Project Gutenberg's Woman's Club Work and Programs, by Caroline French Benton
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Woman's Club Work and Programs
First Aid to Club Women
Author: Caroline French Benton
Release Date: July 26, 2010 [EBook #33265]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN'S CLUB WORK AND PROGRAMS ***
Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
scanned images of public domain material from the Internet
Archive.
WORK _and_ PROGRAMS
_for_ WOMENS' CLUBS
[Illustration]
_Caroline French Benton_
WOMAN'S CLUB WORK
AND PROGRAMS
Woman's Club Work
and Programs
or
First Aid to Club Women
BY
CAROLINE FRENCH BENTON
Author of "A Little Cook Book," "Easy Entertaining,"
"Living on a Little," "Easy Meals," etc.
[Illustration]
BOSTON
DANA ESTES & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1913_
BY DANA ESTES & COMPANY
Thanks are due the editors of the _Woman's Home Companion_
for permission to use the articles in book form which first
appeared in that magazine.
CAROLINE FRENCH BENTON.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION 11
II. THE MODERN DRAMA 24
III. OUR OWN COUNTRY 40
IV. THE HOME 56
V. MYTHS AND FOLK-LORE 69
VI. A TRIP THROUGH THE BRITISH ISLES 83
VII. THE OPERA 100
VIII. THE WORLD'S GREAT PAINTERS 114
IX. TEN AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS 131
X. TOWN IMPROVEMENT 145
XI. HOLLAND 160
XII. THE HOMELIKE HOUSE 175
XIII. NATURE 193
XIV. THE GREAT ENGLISH NOVELISTS 207
XV. ENGLISH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY 221
XVI. THE GILDED AGE OF LOUIS XIV. 236
XVII. FORESTRY 250
XVIII. SHAKESPEARE 257
XIX. THE EMPLOYMENTS OF WOMEN 273
XX. IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS OF OUR TIMES 281
XXI. THE STUDY OF CHILDHOOD 297
XXII. MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS 309
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
HOW TO BEGIN CLUB WORK
The time has long since passed when a special plea is needed for the
existence of women's clubs, for actual demonstration has proved their
worth to the individual and to society. Multitudes of women on farms, on
remote ranches, in little villages, in great cities, have felt their
impetus to a broader and more useful life. They have instructed those of
limited education; they have given a wider horizon to those hemmed in by
circumstance; they have trained the timid to speak, and, of late years,
they have prepared the way for women of leisure and influence to take up
what is called "the larger housekeeping," the bettering of social and
civic conditions.
But many women to-day still feel a certain timidity about venturing to
start a club, and an inability to make out a consistent line of study.
They have a lingering idea that it is all difficult, and that only the
expert may try to handle these things. So for these women here are the
simple, fundamental things about club work, which any one can follow.
If you would like to organize a club, begin by making out a list of ten
or a dozen of your neighbors and friends, those whose interests are much
like your own, and tell them that you think it would be pleasant to have
some sort of a little circle for reading, or study, or social
companionship. Probably they will all have something to say about this,
and various ideas will be advanced as to the sort of club which is most
desirable. Then, after it is talked over, you, as the one who suggested
the meeting, will call the women to order and ask some one to nominate
and second a temporary chairman, and, after she is elected, a temporary
secretary.
When these two have taken their seats and the secretary is ready to
begin taking notes, the chairman will appoint several committees, with
perhaps two members on each.
The first will be the Nominating committee, to present to the club the
names of candidates for the offices of president, vice-president,
secretary and treasurer.
The second will be on a Constitution, which is to draw up very simple
rules to guide the club, telling of its aims, the number of officers and
how they are to be elected, the dues, the time and place of meeting, and
whatever else is thought necessary.
The third committee will be on Name; it will prepare a list of titles to
be chosen from.
The fourth committee will be on Program. This will offer possible lines
of work.
These committees will be sufficient to begin with. The chairman can then
tell when and where the next meeting will be held and declare this one
adjourned.
At the second meeting the same chairman as before will take her place
and call for the reading of the minutes of the last meeting. When these
are read and accepted, she will ask for the report of the Nominating
committee, and when it is presented, the officers will be voted for,
either _viva_ voce, or by ballot, as the club prefers.
The new president and secretary will then take their chairs, and the
business of hearing the reports of the other committees will go on. When
a name for the club has been chosen, the constitution read and voted
upon article by article, and the program planned, the president will
name different chairmen to take charge of several following meetings;
then this first regular meeting may adjourn, feeling that the club is
successfully launched.
From this point the work should go on smoothly. The president will find
her part of it much easier, however, if she will get a little book,
called the Woman's Manual of Parliamentary Law, to which she can refer
when any point of order comes up with which she is not familiar.
Once a club is started, the great question is, What shall we study? And
of course the field is limited only by the tastes, the education of the
members, and the number of books to which the club can have access. If
there is a good public library, they may choose almost any literary
subject. If there is none, the next thing is to find out if a travelling
library can be had from the state librarian, and whether enough books
can be borrowed to cover the whole subject thoroughly. If members can
have neither of these helps, then the contents of individual libraries
must be discussed, and a subject must be selected which needs few books
to work with. It is to be noted that a good general reference book will
be found most useful, even if a practical subject is finally decided
upon.
One of the great dangers a new club has to face is the ambitious
tendency to begin with some abstruse, difficult subject rather than with
a simple one. The Literature of India, or the Philosophy of the Greeks
may be tempting, but even with all the reference books in the world such
subjects are a mistake for beginners. Something should be selected which
is interesting to every one, not too far away from their every day
reading, not too utterly unfamiliar. A country club may like a season on
Bird Study. A village club may find Town Improvement full of
suggestions. A city club can study some American Authors, or the Public
Schools.
If all these things still seem too difficult to begin with, then at
least an Embroidery Club may be founded as the very simplest foundation
possible, the members to come each week with their fancy work and listen
to one member who reads aloud something entertaining. This may do for a
first season, and the second, a study subject may be taken up.
Sometimes where there is no library at hand, a Magazine Club makes a
good preliminary step to larger things. Members tell a chairman what
magazines they take, and agree to have them at the home of the chairman
one day each week or fortnight. She will look them over and divide the
contents into several parts, travel, biography, essays, stories, poetry,
and so on. Then she will portion out among the members parts of the
programs; one meeting may be on travel only, a second on essays, a third
on poetry, three or four members reading selections from articles on
these. Or, the programs may be varied by combining two or more subjects.
This, too, makes a good training for a serious study in a second year,
especially if a discussion of the subjects becomes a regular part of
each meeting.
Clubs which have gone beyond these two early stages of development, or
which have never been compelled to pass through them, may begin work
with some literary topic. A Year of Biography, covering the lives of
great men and women of America or England, is a good first subject, with
plenty of material. The writings of Emerson, Hawthorne, Poe and others
of the same period, is another. Or, the novels of one or two great
writers, George Eliot, Thackeray and Dickens, are always delightful,
especially with readings from their novels.
Often clubs will find it a good plan to alternate some study subject one
month with a miscellaneous topic the next, by way of variety. Current
topics, too, are well worthy constant study, and these can be used as a
sort of prelude to any regular program.
Musical clubs are usually limited to a few members, except in cities,
but this is by no means necessary, for numbers of women love to listen
to good music who can neither play nor sing, and perhaps they can
contribute their share of work by writing or speaking of the lives of
the composers.
Clubs interested in practical themes may take up civic questions,
municipal reforms, or children's courts, or cleaning up their town, or
studying factories, or labor laws. There is an excellent magazine called
The Survey which deals with all these topics, and suggests many more on
the same lines.
Chairmen sometimes find real difficulty in making out club programs,
puzzled how to divide a subject into its best points, and subdivide each
of these general topics into others, for individual papers.
One of the best plans is always to look up any subject in the
encyclopedia, first of all. It is surprising how much help one can get
there, for history, art, literature, politics and everything else can be
found. Then next, the public library is to be consulted, its card
catalogue looked over, and the books drawn out, or at least glanced
through for suggestions. Magazines sooner or later seem to have articles
on everything, and the library will offer also books of reference to
these. In case the subject is historical, a good high school history may
be consulted, for in the table of contents the main divisions are all
clearly given. A chairman can write down the outlines of all she gleans
from these varied sources and then select from them the general lines of
study and fill these in.
Sometimes when there is no library at hand, a school teacher can help
one out with suggestions, or perhaps a minister may have books on the
subject selected. Or, by writing directly to the state librarian books
may be borrowed of him. Clubs which have a small yearly fee sometimes
buy a book or so a year and keep them as a nucleus of a library.
As to writing club papers, there personality comes in, and education
and training, and these give a certain individuality of method of
treating a subject. But even here members can follow out certain
definite directions.
Suppose, to make the matter concrete, that some one wishes to write a
paper on Ruskin, and does not know exactly how to go to work; here is a
general plan:
First, of course, she should read something on his life,--a book, an
article in a magazine, or anything she can get, and the more she can
read the better paper she will write. Next she should divide her subject
into its parts; in this case there might be three: Ruskin's life; his
work; his influence.
The first topic would cover his home, his early education, the influence
of his mother, and his gradual growth into his place in the world.
The second would take up what he did; his travels, his interest in
painting, architecture, economics and sociology; his friends, his
controversy with Whistler and its outcome, his contact with Oxford, and
the books he wrote.
The third would be a resumé of what Ruskin actually accomplished; of the
value of his work to society, and his influence on social problems; and
the question would be raised, Are his views considered sound to-day?
Such a paper, illustrated by brief readings, would be of a certain
value, for it would be clear, concise, and full of matter which would
probably be fresh to many club members; and any subject may be treated
in the same general way; one has only to choose one on which plenty of
material can be found, then read everything to be had on it, make out an
outline of three or four topics covering the whole and take these up one
by one, illustrating with anecdotes, quotations and the estimates of
others, and the paper is sure to be interesting. What should never be
done is to write a paper without making an outline; the result of that
is vagueness and repetition.
The value of a discussion after a paper cannot be over-estimated. One
joins a club not so much to acquire information, because that can be
done by reading books at home, but rather to learn to express oneself
readily and intelligently. This is why in planning a club it is best to
emphasize the two points; first, that members must talk over the
subjects at the close of each meeting, speaking briefly and always to
the point; and second, that papers should not be too long, or too
heavy, but full of matter, interesting, and above all, suggestive.
Debates are always of value to club women, for as we know too well, they
are not naturally logical; debating soon shows one how easy it is to
think in a hazy, indefinite way, and how difficult to say clearly and
concisely what is to be said.
It will be necessary, of course, to learn the accepted methods of
debating, and know how to present the points of the argument
progressively and with a climax, as well as to anticipate the points
likely to be made by the opponent. Each side must also be limited as to
time.
As to the subject of a debate, it is a safe rule to choose the concrete
rather than the abstract, a large subject rather than a limited one, and
one of general interest. There should also be two well defined sides,
rather than something accepted by everybody. Such things as the views of
some writer on socialism, or the permanency of the work of a well-known
novelist or poet, or political, but not partizan, questions are always
acceptable.
To make club work successful year after year it should be remembered
that a club is not a university; that it should not be scholastic, but
full of human interests. Tastes of members vary, and so the subjects
selected should be attractive, fresh, and stimulating. In a large club
there may be committees on different subjects, art, civics, child study
and the like, each one a little club in itself, meeting weekly, and the
whole club can gather once a month and the committees in turn present a
program on their special subjects, and so every member be satisfied. As
years go by it will be found that members grow to like subjects other
than those they began with, and more general work will be taken up.
Last of all, to have a successful club it is essential that there should
be no members who are mere listeners. Each woman actually has something
to contribute, if only in a very quiet way, and a good chairman of a
program can find out what this is; the little talent may take shape in a
paper, or a talk, or a part in a discussion, or some music, or only a
quotation or a reading. But a club is worth just as much to a member as
she puts into it, and no more. Any woman who is not willing to do
something in the way of real work should drop out and give some one else
the place which she occupies but does not fill.
Two methods are followed in the programs offered to clubs in this book.
First, a year's work is divided up into ten meetings with four or five
papers suggested for each meeting with readings and bibliography.
Second, the year's work is again divided into ten meetings, but it is
left to clubs to choose from the material furnished how many papers
shall be written and what their titles shall be. The material offered in
either case is sufficient for twenty meetings or more; indeed, in some
cases, one theme might be expanded for the work of several years.
CHAPTER II
THE MODERN DRAMA
I--BEGINNING OF MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA--THE AGE OF ELIZABETH
1. _First Paper (Introductory): Beginning of English Drama_--Origin in
the miracle-plays. Influence of the Renaissance. Change in the form of
the drama through foreign influences.
2. _Ben Jonson_--Story of his life; character of his plays; his devotion
to the classics.
3. _Beaumont and Fletcher, Massinger, Ford, and Webster_.
4. _Shakespeare_--Story of his life; how his plays were made; his
imagination, wit, and tenderness; his supremacy.
5. _The Theater in the Time of Elizabeth_--Scenery, seating
arrangements, costumes, absence of women actors; famous theaters.
READINGS FROM--Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. Beaumont and Fletcher's
Knight of the Burning Pestle. Shakespeare--History: Henry V. Comedy: As
You Like It. Tragedy: Macbeth. Fancy: Midsummer Night's Dream.
Sentiment: Romeo and Juliet.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Taine: History of English Literature: Book II.,
Chapter II. Hamilton Mabie: Shakespeare. The Mermaid Series of
Dramatists.
In addition to these papers have short readings from Kenilworth, and
Miss Strickland's Queens of England, giving a clear idea of Elizabeth.
Read also from Jonson's Sad Shepherd, the Masque of Oberon and the
Masque of Queens. Give a sketch of the modern reproduction of an old
miracle-play, called Everyman, with a selection. Close with
Shakespeare's estimate of Jonson, and Jonson's estimate of Shakespeare,
and show photographs of Shakespeare, his birthplace, Anne Hathaway's
cottage, the Avon, the parish church.
II--THE RISE OF MODERN COMEDY
1. _Beaumarchais_--Story of his life. Characteristics. Readings from The
Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. The modern operas founded
on these.
2. _Molière_--His humble origin, rise and relation to the court. His
matrimonial unhappiness and estimate of women. Readings from Les
Précieuses Ridicules, Tartuffe and Sganarelle. Quotations from modern
estimates of Molière.
3. _English Comedy under the Restoration_--Effect on the drama of the
return of the Stuarts. Estimates of the following writers and quotations
from the plays mentioned: Sir George Etheredge: She Wou'd if She Cou'd.
William Congreve: The Double Dealer. William Wycherley: The Plain
Dealer. Sir John Vanbrugh: The Relapse, which is said to have created
the fop as a type. George Farquhar: The Beaux' Stratagem.
4. _Comedy under the Georges_--Goldsmith and Sheridan. Birth of both in
Ireland, and its effect on their lives and work as dramatists.
Modernness. Readings from The Good-Natured Man and She Stoops to
Conquer. Readings from The Rivals and The School for Scandal. Readings
from Irving's Life of Goldsmith. Description of his grave by the Temple
Church, London.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Van Laun's History of French Literature. Translations
by Van Laun and Curtis Hidden Page. Lives of Molière by Chatfield-Taylor
and Brander Matthews. The Mermaid Library (for the Restoration
Dramatists).
Between the September and the October programs there might be an
informal morning meeting, at which the novel by Chatfield-Taylor, Fame's
Pathway, of which Molière is the hero, might be read in whole or in
part. It gives a vivid description of the stage of that time. In reading
The School for Scandal, The Rivals and She Stoops to Conquer, arrange to
have the parts taken by several of the club and have a rehearsal to
insure a smooth rendering of these bright plays. An additional paper for
this program might be on Jeremy Collier's famous attack on the stage,
and its purifying effect.
III--THE DRAMA IN ENGLAND; VICTORIAN PERIOD
1. _Early Nineteenth-Century Dramatic Criticism_--Charles Lamb's
selections from the early English dramatists. His great love of the
stage, and his essays describing plays and actors of his time. Essays of
Hazlitt and of Leigh Hunt upon the stage.
2. _Sheridan Knowles_--Readings from Virginius.
_Bulwer-Lytton_--Readings from The Lady of Lyons and Richelieu.
3. _Tom Taylor_--Readings from Our American Cousin and The Ticket
of Leave Man. _Robertson_--Readings from Society and Caste.
_Boucicault_--Readings from London Assurance; Louis XI.; and The Colleen
Bawn.
4. _Irving and Terry_--As exponents of Shakespeare. Their personalities.
Irving as a manager. His magnificent stage-settings.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Brander Matthews: Development of the Drama. C. M.
Gayley: Representative English Comedies. H. A. Clapp: Reminiscences of a
Dramatic Critic.
The immense improvement in the art of staging plays in this period is an
excellent topic for one paper. The famous actors also may be studied:
John Kemble, Edmund Kean, Macready, and Helen Martin (Lady Faucit), for
the earlier years; the Bancrofts, the Kendals, and Beerbohm Tree, for
the later. Sothern's great success as Lord Dundreary, Macready's visit
to the United States during the Civil War, and the popularity of Irving
and Terry are worthy of consideration. Particular mention may be made of
plays other than Shakespearean, in which Irving and Terry appeared: The
Bells, The Lyons Mail, Faust, and Tennyson's Becket. Read from Terry's
recently published biography. The history of Drury Lane and Covent
Garden theaters deserves a special paper.
IV--THE GERMAN DRAMA
1. _Lessing_--The dulness of the German theater up to the middle of the
eighteenth century. Paralysis of genius by the Thirty Years' War.
Lessing's dramatic criticism. Readings from Minna von Barnhelm, and
Nathan the Wise. Translations in Bohn's Library.
2. _Goethe_--His life-story, his writings, his influence. German
admiration for Shakespeare largely due to Goethe. Description of life at
Weimar. Goethe's first play: Goetz von Berlichingen. Readings from
Egmont, Iphigenia, and Tasso. Bohn's Library.
3. _Schiller_--Relation to Goethe. Comparison of their styles. Readings
from The Robbers, Wallenstein, Wilhelm Tell, Maria Stuart, Die Jungfrau
von Orleans. Bohn's Library.
4. _Later German Drama_--Grillparzer. Paul Heise. Hauptmann: reading
from The Sunken Bell. Sudermann: readings from Dame Care, and The Joy of
Living. What was the effect of Ibsen on the German drama?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Witkowski: German Drama of the Nineteenth Century.
Huneker: Iconoclasts. Kuno Francke: German Ideals of To-day. Whitman:
Teuton Studies.
Goethe has been called the idol of the German people, and the major part
of this program may well be devoted to him. Carlyle's essay on Goethe is
a famous piece of writing, and the life by Lewes is as interesting as a
novel (see the Everyman's Library). Follow the third paper with a
reading from J. G. Robertson's Schiller after a Century. A closing talk
might point out the sentimental character of the early German dramas as
contrasted with the realism of those of to-day. Reference should also be
made to the symbolic plays.
V--FRENCH DRAMA
1. _The Romantic Drama_--Victor Hugo. The romantic revival in all
European literature. Influence of Scott's novels. Story of Hugo's life.
Early struggles. His first play; politics and exile. Characteristics of
his style. Readings from Le Roi s'amuse, Hernani, and Ruy Blas.
2. _Experiments in the Drama_--Augier: Attempt to revive the classic
drama: the story of Charlotte Corday, and reading from the play.
Scribe: Improved construction of the play; reading from Valérie.
3. _The Drama at Its Height_--Dumas fils. Comparison of the father and
the son in literature. The son's ambition to reform society through the
stage. The first problem plays. Description of La Dame aux Camélias.
Sardou: Versatility of subjects. Skilful construction of plot. Tendency
to the sensational and the gruesome. Reading from Patric.
4. _The Drama To-day_--Becque: Theory of evolution applied to society;
Les Corbeaux. Brieux: Satire, realism; Blanchette, Les Trois Filles de
M. Dupont. Rostand: Romantic and literary; readings from Cyrano de
Bergerac, L'Aiglon, and Chantecler. Bernstein: Relation of the modern
Jew to the stage; politics and the drama in Paris; Le Voleur, Samson.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--A. Filon: The Modern French Drama. Brander Matthews:
French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century. Matthew Arnold: Essay on
the French Play in London.
If possible, have an additional paper on some of the interesting French
actors: Coquelin, Mounet-Sully, Rejane, and Bernhardt. Another and
briefer paper may discuss French dramatic criticism, easily the most
brilliant of our time in the whole world of letters. Sarcey, Claretie,
Doumic, and Legouvé are among these well-known names. Have some one
speak of the Comédie Française and its influence on French drama.
VI--ENGLISH DRAMA OF TO-DAY
1. _Pinero_--His early style as shown in The Profligate, The Amazons,
and Trelawny of the Wells. The important change in his methods revealed
in The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, and His House in Order. The problem play
in English.
2. _Henry Arthur Jones_--Study of The Silver King, Saints and Sinners,
The Middleman, The Liars, and The Masquerader. Comparison of Pinero and
Jones.
3. _Grundy, Wilde, and Carton_--Sidney Grundy: A Fool's Paradise, A
White Lie, The Greatest of These. Discussion of the question of the use
of the stage as a pulpit. Oscar Wilde: Readings from Lady Windermere's
Fan, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Discuss the place of satire in
human life. R. C. Carton: Lord and Lady Algy. Discuss the question
whether comedy at its best may not be the ideal play.
4. _Current Playwrights_--Stephen Phillips: the literary playwright;
contrast the prose and the poetic drama; the author's dignity and grace;
reading from Paolo and Francesca. Barrie: the modern Scotch school of
writers; Barrie's humor; readings from Peter Pan, Alice Sit-by-the-Fire,
and What Every Woman Knows. W. S. Maugham: plays planned to succeed;
lightness and wit; quantity of product; readings from Jack Straw, and
Lady Frederick. John Galsworthy: the stage as a censor of morals; spread
of socialist theories; quotations from Strife, and Justice; effect of
latter on court processes in England.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. E. Hale, Jr.: Dramatists of To-day. W. Archer:
English Dramatists of To-day. W. Nicholson: The Struggle for a Free
Stage in London.
Mention the many plays written rather for pure literary purposes than to
be acted. Notice those especially of Tennyson, Browning, Swinburne, and
Stephen Phillips. An important factor in the English stage is the
censor, who must pass judgment on all plays before they are acted. Mark
the effect of this in excluding many French plays from England. Note the
relation between the modern English novel and the drama as illustrated
in The Prisoner of Zenda, The Little Minister, The Seats of the Mighty,
Vanity Fair (called Becky Sharp as a play), The Eternal City, The Garden
of Allah, etc.
VII--IBSEN
1. _His Life_--Hard youth. Connection with the theater. Struggle to gain
a hearing. Publication of Brand. His pension and financial independence.
Life in Rome. Life in Germany. Change from poetry to prose. His
friendships. His death and public funeral.
2. _His Temperament and Its Influence on His Writings_--Realism,
originality, revolt against conventions, individualism, pessimism,
irony. Views of woman. Is Ibsen critic or prophet?
3. _Influence of Ibsen on Modern Drama_--His technical skill, daring,
problem plays. Are Ibsen's themes suited to the stage and the average
audience? Should the theater preach or amuse, or both?
4. _Study of Three Plays_--Peer Gynt, The Pillars of Society, A Doll's
House. Analysis of plot, description of chief characters, and readings.
5. _Study of Three Plays_--Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler.
Analysis of plot, description of chief characters, and readings.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Brandes: Henrik Ibsen. Gosse: Ibsen. Bernard Shaw:
Quintessence of Ibsenism. Moses: Ibsen, the Man and His Plays.
Ibsen takes a place to-day with the philosophers as well as the
dramatists. In fact, the most interesting aspect of his work is his
relation to social thinking and the revolt against conventions. It would
be interesting to compare views on the points suggested. In what
differing ways do Ibsen's plays affect the club members?
VIII--BERNARD SHAW AND THE IRISH MOVEMENT
1. _Life of Bernard Shaw_--Dublin. London. Beginning of serial
novel-writing. Fabian Society. Help of William Archer. First play:
Widowers' Houses. The Philanderers. Mrs. Warren's Profession (rejected
by the censor).
2. _Shaw's Successful Plays_--Arms and the Man. (Mansfield's rendition.
Musical version: The Chocolate Soldier.) Candida. You Never Can Tell.
The Devil's Disciple. Captain Brassbound's Conversion. Man and Superman.
Showing up of Blanco Posnet. Fanny's First Play.
3. _Bernard Shaw's Qualities_--His mannerisms and style. His attitude
toward social conventions. His socialism. His attitude toward religion.
4. _William Butler Yeats_--Dublin. Encouragement from Oscar Wilde.
Stories and verse. Plays: Land of Heart's Desire; Diarmind and Grania;
Cathleen in Houlihan. Influence of Blake, Shelley, and Maeterlinck.
5. _Synge_--Riders to the Sea. Well of the Saints. Playboy of the
Western World.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. E. Hale, Jr.: Dramatists of To-day. G. K.
Chesterton: Bernard Shaw. H. S. Krans; Wm. Butler Yeats and the Irish
School. J. M. Synge: Works (4 vols. Dublin, 1910).
A supplementary paper may be written on the question, Has Shaw a
positive message of any importance, or is he merely a negative critic?
In addition there may be selections from his plays, showing his wit and
clever satire. The amusing comedy, You Never Can Tell, may be read, the
parts being taken by members of the club. Notice also the appearance in
America of the Irish Players under the management of Lady Gregory.
IX--MAETERLINCK
1. _Life_--Early life in Ghent. Paris, 1887. Influence of Villiers de
l'Isle Adam. First publishing and fame through Mirbeau's article in
Figaro. Translation of Ruysbroeck and his influence on Maeterlinck. His
marriage.
2. _Essays_--The Treasure of the Humble. The Life of the Bee. The Buried
Temple. The Double Garden. Death.
3. _Plays_--The Blind. Pelléas and Mélisande. Aglavaine and Sélysette.
Monna Vanna. Joyzelle. The Blue Bird. Analysis of these plays and
readings from them.
4. _His Place in Literature_--What is the meaning of his mysticism and
his symbolism? What is his position with regard to religion? Is his
optimism philosophically justifiable? Compare Maeterlinck with Bernard
Shaw as to difference in spirit and method.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Edward Thomas: Maeterlinck. Arthur Symons: The
Symbolist Movement. E. E. Hale, Jr.: Dramatists of To-day.
Maeterlinck's château is especially interesting: a medieval structure
with a great court. It was here that one of his leading plays was given
first, before a large company of his friends, with Madame Maeterlinck in
the part of the heroine. No scenery was used, but the action took place
in different rooms and in the court. Reference to this may be found in
some of the magazines of the time.
X--THE AMERICAN DRAMA
1. _William Dunlap (1798-1815), "Father of American Drama"_--His
numerous plays. Influence of Kotzebue. Study with Benjamin West.
2. _Campbell, Howard, and DeMille_--Bartley Campbell (1843-1888):
Matrimony, Siberia. Bronson Howard ("Dean of the American Drama"): Young
Mrs. Winthrop, The Henrietta, Shenandoah. H. C. DeMille (1850-1893):
Lord Chumley, The Charity Ball.
3. _Gillette, Belasco, and Klein_--William Gillette: The Private
Secretary, Secret Service, Too Much Johnson, Sherlock Holmes. David
Belasco: His training for the stage. Early melodrama. Stage scenery and
effects. Miss Helyett, The Heart of Maryland, Du Barry, The Girl of the
Golden West. Charles Klein: The Music Master, The Lion and the Mouse,
The Third Degree.
4. _Fitch, Thomas, and Moody_--Clyde Fitch: Brief Biography. Beau
Brummel, The Liar, Nathan Hale, Captain Jinks, The Blue Mouse, The City.
Compare Fitch's skill and ethical standards with those of Thomas.
Augustus Thomas: Alabama, Arizona, The Harvest Moon, As a Man Thinks.
William Vaughan Moody: The college professor as playwright. The Great
Divide, The Faith Healer.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--W. J. Moses: The American Dramatist. Norman Hapgood:
The Stage in America. Walter P. Eaton: The American Stage of To-day.
W. D. Adams: Dictionary of the Drama. 2 vols. (English and American).
After this program have a discussion on the question: Are women
responsible for the character of the modern drama? Take up also women's
theater clubs, designed to pass judgment on new plays. Does the weight
of their expressed opinion influence the management? On the whole, are
the morals of the drama improving?
CHAPTER III
OUR OWN COUNTRY
In studying American history it is best to disregard the natural
divisions of decades and centuries and take it up by periods; programs
on these may cover as many meetings as necessary. The books suggested
from time to time may be read at home, or aloud in some of the meetings.
One good reference book which all members can use is John Fiske's
History of the United States for Schools. It has maps, questions, and
other helps. The first period is that of
I--DISCOVERY
Begin with the stories of the voyages of the Norsemen across the sea.
Are these considered historically true to-day? Follow with the three
voyages of Columbus, what he accomplished and where he failed. Americus
Vespucius and the Cabots come next, and the subject of the Spanish
explorations in the South, particularly in Florida.
Ponce de Léon, Coronado, and De Soto are all fascinating topics for
brief talks. The Huguenots made one settlement in Florida of peculiar
interest, and this is written of in a novel called Flamingo Feather, by
Munroe.
The period ends with the discovery by the French of the Canadian country
and the establishment of the fisheries in Newfoundland.
Read Francis Parkman on Champlain and the wonderful stories of the
Jesuit missionaries on the St. Lawrence and the lakes.
II--COLONIZATION
1. The London Company is responsible for the settling of both the South
and the North. Begin with the study of Virginia, the history of Sir
Walter Raleigh and John Smith. Then give plenty of time to these
important topics: The founding of Jamestown, the different governors and
their policies, the Indians and their relations to the colonists, the
beginning of slavery, the raising of tobacco, and the coming from
England of indentured servants. Read Mary Johnston's To Have and To
Hold, which gives an excellent picture of the times.
Note the changes in the colony when Charles I. came to the throne and
the cavaliers came over, bringing something of luxury with them. In
closing the period mention Bacon's rebellion. Read from John Esten
Cooke's Virginia: a History of the People, and also White Aprons, by
Maud Wilder Goodwin.
2. The northern branch of the great English trading company was called
the Plymouth Company. Of the many sea captains who came over to explore
and sometimes to try and settle, Bartholomew Gosnold accomplished the
most; he found Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, and made a short-lived
colony. John Smith came also, and gave the country the name of New
England.
At this point take up the subject of the Puritans in England, and what
brought them to America. Read of the _Speedwell_ and the _Mayflower_,
the voyage of the latter and the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. Have a
paper on the first winter with its hardships, and other papers on the
great men of the colony, Governor Carver, Governor Bradford, John
Winthrop, William Brewster, and Miles Standish. Study the topic of the
founding of churches and schools, the relations with the Indians, and
the establishment of new settlements, through Massachusetts and beyond.
Read S. G. Fisher's Men, Women, and Manners in Colonial Times, Mrs.
Austen's Standish of Standish, and Longfellow's Miles Standish.
The religious difficulties of the times deserve special notice, because
of their results; read the stories of Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson,
and Thomas Hooker. The work of John Eliot for the Indians should not be
forgotten, nor the rise and spread of witchcraft; on this last read Ye
Little Salem Maid, by Hopkins. Close the period with King Philip's War,
and notice how many colonies now existed.
3. The Dutch of the early seventeenth century were among the most famous
navigators of the world, and the East India Company, founded by them,
sent out ships all over the seas. One of these, the little _Half Moon_,
commanded by an Englishman in their employ, Henry Hudson, sailed all
along the northern coast, and up the Hudson River as far as Albany.
Others followed him; the New Netherlands Company was organized for
trading in furs, and little settlements were made by them. In 1626 Peter
Minuit, the Governor, bought Manhattan Island from the Indians for less
then twenty-five dollars in beads and ribbons, and founded New
Amsterdam.
From the beginning this colony prospered. Peter Stuyvesant was its most
famous figure, but the whole history of the life of the patroons is well
worth reading. The colony passed into the hands of the English, and was
renamed New York, but the people remained Dutch for many years. Irving's
History of New York and Amelia Barr's Bow of Orange Ribbon give a good
idea of the time.
4. The founding of New Jersey and Maryland come next in order, and the
struggles between Catholics, Puritans, Episcopalians, and Quakers for
supremacy, with the work of Lord Baltimore and Calvert, and the
intervention of Oliver Cromwell.
The story of the peaceful founding of Pennsylvania by William Penn
follows in 1681, and this, with the settling of the Carolinas and
Georgia, may be taken up rather briefly. The coming of Germans, Scotch
Highlanders, and Scotch-Irish to these southern colonies is to be
mentioned. The war between England and Spain affected the relations
between the Spanish settlers of Florida and the English of Georgia, and
led to trouble. Under Governor Oglethorpe the power of Spain in America
was overthrown.
The subject of the opening up of the Mississippi Valley should be
studied by itself. The story of La Salle is as interesting as any novel;
read Parkman's La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West.
III--THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
This began in Canada under the famous Governor Frontenac, who came down
to conquer New York, and extended throughout the North, the middle
colonies, and the Mississippi Valley. There might easily be a set of at
least three meetings on this theme. The massacres of the Indians,
especially that at Deerfield; the siege of Quebec; the capture of
Louisburg; the taking of Fort Duquesne by men under George Washington;
the coming of Braddock, and his campaign; the transportation of the
Acadians from Nova Scotia to the South; the history of Sir William
Johnson and the Indians; the fortifications of Fort William Henry and
Ticonderoga; the struggle of Wolfe and Montcalm at Quebec, and the final
overthrow of French power in our country should all be studied, for the
importance of this period of our history cannot be over-estimated. Read
Parkman's histories: Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV.; a Half
Century of Conflict; Montcalm and Wolfe; and the Conspiracy of Pontiac.
Some of Cooper's novels are also good, Leather Stocking Tales
especially; and Thackeray's Virginians may be read in part.
IV--THE REVOLUTION
The entire history of the war must of course be gone over, but how
thoroughly will depend on the individual club. At least the causes which
led to it, the great men who guided the nation at the time, and the
results should be made familiar.
Read first of England at the time; of George III. and his ministers; of
their attitude toward the colonies; of the restrictions of manufacture
and trading; of the revenue laws and taxation without representation.
Note the influence of such men as Burke, Pitt, and others.
Take up the patriots in America: Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Lee
of Virginia, John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, among others. Show
pictures of the Old South Meeting House and Faneuil Hall of Boston; read
Paul Revere's Ride, and a description of the battles of Lexington,
Concord, and Bunker Hill. Note the establishment of a Continental
congress and army, and speak of the fitness of George Washington as the
leader of the American forces.
Read the Declaration of Independence; follow with the struggle for the
control of the Hudson, which occupied the whole of the first year of the
war and more, and includes the battles about New York, with their
retreats and victories; then study the invasion of Canada, the attempt
on the South, the British plan of three Northern armies simultaneously;
the use of Indian allies; the surrender of Burgoyne; the movements of
the fleets; the treason of Arnold; the surrender of Cornwallis.
Other topics for papers or talks may be: Valley Forge; André and Hale;
the recent discovery of the treachery of Charles Lee; the story of Paul
Jones; the aid of the French under Lafayette; the character of the great
generals on both sides; how the news of the final success of America was
received in England. Read The American Revolution, by Lecky, and H. C.
Lodge's Story of the Revolution; also, The Tory Lover, by Jewett (about
Paul Jones), and Ford's Janice Meredith.
V--THE CRITICAL PERIOD
of our history naturally succeeds the Revolution, when our Government
was in the making. Read of the leaders of the time: Washington,
Jefferson, Marshall, Madison, Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. Have parts of
the Constitution read, and study the different aspects of our
Government: the way we choose our President; the houses of Congress and
the Senate; our judiciary. Read the story of Washington's inauguration.
