The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1911-12-15
Woman's Club.
Continued from page ~

rich. very sympathetic and flexible.
She adapted her voice to the size
ofthe house, which made all who
heard her feel her reserve pow
err and long to hear her in a
concert hall where she might let out
her full voice. Owosso musical cir
cles may well feel glad to welcome
Mrs. Christian among them.
Mrs. Frank Mcdaniel, VINO is an
accomplished musician and who has
been studying in Ann Arbor, under
the best teachers, played two selec-
lions on the banjo, march and the
Miserere from II Trovatore.
The banjo Is responsible for our
popular rag time music. 1t came
from the e. string that lies next the
thumb, when the banjo is in posi-
ton. A peculiar method of lingering
that, born of an earlier grasping of
the tom-tom of central Africa, gave
The first sense of that peculiar syn
rCpation which has come to be
known as ragtime. When a negro
plays a banjo he does not pick it, he
beats it. His exercise upon the instru-
ment is 'strum." The FIRST negro
who ever strummed the banjo played
the first ragtime and he used the
thumb string on his banjo to make
drop in the continuity of melody,
which became a syncopation without
his being aware of it. Mrs. McDan-
neps playing Is SO different from
what we usually hear on the banjo
that one scarcely realizes that 1t is
the same instrument. We have come
to associate the banjo with ragtime
music and it was delightful sur
prise to many to know selections
such as Mrs. Mcdaniel played could
be so we'll rendered upon the mucli
abused banjo.
Mrs. ID. M. Christian and Mrs.
Charles Allen (nee, Nettie Yates of
Owcsso) sang duet by request.
These ladies sang duets together in
times past and their friends well
coined them with hearty applause
before and after their selection.
Mrs. Thompson then in her easy
and pleasing manner introduced the
speaker of the afternoon, Mrs. Mar
guerite Phillips. in the followins:
words:
"The various woman's clubs scat
tered throughout our beautiful state
of the finland Seas are always
proud and happy to be reminded OF
our kinship to the State Federation.
So we are met together this after
noon to show honor to our guest
the chairman of the art committee
of the State Federation.
Nearly a year ago Mrs. Phillips
came to us with collection of beau
tiful pictures, reproductions OF the
worlds greatest treasures aud gave
us a talk on art. Today she is here
to talk to us on one of the world e
great poets. So We have had brought
to us, the painter and poet, two diff
ferent subjects but appealing to the
same emotions. Archdeacon Farrar
once said, 1.-THE common aim OF
both is the emancipation and free
development of our spiritual nature
The humblest poet as he reads the
great works written by men of gen.
-ius in all ages-the humblest man
OF letters as he is privileged from
year to year to look upon splendidly
Illuminated walls, can claim that he
belongs to the one great brother
hood, the brotherhood of those who
labor to cheer, to bless. to uplift
mankind.
"Paining and writing are but diff.
fcrent, forms of the one great eternal
language. the sound of which no;
even Babel could confound the sig
nifcance.
Therefore, it is great pleasure
to present 10 you once more. Mrs.
Marguerite Phillips, not as repre-
senting committee, do we greet
you, but as a woman whom We have
learned to love because we recog-
Dize In you the embodiment of art,
literature and culture, a woman
whom we delight to call friend.
Ladies' of the Woman's club and
our guests-Mrs. Phillips, who will
talk 10 us on Browning and his
poem, 'Ratbi Ben Ezra"
Through the lecture runs the
great lesson on optimism. The build
ling up of the mind The average
mind In the midst of the storms of
calamity and distress Is carried
away by the floods of adversely and
failure, which undermine the foun-
cations Of his mind by removing the
supporting rocks of will, character
and persistence, thus leaving the
mental structure practically help
less upon the drifting sands of fear,
dependency, weakness and gloom.
The lesson Mrs. Phillips draws
from this poem is that one can build
the structure of the mind with exact
science and fine mechanical art tina,
few real disasters are possible. The
three essentials for this building are: :
first, the model or ideal for the more
perfect structures: second, to apply
understandingly and constantly the
exact laws. Of mental construction;
the third is to introduce only the
best materials obtainable.