Heimskringla - 27.11.1940, Blaðsíða 2

2. SÍÐA
HEIMSKRINGLA
WINNIPEG, 27. NÓV. 1940
FYRIR OFAN
XV.
Heima’ ertu spámaður haldinn,
Hetja, örn eða ljón,
í öllum öðrum löndum
Ekkert nema flón.
Heima heitir þú Feuhrer,
En hérna í Riverton
Heitir þú ekki Hitler,
Heldur T. Carson.
XVI.
Frá húsinu læknirinn heyrði,
Sem hugði hann konunnar óp;
í brunandi bílnum ei eirði,
Hann bylti sér út úr og — hljóp.
Hann hélt að sín hjálp kæmi fyrri,
Ef hlypi’ hann en sæti ekki kyr,
Án lyfjanna lífsaflið þyrri, —
Og loks nam hann staðar við dyr.
Þeim herlækni, hertum í eldi,
Gekst hugur við þessi kvein,
Var lífdagur kominn að kveldi?
Var kristileg hjálp of sein?
Hann lauk upp og leit inn á pallinn,
Um leið honum undrunar fékk,
Að það var ei konan en karlinn,
Sem kveinandi lá þar á bekk.
XVII.
Einn háskóla Indíáni
Svo iðinn við námið var
Og lika svo lítill bjáni,
Að langt hann af öðrum bar.
Af hrifni menn hljóða setti
Við hitt, sem var meira vert,
Hve langt hann gat kastað hnetti,
Úr keppinaut lítið gert.
Sem helköttur hann var talinn
Sá helzti og mesti um flest,
Og þess vegna þófti hann valinn
1 þjónustu drottins bezt.
Því var að hann guðfræði gleypti,
Eins greitt og hann las hana á bók,
Og loks í sig hörku hleypti
Og heilaga vígslu tók.
Svo gæti’ hann á guðsvegum hlaupið
Sem geystast og unið því meir,
Þeir færðu’ honum fyrirfram kaupið
Með farar og nauðsynja eyr’.
Og fresskottinn fræga og rauða
f frakkann sínn klæddu þeir nú
Og út meðal svartra sauða
Þeir sendu hann að boða trú.
I bréfum hann bara’ að þeim lagði
Sér bacon að senda og pork.
Þeir undruðust, aldrei hann sagði
Eitt orð um the gloiius work.
Svo heyrðu þeir ekkert af honum,
En hvaðan? Það enginn veit.
Er brugðið var beztu vonum,
Þá byrjaði dauða leit. —
Þeir fundu’ hann í fögrum lundi
Við fordyri’ á næfra hrauk;
Við eldinn sinn litla hann undi
Og ilminn sem til hans rauk.
Þar sat hann á sínum botni
—En sízt af ótta við vönd;
Ei þreyttist að þjóna drotni
Með því að steikja önd.
—Hann vildi ekki endur veiða,
Sem var ekki matur í—
Hann hafði sér gleymt að greiða
Eða gefist upp á því.
I t
Hann þóttist ei þá vera búinn
Að þvo sér, og má það ske,
En forugur, rifinn og fúinn
Hékk frakkinn hans uppi í tré.
Hvort hægt væri hann að laga
Víst hefir enginn spurt,
Því klaufin náði upp að kraga,
En kraginn var allur burt.
Og þá er nú þess að geta,
Sem þar fyrir augu bar,
Er átti að fai;a að éta
Þá önd sem til matar var.
Á heilagri kirkju og kerlu
Hann, klerkurinn, hafði skift,
Og sig þeirri svanna perlu
Hann sjálfur hafði gift.
GARÐ 0G NEÐAN
XVIII.
Það skeði á skátamóti
I skógi við farinn veg,
Að sátum við saman að drykkju
Sigtryggur Bríem og eg.
XXIII.
Á ensku — ei annari tungu
Þó altaf stundi þeir nám—
'Segja þeir hugsanir sínar
Sannlega í orðum fám.
Að tala móðurmálið
Er mönnunum ekki fært;
Þeir mundu gera það glaðir
Gætu þeir aðeins lært.
En samt eru svörtu skýin
Sólarmegin björt:
Til góðs þeim ei gaf að skilja
Mitt gems sem nú fellur ört.
Guttormur J. Guttormsson
Eg valdi það laufskógarleyni,
Því löngum hefi eg þótt
Vandur að virðingu minni
Og var um það sem er ljótt.
Eg gerðist nú hýr, en gáður
Þess gætti að hafa lágt.
Er Sigtryggur tók og syngja,
Þá setti að mér hjartaslátt.
Æ, Sigtryggur, Sigtryggur góði,
Eg sagði, ef elskar þú mig,
Þá hættu, hættu að syngja,
Af hlífð við sjálfan þig.
