The Brookhaven leader., 1888-06-21

well Ia Their Alma Mater.
The annual commencement exercises o
Whitworth College, AN institution that i,
justly the pride of our city AMI State
closed Tuesday, being one of the most
brilliant and successful the College la,
ever known.
The first of the public exercises was the
annual sermon on Sunday at IL o'clock
by Bishop Il. X. lIargrovr, of Nashville
The spacinus College chapel presented Il
beautiful aud attractive appearance as
/ the large and cultivated congregation
began 10 assemble. The walls were fcS-
tooncd with spreading palmel toes and re-
lieycd at intervals by pictures painted 10y
the hands of the art pupils, while lovely
pot flowers lined the platform and added
to the charming effect.
Bishop lIargrovc's sermon was mas
terpiecc, and pronounced by competent
critics the finest and most appropriate
commencement sermon ever delivered
here.
lie took for his theme the ideal woman
of Scripture, as portrayed in the 3lst
chapter of Proverbs, aud his text from
the latter clause of the 10th verse. "For
her price is far above rubics.'
After adverting TO the custom still pre-
vailIng in certain countries of treating
woman as mans slave and meniai, to be
ploughed in the fields beside the ass aud
OK, and the other extreme of making her
Il beautiful toy or doll babN--a painted
nobody of ease and indo!cncc-a and the
depricaling of both these extremes, the
able divine described in chaSte and eln-
quent language the true mission of wOm-
an to he as the housekccrer and home
builder of man, according to the Divine
model described in the chapter under con
sidcraton.
Woman WAS created by God TO be help
companion suited to mans condition and
social nature. One is the complement Of
the other, neither the superior, and neith
cr adapted to excel in the others peculiar
sphere. Woman was not intended by n =
ture to he the drudge or toy of man, nor
was she to usurp his peculiar functi ions
and duties. thereby breaking down the
lines which should properly distinguish
the sexes The natural relation of the
sexes is the marriage relation: the woman
as help meet for her companion, one who
is TO assist her husband in fighting the
battle of life, and the times are Sadl : ont
of joint and popular thought greatly at
fault when young men are wont TO say
they are not able to marry.
He strongly deprrcat d the idea of wo-
mans rights, aud the Amazonan doctrine
champoned by Margaret Fuller, as both
unScriptural and mischicvonS; but ncv-
crthelcss wonnn's field of usefulness is
of the domestic circle, and within her ap-
pirate sphere she may become Il powerful
factor in solving great moral, social and
political problems. Above all. the lesson
of industry was cui"lmc;l. There is alb
solutrly no authority in the Divine model
for a woman spending her time in aimlcsS
idleucSs; both mind and body should be
kept in II healthy state of activity and de
velopment
Finally, the learned bishop Said he
could not do better than commend to his
lady nearer, the perfect model of script
ural wonanhool presented hy the inspl"-
=. Al,
tion.
The music was conducted hy Mrs. W.
b. Murrah, Il special feature of it being IL
solo by Prof. VIM. lIennimSS, Il noted mu-
sician of Cleveland, Ohio, Nho sang in Il
fine baritone voice.
Sunday night the Young Ladies Chris
tian Association celebrated their annIvcr-
sary, and Il very able and impressive
sermon was delivered by Rev. X. G Por-
ter, of the North Mississippi Conference,
so well known tn thousands of readers as
the inimitabe GHdcroy. RecitalionS were
rendered during the evening by Misses
Ora Moss and Alice Fitzhugh in highly
creditable style, and besides other music,
n duet was eXqnistely sung by Misses
Katie McGrath and Lolle Moore,
MONDAY MORNING
at l0:30 large and fashionable audience
assembled in the College chapel to hear
the essays of members of the graduating
class The exercises were opened by IA
grand march on II pianos, 81 hands, fol-
lowed by prayer, and beautiful anthem
by the vocal class. Then essays were
read by the following graduates in the or
der named: Misses Willie Galloway, Lii
Ia Cotton, Mary Mayes, Cornelia Paxton,
Annie Nugent, Helen Stewart, Cecile Nh
gent, Carrie Patterson, Ida Gardner aud
Maggie Fits,
Taken as VIII ole the essays were highly
crcditable to the young ladies themselves
and to their Alma Mater, and those of
Miss Willie Galloway, (salutatOrian) Co.
melia Paxton, CecIle Nugent and Maggie
Fits (valedictorian), were worthy of spe-
cial mention, Miss Galloway's, on the
subject of "Some National Perils and OPP
portunities," was particularly fine, and
displayed finish, breadth of thought,
logical deduction and comprehensivcness
rarely met with in school girls essay.
A vocal solo, "Springtide," by Miss Mi
rian Crutcher, was also a specially inter
estlng feauture of the mornings exercis-
es, and reflected much credit upon the