IN a lecture room of one of the Iaro-e

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1 ' g8 THE DELPHIC. Th vindication of that fundamntal law to which Amrica is indbtd for hr glory and hr gratnss was a mighty work and it was complt. No Amrican has vr risn highr in his concption of th grandur of union, and non has givn a dpr or mor distinct maning to th grat national truth for which h stood. Non has vr movd th Amrican hart with noblr and grandr sntimnt, and non has vr plantd dpr in th soul of a rsponsiv nation a grat fundamntal principl. Of all th grat mn who hav figurd in Amrican history, who hav stood as a b~lwark in our national qiss, thr is non wlto has succdd bttd in sttling a qustion of grat momnt, and sttling it right, than has Danil Wbstr, th champion of th Constitution. F. C Jl/dingr,'98. BIOGRAPHY. FREDRICK C. ALDINGER was born nar Utica N Y. Dc. 21, 1873 At th ag of fiv h cam with his parnts.7radr/ck C. to Suthrland, Iowa, whr..,--<f/dingr thy still rsid. Mr. Aldingr is no xcption to th rul that all grat mn ar born on a farm, for th country has always bn his hom whn with his parnts, who now liv on a farm nar Suthrland. For a fw months, during th wintrs, h attndd district school, but at th ag of sixtn ntrd th public schools of Suthrland, whr h graduatd, aftr two yars, to ntr Buna Vista collg, situatd at Storm Lak, Ia. Four yars aftr Aldingr's initial apparanc insid collg walls, thr cam to him th consciousnss that somwhr thr was a broadr and bttr fild of study than Buna Vista affordd, and in casting about for th location of that fild, fortunatly for Drak Univrsity, b prcivd in hr th mbodimnt of all th lmnts that formd th foundation of his idal of a collg and it was hr that in th fall of '96 Aldingr c;;.5t his lot, as a mmbr of-th class of 'g8. It would b idl flattry for us to spak hr of his habits, mannrs and high standing, which hav ndard him to th whol Univrsity, as mor and mor w cam to rcogniz him for what h rally is. It would b doubly uslss for us to dwll upon th xaltd position to which h has vaultpd this last yar. Standing today, th most honord of all Drak's sons past or prsnt, Jt us not wast our tim-or his, by bstowing fickl flattry and vocifrous pra_iss upon him; rathr lt us with bcoming dignity and ral frindship quitly lnd our'] ncouragmr1t and assistanc toward th prparation for th mightir coi1f1ict which is to com, whn at Blo_it nxt May, th champions of tn stats mt upon th platform to uphold th scholarship of ach individual stat. W ar alrady sanguin in rgard to th outcom of this final contst and w know that Iowa's orator, whil h onc commandd th confidnc and support of his own Univrsity, now holds th confidnc and rspct of_ th ntir stat.... ') Th Tragdy of a, ~din d. IN a lctur room of on of th Iaro- univrsitis ~whit haird profssor s~t alon lat in th aftrnoon. H had just dismissd a body of studt~nts and could har thm vn now noisily disprsir.jg on th campus bnath his window. ''I :;m vry tird tonight,'' h said half aloud as h indiffrntly arrangd_ his books and paprs, and h found himslf having a sigh of rlif bcaus th work of anothr day was don. Laning back in his chair h. claspd his hands on his tird forhad and noticd what h had not ralizd, th.at it was hot and throbbing. "lt. sms qur" h thought, "my work nvr usd to affct m so.'' Th door opnd and a tall girl carrying

2 1 r y rs d d s o r. ll t. ' d ;- - o h - s t j ~.i l { i ~~ ~ ~ THE an armful of books ntrd and cam quickly toward him. It was his daughtr Edith, who nvr faild to com and walk hom with him at fiv. H was alw~ys glad to s hr, to-night spcially so for sh had such a rstful fac. H hld out his hand and as sh cam up and took it, sh lookd lovingly down into his strong, ruggd fac and a look of tndr anxity" cam into hr dp, thoughful ys as sh said: "Lt's go hom and hav our ta f athr, you look so vry tird." "Do I?" h said with a littl laugh, "Wll I bliv I am just a littl tird tonight, or at.any rat my had is troubling m som. I wondr why it is Edith, it nvr usd to tak so much ffort to hold fifty or mor inquiring young minds for an h 1ur on a subjct I hav spnt my whol lif trying to gt in hand." "Wll it wouldn.'t now," sh answrd r-assuringly, "if you wr prfctly wll, but that awful cold you hav had all month has kpt you from bing yourslf." "No doubt that is it" h said warily, and h lt hr hlp him on with his coat, and thy passd 0 1 Jt into th hall. "I had almost forgottn," h said, "I hav to go into th library for a sconrl; you hold ths things and I'll b back in just a momnt.'' Groups of th studnts wr sitting around at th tablc:s bginning prparations for th nxt days work and Prof. Humml's kind smil s.md to diffus itslf warmly ovr thm