various Chautauqua interests.
The report continues:
“The financial condition of Chautauqua is a subject to which I have
heretofore given little attention. I trusted implicitly to the wisdom of
the Board, whose large ideas of the Chautauqua work, whose enthusiasm in
it, and whose generous courtesy toward me, have caused them to give me
the largest liberty, and to treat with great gentleness what they have
sometimes felt to be excessive expenditure.
“My dreams and aspirations concerning the development of Chautauqua
have led me to plan largely, and to spend liberally, that the attention
of great-hearted men might be attracted to our work, the sympathy of
progressive educators secured, and the great centers of influence
in pulpits, colleges and newspapers be commanded in the interest of
Chautauqua. A careful analysis of these expenditures will show that there
has been no extravagance, although a greater economy might have been
exercised.”
The report of Dr. Vincent closed with the following words:
“Trusting that you will see your way clear to coöperate in the plans
proposed, and commending our great institution to him who is the ‘Master
of Assemblies,’ this report is respectfully submitted.”
The report of Dr. Vincent was submitted to a special committee, which
presented the following report, which was adopted as below:
The special committee to which was referred the report of the
Superintendent of Instruction, begs leave respectfully to report:
1. That we recommend to the Board to reorganize the union of the several
associations, schools, and departments of the Chautauqua Assembly,
the Chautauqua School of Theology, the Chautauqua University, and the
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, under a single organization to
be known as THE CHAUTAUQUA UNIVERSITY.
2. (This article calls for necessary legislative action.)
3. The work of the new organization shall be carried on under the
following departments:
I.—THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY, embracing:
_a._ The Summer meetings at Chautauqua;
_b._ The Sunday-School Normal Department;
_c._ The School of Languages;
_d._ The Chautauqua Teachers’ Retreat;
II.—THE CHAUTAUQUA LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC CIRCLE;
III.—THE CHAUTAUQUA SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS, now known as “The
Chautauqua University,” and with powers as provided in its
charter;
IV.—THE CHAUTAUQUA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, with purposes and powers
as in its charter;
V.—THE CHAUTAUQUA PRESS.
4. There shall be three committees, of three persons each, appointed
by the Board, to coöperate with the Chancellor in the management of
the above departments. Persons may be eligible to appointment on these
committees who are not members of the Board.
These committees shall be:
_a._ A Committee on Assembly;
_b._ A Committee on C. L. S. C., the C. S. L. A., and C. S. T.;
_c._ A Committee on the Chautauqua Press.
5. We approve of the recommendation of the Superintendent of Instruction,
of the establishment of the “Chautauqua Press,” as a part of the
“Chautauqua University.”
6. The income from the general membership fees in the Chautauqua Literary
and Scientific Circle, in the Chautauqua School of Liberal Arts, and in
the Chautauqua School of Theology, with such annual appropriations as
may be made by the Board to these departments, shall constitute their
fund respectively, out of which all expenses of each of these departments
shall be paid annually; the surplus in the department treasury of the C.
L. S. C., of the C. S. L. A., and of the C. S. T., from year to year,
shall be paid to the treasurer of the Assembly Board. There shall be two
assistant treasurers, one to have charge of the funds of the C. L. S. C.,
and the other of the funds of the C. S. L. A. and of the C. S. T., both
of whom shall make an annual report to the Board.
7. We recommend that the Superintendent of Instruction in the Assembly
Board shall hereafter be known as “The Chancellor of the University.”
8. It shall be the duty of the Chancellor of the University to arrange
and conduct the program of the Chautauqua Assembly; to engage speakers,
teachers, leaders of music, and such other assistants as the program may
require; to conduct the affairs of the C. L. S. C., the C. S. L. A., and
the C. S. T.; he shall submit a report to the meeting of the Board in
January of each year, which shall contain a statement of his expenditures
in the several departments during the preceding year, and an estimate of
the probable expenses for the year ensuing.
9. The duties of the other officers shall be those specified in the
by-laws as already adopted by the Assembly, the Chautauqua School of
Theology, and the University, or as may be hereafter adopted.
* * * * *
As it has been abundantly demonstrated that this section of the lake is
rich in natural gas, it may be expected that as the season opens the
work of development will commence. Chautauqua has also an inexhaustible
mineral fountain, which many have found not only a pleasant beverage, but
rich in health-giving qualities.
Appearances indicate that the next Assembly will be of the first
importance. Many will probably meet J. B. Gough—the hero of a thousand
platforms—for the last time. Dr. Deems is to come among us once more, and
the original Fisk Jubilee Singers will be there, and they have no equals
in reproducing the fast vanishing songs of the plantation.
EDITOR’S OUTLOOK.
THE GREAT GREEK DRAMATISTS.
The Greek drama, which is now before our C. L. S. C. students in its
English rendering, presents many interesting aspects to the modern mind.
We are well aware that this statement will surprise some readers; but
let them consider a few facts. Is it not a remarkable thing that the
Greek drama, which the world will not suffer to be forgotten, was all
produced in the space of about half a century? And compare the fact with
our own history, noting that English drama of the imperishable type
is all gathered into a single brilliant period, of which Shakspere is
the central light in dramatic poetry. Æschylus was born in 525 B. C.,
Sophocles in 495, and Euripides in 480. The three are nearly on a level
in merit, Æschylus having the more force, and his compeers in dramatic
fame more of the refinements of art. They are not three Shaksperes in
one constellation, but three orbs whose combined light is less than that
of our English poet. No one has satisfactorily explained why the tragic
drama should so isolate itself in the centuries of a people; but it may
be said to be a rule that if a people produce a great drama at all, this
choice fruit will appear only in a single period. But since Greece and
England are the only nations having a great tragic stage—for we do not
reckon the French drama as in the first rank—the rule has no well-defined
value. It is remarkable, too, that the great epic poets are more numerous
than the great masters of tragedy. Greece, indeed, is known to us for
one epic and three tragic poets; but every great people before ours has
had a respectable epic poem, whereas in most nations tragic poetry is
rare or inferior. The great tragedies are so few that one may easily know
them and prize them. No other form of literature presents us with so few
masterpieces.
Another good aspect of the drama in Greece is that it came in the period
of the full-flowering of Greek egotism, or if the phrase is happier,
of Greek patriotism. Here, too, we may find an analogy in the England
of Shakspere. The age of Elizabeth is easily fixed upon as that of
self-satisfied British patriotism. It is also true that alike in the
Athens of the dramatists and the London of Shakspere there was the stir
and bustle and heroic energy of national life. It is not to be overlooked
that the dramatists of Greece, like the literary statesmen of England
were in public life. They sought and held office; and, indeed, they, like
Socrates, were soldiers besides. Æschylus fought at Marathon, Salamis,
and Platæa, the three great battles of his country. Shakspere did not do
his work on the Avon, but in the din of London, and many a thing which
surprises us in his plays may be explained by the close and uninterrupted
contact of the dramatist with the active men of his time. He learned, for
example, all his law phrases in convivial association with lawyers, much
as he learned scripture by hearing the prayer-book read in the churches.
(He always quotes the prayer-book, never the Bible.) So in Athens, our
statesmen-dramatists lived in the full press of life, and their drama
reflects the opinions and proverbs of their day. Men of the lamp could
not have caught the spirit and attitude of the Athenian mind toward the
problems of life which underlie the Greek plays. The just-enough and not
too much or too little of philosophy—the mean between dogmatic theology
and crude irreligion—the man of the world, and he alone, can hit. We may
safely reason that while many forms of literature can be best wrought by
men out of the world, some forms seem to require their producers to be
in the world and of the world; and among these, the drama is especially
reserved to men who combine practical experience with erudition, and also
possess the indescribable mystery of genius. The student will be well
repaid for his pains who struggles to understand the spirit—a strange
one to us—which is peculiar to the Greek drama, the singular aspects
and functions of religion, and the mode in which it is apparently held
fast by the tragic poet, who is also a man of the world. There are also
profitable studies to be made of those glimpses of unchanging human
nature which the tragedies afford us. One theory is that we study old
classics in order to know an older and extinct type of mankind: a truer
view is that the virtues and vices of the elder man are simple and
undisguised by social varnish. In any case, the student who understands,
for example, the woman Medea, has a useful lesson in “the proper study of
mankind.”
CHAUTAUQUA AT NEW ORLEANS.
Almost every interest of the country is represented at New Orleans this
winter. Every prominent manufactory, all leading trades, the great
branches of commerce, and particularly educational institutions have
exhibits of more or less importance. The eye of the country is turned
southward. Whatever is worthy our civilization has been collected there
for study. In educational matters many departments have been given
position, that they may be studied by the eager learner; for people are
eager to know the world’s work. You see it in their keen observation of
the displays made throughout the long galleries, and their quick notice
of the comparative merits of the exhibits. To them the work from the
Indian schools, from the colored people, from the far away territories,
and from foreign lands are studies in comparative civilization. Every
sign of advancement is quickly seized upon; and in no department is more
eagerness to know manifested by visitors than in the “Chautauqua Alcove.”
Chautauqua and the C. L. S. C. have a very good representation in the
south gallery of the government building, under the general supervision
of Prof. E. A. Spring, a member of the faculty at Chautauqua. This
exhibit is attracting a great deal of attention. All members and friends
of the C. L. S. C. who may visit the Exposition are earnestly and
cordially invited to visit the Chautauqua exhibit. An idea of Prof.
Spring’s work may be obtained from a few extracts from a letter received
from him in the holidays:
CHAUTAUQUA ALCOVE, NEW ORLEANS, LA., Dec. 26, ’84.
There is a large placard up in this exhibit, as follows:
U. S. BUREAU OF EDUCATION.
CHAUTAUQUA ALCOVE.
_Any one of the sixty thousand of the members of the C. L. S. C.
who may be here is requested to register._
I give everybody one of a little handful of Spare Minute Course
circulars that I brought with me. I have given out about a
hundred—and had conversations, some of them with evident
conviction—in German, French, English, and the language of signs.
By help of my Italian, I have tried to talk to some of the many
Mexicans here, but did not get deep enough to broach the C. L. S.
C.
I had yesterday and to-day considerable talk with the intelligent
gentlemen representing the French Republic school system—M.
Buisson and his assistant. General Eaton says that the brother
of this Mons. Buisson is the genius of education in France. They
expressed themselves as much interested in the scope of the noble
Chautauqua plans.
The principal and seven lady teachers from Normal, Ill., just
left me. They will come again, to learn more of Chautauqua. Some
Texas gentlemen, one of whom, Prof. Hogg, I have long known as a
fellow member of the National Educational Association, have been
here again to-day, to say that they would be here to see me with
about two hundred teachers from Texas at noon to-morrow.
Dr. Mitchell was here this afternoon.
On Saturday, the 27th, I was all ready for the two hundred
teachers, who advanced in a body with a banner, and I gave them a
regular lecture on Chautauqua and its out-reachings.
Then I said my friend, Prof. Hogg, had seen me model in
Philadelphia, in 1879, at convention of the National Educational
Association, where he read a paper on “The Education of the
Hand, the Head, and the Heart,” and he had asked me to show this
company of teachers some clay modeling, so I would occupy a few
minutes in that, as it was one of the methods in the Chautauqua
plan to train the hand by clay, and through that educate the
head; and if the hand and the head were truly educated, as they
ought to be, the heart should be developed too. So, laying out
a colossal head in relief, I made a few remarks as to the value
of a little easy practice of clay modeling in schools; and then,
turning to the board with clay on it, I worked eighteen minutes,
and made a head of “an American Teacher.”
General Eaton came to me after their vote of thanks, and as soon
as they had gone—in the most congratulatory frame. “Chautauqua
could afford to pay you two months’ work for that!” he said,
shaking me by the hand. Two of the class of ’86 C. L. S. C., from
Lockport, Dr. Mitchell, Mons. Buisson and a few others expressed
themselves as much interested.
I was glad to find I had so many “Spare-minute” circulars—and
I must have given out seventy-five or one hundred yesterday,
beside one hundred to the Texans, generally accompanied with a
conversation of more or less length.
All this in the midst of busy work and good progress in the
mechanical embellishment of our alcove. It will be very
attractive when completed, and I have so planned that I can work
at it all along, adding new features from day to day.
