Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear: Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks — John Shaqi
Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear: Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored ChalksGriswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph)
Religion
Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear: Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks
Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph)
Chalk-talks; Moral education; Religious education
"I am going to draw first an outline portrait of George Washington,
copied from the profile crayon sketch of St. Memin. [Draw Fig. 45,
complete, being careful, in moving the crayon from one sheet to the
other, not to tear the outer sheet.] This view shows plainly the style
of wig and military clothing of a gentleman of the revolutionary days,
and, as we look at it we note what a difference there is between this
and the dress of the men of today. Do we also feel that there is a
great difference between the men of colonial days and the present
time--the same difference in character that there is in dress? If
this thought has come to us, we have also asked ourselves, perhaps,
this strange question, 'What kind of a man would George Washington be
if he were living at the present time?'
"Of course, if he had not performed his great work in helping to shape
the destiny of our nation, it is probable that America would have had
a vastly different history. We will assume, however, that Washington
were a product of the present day and that the present conditions
prevailed. What, then, would Washington be like? How would he act?
What would he do?
"Perhaps we can best transplant him to our day by dressing him in the
clothing of the man of the present. [Slowly fold back the outer sheet,
so the audience may see that you have already drawn on the under sheet
a portion of the second "scene"--the most important part, in fact. As
you continue the talk, add lines to complete Fig. 46.] In the first
place, Washington, with his abundance of natural hair, would not wear
a wig just for style, so we will draw his head as we think it would
appear naturally. Nor would he wear the colonial style of clothing, so
we will substitute the coat, collar and tie of an American gentleman
of today. And here we have Washington as he would look if he lived in
our own time.
[Illustration: Fig. 46]
"I do not believe Washington would be a military leader in this latter
day. He was essentially a man of peace, and everywhere in his writings
we find expressed a longing to return after the strife of battle and
the weary days in the presidential chair, to his quiet, beloved Mount
Vernon, to carry on his extensive private business and enjoy his
friends and the sweets of home life.
"But we cannot doubt that he would be a great leader in the struggle
for right against wrong in every form. From his childhood, he loved
truth and honesty. He was a deep and careful student. He worked hard
at his duties as a surveyor of the wilderness and then came the call
from Governor Dinwiddie to carry a message to the French over hundreds
of miles of unknown land, in the dead of winter. It was the most
perilous undertaking ever entrusted to any man in the new land of
America up to that time, but he met the task manfully. It was such
victories as these in his youth that made him the Father of His
Country. It is the meeting of our own problems in the same spirit that
means our own success in life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account