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TRIUMPH.
I saw a vision of Triumph. Fair
Was she, with beaming face and sun
gilt hair,
A suit of armor triple-forged she wore,
And on her spear a crimson banner
bore.
Upon a golden trumpet as she passed
Through the rude throng, she blew a
dauntless blast,
And Envy looked at her with cruel
eyes,
And Failure marveled with a sad sur
prise.
All fawned, none frowned on her;
alike the groom
And king made haste to give her
proper room,
And as she passed among them, well
content,
Dropping a gem or blossom as she
went,
She viewed right scornfully the cring
ing crowd;
Coldly she listened to their praises
loud;
Her face, that had before with beauty
bloomed,
The look austere of winter sky as
sumed.
She cried, “Be still, short-sighted
ones for shame!
I am but Failure with another name.”
ARTHUR GOODENOUGH.
Brattleboix), Vermont.
I?
CHAT.
Missouri Farmer’s Wife, you cer
tainly picture a model home and farm
where one might live an Arcadian life
of ease and enjoyment. Would that
all our farmers’ wives were equally
blest, but such luxury and convenience
are unknown to the most of us.
Our local club is now helping two
deserving, intelligent country women,
who have completely broken their
health by hard work and by living in
a home which was hardly a shelter
from the elements. The brave endur
ance and patient every-day work of
many farmers’ wives entitle them
more to the name of heroine than
many whom the 'world applauds as
such.
Dear Mattie Howard, in your studies
of Turkey do not fail to tell us of the
w r ay the women of the harem, prison
ers and playthings of their Turkish
lords, are emancipating themselves
from their gilded slavery and assert
ing their right to the benefits of edu
cation and freedom. I have read noth
ing more inspiring than a meeting of
some of these women, who cast aside
their thick veils and other encumber
ing badges of slavery and made plans
for their future betterment. As a
leader they had an eloquent and gifted
young woman, wife of an eminent sur
geon, who made a ringing speech for
Turkish women’s personal and reli
gious freedom.
Mary Pettus Thomas gossips de
lightfully about old books. How many
of you have read Josephus’ History
of the Hebrew’s and, incidentally, of
people with whom the Jews were con
nected? Josephus was almost a con
temporary of Christ, having been born
only a few years after the crucifixion.
In his history are many strange and
romantic incidents, particularly those
connected with the usurper, Herod
(the New Testament Herod), and the
beautiful Maccabean princess, Mari-
THE HOUSEHOLD
A Department of 'Expression Tor Those Who Teel and Think,
The Golden Age for March 18, 1909.
anna, whom he forced to marry him,
after causing the death of her father,
the king. Marianna and her brother,
the still more beautiful boy, Aristo
bulus, rightful heir to the throne, to
gether with their mother, Queen Alex
andra, were virtually prisoners in
Herod's palace and its walled grounds.
Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, made sev
eral vain attempts to rescue them
from the tyrant’s clutches, at one time
sending a vessel to which the prince
and his mother were to be conveyed
from Herod’s palace in coffins sup
posed to contain dead slaves. A dis
loyal confidant betrayed the plot to
Hercd, and the coffins were opened
just before they were to be put aboard
the vessel. No romance was ever
more thrilling.
We are having “the wild equinox
with all its wet” before the time for
its advent. Perhaps March, that came
as the lion, may grow’ lamblike and
give us opportunity to plant our gar
dens. Don’t forget to plant a few
vines; their graceful beauty and love
ly shade are such a boon in summer.
By the way, have any of you seen the
giant fumitory vine, which visitors to
John Burroughs, the great naturalist’s
quaint home on the Hudson, built by
himself, tell me covers the entire
house with feathery, fernlike foliage,
having a stalk nearly as large as
one’s wrist. This particular vine was
found by the naturalist in a deep cre
vice of rock the spring after the rock
had been blasted. He believed the
seed had been there for years, and the
blasting of the rock brought to it the
rain and dew needed for germinating.
Arthur Goodenough might make this
a poetic symbol of human hearts that
are sometimes shut in by stony re
serve, or pride, or circumstances, until
the rending power of some great crisis
lets in the light and bids them bloom
to benefit the world.
With Our Correspondents
A STUDY OF TURKEY.
Since there is so much said in the
press and in politics about Turkey,
“the unspeakable Turk,” and the part
this nation is expected to play in
world events, it may not be amiss to
give a brief study of the country, its
government and its religion. The
Turkish, or Ottoman, Empire occu
pies large sections of Europe, Asia
and Africa, and nearly all of its im
mense population are Mohammedans —
devout believers in Mahomet, the ad
voeate of conversation by sword and
fire. There are more believers in
Mahomet, the Arab founder of the
Moslem religion, than followers of
any other creed in the world. The
Turkish government and the Moham
medan religion are inseparably con
nected, the state policy being founded
on an interpretation of the laws of
the Koran, the Mohammedan bible.
This policy tends to suppress all
broad and enlightened thought, all
freedom of speech and belief. A
writer says:
“Turkey skilfully represses what
other nations make it their busi
nesse to encourage and sustain
—individual manhood. The great
mass of working people are sys
tematically kept in ignorance. In the
cities there are magnificent palaces
for the Sultan and the high officials,
but one looks in vain for statues of
public benefactors. There are no
halls where the citizens could gather
to discuss policies or mutual obliga
tions. Their few newspapers are
emasculated by government censors.
