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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.
SATUBDAT, JULY 20. 1907.
ESTHER, OR THE POWER OF SANCTIFIED BEAUTY
By REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN,.
PASTOR NORTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
It was In th* year <13 B. C. that th*
story of Esther began. It may be treat,
ed as a drama and Its contents divided
Into four acta, three scenes each, pre
senting to ue In graphic form the char
acter and court life with Its Intrigue
and splendor of one of the greatest
tyrants the world has ever known. The
drnmntls pereonnae of the story are
Xerxes (called In Scripture Ahoauerus),
king of Persia, Vaahtl his queen. Es
ther., a Jewess, her successor. Mordecal,
the cousin and guardian of Esther, and
Hainan, nn Amalektte, a subject, prince
and favorite of the king.
Xerxes had, by the accident of birth,
been lifted to the Imperial control of a
mighty realm, which his predecessors,
Cyrus. Cambysee and Darius, had
bultded, and which, containing 127 great
divisions under satraps, reached from
India on the east to the outer coniines
of Libya on the west, while on the south
the Persian ruif, the fled and Arabian
seas were Its boundaries, as wera the
Black and Caspian ssaa on the north.
In <to B. C„ saven years previous to
the opening Incidents of Esther, and
four years previous to the death of
Darius and the ascension of Xerxes,
Mlltlades on the field of Msrathon, had
shattered the flower of the Persian
army, hltharto Invincible, and by one
stroke, as he drove the Invaders to their
ships, had stayed the Asiatic tide that
threatened to deluge Europe aa It had
covared Asia and northern Africa. He
thua made poasibla aa ha checked the
despotism of the east, the development
of Ortolan liberty, which laid the
foundation for the civilisation of today.
For, as nns has Said, "At Marathon
modarn history began."
Amased and angered by this unex
pected defeat, Darlua had laid great
plana for a vaster Invasion of the Hel
lenic states. Store cities had been ar
ranged along the route of his pnoposed
march, two great bridges of boata had
been for years In the process of con
struction across th* Hellespont and the
raising and equipment of armies had
proceeded steadily. Death, however, had
cut short the plana of Darius. Per
suaded by bis counsellors, Xerxes con
tinued to prepare for the great invasion,
and In the third year of his reign he
calls together from all parts of his
realm his princes and potentates, to
whom he makes In succession a serlss
of feasts which last for six months. It
Is at lha close of these assemblages
which have been held In order to pre
pare for tlie raising and equipment of
the army of Invasion, that the Incidents
of our book begin.
N Act I, Scans 1.
Place, Slitiahan the palace. Stage
setting, tha last of tbe great fi
Voluptuous splendor and oriental mag
nificence In dacxllng profusion are am
ployed to impress the assembled multi
tudes with'the glory and magnlfictnco
of the king. Drunk with excess, the
king calls for Vaahtl, the queen, t
come, that ha may display her, un
veiled, together with his other treasure,
before hla assembled lords. Shrinking
from such uncustomary publicity and
from the danger, of entering Into the
presence of the wine-maddened assem
blage, Vaahtl refuses to come, and Is
removed from her position as queen.
8eene 2.
Three years have passed—the Inva
sion of tha Greeks has been undertaken
and hat ended In disastrous failure.
Amazed and overwhelmed by tha bat
tles of Thermopylae and Salamls, Xer
xes has fled across his bridge of boats,
back to Shuahan, leaving what remains
of hi* army of more than two million
men in Greece, which a year later at
Plataea and Macnle suffers final de
feat. Disappointed with hla military
career, the monarch Is seeking such
diversion aa may be found In hla harem
and now misses Vaahtl, hla queen. In
response to a' suggestion made by one
of hls eunuena he hna Issued an order,
ami we find hie officers In execution of
the same, bringing from every part of
hls realm the fairest maidens that can
he found ae contestants for the place of
queen made vacant by Vashtl. Among
others Is a Jewish maiden, named Es
ther, nn orphan, hnd the ward of a Jew
named Mordecal, who Is one of the pal.
ace officials. Her race, however. Is not
known. In thle scene we And her un
dergoing tbe preparation of twelve
months necessary to At her for pre
sentation to the king.
Scene 3—One Year Later.
