National Republican., 1884-02-28
Interesting and Thoughtful Papers by Several
Of the Young Lady Students.
Miss Cora Paxton Writes Pictorally
and Critically Of Dido.
Miss Loveoy Insists Upon the Necessity and Value
Of "Small Talk"
Miss Addie Burr's Eloquent Appeal for
Commercial Justice TO Women.

Seventh, afforded another interesting display
of the intellectual growth of the pupils. 1t
/ showed also the progress of the work done in
/ the rhetorical sections, the elocution class,
and the Thursday evening instruction in
singing. Essays upon "Old Georgetown" by
Miss l.. Nj. Gurley; "Tho Worth of News
papers" by Vernon L. Hodges, and "Rcflec-
/ tiOns on Mount Vernon" by Hugh NJ. Smith,
were read each displaying good taste and
| Judgment in the preparations. Declarations
| by J. Wcddorburn, w. W. Chisholm, and A.
/ L. Shoemaker, with singing by the school,
added materially to tho brilliancy of pro-
gramme which was fitly completed by the
( three following essays:
The Romance of Virgil Compared With
| That Of Modern Times" was written and read
| by Miss Cora G. Paxton.
| Who thinks of connecting tho prettily
woven stories and love tales of to-day with
| the stern browed Romans conuuerng Gaul,
| and terrifying tho world with their warliko
deeds? And yet for the derivation of ro.
nance we must go back to the overthrow of
the western empire. There we shall find the
| Gauls and Latins making q division i'll their
| language, the Latins remaining tho same,
while the Gauls spoke what they He'd Ro-
] IlduCc- w diluus AllGTNdTu DObIno WIlNltl III
! this language were called "romances,' the
| first bOing, The Romances of the Rose"
This consisted of 10000 verses, and was o
masterpiece Of wit and invention, but moro
solid than the love stories of to-day. Virgil on
livens 4Eneas's wanderngs by n regular love
| affair and this wish to compare with others
of "a more modern date. Though you
| have not read the story, you will know that
some one is head over ears in love- and an
! other indifferent or inconstant, since this is
| the essence of romance. The lnfeliX Phg-
nissa stands as one type of the many brO-
ken hearts that have SO prominent place in
romance.
In Virgil's day, however, it seems only
| "FCniiRd ruriUm ct mUtGbi e SeRper; but in later
years, "Tir rarium ctmutdbiie SeRper;" and this
necessarily makes a difference in the ro.
nance, for woman only being changeabe and
variable, woman alone deserved to suffer as
Dido did, while the "pious" and unchangea.
BILE Enea5 sailed away heart-free, with moth
ing moro to trouble him than poor DidO's
ghost haunting him. In modern times,
man having degenerated must suffer,
az Hamlet, Romeo, and host of
| others have done. The romance as a
whole gains considerable when placed by
modern creations Of its kind, and loses moth
ing when compared with Shakspeare's great
dramas. The disappointed Dido, rs she
| calmly prepares for death, and stabs herself
on the altar, is to me far grander conception
than Ophela, who tamely slips into a pool
while gathering flowers. This last seems to
be n tendency in modern romance. The hero
or heroine quietly awaits the issue, till fate or
the author open some gap into which they
may slip.
Virgil puts despair into his heroine's heart
and the weapon into her hand, and she, never
| hinching, does the deed. Is courage so scarce
that Shakespeare must put nerve from his
own hand into that of his character, or
that George Eliot need permit fate to
plunge her creations into some stream
near by? In Juliet Ophelia, and
Sponsors gentle Una we have combination
of innocence and love, but in Dido We find
passion only, and that the essence Of her
existence and occupying her whole being.
| When the issue comes at last we are prepared
for it and offer our sympathy to the queen
| Another difference to be noted between
| Virgil and modern romanCers, Shakespeare
included, is the way in which the love stories
| end. The Tyrian queen sinks under her
calamity; her death leaves an anguish in the
mind, but it is a pleasing anguish, since we
| know it is but natural for the story to end
| with her death. Good and evil are not
partial visitors in practice, and should
not be in romance. Most modern
writers, however, would have tried the
effect of having Eneas rush back just
as Dido is about to stab herself
! beg forgiveness, and end his days in peace.
| All the incidents of the story arc natural,
which cannot always be said even of Shaks-
peare. Too many writers Of to-day are con-
tent to mass up words, SO that in order to
reach the ideas we must battle with such an
army of anguaue that in the end we are
physically exhausted. Perhaps Nirgil's story
is bulky, but it is bulky with thought, and
not words and as a romance it must ever
stand one of the purest and hest.
"The Blessing of Small Talk" the second
essay, was written and read by Miss NJ. N.
Lovejoy.
In the ordinary intercourse of every day
life we do not as rule have either the time
or the inclination to declare to others our
deepest thoughts and feelings. We reserve
these condolences for the persons with whom
we are most closely associated and to whom
we know they are Of interest. Thoughts
that lie too deep for tears" do not form the
substance of our general conversation. Most
ofus have one subject, at least, on which we
are enthusiastic, and about which we are
ready TO talk; hut, unfortunately, we can
not always find willing listeners. The peO-
pie we meet have their own conversational
hobby horses to ride, and will not dismount
merely TO give place to us. Society will not
be run over by hobby-horses, and l think il
will be agreed that society is right. Enthu-
siasts are not blase enough TO be tolerated.
All of those except those who turn pleasure
into business 20 into society for the sake OF
recreation and are there judged by appear
ances rather than by merits, as we know.
lie who can make witty remark about the
weather is more certain to succeed than he
who can discourse upon its causes and effects
with the genius and tho knowledge of a
Newton. Indeed, our success or failure as
an acquisition TO society depends for the
most part upon our stock of small talk.
Hazlitt complains of the disadvantage under
which an author labors because people seem
generally to think that q man who has
written book never wishes TO converse on
any subject of less Importance than fate, free
will, or foreknowlodgo. lie assures us that
on tho contrary, no enjoys as much as any
thing an exchange OF opinions on the proba-
biitie5 of a fair day.
"Great men are rarely good conversation
alists" Such was Dsraeli's observation, and
from this noticeable fact some people suppose
that poor conversationalists are therefore
able writer's and think tho cultivation OF
the qualities requisite to mOke good talkcI
beneath them. 1t is an undCniable fact that
many person who, with a pen in his hand
has good command of language, loses hi'
eloquence in the presence Of two or three
auditors. We can recall TO mind at the
moment the names of many men renowned
for learning and for nuency as writers
who made but sorry appearance
in the social world from the wan
of u ready tongue. The lack o
conversational ability is not always the resul
Of lack Of effort to obtain 1t, for II is quality
that is sometimes vainly sought How many
of US have felt, and keenly too, the need OF