Samuel Adjai Crowther, an African slave-boy who became a bishop,
delighted to tell to his children the story of how he put on his first
shoes. In “The Black Bishop” Jesse Page gives the story in the bishop’s
own words. Four of the pupils in the missionary’s school had been
promoted to the position of monitors. This was at Fourah Bay College,
under Rev. Charles Haensel:
To give effect to our position, we were allowed to wear shoes.
Strong, stout shoes, with very thick soles, were procured and
given to us; they were called “Blucher shoes.”
On a Saturday afternoon we were called, received a pair each,
and were told to wear them every Sunday to church at St.
George’s Cathedral, a distance of about three miles.
Never having had shoes on before, we began practising in our
dormitory that evening. None of us could move a step after
lacing up on our feet the unwieldy articles, and consequently we
were objects of laughter to our pupils.
An idea struck me which I at once put into execution. Crawling
to a corner of the room, I first knelt down, then holding on
to the wall for support, I stood up, and still being supported
by the wall, I stept round the room many times, the others
following my example, till we were able to leave the wall, stand
alone, or move about without support.
You can well imagine what a burden this was to us, and after
losing sight of the college, we sat on the grass, took off
the shoes, walked barefoot, and put them on only at the porch
of the church. We did the same on returning to college. After
some months’ practise we were able to move better in them, but
complained how they hurt our feet, and would rather be without
them. But after some months we invested in the purchase of
boots ourselves, and were always careful to buy those that made
noise and creaked as we walked, to our great delight and the
admiration of our pupils.--_The Youth’s Companion._
(1336)
* * * * *
Helen M. Winslow declares that it was her intention from
childhood to become a writer, and that she early obtained a
position on the staff of a city newspaper. During a period
covering several years she had charge of twenty-eight columns
a week, on three papers, all of which she filled without help
from subordinates. She worked eight hours a day in a dark,
dingy office, and six more in her “den” at home every night,
going to theaters from twice to five times a week, and working
all day Sunday to bring up the ends. She edited news-columns,
fashion, health, dramatic, hotel, book-review, railroad,
bicycle, fancy-work, kitchen, woman’s club, society, palmistry
and correspondence departments, and withal kept up an editorial
column for eight years. Then she started a journal of her own.
She worked like a slave for seven years more, wrote articles,
editorials, read manuscripts and books, kept up an enormous
correspondence, solicited most of her advertisements, and went
to the printing-office every issue to attend personally to the
details of “make-up” and proof-reading.
“But you have had your day,” a younger woman said to her, “why
grumble now?” “Because it was not the day I wanted, and I only
meant to make it the stepping-stone to something better. I did
not want to be a newspaper woman and nothing more; and now that
I have leisure for something more, I find my mental faculties,
instead of being sharpened for further use, dulled. I have done
desultory work so long I can not take up anything more thorough.
I have been a ‘hack’ too many years. I can not be a race-horse
now.” (Text.)
(1337)
=Hair-splitting=--See WORD-JUGGLING.
=Hand, Use of Right=--See TRADITION.
=Handicap of Ill Health=--See BODY, MASTERING THE.