Among the many maidens of the
harem, Esther la fairest of all. When
presented to the king, at first sight she
la beloved and lifted to the place of
royal consort. *Tho Persian women are
In their flower at 12 or 14 years of age
at 20 the bloom of youth has gone and
their beauty Is faded. We conclude,
therefore, that th* heroine must have
been scarcely more than a child In years
when she thus comes upon the stage.
Act II, 8cone 1.
In this scene we are Introduced to
the Intrigue of this Eastern court. Two
events of significance an presented.
First, a plot to stay Xerxes la discov
ered by Mordecal, communicated to Fa
ther, the new queen and througli her
made known to the king, whose life is
thus saved and whose enemies nrp de
strayed. A record of the event Is mad
by the royal scribe, but the king's de
Itverer Is overlooked and unrewarded.
The other event Is. the exaltation oi
Prince Haman to the place of grand
vizier, or prime minister of the rdulm.
Scene 2.
Haman, the Amaleklte, called an Ag
aglte because he belonged to the royal
line of Amalek, as he passes out of th"
palace at the door,, meets Mordecal, who
alone of all the people falls to uo
obeisance to him. By this affront from
the Jew, who doubtless because of a
race long antagonism between hls pen-
lie And the people of Amalek, disdains
o bend the knee. Human la angered so
deeply that he determines upon a ter
rible revenge. Mordecal, the offender,
seems almost beneath hls anger, and so
he plana to destroy not only himself,
but with him all hls race, and easts the
lot (since evidently hh Is a fatalist) to
determine when he shall arrange to
have the massacre occur. It falls on
the 13th day of tha last month, almost
a year later.
8cane 3.
Haman represent* to (he king that
the Jews are a people disloyal to him
THE ETERNALLY UP TO DATE
Terse Comments on the Uniform Prayer Masting Topic of the Young People’s
Societies—Christian Endeavor, Baptist Young People’s Union, Epworth
Liagut, etc.—For July 21, "Present Day Application of the Last Six Com
mandments," Ex. 20: 12-17.
By WILLIAM T. ELLI3.
MJ 1
iios«,'"*nd'"ara""bonnS'"tfi*t there shsfl .he
greeter obedience to tbe old,
require n man to enro for hls
has been too much
her one, and too uur
the world
Their eternal up-to-dateness Is one of the
marks of the dlvlno Inspiration of the ten
commandments.
To pot It most plainly, all the social and
■rf 1 unrest of the hour means one thing,
pis are tired of selBsh'
there ahall he
old Inns whleh
eBmgSoWtSS brother. There
uch looking out for nmu-
much disregard for number
two. Bo the world Is twin* compelled to 1
hear, In the stern role* of law's sentenee,
In the popular socialistic clamor, and In
ttie coho of th# anarchist's bomb, the nn-
changing mandates of the last six command
ments delivered on .Blast meant.
Tho gospel doss not abrogate the law. It
creates a higher |gw, without .abolishing
the older, holt Is s twofold transgression
for a Christian to violets the command
ments. There Is n danger ot being so en
grossed In porault of the splrltuimtles thnt
the plain moralities will be overlooked. Tho
newspapers told the other dsy of s "holi
ness'' preaeber who had deserted hls wife
end had run off with n member of hls con
gregation. For s considerable time he pro-
tested, quite after the fashion of tbe most
worldly roue, that tho aocnml woman was
hls "affinity," tnd so ho wna above tho sev
enth
changed
he i
andtnent. Hut after n time kfl
;er a tiias ko
forgave him,
church—stlpu-
be permltCsd
ami hi advertised for s now church
fating, however, that ho most bo psi
to presrh holiness, flnch onset at this lire
rare; they represent the extremity of hu
* “ *—•— they point out the
SB fatty. Never!beli__ - -
aeceselty of squaring all cresda and conduct
with the old-fashioned decalogue. It Is slg-
DUleagt that most advanced religions "Isms''
ir* generally mixed up, ere long, srtth
aadakMU Immoralities. Nothing It splr
Immoralities. Nothing Is si
dual which does not observe tbe law gfi
on the mount. No end of religions eataclea
triU atone for lack of square dealing with
one'* fellow mon In tho affoln of every
day. Prayer meeting piety It no jnstlflcs-
tlon for counting room rascality; It only
makes the knavo a hypocrite.