Additional topics are: Shay's rebellion; paper money; the Northwest
Territory; and the home life of the times. Take up the early presidents
in order, with the events of each term. The tariff, the war with the
Barbary pirates, the rise of newspapers, the Louisiana Territory, and
the decrees of France and England about neutral ships are all important.
VI--THE WAR OF 1812
Read of the Embargo Act and the refusal of England to repeal her decree;
also of the acts of Napoleon at the time. The battles of the war that
followed were nearly all at sea, and are full of exciting interest, from
the victory of the _Constitution_, after only half an hour's fighting,
to the very end; one of the most famous is the Battle of Lake Erie, when
Perry sent the historic message, "I have met the enemy, and they are
ours." Read of the invasion of Canada and the Battle of New Orleans,
and close the study with the Treaty of 1814. A story called Midshipman
Paulding, by Molly Elliot Seawell, gives a good sketch of the time, and
Roosevelt's Naval War of 1812 is excellent for reference.
VII--EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS
From this point on for several decades, the country slowly increased her
territory, her manufactures, her school system, her trade at home and
abroad. Steam was introduced on boats and railways, and wealth and
comforts grew. Florida was bought for five millions, the Monroe Doctrine
exploited, and several States added to the Union. Slavery gradually
increased in the South, and the cotton-gin was introduced in the North
to weave the raw product there. The Missouri Compromise was one of the
great national issues of the day, and Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and
John C. Calhoun were the leaders in politics. There was a great
commercial panic which led to the settling of our banking laws; the
first telegraphic message was sent; Mormonism was first heard of, and
became important.
The war with Mexico, which began in 1848, gave us a great additional
territory. Abolition sentiment rose. The period closed with the
discovery of gold in California. Read Bret Harte's books, Theodore
Winthrop's John Brent, for a study of Mormonism, and Parkman's Oregon
Trail.
VIII--THE CIVIL WAR
The various difficulties which led to the great conflict should be
studied in detail in a good history of the times. Among others were: The
Fugitive Slave Law, the Underground Railway, Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's
Cabin, the debates of Lincoln and Douglas, the Dred Scott decision, and
the story of John Brown's raid.
It will be necessary to have a good reference-book with maps of the
campaigns. Perhaps the best book is Battles and Leaders of the Civil
War, written by the great generals, published by The Century Company.
Divide the war into the four years of its continuance, following this
condensed outline:
1861--Attack on Fort Sumter; call for troops by Lincoln; Battle of Bull
Run; The Trent Affair.
1862--The _Merrimac_ and _Monitor_; Battle of Shiloh; Farragut and the
Battle of New Orleans; Seven Days' Battles before Richmond; Second
Battle of Bull Run; Antietam; Fredericksburg.
1863--January first, the Emancipation Proclamation; Chancellorsville;
Gettysburg; surrender of Vicksburg; Chickamauga; Chattanooga.
1864--Grant's advance on Lee; Battle of the Wilderness; Sherman's
Atlanta campaign; siege of Petersburg; the _Alabama_ sunk by the
_Kearsarge_; Battle of Mobile Bay; fall of Atlanta; Sheridan in the
Shenandoah; Sherman's March to the Sea; Battle of Nashville.
1865--Battle of Five Forks; Richmond evacuated; surrender of Lee;
Lincoln assassinated; surrender of Johnston; capture of Jefferson Davis;
review of Northern army in Washington.
Take up the condition of the South immediately after the war. Have
papers on the purchase of Alaska, our increase in population, the
crossing of the continent by the railway, and the war with the Indians
in which Custer was killed. Mention the administrations as before, and
close the period with the war with Spain, and describe our new
possessions.
IX--PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS
The various subjects to be studied under this topic stand out
conspicuously: our material wealth; our cities; our manufactures; our
coalfields, forests, watercourses, and other resources; our public
schools and universities; our vocational schools and schools for the
defective; the education of the negro, the Indian, the mountain white;
our railway systems; telegraph, telephone, and wireless communication;
our scientific discoveries; conservation; our art galleries, museums,
theaters, orchestras. Close with discussions of our chief national
problems: immigration, labor, and woman suffrage.
This period should have one program on the physical character of our
country; its great natural beauties in the Yosemite, the Sierras, the
Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon in the West; the mountains of the East
and South; Niagara, the Hudson, the Mississippi, and our seacoast.
X--AMERICAN LITERATURE AND ART
Our literature sometimes seems to be of small consequence as compared
with that of older countries, but as a nation we have been occupied
with establishing ourselves in our territory, and have had little time
to give to what may be called the adornments of life.
In our Colonial Period we had a few outstanding historical books like
Bradford's History of the Plymouth Plantation,--Judge Samuel Sewall's
Diary, and Cotton Mather's Magnalia. Then, also, we had Jonathan
Edwards' great philosophical work on The Freedom of the Will.
In Revolutionary days Benjamin Franklin wrote his autobiography, Thomas
Paine his essays, John Woolman his Journal, and the first American
novelist appeared, Charles Brockden Brown.
Our literature really began with the New-Yorkers, Irving, Cooper, and
Bryant. Then came the New England group, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne,
Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Holmes, and the historians, Prescott,
Motley, and Parkman, to which list the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe
should be added. In the South we had Edgar Allan Poe, Simms, Lanier, and
later Cable and Page. The Western country has given us Bret Harte, Mark
Twain, and Riley. Realism has its representatives in fiction in Howells,
James, and Mary Wilkins Freeman, and in poetry in Walt Whitman.
To-day we have nature writers, including John Burroughs and Stewart
Edward White. We have such essayists as William Winter, Henry Van Dyke,
Agnes Repplier, and Samuel Crothers. We have the poets John Vance
Cheney, James Whitcomb Riley, Madison Cawein, Anna Branch and Josephine
Preston Peabody. We have the historical writers McMaster, James
Schouler, James Ford Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and
Henry Cabot Lodge. And among the novelists may be mentioned Winston
Churchill, Margaret Deland, Robert Grant, S. Weir Mitchell, Edith
Wharton, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Ellen Glasgow, F. Hopkinson Smith, Hamlin
Garland, Robert Herrick, Jack London, and Booth Tarkington.
In early days our painters were Gilbert Stuart, Copley, and Benjamin
West; in later years, Inness, Whistler, La Farge, Abbey, and Sargent.
Our sculptors have been Powers, Crawford, Saint-Gaudens, French,
Borglum, MacMonnies, and Potter.
In music we have had MacDowell, Chadwick, Nevin, and Parker; in
architecture, Upjohn, Richardson, Stanford White, the Hunts, and
Carrère.
For a general survey of our country, read Bryce's American
Commonwealth.
CHAPTER IV
THE HOME
I--THE DWELLING-HOUSE
1. _The House Desirable_--Where to live; city or country; the most
economical kind of house; necessities and luxuries.
2. _The House Comfortable_--Heat, water, ventilation, sunshine.
3. _The House Beautiful_--The exterior, type of house, harmony with
surroundings, color; lawns, gardens, trees and shrubbery; the vegetable
garden and the drying-ground; out-buildings.
4. _General Discussion_--Living where we do, how can we improve our
houses and their surroundings?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Isabel Bevier: The House: Its Plan, Decoration and
Care. W. M. Johnson: Inside of One Hundred Homes. S. Parsons, Jr.: How
to Plan the Home Grounds. L. C. Corbett: Beautifying the Home Grounds.
(U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 105. 1904.)
Discuss the transformation of old houses; the modernization of the
farmhouse, with porches added, the parlor opened, the bedrooms made
attractive, and heat and a water-supply provided. The village home; its
limitations and possibilities; the advantage of simple lines rather than
cheap and ugly scrollwork and ornate verandas. The city home; the
basement dining-room and kitchen. The modern flat; its advantages and
inconveniences. Modern building-materials, concrete, shingles,
cobblestones; the use of stains. In preparation for this meeting, ask
each member to bring in a sketch of the ground-plan of what represents
to her an ideal dwelling-house.
II--FURNISHING THE HOUSE
1. _Intelligent Furnishing_--Consistency of style throughout. The value
of various styles. How to combine the old with the new. Costly ugliness.
2. _The Study of Special Needs_--Rooms of the family as a whole: the
dining-room, the library, living-rooms. The guest-room. The boys'
bedrooms and den. The room for the grown daughter. Nursery and playroom.
3. _Household Conveniences_--The kitchen as a workshop. (The equipment
for cooking: gas, oil, coal, electricity.) New kinds of utensils (bread
and cake mixers, fireless cookers, etc.). The attractive kitchen.
4. _Art in the Home_--Wall decoration (study of colors). Floor coverings
(carpets, rugs, use of hard woods). Draperies, pictures (choice of
subjects, artistic grouping and hanging of pictures). Bric-à-brac
(selection and artistic arrangement). The beauty of simplicity in the
home.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Lillie Hamilton French: Homes and Their Decoration.
Same author: The Home Dignified. Mitchell: The Fireless Cookery Book.
Reading list on home decoration and furnishing: N. Y. State Library
Bulletin. Bibliog. Vol. I, No. 20. Albany 1899.
Discuss the charm of the colonial style of furnishing; illustrate by
cuts in the catalogues of large furniture-makers and dealers of
four-post beds, Chippendale chairs and tables, Sheraton desks, etc. Take
up the value of cretonnes in bedrooms and living-rooms. Have a practical
talk on making over old things, dyeing carpets, simplifying the outlines
of cheaply made furniture and staining it. Close with an informal
discussion on The Kitchen Comfortable.
III--DOMESTIC ECONOMY
1. _The Housekeeper_--Her training for her profession. Schools of
domestic economy. Lectures. Books and magazines. Practical experience.
The training of our daughters.
2. _The Table_--The family income and cost of food. Economy and waste.
Entertaining. An attractive table for those of small means.
3. _Individual Needs_--Food for the growing child; for the invalid; for
the dyspeptic. The diet of the laboring man and of the professional man.
School luncheons.
4. _The Weekly Program_--The old housekeeping and the new. The problem
of the laundry. The household mending. Sweeping and dusting. Baking and
cleaning. The mistress' personal supervision.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Ravenhill and Schiff: Household Administration.
Herrick: Housekeeping Made Easy. Campbell: Household Economics. Benton:
Living on a Little.
The abundance of material for this meeting will make discussion easy.
Take up as additional topics: How shall we have an abundant table under
present conditions? Is vegetarianism wise? Can entertaining be done
economically? Does it pay to spend time on the esthetic side of cooking
and serving? Are weekly menus a help? Close with a paper or talk on the
Importance of Simplicity in All Branches of Housekeeping.
IV--SERVANTS
1. _The Problem as a Whole_--Reasons for the change in the present
situation as compared with the past: shop and factory labor, education,
social advancement.
2. _The Problem as Seen by the Mistress_--The rise in the scale of
wages. Increased demand for short hours. Constant desire of servants to
change. Independence of spirit.
3. _The Problem as seen by the Maid_--Her comfort; the sleeping and
sitting rooms. Her leisure; afternoons and evenings out. Her society;
callers. Her wages. Growing tendency to specialization of work. Uniforms
and caps.
4. _Possible Solutions_--The American girl, the foreigner, the negro,
and the Japanese as servants. The working housekeeper. The visiting
servant. The eight-hour day. Coöperative housekeeping. The servantless
apartment.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Salmon: Domestic Service. Terrill: Household
Management. Addams: Democracy and Social Ethics. Herrick: The Expert
Maid Servant.
For this meeting the chairman can arrange in advance for the brief
presentation of personal experiences, each limited to three minutes.
Other interesting and valuable topics might be: The Relations between
Employers and Employed; Employment Offices and Their Regulation; The
Ethics of References; Advertising and Answering Advertisements for
Servants; What Shall We do for Sick and Elderly Servants?
V--FINANCING THE HOME
1. _The Income_--The husband's share. The wife's share. The children's
share. Special expenditures: the doctor and the dentist, church,
benevolences, etc. Discussion of the proper division of the income.
2. _Family Expenses_--Renting or owning a home. The cost of living:
food, fuel, service, etc. Dressing the family. Education: private or
public schools.
3. _Necessities and Luxuries_--The comfortable home. The place of
recreation. Books, music, and travel. The college education. The use
and the abuse of luxury; the automobile, the theater, dress.
4. _Savings_--Proportion of savings to expenditures. Ways and means of
saving. The savings-bank, life insurance, investments.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Haskins: How to Keep Household Accounts. Curtis: The
Making of the Housewife. Babcock: Household Hints. Hewitt: How to live
on a Small Income.
A discussion can be planned for this meeting on the comparison of men
and women as economists. A brief talk may be given on The Change in the
Scale of Living To-day, and another on Is a Return to the Simple Life
Possible? The training of children in the use of money should also be
taken up, and the meeting can close with a consideration of the
question, Is a College Education a Necessity or a Luxury?
VI--SOCIAL LIFE
1. _The Home Circle_--Planning the home life. Delightful meal-hours.
Evening amusements: music, games, reading aloud. The happy Sunday.
2. _Neighbors_--Who is my neighbor? The spirit of neighborliness. The
ethics of borrowing. Helpfulness in the community.
3. _Hospitality_--The fair exchange. Social life for all ages. The open
house and the small income. Simple entertaining.
4. _Social Organizations_--The grange, the lodge, the club. Church
societies: men's leagues, women's aid societies, boys' brigades, guilds
for girls. The woman's club: intensive and extensive work.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gilman: The Home, Its Work and Influence. Modern Home
Life: edited by Edward Everett Hale. Hall: Handbook of Hospitality.
Abbott: The Home Builder. Holt: The Successful Hostess.
Emphasize in these papers the beauty and charm of a simple, free
hospitality as distinguished from formal and costly entertaining. The
welcoming of a child's playmates after school should be considered, the
opening of the doors to the young people of the neighborhood, the
planning of afternoon parties for elderly women, the bringing together
of congenial groups of people, the drawing in of strangers, and the
spirit of cordiality in church life.
VII--RECREATION IN THE HOME
1. _For the Children_--Simple amusements: candy-making, hide-and-seek,
and other old-fashioned games. Value of an attic. Tenting in the back
yard. Gardening. Children's parties.
2. _For the Young People_--Small group games: checkers, card-games,
chess, etc. Games of mental skill: twenty questions, guessing contests,
writing of topical poems and jingles. The billiard-room in the house.
Social advantages of the chafing-dish. Young people's dances.
3. _For Adults_--Reading aloud. Home carpentry. Entertaining: cards,
music, dinners, etc.
4. _For Everybody_--Charades. Tableaux. Plays. The home orchestra.
College songs. Discussion: What are the best books for family reading
aloud?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mrs. Hamilton Mott: Home Games and Parties. Bancroft:
Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium. Benson: Book of
Indoor Games for Young People of All Ages. Hoyle's Games (many
editions).
The great point to be emphasized in this meeting is that parents should
deliberately make a place in the home life for amusements, from
childhood up. Discuss: In how many ways can parents and children share
their pleasures, and how may the spirit of mutual enjoyment be
fostered?
VIII--VACATIONS
1. _Travel_--Should we see our own country before going abroad?
Preparations for travel. Advantage of reading in advance about places to
be visited. How to travel with children. Travel as an education.
2. _In the Country_--On the farm. In the camp. Among the mountains. By
the sea. Comparison of experiences by members of the club.
3. _Vacation and Study_--Is it a good plan to combine the two? Summer
schools. Chautauquas so called. Conventions (religious, sociological,
scientific, musical, pedagogical, etc.).
4. _Vacations at Home_--The opportunity of a delightful summer. The
possibilities of the yard: tents, out-of-door meals, the arbor, the
garden, etc. City roof-gardens for families. Trolley-rides. Trips and
picnics.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--M. L. Pool: Vacation in a Buggy. F. H. Winterburn:
Vacation Hints. Talfourd: Vacation Rambles and Thoughts (1845).
Discuss these questions: What proportion of one's income is properly
spent in a vacation? What is the influence of life in a summer hotel on
parents and children? Is the rest from housekeeping and the change of
life compensation for the drawbacks there? Is the enlarging of the
social circle of one's grown children a duty? Saving versus travel.
IX--CHILDREN IN THE HOME
1. _The Children's Rooms_--The nursery and its furnishings. Rooms for
the older children: seclusion, comfort, individuality. The playroom and
the workshop.
2. _Children and Parents_--The ideal relationship: parents as friends.
When should discipline end and personal freedom begin? Children at
table. The bedtime hour and how to make the most of it. The blessing of
grandparents in the home.
3. _Brothers and Sisters_--Mutual interests: work and play together.
Cultivation and maintenance of the ideal of friendship between brothers
and sisters. The spirit of chivalry and the spirit of service.
4. _Children and Servants_--Overfamiliarity versus dignity in the
relation. Respect for a servant's rights and belongings.
5. _The Children's Playtime_--Team-work in the home. The family group:
mutual interest of parents and children. Hospitality and entertaining
for children.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Ellen Key: The Century of the Child. E. S. Martin: The
Luxury of Children. Gertrude Jekyll: Children and Gardens. S. D. and
M. K. Gordon: Quiet Talks on Home Ideals.
One of the most delightful ways of making home interesting is to
encourage the children to give little plays, illustrated poems and
shadow pictures. Miss Alcott in Little Women gives the outline of one
play which may be prepared easily, and there are others to be had.
X--THE FAMILY AND TRAINING FOR LIFE
1. _Training in Work_--The spirit of industry. Faithfulness to tasks.
Making domestic duties interesting. Study of domestic economy for girls.
2. _Training in Culture_--Books, music, and pictures. Education in
taste. Table-talk about things worth while. Outlook on the world's life.
3. _Training in Character_--The fundamental virtues: truth, honesty,
fortitude, unselfishness. Teaching by reading, by counsel, and by
example.
4. _Training in Citizenship and Social Usefulness_--Discussing politics.
The father's politics and the boy's. Active philanthropy. Committee
meetings in the home, and their effect on the children.
5. _Training in Idealism_--The steady ideal. Heroes and hero-worship.
Stories of bravery and unselfishness in the daily press. What sort of
politician shall boys be taught to admire? Lives of devotion in science,
medicine, social service, and missions. Discuss the question: Are our
children being really prepared for a broad and useful life-work?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Lyman Abbott: The Home Builder. Newell Dwight Hillis:
The Home School. Theodore T. Munger: On the Threshold. Kate Upson Clark:
Bringing up Boys.
A talk may follow the fifth paper of this meeting, taking up the
subject: How best to utilize the home as a training school, and yet to
keep it cheerful.
CHAPTER V
MYTHS AND FOLK-LORE
I--INTRODUCTORY
The first meeting should be given up to a broad presentation of the
whole subject of folk-lore, myths, legends, fairy stories, festivals and
superstitions. One paper should present the universality of myths, the
curious resemblances found among them in races far apart in time and
place. A second paper may give the ways in which they have been
preserved to us. The Egyptians as early as 2800 B. C. used the stories
on monuments and in manuscripts. Herodotus and Livy speak of folk-tales;
Æsop's Fables embody many of them. In the Middle Ages story and song
preserved them; and later they were collected. Walter Scott was
especially appreciative of their value; he called them "antiquities,"
and tried to interest people in them in several of his books.
A third paper should deal with the important theories held by scholars
as to the origin of myths. The Grimm brothers in Germany, and later Max
Müller, held that the similarity of myths proved the common stock and
language of all races; as divisions came the myths passed on from one
country and race to many. Andrew Lang, however, has more recently
developed a second theory, one held to-day by most scientists, that as
all primitive people observe the same phenomena of nature, they invent
much the same myths to explain them, as all pass through the same stages
of culture.
Another paper might notice the growth in the spread of the study of
myths and legends. Since Thorns in 1846 coined the phrase "folk-lore,"
societies have been formed in every civilized land to preserve the old
stories, songs and traditions, and to study them scientifically. Immense
value is placed to-day on their importance as throwing light on history,
literature, religion, and language. One writer says that a full
knowledge of the folk-lore of every nation would be synonymous with the
history of human thought. On the general subject read G. L. Gomme's
Folk-Lore as an Historical Science, Andrew Lang's Modern Mythology, and
the valuable articles in the encyclopedias. For readings from the
stories of all nations, see a set of small handbooks published by
Lippincott, called Folk-Lore and Legend.
II--THE OLDEST MYTHS, THE HINDU
In the earliest Western race, the Aryan, we find the simplest myths of
creation and changing nature. They first invented the Sun God, riding in
his fiery chariot, his glowing locks spreading out through the sky. The
demons of darkness revolt against him, and must be overcome. The Rain
God darkens the heavens, and the Dawn Maiden brings the light. From
these first simple ideas grew a large mythology, full of beauty, and of
the local color which we see in all national myths; these are warm and
glowing. Read the translations of some of the stories and hymns. See
Mrs. Poor's Sanskrit and Kindred Literatures, or Warner's Library of
Universal Literature.
III--GREEK MYTHS AND LEGENDS
The mythology of the Greeks is the most beautiful, the most artistic,
and the most perfectly developed of any that we have, and it repays
careful study. The early myths are much like the Aryan; indeed some of
the stories are practically identical. The sun and moon, darkness,
storm, spring and summer, the ocean and the sky were all personified.
Phoebus Apollo in his chariot is the sun; Eros and Psyche are the
coming and going of light and darkness; Demeter, the harvest, has a
daughter Persephone who goes down to the underworld as seed, dies, and
is revived as spring brings back life. Notice how from such first,
simple ideas a whole complicated religious system developed, and how the
original gods and goddesses became so many that earth, air, water, sky,
and all nature were filled with them. See also the gradual decadence of
the system, especially when the Romans adopted it. Compare the myths of
light and darkness with those of other lands. Read from Stories of Old
Greece, by Emma R. Frith, and H. M. Chadwick's The Heroic Age.
IV--SCANDINAVIAN FOLK-LORE
In this cold, northern land the same original myths developed as
elsewhere but were altered by the environment. Here the legends are
often terrible instead of beautiful. There are battles of hail and snow,
great ice mountains to be surmounted, gloomy castles to be won. The
spirits of storm, of thunder, of cold, all figure. Animals, too, are
conspicuous in the stories, especially bears, wolves and eagles. The
gods were stern and awful, rather than lovable. But in spite of this,
there were still some, like the goddess of spring, who had charm, and
some stories which show a sense of humor. Read In the Days of the
Giants, a Book of Norse Tales, by Abbie Farwell Brown. Here are stories
from the Sagas and the Edda, the earliest literature of the North. See
How Thor Went a-Fishing, The Lost Bell, The Three Dogs, and The Meal of
Frothi.
V--PERSIAN FOLK-LORE
The Persian and Arabian folk-lore is really one, and stands quite by
itself. It is unusually rich in well developed stories, many well worth
study. The original myths of light and darkness were typified under the
names of Ormuzd and Ahriman. The Zend-Avesta embodied their religion and
literature, and is full of beauty. Later, however, the early and simple
mythology degenerated into something complicated and almost puerile. The
legends, preserved for us in The Thousand and One Nights, are marked by
Oriental splendor. Often the setting of a story will be in a palace with
wonderful gardens and fountains. We read of great merchants, gorgeous
silks, jewels and ornaments; of money, horses and camels; of sheiks,
caliphs, viziers, magicians, and genii. In every respect the stories
differ from those of other lands. Read Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp,
and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book.
VI--CELTIC FOLK-LORE
The peoples of Brittany, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland have folk-tales
full of a certain mysticism. They have few nature myths, such as belong
to earlier races, but they have drawn from their own imagination stories
of beauty and charm, which are distinctly poetic, both in substance and
form. Their legends deal largely with fairies, wishing-stones, haunted
glens, and changelings. There are water fairies, some with human souls,
and dwarfs who have homes in caves, and live and work like human beings.
The whole of their folk-tales are filled with these little creatures,
benign or malicious, who are closely in touch with the real lives about
them.
The superstitions of these countries in regard to the reappearance of
the dead as ghosts or spirits of one kind or another, also enter
largely into the literature of the Celtic races. This subject, a very
large one, may be taken up here, or later by itself.
There is a delightful book called Fairy and Folk-Lore of the Irish
Peasantry, by W. B. Yeats, and another on the Fairy Legends of Ireland,
by T. C. Crocker. Duncan Anderson has one on Scottish Folk-Lore, also.
Read from any of these, and also a story in Little Classics called The
Fairy Finder, by Samuel Lover.
VII--FOLK-LORE OF THE SLAVS
There is much that is curious about the folk-lore of the Russians and
kindred peoples. They have the old, original nature myths, with hero
stories added. There is the same setting as in Scandinavian mythology,
of cold and storm. There are epics in three cycles which embody some
stories almost identical with those of the Greeks. There are, however,
two striking differences between their legends and those of other
countries: one is, that sorcery, witchcraft, spells, exorcisms and
incantations abound; the other is that nearly all tales have folk-music
accompanying them. Fairy stories are abundant and charming, and much
like those of Norway and Sweden. Read from Myths and Fairy Tales of
Russia, by Jeremiah Curtin, and Russian Folk Tales by R. Nisbet Bain.
VIII--GERMAN FOLK-LORE
In many respects the folk-tales of Germany are more interesting than
those of any other country. They do not deal with the great, simple
myths, except as they have been transformed into certain fairy tales,
but are centered largely on more recent stories. There are tales of the
Middle Ages, of knights, besieged castles, huntsmen and hermits; there
are Rhine legends, with princesses and giants; there are mining tales of
dwarfs and goblins, and stories of water fairies and forest elves.
Notice the resemblance to the stories of other lands in some of Grimm's
fairy tales. See how closely Peter Klaus is like our own story of Rip
Van Winkle. Read Stories of the Rhine Gold, by Anna A. Chapin, and the
best known stories from Grimm, especially Rumpelztiltskin, Hansel and
Gretel and Snow White and Rose Red.
IX--FOLK-LORE OF ENGLAND
All parts of England are rich in folk-tales, festival customs and
legends, and various shires have preserved in book form those which are
peculiar to them. In rhymes and jingles, nicknames, proverbs, riddles
and nursery tales we find traces of very early tradition. Frazer's
Golden Bough speaks of May Day customs, Maypole dances, keeping St.
John's Eve and Midsummer Day, as survivals of religious festivals of
great importance. The hero stories, especially those of King Arthur and
his knights, are unusually well developed and beautiful. English fairies
are most human and charming. Shakespeare is rich in allusion to them;
read on this point Shakespeare's Puck and His Folk Lore, by William
Bell, and parts of Midsummer Night's Dream.
In Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book all the delightful old fairy stories
are preserved; read Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Ridinghood,
Cinderella, and Jack the Giant Killer. Notice how several of these
stories are considered by some students as nature myths.
Read Kipling's Puck o' Pook's Hill, the modern fairy story, and contrast
with those of older date.
X--AMERICAN FOLK-LORE
The negroes of the South have a complex set of stories of their own,
some with the mark of their savage ancestors on them--as is shown in
their fetishism, voodoo, magic and ghosts--and others which are full of
a quaint humor. Most of the latter are in the form of animal stories,
and have been gathered together by Joel Chandler Harris. Read from
Nights with Uncle Remus, and see how each of the animals mentioned has
its peculiar characteristic, and how the rabbit, who always represents
the colored man, outwits the white man by his cunning. Clubs should make
a point of reproducing some of the old negro folk songs.
The Indians have many myths and legends, which vary in different tribes
and localities. The people of Alaska have legends quite unlike those of
the Mission Indians of California or the Zuñi tribes of New Mexico. In
the north, cold, devils, fighting and struggles with animals
predominate; in the south there is more of the spirit of harvest, of
festival and brightness.
The scenes of the legends in general are laid in wigwams and deal with
feasts, love-making, and battles with enemies. There are also many
legends about trees, bees, birds, and fish. The original myths of light
and darkness, flood, and other phenomena also recur. Read Indian Story
and Song, by Alice C. Fletcher, and F. H. Cushing's Zuñi Folk Tales.
FOLK-LORE IN OTHER LANDS
In addition to the topics suggested, clubs should study more briefly
than these the tales of other lands. Japan has a delightful set of
tales, turning largely on animals, flowers and spirits. Read Ancient
Tales and Folk-Lore of Japan, by R. G. Smith. Follow with the legends of
China and Corea, both collected, full of originality and interest, with
heroes and nature myths. Hawaii has much local color in her folk-tales,
for volcanic fire often appears. See Hawaiian Folk-Lore by T. G. Thrum.
The myths of Egypt have recently been collected and are quite unlike
those of other lands. They are divided into three groups, one dealing
with the earliest times when simple nature myths occur; the second, when
Egypt developed, and stories of town and country appear; in the third
the stories deal with strangers, ships and sailors. Crocodiles play an
important part, and the atmosphere of heat is always noticeable.
In modern Europe the stories of Spain and Italy and also of Roumania are
to be studied, the latter in the collections made by Carmen Sylva, the
queen. Add to these the subject of gipsy lore, from the book called
Gipsy Folk-Tales, by F. H. Groome.
The subject of superstitions may follow the topics suggested, and
ghosts, reappearances of all kinds, and haunted houses will prove a wide
field.
Hero stories in all lands is also a delightful division of the general
subject. The legends of Havelock the Dane, of Siegfried, of Roland, and
Arthur put them in the class known as the "Fatal Children," or those
whose innate greatness no earthly obstacle can withstand.
See Heroes of Myth, by Lillian L. Price and Chas. B. Gilbert.
One more important and curious topic is that of Were Wolves and Swan
Maidens, as it is called, or the inhabiting of animal bodies by human
souls, which is one of the constantly recurring legends in all lands.
The rescuing of the imprisoned spirit has led to innumerable stories.
The myths concerning the ascent of souls to Heaven is most interesting,
and the legends of the Milky Way and the Rainbow Bridge are poetic and
lovely. The story of Jack and the Bean Stalk is considered to belong to
the general group.
If there is time, have one meeting on the subjects of dwarfs alone. Note
the differences between black, brown, and white dwarfs, and trolls,
elves, pixies, kobolds, brownies, and goblins. See how closely all are
related to the life of man. Contrast their cleverness with the
invariable stupidity of giants.
In addition to these topics clubs will find the folk-lore of the
Australians, the islanders everywhere, and of savage races, full of
interest. A book just published, called The Fetich Folk of West Africa,
by R. H. Milligan, bears on the last point.
The subject of myths and legends will be found of far greater interest
if each topic is illustrated by pictures. There are many fairy books for
children for which artists have made beautiful drawings, and some
especially lovely, in colors. In studying the Hero stories, get
reproductions of famous pictures of the Rhine, legends, and look up
Abbey's pictures of Arthur and his knights.
Clubs composed of mothers and teachers may take up the subject of
telling fairy stories to children; which ones to tell and which to
omit, and how to tell them. Hero stories are always interesting to
growing boys, and teachers can suggest to them which are the wisest to
choose. Instead of reading stories and legends at every club meeting it
is well to have them told by some one skilful in the art.
Clubs which wish to study the general subject of folk-lore in a serious
way will find the topic of comparative religions most interesting and
valuable; scholars are everywhere taking it up, and there are many books
upon it, notably Frazer's Golden Bough, already suggested under another
head.
The folk-lore of the ancient Hebrews can be either taken separately or
as a part of this subject; the old hero myths of the Bible, of Samson
especially, will be found delightful.
CHAPTER VI
A TRIP THROUGH THE BRITISH ISLES
I--NEW YORK TO LONDON
1. _Leaving New York_--The docks, the harbor, description of the
steamer; life on the ocean.
2. _The Landing: Liverpool_--The new docks; the art gallery.
3. _On the Way to London_--The Northwestern Railway; English
railway-cars; English traveling companions; the countryside.
4. _The First Stop: Rugby_--English Inns; Thomas Arnold and Rugby
School. Brief reading from Tom Brown's School Days.
5. _Arriving in London_--The London cab; the motor-bus; the London
lodging-house; English and American comfort.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--John C. Van Dyke: The Opal Sea. Hare: Walks in London.
E. V. Lucas: The Friendly Town. Hawthorne: English Note-Books. William
Winter: Grey Days and Gold.
By stopping in Liverpool a few days, there are several delightful
side-trips possible: one to Chester, to see the cathedral, the Roman
ruins, the famous walls, and the Rows; another to Hawarden, the home of
Gladstone, and a third to Eaton Hall, the seat of the Duke of
Westminster.
By going to London by the Midland, one passes through the Peak country;
look up beautiful Haddon Hall and Chatsworth; read the Story of Dorothy
Vernon and Scott's Peveril of the Peak. Going by the Great Northern, one
can see the famous Five Dukeries, and pass through Sherwood Forest; read
of the latter from Ivanhoe.
II--LONDON
1. _The Largest City in the World_--Study of its map. Statistics. Modern
improvements. Charities. Government (the county council; the Lord Mayor
and aldermen).
2. _The History of London_--The ancient Britons and their pile
dwellings. Coming of the Romans. The days of Alfred. Norman London.
Under the Tudors. The Great Fire and the changes it made.
3. _Survivals of Old London_--Fragments of the Roman wall. The Hall of
William Rufus. The Tower and its church. The Abbey. Readings from The
Spectator and Washington Irving's Sketch-Book, describing the Abbey.
Coronations, including a brief description of that of George V.
4. _Modern London_--Buckingham Palace and its history. The Houses of
Parliament and their decoration. Art galleries and museums and their
most remarkable contents. St. Paul's. Westminster Cathedral. The homes
of the nobility.
5. _Literary Landmarks of London_--Grub Street. The Cheshire Cheese and
the Kit-Kat Club. Dickens's London. Residences of literary people.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hare: Walks in London. Besant: London (also his books
about the several sections). Hutton: Literary Landmarks of London.
Singleton: London as Seen and Described by Famous Writers. E. V. Lucas:
The Friendly Town.
An attractive discussion may follow these topics on such themes as the
modern housing problems of London, and the transportation of the city
(trams, tubes, motor-buses). Compare the hotels and restaurants with
those of New York. Shopping. Social settlements, especially Toynbee
Hall. The fashionable residence district. London Bridge by day and by
night. The London pageant of 1911.
III--THE GREAT CATHEDRALS
1. _Canterbury_--Description of the town. St. Martin's, the Mother
Church of England. Monastery of St. Augustine. Architecture of the
cathedral, and periods represented. Great events connected with its
history. Story of Thomas à Becket.
2. _Winchester, Salisbury, and Wells_--The ancient town of Winchester
and its place in English history. Caskets of the Danish kings. The
glass. Graves of Jane Austen and Izaak Walton. Salisbury: the most
symmetrical of the cathedrals. The cloister. Wells: the moated palace of
the bishops; the vicar's close; the chapter-house staircase.
3. _Ely and Peterborough_--Ely: the fens. Story of King Canute. The
military architecture. Peterborough: the screen of the west front; the
painted wood ceiling; the grave of Queen Catharine of Aragon, and the
former grave of Mary Queen of Scots.
4. _Lincoln and Lichfield_--Lincoln: the bishop's eye, and the dean's
eye; site of the shrine of Little Hugh of Lincoln; old houses around
the close. Lichfield: symmetry; monuments of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu,
Samuel Johnson, and Garrick. Johnson's connection with Lichfield. The
Grammar-School.
5. _York and Durham_--York: the old city and its walls; the Five Sisters
window; the military monuments; the famous chapter-house; the crypt; the
horn of Ulphus. Durham: story of the monks of Lindisfarne and St.
Cuthbert; the dun cow; the prince bishops; the Norman pillars; the
Galilee, and the grave of The Venerable Bede; the knocker.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Van Rensselaer: English Cathedrals. Pratt: Cathedral
Churches of England. Singleton: Famous Cathedrals as Seen and Described
by Great Writers.
If time permits, this program should occupy two meetings at least. To
the great cathedrals given may be added the smaller ones, Chichester,
Gloucester, Worcester, Chester, Exeter, Ripon and Carlisle. To the
excursion to Wells add a side-trip to Glastonbury, the home of the
Arthurian legends. At Winchester visit the Hospital of St. Cross and the
famous school. At Canterbury read from David Copperfield.
