Newspaper Page Text
10
THE YOUNG SOUTHERNER
All communications and contributions intended
for this department should be addressed to Mrs.
Louise T. Hodges, 83 East Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
In Autumntide.
By Clifton Scollard.
The apple seeds are black at core;
The linden leaves, like fairy ore,
(Shed the effulgence of their gold,
Paving the pathways green before.
More plaintive grows the thrush’s pipe;
The quince’s check is yellow ripe;
And the smooth pallor of the pear
Reveals, like dawn, a russet stripe.
The minstrel wind behind the hill
Above its strings is never still;
Autumn through all the brooding land
Works the rich wonder of its will.
As in a necromancer’s glass,
We watch the radiant pageant pass,
Wood waving banner back to wood
Across the severing seas of grass.
Forgetful what the hours presage,
We feel that we have plucked a page
From the untroubled Book of Dreams—
A leaf from out the Golden Age I
*—Appleton’s Magazine.
An Averted Tragedy.
No doubt, when least expected, our lives often
border upon tragedies which would chill our blood
and fill us with horror if we knew of our danger,
but some special providence changes the course of
events, and we pass on, in blissful ignorance of
the calamity which threatened us.
The following incident is an illustration:
It was an ideal afternoon in early summer, and
Robert had taken Lucy out for a drive.
After passing the city’s limits and going some
distance along the highway, they turned into a road
but little traveled, which led off into a forest, and
soon they were enjoying the cool seclusion of the
dense woods. The air was sweet with the fra
grance of wild flowers, and vocal with the songs
of birds happy in their freedom.
The horse, seeming to partake of the restful spir
it of the woods, slackened his pace, and the wheels
of the buggy crunched softly over the sandy road.
The quiet of the surroundings and the balmy at
mosphere invited to the construction of aerial edi
fices, and Robert and Lucy, after the manner of
young people, proceeded to build the proverbial
“castles in Spain,” which were rose-colored and
rainbow-tinted from base to turret. So absorbed
were they in the pleasing pastime that they took
no notice of the passing hours.
The sun sank toward the horizon, the shadows
deepened beneath the trees, and the birds, tired
from their all-day concert, gradually softened their
notes and prepared to “put their heads beneath
their wings.”
Finally the tinkling of distant cowbells was
'heard, and Lucy laughingly said: “Listen! the
cows are coming home, and we had better follow
their example. See, how late it is!”
They had driven far out through the forest and
were evidently nearing some countryman’s home.
They halted for a moment and gave themselves
up to the charm of the beautiful woodland; then the
horse’s head was turned homeward and he started
in a brisk trot toward the city.
* * * * sje * *
From his covert a tramp who was in hiding on
account of a terrible crime he had committed, had
seen the young couple pass, and believing they
Conducted by Louilse Threete Hodges.
would return by the same road, determined, in his
desperation, to waylay and rob them.
He reasoned that a young man driving out with
a lady would hardly be armed. He planned to spring
out from his hiding place, seize the reins, quickly
cut the traces, and before the young man could re
cover from his surprise, give him a blow that would
render him insensible. Then he would take what
money or valuables he might find, mount the horse
and under cover of the darkness which was fast
approaching, make his escape. He had no fear
of resistance from the girl as he expected she would
faint or 'be paralyzed from fright.
He selected a spot where there was a thick
growth of trees and bushes near a little hollow or
depression in. the road, and well hidden in the shad
ows, waited.
Presently the sound of wheels and of the horse’s
hoofs was heard, and the tramp made ready to
spring. But at the moment when the buggy came
into view two horsemen were seen coming in a slow
trot from the opposite direction. They were the
sons of the farmer whose home was at the edge of
the forest, and they were returning home from the
city. 1
They passed Robert and Lucy just at the point
where the tramp was stationed, little dreaming of
the tragedy which their timely presence had avert
ed. ‘ L. T. H.
With Correspondents.
Dear Editor:
My uncle takes the Golden Age and he allows
me to read it.
I have been greatly interested in the letters in
the Young Southerner. I think the writers cer
tainly deserve thanks for taking the pains to find
out so many interesting things and telling the
readers about them.
I have enjoyed the little sketches about great
men, and the descriptions of interesting places,
etc., but I like best to hear about animals. I dear
ly love dogs; they are so intelligent and affection
ate. If we are kind to them they are faithful and
useful, too.
