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THE YOUNG SOUTHERNER
All communications and contributions intended
for this department should be addressed to Mrs.
Louise T. Hodges, 83 East Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
I Heard a Voice.
By Theodosia Garrison.
I heard a voice in the darkness singing
(That was a valiant soul I knew)
And the joy of his song was a wild bird winging
Swift to his mate through a sky of blue.
Myself—l sang when the dawn was flinging
Wide his guerdon of fire and dew;
I heard a voice in the darkness singing
(That was a valiant soul I knew).
And his song was of love and all its bringing
And of certain day when the night was through;
I raised my eyes where the hope w r as springing,
And I think in his heaven God smiled, too.
I heard a voice in the darkness singing
(That was a valiant soul I knew).
—Metropolitan Magazine.
With Correspondents.
I am pleased to have so many interesting letters
this week for our page. (A number of good ones had
to be left over for next week.) The letters show
that the writers are studying and finding out things
and I am sure this gives pleasure to them as ■well
as to us who read.
A lady wrote me the other day that her young
niece enjoyed the letters in the Young Southerner
very much and had been wanting to write, but was
afraid she might not write well enough.
Now, dear young friends, I want you to remem
ber that I do not expect your letters to be perfect.
This page is meant to help you to improvement, and
all I ask of you is to do the very best that you
can.
If you make mistakes it is my business and pleas
ure to correct them, so if you enjoy the letters that
others write and wish to write yourself, don’t hes
itate because you fear you cannot write well enough.
You will never do anything worth while if you do
not try.
I wish now to call your attention to the charade
in this number, written, by the sweet South Carolina
poet, Margaret Richards.
To the first boy and girl sending me a correct
answer to the charades, Miss Richards will send a
copy of her booklet, u Three Bells.” This is a
very sweet little story in verse of three bells and
what they each had to tell. I am sure any boy or
girl would be glad to have the dainty booklet.
Send your answers directly to me (Miss Richards
does not wish them sent to her) and I will forward
the first received to her and she will send the book
let.
The answer to the charade will be published in
a later issue.
Dear Mrs. Hodges:
I spent last winter in Cuba and I w’ould like to
tell you and the Young Southerners about my
visit. ,
Last winter was said to be the coldest they have
had in half a century, yet it was not cold enough
to freeze water, but the people went around wrap
ped up in clothes so that they could not work.
Havana is the cleanest city on the island. The
health department does not allow any trash or gar
bage thrown on the streets.
Some of the streets are not twenty-five feet wide
in the old part of the city, but in the new part they
are broad and well laid out.
The houses are generally low and built in the
Spanish style.
Havana is well fortified, and the Bay of Havana
is considered one of the safest harbors in the world.
Conducted by Louilse Threete Hodges.
La Fuerza, the oldest structure in the city, was
built as a defense in 1538 by Hernando de Soto.
The Prado is a wide and beautiful boulevard run
ning outside the old city wall. It has rows of
shade trees along the middle.
The governor’s palace and the cathedral, which at
one time contained the bones of Columbus, are
among the most interesting buildings.
There are several beautiful parks with trees and
palms and fountains in them.
The Teatro Tacon is one of the largest theatres
in the world.
Os course, Havana has many cigar and tobacco
factories.
I could tell you much more about Cuba but I must
not make my letter too long. Your friend,
Almon Scott.
Dear Editor:
I notice that several boys have written to you
about the great men for whom they were named. I
will also tell you a little history of one of America’s
greatest statesmen, whose name I have the honor to
bear.
John Caldwell Calhoun was born in Abbeville
county, South Carolina, in 1782. After receiving his
early education from the distinguished Dr. Moses
Waddell, he entered Yale College in 1802, and grad
uated with high honors in 1804.
He was Secretary of War under President Mon- »
roe. In 1824 he was elected vice president to serve
with President Adams and was re-elected with Pres
ident Jackson in 1828. He also rendered much
service to his country as United States Senator.
Most of his life was spent in politics and he is
considered one of the greatest men of his day,
though he had for his companions such men as
Webster, Clay, Randolph and others whose names
are famous.
