The Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 46, Ed. 1, Thursday, August 12, 1909 Page: 3 of 11
eleven pages : illus. ; page 10 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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THE VISION
Then unto me came a Vision
Glittering all in dress of sheen
And it spoke so soft so sweetly
That it seemed my thoughts to wean
Far away from pomp and glory
Far fiom aught impure and mean
Spoke the Vision Oh so softly
Whats the good of pomp and strife
If the person who is thus striving
Leads a most unhappy life
Dont you thinktwould be better far
If we leave thvj pomp alone
And instead of pushing striving
Let each come into his own
So the Vision softly sighing
Vanished as a beam of light
And I sat there dreaming gazing
Through the darkness of the night
Is it thus comes our awakening
Through a Vision sent to warn
And to guide vis on our journey
Through the darkness to the dawn
If so then I do beseech Thee
Send us all this Vision bright
Leading us from glory seeking
To cue paths of peace and light
Maude Goldberg
AM I A COWARD
By Edith Leidenfeld
She was not a miserably clad child
and the day was not bitter and chill
but the sight of her crouched miser-
ably face hidden on the Froebel
school steps awoke all the tenderness
in Naomi Levines heart She ran
quickly up the walk leading to the
building Sitting down on the steps
Naomi lifted the little girls face She
gave a cry of astonishment for the
child was the petted daughter of one
of the few Jewish families of the little
Uppev Michigan town
Why Anita Well whats the
trouble Her tone and attitude were
so tender that a paserby solilo-
quized All good women love little
children
Oh Miss Naomi Im so glad its
HOUSTON TEXAS AUGUST 12 1909
you Im so ashamed to cry here but
1 had tu I coucouldnt wait another
miminute And her tears burst
toith afresh
After much coaxing and persever-
ance Naomi learned that the school-
children having discovered that Ani
tas brother Julian had paid a sub-
stitute to take his place in the army
had been taunting the child unmerci-
fully for days Coward and sneak
were among the epithets bestowed
upon Anita Jher immediate Ifamily
and all Jews in general A tempest of
wrath and sorrow shook Naomi but
she led the child out of the school-
yard and with the selfcontrol born
of ages soothed her sorrow as best
she could
Naomi knew that Julian Weil had
put his duty to his mother and father-
less little sisters before his duty to
his country A more ablebodied man
with no family whatever had taken
his place
Dont mention this at home Ani-
ta for your mother and brother have
enough to beai Your brother loves
his country just as much as you and
I and everyone else does but he is
wise enough to know where he is
most needed And I want you to re-
member Anita a little girl of ten is
old enough to understand that it
takes just as much courage to bear
the blame which Julian is bearing as
it doesto fight for ones country So
the next time the children torment
you just remember that they dont
understand the matter and see if that
wont help you Show them that
were not cowaido
They were now in front of Anitas
home but Naomi had no time to pay
a visit She received a bearish hug
from Anita left a couiteous greeting
for Mrs Weil and walked rapidly
away
When Anita entered the school-
room the next morning an ominous
hush greeted her Miss McCarthy
WJJf W U
TTTirqiKgqzFxirvwirx
THE JEWISH HERALD
the teachor vas not preseent andlt
was well she was not for her quart
bottle of specially prepared ink
which she treasured as the apple of
her eye lay bioken on the floor
Thick black streams of it were
spreading in all directions
Anitas face paied Who did it
She whispered Gracie Gracie
came the answering whispers Gracie
Bell the smallest yet the most spite-
ful child in the room cowered in her
seat almost paralyzed with fear
A moment later Miss McCarthy en-
tered When she saw the pool of ink
her tall angular figure stiffened her
mouth became hard line and her
black eyes flashed Without a word
the teacher marched to the desk and
picked up a heavy ruler She cross
examined each frightened pupil in
turn The replies were confused arid
incoherent Miss McCarthys face
grew blacker Gracie Bell moaned
slightly One two three then her
turn would come Anita Weil watched
the little face Was it only yesterady
those parched little lips had sneered
Afraid of a gun for shame She
was so little and the ruler was so
heavy Oh why did she do it
thought Anita Then Naomis words
flashed into her mind Show them
that youre not a coward Shft
glanced once more at the piteous lit
the face and then said clearly Miss
McCarthy I did it
A cloud gathered before Anitas
eyes She could not comprehend the
teachers harsh words But a sting-
ing pain revived her She winced un-
der a second blow Oh the shame
of it A third blow then a fourth
The little hand was bleeding Not a
sound escaped her lips Five sixc
seven it was over
Anitas lips were twisted with pain
but her words were quite distinct
Her face illumined as she asked gaz-
ing at the awed faces before her
Toll me am I a coward Jewish
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Goldberg, E. The Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 46, Ed. 1, Thursday, August 12, 1909, newspaper, August 12, 1909; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth84781/m1/3/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .