The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 20 April 1911, Page 741

The Family Circle

STAND UP STRAIGHT There's the finest little motto For the boy who wants to win, For the boy who's fighting bravely In the war 'gainst wrong and sin; 'Tis a motto for the bravest, And will conquer sure as fate; It will give your arm new vigor, Try the motto, ' Stand up straight.' Hold your head up; look the fellows In the eye with honest glance; Thoughts and words and deeds straightforward Better are than shield and lance. In the years that stretch before you, There for you all good things wait, If in mind and heart and practice, Yours the motto, ' Stand up straight.' LITTLE « DUTCHY ' He was not a Dutchman at all, for he had never seen the country of the Netherlands. And anybody who knows anything about it will tell you that a true Dutchman must be born in Holland, and that to be born in Germany no more makes one a Dutchman than to be born in Ireland makes one a Frenchman. However, his name was Hermann —a little fair-skinned, white-haired boy with a wide mouth, blue eyes, high forehead and features that betrayed a German ancestor, dressed, moreover, in a style that gave hi in the appearance of being a little old man rather than a young boy; with a flat green cap, a short blue jacket, a long black vest, and wide, shapeless trousers. And they called him ' The Little Dutchman.' Being at once tho youngest and the smallest in the office, diffident and yielding, a stranger to that independent self-assesrtion which is generally "born in an American boy, it is not strange that he was the office drudge and an object of amusement and derision. It mattered very little that he was willing and obliging was he not a Dutchman So thought the boys whom an accident of birth had denied a native a/cent, as they laughed immoderately at his broken English/> Now, it happened one day that Hermann, busily "engaged in filing away letters near the door of the manager's loom, overheard this conversation : 'Mr. Rule,' said the manager. 'Sir?' answered the clerk. ' Here is a telegram that must go at once. See that it is copied and taken to tho office without delay. ' Yes, sir.' 'Be sure that it goes promptly; it is very important." But far bo it from the dignity of a chief clerk to perform the service of this kind when there are inferiors to be commanded. Glancing around, his eye fell unon an inspiring youth who was bending his whole energies of mighty talents to the execution of a comic picture upon a piece* of blottingpaper. 'Here, Chester,' exclaimed the chief, in a peremptory tone, ' copy this telegram and send it right away. Don't wait a minute.' Thus abruptly disturbed in his absorbing occupation, the aspiring youth took the piece of paper with a fiery impulse to throw it back. to the chief clerk's face, but, thinking better of it, he sullenly arose and proceeded to take an impression from it in a copy-book with an iron press. While slowly and unwillingly performing his duty, another and a younger boy, returning from an errand, came near. ' Here, Tom,' said the aspiring youth in his turn. ' take this telegram to the office.' 'Why don't you take it yourself?' returned Tom. 'Because I'm busy. Hurry up, now; there's no time to lose.' Not less did the younger boy resent the elder's swaggering assumption of authority than had the elder that of the chief clerk. Wherefore he deliberately took off his hat, sat down before his desk, and coolly said: ' Who was your servant last year ?' The chief clerk had already returned to his desk at the other end of the office, and paid no attention to this interesting conversation. But the aspiring youth, still rankling with the thought of the superior manner in which the chief clerk -had addressed him, and still further enraged to see that his own authority was not respected, slapped the telegram down on the desk before the other boy and exclaimed: You'll take that to the office or I'll know the reason why.'

'You were told to take it and you'd better do it retorted the younger boy. :.- ' 'Well, I've got something else to do' (the tail of the monkey in the comic picture was not finished) and I tell you to do it.' ' v At this moment the clock - struck twelve. Work stopped as if by magic. Office boys and clerks disappeared as if drawn by a magnet—the magnet of dinner. ■ Even- the chief clerk vanished, and the disputants, without coming to any definite conclusion, passed out together, wrangling as they went, and left the important message on the desk. . And there Hermann, a few moments- afterwards, found it. ' He was too ignorant— green' the boys would have said— carry the message to the manager, who was still in his private office, and doubtless supposed that the tele- : gram had been sent long ago; he was too conscientious to ignore it. Had he not heard the manager order it to bo stmt immediately, as it was important? And as it was left (as he presumed by accident, for he had not heard the recent debate), was it not his duty to take the message to the office. Ho did not stop to think about it, but ran with it to" the office of the telegraph company, after which he went back to his frugal meal; and when the meal was finished and the noon hour was over he was sent out upon another errand. Meanwhile the other boys, whose guilty consciences had made them miserable, were quietly and anxiously hunting for the missing telegram, an uneasiness that was not rendered lighter by the voice of the manager asking: ' Mr. Rule, did you send that telegram ?' 'Oh, yes,' replied Mr. Rule with alacrity. 'Chester copied it at once. Chester,' continued the manager, 'did you take that telegram to the office?' Chester approached with a shame-faced air. ' —I copied it.' ' I asked whether you took it to the office ?' ' No—No, sir.' Why not?' The manager's anger was rapidly rising. ' Tom !' 'Sir?' Slowly. 'Did you send that message?' ' No—sir,' more slowly still. 'What did you do with it?' 'l—left—iton—the—desk,' very slowly indeed. Never before had the. office seen the manager in such a temper. Even the chief clerk received such a dressing down as he had never had before, and as for tho boys, they were completely overwhelmed. While he was in tho midst of this indignant censure the little messenger returned. He stood for a moment irresolute,' frightened by this exhibition of the manager's anger. But, catching the meaning of it, he came forward and told the manager what lie had done. Do you mean to say that you found the message and took it to the office yourself?' inquired the astonished manager. ' ' Yes,' sir.' 'And why did you do it?' ' I did tink it was right. I heerd you tell Mr. Rule to goppy uu' send it right away, un' I did it.' 'Without anybody telling you ■'Yes, sir.' ' My boy,' said the grateful manager, ' vou have saved us perhaps a thousand dollars. A boy who will do his duty whether anyone tells him or not will be a worthy man some day, if he lives. I will see that vou are properly rewarded for your faithfulness. As for" these,' pointing to the two crestfallen lads, ' if they are ever at>ain "uiltv of such stupidity, obstinacy, and 'neglect, it will be the last time here; they will be discharged.' Thus brought to the manager's notice, Hermann rapidly advanced from one position to another. He soon began to improve both in attire and in language. More and more responsibility was placed upon him. His thorough honesty, industry, and willingness, and interest in the business commended him to his employers' favor and made him valuable to them. Until at last Hermann, the 'Little Dutchman,' outclassed all the other clerks and became manager himself. New World.

