The Complete Club Book for Women
by Caroline French Benton · English · Gutenberg #33201 · 320,508 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Complete Club Book for Women
Author: Caroline French Benton
Release date: July 20, 2010 [eBook #33201]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33201
Credits: Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMPLETE CLUB BOOK FOR WOMEN ***
Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
scanned images of public domain material from the Google
Print archive.
The Complete Club Book For Women
INTERESTING BOOKS
_By_
_Caroline French Benton_
* * * * *
_Woman's Club Work and Programs_, _net_, $1.25
_Carriage paid_, 1.40
_The Complete Club Book for Women_, _net_, 1.25
_Carriage paid_, 1.40
_Fairs and Fetes_, _net_, 1.35
_Carriage paid_, 1.50
_Living on a Little_, _net_, 1.25
_Carriage paid_, 1.40
_Easy Meals_, _net_, 1.25
_Carriage paid_, 1.40
_Easy Entertaining_, _net_, 1.25
_Carriage paid_, 1.40
_Saturday Mornings_, 0.75
_A Little Cook Book for a Little Girl_, 0.75
* * * * *
_THE PAGE COMPANY_
_53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass._
The Complete Club Book For Women
Including Subjects, Material and References for Study Programs; together
with a Constitution and By-Laws; Rules of Order; Instructions how to
make a Year Book; Suggestions for Practical Community Work; a Resume of
what Some Clubs are Doing, etc., etc.
A companion volume to
Woman's Club Work and Programs
* * * * *
BY
Caroline French Benton
Author of "Woman's Club Work and Programs," "Fairs and Fetes," "Living
on a Little," "Easy Meals," "Easy Entertaining," "Saturday Mornings," "A
Little Cook Book for a Little Girl," etc.
* * * * *
[Illustration]
* * * * *
BOSTON
The Page Company
MDCCCCXV
_Copyright, 1915, by_
THE PAGE COMPANY
To The
Club Women of City and Country
PREFACE
In a previous volume, called "Work and Programs for Women's Clubs," more
than twenty leading subjects were given for club study, including
Shakespeare, the opera, the drama and child study, each with ten
programs made out under it, comprising papers, talks, readings and
discussions, with the names of books for reference. Probably many of the
clubs which have used that book may still prefer the subjects and method
employed there, and some who have not used it will find in it their work
made easy.
Others, however, who believe in "self help," or who wish to harmonize
their study programs with some practical work the club is doing, or who
find it necessary to adjust their work to the varying tastes of the
members, will prefer the method followed in this second volume.
Subjects are here presented with suggestions for divisions into separate
meetings; then the papers or talks are outlined under each, with many
references to books by contemporary writers. From the mass of material
given each club is to select what best suits its individual needs and
arrange from it a year book.
If a club wishes to have sixteen meetings a year on one subject and four
on another, the chairman may select one of the large subjects, shape the
material offered into sixteen large divisions, add the necessary
subdivisions beneath with the references, and then selecting a shorter
program, divide this in the same way and combine the two.
Or, supposing a club wished to master a subject with unusual
thoroughness, a large subject may be divided into a two-year study
course. Several of the subjects indeed might easily be taken up for
still a longer time. Any one of them has in it material enough for
serious work, yet some are capable also of being taken up in six
meetings if that is desirable.
A model Constitution is offered which any club may easily adapt to its
own needs. Some condensed Rules of Order are also given. It is earnestly
hoped that in this little book every club woman may find everything she
requires.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE vii
I SUGGESTIONS FOR CLUB WORK 1
II COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT 6
III A STUDY OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES 14
IV SOME POETS OF TO-DAY 27
V THE WORLD'S ISLANDS 39
VI THE BUSINESS OF BEING A HOUSEKEEPER 54
VII A STUDY OF SONGS 66
VIII SOME OF THE WORLD'S FAMOUS BUILDINGS 76
IX FOUR SHORT PROGRAMS 91
X CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CANAL 104
XI THE WORK OF THE RURAL CLUB 118
XII THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND 131
XIII WOMAN'S PROBLEMS OF WORK 139
XIV WOMAN'S PROBLEMS OF WORK (Con.) 145
XV SOME GREAT MEN OF OUR TIME 158
XVI THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE 172
XVII THE AGE OF QUEEN ANNE 187
XVIII OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 195
XIX SPECIAL PROGRAMS ON GREAT MEN AND WOMEN 210
XX PROGRAMS FROM CLUBS 224
XXI WHAT CLUBS ARE STUDYING 236
XXII BRIEF ONE DAY PROGRAMS 247
XXIII HOW TO MAKE A YEAR BOOK 263
XXIV A MODEL CONSTITUTION 280
XXV RULES OF ORDER FOR CLUBS 285
CHAPTER I
SUGGESTIONS FOR CLUB WORK
There is no difficulty in starting a club; any group of women who are
interested in the same things may form themselves into a simple
organization. But the great question will surely arise: What shall we
study? And here club members are certain to divide into three distinct
classes.
The first group consists of women who have for years been absorbed in
home-making and child-rearing. The world of books has been practically
closed to them. The club to which they wish to belong must offer them an
opportunity for self-development, one in which they will obtain the
culture which comes from the study of art and music and literature; one
where their hungry minds will be fed.
But the group of young women,--perhaps college graduates,--have no
sympathy with this desire; they have had enough of books! They demand
that all the energies of the club shall be devoted to the good of the
community, to the "larger housekeeping," to preparation for citizenship.
Who can stop to write dull papers on Italian Art in this day of
efficiency?
Between these two groups of women there is a third, made up of women who
have kept up their reading in spite of family cares, and who also
believe in the practical work outside the home which seems to them
almost within their grasp. But they lack self-confidence; speaking in
public is absolutely impossible; even to lift a voice in a club
discussion is a serious matter.
Now the perfect club takes cognizance of these three classes of women
and provides for them all. It offers to the first group an opportunity
for study; and surely no woman ever grows beyond the place where she
still has something to learn. There are always fresh fields of poetry
and travel, of music and art which unfold with the years and tempt one
on.
And then it offers training to the timid woman who fears to hear her own
voice. At first she may merely read a club paper, but little by little
she learns to give a quotation, to put a motion or offer a suggestion;
and finally she finds she can speak without notes, or take her part in a
debate and hold her own with self-possession and dignity. And that means
that she has acquired a liberal education.
As to the energetic class between these two, the ideal club has plenty
for them, also. There has never been an opportunity for community work
like that offered to-day, offered especially to those women who have
been made capable by their training in their own little study clubs to
cope with questions of hygiene, of tenement house wrongs and immigrants'
problems; they have the widest scope for their energies. If they are
wise, they will accept the opportunity of using the woman's club and
make it a center of social service.
The following programs are planned to cover all these requirements. The
first one is intended to lay out many lines of community work from which
each club is asked to choose what best suits the needs of her own
locality. Every second club meeting may be given to the study of the
various problems presented by the town, and remedies may first be
suggested and then resolved upon. Cooeperation with other clubs is also
urged, and also the need of working with, rather than against, the city
fathers.
Alternating with meetings on these practical and helpful lines clubs are
invited to study some one of the subjects which follow this first
comprehensive program. Whatever appeals most to club members, music or
history, literature or travel, may be selected. References to books are
offered to assist in preparation of club papers.
It will be found that, on the whole, it is seldom best for a club to
choose a miscellaneous program for an entire year's work. Too often such
a choice means a grotesque range from Life in Early Egypt to the
Waverley Novels, and from the Panama Canal to Spring Flowers. When one
wishes to have a year of work with a different subject for each meeting
it is at least possible to choose those which have some relation, and
vary the program by having musical meetings also.
A word may be added as to the personal side of club life. A president,
above all her other duties, should see to it that the atmosphere of the
club is warm and friendly. If in other ways it is successful, if the
study gives intellectual stimulus, and practical work is carried on
effectively, still it is a failure if the members are either snobbish or
unsympathetic. All the members of a club must be in harmony and work
together in a spirit of comradeship if it is ever to reach its highest
possibilities.
Last of all, should not a club extend its membership to as many as
possible, rather than have a waiting list? Whatever prestige may accrue
to it through that, will it not be of the greater good in the long run
if its doors are always open to take in any woman who has something
fresh to give to its life, or has a need that the club can gratify?
CHAPTER II
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
One of the up-to-date subjects for clubs is what is sometimes called
"The Larger Housekeeping." It is the study of the economic conditions of
one's own neighborhood with the determination to find ways to make the
place more hygienic, more sanitary, moral and beautiful. It is the
development of the idea of social betterment.
A woman's club is an ideal social center from which this work may grow.
It is an excellent plan to enlist all the clubs in town, if that is
possible. They may carry on other work besides, but each club may also
have some particular line of study on the common theme, and at monthly
meetings all the women may meet and discuss the one topic of community
improvement. The men of the place may be invited later to join these
public meetings; their cooeperation, and that of the city officials
especially, should be secured from the beginning. The one essential of
success is "team work."
The first thing is to understand the actual conditions which exist in
the town. The club should first learn who the town officials are, and
what are their duties.
Next, find out what the town assets are: if there is a good courthouse
and railroad station, good schools, a park, attractive streets, and so
on. In contrast to these there should be a complete list of what the
town lacks; better paving and lighting, better sewerage and water, a new
milk supply, or sanitary groceries, and so on. Study and discussion make
this list a long one.
Then, when once the club knows its own town (and here the first pamphlet
mentioned at the close of this article should be read), each item on the
list may be taken up and really mastered in its every detail; committees
should be appointed for each.
I--SUBJECTS TO INVESTIGATE
The question of roads and pavements may come first. What is their
condition?
The yards of the place may come next. Are they in good order? Are the
alleys clean? Is the garbage well taken care of? Does the town need a
"clean-up" day? Is the sewerage system in good order? Is the town water
pure? Discuss the milk supply. A committee should inspect the dairies.
Parks and playgrounds are subjects which will bring up many questions.
Are they well cared for and attractive? Are there any playgrounds for
children? Have they swings, parallel bars and the like? Is there a
supervisor?
Next the town schools; members should be appointed to visit each school
and carefully go over it. Are there vines, flowers and grass around the
building?
Are there cheap theaters in town? Are the shows clean? Do children
patronize them? Is the theater building sanitary? Have a committee
unannounced attend some performance.
Is there a hotel in town? Is it a clean, well-kept place? Are there
saloons, and, if so, do they in any way evade the law? Are they loafing
places?
Is the railroad station attractive? Is there any one in charge of the
waiting-room? Is the town jail sanitary? How is the poorhouse managed?
Are there tenements? Are they sanitary? How many churches are there and
in what financial condition? Is there a town library? Is it up-to-date?
Is there any town nuisance, such as soft coal smoke or malodorous
factories? Are advertisements painted on rocks or put up in fields?
These are only suggestions as to lines of investigation. When finally
the needs and shortcomings of the town are known to all, practical work
to improve conditions may be undertaken.
The best plan is to get a few of the many books on town betterment and
read them before any reform is undertaken. In addition to readings from
these, and papers showing what has been done in other towns on similar
lines specialists should be asked to speak to the club, and the public
invited to hear them. For instance, a professor from the nearest
agricultural college may lecture on pure milk; on water supply the town
engineer may speak; on the question of bettering the public schools the
state superintendent may be invited. It is better to spend a whole club
year in study and accomplish only one practical work for the town
betterment, than enthusiastically to begin on a dozen lines and yet
really gain nothing substantial in the end.
II--THE BEGINNING OF SOCIAL SERVICE
When at last, the town is clean and sanitary, and the improvements made
which have been outlined, then, and not till then, some of the
interesting new lines of social service may be studied and put in
practice.
And first, a charity organization should be founded, no matter how small
the town may be. All the churches and every individual should work in
cooeperation with it.
After this, if there are mills in the place these may be visited, and
with the consent of the owners night schools and recreation centers of
all kinds for the employees may be established.
Another committee may get new books for the town library.
Medical and dental inspection of school children will also be of value,
and the town doctors will aid in it.
Pure food should certainly be studied, with investigations and
recommendations of clean markets and groceries.
Child welfare is a most important subject. Fresh air funds, children's
summer camps, the prevention of infant mortality, children's clinics and
the like will grow out of its study.
Child labor comes in this connection. If there are mills or canneries
near by, it must be seen that the state laws are enforced there. The
state care of the defective child should be studied.
What can be done to rid the town of flies and mosquitoes in summer? As
to the schools, cannot manual and vocational training be secured? Are
open-air schools needed? Cannot music and art be better taught? Is there
any place in town which affects good morals?
Is it possible to establish a rest room for farmers' wives who come to
town? Are coffee rooms needed to supplant the saloon?
Remember that children are always delighted to help in community
improvement, and will investigate conditions as to alleys, playgrounds,
or help clean up the town.
Much legislation on many of the topics will come up. A lawyer may be
asked to come into the club and talk about the state laws, child labor,
or any of the other subjects under discussion. Indeed college
professors, school superintendents and teachers, settlement workers,
physicians, clergymen, librarians, mill owners, theatrical managers and
editors may all be asked to help on this great work of community
improvement, and they will be found to respond gladly. The whole
population will gradually be drawn into touch and made to assist in the
great project of transforming the home town into an ideal spot in which
to live and bring up a family.
III--BOOKS FOR REFERENCE
Among the many books to be had are these:
"Knowing One's Own Community," Carol Aronovici. Social Service Series,
Bulletin 20 (National Municipal-League Series, Appleton); "The Country
Town," W. L. Anderson (Doubleday, Page & Co.); "Village Improvement,"
Parris T. Farwell (Sturges and Walton); "Re-planning Small Cities," John
Nolen (B. W. Huebsch); "American Municipal Progress," Chas. Zeublin
(Macmillan Co.); "The Improvement of Towns and Cities," C. M. Robinson
(Putnam); "American City Government," Chas. A. Beard (Century Co.);
"American Playgrounds," E. B. Mero (American Gymnasia Co., Boston); in
the Woman's Citizens' Library, edited by Shailer Matthews, there are
excellent articles on most of the above topics. (Civics Society,
Chicago.) Bulletins of Department of Social and Public Service are
excellent. (American Unitarian Association, 25 Beacon St., Boston.)
"Social Forces," Miss L. E. Stearns. (Capitol Bldg., Madison, Wis.)
Remarkable list of books on all subjects needed.
American Civics Association; pamphlets on all subjects needed. (Union
Trust Bldg., Washington, D. C.)
There are many magazines dealing with out-of-door life which have
articles on good roads, tree planting, gardens and playgrounds. Survey
has others on child welfare in all its aspects, settlement work, etc.
The Chicago and New York Schools of Philanthropy also have pamphlets,
and will send any information.
Chapter III
A STUDY OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES
To study the American colonies thoroughly clubs should spend twenty or
more meetings upon them. There is abundant material suggested here to
enlarge the ten meetings outlined to that many at the very least.
The best way to arrange the club work is to give at least four meetings
to Virginia, four to New England, two or three to New Netherlands and
two to each of the other important colonies.
In preparing papers, see "The Thirteen Colonies," by Helen A. Smith
(Putnam), "Romance of American Colonization," by William E. Griffis
(Wilde), and the series on the colonies, one volume on each, by John
Fiske (Houghton Mifflin Co.). See also the first part of "America," by
H. Butterworth (The Page Company).
Before beginning the study of the first colony, Virginia, there should
be one meeting on the England of that time. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir
Walter Raleigh, and Drake should have special attention.
I--VIRGINIA
Describe the first expedition to Virginia; have an account of the
settlement at Roanoke, then of the second expedition which brought over
a hundred and fifty men and seventeen women, and its fate, and then the
death of Raleigh and the pause in the spirit of colonization. The
meeting following this will then begin the next period, when under King
James colonization was again taken up. A paper may be on the settlement
of Jamestown, a second on John Smith and his work, and a third on the
"starving time," the trouble with the Indians, the coming of supplies
from England. Close with a presentation of the conditions of the new
colony, its mismanagement and loss of life.
The "era of progress" comes next in order, from 1610 to 1624. Have
sketches of Lord Delaware, Sir Thomas Gates, and Sir Thomas Dale;
mention the group of new settlements and note their military character.
Bring in the story of Powhatan, and of Pocahontas and her important
marriage. The growing value of tobacco in England, the importation of
negro slaves, the rise of burgesses, the coming of indentured servants,
of poor immigrants, and of wives for the colonists are all important
topics; close with an account of the great massacre.
Discuss the coming of the cavaliers to America. Was their influence
good? Speak of the consequent loss of a thousand Puritan colonists from
Virginia, and its effect.
The curious political development of Virginia should be studied. Note
the importance of courts, and describe "court day." The next great point
to be taken up is the first colonial tragedy--Bacon's rebellion.
Describe the causes which led up to it; have papers on Berkeley, the
tobacco riots, the Indian outbreak, the romantic figure of the "Queen of
Pamunkey," the arraignment of the Governor, the burning of Jamestown,
the death of Bacon, and the far-reaching results of the rebellion. Read
from "White Aprons," by Maud Wilder Goodwin (Little, Brown & Co.), and
"The Heart's Highway," by Mary Wilkins Freeman (Doubleday, Page & Co.).
Follow with a study of a century of development in Virginia. Read of
Lord Culpepper, of the founding of William and Mary College; mention
the absentee governor and his famous lieutenant governor, Sir Francis
Nicholson, who first suggested the possible union of the American
colonies. Read also: "King Noanett," by F. J. Stimson (Scribner), and
"Old Virginia and Her Neighbors," by John Fiske (Houghton Mifflin Co.).
II--MARYLAND
The history of the colony of Maryland is closely connected with that of
Virginia. Take the story of the Calvert family, beginning with the first
Lord Baltimore. Follow the topic with the coming of Dutch and Swedish
colonists, the sending of Herman by Stuyvesant to Maryland and his
interesting career.
The important point to notice in all this is the establishment of the
manor system. Compare it with the vestries of Virginia, and later
compare both these with the patroon system of the Dutch, and the town
meeting rule of New England.
Have a paper on the fifth Lord Baltimore and the changes which followed
his accession. Read from "Mistress Brent," by Lucy M. Thruston (Little,
Brown & Co.), and "Sir Christopher," by Maud Wilder Goodwin (Little,
Brown & Co.).
One entire meeting should follow next on the manners and customs in the
Southern colonies. See "Some Colonial Homesteads," by Marion Harland
(Putnam), and the chapter in Fiske on customs in "Old Virginia and Her
Neighbors."
III--NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA
North Carolina, the next colony on the south to Virginia, was settled
largely by refugees, who, discontented at home, came here from other
colonies. Read from the visit of George Fox the Quaker, of the
difficulties of travel and of the poverty and need of the people.
Colonel James Moore, who came to the help of the people, should have one
paper, and Governor Eden another. Read also the extraordinary story of
the pirate Blackbeard, the terror of the coast, and his relations with
the governor.
After many vicissitudes colonists of the better sort began to arrive,
and slowly the colony prospered.
South Carolina, unlike North, was from its beginning settled by rich
planters, slave holders, of distinctly aristocratic habits. Read of
Carteret, West, and Sir John Yeamans, and of the constitution known as
the "Grand Model," drawn up by John Locke.
Charleston was made the capital in 1681, laid out at the beginning by
Culpepper with sites for churches, a town house, an artillery ground and
wharves, and at once it became an important place.
The trouble with the Spaniards on the south, and the siege of Charleston
by Blackbeard make two excellent topics for papers; a third is the wise
government of Nicholson for twenty-five years.
IV--GEORGIA
Georgia, the most southerly of the colonies, is famous because of one
man, James Edward Oglethorpe, the soldier, statesman, and
philanthropist. He planned to make it a refuge for all persecuted
Protestants of Europe, one where debtors of good family could come and
make an honest living, and where criminals might begin life anew; it was
to be the poor man's paradise.
One hundred and fourteen persons came over with him, and in six weeks
Savannah was laid out, and clearing and building begun. The story reads
like a romance. All went well till lazy and shiftless immigrants arrived
to enjoy the paradise also. Oglethorpe returned to England for a time,
taking several Indian chiefs with him. Read of their visit to court. He
returned with John and Charles Wesley.
But trouble with Spain was at hand; war followed, and Oglethorpe again
went to England and never came back. Slave holding, before prohibited,
was now permitted; plantations grew up, commerce developed, and an era
of prosperity was established. Read "Doris Kingsley," by Emma Rayner
(Small, Maynard & Co.).
V--THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
Before turning to the north, to the study of the New England colonies,
clubs should take rather thoroughly the history of England in the
seventeenth century and familiarize themselves with conditions there,
and also in Holland.