It is very interesting, how near to people’s hearts and inner
lives I sometimes get in these little talks. It is a plan that
touches the aspirations and longings of many a true soul. I wish
sometimes that words could be instantaneously photographed. It is
impossible for me to write as fully as I should like.
Our only CHAUTAUQUAN (November) with one copy of the C. L. S. C.
circular, with its cut of the Hall, has done good service.
I very much hoped that Dr. Vincent could manage to come here.
Many people have asked, the first thing, if Dr. Vincent is to
be here. Every state should have a Chautauqua headquarters—this
alcove will get them all ready for it.
_Monday morning._—Damp, muddy, discouraging to many people. The
car drivers have struck and the hour’s ride, long and tiresome at
best, is now cut off. Hundreds of teachers who have been pouring
into New Orleans these last days of their holiday, are prevented
from seeing and learning by this four or five miles of mud before
they reach the Exposition. There have been great hindrances all
along to the completion of the Exposition, and many grumblers.
But I have never been discouraged! Everything from the first
start has been delightful. When the roof leaked, I moved some
things away, told the roofer, and it was at once mended. When it
came on a hard storm night before last, I laid down on the floor,
rolled in my Kansas blanket, and liked it so well that I shall
camp out here in the Chautauqua precincts; at any rate, till
there is some comfortable conveyance away.
More anon.
Ever yours faithfully,
EDWARD A. SPRING.
WINTER SPORTS IN CANADA.
Winter undoubtedly has its hygienic value; and a part of this value
we get without effort. It is not only a comfort to be freed from the
annoyances of insect life, but it is also a gain for health that many
of the atmospheric impurities are removed by frost. But to get the
largest value from winter as a frost cure, we need to avail ourselves
of the system of healthful and invigorating amusements which prevail in
Canada, and have made that country famous. That portion of our population
which is employed out-doors in winter is, _pro tanto_, undoubtedly the
most healthy. For the rest of us the only possible equivalent is winter
sports. It is unfortunately true that the variable character of our
weather precludes us from exact imitation; but our inventive genius ought
to be equal to the task of bridging over the soft places in our winters.
In Canada, the long and comparatively equable winter makes it a simple
thing to provide healthy and innocent amusements which may be enjoyed
as regularly as any business is carried on. It is not to be forgotten,
however, that the Canadians are the only people in the world who know
how to keep warm out-doors as well as in-doors. They have learned to
perfection this art, for lack of which our out-door employments are
more or less dangerous. Our laborer does not keep warm in winter, and
his “colds” become consumption. In Canada, young girls accomplish in
this respect what stout men fail to do among us; they keep warm whether
they are flying in sleighs or on toboggans. These forms of enjoyment
are well organized; there are toboggan clubs, and “society” means some
form of winter sport. The miserable imitation called “roller-skating,”
which is alarming thoughtful people in many of our villages, is only a
craze, a temporary insanity; the winter sports of Canada are a national
institution. The physical and moral wholesomeness of the roller-skating
rink is more than doubtful. The moral and physical healthfulness of
the sports by which Canadians make winter a season of joy, can not be
questioned.
On the average, our winter in the United States is not a healthful
and invigorating season to us. We lose the greater values and expose
ourselves to special dangers. We live in-doors, with a temperature ten
degrees too high. We shut in with us invisible plagues which breed
diphtheria and other diseases. We are enfeebled by refraining from
exercise and breathing unwholesome air in our houses. We come to the
spring weaker than we were when winter began. We have moped by hot fires
and breathed vitiated air, when we ought to have been out in the winter
blast, using our muscles and filling our lungs with the clean winds. Two
or three conditions seem wanting for a reform of these habits. One is the
art of keeping warm in the cold air; another is a keener sense of the
value of winter exercise, and a third is some devices by which the “soft
spells” of weather shall not arrest our sports nearly every week.
THE RELATIVE PRONOUN “THAT.”
This word is a demonstrative pronoun and a conjunction; and in some
idiomatic phrases it is also a relative pronoun. By idiomatic phrases,
we mean that use has constructed certain forms of expression which
are wholes, though consisting of several words. _All that we know_ is
an idiomatic phrase; use and habit have welded the words together. In
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there grew a habit of using
_that_ very freely as a relative pronoun. The Bible of 1611 is full of
illustrations of this habit. During the present century this use of
_that_ has been by the best writers gradually restricted, and at present
the rule for _that_ as a relative pronoun, probably, is about as stated
above—the word is used, as a relative, only in idiomatic expressions.
The history of this word would make a very interesting chapter. We have
in the foregoing statement merely suggested one line of change in its
use, and we call attention to this change for a particular reason. Among
the excellent books published by Appleton & Co. is a reprint Cobbett’s
English Grammar, and in this reprint Mr. Ayres, the editor of it for
this republication, lays down in his introduction, and illustrates by
significant bracketing in Cobbett’s text, a new rule for the use of the
relative _that_. This new rule is, in substance, that the restrictive
relative is _that_—_who_ and _which_ being coördinating relatives. This
proposed reform is unfortunately timed. By a progress in use which has
been unobtrusive, and unaided by dogmatism, the number of _thats_ on a
printed page has been reduced to tolerable proportion. If we accept the
new rule we shall not only go back to excessive use of _that_, but we
may even increase the evil of too much _thating_. The word fills two
important functions in present good use; to add the office of expressing
all the restrictive uses of the relative pronouns, would probably
increase _thating_ so as to render an English page unsightly. Take a
sentence: “He said that that man that that boy said that he saw was not
that man that that boy thought that he saw.” Mr. Ayres tries to show
that certain sentences which contain _who_ and _which_ as relatives are
ambiguous in meaning, and that the substitution of _that_ would make
the meaning clear. As to such sentences, we may say that if they are
really ambiguous in sense, the remedy is to reconstruct them. It is
not necessary to use _that_ to pull them out of their obscurity. It is
easy, however, to show that a detached sentence might mean something
which it does not mean. The meaning of a text is helped out by the
context. Aphorisms usually have not context auxiliaries, and usually are
ambiguous; but the ordinary use of language is to express our meaning by
paragraphs rather than by single sentences. Every ellipsis furnishes an
opening for the entrance of small criticism; and ellipsis is one of the
large facts of English writing.
In short, the critic of ambiguous sentences will have abundant employment
on the best writers, if he is allowed to break off any sentence from its
yoke-fellows in the paragraph. We advise our readers not to make haste
to adopt the rule of Mr. Ayres. The important question is: How do good
writers employ the word _that_ in their books? The answer is that good
English writers employ the word as a conjunction and as a demonstrative;
and as a relative only when phrase idiom compels such use. In this
country, the practice is to use _that_ a good deal as a relative; but
there has been a great decline in this use of it, especially during
the last thirty years. At the present time our best writers seem to be
following the English practice. We hope that Mr. Ayres will not succeed
in turning reform backward. With _who_ and _which_ to employ as relative
pronouns—and occasional help from _that_, _what_, and _as_, in idioms—the
English language is not poor. We need not recall the restrictive _that_
from its honorable retirement.
EDMUND ABOUT.
The death of this versatile French writer removes from modern literature
another of the few French literary men who are known all over the
world. About was born in 1828, and has enjoyed a cosmopolitan fame
since 1860. His literary work had the charm of contemporary interest,
and at the same time the merit of philosophical breadth and insight.
He gained fame at home in a way our men of letters would not travel,
by writing a Dictionary of Railroads. He was equally interesting and
instructive whether he wrote a novel or a political pamphlet; for in
both, Edmund About’s personality was in the foreground. He was not an
egotist, however, in his books, but his _I_ was a modest one which rather
relieved others of responsibility for his opinions, than obtrusively
forced the author upon our admiration. He had a keen zest for current
thought and fact; and, though our sensationalist newspaper men would not
fellowship him, he was one of the best editors of his age. He was always
an editor—even when he wrote the railroad dictionary—and his political
pamphlets are among the best presentations of questions and situations.
He saw the heart of a current issue, and with easy grace and perfect
poise he described it from the point of view of a modern cosmopolitan
gentleman. His “Roman Question” was, in its day, equally intelligible,
interesting, amusing and illuminating in Paris, London, Vienna or New
York. He described the situation under the Pope as King of Rome, setting
out in full relief those peculiarities of the Roman situation which were
picturesquely illogical for all men of the world. He had a marvelous
power of suggestion. The first sentence of the “Roman Question” is like
this—we do not attempt to recall the exact words or figures: “There are
in the States of the Church 1,366,328 souls, _not counting the little
Mortara boy_.” The last clause referred to a charge that priests at Rome
had stolen a Jewish boy and were making a good Catholic of him against
the will of his family. The incident made a great uproar at the time, and
About recalled to the mind of the reader the whole story, and, without
expressing an opinion, attracted the sympathy of his Protestant readers
by the mere allusion. Probably his books contain more examples of strong,
suggestive allusions to recent or contemporary events, than those of any
other writer; and it was always his special art to allude _only_, leaving
his reader to his own opinion. The delicacy of his touch and the fine
flavor of his criticism were remarkable, even in this age of keen and
witty French writers. He became editor of the _XIX. Siecle_ (century),
after the war with Germany; but he had always been a journalist in some
form, and more than one paper had its editions suppressed by Napoleon
III. because they contained the fine but biting satire of About. Some
years ago (in 1870, we believe) he was blackballed in the French Academy,
but he was recently elected to that august body. He died before he was
installed in his academic chair.
EDITOR’S NOTE-BOOK.
We regret exceedingly that a serious illness makes it impossible for
Mr. Richard Grant White to furnish his usual paper to the present issue
of THE CHAUTAUQUAN. Another month Mr. White will probably be able to
continue his articles.
* * * * *
The glimpse we are getting, even at this early day, of the Chautauqua
program for 1885, is very inviting. The regular School of Science will be
under the charge of Prof. Edwards, president of Chamberlain Institute,
Randolph, N. Y., and that of Pedagogy, under Dr. Dickinson, secretary
of the board of education, Boston. Such people will be present as John
B. Gough, Dr. Deems, Miss Willard, Mrs. Livermore, Bishop Foster, Dr.
Boardman, of Philadelphia; Dr. G. P. Hays, of Denver, who will organize
a school of Christian work; the Schubert Quartette, of Chicago; the
original Fisk Jubilee Singers, for two weeks, and Miss Henninges, the
noted singer of Cleveland, O. A very superior organist, Prof. Isaac V.
Flagler, has been engaged for the entire Chautauqua season.
* * * * *
The alarm which the recent terrible earthquake in Spain has caused has
led to the compilation of some interesting figures relative to the number
of shocks which have occurred in late years. Between 1872 and 1883 no
less than 364 earthquakes are recorded as occurring in Canada and the
United States, not including Alaska. Of these the Pacific slope had 151,
the Atlantic coast 147, and the Mississippi valley 66. Thus it appears
that an earthquake occurs about once in every twelve days somewhere in
the United States and Canada, and about once a month on the Atlantic
coast. These are exclusive of the lighter tremors which do not make
an impression on observers, but which would be recorded by a properly
constructed seismometer, an instrument designed to detect the slighter
shocks.
“Just about twenty years ago,” writes Dr. Felix Oswald in a recent
letter to THE CHAUTAUQUAN, “when I was stationed at Sidi Belbez, in
western Algiers, I had a conversation with a half-civilized Sheik, who
had visited our camp and seemed to take a good deal of interest in the
portrait of a _mitrailleuse_ (”Gatling gun“) that had been photographed
together with a group of Zouave artillerists. After scrutinizing the
picture and comparing it with the original, he clutched his head, as if
stunned by his emotions. ‘Where do they teach such things?’ he inquired,
and then suddenly burst out: ‘What a pity that education and Gatling guns
can not be had at home!’ For North America, at least, THE CHAUTAUQUAN
seems to have solved one of those problems.”