Annars er hætt við menn ætli
Einhver f jandinn sé hér
Að kvelja lífið úr ketti,
Kálfi, svíni eða þér.
»
En Sigtryggur söng því hærra;
Og segði eg meira um það,
Þá mundu menn efa’ að slík óhljóð
Ættu sér nokkurn stað.
Loks tóku að safnast saman,
Að Sigtryggi hljóðnuðum, menn
Sem fyrr ekki voguðu á vettvang,
En vitna og muna enn.
Eg þakkaði’ í áheyrn þeirra
Að þagði Briem og var rór.
Hann svaraði: Þakka þér sjálfum
Fyrir sönginn, Gutti — og fór.
XIX.
Mitt indæla eftirlæti
Er elskan hún systir mín,
Með ljósdökku lokkana sína
Og ljósbrúnu augun sín.
Hún brosir, þá breytist veður
í blíðu, sem fyrr var kalt,
Hún hlær, og þá syngja himnar,
Hún hryggist, þá grætur alt.
Og þegar hún höfði hallar
Til hvíldar að svanadún,
Þá er sem alt leggi aftur
Augun um leið og hún.
XX.
Þið trúðuð fyrir’ öryggi ykkar
Ábyrgðarlaftsri stjórn,
Á herguðsins altari eruð
Þið orðin hin mesta fórn.
Þó kaldur, sem ísinn, utan
Eigri eg mína leið,
Loga eg allur innan
Af ykkar kvölum og neyð.
Þeim, sem því víti valda,
Velti eg ofan af gnúp
Heimsfriðar hugsjóna minna,
1 haturs míns ómælis djúp.
XXI.
Að giftast auðugum ekkjum
Er atvinna fýrirséð;
Að dvelja í hjúskaparhlekkjum
Er honum samt þvert um geð.
Og honum er helzti baginn
Að hafa þær sem hann fær,
En hinsvegar list sú lagin
Að lifa á að missa þær.
xxn.
Indíána sumar er svanni
Með svart og mikið hár,
Koparlitt, æskuslétt andlit
Og ylhýrar dökkar brár.
Hárið er skammdegis húmið
Að hníga, með stjörnuglans,
Hörundsliturinn haustleg
Hálmbleikja akurlands.
Laufum, með regnboga litum,
Litum hins dýrasta ríms,
Skrýðist hin prúða og prýðist
Perlum daggar og hríms.
Svo kastar hún laufakjólnum
—Kuldi fyrir’ dyrum er;
1 kríthvíta ísbjarnar kápu
Klæðir hún sig og fer.
A TRIBUTE TO
REV. RUNOLFUR
M ARTEIN SSON
(An Address Delivered at Cele-
bration of His 70th Birthday,
November 26, 1940.)
By Professor Richard Beck
I have been entrusted with
a very pleasant task this even-
ing, that of paying deserved
tribute to an esteemed friend
of old standing and a co-labor-
er, a fellow teacher. To be
sure, our fields of work have
been many miles distant, but
the realm of education is one,
and the problems facing the
teacher are very much the
same whether on the high
school and academy level or
in the college and university.
Because of my ' long-time
friendship with the honored
guest and our common interest
in education, as well as in
many other cultural matters, I
consider it a special pleasure
and privilege to render him
my homage on this auspicious
occasion, the celebration of his
70th birthday.
I realize that there are with-
in these walls and elsewhere
many, who know him whom
we are honoring here to-night,
much more intimately than I
do. I have, however, enjoyed
his friendship ever since I
came to this country from^Jce-
land some 20 years ago and
been associated with him a
good deal, in his hospitable
home as well as in the homes
of mutual friends, on commit-
tees and at public gatherings.
Upon my arrival as a newcom-
er, he extended to me, in his
characteristic fashion, the
hand of good will and gener-
ous assistance, when I needed
some educational advice; I am
happy to acknowledge that
debt publicly, not to mention
numerous other expressions of
friendship and encouragement
from his side.
Reverend Runólfur Marteins-
son — séra Runólfur, as he is
fondly known among his fel-
low Icelanders — entered early
upon his career as an educator;
while still in college, he be-
came a public school teacher
among his countrymen, both
in Manitoba and in the neigh-
boring state of North Dakota,
where he is still gratefully re-
membered by his former pupils.
His teaching in this field was,
however, only a prelude to his
later work as an educator and
school executive.
After having successfully
served various congregations
within the Icelandic Lutheran
Synod, Rev. Marteinsson suc-
ceeded the late Rev. F. J. Berg-
man as Professor of Icelandic
at Wesley College in 1910.
Steeped in the Icelandic liter-
ary tradition and possessing
fine educational equipment
generally, Rev. Marteinsson
ably filled this position until
he was called to the principal-
ship of Jón Bjarnason Acad-
emy upon its founding in 1913.
