The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1899-05-11
MEETING.
WOMAN'S CLUB HOLDS ITS LAST
MEETING OF THE SEASON.
SOME LITERARY FRIENDSHIPS
A Very Interesting Paper on This Subject
by Mrs. Frances Simmons is Read by
Mrs. E. C. Thiers-A Hearty Dis
cussion by the Ladies.

AFTERNOON, Was OU0 vi lilo uOSb envy .
able ever held in the history OF the
club. 1t being the last meeting OF the
club year it was made an open meeting
and large number of the friends OF
the members were present as invited
guests. The general subject for the
literary program was g Some Celebrat-
ed Literary Friendships. The paper
of the day was prepared by Mrs.
Frances Simmons, and in her absence
was read by Mrs. E. G. Theirs. The
subject was treated by Mrs. Simmons
in an enjoyable manner. Mrs. Simmons
opened her paper by saying that the
old subject of Platonic friendships had
been a puzzling one for writers, and,
while many of them declared that such
things could not exist, the lives of
many we'll known writer's had shown
that these people could not make good
the statements they had made.
The line between friendship and love
is so delicate the one is often taken for
the other In the mind of the writer
friendship is only a higher form of love.
In defence of her position Mrs. Simmons
cited many cases of literary friendships
which have been known. She showed
that the literary friendships existing
between writer's were often formed by
years of association. She cited the case
of the we'll known friendship existing
between Misses Butler and POnsonby,
who had voluntarily left their homes
and friends for the purpose of being
near each other. Retiring to little
inland village their humble cottage
became the resort of all the literary
mon and women of their times. The
case of the truly Platonic friendship
existing between the poet Cowper and
Mrs. Mary Unwin also furnished d
beautiful example of the way in which
the lives of literary men and women
are often brought together purely for
the intercourse of literary minds. The
poets writings are full of his love for
Mary Unwin, but it was not the love of
lover, but the love that is based on
years of close intimacy as friends. One
of the most remarkable of all literary
friendships was brought out by the
writer, in the story of the lives of Col
eride, Southey and Wordsworth, who
lived together in the lake regions of
England for many years, making what
was known among literary patrons as
the Lake School of Poets. Their in
terests were one and they certainly
made their lives conform to the ideals
which they had concured. Even after
) one of them had become a hopeless
wreck as a slave to the opium habit,
the friendship was continued and re-
NAMED unbroken until death took one
; of the members from the familiar
) councils.
The lives of Cardinal Newman,
George Kebble and Edward Pussey,
whose names will always be reVered by
lovers of English literature, were
blended into life friendship by close
association in common battle for the
advancement of the church, Dreary
was the day when these master minds
we're sundered and Cardinal Newman
went to Rome to assume the office of
the Cardinal in the church of Rome. 1t
is true that the friendship was broken
for g time, but it took more than differ
ences of creed to sever the youthful
friendships which had been formed in
years when they had been fighting for
a common cause. After the friends
had been severed for over twenty years
it was decided to have reunion. The
Cardinal was invited to come to the
little rectory presided over by Kebble,
but he wrote back and stated that he
| thought it would be unWise for them to
meet again, as the old friendship had
been obliterated by the fierce war OF
the two churches, in which they had
both taken such leading parts. The
day of the reunion arrived. Kebble
and Pussey were sitting in the twilight
reviving the old memories, when an old
man walked up the little rectory steps.
1t was the Cardinal. His priestly
robes had been laid aside and he had
come again for a last meeting with the
friends whose love had proved stronger
than the love of his duties as the head
of the great church. In memory of
this reunion the Cardinal added the
stanza to his famous hymn, Lead,
Kindly Light" and sthe last lines
breathed the revival of the friendship
of other years in these words:
"And with me morn those angel faces smile,
Which hao loved long since and lost awhile. !"
These beautiful Illustrations made
the paper of Mrs. Simmons a very
enjoyable one and in it she brought out
many of the incidents in the private
life of the great writer's that showed
that the only occasion for Platonic
friendships was union of congenial
minds.
An interesting discussion followed
the paper. The discussion was led by
Mco n G NawAll who Snnkn on the