all. H lovd all th univrsity's boys and girls, as h was wont to call thm, and thy w r quick to apprciat that h was gnuinly thir frind. H likd to fl that h was closly in touch \Vith thir young, xpanding livs, it plasd and stimulatd him to b told of thir hops and aspirations, and h always tratd thir viws with th sam rspct as thos manating from consrvativ maturity. Thir ptty disturbancs, and so calld trials, wr nvr of small import in his ys, and in thir succsss h was nvr too busy to rjoic. H calld thm his DELPHIC.. / 99 inspiration, and h workd not for th rcognization that followd from t~ world without th littl collg sphr, but only to instill into th rcptiv minds that cam daily bfor him that which would broadn and nrich th livs thy wr to. liv. Knly h flt th rsponsibility of offring to thm th bst of what h had assimilatd through yars of ffort,. in ordr that thy might us and dvlop it for thmslvs, a'1d for humanity, whn h had gon from among thm. H was standing in on of th alcovs, looking for what h -wantd, whn h hard som on ntr th littl room on th othr sid of th thin partition, and rcognizing th voics of two ot his favorits was about to go in and spak to thm, whn th boy said, "Wasn't that pitiful?'' lctur this aftrnoon "Ys," rplid th girl sadly, "it fairly mad my hart ach. I'v sn it coming on all this yar, but th last wk has bn a grat dal wors, and this aftrnoon crtainly was distrssing. Onc in a whil thr coms a littl glam that just suggsts th brillancy of othr days, but thn h wakns and wandrs almost instantly and w ar only forcd to pity th contrast.'' "I was just trying to think," said th boy, "what i.t must mar1 to a mii1d lik that, to fl itslf growing wak. To know that th tim had c~m whn it must rst passivly on what it had don, no mattr how it cravd to do mor." "Right thr," rspondd his companion, "sms to m th pathtic part of it. Prof. Hummll in no sns ralizs that h is not th powr h onc was. Evidnt! y h is ntirly unconscious of how dangrously his gigantic intllct is tottring, and his studnts ar all so thoroughly dvotd to him, and rvrnc so profoundly th wondrs h has achivd, that thy would ndur anything rathr than lt him fl th chang. And yt I somtims wondr how_much longr it can go on this way."

3 IOO THE DELPHIC. Lik shadows not vn conscious of th walls thy ar darkning, thy passd on, laving th old man in th nxt alco_v laning havily against or of th shh~s. His drawn lips quivrd hlplssly as a childs, and h saw th books and familiar things about him through a blinding mist. Thr ar tims in lif whn on dos not spak, whn on dos not vn think. As h turnd, and walkd slowly away, h stoopd a trifl mor, his ag-furrowd fac was a littl whitr, and th bloodlss hand on his can shook prcptibly, but h had th sam cordial smil for th studnts h mt in th hall, and whn h joind his daughtr h apoligizd with charactristic 'courtsy for having dtaind hr so long. Whn t!ly rachd hom h said: "My had is aching badly now, Edith, so I am going right to my room and. I will ask you to snd my ta thr. Try not to hav m disturbd.'' "Fathr isn't thr somthing I can do for you?" sh askd in a troubld voic, and h answrd with a sadnss sh faild to undrstand, "No child, thr is nothing to b don." H lay down on th couch' for. a long tim, thn h got up and bgan fvrishly p1cing th floor. Prtty soon h stood still, and laughd. Why, it was all a hugh jok! H was laboring undr at tmporary indisposition and his studnts had con:ivd th ida that h was losing his mind.. Poor dludd childrn, h must hastn to r-assur thm. H would mak a spcial ffort for to-morrow's work, and thn thy would s thir absurdity, and know that thir old tachr had many yars to lad thm yt. So almost briskly h sttld himslf to his books, but his nw brightnss was of short duration. H was watching himslf now, h soon saw, and havn pity him, h undrstood. H was wak, and it was too bittr, too awful to bar. H gathrd th books h had livd with, and lovd so many yars up in his trmbling arms, and holding thm tight, crid as h had not don sinc th clays of his arly boyhood. It smd saying goodby to hisdarst frind. Thy might rrlt again, but thy w~uld nvr clasp han_ds. Th swt fllowship of a long lif tim- was burning low, and soon thr would b. nothing lft him but to worship from afar. H knw it was not th unimpdibl wav, natural old ag, that. this chilly mist forran. Ag that was but th lucious ripning of th half maturd fruit h could adjust himslf to, and whn his tasts and habits had smoothly mouldd thmslvs. to th changing yars h would find it, though vry diffrnt, swt. H had oftn thought of th tranquil plasur rsrvd for th tim whn prtntions had casd and dsir and vitality wr slping in on grav; th passiv tim whn on sits day aftr day in