Voices; Birth-Marks; The Man and the Elephant Part 5

The fisher boats of Bethsaida, manned by forceful men, Pinnaces of Herod, patrols of the Roman nation, Glided over the limpid sea, or rode at their station; While near the vine-clad villas, moored to wave-kissed wall, Cus.h.i.+oned craft rocked sleepily, waiting twilight's call.

IV.

To Capernaum, one day, came a man whose face was sad; They should have cried Hosanna! but her people were not glad.

A few thrilled with gladness and asked: Who might be he?

Wise blind, among them, answered: "Why, a carpenter, he;"

And their evil spirits trembled, while gladness lit the sea.

V.

With eyes of gladness, He beheld shepherds guarding the flocks; Husbandmen hedging tender vines about with walls of rocks; And workmen toiling mightily to harvest the ripe grain.

With eyes of sadness, He saw man, whom G.o.d had made master, Unprotected; straying, shepherdless, courting disaster.

VI.

The father whispered: "The hour is here, shepherd my sheep; The wage for atonement." So He gave the call: "Do not weep; I come to offer the bread of life to the hungry soul; To open the eyes of the blind; to make the broken whole."

Did his own receive Him? They crowded Him into a boat.

VII.

From this floating altar, He spoke to them of the sower: "Behold, there went out a sower to sow; it came to pa.s.s;"

And other parables; until twilight, dispersed the ma.s.s.

Then His message delivered and the day's work done at last, Said to His disciples: "Let us pa.s.s to the other side."

VIII.

Following after, "there were with Him other little boats;"

Bearing those minded to receive him, having heard His call.

The Master slept, cradled on the bosom of His own sea.

His deep serenity was not troubled. Why should it be?

He had spent the day healing; and tendering life to all.

IX.

Mid-way a storm arose and whipped the sea to anger.

His disciples watching the wild, wind-lashed waves pile high, Were frightened. Thinking the boat sinking, began to cry: "Master, carest thou not that we perish? The boat will fill!"

And he arose, rebuked the wind, saying: "Peace be still."

X.

They wondered at the calm. The wind knew the voice of G.o.d.

They had not said: "O Master! save the other little boats!

The men following us are in distress! We are with Thee.

There is no one with them who can still tempest and sea!"

And the Master wept, knowing His own received Him not.

A Genealogy.

Fancy, fairest of the fairies, Wedded Light, first of creation.

Unto them was born a daughter, Hope, most graceful of earth's creatures.

Vision, traveling from earth to heaven, Saw her flitting in high places; Charmed by her face and figure, Boldly made her his prisoner.

When he found all dreams were of her, And his thoughts clung close about her, Fearful now that he might lose her, To increase the ties that bound her, Gave her Love and thus he held her.

Thus was born earth's fairest daughter; Eldest child, and the most tender; Who brought with her of G.o.d's treasure, Service in unending measure.

This was given unto Adam, As he slept in peaceful Eden.

To them came a second daughter, Of mystic, immobile figure, Who never strayed from her way, Nor wavered in her purpose.

'Twas Faith, invisible virgin; Pure priestess of Immortality.

The incense from her altar fires, Bears man's prayers to infinity.

Next unto them was born Reason, Skeptical chemist, who would test.

All pearls in mind's muddy acid; And if found unsoluble bury them, Wrapped in the shroud of denial.

Reason wandering in the dark, Met Caution, a sombre maiden; To them was given a son, Doubt; Dark visaged and night loving; Shadow to himself and others; Blind leader of the nearly blind.

Hope saddened by a first shadow, Sought relief in fair Tomorrow, Land of Suns.h.i.+ne, Realm of Gladness; And there found Truth, dwelling sublime, In isolation, on a mountain.

"Come unto man's world, brightest jewel; Cure earth's sadness, dispel darkness; Bring light to Vision, end Doubt's mission, Demonstrate Reason, cure sick Faith."

Truth, unarrayed, unafraid, came; First beseeching from Infinity A kindly monitor for man.

"Give to man's soul to know the right."

"Thou goest, and thou art the right."

"But Darkness, Doubt and Reason, Hedge him about. What shall be done, To keep his soul from strangulation?"

"I have given Vision, Hope and Faith; And Truth when found will make him free."

"He needs more; Darkness and the Devil, Have entered thy fair garden."