IV--OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE
1. _Oxford: the City_--The Cherwell and the Isis. The castle. Carfax.
The martyrs and their monument. The cathedral. Trips to Iffley,
Blenheim, Woodstock, and Gaunt House.
2. _Oxford: the Colleges_--Origin and constitution of university. New
College: William of Wykeham's Tower and Sir Joshua Reynolds's window;
Christ Church: Cardinal Wolsey, the great bell, the hall and staircase;
Magdalen College: the Founder's Tower, the deer park, Addison's Walk,
the outdoor pulpit; Balliol College: John Balliol, King of Scotland,
Wiclif, Jowett.
3. _Oxford: in English History and Literature_--The monks; the Empress
Matilda; Charles I.; the Oxford Movement. Famous authors educated at
Oxford: Ben Jonson, Sidney, Locke, Jeremy Taylor, Ruskin, Matthew
Arnold, Swinburne, Pater. Books describing life in college at Oxford:
Verdant Green, Hard Cash, Tom Brown at Oxford. Readings about Oxford
from Matthew Arnold, Andrew Lang, and Bagehot.
4. _Cambridge: the City and the Colleges_--The round Norman church; the
Cam and the Backs. Pembroke College: Edmund Spenser's mulberry-tree;
Queen's: the bridge; King's: Henry Seventh's chapel; Trinity: Wren's
library, Milton manuscript; St. John's: the garden; Magdalen: the Pepys
library; Emmanuel: the Puritans' college, John Harvard.
5. _Cambridge and the Intellectual Life of England_--Government and
Science: Bacon, Newton, Harvey, Darwin, Thurlow, Palmerston. Letters:
Ascham, Marlowe, Crashaw, Dryden, Gray, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron,
Thackeray, Tennyson.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Andrew Lang: Oxford. Edwards: Oxford Painted by John
Fulleylove. Atkinson: Cambridge Described and Illustrated. Stubbs: The
History of Cambridge.
Read especially the famous passage from the preface to Matthew Arnold's
Essays in Criticism, concerning Oxford. Show a photograph of the
beautiful memorial of Shelley and one of Holman Hunt's picture called,
"The Light of the World." Tell of the Bodleian Library and the
Sheldonian Theater. Read O. W. Holmes's account of the granting of
degrees. Under Cambridge, notice King's College chapel and compare the
ceiling with that of Henry Seventh's chapel in Westminster Abbey, built
at the same time. Give a brief paper on Girton and Newnham Colleges for
women.
V--THE LAKE COUNTRY
1. _Introductory Paper_--General description of Westmoreland and
Cumberland Counties. The sixteen lakes, including Windermere, Ullswater,
Coniston, and Derwentwater. History of the region.
2. _Windermere and Its Neighborhood_--Bowness and its church. The
steamer trip. Elleray and Christopher North. Hawkshead and the
Wordsworth Grammar-School. Coniston. Brantwood and Ruskin. The Duddon
Valley.
3. _Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick_--Coaching. Dove's Nest. Fox How,
the home of Thomas Arnold. Rydal Mount. Nab Cottage and Hartley
Coleridge. Grasmere Church and Wordsworth grave and monument. Keswick
and the home of Southey, Greta Hall. Crosthwaite Church and Southey's
tomb. Derwentwater and the Friar's Crag. The Falls of Lodore.
4. _The Lake School of Poets_--Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge.
Readings from Wordsworth's Excursion and his sonnets. Reading from
Southey's Lodore.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Eric Robertson: Wordsworthshire. Rawnsley: Life and
Nature at the English Lakes (also several other books by the same
author). Knight: The English Lake District as Interpreted in the Poems
of Wordsworth. A. G. Bradley (and Pennell): Highways and Byways in the
Lake District. Palmer: The English Lakes.
If possible, have a talk on Dorothy Wordsworth and the home life of
brother and sister. Mention some of their visitors, among them Charles
Lamb, the friend of the three Lake Poets. Read Wordsworth's poem about
his wife: "She was a Phantom of Delight." The connection of the Arnolds,
Thomas and Matthew, with the lake country is full of interest, as well
as that of Harriet Martineau. Refer also to Arthur Hugh Clough, who
lived here for a time. The schools founded by Ruskin are worth study,
where the plowboys learned to make beautiful pottery, and the farmers'
daughters, embroidery.
VI--THE SHAKESPEARE COUNTRY
1. _Stratford on Avon_--Shakespeare's birthplace; the signatures of
famous people on the walls; the museum, the garden. The Grammar-School.
New Place and the Mulberry-Tree. The church and the tomb of Shakespeare,
with its inscription. The river Avon.
2. _Around Stratford_--Shottery and the home of Ann Hathaway. Charlcote
and the deer-park. The Elizabethan mansion and the church of Hampton
Lucy.
3. _Kenilworth_--The famous revels prepared for Queen Elizabeth by the
Earl of Leicester in 1574. Shakespeare's relation to the Queen and the
court. Were any plays written at her suggestion? The present ruins of
Kenilworth and Amy Robsart's tower.
4. _Warwick_--The castle and its treasures and history. Leycester
Hospital. The Church of Saint Mary with the tomb of the great Earl of
Leicester. Guy's Cliff.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--William Winter: Shakespeare's England. Goadby: The
England of Shakespeare. Leyland: The Shakespeare Country Illustrated.
Turner: Shakespeare's Land.
The country about Stratford is constantly referred to in the plays of
Shakespeare. In Henry IV., The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merry Wives
of Windsor there are numerous passages which touch it. The Forest of
Arden is deserving of a side-trip, and on the way travelers watch for
the wild thyme, the primroses, the violets, and other flowers mentioned
by Shakespeare. There may be a little tour to Coventry, the quaint old
town associated with the story of Lady Godiva. Photographs for
illustrating the Shakespeare country are abundant and beautiful, and are
easily obtained.
VII--SCOTLAND (PART I)
1. _Edinburgh_--General appearance of the city. The old town and the
new. The castle. Saint Giles's. The Knox house. Holyrood. The Tolbooth.
The wynds. The Canongate. Grey Friars. The Scott monument. The
university.
2. _Through the Lakes and the Trossachs to Glasgow_--Railway, steamer,
and coach. Stirling: the castle, field of Bannockburn, the Wallace
monument. The Trossachs. Loch Katrine and Ellen's Isle (see The Lady of
the Lake). Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond. Glasgow: the cathedral, the
university. The Clyde. Reading from The Lady of the Lake.
3. _The Land of Burns_--Ayr: the Auld Brig and the New Brig, Burns's
cottage, the Brig o' Doon, Auld Alloway Kirk. The Burns monument.
Dumfries: Burns's house (where he died), his grave and monument. Reading
of Tam o' Shanter.
4. _Scott's Country_--Abbotsford. Melrose. Dryburgh. Reading from
Washington Irving's account of his visit to Abbotsford, and the account
of Scott's funeral in Lockhart's Life of Scott.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--William Winter: Over the Border. Hunnewell: Lands of
Scott. Crockett: In the Border Country. Crockett: The Scott Country. Sir
H. E. Maxwell: The Story of the Tweed.
A day's coaching-trip from Edinburgh takes one to the beautiful little
chapel of Roslin with its "'Prentice Pillar," and to Hawthornden, the
glen where Drummond, the Elizabethan poet, lived. A second excursion may
be made to the old university town of Saint Andrews, with its castle (a
ruin) and the bottle dungeon, and also the famous golf-links. A trip may
be taken to the seaside town of Newhaven, to see the fish-wives in their
quaint costumes.
VIII--SCOTLAND (PART II)
1. _Perth and Aberdeen_--Perth: St. John's Church. Site of the convent
and the story of The King's Tragedy (see Rossetti). Reading from
Scott's Fair Maid of Perth. Balmoral: Reading from Queen Victoria's
Journal in the Highlands. Aberdeen: History. The granite works. The
Cathedral of St. Machar. The university (King's College). Bridge of Don
(1320).
2. _Oban_--"The Charing Cross of the Highlands." The Island of Mull.
Staffa ("Island of Pillars") and Fingal's Cave. Iona. St. Columba's
church. Story of his life. Reading from Bede's Ecclesiastical History.
The Celtic crosses.
3. _The Caledonian Canal_--Start from Oban. Glencoe and the story of its
massacre. Ossian's cave. Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Great Britain).
Invergarry Castle. Fall of Foyers.
4. _Skye and the Islands_--Reading from William Black's A Princess of
Thule; also, from Scott's Pirate. The Orkney Islands. Sea fowl.
Fisheries. The Shetland Islands. Story of Harold Haarfagr.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--James Boswell: Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.
R. B. Moncrieff: Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Archibald MacMillan:
Iona. George Birkbeck Hill: Footsteps of Dr. Johnson.
Introduce in this program the ballads of the Scottish Highlands, either
read or sung. The origin of the tartans used by the different clans is
interesting, especially if illustrated with colored reproductions. The
unique Highland costume for men may be described or represented. The
bagpipes should be noticed; their peculiar music and their historic use.
IX--WALES
1. _History_--The Romans and their remains. Offa's Dyke. The Normans and
their buildings. Griffith ap Rhyl. Llewlyn the Great. Owen Glendower's
revolt. Origin of the Tudor kings in Wales. The story of the Princes of
Wales.
2. _The Country and the People_--Wildness and grandeur. Llandudno,
Llangollen, Bettws-y-Coed, Snowdon. Show photographs of the most famous
places. The Celts and their languages. National customs of the Welsh:
the eisteddfod.
3. _Churches and Castles_--Wrexham Church and the tomb of Elihu Yale.
Valle Crucis Abbey. Truro. St. Asaph's Cathedral, the smallest in the
kingdom, and the grave of Mrs. Hemans. Llandaff Cathedral. Cardiff
Castle. Beaumaris. Hawarden Church, in the grounds of Gladstone's
estate. Pembroke, the birthplace of Henry VII. Bangor. Denbigh. Conway.
Carnarvon, the birthplace of the first Prince of Wales. Harlech. Powys.
4. _Literature_--Giraldus Cambrensis. The Arthurian Legends. The
Mabinogion. Celtic Folk-lore.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. Thomas and R. Fowler: Beautiful Wales. A. G.
Bradley: Highways and Byways in Wales. W. J. Griffith: Short Analysis of
Welsh History (Temple Primers). George Borrow: Wild Wales. J. B. John:
The Mabinogion.
Welsh music should have some place in the program. Great choruses of
singers have traveled in America, and may have been heard by some of the
club members. The best-known song is the stirring March of the Men of
Harlech. An interesting paper may be prepared on the relation existing
between Tennyson's Idyls of the King and the Welsh legends.
X--IRELAND
1. _The History_--The Celts: their characteristics, customs, and
folk-lore. The Irish kings. St. Columba and St. Patrick. The conquest.
The question of home rule.
2. _Belfast, the City of the North_--Differences between the people of
the north and those of the south. Protestants and Catholics.
Ship-building and the linen industry. Dimensions of some of the recently
made ships. The Giant's Causeway.
3. _Dublin_--The government buildings. Phoenix Park and its history.
The cathedral and Dean Swift. Excursions in the neighborhood.
4. _Cork and the South_--The city and its characteristics. The Gap of
Dunloe. The Lakes of Killarney. Blarney Castle. Show photographs.
5. _Irish Literature_--Ancient. Readings from the publications of the
Irish Text Society. Oratory. Sheridan, Burke, Grattan, O'Connell.
Folk-tales and folk-songs. See volume x. of Morris's Irish Literature.
Novels: Lover, Edgeworth, Lever, William Carleton. Readings. The New
Irish Theater: Yeats, Synge, Lady Gregory.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mrs. Alice S. A. Green: Irish Nationality. J. P.
Joyce: The Wonders of Ireland. W. C. O'Donnell: Around the Emerald
Isles. F. Weitenkampf: The Irish Literary Revival.
To vary this program, illustrate with scenes from Sheridan's School for
Scandal, and The Rivals, in costume. Have Moore's ballads sung: Oft in
the Stilly Night, Those Evening Bells, The Last Rose of Summer, and The
Harp that Once Through Tara's Halls. Read from Lever's Charles O'Malley
and from Burke's speech on the impeachment of Warren Hastings. Clever
Irish stories and famous bulls might be given to close the hour.
CHAPTER VII
THE OPERA
INTRODUCTORY
It is part of a liberal education to be more or less acquainted with the
lives of our great composers and the operas they wrote; and the subject
is quite as interesting and practical for the women remote from musical
centers as for those near them. There are two books any club can own
which are invaluable; one is called The Opera, by R. A. Streatfield,
which gives a sketch of each composer and an estimate of his work; the
other, Two Hundred Opera Plots, by Gladys Davidson tells the story of
each opera. In addition to these (and of course whatever is to be found
in a good encyclopedia) the score of any opera can be bought at a music
store, and a pianist can illustrate a talk with leading airs; or, if
practicable, one of the modern musical machines can reproduce the voices
of famous singers in their great parts.
I--RISE OF OPERA IN ITALY
The year's work should begin by one or more meetings on the Rise of
Opera in Italy in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Three little
operas were written, attempting to give the old Greek dramas in a
musical setting. The first public performance of opera as we know it,
however, was given by Peri, in Florence, with his Euridice, to honor the
marriage of Maria de' Medici and Henry IV. of France; this was a sort of
recitative, set to the music of a violin, a guitar, and harpsichord.
Peri was followed by Monteverde, but the latter's production of Orfeo
far surpassed the former's work on the same theme. His orchestra had
thirty-nine instruments, and the effect of the whole was to open a new
world of music. At once opera-writing became the fashion, and in fifty
years all great Italian cities had their schools of opera, and France
had adopted the same ideas. The subjects of all were classical,
allegorical, and pastoral, and to the recitative, alone, were added
songs and arias, and the overture was developed. Some clubs might take
for a year's work the subject of Italy of this period, adding the study
of art and literature to that of music. A good book to use is Morton
Latham's Renaissance of Music.
II--THREE GREAT COMPOSERS
At this point the history of opera divides, and three great composers
are to be noted. Clubs should have a paper on each, the material drawn
from the encyclopedia.
1. Lulli, though born in Italy, lived in Paris; he wrote twenty operas,
all of which were splendidly produced. He used largely the form of
recitative, but developed the overture, dividing it into a prelude, a
fugue, and a dance.
2. Humphreys, an English composer, was sent by Charles II. to France to
study; on his return he had for his pupil Henry Purcell, still
considered the greatest musical genius England has produced. His Dido
and Æneas is the first English opera.
3. The third great man of the time was Handel, who produced in Hamburg
the opera Almira, a mixture of German and Italian ideas, but made
beautiful by the charming dance music scattered through it. Later he
wrote Rinaldo, and it was brought out with overwhelming success.
Clubs should give an entire meeting to Handel. Many of his well-known
oratorios have selections which are more familiar than any passages from
his operas, however, notably the Messiah and Elijah.
III--THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL
After the death of Lulli the French school followed him with little
originality until, in the eighteenth century, Rameau gave opera more
rhythm and melody, and added to the orchestration. Then Gluck appeared,
studying first in Italy, where opera had degenerated; he wrote Piramo e
Tisbe, which failed; later he brought out Orfeo ed Euridice, which at
once made him famous. The music is appropriate to the lofty and sad
classical theme, but is relieved with exquisite reproductions of bird
and water music. The whole is one of the great operas. The great song is
Che farò senza Euridice.
Mozart, though a German by birth, was trained under Italian influence.
His first opera was written when he was twelve years old, and given in
his native town. His greatest work was Don Giovanni, though his last,
The Magic Flute, is best known. But it was his influence over other
musicians, like that of Rameau, which was even more important than his
own music. Mozart is one of the most delightful topics for club study.
His charming personality, his friendships, and his life-story are full
of interest.
Cherubini's work, at first cold and formal, developed into dignity and
even grandeur. His finest opera is Médée, although his one light opera,
The Water Carriers, is also well known.
Beethoven gave one famous opera to Germany at this time, his Fidelio.
The music shows strongly the influence of Mozart, but it is original in
form and beautiful in execution. The Fateful Moment is a good selection
to give.
IV--THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL
Weber, a German, was the first to turn from the conventional type of
opera-writing to the romantic. To his solid foundation he added an
exquisite, imaginative glow. After years of struggle he achieved success
in his Der Freischütz. Oberon, his last work, full of fairylike and
charming music, did not succeed. In fact, Weber's greatest
accomplishment was the inspiration he gave others, like Mozart and
Rameau. The overtures to both operas should be given.
Flotow, a German by birth, wrote distinctly Italian music. His one
well-known opera, Martha, still has a certain vogue, though it is
remembered more for its tuneful airs than for any real merit. The
Spinning-Wheel Song and the Last Rose of Summer are familiar.
Nicolai began his work by imitating Italian music, but later he became
distinctly original and wrote a really excellent comic opera, the Merry
Wives of Windsor, which stands in the first rank.
Schubert wrote many light operas of slight musical value, and Schumann
one of more or less worth, called Genoveva.
Opera-writing now became so popular everywhere that it is necessary to
take it up in its different homes, and to divide the work into that done
in the earlier and later years. The first is:
V--THE EARLIER ITALIAN SCHOOL
Rossini, born at the end of the eighteenth century, knew little of
technical methods, so he followed his native genius. His first great
opera was Tancredi, and this was followed by others in a lighter vein,
notably the Barber of Seville, bright and amusing, and later William
Tell, his finest work, dignified and beautiful. The overture to the last
is one of his familiar melodies.
Donizetti, born in the same decade with Rossini, wrote sixty-five
operas; one of the best-known is Lucia di Lammermoor, with its famous
sextet. Lucrezia Borgia, probably his best work, is but seldom given
to-day, but La Fille du Régiment, a gay, charming little opera, is often
presented.
Bellini, who comes a few years later than the last two composers, wrote
operas famous in their day. I Puritani, La Sonnambula, and Norma, are
all well known. The solo, Hear Me, Norma, is especially familiar.
VI--THE EARLIER FRENCH SCHOOL
Meyerbeer, born in 1791, though of German birth, spent most of his life
in Paris. He wrote many excellent operas, even though they were marred
by sensationalism. Robert le Diable, L'Africaine, Les Huguenots, and Le
Prophète have all been often given by great singers. Les Huguenots is
considered Meyerbeer's best work, and the duet in the fourth act is of
immense dramatic force.
In contrast with this composer stands Berlioz, born in 1803. His work is
serious, with romantic and delicate touches. He wrote The Damnation of
Faust and Benvenuto Cellini, but his great opera is Les Troyens, though
it is scarcely known to the public.
Halévy belongs with Meyerbeer, for one reflected the other. La Juive
appeared before Les Huguenots, and the music of both has much in common.
Just at this time light opera, or _opéra comique_, found in Auber its
greatest composer. He began to write late in life, and his last opera,
The Dream of Love, was produced when he was eighty-eight. His music was
full of gaiety and brightness. Fra Diavolo and Masaniello are familiar,
and the part of _Fenella_ in the latter has been taken by many famous
dancers. Auber has many followers to-day, notably Offenbach, whose Tales
of Hoffman is well known.
VII--WAGNER AND HIS SCHOOL
Richard Wagner, born in 1813, is by far the most imposing and most
interesting of all writers of opera. His life and work deserve more than
a passing paper, and clubs are urged to make an entire year's study of
them. At twenty he wrote his first opera, Die Feen, rather a simple
affair; this was distinctly in the Italian manner. Next he tried the
French method, and wrote Rienzi, with an excellent libretto but showy
music. Later, in poverty in Paris, he wrote The Flying Dutchman, a
picturesque piece of music with beautiful chorus work. After this came
the first of his great operas, Tannhauser, the story of the struggle of
a soul between good and evil. This contains two famous passages, the
Pilgrims' Chorus and the exquisite song to the Evening Star. It is in
this opera that there first appears Wagner's distinctive method, the use
of the _Leit-motif_, or guiding-theme, which associates one strain or
one set of instruments with one character. This idea had been slightly
used by Gluck, but Wagner developed it.
Five years later came Lohengrin, not as strong a piece of work as its
predecessor, though the prelude is acknowledged to be one of his most
poetic conceptions. None of Wagner's work was successful, however; and
after this point he relinquished the hope of popularity, and determined
to write only what seemed to him great music. In this lofty spirit he
planned Der Ring des Nibelungen. His subject was taken from the old
Norse mythology, the myths altered to suit his purpose. The whole work
is in five parts: the Ring, the Rheingold, the Walküre, Siegfried, and
the Twilight of the Gods. The plots of these should be read, and such
music heard as can be obtained.
Then came Tristan and Isolde, called the Romeo and Juliet of music, and
after it, strangely enough, followed a light opera, Die Meistersinger,
at once a success; and last, what is considered his greatest work,
Parsifal, which he called a Sacred Festival Drama rather than an opera.
In this he returns to the theme he used in Lohengrin--the Holy Grail.
The wonderful and touching mystical music must be heard to be
appreciated. For years it has been given at Bayreuth, and musicians from
all over the world have gathered to hear it. It is only of late that it
has been produced elsewhere.
Wagner's life-work was to alter the whole course of modern opera and
give it new dignity and power.
VIII--THE FRENCH SCHOOL OF TO-DAY
Gounod, born in 1818, is the greatest composer of French opera of modern
times. His masterpiece is Faust, with its familiar Jewel Song; his
second best work is Romeo and Juliet.
Thomas, the writer of Mignon, full of melody, and Hamlet, with its
brilliant and powerful music, is distinctly a follower of Gounod.
Bizet shows in his Carmen the influence of Wagner; the Toreador strain
is its guiding-theme. His work was to raise light opera to almost the
dignity of grand.
Saint-Saëns has one well-known work, Samson and Delilah, somewhat
suggestive of oratorio.
Massenet, who died but lately, was full of originality. His operas, The
Cid, Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Manon, and Thais, are all to be seen on
the modern stage.
Charpentier in Louise has also struck an original note, and his
orchestration is considered unique.
Debussy has written Pélleas and Mélisande, a new opera of great
interest.
Delibes has one charming opera, Lakmé, founded on the love of a Hindu
girl for an English officer.
IX--THE LATER ITALIAN SCHOOL
Verdi, born in 1839 and dying only recently, is the master of the modern
Italian composers. Ernani is typical of his first style, and was
immensely popular. Later he wrote La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore,
and Aida. When Verdi was an old man he wrote Otello, called his
greatest work. This was followed by Falstaff, full of bright fun.
Verdi's genius inspired many other musicians. Of them all Ponchielli
owed him most; his best opera is La Gioconda.
Puccini, a living composer, also owes much to Verdi; his Manon Lescaut,
La Bohème, Madame Butterfly, and The Girl of the Golden West prove his
great promise.
Mascagni is associated with one opera only, the Cavalleria Rusticana,
with its intermezzo which gave it popularity. His later work is
distinctly second rate.
Leoncavallo has followed Mascagni somewhat. His I Pagliacci is his
best-known opera.
X--COMPOSERS OF MODERN GERMANY AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Almost all Germans follow Wagner to-day, but Goldmark in his Queen of
Sheba shows independence, especially in his orchestration. Humperdinck's
lovely Hansel and Gretel has given him a place of importance.
The Bohemian, Smetana, who wrote The Bartered Bride cleverly used his
national airs, and this and his other operas are typical of his
country.
Glinka, born in 1808, founded the Russian school; his fine opera A Life
for the Czar is well known.
Richard Strauss, a follower of Wagner, is the composer of Salome and
Elektra; the music is rich and complicated, and his talent unquestioned.
In England, Balfe, born in 1808, wrote several operas, the best known
the Bohemian Girl, with its familiar airs. Since his day there has been
little serious work done, but light opera, notably Sullivan's Pinafore,
the Mikado, and others have had great success.
In America we have Horatio Parker, with his recent Mona, a production
full of originality, if one not yet popular; Reginald De Koven, who
wrote the excellent Robin Hood, and Victor Herbert, the author of
lighter works.
* * * * *
In addition to using this résumé of opera, clubs should make out
programs on popular topics; or there may be one topic used to close each
program.
Subsidizing the opera: shall this be done by the state, as in Germany;
or by individuals, as in New York?
Cheap opera: is it possible for us to-day? How is it managed in Germany
and Italy? What is the expense of opera in New York, in great salaries,
scenery, costumes, etc.?
Give an idea of some famous opera-houses in Paris, St. Petersburg,
Berlin, Milan, Buenos Ayres, and elsewhere, illustrating with
photographs. Tell of great opera-singers and their careers; mention
Patti, Christine Nilsson, Calvé, the De Reszkes, Caruso, and others;
have records of such voices, if possible. Discuss the opera music of
to-day: Is it on the whole melodious, or is there a tendency to return
to the old style recitative? Are the airs as marked as those of a decade
ago?
CHAPTER VIII
THE WORLD'S GREAT PAINTERS
I--THE ITALIANS (PART I)
1. _Italy: the Birthplace of Modern Painting_--The influence of
Byzantium; the intellectual awakening of Europe; the development of
commerce.
2. _The Early Painters_--Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli.
3. _Art Patrons of the Renaissance_--Lorenzo de' Medici; Leo X.
_Leonardo da Vinci: The Father of Modern Painting_--Story of his life;
his versatility; the Last Supper; the Mona Lisa.
READING from Walter Pater's Essay on the Renaissance.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Luebke: History of Art. J. A. Symonds: The Renaissance
in Italy. Vasari: Lives of the Painters.
A brief introductory paper might take up the influence of Roman
classical literature and history on Italian art, and also the effect of
Greek culture after the Crusades. The childlike subjects and methods of
the early painters are also of great interest, and what they took from
Byzantine art, and how they were influenced by the study of anatomy. The
luxury of the times and its demands for pictures and statues, the
influence of the extravagance of court life, the Popes as art patrons,
all can be discussed. One entire paper might be given to St. Peter's at
Rome, and another to Da Vinci's great picture "Mona Lisa," and what art
critics have said of it. See also Ruskin's estimates of the Primitives.
II--THE ITALIANS (PART II)
1. _Life of Raphael_--His family and his father's influence; change in
his style through his instructors. His patrons, and what he did for
them. His personal disposition, and its effect on his style.
2. _Raphael as a Painter_--Give the impressions of famous travelers,
authors and art critics. Where his paintings are, their number, their
subjects. The Madonna, his favorite subject. Various ways in which he
treated it.
3. _Michelangelo_--The story of his life and training as a painter.
Versatility (as architect, painter, sculptor and poet). Brief
description of his works and their location. Readings from his sonnets.
4. _A Comparison of Raphael and Michelangelo_--Their relations in life,
their difference of temperament, and the contrast in the spirit of their
work.
5. _Titian_--History of his personal experience. Description of his most
famous paintings. His effect on the history of painting, as a colorist.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Muentz: Raphael. C. C. Black: Michelangelo Buonarotti.
Crowe and Cavalcaselle: Titian. C. C. Perkins: Raphael and Michelangelo.
This program should be liberally illustrated with photographs; if no
others can be obtained, the Perry pictures will do excellently. Those
who have been abroad may compare impressions of different painters, and
especially of the various Madonnas painted by Raphael. Pictures of the
exterior and interior of the Sistine Chapel and of Saint Peter's should
be shown, with colored photographs of the frescoes on the walls and
ceiling of the former.
III--SPAIN
1. _Early Spanish Painters_--Murillo: the artist of the church; his
Madonnas. Ribera.
2. _Velazquez_--The artist of the crown; influence on him of Herrera and
Pacheco; peculiarly Spanish character; his patron, Philip IV.; the forty
portraits of this king; visit of the painter to Italy; mythological and
religious pictures; his Christ on the Cross.
3. _Recent Spanish Painters_--Goya: his portraits; story of his quarrel
with the Duke of Wellington. Fortuny: influence upon him of Meissonier;
small and motley figures. Zuloaga: resemblance of style to Goya. Sorolla
y Bastida: painter of sunshine on figures; pictures in the Luxembourg
and the Metropolitan Museum.
4. _The Madrid Gallery_--The greatest picture-gallery of the world;
built for Charles III. Collections of Charles V., Philip II., and Philip
IV. (2,000 pictures.) Its paintings by Titian, Raphael, Tintoretto,
Velazquez, Van Dyck, Rubens, and Teniers. Huge modern historical works
like those at Versailles.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Curtis: Velazquez and Murillo. Armstrong: Life of
Velazquez. Stirling-Maxwell: Annals of the Artists of Spain. Temple:
Modern Spanish Painting.
There were several great patrons of art in Spain, like Charles V. and
Philip II. Read of their relations to the painters and their work.
Discuss the contribution of the Spanish painters to realism. How does
Velazquez compare with Raphael? Analyze the peculiar contribution of
Sorolla to modern painting.
IV--HOLLAND AND BELGIUM
1. _Painters of Interiors_--Metsu, Van Ostade, Jan Steen, Wouvermans.
Note the humor and satire in the painters of genre; also, their minutely
careful method.
2. _Landscapes and Marines_--Cuyp, Ruysdael, Van der Velde. Describe the
characteristics of the Dutch landscape. Show pictures of cattle combined
with landscape.
3. _Figures_--Hals, Van der Heist, Van Dyck, Rubens. Tell the story of
Van Dyck and the English court, and describe his pictures of King
Charles I. Note the huge canvases of Rubens, his high colors and his
heavy figures. Mention the meeting of Rubens and Velazquez and its
probable effect on the former. Notice the quantity of works attributed
to Rubens (1,300 titles Smith's catalogue), and discuss the likelihood
of his having produced all these without help.
4. _Rembrandt_--His history, style (light and shade), and effect on
painting. Describe the numerous portraits of himself and his wife. Note
his work as an etcher. Description of the Night Watch.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Crowe and Cavalcaselle: Early Flemish Paintings. Max
Rooses: Dutch Painters of the Nineteenth Century. Malcolm Bell:
Rembrandt van Rijn and His Work. E. Dillon: Rubens.
The Dutch school was the pioneer of modern landscape-painting; show its
influence on Constable and other English artists. The Dutch were
faithful illustrators of peasant and burgher life, and it is interesting
to make a study of costume, furniture, and jewelry as shown by them.
Take up the galleries of Amsterdam, The Hague, and Antwerp, and show
photographs of Van Dyck's Crucifixion, and Rembrandt's Night Watch. At
Haarlem there is a small gallery noted for its paintings by Franz Hals,
particularly The Syndics. There is a small group of modern Dutch
painters deserving of notice: Mauve, the two Marises, Mesdag, and
Israels.
V--FRANCE (PART I)
1. _Poussin and Claude_--Influence of Domenichino on Poussin. Relation
to Cardinal Barberini. Richelieu and Louis XIII. Influence of Poussin
on landscape-painting. Claude's studies in Italy. Late success.
Mythological and Scriptural subjects. The _Liber Veritatis_. Ruskin's
estimate. Comparison with Turner in the National Gallery, London. Claude
as an etcher. Hamerton's opinion of him.
2. _Court Painters and Others_--LeBrun. Patronage of Seguier. Work under
Louis XIV. and Colbert at Fontainebleau, Versailles, and Sceaux.
Watteau, _peintre des Fêtes Galantes_. Artificial pastoral scenes.
Reading from Pater's A Court Painter. Chardin. Only painter of humble
life of his time. Neglect then; appreciation now. Why this change in
opinion? Fragonard. Relation to Chardin. Greuze. Names of some of his
court beauties. Are they true to life?
3. _David and Ingres_--Inspiration of the antique in David. Historical
subjects. Napoleon pictures. Compare Ingres with David.
4. _Delaroche, Géricault, Delacroix_--Delaroche's loyalty to classic
traditions of painting. Pictures at Versailles. Géricault: His pictures
of nature and especially animals. Delacroix: Connection of the romantic
movement in painting with that in literature. Effect of Delacroix's
influence on modern painting.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Sir Edmund Head: Handbook of the History of the
Spanish and French Schools of Painting. Lady Dilke: French Painters of
the Eighteenth Century. Staley: Watteau and His School. Turner and
Baker: Stories of the French Artists.
Have a paper on The Influence of the French Revolution on French Art.
Before that, that artificial and frivolous spirit characterized the work
of the painters as it did the life of the court, for which they largely
did their work. Note the many pictures illustrating the life of
Napoleon, his battles, and his victories; Versailles is full of them.
The enthusiasm of patriotism and the new national sense are shown in
this reaction.
VI--FRANCE (PART II)
1. _The Romanticists_--Followers of Delacroix. Their principles. Dupré,
Isabey, Jacque, Corot, Daubigny. Story of Corot's life. Coloration and
style. Compare with Constable.
2. _The Barbizon School_--Description of life in the Forest of
Fontainebleau. Millet. Country life. Poverty. Later appreciations. The
Angelus. Pictures in the United States. Rousseau. Diaz. Cazin.
3. _The Impressionists_--Manet, Monet, Degas, Raffaëlli.
4. _Pictures of Genre_--Describe what is meant. Discuss the relative
merits of pictures that tell a story and those that merely give an
impression. Meissonier, Cabanel, Baudry, Rosa Bonheur, Ziem, Bouguereau,
Constant, Fromentin, Jules Breton. Pictures by these painters in the
United States.
5. _Painters of the Open Air_--The appreciation of atmosphere in French
painting. Lepage, Roll, Dagnan-Bouveret.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hourticq: Art in France. Theodore Child: Some Modern
French Painters. J. C. VanDyke: Modern French Masters. D. Cady Eaton:
Handbook of Modern French Painting. C. Sprague Smith: Barbizon Days.
The story of the life of the artist colony and their friends at Barbizon
would make a delightful paper. Material of an interesting sort may be
found in A Chronicle of Friendships, by Will H. Low. See also R. L.
Stevenson. Among the great decorative artists of our time is Puvis de
Chavannes. He has one well-known painting in the Boston Public Library.
Boutet de Monvel, the painter of children; Bonnat, the portrait-painter;
and, among the younger artists, Sisley may be mentioned. Illustrate with
photographs of a Corot landscape, Millet's Angelus, Meissonier's 1805,
Rosa Bonheur's Horse Fair, Jules Breton's Brittany Pardon, Lepage's Joan
of Arc, and Dagnan-Bouveret's Madonna.
VII--GERMANY
1. _German School of the Reformation Period_--Albrecht Dürer: Nuremberg.
Court painter to Charles V. Lucas Cranach: Court painter to three
Electors. Hans Holbein: Augsburg. Court painter to Henry VIII. Drawings
at Windsor.
2. _Munich School_--Cornelius, the founder. Study in Rome. Brought to
Munich by King Ludwig. Kaulbach (his cartoons), Piloty, Defregger,
Lenbach, Carl Stuck, Plockhorst, and Gabriel Max, and the religious
painters.
3. _The Düsseldorf School_--Schadow, the chief director. In Rome with
Cornelius. Hübner, the two Achenbachs, Carl Müller, Meyer von Bremen.
Pronounced sentimentalism.
4. _The Berlin School_--Ludwig Knaus, head of the Academy; his Holy
Family in the Metropolitan Museum. Menzel, Werner, Carl Becker.
5. _Painters of To-day_--Arnold von Böcklin. (Photographs.) Fritz von
Uhde. (Photographs.) Realism and impressionism in Germany. Influence of
French art on Germany of to-day.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Atkinson: Schools of Modern Art in Germany. Radcliffe:
Schools and Masters of Painting. K. Berlin: Contemporary German Art.
Buxton and Poynter: German, Flemish, and Dutch Painting.
If there can be one more paper in this program, it should be on the
critic Winckelmann and his classical influence. This was shown
particularly in Raphael Mengs, in the eighteenth century, court painter
to the King of Poland, and his pupil, Angelica Kauffmann. German art has
been influenced greatly by those who have written about his philosophy,
Lessing, Goethe, the Sehlegels, and others. Mention should be made of
Kugler, Waagen, and Doctor Bode, to-day.
VIII--ENGLAND (PART I)
1. _Lely and Kneller_--Story of their lives. Their rank as artists.
