The Messenger, Vol. 38, No. 8

COLLEGE DIRECTORY LITERARY MU SIGMA

RHO

G. V. McMANAWAY, '12 . •• President F. M. BEN7'0N, 'r2 ... Vice-President J. W. EDMONDS, '13 . .... Secretary H. M. TAYLOR, '12 .......

Treasurer MISS MISS Mrss Miss

SOCIETIES PHILOLOGIAN E. M. GWATHMEY, '12 .. .. President W. B. MILLER, '12 ... Vice-President G. W. BLUME, '13- .......

Secretary E. CROWELL, '13 .....•..• Treasurer

CHI EPSILON .....•..••• . .• ..•. . President SADIE ENGELBERG, '12 ••• •••••••.•••• LOUISE BALOWlN, '15 . ... ........ . ... ...•. ..... .... Vice-President NORMA WOODWARD, '15 . ..•.• .... ..••... . .. ••••••...•....

Secretary Lucv TERRELL, '15 ..•• . .........•.....•.........•......

Tr easurer

THE MESSENGER F. M. BENTON, '12.. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... Editor E . M. GwATHMEY, 'r2 . . .. . .•. ....... .....• ... ... . .••• . Business Manaxer PROF. J.C. METCALF .... . ........ .. ........... ....... .. . Advisory Editor

GENERAL

ATHLETIC

ASSOCIATION

PROF . W. A. HARRIS .... _. . .... .. . . . .. - ..... ..... . ........ . President E. M. GwATHMEY, '12 ..... .. ............... . ...... ... .... Vice-President J. E . WELSH, '12 ................. .. ........... . ... .. .. . ....... . Secretary C . T. O'NEIL, '12 ... .. ... .... ......... ............ . ...... . ... . Treasure, ROBERT N. POLLARD, '02 . •.•••••• . • •• •••• .•••.•••.••• Graduate Manager FOOTBALL WINFREE, '13 . .. .. .• Manaxer D. G. TYLER, ' 13 . ..... .. . .. Captain

C.R.

BASEBALL H. R. ECKLES, '12 _...... . JJ,Janage r A. R. MEREDITH, '12. . . . . . Captain

TRACK F. M. BENTON, '12 . . . ... . .. ... .... . .. ... ..........

R. W. VAUGHAN, '13 ...... . ........... . ................

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Manager Captain

TENNIS

T. B. POWERS, '12... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... ......

Manager

Y. M. C. A. E. V. PEYTON, '14 . . ... . ....................... . ........ . .. .. .. . President .... .... ........ . .. , ..•. . ..... Vice-President 0. O. DIETZ, '13 ...........

W. T. HALSTEAD, 'r4 . . .. . .......... . . . .. . ................... . Secretary 0. G. POARCH, 'r3 . . ....... . ..................................

Treasurer

CONTENTS. ANALOGY THE

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V ~LLEY . •• • . . . ...••

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C i_EAR WAT ~ R FOR -~ICH MOND ...

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THE

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G. V. McManaway.

X Y. Z. W. B. M., '12.

APRIL AT WESTHAMPTON .. .. .. . .. ... ...... . ... . .... .. .. . .. R . S. M. FADING SHADOWS . .......... . .. .. .. . ........... . .. . . . G. W. B ., '13.

ROBERT BROWNING, THE MAN • •• , . . . . .. ... . . ... . , , • . .J, W. E., '13.

TH E M ? RRO :V • • • • • • . • . • • • . • • • • . . . • • . . • . . . . . . . • .. ..•. . Ki,,g, ' 13.

THE SCHOLAR AND THE CROCODILE (Ccncluded) .. ...... . .. . .. ... S. THE

. SONG

TENNYSON

OF T~E

' S •VIEWS

FUTURE

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OF WOMAN ' S POSITION

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CAMPUS No :q;:s .•••• _•••• • ••••• • • . •. . . .. • ••.•.• • . • . H. R. Eckles, '12.

A T HLETICS . .. . ... . ..... . ... . . ..... ............ . ,G. W. fllume, . '13.

ALUMNI NOTES • • • • . . . ..•. .•. •• . ••. . ••.•••.•••• W. B. Miller, '12.

EXCHANGES. . . . . . • • • • •••••.•••••• . .. . ••..•.•••• C. T. 0' Neill, '12.

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EDITO~IAL As

OTHERS

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THE V oL. XXXVIII

MESSENGER MAY-JUNE, 1912

No. 8

ANALOGY. f

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R~re butterfly, with iris wing, Blown hither by the breath of spring, Hovering as if for instant flight Above the dark and creeping thing Which thou wast, ere the golden light Unlocked thy prison-house of night,Doth yonder blinded worm e'en dimly know Thy pre sence glad, its kindred self that sweeps With filmy wing the flowery path below?

No more than man, all sunk' in grosser things, C;rn fee l al of t th e tou ::11 of spirit -\Yill,, 9"S.

THE VALLEY.

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K

ONRAD lived in the valley. When he first opened his eyes he was in the tiny hut, and even now he had never been beyond the dim hills, whose craggy tops reached up to touch the blue. Indeed no one he knew had ever seen the other side of the great range above his head. That was a ¡ wonderful valley. It was nestled like a tiny gem among the far-off hills all around it. Sometimes when the sunshine reigned they lay like a circlet of many colored jewels and threw every varying and scintilating flashes of color into the quiet and peace of the vale below. Sometimes they were clothed in feathery mist and all was dull and sombre, but the sun would come back and th en they would burst into a mystery of splendor before the little shepherd lad . But sometimes the dark storm clouds overwhelmed the rocky summits and ¡spread across until there was no more light in the valley, except that which came from the fitful lightning which danced overhead. Then hope almost died in the heart of the child, and his spirit sank in darkness and sorrow, but after a while the light came again and he forget the darkne ss and sorrow and all was glad.

Konrad knew the valley. He knew its knolls and dells and all the little riverlets that flowed into the stream which gurgled on until it was swallowed up by a rocky cavern.

Over its meadows he had chased the butterflies until he sank exhausted to the ground and slept while the breezes which came down the gorges fanned his rosy cheeks. He had gathered the wild flowers which grew on all its fields, and carried them home to fill the little hut with beauty and fragrance.

