The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1901-11-14
Woman's Club Members Find an IN
teresting Topic in the Study of
The Rossettis.
DELEGATES MAKE A REPORT.
The Woman's Club of Kenosha Approve the
Plan to Establish Chair of Domestic
Science at Downer College.

Inc KoSSett1S, that grand old Eng
lish-1talian family of painters and
poets, furnished the topic for one of
the most interesting meetings ever
held by the Woman Club of Kenosha
when they met in regular session
Wednesday afternoon. The paper of
the day was read by Mrs. c. w. Allen,
and in splendid manner she told the
strange and beautiful stories. that
have made the Rossettis famous as
long as literature and painting shall
be venerated. Of course the feature
Of the paper was the discussion of the
life of Charles (Dante) Gabriel Ros-
setti, who was in all ways and by all
measures the greatest member of the
noble line which made the Victorian
age of English literature famous. In
her short lecture Mrs. Allen traced
the development of the master mind,
that produced ''The Blessed Damozel,"
"Sister Helen" "Rose Mary" and
never been equa1ed in the history of
classic English. With an equal in
terest she told of the achievements of
Rossetti as painter, and showed how
the hand which had written the won
derful poems had produced "Beata
Beatrix," "Monna Wanna" "Dante's
Dream" "La Pia," "Casandra,"
"The Boat of Love-" and Pandora"
In her consideration of Dante as an
artist, Mrs. Allen placed him at the
head of that body of artists which had
reiuvenated the decorative art in Eng
land. His mastery of color and his
realism in the realm of art, were
brought out only more pronounced
than his wonderful style as writer of
romantic verse. In Rossetti Mrs.
Allen found the one whose influence
had done more to make the artists of
the Victorian age renowned than any
other artist, and in his work as a poet,
she found that he had laid the basis
for a new school of the romantic poem
which has ever since been the pattern
for aspiring artists.
OF the other Rossettis Mrs. Allen
touched briefly, speaking of the Italian
sonnets of Christina Rossetti and of,
the work of Michael Rossetti as com
mentator of the works of his greater
brother.
There was a pathetic side to the
paper when Mrs. Allen touched on the
pretty little romance connected with
the great Dante. She told of how he
had wooed the fair Eleanor Sidda11 for
more than nine years, and Of their
happy married life of less than two
years duration. The woman had been
the inspiration of the poet and artist.
and many of the most renowned pic
lures had been made from the pose of
the wife. Mrs. Allen brough hit out the
great personality of Dante when she
showed how the poet painter had in
sisted that his verses be buried in the
casket with his wife, who had assisted
ia making them what they were.
After the paper Miss Martina Errick-
son gave a very interesting lecture
on the sonnet and it's development,
reading from many of the poets to
illustrate the points brought out.
Before the reading of the paper
Mesdames Redeker, Allen and Theirs,
who represented the club at the recent
State Convention of the Federation,
read their reports of the work done at
the meeting, and the, local club took
great deal of interest in the plan to
found a chair of domestic science at
Downer College in Milwaukee.
The action of the federation in this
regard was approved apd later the
Kenosha club will probably give some
financial aid toward the carrying out
of the project. THE meeting, which
closed with the usual cup of tea, was
one of the most interesting and largely
attended ever held by the club mem
bers.