The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-05-01
AN EVENING Win sHAKsrrARE.
The splendid success Of the Social At
the Normal Friday Night

gathered iDthe hall of that Institution Fiji
day evening to erjoy the trea, provided
for the public I.y the faculty and stu
dents in the way of Shakspeareaa co.
cial. A year ago a similar entertain
ment was given Ut the same place, in
which the characters of the great Dick
ems were rersonated, and the effect of
the vel ture was to stimulate such keen
interest among the students in the works
of the wonderful thinner of human ma.
ture, the creatures of whose brain have
everywhere become household words,
that it was determined even then to en-
ploy, at the proper time, the same means
of populsrizing the productions Of the
Bard of Avon.
The obstacles in the way of this under
taking. involving msny details in the
way of eostuming that were very diff.
cult to compass, were overcome by that
spirit of zeal and determination
which has made the Normal
what 1t is, and the results
were of such a character as to do abund-
ant credit to al who participated in the
enterprise.
The range of personstion- embraced
almost 100 characters, and these were
all dressed and assumed in q style
which furnished proof that the different
plays represt nted has been carefully
studied by the various members of the
cast The women of Shakespeare
were presented with a degree OF
attention to the manners and
customs of the times in which the char.
acters lived, that was more than compli-
mentary to The ladies of the Normal.
The eLteEtainme mt opsned with q
series of well-devised tsbIesux, including
scores from Julius Caesar, The Merchant
of Venice, Hamlet. Henry VIII. and
| Midsummer Nights Dream. This was
followed by grand march of
the entire cast through the GEN.
trail aud side aIsIes of the
| assembly rom, for which the Itali ian
troubsGouIs furnished music. At the
conclusion of the parade Miss Matte p
Spencer, who Lersonated Lady Mac
| beth, gave, en- costume, the letter and
sleep-waIkIng scenes from the greatest
of all the Sbakspearean tragedies. The
dramatic instinct OF this accomplished
lady found expression in her excellent
dres sing OF the part, her intel
lIgent sppreci ,tiOn of The attrib-
utes with which the great
Playwright INVESTED this ialeful incar-
nation of unholy ambition, ard in the
strength and intensity vi her treatment
of the rOIe which has betn the highest
test of trag il art among all the queens
Of the stage from the days of Siddons 10
the age in which We live. With the
valuable advantages of a superior voice,
commanding pr. seEce, and a thorough
knoSledge Of 81 cuuop, Miss
Spencer achieved very hand
some success in her exacting role.
Gov. Foster, of Ohio, who. upon invi-
taiion, honortd the institution With his
presence, urOn the conclusion of Miss
Spencer's readings, was escorted TO the
platform by President Taylor and Col.
| II. G. Cross, ana was Introduced by the
latter to the audience, who greeted him
with hesriy cheers. He made brief
address, in which he gave assurance of
the great pleasure which it afforded him
to be in attendance at the social
| He said he had watched the
growth of Kansas with much int rest,
and spoke III eulogistic terms of the
1 Oh . Io- ko4a hod ealy
in all the great questions of moral re-
form. He reft rred to the fact that in all
localities which be had visited in Kan
sas he was a. slrtd by the people that
they hal the finest county and most
promising Town in the state, and he
| added that this peculiarly was very
eesily eXpli It q in view OF the fact that
! about Iwo-thirds OF the men he had met
| S nee arriving b; re were from OHIO. He
took occasion to observe that while
Kansas was, comparatively speaking, In
her infancy, she possessed in her state
Normal an institution the like of which
Ohio could not boast of, and he COM
mended in the warmest terms the wis
dom of supporting by state appropria-
tions scho for the edu-
cation of teachers He said that
among other things which had impress
sed HIM in Kansas, nothing was so noti-
Ceable as the lack of gray heads which
he everywhere found. This, of course,
showed that the destiaies of the state
were being shaped by young men and
| this was bright omen for lis future
or MISS. Tne governor expu ssed the
hope and belief that he should
turc and alluded To the rail-
road enterprise in brhslf of which he
had come 10 This tlaCe as ne Of the
coming agencies which would contri-
butte 70 the enlargement and prosperity
of our beautiful city
His remarks were received with great
enthusiasm, and at their close il was an
nounced bv President Taylor that the
governor would remain for little time
and that al opportunity would be given
the audience of meeting him In the par
Tor. This privilege was eagerly en-
braced by the students and citizens, and
the distinguished guest went through a
siege of handshaking, TO which he'sub-
miIted with admirable grace. The re-
maindcr of the evening was occupied IN
general social, and the opportunity Of
meeting the different members of the
cast was industriouslY improved. We
are glad II learn that the proceeds will
exceed 500, and our readers Will all b
gratIfied to know that the labor expend
cd in preparing for the social was Sc
bophccFnElv raxuarded