Newspapers / The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.) / Dec. 13, 1912, edition 1 / Page 3
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- N the left, Juat past A KJ) the weather ben's ne«t, and not more V«| than two steps from the jt&A box where they keep the cuckoo, there is the lons \ bed where rose* bloom all \ltt\y th® year round. .And they Jff grow like this so that JOT] Columbine may always have one to stick In her 111 '|P hair, and that odd, mock ing, soft-hearted cynic Pler- Celumblne. rot may cull one now and again to twiddle between his teeth. If you know the way, and the Cheshire cat will let you, you walk down the garden path, past the butterfly lime, and arrive at the neateat little cottage In Olympus. Now this Is* the dwelling place of the Harle quin set —Harlequin, Columbine, Clown and Pan taloon. It Is > one cottage In a little colony on the lower sloths of Mount Olympus (where the high gods dwell: Jupiter and the like), and la .moat important because It contains the oldest 'lnhabitants. The Clerk of the Weather lives a little higher up. The Four Queens and Kings live In a square of pagoda-Uke houses, and are waited upon by the Knaves. Pierrot and Pierrette live In romantic seclusion by a pool in a tumble-down place cov ered with blue roses. And away behind the fields of stars where the flocks of clouds grase, there Is another village where the Seven Prin cesses live, and the Third Son and an Ogre, and a Talking Rabbit, and all those peculiar and beautiful people who are entangled In our minds with the memories of night nurseries, and the scent of our mothers who bent over us In won derful toilettes, and told us to go to sleep, or they'd be late for dinner. When It gets to be about Christmas there la • sort of aroma of excitement on the lower slopes of Olympus, and, especially in the house where Harlequin lives—a delicious sense of something exciting happening. Columbine opens the lid of the well that looks down onto the world, and there comes up a mur mur of children's voices, and you can hear the quaintest things being said about the hanging up of stockings, and aboat Santa Claus and the likely width of chim neys, and the running power of reindeer. And there Is a tremendous rustle of colored paper, and a great run on almonds and raisins, and quite respectable citizens stand In front of shop windows gazing at dolls and dolls gaze back at them, ao that the citizens go back forty years at a rush, and the rush Is so great sometimes that they get tears In their eyes; for memory Is quick er than motor cars, and the road It travels la often dark and broken. So Columbine leaves the top of the well open all day and all night. and all the people In her cottage sleep with their windows open, so that the sweetly laden air comes up and gives them wonderful dreams. It does more than that. It waves the branches of the Christmas tree that grows at the bottom of the garden, near the sausage frames, and very soon candles begin to bud on its branches. Now when the candles begin to get ripe, which happens at the same time that geese and turkeys hang In rows in shops and grow rosettes all over them. Harlequin takes an old, oaken pipe from a cupboard un der the stairs, and they all sit round while he puts It to his Hps and blows. As he plays, dreams come to them of their ancient days, for Harlequin la first cousin to Mercury, and wears a black mask to hide the light of his face when he visits Columbine. who 1b Psyche, the Soul; the Clown Is Momus, the Spirit of Laughter; and Pantaloon Is Charon, who baa that grim work of ferrying the aouls over the Styx. There's an odd link of memories and of things held all through the centuries, but the moat charming ia thia: Columbine is a flower-like per son, and there la a flower called Columbine, and It la ao called becauae it la like four dovea with outapread wlnga, and the French dove la colombe, and the dove ia the aymbol of the soul. Bo the world ia never allowed to forget beautlfnl thlnga, •ven If the burden of history la borne on the back of a flower. And the god-like glow and glit ter of Mercury'a limbs still ahowa in tbe glisten ing a equina on Harlequin's clothes, parti-colored as thejr have always been, to show how be cov ered his nakedness with rags. All this, beautified by the essence of Time, like things put away in a cedar chest, comes back when Harlequin blows on his pipe that air the shepherds learnt in Greece from Pan. The next night Clown will take out another kind of pipe, a long churchwarden of white clay, and fill U with tobacco, and then as the fragrant clouds roll up Into the rafters, memories come of all the great people of the Harlequinades they play down in the world, all inspired by them, and they see the figure of Tarlaton, who was the first clown, and invented tbe very clothes they now