Tho young man who la not raapeated and
There la __ —„ ... ..
•ton In the commandments, ranging
tho hlgheat to tho loweat. Tho drat com-
alone After the four comraiudmsnta deal
tog with »Jim! coiium tin* ono on honoring
father find mother. Parent* atand next to
t*od. Half tbe world ylenla aneeators a ruv-
* worship. ’ *
f that atnonnta to \ . . . .
iay mtddle-aftd Kgrptuto dragoman It bo
bad not been to Mecca; no, because Ills
fattier bad not !*en there yet, nud bo would
not go before hls father. On another occa*
•Ion he Mid that h** hnd declined to accom*
patty it traveler to the Holy f«and. much as
he desired to do so, simply because hla
father hnd expressed the wish that ho
Vwld not. In Ita ' * *
.je Ka*t i* undmi
“clrlllaed" West.
The bad son la a bad dttsen.
lrocot of the sixth commandment.
8o Interpreted the Urent Teacher.
There la nothin* that society needs todny so
tha chambers of
are a aln
■car
g un c ib uuiuiuh umi »«tvtj
G och a* a cleaning up of the etui
iftgery. Unreined Imaginations i
agnfnst God's commandments, as
i to bn " — '
sod by the sort nr stories which wmrij
pass current for humor, Is a profound rea
son for uneasiness on the part of those who
fe«l n concern for th# health of society. Tbo
remedy lies In a stern and courageous ap
plication of the seventh commandment as
rendered by grins.
There are no divorce problems end no
scandals In tho high Ills where the deca
logue Is honored.
Joslsli Strong, lllnstratlng tbo sods! obli
gation of the gospel, says Chat tho churches
are holding a service Instead of giving their
nerviest.
There I* a deal of old-fashioned stealing,
whleh has been masquerading as ."high
dagnes," and "business enterprise;" bat tha
maaka are being lorn away In theaa days,
and many o man who lately waa esteemed
aa s grant capitalist Is uow regarded as s
common thief.
Tha law la ntcesaaey to order.
Thomaa Carlyle.
tbs moat profound.-
hnppine*
Hkylng, I take
I'll keep then company.
—anon.
Live In a thankful spirit and you will find
morn to bo thankful for.—Brooks Herford.
Nsws ahd Notes
Tho Christian churches In heathen lands
The
the
Society
ry a
A good motto, since tne hanging or mot
toes I* an approved fashion ot th* dsy—to
put op befoM every sewing society, every
corner store crowd, end to hang from every
village eteepla, le the ninth r.nmnnndinent,
"Thun shelf not hear falee wltneaa against
thy neighbor.' Thla la the common offeuse
of good people. Men nnd women who would
not hnrt a fly think nothing of sticking tho
knife of scandal into a neighbor’s back; sml
B enin, who would not steel t straw take a
ndlsh pleasure In robbing a man of hi,
sod name.
Tbo pathway of peace Ilea srlthtn the
fences of the moral law.
Watching i crowd of p«opl* scrambling
frantically off tho Itoaton ferryboat on*
morning. I remnrked to th* friend he.tde
me, "Ulve ns tbts ilsy oar .Infix bread."
"Theea people are after cake," be tersely
answered. There wns point to tho remark;
those late-goere to itore and office repre-
seated tbs greet boat of people who think
that luxuries ore necessities. Almost every
ono of them wns probably riealroua of oomo
prise which he did not need. It Is because
the twentieth century Is covetous of bouses
equal t» a neighbor's, of raiment surpassing
thnt of other people, and of the neeeasortes
of social position possessed by the few, that
It wears such n wrinkled, careworn fnco.
Covetousness, which the New Testament
rails Idolatry, Is the century's sin.
glon Is a religious experience.—
Anon.
Christ-gives a new heredity when Its
tenches ns "Oar Father,"—Maltbls D. Bnb.
cork.
God mark* how long this haman lift shall
adly broad with retch of sympa-
ta Its growth,-ht
_ —Aldls Dunbar.