on's asy chair mditativly rviwing th lif on has livd, contnt in knowing that th apportiond tim had bn usd, and th day of activity drawn to a symmtrical clos. But to fl a mntal ' stupor wighing you down whil th body yt hld its own, to know that you wr not brokn with yars, but had climbd too high, and wr.now falling from th dizzy hight,.falling, falling into somt~ing you know not what, sav that it was wors than dath. For what is dath but frdom, an'ct what was this_ but bondag in which th songs of frdom wr chantd from afar? Th many colord sunst that mlts from radianc into an thral hu and mirrors its -soft lovlinss far into' th rsponsiv ast is naturtfs choicst mastrpic, and in th bauty of its mllowd splndor th soul forgts th burning of th noon-day sun, but th storm that fircly swps th hlp'lss sky whil th wstrn horizon waits yt a lagu a way, shrouds in blacknss 'n th hours that wnt bfor, and lavs unpaintd th sunst that should hav bn. To th artist, an unfinishd painting m ~llls a painting lost, and a half xcutd sympohny lavs th hart tund to music unsatisfid and rstlss. To lav on's work unfinishd, this I

4 THE DELPHIC. IOI. j ) 1. w giv as on synonym for failur. Grasping and said; "Rmmbr w ar nvr going hlplssly at half rcognizd possiblitis to dritt apart." And for a tim thy did w liv on to fulfill thm. On th basis hold togthr, but it was hardr to kp of what w hav built, do w conciv th within hailing distanc than thy had suprstructiv. anticipatd. Th watr grw vry rough, On this h broodd, for this h plad. billow aftr billow cam in fast and wild, H was not through; who would finish his storms thy had not forsn blw up and half writtn book? Who would lctur to whirld thir frail boats round and round in his studnts? Much that h had to tll a sthing whitcappd mass, forign crafts thm yt lurkd phantom lik in th vild pursud and jostld thm, and mighty rcsss of his brain, and no man vn ocan stamrs nticd som off to unknown knw that it was thr. Was it thn forvr sa<.:. In th blacknss of th night thy to go unspokn, this th culmination, th vital ssnc, of his whol lif's work? Th w a lls wr closing in on him, th air driftd widly apart, and aftr ach had tuggd long and dspratly to kp himslf afloat h knw not in what stram to h brathd was havy and thick. H sk th brothr whos gaily paintd cano look-cd out and saw that it was moon-light, had floatd lazily bsid him down th and a strang fancy cam ovr him to go rippling rivr. All h could do was paus up to th univrsity and walk around a littl, for it was larg and high thr and a momnt in th lull, and dram fondly of th rolicksom crw of which h was onc a h could brath. With th craftinss of a part, and wondr if th oars that splashd wayward child h lt himslf out, and with so musically thn had withstood th hands claspd bhind him, and had ocans' hurrican. bowd low on his brast h sorrowfully Th scattrd mass of buildings lookd wnt th way that yar aftr yar h had wird and ghostly in th moonlight and gon. It was first in th bouyancy of faild to appal long to his \.vhimsical fancy. youth, that with lastic stp h had com Unlocking th door h wnt into th room upon that campus Th yars that had that had bn his for almost forty yars. ruthlssly silvrd his brown 11air had H sat down, and whil th pal bams busid thmslvs in scattring far and playtd fantastically about his whit had wid th companions that had mad his h thought of th work h had don in collg days th all thy wr. In th thos yars, and how now it was virtually clar, frsh morning. of youth thy had mt ovr. Hop,.rathr than joy, old ag and calld thmslvs frinds. In th struggls against rlinquishing. Having light of common intrsts and common don what h could, h was to b supplantd dsirs thir frindship had flourishd and by a man from a nw gnration, who bloomd. Th lif thy livd fashiond would b wlcomd, admird and lovd in thm aftr on mould, and thy cam his stad. His mind was worn to worth closr tq on anothr than man vr coms lssnss and vn now h could fl it to man again. Thir minds wr at work slipping crully from him. H supposd togthr, thir vry harts bat togthr, that soon h would cas' to b conscious of ovr thm all was thrown th swt mantl his loss, and no longr unhappy. Too of undrstanding, apprciation, comrad grat a man to bwail th invitabl, hr ship, a nd sympathy. A mantl of rar in th strang solitud h grw calmr and wav, with an xistnc short-livd, but clung only to th on pathtic hop a mmory imprishabl. Whn thy wr that som on would b found to tak up floating down th grn bankd stram, tl1 thrads h. was untangling and with lingring along just within roar of th sa, th dxtrity of a wll traind intllct, thy pulld thir littl barks clos togthr and th strngth and farlssnss of blood 1.