wear, hand in hand with Ortmaldl, that great clown. And they seem to see all the great Italian Harlequins, and tbe dainty French Columbines, and the old dandles of fifteenth-century Venice whose clothes Pantaloon wears. Do you know that elderly gentlemen In tha World smell that magic tobacco, or something like it, and they forget their paunches, or their bald beads, and they sit and dream of tha time they went to their first nantomime? Waa it "Cinderella." or "Beauty and tha Beast"? Or waa ■ it that splendid thing "Mother Goose," or that en _ trancing prpduction "The Tellow Dwarf"? Such things are conjured MgT Bl up by just that one pipe of . v v tobacco smoked in the cot ■ tage on Olympus, and on ■ ... that nigbt a gentle breete la blows up through tbf well. Jg _______ laden with, the poignant, eternal memories .of child- hood, and the candles on Pantaloon. " the Chriatmaa tree are all ready to be lighted. They are so ready that when Pantaloon looks out of his window before making up his face for the day he sees that the candles have burst Into flame-flowerS in the night. Then Columbine takes out a pipe, and she puts some magic aoap Into nectar and atlra It round with the bowl of the pipe until frothy audi ap pear. And then ahe blowa bubbles that float up and out of the window until they reach th» Chrlatmas tree, when they turn Into great, glit tering glass balls, all aorta of colora, and ahow pictures of the world all colored and ehlnlng. The children In the World look up and think they aee Harlequin and Columbine floating down aa gently aa feathers, but they don't aay ao be cause their elders would only tell them It waa the clouda. But it la Harlequin and Columbine, and Pantaloon end Clown follow aoon alter, bringing the j C L. 1 _ tree with •MfrffTii them. Now their work beglna, each to his own Job and Columbine to mj here. Clown to preparing JJj the laughter that mu a t spring up In this season. Va? ' Qt and ripple as easily as a barl ®y fle,d In a breeze. h' Harlequin to his mag 10, for common things must- ' • appear beau tiful now, and a penny must buy the - pi- rP - t t« wealth of the Indies. And Pantaloon to stirring up old memories in dull people, so that uncles must remember all their nephews In re membering whee they were nephews themselves, and had a peculiar hunger at Christmas. Columbine Is awfully practical. Her sentiment extends from the joy of watching the making of baby-clothes to the pleasure of remembering to put nice soap In the apare rooms. It la ahe who aeea that children get the right preaenta, and when they don't It la not her fault, but the fault of aome atupld peraon In a ahop. \ It la ahe who auggeata the aecret delight of keeping preaenta hidden at the bottom of the wardrobe; and It la ahe who auggeata the aecret delight of peering at children when they are aaleep. V , V V. jpr i ♦ y*' ; * ~ - A * There are Pagan Sainta who And Arcadia every where. Pan plp i as much In the crowded city as on Mount Ida when the sun la high. And Columbine flnda roses where the world aeea thorns; and Harlequin flnda magic in motor 'buaea; and Pantaloon dlga away for pleaaant memories in the moat unlikely placea, and flnda them bright and clean, and aa good as new. Theae half-gods of mine (and 7oura) come down at Christmaa to correct the bilioua attitude of the reat of the year. They come to sow those aee d ■ that Stjk grow to flow era in the still innocent hearts. They \\ 11 are the influ ence that MgMI makes you give a man fifty cent a instead of a B-'iIHCB quarter. And the b«1 n g who •a y ■ that the bus- iness of life weighs more than the sen timent had better hang up bis stock- ing on Christ mas Ere, and .. see what it feels like to find nothing but a hole In It In the morning. And when It Is dark these four quaint figures flit through the country, city, town and village like conspirators. Harlequin tapping doors and windows with his magic wand. "Open, open!" be cries to the Spirit of Christmas. "Let the rich uncle reward his needy nephew, and the unforgiving father his repentant son. Mothers, forget to be Jealous of your elder daughter's growing beauty. Children, forget your spite and naughtiness. Let's be old-fashioned. Let's be lieve In ghosts. 11l tell you ghost-stories, stories of yourselves when you were children and played Pirates on the stairs. And Clown says as he taps on the doors with his red-hot poker: "Open, open, you old grousers! And let the Spirit of Fun come Into this bouse. Romp a bit, and lose your twopenny dignity, for pompous stiffness makes the gods laugh." , Pantaloon, taking his turn, taps with his walk ing-stick, and says: "Open, open, and let In the flood of memories ■ >... " *l. ..