After this will come the well-known story of the voyage of the
_Mayflower_, the landing of the Pilgrims, and the establishment of the
first little settlement. Read of the leaders, John Carver, William
Bradford, Standish, Winslow, and Alden, and of the first winter.
The great advantage Massachusetts had over all other colonies lay in the
fact of the great Puritan emigration from England. Earnest, intelligent,
devoted people of high ideals made up the great bulk of the settlers.
Note the fact of the growing religious intolerance of the Puritans; one
meeting may be spent on this topic. Speak of Ann Hutchinson and Roger
Williams, the harsh treatment of the Quakers, and of witchcraft. Have
readings showing how the belief in the last grew, and its terrible
results. Read from Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter."
Next take these New England colonies in the order of their settlement,
New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and show the differences
in them.
Notice how, in Massachusetts, the vote was given to church members only,
while in Connecticut it was given to all citizens. Read of education in
New England, of schools, of the founding of Harvard and Yale colleges.
Have a paper on Cotton Mather, Thomas Hooker, and Davenport. Describe
the Town Meeting. Have a paper also on the Indians, and discuss the
Pequot War, the Deerfield Massacre, and similar events.
Close this study with an appreciation of the character of the men and
women of New England. Read from "Men, Women and Manners in Colonial
Times," by Sidney G. Fisher (Lippincott), "Customs and Fashions in Old
New England," by Alice Morse Earle (Scribner), "Home life in Colonial
Days," and "Child Life in Colonial Days," by the same author
(Macmillan), and "Soldier Rigdale," by Beulah M. Dix (Macmillan).
Several meetings may take up furniture, pewter, china, silver, old
coverlets, embroidered linen, and the like. Read "The Quest of the
Colonial," by Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton (Century Co.), and
"Colonial Furniture in America," by L. V. Lockwood (Scribner).
VI--NEW AMSTERDAM
Between New England and Virginia lay several colonies, the most
important, New Amsterdam. Preface its study with one paper on Holland at
the time. Then describe the coming of the little _Half Moon_, the voyage
up the Hudson, and the friendliness of the Indians shown here, as in
each of the different colonies at the beginning of their history. Three
settlements were soon made, one at Fort Orange, now New York, one at
Fort Nassau, now Albany, and a third in New Jersey across from Fort
Orange. Tell how in a few years there were farms with stone houses,
churches, schools, and a regular system of fur trade with the Indians
which brought in huge yearly revenues. Three papers may be on the
governors Minuit, Van Twiller, and Kieft, noting their unlikeness, and
what each accomplished. A fourth paper may describe the patroon system
and compare it with that of other colonies.
The interesting figure of Stuyvesant, and his times, in New Amsterdam,
should have a meeting. Others may take up the coming of negro slaves,
the establishment of settlements on the Hudson, the trouble with Long
Island and its English settlers, the appearance of the English fleet,
the surrender of New Amsterdam, and the taking of the oath of
allegiance.
Have a description of life in Dutch New York and Albany and on Long
Island. The famous siege of Lady Moody's house at Gravesend and its
defense by forty Englishmen is also of interest.
Discuss the topic: What did the Dutch settlers give to the American
people? Compare them with the Southern and New England colonists,
showing that they gave substantial virtues but lacked the love of beauty
shown by the Virginians and the idealism of the Puritans. Read "The
Dutchman's Fireside," by J. K. Paulding (Scribner), "Free to Serve," by
Emma Rayner (The Page Company), "The Begum's Daughter," by E. L. Bynner
(Houghton Mifflin Co.), and "The Bow of Orange Ribbon," by Amelia E.
Barr (Dodd, Mead & Co.).
VII--NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE
The early history of New Jersey is closely connected with that of New
Amsterdam. It was settled by the Dutch; after the coming of the English,
however, the land was given by the Crown to the Carterets, and as they
were from the Island of Jersey French settlers came over with them. The
Dutch, a handful of Puritans, and some Swedes who had settled inland,
soon began to quarrel among themselves.
Major Edmund Andros, the governor of New York, jealous of the growing
power of his neighbors, kidnapped the governor of New Jersey and made
him a prisoner. Read the story of his trial and return. Turn next to
that part of Jersey on the edge of Delaware and notice how it was bought
and settled by Quakers. Have a sketch of Fenwick, the pioneer, and of
the coming of new colonists, the influence of Penn on the government,
and how the two parts of Jersey were taken under the Crown and governors
sent from England, who ruled with uncertain success. Note the founding
of Princeton College later, and the growth of the colony in prosperity.
Delaware was coveted by three nations: the Dutch claimed it, the Swedes
acquired it, and the English were given it. One paper may tell of Minuit
and his rule, and another take up the invasion of Peter Stuyvesant, the
fall of the fort, and the surrender of the Swedes. Then came ten years
of Dutch rule, which is an interesting chapter of history, for the
colony came into collision with Maryland. From this point on there is
constant bickering and struggle until the coming of the English. Read of
Lovelace and his famous house, and the story of Jacobson and how, later,
the English almost effaced the Dutch in Delaware, changing even the
names of the towns to English. Read "In Castle and Colony," by Emma
Rayner (Stone, Chicago).
VIII--PENNSYLVANIA
The story of the settlement of Pennsylvania by William Penn and his
Quaker friends is familiar to every one. Aided by money given by the
King and welcomed by the Dutch, who had many settlements, he established
himself on fifty thousand acres of land, and sent word to those in
England to come to him. The Assembly soon met, and the remarkable
document known as the Great Law of Pennsylvania was drawn up; clubs
should read the substance of this.
The Mennonites, a religious sect from Germany, soon settled in the
colony and greatly influenced its future, as did the Germans who came
later from the Palatinate, an industrious, frugal people, who printed
the first Bible in America and first protested against slavery. Read
from "The Germans in Colonial Times," by Lucy F. Bittinger
(Lippincott).
CHAPTER IV
SOME POETS OF TO-DAY
Our day is a time when more good verse is being written than ever
before, much of it in our own country. The yearly output in English
alone is enormous, and much of it is so strong, so original, that club
women should certainly familiarize themselves with it.
To study the subject intelligently there may be a preliminary course on
modern poetry and its criticism, using these books, in part or whole:
"Studies in Poetry and Criticism," by Arthur Symons (Bell), "An
Introduction to Poetry," by R. M. Alden (Henry Holt & Co.), "The
Enjoyment of Poetry," by Max Eastman (Scribner), and "Lectures on
Poetry," by A. C. Bradley (Macmillan).
As the modern poets are studied, have plenty of illustrative readings
from the works of each one. Selections will be found in "Poets of the
Younger Generation," by William Archer (John Lane Co.), and two volumes
edited by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse, "The Younger American Poets"
(Little, Brown & Co.) and "The Little Book of Modern Verse" (Houghton
Mifflin). Also "The Lyric Year," edited by Ferdinand Earle (Mitchell
Kennerley), will be found helpful. There are three magazines which
constantly present the best new work of our poets, _Poet Lore_,
_Poetry_, and _The Poetry Journal_.
It is of course extremely difficult to classify the writings of poets,
because few devote themselves to one style of verse alone. The writer of
dramatic poetry will sometimes write lyrics, and the author of
philosophical verse will write poems about nature. But for this study
the principal work of each poet has been selected, with references to
what else has been done by him.
I--INTRODUCTORY
Before beginning with the regular program for the year clubs should
devote one or two meetings, as has been suggested, to the study of
poetry as a whole. Then there should follow two more on the history of
poetry, showing that all early national expression takes this form;
illustrate with readings from the Vedic Hymns (translated in Warner's
"Library of the World's Best Literature"), and the "Song of Miriam" from
the Hebrew, in the Bible. Have papers on the great epics, also, with
readings from the "Iliad," the "Odyssey," the "AEneid," the
"Nibelungenlied," the "Divine Comedy," the Arthurian cycle and "Paradise
Lost."
Turning then to the poetry of to-day, notice that its spirit is
something quite new. It is individual. It aims at truth and realism. In
much of it there is a great moral purpose--the passion for justice.
The form of modern poetry is also largely new. Rhymed monologues, long
narratives, and especially dramatic poems are frequent. Read to
illustrate this, "The New Poetry," by James Oppenheim, in Volume 22 of
_Poet Lore_.
Following this, take up in several meetings the topic of dramatic
poetry.
II--DRAMATIC POETRY
An early meeting should study the comparison of poetry and prose in
plays, and the question, Is poetry acceptable on the stage? What are its
limitations? There should also be a paper on the versified plays of
to-day as contrasted with those of two centuries ago. Following these
may be a study of several dramatic poets of to-day.
Percy Mackaye has some strong work: "Fenris the Wolf," "Jeanne d'Arc,"
"The Canterbury Pilgrims," and "The Scarecrow" are all worth reading.
Present selections from each. Stephen Phillips, an Englishman, has some
splendid, vital dramas. His best is "Paolo and Francesca," but both
"Herod" and "Ulysses" are to be studied. Read from all three. His
experience as an actor has made his plays especially suited to the
stage.
Richard Hovey has chosen the Arthurian cycle as his inspiration, and
presents the mediaeval spirit with unusual faithfulness; he keeps nearer
to Mallory than Tennyson did. Read "The Quest of Merlin," and "The
Marriage of Guenever."
Among women poets Sara King Wiley has two dramatic poems of note,
"Alcestis," and "The Coming of Philibert." Josephine Preston Peabody
(Mrs. Marks) took the Shakespearean prize for "The Piper," which was
performed at Stratford. Lately she has written another drama, "The
Singing Man," full of beauty. Read from this, and also from her short
poems.
III--POEMS WITH CLASSICAL AND ROMANTIC THEMES
Among the poets of the last generation Keats, Shelley, Browning and
Swinburne chose classical themes, and Byron and Tennyson took romantic.
Have a paper pointing out this fact. Read from their poems and compare
them with those of the poets of the younger set who took the same
themes.
Laurence Binyon, an Englishman like Phillips, has written "Persephone"
and "Porphyrin" with the classic theme, and "Tintagel" with the
romantic. Rhys Carpenter, one of the youngest American writers, has "The
Tragedy of Etarre," founded on the Arthurian legend. Helen Coale Crewe
has written "AEgean Echoes," and Martha J. Kidder "AEonian Echoes," both
full of beauty and promise. Read from these.
A concluding paper might inquire, What is it in these two themes which
has always attracted the poets?
IV--POEMS OF PROTEST
Under this title may be found the work of many of the young poets of
to-day. They show sympathy with the workingman, revolt against tyranny
and tenderness for suffering. They champion labor and demand the
betterment of conditions. This is the "new note," as it is called, and
is of immense importance. Clubs should put special study upon it,
following it out in the different poems.
John Masefield, of England, one of the most conspicuous writers of our
time, voices the protest strongly. His style is often that of the
monologue or narrative, and while sometimes it is merely rhymed prose,
at other times it is vigorous, picturesque and vivid. Read "The Widow of
Bye Street," and "The Everlasting Mercy." Note also his "Daffodil
Fields," which is quite different from these and full of peculiar
beauty.
Wilfred Wilson Gibson is another poet with a passion for justice. His
dramatic monologues are terse, simple, direct. Read from "Daily Bread,"
and "Fires."
A third poet, Robert Haven Schauffler, takes also the poor for his
subject. His "Scum o' the Earth" is a touching picture. Charles Edward
Russell in his "Songs of Democracy" strikes the same note; read his
"Essex Street." Edwin Markham, though not among the younger poets, had
much the same theme in his earlier "Man with the Hoe," which may be
recalled.
William Watson, after writing for years finished, contemplative verse,
suddenly, in direct contrast to his other work, wrote "The Year of
Shame," amazing England with his demand for justice to Armenia and
Greece. Read "How Weary Are Our Hearts." Close this part of the study
with brief readings from John Galsworthy's "Moods, Songs and Doggerels,"
which present, again, sympathy for the oppressed.
V--PHILOSOPHICAL AND MYSTICAL POEMS
Among the many who write this serious and uplifting form of verse may be
named George Santayana, who, in his sonnets, and "The Hermit of Carmel,"
studies the philosophy of life. He has no eye for nature, as most poets
have, but always takes up the abstract theme.
Alice Meynell, an Englishwoman, has several volumes of finished verse
with the mark of literary distinction. The devout spirit is noticeable
in her work. Read "In Early Spring," and "Regrets."
Anna Hempstead Branch, author of many beautiful short poems and several
brief dramas, is strongest in "Nimrod," a long philosophical poem. In
this, as in her other writing, the sense of the mystical is marked.
"Soldiers of the Light," by Helen Gray Cone, is remarkable for its
artistic, subtle yet uplifting feeling. Louise Imogen Guiney, who has
been writing for many years, has some recent verse that is of even more
than its usual spirituality; read "The White Sail," and "Tryste Noel."
Read also from the poems of Rosamund Marriott Watson, Edwin Arlington
Robinson, and Agnes Lee, as well as the lovely verse of Alice Brown.
VI--LYRICS AND POEMS OF NATURE
This is one of the divisions which covers an immense field. Among the
many writers who might be chosen for study is Alfred Noyes, the young
Englishman who is so often compared with Tennyson. He writes
spontaneous, optimistic verse. He loves sunshine and green fields and
children; he is sometimes dramatic, sometimes playful, but always
graceful. "The Barrel Organ" and "Forty Singing Seamen" are among his
finest lyrics, but "The Flower of Old Japan" is also noteworthy. Study
the other work of Noyes, especially his drama, "Drake."
John Vance Cheney has many lovely lyrics, as have William Vaughan Moody,
Bliss Carman, Clinton Scollard, Lizette Reese, Edith Thomas, and a long
list of others. Read several of each from the books of Miss Rittenhouse.
Madison Cawein writes of nature always with the same touch of freshness.
He idealizes everyday things, fields, grass, and flowers; he has what
has been called "the romantic love of out-of-doors." Sometimes he
strikes a more vigorous tone, as in his "Prayer for Old Age." Read this,
and "The Wild Iris."
Arthur Upson has a style peculiar for its dreamy beauty and exquisite
finish. His "Octaves in an Oxford Garden" shows him at his best.
"Westwind Songs" is also full of delicacy and grace. His last work, a
drama called "The City," has these same qualities.
Charles G. D. Roberts has, among many other things, a collection of
verse called "The Book of the Native," with descriptive poems of
Canadian forests. His "Afoot" and "The Recessional" are especially
charming.
Richard Burton's "Dumb in June" and his later "Quest of Summer" are both
full of poetic insight and beautiful expression. These, with his "Lyrics
of Brotherhood," are all well worth study. See "Poems," by C. G. D.
Roberts (The Page Company), and "Pipes of Pan," by Bliss Carman (The
Page Company).
VII--DIALECT AND HUMOROUS POETRY
Kipling made a place for himself when he wrote "Barrack-Room Ballads";
the reproduction of the cockney dialect has never been so well done and
their humor is inimitable. Read several. In America to-day we have a
poet who also does pioneer work--Thomas A. Daly. In his "Madrigali" and
"Canzoni" he has used the Italian-American dialect of the streets with a
result that is amusing as well as charming.
Gertrude Litchfield, too, has found something new in the dialect spoken
by the French Canadians in the northern New England towns. She has
written quaintly humorous verses about children. Read "Les Enfants," "De
Circus," and "The Spirit of Christmas."
Robert H. Carr has a little volume called "Cow Boy Lyrics," which
perpetuate the fast-passing men of the plains. After reading from these,
contrast the verses of James Whitcomb Riley with them. Note also among
writers of humorous verse Carolyn Wells, Oliver Herford and Gelett
Burgess.
VIII--CELTIC POETRY
Ireland has always been the home of romance, and recently it has had a
strikingly interesting revival of poetry. William Butler Yeats,
originally an artist, has a mystical element in his verse which gives it
a sort of unearthly quality. His leading narrative poem is "The
Wanderings of Oisin." "Baile and Ailinn" is a lover's tale. "The Fiddler
of Dooney" is a simple country story. His work has been called "dream
drenched." Make a special study of his play, "Land of the Heart's
Desire."
George W. Russell writes verse with much of the same wistful nature as
that of Yeats. "Homeward Songs by the Way," and "The Divine Vision" are
two of his volumes.
Study also the work of Lady Gregory. Though best known as a playwright
she has written interesting verse.
One paper may compare the Celtic verse of to-day with that of the
writers of mystical verse in England and America, especially that of
Louise Imogen Guiney, and discuss their difference.
IX--POETICAL PLAYS
There are many little plays written to-day in the form of verse, all
lovely, poetic in feeling and style, and many of them of great charm.
Among others are "The Rose of the Wind," and "The Shoes That Danced," by
Anna Hempstead Branch; "The Butterfly," and "Two in Arcadia" by Lucine
Finch; four plays called "The Shadow Garden," by Madison Cawein; and "El
Dorado," by Ridgely Torrance.
In addition to the study of all these modern poets, clubs should look up
the work of Rabindranath Tagore, the Hindu poet who recently took the
Nobel prize for literature; his latest poems (translated) are, "The
Crescent Moon" and "The Gardener."
Robert Bridges, the present poet-laureate, also deserves especial
mention.
CHAPTER V
THE WORLD'S ISLANDS
There is no subject for clubs more interesting than that of Islands, and
none broader in scope; each island or group suggests the study of
geology, botany, language, customs, religions, and, above all, history
and literature. The encyclopedias, books of travel and current
magazines, especially the _National Geographic Magazine_, will furnish
abundant material for papers.
I--GRECIAN ISLANDS
The islands which cluster about the coast of Greece are the most
important in history. Some are famous for their art treasures, others
have been the birthplace of great poets, others still are associated
with legendary heroes and gods. The literature, art, and history of the
two groups of the AEgean and Ionian Islands offer study for many months.
Among the many which might be suggested, these should be given special
attention: AEgina, famous for its sculptures; Delos, the Holy Isle,
birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, with the Temple of Apollo; Lesbos, the
birthplace of Sappho; Corfu, for its varied history; Ceos, the home of
two great poets; Samos with its Temple of Hera, and Ithaca, the home of
Ulysses. Add to this list Melos, Patmos, Rhodes, Lemnos, and Naxos, each
remarkable for something.
In preparing programs have brief readings on each island, either from
history or English poetry, or translations from the Greek. Longfellow's
"Poems of Places" has poems on many of the islands; the "Odyssey" gives
many stories, notably that of Nausicaa, which is laid at Corfu; Samuel
J. Barrows has a charming book, "Isles and Shrines of Greece" (Little).
Translations of some of Sappho's poems are easily found.
The islands of Crete and Cyprus should have a special meeting to
themselves, with emphasis laid on archaeological discoveries. Their
history is closely connected with that of Greece, though to-day they are
both under other than Greek rule.
II--MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS
Three great islands lie close to Italy and are connected with its
history. The first is Corsica. It has a stirring story, especially of
the time when it belonged to Genoa, when the great Genoese Towers, still
standing, were built to protect it against the Saracens. The fact that
Napoleon was a Corsican should be mentioned. Some account of the
vendetta should not be omitted and illustrations from Prosper Merimee's
"Colomba" may be read aloud.
Sardinia, lying close to Corsica, is sometimes significantly called the
"Backward Island." One point for its study is the feudal system, which
continued there until the middle of the nineteenth century, and another
the brigandage for which it has been known for ages. See "The Forgotten
Isles," by Vuillier, translated by Frederic Breton (Appleton).
The history of Sicily is worth some months of study, for it opens the
story of the wars of Rome with Carthage. Consider the varied experience
of the city of Syracuse, the prosperity and political importance of
Sicily in the Middle Ages, the coming of Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi,
in later years. Last, note the impoverished condition of the country
to-day. Read from Sicily, in the Story of the Nations series (Putnam),
and some translations from Thucydides and Theocritus.
Malta, a possession of Great Britain, is of interest especially in
connection with the Knights of Saint John. Minorca may be looked up also
for a special paper. See "Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean," by
W. S. Monroe (The Page Company).
III--THE ISLANDS NEAR SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
The wild, mountainous islands of Scotland are peopled with fishing folk
whose language is still mostly Gaelic and whose customs are singularly
primitive. Read "A Daughter of Fife," by Amelia E. Barr, to show their
strong character. The Hebrides, lower down on the west coast, are
wonderfully picturesque. Read William Black's "A Princess of Thule."
Mull is remarkable for its beauty and for its Gaelic population and
traditions. Iona, a tiny island with a most important early Christian
history, has a ruined cathedral and graveyard containing many striking
and very ancient Celtic crosses. Staffa, near by, has a famous basaltic
formation and cave.
