The age-herald., 1898-10-16
Copyright, 1898. l

patia and the self confidence of a Mary Ellen Lease, she is doomed on that de- but to torture which, if known to Dante, would have inspired him to es- tablish an extra purgatorial circle. Unfortunately neither Beatrice nor Mrs. Dante had any experience with womens clubs or societies, and so Dante never heard of club stage fright, and it has lost deserved immortal odium.
 Thousands of women, with the autumn opening of the season, would like to be- long to the great club ssterhood, but hesitate to enroll themselves in it's ranks because of the dreaded paper or speech. Women who on ordinary oc- casions might be strongly suspected of an intimate acquaintance with the blarney stone are silent as the sphinx in the awesome presence of the club president.
 Club stage fright is different from any other sort. Ladies who have given serious lectures without a tremor trem- ble and are dumb in the less formal at- mosphere of the club, because they know that it is always ones friends who are most critical. A dozen embar- d wonders if her hat is on straight, If her hairpins are in place, if her new gown is quite handsome enough, if it is too rich for the occasion, if it hangs well or if it is in the fashion. She is posi- tive every other woman in the club is comparing the paper with an individual and superior effort. The victim is be- wildered over the pronunciation of the unusual words and stumbles and stut- ters over them and finally even mis- takes the ones with which she is per fectly familiar. In her confusion she speaks much lower than she has any idea of, and all over the clubroom are heard harassing calls of Louder, louder!"
 People comment on what she says or reads in subdued tones. Unable to make out whether the remarks are fa- vorable or unfavorable, the unaccus- toned one loses her place, and while the club sits silently waiting for her to resume she blushes and shivers with modification. There is always some misguided member of the club who wants to ask questions during the prog ress of the paper. This lady has at tained reputation for being well in- formed and of good judgment owing to
  tion is probably unmerited, as it is con- siderably easier to ask questions than to answer them. The feminine Socrates, however with her miserable mania for information, entangles the unaccus-' toned speaker in so many blunders and admissions of ignorance that she is sometimes panic stricken and retires from the platform. The paper read, the club in general takes up the discussion, or, more properly perhaps the dissec tion, of the effort
 After this operation no inexperienced woman with the spirit of a kitten ever thinks she can read a paper or make speech in public again. She goes home with a headache and tearfully seeks the sympathy of an unappreciative family, as rule inclined to make sport of her sufferings as an orator. Now and then she compares notes with some oth- CT clubwoman not as yet lost to all sense of stage fright, and the tyro is comforted to learn that her experience has been duplicated by that of some one else. If she has grit and is not too sensitive, after this she goes on writ ing club papers or making club speech es and gradually becomes so hardened that she can talk straight ahead with out notes.
 Many women graduate from church societies and missionary bands into the literary or philanthropic organizations. Now and then one makes her debut against her better judgment, but not often does she do so against her will. A we'll known authoreSs recently had her first experience of stage fright as the result of a too great willingness to oblige one of her friends. The literary lady lives in a large western city and is young and pretty enough to be pop ular in society. Her literary efforts have been the amusement of leisure hours or were turned out to satisfy the demands of long limbed maiden of 10 who has an unsuitable appetite for stories and 'poems." Owing to her willingness to oblige, friends less gifted in the use of the pen were not slow to call upon her when their clubs demanded their serv- ices as speakers. Naturally she as- sented when a certain Mrs. Smith ask ed for a paper to be read before the county convention of missionary socie- ties. Wondering that Mrs. Smith, who was a woman of intelligence, did not write her own paper, the obliging au- thoress agreed to supply 25 pages of literature on the subject of Chinese mis- sions. The literary lady, who for con- venience may be styled Mrs. Brown, had busy week before her and thought no more of the missionary paper until one morning she opened an envelope, from which fell a programme of the missionary convention, bearing in large letters, among other announcements, the statement that Mrs. William Henry Brown would read a paper on mission work in China. Mrs. Brown almost fainted.
 Tt is some terrible mistake on the part of some one. I will write to Mrs. Smith and call her attention to it, said Mrs. Brown. In due time she received an answer from Mrs. Smith, saying that no mistake had been made and that she hoped dear Mrs. Brown would be on hand at the ahurch promptly at the