He had peered with curious eyes into every thicket between the walls of the misty hills . Konrad thought he knew the valtey, and Konrad thought the valley was all. .

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But one day when the sky was dark and there was .. shadow between the hills and sharp sorrow in the very bosom of the vale, Konrad heard men talking of the land which was beyond that misty range. That was a wonderful land of which they spoke, a land of eternal summer, a land where sorrow never came, a land of love. And the child went out and gazed and gazed, but the purple hills seemed so far away; the craggy tops were so impassible. If there was a golden land beyond them, he could never reach it with his frail strength. When he asked his mother she only ¡1ooked at him sadly and told him he would see-sometime.

And she kept her anxious eyes upon him for many, many days, and as she watched him a shadow fell upon her mother heart. ¡ And the boy tended his sheep on the meadow when a stranger came up to him and spoke to him. When Konrad turned to look he saw a face wondrously tender, bending over his own, and the kindly eyes brought back the peace into his startled countenance. The stranger only said, "Come with me, I will carry you over,'' and pointed beyond the hills.

When Konrad shook his head the stranger slowly left him and was lost in the gloom at the foot of the heights. And then Konrad knew that there was a land beyond the dark wall. He told his mother of it and she only whispered , "Hush, my. child,'' and held him closer. But the shadow on her heart became heavier than before.

Soon the boy went no more with the sheep, but lay all day on the meadow grass, not far from the hut, and looked with wondering eyes and a longing soul to the dim hills. Sometimes they were dark and angry and he shivered with a nameless dread; again they flashed with all the splendor of the rainbow arch which hung above them and he grew strong once more. One day the gentle stranger came and whispered to the boy on the green sward, "Oh, Konrad! come with me-over there." And the boy looked to the hills and, lo! they seemed to look down on him with an inviting air, which said, "Come."

But Konrad turned his face to the earth, and when he looked again the stranger was gone. He told his mother, and she wept, but said not a word.

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At last Konrad went no more to the fields, but lay all day long on his little bed at the window of the hut, and watched the rock summit s and huge gor ges of those misty, purple hills. A great peace had filled his soul, he was ready to trust all.

And the tender strang er came and stood beside his bed and said in a low voice, "Konrad , are you ready?" The boy turned to the window and looked, and turned and placed his hand in that of tlie gracious stranger. And he took him up and carried the little weary body to the golden land beyond the misty, purple ' hills.

But the boy's mother fell on her face by the little bed and wept long and bitterly. , .,

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CLEAR WATER FOR RICHMOND. ! t

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F you should go and look at the James river now you would probably find it much swollen and very muddy on account of the recent rains. Up to three or four years ago the reservoir and water pipes of the city were filled with water of just such color as you would find it now and' this was especially true in the winter and spring when there was much water in the river. By years of agitation and education the city authorities were induced to give us cleat water for ' every-day use.

This problem was 'no small one nor was it easy of solution.

In ma:ny 'parts of this countty ; cities bring their water supply from a distance and in others, where this •was impracticable, city ·filtration plants were installed on the muddy and poluted streams 1and clear ; pure water gotten in this way.

In the ' case of Richmond where the James river, from which we get our water, rises in and flows through a country of much red clay, the bringing of water frorti. a distance ·was as impracticable as was an efficient filtration plant. [Many of the rivers in the South have seclirrients in thein of such a nature as fo hinder effective filtration on 1 a large scale.Jl At the same time' these sediments admit readily of chemical 'precipitation 'such as many country people carry o·ut ·wJi.eri·'they clear muddy w~ter by throwiitg in ' alum. After nrach : stu'dy and trouble it' was 'decided that R'ithtn0rid should ' have clear ' water and .that tliis sno'uld'be ddne by means of a·"settli'ng basin." ·'Wheii ~it became generally lfaow'n wh'.at a· '!settling basin" was and th'at a1um was to be tisecl'to 'c~ear tlie' water; ·then sorrte people be)gan tb0 howl thaf we wdul'd ' all die 'of alum p61s6ning or at least suffer from '.drinking water 'i'n which th~re was an ·undue ambunt •~of 1it. r:fo spite 'o'f protests and ' -i~ view of wlfat 'sci~nce ·knows tabout ·sUch matters the municipai settling ibasin was installed. · · .,,,. ( Wh )ere1:n~ liv~s o'i about ' a 'hundred "thousand persons are at stake'-it is -very important' that the , vater · supp1y 6f those ·persons :

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be looked after. Accordingly the basin was located where it would be as free f_rom human contamination as possible. Many diseases are caused by imperfect protection of water supplies for cities. In order more carefully to perfect the new system it was built on the river banks about a mile and a half above the city pump-house and some distance from human habitation. Four lar ge concrete basins were built, two for storing the water and allowing it partially to settle naturally and two for the actual precipitation of the sediment. The whole system is so arranged that aft er the water has "settled, " for perhaps several days natura lly and undi sturbed in the "settling basins or tanks" proper it is run through a small tank where the precipitant alum is add ed and then into one of the "coa gulating " basins as the two lower ones ar e called. There it may stand for perhaps a day while the sediment settles to the bottom and stays there, leaving th e upper water clear and sparkling as you find it at the faucet.

Th e wate r with the precipitant or coagulant alum in it enters first one coagulating basin and then the other on the next day and in the meantime the clear water from the other coagulating basin is dra wn off and flows by gravity down the river to the pumphouse, is pump ed into the reservoir and then delivered to us in the city.

Th e city employs a chemist ( until recently he was a former Rich mond College stu dent), who analyzes the river water just enteri ng the basins and finds out just how much alum ( aluminum sulphate usually used here) is required to totally precipit ate the sediments in a known amount of water. These anal yses are mad e every day and according to whether the water is quite muddy or not he has added to it a greater or less amount of alum . These basins hold several million gallons ¡of water each and to add the pr ecipitant to this amount would be a big task except for the method used. Knowing the amount of water to be "settled or precipitated" the chemist in charge puts into a smaller tank of some ten feet in diameter, the exact amount of alum needed and as the water passes through this tank it is intimately mixed with the alum necessary to precipitate its sediments. After passing through this mixing tank the water flows

RICHMOND

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MESSENGER.