The situation that ha* not It* duty, Ita
alble, the flftv different mlsetonnrr agencies
In Chinn. The eight I'renbyterlnn bodies
a greet! to form ono church, tho Episcopa
lians, Baptists nnd Methodists llkowlso. so
that these. In turn. Will work together In a
co-operation thnt will nmnunt to practical
union. Orest r* ’
pnrtnuro of m
thorite of
In Chins nro resolved to escape the fric
tion which hai existed between th* for
eigner, and tbo natives In tho Japanese
church,
The largest Mohammedan colony In ths
Wostorn world Is at Worcester, Mass It
Is composed of Turks snd Koords who era
employed In lbs fsetorles.
Thera are as many Lutherans on the
globe ns nil the other Protestant denomi
nations put together. In point at member,
ehlp. tbe Lutheran church stands third In
tho United States, having 1,6*9,0*0 commit-
nlcnnt members, this being n gain of 90,415,
or 4.30 por cent ovor last year; 13,820 fund
gregutlons snd 7.874 pnators. Ten par cent
of the tncranes In church membership of
ths United Stotei for last year was In tbs
Lutheran church,
tha big shops n practical healtL
• -- -i- - slclsns bavo told men
REV, RICHARD ORME FLINN,
self, and suggests that they should be
sxtarmlnated. Tho king assents, gfvo4
Haman hla signet, bidding him dc os
ha please. Decrees are sent out over
the realm that on the appointed dny all
the Jews should be destroyed, at which
Intelligence consternation seises the
Jews of Shuthan, and Mordecal mourns
In sackcloth and ashes In the streets.
. Act III, Scene 1.
As the curtain rise* we find Esther
fasting In the palace while the Jews
throughout the city are assembled In
fasting and prayer for her. Then, after
three days of waiting upon God she ap
proaches the king, enters the sacred
enclosure and by her act stakes her life
upon the caprice of this man who could
hot tell himself what ho would do at
any moment (for It Is a penal offense to
enter the king's presence uncalled). The
God touches hla heart,
king see* h«r,
her prayer Is h*ard.
He bide her ap
proach, asks her mission and accepts
her Invitation as she requests that he
and Haman come on the morrow to a
banquet ot wine with her.
Scene 2,
Place, Haman's home, whore he
discussing with hls friends the annoy
ance occasioned by tlie unyielding atti
tude of Mordecal. The king has loaded
him with honors; the queen has asked
him to a private banquet, but Mordecal
Is the thorn In hls side which robs him
of all pleasure. He Is counselled to
erect a high gallows, speak to the king,
and have Mordecal executed thereon,
not waiting for the appointed day of
the Jewish slaughter to arrive. He
prepares a gallows 70 feet high and
goes to the palace.
While this has been transpiring at
hla home, -at the palace the king has
spent a sleepless night. From the rec
ords which have been rend to him the
kindness of f.Iofdecal has been recalled
and he learns that he has been unre
warded. As Haman enters, he asks
him: "What shall be done to the man
whom the king delights to honor?" Ha
man, supposing thnt he was desiring to
find some new token by which ho might
further show hls favor to himself,
makes a suggestion, which, chagrined,
he Is commissioned to carry out In be
half of Mordecal, hls enemy. Thus
Nemesis begins as the mighty Haman
leads Mordecal, ablaxe with the royal
gems upon the royal charger, through
the streets.
8cens 3.
Place, the harem. It Is the second
banquet scene at which Haman and
the king are present with Esther. The
face of Ilsman Is clouded, he has fore
boding* of hls fate. Esther accuses
him; the king, enraged, orders hls ex
ecution upon the pole erected for
Mordecal. Tbe curtain falls.
Act IV, Scene 1.
Mordecal Is made grand vlsler. Ha
man's home Is given to Esther.
Seen# 2.
Mordecal acquaints the king with
the plot of Haman and Is given by him
hls signet, with permission to issue a
different decree In order to checkmate
the despicable plot of his defeated en
SOCIOLOGICAL
8TATE 80CIETY
President-Dupont Gnerry, Macon, Qa.
Klrst V.-P.-Dr. A. R. Ilolderby, Atlanta.
Second V.-P.—Dr. E. C. Peete, Macon.
Sec.-Tress—Dr. W. T. Jours, Atlanta.
Annual Meeting In May, 1907, at Mtcon.
