    
rebuilding yet again4 ,he cut his       
fingers and pounded his thumb and stuck 
his hands full of slivers and minded it 
not at all so absorbed was he in this   
best of all ,occupations4  ,but keep it 
secret6 ,first there was father's       
smiling face close beside mother's at   
the window4 ,then the hired man chanced 
to pass and paused a moment to make     
admiring comment4 ,and1 later1 the      
carpenter man came around the corner of 
the house and1 when he saw1 offered a   
bit of professional advice and          
voluntarily contributed another board4  
,even the boy's dog1 as though he had   
heard the news that the very birds were 
discussing so freely in the tree tops1  

came hurrying home to manifest his      
interest4 ,keep it secret6 ,how could   
the boy keep it secret6 ,but the little 
girl did not know4 ,until he was almost 
ready to tell her1 the little girl did  
not know4 ,almost he was ready to tell  
her1 when--,but that belongs to the     
other part of my story4  ,about the man 
in his bare1 lonely1 room in the great  
city1 the world in its madness          
raged--struggling1 pushing1 crowding1   
jostling1 scrambling--a swirling1       
writhing1 mass of life--but the man did 
not heed4 ,on every side1 this life went
 rushing1 roaring1 rumbling1 thundering1
 whirring1 shrieking1 clattering by4    
,but the man noticed the world now no   
more than it noticed him4 ,in his       
,yesterdays he had found something to   
do4 ,he had found the only thing that a 
man1 who knows himself to be a man1 can 
do in truth to his manhood4 ,again1 in  
his ,yesterdays1 he was building a house
 for the little girl who lived next     
door--the little girl who did not know4 

,someday this childish old world will   
grow weary of its games of war and      
wealth4 ,someday it will lose interest  
in its playthings--banks1 and stocks1   
and markets4 ,someday it will lose faith
 in its fairies of fame1 its giants of  
position and power4 ,then will the      
disconsolate1 forlorn1 old world turn to
 ,mother ,nature to learn from her that 
the only ,occupation that is of real and
 lasting worth is the one ,occupation in
 which all of ,mother ,nature's children
 have fellowship--the ,occupation of    
home building4  ,in meadow and forest   
and field2 in garden and grove and hedge
 and bush2 in mountain and plain and    
desert and sea2 in hollow logs2 amid    
swaying branches2 in rocky dens and     
earthy burrows2 high among towering     
cliffs and mighty crags2 low in the     
marsh grass and among reeds and rushes2 
in stone walls2 in fence corners2 in    
tufts of grass and tiny shrubs2 among   
the flowers and swinging vines2         
everywhere--everywhere--in all this     

great1 round1 world1 ,mother's children 
all are occupied in home                
building--occupied in this and nothing  
more4 ,this is the one thing that       
,mother's children1 in all the ages     
since the beginning1 have found worth   
doing4 ,one wayward child alone is      
occupied just now1 seemingly1 with      
everything but home building4 ,man seems
 to be doing everything these days but  
the one thing that must be the          
foundation work of all4 ,but never      
mind--homebuilding will be the world's  
work at the last4 ,when all the         
playthings of childhood and all the     
childish games of men have failed1      
homebuilding will endure4 ,occupation   
must in the end mean home building or it
 is meaningless4  ,and the din1 the     
confusion1 the struggle1 the turmoil of 
life--when it all means to men the      
building of homes and nothing more2 when
 the efforts of men1 the ambitions of   
men1 the labor and toil of men are all  
to make homes for the little girls next 

door2 then1 will ,mother ,nature smile  
upon her boys and ,god1 ,i am sure1 will
 smile upon them1 too4  ,the man came   
back from his ,yesterdays with a new    
heart1 with new courage and             
determination1 and the next day he found
 something to do4  ,i do not know what  
it was that the man found to do--that is
 not my story4  99    99    99    99    
99  ,it was nearly the time of falling  
leaves when the woman1 who knew herself 
to be a woman1 knocked at one of those  
doors1 at which she did not wish to     
knock1 and was admitted4  ,it does not  
matter which of the doors it was4 ,i    
cannot tell you what work it was that   
the woman found to do4 ,what mattered to
 her--and to the world if only the world
 would understand--was this3 that she   
was forced by the customs of the age and
 by necessity to enter a life that her  
woman heart did not desire4 ,while her  
dreams were of the life that lies beyond
 the old1 old1 door that has stood open 
since the beginning2 while she waited on

 the threshold and longed to go in2 she 
was forced to turn aside1 to seek       
admittance at one of those other doors4 
,this it is that matters--matters       
greatly4 ,perhaps only ,god who made the
 woman heart and who ,himself set that  
door open wide--perhaps only ,god knows 
how greatly it matters4  ,of course1 if 
the woman had not known herself to be a 
woman1 it would have made little        
difference either to her or to the      
world4  ,and the woman when she had     
joined that great company of women1 who1
 in these modern days labor behind the  
doors through which they must go alone1 
found them to be good women--good and   
brave and true4 ,and most of them1 she  
found1 were in that great company of    
workers just as she was there--just as  
every woman who knows her womanhood is  
there--through circumstances1 the custom
 of the age1 necessity4 ,the only saving
 thing about it all is this3 their woman
 hearts are somewhere else4  ,and the   
woman found also that1 while the door   

opened readily enough to her knock1 she 
was received without a welcome4 ,through
 that other door1 the door that ,god    
himself has opened1 she would have      
entered into a joyous welcome--she would
 have been received with gladness1 with 
rejoicing1 with holiest love1 and       
highest honor4 ,to her1 in the world    
that lies beyond the old1 old1 door1    
would have been rendered homage and     
reverence second only to that given to  
,god ,himself4 ,there1 she would have   
been received as a woman for her        
womanhood2 she would have been given    
first place among all created things4   
,but the world into which she entered   
alone did not so receive her4 ,it       
received her coldly4 ,its manner said   
quite plainly3 ,why are you here8 ,what 
do you want8 ,it said3 ,there is no     
sentiment here1 no love1 no reverence1  
no homage2 there is only business here1 
only law1 only figures and facts4  ,this
 world was not unkind to her1 but it did
 not receive her as a woman4 ,it could  

not4 ,it did not value her womanhood4   
,womanhood has no value there4 ,it      
valued her clear brain1 her physical    
strength1 her skillful hands1 her       
willing feet1 her ready wit3 but her    
womanhood it ignored4 ,the most         
priceless gift of the ,creator to his   
creatures--the one thing without which  
all human effort would be in vain1 no   
,christian prayer would be possible2 the
 one thing without which mankind would  
perish from the earth--this world1 into 
which the woman went1 rejected4 ,but the
 things that belonged to her            
womanhood--the charm of her manner2 the 
beauty of her face and form2 the appeal 
of her sex2 the quick intuitions of her 
soul--all these this world received and 
upon them put a price4 ,they became not 
forces to be used by her in wifehood and
 motherhood but commercial assets1      
valued in dollars1 worth a certain price
 upon the woman labor market in the     
business world4  ,and the woman's heart1
 because she knew herself to be a woman1

 rebelled at this buying and selling the
 things of her womanhood4 ,these things 
she rightly felt to be above price--far1
 far1 above price4 ,they were the things
 of her wifehood and motherhood4 ,they  
were given her to be used by her in     
love1 in mating1 in bearing and rearing 
children1 in the giving of life to the  
world4  ,the things of a woman's        
womanhood are as far above price as life
 itself to which they belong4 ,even as  
color and perfume belong to the flowers2
 even as the music of the birds belongs 
to the feathery songsters2 even as the  
blue belongs to the sky1 and the light  
to the stars2 so these graces of a woman
 belong to her and to the mission of her
 womanhood are sacred4 ,they are hers to
 be used in her holy office of          
womanhood2 by her alone1 without price1 
for the glory and honor of life and the 
future of the race4 ,so the woman's     
heart rebelled1 but secretly1           
instinctively1 almost unconsciously4    
,open rebellion would have made it      

impossible for her to remain in the     
world into which she entered because of 
her necessity and the custom of the age4
  ,she found1 too1 that this world into 
which she had entered was very          
courteous1 that it was even considerate 
and kind--as considerate and kind as it 
was possible to be--for it seemed to    
understand her position quite as well as
 she herself understood it4 ,and this   
world paid her very well for the        
services she was asked to render4 ,but  
it asked of her no favors4 ,it accorded 
her no honors4 ,it sought her with no   
offering4 ,and1 because of this1 the    
woman1 in the heart of her womanhood1   
felt ashamed and humiliated4  ,it is the
 right of womanhood to bestow favors4   
,it is a woman's right to be honored    
above all creatures of earth4 ,since the
 beginning of life itself her sex has   
been so honored--has received the       
offerings from life4 ,mankind1 alone1   
has at times attempted to change this   
law but has never quite succeeded4      

,mankind never can fully succeed in this
 because woman holds life itself in her 
keeping4 ,so the woman felt that her    
womanhood was humiliated and shamed4    
,but she hid this feeling also1 hid it  
carefully1 buried it deeply1 because she
 knew that if she did not it would      
betray her and she would not be         
permitted to remain in the world into   
which necessity forced her4 ,to the     
woman1 it seemed that the world into    
which she had gone1 itself1 felt her    
shame and humiliation4 ,that1 in secret1
 it desired to ask of her2 to accord to 
her honors2 to seek her with offerings4 
,but this world could not do these      
things because it dared not recognize   
her womanhood4 ,when a woman goes into  
that world into which she must go alone1
 she leaves her womanhood behind4 ,her  
womanhood is not received there4  ,but  
most of all1 the thing that troubled the
 woman was this3 the risk she ran in    
entering into that life behind the door 
at which she had sought admittance4 ,she

 saw that there was danger there--grave 
danger--to her womanhood4 ,in the busy1 
ceaseless1 activity of that life there  
would be little time for her waiting    
beside the old1 old1 door4 ,the exacting
 demands of her work1 or profession1 or 
calling1 or business1 would leave little
 leisure for the meditation and         
reflection that is so large a part of   
the preparation necessary for entrance  
into that other world of which she had  
dreamed4 ,constant contact with the     
unemotional facts and figures of that   
life which sets a market value upon the 
sacred things of womanhood would make it
 ever more difficult for her to dream of
 love4 ,there was grave danger that     
interest and enthusiasm in other things 
would supplant her longing for wifehood 
and motherhood4 ,she feared that in her 
,occupation she might not know1 when he 
came1 that one who was to cross the     
threshold with her into the life of her 
dreams--that1 indeed1 he might come and 
go again while she was busy with other  

things4 ,she feared that she would come 
to accept the commercial valuation of   
the things that belonged to her         
womanhood and thus forget their higher1 
holier1 use and that the continued      
rejection of her womanhood would1 in    
time1 lead her to think of it lightly1  
as incidental rather than supreme4      
,there was real danger that she would   
lose her desire to be sought1 to give1  
to receive offerings2 that she would    
cease to rebel secretly2 that she would 
no longer feel humiliated at her        
position4 ,she feared in short this     
danger--the gravest danger to her       
womanhood and thus to all that womankind
 holds in her keeping--that she would   
come to feel contented1 satisfied1 and  
happy1 in being a part of the world into
 which she was forced to go by the      
custom of the age and by necessity4     
,because this woman knew herself to be a
 woman she feared this4 ,if she had not 
come to know her womanhood she would not
 have feared it4 ,neither would it have 

mattered4  ,the woman was thinking of   
these things that ,saturday afternoon as
 she walked homeward from her work4 ,she
 often walked to her home on ,saturday  
afternoons1 when there was time1 for she
 was strong and vigorous1 with an       
abundance of good red woman blood in her
 veins1 and loved the free movement in  
the open air4  ,perhaps1 though1 it is  
not exact to say that she was thinking  
of these things4 ,the better word would 
be feeling4 ,she was not thinking of    
them as ,i have set them down3 but she  
was feeling them all4 ,she was conscious
 of them1 just as she was conscious of  
the dead brown leaves that drifted      
across her path1 though she was not     
thinking of the leaves4 ,she felt them  
as she felt the breath of fall in the   
puff of air that drifted the leaves3 but
 she did not put what she felt into     
words4 ,so seldom do the things that    
women feel get themselves put into      
words4  ,the young woman had chosen a   
street that led in the direction of her 

home through one of the city's smaller  
parks1 and1 as she went1 the people she 
met turned often to look after her for  
she was good to look at4 ,she walked    
strongly but with a step as light as it 
was firm and free2 and1 breathing deeply
 with the healthful exercise1 her cheeks
 were flushed with rosy color1 her eyes 
shone1 her countenance--her every glance
 and movement--betrayed a strong and    
perfect womanhood--a womanhood that1    
rightly understood1 is wealth that the  
race and age can ill afford to squander4
  ,coming to the park1 she walked more  
slowly and1 after a little1 seated      
herself on a bench to watch the         
squirrels that were playing nearby4 ,the
 foliage had already lost its summer    
freshness though here and there a tree  
or bush made brave attempt to retain its
 garb of green4 ,not a few brown leaves 
whirled helplessly about--the first of  
unnumbered myriads that soon would be   
offered by the dying summer in tribute  
to winter's conquering power4 ,the sun  

was still warm but the air had in it a  
subtle flavor that seemed a blending of 
the coming season with the season that  
was almost gone4  ,near the farther     
entrance to the little park1 a carpenter
 was repairing the roof of a house and1 
from where she sat1 the woman could see 
the long ladder resting against the     
eaves4 ,a boy with his shepherd dog came
 romping along the walk under the trees 
as irresponsible as the drifting leaves4
 ,the squirrels scampered away2 the boy 
and dog whirled on2 and the woman1 from 
the world into which she had entered    
because she must1 went far away into the
 world of childhood4 ,from her day of   
toil in a world that denied her         
womanhood she went back into her        
,yesterdays where                       
womanhood--motherhood--was supreme4     
,perhaps it was that subtle flavor in   
the air that did it2 or it may have been
 the boy and his dog as they whirled    
past--care free as the drifting brown   
leaves2 or perhaps it was the sight of  

the man repairing the roof of the house 
with his long ladder resting against the
 eaves3 the woman herself could not have
 told what it was1 but1 whatever it was1
 she slipped away to one of the         
brightest1 happiest1 days in all her    
,yesterdays4  ,but1 for a little while1 
that day was not at all bright and      
happy4 ,it started out all right then1  
little by little1 everything went wrong2
 and then it changed again and became   
one of the best of all her ,yesterdays4 
,the day went wrong for a little while  
at first because everything in the house
 was being taken up1 or taken down1     
beaten1 shaken1 scrubbed or dusted2     
everything was being arranged or        
disarranged and rearranged again4       
,surely there was never such confusion1 
so it seemed to the little girl1 in any 
home in all the world4 ,every time that 
she would get herself nicely settled    
with her dolls she would be forced to   
move again2 until there was in the      
whole1 busy1 bustling place no corner at

 all where she was not in somebody's    
way4 ,when she would have entered into  
the confusion and helped to straighten  
things out1 the woman told her1 rather  
sharply1 to go away1 and declared that  
her efforts to help only made things    
worse4  ,out in the garden1 at the      
opening in the hedge1 she called and    
called and waited and waited for the    
boy4 ,but the boy did not answer4 ,he   
was too busy1 she thought1 to care about
 her4 ,she felt quite sure that he did  
not even want her to help in whatever it
 was that he was doing4 ,perhaps1 she   
thought wistfully1 peering through the  
little green tunnel1 perhaps if she     
could go and find him he might--when he 
saw how miserable and lonely she was--he
 might be kind4 ,but to go through the  
hedge was forbidden1 except when mother 
said she might4  ,sorrowfully she turned
 away to seek the kitchen where the cook
 was busy with the week's baking4 ,but  
the cook1 when the little girl offered  
to roll the pie crust or stir the       

frosting for the cake1 was hurried and  
cross and declared that the little girl 
could not help but only hinder and that 
it would be better for her not to get in
 the way4  ,once more1 in a favorite    
corner of the big front porch1 she was  
just beginning to find some comfort with
 her doll when the woman with the broom 
forced her to move again4  ,poor little 
girl6 ,what could she do under such     
trying circumstances--what indeed but go
 to mother4 ,all the way up the long    
stairs she went to where mother was as  
busy as ever a mother could be doing    
something with a lot of things that were
 piled all over the room4 ,but mother1  
when she saw the tear stained little    
face1 understood in a flash and put     
aside whatever it was that she was      
doing1 quickly1 and held the little     
girl1 dolly and all1 close in her mother
 arms until the feeling of being in the 
way and of not being wanted was all     
gone4 ,and1 when the tears were quite   
dry1 mother said1 so gently that it did 

not hurt1 ,no dearie1 ,i'm afraid you   
can't help mother now because mother's  
girl is too little to understand what it
 is that mother is doing4 ,but ,i'll    
tell you something that you can do4     
,mother will give you some things from  
the pantry and you may go over to see   
the little boy4 ,and ,i am as sure1 as  
sure can be1 that1 when he sees all the 
nice things you have1 he will play      
keeping house with you4  ,so the little 
girl in the ,yesterdays1 with her       
treasures from mother's pantry1 went out
 across the garden and through the hedge
 to find the boy4 ,very carefully she   
went through the opening in the hedge so
 that she would lose none of her        
treasures4 ,and oh1 the joy of it6 ,the 
splendid wonder of it6 ,she found that  
the boy had built a house--all by       
himself he had built it--with real      
boards1 and had furnished it with tiny  
chairs and tables made from boxes4      
,complete it was1 even to a beautiful   
strip of carpet on the floor and a shelf

 on which to put the dishes4 ,then1     
indeed1 when the boy told her how he had
 made the house for her--just for       
her--and how it was to have been a      
surprise2 and that she had come just in 
time because if she tad come sooner it  
would have spoiled the fun--the heart of
 the little girl overflowed with        
gladness4 ,and to think that all the    
time she was feeling so not wanted and  
in the way the boy was doing this and   
all for her6 ,did her mother know8 ,she 
rather guessed that she did2 mothers    
have such a marvelous way of knowing    
everything1 particularly the nicest     
things4  ,so the little girl gave the   
boy all the treasures that she had      
brought so carefully and they had great 
fun eating them together2 and all the   
rest of that day they played keephouse4 
,and this is why that day was among the 
best of all the woman's ,yesterdays4    
,several men going home from work passed
 the spot where the young woman sat4    
,then a group of shop girls followed2   

then another group and1 in turn1 two    
women from an office that did not close 
early on ,saturdays4 ,after them a young
 girl who looked very tired came walking
 alone1 and then there were more men and
 women in a seemingly endless           
procession4 ,and so many girls and women
 there were in the procession that the  
woman1 as she came back from her        
,yesterdays1 wondered who was left to   
make homes for the world4  ,the sun was 
falling now in long bars and shafts of  
light between the buildings and the     
trees1 and the windows of the house     
where the man had been fixing the roof  
were blazing as if in flames4 ,the man  
had taken down his ladder and gone away4
 ,it was time the young woman was going 
home4 ,and as she went1 joining the     
procession of laborers1 her heart was   
filled with longing--with longing and   
with hope4 ,the boy of her ,yesterdays  
lived only in those days that were gone4
 ,he had no place in the dreams of her  
womanhood4 ,he was only the playmate of 

the little girl4 ,even as those years   
were gone the boy had gone out of her   
life4 ,but somewhere1 perhaps1 that one 
who was to go with her through the old1 
old1 open door was even then building   
for her a home--their home4 ,perhaps1   
some day1 an all wise ,mother ,nature   
would tell her to leave the world that  
gave her no welcome--that could not     
recognize her womanhood--that made her  
heart rebel in humiliation and          
shame--and go to do her woman's work4   
,very carefully would she go when the   
time came1 taking all the treasures of  
her womanhood4 ,she would go very       
carefully that none of her treasures be 
lost4      ,,knowledge  ,the green of   
the pastures and the gold of the fields 
was buried so deeply under banks of snow
 that no one could say3 ,here the cattle
 fed and the buttercups grew2 there the 
grain was harvested2 here the corn stood
 in shocks2 there the daisies and meadow
 grass sheltered the nest of the        
bobo-link4 ,as death calls alike the    

least and the greatest back to the dust 
from which they came1 so winter laid    
over the varied and changing scenes of  
summer a cold1 white1 shroud of         
wearisome sameness4 ,the birds were     
hundreds of miles away in their sunny   
southland haunts4 ,the bees1 the        
butterflies1 and many of the tiny wood  
folk1 were all snugly tucked in their   
winter beds1 dreaming1 perhaps1 as they 
slept1 of the sunshiny summer days4 ,in 
the garden the wind had heaped a great  
drift high against the hedge on the     
boy's side1 and1 on the little girl's   
side1 the cherry tree in the corner     
stood shivering in its nakedness with   
bare arms uplifted as though praying for
 mercy to the stinging cold wind4  ,in  
the city the snow1 as fast as it fell1  
was stained by soot and grime and lay in
 the streets a mass of filth4 ,the      
breath of the laboring truck horses     
arose from their wide nostrils like     
clouds of steam and1 in the icy air1    
covered their breasts and shoulders and 

sides with a coat of white frost4 ,the  
newsboys and vendors of pencils and     
shoestrings shivered in nooks and       
corners and doorways and1 as the people 
went with heads bent low before the     
freezing blast that swirled through the 
narrow canyons between the tall         
buildings1 the snowy pavement squeaked  
loudly under their feet4  ,and the man  
who had found something to do1 from his 
,occupation1 began to acquire           
,knowledge4 ,in doing things1 he began  
to know things4  ,but the man had to    
gain first a knowledge of ,knowledge4   
,he first had to learn this3 that a man 
might know all about a thing without    
ever knowing the thing itself4 ,he had  
to understand that ,knowledge is not    
knowing about a thing but knowing the   
thing4 ,when first he had dreamed his   
manhood dreams1 before he had found     
something to do1 the man1 quite         
modestly1 thought that he knew a great  
deal4 ,in his school days1 he had       
exhausted many text books and had passed

 many creditable examinations upon many 
subjects and so he had thought that he  
knew a great deal4 ,and he did4 ,he knew
 a great deal about things4 ,but when he
 had found something to do1 and had     
tried to do it1 he found also very      
quickly that1 although he knew so much  
about the thing he had to do1 he knew   
very1 very1 little of the thing itself  
and that only knowledge of the thing    
itself could ever help him to realize   
his dreams4  ,from his ,occupation1 he  
learned this also3 that ,knowledge is   
not what some other man knows and tells 
you but what the thing that you have    
found to do makes known to you4         
,knowledge is not told1 cannot be told1 
to one by another1 even though that     
other has it abundantly for1 to the one 
to whom it is told1 it remains ever what
 someone else knows4 ,what the thing    
that a man finds to do makes known to   
him1 that is ,knowledge4 ,so ,knowledge 
is to be had not from books alone but   
rather from ,life4 ,so idleness is a    

vicious ignorance and those who do the  
most are wisest4  ,before he had found  
something to do the man had called      
himself a thinker4 ,but when he tried to
 do the thing that he had found to do1  
he quickly realized that he had only    
thought that he thought4 ,he found that 
he was not at all a thinker but a       
listener--a receiver--a rememberer4 ,in 
his school days1 the thoughts of others 
were offered him and he1 because he had 
accepted them1 called them his own4 ,he 
came1 now1 to understand that thinking  
is not accepting the thoughts of others 
but finding thoughts of your own in     
whatever it is that you have found to   
do4  ,thinking the thoughts of others is
 a delightful pastime and profitable but
 it is not really thinking4 ,also1 if   
one be blessed with a good memory1 he   
may thus cheaply acquire a reputation   
for great wisdom2 just as one1 if he    
happens to be born with a nose of       
uncommon length or bigness1 may attract 
the attention of the world4 ,but no one 

should deceive himself4 ,a man because  
he is able1 better than the multitude1  
to repeat the thoughts of other men must
 not therefore think himself a better   
thinker than the crowd4 ,no more should 
the one with the uncommon nose flatter  
himself that he is necessarily handsome 
or distinguished in appearance because  
the people notice him4 ,he who attracts 
the attention of the world should       
inquire most carefully into the reason  
for the gathering of the crowd2 for a   
crowd will gather as readily to listen  
to a mountebank as to hear an angel from
 heaven4  ,to repeat what others have   
thought is not at all evidence that he  
who remembers is thinking4 ,great       
thoughts are often repeated             
thoughtlessly4 ,a man's ,occupation     
betrays him or establishes his claim to 
,knowledge4 ,that which a man does      
proclaims that which he thinks or in his
 thoughtlessness finds him out4  ,of    
course1 when the man had learned this1  
he said at first1 quite wrongly1 that   

his school days were wasted4 ,he said   
that what he had called his education   
was all a mistake--that it was vanity   
only and wholly worthless4 ,but1 as he  
went on gaining ever more and more      
,knowledge from the thing that he was   
doing1 and1 through that thing1 of many 
other things1 he came to understand that
 his school days were not wasted but    
very well spent indeed4 ,he came to see 
that what he had called education was   
not a mistake4 ,he came to understand   
that what was wrong was this3 he had    
considered his education complete1      
finished1 when he had only been prepared
 to begin4 ,he had considered his       
schooling as an end to be gained when it
 was only a means to the end4 ,he had   
considered his learning as wealth to    
hold when it was capital to invest4 ,he 
had mistaken the thoughts that he       
received from others for ,knowledge when
 they were given him only to inspire and
 to help him in acquiring ,knowledge4   
,and then1 of this knowledge of         

,knowledge gained by the man from his   
,occupation1 there was born in him a    
mighty passion1 a burning desire4 ,it   
was the passion for ,knowledge4 ,it was 
the desire to know4 ,to know the thing  
that he had found to do was not enough4 
,he determined to use that knowledge to 
gain ,knowledge of many other things4   
,he felt within himself a new strength  
stirring--the strength of thought4 ,he  
saw that knowledge of things led ever to
 more knowledge1 even as link to link in
 a golden chain4 ,one end of the chain  
he held in his ,occupation2 the other   
was somewhere1 far beyond his sight1    
hidden in the mists that shroud the     
,infinite ,fact1 fast to the mighty     
secret of ,life itself4 ,link by link1  
he determined to follow the chain4 ,from
 knowing things to knowledge of other   
things he would go even until he held in
 his grip the last link--until he held  
the key to the riddle--until he knew the
 answer to the sum of ,life4  ,and      
facts--cold1 uncompromising1 all        

powerful1 unanswerable facts--should    
give him this mastering knowledge of    
,life4 ,for him there should be no      
sentiment to deceive1 no illusion to    
beguile1 no fancy to lead astray4 ,as   
resistlessly as the winter1 with        
snowflake upon snowflake1 had buried all
 the delightful vagaries of summer1 so  
this man1 in his passion for ,knowledge1
 would have buried all the charming     
inconsistencies1 the beautiful          
inaccuracies1 the lovely pretenses of   
,life4 ,the illusions1 the sentiment1   
the fancies1 the poetry of ,life1 he    
would have buried under the icy sameness
 of his facts1 even as the flowers and  
grasses were hidden under winter's      
shroud of snow4 ,but he could not4      
,under the snow1 summer still lived4    
,under the cold facts of ,life1 the     
tender sentiments1 the fond fancies1 the
 dear illusions have strength even as   
the flowers and grasses4  ,i do not know
 what it was that brought it about4 ,it 
does not matter what it was4 ,perhaps it

 was the sight of some boys coasting    
down a little hill1 on a side street1   
near where the man lived at this time3  
perhaps it was a group of children who1 
on their way home from school1 were     
waging a merry snow fight3 or1 perhaps1 
it was the man's own effort to acquire  
,knowledge3 or1 it may be1 that his     
brain was weary1 that the way of        
,knowledge seemed over long1 that the   
links in the golden chain were many and 
passed all too slowly through his       
hand--,i do not know--but1 whatever it  
was that did it1 the man1 as he sat     
before his fire that winter evening with
 a too solid and substantial book1      
slipped away from his grown up world of 
facts back into the no less real world  
of childhood1 back into his             
,yesterdays--to a school day in his     
,yesterdays4  ,once again he made his   
way in the morning to the little        
schoolhouse that stood half way up a    
long hill1 in the edge of a bit of      
timber1 nearly two miles from his home4 

,the yard1 beaten smooth and hard by    
many bare and childish feet1 was        
separated from the timber by a rail     
fence but was left open in front to any 
stray horses or cattle that1 wandering  
down the road1 might be tempted to rest 
a while in the shade of a great tree    
that stood near the center of the little
 clearing4 ,the stumps of the other     
forest beauties that had once1 like this
 tree1 tossed their branches in the     
sunlight were still holding the places  
that ,god had given them and made fine  
seats for the girls or bases for the    
boys when they played ball at recess or 
noon4 ,and often1 when the shouting     
youngsters had been called from their   
sports by the rapping of the teacher's  
ruler at the door and only the busy hum 
of their childish voices came floating  
through the open windows1 a venturesome 
squirrel or a saucy chipmunk would creep
 stealthily along the fence1 stopping   
now and then to sit bolt upright with   
tail in air to look and listen4 ,then   

suddenly1 at sight of a laughing face at
 the window or the appearance of some   
boy who had gained the coveted          
permission to get a bucket of water1 the
 little visitor would whisk away again  
like a flash and1 with a warning chatter
 to his mate1 would seek safety among   
the leaves and branches of the forest   
only to reappear once more when all was 
quiet until1 at last1 made bold by many 
trials1 he would leap from the fence and
 scamper across the yard to take        
possession of the tallest stump as      
though he himself were a schoolboy4     
,sometimes a crow1 after carefully      
watching the place for a little while   
from a safe position on the fence across
 the road1 would fly quietly down to    
look for choice bits dropped from the   
dinner baskets of the children4 ,or     
again1 a long1 lazy1 black snake would  
crawl across the yard to search for the 
little mice that lived in the foundation
 of the house and in the corners of the 
fence4 ,or1 perhaps1 a chicken hawk1    

that had been sailing on outstretched   
wings in ever narrowing circles1 would  
drop from the blue sky to claim his     
share of the plunder only to be         
frightened away again by the sound of   
the teacher's voice raised in sharp     
rebuke of some mischievous urchin4  ,the
 schoolhouse was not a large building   
nor was it1 in the least1 imposing4 ,it 
was built of wood with a foundation of  
rough stone and there were heavy        
shutters which were always carefully    
closed at night to keep out the tramps  
who might seek a lodging place within4  
,and there was a woodshed1 too1 where   
the boys romped upon rainy days and     
where was fought many a schoolboy battle
 for youthful love and honor4 ,the      
building had once been painted white but
 the storm and sunshine of many months  
had worn away the paint1 and there      
remained only the dark1 weather stained1
 boards save beneath the cornice and the
 window ledge where one might still find
 traces of its former glory4 ,the       

chimney1 too1 was old and some of the   
bricks had crumbled and fallen from the 
top which made it look ragged against   
the sky4 ,and the steps and threshold   
were worn very thin--very1 very1 thin4  
,wearied with his passion for           
,knowledge2 tired of his cold facts2    
hungering in his heart for a bit of     
wholesome sentiment as one in winter    
hungers for the summer flowers2 the man 
who sat before his fire that night1 with
 a too heavy and substantial book1      
crossed once more with childish feet the
 worn threshold of the old schoolhouse  
and stood within the entry where hung   
the hats and dinner baskets of his      
mates4 ,they looked very familiar to    
him--those hats--and1 as he saw them in 
his memory1 each offered mute testimony 
to its owner's disposition and rank in  
childhood's world4 ,there were broad    
brimmed straws that belonged to the     
patient1 plodding1 boys and caps that   
seemed made to set far back on the heads
 of the boisterous lads4 ,there was the 

old slouch felt of the poor boy who did 
chores for his board and the brimless   
hat of the bully of the school4 ,there  
were the trim sailors of the good little
 boys and the head gear of his own      
particular chum4 ,and there--the man who
 sought ,knowledge only in facts smiled 
at the fire and a fond light came into  
his eyes while his too solid and        
substantial hook slipped unheeded to the
 floor--there was a sunbonnet of blue   
checkered gingham hanging by its long   
strings from a hook near the window4    
,with fast beating heart1 the boy saw   
that the next hook was vacant and       
placing his own well worn straw beside  
the bonnet he wondered if she would know
 whose hat it was4 ,and then once more1 
with reluctant hand1 the seeker of      
,knowledge1 in his ,yesterdays1 pushed  
open the door leading to the one room in
 the building and1 with a sigh of       
regret1 passed from the bright sunlight 
of boyish freedom to the shadow of his  
childish task4  ,there were neither     

tinted walls nor polished woodwork in   
that hall of learning4 ,but1 thank ,god1
 learning does not depend upon tinted   
walls or polished woodwork4 ,indeed it  
seems that rude rafters and unplastered 
ceilings most often covers the head of  
learning4 ,the humble cottage of the    
farmer shelters many a true scholar and 
statesmen are bred in log cabins4       
,neither was there a furnace with       
mysterious cranks and chains nor steam  
pipes nor radiators4 ,but1 when the cold
 weather came1 the room was warmed by an
 old sheet iron stove that stood near   
the center of the building with an      
armful of wood in a box nearby and the  
kindlings for to-morrow's fire drying on
 the floor beneath4 ,the desks were of  
soft pine1 without paint or varnish1 but
 carved with many a quaint and curious  
figure by jack knives in the hands of   
ambitious youngsters4 ,the seats were   
rude benches worn smooth and shiny4 ,a  
water bucket had its place near the door
 and a rusty tin dipper that leaked     

quite badly hung from a nail in the     
casing4  ,and hanging upon the dingy    
wall were the old maps and charts that1 
torn and soiled by long usage1 had      
patiently guided generations of boys and
 girls through the mysteries of lands   
and seas1 icebergs1 trade winds1        
deserts1 and plains4 ,still patiently   
they marked for the boy's bewildered    
brain latitude and longitude1 the tropic
 of cancer1 the arctic circle1 and the  
poles4 ,were they hanging there still8  
the man wondered4 ,were they still      
patiently leading the way through a     
wilderness of islands and peninsulas1   
capes and continents1 rivers1 lakes1 and
 sounds8 ,or had they1 in the years that
 had gone since he looked upon their    
learned faces1 been sunk to oblivion in 
the depths of their own oceans by the   
weight of their own mountain ranges8    
,and1 suddenly1 the man who sought      
,knowledge in facts found himself       
wishing in his heart that some gracious 
being would make for older children maps

 and charts that they might know where  
flow the rivers of prosperity1 where    
rise the mountains of fame1 where ripple
 the lakes of love1 where sleep the     
valleys of rest1 or where thunders the  
ocean of truth4  ,at one end of the old 
schoolroom1 behind the teacher's desk1  
was a blackboard with its accompanying  
chalk1 erasers1 rulers1 and bits of     
string4 ,to the boy1 that blackboard was
 a trial1 a temptation1 a vindication1  
or a betrayal4 ,often1 as he sat with   
his class on the long recitation seat   
that faced the teacher's desk1 with half
 studied lesson1 but with bright hopes  
of passing the twenty minutes safely1   
before the slow hand of the old clock   
had marked but half the time1 his hopes 
would be blasted by a call to the board 
where he would bring upon himself the   
ridicule of his schoolmates1 the        
condemnation of the teacher1 and would  
take his seat to hear1 with burning     
cheeks1 the awful sentence3 ,you may    
study your lesson after school4  ,after 

school--sorrowfully the boy saw the     
others passing from the room1 leaving   
him behind4 ,and the last to go1        
glancing back with tear dimmed eyes1 was
 the little girl4 ,sadly he listened to 
the voices in the entry and heard their 
shouts as they burst out doors2         
and--suddenly1 his heart beat quicker   
and his cheeks burned--that was her     
voice6  ,clear and sweet through the    
open window of the man's memory it      
came--the voice of his little girl mate 
of the ,yesterdays4  ,she was standing  
on the worn threshold of the old        
schoolhouse1 calling to her friends to  
wait2 and the boy knew that she was     
lingering there for him and that she    
called to her companions loudly so that 
he would understand4  ,but the teacher  
knew it too and bade the little girl go 
home4  ,then1 while the boy listened to 
that sweet voice growing fainter and    
fainter in the distance2 while he saw   
her1 in his fancy1 walking slowly1      
lagging behind her companions1 looking  

back for him2 the teacher talked to him 
very seriously about the value of his   
opportunities2 told him that to acquire 
an education was his duty2 sought to    
impress upon him that the most important
 thing in life was ,knowledge4  ,of     
course1 thought the boy1 teacher must   
know4 ,and1 thinking this1 he felt      
himself to be a very bad boy1 indeed2   
because1 in his heart1 he knew that he  
would have1 that moment1 given up every 
chance of an education2 he would have   
sacrificed every hope of wisdom2 he     
would have thrown away all ,knowledge   
and heaven itself just to be walking    
down the road with the little girl4 ,and
 he must have been a little had--that   
boy--because also1 most ardently1 did he
 wish that he was big enough to thrash  
the teacher or whoever it was that      
invented blackboards4  ,as the man      
stooped to take up again his too solid  
and substantial book1 he felt that he   
was but a schoolboy still4 ,to him1 the 
world had become but a great blackboard4

