The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 28 July 1910, Page 1201

The Family Circle

BE SOMETHING Be something in this living age, And prove your right to be A light upon some darkened page, A pilot on some sea. Find out the place where you may stand, Beneath some burden bow; Take up the task with willing hand, Be something, somewhere, now! Be something in this throbbing day Of busy hands and feet, A spring beside some dusty way, A shadow from the heat. Be found upon the workman’s roll; Go sow, go reap, go plough; Bend to some task with heart and soul, Bo something, somewhere, now I Be something in this golden hour, With action running o’er; Add some momentum to its power, A voice unheard before. Be not a king without a throne, Or crown to deck the brow; Serve with the throng, or serve alone, Be something, somewhere, now !

LOST IN THE WOODS * Are you quite sure you are not afraid, Teddy dear ?’ ‘ Why, yes, muvver; I’m not the leastest little bit afraid,’ replied the small man confidently, standing very erect by way of emphasis, and meeting his mother’s anxious look with a bright smile. * And of course you know the way?’ she continued, somewhat reassured by his brave appearance. ‘ Just keep straight on up the road until you reach the Gregory place then you can call James, and the others, and go on to school together. Good-bye, Teddy 1 Be mother’s dear, good boy at school. And remember bo afraid of anything.’ She kissed the dewy red mouth held up to her, put his cap straight on his yellow curls, then watched the sturdy little figure with its air of added inches marching briskly up the road until the trees hid him from view. It was Teddy’s first year at school, and this was the first time he had ever gone alone. The country schoolhouse was two miles away; and either Jink or June, his black ‘ mammy’s ’ boys, had always gone with him. But June had sprained his ankle the afternoon before, and Jink was needed- in the fields; so it had been decided to let Teddy go alone as far as the Gregory place (about three-quarters of a mile), and go the rest of the way with the Gregory children. It was quite early in the morning, and springtime. Birds were everywhere about, much occupied with the important business of nest-building; or perched on some blossoming bough, singing for very joy in the glorious sunshine. The ‘big road,’ as the Negroes called it, ran throughthe heart of a beautiful wood, and on either side the warm sunlight had wrought wondrous magic. The dogwood trees were all in bloom, their great snowy blossoms gleaming through tender green; there were golden wreaths of yellow jasmine hanging from the swaying branches of the trees; and here and there a small crab apple filled the air with the delicate perfume of its exquisite pink blooms. When the little boy had left his mother, he began walking very briskly, with head well up and his book satchel swinging over his shoulder. But soon the little creatures of the wood drew his attention. The whole world seemed alive with gladness, and calling to him to stop and enjoy it all. A rabbit scuttled across the road in front of him; squirrels leaped and chattered in the trees over his head; and a small garter snake, with its circles of brilliant color,, wriggled through the grass at his feet. He saw where a pair of redbirds were building a nest: and, dropping his cap and books, he climbed up and peeped at it. ‘Never mind!’ he said to the excited little owners of the nest. ‘Don’t you know I wouldn’t hover your house ? Don’t you ’member how you always build here and I always find you, and I’ve never hurt your nest or your babies a single time?’ It was such a perfect morning, and Teddy found so many beautiful things in the world! The time slipped by before he realised it, and when he reached the Gregory place he found that the children had left'home some time before. He felt very uncomfortable at this, because from there to the schoolhouse was the longest and. worst part of the walk. The Gregory pasture had to be crossed, and on several occasions the cattle had strayed out on to the road; some of them, he had heard the children say, were vicious and would hook. •••

, . c °w. s °1 the Gregory’s had always been the terror or, e <lay?s life. Black mammy had threatened him with them , when he was naughty ever since his earliest recollection, and the boys could tell awful stories of their ■ fierceness.

in spite of some inward misgivings, it never occurred to Teddy to go back home: he only squared his small shoulders, puckered up his red lips and began to whistle as he tramped bravely on. ,He had to keep to the ‘ big road i for a mile beyond the Gregory’s, then take a path that c turned^- sharply to the left and ran through the woods to the schoolhouse. Some distance in the rear of the schoolhouse lay, a dense ? w 1 a , m P* This swamp, dark and gloomy even at noonday,, t mjj imaginative child the most mysterious terrors. In thoughts, it was the abode of monster snakes, and was hung with poisonous vines, and there the runaway Negroes hid• he could never even think of it without ‘little wriggling cold things ’ running up and down his back. In repeating the fearsome tales their mammies had told of the swamp, the children always drew close together and lowered their voices, casting apprehensive glances behind them.