ATLANTA SOCIETY
....Miss Hnttlo R. Marti
Treasurer C. R. Folsom
Regular meeting second Thursday night
of each month at tbe Carnegie Library.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.
Rev. C, B. Wllmer, J. D. Clanton, E, Marvin Underwood, Dr. R, R. Kime,
The Superintendent and the Board of Education
the big shuns a prnrtln
noon. Lending physician
how to live s healthy Ilfs.
to th* ennuo of foreign mission* was one
Keiuidor ha* boon adding to tbe small
list ot South American countries permitting
absolute freedom of worship.
Ion Into churches of tela-
l-lna, nnd of a device for
enaDiing too noat to bear, hna heroins ao
common that It no longer excites remark.
Horn* youthful mends* of Bev. It. A.
Campbell, the exponent of "New Theology"
In th* City Temple, London, recently climb
ed up ntu! deeply Inscribed "h-hnhod" ("tha
glory bon departed"! over th* main entrance
To the ehnren. Furiously enough, Sts years
ago, Bev. Dr. Joseph l’nrker. Mr. Ctmp-
liell'a predecessor, had prophesied: "Should
It ever come to pass that the great troths
of Christ's death and reeurrrctlnn be de
nied by any future occupier of thla pulpit;
should the feet of life gracious Godhead
For the last three month* the tropi
cal Island of Jamaica, surrounded by
a warm sea, where the evaporation la
great, has suffered from drouth aa se
vere aa any which visit Island deserts,
far from any large body of water.
By EMMA GARRETT BOYD, ,
T HE movement to submit to tho
people the question of electing
tho superintendent of schools by
popular vote has met with a atorm ot
protest, and, In their seal to show the
evils of forcing th# superintendent into
lolltlcs, tho opponents of tho measure
,,nv n overlooked certain other aspects
of the matter. It Is on* thing, for In
stance, to say that wo must keep our
schools from becoming political spoils;
It Is quite another thing to Ignore tho
fact that under the present system the
people of Atlanta have no direct voice
In the management of the schools upon
which their children are dependent for
education, and for which so largo a
proportion of their taxes la applied.
No matter how decidedly the policy
of tho board of education may vary
from the wishes of a majority of the
citizens, there Is no way of holding the
board members accountable to a body
of constituents nor even of electing
such members to carry out the wishes
of their fellow.citizens. Tho board Is
apnolnted by council, and the history
of all large cities show* that granting
the power to appoint members of such
boards to Individuals or organisations
Is not by any means a certain method
of keeping such boards out of politics,
though the gam* may be played on a
very small scale and only by those
directly interested In Its outcome.
The schools of any city are possibly
the most vital part of that city's or
ganisation; the men who are given con
trol of Atlanta's schools spend annu
ally over $200,000. Naturally the ex
penditure of such a sum of money ne
cessitates the securing of good busi
ness people on the board; naturally,
also, as the whole purpose of the board
Is to develop and maintain the city's
system of education, the members
should bo persons of line education
themselves, and, If possible, of a wider
knowledge of educational affairs than
can be gained In small or primary
schools.
Without wishing to cast the slight
est reflection on our boards of educa
tion, past or present, or on any mem
ber of such boards, It I* the belief of
the writer, and a belief often corrob
orated by others, that Atlanta's boards
of eduentlon have too often represented
men who were chosen first of all for
their business ability or for their gen
era! Interest In the welfare of our
children, but In regard to whose spe
cial and definite knowledge of educa
tional matters there was too little em
phasis. In other words, *hey have been
business men first or public-spirited
men first, and educators second. Now,
It by no means follows that because
a man Is interested In children he can
best select the course ot training for
those children; when* wo want advice'
In sickness we do not send for our
beat friend, but for a physician, and
Atlanta has long outgrown the state
where the standards of village schools
can be kept her standards; she has
long outgrown the need of choosing
men who are "prominent citliena,"
■Inca she has x number of men who
are of fine business ability and public
spirit, and who, In addition, have been
trained at tbe best universities in
America and abroad.*
These men, though they are msstly
of the younger generation, should be
given a part in the development of our
schools. Great as the development of
these schools has been during the past
ten years, It has by no means brought
them, so far In advance that they may
not be greatly bettered, and this better
ment can only bo brought about by
people who add to Interest a consid
erable amount of special and definite
training. Our board should be com
posed ot n\en educated at the very best
colleges and universities. It might not
be possible alwayo to elect such men,
If the vote were tho direct one of the
people, but there might at least be a
definite and concerted effort to make
such an election, and such an effort
could not help but raise the standard
of the board.