 ,in his private life or in conversation
 with a friend1 he might hide his poorly
 prepared lesson behind a show of fine  
talk1 a pet quotation1 or an air of     
learning2 but when he was forced to put 
what he knew where all men might        
see--when he was made to write his      
sentences in books or papers or         
compelled to do his problems in the     
business world--then it was that his    
lack of preparation was discovered1 and 
that he brought upon himself the        
ridicule or condemnation of his fellows4
 ,unconsciously he listened1 half       
expecting to hear again the old familiar
 sentence3 ,you may study your lesson   
after school4 ,after school--would there
 be any after school1 he wondered4      
,and1 after all1 was that teacher in his
 ,yesterdays right8 the man asked       
himself4 ,was ,knowledge the most       
important thing in life8 ,after all1 was
 that schoolboy of the ,yesterdays such 
a bad schoolboy because1 in his boyish  
heart1 he rebelled against the tasks    

that kept him from his schoolmates and  
from the companionship of the little    
girl8 ,was that boy so bad because he   
wished that he was big enough to thrash 
whoever it was that invented            
blackboards1 to rob schoolboys of their 
schoolgirl mates8  ,suppose--the man    
asked himself1 as he laid aside the too 
heavy and substantial book and looked   
into the fire again--suppose1 that1     
after a lifetime devoted to the pursuit 
of ,knowledge1 there should be no one1  
when school time was over1 to linger on 
the worn old threshold for him8 ,suppose
 he should be forced1 in the late       
afternoon1 to go down the homeward road 
alone8 ,could it be truly said that his 
manhood years had been well spent8      
,could any number of accumulated facts  
satisfy him if the hour was a lonely    
hour when school closed for the day8    
,might it not be that there is a        
,knowledge to be gained from ,life that 
is of more value than the wintry        
,knowledge of facts8  ,as the man looked

 back into his ,yesterdays1 the         
blackboard and its condemnation mattered
 little to him4 ,it was the going home  
alone that mattered4 ,what1 he wondered1
 would matter most when1 at last1 he    
could look back upon his grown up school
 days--the world blackboard with its    
approval or its condemnation1 or the    
going home alone8  99    99    99    99 
99  ,it was the time of melting snow4   
,the top of the orchard hill was a faded
 brown patch as though1 on a shoulder of
 winter's coat1 the season had worn a   
hole quite through2 while the fields of 
the fall plowing made spots that looked 
pitifully thin and threadbare2 and the  
creek1 below the house where the little 
girl lived1 was a long dark line looking
 for all the world like a rip where the 
icy stitching of a seam in the once     
proud garment had1 at last1 given way4  
,but the drift in the garden on the     
boy's side of the hedge was still piled 
high against the barrier of thickly     
interwoven branches and twigs and the   

cherry tree1 in its shivering nakedness1
 seemed to be pleading1 now1 for spring 
to come quickly4  ,the woman who knew   
herself to be a woman did not attempt to
 walk home from her work that ,saturday 
afternoon4 ,the streets were too muddy  
and she was later than usual because of 
some extra work4  ,of her               
,occupation--of the world into which she
 had gone--the woman also was gaining   
,knowledge4 ,though1 she did not learn  
from choice but because she must4 ,and  
she learned of her work only what was   
needful for her to know that she might  
hold her place4 ,she had no desire to   
know more4 ,because the woman already   
knew the supreme thing1 she had no      
desire to learn more of her ,occupation 
than she must4 ,already she knew her    
womanhood1 and that1 to a woman who     
knows1 is the supreme thing4 ,for a     
woman with understanding there is no    
,knowledge greater than this3 the       
knowledge of her womanhood4 ,there was  
born in her no passion for knowledge of 

things4 ,she burned with no desire to   
follow the golden chain1 link by link1  
to its hidden end4 ,in her womanhood she
 held already the answer to the sum of  
,life4  ,the passion of her womanhood   
was not to know but to trust--not facts 
but faith--not evidence but belief--not 
reason but emotion4 ,her desire was not 
to take from the world by the power of  
,knowledge but to receive from the world
 by right of her sex and love4 ,she did 
not crave the independence of great     
learning but longed1 rather1 for the    
prouder dependence of a true womanhood4 
,out of her woman heart's fullness she  
pitied and fed the poor mendicant       
without inquiring into the economic     
condition that made him a beggar4 ,her  
situation1 she accepted with secret     
rebellion1 with hidden shame and        
humiliation in her heart1 but never     
asked why the age forced her into such a
 position4 ,for affection1 for sympathy1
 for confidence1 and understanding1 she 
hungered with a woman hunger2 and1      

through her hunger for these1 from the  
men and women with whom she labored she 
gained ,knowledge of ,life4 ,of the     
lives of her fellow workers--of the     
women who had entered that world1 even  
as she had entered it1 because they     
must--of the men whom she came to know  
under circumstances that forbade        
recognition of her womanhood--she gained
 ,knowledge2 and the ,knowledge she     
gained was this3 that the world is a    
world of hungry hearts4  ,i do not know 
just what the circumstances were under  
which the woman learned this4 ,i do not 
know what her ,occupation was nor who   
her friends were2 nor can ,i tell in    
detail of the peculiar incidents that   
led to this ,knowledge4 ,such things are
 not of my story4 ,this1 only1 belongs  
to my story3 the woman learned that the 
world is a world of hungry hearts4 ,cold
 and cruel and calculating and bold1    
fighting desperately1 merciless1 and    
menacing1 the world is but a hungry     
hearted world with it all4 ,this1 when a

 woman knows it1 is1 for her1 a saving  
,knowledge4 ,just to the degree that a  
woman knows this1 she is wise above all 
men--wise with a wisdom that men cannot 
attain4 ,just to the degree that a woman
 is ignorant of this1 she is unlearned  
in the world's best wisdom4  ,long      
before she knocked at the door of the   
world into which she had been admitted1 
upon condition that she left her        
womanhood without1 the woman had thought
 herself wise in knowledge of mankind4  
,in her school days1 text books and     
lessons had meant little to her beside  
the friendship of her schoolmates4 ,at  
her graduation she had considered her   
life education complete4 ,she thought1  
modestly1 that she was fitted for a     
woman's place in life4 ,and that which  
she learned first from the world into   
which she had gone was this3 that her   
knowledge of life was very1 very1       
meager2 that there were many1 many1     
things about men and women that she did 
not know4  ,school could fit her only   

for the fancy work of ,life3 plain      
sewing she must learn of ,life itself4  
,school had made her highly ornamental3 
,life must make her useful4 ,school had 
developed her capacity for pleasure and 
enjoyment3 not until ,life had developed
 her capacity for sorrow and pain would 
her education be complete4 ,school had  
taught her to speak1 to dress1 and to   
act correctly3 ,life must teach her to  
feel4 ,school had trained her mind to   
appreciate3 ,life must teach her to     
sympathize4 ,school had made her a lady3
 ,life must make the lady a woman4  ,the
 woman had known her life schoolmates   
only in pleasure--in those hours when   
they came to her seeking to please or   
desiring to be pleased4 ,in her         
,occupation she was coming to know them 
in their hours of toil1 when there was  
no thought of gaining or giving         
pleasure1 but only of the demands of    
their existence2 when duty1 pitiless1   
stern1 uncompromising1 duty held them in
 its grip2 when need1 unrelenting1 ever 

present1 dominating need1 drove them    
under its lash4 ,she had known them only
 in their hours of leisure--when their  
minds were free for the merry jest1 the 
ready laugh1 the quick sympathy3 now she
 was coming to know them in those other 
hours when their minds were intent upon 
the battle they waged--when their       
thoughts were all of the attack1 the    
defense1 the advance1 the retreat1 the  
victory or defeat4 ,she had known them  
only in their hours of rest--when their 
hands were empty1 their nerves and      
muscles relaxed1 their hearts calm and  
their brains cool2 now she saw them when
 their hands held the weapons of their  
warfare--the tools of their craft--when 
their nerves and muscles were braced for
 the strain of the conflict or tense    
with the effort of toil2 when their     
hearts beat high with the zeal of their 
purpose and their brains were fired with
 the excitement of their efforts4 ,she  
had known them only in the hours of     
their dreaming--when1 as they looked out

 upon life1 they talked confidently of  
the future3 she was learning now to know
 them when they were working out their  
dreams2 at times with hopes high and    
courage strong2 at other times          
discouraged1 frightened1 and dismayed4  
,she had known them only as they dreamed
 of the past--when they talked in low   
tones of the days that were gone3 now   
she saw them as they thought only of the
 present and the days that were to come4
 ,so this woman1 from the world into    
which she had gone1 gained knowledge of 
mankind4  ,and this is the pity and the 
danger of it3 that the woman gained this
 knowledge from a world1 that1 even as  
it taught her1 denied her womanhood4    
,the sadness of it all is this3 to the  
world that refused to recognize her     
womanhood1 it was given to teach her    
that which would make her womanhood     
complete4 ,the knowledge that she must  
have to complete her womanhood the woman
 should have gained only from the life  
of her dreams--the life that is beyond  

that old1 old1 open door through which  
she could not pass alone4 ,in the       
companionship1 sympathy1 strength1      
protection1 and love1 of that one who   
was to cross with her the threshold of  
the door that ,god set open in the      
beginning1 she should have gained the   
knowledge of life that would ripen her  
girlhood into womanhood4 ,for what else1
 indeed1 has ,god given love to men and 
women8 ,in the strength that would come 
to her with her children1 the woman     
should have been privileged to learn    
sorrow and pain4 ,in the world that     
would have honored1 above all else1 her 
womanhood1 she should have been         
permitted to find the knowledge of life 
that would perfect and complete her     
womanhood4  ,fruit1 ,i know1 may be     
picked green from the tree and          
artificially forced to a kind of        
ripeness4 ,but the fruit that matures   
under ,nature's careful hand2 that knows
 in its ripening the warm sunshine and  
the cleansing showers1 the cool of the  

quiet evening and the freshness of the  
dewy morn1 the strength of the roaring  
storms and the softness of the caressing
 breeze--this fruit alone1 ,i say1 has  
the flavor that is from heaven4  ,it is 
a trite saying that many a girl of      
sixteen1 these days1 knows more of life 
than her grandmother knew at sixty4 ,it 
remains to be proven that1 because of   
this knowledge1 the young woman of      
to-day is a better woman than her       
grandmother was4 ,but1 as the only      
positive proof would be her children1   
the case is very likely to be thrown out
 of court for lack of evidence for it   
seems1 somehow1 that1 when women gain   
,knowledge from that world into which   
they go alone1 leaving their womanhood  
behind1 they acquire also a strange     
pride in being too wise to mate for love
 or to bear children4 ,and yet1 it is   
true1 that the knowledge that enables a 
woman to live happy and contented       
without children is a damnable knowledge
 and a menace to the race4  ,poor old   

world1 you are so grown up these days   
and your palate is so educated to the   
artificial flavor that you have         
forgotten1 seemingly1 how peaches taste 
when ripened on the trees4 ,god pity    
you1 old world1 if you do not soon get  
back into the orchard before you lose   
your taste for fruit altogether4  ,the  
knowledge that the woman gained from her
 ,occupation made her question1 more and
 more1 if that one with whom she could  
cross the threshold of the door that led
 to the life of her dreams1 would ever  
come4 ,the knowledge she gained made her
 doubt her courage to enter that door   
with him if he should come4 ,in the     
knowledge she gained of the world into  
which she had gone alone1 her           
womanhood's only salvation was this3    
that she gained also the knowledge that 
the world of men1 even as the world of  
women1 is a world of hungry hearts4 ,it 
was this that kept her--that made her   
strong--that saved her4 ,it was this    
knowledge that saved her womanhood for  

herself and for the race4  ,the week1   
for the woman1 had been a hard week4    
,the day1 for her1 had been a hard day4 
,when she boarded the car to go to her  
home she was very tired and she was not 
quite the picture of perfect woman      
health that she had been that other     
,saturday--the time of falling leaves4  
,for some unaccountable reason there was
 one vacant seat left in the car and she
 dropped into it with a little inward   
sigh of relief4 ,with weary1 unseeing1  
eyes she stared out of the window at the
 throng of people hurrying along through
 the mud and slush of the streets4 ,her 
tired brain refused to think4 ,her very 
soul was faint with loneliness and the  
knowledge that she was gaining of life4 
,the car stopped again and a party of   
girls of the high school age1 evidently 
just from the ,saturday matinee1 crowded
 in4 ,clinging to the straps and the    
backs of seats1 clutching each other    
with little gusts and ripples of        
laughter1 they filled the aisle of the  

crowded car with a fresh and joyous life
 that touched the tired woman like a    
breath of spring4 ,in all this work     
stale1 stupidly weary1 world there is   
nothing so refreshing as the wholesome  
laugh of a happy1 care free1 young girl4
 ,the woman whose heart was heavy with  
knowledge of life would have liked to   
take them in her arms4 ,she felt a sense
 of gratitude as though she were        
indebted to them just for their being4  
,and would these1 too--the woman        
thought--would these1 too1 be forced by 
the custom of the age--by necessity--to 
go into the world that would not        
recognize their womanhood--that would   
put a price upon the priceless things of
 their womanhood--that would teach them 
hard lessons of life and1 with a too    
early knowledge1 crush out the sweet    
girlish naturalness1 even as a          
thoughtless foot crushes a tender flower
 while still it is in the bud8  ,and    
thinking thus1 perhaps because of her   
weariness1 perhaps because of some      

chance word dropped by the girls as they
 talked of their school and schoolmates1
 the woman went back again into her     
,yesterdays--to the schoolmates of her  
,yesterdays4 ,the world in which she now
 lived and labored was forgotten4       
,forgotten were the worries and troubles
 of her grown up life--forgotten the    
trials and disappointments--forgotten   
the new friends1 the uncongenial        
acquaintances1 the cruel knowledge1 the 
heartless business--forgotten everything
 of the present--all1 all1 was lost in a
 golden mist of the long ago4  ,the     
tall1 graceful1 girl holding to a strap 
at the forward end of the car1 in the   
woman's ,yesterdays1 lived just beyond  
the white church at the corner4 ,the    
dark haired1 dark eyed1 round faced one1
 she knew as the minister's daughter4   
,while the dainty1 doll like1 miss      
clinging to her sturdier sister1 in     
those days of long ago1 was the woman's 
own particular chum4 ,and the girl with 
the yellow curls--the one with the      

golden hair--the blue eyed1 and the     
brown--the slender and the stout--every 
one--belonged to the tired woman's      
,yesterdays--every one she had known in 
the past and to each she gave a name4   
,and then--as the woman1 watching the   
young schoolgirls in the crowded car1   
lived once again those days of the old  
schoolhouse on the hill where1 with her 
girl companions of the long ago1 she    
sought the beginnings of ,knowledge--the
 boys came1 too4 ,just as in the        
,yesterdays they had come to take their 
places in the old schoolroom1 they came1
 now1 to take their places in the       
woman's memory4  ,there was the tall1   
thin1 lad whose shoulders seemed1 even  
in his school days1 to find the burden  
of life too heavy2 and who wore always  
on his face such a sad and solemn air   
that one was almost startled when he    
laughed as though the parson had cracked
 a joke at a funeral4 ,the woman smiled 
as she remembered how his clothes were  
never known to fit him4 ,when his       

trousers were so short that they barely 
reached below his knees his coat sleeves
 covered his hands and the skirts of    
that garment almost swept the ground2   
but1 when the trousers were rolled up at
 the bottom and hung over his feet like 
huge bags1 his long1 thin1 arms showed1 
half way to his elbows1 in a coat that  
was too small to button about even his  
narrow chest4 ,that boy never missed his
 lessons1 though1 but when he learned   
them no one ever knew for he seemed to  
be always drawing grotesque figures and 
funny faces on his slate or whittling   
slyly on some curious toy when the      
teacher's back was turned4 ,he had no   
particular chum or crony4 ,he was never 
a leader but dared to follow the        
boldest4 ,to the little boys and girls  
he was a hero2 to the older ones he     
was--,slim4  ,the woman1 by chance1 had 
met this old schoolmate1 one day1 in her
 grown up world4 ,in the editorial rooms
 of a large city daily he was the chief1
 and she noticed that his clothing      

fitted him a little better2 that he was 
a little broader in the shoulders2 a    
little larger around the waist2 his face
 was not quite so solemn and his eyes   
had a more knowing look perhaps4 ,but   
still--still--the woman could see that  
he was1 after all1 the same old ,slim   
and she fancied1 with another smile1    
that he often1 still1 whittled toys when
 the teacher's back was turned4  ,then  
came the fat boy--,stuffy4 ,he1 too1 had
 another name which does not matter4    
,always in the ,yesterdays1 as in the   
to-days1 there is a ,stuffy4 ,stuffy was
 evidently built to roll through life1  
pushed gently by that special providence
 that seems to look after the affairs of
 fat people4 ,his teeth were white and  
even1 his eyes of the deepest blue1 and 
his nose--what there was of it--was     
almost hidden by cheeks that were as red
 and shiny as the apples he always      
carried in his pocket4 ,he was very     
generous with those same apples--was    
,stuffy--though one was tempted to think

 that he shared his fruit not so much   
from choice but rather because he       
disliked the hard work that was sure to 
follow a refusal of the pressing        
invitation to go halvers4 ,the woman    
fancied that she could see again the    
look of mingled fun and fear1 generosity
 and greed1 that went over her          
schoolmate's face as he saw the half of 
his eatable possessions pass into the   
keeping of his companions4 ,and then1 as
 he watched the tempting morsels        
disappear1 the expression on his face   
would seem to show a battle royal       
between his stomach and his heart1 in   
that he rejoiced to see the happiness of
 his friends1 even while he coveted that
 which gave them pleasure4 ,she wondered
 where was ,stuffy now8 ,she felt sure  
that he must live in a big house1 and   
drive to and from his place of business 
in a fine carriage1 with fine horses and
 a coachman in livery1 and dine and wine
 his friends as often as he chose with  
never a fear that he would run short of 

good things for himself4 ,she was quite 
sure1 too1 that he would suffer with    
severe attacks of gout at times and     
would have four or five half grown      
daughters and a wife of great ambition4 
,does he1 she wondered1 does he ever--in
 the whirl and rush of business or in   
the excitement and pleasure of his      
social life--does he ever go back to    
those other days8 ,does the grown up    
,stuffy remember how once he traded     
marbles for candy or bought sweet cakes 
with toys8  ,and then1 there was the boy
 with the freckled face and tangled     
hair1 whose nose seemed always trying to
 peep into his own mischief lighted eyes
 as though wishing to see what new      
deviltry was breeding there3 and his    
crony1 who never could learn the        
multiplication table1 who was forever   
swearing vengeance on the teacher1 whose
 clothes were always torn1 and who      
carried frogs and little snakes in his  
pockets3 and the timid boys who always  
played in one corner of the yard by     

themselves or with the girls or stood by
 and watched1 with mingled admiration   
and envy1 the games and pranks of the   
bolder lads3 and ,dummy--poor           
,dummy--the shining mark for every      
schoolboy trick and joke2 with his shock
 of yellow hair1 his weak cross eyes1   
his sharp nose1 thin lips1 and          
shambling1 shuffling1 shifting          
manner--poor ,dummy4  ,and of course    
there was a bully1 the ,ishmael of the  
school1 whom everybody shunned and      
nobody liked2 who fought the teacher and
 frightened the little children2 who    
chewed1 and smoked1 and swore1 and lied1
 and did everything bad that a boy could
 do4 ,he had a few followers1 a very    
few1 who joined him rather through fear 
than admiration and not one of whom     
cared for or trusted him4 ,the woman    
remembered how this schoolboy face was  
sadly hard and cold and cruel1 as       
though1 because he had gotten so little 
sunshine from life1 his heart was frozen
 over4 ,she had read of him1 in the     

grown up world1 receiving sentence for a
 dreadful crime1 and1 remembering his   
father and mother1 had wondered if his  
grandparents were like them and how many
 generations before his birth his career
 of crime began4  ,again and again1 the 
car had stopped to let people off but   
the woman had not noticed4 ,the         
schoolgirls1 all but the tall one who   
had found a seat1 were gone4 ,but the   
woman had not seen them go4  ,and then1 
as she sat dreaming of the days long    
gone--as she saw again the faces of her 
school day friends1 one there was that  
stood out from among them all4 ,it was  
the face of the boy who lived next      
door--the boy who had stood with her    
under the cherry tree2 who had put a    
tiny play ring of brass upon her finger2
 and who had kissed her with a kiss that
 was somehow different4 ,he was the hero
 of her ,yesterdays as he was the       
acknowledged chieftain of the school4   
,no one could run so fast1 swim so far1 
dive so deep1 or climb so high as he4   

,no one could throw him in wrestling or 
defeat him in boxing4 ,he was their     
lord1 their leader1 their boyish master 
and royally he ruled them all--his      
willing subjects4 ,he it was who stopped
 the runaway horse2 who killed the big  
snake2 and who pulled the minister's    
little daughter from the pond4 ,it was  
he who planned the parties and the      
picnics2 the sleigh rides in winter and 
the berrying trips in summer4 ,it was he
 whom the girls all loved and the boys  
all worshiped--bold1 handsome1 daring1  
dashing1 careless1 generous1 leader of  
the ,yesterdays4  ,again she saw his    
face lifted slyly from a spelling book  
to smile at her across the aisle4 ,again
 she felt the rich1 warm1 color rush to 
her cheeks as he took his seat1 beside  
her on the recitation bench4 ,again her 
eyes were dimmed with tears when he was 
punished for some broken rule or shone  
with gladness when she heard his clear  
voice laughing with his friends or      
calling to his mates and her4  ,and once

 again1 in the late afternoon1 with him 
and with the other boys and girls1 she  
went down the road from the little      
schoolhouse in the edge of the timber on
 the hill2 her sunbonnet hanging by its 
strings and her dinner basket on her    
arm4 ,onward1 through the long shadows  
that lay across their way1 they went    
together1 to pause at last before the   
gate of her home1 there to linger for a 
little1 while the others still went on4 
,farther and farther in the evening they
 watched their schoolmates go--up the   
road past the house where he lived--past
 the orchard and over the hill--until1  
in the distance1 they seemed to vanish  
into the sunset sky and she was left    
with him alone4  ,the conductor called  
the woman's street but she did not heed4
 ,the man in uniform pulled the bell    
cord and1 as the car stopped1 called    
again1 looking toward her expectantly4  
,but she did not notice4 ,with a smile1 
the man1 who knew her1 approached1 and3 
,beg your pardon ,miss1 but here's your 

street4  ,with blushing cheeks and      
confused manner1 she stammered her      
thanks1 and hurried from the car amid   
the smiles of the passengers4 ,and the  
woman did not know how beautiful she was
 at that moment4 ,she was wondering3 in 
the hungry hearted world--under all his 
ambition1 plans1 and labor1 with the    
knowledge that must have come to him    
also from life--was his heart ever      
hungry too8      ,,ignorance  ,when the 
man had gained a little knowledge from  
the thing that he had found to do and   
had wearied himself greatly trying to   
follow the golden chain1 link by link1  
to the very end1 he came1 then1 to      
understand the value of ,ignorance4 ,he 
came to see that success in working out 
his dreams depended quite as much upon  
,ignorance as upon ,knowledge--that1    
indeed1 to know the value of ,ignorance 
is the highest order of ,knowledge4     
,there are a great many things about    
this man's life that ,i do not know4    
,but that does not matter because most  

of the things about any man's life are  
of little or no importance4 ,that the   
man came to know the value of ,ignorance
 was a thing of vast importance to the  
man and1 therefore1 is of importance to 
my story4 ,ignorance also is one of the 
,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of ,life
 but only those who have much knowledge 
know its value4  ,a wise ,ignorance is  
rich soil from which the seeds of       
,knowledge will bring forth fruit1 a    
hundred fold4 ,i do not know3 this is   
the beginning and the end of wisdom4    
,one who has never learned to say3 ,i do
 not know1 has not the ,a ,b ,c of      
education4 ,he who professes to be      
educated but will not confess ,ignorance
 is intellectually condemned4  ,a man   
who pretends to a knowledge which he has
 not is like a pygmy wearing giant's    
clothing1 ridiculous3 but he who admits 
,ignorance is like a strong knight1     
clothed in a well fitting suit of mail1 
ready to achieve truth4  ,when a man    
declares openly his ignorance concerning

 things of which he knows but little1   
the world listens with increased respect
 when he speaks of the thing he knows3  
but when a man claims knowledge of all  
things1 the world doubts mightily that  
he knows much of anything1 and accepts  
questioningly whatever he says of       
everything4  ,that which a man does not 
know harms him not at all1 neither does 
it harm the world2 but that which1      
through a shallow1 foolish1             
self-conceit1 he professes to know1 when
 he has at best only a half knowledge1  
or1 in a self destructive vanity1       
deceives himself into thinking that he  
knows1 betrays him always to the injury 
of both himself and others4 ,an honest  
,ignorance is a golden vessel1 empty1   
ready to be filled with wealth but a    
pretentious or arrogant knowledge is a  
vessel so filled with worthless trash   
that there is no room for that which is 
of value4  ,the world is as full of     
things to know as it is full of hooks1  
,no man can hope to read all the books  

in the world4 ,selection is enforced by 
necessity4 ,so it is in ,knowledge4 ,one
 should not think that1 because a man is
 ignorant of some things1 he is         
therefore a fool2 his ignorance may be  
the manifestation of a choice wiser than
 that of the one who elects to sit in   
judgment upon him4  ,with the passion to
 know fully aroused2 with his mind      
fretting to grapple with the problem of 
,life2 and his purpose fired to solve   
the riddle of time2 the man succeeded in
 acquiring this3 that he must dare to   
know little4 ,he came to understand     
that1 while all knowable things are for 
all mankind to know1 no man can know    
them all2 and that the wisest men to    
whom the world pays highest tribute1 are
 the wisest because they have not       
attempted to know all1 but1 recognizing 
the value of ,ignorance1 have dared to  
remain ignorant of much4 ,intellectual  
giants they are2 intellectual babes they
 are1 also4 ,the man had thought that   
there was nothing that these men--these 

wise ones--did not know4 ,he came to    
understand that even he knew some things
 of which they were ignorant4 ,so his   
determination to know all things passed 
to a determination to know nothing of   
many things that he might know more of  
the things that were most closely       
associated with his life and work4 ,he  
determined to know the most of the      
things that1 to him1 were most vital4   
,he saw also that he must work out his  
dreams within the circle of his own     
limitations2 and that his limitations   
were not the limitations of his fellow  
workers2 neither were their limitations 
his4 ,he did not know yet just where the
 outmost circle of his limitations lay  
but he knew that it was there and that  
he must make no mistake when he came to 
it4 ,and this1 too1 is true3 just to the
 degree that the man recognized his     
limitations1 the circle widened4  ,also 
the man came to understand that there   
are things knowable and things          
unknowable4 ,he came to see that truest 

wisdom is in this3 for one to spend well
 his strength on the knowable things and
 refuse to dissipate his intellectual   
vigor upon the unknowable4 ,not until he
 began really to know things was he     
conscious in any saving degree of the   
unknowable4 ,he saw that those who      
strive always with the unknowable beat  
the air in vain and exhaust themselves  
in their senseless folly4 ,he saw that  
to concern oneself wholly with the      
unknowable is to rob the world of the   
things in which are its life4 ,to       
meditate much upon the unknowable is an 
intellectual dissipation that produces  
spiritual intoxication and often results
 in spiritual delirium tremens4 ,a      
habitual spiritual drunkard is a        
nuisance in the world4 ,the wisdom of   
,ignorance is in nothing more apparent  
than in a clear recognition of the      
unknowable4  ,and then the man came to  
regret knowing some of the things that  
he knew4 ,he came1 in some things1 to   
wish with all his heart that he had     

,ignorance where he had ,knowledge4 ,he 
found that much of the time and strength
 that he desired to spend in acquiring  
the knowledge that would help him to    
work out his dreams1 he must spend1     
instead1 in ridding himself of knowledge
 that he had already acquired4 ,he      
learned that to forget is quite as      
necessary as to remember and very often 
much more difficult4 ,young he was1 and 
strong he was1 but1 already1 he felt the
 dragging power of the things he would  
have been better for not knowing--the   
things he desired to forget4 ,they were 
very little things in comparison to the 
things that in the future he would wish 
to forget2 but to him1 at this time1    
they did not seem small4 ,so it was     
that1 in his effort to acquire          
,knowledge1 the man began to strive also
 for ,ignorance4  ,i do not know what it
 was that the man had learned that he   
desired to forget4 ,my story is not the 
kind of a story that tells those things4
 ,i know1 only1 that for him to forget  

was imperative4 ,i know1 only1 that had 
he held fast to ,ignorance in some      
things of which he had gained knowledge1
 it would have been better4 ,for him in 
some things ,ignorance would have been  
the truest wisdom4 ,ignorance would have
 helped him to work out his dreams when 
,knowledge only hindered by forcing him 
to spend much time striving to forget4  
,those who know too much of evil find it
 extremely difficult to gain knowledge  
of the good4 ,those who know too much of
 the false find it very hard to         
recognize the true4 ,a too great        
knowledge of things that are wrong makes
 it almost impossible for one to believe
 in that which is right4 ,ignorance1    
rightly understood1 is1 indeed1 one of  
the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of  
,life4  ,and then this man1 in learning 
the value of ,ignorance1 came perilously
 near believing that no man could know  
anything4 ,he came dangerously near the 
belief that ,knowledge is all a mirage  
toward which men journey hopelessly2 a  

phantom to be grasped by no hand2 a     
will-o'-the-wisp to be followed here and
 there but leading nowhere4 ,he1 for a  
little1 said that ,ignorance is the     
truest wisdom4 ,he believed1 for a time1
 that to say always3 ,i do not know1 is 
the height of all intelligence4 ,one by 
one1 he saw his intellectual idols fall 
in the dust of the commonplace4 ,little 
by little1 he discovered that the       
intellectual masters he had served were 
themselves only servants4 ,his          
intellectual ,gods1 he found to be men  
like himself4 ,and so1 for a while1 he  
said3 ,we can know nothing4 ,we can only
 think that we know4 ,we can only       
pretend to know4 ,there is no real      
,knowledge but only ,ignorance4         
,ignorance should be exalted4 ,in       
,ignorance lies peace1 contentment1     
happiness1 and safety4 ,even of his     
work--of his dreams he said this4 ,he   
said3 ,it is no use4 ,to the very edge  
of this pit he came but he did not fall 
in4  ,to accept the fact of the         

unknowable without losing his faith in  
the knowable3 to recognize the unknown  
without losing in the least his grip    
upon the known3 to find the ,knowledge  
of ,yesterday becoming the ,ignorance of
 to-day and still hold fast to the      
,knowledge of the present2 to watch his 
intellectual leaders dropping to the    
rear and to follow as bravely those who 
were still in the front3 to see his     
intellectual heroes fall and his        
intellectual idols crumbling in the dust
 and still to keep burning the fire of  
his enthusiasm3 to find ,knowledge so   
often a curse and ,ignorance a blessing 
and still to desire ,knowledge3 all     
this1 the man learned that he must do if
 he would work out his dreams4 ,that    
which saved the man from the pit of     
hopeless disbelief in everything and    
helped him to a clear understanding of  
,ignorance1 was this3 he went back again
 into his ,yesterdays4  ,from sheltered 
fence corners and hidden woodland       
hollows1 from the lee of high banks1 and

 along the hedge in the garden1 the last
 worn and ragged remnant of winter's    
garment was gone4 ,the brook in the     
valley1 below the little girl's house1  
had broken the last of its fetters and  
was rejoicing boisterously in its       
freedom4 ,the meadow and pasture lands  
showed the tender green of the first    
grass life4 ,pussy willow buds were     
swelling and over the orchard and the   
wood a filmy veil of summer color was   
dropped as though by fairy hands4 ,in   
the cherry tree1 a pair of brown birds1 
just returning from their southern home1
 were discussing the merits of the      
nearby hedge as a building site3 the    
madam bird insisting1 as women will1    
that the beautiful traditions of the    
spot made it1 for home building1        
peculiarly desirable4 ,it was a well    
known fact1 said she1 that brown birds  
had builded there for no one knows how  
many ages4 ,even in the far away city1  
the man felt the season in the air4 ,the
 reek of city odors could not altogether

 drown the subtle perfume that betrayed 
the near presence of the spring4 ,as    
though the magic of the budding1        
sprouting1 starting1 time of the year   
placed him under its spell1 the man went
 back to the springtime of his          
life--back into his ,yesterdays4  ,once 
again1 he walked under the clear skies  
of childhood4 ,once again1 he lived in  
the blessed1 blessed1 days when he had  
nothing to forget--when his mind and    
life were as a mountain brook that1     
clear and pure1 from the spring of its  
birth runs ever onward1 outward1 turning
 never back1 pausing never to form      
stagnant1 poisonous1 pools4 ,and there  
it was--in his ,yesterdays--in the pure 
sunlight of childhood--that he found new
 intellectual faith--that he came to a  
right understanding of the real wisdom  
of ,ignorance4  ,the intellectual giants
 of his ,yesterdays--those wise ones    
upon whose learning he looked with      
childish awe--who were they8 ,famous    
scholars who lectured in caps and gowns 

and words of many syllables upon themes 
of mighty interest to themselves8       
,students who1 in their laboratory      
worlds1 discovered many wonderful things
 that were not so and solved many       
puzzling problems with solutions that   
were right and entirely satisfactory    
until the next graduating class         
discovered them to be all wrong and no  
solution at all8 ,great religious       
leaders who were supernaturally called1 
divinely commissioned1 and armed with   
holy authority to point out the true and
 only way of life until some other with 
the same call1 commission1 and          
authority1 pointed out a wholly         
different true and only way8 ,great     
statesmen upon whose knowledge and      
leadership the salvation of the nation  
depended1 until the next election       
discovered them to be foolish puppets of
 a dishonest and corrupt party and put  
new leaders in their places to save the 
nation with a new brand of political    
salvation1 the chief value of which was 

its newness8 ,no indeed6 ,such as these 
were not the intellectual giants of the 
man's ,yesterdays4 ,the heights of      
knowledge in those days were held by    
others than these4  ,one of the very    
highest peaks in the whole mountain     
range of learning1 in the ,yesterdays1  
was held by the hired man4 ,again1 at   
chore time1 the boy followed this wise  
one about the stables and the barn1     
watching1 from a safe position near the 
door1 while the horses were groomed and 
bedded down for the night4 ,again the   
pungent odors from the stalls1 the scent
 of the straw and the hay in the loft1  
the smell of harness leather damp with  
sweat was in his nostrils and in his    
ears1 the soft swish of switching tails1
 the thud of stamping hoofs1 the        
contented munching of grain1 the rustle 
of hay1 with now and then a low whinny  
or an angry squeal4 ,and fearlessly to  
and fro in this strange world moved the 
hired man4 ,in and out among the horses 
he passed1 perfectly at home in the     

stalls1 seeming to share the most       
intimate secrets of the horse life4     
,everything that there was to know about
 a horse1 confidently thought the little
 boy1 this wonderful man knew4 ,the very
 language that he used when talking     
about horses was a language full of     
strange1 hard1 words1 the meaning of    
which was hidden from the childish      
worshiper of wisdom4 ,such words as     
ringbone and spavin and heaves and      
stringhalt and pastern and stifle and   
wethers and girth and hock1 to the boy1 
seemed to establish1 beyond all         
question1 the intellectual greatness of 
the one who used them just as words of  
many syllables sometimes fix for older  
children the position on the            
intellectual heights of those who use   
them4 ,chiaroscuro1 cheiropterous1      
eschatology1 and the unearned           
increment--who1 in the common1 every    
day1 grown up1 world1 would dare        
question the artistic1 scientific1      
religious1 or political1 knowledge of   

one who could talk like that8  ,nor did 
the intellectual strength of this wise  
one of the ,yesterdays exhaust itself   
with the scientific knowledge of horses4
 ,he was equally at home in the         
co-ordinate sciences of cows and pigs   
and chickens4 ,again the boy stood in   
the cow shed laboratory and watched1    
with childish wonder1 the demonstration 
of the master's superior wisdom as the  
white streams poured into the tinkling  
milk pail4 ,how did he do it--wondered  
the boy--where did this wizard in       
overalls and hickory shirt and tattered 
straw hat acquire his marvelous         
scientific skill8  ,in the garden1 the  
orchard1 or the field1 it was the same4 
,no secret of nature was hidden from    
this learned one4 ,he knew whether      
potatoes should be planted in the dark  
or light of the moon3 whether next      
winter would be close or open3 whether  
the coming season would be early or     
late3 whether next summer would be wet  
or dry4 ,always he could tell1 days     

ahead1 whether it would rain or if the  
weather would be fair4 ,with a peach    
tree twig he could tell where to dig for
 water4 ,by many signs he could say     
whether luck would be good or bad4      
,small wonder that the boy felt very    
ignorant1 very humble1 in the presence  
of this wise one6  ,then1 one day1 the  
boy1 to his amazement1 learned that this
 wizard of the barnyard knew nothing at 
all about fairies4 ,common1 every day1  
knowledge was this knowledge of fairies 
to the boy3 but the wise one knew       
nothing about them4 ,so dense was his   
ignorance that he even seemed to doubt  
and smiled an incredulous smile when the
 boy tried to enlighten him4  ,it was a 
great day in his ,yesterdays when the   
boy discovered that the hired man did   
not know about fairies4  ,as the years  
passed and the time approached when the 
boy was to become a man1 he learned the 
meaning of many words that were as      
strange to the intellectual hero of his 
childhood as the language of that       

companion of horses had once been       
strange to him4 ,in time1 much of the   
knowledge of that barnyard sage became1 
to the boy1 even as the boy's knowledge 
of fairies had been to the man4         
,still--still--it was a great day in his
 ,yesterdays when the boy discovered    
that the hired man did not know about   
fairies4 ,perhaps1 though1 it was just  
as well that the hired man did not know4
 ,if he had become too familiar with the
 fairies1 his potatoes might not have   
been planted either in the light or the 
dark of the moon and the world's        
potatoes must be planted somehow4       
,equally great in his special field of  
knowledge was the old1 white haired1    
negro who lived in a tiny cabin just a  
little way over the hill4 ,strange and  
awful were the things that he knew about
 the fearsome1 supernatural1 creatures1 
that lived and moved in the unseen      
world4 ,of hants and spirits and witches
 and hoodoos he told the boy with such  
earnest confidence and so convincing a  

manner that to doubt was impossible4 ,in
 the unknowable world1 the old negro    
moved with authority unquestioned1 with 
piety above criticism1 with a religious 
zeal of such warmth that the boy was    
often moved by the old man's wisdom and 
goodness to go to him with offerings    
from mother's pantry4  ,and then1 one   
day1 the boy discovered that this       
wonderfully wise one could neither read 
nor write4 ,everybody that the boy knew1
 in the grown up world1 could read and  
write4 ,the boy himself could even read 
cat and rat and dog4 ,vaguely the boy   
wondered1 even then1 if the old black   
saint's lack of those commonplace       
accomplishments accounted1 in any way1  
for his marvelous knowledge of the      
unseen world4  ,and father--father--was 
the greatest1 the wisest1 and the best  
man that ever lived4 ,the boy wondered1 
sometimes1 why the ,bible did not tell  
about his father4 ,surely1 in all the   
world1 there was no other man so good as
 he4 ,and1 as for wisdom6 ,there was    

nothing--nothing--that father did not   
know6 ,always1 when other men came to   
see them1 there was talk of such strange
 things as government and party and     
campaigns and senators and              
congressmen--things that the boy did not
 in the least know about--but he knew   
that his father knew1 which was quite   
enough1 indeed1 for a boy of his age to 
know4  ,the boy1 in his ,yesterdays1    
wondered greatly when he heard his      
father sometimes wish that he could be a
 boy again4 ,to him1 in the ignorance of
 his childhood1 such a wish was very    
strange4 ,not until the boy had himself 
become a man and had learned to rightly 
value ,ignorance did he understand his  
father's wish and in his heart repeat   
it4  ,but there was one in those        
,yesterdays1 upon whose knowledge the   
boy looked in admiring awe1 who taught  
him that which he could never outgrow4  
,very different from the wisdom of the  
hired man was the wisdom of this one4   
,very different was his knowledge from  

the knowledge of the old negro4 ,nor was
 his learning like1 in any way1 to the  
learning that made the boy's father so  
good and so wise among men4  ,but this  
leader did not often come openly to the 
boy's home4 ,always1 when his mother saw
 the boy in the company of this one1 she
 called him into the house1 and often   
she explained to him that the one whom  
he so admired was a bad boy and that she
 did not wish her little son to play    
with him4 ,so this intellectual leader  
of the ,yesterdays was forced to come1  
stealthily1 through the orchard1 dodging
 from tree to tree1 until1 from behind  
the woodshed1 he could1 with a low      
whistle1 attract the attention of his   
admiring disciple and beckon him to his 
side4 ,then the two would slip away over
 the brow of the hill or down behind the
 barn where1 safe from mother's watchful
 eye1 the boy could enjoy the           
companionship of this one whom          
,knowledge had so distinguished4  ,and  
often the older boy laughed at the      