Most of England's islands are not grouped but stand singly. The Isle of
Man, off the west coast, is a somewhat wild place. Read Hall Caine's
"The Deemster," to learn of its people. The Isle of Wight, on the south,
is a garden spot. Note the famous places and people connected with them
and show pictures of Osborne House and Tennyson's home. The Scilly
Islands have a romantic past, partly legendary; see Besant's "Armorel of
Lyonesse." The Channel Islands, a group, are foreign, quaint, wild, and
beautiful. Their history is fascinating and they have been the home of
political refugees almost to the present day. Read "The Channel
Islands," by J. E. Morris (Macmillan Co.), and "Toilers of the Sea," by
Victor Hugo.
IV--ISLANDS NEAR AFRICA
Off the west coast of Africa are a few well-known islands. Toward the
north lies Madeira, long famous for its wine; to-day it is being
developed into a highly successful market garden, supplying England with
fruits and vegetables. Its picturesque population and the old city of
Funchal are charming. See "The Story of Madeira," by D. Dimmit (The
Methodist Book Concern).
Just below this lie the volcanic islands known as the Canaries, which
are thought to be the Fortunate Isles of antiquity. Strangely enough,
they seem to have dropped out of history for a time, and were
rediscovered in the fourteenth century. To-day they belong to Spain.
Show a picture of the Peak of Teneriffe.
The Cape Verde Islands deserve a passing glance, largely because Darwin,
in his "Volcanic Islands," makes them interesting. Just below these lies
St. Helena, the prison of Napoleon, which should have a separate paper.
Read from the "Life of Napoleon," by Sir Walter Scott.
On the opposite coast lies Madagascar, mentioned long ago by Ptolemy. It
remained a wild, uncivilized place until a century ago, when it came
into touch with trade; since that time it has had a dramatic story. See
"Madagascar and Its People," by James Sibree, and "Thirty Years in
Madagascar," by T. T. Matthews (Doran).
Near by lies Mauritius, the Ile de France, settled long ago by good
French families and well known in modern history. The story of "Paul and
Virginia," by Saint Pierre, is laid here, and also that of "My Little
Girl," by Besant and Rice. Read both of these.
V--OCEANICA
The islands of the Pacific are so numerous, so important, and so
immensely interesting that clubs can well afford to spend months in
studying them. The best plan is to take the map and divide the islands
into groups.
Take first the lovely Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands, twelve in all. One
paper should treat of their natural features, especially the famous
volcanoes. Another may take up the early history, speaking of the fact
that the people voluntarily abandoned idolatry as absurd and were
without religion for years, when they asked that help along this line
should be sent to them. The story of the coming of the first
missionaries and their work is remarkable. A third paper may be on the
visit of the native king and queen to England, a fourth may deal with
the leper colony at Molokai, and a fifth may describe the establishment
of the republic, and, later, its annexation to the United States.
Following westward on the map, the Caroline Islands and the Ladrones
should be studied; Guam, of the latter group, is now a possession of the
United States.
Several meetings should be given to the Philippine Islands, which come
next. Papers may be written on some of these topics, among many that
might be suggested: description of the islands; the early history; the
condition under Spain; the uprising of 1896; the physician, poet and
reformer Rizal; the people to-day, their habits and customs; the
establishment of a United States Commission and the work of the various
bureaus, especially that of education. A discussion may follow: Should
the Philippines be made self-governing? Read "The Philippine Islands,"
by F. W. Atkinson (Ginn).
VI--BORNEO, SUMATRA, JAVA AND OTHERS
Contrasted with these islands lie another group of three--Borneo,
Sumatra, and Java. The first two have wonderful fauna and flora,
hundreds of varieties of native woods and great natural resources, yet
are in a singularly backward condition. Read "Seventeen Years Among the
Sea Dyaks of Borneo," by E. H. Gomes (Lippincott). See also many recent
magazine articles. Java, lying close to this, is wholly different. It
belongs to Holland and is the important colony of the Dutch. Its early
history is interesting and the remains of its primitive civilization are
being unearthed. Read from "Java, Sumatra, and Other Islands," by A.
Cabaton (Scribner). Have one entire meeting given to the beautiful
island of Ceylon, before turning south.
New Guinea is near Australia and closely resembles it in striking
physical peculiarities. It is but slightly settled, and the Dutch and
English divide its ownership; the latter have found it rich in resources
and are making it commercially profitable.
Several small groups of islands to the east may be studied next. The
Fiji Islands were long known as the home of cannibals, and their turning
toward civilization makes an interesting study.
The Friendly Islands, or Tonga group, lie farther south and east; they
were inhabited by a wild and cruel people, now changed into a fairly
civilized and educated little nation, with churches and schools; many of
the people speak English.
The Society Islands are still farther west. The scenery here is
magnificent, with coral formations and atolls, tropical foliage, and
great waterfalls; this is called the Garden of the Pacific. The New
Hebrides have a special interest from the work of John G. Paton. Read
his life by his son (Doran). Close to these last groups lies Samoa,
beloved of Stevenson. Clubs should read of it from his books. See "In
the South Seas," and his Letters.
VII--TASMANIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Of the three islands near the southern end of Australia, Tasmania, close
to the larger country, is as large as Scotland. It was for years one of
England's penal colonies, but to-day it stands for everything that is
advanced and enlightened; its school system is remarkable and its
commerce highly developed. It is practically the home of a part of the
English people. Just beyond it lie the two islands that form New
Zealand, which, from the point of view of sociology, is one of the
world's places of mark. Read "New Zealand at Home," by B. A. Loughnan
(Newnes, London), and "New Zealand in Evolution," by G. H. Scholefield
(Scribner); also magazine articles.
VIII--JAPANESE ISLANDS
Japan, one of the foremost powers of the world to-day, is confined
geographically to four principal islands, with hundreds of smaller ones
grouped around these. At least four meetings should be given to its
study. The first may have a program on the physical features of Japan,
its resources, its people; a description of the peasants, their homes
and work; the cities, their houses, temples, and shops, with pictures of
interest.
The second may present the early history of Japan; its feudal system,
its religions, its varied government, down to the opening of the country
in 1853. The third and fourth may study the development of the country
under foreign ideas; the growth of the army and navy, the establishment
of schools, the court life, the extension of commerce, the press, the
new standards of government.
These should be followed by papers or talks on the late wars with China
and Russia and their effects. Other meetings should be on Japanese
architecture and art and on the different phases of the subject: The
Japanese in America. Read from "Japan," by Lafcadio Hearn (Macmillan
Co.), "Japanese Life in Town and Country," by George William Knox
(Putnam), and "The Lady of the Decoration," and "The Lady and Sada San,"
by Frances Little (Century Company).
IX--WEST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO
In studying the West Indies it is necessary to use a map at each meeting
to keep clearly in mind the location of islands: the Bahamas, the
Greater and Lesser Antilles, and the Caribbean or Leeward and Windward
Islands. A brief study of Columbus should introduce the whole series.
Follow with the story of the Spanish possession, and then take the
coming of the English and the Dutch, their colonies, growth of power,
and the wars which ensued.
This will bring in the romantic stories of the buccaneers; read of the
extraordinary careers of Captain Henry Morgan, the notorious
Blackbeard, and Captain Kidd, and have chapters from novels treating of
that time, such as Charles Kingsley's "Westward Ho!" and "To Have and To
Hold," by Mary Johnston.
Give the story of each important island: Jamaica, Santa Cruz, the two
little republics of Haiti and Santo Domingo, Barbados, and Martinique,
the last the birthplace of the Empress Josephine. The topic of slavery
should have one paper. Read from the life of William Wilberforce.
Take next Cuba and Porto Rico. Study the war between Spain and the
United States, and follow with the conditions to-day. Read from "The
West Indies," in the Story of the Nations series (Putnam); "The English
in the West Indies," by J. A. Froude (Longmans); and "On the Spanish
Main," by John Masefield (Macmillan).
X--BERMUDA AND THE AZORES
North of the West Indies lies a group of islands famous for their
beauty--the Bermudas. Here Shakespeare placed the scene of "The
Tempest." The English own the islands and maintain a military station
there. Read from "The Tempest." Follow with a paper on the Azores, in
mid-Atlantic.
Circling the North American Continent, clubs will find several separate
islands full of interest. Little Staten Island, in New York Harbor, and
Long Island are closely connected with our history. Cape Breton Island,
on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, holds the old stronghold of
Louisburg, and the beauty of the Bras d'Or Lakes is worthy of note. Read
"Baddeck and that Sort of Thing," by Charles Dudley Warner (Houghton
Mifflin Co.). Newfoundland, rugged and lonely, lies beyond. In spite of
its great fisheries on the Banks, its people are poor. Read of the work
of Grenfell among them. The Arctic islands farther north present little
to study, if we except Iceland, well to the northeast. This is truly a
wonderful little place, and clubs should give it one meeting. Its
relation to literature is important. Read the little classic, "An
Iceland Fisherman," by Pierre Loti (McClurg), and "Bound About the North
Pole," by W. J. Gordon (Dutton).
Crossing to the west coast of British Columbia one meeting might be
given to the Alaskan Island of Saint Lawrence and others of the
Aleutian group; then, coming down the coast, Queen Charlotte's Island
and Vancouver should be noted briefly. On the west coast of South
America is the little island of Juan Fernandez, on which the sailor
Alexander Selkirk spent five years alone, whose story suggested to Defoe
his "Robinson Crusoe."
Just around Cape Horn lies the strange, wild land of Tierra del Fuego,
of which little is known. Darwin, however, wrote of it in his "Voyage of
a Naturalist," and scientists find in it much of interest.
CHAPTER VI
THE BUSINESS OF BEING A HOUSEKEEPER
The following topics have been arranged in ten groups, but as many more
may be added by dividing each main group into two, or even three or
four. There may be readings at each meeting from the books given for
reference, and discussion by club members.
I--INTRODUCTORY
The subject for the first meeting may be the Old Housekeeping and the
New. One paper may take the comparison of housekeeping twenty years ago
and more and that of to-day. Is there a real difference, or only a
seeming one! Are rents, food, and clothing actually higher for the same
things, or does life to-day demand that we add to what we then had?
Assuming that prices have really gone up, and are to stay there, what
can women do to adjust themselves to the fact?
The second paper should speak of the necessity of a woman's knowing
exactly what she can have to spend; of knowledge of her husband's
business; of an allowance; of the need of training in keeping within a
fixed sum.
The third paper is to be on the budget. That is, on preparing a list of
expenses, setting them down in a book, apportioning the income among the
items, and then putting down each day and month the actual outgo, and
so, year by year, altering and arranging the expenses to meet the
income. The discussion should take the form of personal experiences in
keeping household accounts.
II--SYSTEMATIC HOUSEKEEPING
The introductory paper on this subject may speak of the complex way in
which our houses are furnished, and the superfluity of things in them.
Also the fact that the day's work of caring for them is not always
clearly defined and carried out.
The second paper may treat of the relief of a weekly schedule of work to
be done.
The third paper may take the topic of the conservation of a woman's
energy, and the carelessness with which she runs up and down stairs and
does unnecessary and foolish things. Mention here the help to be found
in vacuum cleaners, modern dusters, carpet sweepers, and other
housekeeping helps.
Discuss the question: How shall we make our brains save our bodies?
III--ECONOMY IN FOOD
By way of opening the meeting a brief paper may be read on What Is True
Economy? This will point out the fallacy of buying poor foods because
they are cheap, wilted vegetables, stale cereals, inferior canned goods,
and the like. This may be followed by one on the question of buying.
Where shall a housekeeper buy--at a large market or a small one? How can
one learn how to buy good and still cheap meats? How can one do with
less meat? And is buying in large quantities a good plan?
The third paper may take up markets, their cleanliness; the housewives'
leagues of certain cities and their work; what can country women do
whose market is limited?
The last paper should speak of the necessity of personal supervision by
the housekeeper; of the imprudence of ordering by telephone, and of the
system of giving orders at the door to the grocer.
The discussion may turn on the question of paying cash for everything or
charging.
IV--COOKING
A good beginning is a review of the cooking of our grandmothers, cooking
in various parts of the country, and cooking in foreign lands.
Scientific cooking is, first, a knowledge of food values, but it also
includes the art of cooking, and both may be presented. Show how an
expert cook will use whatever materials she has at hand and will avoid
the use of costly ingredients. A good topic here is, How shall we have
variety without increasing the expense?
The kitchen as a workshop is the subject of the next paper. Make it
plain that one needs a clean, sanitary room, with everything to work
with; suggest new utensils, fireless cookers, and so on, and describe
the ideal kitchen.
Close with a discussion on the point: How can a woman learn to be a good
cook? Mention cooking schools, demonstrations and lectures, the study of
magazine articles and the pamphlets sent out by the Department of
Agriculture. Clubs might form cooking classes as an outcome of this
meeting.
V--THE LAUNDRY
This topic may be arranged in two parts: the work done at home and the
work sent out. Under the first speak of the former methods and how
washing and ironing days were dreaded, and the old difficult ways of
working. The second paper will take the new ideas, and mention running
water, stationary tubs, washing machines, mangles, gas stoves, modern
flat-irons, and other appliances for the laundry. Speak of the economy
of buying soap, starch, and bluing at wholesale.
At this meeting members may bring in illustrations from catalogues of
anything they have seen which promises to help in doing laundry work at
home.
The other part of the program would naturally take up the larger aspects
of the question. Have a paper on public laundries: Are they sanitary? Is
it economical to have shirts done up there rather than at home? Describe
the methods of some large laundry.
The last paper would deal with the washerwoman at one's own home, and
at hers. Is it extravagant to hire a day's work when one could really do
it one's self? Is it safe to send washing out to a home which may not be
clean?
The discussion may be on the point: How shall we reduce the size of the
family wash? Are there short cuts in laundry work?
VI--SERVICE
Service in the Home is the general theme for the sixth club meeting.
As in other meetings, it is well to begin with a paper on other days,
perhaps from Colonial times down, and to speak of the difference in
servants in their social position then and now, and the contrast in
wages.
The second paper may mention the scarcity of servants to-day, and the
reasons why there are so few; of the dissatisfaction with domestic
service; the rise in wages for untrained service; of immigrants; the
foreign servants in the West and the negro in the South.
The third paper may be on employment bureaus, references, and the
relation of one employer to another; the relation of mistress and
servant is most interesting. Speak of the question of the
responsibility of a mistress for her maid's morals, for one, and the old
and sick servant, for another.
The last paper may be on the servantless home and how to manage it. This
will take up the division of work between parents and children, the
possibility of entertaining, the advantages and disadvantages of doing
one's own work, and a statement of the saving of money by the plan.
Contrast the loss of other things, of time certainly, and possibly of
social life and physical strength. Discuss: Is it an extravagance or an
economy to hire the hard work of the family?
VII--CLOTHING
The first paper on this subject is to discuss the real and apparent
difference in the cost of dressing a family a generation ago and now.
Are materials more, or less, expensive? Is the cost in the making? Do we
have too many clothes? Does not the trouble lie in the fact that we need
so many different clothes, thus increasing the size of the wardrobe,
rather than in the cost of each individual garment?
The following paper may be on shopping. It should be very practical and
suggest that shopping out of season is economical; that too much
shopping is extravagant in time and car fares; that a bargain counter is
seldom a good place to buy anything; that good materials wear longer
than poor ones.
The last paper may be on ready-made clothing. How is it made so cheaply?
What of the conditions under which garments are made? What of ordering
by mail? Is the material of any ready-made garment really as good as it
looks at first? How does it wear as compared to that made elsewhere?
There should be an excellent discussion on this subject, covering such
things as: Home dressmaking; does it pay? Is it an economy to take
lessons in dressmaking and millinery? Is making-over always cheap? Does
it pay to dye one's gowns? How can we systematize the making of our
wardrobes so that sewing shall occupy us only a small part of our time?
VIII--WASTE
There may be at least three excellent papers on this subject; the first
one may be on _waste of food_: Why is America thought by other peoples
to be so wasteful? Compare the economies in the kitchen with those in
France. The waste of not knowing how to cook is also a good topic, and
the waste of unconscious extravagance. The patronage of the bakery and
the delicatessen shop should also be mentioned, and the waste of money
involved.
The _waste of time_ may be the title of the next paper, illustrated
especially in the kitchen in making fancy dishes or those which require
hours of preparation; the waste of time in doing unnecessary fancy-work
and elaborate sewing. Note how all this waste of time means to many
women the loss of hours to read.
The _waste of woman's strength_ in doing work too heavy for
her--lifting, drawing water, and performing other tasks should be
especially spoken of in the next paper, and the value of labor-saving
devices, of rest and recreation, and of having some help in housework
should be made clear.
The discussion should take up other wastes: waste of fuel in furnace and
in range; waste of water, of gas, of kerosene; of the wastefulness of
destroying a good gown by doing cooking in it; of little losses here and
there in all departments of housekeeping.
IX--FALSE ECONOMIES
This meeting should present the subject of unintelligent doing-without.
It should show how foolish it is to economize recklessly everywhere. One
paper may be on the table, showing that unpalatable food is unwholesome;
one may be on entertaining, expressing the need of having one's friends
and one's children's friends in to meals; one may be on doing without
comforts of all kinds, and making life merely hard and uninteresting.
All these should be very brief and balanced by others expressing the
thought that education is a necessity, and that so are some things to
make life easy--a little service, a little time, and flowers and books
or magazines.
Discuss the whole subject of economy in the home and get suggestions
from each member as to what she considers the best place to cut one's
expenses.
X--WHAT IS HOME FOR?
This is a fascinating subject and the first paper opens up a wide field;
it is on Home as a Business Enterprise. This will show that a home may
be merely a school of economics, with all the thought centered on that
side of its life; or it may be merely a savings bank, with the idea of
laying aside money back of everything. Or it may be an industrial
institution with every one working all the time and no recreation or
amusement permitted. Show the absurdity of these different positions.
The second paper may take up the trained housekeeper as manager of the
home. This may make it plain that if a woman understands her business
she should run her house easily, economically, cheerfully, socially. In
other words, she will use her brains to make housekeeping intensely
interesting and satisfactory.
The third paper should speak of comfort _versus_ elegance in home life;
of the rarity of finding the two combined; of furnishing a house simply
yet artistically; of entertaining within one's means; of the
appreciation of music and books as a necessary part of life; of the
ideal family life.
The discussion may take such lines as these: What sacrifices to economy
are worth while? What luxuries are necessities? Is benevolence
compatible with a small income? Is education to be regarded as an
investment? Are our children growing up thinking that money is the
principal thing in the minds of their parents?
If the year's work on domestic economy is to be a success, it should
have some practical outcome; perhaps a study class may be organized to
develop the ideas of home efficiency, or there may be a reading club to
present new ideas in books and magazines and discuss them, or, as has
been suggested, there may be a cooking class formed.
Among the books to be consulted are: "Increasing Home Efficiency," by
Martha B. Bruere and Robert W. Bruere (Macmillan); "The Modern
Household," by Marion Talbot and S. P. Breckinridge (Whitcomb and
Barrows); "How to Live on a Small Income," by Emma C. Hewitt (Jacobs);
"Home Problems from a New Standpoint," by C. L. Hunt (Whitcomb and
Barrows); "Living on a Little," by C. F. Benton (The Page Company); "The
Making of a Housewife," by I. G. Curtis (Stokes); "A Handbook of
Hospitality for Town and Country," by Florence Howe Hall (The Page
Company).
CHAPTER VII
A STUDY OF SONGS
A charming study, not only for a musical club but also for any other, is
that of songs. The field is practically limitless, but by careful
selection of a program which covers only a part much may be learned and
enjoyed. It is essential that the life and times of each composer should
be studied, and some of his songs sung. Later on, various periods, or
certain themes, may be illustrated by the songs of different composers.
Perhaps for some of these records on a good phonograph may be used.
To introduce the subject have a paper on folk songs, which in every
nation precede what are known as art songs. Many of these folk songs
have come down from very early times, either just as they were or woven
into art songs. Follow this with a second paper on the minnesingers and
troubadours and their songs. A third paper may speak of an interesting
theme which may be called the local color of songs. The Laplander has
his reindeer songs; the Alpine peasant, his songs of the mountains, with
the yodel; the Russian has songs of the steppes; the negro, his
plantation melodies; the sailor, his chanty; the soldier, his songs of
battle and prison. Hunting songs, love songs, funeral dirges, songs of
nature, of childhood, of home, of country, all have a literature of
their own.
One meeting may take up the subject of the first art songs--which
originated about the time of the first operas and were part of them.
I--THE GREAT GERMANS
The _lied_, or lyric song, was practically invented in Germany, and by
Schubert, the great master of lyric song, though Handel, Haydn, Gluck,
Mozart, and Beethoven all wrote arias, or songs, of great beauty and
importance. Illustrate by giving one or more songs from each.