That the best method of choosing the
board of education I* by direct voto
seems to be borne out by the adoption
of this method by two-thlrda of the
leading cities In the United States, In
1904 the United States commissioner of
education Investigated the matter and
sent a circular letter of Inquiry to the
ninety-two cities that had a population
of over 40,000. Ninety out of the tUne.
ty-two cities nnswered. It was found
that In slxty-thrce of these cities the
board of c-ducatlon was chosen by pop
ular vote at a regular election, and In
one or two other cases by popular vote
at a special election. In fifteen cases
they were appointed by the mayor of
the city; In six cpses they were elected
by the city council, and In six other
cases other methods were used.
It Is also Interesting to note that In
elglity-slx cases the superintendent was
elected by the board, In one or two
cases by local boards, and In only two
cases out of the ninety was he elected
by popular voto.
Thus not only Is Atlanta's method of
appointment by council one not Inva
riably satisfactory, but It is one found
desirable by only six out of the ninety
leading cities In the United States.
But It would scarcely be wise to elect
members of the board of education by
an unrestricted popular vote. The plan
adopted by many cities, that of limit
ing the voters for this board to prop
erty owners, would be far better, as It
Is this class of our citizens who bear
the burdens of maintaining the schools,
and who are best educated and beat
uallfied to elect those who are to
irect the city's education. Nor would
emy. Couriers are seen hurrying
throughout the realut.^
The !a*t montf?*tias come and a civil
war is raging. The Jews are victo
rious. 7,808 of their enemies are slam.
The curtain falls. .
Now, In this story what do we find?
First, Into a corrupt Eastern court,
with Its cruelty and crime, its Intrigue
and Its Oriental splendor, its pomp and
power. Is Introduced a tittle Jewish
girl, without Influence, without wealth,
without anything save beauty and a
trust In God.
Second, w e find circumstances aris
ing that not only Involve her, but her
race, in the gravest danger through
the machinations of one man who
seems to gather up In hls breast all
the hatred of centuries of hls entire
line against her people, the Jews. A
plot Is perpetrated which threatens to
overthrow her and her nation. She
Is asked to act, to parry hls thrust,
but It she falls It will mean immediate
death for her; If she succeeds, no one
knows how she Is to do It, 'and yet
none but herself can undertake It, nnd
so we beheld her, nothing but a girl,
alone In this cruel court, at this criti
cal hour; standing against Haman, the
subtle, the rich, the powerful, the
greatest force In the kingdom, as she
meets hint In a duel to the death.
Third, after three days of waiting
upon God, she passe* Into the forbid
den precincts of the king's court. Like
David of old. going.forth to battle for
hls race with Goliath, so went this
little girl, to fight her people's battle
with the grand vixler, Haman the
cruel. What had she with which to
meet him? How Was she girded for the
conflict? She had nothing—nothing
Bavo her beauty—but this, the only
thing she had, she yielded up to God
and said: "O God, Thou didst give It
me. let me now usa It for Thee. I
have not power, I have not following.
I have not wisdom. I have nothing but
beauty, beauty that will fade In a feu-
years, In flvo or six at most, and then
will be gone forever: but while I have
It let me use It for Thee," and thus,
like David with hls little pebble and
hls sling, she advanced face to face
to meet the foe In God's strength. She
went trembling but trusting, and uy
God's power that sanctified her beam,
she won, her race was saved, her en *
my overthrown, she .Immortalized and
a lesson taught to the world. ’
What la the lesson? The leraon u
this; When we offer what tve have
to.God, no matter how little it may he-
when we give God a chance to use
and to act through us; when we arl*«
courageously to meet the emerger-cv
trusting In God, no matter what th*
odds may be against us, and no mutter
how weak we may.be in ourselves
how unable we are to cope with cir
cumstahces, God will give us the vlrl
tqry. for God Is not weak and Q„d
and one soul who trusts Him make
majority.
