Life — August 16, 1900 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘RIPE Elegy in a Country Parlor. PHE cuckoo clock proclaims the knell of day, And mother goes, astute and tactful, she. Then father bedward wends his weary way, And leaves the girl to darkness and to me! Hayden Carruth, ‘Ww at will be the future condition of the United States of America in its governmental, social, political, domestic, artistic, literary, sporting, religious or other aspects, as a result of the election of either Republican or Democratic candidate? For the best reply to this question from either point of view, Lire will give A Prize of One Hundred and Fifty Dollars in Gold, seventy-five dollars in gold to the second best, and twenty-five dollars in gold to the third best. Conditions. All manuscripts should be addressed to the Editor of Live, 19 West 31st Street, New York. ‘The competition Is open to regular subscribers for Live only, All new subscribers will be Included. Competitors must limit their arguments to four hundred words each. The manuscripts should, where possible, be typewritten, on one side only of the paper. ‘The winning argument will be printed, together with such others as may seem to Live worthy of that honor. Names and addresses of the writers should accompany all manuscripts, In no case will these be printed without the permission of the sender. ‘Those who desire their manuscripts returned should enclose a stamped and addressed return envelope. Otherwise all unavailable manuscripts will be destroyed. Each manuscript may bear @ pseudonym, which will be priuted with the argument. ‘The Editors of Live are to be the sole Judges of the merits of the argu ments. As @ gulde to competitors, however, it may be stated that th arguments will be Judged by three standards, in the following order : 1, Humor. 2. Originality, 3 Literary Merit. The date on which the contest will close will be announced later A. BOY who was not yet five years old was very nanght; oneday. The mother of the lad was in great distress, and, though it was his first venal sin, she felt it her duty to reprimand him severely. Finally, after a long and serious talk, she told him that she would have to punish him in some way, but that she would need toconsider just how until the following morning. Then she talked to him of God, and finally said that God would punish him, too ; that she did not know how, but that the punishment would surely come. After a few moments of silence, the lad, with a twinkle in his eye and a soothing, conciliatory tone in his voice, said : “Plt tell you what to do, mamma. Never you mind any- thing about the punishment, but leave it al? to God.” “Tact Beats Talent.” A CERTAIN friend of ours is in the habit of asserting that “Tact beats talent.” Now a missionary without tact is like a soldier without courage, and both would better stay at home. But the missionary, with or without tact, goes gaily forth among the heathen. He may be cut up cold and served in sections or roasted whole at a barbecue—it matters little to him. Others equally enthusiastic are ever ready to take his place. * The other day, in Boston, the Reverend Dr. E. E. Strong, editor of The Missionary Herald of the American Board, said: Let no Chriatian for a moment entertain the thought that the Church of Christ ls to withdraw from mission work in China because ot the rebellion within theemplre, That would be pusillanimons, Indeed. Such a thonght, we are persuaded, would be not eutertatned for a moment by any one of our missionaries in China. Now there is one fact painfully clear to all the world— except to missionaries: that is, that ho—the missionary—is not desired in China. But the pleasure of jamming his religion down the throat of somebody who does not want it is a delight too keen to be abandoned. Let us be tolerant with the victim, the helpless heathen. And when the victim, goaded to desperation by the verbose and tactless missionary, becomes wild and murderous, let us consider our own probable behavior under similar conditions. Per- haps the missionary is yet more deserving of our sympathy, as he is in a business demanding the greatest tact, while tho fact of his being in that business is strong evidence against his possession of the article. Reasonable. THE FATHER: Look here, my boy, you told me you would need only five hundred dollars for your college term, and now you want five hundred dollars more, Tue Son: But this is for the things I don’t need. . A CANDIDATE.