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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
At 20 East Alabama St.. Atlanta, Ga.
Entered as second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 8, 1878.
Subscription Price— Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail, 15.00 a year.
Payable in advance.
How Does YOUR Mind
Work When You Read?
W
The Answer to That Question Tells You How Much Good Your
Reading Does You.
Some men worry because they can not REMEMBER what they
read.
Very foolish worry. It is not REMEMBERING things read
that makes an abler man. The important question is: “What and
HOW do you THINK as you read? - '
Reading to the mind is like eating to the body.
You can not REMEMBER the beefsteak of week before last—
and that does not matter What, matters is DIGESTION, lhe mak
ing of good, new blood as the result of eating the meat.
When your mind eats a book, it is not remembering the book
that matters, but the making of good, now thoughts; the increase
of mental power.
Many men overeat mentally as well as physically. To swallow
down a lot of books for the mere sake of swallowing is as foolish as
swallowing down a lot of food with the idea that it will make you
stronger. Only what you DIGEST adds to your strength, whether
it be BOOKS digested in the brain, or MEAT digested in the stom
ach.
You should eat slowly with the mind as well as with the teeth.
You should THINK YOUR WAY THROUGH A BOOK, as you chew
your way through a steak.
It is not what the OTHER man, the author, thought and wrote
that is important to you. Il is what he MAKES YOU think as you
read him.
The falling apple, according to the legend, made Newton think
of the law of gravitation.
The dancing lid of the tea kettle made another think of the
steam engine.
Reading that a humble Dutch optician had made a glass that
brought objects nearer made Galileo think of the telescope—in all
cases the thinking was followed by ACTION of great value to
humanity.
Very likely Newton soon forgot that apple, and Galileo prob
ably could not have remembered after a year or two just HOW he
happened to think of the telescope. But it is not the REMEMBER
ING that counts. So do not worry because you read a book and do
not remember it. You might forget every word of it and still be a
much alder man for having read it.
Let us take today, and perhaps at other times, some well known
short pasages of good writers, and see what thought they develop.
For instance;
Give us, give us, the man who sings nt his work! lie will do more in
the same time —lie will do it better —he will persevere longer.
One is scarcely sensible of fatigue whilst he marches to music. The
very stars are said to make harmony us they revolve in their spheres.
Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness; altogether past calculation its
powers of endurance. Efforts to be permanently useful must be uniformly
joyous a spirit all sunshine, graceful from very gladness, beautiful because
bright.—Carlyle.
There are a few strong lines from Carlyle. You may not
remember those lines tomorrow. What of it?
The question is. What thoughts, if any. do Carlyle's words stir
up in YOUR OWN MIND?
Do yon accept the statement as it is made, saying to yourself,
“Very tine, indeed," or do yon think it over and question its sound
ness. or confirm it with your own thought?
Does it occur to you that it is all very well to say, “Give us the
man who sings at his work," but it is first necessary to get the
employer to give work nt which n man CAN sing?
Stoking in the hold of a ship, under terrific heat, or working in
th? hell hole of a sugar refinery, is not work conducive to song.
A man with a sick wife and half-fed children may do hard and
honest work, but he will do it without singing.
Singing is a tine thing, but the kind of work that LETS a man
sing is liner and SCARCE.
The old kings knew, and modern rulers know, the value of
music—that is why they send soldiers out to murder each other
with lhe band playing!
Some day they will have the band playing for men that do hon
est and useful work—the hand will play for tired men digging irri
gation ditches to conquer deserts and to men digging drainage
ditches to conquer marshes, instead of playing only to men march
ing out to kill.
In that day. when the music, lhe honors, the uniforms and
medals are given to those that work, and not merely to those that
kill and rule there will be no lack of cheerful men singing at their
work, and dyspeptic Carlyle, looking down, or up. at the world he
left dismal and morose, will see a very different earth and a differ
ent race—for there is not a man but WOULD sing at his work if
his work would LET him sing.
