,illustration3 ,,jacob ,k4 ,,huff       
,deceased                               
,the ,philosophy of                     
,jake ,haiden                           
7,late ,,jacob ,k4 ,,huff7              
,,selected ,,from ,,the ,,columns ,,of  
,,the ,,reading ,,times1 ,,reading1     
,,pennsylvania                          
,,with ,a ,,biographical ,,appreciation 
,,by ,,his ,,friend                     
,henry ,w4 ,shoemaker                   
7,president of ,reading ,times7         
8,a link is broken that bound us to the 
infinite40                              
,illustration3 #aiaa                    
,copyright1 #aiaa                       
,the ,reading ,times ,publishing        
,company                                
,,reading1 ,,pa4                    ,the
 ,reading ,times ,publishing ,company   
,biographical ,appreciation      ,sudden
 death1 in the midst of productive work1
 throws into bolder relief  a career    
destined for immortality4 ,the cessation
 of a train of brilliant  and helpful   

ideas creates a want1 and causes a      
careful examination of  all that has    
been previously done1 and a just        
estimate of its worth4  ,these alone can
 be the consolations for the taking off 
of a genius like  the late ,jacob ,k4   
,huff1 known to his readers as 8,jake   
,haiden10 8,faraway  ,moses10 and       
8,finnicky ,finucane40 ,after a long    
struggle against obscurity  and adverse 
circumstances he had emerged into an    
open country where  kind words of       
appreciation and growing fame greeted   
him on every side4  ,his message1 which 
the modern life in this country1 with   
its growth of  class distinctions1 a    
self-constituted aristocracy1 a rapidly 
developing  governing class1 a contempt 
for the lowly born1 a forgetfulness of  
gentleness1 a striving for              
self-advancement1 and the train of      
kindred  evils1 rendered imperative1 was
 checked1 but its echoes will be felt   
through the years4 ,he seemed to be the 
one voice strong enough and  fearless   

enough to do battle with the injustices 
of the big world1 yet  he viewed it all 
from the porch of a modest cottage in a 
hamlet where  there was no railroad1 no 
trolley1 and few strangers ever         
penetrated4 ,his  vision entered palaces
 of the supercilious rich1 into the     
inner sanctums  of capitalists1 of      
cringing editors2 into the homes of     
neglectful  parents1 undutiful children1
 designing wives1 white slavers1 and    
other  evildoers4 ,his kindly words     
soothed the tired spirits of the        
unfortunate1  and as he never preached1 
and seldom condemned1 he offered a      
loophole for  improvement1 rather than  
promising punishment to the so-called   
8wicked40  ,he was always ready to      
forgive1 to lend a helping hand1 and    
though his  infinite mind grasped all   
the depths of sin and sorrow in the     
world1 he  believed in the innate       
goodness of his fellow beings4 ,the     
modern world  was learning to walk along
 cleaner and better pathways1 and he    

acted like  the careful parent1         
assisting the unsteady youngster in its 
course4 ,his  writings do not contain a 
single word of rancor2 it is amazing    
that a man  who fought so much          
oppression and crime could do so without
 descending  to invective or abuse4     
,that was the secret of his success4 ,if
 clergymen  could follow in his         
footsteps many an empty tabernacle would
 be crowded  on the ,sabbath4    ,in a  
sense1 the biography of a writer        
discloses the hidden springs  and       
motives for the development of his      
career4 ,it would be difficult  for a   
writer not springing from the people to 
fight the people's  battles with the    
pen4 ,a man of the people like ,abraham 
,lincoln  represented them thoroughly   
because he was of them1 and at no time  
in  his life did his opportunities or   
tendencies cause him to forget his      
original environment4 ,jacob ,huff was  
born among the 8great mass of  humanity0
 and his development came like          

,lincoln's through struggles  and       
disappointments1 aided by perseverance  
and hard work1 until his  voice1 clear  
and sympathetic1 was heard above the    
multitude4 ,some day  an appreciative   
state will seek out and mark the lowly  
cabin in the  ,pennsylvania mountains   
where he first saw the light4 ,like     
,plato and many  another wise man of the
 past1 his message will live in his     
disciples1  and grow brighter1 and more 
necessary with the advancement of time4 
,it  was in such a cabin that ,lincoln  
was born in the ,kentucky wilds that    
,jacob ,huff was ushered into being in  
,clinton ,county1 ,pennsylvania1 on     
,january #ca1 #ahea4 ,his father was    
,john ,huff1 a typical backwoodsman1    
sturdy1 brave1 and good natured4 ,his   
mother was a ,german girl1 ,eve         
,kalmbach1 whose parents had left the   
,rhine country and cleared a  homestead 
high among lonely ,pennsylvania hills4  
,his father's mother was  ,elizabeth    
,walker1 of ,scotch-,irish ancestry1 and

 from her came the strain  of humor1 and
 perseverance that did so much to weld  
his destiny into a  successful whole4   
,his mother is described as kindly and  
intelligent1  with a mystic side to her 
nature1 observable in her distinguished 
son's  traits of sentiment and          
tenderness4 ,from earliest youth ,jacob 
,huff knew  little but the most grinding
 toil4 ,his first occupation1 however1  
was  rather pleasurable1 and he always  
liked to reminisce on the subject4 ,in  
#ahfd1 ,colonel ,james ,williams        
,quiggle1 of ,mc,elhattan1 directly     
across  the ,susquehanna from ,jacob's  
mountain home1 had conceived the idea   
of starting an 8,american ,tea          
,industry40 ,it is a known fact that the
  ,pennsylvania mountains produce a tea 
plant that rivals in flavor the         
choicest product of ,japan4 ,thousands  
of acres of wild lands were either      
bought or optioned1 and a tea house     
after a ,japanese design was erected  on
 a plateau back of the smaller of the   

two ,mc,elhattan mountains4 ,men  and   
boys in considerable numbers were       
engaged to pick1 sort1 and dry  the     
leaves1 and little ,jacob hearing of the
 work1 tramped down from the  high      
mountains and started for the 8tea      
camp10 his first situation away  from   
home4 ,darkness had come on soon after  
he reached ,mc,elhattan1 and he  spent  
the night with a family who lived at the
 8,x ,roads10 there meeting  the        
black-haired1 black-eyed young girl with
 the cameo face who played  such an     
important part in the life of his dear1 
though older friend in  years1 the      
gifted poet1 ,montgomery ,quiggle4 ,he  
was given a chance at  the tea camp1    
which was often visited by the genial   
,col4 ,quiggle4 ,this  was probably the 
first man of education he had met at    
close range1 and  his interest and      
politeness to the small tea-picker      
lingered as one  of the pleasantest of  
his earlier memories4 ,col4 ,quiggle1 it
 may be  said1 was a fine type of the   

old fashioned gentleman of              
,scotch-,irish  stock1 always brimming  
over with good humor1 but with that     
undercurrent  of seriousness inherent to
 his race4 ,winter coming on1 the work  
was  suspended1 and the merry company   
back of ,mc,elhattan mountain was forced
  to separate4 ,once on his own         
responsibility1 the desire to earn money
  and see the world led the young lad to
 occupations of various kinds4  ,once he
 trudged many miles to ,leetonia1 having
 heard of work in a lumber  camp1 but   
was rejected because he was too young4  
,he did not idle around  the shanties1  
but immediately started for home4 ,a    
snowstorm began1 and  evening closed in 
on him4 ,he saw what he thought was a   
huge blackened  stump1 and leaned       
against it for much needed rest4 ,there 
was a grunt and  a growl1 and a four    
hundred pound bear shook him off1 and he
 sprawled in  the snow4 ,another time he
 had worked in a logging camp at the    
head of  ,young ,woman's ,creek1 and    

with his purse of savings1 was on his   
way to  ,youngwomanstown1 now misnamed  
,north ,bend4 ,it was sunset1 and he    
heard  a screech like a tormented woman1
 far up on the steep slope of one of    
the denuded mountains4 ,his quick eye   
showed it to come from a panther1       
skulking along in search of its evening 
meal4 ,jacob walked faster1 and  as he  
did so the animal quickened its pace4   
,for miles it seemed to trail  him1 but 
lacked the courage to come down from the
 ridge4 ,finally with  the lights of the
 settlement in sight1 it uttered a      
despairing yell1 and  was heard from no 
more4 ,at other times he worked in      
lumber camps1 bark  jobs1 on railroads1 
highways1 farms1 and gardens4 ,every man
 or woman he  met had a life story that 
interested him1 these were the romances 
he  read4 ,his retentive mind became    
stored with a mass of unusual facts and 
impressions1 which he thought over and  
over1 figuring out the whys and         
wherefores when his companions were     

asleep4 ,he had not gone to school a    
full term in his life1 but his teachers1
 ,charles ,hamilton and ,benjamin       
,langdon1 were worthy men and he        
absorbed much from them4 ,despite his   
brief schooling he could feel the       
harmonies of words and sentences like  a
 trained rhetorician4 ,he longed to     
express himself1 but he was too shy  for
 general conversation1 and there seemed 
no opportunity to write4 ,in  ,lock     
,haven1 the county seat of ,clinton     
,county1 was a local paper called  8,the
 ,enterprise40 ,it had a correspondent  
in ,gallauher ,township where  ,jacob   
was living1 but he fell sick1 and the   
editor looked about for a  substitute4  
,jacob applied for the position1 and in 
,february1 #ahgf1 in his  twenty-fifth  
year he had the pleasure of seeing his  
first communications  in print4 ,they   
were well done1 even for an old         
correspondent1 and later  he made bold  
to intersperse them with jokes1 and     
pathetic little verses4  ,he was so     

satisfactory that the regular           
correspondent never resumed the  work1  
and he continued with increasing        
reputation1 until in #ahhj he took  up  
the same task for the 8,clinton         
,democrat10 a ,lock ,haven paper1 which 
is still a power in the county4 ,about  
this time love had entered his  life1   
and he married ,clara ,bryan1 a frail1  
pretty girl of sixteen1 of              
,scotch-,irish stock1 the ceremony      
taking place ,september #be1 #ahha4 ,but
 the  happy romance was to be           
short-lived1 a girl baby1 whom they     
called ,rena1  was born on ,april #g1   
#ahhc1 and the young mother's health    
failed rapidly  afterwards4 ,she died on
 ,july #bf1 the same year1 and the      
motherless  infant followed her to the  
grave on ,october #g4 ,jacob ,huff never
 spoke  much of this early bereavement1 
but some of his verses on taking ,myron1
  his son1 by his second marriage1 to   
the graves of the first wife and  child1
 are as beautiful and touching as exist 

in our language4 ,in #ahhe  that        
enterprising and widely-read newspaper  
8,grit10 published in  ,williamsport1   
having long noted the humor and pathos  
of his work1 engaged  him to write      
weekly articles4 ,he adopted the nom de 
plume of 8,faraway  ,moses10 and the    
results were overwhelmingly successful4 
,he was a clever artist1 like so many   
writers1 and drew the sketches  each    
week for the illustrations4 ,these were 
8worked up0 by the staff  illustrators  
and engravers1 and became an important  
feature of the  stories4 ,jacob ,huff as
 a humorist was inimitable1 but his     
immortality  will rest with his serious 
work1 his 8human interest0 articles4    
,the  popularity of 8,faraway ,moses0   
soon passed the bounds of the ,state1   
and  his trite and witty sayings were   
quoted by staid farmers in their shacks 
in ,kansas and the ,dakotas4 ,meanwhile 
he established a modest 8syndicate0  and
 furnished short stories1 verses1 and   
jokes to a number of rural  publications

 under various pen names4 ,he conceived 
the idea of going  ,west1 and his       
travels took him into many ,states1     
where his experiences  were varied1     
though he finally settled in ,colorado4 
,the results of this  change of abode1  
which did not last long1 found          
immortality in a small  book of verses1 
published in #ahie1 by the ,grit        
,company1 entitled 8,songs  of the      
,desert40 ,unfortunately the little book
 was not fully appreciated  at the time1
 though it is destined to rank with the 
choicest productions  of ,eugene ,field 
or ,james ,whitcomb ,riley4 ,meanwhile a
 great and ennobling  influence had come
 to him1 his romance and marriage with  
,charlotte  ,crawford1 the brilliant    
daughter of ,captain ,william ,h4 and   
,priscilla  ,brown ,crawford1 of        
,chatham ,run1 ,clinton ,county1 who    
also for a short  while resided in      
,colorado4 ,the ,crawfords were among   
the earliest settlers  in the ,west     
,branch ,valley1 where they ranked high 

in social and political  life4 ,they had
 intermarried with the ,whites1         
,allisons1 ,stewarts1 and  ,quiggles1   
and each generation had added fresh     
lustre to the name4 ,jacob  ,huff's     
marriage to ,charlotte ,crawford        
occurred at ,grand ,junction1           
,colorado1 on ,october #aa1 #ahib1 and  
soon afterwards the happy couple        
returned to their beloved ,pennsylvania4
 ,the influence of his devoted wife  was
 broadening and inspiring1 leading him  
into a wider sphere1 and to the         
association with persons of distinction 
and rank4 ,he had tasted life in  all   
its bitterness1 had mingled with the    
lowly1 henceforth he was to see  the    
brighter phases of existence4 ,he never 
forgot the past1 it had burned  itself  
in too deeply4 ,he saw the injustices   
and wrongs with an even  clearer vision 
now that he understood how happily it   
was possible to live4    ,one son1      
,myron ,reed ,huff1 named after the     
great liberal preacher1 ,myron  ,reed1  

whom ,jacob warmly admired1 was born on 
,june #bb1 #ahie1 to bless the  union4  
,this boy1 who is a happy blend of his  
talented parents1 is himself  an artist 
and author1 and now contributes articles
 to the ,reading  ,times under the name 
of ,jake ,haiden1 ,jr4 ,and now comes   
the story of his  connection with the   
,reading ,times1 the last important     
event of his  life1 in whose service he 
was at the time of his untimely demise4 
,early  in ,may1 #aijh1 the writer of   
this article received an autograph copy 
of  8,songs from the ,desert10 and it   
quickened the desire1 which he later    
learned was mutual1 to meet the famous  
philosopher4 ,at ,mc,elhattan on        
,memorial ,day1 of that year1 he waded  
across a muddy road in front of the     
home of a mutual friend1 ,mrs4 ,anna ,s4
 ,stabley1 since deceased1 and shook    
the hand of 8,faraway ,moses10 ,jacob   
,huff4 ,a long conversation ensued1  and
 they became warm friends4 ,the writer  
at that time was ,president of  the     

,daily ,record1 at ,bradford1 ,pa41 and 
soon after his new associate  began     
contributing short articles of timely   
interest to that paper4 ,in  ,september 
of that year1 he assumed the same       
position with the ,times1  of ,reading1 
and with the first issue under the new  
management began the  celebrated 8,jake 
,haiden0 articles4 ,they were instantly 
successful1 and  their appeal to all    
classes1 their liberality1 their        
toleration1 their  humanity1 their      
pathos1 made them noted and quoted all  
over the ,state4 ,it  is pleasant to    
recollect that ,jacob ,huff paid several
 visits to ,reading  while contributing 
to the ,times4 ,he was there on ,new    
,year's ,eve1 #aiji1  and for ,new      
,year's ,day prepared an exceptionally  
strong editorial1 for  he also wrote    
many editorials1 called simply 8#aiaj10 
which attracted  widespread attention4  
,his last visit was late in ,january1   
#aiaj1 when  the management of the      
,times entertained him as guest of honor

 at a  dinner at the ,wyomissing ,club4 
,the guests included the ,times staff1  
the publishers of the ,reading          
,telegram1 ,capt4 ,henry ,d4 and        
,herbert  ,r4 ,green1 who were always   
appreciative of his work1 ,john ,d4     
,mishler1  and others of equal note4    
,there were after dinner speeches of a  
brief  character1 and the guest of honor
 closed the evening with a few remarks  
which seemed to come directly from his  
heart4 ,with the early summer1 the      
,times conceived the idea of sending    
8,the ,reading ,times ,philosopher10  as
 he was becoming generally known1 to the
 far west in order to gain  fresh       
impression for his powerful articles4   
,accompanied by his loving  wife and    
son1 and a close friend ,prof4 ,betts1  
he started away gaily4 ,from  letters   
and postcards he must have enjoyed      
himself1 and his note-book  shows he had
 jotted down ideas for five hundred and 
fifty new articles  or editorials4 ,the 
party returned to ,chatham ,run on ,july

 #bj1 where the  philosopher maintained 
a comfortable home1 and on the night of 
,july #ca1  #aiaj1 he was seized with   
heart failure and died a few hours      
later4 ,prompt  medical aid from ,dr4   
,joseph ,m4 ,corson1 his friend and     
neighbor1 was of  no avail1 and the     
giant intellect and friendly spirit     
returned to its  original source4 ,his  
funeral was the occasion of a tremendous
 outpouring  of people1 interment being 
made at ,jersey ,shore4 ,the press of   
the entire  ,state echoed the grief of  
his relatives and friends and the great 
loss  to the literary world4 ,the       
religious beliefs of such a man are     
always  interesting4 ,his can be summed 
up in the final sentence of the little  
speech he delivered at ,reading1 8,we   
look around and in everything we see    
,god40 ,it was the religion of humanity1
 the creed of helpfulness and good      
cheer4 ,he lived up to the letter of his
 faith1 for when he died he left  a host
 of friends and no enemies4 ,he had     

steered his bark through the  perilous  
waters of life without hurting anyone1  
or sullying himself4 ,it  was a         
beautiful life1 but to those who knew   
him comes the ever recurring  regret    
8,why could not he have been spared a   
few years longer80 ,there was  so much  
to do1 the world was crying for his     
help4 ,maybe the publication  of this   
book containing some of his most        
characteristic opinions will  give      
renewed energy to his disciples and send
 them into the thickest of  the fight   
for the betterment of mankind4 ,if he   
had a motto it must have  been 8,i want 
to leave the world a little brighter1 a 
little better1 a  little happier than   
when ,i came in it40 ,who knows1 to what
 extent he  succeeded6 ,time alone will 
measure the fulness of his fame1 but he 
should  rank as a nature lover with     
,henry ,d4 ,thoreau1 as a humanitarian  
with  ,theodore ,parker1 and as a poet  
with ,eugene ,field4    ,it is hoped his
 friends will get together and erect a  

memorial fountain  or statue to his     
memory in ,lock ,haven1 ,jersey ,shore  
or ,williamsport1 in  the ,west ,branch 
,valley whose people and scenery he     
loved so well4                          
,,henry ,w4 ,,shoemaker4    ,september  
#d1 #aiaa4          ,i ,,plead ,,guilty 
,before the law ,i stand a confessed    
criminal2 before ,god ,i am only a weak 
man trying to do good toward my fellow  
man4 ,i am guilty of helping a          
convicted man escape the clutches of    
man-made law4 ,i couldn't help it4  ,the
 love ,i bear humanity welled up1 when  
the young man told his story1  and      
flooded my reason with the sunshine of  
sympathy2 and ,i helped him get  away4  
,early one morning ,i went to my wood   
shed to get kindling to build the       
kitchen fire4 ,in the dim light ,i      
thought ,i saw a man crouching in one   
corner4 ,a second look convinced me that
 it was true--there was a man  crouching
 there4    ,at first ,i was frightened1 
and thought of flight4 ,it's the first  

impulse  that comes over me at sight of 
possible danger4 ,and a strange man1 in 
a strange place for that man to be1 is  
danger enough to startle even a  brave  
man1 like my wife1 for instance4    ,but
 on looking closer1 and catching a full 
glance of the startled eyes1  that      
looked up to me in fear and wild1       
beseeching hunger for something  his    
heart yearned for1 ,i changed my mind4  
,fear gave way to curiosity and         
sympathy4 ,i said1 8,good morning1      
brother--can ,i do anything for you this
  morning80    ,at the sound of friendly
 words he stood up1 and ,i recognized in
 him the  young man who was tried and   
found guilty of forgery1 and sentenced  
to #ae  years in prison4    8,i've      
escaped from jail1 you see10 he said    
with a quiver in his voice1  while his  
boyish blue eyes looked away down into  
my soul 7if ,i still had  it with me74  
8,so ,i see10 ,i replied4 8,and now1    
what are you going to do80    8,you     
heard me telling my story on the witness

 stand last week1 didn't  you80 ,i      
nodded in the affirmative1 and he went  
on4 8,well1 nobody believed  me4 ,they  
thought ,i was lying to save myself from
 prison4 ,i told the court  that in my  
confession1 when first arrested and sent
 to jail1 ,i had plead  guilty to the   
charge of forgery1 to save another man1 
because the father  of that other man   
promised to get me out of prison if ,i  
would assume the  crime and save the    
honor of his family4    8,before ,god   
that story is true4 ,but the family ,i  
was bribed to save has  no honor4 ,from 
the moment that confession was wheedled 
out of me1 ,i was  forsaken1 and left to
 the mercy of a jury whom ,i could not  
convince  that ,i was innocent4 ,not one
 amongst them would believe that ,i had 
honor enough in my soul to assume the   
crime of another1 because ,i am a       
cobbler's son4 ,neither could ,i        
convince them that the rich merchant on 
,b--d street had played false to me4    
8,i do not blame them4 ,i could not     

believe it of that merchant myself1     
were ,i not the victim of his perfidy4  
8,this morning ,i concealed myself in a 
barrel of ashes and other trash and  was
 hauled out of the jail yard by the     
darkie who drives the refuse cart4      
,when we got safely away from the jail  
,i rose up out of the trash barrel  and 
scared that black man half to death4 ,i 
took advantage of his fright  and told  
him if he informed the officials of my  
escape ,i would swear that  he was      
guilty of helping me away1 for a price1 
and because ,i couldn't pay  him he     
would not let me off4 ,he promised to   
keep quiet1 so ,i ran through  the fog  
and came here40    8,why did you come   
here80    8,because ,i know you         
appreciate life and love humanity4 ,i   
knew you would  believe my story1 or at 
least believe enough of it to awaken    
your  sympathy and think of the long    
time fifteen years must be--fifteen     
years  taken out of my life6 ,the time  
is too long1 even if ,i were guilty4    

,won't  you try to think of how long    
fifteen years must seem to one so young 
as  ,i1 and then hide me for a day1 and 
then help me get away tonight8 ,won't   
you1 for the love you bear humanity8    
,won't you do so for my mother's  sake80
    8,for ,god's sake1 stop60 ,i cried2 
and then ,i sat down on the chopping    
block and buried my face in my arms and 
tried to think4 8,fifteen years  is a   
long1 long time to take out of a boy's  
life6 ,fifteen years1 without  sight of 
a mother's face1 without flowers or the 
songs of birds2 without  sunshine and   
the dews that fall from heaven for all4 
,fifteen years shut  up between black   
walls1 and away from the smiles of women
 and little  children4 ,god1 the        
sentence is too hard1 the punishment too
 great6 ,we  can't reform men by        
treating them as wild animals40    ,i   
looked into his frank blue eyes and     
asked3 8,tell me once more1  truthfully1
 are you innocent80 ,and he answered3   
8,before ,god ,i swear that  the story  

,i told you is true60    ,i plead guilty
 to helping a prisoner escape1 and ,i   
feel no pangs of  regret4 ,fifteen years
 between black walls is a long1 long    
time1 and the  boy had a mother4        
,,religion ,,of ,,humanity      ,near my
 home lived a poor1 hard-working1 but   
improvident man4 ,he had a  wife and    
seven children4 ,the oldest was         
thirteen1 and the baby but ten  months  
old4 ,they were poor4 ,the husband and  
father was working only half  time4     
,there is a cause for the dull times1   
but the man did not know what  it was4  
,those who do know are afraid to tell1  
for fear it may injure  their business4 
8,great is ,diana60    ,one month ago   
the wife and mother was taken suddenly  
ill1 and died in  less than twenty-four 
hours4 ,everybody was shocked4 ,it      
seemed so cruel  and hard of ,providence
 to remove that poor woman at a time    
when she was  needed most4 ,many would  
have blamed ,providence of cruelty1 but 
they are  afraid to do so4    ,no one   

knew the reason why this death was      
ordered4 ,some thought it was  even a   
sin to make a study of the case1 8lest  
they offend ,providence40    ,i was made
 to feel very sad when ,i heard of the  
sudden bereavement4  ,little eyes of    
helpless children looked out of the     
night shadows and  made my sleep a      
nightmare4 ,i looked down a long dark   
vista leading out  into future years1   
and ,i saw barefooted and ragged        
children plodding  hopelessly along1    
bearing burdens that should be carried  
by full grown  men and women4 ,i saw    
cruel winter lurking only a few weeks   
off1  generating chill blasts of wind to
 pinch little brown legs and chapped    
hands1 and ,i wondered what the people  
would do about it4    ,while ,i was     
wondering what was to be done1 my wife  
and her near neighbor  were already     
solving the problem4 ,old chests and    
boxes were ransacked for  cast-off      
clothing--for clothes the children had  
outgrown1 but which were  almost as good

 as new4 ,neighbors were set to work    
ransacking chests and  boxes and bureau 
drawers1 and many little dresses and    
pantaloons that  brought back tender    
memories were dug up and cast into the  
common fund of  collected goods4    ,to 
this collection was added a few dollars'
 worth of new goods1 and  thread1 and   
the work of reconstruction began4 ,the  
work was done in my  home1 while ,i     
worked in an adjoining room1 and ,i     
never heard a more  cheerful and happy  
set of women4 ,their hearts1 their      
charity1 their  mother love were all in 
the work1 and these are the tender      
forces that  give inspiration to men and
 women who believe in the religion of   
humanity4    ,in my mind's eye ,i could 
see those orphan children feasting their
 eyes  on the warm flannel petticoats1  
the bright gingham dresses1 the soft    
underwear and little aprons4 ,i felt    
that it was good to be near this        
working gang in the great cause of      
living humanity1 and ,i seemed to share 

the inspiration that gave such happiness
 to the ladies4    ,the minister's wife 
came out and joined the workers1 but    
suggested  that they open each sewing   
session with prayer2 to which a majority
  objected1 saying they only had limited
 time to spare1 and they believed  the  
children would be clothed much sooner if
 the sewing continued  uninterrupted4   
,these good women worked all day        
cheerfully1 and reconstructed a big pile
  of children's clothes1 and when the   
meeting was about to break up the       
minister's wife suggested that they     
kneel and return thanks4    8,god will  
accept my weariness of body and         
contentment of soul10 replied  the      
busiest woman in the bunch4 8,prayer is 
a private business between  two--between
 ,god and the worshipper2 and between   
these two there are no  secrets10 she   
continued4 8,public prayer is the work  
we do in public1  and for the           
people--for ,god's creatures4 ,we have  
been praying1 tenderly  and seriously   

all afternoon1 while many who could have
 joined us in the  good work1 but       
refused1 will be offering up worded     
prayers tonight and  thanking their     
,god--for what8 for escaping real work8 
for the squandering  of a few hours that
 might have been spent with religious   
profit in this  work of charity8 ,so    
long as ,i believe in the religion of   
humanity1 just  so long will ,i believe 
that a work for the bettering of        
humanity goes  ahead of worded prayer40 
8,you may be right1 ,mary10 replied the 
minister's wife4 8,if all women  prayed 
as cheerfully and willingly with their  
hands1 as you have done  this afternoon1
 humanity would be the better for it4   
,perhaps1 after all1  the uplifting of  
the human race is the greatest work we  
can perform4  ,perhaps the bringing of  
joy and happiness to hearts that have   
been filled  with hopelessness and      
gloom1 is the dearest work we can do for
 ,god4 ,i am  not a bigot1 ,mary2 only  
,i believe in both work and prayer40    

,for a long time after the women left ,i
 sat and pondered4 ,the little  hungry  
eyes of the shivering orphans looked out
 of the gloaming1 and  ,i knew what     
their decision would be4 ,their hearts  
would go out to the  workers4 ,when the 
warm skirts and petticoats and little   
trousers shut out  the winter's blast1  
the work of the workers would be        
appreciated4          ,,joe ,,bailey',s 
,,ride      ,people who enjoy all the   
great improvements of the age have not  
the least  idea of the inconvenience and
 the hardships people endured previous  
to  the discoveries of the telegraph and
 the telephone4 ,as an illustration  of 
the conditions prevailing previous to   
the above discoveries1 ,i will  relate  
the story of ,joe ,bailey's dangerous   
trip down the river on an ice  floe1 and
 his brother's exciting ride on horse   
back from ,jersey ,shore1  ,pa41 to     
,northumberland1 a distance of fifty    
miles1 to alarm the people  and bring   
them to the rescue of his brother ,joe4 

,the ,baileys owned the island just     
southeast of ,jersey ,shore1 which is   
still in the hands of the descendants of
 the ,bailey family--,mrs4 ,john ,s4    
,tomb1 and ,mrs4 ,carrothers4 ,i do not 
know whether ,mc,ginnis1 the historian  
of the ,west ,branch ,valley1 mentioned 
this famous ride or not4 ,i got the     
story from ,captain ,william ,h4        
,crawford1 who died several years ago at
 the  age of seventy-seven years1 and   
who was a boy at the time ,joe ,bailey  
went  adrift on the ice floe4 ,crawford 
then lived with his father1 ,hon4       
,george  ,crawford1 two miles west of   
,jersey ,shore4    ,it was in the       
spring1 when a sudden rise in the river 
threatened to  take the ice out of the  
streams4 ,the ,baileys had a small flat 
boat in  the river which they plied     
between the island and ,jersey ,shore4  
,it was  still in the river when the    
early spring freshet came1 and was in   
danger  of being carried away with the  
heavy floe of ice4 ,to save the flat1   

,joe  ,bailey and another man took a    
team of oxen and went to haul the flat  
out  of the stream4 ,while ,joe was on  
the flat fastening a chain to a ring the
  ice suddenly broke up and crowded down
 upon the place1 tearing the boat  from 
the landing and sending the young man   
adrift on the ice4    ,his brother on   
the ,jersey ,shore side of the river    
stood horrified for  a moment1 and then 
fully realizing the importance of       
imminent action1  borrowed a fast       
running horse and set out for           
,williamsport on a dead  run4 ,it was a 
race for life4 ,night was setting in and
 the weather turned  suddenly bitter    
cold4    ,with horse and rider panting  
for breath1 young ,bailey reached       
,williamsport and alarmed the town4     
,many rushed to the bridge1 but none    
were prepared to render service to the  
man going adrift on the ice4 ,they      
could hear him shouting for assistance1 
but the flood bore him down upon  them  
before they could secure a rope to drop 

down for ,bailey to lay hold  of and be 
lifted to the bridge4    ,knowing that  
rescue was impossible1 one thoughtful   
man removed his  overcoat and dropped it
 down into the rushing boat1 and        
received the  freezing man's grateful   
thanks4    ,nothing daunted1 young      
,bailey secured a fresh horse and struck
 out for  ,muncy1 where another bridge  
spanned the ,susquehanna river4         
,again young ,bailey reached the long   
bridge too late to secure help4  ,joe   
passed under the bridge before the men  
could lower a rope4 ,but the  undaunted 
brother would not give ,joe up to the   
horrible death that  awaited him        
somewhere down the roaring1 rushing1    
grinding gorge4 ,no human  aid could    
reach him until he came to the bridge at
 ,northumberland1 so  the brother       
secured a third horse and dashed away to
 the rescue again4  ,no other ride      
through darkness and danger equalled    
that ride1 except the  ride of ,paul    
,revere4 ,and poor ,joe's awful ride in 

the rushing ice gorge  could not be     
surpassed for danger and loneliness by  
any of the dangerous  rides noted by    
historians and sung of by the poets4    
,during the ice floe in the ,west       
,branch of the ,susquehanna river the   
current is extremely rapid and the      
brother dashing away on horseback knew  
full well that no time must be lost if  
he reached the ,northumberland  bridge  
in time to save ,joe4 ,this was the last
 chance4 ,no other bridge  could be     
reached on horseback in time for a      
rescue4 ,there was no railroad  then1 no
 telegraph line1 and the most rapid     
means of communication was by           
horseback4    ,can you blame young      
,bailey then for urging the horse to the
 utmost speed8  ,when the animal slowed 
up young ,bailey laid on the lash and   
urged it to  even faster speed4 ,he and 
the horse could alone rescue the frantic
 man  adrift on the ice floe4 ,all those
 who knew of ,joe ,bailey's peril were  
left far behind4 ,the people of         

,northumberland would know nothing until
  young ,bailey arrived4 ,on and on he  
dashed1 arriving at the town exhausted  
and sore from his long1 hard ride4      
,the town was alarmed1 and a score of   
boatmen and old river men rushed to  the
 bridge1 but not forgetting long ropes  
with nooses prepared at the  end4 ,thank
 ,god he had not passed yet6 ,they could
 hear him calling for  help far up the  
stream4 ,when near the bridge they      
called to him to be  ready and slip the 
nose of the rope under his arms4 ,quick6
 ,joe ,bailey  is safely tied in the    
loop6 ,up with the poor fellow6 ,safe6  
,thank ,god6  ,the two brothers clasp   
each other in their strong arms1 the one
 softly  whispering3 8,joe6 ,oh1 ,joe60 
,,the ,,other ,,man',s ,,baby      ,it's
 a very easy matter to give away the    
other man's baby1 but not so  easy when 
it comes to parting with our own4       
,organized charity does a  whole lot for
 the unfortunate1 but often does it in  
the wrong way4 ,the  mothers who are    

active in organized charity are too     
ready to separate  parents from their   
children1 never thinking for a moment   
what a loss it  is to both parents and  
children to be thus separated4 ,the only
 excuse for  separating parents from    
charity children1 is the economy4 ,it is
 cheaper4  ,charity using painful       
economy to a painful extent4    ,i      
believe it is better1 where it is       
possible1 to allow parents the  society 
of their children1 and children the     
society of their parents1  even if      
charity is asked to step in and keep the
 wolf from the door4 ,it's  better for  
the parents1 ,i'm sure4 ,if anything    
will make a man or woman  better1 the   
society of their own children must      
surely come first in the  elevating     
influence4    ,in my own individual case
 ,i can notice the self-improvement     
since ,i  have a child to look up to me 
with trusting eyes and feel the tight   
clasp of his little hand4 8,a child     
shall lead them40 ,the man who wrote    

this line had the love and power of a   
child's influence in his mind4 ,we  are 
all benefitted and made kindlier and    
more loving in the society of           
children--and especially our own        
children4    ,only a few weeks ago an   
old school-mate of mine lost his wife1  
leaving  him with a family of seven     
small children1 including a baby girl of
 only  ten months4 ,the charitable      
mothers of the neighborhood took an     
interest  in the poor man's affairs1 and
 began to collect clothing for the      
little  motherless orphans and fit them 
out for school4 ,they all thought the   
bereaved man could get a housekeeper    
much easier if the baby were out of  the
 way1 and they began to look around to  
secure a good home for her4  ,they all  
agreed on that point--it was to be a    
good home for the baby1 with  kind      
people4    ,i was present when the      
committee of charitable women met at the
 poor  man's house to inform him that   
they had found a home for ,baby ,ruth4  

,i  shall never forget the look of pain 
that flashed into his eyes at the       
mention of finding a home for his baby4 
,he was too full for words1 but  he     
picked the baby up from where she was   
playing at his feet with a  yarn ball   
and string1 and as he pressed her to the
 bosom of his coarse  blouse ,i saw the 
tears overflow from his grief stricken  
eyes and run  unrestrained down his     
rough cheeks4    ,after a few moments of
 silence he mastered his feelings and   
thanked  the ladies for taking an       
interest in his children1 but hugged the
 baby  again and said3 8,but little     
,ruth is my baby6 ,she was ,mary's baby6
 ,the  last kisses and caresses of my   
poor dead wife were given to our        
baby--her  baby4 ,how can ,i put her    
away so soon after ,mary's death8 ,she's
 so small  and dependent--must ,i begin 
the separation of my family away down at
 the  bottom--away down with the weakest
 and smallest--with the baby--the one   
dearest to the mother who is now dead80 

,the spokeswoman of the crowd told him  
how it would be best for the baby1  and 
for him1 to find it a good home1 with   
kind people1 who would care for  it 8and
 give it all the comforts of life40     
8,yes1 yes10 he interrupted1 8,i know   
you mean it all for the best1 and  ,i   
could agree with you if--if it were some
 other father's baby we were            
discussing1 and not my baby--,mary's    
baby--the last of our family to feel    
the loving caress of her embrace4       
8,is it a crime that ,i am poor and     
wifeless1 and my children are  orphans8 
,can ,i cease to love my children       
because ,i am poor and they are         
motherless8 ,they have been a great     
comfort and pleasure to me4 ,i love     
their prattling voices2 the sound of the
 little toy cart1 as baby drags  it     
across the floor1 is sweeter music than 
the tones of the pipe organ  down in the
 fashionable church4    8,shut your eyes
 to the squalor and rags you see here1  
and let your  minds go back to your own 

homes1 and recall the sound of the      
little tin  wagon1 loaded with tin      
soldiers and rag dolls1 your own        
children used to  pull through the      
house2 and picture yourself standing at 
the gate after  parting with your       
favorite child4 ,picture the scene1 as  
the strange  person carries your baby   
away1 with her child face turned        
appealingly  towards you1 and you make  
no effort to bring her back to your arms
 and  your heart4    8,would you1 my    
good and kind women1 who mean only good 
towards me and my  children--would you  
call this a picture of civilization--a  
scene amongst  enlightened people1 or   
would you dream of it forever afterward 
as a  picture of hell80          ,,the  
,,pathos ,,of ,,humor      ,the average 
reader of newspapers and magazines      
imagines that humorous  writers are     
always funny1 and always saying funny   
things4 ,nothing could  be farther from 
the real facts4 ,the humorous side of   
humanity while  wading through every day

 events1 likewise sees the pathetic     
side4 ,the  pathos of life makes the    
shade and shadow of life's picture1     
while the  funny features make the      
humorous pictures--the cartoons and     
exaggerations4    ,i know a little story
 connected with the work of a humorous  
writer1 so  full of pathos that one can 
but wonder how he could write of the    
humorous  side of life while sitting in 
the very presence of death4    ,during  
the days of his severest struggles for  
recognition 7and bread7  his wife's aged
 father was taken ill1 and the doctor   
said it was only  a matter of a few     
weeks or days with the kind old man1 and
 then his  struggles on the earth would 
be over4 ,and through all the nursing   
and  watching the young author was      
obliged to grind out his 8stuff0 for the
  publishers who kept the wolf from his 
door4    ,one night the faithful        
daughter could endure the strain and    
loss of sleep  no longer1 and was       
obliged to go to bed1 leaving only her  

author husband  to watch at the bedside 
of the dying father1 and to grind out   
his sketch  for the next issue of the   
paper4    ,it was hard to forget the man
 who was passing over the dark stream   
and  concentrate his mind on some       
ridiculous phase of life1 but this he   
must  do1 for he needed yet a humorous  
anecdote to round out the line of       
argument he was introducing--that men   
are more truthful than their dreams4    
,he was attempting to prove that men1   
while in the act of dreaming a lie1     
would tell the truth1 if subject to     
speaking out loud in their sleep4       
,but humorous ideas were slow about     
coming1 and he leaned over1 with  his   
face buried deep in his hands1 and tried
 to think4 ,all of a sudden  he recalled
 an incident of real life1 that would   
serve to complete his  story1 but before
 he could take up his pencil the sick   
man brightened up  and remarked3        
8,pretty hard to write scenes from the  
funny side of life1 while waiting  on   

some one to die60    8',tis that1       
father10 replied the young man tenderly2
 8but ,i just now  recall an incident   
from the life of old ,jim ,mc,grabber   
that will finish  the sketch40    8,poor
 fellow60 softly exclaimed the dying    
man4 8,i pity you1 my boy4 ,it  is more 
than most men are obliged to do4 ,but   
don't mind me4 ,even if ,i  pass away   
while you are working1 ,i will know that
 you are only doing  your duty4         
,besides1 my boy1 it softens death to me
 to feel that others  can forget it     
while it hovers so near4 ,and in        
encouraging you to go on  with your     
work1 ,i hope to leave the impression   
behind that dying men can  remain       
interested in the triumphs and          
achievements of life1 even though  they 
are old and feeble and their heart      
liable to stop forever without a        
moment's warning4 ,go on with your work1
 and ,i will try to sleep40    ,and     
then1 after giving the old man a cool   
sip of water1 and fixing his  pillow    

more comfortable1 he sat down and wrote 
the anecdote that was to  complete his  
sketch4    8,timothy ,mc,grabber always 
kept a private jug in his cellar1 but   
was only  allowed two jiggers of whiskey
 a day4 ,if detected in taking a third  
or  fourth drink1 by his good old wife1 
she proceeded at once to pull his  gray 
hair vigorously until he would promise  
to do so no more4    8,one ,sunday      
morning in mid-summer the good old wife 
went to church  very early1 leaving ,tim
 to follow when ready to do so4 ,this   
was ,tim's  opportunity1 so instead of  
two jiggers from the beloved jug1 he    
took  four--four big ones1 and then     
followed the old lady to the church1    
singing  softly and gleefully to himself
 as he walked cheerfully along4         
8,arrived at church he sat down near the
 open window1 and his system  cleared of
 waste material and a painful           
conscience1 he soon dropped  off to     
sleep4 ,a young kitten climbed in the   
window1 took an exploring  expedition   

out along the back of the seat1 climbed 
up ,tim's passive arm  and began to     
smell his whiskers4 ,scenting nothing   
dangerous1 the kitty  jumped to the top 
of his bald head and sat down to observe
 the house4    8,a wasp flew by1 and    
kitty attempted to catch it1 lost her   
equilibrium  and was falling backwards  
when she grabbed at ,tim's straggling   
locks of  hair with both front feet and 
began to climb back to her lofty perch  
again2 then the congregation was        
startled by ,tim's loud expostulations3 
8#8,hey1 ,nora6 that's anuff6 ,pon me   
sowl oi only tuck four little nips from 
th' joog1 and bedad yee'r pulling all   
th' hair out av me head6 ,and how  the  
divil did yee's foind it out1 anyhow1   
because oi wint down cellar in  th' dark
 and drank wid me oyes shut6'0    ,the  
author smiled at the bit of humor1 and  
turned to the bed with a sigh  of       
relief--only to discover that the old   
man had died while he wrote4            
,,the ,,pine ,,creek ,,tragedy          