5 102 THE DELPHIC. that is young and untird, wav th bautiful tapstry h had but concivd. H had troddn it long and unflinchingly, h had mad giant strids, and had not grown brathlss, but now h was to stp from th broad highway to sit in an arbor by th waysid, to watch th passrs-by, and to wait. Wait until th God who had mad him all h was, rturn to him a hundrd fold nrichd th mind and strngth that for a short whil h was taking from him. Wait, until th stars that th gray twilight was hiding shin luminously and srnly in th dp blu thr of trnity. Susi Kating Claspll '99 A RESUME. 7\MONG th many books that hav is-, M sud from th prss during th last yars thr is at last on book of rcnt dat, Quo Vadis, by Hnryk Sinkiwicz, that may justly claim a plac in th most rluctant library. says an abl critic, "has drawn so living and spaking a liknss of th Empror Nro as has this Polish rwvlist. No on. ls has mad that curious moral monstr so consistnt in his _inconsistncis, so clar to th mind's. y in th uncanny and rpulsiv pculiaritis of his prson." Si nkiwicz has vry cunningly brought out th gotistical natur in Nro by causing him. to xclaim during th confligration of Rom, "Tru, amid ths cars vn I, forgt who I am,;, and thn again, "Oh! how flat this. world will b whn I am gon from it. No man has suspctd yt, not vn thou, what an artist I am." In th Christian nation Callina, or Lygia, th daughtr of th Lygian king, w find th hroin of Quo Vadis. Rard in th hous of Aulus, away from th vic and r min of Rom, sh imbibd that trusting faith in Christ which carrid hr through th trials of th Palatin and ovr th fars of th arna. But in th young tribun, Marcus Vinicius, that handsom and athltic young man, w find a waknss of powr to rsist and. it was only his human passion and ardnt lov for Lygia which carrid him through "Th author modst! y calls th book a narrativ of th tim of Nro. H dos not tll us that his novl is a triumph of.minut and painstaking scholarship, of dp rli"gious all that h ndurd. Othrwis it would sympathy, of marvllous charactrall. drawing, of nic litrary workmanship and of powrful dramatic construction." complains b unrasonabl to bliv in his convr,. sion to th Christian faith. On of th most bautiful charactrs in th critic. Indd, Hnryk Sinki all th book, a charactr full of simplicity wicz dos not tll us all this, for ths facts and forgivnss, is that tlf th Lygian giant, w can bst raliz whr1 w hav rad th Ursus. As a faithful and obdint sryht book. In th vry first chaptr of Quo his lov for Lygia was mor lik that of a: Vadis th radr's intrst is awaknd and fathr for a child. Ursus was a follow'r bcoms mor intns with vry pag. Th author has not faild to prsnt an imprssion pictur of that tim "whn Christianity casd to smouldr and bgan to of th Christ and whn h was sntncd to di in th arna h fard that h might us his giant strngth in slf dfns and not di as "bcom a confssor of th Lamb, blaz." H lays hold of th horrors of th pacfully and patintly." grat Christian prscution with dirctnss "Th gracful and polishd Ptronius," and nfolds hi~ daring plot with simplicity a prtorian of th Roman court, w rcogniz and powr. Not onc dos his chisl go as th hro of our story. H is a man into th dad block of marbl but that it of calm dlibration, full of wit, humor and hus out som charactr in a nw and mastrly irony. H has no far of C::sar and boldtory fashion. "No writr, whthr of hisly tlls him, Y hav found victims! That or of fiiction, whom w rmmbr," is tru. But har m! Y hav authority,

6 THE DELPHIC.!09./fn 9/npro/ssional Crim. NoTE: Th incidnts in this story ar litrally tru and happnd a fw yars ago 111 South Dakota. IT bing th first hour aftr dinnr on Sunday aftrnoon, th rportrs had nothing to do but lvat thir hls to a comfortabl angl and intrtwin 'Storis with smok. Thy wr dvoting thir talnts to rcounting prsonal xprincs, and wr doing this in a way that distinguishd thm from a Mthodist xprinc-mting in svral particulars. Th talk was intrsting but unorthodox,.and whil distinctly Bohmian, it could not b ratd as altogthr fanciful. Evn th opn fir-plac, th prid of th Prs_s Club, could not hav rflctd such strang~ conglomrations as could any of th livs idntifid with th rspctiv pair of hls that wr toasti ng bfor it. Th world has bttr mn than th rportrs on daily nwspaprs. It has smartr mn, a fw smoothr, and quit a sprinkling of manr ons-th last statmnt dmanding proof. But on thing is sur, it contains no class'of mn so familiar with th insid workings of all parts of th world's machinry. No on class so dfinitly knows how many of th rputd "squar' ' things of lif ar cut on th bias. No class could giv so xactly th prcnt-. ag of mn who bcom broad-mindd and magnanimous-for a considration. It is th rportr's businss to know mn and som of thm hav larnd th businss wll. Whnvr a situation culminats in an vnt, soonr or latr-and usually not th lattr-thr is a nwspapr man in th fild to grasp all that is xcptional or significant. Thy bring m.n to justic, likwis away from it. Thy can obtain an audinc with th first man in th land (th aforsaid first man bing occasionally cratd so by thm for th sak of a story.) Thy can b kickd down from th fifth story of a back tnmnt hous-all with th sam divin srnity. So to th man who would know things as thy ar rathr th~n accpt thm as thy sm, thr is much that is worth whil, whn a crowd of th busist mn on arth tak an hour off to talk at1d siz things up., Th storis thy tll ach othr ar not paddd byond rdmption lik much of thir copy, for thy