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into one of the coagulating basins and there deposits its mud.

There are still people in Richmond who complain of the "alum" in the drinking water and this is about as foolish as those who plan to get rich by extracting the gold from sea water . The city Board of Health has a standing offer of a sum of money to any one who can prove the presence of alum in the ordinary drinking water of the city. This offer has never been really challenged.

Mud is not the only objectionable feature of having un cleared water. It has been known for years that many cases of typhoid fever, epidemic and scattered, have been caused from a contaminated city water supply. Richmond has never had a very large number of typhoid cases at any one time and since clear water has been introduced the percentage, small as it was, has been considerably lowered . The inference is clear and becomes a positive conclusion when laboratory results show that sedimentation of water reduces materially the number of bacteria in it. The chemist at the basin makes bacteria counts of the unprecipitated river water and of the clear water delivered in the city. His results show a large reduction in the number of bacteria before and after precipitation with the chemical. The James river water has always been safe and pleasant ( except for ,the mud) to drink but now it is more so than ever.

The Richmond settling basin cost a lot of time, energy, patience and money and now we have clear water . Has it paid?

Several years ago Richmond was noted for its "James river mud,'' now it has a clear, clean, wholesome water, "as good as the best." Leaving aside the aesthetic side of the question, clear • water for Richmond has paid in satisfaction, cleanliness, comfort, money, and above all else, in that most valuable asset of a city, its health.

IS LIFE WORTH WHILE? t

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B. Is life worth while?

The slurs and scoffings of the thoughtless throng, The pain, the struggle, and the conscious ·wrong, ' Is life worth while? · · Is life worth while?

The opportunity, the power, the goal, The joy, the love of man to man, the soul, Is life worth while?

THE SPLICED THREAD. G. V. McManaway,

,TWAS

'12.

a big night in Room 14. The heap of well picked chicken bones on the table, and the remains of a one time large cake and generous supply of candy furnished undisputable evidence that "a box from home" had been received, while the look of contentment on eight satisfied faces showed equally as well that " a box from home'' had been disposed of. The hour was late . Judging from the thick cloud of tobacco smoke which pervaded the room, and the fact that all of the boys who could possibly receive accomodation on the bed were stretched indolently at _full length, while the rest had assumed the most comfortable attitude which the other furniture could afford them, it must have been nearing two o'clock.

The joke telling stage of "feast" conversations had long since pas sed, and the althletic and general college discussions had followed in due turn. As the dormitory became more and more quiet, and night seem~d to sett!e down more closely about them, the conversations of the young epicures turned naturally and easily into channels more personal. ~ertk had described in 'poetic language the magic effect of "The Land of the Sky Blue Water '" when sung on a lake .in the moqnlight by a girl who could really sing, and as he dwelt lingeringly upon an account of the time during the preceding summer when he had been so fortunate as to be present atone of these romantic rehearsals, seven tired months smiled unnoticed as the gang wondered how hard he had been hit, and how long . the spell would last.

Pat had followed this lead with a vivid description of a camping party in the mountains gathered .about a large log fire "telfing stories, and when he confinued to give such minute det~ils of such a ¡commonplace scene, and liad mentioned casually ' . . the names of some of the camping party, the gang drew its own conclusions as 'to what kind of stories one of :tpe camping

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party must have been telling around that fire, and it had definite ideas concerning the size of the audience which must have listened to those stories .

Then with these and similar personal experiences for a background, the conversation had swung . into more general discussions, until the relative constancy of men and women was being debated. This furnished Freckles with a long waited for opportunity, and he was not slow in taking advantage of it.

He was younger and more inexperienced than the other members of the gang, and had felt at a distinct disadvantage during their per sonal reminiscences.

"Men are more fickle and I'll tell you how I know," he began quickly, lest someone should forestall him, with a yarn.

"I've got a cousin at home who 's never married, and next to my mother she's the finest woman I ever knew. She's getting sorter old now, 'cause when I was a kid she was already grown and used to tell me stories, and make me good things, and do ever ything she could to amuse me . Just the kind of a woman that 's fitted to make a man a good ,vife, you know. Well, when I grew up got to wondering why 'twas she hadn't ever married, and finally one night last summer I got up the nerve to ask her and she told me all about it. Seems when she was a girl she had lots of beaux and was the most popular girl in her part of the country. She fell in love with one of the fellows who seemed to be the pick of the bunch, but soon after they'd become engaged he got a job up North and went up there to live. For about a year everything went along well; she heard from him every week and he seemed to be just as crazy about her as ever, but then things began to change. One week his letter came a few days late, and when it did come 'twas just a note asking why she hadn't written to him, so she answered right away telling him that she had already written on the usual day, and how sorry she was that the letter hadn't gotten there on time, and all that sort of thing, you know. After that about two weeks passed before she got a line from him, and then she got another note that didn't mention her last letter and begged her to write to him. Pretended he hadn't gotten a letter fron,

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her in three weeks and wanted her to tell him what was the matter. He pleaded so strong and pretended to be so badly hurt about it that she wrote another long letter and got it off to him at once, and finally after several weeks she got a very cool, short letter which still pretended that he hadn't heard from her and accused her of being cruel, and faithless and all those things. So then she saw that he was just trying to break off with her without being manly enough to tell her he didn't love her, and she discarded him. A few years later she heard of his marriage."

"But what's all that got to do with who's more fickle?" asked Pat, between puffs at his pipe.

"Got plenty to do with it," contended Freckles, "It shows how quickly a man can forget a girl when he leaves her and how littfe and sneaky he can act when he wants to break off with her."

"But maybe he didn't get the letters sure enough," persisted Pat. "Oh, I forgot to tell that part of it. It just happened that she mailed all those letters herself, so she knows they are bound to have gone all right. There was a fellow that worked in the postoffice in the daytime who knew her, and he got to teasing her about her letters and telling it around every time she mailed one, so she began going down there late in the evenings and mailing them herself, after he'd quit work."

This seemed to completely close the discussion, and even those defending the masculine sex began casting about for some interesting channel into which to turn the conversation, when Kid Stuart raised himself from the bed and boldly entered the debate. His thoughts always came slowly, so that he was usually at the tail end of every conversation, and he found it especially hard to keep up with the gang when it began story telling.