This marked the beginning of
a most important chapter in
his career, opened to him a
field of rich activity, where, as
a teacher and administrator,
he has unquestionably render-
ed his greatest service to his
racial group.
Rev. K. K. Olafson, president
of the Icelandic Lutheran
Synod, did not at all exagger-
ate, when he recently wrote as
follows of Rev. Marteinsson’s
labors in the interest of the
Academy: “Upon him as no
other individual has rested the
burden of its welfare and con-
tinuance”. In my judgment,
it is Rev. Marteinsson’s great
glory that, in spite of frequent
lack of understanding and
sympathy, he never wavered
in his idealism nor in his devo-
tion to the cause, which he had
espoused, to carry on the work
of the institution, which had
been placed in his care. What
the strúggle to keep it alive de-
manded of him, becomes a
little clearer when we bear in
mind that devotion means self-
sacrifice, and that the latter is
always in direct proportion to
the former. In his work for
and at the Academy I believe
that Rev. Marteinsson has
shown that he had attained to
true spiritual manhood; for as
the late President Woodrow
Wilson put it in one of his
memorable addresses: “No
man has ever risen to the real
stature of spiritual manhood
until he has found that it is
finer to serve somebody else
than it is to serve himself.”
The significance of Rev. Mar-
teinsson’s work as an educator
is perhaps most clearly seen by
recalling the main purpose of
Jón Bjarnason Academy,
whose guiding hand he was
for such a long period. The
primary purpose of the school
was to inculcate Christian prin-
ciples in its students and make
available to them instruction
in Icelandic language and lit-
erature. These objectives the
school adhered to throughout
its existence, as far as circum-
stances permitted.
It has therefore been Rev.
Marteinsson’s duty and privi-
lege — I know he has regarded
it as such — to hold high be-
fore his students the ideals of
Christian living as well as di-
recting their attention to the
great riches of the Icelandic
people in song and saga, its re-
markable history and culture.
In other words, he has been
engaged in the oble endeavor
of building the lives of young
people, laying the foundation
for their future, opening the
windows of their souls to those
refreshing breezes, which blow
from the mountain peaks of in-
spiration, when one climbs
those heights in the company
of the great spiritual leaders
of the past, whether in religion
or literature.
Let me illustrate with a
story. A certain young man
gave his young son a picture
puzzle, which, when put to-
gether, formed a map of the
world. He further promised
his son the sum of five dollars,
if he could assemble the puz-
zle withln a given length of
time. The son went to work
and returned with the puzzle
solved in a much shorter time
than his father had expected.
“How were you able to put the
puzzle together so quickly”,
the father asked. The son re-
plied: “On the back of the
pieces making up the puzzle I
noticed the picture of a man,
and I knew that, if I got the
man right, I would get the
world right".
In that firm belief Rev. Mar-
teinsson has carried on his
work for the educational and
moral benefit of the students
of his school. His labors have
not been in vain, for it is be-
coming increasingly true that
SKIFTA-
VINIR
megum
vér
vænta
Jóla-Pantana
Yðar
SNEMMA
Meðan birgðir
eru miklar
Greið Afhending—
Skjót Sending
^T. EATON C?miED
Herbert Spericer was right,
when he said: “To educate the
reason without educating the
desire is like placing a repeat-
ing rifle in the hands of a sav-
age”. Or as the late President
Theodore Roosevelt phrased it:
“To educate a man in mind and
not in morals is to educate a
menace to society”.
It is not least because of Rev.
Marteinsson’s long and devot-
ed service in the field of Christ-
ian education that some of his
many friends' and admirers
have gathered here to honor
him when he has reached the
three score years and ten.
Hundreds of his former stu-
dents join us in paying tribute
to him, grateful for his instruc-
tion and guidance.
We people of Icelandic origin
are however, no less grateful
to Rev. Marteinsson for his
faithful and many-sided labors
to preserve the Icelandic langu-
age and cultural heritage in
this country. His attitude to
those values is well expressed
in his own words, written some
years ago in an introduction to
the Jon Bjarnason Academy
Year Book: “Self-knowledge is
essential to all true culture.
The spiritual acquisitions of
our race of yesterday form a
large part of our possessions
of today. Therefore we cannot
know ourselves without know-
ing something of the past.”
I am delighted, as President
of the Icelandic National
League of America, specially
authorized by its executive, to
express the appreciation of
that organization of Rev. Mar-
teinsson’s fruitful interest in
the preservation of Icelandic
language and literature, but I
prefer to do so in the tongue
of my fathers.
Séra Rúnólfur Marteinsson
hefir á liðnum árum tekið mik-
inn þátt í vestur-íslenzkum
þjóðræknismálum og félags?
málum. Hann hefir bæði látið
sér ant um alt það, er Islend-
ingum mætti til sæmdar verða,