Lely's relation to the court of Charles II. Kneller's to that of
William and Mary. Similarity of the work of the two painters. The
pictures of the Hampton Court beauties of the time.
2. _Hogarth_--Choice of subjects and manner of treatment. Influence of
the Dutch school. Reasons for the great popularity of his work among the
English. Historical value. Interest rather than beauty. Engravings.
Pictures in the British Museum.
3. _Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney_--The portrait painters of the
eighteenth century. Well-known pictures of women and children: the
Duchess of Devonshire, Cherry Ripe, The Strawberry Girl, etc. Reynolds'
school for painting. Readings from his Discourses.
4. _Raeburn and Wilkie_--Subjects from humble life. The sentimental
story as a theme. Scottish emotionalism in art and in literature;
Wilkie's Blind Man's Buff and The Blind Fiddler.
5. _Constable_--Great painter of English landscape. Intense sympathy
with his subject. Appreciation of the artistic value of mists, clouds,
and showers. Effect on modern French landscape painters. Great
commercial value of Constable's pictures to-day. Paintings in the
National Gallery, at South Kensington and in the Metropolitan Museum.
6. _Turner_--Greatest English landscape painter. Strange story of his
life. His eccentricities. Style of his painting. Comparison with Claude
and Poussin. Unfortunate choice of pigments and consequent fading of his
pictures. Readings from Ruskin's Modern Painters.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gleeson White: Master Painters of Britain. Spielmann:
British Portrait Painting to the Closing of the XIX Century. Allan
Cunningham: Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters and Sculptors.
Horace Walpole: Anecdotes of Painting in England.
This program is so full that it may easily be divided between two
meetings. Notice beside the artists mentioned those of less distinction:
Sir Thomas Lawrence, the portrait painter belonging to the Reynolds
school; Blake, the mystical and symbolical artist who influenced the
later pre-Raphaelites; and Landseer, the painter of animals (who may be
compared with Rosa Bonheur). Illustrate the paper with photographs as
far as possible.
IX--ENGLAND (PART II)
1. _The Pre-Raphaelites_--Their origin and principles: sincerity and
truth to nature. Holman Hunt: Light of the World; The Triumph of the
Innocents. Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Ecce Ancilla Domini; Beata Beatrix.
Photographs of these pictures may be shown, and those who have seen them
may give their impression of them.
2. _The Academicians_--Sir Frederick Leighton, Sir J. E. Millais and his
desertion of the Pre-Raphaelites, G. F. Watts, Sir Alma Tadema, Frank
Dicksee, Sir E. J. Poynter, Sir Luke Fildes, Sir Hubert von Herkomer,
Sir W. Q. Orchardson. In this connection there may be a reading from
Herkomer's memoir.
3. _The Independents_--Sir E. Burne-Jones. Solomon J. Solomon. Maurice
Grieffenhagen. Mortimer Menpes. J. Byam Shaw. The influence of French
painting on England is interesting to trace.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Ruskin: Modern Painters. Holman Hunt: History of
Pre-Raphaelitism. Gleeson White: Master Painters of Britain. Cosmo
Monkhouse: British Contemporary Artists.
Ford Madox-Brown, who has not been mentioned in the program, should be
mentioned if there is time. The articles in various current magazines by
Ford Madox-Brown Hueffer, dealing with the men of the Pre-Raphaelite
school, are full of incident and humor. The poems of Dante Gabriel
Rossetti and his sister, Christina, should be noticed and several of
them read. Rossetti's wife was the model for many Pre-Raphaelite
pictures. She might be described and the story told of her death and the
burial with her of her husband's poems, subsequently exhumed and
published.
X--AMERICA
1. _Early Painters_--Copley, Gilbert Stuart, West, and Trumbull.
2. _The Hudson River School_--Kensett, Cropsey, Church, Bierstadt.
Influence of Düsseldorf and Munich on these painters.
3. _Whistler and La Farge_--French influence on American painters.
Whistler's portrait of his mother. Controversy with Ruskin. Story of the
libel suit. Why is Whistler's appeal not more popular? La Farge's
picture of the Ascension of Christ. Japanese and oceanic sketches. Mural
paintings in public buildings. La Farge as a colorist and decorator.
4. _Sargent and Abbey_--Sargent's style. Famous portraits. Decorations
for Boston Library. Abbey's illustrations of Shakespeare. Story of the
Holy Grail. Coronation picture of Edward VIII.
5. _Characteristic Groups_--Landscape: Inness, Troyon, Wyant. Marines:
W. T. Richards, de Haas, Rehn. Figures (genre): Winslow Homer, Abbott H.
Thayer, Geo. de Forest Brush. Portraits: Eastman Johnson, W. M. Chase,
John Alexander, Cecilia Beaux.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--C. H. Caffin: American Masters of Painting. Samuel
Isham: History of American Painting. J. W. McSpadden: Famous Painters in
America. H. T. Tuckerman: Artist Life (1847).
Take up the consideration of the leading art galleries of America, the
Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the
Corcoran Gallery in Washington, and the Art Institute in Chicago; also
the new galleries in Detroit, Buffalo, Dayton, and other cities. Notice
the famous mural paintings in State capitols, city halls, and the high
schools of New York and those of the Congressional Library in
Washington.
CHAPTER IX
TEN AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS
INTRODUCTORY
This popular program is given for those clubs who wish something light
and attractive for their year's work. The subject is taken up topically,
and the leading writers only are given; to those names may be added as
many more as are desired. To enlarge the field, add the names of women
poets, essayists, and miscellaneous writers, and take Woman in American
Literature for the subject. See R. P. Halleck's recent book on American
Literature. Or use the one topic of Our Short-Story Writers, and have
that cover as many meetings as programs are needed.
I--HISTORICAL NOVELS
Jane G. Austin used the theme of Colonial days most successfully. She
was saturated with the spirit of the time, and no one can read Standish
of Standish, or Betty Alden without feeling in sympathy with the
Puritans, their romance and hardships. Read from either of these, or
from David Alden's Daughter.
Maud Wilder Goodwin writes, in a delightfully breezy style, of life
among the Colonial Cavaliers, and her White Aprons and The Head of a
Hundred are fascinating; they follow well the books just suggested for
the first meeting. Read from either of the two named.
Amelia E. Barr, though born in England, belongs among American writers.
She has no less than sixty novels to her credit. Her theme has been
largely of the early days in New York, and The Belle of Bowling Green,
The Maid of Maiden Lane, and The Bow of Orange Ribbon are all excellent.
Among her other books are Jan Vedder's Wife and The Black Shilling. Read
from The Bow of Orange Ribbon.
Mary Johnston has covered a large historical field. Beginning in the
early days of Virginia, she took the settling of Jamestown in Prisoners
of Hope and To Have and To Hold; both these are of absorbing interest,
and have remarkable pictures of the Indians of the time. Then comes
Lewis Rand and the settling of the Northwest, and then The Long Roll,
about our Civil War. All her work is done in a careful painstaking way,
and is distinctly dramatic. Read from To Have and To Hold.
Add to these the books of Mary Catherwood, about Canada, and those of
Beulah Marie Dix, who has used the wars of Cromwell largely as her
theme; both writers are among our best.
II--STORIES OF ROMANCE AND MYSTERY
Bertha Runkle's The Helmet of Navarre may perhaps stand at the very head
of our romantic novels, for its wonderfully vivid representation of life
and adventure in Paris under her famous hero. It is all the more
remarkable because it was the author's first book, and written when she
was only a girl. Read the closing chapter.
Amélie Rives, now the Princess Troubetzkoy, has several romantic novels,
notably The Quick or the Dead and A Brother to Dragons, both written in
an intense, dramatic way; her Virginia of Virginia, while different, is
no less fascinating. Her books have the setting of the South. Read from
the last.
Molly Elliot Seawell has written a great number of books, all carefully
done and of great variety of subjects. Her Sprightly Romance of Marsac,
which took a three-thousand-dollar prize and is as gay as its title
indicates, has for its foils the more serious The House of Egremont and
Midshipman Paulding. Read from the first.
Anna Katherine Green has many books about the detection of crime, with
complicated plots. Her The Leavenworth Case is her best book; others are
The Mill Mystery, Behind Closed Doors, and The Filigree Ball. Read from
The Leavenworth Case.
III--STORIES OF LIFE PROBLEMS
The greatest problem novel ever written by a woman was Uncle Tom's
Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Clubs should give at least one meeting
to this book, studying the times, the character of the author and her
training, as the causes which led to its writing; notice also the effect
of the book upon the nation. It has passed into many other languages
than ours, and has a world-wide fame.
Mrs. Stowe also wrote another book with a great theme, The Minister's
Wooing, of early Colonial days and the power of Calvinism in the lives
of the people. Read from both these books.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (Mrs. Ward) began her work at nineteen with The
Gates Ajar, suggested by the sorrow of the Civil War; this had a
phenomenal success. From that time on she wrote steadily, and each novel
had a problem to present, set out with strong emotion. A Singular Life
is one of her best, and The Story of Avis, Doctor Zay, and The
Confessions of a Wife are all deeply interesting. Read from the first
two.
Margaret Deland has taken up the problems of life in her books with
sympathy, humor and a certain wise and tender philosophy. Her stories of
Old Chester, its delightful people, with their strongly marked
characteristics, and the rector, Dr. Lavendar, who is one of the most
charming delineations ever drawn, are all known to-day to women readers.
Her best novels follow the lines of her other stories, but there is a
power in The Awakening of Helena Richie and in The Iron Woman not in the
short stories. Read from Old Chester Tales.
IV--STORIES OF SOCIETY AND ITS PROBLEMS
Edith Wharton studied the problems of society in a great city in her The
House of Mirth, drawing a faithful if somewhat painful picture. The
Fruit of the Tree and The Valley of Decision present other phases of
social life. Her books are well planned and well written, with a
noticeably subtle touch. Read from The House of Mirth.
Gertrude Atherton also writes of society's problems, but in quite
another manner. The Aristocrats and Ancestors have a distinctly satiric
flavor. In addition to these she has others in quite another vein, The
Doomswoman, and The Conqueror notably.
John Oliver Hobbes (Mrs. Craigie) has some exquisite little books, read
by few, perhaps, because of their peculiar style. She wrote The School
for Saints, The Herb Moon, and The Flute of Pan. Her problems are rather
involved and somewhat attenuated, but on the whole beautifully done.
Read from The Herb Moon.
V--STORIES OF HUMOR AND PATHOS
Ruth McEnery Stuart's early life was spent in Louisiana, and there she
learned to know the plantation negro at first hand. No one has equaled
her in her presentation of his character, with its dependence and
childlike drollery. Her appreciation of his humor is no less marked
than of his unconscious pathos. Read from A Golden Wedding, Moriah's
Mourning, and The River's Children. In Sonny, one of her loveliest
books, she has taken a poor white as her hero.
Alice Hegan Rice made a large place for herself when she wrote Mrs.
Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. She found that unusual thing, a new setting
for a story, and drew a unique heroine in Mrs. Wiggs. Read from this and
its sequel, Lovey Mary.
Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. Riggs) has several gay stories, a brief series
about Penelope in England and Scotland, and A Cathedral Courtship, quite
as amusing. Her Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is also full of bright
sayings. In The Birds' Christmas Carol she mingles humor and pathos.
Read from Penelope's Progress.
Myra Kelly found in a public school among the poor foreigners of New
York's East Side material for her best book, Little Citizens. It is
written with a keen appreciation of their amusing ways and sayings, and
of sympathy with them. A chapter taken at random will prove delightful
reading.
Carolyn Wells is well known as the author of the wittiest of verses;
but she has also some books no less attractive. A Matrimonial Bureau, At
the Sign of the Sphinx, and The Gordon Elopement (collaborated) are
filled with freakish situations and clever sayings. Read from the first.
In addition to these, clubs may read Anne Warner's The Rejuvenation of
Aunt Mary, Margaret Cameron's The Involuntary Chaperon, and others; see
also the humorist of several decades ago, Marietta Holley, and her books
on Samantha Allen.
VI--STORIES OF DOMESTIC LIFE
Mary Stewart Cutting has been a most successful writer of short stories
about ordinary home life. She is marvelously true to facts, but puts
them in a fresh and humorous way. Her Little Stories of Courtship and
Little Stories of Married Life show us people we all know. Her longer
stories, The Unforeseen and The Wayfarers, have the same good sense, the
same bright way of treating difficulties. Choose selections from her
first two books.
Ellen Olney Kirk writes in a quiet style of delightful people who lead
uneventful lives. Her books are not new to-day, but they are always
interesting. Select from The Story of Margaret Kent or Marcia.
Alice Brown depicts home life in New England, but always introduces the
element of the unusual, either in plot or characters. There is a certain
strength about all she does. Read from Meadow-Grass or The Country Road.
Kathleen Norris has written a deeply moving story called Mother; it
tells the story of a family of ordinary parents and children with
marvelous fidelity to the commonplaceness of their lives, but it is a
picture of tenderness and an appreciation of what a real mother is and
does.
Margaret E. Sangster's Eastover Parish is a charming study from real
life.
VII--STORIES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Louisa M. Alcott's Little Women is a masterpiece. No one has ever been
able to write anything so fresh, so natural, and so wholesome. Her later
books, especially Little Men and Old-Fashioned Girl, are rather in the
same vein, though not the equal of Little Women. Read any favorite
chapter.
Mary Mapes Dodge's greatest literary success was a book for boys, Hans
Brinker, or the Silver Skates, a fascinating story of Holland. It has
been translated into five languages. Read the "race" from it.
Frances H. Burnett had written excellent books for grown people, like
That Lass o' Lowries, and others, before her Little Lord Fauntleroy
appeared and had instant popularity. Her other children's books were
mostly fairy-tales and simple stories. Read from Fauntleroy.
Laura E. Richards has many books for girls, written with humor and much
sensible suggestion, the latter well hidden. The Three Margarets,
Margaret Montfort, and the Hildegarde stories are all attractive, but
Captain January is most original; read from this.
Josephine Daskam Bacon writes amusingly of both children and parents.
Her Memoirs of a Baby and When Caroline Was Growing are both worth
reading.
Elizabeth Jordan has struck a new note in her stories of convent life.
May Iverson, Her Book and its sequel are full of the absurdities of
growing girls. Read any of the amusing chapters.
Clubs should make a special study of some of the older writers for
girls, especially Sophie May, Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, and Susan
Coolidge. Notice also the excellent work of Annie Fellows Johnston, Kate
Bosher, and Inez Haynes Gilmore, and read from their books.
VIII--STORIES OF LOCAL TYPES
Some of our women writers have used the people of one locality only, or
at least principally; this group may be divided into two programs.
Helen Hunt Jackson, known best as a poet, or as the author of little
essays, has one strong book, Ramona. It is notable not only for its plea
for justice to the Indians, but also for its description of life in
Southern California on remote ranches.
Constance Fenimore Woolson wrote largely of Florida, its everglades, its
orange-groves, its pine barrens. Read from East Angels.
Mary Hallock Foote used the scene of the early mining-camps as her
theme, and has vivid pictures of life and romance there. Read from The
Led Horse Claim or The Chosen Valley.
Charles Egbert Craddock (Mary Murfree) has laid her plots in the
Tennessee mountains. Her heroes are sturdy, uncouth, picturesque
mountaineers, and her books are noted for the descriptions of scenery.
Read from The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountain or In the Clouds.
Grace E. King writes of the life of the Creoles in New Orleans. In her
Balcony Stories and Monsieur Motte we have the fragrance and the languor
of the South. Read a Balcony story.
Sarah Orne Jewett was one of the first to choose New England as her
field of work. Her style is peculiarly delicate and refined. She wrote
of the people with truth and sympathy, without a touch of satire. A
White Heron and The Country of the Pointed Firs are among her beautiful
stories; read from the latter.
Ellen Glasgow has laid the scenes of her stories in the South, largely
in Virginia. Her themes are unusual and worked out in a broad, unhurried
way. The Voice of the People, The Deliverance, The Battle-Ground, and
Ancient Law are all worth reading. Select from The Deliverance.
Helen Martin in Tillie, A Mennonite Maid and Elsie Singmaster in several
stories have both taken the quaint Pennsylvania Dutch to write of, with
their remoteness of life from the world.
IX--SHORT STORIES
Of late years, short stories, largely written by women, have crowded our
magazines. It is impossible to choose more than a few for a program, but
club-women may add to those suggested all their favorites, and bring in
short stories to read at one meeting. In addition to the older writers,
Rebecca Harding Davis, Harriet Prescott Spofford, and others, take the
following:
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, though the author of several novels, is perhaps
our greatest short-story writer. Her characters, especially those drawn
from New England rural life, are reproduced with marvelous fidelity. She
understands their foibles, their oddities, and writes of them with
fidelity and humor. A New England Nun is called her best book; read any
story from it.
Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, the author of The Perfect Tribute as well
as many stories of a lighter character, writes charmingly.
Margarita Spalding Gerry in The Toy Shop has something really unusual,
both in theme and treatment.
Octave Thanet (Alice French) vivaciously represents plain people; her
Missionary Sheriff and Stories of a Western Town are well known; read
from either.
Add to these names those already given under other heads for this
outline: Sarah Orne Jewett, Alice Brown, and Mrs. Cutting.
As has already been suggested, the year's work may be expanded into a
complete study of American women writers. If this is done, begin with
those of early years: Lydia Maria Child and Margaret Fuller; add to them
our essayists, Helen Hunt Jackson, Agnes Repplier, Vida Scudder; our
poets, the Cary sisters, Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Larcom, Emily Dickinson,
Edith Thomas, Celia Thaxter, May Riley Smith, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Emma
Lazarus, Helen Hunt Jackson, and Josephine Preston Peabody, and Anna
Branch, and our miscellaneous writers, who have written biography,
essays, stories, and practical books: Alice Morse Earle, Marion Harland,
Kate Upson Clark, Mary Heaton Vorse, and Margaret E. Sangster. Women
journalists might also be an additional subject, and women editors, to
cover the entire field of women in letters.
CHAPTER X
TOWN IMPROVEMENT
I--OUR LOCAL CONDITIONS
1. _The Value of Public Sentiment and Coöperation_--Rise in values as a
town improves; what an enthusiast can accomplish.
2. _Our Water-Supply_--Detailed description: water-system, wells,
cisterns, etc.; quality of the supply; limitations, dangers, and
possibility of improvement.
3. _Our Sanitation_--Detailed description: cesspools; garbage; disposal
of sewage.
4. _Our Yards, Our Streets, Our Parks, Our Public
Buildings_--Tree-planting; fences; city fountains.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Patrick Geddes: City Development. C. M. Robinson: The
Improvement of Towns and Cities. W. P. Mason: Water Supply (from the
Sanitary Standpoint). Shade Trees: Their Care and Preservation (N. Y.
State Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 256).
The town water-supply has immense interest; study its relation to the
disposal of sewage; the ice-supply, the use of filters, bottled water,
and the like. Cleaning up and beautifying the back yards of a town,
planting vines, removing unsightly buildings, making gardens and having
window-boxes may be expanded into more than one paper. The village
common, the drinking-fountains, the band-stand, the use of refuse-boxes
in public places, may be discussed.
II--THE WORKING-PEOPLE'S HOMES
1. _Existing Conditions_--The various subjects of air, light,
water-supply, sanitation and adequate fire-escapes may be brought up for
careful consideration.
2. _The Model Tenement_--Plans, profit to the owner of tenement
property, management, rules for tenants (cleanliness, promptness of
payment), beautification of tenements (window-boxes, roof-gardens),
playgrounds.
3. _Model Cottage Homes_--Possibility of acquiring ownership
(building-and-loan associations, thrift clubs). Improving laboring-men's
homes in villages. Yards for children.
4. _The Garden Cities of England_--Compare the Sage Foundation
proposals in America. Model towns (Pullman in this country, Essen in
Germany, etc.).
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gould: Housing of the Working People (U. S. Labor
Dept.). Manning: Villages for Working Men and Working-Men's Homes. R. W.
DeForest and others: The Tenement-House Problem. F. C. Moore: How To
Build a Home.
Discuss the subject of the model towns. How satisfactory do the tenants
find the system of leases and regulations? Show pictures of the Garden
Cities of England and the model tenements of Berlin. Take up the merits
of building-and-loan associations and buying homes on the instalment
plan. Shall we employ an architect for the small home, or are published
plans practical?
III--FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS
1. _The Industrial Age_--The introduction of labor-saving machinery in
England in the eighteenth century. Enormous development in the present
day. General effect on the laboring class.
2. _The Factory System and Human Life_--Overcrowding, and lack of air
and light. Unprotected machinery. Danger of fire. Inadequate
fire-escapes and exits. Bad sanitation. The sweat-shop. Monotony of
tasks and overlong hours of work. The labor of women. Child labor.
3. _Model Conditions in Factory Life_--The building: air, light,
sanitation, space, protection. The eight-hour day: a living wage.
Insurance against accident, old age, and death. The lunch-room. The
factory doctor.
4. _Local Ideals_--Conferences with employees. The cultivation of social
sentiment in the employing class. Beautifying the factory grounds.
Associations among employees: recreation, social, mutual benefit.
Holidays and Sundays. The children in factory homes.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Clarke: Effects of the Factory System. Spahr:
America's Working People. Wright: The Factory System as an Element in
Social Life.
At this meeting there should be a presentation of the fine conditions
existing in certain great manufactories and publishing-plants where the
employers and the employed are working for the same high ends; pictures
may be shown of gardens, recreation-grounds, lunch-rooms and the like;
abundant material may be found in various magazine articles. The
question of old-age pensions should be discussed. A practical outcome of
this meeting may be the appointing of a permanent committee to better
local conditions.
IV--PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1. _The Place of the Public School in American Life_--Beginning of the
public school in colonial days. Relation of the school to citizenship.
National sentiment. The flag and the school. The public school and the
foreign child.
2. _The Modern Curriculum_--Multiplication of subjects (manual training,
cooking, sewing, music, etc.). A discussion of the merits of the system:
thoroughness versus variety.
3. _The Ideal Public School_--The model director. Women on school
boards. The perfect school-house; light, air, sanitation, room.
Beautifying the school within and without; pictures, casts, flowers,
etc. The school doctor; contagious diseases, oversight of eyes, ears,
throat, and teeth. Social service of the school: night-schools,
lectures, recreations.
4. _Parent and Teacher_--Mutual acquaintance. Conferences. Literary
clubs. Is the public exhibition desirable?
5. _School Sentiment_--Interscholastic athletics and debates. The alumni
association. The commencement exercises and annual banquet. The return
of distinguished graduates.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Dewey: The School and Society. Butler: The Meaning of
Education. The International Educational Series. Reports of the United
States Commissioner of Education.
A discussion may be planned on home work: How much shall be expected and
arranged for by the parent? When is it best done? Emphasize the
importance of having the parent closely in touch with the child's work,
familiar with his reports, and constantly in conference with the
teacher. Notice the importance of the work of the truant officer. If
there is no gymnasium provided by the school, can the parents combine
and make one? In a large city, can there be a roof-garden for
recreation?
V--AMUSEMENTS OF THE TOWN
1. _Necessity of Recreation_--Change in our point of view: the old ideas
contrasted with the new. Read from the chapter on Recreation in
Adeney's A Century's Progress in Religious Life and Thought. Recreation
and morals. Substitutes for the social life of the corner grocery and
the saloon.
2. _Planning Recreations_--Organizing a local committee. The grange, the
lyceum, the town band or orchestra, motion pictures.
Discuss the disadvantage of unregulated amusements, and their
improvement through intelligent control.
3. _The Regular Program_--Illustrated lectures, concerts,
village-improvement meetings, athletic meets for men, the women's club.
4. _Occasional Amusements_--Loan exhibitions of pictures, antiques,
etc., organ recitals, flower fêtes, amateur theatricals, excursions,
neighborhood dances.
5. _Ideals in Recreation_--The ideal of democratic sociability. The
ideal of culture. The ideal of healthful interest for young people. The
ideal of clean amusement.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Luther H. Gulick: Popular Recreation and Public
Morality (Sage Foundation). Hartt: The People at Play. W. S. Jevons:
Amusements of the People.
This is one of the most important programs of the year, and deserves
special preparation and study.
The modern tendency is to plan everywhere for clean, wholesome
amusements for old and young, and the woman's club can coöperate with
the mayor, school trustees, and intelligent men and women, to carry out
their plans.
Discuss especially what has been done to provide a substitute for the
attractions of the saloon; the dangers and the value of the
moving-picture show, and how far there may be a public sentiment created
for the regulation of these and other amusements.
VI--THE TOWN CHILDREN
1. _Town versus Country for Children_--Discussion of the advantages and
the disadvantages of each. How to make the most of town life for
children.
2. _Outdoor Occupations_--Gardens for children. Games. Athletics. Riding
and walking parties, picnics, etc. Study of birds. Nature classes
(butterflies, etc.).
3. _Indoor Occupations_--Classes in carpentry, weaving, and sewing.
Musical classes, the children's chorus, the children's orchestra.
Pantomimes, plays, and dances.
4. _Public Provision for Children_--Museums for children. Public
playgrounds. The children's room in the public library. Exhibitions of
pictures for children. Illustrated lectures in the public school.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--G. Stanley Hall: Educational Problems. L. H. Gulick:
Children of the Century. Mangold: Child Problems. Jekyll: Children and
Gardens.
Women's clubs should definitely interest themselves in the children of
the city or country, and do for them what is not done by the public. The
value of playgrounds and gardens in cities, and of children's classes in
sloyd or manual training in the country, cannot be over-estimated.
Musical training is also valuable, not merely for its esthetic results;
and children's choruses, with cantatas and oratorios, may be most
interesting. Motion dances and national dances are easily taught, the
latter especially in towns and cities where different nationalities are
represented in the population.
VII--PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
1. _Civic_--The court-house: the proper architecture--simplicity and
dignity. Improving an old structure. The grounds. Decorations. The
jail: what are the present local conditions? Is improvement possible?
Modern ideas of imprisonment and the housing of prisoners.
2. _Useful_--The station: coöperation between the railway company and
the citizens. Cleanliness, paint, sanitation, lawns, and flower-gardens.
The water-works: decorative possibilities in the plant. Fountains and
flower-beds.
3. _Literary_--The public library: the value of a lecture-hall. The
local lyceum. Loan exhibitions. Reading-rooms: importance in the absence
of a library. Making the place attractive.
4. _Monumental_--Improvement in public taste. Necessity of a committee
to pass judgment on proposed memorials. Superfluous monuments. Statuary
and tablets. The soldier's monument. The local historical society. The
cemetery: the ideal location, ownership, and control. Trust funds for
perpetual care. Beauty and ugliness in stones. Trees, lakes, flowers.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mawson: Civic Art. Bentley and Taylor: Practical Guide
in the Preparation of Town Planning Schemes. Ravenscroft: Town
Gardening. Penstone: Town Study.
Much can be done by a club toward improving the condition of the local
cemetery; perhaps even by moving it from a place too near the heart of
town to a more attractive and proper site, planting trees and flowering
shrubs, arranging to have grass and flowers cared for, straightening old
monuments, and the like. A paper might deal with the question: How can
women carry out their ideas without antagonizing the town council?
VIII--THE TOWN CHURCH
1. _The Church Structure_--A beautiful exterior: simplicity, good taste
in material, outline and color. A beautiful interior: quiet decoration;
window glass, good and bad; low-toned carpet and cushions.
2. _Sunday Services_--Dignity and reverence in their conduct. Importance
of music. How shall good music be secured in a small neighborhood? The
chorus choir. Vesper services.
3. _The Sunday-School_--Modern methods. The graded school. Prizes and
exhibitions. Young people's work; relating this to the rest of the
church-work.
4. _Week-Day Appointments_--Men's meetings: how to get the men to come.
Civic value of men's church clubs. Women's meetings: the church aid
society, the missionary society. Young women's guilds. Clubs for girls
and for boys. The Boy Scouts, etc.
5. _The Minister's Home_--Should the social life of the church center in
the minister's home? Relation of the minister's wife to her husband's
work. Church ownership of the minister's house; its care and
improvement.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--C. A. Wight: Some Old Time Meeting Houses of the
Connecticut Valley. K. L. Butterfield: The Country Church and the Rural
Problem. W. M. Ede: Attitude of the Church to Some of the Social
Problems of Town Life. Ramsay and Beel: Thousand and One Churches. E. C.
Foster: The Boy and the Church.
The question of the use of the stereopticon and moving pictures in
connection with the church should be taken up. Shall the Sunday-evening
services be varied occasionally by a talk on the Holy Land, or famous
paintings of Christ, or the Pilgrim's Progress, or the Passion Play at
Oberammergau? The distribution of the church flowers after services may
be an outcome of this meeting, and a club committee may be appointed to
see that they are taken to the sick.
IX--CHARITIES
1. _Existing Local Charities_--Their history, character, and condition.
The poorhouse, free beds in hospitals, distributing agencies.
Discussion: What can we do to improve local conditions?
2. _Best Methods of Helping the Needy_--Peril of indiscriminate giving.
Self-respect in the poor. Place of the friendly visitor.
3. _New Work_--The day nursery, the kitchen garden, the flower-and-fruit
committee, home for the aged, free employment bureau, work centers: the
laundry and the wood-yard.
4. _Organized Charity_--Discuss the subject of waste through
duplication. Gathering and distributing information. Coöperation between
church and other societies.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. T. Devine: The Practice of Charity. E. T. Devine:
Misery and Its Causes. W. H. Allen: Efficient Democracy.
In cities, one of the most valuable helps in charitable organizations is
the constant meeting of the workers at informal gatherings, when the
larger aspects of the subject are discussed and the various parts of the
work are harmonized. The necessity that all should work sympathetically
together should be emphasized in a brief talk after this program.
X--LOCAL AMBITIONS
1. _The Town Beautiful_--Description of what is being done in cities,
and suggestions thus derived: Washington, Chicago, Cleveland,
Minneapolis. L'Enfant's plans for Washington, and their history. What
Baron Haussmann did for Paris.
2. _The Plan of the Town_--Is the location of the best? Can the
situation be changed in any way for the better? Plan an ideal town on
the local site. Value of an outlook for the future.
3. _Landmarks_--Give a brief history of the town; and mention the chief
incidents in it, and the names of the principal persons who shared in
them. Suggestions as to public memorials, tablets, and monuments.
4. _Specific Improvements_--Removal of unsightly objects and buildings.
Regulation of saloons. Improvement of unsanitary houses. Drainage of
swamps and pools in the neighborhood. The surroundings of the railway
station.
5. _Organization_--What committees are needed to help improve the town?
How can such committees coöperate with similar men's committees and
with the public authorities? How can public sentiment be aroused? Value
of an exhibition of plans for ideal towns.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--M. M. Penstone: Town Study. A. D. Webster: Town
Planting. H. I. Triggs: Town Planting. Raymond Unwin: Town Planting in
Practice.
This program should be of practical value to the local town, summing up
the meetings that have preceded this, and presenting certain definite
propositions for civic improvements. It might be well to invite some of
the officials of the town to be present and offer suggestions. A
committee should be appointed at the close to take up the specific plans
adopted.
CHAPTER XI
HOLLAND
INTRODUCTORY
No historical study could be of greater interest to clubs than that of
Holland. The story of the rise of the Dutch Republic is more stirring
than any romance. Her army was small, but unconquerable; her navy
successfully fought the navies of far greater nations. Her commerce was
unrivaled; her colonies were planted in unknown countries; her artists
were the greatest of the world at the time. But, most of all, Holland
was wonderful for her great struggle for liberty when liberty was
unknown, and the effects of her victory were world-wide. The English and
American revolutions were founded on hers.
Clubs can use for reference The Story of Holland, by James E. T. Rogers;
Brave Little Holland, by W. E. Griffis; and Motley's stirring book, Rise
of the Dutch Republic.
I--THE LOW COUNTRIES
The history of this part of the north began when Julius Cæsar came to
Gaul. At the farthest point lay a huge morass covered with forests
called Batavia, and one race living there, the Friesian, was noted for
its independent, untamed character. Their law declared that "the race
should be free as long as the wind blew out of the clouds," and this
ancient saying has always been the rallying cry of Dutch patriotism.
At first under German dominion, the country became later a part of the
Holy Roman Empire, and was ruled by a prince bishop. Later the Counts of
Holland governed, and after the Crusades, when the feudal system was
perfected, the great towns became practically independent. We read of
magistrates, mayors, and aldermen. The population changed rapidly,
commerce flourished, learning spread, and Holland became famous as the
great cloth market of the world.
Close this period by noting two important points: First, that after the
land had all been cleared and drained the people built dikes and forced
the sea back, so gaining much arable land; second, that the great guilds
of the time had much to do with the future history of the country. They
existed among artisans and manufacturers, and, in addition, the curious
guilds of rhetoric gave theatrical exhibitions and had processions, the
latter called Land Jewels, from their magnificence. Motley lays emphasis
on the value of the guilds in keeping alive the sentiment of liberty.
II--PHILIP THE GOOD
In the fifteenth century, Philip the Good of Burgundy, by purchase,
usurpation, and marriage dower, became the head of the Low Countries.
The real rulers of the country were the stadtholders, and the great
cities stood individually rather than unitedly. Read the story of the
war against England under Philip; note the rise of the fisheries and
their immense importance commercially, as well as the beginning of the
Dutch navy in the fishing fleet. Read also in Brave Little Holland of
the curious political parties called the "Cods" and the "Hooks." Notice
the beginnings of the Reformation in other countries under Luther and
Calvin, and have a paper on Erasmus of Holland; contrast his teachings
with those of the other reformers. Read Henry Kingsley's novel, called
Old Margaret, on this time, and also Scott's Quentin Durward, and Mary
of Burgundy, by G. P. R. James.
III--TROUBLE WITH SPAIN
Passing rapidly through several intervening reigns, we come to that of
Philip the Fair, whose momentous marriage with the daughter of Ferdinand
and Isabella of Spain brought the Netherlands into conflict with the
greatest power in the world. Their son Charles, born in 1500, and called
Count of Flanders, became King of Spain and then Emperor of Germany. He
was hard, narrow-minded, selfish, and a religious bigot.
As soon as he realized the inroads Protestantism was making in Europe,
he determined to put it down. He prohibited the reading of the Bible,
just printed in Amsterdam, and established the Inquisition, which in
Holland alone put to death over fifty thousand people. After fifty years
of disastrous rule he abdicated in favor of his son Philip.
At the great ceremony which marked this event three famous persons took
part: Charles himself; the Stadtholder of Holland, William, Prince of
Orange, on whose arm Charles leaned; and Philip the new sovereign, who
inherited all his father's bigotry, and added a cruelty which exceeded
it.
IV--ACCESSION OF PHILIP II. OF SPAIN
It was only a short time before William discovered that Philip had
planned a massacre of all the Protestants of Holland; although himself a
Catholic, he quietly returned home at once and gave warning of the
danger; it was then that he obtained the title of William the Silent.
The Dutch had received Philip in their country, but now, while pledging
loyalty to him, they asked the withdrawal of the Spanish troops, which
so angered the King that he left the country, vowing vengeance. Read
from Motley the account of the memorable scene of the parting between
Philip and William, and also his estimate of Philip.
Philip left behind him Margaret of Parma, his half-sister, as regent.
Holland begged her to suspend the Inquisition. Have a paper on the
banquet at which the petition was presented, and the founding there of
the famous order of "The Beggars of Holland," who did such wonderful
things on land and sea. Close the program with a sketch of William, who
now becomes one of the foremost men of history of any period.
V--THE WAR
Philip was determined to uproot Protestantism in Holland at all costs.
