New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-12-23
THE BOSTON RADICALS.


MRwAssON, PROF. GOODWIN, MISS rhAnoDi'
MRS. CHENEY AND oTllhkS'
pooroN Dec. 20-The December meeting OF
,ho Radaal Club took place yesterday NJ tue heV Jon"
p sarrent's Under brilliant skies, through wmcn I'M
caring simmer smiled, walked with certain h''lo
maiden whom THE TRIBUNE knows, across the common
the Central Park Of Boston. AS we drew near chestnut
:, 1vo Jaw n coodly multitude of pilgrims marching
nth taces aelow with expectation, toward the same
shrine. os
Though the design when the Club was organized wa
that Il should meet alternately OF the houses VI M a..
gent and Dr. Bartol II has assembled so muon 80 a,
ouently at the Sargent mansion, on account " -
health OF the reverend Doctor, that every ONO 1
much at home at No 49, and the parors "' I,n.on
ell an this occasion Tho esssyist was COL ffgsiuo'
man whose friends are legion anu al 49, So, an =,
wanted to hear him, especially as MS 'a'yV ~, :, 80
the suggestion Of o story the ueheS'o "''e
rooa MANY faces not belonging to tho regular army
"A'iOs - 40 one looked around. The press was
-, -osented by its light brigade, the feminine iree
-. ,vttb ewes as bright their pens. The before
rt,oned little maiden OF The TRIBUNE sat there is'
.Ding demrey with her bonny face and her shy s"ee'
eves looking like anything but juvenile hhsu"hl"p-
Tins who can deal stern justice upon OCCASION nora
perry had iourneyed up from Providence with guIs
feather in her hat and CLINT OF mischief In her glance
in behalf OF The Providence Journal; The BOSTON fo'
had posted Joy sentry duty and IhaN
ter whom Atlantic naturally enough dehghts
life sat there attent. Professor Goodwin had come in
from, Harvard; David A. WATSON had left his bonded
warehouse a prey to smugglers; grave clerical shep-
herds had forsaken their hOcEs lawyers hao escapeu
from Judge and jury; and all had come tosc'er ou' Vi
the hustle and turmoil Of modern fe to these quiet draw
ing rooms full Of the loveness Of woman and the ma
GRANGE of flowers to hear story many centuries Ou'
but immortal, as love and poetry are immortal.
sAPPHo.
Col Higginson described the lovely city OF Mtyene, on
the Island OF 1t one OF the ceDtere long
ago OF the highest Greek civilization. Horace eassed 1t
with Rhodes Ephesus, and COrinh; but, while we re-
nember each of these places itself do not dwell
upon the white marble bridges the mighty theater or
the vanished civilization OF the Lesban cywe think OF
IT only Of sappho, for 1t was IN the city OF
Mtyene that she lived and loved and taught ana sang
Her birthplace nearly the other end OF Lesbos IN
the little village OF Cresos where the women seem TO
have been more beautiful elsewhere and the bread
BETTE; and where In very few parts OF Greece the
women perhaps because they sti make the same good
bread are admitted TO share the meals OF the men,
sappho was favored in her birthplace and her nurure
but one likes best TO think OF her In her later abode OF
Mtylene where she lived her true life. Here, in some
grove OF olive or myrtle In that marble house which
she called the Dwelling OF the MUSES. one finds her among
the maldens wives who had come from other patso
Greece TO share her training Anaetorfa Is here fron
Myletus Eunica from Saams, Gongyla from Colophon.
Erinna and Damopha studying the difficult art OF
verse in the Sapphire meters Ats learns how to strike
the harp with the pectron which Sappho nvented some
one Use enbroders sacred robe for the temple sappho
cOrrects the rhythm OF the notes OF another the
stitches OF third then bids them abandon their work 70
rehearse together sacred chorus stops to read
verse; or shall say It, to expose and satirize rival
II Andromeda, the fascinating, draws away sappho's
pupils to Of those rival feminine academies that
tend o. far as erate Sparta then Sappho may at least
be allowed to remark "and her language is pl.n" that
Andromeda does not know how to dress herself.
Out Of the long list Of Greek poetesses there
women who as the Greek Anthology says were &" di-
vinely tOngued" and of these sspphO the admitted
chief Homer known to that nation the poet"
and she pOetess" She Is believed to have lived
somewhere between the years 695 and 572 b C., thus
dating three four centuries after Homer and two
turtles before the time Of Pericles Her husbands
CercOlas; but little than his name is known Of
HIM 1t Is supposed that Sappho early became widow,
and that most OF her poetic career was during her
wdOwhOod. The story OF her family records little more
than their names OF the facts OF her own life history
treats so vaguely TO leave in most unsatisfactory
Ignorance We do know with certainty whether
she was beautiful Tradition represents her as little and
dark but tradition says the same OF Cleopatra and we
cannot put aside unmportant the crises in the word
tory brought about by small brunettes Plato calls he
the beautiful SapphO," and Putarch and others use
similar epithets The oveliest thing of all was said OF
her naturally enough, by man who loved her. Achus
nc o"'o oVioleerorued pure sveety smiling ssppbb"
The freshness Of vioets. the charm Of that smile
and rest .ecHrcly The most reIna rkable intellectual
be held with this same AlcBus; there Is only
evidence that she returned his love- but considerable
united in the joint founders OF the lyric poetry OF
Greece and therefore Of the world There Mere no limit;
SapphO. tradition is preserved that even IN her NE
time the recitation OF OF her poems so affected that
rest Soon that he expressed the wish that he
might not die till he had learned IT 4y heaT rao called
woman admired in her own time some cloud OF re-
prOach has long ngeredi Modern critics account for
t.s.h ,la irstb
dure the cruel criticism which mere in
always s S1srre
types of Greek civilization She stood between the
culture Of the In habarbarous periods like the
Homerio, women enjoy the simplicity and freedom OF
peasant life. But as culture advances the question
comes up to do with the women Sparta solved 1t
In the old rough way, and said we must exclude tine
culture" Softer, moro polished Athens said NO. let us
lei In the culture but exclude the women" Lesbos and
the olian colonies said Let us have the culture ana
two extremes aud their reputation and their civilization
Sa Srtfed e si which sparta accorded to her
bad enough; but when Lesbos gave to hers eu
tre BoheTnIans the comedians Athens began to pick
mud and stones 20 throw at the one woman who had
Ills fortunate perhaps for historic Justice that we
have within our reach an illustration OF the way IN
which whole race of women may be mIscOnstrued III
Frenehman visits America and sees young girl walk
& S Ss %9 young sn @ me % eUs
Imagined that Lesblan woman who taught what In
no better than she shOnd be. An Athsnian would no
imagine any difference between SapphO and Asps-
STA than . tIenchman between Margaret Fuller and
George sand they saw any apparent difference, they
imputed II to the additional vice Of hypocrisy SO they
writing sapphO down. Modern research ana criticism
have the honor OF giving back OurSapphO, violet
crowned and pure since ths essay OF Welcker Oslo
the OF SapphO has stood clear and honorable
among nearly ali competent scholars To be sure one
stout Scotch Presbyterian, Col Mure has taken up
sGdse against mt heT a. ousf hercsy as John Knox
Prof. FELTON, says. the native Antagonsm between
Scotch Presbyterianisin and handsome women The
argument against the purity OF "the tenth Muse" which
unkDd ingenuity has wrought out from disjentod frag
ments OF her poetry falls 10 the ground when one con
sders the dramatic attitude which she first introduced