The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-22

the term. AILerl the TWO hours Ol JUS
ness there was an Informal tea served
by Miss Jefts.
Miss Vida D. Scudder, who is we'll
known by reason of her thoughtful
writings, her academic work In the
English department at Wellesley col
lege and her pioneer work in the col
lege settlement movement, delighted a
good-sizcd audience in Memorial hall
yesterday, when she lectured on-"Some
literary Utopias' under the auspices Of
the Womans club Browning class. In
beginning, Miss Scudder spoke of day
dreams, their advantages and dangers,
and Of how the English race had had
many notable dreamers. THE Celt and
Briton," she said, were great dream
6rs, but the Norman was essentially q
man Of action. When to the instinct
that achieves is added the instinct for
dreaming, we have the English race,
possessed of noble ideals and Of the
power 10 accomplish what 1T essays.
There is a danger in personal day.
dreami1s-that it shall be selfish and
incident and often weak and sclf-cen-
tered, but from much of the weakness
that paints our dreams the social dream
is free, and that kind of dream cant
be other than refreshing and inspiring.
Our forefgthers on this continent were
men who had dreams, and our country
today is in part realization of their
dreams
1--WE have habit of thinking our civ-'
ilization as fixed but 1t isn't so. The
east Greece, Rome, the middle ages-
each has thought itself final, but, like,
them, We shall pass. What we dream
today will help make the realities of the
future" EE
Miss Scudder spoke in particular Of
two English dreamers,. Sir Thomas
More, the great dreamer of the 10th
century, and William Morris, the most
aesthetic of the great dreamers of the
18th century. She sketched the charm
ing, answering, ascetic personality Of
More, his devotion to the new learning,
his aloofness from the reform party and
his profoundly religious nature. He
was one Of the most audacious social
reformefs England has ever known.
Miss ScuGeer remarked that it was a
significant fact that his Utopia" the
first novel written by an Engli5hman,
should be one Of collective, not of in
dividual life. Then she outlined the
leading social features of the book,
whose chief failure, she said, was in
accepting slavery as a permanent con-
dition OF the race.
Then, turning to the 10th century, she
said that with an it's freedom and SUI
periority to the past, one could not but
feei that the world is in state of ex-
IRENE social discomfort. "All our Vic
torlan literature is facing the future;
ell our modern writer's are dreamers,
dissatisfied with present conditions and
trying to discover that that lead US into
the future; all our literature is CULVER
i1acr mil 10
spoke in some detail of Morris News
from Nowhere" and said in this con-
nection that one Of the most terrible
structures the future could make upon
our civilization was that we had robbed
labor of joy. Other dreamers place
Utopia nowhere; modern dreamers
place theirs in the future, a hopeful
sign Now we hope. whereas they
only dared dream. In concluding, the,
speaker pointed out that all these So
cial dreamers agree in the fundamental
cure-the abolition Of private property.
AT the conclusion of the lecture, Miss
Scudder talked over the Browning class
work with the members. Fourteen new
members joined the class. The first
class meeting will be Nov. q at o'clock,
in class room A, Y. M. c. A.
Mrs. c. C. Baldwin attended the state
federation meeting in Winchendon,
Friday.
Mine" said Margaret Deland, in
recent talk with friend, was a quiet,
old-fashioned but very happy child
hood. The quaint fancies and beauti-
full visions which haunted my earlier
days made my life a dreamy one, and
nature was very near my heart Being
a silent little parsonage, [ loved the
hills and woods and open skies. lived
in great oldfashioned house, built
by English people, among the hills of
western Pennsylvania, nearly a century
ago. Here are associated some of the
happiest and dearest memories of my
life. To me every flower and tree that
grew on the place had a distinct per-
sonality and to them l whispered all
my childish secrets" Mrs. Deland is
to lecture for the Lend-a- Hand club of
the Church of the Unity, Nov. 1, at 8
O'clock.
There was reunion of class "a and
terday afternoon and evening, when 80
alumnae returned to their alma mater.
At about $50 o'clock they sat down to
a spread, which was followed by an
evening of sociability. Miss Olive Rus
sell is secretary of the oath class and
Miss Nettie A. Starkey OF the 25th.
There were present in addition: Mrs.
Walter L. Brown, Miss Harriet A.
Blood, Miss Carrie M. Bunce, Miss An
ME L. Callahan, Miss Harriet w. Cook,
Miss Jennie NJ. Fairbanks, Miss Ellen
E. Fitzgerald, Miss Cecilia T. Kelley,
Miss Sarah Mccormick Mics El1Iap
A. McTieTnan, Miss Alice c. Plumer,
Mrs. Angelo Truda Mrs. John Murphy,
Miss Mary A. Smith, Miss Mary F.
Bagan, Miss Grace H. Bishop, Miss FL
len c. Carey, Miss Stella A. Chapman,
Mrs. Benjamin Whittemore, Miss Har-
riet E. Wheeler, Mrs. Arthur D. Put
nam.