,ignorance of his younger               
companion--laughed and sneered at him in
 the pride of superior learning--while  
the little boy felt ashamed and1 filled 
with admiration for his forbidden       
friend1 wondered if he would ever grow  
to be as wise4 ,scarcely could he hope1 
for instance1 to be able1 ever1 to smoke
 and chew and swear in so masterful a   
way4 ,and the little learner's face     
would beam with timid adoration and envy
 as he listened to the tales of wicked  
adventures so boastfully related by his 
teacher4 ,would he1 could he1 ever be so
 bold1 so wise in knowledge of the      
world8  ,poor little boy in the         
,yesterdays who knew nothing of the     
value of ,ignorance6 ,poor boys in the  
grown up world--admiring and envying    
those who know more of evil than        
themselves6  ,so1 always1 secretly1 the 
boy1 as the years passed1 gained the    
knowledge that makes men wish that they 
could be boys again4 ,so1 always1 do men
 learn the value of ,ignorance too late4

  ,and then1 as the man lived again in  
his ,yesterdays1 and1 realizing in his  
manhood the value of ,ignorance1 wished 
that he could be a boy again1 the little
 girl came to take her place in his     
intellectual life even as she took her  
place in all the life of his boyhood4   
,again he saw her wondering eyes as she 
stood with him in the stable door to    
watch the hired man among the horses4   
,again he felt her timid hand in his as 
he led her to a place where1 safe from  
horns and heels1 they could observe1    
together1 the fascinating operation of  
milking4 ,together they listened to the 
words of strange wisdom and marveled at 
the knowledge of the barnyard scientist4
  ,all that the boy learned from the old
 negro1 of the fearsome creatures that  
inhabit the unseen world1 he1 in turn1  
gave to the little girl4 ,and sometimes 
she even went with him on a pilgrimage  
to the cabin over the hill2 there to    
gaze1 half frightened1 at the           
black-faced seer who had such store of  

awful wisdom4  ,the boy's pride in his  
father's superior goodness and wisdom   
she shared fully--because he was the    
father of the boy4  ,all the sweet lore 
of childhood was theirs in common4 ,all 
the wise ,ignorance of his ,yesterdays  
she shared4  ,only in the boy's         
forbidden friendship with that one who  
had such knowledge of evil the little   
girl did not share4 ,this knowledge--the
 knowledge that was to go with him1 even
 in his manhood years1 and which1 at    
last1 would teach him the real value of 
,ignorance--the boy gained alone4       
,sadly1 the man remembered how1         
sometimes1 when the boy had stolen away 
to drink at that first muddy fountain of
 evil1 he would hear her calling and    
would be held from answering by the     
jeers of his wicked teacher4 ,but never 
when he was playing with the little girl
 did the boy answer the signal whistle  
of that one whose knowledge he envied   
but of whose friendship he was ashamed4 
,in his ,yesterdays1 the ignorance of   

his little girl mate was an anchor that 
held the boy from drifting too far in   
the current of evil4 ,in his            
,yesterdays1 the goodness and wisdom of 
his father was not a will-o'-the-wisp   
but1 to the boy1 a steady guiding light4
 ,what mattered1 then1 if the knowledge 
of the old negro was but a foolish      
mirage8 ,what mattered if the hired man 
did not know about fairies or if he did 
know so many things that were not so8   
,so it was that the man came to know the
 value of ,ignorance4 ,so it was that   
the man did not fall into the pit of    
saying3 ,there is only ,ignorance4  ,and
 so it was1 as he returned again from   
his ,yesterdays1 that day when even the 
reeking atmosphere of the city could not
 hide1 altogether1 the sweetness of the 
spring1 that the memory of the little   
girl was with him even as the perfume of
 the season was in the air4  99    99   
99    99    99  ,it was the time of the 
first flowers4  ,the woman had been out1
 somewhere1 on a business errand and was

 returning to the place where she       
worked4 ,a crowd had gathered1 blocking 
the sidewalk1 and she was forced to     
stop4 ,quickly1 as if by magic1 the     
people came running from all directions4
 ,the woman was annoyed4 ,her           
destination was only a few doors away   
and she had much work1 still1 to do     
before the remaining hours of the       
afternoon should be gone4 ,she could not
 cross the street without going back for
 the traffic was very heavy4 ,she faced 
about as if to retrace her steps1 then1 
paused and turned again4 ,the street    
would be open in a moment4 ,it would be 
better to wait4 ,above the heads of the 
people she could see1 already1 the      
helmets of the police clearing the      
sidewalk4 ,pushing into the jam1 she    
worked slowly forward4  ,clang1 clang1  
clang1 with a rattle and clatter and    
crash1 a patrol wagon swung up to the   
curb--so close that a spatter of mud    
from the gutter fell on the woman's     
skirt4 ,the wagon wheeled and backed4   

,the police formed a quick lane across  
the sidewalk4 ,the crowd surged forward 
and carried the woman close against the 
blue coated barrier4 ,down the lane held
 by the officers of the law1 so close to
 the woman that she could have touched  
them1 came two poor creatures who were  
not ignorant of what is commonly called 
the world4 ,they had seen life--so the  
world would have said4 ,they were wise4 
,they had knowledge of many things of   
which the woman1 who shrank back from   
them in horror1 knew nothing4 ,their    
haggard1 painted1 faces1 their          
disheveled hair1 their tawdry clothing1 
false jewels1 and drunken blasphemies1  
drew a laugh from the crowd4  ,upon the 
soul of the woman the laughter of the   
crowd fell like a demon laugh from the  
depths of hell4 ,almost she shrieked    
aloud her protest4 ,because she knew    
herself to be a woman1 she almost       
shrieked aloud4  ,it was over in an     
instant4 ,the patrol wagon rumbled away 
with its burden of woe4 ,the crowd      

melted as magically as it had gathered4 
,at the entrance of the building where  
she worked1 the woman turned to look    
back1 as though fascinated by the horror
 of that which she had seen4 ,but1 upon 
the surface of that sea of life1 there  
was not the faintest ripple to mark the 
spot of the tragedy4  ,and the crowd had
 laughed4  ,the woman knew the character
 of that place so near the building in  
which she worked4 ,several times1 each  
day1 she passed the swinging doors of   
the saloon below and1 always1 she saw   
men going in and out4 ,many times she   
had caught glimpses of the faces of     
those who occupied the rooms above as   
they watched at the windows4 ,when first
 she went to work she had known little  
of such things1 but she was learning4   
,not because she wished to learn but    
because she could not help it4 ,but the 
knowledge of such things had come to her
 so gradually that she had grown        
accustomed to knowing even as she came  
to know4 ,she had become familiar with  

the fact without being forced to feel4  
,perhaps1 if the incident had occurred a
 few years later1 when the woman's      
knowledge was more complete1 she1       
herself1 might have been able to laugh  
with the crowd4 ,this knowledge that    
enables one so to laugh is1 seemingly1  
much prized these days among those who  
have not the wisdom to value ,ignorance4
  ,the afternoon passed1 as such        
afternoons must1 and the woman did her  
work4 ,what mattered the work that was  
being wrought in the soul of her        
womanhood--the work committed to her    
hands--the work that refused to         
recognize her womanhood--that work was  
done--and that is all that seems to     
matter4 ,and1 when her day's work was   
done1 the woman boarded a car for her   
home4  ,it was an hour when many        
hundreds of toilers were going from     
their labor4 ,so many hundreds there    
were that the cars could scarcely hold  
them and there were seats for only a    
few4 ,among those hundreds there were   

many who were proud of their knowledge  
of life4 ,there were not many who knew  
the value of ,ignorance4 ,the woman who 
knew that she was a woman was crowded in
 a car where there was scarcely room for
 her to stand4 ,she felt the rude touch 
of strangers--felt the bodies of strange
 men forced against her body--felt their
 limbs crushed against her limbs--felt  
their breath in her face--felt and      
trembled in frightened shame4 ,in that  
car1 crowded close against the woman1   
there were men whose knowledge of life  
was very great4 ,by going to the lowest 
depths of the city's shame1 where the   
foulest dregs of humanity settle1 they  
had acquired that knowledge4  ,at first 
the woman had dreaded those evening     
trips from work in the crowded cars4    
,but it was an everyday experience and  
she was becoming accustomed to it4 ,she 
was learning not to mind4 ,that is the  
horror of it--she was learning not to   
mind4  ,but this night it was different4
 ,the heart of her womanhood shrank     

within her trembling and afraid--cried  
out within her in protest at the        
outrage4 ,in the fetid atmosphere of the
 crowded car2 in the rough touch of the 
crushing bodies of sweating humanity2 in
 the coarse1 low1 jest2 she felt again  
the demon that she had heard in the     
laughter of the crowd4 ,she saw again   
the horror of that which had leered at  
her from out the disfigured1 drunken1   
faces of the poor creatures taken by the
 police4  ,must she--must she learn to  
laugh that laugh with the crowd8 ,must  
she gain knowledge of the unclean1 the  
vicious1 the degrading things of life by
 actual contact8 ,was it not enough for 
her to know that those things were in   
the world as she knew that there was    
fever in the marsh lands2 or must she go
 in person into the muck and mire of the
 swamps8  ,so it was that this woman1   
who knew herself to be a woman1 did not 
crave ,knowledge1 but ,ignorance4 ,she  
prayed to be kept from knowing too much4
 ,and it was well for her so to pray4   

,it was the highest wisdom4 ,because she
 knew her womanhood1 she was afraid4    
,she feared for her dream life that was 
to be beyond the old1 old1 door4 ,she   
feared for that one who1 perhaps1 would 
come to cross with her the threshold for
 it was given this woman to know that   
only with one in whose purity of life   
she believed could she ever enter into  
the life of her dreams4 ,the ,master of 
,life1 in ,his infinite wisdom1 made the
 heart of womanhood divinely selfish4   
,this woman knew that her dreams could  
never be for her save through her belief
 in the one who should ask her to go    
with him through that old1 old1 door4   
,and the things that the woman found    
herself learning made it hard for her to
 believe in any man4 ,the knowledge that
 was forced upon her was breeding doubt 
and distrust and denial of good4 ,the   
realization of her womanhood's beautiful
 dream was possible only through wise   
,ignorance4 ,she must fight to keep from
 learning too much4  ,and in the woman's

 fight there was this to help her3 in   
the crowd that had laughed1 her startled
 eyes had seen one or two who did not   
laugh--one or two there were whose faces
 were filled with pity and with shame4  
,always1 in the crowded cars1 there was 
some one who tried quietly to shield her
 from the press--some one who seemed to 
understand4 ,it was this that helped4   
,these men who knew the value of        
,ignorance kept the spark of her faith  
in men alive4 ,the faith1 without which 
her dreams would be idle dreams1        
impossible of fulfillment1 was kept for 
her by those men who knew the value of  
,ignorance4  ,the woman went to her work
 the next morning with a heart that was 
heavy with dread and nerves that were   
quivering with fear4 ,the brightness1   
the beauty1 and the joy1 of her         
womanhood1 she felt to be going from her
 as the sunshine goes under threatening 
clouds4 ,the blackness1 the ugliness1   
and the sorrow1 of life1 she felt coming
 over her as fog rolls in from the sea4 

,the faith1 trust1 and hope1 that is the
 soul of womanhood was threatened by    
doubt1 distrust1 and despair4 ,the      
gentleness1 sensitiveness1 and delicacy1
 that is the heart of womanhood was     
beset by coarseness1 vulgarity1 and     
rudeness4 ,could she harden her woman   
heart1 steel her woman nerves1 and make 
coarse her woman soul to withstand the  
things that she was forced to meet and  
know8 ,and if she could--what           
then--would she gain or lose thereby8   
,for the life of which she had dreamed1 
would she gain or lose8  ,it was nearly 
noon when a voice at her side said3 ,you
 are ill6  ,it was a voice of authority 
but it was not at all unkind4  ,turning1
 she looked up into his face and        
stammered a feeble denial4 ,no1 she was 
not ill4  ,but the kind eyes looked down
 at her so searchingly1 so gravely1 that
 her own eyes filled with tears4  ,come1
 come1 said the voice1 this won't do at 
all4 ,you must not lose your grip1 you  
know4 ,it will be all right to-morrow4  

,take the afternoon off and get out into
 the fresh air4  ,and something in his  
voice--something in his grave1 steady1  
eyes--told her--made her feel that he   
understood4 ,it helped her to know that 
this man of large affairs1 of power and 
authority1 understood4  ,so1 for that   
afternoon1 she went to a park in a      
distant part of the city to escape1 for 
a few hours1 the things that were       
crowding her too closely4 ,near the     
entrance of the park1 she met a gray    
haired policeman who1 looking at her    
keenly1 smiled kindly and touched his   
hat2 then1 before she had passed from   
sight1 he turned to follow leisurely the
 path that she had taken4 ,finding a    
quiet nook on the bank of a little      
stream that was permitted to run        
undisturbed by the wise makers of the   
park1 the woman seated herself1 while   
the policeman1 unobserved by her1 paused
 not far away to watch a group of       
children at play4  ,illustration3 ,the  
life that crowded her so closely drifted

 far1 far away4  ,perhaps it was the    
blue sky1 unstained by the city smoke3  
perhaps it was the sunbeams that        
filtered through the leafy net-work of  
the trees to fall in golden flakes and  
patches on the soft green3 perhaps it   
was the song that the little brook was  
singing as it went its merry way3       
perhaps it was the twittering1 chirping1
 presence of the feathery folk who      
hopped and flitted so cheerily in and   
out among the shrubs and                
flowers--whatever it was that brought it
 about1 the life that crowded her so    
closely drifted far1 far1 away4 ,the    
city with its noisy clamor1 with its mad
 rush and unceasing turmoil1 was gone4  
,the world of danger1 and doubt1 and    
fear1 was forgotten4 ,the woman lived   
again the days that were gone4 ,the sky 
so blue above her head was the sky that 
arched her days of long ago4 ,the       
sunshine that filtered through the trees
 was the same golden wealth that        
enriched the days of her childhood4 ,the

 twittering1 chirping1 feathery1 folk   
were telling the same old stories4 ,the 
little brook that went so merrily on its
 way was singing a song of the          
,yesterdays4  ,they were free           
days--those ,yesterdays--free as the    
days of the feathery folk who lived     
among the shrubs and flowers4 ,there was
 none of the knowledge that1 with       
distrust and doubt and despair1 shuts in
 the soul4 ,they were bright days--those
 ,yesterdays--as bright as the sunlight 
that out of a clear sky comes to glorify
 the world4 ,there was none of that dark
 and dreadful knowledge that shrouds the
 soul in gloom4 ,and they were glad     
days--those ,yesterdays--glad with the  
gladness of the singing brook4 ,there   
was none of that knowledge that stains  
and saddens the heart4  ,the woman1     
sitting there so still by the little    
brook1 did not notice a well dressed man
 who was strolling slowly through the   
park4 ,a little way down the walk1 the  
man turned1 and again went slowly past  

the place where the woman sat4 ,once    
more he turned and this time seated     
himself where he could watch her4 ,the  
man's face was not a good face4 ,for a  
little while he watched the woman1 then 
rising1 was starting leisurely toward   
her when the gray haired policeman came 
suddenly into view around a turn in the 
path4 ,the officer did not hesitate2 nor
 was he smiling1 now1 as he stepped in  
front of the man4 ,a few crisp words he 
spoke1 in a low tone1 and pointed with  
his stick4 ,there was no reply4 ,the    
fellow turned and slunk away while the  
guardian of the law1 with angry eyes1   
watched him out of sight1 then turned to
 look toward the woman4 ,she had not    
noticed4 ,the officer smiled and quietly
 strolled on down the path4  ,the woman 
had noticed neither the man nor her     
protector because she was far1 far1 away
 in her ,yesterdays4 ,she did not heed  
the incident because she was a little   
girl again1 playing beside the brook    
that came across the road and made its  

winding way through the field just below
 the house4 ,it was only a little brook1
 but beautifully clear and fresh1 for it
 had come only a short distance from its
 birth place in a glen under the hill   
that she could see from her window4 ,in 
some places1 the long meadow grass1     
growing close down to the edge1 almost  
touched above1 making a cool1 green1    
cradle arch through which the pure      
waters flowed with soft whispers as     
though the baby stream were crooning to 
itself a lullaby4 ,in other stretches1  
the green willows bent far over to dip  
their long1 slim1 fingers in the slow   
current that crept so lazily through the
 flickering light and shade that it     
seemed scarce to move at all4 ,and other
 places there were1 where the streamlet 
chuckled and laughed over tiny pebbly   
bars in the sunlight or gurgled past    
where flags and rushes grew4  ,again1   
with her dolls1 the little girl played  
on the grassy bank2 washing their tiny  
garments in the clear water and hanging 

them on the flags or willows to dry2    
resting often to listen to the fairy    
song the water sang2 or to whisper to   
the brook the secrets of her childhood  
dreams4 ,the drowsy air was full of the 
sweet1 grassy1 smell mingled with the   
odor of mint and the perfume of the     
willows and flags and warm moist earth4 
,gorgeous winged butterflies zigzagged  
here and there from flower to           
flower--now near for a little--then far 
away4 ,honeybees droned their hymns of  
industry the while they searched for    
sweet treasures4 ,and now and then a    
tiny green frog would come out of a     
shadowy nook in the bank of the stream  
to see what the little girl was doing2  
or a bird would drop from out the blue  
sky for a drink or a bath in the pebbly 
shallows4 ,and not far away--easily     
within call--mother sat on the shady    
porch1 with her sewing1 where she could 
watch over her little girl4  ,dear1     
innocent1 sheltered1 protected1         
,yesterdays--when mother told her child 

all that was needful for her to know1   
and told her in a most tender1          
beautiful1 way4 ,dear1 blessed1         
,yesterdays--when love did not leave    
vice to teach the sacred truths of      
love--days that were days of blissful   
,ignorance--not vicious ,ignorance but  
ignorance of the vicious4 ,there was a  
wealth of ,ignorance in those           
,yesterdays that is of more worth to    
womanhood1 by far1 than much knowledge  
of the world4  ,and often the boy would 
come1 too1 and1 together1 they would    
wade hand in hand in the clear flood1   
mingling their shouts and laughter with 
the music of their playmate brook1 while
 the minnows darted to and fro about    
their bare legs2 or1 they would build   
brave dams and bridges and harbors with 
the bright stones2 or1 best of all1     
fashion and launch the ships of         
childhood4  ,oh1 childish ships of the  
,yesterdays6 ,what precious cargoes they
 carried6 ,what priceless treasures they
 bore to the far away port of dreams6   

,the little brook was a safe stream for 
the boy and the girl to play beside4    
,nor did they know1 then1 that their    
streamlet flowed on and on until it     
joined the river2 and that the river1 in
 its course1 led it past great cities   
that poured into it the poisons and the 
filth of their sewers1 fouling its      
bright waters1 until it was unfit for   
children to play beside4  ,they did not 
know1 then--but the woman knew1 now4    
,and what--she thought as she came back 
from her ,yesterdays--what of the boy   
who had played with her beside the      
brook8 ,he1 too1 must have learned what 
happened to their brook4 ,in learning1  
what had happened to him--she           
wondered--and wondering1 she was afraid4
  ,because she was no longer ignorant1  
she was afraid for the mate of her      
,yesterdays4 ,not that she thought over 
to meet him again4 ,she did not wish1   
now1 to meet him for she was afraid4    
,she would rather have him as he was in 
her ,yesterdays4  ,slowly the woman     

turned away from the quiet seat beside  
the brook4 ,it was time for her to go4  
,not far away1 she passed the gray      
haired policeman1 who again smiled and  
touched his hat4  ,smiling in return she
 bade him3 ,good afternoon4  ,good      
afternoon1 ,miss1 he said1 still smiling
 gravely4 ,come again1 ,miss1 when ye's 
want a breath of air that's pure and    
clean4  ,may heaven bless1 for the sweet
 sake of womanhood1 all men who         
understand4      ,,religion  ,it was    
springtime--blossoming time--mating     
time4 ,the world was a riot of color and
 perfume and song4  ,every twig that a  
few weeks before had been a bare1       
unsightly stick was now a miracle of    
dainty beauty4 ,from the creek1 below   
the little girl's house1 the orchard    
hill appeared against the soft1 blue1   
sky a wonderous1 cumulus1 cloud of      
fleecy whiteness flushed with a glow of 
delicate pink4 ,the meadows and pastures
 were studded with stars of gold and    
pearl1 of ruby and amethyst and silver4 

,the fairy hands that had thrown over   
the wood a filmy veil of dainty color   
now dressed each tree and bush in robes 
of royal fabric woven from many tints of
 shimmering1 shining1 green4  ,through  
the amber light above new turned        
furrows2 amid the jewel glint of water  
in the sun2 in the diamond sparkle of   
the morning2 against the changing opal  
skies of evening2 the bees and all their
 winged kin floated and darted1 flashed 
and danced1 and whirled1 from flower to 
flower and field to field1 from blossom 
to blossom and tree to tree1 bearing    
their pollen messages of love and life  
while sweet voiced birds1 in their      
brightest plumage1 burdened the perfumed
 air with the passionate melody of their
 mating time4  ,all nature seemed       
bursting with eager desire to evidence a
 ,creator's power4 ,every tint and      
color1 every breath of perfume1 every   
note of music1 every darting flight or  
whirling dance1 was a call to life--a   
challenge to love--an invitation to     

mate--a declaration of ,god4 ,the world 
throbbed and exulted with the passion of
 the ,giver of ,life4  ,life itself     
begat ,religion4  ,not the least of the 
,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of ,life
 is ,religion4 ,religion is an          
exaltation of ,life or it is nothing4   
,to exalt ,life truly is to be most     
truly religious4  ,but the man1 when he 
first awoke that morning1 did not think 
of ,religion4 ,his first thought was a  
thought of lazy gratitude that he need  
not get up4 ,it was ,sunday4 ,with a    
long sigh of sleepy content1 he turned  
toward the wall to escape the too bright
 light that1 from the open window1 had  
awakened him and dozed again4  ,it was  
,sunday4  ,there are bitter cold1 icy1  
snowy1 ,sundays in mid-winter when one  
hugs the cheerless radiator and1        
shivering in chilly discomfort1 wishes  
that ,sundays were months instead of    
days apart4 ,there are stifling1 sticky1
 sweltering4 ,sundays in midsummer when 
one prays1 if he can pray at all1 for   

the night to come4 ,and there are       
blustering1 rainy1 sleety1 dismal1      
,sundays in the fall when the dead hours
 go in funeral procession by and the    
world seems a gloomy tomb4 ,but a       
,sunday in blossoming time6 ,that is    
different6 ,the very milk wagons1 as    
they clattered1 belated1 down the street
 rattled a cheery note of fellowship and
 good will4 ,the long drawn call of the 
paper boy had in it a hint of the joy of
 living4 ,and the rumble of an          
occasional passing cab came like a deep 
undertone of peace4  ,the streets were  
nearly empty4 ,the stores and offices1  
with closed doors1 were deserted and    
still4 ,a solitary policeman on the     
corner appeared to be meditating1       
indifferent to his surroundings4 ,the   
few pedestrians to be seen moved        
leisurely and appeared as though in a   
mood for reflective thought and quiet   
interest in the welfare of their        
fellows4 ,the hurrying1 scrambling1     
jostling1 rushing crowd2 the clanging1  

crashing1 roaring turmoil2 the racking  
madness1 the fierce confusion1 the cruel
 selfishness of the week day world was  
as a dreadful dream in the night4 ,in   
the hard fought battle of life1 the     
world had called a truce1 testifying    
thus to the place and power of          
,religion4  ,this is not to say that the
 world professes ,religion2 but it is to
 say that ,religion possesses the world4
 ,in a thousand1 thousand1 forms1       
,religion possesses the world4 ,in      
thoughts1 in deeds1 in words--in song   
and picture and story--in customs and   
laws and industries--in society1 state1 
and school--in all of the ,thirteen     
,truly ,great ,things of ,life1         
,religion makes itself manifest and     
declares its power over men4 ,if one    
proclaim himself without ,religion then 
is its power made known in that one's   
peculiarity4 ,if ,religion did not      
possess the world1 to scorn it would    
mark no one as different from his       
fellows1 ,and this1 too1 is true3 so    

imperial is the fact of ,religion1 that 
he who would deny it is forced to       
believe so firmly in his disbelief that 
he accepts the very thing he rejects1   
disguised in a dress of his own making1 
and thus bows down in worship before a  
,god of his own creation4  ,to many1    
,sunday is a day of labor4 ,to many     
others1 it is a day of roistering and   
debauch4 ,to some1 it is a day of       
idleness and thoughtless pleasure4 ,to  
some1 it is a day of devotion and       
worship4 ,but still1 ,i say1 that1      
whatever men1 as individuals1 may do    
with the day1 the deserted streets1 the 
silent stores1 the closed banks1 the    
empty offices1 evidence that1 to the    
world1 this day is not as other days and
 give recognition--not to creeds and    
doctrines of warring sects indeed--but1 
to ,religion4  ,again the man awoke4    
,coming slowly out of his sleep and     
turning leisurely in his bed he looked  
through the open window at the day4 ,and
 still he did not think of ,religion4   

,leisurely he arose and1 after his bath1
 shaved himself with particular care4   
,with particular care he dressed1 not in
 the garb of every day1 but in fresher1 
newer1 raiment4 ,thus did he1 even as   
the world1 give unthinking testimony to 
the power and place of ,religion4       
,later1 when the church bells sent their
 sweet voiced invitations ringing over  
the city1 the man went to church4 ,he   
did not go to church because he was a   
religious man nor because he was in a   
religious mood2 he went because it was  
his habit to go occasionally4 ,even as  
most men sometimes go to church1 so this
 man went4 ,nor did he1 as a member of  
any religious organization1 feel it his 
duty to go4 ,he went as he had always   
gone--as thousands of others who1 like  
himself1 in habit of dress and manner   
were giving unconscious testimony to the
 power of ,religion in the world1 went1 
that day1 to some place of public       
worship4  ,the streets of the city were 
now well filled with people4 ,yesterday1

 these same people1 in the same streets1
 had rushed along with anxious1 eager1  
strained1 expressions upon their faces  
that told of nerves tense1 minds intent1
 and bodies alert1 in the battle they   
waged for daily bread1 for gain1 and for
 all the things that are held by men to 
be worth the struggle4 ,to-morrow1 these
 same people would again lose themselves
 in the fierce and strenuous effort of  
their lives4 ,but to-day1 they walked   
leisurely2 they spoke calmly2 they      
thought coolly2 they had time to notice 
each other2 to greet each other1 to     
smile1 to shake each others' hands4     
,there were many children1 too1 who1    
dressed in their ,sunday clothes1 with  
clean faces and subdued manners1 even as
 their parents1 evidenced the power of  
,religion in the life of humankind4     
,and1 even as their parents1 the        
children knew it not4 ,they did not     
recognize the power of ,religion in     
their lives4  ,the man did not think of 
the meaning of these things2 though he  

felt it1 perhaps1 somewhat as he felt   
the warm life of the sun filled air3 he 
sensed it1 perhaps1 as he sensed the    
beauty of the morning4 ,he did not      
realize1 then1 how1 in his ,dreams1     
,religion had subtly manifested itself4 
,he did not realize1 that1 in his       
,occupation1 he was1 every day1         
revealing the influence of ,religion in 
his life4 ,he had seen ,religion but    
dimly when he had thought to follow the 
golden chain of ,knowledge1 link by     
link1 to its hidden end4 ,dimly had he  
seen it when he was learning the value  
of ,ignorance4 ,and yet1 in all of these
 things it had been even as it would be 
in all the things that were yet to come4
 ,no man can escape ,religion4 ,man may 
escape particular forms of ,religion1   
indeed1 but ,religion itself he cannot  
escape4  ,with many others the man      
entered a church4 ,an usher gravely led 
him to a seat4 ,i do not know what      
church it was to which the man went that
 morning nor does it1 for my story1     

matter that ,i do not know4 ,my story is
 not of churches nor of sects nor of    
creeds4 ,this is my story3 that the man 
came to realize in his life the power of
 ,religion4  ,it may have been the      
beauty of the morning that did it2 it   
may have been that the week just past   
was unusually hard and trying and that  
the day of rest1 therefore1 was more    
than usual1 needed3 or1 perhaps1 it was 
because the man had learned that he     
could never follow the golden chain of  
,knowledge to its hidden end and had    
come to know the value of ,ignorance for
 ,religion walks ever close to both     
,knowledge and ,ignorance1 hand in hand 
with each2 whatever it was that brought 
it about1 the man1 that ,sunday1 came to
 realize the power of ,religion in the  
world and in his own manhood life4  ,it 
was very quiet in the church but it was 
not a sad quietness4 ,the people moved  
softly and1 when they spoke at all1     
spoke in whispers but there was no      
feeling of death in the air2 rather was 

there a feeling of life--a feeling of   
life1 too1 that was very unlike the     
feeling of life in a crowded place of   
business or amusement4 ,the sweet1      
plaintively pleading1 tones of the organ
 trembled in the air4 ,the glorious     
sunshine came through the stained glass 
windows softened and subdued4 ,here and 
there heads were bowed4 ,the people     
became very still4 ,and1 in the         
stillness1 the man felt strongly the    
spirit of the day and place4 ,the organ 
tones increased in volume4 ,the choir   
filed in4 ,the preacher entered4 ,the   
congregation arose to sing an old       
triumphant hymn4  ,the man did not sing1
 but1 as he listened to the music and   
followed the words of the hymn1 he      
smiled4 ,the people were singing about  
unknowable things--of streets of gold   
and gates of pearl--of crowns and harps 
and the throne of ,god4  ,all his life1 
the man had known that hymn but he had  
never before thought of it just as he   
thought of it that morning4 ,he looked  

about at the people who were singing4   
,who were they8 ,uneducated1            
irresponsible1 fanatical dreamers of no 
place or importance in the week day     
world8 ,no indeed6 ,they were educated1 
responsible1 practical1 hard headed1    
clear brained1 people of power and      
influence--and--the man smiled          
again--they were singing about          
unknowable things4 ,for the first time  
in his life1 the man wondered at the    
strangeness of it all4  ,when the       
minister prayed1 the man listened as he 
had never listened to a prayer before4  
,he felt baffled and bewildered as      
though he had wandered into a strange   
land1 among strange people1 of whose    
customs he was ignorant1 and whose      
language he could neither speak nor     
understand4 ,who was this man who seemed
 on such familiar terms with the        
,infinite8 ,upon what did he base his   
assurance that the wealth of blessings  
he asked for himself and his people     
would be granted or even heard8 ,had he 

more than finite mind that he could know
 the ,infinite8  ,the sermon that       
followed was largely a sermon about     
unknowable things4 ,it was full of      
beautiful1 helpful1 thoughts about      
things that it was impossible for anyone
 to really know anything about4 ,very   
familiar were the things that the       
minister said that morning4 ,since his  
childhood1 the man had heard them over  
and over many times2 but he had never   
before thought of them in just that way4
  ,the sermon was finished and the      
beautifully mysterious and impressive   
words of the benediction were spoken as 
the people stood with bowed heads1      
hushed and still4 ,again the deep tones 
of the organ trembled in the air as the 
crowd poured forth from the building    
into the street4  ,the man was          
thoughtful and troubled4 ,he felt as    
one1 who1 meeting an old friend after   
many years1 finds him changed beyond    
recognition4 ,he was as one visiting1   
after years of absence1 his old home to 

find the familiar landmarks all gone    
with the years4 ,he was sadly conscious 
that something had gone out of his      
life--that something exceedingly        
precious had been taken away from him   
and that it could never be replaced4    
,seriously1 sadly1 the man asked        
himself3 must his belief in ,religion go
 as his faith in fairies had gone8 ,was 
,religion1 after all1 but a beautiful   
game played by the grown up world1 even 
as children play8 ,and if1 indeed1 his  
faith must go because songs and prayers 
and sermons have to do so largely with  
unknowable things1 what of the spirit of
 the world expressed in the day that is 
so set apart from all other days8       
,sunday is a fact knowable enough4 ,and 
the atmosphere of the church is another 
fact as knowable as the atmosphere of a 
race track1 a foundry1 or a political   
convention4 ,and the fruits of ,religion
 in the lives of men--these are as      
clearly knowable as the fruits of       
drunkenness1 or gambling1 or            

licentiousness4 ,the man was as sure of 
the fruits of ,religion as he was sure  
that the sun was shining--that the day1 
so warm and bright1 was unlike the cold1
 hard1 stormy1 days of winter4 ,and     
still--and still--the songs and prayers 
and sermons about unknowable            
things--must his belief in ,religion go 
as his faith in fairies had gone8       
,unknowable things8 ,yes--as unknowable 
as that mysterious something that colors
 the trees and plants and flowers with  
tints of infinite shadings--as          
unknowable as that which puts the flavor
 in the peach1 the strength in the corn1
 the perfume in the rose--as unknowable 
as the awful force that reveals itself  
in the lightning flash or speaks in the 
rolling thunder--as unknowable as the   
mysterious hand that holds the compass  
needle to the north and swings the star 
worlds far beyond the farthest reach of 
the boasting eye of ,science4           
,unknowable8 ,yes--as unknowable as that
 which lies safe hidden behind the most 

commonplace facts of life--as unknowable
 indeed1 as ,life itself4  ,nature1 said
 the man1 in answer to himself1 and     
smiled at the foolishness of his own    
answer4 ,is nature then so knowable8    
,are all her laws revealed2 all her     
secrets known2 all her ways understood2 
all her mysteries made clear8 ,do the   
wise men1 after all1 know more of nature
 than they do of ,god8 ,do they know    
more of earth than of heaven8 ,do they  
know more of a man's mind than they do  
of his soul8 ,and yet--and yet--does one
 refuse to live because he cannot       
understand the mystery of life8 ,does   
one deny the earth because the secrets  
of ,mature are unknowable8 ,does one    
refuse to think because thoughts are not
 material things--because no one has    
ever seen a thought to say from whence  
it came or whither it went8  ,disbelief 
demands a knowledge as exact as that    
demanded by belief4 ,to deny the        
unknowable is as impossible as to affirm
 it4 ,if it be true that man knows too  

much to believe in miracles these days1 
it is just as true that he does not know
 enough to disbelieve in them4 ,and1    
after all1 there is no reason why anyone
 should believe in miracles2 neither is 
there any reason why one should         
disbelieve in them4  ,every altar is an 
altar to an unknown ,god4 ,but man does 
not refuse to believe in bread because  
he cannot understand the mystery of the 
wheat field4 ,one believes in a garden1 
not because he knows how1 from the same 
soil1 water1 and air1 ,nature produces  
strawberries1 potatoes1 sweet corn1     
tomatoes1 or lettuce1 but because fresh 
vegetables are good4 ,the hungry man    
neither believes nor disbelieves but    
sits down to the table and1 if he be a  
right minded man1 gives thanks to the   
,god of gardens who1 in ways so         
unknowable1 gives such knowable gifts to
 man4  ,nor was the man1 at this time1  
able to distinguish clearly between     
,religion and the things that men have  
piled about and hung upon ,religion4    

