Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-06-09
Established in 1913.
SWEET GIRL GRADUATES.
Annual commencement of the st
Clairsville Schools.
The Glass Numbers Eight Young Ladies
Good Addresses Well Delivered.
A Crowded House.


Thursday evening. Commencement exer
cises were held in Court House Hall. The
room was packed-fully six hundred peo
pie being crowded into it. The stage wa:
banked on either side with beautiful poi
flowers, and vases of cut flowers, thai
lent color to the scene, ana filled the hal
with their fresh perfumes. The motto
of the class was worked in green and
hung from the front.
At O'Clock the class, the Board of Ed
ucation and Miss Davies and Professor
Rossiter marched on the stage. DIR
Balph invoked the blessing of God on the
proceedings of the hour. The young la
dies then rendered their essays. TheiI
manner, in one particular especially, was
admirable. They did not, as is customa-
ry, stand before the audience with roll
of manuscript, pretending to refer to il
here and there, but they cast aside all
aids and pretenses, advanced courage
ously to the front empty handed, after
the manner of practised speakers, and
said what they had to say as though they
meant it. Not one stumbled or forgot.
They spoke distinctly, and impressed
their audience with their own earnest
ness.
Miss Ella Meek spoke of Mirages. She
explained the peculiarities of this myste-
rious natural phenomenon its causes and
its kinds, giving notable historical in
stances of its remarkable deceptions. She
then spoke of life's mirages. The gorge
Gus unfulfilled prophecies of the young
man who will conquer the world, the
high ideals and rosy anticipatiOns of the
young woman, turning to ashes and dust
these are the mirages of life. Why
should life be so full of fdisappointments
even down to death the great illusion.
The subject of Miss Kittie Fulton's ad-
dress was Women Warriors. S1e told
what Joan of Arc, poor and uneducated,
had done, the great work of Marie An
toinette, and of other famous women.
But women need not be famous to be
warriors. The woman who battles daily
with the vexations of the home, who is a
faithful wife and kind, true mother, is
as potent for good as her most famous
sisters. Woman does not need the ballot
to enlarge her opportunities. In the
more humble sphere of the home, she
can do more than in the noisy field OF
political action.
Silent Influence was Miss Mary Shan
mons subject. She told of the great work
of noise and spoken words, but showed
how vastly greater is that accomplished
by persistent quiet effort. She referred
to the mighty forces that sleep between
the covers of silent books, and drew nu
merous examples from the biography of
eminent men whose lives were shaped
and carried to greatness by the calm, ev-
eryday example of parents or compan-
ions. She showed that after silence
speech should come, and that though
speech is sometimes silver, silence is
more often golden.
Miss Gertrude Darrah's essay had the
attractive subject, Scattered Pearls. She
told how the pearl is formed in the mud
of the oyster bed, of its unexcelled beau
ty, and of its various uses, and of the
famed pearls of story and revelation.
After these references to the pearls phys
ical character, she spoke of the gems
that flash through literature, in poetry
and in art. Immortal songs, filled
with truth, sung by the poets of all
ages, these are pearls that lie scattered
through life, and exert their wonderful
influence on men when the authors are
dust.
Miss Mary Blair spoke patriotically of
We, the People. She outlined our loca-
tion with respect to the stars and the rest
of the world She pictured our progress,
and instituted a favorable comparison
between our untiring activity and the
sluggishness of the rest of the world. She
moved the audience to laughter several
times, notably by her prediction that the
man in the moon would be brought down
by some aggressive American woman.
She showed that were Solomon living
now he would retract his famous saying
that there is nothing new under the sun.
Novelties of Life, was Miss Nellie Cole
mans subject She delivered her address
with a clear, strong voice, and a deliber-
ate manner. She at first inclined to the
opinion that Solomon was not far from
right, and that apparent novelty is ex
ceeding rare. She deprecated the eager
pursuit of fancied happiness. Life to her
seemed beautiful, mysterious and curl
Gus thing, in which there is untold novel
ty. She took the position of Goethe, who
looked on life as fresh from the hand of
the Creator.
Miss Mamie Shannon had for her sub
ject this puzzling line-The Land to
Which Our Ship Would Go. This land,
she said, was far, far away, and yet was
near at hand. She made much of the
thought that each individual life should
have its ideal that should be high and re-
mote from everyday affairs, yet that could
be attained only by steady, strong every
day endeavor She showed the effect of
a great goal to be achieved, on character,
and recommended that it be striven for
not ideally but practically.
Miss Daisy Burlington chose her subject
from the Greek-Eureka. Her manner
was highly dramatic, and her enunciation
distinct and finished. All nature she
said, everything by which we are sur
rounded invites us to search. Animate
and material things lie before us silent,
mysterious and curious. Our history is
a battle with the unknown. In the bat.
tie we can do nothing without self-conli
dence. Belief in ourselves is the surest
element for success in our search. With
it we may in the end exclaim Eureka"
DIR. Hingeley in pertinent address
cave the class some good advice He ax.