THE h E S 1' E Rl A N
m t.
m i
lii
1
ed a sti'oam of tobacco juice at the stove
and began his story.
"After meetm1 last night, I talked a
piece with Brother Smith and loft him
grist opposite the court house. When I
wuz about a block from home, it -seemed
ito grow lighter all about me. I looked
Tip and seen something a-going through
the air ahout two xhousand feet ahove
me. It "wuz oyer a hundred feet long and
ihad three big -wings on each side. There
wuz a large headlight in front and I heard
a strange -whizzing sound. I started hack
to tell Brother Smith and "when looked
up agin, the thing wuz gone."
A suppressed titter -which abruptly
changed to a smothered cough was heard
from the edge of the group. A hoy left
the store, slamming the doorbehind him
The (Deacon paused, gazed into the faces
of his "breathless listeners, took .a Hong
breath and continued his -story.
Gtcojjge W. Kjunras.
"Sour Skatcli Book Where Tslt?
'Tiru Heki'hkian is always ready to give
fflhe glad -hand to our young -writers of
IP rose and -verse. This year, we have
watched closely the -work dn English,
ranging from Daily Themes to that done
Ibj ttihe Freshmen ; and from timeto Mine,
we ihave been glad to reproduce -any.tlhing
weithought characteristic and -of' gen
eral 'interest.
Webave often been disappointedtofind
Uhatsorueot' us who can eerUluly think
wor-th while when we try are satisfied to
stultify ourselves by writing themes or
verse, simply to guin credit, a standard
which would shame an intolligeut.distnct
school child.
Again, it is certainly remarkable how
-so many of us think the same noughts
on itihe same su'bjjoats and express itihem
in the Brume phraseology at the same
time.
With the past era of our groat western
life scarcely closed to us and with tlin
vast resources of our New West open
before us like a vast encyclopedia of all
things new, we content ourselves to road
the mediocre and conventional which lie
under our feet.
Whether this discouraging sameness is
due to so much heterogeneous absorbtioii
of magazine ideas and newspaper rot or
whether we are placed by our college
work upon such a common level that our
thinking material is of a hopelely mo
notonous color, it is very difficult to
determine; hut there nmst be some rea
son for our lack of originality in our
spasmodic attempts to 'be nierm-u.
fDoes not the greater part of it uriw
from alack of definite purpose to devel
op our most characteristic de-uv-s i"
express ourselves?
Can we expect to give off durimr the
school year something dirom our munis
which has been crowded iiwto narrow
corners by the grind of f'ix-day-m-t he
week or which, perchance, we have not
stored in them?
'Why not carry a sketch -bnok home
with you and come back next fall loulel
with some thoughtsof your own f'r yur
next year's work in UDnglisM lrjll your
boo'ks with your happiest rtihougliK make
character studies, work fin some charac
teristic colors, and skotdh some pl'lI1K
for next winter's themes. You will he
surprised to find how much buiti-r you
can plan when you -are not under thrt
pressure of three or four professors; and
you will find the work is -more recreative
than lying in a hammock or mooning.
'Do this well, and you will be your own
best friend.; your English instructor
won't have their enthusiasm so sorely
ttried.; the.livesof the theme-reader wHl
'be imoreeuduriible; and Tir.EltaJ'EitiAN
pages will always reflect pictures that
will "bo a credit to allof us concerned.
J'JuiPt foi'ljat lntir til.'i'irh Jiouk.
' The Liu'BiiAity EwT'Ht
