The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-24


 Reunion.
 
 cess this was true, but the day of the distaff has passed; modern progress and | invention have changed, not only the face of the world, but also the internal econ omy of the home, and the majority of women, freed from the compelling cares of domestic service, must have employ ment for their minds and hearts, and 1t is these changed conditions which have led them into the fields of altruistic service, and in this field work little short of mi raculous has been accomplished. But if miracles have been performed in the past, 1t is beyond the power of the human mind to imagine what may be done in the future and what you yourselves, who are now just going out into the world may accomplish.
 You will begin where we older ones leave off, you will reap and garner where , We have sown, you will raise the beauti- full superstructive in inform datines-think of your privileges, girls, and consider your responsibilities
 The great opportunities which have been given by your parents and by your teachers. the sweet counsel you have re- eeived at your mothers knees, and in these classic halls of learning, lay on you a weight of responsibility which you cannot escape, which you have no right to shirk.
 Now, suppose for your encouragement, and in passing, l trust that it may be in- | teresting that we take a backward glance | over the field of history and speak of few women, who, in spite of discour- agements and unsympathetic environ ments have done things in their way and | generation which have made the world 1 better and happier
 | The pages of history teem with the | names of great and good women, the key note of whose characters was unselfsh- | ness: for let me repeat girls, unless self i is cast out of the account your oppor- | tunity for usefulness becomes a dead letter Now out of the many whose names are writ on hearts let us choose l a few.
 | The noble Hebrew women. the lovely l Greek wives and mothers, the glorious | Roman natures are as familiar to you as | household words, for are you not grad uating tonight? And have you not been | declared proficient in history? The women of whom I would speak are | those who did not dream of brave and | warlike deeds, but those who lived
 beautiful and loving lives, and who un- 1 consciously to themselves have won the
 unsought honor for deeds, which because
 they have done good to human kind have | become great.
 1 When Jeanne d Arc put on her armour | and bore the Orifiame of France to vic tory, she only followed the angel voice which had said to her: "Go serve your
 country and serve your King" she sought no honors coveted no reknoun;
 and she met her death with the calm as- ! surance that the path of duty has led
 her to the stake, and there heaven had
 opened for her that day. And since, | throughout the length and breadth of | France, a grateful people have raised | monuments in her memory. | Charing Cross in the heart of London
 bears testimony to the unselfish act of | the young wife, who, drawing the poison
 from her husbands wound with her own | sweet lips, risked her young life that
 his should be saved; and from that time
 she was known as Eleanor the dear l queen the beloved queen.
 The Duchess de Longuevlle, the
 adored "mademoiselle' of France lives | in the hearts and memories of men and ! women today because she stood for the 1 people, and valiantly used her utmost in- | f1uence to protect the downtrodden from ! oppression and tyranny. That her eff
 forts bore no immediate fruits, but her | work has been in vain, was nothing-she l worked for Christian love and charity,
 and today her memorv ss as sweet
 savor in the nostrls of her people. Lduy Mary w OrDley MOnIaBueS' Tepu-
 tation as a woman of brilliant intellest,
 as a writer and as power in the social
 and political world, pales into insigniff-
 canoe before the record of her cour-
 ageous, unselfish devotion in making the | venture of then and comparatively un- | tried discovery of Jenner, on herself and | on her children and then against storn,
 of opposition introducing valluniative
 into England thereby rendering small
 pox a controllabe disease, when before
 it had been a deadly and irresistible
 plague And so on through the years are
 the pages of history adorned with gems
 in the names of devoted women who
 have given free and unselfish service to
 the world, without thought of honor or
 fame, but for the love of human kind l which we call altruism or philanthropy.
 Coming nearer to our own days we
 see Elizabeth Fay, poor and unknown.
 labcring for her own daily bread and yet ', working to ameliorate the condition of
 the jails of her native land. Mary Som
 merville who struck one of the ear
 Hest notes for the claims of women for
 educational advantages. wife and mother oppressed and encumbered with
 homely cares she was not deterred from
 giving her message to the world and
 sounding the claim in behalf of her
 sisters
 Again the vista opens and there appears
 the woman, who leaving a luxurious
 home and cultured surroundings, went out
 into the world to give relief to the sick
 and suffering, who went on the battle fields of a foreign country to succor and
 relieve the wounded and dying who
 through precept and example brought
 others into this work, and thus founding ! the profession of trained nursing which
 has been such a blessing to the world II speak of blessed Florence Nightingale.
 The story of her life and work is familiar; how her early efforts were met with
 scorn and obloquy, how she shared the