,therefore was he troubled about his    
waning belief and worried because of his
 growing doubt4 ,he did not wish to     
doubt2 he wished to believe4  ,in all   
these many years1 through intellectual  
pride or selfish ambition1 because of an
 earnest but mistaken purpose to make   
clear1 or in a pious zeal to emphasize1 
men have been piling things about and   
hanging things upon ,religion2 and1     
always1 they have insisted that this    
vast accumulation of things is          
,religion4  ,these things that men have 
hung upon ,religion are no more a part  
of ,religion than the ivy that grows    
upon the stone wall of a fortress is a  
part of the nation's defensive strength4
 ,these things that men have piled about
 ,religion belong to it no more than a  
pile of trash dumped at the foot of a   
cliff belongs to the everlasting hills4 
,but these traditions and customs of    
men1 with their ever multiplying        
confusions of doctrines and creeds and  
sects1 beautiful as they are1 hide      

,religion even as the ivy hides the     
wall4 ,even as the accumulated trash of 
the ages piled at the foot of the cliff 
is of interest to the archaeologist and 
the seeker after curious junk1 so these 
things that men have piled about        
,religion are of interest4 ,but the     
observer1 in admiration of the ivy1 is  
in danger of ignoring the stern reality 
of the fortress4 ,the curious digger in 
the pile of trash1 if his interest be   
great1 heeds not the grandeur of the    
cliff that towers above his head4  ,that
 afternoon the man went for a long walk4
 ,he wished to think out1 if he could1  
the things that troubled him4  ,without 
plan on his part1 his walk led toward a 
quarter of the city where he had never  
been before and where he came at last to
 an old cemetery4 ,the ancient iron     
gates1 between their vine clad columns  
of stone1 were invitingly open and      
within the enclosure were great trees   
that locked their green arms above the  
silent1 grass grown1 graves as though in

 sheltering kindness for the dead4      
,tempted by the beauty of the place the 
man entered1 and1 in the deep shade of  
the old trees1 screened from the road by
 their mossy trunks1 found a seat4 ,here
 and there1 among the old graves under  
the trees1 a few people moved slowly2   
pausing often to decipher the           
inscriptions upon the leaning and fallen
 tombstones4 ,so old was that ancient   
burying place that there was left among 
the living no one to keep the flowers   
upon the graves and visitors came only  
from idle curiosity4  ,and it was so1   
that1 as the man sat there under the    
quiet old trees1 the graves with their  
leaning and fallen tombstones1 or1      
perhaps1 the day itself1 led his mind   
back to those companion graves that     
marked the passing of his boyhood--back 
to father and mother and to their       
religion--back to the religion of his   
,yesterdays4 ,and the week of toil and  
strife1 of struggle and of storm1       
slipped far1 far1 away4 ,the disturbing 

questions1 the doubt and the uncertainty
 of the morning1 raised as the fogs lift
 to leave the landscape clear4  ,it was 
such a little way from the boy's home to
 the church that1 when the weather was  
fine1 they always walked4 ,and surely no
 day could have been finer than that    
,sunday to which the man went back4 ,as 
the boy1 all washed and combed and      
dressed in his ,sunday best1 sat on the 
big gate post waiting for his father and
 mother1 it seemed to him that every    
living thing about the place knew what  
day it was4 ,in the pasture across the  
road1 the horses1 leisurely cropping the
 new grass1 paused often to lift their  
heads and look about with an air of     
kindly interest in things to which they 
would have given no heed at all had they
 been in week day harness4 ,and one old 
gray1 finding an inviting spot1 lay down
 to roll--got up--and1 because it felt  
so good1 lay down again upon his other  
side2 and then1 as if regretting that he
 had no more sides to rub1 stretched    

himself out with such a huge sigh of    
content that the boy on the gate post   
laughed2 whereat the horse raised his   
head and looked at him as though to say3
 ,little boy1 don't you know that it is 
,sunday8 ,under the big elm1 in the     
corner of the pasture1 the cows stood1  
with half closed eyes1 chewing their    
cuds with an air of pious meditation4   
,the hens strolled sedately about       
singing solemnly3 ca-w-w1 ca-w-w1       
ca-w-w1 and the old red rooster1        
standing on tiptoe1 flapped his wings as
 if to crow then checked himself        
suddenly and looked around as if to say3
 ,bless me1 ,i nearly forgot what day it
 is6 ,then the clear1 mellow1 tones of  
the church bell floated across the      
little valley and the boy's parents came
 out of the house4 ,the dog1 stretched  
at full length on the porch1 lifted his 
head but did not offer to follow4 ,he1  
too1 seemed to know1 thought the boy as 
he climbed down from the post to walk   
soberly away with his parents4  ,before 

they reached the lower end of the       
garden1 the little girl with her mother 
and uncle came out of their house and1  
at the gate1 waited for them while the  
little girl waved her hand in greeting4 
,then the two men and the two women     
walked on ahead and1 as the boy and girl
 followed1 the boy1 looking shyly at his
 companion1 saw the sunlight on her     
soft1 brown1 hair that was so prettily  
arranged with a blue ribbon--saw the    
merry eyes under the broad brim of her  
best hat--saw the flushed1 softly       
rounded1 cheek with the dimple1 the     
curve of the red lips1 and the dainty   
chin--saw her dress so clean and white  
and starched--saw and wondered if the   
angels in heaven could be more beautiful
 than this little girl4  ,so they went1 
that ,sunday1 down the hill1 across the 
creek1 and up the gentle slope beyond1  
until they came to the cross roads where
 the white church stood under the old   
elm and maple trees4 ,already there were
 many teams standing under the sheds or 

tied to the hitch racks along the side  
of the road4 ,and by the roads that led 
away in four directions1 through the    
fields and meadows and pastures of the  
farms1 other country folk were coming   
from their homes and their labors to    
worship the ,god of seedtime and        
harvest4  ,there were no ushers in that 
church of the ,yesterdays for there     
would be no strangers save those who    
would come with their friends2 but the  
preacher himself was at the door to     
greet his people or was moving here and 
there among them1 asking with care for  
the absent ones4 ,neither was there a   
great organ to fill the air with its    
trembling tones2 but1 at the humble     
instrument that served as well1 the     
mother of the little girl presided1     
while the boy's father led the country  
choir4 ,and the sunlight of that ,sunday
 streamed through the open windows1     
softened only by the delicate traceries 
of gently waving branches and softly    
rustling leaves4  ,and in the songs and 

prayers and sermons of that worship in  
the ,yesterdays1 the boy heard the same 
unknowable things that the man had heard
 that morning in the city church4 ,among
 those people1 the boy felt stirring the
 same spirit that had moved the man4    
,the old preacher was long ago resting  
in the cemetery on the hill1 with the   
boy's parents1 the mother of the little 
girl1 and many1 many1 others of his     
flock4 ,a new and more modern minister  
would be giving1 now1 to the children of
 that old congregation1 the newest and  
most modern things that theologians do  
not know about ,religion4 ,but the same 
old spirit would be there still2 doing  
the same work for the glory of the race4
 ,and the boy in the ,yesterdays1 as he 
listened to the songs and prayers and   
sermons1 had wondered in his heart about
 the things he heard--even as the man1  
he had asked himself many unanswerable  
questions444 ,but there had been no     
doubt in the questions of the boy4      
,there had been no disbelief in his     

wonder4 ,because the girl's mother      
played the organ--because the boy's     
father sang in the choir--because his   
mother and the little girl were there   
beside him--the boy believed that which 
he could not understand4  ,by their     
fruits--it is a text as good for grown  
up children as for boys and girls4      
,what the preachers say about ,religion 
matters little after all4 ,it is the    
fathers and mothers and the little girls
 who keep the faith of the world alive4 
,the words of those sermons and prayers 
and songs in his ,yesterdays would go   
with the boy no farther than the church 
door2 but that which was in the hearts  
of those who sang and preached and      
prayed--that which song and sermon and  
prayer attempted but could not          
express--that would go with the boy     
through all the years of his life4 ,from
 that the man could never get wholly    
away4 ,it became as much a part of him  
as his love for his parents was a part4 
,when church and ,sunday school were    

over the boy went home to the miracle of
 the ,sunday dinner4 ,and1 even as the  
unknowable things upon the ,sunday      
dinner table contributed to his         
manhood's physical strength and health1 
so the things expressed by the day that 
is set apart from all other days        
contributed to that strength of manhood 
that is more vital than the strength of 
bone and muscle and nerve and sinew4 ,in
 the book wherein it is written3 ,man   
shall not live by bread alone1 it is    
written1 also3 ,except ye become as     
little children4  ,slowly the man arose4
 ,slowly and regretfully he turned to   
leave his place under the great trees   
that1 in the solemn1 quiet1 twilight of 
the old cemetery1 locked their arms     
protectingly above the dead4  ,except ye
 become as little children4  ,must men  
in ,religion be always trying to grow   
up8 ,are the wisest and the greatest    
among scholars nearer the secrets of the
 unknowable power1 that1 through        
,religion1 possesses the world1 than the

 unthinking children are8 ,as the man in
 the late afternoon went out through the
 ancient iron gates1 between the vine   
covered columns of stone1 he knew that  
his belief in ,religion would not go as 
his faith in fairies had gone4 ,because 
of those companion graves and all that  
they meant to him--because of the little
 girl in his ,yesterdays--his faith in  
,religion would not go4  99    99    99 
99    99  ,the woman1 alone in her room1
 sat at the open window looking out over
 the city4 ,the long1 spring1 ,sunday   
was drawing to its close4 ,above the    
roofs of the houses across the street1  
above the towering stories of the       
buildings in the down town districts1   
above factory chimneys1 church steeples1
 temple dome1 and cathedral spire1 she  
saw the evening sky light with the glory
 of the passing day4 ,over a triumphant 
arch in the west1 through which the sun 
had gone1 a mighty cloud curtain of     
purple was draped1 fold on fold1 all    
laced and looped with silver and edged  

with scarlet flame4 ,above the curtain1 
far flung across the wide sky1 banners  
of rose and crimson and gold flashed and
 gleamed2 while1 marching in serried    
ranks1 following the pathway of the sun1
 went innumerable thousands of cloud    
soldiers in their uniforms of light4    
,slowly the procession passed--the      
gleaming banners vanished--the marching 
armies disappeared--the curtain in the  
west was drawn close4 ,the woman at the 
window watched until the last of the    
light was gone and1 in the still sky    
above1 the stars hung motionless4 ,like 
a benediction1 the sweet mystery of     
twilight had come upon the land4 ,like a
 softly breathed blessing from heaven1  
the night had come4  ,because of the    
experience through which she had passed 
in the week just gone1 that day1        
dedicated to ,religion1 had held for the
 woman a new meaning4  ,looking into the
 darkness that hid the city from her    
eyes she shuddered4 ,there were so many 
there to whom the night came not as a   

blessing1 but as a curse4 ,out there1 in
 the soft darkness into which the woman 
looked1 dreadful crimes were being      
committed1 horrid deeds were being      
planned4 ,out there1 in the quiet night1
 wretched poverty1 gaunt pain1 and      
loathsome disease were pulling down     
their victims4 ,out there1 in the       
blackness1 hideous licentiousness1      
beastly passion1 debasing pleasure were 
stalking their prey4 ,out there1        
murderers of souls were lying in wait2  
robbers of hearts were creeping         
stealthily2 slayers of purity were      
watching2 killers of innocence were     
lurking4 ,to the woman at the window1   
that night1 the twinkling lights of the 
city were as beacon fires on the        
outskirts of hell4  ,and                
to-morrow--to-morrow--she must go down  
into that hell4 ,all that was there in  
the darkness1 she must see1 she must    
know1 she must feel4 ,all those things  
of evil would be watching her1 crowding 
her1 touching her1 hungering for her2   

placing pitfalls in her way2 longing for
 her to slip2 waiting for her to fall2  
testing her1 trying her1 always ready   
with a damnable readiness2 always hoping
 with a hellish hope4 ,into that she    
must go--even into that--this woman1 who
 knew herself to be a woman1 must go4   
,and what--what--of her dreams8 ,could  
she1 she asked herself that night1 could
 she go into that life1 day after day1  
and still have a heart left for         
dreaming8 ,against the unclean strength 
that threatened her1 where would she    
find the strength to keep her womanhood 
pure and strong for the holy mission of 
womanhood8  ,clear and sweet from out   
the darkness of the night came the sound
 of a bell4 ,then another1 and another1 
and another1 until1 from every quarter  
of the city1 their music came1 as though
 in answer to her question4 ,some1 near 
at hand1 rang loud1 triumphant1 peals as
 though rejoicing over victories already
 won2 others1 farther away1 in softer   
tones1 seemed to promise strength for   

present need2 while still others1 in    
more distant places1 sounding soft and  
far away1 seemed to gently warn1 to     
beckon1 to call1 to plead4 ,lifting her 
tear filled eyes from the lights of the 
streets the woman looked at the stars1  
and1 so looking1 saw1 lifting into the  
sky1 the church spires of the city4  ,in
 a little1 the music of the bells       
ceased4 ,but the woman1 at the window1  
sat still with her face upturned to the 
stars4  ,gone1 now1 were the city lights
 that to her had seemed as beacon fires 
on the outskirts of hell4 ,gone1 now1   
the horrors of that life to which night 
comes not as a benediction4 ,gone1 now1 
her fears for her dreams4 ,the woman    
lived again a ,sunday evening in her    
,yesterdays4  ,it may have been the     
flaming glory of the sky2 it may have   
been the music of the bells2 it may have
 been the stars--whatever it was--the   
woman went again into the long ago4     
,once again she went back into her      
,yesterdays--to a ,sunday evening in her

 ,yesterdays4  ,the little girl was on  
the front porch of her home with mother4
 ,the sun was going down behind the     
great trees in the old churchyard at the
 cross roads while1 across the valley1  
the voice of the bell was calling the   
people to evening worship4 ,and1 with   
the ringing of the bell1 the boy and his
 mother came to sit with them while the 
men were gone to church4  ,then1 while  
the mothers1 seated in their easy       
chairs1 talked in low tones1 the boy and
 the girl1 side by side1 on the steps of
 the porch1 watched the light go out of 
the sky and tried to count the stars as 
they came4 ,as the twilight deepened1   
the elms in the pasture across the road1
 the maples along the drive1 and the    
willows down by the creek1 became       
shadowy and indistinct4 ,from the       
orchard1 an owl sent forth his quavering
 call and was answered by his mate from 
the roof of the barn4 ,down in the      
shadow of the little valley1 a          
whip-poor-will cried plaintively1 and1  

now and then1 a bat came darting out of 
the dusk on swift and silent wings4 ,and
 there1 in the darkness across the      
valley1 shone the single light of the   
church4 ,the children gave up trying to 
count the stars and grew very still1 as1
 together1 they watched the lights of   
the church4 ,then one of the mothers    
laughed1 a low happy laugh1 and the     
children began telling each other about 
,god4  ,many things the boy and the girl
 told each other about ,god4 ,and who is
 there to say that the things they told 
were not just as true as many things    
that older children tell8 ,though1 ,i   
suppose1 as the boy and girl did not    
quarrel or become angry with each other 
that ,sunday evening1 their talk about  
,god could scarcely be considered       
orthodox4 ,their service under the stars
 was not at all regular1 ,i know4 ,with 
childish awe and reverence--with hushed 
voices--they only told each other about 
,god4 ,they did not discuss             
theology--they were not church          

members--they were only children4       
,then1 by and by1 the father and uncle  
came1 and1 with his parents1 the boy    
went home1 calling through the dark1 as 
he went1 many good nights--each call    
sounding fainter and farther away4 ,and1
 when she could neither hear nor make   
him hear more1 the little girl went with
 her mother into the house1 where1 when 
she was ready for bed1 she knelt to pray
 that old familiar prayer of the        
,yesterdays--forgetting not in her      
prayer to ask ,god to bless and keep the
 boy4  ,oh1 childish prayers of the     
,yesterdays6 ,made in the strength of a 
childish faith1 what power divine is in 
them to keep the race from death6 ,oh1  
childish understanding of ,god1 deep    
grounded in that wisdom to which        
scholars can never attain6 ,does the    
,master of ,life still set little       
children among ,his disciples in vain8  
,the woman no longer feared that which  
lay in the darkness of the city4 ,she   
knew1 now1 that she would have strength 

to keep the treasures of her womanhood  
safe for him should he come to lead her 
into the life of her dreams4 ,she knew1 
now1 what it was that would help        
her--that would enable her to keep that 
which ,life had committed to her4  ,as  
she turned from the window1 strength and
 peace were in her heart4 ,as she knelt 
beside her bed to pray1 her prayer was  
that prayer of her ,yesterdays4 ,the    
prayer of a child it was--the prayer of 
a woman who knows that she is a woman it
 was also4      ,,tradition  ,it was    
summer time--growing time4  ,the        
children of the little brown birds that 
had nested in the hedge near the cherry 
tree1 that year1 were flying now1 quite 
easily1 away from their little brown    
mother's counsel and advice4 ,even to   
the top of the orchard hill1 they went  
in search of brave adventure1 rejoicing 
recklessly in their freedom4 ,but1 for  
the parent birds1 the ties of the home  
in the hedge were still strong4 ,and1   
every day1 they examined with           

experienced eyes the cherries1 that1 on 
the near by tree1 were fast nearing     
ripening time4  ,with every gesture     
expressing more clearly than any spoken 
word his state of mind1 the man jerked  
down the top of his desk1 slammed the   
door1 jabbed the elevator bell1 and     
strode grimly out of the building4  ,the
 man's anger was not one of those flash 
like bursts of wrath1 that1 passing as  
quickly as they come1 leave the sky as  
clear as though no storm had crossed it4
 ,nor was it the slow kindling1         
determined1 anger1 that1 directed       
against a definite object1 burns with   
steady purpose4 ,it was rather that     
sullen1 hopeless1 helpless rage1 that1  
finding nothing to vent itself upon1    
endures even while recognizing that its 
endurance is in vain4 ,it was the anger 
of a captive1 wild thing against the    
steel bars of its cage1 which1 after    
months of effort1 it has found too      
strong4 ,it was the anger of an explorer
 against the impassable crags and cliffs

 of a mountain range that bars his path4
 ,it was the anger of a blind man       
against the darkness that will not lift4
  ,the man's work demanded freedom and  
the man was not free4 ,in his dreams1 at
 the beginning of his manhood1 he had   
thought himself free to work out his    
dreams4 ,he had said to himself3 ,alone1
 in my own strength1 ,i will work4      
,depending upon no man1 ,i will be      
independent4 ,limited only by myself1 ,i
 will be free4 ,he said this because he 
did not1 then1 know the strength of the 
bars4 ,he had not1 at that time1 seen   
the mountain range4 ,he had not faced   
the darkness that would not lift4       
,difficulties1 hardships1 obstacles1    
dangers1 he had expected to face1 and1  
in his strength1 to overcome4 ,but the  
greatest difficulty1 the severest       
hardship1 the most trying obstacle1 the 
gravest danger1 he had not foreseen4    
,little by little1 as the days and      
months had passed and the man had made  
progress in his work1 this thing had    

made itself felt4 ,little by little1    
this thing had forced itself upon him   
until1 at last1 he was made to realize  
the fact that he was not independent of 
but dependent upon all men4 ,he found   
that he was limited not alone by himself
 but by others4 ,he understood1 now1    
that he was not free to work out his    
dreams4 ,he saw1 now1 that the thing    
most difficult to overcome--the thing   
that forbade his progress and refused   
him freedom--was ,tradition4 ,on every  
side he met this3 ,it has never been    
done2 it1 therefore1 can never be done4 
,the fathers of our fathers believed    
this1 therefore we must believe it4     
,this has always been1 therefore this   
must always be4 ,others do this1 think  
this1 believe this1 therefore you must  
so do and think and believe4 ,the man   
found1 that1 beyond a point which others
 could see1 others denied him the right 
to go4 ,the established customs and     
habits of others fixed the limit of the 
progress he could make with the approval

 of the world4  ,at first he had        
laughed--secure in his own strength1 he 
had laughed contemptuously4 ,but that   
was because he did not then realize the 
power of this thing4 ,later he did not  
laugh4 ,he became angry with a sullen1  
hopeless1 helpless1 rage that           
accomplished nothing--that could        
accomplish nothing--but only weakened   
the man himself4 ,as one shut in a cell 
exhausts himself beating against the    
walls1 so he wearied himself4  ,not     
until he was in the full swing of his   
work had this thing come upon him in    
force4 ,at the beginning of his manhood 
life1 when1 in the strength of his first
 manhood dreams he had looked out upon  
the world as a conquering emperor upon  
the field of a coming battle1 he had not
 seen this thing4 ,when he was crying   
out to the world for something to do    
this thing had not made itself felt4    
,not until he had made noticeable       
progress--not until he was in the full  
swing of his work--did he find himself  

forced to reckon with what others had   
done or said or thought or believed4    
,and never had the man felt his own     
strength as he felt it now when face to 
face with this thing against which his  
strength seemed so helpless4 ,if only he
 could have freedom6 ,he asked nothing  
but that4 ,as in the beginning he had   
asked of the world only room and        
something to do1 he asked now only for  
freedom to do4 ,and the world granted   
him the freedom of the child who is     
permitted to play in the yard but must  
not go outside the fence4 ,he was free  
to do his work--to play out his         
dreams--only so far as the established  
customs and fixed                       
habits--,tradition--willed4 ,beyond the 
fence that shuts in the familiar home   
ground1 said the world1 you must not go4
 ,if you dare climb over the fence--if  
you dare go out of the yard1 said the   
world1 ,i will punish you--,i will      
ridicule you1 condemn you1 persecute    
you1 ostracize you4 ,i will brand you   

false1 a self-seeker1 a pretender1 a    
charlatan1 a trickster1 a rogue4 ,i will
 cry you unsafe1 dangerous1 a menace to 
society and the race1 an evil to all    
that is good1 an unspeakable fool4 ,stay
 in the yard1 said the world1 and you   
may do what you like4  ,even in matters 
of personal habits and taste1 the man   
found that he was not free4 ,in his     
dress2 in the things he ate and drank2  
in his pleasures2 in the books he read1 
the plays he attended1 the pictures he  
saw1 the music he heard1 he found that  
he was expected to obey the mandates of 
the world--he found that he was expected
 to conform to ,tradition--to the       
established customs and habits of       
others4 ,in religion1 in politics1 in   
society1 in literature1 in art--as in   
his work--the world said3 ,don't go     
outside the yard4  ,i do not know what  
work it was that the man was trying to  
do4 ,it does not matter what his work   
was4 ,but this ,i know3 in every work   
that man1 since the beginning1 has tried

 to do1 man has been hindered as this   
man was hindered--man has been denied as
 this man was denied1 freedom4          
,tradition has always blocked the wheels
 of progress4 ,the world has moved ahead
 always in spite of the world4 ,just as 
the world has always crucified its      
saviors1 so1 always1 it has hindered and
 held back its leaders4  ,and this1 too1
 ,i know3 after the savior is crucified1
 those who nail him to the cross accept 
his teaching4 ,while the world hinders  
and holds back its leaders1 it always   
follows them4  ,but the man did not     
think of this that day when he left the 
scene of his labor in such anger4 ,he   
thought only of that which he was trying
 to do4 ,when he went back to his work1 
the next day1 he was still angry and    
with his anger1 now1 came discontent1   
doubt1 and fear1 to cloud his vision1 to
 clog his brain and weaken his heart4   
,a friend1 at lunch1 said3 ,you look    
fagged1 knocked out1 done up1 old man4  
,you've been pegging away too long and  

too steadily4 ,why don't you let up for 
awhile8 ,lay off for a week or two4     
,take a vacation4  ,again and again1    
that hot1 weary1 afternoon1 the words of
 the man's friend came back to him      
until1 by evening1 he was considering   
the suggestion seriously4 ,why not8 he  
asked himself4 ,he was accomplishing    
little or nothing in his present mood4  
,why not accept the friendly advice8    
,perhaps--when he came back--perhaps1 he
 could again laugh at the world that    
denied him freedom4  ,so he came to     
considering places and plans4 ,and1 as  
he considered1 there was before him1    
growing always clearer as he looked1 the
 scenes of his boyhood--the old home of 
his childhood--the place of his         
,yesterdays4 ,there were many places of 
interest and pleasure to which the man  
might go1 but1 among them all1 there was
 no place so attractive as the place of 
his ,yesterdays4 ,there was nothing he  
so wished to do as this3 to go back to  
the old home and there to be1 for a     

little while1 as nearly as a man could  
be1 a boy again4  ,if the man had       
thought about it1 he would have seen in 
this desire to spend his vacation at the
 old home something of the same force   
that so angered him by hindering his    
work4 ,but the man did not think about  
it4 ,he wrote a letter to see if he     
might spend two weeks with the people   
who were living in the house where he   
was born and1 when the answer came      
assuring him a welcome1 quickly made his
 arrangements to go4  ,with boyish      
eagerness1 he was at the depot a full   
half hour before the time for his train4
 ,while he waited1 he watched the crowd1
 feeling an interest in the people who  
came and went in the never ending       
profession that he had not felt since   
that day when he had first come to the  
city to work out his dreams among men4  
,in the human tide that ebbed and flowed
 through this world gateway1 he saw men 
of wealth and men of poverty--people of 
culture and position who had come or    

were going in ,pullman or private cars  
and illiterate1 stupid1 animal looking1 
emigrants who were crowded1 much like   
cattle1 in the lowest class4 ,there were
 business men of large affairs2         
countrymen with wondering faces2        
shallow1 pleasure seekers2 artists and  
scholars2 idle fools2 vicious sharks    
watching for victims2 mothers with      
flocks of children clinging to their    
skirts2 working girls and business      
women2 chattering1 laughing1            
schoolgirls2 and wretched creatures of  
the outcast life--all these and many    
more4  ,and1 as he watched1 perhaps     
because he was on his vacation1 perhaps 
because of something in his heart       
awakened by the fact that he was going  
to his boyhood home1 the man felt1 as he
 had never felt before1 his kinship with
 them all4 ,with wealth and poverty1    
with culture and illiteracy1 with       
pleasure and crime1 with sadness and    
joy1 as evidenced in the lives of those 
who passed in the crowd1 the man felt a 

sympathy and understanding that was     
strangely new4 ,and1 more than this1 he 
saw that each was kin to the other4 ,he 
saw that1 in spite of the wide gulf that
 separated the individuals in the       
throng1 there was a something that held 
them all together--there was a force    
that influenced all alike--there was a  
something common to all4 ,in spite of   
the warring elements of society2 in     
spite of the clashing forces of         
business2 in spite of the conflicting   
claims of industry represented in the   
throng2 the man recognized a            
brotherhood1 a oneness1 a kinship1 that 
held all together4 ,and he felt this    
with a strange feeling that he had      
always known that it was there but had  
never recognized it before4  ,the man   
did not realize that this was so because
 he was not thinking of the people in   
their relation to his work4 ,he did not 
know1 that1 because his heart and mind  
were intent upon the things of his      
,yesterdays1 he saw the world in this   

new light4 ,he did not1 then1 understand
 that the force which hindered and      
hampered him in his work--that denied   
him the full freedom he demanded--was   
the same force that he now felt holding 
the people together4 ,even as they all1 
whether traveling in ,pullman1 private  
car1 or emigrant train1 passed over the 
same rails1 so they all1 in whatever    
class they traveled on the road of      
,life1 were guided by the               
,traditions--the established            
customs--the fixed habits--that are     
common to their race or nation4 ,and the
 strength of a people1 as a people1 is  
in this oneness--this force that makes  
them one--the ,traditions and customs   
and habits of life that are common to   
all4 ,it is the fences of the family    
dooryards that hold the children of men 
together and make the people of a race  
or nation one4  ,so it was that the man1
 knowing it not1 left his work behind   
and went1 for strength and rest1 back to
 the scenes of his ,yesterdays in       

obedience to the command of the very    
thing that1 in his work1 had stirred him
 to such rage4 ,for what1 after all1 are
 ,traditions and customs and habits but 
a going back into the ,yesterdays4  ,as 
the train left the city farther and     
farther behind1 the man's thoughts kept 
pace with the fast flying wheels that   
were bearing him back to the scenes of  
his childhood4 ,from the present1 he    
retraced his steps to that day when he  
had dreamed his first manhood dreams and
 to those hard days when he was asking  
of the world only something to do4 ,as1 
step by step1 he followed his way back1 
incidents1 events1 experiences1 people1 
appeared1 even as from the car window he
 caught glimpses of the whirling        
landscape1 until at last he saw1 across 
the fields and meadows familiar to his  
childhood1 the buildings of the old     
home1 the house where the little girl   
had lived1 the old church1 and the      
orchard hill where he had sat that day  
when the smoke of a distant train moving

 toward the city became to him a banner 
leading to the battle front4 ,then the  
long whistle announced the station4     
,eagerly the man collected his things   
and1 before the train had come to a full
 stop1 swung himself to the depot       
platform where he was met by his kindly 
host4  ,as they drove past the fields   
and pastures1 so quiet after the noisy  
city1 the man grew very still4 ,past the
 little white church among its old trees
 at the cross roads2 down the hill and  
across the creek2 and slowly up the     
other side of the valley they went3 then
 past the house where the little girl   
had lived2 and so turned in1 at last1 to
 the home of that boy in the            
,yesterdays4 ,and surely it was no      
discredit to the man that1 when they    
left him alone in his old room to       
prepare for the evening meal1 he scarce 
could see for tears4  ,scenes of        
childhood6 ,memories of the old home6   
,recollections of the dear ones that are
 gone6 ,no more can man escape these    

things of the ,yesterdays than he can   
avoid the things of to-day4 ,no more can
 man deny the past than he can deny the 
present4 ,tradition is to men as a      
governor to an engine2 without its      
controlling power the race would speed  
quickly to its own destruction4 ,one of 
the ,thirteen ,truly ,great ,things of  
,life is ,tradition4  ,for two happy1   
healthful1 restful1 strengthening1      
inspiring weeks1 the man lived1 so far  
as a man can live1 in his ,yesterdays4  
,in the cool shade of the orchard that  
once was an enchanted wood2 under the   
old apple tree ship beside the meadow   
sea2 on the hill where1 astride his rail
 fence war horse1 the boy had directed  
the battle and led the desperate charge 
and where the man had dreamed the first 
of his manhood dreams2 in the garden    
where the castaway had lived on his     
desert island2 in the yard near mother's
 window where the boy had builded the   
brave play house for the little girl    
next door2 in the valley1 below where   

the little girl lived1 beside the brook 
that in its young life ran so pure and  
clear2 at the old school house in the   
edge of the timber2 in the ancient      
cemetery1 beside the companion graves2  
through the woods and fields and        
pastures2 beside the old mill pond with 
its covered bridge2 the man lived again 
those days of the long ago4  ,but1 in   
the places of his ,yesterdays1 the man  
found1 already1 many changes4 ,the      
houses and buildings were a little more 
weather-beaten1 with many of the boards 
in the porch floors and steps showing   
decay4 ,the trees in the orchard were   
older and more gnarled with here and    
there gaps in their ranks4 ,the fences  
showed many repairs4 ,the little        
schoolhouse was almost shabby and1 with 
the wood cleared away1 looked naked and 
alone4 ,the church1 too1 was in need of 
a fresh coat of white4 ,and there were  
many new graves in the cemetery on the  
hill4 ,as time had wrought changes in   
the man himself1 even so had it altered 

the scenes of his boyhood4 ,always1 in  
men and in things1 time works changes4  
,but it is not the changes wrought by   
time that harms4 ,these come as the     
ripening of the fruit upon the tree4 ,it
 is the sudden1 violent1 transformations
 that men are ever seeking to make1 both
 in things and in themselves1 that      
menace the ripening life of the race4   
,it is well1 indeed1 for the world to   
hold fast to its ,traditions4 ,it is    
well to cling wisely to the past4  ,nor 
did the man live again in his           
,yesterdays alone4 ,he could not4       
,always1 she was there--his boyhood     
mate--the little girl who lived next    
door4  ,but the opening in the hedge    
that1 at the lower end of the garden1   
separated the boy's home from the home  
of the little girl1 was closed4 ,long   
and carefully the man searched2 smiling1
 the while1 at a foolish wish in his    
heart that time would leave that little 
gate of the ,yesterdays always open4    
,but the ever growing branches had woven

 a thick barrier across the green       
archway hiding it so securely that1 to  
the man1 no sign was left to mark where 
it had been4  ,with that foolish regret 
still in his heart1 the man asked1 quite
 casually1 of the people who were living
 in the house if they knew aught about  
his playmate of the ,yesterdays4  ,they 
could tell him very little2 only that   
she lived in a city some distance from  
his present home4 ,what she was doing2  
whether married or alone2 they could not
 say4  ,and the man1 as he stood1 with  
bared head1 under the cherry tree in the
 corner near the hedge1 told himself    
that he was glad that the people could  
tell him nothing4 ,in his busy1 grown   
up1 life there was no room for a woman4 
,in his battle with the things that     
challenged his advance1 he must be free 
to fight4 ,it was better for him that   
the little girl lived only in his       
,yesterdays4 ,the little girl who had   
helped him play out his boyhood dreams  
must not hinder him while he worked out 

the dreams of his manhood4 ,that is what
 the man told himself as he stood1 with 
bared head1 under the cherry tree4 ,with
 the memory of that play wedding and    
that kiss in his heart1 he told himself 
that6  ,i wonder1 sometimes1 what would 
happen if men should chance to discover 
how foolish they really are4  ,no doubt1
 the man reflected--watching the pair of
 brown birds as they inspected the      
ripening cherries--no doubt she has long
 ago forgotten those childish vows4     
,perhaps1 in the grown up world1 she has
 even taken new and more binding vows4  
,would he ever1 he wondered1 meet one   
with whom he could make those vows      
again8 ,once he had met one with whom he
 thought he wished to make them but he  
knew1 now1 that he had been mistaken4   
,and he knew1 too1 that it was well that
 he had found his mistake in time4      
,somehow1 as he stood there again under 
the cherry tree1 the making of such vows
 seemed to the man more holy1 more      
sacred1 than they had ever seemed       

before4 ,would he dare--,he wondered4   
,was there1 in all the world1 a woman   
with whom he could--,the man shrugged   
his shoulders and turned away4 ,yes1    
indeed1 it was much better that she     
lived only in his ,yesterdays4 ,and     
still--still--in the man's heart there  
was regret that ,time had closed that   
gateway of his ,yesterdays4  ,and often1
 in the twilight of those evenings1     
after a day of wandering about the      
place1 visiting old scenes1 or talking  
with the long time friends of his       
people1 the man would recall the        
traditions of his family2 hearing again 
the tales his father would tell by the  
winter fireside or listening to the     
stories that his mother would relate on 
a ,sunday or a stormy afternoon4 ,brave 
tales they were--brave tales and true   
stories of the man's forbears who had   
lived when the country was young and who
 had played no small part in the        
nation's building4 ,and1 as he recalled 
these traditions of his people1 the     

man's heart thrilled with loyal pride   
while he determined strongly to keep the
 splendid record clean4 ,as a sacred    
heritage1 he would receive these        
traditions4 ,as a holy duty he would be 
true to that which had been4            
,reluctantly1 but with renewed strength 
and courage1 when the time came for his 
going1 the man set his face away from   
his ,yesterdays--set it again toward his
 work--toward the working out of his    
dreams4 ,and1 as he went1 there was for 
the thing that checked his progress     
something more than anger--for the thing
 that forced him to go slowly there was 
patience4  ,standing on the rear        
platform1 as his train moved slowly away
 past an incoming train that had just   
pulled onto a siding1 the man saw the   
neighbor who lived next door to his old 
home drive hurriedly up4 ,the man in the
 carriage waved his hand and the man on 
the moving train1 answering in like     
manner1 wondered idly what had brought  
the neighbor there4 ,surely he had not  

come to bid one who was almost a        
stranger good-bye4 ,and1 strangely      
enough1 as the man watched from the     
window for a last view of the scenes of 
his ,yesterdays1 there was in his heart1
 again1 regret that the little opening  
in the hedge was closed4  99    99    99
    99    99  ,the city was sweltering  
in a summer heat wave4 ,the sun shone   
through a dingy pall of vile smoke with 
a sickly1 yellow1 glare4 ,from the      
pavement and gutter1 wet by the         
sprinkling wagons1 in a vain effort to  
lay the dust1 a sticky1 stinking1 steam 
lifted1 filling the nostrils and laving 
the face with a combination of every    
filthy odor4 ,the atmosphere fairly     
reeked with the smell of sweating       
animals1 perspiring humanity1 rotting   
garbage1 and vile sewage4 ,and1 in the  
midst of the hot filth1 the people moved
 with languid1 feeble manner2 their     
faces worn and pallid2 their eyes dull  
and weary2 their voices thin and        
fretful4  ,the woman's heart was faint  

with the weight of suffering that she   
was helpless to relieve4 ,her quivering 
nerves shrieked with the horror of      
conditions that she could not change4   
,her brain ached with contemplation of  
the cruel necessity that tortured       
humankind4 ,her very soul was sick with 
the hopelessness of the gasping1        
choking1 struggling1 multitude who1 in  
their poverty and blindness1 toiled to  
preserve their lives of sorrow and pain 
and sought relief from their labors in  
pleasures more horrible and destructive1
 by far1 than the slavery to which they 
gave themselves for the means to pay4   
,the woman was tired--very tired4 ,heart
 and nerves and brain and soul and body 
were tired with a weariness that1 it    
seemed to her1 would never pass4 ,she   
was tired of the life into which she had
 gone because it was the custom of the  
age and because of her necessity--the   
life into which she had not wished to go
 because it denied her womanhood4       
,because she knew herself to be a woman1

 she felt that she was being robbed of  
the things of her womanhood4 ,the       
brightness and beauty1 the strength and 
joyousness of her womanhood were1 by    
her1 held as sacred trusts to be kept   
for her children and1 through them1 for 
the race4 ,she wearied of the struggle  
to keep the things of her womanhood from
 the world that was taking them from    
her--that put a price upon them--that   
used them as thoughtlessly as it uses   
the stone and metal and wood that it    
takes from the earth4 ,she was tired of 
the horrid life that crowded her so     
closely--that crushed itself against her
 in the crowded cars--that leered into  
her face on the street--that reached out
 for her from every side--that hungered 
for her with a fierce hunger and longed 
for her with a damnable1 fiendish1      
longing4 ,she was faint and weak from   
contact with the loathsome things that  
she was forced to know and that would   
leave their mark upon her womanhood as  
surely as the touch of pitch defiles4   