,love in a lumber camp is as full of    
romance as love in a king's court2  for 
wherever love sets up her throne the    
world must bow down and  recognize the  
,queen of ,hearts4 ,jack ,cleveland had 
been ,rhoda ,carson's  accepted lover   
ever since she came to be cook's        
assistant in the big camp  run by       
,reuben ,harris1 and this was her second
 winter in the camp4 ,they  expected to 
get married when they went back to      
civilization in the spring4    ,in      
,january ,walter ,jackson1 of ,maine1   
came to work on the job1 and ,rhoda  was
 fairly hypnotized by his manly beauty  
and robust health4 ,before the  first   
week was out ,jack saw how things were  
going1 but still hoped ,rhoda  would get
 over her infatuation and come back to  
her old love4 ,but ,rhoda  quarreled    
with ,jack deliberately and after due   
meditation4 ,she even  insinuated that  
she would be happier if he left the job4
    ,poor ,jack was awfully broken up   
over the affair1 and would have gone    

away  with his broken heart1 but he was 
foreman and couldn't leave his employer 
until after the drive was out of the    
creek4 ,for two months previous to  the 
spring flood ,rhoda did not speak to    
,jack1 but spent a great many  ,sundays 
playing checkers with ,walter in the big
 dining room1 and her  merry laughter   
went straight to poor ,jack's heart4 ,he
 had given her up1  but his love for her
 was greater than ever before4    ,the  
day the flood came1 and they were       
starting the big jams of logs far  up   
the creek1 ,rhoda stood on the high bank
 near the camp to watch the  logs sluice
 through the narrow channel2 for at this
 point the creek cut  through a rise of 
ground1 with banks of red clay on both  
sides rising as  much as twelve feet    
above the water4 ,it was very exciting  
to watch the  great logs dart through   
this narrow channel and pitch over the  
falls #bjj  feet further down the       
stream4    ,while she watched1 a great  
mass of logs came sweeping down the     

stream and  jammed at the head of the   
narrow channel4 ,other logs piled up    
against  the jam4 ,then the men came and
 boldly walked out on the tumbled jam   
and  tried to pry it loose with their   
cant hooks4 ,all at once the great jam  
started1 and the men ran back over the  
logs to a low place in the bank  and    
came ashore4 ,no1 not all the men came  
ashore1 for ,walter ,jackson made  a    
mis-step and fell with one leg pinned   
between two logs4    ,it was lucky for  
,walter that the jam stopped before     
reaching the falls1  for he was unable  
to extricate himself1 and would surely  
have gone over  and lost his life4 ,even
 now he must have assistance before the 
jam  started again1 which was sure to   
occur1 for the water was rising so fast 
behind the logs that it must surely     
break loose in a few minutes4 ,the      
danger was so great that none of the men
 would venture on the jam again1  and   
,walter was given up by those who stood 
helplessly on the bank and  waited for  

the end4    ,at this moment ,jack       
,cleveland came upon the scene and saw  
his rival lying  helplessly out on the  
logs4 ,did a gleam of triumph flash     
through his  heart8 ,no one will ever   
know1 for ,rhoda came up to him and     
shouted in his  ear3 8,can you save him1
 ,jack80 ,ah1 did he catch a gleam of   
the old time  love in her blue eyes8    
,and was it this that urged him on8     
,taking a cant hook from one of the men1
 he leaped down upon the creaking  and  
surging logs and carefully walked down  
to where ,walter lay4 ,with a  strong   
pry on the log that pinned his rival    
fast1 he parted the logs1  then took    
hold of the prostrate man and lifted him
 to his feet4 ,but his  leg was injured 
so badly that ,walter could not walk4   
,dropping his cant  hook1 ,jack picked  
,walter up and staggered with his heavy 
load toward the  bank4 ,the men reached 
down and took ,walter by the arms and   
were lifting  him to safety when the    
great jam started4 ,they saved ,walter1 

but ,jack was  moving on with the logs6 
,rhoda saw his danger and ran a few rods
 further down the stream1 threw  herself
 on the ground and reached far down to  
give ,jack her hands4 ,in  his          
desperation he lay hold of them with a  
firm grasp and ,rhoda braced  herself   
for a mighty pull4 ,but she was now too 
far over the bank to gain  her poise    
again1 and1 with a scream that sounded  
above the roar of the  water1 she       
pitched down upon the head of her jilted
 lover1 and together  they went over the
 falls4 ,he was holding her in his arms 
when they went  over1 and then the      
terrible jam of logs dashed down upon   
them1 while the  horrified men on the   
bank looked helplessly into each other's
 eyes and  groaned with mental pain4    
,in the village graveyard there are two 
stones standing side by side1  where an 
old woodsman1 now bent with age1 visits 
every spring and places  a bunch of     
flowers between the two4 ,it is ,walter 
,jackson4 ,when he goes  away the       

curious people go to the spot and read  
the card attached to the  flowers3      
8,jack and ,rhoda--,they died for me4   
,even the gods could do no  greater     
thing40          ,,the ,,homesick ,,boy 
8,way down upon de ,suanee river1       
,far1 far away4      ,dah's whar my     
heart am turning ebber1        ,dah's   
whar de ole folks stay40    ,foster     
surely knew what it was to be homesick  
when he wrote those lines4  ,he knew the
 heart-aches of a homesick boy4 ,what   
difference whether the  homesick boy is 
white or black8 ,the heart-aches are    
just the same2 the  longings just as    
sad1 the memories just as sweet1 the    
absent parents  just as sacred1 the     
absent brothers and sisters just as     
dear4 ,that song  makes the greatest    
appeal to human hearts for sympathy of  
any song ever  sung--sympathy for the   
black or white boy obliged to go away   
from home and  leave those he loves best
 on earth4    ,in my mind's eye ,i see  
,foster's little black boy who is sold  

into slavery  and driven far away from  
the banks of the ,suanee river to the   
cotton  fields of the ,southwest4       
,perhaps not one soul in all the world1 
besides  his mother and little brothers1
 ever gave the poor slave boy a single  
thought after he was driven out of sight
 of the old cabin home4 ,other  boys    
going away from home--white boys of     
those days1 had all the world  before   
them2 but the poor slave boy had only   
his chains and his broken  heart4    ,i 
see him lying in his hard bed of straw  
at night1 with the storms  howling      
around the cabin and the fading fire    
sending out only a few  feeble rays of  
light--,i see the homesick lad lying    
with his face buried in  his hands and  
threading the old paths that lead up to 
his mother's cabin  through his mind4   
,he sees the dear old river and the wild
 fowls resting  on the bosom of the     
water4 ,he sees his dear old mother     
sleeping in the  old familiar bed where 
he lay when a baby4 ,he sees his younger

 brother  sleeping on the bed of straw  
near the hearth1 his black face turned  
up  for the moon beams to write lines of
 tenderness and love on each well       
remembered cheek4 ,outside the humble   
door the shaggy watchdog watches  over  
the family that owns nothing but their  
wrongs4    ,and1 with my mind on that   
homesick boy1 ,i hear him sobbing1 while
 the  coarse sleeve of his soiled shirt 
absorbs the bitter tears that are  known
 only to the great ,god who has         
commanded every one to love his         
neighbor as himself4 ,in his ears the   
hum of the bees is still heard1 and  the
 music of his father's banjo comes back 
on the wings of memory1 like  the odor  
of funeral-smelling flowers coming back 
from the grave of his  buried hopes4    
,the darkie boy at his saddest best4    
,the homesick boy of ,foster's song is  
not the bad nigger1 full of nigger  gin 
and hatred and evil intentions4 ,the    
slave boy in whom you see only          
centuries of wrongs and oppressions is  

the picture in ,foster's immortal  song4
    ,oh1 the world would be better if   
every one had experienced a season of   
homesick longings1 and cried themselves 
to sleep with the image of absent  loved
 ones painted on their mind with the    
brush of tenderness4 ,better if  all had
 wrongs to remember1 and oppressions to 
leave scars on their souls  that would  
make them feel kinship towards all the  
unfortunate who must  suffer and bear   
their burdens alone4    ,it is a well   
known sociological fact that those who  
suffer hardships  and privations have   
more tender feelings for the poor and   
unfortunate1  than those who were born  
with a silver spoon in their mouth1 and 
never  intermingled with the people of  
the lower world4 ,of course1 there are  
exceptions1 but they are few4 ,when you 
find a wealthy person who feels         
charitable and kind towards all the     
world1 that person has suffered         
heart-aches1 too4 ,he wants the sympathy
 of those who have suffered like  he    

has4 ,there is a fraternal feeling in   
his heart for the unfortunate1  planted 
there by his own heart-aches and watered
 with his own tears4 ,a  man who has    
never known a heart-ache1 never gives a 
single thought to the  homesick boy who 
longed for his ,suanee river home4      
,,friends ,,who ,,pass ,,in ,,the ,,dark
      ,of late ,i have found a very good
 and sincere friend who has1 since then 
been an actual inspiration to me4 ,for  
many years we knew of each other's      
existence1 but we did not move in the   
same orbit1 one might say1 so we  never 
met to touch and smile as we passed each
 other in the busy pursuits  of life4   
,we seemed to pass each other in the    
dark1 and so far apart that  our        
binnacle lights could only be dimly seen
 away off in the gloom of the  night4   
,and all the time we were dreaming the  
same dreams1 cultivating the same  love1
 nourishing the same hope1 fanning the  
same laudable ambition1  admiring the   
same poems1 worshipping the same ,god of

 ,nature4 ,and we  continued to pass in 
the dark4 ,i had my struggles and       
deferred hopes  and pinching poverty and
 unsatisfied desires1 mellowed and made 
smooth1  however1 with the love of      
friends and companions who lived with me
 in the  broad daylight of recognition  
and mental appreciation2 and he had his 
friends and hopes and dreams and slights
 and heart-affecting episodes and       
burning ambition and love of            
humanity--and thus we continued to pass 
and  repass in the dark4    ,dimly and  
intermittingly the thought began to     
develop and dangle before  our mental   
eyes that some day the lights would grow
 brighter in our  binnacles1 the shadows
 become less opaque and the distance    
diminish  when passing by4 ,the thought 
waves we were setting in motion as we   
moved  around in our orbits1 came       
together and intermingled and blended in
  mutual harmony1 and moved us together 
in our wake1 drawing us closer          
together1 even when passing in the dark4

 ,and our binnacle lights grew  brighter
 and finally dispelled the darkness so  
much that we no longer  passed          
unrecognized1 but too far apart to hail 
each other on the social  sea4    ,what 
strange and subtle influence was it that
 planted the seeds of a  mutual desire  
in each heart1 that some day in passing1
 we could call  across the narrow sea   
and hear the sound of each other's      
voice8 ,was it  caused by the thought   
waves that came over the mysterious     
dream sea  and beat softly on the sides 
of our spiritual ship8 ,mutual          
confessions  afterwards revealed the    
fact that our final meeting was not by  
accident1  but through the individual1  
independent1 unknown designs of each    
other4  ,we felt the approach of each   
other's frail boat while still in the   
dark  distance1 and realized that we    
were soon to meet and touch1 with a     
hand-shake and a heart-ache that would  
never cease nor diminish until  we have 
accomplished something to light the     

darkness where other poor  mariners on  
the stormy sea of life pass each other1 
with no binnacle  lights shining out    
over the troubled water1 and no friendly
 call coming  out of the darkness to    
those in distress4    ,no man can do    
successful work alone4 ,we need the help
 and the moral  support and the sincere 
appreciation of all those whom we know  
to be in  sympathy with souls who are   
still pulling against the stream and    
through  the darkness of obscurity and  
neglect4 ,every one of us have friends  
who  pass us in the dark--friends that  
we could sincerely love and respect1 and
  who could aid us and cheer us as we   
pull against the streams of life with   
the sad realization that sooner or      
later1 we shall all be washed away4     
,let us get closer together4 ,let us    
flash the binnacle light of love  and   
,god speed and good cheer as we pass in 
the dark4 ,too often we turn  down the  
light at the approach of an unknown     
ship1 and use our utmost  endeavors to  

pass unseen and unknown4 ,is it because 
our mutual thoughts  are out of tune8   
,and would it be thus if we were all    
mutually working for the uplifting of   
humanity8 ,would it be thus if we were  
all willing to throw out a line to  the 
human boats drifting1 without a rudder1 
down the rapids of poverty  and want8   
,we are all ultimately going out on the 
unknown sea--why not sail closer        
together on the sea of life8 ,soon we   
will drift so far apart that  absolute  
darkness will hide us from the living   
world2 so1 while we live  let us avoid  
passing friends without calling to them 
over the water4          ,,voice ,,of   
,,the ,,stone      ,passing through a   
country graveyard one day last summer1  
and reading  the sad stories engraved on
 the many head stones1 ,i was attracted 
by the silent voice of one particular   
stone1 erected over the grave  of a     
six-year-old boy3 8,how ,many ,hopes    
,lie ,buried ,here60 ,was it an         
exclamation1 or an interrogation8 ,how  

many hopes8 ,only the fathers and       
mothers can truly tell who have buried  
hopes in similar graves4    ,these      
bereaved parents had pictured their baby
 boy as a man1 going out  into the world
 to accomplish great things and fill    
their declining years  with pleasure and
 delight4    ,often they had pictured   
their boy in his manly beauty1 able to  
defend  himself from the enemies that   
always cross the path of the successful1
  and attempt to retard their progress4 
,they had pictured him on the stage  of 
life swaying men with the power of his  
logic and his persuasive voice4  ,men   
were cheering at the bare mention of his
 name1 for he had taught the  people to 
love him and believe in him4    ,they   
saw him holding high positions in the   
social and political  world1 and always 
going higher1 always gaining more and   
more1 always  accomplishing greater     
things--ah1 perhaps holding the highest 
office in  the land--,president of the  
,united ,states6    ,or they may have   

been more modest in their hopes4 ,they  
may have seen  their boy1 grown to      
sturdy manhood1 following the plow and  
reaping the  golden grain2 and1 instead 
of going out into the world to win glory
 and  fame1 they may have pictured him  
contented in the old home1 sitting with 
them in the evening under the vine clad 
porch and discussing the modest  hopes  
of the village people4    ,great hopes  
are not always dreams of future glory   
and fame4 ,the modest  life and         
unostentatious efforts of the humble    
worker bring greater joys  to some      
hearts than all the glories of political
 success4 ,so the hopes  that are buried
 with a favorite child are as many and  
as varied as the  flowers of the hills  
and meadows4    ,but1 whatever the      
hopes1 the heart-aches are ever as deep 
and pathetic1  and the tears as bitter  
with regret4      ,,how ,,many ,,hopes  
,,lie ,,buried ,,here        ,how many  
hopes lie buried here      ,with our    
darling1 we loved so dear6        ,when 

his dear life ended1        ,the shadows
 blended      ,with the darkness so cold
 and drear4        ,and the sad refrain1
        ,again and again1      ,tells of
 a mother's tears and pain1        ,year
 after year1 year after year4           
,how many hopes8 ,ah1 ,god alone        
,knows how many lie under this stone6   
,of the mind well directed1        ,of  
the man they expected--      ,death     
ended all1 the spirit has flown4        
,and that sad refrain1        ,again and
 again1      ,tells of a father's great 
heart pain1        ,always yearning for 
the boy that is gone4        ,how many  
hopes8 ,the breezes sigh1      ,softly  
whispering while passing by3            
,fondest hopes of a mother's breast1    
,hopes that pleased the father best1    
,reaching from earth to the sun-lit sky4
        ,now the sad refrain1           
,again and again1      ,tells of the    
father's and mother's pain--        ,a  
great heartache that will never die4    
,ask the mother how many tears      ,to 

wash that memory from the years8        
,ask the gloomy father why        ,comes
 that half-unconscious sigh8      ,as   
the sound of a lov'd voice disappears4  
,ah1 that sad refrain1        ,again and
 again4      ,tells the story of grief  
and pain1        ,which the             
mellow-hearted reader hears4            
,,ingratitude      ,ingratitude is the  
crime of weak1 inferior intellects4 ,the
 man who will  eagerly accept favors of 
another1 and not feel grateful towards  
the donor  afterwards1 displays the     
coarse inferiority of the brute4 ,the   
savages and  barbarians are noted for   
their spirit of gratitude4 ,they never  
forget a  kindness4 ,the genuine        
superlative ingrate is generally the    
spectacular  white man4 ,the man in whom
 vanity and self-interest predominates  
all the  finer feelings of the soul4    
,very often he is a self-sainted molder 
of public opinion1 standing high  in the
 church and political circles1 with an  
inordinate appetite for  public position

 where he can be observed by the passing
 world4 ,he is the  self-stuffed        
hypocrite who pretends to love          
humanity--for the profit it  will bring 
him4    ,i have in my mind a parasitical
 vampire in human form who had a friend 
moving in political circles where       
railroad passes where supposed to  be   
gifts of friendship4 ,this was before   
the anti-free pass law came  into       
effect4 ,the parasite begged his friend 
to secure a pass for him1  and it was   
secured and given to him1 midst a shower
 of profound thanks  and pledges of     
eternal gratefulness4 ,the pass was used
 to a gluttonous  extent1 and renewed at
 its expiration1 and again accepted with
 many  obsequious bows and renewed      
pledges of everlasting friendship4    ,a
 few years ago the friend died1 and his 
relatives expected words of  kindly     
remembrance from the parasite4 ,even the
 dead man's enemies spoke  kindly of him
 after death had silenced his tongue and
 put the eternal  chill upon his warm   

heart4 ,it is one feature of our higher 
civilization  to always speak well of   
the dead--to overlook the dead man's    
faults  and remember only his good      
qualities4 ,to spurn the dead body of   
one's  fellow man is considered         
cowardly1 dastardly and inhuman4 ,but   
when a  supposed friend turns on the    
body of one whom he made a victim of his
  hypocrisy and deceit while living1 and
 stings the dead with the venom of  a   
treacherous viper1 the world looks on   
and blushes for very shame4    ,this was
 the case with the parasite ,i have     
referred to4 ,no sooner had the  breath 
left the body of the man who had so     
often befriended him1 than  he began    
circulating stories that told how       
corrupt his dead friend had  always been
 during life4    ,did the public applaud
 the ungrateful parasite8 ,did he gain  
favor  from even the dead man's most    
bitter enemies8 ,far from it6 ,those who
  remembered how the fawning sycophant  
had groveled at the feet of the  dead   

man for the favors so lavishly bestowed 
while life lasted1 had  only feelings of
 contempt for the cowardly traducer of a
 dead friend's  character4    ,the world
 said3 8,if the dead man was as bad and 
corrupt as this false  friend paints    
him1 why did he wait until after death  
has sealed his  tongue with the lock of 
eternal silence8 ,why did he court the  
dead man's  society as long as there was
 a favor within reach8 ,was it not his  
sacred  duty to reform the corrupt man1 
instead of sharing gluttonously all the 
good things with him1 with the greed of 
a vampire sucking the life's  blood from
 a sleeping child80    ,the story he now
 tells of his dead friend is but the    
flapping wings of  the vampire fanning  
his new victims to sleep while he sucks 
favors from  the veins of their         
unsuspecting generosity4 ,once a        
parasite1 always a  parasite1 and the   
attempt to build a character out of     
abuse heaped upon  the memory of a dead 
friend1 is but wasted energy4 ,the      

public is a pretty  good judge of       
humanity1 and the human vampire can not 
paint his wings and  pass for a dove1 no
 odds how saint-like he may 8coo0 to the
 other birds  of prey4    ,another case 
of ingratitude came to me just the other
 day3 ,one man  asked another for a loan
 of #bjj4 ,it was taking great risks to 
loan the  fellow anything1 but the      
friend took chances and loaned him half 
as much  as he asked for4 ,now the      
fellow hasn't a single kind word to     
speak of  the generous lender4 ,this is 
not only injuring the man who so kindly 
befriended him1 but the abuse may sour  
the lender against humanity in  general1
 as some day some other honest but      
unfortunate man may be turned  away     
empty handed1 on account of the wound   
made by the ingratitude of the  human   
parasite4    ,those who are not thankful
 for small favors1 are absolutely barren
 of  gratitude1 and deserve no favors at
 all4 ,and where there is no gratitude  
there are no generous impulses1 no      

spirit of charity1 no love for          
humanity1 either dead or alive4 ,and the
 world is full of them4 ,i have  only   
referred to two cases--two of the most  
common cases--every reader  knows of a  
dozen other cases4 ,ingratitude is the  
white man's great sin  against humanity4
          ,,orphan ,,eva      ,sitting  
at the window one cold frosty morning ,i
 saw little ,eva ,yarnell  passing the  
house with a bundle of clothes under    
each arm4 ,eva is a girl  of twelve     
years1 and an orphan4 ,her mother died  
when she was but six  years old4 ,i've  
always been interested in the child     
because she had been  shifted from      
pillar to post1 as the saying goes1 one 
relative keeping the  little girl as    
long as their means lasted1 when she    
would be moved on to  another aunt or   
uncle or cousin or grandmother4 ,her    
relatives were all  poor1 and it seemed 
as though ,providence was forcing little
 ,eva to share  all the poverty and want
 of her relatives4    ,she has at times 

been a schoolmate of my boy1 so when he 
came into the  room ,i asked him where  
little ,eva was moving to4    8,oh1     
she's all right now1 papa60 the boy     
exclaimed4 8,she's going to live  with  
,bingman's1 just above town1 on a farm4 
,she's such a good worker1 and  ,i      
believe ,mrs4 ,bingman will appreciate  
,eva and make it pleasant for her4  ,the
 poor child is just about naked1 and    
,i'm sure ,mrs4 ,bingman will dress  her
 better than she was ever dressed in her
 life40    ,i caught my boy's hopeful   
feeling and inwardly rejoiced over      
little  ,eva's good fortune4 ,but after 
sitting for a time thinking about the   
life  of orphan ,eva1 it struck me      
forcibly about the child's              
recommendation4  8,she's such a good    
worker10 my boy said4 ,working her way  
through life 8at  the age of twelve40   
8,what an age6 ,what a stern life for a 
girl of twelve6  ,god help you1 child1  
and send you a kind mistress60 ,i said  
aloud1 as ,i  turned to my desk with a  

queer sad feeling tugging at my heart4  
,lately ,i had written a sketch         
describing the heart-aches of ,foster's 
colored boy1 of whom he sang in the     
tender words of 8,the ,old ,folks at    
,home10--the far off home on the ,suanee
 river2 and ,i had cried over the boy   
,i had pictured in my mind1 because ,i1 
too1 have suffered with heart-aches  and
 loneliness and soul hunger4 ,but here  
was a little homeless girl who  could   
never more dream of a mother back in the
 old home4 ,there was no one  at home to
 wish her back again1 not even a home4  
,there was no one waiting  with         
heart-aches to see her1 unless there are
 heart-aches beyond the  grave4    ,i   
opened the door to catch a last glimpse 
of the little orphan and saw  her       
bravely trudging up the wet street1     
occasionally shifting the bundles  from 
one arm to the other1 for one of the    
bundles was much larger than  the       
other--so large that it cramped her     
chubby arm while holding it close  to   

her body4    8,such a good worker60 ,the
 words persisted in coming back to me1  
leaving a  sadness at my heart that     
could not be shaken off4 ,how long has  
she been a  good worker8 ,when did she  
first learn how to work8 ,such an age   
for such a  grand reputation6    ,i     
thought of the drones all over the      
country who never win such a            
reputation1 though they live on the fat 
of the land1 and feel as far  above     
little ,eva ,yarnell as the gods are    
supposed to feel above a toad4  ,in     
whom1 ,i wonder1 do the gods feel the   
most interest--in ,eva ,yarnell1 or  in 
the fat and sleek drones who sit in     
upholstered chairs and try to mold  the 
opinions of the world4    ,i do not     
know--,i can not believe that this world
 is ruled by the hand  of love1 no odds 
whether that hand is divine or not4 ,law
 is stern1  severe and unrelenting2 the 
one side padded with the down of mercy1 
but the reverse side rough with cruel   
thorns and painful projections4  ,and   

the reverse side seems always turned    
towards the weak and the                
helpless--towards the motherless orphan 
,i had in my mind--little ,eva          
,yarnell4    8,such a worker60 ,such an 
age6 ,god send her kind mistress and a  
sheltering  home6          ,,loving     
,,the ,,world      ,there is a          
difference between loving the world for 
the world's wealth's  sake1 and loving  
the world for the sake of humanity4     
,there is often  this difference between
 the patriotism of men4 ,some patriots  
love the  surface of the world where    
they are located far more than they love
  the people who share it with them4    
,some patriots love the wealthy of      
their neighboring countries1 while they 
are totally indifferent towards  the    
toiling poor of that same country4 ,in  
,america the people who love  humanity  
for humanity's sake1 give their         
sympathies to the plundered and         
outraged peasantry of ,russia1 while    
those who love the world for wealth's   

sake give their sympathies to ,emperor  
,nicholas and the parasitical  royalty  
of that unhappy country4    ,this is why
 the ,united ,states are not unanimously
 in sympathy with the  oppressed people 
of all other countries--the reason why  
the people of  this country are not     
unanimously in sympathy with the toilers
 of our own  land--the difference       
between loving the world's wealth1 and  
the world's  people4 8,love your        
neighbor as yourself10 is possible only 
where worldly  interests are mutual and 
agreeable4 ,where two men are striving  
for the  dirty dollar in sight1 love is 
sure to dodge out of sight and silently 
steal away4    ,even where men love the 
world for humanity's sake1 there is a   
difference in the intensity of that     
love4 ,some men love with a hopeful     
optimistical fervor1 dreaming of a day  
when there shall be no oppression  or   
plundering of the weak by the powerful4 
,they see the millennium of  earthly    
tranquillity and peace in the near      

future1 when all men shall be  brothers1
 and co-operation shall take the place  
of bitter competition1  and motherhood  
and childhood shall be the great care   
and protection of  the nation1 and no   
one shall go to bed and cry themselves  
to sleep to  forget the pangs of hunger 
and drown the memory of personal wrongs4
    ,in most cases these hopeful        
altruists never suffered real hunger or 
bitter wrongs4 ,they have always had    
enough of the world's material  wealth  
to drive the wolf of hunger away from   
their door1 and only see  the real poor 
through their dreams4 ,once in my life  
,i cried for bread  when there was not a
 crumb in my mother's house1 nor even a 
single penny  to buy bread4 ,it was only
 for one day1 but the horror of that one
 day  pictured poverty to my youthful   
mind in all its horrible and unrelenting
  want and squalor4 ,and the old        
gloom-blistered memory of that one day  
of  unsatisfied hunger haunts me still1 
like the recollections of the most      

poignant pain4    ,i firmly believe that
 that recollection of absolute poverty  
in my  childhood days is what makes my  
love for humanity so hopeless and  moist
 with despondent tears4 ,i can not even 
dream of a day when love  and justice   
will rule the world4 ,greed1 greater    
than all else1 human  greed predominates
 over all the world4 8,for what will a  
man not give in  exchange for his own   
life80 ,this can be carried still lower 
and made to  read1 8,for what will a man
 not sacrifice for his own comfort80    
,and when  it comes to a sacrifice1 who 
so easy to offer up as the 8helpless    
poor80    ,abraham hadn't the remotest  
idea of offering himself up on the altar
 he  had built4 ,helpless ,isaac would  
have been the victim1 had not the more  
helpless ram appeared tangled in the    
bushes1 and was substituted for the     
lad4    ,the primitive originators of   
the sacrificial altar had only the weak 
and  helpless and defenseless in mind as
 the intended sacrifice to their ,god4  

,the innocence of the lamb and the dove 
did not appeal to their calloused       
hearts4 ,they were intent on saving     
themselves1 even though the whole  world
 must be sacrificed4    ,that spirit is 
still prevailing where the weak and the 
strong meet in  the struggle for        
existence1 and the weak and innocent do 
not appeal to  sympathetic hearts when  
they ask for mercy4 ,the business and   
commercial  altars must have a sacrifice
 for the benefit of the strong4 ,this   
picture  is always before me4 ,my love  
for the world is like the love of a     
despondent mother for her sick child4   
,,lost ,,in ,,the ,,snow      ,no one   
who has never lived near an ,indian     
school has any idea of the  loneliness  
and homesickness that fills the poor    
little hearts of the  ,indian youths who
 have been torn away from the rude      
,indian home and  herded together       
between gloomy brick walls1 so different
 from the teepee  of their semi-savage  
parents4 ,the government department in  

charge of  these schools talk of        
abolishing the schools located at a     
distance from  the reservations1 and    
building school houses right in the     
village1  retaining only four such      
schools as that of ,carlisle1 ,pa41 to  
serve as  high schools for the larger   
youths4    ,i believe there is much     
sense and good judgment in this4        
,civilization  should not force painful 
conditions upon the children of our     
copper-skinned wards4    ,i recall to   
mind the desertion of five little       
,indian boys from a school  near which  
the writer spent several years1 and a   
more pathetic tale never  was told4     
,like the instinct of bees and animals1 
these ,indian boys knew  that their     
native village lay to the southwest of  
the school1 and when  homesickness felt 
so unbearable that it could not be      
endured1 they stole  from their         
dormitory one dark night in ,november1  
swam the river and  started to climb the
 rugged side of the great ,rocky        

,mountains4    ,little ,jake ,hargison  
was but six years old1 and the baby of  
the  deserters1 but he struggled through
 the dark and up the rocky side of the  
towering mountain with courage          
stimulated by the hope of seeing home   
and  parents within a few days4 ,being  
only boys1 they had not provided food   
for the journey1 each lad carrying only 
a small lunch in his pockets4    ,at    
daylight they were far up on the        
mountain side1 half frozen2 for they    
had come to an impassable cliff and so  
were obliged to wait until the  daylight
 came1 not daring to build a fire lest  
it be seen from the valley  where the   
school buildings were located4    ,it   
was past noon when they finally reached 
the top of the mountain  and struck out 
boldly to cross the broad mesa extending
 far to the  southwest4 ,far in the     
distance they could see the mountain    
range at  whose foot nestled the ,indian
 village they called home4 ,they knew it
  was seventy-five long miles away1 but 

they never flinched or thought of       
turning back4    ,late in the afternoon 
the sky grew gray with bleak clouds1 and
 the  northeast wind chilled them to the
 bone4 ,there were already four inches  
of snow on the mesa1 and the eldest of  
the boys knew instinctively that        
another snow storm was in the air4 ,but 
they had on stout government  shoes1 and
 did not fear the snow4    ,by dark the 
snow storm burst on them in all the fury
 of a ,rocky ,mountain  blizzard1 and   
the boys began to search for a          
sheltering rock4 ,fortunately  they came
 to the brow of a great range of        
mountains1 and down below the  rim rock 
they knew there would be shelter from   
the storm and the winds4  ,slowly and   
tortuously the boys climbed down through
 a crevice in the  great rim rock1 and  
#bjj feet below they came to a level    
plateau1 where  they gathered wood and  
built a fire close up to the            
perpendicular wall4    ,sitting by the  
warm fire they ate their lunch1 having  

saved it all  through the weary day1 and
 they could hear the storm king howling 
through  the spruce trees and shrieking 
through the canyons on either side4     
,and where they had camped the snow was 
drifting over the cliff and  falling    
upon them very fast4 ,they knew the     
history of these snow  drifts--knew that
 the snow sometimes stacked up to the   
depth of fifty feet  on the lee side of 
the rim rock1 but it was too late to    
retreat now4    ,at midnight their fuel 
became exhausted1 and the snow drift was
 so deep  that they could not get more4 
,little ,jake complained of being       
sleepy1  and his older brother sang an  
,indian song to keep him awake4 ,the    
little  fellow began to repeat the      
prayer his teacher taught him1 and fell 
asleep  with the words still on his     
lips4 ,the others soon followed him into
  dreamland1 and all night long the     
merciless snow drifted over the tall    
rock and buried them under many feet of 
spotless robes4 ,the winds howled1  the 

storm shrieked and groaned and higher   
the snow drift grew upon them4    ,late 
in ,july a prospecting party found them1
 the elder brother holding  little ,jake
 in his stiffened arms4          ,a     
,,plea ,,for ,,childhood      ,in the   
name of humanity1 in the name of        
civilization1 and in the name of  ,him  
who died for men1 ,i would make a plea  
for the little children who are  born   
into the world to be landless and       
homeless through life4 ,does it  seem   
possible to the thickest headed thinker 
that a just ,god would send  children   
into a world already privately owned by 
previous generations8  ,are ,god's laws 
similar to the ,european laws of        
primogeniture1 giving the  best of all  
to the first born--to the first         
generations1 and to be handed  down from
 father to son1 to hold and own forever8
    ,i can't believe that there is any  
priority handed down to a special few   
from the ,god of ,all4 ,every sense of  
common justice rebels at such an  idea4 

,if it is our ,god1 and our heaven1 and 
our eternity1 it must then  surely be   
our earth1 our land1 and our oceans1 and
 our mountains1 and our  air4 ,will a   
higher civilization recognize this      
picture of simple justice8  ,and will we
 reach a higher state of civilization   
without giving all an  equal share in   
,god and the earth8    ,i do not know4  
,it might create serious complications  
to remove the  priority claim of the    
selected few who now claim the natural  
wealth  of the world4 ,the present state
 and condition of the social world and  
the industrial world may be exactly as  
,god wishes it to be4 ,every one  must  
answer this question for himself2 for   
while it is true that ,god  created man1
 every individual creature has a        
peculiar way of forming the  character  
and attributes of his ,god4 ,men still  
quote scripture to prove  that ,god     
believed in human slavery4 ,if this is  
true1 then ,god surely  allowed little  
innocent babes to be born into slavery1 

and to be driven  by the lash from the  
cradle to the grave4    ,if this is     
true1 then child labor in our mills and 
factories for wages1  is not nearly so  
horrible as chattel slavery1 and ,god   
must look with  approbation at the      
little consumptive boy or girl dying by 
inches while  watching the shuttles fly 
back and forth in the loom1 of which    
they are  part of the machinery4        
,these questions each one must settle   
for himself2 but doesn't it seem  more  
natural and human to decide in favor of 
the children8 ,when you look  into the  
innocent eyes of the child sitting in   
its mother's arms1 can you  consign that
 child to the slavery of the factories  
and mills1 and then  wash your          
conscience clean with the wet sponge of 
tearful prayer8 ,sit  right up straight 
in your chair at this very minute and   
decide the case  between yourself and   
the children and your ,god--did ,god1 or
 did he not  send these helpless and    
dependent children into the world to    

become mere  slaves1 and to live        
landless and homeless until he calls    
them hence8 ,yes8        ,within the    
eyes of each trusting child        ,that
 look straight into mine1      ,there is
 a plea1 so meek and mild1        ,so   
humble and supine--      ,a plea for    
mercy and human love1        ,for       
justice and for right1      ,for a share
 in the earth and the ,god above1       
,and all the blessings in sight4        
,perhaps it was ,god who planted there  
,this plea1 ere they were born2         
,this innate plea for an equal share    
,of all the meat and corn1      ,how can
 men rob them of their right8           
,and hear their loud demands1      ,when
 they see the wealth of the world in    
sight1        ,and their father's empty 
hands4        ,i know the sigh of each  
full grown breast        ,for a home and
 an acre of soil2      ,a vine and a fig
 tree2 to sit and rest1        ,when    
weary of work and toil4      ,did the   
,god of ,nature plant that sigh         

,in the babe1 long ere it smiled8       
,and this plea1 like a rainbow1 in the  
eye        ,of the trusting1 yearning   
child8        ,may the ,god of heaven   
pity us all6        ,but pity the       
children now6      ,let us kiss the spot
 hurt in each fall        ,and smooth   
the troubled brow2      ,for how shall  
we1 as a little child1        ,win back 
a place in heaven1      ,if the child is
 robbed1 long ere it smiled        ,of  
the part ,great ,god has given8         
,,thoughts ,,on ,,immortality      ,i do
 not know2 yet the longings and         
yearnings of my soul cry out always  for
 immortality4 ,i seem to hope always    
that somewhere in the universe  there is
 stored away a great pity that responds 
to the longings and  yearnings of my    
soul1 and stands ready to help me when  
the earth fades  away from sight and the
 shadows fall thick and deep around me4 
,i do not  know4 ,the desire in my soul 
is father to my trembling hope1 and hope
 may  pass away when life goes out into 

the unknown and my body of clay is  left
 to crumble and decay and disintegrate  
and go back to the original  elements4  
,there will be a physical change1 the   
light and heat and movement will  go out
 of my body1 like the light blown out in
 a vacant house when the  inhabitants   
move away4 ,but whither goes the        
inhabitants that now dwell  within me   
when the lights are blown out and the   
doors locked and sealed  with the       
eternal lock that will not open to the  
key of time1 ,i do not  know4    ,in my 
sober contemplation of all that lies    
before1 it seems to me that  love and   
justice and mercy and hope are of       
ephemeral existence if they  last only  
while the light is in the body4 ,and ,i 
ask myself3 8,is there  no life and     
light and mercy and hope and pity beyond
 these things we  feel and hear and see8
 ,are we to suffer injustice during life
 that will  never be righted for us8    
,are we to love1 and lose the object of 
our love1  and never find it again8 ,are

 these bright minds of ours1 so capable 
of dreaming such beautiful dreams1 to be
 brought to the very highest  possible  
heights of intelligence1 and then       
suddenly be snuffed out1 like  blowing  
the lighted flame from a candle1 leaving
 all in darkness and  gloom80    ,i do  
not know4 ,the prophets and philosophers
 were only men1 with  yearnings and     
longings like my own1 and as weak and   
helpless to pull  aside the curtains and
 peep into the future as ,i find myself4
 ,and yet ,i  am not satisfied to die   
forever2 for ,i do know that there is an
 eternity  for all these things existing
 in space4 ,space is eternity itself4   
,the  human mind can not picture a      
condition when worlds and planets and   
space  will be no more4 ,nothing can    
come from nothing1 neither can matter   
pass  into nothing and leave no trace   
behind4 ,the length of the universe is  
eternity1 and so is the width and the   
breadth4 ,it can not pass away and      
leave but a hole1 for even a hole must  

have sides and dimensions4    ,i do not 
know2 perhaps the ox in the field knows 
more about immortality  than man1       
perhaps less1 perhaps nothing at all4   
,it would not need to know  much about  
it to outstrip me in knowledge on this  
one particular subject4  ,he may have   
longings and yearnings1 the same as me1 
for how shall the ox  receive his share 
of justice and equity if he passes away 
with this life  and is known no more8   
,i do not know2 justice must surely mean
 the same rewards for the ox as it      
means for man1 for how can simple       
justice discriminate between animals1   
and still remain simple justice8 ,and   
the man who is willing to grasp  an     
immortality that discriminates between  
him and the ox1 is neither  merciful1   
charitable1 nor just4 ,immortality must 
surely embrace all the  living          
creatures1 or part of life would be left
 behind1 and immortality  would be      
incomplete and imperfect4 ,god must be  
the ,god of all4 ,if the ox  is an      

inferior creature1 the fault lies with  
the creator and not with the  created   
thing4 ,if there is no justice and mercy
 for the ox1 then justice  and mercy    
have limits1 and ,god is not so powerful
 to save his creatures  as he is to     
create them4    ,i do not know2 my faith
 in immortality may be the child of my  
hopes and  longings4 ,if ,i am always to
 be ,i always was in existence          
somewhere4 ,i am  positively certain    
that ,i know of no evidence to prove a  
past existence1  for hope does not lead 
backward4 ,hope points always ahead1    
from where  the winds of the future are 
always blowing4 ,i know that ,i desire  
to live  always1 to think always1 to    
hope always1 to love on and on forever  
and  ever4          ,,teach ,,sentiment 
,sentiment is a creature of education4  
,a child will naturally imitate its     
parents4 ,if they are unfeeling and     
cruel1 the child will be the same1  at  
least until it falls under a different  
influence4 ,sentiment is not  inherited4