* * * * *
In a yellowish, time-worn volume bearing the title, _The Allegheny
Magazine, or Repository of Useful Knowledge_, issued in Meadville, Pa.,
on July 4, 1816, we find in a paper on Chautauqua the following: “The
tradition among the Seneca Indians is, that when their ancestors first
came to the margin of this [Chautauqua] lake and had reclined their weary
limbs for the night, they were roused by a tremendous wind which suddenly
and unexpectedly brought the waves upon the shore to the jeopardy of
their lives. The aboriginal history as handed down from father to son
further represents that in the confusion of the scene a child was swept
away by the surge beyond the possibility of recovery. Hence the name of
the lake _Chaud-dauk-wa_; the radix from which this is formed signifying
_a child, or something respecting a child_. The word is usually spelled
_Chautauqua_; but, according to the pronunciation of the venerable
Cornplanter, whose example is the best authority, it should be written
_Chaud-dauk-wa_, the two first syllables of which are long, and the
consonant at the end of each is to be distinctly sounded.”
* * * * *
Mr. Francis Murphy, the apostle of temperance, who, by the way, is
engaged to speak at Chautauqua next season, is a very useful and popular
man in Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. Murphy has recently been invited to become the
pastor of a People’s Church which leading citizens of Pittsburgh propose
to establish. He is a powerful man with the masses, and his method of
“Gospel-Temperance” is a wise one. By his efforts tens of thousands of
drinkers, drunkards and saloon keepers have been led to become better
men. We shall watch the new departure in Pittsburgh with a great deal of
interest.
* * * * *
Bishop Hurst has discovered in Cairo, Egypt, the next largest university
to Chautauqua in the world. His rich article on the “Mohammedan
University,” in this impression, fixes the number of students in
attendance at about 15,000. The C. L. S. C. numbers more than 60,000, and
the class of 1888, organized this school year, will reach nearly, if not
quite, 20,000 members.
* * * * *
The recent terrible explosions in London have set us to counting up the
similar outrages which have been perpetrated of late in England. In 1881,
attempts were made to blow up the armory at Salford, the Mansion House,
London, the Lord Mayor’s private apartment, the barracks at Chester, the
Central Police Station at Liverpool, and the Town Hall at Liverpool.
The activity of the dynamiteurs was checked about this time by the
vigilance of the police, and nothing further was done until March 15,
1883, when the Local Government Board offices in Westminster, near the
House of Parliament, were nearly destroyed by an explosion of dynamite.
In 1884, attempts were made to shatter three railway stations in London,
explosions occurred in Scotland Yard and at St. James Square and under
London Bridge. Already, in 1885, there have been an explosion on a London
underground railway, and the outrages in Westminster Palace and the Tower.
* * * * *
What shall we do? How shall we treat these outrages? We can do nothing.
To be sure it is a shameful list of cowardly, ineffectual deeds. Yet
they deserve more pity than rage. It is a sad thought, that in rich,
cultured, high-bred old England, there can exist a class so weak, cruel,
and miserable that it tries to right its wrongs by methods more horrible
than those of war.
* * * * *
A very suggestive scene took place recently in the Arkansas Assembly.
Engrossing and enrolling clerks were to be elected. The members brought
up the names of several ladies, discussing their ability, beauty, and
claims to recognition, in most eloquent terms. After a long and amusing
discussion, both positions were filled by ladies. This move gives to
the self-supporting women of Arkansas a new outlook. The possibility of
securing such positions will incite hundreds of women to prepare for
clerkships, which if not found in the legislature will surely be found
elsewhere, as the peculiar ability of women for such work is recognized.
* * * * *
The legislature of Georgia, at its past session provided a similar
opportunity for the women within its borders. Eight to ten clerks have
been regularly employed each session to assist the clerk of the lower
house of the legislature. Of its own accord the House directed that
women be hereafter employed to fill these positions. This was done, and
the bills engrossed by them are said to have been remarkably neat and
accurate. This ready sympathy for the women who must earn their bread,
and manly effort to make places for them, is very characteristic of the
generous southern heart.
* * * * *
The Assembly at Lake de Funiak, Florida, will be in session when this
number of THE CHAUTAUQUAN is on its way to our subscribers. The opening
takes place on February 18. It is the first attempt at planting the
Chautauqua Idea so far south, but after its fashion it is sure to take
root. The preparations made by Mr. Gillet and his associates give promise
of a good program. We expect an account of the meeting for the April
number of THE CHAUTAUQUAN.
* * * * *
Two big schemes to attract patronage have of late come before the
country. At the time the New Orleans Exposition seemed to stagger under
its load of expense, and money was absolutely necessary, the Louisiana
Lottery tried to get control of the Exposition. General Grant’s
embarrassment was seized upon by the incorrigible Barnum, who proposed
buying the invaluable curiosities and relics of the General, to display
in his summer pilgrimages through the country. It makes a person of
taste blush to think of this impudence, to remember that there is a very
large class of people who are willing to drag into advertising the most
dignified and sacred institutions in the country.
* * * * *
The commercial side of Chautauqua Lake does not often reveal itself in
the educational work which finds its center there. The beautiful country
which forms the setting for the fair lake has, however, more than one
most interesting industry. Just now ice cutting is at its height. There
is a transit company which packs dressed meats, eggs, butter, and other
perishable articles, at Chicago. When these refrigerator cars start from
that city, ice is placed in the cars, which is expected and found to keep
the stores in fresh condition, as far as Salamanca; here the cars must
be replenished, and it is to these storehouses that the ice which is now
being cut from the lake is sent. The company employs men and teams near
the lake to cut the ice, and the process is a very interesting one.
* * * * *
Mr. Edmund Yates, the editor of the London _World_, has been committed
to prison for four months for allowing in his columns a bit of gossip
connecting in an injurious statement the name of a young woman with
that of a young nobleman. It is a refreshing sign of the times. Popular
sentiment has tolerated an immense amount of personality, of curiosity,
and of absolute impudence in the social columns of newspapers. Mr.
Yates’s punishment will emphasize the fact that the public is not so
depraved as editors often consider it. By the way, how like is this
affair to that earlier one of Mr. Yates’s, when he was turned out of the
Garrick Club for publishing a disrespectful paragraph about Thackeray, a
fellow-member. It is to be hoped that Mr. Yates will soon learn that it
is a mean thing to make one’s bread by selling a friend’s peculiarities
or a neighbor’s mistakes and sins.
* * * * *
The Christian revolt of the Jews of Bessarabia, and the establishment
of the “National Jewish Society of the New Testament,” was discussed by
Bishop Hurst in the January issue of this magazine. The founder of this
new sect, Rabinowitz, has been since found dead at his home in Kishenev.
It is believed that he was murdered. The Christian authorities believe
that it is the work of the orthodox Hebrews, and it is not improbable
that such is the case. Apostasy in religion very rarely receives from
men Gamaliel’s advised treatment, and unless the law can secure safety
for these reformers, there is but little chance that they will escape
the fate which all the history of the past teaches us that religious
fanaticism believes to be the just and only treatment.
* * * * *
It is gratifying to know that in all probability the $250,000 required
for the pedestal of the Bartholdi statue will soon be in the hands
of the committee. The difficulty in raising the money has revealed a
new side of American generosity. The financial agent of the pedestal
committee probably explained it, when he said recently: “The American
people are peculiar about these matters. You touch their sympathies
and sensibilities, and money flows like water. For flood or fire
sufferers you can raise a million dollars in forty-eight hours and have
a million more advanced for emergencies by bankers who know that it
will be promptly replaced by willing givers. But we haven’t got along
to the appreciation of art—of great masterpieces like the Bartholdi
statue—and so it was hard to raise money for it. In France, under similar
conditions, the fund would have been raised in a week.”
* * * * *
Apropos of the above a step that is being taken in many cities and towns
of late, will undoubtedly do much to cultivate among us the lamented lack
of “appreciation of art.” It is the establishment of city and village
art museums. Worcester, Mass., has had $25,000 left to her, recently, to
invest in an art museum. Smaller sums have been raised in several other
towns. A good opportunity to study art thoroughly may be secured to any
village by a donation of $1,000. Casts, photographs, engravings, and a
few standard works are sufficient to cultivate correct ideas, and lay
the foundation of knowledge. It is the only way in which to raise the
standard of taste in the villages remote from the few cities of America
which boast art museums.
* * * * *
The question of the date of the birth of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
interested the readers of the C. L. S. C. some time ago. The year alone
was ascertained. If any one was troubled that we were unable to answer
the query exactly, the answer of Mr. Robert Browning to a lady asking for
the date of Mrs. Browning’s birth may be of some consolation: “I know
neither the day, month, nor year of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s birth.
It is a subject upon which I have never had the slightest curiosity.”
* * * * *
One of the most active public men of the last generation has been
Schuyler Colfax. He has been prominent, both as a political leader and
as a public speaker. Mr. Colfax’s life of a little more than sixty years
was immensely busy. He made his career, beginning as errand boy and
clerk in his grandfather’s store. After he was eighteen years of age
he took up the study of law, then launching out as a journalist, and
finally, at twenty-five, entering the world of politics as secretary of
the Whig National Convention, to which he had been sent as a delegate.
When the new Republican party was started, Mr. Colfax was sent as a
representative to Congress, and from that time he was closely identified
with his party, serving particularly as Speaker and Vice President.
He was of that large class of industrious, quick witted men who make
themselves indispensable in whatever relations they are placed.
* * * * *
The “Imperial Dictionary” promises to be the rival of all the old
standard dictionaries among scholarly people. Its form is four good
sized volumes, which signifies that the English language grows and
grows, and that words need fuller explanation. Mr. Gilder, editor of
_The Century_, explained to us, when on a recent pleasant visit to the
_Century_ offices, that the “Imperial Dictionary” was built on “Webster’s
Dictionary” in England, and that scholarly men had devoted ten years to
the task. Now the Century Company have more than two hundred scholars
engaged in making improvements on the English edition. It will be seven
years before the new American edition will be ready for the market.
* * * * *
A timely and practical department of the Chautauqua University is the
School of Journalism. This school is under the able direction of H. W.
Mabie, one of the editors of the _Christian Union_. The demand for such
schools is great, and the fact that all the work between teacher and
pupil in this new undertaking will be conducted by correspondence, is an
additional argument in its favor. The plan is briefly this: Three courses
of study, with supplementary readings for those who have time for them,
have been prepared; theses are expected on subjects assigned, and these
will be criticised with special reference to vigorous style; constant
correspondence will furnish needed help and hints. The plan is a wise
one, its director is able, and there is no doubt but there are numerous
young men and women to whom it will open the long desired way out of the
woods.
* * * * *
One of the most romantic spots of American history is that of the Florida
Chautauqua. Ponce de Leon’s famous quest for the Fountain of Youth lay
through this region, and Lake de Funiak itself is fabled to be one of the
springs by which the old knight encamped. Perhaps here he plunged into
the clear waters and vainly waited to see himself changed to vigorous
youth again. However that may be, the road he laid out is a thoroughfare
for Florida travelers to-day, and about the clear lake still hangs the
tradition that it is the fabled Fountain of Youth. Ten miles from Lake de
Funiak is a second spring which still bears the gallant Spaniard’s name.
It will be a rare opportunity for dreaming over those early adventures
that visitors to Lake de Funiak will have.
* * * * *
The proposed new word, “Thon,” which was suggested in the program in THE
CHAUTAUQUAN for January as a suitable subject for an essay, seems to have
caused our readers some trouble. A word of explanation may help them. We
have no pronoun of the singular number and common gender in English. The
absence of such a word leads to many awkward circumlocutions. To obviate
this trouble Mr. C. C. Converse, a lawyer, has compounded the word
_thon_, from _that_ and _one_—declined: nominative _thon_, possessive
_thons_, objective _thon_. Its use is evident. In this sentence is an
example: If George or Anna will meet me I will go with _thon_. The word
has been much discussed and much amusement is caused by using it—a
practice which, however, demonstrates the need we have for such a word.
Prof. March, of Lafayette College, writes: “I do not know that any other
vocable would have so good a chance for this vacancy.” Prof. Norton, of
Harvard, says: “Such a pronoun would undoubtedly be a convenience, did it
exist. The difficulty lies in it being _yours_. All forms of speech have
grown, and I do not recall an instance of the use by a civilized race of
any word, not a noun or a verb, deliberately invented by a philologer,
however ingenious.”