"What was the fellow's name?" he asked.

"Don't know," said Freckles. "Never heard."

"Well I bet I know him." The gang became interested.

"There's a fellow used to live up home that compares with

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th~t inan exactly," he proceeded with a distinctly Northern accent. "He came up North when · he was young, and after he'd been there 'bout two years he got married. They say he was a mighty bright sort of a fellow, but somehow he never did amou~t to much. He and his wife weren't very congenial, and as his· home wasn't a very happy one, his life seemed to get soured arid he always failed in everything. After he'd been married a ·good while-ten years, I reckon-he and his wife got to scrappfog. It seems he got a 'little package of old letters one day which had been found between the walls of an old postoffice that had been torn down somewhere, and ' he acted so queer about them, so in a little while everybody knew the story. Some The letters had been shoved through a crack in the side of the o1d frame building instead · of being dropped through the regular slit made fcir tliem, and had lain thefe inside the walls for a good number of years.

"He wouldn't let anybody see 'em, but he didn't mind talking about them, so in a little while everybody know the story. Some girl had :written them to him years before, and as he didn't get thern, · they had had a big 'rniiiU:ndersfanding' and scrap. I-ie said she hated him about as much as she used to love him, bu} lie w~~ldn't ·e;er explain to her then becaus~ 'twas too late to '"be helped, 'and he thought · 'tw~~ld be easier on her to go on hating · h1m than t'o find out that' she · herself was · to blame.

After those letters came he lost what little interest he had had in 'life,' 1but n~body· 'al:iused him 'any niore, excipt his wife, and 'fih~fly sh~ gottfred ..of' it and left him. 'Bout a year ago ·he jd~ed, but .one ' of the last' 'tfiings he did was to itnake the nigger 'that ' w'aited 'on hirri'' burn those 'letters ; so ·'his secret died with · " h·~1m. a· rrio~enfs 'tlieie . was ·•silei-ice: The gang was 1 'thirtkifig. B~fore ' each there arose tlie face . of a · different gitl, and with the vision came the thought, "What would I have done?"

Bertie wis 'fj. t ·'to·· an'swer tliis .· qdestion to ··h'is · 6wn "satis,,1- <. • ~ - , !"•• "-t'' ·• t 'faction; and 'return to things more 'practical.

"Let's ''sh:ik~' hands on k'~eping it 1se'cret,'' he'si.tggested, and the gang promptly voiced its approval. ·

Fo~ few

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Solemnly they shook hands all round, and without even remembering to take a last piece of fudge or mumble their appreciation t~ the host, they saunte;ed slowly out of the room and scattered to their respective dormitories. A few minutes later six of the gang had forgotten all in sleep, but the seventh was still thinking upon the events of the night.

"Gee, how they fell for it!" the Kid said laughingly, "I almost had to believe it myself."

THE SONG OF THE FUTURE. 0 â&#x20AC;˘.

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Not where the voices are many, And not where the songs are few, And not where the hurrying footsteps Are beating a ceaseless adieu.

But there where the music of nature Is soft, and sweet, and low, Where the waters are slowing stealing A-down in a murmuring flow.

There where the cold dark shadows Sleep on the moss grown shore ; A song is sung of the future And all that it has in store.

On ears that are silent and dreaming The whispers softly fall, ¡ And a heart that longs for the victory Leaps up to answer the call.

The call of the life of duty, The road that perhaps is steep, But the glory that wraps ' he pathway If all for the faith we keep !

The sordid and base are forgotten, _The spirit grows strong for the light, Then back to the world that is needing All aglow with courage and light.

TENNYSON'S VIEWS ON WOMAN'S POSITION. W. B. M .â&#x20AC;˘ '12.

T

ENNYSON held woman in very high esteem. He believed that she had a mission in the orld, a most important mission, and as this idea was somewhat out of harmony with the general conception of woman about the time of Tennyson's rise to fame, we find it an essential part of his purpo se in poetry to bring about a new view in the public mind. I believe it is his own thought which he e:xpresses by th e lips of the Prince in these words:

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From earlier than I know, I loved the woman: he that doth not, lives A drowning life, besotted in sweet self, Or pines in sad experience worse than death, Or keeps the wing'd affections clipped with crime."

The thought of the "drowning life,'' and the "win g 'd affections clipped with crime ," gives us something of his opinion as to the power of woman's influence; that without it-well, that is the "salt of the earth."

The thou ght of woman' s elevation is found thr oughout his poetry, but "The Princess" is the one poem given up exclusively, almost, to the idea. Here he gives a woman whose tutors throughout her youth had

"* * * Fed her theories, in and out of place, Maintaining that with equal husbandry The woman were the equal to the man."

She had come to believe that man had no distinctive spherenor woman, either-that "kno wledge was all in all," and that a heroine was needed to champion the cause of woman and show this to the world.

Moved by this impulse

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"To lift the woman's fallen divinity Upon an even pedestal with man," she founded a woman 's college where no man should come on pain of death ; where every matriculate should subscribe to certain vows to live apart from men and independently of them, and where all knowledge should . be taught that could be found in any man 's college. This project soon failed; true, it was through the influence and the intrusion of men upon the sacred precincts, but nevertheless, it failed. The hearts of the women could not long endure the thirst for love, and while they did endure their self-inflict ed torture they were not natural women. As we study the college, nothin g is more striking than this, the unnaturalness of the women. There where the conditions were supposed to be ideal the y seem no more like real women with hearts than do the wax figures in a show window .

It is the instinct of motherhood, primarily, and that _of wifehood, secondarily, that works as leaven to infect and break up th e institution . Psyche' s child calls too deeply, too strongly, to the woman-heart, and we see them beginning to appear natural, but the complete naturalness comes only when , the whole project is given up and the Princess throws open the doors to the wound ed men, watches beside the cot of him who loves her, and her heart yields to the influence of the "gentle passion." As a college presi dent the Princess fails utterly, "but as the beloved of the amorou s prince she is winsome, strong and womanly. She finds her true self and her place in the world by loyalty to sexinstincts and sex-functions.