 ,the average child is cruel and        
heartless until old enough to  imitate  
the sentimental spirit of old people4   
,therefore1 it should be  the first     
lesson impressed upon the child mind    
that cruelty and wanton  heartlessness  
is brutal1 and does not belong to       
civilized man4    ,in my own case ,i    
have always been opposed to keeping pet 
animals or birds  confined in a         
cage--no1 not always3 ,when a boy ,i was
 always catching birds  and squirrels   
and rabbits to start a menagerie4 ,i    
remember one time of  keeping a red     
squirrel in a cage for two years4 ,i    
hadn't then learned  that kindness to   
the weakest of ,god's creatures shows a 
largeness of the  human heart4 ,i was   
then a lad of fifteen years4    ,but one
 day while watching the red squirrel    
leaping from one side of  the cage to   
the bottom1 then bounding to the other  
side and back again1  and on to the     
opposite side and back again1 over and  
over again1 all  through the day1 and   

day after day1 for the exercise it      
needed to keep  its health--one day     
while watching the poor imprisoned      
animal at its  daily exercise1 the      
thought came to me that the little      
animal would be  so much happier outside
 the cage4 ,then it dawned on me that ,i
 was simply  keeping the poor thing     
imprisoned to gratify my own selfish    
pleasure4  ,simply to look at and enjoy 
its efforts to make life tolerable under
 such  distressing conditions4 ,i had   
actually been enjoying the restless     
efforts  of the squirrel to make prison 
life healthful2 for had the animal sat  
down to mourn and pout and sorrow for   
the freedom it once enjoyed1 it  would  
have died in a few weeks4    ,my heart  
smote me4 ,i saw what a cruel jailor ,i 
had been4 ,it's bad enough  to imprison 
bad men and shut them away from the     
sunlight and flowers  and the smiles of 
good women and children1 just as though 
darkness and  heartaches and misery     
would make a human being better4 ,but   

here ,i was  imprisoning an innocent    
animal simply for the selfish pleasure  
that comes  from the possession of      
things not justly my own4 ,like the     
millionaire who  gets a monopoly on the 
necessaries of life1 and forces the     
people to pay  tribute into his coffers 
for the sole and only pleasure of       
possessing  more dollars than his       
neighbors4    ,if he has sentiment      
enough to use those dollars for the     
benefit of  civilization and to relieve 
the distress of the people1 it is not so
 bad1  but hoarding up for the pleasure 
that comes from sheer possession1 is    
worse than brutal--it is maniacal4      
,well1 my conscience smote me on the    
educated end of my sentiment1 and one   
day ,i opened the cage and let the      
squirrel go back to the woods4 ,i had   
learned a lesson ,i never forgot4 ,the  
awakened sentiment in my soul never     
slumbered again4    ,sentiment is       
contagious4 ,my boy caught the happy    
mental disorder much  earlier than his  

father did4 ,a few weeks ago1 he1 too1  
started a  menagerie4 ,he caught two    
mice and put them in a cage4 ,at the end
 of two  weeks his young heart felt the 
sentimental pangs of conscience1 and he 
liberated his unwilling prisoners4      
,the world is growing better4 ,the boy's
 sentiment did as much for him in  two  
weeks as mine did for me in two years4  
,the two liberated mice may  do me a    
trifle of damage while at large1 but    
when ,i consider that the  boy let his  
heart out at the same time he liberated 
the mice1 ,i knew the  world would be   
the gainer in the end4          ,,the   
,,soul ,,of ,,sorrow      ,sorrow is not
 always gruesome and heart-breaking4 ,it
 has a lifetime  influence1 providing   
the fiber of the soul is strong enough  
to withstand  the strain4 ,not long ago 
there was a musical contest in a        
,pennsylvania  city1 and one of the     
young ladies to take part in it had     
given up the  thought of going into the 
contest1 because her mother lay at the  

point of  death the day previous to the 
departure of the companies who were     
going  to the distant city to show what 
their town could do in a musical way4   
,but during the night the mother's      
condition changed for the better1 and   
she urged her daughter to go2 for on her
 the town depended to bring back  some  
of the prizes to be given to the        
sweetest singers of the state4    ,and  
so she went1 her heart very much lighter
 since the happy change in  her mother's
 condition4 ,anyhow1 going out into the 
world to compete for  a prize1 with some
 hope of winning1 has a buoyant effect  
on the heart4  ,oh1 if all the world    
could but feel a slight hope of winning 
a prize  when starting out in the world1
 how much happier the world would be6   
,but to most of the average people the  
world's prizes are hanging up so        
distressingly high that only the well   
prepared have any chance of winning     
them4    ,the parents who carelessly or 
helplessly send their children out into 

the  world uneducated1 to compete with  
college graduates1 are sending them     
into a hard proposition4 ,and the state 
government that will sleep while  one   
portion of the people are being educated
 to take care of themselves1  and a     
larger number are growing up in helpless
 ignorance and sent out  into the world 
to compete with the few educated        
ones--the state or public  that can     
sleep while such an injustice is being  
perpetrated on the  weakest and most    
helpless of its subjects1 needs to have 
its conscience  touched with the        
awakening finger of justice4 ,the       
boasting cry that  in this country      
everybody's child has an equal          
opportunity to gain a  livelihood1 is as
 false as hell4 ,there are colleges in  
our so-called free  land where the son  
of a ditch digger or a washerwoman could
 no more enter  than a miserly rich man 
can enter the kingdom of heaven4    ,but
 ,i have drifted4 ,i can't help but     
drift4 ,every time ,i try to paint  a   

picture1 the injustice of the unjust    
crowd in and fill the distant           
perspective1 and get painted into the   
sunset and change the gold into         
blackened lead4    ,just one hour before
 the young lady was to go on the stage  
to sing her  solo1 a dispatch brought   
the sad and shocking news that her      
mother was  dead4 ,nobody who knew of   
the sad news thought for a moment that  
the  bereaved and heartbroken girl would
 attempt to sing4 ,they were all        
disappointed1 of course1 but who could  
ask her to go on the stage with a       
sorrow as deep as hers8 ,but she did not
 break down4 ,oh1 she had been so       
confident of winning the prize1 and her 
town's people would be so greatly       
disappointed if she failed6    ,she told
 the manager she would try1 providing he
 would tell the audience  of her great  
sorrow4 ,she wanted the sympathy of the 
people--it would give  her strength1    
while it would give them patience and   
tolerance4    ,after the manager had    

gone before the footlights and told the 
sad story  the people waited in silence 
for the young singer to appear4 ,there  
was  no applause4 ,the people felt the  
presence of death1 or sorrow and heart  
aches4 ,the accompanist struck the first
 note and the brave girl commenced  to  
sing4 ,the song was suitable for a sad  
heart to sing4 ,she could sing  her     
sorrow from the depths of her soul4     
,the crowded house sat spellbound4 ,that
 song from her soul of sorrow  thrilled 
every heart as it had never been        
thrilled before4 ,the notes1  clear and 
sweet1 came laden with the tears her    
brave soul was holding  back4 ,the      
people sat in deep silence1 but with    
beating and throbbing  hearts and active
 minds4 ,they pictured the dead mother  
in that distant  town1 sleeping         
silence--ah1 never again1 never to      
awaken to greet her  daughter on her    
return4    ,and the singer pictured that
 angeled mother listening from that far 
off  shore1 and she sang to her while   

the audience listened4 ,for as much as a
  minute the people sat in silence after
 the singer had left the stage1 and     
then the cheers and tears told of the   
prize she had won4          ,,visiting  
,,the ,,old ,,home      ,my last visit  
to the home of my childhood filled me   
with gloomy thoughts4  ,nothing remained
 of the old home but the ruins of the   
cellar walls4 ,the  house had been torn 
down and removed from the spot4 ,i had  
expected to  wander through the deserted
 rooms and try to recall the old hopes  
and  memories that filled my soul when  
,i lived in the old log cottage4 ,these 
memories came back but slowly1 because  
the old landmarks had been removed  and 
there was nothing to suggest the old    
incidents that filled my life  when a   
boy4    ,the location of the house was  
in a deep1 narrow valley1 with hills on 
three sides and a dense woods in front1 
with no other human habitation in       
sight4 ,it was in this secluded spot ,i 
dreamed the dreams of dissatisfied      

youth4 ,and yet these dreams are very   
dear to me now1 as ,i dig them out of   
memory1 clothed in their old rags and   
hunger and famished ambition4 ,the      
memories of the pain ,i suffered in this
 dreamy spot came back to me like  old  
friends who suffered with me in those   
days4    ,it was here that ,i held my   
dear old father's hand while he passed  
over  the bar and drifted out on the    
,sea of ,death4 ,how plainly the scene  
comes  back to me as ,i stand on the    
crumbling walls and recall every feature
 of  the room in which he passed away4  
,he asked for me in the last hour and   
requested me to stay with him4 ,perhaps 
he understood me better than the  older 
boys1 or he may have believed that ,i   
understood him best of all the  family4 
,it was not his desire to go4 ,he had   
hoped for ten more years of life1 but   
now he realized that the end was near at
 hand4 ,he spoke not a word of  being   
prepared to go nor did he ask me to meet
 him in heaven4 ,he belonged  to the    

class of thinkers who do not know1 and1 
realizing that he knew  nothing of the  
future1 did not speculate on            
possibilities4 ,the last words  he said 
were3 8,you may look upon men when      
dying1 but ah1 my son1 you will  never  
know what death is until you come to die
 yourself60    ,these words have haunted
 me all through life1 and ,i often think
 of the  dreaded experience he          
prophesied for me4 ,at that hour ,i     
could have gone  away with him          
contentedly1 and ,i really wished then1 
while ,i held his  hand1 that we two    
could go out together1 and ,i never1    
never return4    ,but ,i could not keep 
my mind on death even then2 for ,i noted
 the droning  of a bumble bee that beats
 its head against the window and tried  
to  escape from the room4 ,and while    
looking at the bee ,i noted the voice of
 a  catbird out in the orchard1 singing 
his sweetest notes4 ,i tried to locate  
him1 and did finally detect him sitting 
on the branch of an apple tree  father  

had planted for me when ,i was yet a    
child4 ,then a bluebird lit on  a tall  
weed just outside the window3 the weed  
bent and the winds caused  the bird to  
dance and sway up and down1 and from    
right to left4    ,and there was sobbing
 and crying in the outer room4 ,my old  
mother was  heartbroken at the parting  
and my older brother was trying to      
console  her4 ,when the catbird flew    
away1 followed by the blue one--the     
bumble bee  found the raised window and 
flew away4 ,then ,i turned to the       
bed--father  had likewise gone away4    
,only the cold clay remained4           
,standing on the ruins of the old home  
,i recalled it all once more as  vividly
 as though it happened but yesterday4   
,how strangely we live1 how strangely we
 die1 how strangely we live on  after   
loved ones have gone from us4 ,how      
strangely we recall the old  scenes when
 they are suggested to us by a chain of 
memories passing  through our mind4 ,ah1
 many of my old hopes and ambitions lie 

now in ruins  more complete than the old
 walls of my childhood's home4 ,many of 
the  people ,i met in this old home were
 closely connected with those old hopes 
that have crumbled into gloomy dreams4  
,still ,i live on and hope on--new      
hopes and a new life4          ,,the    
,,wayward ,,boy      ,today ,i want to  
talk to the boys who neglect their      
mother4 ,they are not  all bad boys1 but
 all are careless and thoughtless boys4 
,at an early age  these wayward boys go 
away from home and leave a fond mother  
to worry  and fret and grieve over their
 absence4 ,some times they neglect to   
write  home for years and years1 leaving
 the dear old mother to nurse her lonely
  and hungry heart and hug the old1 old 
memories when her boy was but a  child4 
,if any wayward and wandering young man 
should chance to read these  lines--any 
wayward boy who knows of a mother       
waiting at home--won't he sit  down this
 very day and write her a few lines8    
,i have for a neighbor a loving mother  

who is wasting her life in grieving  for
 her wayward son4 ,he went away two     
years ago1 and has never written  her a 
single line4 ,he is a wanderer on the   
earth1 working a few weeks at  one      
place1 then jumps a freight train and   
rides to new scenes4 ,about a  year ago 
the mother dreamed an awful dream about 
her boy4 ,in that vision  she was in a  
strange land sitting under a large tree 
on a sloping hill1  around whose base a 
railroad curved and stretched out for   
miles on either  side4 ,she looked away 
to the east1 and saw the smoke of an    
approaching  train4 ,it was coming like 
the wind4    ,then she heard the        
whistles of a locomotive in the west1   
and looking in  that direction she      
beheld another train sweeping down the  
track to meet  the one coming from the  
east4    ,there was only a single track4
 ,one of the trains must pull into a    
switch1  or there would be a collision4 
,the trainmen could not see around the  
curve1 and were not aware of the other  

train's existence4 ,she rushed to  the  
brow of the hill where she could look   
down upon the track and took  off her   
skirt and waved it aloft to signal the  
on-coming trains4 ,neither  engineer saw
 her1 and the trains came rushing onward
 to their inevitable  doom4 ,as the     
train from the east passed where she    
stood she saw a man  sitting on the     
bumpers between two red cars4 ,he looked
 up and waved his  hand to her4 ,she    
recognized the face--it was her son     
,edward6    ,then came the shrill       
whistles of the two locomotives4 ,the   
engineers had  discovered their danger  
when too late to save the trains4 ,she  
stood  fascinated and watched the two   
iron monsters come together with an     
awful  crash4 ,they stood up on end like
 two angry animals in deadly combat1 and
  the sound of crashing1 tumbling cars  
drowned the noise of the escaping       
steam4 ,the two locomotives tumbled     
over1 tearing and wrenching iron  bars  
from each other as they fell and then   

lay with heads together like  two giants
 of the woods who had fought to the     
death and lay with tooth  and claws     
imbedded in each other's body4 ,a few   
freight cars that were  standing on end 
fell over with a crashing sound1 a cloud
 of dust arose  from the awful wreck1 a 
hissing sound of escaping steam         
continued for a  few minutes1 and then  
all was still4 ,the hand of death seemed
 to grasp  trains and crews1 and silence
 settled down with an awful             
significance4  ,she felt herself        
fainting1 just as the moans and cries of
 human beings in  distress reached her  
ears4    ,when she came to and looked   
down upon the wreck it was night1 but   
lanterns flitted here and there on both 
sides of the dead engines1 and  a voice 
asked3 8,have we found all the men      
belonging to the ill-fated  crews80 and 
a voice just below where she stood      
replied3 8,yes1 all of  the two crews1  
and the body of a hobo besides--they are
 all dead but two  brakemen1 and they   

are still unconscious40    ,she looked  
down the embankment and saw the dead    
stretched out upon the  ground and at   
the east end of the line she recognized 
her son ,edward--dead  and covered with 
his own blood4    ,she screamed aloud   
and her daughter came into the room to  
see what was  the cause of her alarm4   
,that was a year ago4 ,her boy has never
 written  since1 and she firmly believes
 her ,edward was killed just as she saw 
in  her dream4 ,if he is still alive    
somewhere in the world1 think of the joy
  he could send her in just a short     
letter--just enough to show her that he 
is still alive4 ,boys1 write to your    
mother4 ,she may be dreaming of you4    
,a ,,wasted ,,life      ,across the     
river from where ,i now live stands the 
old1 old house where  the man of the    
wasted life was born4 ,i did not know   
him as a boy1 but the  old people of the
 neighborhood spoke of him as the       
handsomest boy on the  ,mc,elhattan     
side1 and the place was noted for       

handsome people4 ,he was a  full grown  
man when ,i first saw him1 while ,i was 
yet a boy4 ,how handsome  he was1       
standing six feet tall1 with eyes and   
hair coal black and a face  that showed 
the brain force seething behind the     
beautiful mask4    ,his discontent was  
transparent to every reader of the human
 face4 ,even  the droop of his dark     
mustache reminded one of the weeping    
willow  branches hanging disconsolate   
over the tomb where sleeps the beloved  
dead4    ,when ,i first met him ,i was  
only just awakening to the hopeless     
condition  of my future life4 ,weak of  
body and with an untrained intellect1   
his  broad education and power of deep  
meditation made him to tower above me   
like a mountain towering above a mouse2 
but he stooped to meet me half  way1    
showing me the interior of his          
disappointed soul and receiving my      
sincere sympathy in exchange4 ,at the   
hotel1 where we many nights slept       
together in the same bed1 the people    

complained of us talking all night      
long1 to the annoyance of the other     
lodgers4 ,and it was true4 ,many the    
night we lay in the dark and discussed  
everything on top of the earth1  even   
going out of our sphere to discuss the  
orthodox dream of heaven4    ,one night 
he spoke of the words that should some  
time decorate his tomb1  and ,i still   
regret that ,i never mentioned his      
request to his relatives  and family1   
and that now his marker does not display
 these solemn words3    8,i am what was1
 what is1 and what is to be2 and no     
living man shall ever  roll away the    
stone that closes the door to the       
mystery into which ,i go4  ,what is1 is 
right or else the whole universe is     
wrong4 ,i am not lost or  wasted1 for   
the economy of ,nature hoards all the   
wealth of the world in a  grasp that    
crushes life to get back her own40      
,what made this sublime thinker a bit of
 flotsam on the sea of ,time8 ,he  told 
me once when in a confidential mood that

 the loss of the one woman  he loved    
darkened his life and drove him to      
drink4 ,the woman married  another1 and 
was still living when he told me his    
story1 but he did not  tell me who she  
was1 nor whose fault it was that she    
became lost to him4    ,how ,i pitied   
the big man1 whose heart was as tender  
as that of a refined  woman4 ,what a    
power he could have been in the         
intellectual world if  mated to the one 
woman he loved4 ,when he lost her his   
grasp on ambition  and enthusiasm       
weakened and he folded the desires of   
his soul into a  shapeless mass and sat 
down upon them to brood over his loss4  
,poor ,m----6 ,chained to his early     
disappointment1 and intellectually so   
far  removed from his plodding neighbors
 that none thought it necessary to      
offer him their sympathy4 ,how little   
the average man knows the average  human
 heart4 ,education only strengthens the 
soul's hunger for sympathy1  love and   
fellowship1 and because ,i sympathized  

with the man of the wasted  life1 and he
 sympathized with me in my almost       
hopeless struggles1 a warm  friendship  
grew up between us1 and he allowed me to
 see farther into the  shadows that     
shrouded his disappointed soul than any 
of his family ever  penetrated4    ,he  
was one of those retentive minds that   
could not forget1 and he tried  to dull 
the pain at his heart with drink4       
,sometimes he would make a  strong      
effort to reform and rebuild his wasted 
resolutions1 and for  several months he 
would toil on the farm like a hired man4
 ,but his mind  was too active for such 
a vegetable existence1 and his books    
would take  him out of the fields of    
physical labor4 ,then the old           
discontent1 the  memory of the old love 
would fill his soul and again he would  
drown  everything in liquor1 like a     
second ,edgar ,allen ,poe4 ,in one of   
these  sprees he died1 and his wasted   
life ended in a death that shocked his  
many friends4          ,,garret         

,,memories      ,my boy expressed a fear
 to go up on to the attic one day       
recently1 and  when ,i asked him what he
 found to fear up in a dusty old garret1
 he said  there was so much old stuff up
 there that belonged to people who were 
dead1 and if these old things had       
memories they must surely be thinking   
of the old days and the old friends1 and
 had no welcome for the boys of  the    
present generation4    ,well1 wife and  
,i know the old garret has many         
memories1 or at least  articles that    
suggest old memories1 and we seldom make
 a trip to the old  store house of      
family heirlooms without coming away    
with a queer feeling  of loneliness     
tugging at our hearts4 ,no doubt the boy
 has often detected  the subdued and    
solemn expression on our sobered faces2 
and learned his  lesson of awe and      
veneration from reading the lines and   
shadows he has so  often seen there4    
,the last time we were up on the garret1
 the three of us1 we set about  digging 

up old memories1 because a lady's side  
saddle hanging to a rafter  started us  
to digging up some old family lore4 ,the
 saddle belonged to  wife's             
great-grandmother1 and is almost a      
century old4 ,it was on this  saddle her
 great-grandmother made the ride of nine
 miles through the dark  to warn her    
father that burglars were trying to     
break into their house4    ,it seems her
 father sold some cattle and hogs a few 
days previously and  had the money      
locked up in the bureau of his room4 ,it
 was for this reason  that the daughter 
and the hired girl were told to take the
 twins1 and  the four of them sleep in  
this particular room every night1 while 
the  parents attended camp meeting4     
,some great revivalist on the style of  
,peter ,cartright was stirring up the   
people and everybody for miles around   
flocked to the camp meeting and pitched 
their tents and were prepared to  spend 
several days on the camp ground4        
,there were several bad characters in   

the neighborhood and they knew the  old 
squire had money in the house because he
 hadn't been to town since  selling the 
cattle and would hardly carry it with   
him to camp meeting4  ,on the second    
night after the squire and his wife had 
left home three  men broke through a    
kitchen window and began a search of the
 first floor  rooms1 knowing the hired  
man and the boys slept up stairs4       
,when they discovered that some one     
inside the squire's room was holding    
the bolt in place they threatened to    
kill everybody inside the room if  they 
didn't let them in4 ,the twins 7girls of
 six7 screamed aloud on  hearing this   
threat1 and their older sister called to
 the hired man up  stairs to come to    
their assistance4 ,but no answer came   
from the upper  precincts4 ,the hired   
man and the boys were too much scared to
 even make  any reply4    ,then it was  
that the sister unbolted the window and 
crawled through and  dropped to the     
ground1 ran quietly to the stable and   

saddled her horse1  with this very      
saddle1 and rushed off to the distant   
camp ground through  a darkness that    
would frighten women of less nerve4     
,almost breathless she  reached the camp
 meeting just when the shouting hilarity
 was the highest1  and was told that her
 father was at the altar seeking        
salvation4    ,without stopping to ask  
permission of anybody she walked swiftly
 up the  aisle to where her father was  
kneeling1 recognizing him by the green  
coat  he wore1 stooped and whispered in 
his ear3 8,come home1 father1 at once2  
there are burglars trying to break into 
the house60    8,hell60 he exclaimed    
loud enough to be heard by the mourner  
on either  side of him1 and said no more
 until he had saddled his own horse just
  back of the camp ground1 and the two  
galloped back home in time to  prevent  
the robbery4 ,the burglars had taken    
their own good time to cut  a hole      
through the door1 through which they    
could reach a hand and pull  back the   

wooden bolt2 but the brave hired girl   
had stabbed the hand with  a pair of    
scissors every time it was thrust       
through1 and thus protected  the house  
until the arrival of the squire and his 
fearless daughter4    ,the burglar on   
watch outside the house heard the       
approaching horses1 and  warning his two
 pals inside1 they all escaped4 ,next   
day the burglar with  the scissors      
wounds on his hands was arrested1 and   
finally confessed and  gave the names of
 his pals1 and the trio served two years
 in prison4    ,no1 the family history  
doesn't enlighten us as to whether the  
old squire  went back to camp meeting to
 resume his prayers for salvation1 or   
not4  ,quite likely the saving of his   
cattle and hog money satisfied him for  
that particular season4 ,men weren't as 
greedy in those days as they are  now1  
and he may have left the great supply of
 saving grace for others to  enjoy4     
,,your ,,baby ,,still      ,a short time
 ago an old schoolmate friend wrote me  

that they had lost  their darling--a    
baby boy of ten months1 and the mother  
was grieving  herself sick over her     
great loss4 8,couldn't you write        
something to  console her--something to 
make a bright spot out in the future to 
look  ahead to with hope80 he wrote4    
,how easy to ask this1 but how hard to  
comply4 ,how impossible to wipe away the
 sorrow from a bleeding heart and       
persuade the heart to cease bleeding and
 the bereaved soul to cease its         
grieving4    ,after a little thought it 
struck me forcibly that the memories and
  recollections of a dead child must    
always picture the child as it was  when
 death took it away4 ,and ,i sat down   
and put myself in that mother's  place  
and wrote as though ,i were writing the 
words of hope that sometime  would      
surely fill her loving soul4 ,i print   
them now for the hundreds of  other     
sorrowing mothers who see before them1  
day and night1 the dear face  of their  
darling who sleeps out in the church    

yard1 the land where babies  never grow 
old4    ,i could write out of that      
mother's heart1 because ,i1 too1 have a 
baby  sleeping in the land of perpetual 
youth4 ,had she lived she would now be  
a grown woman--perhaps today weeping    
over a little grave where her own       
darling lay sleeping4        ,weeping   
over his little bier1      ,kissing the 
lips of her baby dear1      ,touching   
the eyes in their endless sleep--       
,dreaming1 ,i see a mother weep4        
,mother1 he'll be your baby still1      
,let the changes bring whate'er they    
will2      ,when the coming years silver
 your hair1      ,you will dream of your
 baby fair2      ,other sorrows your    
heart may fill--      ,he'll be your    
darling baby still4      ,tho' he may   
lie in the churchyard cold1      ,in    
your dreams he'll never grow old2       
,in your slumbers you'll kiss his brow1 
,sweet and pure as you see him now4     
,ah1 for ever your baby will      ,be1  
in fond mem'ry1 your baby still6        

,other mothers are happy today          
,kissing their darling's tears away1    
,looking far out in the world so wide1  
,swelling their mother-heart with pride2
      ,for they see their child to      
manhood grown--      ,proud are they to 
call him their own2      ,dreaming      
dreams of all he shall be--      ,the   
man they picture--the man they see2     
,proud and defiant1 leader of men1      
,making history with tongue and pen4    
,surely their baby must change to be    
,the full grown man of the picture they 
see4        ,ah1 better for her and her 
mother pride1      ,better1 ah1 better  
that child had died      ,with innocent 
smile on his baby face1      ,than live 
to manhood and disgrace4        8,what  
news is this8 ,oh1 tell me true6        
,what did the boy of my fond hopes do8  
,murdered his sweetheart8 ,oh1 loving   
,god6      ,this comes from the wicked  
path he trod4      ,a drunken quarrel8  
,she led him on6      ,and he's a       
murderer6 my son1 my son60              

,mother1 when bidding your child        
farewell1      ,with heartaches more    
than tongue can tell1      ,when laying 
him low in the cold1 cold ground1       
,and tenderly heaping the little mound--
      ,there's a land of hope just over 
the hill1      ,where your baby will be 
your baby still4      ,no news of him   
will ever pain      ,your aching1 loving
 heart again4      ,silent he sleeps in 
the earth's cool breast1      ,and when 
life's sun has set1 in the west1        
,and you lie down at his side1 he will  
,be your darling baby still4            
,only a little while ahead--      ,a    
little nap for the silent dead--      ,a
 little trouble1 and sorrow1 and pain1  
,and you will be with your child again4 
,safer with you is the child you find   
,than the full-grown man you leave      
behind4      ,and tho' the promised     
future is dim1      ',tis enough to     
know--you shall sleep with him1         
,and all through eternity your baby will
      ,be your darling baby still4      

,,wish ,i ,,were ,a ,,jew      ,i wish  
,i were a ,jew4 ,the more ,i study the  
situation1 the more ,i wish to  be a    
,jew4 ,i have found fault with the      
,jews1 from the ,christian point of     
view1 and ,i would like to turn around  
and fire a few broadsides into my       
delinquent ,christian friends from the  
,hebrew standpoint4 ,not that ,i would  
condemn ,jesusism1 but to show the      
,christian world how far they are off   
the track of the meek and lowly ,jesus1 
when he commanded his followers  with a 
new commandment4 ,did ,jesus mean       
anything when he said3 8,a new          
commandment ,i give unto you2 that ye   
love one another2 as ,i have loved  you1
 that ye also love one another40    ,if 
,i were a ,jew ,i would ask my fellow   
,christians whether they believe  that  
,christ only loves them after the style 
and fashion of their love for  one      
another8 ,i would ask them if these     
great navies and mighty armies  of armed
 men1 trained to kill each other in new 

and improved style1 are  imitations of  
,christ's great love for men8 ,are      
,england and ,germany and  ,france and  
,russia and the ,united ,states and     
,spain and ,italy and all the  ,south   
,american republics loving each other as
 ,christ loved the world8  ,if these are
 truly ,christian nations1 then the     
,jews must take it for  granted that    
they are imitating the love of ,jesus1  
as ordered in the  8,new ,commandment40 
,if these so-called ,christian nations  
are not obeying  the 8,new              
,commandment10 then they are not        
,christian nations1 and their  pretense 
is sheer hypocrisy4    ,loving your     
neighbor as you love yourself is poorly 
displayed in taxing  him to build navies
 for the purpose of killing a lot of    
other people  ,christ loved and died    
for4 ,christ died to establish universal
 peace1 but  to judge him through the   
work of those who pretend to be his     
followers1  he died for the purpose of  
ordaining priests and preachers to bless

 the  armies and navies of civilization4
    ,as a boy ,i was taught to look upon
 the ,jews as the rejecters1 betrayers  
and crucifiers of ,christ1 the man sent 
of ,god to establish peace and  good    
will4 ,i was taught to look upon ,judas 
,iscariot as the meanest of  all        
men--the man who pretended to love      
,jesus1 but who betrayed him for  thirty
 pieces of silver4 ,if ,i were a ,jew1  
,i would point to the ,christian        
churches1 pretending to love the people 
as ,christ loved them1 but openly       
turning the blessings of ,christ from   
their natural channels of peace1 to     
blessing the armies and navies that go  
out to do violence4 ,judas only         
betrayed ,christ once1 and was sorry for
 it1 while the ,christians betray  him  
every day in the year1 and boast of it4 
,they boast of their armies  and navies 
and sing their praises1 feeling more    
secure in the ability of  their armed   
forces than they do in the love of their
 ,christ4    ,did the ,jews do worse in 

rejecting ,christ1 then the ,christians 
do in  accepting him1 and then disobey  
the newest commandment that came from   
his lips8 ,they preach his gospel of    
peace and then organize for the  purpose
 of destroying peace4 ,if the ,christian
 church turned against  militarism1 and 
abandoned the war departments in their  
efforts to enforce  commercialism and   
the extension of trade1 the war-loving  
people would not  contribute their      
thirty pieces of silver4    ,if ,i were 
a ,jew ,i would set up the character of 
,judas against the work of  the         
,christians in the betrayal of business4
    ,judas was part of the original     
plan--to establish a living example of  
the  perfidy attached to the work of    
treachery4 ,have the ,christians        
profited  by the example8 ,have they not
 deceitfully handed the gospel of       
,christ  over to the enemies of peace8  
,have they loved one another similar to 
the love ,christ died for8 ,are the     
slums of our large cities examples of   

,christ's love for the lowly and the    
oppressed8 ,is the treatment of the     
,jews in ,christian ,russia an example  
of 8,love your neighbor as yourself80   
,the more ,i think over the situation1  
the more ,i regret that ,i am not a     
,jew4          ,,memories      ,the old 
people had been living in their village 
home long before ,i went  there to      
become their neighbor4 ,they had reared 
their family of five  children in the   
old house1 and they had all married and 
gone elsewhere to  live4 ,the old people
 were now past #fe1 and rather old for  
transplanting  in a new home1 but the   
death of a relative brought to their    
door a small  fortune1 and the children 
insisted that they must remove to the   
city and  live in better style1 as      
becomes people in affluent              
circumstances4    ,we called on them in 
the evening of their last day in the old
 home and  found them sitting on the    
front porch1 resting and dreaming after 
a day  of packing up goods for the      

removal4 ,the old lady had been silently
  weeping1 and her heart was so full of 
going away that she broke down and      
tearfully assured us that going away was
 breaking ties that affect her  heart   
for all time to come4    8,jim and me   
are too old to be torn up by the roots  
and transplanted to  a town lot4 ,we've 
lived here so long that we can't ever   
make ourselves  believe that a grander  
house and a stylish lot of neighbors is 
to become  our home for all time4       
8,why1 every nook and corner of this old
 place is peopled with loving  memories4
 ,the house seems to be a store-house   
filled with the echoes of  our          
children's happy voices and their merry 
laughter4 ,i sometimes even  imagine    
that ,i hear the prattling echo of      
little ,ruth's baby voice1 the  child   
who died when four years old4    8,it   
may be foolish1 ,mr4 ,haiden1 but no    
other house can ever produce the  same  
pleasant illusions4 ,i hear them all1   
when ,i listen1 just as ,i heard  their 

real voices in the long ago4 ,but it    
won't be so in the new home4  ,they     
ain't going to let me take any of the   
old furniture along--the chairs  and the
 sideboard and the bureau that are all  
scratched with the hands  of the        
children4 ,and the old pictures of      
,george ,washington crossing the        
,delaware1 and the surrender of ,lord   
,cornwallis at ,yorktown1 and the       
,soldier's ,dream1 and the ,soldier's   
,farewell--they say they're out of date1
  and must be packed away on the garret4
    8,if these old things are out of    
date1 what's to be said of ,jim and me8 
,we love those old pictures and         
scratched pieces of furniture better    
than  anything that's new and has no    
history connected with it4 ,we don't    
want  to be separated from the past so  
ruthlessly and violently4 ,it's bad     
enough to be torn away from our old     
friends and acquaintances1 and taken  so
 far away and stored away in such a     
grand house that none of the old        

neighbors will ever come to see us1 and 
will finally grow indifferent  toward   
us1 and blame us for being stuck up and 
proud1 and declare we were  glad and    
willing to move away and sever the ties 
of love and friendship  between us and  
our rustic neighbors4    8,and if our   
money leaves us as suddenly as it came1 
and we are obliged to  come back here1  
it will be like a spirit forced to come 
back to its dead  and deserted body4    
,for all these old memories and childish
 echoes must  surely die after we are no
 longer here to hear them1 and the house
 will  become as dead to us as the      
memories that died of loneliness after  
we  went away4        8,for memories    
live on our love1 ,jim1        ,on the  
heartstrings tied to them2      ,they'll
 die when we once remove1 ,jim1         
,and break them off love's stem2        
,for they lie on my breast1             
,like children at rest1      ,and nurse 
at love's fountain brim4        ,and all
 have a beautiful head1 ,jim1           

,with faces upturned for a kiss2      ,i
 feel in my heart they're not dead1     
,jim1        ,but living in innocent    
bliss2          ,but when we depart2    
,they'll die in my heart--      ,and1   
oh1 their presence ,i'll miss6          
,they are echoes of voices so dear1     
,jim1        ,they are whispering now in
 my heart4      ,come closer1 and put   
your ear1 ,jim1        ,just over the   
place--don't start6          ,ah1 you   
hear the song1          ,that is all the
 day long      ,singing the mournful    
part40          ,,sweetened ,,with      
,,sorrow      ,people who suffer in the 
slow fire of sorrow are purified from   
many of  the weaknesses and faults of   
humanity4 ,perfection comes only after  
we  have paid the price4 ,men are always
 better and kinder to their second  wife
 than they were to their first1 for in  
the loss of the first wife  sorrow      
opened the door to a wider vision and a 
broader view4 ,sorrow is  part of our   
education4 ,the giddy young have not yet

 been purified in  sorrow's flames1 and 
they are blind to many things that must 
be learned  before they win the hearts  
of the people4    ,the kindest man ,i   
ever knew was the saddest looking when  
his face was in  repose4 ,he had a good 
word for everybody4 ,he seemed to know  
why men and  women go wrong and could   
find an excuse for all their            
short-comings and  evil doings4 ,he came
 into our village life as though by     
accident1 setting  up housekeeping with 
his white-haired mother and two hired   
servants on  the little farm just west  
of the town4 ,they farmed only a little 
bit1  keeping but one horse and two     
cows4 ,the postmistress said he sent    
some  large packages of first-class mail
 matter to a certain publishing house   
in the city1 and we guessed that the man
 was an author or journalist4    ,i met 
him afterwards when we sat together at  
the old stone bridge fishing  in the    
deep pool at the mouth of the little    
creek4 ,it was a good place  to catch   

the fish when gathering there previous  
to their migrating up  the creek for the
 season4 ,bit by bit1 ,i learned his    
story1 for he was  hungry for sympathy4 
,a woman had broken his heart4 ,she had 
married him  for his money4 ,he had been
 a business man in the big city--a      
banker1 but  occasionally writing for a 
newspaper in which he held some stock4  
,a family moved into the neighborhood   
where the bank was located1 and he  met 
the daughter at the house of a friend4  
,a mutual admiration began  from the    
first4 ,she was of a literary turn1 and 
was in sympathy with his  ambition and  
hopes1 and showed in many ways that she 
admired him4 ,she was  pretty and       
intelligent1 and he was recovering from 
a love disappointment  and was hungry   
for love and sympathy4 ,he proposed1 was
 accepted1 and  in a few months after   
the first meeting they were married4 ,he
 was only  twenty-five then1 frivolous  
and happy and without a care4    ,six   
weeks after the wedding he discovered by

 sheer accident that the  woman had a   
living husband from whom she was not    
divorced1 and whom she  met             
clandestinely and gave him money with   
which to gamble4 ,she wasn't  his wife  
at all1 but an unscrupulous adventuress 
who associated with  criminals4    ,he  
sold out his interest in the bank and   
came out into the country with  his     
widowed mother to live a quiet life and 
try to forget4    ,that same summer a   
strange woman came to the village to    
spend a few  months in this quiet       
retreat1 and one night ,i sat with my   
melancholy  friend in church when the   
strange lady sang a solo4 ,she had the  
sweetest  voice ,i ever                 
heard--mournfully sweet1 with a peculiar
 cadence that filled  one's eyes with   
moisture and sent thrills of unknown    
feelings tingling  through every nerve4 
,and oh1 how beautiful was her face when
 she sang4 ,i  turned to my companion at
 the conclusion of the song and         
remarked3 8,god  only bestows a voice   

like that upon a very few women40       
8,yes10 he replied sadly1 8upon the few 
women who involuntarily pay the  great  
price40    8,what do you mean80 ,i      
asked4    8,no woman can sing so sweetly
 who has not suffered4 ,somebody has    
broken  that frail woman's heart4 ,she  
has suffered in the slow fire of deep   
sorrow4 ,a man is driven into great     
philanthropy2 music1 or literary  work  
that touches the heart1 through deep    
sorrow1 but the woman who has  a voice  
for singing pours all her sorrow out    
through the channel of  sweetened song40
    ,i glanced at him and knew he had   
learned the story that can only come  to
 a man whose heart has been broken2 and 
,i knew that he had guessed  whence came
 the sweet cadence in the singer's      
voice4 ,somehow it struck  me forcibly  
that these two people who had been made 
sweet and lovable in  the fire of sorrow
 would make life companions1 if they    
could be brought  together4 ,i told my  
wife all ,i had on my mind and she fell 

in with my  views at once4 ,she is a    
chronic matchmaker4    ,she courted the 
woman's society and learned her story4  
,her husband had  been a defaulter1     
embezzler1 bigamist and scoundrel4 ,he  
had since been  killed by a woman4 ,she 
was making her living singing on the    
stage4 ,i  told her1 when better        
acquainted1 of how my friend had guessed
 of her  sorrow1 and she became greatly 
interested in my sad friend's history4  
,we  finally brought the two strangers  
together4 ,she sang for us and he read  
his latest poem4 ,the sweetness of      
sorrow touched us all4 ,she sang again  
and we all cried together4 ,the charm of
 sorrow was over us all--over the       
entire house4    ,that was two years    
ago4 ,they are now happily married4 ,the
 sweetness of  sorrow is in their love  
for each other1 and life is filled with 
love's  sweet song4          ,,in ,,her 
,,dreams      ,in the lonesomest road ,i
 travelled while homeward bound from    
,reading1 ,i  stopped at a little faded 

cottage to inquire the way and the      
distance to  the nearest town4 ,an old  
white haired woman came to the door and 
gave as  much information as she        
possessed1 but she confessed she hadn't 
been to  town for more than sixteen     
years4    8,and do you live all alone in
 this dreary place the year 'round80 ,i 
inquired4 8,no1 not always alone10 she  
replied1 with a peculiar smile4  8,once 
a month the groceryman sends the boy out
 with my store goods and  flour1 and a  
neighbor living just over the hill comes
 over every week to  see if ,i have any 
wood chopped1 and to fix the pasture    
field fence so  that my cow can't get   
away4 ,besides this one or two neighbor 
women call  sometimes and do their      
sewing while telling me the news from   
the outside  world40    8,but at night  
you are alone1 and that is the dreariest
 time of all10 ,i  suggested4    8,no1  
,i'm not alone even during the night1   
stranger4 ,i have very realistic  dreams
 while ,i sleep4 ,during the year ,i am 

visited by all of my old  friends and   
schoolmates4 ,not all at one time1 to be
 sure1 but every night  one or the other
 of them will call on me1 and we'll all 
be young again  and play the dear old   
games we loved so well when we were boys
 and girls4  ,and the boy who was killed
 in the mines away back in '#gh comes   
back once  a week and in my dreams ,i   
mend his clothes and wash his shirts1   
the same  as ,i used to do in the long  
ago40    8,sort of a sad dream10 ,i     
remarked4    8,no1 not at all6 ,why     
should it make one sad to dream of those
 we loved1  and who loved us long ago8  
,last night my husband came back to see 
me1 and  he was killed in the mines away
 back in '#fg4 ,he was just like he     
appeared  to me the morning he went to  
the mine and to his death40    8,were   
you glad to see him80 ,i asked1 for she 
stopped short and was  looking out      
toward the wooded hills with a glad     
smile on her face4    8,glad to see him8
 ,why1 ,i was just as glad as ,i was    

when he used to come  courting me down  
in ,lebanon a half century ago6 ,he     
always puts his arms  around me and     
gives me a gentle embrace1 and kisses me
 on the lips1 just  as he did when he   
was my lover and ,i was his girl        
sweetheart4 ,and then he  sits at the   
chimney and lights his pipe and smokes  
in silence1 and ,i mend  his clothes4   
,by and by ,i fill his dinner pail1 and 
before he starts away  he asks me to the
 door1 where he embraces me once more1  
and ,i hold up my  lips for his farewell
 kiss2 and then ,i stand there in the   
early morning  light and watch him pass 
down the road and around the bend and   
disappear  behind the bunch of laurels1 
just as ,i used to watch him long ago40 
8,and your dreams make you feel happy   
during the next day1 ,i suppose10 ,i    
remarked1 for she was again looking     
dreamily towards the hills4    8,not    
always10 she sadly replied4 8,for when  
my dead baby comes back in the  night   
and begins to feel with his dead hands  

all over my bosom1 and with  his dead   
mouth tries to find my breast1 ,i then  
recall that many and many  the time that
 same baby groped for my breast when he 
was starving for the  want of proper    
food2 for in those days ,john was       
drinking hard2 and did  not provide for 
his family1 and my half-starved body    
furnished but poor  watery food for my  
baby boy2 and all night long his baby   
hands reached  for the fountain that had
 run dry4 ,the doctor said he was so    
nearly  starved that he could not stand 
the pneumonia and recover1 so he died40 
8,could you forgive your husband after  
baby died80 ,i asked4    8,yes1 after a 
manner4 ,you see he straightened up for 
a time after baby  died1 and wasn't     
drinking so very hard when he was       
killed4 ,and he is  always young and    
sober and industrious in my dreams1 the 
same as he was  when we were married1   
but baby is always hungry and groping   
with his dead  mouth for my shriveled   
breast40          ,,the ,,mortgaged     

,,mother      ,the home was located in  
an isolated and lonely spot1 with hills 
on two  sides of it and a ragged        
woodland in the rear1 and the front side
 leading  into a deep ravine that grew  
wider as it neared the valley far below4
 ,the  road came up the steep ravine1   
passed the house and wound over the hill
  in the rear4 ,it was so steep that few
 people traveled the road unless  going 
to call on the owner of the home1 ,jack 
,wier4    ,jack was sitting on the porch
 as we drove up to the house1 and looked
 the  picture of despair4 ,children came
 running out of the house to see who was
  coming1 and the open doorway was      
filled with frowsy heads1 besides the   
bolder ones who hung over the rail of   
the porch and gazed at us like so  many 
startled rabbits4 ,we counted nine1 and 
,jack said the youngest was  sleeping in
 the cradle4    8,ten children1 after a 
marriage of twelve years60 he said1 with
 a  melancholy tinge in his voice4      
8,surely there is no race suicide here60

 ,i exclaimed4    8,no1 there is no race
 suicide1 but there has been a mother   
sacrificed10  he said1 and there was a  
sob in his throat4 8,two days after the 
birth  of our last baby girl the poor   
worn-out mother died4 ,nature could not 
sustain her frail body after so many    
years of torture4 ,common sense  should 
have taught me that my wife was making a
 sacrifice of herself1  but ,i was      
blind4 ,suddenly ,i was awakened4 ,i was
 left with a family of  ten children1   
and the eldest only eleven years old4   
,of course1 ,i am fond  of the children1
 but the price paid was too much--twelve
 years of painful  sacrifice1 and then  
an eternal rest in the bosom of mother  
earth4    8,and what am ,i to do with my
 children8 ,we have been getting along1 
after  a manner1 but the children are   
now showing the effects of neglect4 ,it 
may  require another sacrifice before   
the children are all pulled through4    
,bessie1 my eldest girl1 has never had  
any childhood4 ,she has been forced     

into womanhood before she fairly tasted 
the joys of happy girlhood1 and  she is 
growing into that peculiar condition    
where the overburdened body  takes on   
the appearance of age1 and the          
dream-light no longer shines in  the    
hopeless eyes40    8,you take things too
 seriously10 ,i said1 by way of cheering
 him up4    8,that may be10 he replied1 
8but ,god knows how seriously things are
 taking  me6 ,i love my children and    
would educate them all1 if possible1 but
 it  looks now as though ,i will never  
be able to educate any of them4 ,this   
poor hillside farm is all ,i have in the
 world1 and debts accumulate much       
faster than crops grow4 ,when a man gets
 so far in debt that release seems      
hopeless1 the future looks uninviting to
 that man4    8,and it's all owing to my
 blind ignorance6 ,so long as my wife   
lived ,i was  proud to be called the    
father of ten children4 ,it put me in a 
class with  those patriarchs of old1 who
 gloried in their many offspring4 ,i    

forgot  that these same old patriarchs  
gloried in their many wives1 as well40  
,then pointing down the valley he asked3
 8,do you see that white house over     
yonder8 ,that man has two children4     
,they are now attending high school     
over in the city4 ,he is able to give   
them both a good education1 and no      
doubt the two will accomplish more good 
in the world than my ten1 who  must grow
 up in ignorance and be fit to only     
perform menial and poorly  paid labor4  
8,and that's not all1 nor the worst3    
,growing up without a mother's care  and
 loving hand to guide them1 ,i often    
tremble for their safety4 ,the  pitfalls
 and traps set to catch the             
unsophisticated girls are numerous  and 
temptations lurk in every dark corner4  
,race suicide may be a sin1  but mother 
sacrifice is a barbarous outrage4       
,outraged nature is taking  revenge out 
of me4 ,i painted this picture myself1  
with living pictures1  but the face of a
 martyred mother is in the background40 

