The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-29
SOME BRIGHT THINGS
FROM KANSAS WOMEN
Continued from Sixth Page.)

ing Wien We lUOh IOr the feIOfmdliOn d
society as the result Of gift-an insti-
tuition or poor law. The children OF
the improyidert who scramble for din
ner tickets, are drawn out of the way
Of regular work which is hard and dull
but profitable, 10 take another way
which is easy and full of excitement, but
Improbable. They are taking lesson
in pauperfsm.
Neither pity nor logic can give TO the
man what man demands We see his
poverty. We do not consider his temp
tations nor aspirations. We exhaust
our selves in giving relief and miss the
motive of Christian godHnes-, the con-
seriousness of 4 power ever making for
the right and the sure coming OF an
eternal purpose. Here I stand" said
Luther. 81 can do no other"
Man is not, and should not be 10 US
mere bundle of wants and cries, subject
to pam and cold and hunger. He IS
living soul, a being of infinite hope,
with capacity fcr righteousness, for
love. with intuiticns of the divinity in
whose image ne was made. The tramp
al your door may need-you will prob
eOly give it--Dut he needs respect also.
HIS possibilities Of being thrown into
shadow his rag. and disrepute. The
phil9nthropist must say: Il must not,
as conscientiously as 81 must" He
NUT give by another rule tnan that
OF ti;hes or expediency. He must give
himself and by study make himself
worth the giving. Like the patriarch Of
- Ii rrvs+ ne
within him, and never let II go til ne
learn its name and gain it's blessing.
1t were useless 10 deceive ourselves.
The world will not cease to lie in wick
ednes. and sin because one good act is
carried. A few CLEANS of success viii
not denote world at ease. When every
other obstacle to progress has been re-
moved, man will Still remain. We dare
not question the providence Of God. who
still allows drought and cyclone, plauge
and famine We shall never find ex-
calioar that magical sword, which cut
ting down every obstacle snail open the
road to that Paradise whereof men
dream. II i. drill not charging which
makes a soldier struggle not shouting
which builds a c.lara cter, suffering not
speaking which purifies and anneals
heart.
The service Of God is before the serv-
ice OF man. These problems before us
are hard even TO tragedy. They lie at
the bottom CT the page of the nineteenth
century. On their correct and patient
solution will depend our success in
meeting higher and harder ones on the
fair, as yet unturned page, Of the
twentieth century.
Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease TO be;
They are but broken lights Of Thee,
And thou, o Lord. art more than they.
English Literature
1.-The formative Characteristics OF En-
glish Literature" was the subject Of Mrs
Hoss of Wichita. She said:
There is peculiar fascination in the
study of antiquity OF whatever nature.
To trace to the source, 10 wander
primeval forests, dark, solemn
and mysterious, studying the way by
ancient shrines and symbols, seeking
lost pathways, around messy ruins, pa
tiently, hopefully, joyously feeling the
way through the dark past, such are
the delights Of the antiquary
But If the study Of ruins in crumo-
ling arches, broken columns and frag-
ments of pottery absorb all energies.
what must be the delight OF tracing
thought backward, following national
literature as a river with its tributaries.
the influx of aliens, back 10 the primal
facors, the formative characteristics.
Early English literature is modern com
pared with the classics, but its origin is
yelled IN the same sami-mythical twi-
light Here we find the same worship
of heroes possessing the valor and the
strength OF gods. but the judgmen: OF
men, the same mingling Of sensations,
half sublime and half gro;esque. But
through all we can read the character
and aspirations OF the people in the char
acter with which they deified their he
roes. For there is no truer truism than
that the character of a people shapes its
literature, or the literature of a people
reflects the character. To find the germ
of the English nation, the fountain head
OF English literary characteristics, We
must go back to the fifth century. TO the
landing of the conquering Angles and
Saxons on the island OF Thanet, off the
present coast Of Kent.
These bands OF barbarians brought
over the first literary production con-
nected with the Anglo-SaXons OF which
we have any account. Il was a collection
Of Gothic legends about the Morse hero
Beowulf, which were perpetuated by the
singing and reciting of bards and
scalds. This oldest landmark OF English
literature stands related to the Gothic
races much as the works OF Homer do %
the Grecian. In a language which must
be translated to be understood. il gives
a vivid description OF those barbarous
times But II is important 10 us chiefly
as are the sagas OF Iceland in giving
literature. For what are those myiho-
logical heroes but progenitors OF Saxon
characteristics? AS Carlyle says, a
certain homely truthfulness and rustic
strength. a great rude sincerity dis
closes Itself in those heroes Cntamed
thought, giant like, enormous. TO be
tanned in due time into strength no long
e. gian;-like. but god-like. OF the Shake
speares and the Goethes.'
Il dwell longer on this comparatively
unknown poem because j; IS representa-
tive. Taine says: IF there has ever been
anywhere deep and serious poetic sem
timent, il is here and il is from this
source, the old Gothic, TIE English re-
ceive their true poetic gifts. And VIVA:
is the source of highest poetry but sim
cerity and intensity? These are the
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