"Take then, and bear to him, O Truth, The flame-like, still, small voice, Conscience."

The first month Jeannette resumed teaching was the stormiest; the children tried her out; she came through victorious, her supremacy established. By the end of the third month all the children loved her; and then things ran along so smoothly that she described her life to Mrs. Allen as: "so contemplative and uneventful as to make the social dissipations you promise an inducement; a year's shopping, of clothing, stationery, a typewriter and books, makes the visit almost necessary; and then I shall see you and Judge Allen, that makes it most attractive."

During the year her school had slowly grown until it ranked as the best country school in the county. The children had been transformed in appearance and disposition, until the neighborhood noticed the change, and people would say, "there goes one of Jeannette's children."

In the spring of 1922 one of the young men who had graduated in Jeannette's cla.s.s came to Hyden. He made inquiry and found out that she was earning fifty dollars a month teaching a small school on Big Creek.

He then called upon the county superintendent and the county judge and informed them that a year or so before she had refused a position in the State University that paid more than three times the salary she was receiving; giving as the reason, that her duty was to her own people.

This information, with the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs that gossip added, made Jeannette a heroine locally. It was suggested that they should elect her county school superintendent; but the man who wanted the office called their attention to the fact that the statute declared the inc.u.mbent must be twenty-four years of age. Then she was suggested as a candidate for several other county offices by the local newspaper, "The Thousand Sticks;" but when interviewed, declined with thanks.

Then at a meeting of the school board she was elected princ.i.p.al of the Hyden public school. When the place was tendered she asked until August first, to answer; and the board agreed to keep the place open for her.

Jeannette's school in 1922 closed on the twenty-third of June. She was in the habit of visiting the Allens each year at the beginning of her vacation, but Mrs. Allen's health being poor they had gone to the sea sh.o.r.e for a couple of months and did not expect to return until the last of July. They had written asking her to join them, but this she declined to do, saying: "I will defer my visit until you return, probably coming to Lexington the middle of August, unless I can be of real service by helping you."

About the first of July, Simeon Blair informed her that his cousin Sandy Blair was coming to spend a few days with him. There was plenty of room as she had built a wing of two rooms, which she occupied as a study and bed room.

Although she had never liked Sandy, she could not object. She looked upon his visit as of little importance; though she was sufficiently interested to inquire as to what he had been doing since he had joined the army in 1917. Simeon replied: "Sandy was in Germany three years. He came back last January and was sent to Mexico. I asked him but he did not say what he was doing, except that he had quit the army. I guess he has been dancing and frolicing around with them Mexican senorinas. You know how he loves to dance and fiddle. He's a big fellow. He hasn't been working much. There are no corns on his hands; they are almost as soft as yours, Miss Jeannette. I saw him yesterday at the mouth of Big Creek.

He don't gab as much as he used to."

When Mrs. Blair blew the horn for supper, Jeannette came in from the Big Rock, where she had been reading. The others were already at the table; and as she entered the room, a tall, broad shouldered, red headed man, dressed in blue overalls, a hickory s.h.i.+rt and laced army boots rose up and came forward to meet her. She saw it was Sandy and was surprised that he rose to greet her and did not resume his seat until she was first seated. He also called her Miss Litman, instead of Jeannette, as he had always done.

She watched him during the meal. He had little to say; did not eat with his knife or drink his coffee from the saucer as he used to do. All his clothing except his boots appeared to be new. After watching a while, she thought: "the same old Sandy; nothing worries him; he has a pleasant, intelligent face and he certainly is good looking; but his hands are too white and soft for a working man's. I guess he will marry some poor woman who will work herself to death supporting his family, while he fiddles and dances through life."

After supper, Simeon asked him to play. She noticed that his violin was of German make and evidently a fine instrument. He played "Turkey in the Straw," "The Arkansaw Traveler" and such other local dance music as had been played when her granny was a girl. He did it so well that she was satisfied with training he would make an accomplished musician.

She got out her own violin, an inferior instrument, with the idea of giving him a lesson; first showing him how to hold the bow properly. For some cause he could not get his fingers just right until she placed them. Then they played together. He made many mistakes; but her teaching had made her very patient. They sat up until eleven o'clock, which was a late hour for that household, because they arose at daylight, about four o'clock at that season; when Jeannette said: "I must go to bed; you have had enough instruction for one lesson."