He sent there the merciless Duke of Alva with more than ten thousand
picked troops; he established himself at Antwerp, formed the terrible
"Blood Council," pronounced sentence of death on all the people of the
Netherlands, and summoned William to appear before him. Margaret
withdrew from the country; William fled to Germany, and was outlawed;
ten thousand Hollanders escaped to England. William, directing the war
from Germany, placed his brother Louis at the head of the troops; a
great battle, Heiliger Lee, followed, in which by a stratagem the
Spanish were utterly defeated. Declaring himself a Protestant, William
returned and took the field.
Read the story of Egmont and Hoorn and their fate in Motley and in
Goethe's drama. Have selections from these novels bearing on the time:
Lysbeth, by H. Rider Haggard, and Jan van Elselo, by G. and M.
Coleridge.
Alva fought and defeated William at Geta and dispersed his army.
Believing victory his, he had a great statue of himself erected at
Antwerp; but twenty-four vessels of the little new navy manned by the
"Water Beggars" turned the tide against him, and at this point the great
struggle really began.
Only the few leading events can be touched upon here, but clubs should
take up the whole wonderful story of the conflict, in many respects the
most interesting war of history.
The seven months' siege of Haarlem, with its heroic defense and final
destruction, was followed by the siege of Alkmaar, when women and boys
helped fight in the trenches; the dikes were cut and the Spaniards
driven out by the sea.
The two sieges of Leyden followed, with their starvation and pestilence;
and at last, when only a handful of people were left, the distant dikes
were cut and the water slowly crept across the fields; then a great
storm arose, and so swept in the sea that the Dutch navy could sail
across the land to the city's relief. Alva left for Spain, and the new
regent and commander, Requesens, came. Soon after the Dutch issued their
Declaration of Independence, July 26, 1581, and later formed the United
States of the Dutch Republic.
Two other governors came to Holland, Don John of Austria and Alexander
of Parma, but neither could bring the Dutch to submission. The siege of
Antwerp followed, and soon after William was assassinated by a Spaniard.
In despair Holland offered the sovereignty of the country first to
France and then to England; both refused it, but Queen Elizabeth sent
men and money. Sir Walter Raleigh, the Earl of Leicester, Miles
Standish, Captain John Smith, and Sir Philip Sidney came, and the last
lost his life on the battle-field.
Maurice, the son of William, now took command, and was called "the
foremost soldier of Europe." It was not long till Spain, weary of forty
years of struggle with an unconquerable people, signed a treaty of peace
and virtually acknowledged Holland's independence.
Clubs should take up the whole story of the relations of Holland and
England and observe how, three years later, when the Armada came,
Holland helped England to meet it. Discuss the bearings of this great
struggle for liberty on other nations: what was really won?
Read of the different sieges from Motley; notice also what he says of
the work of the Inquisition and its effect on the resistance of the
people. Read George Ebers' The Burgomaster's Wife and Dumas' The Black
Tulip. There are also two books written for boys by G. A. Henty which
are worth looking over: one, By Pike and Dike, dealing with the siege of
Haarlem, and the other, By England's Aid. Ruth Putnam's life of William
the Silent should be read.
VI--AFTER THE WAR
Holland, in spite of her terrible losses by death in battle, by
starvation, and by torture, and the immense destruction of property, and
the cost of carrying on the war, was yet left in a strong position. She
was at once enriched by the coming of thousands of intelligent merchants
and artisans from the south, flying from persecution, and her trade and
colonies were uninjured. The great Bank of Amsterdam flourished, and had
an interesting history. The curious event of the time was the "tulip
mania," a wild speculation which was disastrous to the nation.
VII--HOLLAND AND PROTESTANTISM
All over Europe religion and politics intermingled, and it was so in
Holland. The country as a whole followed the Calvinistic form of faith,
and this led to internal difficulties. It was really a question whether
Church and State should be united or separated. Maurice, Barneveldt, and
Grotius were the leaders. Barneveldt, a truly able statesman, was
beheaded; Grotius, the famous scholar, escaped from imprisonment to
Paris. Complications arose from the coming of persecuted peoples; the
Albigenses from France, the Waldenses from Italy, and the Anabaptists.
In the end democracy won, religious liberty was assured, and Church and
State were kept apart. At this point tell the story of the Pilgrim
Fathers in Holland, and show how far ahead of the times Holland was in
her religious position.
VIII--TROUBLES BETWEEN HOLLAND AND ENGLAND
Both Holland and England had colonies in India and elsewhere, and now
their trade conflicted. The antagonism thus roused was increased by the
fact that the Dutch had given shelter to the Stuarts. The English forced
on Holland a two-years' war which was entirely on the sea, and was led
by four great admirals: Blake and Monk on the side of the English, and
Tromp and De Ruyter on the side of the Dutch. The story is full of
interest; the result favored the Dutch.
The great political leader, John De Witt, came into prominence at this
period; he was called "The Wisdom of Holland." He had the descendant of
William the Silent educated, and later originated the plan of having him
marry Mary, the daughter of the Duke of York, later James the Second of
England, hoping so to weld the two countries together. De Witt's murder
by the mob in 1672 is a blot on the country's honor.
IX--THE SECOND NAVAL WAR WITH ENGLAND
The reins of the government were in the hands of the Stadtholder
William, another prince of Orange; but, in spite of all efforts, war on
account of the colonies broke out. A great naval battle occurred, and
the English fleet was burned. Later, France, aided by England, invaded
Holland, but again the dikes were cut and the foreigners driven away.
Years of war followed, with different countries taking part, and with
Spain, strangely enough, siding with Holland. In a battle in the
Mediterranean, De Ruyter, the idol of his people, was killed.
There was much talk at the time of making William king of the
Netherlands, but just then England took up the project of having him
marry Mary, as De Witt had planned, and this he did. He invaded England,
was received gladly by the people, and was crowned joint sovereign with
Mary in London. King James fled, and the new dynasty was established
peacefully.
X--HOLLAND'S LATER HISTORY
In 1747, when all Europe had been in turmoil, the whole seven provinces
of the Netherlands, which had been loosely connected, united, and the
stadtholder became the real ruler of his people; but dissensions arose,
his powers were curtailed, and at last civil war broke out. The King of
Prussia took part, and Amsterdam was besieged and capitulated. Later
Napoleon came, and Holland was soon only one of his little kingdoms.
Against him, at Waterloo, the Prince of Orange fought with the allies.
After the victory the prince made a triumphal entry into The Hague, and
took the title of Sovereign Prince. The republic, which had existed only
in name for years, ended there, for presently he was crowned as King
William I.
Belgium united with Holland in a union which could not last, and a nine
years' war followed, with one memorable event, when Lieutenant Van Speyk
blew up his own ship with all on board, rather than surrender. Belgium
and Holland separated. William I. was followed by William II. and
William III., and the young Queen Wilhelmina, who is the daughter of the
last king. She and her consort are the rulers to-day.
HOLLAND AND LEARNING, ART, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE
There is only one great university in Holland, that of Leyden, founded
in commemoration of the great siege by William the Silent. Learned men
from all over Europe flocked there at one time, and its students
numbered two thousand. To-day there are only a few hundred, as in the
other two smaller universities. But Leyden is still famous for its
museums, among the richest in Europe.
Holland had some notable early printers, among them the Elzevirs, who
stand in the first rank. She had two world-leaders in philosophy,
Spinoza and Descartes, the latter belonging also to France. Erasmus was
the most distinguished of modern classical scholars, and Grotius
founded the science of International Law. Jakob Cats is Holland's
best-known poet, and Maarten Maartens is the great novelist.
The Dutch have stood foremost in science, especially medicine. They
produced the first fine optical instruments, and they have been pioneers
in navigation and floriculture.
In painting, Holland occupies a place of high distinction. Among the
names of the great painters are those of Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Gerard
Douw, Teniers, Ruysdael, Jan Steen, Hobbema, and Cuyp; and in our own
time, Ary Scheffer, Alma-Tadema, Israels, Mesdag, and Mauve.
Clubs would do well to take a year of study on the last general topic
alone. The history of the men of science and philosophy and the analysis
of the work of the painters are enough to fill easily many programs. Add
to this the study of Holland as a country; its picturesque buildings in
the cities; its canals, bridges, and boats; its windmills; its fishing
towns and their quays and smacks; the great picture-galleries and
museums; the market-places; the peasants there and in the villages, and
their quaint costumes; the life of the court; the curious
out-of-the-world places on the islands and in what are called the "dead
cities."
Illustrate programs on these subjects with pictures of all kinds, such
as may be found in De Amicis' book, already suggested. See also G. H.
Boughton's Sketching Rambles and Stevenson's An Inland Voyage. A clever
little story of a trip on Holland's canals is The Chaperon, by C. N. and
A. M. Williamson.
CHAPTER XII
THE HOMELIKE HOUSE
This very practical subject for club study is here arranged under ten
topics, but they may be divided into as many more. Numbers one, seven,
and ten may be used separately--a year's work made out of each one.
Good books for general reference are: The Family House, by C. F.
Osborne; The House, Its Plan, Decoration, and Care, by Isabel Bevier;
and The House Beautiful, by W. C. Gannett. The American School of
Economics of Chicago has some very useful books on its list on the
building and furnishing of homes, and there are hundreds of magazine
articles on these and kindred subjects.
I--THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN HOUSE
Begin in the earliest times with the homes of the cave and lake
dwellers, the reed and wattle huts of primitive man, and the tents of
the nomads. Notice how, as wandering groups settled, civilization
advanced and houses of wood and stone were erected.
Follow with a study of the permanent and beautiful homes of the
Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and show plans of the simple and
harmonious interiors. Then contrast these with the dwellings of the
Norsemen, the Goths, and other ruder nations, and see how, after they
had conquered Rome, they carried back some ideas of comfort and beauty.
A good encyclopedia will furnish references on these subjects.
Study the architecture of the Middle Ages, the great castles of Italy,
Spain, Germany, France, and England, with pictures from histories and
encyclopedias. Mention carvings and ornaments in stone and wood, used in
these castles. Unless this topic is to be expanded into a study of
architecture, it is better at this point to take up English houses
alone. Note the time when half-timbering prevailed, shown still in many
houses in Warwickshire and elsewhere. Take up the Tudor period, when red
brick was largely the material used and leaded casement windows are
seen. Carved furniture, panelled halls, and elaborate furniture were
also common. The Georgian and Victorian periods follow, and have a
certain interest; and then we come to our own country.
II--THE AMERICAN HOUSE
Houses built in Colonial and Revolutionary times were suggested by
English styles, and many were copies of existing houses. They were
largely built of wood, and the lines were simple and artistic. The Old
Manse at Concord, the Longfellow house at Cambridge, and well-known
Southern mansions are suggestive of the general style. The Dutch houses
of the day were often of stone, and were low, with deep roofs and
porches and huge fireplaces.
Soon after 1800 the period of experimental architecture began, and has
continued till of late, when we are slowly turning backward toward the
reproduction of old styles again. Nondescript houses, constructed to
please the passing fancy, have been the rule; mixed styles, inartistic
lines, and scrollwork have disfigured them.
Show from magazines the new ideas; reproductions of old English homes,
French chateaux, Tudor mansions; the combinations of brick, stone, and
wood; the use of cement, stucco, and stone. We have adopted foreign
ideas, and are making them individual and valuable.
Have each member of the club bring in pictures and plans of modern
houses of all kinds, those of the city, the village, the farm, from the
cheapest to the most costly, and point out the new ideas and the old. A
good idea is to have a contest of plan-drawing on easy lines, to give
some practical knowledge of desirable points.
III--BUILDING A HOME
How shall one decide on a site for a new house? Embody these ideas in a
paper: See that the character of the neighborhood is desirable; that the
property in the vicinity is appreciating rather than depreciating. Note
the relation of the trolleys or the railroad. Are they accessible, yet
not too near for comfort? Is the condition of the street on which the
house will face attractive, well kept, and shaded?
Is the lot in good condition?--not too full of stones, not so low that
it will require filling, nor so high that it will need grading? Is it
drained? Are city water and gas at hand? Is there shade? Is the outlook
good? If in a country district, how near are the schools, the church,
the markets? What about the condition of the roads in winter?
Study of materials: Will stone, brick, wood, or cement be the best to
use for this particular house, and will one alone or two materials
combined be preferable? The use of local stone is often the best choice
of all, and gives a beautiful and durable house. Cement must be
fortified, or else have air-spaces. Cement or stucco combined with
timbers is always artistic.
As to the plan of the house, a careful study is necessary. See the plans
given in magazines and books, and make notes of what suits the family
needs best. Discuss the question, Is an architect really necessary, or
can a builder carry out a printed plan? Take up the placing of a house,
and observe that if it does not stand four-square, but rather with the
corners northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest, sunshine will
come into every room at some hour of the day. Have a paper or talk on
the sanitation of the country and village house especially, and of the
necessity of overseering the plumbing intelligently. The heating and the
conveniences of the house should be considered. Speak especially of the
point that each house should not only be attractive and convenient, but
suited to the needs of the individual family; and here, not the
architect, but the housekeeper and mother should assert herself.
IV--THE REMODELLED HOUSE
What can be done to make over a city house that is unattractive? A paper
can easily be written on this up-to-date theme, showing how a narrow
brown-stone house with high front steps, a basement dining-room, and
small rooms can be made over. The outside can be covered with brick or
stucco, and perhaps blinds added. The steps can be removed, and an
English entrance constructed directly from the street. The stairs can be
turned around, making the hall much larger; the dining-room can be put
up-stairs, with a dumb-waiter. The small rooms, perhaps dark, can be
thrown together into one large living-room, and the windows enlarged.
Wood floors can be laid, dark wall-papers replaced with light, and the
whole will have a modern effect. Architects are specializing on this
point.
What can be done to make over a village house? All the ugly scrollwork
can be removed from the porch and windows, and any little pinnacles, or
perhaps a cupola from the roof. A wide, simple porch can replace the
narrow one; the house can then be shingled all over, and stained, or
painted in a quiet color. The small rooms may be thrown together, making
large ones, and small doorways can be made wider. The floors may be laid
in hard wood or Southern pine, or maybe painted or stained, and rugs may
take the place of carpets. The hangings may be dyed, if they are too
ornate; the old wall-paper may be replaced by something plain and quiet;
the pictures may be rehung. A bathroom may be put in, if there is none.
The kitchen may be made more convenient. The yard may be made attractive
with trees and shrubs. Unsightly out-buildings may be removed; the fence
may be improved. The porch may have vines and window-boxes, and be
furnished for a living-room, with awnings, chairs, and a table.
What can be done to make over a farmhouse? First of all, the barns and
out-buildings must be removed, or hidden behind screens of trees or
evergreens, or at least painted or stained. The yard must be put in
order, and shrubs and flowers set out. The house front door must be
opened, and a porch, or attractive entrance built, with vines. Within,
the front room should be arranged for daily use, with the doorway
widened, probably, and the windows opened and screened. The floor can be
stained, and a pretty rag rug laid down; ugly furniture can be replaced
with some of the simple, old-fashioned sort that is in keeping with the
character of the house. A fireplace may possibly be opened, and the
pictures rehung on freshly papered walls. The kitchen and dining-room
may have more modern conveniences, and water may be piped in from the
windmill or spring. The bedrooms may be made more airy, and perhaps a
bathroom added.
Show pictures of made-over houses of these and other kinds, and
emphasize the fact that much may be done with little outlay of money.
Speak of the new ideas in house-furnishing and the return to what is
suitable rather than what is merely costly or modern. Make the papers
practical, and have club-members tell what they have seen accomplished.
V--THE SUMMER COTTAGE
This is one of the most fascinating subjects of the year. Begin by
noting the kinds of houses needed for the mountains, the seashore, the
inland plain or valley, and the camp, and their delightful variety. The
bungalow is the modern suggestion for any simple summer home, and it is
capable of infinite change to suit its surroundings.
The forest camp is usually planned to have several plain bungalows
rather than one, and they form a group, one for sleeping, one for
dining, one for cooking. Note the need of fireplaces, of screened
windows and doors, and provision for storing food. Show how bunks can
take the place of beds, and the charm of an out-of-door dining-room.
Seashore cottages should be built so as to avoid dampness; for this
reason stone or cement is not a good choice, but wood, with thin walls
which dry quickly. Fireplaces are essential, and deep porches on the
sheltered side of the house. There may be two stories to a bungalow of
this kind, rather than one, and the inside may be ceiled with wood, and
stained rather than plastered.
Inland cottages may be made of cobble or any native stone, or of wood,
or cement, or a combination. There should be large, deep porches, to be
used for living-rooms, and, if possible, out-of-door sleeping-porches.
The house should be so placed as to command the best view, especially
of the sunsets. There should be beautiful gardens all about the house.
Show pictures of all these styles of cottage, and of the famous
California bungalows, which are in every possible style and at all
prices.
Close this subject with a brief talk or paper on Furnishing the Summer
Home, mentioning that it should be done appropriately, not with
left-over city furniture, but with the plainer kinds which suit the
house. Speak of simple and attractive curtains and hangings, of the use
of chintzes and cretonnes, of white-painted beds and chairs, of porch
furniture. Notice also the labor-saving contrivances for summer
kitchens. Have members tell of what they have seen and done in summer;
close with a talk on the names of summer houses.
VI--THE APARTMENT
The remarkable multiplication of apartments in the last few years is
noteworthy. Have their advantages and disadvantages presented, and
question: What are the essentials of a good, livable apartment?
Suggest that the street should be accessible and as quiet as possible;
the rooms not too small nor too crowded; that there should be light and
air in the sleeping-rooms; that a few good closets, a sanitary bathroom,
a convenient kitchen, are all necessary, and a private hall is
desirable.
Discuss the question: How does the furnishing of an apartment differ
from that of a house? Present the suggestion that as the rooms are apt
to be small there must not be too much furniture, and that what there is
should be plain, and simply upholstered. The wall-paper should be rather
light in color, and plain or self-figured; to have it all of one kind
makes the apartment look larger than if several kinds were used. There
should be few hangings, and light curtains. Note also these questions:
How can spaces be saved in sleeping and other rooms? What about heating
and ventilation? Is living in an apartment hygienic? Does it tend to
foster or discourage neighborliness? Does one form the habit of moving,
and is the sense of continuity of a permanent family home destroyed?
Have a discussion arranged in advance on these and similar points.
VII--FURNISHING THE HOME
This very practical subject may be expanded into several meetings, since
it is distinctly educational.
_Floors_--Carpets versus bare floors and rugs. What is the cost of hard
wood, of Southern pine, of painted or stained floors? In the long run,
are such floors and the necessary rugs more or less expensive than
carpets? What sort of rugs are desirable beyond the Oriental? What are
artistic, durable, harmonious in color and pattern? What can be done
with old carpets?
_Walls_--The necessity of proper proportion should be emphasized; they
should be neither too high nor too low for the size of the room. If they
are wrong, what can be done? Show how papering can help the difficulty;
too low ceilings call for a narrow striped paper without a frieze; a too
high ceiling needs the calcimined ceiling carried down to a foot or more
on the wall, with a narrow molding where it meets the paper.
Study the subject of wall-paper, and show illustrations. The dark paper
absorbs the light. The gilt-medallioned paper is inartistic; hard,
bright colors are tiring to live with. Chintz papers are suitable for
bedrooms. Notice the value of self-toned papers, and of shades of tans
and pale browns.
_Hangings_--Have a paper or talk here. Describe the ugliness of highly
colored, fringed, two-toned, draped portières, and of imitation lace
curtains, such as Nottingham, and contrast with the beauty of simple,
plain hangings and curtains of net or muslin of good styles. Show
pictures from catalogues of good and bad hangings. Do not overlook the
fact that if windows are too large or too small, too high or too low,
their outline can be altered by their treatment. Present the
possibilities of stenciling.
_Furniture_--This topic gives opportunity for a whole meeting. Get
catalogues from dealers, and illustrate papers on different styles of
furniture, English of several periods, French, German, Colonial, and the
modern varieties of no period at all. Read from Furniture of Olden
Times, by Alice C. Morse. Show how the plain lines of old mahogany are
forever beautiful. Contrast such furniture with the showy, ornate,
over-elaborate things we too often see to-day.
Make a point of the necessity of having few and simple chairs and tables
in small rooms; of the advantage of low bookcases over high ones; the
beauty of shaded lights over glaring white ones; of side lights and
lamps as better than a central chandelier or hanging lamp.
Pictures should be of good subjects; copies of great masters, and of
beautiful scenery or cathedrals, can be had in photographs; they should
be plainly framed, hung flat on the wall, and opposite the eye.
Bric-à-brac should be quiet in color and line, rather than complex and
pretentious; speak of the value of pottery, and, if possible, study a
little of what is being done in arts and crafts in all lines.
A practical discussion may follow on, What shall we do with our ugly
belongings? Let someone show how carpets can be dyed or made into rugs,
furniture simplified by removing the cheap ornamentation and staining
the whole, bookcases cut down, hangings made over.
VIII--SPECIAL ROOMS
Have illustrated papers or talks on these topics:
_The Living-Room_--How can it best be made beautiful and comfortable?
What colors are best? what furniture? what pictures and ornaments? Where
shall the writing-desk, the large table, the piano, stand? What of the
floor, the curtains, the cushions? What is essential, and what can we do
without?
_The Dining-Room_--Which side of the house is best to choose? What
colors are suitable for the walls? What wood for the furniture? What
about a sideboard, glass-closet, pantry? How can we make over what we
have?
_The Bedrooms_--Shall we use wood or metal beds? What of the floor? Are
wall-papers desirable? What of the use of chintz and white paint? What
curtains and hangings are best? What furniture can be home-made for the
bedroom?
_The Boy's Room_--How can it be at once sensible and attractive? What
sort of furniture will he like best, and what colors? Shall there be a
place for "collections"?
_The Girl's Room_--How shall this be at once dainty and practical? What
colors are suitable? If the room is small, how can the space be best
utilized? Does a pretty bedroom tend to make a girl orderly?
From this point have brief papers on other rooms: the mother's room; the
guest-room; the nursery; the playroom; the grandmother's room; the
out-of-door sleeping-room; the hospital room; the sewing-room; the
linen-closet; the attic; the cellar.
Close with a practical paper on that important room in the home, the
kitchen. Show that it is a workroom, to be furnished and used as such.
Speak of the floor, the walls, and their finishing; the tables and
chairs; the pantries; the sink; the range; suggest labor-saving utensils
and contrivances, and use illustrations; notice that the kitchen must be
attractive as well as practical. Have members give ideas on all the
topics.
IX--THE CARE OF THE HOUSE
Prepare in advance a discussion on these subjects: How much care shall
we put on our houses? Shall women give up all their time to keeping them
clean and orderly? What can they do to save steps? How much can the
children help? Shall boys be taught housework? What can be eliminated
from the daily routine?
If desired, there might be a practical talk on the necessity of keeping
paint in good condition, to protect the wood underneath; of the care of
glass, silver, marble, brass, hard wood; of how to prevent moths and
mice, and of how often carpets must come up. It is better, however, to
take up the larger aspects of the question, using such suggestions for
talks or papers as these: Has housekeeping lost some of its difficulties
to-day? What about modern appliances to avoid sweeping, and the like?
Has house-cleaning lost its terrors? Can the average woman consider
housekeeping as a profession? and if so, how and where can she best be
trained? Compare the modern housekeeper with the one of half a century
ago. Show how the trained housekeeper is a practical domestic economist.
Discuss, Business-like Housekeeping; How shall we best train our
daughters in it? If there is time, take up the servant question. Are our
ideas changing on this subject? Present the new plans for specialists,
with set hours, and the like.
X--GARDENS
This is one of the subjects which can be indefinitely expanded; indeed,
a whole year's study might easily be put on it.
Begin with a study of historic gardens from the earliest times, and read
Bacon's well-known essay. Then turn to the gardens of to-day, and begin
with the description of what can be done in an apartment when one can
have only window-boxes; take up the tiny plots behind city houses, and
show what can be done there, with vines over the fences, climbing roses
over a little arbor, narrow beds by the edge of the grass; show
pictures of what has been done, if possible.
The lawn and small yard of a suburban house can next be studied, and
here a little ingenuity can be shown to accomplish a great deal. Speak
of the use of bulbs; of little cold-frames; of raising grapes under
glass in a small way, and of annuals, shrubs, vines, and roses.
The large gardens of our modern country houses deserve especial mention.
Have as many pictures as possible of these. Notice the formal gardens,
the Italian gardens, the sunken gardens, the rose gardens, the massed
shrubs, the walls of brick and stone, covered with vines. The adjuncts
of the gardens are often most beautiful also, the pergolas, the marble
and terra-cotta vases and seats, the sun-dials, the fountains, the
lily-ponds, and the vistas cut through the trees.
Old-fashioned and herb gardens, kitchen and market gardens, growing
violets and roses to sell, and the raising of unusual seeds and plants
are all topics of interest both theoretical and practical.
CHAPTER XIII
NATURE
I--TREES
1. _Trees That Are Familiar to Us_--Our home varieties: nut-trees,
foliage-trees, evergreens, etc.; fruit-trees and their care.
2. _Trees That Are Strange to Us_--Mahogany and other Central and South
American trees; teakwood; cedars of Lebanon; redwoods of California.
3. _The Art of Forestry_--Need of forestry; history of the movement; the
United States Department.
4. _The Tree in Sentiment and Literature_--Famous trees (the Charter
Oak, King Arthur's Oak, the Washington Elm, etc.); poetry about trees;
Tennyson's trees; Shakespeare's trees.
READINGS--W. C. Bryant: A Forest Hymn (in part). Longfellow: Evangeline
(opening lines). Whittier: The Palm Tree.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Julia E. Rogers: The Tree Book. What is Forestry?
(U. S. Div. Forestry Bulletin 5). G. Pinchot: A Primer of Forestry
(U. S. Dept. Agri. Farmers' Bulletin 173, 358).
There are magazines which may easily be consulted for subjects for
discussion on landscape-gardening, the grouping of shrubs and trees, and
similar themes. There may be a valuable paper on Insects Which Destroy
Our Trees, and How to Deal with Them; the Agricultural Department at
Washington will gladly send pamphlets which will be of great use. There
might also be a talk on The Lumberman and the Government, and another on
The Paper Manufacturer and the Government, and a third on Forestry as a
Profession for Young Men.
II--LOCAL GEOLOGY
1. _Geologic Ages Represented in the United States_--Estimate of
geologic time. Characteristics of the particular ages in this locality.
Volcanic action and its effects, with local illustrations. Action of
water.
2. _A Geological History of the Local Region as Far as It Can Be
Constructed_.
3. _Fossil Remains of Plants and Animals in the Neighborhood_--Contents
of local collections and museums described.
4. _Value of Local Rocks and Soils_--Use of rocks for building, for
roads, for chemical purposes. Analysis of soils and description of their
best use in agriculture. Defects of local soils from the agricultural
standpoint, and the remedy for them.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Dana: Manual of Geology. Shaler: Outline of the
Earth's History. U. S. Geological Survey. (Get local reports.)
Discuss the importance of interesting the school-children in the local
geology. What excursions may they take in the vicinity for this purpose?
The value of making collections for school or town use is also a
suitable topic. Are there readable books on geology in the public
library, and are they read? In preparation for this meeting the chairman
may obtain literature from the Secretary of Agriculture in Washington,
on soils, and what can be done to improve them.
III--WATER IN NATURE
1. _The Distribution of Water on the Globe_--Water in prehistoric times.
Geological action. The Ice Age. The unceasing circulation of water:
clouds, rain, streams, etc. The coloration of water (blue lakes, green
seas, brown streams, etc.).
2. _The Ocean_--The open sea. Movement of tides. Famous tides. The
beach: sands, pebbles, shells, seaweeds, etc. The surf. Ocean traffic.
Lighthouses and lightships.
3. _Lakes_--The great lakes of the United States. Differences between
them. Their commerce. Small lakes. Great Salt Lake. Lakes in Maine,
Wisconsin, Canada, the Adirondacks, etc. Ponds. Famous ponds (Walden,
etc.).
4. _Rivers_--The Mississippi. The Hudson. Canal-boat life. Little rivers
and their charm. The river as a highway. River-craft (canoes, etc.).
6. _Relation of Water and Human Life_--Water in hygiene. Famous springs.
Irrigation and forestry. The revival of the canal as an instrument of
commerce. Water in literature and art.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Wright: The Ice Age in America. Reclus: The Ocean.
Russell: The Rivers of North America. Fuertes: Water and Public Health.
A practical paper may be prepared on the Local Water-Supply and the
Danger to Health from Well-Water and Impure Ice. Have a brief paper on
the Suez and Panama Canals, with illustrations of the latter. Describe
the systems of locks in the Sault Sainte Marie. Consider the subject of
house-boats on rivers. Have readings from Byron on the ocean; from
Clough's Bothie (the idyll of swimming); from Van Dyke's Little Rivers,
and from Thoreau's Walden.
IV--INSECT-LIFE
1. _Beetles_ (_Coleoptera_)--Great tropical beetles. Common local
varieties: ladybugs, the potato-bug. Wood-beetles and their
destructiveness.
2. _Ants, Bees, and Wasps_--Their life-history, habits, and products.
Relation to man. Readings from Lubbock, McCook, and Maeterlinck.
3. _Butterflies_--Life-history and transformations. Gorgeous varieties
of equatorial regions. Local varieties described.
4. _A Practical Knowledge of Insect-Life_--For the farmer: protecting
crops, animals and trees. For the town resident: care of trees and
plants. For the housewife: household pests, and how to deal with them:
the moth, the cockroach, etc.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Comstock: Manual for the Study of Insects. Buckley:
Insect Life. Holland: The Butterfly Book. Osborn: Insects Affecting
Domestic Animals.
This meeting may be made a very practical one. Begin with the life-story
of the bee as helpful to mothers and teachers in explaining to children
the meaning of sex. Read from The Bee People, by Morley, to illustrate
the point. Have a paper on The Danger of Contagion from the House-fly
and the Mosquito; give preventives for these pests, the red ant, the
moth-miller, and the bedbug.
V--FISH
1. _Introductory Paper_--The place of fish in the scale of life. Their
structure and habits. Fossil fish. Peculiar fish: of the tropics, of the
deep sea, of caves. Flying fish.
2. _Local Fishes_--Description of varieties and their habits. Stocking
of local waters by the United States Fish Commission. Fish culture.
3. _Commercial Fisheries_--Whaling and its romance. Cod, mackerel, and
herring. Reading from Kipling's Captains Courageous. Salmon-fishing on
the Pacific coast. The Canneries. International laws about fishing.
4. _Angling_--The ethics of the sport. Methods of equipment:
fly-fishing, trolling, chumming, etc. The literature of fishing. Read
from Walton's Angler and Henry Van Dyke's Fisherman's Luck.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Guenther: Introduction to the Study of Fishes. Goode:
American Fishes. Louis Rhead: Book of Fish and Fishing. Bullen: Denizens
of the Deep.
A talk on Fish as Food might be introduced into this program, or a
reading from Atwater's book entitled, The Chemical Composition and
Nutritive Value of American Food and Fishes Invertebrates. In a farming
community the value of fish as a fertilizer might well be considered.
Fishing birds, kingfishers, gulls, pelicans, and cormorants, especially
the trained cormorants of China, are of interest. The program might
close with some stories, perhaps, of the old whaling days of Nantucket,
or some from the book called, Fish Stories, by Holder and Jordan.
VI--WILD ANIMALS
1. _Local Wild Animals_--Squirrels, rabbits, moles, hedgehogs,
woodchucks, gophers, etc. Their habits. What they mean to the farmer.
2. _Large Game in the United States_--Deer, moose, elk, buffalo,
mountain sheep, wildcats, bears. The preservation of wild animals. The
Yellowstone Park. Private preserves in New England, etc.
3. _Beasts of Prey_--Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, wolves, etc.
Moving pictures of animals in a wild state. Skins and their value.
4. _Monkeys_--Varieties and description of them. Capacity for training.
Discuss Garner's theory of a monkey language. What about the Darwinian
theory?
5. _Zoölogical Gardens, and Menageries_--Le Jardin des Plantes.
Amsterdam. Berlin (largest in the world). London (second largest). The
Bronx Zoo in New York. Its architecture.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Flome and Lydekker: The Study of Mammals. Elliot:
Synopsis of the Mammals of North America. Romanes: Animal Intelligence.
Roosevelt: The Wilderness Hunter, and African Game Trails.
If there is time, have an introductory paper on fossil wild animals,
especially those of the Carboniferous Age, with pictures of such
skeletons or reproductions of skeletons as those in the American Museum
of Natural History in New York. Give also a résumé of Huxley's essay on
the horse. Close with a discussion of the psychology of animals. Do they
think and reason? Refer to Darwin's Origin of Species and Descent of
Man. Read from Maeterlinck's essay on the dog.
VII--DOMESTIC ANIMALS
1. _Horses_--Origin of the horse. Varieties in different countries: the
Arabian horse, Norman draft-horses, the American trotting-horse, the
broncho. Readings from Huxley's essay on The Horse, and Black Beauty.
2. _Cattle_--World-wide use and value. Sacred bulls of Egypt and cows of
India. Famous breeds: Jerseys, Alderneys, Holsteins. Pure milk, and how
to get it. Butter and cheese making. The world's beef-supply. Meat as a
diet.
3. _Swine_--Comparison of surviving wild and domestic varieties. History
of the use of pork as a food. Commercial uses of the several parts of
the pig (skin, bristles, bones, etc.).
4. _Sheep and Goats_--Characteristics and varieties. Raising sheep or
goats as a business: the best regions, and the best breeds of animals
for commercial purposes. Conditions of success.
5. _Dogs and Cats_--Antiquity of their domestication. Varieties and
their qualities. Dogs as pack-animals, as hunters, in police work, as
pets. Readings from Agnes Repplier, The Household Sphinx, and
Maeterlinck on the Dog.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Olive Thorne Miller: Our Home Pets. N. S. Shaler:
Domesticated Animals. C. A. Shamel: Profitable Stock Raising. Théophile
Gauthier: My Household of Pets.
One paper might be written on the horse in mythology and literature
(Pegasus, Bucephalus, etc.); another on famous race-courses and racers.
In farming communities take up the subject of horse-raising, sanitary
barns, etc. A third paper may be on American packing-houses; a fourth on
shepherds, ancient and modern, and stories of shepherd-dogs; a fifth on
famous dogs. Illustrate the last with a reading from Rab and His
Friends.
VIII--BIRDS
1. _Birds of the Water and the Shore_--The sea-gull, loon, wild geese
and ducks. Herons, pelicans, curlew.
2. _Birds of Prey_--Eagles, vultures, hawks.
3. _Birds as Game_--Pheasants, pigeons, quail, grouse, wild turkeys.
4. _Birds of the Night_--Owls, night-hawks.
5. _Birds and Insects_--Woodpeckers, bee-eaters, swifts.
6. _Birds of Song_--The nightingale, the mocking-bird, thrushes,
warblers.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Robert Ridgway: Manual of North American Birds. H. K.
Job: How to Study Birds. Chapman: Bird Life. Beetham: Photography for
Bird Lovers. Weed and Dearborn: Birds in Their Relation to Man.
If there is time, have these papers also: Birds' nests in the different
climates; the coloring of birds' eggs; the plumage of birds and its use
in millinery; bird songs; bird study with opera-glass and camera. Have
several readings from Burroughs' Wake Robin, and Mrs. Olive Thorne
Miller's Little Brothers of the Air.
IX--FLOWERS
1. _The Study of Botany as a Recreation_--Character of the local
neighborhood. The humble plants and flowers: grasses, mosses, ferns, and
water plants. The herbarium.
2. _Wild Flowers of the Forest, the Swamp, the Mountain, and the
Prairie_.
3. _Cultivated Flowers_--House plants. The amateur greenhouse. Window
boxes. Curious flowers and orchids.
4. _Gardens and Gardening_--Literature (Evelyn, etc.). Cultivation of
annuals. Raising of spring flowers. Flowers for market. Italian
gardens.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gray: Botanical Text Book. Mrs. W. S. Dana: How to
Know the Wild Flowers. Caroline A. Creevey: Flowers of Field, Hill and
Swamp. H. L. Keller: Our Garden Flowers. Kerner: Flowers and Their
Unbidden Guests.