FORGET IT There are thousands of things in life which were better forgotten than remembered. There is nothing to be gained by cherishing a spirit of hatred—it is worse than unchristian, it is foolishness. There is nothing in remembrances for the purpose of retaliation except harm to tho one so doing. It has been well said that revenge doubles a grievance— spreads ill will. The mean man has no power to hurt you by despicable conduct, and there is no better way of curing him than to let him see and feel that in his demeanor he is injuring himself more than any one else. * -

SOUSA'S PRESENCE OF MIND On one occasion John Philip Sousa by his promptness was the direct means of stopping a panic which might have had the most disastrous results. While his band was playing before 12,000 people in St. Louis the electric lights in the hall went out suddenly. People began' to move uneasily in their seats, and some even began to make a rush for the doors. Coolly tapping with his baton, Sousa gave a signal, and immediately his band began playing 1 Oh, dear, what can the matter be ?' A tiny ripple of laughter that went round the audience showed that confidence had been partially restored. When the band began to play, 'Wait till the clouds roll by,' the laughter deepened into roars of merriment that ended only when the lights were turned on again.

A VERY USEFUL TREE A remarkable tree of South Africa—a region notable for its natural history wonders that cabled the cow-tree. It receives that name because, at certain seasons, it yields an abundant supply of milk. It grows in hilly districts, usually where very little moisture is to be had for several months of the year. This makes it more singular that a Elentiful flow of milky fluid will come from the trunk, on oring into it deeply, though the branches look dried. If the milk is put aside for a time a thick cake forms upon it, under which is a clear liquid. Some of it kept in a bottle well corked up was once preserved, for several months. The cork, on being extracted, came out with a loud report, followed by a bluish smoke the milk was a little acid, but not disagreeable to taste. The tree bears fruits of moderate size, each containing one or two nuts, which are said to have the flavour of strawberries and cream. From the bark of the tree, soaked in water, a bread has been made, which proved nearly as nourishing as wheaten bread.

DESERVED NO SYMPATHY At a village cricket match in Yorkshire the captain of the home side, in playing a fast ball from the ' demon' bowler of the visiting eleven, received a sharp crack on the knuckles. As the batsman danced round the crease in obvious pain, a small boy in the crowd was heard to exclaim, 'Serve 'im right!' You shouldn't talk like that, my lad,' observed an old gentleman, reprovingly. ' The man's hurt, you know!' 'Yes, aw know,' retorted the youngster, ' an' it'll tache 'im what a rap o'er tlv knuckles is loike!' The batsman was the village schoolmaster.

THE LEINSTER MONKEY On the Leinster coat-of-arms are three monkeys, standing with plain collar and chained; motto, ' Crom-a-boo ' (' To Victory '). This is the only coat-of-arms that has ever borne a monkey in the design. It Mas adopted by John Fitzthomas Fitzgerald in 1316 for romantic reasons. While this Earl of Leinster was an infant he was in the castle of Woodstock, which is now owned by the Duke of Marlborough. The castle caught fire. In the confusion the child was forgotten, and when the family and servants remembered him and started a search they found the nursery in ruins. But oil one of the towers was a gigantic ape, a pet of the family, carefully holding the. young earl in its arms. The animal with extraordinary intelligence had crawled through the smoke, rescued the baby, and carried it to the top of the tower. When the earl had grown to manhood he discarded the family coat-of-arms and adopted the monkeys for his crest, and they have been retained to this day. Wherever you find the tomb of a Fitzgerald you will see the monkeys at at the feet of the effigy or under the inscription.

FAMILY FUN Telling a Domino Number. —Ask a member of the company to select a domino from the set, and with a little calculation you can tell him what is the number chosen. Tell him to multiply one of the numbers by 5, add 7 to the quotient, to double this number, add to it the other number of the domino, and tell you the result. You then mentally subtract 14 from this number and the result will be the figures on the domino chosen. Suppose the domino chosen was a 6-3. The player multiplies the 6by 5 which gives 30, adds 7, which gives 37, doubles this, which will give 74, adds the other number on the domino, 3, and the result is 77. You substract 14 from 77 and the remainder is 63, and you immediately say that the domino chosen was the 6-3. But suppose he choose the 3 instead of the 6 for -his calculations. ... Three multiplied by 5 is 15, 7 added makes 22, twice 22 is 44, and 6 added to 44 makes 50. Subtract 14 from 50 and the remainder will be 36, and the domino is therefore known to be 3-6 or 6-3, as you choose to name it.