Thus Tenn yson showed definitely what elsewhere he strongly suggested, that he considered that "Woman is not undevelop't man, But diverse;" that they were created for distinctly different spheres and different office in life: "Man for the field, and woman for the hearth, Man for the sword, and for the needle she, Man with the head, and woman with the heart."

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There can be no moral development without pure family life, and the care of the family, the making of the home and the rearing of the children is woman's God-given work; in this sphere only can she be supreme. Again and again he sounds the note of "love and marriage as the portion of woman, home as her sphere, and matrimony as her first duty." "The intellectual qualities and capacities are never allowed to take rank with these.'' In support ot these opinions I would offer certain quotations as follows : "Her office, then, to rear and teach."

-In

Memoriam .

"What every woman counts her due Love, children, happiness."

-The

Princess.

"She (must gain) mental breadth, nor fail in childward care."

-The Princess.

Thus we see that Tennyson views woman primarily from the standpoint of sex . "The woman conquers, where she conquers at all, not because of her keener intuition or because of her developed power to struggle and attain, but because of her sex relations. Her jealousies sharpen her wits, the charms of her woman's nature bring warriors to her feet, and by her loves she makes and unmakes kingdoms. Vivian conquers Merlin, Guinivere dooms to destruction the whole table round.''

This ideal does not doom woman to any inequality with man.

It is no way belittling to her nature. Tennyson does not agree with the low ideal of Edward Bull: "God made the woman for the use of man, And for the good and increase of the world."

He believes in woman's intellectual advancement and likewise the physical, declaring that she must gain mental breadth and

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"If she be small, slight-natured, How shall men grow.''

miserable,

In this last I think he means to hint at the need of strength for the duties of motherhood,-that the strong man can be the nat ural outgrowth of only the strong child, and that such a child can be borne only by the physically developed mother .

Tennyson places strong and repeated emphasis on the thought of motherhood. His own mother had manifested a profound influence upon his life, and had given him a keener appreciation of this element of woman's nature . It was this instinct that made nurses of the stately feminine professors of the woman's college, and it is this instinct that holds the world togethe r, for the supreme element in it is love.

He shows man's need of woman. She must give to him her softening influence; likewise she must be influenced by him.

"In the long years liker must they grow; The man be more of woman, she of man; He gain in sweetness and in moral he ight, Nor lose the wrestling thews that throw the world; She mental breadth, nor fail in childward care, Nor lose the child-like in the larger mind."

What is a home to-day or any time without a woman in it?

You can feel her influence, negatively,-it is conspicuous by its absence.

No more fitting summary can be found for the thoughts herein expressed than that Tennyson himself makes of his theory of woman's position, in the closing pages of "The Princess .''

Following the gist in his own words: "The woman's cause is man's; they rise or sink Together, dwarfed or god-like, bond or free.

Woman is not undeveloped man But diverse. Cloud we make her as the man, Sweet Love were slain; his dearest bond is this: Not like to like, but like in difference.

Yet in the long years, liker must they grow,

RICHMOND

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And so these twain, upon the skirts of Time , Sit side by side, full summ'd in all their powers, Dispensing harvest, sowing the To-be, Self reverent each , and reverencing each, Distinct in individualities, But like each other, even as those who love.

Either sex alone Is half itself, and in true marriage lies Nor equal, nor unequal: each fulfils Defect in each, and always thought in thought, Purpose in purpose , will in will, they grow, The single pure and perfect animal The two-celled heart beating, with one full stroke, Life ."

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APRIL AT WESTHAMPTON. R.S.M. Alon g the woodland path I heard The ru stle of her garm ent 's mystic sheen, Breathing the crocus into flame And fringing with tender green The silvery wands of willows by the brook.

From out the covert brown and bare there came The haunting note of wood-bird Wild and sweet, bursting into threnody: "Oh love! Oh youth!" it sang in wildest ecstacy.

FADING SHADOWS. G. W. B., '13.

T

t

HE evening sun was slowly nestling in the valleys down behind the tall mountains.

Their crested tops crowned with hemlock and pine threw purple shadows in the cool crystal pools of water left by the ¡ sparkling little brooklet as it paused on its mad rush down the mountain side. Even as it stopped to rest, the little stream seemed to be gathering new impetus for its journey on down over the mossy rocks and pebbles, past its flower dotted banks down through the shining meadows of velvet grass and on to the great Mother Ocean.

The autumn season was drawing on, and already its winged ¡ heralds had fluttered down from the forest trees and lay thickly strewn over the wood.

Along a winding pathway that twisted and writhed up the mountain like the trail of a great serpent there toiled two travelers, one an old man, feeble-footed and tottering, his aged head white with the touch of many years and his eyes dim and misty from watching the scores of seasons that had passed. At his side walked a youth, tall and straight as the poplar, his eyes fres 'h as sparkling dew drops, his cheeks rosy-hued and his step of youth and hop~. The old man leaned on him for support, ¡ and together they plodded along the path in silence. .

At last the summit was reached and they stood looking upon the vastness that lay spread beneath them. Far down the side of the mountain lay the wooded slopes and grass-covered JJlots, dotted with vineyards and vine-covered cottages. Further on, in the plain and hemmed in by verdant meadows, lay a mighty city which even now was touched and glorified by the rays of the descending sun as it fell on spire and dome, turning all to gold as by the soft touch of a magic wand. The outlying hamlets and the surrounding mountains were bathed in purple

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sp!endor fading to mist in the soft after-glow of an Indian summer day.

Long the old man and his young companion stood and gazed upon the scene that lay spread before them. At length the young man cried, â&#x20AC;˘"Come, father, let us go down into the valley together. Here a mighty city stands to welcome us and on all sides are fertile farms and rich meadows that promise peace and plenty. Come with me and let us make it our home." But the old man shook his head slowly, and in accents feeble, but positive, answered, "Go, the city calls ¡ you, your future lies before you, and hopes rise strong in your young life, go, my son, but as for me, my days are almost numbered, the sands of my life are almost run , the night is approaching and even now I can hear the sheep calling me to come and lead them to the fold 're the darkness comes. I must back and tend my charges. Your path lies on to the brilliant city, mine lies back down the mountain and toward the dusky valleys. Go, my son, and may God have you in his keeping.''

