Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-06-29

president and ce-presdents, elected tenn
porary chairman. The report of the sec
retary was read, accepted and adopted.
DR.. c. l.. Allen. ~, Hon. Daniel Rob-
erts, 30, and Hon. l.. E. Knapp, 81, were
made committee to nominate a list of
officers to be acted upon Wednesday.
Then the neurological record was read.
President Brainerd suggested that it
would be pleasant to hear from the older
alumni. DIR. Hulburd, 80; Hon. Daniel
Roberts, 80, and Rev. DR.. Sawyer, 80,
were successfully heard. An adjourn
ment was taken to Wednesday morning.
At II o'clock came the public exercises
of the alumni association at the Congre-
gational church. Col. Thad. NJ. Chap
mau acted as marshal. President DEMO
of the association occupied the chair,
and seated on the stage with him were
Rev. DR.. Byron Sunderland of Washing
ton and the orator, the poet and the mar
shal. Music was provided by Brehmer's
orchestra of Rutland, who were stationed
in the gallery. The exercises began with
a selection by the orchestra; then Rev.
Dr. Sunderland offered prayer, and more
music followed.
The orator, Prof. Julian w. Abernethy,
class of '76, professor of English litera-
ture in the Adelphi academy, Brooklyn,
n. Y, was next introduced. He spoke
of George Eliot, her works and her place
in literature. A brief abstract of his
scholarly and most excellent and inter-
esting address follows:
Everybody reads novels; they are in our
age what the drama was in the days OF Eliza
| Deth. one OF the demands oil the times is that
knowledge be made cheap and easy OF nc.
qulrement. All the intellectual elements OF
the epoch are expressed through the novel as
| u med ium. With the appearance OF Darwin $
"Origin OF Species and "Adam Bede," in
lS59 new era OF writing and thinking opened.
From that date the strongest force operating
upon the world OF thought has been the eager,
aggressive spirit of physical science. George
| Eliot has given the fullest expression of this
force in literature, so that study OF her works
is, practically, study of the influence OF mod
ern science upon literature and life. After re-
viewing the works of George Eliot in the
light OF the above facts the speaker continued
She was essentially a poet at the beginning of
her career working in the field of poetry and
ideals, but under the influence OF science was
transformed into an ethical propagandist us
ing art as means OF exposition. Had she
worked after the models OF her own creation
there could be little question about her pre-
eminence among writers of fiction; as IL is,
her artistic merit is such as to leave her few
rivals. After Scott it Is pretty certain that
only Dickens and Thackeray can be named
with her-infinitely superior to them both,
however, in scholarship, which so enriches
her writing and tor want OF which their writ
ing often seems by comparison shallow and
Improbable. Her work was in an especial
1t was the peculiar misfortune OF her genius
to be the victim OF IA disturbed environment
No impression that we get from her works is
more positive than that OF self-contradiction
and struggle. No one can read her works in
the light of her biography without bel lg con.
WINGED that this element OF self-contradiction
was due to her association with the great
leaders OF science. 1t became her mission
to do for the theory of evolution in ar,
what Spencer and Huxley were doing for
it is biology. As a result OF this attempt
her novels furnish the best illustration in our
literature of the incompatibility OF the scien
tifc and the poetic attitude OF mind. Enthu
siasm for the mOlecule sometimes brought
her realism down to that plane on which
lIowels and the unmentionable Zola are ex
trenes. 1t prevented her from minging with
real lism that due measure OF the ideal which
in all ages has given to art Its CHIEF element
OF imperishable beauty. 1t robbed her of heI
religious faith, cast down her early ideals
from heaven to earth and brought to her spirit
melancholy that spread its deep shadows
over all her splendid writings. Probably the
best consolation that positive science has to
offer to struggling humanity is contained In
George Eliots books but it is cold, barren
consolation, gathered up from the ruins of a
shattered faith Her great intellect and cour
ageous heart united in the delusive attempt to
make the religion OF humanity a substitute
tor the Christian faith. The presence of heI
noble spirit is everywhere felt in the novels
a loving, unseltish spirit that reaches out tC
the humblest heart through its gracious sym
pathy, but pensive, solemn spirit too, that
leaves burden OF sadness upon the heart ii
seeks to comfort. Her books inspire the in
lit the soul.
The orchestra was again heard from
and the poet, Erastus II. Phelps, Ii. B.
class of 81, cashier of the Fair Haven Ma.
tiOnal bank, was introduced. His subject
was 1.-The Man of Today" whom he con.
trasted with the man of former ages
The idea of the poem, which was received
, with applause, was that men of the pre-.
sent time are in every way the superiors
, of their ancestors.
Frederick w. Osborne of Bloomfield
n. j., named by the orator, and A. n
, Adams of Fair Haven, nominated by the
poet, were made honorary members OF
the alumni association.
The exercises concluded with music.
The alumni dinner followed at the
, Addison House. Many of the alumni
and their lady friends sat down to it. 1t
goes without saying that the viands were
, abundant, of fine quality and well served
d. Grace was said by Rev. DR.. Chickering,
, '26. The wants of the inner man having
been satisfied, Prof. DEMO raped the ta-
bles to order and called upon these alum
nj successively: Hon. Daniel Roberts,
20; Rev. DR.. Sunderland, President 5. S.
Sherman and Rev. f. w. Olmsted-all of
'3S; Prof. Abernethy, rs, Prof Brainerd
Kellogg, '5S; Rev. DR.. Sawyer, '29; Hon.
John W. Stewart and President Brainerd.
All of them spoke in an interesting way,
though space forbids even abstracts of
what they said. 1t was nearly o'clock
} before the party arose from the tables.
THE PRIZE SPEAKING.
The Parker and Merrill prize speaking,
on Tuesday evening, is always one of
the most attractive things of the week,
and is sure to draw a crowded house.
Long before the appointed hour every
seat in the Congregational church
was filled and benches were placed in the
aisles to accommodate the late comers.
The programme, emitting music, was;
PARKER PRIZE SPEAKERS.
Recitation-The Dandy Fifth. Anon
Ezra w. Benedict.
Declamation-The Unknown Speaker. Anon
Frank ID. Boynton.
Declamation-The Amerit an sailor. Stockton
Herman G. Palmer.
Recitation-Extract from "The Last Days oi
Herculaneum" Atherton