Such a volume will lend itself readily to programs for Southern evenings in schools and colleges, in women's clubs, and in literary societies. Our Northern friends who desire a genuine bit of the old South will here find it; while those of our own number who wish to keep in vital touch with the past and to hear its living voices, will find in this little book a faithful guide into the land of Southern yesterdays, a truthful interpreter of its ideals, and a sweet minstrel of its memories.

December 1, 1916.

PRIZE ESSAY:

THE ADVANTAGES OF
MATHEMATICAL STUDIES.

[Written during the author's junior year at the University of Georgia.]

It does not require always an intimate knowledge of a subject to qualify one to form an estimate of its benefits. If such were indeed the case I could never be induced to give expression to my ideas on the advantages of mathematical studies. If there is anything in which I am hopelessly deficient it is a knowledge of the intricate mazes of mathematics. On various occasions and ofttimes to my discomfiture I have been experimentally convinced of this fact.

Nevertheless I am not in any sense unmindful of the value to the world of this foremost and grandest of the sciences. For, while it is true that I cannot appreciate the so-called beauties of Calculus nor find delight in the abstruse problems of Analytical Geometry, it does not follow that I am lacking in regard for the grand division to which they belong. I have ever felt for the science of mathematics the profoundest reverence, a feeling somewhat akin to the awe with which the traveler is inspired when he gazes upon the majestic height of some towering peak. For the men of genius who have consecrated their lives to its study, I entertain the highest veneration. In my opinion, their usefulness as factors in the civilization of mankind at least equals if it does not transcend that of the statesman, for

they toil at the base of the pyramid and lay the broad foundations upon which the masonry of thought is reared.

The science of mathematics is as old as the human race. Indeed its principles preceded the creation of man and sprang into existence when the divine Creator first gave shape and substance to our planet and studded the firmament with stars. The discovery of these principles, their grouping into systematic order and their application to the arts of human life, have engrossed the thought of the philosopher in every age. Slowly from year to year, by gradual accretion and by ceaseless effort, have its grand laws been evolved and today, though an exact science, in some of its departments, perfect in many of its demonstrations, the science of mathematics, viewed with respect to its ultimate possibilities, is as incomplete as it was in days of Aristotle.

But, notwithstanding its incompleteness, there is no science which occupies so broad a range. It is fundamental to all the mechanical and industrial arts. It is the basic principle of all harmony and it speaks in every voice of music. It is the mother of architecture, of sculpture, of poetry and of painting. It even enters into the petty details of daily living. There is not an hour of our conscious existence, not an expenditure of effort nor an exercise of thought, which does not involve the application of some mathematical principle and which does not relate itself to the colossal science which governs the whole universe of God.

It matters not which way be turn, we encounter the expression of some one of its laws. We find them alike in the simple outlines of the humblest minister and in the dew-drop which rounds itself upon the leaf. We find them in the rainbow which spans the heavens and in the dew-drop which rounds itself out upon the leaf. We find them in the ponderous globes which rotate through the infinitude of space, and in the smallest particles of dust which glitter in a sunbeam. We find them alike in the ⚫ infinitesimal and in the infinite. In fact, nearly every object presented to our sight, whether framed by the

ingenuity of man or created by the wisdom of Providence bears some relation to the science of mathematics.

But we are not to discuss this subject in its deep profundities. It will answer a more practical purpose, if we seek to apply it to the daily wants of the individual. In the first place, then, we derive from mathematical studies a discipline which we can nowhere else obtain. It even surpasses the boasted culture of the classics, when it comes to developing the latent powers of intellect. We may not possess the least taste or talent for figures and, perhaps, after long and tiresome study, we may not in the end retain a single principle. But, for all this failure to assimilate, our time has not been wasted nor our energies misemployed. The process of reasoning, through which we have passed, in the study of mathematics has imparted to our minds the power, not only of grasping ideas with readiness but of expressing our own with clearness and precision.

