The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1886-02-18


The Normal has lately esfsbliebad =
home lecture course. which prsseass its
aumbers At intervals Of three or four
weeks. The tirst, on Educational
Means" was delivered sbOut 9 month
ago. by President Taylor; the second.
on ''schcol GYmnastics." By Professor
Wilkinson OF the training department.
two weeKs later, and the third on Non.
lay by Miss Price Of the language de.
partment on the subject above named.
While Miss Prices regard Tor literary
merit Ia broad as the world and deep q
the ages. yet she confined herself IN th:s
lecture to America, TO American women
and 70 American women now living.
The lecture begaa By quotation from,
Goethe:
ave should know the weary paths Of
mechanism and labor along which the
industry of man has toiIed for centuries
before We can comprehend the value and
dignity Of works Of srt.''
The lecturer does not agree with d..
Quincy, who declares that 'tcurisosity as
to the personal appearance Of an author
is absurdly irrelevant, - forls is Impossl.
BILE for those who care for what is writ
ten, not care for the face OF the person
who wrote it She considered It source
Of qualification that the time had never
come In the progress OF literary criticism,
when the writings are considered sepa-
rateIy from one superior to the writer.
If the heart an 1 life do not correspond
with the beautiful and harmonious
thoughts expressed. the writings are not
so highly valued. and they should
not be. It Is the soul behind,
guiding. controlling and producing all
that we want to know with which TO
come into personal contact.
The first lady brought forward. and
one for whom the lecturer entertained
the prOfoundest esteem, was Louise May
Alcott, whom perhaps a majority of the
students recognized az ne author OF
"Little Women, )" Little Men, and the
"Old Fashioned GIRL" In letter writ.
ten by Miss Alcott 10 Miss Price q few
days ago and which was read TO the stu
dents, the famous writer for juven1les
says that she does not like society and
shIrks its duties whenever she can.
Miss Alcott at the age of fifteen is de,
scribed as a stall, slender girl. who wa
rapidly shooting up into womanhooG
but didn't like it." She once remarked
thst she believed her soul TO be 9 mani
instead OF q wOman,s and put into he
body by mistake. Some one asked he
why she thought 30. Because" sh,
SAID, and her grey eyes sparkled, "a
have fallen In love in my life will
so many pretty girls, but never ono
with q man. Her letter to Miss Pric
was courteous and kind. She says sh
never favors requests for autographs O
general counsel because she is perpetu
ally bored with all sorts of question
from Whom shall marry ?" TO cough
to wear bustle?" She is at presen
an invalid, so she says in her letter.
The next lady presented was the au
thoress of that excellent and well know
poem, "Gates Ajar"-ElIzabeth StuaI
Phelps. This lady, like George Elio
never reads what the newspapers So
about her or her productions which b
the way, Is rather joke on the newsps
per fraternity. In reply to Miss Price
letter she saws she is too sick 70 answe
letters. In fact her literary work, sh
declares ia done at odd anatrhaa Of col
cradle health.
Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton, who wrote tn
suggestion, inspiring yet wIthal rathe
selfish poem Paddle Your Own Canoe,
was next on the list. She lives fou
miles from Indianapolis on a SINAI
farm. In her letter TO Miss Price sh
says: ut is so difficult to get service
that l am obliged to do all of my owl
house work. While making beds, dus,
ing, sweeping or cooking, with sub
ject In my mind on which I wish t
write, the staDzss come to me one b,
one and often whole poem before
have time to write line" Strange t
say Mrs. Bolton was not sick when sh,
wrote her letter to Miss >PrIce, but sh,
was weary, she said, from a loDI
journey; and well she might be with al
her work. for she Is seTenty-one year
old.
Charles Egbert Craddoc k, the mys
ferrous Prophet of the Smoky Noun
! tains of Tennessee" whose handwritIn g
STYLE n rOfonnd knowIed0a and vnuSou