And it is NOT true that “efforts to be permanently useful
must be permanently joyous." for lhe slaves that built the perma
nently useful roads (UNDER THE LASH) in old days were not
“joyous." and the mothers that have borne great and permanently
useful men in agony and in poverty were not “uniformly joyous.’’
By all means “Give us, oh, give us, the man who sings at his
work.”
But also, and first of all. give us, oh, give us. a civilization in
which work shall mean happiness, and the desire to sing.
If you want to do something useful to your own mind, rewrite
now that saying of ( arlyle s. changing it to read according to your
thought.
The Atlanta Georgian
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1912.
Jenkins, He’s a Lively Guy
Drawn By TAD.
GO OP pH IL \
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Her Ideal By DOROTHY DIX §3
AMAN who says ho Is 40 years
old, anj comfortably well off
in this world’s goods, writes
me that he desires to marry, and
he wishes a wife that will come up
to the following specifications:
“She must be a woman who will
wear her hair short, and a hat
something like a man—that is, a
plain, simple hat that she can keep
on her head without spiking it on
with hat pins. She must wear a
coat, waistcoat, plain shirtwaist,
also with collar and tie like a
man's. There must be no flummery
about her dress.
“She must be able to sing a song,
tell a good story, and play a good
game of cards.
“She must be able to make allow
ances for my weaknesses, and
neither criticise me nor try to make
me over according to her taste.
“She must do the marketing, and
be able to manage the home suc
cessfully, but never try to inter
fere in my office or business
“She must leave religion and pol
ities on the back porch when I am
at home. I don't care what she be
lieves, so long as she doesn't in
trude her opinions upon me.”
Good Working Model.
What do you think of that as a
working model for a wife? Pretty
good. I think; and the man who
gets that sort 'd 1 a good-fellow'wife
may be short on a few romantic
thrills, but the one best bet is that
he will be long on comfort and
happiness.
One of the greatest troubles in
married life comes from the fact
that men are more concerned in
picking out lady loves than they are
in choosing chums when they go n
wooing. Then when the time comes
—as it invariably does —when the
women are no longer lady loves,
but just plain wives, they have
nothing upon which to fall back.
No man can go through life hold
ing his wife's hand, or writing son
nets to her eyebrow s, or sighing at
her feet and telling her she is the
most wonderful and beautiful crea
ture on earth. He’s bound to come
down to earth, where people eat
three square meals a day and talk
about ordinary topics Then things
• are In a bad case if it happens,
as it only too often does happen,
that husband and wife have noth
ing on earth in common except the
gossamer surface attractions that
drew them together.
Mutual Tastes.
It doesn't take long for matri
mony to tear romance to rags and
tatters, and rub off the gilding that
made an ordinary’ woman look an
angel to a man, aatd a common
place man appear a hero in a girl's
eyes. Then unless they have the
same tastes In a thousand different
little things, and the same Interests
in the big ones, they are bound to
yawn in each other's faces, and
when people begin to yawn across
the hearthstone Cupid packs up his
grip and departs. The real cause of
divorce is not the big sins of which
moralists prate. It’s ennui. The
affinity and the charmer could
never get their work in on a home
unless boredom first opened the
door to them.
Therefore the man is wise who
takes into consideration, first of
all. a woman’s congeniality to him,
and her ability to entertain him,
in choosing his mate. He’s build
ing his domestic happiness on a
sure foundation, for the charms he
banks on are not ephemeral, nor
are they the ones of which a man
tires. Beauty fades, youth passes,
cute and kittenish ways become
mere evidence of imbecility as the
years go by, but the woman who
can sing a good song and tell a
good story has within herself the
source of perpetual fascination.
Wives’ Patron Saint.
She can keep a man Interested
and entertained, and that is the
secret of keeping a man nailed to
his own fireside. Women put their
faith in beauty, but let it be not
forgotten that it was not the good
lookers of the harem, but the lady
with the glib tongue, who was en
abled to save her own neck, and
keep her lord enthralled while she
unwound the thousand and one ad
ventures of the Arabian Nights
Believe me, the spellbinder. Sche
zerade. is the one woman above all
others who should be the patron
saint and exemplar of w ives.