know it taks a- clvr fak to fool a fakr. Privatly thy hav idas of consistncy. Thy kp dcntly within th bonds of possibilitis whn thy inform th man on th rival sht how th't' shapd political campaigns, nginrd rforms, and wrought all sorts of clvr dodgs to mak popl liv storis that would snap wll in print. A magazin articl had just appard on ''Th Prsonal Sid of th Rportr.'' Th crowd of rportrs dpositd cigar ashs on th Prss Club carpt and mad irrvrnt rmarks. "Th author of that articl was th victim of an ovr-wrought imagination and lackd both xprinc and discrnmnt. A rportr with that sort of a 'prsonal sid' nvr hld clown a good job on an up~ to-dat papr. H might succd as a missionary, but that was his limit. H carrid a Washingtonian hatcht in his blt. H would gt wak in th kns and supprss a good story to kp from braking sombody's hart. H couldn't swim through tars and com up dry and comfortabl~'' Ths wr crims, not to b condond. Th Court rportr for th Morning Hrald, mbddd in a mammoth chair, puffd a Hav:ana-supplid him by a bankr whos cas was docktd for th nxt day. H was th oldst rportr in th city, / an all around man, on of th bst. Aftr thirty yars of nwspapr xprinc, it was yt wisprcl that h had a conscinc. Strangly nough h was idalizd by th

7 I IO aspirants as th Old Fllow, against whom th gnuin scoops.could b countd on th fingrs of on hand. H alon had not committd himslf in th discussion, so all turnd thir ys xpctantly whn h flickd th ashs from his cigar and mditativly clard h is throat. "I suppos,'' h bgan quitly, "a convntion of managing ditors would agr with you that a rportr nds nough sympathy to color his story wll, but nds no mor. H might s ghosts if h was constitutd too suscptibly. It is a grat thing to hav a fin y for th pathtic in a situation, but that is bcaus it givs th story a brightr ton, and yt-'' h was looking into th fir now, "hard and fast liv<=s somtims snap at th wrong tim, and th tars you talk about loos thir comm~rcial valu, and bcom human t?. rs, and onc in a whil it is hard not to hav a hart of your own whn you ar with popl whos harts ar aching. I hop I am not a sntimntal idiot, but I hav lost som slp in my lif that th assignmnt book could not quit account for. Som day I will tll you how I missd th chanc of. my lif bca us I was floord by th human sid of a situation and committd a crim against my profssion, but just now I am du at th offic." "Offic b blowd, lt's hav th story! Lt hr go, it won't tak long.'' Th Hrald man blw a fw lon'g puffs, by way of forming a background for his story, and thn bgan in his rathr dlibrat way, "No, it won't tak long, and it may xplain what I trid to say. If you wan't to kick m down stairs whn I'm through, you ndn't hav any scrupls. I'm not., xactly proud of th thing, but I'd rathr lik to know what you think about it. It was whn I was running a papr out wst about twnty yars ago, and it happnd on a Christmas Ev. A prttir THE DELPHIC. night was nvr put in a pom. I don't s how a bttr on could b imagind. It was so crisp and frosty that It was bttr than a glass of whisky just to walk around a block, but not cold or man. Th snow was pild in ridgs along th sidwalks and sparkld lik silvr with th rgular old Christmas Ev glittr It was a good sizd wstrn town and vry mothr's son was on th strts. I nvr saw such a crowd. Jolly! it mad you laugh just to watch thm. Nws had bn bum for a long tim and w wr gtting down in th mouth about it, for out thr thy lik storis that go. with a snap and a rush. You ar N. G. if you don't gt thm. Thr hadn't bn any sf}ooting on th rsrvation to spak of for narly a month, and th mn at th mins wr lik so many Sunday scht)qi childrn. It was awful. I trid my bst to run on to somthing during th vning, but I couldn't vn scar ~p a singl-hadr..about nin o'clock I startd to th offic to run in a littl mild copy, but I was suddnly intrruptd-that is th story. Right at th cornr of an ally a small boy divd. into m and narly knockd m ovr. H smd so scard that I collard him ancl said, "What's th mattr kid?" "Thr's a man Iayi~' dad in th ally," h whimprd. I loosnd hiin and h pltd off. I supposd som on was hurt a littl and stppd into th ally to s. In about four ~tps I trippd ovr a man. I struck a match and saw it was Jim Connor, a brakman on th nw road. On mor look and I knw th kid had gussd right. I wnt in at th sid door of th -saloon whr h had vidntly com out. Thy said h wnt out that way about tn minuts bfor. H had quarrld with Bill Barkr, who lft by th front door about th sam tim. Thr was a young doctor in th saloon and whn w carrid Jim in THE DELPHIC. h xamind a littl and found h had rcivd a hard blow in th mouth and that a big wad of tobacco had bn knockd into his throat. Whil h lay thr insnsibl it had strangld him. It was pculiar, but as clar a cas as you could want. Non of us doubtd that Bill Barkr had don it, so I got a hack and hurrid to his hom in th dg of town. Barkr was a railroad man too, Connor's conductor. H was hot-hadd, but a bitr hartd fllow nvr livd ar1d h was on of th bst frinds I had in town. H livd with his mothr and too k car of hr and his sistr who was sick most of th tim. "Glad to s you, old man, com right in hr and hav a pip," h said in his big wstrn way, whn h found m at th door. I told him that I couldn't do it, that I was in a hurry and just wantd to ask him a coupl of qustions. "Fir away thn," h said. "I want to know what th troubl was btwn you and Jim Connor tonight." H lookd at m and thn thrw back his had and laughd. "Wll