,,the ,,toy ,,maker      ,just across   
the river lives the old toy maker1 an   
old bachelor who has  been living the   
life of a hermit for many years4 ,he is 
now almost seventy  years old1 but works
 at his bench as vigorously as he did   
when ,i first  knew him4 ,he will not   
discuss his past life1 but avoids it as 
though old  memories give him pain4 ,but
 his relatives say he was once          
disappointed in  love--jilted on what   
was to be his wedding day4 ,some pretend
 to know of a  wedding suit still       
preserved and packed away in a trunk1   
but never to be  worn by a bridegroom   
while the old toy maker lives and has   
the clothes in  his possession4    ,he  
avoids women1 and doesn't want to be    
bothered with children1 yet he  devotes 
his life to making wagons and sleds for 
boys4 ,somewhere down in  his           
unsatisfied heart there is a love for   
the children still1 though it  was      
denied him to have children to bear his 
name4    ,there is something tender and 

affectionate about the picture of a toy 
maker1 and how could this be so1 unless 
the toy maker himself is tender  and    
affectionate8 ,it is safe to say that   
this particular toy maker can  weave    
more heartaches into the toy he is      
making for some happy1 careless  boy1   
than he could pound into a large farm   
wagon for men4 ,there is a  peculiar    
sentiment in working for the children1  
which people feel1 even  though their   
education is so barren that they do not 
know what the word  8sentiment0 means4  
,the old toy maker may think he hates   
boys1 but his  work contradicts him4 ,he
 does not manufacture his wagons for    
profit1 for  the price is so low that he
 scarcely earns fifty cents a day at the
 work4    ,the truth is1 the old toy    
maker loves children in spite of his    
studied  seclusion4 ,he avoids them     
because they are so closely in touch    
with  women1 and to a woman he owes his 
cheerless life4 ,how foolish to turn    
against the whole world because one     

woman proved false4 ,there are true     
women all around us1 and a man should be
 strong enough to pull the false  woman 
out of his heart and forget her in the  
society of the good and  true4 ,the     
strong man is made wiser and better     
through disappointment and  the         
deception of a false woman1 and it      
teaches him how to value a true  woman  
when he finds her waiting to be loved4  
,the man who gives up at one defeat is  
to be pitied4 ,his acknowledgment  of   
defeat shows that he is a man of tender 
nature1 preferring to go out  of the    
crowd and live alone1 to renewing the   
contest and do battle with  the false   
and cruel4 ,every time ,i see the old   
toy maker bending over his  work1 which 
he does so carefully and perfect1 ,i    
realize that a loving1  trusting heart  
throbs under his soiled coat4 ,somehow  
,i can't help but  love the toy makers1 
because they unconsciously love         
children4 ,they  can't help it4 ,they   
may scold and frown and threaten        

punishment for any  trifling offense1   
but deep down in their soul they do1 and
 can not help  but love children4       
,during the last fifteen years of       
,president ,cleveland's life ,i was not 
his friend4 ,i believed that he had gone
 back on the common people and  given   
his support to plutocracy4 ,i said many 
bitter things about him1  and called him
 a ,judas and a betrayer of his friends4
 ,but soon after his  death ,i saw a    
picture of the ex-,president sitting at 
a table mending toys  for his little    
son4    ,when ,i looked upon that       
picture ,i could not believe the man was
 false to  his friends4 ,i had only     
misunderstood him and his motives while 
serving  his country4 ,a false leader of
 men1 or a tyrant1 would not stoop to   
become a toy mender4    ,he would have  
no time for sentiment and tender        
paternal feelings4    ,here was a man   
upon whom the eyes of the world had     
rested1 whose name was  familiar to     
millions1 sitting at a table mending    

broken toys4 ,i was won  back to him    
before ,i had looked upon the picture   
two minutes4 ,i could  overlook all his 
faults1 because his faults were human1  
just the same as  his love for children 
was human4 ,the simplicity of the       
picture showed the  man and the father  
and the companion1 mutely telling the   
story of his  great love for the boy    
whom he never hoped to see when grown to
 manhood4  ,he fully realized that when 
the boy became a full-grown man he would
 not  be there to see him and help him  
and guide him with his great love4      
,,the ,,mother-,,in-,,law      ,there   
never was a woman who made a more loving
 mother1 nor a mother more  proud of her
 son than ,mrs4 ,taylor4 ,tom was a boy 
that any mother might be  proud of1 so  
obedient and affectionate4 ,but ,tom was
 going to get married  and bring his    
wife to the old home1 and the widow     
,taylor assured me that  she was going  
to be such a model mother-in-law that   
there would be never  a cloud of        

discontent hover over the ,taylor home4 
,tom's girl was such  a sweet little    
soul that anybody could get along with  
her2 and even if  she was not1 ,tom     
would not let his mother be abused or   
slighted or made  discontented in her   
own home4    ,i didn't return to the    
,taylor home for ten years1 but ,i      
noticed at once a  change in the ,widow 
,taylor4 ,there was a look of sadness in
 her white face  and she seemed to have 
grown old very fast since ,i saw her    
last4 ,i knew  she couldn't be more than
 sixty1 but she looked to be easily     
seventy-five  years old4 ,when ,i found 
myself alone on the wide porch with the 
sad faced  woman ,i made bold to        
inquire3 8,well1 ,mrs4 ,taylor1 did you 
succeed in  playing the part of a model 
mother-in-law80    ,she smiled at me    
with a look of pain in her face1 and    
slowly said3 8,i  don't believe there   
could be such a thing4 ,perhaps a mother
 could be a  model mother-in-law to a   
son-in-law1 but she couldn't be one to  

her son's  wife1 and live in the old    
home4 ,when ,tom brought ,bessie to this
 house it  was my home4 ,my word was    
law4 ,you well know that ,i couldn't be 
a tyrant  if ,i tried1 yet it was a     
satisfaction to arrange the house to    
suit my  taste and run things after the 
style ,i had practiced for years40      
,then1 in answer to my startled look1   
she continued3 8,no1 ,bessie and ,i     
have never quarreled4 ,i wouldn't allow 
myself to do so4 ,she is ,tom's  wife1  
and he loves her to devotion4 ,if ,i    
quarreled with ,bessie ,tom would  have 
to take one side or the other4 ,i       
wouldn't want him to decide against  his
 wife1 and if he turned against me it   
would break my heart4 ,so ,i try  to    
bear my lot without complaining1 but ,i 
can hardly help the feeling  that ,i am 
a stranger in my own home4 ,i have no   
longer any authority  about the house4  
,the pictures are no longer arranged as 
they were ten  years ago4 ,the portraits
 of the family no longer grace the walls

 of the  downstairs rooms4 ,bessie says 
it is not fashionable1 so the pictures  
of  ,tom's father and my own1 are       
banished to the narrow confines of my   
own  bed room4    8,and my bedroom has  
been changed1 too4 ,i no longer sleep   
over the parlor1  facing the public     
road4 ,bessie thought it would make such
 a pleasant  spare room for visitors1 so
 ,i was removed to the east room over   
the  kitchen4 ,when ,bessie's mother    
visits her she occupies my old room1    
while  ,i must go off to my den over the
 kitchen4 ,i may be selfish1 though ,i  
pray  ,god to keep me from thoughts that
 are narrow2 but it does hurt an old    
woman to be thus set aside in her own   
home4    8,and no longer any callers or 
visitors come to see me4 ,i'm a back    
number4  ,even you came to see ,tom1 and
 not me4 ,i am a deposed ruler4 ,my     
kingdom  has been handed over to another
 and my own son is a subject of the new 
ruler4 ,i never complain to ,tom1       
because he does not understand4 ,he     

thinks  that ,i ought to be satisfied   
with things as they are1 and maybe ,i   
should1  for ,i have nothing to do4     
,well1 nothing to do is the hardest life
 a  person can live4 ,i can go and come 
at will1 but that is not enough to      
satisfy a woman4 ,i long for the old    
home in which ,i was once an entity1 a  
moving force1 a working energy4         
8,where nothing is expected of the      
mother-in-law1 she can expect nothing   
in return4 ,i am reduced to an eating1  
drinking1 sleeping non-entity4  ,i once 
overheard ,bessie tell a caller that ,i 
was getting queer4 ,maybe  ,i am1 for ,i
 certainly feel queer under present     
conditions4 ,neither  responsibility nor
 authority rests on me4 ,i am on the    
scrap pile1 an  unwilling supernumerary4
    8,but oh1 ,mr4 ,haiden1 ,i am so    
much more fortunate than some           
mothers-in-law  ,i know of6 ,i know a   
poor old mother who is obliged to live  
with her son's  wife in the home that   
belongs to the daughter-in-law4 ,and the

 poor old  mother is told of this every 
day4 ,the daughter-in-law is an         
unnatural1  ungrateful tyrant1 and she  
plays tyrant all the year 'round4 ,and  
the son  is obliged to take sides with  
his wife1 for the sake of peace4 ,when  
,i  talk to that poor old mother ,i feel
 that ,i ought to be thankful1 and that 
my daughter-in-law is a saint2 but she  
ought to consult me now and then  on    
household matters4 ,she ought to give me
 some of the responsibilities  and      
cares4 ,she should at least make me     
vice-president of the home1 since  she  
usurped the presidency4 ,two women can  
not live happily in the same  house     
unless they share the cares and         
responsibilities1 and the honors4       
,every young woman going into her       
mother-in-law's home should be taught   
this fact4 ,it would save many a tear   
and heartache on the part of the  poor  
old mothers40          ,,bob ,,white    
,passing by a country graveyard one day 
last summer ,i noticed an old man       

throwing stones at a bird4 ,when ,i     
asked him why he did so he stammered3   
8,i--,i thought it was a ,bob ,white1   
but it was only a thrush4 ,there is a   
,bob  ,white comes here every day       
through the summer time and calls the   
one name  ,i so bitterly despise1 and ,i
 chase him away4 ,i don't want the dead 
to  hear him call that name40    ,i     
passed on1 but at the first house west  
of the old country graveyard1  where ,i 
stopped to get a drink1 a woman told me 
the old man's story4 ,he  was engaged to
 a beautiful young girl1 but an         
,englishman came into the  neighborhood1
 pretending to be very wealthy1 and     
turned the girl's head4  ,she was       
attracted by his supposed wealth1 and   
eloped with him to ,new  ,york4 ,less   
than a year afterward her dead body was 
sent home for burial  in the old home   
graveyard1 her husband having deserted  
her a few months  after their unholy    
marriage4    ,the ,englishman's name was
 ,robert ,white4 ,the old man ,i saw    

stoning the  birds1 had never married   
after losing his promised bride1 and the
  neighbors say he acted very queerly   
from the day the girl ran away with  the
 ,englishman1 and has been watching her 
grave ever since her body  was brought  
home for burial4 ,he imagines the quail 
is mocking him1 or  taunting the dead   
woman with the repetition of the man's  
name who wronged  both in the long ago4 
,hark1 ,i hear the ,bob ,white call6    
,i wonder where he can be8      ,ah1    
sitting on the old stone wall           
,under the maple tree--      ,the maple 
tree in the graveyard old1        ,where
 my sweetheart is sleeping1             
,clasped in the arms of the earth so    
cold1        ,while the rain drop tears 
are seeping4              ,bob ,white1  
,bob ,white6        ,the man who bought 
a bride2            ,bob ,white1 ,bob   
,white6        ,with a broken heart she 
died2              ,i sing this song    
,the whole day long--            ,bob   
,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,she married

 a man for his gold and land1           
,after plighting her troth1 you see2    
,he turned her head1 and she gave her   
hand1        ,but her soul was in love  
with me4      ,he proved a brute from   
the very start1        ,and in one short
 year1 she died2      ,he beat her body 
and broke her heart--        ,she was   
only a purchased bride4                 
,bob ,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,the   
man who received her life2              
,bob ,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,the   
man who bought a wife2                  
,that spiteful call1              ,from 
the old stone wall--            ,bob    
,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,and the    
name of the man was ,robert ,white1     
,a ,britain1 from over the sea--      ,a
 man with a heart as black as night1    
,and he stole my sweetheart from me4    
,the bird comes back to the grave each  
year1        ,and sits on the old stone 
wall1      ,and seems to say to the     
dead1 ,my dear1        ,do you love the 
man ,i call8              ,bob ,white1  

,bob ,white6        ,the man who broke  
your heart6            ,bob ,white1 ,bob
 ,white6        ,does it make your      
mem'ry start8              ,oh1 ,i love 
to shout              ,this vile name   
out--            ,bob ,white1 ,bob      
,white6        ,i must go and chase the 
bird away1        ,so the woman ,i love 
may sleep--      ,the woman still dear  
to me today1        ,tho' the world must
 not see me weep4      ,i hate the name 
of the man he calls1        ,and the    
dead1 tho' buried from sight1      ,must
 curse each note that spitefully falls1 
,and the name of the man--,bob ,white4  
,bob ,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,my    
curse be on your head6            ,bob  
,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,go1 leave  
in peace the dead2              ,her    
soul is mine1              ,tho' her    
body was thine1            ,bob ,white1 
,bob ,white6        ,go away1 you bird  
of spiteful song1        ,my sweetheart 
is at rest2      ,but through your      
calling the whole day long        ,sad  

memories might pain her heart4      ,and
 my own heart still bleeds anew         
,while you call1 from mourn to night1   
,that name1 so spitefully sung by you-- 
,that hated name--,bob ,white6          
,bob ,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,be    
gone1 you evil bird6            ,bob    
,white1 ,bob ,white6        ,my soul is 
within me stirred2              ,call   
not in shame              ,that         
dastard's name--            ,bob ,white1
 ,bob ,white6          ,,whipping ,a    
,,child      ,in spite of the fact that 
,solomon advised whipping the child1 ,i 
question  the benefits of giving pain4  
,i never struck my boy but once1 and    
that was  when he was a child in kilts4 
,god forgive me1 ,i was angry at the    
time4  ,we were out in the fields       
gathering dandelions for greens1 and the
 lad  persisted in throwing clods into  
the vessel in which the dandelions were4
  ,i told him several times to desist1  
but he laughed in childish glee and  did
 it again and again4 ,he did not intend 

to be bad4 ,it was a child's  estimation
 of fun--to have somebody scolding4 ,i  
do not know what ailed me  that morning1
 but ,i soon became so angry that ,i    
broke off an elder sprout  and struck   
the child a cruel blow across his little
 back4 ,one blow--that  was all1 and    
then my heart smote me4 ,when ,i felt   
the little form writhing  in pain1 as ,i
 held him by one arm1 it dawned on me   
that ,i was a brute4    ,i can shut my  
eyes still and see that little child    
sitting on a bank of  coarse grass and  
weeping bitter tears4 ,how ,i despised  
myself6 ,i would  have taken him in my  
arms and begged his forgiveness1 but ,i 
felt sure the  child would not think my 
remorse sincere1 and might think me a   
hypocrite4  ,no1 ,i thought it best to  
let the child think me a brute1 rather  
than  believe me a hypocrite4 ,he must  
have faith in my honesty1 even though ,i
  was an honest brute4    ,i resolved   
right then and there that ,i never would
 strike my child again4  ,my paternal   

heart told me that ,solomon was         
wrong--that if he had but one  boy he   
would try love1 and not the lash4       
,solomon had so many children and  so   
many wives1 that he couldn't love any of
 them truly and sincerely4 ,i  would not
 take advice from any man who made women
 slaves to his animal  passion1 and who 
encouraged the brutal act of inflicting 
pain on the  tender flesh of a helpless 
child4 ,the child that is beaten must   
surely  grow hard of heart1 as well as  
calloused of back1 where the rod leaves 
welts and scars4    ,i asked my boy only
 the other day--he is fourteen          
now--whether he still  remembered the   
cruel blow ,i struck him1 and when he   
replied that he did1  my head fell and  
my heart felt a peculiar pain4 ,oh1 to  
recall that one  brutal blow1 or have it
 forgotten by the boy who was once that 
quivering1  sobbing child6    ,i am     
certain that the boy is just as obedient
 as any other boy in the  neighborhood1 
and would be just the same if never     

struck that one blow4 ,i  still tell him
 how sorry ,i am that ,i once lost my   
head and beat a child4  ,i want him to  
feel and know that love is a better     
ruler than the rod4 ,and  after ,i am   
gone1 and the boy recalls my face1 ,i   
want him to think kindly  of me and     
realize how that one blow has pained me 
all through life1 and  made one shadow  
of paternal shame4    ,not long ago ,i  
heard a mother boasting of how she      
conquered her  thirteen-year-old        
daughter4 ,for some trivial disobedience
 she struck  the child with a rod1 which
 stung the child to anger1 and roused   
her  rebellious spirit4 ,she refused to 
beg her mother's pardon until deep red  
scars and seams lined her back1 through 
which the red blood was seeping1  and   
then pain forced her to break down and  
ask pardon4 ,but was the girl  sincere8 
,was she conquered1 subdued8 ,was her   
spirit broken8    ,i hope not4 ,a child 
with a broken spirit is a pitiable      
object4 ,her pride  is forever injured4 

,and the child that fears her mother can
 never love  her in the true sense of   
filial affection4 ,and if she was not   
sincere in  begging her mother's pardon1
 if it was only to escape the awful     
pain1  then the first seeds of hypocrisy
 have been sown1 and the child will     
never be truthful again4    ,i know a   
father who imagines that it is his      
paternal prerogative to  punish his     
child whenever required1 and he is to be
 the judge and jury  to decide when the 
child needs punishment1 and the extent  
of that  punishment4 ,he quotes ,solomon
 to prove his position4    ,not long ago
 his boy of five years refused to repeat
 a word dictated by  his father1 and for
 this disobedience the boy was made to  
stand on the  floor erect1 until        
conquered4 ,the father didn't try moral 
suasion or  coaxing or petting4 ,he was 
not in favor of arbitration between     
father  and child4 ,it was war to the   
finish4 ,the boy's rebellious spirit    
must be  broken1 at any cost4 ,it was   

the father's duty to conquer the child4 
,the  big strong man must triumph1      
because might is right4 ,solomon advised
 this4    ,it was #g ,p4 ,m4 when the   
boy was first stood up on the floor4    
,the father  demanded obedience of the  
child when anger filled the child's     
heart4 ,it  aroused the rebellious      
spirit--the boy would not be conquered4 
,it was  the courage and will that is to
 make the man a doer and a worker when  
childhood is gone1 but the father didn't
 realize it4 ,at #aj o'clock the  child 
fell over in a faint--unconquered and   
unsubdued--and was critically  ill for  
many days4    ,that father may be right1
 but ,i do not believe it4 ,i would give
 much to  recall the one cruel blow ,i  
struck when my boy was a helpless child4
          ,,not ,a ,,clinging ,,vine    
,some men fail to win the woman they    
love1 because they are physically too   
strong and powerful4 ,some women love to
 cling1 as a vine1 to the man who       
resembles the sturdy oak1 but not all of

 them do--not even half the women  do   
the clinging act4 ,i know of a case     
where a strong man proposed to a        
beautiful girl who had entered a        
hospital to become a nurse4 ,she did not
  appear quite strong enough to endure  
the strenuous duties of a nurse1 but    
she insisted that she loved the work and
 would stick to it4 ,her lover  sought  
to turn her from her chosen profession  
and become his wife1 but  she frankly   
told him that she did not love him      
enough to become his wife4    ,people   
without imagination and without a proper
 conception of what true  love really   
is1 wondered why the girl did not marry 
the man1 for he  was quite wealthy1     
handsome1 and of good character4 ,some  
even alluded  to his good family1 but   
the nurse declared that a man was good  
through  education1 and not through     
inheritance4 ,she referred to the case  
of a  child taken from a large family of
 children and placed in the home of  a  
rich man who gave her many educational  

advantages4 ,she outgrew the  daughter  
even in intelligence and beauty1 while  
all the other brothers  and sisters left
 in the home nest grew up in ignorance  
and immoralities  and did not resemble  
their educated sister at all4 ,it was   
all the effect  of education and not of 
blood or inheritance4    ,and the strong
 man gave up the girl and went away to a
 distant town to  go into business4 ,bad
 investments swept his fortune away and 
he fell  ill4 ,his last dollar was gone 
and his health so bad that he no longer 
resembled the physical giant of former  
years4    ,at last he became so ill that
 he was taken to the hospital for       
treatment1  where in his delirium he    
called for 8,agnes1 ,agnes60 all the    
time4 ,the  physician declared that this
 ,agnes must be found1 or the man would 
surely  die4 ,his old town was located  
and old acquaintances consulted1 and the
  ,agnes called for was the girl in the 
hospital learning to become a  trained  
nurse4    ,when told who it was that was

 calling for her she said she would go  
to  him4 ,all her nature seemed changed4
 ,harry was no longer the physical      
giant inviting her to cling to his      
sturdy frame for support4 ,he was now   
lying helpless on his back1 his fortune 
and physical strength all gone4  ,she   
would be the strong uplifter and the    
inspiration that would bring him  back  
to health4 ,she was now in her proper   
sphere4 ,she was all woman1 all         
sympathy and affection4 ,she who could  
not cling to the strong man1 now  gave  
her strength to assist the weak4        
8,agnes1 ,agnes60 he called one night1  
and when she went to him and placed  her
 cool hand on his feverish brow and     
asked tenderly3 8,what is it1  ,harry8  
,i am your ,agnes--don't you know me80  
,he looked up with a world of  joy in   
his eyes and exclaimed3 8,thank ,god1   
,agnes6 ,i have wanted you so  badly6 ,i
 was going to die4 ,i shall now get     
well60    ,and he fell asleep while she 
watched4 ,was it strange that she now   

loved  the man better than her own life8
 ,how weak and helpless he was2 only the
  shadow of his former physical strength
 and beauty4 ,and yet1 as she looked    
upon his helplessness1 and realized that
 his fortune was gone1 and that  he was 
now even poorer than herself1 her heart 
and soul went out to him1  and all      
missions in life narrowed down to a     
resolve to nurse him back to  health and
 happiness4    ,when he recovered       
sufficiently to sit up1 and noticed the 
changed look  in her beautiful eyes1 he 
one day asked3 8,agnes1 dear ,agnes1 is 
it  possible that since my health and   
wealth are gone you can love me80 ,she  
dropped her head and remained silent4   
8,forgive me10 he said sadly1 8,i was   
foolishly mistaken in what ,i saw in    
your eyes4 ,i was looking through my    
love4 ,nobody could love a wreck like   
me40    ,she looked up with a world of  
love in her eyes and cried3 8,you were  
not  mistaken1 ,harry6 ,i do love you6  
and all the more because you need me    

now4  ,i could not be a vine1 but ,i can
 be your support and guide60            
,,the ,,saloon ,,in ,,our ,,town      ,i
 simply judge from what ,i've seen4     
,when ,i moved to this backwoods        
village1 six years ago1 the hotel was   
the only industry in town--turning  out 
8skates40 ,one of the daily patrons of  
the hotel bar was brother to  a         
millionaire of ,central ,pennsylvania4  
,i asked him one day if he didn't  envy 
his brother the great wealth he had     
piled up1 but 8,uncle ,enoch0  gave me a
 little dance on the flag stone in front
 of the post office and  remarked3      
8,phil never had the good time in life  
that ,i am having4 ,besides  this1 he's 
twenty years older than ,i am1 which are
 good for at least five  hundred jolly  
times4 ,without a sou or a picayune in  
my pockets1 ,i'm as  happy as a king1 so
 long as ,i can work the crowd for a    
drink40    ,well1 who can say how much  
8,uncle ,enoch's0 light-hearted manner  
cheered  the plodding people1 who worked

 year in and year out for a bare        
existence8 ,i have seen men laugh at his
 drunken pranks who hadn't given  birth 
to a pleasant smile for weeks4    ,but  
somewhere in the world a deserted wife  
ekes out her own living at  slavish     
toil1 because of ,enoch's love of the   
cup that cheers4 ,and in his  sober     
hours ,i have heard 8,uncle ,enoch0     
lament the loss of his companion1       
declaring that she was a good wife1 and 
that the fault was all his own4    ,this
 country hotel made a splendid stopping 
place for the sporting  lawyers and     
business men of the nearest city1 and no
 questions were  asked when several     
automobile loads of sports and loudly   
dressed females  stopped and engaged the
 ball room for a dance4 8,uncle ,enoch0 
would join  them and dance in a corner1 
while the set was going through the     
whirling  waltz1 and sometimes stop the 
dance while he sang 8,my ,bonny ,black  
,bess40    ,several other local         
characters patronized the bar and       

thought they were  having a good time1  
but when seen next day in their homes1  
where poverty  and squalor and ragged   
children predominated1 one could easily 
see that  their 8good time0 for one     
night cut a great gash into the bare    
comforts  of life during the next two   
weeks4 ,and the wife and children1 who  
had no  good time at all1 were obliged  
to share in his regrets and poverty even
  longer than he2 for he went out to    
work amongst the farmers1 and was well  
fed1 while the children and mother ate  
the scant supply of food in the         
neglected home4    ,the second year     
after my arrival in the village the new 
,methodist  minister took sick and his  
wife ran over to my house to borrow some
  brandy4 ,i had none1 but said ,i would
 go down to the hotel and get my        
private bottle filled1 and lend it to   
them4 ,the landlord said he was  out of 
brandy1 but had some extra good whiskey 
for fifty cents a pint4  ,knowing the   
minister had severe cramps1 ,i took the 

substitute and hurried  home1 leaving   
the bottle at the minister's house1 and 
telling his wife  to use all the liquor 
she needed1 and when the bottle was     
empty1 ,i would  have it refilled4      
,next day the minister was up and around
 again1 and his wife brought the  flask 
home4 ,it was almost full4 ,the new     
minister was1 no doubt1 a good  judge of
 whiskey1 and preferred to take chances 
with death1 rather than  drink much of  
the vile stuff masquerading as whiskey4 
,after that time ,i was not very        
friendly to the hotel man4 ,i had gone  
on  his petition to the court for a     
license to sell whiskey and beer1 and   
the stuff he sold me to save the        
minister's life was neither4 ,afterwards
  a neighbor's wife took sick and we    
doped her with the contents of that     
bottle1 and she got well4 ,being no     
judge of liquor1 she thought it was  all
 right1 and her faith cured her4        
,towards fall business became slack1 the
 stock of whiskey became so low  in the 

jugs that there was spontaneous         
combustion1 the insurance policy  took  
fire1 and the hotel1 with all its       
contents1 except the most valuable      
things which were stored in trunks and  
left near the door1 were consumed  by   
fire4    ,since then the town has been  
dry2 8,uncle ,enoch0 is satisfied with  
an  occasional jag on hard cider1 the   
wives and mothers look happier1 the     
children are better clothed1 and we buy 
our medicinal liquor at the city  drug  
stores and pay five times more than it  
is worth4    ,my honest belief is1 that 
the saloon could be easily dispensed    
with1 if  the government would place on 
sale sealed bottles of genuine rye      
whiskey  for medicinal purposes1 at a   
fair price4 ,i do not believe in        
prohibition  to the full letter of the  
law4 ,whiskey is a medicine1 and we need
 it just  as badly as we need any other 
poisonous drug4 ,i am subject to chills1
 and  whiskey is the best remedy ,i ever
 discovered for chills4 ,the only bad   

effect is that the more whiskey ,i have 
in the house1 the more frequent  are my 
attacks of chills4 ,i use more caution1 
too--,i take a jigger  occasionally to  
prevent the very first symptoms of a    
chill4          ,,the ,,homesick ,,child
      ,it was in the cool of a summer   
evening that ,i saw the child leaning   
over  the railing of the river bridge   
and looking through her tears toward the
  opposite side of the stream4 ,i knew  
intuitively that the tears in her  eyes 
were sad ones1 because sorrowful tears  
seem to stand in pools and  only gush   
out at intervals4 ,tears of joy well out
 as fast as generated1  for the eyelids 
stiffen under the influence of gladness 
and eject the  tears automatically4 ,in 
sorrow the eyes seem to recede and the  
eye-lids  grow flabby and helpless1 and 
the tears stand in pools around the     
corners  of the eyes1 as though lacking 
the courage to gush out and part with   
the  aching heart beneath4    8,are you 
sick1 little girl80 ,i asked4 ,she tried

 to answer1 but the words  would not    
come4 ,she only sobbed1 and the pool of 
tears gushed out under  the new         
disturbance and ran down her pale       
cheeks4 8,don't talk1 if you  don't care
 to1 child1 but if you are in trouble ,i
 may be able to assist  you4 ,have you a
 home80    8,oh yes1 sir60 she burst    
out1 as though the word 8home0 opened   
the door  to her heart4 8,my home is far
 out over this river and beyond those   
hills  you see in the west60    8,and   
why are you here80 ,i asked kindly4     
8,oh1 ,i'm out at service4 ,i'm working 
in ,sheriff ,barker's kitchen1 helping  
the misses with her work4 ,i'm earning  
my own living1 besides giving some      
money to papa for the other children4   
,there's so many of us1 you see40       
8,how old are you80 ,i asked1 not out of
 curiosity1 but out of sympathy4        
8,oh1 ,i'm twelve years old6 ,there are 
four younger than me1 and three  older4 
,we all go out at ten years and rustle  
for ourselves40    8,dear ,god1 what an 

age6 ,what trials for such little       
bodies6 ,but what were  you crying about
 when ,i first came here80 ,i asked4    
8,oh1 sir1 ,i was so homesick6 ,i often 
get that way through the day1 and  at   
evening ,i come out here to the bridge  
and look out toward the dear old  home  
and cry to see the children1 and it     
really makes me feel better4 ,it  takes 
that heavy feeling out of my heart and  
,i can look away ahead and  feel        
hopeful40    8,what is your father's    
name80 ,i asked4    8,papa's name is    
,john ,deer--,i'm ,jennie4 ,mamma calls 
me ,jean1 and the boys  call me ,jen4   
,the ,barkers call me ,jane4 ,i like to 
be called ,jean1 because  that's what   
mamma calls me4 ,i love my mamma so     
well1 so well6 and my  heart is aching  
to see ,willie and ,bessie and the      
others tonight60    8,why1 ,jean1 ,i    
know your father well1 and ,i remember  
your mother4 ,i worked  in the lumber   
woods with your father in #ahhd4 ,he    
would write letters to  his sweetheart  

every ,sunday1 and every ,wednesday he  
would always get one  from his girl4    
,how glad he would be after reading her 
letters4 ,she was a  little school      
teacher in those old days40    8,go on10
 she cried4 8,oh1 ,i love to hear you   
talk of my papa and mamma as  they were 
before they were married6 ,i wonder if  
they loved each other  like the people  
we read about in the story books80      
8,i believe they did1 ,jean4 ,at least  
your father loved ,carrie ,green just   
as fondly as young men love in story    
books4 ,i had a best girl1 too1 in      
those days1 and we often spoke of them1 
and what we would do after we got       
married40    8,and did you marry your   
best girl1 too80 she eagerly inquired4  
8,no1 ,jean10 ,i said1 and a wave of    
memory flashed over my mind and ,i      
paused to look down through that memory 
to the vista away off in the  distance4 
8,did you quarrel80 she asked1 her eyes 
showing how much she was  interested4   
8,no1 ,jean--she died40    8,you poor   

man60 she cried4 8,did it almost break  
your heart8 ,oh1 ,i can  feel all you   
felt when your sweetheart died1 for     
there can be no greater  sorrow than to 
be homesick--to wish so earnestly for   
the ones you love  best on earth--to    
long for your mother's breast--that you 
may lay your  aching head down and close
 your eyes and think only of how dear   
she is to  you4 ,oh1 ,i'm so glad you   
told me of your dead sweetheart1 for you
 know  how it feels to be sad and       
sorrowful1 and can sympathize with a    
homesick  girl60          ,,why ,,he    
,,quit ,,hunting      ,my friend        
,stevenson visited me a few weeks ago1  
and during our  conversation ,i asked   
him what luck he had during the last    
hunting season4  ,he looked at me       
shame-faced and said3 8,i don't hunt any
 more4 ,i gave it  up two years ago4 ,i 
don't believe it's the kind of pleasure 
a civilized  man needs4 ,i prefer to    
live for other things--for joys that    
give pain to  no other living thing4    

,i'll tell you about that last hunt4 ,we
 were out  on the ,hogback mountain and 
three of us had been standing at the    
head  of the ,cramer ,hollow while one  
went down along the point and drove the 
game into the ravine4 ,while we were    
standing there looking down the  hollow 
,i noticed something moving through the 
brush far down the ravine4  ,i whispered
 to the others and we all watched the   
thicket closely with  eager1 alert eyes4
    8,pretty soon two small deer stepped
 into view--a spike buck and a little   
doe4 ,silently we drew up our guns and  
all aimed at the unsuspecting  little   
creatures4 ,how eager we were to kill4  
,every man tingled with  eagerness and  
excitement4 ,not a shadow of mercy      
flitted across our  souls4 ,we were     
savages and barbarians eager for blood6 
,why8 ,we had gone  hunting for the     
pleasure of killing something4 ,we      
needed a change4 ,we had  been tied to  
our business for several months and felt
 worn-out and low  spirited1 so we went 

out to the woods to take on new life by 
taking the  life of some innocent       
creature that loved life as well as we4 
,the sight  of blood would appeal to the
 old savage nature that still lingers in
 the  human heart like typhoid germs in 
an old well4    8#8,crack1 crack1       
crack6' went the three rifles1 and our  
victim fell to  his knees4 ,he struggled
 to his feet and started to run up the  
hill4 ,we  could see that he was wounded
 badly4 ,how our souls rejoiced and     
exalted4  ,some one's bullet had gone   
tearing through his little body and his 
life's  blood was flowing away4 ,again  
our guns cracked and belched forth the  
death dealing lead1 and the animal fell 
to the earth without a cry or  appeal   
for mercy4 ,did instinct1 or reason1    
teach the poor creature that  it need   
not appeal to man for mercy8    8,we all
 rushed down the hollow to where our    
victim lay4 ,there was no more  mercy in
 our hearts than there is charity in the
 heart of a rattle snake4  ,the deer had

 tried to get up again and was on its   
knees when we came  upon it4 ,i was in  
the lead4 ,as ,i approached1 the dying  
animal turned its  hopeless eyes full   
upon me1 and the pain and the fear and  
the horror1 all  mingled into one last  
dying appeal1 went straight to my heart4
 ,i stopped  dead still and allowed the 
others to pass me4 ,they grabbed the    
animal by  the head with eager1 cruel   
hands and turned it over on its side4 ,i
 shut  my eyes1 but ,i could hear the   
ugly rasping sound of the knife as it   
was  drawn viciously back and forth     
across that helpless throat1 and heard  
the  life blood gushing out upon the    
dead leaves4    8,i felt sick at heart4 
,a wave of regret and remorse swept over
 me--of  guilt and shame and            
humiliation1 and the sweat stood on my  
forehead like  animated grains of corn4 
,i had helped kill the innocent creature
 for  pleasure--for the mere pleasure of
 killing2 for ,i did not even like the  
taste of venison4    8,i was too sick to

 assist in the job1 but the others cut  
through the  abdominal walls and tore   
out the steaming entrails like savages4 
,not a  thought entered their mind that 
this poor animal loved life as well as  
they4 ,they came to kill1 and they were 
exultant over the killing4 ,the  life   
blood went coursing through their veins 
in a happy1 exultant stream1  and their 
hearts beat in tune with the song of    
their souls4 ,and on the  ground the    
stains of red showed where the innocent 
blood had seeped  into the earth4 ,if   
the earth is part of ,god1 then ,god was
 absorbing the  evidence of our guilt4  
8,we shouldered our victim and struggled
 down the ravine4 ,we tied the  animal's
 legs together and had a pole between   
them1 and put the ends on  our          
shoulders4 ,i managed to take the lead1 
so that ,i need not look upon  the body 
of our slain friend4 ,but with all my   
care ,i got blood on my  hands and on my
 clothes6 ,while my companions took     
delight in displaying  the dried blood  

stains on their hands when we reached   
home1 ,i felt guilty  of mine and washed
 them several times before ,i went to   
bed4    8,but ,i couldn't sleep for many
 hours after ,i had gone to bed--not    
until ,i  made a solemn vow that ,i     
would never willingly shed innocent     
blood again40          ,,the            
,,hard-,,luck ,,showman      ,few people
 pity the circus people when they are in
 hard luck4 ,so long as  they can amuse 
and entertain they are applauded1 but   
when they fail to do  this1 people turn 
from them as they would from a bundle of
 old clothes1  forgetting that          
heartaches and sorrows and              
disappointments sink as deep  into their
 hearts as they do into the hearts of   
the unsuccessful people  in any other   
calling or profession4 ,dyke ,dingleman 
had been a successful  clown and funny  
man for ten years4 ,the audience had    
fairly whooped and  yelled at some of   
his funny sayings and antics1 and the   
managers paid his  salary cheerfully and

 praised him for his successful work4   
,but one night  in a large city he      
failed to win a smile from the large    
audience4 ,he went  through his stunts  
in such a stiff and listless way that   
nobody could  see any fun in him or his 
bad attempts at humor4 ,after the show  
was out  the senior proprietor of the   
show scolded him for his poor playing   
and  threatened to discharge him if it  
ever occurred again4 ,he said nothing1  
but pulled a telegram from his pocket   
and handed it to the proprietor4 ,it    
read3 8,bessie is dying--can't you come 
home8--,edith40    8,why didn't you tell
 me you had trouble1 ,dyke8 ,forgive me 
for what ,i have  said to you4 ,go home 
to your wife and dying child at once4   
,billings can  take your place until you
 join us again40    ,dyke didn't seem   
like his old self after ,bessie died4   
,he joined the show  at ,lima1 ,ohio1   
but he was no good as a clown4 ,all the 
fun had gone out  of his soul1 and the  
audience hissed him4 ,the people did not

 understand4  ,he had to give up the    
situation and take the part of          
assistant1 and wear  a red coat4        
,carrying mats and other fixtures into  
the ring was very  humiliating1 and the 
wages were very low for such work4 ,he  
couldn't  support his wife on the       
salary1 and she went home to her folks  
and  refused to write to him4 ,she      
thought there was a chance to please his
  other women1 or for booze4    ,one day
 the man who gave the outside           
entertainment was ill1 and the          
proprietor wanted a substitute4 ,dyke   
used to perform on the tight rope1  and 
he thought here was a chance to please  
his employer4 ,he felt that  he could do
 the clown stunts again1 if he had      
another trial4 ,sorrow had  sweetened   
his bitter life1 and he thought he knew 
better what genuine  humor should be    
than ever before4 ,he would perform the 
old stunts on the  high rope in a more  
ridiculous manner than any man dared4   
,it was all  pantomime1 and he need not 

use his broken voice at all4    ,and the
 audience did enjoy the performance4    
,they never saw such a daring1          
desperate man before4 ,he was playing   
for reputation and his wife's love  and 
sympathy4 ,the last jump on the rope was
 higher and wilder and more  daring than
 any before4 ,when he landed on the rope
 something gave away1  the rope slipped 
through the pulley so rapidly that ,dyke
 couldn't grasp  any of the stays in his
 fall4 ,he landed with one leg on a     
stake and the  bone was snapped above   
the knee4 ,his poor shoulder was also   
dislocated  and his head bruised4 ,the  
roustabouts picked him up and carried   
him into  the tent1 and the crowd jammed
 closer to see his blood on the ground4 
,a  few women had screamed when they saw
 him fall1 and several men groaned1  but
 he was only a showman1 and they all    
went away and soon forgot him4    ,the  
afternoon performance was just as good1 
and the clowns were just  as funny1 as  
though poor ,dyke ,dingleman did not lie

 unconscious at  the hospital4 ,in the  
morning the circus left town1 but not   
before the  proprietors of the circus   
had made arrangements at the hospital   
for the  care of the injured actor4     
,two weeks after the accident ,dyke told
 his nurse all about his  misfortunes   
and about his wife leaving him4 ,he said
 he had nothing to  live for and might  
as well die4 ,the nurse was a romantic  
soul and set  about to win ,dyke's wife 
back to him4 ,she wrote a long letter1  
telling  her husband's story of hard    
luck just as he had told it to her1 and 
begged her to come at once to his bed   
and give him love and hope and          
sympathy1 so that he would have         
something to live for4    ,there never  
was a happier set of hospital nurses    
than there was in that  particular      
hospital when ,dyke's wife came to his  
bed and threw her loving  arms around   
his wasted body and asked him to forgive
 her for leaving him  when his heart was
 heavy with sorrow from grieving over   

,bessie's death4    ,and then she       
embraced the nurse who had told ,dyke's 
story so beautifully  and pathetically1 
and the doctor assured them all that the
 patient was  going to recover rapidly  
now4 ,he could see signs of health and  
love of  life coming back to the haggard
 face of the hard-luck showman4    ,the 
story was written up by the same        
romantic nurse and sent to a paper1  and
 the whole town was in sympathy with    
,dyke ,dingleman and his wife4 ,next    
day when another big circus came to town
 the nurse wrote the manager1  inclosing
 ,dyke's story1 and advised a benefit   
exhibition4 ,the city turned  out and   
,dyke's share of the net profits was    
#cjj4          ,,playing ,,with ,,hearts
      ,he was a cripple1 without        
education or any accomplishments1 and it
 was  wrong in ,mary ,mackey to         
encourage the boy in falling head over  
heels in  love with her1 but she was    
only a school girl1 with a desire for   
romance  and excitement1 and ,lyndal    

,mason1 with his boyish adoration and   
loyalty  was just what she wanted to    
make life tolerable4 ,in a way she liked
  ,lyndal1 because he was full of       
romantic and heroic tales of adventure1 
most of the tales being coined to suit  
the occasion4    ,i often wonder why    
boys1 without future prospects or       
opportunity to make  life a success1 are
 always falling seriously in love1 with 
thoughts of  matrimony in the near      
future4    ,looking back to my own early
 boyhood days1 ,i can see myself in love
 with  girls who only laughed at my     
grotesque aspirations4 ,i never once    
thought  of the responsibilities that go
 with matrimony4 ,i only knew that there
  was one girl on earth ,i could not    
live without possessing her love4 ,but  
,i did live through it all1 after       
discovering that she did not care a fig 
for me4 ,i always took consolation by   
falling in love with some other  girl4  
,by the time ,i was eighteen years old1 
,i had been slighted and  jilted so     

often that ,i began to realize my       
worth--or worthlessness1 rather4    ,it 
was different with ,lyndal1 because     
,mary encouraged him and led him  on4   
,she even sent him an invitation to her 
graduation at the high school  where she
 attended1 and where ,lyndal often      
called on her4 ,i remember now  that he 
came to me and asked for a job to earn  
some money to buy ,mary a  graduation   
present4 ,i remember still how hard he  
worked and how pleased  he was at sight 
of the money he had earned4 ,he bought  
her a pretty little  pin1 and the       
superstitious told him it would prick   
the love bubble and  let out all her    
affections4    ,he sent his present by  
mail1 for ,mary's parents were trying to
 break up  the youthful flirtation1 and 
had forbidden her to encourage the young
  man any longer4 ,he sat away back in  
the school room on the commencement     
night1 but not too far back to notice   
the fact that she was not wearing  the  
pin he gave her as a graduation present4

