Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-06-11


DISTINCTIONS, sc, RUNNING SKETCH
OF THE EVENINGS,
&C., &C., &c.
The commencement exercises at the An
guSta Female Seminary closed on w ednes-
day night with the announcement of the
and an address by Rev. DR.. M. d. Hoge Of
Richmond. The session has been attend
ed by over 200 pupils from the various
Southern States, and has closed with the
unusually large number of seven full grad
| yates, that is, pupils who have received
| certificates of proficiency in every school
of the institution. This gratifying ex-
| hibit in the educational department seems
| to have inspired the Principal, Miss M. J.
| Baldwin, with the purpose to have this
| commencement exceed any other ever held
| there, and the purpose was fully carried
out. The scene in and around the institu-
| ton was most attractive. The terraced
yard with its lawns and fountains, and
| the portico filled with flowers and rare
birds of brilliant pEumage from Java,
| Syria, Africa and South America were lit
surroundings for the hall of the institu-
| ton, which was decorated with excep-
| tional good taste. At the lower door,
| worked i'll evergreen, was the word ''Wel-
| come. /" and the hall itself was festooned
with evergreens Topped with white
flowers in great profusion. The stage
was garlanded and set in the best taste,
| and it's walls adorned with handsome
| paintings. An idea Of the liberal prepara-
tions made for the musical portion of this
| commencement may be gathered from the
fact that on the stage was a harp costing
| $3.50, which arrived from New York on
! Saturday.
MUSIC NIGHT.
The opening exercises took place on
Monday night, and were specially devoted
to vocal and instrumental music, the first
| piece given being the overture to "Frey-
| schultz on six pianos, two organs, a cla
rionett by Prof. Koerber, and an alto horn
| by Prof. F. Walter, giving an effect very
| nea- to that of a good orchestra. The per-
formers were: Pianos-Misses II. Rigdon,
| j. Hayden; L. Johnston, II. Wallace; L..
Semple, z. Gordon; H. Reid, A. Keitt; X.
! White, O. Veech, T.. Harris; M. Lupton,
| A. Camp, B. Davant; Organs-Misses E.
| Mcgomb and A. Davant. Coope's con-
cert fantasia for three pianos, played by
Misses M. Fletcher, Ella Oliver, l.. Gill
| liam, l.. Wilson and j. Gray WAS SPLEEN
didly performed, and the introduction to
"Nabuco'' was we'll given. Prof. Koer-
ber's fine concert overture on six pianos,
] two organs, "a clarionett by Prof. koerber,
and alto horn by Prof. Walter was per-
formed with excellent orchestral effect by
the following performers: Pianos-Misses
l.. Ewing, G. Wilson; J. Daniel, S. Ma
thews; M. Pou; c. Kennedy; J. Simpson,
E. MeComb; a. Soffold, S. Bottimore. c.
Baldwin: H. Wimberly; j. Alexander, e.
| Wills; Organs-Misses M. Crawford and
E. Oliver. The rondo for harp and piano
by Miss E. McComb and Prof. F. Walter
was loudly applauded by the audience. and
| the young lady had fairly won it by her
skilful handling of an instrument rarely
seen in the concert room nowadays.
The vocal music showed some very good
| points, and the duet, "Ah, what fate !" by
Misses B. Robert and II. Rigdon, was
worthy of the highest praise both for the
voices and the execution. Miss Mary
Crawford, who is well remembered as a
charming vocalist of last session, gave the
''Shadow song" from, we think, Dinorah,
and had not her voice been slightly yelled
| by hoarseness, would have given it beauti-
fully. The romanza and chorus from
s'Lucrezia Borgia,' with the solo part by
Miss Bessie Robert, was beautifully sung.
The spinning wheel quartette, from Mar
tina, by Misses M. Crawford, Bessie Rob
ert, H. Rigdon and M. Fletcher received
| hearty applause and deserved it. The
evening closed with Curschman's trio,
ssProtect us through the coming night
sung as semi-chorus
| A novelty in the concert was the per
Torrance of "Sounds from Home" on the
violin by Miss L. Salisbury, of Ga, ac-
companied by Prof. Walter on the piano.
1t was exceedingly we'll done and was of
course encOred.
ELocUTIoN AND CALIsTHENIC NIGHT.
Tuesday night saw another dense crowd
in the Seminary Hall. We have SO often
spoken of the grace and precision Of the
calsthenics at this school that we could
hardly say more than that both were kept
np to the highest mark in the exhibition.
The marching was splendid. The French
dialogue of s'The3. Disobedient child,0
cleyerly constructed little piece, was