,and she was weary1 so weary1 waiting   
for that one with whom she could cross  
the threshold of the old1 old1 open     
door4  ,little time was left to her1    
now1 for thought and preparation for the
 life of which she had dreamed4 ,little 
heart was left to her1 now1 for         
dreaming4 ,little courage was left for  
hope4 ,but still her dreams lived4      
,still she waited4 ,still1 at times1 she
 hoped4  ,but the thing that most of all
 wearied the woman1 who knew that she   
was a woman1 was this3 the restless1    
discontented1 dissatisfied1 uneasy1     
spirit of the age that1 scorning        
,tradition in a shallow1 silly pride1   
struggles for and seems to value only   
that which is new regardless of the     
value of the thing itself4 ,the new in  
dress1 regardless of beauty or fitness  
in the costume--the new in thought1     
regardless of the saneness of the       
thinking--the new in customs and manner 
of living--the new in the home1 in      
marriage relation1 in the education and 

rearing of children--new philosophy1 new
 science1 new religion1 new art1 new    
music1 new books1 new cooking1 new      
women--it sometimes appears that the    
crime of crimes1 the most degrading     
disgrace1 these days1 is to be held     
old-fashioned1 behind-the-times1        
out-of-date1 and that everything1       
everything1 not new is                  
old-fashioned--everything not of the    
times is behind-the-times--everything   
not down-to-date is out-of-date4        
,patriotism1 love of country1 is old1   
very old1 and is also--or               
therefore--quite out-of-date4 ,to speak 
or write of patriotism1 seriously1 or to
 consider it a factor in life--to live  
it1 depend upon it1 or appeal to it1 is 
to be considered very strange and sadly 
old-fashioned4 ,the modern1             
down-to-date1 age considers seriously   
not patriotism but graft and price and  
boodle4 ,these are the modern forces by 
which the nation is said to be governed2
 these are the means by which the nation

 strives to go ahead4 ,to talk only of  
these things1 to believe only in these  
things1 to live only these things1 is to
 be modern and down--low down--to-date4 
,to work from any motive but the making 
of money is to be queerly               
behind-the-times4 ,to write a book or   
paint a picture or sing a song1 to      
preach a sermon1 to do anything for any 
reason under heaven but for cash marks  
you a fanatic and a fool4 ,to believe1  
even1 that anyone does anything save for
 the money there is in it stamps you    
simple and unsophisticated1 indeed4 ,to 
profess such belief1 save you put your  
tongue in your cheek1 marks you         
peculiar4  ,long1 long1 ago mankind put 
its best strength1 its best thought1 its
 best life1 into its works1 without     
regard for the price1 simply because it 
was its work4 ,and the work so wrought  
in those queer old-fashioned days has   
most curiously endured4 ,there is little
 danger that much of our modern1        
down-to-date work will endure for the   

very simple reason that we do not want  
it to endure4 ,the world wants something
 new4 ,down-to-date-ism does not want   
its work to last longer than the dollar 
it brings4 ,never fear1 the world is    
getting something new6 ,but1 though we  
have grown so bravely away from those   
queer1 old-fashioned days we have not   
succeeded yet in growing altogether away
 from the works that those old-fashioned
 days produced4 ,but1 patience1 old     
world--patience--down-to-date-ism may1  
in time1 accomplish even this4  ,in     
those old1 old1 times1 too1 it was the  
fashion for men and women to mate in    
love4 ,in love1 they planned and builded
 their homes4 ,in love1 they brought    
forth children and reared them1 with    
queer1 old-fashioned notions about      
marriage1 to serve the race4 ,in those  
times1 now so sadly old and out-of-date1
 men planned and labored for homes and  
children and women were home makers and 
mothers4 ,but the world is now far from 
those ancient ways and out-of-date      

ideals4 ,marriage has little to do with 
home making these modern days4 ,it has  
almost nothing to do with children4 ,we 
have1 in our down-to-date-ism1 come to  
be a nation of childless wives and      
homeless husbands4 ,we are dwellers in  
flats1 apartments1 hotels1 where        
children would be in the way but dogs   
are welcome if only they be useless     
dogs4 ,we live in houses that are always
 for sale or rent4 ,it is our proud     
boast that we possess nothing that is   
not on the market for a price4 ,the     
thought of selling a home is not painful
 for we do not know1 the value of a     
home4 ,we have1 for convenience1 to     
gratify our modern1 down-to-date1 ever  
changing tastes1 popularized the divorce
 court as though a husband or wife of   
more than three seasons is old-fashioned
 and should be discarded for one of a   
newer pattern1 more in harmony with our 
modern ideals of marriage4  ,from the   
down-to-date--the                       
all-the-way-down-to-date woman1 ,i      

mean--one gains new and modern ideas of 
the service that womankind is to render 
to the race4 ,almost it is as though    
,god did not know what he was about when
 he made woman4 ,to place a home above a
 club2 a nursery above the public       
platform2 a fireside above politics2 the
 prattle of children above newspaper    
notoriety2 the love of boys and girls   
above the excitement of social conquest2
 the work of bearing strong men and true
 women for the glory of the race above  
the near intellectual pursuits and the  
attainments of a shallow thinking2 all  
this is to be sadly old-fashioned4 ,all 
this is so behind-the-times that one    
must confess such shocking taste with   
all humiliation4  ,i hereby beg pardon  
of the down-to-date powers that be1 and 
most humbly pray that they will         
graciously forgive my boorishness4 ,i   
assure you that1 after all1 ,i am not so
 benighted that ,i do not realize how   
seriously babies would interfere in the 
affairs of those down-to-date women who 

are elevating the race4 ,by all means   
let the race be elevated though it      
perish1 childless1 in the process4 ,very
 soon1 now1 womanhood itself will be    
out-of-date for the world1 in this also1
 seems to be evolving something new4    
,so the woman1 who knew herself to be a 
woman1 most of all1 was tired of things 
new and longed1 deep in her heart1 for  
the old1 old1 things that were built    
into the very foundation of the race and
 that no amount of gilding and trimming 
and ornamenting can ever cover up or    
hide2 and no amount of disregarding or  
ignoring can do away with2 lest indeed  
the race perish from the earth4  ,and   
when do you take your vacation8 asked a 
fellow worker as they were leaving the  
building after the day's work4  ,not    
until the last of the month1 returned   
the woman wearily4 ,and you8  ,me1 oh1  
,i must go ,monday6 ,and it's such a    
shame6 ,i've just received a charming   
invitation for two weeks later but no   
one cares to exchange time with me4 ,no 

one1 you see1 can go on such short      
notice4 ,i don't suppose that you-- she 
paused suggestively4  ,i will exchange  
time with you1 said the woman simply4   
,will you really8 ,now1 that is clever  
of you6 ,are you sure that you don't    
mind8  ,indeed1 ,i will be glad to get  
away earlier4  ,but can you get ready to
 go so soon8  ,the woman smiled4 ,i     
shall do very little getting ready4     
,the other looked at her musingly4 ,no1 
,i suppose not1 you are so queer that   
way4 ,seems to me ,i can't find time    
enough to make new things4 ,one just    
must keep up1 you know4  ,it is settled 
then8 asked the woman1 at the corner    
where they parted4  ,it will be so good 
of you1 murmured the other4  ,the woman 
had many invitations to spend her brief 
vacation with friends1 but1 that night1 
she wrote a letter to the people who    
lived in her old home and asked if they 
would take her for two weeks1 requesting
 that they telegraph their answer4 ,when
 the message came1 she wired them to    

meet her and went by the first train4   
,at the old home station1 her train took
 a siding at the upper end of the yards 
to let the outgoing express pass4 ,from 
the window where she sat the woman saw a
 tall man1 dressed in a business suit of
 quiet gray1 standing on the rear       
platform of the slowly moving outbound  
train and waving his hand to someone on 
the depot platform4 ,just a glimpse she 
had of him before he passed from sight  
as her own train moved ahead to stop at 
the depot where she was greeted by her  
host4 ,not until they were driving      
toward her old home did the woman know  
who it was that she had seen4  ,the     
woman was interested in all that the    
people had to tell about her old        
playmate and asked not a few questions  
but she was glad that he had not known  
of her coming4 ,she was glad that he was
 gone4 ,the man and the woman were      
strangers and the woman did not wish to 
meet a stranger4 ,the boy lived1 for    
her1 only in her ,yesterdays and the    

woman told herself that she was glad    
because she feared that the man1 if she 
met him1 would rob her of the boy4 ,she 
feared that he would be like so many    
that she had been forced to know in the 
world that denied her womanhood4 ,she   
had determined to be for two weeks1 as  
far as it is possible for a woman to be1
 just a girl again and she wanted no    
company other than the little boy who   
lived only in the long ago4  ,as soon as
 supper was over she retired to her     
room--to the little room that had been  
hers in her childhood--where1 before    
lighting the lamp1 she sat for awhile at
 the open window looking out into the   
night1 breathing long and deep of the   
pure air that was sweetly perfumed with 
the odor of the meadows and fields4 ,in 
the brooding quiet2 in the soft night   
sounds2 in the fragrant breeze that     
gently touched her hair2 she felt the   
old1 old1 forces of life calling to her 
womanhood and felt her womanhood stir in
 answer4 ,for a long time she sat there 

giving free rein to the thoughts and    
longings that1 in her city life1 she was
 forced to suppress4  ,rising at last1  
as though with quick resolution1 she    
lighted her lamp and prepared for bed2  
loosening her hair and deftly arranging 
the beautiful1 shining1 mass that fell  
over her shoulders in a long braid4     
,then1 smiling as she would have smiled 
at the play of a child1 she knelt before
 her trunk and1 taking something from   
its depth1 quickly put out the light    
again and once more seated herself in a 
low rocking chair by the open window4   
,had there been any one to see1 they    
would not have understood4 ,who is      
there1 indeed1 to understand the heart  
of womanhood8 ,the woman1 sitting in the
 dark before the window in that room so 
full of the memories of her childhood1  
held close in her arms an ancient doll  
whose face had been washed so many times
 by its little mother that it was but a 
smudge of paint4  ,that night the woman 
slept as a child sleeps after a long1   

busy1 happy1 childhood day--slept to    
open her eyes in the morning while the  
birds in the trees outside her window   
were heralding the coming of the sun4   
,rising she looked and saw the sky      
glorious with the light of dawning day4 
,flaming streamers of purple and scarlet
 and silver floated high over the       
buildings and trees next door4 ,the last
 of the pale stars sank into the ocean  
of blue and1 from behind the old orchard
 above the house where the boy lived1   
long shafts of golden light shot up as  
if aimed by some heavenly archer hiding 
behind the hill4  ,when the day was     
fully come1 the woman quickly dressed   
and went out into the yard4 ,the grass  
was dew drenched and fragrant under her 
feet4 ,the flowers were fresh and       
inviting4 ,but she did not pause until1 
out in the garden1 at the farther       
corner1 close by the hedge1 she stood   
under the cherry tree--sacred cathedral 
of her ,yesterdays4  ,when she turned   
again to go back to the house1 the      

woman's face was shining with the light 
that glows only in the faces of those   
women who know that they are women and  
who dream the dreams of womanhood4  ,so 
the woman spent her days4 ,down in the  
little valley by the brook1 that1 as it 
ran over the pebbly bars1 drifted in the
 flickering light and shade of the      
willows1 slipped between the green      
banks1 or crept softly beneath the      
grassy arch1 sang its song of the       
,yesterdays3 up in the orchard beyond   
the neighboring house where so many1    
many1 times she had helped the boy play 
out his dreams2 on the porch1 in the    
soft twilight1 watching the stars as    
they blossomed above while up from the  
dusky shadows in the valley below came  
the call of the whip-poor-will and the  
bats on silent wings flitted to and fro2
 out in the garden under the cherry tree
 in the corner near the hedge--in all   
the loved haunts of the boy and         
girl--she spent her days4  ,and the     
tired look went out of her eyes4        

,strength returned to her weary body1   
courage to her heart1 and calmness to   
her over-wrought nerves4 ,amid those    
scenes of her ,yesterdays she was made  
ready to go back to the world that      
values so highly things that are new1   
and1 in the strength of the old1 old1   
things to keep the dreams of her        
womanhood4 ,and1 as she went1 there was 
that in her face that all men love to   
see in the face of womankind4  ,poor old
 world6 ,someday1 perhaps1 it will awake
 from its feverish dream to find that   
,god made some things in the heart of   
the race too big to be outgrown4        
,,temptation  ,the heights of ,life are 
fortified4 ,they are guarded by narrow  
passes where the world must go single   
file and where1 if one slip from the    
trail1 he falls into chasms of awful    
depths2 by cliffs of apparent impassable
 abruptness which1 if in scaling1 one   
lose his head he is lost2 and by false  
trails that seem to promise easy going  
but lead in the wrong direction4 ,not in

 careless ease are those higher levels  
gained4 ,the upward climb is one of     
strenuous effort1 of desperate struggle1
 of hazardous risk4 ,only those who     
prove themselves fit may gain the top4  
,somewhere in the life of every man     
there is a testing time4 ,there is a    
trial to prove of what metal he is made4
 ,there is a point which1 won or lost1  
makes him winner or loser in the game4  
,there is a ,temptation that to him is  
vital4  ,to pray3 ,lead us not into     
temptation1 is divine wisdom for        
,temptation lies in wait4 ,there is no  
need to seek it4 ,and1 when once it is  
met1 there is no dodging the issue or   
shifting the burden of responsibility4  
,in the greatest gifts that men possess 
are the seeds which1 if grown and       
cultivated1 yield poisonous fruit4 ,in  
the very forces that men use for        
greatest good are the elements of their 
own destruction4 ,and1 whatever the     
guise in which ,temptation comes1 the   
tempter is always the same--,self4      

,temptation spells always the mastery of
 or the surrender to one's self4  ,once 
,i stood on a mighty cliff with the     
ocean at my feet4 ,ear below1 the waves 
broke with a soothing murmur that scarce
 could reach my ears and the gray gulls 
were playing here and there like shadows
 of half forgotten dreams4 ,in the      
distance1 the fishing boats rolled      
lazily on the gentle swell and the      
sunlight danced upon the surface of the 
sea4 ,then1 as ,i looked1 on the far    
horizon the storm chieftain gathered his
 clans for war4 ,i saw the red banners  
flashing4 ,i watched the hurried        
movements of the dark and threatening   
ranks4 ,i heard the rumbling tread of   
the tramping feet4 ,and1 like airy      
messengers sent to warn me1 the gusts of
 wind came racing and wailed and sobbed 
about the cliff because ,i would not    
heed their warning4 ,the startled boats 
in the offing spread their white wings  
and scurried to the shelter of their    
harbor nests4 ,the gray gulls vanished4 

,the sunlight danced no more upon the   
surface of the sea4 ,and then1 as the   
battle front rolled above my head1 the  
billows1 lashed to fury by the wind and 
flinging in the air the foam of their   
own madness1 came rushing on to try     
their strength against the grim and     
silent rock4 ,again and again they      
hurled their giant forms upon the cliff1
 until the roar of the surf below       
drowned even the thunder in the clouds  
above and the solid earth trembled with 
the shock1 but their very strength was  
their ruin and they were dashed in      
impotent spray from the stalwart object 
of their assault4 ,and at last1 when the
 hours of the struggle were over2 when  
the storm soldiers had marched on to    
their haunts behind the hills2 when the 
gulls had returned to their sports2 and 
the sun shone again on the waters2 ,i   
saw the bosom of the ocean rise and fall
 like the breast of an angry child      
exhausted with its passion while the    
cliff1 standing stern and silent1 seemed

 to look1 with mingled pride and pity1  
upon its foe now moaning at its feet4   
,like that cliff1 ,i say1 is the soul of
 a man who1 in temptation1 gains the    
mastery of himself4 ,the storm clouds of
 life may gather darkly over his head   
but he shall not tremble4 ,the lightning
 of the world's wrath and the thunder of
 man's disapproval shall not move him4  
,the waves of passion that so try the   
strength of men shall be dashed in      
impotent spray from his stalwart might4 
,and when1 at last1 the storms of life  
are over--when the sun shines again on  
the waters as it shone before the fight 
began--he shall still stand1 calm and   
unmoved1 master of himself and men4     
,because those things are true1 ,i say3 
that ,temptation is one of the ,thirteen
 ,truly ,great ,things of ,life4  ,and  
the man knew these things--knew them as 
well as you know them4 ,in the full     
knowledge of these things he came to his
 testing time4 ,to win or to lose1 in   
the full knowledge of all that victory  

or defeat meant to him1 he went to his  
,temptation4  ,it was early winter when 
his time came but he knew that first    
morning after he had returned from his  
vacation that it was coming4 ,the moment
 he entered the room to take up again   
the task of putting his dreams into     
action1 he saw her and felt her power   
for she was one of those women who      
compel recognition of their sex as the  
full noonday sun compels recognition of 
its light and heat4  ,an hour later her 
duties brought her to him1 and1 for a   
few moments1 they stood face to face4   
,and the man1 while he instructed her in
 the work that she was to do1 felt the  
strength of her power even as a strong  
swimmer feels the current of the stream4
 ,through her eyes1 in her voice1 in her
 presence1 this woman challenged the    
man1 made him more conscious of her than
 of his work4 ,the subtle1 insinuating1 
luring1 strength of her beat upon him1  
enveloped him1 thrilled him4 ,as she    
turned to go back to her place1 his eyes

 followed her and he knew that he was   
approaching a great crisis in his life4 
,he knew that soon or late he would be  
forced into a battle with himself and   
that tremendous stakes would be at      
issue4 ,he knew that victory would give 
him increased power1 larger capacity1   
and a firmer grip upon the enduring     
principles of life or defeat would make 
of him a slave1 with enfeebled spirit1  
humiliated and ashamed4  ,every day1 in 
the weeks that followed1 the man was    
forced to see her--to talk with her--to 
feel her strength4 ,and every day he    
felt himself carried irresistibly onward
 toward the testing that he knew must   
come4 ,he was conscious1 too1 that the  
woman1 also1 knew and understood and    
that it pleased her so to use her power4
 ,she willed that he should feel her    
presence4 ,in a thousand subtle forms   
she repeated her challenge4 ,in ways    
varied without number she called to him1
 lured him1 led him4 ,to do this seemed 
a necessity to her4 ,she was one of     

those women whose natures seem to demand
 this expression of themselves4         
,instinctively1 she made all men with   
whom she came in contact feel her power 
and1 instinctively--unconsciously1      
perhaps--she gloried in her strength4   
,if the man could have had other things 
in common with her it would have been   
different4 ,if there had been1 as well1 
the appeal of the intellect--of the     
spirit--if the beauty of her had been to
 him an expression of something more    
than her sex--if there had been ideals1 
hopes1 longings1 fears1 even sorrow or  
regret1 common to both1 it would have   
been different4 ,but there was nothing4 
,often the man sought to find something 
more but there was nothing4 ,so he      
permitted himself to be carried onward  
by a current against which1 when the    
time should come1 he knew he would need 
to fight with all his might4 ,and       
always1 as the current swept him onward 
toward the point where he must make the 
decisive struggle1 he felt the woman's  

power over him growing ever greater4    
,at last it came4  ,it was ,saturday4   
,the man left the place where he worked 
earlier than usual that he might walk to
 his rooms for he felt the need of      
physical action4 ,he felt a strong      
desire to run1 to leap1 to use his      
splendid muscles that throbbed and      
exulted with such vigorous life4 ,as he 
strode along the streets1 beyond the    
business district1 he held his head     
high1 he looked full into the faces of  
the people he met with a bold           
challenging look4 ,the cool1 bracing    
air1 of early winter was grateful on his
 glowing skin and he drank long deep    
breaths of it as one would drink an     
invigorating tonic4 ,every nerve and    
fiber of him was keenly1 gloriously1    
alive with the strength of his splendid 
manhood4 ,every nerve and fiber of him  
was conscious of her and exulted in that
 which he had seen in her eyes when she 
had told him that she would be at home  
that evening and that she would be glad 

to have him call4 ,with all his senses  
abnormally alert1 he saw and noted      
everything about him4 ,a thousand       
trivial1 commonly unseen things1 along  
his way and in the faces1 dress1 and    
manner1 of the people whom he met1      
caught his eye4 ,yet1 always1 vividly   
before him1 was the face of her whose   
power he had felt4 ,under it all1 he was
 conscious that this was his testing    
time4 ,he knew--or it would have been no
 ,temptation--it would have been no     
trial4 ,impatiently he glanced at his   
watch and1 as he neared the place where 
he lived1 quickened his stride1         
springing up the steps of the house at  
last with a burst of eager haste4  ,in  
the front hall1 at the foot of the      
stairs1 the little daughter of his      
landlady greeted him with shouts of     
delight and1 with the masterful strength
 of four feminine years1 dragged him1 a 
willing captive1 through the open door  
to her mother's pleasant sitting room4  
,she was a beautiful1 dainty1 little    

miss with hair and eyes very like that  
playmate of the man's ,yesterdays and it
 was his custom to pay tribute to her   
charms in the coin of childhood as      
faithfully and as regularly as he paid  
his board4  ,seated now1 with the baby  
on his lap and the smiling mother       
looking on1 he produced1 after the usual
 pretense of denial and long search     
through many pockets1 the weekly        
offering4 ,and then1 as though some     
guardian angel willed it so1 the little 
girl did a thing that she had never done
 before4 ,putting two plump and dimpled 
arms about his neck she said gravely3   
,mamma don't like me to kiss folks1 you 
know1 but she said she wouldn't care if 
,i kissed you ,whereupon a sweet little 
rosebud mouth was offered trustingly1   
with loving innocence1 to his lips4  ,a 
crimson flame flushed the man's face4   
,with a laugh of embarrassment and a    
quick impulsive hug he held the child   
close and accepted her offering4  ,then 
he went quickly upstairs to his room4   

,it was sometime later when the man     
began to prepare for the evening to     
which he had looked forward with such   
eagerness and all his fierce and driving
 haste was gone4 ,the mad tumult of his 
manhood strength was stilled4 ,he moved1
 now1 with a purpose1 sullen1 grim1     
defiant4 ,the fight was on4 ,while he   
was still vividly conscious of the woman
 whose compelling power he felt1 he     
felt1 now1 as well1 the pure touch of   
those baby lips4 ,while he still saw the
 light in the woman's eyes and sensed   
the meaning of her smile1 he saw and    
sensed as clearly the loving innocence  
that had shown in the little girl's face
 as it was lifted up to his4 ,upon his  
manhood's strength lay the woman's      
luring spell4 ,upon his manhood the     
baby's kiss lay as a seal of            
sacredness--upon his lips it burned as a
 coal of holy fire4 ,the fight was on4  
,the man's life was not at all an easy  
life4 ,beside his work and his memories 
there was little to hold him true4      

,since that day when he stood face to   
face with ,life and1 for the first time1
 knew that he was a man1 he had been1   
save for a few friends among the men of 
his own class1 alone4 ,the exacting     
demands of his work had left him little 
time or means to spend in seeking social
 pleasures or in the delights of        
fellowship with those for whose         
fellowship he would have cared1 even had
 the way to their society been1 at that 
period of his life1 open to him4 ,he    
told himself1 always1 that sometime in  
the future1 when he had worked out still
 farther his dreams1 he would find the  
way to the social life that he would    
enjoy but until then1 he must1 of       
necessity1 live much alone4 ,and        
now--now--the testing time--the crisis  
in his life--had come4 ,even as it must 
come to every man who knows his manhood 
so it had come to him4  ,the man was not
 deceived4 ,he knew the price he would  
pay in defeat4 ,but1 even while he knew 
this--even while he knew what defeat    

would mean to him1 so great was her     
power that he went on making ready to go
 to her4 ,with the kiss of the little   
girl upon his lips he made ready to go  
to the woman4 ,it was as though he had  
drifted too far and the current had     
become too strong for him to turn back4 
,thus do such men yield to such         
temptations4 ,thus are men betrayed by  
the very strength of their manhood4     
,with mad determination he waited the   
hour4 ,uneasily he paced his room4 ,he  
tried to read4 ,he threw himself into a 
chair only to arise and move about      
again4 ,every few moments he impatiently
 consulted his watch4 ,at every step in 
the hall1 without his door1 he started  
as if alarmed4 ,he became angry1 in a   
blind rage1 with the woman1 with himself
 and even with the little girl4 ,at     
last1 when it was time to go1 he threw  
on his overcoat1 took his hat and       
gloves1 and1 with a long1 careful look  
about the room1 laid his hand on the    
door4 ,he knew that the man who was     

going out that evening would not come   
hack to his room the same man4 ,he knew 
that that man could never come back4 ,he
 felt as though he was giving up his    
apartments to a stranger4 ,so he        
hesitated1 with his hand upon the door1 
looking long and carefully about4 ,then 
quickly he threw open the door and1 down
 the hall and down the stairs1 went as  
one who has counted the cost and        
determined recklessly4  ,illustration3  
,two dimpled arms went around his neck  
,the man had opened the front door and  
was about to pass out when a sweet voice
 called3 ,wait1 oh1 wait4  ,turning1 he 
saw a tiny figure in white flying toward
 him4  ,the little girl1 all ready for  
bed1 had caught sight of him and1 for   
the moment1 had escaped from her        
mother's attention4  ,the man shut the  
door and caught her up4 ,two dimpled    
arms went around his neck and the       
rosebud mouth was lifted to his lips4   
,then the mother came and led her away  
while the man stood watching her as she 

went4  ,would he ever dare touch those  
baby lips again he wondered4 ,could he1 
he asked himself1 could he face again   
those baby eyes8 ,could he ever again   
bear the feeling of that soft little    
body in his arms8  ,at the farther end  
of the hall1 she turned1 and1 seeing him
 still there1 waved her hand with a     
merry call3 ,good-bye1 good-bye4  ,then 
she passed from his sight and1 in place 
of this little girl of rosy1 dimpled1   
flesh1 the startled man saw a dainty    
maiden of his ,yesterdays1 standing     
under a cherry tree with fallen petals  
of the delicate blossoms in her wayward 
hair1 and with eyes that looked at him  
very gravely and a little frightened as1
 for the shaggy coated minister1 he     
spoke the solemn words3 ,i pronounce you
 husband and wife and anything that ,god
 has done must never be done any        
different by anybody forever and ever1  
,amen4 ,by some holy magic the kiss of  
the little girl became the kiss of his  
play wedding wife of the long ago4      

,very slowly the man went up the stairs 
again to his room2 there to spend the   
evening not as he had planned1 when he  
was in the mastering grip of self1 but  
safe in the quiet harbor of the         
,yesterdays where the storms of life    
break not or are felt only in those     
gentle ripples that scarce can stir the 
surface of the sea4  ,the fierce passion
 that had shaken the very soul of him   
passed on as the storm clouds pass4 ,in 
the calm of the days that were gone1 he 
rested as one who has fought a good     
fight and1 safe from out the turmoil and
 the danger1 has come victoriously into 
the peace that passeth all              
understanding4  ,in the sweet           
companionship of his childhood mate1    
with the little girl who lived next     
door1 the man found again1 that night1  
his better self4 ,in the boy of the     
long-ago1 he found again his ideals of  
manhood4 ,in his ,yesterdays1 he found  
strength to stand against the power of  
the temptation that assailed him4       

,blessed1 blessed ,yesterdays6  99    99
    99    99    99  ,it was the time of 
the first snow when1 again1 the woman   
sat alone in her room before the fire1  
with her door fast locked and the shades
 drawn close1 even as on that other     
night--the night when her womanhood     
began in dreams4  ,in the soft dusk1    
while the shadows of the flickering     
light came and went upon the walls1 and 
the quiet was broken only by the tick1  
tick1 tick1 of the timepiece held in the
 chubby arms of the fat cupid on the    
mantle1 the woman sat very still4 ,face 
to face with her ,temptation1 she sat   
alone and very still4  ,for several     
months1 the woman had seen her testing  
time approaching4 ,that day when1       
looking into her eyes1 the man of       
authority had so kindly bidden her leave
 her work for the afternoon1 she had    
known that this time would come4 ,in the
 passing weeks she had realized that the
 day was approaching when she must      
decide both for him and for herself4    

,she had not sought to prevent the      
coming of that day4 ,she had knowingly  
permitted it to come4 ,she was even     
pleased in a way to watch it drawing    
near4 ,not once1 in those weeks1 had he 
failed to be very kind or ceased to make
 her feel that he understood4 ,in a     
hundred ways1 as their work called them 
together and gave opportunity1 he had   
told her1 in voice and look and the many
 ways of wordless speech1 that the time 
was coming4 ,he had been very careful1  
too--very careful--that1 in their       
growing friendship1 the world should    
have no opportunity to misjudge4 ,and   
the woman1 seeing his care1 was grateful
 and valued his friendship the more4    
,so had come at last that ,saturday     
when1 with low spoken words1 at the     
close of the day's work1 he had asked if
 he might call upon her the following   
evening2 saying gravely1 as he looked   
down into her face1 that he had         
something very important to tell her4   
,and she had gravely said that he might 

come2 while her blushes to him confessed
 that she knew what it was of importance
 that he would say4  ,scarcely had she  
reached her home that afternoon when a  
messenger boy appeared with a great     
armful of roses and1 as she arranged the
 flowers on her table1 burying her      
flushed face again and again in their   
fragrant coolness1 she had told herself 
that to-morrow1 when he asked her to    
cross with him the threshold of that    
old1 old door1 she would answer3 yes4   
,but1 even as she so resolved1 she had  
been conscious of something in her heart
 that denied the resolution of her mind4
  ,and so it was that1 as she sat alone 
before her fire that night1 she knew    
that she was face to face with a crisis 
in her life4 ,so it was that she had    
come to the testing time and knew that  
she must win or lose alone4 ,in the     
sacred privacy of her room1 with the    
perfume of his roses filling the air and
 the certainty that when he came on the 
morrow she must answer1 she looked into 

the future to see1 if she might1 what it
 held for her and for him if she should 
cross with him the threshold of that    
old1 old1 door4  ,he was a man whose    
love would honor any woman--this she    
knew4 ,and he was a man of power and    
influence in the world--a man who could 
provide for his mate a home of which any
 woman would be proud to be the         
mistress4 ,nor could she doubt his love 
for nothing else could have persuaded   
such a man to ask of a woman that which 
he was coming to ask of her4  ,beginning
 with her answer on the following       
evening the woman traced1 in thought1   
all that would follow4 ,she saw herself 
leaving the life that she had never     
desired because it could not recognize  
her womanhood and1 in fancy1 received   
the congratulations of her friends4 ,she
 lived1 in her imagination1 those busy  
days when she would be making ready for 
the day that was to come4 ,very clearly1
 she pictured to herself the wedding2 it
 would be a quiet wedding1 she told     

herself1 but as beautiful and complete  
as cultured taste and wealth could make 
it4 ,then they would go away1 for a     
time1 to those cities and lands beyond  
the sea that1 all her life1 she had     
longed to visit4 ,when they returned1 it
 would be to that beautiful old home of 
his family--the home that she had so    
often1 in passing1 admired2 and in that 
home1 so long occupied by him alone1 she
 would be the proud mistress4 ,and      
then--then--would come her              
children--their children--and so all the
 fulfillment of her womanhood's dreams4 
,but the woman's face1 as she looked    
into a future that seemed as bright as  
ever woman dared to dream1 was troubled4
 ,as she traced the way that lay so     
invitingly before her1 this woman1 who  
knew herself to be a woman1 was sad4    
,her heart1 still1 was as an empty      
room--a room that is furnished and ready
 but without a tenant4 ,deep within her 
woman heart she knew that this man was  
not the one for whom she waited by the  

open door4 ,she did not know who it was 
for whom she waited4 ,she knew only that
 this man was not the one4 ,and she     
wished--oh1 how she wished--that this   
was not so4 ,because of her             
longing--because of the dreams of her   
womanhood--because of her empty         
heart--she was resolved to cross with   
this man1 who was not the man for whom  
she waited1 the threshold that she could
 not cross alone4 ,honor1 regard1       
respect1 the affection of a friend1 she 
could give him--did give him indeed--but
 she knew that this was not enough for a
 woman to give the man with whom she    
would enter that old1 old1 door4        
,rising1 the woman went to her mirror to
 study long and carefully the face and  
form that she saw reflected there4 ,she 
saw in the glass1 a sweet1 womanly1     
beauty1 expressing itself in the color  
and tone of the clean carved features2  
in the dainty texture of the clear skin 
and soft1 brown1 hair2 and in the       
rounded fullness and graceful lines of  

the finely moulded body4 ,perfect       
physical strength and health was        
there--vital1 glowing1 appealing4 ,and  
culture of mind1 trained intelligence1  
thoughtfulness1 was written in that     
womanly face4 ,and1 with it all1 there  
was good breeding1 proud blood1 with    
gentleness of spirit4  ,this woman knew 
that she was well equipped to stand by  
this man's side however high his place  
in life4 ,she was well fitted to become 
the mistress of his home and the mother 
of his children4 ,she had guarded well  
the choicest treasures of her womanhood4
 ,she had squandered none of the wealth 
that was committed to her4 ,she had held
 it all as a sacred trust to be kept by 
her for that one with whom she should go
 through the old1 old door4 ,and she had
 determined that1 to-morrow evening1 she
 would give herself1 with all the riches
 of her womanhood1 to this one who could
 give her1 in return1 the home of her   
dreams4 ,while her heart was still as an
 empty room1 she had determined to      

cross1 with this man1 the threshold over
 which no woman may again return4       
,turning from her mirror1 slowly the    
woman went to the great bunch of roses  
that stood upon her table4 ,they were   
his roses2 and they fitly expressed1 in 
their costly beauty1 the life that he   
was coming to offer to her4 ,very       
deliberately she bent over them1 burying
 her face in the mass of rich color1    
inhaling deeply their heavy fragrance4  
,thoughtfully she considered them and   
all that1 to her1 they symbolized4 ,but 
there was no flush upon her cheek now4  
,there was no warmth in the light of her
 eyes4 ,no glad excitement thrilled her4
 ,there was no trembling in her         
touch--no eager joyousness in her       
manner4  ,suddenly1 some roisterer1     
passing along the street with his       
companions1 laughed a loud1 reckless1   
half drunken1 laugh that sounded in the 
quiet darkness with startling clearness4
  ,the woman sprang back from the       
flowers as though a poisonous serpent1  

hidden in their fragrant beauty1 had    
struck her4 ,with a swift look of horror
 on her white face she glanced fearfully
 about the room4  ,again the laugh      
sounded2 this time farther down the     
street4  ,the woman sank into her chair1
 trembling with a nameless fear4 ,to    
her1 that laugh in the dark had sounded 
as the laughter of the crowd that day   
when she was forced so close to the     
outcast women who were in the hands of  
the police4  ,but those women1 argued   
the frightened woman with herself1 sell 
themselves to all men for a price4  ,and
 you1 answered the heart of her         
womanhood1 and you1 also1 will sell     
yourself to one man1 for a price4 ,the  
wealth of womanhood committed to        
you--all the treasures that you have    
guarded so carefully--you will sell now 
to this good man for the price that he  
can pay4 ,if he could not pay the       
price--if he came to you empty          
handed--would you say yes8  ,but ,i will
 be true to him1 argued the woman4 ,i   

will give myself to him and to him only 
as wife to husband4  ,you are being     
false to him already1 replied her woman 
heart1 for you are selling yourself1 not
 giving yourself to him4 ,you are       
planning to deceive him4 ,you would make
 him think that he is taking to himself 
a wife when1 for a price1 you are       
selling to him--something higher than a 
public woman1 it is true--but something1
 as true1 very much lower than a wife4  
,what matter whether the price be in    
gold and silver or in property and      
social position--it is a price4 ,except 
he pay you your price he could not have 
you4  ,and what1 thought the woman1 what
 if--after she had crossed the threshold
 with this good man--after she had      
entered with him into the life that lay 
on the other side that door--what if1   
then1 that other one should come8 ,what 
if the one for whom her empty heart     
should have waited were to come and     
stand alone before that door through    
which she could not go back8 ,and the   

children--the dear children of her      
dreams--what of them8 ,had not her      
unborn children the right to demand that
 they be born in love8 ,and if she      
should say1 no1 to this man--if she     
should turn once more away from the open
 door1 through which he would ask her to
 go with him--what then8 ,what if that  
one who had delayed his coming so long  
should never come8  ,and then the woman1
 who knew herself to be a woman1 saw the
 lonely years come and go4 ,while she   
waited without the door that led to the 
life of her womanhood's dreams1 she saw 
the beauty that her mirror revealed     
slowly fading--saw her firm1 smooth1    
cheeks become thin and wrinkled1 her    
bright eyes grow dim and pale1 her soft1
 brown1 hair turn thin and gray1 her    
body grow lean and stooped4 ,all the    
wealth of her womanhood that she had    
treasured with such care she saw become 
as dust1 worthless4 ,all the things of  
her womanhood she would be forced to    
spend in that life that denied her      