My dear friends, I want to ask ara
you willing to give God a chance aa
Esther did, to put at Hls disposal what
you may have? Are you willing to risk
everything for Him as she did, that
you may act for Him as may be need-
ed? Unless you dare thoa to do nnd
know the thrill of spiritual adventure
you will never know the Joy of spirit.’
ual attainment.
And now a closing word to women
My sisters, to you to whom God hath
given the power of a winsome p er .
zonality, of a physical attractlvenen
and beauty, let . me say that there li
scarce any other power on earth that
can sway man more mightily than ttn*
or cafi be more used either for bis un-
doing or hls uplifting. There Is no
more harm done In this old world of
ours than by prostituted beauty, and
there Is no more good done In till*
old world of ours, thank God. than
through the' influence of sanctified
beauty. My dear friends, as this lit-
tie woman. Esther of old, became the
power behind the throne that moved
the hand that moved the world, so
that she was able to deliver her race
from a curse that had been upon It, so
may you, who at this hour o( crisis
In our great state’s history have no
voice In legislative halls or no vote by
which you can deliver your homes Irma
the terrible curso of drink, that hai
brought such grief to your hearts, vet
you may, by a sanctified Influence and
a courageous stand, fix and determine
those who shall determine and fix the'
laws that shali deliver us, and may
God grant that you may so do.
UNCLE REMUS AS A POE7;
NEW ISSUE OF MAGAZINE
i the August Issue of "Uncle
Remus'B Magazine" appear* a lyric
called "A Remembrance." It bears no
signature, the only mark of Identifica
tion of the author being the date line,
'Atlanta, 1871.” It Is as follows:
I.
Soft, low and sweat, yet clear and
strong,
Rose the rich volume of your song.
While on the languid August air
That swept your face and stirred your
hair.
Invoked as by some magic spell
Wild gusts of music rose and fell.
In the vague hollows of the night
The calm stars swung steadfastly
bright;
A bird belated In the gloom
Flew nestward with bedraggled plume;
A star shook loose her fiery train
And swept across the sapphire' plain;
Then all was still—except the strong
Rich dltone of your sweet song.
n.
I stood entranced; my soul was bound;
Melodious thralls enwrapt rod round.
I lived again the wild uncouth
Dear devious days of my lost youth;
But floods ot song swept In and
drowned
The old-time singers sorrow-crowned;
I saw once more the friends of old.
And heard their voices manifold;
The waste wan years slipped slowly by
With many a change of sea and sky.
With many a change of form and hue—■
And left me happy there with you.
It bo unwise to do as a great many
cltle* are doing, particularly In the
West, and grant suffrage In this* re
spect to property owning women. Wom
en arc far more Interested In public
schools than men; they are taxed to
support them and should have a tnx-
e*|-er’s right to direct. The old preju
dice against women’s entering public
affairs Is falling away In regard to this
particular field sooner than tw other.
In twenty-seven out of the fifty states
and also In two territories women have
this right of voting for school officers.
Nor need we wonder that over half our
states have learned to trust th* Judg
ment of their women citizens In regard
to their schools, for at present women
are forming 72 per cent of the teaching
force In the public schools of the United
States; there are over 300 who are di
recting the whole public school system
of counties, and two states, Colorado
and Idaho, have women state superin
tendents of education.
To sum up, the present system of
the people selecting the council, the
council's electing the board of educa
tion, and the board's electing the su
perintendent seem to the writer by
no means Ideal. We do not wish to
bring the superintendent necessarily
Into politics to secure or keep the po-
sltlon by which he earns hls livelihood,
but we might do well to elect directly
the members of the board, whose office
has little or no direct pecuniary re
ward. If It be a mistake to take certain
officers Into politics. It is an even great
er mistake to remove the appointing
power several degress from the people
whose will must ultimately be allowed
to prevail In any city or state that Is
truly democratic.
Now behind the publication of that
poem lies an Interesting little story.
The verses are by Joel Chandler Har
ris—though the thousands ot admlrera
of the creator of Uncle Remus and .Mr.
Billy Sanders, and Sister Jane will find
It difficult to realize, that he ever
played tho role of poet—and were
written In Atlanta thirty-six years ago,
when he waa Just getting started In
newspaper work.