The life of Schubert and his genius should have at least one meeting
devoted to them. Read the chapter in Finck upon him. Notice what he
accomplished in his thirty-one years. Beethoven said of him: "Truly
Schubert has the divine spark." His hundreds of songs are sweet and
tender, yet strong and noble. Sing "The Erl-King," written when he was
only eighteen, "Hark, Hark, the Lark"; "Death and the Maiden"; "Who is
Sylvia?" and "Margaret at the Spinning Wheel."
Mendelssohn's songs, long admired, are now considered rather mediocre
with the exception of a few. "On the Wings of the Wind"; "The
Volkslied"; "The Venetian Gondolier," and others, are distinctly bright
and sunny, fresh and graceful.
Schumann, unlike Schubert and Mendelssohn, wrote songs often sad and
even gloomy, but many of them, especially in his song cycles, are gems.
Sing, "Du bist wie eine Blume"; and "Der Nussbaum."
II--FRANZ AND GRIEG
Robert Franz, though totally deaf from early in life, wrote songs which
other musicians term immortal. His work is strikingly original, the
accompaniment woven with the melody of the voice. The simple old folk
songs often suggested them and his style, like that of Wagner, is often
declamatory. Read his life, and sing "Leise zieht durch mein Gemueth";
"Bitte"; "Es ragt der alte Eborus," and, "Im Mai." Following the work of
Franz take up Brahms, Jensen, Wagner, and Strauss, and the many other
German song writers.
Grieg is called "the king of Scandinavian song writers." His work is
often half wild, half melancholy, but always original. He followed the
spirit of the folk songs of his country. He is sometimes spoken of as
the Norwegian Chopin and is also compared with our own MacDowell. Sing,
"The First Primrose"; "The Minstrel's Song," and others.
III--SLAVIC COMPOSERS
Hungary gave Liszt to the world, and his sixty songs are of exceeding
value. His music closely represents the words of his songs, suggesting
falling rain, or sighing winds, or even the hum of bees. Sing "Kennst du
das Land?" "The Lorelei"; "King of Thule"; "Wanderer's Night Song."
Chopin, born in Poland, wrote fresh, charming little folk songs,
dramatic lyrics and romantic melodies. The seventeen which we possess
have an emotional range wider than that of any other composer's songs.
"Poland's Dirge," one of his most famous works, is called the most
funereal song in existence.
Paderewski, also a Pole, has only recently begun to write songs, but
those he has done are charming--quaint, romantic and full of national
color.
Rubinstein belongs both to Poland and Russia, but is chiefly identified
with the latter country. He wrote many songs, not all of them works of
genius, but many most beautiful and strong. See his cycle of "Persian
Poems;" "The Earth at Rest;" "Good Night."
Tschaikowsky and Dvorak have also written Slavic music, rather sad,
suggestive of folk songs and full of power. See the former's "None but a
Lonely Heart," and, "The Czar's Drinking-House;" and the latter's "Gipsy
Songs."
IV--FRANCE, ITALY AND ENGLAND
France, unlike Germany, has never had genuine art songs. Of chansons,
romances and other light songs there is an abundance, but its serious
work has been rather in the line of opera. Gounod, however, has many
lovely things, some of them popular: "Oh, That We Two Were Maying;"
"Maid of Athens," and others, are well known. Delibes shows a distinct
German influence in his song-writing. "Nightingale," and "Regrets," have
high merit. Godard has more than a hundred songs to his credit, many
delightful: the "Arabian Song;" "Farewell;" "The Traveler," are among
the best. A French woman song writer, Mdlle. Chaminade, is distinctly
popular to-day, but her work is not considered by critics to be
strikingly original.
Italy has never been interested in art song; indeed, except for the folk
songs of the street, there are few, if any, except such as are found
imbedded in operas and are distinctly a part of them. Tosti, to be sure,
has written many songs and so have other Italian composers of our day,
but nothing which stands among the great lyric songs of the world.
In England the ballad is the musical form of the song, and here this
nation excels. The ballads are strong, sincere and beautiful. Clubs
should have a number of meetings on the ballads of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. Sullivan has written some lovely songs, and so have Goring
Thomas, Stanford, and Cowen. There is a new English school of merit,
with fresh and original ideas. Sing Thomas's "Spring Is Not Dead" and "A
Summer Night." "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," by Stanford, is an excellent
piece of work. Mackenzie has followed Brahms more or less; sing "Hope,"
his best song.
V--AMERICAN SONGS
Until recently we in America, like the English, have written but few
lyric songs. But to-day we have a large number of such composers, and
there are those in other nations who think that the best work of our
time is being done in this country.
Prof. John K. Paine has written only a few songs. Among them are:
"Moonlight," and "The Matin Song," both charming.
Arthur Foote has written forty songs--among them, "On the Way to Kew,"
and, "In Picardie"--and is sometimes compared with Franz. Clayton Johns
has a hundred songs, his "Winter Journey" being suggestive of Russian
music; "Were I a Prince Egyptian," is good. Reginald de Koven is called
the most popular of America's song writers; his settings of verses by
Eugene Field are familiar, and his best known song, "Oh, Promise Me,"
has had great popularity.
G. W. Chadwick, the director of the New England Conservatory, has
written seventy-five songs, some of them most original. "Allah" is the
best known and probably his strongest; but, "Before the Dawn;" "Bedouin
Love Song;" and "Green Grows the Willow," are also fine.
Ethelbert Nevin is a well-known and admired writer of lyrical songs.
Walter Damrosch, Horatio Parker, the late Gerrit Smith, Victor Herbert,
and many others have been steadily turning out good work.
Edward MacDowell, however, is America's most distinguished song writer,
and his early death was lamented as a national calamity among music
lovers. Like Grieg in having a Scotch strain in his blood, his work also
shows a certain resemblance to that of the Norwegian. His music is
highly polished, always interesting and never imitative. Two lovely
settings of old words are noticeable: "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie
Doon," and "Kennst Du das Land?" "The Pansy" and "The Mignonette," are
the best of a group of six flower pieces; "Menie" is remarkable for its
tender sadness and delicacy; but his most popular song is "Thy Beaming
Eyes." Critics consider his most scholarly work to be his eight settings
of verses by Howells, and "The Sea." See "National Music of America and
Its Sources," by L. C. Elson (The Page Company), and "American
Composers," by Rupert Hughes (The Page Company).
VI--INTERESTING SONGS
In addition to studying this great subject by countries, and by special
treatment of the masters of song writing individually, clubs may be
interested to look up and sing many of the old English songs suggested
under such heads as these in H. K. Johnson's "Old Familiar Songs" (Henry
Holt):
Memory: "Ben Bolt;" "I Remember, I Remember."
Home: "My Old Kentucky Home;" "The Suwanee River."
Exile: "Lochaber No More;" "My Heart's in the Highlands."
Sea: "A Life on the Ocean Wave;" "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep."
Nature: "The Ivy;" "The Brook."
Sentiment: "The Last Rose of Summer;" "Stars of the Summer Night."
Unhappy Love: "Kathleen Mavourneen;" "Bonnie Doon."
Happy Love: "Annie Laurie;" "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone."
Humor: "Comin' Through the Rye;" "Within a Mile of Edinboro' Town."
Convivial: "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes;" "Landlord, Fill the
Flowing Bowl."
Martial: "Scots Wha Hae;" "March of the Men of Harlech."
National: "Rule Britannia;" "Hail Columbia."
Books to consult: "Songs and Song Writers," Henry T. Finck (Chas.
Scribner's Sons); "Makers of Song," Anna A. Chapin (Dodd, Mead & Co.);
"Stories of Famous Songs," S. J. A. Fitzgerald (Lippincott).
Collections of all the songs mentioned here, and many more, may be found
by writing to music publishers. Public libraries have also cyclopedias
of music which will help in writing the biographies of musicians. See
"Great Composers and Their Work," by L. C. Elson (The Page Company).
CHAPTER VII
SOME OF THE WORLD'S FAMOUS BUILDINGS
Like so many subjects suggested for club work, the one presented here
may be expanded indefinitely. Each of the great buildings given should
serve to introduce the subject of architecture and history.
Material will be found in good histories; in the encyclopedia,
especially the Encyclopedia Britannica, and in the many books on
architecture. Among the most useful in the way of description are:
"Historic Buildings Described by Great Writers," and "Turrets, Towers
and Temples," both by Esther Singleton (Dodd, Mead & Co.), and "Wonders
of Art and Archaeology," by M. Lefevre (Scribner). Ferguson's "History of
Architecture" (Dodd, Mead & Co.) is also valuable. At each meeting there
should be illustrations shown of the buildings studied.
I--EGYPT'S GREATEST BUILDING
The earliest of the world's great buildings, and in some respects the
most remarkable of them all, is the Great Temple of Karnak, at Thebes,
in lower Egypt, built about 1600 B. C.
Introductory papers should describe the country and its rulers, its
development and religion. Speak especially of the power of the monarchs
and the nation of slaves. Show pictures of pyramids, obelisks, gates and
temples. Speak of Thebes, described by Homer as "hundred-gated." Compare
with Memphis.
Then follow with one paper on the great ruins on the left bank of the
Nile at Thebes, and read Shelley's sonnet on the fallen Colossus there.
Crossing to the right bank, describe the ruins at Luxor, and so come to
the vast and overwhelming Temple of Karnak itself.
Note the avenue of sphinxes, the forest of columns which led to the
river bank, the huge fallen capitals, on each of which a hundred men can
stand. Give some idea of the immensity of the Hall and what it must have
been like when the roof was on, and the whole area of two hundred and
seventy acres was in its perfection. Read the description by Amelia B.
Edwards in "Turrets, Towers and Temples."
II--THE PARTHENON AND THE ACROPOLIS
To realize the beauty and value of the Parthenon at Athens, clubs must
first study the history of Greece from the time of Themistocles and the
Persian wars, through the rule of Aristides and Cimon when, it is
believed, the building of the Parthenon was begun. The Age of Pericles,
when art was at its height, needs two or more meetings; it was then that
the temple was finished.
A good picture of the Acropolis at Athens should be shown to keep the
buildings distinct; the one in Lefevre's book is excellent. Read the
description of a procession to the temple by John Addington Symonds, in
"Sketches in Italy."
One paper should discuss the architecture of the Parthenon; another
should mention the sculptures and paintings; a third may give its later
history, noting that while it was intact until 1687 its history from
that time has been one of destruction. Mention the injuries done by
collectors, especially Morosini and Lord Elgin. What of the ethics of
the removal of the sculptures? Close with a descriptive reading on the
Parthenon as it is to-day.
Studies of other Grecian temples will be found in the "Isles and Shrines
of Greece," by S. J. Barrows (Little, Brown & Co.).
There is a remarkable little collection of poems called "The Englishman
in Greece" (Clarendon Press) which will give delightful material for
illustrating this program with verse from famous writers.
III--THE BUILDINGS OF ROME
The picture of the Coliseum at Rome brings with it the wonderful story
of the imperial city at the height of its splendor, and also in its
decay. Have meetings on Rome under Vespasian and Titus, who together
built the Coliseum. It was completed in 80 A. D., ten years after the
destruction of Jerusalem.
One paper may describe its architecture, its arches, its massive stone
walls, its successive tiers of seats, its divisions for the people and
the court, its interesting exits. It covered five acres of land and
seated eighty-six thousand people; compare with the great stadium at
Harvard to-day.
Follow with papers on the Roman games; at the dedication of the Coliseum
these lasted a hundred days. Have one also on the gladiatorial fights
and one on the Christian massacres, many of which took place here. Read
from "Ben Hur" (Harper), the Chariot Race. Show, if possible, Gabriel
Max's picture, "The Last Token." Then take the gradual destruction of
the building by Goths and Vandals, and by the people of Rome themselves.
Read from Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" his
description of the building and the events which took place there; and
also from the Coliseum, by Dickens, in "Historic Buildings."
Other buildings which may also be studied are the Pantheon, the Arch of
Titus, Pompey's Theater, and the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, all in
the early history of Italy. Clubs may follow the meetings on these
buildings with two others on the more modern but no less remarkable St.
Peter's, at Rome, that colossal edifice in the transept of which it is
said that a cathedral could stand. Read from the description in "Wonders
of Architecture."
IV--CASTLES AND CATHEDRALS IN GERMANY
Among the many great architectural remains in Germany perhaps the most
interesting is the Castle of Heidelberg, standing on a hill three
hundred feet above the town. It was begun toward the close of the
thirteenth century, and is divided into two palaces and a hall, all of
different periods. The extraordinary thing about it is the fact that
nearly every style of architecture has been employed in its construction
and adornment, yet it remains a thing of beauty. In the Palace of
Frederick IV there are chiseled sculptures of five emperors, two kings
and nine palatines; in the Palace of Otho Heinrichs there is a lovely
Italian facade, with Greek demi-gods and nymphs, Hebrew heroes, and
Roman Caesars. There are four granite columns given by the Pope to
Charlemagne, which were transferred from palace to palace before they
were finally brought here. One writer has said that there is renown for
ten artists in this castle, all of them unknown.
Study the history of Germany in connection with this building, the
different palatine emperors who lived here, the wars in which it played
a part, and the great events of which it was the scene. Read the
description by Victor Hugo in "Turrets, Towers and Temples."
Clubs should also take up the Cathedral of Cologne, the Castle of the
Wartburg, the Dragonfels, and the church at Aix-la-Chapelle.
V--THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA
The Mosque of St. Sophia at Constantinople is the great example of
Byzantine art. Its history begins in the latter days of Roman history.
Constantine, Theodosius, and Justinian all were connected with it. Read
of the part each emperor took. Study next the rise and development of
its style of architecture; note how uninteresting is its exterior, how
curious the material of which it is built, and how wonderful its
interior is. Note especially its marvelous dome, its pillars, built of
marble and mosaics, its galleries and seats, so unusual in a great
church. Take up the history of its greater columns, some from the Temple
of the Sun at Baalbek, built by Aurelian, others from the Temple of
Diana at Ephesus, and still others from Thebes, Athens, Rome, and
Alexandria. This one topic of the columns could fill a meeting.
The use of color in the church should be emphasized; greens, blues,
reds, black and white, rose and gold all mingle here in the decoration.
Lamps, globes of crystal, even ostrich eggs, are suspended from the
ceiling. Carpets and rugs, inlaid lecterns, painted sentences from the
Koran are all of interest, but perhaps most remarkable are the scenes of
Moslem life and worship at all hours.
As to the history of the great church,--that covers all of the Middle
Ages, and extends even to our own day. Christians and Mohammedans have
fought for it; it has withstood sieges and bombardments, and known
massacres and pillage. Read from many sources; one good description by
De Amicis is found in "Turrets, Towers and Temples."
VI--MOORISH ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN
On a hill-top in Spain in the fortified suburb of Granada is the famous
palace of the Moorish kings, the Alhambra. A large part of it was torn
down by Charles V to make way for a palace which he began but never
finished; it has suffered from neglect, from spoliation, from
bombardment, from earthquakes and from fire; yet it still remains to-day
an exquisite and unique piece of architecture. The whole place is easily
divided into its parts, and papers may describe them separately. The
entrance with its great vestibule and the inner portal, one with a
gigantic hand and the other with a key, around which emblems cluster
fascinating legends, may be the first subject; then will follow others
on the Hall of the Ambassadors, the Court of the Fish Pond, the Court of
the Lions, the Hall of the Two Sisters, and the Hall of the
Abencerrages. The Court of the Lions is the most beautiful, with its
alabaster fountain resting on the crouching lions; the Hall of the
Abencerrages witnessed a famous massacre; show pictures of these two
rooms. Notice how everywhere there are the vaulted ceilings of carved
cedar wood, the bubblelike domes, the mosaics, the tilings, the
arabesques, the delicate tracery of color, and the marvelous lace work
of wood and marble. The deep well of icy water is also to be mentioned,
and the repeated fountains; the glorious views from the various windows
and arches are also famous. Read several chapters from Washington
Irving's "Alhambra," and also from "Spain and the Spaniards," by De
Amicis (Coates).
The Giralda and the Alcazar, both of Seville, should also be studied as
other Moorish remains; and if there is time there may be one meeting on
the Escurial.
VII--NOTEWORTHY RUSSIAN BUILDINGS
The Kremlin is the citadel of Moscow and is built on very much the same
lines as the Alhambra, for a wall surrounds it and it contains many
important buildings. Here are churches, palaces, and towers. Clubs
should spend several meetings on this place, for it is of immense
importance in Russian history. Have one paper on the Bell Tower; pass
from this to the Cathedral of the Assumption, and describe its massive
interior and the painted walls, with the figures whose aureoles,
breastplates, necklaces, and bracelets are of precious stones; mention
also the burial place of the Metropolitans. Follow with another paper on
the cathedral of the Archangel, and a fourth on the new palace, which
holds the art treasures of Russia, its famous manuscripts, paintings and
jewels. The library, museum and university should also be described,
the whole place forming a wonderful group of buildings.
Read the description by Theophile Gautier, in "Turrets, Towers and
Temples." See also "The Russian Empire of To-day and Yesterday," by
N. O. Winter (The Page Company). Give the description of a coronation.
VIII--NOTRE DAME
The history of the great church of Notre Dame in Paris goes back into
pagan times. A heathen temple once stood on its site, and later a
Christian basilica. The present church was begun in the twelfth century.
Clubs should first take up its architecture, which is not pure Gothic
but transitional, and understand how it differs from many of the
beautiful pure Gothic French cathedrals. Some of its many striking
features are its three deep porches in front, the massive square towers,
the delicate gallery, with its openwork arches, which supports a heavy
mass of stone, and the huge rose window.
The history of the church is of the deepest interest. One paper may be
on the curious fact that, though the French kings were crowned at
Rheims, an English king, Henry VI, was crowned in Notre Dame, and give a
description of the times and the event. Note also the great Te Deum sung
here in 1431 when Paris was retaken.
During the French Revolution this was the Temple of Reason, and a
travesty on the usual religious services was performed. Napoleon,
wishing to impress Europe, summoned the Pope to Paris, and was here
crowned Emperor of the French, but by his own hands. All these and other
historical points are to have papers.
Read parts of Victor Hugo's novel, "Notre Dame." Study also other French
churches, especially the cathedrals of Amiens, Rouen, Chartres and
Rheims. Read "Rambles in the French Chateaux," by F. M. Costling (The
Page Company), "Old Paris," by H. C. Shelley (The Page Company).
IX--IN THE BRITISH ISLES
The Tower of London has a more intimate connection with the history of
England than any other building. Tradition says, probably erroneously,
that it was begun by the Romans; certainly, however, the oldest part,
the White Tower, dates back to 1078. Have a picture or plan shown which
makes clear how it is built,--with walls, a moat and various towers and
the Keep. Then take in chronological order all the great events which
occurred here, giving several meetings to their study. Kings were
crowned, held court here, and were imprisoned. Queens died or were
beheaded. Famous prisoners spent years in its dungeons. Describe the
square place in the court where the executioner's block stood; show the
Bloody Tower, and give the events which occurred there. Notice the gate
connected with this, and also the Traitors' Gate. Tell of the Tower
to-day, and its collection of armor and jewels.
In "Abbeys, Castles and Famous Halls of England and Wales," by Timbs and
Gunn (Warne of London), there is an excellent resume of the history of
the Tower. Or, a good English history, such as Green's, will give it.
Take also the history and description of Westminster Hall and Abbey, St.
Paul's, the different cathedrals of England and other famous buildings.
If possible add the famous buildings of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle,
Holyrood, Stirling, and others. Wales has many famous ruins, notably
Carnarvon, Conway and Harlech. Ireland has, among others, Ross Castle.
X--THE TAJ MAHAL
India has many notable temples and ruins, but for sheer beauty nothing
can compare with the Taj Mahal, at Agra. Built in the seventeenth
century by the Emperor Shah-Jehan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife
and himself, it required the work of twenty thousand men for more than
twenty years to complete it. It has been called a masterpiece of art, "a
poem in stone."
A portico of red sandstone admits one to a long terrace built of white
marble blocks, with wonderful gardens on each side and a canal
reflecting the dark cypress trees. The tomb stands among these,
reflected in the water. It is an octagonal building rising to a great
dome, with smaller ones with minarets. All is built of marble and
covered with exquisite carvings and inlays of flowers of turquoise and
onyx, with sentences from the Koran in black marble. It is all simple,
harmonious, and exquisitely beautiful. Within, in the bare central space
are the two plain tombs, covered with what is like a pall of carved,
lacy marble. The whole forms one of the art treasures of the Orient.