C. L. S. C. NOTES ON REQUIRED READINGS FOR MARCH.
COLLEGE GREEK COURSE IN ENGLISH.
Articles on Euripides may be found in the following works: Mahaffy’s
“Classical Greek Literature;” Blackwell’s “Introduction to the Classics;”
“Studies of the Greek Poets,” by J. A. Symonds; Encyclopædia Britannica;
“Phœton,” _Fraser’s Magazine_, vol. xlv, p. 488; “Sea Studies” (J.
A. Froude), _Fraser’s Magazine_, vol. xci, p. 541; “Vindication of
Euripides,” _National Quarterly_, vol. xix, p. 1.
P. 188.—“The Raging Hercules.” One of the most precious remains of
Euripides, full of tragic pathos. While Hercules is absent from home,
Lycos, tyrant of Thebes, persecutes his father, wife and children. As
they are about to be put to death, Hercules returns and a scene of
vengeance follows, and Lycos is the one to suffer death.
“Balaustion,” ba-lausˈti-on.
“Sicilian Expedition.” See “Brief History of Greece,” page 31.
P. 191.—“Mistress.” Artemis.
P. 192.—“I-olˈcos.” An ancient town in Thessaly, the place from which the
Argonauts set sail.
“Stygian barge.” The Greek’s view of the world entered immediately after
death is given in the following quotation from Seemann’s “Classical
Mythology:” “It was supposed to be a region in the center of the earth,
with several passages to and from the upper world. Through it flowed
several rivers—Co-cyˈtus, Pyˌri-phlegˈe-thon, Achˈe-ron and Styx. The
last of these encompassed the lower world several times, and could only
be crossed by the aid of Charon, the ferryman, who was depicted as a
sullen old man with a bristling beard. The Greeks, therefore, used to
place an obolus (small copper coin) in the mouths of their dead, in order
that the soul might not be turned back by Charon for lack of money. On
the farther side of the river the portals were watched by the dreadful
hell-hound Cerberus, a three-headed monster, who refused no one entrance,
but allowed none to leave the house of Pluto. All souls on reaching the
lower world had to appear before the tribunal of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and
Æacus. Those whose lives had been upright were then permitted to enter
Elysium, where they led a life of uninterrupted bliss; while those who on
earth had been criminal and wicked were consigned to Tartarus, where they
were tormented by the Furies and other evil spirits. Those whose lives
had not been distinctly good or bad remained in the Asphodel Meadow,
where, as dim shadows, they passed a dull, joyless existence.”
P. 194.—“Koré,” kōˈrā. Persephone or Proserpine, the wife of Pluto.
P. 195.—“Moirai,” moyˈrī.
P. 197.—“Strophe.” In Greek tragedy, in its highest development, there
was a group of persons, composed of both sexes, who constituted the
chorus. When the actors paused the chorus sung or spoke, accompanied by
solemn music, moving from one side of the stage to the other. The time
of this movement was adapted to the stanzas, so that one, called the
strophe, was given as they passed in one direction, and the next, the
antistrophe, as they passed back.
“Daughter of Pelias.” Alcestis.
“Seven-chorded shell.” Tradition tells that the first lyre was made by
Mercury, out of the shell of a tortoise, which he caught a few hours
after his birth. Lyres were employed in recitations of epic poetry, and
consisted of a tortoise shell sounding bottom, from which arose two
horns, joined near the top by a transverse piece of wood, to which the
upper ends of the strings, usually seven in number, which were stretched
perpendicularly from the bottom, were fastened.
“Carnean feast.” One of the great national festivals of Sparta, held in
honor of Apollo, who had for a surname Carneus, which was derived by some
from Carnus, a son of Jupiter and Latona, and by others from Carnus, a
soothsayer.
P. 199.—“Lustral bath.” In their early history the only rite of
purification observed by the Greeks was that of ablution in water, but
afterward sacrifices and other ceremonies were added. These were used to
purify individuals, armies and states, and to secure the blessing of
the gods. The word lustral is derived from the Latin verb _lustro_ and
signifies to purify by means of propitiatory offerings.
P. 200.—“Othrys.” A range of mountains in Thessaly.
“Pythian’s sake.” Apollo’s sake.
P. 205.—The lines at the top of the page, spoken by Hercules, contain
the same sentiment that runs all through “Rubáiyát,” the poem written
by Omar Khayyám. Compare the extracts from this book given in the “Talk
About Books,” in THE CHAUTAUQUAN for February, 1885, with these stanzas.
To further show the similarity in thought, we select one stanza from the
poem:
“Waste not your hour, nor in the vain pursuit
Of this and that, endeavor and dispute;
Better be jocund with the fruitful grape
Than sadden after none, or bitter fruit.”
P. 206.—“Asclepian train,” as-cleˈpi-an. Train of physicians, who are
often called the descendants of Æsculapius, the god of the medical art.
P. 210.—“Gorgon.” A terrible winged woman, who dwelt with her two sisters
on the borders of Oceanus, the river that flowed around the ancient
world. She was beheaded by Perseus, who accomplished the perilous task by
the help of Hermes and Athena.
P. 211.—“Son of Sthenelus,” sthenˈe-lus. Euristheus, who assigned to
Hercules his twelve labors.
P. 212.—“Electra.” Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. On the return
of Agamemnon from the Trojan war, Clytemnestra and her paramour murdered
him. When her young brother, Orestes, had grown to manhood, Electra
excited him to avenge the death of Agamemnon, and assisted him in slaying
their mother.
P. 213.—“Medea.” The wife of Jason, the Argonautic hero.
“Pieria,” pi-eˈri-a. A narrow strip of country along the southeastern
coast of Macedonia.
“Harmonia.” Daughter of Mars and Venus, and wife of Cadmus.
P. 216.—In connection with the chapter on Ar-is-tophˈan-es, the following
works may be read: Mahaffy’s “Classical Greek Literature” (readings
will be found in this book on all the characters mentioned in “College
Greek Course”), “Aristophanes,” _National Quarterly_, vol. iii, p. 70:
_Fraser’s Magazine_, vol. xii, p. 222.
P. 219.—“Creon.” Cleon is meant, the “leather-seller” who for six years
was the most influential man in Athens. He took command of the forces at
Sphac-teˈri-a, during the Peloponnesian war, and fulfilled the promise
he had boastingly made, that he would capture the Spartans within twenty
days if the Athenians would send him against them.
P. 220.—“Tableaux vivants,” tä-blō vē-väⁿᵍ. Living representations, in
which persons are grouped as in pictures. We frequently use only the
first of these French words.
“Sophˈist.” The Sophists were the leading public teachers in Greece
during the fifth and fourth centuries B. C. In its original sense, the
word meant a wise man, and as such could properly be applied to Socrates.
But in his day, as a class, they were “ostentatious imposters, flattering
and duping the rich for the sake of personal gain.”
P. 225.—“Rhea.” The wife of Saturn, and the great goddess of the world.
“Hebrus.” The principal river in Thrace.
P. 226.—Readings on Pindar will be found in Talfourd’s “History of Greek
Literature,” _National Quarterly_, vol. xxxii, p. 203; _London Magazine_,
vol. ii, p. 60.
Readings on Sappho, _The Atlantic_ (T. W. Higginson), vol. xxviii, p. 83;
_Harper’s Magazine_, vol. lvi, p. 177; _Appleton’s Magazine_, vol. vi, p.
158.
Readings on Simonides, _Westminster Review_, vol. xxxii, p. 99; _Fraser’s
Magazine_, vol. ii, p. 52.
P. 228.—“Dithyrambics,” dith-y-ramˈbics. Originally songs in honor of
Bacchus; later, any poems written in a wild and enthusiastic manner.
“The Ivy-clad Boy.” Bacchus.
“Bromius.” One of the surnames of Bacchus, signifying the shouter.
“Eriboas.” See index of “College Greek Course.”
P. 229.—“Prophet of Nemea’s strand.” Jupiter.
“Orchomenus,” or-komˈe-nus. An ancient and powerful city of Bœotia.
“Minˈyans.” An ancient Greek race, said to have migrated from Thessaly.
Their ancestral hero, Minyas, is said to have been a son of Neptune.
P. 230.—“A-glaiˈa,” “Eu-phrosˈy-ne,” “Tha-liˈa.” The names of the Graces.
“A-soˈpi-chus.” See index to “College Greek Course.”
“Cle-o-dāˈmus.” Usually written Cleodæus. A descendant of Hercules, who
made an unsuccessful attempt to lead the Heraclidæ back into their own
land, the Peloponnesus. Temenus, his grandson, succeeded in the attempt.
“Bellerophon.” A Corinthian, who obtained possession of the winged horse,
Pegasus, who rose with him into the air, whence by means of arrows he
killed the Chimæra, a fire-breathing monster which had three heads, one
that of a lion, one of a dragon, and one of a goat. It had made great
havoc in Lycia and the surrounding countries. Afterward he conquered
the Solymi, a warlike race inhabiting the mountains of Lycia, and the
Amazons, a mythical, warlike race of females.
P. 232.—“Typhon.” A monster who wished to acquire the sovereignty of gods
and men, but who was subdued, after a fearful struggle, by Jupiter, and
confined in a Cicilian cave. He begot the winds.
P. 233.—“Phalˈa-ris,” B. C. 570. A cruel and inhuman tyrant of
Agrigentum, who was put to death in a sudden outbreak of popular fury.
He is said to have burned alive the victims of his cruelty, in a large
brazen bull.
P. 240.—“A-donˈis.” A beautiful youth beloved by Venus. He died from a
wound which he received from a wild boar. The grief of the goddess was
so great that the gods of the lower world allowed Adonis to return to
the earth for six months every year. In this myth the death of the youth
every year probably represents winter, and his return, summer.
“Cypris” and “Cyth-e-reˈa.” Venus.
P. 241.—“Arethusa.” The nymph of the famous fountain of Arethusa, on the
island of Ortygia.
P. 242.—“Meles.” A small stream in Ionia, on the bank of which Homer is
said to have been born.
“Pegassean fountain.” The inspiring well of the muses on Mt. Helicon,
said to have been formed from a kick given by Pegasus. It is sometimes
called the Hippocrene.
“Daughter of Tyndarus.” Helen of Troy.
“Son of Thetis.” Achilles.
“Eros.” Cupid.
“Al-ciˈdes.” Hercules.
“Orpheus.” See C. L. S. C. Notes in THE CHAUTAUQUAN for November, 1884.
Eurydice is the wife of Orpheus, instead of Proserpine, as there stated.
P. 244.—“Daphnis.” A Sicilian hero, son of Mercury, and a nymph. A Naiad
fell in love with him and made him swear he would never love another. But
he met and loved a princess, and the Naiad smote him with blindness. He
besought his father for help, and the latter removed him to the abode of
the gods, and caused a fountain to gush forth on the spot whence he was
taken up.
“Thirsis.” A herdsman who laments the death of Daphnis.
“Priapus.” Son of Bacchus. One of the divinities presiding over
agricultural pursuits.
P. 245.—“Gălˈin-gale.” A rush-like, or grass-like plant, often called
sedge.
“Ly-caˈon’s son.” Pandarus. One of the commanders in the Trojan war.
P. 246.—“Cicala,” si-cāˈlä. Usually written cicada. The locust.
P. 247.—“Dilettanteism,” dil-et-tanˈte-ism. Admiration of the fine arts.
P. 251.—“Golˈgi.” A Sicyonian colony, inhabiting a town of the same name
in Cypris.
“Idalium.” A town of Cypris.
P. 253.—For supplementary reading on Demosthenes see Talfourd’s “History
of Greek Literature;” The _North American Review_, vol. xxii, p. 34; _New
York Review_, vol. ix, p. 1; _National Review_, vol. xii, p. 99.
P. 255.—“Ignatius Loyola,” ig-naˈsheus loi-oˈla. (1491-1556.) A Spaniard;
the founder of the Society of Jesus. He served as page in the court of
Ferdinand and Isabella, and later engaged in the wars against the French
and the Moors. He was severely wounded in battle, and was made lame.