 ,no1 but at her throat she  wore the   
gold pin ,oliver ,birdsall had given    
her4 ,he knew the pin because  he saw   
young ,birdsall buy it4 ,this young man 
was the son of wealthy  parents1 and    
would be very acceptable to ,mary's     
parents4 ,lyndal saw his  rival throw a 
bouquet of carnations at the feet of    
,mary at the conclusion  of her address4
 ,she picked it up and smiled her thanks
 back to ,oliver1  and ,lyndal read his 
fate in that smile--,mary ,mackey was   
forever out of his  reach4    ,oh1 the  
agony of the moments that followed that 
revelation4 ,had ,mary ever  dreamed of 
the sorrow she was creating for the poor
 boy when she led him  on1 would she    
have done so8    ,playing with human    
hearts is a very dangerous game1 yet    
some heartless1  thoughtless people take
 great delight in love conquests4 ,they 
find a  morbid pleasure in the pain     
suffered by others4 ,to have some one   
plainly  longing to possess them1       
satisfies their vanity4 ,youth is cruel 

and  heartless4 ,to feel that hearts are
 aching for their smiles is food for    
their ambition4 ,they want to be heart  
breakers and the destroyers of  peace4  
,the triumphant look ,mary glanced at   
,lyndal as she passed out of  the school
 room on ,birdsall's arm1 brought       
comfort to her giddy soul4    ,did she  
ever regret it8 ,it is hard to tell4    
,some people love notoriety  and to have
 some one die for them is the climax to 
earthly triumph4 ,i  have often tried to
 picture in my mind the feelings of poor
 crippled  ,lyndal ,mason as he walked  
home through the darkness of the night1 
with  a denser darkness falling like a  
pall of gloom all around his throbbing  
heart4    ,in the morning he did not    
come downstairs at the usual hour1 and  
when his  mother went to his room1 she  
noticed a peculiar odor of laudanum on  
the  air4 ,with a wail of injured mother
 love she fell upon his stiffened form  
and kissed his white face in a frenzy of
 despair4 ,could ,mary ,mackey have     

seen this sad picture1 would she have   
been sorry8 ,i do not know4 ,they  say  
she looked stunned when presented with  
the message written by ,lyndal  on that 
fatal night4 ,it was written with an    
unsteady hand1 and said3  8,good-bye    
,mary--your plaything is at rest40      
,,true ,,friendship      ,true          
friendship never changes1 never grows   
weary of serving1 never dies4  ,i have  
in my mind two men ,i once knew in      
,colorado1 ,barney ,kennedy and  ,fred  
,gordon--8,little ,fred ,gordon40       
,kennedy was a big1 robust son of the   
,emerald ,isle1 standing six feet in his
 shoes1 and strong as an ox2 ,gordon  a 
puny little fellow1 born in ,iowa1 and  
weighing scarcely #adj pounds4  ,i      
expected everything of ,kennedy1 but    
,gordon was only a little1 common  place
 man who would not attract attention4   
,when the gold excitement in ,alaska was
 raging in #ahig these two men left     
home together1 for they had been both   
friends and companions for many  long   

years1 and struck out for the promised  
land in hopes of finding the  delusive  
metal4 ,but hunting gold in ,alaska is  
full of danger1 privations  and         
hardships1 and before the first year had
 passed away these two  friends found   
themselves #bjj miles from a doctor1 and
 ,kennedy dying of  scurvy4 ,the giant  
was helpless1 and dependent on his      
little friend4  ,gordon tried to get    
some one to assist him in taking his    
sick friend back  to ,skagway1 but these
 men had come out to dig for gold1 and  
had no time  to waste on dying men who  
were strangers to them4    ,but         
,gordon's friendship was of the true    
sort--the kind that never fails1  and   
only dies with the possessor4 ,he       
started out alone to drag his friend    
#bjj long1 weary1 horrible1             
soul-depressing miles through the       
trackless  snow to a physician4         
,think of such an undertaking1 for      
friendship's sake--to drag a #bjj-pound 
man on a sledge1 with provisions enough 

to feed them for fifteen days4          
,kennedy was unable to stand alone1 and 
was awed by his comrade's bravery  and  
daring courage4 ,could he succeed8 ,the 
sick man was frightened at the  gloomy  
prospect4 ,two hundred miles over the   
virgin snow1 and dragging  three times  
his weight on a clumsy sled4 ,all day   
trudging along1 and at  night camping on
 the dreary waste of unfriendly ice and 
snow4 ,how far it  seemed back to       
civilization and a warm room4 ,how cold 
the moon and the  stars appeared away up
 in the blue sky4 ,god was supposed to  
be up there1  too1 but he seemed to be  
farther away than the remotest star on  
these  lonely nights4 ,but the undaunted
 ,gordon refused to give up4 ,his       
optimism  never failed4 ,he must reach  
civilization and a physician1 for       
,kennedy's  sake4    ,one hundred miles 
are successfully1 though painfully      
trudged over2 then  twenty added--#adj  
traversed1 when one night ,gordon camped
 to await the  morning4 ,weary and worn 

out with many days of exertion1 he slept
 soundly1  dreaming of home and friends1
 wife and children4 ,when he awoke the  
stillness of the frozen north seemed    
more depressing than ever before4       
,there were many weary miles to travel  
yet2 but he got up with resolutions  as 
strong as ever4 ,he prepared the morning
 meal before he attempted to  wake      
,kennedy4 ,but ,kennedy would never     
awaken again4    ,gordon was shocked and
 heart-broken on making the awful       
discovery4 ,his  big-hearted ,irish     
friend was beyond the aid of an earthly 
physician4    ,perhaps it was the       
loneliness and the utter helplessness of
 the big man  that took away his courage
 and caused him to give up and die2 for 
he had  seemed very much depressed      
before ,gordon went to sleep that night4
    ,but ,gordon's friendship did not   
die1 and for four wearisome days he     
tugged at the sledge dragging the dead  
body of his friend over the  crunching  
snow1 too true a friend to desert an old

 companion even after  death had robbed 
the body of all that was loving and     
lovable1 and the  generous ,irish heart 
was silenced forever4    ,who but       
,gordon could picture those last days   
and lonely nights1 when he  labored so  
hard at his task1 and camped alone on   
the dreary snow at the  side of his     
friend4 ,he must sleep close to the body
 at night to prevent  the hungry wolves 
from devouring all that was left of his 
friend4    ,alone with the dead and the 
awful dreariness and bitter cold1 and   
the  realization that the trip had been 
a failure4 ,friendship had done all     
that friend could do for the living1 and
 all that friend could do for the  dead4
 ,the town was reached and ,kennedy     
given decent burial1 and ,gordon        
returned to the ,states4    ,little     
,fred ,gordon4 ,to look at him one would
 never dream of such  friendship and    
courage4 ,when ,i knew him he was       
keeping a feed store at  the corner of  
,fifth and ,main streets1 ,grand        

,junction1 ,colorado1 with no  thought  
of that awful experience in the land of 
delusive gold4          ,,sighing ,,of  
,,the ,,pines      ,to me there is      
something fascinating about an old      
deserted house standing  near a lonely  
country road4 ,the sashless windows and 
open doorways always  remind me of some 
strange animal gasping in the agonies of
 death4 ,and ,i  fall to wondering      
whether the people were happy who once  
occupied the  home when it was new4     
,what were their hopes and ambitions8   
,did they love  some one1 and were they 
loved in return8 ,did children once play
 around  that damaged door and look out 
through those windows and long to go out
  in the world and accomplish great     
things8    ,a few ,sundays ago ,i rode  
out over the country roads near my home1
 and  finally came to a road on which ,i
 had never traveled before4 ,it led down
  a valley that extended to the creek a 
few miles below4 ,we drove down this    
road after inquiring and learning that  

it connected with the creek road4  ,we  
knew our bearings when safely on the    
creek highway4 ,we had not driven  a    
mile before we came to the ideal        
fascinating deserted house4 ,all around 
it rank weeds and briars were growing4  
,the one door facing the road was  very 
low1 and on closer examination we       
discovered that two of the lower  logs  
had rotted away1 allowing the house to  
settle down two feet or more4  ,the     
windows were small and warped out of    
shape1 and not a single sash  in place4 
,the mortar and packing were gone from  
the crevices between the  logs1 and the 
old stone chimney was ragged and        
battered at the top4    ,but the wonder 
was that the shingles were in pretty    
good condition4 ,they  had been hewn    
from the virgin pine and shaved by the  
man who built the  house some eighty    
years ago4    ,it was a story-and-a-half
 house1 the upper half-story consisting 
of the  garret only4 ,the upper floor   
was missing and one could see to the    

rafters  when looking in the open door4 
,while we were sitting in the buggy and 
looking with a peculiar awe upon  the   
old home1 an old man came along and we  
asked him who had built the  house4 ,he 
stopped and walked over to the fence1   
put one foot on the  second rail to rest
 his leg1 and pointing to the old ruins 
with his  crooked cane1 said3    8,this 
is the ,fred ,beaver home4 ,he came here
 from ,germany in #ahbd1 and  settled on
 this piece of land4 ,he had only been  
married six weeks before  he sailed for 
the new world4 ,he had barely enough    
money to bring him and  his young wife  
to ,america4 ,he had a cousin living    
near here at the time1  and that is how 
he came to locate here in the woods4    
,his wife was never  contented1 but kept
 longing and longing for the dear old   
home across the  sea4 ,they were very   
poor1 so my father told me1 often not   
having enough  to eat1 and this made    
life still more dreary for the homesick 
wife4    8,at the end of five years1    

they had two children--,frederick and   
,elizabeth--,elizabeth is still living  
down in the town1 a very old woman4     
,after the children were born1 ,mrs4    
,beaver realized that she could never   
go back to her home across the sea4 ,she
 would never have the money to pay  her 
passage4 ,she felt like a caged lion    
pining behind iron bars4 ,before  the   
babies came she hoped to save money     
enough to go back and take her  husband 
along--providing he would go4 ,if not1  
she would go alone4 ,he was  a hunchback
 and not really kind to her1 though he  
loved her after the  manner of a wild   
animal loving its mate4    8,one day    
,beaver came home and found the children
 crying with hunger4 ,they  were only   
four and two years old4 ,the boy could  
talk enough to inform his  father that  
his mother had gone up to the loft and  
would not come down4  ,the man climbed  
up the ladder and was horrified to find 
his wife hanging  to a rafter--dead4    
,she had taken the rope out of the bed  

to hang herself  with4 ,her longing and 
longing for the home across the sea had 
ceased  forever4 ,if you will come to   
the door ,i can show you the rafter on  
which  she was hanging4 ,no8 ,don't care
 to8    8,yes1 the father lived right   
here with the children after that4 ,he  
got  a house keeper from somewhere in   
the neighborhood4 ,he was young and the 
love of life was still in his soul1 but 
he never married another woman4  ,years 
afterward the children would find him   
sitting under the rafter on  which his  
wife died1 weeping like a child4        
8,yes1 the son1 young ,fred1 built the  
new house over yonder1 after he got     
married1 and took his father there to   
live4 ,but the old man would come  back 
daily and sit in the open door and sing 
the ,german hymn that was the  favorite 
with his wife when they were courting   
across the sea4    8,yes1 they say the  
house is haunted1 since the old man     
died4 ,people  passing on moonlight     
nights insist that they see ,beaver and 

his wife  sitting in the open door1 and 
hear a low crooning song4 ,me8 ,oh1 ,i  
think  the noise is the sighing of the  
pines over yonder40          ,,the      
,,home-,,sick ,,horses      8,do horses 
think80 asked a lady of my acquaintance1
 and ,i hastened to  assure her that    
they did4 ,i told her of the horse my   
boy drives every  ,saturday evening to  
sell newspapers to the farmers near our 
home4 ,just so  soon as the horse sees  
that the boy is delivering papers he    
turns into  the gate of every regular   
customer and stops4 ,if strangers get   
into the  buggy old 8,vinci0 turns his  
head to see who it is and what they look
 like4    8,yes10 replied the woman1    
8and they have melancholy thoughts1 and 
become  home-sick1 like human beings1   
too4 ,the saddest thing ,i recall from  
my  farm life happened when ,i was a    
girl of twelve years4 ,we had a little  
team of bay horses named ,colonel and   
,rock4 ,when they were seven years old  
father sold them to a man who lived away

 back on the mountains4 ,i cried  when  
the man drove them away--cried because  
,i hated to part with them1  and because
 the poor horses did not realize that   
they were sold and were  being driven   
away1 never to return to the old barn   
and eat from the old  manger4 ,and every
 time ,i met the horses on the road ,i  
noticed how lean  they were getting1 and
 how melancholy and dejected they       
appeared4 ,i could  see sorrow written  
all over their faces4    8,i used to lie
 in bed and think of the long weary     
trips they were obliged  to make out    
over the rough mountain roads1 and      
always pictured them  leaning in their  
collars and drawing the heavy load to   
their new home4  ,i don't believe they  
were ever satisfied and contented with  
their new  master1 but always dreamed of
 returning to the old home some glad    
day4    8,two years after they were sold
 they were turned out into the pasture  
field for the night4 ,somehow ,i went to
 sleep thinking of ,colonel  and ,rock  

that same night4 ,were they thinking of 
me8 ,some believe in  the transmission  
of thought waves1 and if this is true1  
why not the  transmission of animal     
thoughts1 as well as human thoughts that
 go out  unspoken to distant friends8   
8,at midnight a storm came up and the   
fence surrounding the pasture field  was
 blown down in several places4 ,after   
the storm was over both horses  found a 
broken panel in the fence and walked out
 of the inclosure4 ,it  was ten miles   
back to their old home4 ,i can see them 
look a ray of  intelligence into each   
other's eyes1 and then mutually start   
southward  over the lonely mountain     
road4 ,they could hear the sound of the 
locomotive whistle coming out through   
the night air1 and they knew that  near 
the old barn there was a railroad track 
where these iron monsters  passed many  
times every day4    8,and ,i was at home
 dreaming of just such a trip as they   
were making1 only  ,i dreamed that ,i   
was with them and talking to them and   

telling them how  much ,i missed them   
since they were taken away4    8,early  
in the morning ,i awoke from my dreams  
and rushed to the back  window and      
looked toward the barn4 #8,mother6' ,i  
shouted1 #8out yonder at  the barn stand
 dear old ,colonel and ,rock6 ,they have
 come back home6' ,she  came to the     
window and looked and gave a glad shout 
of surprise1 for she1  too1 felt sorry  
ever since the horses were driven away4 
,how glad ,i was to  see them6 but how  
my heart smote me when ,i saw how lean  
and dejected they  looked4 ,i would put 
on my clothes and go out to feed them   
out of their  old manger4    8,but while
 ,i looked a man came dashing up on a   
big black horse4 ,it was  the owner of  
,colonel and ,rock4 ,he had gone out    
early in the morning and  saw that the  
horses were gone4 ,he found the place   
where they left the  field and saw that 
their tracks turned toward the river4   
,did he1 too1  realize that ,rock and   
,colonel were never satisfied1 and were 

always  longing for the old home8       
8,mother went out and begged that the   
horses might be fed in their old  stalls
 before taken away1 but the man was     
angry1 and cursed ,rock and  ,colonel1  
and jerked at their bridles viciously   
and cut them severely with  a wicked    
whip as he lashed them into a trot and  
started back over the old  home-sick    
mountain road4 ,at the bend of the road 
both horses turned and  looked back     
longingly1 and ,i burst into bitter     
tears40          ,,the ,,blind          
,,cigarmaker      ,riding into the city 
one day on the overland stage ,i looked 
far ahead and  there ,i saw a man coming
 down the middle the road4 ,the highway 
was ankle  deep with dust1 and ,i surely
 thought the man was drunk4 ,i remarked 
to the  stage driver3 8,there comes a   
blind man20 and then ,i laughed1 for ,i 
still  thought the man was intoxicated4 
,as we drew near ,i could see the man   
feeling his way with a heavy cane4 ,he  
was blind1 and ,i had laughed at his    

blindness6 ,but1 as ,god is my judge1 ,i
  did not know it until after we drew so
 near to him that ,i could see his      
cane4    ,the blind man heard the stage 
approach and stepped to the side of the 
road for us to pass4 ,and then ,i       
recognized the poor fellow--it was      
,peter  ,paul4 ,i knew him thirty years 
ago1 when his diminishing eyesight      
warned  him that total blindness was    
near at hand4    ,mentally ,peter is far
 below the average1 but he realizes that
 society  owed him sufficient brotherly 
love to make an attempt to save him from
  the awful calamity of total blindness4
 ,he was a poor cigarmaker1 and  barely 
earned a livelihood4 ,he had no money to
 pay for treatment that  would help his 
poor eyes4    ,think of it1 in a land of
 ,christian civilization a man is left  
to walk  in literal darkness right at   
our door1 while zealous men and women   
send  thousands of dollars to so-called 
heathen lands1 to save the people there 
from so-called mental blindness4        

,justice and common sense should teach  
us to save the literally blind man at   
our door first1 and then go out to      
enlighten the blinded mental eyes of the
 heathen4 ,charity begins at home3  if  
charity jumps over human suffering at   
home1 and goes far abroad to do         
spectacular work in the name of         
religion1 both charity and religion are 
misplaced4    ,i spoke to the blind man 
as the stage passed1 and the response   
came so  very promptly that any one     
could see how gladly he received the    
greetings  of a human voice4 ,and then  
came the words that showed so plainly   
that  the blind always feel a sense of  
danger when walking alone3 8,am ,i near 
the river bridge80 ,i told him how far  
it was to the bridge as the stage       
whirled by1 and then ,i turned and      
watched the poor fellow feeling his way 
down the dusty road4    ,he carried a   
big box strapped to his shoulders in    
which he took cigars  to the town to    
sell1 or trade for goods4 ,he long ago  

married a widow who  lived in a village 
twenty miles north of the city1 where he
 had been born  and reared4 ,he still   
manufactured a poor variety of domestic 
cigars1 and  when a stock accumulated   
beyond the local trade he would load a  
dozen  boxes on his back and start for  
the city1 stopping to peddle his goods  
in  every little hamlet along the road4 
,many good people ridiculed the idea of 
,peter ,paul enjoying the society  of a 
wife4 ,they thought it an extravagant   
idea4 ,he should be denied  all this1   
because of his calamity4 ,men who value 
woman's love next to  nothing1 simply   
laughed at ,peter4 ,he could get along  
so easily without  such a luxury4 ,but  
,i tell you1 dear reader1 the man who   
puts no value on  woman's love has more 
of the animal in him than true manhood4 
,he makes  the poorest citizen of all   
men4 ,and ,peter ,paul1 though stone    
blind1 has  as much right to value      
woman's love as any other living man4   
,his world  is dark enough1 ,god knows1 

without denying him the one ray of light
 and  happiness that falls across his   
midnight road4    ,perhaps the stage    
driver wondered why ,i was so silent    
during the rest of  the ride into town1 
but ,i could not erase blind ,peter     
,paul from my mind4  ,not only ,peter1  
but in the city he had a brother and    
sister who were  blind4 ,these two lived
 and kept house1 being assisted by good 
neighbors  to obtain the necessaries of 
life4 ,they inherited weak eyes from    
their  maternal parent1 and through     
poverty and neglect they were allowed to
  drift into absolute blindness without 
a single effort on the part of  society 
to save them from the awful calamity4   
,seems to me that whatever knowledge    
science has gained in the treatment  of 
human eyes should be a free gift to     
humanity4 ,if ever a public fund  was   
needed to save the unfortunate from such
 a calamity of darkness1  surely the    
treatment of the eyes should be as free 
as the salvation of  ,jesus ,christ4    

,i shut my eyes and see poor old ,peter 
feeling his way down the dusty  road1   
with a big box strapped to his back1 and
 ,i can not help but believe  that ,god 
is holding society guilty of brutal     
neglect4 ,seems to me that  when blind  
,peter ,paul goes feeling his way to the
 gates of heaven many of  his sins will 
be taken from his back and charged up to
 society4          ,,the ,,three        
,,classes      ,montgomery ,quiggle once
 said3 8,the world's population is      
divided into  three classes--those who  
have forged ahead of accepted theories1 
those  who have only reached the level  
of accepted theories1 and those who are 
slowly trudging along behind the march  
of progress without any theories  at    
all4 ,and the strange thing of it all   
is1 the middle class rule1  instead of  
those in advance40    ,in fact1 those in
 advance are punished for their advanced
 ideas1 are  ostracised1 maligned1      
mobbed and often imprisoned at the      
dictates of the  middle class1 while the

 rear class of mere thoughtless plodders
 cheer the  proceedings when an advanced
 thinker is thus caught and punished4   
,it has always been thus4 ,galileo was  
an early victim1 so was ,bruno1         
,savanarola1 and a thousand other bright
 mental lights who threw beams of       
illumination far in advance of the      
thick-headed middle class4 ,the thinker 
has always been a martyr to truth and   
justice4 ,the man who would remove  the 
mental fetters that chain the human     
mind1 has always been treated as  a     
heretic and traitor to good government  
and morality4    ,and the mobs that are 
chained to the old fogyism are always   
ready to  crucify the thinker who would 
dare devise means of setting them at    
liberty4    ,the middle class are always
 insisting that they have arrived at the
 top  of advanced ideas1 and that it is 
an unpardonable sin to advance one      
single step farther4 ,whatever form of  
government is accepted by them is  the  
right form1 and the 8crank0 who would   

suggest anything different1 is  a bad   
man4    ,and the unthinking plodders    
take up the cry and shout 8,bad man60 at
  everybody who accepts the new theory4 
,in fact1 the plodding mob is  used as a
 tail to the middle class kite1 and as  
of material assistance  in helping to   
hold the kite in proper position to     
catch the breeze4  ,and it is because   
the advanced class refuse to serve as a 
tail to the  conservative kite that they
 are persecuted4 ,they may in time      
persuade the  mob of plodders to cease  
playing tail-piece to the middle class  
kite1 and  let the kite come down with a
 bang and break up its stock of old     
exploded  theories and decayed ideas1   
and so leave them floundering in the mud
 of  mental stagnation4    ,read up the 
history of the old martyrs1 men who died
 on the scaffold and  at the stake for  
truth's sake1 and you will find in every
 instance that  they were men of        
advanced ideas--men who had broken away 
from conservative  fogyism and had made 

some attempt to break the fetters that  
bind the  minds of men and set them     
free4    ,in the eyes of the middle     
class there can be no greater crime than
 to  make an attempt to break the       
fetters of the mental slaves and stir   
the  minds of the plodding1 unthinking  
mob and set them to thinking real       
thoughts and evolving new theories4     
,go back a few years previous to the    
abolition of human slavery and notice   
how the advanced thinkers were treated4 
,history tells how ,thompson  narrowly  
escaped the mob at ,concord1 for        
teaching that human slavery is a  crime 
against ,god and man4 ,whittier was     
pelted with mud and stones1 and         
,garrison was often mobbed in ,boston4  
,at one time a subscription to a fund   
was asked of the ,norfolk people to  pay
 for the heads of ,thompson1 ,garrison  
and ,zappan1 and many ,southern  cities 
threatened to boycott all cities in the 
,north that allowed men  to teach the   
abolition of slavery4 ,and the plodding 

mob who were little  better than slaves 
themselves were ready to cast the first 
stone or  brickbat at the advanced      
thinkers who could see human slavery    
from the  human side4    ,i know a woman
 in ,colorado who had once been a       
,mormon4 ,she had been born  and reared 
in ,mormondom4 ,but she began to doubt  
the whole institution  when asked to    
become the fourth wife of a wealthy     
,mormon elder4 ,her  ideas had advanced 
beyond the pagan idea of such gross     
immorality4 ,it was  lucky for this     
woman that just outside of ,utah there  
were thousands of  people advanced      
beyond pagan morals4 ,she fled from home
 one night in a  covered wagon1 and     
outside the city she met her lover1 the 
young ,gentile  who had taught her the  
sham and pretentions of her father's    
religion4    ,in ,colorado they found   
safety and happiness4 ,she was an old   
woman when  ,i met her1 but she said she
 still trembled when she looked back to 
her  early experience4 ,had all the     

world believed in ,mormonism she could  
not  have escaped the lust of the       
,mormon elder and a life of misery4     
,,hissed ,,and ,,hooted      ,i saw him 
when he first came out of the ,sisters' 
hospital4 ,he had been  with the ,sells 
,brothers' ,circus1 but was taken with  
mountain fever while  the show was in   
,grand ,junction1 ,colorado4 ,his wife  
was a tight rope  dancer and trapeze    
performer1 and went on with the show4   
,she may have  regretted to go1 and she 
may not have cared at all4 ,she had     
never written  to him after she went    
away4 ,he told me confidentially that he
 suspected  her of being infatuated with
 one of the acrobats1 but hoped to win  
her  back when he got on his feet again4
    ,somehow or other1 every man with a 
pain at his heart came to me in that    
faraway town4 ,was it because ,i was    
homesick and kept longing1 longing for  
the valleys of old ,pennsylvania1 and   
the unfortunate could read something  in
 my face that encouraged them to        

unburden their souls to me8 ,even my    
wife was drawn into some of the         
unfortunate love affairs of the young   
men  and women1 and we listened to the  
tales of woe1 like martyrs1 and gave    
advice which we knew would never be     
followed2 for who can advise a young    
man or woman in love8    ,one poor      
fellow had been jilted by a young woman 
who visited at our home  very often1 and
 he came around almost every evening to 
try and have a  last interview with her4
 ,but she never came back after treating
 the young  man so badly1 for she knew  
our feelings in the matter4 ,the man she
 jilted  was a handsome boy--a young    
,french ,canadian1 and the man she      
intended to  marry was a boasting       
,yankee from ,michigan4    ,finally we  
persuaded ,george to go over into       
,wyoming1 as he intended to do  if the  
girl married him2 where he fell in love 
with a ,western girl and  was happily   
married in less than a year4 ,emma      
married young ,lane1 and  deserted him  

in less than two years1 and we never saw
 her again4    ,and the poor showman    
came likewise to me and told his tale of
 sorrow and  financial troubles4 ,a     
relative of mine was organizing a little
 circus in  the town1 and proposed going
 on the road after the summer fair4 ,i  
secured  a situation for my new friend1 
but when the opening day came the poor  
fellow had not gained sufficient        
strength to perform on the bars1 or ride
  bareback1 as he had been doing before 
he was taken down with fever4    ,but he
 could sing a song1 so on the first     
night he came out before an             
unappreciative and unsympathetic        
audience and tried to sing4 ,he did not 
know that weakness of the body          
interfered with the voice4 ,the audience
  laughed at first1 for they thought he 
was imitating an old man2 but when  they
 discovered that the poor emaciated     
fellow was giving them the best  he had1
 they hooted him and hissed him1 and    
called to him to take the  frog out of  

his throat1 and to get more wind1 and to
 go and hire out as a  nurse and sing to
 the baby4    ,oh1 how ,i pitied the    
poor fellow4 ,the refrain of his song   
was3 8,but ,i  will say nothing1 not    
,i60 ,i went around to the dressing room
 to console  the poor man1 for there was
 a look on his face when he left the    
ring  which ,i did not like to see4 ,he 
had been despondent and dejected before1
  but when he left the ring there was a 
look of desperation on his thin  face4  
,i found him sitting on a trunk taking a
 fond look at the photo of  his absent  
wife4 ,i tried to start a conversation  
with him1 but he only  looked at me and 
asked3 8,did you catch the refrain of   
the song ,i tried to  sing8 ,well #8,i  
will say nothing--not ,i' tonight4 ,you 
have been kind to me1  and some day it  
will come back to you1 like bread cast  
upon the waters1  but nothing will ever 
come back to me4 ,my heart is broken--,i
 am no good4 ,i  am deserted and alone4 
,the woman ,i loved has left me1 and my 

luck will go  with her--good bye--,i'm  
going out40    ,he shook hands and ,i   
said1 8,wayne1 ,i will see you in the   
morning40    8,yes1 in the morning10 he 
replied1 as he lifted the flap of the   
tent and  passed out into the night1    
while ,i returned to the big tent and   
tried to  become interested in the      
performance4    ,next morning the body  
of my despondent friend was found in the
 ,grand  river1 just below the bridge1  
lodged on the middle island4    ,when   
the ringmaster announced to the audience
 that the man who had been  hissed from 
the ring on the previous night had      
drowned himself1 there  were a few      
8,oh's60 from the women1 but the men who
 hissed him were not  there4 ,one man   
said if they had known the real facts1  
they would not have  hissed2 but when   
people do not know the real facts1 is   
when they should  be merciful--always4  
,,the ,,war ,,with ,,self      ,if all  
wars were once abolished1 and universal 
peace established1 don't  think for a   

moment that the age of conquests and    
triumphs would be  absolutely past      
forever4 ,those who argue that war and  
conquest bring  out man's best energy   
and build up strong manhood1 can turn   
their guns  against themselves and find 
all they care to fight4 ,a man at war   
with his  appetite and passions and     
human frailties and weakness finds his  
match4  ,the man will not always be on  
top4 ,at some careless hour a man will  
forget his vigilance and watchfulness   
and will fall before the onslaught  of  
his passion or appetite1 and it will    
require many days for him to  regain his
 former position and place human        
weakness under his feet4    ,i have seen
 strong men bowed down to the lowest    
notch of humiliation1  with all their   
courage and hope gone1 yet no one did   
them a wrong4 ,it was  only their own   
appetite and passion that dealt them the
 crushing blow4  ,no use to sit down and
 grieve over the fall4 ,grieving only   
adds to the  first defeat4 ,a man's own 

appetite and passion and lust and hate  
and fear  and weakness are his worst    
enemies1 if once they get the upper     
hand4 ,and  in our youth we are apt to  
receive our first defeat2 before we know
 the  subtle strength of our weakness1  
we often become its victim4    ,ninety  
per cent4 of all the suicides come      
through man's battle with self1  and his
 defeat4 ,after a man has become a slave
 to appetite and passion  there isn't   
much in life worth living for1 and he   
falls a victim to  the worst of all     
weaknesses--the fear to go on with life 
to its natural  end4 ,and how often the 
criminal1 against whom every hand is    
raised in  condemnation1 is only the    
victim of his own weakness4    ,theodore
 ,radden became the victim of self      
before he was sixteen years  old4 ,his  
appetite began to rule him before he was
 twenty1 and passion  began to ruin him 
at the same time4 ,he found congenial   
company in  the lowest dives of his     
native town1 where the fallen men and   

women  collected1 like buzzards1 to     
feast on each other's fallen condition4 
,several times he fought successfully   
with himself and broke away from his    
evil associates1 only to fall back again
 when temptation laid her snares  to    
catch his uncertain feet4    ,once he   
held out for two years1 and during that 
time he met and loved and  married a    
beautiful girl4 ,in her eyes he found a 
new world1 and for over  a year he lived
 in the only earthly paradise known to  
man--the world of  love4    ,how proud  
his wife was when she contemplated his  
physical strength and  manly beauty1    
never dreaming that the moral man within
 had been many  times conquered by      
temptation1 and was absolutely          
unqualified to conquer  himself4 ,she   
was but a weak and frail body1 but      
morally she was a giant  of strength1   
while he was but a pigmy in the grasp of
 former defeats4  ,she was a country    
girl1 and in marrying her he1 too1 lived
 out in ,god's  beautiful country and   

far away from the influence of old      
associates4    ,but one unfortunate day 
he was obliged to go to the city4 ,by   
chance he  met an old associate and was 
invited to take a social glass4 ,and    
while  in the saloon he met a bad woman 
who had much influence over him in past 
days4 ,she knew that he had married and 
left the gang1 and she set about  to    
bring him back4 ,it was her weakness to 
lead men astray4 ,she was not  all bad1 
nor had she always been bad4 ,once she  
had been a good girl1 full  of hope and 
happy dreams2 but her own weakness      
gained a victory over her1  and she     
fell4 ,even then she was not all bad4   
,many the poor woman and  half starved  
hobo had eaten at her expense1 and on   
many occasions she  stooped and kissed a
 weeping child on the street and tried  
to soothe its  sorrowing heart4    ,did 
she love ,theodore ,radden8 ,no one will
 ever know1 but many thought she  did1  
and that her love knew no moral code of 
honor1 nor cared anything  for public   

opinion4 ,she already knew what opinion 
the world entertained  for her--what    
need she care for public opinion8       
,and ,theodore ,radden fell a victim to 
his own weakness4 ,he blamed the  woman 
for it all1 just the same as ,adam did2 
but nobody took ,adam  seriously1 nor   
will they take ,theodore ,radden's word 
for it4 ,a week later  the woman crawled
 to the street from a tenement house1   
bleeding from  several ugly wounds in   
her breast4 ,before she died she told   
them that  ,theodore ,radden had shot   
her in a drunken brawl1 accusing her of 
parting  him from his wife2 to which    
accusation she confessed her guilt1 and 
said  she deserved to die at his hands4 
,inside the house the police found      
,theodore ,radden--dead4 ,he had shot   
himself through the head1 after shooting
 the woman who tempted him from  the    
paradise where now only a brokenhearted 
woman was leaving to go out  into the   
shadows of sorrow and live her lonely   
life to the end4 ,she had  never fallen1

 and she knew not how to forgive the    
woman who had led her  husband to his   
death4          ,,cripple ,,joe ,,and   
,,the ,,showman      ,returning home    
from ,reading on a ,sunday not long ago1
 ,i was forced to  lie over at          
,pottsville for three long hours4 ,i was
 angry with myself for  leaving ,reading
 on ,sunday1 for the trains are so      
infernally chaotic and  uncertain on    
this day of mental distress4 ,i must    
reach ,williamsport in  time to catch   
the evening train on the ,pennsy at     
#g4aj1 or be obliged to  lie over until 
,monday morning4 ,everybody in the      
station was feeling about  as blue as ,i
 was1 for we were all travelers1 and    
opposed to three hours  of monotonous   
delay4 ,i walked the station outside and
 inside for about an  hour1 and once as 
,i passed the door leading into the     
toilet room ,i heard  a plaintive voice 
at my feet4 ,i looked down and beheld a 
small body--a wee  boy sitting flat on  
the floor4 ,he was looking up to me and 

speaking1 but  ,i could not distinguish 
the words4 ,i stooped down and asked the
 boy to  repeat his words3 8,won't you  
help a poor cripple80    8,sure60 ,i    
exclaimed1 as ,i caught sight of the    
poor twisted legs doubled  up under his 
body1 and ,i reached into my pocket and 
handed him a couple  of coins4 ,he      
reached out his hand and took my        
donation1 and while he was  looking at  
them ,i sat down in a nearby seat4 ,he  
then looked up into my  face with       
gratitude in his eyes and exclaimed3    
8,oh1 thank you60 ,then he  caught the  
arms of the seat and pulled himself into
 the adjoining seat  with his stout     
arms1 looked into my face again and     
repeated3 8,oh thank  you40    ,i was   
interested in the boy1 so ,i asked3     
8,how did you become so  helplessly     
crippled80 8,born that way10 he replied 
carelessly1 and then  whistled to a boy 
across the station room4 ,the boy       
shouted back3 8,hello  ,joe1 what luck  
today80 8,good60 the cripple replied1   

jingling several  coins in his pocket4  
,just then a red faced man came in      
through the south  door and ,joe caught 
sight of him and called3 8,hello1       
,charley60 ,charley  didn't turn his    
face our way1 so the boy gave a shrill  
little whistle1  and the man turned     
toward us4 8,hello1 ,charley6 ,come over
 here40    ,the red faced man crossed   
the room hurriedly and ,joe held out his
 hand1  pulled it back and removed his  
soiled glove1 then extended the hand    
again1 saying3 8,it's awfully muddy1 and
 ,i get my gloves soiled crawling       
around on the floor40    ,the red faced 
man took ,joe's hand in his and greeted 
the cripple warmly1  but was called away
 before he could say more4 ,while the   
red faced man  was talking to the man   
who called him away from us1 ,i turned  
to ,joe and  inquired3 8,is he your     
brother80 ,the boy laughed and replied3 
8,oh1 no2  he's a showman--gave a show  
here last night--a good one1 too--,i met
 him up  at the opera--0    ,he stopped 

talking and whistled in a high key1 like
 steam escaping under  high pressure4   
,the red faced man came back to us again
 and the boy said1  in accusing tones3  
8,say1 ,charley1 you went back on       
me--you weren't as good  as your word4  
,you promised to pass me into the show1 
and you didn't show  up1 so ,i had to   
cough up fifteen cents of my money40    
8,well1 that's too bad60 the man said4  
8,i'll just pay you back right here40   
,he began to search through his pockets 
carefully1 and finally exclaimed3  8,i  
haven't got a cent of change in my      
pockets now1 but you wait here  until ,i
 buy my ticket1 and ,i'll have some     
change then4 ,i'm going away on  the    
#a4ej train40    8,you're foolin'1 ain't
 you1 ,charley8 ,you're goin' away      
without livin' up  to your promise1     
ain't you1 ,charley80    8,bet your life
 ,i ain't ,joe6 ,i'm going to get change
 when the ticket  window opens and      
then----0    ,he went off to talk to his
 friend again at the opposite end of the

 room1  but every five minutes lame ,joe
 would just whistle to him and say1     
8,you  won't forget1 ,charley60    ,i   
became interested4 ,would the showman   
prove true to his promise8 ,he  surely  
would4 ,no man who could deliberately   
deceive a poor little cripple  like ,joe
 could possibly possess enough sentiment
 in his soul to please an  audience4    
,once when ,joe wasn't looking1 ,charley
 winked at me and smiled4  ,what did he 
mean8 ,was he amused at ,joe's doubts1  
or was he tasting the  joke he was going
 to play on the poor boy later on8 ,so  
certain was ,i of  this that ,i began to
 look at the man more closely4 ,his face
 was a puzzle4  ,not a bad face1 but no 
doubt a lover of a practical joke4      
,maybe he  thought it a great joke that 
any one should expect to have his       
entrance  money refunded after the show 
was over4    ,i began to hate the man   
for what he intended to do1 and pitied  
the boy  more and more1 as so many      
people passed by unheeding his petition1

 8,won't  you help a poor cripple80     
,they couldn't help but hear1 but so    
many people  have grown calloused to the
 appeals of the unfortunate that they   
can pass  through a shower of appeals   
without even putting up an umbrella4    
,one man even declared to me1 on the    
side1 that ,joe's begging should  be    
prohibited4 ,he said it encouraged      
begging in other boys who were  not     
cripples4 ,he said the town of          
,pottsville should support the boy in   
comfort1 and not drive him to begging   
for a living4 ,in his own city he  paid 
an annual poor tax for the support of   
the indigent people1 and  stopped at    
this4 ,he was opposed to begging4    ,i 
suggested that maybe the sound of a     
beggar's voice kept our hearts  mellow  
and our charity warm toward the world   
and ,god's miserable poor4 ,he  gave me 
a look of contempt and passed on4 ,i do 
not know his profession4  ,he might have
 been a lawyer or a minister or a       
doctor4 ,anyhow1 he was no  worse than  

the showman who was going to fool poor  
,joe4    ,then the ticket window went up
 and there was a rush of people4 ,i     
heard  ,joe's voice above the noise of  
tramping feet3 8,don't forget1          
,charley60    ,i felt like crying4 ,poor
 crippled ,joe6 ,the crowd was rushing  
for the  train4 ,i saw ,charley stop and
 drop several coins into ,joe's         
outstretched  hand1 and heard his 8,oh1 
thank you1 ,charley6 ,i'll go to your   
show every  time you come back to       
,pottsville40          ,,race ,,suicide 
,during the last ten years race suicide 
has been one of the leading  problems of
 life1 and on several occasions ,i have 
written my views on  this subject4 ,i   
have not changed my views at all after  
hearing the many  arguments of the old  
conservative 8stand patters0 who try to 
imitate  ,solomon and the other prolific
 polygamists of long ago4 ,there is no  
such  a thing as race suicide4 ,when big
 families are necessary1 the big family 
will be fashionable4 ,there is an ebb   

and flow to everything4 ,just now the   
pendulum of progress is swinging out    
toward the small1 healthy1 educated     
family of two to six children4    ,in   
pioneer days in this country1 when it   
was desirable to have many  children    
born to the new soil1 and thus populate 
the wild country with  people who knew  
of no other land1 and would more likely 
live contented in  the ,american        
wilderness than in the over-populated1  
lord-laden countries  beyond the seas1  
the big family was a safeguard against  
the encroachments  of the ,indian and   
was desirable4    ,so1 too1 when        
,mormonism was a weak doctrine1 and     
grown men would not  accept it as a     
religion1 the pioneers of that faith    
removed to ,utah  and built a city on   
the parched desert by the inland sea    
known as ,salt  ,lake4 ,from here they  
sent out missionaries to foreign        
countries1 making  converts among the   
women and families that were prolific in
 bearing  children4 ,it shows the wisdom

 of ,brigham ,young4    ,he preached to 
the women that every child born to them 
added a new star  to their crown of     
glory4 ,those who believed the doctrine 
were anxious to  add to the population  
of ,utah and add a few stars to their   
future crown4  ,this is one reason why  
the unmarried women accepted polygamy4  
,the one  great desire1 fired by        
religious enthusiasm1 was to bear       
children who  would fight for the new   
doctrine4    ,it was a matter of wisdom 
on one side and sheer deception on the  
other4  ,it was cheaper to rear ,mormon 
recruits than to secure them full grown4
  ,and the child ,mormon would never    
renounce the faith imbibed at the       
mother's knee4    ,and thus you will    
find the situation in all cases where   
the race was made  to believe that ,god 
loved the prolific woman better than the
 barren maid4  ,women will submit to    
anything1 if made to believe it is their
 religious  duty to do so4 ,but men now 
realize that there is a psychological   

problem  connected with the rearing of  
children1 and the question is asked3 ,is
  it the wisest thing to bring into the 
world many children who cannot  obtain a
 practical education1 and therefore     
over-populate the nation with  ignorant 
and dependent creatures8 ,do we not need
 quality rather than  quantity8    ,is  
,germany any better off with its        
prolific families than ,france with     
reduced numbers8 ,or take your own      
village or town--who is the best        
prepared for the battles of life1 the   
child belonging to a family of  fifteen 
members1 or the child who is one of     
three or four offsprings8    ,in my own 
neighborhood the small families are the 
best educated or at  least have the best
 opportunities to educate the children4 
,i know of two  families within a day's 
travel of my home that have fifteen     
children  each4 ,thirty children in two 
poor families6 ,and not a single child  
obtained a common school education4     
,they were obliged to go out to  service

 before they were fifteen years old1 and
 many at even a younger  age4 ,they are 
good citizens for the single reason that
 they were raised  in the country1 where
 few temptations are found4 ,had they   
been born in  the city slums1 what could
 have saved them from a life of crime8  
,as it  is1 not a single child will     
stand any chance to make the world      
better  for their having lived in it2   
for they belong to parents who came from
  prolific families1 and where education
 was only a luxury to be handed  over to
 the wealthy4    ,if ,nature intended   
men and women to be as helpless in the  
reproduction  of their kind as the fruit
 tree or the wild animals1 the knowledge
 of  reducing the crop would have been  
withheld from them4 ,and until men      
gained this knowledge ,nature was       
obliged to step in and reduce the       
population by famine1 disease or        
earthquake and flood4 ,it was an object 
lesson against over-population1 and to  
show men that there was no hurry  about 