The subject of gardens can be extended to cover an entire program. The
literature of the subject has become very great, and many interesting
and beautiful readings may be chosen from such books as Ruskin's
Proserpina, Elizabeth and Her German Garden, and Mabel Osgood Wright's
Garden of a Commuter's Wife. An entire paper might be given to the
fascinating subject of sun-dials. Another might deal with the literature
of the rose, or the relation of plants and insects, or the color of
flowers (consult Grant Allen).
X--SHRUBS, VINES, FERNS, MOSSES, LICHENS
1. _Shrubs_--Flowering shrubs suited to the climate. What shrubs are
best adapted for hedges locally? Do hedges pay? The grouping of shrubs
on lawns, and the principles involved. Landscape-gardening and its
history and local application.
2. _Vines_--Ornamental and fruit-bearing varieties. The Japan ivy,
English ivy, woodbine. Care of vines and covering in winter. The enemies
of vines. Pasteur and what he did for France. The English sparrow.
Arbors and their construction and style. Value of the quickly growing
vines, honeysuckle, moon-vine, etc.
3. _Ferns_--Local varieties. Description of tropical ferns. Ferns in the
house, and their care. The Boston, sword, and asparagus ferns. Ferneries
and how to make and care for them. Fern balls.
4. _Mosses and Lichens_--Description of varieties. Remarkable mosses of
the arctic and the tropic zones. Edible mosses. The reindeer and its
modern propagation.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--W. C. McCollum: Vines and How to Grow Them. N. L.
Marshall: Mosses and Lichens. W. I. Beecroft: Who's Who Among the Ferns.
D. C. Eaton: Ferns of North America.
This meeting may be made practical by considering how to beautify
unattractive houses and grounds by the use of vines and shrubs.
Inartistic verandas may be covered with Japanese ivy, unsightly fences
taken down and replaced with hedges, and back yards concealed by screens
of large shrubs. Photographs of transformed houses and yards may be
shown.
CHAPTER XIV
THE GREAT ENGLISH NOVELISTS
I--SIR WALTER SCOTT
1. _Story of His Life: in the Country_--Love of the Scottish
countryside; saturation with old legends as a child; interest in odd
characters.
2. _Story of His Life: in the City_--Homes in Edinburgh; relation to the
law; his personal friends; his connection with the Ballantynes and
publishing; his marriage and family; the building of Abbotsford; the
last years.
3. _As a Poet_--Influence of ballads; simplicity of form.
4. _Readings from His Poetry_--Lay of the Last Minstrel; Lady of the
Lake.
5. _As a Novelist_--The anonymous Waverley; rapidity of production;
historic scope of the novels.
6. _Readings from His Novels_--Guy Mannering (Meg Merrilies); Ivanhoe
(the tourney); Heart of Midlothian (Effie Deans).
DISCUSSION--A comparison of Scott with later writers of historical
novels.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Lockhart: Life of Scott. R. H. Hutton: Scott (English
Men of Letters Series). Washington Irving's account of his visit to
Abbotsford.
Have a talk on Scott's romantic love-story and his later courtship and
marriage. Give an account of his friendships, especially of that with
Marjorie Fleming, and read from Dr. Brown's book about her life. Tell of
the dogs Scott loved. Describe Abbotsford and Melrose; describe his
death and the burial at Dryburgh; use as many photographs as can be
obtained.
II--JANE AUSTEN
1. _The Story of Jane Austen's Life_--The county society; the material
for her novels; her method of composition.
2. _Emma and Mansfield Park_--Analysis of the plots and the characters.
Jane Austen's men and her women.
3. _Jane Austen's Masterpiece: Pride and Prejudice_--The story. The
author's sense of humor. Readings: The ball; Mr. Collins' letter, etc.
4. _The Place of Jane Austen in Modern English Literature_--The pioneer
novelist of modern society. Her realism. Estimates by Howells and
others.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Life of Jane Austen, by her nephew, J. E. Austen
Leigh. Letters, edited by Lord Brabourne. Life, by Oscar Fay Adams.
Life, by Walter Pollock.
Miss Austen is a charming subject, with many points of interest. The
family life at Steventon is one; her letter-writing is another; her
meeting with Thackeray is a third. Read from her letters, her brief
unfinished comedy, and her poem. Describe her burial-place in Winchester
Cathedral.
III--CHARLOTTE BRONTË
1. _The Story of her Life_--The home on the moors at Haworth, father and
brother, the three brilliant sisters; boarding-school life; Brussels;
her literary career, marriage, death.
2. _The Professor and Jane Eyre_--The Professor: rejection by the
publishers. Estimate of it to-day. Jane Eyre: realistic and dramatic
qualities. England's disapproval.
3. _Shirley and Villette_--Shirley: First novel by a woman dealing with
the industrial problem. Its realism. Character of Shirley contrasted
with that of Jane Eyre. Villette: Local color. Character of Madame Beck.
4. _Her Personal Experience as Reflected in Her Novels_--The moors,
boarding-school experiences, life in Brussels, the manufacturing region
of England.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mrs. Gaskell: Life of Charlotte Brontë. T. W. Reid:
Life of Charlotte Brontë. Clement Shorter: Charlotte Brontë and Her
Circle.
The life of the three remarkable sisters, known at the time as Currer,
Acton and Ellis Bell, is full of deep interest. Illustrate the program
with readings from Charlotte's Jane Eyre, Emily's Wuthering Heights, and
Anne's Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Read a few of their verses also.
Contrast Charlotte with Jane Austen. Close with several brief selections
from Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte.
IV--THACKERAY
1. _The Story of His Life_--School days at the Charterhouse. Cambridge.
Study of art abroad. _The Constitutional_. Newspaper work. His marriage
and his daughters. His first novel. His lectures. The English Humorist,
and later, The Four Georges. Visits to America. Attempt at political
life. Editor of _Cornhill Magazine_. Read Thackeray's Death, in Spare
Hours, by Dr. John Brown.
2. _Vanity Fair_--The novel without a hero. Becky Sharp: intellect
_minus_ heart; Amelia Sedley: heart _minus_ intellect. Interest of the
historical setting. Read from the Duchess of Richmond's ball.
3. _Henry Esmond, and The Virginians_--Henry Esmond: its place as one of
the few great novels. The historical setting. Character of Beatrix. Is
the estimate of the Duke of Marlborough just? The Virginians: connection
with Henry Esmond. Is the American color correct? Reading: scene between
Beatrix and the Pretender.
4. _Pendennis, and The Newcomes_--Pendennis: London newspaper life.
Compare the characters of Laura and Helen. The Newcomes: most popular of
the novels. Theme: the unhappy marriage. The character of Colonel
Newcome. Reading: the Charterhouse and the death of Colonel Newcome.
5. _Thackeray's Place in the Literary World_--His instant success as a
novelist. His friendships among men of letters. His warmth of
affection. Discussion of his satire. His place as social preacher. Is
Taine's estimate of him just?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Biographical and Harry Furniss's editions of the
novels (introductions). Melvill: Life of Thackeray. Merivale and
Marzials: Life of Thackeray. Chesterton: Thackeray. Riding: Thackeray's
London.
V--DICKENS
1. _The Man and the Author_--His early life of hardship and the material
it furnished him. Reminiscences in David Copperfield. Newspaper life and
Sketches by Boz. Origin of this name. The launching of Pickwick. Growing
fame. Marriage. Trips to America. Dickens as actor and reader. Home at
Gad's Hill. Grave in Westminster Abbey.
2. _The Humor and Pathos of Dickens_--Pickwick as a type of pure humor.
The grotesque, illustrated by Quilp, Squeers, Uriah Heep. The farcical,
as illustrated by Micawber, Pecksniff, and Sarah Gamp. Pathos in Tiny
Tim, Paul Dombey, and Little Nell. Reading from Bardell vs. Pickwick,
and the death of Little Nell (Old Curiosity Shop).
3. _Dickens as a Humanitarian_--Little Dorrit and prison reform. Bleak
House and the law's delay. Nicholas Nickleby and poor schools. Oliver
Twist and youthful criminals.
4. _His Greatest Novel: David Copperfield_--Discuss the plot and the
chief characters. Notice the individuality of the women: Mrs.
Copperfield, Miss Murdstone, Betsy Trotwood, Peggotty, Little Emily,
Dora, and Agnes.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Forster: Life of Dickens. Letters of Charles Dickens.
G. K. Chesterton: Charles Dickens. Gissing: Charles Dickens.
A paper comparing Dickens and Thackeray may be added to this program,
for Dombey and Son, Dickens's sixth successful novel, appeared the same
year as Vanity Fair, Thackeray's first. There might be a paper on The
Names of Dickens's Characters, and Where He Got Them.
VI--TROLLOPE
1. _His Life_--Son of the novelist Frances M. Trollope. Unhappy life at
Winchester and Harrow. In the postal service. (See The Three Clerks for
the examination of Charley Tudor--Trollope's own experience.)
Post-office surveys in Ireland. Travels on post-office business.
Material thus gathered. His forty novels. First good novel, The Warden.
The idea of it suggested while wandering about Salisbury Cathedral.
Popularity and large earnings.
2. _The Barsetshire Novels_--Deal with upper middle class, especially
clergymen and their families. Pictures of quiet country life. Realism.
Evenness of tone. Favorite situation: the man who has compromised
himself and is in danger of ruin. Description of the leading characters
in these novels.
3. _Four Novels_--Give brief sketch of plot and description of the chief
characters in Orley Farm, Phineas Finn, The Vicar of Bullhampton, and
Can You Forgive Her? Readings from these books.
4. _A Comparison of Trollope with Dickens and Thackeray_--Their
materials, plots, methods of treatment, and diverse styles. Their
relative popularity and standing to-day. Influence of Thackeray on
Trollope.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Anthony Trollope: Autobiography. Cross: The
Development of the English Novel. Saintsbury: English Literature of the
Nineteenth Century.
One of the famous women in the books of this decade is Mrs. Proudie, the
wife of the Bishop of Barchester. Read a description of her, her
methods of management, and the retribution which overtook her. The Rev.
Mr. Slope is also a well-known character in connection with the
Proudies.
VII--BULWER LYTTON
1. _Life_--Birth and childhood. Fondness for medieval romances (compare
Sir Walter Scott). Cambridge and the Chancellor's gold medal. Romantic
adventures in the North. Unhappy marriage. Necessity the motive to work.
Twelve novels in ten years. His plays. Parliament. Colonial
secretaryship. The peerage. Westminster Abbey.
2. _Novels_--The novel of society: Pelham. The novel of adventure: Paul
Clifford. The novel of crime: Eugene Aram. The novel of domestic life:
My Novel. The novel of history: Last Days of Pompeii.
3. _Plays_--Lady of Lyons, Richelieu, Money. Analysis of plots,
description of chief characters, and readings.
4. _Critical Estimate of His Work and Place in Literature_.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Life of Bulwer Lytton, by his Son. Bulwer Lytton's
Letters. T. H. S. Escott: Edward Bulwer. Lewis Melville: Victorian
Novelists. J. F. Molloy: Famous Plays.
Bulwer Lytton was a personage in society in his day. Contrast his life
with that of his contemporaries, Thackeray and Disraeli. Compare Vanity
Fair and Coningsby with Pelham. Distinguish between Bulwer Lytton and
his son, who was viceroy of India and author of the once-popular Lucile.
Explain why Bulwer Lytton's plays have more vitality than his novels.
VIII--GEORGE ELIOT
1. _The Story of Her Life_--Materials for her novels in her early life.
Evangelical training and later change in her religious views. Life with
Lewes and his encouragement of her writing. Literary friendships.
Marriage to Cross.
2. _Scenes from Clerical Life, and Silas Marner_--Story of the
appearance of the Scenes and of her _nom de plume_. Reading from Silas
Marner.
3. _Adam Bede_--Study of Retribution. _Felix Holt_--Study of labor.
Readings.
4. _Mill on the Floss_--Study of family life. _Middlemarch_--Study of
selfishness. Readings.
5. _Romola_--Study of historic Florence. _Daniel Deronda_--Study of the
Jew. Readings.
6. _Comparison of George Eliot with Thackeray, Dickens, and
Trollope_--Her ethical quality as a writer.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--J. W. Cross: Life of George Eliot. Oscar Browning:
Life of George Eliot. Mathilde Blind: George Eliot. C. S. Olcott: George
Eliot: Scenes and People in Her Novels, illustrated from photographs.
Also essays by Sir Leslie Stephen, E. H. A. Scherer, E. Dowden, R. H.
Hutton, and Henry James.
No program on George Eliot would be complete without a brief
presentation of her poetry. A scene may be read from the Spanish Gipsy,
a selection from How Lisa Loved the King, and the whole of the beautiful
short poem, Oh May I Join the Choir Invisible. A description of her
grave in Highgate Cemetery in London, and its inscription, may conclude.
IX--ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
1. _Story of His Life_--Childhood and Edinburgh University. Travels on
the Continent. Trip to America. First writing for publication. Story of
his books. Samoa. Reading of passages from his letters.
2. _Short Stories_--His fantastic imagination. Style and how he
cultivated it. Readings from the New Arabian Nights. Analysis of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
3. _Essays and Sketches_--Variety of subject and versatility of
treatment. Readings from Crabbed Age and Youth, John Knox and Women, and
In the South Seas.
4. _Scotch Adventures_--Analysis and description of The Master of
Ballantrae, Kidnapped, David Balfour, Weir of Hermiston. Reading from
Kidnapped.
5. _Varied Romances_--Treasure Island, Prince Otto, The Black Arrow, The
Wrecker, The Ebb Tide. Note the great variety of material. Reading from
Treasure Island.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Graham Balfour: Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. A. H.
Japp: Robert Louis Stevenson. John Kelman: The Faith of Robert Louis
Stevenson. Isobel Osbourne Strong: Robert Louis Stevenson.
A program on Stevenson should certainly mention his poems. Read from his
A Child's Garden of Verse. Notice also his prayers, which have had large
circulation and use in the religious world. There might be a paper on
the varied appreciation of Stevenson by his biographers, noting
especially Henley. Show pictures of Stevenson, and especially of the
bas-relief of him made by Saint-Gaudens for St. Giles's Cathedral in
Edinburgh.
X--GEORGE MEREDITH
1. _The Man_--Story of his life and remarkable friendships.
Peculiarities. His style and satire. Compare his prose with Browning's
verse. Were they purposely obscure? Why is Meredith not more popular?
His later days. Compare him with Dickens and Thackeray.
2. _Richard Feverel, and Beauchamp's Career_--Analysis of the plots and
description of the chief characters. Have these books a moral? Discuss
the novel as a teacher of morals. Readings.
3. _The Egoist_--Analysis of the plot and description of the chief
character, Sir Willoughby Patterne. Is his refined and unconscious
selfishness a common occurrence? Discuss the proper limits of egotism.
Quotation of clever sayings.
4. _Diana of the Crossways, One of Our Conquerors, The Shaving of
Shagpat_--Description in detail of these books, and their purposes. If
possible, indicate any characters supposed to be from life.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. J. Bailey: The Novels of George Meredith. Mrs.
M. D. Henderson: George Meredith, Novelist, Poet, Reformer. R. Le
Gallienne: George Meredith, Some Characteristics. J. W. Beach: The Comic
Spirit on George Meredith.
Have a brief paper on George Meredith as a poet and the various
estimates of his poetry by literary critics; read from some of the
best-known poems. Indicate Meredith's relation to the Feminist Movement.
Look up in the magazines published at the time of his death something
about his manuscripts and how he disposed of them.
CHAPTER XV
ENGLISH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY
INTRODUCTION
There is at the present day a more than usually interesting group of
writers in England. Their personality is delightful, and their point of
view is eminently modern, full of the spirit of the times. The material
for study must be gleaned largely from magazine articles, and by looking
over the files of such publications as the _Review of Reviews_, the
_Literary Digest_, the _Outlook_, and the _Bookman_, there will be found
sketches of the lives and work of all those given here. In addition the
New International Encyclopædia has biographical sketches, and Poole's
Index and other reference books at a public library will direct to more
material.
All programs on these authors should be arranged in four parts: first,
the life of the author, as full as may be, with sketches of his
experiences, his home circle, his friends, his methods of work; second,
a criticism of his writing, his style, his mannerisms, the general trend
of his ideas, and some mention of his place among writers; third,
readings from several of his books; and fourth, a discussion of his
characters by the club members.
In place of one of these topics, some clubs may prefer a paper showing
the change in the author's methods and style, based on a comparison of
his earlier and later writings.
I--THOMAS HARDY
Thomas Hardy was born in Dorsetshire in 1840, and educated to be an
architect. It was as a rebuilder of old churches that he became an
antiquarian and then a student of rural types, since his work took him
to country districts. His own county lives in his books under the name
of Wessex, and the people he draws are taken from life. He has a
sympathetic touch in dealing with their problems and peculiarities which
comes from close contact and genuine affection.
His first novel, Under the Greenwood Tree, was followed by a second
which won him popularity, Far from the Madding Crowd. This appeared
anonymously as a serial, and at the time was attributed to George Eliot,
because she was thought to be the only living author capable of writing
it. The Return of the Native is perhaps his most characteristic book,
although in Jude the Obscure he shows a merciless character analysis.
But in Tess of the D'Urbervilles he reaches the height of his power. It
is a story of tragedy, expressing the doctrine that man must reap what
he has sown. Read several chapters from Tess and discuss the story.
Hardy's short stories also are well known and a collection called Wessex
Tales will be found excellent for selections for club reading. The Three
Strangers is generally considered his best story. Notice the
descriptions of scenery, the characteristics of the country people and
their personalities. Does Hardy show a lack of humor? Is he a fatalist?
II--MAURICE HEWLETT
Maurice Hewlett was born in London in 1866, educated there, and admitted
to the bar. It was in the midst of city life that he wrote his first
novel, The Forest Lovers, which he has never excelled in beauty and
charm. It is an exquisite, simple picture of life in the Middle Ages,
with a lovely romance running through it. Critics tell us that of all
his contemporaries he has best interpreted medieval thought and
sentiment.
Later he wrote other novels of the same period, notably Richard
Yea-and-Nay, sometimes called an epic story, full of passion, war and
poetry. It was with this book that fame came to Hewlett.
In The Queen's Quair we have a study of Mary, Queen of Scots, her court
and the tragedy of her life. The Stooping Lady is laid in the Eighteenth
Century, but the author shows the same peculiarity, that of making any
time vividly real and preserving the atmosphere. This novel is full of
imagination, yet terse and clear. Hewlett has also written some short
stories of a delightful sort--Little Novels of Italy and The Madonna of
the Peach Tree, quite unlike his longer books.
It is interesting to note that into all his writings the one idea is
woven so skilfully as to be almost imperceptible--of the progress of the
soul, either upward or downward. This key unlocks many of the puzzling
passages, especially in Richard Yea-and-Nay. Clubs can follow out this
suggestion in reading his books.
Read from the novels mentioned; note the strength of Jehan and the
subtlety of Mary. Read also from his three delightful out-of-door
stories of to-day, Half-Way House, Open Country, and Rest Harrow.
Compare the descriptions of scenery in England, Scotland, France and
Italy.
III--MRS. HUMPHRY WARD
Mrs. Humphry Ward, born of English parents in Tasmania in 1851, lived in
Oxford and was educated in the Lake Country. The granddaughter of Thomas
Arnold of Rugby, and the niece of Matthew Arnold, she inherited a strong
moral sense which was increased by the atmosphere of her home, and grew
up feeling that life was full of ethical problems. She married an Oxford
tutor, moved to London, wrote reviews, translated Amiel's Journal into
English, and then in 1888 wrote her first novel, Robert Elsmere, a
brilliant presentation of the religious difficulties of a young
clergyman, leading to his abandonment of orthodoxy. It attracted so much
attention that Gladstone thought it worth his while to review it and
combat its views.
She wrote later The History of David Grieve, contrasting the spiritual
development of a brother and a sister. This is called her most vital
book. Marcella, her most powerful book, deals with the problem of
socialism in England. Then came Sir George Tressady, Eleanor, Lady
Rose's Daughter, Fenwick's Career, and others. Her later books, if more
finished, lack the strength of her earlier.
Mrs. Ward has often been compared with George Eliot; clubs will find it
interesting to note resemblances and differences and compare heroines
and plots. Which of the two best concealed the moral purpose both used
as the theme of their books? Read from several of Mrs. Ward's earlier
volumes and also some selections from George Eliot's Adam Bede and
Romola. Discuss the sense of humor shown by the two authors.
IV--HALL CAINE
Hall Caine, though of Manx descent, was born in Cheshire in 1853, but he
has always seemed less of an Englishman than a Manxman. His stories all
have the atmosphere of the little Isle of Man, and his plots are laid
there. Yet he lived in London as architect, journalist, novelist, and
dramatist. There is much that is interesting about his life, especially
the year that he spent with Rossetti.
His best books are The Shadow of a Crime, The Deemster, The Bondman, The
Scapegoat, and The Christian. In all of them there is a definite
somberness, a noticeable element of tragedy, only slightly relieved by
the lighter aspects of life. His novels deal with profound issues.
Clubs should notice the relations' of fathers and sons in the books
mentioned. Discuss the problems presented; read the descriptions of Manx
life among the people; compare the heroes. Read several of the dramatic
chapters from The Scapegoat and The Deemster. Does the play The
Christian show more strength than the novel of the same name?
V--STANLEY J. WEYMAN
In striking contrast with this last novelist is Stanley J. Weyman, the
writer of fascinating historical novels which rank among the very first
of their kind. Born in Shropshire in 1855 and educated at Oxford, he
became first a lawyer and then a novelist. His Gentleman of France
brought him immediately into prominence.
The scenes of most of his books are laid in France, either in the period
of the Great Cardinal, or later in that of the Revolution. They are
crowded with adventure, the plots are of absorbing interest and his
characters are full of life and individuality. The times of which he
writes are described with accurate fidelity, and his pictures of the
court, of campaigning, of travel, of village life, are romantic yet
historically correct. Under the Red Robe, The Red Cockade, The Castle
Inn, and The Abbess of Vlaye are all fascinating. Read from any one of
these and then from a good history giving an idea of the same period,
and note the precise study Weyman gave to his settings.
A paper might be prepared on Sir Walter Scott, Dumas, Hewlett and Weyman
as historical novelists. The differences might be brought out by
comparing the character of Richard Coeur de Lion in The Talisman and
Richard Yea-and-Nay, and that of Richelieu in The Three Musketeers and
Under the Red Robe.
VI--JAMES M. BARRIE
James M. Barrie is a Scotchman, born in 1860 and educated at Edinburgh
University. He knows thoroughly his own people. He does not write with
any defined moral purpose, nor does he have any great events to record;
but he has in an unusual degree the power to charm. His sympathetic
insight, delightfully sly humor, play of fancy and light touch of pathos
are all unique.
A Window in Thrums, describing the lives of the weavers, so apart from
the world yet so full of interest, Auld Licht Idylls, with its amusing
difficulties of the old churches, and Margaret Ogilvy, the exquisite
portrait of the author's mother, are unsurpassed in delicate beauty. In
Sentimental Tommy, Tommy and Grizel, and The Little Minister there is
more of plot and more also of a certain gaiety. The Little White Bird
shows the fancy which comes out more strongly in the incomparable Peter
Pan.
Read from as many of Barrie's books as possible, and then discuss his
work as a playwright. Do his books lend themselves to the stage? Let
those who have seen The Little Minister, The Admirable Crichton, Peter
Pan and Little Mary describe them.
VII--HORATIO GILBERT PARKER
Horatio Gilbert Parker, now Sir Gilbert, is both English and Canadian.
His career has been marked by a great variety of experience, as his
books show. Born in Ontario in 1802, he became a teacher, then a curate,
then an instructor in a deaf and dumb asylum, went to Australia for his
health and there took up journalism and play-writing, returned to Canada
and became a novelist. Later he decided to live in England and went
into Parliament. Many of his earlier novels are of Canadian life. When
Valmond Came to Pontiac, The Seats of the Mighty, and The Right of Way
are among the best of his early books. Later he wrote The Weavers, a
strange mingling of East and West in the story of a Quaker in modern
Egypt. His best recent novel is The Judgment House, having for its theme
English society in the time of the Boer War. His versatility in turning
from one scene to another, and from one type of character to another, is
remarkable. Canada, Egypt, London, and Africa are all familiar ground to
him, and trappers, Indians, Frenchmen of the seventeenth century, and
men and women of to-day in cities are all equally well drawn. His early
style was perhaps too diffuse, but his later stories are briefer and
more direct. Read from The Seats of the Mighty and The Judgment House.
Note his different types in his books and discuss them. Read also from
the scenes in the different countries and see the local color.
VIII--HERBERT G. WELLS
Herbert G. Wells was born in Kent in 1866. He had a scientific training,
and his first book was a text book on biology. Later he became one of
the staff of _The Saturday Review_ and then combined science and
literature in a series of romantic novels: His Time Machine, The Wheels
of Chance and The War of the Worlds are all stories in which his
scientific education was utilized. In 1906 he came to America to study
social conditions and since then has written two books in quite another
vein--Tono Bungay, a story of finance, and Marriage, a study of modern
conditions of love and society.
His earlier work is marked by wild imagination; his later by swift
analysis and warm sympathy. Compare the realistic description of village
life in Part I. of Tono Bungay with that of the Five Towns in Arnold
Bennett's Old Wives' Tale, mentioned later. Note Wells's socialistic
leanings.
Read from The War of the Worlds and Marriage. Contrast the two styles;
discuss the character of Marjorie in the latter; is she a possible
woman?
IX--WILLIAM J. LOCKE
William J. Locke, born of English parents in Barbadoes in 1803, was
educated at Cambridge, where he took the highest honors in mathematics.
He became a teacher, and it was only after years of hated drudgery that
he obtained a secretary's position and leisure to write. For long his
novels were little known, though At the Gate of Samaria, The Derelicts,
Idols, and The White Dove were all full of interest and promise. Then
with The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne, called his greatest book, and The
Beloved Vagabond, his most popular, he suddenly became famous. Septimus,
Simon the Jester and The Glory of Clementina have followed one another
rapidly, and Septimus has been dramatized.
Locke's style is so easy as to conceal its art. His plots are lightly
constructed and many of his novels have unexpected endings. His men are
much alike, but so delightful that no one would have them altered. Each
has a certain chivalry, an ability to endure hardships, a lack of
practical judgment, but a simple goodness that is irresistible. Their
humor is charming, and their gentle philosophy convincing. Locke holds
the theory that life should be accepted cheerfully; this is his dominant
theme.
Clubs should read the amusing diatribe against teaching, and especially
against teaching mathematics, in Marcus. Read also the first and last
chapters of the Vagabond and Clementina. Compare his women and his men.
X--ARNOLD BENNETT
Arnold Bennett, in many ways the most talked-of English author living,
was born in Staffordshire in 1867 in a district known as "The
Potteries," or "The Five Towns." Here are furnaces, collieries,
manufactories and a people whose interests are made narrow and
provincial by the restricted boundaries of their lives.
Bennett went to London, became a journalist, an essayist, an editor, a
novelist, and a playwright. He lived for a time in Paris and traveled
extensively, and he has made use of his varied experiences in his
writings.
He has some remarkable books, long, careful, full of psychological
problems. His Old Wives' Tale, Anna of the Five Towns and Clay-hanger
all deal with the place and the people with which he was first familiar,
and are graphic pictures of types. In Hilda Lessways he presents a study
rather unlike those in his first books, and in Denry the Audacious and
Buried Alive he has quite another manner and keener humor.
He is singularly direct and painstaking in his work, a master of
realism. For sheer observation, says one critic, he is unequaled. Of
late he has visited America and made a close and remarkably sympathetic
study of our country, our cities, our manners.
Take up Bennett also as a playwright, and note the good work he has done
in this field; contrast his plays with his earlier books. Read from
Hilda Lessways and from the graphic description of the siege of Paris in
the Old Wives' Tale, and also a descriptive chapter from the Five Towns.
Compare his realistic work with that of Henry James, and note the
differences. Quote from his little essay, How to Live on Twenty-four
Hours a Day.
* * * * *
Clubs which wish programs for more than ten meetings may take in
addition to the authors already suggested these others:
De Morgan: read Joseph Vance, Alice for Short, and An Affair of
Dishonor. Conan Doyle: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The White Company.
Eden Phillpotts: Knock at a Venture, The Port-reeve, The Secret Woman.
A. E. W. Mason: Four Feathers, The Truants, Courtship of Morrice. Robert
Hichens: The Garden of Allah, The Dweller on the Threshold. Anthony
Hope: The Prisoner of Zenda, The Dolly Dialogues, Quisanté. Agnes and
Egerton Castle: The Pride of Jennico, If Youth But Knew, The Secret
Garden. E. F. Benson: The Challoners, An Act in a Backwater, The Luck of
the Vails. May Sinclair: The Divine Fire, The Judgment of Eve. Mrs.
Henry Dudeney: The Battle of the Weak, The Story of Susan.
Detailed criticisms and complete bibliographies of many novelists here
mentioned may be found in Some English Story Tellers by F. T. Cooper
(1912).
CHAPTER XVI
THE GILDED AGE OF LOUIS XIV
I--THE KING
1. _The Story of His Life_.
2. _The Splendor of the Court_--Compulsory residence of the nobles at
Versailles; Louis's dislike and fear of Paris; effect politically of the
segregation of the court.
3. _The Great Ministers_--Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois; relation of the
king to them.
4. _The Women of the Court_--Louise de la Vallière, Madame de Montespan,
Madame de Maintenon.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Guizot: History of France. De Nolhac: Versailles.
Heroes of the Nations Series: Louis XIV. A. Hassall: Louis XIV. and
Madame de Maintenon. Lady Blennerhasset.
Study everything relating to Versailles, to which Louis moved the court;
show pictures of the famous gardens, the fountain at play, the palace.
Read a description of some fête: describe the Grand Trianon and its
social life. Show pictures of Louis.
II--SOCIAL FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV
1. _Manners of the Time_--Court etiquette. Excessive fondness of the
king for it, and his strict insistence on it. Quote from the numerous
memoirs of the time, descriptions of the palace ceremonial (Madame de
Sévigné, Saint Simon, etc.).
2. _Amusements of the Court_--Receptions and functions. Fêtes. Hunting.
Theatricals. Card games and gambling.
3. _Women of the Court_--The Queen, La Grande Mademoiselle, Madame de la
Vallière, Madame de Montespan, Madame de Maintenon, Madame de Sévigné
and her circle. Dress of the time.
4. _Social Morals_--Distinction between the morals of the court and
those of the common people. Growing popular dissatisfaction, and its
later tragic consequences.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hassall: Louis XIV. and the Zenith of the French
Monarchy. Voltaire: The Age of Louis XIV. Guizot: History of France
(Vol. IV., particularly the last chapter).
A most interesting short paper might be prepared on the odd people of
the time: Scarron; The Man in the Iron Mask; famous fortune-tellers.
Show pictures of some of the court beauties, to illustrate the dress of
the women of the period, and also a cut of Louis in his wig and
high-heeled shoes, taken from any history of France.
III--PARIS UNDER LOUIS XIV
1. _The City_--Area and population as compared with those of to-day.
Show maps of both periods. Colbert: story of his life and his remaking
of Paris. The destruction of the old walls and the beginning of the
boulevards. Lenôtre and his landscape-gardening (the garden of the
Tuileries). Laying out of the Places Vendôme, des Victoires, du
Carrousel.
2. _Public Buildings_--The architects Perrault and Mansart and their
work. Description of buildings erected under Louis: the Invalides,
Bibliothèques du Roi and Mazarin, Académie, Gobelins, Comédie Française,
etc. Gates: St. Denis, St. Martin, etc. Quai d'Orsay.
3. _Churches of the Day_--Val-de-Grâce and the birth of Louis. St. Roch:
its erection and later connection with French history. Nôtre Dame and
its ceremonies. St. Denis and the royal tombs.
4. _Great Events in Paris under Louis_--Royal spectacles, executions,
mobs.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Larousse (under the word Paris, for those who read
French). Hamerton: Paris in Old and Present Times. Hare: Walks in Paris.
De Amicis: Studies in Paris.
The subject of the dwellings of the common people of this time deserves
study: their bareness, absence of sanitation, water-supply, lack of
conveniences and utensils. Also, the people's employments, food, dress,
amusements, doctors and medicine and care of the sick and the relation
of the priest to the family: christenings, weddings, and funerals.
Material may be found in the histories, the encyclopædias (particularly
Larousse), memoirs, the novels of Dumas, Dumas's Paris, etc.
IV--THE WARS OF LOUIS XIV
1. _The Foreign Relations of the Reign_--Mazarin and the Peace of
Westphalia. Death of Philip IV. of Spain and Louis's claim to the
Netherlands. League with Charles II. of England. Discuss the question
whether Charles was in Louis's pay. Opposition from William III. of
England.
2. _Enlargement of Army and Navy_--Harbors and ships of Brest, Toulon,
etc. Constructive work of Louvois and Vauban. Their theories of war. Are
they still held?
3. _The Foreign Wars of Louis_--Against Holland: Peace of Nymwegen. In
the Palatinate: Peace of Ryswick. War of the Spanish Succession: Peace
of Utrecht. Territories won and lost by Louis in these wars.
4. _The Two Wars of the Fronde_.
5. _The Great Generals of Louis XIV._--Turenne, Condé, Luxembourg,
Vendôme.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Martin: History of France. Hassall: Louis XIV. and the
Zenith of the French Monarchy. Mahon: History of the War of the
Succession in Spain. Fitzpatrick: The Great Condé and the Period of the
Fronde.
An interesting supplementary paper could be added to this program on The
Art of Warfare in the Seventeenth Century; describe the formation of the
army lines for battle; the equipment of the soldiers, the discipline,
the tents, the commissariat, the cannon, swords, and other arms; the
pay of the soldiers; their manners and morals; the relation of the
officers to the men. Some one battle may be described in detail to
illustrate the methods employed on the field.
V--LITERATURE (PART I)
1. _The Academy_--Unofficial founding by Conrart in 1629. Official
standing six years later. Relation of Richelieu to it. Its dictionary.
Total effect of this distinguished society on French literature.
2. _Romances of Chivalry_--Give an account of Madame de Scudéry and a
description of Clélie and the Grand Cyrus. Discuss also Honore d'Urfé
and the Astrée. Note the probable influence of the English writer, Lyly.
3. _Moralists_--La Fontaine. Saint Evremond. La Rochefoucauld. La
Bruyère.
4. _Philosophers_--Descartes. Pascal. Malebranche. Bayle. Readings from
Pascal's Pensées. (Many translations.)
5. _Great Preachers_--Bossuet. Fenelon. Massillon. Bourdaloue. Readings
from translations, especially the famous introduction to Massillon's
funeral oration on Louis XIV.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Brunctière: Manual of French Literature. Dowden:
History of French Literature. Van Laun: History of French Literature.
The material for this meeting is very great, especially on the
biographical side. Interesting brief papers might be prepared on any of
the names mentioned. Sainte-Beuve, considered by many to be the greatest
of critics, has essays on all of the writers named, and readings from
his Causeries de Lundi (translated now) would be delightful.
VI--THE DRAMA UNDER LOUIS XIV
1. _Corneille_--Story of his life. Readings from the Cid, Horace, and
Polyeucte. (Translation by Nokes.)
2. _Racine_--Relation to Port-Royal. Ode on the marriage of the king.
Classical subjects. Esther and Athalie, his masterpiece, written at the
request of Madame de Maintenon for her young ladies at St. Cyr. Readings
from Andromaque, Phèdre, and Athalie. (Bohn's translation.)