«> ■ '•» of the good old times! jjjT Holly and mistletoe and robins, and church bells sounding over the snow. And hampers all packed to fljgSfl be sent away, and plenty MSKM to eat at home. jjifl And then Columbine steals up to the windows, Ifißl and taps them with the lliinlL rose from her hair, and she whispers: "Open, open to me all you Who have no children Harlequin, and no friends and no hope, and I will be the warm, nestling thing you covet for your froxen hearts, and you shall feel ray soft cheek against yours till the tears come and your heart takes life again. Tou shall give joy to other people's children. And If you have no friends who have children, are there not a thousand, thousand chil dren who have no friends? Go to them, and give them all you can, and you will be rewarded al most more than you can bear, for there la a link between those who Buffer. Are there not some you have forgotten or neglected? This lonely man, that lonely woman whom you have left un cared -for, perhaps for years. Put on your hat and your coat, and put your heart on your Bleeve, so that all may know your errand." To see her pleading before black, aombre houses where a thin light shines under a blind; to see her face pressed against the window of some big mansion wbere a man orja woman Bits alone with hearts like stone; to see her tears as she essays to melt an aching heart is to see something BO touching and beautiful that one almost wonders the doors and windows are not Instantly opened to admit ths spirit of love she begs for so piti fully. "Look at yourselves, Messieurs et Mesdames Importance, and remember the funny little things you used to bo when you bit at coral and bells and wore bibs, and thought everybody In the world had enough to eat; when you hated to go to bed'early, and crept downstairs In your night gowns to listen over the bannisters to the voices In the dining room; wben no Jam for tea was a tragedy. And when your mother's knee was the throne of Justice and mercy, for you burled your head there with her hand in your hair, and forgot to be afraid of the dark." Columbine has her own very par tucular work, and she calls It In her mind Secret Delights. She calls It that because she delights In mak ing up odd names for emotions, as, for instance, when she pointed out two lovers to me one day in th« spring, who wer6 seated under a hedge, yellow-flushed with prim roses; they were holding hands and looking at the hills beyond Just as If some wonderful thing was about to come over the hills to tell them what their feelings meant. And the peace waß so great and the moment so held that the World seemed to have stopped breathing, and some thing superhuman to have poured out a cup of stillness. And she called It Liquid Velvet. A Liquid Velvet moment. And I understood It Is Columbine who watches that beautiful comedy of the newly mar ried, who steal about their house hand-ln-hand, fearful of waking the very new servants, fearful of creak ing the boards as they ga7,e enrap tured on the very new furniture, looking with Joy on the very new pots and pans in tho kitchen, turn ing the electric lights up and down all over the place to see the effect In their new bedroom. And he has a dreadful brooch for her hidden where he keeps hla razors; and Rhe has knitted him a tie he will have to wear. Hut It IB all perfectly beautiful. Someone wroto the othpr day that people who read are more Interest ed, nowadays, In business than in love, and I'm so sorry for that He is more blind than 1 thought anybody could be. Business may be the means to an end, but Love Is the beginning and the end. And it 'is at this season that Love makes business: hence the shops full of gifts. Imagine a poet writing: "Cent, per cent, the moon is rising. Watch the stocks upon the bank; Rubber shares are too surprising, Speculators are surmising Who the deuce they have to thank!" No one can get a heartbeat out of that, and whatever your business man says, he knows he gets all the good in his life out of heartbeats. So this Christmas Spirit creeps about the world, mocked at, scorned, but alive yet. And you who feel these things may one night see this quaint quartet at work, perhaps for a second at the cor ner of your street, perhaps Just vanishing down the drive, or moving swiftly dowri a country lane. And you may say wonderingTy: "It is a cobweb, a moth, and the branch of a tree, and the starlight makes them look like —like some thing I remember." But I tell you who they are—Harlequin, Colum bine. Clown and Pantaloon. And if you hear a child's laugh ring out suddenly, and 1t brings a new, qnlck emotion, one of them has conquered you! The spirit of Christmas doesn't cling to presents In proportion to their cost—unless y*m are very rich; and If you are very rich the voice of the jeweler and of the furrier and of the motor car maker will seem to you as wHe as the word of a happy poor man, though he were a philosopher. Simple and genuine and glad—strike these notes antf' the • chimes will be very pielodlously for you . and for those whom you try to make happy. And re- Jfyv member, you can't feign Christmas without being caught as an Impostor, both by your own con science and by the feel- lngs of s those about you. £T\ /Vy The very value of Christ- £( mas Is that It puts the gen- ** ulneness of everybody to an l— unerring test Clown. STATE BAPTISTS CLOSE SESSION WILL PETITION LEGISLATURE FOR SIX MONTHS PUBLIC TERM. HAVE PROFITABLE MEETING Borne Statistics Showing Growth of Denomination* in Various Lines.