,god's work4 ,if ,god is love1 he       
certainly does not desire the job of    
removing an over-population through the 
means of some awful calamity or a       
visitation of disease4    ,don't you    
suppose the ,god of nature loves to see 
men live in comfort and  plenty8 ,the   
,meat ,trust and the ,kaiser want large 
families1 but the ,meat  ,trust and the 
,kaiser have motives far removed from   
bringing happiness  into the world4 ,the
 one wants children to consume more     
benzoated meat1  and the other wants to 
turn children into soldiers and human   
butchers4    ,the man who cries for     
overgrown families of children1 to be   
brought up in  rags and ignorance and   
slavery1 has not the happiness of the   
race in his  heart4 ,he wants them for a
 selfish1 barbarous purpose--for profit 
and for  plunder4          ,,for ,a     
,,stage ,,career      ,she was a        
beautiful woman and her costumes were   
magnificent1 but there  seemed to be a  
lack of soul in her acting4 ,there was  

applause from the  house every time she 
came on the stage1 and seldom she       
escaped after  singing a song in her    
entrancing voice without returning and  
singing to  an encore4 ,there was the   
sweetness of despair in her voice1 but  
made a  trifle harsh by a spirit of     
defiance4 ,a trained ear could          
distinguish the  lack of harmony in her 
soul4 ,the man at my side turned to me  
as she left  the stage and said3        
8,that poor girl has a history1 and a   
sad one4 ,it is one thing to have a     
sorrow or an adventure that is          
absolutely located in the past1 but     
still  another thing to have a sorrow   
and a regret that follows one through   
life  like a shadow40    ,i looked at   
him in wonderment and he continued3 8,i 
have met her and she  told me of her    
mistaken life4 ,she was so full of her  
sorrow and regret  that she simply had  
to talk of it to some one1 and ,i am    
always a willing  listener when a       
troubled soul opens the secret door and 

invites me to  walk in and sit in the   
shadow4    8,she told me that from the  
time she first took a leading part in a 
school  entertainment she had a desire  
for a stage career4 ,she grew up with   
this  desire burning in her soul1 at    
which fire she toasted her mental shins 
every night before going to sleep4 ,she 
never missed an opportunity to  take    
part in any entertainment given by the  
local talent of her village4  ,at       
seventeen she fell deeply in love with a
 young carpenter and they  became       
engaged to marry4 ,of course1 the       
wedding was not to take place for       
several years1 since her young man was  
poor and must first set aside a  few    
hundred dollars to start with4          
8,after this engagement she went to     
attend school in the city1 where  she   
met the son of a very wealthy business  
man4 ,he fell desperately in  love with 
her1 though many years older4 ,one      
evening while out riding he  proposed to
 her1 and she told him of her ambition4 

#8,promise me a stage  career1 and ,i   
will marry you1' she told him4 ,he      
readily agreed to this1  and the        
engagement and contract was entered into
 at that hour4 ,he sent  her to a       
training school immediately1 from where 
she wrote to her village  lover that    
their engagement must be declared a     
thing of the past1 since  she had       
resolved to go on the stage1 and give up
 the old life and the old  friends4     
8,the year following her debut on the   
professional stage she married the  man 
who made a stage career possible1 but   
the face of the young carpenter  looked 
out of the shadows and reproached her as
 the train that took her  on her wedding
 tour went flying through the night4    
,only then it dawned on  her that she   
did not love the man who was to give her
 a stage career--did  not love him      
enough to become his bride1 because her 
heart was still back  in the village    
with the broken-hearted carpenter to    
whom she gave her  most sincere and     

innocent love4    8,and ever since this 
ambitious marriage there is the ghost of
 a wrong  follows her and looks with    
reproachful eyes from the dark corners  
of  every opera house4 ,her husband is  
kind to her1 and follows her wherever   
she goes1 and is proud of her success2  
but always this truth is before         
her--she sold her body to secure a stage
 career1 but her heart was never a      
partner in the deal4 ,how much happier  
she could be in the humble home of  the 
poor carpenter1 had not ambition so     
blinded her unsophisticated soul4       
8,what is life and success and the      
applause of the world when love's  first
 and only idol lies broken at one's     
feet8 ,happiness must be shared  with   
those we love best1 and when we are     
obliged to share everything the  heart  
holds sacred with some one we can never 
love1 the pleasures of life  crumble in 
our hands like an image that has been   
reduced to ashes4 ,and  the ashes are   
always being blown into our eyes1 and   

into our mouth1 and  the taste is       
bitter1 bitter2 and the unloved lips    
that touch ours are  tainted with the   
bitterness of all life's regrets and    
mistakes1 though  we are tied to them   
with pledges and promises that must     
never1 never be  broken40          ,,the
 ,,dead ,,of ,,the ,,land ,,and ,,sea   
,below ,i publish some verses ,i wrote  
thirty years ago1 and while ,i worked   
as a common laborer in the lumber woods 
of ,tioga ,county1 ,pennsylvania4 ,in  a
 religious discussion with a pious      
comrade he quoted ,scripture to prove   
that the earth and sea shall ultimately 
give up their dead1 and each  individual
 shall be punished1 or blest1 according 
to the deeds committed  while they      
lived4 ,the more ,i thought over this   
horrible picture1 the more  ,i doubted  
that a ,god of ,love would be so        
revengeful toward any of his  poor      
creatures1 who are born into ignorance  
and superstition1 and must go  mentally 
creeping through a life of hunger and   

pain4      ,,oh1 ,,let ,,them ,,sleep6  
,they tell me that the earth and sea    
,will some day give up all their dead4  
,oh1 what a strange day that will be    
,to happen thus1 as has been said3      
,clothed in power a ,god will stand--   
,with outstretched hands this ,god will 
be--      ,with one foot on the         
sea-washed sand1      ,the other buried 
in the sea1      ,and loudly call3      
8,come forth1 ye dead1      ,no matter  
where in death you fell2      ,come with
 a sentence on your head--      ,you'll 
make good fodder for my hell6           
,come with the heartaches that died with
 you1      ,with ashes of hope within   
your hand3      ,you died as all earth's
 creatures do--      ,foreclosure1 at   
,death's demand4      ,come before me   
for sentence now--      ,come ev'ry     
one--,i know you all3      ,a few shall 
wear the glory brow1      ,but many1    
many must go to hell60      8,oh1 stay  
your hand1 revengeful ,god1      ,and   
let us all sleep where we lie6      ,you

 know that man is but a clod--      ,was
 born to suffer and to die3      ,and   
life is but chaotic dreams2      ,with  
human love our one reward2      ,we     
drifted down life's midnight streams    
,to stem the tide we found too hard4    
8,oh1 let us sleep1 revengeful ,god1    
,oblivion seems to fit us well2         
,here1 mingled with the friendly clod1  
,is better far than pagan hell40        
,but this strange ,god will pay no heed 
,to all the bitter cries that well--    
,cold as a rock1 with savage greed1     
,he'll cast them into scorching hell6   
99       99       99       99       99  
,a savage giant captured men1      ,and 
took their wives and children1 too1     
,and put them in a dismal pen1      ,and
 asked himself what he must do4      ,he
 ne'er had eaten human flesh--      ,his
 soul revolted at the thought2      ,the
 clothes they wore were only trash1     
,by their own hands they had been       
wrought4        8,i'll torture them10   
the giant said1      8,to see them      

writhe and twist with pain2      ,i'll  
watch them in their torture bed1        
,and hear them weep and wail in vain40  
,and1 while he planned1 the pris'ners   
slept4      ,a mother drew close to her 
breast      ,the babe that had so loudly
 wept1      ,and soon they both had sunk
 to rest4        ,and now the giant     
loudly called2      8,come forth1 ye    
creatures of the damn'd      ,and in    
this pit1 so strangely walled1          
,i'll torture you1 as ,i have planned1  
,forever you shall weep and cry--       
',twill be sweet music in my ears--     
,for you shall never1 never die         
,while eternity winds up the years60    
99       99       99       99       99  
,i made this giant--who made this ,god1 
,to do the work my giant schemed8       
,for spirit ne'er this cold world trod  
,with such a heart as brute man dreamed4
      ,the ,god who loves the blooming  
flower1      ,who tuned the voice of    
child and bird1      ,would never use   
his ,god-like power      ,to conjure    

tortures so absurd4        ,no6 ,no6 and
 when the earth and sea      ,give up   
the dead they're holding fast1      ,a  
,god of love and life there'll be       
,forgiving man his painful past2        
,for1 would a ,god who can forgive1     
,call back the dead from where they     
sleep1      ,and take delight to have   
them live1      ,where they eternally   
must weep8      ,if this be true1 then  
keep your dead1      ,oh1 tear-washed   
earth and troubled sea6      ,and let   
them sleep within their bed      ,to    
rest throughout eternity4               
,,where ,,dreams ,,come ,,true      ,are
 dreams but idle things1 or is there a  
land where all our happy dreams  come   
true8 ,dreams are queer freaks of the   
intellect4 ,we dream of the  dead whom  
we have not seen for so long1 that we   
can scarcely recall the  picture of     
their face in our wakeful hours1 but in 
our dreams we walk  with them and talk  
with them and see them just as they were
 while living4  ,the picture printed on 

our brain cells never fades away1 and   
when the  brain is held under the proper
 light1 the old picture comes to view4  
,do  these pictures fade away absolutely
 at death1 or is there a land where  all
 these brain pictures are stored away1  
to be given to us when we are  called   
back8    ,i do not know2 but it is a    
pleasant dream to half-believe that this
 is  true2 for without these memory     
pictures being restored to us1 how shall
  we know our loved ones in the beyond  
when we meet them again8 ,if the  grave 
swallows all our happy visions and      
dreams1 the new life will find  us as   
babes1 beginning to learn the very      
things we forgot at death4 ,then  all   
our present individuality would be lost1
 and the immortal part of us  would be a
 stranger to the mortal creature that   
died4 ,god might as well  call new      
beings into existence1 as an unknown and
 unknowable part of the  original       
creature4 ,without a memory we would not
 be able to recognize our  own soul1    

should we meet him in the spirit world4 
,hence a recollection of our dreams and 
our visions must go with us into  the   
spirit world1 or we must go as strangers
 without knowledge or a  consciousness  
of the past4 ,no use to be of immortal  
material1 if the  changes squeeze out   
memory pictures1 for they are the tender
 chords that  bind the two conditions   
together4 ,heaven must be a land where  
our dreams  come true1 or it would have 
no connection with this earth and this  
life4    ,i once wrote a few verses on  
this subject1 that have never yet been  
published4 ,they fit in here very       
nicely3        ,is there a land where   
our dreams come true1        ,the dreams
 that we dream when asleep2      ,a land
 of love that is always new1            
,where the joyous never weep8      ,and 
the dreams that we dream when wide      
awake1        ,when the silence is on   
our soul1      ,when we look far out    
where the shadows break1        ,and the
 ,dead sea billows roll4        ,oh1 is 

there a land where we shall awake1      
,from a dream that is full of sighs1    
,in a land where the boughs of the green
 trees shake        ,in the breezes that
 sweep the skies2      ,and behold the  
faces we loved so dear--        ,who    
bade us the long adieu--      ,and see  
them smile without sigh or tear1        
,oh1 will ever our dreams come true8    
,i dreamed last night my mother came    
,and sang with the old-time charms1     
,and called me 8darling0 just the same  
,as when ,i slumbered in her arms4      
,the vision changed2 ,i was a man1      
,a baby's hand was on my face1      ,its
 warm breath on my cheek1 and then      
,i felt the baby's warm embrace4        
,it was my baby1 long since dead1       
,her dreamy eyes were good to see2      
,its baby tongue moved1 and it said3    
8,oh1 isn't it sweet to dream of me6    
,oh1 papa dear1 your cheeks are wet1    
,just like the flowers are wet with dew1
      ,but soon you'll wake1 and you'll 
forget        ,the land where all our   

dreams come true60        ,oh1 is there 
a land where our dreams come true--     
,the dreams we are dreaming all day     
long8      ,and do they almost come into
 our view        ,when our souls are    
carried away with song8      ,will all  
our visions and day-dreams return       
,the same as the seasons and song birds 
do8      ,will we meet the dear ones for
 whom we yearn        ,in the land of   
immortals1 where dreams come true8      
,,it ,,might ,,have ,,been      8,no10  
said my companion1 as the train dashed  
on1 8it is not true  that men love but  
once4 ,i believe that a man loves more  
sensibly and  truly after he has had two
 or three infatuations and suffered as  
many  disappointments4 ,i believe1 too1 
it is the same with the sensible woman1 
only she sometimes does not have the    
opportunity to love so often as a  man4 
8,the other day ,i met an old sweetheart
 on the train in company with her       
mother4 ,once ,i would have married the 
woman1 for ,i thought she was the  only 

one in the world1 but her mother        
objected to the match4 ,my blood  wasn't
 blue enough4 ,she was a good1          
warm-hearted girl1 but she lacked       
courage4 ,had she been a girl of spirit1
 she would have married me in  spite of 
all opposition4 ,but she gave me up and 
broke her own heart over  the affair4   
8,i'll admit that ,i was pretty well    
broken up at first1 but my pride  came  
to my rescue4 ,i made up my mind that ,i
 needed a wife of more  individuality   
and character1 and ,i soon found her4   
,in a little while ,i  was deeper in    
love than ever before4 ,she was         
brighter1 deeper and more  resolute4    
,her parents objected at first to her   
choice1 but she told them  it was not   
they who were making the match4 ,she    
said if a girl had no  choice in        
selecting a husband1 the natural        
selection of sex was ignored1  and love 
was seen only from a financial view4    
8,honest and true1 ,i believe now it    
would have been very unfortunate had    

the first sweetheart married me1 though 
,i believe ,i could have loved her      
always1 had her mother not broken up the
 match4 ,truly1 ,i believe her life  has
 been blighted by that disappointment4  
,she never married4 ,perhaps  she never 
had another chance4 ,i do not know4     
,they are poor now1 and her  mother has 
lost much of her pride4 ,she has        
confessed lately that she made  a       
mistake when she broke up ,mary's love  
affair4    8,the day ,i met them on the 
train they were going to ignore my      
presence1  but ,i would not have it that
 way4 ,i respect them too much to drop  
absolutely out of their world4 ,i simply
 took a seat behind them and  called    
their attention to my presence4 ,it was 
the first time in twenty  years we had  
met4 ,the mother was greatly confused at
 first1 and ,mary  blushed like a school
 girl2 but after the ice was broken1 we 
had a very  pleasant two hours' ride4   
,mary asked all about my wife and       
children1 and  expressed a desire to see

 them4    8,i pitied the woman ,i once  
loved1 for she looked very unhappy and  
discontented with life4 ,her mother is  
growing quite feeble and she is         
devoting her life to her parents4 ,i    
pitied her4 ,this was all there was     
left of my love4 ,as ,i looked at the   
disappointed woman1 ,i thought of how   
,i once held her in my arms and we both 
swore eternal loyalty to each  other4   
,how we had lied to each other4 ,she    
cast me off as a duty and ,i  forgot her
 in retaliation4 ,how foolish it would  
be then to cork ourselves  up and never 
love another4    8,once she was the idol
 of all my youthful dreams1 the queen of
 my  children4 ,now ,i love another     
woman more fondly than ,i ever loved    
before1  because she is worthy of it4   
,she gave up home and friends for me1   
and  proved her great love for me1 and1 
after all1 this is the true test of  our
 love4 ,a man can't long love a woman   
who has not the courage to love  him in 
spite of the oppositions of friends4    

,she sinks out of sight and  some one   
else is sure to take her place1 if he   
only waits4 ,there is no  occasion to   
commit suicide if jilted by one woman4  
,she never was worthy  of the fellow's  
love1 or she would not have jilted him4 
,she never loved  him4 ,the woman who   
loves a man truly will give up all the  
world for him4    8,still1 ,i pity      
,mary4 ,i would feel just a little more 
happy if she were  married to a good    
man4 ,a man can't help but pity any     
woman he once loved1  if he thinks her  
unhappy4 ,his mind will insist on going 
back occasionally  to the days when that
 woman was the only woman in the world  
to him2 when  it might have ended just  
as he had dreamed4 ,it might have been  
otherwise  than it has turned out to be4
 ,his present love is a flower of a     
later  growth1 even though of sweeter   
odor40          ,a ,,misguided ,,mother 
,it was no fault of his own that caused 
a separation between ,walter ,clark  and
 his young wife4 ,she took a dislike to 

him after a short matrimonial  voyage1  
simply because she had never sincerely  
and truly loved him4 ,she  was one of   
those impulsive girls who are determined
 to have their own  way in everything1  
and when they can't have things just as 
they want  them1 they become            
unreasonable4 ,they never admit that    
they are in the  wrong4 ,they are always
 right1 and all the world is wrong4     
,walter ,clark's  demonstrations of love
 and affection became disagreeable to   
his cold and  frivolous wife4 ,she      
preferred to sit down and pout rather   
than go with  her husband to the        
theatre1 or on an excursion4 ,perhaps   
there had been  a previous lover whom   
she lost1 and no man could fill his     
place in her  heart4    ,when ,walter   
discovered that his wife was determined 
to disagree with  him in everything1 and
 to grow more disagreeable every day1 he
 let her  pass the time as best she     
could without his presence1 which had   
become  so annoying to her4 ,one day she

 bundled up her belongings and went home
  to her mother4 ,maybe she thought     
,walter would come after her and plead  
with her to go back to the old life4    
,but1 ,god knows1 ,walter had enough of 
the old life and felt relieved when the 
change came into his life4 ,every       
tender feeling he had once felt toward  
his wife had been destroyed1 and  by her
 own disagreeable conduct4 ,in his heart
 he had deified the girl  he married1   
but she proved to be an idol of         
miserable clay4 ,three years  after the 
separation he went on a visit to the    
,middle ,west4 ,he met a  beautiful     
young woman and felt himself drawn      
toward her by her loveliness  and most  
charming manner4 ,he was hungry for the 
love of a good and  true woman1 and in  
his heart he believed he had found her  
at last4 ,his  attentions were          
encouraged1 and he felt love growing    
deeper and fonder  every day4    ,he    
despised traveling under false colors1  
and frankly went to the girl's  mother  

and told her that he was a married man1 
but hoped to be freed  from his wife    
before long4 ,he told of everything that
 led up to the  separation1 and         
confessed that he loved her daughter    
fondly and truly1  and would try to make
 her a good husband4    ,the mother was 
shocked4 ,a married man making love to  
her daughter6 ,all  her orthodox        
prejudice and provincial suspicion      
rebelled against ,walter1  and she      
turned him out of the house1 as though  
he were a criminal of  the lowest type4 
,she could not see that he had played   
fair--that he  sailed under his true    
colors and could give her references as 
to his  good character from the people  
of his own home city4 ,no1 she didn't   
want references--a married man was an   
outlaw in the realms of love and        
courtship4 ,in her eyes ,walter was     
forever damned4    ,the honorable1 but  
heart-broken young man left the town1   
and the incident  was closed4 ,he would 
not tread on that mother's rights1 even 

though  he realized that she was playing
 tyrant1 and wrecking her daughter's    
happiness4    ,dazed and unhappy1 the   
young girl could not realize whether she
 had been  wronged by the mother's      
decision1 or by the presumption of      
,walter ,clark1  who won her love while 
he was married to another4 ,the whole   
world seemed  to be deceptive and false4
    ,she was aroused from this condition
 of despair a few months later when  a  
young 8unmarried0 traveling man came to 
town4 ,he had all the dash  and         
brilliancy of the gay world1 and the    
disappointed girl1 and her  misguided1  
ambitious and unsuspecting mother were  
captivated4 ,he spent  many of his      
evenings at the girl's home1 and the    
mother was pleased to  see her daughter 
sitting in the parlor with such a       
promising young man4  ,the daughter had 
been in disgrace since her love affair  
with a horrid  married man1 but now the 
mother was pleased4    ,soon after      
captivating the mother the young man    

persuaded the girl to  elope with him4  
,having lost the love of one man she was
 willing to listen  to any proposal the 
lover might make1 so she consented4     
,there could be  nothing wrong about the
 elopement1 for her mother believed the 
young man  was perfect4 ,it was only a  
bit of romance1 and every girl is       
romantic  when in love4    ,six months  
later the agonized mother received a    
tear-stained letter from  her daughter1 
written in the city of ,san ,francisco4 
,the daughter was  deserted1 penniless  
and without a friend1 and must end it   
all in suicide  unless her mother       
forgave her and took her back home4     
,reluctantly the disillusioned mother   
sent money to bring her daughter  back  
to the old home1 but she did not know   
all until the daughter's  return in     
charge of a trained nurse4 ,she was     
suffering from a loathsome  disease     
contracted from the libertine who had   
dragged her from her home2  and is today
 a miserable invalid in her mother's    

house1 scolded and  abused daily for her
 miserable condition4 ,the misguided    
mother will not  confess that she ruined
 her daughter's life when she turned the
 honorable  lover away1 and took the    
human vampire into her parlor4 ,no1 she 
blames  everything on the poor1 ruined  
girl4 ,poor1 blind mother--your         
prejudice  drove the honorable lover    
away4          ,,the ,,world ,,is       
,,blind      ,so many of the world's    
inhabitants are going through life      
mentally blind4  ,the greatest education
 does not always guarantee mental sight4
 ,it takes  real wisdom to open the     
human intellect1 and education is not   
always  wisdom4 ,a man may be able to   
solve great mathematical problems1      
diagram  an intricate sentence in       
grammatical form1 name all the capitals 
and  great cities of the big world      
geographically and historically--but    
still  be blind to human justice4       
,without geological knowledge a man goes
 blindly through the world1  stepping on

 valuable specimens of minerals and     
precious stones without  realizing their
 value or worth4    ,and just so1 in    
like manner1 do men who are blind to the
 justice that  belong to their          
neighbors1 go tramping on human hearts  
and human  principles without knowing   
the real value and worth of the objects 
on  which they tread4    ,it is painful 
to see a blind man go feeling his way   
with a cane1 but he  never creates the  
sorrows that are created by the man who 
is blind to  human justice and the      
rights of the people below his station4 
,i know a man who loves a beautiful     
woman4 ,he was once engaged to marry    
her1 but friends who are blind to the   
rights of humanity1 no odds how  poor or
 rich the individuals may be1 interfered
 and separated the loving  couple4 ,they
 trampled on their young hearts and     
crushed them until they  bled from the  
bruises1 and made love appear as a      
criminal and outlaw4    ,they love each 
other still1 though both are married to 

another4 ,there  is a pain in each heart
 that will never cease aching1 but the  
wealthy  friends who separated them are 
blind to the wrong they perpetrated     
against these disappointed souls4 ,they 
crushed two ideals in the soul of  two  
loving people1 but the ideals will never
 die in their souls4 ,that  first dream 
of love will ever remain the sweetest1  
dearest dream that  ever took possession
 of their young souls--a dream that died
 and was  buried there and left a grave 
that is always bleeding4    ,and yet the
 blind friends do not realize that the  
ghost of a great wrong  stalks through  
their hearts during the silent hours of 
the night1 when  the world imagines they
 are sleeping without a shadow to       
obscure the  sunlight of human happiness
 and hope4    ,and this is only one case
 out of a million4 ,and through the     
blindness  of friends and relatives our 
divorce courts do a big business4 ,young
  people who are denied the             
companionship of the one they love best1

 and  are induced to marry some one else
 for convenience sake1 soon find the    
matrimonial bands galling1 and a        
separation is inevitable4 ,this is  the 
main cause of so many divorces amongst  
the rich4 ,they marry for  convenience  
when they find it impossible to marry   
the one they love4    ,how unfortunate  
for parents who no longer care for each 
other to bring  unwelcome children into 
a loveless world4 ,the children find    
their  environment one of cold          
speculation and fashionable hypocrisy1  
and  they grow up believing that all the
 world is like their own domestic       
relations4 ,where there is no display of
 affection between the parents1  the    
child grows up believing that love and  
affection are unnecessary1 and  passion 
is cultivated as a substitute4 ,these   
are the sons who make the  white slave  
business prosperous4 ,they come from    
loveless homes1 and do  not realize that
 there is any such thing as genuine     
companionship love4  ,father and mother 

lived so independently of each other1   
spending most of  their time at their   
clubs and at card parties1 or visiting  
abroad with  strangers1 that the name of
 wife does not suggest a companion1 nor 
does  the name mother suggest the       
dearest friend on earth to the child4   
,and thus the fashionable world goes    
staggering blindly on1 grasping at      
wealth and power and notoriety as the   
only prizes worth winning4              
,,wrong ,,on ,,the ,,throne      ,as far
 back as the mind of man can trace the  
history of the race we  see bleeding    
,right on the scaffold and triumphant   
,wrong sitting on the  throne4 ,if this 
is contrary to ,god's plan1 he is slow  
to correct error4  ,cain slew his       
brother ,abel because he was the        
stronger and most brutal4  ,the meek and
 humble ,abel gave up his life to the   
violence of wrong1 and  ,cain's         
punishment was rather mild4 ,he was     
allowed to hunt a wife and  marry her   
and raise a family1 while the name of   

his victim was wiped from  the face of  
nature4    ,again1 was it right that    
,jesus ,christ should be crucified on a 
cross8  ,this is the most horrible death
 any living animal can die--nailed alive
  to a cross of wood with cruel nails   
driven through feet and hands1 and  left
 to die of terrible pain and anguish of 
soul4 ,the good book says ,god  planned 
it4 ,if so1 then ,god himself indorses  
the rule of wrong and the  sufferings of
 right4    ,socrates was forced to drink
 the deadly hemlock1 for the crime of   
teaching men the right4 ,socrates knew  
that the system taught by the  ruling   
spirits of his country was a wrong      
theory4 ,it kept the people in  darkest 
ignorance and darkest slavery4 ,he      
strove to lift them up and free  them   
from their mental and physical slavery4 
,the men who fattened on the  spoils of 
the wrong system realized that ,socrates
 would ultimately rob  them of their    
slaves and half-fed servants1 by        
teaching them the truth1  and their     

natural rights1 so they put ,socrates to
 death4 ,god did not  interfere or      
intervene2 so he must surely indorse the
 violent rule of  wrong4    ,almost     
every one knows of ,king ,leopold's     
cruelty to the natives of the  ,congo   
,free ,state4 ,it is said of him that he
 had instructed his agents to  inflict  
terrible punishment on the natives if   
they failed to bring in the  required   
quantity of rubber4 ,many of the poor1  
god-forsaken creatures  have had a hand 
cut off1 or a foot removed1 for failing 
to bring in  wealth to the agents of    
this monstrosity of a ruler4 ,if ,i     
stood on the  banks of the crater known 
as the bottomless pit and saw such deeds
 of  brutality inacted in hell1 ,i could
 not believe my own eyes2 and to hear   
of such things being done on top of     
ground1 makes one's soul groan in  utter
 despair of ,right ever being able to   
dethrone ,wrong and usher in the  rule  
of peace and love4    ,and the latest   
outrage ,wrong has perpetrated against  

the world was the  murder of ,ferrer1   
the ,spanish reformer4 ,and they tell me
 it was done in  the name of religion6  
,the shameless idea of that half-idiot1 
,alfonso1  ,king of ,spain1 ordering the
 death of a man towering intellectually 
so far  above the pigmy dummy who       
ornaments the ,spanish throne1 insults  
the very  fiber of my soul4    ,ferrer  
was teaching the men the science of     
human rights1 just as ,socrates  had    
done centuries ago4 ,the crime is always
 the same1 and the excuse for  killing  
the reformer is always the same4 ,the   
world is made to believe  that the      
killing is done to protect religion1 and
 to defend ,god4 ,the plot  is dark and 
deep--deeper than orthodox hell itself2 
for hell is said to be  the everlasting 
abode of wrong1 and wrong doers4        
,will the mists ever clear away from    
men's eyes1 so that they can  recognize 
,wrong on the throne and ,right hanging 
by the neck on the  scaffold erected by 
the willing tools of ,wrong8 ,will they8

 ,i very much  doubt it4 ,the world's   
history has been written by the sword of
 the  tyrant1 dipped in the blood of the
 many victims who died for the cause of 
human liberty1 and the sleeping world   
has been made to believe that it  was   
all done in the name of religion4       
,does ,god care8 ,go to the graves of   
the millions slain by ,wrong2 go to the 
stake where the thousands were burned   
and left their ashes to cry to high     
heaven for human liberty2 go to the     
prison dungeons where the thousands  of 
martyrs wasted their lives and died in  
filth and misery--and ask there  if ,god
 cares that this monster1 ,wrong1 shall 
longer rule the destinies of  men4 ,i   
cannot see a single ray of hope4 ,these 
insects we call men1 are  brutal as the 
beasts of the field4 ,they glory in     
bloodshed4          ,,the ,,voices ,,we 
,,understand      ,even child life is   
full of tragedy4 ,in their helplessness 
they stand in  the way of advancing     
events1 a mother or a father taken away 

while yet  they need their helping hand1
 and often the mother is stricken down  
while  the child has no other means of  
existence but the milk that flowed from 
the maternal breast of the dead woman4  
,if this is by design1 who can  justify 
the designer while looking through the  
orphan's tears8 ,no1 the  designer of   
all these heartaches and sorrows does   
not ask to be justified  by those who   
suffer most4 ,the same ,god who created 
conditions that give  pain to his       
creatures1 also gave the suffering      
creature voice to protest  and cry out  
against the treatment they receive4     
,tears and sobs are also a  protest     
against the pangs of sorrow and pain4   
,yes1 tragedy is forced into each life  
at the hour of birth4 ,show me a  child 
a year old1 and ,i can write of its     
history in a way to bring tears  to your
 eyes1 and to my own4 ,its little tiny  
wail at the hour of birth is  a protest 
against the pains of the world1 and only
 when it sleeps does  instinct cease to 

cry out for mercy and assistance4 ,for  
this is a cruel  world to be born into4 
,nature has provided a thousand sources 
of torture  to direct the child mind    
into choosing the proper way through    
life4 ,god  does not temper the hot     
stove to the tender hand of a child1 and
 when  one falls into the fire ,nature  
does not halt to pull it out and pour a 
soothing balm upon the blisters4 ,no1   
,nature moves on as unrelentingly as    
the cogs of two great wheels in a mill  
crushing all that falls between  the    
meshing cogs4    ,i know an orphan boy  
who was one of several children when his
 mother  died1 and was sent from the    
western home to the grandparents in the 
,east4 ,they were kind to him and did   
all they could to make him happy1  but  
often in the silent hours of the night1 
they could hear him sobbing  and crying 
as though his little heart were         
breaking4 ,they were the sobs  of a     
homesick child1 for when they would ask 
him why he was crying so  bitterly1 he  

would say3 8,oh1 ,i fear ,i will never  
see my little brothers  nor my papa     
again4 ,they are so far away1 and ,i am 
so small1 and they will  forget me40    
,something had gone out of his life when
 his mother died which no human  love   
could replace4 ,he lost something that  
would never1 never be found  and        
restored to the child2 and in my blind  
way ,i can never reconcile the  death of
 a loving mother with the work of a     
loving ,god4 ,does he love to  hear the 
bitter cries and heart-broken sobs of a 
homesick child8    ,who knows how much  
influence these bitter cries have over  
the designs of  the great ,creator8 ,if 
,god listens to prayer1 is he deaf to   
the sobbing  cries of a homesick orphan8
 ,is not the pathetic music sweeter than
 all  other strains of harmonious sound8
 ,perhaps ,god loves the pathetic and   
the heart-cries of children far better  
than the coarser songs of the           
full-grown people4    ,we do not know1  
but there must be some reason for all   

these sad causes  and effects4 ,the     
child outgrows its many distresses1 and 
the orphan  soon lives down its sorrows1
 and happiness blooms in the ashes of   
child  memories4 ,a loving ,god would   
not send all these afflictions for      
sport4  ,they all mean something in the 
universal design4 ,perhaps to soften    
older  hearts and to water the tender   
plant of love with a child's tears4     
,these sobs and tears may be necessary  
as the sunshine and showers of  rain1   
else why do they exist8 ,it may be as   
impossible to run this old  sphere      
without human sorrow and heartaches as  
it is to run a living world  without an 
atmosphere and clouds4 ,who knows that  
the clouds do not suffer  afflictions   
when they pour out their raindrops1 or  
the wind feel pain and  heartache when  
it wails at our doors8    ,do the trees 
feel sad when they droop their leaves1  
or the vines and  shrubs feel melancholy
 when their flowers wither and die on   
their stems8  ,they have a language of  

their own1 no doubt1 and one that we can
 not  understand4 ,man can only listen  
and have his sympathies awakened by the 
voices he can understand4 ,if he knew   
all the pain and the suffering the      
other things are obliged to endure1 he  
might hesitate to cut a tree or  to plow
 up the bosom of the earth and force it 
to produce vegetables and  grain4    ,we
 are in the midst of a great mystery1   
and only the songs and laughter1  the   
sermons and the tears of others are     
evidence that we are all human          
creatures4          ,,chasing ,,the     
,,cows ,,up      ,i want to talk today  
to the boys on the farm1 and the old    
gray-haired  boys who were raised on the
 farm4 ,i think the old boys will       
appreciate my  talk the most because    
they have had the experience ,i shall   
talk about4  ,the farm boy nowadays     
knows nothing of the old experience that
 used to  come to us older farm boys who
 were obliged to go barefooted the      
greater  part of the summer and autumn4 

,say1 you old gray-headed farm hand1 do 
you  remember how you used to chase the 
cows up on a cold1 frosty morning1 and  
use the warm spot to warm your          
half-frozen feet8 ,i do4 ,often when    
obliged  to go to the fields for the    
cows on a frosty ,october morning ,i    
would  chase the cows up and then stand 
in the warm spot to thaw out my red     
feet4    ,well1 that game has been      
reversed on me a hundred times since    
that day1  and ,i have been chased up   
from my bed that others might warm their
 feet  at my expense4 ,once in          
particular ,i owned1 or thought ,i      
owned1 a tract of  mountain land4 ,i was
 saving the timber for a future day4 ,it
 was all the  property ,i had in the    
world4 ,the man who owned the tract     
adjoining mine  sold it to my neighbor4 
,this neighbor was an amateur surveyor1 
and spent  much time running old lines  
through the woods4 ,i thought it was for
 the  practice he was getting out of the
 work1 but ,i soon learned differently4 

,he had discovered an old line running  
through the centre of my tract  of      
mountain land4 ,it was two years older  
than the line between his new           
possessions and my land4 ,he jumped the 
tract and said that all above the  old  
line he found was his--that it belonged 
to the tract he had purchased4  ,he     
began at once to cut down the timber ,i 
had been saving for a future  day1 and  
laughed at me when ,i protested and told
 him ,i had bought the  land in good    
faith1 and it belonged to me4    ,i     
employed a surveyor1 who counted the    
growths of the trees since the  blazes  
were made1 and he agreed with my        
surveying neighbor that he was          
right--the line to which he claimed was 
two years older than the line to  which 
,i had purchased land4 ,i was obliged to
 get up and let him warm his  feet in   
the one spot on earth ,i had warmed4    
,it all came back to me how ,i used to  
chase the cows up to warm my bare  feet4
 ,it wasn't exactly bread coming back on

 the water1 but it was the  cold coming 
back to my feet4 ,i was taken with cold 
feet and gave up the  land4    ,since   
then ,i learned that the old line that  
served so well to swindle  me out of my 
mountain land was an old township line1 
and had nothing to  do with dividing the
 tracts of privately owned land4 ,did my
 surveying  neighbor know this to be a  
fact at the time8 ,i fear he did1 for he
 had  previously gone over that same    
township line from the starting point at
  the river1 and had learned the truth  
about the line through the woods4  ,with
 this knowledge he chased me out of my  
warm spot and proceeded to  warm his    
feet4    ,strange to say1 we are friends
 today4 ,i wouldn't do him an injury for
 any  price1 and ,i don't think he would
 injure me--any more than to chase me   
out of a warm spot again1 and warm his  
feet at my expense2 for this seems  to  
be the game of life with most business  
people4 ,some of them prosper  and some 
of them do not4 ,my neighbor has gained 

but little4 ,he took all ,i  had in the 
world1 but it didn't prosper in his     
hands4 ,i would not trade  positions or 
future prospects with him today4    ,it 
doesn't always pay to chase a man up to 
get possession of the warm  spot he     
occupied4    ,it didn't pay me at all   
when ,i used to chase the cows up for   
the same  purpose4 ,the intermittent    
moments of cold and warm feet made the  
cold  feel all the more chilly when ,i  
left the warm spot and stepped into the 
frost-laden grass4    ,no doubt my      
neighbor realizes the same truth now4   
,he would be far happier  if he had     
never wronged me--if he had never chased
 me up to get possession  of the spot ,i
 had warmed4 ,we all feel that way1 dear
 readers1 no odds  how hard we try to   
hide the fact from the world4 ,we are   
far happier  in occupying only the small
 spot we have warmed ourselves2 for it  
is  not natural to treat human beings   
the same as we sometimes treat the      
inoffensive cows4          ,,flowers    

,,for ,,the ,,living      ,sending      
flowers to the dead is a beautiful      
tribute to their worth while  living4   
,some day ,i shall lie in my coffin with
 closed lips and folded  hands1 looking 
through dead and expressionless eyes    
into the great  eternity that opens to  
receive me2 and those who loved me will 
bring  sweet flowers and lay them near  
my hard bed and drop a tear to mark the 
place of our parting4 ,but ,i will not  
be able to smell the flowers1 nor to    
see the tear1 nor to look into their    
beloved faces and catch the gleam of    
friendship and the glory of human love4 
,it will then be too late for a         
responsive smile and hand squeeze and a 
tender word of recognition2 for ,i  will
 be far away from the touch of          
friendship1 and only the cold clod of   
the senseless mortal will be there to   
receive the gift of love4    ,below ,i  
publish a bouquet that was sent to me   
while my heart is hungry  for           
appreciation1 and my soul longs for     

congenial companionship2 for we  are all
 groping our way through this jungle of 
theory and blindfolded  guess work1 and 
we are glad to know that others are     
going our way3                          
,reading1 ,pa41 ,january #g1 #aiaj4     
,jake ,haiden1 ,esq41          ,chatham 
,run1 ,pa4        ,my ,dear             
,sir--,permit me to introduce myself for
 the purpose      of expressing my      
appreciation of the beautiful sentiments
      contained in your 8philosophy10   
appearing in the 8,reading      ,times0 
daily4 ,i was particularly impressed    
with the article      in today's issue1 
and thank you sincerely for same4 ,i am 
looking forward to the time when the    
citizens of this community      will    
become better and more generally        
acquainted with you      personally and 
with your writings1 and ,i assure you   
that if      my recommendation to my    
friends and neighbors will in any       
measure help to call attention to the   
increasing value and      attractiveness

 of the 8,times10 ,i unreservedly give  
it1 for      ,i feel that if our        
merchants1 business men and men in all  
walks in life1 should spend a few       
moments each day in silent              
communion with you1 we will all feel    
better and accomplish more      for the 
philosophy of 8,jake ,haiden40          
,with my very best wishes1 ,i am1       
,yours truly1                           
,,jenkin ,,hill4    ,these are the      
bouquets that give new life to the      
living1 new hope to  the despondent1 new
 inspiration to the writer who has often
 doubted the  value of his work4 ,for   
any one who treads on new paths and     
leaves the old  beaten tracks where the 
thoughtless millions have trod for      
centuries1 is  so likely to be          
misunderstood4 ,when the independent    
thinker finds himself  away from the old
 ruts where the heavy chariots of       
plodding thought  have left deep gutters
 for the millions to follow1 he feels   
that he is  traveling alone1 and is ever

 reaching out to grasp some friendly    
hand and  feel the warmth of a congenial
 living body and a progressive mind4    
,some day ,mr4 ,hill will carry a       
bouquet to a dead friend1 but the       
flowers  will not be able to bring new  
hope and new inspiration and new        
courage1  like his letter has brought to
 me4 ,and yet1 ,i have never met ,mr4   
,hill1  to touch his hand and look into 
his face and express pleasure in meeting
  him4 ,our bodies are total strangers  
to each other1 but out on the sea of    
thought we met and touched each other's 
boat1 and now go floating down  the     
storm-tossed stream toward the land of  
,god knows where--out beyond  these     
shadows that hide our faces and our     
motives from our neighbors and  cause us
 to misjudge our fellow man1 and to     
throw him thorns and thistles  instead  
of the sacred flower of human love4     
,if you are out on the sea of thought1  
drifting before the winds that  are ever
 blowing us away from the land of       

knowledge1 and making life  an endless  
pull against wind and current--and you  
meet others out there  in the           
shadow--don't go off quietly and hide   
until they are past4 ,hail  them--call  
to them in friendly tones and tell them 
you are going the same  way and would   
enjoy their companionship4 ,don't wait  
until the storms of  life have wrecked  
their boat and you find their dead body 
on the shore1  beyond the reach of your 
flowers and love and appreciation4      
,after all is said1 the religion of     
humanity comes nearest to our hearts4   
,we need no towering church spires1 nor 
cold stone walls to make our  place of  
worship a secluded spot4 ,the world is  
our book1 and humanity  our altar1 on   
which we may lay our white rose of love 
and our pale lily  of charity1 and reach
 out to the ,great ,jehovah1 through the
 responsive  heart-throbs of our friends
 and neighbors4          ,,the ,,hobo',s
 ,,story      ,looking down the new road
 that leads up to the church and my own 

humble  home1 my wife and ,i saw a      
strange man approaching4 ,we thought he 
was  deformed at first glance1 for he   
seemed to be out of proportion in many  
ways4 ,as he drew nearer the window we  
noticed that he wore three or more      
coats1 and the same number of           
inseparable pants--at least each pair   
was  inseparable4    ,at the church he  
hesitated1 glancing at the parsonage1   
and then back to  our back door4 ,he was
 rather an old man1 past sixty1 judging 
from his  hair and whiskers4 ,at last he
 decided to try our house4    ,i did not
 ask him1 but ,i suspect that he mistook
 our house for the  ,methodist          
parsonage1 since the church and our     
house are painted the same  colors4 ,i  
went to the door myself1 and when he    
asked1 8,could you give a  hungry man   
something to eat80 ,i replied by        
inviting him inside and giving  him a   
chair4    8,traveling80 ,i inquired1 not
 from idle curiosity1 but to start a    
conversation and make the stranger feel 

that ,i took an interest in him4    8,a 
little10 he replied1 8,i came down from 
,erie last night on a freight  train1   
and ,i 'most froze to death4 ,no work up
 that way1 except in the  coke regions1 
and there they have ,poles and ,slavs   
and ,finlanders and  ,hitalians and     
niggers40    ,i knew he was ,english by 
the way he pronounced ,italian4    8,did
 you use to work at the coke ovens80 ,i 
asked4    8,no1 but ,i use to work in   
the hard coal mines--at ,nanticoke and  
,shamokin2  knocked off thirteen years  
ago1 when the foreigners cut down wages4
 ,it  was at ,nanticoke ,i had the      
narrow escape with my life4 ,i'll tell  
you  while ,i'm getting warmed up4 ,it  
was all the mistake of the engineer4    
,we were putting a tunnel from the new  
drifts up into the old abandoned        
workings1 in order to drain the old     
workings down into the lower level1  and
 then pump it out through the great pump
 that was pumping out the  lower level4 
8,the engineer calculated to strike the 

old drift several feet above the  great 
body of water lying there1 and then pump
 it up into the tunnel and  let it flow 
down to the lower level4 ,the engineer  
made a grave error in  his calculations1
 for instead of entering the old drift  
above the water1  the tunnel was almost 
on a level with the bottom of the old   
drift4 ,there  was a large quantity of  
water in the drift4 ,when the men put in
 the last  blast it tore the intervening
 wall down and the river of water came  
bursting into the tunnel4 ,there were   
eleven men working there besides ,ed    
,evans and me4 ,we had gone back to the 
shaft to get some powder and were  back 
as far as the big slope when we heard   
the mighty roar of the rushing  waters4 
8,we could not tell at first what the   
noise meant1 but we felt there was      
danger in the pitchy darkness4 ,ed and  
,i ran up the slope1 calling to big     
,billy ,beck to follow us1 who was then 
working at something near the foot  of  
the slope4 ,he waited to learn what the 

cause of the noise was4 ,we  looked back
 and saw him start in our direction4 ,we
 could see the light  waving rapidly up 
the slope behind us4 ,suddenly his light
 went out4 ,we  soon learned why1 for a 
moment later the water came rushing up  
the slope  and soon submerged our legs  
up to our knees4    8,luckily we had    
reached an elevation on the slope almost
 as high as the  flood could ascend when
 the level was filled1 and we soon found
 ourselves  on dry ground4 ,this slope  
had not been worked for over a year1 and
 no one  else was penned up in the      
horrible trap but ,ed and me4    8,we   
felt confident that all the men who were
 cutting the tunnel into the  old drift 
had been drowned4 ,the terrific flood   
came in so suddenly that  none could    
escape4 ,then we began to think of our  
own situation4 ,it would  require months
 to pump all the water out of the level4
 ,in the meantime  we would starve4 ,we 
had even lost our dinner pails4 ,we     
looked into each  other's eyes through  

the dim light1 and ,ed said1 #8,we're in
 a hell of a  fix now1 old man6 ,i      
wonder if the people outside will still 
think we poor  miners demand too much   
pay8 ,will they be good to my wife and  
the babies8'    8,at the word #8babies' 
poor ,ed broke down and wept as only a  
brave man can  weep when facing despair4
 ,then we remembered the old abandoned  
air shaft1  and we went up the slope as 
fast as we could go until we found it4  
,we  called up the shaft to where we    
could see a speck of light1 but there   
was  nobody there to hear us4 ,then we  
both sat down and cried in utter        
despair4    8,yes1 we were rescued4 ,men
 came to the old shaft next day         
intending to  go down and see if anybody
 had found safety in the old slope4 ,we 
were  rescued thirty hours after the    
accident4 ,our wives and ,ed's children 
were  on hand to receive us4 ,but1 dear 
,god1 ,i can never forget the wail of   
the  poor wives whose dear ones lay     
drowned down in the lower level4 ,big   