ROBERT BROWNING, THE MAN. J. W.E. FTEN in _our study of a man of literature we neglect his petsonahty. We seek to find out how he stood among the men of letters of his day, and pay little attention to what his neighbors thought of him. We search the periodicals to know how his works were received by the public and spend no energy in finding how he was esteemed by his family and friends.

Many people who do not enjoy the poems of Robert Browning delight in his love letters to Elizabeth Barrett. The tone of these letters tells of a passionate, sincere and devoted love. She was the first woman Browning had really loved, and he loved her at first sight. He had been introduced by Mr. Kenyon, and after a literary correspondence he prevailed upon her to let him come to see her. This first trip sealed his fate. Letters passed constantly between them and he saw her three times a week. She was very delicate and was forbidden company; therefore these meetings were kept secret . Finally, she became worse. The doctors told her that only a trip South would sa'7e her life. To this trip her father seriously objected. Then Browning came to the rescue. He married her secretly on September 12, 1846, at St. Pancras Church. A week later they left secretly for Italy.

This step made Browning a more serious and thoughtful man. He fully realized the responsibility and care that he had taken on his hands when he married this delicate woman . His anxiety about the outcome of the Southern voyage is not describable. However, she stood it well and we find them happy in Pisa.

Many of the minor incidents of their married life were lost when the letters of his family were entirely destroyed. How-

0

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ever we have a few of Mrs. Browning's letters which give an . insight into¡ their home. The following are extracts from letters writt en frm Pi sa in 1846 and 1847. They speak for themselves: "* * * dra wn me back again to life and hope again when I had don e with both. * * * Temper, spirits, mannersth ere is not a flaw anyw here. Ve ry hot certainl y it has been and is, yet there have been coo l intermi ssi0ns, and as we have spacious and cool room s, as R obert lets me sit all day in my white dr essing-gown without a sing le masculine criticism * * * we bear the heat with an angelic patien ce.''

W he n, for her health 's sake, they had made a move which incon venienced him , she writes : "I with my remorse , and poor Rob ert with out a sing le repr oach. Any other man, a little lower than the ang els, would have stamped and sworn a little for the mere relief of the thi ng-but as to his being ang ry with me for any caus e except not eating enough dinner, the said sun would tu rn the wron g way first."

T he husband was a most pati ent and tender nurse whenever her health confined her to the hou se. However there was one thing on which they disag reed,-spiritualism.

She believed that the living could hold int ercours e with the dead. He knew it was all an impo ssibility. She absolut ely believed in Mr. Houre, a hypnotist then in Florence , and his wonderful performances.

He absolutely den ied the good faith of Mr. Houre and all connected with him. â&#x20AC;˘ Both Mr. Browning's love for and pride in her resented her being connected with such foolishness.

T hey had onl y one child, Robert Wiedemann Barrett. He was th e delight of both father and mother. Browning trained him in a few classes. The boy was given many toys and dumb animals, tortoi ses, little snakes, owls, etc., were his constant companions. Thou gh there is small space allotted to the son, we ha,ve enough about his boyhood to see that his father was kind, indul gent , and had a keen interest in the happiness of his only son.

If Browning was anything he was a man of profound interest in other men. This is conclusively proved by the number

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of friends he had. Of course many of his friends in later life were attracted to him by his literary fame; but we find that he had a great number of them early in life before he was known to the public. He would enter wholly into the other man's interestwhich is a rare gift. His goodness of heart prevented him from ever trifling with other lives. He was frank and did not hesitate to give his opinion when asked.

Even during the restless period of his youth he found some friendships that he held for many years. The strongest of these were with Joseph Arnauld and Alfred Dousett. The latter is mentioned and addressed in "The Guardian Angel;'' and at his death Browning wrote "Warning."

In this poem, after having set forth his weaknesses, the poet bursts forth: "Meantime, how much I loved him, I find out now I've lost him." ;

The friendship that is most significant of Browning's character was the one with Benckhausen, the Russian consul-general.

He became so attached to the poet and so fond of his company that he compelled Browning to go to St. Petersburg with him.

The poet was said to be his secretary but his duties were very few and only nominal. He spent about three months in the capitol, but we know very fe~ particulars about the trip. The letters which he wrote to his sister during this time have all been destroyed. We can collect from here and there that he was greatly impressed by the sights of that great country and especially by the vast snow-covered fields. It is a great misfortune that there was such a wholesale destruction of the family letters . This closed from the anxious and curious world much of the inner life of one of the most famous poets that England has ever produced.

There were various other friendships but the most striking incident which gives an insight into the true disposition of the poet is that which occurred on the vessel while sailing to Trieste, the captain of the ship became so attached tc, him that he offered his free passage to Constantinople, that he might have the pleas-

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ure of the poet's company. However Browning refused this offer.

In the final anlysis Browning was an ardent and passionate lover, a kind, prudent, and gentle husband, an indulgent father, and a true, sincere, frank and constant friend.

THE MORROW. King, '13.

I'll sing my song of joy to-day With a heart that's glad and free; But how can I sing with glee, Since death, in the night my tongue shall stay?

I'll dance my dance of mirth to-day With feet that are free and light; But steps move slow in the night; What dance, when I shall have passed away?

I'll love in the morn of love to-day With a love so strong and true; But who can be soothed by the blue Of eyes that are fixed 'neath Death's rigid sway?

TH E SCHO LAR AND THE CROCODILE. (ADOPTED

FROM

M:ERY.)

s.

(CONCLUDED)

Never did man experience greater anguish . So our scholar, convinced that life is hardly worth struggling for at such a price, determined to dash himself down from the top of his roof to seek repose in death . Full of this idea of despair, he got up on the summit of the trunk, put aside such branches as might impede his fall, and putting forth one foot, and the other back firmly, and did not throw himself down . A worthy consideration restrained him on the brink of the abyss. He possessed no family. Therefore he should preserve himself as the sole representative of the Adamsons . Man is ever ingenious when it is a question of striking a bargain with despair'. If he has a family, he wants to live for it; if he is alone, he wishes to live in justice to himself, that he may not pass away completely from this world. 0, who will ever fathom the human heart, and especially the scholarly heart.