CHAPTER IX
FOUR SHORT PROGRAMS
PART I
I--A GROUP OF FAMOUS BOOKS
Each of the six masterpieces of fiction suggested for this program must
be read by the members of the club in preparation for their presentation
at the different meetings. The plots and characters must be familiar, to
have intelligent discussion.
When studying each book begin with a sketch of the life and work of the
author; follow with an outline of the plot of the book and a description
of each of the principal characters. Readings from all the books and
criticisms upon them may be found in "Warner's Library of the World's
Best literature."
FRENCH, GERMAN, RUSSIAN, AND SPANISH
A French book, "Les Miserables," is one of the best known books of
history as well as literature, for it has to do with many vital social
questions and reforms. Notice Victor Hugo's descriptive powers and
discuss whether the book shows a knowledge of actual life or is largely
theoretical. As it is the moral purpose of the book which has given it
vitality, study the attitude of society toward the outcast and the
criminal as the author gives it. Does the artist in him at times
overpower his moral sense? Compare the treatment of the criminal then
and at the present time. In spite of the faults of construction, how
does the book rank as literature?
Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister" stands in the front rank among German novels.
Give an outline of the book. Is there a plot? Is the book an
autobiography? If not, how far does Goethe give his own experiences? Is
the book a study in realism or does it deal with the unnatural? In what
does the power of the book lie? What has the author to say of education,
religion and esthetics? Is there a moral purpose, and are any problems
settled?
Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" is of the greatest literary importance, for
its author was the founder of the modern realistic school. Have several
papers on the leading characters. What is the mainspring of Anna's
character? Is the comedy character, Oblensky, satisfactory? Is Tolstoy
really capable of humor? Is Levin a mouthpiece for Tolstoy's own views
of life? Study the social side of Russian life. Are the problems of Anna
the same as those which confront women in other lands to-day? Notice
what famous men have said of this book: Matthew Arnold declared it "less
a work of art than a piece of life." In a final meeting discuss the
subject of realism in fiction compared to idealism, with examples of
each class of work. Study and compare the writings of James, Howells,
and Arnold Bennett with Tolstoy's.
"Don Quixote" is not only the masterpiece of Spain, but a book with
unique qualities. Discuss, Does it give an unbiased picture of the
people? Is Don Quixote a madman, or does the author intend to show under
his extravagances some philosophy of life? What does the author
satirize? Does he successfully combine the real and the grotesque, or
lean too far toward the latter? Is the book a parable? If so, what does
it teach?
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN
Among the greatest works in English fiction, "Adam Bede" stands out
conspicuous by setting forth the eternal question of moral values. In
the study of the characters note that Dinah was drawn from life. Notice
the development of character in Adam and Hetty.
How does the standard of morals differ in our day from that in the time
in which the book is placed? Study the writer's humor and show how it
serves to relieve the somberness of the book. Was George Eliot really a
humorist? Above all, notice the great moral purpose which inspired the
writer. Does her picture differ from that of Dickens in "David
Copperfield"?
"The Marble Faun" is worthy of serious study. It is the American
masterpiece of fiction. Observe in this book that Hawthorne gave the
story such a faithful setting that it may be used as a guidebook to
Rome. The style of the book is remarkable; its exquisite simplicity
deserves more than a passing notice. Discuss the mingling of the real
and the mystical. Note especially the effect of the murder on the
different characters.
The remarkable character analysis in this work is one of the author's
famous points. The main theme of the book--Is sin really an element in
human education?--should be discussed. Does Hawthorne answer the
question?
If these books lead to the study of others, the following are among the
best to select: Daudet's "The Nabob;" Goethe's "The Sorrows of Werther;"
in connection with Don Quixote, Le Sage's "Gil Blas;" Tourguenieff's
"Smoke;" Thackeray's "Henry Esmond;" and in our own literature of the
present time, Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth," and Margaret Deland's
"Iron Woman."
PART II
A STUDY OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
Among the live questions of the day marriage and divorce are
conspicuous. Our ideas, as well as our laws, are undergoing radical
changes. Women should certainly be intelligent upon this great subject,
and this outline will give them material for at least six meetings upon
it.
Begin with an account of marriage in ancient times; follow with the
customs of different countries down to the present day. Notice that
marriage is distinctly a social institution.
One meeting should raise the question, Upon what should marriage be
based? Among other things these three points should be emphasized: it
must be based on love; on physical and mental fitness; and upon mutual
interests, especially those which center in the children. Negatively, it
should not be based upon mere emotion nor upon a desire for wealth or
social advantages.
Discuss the relation between grown children and parents in making a
marriage-choice; the age for marriage; the so-called international
marriages; frivolous marriages, and other points which will readily
suggest themselves. Have club members speak of what they consider the
conditions for a happy marriage, and the necessity to-day of training
all young men and young women for marriage. Notice that as marriage is a
social institution, society is bound to safeguard it in every possible
way.
Turning to divorce, begin this with a study of its history down to the
present time. Follow with a resume of the laws of divorce in the
different countries. Note that America leads the world in the number of
its divorces, which are two hundred a day. Give the laws in some of the
states; point out that South Carolina gives no divorces, that New York
gives them for one cause only; that Indiana gives most of all. Mention
some of the evils which arise from the difference of state laws.
One meeting should take the subject of the changing sentiment toward
divorce. Ellen Key significantly says that one reason for it is our weak
moral fiber, which avoids all unpleasantness. Another cause is
undoubtedly the tendency toward individualism. Illustrate with readings
from Ibsen's "A Doll's House" at this point. A third cause is the
increasing desire for ease and luxury and pleasure of all kinds, which
makes a man or woman leave one environment for another which promises
more. Have papers or talks on these themes:
Shall divorce be free where love has gone? Read from Ellen Key.
Should divorce be given on other than statutory cause? If so, on what?
Does separation take the place of divorce in most cases?
Would the addition of a civil ceremony to the religious make divorces
less frequent?
Would the attitude of society toward hasty marriages, should they be
discountenanced, be helpful?
What should be the proper attitude of the State toward divorce? Are the
Courts of Domestic Relations of value in preventing them?
Would Divorce Courts, dealing with this whole matter intelligently, be
helpful?
What should be the attitude of the church toward divorce?
What is the effect of divorce on children in the home? Has the child a
right to one father and one mother even though their attitude toward
each other is strained? What is the moral effect on a child in the
latter case?
Especially make a point of the question: How much should the individual
sacrifice for the good of society? Here read "The Iron Woman" (latter
part), by Margaret Deland.
Among the many books on these two subjects read these especially: "Love
and Marriage," by Ellen Key (Putnam); "Marriage and Divorce," by Rev.
J. H. Holmes (B. W. Huebsch); "Woman and the Law," by G. J. Bayles
(Century Co.); "Marriage as a Trade," Hamilton (Moffat, Yard & Co.);
"Women and To-morrow," George (Appleton).
Have reviews also of "Together," by Herrick (Grosset), and "Marriage,"
by Wells (Duffield).
PART III
CHILD LABOR
The subject of Child Labor is one of the vital questions of to-day, and
every woman should study and know the conditions, particularly in her
own State. Begin with an introductory paper on child labor in the mills
of England in the nineteenth century. Read from Mrs. Browning's "Cry of
the Children."
Study the present conditions in America; the mining, canning,
glass-blowing, and factory work occupations, particularly in the South;
the tenement-house trades, such as nut-shelling and the making of
artificial flowers. Discuss the many evils to which the children are
exposed, the lack of rest and exercise, the unsanitary surroundings.
Study the street trades; boot-blacking, newspaper selling, peddling, and
the work of the messenger boy; also that of the child on the stage, the
conditions under which he must work; the legislation governing these,
and the enforcement of the laws.
Take up the causes of child labor, the poverty, and the need to increase
the family income; the employer's attitude toward child labor; the
indifference to school. Discuss, How can the school obtain and hold the
child? and the vital importance of education. Find out whether the
compulsory education law is enforced in your own locality. Speak of the
teaching of trades in schools; industrial education by the State; the
economic value of education. Read and discuss the state laws on child
labor. Are they enforced? Should public opinion against child labor be
aroused? Read the reports of exhibitions: Could the club have some sort
of an exhibit?
I--THE FAR-REACHING EFFECTS
The effects of child labor are of far-reaching importance. Read the
statistics of accident and disease, the stunting of growth, the effect
on the child's mentality and morals from articles in Survey. What
percentage of child criminals come from the laboring classes? The effect
of child labor on the home should be discussed, its tendency to
disintegrate; note the physical deterioration, and the unfitness for
parenthood in the child who has labored, the loss of vital force in the
children mentally and physically in the following generations, and the
lowering of standards of American citizenship which must follow.
On each point have readings from pamphlets published by the National
Child Labor Committee, 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York City,
which will be sent to any one who writes and asks for them. The
following will be especially helpful: Child Employing Industries, Child
Labor, Child Problems, Child Workers of the Nation, Compulsory Education
in the South.
The _Survey_ has quantities of articles on all the topics. In addition,
read from these books:
"Child Labor in City Streets," E. N. Clopper. (Macmillan.) "The Cry of
the Children," Mrs. B. Van Vorst. (Moffat, Yard.) "Solution of the Child
Labor Problem," S. Nearing. (Moffat, Yard.) "The Children in the
Shadow," E. K. Coulter. (McBride, Nast & Co.) "Through the Mill," F. K.
Brown. (Pilgrim Press, Boston.) "Juvenile Offenders," W. D. Morrison.
(Appleton.)
PART IV
AMERICAN NATURE WRITERS
Toward spring clubs which have taken a heavy subject all winter will
enjoy a program of ten meetings on our own writers about nature. The
life of each should first be fully studied, and there may be many
readings from books.
The story of John James Audubon is as interesting as the most romantic
novel. Study this in full and describe his great book, "Birds of
America"; read from his granddaughter's (Maria B. Audubon) "Life of
Audubon" (Scribner).
Henry David Thoreau is a unique figure in our literary history. Read
some of his poems; also Stevenson's sketch in "Familiar Studies;" and
from "Thoreau," by F. B. Sanborn (Houghton Mifflin Co.).
John Burroughs is the most popular of our nature writers. Read "Wake
Robin," "Birds and Poets," and "Indoor Studies" (Houghton Mifflin Co.).
John Muir though not an American by birth, was our chief scientific
writer about nature. Read from "The Mountains of California" (Century
Co.); "Our National Parks" (Houghton Mifflin Co.).
Stewart Edward White writes of the mountains and forests. Read: "The
Forest" (Doubleday, Page), and "The Pass" (Outing Co.).
Select chapters from Ernest Thompson Seton's "The Biography of a
Grizzly" (Century Co.), "Lives of the Hunted" (Scribner).
Read from Theodore Roosevelt's "The Hunting Trips of a Ranchman,"
"Hunting the Grizzly" (Putnam), and "Good Hunting" (Harper).
Read briefly of Henry C. McCook's life, and then from "Nature's
Craftsmen" (Harper), and "Tenants of an Old Farm" (Jacobs).
Read selections from the books of Mabel Osgood Wright and Olive Thorne
Miller.
Have readings from "The Nature Lovers' Treasury," by Carrie T. Lowell
(The Page Company).
CHAPTER X
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CANAL
There is a certain romantic interest about the history of Central and
South America and a uniting of ancient and modern history there which
makes its study peculiarly attractive. Sufficient material is given for
an entire year's work, and the many books written recently upon them
give ample references.
I--THE BEGINNINGS
Starting with Central America, the first meeting may be upon its
physical features, illustrated with a map. It is believed that
originally there may have been a great archipelago uniting the two
continents, earthquakes possibly throwing them together. The Cordillera,
or mountain chain, which lies the length of the peninsula, is of unusual
wildness and beauty, with volcanoes here and there. The long slopes from
the sea to the mountain tops give great variety of climate and
productions, remarkable in so small a country. Describe at length the
flora and fauna.
This will introduce the great subject of the ancient remains of a highly
civilized race. There are huge pyramids, vying with those of Egypt,
walls built without plaster yet of amazing durability, temples with
carvings and colored picture-writing of wonderful beauty, all the
subject of great interest to archaeologists. Show photographs of these,
and discuss whether they were connected with the remains in Egypt or
were a spontaneous development of an aboriginal race.
After this take up the coming of the European and the result. In 1513
Balboa saw the great Pacific Ocean spread out before him. Wading into
its water he took all the land upon its shore in the name of
Spain--which was the entire territory from Alaska to Cape Horn.
Read:--Keats's sonnet "On first looking into Chopman's Homer," with its
reference to the "peak in Darien."
Spain proceeded to take possession of the country to the immediate north
and south, and kept it until 1821; it stamped its peoples indelibly
with its mark and made it more Spanish than Western in customs, religion
and morals. Notice the curious fact that a canal across Panama was
suggested by Spain in 1551. Follow the history of these centuries until
Spain lost its ownership; then speak of the federal republic, and later
of the founding of the different republics as they are to-day. This will
take several meetings.
II--THE CENTRAL AMERICAN REPUBLICS
From this point study each little republic by itself, beginning with
Guatemala, the farthest north, adjoining Mexico, and resembling it in
many ways.
Here the feature of prime importance is the natural forests of rare
woods; the soil is also unusually fertile and can be made to produce
remarkable crops under cultivation. The cities are modern; Guatemala
City has tree-planted avenues, a beautiful plaza, electric lights,
schools and churches. Manufactures and trades are interesting,
especially the wood-carving and embroidery work. Give an idea of the
people, native and foreign, the government, education, and relation with
other countries.
Nicaragua, territorially the largest of the little republics, is
interesting because of its connection with the early plans for the great
canal. It was chosen in 1876 in Washington, President Grant determining
upon it after many years of investigation. Read in "Panama," by
Bunau-Varilla, of this period. Mention also the three interesting towns
connected by railway, and the great plantations near them.
Honduras is a remarkable place in many ways; describe its capital, with
its law courts, its university and schools of industry; also the
wonderful mines, so few of them developed.
British Honduras is by no means so interesting; but its form of
government should be noticed. One curious little fact is that it is
recorded that one year all the pine trees on crown lands were sold to an
American for a cent apiece.
Salvador is a wild, mountainous, picturesque place, situated in a
district which volcanoes constantly threaten. Its main city, San
Salvador, has many buildings of note.
Costa Rica has a history of absorbing interest. Its great wealth of
minerals, trees, pearl fisheries and other resources early made it
famous in Spain. Its climate is delightful, its population mostly
foreign, education is free, and there is complete religious liberty.
Discuss what causes the difference between this republic and some of the
others.
III--PANAMA AND THE CANAL
Panama, the little republic of only ten years, is sufficiently important
commercially to be noticed, yet its fame will always rest upon its great
canal. Clubs should give a number of meetings upon this subject, for it
is of world-wide interest, and the future of South America, and largely
our own, is closely connected with it.
The early dream of such a canal should first be followed out from its
inception till the time of the formation of the early company by De
Lesseps in 1881, through the failure of this with its disastrous
financial effect in France. New plans were made which were to enlist the
help of Russia, but these failed also. Study the idea of the Nicaraguan
canal, its abandonment; the negotiations with Colombia; the treaties
made; the difficulties with the different South American countries; the
recognition of Panama by the four great powers; the ratification by the
Senate of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty, the making of plans for the
canal on different lines, and, last, its actual beginning.
Here there should be a paper on the physical conditions at Panama, the
deadly climate, the yellow fever, the malarial mosquitoes, the lack of
sanitation, and all that was carried out under Goethals and Gorgas to
make it possible for the work to be done. Read descriptions of the town
of Panama after the new conditions were established. Show a map of the
Canal and describe its principal features and also show pictures from
magazines and books. Close these meetings with a discussion on two
questions: the tolls, and the possible fortifying of the Canal. Give
some idea also of the result of the building of the Canal upon the
different nations.
IV--SOUTH AMERICA
The study of South America should be taken in a leisurely way, for each
part is valuable. Begin with a map talk, pointing out the divisions, the
mountains, rivers and cities, and the great fertile plains.
The ancient history of the land will come first. Read from Prescott the
description of the Incas in Peru and their remarkable civilization, and
show pictures of the remains of temples and walls. Contrast these with
the ruins in Central America and point out the striking differences.
Then give several meetings to the coming of the Spaniards and the
results, not only to the Incas but to the entire country. Read of the
Buccaneers and other adventurers, and have read some chapters from
Charles Kingsley's "Westward Ho!"
After this, take each of the countries in turn and thoroughly study its
history down to to-day. There are certain divisions which it will be
well to follow: first, the Republics of the River Plate, Argentina,
Uruguay and Paraguay; the Republics of the Andes, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia
and Chili; the Republics of Colombia and Venezuela; the United States of
Brazil; and last, the Guianas.
The River Plate is of remarkable interest; it makes the great prairies
or pampas fertile and so is the basis of the wealth of the country.
Argentina, and, in a lesser degree, Uruguay and Paraguay, are dependent
upon it.
V--ARGENTINA
Argentina is one of the wonders of the new world, so rapid has been its
rise from obscurity to immense material importance. It is considered the
first of the South American states. Study the singular mingling of the
races which has produced an entirely new type of nationality and
patriotism.
The subject of ranches and the life there may be the topic of one paper;
another may take up the life in the capital, Buenos Ayres, with its
contrasts between great poverty and greater wealth, for the ports are
filled with steamers from all parts of the world, and the docks crowded
with the very poorest Italian immigrants. The wide boulevards, theaters,
opera house, clubs, newspaper offices, and public buildings are on a
scale of unusual magnificence. Notice that in many respects the city is
like Paris.
Speak of the pleasure-loving character of the people, of horse-races and
lotteries, of extravagance in all kinds of sport. Notice the excellent
sanitation and the unusually high cost of living. Follow with a
description of the other two river republics, and compare with
Argentina. Have a paper here on Patagonia.
VI--PERU
The republics of the Andes are less important commercially than those of
the lower lands, but in many respects they are of greater interest. The
mountains give to them their distinctive character and importance; they
are the great storehouse of the people, giving them mineral wealth,
forests, and, on the slopes, fertile tracts of land, except on the
coastward side, where the peculiarity of the lack of rain makes the
country sterile. In Peru the whites and Indians and half-breeds form
three distinct classes, and this is true of all the republics of the
Andes.
Give a description of Lima, the quaint city which dates from the time of
Pizarro, show pictures of the old cathedral and the plaza of infamous
memories of persecutions, existing from 1573 until 1813. Contrast this
simple, and by no means wealthy, city with those of the Plate country.
Close with a sketch of Cuzco, the capital of the old Inca empire, built
almost twelve thousand feet high on a mountain top, and speak of the
railroad which goes there, and of the wonderful mountain bridges.
VII--ECUADOR
Ecuador, the smallest of the mountain republics, is a land of contrasts:
of volcanoes, mountain gorges, tropical forests and snowfields, bleak
plains and fertile valleys. Its chief city, Quito, lies exactly on the
Equator; it is a city built in the old Moorish style, with red-tiled
roofs and narrow streets. The character of its people is interesting,
for picturesque Indians in native dress throng the town on feast days,
mingling with the very poor natives and the richer class who wear Paris
costumes. The republic is not in a high state of development, but the
Panama Canal is expected to bring prosperity to it.
VIII--BOLIVIA
Bolivia is a place of great possibilities; its mineral wealth, its
commerce, its forests, all mean that sooner or later it will be
developed. To-day it is much like its neighbor, Ecuador. One of its
chief interests lies in its history. Read of Simon Bolivar and what he
did for his country; he is often called the Washington of South America.
IX--CHILI
Chili is the most progressive of the mountain republics; the people call
themselves the "British," or the "Americans" of their continent. It is
the most united of the South American republics, with a strong patriotic
feeling. The education, the customs, even the navy, are all on European
lines. Unfortunately, it is held back in every way by an enormous
illiterate and very poor class, the bulk of the population. Describe
Valparaiso. Read of its early history, and of Drake and Hawkins. Speak
briefly also of the suburb which has gardens, casinos, concert halls and
all the effect of European life, and the sea-side resort near it, Vina
del Mar.
X--COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA
Colombia and Venezuela are of great importance, far more so commercially
than the republics of the Andes. Notice their commanding position, and
describe Bogota, with its university, its mint, library, and botanical
gardens, and Caracas in Venezuela, even more modern in every way, and
more beautifully situated. The story of Bolivar is closely connected
with Caracas. The wealth of both these northern states, however, lies
largely in pastoral industries and the great river which waters the
country will mean much when its powers are developed. But economically
and in point of education, neither yet are what one would expect from
their situation and opportunities.