His thoughts were then turned toward a religious life. Long fasts and
scourgings often brought him near to death. He attended the University
of Paris, where he took the master’s degree at the age of forty-three.
Afterward he gathered a few followers about him as the nucleus for his
society, which in a short time became so famous.
P. 270.—“Margites.” A poem ascribed to Homer, which holds up to ridicule
a man who pretended to know many things, and knew nothing well.
P. 275.—“Milo.” A Roman of daring and unscrupulous character. He was
impeached for bribery and for interfering with the freedom of elections,
and Cicero undertook his defense.
P. 278.—“Cyrcilus.” The stoning of this man and his family occurred when
the Athenians, under Themistocles, retreated from their city to Salamis,
after learning that Thermopylæ was in the possession of the Persians.
P. 281.—“Laocoön.” While the Trojans were debating whether they should
receive the wooden horse into the city, Laocoön, a priest, rushed forward
and warned them not to do it, and struck his spear into its side. As a
punishment, Minerva sent two monstrous serpents, which crushed him and
his two sons to death.
P. 282.—“Bema.” A raised place, from which an orator addressed public
assemblies.
CHEMISTRY.
P. 77.—“Champs de Mars,” Shäⁿᵍ duh Mars. Field of Mars. The name given
to the place devoted to military exercises in France. It is an extensive
parade ground, about 3,000 feet long and 1,500 feet wide, lying on the
left bank of the Seine. There are four rows of trees on each side, and it
is entered by five gates. It was finished in 1790, and in their eagerness
to have it ready for the first great feast of the French Revolution, on
July 14th, of that year, 60,000 volunteers, men and women, worked night
and day for two weeks, and completed it in time. At this feast the king
swore allegiance to the constitution. The Champs de Mars has been the
scene of many great historic events. The World’s Fair of 1867 was held
there.
P. 78.—“Academy of Science.” This was organized in France in 1666. In
1795 it, with four other academies, viz.: the French Academy, Academy
of Painting and Sculpture, Academy of Belles Lettres, and the Academy
of Moral and Political Science, was revived in a new form, under the
name of the _Institut National_. This institution is the most important
of its kind in the world. These academies now have the same relation
to the _Institut_ that colleges bear to a university. In the Academy
of Science at present there are sixty-three members and one hundred
corresponding members. It bestows an annual prize of about $2,000, for
the most important astronomical observation, a prize of nearly $600
for productions on natural science, and other rewards for inventions,
discoveries, and improvements. Its sessions are all held in public, and
are much frequented.
P. 80.—A free translation of the note at the bottom of the page: Having
attained an altitude of 22,960 feet, he still wished to go higher, and
so disburdened himself of all the objects which he could in any way do
without. Among these objects was a chair of white wood, which chanced to
light in a thicket, very near a young girl who was tending some sheep.
Great, indeed, was the astonishment of the shepherdess! The sky was
clear, the balloon invisible. What else could she think of the chair than
that it had come from Paradise? The only objection that could be raised
against the conjecture was the rudeness of its construction. The workmen
in the higher world, said the incredulous, could not be so unskillful.
The discussion was still going on, when the papers, in publishing all
the particulars of the aerial voyage of Gay Lussac, announced, among the
natural results of the ascent, this which up to this time had seemed a
miracle.
P. 85.—“Scheele,” shāˈleh.
P. 91.—“Litmus paper.” Paper that has been prepared for use as a test
for acids and alkalies. Litmus is a blue coloring matter, extracted from
lichens which are found along the rocky coasts of the Mediterranean, and
other tropical lands. They are largely used for dyeing purposes, and when
prepared with potash or soda, they produce litmus. A strong infusion
of litmus is made with boiling water, and a little sulphuric acid is
added. Unsized paper is dipped into this infusion, which gives it a blue
color. The application of any acid will change the blue to red, and then
the blue color may be immediately restored by immersing the paper in an
alkali. So delicate a test is it, that the paper has to be preserved in
closely stoppered bottles, to prevent the access of acid fumes.
P. 94.—“Berthollet,” ber-to-lā.
P. 100.—“Balard,” bā-lār.
P. 101.—“Liebig,” leeˈbig.
P. 107.—“Varech,” vărˈek; “Barilla,” ba-rilˈla.
P. 108.—“Courtois,” koor-twä.
P. 114.—“Nicklès,” nē-klā.
P. 115.—“Puy Maurin,” pwe-mō-raⁿᵍ; “Hauy,” ä-we.
NOTES ON REQUIRED READINGS IN “THE CHAUTAUQUAN.”
TEMPERANCE TEACHINGS OF SCIENCE.
1. “Boerhave,” bōrˈhäv, Hermann. (1668-1738.) A Dutch physician. He gave
much attention to the distinction between mind and matter, and condemned
the doctrines of Epicurus, Hobbes and Spinoza. He published several works
on the study and practice of medicine, and held the chair of chemistry,
botany, and medicine in Leyden University.
2. “Saracens.” The Mohammedan people who, coming from Mauritania, invaded
Europe in the early part of the eighth century. In Spain they took the
name of Moors. They applied to all unbelievers in Mohammedanism the name
Giaours (jour) as a term of reproach.
3. “Lorenz Oken.” (1779-1851.) A German naturalist, and the author of
several works. He was professor of medical science for a time at Jena,
and editor of the celebrated periodical, _The Isis_, devoted to natural
science. At the time of his death, he held the position of professor of
natural science in Zurich, Switzerland. A statue has been erected to his
honor in Jena, Germany.
4. “Bentham,” Jeremy. (1748-1832.) An English writer on politics and
jurisprudence. In opposition to Blackstone’s views, he wrote “Fragments
on Government.” His numerous literary works were more kindly received in
France than in England. One of his latest works was the “Art of Packing,”
that is, of arranging juries so as to obtain any verdict desired. He
wrote a book on the “Defense of Usury,” showing the impolicy of placing
restraints upon dealings in money.
5. “Benjamin Rush.” (1745-1813.) A celebrated American physician, one
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. During the ravages
of the yellow fever, in 1793, he distinguished himself by rendering
extraordinary services, and his history of that epidemic is a valuable
work.
6. “Nostrum Mongers.” Sellers of quack medicines.
7. “Circenses,” sir-senˈsēs. A Latin term, meaning race-courses. Here it
can be translated recreations.
8. “Panes,” paˈnēs. Bread, means of subsistence.
9. “Languedoc,” langˈgue-dock. A name applied during the middle ages to
a province in the south of France, which is now divided into several
departments, among which are Aude, Hérault, and Upper Garonne.
10. “Bunsen,” Christian Karl, Baron von, generally known as Chevalier
Bunsen. (1791-1860.) One of the most distinguished statesmen and scholars
of Germany. Through the favor of Niebuhr, who was Prussian minister at
Rome, he was appointed secretary to the Prussian embassy at that court,
where he remained twenty years, and then succeeded Niebuhr as minister.
Later he was sent as Prussian embassador to England. He was highly
esteemed by Frederick William III. and Frederick William IV., both of
whom frequently took him into their counsel. He was one of the most
zealous workers in bringing about the union of the German states. His
widow has published the “Memoirs of Bunsen.”
11. “Turnerhalls.” Gymnasia which were established throughout Germany
through the enterprise of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, in the latter part of
the eighteenth century, for the purpose of fitting young men to endure
the fatigues of war.
12. “Jean Jacques Rousseau.” (1712-1778.) One of the most eloquent French
writers and singular characters of his age. He was denounced on account
of his subversive theories and the immoralities of his life. His erratic
social and political teachings are redeemed in part by the strong desire
he had to increase the happiness of the laboring classes.
13. “Goldwin Smith.” (1823-⸺.) An English author, and a warm friend to
the federal government during the civil war. Coming to the United States
in 1868, he became professor of English history in Cornell University.
SUNDAY READINGS.
The selection given in THE CHAUTAUQUAN as a Sunday Reading for October 5,
1884, was from Gotthold’s “Emblems.” The note on Gotthold was crowded out
of the C. L. S. C. Notes. Many inquiries have been made concerning him;
for this reason we insert the following:
“Christian Scriver, a Lutheran clergyman and writer of devotional works
in the seventeenth century, the contemporary and friend of Spener,
was born at Rendsburg, in Holstein, January 2, 1629. His childhood
was spent under the care of a widowed mother in the trying period of
the Thirty Years’ War; but a wealthy merchant—a brother of Scriver’s
grandmother—finally made provision for his needs. After suitable
preparatory studies, Scriver became a private tutor, and in 1647 entered
the University of Rostock. In 1653 he was archdeacon at Stendal, and in
1667 pastor at Magdeburg, with which position he combined other offices,
_e. g._, that of a scolarch, and finally of a senior in the government of
the church. He refused to leave Magdeburg in answer to repeated calls to
Halberstadt, to Berlin, and to the court of Stockholm, but in advanced
age was induced to accept the post of court preacher at Que Dinburg. In
1692 he suffered an apoplectic stroke, and on April 5, 1693, died. He had
been married four times, and had had fourteen children born to him, but
he outlived all his wives and children except one son and one daughter.
“The name of Scriver has lived among the common people through the
publication of his ‘Seelenschatz’ (Magd. and Leipsic, 1737, Schaffhausen,
1738, sq., five parts in two vols., folio), a manual of devotion which
he dedicated to ‘the Triune God,’ and which deserves high commendation.
Another work deserving of mention is Gotthold’s ‘Zufällige Andachten’
(first edition 1671, and often), a sort of Christian parables, 400 in
number, which are based on objects in nature and ordinary occurrences
in life. The ‘Siech. u. Siegesbette’ describes a sickness through
which he passed, and the aids and comforts derived from God’s goodness
in that time. Prittius has published a work of consolation entitled
‘Wittwentrost,’ from Scriver’s literary remains.”
For Scriver’s life see Prittius’s preface to the “Seelenschatz;”
Christmann’s “Biographie” (Nuremburg, 1829): Hagenbach’s “Wesen u. Gesch.
d. Reformat.,” vol. iv; “Evanganlisch Protestanitismus,” vol. ii, 177
sq.; Herzog’s “Real-Encyklop,” s. v.
* * * * *
1. “Renan,” rŭh-näⁿᵍ. (1823-⸺.) A French philosopher, who has published
several treatises on comparative philology, and translations of
scriptural books with critical introductions, and has written much for
periodicals. He was sent at the head of a scientific commission to
explore Tyre and Sidon, Lebanon and other localities, and made many
interesting discoveries.
2. “Whitefield,” George. (1714-1770.) The founder of Calvinistic
Methodism. He set the example of preaching in the open air, and at
one time is said to have addressed 60,000 persons at Moorfields. He
quarreled with Wesley on the subject of predestination, but afterward was
reconciled to him, although he never agreed with him in doctrine. He made
several visits to the United States.
3. “President Edwards,” Jonathan. (1745-1801.) Son of Jonathan Edwards,
the divine. He was president of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. His
complete works were published in two volumes.
4. “Tholuck,” tōˈlook. (1799-1877.) A German divine. In 1826 he was
called to the University of Halle, as professor of theology, where he
spent the remaining years of his life.
STUDIES IN KITCHEN SCIENCE.
1. “Brassica oleraceæ,” brasˈsi-ca ō-ler-aˈse-ē.
2. “Bore-cole.” A variety of cabbage, not having its leaves packed into a
firm head, but loose and curled.
3. “Daucas carota,” dauˈcus ca-roˈta.
4. “Beta vulgaris,” bēˈta vul-gāˈris.
5. “Mangold-Wurzel.” Commonly written mangel wurzel.
6. “Allium Cepa,” alˈli-um sēˈpa.
THE PREPARATION OF VEGETABLES.
1. “Entreés,” oⁿᵍˈtrā. The first course of dishes served on the table.
2. “Mayonnaise,” māˈyon-naise.
THE CIRCLE OF THE SCIENCES.
1. “Tufa.” A kind of volcanic sandstone, composed of pulverized volcanic
rocks. It is formed whenever a shower of rain accompanies the fall of
cinders, during the eruption of a volcano.
2. “Drift period.” The name applied to the time in which that remarkable
bed of earth, gravel, and stones of all dimensions, was deposited. It has
puzzled all geologists to account for this formation, which is the lowest
of the three groups of the superficial covering of the earth, and no
completely satisfactory theory has yet been advanced.
