Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1898-10-22
SATURDAY, OCTOBER u,
UNIVERSITY CENTER.

Tuesday evening was dark, chill
ly night on the streets of Baxter
Springs and sickness deprived sew
eral of the class from enjoying {
rich entertainment. We should al
rejoice that we live so near the
southeast corner of Kansas, where
for the most of the year we are per
mitted to enjoy genuine Florida
climate and that il is only very sell
dom that we are compelled to feel
New England atmosphere.
The program for the evening was
a great change from our usual
work; Miss Minette Hoffmeister
from Beloit, Kansas, who has been
spending several weeks in Baxter
with her cousin, Miss Ida Nichols,
was present, aad opened the exer'
cises with two choice selections up
on the piano-very few persons can
draw more genuine music from an
instrument than this charming Ia
dy. The reader at glance will per-
ceive that her name is German and
suggests the home of the master
musicians of the world although
she is American born.
So charmed were the class some
members proposed that we contin-
ne with the prelude and then con-
tinue with interludes of the same
kind through the entire evening,
but the leader called for the liter.
airy work with the assurance that
during the evening they should
have ample opportunity for the en-
joyment of what was seldom found
in Baxter Springs or other small
towns.
As DR.. Thompson was absent,
Mrs. Noble was requested to take
his part, which was the introduc-
ton of the Roman, Horace, and to
read his "Epistle TO Lollius,' writ
ten in his latter years and mani
Testing that the poet was master OF
his field in literature, and that only
one excelled him, and that was Vir-
gil.
Music was then called for, which
was received WITH round of ap.
plause; after which Mrs. Opperman
introduced the works of Ovid,
which are much enjoyed by the
classical students in colleges, but
sometimes it makes the ladies blush
as they read. Mrs Opperinan di-
vided his works into four classes:
His Poems of Love; a calender in
verse, treating of the origin. mean
ing, and observances of the Roman
festivals; and his poems of exile.
As writer of facile. entertaining
and brilliant verse he had no super
ior and gave more themes to mod
ern writer's than any other ancient
author. After more music Miss Ida
Nichols read one of Ovid's poems
called "The Letter of Sappho," de-
scribing the Lovers Leap" in an
Gent Greece, and Sappho's descent
from the rock above to the water
below. 1t was from this beautiful
poem that the rock south of the
Promenade was called "The Lovers
Leap"
We regret that this is the last
time our class will see Ida's smil.
ing face for some time as she re-
turns with her cousin aud aunt to
Beloit, there to spend the year.
Next, Mrs. Hollomon took the part
assigned to Mrs. Brewster who was
prevented from being present on
account of sickness. Mrs. Holl-
ONION gave the reasons for the de-
cline of Roman literature after the
death of Julius Cesar, and az she
is a lady that could not live with
out music and as she brought Miss
Minette to the class she claimed
the privilege of having music pre-
cede and succeed her efforts, and
no one objected.
Tacitus was then introduced as q
historian confessedly without a su.
perior in the republic of letters.
If he does not flash like Livy, he
burns as study aud az strong as
Thucydides. No more weighty, no
more serious, no more penetrating,
no sounder, truer. manlier mind
than Tacitus ever wrote history.
Mics Rhoda Bowers was asked to
read an extract from his works
which 90 much resembled Macaul-
ey's gorgeous introduction to his
history of England, only more mu'
steal. The class also found that IL
was from Tacitus that the Polish
author who wrote that very poPu-
lar work entitled "Quo Vadis" re-
ceived all the facts and names and
muce of the fire that the reader
finds In his historical romance.
The literary work of the evening
closed with a brief review of the
work of Quintilian, but more music
followed.
Miss Ruby Tucker furnished two
solos and most of thos present
united In singingseveral selections
from Prof. Hubbard's work, accom-
r,aoied nj the Instrument bv our