XI--BRAZIL
Brazil is a land associated with romance; one of great rivers and mighty
forests, of wealth, of slavery, of misery and of progress. It is larger
than the United States (not including Alaska), and its future must be of
immense importance. Its history includes that of its empire, which
should make the topic of one meeting, for it is of great interest. The
early struggles of the republic, the abolishment of slavery, and the
establishment of a government founded on our own, may all be studied.
The influence of the Portuguese in Brazil has been marked, especially in
its literature, music and art. Notice how beautiful the situation is of
the city of Rio Janeiro, and show pictures of its streets and great
buildings, with their over-ornamentation.
Study the River Amazon in one meeting; the coffee plantations, and the
cotton and rubber industries in another.
Follow these meetings with one on the Guianas, another on the various
islands which lie along the coast, especially the Falkland Islands and
Tierra del Fuego.
XII--LATIN AMERICA
Among the many topics which will suggest themselves for discussion are
these: What can be said of education in Latin America? What is the
percentage of those who can read and write, and why is it so low? What
of higher education? What is the relation between church and state and
what has the church done for education? What can be said of the morals
of the Latin Americans? What is the position of woman? How is she
educated and trained? What is her home efficiency? Compare South
American cities with those of France, England and America and point out
the great differences.
What can be said of literature, art, music and science? Where does South
America show her strength, and where her weakness?
Among the many excellent reference books these are suggested: "The
Republics of Central and South America," by C. Reginald Enock
(Scribner). "Panama, the Creation, Destruction and Resurrection," by
Philippe Bunau-Varilla (Constable and Sons, London). "Panama and the
Canal To-day," by Forbes Lindsay (The Page Company). "The Panama Canal,"
by J. Saxon Mills (Thomas Nelson, London and New York). "South America,"
by James Bryce (Macmillan). "Conquest of Peru," by W. H. Prescott
(Lippincott).
CHAPTER XI
THE WORK OF THE RURAL CLUB
I--A CLUB FAR FROM LIBRARIES
Letters have come from the Far West, from Nova Scotia, from remote
districts in the South, and from ranches in Canada asking much the same
question: "Is it possible to carry on a women's club when we are far
away from any public library and have few books, if any, in the
community?"
If any group of women need a club it is the women on farms and ranches
and in little villages, whose lives are monotonous, who have no lectures
or concerts to attend and few magazines or new books to read. They,
above all the rest of us, need intellectual stimulus. And their question
may be answered with a positive affirmative: Yes; it is perfectly
possible to have a club, one doing excellent work, with no library at
hand. Many examples of what can be done might be given, but one will
stand for them all: In a singularly isolated spot in New England a club
was began ten years ago with a handful of farmers' wives and daughters
living within an area of a dozen miles. They used what material they had
at hand; they added to it; they studied simple things at first, and
later took up more difficult subjects; and then they did practical work
for their community. To-day that club is made up of many well-read women
of all ages who have acquired what may truly be called a liberal
education, and the whole neighborhood has been raised and enlightened by
what they have done for it in a hundred ways. And they had nothing more
to begin with than any group of women has under similar conditions. Any
woman who feels the need of a club can start one, and once started it
will grow of its own volition and justify its existence.
II--HOW TO START A RURAL CLUB
Let us suppose that some country woman decides to start a club. She is
not quite sure what steps to take, but she invites some of her neighbors
to meet with her and talk it over. Probably they will agree to begin
very simply, merely meeting once a week or so and reading aloud--feeling
their way to other things. This is the right sort of a beginning, for
in a very short time they will have gained sufficient confidence in
themselves to plan something better. At this point some one may suggest
that at the next meeting each woman shall bring in a written list of the
books she owns. When this is done it will probably be found that there
are many good ones to use. There will probably be a set of Dickens,
volumes of Longfellow, Tennyson, and Whittier, a few biographies,
including one of General Grant, a book or two of travel and scattered
volumes of all kinds, novels, histories, and school books, and possibly
an encyclopedia.
This list has great possibilities for club study, especially if there is
the encyclopedia, so essential for reference. With a very small
membership fee, perhaps five cents a month, one new book may be bought
every three months; with ten club members this can be done.
When the club is fairly going it may decide to select Dickens's novels
to study, as a sort of popular beginning; a simple plan of work would be
as follows:
Divide the club into committees of two, and to each give one novel to
read and thoroughly master. Meanwhile the president may study the life
of Dickens. If she has no book to use she should write to the State
Librarian and try to secure a traveling library with this and other
needed books in it; or at least she may get, if not a library, one or
two volumes, sent by mail. At the first regular meeting she should give
a sketch of Dickens's life and show any pictures of the author in the
book. She should also try to find in an English history pictures of
Canterbury, London, and other places associated with his life, and
Westminster Abbey, where he is buried.
By the next meeting the first committee should be ready to give an
afternoon program on one novel, say "David Copperfield." One member may
tell the story of the book, mentioning the various characters; another
may take these up in part and describe them. Then there should be
readings, not only by these two members but by others to whom they have
been given, illustrating the main points of the story. After the meeting
the book should be loaned to some one who will read it and pass it on to
the rest. And so with each novel in turn. There should be a discussion
at each meeting, and members should tell why they admire or dislike
this character or that, and what great moral lesson Dickens points out
in each book, and so on. Such a study might well occupy an entire year
and be extremely interesting.
Or suppose the club decided to study Longfellow's poems. Again the first
meeting is to be on the life of the poet; the second will take up the
first of the group of American poems, "Hiawatha," and have it read
aloud; the discussion following may be on the types of Indians drawn by
Longfellow and inquire: Are they true to life? The next meeting will be
on "Miles Standish," with a paper or talk on the Puritans in England and
America, and a description of the first winter in the colony.
The third meeting will take "Evangeline," with a paper on the Acadians.
Later should come other poems of our own country, on slavery, and on
village life, with readings from these, and from "The Wayside Inn."
Later still, his translations should be read and discussed, and his
little dramas. The season should close with an afternoon in which each
club member should read her favorite poem. If clubs can buy one book it
will be found delightful at this point to read aloud "A Sister to
Evangeline," by Chas. G. D. Roberts (The Page Company).
Or, if the autobiography of General Grant were to be studied, a
committee should go over the table of contents and divide it up into
several parts; his early life; his experiences at West Point; the years
between that and the Civil War; the great campaigns and battles in which
he took part, and the great men on both sides with whom he came in
contact, especially Lincoln and Lee; his Presidency; his trip around the
world; his business venture, its ending; the writing of his book; his
death and burial. All of these points should be illustrated with
pictures where that is possible, and each meeting should have a
discussion on the period presented. The one copy of the book must of
course be loaned in turn to the different committees, but each one is
not to read it all but only the part assigned, so there would be plenty
of time for preparation. Such a study would open many different topics,
especially those bearing on the war and on Grant's trip, and would be of
a definitely educational nature.
Of course every magazine the club can get should be searched for
articles of value for reference. One member might make it her work to go
over them each month and make out a list, copying the titles on a large
sheet of paper, which could be hung up on a door at each club meeting;
or a card catalogue might be kept. In a short time this would make a
real, if small, reference library. History, essays, articles on science,
sketches of travel, and poems would all be of some use sooner or later.
Other subjects may be treated in the same way as those suggested.
History, especially different periods in English history, makes
delightful study, and books on nature, and travel, and phases of woman's
life and work are easy to get and interesting. Nature study, gardening,
bee raising, the care of poultry and other practical subjects may be
introduced with the other work.
III--VALUE OF COMMUNITY WORK
And then, aside from working for their own development, there is the
other work a club can undertake, that for the community, which is of
immense value. The newly coined phrase one hears to-day in connection
with farm life is: Better farming, better business, better living. How
to help bring about these three great ends is one of the best things a
club can study.
The first subject which will come up will be: What are the principal
difficulties we have to meet in our homes, and how can we overcome them?
At this point a book should be read aloud in the club, a chapter at a
meeting, with discussion afterward; it is, "The Report of the Commission
on Country Life," and is a presentation first, of the farm problems,
and, second, of how to meet them. The chapters on the work of the
farmer's wife, with its difficulties, will be of especial interest, but
all of it is important to read, for hygiene in the home, gardening, the
school and church, social life, and many other topics of practical
interest are dealt with there and will suggest lines of study for the
club.
The first topic to treat is that of home hygiene: discussion of how
better ventilation of sleeping rooms, better protection from flies,
better cooking, better sanitation can be secured. This will probably
occupy several meetings. Then will come the topic of beautifying the
home, and this will suggest the cleaning up of the farm yard as the
first step to take. Later on, when community work is begun, this will
lead to a house-to-house visitation with the request that all the
neighborhood should make their premises more inviting in the same way.
IV--IMPROVING THE PUBLIC SCHOOL
After this the public school will be studied. The building may need
repairs and modernizing, especially the outbuildings, the playground and
the surroundings of the schoolhouse. A chapter in the Report will be of
inestimable value next, for it points out the need of a redirected
education, one which will give the child of the farm some study of
nature, of agriculture, health, sanitation, domestic science and similar
subjects which fit his life. It suggests that the school-teacher and
district superintendent should be called to conferences on this subject
and asked to help in carrying out plans for the betterment of the
school.
The next thing for the club to do is to make a social center of the
schoolhouse. The crying need of farmers' families is for social life.
True, the grange tries to supply this, but the women's club can also
help by having lectures and concerts and addresses at the schoolhouse,
with stereopticon shows, dances, tableaux, and whatever will make the
community happier and better. They may also carry out the suggestion of
the Commission that the school should be brought into direct contact
with the State Agricultural College, and professors should come to give
demonstrations on farms, and traveling lectures on orchards, dairies,
farm pests and other topics should be given.
V--TALKS BY EXPERTS
When the time for the county fair comes the club may have, as one
Illinois club did, a series of talks on all sorts of live topics, given
by experts to all who would come, the men as well as the women. Farm
Life in the Old World, The Farm Boy and the Farm Problem, Bringing Home
and School Together, Home-Making for Men and Women, were given, and also
practical demonstrations on preserving, bread and butter making, and
other domestic subjects. Besides these there was a fruit and vegetable
show with prizes, given by the children.
Then there is the beautifying of the little village. The club may clean
it up, plant shade trees and shrubbery, freshen up the paint of the
railroad station and make its driveway attractive, take charge of the
cemetery lots which are neglected, make a common in the middle of the
town if possible, and have flowers and trees there, and, most important
of all, create a sentiment among the people which will lead to
abolishing the loafing places about town.
The club may also help the village church or, rather, churches. These
are a problem in every farming community, for there are usually too many
for the population, and no one of them is well supported. It may be that
some clubs may be successful in having a union church; but, if not that,
at least they can frown on the spirit of jealousy between the churches
and establish cooeperation. The buildings may be freed from their
mortgages, the interiors freshened, the choirs improved, the minister's
house papered, the Sunday school modernized, the women's societies
assisted. There is always plenty to be done to help a struggling country
church.
A town library may be started by the gift of one book by each family,
and club women may take turns in giving out the books one day a week
and providing entertainments to raise money to buy more.
Clubs may also help the town celebrate fete days: Arbor Day, the Fourth
of July, Harvest Home, and the birthdays of local celebrities or of
Washington and Lincoln. The schoolhouse may be used for such meetings.
The motto of every rural club should be: Cooeperation. As one kind of
work is taken up after another it will soon be seen how much women can
do if they work together for the good of all. The little club nucleus
may draw to itself the men of the community, the young people, and even
the children, and together they may build up something fine, something
of substantial value. Country life has its problems, but far more, it
has its great, glorious opportunities.
These are some of the helpful books to be bought, or borrowed from the
State Library:
"The Report of the Commission on Country Life." (Sturges and Walton.)
"Cooeperation Among Farmers," John Lee Coulter. (Sturgis and Walton.)
"The Rural Problem in the United States," Sir Horace Plunkett.
(Macmillan.) "How to Live in the Country." E. P. Powell (Outing
Publishing Co.) "A Self-Supporting Home" and "The Earth's Bounty." Kate
V. St Maur. (Macmillan.)
CHAPTER XII
THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND
In studying the subject presented, for general reference use "The Short
History of England" by E. P. Cheney (Ginn & Co.), and Halleck's "English
Literature" (American Book Company). All topics can also be looked up in
the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
I--DRUIDS, CELTS, ROMANS, AND SAXONS
Begin with some idea of the prehistoric conditions in Great Britain, and
have a map study. Follow with a sketch of the Druids, the Celts and
their folk lore and the Arthurian legends.
The Roman conquest comes next. Read Tennyson's "Boadicea." Discuss: What
did Rome give England of permanent value?
The early Saxons will bring in the coming of St. Augustine to England
and the history of early Christianity there. Read of Caedmon at Whitby
and the Venerable Bede, as the beginnings of English literature.
Following this will be the stories of Alfred and his reforms, of Edward
the Confessor, and Harold. Read from the "Death of Columba" (Bede's
Ecclesiastical History, Bohn's Library), Bulwer's "Harold," and
"Beowulf" (translation in Riverside Literary Series, Houghton Mifflin &
Co.).
II--THE NORMANS AND PLANTAGENETS
The economic and political changes of this time should be especially
emphasized. Domesday Book, Magna Charta, the development of the feudal
system, chivalry, the rise in power of the nobles, the hardships of the
poor, the Normans on the Continent, and the Crusaders, with their effect
on commerce, are all to be taken up. Have readings from Charles
Kingsley's "Hereward the Wake," Scott's "Talisman," and Maurice
Hewlett's "Richard Yea-and-Nay."
The list of the Plantagenet kings is long and their reigns are full of
interest, but the main emphasis here, as under the Normans, belongs to
the development of the nation. Take the subjects of the building of
universities; the growth of Parliament; the increase of learning among
the people; and Chaucer, with the "Canterbury Tales" as pictures of the
life of the times.
In studying Edward III read of his relations with Scotland and France,
and give an account of his famous battles. With the reign of Richard II
comes the Peasants' Revolt. Discuss: How did it represent the spirit of
the age?
An interesting account may be given of Henry IV and Henry V. Give some
idea of the Wars of the Roses, and close the period with an account of
the Princes in the Tower, Caxton and printing, and the English Bible.
Read from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, and Richard III;
also Stevenson's "The Black Arrow," Rossetti's "The King's Tragedy," De
Quincey's "Joan of Arc."
III--THE TUDORS
At this point the story of Modern England begins. Under Henry VII notice
the attempts of pretenders to the throne. Read of some of the famous men
of the time.
Henry VIII is one of the best known characters in history. Speak of his
tyrannical rule, his matrimonial ventures, his quarrel with the Pope and
its results; the Field of the Cloth of Gold; of the English
Reformation, Tyndale's New Testament and More's "Utopia." Tell of the
brief reign of Edward VI.
Mary and the terrible persecutions follow this, with the connection of
England and Spain. Notice the fate of Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer; read
the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey.
The reign of Elizabeth is one of the wonderful periods of history. Have
papers on her religious and political policies; her relations with Mary,
Queen of Scots; the war with Spain; relations with Holland; the
Invincible Armada, and kindred subjects. From a literary standpoint the
age is of supreme importance, with Shakespeare heading a long list of
famous names. Discuss the Elizabethan stage. Have brief sketches of
Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Bacon, and Spenser, with readings.
IV--THE STUARTS AND CROMWELL
The study of the Stuarts begins with James I.
When studying Charles I, take up the struggle of the King with
Parliament, the "forced loans," the King's favorites, and the beginning
of the Civil War.
At this time Cromwell becomes the most conspicuous figure in European
history. Have several meetings on the Commonwealth, and a study of
Cromwell as a man and a leader. Notice that Home Rule in Ireland first
comes into prominence. Subjects for papers may be: Milton and his
influence; Lovelace and his verses; The Women of the Civil War (see
Traill's "Social England"). Read also from Carlyle's "Cromwell,"
"Evelyn's Diary" and Browning's "Strafford."
With Charles II disaster came again to England. Read from "Old St. Paul"
by Wm. Harrison Ainsworth (Everyman's Library). Have a paper on James II
and another on the coming to England of William and Mary, the Battle of
the Boyne and the new regime. Read from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress,"
Dryden's "Annus Mirabilis," Scott's "Peveril of the Peak," Blackmore's
"Lorna Doone."
The time between this period and that of the Victorian Age should have
several meetings. Study the Bill of Rights and its effect; also the
reign of Queen Anne, the writers and the politics of the day.
V--THE GEORGES
Then turn to the Georges and give an account of their curious court
life.
The reign of George III touches on our own history. Take up our
Revolution and that of France. Notice the great industrial changes in
England, and read from Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations." Napoleon, the
war in Spain, Wellington and Waterloo, England and the Slave Trade, and
Lord Nelson, should all be emphasized.
Study among others, the painters Gainsborough, Romney, and Reynolds;
have one meeting on these and another on the furniture of the times and
its famous makers, and Wedgwood china. See "The Secret History of the
Court of England," by Lady Hamilton (The Page Company).
VI--THE AGE OF VICTORIA
Several meetings must certainly be given to the reign of Victoria, one
of the most celebrated in history. The first paper may deal with her as
a woman in her home. Then take up the politics of the times. Have papers
on the different wars: the opium war in China, that in Afghanistan, the
Crimea, the Sepoy rebellion, General Gordon and his work.
Add to these, papers on the expansion of England's colonies and their
development; social and moral progress; the Reform Bill; the growth of
democracy; the increase of industry through invention, and the great
expansion in scientific fields, physics, biology, botany, medicine, and
sociology.
The Victorian period is remarkable for its writers. Trace the
development of the novel as shown in the works of Thackeray, Dickens,
and George Eliot, with readings. The trend of poetry and the influence
of Tennyson, Browning, and Swinburne may follow this, and then have the
Pre-Raphaelite movement with its ideals of art and poetry, and a study
of the Rossettis. The essayists must be noticed, especially Macaulay,
Carlyle, Ruskin, and Pater, and the subject of painting and music
studied with its various exponents.
VII--THE PRESENT
Last of all comes the study of England in our own time. Begin with
papers on Edward VII and George V, and their ministers, especially
noticing Lloyd-George and Asquith; speak of the Welsh Disestablishment
Bill, the Education Bill, and the Ulster Question. Notice the English
laws concerning women and children; speak also of suffrage. Close with
the great war which began in 1914, its causes, leading men and principal
events.
Have several meetings on the novelists, poets, playwrights, and artists
of to-day. A special study might also be made of the cathedrals of
England. See "The Cathedrals of England," by Mary J. Tabor (The Page
Company).
CHAPTER XIII
WOMAN'S PROBLEMS OF WORK
INTRODUCTORY
The outline given here may be amplified by taking up in the same general
way the conditions of life of women in several representative countries,
both the rich and poor, the workers and the women of leisure, closing
the year with an outlook on the whole woman question of the world.
The first point to be taken up is the life of the primitive woman. She
was the great laborer. The man hunted and fished and fought, and the
woman sowed and reaped, did the drudgery of the home, made clothing,
prepared food, and bore the responsibility. As civilization slowly crept
in she relinquished many of her out-of-door tasks and developed greater
ability to meet the steadily increasing problems within doors.
Notice where savagery still persists, women remain in the same condition
as in primitive times. Read of the African women, and the Bushmen of
Australia.
The study of the Hebrew women is the next point, for they advanced from
a comparatively obscure position to one of honor. The Greek women may be
compared with them. Read of the life of the Roman women. Next will come
the study of the Anglo-Saxon women, working with their hands, but
intelligent and forceful. Study the women of the next period, that of
the Crusades. Read of the romantic lives of some, and follow with a
paper on the women in convents and their occupations. From this point
on, women's work remained much the same for the leisure class; but as
life grew socially more complex, work became more intricate and varied.
The study of cottage industries may be mentioned here. Have several
papers showing the life of the time our own colonies were established,
and the work done by women. The important thing to be noticed is that
all women worked; idleness was not in fashion. They spun and wove, they
knitted and dyed, they made candles and table linen, and cotton and
woolen clothing. Some few still carried on cottage industries or taught
dames' schools, and a few managed farms or kept shops or taverns; but
most of them were employed in the home exclusively.
About the middle of the nineteenth century came the great world-wide
industrial revolution which forever changed women's work, and for a time
the work of men. Read of the introduction of machines into the English
districts where the hand looms had been in use. Have papers or talks on
conditions everywhere in this transition period. This was the beginning
of the great work of women in factories. Especially in New England,
factory work became a large part of life. Daughters of farmers, of
shop-keepers, of the owners of the mills themselves, and many
school-teachers in vacation, were employed from five o'clock in the
morning until seven o'clock in the evening. There was no social stigma
put upon them. Read from the early history of Mount Holyoke.