3. The large New Zealand bird described was called the moa.
4. “Carboniferous period.” Coal age. By careful study it has been found
that in the progress of the earth’s development a number of great ages
have existed—each distinguished from the others by some marked change.
That of coal plants is placed by geologists as the fourth age, counting
upward from the lowest formation. It was remarkable for the alternate low
elevation of the land above the sea level, and its submergences; and also
for the luxuriant growth of vegetation, which, under the great pressure
and heat to which it was subjected while the surface was submerged, was
changed into coal.
5. “Spectroscope.” The name given to the apparatus used for the study of
the spectrum. “When a ray of sunlight admitted through an aperture in a
dark room is concentrated upon a prism of rock salt”—or glass—“by means
of a lens of the same material, and then after emerging from the prism
is received on a screen, it will be found to present a band of colors,
in the following order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
violet.”—_Ganot_. This band is called the spectrum. That there are other
but invisible lines than those mentioned in the spectrum, is proven by
the use of the thermopile, oftener called thermomultiplier, mentioned
in the article on “Home Studies in Chemistry.” This is a complicated
instrument used for detecting minute differences in the degrees of
heat; its description without an accompanying illustration would be
of no benefit to any one. So delicate is it that the heat of the hand
held at a distance of three feet is sufficient to deflect the needle.
The spectroscope is composed of three telescopes, mounted on a common
foot, whose axes converge toward a glass prism. One of the telescopes is
movable, and can be adjusted so as to give the observer the clearest view
of the spectrum. The ray of light is admitted through the telescope and
falls upon the prism, which decomposes it, and the spectrum is formed on
the opposite side of the prism. In the telescope which the observer uses
a powerful magnifying glass is placed. The third telescope is used for
measuring the relative distances between the lines.
HOME STUDIES IN CHEMISTRY.
1. “James Dwight Dana.” (1813-⸺.) An American geologist and mineralogist;
the author of several works on these and other sciences. He went out as
mineralogist and geologist appointed by the United States Government with
the exploring expedition sent to the Southern and Pacific Oceans in 1838,
and returned in 1842. For the next fourteen years he was busily engaged
in preparing for publication the reports of this exploration. These were
published by the government and formed valuable records. For many years
he was one of the editors of the _American Journal of Science and Arts_.
He has been elected to membership in several learned European societies
and royal academies.
2. “Eisenlohr,” iˈzen-lore. (1799-1872.) A German physicist. He was a
Heidelburg student, and in 1819 removed to Mannheim, where he became
a teacher of mathematical and physical science in the lyceum. He was
afterward a professor at Carlsruhe. A Manual of Physics is his chief work.
3. “Geissler’s tubes,” ghīceˈler. The spectrum of any gas can be best
obtained by placing the gas in these tubes, and then passing the electric
current through. If the gas is hydrogen, the spectrum will consist of a
bright red, a green, and a blue line. Each gas casts its own spectrum.
In this way the spectroscope aids in the analysis of substances. The
different spectra formed reveal the elements.
4. “Sir John Herschel.” (1792-1871.) An English astronomer. His
great enterprise was his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope to take
observations of the heavens in the southern hemisphere. He remained
there four years. His published results of his observations furnish one
of the most valuable works on astronomy. He did not confine his studies
to astronomy alone, but gave great attention to the subject of the
atmosphere. He held that from eighty to ninety miles above the earth a
perfect vacuum exists, and that three fourths of all the atmospheric
air lies within four miles from the earth’s surface. His studies in
meteorology were also very valuable, as well as his important discoveries
in photography. Among his published works are: “Essays, from the
_Edinburgh_ and _Quarterly Reviews_, with Addresses and Other Pieces,”
“Physical Geography,” and “Familiar Letters on Scientific Subjects.”
Herschel held various positions of honor in his lifetime, being at one
time president of the Royal Astronomical Society, and afterward Master of
the Mint for five years. He was one of the eight foreign associates of
the French Academy of Sciences.
5. “Fire Worshipers.” A Persian sect which worships fire as an emanation
of the divine being. “Fire worshipers” is the English name for the
Guēˈbers (also called Ghēˈber or Giaours—jours). They call themselves
_Beh Din_, “those of excellent belief.” The Arabs completed the conquest
of Persia in the seventh century, and the great mass of the nation
adopted the faith of the conquerors. Those who refused to do so were
subjected to persecution. Some of them took refuge in the wilderness
of Khorasan, and others in Kohistan. The latter in the ninth century
emigrated to India and settled in the neighborhood of Surat. Their
descendants still inhabit the same region, and are called Parsees. The
descendants of those who remained in Persia have gradually decreased in
numbers and sunk into ignorance and poverty, though still preserving a
reputation for honesty, chastity, industry, and obedience to law superior
to that of the other Persians. They are estimated to number about 7,000.
6. “Bunsen Burner.” In this burner, at the lower end of the hollow stem
through which the gas passes, there is a lateral orifice which admits the
air necessary for combustion. This orifice can be made larger or smaller
by means of a diaphragm which is used as a regulator. If a moderate
amount of air enters, the gas burns with a luminous flame, but if a
strong and steady current is admitted, the carbon is rapidly oxidized,
the flame loses its brightness, and burns with a pale blue light,
scarcely perceptible, and with intense heat.
7. “Voltaic Arc.” A most beautiful effect, obtained from the electric
light. At the terminals of a battery, pieces of charcoal are connected
and placed in contact until the current causes them to become
incandescent. Then they are separated about the tenth of an inch, and
it is found that a luminous, exceedingly brilliant arc connects the two
points.
8. “Hell Gate.” The name of a narrow channel between Long Island and
Manhattan Island. Until recently the numerous reefs made it impassable
for large ships and dangerous for small ones. In 1851 the first efforts
were made to open the channel, by submarine blasting. In 1876, after
many vain attempts, the work was carried to a successful issue. The
total amount of money expended by Congress for this work since 1868 was
$1,940,000.
9. “Æolus.” A descendant of the founder of the Æolian race. He became
the ruler of certain islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which from him were
called the Æolian Islands. He is said to have taught his subjects to use
sails on their ships, and to have foretold the nature of the winds that
were to rise. Homer said of him that Jupiter had given him rule over the
winds. This led to his being regarded as the god of the winds, which he
was supposed to keep shut up in a mountain.
TALK ABOUT BOOKS.
It would be difficult for a biography of Sydney Smith, that man who
always took short views of life, hoped for the best, and put his
trust in God, to be other than interesting. Mr. Reid’s biography[L]
is so interesting that the reader quite forgets to criticise. It is a
many-sided sketch of the brave hearted dominie. It tells his history, to
be sure, but one gets a very good idea of many of his associates as well;
it tells his route through life, and as a happy idea adds descriptions
and illustrations of the various localities in which he lived, as they
are to-day. There is just enough quotation from the reverend Sydney
to give pith to the sober, clear narrative of the writer, and just
enough of the “Times” to keep one in sympathy with his age. Several
letters and essays never before printed appear in the volume. Mr. Reid,
we are pleased to see, presents the courage, the unfailing hope, and
the abundant common sense of his subject as characteristics of more
importance than his wit.
It is moderate praise of the book[M] produced by Mrs. Mitchell to
say that all lovers of art and its history will find it a valuable
acquisition to their libraries. The author has chosen the historical
method of presenting her subject, and begins with Egyptian sculpture,
passes on to Chaldean, Assyrian, and Persian; then to that of Phœnicia,
Asia Minor, and Greece, and ends with works of the Italian masters.
Feeling that “description can not by any possibility supersede the sight
of the artistic creations,” she has freely illustrated the book with
accurate representations of many of the great masterpieces. There can
be no work better suited for the use of those who desire to acquire a
knowledge of this branch of art.
M. Gaillard has added one more to the many books already issued for
the purpose of teaching “French Conversation.”[N] The system he has
adopted differs from all the others in this respect: questions alone are
given, to which the scholar is to frame his own answers. A clue to the
words needed in the replies, and to the construction of the sentences
and idioms will be found in the questions. Thus the memorizing of set
sentences which never will fit in anywhere save in the recitation room,
is avoided, and the pupil is obliged to think for himself instead of
merely observing how the words are used by others. Theoretically the plan
is a good one. As a text-book for common use in schools and elsewhere, we
doubt, somewhat, its feasibility.
No tourist to the White Mountains can afford to do without Mr. Drake’s
book.[O] The last edition of it is prepared expressly for their use, and
contains in the form of an appendix a complete guide-book. One of the
covers is provided with a pocket, within which is placed a map of the
White Mountains, and one of Vermont and New Hampshire. This pocket will
also prove convenient for carrying memoranda. The book contains many
fine illustrations, is printed from large, clear type, and is handsomely
bound. And as one sees in word pictures the scenery of the mountains, and
is delighted with racy little incidents of travel, and with anecdote, or
is thrilled with some perilous adventure, he can not help saying that
author, artist, and publisher have all done their part toward making an
attractive book.
It was a good idea to publish a dictionary of the “Women of the Day.”[P]
Miss Hays has undoubtedly put an immense amount of labor into the neat
little volume which she has just sent out to the world. However, the
publication has been too soon. More labor is needed to make the book as
useful as it ought to be. More than once her biographies of the best
known women are incorrect, as when she located Marion (which name, by
the way, she spelled Mari_a_n) Harland’s present home at Newark, N. J.,
a place she left years ago. Again, in some of the sketches the work is
poorly arranged. Why should Miss Willard’s whereabouts in 1878 be tacked
on at the end of the article, after it had been brought up to 1882,
instead of being inserted in its proper order? For all that, it is a very
useful work. It will be of great help to the general reader interested in
eminent women.
A valuable series of “Outlines” of the Philosophy of Hermann Lotze has
been undertaken by Prof. Ladd, of Yale College. A leading philosopher
of Germany, Lotze’s works have been sealed to all English readers,
save those who were able to overcome philosophical German. This series
will furnish an opportunity long desired by those interested in German
thought to make themselves familiar with Lotze’s ideas. “Outlines of
Metaphysics”[Q] is the first work issued.
Mrs. Jackson’s “Ramona”[R] takes rank at once in the highest class of
fiction. The fascination in its pages holds one from beginning to end,
and he closes the book with much the same impression as if he had just
returned from a day’s exquisite enjoyment of wild and rugged mountain
scenery. The characters possess an individuality such as is found in
those drawn by Dickens, and the fine shaping of plot and incident recalls
George Eliot’s “Romola.” The story of “Ramona” has to do with Indian life
in Southern California and Mexico, and is of historical interest. As one
reads of the wrongs cruelly inflicted upon the noble _Alessandro_ and the
heroic Christian spirit with which he endured them all to the bitter end,
there comes a sense of shame that under American laws, base, unprincipled
men could commit such deeds of plunder and violence with impunity. The
character of _Ramona_ is unique. Her devoted love for _Alessandro_, the
gladness with which she accepted the life of deprivation and danger at
his side, and the development, through heavy sorrows, of her deep, true,
womanly nature, give the book a richness of color and a depth of pathos
seldom met.
In “Dorcas,”[S] a story of anti-Christ, the lives and sufferings of
the early Christians in Rome are depicted. Dorcas and her friends
hid themselves away for many long months in the Catacombs, to escape
persecution. In two instances while there, the miracle of bringing the
dead back to life occurred, one of those restored being Marcellus, the
affianced husband of Dorcas, a young Roman nobleman who was put to death
for accepting the Christian religion. The accession of Constantine gave
them their freedom. The book affords a good study in the high style of
its diction and the purity of its language. It is valuable, too, for its
record of the customs of those days, and for its historical incidents.
Students of English who enjoy theories about words and expressions will
find in “Elements of English Speech”[T] a full measure of them, most
ingeniously supported. The book is in no way suitable for readers who are
unacquainted with Latin, Greek, French, and German, but for those who
have dabbled a little in each it will furnish interesting reading, and
some ideas of real value.
The house of D. Appleton & Co. is publishing some excellent text-books.