,bill  ,beck's poor old wife had to be  
carried home when she saw that ,bill was
  not among the rescued4    8,yes1 thank
 you very much for the food and your    
kindness4 ,no1 ,i'll never  go back to  
the mines again4 ,it's a hard life1 and 
the operators have made  the world      
believe that the miners are asking too  
much for their work and  their lives4   
,say1 did you ever notice8 ,two days    
after a mine accident the  widows and   
orphans need help6 ,too much pay8 ,oh1  
the shame of it all60          ,,in     
,,the ,,looking ,,glass      ,it seems  
to be a human impossibility for us to   
see ourselves as others  see us4 ,we    
never know exactly how we appear to our 
neighbors4 ,men are  like moving        
pictures--it requires some distance from
 the picture to see  the moving figures 
to the best advantage4 ,we know that our
 nearest  neighbor knows less of our    
true character than the people living at
 a  distance4 ,when ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau 
built a little log cabin1 with his own  

hands1 on the banks of ,walden ,pond1   
,massachusetts1 his neighbors saw  the  
man at close range1 and failed to notice
 the strength of mind and  character4   
,it was the people at a long distance   
who saw the real ,thoreau  at fitful    
glances1 and anxiously magnified the man
 until he became a  thing unnatural--a  
genius4    ,the too-appreciative public 
called ,thoreau a genius--a man to whom 
thought  came without an effort4 ,he    
himself didn't think so4 ,he lamented   
his own  weakness and ignorance of      
things4 ,it required so much time to    
learn a  simple truth3 to cull out the  
true from the false4 ,half the thinkers 
of  the world are thinking out a plan to
 live without menial labor4 ,they  are  
thinking out a plan to fool and deceive 
the unthinking into buying  knowledge   
and secret keys to science4 ,and the    
deceived people look at  them from a    
distance and put a false estimate on    
their ability1 and pay  them well to be 
fooled and humbugged4    ,i have seen   

sick people ignore their home physician 
and go a hundred  miles to consult a    
quack2 and for a long time imagine that 
his knowledge  of the healing art was   
almost divine4 ,the quack's nearest     
neighbors  looked on in disgust1 and    
repeated the immortal words of          
,shakespeare1  8,what fools these       
mortals be60    ,but even ,shakespeare  
is seen at a distance in greater lustre 
than around  his own home4 ,there is an 
old saying that 8the king is never great
 to  his own valet40 ,but often this is 
because of the mental gulf between  the 
two men4 ,the valet often judges only   
the physical man1 or the moods  of the  
mental man4 ,men are great only when    
they go into the silence and  apply     
their entire force of mind to solving   
the problems of life4 ,the  great speech
 you heard your favorite orator deliver 
was not gathered  spontaneously while   
standing before you4 ,the speech was but
 the fruit of  many1 many hours of      
struggle and study and worry and of     

painful effort4  ,did you but know the  
late hour when he blew out the lamp and 
lay his  aching1 throbbing head on his  
pillow1 and only slept to dream over    
again  his struggles1 you would not call
 him a genius1 but a plodding student4  
,the man who stands looking into the    
mirror and beholds his own face1        
without finding weak spots and flaws and
 lack of character1 is too vain  to be  
judge of himself4 ,the serious1 sincere 
man is always finding flaws  in himself1
 and seeking to find a remedy to cure   
them4 ,the man or woman  who 8gets      
stuck0 on the face they see in the glass
 are mental quacks--they  are humbugging
 themselves4 ,they see a genius in the  
reflection of an  asinine mug4 ,they go 
away from the glass1 and a moment later 
cannot  describe the manner of face they
 carry on their shoulders4 ,if they were
  ever so good an artist and painter1   
they could not paint a picture of       
themselves from memory4    ,and if we   
cannot judge ourselves correctly1 how   

can we expect our own  neighbors to     
judge us even charitably4 ,and our      
mental face flits before  us and out of 
reach of our grasp as rapidly as the    
reflection of our  physical countenance4
 ,we seem to sit in the midst of moving 
pictures1  our mind the curtain on which
 the pictures are flashed4 ,if we stop  
the  machine and retain the same picture
 for any great length of time on our    
mental curtain1 we become insane4 ,the  
machine must be kept in motion1 one     
scene following after the other all day 
long4 ,true1 we can repeat the  passing 
scenes daily1 but they must be in       
motion1 passing swiftly on4    ,when we 
apply ourselves to any particular study 
we learn to ignore all  the other       
passing scenes and fasten our mental eye
 on the screen at  a point where our    
favorite figures appear as they flash   
by1 but our  subconscious mental eye    
realizes all the time that the entire   
picture  show is in progress4 ,the truth
 is1 dear reader1 we haven't time to see

  our neighbor as he really is1 nor even
 see ourself in all our many  phases4   
,our face is passing through the mirror 
too rapidly for us to  estimate the     
strength or force of character4 ,in the 
great economy  of nature we are only    
shadows cast upon the curtain of        
eternity and  passing rapidly away4 ,our
 short life makes a film of limited     
length1 the  different scenes passing   
before us so rapidly that even in our   
sensitive  memory only one per cent of  
all that transpires leaves a trace that 
can  be recalled in after years4        
,what need we care what people think of 
us1 when we cannot judge or  estimate   
ourselves4 ,if we can practice charity  
toward each other and  forget our       
neighbor's faults1 as we forget our own 
face1 we do well4 ,the  moving pictures 
of life will not stop long enough for us
 to 8get stuck on  ourself40 ,if we do  
so1 we are left behind4 ,the rushing    
crowd cannot see  us as we see ourselves
 in the glass4          ,,ungrateful    

,,young ,,girls      ,girls are so prone
 to over-estimate their usefulness and  
greatness and  social prestige4 ,the    
average girl of eighteen or twenty is   
always 8,it0 in  her own estimation4    
,and if she is a city-bred girl she sets
 a very low  estimation on the young man
 from the country4 8,he is too slow10 or
 8too  much of a jay10 no odds how      
sincere he may be4 ,she prefers the     
flashy1  dashing1 frivolous city-bred   
bubble who is always bursting with light
 wit  and shady insinuations4 ,the      
traveling man is her ideal1 whether she 
knows  anything about his character or  
not4    ,a story just reached me through
 a mysterious channel about two rather  
pretty1 well-dressed but flippant school
 teachers1 who went from a              
,pennsylvania city to a nearby country  
village to teach in the local  school4  
,they felt country life a bore at first 
because traveling men  seldom came that 
way4 ,so1 by way of making country life 
more tolerable1  they began to cultivate

 the acquaintance of the neighborhood   
boys4 ,some  of these they flattered and
 smiled upon and encouraged1 and in     
return  were treated often to candies1  
fruits1 and were escorted to card       
parties  and country dances and given a 
good time4 ,when sleighing season came  
two  of the rustic swains1 who earned   
the munificent sum of three dollars  per
 week1 chipped in and hired a two-horse 
outfit at the cost of four  dollars1 and
 invited the two young teachers to take 
a ride with them and  eat supper at a   
famous chicken and waffle resort at the 
far end of the  valley4    ,the girls   
pretended to be delighted1 and the party
 drove off gaily amid  cheers and the   
jingle of bells4 ,when the hotel was    
reached1 where an  elaborate and        
expensive supper had been ordered in    
advance1 the gay1  giddy teachers jumped
 out of the sleigh and ran into the warm
 parlor1  while the unsuspecting young  
men drove around to the stable to see   
that  the horses were properly attended 

to4 ,in the parlor the girls met a gay  
party of young folks1 of aristocratic   
tastes and manners1 from their home     
city1 who knew the two teachers4 8,who  
brought you here80 inquired one  of the 
city girls1 to which one of the         
deceitful and shameless teachers        
responded3 8,oh1 a couple of country    
prunes--a pair of dubs brought us4      
,gee1 but they are slow and jayish40    
,but at the supper table these same     
shameless marms made an awful fuss  over
 the country boys1 thoroughly disgusting
 their city friends4 ,their  hypocrisy  
and duplicity and deceitfulness was     
actually sickening to  those city people
 who expected far greater honor and more
 stability of  character in women       
capable of teaching school4 ,how much   
better for these  deceitful girls to    
have remained silent on the subject of  
their escorts1  after receiving and     
accepting favors from them1 and         
pretending that they  were delighted    
with their society4 ,they have now      

lowered themselves in  the estimation of
 those friends who witnessed their      
hypocrisy to such  an extent that they  
can never reinstate themselves again4   
,nobody likes  a hypocrite1 no          
difference how handsome or brilliant    
they may be4 ,the  honest1 sincere and  
truthful girl is always respected and   
admired and  loved4    ,twenty years ago
 a young school teacher of my           
acquaintance was teaching  out on the   
mountain1 and to get taken home and back
 again to her boarding  house1 she      
pretended to be very fond of a young    
mountaineer who owned a  horse and      
sleigh and buggy4 ,the poor fellow fell 
desperately in love with  her and she   
encouraged him1 but when the school term
 was ended she took  advantage of the   
first opportunity to insult him and     
throw him over1 with  as little feeling 
as though he had been a worn-out shoe4  
,she afterwards married a young man not 
half so honorable as the young          
mountaineer1 whom she jilted so cruelly4

 ,he deserted her ten years ago1        
leaving her a family of helpless        
children and a broken heart4 8,as you   
sow1 so shall you reap40 ,there is no   
more dangerous game to play than to     
play hypocrite4 ,no one means to become 
hardened in the game1 but it grows  on a
 person and poisons all the nobler      
impulses of the soul1 and as age        
advances1 the face hardens and every    
line in the countenance tells the       
secret thoughts that have always haunted
 the mind4 ,the hypocrite cannot  hide  
her sins from the trained eye of the    
observer1 and the world is  unforgiving 
toward the deceptive soul4              
,,the ,,giant ,,pine          ,standing 
on a gentle slope        ,with          
outstretched arms1      ,with an air of 
vanished hope        ,but still         
retaining charms      ,of glories past  
and gone2        ,of beauty most divine1
      ,standing there alone--           
,the giant pine4        ,no companion   
tree is near        ,of the dead and    

vanished past2      ,they have fallen1  
year by year--        ,this giant is the
 last2      ,and it wears a look of age 
,ten times the sum of nine2      ,of    
trees it is the sage--        ,this     
giant pine4        ,around its feet     
there stands        ,the modern scrubby 
trees1      ,looking up to outstretched 
hands1        ,that tremble in the      
breeze      ,like priest who offers     
prayer        ,to heaven's throne       
divine1      ,with outstretched arms so 
bare1        ,the giant pine4           
,grandfather saw this tree1             
,years and years gone by1      ,when but
 a boy was he1        ,and1 towering in 
the sky1      ,this mighty giant stood1 
,with fragrance like old wine--         
,the guardian of the wood--        ,this
 giant pine4        ,long centuries ago 
,this giant pine was here1      ,and    
bending to and fro1        ,and growing1
 year by year1      ,when ,england's    
tyrant yoke        ,lay heavy on this   
land      ,the maple and the oak        

,reached up their feeble hand4          
,to ask this tree to bow        ,its    
proud and lofty head1      ,that they   
might kiss its brow        ,before their
 strength had fled4      ,they're dead  
these many years--        ,the saw-mill 
carved each bone1      ,and the giant1  
left in tears        ,and outstretched  
arms--alone4        ,but now the axmen  
come1        ,with no respect for years1
      ,and the giant1 standing dumb1    
,drops needles1 as though tears      ,to
 it were long denied4        ,then heavy
 body blows      ,chop deep into its    
side1        ,while the deep wound      
deeper grows4        ,and still each    
outstretched limb1        ,above the    
axmen grim      ,asks of the clouds that
 swim        ,before the face of ,him   
,who made the sky and earth1        ,a  
blessing on each foe      ,who toil in  
savage mirth        ,to lay the giant   
low4        ,and now a spasm of pain1   
,from base to topmost bough1            
,passes again--again--        ,the lofty

 head must bow4      ,great giant1 with 
all those charms1        ,a violent     
death has found1      ,and those strong1
 loving arms1        ,lie broken on the 
ground6        ,and the echo of the     
roar1        ,caused by the giant's fall
      ,comes back from river shore3     
,the giant pine so tall      ,lies      
prostrate on its face1        ,broken in
 branch and spine2      ,the last of his
 giant race--        ,farewell1 giant   
pine6        ,nothing is sacred to      
greedy man        ,that can be changed  
to gold2      ,nothing is sacred of all 
,god's plan        ,that can be bought  
and sold4      ,barren our mountains    
stand today1        ,their giant trees  
all gone2      ,their wondrous glories  
passed away--        ,all but their rock
 and stone4        ,this lone giant     
might have been        ,spared as a     
relic of the past2      ,with lofty     
branches1 ever green1                   
,outstretched until the last4      ,but 
ruthless hands have slain        ,this  

giant--half divine2      ,to say        
farewell gives pain--        ,farewell1 
oh1 ,giant ,pine6          ,,the        
,,little ,,housekeeper      ,a child of 
seven1 with her mission marked out for  
her1 and her future  predestined to fall
 in hard places4 ,her childhood was to  
end at the age  of ten1 and she was to  
enter into the duties of a woman4 ,poor 
little  ,bernice1 how my heart ached for
 her4 ,but she was as happy as a child  
of  seven could be4 ,she had not        
forgotten the caresses of her dead      
mother1  but they now seemed to be a    
long way back in the gloomy past--a year
 ago4    ,there were four children      
younger than she3 ,albert1 ,lottie1     
,addie and  ,mary2 and ,leonard was a   
year older4 ,but he was only a boy1 and 
boys are  no good at keeping house4     
,little ,bernice had heard her father   
tell her  ,aunt ,maud that ,bernice     
would soon be old enough to keep house1 
and then  he would gather all the       
children in again and keep them         

together4 ,aunt  ,maud took little      
,addie and baby ,mary to care for1 and  
,bernice was sent  to live with her     
grandmother1 who had lately become a    
widow in very poor  circumstances4      
,bernice seemed to realize the situation
 and was perfectly satisfied4 ,her      
father was working in the lumber woods1 
and her brothers and sisters were       
scattered like autumn leaves4 ,she was  
so anxious to become ten years old  and 
gather them all under her little wings4 
,what a laudable ambition6    ,dear     
,god1 what an age to feel such motherly 
cares6 ,where would there be  room to   
crowd in a few years of innocent        
childhood8    ,i wish this was only a   
story4 ,i wish the child ,i am writing  
about was  only a creature of my        
imagination4 ,but it is all too         
painfully true4 ,she  sat in that chair 
over yonder only yesterday1 and told me 
all about it4  ,told of it all in       
gladness and with the sunshine of hope  
beaming on her  little child soul4 ,but 

every word sent a pang of regret to my  
heart4 ,this  child was giving herself  
as a willing sacrifice to love and duty4
 ,dear  ,god1 what an age to entertain  
such great resolutions--only seven      
years6    8,yes10 she said1 childishly1 
8,i must not lose a day at school1      
'cause ,i'm  goin' to quit at ten and go
 to keepin' house for papa4 ,i kin read 
now1  and kin write purty good1 only ,i 
forgit how to spell the big words4 ,but 
,i kin learn a hull lot before ,i'm ten4
 ,it's three long years off4 ,i wish  it
 wasn't so long1 'cause ,i want to git  
the children all together and be  their 
little mother4 ,mary isn't quite two    
years old yit1 but she'll be  five when 
,i git to be her mother1 and she'll know
 how to do a hull lot  of work for me4  
,we're going to live out in the         
country--out on a mountain  farm1 and   
there'll be cows to milk and pigs and   
chickens to feed1 but  the children will
 all help4 ,maybe we'll take grandma    
along1 but she says  she'll have to keep

 house for ,uncle ,jim and ,uncle       
,herman1 unless they git  married and   
set up for themselves4    8,yes1 ,i must
 be goin'4 ,grandma will be waitin'     
supper for me4 ,no1 sir1  ,i haven't    
seen brother ,albert and ,leonard and   
sister ,lottie for over a  year4 ,but it
 won't be long until we all git         
together4 ,grandma is goin'  to teach me
 how to bake next summer4 ,she talks to 
me about keepin' house  for papa1 and   
she cries about it1 and kisses me and   
says1 #8,god bless you1  child6' ,do you
 s'pose ,god will80    ,she took her    
books and went off1 singing as happily  
as though she were  the child of a      
millionaire father2 and ,i sat and      
looked out of the  east window to where 
the ice lay gorged along the banks of   
the river1  and ,i tried to think about 
the ways of ,providence4 ,i knew of     
scores  of children twice the age of    
little ,bernice1 who never took a single
  thought of tomorrow1 who never        
expected to keep house until they grew  

to full womanhood and married a rich    
husband1 who would employ servants  and 
furnish everything the heart could      
desire4 ,but this child of seven        
already had her life mapped out for     
her--a life of toil and care and        
hardships1 and her only pay was to be   
with those she loved4    ,and down the  
road hurried the child1 skipping        
hipperty-hop1 her soul as  happy as a   
blue-bird in ,may1 her little red hood  
tilted to one side and a  lock of       
escaped hair dancing in the wind4       
,unconsciously the tears welled  into my
 eyes as ,i looked after her1 and the   
words came again into my  mouth3 8,dear 
,god1 what an age to give up child-life 
for those she loves60          ,,the    
,,male ,,flirt      ,the fickle man was 
coming to have a last meeting with the  
girl whose  heart he had broken--whose  
heart was still breaking4 ,they had been
 engaged  for two years1 and he came out
 to the farm to visit her every time his
  business allowed him to visit the town

 near to the girl's home4 ,he had       
always lived in this particular country 
town1 but had been traveling for  an    
educational institution for several     
years4 ,he had always written to        
,lizzie once a week while away1 but of  
late he had often skipped a week1  and  
now his letters were growing colder and 
more unfeeling4 ,it had been  rumored   
that he had another girl in town to whom
 he wrote almost daily1  and with whom  
he had been seen riding on the day he   
promised to call on  ,lizzie and failed 
to appear4    ,it had been rumored that 
he was engaged to the other girl1 but   
,lizzie  could not believe the rumor4   
,she knew there was something wrong1    
but hoped it would all be straightened  
out when he came4 ,again he             
disappointed the girl and failed to     
come4 ,he wrote her a formal letter     
telling her that he had been detained in
 a distant town4 ,but the  following day
 a gossipping neighbor said she had seen
 him in town the  previous night4 ,she  

had gone into an ice cream parlor and   
saw him eating  ice cream with the girl 
whom it had been said he was going to   
marry4    ,for several nights her sister
 ,maggie1 who roomed with ,lizzie1 heard
 her  sobbing silently late in the      
night1 sobbing as though her heart was  
breaking4 ,maggie longed to console her1
 but was it time yet to speak8  ,poor   
,lizzie still had hopes that the fickle 
lover would return and set  everything  
straight4    ,two weeks later the flirt 
made another appointment to call at     
eight  o'clock4 ,maggie and her father  
retired1 but ,maggie did not undress4   
,she  wanted to know how serious the    
matter stood1 for ,lizzie was simply    
dying  of a broken heart4 ,if her sister
 broke down during the interview1       
,maggie  fully intended to go down and  
take part in dismissing the             
false-hearted  man4    ,at half-past    
eight there were sounds of horse steps  
and buggy wheels in  the road4 ,maggie  
heard a sob and smothered cry           

downstairs4 ,had her poor  sister broken
 down8 ,but it was a firm step that     
walked to the door to let  the caller   
in4 ,they greeted each other coldly1 and
 for a moment there was  silence4 ,would
 ,lizzie fail to defend herself8 ,a     
moment longer and the  injured girl     
began3    8,do ,i understand from your  
neglect of me that you wish our         
engagement  broken80    8,lizzie10 the  
man began coldly1 8our engagement was   
all a mistake4 ,i am  not suited to make
 you an ideal husband4 ,i am not good   
enough for you----0    ,the girl        
interrupted3    8,if so1 then how dare  
you marry another woman8 ,don't try to  
defend  yourself1 sir4 ,i know all4 ,you
 tired of me because you met another    
girl  who suited you better1 and you    
neglected me to anger me and induce me  
to break the engagement4 ,this ,i will  
never do4 ,you must say the words       
yourself4 ,i loved you truly and        
sincerely--,i still love you4 ,it is not
  a child's love that will be forgotten 

in a few months or years4 ,i am a  woman
 and love as a woman4 ,i will love you  
after all the sunlights have  gone out  
of my life and my heart is dead within  
me4 ,i can not help it4  ,you taught me 
how to love1 and ,i learned the lesson  
too well4 ,now you  cast me off1 but you
 can't take the love out of my heart4 ,i
 will still  love the man ,i once       
thought you were4 ,i will love you      
always4 ,you take  joy and sunshine from
 me and fill my life with shadows1 but  
you can't  take back the love you       
planted in my soul40    8,lizzie1 for   
,god's sake hear me through6 ,our       
engagement was all a  mistake----0      
8,yes1 a sad mistake--a cruel1 wicked   
mistake10 she interrupted4 8,but ,i     
wish you no harm1 no ill luck4 ,god will
 punish you for your cruel work1  ,i    
fear4 ,i will even pray for you that you
 may be spared the punishment  that goes
 to the man who ruins a woman's         
life--who steals the sincerest          
sentiments of her soul and then throws  

them away1 when he sees a new  heart    
that can be won40    ,once again he     
attempted to explain1 but she requested 
him to go and leave  her alone1 and he  
went4 ,no one but himself will ever know
 the guilt and  shame he felt at that   
hour as he slunk from the house4 ,maggie
 could hear  her sister sobbing in the  
room below4 ,she waited an hour and then
 went  down quietly and led her up to   
bed4 ,she helped to undress the drooping
  form and put her in the bed1 and then 
got in herself and held the weeping     
girl in her arms during the night4      
,oh1 it was sad1 sad1 sad4 ,do these men
 flirts ever dream of the  heartaches   
they bring to those who learn to love   
them and are then cast  aside like      
broken toys8 ,and think of the sadness  
this heart tragedy  brought to the other
 members of ,lizzie's family4 ,they     
watched her day  after day1 seeing the  
lines of despair grow deeper and deeper 
every week4  ,and oh1 how her sad1 sweet
 face appealed to their love and        

sympathy4  ,after the announcement of   
the fickle man's wedding appeared in the
 local  press1 the sadness seemed to    
deepen for a few months1 and then the   
poor  girl slowly came out of the       
shadows4 ,but any one who knew her could
 see  that her poor heart was buried in 
the ashes of her early hopes1 and that  
her never-dying love still sat sighing  
in the ashes4          ,,memories ,,of  
,,the ,,old ,,trunk      ,the other day 
while searching through an old trunk for
 a lost paper1 ,i  came across a little 
pasteboard box4 ,inside the box ,i found
 a photo of  a three-year-old boy with  
,fontleroy curls1 and in the same box ,i
 found  those curls of beaten gold4 ,i  
called to my wife1 and together we      
examined  the relics of a bygone day4   
,this was the picture of our baby boy1  
and ,i  recalled how1 twelve years ago1 
we took him to the photographer and     
posed  him for his picture2 and from    
there we took him to the barber's and   
had  his curls cut off4 ,he could not   

always remain our baby4 ,we had         
postponed  the sad day for several      
months1 and when we brought him back    
home and his  grandmother caught sight  
of the shorn boy1 she took him in her   
arms and  cried3 8,oh1 where is my baby8
 ,you have traded him off for a boy60   
,strange how these things affect us4    
,strange how these babies grow out  of  
childhood and go exploring through      
boyhoodland4 ,our baby disappeared  the 
moment his last curl was severed1 and a 
boy took his place in our  affection4   
,now that boy is passing from us4 ,he is
 growing tall and stout1  and his voice 
is changing4 ,the moment we put long    
trousers on him and  hide those sturdy  
legs he will be a young man4 ,the boy   
will pass away as  did the baby in      
curls1 leaving a peculiar sadness at our
 hearts4 ,that  baby did not die1 and   
yet he passed away from us as completely
 as though  we had placed him in a      
little grave4 ,and some day soon the    
boyish face  will change to that of a   

man1 and the boy will be gone forever4  
,i still recall the first evening we saw
 the boy sleeping on his bed1  after    
shorn of his curls1 and his mother said 
to me3 8,no one can tell how  sadly ,i  
feel at this great change40 8,i believe 
,i do10 ,i replied2 8and ,i  will try to
 put down on paper some of the emotions 
passing through your  heart4 ,they are  
in mine too40    ,and so ,i did try to  
write of her emotions1 and the lines    
were still in  the old trunk1 tied up   
with the photo and      ,,the ,,severed 
,,curls        ,my baby boy was three   
years old1        ,his curls were a joy 
to see2      ,their color was that of   
beaten gold1        ,but of far more    
value to me4      ,they hung in clusters
 about his head1        ,and shaded his 
baby brow2      ,surrounding his dimpled
 cheeks so red--        ,but they're    
gone forever now6        ,the neighbors 
all laughed at me1 and said3            
,don't make him a ,fontleroy2      ,so  
,i kissed the curls on the darling head 

,of my own dear baby boy4      ,and told
 the barber to go ahead1        ,in a   
voice made sad with tears2      ,and    
none will know how my poor heart bled   
,when ,i heard the swish of the shears4 
,i watched him through till the task was
 done1        ,and gathered the severed 
curls4      ,then clasped to my heart my
 plundered son--        ,still more to  
me than worlds4      ,but he was no     
longer my baby now2        ,he seemed to
 have grown in years4      ,i kissed his
 cheeks and plundered brow1        ,and 
struggled with my tears4        ,and now
 in a little box ,i keep        ,these  
treasures ,i loved so dear1      ,and   
when the household is still in sleep1   
,and the breath of slumber ,i hear1     
,i take those curls from their little   
nest        ,and live o'er the past     
again2      ,and hug them close to my   
aching breast1        ,to smother a     
strange1 sad pain4        ,yes1 new     
curls may grow again1 but oh1           
,they never will be like these6         

,for time is passing1 and babies grow1  
,and travel over seas2      ,and mothers
 remain at home through years1          
,while the early memories die1      ,and
 ,i bathe those curls once more in      
tears1        ,and go to bed with a     
sigh4    ,and on the day we found those 
curls1 and read these lines aloud1 we   
could  look through the window and see  
our boy coming home from school4 8,in a 
little while10 ,i said1 8the boy will   
disappear with the baby1 and the man    
will grow out of the ashes4 ,oh1 this is
 a strange world1 and were it not  for  
our memories1 life would be short       
indeed6 ,how sad1 how sweet1 how  full  
of sentiment1 how inspiring to live over
 the past40          ,,the ,,auction    
,,block      ,the old negro was past    
seventy years1 hostler at a country     
hotel4 ,some  of the young men were     
drinking1 and they persuaded 8,uncle    
,andy0 to sing  us a song4 ,he willingly
 sang several of his jolliest negro     
songs1 and  then wound up with ,nellie  

,gray4 ,when he came to that part which 
concluded  the song1 ,i saw tears       
stealing down his old wrinkled cheeks4  
,i asked him  to sing the chorus over   
again1 and when he looked into my eyes  
and saw  the sympathy ,i knew was       
welling up from my heart1 he began again
 in that  peculiar cadence which belongs
 to the negro race alone3          8,oh1
 my darling ,nellie ,gray1        ,up in
 heaven1 there they say1      ,that     
they'll never take you from me any more2
      ,i's a comin'1 comin'1 comin'1 as 
the angels clear the way1               
,farewell to the old ,kentucky shore60  
,he covered his old eyes with his black 
hands and sobbed aloud at the           
conclusion of the song1 but the noisy   
young men who had persuaded him to  sing
 were lined up against the bar for      
another drink1 and had forgotten  all   
about ,uncle ,andy and his song4 ,i laid
 my hand on his shoulder and  said3     
8,it was an awful thing to happen in a  
so-called civilized country--to         

separate two loving souls and sell the  
woman into damnable slavery1 by  a race 
of men who pretended to worship ,god and
 love their neighbors as  themselves4 ,i
 have never suffered such a thing1 and  
,i cannot even imagine  the feelings of 
the man who saw his beloved wife torn   
from his bosom and  sold like a horse in
 the market40    8,you should thank     
,god1 sah1 dat you-all nevah 'sperienced
 sich a great  sorrow10 he said1 looking
 toward me through his tears4 8,i has4  
,when ,i was  twenty ,i was married to  
,clarissa ,beckon4 ,master died1 and we 
all was sold  on de block de nex' year4 
,i saw her taken away and ,i fainted    
dead off4  ,she wor strongah than me4   
,she walked away with her head up in    
defiance4  ,de las' words she spoke to  
me was like de song1 dat up in heaven we
 all  shud meet again1 where dey cud    
nevah take her away any more40    ,ah1  
what a mockery to tell the poor1        
broken-hearted slaves that up in  heaven
 their wrongs would all be righted4 ,if 

the slave wife should be  restored to   
her husband up in heaven1 why did not   
those old brutalized  slave-owners      
restore the broken-hearted wife to her  
husband on earth8 ,how  would they      
picture a just heaven1 full of love and 
mercy and beauty1 and  then turn around 
and make a cruel hell out of this world8
 ,ah1 yes1 and  even asked ,god daily to
 shower his divine blessings upon this  
hell of  their own making4    ,i went to
 bed thinking of the outrages and       
violent cruelties of the old  slavery   
days1 and fell asleep with the horrible 
picture of slavery in  my mind4 ,and    
sleeping ,i dreamed that ,god had       
reversed the conditions  and changed the
 white men to colored slaves1 and the   
old black slaves  were now their        
masters4 ,even in that dream ,i said to 
myself that the  proceedings were just  
and fair4 ,if the black slave had been  
sold for the  sake of profit long ago1  
it was fair that he should take         
advantage of the  reversed order of     

things1 and sell his old tormentors into
 slavery4    ,suddenly the scene        
changed4 ,i stood in a market place1 a  
lad of fourteen4  ,the auctioneer was   
selling a woman4 ,her back was toward   
me1 but ,i could  see that she was      
weeping4 ,i caught the sound of her     
voice and it was  familiar to my ears4  
,i had heard that voice before4 ,could  
it be the one  woman ,i had loved from  
birth--the woman whose first embrace was
 my first  lesson in human love8 ,in    
heart-broken tones ,i called to her1    
8,mother40    ,she turned and raised her
 face to look over the crowd4 8,great   
,god60 ,i  cried1 8it is my own mother6 
,and she is being sold into slavery60   
,i rushed through the crowd toward the  
auction block1 calling her name  aloud  
as ,i went4 ,strong men tried to catch  
and hold me1 but ,i wiggled  from their 
grasp4 ,i reached the block and caught  
hold of her dress1 but  she could not   
stoop down to pick me up and hug me to  
her heart1 because  her hands were tied 

behind her back4 ,i could see her       
struggle in a mighty  effort to break   
the cords that bound her4 ,sorrow gave  
her the strength of  a giantess1 and ,i 
saw the cords break and fall to the     
ground4 ,the next  moment she had       
clasped me to her breast and made an    
attempt to run away  with me through the
 crowd4 ,blood hounds caught her by the 
throat and she  fell to the ground4     
,i was torn from her bosom by the cruel 
hands of the man who had bought  her1   
and when she reached her hands toward me
 the brutal man struck her  loving hands
 with the butt-end of his whip4 ,then he
 raised the whip to  strike me in the   
face1 and as the blow descended ,i      
awoke4 ,i was wet with  perspiration1   
and tears of agony stood on my cheeks4  
,think of this--less than fifty years   
ago such scenes were common--to other   
mothers and other sons4          ,,the  
,,old ,,yard ,,master      ,i was       
waiting on the ten o'clock train to     
leave the depot at  ,williamsport1 ,pa41

 when a vigorous old man came into the  
waiting room1  accompanied by four      
children4 ,it was an hour yet before    
train time1 and  ,i happened to be the  
only waiting passenger up to this time4 
,i had come  down from ,lock ,haven on  
the early morning train1 and had two    
hours on my  hands before the ,reading  
train pulled out for ,philadelphia4 ,i  
had passed  some of the time away       
talking to the vigorous scrub woman1 who
 had mopped  up the entire floor space  
of the station since daylight4 ,she had 
gathered  up her buckets and brooms and 
mops1 and was leaving when the vigorous 
old  man and the four children arrived4 
,he bade me good morning and then seated
 the children1 but he did not  sit down 
himself4 ,he walked to the south window 
and looked out over the  frozen river   
for several minutes1 then turned to me  
and said3 8,the old  river looks tame   
under her lid of ice1 but some day      
she'll get up and  shove the lid off1   
and if the lid refuses to go1 there will

 be a scene  along here4 ,i've seen her 
get her back up in my time and shove ice
 up on  the tracks1 right here in front 
of the station40    8,i wonder how deep 
the flood in #ahhi was in the station10 
,i ventured4  ,he put his finger on a   
spot a few inches up the window facing  
and said3  8,about here somewhere1 ,i   
think4 ,i was here at the time4 ,you    
see1 ,i was  yard master here up to     
sixteen years ago4 ,the boys went out on
 a strike1  and ,i went out along and ,i
 never came back4 ,i went into business 
and gave  up railroading40    8,do you  
never intend to railroad again80 ,i     
asked1 by way of keeping up  the        
conversation4    8,oh1 no2 the roads    
have no use for us old fellows any more4
 ,they want  younger blood40    8,but   
you are not so old10 ,i said4    8,older
 than ,i look1 sir4 ,these are my       
grandchildren4 ,we are off on a  little 
trip together4 ,you see1 my youngest    
daughter is getting married  today1 and 
we are going along with the bridal party

 for a short distance4  ,these          
grandchildren are very dear to me now   
since my own children are all  married  
and gone off to build homes of their    
own40    ,as the train drew near he took
 the children into the ladies waiting   
room1 and other people came in and      
attracted my attention4 ,pretty soon a  
carriage drove up to the station4 ,the  
horses were decorated with white        
ribbons and a few white bows on the     
carriage4 ,even the driver's whip was   
decorated with a white bow4 ,i knew by  
these signs that it was a wedding       
party4 ,two ladies and two gentlemen got
 out of the carriage1 and ,i found      
myself guessing which couple were the   
bride and groom4 ,they entered the      
ladies waiting room1 and other young    
people appeared on the scene and  began 
to throw rice and raise a great noise4  
,they were having a great  time1 a      
jolly1 happy time4    ,in a few minutes 
the old train master came back to me1   
and jerked his  thumb over his shoulder 

and said3 8,they're having their fun in 
there1 as  young people will4 ,the bride
 in there is my youngest daughter1 going
 off  on her wedding trip40    ,i could 
see that his voice was trembling and    
that his feelings were  getting the     
better of him1 but he walked to the     
window and looked out  over the river   
and let the tears run quietly down his  
brave old face4 ,he  had escaped from   
the merry crowd to look out over the    
frozen river4 ,what  did he see8 ,what  
was the fascination8    ,intuitively ,i 
knew that the vision out there on the   
river was another  wedding party of long
 years ago4 ,i knew that the fair bride 
he saw out  yonder was leaning on his   
own strong arm1 and that they were going
 off  on that journey this world and    
this life only gives but once to men and
  women--that journey which comes so    
near to making this world a heaven4     
,was that bride still alive8 ,no1 the   
tears in the old man's eyes were  silent
 witnesses to proclaim the sad news that

 she had gone on another  journey--and  
gone alone4    ,the train pulled up and 
the crowd rushed out to get on board1   
and the old  train master1 with his     
untold story1 drifted away from me1 and 
,i never  saw him again4                
,,books ,,that ,,made ,,me ,,think      
,a reader writes me to learn what books 
did me the most good4 ,this is  hard to 
tell4 ,as a boy we had but few books in 
our home1 the ,bible being  the leading 
book1 and a ,lutheran catechism being   
the next in importance4  ,my boyhood    
work was to watch cows4 ,our farm was   
small1 and we raised  patches of grain  
and hay1 instead of whole fields4 ,when 
we pastured one  of these patches1 ,i   
was obliged to keep them away from the  
patches of  grain4 ,it was during this  
time that ,i read the entire ,bible1 and
 tried  in vain to grasp the meaning of 
many passages4 ,the chapters devoted to 
love and charity and honesty1 were      
within the grasp of any boy1 but  when  
it came to treating of sacrifices to    

please a ,god of love1 ,i was  getting  
in too deep to wade through1 and was    
obliged to back out and sit  down and   
contemplate the situation4 ,i still hold
 the subject under deep  contemplation4 
,the next book ,i can remember was      
8,great ,expectations10 by ,dickens4 ,it
  filled my boyish mind with a love of  
literature4 ,since then ,i have read    
all of ,dickens' books1 and he is my    
favorite author4 ,in spite of his       
exaggerations and impossible characters1
 he is nearer in touch with all  manner 
of humanity than any other author ,i    
have read4 ,i think still  that 8,david 
,copperfield0 is the best book of       
fiction ever written1 with  8,little    
,dorrit0 a close second4    ,i never    
liked ,scott4 ,there was too much war   
and fantastic thunder about  him4 ,his  
heroes were of the royalty1 while       
,dickens found his among the  common    
people--my kind of people--the people ,i
 love4    ,i read a few of ,thackeray's 
best stories and liked them1 only they  

lacked  the humor and the child sympathy
 ,i found in ,dickens4 ,he could never  
touch  me in the tender spot as ,dickens
 could4    ,then comes ,mark ,twain's   
early stories--not for instruction      
alone1 but  for amusement4 ,his most    
humorous book is the most instructive1  
as well4  8,huckelberry ,finn10 to my   
idea of humor1 is the most humorous book
 ,i ever  read1 providing one sees the  
pathetic and human qualities4 ,the      
characters  of the story are not trying 
to make sport or act ridiculous--they   
are  serious all the time4 ,it is this  
feature that brings out the humor4      
8,huckelberry ,finn0 looks upon the     
subject of human slavery with the eyes  
and soul of a southern boy fifty years  
before the great rebellion and the      
emancipation of the negro slaves4 ,it   
was part of his religion to believe  in 
the institution of human slavery1 and he
 had to make up his mind to go  to hell 
for the sin of it1 before he dared      
assist a black slave to escape  to a    

free state4    ,never did any book give 
me as deep insight into human character 
as did  this one4 ,a man can be trained 
to harmonize almost any outrage against 
his weaker neighbor1 if he can find a   
single verse of ,scripture to uphold    
his actions4    ,of our more modern     
writers1 ,i can get more thought food   
from ,elbert  ,hubbard1 and this is what
 a reader wants4 ,the writer who can    
make you  think thoughts of your own1 is
 the one who draws out the truth and the
  faith that is in you4 ,some can amuse 
and instruct without making you  think  
along new lines4 ,unless you do some    
original thinking1 after  reading a book
 or a story1 or a poem1 you have not    
gained anything of  lasting effect4 ,the
 thoughts that do you the most good are 
the thoughts  you can claim as your own4
 ,we are all looking at the world and   
into the  mysteries of life from        
different view points4 ,others can tell 
us of a  peep hole that brings to view  
many unknown things1 but we must do the 

peeping ourselves4 ,we must see things  
with our own mental eyes before we  can 
size them up and grasp them and call    
them our own4    ,however1 it all       
depends on the trend of one's mind4 ,the
 books that gave  me the most           
instruction and entertainment might have
 no value at all in  the judgment of    
another4 ,each individual must read     
until he discovers the  trend of his    
mind1 and then read books that satisfy4 
,even the much abused  ten cent novel   
whetted my taste for higher literature4 
,occasionally one  would make me think4 
,,forgotten ,,graves      ,during the   
seven years ,i lived in my present home1
 ,i have sat on the  front porch and    
looked across the ,susquehanna river to 
a bluff just  beyond the ,p4  ,e4       
,railroad4 ,white tombstones1 looming up
 above the  weeds1 like the great white 
teeth of ,death1 indicated that human   
bodies  had been laid there to rest1    
while the struggle with others continued
 for  a little while longer4 ,mrs4      