if you cam way out hr just to ask m that, you must b prtty hard up for nws. W had a fw words in La rkin's s.aloon, and whn I lft h cam out of th sid door and stoppd. m and trid to bgin it again. It mad m mad and I knockd. him down and didn't stop to pick him up. H's hom by this tim- and has probably forgottn all about it, I had. Put it in your papr if you want to, but I can't say I think much of it." I hard anothr hack driv up just thn and thought I had bttr tll him. H was standing in front of m in his shirt slvs with a broad grin on his fac. H was a. -big fllow, but whn h smild, h lookd lik an ovr-grown boy. If you took a good look in hi s y you'& trust him with your last cnt. ''I'm afraid. Bi'l l," I stammrd in a voic I I I I hardly knw myslf, "that thr's mor in th story than you think. W found Jim lying bsid Larkin's saloon about half a n hour ago, h was-h-h's dad!" "You'r foolin' m boy,'' h said, and put both his hands on my shouldrs. "It's a ~hristmas Ev jok on old Bill, ain't it boy?'' Thr was a loud knock and two poli~mn stppd into th room. Bill's fac grw gray and h lookd at m lik a big: faithful dog that ndd hlp and was sur h'd gt it. Thr was nothing on God'.s arth I could do, so I backd to th door lik a coward, and I'm not sur that som of thos tars you tll m about didn't run down my fac. "Why, bovs," Bill sa id in a half whispr I'll har till my dying day, "I didn't start in to do anything lik that. I didn't vn k now I had. I supposd Jim was hom by this tim. I likd th boy, you know I did, and I wouldn't kill a cat. I wnt down to buy Christmas prsnts for th old woman and th girl. That's all I startd in to do. I didn't man to kill no on; most of all not Jim.!-!-didn't man to., I tll you I don't bliv I did, did I boys?" Th big, honst fllow lookd tn yars oldr than h had a fw minuts bfor. I couldn't stand anothr bit of it without acting th school girl, so I shook his hand and told him to bar up, that it would com out all right, and thn I lft. I had nough nwspapr sns lft to know that I couldn't do th story without going to Connor's hous, so I drov thr nxt. It was all lit up and 5omthing smd to b going on insid. I lookd ' in at th front window a nd thn I rmmbrd it was Christmas Ev. Thr was a goodsizd tr in th middl of th room and th two childrn wr dancin g around it, clapping thir hands and acting lik kids always do. Thir mothr, a prtty littl woman, was sitting on th floor playing

8 II2 THE DELPHIC. with som dogs. Sh was just a girl hrslf and lookd as happy as th kids. startd to go away, but rmmbrd that th story would hav to b out in th morning, so I wnt back and knockd at th door. Thr was a scrambl insid and I hard thm yll, "Its papa!-papa's com!", I was standing a littl in th shadow whn th littl woman opnd th door. "Com on in, Jim," sh said in a brzy, happy voic. Do you think I told hr thy wr bringing hr husband hom dad? Wll, I rathr guss not, not I! I askd to s Jim and whn sh said' h ~vvasn't hom yt,-1 knw whn h \VOuld b-l tippd my hat, wishd hr a mrry Christmas and wnt away. l lookd back in th window as I got into th hack and saw that thy had gon back to th tr. Sh was sitting on th floor again and th childrn wr tumbling around hr. Thy wr wa,iting for Jim. l nvr saw a prttir sight, nor a saddr on. As w turnd th cornr, w mt a party of mn briq.ging him hom; Of cours you \vill say I should hav turnd back and hlpd lay him down in th room by th Christmas tr. It would hav mad a bttr story. l should hav watchd how th wif and th child rn of that dad man rcivd him at th door, not loosing sight of th fact of cours, that tars hav a commrcial valu. But I didn't. I flw back to tuwn and got a drink, that's what I did. Som of you ar strongr nwspapr mn than I and you might hav sn it through. lt was a grat story, but on too hard for m. Thr is no us tlling you fllows what th opportunitis wr, yot.f know th matrial and that's nough. Tak it from th dramatic standpoint-a bautiful Christmas Ev, vrybody jolly, a littl scrap that amounts to nothing, and a man knocks his frind down. H gos hom, givs his old mothr and sick sistr Christmas prp.snts bought with his hard arnd mony, and in a fw minuts finds himslf chargd with murdr. Th dad man stumbld upon in th ally had a wif and two childrn waiting for him around a Christmas tr! If thr isn't a chaptr from lif furnishing nwspapr matrial, I don't know what you want. It was th bst chanc of my lif to mak a rcord, but I fll down hard. Evry tiin I trid to writ I could s big Bill standing thr lik a child who wantd to b comfortd, and I could s th Christmas tr in th window of Connor's cottag. I trid a dozn tims and thn turnd what I knw ovr to th cub and wnt out and took anothr drink. Nwspapr ntrpris, wasn't it!" Th vtran from th Morning Hrald drw a mditativ puff and th youngr mn brilliantly followd suit. Strang nough th youngst rportr thr did not say h blivd h could hav handld th story, and notwithstanding th fact that th Hrald man had co nfssd th commission of an unprofssional crim against his nwspapr, his stock did not sm to hav dprciatd in th fratrnity. -Susi Kating Glaspll. Words, "thos fickl daughtrs of th arth" ar th cration of a bing that is finit, and whn applid to xplain that which is infinit, thy fail; for that which is mad surpasss not th makr; nor can that which is immasurabl by our thoughts b masurd by our tongu.s. -Colton. Rad not to contradict"' and confut, nor to bliv and tak for grantd, nor to find talk and discours; but to wigh and considr. -Bacon.

