Have some college woman address the club on work done in the line of higher education of women, and its results. See "The College Girl of America," by Mary C. Crawford (The Page Company).
IX--POSTGRADUATE WORK AND NEW IDEAS
Postgraduate work, the topic for the next meeting, includes that done in medical, law, and theological schools, and the work for degrees.
Representative schools may be selected as the subject for papers, and speakers from these should be had to tell of them to the club, if possible.
The final meeting on education may take up some of the new ideas of work, such as the opening of the school of journalism at Columbia University, and other attractive fields of study. Summer a.s.semblies may be spoken of, and their value, especially to those who have had few opportunities for study early in life. Correspondence schools may also be mentioned and their work discussed. Are they really as useful as they seem at first sight? Notice that many of them are able to give important help on special lines. Musical festivals, lecture courses, ill.u.s.trated talks on travel, and other of the many opportunities offered to the public may also be spoken of.
There is an abundance of material to be found on all educational subjects in a good encyclopedia. On special topics there are the educational journals, the educational department of the _Survey_, and magazine articles constantly. The Educational Bureau at Washington will give information and material on request. The excellent book "Citizenship and the Schools," by J. W. Jenks (Holt), should be read, and "Education for Efficiency," by E. Davenport (Heath), and the life and work of Horace Mann.
CHAPTER XIX
SPECIAL PROGRAMS ON GREAT MEN AND WOMEN
Often a club finds it best to break into its ordinary routine of work by having a special program. The birthday of a great writer, artist or musician offers a good subject for such a meeting, and the following programs are arranged to suggest such names with a brief outline of work on each.
Some clubs may like to select from the names given two or more for each month and so arrange a program for an entire year. In this case it is a good plan to take alternate writers, musicians and artists, giving a day to each one.
I--SEPTEMBER
History, music and literature may be represented by the life and work of Queen Elizabeth, General Lafayette, Dvorak, and our own Eugene Field, who were all born in September.
Divide the age of Elizabeth into several topics: the Court and the Queen"s favorites; discoverers; wars; Mary, Queen of Scots; and the great literary men of the time, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Spenser, and others. Have readings on all these.
The story of Lafayette begins with the American Revolution; then the Revolution in France and the part he played in it. Follow his career and friendships, and the relations between France and America. Close with a sketch of Lafayette"s visit here after the war, and read a description of it. (See the Diary and Letters of Gouverneur Morris.)
A good musical program can be arranged by having first a paper on the composer, Dvorak, with comparisons of his work and that of his contemporaries, and then several selections played from his compositions.
Last, the life and work of Eugene Field will be found delightful. Have a paper on his home life, his whimsical personality, his friends; read from his prose, and have some of his verses sung. Compare his poems with Stevenson"s "Child"s Garden of Verse."
II--OCTOBER
In this month art, drama and music are offered, in the works of Sir Christopher Wren, Sheridan and Verdi.
In art Wren was a prominent figure in his century. Living when London was being rebuilt after the great fire, he stamped his genius on no less than fifty churches, and built St. Paul"s, his own great monument. He was called a "rare and early prodigy of universal science." His friendships are among the most interesting points to be studied.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan wrote the "Rivals" and "The School for Scandal," two plays which stand unequaled for humor and clever satire.
Read of their presentation, and of Sheridan as manager and theater owner. Turn from this to his career as a parliamentarian and read his speech at the trial of Warren Hastings, which marked him as one of our most brilliant orators. Notice his death in poverty and his burial in Westminster Abbey. Read from his plays.
Verdi wrote "Ernani," "La Traviata," "Riggoletto" and "Ada." Speak of his long and interesting life, and his remarkable work. Note that his influence over others was of unusual force. Have a musical program from his operas.
III--NOVEMBER
Martin Luther, Schiller, Oliver Goldsmith and George Eliot all have birthdays to remember at this time.
Luther was the greatest of the Protestant Reformers, and has left his mark not only on Germany but on the whole world. Read of his early peasant life, his education, his career as priest and teacher. Then notice his trip to Rome and its results, and follow him through his struggles with Emperor and Pope. Discuss his work as a whole. Read from his Letters.
Schiller, the great German dramatist and poet, is honored and beloved both in his native land and elsewhere. Give the story of his struggles with poverty in exile, his love affairs, his professorship, his marriage and invalidism. Notice especially his friendship with Goethe. Read from his ballads, but especially from his dramas, "Die Jungfrau" and "Wilhelm Tell."