His home was called “Fort Hill,” which after
ward became the property of his son-in-law, Thom
as G. Clemson, who at his death, left it to the State
and it became the site of Clemson College.
I think I ought to be proud to bear the name of
such a great man and it is my ambition to bear
it worthily.
I would like to form the acquaintances of some
of the other namesakes of great men.
I am sixteen years of age and when I finish my
education and get established in business I expect
to enter politics, and work for the betterment of
my country.
Yours very truly,
Caldwell Calhoun Curren.
Dear Editor:
I thought it might be pleasing to the readers of
the Young Southerner to read about my visit to
Florida.
I had a very nice trip. I visited St. Augustine
and went through the old fort which I found very
interesting. The gloomy old cells where so many
prisoners have been confined and tortured are in
teresting. but not attractive. To get into some of
them you have to stoop down and almost crawl, the
passages are so low. Some signs of the instruments
of torture are still to be seen.
I went into the cell from which the Indian chief,
Coocoachee, escaped during the Seminole war. He
climbed through a long, narrow slit in the wall and
landed in the moat which surrounded the fort.
There are piles of cannon balls in the court and
a practice gun on the water battery, but these are
no longer used.
I also visited the guard room and chapel where
services were held every day.
The staircase which leads from the court to the
ramparts used to be an inclined plane of stone used
to raise and lower the artillery.
After leaving the old fort I went to the light
house on Anastasia Island, but the keeper would not
let me in,
The Golden Age for September 27, 1906.
The old Protestant cemetery is another interest
ing spot in St. Augustine—it is so very old.
I went to the swimming pool which is not old
like so many things in the old city, and went in
swimming.
I can’t tell you of all the interesting places as
it would make my letter too long.
Very truly yours,
William Gomez.
Dear Editor:
I enjoyed myself during vacation, but I am now
glad that school has opened. I have a nice teacher,
who also taught me last year.
Some of your correspondents have told about
some of the great men of Georgia but none of them
have told about the state itself.
Georgia was one of the original thirteen states of
the American Union, and is the largest state east
of the Mississippi.
It is called the Empire State of the South, be
cause of its industrial importance.
Agriculture is the leading industry, but there is
also mining, and many manufacturing enterprises.
There are many marble quarries and also gold
mines, and silver and copper.
The climate of Georgia is unsurpassed by that
of any state in the Union, varying from temperate
in the north to sub-tropical in the south.
Yours truly,
Ray Hirsowitz.
Dear Editor:
I have enoyed the letters in the Young Southerner
so much and have been wanting to write one myself,
but couldn’t get up the courage as I was afraid I
might not write anything interesting.
I could tell vou about mv vacation, but as I did
not go anywhere there is not very much to tell.
I helped mamma about putting up preserves, jel
lies and pickles for winter use. Os course, I
couldn’t do very much except to peel the fruit, but
I am learning how to proportion the sugar, spices
and things so that some time I can do it all.
I also helped with the sewing and the housekeep
ing. I can sweep very well. lam glad that school
has opened again.
If you will publish this letter I will try to do
better next time.
Your true little friend,
Susie Eleanor Mayfield.
Dear Mrs. Hodges:
I want to tell you how very much I enjoy the
letters in the Young Southerner, especially those
that tell about great people, and also those that tell
what the writers expect to do w'hen they grow
up.
I haven’t seen any letter yet that told about a
great and good woman. I wish some of the writers
would do that. I know there have been great wo
men and I would like to hear about them.
I haven’t decided yet what I want my life-work
to be, but I wish to do something that will help
to make the world better, and cause me not to be
forgotten when I am gone.
I am going to study hard and get a good educa
tion the first thing, then I shall be prepared for
whatever work I decide to do.
Your sincere friend,
Elsie Mattie Smith.
Unfinished.
Johnny—Mamma, I w 7 as having such a nice dream
w’hen I w-oke up.
Mamma—Were you?
Johnny—Yes. I wish there was some way I
could go ahead with that dream.—Watson’s Mag
azine.
“Whatever man hag done, man can do better.”