womanhood1 and then1 when she had       
nothing left1 she would be cast aside as
 a worn out machine4 ,never to know the 
joy of using her womanhood6 ,never to   
have a home6 ,never to feel the touch of
 a baby hand6 ,to lay down the wealth of
 her woman life and go empty and alone  
in her shriveled old age6 ,with an      
exclamation1 the woman sprang to her    
feet and stretched out her arms4 ,no1   
no1 no1 she whispered fiercely1         
anything1 anything1 but that4 ,i will be
 true to him4 ,i will be a faithful     
wife4 ,he shall never know4 ,he shall   
not feel that he is cheated4 ,and       
perhaps-- she dropped into her chair    
again and buried her face in her hands  
as she whispered--perhaps1 bye and bye1 
,god will let me love him4 ,surely1 ,god
 will let me love him1 bye and bye4     
,sometime later1 the woman did a strange
 thing4 ,going to her desk1 softly1 as a
 thief might go1 she unlocked a drawer  
and took from it a small jewel case4    
,for several moments she stood under the

 light holding the little velvet box in 
her hand unopened4 ,then1 lifting the   
lid1 she looked within and1 presently1  
from among a small collection of        
trinkets that had no value save to her  
who knew their history1 took a tiny     
brass ring4 ,placing the box on the     
dresser1 she tried1 musingly1 to fit the
 little ring on her finger4 ,on each    
finger in turn she tried1 but it would  
go only part way on the smallest one2   
and she smiled sadly to see how she had 
grown since that day under the cherry   
tree4  ,turning again1 she went slowly  
across the room to the fire that now was
 a bed of glowing coals4 ,for a little  
she stood looking down into the fire4   
,then1 slowly1 she stretched forth her  
hand to drop the ring4 ,but she could   
not do it4 ,she could not4  ,returning  
the little circle of brass to its place 
among the trinkets in the jewel box1 the
 woman prepared for bed4  ,the timepiece
 in the arms of the fat cupid ticked    
loudly now in the darkness that was only

 faintly relieved by the glowing embers 
of the fire4  ,with sleepless eyes the  
woman who had determined to give herself
 without love lay staring into the dusk4
 ,but she did not see the darkness4 ,she
 did not see the grotesque and ghostly  
objects in the gloom4 ,nor did she see  
the somber shadows that came and went as
 the dying fire gained fitful strength4 
,the woman saw the bright sun shining on
 the meadows and fields of the long ago4
 ,she saw again the scenes of her       
childhood4 ,again1 as she stood under   
the cherry tree that showered its       
delicate blossoms down with every puff  
of air1 she looked with loving          
confidence into the face of the brown   
cheeked boy who spoke so seriously those
 childish vows4 ,again1 upon her lips   
she felt that kiss of the childhood     
mating4  ,the soft light of the fire    
grew fainter and fainter as the embers  
slowly turned to ashes4 ,could it be    
that the woman1 in her temptation1 would
 let the sacred fire of love burn       

altogether out8 ,must the memories of   
her ,yesterdays turn to ashes too8  ,the
 last faint glow was almost gone when   
the woman slipped quickly out of her bed
 and1 in the darkness1 groped her way   
across the room to the desk where she   
found the little jewel case4  ,and ,i   
think that the fat cupid who was        
neglecting his bow and arrows to wrestle
 with time must have been pleased to see
 the woman1 a little later1 when the    
dying fire flared out brightly for a    
moment1 lying fast asleep1 while1 upon  
the little finger of the hand that lay  
close to her smiling lips1 there was a  
tiny circle of brass4      ,,life   ,in 
childhood1 the ,master of ,life exalts  
,life4 ,a baby in its mother's arms is  
the fullest expression of ,divinity4    
,it was ,christmas time2 that season of 
the year when1 for a brief period1 the  
world permits the children to occupy the
 place in the affairs and thoughts of   
men that is theirs by divine right4  ,in
 the birth of that babe in ,bethlehem1  

the ,giver of ,life placed the seal of  
his highest approval upon childhood and 
decreed that1 until the end of time1    
babies should be the true rulers of     
mankind and the lawful heirs of heaven4 
,and it is so1 that the power of ,mary's
 babe1 from his manger cradle throne1   
has been more potent on earth in the    
governments of men than the strength of 
many emperors with their armed hosts4   
,it is written large in ,nature's laws  
that mankind should be governed by love 
of children4 ,the ruling purpose and    
passion of the race can be1 with safety1
 nothing less than the purpose and      
passion of all created things--of even  
the trees and plants--the purpose to    
reproduce its kind--the passion for its 
offspring4 ,the world should be ruled by
 boys and girls4  ,but ,mammon has      
usurped the throne of ,life4 ,his hosts 
have trampled the banners of loyal love 
in the dust4 ,his forces have compelled 
the rightful rulers of the world to     
abdicate4 ,but1 even as gross           

materialism has never succeeded in      
altogether denying ,divinity1 so1 for a 
few days each year1 at ,christmas time1 
childhood asserts its claims and compels
 mankind to render1 at least a show1 of 
homage4  ,poor1 blind1 deceived and     
betrayed1 old world2 to so fear a       
foolish and impotent anarchism that     
spends its strength in vain railings    
against governments while you pay       
highest honors and present your choicest
 favors to those traitors who filch your
 wealth of young life under pretense of 
loyal service4 ,the real anarchists1 old
 world1 are not those who loudly        
vociferate to the rabble on the street  
corners but those who1 operating under  
the laws of your approval1 betray their 
country in its greatest need--its need  
of children4 ,the real anarchists1 old  
world1 are those whose banners are made 
red by the blood of babies2 who fatten  
upon the labor of their child slaves2   
and who seek to rule by the slaughter of
 children even as that savage of old    

whose name in history is hated by every 
lover of the race4 ,regicides at heart1 
they are1 for they kill1 for a price1   
the ,god ordained rulers of mankind4 ,a 
child is nearer1 by many years1 to ,god 
than the grown up rebel who traitorously
 holds his own mean interests superior  
to the holy will of ,life as vested in  
the sacred person of a boy or girl4  ,to
 prate1 in empty swelling words1 of the 
sacredness of life1 the power of        
religion1 the dignity of state1 the     
importance of commercial interests and  
the natural wealth of the nation1 while 
ignoring the sacredness1 power1 dignity1
 importance1 and wealth of childhood1 is
 evidence of a criminal thoughtlessness4
  ,children and ,life are one4 ,they are
 the product1 the producers1 and the    
preservers of ,life4 ,they exalt ,life4 
,they interpret ,life4 ,without them    
,life has no meaning4 ,the child is no  
more the possession of its parents than 
the parents are the property of the     
child4 ,children are the just creditors 

of the human race4 ,mankind owes them   
everything4 ,they owe mankind nothing4  
,a baby has no debts4  ,nor is the      
passion for children satisfied only in  
bearing them4 ,a woman who does not love
 all babies is unsafe to trust with one 
of her own flesh4 ,a man who does not   
love all children is unfit to father    
offspring of his own blood4 ,one need   
not die to orphan a child4 ,one need    
only refuse to care for it4 ,one need   
only place other interests first4 ,men  
and women who desire to become parents  
will not go unsatisfied in a world that 
is so full of boys and girls for whom   
there are neither fathers nor mothers4  
,the ,master of ,life said3 ,except ye  
become as little children4 ,his false   
disciple--world--teaches3 ,except ye    
become grown up4 ,but the laws of ,life 
are irrevocable4 ,if a man1 heeding the 
world1 grows up to possess the earth1   
his holdings1 at the last1 are          
reduced--if he be one of earth's big    
men--to six feet of it1 only2 while the 

man who never grows up inherits a heaven
 that the false kings of earth know not4
  ,when the man left his work1 at close 
of the day before ,christmas1 he was as 
eager as he had been that ,saturday when
 he faced the crisis of his life4 ,with 
every sense keenly alive1 he plunged    
into the throng of belated shoppers that
 filled the streets and crowded into the
 gaily decked stores until it overflowed
 into the streets again4 ,nearly        
everyone was carrying bundles and       
packages for it was too late1 now1 to   
depend upon the overworked delivery     
wagons4 ,in almost every face1 the      
,christmas gladness shone4 ,in nearly   
every voice1 there was that spirit of   
fellowship and cheery good will that is 
invoked by ,christmas thoughts and      
plans4 ,through the struggling but good 
natured crowd1 the man worked his way   
into a store and1 when he forced his way
 out again1 his arms1 too1 were full4   
,for a moment he waited on the corner   
for a car then1 with a look of smiling  

dismay at the number of people who were 
also waiting1 he turned away1 determined
 to walk4 ,he felt1 too1 that the       
exercise in the keen air would be a     
relief to the buoyant strength and      
gladness that clamored for expression4  
,as he swung so easily along the snowy  
pavement1 with the strength of his      
splendid manhood revealed in every      
movement and the cleanness of his heart 
and mind illuminating his countenance1  
there were many among those he met who1 
while they smiled in sympathy with his  
spirit1 passed from their smiles to half
 sighs of envy and regret4  ,with the   
impatient haste of a boy1 the man dashed
 up the steps of his boarding house and 
ran up stairs to his room2 chuckling in 
triumph over his escape from the        
watchful eyes of the little daughter of 
the house4 ,for the first time since his
 boyhood the man was to have the blessed
 privilege of sharing the ,christmas    
cheer of a home4  ,when the evening meal
 was over and it was time for his little

 playmate to go to sleep1 he retired    
again to his room1 almost as excited1 in
 his eager impatience for the morning1  
as the child herself4 ,safe behind his  
closed door1 he began to unwrap his     
,christmas packages and parcels that he 
might inspect again his purchases and   
taste1 by anticipation1 the pleasure he 
would know when on the morrow the child 
would discover his gifts4 ,very         
carefully he cut the strings from the   
last and largest package and1 tenderly  
removing the wrappings1 revealed a doll 
almost as tall as the little girl       
herself4 ,it was as large1 at least1 as 
a real flesh and blood baby4  ,the      
wifeless1 homeless1 man who has never   
purchased a doll for some little child  
mother has missed an educational        
experience of more value than many of   
the things that are put in text books to
 make men wise4  ,rather awkwardly the  
man held the big doll in his arms1      
smoothing its dress and watching the    
eyes that opened and closed so lifelike2

 cautiously he felt for and found that  
vital spot which if pressed brought     
forth a startling3 papa--mama4  ,as the 
dear familiar words of childhood sounded
 in the lonely bachelor room1 the man   
felt a queer something grip his heart4  
,tenderly he laid the doll upon his big 
bed and stood for a little looking down 
upon it2 a half-serious1 half-whimsical1
 expression on his face but in his eyes 
a tender light4 ,then1 adjusting his    
reading lamp1 he seated himself and     
attempted to busy his strangely         
disturbed mind with a book4 ,but the    
sentences were meaningless4 ,at every   
period1 his eyes turned to that little  
figure on the bed1 with its too lifelike
 face and hair and form while the       
thoughts of the author he was trying to 
read were crowded out by other thoughts 
that forced themselves upon him with a  
persistency and strength that would not 
be denied4  ,the weeks following the    
testing of the man had been to him very 
wonderful weeks4 ,he seemed to be living

 in a new world1 or1 rather1 for him1   
the same old world was wonderfully      
enriched and glorified4 ,never had he   
felt his manhood's strength stirring so 
within him4 ,never had his mind been so 
alert1 his spirit so bold4 ,he moved    
among men with a new power that was felt
 by all who came in touch with him2     
though no one knew what it was4 ,he was 
conscious of a fuller mastery of his    
work2 a clearer grasp of the world      
events4 ,as one1 climbing in the        
mountains1 reaches a point higher than  
he has ever before attained and gains   
thus a wider view of the path he has    
traveled1 of the surrounding country1   
and of the peak that is the object of   
his climb as well1 so this man1 in his  
life climb1 had reached a higher point  
and therefore gained a wider outlook4   
,it is only when men stay in the        
lowlands of self interest or abide in   
the swamps of self indulgence that their
 views of life are narrowly             
circumscribed4 ,let a man master himself

 but once and he stands on higher       
ground1 with wider outlook1 with keener 
vision1 and clearer atmosphere4  ,the   
man had always seen ,life in its        
relation to himself2 he came1 now1 to   
consider his own life in its relation to
 all ,life2 which point of view has all 
the difference that lies between a low  
valley and the mountain peaks that shut 
it in4 ,he felt his relation1 too1 not  
alone to all human life but to all      
created things4 ,with everything that   
lived he felt himself kin4 ,with the    
very dray horses on the street1 dragging
 with patient courage their heavily     
loaded trucks2 with the stray dog that  
dodged in and out among the wheels and  
hoofs of the crowded traffic2 even with 
the sparrow that perched for a moment on
 the ledge outside the window near his  
desk1 he felt a kinship that was new and
 strange4 ,had they not all1 he         
reflected1 horse and dog and sparrow and
 man--had they not all one thing in     
common--,life8 ,was not ,life the one   

thing supreme to each8 ,were they not1  
each one1 a part of the whole8 ,was not 
the supreme object of every life1 of all
 life1 to live8 ,is the life of a man1  
he asked himself1 more mysterious than  
the life of a horse8 ,can               
science--blind1 pretentious1 childish   
science--explain the life of a dog with 
less uncertainty than it can explain the
 life of a man8 ,or can the scientist   
make a laboratory sparrow more easily   
than he can produce a laboratory man8   
,with the very trees that lined the     
streets near where he lived1 he felt a  
kinship for they1 too1 within their     
trunks and limbs1 had life--they1 too1  
were parts of the whole even as he was a
 part--they1 too1 belonged even as he   
belonged4  ,thus the man saw ,life from 
a loftier height than he had ever before
 attained4 ,thus he sensed1 as never    
before1 the bigness1 the fullness1 the  
grandness1 the awfulness1 of ,life4 ,and
 so the man became very humble with a   
proud humbleness4 ,he became very proud 

with a humble pride4 ,he became even as 
a child again4  ,and then1 standing thus
 upon this new height that he had       
gained1 the man looked back into the    
ages that were gone and forward into the
 ages that were to come and so saw      
himself and his age a link between the  
past and the future2 linking that which 
had been to that which was to be4 ,all  
that ,life had ever been--the sum of all
 since the unknown beginning--was in the
 present4 ,in the present1 also1 was all
 that ,life could ever be1 even unto the
 unknown end4 ,within his age and within
 himself he felt stirring all the mighty
 forces that1 since the beginning1 had  
wrought in the making of man4 ,within   
his age and within himself he felt the  
forces that would work out in the race  
results as far beyond his present vision
 as his age was beyond the ages of the  
most distant past4  ,since the day when 
he had first realized his manhood1 the  
working out of his dreams had been to   
the man the supreme object of his life4 

,he had put his life1 literally1 into   
his work4 ,for his work he had lived4   
,but that ,christmas eve1 when his mind 
and heart were so filled with thoughts  
of childhood and those new emotions were
 aroused within him1 he saw that the    
supreme thing in his life must be ,life 
itself4 ,he saw that not by putting his 
life into his work1 would he most truly 
live1 but by making his work contribute 
to his life4 ,he realized that the      
greatest achievements of man are but    
factors in ,life--that the one supreme1 
dominant1 compelling1 purpose of ,life  
is to live--to live--to live--to express
 itself in ,life--that the only adequate
 expression of ,life is ,life--that the 
passion of ,life is to pass itself      
on--from age to age1 from generation to 
generation1 in a thousand thousand      
forms1 in a thousand thousand ages1 in a
 thousand thousand peoples1 ,life had   
passed itself on--was even then passing 
itself on--seeking ever fuller          
expression of itself2 seeking ever to   

perfect itself2 seeking ever to produce 
itself4 ,he saw that the things that men
 do come out of their lives even as the 
plants come out of the soil into which  
the seed is dropped2 and1 that1 even as 
the dead and decaying plant goes back   
into the earth from which it came1 to   
enrich and renew the ground1 so man's   
work1 that comes out of his life1 is    
reabsorbed again into his life to enrich
 and renew it4 ,he realized1 now1 that  
the object of his life must be not his  
work but ,life itself--that his effort  
must be not to do but to be--that he    
must accomplish not a great work but a  
great ,life4  ,it was inevitable that   
the man should come to see1 also1 that  
the supreme glory of his manhood's      
strength was in this3 the reproduction  
of his kind4 ,the man life that ran so  
strongly in his veins1 that throbbed so 
exultantly in his splendid body1 that   
thrilled so keenly in his nerves--the   
man life that he had from his parents   
and from countless generations          

before--the life that made him kin to   
all his race and to all created         
things--this life he must pass on4 ,this
 was the supreme glory of his manhood3  
that he could pass it on--that he could 
give it to the ages that were to come4  
,from the heights which he attained that
 ,christmas eve1 the man laughed at the 
empty1 swelling1 words of those who talk
 about the sacredness of work--who      
prattle as children about leaving a     
great work when they are gone--who      
gibber as fools about contributing a    
great work to the world4  ,if the men of
 a race will perfect the manhood        
strength of the race2 if they will exalt
 their manhood power2 if they will      
fulfill the mission of life by          
perfecting and producing ever more      
perfect lives2 if they will endeavor to 
contribute to the ages to come stronger1
 better1 men than themselves2 why1 the  
work of the world will be done--even as 
the plant produces its flowers and      
fruit1 the work of the world will be    

done4 ,in the exaltation of ,life is the
 remedy for the evils that threaten the 
race4 ,the reformations that men are    
always attempting in the social1        
religious1 political1 and industrial    
world are but attempts to change the    
flavor or quality of the fruit when it  
is ripening on the tree4 ,the true      
remedy lies in the life of the tree2 in 
the soil from which it springs2 in the  
source from which the fruit derives its 
quality and flavor4 ,in the appreciation
 of ,life1 in the passion of ,life1 in  
the production of ,life1 in the         
perfection of ,life1 in the exaltation  
of ,life1 is the salvation of human     
kind4 ,for this1 and this alone1 man has
 right to live--has right to his place  
and part in ,life4  ,all this the man   
saw that ,christmas eve because the kiss
 of the little girl1 on that night of   
his temptation1 had awakened something  
in his manhood that was greater than the
 dreams he had been denying himself to  
work out4 ,the friendship of the child  

had revealed to him this deeper truth of
 ,life2 that there are1 for all true    
men1 accomplishments greater than the   
rewards of labor4 ,the baby had taught  
him that the legitimate fruit of love is
 more precious to ,life1 by far1 than   
the wealth and honors that the world    
bestows--that1 indeed1 the greatest     
wealth1 the highest honors1 are not in  
the power of the world to give2 nor are 
they to be won by toil4 ,in his         
thinking1 this man1 too1 was led by a   
little child4  ,the man's thoughts were 
interrupted by a knock at his door4  ,it
 was the little girl's mother2 to tell  
him1 as she had promised1 that the child
 was safely asleep4  ,with his arms     
filled with presents1 the man went      
softly down the stairs4  ,when all had  
been arranged for the morning1 the man  
returned again to his room2 but not to  
sleep4 ,there was in his heart a feeling
 of reverent pride and gladness1 as     
though he had been permitted to assist  
in a religious rite1 and1 with his own  

hands1 to place an offering upon a      
sacred altar4 ,and1 if you will         
understand me1 the man was right4       
,whatever else ,christmas has come to   
mean to the grown up world1 its true    
meaning can be nothing less than this4  
,nor did the man again turn to his book 
or attempt to take up the train of      
thought that had so interfered with his 
reading4 ,something more compelling than
 any printed page--something more       
insistant than his own thoughts of ,life
 and its meaning--lured him far away    
from his grown up days--took him back   
again into his days that were gone4     
,alone in his room that ,christmas eve1 
the man went back1 once more1 to his    
,yesterdays--back to a ,christmas in his
 ,yesterdays4  ,once again1 his boyhood 
home was the scene of busy preparations 
for the ,christmas gaieties4 ,once      
again1 the boy1 tucked snugly under the 
buffalo robe1 drove with his parents    
away through the white fields to the    
distant town while the music in his     

heart kept time to the melody of the    
jingling bells4 ,once again1 he         
experienced the happy perplexity of     
selecting--with mother's help--a present
 for father while father obligingly went
 to see a man on business and of        
choosing--with father's assistance--a   
gift for mother while she rested in a   
far corner of the store4 ,and then1 once
 again1 he faced the trying question3   
what should he get for the little girl  
who lived next door4 ,what1 indeed1     
could he get for her but a beautiful new
 doll--one with brown hair1 very like   
the little girl's own1 and brown eyes   
that opened and closed as natural as    
life4  ,the next day the boy went1 with 
his father and the little girl and her  
uncle1 in the big sleigh1 to the woods  
to find a tree for the ,christmas       
exercises at the church2 and1 in the    
afternoon1 in company with the older    
people1 helped to make the wreaths of   
evergreen and deck the tree with        
glittering tinsel2 while the little girl

 strung long strings of snowy pop corn  
and labored earnestly at the sweet task 
of filling mosquito bar stockings with  
candy and nuts4  ,then came that        
triumphant ,christmas eve1 when1 before 
the assembled ,sunday school and the    
crowded church1 the boy took part1 with 
his class1 in the entertainment and sat1
 with wildly beating heart1 while the   
little girl1 all alone1 sang a          
,christmas carol2 and proud he was1     
indeed1 when the applause for the little
 singer was so long and loud4 ,and then1
 when the farmer ,santa ,claus had      
distributed the last stocking of candy1 
the boy and the girl1 with their elders1
 went home together1 in the clear light 
of the stars2 while1 across the white   
fields1 came the sound of gay laughter  
and happy voices mingled with the       
ringing music of the sleigh             
bells--growing fainter and fainter--as  
friends and neighbors went their several
 ways4  ,but1 best of all--by far the   
best of all--was that ,christmas morning

 at home4 ,at the first hint of gray    
light in the winter sky1 the boy was    
awake and out of bed to gather his      
,christmas harvest2 hailing each toy and
 game and book with exclamations of     
delight and arousing all the house with 
his shouts of3 ,merry ,christmas4  ,the 
foolish1 grown up1 old world has a      
saying that we value most the things    
that we win for ourselves by toil and   
hardship2 but1 believe me1 it is not so4
 ,the real treasures of earth are the   
things that are won by the toil of those
 who bring to us1 without price1 the    
fruits of their labor as tokens of their
 love4  ,very early1 that long ago      
,christmas morning1 the boy went over to
 the little girl's house2 for his       
happiness would not be complete until he
 could share it with her4 ,and the man1 
who1 alone in his bachelor room that    
,christmas eve1 dreamed of his          
,yesterdays1 saw again1 with startling  
clearness1 his boyhood mate as she stood
 in the doorway greeting him with shouts

 of1 ,merry ,christmas1 as he went      
toward her through the snow2 and the    
heart of the man beat quicker at the    
lovely vision--even as the heart of the 
boy--for she held1 close in her little  
mother arms1 the new addition to her    
family of dolls--his gift4 ,the lonely  
man1 that night1 realized1 as he had    
never realized before1 how full1 at that
 moment1 was the cup of the boy's proud 
happiness4 ,he realized and understood4 
,i wonder--do you1 also1 understand8    
,in the still house1 the big clock in   
the lower hall struck the hour4 ,the man
 in his lonely room listened1 counting  
the strokes--nine--ten--eleven--twelve4 
,it was ,christmas4  99    99    99     
99    99  ,and the woman1 also1 when she
 had passed safely through her trial1   
looked out upon ,life from a point      
higher than she had ever reached before4
 ,never before had ,life1 to her1 looked
 so wide4  ,but the woman did not feel  
stronger after the crisis through which 
she had passed2 she felt1 more keenly   

than before1 her weakness4 ,more than   
ever1 she felt the need of a strength   
that she could not find within herself4 
,more than ever1 she was afraid of the  
,life1 that1 from where she now stood1  
seemed so wide4 ,nor did she feel a     
kinship with all ,life4 ,she stood on   
higher ground1 indeed1 but the wideness 
of the view1 to her1 only emphasized her
 loneliness4 ,she sadly felt herself as 
one apart--as one denied the right of   
fellowship4 ,more keenly than ever      
before1 she felt1 in the heart of her   
womanhood1 the humiliation of the life  
that sets a price upon the things of    
womanhood while it refuses to recognize 
womanhood itself4 ,more than ever1 in   
her woman heart1 she was ashamed4       
,neither could she feel that she was    
doing her part in ,life--that she was   
taking her place--that she was a link   
joining the ages of the past to the ages
 that would come4 ,she felt herself1    
rather1 a parasite1 attached to         
,life--not a part of--not belonging     

to--but feeding upon4  ,this woman who  
knew herself to be a woman saw1 more    
clearly than ever before1 that one      
thing1 only1 could give her full        
fellowship with the race4 ,she saw that 
one thing1 only1 could make her a link  
between the ages that were gone and the 
ages that were to come4 ,that one thing1
 only1 could satisfy her woman          
heart--could make her feel that she was 
not alone4  ,that one thing which the   
woman recognized as supreme is the thing
 which the ,master of ,life has         
committed peculiarly to womanhood4 ,not 
to woman's skillful hands2 not to her   
ready brain2 not to the things of her   
womanhood upon which the world into     
which she goes alone to labor puts a    
price has the ,master of ,life committed
 this supreme thing2 but to her         
womanhood--her sex4 ,in the womanhood   
that is denied by the world that        
receives womankind alone1 is wealth that
 may not be bought by any price that the
 world can pay4 ,in the womanhood of    

women is that supreme thing without     
which human life would perish from the  
earth4 ,the exercise of this power alone
 can give to woman the high place in    
,life that belongs to her by right      
divine4 ,the woman saw that1 for her1   
all other work in the world would be but
 a makeshift--a substitute2 and1 because
 of this1 while ,life had1 never before 
seemed so large1 she had1 never before  
felt so small--so useless4  ,but still1 
for the woman1 there was peace in her   
loneliness--there was a peace that she  
had not had before--there was a         
calmness1 a quietness1 that was not hers
 before her trial4 ,it was the peace of 
the lonely mountain top to which one    
climbs from out a noisy1 clamoring1     
village2 the calmness of the deep sky   
uncrossed by cloud or marked by smoke of
 human industry2 the quietness of the   
wide prairie1 untouched by man's        
improvements4 ,and this tranquil rest   
was hers because she knew--deep in her  
woman's heart she knew--that she had    

done well2 that she had not been untrue 
to the soul of her womanhood4  ,the     
woman knew that she had done well       
because she had come to understand that1
 while life is placed peculiarly in the 
care and keeping of her sex1 her sex has
 been endowed1 for the protection1      
perfection1 and perpetuation of ,life1  
with peculiar instincts4 ,she had come  
to understand that1 while woman has been
 made the giver and guardian of ,life1  
she1 for that reason1 is subject to laws
 that are not to be broken save with    
immeasurable loss to the race4 ,to her  
sex is given1 by ,life itself1 the      
divine right of selection that the      
future of the race may be assured4 ,to  
her sex is given an instinct superior to
 reason that her choice may perfect     
human kind4 ,for her1 and for the ,life 
of her kind1 there is the law that if   
she permits aught but her woman instinct
 to influence her in selecting her mate 
her children and the children of her    
children shall mourn4  ,in the crisis of

 her life the woman had heard many      
voices--bold and tempting1 pleading and 
subtle--urging her to say3 ,yes4 ,but   
always her instinct--her woman          
heart--had whispered3 ,no4 ,this man is 
not your mate4 ,this is not the man you 
would choose to be the father of your   
children4 ,better1 far better1          
contribute nothing to the race than     
break the law of your womanhood4        
,better1 far better1 never cross the    
threshold of that open door than cross  
it with one who1 in your heart of hearts
 you know1 to be not the right one4  ,so
 the woman had peace4 ,even in her      
loneliness1 she had peace--knowing that 
she had done well4  ,and the woman      
tried1 now1 to interest herself in the  
things that so many of the women of her 
day seemed to find so interesting4 ,she 
listened to brave lectures by stalwart  
women on woman's place and sphere in the
 world's work4 ,she heard bold talks by 
militant women about woman's            
emancipation and freedom4 ,she attended 

lectures by intellectual women on the   
higher life1 and the new thought1 and   
the advanced ideas4 ,she read pamphlets 
and books written by modern women on the
 work of women in the social1 political 
and industrial fields4 ,she became      
acquainted with many new women who1     
striving mightily with all their        
strength of body and soul for careers1  
looked with a kind of lofty disdain or  
pitying contempt upon those             
old-fashioned mothers whose children    
interfere with the duty that new women  
think they owe the world4  ,but this    
woman who knew herself to be a woman    
could not interest herself in these     
things to which she tried to give       
attention4 ,she felt that in giving     
herself to these things she would betray
 ,life4 ,she felt the hollowness1 the   
shallowness1 the emptyness of it all in 
comparison with that which is divinely  
committed to womankind4 ,she could not  
but wonder3 what would be the racial    
outcome8 ,when women have long enough   

substituted other ideals for the ideals 
of motherhood--other passions for the   
passions of their sex--other ambitions  
for the ambition to produce and to      
perfect ,life--other desires for the    
desire to keep that which ,life has     
committed to them--what then8 ,how1 she 
asked herself1 would the world get along
 without mothers8 ,or how could the race
 advance if the best of women refused to
 bear children8 ,and then came the      
inevitable thought3 are the best women1 
after all1 refusing to bear children8   
,might it not be that the wisdom of     
,mother ,nature is in this also1 and    
that the refusal of a woman to bear     
children is the best evidence in the    
world that she is unfit to be a mother8 
,is it not better that the mothers of   
the race should be those who hold no    
ideal1 ambition1 desire1 aim1 or purpose
 in life higher than motherhood8 ,such  
women--such mothers--have1 thus far1    
through their sons and daughters1 won   
every victory in ,life4 ,it is they who 

have made every advance of the race     
possible4 ,will it not continue to be   
so1 even unto the end8 ,is not this     
indeed the law of ,life8 ,if there be   
any work for women greater or of more   
value to the human race than the work of
 motherhood then1 indeed1 is the end of 
the world1 for mankind1 at hand4  ,from 
where she lay1 the woman1 when she first
 awoke that ,christmas morning1 could   
see the sun just touching the topmost   
branches of the tall trees that grew    
across the street4  ,it was a beautiful 
day4 ,but the woman did not at first    
remember that it was ,christmas4 ,idly1 
as one sometimes will when awakening out
 of a deep sleep1 she looked at the     
sunshine on the trees and thought that  
the day promised to be clear and bright4
 ,then1 looking at the clock in the     
chubby arms of the fat cupid on the     
mantle1 she noticed the time with a     
start of dismay4 ,she must arise at once
 or she would be late to her work4 ,why1
 she wondered1 had not someone called   

her4 ,then1 a crumpled sheet of tissue  
paper and a bit of narrow ribbon on the 
floor1 near the table1 caught her eye   
and she remembered4  ,it was ,christmas4
  ,the woman dropped back upon her      
pillow4 ,she need not go to work that   
day4 ,she had not been called because it
 was a holiday4 ,dully she told herself 
again that it was ,christmas4  ,the     
house was very quiet4 ,there were no    
bare feet pattering down the hall to see
 what ,santa ,claus had left from his   
pack4 ,no exulting shouts had awakened  
her4 ,in the rooms below1 there was no  
cheerful litter of toys and games and   
pop corn and candy and nuts with bits of
 string and crumpled paper from hastily 
opened parcels and shining scraps of    
tinsel from the tree4 ,there were no    
stockings hanging on the mantle4 ,at    
breakfast1 there would be a few friendly
 gifts and1 later1 the postman would    
bring letters and cards with the        
season's greetings4 ,that was all4  ,the
 sun1 climbing higher above the tall    

buildings down town1 peeped through the 
window and saw the woman lying very     
still4 ,and the sun must have thought   
that the woman was asleep for her eyes  
were closed and upon her face there was 
the wistful smile of a child4  ,but the 
woman was not asleep though she was     
dreaming4 ,she had escaped from the     
silent1 childless1 house and had fled   
far1 far1 away to a land of golden      
memories4 ,she had gone back into her   
,yesterdays--to a ,christmas in her     
,yesterdays4  ,once again a little girl1
 she lived those happy1 busy1 days of   
preparation when she had asked herself a
 thousand times each day3 what would the
 boy give her for ,christmas8 ,and      
always1 as she wondered1 the little girl
 had tried not to wish that it would be 
a doll lest she should be disappointed4 
,and always she was unable to wish1 half
 so earnestly1 for anything else4 ,again
 she spent the hours learning the song  
that she was to sing at the church on   
,christmas eve and wondered1 often1 if  

he would like her new dress that mother 
was making for the occasion4 ,and then1 
as the day drew near1 there was that    
merry trip to the woods to bring the    
tree1 followed by that afternoon at the 
church4 ,the little girl wondered1 that 
night of the entertainment1 if the boy  
guessed how frightened she was for him  
lest he forget the words of his part2   
or1 when she was singing before the     
crowd of people that filled the church1 
did he know that she saw only him8 ,and 
then the triumph--the beautiful         
triumph--of that ,christmas morning6    
,the little girl in the ,yesterdays     
needed no one to remind her what day it 
was4 ,as soon as it was light1 she      
opened her eyes1 and1 wide awake in an  
instant1 slipped from her bed to steal  
down stairs while the rest of the       
household still slept4 ,and there1 in   
the gray of the winter morning1 she     
found his gift4 ,it was so beautiful1 so
 lifelike1 with its rosy cheeks and     
brown hair that1 almost1 the little girl

 was afraid that she was not awake after
 all2 and she caught her breath with a  
gasp of delight when she finally        
convinced herself that it was real4 ,she
 knew that it was from the boy--she     
knew4 ,quickly she clasped it in her    
arms1 with a kiss and a mother hug2 and 
then1 back again she ran to her warm bed
 lest dolly catch cold4 ,the other      
presents could wait until it was really1
 truly1 daylight and uncle had made a   
fire2 and she drew the covers carefully 
up under the dimpled chin of her        
treasure that lay in the hollow of her  
arm1 close to her own soft little       
breast1 as natural as life--as natural1 
indeed1 as the mother life that throbbed
 in the heart of the little girl4  ,for 
women also it is written3 ,except ye    
become as little children4 ,if only     
women would understand6  ,all the other 
gifts of that ,christmas time were as   
nothing to the little girl beside that  
gift from the boy4 ,the other things she
 would enjoy all the more because the   

supreme wish of her heart had been      
granted2 but1 had she been disappointed 
in that1 all else would have had little 
power to please4 ,under all her         
,christmas pleasure there would have    
been a longing for something more4 ,her 
,christmas would not have satisfied4    
,her cup of happiness would not have    
been full4 ,so1 all the treasures that  
the world can lay at woman's feet will  
never satisfy if the one gift be        
lacking4 ,and that woman who has felt in
 her arms a tiny form moulded of her own
 flesh--who has drawn close to her      
breast a soft little cheek and felt upon
 her neck the touch of a baby hand--that
 woman knows that ,i put down the truth 
when ,i write that those women who deny 
the mother instinct of their hearts and1
 for social position1 pleasure1 public  
notice1 wealth1 or fame1 kill their love
 for children1 are to be pitied above   
all creatures for they deny themselves  
the heaven that is their inheritance4   
,eagerly1 that morning1 the little girl 

watched for the coming of the boy for   
she knew that he would not long delay2  
and1 when she saw him wading through the
 snow1 flung open wide the door to shout
 her greeting as she proudly held his   
gift close to her heart2 while on her   
face and in her eyes was the light      
divine4 ,and great fun they had1 that   
,christmas day1 with their toys and     
games and books2 but never for long was 
the new doll far from the little girl's 
arms4 ,nor did she need many words to   
make her happiness in his gift          
understood to the boy4  ,the sun was    
shining full in the window now2 quite   
determined that the woman should sleep  
no longer4 ,regretfully1 as one who has 
little heart for the day1 she arose just
 as footsteps sounded outside her door4 
,then came a sharp rap upon the panel   
and--,merry ,christmas--called her      
uncle's hearty voice4  ,bravely the     
woman who knew herself to be a woman    
answered3 ,merry ,christmas4            
,,death  ,and that winter's coat1 also1 

began to appear thin and threadbare4    
,by looking carefully1 one could see    
that the twigs of the cherry tree were  
brightening with a delicate touch of    
fresh color1 while the tiny tips of the 
tender green buds were cautiously       
peeping out of their snug wrappings as  
if to ask the state of the weather4 ,in 
the orchard and the woods1 too1 the     
,life that slept deep in the roots and  
under the bark of trunks and limbs was  
beginning to stir as though1 in its     
slumber1 it heard ,spring knocking at   
its bedroom door4  ,i do not know what  
business it was that called the man to a
 neighboring city4 ,the particular      
circumstances that made the journey     
necessary are of no importance whatever 
to my story4 ,the important thing is    
this3 for the first time the man was    
forced to recognize1 in his own life and
 in his work1 the fact of ,death4 ,he   
came to see that1 in the most abundant  
life1 ,death cannot be ignored4 ,because
 ,death is one of the ,thirteen ,truly  