— Much Work Was Done.—Laat Day Was Marked By Two Featurea. I Goldsboro.—The eighty-second an nual seßßion of the North Carolina Baptist Convention, representing 250,- 000 members of 2,200 churches scatter ed from the mountain to the sea, fin ished its work several days ago, and adjourned to meet in Shelby in 1913. The closing prayer was offered by Rev. J. D. Huffman, one of the few remaining pioneers of the early days of Baptistic struggle. The last day was marked by two features. The convention petitioned the legislature to increase the public school appropriation, and urged that all public schools be open at least six months. Then the convention placed itself on record as opposed to con tinuing to allow the International Sun day School Committee to select the Sunday school lessons of the South ern Baptist Sunday school. The Woman's Missionary Union re ported to the convention that during the year the offerings of the women's societies had been as follows: Foreign missions, $15,133.29; home missions, $9,086.32; Btate missions, $8,609.42; Louisville Training School, $748,0J; Margaret Home, $168.08; Sun day school board, $192.04; expense fund, $484.78; total, $34,422. The re port also gives a comparative state ment of the work each year since the organization of the Woman's Mission ary Union. The report of Secretary Middleton shows the Baptists now have 64 as sociations. In membership the West Chowan still leads, having 11,975 members, Chowan next with 10,341. There are now 2,006 white Baptist churches In the state, a gain of 53 over last year. The total membership of these churches, except 38 not reporting, Is 237,139. The following are the half-dozen associations making the largest per capita contributions: The Central leads with $1.75; the Pee Dee at $1.72 and the Roanoke at $1.71 are not far behind. The Pied mont reached $1.55; the Buncombe $1.35; the Mecklenbrug Cabarrus, $1.33. President Durham, announced the following appointments: Foreign missions, J. C. Turner, W. R. L. Smith; home missions, J. H. Foster, A. C. Hamby; state missions I. M. Mercer, J. .1. Hart; Sunday schools, G. T. Stephenson, C. J. D. Parker; Biblical Recorder, R. L. Gay, A. 13. -Brown; ministerial education, J. I). Harte, T. H. King; temperance, B. Bruce White, John A. Oates; wo men's work, Joel S. Snider, W. F. Staley; obituary, Rev. C. W. Scarbor ough. The president appointed Dr. W. R. Cullorn to arrange for the program of the pastors' conference next year. Two Bodies Do Not Want Union. There was a conference In pro gress at Raleigh between the mem bers of the state board of agriculture, the trustees of the A. & M. College, the board of directors of the college, and the legislative committee from the 1911 legislature, considering the Interests of the colWtfe, and the de partment of agriculture, as Involved in the proposed merger of the two in stitutions for the sake of economy and efficiency. This proceeding 1b under the Dowd act of the last legis lature, which directed a special com mittee, headed by the president of the senate, Hon. W. C. Newland, to Investigate and recommend to the 1913 legislature as to this matter. Farmers' Institutes In State. Director T. B. Parker's report to the state board of Agriculture on the farmers' institute di 1 'slon of the de partment, which he is the director, shows that for the year there were 236 regular farmers' Institutes and 231 institutes for women held, in all parts of the state. And In addition 35 spe cial railroad institutes and other spe cial meetings. The attendance on all these Institutes was $0,190. North Carolina stands first In the United States for attendance on institutes for women. Heriderson Poultry Association. Henderson County Poultry Associ ation, which has just closed, was the imans of Interesting poultry fanciers throughout the county to such an ex tent that 300 birds were exhibited. This was the second show of the as sociation, and although it was a line exhibition of the county's product, it is Relieved that the show would have l>t«t!n much better than it was had It not been for tho disagreeable weather A number of cash prizes were given and the business interests contributed any valuable art idea. PROTECT NATIONAL FORESTS Some Extract* From Secretary Wil son's Annual Report of Interest to North Carolina. Raleigh.