At first blush it would seem that
' it would be easy enough for my
correspondent to find a wife who
could meet his requirements, but
alas! to find a woman who can in
deed sing a good song, and tell a
story, and play a good game of
cards, and who can take a man as
he is without trying to make him
over, is like starting forth to search
for a needle in a haystack. Women
possess all virtues but comrade
ship. They can be anything but
pals. They can love a man well
enough to die for him, but not
enough to let him go his own way.
There is nothing that women
complain of so much as that their
husbands do not like to take them
out. and it never occurs to these
left-at-home ladies that the fault Is
their own. It is the truth, however,
that the average wife is such a
wet blanket on any festive occa
sion that after her husband has had
her enact the role of the spoil sport
for him a few times he decides to
henceforth take his pleasure excur
sions alone.
Aii Illustration.
Just as an illustration of how lit
tle a woman understands how to
ehum, watch the next couple who
invite you to go au tom obi ling with
them, and listen to the wife's criti
cism of Iter husband’s driving,* to
her objections to the route he
takes, or the speed he .is making.
She is one perpetual knock that
must make him want to drive in a
ditch and break her neck. Or
watch them at the theater, where
wife fusses because the seats are
where they’ are instead of some
where else, or holds him responsible
for the play, or spoils the most
thrilling passage by’ wondering if
they put out the eat, and if the
baby’ is uncovered. Or observe them
ala restaurant, where she takes the
flavor out of the viands by count
ing up the cost, and telling hubby’
how bad everything he likes is for
his digestion.
Doubtless my correspondent has
taken note of some of these wives,
which is why he puts good fellow
ship first on the list of the qualities
he demands in a wife. And he's
right. The man who marries a
•woman who can chum with him
will never have need of the serv
ices of a divorce lawver.
I
THE HOME PAPER
Thomas Tapper
Writes on U - r ~
Working For
the Boss
a a fc "Will
Health Is Capital. I
Sickness Is Ex- j
pense. Anyone
Who Is Working ’ <.
For Pay Capital- a||9H
izes His Skill and
H ealth About I j|O
Equally. i j
By THOMAS TAPPER.
i. .
HEALTH is capital. Sickness is
expense.
Anyone who is working for
pay capitalizes his skill and his
health about equally. He does busi
ness with both.
A ntan who earns twenty dollars
a week has an annual income of
one thousand dollars. This is all
the money that twenty thousand
dollars can earn, safely invested at
5 per cent.
Hence the earner of twenty dol
lars per week is a corporation cap
italized at twenty thousand dollars
and paying a regular weekly divi
dend of twenty dollars.
The assets of this business may
be grouped about like this:
1. Knowing how to do the
work SIO,OOO
2. Health 10,000
Total $20,000
These two factors are very close
ly related, for the healthy man
without skill can earn little money;
and the skillful man without health
can earn little or none.
Now, ever so many people earn
money and save some of it; but
very few earn health and save it.
But as health is the basis of the
ability to work, it Is better worth
saving than money is.
Whatever condition of health one
is in, is the result of habit, to a
large extent.
Good Habits Help.
Good habits not only keep us well
today and allow us to Increase skill,
but they actually put health in the
bank for us, where it draws a high
rate of interest and accumulates.
Bad habits are like the white ants
of the tropical countries. They find
their way into root, trunk, branch,
stem and every fiber. They work
unseen and eat the heart out of
everything they touch.
Then, one day, the wind blows
and down fails the tree -which look
ed so sturdy and strong outside,
but which for a long time had been
concealing the trouble it had inside.
H.
'P HERE is just one way to avoid
1 falling in a heap like an ant
riddled tree. Don’t contract bad
habits. And there is just one way
to stand so firmly and to be so
strong that the winds of heaven
can not destroy you. good
habits.
This contracting of good habits
The Last of Blackbeard
By REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY.
Blackbeard, the most noted •
of the pirates of the Spanish
Main, ended his career and
his life 194 years ago. Blackbeard,
whose real name was Teach, had
his main rendezvous in the Baha
mas, but often came into tlie
sounds of North Carolina for ref
uge. or foY the hiding of his spoils.