Another benefit which we derived from the study of mathematics is one of self protection. The world in which we live is full of charlatans. Every trade has its tricksters. It may savor of pessimism perhaps to make such a statement, but there are few men who are proof against the wiles of the tempter. The architect or the carpenter or the tradesman, if he thinks he can do so unobserved, will seldom fail to take advantage of the opening to turn an extra dollar. The shrewd accountant if aware of his employer's lack of early training, is often tempted to extract money from the drawer and to deceive his uneducated eye with apparently correct balance sheets. The man who has been schooled in the study of mathematics is not apt to be thus duped. He does not fall an easy prey to such designing rascals. If he wishes to erect a house, he can make his own calculations, he can keep an eye upon every bill which he pays, and he is more than apt to bring the cost within the estimated limit. If he happens to be a merchant, he can inspect his books; and so, in various ways, he can make his knowledge subservient to his interest.

To the lawyer, especially, a knowledge of mathematics is of paramount importance. He may possess all the other

qualities necessary to success, but without the power for mathematical reasoning he is out of touch with the commercial age in which he lives. His eloquence may possess the charm of a Cicero's, his fancy rival the immortal Homer's, but without the power for combining and harmonizing his facts with mathematical precision, without the discipline which this one study gives to the faculty for argument, he cannot hope to sway a jury or convince a judge in any court where reason holds its sway. To plead successfully before the modern bar, this power must not be lacking.

It has often been observed that the present is a practical age. Its inventions and discoveries easily surpass those of any previous era. But what are those inventions and discoveries but the crystalized forms of mathematical thought-the fruits, so to speak, of applied mathematics? We have accomplished much, but the noontide hour of Science is yet to come. The sun is still on the horizon. In the vast store house of God's creation, there is ample material with which to work. Heat, Light, Electricity-these have not yet been exhausted. Each is full of unplumbed possibilities. Perhaps embosomed in the coming century there are triumphs of achievement to which nothing in the present century can hold a taper. What part in these future conquests is mathematics to play? The question clearly suggests its own answer.

Press forward, then, thou grandest of the sciences, toward the completion of thy divine mission. In its last analysis, it is the province of mathematics to uplift mankind. Nay more, to unbare the mysteries which underlie creation to reveal man's origin and destiny-to assert eternal Providence and, in the end, to justify the ways of God to man. Speed on the glorious day, whose faint dawn is now glimmering in the east-that day before whose kindling beams all skepticism, doubt and unbelief will vanish, and in whose noontide radiance the eternal government of God will be universally acknowledged and approved.

AN OPEN LETTER: BUILD A MEMORIAL TO

UNCLE REMUS.

[This letter, which appeared in the Atlanta Journal, on July 6, 1908, contained the first suggestion of a memorial to Mr. Harris. Though a monument was not built, his home in West End was purchased by the public. The chairman of the committee was Mrs. A. McD. Wilson. Over the grave of Mr. Harris, the family has placed a handsome boulder of granite, rough hewn.]

Mr. Editor: Not long ago, in the city of London, I visited the quaint old burial ground in which stands the simple monument which the children of two hemispheres have erected over the dust of Daniel Defoe. It contains no delicate or elaborate carvings of the chisel. It is simply an unpretentious shaft of plain white marble. But to me it was the most exquisite of memorials because it embodied the spontaneous tribute of the world's childhood to the creator of Robinson Crusoe.

Yesterday afternoon, when I saw the hundreds of sorrowful little children who lined the streets of West End and sprinkled the path of the funeral cortege with summer flowers, my thoughts flew back to the old cemetery on the banks of the Thames.

What an appropriate tribute it would be for the children of America to rear such another shaft to Uncle Remus!

If all the little people who have reveled in the marvelous exploits of Brer Rabbit and have carried lighter and happier hearts to bed because of the golden legends of this prince of story-writers were only to contribute the merest mite of money, the shaft would not only be erected before another year expired, but when completed it would overtop the tallest pine on the peaks of the Alleghanies.

Then add to this fund the contributions of the grayhaired grown-ups whose trundle bed dreams in childhood days have been lit with the stories of the old plantation!

What impressed me even more than the wealth of flowers in which Mr. Harris' casket was submerged on Sunday afternoon were the crystal tokens of affection which glistened upon the eyelids of his little friends. No sweeter tribute was ever paid to king or conqueror. Some deplored the terrific downpour of rain; but to me it seemed that the floodgates were swollen by the grief of little hearts and