—A special from Washing ton states that la the annual report for this year, which came out recent ly Secretary Wilson of the department of agriculture, had the following to say about the Weeks forestry law, under which North Carolina and oth er Southern mountain lands are being purchased: "The maintenance and administra tion of the national forests in th,e West having demonstrated the im portance of protection of forest lands as a means of conserving and pro moting water flow, the- department for a number of years past urged upon Congress the advisability of the acquisition of timbered lands in the East as a means of conserving and promoting the navigability of navi gable streams in the Eastern states where the government has never owned lands. Especial attention wat called to the rapid disappearance un der wasteful methods of large area* of timber on the watersheds of lm portant navigable streams In and con tiguous to the Appilachlan Mountain range. TAe recommendations of th« department culminated in the act oi March 1, 1911, commonly known a« the Weeks Forestry Law, under whlcb the secretary of agriculture Is au thorized to examine, locate, and rec ommend for purchase such lands as, In his Judgment, may be necessary for the regulation of the flow of navigable streams, and to ireport the results oi such examinations to a commission created by the act and designated the National Forest Reservation Coi% mission. Upon the approval of the purchase by the commission the secretary Is authorized to purchase the lands for the United States and thereafter to organize them into national forests, to be administered, with certain limita tions, as other national forests are administered. An appropriation of $13,000,000 was made Tor purposes of tlw act, and active operations were commenced immediately upon its ap proval. State Lutheran Bynod End*. The North Carolina Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod held its sessions at Kings Mountain, the guest of the St. Mat thew's church. Rev. C. R. Bell, paßtor. This body represents a constituency of 80 congregations in the western portion of the state, and -Its business sessions were largely occupied with the consideration of local home mis sion work. The officers elected for the ensuing year are: President, Rev. M. L. Pence; secretary, Rev. W. D. Wise; treasurer; Rev. J. P. Deal. Very animated and timely discussions were held on the appointed topics: "Luth eran Practices Determined by Chris tian Faith," and "Lutheran Literature in the Home." The State Fishery 'Convention The North Carolina Fisheries corv vention met recently in Washington and was largely attended by delegates from all over the state. The conven tion was called to order in the city hall, by the president, George N. Ives, •bf New Bern, and the opening prayer was made by Rev. 11. J. Searight. The delegates were welcomed to the city by the mayor of the city, Collin H. Harding. The response was made by the president of the association, George N. Ives. The object of the meeting was stated by Joseph Hyde l'ratt, the state geologist. The other principal speakers of the meeting were A. W. Graham and Dr. H. F. Moore. North Carolina New Enterprises. Two charters were issued from the office of the secretary of state. The Royal and Borden Company, a partnership of George C. Royall and John L. Borden, of Goldsboro, changes to a company, authorizes itself to SIOO,OOO and pays in 28,000. Besides Messrs. Royall and Borden, J. D. Harden owns a large share. The company Is chartered in Goldsboro but has a local business in Raleigh. The National Cooperage Company, with H. A. Plunkett, W. C. Waters, A. M. Rea, J. W. Biddle and others starts a business at New Bern. To Be Aycock County. The executive committee of the new county proposition voted several days ago to unanimously change the name from Piedmont to Aycock coun ty in honor of the late Governor Chas. B. Aycock. Governor Aycock was among the first advocates of the new county and gave practical services to the movement. He made' the first fight for it before the legislature, and would have made the second had he [lived. The meeting was enthusiastic and active operations will begin at once. May Carry Case To Court. Present Indications are that a con troversy between the city of States ville and the county board educa tion will be threshed out in the courts, the case being similar to one which went through the courts In Asheville recently. The board of edu cation will bring suit against the cltj for the collection of fines and forfeit ures alleged to be duo the school fund from the municipal court. The school bonrd claims that it is entitled to S6OO collected during Mayor Caldwell's »d --mlaictratloa.
The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 13, 1912, edition 1
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