The ravages of the "Sea Wolves. "
of whom Blackboard was the most
terrible, became so alarming that
the king of England dispatched
Captain Woodes Rogers, the man
who saved Alexander Selkirk from
his desert island, to break up their
nest in the southern seas. Rogers
was successful in capturing many
of them, but Blackboard eluded him
and turned to his favorite refuge in
the Carolina sounds.
But it was impossible for the
arch-pirate to remain idle and he
was soon upon the high seas again,
looking for plunder. Fortune fa
vored him, and in August of the
year Indicated above he captured
a rich French merchantman, which
he robbed and burned, taking his
treasure into Bath.
The news of the pirate’s arrival
was sent to Governor Spottswood,
of Virginia, who determined upon
Blackbeard's Obtaining
two small vessels and fitting them
out secretly with men supplied from
an English warship that chanced
to be in the neighborhood, Spotts-
•j* is an example of the waiting gam.
And the waiting game is the hard
est game in the world to beat.
Now, the good habits that keep
health top-notched are so few and
simple that every one can culti
vate and practice them.
Let us begin tonight when work
is done and we go home to supper
It is the very best of good habits
to be absolutely clean when we sit
down to the table to eat. It pays to
eat enough, but not more than
enough, and to eat it in such a
cheerful frame of mind that every
body else becomes cheerful just
from being with us. That is some
times a difficult habit to practice,
but it is a great health-bringcr.
Try it.
Improving the Mind.
If the evening hours are free,
they may be made to pay in health
and skill. (You remember that
health and skill are worth Ten
Thousand Dollars each per annum,
to a Twenty Dollars a week man.)
Let them improve the mind or en
tertain it, or both. Almost any
man or woman can learn enough in
the evenings of two or three years
or so to double skill-capitalization.
(That means Forty Dollars a week
instead of Twenty.)
The next thing is sleep. Nature
demands about so much of sleep
every 24 hours, and must have it.
See that nature gets it. She will
pay a big return. To go to bed
clean and sleep enough to rest the
body thoroughly for another day's
work is actually putting health into
the bank to be drawn out in the
future. Many people of good
hearts and bad judgment tempt us
to sit up until 2 a. m., and so re
duce our capitalized value for the
next day by one-half. To a work
ingman that costs too much. He
can not afford it.
When we get up in the morning,
it will pay to forget utterly the old
rule: To live the day as if it were
your last.
Let us get up with the conviction
that this is the first. The slate is
wiped clean. Get a fresh start.
Keep the body' just as clean as pos
sible. Eat food cheerfully. Pass
good cheer around to everybody
else, and remember that we have
a large area of lung space that
should be kept active by deep
breathing.
There Is nothing complex about
good habits. They are the best
“pull” we have with the Boss and
• • the Pay Envelope.
• wood sent them, under the com
mand of Lieutenant Maynard,
look for Blackbeard's vessel, t
Adventure, which they discover, -
on November 23. near Ocracoke in
let. not far from Roanoke island
In maneuvering, the Adventure
was stranded, and as .Maynard's
vessel approached the pirate pom
into it a murderyhs fire that swei t
off many of its crew, (tut undaunt
ed. Maynard, ordering his men be
low, steered straight for the Ad
venture, and as the vessels dost
Blackboard and his crew sprang
upon the deck of the Virginian and
with desperate courage attempt''
to capture her. But .Maynard's m
were as desperate as the board
ers, knowing as they did that sur
render meant death, and, rushing
up from below, they met the pirate
in a hand-to-hand encounter, atm
after a hard struggle succeeded
overpowering them.
The Adventure carried eight can
non, and of the crew of eighteen
men, nine, including Blackbeat
himself, were killed outright, am
nine, some of them mortal V
■wounded, were taken prisoners
the Virginians and t'aliforni "
twelve were killed and twenty-:"
wounded.
But it was the last of Blaekbca
and forever afterward the settler
along the Carolina sounds had ,
more occasion to fear the king of
the -robbers-