The leader., 1898-12-14
EDUCATION OF WOMAN.
Address Of Mrs. Annie G. Peyton be-
fore the AIumne Association of
Whitworth College, June, 9TH,
1908.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

Mrs. President, my sisters OF the Alumne
Association, and friends:
1t gives me great pleasure to be here
today. to renew former associations, to
see these sweet-faced girls, and to meet
this cultured audience composed so
largely of residents of Brookhaven.
Twenty-Five years ago / left Brookha-
ven under very happy circumstances,
and In all the intervening time / have
not ceased to feel an interest in Whit
worth College, and in Brookhaven and
her people. Twenty five years have
brought many changes, and Brookha-
ven has demonstrated that she is no
mean spot upon the map of Mississippi.
Twenty five years ago Major Millsaps
was prosperous merchant here, and
since then he has inaugurated a work,
that, in the lives of our young men, will
live forever. Then Hon. r. HI. Thomp-
son was a rising young lawyer, and in
the Annotated Code he has left his i'm
press upon the jurisprudence of the
State. Judge Chrisman was aleader at
your bar, and he marched into history
that memorable day when he faced
the "white caps" and said, "You may
kill me, but you cannot intimidate the
court"
The nantes of their fathers rest
worthily upon Hon. H. Cassidy and
Hon. A. c.. McNair. Oscar Crosby's
brilliant career at West Point was
source of pride to the whole State.
Among the senators of Mississippi
none stand higher for probity and pa
triotism than Hon. A. Lewenthal, and
only recently Brookhaven sent to the
front the best drilled company of vol
unteers in the Ssate.
am indeed glad to be in Brookha-
ven again, and give heartfelt greet
ing to the friends of long ago.
If the surface of the earth was COM
pletely level, and all the water which
comes from the clouds in the form of
rain and snow in one year should stand
it would be everywhere about forty
inches deep. This would amount to
"a 4S0 barrels on every acre. What be-
comes of all that water? Part of it
runs off, part evaporates, is afterwards
condensed and rained down again,
while some of it sinks beneath the sur
| 70 % hT l. Il fac h,/ rrvl
layer after layer of sand and gravel,
settling toward the bedrock. Sheets
of impervious clay intercept the de-
scending waters, and here they accumu-
ulate, forming the sources of springs.
Suppose all the water basins should
cease to exist, the wells and springs
would dry up, the streams would cease,
of ponds and lakelets there would be
none. The sands being so dry, no evap-
Grafton would take place, no dew would
condense, no clouds would form, and
so the rain would stop descending, and
the earth would become desert.
How benefcient then in the economy
of nature are clay beds, and how far
reaching their Importance.
When l. reflected upon the lowly
office of these beds of clay, these hid
den sources, they seemed to symbolic
the quiet, unobtrusive, yet important
WORK OF WOMEN.
Following back the current of centur-
ries, when Augustine and his band of
monks advanced to the spiritual con-
quest of England, it was the influence
of Bertha, wife of the King of Kent who
prepared for them favorable recep-
ton. When Ursula Gotta, touched by
the sweet songs of friendless lad gave
food and shelter to Martin Luther, she
! little thought of herself as one of the
promoters of the Reformation. In the
reign of Edward III, when England's
commerce was limited to the shipment
of fleeces, it was the influence of
Queen Philippa who brought skilled
workmen from her native Flanders
and established the manufacture of
fine woolens in England. Caroline
Herschel, Elizabeth Fray and Flor
ence Nightingale, Susannah Wesley and
Mary Washington and Francis Will
lard their works do follow them, and
demonstrate that through all the ages
woman has contributed to the material,
aud mental, and moral upbuilding of
the world.
The Scriptures teach that women
were made to be helpers, and today the
problem that most concerns us as Mis-
sississippi women, is to consider the
work that lies nearest us, and that
most needs to be done for the uplifting
of our people.
This is
CENTENNIAL YEAR
in our history. One hundred years
ago in April, 1898, the territory of Mis-
sissippi was organized, and without
stopping to review the past we find our
selves now occupying one of the best
of the forty-five States that compose
the American Union.
Mississippi is a God favored region.
Our delta lands are capable of produc
ing cotton sufficient to clothe the civ
ilized world. With the rice, sugar and
molaSSes from our southern counties,
the lumber from our pine forests,
flocks of sheep furnishing wool and
mutton, grains, grasses and herds of
cattle, poultry, fruits, vegetables and
other food products, with health-giving
are unsurpassed. God has surely done
His part for Mississippi and it but
needs for our people to live up to their
opportunities and develop our match
less heritage. We need factories near