,great ,things of ,life1 this is my     
story3 that the man was introduced to   
,death4  ,hurriedly he arranged for his 
absence1 and1 rushing home1 packed a few
 necessities of travel in his grip1     
snatched a hasty dinner1 and thus       
reached the depot just in time to catch 
the evening train4 ,he would make the   
trip in the night1 devote the following 
day to the business that demanded his   
presence1 and the next night would      
return to his home city4  ,the ,pullmans
 were well filled1 mostly with busy1    
eager1 men who1 like himself1 were      
traveling at night to save the daylight 
for their work4 ,but the man1 perhaps   
because he was tired with the labor of  
the day or because he wished to have for
 the business of the morrow a clear1    
vigorous1 brain1 made no effort to find 
acquaintances who might be on the train 
or to meet congenial strangers with whom
 to spend a pleasant hour4 ,when he had 
read the evening papers and had outlined
 in his mind a plan of operation to meet

 the situation that compelled him to    
make the hurried trip1 he retired to his
 berth4  ,the low1 monotonous1 hum of   
the flying wheels on the heavy steel    
rails2 the steady1 easy1 motion of the  
express as it flew over the miles of    
well ballasted track2 the dim light of  
the curtained berth1 and the quiet of   
the ,pullman1 soon lulled the tired     
traveler to sleep4 ,mile after mile and 
mile after mile was marked off1 with the
 steady regularity of time itself1 by   
the splendidly equipped train as it     
rushed through the darkness with its    
sleeping passengers4 ,hamlets1 villages1
 way stations1 signal towers1 were      
passed with flash like quickness2 while 
the veteran in the engine cab1 with the 
schooling of thirty years in the hand   
that rested on the throttle1 gazed      
steadily ahead to catch1 with quick eye 
and clear brain1 the messages of the    
signal lamps that1 like bright colored  
dots of a secret code1 appeared on the  
black sheet of night4  ,with a          

suddenness that defies description1 the 
change came4  ,the trained eyes that    
looked from the cab window read a       
message from ,death in the night ahead4 
,in the fractional part of a second1 the
 hand on the throttle responded1 doing  
in flash like movements all that the    
thirty years had taught it to do4 ,there
 was a frightful jarring1 jolting crash 
of grinding1 screaming1 brakes1 followed
 on the instant by a roaring1 smashing1 
thundering1 rending of iron and steel   
and wood4  ,the veteran1 whose eye and  
brain and hand had been thirty years in 
service1 lay under his engine1 a        
mangled1 inanimate mass of flesh2 ,his  
fireman1 who had looked forward to a    
place on the engineer's side of a cab as
 a young soldier dreams of sword and    
shoulder straps1 lay still beside his   
chief4 ,from the wrecked coaches1 above 
the sound of hissing steam and crackling
 flames1 came groans and shrieks and    
screams of tortured men and women and   
children4  ,then1 quickly1 the hatless1 

coatless1 and half dressed forms of the 
more fortunate ones ran here and there4 
,voices were heard calling and          
answering4 ,there were oaths and prayers
 and curses mingled with sharp spoken   
commands and the sound of axes and saws 
and sledges1 as the men1 who a few      
minutes before were sleeping soundly in 
their berths1 toiled with superhuman    
energy to free their fellows from that  
horrid hell4  ,to the man who had       
escaped from the trap of death that had 
caught so many of his fellow passengers 
and who toiled now with the strength of 
a giant among the rescuers1 it all      
seemed a dream of terror from which he  
must presently awake4 ,he did not think1
 then1 of the ,death that had come so   
close while he slept4 ,he was not       
conscious of the danger that had        
threatened him4 ,he did not feel        
gratitude for his escape4 ,he could not 
think4 ,he could only strive madly1 with
 the strength of despair1 in the fight  
to snatch others from the grip of an    

awful fate2 and1 as he fought1 he prayed
 to be awakened from his dream4  ,it was
 over at last4  ,hours later1 the man   
reached his destination1 and still1     
because his business was so urgent1     
there was no time for him to think of   
the ,death that had come so close4      
,rarely does the business of life give  
men time to think of the ,death that    
stands never far away4 ,but1 when his   
work was finished and he was again      
aboard the train1 on his way home1 there
 was opportunity for a fuller           
realization of the danger through which 
he had passed so narrowly--there was    
time to think4 ,then it was that the man
 realized a new thing in his life4 ,then
 it was that a new factor entered into  
his thinking--,death4 ,not the knowledge
 of ,death2 he had always had that of   
course4 ,not the fear of ,death2 this   
man was no coward4 ,but the fact of     
,death--it was the fact of ,death that  
he realized now as he had never realized
 it before4  ,all unexpected and        

unannounced--without sign of its        
approach or warning of its              
presence--,death had stood over him4 ,he
 had looked into the eyes of the ,king4 
,death had touched him on the shoulder1 
as it were1 and had passed on4 ,but     
,death would come again4 ,the one firmly
 fixed1 undeniable1 unalterable1 fact in
 ,life was1 to him1 now1 that ,death    
would come again4 ,when or how2 that1 he
 could not know2 perhaps not for many   
years2 perhaps before the flying train  
could carry him another mile4 ,how      
strange it is that this one fixed1      
permanent1 unalterable1 inevitable fact 
of ,life--,death--is most commonly      
ignored4 ,the most common thing in ,life
 is ,death2 yet few there are who       
recognize it as a fact until it presents
 itself saying3 ,come4  ,going back into
 the years1 the man recalled the death  
of his mother2 and1 later1 when he was  
standing on the very threshold of his   
manhood1 the death of his father4 ,those
 graves on the hillside were still in   

his memory but they had not realized    
,death for him4 ,his grief at the loss  
of those so dear to him had             
overshadowed1 as it were1 the fact of   
,death itself4 ,he thought of ,death    
only as it had taken his parents2 he did
 not consider it in thinking of himself4
 ,but now--now--he had looked into the  
eyes of the ,king4 ,he had felt the     
touch of the hand that chills4 ,he had  
heard the voice that cannot be          
disobeyed4 ,death had come into his life
 a fact4  ,the low1 steady1 hum and     
whirr of the wheels and the smooth1 easy
 movement of the train told him of the  
flying miles4 ,one by one1 those miles  
that lay between him and the end of his 
journey would go until the last was gone
 and he would step from the coach to the
 platform of his home depot4 ,and1 then1
 all suddenly1 to the man1 those flying 
miles became as the years of his life4  
,even as the miles of his journey were  
passing so his years had gone--so his   
years were going and would go4  ,the man

 was a young man still4 ,for the first  
time1 he felt himself growing old4      
,involuntarily he looked at his hands2  
firm1 strong1 young hands they were1 but
 the man1 in his fancy1 saw them        
shaking1 withered1 and parched1 with    
prominent dull blue veins1 and the      
skinny fingers bent and crooked with the
 years4 ,he glanced down at his         
powerful1 full moulded limbs1 and1 in   
fancy1 saw them thin and shrunken with  
age4 ,and1 suddenly1 he remembered with 
a start that the next day would be his  
birthday4 ,in the fullness of his young 
manhood's strength1 he had ignored the  
passing years even as he had ignored    
,death4 ,as he had learned to forget    
,death1 he had learned to forget his    
birthdays4 ,it was strange how fast the 
years were going1 thought the man4      
,scarcely would there be time for the   
working out of his dreams4 ,and1 once1  
it had been such a long1 long1 time     
between his birthdays4 ,once1 he had    
counted the months1 then the weeks1 then

 the days that lay between4 ,once1 he   
remembered--  ,perhaps it was the       
thought of his birthday that did it2    
perhaps it was the memory of those      
graves in the old cemetery at home4     
,whatever it swas1 the man slipped back 
into his ,yesterdays when birthdays were
 ages and ages apart and1 more than     
anything else in the world1 the boy     
wanted to grow up4  ,at seven1 he had   
looked with envy upon the boy of nine   
while the years of grown up men were    
beyond his comprehension4 ,at nine1     
fifteen was the daring limit of his     
dreams2 so far away it seemed that      
scarcely he hoped to reach it4 ,as for  
eighteen--one must be very1 very1 old1  
indeed1 to be eighteen4 ,how long the   
years ahead had seemed1 then--and now1  
how short they were when looking back6  
,and the birthdays--the birthdays that  
the man had learned to forget--how could
 he have learned to forget them6 ,what  
days of triumph--what times of          
victorious rejoicing--those days once   

had been6 ,and so1 with the fact of     
,death so recently forced into his life1
 with the miles as years slipping under 
the fast whirring wheels that bore him  
onward1 the man lived again a birthday  
in the long ago4  ,weeks before that day
 the boy had planned the joyous         
occasion1 for mother had promised that  
he should have a party4 ,a birthday     
party6 ,joyous festival of the          
,yesterdays6 ,what delightful hours were
 spent in anticipation6 ,what           
innumerable questions were asked6 ,what 
a multitude of petitions were formed and
 presented6 ,what anxious consultations 
with the little girl who lived next     
door6 ,what suggestions were offered1   
accepted and rejected1 and rejected or  
accepted all over again6 ,what lists of 
the guests to be invited were made1     
revised and then revised again6 ,what   
counting of the days1 and1 as the day   
drew near1 what counting of the hours2  
not forgetting1 all the time1 to hint1  
in various skillfully persuasive and    

suggestive ways1 as to the presents that
 would be most fitting and acceptable6  
,and at last1 when the day had come1 as 
all days must at last come1 was there   
ever in the history of mortal man or boy
 such a day8  ,there was real wealth of 
love in mother's kiss that morning4     
,there was holy pleasure in the pride   
that was in father's face and voice4    
,there was unmarred joy when the little 
girl captured him and1 while he         
pretended--only pretended--to escape1   
gave him the required number of thumps  
on the back with her soft little fist   
and the triumphant one to grow on4 ,then
 came1 at last1 the crowning event3 and 
so the man saw1 again1 the boys and     
girls who1 that afternoon in his        
,yesterdays1 helped to celebrate his    
birthday4 ,why had he permitted them to 
pass out of his life8 ,why had he gone  
out of their lives8 ,why must the years 
rob him of the friends of the           
,yesterdays8  ,with the birthday feast  
of good things and the games and sports 

of childhood the busy afternoon passed4 
,up and down the road and across the    
fields1 the guests departed1 with their 
party dresses soiled1 their party combed
 hair disheveled1 and their party       
cleaned faces smudged with grime2 but   
with the clean1 clean1 joy of the       
,yesterdays in their clean1 clean1      
childish hearts4 ,together the boy and  
the girl watched them go1 with waving   
hands and good-bye shouts1 until the    
last one had passed from sight and the  
last whoop and call had died away4 ,and 
then1 reluctantly1 the little girl      
herself went home and the boy was left  
alone by the garden hedge4  ,oh1 brave1 
brave1 day of the ,yesterdays6 ,brave   
birthdays of the long ago when ,death   
was not a fact but a fiction6 ,when the 
years were ages apart1 and the farthest 
reach of one's imagination carried only 
to being grown up6  ,from his           
,yesterdays the man came back to wonder3
 if ,death should wait until he was     
wrinkled1 bent1 and old--until his limbs

 were palsied1 his hearing gone1 his    
voice cracked and shrill1 and his eyes  
dim--if ,death should let him stay until
 he had seen the last of his companions 
go home in the evening after that last  
birthday--would there be one to stand   
beside him--to watch with him as the    
others passed from sight8 ,would there  
be anyone to help him celebrate his last
 birthday1 if ,death should fail to come
 again until he was old8  99    99    99
    99    99  ,everyone was very kind to
 the woman that morning when the word   
came that her uncle had been killed in a
 railroad accident4 ,all that kind      
hearts could do for her was done4 ,every
 offer of assistance was made4 ,but     
there was really nothing that anyone    
could do just then4 ,she must first go  
as quickly as she could to her aunt4    
,the man of authority1 who had always   
seemed to understand her woman heart and
 who had paid to her the highest tribute
 possible for a man to pay a woman1 had 
broken the news to her as gently as news

 of ,death can be told1 and1 as soon as 
she was ready1 his own carriage was     
waiting before the entrance in the      
street below4 ,nor did he burden her    
with talk as they were driven skillfully
 through the stream of the down town    
traffic and then1 at a quicker pace1    
through the more open streets of the    
residence district4  ,there is so little
 that can be said1 even by the most     
thoughtful1 when ,death enters thus     
suddenly into a life4 ,the man knew that
 the woman needed him4 ,he knew that1   
save for the invalid aunt1 there was now
 no near relative to help her do the    
necessary things that must be done4     
,there was no one to help her think what
 would be best to do4 ,so he asked her  
gently1 as they neared the house1 if she
 would not permit him1 for the next few 
days1 to take the place in her life that
 would have been taken by an older      
brother4 ,kindly he asked that she trust
 him fully--that she let him think and  
do for her--be a help to her in her     

need--even as he would have helped her  
had she consented to come into his life 
as he wished her to come4 ,and the      
woman1 because she knew the goodness and
 honor of this man's heart1 thanked him 
with gratitude too great for words and  
permitted him to do for her all that a  
most intimate relative would have done4 
,at last it was over4 ,the first        
uncontrollable expressions of grief--the
 arrangements for the funeral--the      
service at the house and the long ride  
to the cemetery with the final parting  
and the return to the house that would  
never again be quite the same--all those
 hard1 first1 days were past and        
to-morrow--to-morrow--the woman would go
 back to her work4 ,in the final going  
over of affairs1 the finishing of       
unfinished business1 the ending of      
undeveloped plans and prospects1 the    
settling and closing of accounts1 and   
the considering of new conditions       
enforced by ,death1 it had been made    
very clear that for the woman to work   

was1 now1 more than ever necessary4     
,there was1 now1 no one but her upon    
whom the invalid aunt could depend for  
even the necessities of life4  ,and the 
woman was glad that she was able to     
provide for that one who had always been
 so gentle1 so patient1 in suffering and
 who1 in her sorrow1 was now so brave4  
,since the death of the girl's own      
mother1 the aunt had taken1 so far as   
she could1 a mother's place in the life 
of the child2 and1 as the years had     
passed and the little girl had grown    
into young womanhood1 she had grown into
 the heart of the childless woman until 
she was as a daughter of her own flesh4 
,so the woman did not feel this added   
care that was forced upon her by the    
changed conditions as a burden other    
than a burden of love4 ,but still1 that 
afternoon1 when it was all over1 and she
 faced the new future that ,death had   
set before her1 she realized the fact of
 ,death as she had never realized it    
before4  ,the years since her mother's  

death had not been many1 and1 it seemed 
to her1 now1 that they had passed very  
quickly4 ,she was only a little girl1   
then1 and her uncle and his wife had    
taken her so fully into their hearts    
that she had scarcely felt the gap in   
her life after the first weeks of the   
separation had passed4 ,her mother      
belonged to the days of her childhood   
and1 though the years were not many as  
she looked back1 those childhood days   
seemed far1 far1 away4 ,death had come  
to her1 now1 in the days of her         
womanhood4 ,suddenly1 unexpectedly1 with
 awful1 startling1 reality1 the fact of 
,death had come into her life2 forcing  
her to consider1 as she had never       
considered before1 the swiftly passing  
years4  ,what--she asked herself as she 
thought of the morrow--what1 for her1   
lay at the farthermost end of that      
procession of to-morrows8 ,when the best
 of her strength was gone with the days 
and weeks and months and years--what    
then8 ,when ,death should come for that 

one who was1 in everything but blood1   
her mother and who was1 now1 her only   
companion--what then8 ,to be left alone 
in the world--to go1 alone1 all the rest
 of the journey--this was the horror    
that ,death brought to her4 ,as she     
looked1 that afternoon1 into the years  
that were to come1 this woman1 who knew 
that she was a woman1 and who was still 
in the glory and beauty of her young    
womanhood1 felt suddenly old--she felt  
as though every day of the sad days just
 passed had been a year4  ,and then1 at 
last1 from her grief of the present and 
from her contemplation of the years that
 were to come1 she turned wearily back  
to the long ago4 ,in the loneliness and 
sorrow of her life she went1 again1 hack
 into her ,yesterdays4 ,there was1      
indeed1 no other place for her to go but
 back into her ,yesterdays4 ,only in the
 ,yesterdays can one escape the sadness 
and loneliness that attend the coming of
 ,death4 ,death has little power in the 
,yesterdays4 ,in childhood life1 ,death 

is not a fact4  ,funerals were nothing  
more than events of surpassing interest 
in those days--a subdued1 intense1      
interest that must not be too openly    
expressed1 it is true1 but that         
nevertheless could not be altogether    
suppressed4 ,absorbed in her play the   
little girl would hear1 suddenly1 the   
ringing of the bell in the white church 
across the valley2 and it would ring1   
not joyously1 cheerily1 interestingly1  
as on ,sundays but with sad1 solemn1    
measured1 notes1 that would fill her    
childish heart with hushed excitement4  
,and then--it mattered not where he was 
or what he was doing--the little boy    
would come1 rushing with eager haste1 to
 join her at the front gate where they  
always watched together for the         
procession and strove for the honor of  
sighting first the long string of       
vehicles that would soon appear on one  
of the four roads leading to the church4
 ,and oh1 joy of joys1 if it so happened
 that the procession came by the way    

that led past the place where they      
danced with such eager impatience6      
,first would come1 moving with slow feet
 and drooping head1 the old gray horse  
and time worn phaeton of the minister2  
and they would feel a little strange and
 somewhat hurt because the man of ,god1 
who usually greeted them so cheerily1   
would not notice them as he passed4 ,but
 the sadness in their hearts would be   
forgotten the next moment as they gazed1
 with excited interest and whispered    
exclamations1 at the shining1 black1    
hearse with its beautiful1 coal black1  
horses that1 stepping proudly1 tossing  
their plumed heads1 and shaking the     
tassels on the long nets that hung over 
their glossy sides1 seemed to invite the
 admiration that greeted them4 ,and     
then1 through the glass sides of the    
hearse1 the boy and the girl1 with gasps
 of interest1 would discover the long   
black coffin half hidden by its load of 
flowers2 or1 perhaps1 the hearse1 the   
horses1 and the coffin1 would all be    

snow white which1 the little girl       
thought1 was prettiest of all4 ,then    
would follow the long line of carriages1
 filled with people who wore their      
,sunday clothes2 and the boy and the    
girl1 recognizing a friend or           
acquaintance1 here and there1 would     
wonder to themselves how it would seem  
to be riding in such a procession4 ,one 
by one1 they would count the vehicles   
and recall the number in the last       
funeral they had watched2 gleefully     
triumphant1 if this procession were     
longer than the last2 scornfully        
disappointed1 if it were not so         
imposing4 ,and then1 when the last      
carriage had gone up the hill on the    
other side of the creek and had         
disappeared from sight among the trees  
that half hid the church1 they would    
wait for the procession to reappear     
after the services and would watch it   
crawling slowly along the distant road  
on its way to the cemetery4  ,and the   
next day they would play a funeral4     

,even as they had played a wedding1 they
 would play a funeral4 ,only1 they      
played a wedding but that once1 while   
they played funerals many1 many1 times4 
,sometimes it would be a doll's funeral 
when the chief figure in the solemn     
rites would be taken from the grave1    
after it was all over1 and would be     
rocked to sleep with the other dollies1 
none the worse1 apparently1 for the sad 
experience4 ,again1 the part of the     
departed would be taken by a mouse that 
had met a violent death at the hands of 
the cook2 or1 perhaps1 they would find a
 baby bird that had fallen from its nest
 before its wings were strong4 ,but the 
grandest1 most triumphant1 most         
successful funeral of the ,yesterdays   
was a kitten that had most opportunely  
died the very day a real grown up       
funeral had passed the house4 ,what a   
funeral that was--with an old shoe box  
for a coffin1 the boy's wagon draped    
with pieces of black cloth borrowed from
 the rag bag for a hearse1 the shepherd 

dog for a proudly stepping team1 and all
 the dolls in their carriage following  
slowly behind6 ,in a corner of the      
garden1 not far from the cherry tree1   
they dug a real grave and set up a real 
tombstone1 fashioned by the boy1 to mark
 the spot4 ,and the little girl was so  
earnest in her sorrow that she cried    
real tears at which the boy became1     
suddenly1 very gay and boisterous1 as   
boys will upon such occasions1 and      
helped her to forget right quickly4     
,oh1 boy of the ,yesterdays1 who would  
not let his little girl mate grieve but 
made her laugh and forget6 ,where was he
 now8 ,the woman wondered4 ,had ,death  
come into his life1 too8 ,were the years
 ever1 to him1 as a funeral procession8 
,did ever he feel that he was growing   
old8 ,could he1 now1 make her forget her
 grief--could he help her to laugh      
again--or had his power gone even as    
those ,yesterdays when ,death1 too1 was 
only a pleasing game8  ,from the next   
room1 a gentle voice called softly and  

the woman arose to go to her aunt4 ,for 
that one who was left dependent upon her
 she would be brave and strong--she     
would go back to her work in the        
morning4  ,only children are privileged 
to play with the fact of ,death4 ,only  
in the ,yesterdays are funerals events  
of merely passing interest4 ,only in the
 ,yesterdays does ,death go always past 
the door4      ,,failure  ,and that     
year1 also1 went to join the years of   
the ,yesterdays4  ,it is as though      
,life1 bringing to man every twelve     
months a new year1 bids him try again4  
,always1 it is necessary for man to try 
again4 ,indeed ,life itself is nothing  
less than this3 a continual trying      
again4  ,in the world laboratory1       
mankind is conducting a series of       
elaborate experiments--always on the    
verge of the great discovery but never  
quite making it--always thinking that   
the secret is about to be revealed but  
never quite uncovering it--always       
failing in his experiments but always   

finding in the process something that   
leads him1 with hope renewed1 to try    
again4  ,the man had failed4  ,sadly1   
sternly1 with the passing of the year1  
he admitted to himself that he had      
failed4 ,humiliated and ashamed1 with   
the coming of the new year1 he admitted 
that he must begin again4 ,bitterly he  
called himself a fool4 ,and perhaps he  
was--more or less4 ,most men are a      
little foolish4 ,the man who has never  
been forced to swallow his own folly has
 missed a bitter but wholesome tonic    
that1 more than likely1 he needs4 ,this 
man was not the kind of a man who would 
blame any one but himself for his       
failure4 ,if he had been that particular
 kind of a fool his failure would have  
been of little value either to him or to
 any one4 ,neither would there be1 for  
me1 a story4  ,i do not know the        
particulars of this man's               
failure--neither the what1 the why1 nor 
the how4 ,i know only that he           
failed--that it was necessary for him to

 fail4 ,nor is this a story of such     
particulars for they are of little      
importance4 ,a man can fail in anything4
 ,some1 even1 seem to fail in           
everything4 ,this1 therefore1 is my     
story3 that as ,failure enters into the 
life of every man it came into the life 
of this man4 ,in some guise or other    
,failure seems to be a necessity4 ,it is
 one of the ,thirteen ,truly ,great     
,things of ,life4 ,but the man did not1 
at that time1 understand that his       
failure was a necessity4 ,that          
understanding came to him only with     
,success4  ,you may say that this man   
was too young to accomplish a real      
,failure4 ,but you need not bother about
 that1 either4 ,one is never too young  
to experience ,failure4 ,and ,failure1  
to the one who fails1 is always1 at the 
time1 very real4  ,so this man saw the  
castles that he had toiled so hard to   
build come tumbling down about him4 ,so 
he was awakened from his bright dreams  
to find that they were only dreams4 ,so 

he came to see his work as idleness and 
folly4 ,sorrowfully he looked at the    
ruin of his building4 ,hopelessly he    
recalled his dreams4 ,despairingly he   
looked upon his fruitless labor4 ,with  
his fine manhood's strength dead within 
him1 he bitterly felt himself to be but 
a weakling2 fit only to be pushed aside 
by the stronger1 better1 men among whom 
he went1 now1 with lifeless step and    
downcast face4 ,there was left in his   
heart no courage and no hope4 ,he saw   
himself a most miserable coward1 and1   
ashamed and disgraced in his own sight1 
he shrank from the eyes of his fellows  
and withdrew into himself to hide4  ,and
 the only thing that saved the man was  
this3 he did not pity himself4          
,self-pity is debilitating4 ,it is the  
dry rot that weakens the life lines4 ,it
 is the rust that eats the anchor       
chains4 ,at the last analysis1 a man    
probably knows less about himself than  
he knows about others4 ,the only        
difference is that what he knows about  

others is sometimes right while that    
which he thinks he knows about himself  
is nearly always wrong4 ,salvation is in
 pitying someone else4 ,if one must have
 pity he should accept it from strangers
 only4 ,the pity of strangers is        
harmless to the object of it and very   
gratifying--to the strangers4           
,self-accusation1 self-censure1         
self-condemnation3 these are the        
antidotes for the poison that sometimes 
enters the soul through ,failure4 ,but  
these antidotes must be administered    
with care4 ,self-accusation has1        
usually1 a very low percentage of cause4
 ,self-censure1 undiluted1 is dangerous 
to self-respect4 ,and self-condemnation 
is rarely to be had pure4 ,when one     
brings himself to trial before himself  
his chance for justice is small--the    
judge is nearly always prejudiced1 the  
jury packed1 and the evidence           
incomplete4  ,the man1 when he had      
withdrawn into himself1 saw the world   
moving on its way without him as though 

his failure mattered1 to it1 not at all4
 ,he was forced to realize that the work
 of the world could be done without him4
 ,he was compelled to see that the sum  
of human happiness and human woe would  
be neither less nor more because of him4
 ,the world did not really need his     
success--he needed it4 ,the world did   
not suffer from his failure--he         
suffered4 ,he did not understand1 then1 
that no man is in line for success until
 he understands how little either his   
success or his failure matters to the   
world4 ,he did not know1 then1 how often
 a good strong failure is the corner    
stone of a well builded life4  ,a child 
is not crippled for life because it     
falls when it is learning to walk2      
neither has a man come to the end of his
 upward climb because he stubs his toe4 
,the man knew this later but just then  
he was too sore at heart to think of    
even trying to get up again4 ,all those 
first months of that new year he did    
nothing but the labor that was necessary

 for him to do in order to live4 ,and1  
in that which he did1 he had no heart   
but toiled as a dumb beast toils in     
obedience to its master4 ,the joy of    
work which is the reward of labor was   
gone4  ,so the spring came4 ,the air    
grew warm and balmy4 ,the grass on the  
lawns and in the parks began to look    
soft and inviting to feet that were     
weary with the feel of icy pavements4   
,the naked trees were being clothed in  
spring raiment1 fresh and green4 ,the   
very faces of the people seemed to glow 
with a new warmth as though a more      
generous life was stirring in their     
veins4 ,as the sun gathered strength1   
and the coldness and bleakness of winter
 retreated farther and farther before   
the advance of summer1 the manner and   
dress of the crowds upon the streets    
marked the change as truly as the habits
 of the birds and flowers1 until1 at    
last1 here and there1 straw hats        
appeared and suddenly1 as bluebirds     
come1 barefooted boys were playing      

marbles in the alleys and fishing tackle
 appeared in the windows of the stores4 
,all his life the man had been an ardent
 fisherman4 ,and so1 when his eyes were 
attracted that noon1 as he was passing  
one of those windows filled with rods   
and reels and lines and hooks and nets  
and all things dear to the angler's     
heart1 he paused4 ,his somber face      
brightened4 ,his form1 that was already 
stooped a little1 straightened4 ,his    
listless eyes1 for a moment1 shone with 
their old time fire4 ,then he went on to
 his work4  ,but1 less than ever1 that  
afternoon1 was the man's heart in his   
labor4 ,while his hands mechanically    
performed their appointed tasks and his 
brain as mechanically did its part1 the 
man himself was not there4 ,he had gone 
far1 far1 away into his ,yesterdays4    
,once again1 in his ,yesterdays1 the man
 went fishing4  ,the boy was a very     
small boy when first he went fishing4   
,and he fished in the brook that ran    
through the valley below the little     

girl's house4 ,his hook was only a pin1 
bent by his own fingers2 his line1 a bit
 of string or thread borrowed from      
mother's work basket2 and his rod1 a    
slender branch of willow or a green     
shoot from one of the trees in the      
orchard1 or1 it might be1 a stalk of the
 tall pigweed that grew down behind the 
barn2 and for bait1 those humble friends
 of boyhood1 the angle worms4 ,how the  
boy shouted and danced with glee when he
 found a big one2 even though he did    
shudder a little as he picked it up1    
squirming and wiggling1 to drop it into 
the old baking powder can he called his 
bait box6 ,and how the little girl      
shrieked with fear and admiration6 ,very
 proud was the boy that he had courage  
to handle the crawling things--though   
many of them did escape into their tiny 
holes before he could bring himself     
quite to the point of catching them and 
pulling them out4 ,only girls are afraid
 of worms and toads and bugs4 ,boys can 
bait their own hooks4 ,manfully1 too1   

did he hide his thoughts when conscience
 pricked him1 even as he the worm4 ,do  
worms have feelin's8 ,he wondered4 ,does
 it hurt8 ,half frightened1 he had      
laughed1 one day1 when the little girl  
asked3 ,what if some wicked giant should
 catch you and stick you on a great hook
 and swing you through the air1 kicking 
and squirming1 and drop you into the    
water where it's deep1 and leave you    
there till some great fish comes along  
to swallow you like the man in the      
,bible that mother reads about8  ,but   
the boy in his ,yesterdays carried home 
no fish from that little brook2 though  
he spent many hours in the hot summer   
sun watching eagerly for a bite4 ,he    
knew there must be fish there--great big
 fellows--there were such lovely places 
for them under the grassy banks--if only
 they would come out--but they never    
did4 ,not until he was older did the boy
 understand the real reason of this     
failure4 ,the water was not deep enough4
 ,he learned1 in time1 that big fish are

 not found in shallow streams4  ,i do   
not know1 but perhaps1 the man1 even as 
the boy1 was fishing in a too shallow   
stream4  ,as he grew older1 the boy     
wandered farther down the creek4 ,a sure
 'nough fishhook took the place of the  
bent pin and a real boughten line1 with 
a sinker1 was tied to the hook though he
 still used the slender willow rods4    
,and1 now1 he sometimes brought home a  
fish or two from the deeper water down  
in the pasture lot2 and no success in   
after life would ever bring to the man  
the same thrill of delight that was felt
 by the boy when he landed a tiny chub  
or shiner4 ,no ,roman general1 returning
 in triumph from the wars with captives 
chained to his chariot1 ever moved with 
a prouder spirit than he1 when he went  
home to mother with his little string of
 captured fishes4  ,then there came a   
day that was the proudest in his        
life--the day when he was given a larger
 hook1 a longer line1 a cane pole1 and  
permission to go to the mill pond4 ,no  

more fishing for him in the brook now6  
,he had outgrown all that4 ,how small   
the little stream seemed1 now1 as he    
crossed it on his way down the road6    
,could it be possible1 he asked himself1
 that he was ever content to fish there1
 and with a bent pin1 at that8 ,and he  
felt carefully in his pocket to see if  
those extra hooks were safe2 and took   
another peep at the big worms in his    
bait box--an old tomato can this time4  
,there would be no twinge of conscience 
when he baited his hook that day4 ,and  
proudly he tried to take longer steps in
 the dusty road2 almost breaking into a 
run as he neared the turn where he knew 
that he would see the pond4  ,often1 the
 boy wondered if there could be anywhere
 in all the world such another body of  
water as that old mill pond4 ,often1 he 
wondered how deep it was down by the dam
 in the shadow of the giant elms that   
half hid the mill4 ,many times1 he      
questioned3 ,where did all the water    
come from anyway8 ,surely it could not  

all come from the tiny stream that      
flowed down the valley below the little 
girl's house6 ,why1 he could wade in    
that and there were boats on this6      
,once again1 the man1 in his            
,yesterdays1 stood at that turn in the  
road2 under his bare1 boyish1 feet the  
hot1 hot1 dust2 over his head the blue1 
blue1 sky2 before him the beautiful     
water that mirrored back the trees1 the 
clouds1 and the buildings4 ,once again1 
he sat in the shadow of the old covered 
bridge1 fish pole in hand1 and1 with    
boyish delight and pride1 hailed each   
addition to the string of catfish and   
suckers that swam near by1 safely       
anchored to the bank4 ,he could hear the
 drowsy hum of the mill across the pond 
and the merry shout of the miller       
hailing some passer-by4 ,and1 now and   
then1 would come1 the clatter of horses'
 hoofs and the rumble of a farmer's     
wagon on the planks above his head and  
he would idly watch the ever widening   
circles in the water as some bit of     

dirt1 jarred from the beams above1      
marred the glassy surface4 ,the swallows
 were wheeling here and there in swift1 
graceful motions2 one moment lightly    
skimming the surface of the pond and the
 next1 high in air above the trees and  
buildings4 ,a water snake came gliding  
toward an old log close by4 ,a turtle   
was floating lazily in the sun4 ,and a  
kingfisher startled him with its harsh1 
discordant1 rattle as it passed in rapid
 flight toward the upper end of the pond
 where the tall cat-tails were nodding  
in the sunlight and the drooping willows
 fringed the bank with green4  ,the     
shadows of the giant elms near the dam  
grew longer and longer4 ,a workman left 
the mill and started across the pasture 
toward his home4 ,a farmer stopped on   
his way from the field to water his     
team4 ,the frogs began to call shrilly  
from the reeds and rushes4 ,the         
swallows1 twittering1 sought their nests
 beneath the bridge4 ,it was time that  
the boy was going home4  ,slowly1       

reluctantly1 the little fisherman drew  
his line from the water and wrapped it  
carefully round the pole4 ,then1 picking
 up his string of fish1 he inspected    
them thoughtfully--admiring the largest 
and wishing that the others were like   
him--and1 casting one last glance at the
 water1 the trees1 the mill1 started    
down the road toward home4  ,he must    
hurry now4 ,it was later than he        
thought4 ,mother would be watching and  
waiting supper for him4 ,how pleased she
 would be to see his fish4 ,he wished   
that the string were longer4 ,how       
quickly the night was coming on4 ,it was
 almost dark4 ,and then1 as the boy went
 down into the deepening dusk of the    
valley1 he saw1 on the other side1 the  
light in the windows4 ,he was almost    
home4  ,tired little fisherman4 ,wearily
 he crossed the creek and made his way  
up the gentle slope toward the lights   
that gleamed so brightly against the    
dark mass of the orchard hill1 while    
high above1 the first stars of the      

evening were coming out4 ,and then1 as  
in the gloaming he reached at last the  
gate where the little girl lived1 he    
found her waiting--watching             
anxiously--eager to greet him with sweet
 solicitude4 ,did you catch anything8   
,proudly the boy exhibited his          
catch--wishing again in his heart that  
the string were longer4 ,sadly1 he told 
how the biggest fish of all had dropped 
from his hook just when he had it almost
 landed4 ,and sometimes--the man        
remembered--sometimes the boy was forced
 to answer that he had caught nothing at
 all4 ,but always1 then1 would he       
bravely declare that he would have      
better luck next time4  ,tired little   
fisherman--going home with his catch in 
the evening6 ,always--disappointed      
little fisherman--wishing that his      
string were longer6                     
,always-brave-to-try-again little       
fisherman--when his day was a day of    
failure6  ,the man came back from his   
,yesterdays1 that afternoon1 to wonder3 

when the shadows of his life grew longer
 and longer--when his sun was slowly    
setting--when he reluctantly withdrew1  
at last1 from the busy haunts of        
men--when he went down the road toward  
home1 as it grew darker and darker until
 he could not see the way1 would there  
be a light in the window for him8 ,would
 he know that someone was waiting and   
watching8 ,and would he wish that his   
string of fish were longer8 ,however    
great his catch1 would he not wish that 
the string were longer8 ,and might it   
not be1 too1 that always in life the    
largest fish would be the one that he   
had almost landed8  ,and it was so that 
the old fire came again into the man's  
eyes to stay4 ,he stood once more erect 
before men4 ,again his countenance was  
lighted with courage and with hope4     
,with the brave words of the little     
fisherman who had caught nothing1 the   
man1 once again1 faced the world to work
 out his dreams4  99    99    99    99  
99  ,and the woman who knew herself to  

be a woman was haunted by the thought of
 ,failure4  ,after ,death had come with 
such suddenness into her life1 she had  
gone back to her work1 and1 in spite of 
the changes that ,death had wrought1 the
 days had gone much as the days before4 
,but1 because of the new conditions and 
the added responsibilities1 she gave    
herself1 now1 somewhat more fully to    
that work than she had ever done before4
 ,she left for herself less time for the
 dreams of her womanhood--less time for 
waiting beside that old1 old1 door      
beyond which lay the life that she      
desired with all the strength of her    
woman heart4  ,and that world in which  
she labored--that life to which she now 
gave herself more and more--rewarded her
 more and more abundantly4 ,because she 
was strong in body with skillful hands  
and quick brain2 because she was        
superior in these things to many who    
labored beside her2 she received a      
larger reward than they4 ,for the       
richness1 the fullness1 of her          

womanhood1 she received nothing4 ,from  
love1 the only thing that can make that 
which a woman receives fully acceptable 
to her1 she received nothing4  ,there   
were many who1 now1 congratulated the   
woman upon what they called her success4
 ,and some1 who knew the measure of the 
reward she received from the world that 
set a price upon the things of her      
womanhood1 envied her2 wishing          
themselves as fortunate as she4 ,she was
 even pointed out and spoken of         
triumphantly1 by certain modern1        
down-to-date1 ones1 as an example of the
 successful woman of the age4 ,her      
success--as it was called--was cited as 
a triumphant argument for the right of  
women to sell their womanhood for a     
price3 to put their strength of mind and
 flesh and blood1 their physical and    
intellectual vigor1 their vitality and  
life1 upon a market that cannot         
recognize their womanhood2 even though  
by so doing they rob the race of the    
only contribution they can make that    

will add to its perfection4  ,really1 if
 the customs and necessities of this age
 of down-to-date-ism are to take the    
world's mothers1 then it would seem that
 this age of down-to-date-ism should    
find1 for the perpetuation and          
perfection of the race1 a substitute for
 women4 ,the age should evolve a better 
way1 a more modern method1 than the     
old-fashioned way that has been in vogue
 so long4 ,for1 just as surely as the   
laws of life are beyond our power to    
repeal1 so surely will the operation of 
the laws of life not change to          
accommodate our newest thinking and the 
race1 by spending its best woman        
strength in work that cannot recognize  
womanhood1 will bequeath to the ages to 
come an ever lowering standard of human 
life4  ,the woman felt this--she felt   
that she could most truly serve the race
 by being true to the dreams of her     
womanhood4 ,she felt that the work she  
was doing was not her real work but a   
makeshift to be undertaken under protest

 and discarded without regret when her  
opportunity to enter upon the real work 
of her life should present itself4 ,but 
still1 even while feeling this1         
gradually there had come to be1 for her1
 an amount of satisfaction in knowing   
that she was succeeding in that which   
she had set her hand to do4 ,in the     
increasing reward she received1 in the  
advanced position she occupied1 in the  
deference that was shown her1 in the    
authority that was given her1 in the    
larger interests that were intrusted to 
her1 and even in the attitude of those  
who held her to be a convincing example 
of the newest womanhood1 there was      
coming to be a kind of satisfaction4    
,then came that day when the woman      
expressed a little of this satisfaction 
to the man who had always understood and
 who had been always so kind4 ,in this1 
too1 the woman felt that he understood4 
,the man had not sought to take         
advantage of the intimacy she had       
granted him in those trying days when   