Among these is “Elements of Geometry,”[U] a work on plane and solid
geometry. The arrangement of the book, its admirable fitness to the needs
of the pupils just beginning the sciences, and its abundant exercises
make it a very satisfactory work for teachers.——In their series of
“Science Text-Books,” “Elements of Zoölogy,”[V] by C. F. & J. B. Holder,
is one of the most entertaining, practical, and, beside, thorough,
elementary works on animal biology we have ever seen. The illustrations
are excellent.——A capital “Second Reader” is “Friends in Feathers and
Fur, and Other Neighbors.”[W] We like the idea of giving the young folks
good, clear type.——But best of all is “Appleton’s Chart Primer,”[X] a
pretty little book with numbers of beautifully colored pictures for color
lessons, and a cover so brilliant that it will make it a pleasure for
little ones to learn their lessons.
A new edition of “The Water Babies,”[Y] abridged by J. H. Stickney has
been issued. It is a delightful fairy story for land babies. Little Tom,
a poor chimney sweep who belonged to a very cruel master, went one day to
work in a grand house. Coming down the wrong chimney, he found himself
standing opposite a large mirror in a very beautiful room in which a
little, sick girl was lying. The sight of himself in the glass, black
and impish, and the screams of the little girl frightened him so that
he jumped from the window, caught the branches of a tree, slid to the
ground and ran for his life, pursued by different members of the family,
who supposed him to be a thief. They could not catch him, however, and
soon gave up the attempt. Two or three days after his body was found in
a stream of water, and all the people thought him dead. But they were
mistaken; that body was only the old covering of Tom; he had been changed
into a beautiful water baby, whose life in that fairy land is told in a
very fascinating manner, showing that there, also, little folks ought to
work for the good of others.
The “Water Babies” is one of a series of “Classics for Children,” a
series arranged on the sensible idea that children can be taught to enjoy
good literature, as they are taught to read. Among the other works which
have appeared in this course are a “Primer and First Reader,”[Z] Scott’s
“Lady of the Lake,”[AA] and Kingsley’s “Greek Heroes.”[AB] Others are in
preparation.
“Which: Right or Wrong?”[AC] is an interesting story centering about the
Framingham Assembly. It gives some bright pictures of life there, and
teaches some excellent lessons.
“The Mentor”[AD] is a very neat little book written for the use of men
and boys who wish to appear to good advantage in cultivated society. It
treats of personal appearance, manners at the dinner table and in public,
conversation, odds and ends, calls and cards, and closes with a chapter
answering the question, “What is a Gentleman?” It contains a number of
quotations from eminent authors.
A beautiful device is that of “The Guest Book,”[AE] in which the hostess
may record the coming and the going of her guests. It contains short,
beautifully illustrated selections concerning hospitality, from prominent
writers, with blank pages left between for autographs, incidents, and
sketches relating to pleasant calls and visits. In the hands of every
woman who loves to entertain her friends it will prove a treasure-house
of pleasant memories.
Not often are our social foibles “taken off” more pointedly than in “The
Buntling Ball.”[AF] It is a really clever, and withal sprightly, satire
on some of the vulnerable points of New York society. _Mrs. Buntling_,
wife of a “potentate in pork,” returning from Europe, issues invitations
for a ball. She has obtained a list of “all the names considered of
decisive note,” and, regardless of the fact that she knows none of them
issues a general invitation. The fact that everybody comes is one of
the sharpest points in the play. Choruses are introduced in true Greek
drama style, and the “Knickerbocker young men,” “maneuvering mammas,”
“wall-flowers,” “gossips,” “Anglo-maniacs,” etc., carry on dialogues with
the principal characters, in which they give the whole philosophy of New
York society, in the frankest manner and in all sorts of happy, sprightly
verse. The mystery of its authorship has been turned to good account by
the publishers, who offer a prize of $1,000 to the successful guesser.
Marion Harland, in writing “Eve’s Daughters,”[AG] has done a noble
work for women. The book must exert a good influence wherever it goes,
and do much toward breaking down the barrier of false modesty and
ignorance in regard to herself, that woman, too often, has taken pride in
rearing. It begins with the life of the baby girl and follows her as the
representative of her sex, through all the years down to old age. Strong,
plain, helpful things are said, and said only as a brave, womanly woman
can say them, in regard to the physical life of women. Every mother ought
to read the book, and read it with her daughters.
“Memories of the Manse”[AH] is a quiet little picture of the life, home,
family, and parish of a Scotch minister who lived, a number of years
ago, in Glenarran. The rugged outlines of the stern character belonging
to that northern people are well drawn, and dashes of color, showing
the tender and loving side of human nature, appear here and there,
brightening up the scene. The experience of the eldest son, who was “a
clever lad, and had just returned after working his way through college,
wearing a wonderfully clerical dress and air, an eye-glass, and a highly
comfortable opinion of himself,” only to find that he was ridiculed
instead of admired by his former associates, and his honest surprise at
his unpopularity furnish a touch of humor to the whole work.
The books which Samuel Smiles has put upon the market are eminently
valuable to boys and men who are in trades. He has done much to dignify
labor and to show how essential is brain and thrift and education to
manual labor. In his late volume, “Men of Invention and Industry,”[AI]
the material is particularly good. It is fresh, and the stories of
successful men give a grip to the book which is very effective. The lack
of literary finish of which some complain in Mr. Smiles’s work is but a
minor matter when we think of the serious purpose, the earnest desire to
show how handicrafts may be developed, and how great opportunities lie
in the way of mechanics to benefit society and to attain distinction.
Among his men of invention and industry are Phineas Pett, the English
ship builder; John Harrison, the inventor of the marine chronometer, and
Frederick Koenig, inventor of the steam printing machine. A digression
from the main object of the book is the chapter on “Industry in Ireland,”
but it is a pleasing digression. The abundant resources which Mr. Smiles
shows to exist in Ireland, will be surprising to many readers. Her
fisheries, her iron, coal and clay beds, her linen industries, and her
ship building are well described. The development of these resources he
justly concludes to be the solution of the “Irish trouble.”
Mr. Harrison, in giving to the public the life and literary works[AJ] of
the author of “Home Sweet Home,” has met a want that many persons have
felt, to know something more of this author. No trouble has been spared
in gathering the data for the biography, and much valuable information
has been given to the world which, but for his efforts, might have been
lost. He has, however, entered so fully into details as frequently to
detract from the interest of the work. The circumstances under which
“Home Sweet Home” was written, are given.
FOOTNOTES
[L] A Sketch of the Life and Times of the Rev. Sydney Smith. By Stuart J.
Reid. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1885.
[M] A History of Ancient Sculpture. By Lucy Mitchell. New York: Dodd,
Mead & Company. Price, according to binding, $12.50, $18.00, or $25.00.
[N] French Conversation. By J. D. Gaillard. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
[O] The Heart of the White Mountains. By Samuel Adams Drake. Illustrated
by W. Hamilton Gibson. New York: Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square.
[P] Women of the Day. A Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Contemporaries. By Frances Hays. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
1885.
[Q] Outlines of Metaphysics. Dictated Portions of the Lectures of Hermann
Lotze. Translated and edited by George T. Ladd. Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co.
1884.
[R] Ramona. By Helen Jackson. (H. H.) Boston: Roberts Brothers. Price,
$1.50.
[S] Dorcas, the Daughter of Faustina. By Nathan C. Kouns. Author of
“Arius the Libyan.” New York: Fords, Howard and Hurlbert. 1884.
[T] Elements of English Speech. By Isaac Bassett Choate. New York: D.
Appleton & Co. 1884.
[U] Elements of Geometry. By Eli T. Tappan, LL.D. New York: D. Appleton &
Co. 1885.
[V] Elements of Zoölogy. By C. F. & J. B. Holder, M.D. New York: D.
Appleton & Co. 1884.
[W] Friends in Feathers and Fur, and Other Neighbors. By James Johonnot.
New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1885.
[X] Appleton’s Chart Primer: Exercises in Reading at Sight, and Language
and Color Lessons For Beginners. By Rebecca D. Rickoff.
[Y] The Water Babies. By Charles Kingsley. Edited and abridged by J.
H. Stickney. Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co. 1884. Mailing price, 40 cents.
Introduction, 35 cents.
[Z] Primer and First Reader. By E. A. Turner. Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co.
1885.
[AA] The Lady of the Lake. By Sir Walter Scott. Edited by Edwin Ginn.
Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co. 1885.
[AB] The Heroes; or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children. By Charles
Kingsley. Edited by John Tetlow. Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co. 1885.
[AC] Which: Right or Wrong? By M. L. Moreland. Boston: Lee and Shepard,
Publishers. 1883.
[AD] The Mentor. By Alfred Ayers. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. 1884.
[AE] The Guest Book. Designed and illustrated by Annie F. Cox. Boston:
Lee and Shepard. New York: C. S. Dillingham, 618 Broadway. 1885.
[AF] The Buntling Ball. A Græco-American Play. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
1884.
[AG] Eve’s Daughters. By Marion Harland. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons. 1885.
[AH] Memories of the Manse. By Anne Breadalbane. Troy, N.Y.: H. B. Nims &
Co. 1885.
[AI] Men of Invention and Industry. By Samuel Smiles, LL.D. New York:
Harper & Brothers. 1885.
[AJ] John Howard Payne. By Gabriel Harrison. Illustrated. Philadelphia:
J. B. Lippincott & Co.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Daddy Darwin’s Dovecote. A Country Tale. By Juliana Horatio Ewing.
Boston: Roberts Brothers. 1885. Price, 35 cents.
Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. By A Square. Boston: Roberts
Brothers. 1885. Price, 75 cents.
Memoirs of the Rev. David Brainard. Based on the Life of Brainard
prepared by Jonathan Edwards, D.D. Edited by J. M. Sherwood. New York:
Funk and Wagnalls. 1885.
PARAGRAPHS FROM NEW BOOKS.
A FRAGMENT ON THE CULTIVATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE ANIMAL SPIRITS.—It
is surprising to see for what foolish causes men hang themselves. The
most silly repulse, the most trifling ruffle of temper, or derangement
of stomach, anything seems to justify an appeal to the razor or the
cord. I have a contempt for persons who destroy themselves. Live on, and
look evil in the face; walk up to it, and you will find it less than
you imagined, and often you will not find it at all; for it will recede
as you advance. Any fool may be a suicide. When you are in a melancholy
fit first suspect the body, appeal to rhubarb and calomel, and send for
the apothecary; a little bit of gristle sticking in the wrong place, an
untimely consumption of custard, excessive gooseberries, often cover the
mind with clouds and bring on the most distressing views of human life.…
The greatest happiness which can happen to any one is to cultivate a love
of reading. Study is often dull because it is improperly managed. I make
no apology for speaking of myself, for as I write anonymously, nobody
knows who I am, and if I did not, very few would be the wiser—but every
man speaks more firmly when he speaks from his own experience. I read
four books at a time; some classical book, perhaps, on Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday mornings. The “History of France,” we will say, on the
evenings of the same days. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Mosheim
or Lardner, and on the evenings of those days, Reynolds’s Lectures or
Burns’s Travels. Then I have always a standard book of poetry, and
a novel to read when I am in the humor to read nothing else. Then I
translate some French into English one day and retranslate it the next;
so that I have seven or eight pursuits going on at the same time, and
this produces the cheerfulness of diversity, and avoids that gloom which
proceeds from hanging a long while over a single book. I do not recommend
this as a receipt for becoming a learned man, but for becoming a cheerful
one.—_From Reid’s “Life and Times of the Rev. Sydney Smith.”_
* * * * *
SCENES ON A STAGE COACH.—The views of the mountains as the afternoon wore
away, grew more and more interesting. The ravines darkened, the summits
brightened. Cloud-shadows chased each other up and down the steeps, or,
flitting slowly across the valley, spread thick mantles of black that
seemed to deaden the sound of our wheels as we passed over them. On one
side all was light, on the other all gloom. But the landscape is not all
that may be seen to advantage from the top of a stage coach.
From time to time, as something provoked an exclamation of surprise or
pleasure, certain of the inside occupants manifested open discontent.
They were losing something where they had expected to see everything.