Ji he Gregory place left behind, Teddy walked on more rapidly, still whistling gaily he hurried through the pasture— was not a cow to be seen-and at last reached the path to the school. He turned into it with a sigh of relief, and was soon well into the woods. But he was deaf and blind now to the beauty of his ..surroundings, for he knew that he was late. At thought of the mark for tardiness that would be put against his name, he quickened his pace to a run. He had run only a few steps, however, when a sound reached his ears that almost made his heart stand still. It an S r y bellowing of cattle, and it came from just a little way ahead of him. The Gregory cows, had escaped from the pasture, and were pawing up the ground and bellowing in a way to frighten even an older child. Teddy realised that he was entirely cut off in that direction, and he dared not go back to the road for fear they would see and follow him. There was nothing for him to do but to turn toward the swamp and cut across the woods in that way reaching the schoolhouse from the rear. Fear lent wings to his feet, and in a very few minutes the path and the cows were out of sight. Then he paused a moment to rest and look about him. Tho woods had grown darker and unfamiliar to him, and his relief at being safe from the cows began to give place to a little creepy sensation as he thought of the silent, mysterious swamp. He supposed he had gone far enough; So he turned to the right again, and kept on steadily for some time, hoping every minute to catch a glimpse through the' trees of the whitewashed schoolhouse. But though he walked, as .he thought, for a very long time, the woods only grew more dense and wild.

Just in front of him lay a giant oak, uprooted in some tierce storm; with a little sobbing sigh, he sat down on the great trunk to rest, for he was very tired. All around hi.™ the vegetation was rank and thick snaky-looking vines with poisonous, trumpet-shaped flowers of brilliant hue’ hung from the branches overhead. The ground was soft and black, and slimy in places; and a weird green twilight seemed to be gathering. At every sopnd he started with fear and glanced hastily around, half expecting to see some hideous shape gliding through the dusk of the forest. At last he sprang to his feet and . began retracing his steps, thinking to get back into the path. The cows were surely gone now. Weary and frightened, he stumbled on for what seemed to him long hours, only to find himself back again at ; the ": "uprooted tree. He; had - walked in a circle without realising it. When he recognised the place, he sank down in ' a miserable little heap and began to cry. He knew now that he was lost, and he was afraid that he might die out there in the woods alone. Then, all at once, into the darkness of his distress, a thought, like the flash of an angel’s wing, came to him: he would ask God to help him. Reverently he knelt there by the giant tree trunk, and bowed his - head on his little hands. He was . sobbing so he could scarcely speak; but he repeated his morning prayer, and after a little pause i.added beseechingly: Dear God, I’m lasted. Please find me, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.’ ; Then he felt more quiet and comforted: and, rising from , his knees, he mounted the fallen tree and walked the full length of it, to where the roots had been torn from. the earth. In this elevated position, he stood and looked about him. There, at some distance through the trees, he could see the little hill with the schoolhouse nestling peacefully against its side; and just then he heard the faint tinkle of a bell and the . shouts of the children as they swarmed ‘ out for dinner recess. God had heard his earnest little prayer and found him 7- Ave Maria. ~ ■ THE ONE WHO WINS The man , who wins works. He knows that mind and muscle 1 are- in a sense twin brothers, and that weakness of . the -one -is apt to induce weakness of the other: that £ strength of the one is only worth : most when coupled with -.{istfength of the other. He knows that cheerfulness is an asset that cannot be overlooked or overestimated. Also that