9 Th Dlphic. At th TLirl\ of th Road. Susan Kating Glaspll, '99. ' ~~_,...,, ~~~~,_ HE rain pourd uncompro- ~t~ -~~' misingly down an,d down, 1.\~ T '\~ and th Stat strt crowd 1 ~~ \' swarmd unc::tsingly on. ''~~ Th girl in th watr proof raglan ~.;::;,_ -.:-~ and th small rd turban lookd from th holly-trimmd windows to th bundl-ladn popl swarmir g along outsid thm, and kpt saying to hrslf that it was Christmas tim, and that sh surly was fling vr_y light-hartd and fstiv. Sh trid to smil at th childrn sh saw, and to look contntdly about as though th jollist thing in th world was to b down town in th rain th day bfor Christm::=t.s. But th watr was dripping insid hr collar, and hr hart was taking on somthing of th sogginss of hr ft. Th fling of dsolation was crping so ovrpowringly upon hr that sh thrw back hr had and said to hrslf, "Som day I shall b famous -som day my picturs will b hung in th grc>at gallris of th world, and thn I shall look back to this, and say it was vry funny!' Usual] y that anticipation.of futur triumphs wnt a long way in th mitigation of prsnt discomforts, but today, though sh sa id th words with strn stoutnss, th ida was without its charm. Sh stppd in sid Fild's and sat down on a willow sat. All about hr wr popl-poplpopl, and sh supposd sh was th only on in h whol grat throng to whom Christmas would man nothing at all. Sh must simply count Christmas out this yar -mak it as much as possibl lik othr days. Sh wo uld go down to th Institut arly in th morning and work all day long. Sh might b all alon thr, but that would b instimably prfrabl to a hollow mockry in a drary boarding hous. Sh would not vn go out thr for dinnr. Sh would run in somwhr for th usual bit, and if sh rcognizd CIHtstmas in any form it would b th substitution of a turky sandwich for th convntional ham. Sh saw hrslf sitting in th almost mpty rstaurant; th waitrs lo )king at hr in astonishmn,t to think sh had no plac to at hr Christrnas dinnr. And thn sh thougl1t of last yar's Christmas-0f all th happy Christmass of th past-th big tabl -th laughing crowd~th \vrapping papr and th string thrown about in bautiful holiday disordr Sh ros and startd hurridly toward Michigan. Sh would go back to th Institut, back to th atmosphr of hr work, a nd prhaps thr sh \vould forgd thos Christmass of othr yars-whn sh had not larnd that lonlinss is th pric xactd of ambition. Sh wnt as far as th Library building,

10 160 THE DELPHIC. and thr somthing mad hr stop. Sh could go up to th rading room and find th papr from hom; it would tll hr how hr frinds-who wr not ambitious-wr spnding Christmas, and what sh hrslf would hav don wr not all things with hr subsrvint to th picturs which would on day hang ill th grat gallris of th world. Th hungr in th hart was mor mastring just thn than th logic in hr had, and sh yildd to th impnls. It would modrat th drarinss to s famil iar nams on th printd pag, and to b mad sur that somwhr in th world a Christmas was waiting for hr, if th pic~ turs of th futur would but prmit hrr to go and tak it. Th big room was almost mpty-chica" go had littl tim for th rading of nwspaprs on th day bfor Christmas. Sh walkd down th long aisl toward th alcov whr sh knw 1 h Ds Moins papr was to b fot.l!1d. A man was standing bfor it-a man past middl yars, and h was rading intntly. H lookd up and saw th girl in th wt raglan and rd turban, and saying, "I hav just finishd," pushd th papr toward hr. Sh supposd h wnt away thn, or rathr sh supposd nothing about it. It smd sh vlas in th prsnc of an old and dar frind- a sympathtic, u11drstanding frind. Sh put hr hand down on th wll known pag and rubbd it this w a y and that. It was th p<t pr sh had rad in othr days-th papr which th popl whom s h lovd might b rading vn now. Sh for-. got brutally big Chicago-forgot v.t th picturs of th futur. Th rd turban wnt down into th shltring folds of th papr from hom, and sh bowd without rsrvation undr a long growi ng and all powrful homsicknss. At last sh smd to fl that ~orn on was bsid hr, and sh lookd up to s th man who had givn hr th papr. "Littl girl;" h said, "ar you lonsom?-discouragd? What is it?-can't you go hom for Christmas?'' Th voic was a kind on, and it was a fac which smd to undrstand. It did not occur to hr that h was a strangr. Sh noddd hr had in answr to his ::justion, and rubbd away a nw flood of tars. :'And why. can't you go hom?.;.thy want you, don't thy?" Sh turnd hr tar staind fac to him in astonishmnt. "Want m! "-and th rd turban wnt down again into th sh!