While the horses were being changed, one of the insiders, I need not say
it was a woman, thrust her head outside of the window, and addressed
the young person perched like a bird upon the highest seat. Her voice
was soft and persuasive. “Miss!” “Madam!” “I’m so afraid you find it
too cold up there. Sha’n’t I change places with you?” The little one
gave her voice a droll inflection as she briskly replied: “Oh, dear,
no, thank you; I’m very comfortable indeed.” “But,” urged the other,
“you don’t look strong; indeed, dear, you don’t. Aren’t you very, _very_
tired, sitting so long without any support to your back?” “Thanks, no; my
spine is the strongest part of me.” “But,” still persisted the inside,
changing her voice to a loud whisper, “to be sitting alone with all those
men!” “They mind their business, and I mind mine,” said the little one
reddening; “besides,” she quickly added, “you proposed changing places, I
believe!” “Oh!” returned the other, with an accent impossible to convey
in words, “if you like it.” “I tell you what, ma’am,” snapped the one in
possession, “I’ve been all over Europe alone, and was never once insulted
except by persons of my own sex.”—_From Drake’s “Heart of the White
Mountains.”_
* * * * *
EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRICE.—It is a curious trait in human nature, that
each individual places the highest value on himself; treats the world
as if it were only in existence on his account, looks upon himself as
if he were the central point round which all things turn—and that yet,
in spite of this universal self-appreciation, so many persons make
themselves the slaves of others, or of some insignificant desire of
their own. This contradiction in the human mind, this inordinate pride
of men in combination with ignorance of their own true value, this
insatiable self-seeking in connection with so contemptible a depreciation
of themselves, is so common that we are only astonished that thoughtful
persons, perceiving it in others, are not thereby led to discover it in
themselves.… Every man has a price at which he sells himself. What is
thy price? Hast thou ever weighed what thou art really worth? Go into
thy chamber and devote some moments of earnest thought to an examination
of thyself, and try to discover for what earthly good thou wouldst be
likely to give thyself away. Look no farther back than the last year;
pass in review thy secret thoughts and silent wishes even of the last
few weeks only! Ah! a short while will no doubt suffice to show thee thy
weak points, which, had they been assailed by any tempter, would soon
have revealed to thee at what price thou wouldst have sold thy goodness,
thy Christian principles, thy heaven on earth, thy eternal prospects.
Thou shudderest? Thou wouldst rather not look into thyself? But if thou
valuest thy goodness, thy Christian principles, thy heaven on earth, thy
eternal prospects, ah, shrink not from this self-investigation?—_From
Zschokke’s “Meditations on Life, Death, and Eternity.”_
* * * * *
ADVICE TO AN INEXPERIENCED TEACHER OF HISTORY.—But the method of
teaching history must be determined in the main by the object aimed at.
If the object is to deposit in the mind the greatest number possible
of historical facts, there is perhaps no better way than to confine
the instruction to drill upon the contents of a manual by question and
answer, with frequent examinations in writing. Such a method would
probably be effective in two ways; it would give learners positive
knowledge, or the semblance of it, and it would pretty certainly make
them hate history. I do not hesitate to say that the ultimate purpose of
school instruction should be to incite an interest in history, and to
create a love for historical reading.
A word may be here most conveniently said on the subject of chronology.
A few dates should be well fixed in the memory; they should be
carefully selected by the teacher, and some explanation given of their
significance. But “a few,” you will say, is a little indefinite. Of
course, opinions will differ as to the number of indispensable dates in
any history, though there might be a general assent to the principle of
requiring the pupil to commit as few as possible. Of the two hundred and
fifty dates given in “Smith’s Smaller History of Greece,” I insist on
fifteen, and I think the number might be reduced to ten. But if learners
are properly taught, they will, of course, be able to determine a great
many dates approximately.
Remembering that you must make history interesting, to that end use all
available means to produce vivid impressions. This is a trite remark,
but it will bear repeating. Casts, models, coins, photographs, relief
maps, may not be at your command, but maps of some sort you must have.
Historical instruction, without the constant accompaniment of geography,
has no solid foundation—“is all in the air.”—_From “Methods of Teaching
History.”_[AK]
* * * * *
THE COMING OF LUTHER.—The events of the sixteenth century have been too
often regarded as constituting a break in history. But to the eye of
thought reviewing the course of history, the continuity remains unbroken.
Luther was but the child of the ages preceding; the Protestant revolution
was the natural and orderly sequence of a long course of preparation.
It was indispensable indeed for a time that men should regard the
Reformation as breaking with the past, in order that they might estimate
more deeply the meaning of the truth which had been revealed to them, and
secure its firmer establishment. In the turmoil of an age of transition
it is not always given to the leaders to discern the route by which
they have been led. Luther entered upon the inheritance of Wycliffe
and of Huss, and still further was he indebted to the spirit of German
mysticism. But his greatness was also peculiarly his own. He was not so
much a theologian as a man who afforded in his own rich nature, unveiled
so completely before his age, the materials for theology. His life was
a type of humanity for his own and succeeding ages. He lived through
the religious experience of the Mediæval dispensation before he came
to his knowledge of a higher birthright. Viewed from the standpoint of
a formal theology, he is full of inconsistencies and contradictions,
and even dangerous errors. But regarded simply as a man, with his rich
endowment of human instincts and yearnings, to which he gave the freest,
most unguarded expression, he was in himself a revelation of the human
consciousness in its freshness and simplicity, with which a complete
theology must come to terms. It is because the explosive utterances
of his vigorous, tumultuous nature have been weighed as if they were
carefully formed, dogmatic statements, that Luther has been so often
misunderstood by Protestant as well as by Roman Catholic writers.—_From
Allen’s “Continuity of Christian Thought.”_[AL]
* * * * *
NATURAL RESOURCES OF IRELAND.—Ireland is a much richer country by
nature than is generally supposed. In fact, she has not yet been
properly explored. There is copper ore in Wicklow, Waterford, and Cork.
The Leitrim iron ores are famous for their riches; and there is good
ironstone in Kilkenny, as well as in Ulster. The Connaught ores are mixed
with coal beds. Kaolin, porcelain clay, and coarser clay abound; but it
is only at Belluk that it has been employed in the pottery manufacture.
But the sea about Ireland is still less explored than the land. All
around the Atlantic’s seaboard of the Irish coast are shoals of herring
and mackerel, which might be food for man, but at present are only
consumed by the multitudes of sea birds which follow them.—_From Smiles’s
“Men of Invention and Industry.”_
FOOTNOTES
[AK] The Pedagogical Library. Edited by G. Stanley Hall. Vol I. Methods
of Teaching History. Second Edition. Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co. 1885.
[AL] The Continuity of Christian Thought. By Alexander V. G. Allen.
Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1884. Price $2.00.
SPECIAL NOTES.
We have been asked the meaning of the term the “geography of the
heavens.” Professor Hiram Matteson, in his excellent little treatise
entitled “The geography of the heavens,” makes in his preface the
following explanatory remarks: “I have endeavored to teach the geography
of the heavens in nearly the same manner as we teach the geography of
the earth. What that does in regard to the history, situation, extent,
population, and principal cities of the several kingdoms of the earth,
I have done in regard to the constellations; and I am persuaded that
a knowledge of the one may be as easily obtained as of the other. The
systems are similar. It is only necessary to change the terms in one
to render them applicable to the other. For this reason I have yielded
to the preference of the publisher in calling this work ‘Geography
of the Heavens,’ instead of _Uranography_, or some other name more
etymologically apposite.”
* * * * *
It will be noticed from Chancellor Vincent’s article on “The Chautauqua
School of Liberal Arts,” found in this impression of THE CHAUTAUQUAN,
that the Sunday-school Normal department of Chautauqua will hereafter be
known as “The American Church Sunday-school Normal Course.”
* * * * *
Messrs. L. Prang & Co. have begun to send out valentines of as much
beauty and artistic merit as their Christmas and Easter cards. Those of
the present season have been of rare beauty—the coloring of many of them
is exquisite.
* * * * *
The following, clipped from the text-book of the Chautauqua Musical
Reading Union noticed in THE CHAUTAUQUAN for February, will be of
interest to many of our music-loving readers:
The aim is not so much to give technical instruction in the science,
as to invite the wider outlook which is so important in real musical
culture. No person receives any pecuniary benefit from this organization,
but the labor is freely given in the hope of benefiting others. The books
required will be furnished from the Boston office at a discount from the
retail prices, or they may be ordered through any local bookseller. Local
circles may be formed in cities, towns, or small villages, greatly to the
advantage of all who thus associate themselves. Scarcely anything can be
conceived that will yield more delightful entertainment, together with
improvement of mind and heart, than such a local circle as may be formed
in connection with the C. M. R. C. All who are really in earnest about
the improvement of the musical taste of the community in which they live,
should exert every effort to bring about such an organization. For plans
and information as to how these circles may be made successful, address
the director, who will gladly furnish suggestions, and will send list of
prices at which the required books will be furnished. _Please enclose
stamp for reply._ A fee of fifty cents will be required to defray the
expense of registration, correspondence, etc., which amount, with the
name and postoffice address _plainly written_ (including county and
state), should be forwarded at once, directed to W. F. Sherwin, Director
C. M. R. C., New England Conservatory, Boston, Mass. Certificates will
be given for each course, and a diploma upon the completion of the four.
A “round-table” will be held (_à la_ C. L. S. C.) each year during the
Chautauqua Assembly. For price list of books and any other information,
address as above.
* * * * *
The following special course in physiology is announced:
Wonders of the Human Body. A. Le Pileur. $1.25.
Physiology for Practical Use. James Kinton. $2.15.
Mental Physiology. W. B. Carpenter. $3.00
The Foundation of Death. Axel Gustafson. $2.00.
ERRATA
In list of C. L. S. C. graduates which appeared in THE CHAUTAUQUAN for
February:
Pettit, Harriet L., California, instead of _Pennsylvania_.
Arann, the Rev. J. M., not _Araun_.
Hon, George V., not _How_.
Hoerner, George P., not _Hoemer_.
NAMES TO BE ADDED
To the list of graduates in the class of 1884:
Black, Jennie L. Pennsylvania.
Burgess, Miss Anna E. Ohio.
Carter, Anna B. California.
Carter, Emily B. California.
Chamberlin, Lydia L. Massachusetts.
Clark, Miss Annie Rhode Island.
Coleman, William H. Ohio.
Horsman, Mrs. George Wisconsin.
Holden, Mrs. Sarah K. Canada.
Jones, Mrs. E. J. Ohio.
Marsh, Miss Susanna Dakota.
Millar, Mrs. Lizzie L. S. Minnesota.
Safley, Agnes E. Minnesota.
Scott, Mrs. Lucie M. New York.
Walker, Ezra L. Ohio.
Weaver, the Rev. Wm. C. Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
The following persons passed a creditable examination in the Advanced
Normal Course of 1884 at Chautauqua:
Miss Fannie L. Armstrong, Hempstead, Texas.
Mrs. A. W. Briggs, Elma, Erie Co., N. Y.
Mr. O. W. Bowers, McLallen’s Corners, Pa.
* * * * *
At Lakeside, Ohio, Assembly, the following passed an Advanced Normal
examination:
Mrs. Abby A. Parish, Brooklyn Village, Ohio.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Page 316, “made” changed to “make” (all diligence to make their calling)
Page 316, “lotty” changed to “lofty” (such a lofty understanding)
Page 317, repeated “der” removed (the under side of the cabbage leaves)
Page 319, “entreés” changed to “entrées” (toothsome entrées)
Page 331, repeated “mon” removed (for common school purposes)
Page 341, “What is true of the processes of the is equally true of almost
every other manual industry” changed to “What is true of the processes is
equally true of almost every other manual industry”. The revised sentence
at least makes some sort of sense, but it’s possible that words are in
fact _missing_ from the original.
Page 348, repeated “of” removed (Yale College class of 1853)
Page 350, “invarible” changed to “invariable” (an invariable part of each
evening’s work)
Page 367, “Calvanistic” changed to “Calvinistic” (The founder of
Calvinistic Methodism.)
Page 368, “cuurse” changed to “course” (The first course of dishes)
Page 368, “on” changed to “in” to match article title (Home Studies in
Chemistry)