Mill towns were considered models of quietness and morality because of
the presence of hundreds of women. Their life was full of intellectual
stimulation; lyceums brought the best lecturers: Emerson, Lowell, and
other great writers and orators often spoke; the women edited and
published little newspapers of their own. Lucy Larcom was a mill girl;
read her poem called "An Idyl of Work," and her paper published in the
_Atlantic Monthly_, volume 48, called "Mill Girls' Magazines."
But the hours of work were too long, the boarding houses too poor, the
pay too meager. Gradually the American girl was replaced by the
foreigner, and this period of work was at an end.
From this point factory work, as we know it, will open before the club.
Study it especially in relation to cigar and cigarette and candy making,
and in clothing industries of all sorts. Describe conditions as factory
inspection has discovered them; notice the unsafe buildings, the long
hours, heavy fines, and low pay. Discuss what should be done to remedy
such evils. Have some of these questions taken up: Should Women Enter
Trade Unions, or Is Organization Unnecessary? Do Strikes Pay? Should
Women Insist on Compensation for Injuries and Old-Age Pensions? Can a
Woman Work All Day and Still Bear Healthy Children and Bring Them Up
Properly? Should There Be Mothers' Pensions? What of Night Work for
Women? Describe the life of the night scrub-woman in a city. Read "The
Long Day."
Turning to the work of women in shops, notice that it was about 1859
when the first women took this up. Compare the conditions then with
conditions to-day. Describe welfare work. Discuss the "living wage," and
question whether this should not depend on competence. What of lack of
recreation and social life? Does the low wage drive girls to immorality?
What can be done locally to better conditions in our shops?
This all leads up to the enormous subject of women's work to-day. It is
said that three hundred lines of work are open to them, and clubs should
select what they prefer to study. Among the many books of reference to
be found on these and similar topics are: "Woman and Labor," Olive
Schreiner (F. A. Stokes Co.); "Women and Economics," Charlotte Perkins
Stetson (Small, Maynard); "Women in Industry," Edith Abbott (D. Appleton
& Co.); "The American Business Woman," J. H. Cromwell (G. P. Putnam's
Sons); "Women's Share in Social Culture," Anna G. Spencer (Mitchell
Kennerley); "The Long Day," D. Richardson (Century Co.); "Woman and
Social Progress," Scott and Nellie Nearing (The Macmillan Co.); "The
Girl Who Earns Her Own Living," Anna Steese Richardson (Dodge); "How
Women May Earn a Living," Helen C. Candee (The Macmillan Co.); "The
Business of Being a Woman," Ida M. Tarbell (The Macmillan Co.); "Mrs.
Julia Ward Howe and the Suffrage Movement," by Florence Howe Hall (The
Page Company).
CHAPTER XIV
WOMEN'S PROBLEMS OF WORK--CONTINUED
I--TO-DAY
Clubs may begin this study with the problems of the woman in the
tenement. There is the home itself. She is hampered by a small, crowded
space in which to bring up the family; there is insufficient light and
air, it is too cold in winter and too hot in summer; there are few
conveniences for washing or cooking; beds are generally uncomfortable,
the walls are cumbered with clothing, there is no space for the children
to play and no privacy.
The first paper may describe the home in detail and be followed with a
reading from "How the Other Half Lives," by Jacob Riis.
The next paper may take up certain difficulties of management the woman
in the tenement must contend with. If she takes in work, tailoring, or
flower making, or anything of the kind, space is even less than before.
If she goes out to work, the care of the house falls on the children,
who are overworked and neglected. She seldom knows how to buy
economically, or cook appetizingly, or make clothing for her family. If
the husband loses work, she must feel the stress of need. All the
tenement life tends to send the children to the streets for amusement
and air, the husband to the saloon for entertainment. The boys are apt
to grow up without the instincts of home, and the girls often become
immoral.
The third paper may present some solutions of her various problems.
There are laws requiring space and air in tenements, and landlords who
neglect their buildings may be made to better them; the work of the
Legal Aid Association in these and other respects is to be studied.
Then women of the tenements should be brought into touch with Friendly
Visitors and settlements, taught to clean up, to sew, to buy, to cook,
to make home attractive. The children must be put into day nurseries if
the mother goes out; the school teacher must come in to advise about the
growing children; the music settlement may possibly give a hand;
certainly the classes for boys and girls in the settlements, and the
libraries, and evenings of recreation there may help them. The Little
Mothers' Aid Association, and the fresh air work, the recreation piers,
the small parks, and many other helps may be drawn upon. All these and
others should be described.
Read from the report of the "Housing Reform," published by the Charities
Publication Committee at 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York; also
from the pamphlet on "Remedial Loans," National Federation of Remedial
Loan Associations, 31 Union Square, New York, and the report of the
Little Mothers' Aid Association, 236 Second Avenue, New York, and from
material from the National Federation of Settlements, 20 Union Park,
Boston.
II--THE SICK POOR IN CITY AND COUNTRY
The second meeting may be on the subject of the sick poor, in country
and city. One paper may be on personal experiences among the poor in
country districts--what their conditions are, what is lacking, how to
help them without injuring their pride. Discuss how relief can be given
without pauperization. If possible have some one speak of the work in
the country, such as is done by the neighborly settlement of Keene
Valley, New York.
The state of things among the city poor is even worse than in the
country. Mention the trouble if the man of the house is sick and out of
work, and there is no other wage earner. Speak of the state of things
when there is a new-born baby; describe the sick child alone all day
with few toys or none, and the chronic invalid in the slums. Read "The
Lady of Shallott," by Elizabeth Phelps Ward in Little Classics.
The third paper or talk may present the brighter side of the picture. It
may tell of what individuals have done in great gifts for hospitals,
clinics, and work for cripples and babies, of pure milk and free ice, of
dispensaries, of food for convalescents, of floating hospitals, and
parties of mothers and babies at the seashore. Read from descriptions of
these and other helpful society work.
Notice also what is being done in teaching consumptives to live on the
roof, in keeping babies safely on the fire escape, in the work of the
visiting nurse, the care of the cancerous poor, and the general wave of
helpfulness going out in every quarter. Information on all these points
and others may be had by writing to the charity organization of any
large city, or to a settlement. Club women should make practical these
two subjects--of the tenement-house woman and the sick poor--by
discussing what the club can do to help.
III--THE WOMAN WHO WORKS FOR PAY IN THE HOME
The third problem for study is that of the woman who works for pay in
the home. This naturally falls into two divisions:
There is first the woman who takes in sewing, either by the piece or by
wholesale, making trousers or cloaks, or artificial flowers, or
conducting any of the home trades. Have a presentation of each of these,
with the hours spent on the work, the pay, the effect on health, and the
lack of care the children receive.
The second part of the subject is that of domestic service. One paper
should be on employment bureaus, their worth, the morals of many of
them, and the laws governing them.
A second brief paper may be on references and their ethics. The
subjects of the supply and demand of servants, of the relation of
mistress and maid, of the hours of work, of wages, of the maid's room,
her time off, her friends, the care of sick and old servants, may all
follow. Discuss: What can be done to give us better servants? Do
servants' unions help matters or make them worse? Are clubs for servants
desirable? Can employers combine to make relations between mistresses
and maids better?
IV--WOMEN WORKERS IN MILLS
Work in the factory is the problem which follows next. The sweatshop
work is of great importance. Note how many women are away from home all
day; how there is a season of overwork and a dull season without pay;
the steady use of the sewing machine, with or without power; the poor
ventilation and sanitation of the shops; the dim light, causing loss of
eyesight; the fines; the effect of noise and confusion on the nerves of
the women; all these are of deep interest. Read from the reports of the
National Consumers' League, to be obtained by writing to Mrs. Florence
Kelley, 106 East Nineteenth Street, New York, and let the club women
decide to insist on the use of the white label on the garments they buy.
The work of manufactories and mills may be divided into as many papers
as there is time; there is the work of women in the canneries with its
hours of labor and often with night work; the work in mills, the danger
from machinery, and the impaired health of employees. Read from "Woman
and the Trades" by Elizabeth B. Butler, published by the Russell Sage
Foundation, 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York. Discuss the
condition of women workers in mills and manufactories, and the strength
of their children. Where mills are near at hand clubs may find out if
the machinery is protected, if there is accident insurance or an
employers' liability, and whether there are pensions.
There may be a paper, to close the subject, on strikes of women workers
and how much they have accomplished. Read from "Fatigue and Efficiency,"
by Josephine Goldmark.
V--THE PROBLEM OF CHILD LABOR
The problem of child labor properly comes under the problems of women,
for the mother is responsible for the child's health and development.
The first topic is that of the child at home who must take the mother's
place, do the housework, care for the children, assume the
responsibility. What of her health and schooling?
Then there is the child who does paid work at home, extracts nut meats,
makes artificial flowers and the like. What of its pay? Is it a fair
one? What of the effect of long hours of confinement?
Street occupations come next; these are largely taken by boys, and the
work of the newspaper seller, the district messenger, the boot-black,
the errand boy, should all be studied. Is their health impaired? Are
their morals endangered? Are the boys educated?
The work of children in mills and factories is often most distressing.
Conditions in glass factories, mines, canneries, silk mills, in the
shrimp industry, and in the Southern cotton mills are all to be studied.
Note the great numbers of children so employed: in Pennsylvania in 1914,
33,000; in Massachusetts, 12,000; in North Carolina, 10,000, and in
other States large numbers. Discuss the future of such children.
Compare the work of bound-out children on farms and in the country
generally. Read Mrs. Browning's "Cry of the Children" and E. K.
Coulter's "Children in the Shadow."
One meeting should take up the laws of the State on child labor. See
"Some Ethical Gains Through Legislation," by Mrs. Florence Kelley, which
gives valuable material on this point, and a pamphlet by Josephine
Goldmark, called "Child Labor Legislation," published by the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. The Child Labor
Committee at 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York, will send
pamphlets free of charge.
VI--THE SHOP GIRL AND HER LIFE
The next great problem of woman's work to-day is that of the workers in
retail shops. This may be made extremely interesting if the chairman of
the program will arrange to have the club members interview in advance a
number of shop girls, and find out something of the conditions under
which they work, of their pay, their home life and other points, and
give personal reports.
One paper or talk may be on the usual hours of work, the kind of work
done, the hours of overwork, the pay, the prospect of advancement. A
second paper may be on the rest-room, the noon hour, the luncheon
provided for pay, and especially on what is known as "welfare work,"
which many large shops do.
A third paper may discuss the relation of the girls to their employers,
or to the floor walker; telling of care or tyranny, of fines, of the
sanitary conditions of cloak rooms, of the effect on health of long
standing.
This may be followed by a third paper on the cost of a shop girl's
living; of room rent, food, clothing, car fares and recreation; how does
the result compare with her pay? Discuss the minimum wage. Is it fair to
pay alike the competent and incompetent? Is immorality due to a low
living wage? Can a girl save for illness? Read "An Unfinished Story," by
O. Henry, in "The Four Million." (Doubleday.)
Have different women suggest what can be done to help the shop girl.
Describe what is called "preventive work," done largely by girls from
college in the evening, and the work of the Y. W. C. A., and
settlements. What can club women do by way of personal acquaintance and
interest? What of short shopping hours and early Christmas shopping?
Read from a paper called "The Club Worker," published by the National
League of Women Workers; address, Hotel Savoy, New York; and from
"Saleswomen in Mercantile Stores," by Elizabeth B. Butler, published at
105 East Twenty-second Street, New York.
VII--THE BUSINESS WOMAN
The problems of the business woman in a larger way will naturally follow
this. One paper may speak of women who are managing farms and ranches,
others who have become the heads of business houses or real estate
offices; some who are chemists, or designers or decorators; those who
have tea rooms, who buy for importing houses or engage in catering. The
work of the great army of stenographers and private secretaries would
also come under this topic.
Present the different fields of work, and illustrate with examples as
far as possible, and then discuss these and similar questions: Do women
naturally incline to business? Is their home training at fault for the
many mistakes of the average woman? Should fathers see that their
daughters understand something of banking, of keeping accounts, of
investments, of managing an income? How much should a girl know of
business? Should every girl be able to earn a living?
VIII--THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN AND HER DIFFICULTIES
The problems of a professional woman may be made the subject of several
meetings. Present the lives of the doctor, the nurse, the lawyer, the
professor, the school teacher, the writer, the artist, the musician, and
discuss in each case the difficulties she has to contend with.
Such questions as these may follow: Should professional women marry? Are
their home lives well developed? Are they fitted for the career of the
law? Do writers and artists tend to become bohemians? What are the
relations of men and women in the same profession?
IX--WOMAN AND THE STATE
The last subject for the year's study is the relation of women and the
State. One paper may take up some of the laws which govern her,
concerning property; a second may speak of divorce, and show the
diversity of the laws of different States; a third may tell of the
influence of women on legislation, of lobbying and appearing before
committees. The desirability of placing women on certain state and
municipal boards such as health, sanitation, care of defectives, vice
commissions, reformatories, and schools should be fully presented.
The subject of equal suffrage will develop from this last topic of the
year and both sides should be taken up as fully or as slightly as the
club desires. Reports of the progress of suffrage in different States,
what has been accomplished where it is established, and kindred themes,
will suggest themselves. Read from Olive Schreiner's "Woman and Labor"
(Stokes); Ellen Key's "The Woman Movement" (Putnam); and Ida Tarbell's
"The Business of Being a Woman" (Macmillan).
CHAPTER XV
SOME GREAT MEN OF OUR TIME
I--RODIN--SCULPTOR
Ten club meetings are planned here, but as many more may be arranged by
taking up the work of other men along the same lines as those mentioned.
The great sculptor of our day is Auguste Rodin. He was born in Paris in
1840, studied at the Petit Ecole and later with Barye. From the latter
he gained the double idea that statuary should suggest action and be
literally life-like. Some of his statues are "St. John the Baptist,"
"The Hand of God," "The Thinker," "Adam and Eve." "The Bronze Age," now
in the Luxembourg, caused a heated controversy, the charge being made
that a plaster cast of the model had been used. Rodin is a pronounced
realist and his figures are filled with force. He has inspired this
generation of sculptors with a new conception of their work.
Read from "The Life and Work of Rodin," by Frederick Lawton (Scribner).
For other meetings on modern sculpture study the work of St. Gaudens,
Lorado Taft, MacMonnies, Niehaus, Mrs. Vonnoh, Miss Yandell, Mrs.
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and others.
II--ROSTAND--DRAMATIST
Edmond Rostand, the dramatist, represents the literary playwright. He
was born in 1869, and educated in Paris. His first play, "Les
Romanesques," was staged in 1894. The next year came "La Princesse
Lointaine," and two years later "La Samaritaine." But the height of
Rostand's brilliant career was reached when he presented "Cyrano de
Bergerac," a heroic comedy which took the artistic and literary world by
storm. "L'Aiglon" followed this, and Rostand was then honored with an
election to the French Academy.
"Chantecler" appeared in 1910; it was an attempt to imitate Aristophanes
by putting birds and animals on the stage, but though largely advertised
it was not a success.
Read from the study of Rostand in E. E. Hale's "Dramatists of To-day"
(Holt). Have a number of selections read from "Cyrano" and "L'Aiglon."
A meeting on Maeterlinck should follow this, and another on Ibsen, with
criticism, comparisons, and readings.
III--JAMES--PSYCHOLOGIST
The man who has made philosophy popular to-day is William James. He was
born in New York City, educated in London, Paris, Boulogne, and Geneva,
and then in the scientific and medical schools of Harvard; he became
professor of psychology and philosophy there. His chief books are
"Principles of Psychology," "The Will to Believe," "Human Immortality,"
"Varieties of Religious Experience," "Pragmatism," and "A Pluralistic
Universe." He died in 1910.
Professor James, like his brother, Henry James the novelist, was a man
of letters. He dealt with the fundamental problems of human life in a
distinctly fresh way and wrote of them in a style of singular clearness,
vivacity, and humor. His philosophy is based on the idea that truth is
that which has the value of truth to us.
Many clubs would enjoy a whole year of study of James's books. At least
there should be several meetings for readings from "The Will to
Believe," and "Pragmatism," and from the biography, "William James," by
Emile Boutroux (Longmans).
Study also the work of the French philosopher, Bergson, and that of the
German, Eucken, recent visitors to America.
IV--BOOTH--RELIGIOUS LEADER
Gen. William Booth was, religiously, one of the notable figures of our
times; but aside from that he was one of the greatest organizers of his
generation. Born in Nottingham, England, in 1829, he early became a
Wesleyan Methodist, but later independent. He founded the society which
developed into the great Salvation Army, modeled after the English Army,
but involving a discipline even more strict.
At first Booth met bitter opposition: churches where he had preached
formerly were closed to him; he was called a mountebank and accused of
having brought religion into contempt; but he steadily won favor for
obviously great good done. In 1890 he published his book, "In Darkest
England and the Way Out," suggesting social and religious methods of
helping the very poor. This book made his work respected by intelligent
men everywhere. He died in 1912. Telegrams of sympathy were sent to his
family by kings and emperors, presidents, governors, and great men of
all nations. His funeral was a wonderful spectacle.
Read from the "Life of General William Booth," by G. S. Bailton,
published by Doran, and have several papers written on different phases
of the work of the Army. Read the poem: "General William Booth enters
Heaven," by Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (Mitchell Kennerley).
Another great religious leader of the times was Dwight L. Moody; have a
meeting on his evangelistic work and the Northfield schools.
V--TOYNBEE--SOCIAL WORKER
Clubs will be interested to follow this study with one of a man who
inspired as great a work as Booth, and founded as important an
institution--Arnold Toynbee, the originator of the social settlement.
Toynbee was born in London in 1852. He spent ten years at Oxford as
undergraduate, tutor and lecturer, and there came under the influence
of Buskin's social teachings. He took a deep interest in trades unions,
and worked for better hours, more sanitary homes, open spaces in cities,
and free libraries.
In 1875 he took lodgings in Whitechapel, one of London's worst slums, in
order to live among the poor and help them in a neighborly way. On
account of his delicate health he was unable to continue there long; but
his example brought other Oxford men, and when he died in 1883 they
organized a social university settlement and called it Toynbee Hall.
This was the first fully equipped institution of the kind, and at once
it attracted attention everywhere and was immediately followed by the
establishment of others in England and America, and later in all lands.
To-day in the United States alone there are more than five hundred such
settlements.
Read "Arnold Toynbee," by F. C. Montague, published by the Johns Hopkins
University Press, and see the "Handbook of Settlements," by R. A. Woods,
published by the Sage Foundation, New York. Clubs may also have a
meeting on Jane Addams and Hull House, and read chapters from the book,
"Twenty Years at Hull House," by Miss Addams (Macmillan).
VI--EDISON--INVENTOR
Thomas Edison is one of the greatest inventive mechanical geniuses who
ever lived. His life story is outwardly uneventful. He was born in Ohio
in 1847, and at twelve became a train boy; he took advantage of an empty
express room in a car and printed a little newspaper called _The Grand
Trunk Herald_, and also carried on chemical and electrical experiments
there. These came to an end when he set fire to the car accidentally,
and was dismissed by the angry conductor.
He learned telegraphy and practiced it in several cities, coming after a
time to New York. There he invented a printing telegraph machine, known
as "the ticker," to record stock quotations. This brought him in forty
thousand dollars and enabled him to set up his famous laboratory at
Menlo Park, in New Jersey.
His first really great invention was the quadruplex telegraph, which
makes it possible to send four messages over one wire at the same time.
Next came the carbon transmitter. Edison's third great work was the
discovery of the carbon filament for the incandescent light, and his
next the phonograph, which has developed into extended and various use.
His work on the cinematograph has brought moving pictures into a
conspicuous place not only for amusement but for education.
Read from "Edison--His Life and Inventions," by F. L. Dyer (Harper).
Clubs interested in modern discoveries, should take up in this
connection the work of Marconi and the Wright brothers; there is
material here for several meetings.
VII--MORGAN--FINANCIER
No study of the men of our time would be complete without considering
one of the famous financiers of the present age of wealth. Among a group
of several, J. Pierpont Morgan stands easily first as the greatest
organizer.
Born in Connecticut in 1837, he studied in Boston and later in Germany,
and at the age of twenty became a banker. His first large business deal,
however, was in the acquisition of a railroad, taking it from the hands
of an infamous ring who controlled it and reorganizing it. After this
he adopted the syndicate method for floating bonds.
He financed many trunk lines of railway, the ocean steamship business,
the coal and railway business of Pennsylvania, the Guarantee Trust
Company, with a capital of $150,000,000, and the United States Steel
Corporation, with a capital of $1,400,000,000. It is said that he
controlled three billion dollars of railway properties.