3. _Molière_--Early life as a strolling player. Rescue of his company
from failure by his own writings. Paris and the favor of the Duc
d'Orleans. Failure in tragedy; success in comedy. Taken up by the king.
Royal fêtes. Limitations of this work. First characteristic play:
L'Ecole des Femmes. Molière as the greatest of comedy-writers. Readings
from Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope, Le Médecin Malgré Lui. Les Femmes
Savantes. (Many translations. Curtis Hidden Page's is fine.)
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Guizot: Corneille and His Times. Trollope: Corneille
and Racine. Hatton: Life of Molière. Brander Matthews: Great Plays
(French and German), with notes. (Contains Le Cid, Horace, Polyeucte,
and Tartuffe.)
As Molière is unquestionably the great dramatist of the period, devote
the day largely to him. Read from Chatfield-Taylor's Pathway to Fame,
which gives the dramatist's life as a strolling player. Describe one of
the fêtes for which he wrote his little farces and ballets. Have a brief
talk on the advance in stage-setting at this time, due to the unlimited
sums Louis spent on his fêtes, and the employment of the greatest
artists for the scenery. Compare this with the setting of the stage in
Shakespeare's theater.
VII--ART
1. _Architecture_--Mansart, Perrault, Lemercier. Some of the great
public buildings built during this reign. Show photographs.
2. _Painting_--Lebrun (foundation of the Louvre collection). Lesueur,
Mignard, Philippe de Champaigne, Largillière, Watteau. Portraits of the
King.
3. _Sculpture_--Puget, Sarazin, Coysevox. Photographs of surviving
examples.
4. _Music_--Founding of modern musical drama by Mazarin (Strozzi's
opera-bouffe in the Louvre, in 1645). Cambert, L'Abbé Perrin, Lulli.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Louis Hourticq: Art in France. R. G. Kingsley: History
of French Art. Bourgeois: France under Louis XIV. W. H. Ward:
Architecture of the Renaissance in France. Esther Singleton: French and
English Furniture.
Louis was a wonderful art patron, and spent enormous sums upon artistic
objects. He brought from Antwerp a group of three great engravers. He
established the Beauvais and Gobelins manufactories of tapestry.
Porcelain was made at Saint Cloud. Furniture was designed by Ballin and
Boule. Lenôtre led the world in the art of landscape-gardening.
VIII--THE KING AND THE CHURCH
1. _The King's Personal Religion_--Ecclesiastical and political rather
than ethical. His devotions and his morals. Effect of Madame de
Maintenon's influence in later years.
2. _Two Great Prelates and Their Feud_--Bossuet; his ability, temper,
and commanding influence. Fenelon: story of his life; influence on the
Duke of Burgundy; reading from Télémaque. The fundamental difference in
the two men's conception of religion.
3. _New Movements_--Protestantism: suppression by the state. Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes. Jansenism: Jansen and his book; its meaning.
Demolition of the Abbey of Port-Royal. Quietism: Story of Madame Guyon
and reading from her life (Upham's edition).
4. _The King and the Jesuits_--Origin of the order and its purposes.
Edicts for and against the Jesuits, and reasons for them. Power and
success of Pere LeTellier. Reading from Pascal's Provincial Letters.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--The Cambridge Modern History: vol. v., chap. iv.
Guizot: History of France: vol. iv., chap. xlvii. Jervis: History of the
Church in France. Sainte-Beuve: Causeries du Lundi (many are
translated).
As Louis seldom went to Paris, the chapel in the palace at Versailles
became the scene of the most important ecclesiastical functions, and
hence is of special interest. A description of its interior should be
given, and photographs of it should be shown. A supplementary paper
should take up Madame de Maintenon and her relation to the king and the
Church. Lady Blennerhasset's book will be found of value in this
connection.
IX--THE STORY OF PORT-ROYAL
1. _The Convent_--Its location, origin, and early history. Fashionable
patronage and relaxation of the rules. Angélique Arnauld. The Paris
House, now the Musée de Cluny.
2. _Educational System_--The lay brothers in the original house. Antoine
Arnauld, the De Sacys, Nicole. Their text-books: grammars, geometry,
logic. Place in the history of education.
3. _The Jansenist Movement_--Story of Jansen and his famous book.
Notable people who were influenced by it. How it made trouble for
Port-Royal. Antagonism of the Jesuits, reason of it, development of the
feud.
4. _Suppression of the Institution_--Reasons for the hostility of Louis
XIV. Story of the dispersion of the nuns, described at length by
Schimmelpenninck. Destruction of the beautiful buildings.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Charles Beard: Port-Royal. Ethel Duncan Romanes: The
Story of Port-Royal. Felix Cadet: Port-Royal Education. Sainte-Beuve:
Port-Royal. (In French, not translated.)
Prepare a supplementary paper on the Puritan Spirit in Human Nature.
This constantly reappears in history (see the Stoics), and is
represented in France in this period by this Jansenist movement. An
interesting paper might be written on Jacqueline Pascal, the sister of
the great philosopher, and the celebrated episode of her healing, which
had far-reaching consequences.
X--FAMOUS MEMOIRS OF THE TIME
1. _Cardinal de Retz_--Story of his adventurous life: description of his
appearance and personal characteristics. Relation to the Fronde.
Richelieu's opinion of him and relation to him.
2. _The Duc de Saint-Simon_--Personal history. Relation to the King and
the court. Reason for writing: the servile tone of the memoirs of the
Marquis de Dangeau. Saint-Simon's independence and frankness of
criticism. "The Tacitus of French History." Compare with Pepys. Read
descriptions of court life and personal passages.
3. _Madame de Sévigné_--Story of her life and that of her daughter. Her
education and relation to the great world. Style. Readings from her
letters.
4. _The Fashion of Memoir-Writing_--People who wrote memoirs:
Mademoiselle de Montpensier. Marquis de Dangeau. De la Porte (the King's
_valet de chambre_). Duclos (Memoires secrets). De la Rochefoucauld.
Brief biographies of these people.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Duc de Saint-Simon: Memoirs. 3 vols. (Translated.)
Letters of Madame de Sévigné. (Translated.) Emil Bourgeois: France under
Louis XIV. G. F. Bradley: Great Days at Versailles. Imbert de
Saint-Amand: The Court of Louis XIV.
Notice the striking change at this time from former dull and tedious
historical writing to the brilliant and fascinating personal sketches
of people and events. Read descriptions of the King and the court from
Saint-Simon and Saint-Amand. The engravers whom Louis brought from the
Low Countries made portraits of many of the society people of the time;
show reproductions, and describe the dress of the period.
CHAPTER XVII
FORESTRY
The study of this subject is a novel one for women's clubs, but it is of
great interest. Women who desire an intelligent view of their own
country should certainly take it up and understand what is being done
to-day and what is planned for the future. Books to be read are: A First
Book of Forestry, by F. Roth; A Primer of Forestry, by Gifford Pinchot;
and The Forest and Practical Forestry, the Department of Agriculture.
I--INTRODUCTORY
All uncivilized nations ruthlessly cut off their forests for fuel and
timber, both ignorant and indifferent to the result of the destruction.
Where there are no trees, the water-supply dies away, the soil then
becomes infertile, and the population is threatened with famine. China
is practically denuded of trees, after unknown centuries of waste. India
has numberless hillsides and plains once wooded, now bare and parched;
and so of many other Oriental countries.
II--THE BEGINNINGS OF FORESTRY
Early in the sixteenth century there was a certain realization of the
danger of neglect of trees; Sully, the great minister of France,
suggested that some restrictions should be laid on cutting, and some
study of forestry made by the government. Germany also followed the same
course, and England, which began to feel the shortage of timber
severely, practised more careful cutting and set out certain
plantations. The great landowners everywhere cared for their timber in
their private parks, and cut only when necessary. At the beginning of
the eighteenth century planting was begun in Scotland and later in
Ireland, and it is interesting to note that now the planted areas exceed
the natural growth in these two countries. Foreign trees were also
introduced at this time, and in many cases flourished even better than
the natural growths.
III--PRESENT CONDITIONS ABROAD
Practically now every civilized country practises forestry in a greater
or less degree. Germany has nine schools where it is taught, and there
are four and a half billion acres under government care. France is
equally careful, and every forest is guarded, though its schools are not
as many. England has a forest policy which calls for the planting of
nine million acres, ten thousand each year. Russia has such enormous
forests that as yet the care of her trees does not seem to her
critically important, yet she too is beginning to conserve her
resources. Italy has been almost stripped of her forests by neglect, but
she is at last waking to her peril and beginning to foster what is left.
In India an interesting work is being done by the English, who are
establishing schools for the natives to teach forestry; this in time
will make the country far more fertile than now. New Zealand, always
progressive, has a well-planned system; Argentine, Hawaii, and Terra del
Fuego practise the science.
IV--THE PAST IN AMERICA
Forestry was begun at home by one man, Jared Eliot of Salisbury,
Connecticut, who in 1730 began to cut his trees systematically for
charcoal furnaces. But unfortunately no one followed in his footsteps
because our forests were so rich that it did not seem necessary;
thirty-six per cent. of all our area is in trees. This fact has made us
reckless; whole hillsides have been constantly stripped by farmers for
wood, or to make arable land. Great trees have been cut down when
smaller ones would have done quite as well. Worst of all, the lumbermen
of the Middle West and South have swept clean enormous areas of land,
cutting down large and small pines alike, and leaving nothing but
stumps.
Even more destructive have been the forest-fires which have sprung up
through carelessness or drouth, and suffered to burn unhindered till
they died out. As late as 1910 twenty-five million dollars' worth of
natural timber was destroyed, partly in the Far West and partly in the
East. Of late, too, certain insects have made havoc with large tracts,
and hills have been left bare and brown where they have been.
V--CONSERVATION
In 1882 the Forestry Association was formed to correct existing evils,
to care for standing timber, and to restock where that was necessary.
There are now over six thousand members of the association, and a paper
of great interest is published, called _American Forestry_, which gives
practical suggestions. This association has accomplished marvels in the
few years of its existence. In 1899 there were thirty-six
forest-reserves in the West. In addition, many States have their own
reserves.
VI--RENEWAL
In addition to caring for existing trees, others now are planted. Some
States have bounties for this purpose; others maintain nurseries where
saplings are raised and set out; seeds are sown; foreign trees are
introduced; in our public schools our children are instructed in the
growth and care of trees, and many have Arbor Day, when trees are
planted and exercises held to impress the children with the importance
of the occasion.
VII--SCHOOLS OF FORESTRY
There is a definite plan to have forestry taught in every State, and
short courses have been added to the curriculum of the State
universities. Yale and Cornell have forestry schools, and Harvard a
forestry course. At Biltmore, North Carolina, there is an excellent
school with exceptional forest advantages. Clubs can send for catalogues
of these schools.
VIII--THE RETURNS
Forestry does not aim to produce immediate commercial returns; indeed,
from that standpoint the returns are slow; yet in the end these are
greater than when the science is disregarded. Trees must be regarded as
a crop to be cut only in small sections rather than as a whole. But the
system once thoroughly established, the returns are steady and sure.
Timber is cut exactly at the right time instead of at haphazard, and so
is of the right size and age. Fuel is gathered from trees meant for that
purpose, and timber for building purposes from trees meant for that
alone.
In addition to the commercial results there are also others. Parks are
set aside for recreation and beauty, and game is preserved rather than
destroyed. Hillsides are renewed; winds are kept off; our watersheds are
protected, and rivers and streams kept full, and the land fertile.
IX--FAMOUS TREES
Add to this study program two more meetings. Have one on Famous Trees
and Forests, naming among others: The Cedars of Lebanon, the historic
King's Oak which sheltered Charles I., the Charter Oak, and others;
note also the famous redwoods of California; the Burnham Beeches; the
historic Sherwood Forest; the New Forest and Dean Forest of England; the
Black Forest of Baden and the forests of the Vosges Mountains of France.
X--TREES AND FORESTS IN LITERATURE
The last program of the year may be on the general subject of trees and
forests in literature. Read or recite from such poems as: A Forest Hymn
and the Planting of the Apple Tree, by William Cullen Bryant; Christmas
in the Woods, by Harrison Weir; Forest Pictures, by Paul Hamilton Hayne;
the Summer Woods, by William Henry Burleigh; The Primeval Forest, from
Evangeline, by Longfellow; The Holly Tree, by Robert Southey, and The
Trees and the Master, by Sidney Lanier. Read from The Quest of John
Chapman, by Newell Dwight Hillis, and also from The Forest, by Stewart
Edward White.
CHAPTER XVIII
SHAKESPEARE
I--SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE STORY
1. _Parentage, childhood, youth, and education_. Description of
Stratford (with photographs).
2. _Shakespeare as an actor, manager, and playwright_. His friends; his
theater; his company.
3. _His marriage_.
4. _His later years_. Evidence from legal documents, etc.
5. _Appreciation_ of Shakespeare by his contemporaries and successors.
Discuss Browning's House as an estimate of Shakespeare's relation to his
own plays.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--William Winter: Shakespeare's England. Hamilton Mabie:
Shakespeare. Sidney Lee: Life of Shakespeare.
Read of the school at Stratford which Shakespeare attended, and show a
photograph. Have a selection from Irving's Sketch Book from Stratford on
Avon. Tell of Shakespeare's marriage, and have for a reading or
recitation, Anne Hathaway. Show pictures of the town, the museum, the
Shakespeare Theater, etc.
II--THE ENGLISH HISTORICAL PLAYS
1. _Richard II. and King John_--Analysis of plots, leading characters
and their traits. Readings from Richard II.: Act v., Scene 1. King John:
Act iv., Scene 1 (beginning with Hubert's speech, "Heat me these irons
hot").
2. _Henry IV., Henry V., and Richard III._--Analysis of plots,
characters, and traits, as above. Readings from Henry IV.: Part II.,
Act. iv., Scene 5 (in part). Henry V.: Act v., Scene 2 (dialogue between
Henry and Katharine). Richard III.: first speech of Gloucester.
3. _Henry VI., and Henry VIII._--Analysis of plots, characters and
traits, as above. Readings from Henry VI.: Part I., Act iii., Scene 2
(conversation of Joan of Arc); also, Part III., Act ii., Scene 2. Henry
VIII.: Act iii., Scene 2 (last part, Cromwell and Wolsey); also, Act v.,
Scene 5.
4. _How Shakespeare Made His Historical Plays_--Describe the use he made
of Holinshed and older writers; the changes in plot and character due
to Shakespeare; the imaginary persons he introduced. Readings from
Holinshed.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hamilton Mabie: William Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist,
and Man. W. Aldis Wright: The Cambridge Shakespeare (introductions and
notes). Gollancz: The Temple Shakespeare (introductions and notes).
It will be interesting to take up the question how far these plays are
historically true; also their value to the common people as a means of
teaching them in a vivid way the history of their own country. How far
were they calculated to stimulate patriotism by the glorification of
England? Describe modern productions of these plays by Booth, Irving,
Mansfield, Sothern, etc. Tell the story of the first production of Henry
VIII., which caused the burning of the Globe Theater. (See Mabie's
Shakespeare, page 383.)
III--TYPICAL TRAGEDIES
1. _Hamlet_--The tragedy of the unbalanced mind. Source:
Saxo-Grammaticus. Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief
characters. Discussion of Hamlet's madness. Read Act i., Scenes 4 and 5;
Act iii., Scene 1, in part; Act v., Scene 2, latter part.
2. _King Lear_--The tragedy of filial ingratitude. Source: Holinshed.
Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters. The three
daughters as types. Read Act ii., Scene 4, enter Cornwall, Regan,
Gloster, etc.; Act iii., first four scenes; Act iv., Scene 7.
3. _Macbeth_--The tragedy of guilt. Source: Holinshed's Chronicles of
Scotland. Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters.
Reading of the story of Macbeth from Holinshed. Shakespeare's use of the
weird, illustrated by the witches. Feminine strength and masculine
weakness shown in Lady Macbeth and her husband. Read Act i., Scene 3;
Act v., Scene 1.
4. _Othello_--The tragedy of jealousy. Source: Cinthio's Hecatomithi.
Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters. Shakespeare
and Italy; local color. Novelty of the Moor as hero. Read Act iii.,
Scene 3, in part; Act v., Scene 2.
5. _Julius Cæsar_--The tragedy of ambition. Source: North's Translation
of Plutarch. Reading from this. Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the
chief characters. Admiration of Shakespeare for Cæsar, and frequent
reference to him. Read whole of Act iii., also Act iv., Scene 1.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Wood: Hamlet from a Psychological Point of View.
Brereton: Some Famous Hamlets. Hall Caine: Richard III. and Macbeth.
W. W. Skeat: Shakespeare's Plutarch.
Although every great tragedian has attempted the famous parts in
Shakespeare's tragedies, some have stood out conspicuously for their
interpretations. Study Kemble, Kean, Macready, Booth, Barrett, Irving,
and Mansfield; also, Mrs. Siddons, Helen Faucit, Charlotte Cushman and
Ellen Terry. Illustrate, if possible, with portraits in character, such
as Booth as Hamlet, Mansfield as Cæsar, and Terry as Ophelia.
IV--TYPICAL COMEDIES
1. _The Taming of the Shrew_--An Italian play. Source in an older
English play. Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters.
Contrast between Katharine and Bianca. Read Act ii., Scene 1 (the
dialogue between Katharine and Petruchio) and Act v., Scene 2.
2. _Twelfth Night_--Source: Bandello. Synopsis of the plot and analysis
of the chief characters. Imaginative setting of the play in Illyria.
Shakespeare's sense of fun. Rude humor of the time. Read Act ii., Scene
3, latter part.
3. _The Merry Wives of Windsor_--No definite source. Materials in
Stratford life. Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief
characters. A purely English play. The Falstaff of history compared with
Shakespeare's representation of him. Falstaff here and elsewhere in
Shakespeare. Note the possibility of the origin of this play in a
request of Queen Elizabeth. Read Act iii., Scene 3.
4. _The Comedy of Errors_--Source: the Menæchmi of Plautus. Synopsis of
the plot and analysis of the chief characters. Read Act v., Scene 1
(from "enter a servant" on).
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hudson: The Harvard Shakespeare (introductions and
notes). Lang: Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. List of Songs by
Shakespeare set to Music: the New Shakespeare Society.
V--PLAYS OF SENTIMENT
1. _Romeo and Juliet_--Source: William Painter's Palace of Pleasure.
Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters. Essentially
lyrical quality of this play. Compare Ophelia and Juliet. Read Act ii.,
Scene 2. Reading from A Study of Romeo in J. J. Chapman's Emerson and
Other Essays.
2. _As You Like It_--Source: Lodge's Rosalynde. Synopsis of the plot and
analysis of the chief characters. Note the part of Adam, which
Shakespeare played himself. Compare Juliet and Rosalind. Read Act ii.,
Scene 4, and Act iii., Scene 2. Readings from Hamilton Mabie's In the
Forest of Arden and William Winter's Old Shrines and Ivy.
3. _The Merchant of Venice_--Source: the Italian Tale, Il Pecorone.
Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief characters. Discuss the
question, Who is the hero of the drama? Read from Act iii., Scene 2, and
Act iv., Scene 1 (Portia's plea). Reading from Philipson's The Jew in
English Fiction.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hiram Corson: Introduction to Shakespeare. Fleming:
How to Study Shakespeare. Dowden: Transcripts and Studies (for Romeo and
Juliet). Stopford Brooke: On Ten Plays of Shakespeare (for As You Like
It). Introductions to the several plays by Brandes, R. G. White and
Rolfe (popular).
The heroines of these plays are among the loveliest in Shakespeare. A
special paper might be prepared on them, illustrating it with their
famous speeches.
VI--PLAYS OF FANCY
1. _Midsummer Night's Dream_--Source: old tales (Petrarch, Ovid,
Chaucer, etc.). Synopsis of the plot and analysis of the chief
characters. An early play, full of sprightly gaiety. Splendid metrical
command. Influence on later literature and music (Faust, Oberon). Read
Act iii., Scene 1. Also the Pyramus and Thisbe part.
2. _Cymbeline_--Source: Boccaccio and Holinshed. Synopsis of the plot
and analysis of the chief characters. Serene temper with tragic element.
Fanciful geography. Read Act iv., Scene 2, through the song Fear No
More.
3. _Winter's Tale_--Source: Greene's Pandosto and the Decameron of
Boccaccio. Analysis of the plot and description of the chief characters.
List of Warwickshire flowers mentioned (Act iv., Scene 3). Discuss the
reason for the popularity of this play in Shakespeare's time and its
neglect now. Read Act iv., Scene 3, in part.
4. _The Tempest_--Source: almost entirely Shakespeare's own; very slight
dependence on materials. Analysis of the plot and description of the
chief characters. Probably Shakespeare's last play. Wreck of the
_Sea-Venture_ and description of Bermuda (see Mabie's Shakespeare). Note
Shakespeare's desertion of reality for fancy at the close of his career.
Read Act v., Scene 1.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Hudson: The Life, Art, and Character of Shakespeare.
Dowden: Shakespeare, His Mind and Art. The Arden Shakespeare:
introductions by Chambers, Wyatt, Boas, etc. Editions of the plays by
Rolfe, Brandes, and Hudson. Winter: Old Shrines and Ivy. Sherman: What
is Shakespeare? (chapters on Cymbeline and Winter's Tale). W. B.
Carpenter: Religious Spirit in the Poets (chapter on the Tempest).
As this is the last program in which Shakespeare's plays are taken up in
detail, the important subject might be discussed of the relation of the
plays to the author's own life and mental development. (See Dowden's
book.) Special study should be made of the exquisite songs in which the
last three plays are particularly rich. Hark, Hark, the Lark! and Fear
No More, from Cymbeline, Jog On and When Daffodils Begin, from Winter's
Tale, and Where the Bee Sucks, from the Tempest, should be sung or
read.
VII--SONNETS AND OTHER POEMS
1. _Venus and Adonis_--Early experiment in narrative verse. The story
founded on Ovid, with medieval alterations of the legend. Character of
the theme acceptable to the Renaissance spirit, but impossible to-day.
Correctness of the text.
2. _The Rape of Lucrece_--Story of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Legend
unaltered by the poet. Lucrece, the model of conjugal fidelity in the
Middle Ages. Who was the Earl of Southampton, to whom the poem was
dedicated? What did the other poets of Shakespeare's time think of these
early poems?
3. _Shorter Poems_--A Lover's Complaint, The Passionate Pilgrim, and The
Phoenix and the Turtle. Shakespeare's part in the second and his
indignation at the use of his name for the whole. The "unsolved enigma"
of the last.
4. _The Sonnets_--The origin of the sonnet form in Italy. The plan of
the series. Comparison of the collection with Wordsworth's sonnet
sequences, Mrs. Browning's Sonnets, and Tennyson's In Memoriam. The
problem of W. H. Read the Sonnets, 18, 22, 33, 116.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--W. J. Rolfe: Venus and Adonis, and Other Poems.
Sidney Lee: introductions to the several poems. Israel Gollanez:
Shakespeare's Sonnets. Edward Dowden: Shakespeare's Sonnets. Parke
Godwin: New Study of the Sonnets of Shakespeare.
The most interesting problem about the sonnets is whether or not they
are a revelation of Shakespeare's own experience and views of life, or
are wholly imaginative. On this point read from Wordsworth, Scorn Not
the Sonnet, and Browning's House, in which the two poets take opposite
views. For a full and most interesting discussion see Dowden's essay.
VIII--THE WOMEN OF SHAKESPEARE
1. _Introductory_--Variety of characters and pronounced individuality.
Different types represented. Not peculiar to his age, but timeless.
2. _The Women of Intellect_--Portia: the woman of wisdom and learning.
Is she Shakespeare's highest female type? Beatrice: the fine lady, of
wit and high spirits. Readings--Portia: the casket scene and the court
scene from the Merchant of Venice. Beatrice: first and last scenes from
Much Ado.
3. _The Women of Sentiment_--Juliet: woman of the South; romantic and
intense. Desdemona; woman of the North; modest, tender, self-restrained.
Readings--Juliet: Act iii., Scenes 2 and 5, of Romeo and Juliet.
Desdemona: Act iv., Scene 2, of Othello.
4. _The Women of Imagination_--Perdita: simplicity, dignity, and
sweetness. Miranda: ethereal, unsophisticated, and ideal.
Readings--Perdita: Act iv., Scene 4 (the shepherd's cottage), of the
Winter's Tale. Miranda: Act i., Scene 2 (the island), of the Tempest.
5. _The Women of History_--Lady Macbeth: power of intellect,
determination, devotion to her husband's career. Princess Katharine:
charming and coquettish. Readings--Lady Macbeth: Act i., Scene 8, from
Macbeth. Katharine: Act v., Scene 2 (beginning "Fair Katharine"), from
Henry V.
6. _Women of Various Types_--Illustrative readings from As You Like It
(Rosalind), Hamlet (Ophelia), King Lear (Cordelia), Taming of the Shrew
(Katharine).
BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. Dowden: Transcripts and Studies. L. Lewes: Women of
Shakespeare. Mrs. A. B. Jameson: Characteristics of Women. Wingate:
Shakespeare's Heroines on the Stage.
The club members could add interest to this meeting by recalling the
famous actresses they may have seen, and comparing their presentations
of Shakespeare's women. For example, Mary Anderson as Juliet, Ada Rehan
as Katharine, Ellen Terry as Portia, Modjeska as Rosalind, and Julia
Marlowe as Ophelia.
IX--SHAKESPEREAN PROBLEMS
1. _His Personality_--How much education had Shakespeare? Did he reveal
himself in his plays? What were his personal characteristics?
2. _Characteristics of His Work_--Did he plagiarize? If so, was he
justified? Was his meaning always clear to himself? See Richard Grant
White on this point. Is his broad humor defensible? Discuss Taine's
criticism on this point.
3. _Estimate of Shakespeare in His Own and Later Times_--What did his
contemporaries think of him? Why was he ignored in the later seventeenth
century? Quote from great writers on Shakespeare: Coleridge, Goethe,
Swinburne, etc.
4. _The Bacon-Shakespeare Controversy_--Origin: story of Delia Bacon's
life. Is there a cipher in Shakespeare? Quotation of learned opinion on
both sides.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Emerson: Essays. E. Dowden: Essays, Modern and
Elizabethan. Arthur Gilman: Shakespeare's Morals. Ignatius Donnelly: The
Great Cryptogram. Charlotte Carmichael Stopes: Bacon-Shakespeare
Question Answered.
Have a talk on Shakespeare the historian. Is he trustworthy? Does he
give an accurate account of events or only reproduce general color? Have
a discussion on the character of Hamlet. Was he really mad? Did
Shakespeare intend so to represent him, or to leave the matter in doubt?
For those interested in such things, the subject of the early editions
of Shakespeare, and their relation to one another, is one of great
fascination. A description of the immensely costly collection recently
presented to the Elizabethan Club at Yale might be given.
X--FAMOUS PRESENTATIONS OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
1. _English_--Garrick, Charles Kean, Siddons, Charles Kemble, Lady
Faucit, Irving, Terry, Tree, Benson. Descriptions and anecdotes from
Boswell's Johnson, Charles Lamb's Essays, Fanny Burney's Diary, and
Ellen Terry's life.
2. _American_--Forrest, the elder and younger Booth, Barrett, Ada Rehan,
Mansfield, Sothern, and Marlowe.
3. _The Theater at Stratford-on-Avon_--Description of it with views.
Story of some of the famous presentations given there. Differences
between these and those of Shakespeare's own time.
4. _Discussion of the Question of Stage Settings_--Was that of
Shakespeare's time better, with no scenery, and all the effect lying in
the meaning of the lines; or is the method of to-day preferable with its
elaborate, costly, and spectacular scenery and stage effects? Describe
the change in stage ideas due to the invention of the electric light.
5. _Description of Plays Seen_--Brief statements by the club members of
the Shakespearean representations they have witnessed, with an analysis
of their impressions of plays and of actors.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Sidney Lee: Shakespeare and the Modern Stage. Percy
Fitzgerald: Shakespearean Representation: Its Laws and Limits. Percy
Fitzgerald: Romance of the English Stage. C. E. L. Wingate:
Shakespeare's Heroes on the Stage. Also, Heroines.
Prepare in advance of this meeting a screen with old play-bills and
photographs of famous actors, Forrest, Kean, Booth and others. Read
from newspaper files the dramatic criticisms of the plays presented.
Describe some of the famous theaters of America in past and present
times. Close with a discussion of the personal attitude of the club
members toward Shakespeare's plays as compared with those written
to-day. Is there a Shakespearean affectation?
CHAPTER XIX
THE EMPLOYMENTS OF WOMEN
In arranging a year's program from this outline, have several meetings
on the older occupations of women before bringing the study down to
present times, when the work becomes more varied. The first five topics
may be made very interesting if there are readings from histories of the
Middle Ages on the work of women at that time. Where possible, clubs
should make trips to museums or libraries and examine work exhibited
there.
I--POTTERY
Making clay pots for household use is one of the first things women did.
They took ordinary earth, moulded it roughly, and baked it in their
domestic fires until it would hold water and food. Such pots are found
everywhere where there are ancient remains, among the lake dwellers in
Switzerland, among Egyptians and Greeks, and in the ruins in Mexico.
Later, men took this work largely to themselves, and kept it until our
own day, when women have begun to make beautiful pottery, glazed and
decorated. Show pictures from catalogues of such potteries as the
Rookwood and others, and mention also the good work that is done
privately and fired in small kilns.
II--SPINNING AND WEAVING
Begin the study of this delightful topic back in the earliest times, and
show how step by step it advanced. Woolen and linen fabrics were made by
the ancients, and dyed with vegetable colors, for clothing and for
hangings. Notice the tapestries of later days, especially those first
woven in Flanders and Arras, which were so valuable they were used only
by royalty or in churches. Have a paper on tapestry made at home, in
castles, and even in royal residences, by the household of women. Speak
also of the work done in Colonial days by our grandmothers, of the linen
sheets and blankets spun and woven, and of the beautiful blue-and-white
coverlets of the period. Show some of the latter, if possible. Read from
the book called Tapestry and Embroidery, by Cole.
III--EMBROIDERY
Almost as soon as skins were made into garments the art of decoration
was discovered, and feathers and shells were sewed to them in patterns,
and stitches taken with colored fibers, grasses, and shreds of wool. The
primitive tribes of Indians, especially in South America, use exactly
the same methods to-day. Embroidery was always distinctly women's work,
men never sharing in it as they did in making pottery. In Egypt,
Assyria, and among the Jews it became much more elaborate and artistic.
Tyre and Sidon were noted for their beautiful work. Homer describes
embroidered garments among the Greeks; Roman women wore showy colored
borders on their skirts and scarfs.
In the early Middle Ages ecclesiastical embroidery, done largely in gold
and silver threads, was known in Europe, and much exquisite work of the
kind was done in the convents. Matilda, the wife of William the
Conqueror, and her women made the famous Bayeux tapestry, which was
really embroidery.
The embroidery of the Orient, especially that of China and India, is
famous, though this is not done exclusively by women. Mention the
originality of the patterns used, the brilliance of the silk, and the
permanence of the colors. Note also the lovely white embroidery done by
the French and other nations.
IV--LACE-MAKING
This art grew out of that of embroidery, for the thin parts of the
latter were cut out, leaving the effect of heavy, colored lace. A book
was published in 1527, called The New and Subtile Book Concerning the
Art and Science of Embroidery, Fringes, and Tapestries, as Well as Other
Crafts Done with the Needle, and in this book there are patterns for
lace. The Venetians first mastered the making of white lace with the
needle, and produced heavy, effective designs. Under Louis XIV. delicate
lace was made in France, especially that called Valençon. Pillow-lace
made with bobbins was invented by a woman in Saxony about the middle of
the sixteenth century.
Have papers on the laces peculiar to different countries, and show
examples or pictures of them. English thread in white and black; Spanish
silk, hand-run; Irish crochet; Valenciennes, and others. See Palliser's
History of Lace for description and illustrations. If possible, visit a
museum which has a collection of laces; there is an excellent one in the
Metropolitan, of New York. Study also the conditions under which the
laces are made, the lives of lace-workers, and the prices received by
them for their work.
V--BASKET-WEAVING
Like the making of pottery, the weaving of baskets goes back to the very
earliest times. Women soon learned how to twist together osiers or twigs
and make them into receptacles for household use. As time went on,
baskets became more beautiful and artistic, and all nations, but
particularly those of the Orient, made them in delicate materials and
lovely designs. Often savage peoples will be found who excel in
basketry. Notice especially the baskets made by the North American
Indian women, and see the book on Basketry, by G. W. James, which is
full of illustrations.
VI--MODERN HANDICRAFT FOR WOMEN
Have club members make as many programs from the subjects following as
they desire, and illustrate them as far as possible with examples of
the work. Take up also the schools where designing is taught, and tell
what is done there. Note the growth of all designing work for women;
bookbinding; jewelry-making; stenciling; making of furniture; bead-work;
knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, and patchwork; rug-making; work
in leather and wood; china-painting; work in plaster.
VII--WOMEN IN THE PROFESSIONS AND ARTS
Clubs should have papers on each one of the following representative
women, showing what they accomplished. In addition there might be a
study of the women of to-day who are doing good work on similar lines.
In astronomy, Caroline Herschel; in music, Fanny Mendelssohn; in
philanthropy, Elizabeth Fry or Florence Nightingale; in painting, Rosa
Bonheur or Elizabeth Thompson Butler; in sculpture, Harriet Hosmer; in
education, Mary Lyon; in the lecture field, Mary A. Livermore; on the
stage, Charlotte Cushman or Rachel; as poet, Mrs. Browning; as novelist,
George Eliot.
Add to this list some names of women who are doctors, lawyers,
ministers, editors, teachers, and nurses. See Lives of Girls Who Became
Famous Women, by Sarah K. Bolton.
VIII--WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Have one or more practical papers showing what women have done and can
do in the field of every-day work. The Trained Mother might come first,
and then Woman as Housekeeper. After that take her as teacher,
governess, stenographer, saleswoman, dressmaker and milliner, caterer,
landscape-gardener, architect, dairy-woman, real-estate dealer,
house-decorator, and buyer. Follow with a paper or talk showing what can
be done in unusual ways to earn one's living; keeping a tea-room,
shopping, caring for children, mending, packing, preserving, and
embroidering.
IX--SUMMARY
Close the year with a broad view of the whole subject. What about
woman's work in general? Is it well done and well paid? What of factory
work, domestic service, and work in shops? Under what conditions is such
work done? What of the question of equal pay? What of the "living
wage"? What is being done for working girls? Do settlements, vacation
homes, and the like meet their needs? Read Olive Schreiner's Woman and
Labor.
CHAPTER XX
IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS OF OUR TIMES
Sufficient material is given under each of the following ten heads for
clubs to divide into two or more meetings.
I--THE PEACE MOVEMENT
The first Peace Society was founded in New York, in 1815. A second was
organized six months later in Boston and the following year a third in
London. The first International Peace Congress was held in 1843, in
London. From that time till the present, many congresses have been held
all over the world, and Peace Societies exist everywhere, forty in
America alone.
The object of all societies is to so establish an orderly state of
affairs that war shall be impossible. The consular and diplomatic
services work along these lines, and advocate treaties between nations.
The gradual reduction of standing armies and navies is also one of the
aims of the movement.
The Hague Tribunal was established in 1899, to adjust differences
between nations who cannot settle them for themselves. Between that year
and 1912 one hundred and sixty-seven such settlements were made.
The gift of $10,000,000 by Andrew Carnegie and the bestowal of the Nobel
Prize have put the Peace Movement on so secure a financial basis that
its future is assured.
Read the reports of the great Peace Conference in New York in 1907, and
select readings from its addresses. See also Chittenden's book, Peace or
War.
Clubs will find it worth while to preface this study with one meeting on
War. Speak of the cost of standing armies and navies, of loss of life in
great battles, of military schools, of compulsory military service.