~ tring folds, whil th strangr stood thr, quitly, brathing out unspokn ~ympathy. At last sh lookd up, straightnd th turban, and trid to bnd hr wt fac to a smil. "I'm ashamd to b such a baby, but-but it's th first on I vr spnt away from hom, and thr's somthing awful about f ling lon som at Christma s tim." "And now," h askd with gn ti insistnc, "will you tll m why it is you ar not going hom?" Sh Hushd, and thn thrw back hr had. "It's for art. l am studying hr. Lik most of th art studnts, I havn't much mony. What littl I hav I must spnd for my work. My tachrs say I hav a futur, thy say I am going to do mor than any studnt who vr cam hr. I am living for that futur-sacrificing for it. I can not afford to go hom for Christmas.'' fh strangr was looking at hr pculiarly-h.is lips smiling, his ys sad. "And so," h said, musingly, "th world gos on making th sam old mistaks, living ovr th sam old tragdis." Sh turnd to him qustioningly. "Don't you think l am doing right to sacrific for my work? Don't you bliv l will b glad som tim that I livd for othr things than th prsnt?" For a momnt h did not answr, and thn h said, abruptly: "If you will sit down hr by th window I will tll you a littl story." Sh land hr lbows on th ta~l, and lookd across at him. Th grat rading room smd ntirly dsrtd, and th city which thy could s from th window smd vry far away. For a long tim th strangr sat thr looking pircingly into spac. "Thirty yars ago," h said, rcalling himslf at last, "I was standing just whr you ar standing to-day. You hav mad up your mind to gtfam, I had mad up min to gt mony. l grant you that yours is th highr of th two, but that mattrs littl. [ had dtrmin t:>d to do th things I blivd I could do, th things that wr in m, and lik you, I was prpard to sacrific. I did just what you ar planning to do now-cut myslf off ffom my frinds. Wll-th hard yars rolld on, and with thm cam th ralization of my ambition. I am a rich man to-day-butbut som way th world is a rathr lonly plac for m. I cannot hop to mak you s it, but aftr yars of isolation_:_conscration you may call it, if you lik-on loss th capacity for frindship-for ral fllowship. Of cours I hav frinds-businss acquaintancs, popl I know socially, but I hav no strong tis. I cut thos long ago-sacrificd thm-and aftr you hav onc grown a way from thm thy ar not to b had back. Strang isn't it?-but it's vry tru. And som way-my littl frind -th human hart was not mad to fd upon gratifid ambition. Shall I tll you why I am up hr today? I liv in Nw York City now, but I cam out to Chicago on businss. I judg that your hom is in Ds Moins; min was thr, too, onc-it was fr.om Ds Moins I startd out to gt rich. This aftrnoon as I saw th bustl on th strts I ral izd that it was th day bfo r Christmas, and thn it flashd upon m that I was vry nar th on plac in th world that had vr bn a hom to m. THE DELPHIC r6r Somthing of th sam Christmas longing you wr fling cam upon m too-old man th 1t I am. It smd it would b nic to go back thr-to s som old frinds, and to hav a good old-fashion E' d Christmas. Finally I dtrmind to gt hold of a Ds Moins papr, and if I could find th nam of any on prson I thought would rally car to s m I would go out thr and spnd Christmas. Wll-I'v lookd th papr all ovr, and I am going back to Nw York." "Oh, don't do that," crid th girl strtching out an impulsiv hand to him, "thir nams didn't happ"'n to b~ in tojay, thy'll b glad to s you-! know thy will." H shook his had. "It's hopl..)s, don't think I should vn b glad to. s thm I'vE livd byond it. It's too lat for m, but-l'v dtrmind to ask somthing of you." Thy lookd at on anothr stadily for a minut, and thn h put his hand in his pockt and took out a roll of bill~. ''Oil," sh gaspd, pushing back hr chair, "Oh, thank you-no.'' ''My littl frind,''. h said, ''it's just lik this. I'v,.gon ovr th path, and I want to str you th othr way. You'll paint your picturs all right, I'm sur of thatyou som way look that way out of your ys, but I want you to hold on to th othr things too. I'm not a rligious man, crtainly not a suprstitious on, but I can't hlp fling that I was snt h r to find you today. 1 want you to tak this mony and go out and spnd Christmas whr a girl should spnd it-at hom. I' ll at my dinnr on th dining car tomorrow, and whn I go in and sit down at a tabl a ll alon it will mak m almost contntd if I can say to myslf-" That littl art girl's out hom with hr frinds now-sh's h aving th right kind of a Christmas." H had pushd th bills toward hr, and sh was!joking at thm uncrtainly. "!

11 THE DELPHIC know what you think," h con fi!1ud, smilin g, ''I'm a ma n and a strang on, and it sms qur. But somti'ms popl ar thrown togthr in this world in a way convntional ruls don't just fit. - Won't you gratify an old man's whim? I wantd togo myslf, but it was too lat for m, and now I want to snd you. Thy want" you, and somw~y l want to fl that thy ar always going to want~y )U. You ar at th turn of th road now, and if a littl of my poor mony can str you th way happinss lis, why-mayb I havn't quit lost my grip on humanity aftr all. It will plas m to think that at any rat, so you won't rfus to bring a littl brightnss into my dining ca r Christmas, will you?'' Sh rachd out hr hand for th mony, and bfor sh could find voic to thank him h was gon. Sh lookd from th window and saw that th rain had turnd to old-fashiond sn ow. A stor across th strt turnd on th lctric lights just thn, and thr blazd throufh th dusk a hollyclad ''Mrry Christmas.'' <tbritma ~im. Snow on tlz la11s o.f th brown oa/..~ trs, It's Clzristmas tim..it's Christmas tim. A sunst glow wlzr th niglzt wind grivs And tlz solmn churclz b(dls chim. And tndrr than th sonj{s w sing,.holir tlzan tlz gifts 1v bring Ar th common sympatlzis that cling A round.your lzart and min. TlzJ 's a sacrd lmslz in th silvr m/;lzt At C!zristmas tinz whn th moonbams climb Out o.f th jmrpl, dim twilzj;ht Into tlz dramy, mystic shin. Thr is mor o.f lov in th harts o.f mn T!zrough tlzoul:lzts o.f th clzild that was bo~n.for thm Undr th Star o.f Btlzlhm, At th first glad Christmas tim. -Rosa Hndrson.