The secret of Morgan's success lay in his skill in estimating railway
values, his unerring memory, and his extraordinary genius for detail. He
had immense determination and force hidden behind a profound reticence.
His aims were broad and his outlook was over the country as a whole. His
fame rests on his ability both as a financier and as a great collector,
for he used much of his enormous wealth in building up one of the
world's great collections of books, manuscripts, pictures, and curios.
Read from "The Life Story of Pierpont Morgan," by Carl Hovey (Sturgis
and Walton). Study the lives of other financiers of our time, comparing
and contrasting them, taking especially the two men of great wealth,
Rockefeller and Carnegie.
VIII--KELVIN--SCIENTIST
William Thomson, later Sir William, and later still Baron Kelvin, the
greatest exponent of physical science in our age, was born in Belfast in
1824, the son of a teacher of mathematics. At twenty-two he was made
professor of natural philosophy at Glasgow, and he held this position
for more than fifty years.
In 1851 he read his first paper before the Royal Society; its subject
was "The Dissipation of Energy," and it was the original statement of
the law now universally accepted. He made many leading discoveries
concerning elasticity, electricity, heat, vortex motion, and magnetism,
and was recognized as the leading authority upon them. He was also a
practical inventor, with fifty-six patents to his credit. He devised the
instrument which made ocean telegraphy practical, the device now
universally used for measuring electricity, the present form of the
marine compass, the tide gauge, and the deep sea sounding apparatus. He
was knighted for his work in 1866 and made Lord Kelvin in 1892, besides
receiving countless honors from universities, academies, and
governments. He died in 1907.
Read from "Lord Kelvin," by Andrew Gray, in the English Men of Science
series. Clubs may also study the work of Sir William Ramsay and the
Curies.
IX--PEARY AND AMUNDSEN--EXPLORERS
The finding of the North and South Poles is among the great events of
our times. The discoverer of the former was Robert E. Peary, who was
born in 1856 in Pennsylvania, was educated at Bowdoin College, and
became an engineer in the United States Navy, ranking as lieutenant. In
1886 he explored Greenland and five years later headed an expedition to
that country and proved that it is an island.
Four northern trips succeeded this, the latter two under the auspices of
the specially formed Peary Arctic Club. He was then given the rank of
commander and was made president of the American Geographical Society.
In 1905 and 1908 he went north in the ship _Roosevelt_, and on the
latter trip the Pole was reached April 6, 1909.
Clubs should read Peary's own book, "The North Pole," published by
Stokes, and also the book written by his wife, "The Snow Baby," the
story of the little daughter who was born in the Far North. Read also
the account of the claims of Doctor Cook to have found the Pole.
The South Pole was discovered by Roald Amundsen, who was born in Norway
in 1872. Like Peary, he became a naval lieutenant. In 1891 he made
observations of the East Greenland currents, and two years later he gave
nineteen months to observations connected with the magnetic pole. In
1904 he made the Northwest Passage.
In 1910 there was a race to discover the South Pole, between the
British, led by Scott, who perished after reaching the goal, and the
Danish, led by Amundsen. The latter sailed in the little ship _Fram_,
landed on the Great Ice Barrier, marched rapidly on more than eight
hundred miles and, December 16, 1911, reached the South Pole.
Read the discoverer's own account: "The South Pole," published by
Keedick. Clubs may make a serious study of polar expeditions, which have
been many, and of their stories of bravery and tragedy. Read the books
of Sven Hedin.
X--GOETHALS--ENGINEER
The construction of the Panama Canal is one of the striking engineering
feats of to-day, and its success is owing mainly to George W. Goethals.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1858, was graduated at West Point,
and began his career as a second lieutenant of engineers. He taught at
West Point for a time, and was chief of engineers during the
Spanish-American War and also a member of the Board of Fortifications.
After 1907 he was chief engineer of the Panama Canal, and it is his work
here that has made him famous. To secure efficiency great power was
placed in his hands. He was chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission,
president of the Panama Railway, and governor of the Canal Zone. He had
forty thousand men working under him in different departments.
The completed canal cost $375,000,000 and is one of the most colossal
engineering achievements of history.
Read "Panama, Past and Present," by Farnham Bishop (The Century
Company), "Panama and the Canal To-day," by Forbes Lindsay (The Page
Company), and "Old Panama," by C. L. G. Anderson (The Page Company).
Clubs should study also the history of the canal in past years and
especially the story of De Lesseps.
CHAPTER XVI
THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE
The study of the Bible, not from a theological or critical point of view
but from that which is solely literary, makes a fascinating subject for
clubs. Many distinguished writers have treated it in this way, and by
using their books in connection with the suggested Bible readings clubs
will find a year all too short to do justice to the subject.
I--THE BEGINNINGS
The first meeting will be on the Creation, with three main topics for
papers,--the Creation narrative, the idyl of the Garden of Eden and the
entrance of sin,--with readings from Genesis to illustrate each point.
The emphasis should be laid on the simplicity, dignity, and naivete of
these early chapters, and their high literary value as a poetic attempt
to describe the origin of the world. Compare with this Hebrew account
that found in the Babylonian myths on the clay tablets discovered in
the ruins of Nineveh, and also the Chaldean account of the victory of
their chief god Marduk over chaos. These will be found in "The Religion
of the Babylonians and Assyrians," by Morris Jastrow, Jr. (Ginn & Co.).
Read these, and also Milton's account in "Paradise Lost."
The next meeting should take up the leading men of early times,
beginning with Noah.
Notice the recurrence of the story of the Flood in the primitive legends
of many lands. Look up the Deucalion story in Greek mythology, and see
the Hindu, Australian, and American Indian myths on this point, and read
the translation of the Chaldean account of the Deluge. The period closes
with the story of the Tower of Babel, which is to be read from the
Bible.
A study of the Patriarchs follows next. Abraham's life should be read,
wholly or in part, and a picture should be drawn of him as a wealthy
Oriental, pastoral chief, and the immense importance of his character in
the thought of Jews, Moslems, and Christians. Select and read some of
the traditions embedded in the Koran.
To introduce the topic of Isaac read first the charming love story of
the wooing of Rebekah. Then read the story of the selling of Esau's
birthright, and Jacob's dream. Compare the characters of the brothers.
The most complete story in the Bible from a literary standpoint is that
of Joseph. After the description of his childhood give the outline of
his earlier dreams and their result, his life in Egypt and his prison
dreams, his release, the visit of his family, and his later life. This
will all lead up to the topic of the next meeting.
II--THE MAKING OF A NATION
The civilization of early Egypt is of great interest, and material for a
study will be found in Breasted's "History of the Ancient Egyptians"
(Scribner), and the "Short History of Ancient Egypt," by Newberry and
Garstang (Dana Estes). To illustrate, read quotations from "The Book of
the Dead," in "Literature of All Nations" (Hawthorne's Library).
Show pictures of the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Nile, and any others
which may be obtained, and have a talk on the relations between masters
and slaves at this time.
The story of Moses the Deliverer may be introduced by reading from the
Bible the account of the finding of the baby by the princess, and his
adoption. Tell of his later history and his resolution to be the leader
of his people, and read of the passage of the Red Sea, and Miriam's Song
of Triumph. Follow by descriptions of episodes of special interest in
the wanderings in the desert, the golden calf, the story of Korah and
that of Balaam.
One paper should take Moses as a Lawgiver for its subject, with a brief
outline of the remarkable Hebrew legislation; notice that this was what
kept the Jews as a separate race. Have an estimate of Moses, comparing
him with other great national leaders. Show a picture of Michael
Angelo's statue; have recited the farewell of Moses to his people, given
in Monitors "Modern Reader's Bible," in poetical form. The old poem "The
Burial of Moses," by Cecil F. Alexander, in Warner's "Library of the
World's Best Literature," may also be given.
Next will come the study of Joshua the Conqueror. At this meeting have a
map of Palestine and use it to show the settling of the Hebrews in the
land. Read the story of the expedition of the spies and its result, the
siege of Jericho and, last, Joshua's farewell. Compare Moses and Joshua,
and show the differences in their character and work.
III--THE HEROES
The hero stories of the nation come in at this point. Deborah and Sisera
is a subject often used in poetry and painting, and the song of Deborah,
one of the earliest pieces of verse in history, should be given. The
story of Gideon, full of picturesque detail, and the pathetic story of
Jephthah's daughter may be read, as well as the many references to the
latter in literature. The curious story of Samson will follow this, and
Milton's Samson Agonistes may be read in part. Close the study of the
period with a reading of the entire book of Ruth, one of the most
charming of Oriental idyls.
At the meeting following this last one, compare the Bible heroes with
those of other nations of the same time, particularly those described by
Homer. Bulfinch's "Age of Fable" may be used as a basis for the study.
IV--THE UNDIVIDED KINGDOM
This is one of the historical sections of the Bible, and is mostly in
prose. In studying it a good plan is to have some one write a paper
briefly outlining the period and giving the main events clearly. Then
the different men of importance should have separate studies. One of the
first is that of Saul, and at its beginning comes in the lovely little
story of Samuel, which may be read, together with the short Song of
Hannah.
The account of the anointing of Saul may be given, and in this
connection note that the old custom is still in use to-day in the
coronation of kings. Have a reading from Browning's "Saul" and discuss
the two points of view.
Next will come the story of David and Goliath, the anointing of David,
the feud between Saul and David and the idyllic story of the affection
of David and Jonathan. Brief readings from all of these should
illustrate the papers or talks upon them. Notice the other famous
friendships in history, and compare them with that of the two Hebrews.
The subject of witchcraft may be briefly touched upon in connection
with the old story of the Witch of Endor, and its singular persistence
through the history of all nations down to the present time.
David's lament over Saul and Jonathan should be read and compared with
other elegies, and also that over the death of Absalom; notice the
difference in spirit between them.
The life of Solomon is full of unusual touches. Read his dream, the
story of the judgment about the infant, and then the majestic dedication
of the Temple, the last, one of the stately pieces of literature of the
Bible. The visit of the Queen of Sheba may be read after this, and the
allusions to it in literature noted.
V--THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS AND THE EXILE
The divided kingdoms furnish many episodes of literary value. The
stories of Elijah and Elisha have a marked dramatic quality; the
incident of Naaman and Gehazi is a bit of romance; the fall of Samaria
is a tragedy, as is the fall of Jerusalem, about one hundred and fifty
years later. There is a bit of interesting work which some clubs might
like to undertake, the comparison of the literary style of Kings and
Chronicles, one colored by the prophetic and the other by priestly
ideas.
The subject of the Exile may be used in one meeting, as it relates
itself to a considerable part of Hebrew literature, especially in
poetry. One prose passage may be read, the brief book of Esther, which
has always been of great importance to the Jews, and full of interest.
VI--HEBREW POETRY
This has no regular rhyme, nor is it divided into feet like the
classical poems of Greece and Rome. Instead it has a certain stately
sweep, a rhythm, which is the very essence of poetry. In structure it
may be compared to Walt Whitman's rhythmical prose.
As the stage was unknown to the Hebrews, the drama was strange to them
also. The book of Job is the principal poetic exception to this,
although some authorities place the Song of Solomon as a versified drama
also. Observe here the difference between the Hebrews and Greeks, and
give reasons for it.
Occasional bits of ancient folk song may be found in the historical
parts of the Bible: read the "Song of the Well" (Numbers xxi, 18), the
"Song of Lamech" (Genesis IV, 23) and the "Song of the Bow" (II Samuel,
I, 18-27). The riddles of Samson also come under the head of folk song.
The poetry of the Bible divides into two classes: lyrical poetry, such
as the Song of Solomon, Lamentations, the Psalms, and certain passages
in the prophets; and the so-called wisdom poetry--Proverbs, Job, and
Ecclesiastes. The latter, however, come more properly under the head of
philosophy. Notice one of the peculiarities of Hebrew verse, especially
in this last division, the curious parallelism which is constantly
found.
The extent of the book of Psalms is so great that selections are
difficult to make. But by taking Moulton's "Modern Reader's Bible"
(Macmillan & Co.), and Courtney's "The Literary Man's Bible" (Crowell),
and Henry Van Dyke's "Story of the Psalms" (Scribner), the best will be
found, and these should be read. Notice especially the wonderful
imagery, so characteristic of the Oriental mind.
Many great poets have worked on the book of Psalms, trying to make
transcriptions and translations, and it will be most interesting to
look up some of them. Clement Marot, Martin Luther, Milton, Addison, Sir
Philip Sidney, and many others have used them, and any hymn book will
show how many familiar hymns are based on them. Programs might be
illuminated by choir music, such as "Had I the Wings of a Dove," "How
Lovely are Thy Dwellings Fair," "The King of Love My Shepherd Is," and a
hundred other lovely songs, the themes all taken from Psalms.
VII--PROPHECY
Prophecy has been called the most typical part of Hebrew literature, and
as such it should receive especial study. But prophecy does not mean
prediction, but teaching, especially the teaching of morals.
A good way of handling this subject is to divide it into three parts,
one on Isaiah, one on Jeremiah, and a third on Ezekiel, briefly
describing the historical conditions under which they were written, with
readings from each. The minor prophets might also have three papers,
with readings showing the quality of each.
The conscientious severity of the prophets as the great moral teachers
of their times should be emphasized, and their relation to our modern
ethical ideas may be touched upon. Matthew Arnold's "Isaiah of
Jerusalem" may be read in this connection. Carlyle is often spoken of as
embodying the spirit of the Hebrew prophets. One paper might speak of
the connection between the prophets and Puritanism. A meeting might be
given to the great oratorios which have been written upon themes drawn
from the writings of the prophets, with selections.
VIII--PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of the Bible is embodied in the books of Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and Job. These are what are called "late" books, and lack
the fiery quality of the more original period of the prophets. The
prudential, cautious spirit of Proverbs should be illustrated with
quotations.
Ecclesiastes represents the hesitating, somewhat skeptical aspect of
human thought, and is in some respects the book of the Bible which comes
nearest to the modern temper. Plumtre's handbook on Ecclesiastes
(Cambridge University Press) has in its appendix comparisons between
this book, Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Omar Khayyam which are interesting
to refer to.
Carlyle called the book of Job the greatest literary creation of
history, for it first deals with the problem of human suffering.
Professor Genung has arranged this book in dramatic form, and clubs
should read this aloud, in part at least.
IX--THE NEW TESTAMENT
Coming to the New Testament, it may be divided into three parts:
History, correspondence, and allegory. The history comprises the four
Gospels and Acts. A preliminary paper might show the varying points of
view of the authors and compare their literary styles. Read from Matthew
part of the Sermon on the Mount, noting his Jewish outlook always; from
Mark, part of chapter III, showing him as the historian of action; from
Luke (the writer was a physician), the story of the Good Samaritan; from
John the philosophical prologue and the parable of the vine, displaying
his mystical mind. Make a special study of the literary quality of the
parables.
From Acts may be read passages showing the historian's vivid
descriptions; see the riot at Philippi, Paul's address at Athens, and
the shipwreck.
Letters form the greater part of the New Testament. Those of Paul should
be arranged chronologically, and a brief account given of the
circumstances under which each was written.
Some of the striking passages in the Epistles should be read, such as
chapter XIII in I Corinthians which has been called a Hymn in Praise of
Love. The whole of the little Epistle to Philemon may be read, to show
the position of the early church on slavery. Reference should be made to
the fact that Matthew Arnold said that Paul stood among the seven
greatest literary men of history.
The book of Revelation is of immense interest. Have a preliminary paper
on the position of Jews and Christians at this time in relation to the
Romans, and show the necessity of concealing the meaning of the book.
Follow this with another on the allegory in literature: Spenser's
"Faerie Queene" and Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" are two famous
examples of its use. After this read some of the famous passages from
the Revelation; notice the extraordinary wealth of imagery and the
stately beauty of its style.
X--SUBJECTS RELATED TO THE BIBLE
To these meetings on the direct study of the Bible may be added almost
as many more on subjects nearly related to it.
One of these is the Bible in art. From the early days of the catacombs
to the present time, themes have been drawn from it for paintings and
sculpture, mosaics and glass. The old masters' work was almost wholly
based on Bible stories or sacred subjects. The study of Italian art
shows this in its most marked form, and many pictures should be shown.
Notice also such books as "The Bible in Art" by Estelle M. Hurll, and
"The Bible Beautiful," by the same author (The Page Company), and "The
Gospel Story in Art," by John La Farge (Macmillan), as well as
reproductions of the Tissot pictures.
The Bible in music is a theme already suggested, but meetings may be
arranged on this by themselves, or each program may have selections
appropriate to the day.
As a source of literary inspiration the use of the Bible is world-wide.
From Milton and his successors to Browning and Tennyson, all have drawn
largely from its wealth. The titles of novels, as well as their plots,
have largely been taken from the same source. Roll calls might take up
this topic.
What great men have said about the Bible is an interesting subject. "The
Women of the Bible" is the title of a book. Shakespeare's use of the
Bible has also been noticed, and could be used extensively.
CHAPTER XVII
THE AGE OF QUEEN ANNE
I--IMPORTANCE OF THIS PERIOD
The reign of Queen Anne, the last sovereign of the House of Stuart, is
one of the important epochs in English history. McCarthy says it ranks
with that of Pericles in Greece, of Augustus in Rome, and of Elizabeth
in England. In war, in politics, in the spread of social democracy, and
above all in literature, this was truly a remarkable period.
In order to understand the times several meetings should be given to a
comprehensive view of Europe. The reign of Louis XIV and a sketch of his
court will fill one meeting. One on Spain should follow; a third may
take up Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire, and what it
stood for. After these have a fourth presenting the question of the
balance of power in Europe. Discuss the English Pretender in France.
Follow with brief papers on Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden.
II--THE QUEEN AND HER COURT
Turning now to England, Queen Anne and her court may be taken up in
detail. Anne lacked the force of the Tudors and the attractive
temperament of the Stuarts. She had neither the brains of her
predecessor, William, nor the Teutonic dullness of the Georges who
followed her; but she was, above all things, distinctly English. She
loved her people; she believed in Protestantism; she was kind,
affectionate and good; she possessed all the domestic virtues. Yet she
was by no means a strong character. Her reign owes nothing of its
brilliance to its queen. In everything she had to be guided, and the
power of the individuals who governed her is one of the curious facts of
the time. One paper may present her home life, with its simplicity.
Contrast the court life of this period with that which had preceded it.
Read selections from "Henry Esmond."
III--THE MARLBOROUGHS
The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough should be the theme of two papers.
The latter had an extraordinary influence upon Anne and dictated her
court policy. Read of the letters they exchanged, signed "Mrs. Morley"
and "Mrs. Freeman." The Duke was a man in whom weakness and strength
united. Have the paper on his character show his self-interest, his
treachery even, and his notorious parsimony; contrast these qualities
with those which redeemed the man. Note his wonderful military genius.
IV--THE WARS AND AFTER
After this will come the subject of the Grand Alliance, which will serve
as an introduction to the great topic of the European wars which
occupied the Continent for years. In studying this use a map at each
meeting, and have papers on Marlborough in Flanders; the campaigns of
the armies in Germany, Bavaria, and the West Indies; the war in Spain;
the persecution of the Huguenots and Camisards and, finally, a
summing-up of the struggle.
The next stages of the war may be divided into the Year of Victory and
the Year of Defeat. If time allows, follow the war to its close.
The next great subject under Queen Anne's reign is that of the
extension of power in England of the two great parties, the Whigs and
Tories. Notice how the ministry changed from time to time, and who its
leaders were. See how Anne, under the influence of a favorite, Mrs.
Masham, gave her support to the Tories, and how this finally led to the
Peace of Utrecht, which concluded the war.
Observe here the alienation which rose between the Duchess of
Marlborough and the Queen, also the disgrace of Marlborough; read his
letter of defense, and have a sketch of his later life. Show pictures of
Blenheim Palace.
Following these events comes the Union of Scotland, Ireland and Wales
with England, a topic full of interest. Discuss the bargain each country
made; what did she lose and what did she gain? What results were brought
about later?
The unpopularity of the Union in Scotland had one direct result, that of
the rising in favor of the Young Pretender. Have a paper on this
romantic episode. Observe how it led to the establishment of the
Protestant Succession.
In closing this period study as many of the great leaders of English
political life as possible, notably Walpole, Bolingbroke and the Earls
of Oxford and Shrewsbury.
V--LITERATURE OF THE TIMES
Turning now from war and politics, there may be a delightful study of
the literature of the time, for the period was one of great intellectual
originality.
Dean Swift, the greatest English satirist, may be taken up first, his
life, his work and his influence. Read from "The Tale of a Tub."
Addison may be studied as a man, a poet, an
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