I have a mastiff, a beagle and a shepherd, anl I
like them all. The shepherd is the most affection
ate, 'but the mastiff is the most watchful. I am
going to try to get a dachshund and a greyhound.
A friend of mine gave me two nice stories about
dogs. One was, “Bob, Son of Battle,” and the
other was “The Call of the Wild.”
I have read a good deal about dogs and the more
I learn about them the better I like them.
In ancient times the great Danes were used as
allies in the armies, and they sometimes wore mail
armor. Cyrus the Great had his war-dogs, and the
Romans also used them in their wars.
I visited in the country during the summer and
I think I would like to be a farmer. I think it
would be very interesting to understand when to
plant and how to cultivate and harvest the different
crops. If one understands how to do it well, farm
ing is profitable.
If you think this letter good enough to print,
I may write another.
With best wishes for the writers and readers of
the Young Southerner,
Very truly yours,
Julian Jesse Smith.
Dear Editor:
I am a stranger visiting your charming city and
since I have been here I have had the pleasure of
reading the Golden Age. I think the Young South
erner is fine and I wish to join your pleasant circle.
I am a Kentuckian and, of course, I think my na
tive state is the greatest in the union, especially
the world-renowned 'blue grass region. Kentucky
is famed for her fine horses and beautiful women,
The Golden Age for October 11, 1906.
and there have been great men among her sons.
The Mississippi River, the “father of waters,”
flows along the western border of the state and
there are many other navigable waterways. I could
tell you a great deal about Kentucky and why I
am glad it is my native state, but I will not fill
my letter in that way.
I spent a part of the summer in Savannah, Geor
gia, and I enjoyed my visit there very much.
Savannah is called the Forest City because of the
great number of trees there. The streets are broad
and beautifully shaded by various kinds of trees,
among them japonieas, magnolias and catalpas.
Forsyth Park is a very pleasant place of resort.
On Tybee Island, which is not far away, there
is a lighthouse 134 feet high.
I must not make my letter too long so will close
by saying that I am going home in a few days and
will then re-enter school.
Your true friend,
Frances H. McDowell.
Answer to charade: Ear-nest Wil (1) lie—Ear
nest Willie.
Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters.
A little girl expressed to her parents one day a
wish that they would give her two New Testa
ments. To tlie question of her parents why it must
be two the child replied that one was for herself,
and the other to send to the heathen. She was giv
en two volumes, and in one of them she wrote: “A
little girl who loves the Lord Jesus wishes with all
her heart that whoever reads this should also love
and believe on Him.”
The New Testament went to India, and found its
way to a station in the interior. A Hindu lady ob
tained it. She could read, but was unable to write;
and as she longed to be able to write her attention
was immediately drawn to the inscription on the
fly-leaf. The large and distinct characters of the
child’s handwriting attracted her so much that she
tried to imitate them again and again. Gradually
the sense of the words made an impression upon
her and the question arose: “May not those words
have been written just for me?” She began then
earnestly to read the New Testament, her eyes were
opened, and she learned to know and love her Sav
iour.
Years passed. The little girl had meanwhile
grown up, thought no more of the New Testament
which she had sent once upon a time to the heathen.
But her love for missions had grown with her, and
it was her deepest desire to serve the Lord among
the heathen. She was accepted as a missionary,
and sent to a rather out-of-the-way station in In
dia. There she entered one day the house of a
Hindu Christian lady. In the conversation the
Hindu Christian lady. In the conversation the
ment, and told her she, a Hindu heathen, had been
by its means brought to Jesus' Christ her Saviour.
You may imagine the joyful astonishment of the
lady missionary when she recognized in the book the
same New Testament on whose fly-leaf she had,
many years ago, as a little girl, written those words
which had served to show the poor Hindu lady the
way to Jesus. Together they knelt down, praised
God’s wonderful ways, and thanked Him who had
drawn them both to Himself. “Cast thy bread up
on the waters and thou shalt find it after many
days.”—French Paper.
A Kind Man.—A gentleman was disturbed in
his rest in the middle of the night by someone
knocking on the street door. “Who’s there?” he
asked.
“A friend,” was the answer.
“What do you want?”
“I want to stay here all night.”
“All right, stay there, by all means,” was the
benevolent reply.—Judge.