Oliver Goldsmith, the eccentric genius, poet, essayist, dramatist and novelist, should have special study, for he is a unique figure. Mention his school days, his vagabond pilgrimage through Europe, his work as a struggling hack writer; his remarkable friendships; read from "The Deserted Village," "The Vicar of Wakefield," and "She Stoops to Conquer."
The life and work of George Eliot are familiar to most club women, yet they are always a delightful study. Papers may tell of her home life and training as a free-thinker; of her translations, her marriage and its social consequences, and her work as writer. Read from "Scenes from Clerical Life," and from "Adam Bede." Discuss her philosophy, her moral purposes, her humor, her realism; have several readings from both prose and poetry.
IV--DECEMBER
The special meeting should be on the subject of the Christmas Birthday.
Describe the Christmas customs in mediaeval times, and read of the Yule log, the waits, the boar"s head, and other customs, and show pictures of baronial halls. Have following papers on Christmas in various lands; one paper may be on the Christmas Spirit. Read from Christmas stories, and have carols sung.
V--JANUARY
There are four famous birthdays in January, those of Joan of Arc, Mozart, Moliere, and Tennyson, ill.u.s.trating history, music, drama and poetry.
Of late so much has been written of Joan of Arc that there is an abundance of material on her. Give a sketch of her personality, and show what she did. Read also appreciations from different writers. Show pictures of some of the statues of her, and, if possible, one of the picture by Bastien Lepage, called "Joan of Arc Listening to the Voices,"
in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Mozart was a child prodigy at six years and maintained his ability through a long life. Hampered, like most musicians, with poverty, he still had many friends, wrote excellent music, played at various courts and enjoyed a career full of interest, if not always of success. He died in poverty, and no one knows where he is buried. Show a copy of the well-known picture of him playing at court.
Moliere, the great French dramatist, presents a study which should fill more than one meeting. Speak of his early life as a strolling player, his failure as a tragedian and his success in comedy. Sketch the stage of the period. Have scenes read from (translations of) "Tartuffe," "Le Misanthrope," and other plays. Compare him with other dramatists. (See his life by Chatfield-Taylor.)
Tennyson, the representative poet of the Victorian age, gives opportunity for a charming meeting. Sketch his calm, delightful life; show his interest in science and all modern ideas. Read from his ballads; his other short poems; his longer poems, especially "In Memoriam," the "Idylls of the King" and the "Dream of Fair Women," and compare them. If possible, sing some of his verses, many of which are set to music.
VI--FEBRUARY
Among many birthdays of famous men and women four may be chosen: those of Madame de Sevigne, Charles Lamb, d.i.c.kens and Mendelssohn.
Madame de Sevigne lived at a time when there were many conspicuous people at the court of Louis XIV, and she was the friend of them all; Turenne and Conde, however, may be especially noticed. Her fame rests on her Letters, which she wrote to her daughter with no idea any one else would ever see them. They have slight pretension to literary quality, yet they are among the cla.s.sics of French literature. Have several selections from them read, ill.u.s.trating the times and the court life.
Charles Lamb and his friends will make the subject of more than a single meeting. Give his life as a Blue Coat Boy and his early friendship with Coleridge at school. Speak of him as a clerk in the East India House, with his evenings at the Cat and Salutation. Tell of his family troubles and of his sister Mary; then of his literary career, his life in the Temple, his friendships with the Lake Poets and others. Notice the peculiar gentle charm which is a.s.sociated with him. Read from his essays; give "Dream Children" as a whole.
Charles d.i.c.kens is a name to conjure with. Sketch his early life; read from many of his books, and point out his humor, pathos, tragedy, comedy, and realism; show his love of caricature and its place in his methods. He is called to-day The Prince of Story Tellers by well-known critics. Have each club member bring in and read her favorite pa.s.sage from his books.
Mendelssohn stands alone among musicians, for he was born to a comfortable lot in life, was successful in whatever he undertook, happy in his home and renowned abroad. His relations with his sister, his position at the German courts, his various trips to England and what he accomplished there will furnish topics for papers. If he seldom touched the deeper side of life, yet what he gave was always good of its kind.
Ill.u.s.trate this program with many selections from both his instrumental and vocal music.
VII--MARCH
Michelangelo, and in later times Mrs. Browning, and our own William Dean Howells, were born in March.