Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-06-02
OUR LETTER FROM BOSTON
the COMING EAAHfNATIOkS At
HARVARD UNIVERSITY.



Special Correspondence of Every Evening.
BosToN, May 25.-Since the per-
formances of the Greek play, "Gdipus
Tyrannus," the applause and unstinted
praise OF the entire circle of literary and
classical authorities in and about Boston
has been lavished upon the whole affair,
and particularly upon the success of Mr..
George Riddle, the young professor of
elocution at Harvard who, although he
has had considerable experience on the
boards as an actor, is now but % years
old. The 500 lines of Greek which he
was called upon to learn and speak was
no light task, but his success, and that
of the entire performance, which he
managed throughout, reflects the very
highest credit on this young gentleman,
who, be it said by the way, is currently
reported to be the Alliance Of Miss Mary
Anderson.
The audiences which filed the elegant
little Sanders Theatre on the occasions
of these performances of Sophocles' famous
old tragedy, were the most '"toney" of
any that have been seen at theatrical
performance in this region for a long time.
1t is not the custom, but decidedly the
exception in Boston, for ladies to go to the
theatre or even the opera in full dress.
Bonnets are worn, except in a few in
stances, though they are sometimes only
exquisite little headdress sort of affairs.
But at the Sanders Theatre, the audito-
rum was fairly brilliant with the fash of
diamonds, the radiance of fair complex
ions, shining hair and bright eyes,
with the rainbow tints of sheeny
silks and satins and rich
.f Ill al. fa.v
bonnets were seen in the entire company,
and probably those who kept them on did
so because they had not thought of such
thing, before getting there, as taking
them off, and could not trust their back
hair to be presentable on the spur of the
moment. In much the same predicament,
probably, that Arabella and l were when
we went to the theatre in London last
summer-our first appearance in
European theatre-and were entirely
taken aback on learning that we could
not be admitted to our seats till we
should remove our hats. 1t seemed odd
enough, and we would have given six
pence each for two or three hair pins.
But the Greek play excitement is over,
and now the students fancy lightly ~
turns to thoughts Of annual examinations.
What a humbug college examinations
are and what a lot of hard grinding work
one can put in for them, and what an in
tense excitement and state of overpower-
ing suspense can overcome grown-up
students, to whom the rank that they
may get, and the "honors' that they
may or may not take, seem of vastly
more Importance than, perhaps, anything
else in the world ever may TO them And
then again how easily some fellows can
sham through set of examinations, and
by aid of cribs, communications and
cheating generally, with good luck added,
come through all right and take diplomas
and degrees in fine style
Did | tell you in my last of one way
that the Harvard men used-not many
years ago-to get the better of certain
near-sighted professor of Germana The
class was large one, and the professor
never learned the faces Of the majority,
but called them up for recitation by
cards. Of course there were some fellows
who shirked everything that they pos
sibly could, and also of course there were
men in the class who had spent more or
less time in Europe, and to whom German
was as familiar as English. So the lazy
fellows would cut the classes right along,
and when their names chanced to be
| called one of these other good fellows
would lump up and recite, and the pro-
fessor would never know the difference
| and, when it came to examination, these
ne'er-do-wells would get some fellow of
another class who was well up in the
language to go in and take the examina-
ton, under the names of the absentees.
1t worked finely.
One of the present graduating class at
Harvard played good trick on a certain
rather snappish Professor not long ago.
He laid bet, and then went into the
recitation room and forthwith began to
get somewhat inattentive and sleepy. The
Professor eyed him annoyedly, but waited
till the man appeared to be pretty far
gone in slumber, when he suddenly
launched a hard question at him. But
| up bobs the sleepy student and makes
most brilliant recitation, which tickles the
class immensely and disgusts the disap-
pointed Professor.
Harvard commencement comes late in
June, but Boston University has its COM
mencement on the 1st day of June, and
the examinations are about over, let
thanks he rendered All the schools and
| colleges connected with the University
are to be represented in the exercises,
which will occur at Music Hall, for the
| University has, as yet, no large buildings
provided with suitable halls for such
purpose. But it expects to build within
year or two. 1t is already very
| tiourishing institution, although only
about dozen years old, and one which
| its alumni as well as its students may
well be proud of.
This afternoon | stopped for half an
1 bpur n a niaun ranita1 niya, in yVacIa,ar
| Hall, by Miss Helen S. Peckham, who
graduates next week from the College of
Music of Boston University. The course
is a very severe and thorough one, and
Miss Peckham proved this afternoon
| beyond a doubt that she has done herself
and the college credit. The selections
which she gave included three move
ments of Beethoven's Concerto in q, op
IS; Prelude and Fugue in b fiat by Bach
Cansonetta in by Jensen Capriccio in
g by Durham Ga talented young pro-
fessor of the college, and Liszt's Taren-
telle from Venezia Napoli. Miss Peck
ham is unquestionably one of the best
pianists in New England.
1t is anniversary week, and the city is
full of strangers from all directions, come
to attend meetings of all imaginable kinds
| of societies and associations. Usually it
makes point of raining all anniversary
week, but it slipped up somehow this
year, and got week ahead of time. 1t
rained hard all last week and to-day has
been bright and beautiful and hot. 1t
mightn't be a bad idea to send the clerk
of the weather an almanac "to refresh
his memory" as they. say in the courts
when a lawyer has to cram the judge
with facts of which he is to ''take jndi-
cial notice."
The School Board of Boston took a step
recently which is exciting a deal of dis
cussion and not little dissatisfaction.
This was no less n movement than the
abolition of the evening high school. The
grounds of its discontinuance seem to be
that great many attend merely for mis-
chief or amusement. But this is poor
reason. Much good has certainly been
done ny the means of this school and it
seems strangely retrograde movement
in the educational line to abolish it.
ROBIN.