The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-11
Rector, Or. Smcdes.

Roll of tionor heau Dy thS
Rector, Or. Smedes.
The young ladies who graduated ana
received their diplomas at ST. Mary
School yesterday were:
MISS MAMIE y. CLARK, Of lar
horo.
MISS MARY NJ. HANFF, OF Raleigh.
MISS LILY L. KOONCE, of Raleigh.
MISS THEODORE MARSHALL, of
Raleigh.
eigh. tiFss
Things which repeat themselves are
apt to pail But this is not always true'
It is not true of commencement at st.
Mary's. Graduating Day there is always
simple. ever fresh and therefore interest
Ing. There is no pandering to popular
applause. Always there IS the ease anu
assurance born of modest merit ana
cheerful absence of the unnatural III
these exercises.
This was especially true of the exercises
there Yesterday They could not have
been simpler, sweeter, better. Every
friend of the school must have felt proud
of what he there saw and heard.
For ffty-seven long years this instltu-
ton has been in existence-durlng all TINS
time the exercises have been held IN the
same little chapel nesting among the
stately oaks. During this time thousands
of North Cardinals noblest women nave
been educated here and sent out to bless
the world and make it better with their
Influence But never, during all this
long and honorable career, has this ia
NOUS institution shown TO better advan-
tage than during the commencement eXer-
eises just closed.
The programme yesterday morning be-
gan with the reading of essays by mem
beers of the graduating class.
To Miss Lilly Koonce, the salutatorlan
of the class. fell the very pleasant
duty of welcoming those who were pre-
sent. This she did in a most pleasing
manner.
In the discussion of the main subject
of her essay, 1.-The Formative Power of
Nature Studies" she said the study of
any phase of nature gives breadth and
freedom of thought and action. There Is
a grand simplicity, unostentation in the
man who lives near to Natures heart.
In the child in school nature study
cultivates closeness Of observation and
accuracy Of details. The eyes are opened
to the beauties of the world as never
before The ugly and the commonplace
take on a new beauty and new glory.
If you would study a true communistlc
colony then go out and watch the lower
animals-spend day near an ant colony.
See how these little creatures accomplish
by. instinct what man spends so many
years trying to do-and then, perhaps,
never does. Nature is adj things to all
men. To each one of us she speaks a var
led language and always and ever she
tells us something new.
In her essay-'Greetings and Fare
wells"-Miss Mary y. Hanff said that
all nations-both civilized and barbarian
have some form of greeting and fare
we'll The most common is the kiss; in
some other countries it is by rubbing
noses. The bow is everywhere. The
most popular mode of greeting in civilized
nations is Misunderstanding. So common has
Il become that it is to-day spreading to
savage tribes and to-day the Esquimau
is shaking hands.
The hand-shake is an index of charac-
ter. Different forms Of hand-shake were
described and the heartiest, and most
heartless, of all was declared the political
handshake Words of salutation are
used in all countTies-inquiries after the
health and the like Sometimes they
mean something, most often they are
mere formalities. And yet, the greeting
and farewell are sacred things-what
could be more so-the goodbye, God
bless you"
LIE Drame de la France ct de lEspagne
was the subject Of the essay read by Miss
Isabel w. Pescud. 1t was written i'm
French and was most admirably read by
the fair young writer.
1.-THE Boy in Fiction" was Miss
Theodore MarshalPs subject. "What are
little boys made of any wayY' she asked
We all know the old saying that little girls
are humps OF sugar, spice, powder ant
perfume; while the boy is made Of snaps
and snarls and little dogs tails-dirty
sticky, thoughtless and quarrelsome. Thii
can hardly be true, however, for if it were
boys would not be so nice as we some
times ind them.
Nor can we believe that the boys Oh
9cng ago were such boys as that-certainly
il we believe our fathers and grand
fathers they were not They neve
got their clothes dirty or drug cats a
round by the tails. Oh, no. They went t.
church with their mother, sat up straight
sang like a siren and never got sleep.
and tumbled off the seat. They didn'
even look around at the pretty girls.
The boy characters in modern fiction
Thackery's, Capt. Marriott's, Mark Twain
and George Elliott's, were discussed am
criticised. '"Fom" in the mill on tn
Floss" the essayist declared the tru
boy-true to life and true to nature. Blu
Of all boy characters Sentimental Ton
my" is perhaps the most interesting an
hard to be surpassed.
''The work of Two Women"-Mr
Humphrey Ward and Elizabeth Stual
Phelps-was discussed by Miss Mamie {
Clark.
Both of these writer's, Miss Clark sal
were highly educated, having received I'll
most thorough training possible. Bot
are writers of great power, and bot
are working along the same line-dealir
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