The vibrations, at first so alarming, now afforded him all the exhiliration . of a swing. He smiled at the exertions of the monster against the tree, for surely the tree was immovable.

Adamson enjoyfd the sweets of triumph. He now planned to arrange his dwelling with greater regard for comfort. He divided it into three distinct apartments separated by leaf parti tions . His office contained many palm leaves, on which he could write with the assistance of a bit of bark. His dining room abounded in cool, dry dates, that rained into his mouth .

He felt the absence of one thing-a pair of gloves. Ha~piness is never complete.

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Each day dawned fair and calm. Between his two meals he devoted his time to study and meditation. When a pro, found thought would flash into his brain he would write it down twenty times over. B~fore betaking himself to ¡slumber gave himself a lesson in astronomy beneath those glorious constellations. No jealous neighbor spied on his behaviour. No newspapers desecrated his privacy . No policeman could ever belabor him with a "billy." No publican could try to collect his taxes. For a moment, let us leave our lucky hermit on his palm tree, and descend the left bank of the Nile, where a new incident of this story is to be unfolded through the ill luck of Mr . Adamson. Mr . Darlingle, an English botanist, was hunting for yellow lotuses on the deserted bank of the Nile, accompanied by two Arabs, armed with carbines .

Now, Herodotus saw yellow lotuses; but Herodotus had the privilege of seeing non-existent things; among others, two pyramids two hundred feet high in the centre of Lake Moeris .

So he might very well have seen yellow lotuses. It is true that they have since disappeared, a fact that obliges conscientiou s botanists to persist in searching for them . ¡ There are some things that confound the imagination when met with in the desert . Darlingle was justified, then, in uttering a cry of terror on the bank. of the Nile. He had just observed two boots, one proudly erect, the other collapsed as from the fatigue of long inaction . There is nothing so stupid to look upon as two boots awaiting a porter in a hotel passage; but the feelings that they may arouse on the banks of the Nile are inexpressible. A fellow shrieks and recoils in horror.

Now we must observe that the garments left on the shore of the Nile had disappeared, either because the current of the river had swept them away or because a passing crocodile had swallowed them . The boots alone remained standing, and somewhat to one side, on a rock.

The faithful Arabs had never ii;i their lives laid eyes upon a boot; they were attacked by the contagion of the botanist's terror, and stoutly opened fire upon the two leather legs, which fell pierced by four bullets. This execution was insufficient to

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reassure the mind of Darlingle, who, nevertheless, showed his appreciation of the Arab's devotion, and thanked them with a meaning gesture.

Adamson on the crest of the palmtree heard the shots and started . Issuing from his chamber, he entered the hall and, putting aside the leaves, observed three men standing on the shores of the Nile. His first thought was a curt malediction hurled against those who came to disturb him in his solitude and meditation; but, at last, human weakness asserted itself, and he made up his mind to make signals of. distress to these three human beings. So he cut off a long palm branch, stripped it of leaves up to the end, and waved it above the tree with one hand, while with the other he hurled towards the Nile the only propectiles at his disposal-bunches of dates.

The botanist turned around at the slight sound from the river caused by the hail of dates, and this time he experienced surprise greater than the first, for he beheld a palm tree waving an enormous plume in a dead calm; and, after the first instant of surprise, this discovery filled him with ecstatic delight. He would have given all the yellow lotuses in existence for this curious palm tree, for he thought he had discovered a new variety, to which he would give the name of Darlingle Palm.

But those children of the desert, the Arabs, with their lynx eyes had now discovered a human form beneath the dense foliage of the island palm, and their gestures called the attention of the botanist to the fact. But the latter, absorbed in the delirium of happiness at his find, could make nothing of their gestures, and thought of nothing but the sensation that the Darlingle palm tree would produce in the scientific world. The two Arabs persisted in their gestures until Darlingle, despite his desire to confine his thoughts to himself, was finally forced to follow the uirection of their fingers.

Third surprise in the same hour, the third swallowing up the others. He had distinctly seen a face, and more, an English face, and a hand waving a branch stripped ¡except for a plume at the end.

The three men took council, with a view to adopting measures for obtaining a boat to succor this distressed traveler . One

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of the Arabs suggested a plan that was adopted. They started off for a village several miles away in the desert, and after two burning hours of walking through the sand, they reached a -village, and here they had the good fortune to find a fisherman's boat, which was launched without delay.

They descended the Nile, and the island of the palm tree soon appeared above the horizon. As they approached nearer, the eyes of the Arabs betra yed a certain unea siness, and they exchanged signs of intelligence. A quarter of an hour later, doubt was impossible; they had really seen an enormous crocodile roaming around a palm tree. They communicated their discovery to the botanist, . who got his fourth shock of the day, and was trembling from cold¡ at I IO degrees Farenheit. The crocodile saw in the little bark eith er a prey or a peril, and perished for either fight or flight, according to the number and importance or his aggres sors. Lying motionless on the bank like a stuffed creature, he kept his jaws ready stretched to swallow the first arrival.

The two Arabs, well versed in the habits of these monsters, stood up in the front of the boat, aimed, and at a given signal fired together. The bullets entered the sole vulnerable part-the open throat. The mon ster shook his head with comic contortions, and vomiting forth floods of black blood upon the sand, closed his tear-bathed eyes, and stirred no more.

Adamson arranged his disordered vegetable costume, looked for his gloves from force of habit, and, not finding them, he descended with the most delicate precautions to avoid rending his garments and thus shocking his fellow-countryman, whom he had readily recognized from afar by his hair and gloves.

Arabs are a serious race, but their gravity disappeared in immoderate lughter on perceiving the array of Adamson. The botanist, himself, recovering from his terror by the death of the crocodile, bit his lips in order to spare his countryman the spectacle of English hiliarity, decidedly unbecoming on such an occasion.

The botanist and the scholar shook hands -after the manner of the'ir country and related to one another their stories. Adam-

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son besought Darlingle to restrain, by command, the merriment of the three Arabs, again st whom he determined to .lodge a complaint with his consul. Then Darlingle removed his own coat, and generously presented it to his fellow, who put it on forthwith, and buttoned it up tightly.