Discuss: Is war ever necessary?
II--WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE
1. The movement in the past. Briefly sketch the history of woman in
early times, in the Middle Ages, and later, to the present. Notice that
the modern movement may be said to have begun when in 1647 Mary Brent,
the representative of Lord Baltimore, demanded a seat in the
representative body of Maryland. In the middle of the last century such
women as Margaret Fuller, Lydia Maria Child, Lucretia B. Mott, Susan B.
Anthony, Emma Willard, Mary Putman Jacobi and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
became the leaders of the Woman's Rights party, and the first convention
was held in New York state, in 1846. Give sketches of these and other
women; tell of the demands they made, and the result of the convention.
On what did the suffrage party base its claims?
2. The movement to-day. Have a paper or talk on the conditions in
Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, Finland, Scotland,
Ireland and Wales, and last, on England, called "The storm center."
What of our country? Which states have equal suffrage, and how does it
work? What especial questions are of vital interest to women, and how
will they be aided by the vote?
What of woman's physical and mental ability to handle political issues?
What of such work as that of soldier, sailor, worker on roads, in
sewers, on the police and fire boards?
What of her relation to her home if equal suffrage is granted?
Name some of the women in England and America who are especially leaders
in the movement, and tell of their position and work.
See books and magazine articles by Jane Addams, Ida Tarbell and Mrs. Ida
Husted Harper. See also: The Modern Woman's Rights Movement, by
Schirmacher.
III--THE PROHIBITION MOVEMENT
Prohibition is an attempt to abolish the manufacture and sale of
alcoholic liquors, except for purposes of industry, science, art and
medicine. It declares that the capital now in the liquor traffic would,
if invested in legitimate business, give employment to hundreds of
thousands of men. It would promote commerce, protect labor, preserve
health, conserve the interests of home and state. It would prevent
cruelty, pauperism, disease and crime.
The movement for prohibition was merely local until 1851, when the Neal
Dow law was passed, making Maine a prohibition state. The nation and
state also combined at this time to prevent the sale of liquor to the
Indians. At the close of the Civil War new conditions arose; German
beer was imported, and huge breweries and distilleries were built at
home. Numerous states then took up the matter of prohibition, and many
have had laws passed prohibiting manufacture and sale of all
intoxicants, most of them repealed or declared unconstitutional.
In Ohio there was a remarkable movement called the Women's Crusade which
is worthy of study. Mention some of the leaders; study also the careers
of John B. Gough, and Frances Willard.
South Dakota was admitted to the Union as a prohibition state; Kansas
and Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska have prohibition also, and some states
have local option by counties or towns; cities in many parts of the
country have it by precincts.
The history of the political Prohibition Party is a subject to be taken
up by itself. Mention its prominent leaders, their methods and the
results of the campaigns.
Discuss: Would enforced prohibition be beneficial to the state? Is local
option a success? Is there open violation of the law in prohibition
states? What of the legislative work of the Anti-Saloon League?
IV--MODERN MEDICINE AND SURGERY
The new day in medicine and surgery began, when, in 1846 ether was
discovered, and chloroform a year later, and Warren, in the
Massachusetts General Hospital, popularized them. All operations,
however, were still attended with danger because of infection, till
Pasteur discovered the dangerous bacteria and Lister invented
sterilization. Then modern methods really began.
The field of possible operations at once widened; surgeons began to have
better operating rooms, more scientific preparation of patients before
operations and better dressings and care afterward. Not only antiseptic
but aseptic treatment became known. New anesthetics, and local ones have
been found; the use of oxygen and electricity have been beneficial; the
X-ray has been discovered and put to practical use.
Great sums of money have been set aside for research work, and new
serums have been found of enormous benefit to the public. Scientists are
looking for the germs of many diseases, and for their antidotes.
Wonderful new operations are full of interest; note especially the
transfusion of blood, and the preservation of tissue and transplanting
of living organs.
Have other papers on: the specialist as the supplanter of the general
practitioner; the new relation between medicine and hygiene; the
relation of the old family physician to his patients; the work of the
Red Cross Society, and the widespread knowledge of first aid to the
injured. What are the possibilities of the near future in medicine and
surgery? What in research work?
V--MODERN MOVEMENTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
Boards of Health in the state and community exist for the purpose of
controlling and repressing agencies which would undermine the health of
the people. Their work is far-reaching, but it may be grouped under the
following heads:
1. The care of the water supply is among its most important functions;
it must protect it from its source to the homes of the consumers,
overseeing all sewers, cesspools and drainage. It must also see that the
supply of ice is pure. It undertakes to care for all roads and
sidewalks, and their proper lighting. It is responsible for the
construction of buildings, as to safety, ventilation, plumbing and
draining.
2. It also insists on its notification of all disease and attends to
quarantining and disinfecting; it vaccinates; it fights tuberculosis; it
removes the sick to the proper place; it sees that the dead are properly
handled; it keeps a record of vital statistics.
3. It has an oversight of food supplies; it insists that the milk is
pure and carefully handled; it prevents the adulteration of foodstuffs
and drugs; it stops the sale of stale or unwholesome foods; it demands
clean slaughter houses; it sees that all dangerous animals are shut up
or killed, and dead ones removed from the streets; it prohibits
unpleasant odors, and smoke; it tries to do away with all public
nuisances; it seeks to exterminate the mosquitoes.
These topics may be taken up as far as time allows. Discuss in closing
such questions as: What does our local Board of Health do for us? Where
does it fail? What can women's clubs do to make it more effective?
VI--MODERN IMPROVEMENTS IN CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
One of the most important of recent events is the establishing by the
government of a Federal Children's Bureau, for the expert study of the
conditions of childhood, and suggestions for its betterment. This
included among other things, the outlook over their education.
The new school-houses built both in city and country are finer than have
existed before, and the ideas of education are widening daily. Clubs
should take up some of the following subjects:
The health of school children; what is being done to improve it? Study
the new sanitation and ventilation of school-houses; the disappearance
of the common drinking cup; the doctor's care of eyes, teeth, throats,
spines and ears; the supply of breakfasts to the under fed; the
out-of-door schools for tubercular pupils; the training in cleanliness.
The vocational schools in thirty states, with manual training, domestic
arts, industrial work and agriculture. Also vocational guidance in
choosing a business; finding situations, etc. The schools for
exceptional children, the foreigner, the backward, the crippled, the
blind, the epileptic, the morally defective.
The Montessori system; is it successful? Compare with the kindergarten.
The training in patriotism; saluting the flag; birthdays of great men,
etc.
The graded country school of to-day; compare with "the little red
school-house." School play grounds in city and country. Gymnasiums.
Athletic fields. Close with a discussion: What is the standing of your
local school? Do teacher and parent work together? Is the school board
doing its best?
VII--MODERN MUNICIPAL ART
Municipal art, is art applied to cities. Its aim is to build up an
entire city with a view to symmetry, beauty and utility.
An Art Commission is appointed when a city decides to become beautiful,
and this draws up a far-reaching plan. Then all buildings put up must
conform to this, and nothing can be done at haphazard. Slums must
disappear, and model tenements take their place; streets must be cut
through congested districts to relieve them; business blocks must not be
over-high; inartistic public buildings and monuments must give way to
others; parks must be opened, trees planted along the streets, and
boulevards laid out. See what Chicago and Minneapolis have accomplished
in making themselves over.
Discuss foreign cities which are symmetrical, notably Paris and Berlin;
speak of our own capital, Washington, D. C.; show pictures of
well-lighted streets, of a good skyline; of superior paving. Show
pictures also of objectionable street advertising; electric signs;
alternate high and low buildings, ornate court-houses; ugly statues.
From the different magazines get illustrations of the "Garden Cities of
England," and other beautiful towns. Notice what can be done with
different building materials, and with vines and flower boxes on a city
residence street.
Discuss the sky scraper; is it necessary? What of apartment houses? of
elevated railroads? of disfiguring gas works, chimneys, manufactories?
What can women's clubs do toward making the home city beautiful?
See C. M. Robinson's The Improvement of Towns and Cities.
VIII--MODERN BENEVOLENCE
More money is given away to-day than ever before in the history of the
world. It is called "the era of magnificent giving." Two hundred
million dollars is spent in benevolence yearly in the United States
alone, and it is estimated that in ten or fifteen years from two to four
billions will be given annually. Old methods are passing away, and new
ones taking their place. The subject of modern giving is one of immense
importance.
Clubs should introduce the study with a résumé of benevolences in the
past; gifts to hospitals, asylums, colleges, libraries, art galleries,
museums, missions and other institutions; then take up more recent
giving to such things as model tenements, homes for tubercular,
settlements, institutional churches, homes for working women, the Mills
hotels, trade and technical schools, homes for convalescents, seaside
homes for children, pensions for professors; modern schools for the
blind, the crippled, the orphan, teaching self support. Notice that the
trend of giving to-day is toward prevention of suffering as well as its
cure.
Great gifts to-day are largely in favor of science. Note the great
medical research laboratories in New York, and what they already
accomplished; also the endowment for individuals on special lines in
which they show marked ability. Study what is being done by
legislatures in establishing laws about bequests, their trusteeship, and
time limitations, and the new theory that no gift should be bestowed
without the possibility of change, since in twenty years conditions
alter. What of making and breaking wills? of funds left for institutions
which may not be always needed? of protection to society through state
boards, etc.?
Read the article on Giving in _The Survey_, December 28, 1912, which
discusses the various phases of modern giving.
IX--MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY LIFE
Clubs may divide this subject into two heads, and have several programs
on each.
1. The farmer. After years of obscurity, the life of the farmer has
suddenly become of immense importance to society. To-day the Bureau of
Agriculture and other forces are rapidly changing its future. State
fairs, granges, courses of instruction for men and women in
school-houses, and "farmer's bulletins" give instruction; experiment
stations deal with such difficulties as weeds, soils, drainage, and
pests, and teach scientifically about cattle, poultry, bee keeping,
crops, and the dairy. Public and high schools, colleges and
universities have courses in agriculture, which teach beside the
ordinary farm work, forestry, how to have good roads, how to take up
unusual work.
The telephone, the automobile and the parcel post all bring the farmer
nearer town. Speak also of the Commission on Country Life, and its work;
of abandoned farms; of the farmer's wife, and her problems; of the
farmer's sons and daughters, and their future. How can life be made more
easy and attractive on a farm?
2. Country Homes. Notice the extraordinary growth of the country home
for all the year, instead of for summer only. What are its difficulties
and what its advantages? Read of large estates, and describe some in the
Adirondacks, in the vicinity of Boston, New York, in the South, and
West; illustrate with pictures from magazines. Have a paper on Gardens,
and describe some; read from the many books on this subject. Take up
landscape gardening, and discuss its possibilities. What of country
sports? of golf, tennis, hunting, motoring, etc.? of bungalows, camps,
seashore cottages, etc.? of country lanes, of game preserves, forest
parks and the like. Speak of the enormous literature on country life.
X--SOCIAL SERVICE
Social service is of distinctly modern growth. It is the intelligent
understanding of the needs of to-day and of the best way to meet them.
Clubs should study it under some or all of these heads:
Read of the Schools of Philanthropy, where modern methods of relief are
taught, and the workers are trained for service in some branch; and the
American Institute of Social Service, the object of which is the
gathering and disseminating of information on all social thought and
service. The latter publishes monthly a pamphlet on present day problems
which is excellent for reference.
Discuss welfare work, the care of employers for employees; what has been
done? the ventilation of work rooms; safe machinery; pensions,
insurance, hospital, savings bank, care of sick at home, food, etc.
Settlements; their origin and history; what can neighborliness do for
the poor? Read of the work of Toynbee Hall and Hull House.
The Juvenile Courts; their origin and work. The Big Brother and Big
Sister movement.
Work for the defective; for paupers; insane; consumptives; idle.
Prisons, and modern prison reform.
For children; crêches; free kindergartens; seaside homes; floating
hospitals; pure milk and ice.
Relief of congestion in cities; parks and playgrounds; recreation piers.
Legal Aid societies and help for the aliens; legislation on women's and
children's labor.
The Charity Organization societies; nursing of poor; relief of want.
Education; moving pictures; music; open-air Christmas trees; free
beaches, etc.
For references see The Gospel of the Kingdom, published by the American
Institute of Social Service, and _The Survey_.
CHAPTER XXI
THE STUDY OF CHILDHOOD
I--THE BABY
1. _The Baby's Welcome to the Home_--The mother's anticipation; the
brothers' and sisters' anticipation; the intelligent mother: study of
modern methods.
2. _The Baby's Environment_--The wardrobe; the hygienic nursery; the
atmosphere of cheerfulness.
3. _The Baby's Physical Development_--The handicapped child (nerves,
temper, defects); food; sleep; the out-of-door sleeping-room; the child
and the doctor.
4. _Reading_ from The Luxury of Children, by Martin.
_Books to Consult_--Oppenheim: The Development of the Child. S. H. Rowe:
The Physical Nature of the Child and How to Study It.
Begin the discussion of the day with a paper on the Modern Science of
Eugenics: How Far is It Practical? Have a Talk on the Spoiled Baby,
over-fed, over-amused, over-indulged; contrast with one on The Normal
Baby. Close with readings or recitations on Babyhood, poems from Eugene
Field, Stevenson, and others.
II--SCHOOL
1. _The Kindergarten_--Its value to manners. Is it a good preparation
for later work?
2. _The Public School_--Training children to regular habits of study.
Dealing with individual difficulties. Desk-mates. Moral influence of
child on child.
3. _Parent and Teacher_--Relations of interest and friendship. Mutual
suggestions. The backward child.
4. _The School and Health_--Sanitation of the school. Danger of
contagion (the individual drinking-cup, etc.). Watchfulness over sight
and hearing. The out-of-doors school.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Herbert Spencer: Education. Luther Burbank: Training
of the Human Plant. J. Mark Baldwin: Mental Development in the Child and
the Race. G. Stanley Hall: Aspects of Child Life and Education. Irving
King: Psychology of Child Development.
The school life of the child should be discussed from the standpoint of
both parent and teacher. The watchful care over the child's morals is an
important topic. The child's home work, how much should be done; and at
what hours, is a subject for discussion. The school dress of little
girls, the tidiness of both boys and girls, school lunches, the plays of
the noon-hour, are all suggestive. Beautifying the school-room with
pictures, casts and flowers may well be considered.
III--PLAY AND PLAYMATES
1. _The Place of Play in Child Life_--The development of body and mind
in infancy, childhood, and youth. Intelligent direction of play by
parents and teachers. Cultivation of originality.
2. _Outdoor Play_--The building instinct: the sand-pile, miniature
houses, practical play-houses, camps. Plays of imagination: Indians,
pirates, hunters. Athletic games.
3. _Indoor Play_--Contests of intelligence and skill. Group games:
anagrams, twenty questions, etc. Manual and educational plays.
4. _Playmates_--The parents' control. Ethics of play: honesty, courage,
honor, etc. Moral and social training of play.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Karl Groos: Play in Man. Newell: Games of American
Children. Gomme: Children's Singing Games. Leland: Playground Technique
and Playcraft.
Discuss the value of letting boys and girls grow up together as
playmates. Athletic games for girls is also a good topic to take up.
Play-rooms for children, with suggestions for the decoration of walls,
treatment of floors, and furnishings may be discussed. Sunday plays for
small children will be found full of interest. The growth of the
provision for play for city children is treated in many magazines of
recent date, with illustrations of playgrounds, garden spots,
roof-gardens and the like.
IV--DISCIPLINE
1. _The Trained Parent_--Preparation for parenthood. Character and
knowledge. Discussion of helpful books.
2. _The Normal Child_--The faults to be expected: forgetfulness, lack of
cleanliness, lack of promptness, temper, etc. How shall we deal with the
ordinary faults?
3. _Special Faults_--Disobedience, obstinacy, lack of self-control,
dishonesty, lying. Discrimination as to seriousness. How far is
imagination responsible for falsehood?
4. _Punishments_--Discuss the question: Is physical punishment ever
allowable? Consider Abbott's theory of gentle measures. Fitting the
punishment to the offense. The child's sense of justice. When are
punishments outgrown?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Jacob Abbott: Gentle Measures in the Management and
Training of the Young. E. H. Abbott: On the Training of Parents. G.
Stanley Hall: Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene.
V--MORAL TRAINING
1. _The Ideal of the Parent for the Child_--Necessity of a definite plan
in the parent's mind. Discussion of books that have helped.
2. _Methods of Training_--Story-telling and reading aloud. Books for the
child. The value of hero-worship.
3. _The Contagion of Character_--Childhood's keen vision. Force of
example versus reproof. The child as partner in the home work.
4. _Special Training_--Truthfulness. Chivalry and the spirit of honor.
Purity. How shall the mystery of sex be taught to a child?
Unselfishness.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Felix Adler: Moral Instruction of Children. C. C.
Everett: Ethics for Young Folks. W. T. Harris: Moral Education in the
Public Schools. Horace Bushnell: Views of Christian Nurture.
The department of child-study most discussed to-day is that of sex
education, and club women should certainly take it up. Consider its
necessity, the age at which instruction should begin, and the person who
should give it, the teacher scientifically, or the parent at home.
VI--MANNERS
1. _Manners at Home_--Table manners. How early should they be taught,
and how? Self-control. Modesty. Consideration for servants and
tradespeople. Courtesy to elders.
2. _Manners to Playmates_--Teasing and bullying. Must our boys fight?
Should tale-bearing be encouraged? The spirit of honor and generosity.
Courtesy between children.
3. _Society Manners_--Definite training in social conventions. The place
of the dancing-school. The value of children's parties.
4. _The Relation of Manners and Morals_--Are American manners
deteriorating? The teaching of manners by historic stories. Sympathy,
the foundation of courtesy. Self-restraint, the essence of manners and
morals.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gow: Good Morals and Gentle Manners. Wiggin: Lessons
on Manners. Dewey: How to Teach Manners in the School-room.
A talk may follow the first paper, pointing out that kind treatment of
animals, especially of pets, tends to teach children gentleness,
sympathy, and consideration. A little paper might take up the subject of
the modern ideals of manners.
VII--OCCUPATIONS
1. _Reading_--Direction by parents and librarians. To how much liberty
in taste and choice is a child entitled? Lists of good books for
children. Discussion: What good books can we suggest? What books shall
we avoid: poorly written, over-sentimental, and with low ideals.
2. _Gardening_--The children's plot. Flowers and vegetables. Household
rewards. Competition and prizes. The autumn exhibition. Children's books
about gardening. Gardens for city children.
3. _Care of Fowls and Animals_--Moral value: sense of responsibility,
kindness, practical sense. Raising of fowls for market. Ownership of
animals: the lamb, the colt, the calf, the pig.
4. _Household Work_--Value of the regular task in teaching system,
order, and punctuality. Housework for boys: care of rooms, cooking, and
kitchen work. For girls: the normal routine made attractive. Reading
from Blessed Be Drudgery, by Gannett and Jones.
5. _Handicraft_--The children's workroom and its furnishing. Work in
wood, metal, plaster, and leather. Drawing, painting, embroidery, etc.
6. _Music_--Should all children be taught to play and sing?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gertrude Jekyll: Children and Gardens. Holton and
Kimball: Games, Seat Work, and Sense Training Exercises. R. K. Row:
Educational Meaning of Manual Arts and Industries.
Prepare in advance a discussion on the subject of children's earning
money. Should they be paid for doing daily household duties, or not?
Does earning money tend to make boys mercenary? Take up also occupations
for invalid children and convalescents, and notice that handicraft is
better than games for these.
VIII--THE CHILD AND MONEY
1. _Sources of Supply_--Gifts, earnings, and prizes.
2. _The Question of the Allowance_--At what age should a child have an
allowance? What should it cover? How much liberty should a child have in
using it?
3. _Lessons in the Use of Money_--Spending. Saving. Giving.
4. _Benevolent Tendencies_--How to cultivate the spirit. How to divide
the money given. The chief objects to which to give.
5. _The Ethical View_--Responsibility for property. Honesty in
acquiring, wisdom in using, generosity in giving.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--C. B. Burrell: The Mother's Book. J. W. Jenks: Life
Questions for High School Boys. Julia W. Dewey: Lessons on Morals.
This is considered a mercenary age, and a discussion may be prepared on
such subjects as these: How shall we keep our boys from becoming either
extravagant or mercenary? How may our girls be taught to understand the
value of money? What ought to be the relative emphasis on money in our
home life?
IX--THE CHILD AND RELIGION
1. _The Beginning of Religious Training_--Prayers for children to use.
Telling Bible stories. The children's grace at table. Children's
questions about God and heaven: how shall they be answered?
2. _The Child and the Church_--The Sunday-school kindergarten and
primary class. Suitable hymns for children. Children's societies. At
what age should a child begin to attend church service?
3. _Sunday Hours at Home_--Need of cheerfulness and common sense. Sunday
occupations: Sunday books, Sunday toys and games. Dramatizing Old
Testament stories. Sunday, the father's opportunity. The twilight hour
of song.
4. _The Age of Development_--Intellectual expansion and doubt. How shall
we deal with this phase? The time of critical decision. How much
influence should the parent exert?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--George Albert Coe: Education in Religion and Morals.
George Hodges: Training of Children in Religion. Sir Oliver J. Lodge:
Parent and Child. E. D. Starbuck: The Psychology of Religion. E. P.
Saint John: Stories and Story Telling. Horace Bushnell: Christian
Nurture.
The Sunday-night supper should have a large place in the life of the
home. The children may prepare it alone or with slight assistance, and
it will be found an excellent way of interesting them if they tire of
the long afternoon. The subject of the memorizing of Scriptural passages
and of hymns may be discussed, and personal experiences on this line may
be given.
X--MODERN CHILD STUDY
1. _The New Movement and Its Breadth_--Interest among physicians,
teachers, clergymen, psychologists, and parents. Some reference to the
vast literature, encyclopedias, etc. Discussion of helpful books.
2. _Physical_--Study of food values for the individual baby and the
growing child. Fresh air and sleeping outdoors. The outdoor
kindergarten. Sensible clothing. Gymnastics for deficiencies.
3. _Mental_--Care against overstimulation. Interesting diaries of
development. Coöperation between teacher and parent. Studying the
child's individuality. Books for successive ages. Private versus public
schools. What is an ideal education? Is it possible under ordinary
conditions?
4. _Moral and Religious_--How are morals best taught? Books that help
the parent and teacher. Individual problems (lying, etc.). Knowing our
neighbors' children, their character and influence.
5. _Practical Outcome_--Mothers' clubs. Magazines of child culture.
Increased place given to child life in the modern world. Are children
too prominent in the home life?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mrs. M. F. Washburn: Study of Child Life. M. P. E.
Groszmann: The Career of the Child. E. A. Kirkpatrick: Fundamentals of
Child Study. W. B. Drummond: The Child, His Nature and Nurture.
The subject of mothers' congresses may be discussed: Are they
practically helpful, or merely speculative? Present the topic of
institutions for children, homes and asylums for orphans, for the blind,
the crippled, the feeble-minded; also, children's courts and the Big
Brother movement. Discuss at this meeting the question of adopting
children.
CHAPTER XXII
MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
When clubs have serious subjects for their year's work, which require
considerable reading and the writing of substantial papers, it gives
variety to arrange the general program in such a way that a light
program comes between two heavy ones; or at least to have every third
meeting of quite different character from the rest.
Often clubs can invite a speaker from outside to take up most of the
hour; a traveller, a settlement worker, a college professor, an actor, a
journalist, a judge of a Children's Court, a student of bird life, all
have something worth while to contribute. Perhaps a writer will read
from his books; or a musician will sing or play, or an artist will tell
of life in the ateliers of Paris or Rome. Even in a small town one can
find some one who has a friend who will come and help in such ways, and
there is no better way to rouse interest in a club than to offer such
meetings occasionally.
Where it is impossible to provide anything of this kind, it is still a
good plan to have miscellaneous meetings from time to time; but there is
always the danger that these will be spoiled by having them consist of
odds and ends, a paper on one subject followed by another on something
which has no relation to the first, and perhaps a third which is still
further afield. It is best to have but one topic for each meeting, with
music if possible, and a social hour afterwards.
One of the best ways to begin a miscellaneous program is to take up
current events for ten minutes. It is possible to plan systematically
for these, so that one member is responsible for a report on foreign
affairs, wars or politics, or whatever is of national importance
anywhere; another for great scientific discoveries or important
inventions; a third, noteworthy music; a fourth, for the great book of
the hour; a fifth, for anything of especial importance to women. No one
should write these brief outlines, but merely give them informally. The
material can be found by following the daily papers, or looking up
articles in review magazines.
Clubs which study a historical or literary subject often find it
interesting to begin these miscellaneous programs with a roll-call,
members answering to their names with quotations from the authors of the
period, or from one author alone. There are books of quotation which
give the best short lines for such recitations, and one gets a good, if
brief idea of writers in this way.
As to the matter of miscellaneous programs, the subjects should not be
too heavy and papers should not be too long or too seriously written.
Popular themes, the books of some well-known author, the magazines of
the day, a philanthropy, a brief study of a political figure, all work
out easily. Above all, whatever theme is selected, there should be a
discussion of the subject at the close of the meeting. Women do not
speak easily and naturally impromptu, and it is an immensely valuable
training to be obliged to present one's views clearly, concisely and to
the point before even a small audience, and even a short experience of
this kind in a club is of enormous assistance. If the subject of the
discussion is announced in advance members may prepare themselves to
take part.
I--A CENTURY OF DRESS
A very simple but most interesting program for one miscellaneous meeting
may be prepared on this theme. Divide it into three parts, having the
first paper on The Dress of Our Grandmothers; speak of its durability,
its simplicity, its lack of change from one season to another; mention
the bonnets, mitts, slippers, muffs and fans; illustrate with old prints
or fashion plate or illustrations from books of about 1820 and 1830.
The second paper would then be on The Dress of Our Mothers. This will
cover the periods of 1860, with its hoopskirts, its coalscuttle bonnets,
its shawls, worked collars, and cameo pins; 1871 too, should be
represented, with the tied back skirts, the small hats perched on
chignons, the ridiculous sunshades. Read Miss Flora McFlimsey at this
point.
The third paper would be on Our Own Dress, showing the extreme styles,
short, with scanty skirts and huge hats. Speak briefly of the sudden
change of styles and their causes, and the tendency to extravagance.
Discuss topics such as these: How far shall we follow the dictates of
fashion? How much of a woman's income should be spent for clothes? What
of our daughters' dress?
It will add to the interest of this program if the three papers are read
by members in the costumes of the times of which they speak, or if three
or four tableaux are shown illustrating the papers. Have little ballads
about dress sung if possible, the Old Grey Bonnet, the Owld Plaid Shawl,
and Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be? among others.
Several programs might easily be made from this outline; one, on Peasant
Dress, with illustrations from all countries; another on Colonial Dress;
a third on Quaker Dress. By using the dress of all nations and all
times, an entire year might be delightfully spent on the subject of
Women's Costumes.
II--EMERSON AND HIS TIMES
Clubs which prefer literary study will find this subject most
interesting, and like the previous one, capable of expansion into many
programs.
Begin with a roll-call, the responses being selections from Emerson's
prose and verse.
The first paper would be on his boyhood, his parents, his home life and
education, his marriage, his ministry, his quiet life in Concord.
The second paper would take up the friends so closely associated with
him, especially Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Thoreau, Longfellow and
Whittier. The story of Brook Farm may come in here, or have a special
paper by itself; close with his travels in England.
The last paper would be on Emerson's work as author and lecturer; of his
place in his own day; of what Englishmen thought of him, especially
Carlyle; of the influence of his essays on young men.
Have readings from prose and verse; read also from some estimates of him
by great writers. See A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson, by James Eliot
Cabot. Discuss, Is Emerson's place among philosophers what it was a
generation ago? Does the modern idea of social service find
encouragement in him? What was his attitude in regard to individualism?
III--CHILDREN AND BOOKS
This is one of the topics on which it would be interesting to have the
club invite some speaker, perhaps a librarian, to speak. She would
probably take up some of the following topics. The effect of the public
library for children of the poor, of their interest in it, their delight
in the warm, charming reading-room, their growth in personal cleanliness
as they learn to care for the books entrusted to them. Of what books
children draw from a library; of the reading of history, of fairy
stories, of poetry, of books of adventure. Definite and helpful
suggestions will be given for children who have books at home, of what
parents should give them to read, and how to interest them in good
literature.
If no speaker can be had for the meeting, divide these topics into two
or three papers, and have members write or speak on them.
Close with a discussion on these lines: What books have replaced the
Rollo Books, Little Prudy, and the Elsie Books? What of giving children
grown-up writers to read such as Shakespeare, Don Quixote, Mallory and
Bunyan? Does much reading of stories vitiate their taste for better
literature?
This program will be more delightful if songs about children are
interspersed; Eugene Field's verses set to music by De Koven are
admirable.
IV--MURAL PAINTING
In preparing this program look up in advance plenty of illustrations
from historical books on art and architecture, magazines of art, and
prints and photographs of famous examples, such as the Sistine Chapel.
The first paper will of course deal with the earliest form of mural
painting, found in Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. Describe these, and
notice the colors used by the Greeks.
The second paper should speak of the wonderful paintings in churches, of
altar pieces, and the decorations in fresco of walls and ceilings;
select from the many examples of churches in Italy. Then the guild halls
of the middle ages should be mentioned, and the curious work on bridges
and elsewhere in Germany. The third paper should speak of the
extraordinary interest to-day in mural painting; note that of the Houses
of Parliament and other places abroad; show pictures of the work of
Abbey and Sargent in the Boston Public Library, and of Blashfield and La
Farge in the Congressional Library at Washington and elsewhere, and the
excellent mural paintings on our public buildings, court houses and
capitols, and some public schools in New York.
Discuss: The Cost of Mural Paintings To-day: Are They Worth While?
V--THE ART OF CONVERSATION
This subject opens a whole literary field and will be found delightful
to expand into several meetings. A roll-call might be answered with
famous _bons mots_ from some of the men and women to be studied. Sidney
Smith, Charles Lamb and others have left many.
The first paper might be on famous conversationalists; mention Johnson,
Horace Walpole, Macauley, Fanny Burney, Samuel Rogers, Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu and Sidney Smith, among many others.
The second would follow with some account of famous salons, especially
those of France at the time of Récamier; see Sainte-Beuve's essays on
this theme. What of corresponding salons elsewhere?
A third paper would speak informally of conversation to-day; is it
becoming a lost art? Do we consider it seriously?
This paper will lead naturally to a discussion on these and similar
themes: What of our home table talk? Should children be taught to
converse rather than to chatter? Shall we prepare ourselves in advance
for conversations at dinners and other social occasions? What is the
relation between a good conversationalist and a good listener?
VI--MENDELSSOHN
When club members can not only write papers but also play and sing, this
will be found a popular little program: Mendelssohn's famous
grandfather; his father, interested in his son's genius; his early home
life; his sister Fanny; the little Sunday morning concerts; his
education, his versatility, his gay, affectionate nature.
The second paper may be on the early beginnings of his work as a
composer; of his first opera; the overture to Midsummer Night's Dream,
and the formation and work of his choir. Speak of his travels in England
and on the continent, of his marriage; his call to Berlin by the king,
and his operas and oratorios; the foundation of his music school; and
last his death.
The third paper should discuss his position among musicians, his
greatest work and its lasting qualities. Discuss: Does Mendelssohn rank
among the great musicians?
Between each two papers have played some of the Songs Without Words, and
others of his best known compositions, and have some of his songs sung,
or selections from his oratorios; or they may be given by using musical
records. The Lark, I Would that My Love, and Had I the Wings of a Dove,
are among the best.
VII--COLLEGES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
This is another popular program, and one easily prepared and discussed.
Divide it into two parts: first, the great universities, Harvard, Yale,
Princeton and Columbia; their history; their opportunities; show
pictures of each campus. Follow with a paper on the small college; its
advantages; the state universities; college athletics; fraternities,
dangers of college life; does college prepare for a business life?
Next take girls' colleges in the same general way; describe Bryn Mawr,
Vassar, Wellesley and Smith; and show pictures of them. Have papers on,
Is a college education essential for all girls? and What are its
advantages over the boarding-school, and its disadvantages? and What of
athletics for girls? and Should their studies be those of men's colleges
entirely?
Discuss these subjects, and add others: Does college life unfit a girl
for life at home? Is a college girl likely to demand a career? Does she
marry? Have some college songs sung: Fair Harvard, Old Nassau, Neath the
Elms of Dear Old Yale, and others.
VIII--THE CARE OF CHILDREN AND THE AGED BY THE STATE
This is one of the subjects in line with the philanthropy of to-day, and
will be found suggestive of social work for women's clubs.
The first paper might be on Orphan Asylums; the care of young children,
their food, dress, education and personal oversight. What of adopting
children from asylums? What of placing children in homes instead of
asylums?
The second paper would take up: the defective children to be cared for
in asylums. The blind, deaf, epileptic and idiots.
The third paper would be on the care of the aged; of almshouses,
especially those of the county; are they sanitary, well cared for and
cheerful? Are the old people well fed, clothed and amused? Are husbands
and wives separated?
The last paper might touch upon English almshouses on the cottage plan
and contrast them with our own large institutions.
Discuss the near-by almshouses, and question what can be done to better
conditions.
IX--RECENT BOOKS
A group of three or at the most four books are quite enough for a
miscellaneous program for one afternoon. They may be selected on one
general theme, such as biography, or on several. The first book
suggested here is a delightful life study, that of Robert E. Lee, Man
and Soldier, by Thomas Nelson Page. Notice the clearness and beauty of
the style, the appreciation of the man's character and work, and the
well chosen descriptions of his associates. Read part of a chapter near
the close of the book.
Second, have a paper on The Promised Land, by Mary Antin, one of the
really great books of to-day. Tell the story of her life, reading here
and there from her own words; show how she was handicapped and yet how
she rose, and speak of the fact that such women bring inspiration to our
shores.
Third, take The Three Brontës, by May Sinclair, a book of fascinating
interest. Briefly give a résumé of the family, and speak of the work of
each sister; compare with Clement Shorter's The Brontës and Their
Circle.
Or, for a program on several topics, have these three books for the
papers: first, The Lady of the Decoration, by Frances Little. Give a
review, with its story, the local color, the humor and pathos; read
short selections.
Second, take Heretics, by Chesterton; here again, review his style, his
mannerisms, and note his light touch; read briefly from two essays.
Third, take a collection of short stories, perhaps Jacobs' Dialstone
Lane. Speak of his quaint dry humor, his sense of the incongruous, the
similarity of his captain-heroes, and the absurdity of his plots. Read
one story.
X--MARKETS
For a last program take the subject of Markets. If possible, illustrate
some of these foreign markets mentioned, the pictures to be found in
magazines.
Flower markets will make a first paper; notice those of Paris
especially, near the Madelaine; of Covent Garden, London. Note the
smaller flower markets in connection with the ordinary markets of
cities.
A second paper may discuss famous markets in our own land, notably the
markets of New Orleans and other Southern cities; their picturesqueness;
their value to the housewife. Are they hygienic?
Third, take up the larger aspects of the subject; our great meat markets
in cities here and abroad; note the market at Smithfield, London, on
Saturdays, and the old Fulton Market of New York, and others. What can
be done to regulate our markets, and make them clean and wholesome? What
have women done here of recent years to clean up the markets of the
West? What of foreign markets, especially in Germany?
Discuss the practical aspects of the subjects. What of the relation of
farmers to customers? Can the latter insist on cleanliness and fair
trade? What has the pure food legislation done on those points?
THE END
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman's Club Work and Programs, by
Caroline French Benton
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN'S CLUB WORK AND PROGRAMS ***
***** This file should be named 33265-8.txt or 33265-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/2/6/33265/
Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
scanned images of public domain material from the Internet
Archive.
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
