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THE YOUNG SOUTHERNER Sweet Friends of My Youth. I cannot forget thee, sweet mother of mine, For never was mother-love greater than thine; And no heart in the wide world was ever more true Than the one that now fills with remembrance of you. I cannot forget thee, dear friend of my youth, Whose soul was my sanctum of love and of truth; Whose heart was a refuge for mine in distress; Who oft’ soothed my sorrow with tender caress. Not more of an angel in Heaven above Can you be than you were to my childhood’s great love; And I’ve felt your dear presence through perilous years Breathing pity and pardon and wiping my tears. I cannot forget thee, dear mother of mine, And the tears and the love that have mingled with thine, And the heart that was ever my haven of truth; I cannot forget thee, sweet friend of my youth! —George F. Viett. A writer, wishing to illustrate the beauties of the II simple life,” told, with commendation, of a family whose “income was sufficient to command practically anything within reason,” but with whom the ques tion was “not what we think we need, but what we can do without.” The mistress of this home, the writer said, studied the question of getting along with as few servants as possible. “Now, mark you,” the writer contin ued, “this was a good-sized house of seventeen rooms and had a generous number of acres of land around it.” Yet the mistress studied how she could get along with as few servants as possible, and the master would have no stable on the premises because he could hire a carriage or a horse when one was needed and thus dispense with the services of a coachman and groom and “have two people less to bother about. ’ ’ Two men were employed to mow the lawn when it was necessary, but no regular gardener was em ployed, for the reason that for the “five cold months of the year his services would not be needed.” Yet, during these five cold months the man who might have been the regularly employed gardener must live and perhaps support a family. So, also, must the would-be coachman and groom. This 'man of whom the writer quoted told was not actuated by miserly motives, and no doubt would cheerfullv give a few dollars to any one in actual want. But to mv mind the truest charitv is to help people to help themselves. There are al wavs num bers of persons who must work for their dailv bread or beg. If. like the men in the parable who lingered idle until the eleventh hour, no man hires them, how are they to earn? It is right to live simply and without ostentation, and of course reasonable eeonomv even among people of wealth is to be commended and extravagance con demned. but if nennle whose “income is sufficient to command practically anything within reason” would study, not how to get along with as few servants as possible, but rather, how to give reasonable em ployment at equitable wages to as many as possible, they would come nearer living the simple life which exemplifies true Christian spirit. One of our young correspondents says in her letter that she wishes to become an artist, and with that thought in mind she will, when she visits the country during her vacation, “sketch the beautiful land scapes and old bridges.” That is the way to attain success in any career. Select your life work, if you Conducted by Louise Threete Hodges. may; then keep the thought in mind and aim for the top of the ladder. This is a day of specialists and if you would reach the highest measure of suc cess you must learn to do your work better than other people can do it. And to prepare yourself for this you must keep the thought in mind. Os course a thorough, all round education is the best basic preparation for any vocation—any career; but while attaining that one may keep in mind the special work that one means to do; then everything that comes to hand will in a measure be grist for that mill. One trouble with many persons is they wish to reach the end without troubling much about the be ginning. They are too impatient for results, and the consequence is they never have any that are worth while. Real success in any line of work must be reached by earnest, painstaking preparation. With Correspondents. Dear Editor: This is my first letter to you. You asked the boys and girls to tell you what they think of vacation. Most children think vacation is the time for play and not for work, because they have been studying hard for a long time. But I think it would be very tiresome to do nothing but play all day long. The poet says: “Spring would be but gloomy weather If we had nothing else but spring.,” and the same is true about play. “Work while you work and play while you play” is a very good motto, because after your work is done you feel so free and enjoy yourself so much more. In vacation I usually go to the country to visit some of my relatives. That always means lam going to have a good time. We go on picnics out in the woods and gather wild flowers. Another reason why I like vacation is because my birthday comes then. Tn vacation one can do what one wants to do with no thought of books or school; still, it is best to have some work or study along with the play. Truly yours, Atlanta, Ga. Gussie Fraser. This is your first letter, Gussie, to The Young Southerner, but I hone it will not be your last. I am sure you can find many things of interest during yonr vacation to write to us about. Tell us of some of the principal industries in the places you visit. J)par Editor: You desired the young people to tell you what they thought of vacation. Vacation comes but once a year and then let us enjoy it. Many leave the hot, dusty cities and go to the country where all is quiet and rest. For those who stay at home in the cities there are many good times in store— trolley rides, visits to the parks, and long walks to the woods, and if not these then one can stay at home and enjoy some good hooks in a cosv hammock. Then the picnics to which we are often invited in vacation give us a taste of the simplicity of country life. Tn the country we enjoy many kinds of fruits, spring water, pure fresh air and quiet. Many an old orchard has its swing where the children come in vacation and play. There is the brook to fish and wade in, the woods to roam, the flowers to pick, the chickens to feed, and best of all, the horses to ride every morning before breakfast. For the grown-ups there are parties, picnics, fish ing and tennis. At the summer resorts there are few real pleas ures for children. The same stupid drives and walks The Golden Age for May 31, 1906. to take dressed in your best clothes. Still, some people prefer spending vacation in this way. Compare the three places for spending vacation. Has not the country the most pleasures in store for you ? Yours respectfully, Elizabeth Quillian. Atlanta, Ga. With your philosophical turn of mind and your observing eyes I am sure Elizabeth that you could spend a pleasant vacation almost anywhere. Your letter is interesting. Write again. Dear Mrs. Hodges: Would The Young Southerner like to have a letter from a girl of Gadsden ? Our town is situated on the Coosa river and is a pleasant place to live. Steam boats ply up and down the river as far as Rome, and it is very pleasant to take a trip on one of them, although they travel much slower than the trains. It is pleasant and interesting to sit on the deck and watch the rippling water as the sunlight glistens on it, and also the pretty trees and fields along the banks. Not far from Gadsden on top of Lookout Moun tain is a beautiful waterfall, called Black Creek Fall. The water pours over a great ledge of rock and falls straight down for about seventy feet and forms a great deep pool. The ledge over which the water pours extends far out so that one down in the chasm can walk around the pool and stand back of the water as it falls. There are steps leading down into the chasm and there are many beautiful nooks formed of great rocks, about which many Indian legends are told. Gadsden is a great manufacturing town, and new industries are frequently being added. I like very much to read, and if you publish this letter I may tell you next time of some of the books I have enjoyed most. Very truly yours, Alabama Girl. Gadsden, Ala. Alabama, your description of Black Creek Falls is quite interesting. You write entertainingly. Let us hear from you again. The Boys’ World. “The value of glass may far exceed that of gold.” The front lens of a micro-objective, costing $5, does not weigh more than about 0.0018 gram, which weight of gold is worth about one cent, and so the value of a kilogram of such lenses would be about $3,000,000. The cost of the raw material for making this weight of glass is five cents , and thus, when worked up into the shape of a lens, the glass has been increased in value about fifty million times. Such disparity between the cost of the raw material and the manufactured article is probably a record in industrial technics.—Amateur Work. Dear Editor: My teacher wishes me to write to The Golden Age, and since you request the young people to tell you what they think of vacation I will write on that subject. Os course every girl has some idea of what she would like to be when she is grown, and as art is my favorite study I think I shall be an artist. With this thought in mind I intend to spend most of my vaca tion in the country, where I can sketch the beautiful landscapes and old bridges. Vacation should be spent by everyone in doing the things that give them and others most happiness and pleasure. I intend to go to Savannah and spend a few days where I can get the fresh ocean breeze. In vacation I always want to travel, draw and paint, but when this pleasant part of the year is over Atlanta is the place for me. 11