The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-07
HIGHLY CULTURED BOSTON.
Observations Of an Indianapolis School
Teacher Among the Clubs Of the HUB


Mrs. Mary R. McGregory, for many years a
teacher in the city high school, gave an account,
last evening, before the Plymouth Institute, of
the literary and social privileges of winters
residence in Boston, which with her has just
closed. There was a large attendance of teach
ers, and others Of the class that seek culture and
entertainment hand in hand, and they were not
disappointed, as Mrs. McGregory had evidently
passed busy winter, and had access to all the
clubs lecture courses, art and music
which Boston proffers to the unfortu-
nate residents of the wild and
rowdy West. The charity and benevolent in
situations were not ignored by Mrs. McGregory,
and very detailed accounts were given of the
New England Women's Club, and the Lowell
Institute. To the latter, the audience come,
with free tickets, to hear lectures of exactly one
hour, by the most eminent men. Racy sketches
were given of Prof. Edmund Gosse's (of Cam
bridge, Eng course on English literature; Of
Col. L. W. Higginson's lecture on Gov. John A.
Andrew, the Morton war Governor of Massa-
chusetts. Mrs. McGregory said that Higgin-
sons physical counterpart was to be found In
Thackeray's sketch of 1.-THE Newcomes, in Col.
Newcome.
The musical thing for Westerner to do in
Boston is to attend the oratoria of the Messiah,
which is given every year the. Sunday night
nearest Christmas by the Handel and Haydn
Society. This was their 654th concert. and their
SEVENTEEN season, and was especially memorable
as the anniversary of Handels BIRTH and
was made historic occasion, the audience rising
to its feet "as man" at the hallelujah chorus,
as has been the English habit ever since the time
1t was first sung at Covent Garden, the 23rd of
March, 1743, when the whole assembly with Rex
George III at their head set the habit which all
good Bostonlans who expect sing halieluJah IN
heaven still follow
The New England Women's Club organized in
1860, meets once amonth; the fee is $40; each mem
Der can bring but one guest year; the room is
always full. They do not read papers, but sit
and work embroidery and fancy work for church
giants as E. E. Hale j. f. Clark ETC., read the
papers and do the heavy intellectual work, the
ladies doing the discussion, and being strictly
called to the question when they wander. Mr..
E. Atkinson spoke to the club on statistics,
telling them the people of the earth could stand
on fiat ten miles square, or sit in arm chairs
on lot twenty miles square, all of which was
very funny, very, very useful, and very, very,
very entertaining The red-letter night of the
club was when Colonel Higginson (who is evil
IDENTIFY lady's we'll mugwump par
excellence) read some unpublished poems of Mrs.
Ellen Hooper, who wrote the lines for EmersonS
Dial:
Il slept and dreamed that life was beauty;
woke and found that life was duty"
The Colonel thinks Mrs Hooper the leader of
the women poets of America, and many of
her sonnets equal to Shakspeares.
Only those ladies discuss the papers who are
called on by the president; their time is taken
up by the fairs. Boston ladies realized $4,000
in this way for the Hospital for Women and
Children, and $4,000 in one evening for the
Soldiers Home.
Mrs. NJ. visited legions of other circles-be-
nevoent, literary, social or religious. There is
the Society for the Collegiate instruction of
Women, which means simply, Harvard annex;
Massachusetts Association for the Universal
Education of Women, which is really the Boston
University in woman's clothes; the Charity Con-
ferences, the Moral Education Association, the
FatherlesS and Widows Association; and last,
but not least the Mrs. Lincoln Cooking school,
with normal attachment" and Nurses Cook
ing for the Sick" addenda. This account was
very juicy and palatable, but not q word about
Boston baked beans and Indian pudding. The
North End Industrial Home, where little chill
dren of the poor play at keeping house with all
the real fXingS on small scale, was very
pretty.
From the cooking school to the Metaphysical
Club is an easy step for Bostonians,
and here, with Mrs. Awagnos, daughter
Of Mrs. Julia w. Howe. and wife of
the present president of the Howe Institute for
the Blind, and authoress of book on the Con-
cord School of Philosophy, very highly-intel-
lectual evening, even for the ethereal Hub, was
passed in discussing paper by Mrs Howe on
the brief subject of Human Life"
And so on, through whole winter Of floral
displays of orchids and chrysanthemums at
Horticultural Hall, symphony concerts, orato-
rios and operas, this intellectual Boston winter
is made tolerable. The ladies don't dress loud
at Boston opera, they do in the wicked cities of
New York and Indianapolis: they just enjoy the
music in their good common Boston store clothes.
Most interesting and really valuable is the
"Womans Educational Industrial Union, which
includes woman's exchange and provides
lectures, essays and classes, as the Plymouth
Club does here. 1t meets on alternate Tuesdays,
and the best women in the Womans New Eng
land Club are the workers in it. The fee is a
dollar; the doors are closed there is no game of
blakballing out; it is, in snort, more useful and
Christian, if less Bostonian and aristocratc.
None talk over five minutes save Elizabeth
Peabody who is not limited when
telling how badly Congress treated the
poor Indians. The speaker said she wished
Myron Reed could have heard her.
The protective committee of this association
has collected $4,000 of wages in small
sums due to poor women; it is blessing. There
are two thousand members. There are
notices in all depots and public places invt-
ing women to visit its rooms for aid and counsel
The club has many social gatherings and is doing
vast good. The very pleasing and instructive
record of busy winter in Boston closed with
the account in detail of the Woman's Assoca