Not a book in any language can cross
the borders without permission of
public officers, most of whom are in
capable of any intelligent judgment
of its contents. Art is scorned; edu
cation .is bound; freedom is a crime.
“The tax-gatherer is omnipotent.
Law is a farce. Turkey has prisons
instead of public halls for the educa
tion of her people. Instruments of
torture are the stimulus to their in
dustries.
“Quite different are conditions in
Brit’sh rule’ in India or the freedom
of the press and of speech in Egypt.
“Government can be a great help
or a great hindrance in the work of
missions.
“We should be thankful that the
door of opportunity is so wide today
that three-fourths of the Mohamme
dan world are entirely accessible to
the colporteur, the preacher, and the
teacher, man or woman.”
Predestination, or fatalism, is the
keystone of Moslem faith. It is the
only philosophy of Islam, and the
most fertile article of the creed in its
effects on everyday life. As in the
Christian Church, this doctrine has
been fiercely discussed, but what
might be called ultra-Calvinism, has
carried the day.
God wills both good and evil; there
is no escaping from the caprice of
His decree. Religion is Islam, i. e.,
resignation. Fatalism has paralyzed
progress; hope perishes under the
weight of this iron bondage; injus
tice and social decay are stoically ac
cepted; no man bears the burden of
another, and the deadening influence
of this fatalism can be seen and felt
in every Moslem land. One of their
own poets has summed it up in the
lines which we call their Psalm of
Life:
“’Tis all a chequer-board of nights
and days
Where Destiny, with men for pieces,
plays,
Hither and thither moves, and mates
and slays,
And one by one back in the closet
lays.”
Sent in by
MATTIE HOWARD.
_IFE ON A MISSOURI FARM.
Certainly, there must be some cause
for ex-President Roosevelt’s sympathy
with and commiseration for the coun
try farm people. There must be.rea
son for the unhappy and discontented
condition of many farmers and theii
familes, since his researches have
brought to his knowledge such unfor
tunate conditions. But we farmers of
Missouri can hardly realize how coun
try life can be other than delightful.
Farming and housekeeping are made
easy by mechanical appliances. When
our boys plow they ride a fine red
buggy plow drawn by a pair of sleek,
strong mules, worth from eight hun
dred to a thousand dollars. The grain
is reaped in the same way. It is shuck
ed, if corn, or threshed, if small grgain,
by machinery. All of us have gas en-
gines that pump water into our homes
and stables and barns, and that light
house and outhouses with electric
light, saw the wood, run the milk
separator, churn the milk, and run the
washing machine. We have pianos in
our homes, and our daughters are
usually accomplished musicians. We
have carriages and buggies, and it is
a fine sight indeed when our farmers
take their families to the county fair
behind horses fresh from blue grass
pastures. Such an arroyos rosy
cheeks, bright eyes and strong, supple
figures. No chronic ill health and de
jection among our farmer folk. No
diseases brought on by dirty back
yards and adjacent pig-sties, such as
Mr. Roosevelt’s commissioners report
are a menace to health in the rural
districts. Our pigs run in blue grass
pastures and drink pure clean water,
and in cold weather they sleep in
clean straw in well warmed stables
that have cement floors which are
cleaned every day. The pig is natur
ally a clean animal. Our pig stables
have no odor. They are ventilated
and sunned by plenty of glass win
dows. Our back yards are immacu
late. All our houses have sinks that
convey all slops to a distance under
ground. We have excellent schools
and nice churches. Every house has
a horary, and is well supplied with
current literature through the month
ly magazines, and weekly and daily
papers. Os course we have free mail
delivery, also our roads and bridges
are excellent. We do not need the
public amusement hall advocated by
Mr. Roosevelt’s commissioners as we
can have all the diversion needed
right in our own homes, where neigh
bors meet sociably and are enter
tained with music, games and friendly
chat.
Indeed I do not see wherein the best
appointed city homes are superior to
ours, while we have many advantages
these do not possess, such as fruit
and vegetables of our own growing,
pure milk and butter, fresh air, inde
pendence and health.
MISSOURI FARMER’S WIFE.
IN THE PLEASANT WORLD OF
BOOKS.
Having no desire to enter the lists
as a disputant on either side in the
case of “Old Books vs. New,” nor
wishing to incur the heavy moral re
sponsibility (suggested by Fineta) of
advising friends to read what might
prove detrimental, I yet must say
something.
Browsing among books, both new
and old (Tasso’s “Jerusalem Deliv
ered” is now awaiting my perusal) is
my chiefest delight and were not pe
dagogical duties omnipresent I should
be an omnivorous reader. Recently
some joy-filled moments have been
spent in reading Charles Rann Kenne
dy’s wonderful “Servant in the
House,” with its beautiful conception
of what the church militant should
be ami his tragedy of “The Winter
feast,” with its obvious teaching that
a lie poisons, perverts and —kills, not
so quickly but just as surely as it did
in the case of Ananias and Sapphira.
I have reveled in the “Autobiogra
phy” and “Auld Lang Syne” of the
world-renowned philologist, F. Max
Muller, who for fifty years was pro-