"A Remembrance” waa found a year
or so ago by one who Is now a sub
editor of the magazine, and was saved
because he liked It. And the lines were
used in the August Issue of the maga
zine, without a signature. An attempt
was made by the sub-editor to prevent
Mr. Harris' knowing that they were
to appear. When he found It out, ho
entered vigorous objection, but finally
yielded when It was agreed that hls
name should not be used.
Though he-now seldom writes any
verse, and never publishes any, save
hls Uncle Remus songs, the Sago ot
Snap-bean Farm In hls youthful days
won hls first literary note aa a pnet.
All of hls verse was printed In news
papers of the day and practically none
of It has been saved, though In such of
it that has been preserved in scrap
books a true lyric gift Is seen.
The August Issue of the magazine le
a great Improvement typographically
over Its two predecessors, and It will
compare favorably-With the beet mag
azines of the East.
Its contents aro vjuied, yet the whole
Issue has a distinct personality. It to
different from all of the other*.
The editor Is represented by an edi
torial on "The Philosophy of Failure."
"The Story of the Doodang," which li
ns funny a story as Uncle Remus ever
told; a dissertation by Mr, Hilly San
ders on stale's rights, and the third
Installment of tho delightful serial,
“The Bishop, the Boogerman and tho
Right of Way."
Mrs. Thaddeug Horton contributes a
notable article on "Madame Le Vert
and Her Friends,” In which are repro
duced fnc-slmlle letters to that won
derful Georgia woman from Washing
ton Irving, Millard Fillmore, Longfel
low, Edwin Booth and Edward Everett.
The fiction Is light and Just ot the
sort that is most pleasant these hot
summer days. The short stories by
the Raroness von Hutton. William
Hamilton Osborne and Melville F. ler-
guson are notably good.
Don Marquis' scintillating editorials
and the departments serve to round
out a splendid number.
The Illustrations are by Charlotte
Harding, R. H. Palenske, James M.
Preston, J. M. Conde and Maud Thurs
ton.
ONE HUNDRED ATTEND
MISSIONARY MEETING.
Special to The Georgian.
Douglasvllle, Ga., July 20.—The an
nual district meeting of the Woman'*
Foreign Missionary Society of Roma
district Is In session here. Over one
hundred delegates arc here. The
meetings will continue until Sunday
night. Mrs. R. O. Pitts, of Cedar-
town, Is the presiding officer. .Many
prominent church workers of me
Methodist church are present *»
much good will be derived from tne
meeting.
The Georgian Announces the Organization of the Atlanta Branch of The Nature Club of
-America for Boys and Girls as Well as the Grown-Ups of Atlanta.
DO YOU KNOW why the tails of mice and rats are "Bald?”
DO YOU KNOW the relation between Butterflies and the "Show
ers of Blood" that have occurred at intervals through agei?
DO YOU KNOW what small Bird has the ability to stand and run
and dance on water?
DO YOU KNOW what bird it is that incarcerates the female while
she is setting her eggs, and how it is done?
DO YOU KNOW that Jack Frost has. a "trumpeter?”
DO YOU KNOW what kind of deer signal to each other by flash
ing a whito flag?
DO YOU KNOW that the flesh of the skunk is savory and good to
eat?
DO YOU KNOW what the "Kissing Bug” really is?
DO YOU KNOW why an Ant's head may often be seen walking by
itself without a body?
DO YOU KNOW that Bread Mold is Mushroom growth?
DO YOU KNOW that the flies we see "frozen" on the windows in
cold weather have really been suffocated by Mushrooms?
A MEMBERSHIP in the Atlanta branch of the Nature Club of
America will add to the resources of your life—will make
every walk in the field or woods an excursion into a land of
unexhausted Treasure—will make the returning seasons fill
you with expectations and delight—will make every rod of
ground like the page of a book in which new and strange things
may be read—will develop all that is pure and good-—in the
boys and girls—leading them to higher morals by bringing them
in closer touch with the beauties and wonders of Nature.
For full particulars as to The Atlanta Branch of the Nature
Olub of America, tear out coupon below and mail to the Georgian,
Department A.
Send full particulars of The At
lanta Branch of the Nature Club
of America to
cr