kindness and courtesy are the best lubricants for the wheels of any - right progress, whether financial or spiritual. He realises that the world owes no man a living, but that the world, offers every man a living. He is confident, sunny, temperate, and young-hearted. THE KING OF THE FOREST The lion is regarded as the king of wild beasts, and, like Robinson Crusoe, he was ‘ monarch of all he surveyed ’ until man invaded his haunts and made war upon him with his terrible weapons of destruction. The lion now experiences the novelty of being hunted himself. However, in the wilder parts of Central Africa, where civilised man rarely penetrates with his firearms, the lion still holds sway and fearlessly roams through his domains, dinipg off the tenderest and appetising parts of herbivorous animals whenever the pangs of hunger trouble him. He lies in ambush and suddenly pounces out upon his prey, or if he fails after the first rush he makes a succession of terrific springs and leaping bounds for a hundred yards or so, travelling almost as fast as the fleetest horse, but he cannot keep up this ‘ spurt,’ and if not successful in his charge he gives up the chase. Favorite resorts of lions are the water-holes and drinking places where the various animals converge in the early hours of the morning to slake their thirst. When overtaken by disease, old age, or worn out fangs, he is no longer able to capture the alert and fleet-footed antelopes and resorts to ‘ small fry,’ even condescending to satisfy his appetite upon humble rodents such as rats and mice, but the pangs of hunger eventually force him to screw up courage to tackle a native; then it dawns upon his leonine brain that these black half-naked ‘ humans ’ are vefy easy to kill, and afford an abundance of good meat, obtainable with very little risk or effort, and so he becomes what is termed a ‘ man-eater,’ and the utmost alarm prevails in the district. This destruction of human life continues until in self-defence the terrified villagers turn out in a strong body and put an end to him after a fierce combat. In many parts of Africa, when the villagers’ goats and other domestic animals begin to mysteriously disappear, they say: ‘ Ah, there is an old toothless lion about. We must turn out and kill him, or he will soon begin eating us.’ IDENTIFIED BY HIS DOG Bank clerks naturally and necessarily require satisfactory identification of persons who ask to have cheques cashed. The same rule is followed in the post office by clerks who cash money orders. But what the nature of the identification shall be and by whom is a matter which rests to some extent in the discretion of the clerk. The Boston Herald tells a story, in which a dog bore witness to his master’s identity. , A Boston business man called at the postal order department recently to get an order cashed, but the clerk in attendance had only recently been appointed. He said the caller would have to be identified before payment could be made. ‘ Why, I have had hundreds of orders cashed here,’ he replied, with a show of impatience. 1 Isn’t there some one, here who knows me?’ ‘ I’m the only one on duty just now. The others are .out to luncheon,’ said the clerk. ‘ Will you take the inscription on my dog’s collar as sufficient identification?’ was asked, ‘Yes, that will be acceptable.’ The man whistled for his terrier, and, taking him in his arras, lifted him up to the window. The clerk read the name and address on the collar and paid the order. FAMILY FUN • What relation is a child to its own father when it is not its own father’s son —A daughter. What word of five letters can you take the first two letters from and have one remain?‘ Stone.’ What words may bo pronounced quicker and shorter by adding another syllable to them ‘Quick’ and ‘short.’ Can you name two words where the five vowels follow in successive order?‘Facetious’ and ‘abstemious.’ What is white and black and red all over? —A newspaper. Londonderry, Cork, and Kerry, spell me that without a K T-h-a-t. As long as ten men, as strong as ten men and ten men couldn’t put it on its end?—A rope. What grows in the wood, sounds in the town, and earns its master many a pound?—A fiddle. What are the most unsociable things in the world? — Milestones: you never see two of them together. Why is a gatepost like a potato?—Because they are both put into the ground to prog-a-gate., : A Puzzler.—ln what manner can a person reckon up how much the numbers 1,2, 3,‘4, 5, up to 50 amount to when added together without adding them up either in your mind or on paper? Answer: The first and last of these numbers, 1 and 50, make 51; the second and last but one, 2 and 49, also make 51, and so on through the whole row of figures. Altogether, therefore, there are 25 times 61 ‘ which makes 1275. 3