,haiden often spoke of going over to    
visit the  spot4 ,to her an old         
graveyard appeals with stronger force   
than the most  beautiful garden of      
flowers4 ,three years ago1 when we      
visited ,washington1  the wise old faces
 of the ,senators and ,representatives  
of the people  did not appeal to her4   
,neither did the political stench of the
 ,capitol4  ,arlington cemetery and the 
,egyptian mummies in the ,national      
,museum took  her fancy4 ,they were     
flowers handed down to us from a former 
generation1  as they say in the         
,declaration of ,independence4    ,well1
 ,mrs4 ,haiden's curiosity to visit the 
old ,quiggle cemetery overcame  my      
laziness1 and one fine ,sunday we       
persuaded ,professor ,stevenson to      
accompany us1 and we crossed the river  
at the ferry and walked through  the    
fields to the place of interest4 ,the   
cemetery is quite an old burial  ground 
for this neighborhood4 ,we could not    
determine how old1 because the  first   

graves made there were marked only with 
mountain sand stones1 and  only a few of
 them bore an inscription4    ,one of   
the graves was marked with a granite    
monument and surrounded  with an iron   
fence1 and inside the enclosure was an  
iron bench1 just as  though some loved  
one left behind would often come there  
and sit in the  solitude and commune    
with the dead man under the sod4 ,it was
 a beautiful  and tender suggestion1 and
 if the dead could really send back a   
message  to the waiting ones1 how much  
of death's mystery could be cleared     
away4  ,but aching hearts and the       
longings of yearning souls have failed  
to bring  back even a whispered message 
from the land beyond the shadow line4   
,the  dead cannot talk to us any more   
than the living can talk to the dead4   
,the  wires are all down between the    
living and the dead--all down and out of
  use1 and when we sit at the graves of 
our loved ones1 all we can do is to     
recall the past2 if time is a circle1   

then heaven lies in the past1 as  well  
as in the future1 and the needle of our 
mental compass always points  into the  
great beyond1 no difference where we    
look4    ,on one mountain stone we found
 the figures #ahjc1 and the name1       
,andrew ,k4  ,rinder4 ,he had been      
buried one hundred and seven            
years--before the war  of #ahab was     
fought between our country and ,great   
,britain4 ,the roar of  the cannons     
could not disturb his rest4 ,the big    
trains on the 8,pennsy0  go thundering  
by only two hundred feet away1 but      
,rinder does not hear  them4 ,he never  
saw a steam locomotive nor a railroad   
track4 ,these modern  inventions have   
crowded in upon his resting place1 but  
he is done with  the world--he does not 
care4 ,he lived his little life and lies
 in his  little grave on this lonely    
little hill4 ,perhaps we will be as     
thoroughly  forgotten in a century from 
now as ,andrew ,k4 ,rinder4 ,it has been
 over  a hundred years since that name  

was set up in printed letters--perhaps  
it will never appear again4 ,did some   
mysterious force lead me there to       
resurrect that long forgotten name8 ,who
 can say8 ,life is a plan and a         
purpose2 we move as the wheels in a     
clock1 urged by a power to which we  are
 attached by unseen hands4    ,on our   
return1 we ran across a private burial  
ground we had known nothing  about4     
,here lie the two generations of        
,stech's4 ,john ,stech was buried in    
#ahae4 ,his sons and daughters lie      
sleeping at his side4 ,the sons never   
married1 and the name of ,stech died out
 of the neighborhood4 ,not a man        
bearing that good old ,german name is   
known in this county4 ,the valuable     
farm has fallen into the hands of       
strangers1 and the private burial place 
is overgrown with briars and trees1 and 
the top of the marker fallen to  the    
ground4 ,nobody cares4 ,these two       
bachelor brothers should have married   
and left some one to carry their name   

and to care for their graves4    ,i do  
not advocate ,rooseveltian families--the
 age for large families has  passed     
away--but ,i do believe every sane man  
should have a life behind  in place of  
the one he takes away when he steps out4
 ,these forgotten  and neglected graves 
in the ,stech burial ground show that   
the ,stechs  neglected their duty during
 life4 8,as ye sow1 so shall ye reap10  
is true  in all phases of earthly       
existence4    ,in less than a century   
ninety-nine per cent of the world's dead
 are  forgotten on earth4 ,we1 too1 will
 be forgotten4 ,is there a record kept  
elsewhere8 ,are there more durable      
tablets than these rough mountain       
stones and granite8          ,,in ,,the 
,,open ,,door      ,while out driving   
during the summer days of last season1  
,i passed a  little whitewashed cottage 
many times while returning in the       
evening1  and noticed that on clear     
sunset days1 an old woman stood in the  
open  door and looked out toward the    

sunset1 where the light lay like golden 
sheets upon the distant hilltops4 ,when 
,i spoke to her and bade her 8good      
evening10 she lowered her eyes for a    
moment and returned my salute1 and  then
 raised them to study the sun set       
beauties4 ,at last ,i stopped one       
,september evening and remarked3 8,you  
seem to take great pleasure in the      
glories of a ,pennsylvania sunset1      
grandmother4 ,were you ever an artist or
  painter80    8,bless your heart1 no4  
,i've always been a plain housekeeper4  
,my husband  used to make and repair    
shoes in that little shop across the    
road1 and ,i  married him to keep house 
and cook his meals4 ,i love the sunset  
for the  sake of old memories4 ,it was a
 bright sunset evening when ,albert and 
,i  drove up the road to the gate       
yonder1 and the farmer's son came and   
took  the horse and buggy home4 ,we     
walked down this gravel path hand in    
hand  and passed in through this door4  
,we had been married only two hours1 and

  we came here to begin our married     
life4    8,the cottage was new then1 for
 ,albert built it for our home when we  
first  became engaged4 ,previous to that
 he had lived in the shop4 ,he came here
  a journeyman shoemaker1 but the       
journeyman business had changed to the  
village shoe shop4 ,he bought the little
 shop from the shoemaker who was        
removing to ,ohio4 ,and there he worked 
for two years and prospered4 ,he was  an
 orphan boy and had no relatives he knew
 of4 ,had been brought up in a          
foundling1 which they called a 8poor    
house10 in those days4 ,albert and ,i   
met at the country dances1 for he could 
play the fiddle lovely4 ,nowadays  they 
call it a violin1 but ,albert was only a
 fiddler on a fiddle4    8,sixty-two    
years ago and better1 we walked down    
this gravel path hand in  hand1 and we  
were chums for over forty years4 ,the   
old shop is falling  into decay and the 
door does not close tight any more1 but 
the cottage  has been repaired since    

,albert died4 ,but ,i don't think of his
 death on  these bright sunset evenings4
 ,i only remember and think of our      
wedding  day1 and of the other bright1  
sunny evenings when he and the children 
sat  on this bench after working hours1 
and ,i sat in the door with my knitting4
    8,you only see a poor1 old1 lonely  
woman standing in the open door of  her 
humble home1 but ,i see the happiest    
little family circle in all the         
world--a proud father and three healthy1
 laughing children4 ,albert would       
always come out here on a summer evening
 to smoke his pipe1 and the  children   
would bring toys to be mended by his    
dear1 loving hands40    ,she wiped a    
tear from her dim old eyes1 and         
continued3 8,we were so very  happy     
while the children lived2 but one winter
 diphtheria broke out in  the village   
and swept all our darling loved ones    
from our grasp4 ,poor  ,albert was      
heartbroken for several years1 and every
 ,sunday we would walk  over to the     

little graveyard in yonder hill and talk
 of the children as  though the cemetery
 were a school and we had come to visit 
the children  and bring them flowers4   
8,but ,i do not see this sad picture as 
,i stand in the open door and look  to  
the sunset sky4 ,i only see the wedding 
party for a moment1 and then  ,albert   
and the children sitting on the porch4  
,sometimes ,i talk to them  while the   
sun is setting1 and when the shadows    
fall1 they bring back the  faces of     
those ,i love4 ,it is then that ,i can  
hear ,albert's voice as he  sings the   
children to sleep out here on the porch1
 and sometimes ,i go  out to bring the  
sleeping baby in and lay it on the bed1 
as ,i used to do  sixty years ago4      
8,and ,i am not disappointed when ,i    
awake from my delusion1 for ,i know that
  over yonder1 beyond the sunset1       
,albert is singing to the children1 and 
it  is the echo of his voice that comes 
to me through the open door4 ,you only  
see a poor1 old1 gray-haired woman      

standing here alone in the open door1   
but ,i am surrounded with dreams and    
visions and memories which no others    
can behold40          ,,the ,,judge',s  
,,tears      ,one of the nice things    
people tell of ,judge ,mayer1 who served
 the  counties of ,clinton1 ,cameron and
 ,elk as president judge for almost     
forty  years1 is of the deep sympathy he
 showed when ,attorney ,henry ,harvey   
fell  dead in the court room4 ,harvey   
had been a law student in the judge's   
office1 and he felt a fatherly interest 
in the young man4 ,he was proud  of his 
achievements and successes at the bar1  
and was pleased when the  local         
,republicans spoke of ,harvey as a      
candidate for the high office of        
,governor of the great ,state of        
,pennsylvania4 ,the judge much regretted
  the conditions that robbed his pupil  
of the high honor1 but still looked     
ahead and hoped the honor might still   
hover near and select ,mr4 ,harvey      
later on4    ,the judge knew what       

disappointment tasted like1 for1 being a
 ,democrat in  a ,republican state1 is  
what barred him from the ,supreme bench4
 ,but he  deemed the honor1 at the      
expense of his honest political         
convictions1 to  be hollow and empty4   
,but one unfortunate day the man for    
whom he had seen such a brilliant       
future was fatally stricken in court4   
,harvey was addressing the jury in  an  
important case1 and was even more       
brilliant than usual1 when suddenly  he 
threw up his arms and staggered backward
 into the arms of ,r4 ,c4  ,quiggle1    
calling to a physician sitting near him3
 8,doctor1 ,i am sick40    ,these were  
the last words uttered by the man of    
whom such a brilliant  future had been  
predicted4 ,when all was over1 and the  
dead attorney lay  cold in front of the 
jury1 the venerable judge broke down and
 wept like a  tender-hearted woman4     
,people who had come to look upon       
,charles ,a4 ,mayer as a stern and      
relentless judge1 never dreamed of such 

a display of affection and  sympathy4   
,the judge had revealed his humane and  
tender side to the  people1 and they    
admired the new man far above the old   
one4 ,after  adjourning court1 he stood 
with a bunch of attorneys and court     
officials  discussing the tragical end  
of his friend1 and out on the streets   
the  people were discussing the affair1 
and to each new man who joined the      
crowds of startled citizens1 some one   
would say3 8,the judge wept like a      
child when ,harvey died40    ,the writer
 of these lines was attending a         
relative's funeral on that  day1 and    
when a man came to the funeral who had  
been in court when the  tragical death  
occurred1 and was telling a bunch of men
 standing outside  the home and waiting 
for the services to begin1 he did not   
forget to add3  8,judge ,mayer cried    
like a loving father when he saw that   
his friend was  dead40    ,and all over 
the country the news of ,attorney       
,harvey's death was  whispered in awed  

tones1 and always in connection with the
 death of  ,harvey was told the story of
 the judge's tears4    ,it gave the     
people a peep into the real man behind  
the legal mask1  and they admired the   
real man far above the legal sternness  
which the  profession forced upon the   
judge4 ,a man always gains in power and 
admiration when he shows evidence of a  
sympathetic heart4 ,abraham  ,lincoln's 
tears of sympathy stand out as liquid   
diamonds upon his  official record1     
never to be washed away while his       
beloved name remains  on the pages of   
,american history4 ,the world may malign
 him and wrongly  accuse him of many    
things1 but those tears of sympathy are 
out of reach  of human hands or         
slanderous tongues1 and the crown of his
 earthly glory  will always sparkle in  
the light of his illustrious name as    
indelible  stars1 forever polished by   
the love the ,american people retain for
 the  man4    ,so1 too1 do the judge's  
tears stand out above all his other good

  qualities1 and command respect and    
admiration from his bitterest enemies4  
,they can never be forgotten4 ,though he
 is dead and in his grave1 the  tears   
shed by loving friends will be forgotten
 by the world1 while yet  his own tears 
of sympathy remain like drops of dew to 
keep his memory  fresh and green in the 
hearts of all those who know of the     
tender and  sympathetic side of the     
judge4          ,,the ,,dog',s ,,kiss   
,it was a bleak morning in ,april1 the  
country roads being muddy and heavy  and
 discouraging1 and as the young man     
trudged along1 his mind wandered  back  
to the day he started as a tramp4 ,his  
parents had become suddenly  wealthy1   
through an oil strike on their mountain 
farm4 ,they immediately  moved to the   
city and purchased a fine home4 ,the boy
 was sent to college4  ,he was then     
eighteen years old4 ,on the second year 
term ,walter was  progressing in his    
studies rapidly1 and the teachers were  
proud of their  bright pupil4 ,they told

 him so4 ,their words of praise came    
back in memory  whispers as he trudged  
along1 footsore1 sick1 weary and hungry4
    ,it was a bitter recollection to    
recall the day when the news was brought
  to him of his father's and mother's   
death4 ,they had been killed in a       
railroad wreck4 ,after the funeral it   
was discovered that good fortune had    
given ,aaron ,burfield the big head1 and
 he started to gamble in stocks4  ,he   
knew as much about it as a cow knows    
about ,latin4 ,he was a lamb to  be     
easily fleeced4 ,all the fortune had    
been lost and the big house was         
mortgaged4 ,walter was a beggar when    
twenty years of age4    ,he realized    
that he had no rich relatives or friends
 to help him4 ,his  foolish father had  
deserted all his old friends and many   
poor relatives  the hour he found       
himself wealthy4 ,walter's pride barred 
him from going  back to these deserted  
friends and relatives4 ,he went back to 
school1  but the news of his change of  

fortune reached the ears of the young   
aristocratic friends with whom he had   
associated1 and they cut him short4     
,his tuition was paid in full1 but he   
could not remain at school and be  the  
outcast and beggar4 ,news reached him   
that the big house was sold1 and  did   
not satisfy the creditors4 ,he had      
nothing left but his clothes and a  gold
 watch4    ,now he regretted1 as he     
walked along1 that he had not remained  
at school  and graduated4 ,the sting of 
becoming an outcast was painful4 ,had he
 to  do it all over again1 he might do  
just as he had done--jumped a freight   
train one night with ten dollars in his 
pocket and left the college town        
forever4 ,this was two years ago4 ,he   
had harvested in the ,dakotas1 worked   
on the lakes1 tried packing-house       
drudgery and tried his hand at work  on 
a farm4 ,he was now too sick and        
discouraged to beat his way by rail4    
,he had lost his old-time courage1 and  
felt like a whipped child4 ,he  must    

give up the careless1 worthless life he 
was leading1 and secure a  permanent    
job4    ,he came to a large farm-house  
and went around to the back door to ask 
for a bite of breakfast4 ,a tired woman 
told him to go away4 ,he asked          
permission to sit on the porch step and 
rest4 ,the old farm dog came  up and    
licked his hand4 ,his heart leaped in a 
glad response to even  the friendship of
 a dog4 ,he put one arm around the dog's
 neck and  unconsciously spoke aloud3   
8,do you know how heart-sick and        
friendless ,i am1 old doggie80    8,do  
you like dogs80    ,it was a girl's     
voice4 ,walter ,burfield looked up and  
saw it was a pretty  red-cheeked girl   
addressing him4 ,my1 but she looked     
pretty and wholesome4  ,a sinner        
standing outside of heaven and looking  
in through the open gate  and beholding 
an angel would feel as ,walter felt on  
beholding that pretty  country girl4    
8,do you like dogs10 she asked again1   
for the tramp sat dumb before her4  ,his

 eyes dropped4 ,he had reached that     
point in the life of a vagabond  where  
the frank1 honest eyes of some one in   
whom hope burns brightly1  makes the    
hopeless soul recoil and seek to hide   
away from questioning  eyes4    8,i just
 feel like hugging the old dog10 he     
said1 8because he offered to  be my     
friend1 and ,i am so hungry for         
friendship4 ,i would like to secure  a  
position1 and find a home and settle    
down in the ways of peace once  more4 ,i
 am without a friend in all the wide    
world4 ,the touch of the dog's  tongue  
on my hand is the first friendly touch  
,i have felt for two years4  ,the woman 
inside allowed me to sit down and rest  
here1 but she refused me  a bite to eat4
 ,i guess the old dog knows how hungry  
and friendless and  despondent ,i am1 so
 he came up and gave me the kiss of     
loving friendship40    8,wait10 said the
 girl1 8,i'll bring you something to    
eat1 poor man40    ,she sat and talked  
to him while he ate4 ,she had never     

found any one so  interesting1 and he   
had never seen any one so beautiful4 ,he
 could touch  her heart as never any one
 had touched it before4 ,he knew so much
 of life  and was so discouraged and    
hopeless with it all4 ,his talk opened  
up a  new world to her4 ,her life had   
been so tame and commonplace1 and she   
had  longed for news from the outside   
world4 ,he did not look like a tramp1   
though he was ragged and dirty and      
unshaven4 ,the girl went to her father  
and persuaded him to give the poor tramp
 a job4    ,walter ,burfield stayed4 ,he
 worked hard and faithfully4 ,he        
resolved to  give up roaming forever and
 try to make a man of himself1 though   
obliged  to begin down at the bottom4   
,the old dog followed him through the   
fields  day after day1 as though he felt
 that it was his influence that had     
called ,walter back to a life of        
usefulness4 ,and ,walter well knew that 
it  was old ,hector's warm kiss on his  
hand that brought out the heart talk    

that morning with ,adaline ,blair4      
,two years afterward1 as he sat under a 
shade tree while resting his team  of   
horses1 he hugged the old dog and said  
to him3    8,dear old ,hector1 that     
first kiss of yours opened the door to a
 brand new  world for me4 ,god1 but ,i  
must have been sick and lonely on that  
morning ,i  sat resting on the porch1   
and you and ,adaline found me and took  
me into  your affections4 ,your kisses  
are still warm and affectionate1 old    
doggie1  but ,i felt a warmer one last  
night on my lips4 ,do you know that your
  little mistress has promised to be my 
wife8 ,she says she was drawn toward  me
 when she saw me hugging her dog4 ,it   
was your loving kiss1 old ,hector1  that
 has brought all this new love and hope 
and sunlight into my life4  ,she would  
never have caught me hugging you1 were  
it not for your friendly  kiss40        
,,love ,,letters      ,through an almost
 fatal accident1 an old lady of         
seventy-five years lay  at death's door 

for many long weeks4 ,she had not been  
as prosperous  during the last          
twenty-five years of her life as she had
 been in her  early married life1 and   
many of her old time friends had drifted
 out of  her life1 and she drifted out  
of theirs4 ,she thought of all this as  
she  lay on her bed of affliction1 too  
weak to move more than one arm4 ,it was 
sad to think of the old friends who had 
forgotten her so completely4 ,they  must
 all know of her illness1 for her       
daughter ,mary had read several  notices
 to her from the local papers concerning
 her serious accident1 and  more serious
 condition since the accident occurred4 
,somehow she felt so lonely and isolated
 and neglected4 ,better die and be  out 
of this painful existence than to lie   
sick in bed for weeks and weeks  and be 
absolutely forgotten by the old-time    
friends1 whose society she  once enjoyed
 so delightfully4    ,when her daughter 
came in she had hard work to turn her   
feeble head to  the wall1 so the tears  

on her lashes could not be seen4 ,she   
even felt  one on her thin cheek1 but   
had not the physical power to wipe it   
away4  ,as the daughter went about the  
room1 tidying things up1 and dusting off
  the stand on which the medicine       
bottles stood1 she listened carefully to
  see if her mother was sleeping4 ,a    
slight cough from the bed convinced her 
that the invalid was awake1 and she     
broke the silence by saying3    8,i hope
 the mail today will bring a letter from
 brother ,john4 ,he knows  of your      
accident1 and ,i feel sure he will reach
 us today with his answer40    ,the     
finger on the bed moved slightly and a  
weak voice answered2 8,i hope  so1      
,mary4 ,it's nice to receive a letter   
from our absent ones1 at such  times    
like this40    ,mary knew how it        
exhausted her mother to talk1 so she    
said no more1 but  pulled down the blind
 to shut out the light1 and left the    
sick room with  a pain at her heart4    
,her keen eye had seen the tears on her 

mother's eye  lashes1 and she felt      
certain that the poor invalid had been  
weeping over  confinement and isolation 
from society and her friends4    ,in an 
hour the morning mail arrived1 and she  
was agreeably surprised to  find five   
letters1 addressed to her mother1       
besides the one from ,john4  ,she opened
 ,john's letter and read it over        
carefully1 to make sure that he  had    
said nothing to hurt his mother's       
feelings4 ,john was so careless at      
times1 and would bring up business      
problems that should not be spoken of   
when the mother was not in condition for
 such matters4 ,then ,mary went up  to  
the sick room and read ,john's letter   
aloud4    8,i'm glad to hear he's well10
 the invalid said laboriously1 and      
closed  her eyes again from sheer       
weakness4    8,but mother10 exclaimed   
,mary1 8here's a letter from ,mrs4      
,moore--your old  friend1 ,mrs4 ,moore1 
of whom you spoke only yesterday40      
,the invalid opened wide her eyes and   

listened until the letter was  finished4
 ,it spoke of the old time friendship1  
and expressed hope that  the invalid    
would soon recover1 and be in condition 
to enjoy a visit from  her friend1 just 
so soon as the weather was settled4     
8,how kind of ,mrs4 ,moore to think of  
me in my affliction10 exclaimed  the    
invalid in much stronger tones4 8,it's  
better than medicine to hear  from her4 
,old friends are so dear to the heart1  
for they bring up old  memories40       
8,but here are letters from more of your
 old friends1 mother4 ,here is  one from
 ,mrs4 ,bridgens1 and one from ,mrs4    
,jones1 and one from old ,miss          
,christie1 and from ,mrs4 ,cook40 ,and  
,mary sat for almost an hour reading    
the messages from old friends to the    
invalid of whom the writers spoke so    
tenderly1 and wrote of old-time         
adventures and scenes from their        
girlhood  days4    ,mary was delighted  
to see the change these messages of love
 had worked  in her invalid mother4 ,the

 faded old eyes were lighted with a new 
illumination1 and a little color had    
struggled back to her cheeks4 ,she      
asked to have the letters given to her1 
and she brought both hands  together to 
receive them1 holding them as tenderly  
as a little girl would  hold her first  
doll4 ,mary went downstairs1 leaving the
 invalid holding  her love letters so   
fondly1 and when she returned in half an
 hour1 she  found her sleeping sweetly1 
and fondly holding those letters in one 
feeble hand4 ,and ,mary whispered3      
8,if they only knew how much pleasure   
and hope their letters brought to my    
dear old mother1 they would never       
neglect writing to their old friends    
when affliction is upon them4 ,god bless
 them for the hope and happiness  they  
brought to this home40          ,,at    
,,the ,,pool ,,of ,,life      ,the      
unsatisfied hunger we experience during 
this life1 creates a longing  in every  
human heart for another trial at living 
after this life has been  lived to the  

end4 ,once out on a desert1 some        
travelers were perishing  from thirst4  
,the man came to a small oasis amidst a 
few gnarled and  twisted trees4 ,the    
sight of the trees was evidence that    
water was near1  so he hurried his steps
 and came near to the desired spot4 ,he 
found water  there1 but it was stagnated
 and foul1 wild animals had been        
drinking and  wading and wallowing in   
the pool until it looked sickening and  
disgusting  to the traveler4    ,the    
hopes that filled his heart as he       
approached the promising oasis  began to
 ooze out through his fingers1 and a    
sickly sensation filled his  soul4 ,yet 
this was all the available water to be  
had4 ,his wife joined him  a few minutes
 later1 bringing two children4 ,they    
remained over night at  the pool1       
finding that the foul water had revived 
them in spite of the  filth4 ,they did  
not know which way to go to find the    
inhabited country1  so they erected an  
improvised tent and thought to live     

there until some  traveling caravan came
 that way1 when they would follow it    
back to the  green earth4    ,they could
 secure flesh to eat from the fowls that
 came to the trees  and the young of    
wild animals brought there to get a     
drink of water4  ,and so days passed    
into weeks and months and years1 and the
 longing to  be rescued became as a dead
 hope4 ,none were satisfied with the    
befouled  water1 nor the narrow life1   
but the wife and children were afraid to
  again brave the desert and go in      
search of inhabited land4 ,one night the
  husband and father became so sick and 
disgusted with the water that he  arose 
and stole away by the light of the moon 
determined to find a better  place of   
existence or become lost and perish out 
on the burning sands4    ,next morning  
there was deep sorrow at the pool4 ,the 
mother and children  mourned him as one 
dead4 ,they tried to follow him1 but his
 tracks were  soon lost in the shifting 
sands1 so they returned to the pool and 

the  friendly trees1 resolved to wait   
until some one came to take them away4  
,this is a good illustration of man's   
life on earth4 ,he is never satisfied   
nor contented4 ,the shallow pool of     
stagnated water never satisfies his     
longings for a deeper and broader life4 
,and finally he goes away into the      
night of darkness1 and the winds of     
mystery blow the sands of oblivion  over
 his tracks1 and no one knows whither he
 went4 ,and the living sit at  the pool 
and look out over the desert of life and
 wonder1 and wonder1  and grow more and 
more dissatisfied and say to themselves3
 8,this life is  so unsatisfactory and  
barren of real pleasure--there must be  
sweeter and  purer water away over      
yonder40          ,a ,,palace ,,without 
,,love      ,the divorce trial of a     
handsome young woman and her wealthy    
husband1  brings up the story of her    
early environment and her unfortunate   
mother's  disappointed life4 ,the woman 
now seeking a divorce was reared in the 

midst of matrimonial unrest and social  
misery--what other ending could the     
world expect in her own case8 ,where the
 union is not purely a union of  heart  
and soul1 a harmony of taste and        
temperament1 where the souls are  not   
tuned to respond to the same vibrations1
 conjugal happiness is simply           
impossible4    ,the mother of this woman
 in the divorce court was once a        
beautiful  ,irish girl1 the daughter of 
a man who kept a small crockery store   
in ,philadelphia4 ,his store was located
 around the corner from the             
aristocratic neighborhood1 where the    
scions of the old ,quaker families      
reside in magnificent palaces4          
,sometimes a few of them would          
condescend  to stop at the modest shop  
and make a purchase1 but the liveried   
negro  servants came more frequently to 
make the purchases desired by their     
masters4 ,at such times they would sit  
and gossip with the ,irish merchant  and
 his wife about their aristocratic and  

proud employers4    ,these conversations
 with the servants revealed the great   
social chasm  existing between the      
humble shop people and the wealthy      
aristocrats  living just around the     
corner4 ,the shopman's eldest daughter1 
a beautiful  girl of sixteen1 listened  
to the tales told by the liveried       
servants of  the rich1 and a longing    
grew daily stronger in her humble soul  
to become  rich and aristocratic some   
day1 too4 ,she cared not by what means4 
,she  only thought of the glorious end  
of the road leading up to one of these  
magnificent palaces1 and gave no thought
 to the mud and the mire and the        
dangerous chasms to cross before        
arriving at the end of all this golden  
glory and glitter of gilded gladness4   
,she dreamed of it night and day4  ,her 
pure soul became sordid and hard with an
 ambition that was ever in  her dreams4 
,on the street where the shop was       
located1 students bound for  the        
,university of ,pennsylvania would pass 

daily1 and among them were a  number of 
young aristocrats1 exquisitely attired1 
with their coats thrown  back to display
 their jeweled fraternity pins4 ,as time
 went on1 the  daughter of the shop man 
developed into a tall1 slender1         
beautiful girl1  with violet eyes and   
chestnut brown hair1 and a complexion of
 lovely  pink4 ,in the morning she would
 go outside the store to put the goods  
on display1 and was noticed by the      
wealthy university students4 ,one of    
them in particular fell desperately in  
love with the bewitching girl4  ,they   
began to slyly flirt as the students    
passed4 ,it would not be fair  nor true 
to put all the blame upon the student4  
,the ambitious shop girl  was just as   
anxious to make a conquest as was the   
young man4 ,she knew he  was rich and   
could see that he was handsome4 ,she    
felt only hatred toward  the rich people
 who ignored her1 and her humble        
parents4 ,she could never  love this    
young man sincerely1 but she would sell 

herself for the grand  position he could
 give her4 ,he would always hold himself
 at an elevation  far above her parents1
 and this would always be a sting in her
 soul1 but  she was too ambitious to    
hesitate at this4    ,one day he stopped
 at the shop to buy a shaving mug1 and  
she waited on  him4 ,they became        
acquainted4 ,she was fascinated with his
 beauty and fine  clothes and polite    
manners4 ,he made love to her from that 
day with ardor1  and she was in the     
heaven of glory she had dreamed of as   
she attended  to the shop4 ,one day he  
proposed to her1 and she gladly accepted
 his  offer4 ,her ambition was to be    
gratified4 ,oh1 the fascination and the 
wild ambition and magnificent hopes6    
,but all the time she knew she did  not 
love him with a sincere heart4 ,her     
humble origin1 and his proud and        
aristocratic parents1 made a chasm that 
could not be bridged in so short  a     
time4 ,her parents thought it a fine    
bargain and sale1 and encouraged  the   

courtship4 ,love would come later on4 ,a
 woman must learn to love where  love   
pays the largest dividends in gold4     
,so the beautiful1 ambitious ,irish girl
 and the aristocratic youth were        
quietly married4 ,when he told his proud
 mother that he had married the  girl   
from the crockery store1 the last happy 
smile died on her lips1 and  she never  
smiled again4 ,she had such high        
ambitions for her boy1 and he  had      
spoiled them by a rash marriage4    ,is 
it any wonder the marriage proved a     
failure8 ,they had six children1  yet   
the mother never loved her husband as a 
woman should love the father  of her    
babies4 ,she was ever conscious of the  
social chasm between them1  and it was a
 thorn that never ceased to give pain4  
,she had reached the  place her ambition
 craved1 but it did not reward her with 
happiness4  ,there was more pleasure in 
slowly falling from it1 than trying to  
go  higher4 ,the home and money and     
position were not satisfying4 ,her      

popular  young husband and the social   
distinction he gave her were not        
satisfying4  ,she was not happy4    ,she
 filled the aching void with lovers4    
,one was a society man in her  husband's
 set1 and one other was a big1 dark1    
much-married actor4 ,she  broke her     
husband's heart1 she broke the heart of 
his adoring mother1 and  she grew more  
wretched herself every year4 ,she then  
took to drink1 and  soon after to drugs4
 ,coming home one night from a party she
 fell on the  icy pavement and broke    
both lower limbs4 ,she never saw a well 
day after  the accident1 and died at the
 age of thirty-four4 ,she had starved   
her  heart for wealth and position4 ,she
 went without love to a high position   
and found it a bitter mockery4 ,she had 
outraged her own soul4 ,then began  the 
work of turning to ruin the palace in   
which she tried to live without  love4  
,,the ,,soldier',s ,,diary      ,in an  
old trunk1 up in the garret where the   
family letters were deposited  for more 

than half a century1 ,i found the diary 
of a soldier1 in which  the following   
notes attracted my attention3 8,august  
#ad1 #ahfd4 ,yesterday  was a terrible  
day for me4 ,the battle at ,deep        
,bottom1 near ,richmond1  took the last 
of my messmates4 ,andrew ,brown was     
wounded early in the  engagement--shot  
through the thigh4 ,comrade ,charles    
,pepperman assisted  him to the rear4   
,while they were gone1 the man at my    
side1 ,amos ,friedel  was shot through  
the head and died instantly4 ,thus three
 of my messmates  left my side within   
fifteen minutes4 ,pepperman joined the  
ranks an hour  later1 and a few minutes 
after was shot and fatally wounded4     
,this morning  ,henry ,traveler was     
found on the battle field1 with his arm 
shattered  horribly1 and was taken to   
the hospital4    8,in noting these      
fatalities and injuries1 ,i cannot help 
but recall  ,comrade ,shoemaker1 the    
first of my messmates to pass out4 ,his 
was the  most pitiable death of all4 ,he

 died three months ago of nostalgia4    
,this  is simply a melancholy growing   
out of homesickness4 ,shoemaker had     
married  a pretty girl only a few weeks 
before he enlisted and went to the      
front4  ,the army lay in supine idleness
 for several weeks1 and ,shoemaker had  
nothing to do but brood over his        
separation from the one he loved so     
fondly4 ,a deep melancholia settled down
 upon his soul and we could not  awaken 
an interest in his heart4 ,hour after   
hour his mind dwelt upon the  scenes of 
his ,pennsylvania home1 and his deserted
 wife's sad face looked  out of the     
shadows and smiled the lonely smile of a
 forsaken woman4    8,they took him to  
the hospital1 but the doctors could find
 no organic  disease in his body4 ,he   
was simply dying of loneliness and a    
longing1  longing to be with the people 
he loved4 ,he was a large man1 standing 
six  feet in his bare feet1 and this    
made his death all the more pathetic4   
,we tried to get him a furlough and send

 him to his family at home1 for  thirty 
days1 but the officers laughed at us1   
and said the man would come  out of his 
melancholia in a few days and go to     
eating hard-tack4 ,they  were men       
without heart or sentiment1 and they did
 not know the depth of  ,shoemaker's    
gloom4    8,three weeks after being     
taken to the hospital1 he died1 and was 
buried  in ,virginia1 and the longing   
wife never saw his face again4          
8,august #beth4 ,was to see ,comrade    
,brown today1 before they removed him   
to the hospital at ,washington4 ,he is  
very badly wounded1 the bone being      
shattered and there is danger of        
gangrene4 ,he gave me a letter to read  
which he received the previous day from 
home1 written by his sister1  ,barbara4 
,among the many things she wrote was    
this3 #8,on the night of the  #aeth and 
about two o'clock in the morning ,i     
dreamed that you came home4  ,i could   
see you walking up to the door as       
plainly as ,i ever saw your  familiar   

face4 ,your knock on the door wakened me
 out of a troubled sleep1  and so sure  
was ,i that you were down at the door   
waiting to be admitted1  that ,i        
insisted on some one going down to let  
you in4 ,of course it was  all a dream1 
but so realistic1 that ,i was sorely    
troubled until father  read in the      
,tribune that you were wounded4 ,surely 
you must have been  thinking of home at 
that hour4'0    ,there the diary ended4 
,for it was only a portion of the book  
in which  this unknown comrade had been 
jotting down the events of his army     
life4  ,the hand that put those written 
pages in the old trunk has been dead for
  many years1 and we can only guess who 
the writer was4 ,he1 too1 may have  left
 his bones to decay in ,virginia soil1  
and his diary sent back to  ,northern   
friends4 ,but ,i knew this ,samuel      
,shoemaker1 and ,i still remember  of   
hearing my parents talking about his sad
 death4 ,no doubt there were  many      
thousands of young men taken from their 

mountain homes and rushed  to the front1
 and the change was so great that they  
could not prevent  their hearts from    
longing for the dear old scenes of      
home--for the dear  old mother1 wife or 
sweetheart4 ,and then came the          
hopelessness and  melancholia and the   
loss of courage1 and finally death4     
,and yet that war settled nothing4 ,the 
negro question is still the             
overshadowing problem calling for a     
solution4 ,burning negroes at the  stake
 marks ,america as one of the barbarous 
nations4          ,,two ,,men ,,who     
,,touched ,,my ,,soul      ,when ,i was 
a young man ,i had occasion to write    
something for the local  paper1         
published near my home4 ,the late       
,girard ,wright1 brother of  ,theodore1 
editor-in-chief of the ,philadelphia    
,record1 was managing the  paper at the 
time4 ,he sent for me4 ,timidly ,i      
called at the office1 for  ,i was an    
awkward country youth and afraid of men 
who were established  in the business   

world4 ,there did not seem to be any    
place in the world  for me outside of a 
barren hillside farm1 and ,i always felt
 like a thief  stealing off in the dark 
when ,i looked out over the world for   
something  better4    ,mr4 ,wright was a
 revelation and an inspiration to me4   
,why1 he was just  as approachable as a 
boy4 ,a handsome man1 with the kindliest
 and most  sympathetic face ,i had ever 
seen4 ,i can shut my eyes and see that  
intelligent face1 with those sympathetic
 eyes1 into which the hopeless  could   
look and find hope and courage4    ,he  
wanted me to write for his paper4 ,i    
told him frankly that ,i lacked         
education and vocabulary1 and could     
write only in a crude style4 ,and he    
replied3    8,why1 that is what the     
people want4 ,the world is tired of     
rounded  phrases and poetical lines and 
erudite sentences4 ,what the people want
  is original thought1 new ideas--a new 
and original way of looking at          
every-day events1 without prejudice or  

superstition or cant4 ,you can  do this1
 for there is an originality about your 
ideas--an independent  peephole1 through
 which you observe the world1 without   
fear or favor4  ,all you want is        
practice4 ,you do not ape or copy after 
any writer ,i ever  heard of1 and       
practice will polish your original style
 to a surprising  extent4 ,if your style
 was borrowed1 practice would do you    
little good4  ,it might add to your     
ability to ape and copy after others1   
but the style  would never be your own40
    ,something happened soon after this1
 and ,mr4 ,wright went back to          
,philadelphia before ,i could send in my
 contributions4 ,then my old mother  was
 taken very ill1 and ,i had no time for 
literature4 ,mr4 ,wright kept  in touch 
with the country paper1 and when my     
contributions no longer  appeared1 he   
wrote me to know the reason why4 ,i told
 him that ,i was  nursing my dying      
mother1 and was obliged to drop         
literature until all was  over4 ,he     

wrote me again and extended his         
sympathy1 and what was of still  more   
material benefit--a bank note4 ,it came 
when poverty and sorrow were  sweeping  
over me1 and it gave me courage4    ,it 
was so pleasant to know that this       
big-hearted man was thinking  of me1    
away down in the big city4 ,he was the  
first educated man to  find any merit in
 my feeble attempts at writing for      
publication4 ,his  appreciation came    
like rain to a famishing flower4 ,it was
 something ,i  had been hungering for   
through the miserable years when all the
 future  looked like a narrow horizon1  
that dipped down into a coming storm of 
hopelessness4    ,i never saw ,mr4      
,wright but that one time1 and never    
heard directly  from him again4 ,i never
 had the opportunity to tell him how    
much good  his kind words of            
appreciation had done for me4 ,he died  
while ,i was  living in ,colorado1 and  
my soul was filled with sorrow and      
regret4 ,i  had always hoped to meet him

 again and thank him for the good he had
 so  unconsciously imparted to me4 ,i   
knew that an inspiration had gone out of
  my life when he died1 though he never 
dreamed of the great uplift he had      
given me4    ,i am writing these lines  
to show the reader how much good one    
man's  appreciative words can do for    
another4 ,we all have a subtle force    
within  ourselves for doing good or harm
 to our fellow men4 ,the thought pebble 
we  carelessly toss into the            
intellectual stream of our neighbor may 
start  little waves to vibrating and    
extending into a circle around him1     
which  will greatly influence his future
 life4    ,after ,mr4 ,wright's death   
there was a space of fifteen years in   
which  no man could transmit an         
inspiration to my soul and give my mind 
a new  impetus4 ,then1 outside a little 
country church1 ,i met for the first    
time  the other man who touched a       
vibrating chord in my soul1 and a new   
world  of hope opened up1 like the      

lifting of a dense fog often reveals the
  distant mountains4          ,,index   
,page      ,frontispiece                
#a      ,biographical ,appreciation     
#c      ,i ,plead ,guilty               
#i      ,religion of ,humanity          
#aj      ,joe ,bailey's ,ride           
#ab      ,the ,other ,man's ,baby       
#ac      ,the ,pathos of ,humor         
#ae      ,the ,pine ,creek ,tragedy     
#af      ,the ,homesick ,boy            
#ah      ,friends ,who ,pass in the     
,dark         #ai      ,voice of the    
,stone                   #bj            
,ingratitude                            
#bb      ,orphan ,eva                   
#bc      ,loving the ,world             
#bd      ,lost in the ,snow             
#bf      ,a ,plea for ,childhood        
#bg      ,thoughts of ,immortality      
#bi      ,teach ,sentiment              
#cj      ,the ,soul of ,sorrow          
#ca      ,visiting the ,old ,home       
#cb      ,the ,wayward ,boy             
#cd      ,a ,wasted ,life               

#ce      ,garret ,memories              
#cf      ,your ,baby ,still             
#ch      ,wish ,i were a ,jew           
#ci      ,memories                      
#dj      ,sweetened with ,sorrow        
#db      ,in ,her ,dreams               
#dc      ,the ,mortgaged ,mother        
#de      ,the ,toy ,maker               
#df      ,the ,mother-in-,law           
#dg      ,bob ,white                    
#di      ,whipping a ,child             
#ea      ,not a ,clinging ,vine         
#eb      ,the ,saloon in ,our ,town     
#ec      ,the ,homesick ,child          
#ee      ,why ,he ,quit ,hunting        
#ef      ,the ,hard-,luck ,showman      
#eh      ,playing with ,hearts          
#ei      ,true ,friendship              
#fa      ,sighing of the ,pines         
#fb      ,the ,homesick ,horses         
#fd      ,the ,blind ,cigarmaker        
#fe      ,the ,three ,classes           
#ff      ,hissed and ,hooted            
#fh      ,the ,war with ,self           
#fi      ,crippled ,joe and the ,showman

         #ga      ,race ,suicide        
#gc      ,for a ,stage ,career          
#gd      ,the ,dead of the ,land and    
,sea         #gf      ,where ,dreams    
,come ,true               #gg      ,it  
,might ,have ,been                   #gi
      ,a ,misguided ,mother             
#hj      ,the ,world is ,blind          
#hb      ,wrong on the ,throne          
#hc      ,the ,voices ,we ,understand   
#hd      ,chasing the ,cows ,up         
#hf      ,flowers for the ,living       
#hg      ,the ,hobo's ,story            
#hi      ,in the ,looking ,glass        
#ij      ,ungrateful ,young ,girls      
#ib      ,the ,giant ,pine              
#ic      ,the ,little ,house-,keeper    
#ie      ,the ,male ,flirt              
#if      ,memories of the ,old ,trunk   
#ih      ,the ,auction ,block           
#ajj      ,the ,old ,yard ,master       
#aja      ,books that ,made ,me ,think  
#ajc      ,forgotten ,graves            
#ajd      ,in the ,open ,door           
#aje      ,the ,judge's ,tears          

#ajg      ,the ,dog's ,kiss             
#ajh      ,love ,letters                
#aaj      ,at the ,pool of ,life        
#aab      ,a ,palace ,without ,love     
#aac      ,the ,soldier's ,diary        
#aad      ,two ,men ,who ,touched ,my   
,soul         #aaf