,death had come into her life4 ,he had  
never failed in being kind and          
considerate in the thousand little      
things of the work that brought them    
together and that gave her opportunity  
to learn his goodness and the genuine   
worth of his manhood4 ,nor had he failed
 to make her understand that still he   
hoped for the time when she would go    
with him into the life beyond the old1  
old1 door4 ,but that day1 when she made 
known to him1 a little1 her growing     
satisfaction in that which the world    
called her success1 she saw that he was 
hurt4 ,for the first time he seemed to  
be troubled and afraid for her4  ,very  
gravely lie looked down into her eyes4  
,very gravely he congratulated her4 ,and
 then1 quietly and convincingly1 with   
words of authority1 he pointed out to   
her the possible heights she might      
reach--would reach--if she continued4   
,he told her of the place that she1 if  
she chose1 might gain4 ,he spoke of the 
reward that would be hers4 ,and1 as he  

talked to her of these things1 he saw   
the light of interest and anticipation  
kindling in her eyes4 ,sadly he saw it4 
,then1 pausing--hesitating--he asked her
 slowly3 ,do you really think that it   
is1 after all1 worth while8 ,for you1 ,i
 mean1 do you think that it would be a  
satisfying success8 ,he did not wish to 
interfere with her career1 he said--and 
smiled a little at the word4 ,he would  
even help her if--if--she was sure that 
such a career would bring her the real  
happiness he so much wanted her to have4
  ,and the woman1 as the man looked into
 her eyes and as she saw the trouble in 
his thoughtful face and listened to his 
gravely spoken words1 felt ashamed4     
,remembering1 again1 the dreams of her  
womanhood1 she was ashamed4 ,from that  
day1 the woman was haunted by the       
thought of ,failure4  ,why1 she asked   
herself1 why could she not open the door
 of her heart to this man who had been  
so good to her--so true to her and to   
himself8 ,if he had taken advantage in  

any way1 if he had sought to use his    
power1 she would not have cared so much4
 ,but because she knew him so well2     
because she had seen his splendid       
character1 his fine manhood1 his        
kindness of heart1 and his strength2    
because of the dreams of her womanhood2 
she had tried to open the door and bid  
him take possession of her heart that   
was as an empty room furnished and      
ready4 ,but she could not4 ,she seemed  
to have lost the key4 ,why--why--could  
she not give this man what he asked8    
,why could she not go with him into the 
life of her dreams8 ,what was it that   
held her back8 ,what was it that held   
shut the door of her womanhood against  
him8 ,could it be that1 after all1 she  
was fit only for the career upon which  
she was already entered8 ,could it be   
that she was not worthy to enter into   
the life her womanhood craved--the life 
for which she had longed with such      
passionate longing--the life she had    
desired with such holy desire8 ,could it

 be that she was unworthy of her        
womanhood8  ,bitterly this woman1 who   
knew herself to be a woman1 who had     
dreamed the dreams of womanhood1 and who
 was pointed out as a successful        
woman--bitterly she felt that she had   
failed4  ,she knew that her failure     
could not be because she had squandered 
the wealth of her womanhood4 ,very      
carefully had she kept the treasures of 
her womanhood for the coming of that one
 for whom she waited--knowing not who he
 was but only that she would know him   
when he came4 ,might it be that he had  
come and she did not know him8 ,might it
 be that the heart of her womanhood did 
not know8 ,if this was so then1 indeed1 
,life itself is but an accident and must
 trust to blind chance the fulfillment  
of its most sacred mission--the         
perpetuation and perfection of itself4  
,that the ,creator should give laws for 
the right mating of all his creatures   
except man--leaving men and women1      
alone1 with no guide to lead them aright

 in this relationship that is most vital
 to the species--is unthinkable4 ,deeply
 implanted in the hearts of men and     
women there is1 also1 an instinct2 an   
instinct that is superior to the        
dictates of the social1 financial1 or   
ecclesiastical will4 ,and it is this    
natural instinct of mate selection that 
should govern the marriages of human    
kind as truly as it marries the birds of
 the fields and the wild things that    
mate in the forests4  ,the woman knew1  
instinctively1 that she should not give 
herself to this man4 ,she felt in her   
heart that to do so would make her kin  
to her sisters in the unnamable         
profession4 ,the church would sanction1 
the state would legalize1 and society   
would accept such a union--does accept  
such unions--but only the divine laws of
 ,life1 given for the protection of     
,life1 can ever make a man and a woman  
husband and wife4 ,the laws that govern 
the right mating of human kind are not  
enacted by organizations either social1 

political1 or religious1 but are written
 in the hearts of those who would1 in   
mating1 fulfill the purpose of ,life4   
,these laws may be broken by man but    
they cannot by him be repealed2 and the 
penalty that is imposed for their       
violation is very evident to all who    
have eyes to see and who observe with   
understanding4  ,the woman knew1 also1  
that1 in respect and honor and gratitude
 to this man1 she dared not do this     
thing against which the instinct of her 
heart protested4 ,but still she asked   
herself3 ,why8 ,why was the door shut   
against him8 ,why was it not in her     
power to do that which she so longed to 
do8  ,and still1 the thought of ,failure
 haunted her4  ,and so it was1 that1 in 
asking1 why--in seeking the reason of   
her failure1 the woman was led back even
 to the years of her childhood4 ,back   
into her ,yesterdays she went in search 
of the key that kept fast locked the    
door of her heart against the man whom  
she would have so gladly admitted4 ,and1

 all the way back1 as she retraced the  
steps of her years1 she looked for one  
who might have the key4 ,but she found  
no one4 ,and in her ,yesterdays she     
found only a boy who had entered her    
heart when it was the heart of a little 
girl4  ,that the boy of her ,yesterdays 
lived still in the heart of the woman1  
she knew4 ,but surely--surely--the boy  
was not strong enough to hold her woman 
heart against the man who sought        
admittance4 ,the boy could not hold the 
door against the man and against the    
woman herself4 ,those vows1 made so     
solemnly under the cherry tree1 were but
 childish vows4 ,it was but a play      
wedding1 after all4 ,and the kiss that  
had sealed the vows--the kiss that was  
so different from other kisses--it was  
but a childish kiss 444 ,in the long    
years that had come between that boy and
 girl the vows and the kiss had become  
but memories--even as the games they    
played--even as her keeping house and   
her family of dolls4 ,that child wedding

 belonged only to the ,yesterdays4  ,the
 woman was haunted by the thought of    
,failure4      ,,success  ,the world    
said that he was a young man to have    
achieved so notable a ,success4 ,and he 
was4 ,but years have1 really1 little to 
do with a man's age4 ,it is the use that
 a man makes of his years that ages him 
or keeps him young4  ,this man knew that
 he was a man4 ,he knew that manhood is 
not a matter of years4 ,and1 knowing    
this1 he had dreamed a man's dream4 ,in 
the world he had found something to     
do--a man's work--and from his          
,occupation he had gained ,knowledge4   
,he had learned the value of ,ignorance 
and1 behind the things that men have    
hung upon and piled about it1 he had    
come to recognize ,religion4 ,he knew   
both the dangers and the blessings of   
,tradition4 ,he had gained the heights  
that are fortified by ,temptation and   
from those levels so far above the      
lowlands had looked out upon ,life4     
,death he knew as a fact and through    

,failure he had passed as through a     
smelting furnace4 ,it is these things1  
,i say1 that count for more in life than
 years4 ,so1 although he was still      
young1 the man was ready for ,success4  
,he was in the fullness of his manhood  
strength4 ,the tide of ,life1 for him1  
was just reaching its height4  ,i do not
 know just what it was in which the man 
achieved ,success4 ,just what it was1   
indeed1 is not my story2 nor does it    
matter for ,success is always the same4 
,my story is this3 that the man achieved
 ,success while he was still young and  
strong to rejoice in the triumph4  ,the 
dreams that he had dreamed on the       
hilltop1 when first he realized his     
manhood1 were1 in part1 fulfilled4 ,he  
was looked upon by the world as one not 
of the common herd--as one not of the   
rank and file4 ,he was accepted1 in the 
field of his work1 as a leader--a       
master4 ,he was held as one having      
authority and power4 ,the world pointed 
him out to its children as an example to

 be followed4 ,the mob1 that crowds     
always at the foot of the ladder1 looked
 up and cursed or begged or praised as  
is the temper of such mobs4 ,his name   
was often in the papers4 ,when he       
appeared on the streets or in public    
places he was recognized4 ,the people   
told each other who he was and what he  
had done4 ,he was received as a         
companion by those who were counted     
great by the world4 ,doors that were    
closed to the multitude1 and that had   
been closed to him1 were opened readily4
 ,opportunities1 offered only to the    
few1 were presented4 ,the golden stream 
of wealth flowed to his feet4 ,by the   
foolish hangers-on of the world he was  
sought--he was offered praise and       
admiration4 ,all that is called         
,success1 in short1 was his2 not in so  
great a measure as had come to some     
older than he1 it is true2 but it was   
genuine2 it was merited2 it was secure2 
and1 with the years1 it would increase  
as a river nearing the sea4  ,and the   

man1 as he looked back to that day of   
his dreams1 was glad with an honest     
gladness4 ,as he looked back to the time
 when he had asked of the world only    
something to do1 he was proud with a    
just pride4 ,as he looked back upon the 
things out of which he had builded his  
,success and saw how well he had        
builded1 he was satisfied4 ,but still in
 his gladness and pride and satisfaction
 there was a disappointment4  ,in his   
dreams1 when he had looked out upon the 
world as a conquering emperor1 the man  
had seen only the deeds of valor--the   
exhibitions of courage1 of heroism1 of  
strength--he had seen only the          
victories--the honors4 ,but now1 in the 
fulfillment of his dreams--when he had  
won the victory--when the honors were   
his--he knew the desperate struggle1 the
 disastrous losses1 the pitiful         
suffering4 ,he had felt the dangers grip
 his heart4 ,he had felt the horrid fear
 of defeat striking at his soul4 ,upon  
him were the marks of the conflict4 ,his

 victory had not been won without       
effort4 ,success had demanded a price   
and he had paid4 ,perhaps no one but the
 man himself knew how great was the     
price he had paid4  ,the man found also 
that ,success brought cares greater than
 he had ever known in the days of his   
struggle4 ,always there are cares that  
wait at the end of the battle and attend
 only upon the victor4 ,always there are
 responsibilities that come only when   
the victory is won--that are never seen 
in the heat of the conflict4  ,once let 
it be discovered that you have the      
strength and the willingness to carry   
burdens and burdens will be heaped upon 
you until you stagger1 fainting1 under  
the load4 ,life has never yet bred a man
 who could shoulder the weight that the 
world insists that he take up in his    
success4 ,and1 when the man could not   
carry all the burdens that the world    
brought because his strength and        
endurance was only that of a mortal1 the
 world cursed him--called him selfish1  

full of greed1 heartless1 an oppressor  
caring nothing for the woes of others4  
,those who had offered no helping hand  
in the time of his need now clamored    
loudly for a large part of his strength4
 ,those who had cared nothing for his   
life in the times of his hardships now  
insisted that he give the larger part of
 his life to them4 ,those who had held  
him back now demanded that he lift them 
up to a place beside him4 ,those who had
 shown him only                         
indifference--coldness--contempt1 now   
begged of him                           
attention--friendship--honors--aid4     
,and from all these things that attended
 his success the man found it impossible
 to escape4 ,the cares1 the burdens1 the
 responsibilities that ,success forced  
him to take up rested heavily upon him4 
,so heavy indeed were these things that 
he had little strength or will left for 
the enjoyment of that which he had so   
worthily won4  ,and the victory that he 
had so hardily gained1 the place that he

 now held1 the man found that he could  
keep only by the utmost exertion of his 
strength4 ,the battles he had fought    
were nothing in comparison to those he  
must now fight4 ,the struggle he had    
made was nothing to the effort he must  
continue to make4 ,temptations          
multiplied and appeared in many new and 
unexpected forms4 ,the very world that  
pointed him out as an example watched   
eagerly for excuse to condemn4 ,those   
who sought him with honors--who praised 
and flattered him1 in envy1 secretly    
hoped for his ruin4 ,those who followed 
him like dogs for favors would howl like
 wolves on his trail if he turned ever  
so little aside4 ,those who opened for  
him the doors of opportunities would    
flock like vultures to carrion if he    
should fall4 ,the world1 that1 without  
consideration1 heaped upon him its      
burdens1 would trample him beneath its  
feet if he should slip under the weight4
 ,nor had he in ,success won freedom4   
,his very servants were freer than he1  

to come and go1 to seek their peculiar  
pleasures4  ,the chains with which      
,success had fettered the man were      
unusually galling and heavy upon him    
that day1 when1 on his way to an        
important appointment1 his carriage was 
checked in a crowded street4 ,the man's 
mind was so absorbed in the business    
waiting his attention that he did not   
notice how dense was the crowd that     
barred the way4 ,impatiently--with      
overwrought nerves--he spoke sharply1   
commanding his man to drive on4  ,the   
man begged pardon but it was impossible4
  ,impossible1 still more sharply1      
what's the matter8  ,the driver ventured
 a smile1 ,it's the circus parade1 sir4 
,then turn around4  ,but that1 too1 was 
impossible4 ,the traffic had pushed in  
behind hemming them in4  ,then1 down the
 street that crossed in front of the    
crowded jam of vehicles1 came the       
familiar sound of trumpets and the      
gorgeously attired heralds at the head  
of the procession appeared1 followed by 

the leading band with its crashing1     
smashing1 music4  ,as gilded chariot    
followed gilded chariot1 each drawn by  
many pairs of beautiful horses1 gaily   
plumed and equipped--as the many riders1
 in glittering armor and flashing1      
spangled1 costumes1 rode proudly past2  
followed by the long line of elephants  
and camels with the cages of their      
fellow captives2 and1 in turn1 by the   
chariot racers1 the clowns1 and the     
wagons of black faced fun makers2 and at
 last by the steam calliope with its    
escort of madly shouting urchins--the   
man in the carriage slipped away from   
the cares and burdens of the present    
into the freedom of his ,yesterdays4 ,he
 escaped from the galling chains that   
,success had put upon him and lived     
again a circus day in the long ago4     
,weeks before the date of the great     
event1 the barns and sheds and every    
available wall in the little village1 to
 which the boy often went with his      
father1 would be covered with gorgeous  

pictures announcing the many startling1 
stupendous1 wonders1 to be seen for so  
small a price4 ,there was a hippopotamus
 of such size that a boat load of twenty
 naked savages was not for him a        
mouthful4 ,there were elephants so huge 
that the house where the boy lived was  
but a play house beside them4 ,there    
were troops of aerial artists1 who1 on  
wires and rings and trapeze and ladders 
and ropes1 did daring1 dreadful1 death  
defying1 deeds1 that no simian in his   
old world forest would ever think of    
attempting4 ,there was a great1         
glittering1 gorgeous1 procession1 of    
such length that the farther end was    
lost beyond the distant horizon and     
tents that covered more acres of ground 
than the boy could see from the top of  
the orchard hill4  ,wonderful promises  
of the billboards6 ,wonderful6          
,wonderful promises of the billboards of
 ,life6 ,wonderful6  ,then would follow 
the days of waiting--the endless days of
 waiting--when the boy1 with the help of

 the little girl1 would try to be       
everything that the billboards pictured1
 from the roaring lion in his cage to   
the painted clown who cut such side     
splitting capers and the human fly that1
 with her gay ,japanese parasol1 walked 
upside down upon a polished ceiling4    
,when circus day was coming1 the fairies
 and knights and princes and soldiers   
and all their tried and true companions 
were forced to go                       
somewhere--anywhere--out of the boy's   
way4 ,there was no time1 in those busy  
days1 even for fishing4 ,the old mill   
pond had no charm that was not exceeded 
by the promises of the billboards4 ,the 
earth itself1 indeed1 was merely a place
 upon which to pitch a circus tent4 ,the
 charms of the little girl1 even1 were  
almost totally eclipsed by the          
captivating loveliness of those ladies  
who1 in spangled tights of blue and pink
 and red1 hung by their teeth at dizzy  
heights1 bestrode glittering wheels upon
 slack wires1 or were shot from cannon  

to soar1 amid black smoke and lurid     
flame1 like angels1 far above the heads 
of the common people4  ,there was no    
lying in bed to be called the third time
 the morning of that day2 when at last  
it came4 ,scarcely had the sun peeped   
through the orchard on the hill when the
 boy was up and at the window anxiously 
looking to see if the sky was clear4    
,very early the start for town was made 
for there is much on circus day that is 
not pictured on the billboards--that1 of
 course1 the boy knew4 ,and1 as they    
drove through the fresh smelling fields1
 the boy would wonder if the long       
journey would ever come to an end and   
would ask himself1 with sinking heart3  
,what if they had mistaken the day8     
,what if something had happened that the
 circus could not materialize the       
promises of the billboards8 ,what1 if   
the hippopotamus1 the elephants1 the    
beautiful ladies in spangles and tights1
 and all the other promises of the      
billboards should fail8 ,and somewhere1 

deep within his being1 the boy would    
feel a thrill of gladness that the      
little girl was so close beside him4 ,if
 anything should happen that the        
promises of the billboards should fail  
he would need the little girl4 ,while1  
if nothing happened--if it was all as   
pictured--still it would not be enough  
if the little girl were not there4  ,it 
was all over at last4 ,the spangled     
riders galloped out of the ring2 the    
trapeze performers made their last death
 defying leap2 the clown cracked his    
last joke and cut his last caper2 the   
last peanut in the sack was devoured by 
the elephant2 and1 at the close of the  
long day1 the boy and the girl went back
 through the quiet fields to their      
homes2 tired with the excitement and    
wonder of it all but with sighs of      
content and happiness4 ,and1 deep in his
 heart1 that night1 the boy resolved    
that he would grow up to travel with a  
circus4 ,he would be very sorry to leave
 father and mother and the little girl  

but nothing in the                      
world--nothing--should keep him from    
such a glorious career4  ,the man knew1 
now1 that the promises of those         
billboards in his ,yesterdays were never
 fulfilled4 ,he knew1 now1 that the     
golden chariots were not gold at all but
 only gilded4 ,he knew1 now1 that those 
wondrous beings who wore the glittering1
 spangled1 costumes1 were only very     
common and very ordinary men and women4 
,he did not1 now1 envy the riders in the
 procession or the performers in the    
tent4 ,he knew that to have a place in  
the parade or to perform in the ring1 is
 to envy those whose applause you must  
win4 ,the quiet of the old fields2 the  
peaceful home under the orchard hill2   
the gentle companionship of the little  
girl2 these were the things that in the 
man's life endured long after the glamor
 of the circus was gone4  ,through the  
circus day crowd the man was driven on  
to his appointment but his mind was not 
now occupied with the business that     

awaited him4 ,his thoughts were not with
 the crowd that filled the streets4 ,his
 heart was in his ,yesterdays4 ,the     
music of the circus band1 the sight of  
the parade that so stirred his memories 
of childhood1 had awakened within him a 
hunger for the old home scenes4 ,he     
longed to escape from ,success--to get  
away from the circus parade of ,life in 
which he found himself riding4 ,he was  
weary of performing in the ring4 ,he    
wanted to go home through the quiet     
fields4 ,perhaps--perhaps--amid the     
scenes of his ,yesterdays1 he might find
 that which ,success had not brought4   
,as quickly as he could make            
arrangements1 he went4  ,of the woman's 
success1 ,i cannot write here4 ,my story
 has been poorly told1 indeed1 if ,i    
have not made it clear that1 for this   
woman who knew herself to be a woman1   
,success was inseparable from ,love4    
,for every woman who knows herself to be
 a woman1 ,love and ,success are one4   
,,love  ,again it was that time of the  

year when every corner of the world is a
 lovers' corner4  ,on bough and branch1 
in orchard and wood2 on bush and vine1  
in garden and yard2 in meadow grass and 
pasture sod2 on the silvery lichens that
 cling to the rocks2 among the ferns and
 mosses that dwell in cool retreats2    
amid the reeds and rushes by the old    
mill pond2 in the fragrant mints and    
fluted blades on the banks of the little
 creek2 the children of ,nature sought  
their mates or by their mates were      
sought4  ,every flower cup was a loving 
cup1 lifted to drink a pledge to ,life2 
every tint of color was a blush of love1
 called forth by the wooing of ,life2   
every perfumed breath was a breath of   
love1 a blessing and prayer of ,life2   
every rustling movement was a whisper of
 love1 a promised word of ,life2 every  
touch of the breeze was a caress of     
love1 a passionate kiss of ,life2 every 
sunbeam was a smile of love1 warm with  
the tender triumph of ,life4  ,the bees1
 that1 in their labor for hive and      

swarm1 carry the golden pollen from     
flower to flower1 preach thus the word  
of ,god4 ,the gauze winged insects1     
that1 in the evening1 dance their aerial
 mating dance1 declare thus the         
,creator's will4 ,the fireflies1 that1  
in the night time1 light their tiny     
lamps of love1 signal thus a message    
from the throne on high4  ,the fowls of 
the air1 singing their mating songs2 the
 wild stallion on the hills1 trumpeting 
aloud his fiery strength2 the bull on   
the plains1 thundering his bellowing    
challenge2 the panther that in the      
mountains screams to his mate2 the wolf 
that in the timber howls to his         
mistress2 declare thus the supreme law  
of ,life--make known the unchanging     
purpose of ,god--and evidence an        
authority and power divine4  ,in all    
this wooing and mating2 in all this     
seeking and being sought2 in all this   
giving and receiving2 in all this loving
 and being loved2 in all natural and    
holy desire2 ,life is exalted--the      

divine is worshiped--acceptable         
offerings to ,god are made4  ,to        
preserve ,life--to perpetuate ,life--to 
produce ,life--to perfect ,life--to     
exalt ,life--this is the purpose of     
,life4 ,in all the activity of ,life    
there is no other meaning manifest4     
,this1 indeed1 is ,life4 ,how foolish   
then to think only of eternal ,life as  
though it began at the grave4 ,this     
,life that is1 is the eternal ,life4    
,eternity is to-day4 ,the man and woman 
who mate in love fulfill thus the       
eternal law of ,life1 and1 in their     
children1 conceived and born in ,love1  
do they know and do the will of ,god1   
even as do all things that are alive4   
,life and ,love are one4  ,the man had  
been at his boyhood home but three days 
when the neighbor1 who lived next door1 
told him that his childhood playmate was
 coming1 with her aunt1 to visit their  
old home for a few weeks4  ,needs a rest
 and quiet the neighbor said2 and smiled
 at nothing at all as neighbors will    

sometimes do4  ,perhaps1 though1 the    
neighbor smiled at the look of surprise 
and bewilderment that swept over the    
man's face as he heard the news1 or it  
might have been at the mingling of      
pleasure and regret that was in his     
voice as he answered3 ,indeed4 ,or1     
perhaps1 the neighbor was wondering what
 the woman would say and how she would  
look if she knew that the man was to be 
next door4 ,whatever the reason the     
neighbor smiled4  ,they did not know    
that the woman was1 in reality1 seeking 
to escape from the thought of ,failure  
that so haunted her4 ,since that day    
when her good friend had talked to her  
of her career and had gravely asked--for
 you do you think it would be           
success8--her work had become more and  
more unbearable4 ,in desperation1 at    
last1 she had arranged to go1 for a few 
weeks1 back to the scenes of her        
girlhood2 hoping to find there1 as she  
had found before1 the peace and strength
 she needed4  ,the cherry tree1 in the  

corner of the garden near the hedge1    
showered the delicate petals of its     
blossoms down with every touch of the   
gentle breeze4 ,in the nearby bower of  
green1 a pair of brown birds had just   
put the finishing touch to a new nest4  
,but1 in the years that had passed since
 that boy and girl play wedding1 the    
tree had grown large1 and scarred1 and  
old4 ,many pairs of brown birds had     
nested and reared their broods in the   
hedge since that day when the lad had   
kissed his childhood mate with a kiss   
that was different4 ,and the little     
opening through which the boy and girl  
had so often gone at each other's call  
was closed by a growth of branches that 
time had woven as if to shut1 forever1  
that gateway of their ,yesterdays4 ,on  
his former visit1 the man had looked for
 that gateway of his childhood but could
 not find it4 ,and now1 when he heard   
that she was coming1 he went again1     
curiously1 to see if he could find any  
sign to show where the opening had been4

 ,but the branches that the years had   
woven hid from the man's eyes every     
trace of the old way that1 in his       
,yesterdays1 had been so plain4  ,late  
that afternoon1 when the neighbor1      
coming from the depot with his guests1  
drove slowly up the hill1 the man stood 
at the gate where1 years before1 the    
little boy had sat on the post1 and1    
swinging his bare legs1 had watched the 
big wagons1 loaded with household goods1
 turning into the yard of the place next
 door4  ,there was no reason why the man
 should get up when the first touches of
 gray light showed in the eastern sky   
the next morning1 but the day seemed to 
call him and he arose and went out4     
,from the little hill where he had sat  
that day when first he knew that he was 
a man and where his manhood life began  
with his dreams1 he watched the sun rise
 and saw the sleeping world awake4 ,then
 back through the orchard that was all  
dew drenched and ringing with the       
morning hymn of the birds1 he went1     

until he stood in the garden4  ,the man 
did not know why he went into the       
garden4 ,something seemed to lead him   
there4 ,and he went very softly as one  
goes into places that are holy with the 
memories of dead years4 ,very still1 he 
stood1 watching the two birds that had  
builded their nest in the hedge near the
 cherry tree that1 now1 lifted its      
branches so high4 ,the two birds were   
very1 very1 busy that morning2 but1 busy
 as they were1 the father bird could not
 resist pouring forth the joy of his    
life in a flood of melody while his     
mate1 swinging and fluttering and       
chirping on a nearby twig1 seemed to    
enter as fully and heartily into his    
sentiments as though the song were her  
own4 ,breathlessly1 with bare head and  
upturned1 eager1 face1 the man watched  
and listened4  ,when the song was ended 
he drew a long breath--then started and1
 without moving from his place1 looked  
carefully around4 ,a low call had       
reached his ears--a familiar call that  

seemed to come out of the long ago4     
,surely his fancy was playing him       
strange tricks that morning4  ,he was   
turning toward the house when1 again1   
that call came--low and clear4 ,it was a
 call of his ,yesterdays4 ,and this time
 it was followed by a low1 full throated
 laugh that was as full of music as the 
song of the bird to which the man had   
been listening4  ,with amazement and    
wonder upon his face1 he turned quickly 
toward the hedge1 as a voice that was   
like an echo of the laugh said3 ,good   
morning6 ,pardon me for startling       
you--you looked so much like the little 
boy that ,i couldn't resist4            
,illustration3 ,when they told me that  
you were here ,i wanted to go away again
  ,but where are you8 asked the man1    
bewildered still4  ,again came that low1
 full throated laugh4 ,then3 ,i believe 
you think ,i am a ghost4 ,i'm here at   
the hedge--at the old place4 ,have you  
forgotten8  ,slowly1 as she spoke1 he   
went toward the hedge1 guided by her    

voice4 ,so you found it then1 he said   
slowly1 gazing at the beautiful woman   
face that was framed in the green of the
 leaves and branches4  ,and at his      
words1 the woman's heart beat           
quicker--so he had tried to find it--but
 aloud she only said3 ,of course4  ,to  
which he returned smilingly3 ,but it is 
quite grown over now1 isn't it8 ,you    
could scarcely come through there now as
 you used to do--could you8  ,the woman 
laughed again4 ,i could if ,i were a    
man--she challenged4  ,a moment later he
 stood beside her2 a little breathless1 
with his clothing disarranged1 and a    
scratch or two on his face and hands4   
,do you know--she said when they had    
shaken hands quite properly as grown up 
people must do--do you know that ,i was 
dreadfully afraid to meet you8 ,when    
they told me that you were here ,i      
wanted to go away again4 ,i was afraid  
that you would be so different4 ,do you 
understand8  ,yes1 he said1 gravely1 ,i 
understand4 ,but he did not tell her1   

then1 how fully he understood4  ,she    
went on3 ,but when ,i looked through the
 hedge and saw you with your hat off1   
watching the birds1 ,i knew you were the
 same little boy--and--well--,i could   
not resist giving the old call4  ,and1  
all at once1 the man knew why he had    
risen early that morning and why he had 
gone into the garden4  ,after that1 they
 spent many days together in the scenes 
of their childhood2 living over again1  
so far as man and woman may1 their      
,yesterdays4 ,and so cane1 at last1 the 
day that was forever after1 to them1 the
 day of all their days4  ,it was in the 
afternoon and they were together down by
 the little brook1 in the shade of the  
willows1 where the stream1 running      
lazily under the patches of light and   
shade1 murmured drowsily--seeming more  
than half asleep4 ,she was weaving an   
old time daisy chain from a great armful
 that he had helped her gather on their 
way to the cool retreat4 ,a bit of fancy
 work that she had brought from the     

house lay neglected near his hat1 which 
the man1 boy like1 had cast aside4 ,he  
was industriously fishing for minnows1  
with a slender twig of willow for a rod1
 a line of thread from her sewing1 and a
 pin1 that she had found for him1       
fashioned into a hook4 ,with a pointed  
stick he had dug among the roots of the 
old tree for bait--securing one1 tiny1  
thin1 worm and rejoicing gleefully at   
his success4 ,for a long time neither   
had said a word2 but the woman1 her     
white fingers busy with the daisies in  
her lap1 had several times looked up    
from her pretty task to smile at the man
 who was so intensely and seriously     
interested in his childish sport4  ,gee6
 ,i nearly got one that time6 ,he       
exclaimed with boyish triumph and       
disappointment in his voice4  ,the woman
 laughed merrily4 ,one would think1 she 
said1 that your fame in life depended   
upon your catching one of those poor    
little fish4 ,what do you suppose your  
dear1 devoted1 public would say if they 

could see you now8  ,the man grunted his
 disapproval4 ,i came out here to get   
away from said public1 he retorted4 ,why
 do you drag 'em into our paradise8  ,at
 his words1 a warm color crept into the 
woman's face1 and1 bending low over the 
daisies in her lap1 she did not answer4 
,lifting the improvised fishing tackle  
of his childhood and looking at it      
critically the man said3 ,i suppose1    
now1 that if this rod were a split      
bamboo1 and this thread were braided    
silk1 and this pin with its wiggly piece
 of worm were a ,silver ,doctor or a    
,queen of the ,waters or a ,dusty       
,miller or a ,brown ,hackle2 and if this
 stream were an educated stream1 with   
educated trout2 and the house up there  
were a club house2 and your dear old    
aunt1 who is watching to see that ,i    
don't eat you1 were a lot of whist      
playing old men2 ,i suppose you would   
think it all right and a proper sport   
for a man4 ,but for me--,i can't see    
much difference--except that1 just now--

 he carefully lowered his hook into the 
water--just now1 ,i prefer this4 ,in    
fact1 he added meditatively1 ,i would   
rather do this than anything else in the
 world4  ,the color in the woman's face 
deepened4  ,after a little1 he looked   
cautiously around to see her bending    
over the daisy chain4 ,a moment later1  
under pretense of examining his bait1 he
 stole another look4 ,then1 in spite of 
his declaration1 he abandoned his sport 
to stretch himself full length on the   
ground at her side4  ,she did not look  
at him but bent her head low over the   
wealth of white and gold blossoms in her
 lap2 and the man noticed1 with an odd  
feeling of pleasure1 the beautiful curve
 of her white neck from the soft brown  
hair to the edge of her dress low on the
 shoulder4 ,then1 with a sly smile1 as  
the boy of their ,yesterdays might have 
done1 he stealthily raised the slender  
willow twig and with the tip cautiously 
attempted to lift the thin golden chain 
that she always wore loosely about her  

throat with the locket or pendant       
concealed by her dress4  ,she clutched  
the chain with a frightened gesture and 
a little exclamation4 ,you must not--you
 must not do that4  ,the man laughed    
aloud as the mischievous boy would have 
laughed4  ,but the woman1 with flaming  
cheeks1 caught the twig from his hand   
and threw it into the creek4 ,if you are
 not good1 ,i shall call auntie1 she    
threatened4  ,at which he looked        
ruefully toward the porch and became    
very serious4 ,do you know that ,i am   
going away to-morrow8 he asked4  ,and   
leave your paradise for your dear       
public8 she said mockingly4 ,the public 
will be glad4  ,and you1 will you care8 
,i'm going back to my work1 too1 next   
week1 she replied4  ,but will you care  
to-morrow8 he persisted4  ,the woman's  
fingers1 busy with the daisy chain1     
trembled4  ,the man1 when she still did 
not answer his question1 arose and1     
picking up his hat and her sewing1 held 
out his hand4  ,she looked up into his  

face questioningly4  ,come--he said with
 a grave smile--come4  ,still without   
speaking1 she gave him her hand and he  
helped her to her feet2 and1 at her     
touch1 the man again felt that thrill of
 pleasure4  ,the aunt1 from her place on
 the porch1 saw them coming up the      
grassy slope1 through the daisies1      
toward the house4 ,she saw them coming  
and smiled--as the neighbor had smiled1 
so she smiled1 apparently1 at nothing at
 all4  ,but the man and the woman did   
not go to the porch where the old lady  
sat4 ,with a wave of their hands1 they  
passed from her sight around the house1 
and1 a few minutes later1 stood face to 
face in that quiet1 secluded1 corner of 
the garden1 under the old cherry tree1  
close by the hedge4  ,now1 said the man 
gently1 now tell me--will you be sorry  
to have me go away to-morrow8  ,she made
 no pretense that she did not           
understand1 ,nor did she hesitate as one
 in doubt4 ,lifting her head1 proudly1  
humbly1 graciously1 she looked at him   

and1 in that look1 surrendered to him1  
without reserve1 all the treasures of   
her womanhood that1 with such care1 she 
had kept against that hour4 ,and her    
face was shining with the light that    
only a woman's mate can kindle4  ,the   
man caught his breath4 ,my wife1 he     
said4 ,my wife1  ,a few moments later he
 whispered3 ,tell me again--,i know that
 you have always belonged to me and ,i  
to you--but tell me again--you will--you
 will--be my wife8  ,releasing herself  
gently1 she lifted her hands and1       
unfastening that slender chain of gold  
from around her throat1 with rosy cheeks
 and happy1 tender1 eyes1 held out to   
him a tiny brass ring4  ,so the         
,yesterdays of the man and the          
,yesterdays of the woman became ,their  
,yesterdays4  ,all that ,dreams1        
,occupation1 ,knowledge1 ,ignorance1    
,religion1 ,tradition1 ,temptation1     
,life1 ,death1 ,failure1 ,success1 ,love
 and ,memories had given him1 this man  
who knew that he was a man1 gave to her4

 ,all that the ,thirteen ,truly ,great  
,things of ,life had given her1 this    
woman who knew herself to be a woman1   
gave to him4 ,and thus these two became 
one4 ,as ,god made them one1 they became
 one4  ,and this is the love that ,i    
say1 is one of the ,thirteen ,truly     
,great ,things of ,life4  ,but my story 
is not yet quite finished for still1 you
 must know1 there are ,memories4        
,,memories  ,and the years of the man   
and the woman passed until all their    
days were ,yesterdays4  ,even as they   
had1 together1 crossed the threshold of 
the old1 old1 door that has stood open  
since the beginning1 they stood now1    
together1 upon the threshold of another 
door that has never been closed4  ,and  
it was so1 that1 as once they went back 
into the ,yesterdays that became ,their 
,yesterdays1 so they still went back to 
the days that were past4 ,it was so1    
that the things of their manhood and    
womanhood had become to them1 now1 even 
as the things of their childhood4 ,they 

knew1 now1 that1 indeed1 the work of men
 is but the play of children1 after all4
  ,their years were nearly spent1 it is 
true4 ,his hair was silvery white and   
his form was bent and trembling4 ,her   
cheeks were like the drying petals of a 
rose and her once brown hair was as     
white as his4 ,but the vigor and        
strength and life of their years lived  
still--gloriously increased in the lives
 that they had given to the race4  ,gone
 were the years of their manhood and    
womanhood--even as the days of their    
boyhood and girlhood--they were gone4   
,but1 as the boy and the girl had lived 
in the man and the woman1 the man and   
the woman lived1 now1 in their boys and 
girls and in the children of their      
children4  ,and this was the true glory 
and the fulfillment of their lives--that
 they could live thus in their          
children--that they could see themselves
 renewed in their children and in their 
children's children4  ,so it was that   
,memories became to this man and this   

woman1 also1 one of the ,thirteen ,truly
 ,great ,things of ,life4  ,there are   
many things that might be told about    
this man and woman--about the work they 
did1 the place they held in life1 and   
the rewards and honors they             
received--but ,i have put down all that1
 at the end1 seemed of any importance to
 them4 ,therefore have ,i put down all  
that matters to my story4  ,what matters
 to them and to my story is this3       
always1 as they went back into the      
,yesterdays1 they went back to the days 
of their childhood and to the days of   
their children4 ,they went back only to 
,their ,yesterdays4 ,to those other     
days--those days when they were         
strangers--they did not go back4        
,,the ,,end4