The moment of departure was solemn. Since the time of Lord Byron Englishmen have affected the custom of saluting islands or continents which they leave without hope of returning.

Adamson did homage to his palm tree, and while embracing it, deposited several tears on its bark. The scholar and the botanist were united from that moment by bonds of the closest friendship. The one gave up pursuit of the peninsula of Meroe, the other of yellow lotus, and they planned to have themselves appointed consuls to some remote city of India.

Adamson is to-day England's representative in Chandernagor. He owns a magnificent estate on the Ganges. He has ten elephants in his stables. He has ten servants at his beck and call. He has married a charming Creole. Yet, even now, he regrets in his hours of idleness the happy life he led in his palm tree apartment. Still more does he regret the affecting spectacle furnished by the crocodile, and his aching thirst quenched by drops of water.

Tedium, that thirst of the soul, sometimes possesses him so violently that he finds himself disposed to resign his elephants, his home and his wife, to seek once more his palm tree, and to pass several days on it. So if the Governor grants him a leave of absence, this plan may be accomplished.

Can it be just possible that misfortune is really happiness?

This would explain why the latter is so rarely found on earth.

Let us ponder this problem.

THE

MESSENGER

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EDITORIALS. "Our finest hope,'' says George Eliot, "is finest memory."

We agree in a large measure with our beloved authoress, but somehow in this material world by some mysteriRETROSPECT . ous provision of Nature, it is not aspiration, not what we would be, not what we would do that counts , but what we accomplish. We grant that this statement may often be largely true of the individual, but of a college it cannot be true . Why? Because the successive generations do

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not remember what former generations hoped, but what has been accomplished is an ever-present fact. What is true of an average college is true of our college. Our reverses, if we may s9 call them, have been threefold: athletic, literary and internal.

Our football and baseball teams were not highly successful, but let us not spend our time in vain regrets ; we were not successful in our triangular inter-collegiate debate, that has passed. There is one matter, however, that we hesitate through shame to make the property of the college world. But to the task. Listen!

By vote of the assembled student body a student self-government measure was turned down. We have no apology for them. In their blindness and ignorance they could not see that such a movement was necessary to keep abreast of the times. We will not enter into any long-drawn out discussion pro and . con, for . to the average thinking person the advantage of such a system is evident and besides the system has been discussed in these columns before. We have told wherein we have failed, but to every cloud there is a silver lining. The keen feeling at the loss of the debate is partly alleviated when we know that we won the William and Mary Debate and when we realize that a most excellent grade of work has been done in our literary societies.

The phenomenal success of our relay team to a great degree covers the shame of our football and baseball seasons. And again we are consoled when we know that the faculty stands ready and willing to give us a system of self-government at any time we desire it. It has been our privilege to hear the most distinguished corps of lectures this college has even seen in one session.

The grade of scholastic work has been constantly raised. --Much has been done toward the development of class pride and spirit and this development will necessarily mean an increase of college pride and spirit. We were much flattered by an invitation from Washington and Lee and George Washington Universities to enter a triangular debate with them. A quite gratifying compliment was paid to our athletic ability and prowess when we were asked to join the South-Atlantic InterCollegiate Athletic Association. In a body composed of seven of the leading colleges and universities of the South we are the

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only small college. Lastly let us consider THE MESSENGER.Has it indeed been a messenger. We think so. There has been a more varied, more cosmopolitan, more able corps of contributors than ever before. THE MESSENGERnever had a more willing or efficient head than it had in our precessor. His example has inspir ed the present board with a greater zeal for work, a more earhest desire to accomplish something worth while. It was during his regime that the Editorial column ceased to be a place for the exposition of the peculiarities and eccentricities of the editor, a page merely for the liter;1ry side. It became the college forum which was a "consummation devoutly to be wished."

Here, in the future, as in the past year we will endeavor to follow the example he has set, to discuss the matters and prob-' !ems which most vitally concern student life and thought. We have had our disappointments but we have profited by them; we have also had our successes and let us hope profited by them; this has been a session of slow but steady progress and will long linger in memory of the student body of r9II-r2.

Every man who comes to college owes to it a debt which it 1s well-nigh impossible for him to pay. The man who goes out into the world with a baccalaureate deA COMMENDABLEgree is even more deeply obligated. Feeling EXAMPLE. the weight of this obligation and desiring to show their gratitude, the Senior Class has raised a scholarship in its ranks and presented it to the College.

This is an important event in the history of the College as this is the first scholarship ra~sed and . presented to the College in the name of any class. It is a praise-worthy example which we hope will be followed by many other classes, both those who have already graduated and those who will be the future alumni.

The importance of writing strong, every-day, modern English cannot be too strongly stressed. Richmond College has ¡ always been proud of her English departAN INNOVA TION. ment, and it seems to us that the progessive head of the English department has added a class which is one of the most practical that has ever come un-

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der our observation . .It is a course in contemporary essay. The text-book used in the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly.

This is something new in the curricula of the colleges in this part of the country, and we desire to call attention to the progressive policy.

At the request of the committee of Woman Student's Athletic Association, we publish the following statement: Since it has been brought to the notice of the Women Students' Athletic Association of Richmond College that there has been a misunderstanding as to the reasons for the refusal of our basket-ball team to play the team from Woman's College, therefore, out of justice to ourselves, and to our College, we desire to state the following reasons for our action: 1. The larger colleges for women such as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Hollins, Smith, Bryn Mawr and Vassar do not engage in intercollegiate contests.

2. We find that more girls are physically benefitted by having several teams and confining our contests to interclass games.

3. The parents and guardians of many of the girls object to their playing in games with other colleges.

4. Permission was given by the Trustees and President of Richmond College for the establishing of basketball only upon the condition that all games should be played upon the home grounds and that there should be no contests with teams from other colleges.

For the reasons above stated the Woman Students' basketball team of Richmond College have not engaged in a contest with the basketball team of the Woman's College of Richmond.

Respectfully submitted, CELESTE

ANDERSON,

SANDS, Committee, Woman Students' Athletic Asso. of Richmond College.

MARIE

S.

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The darkest hour is just before dawn. When the football season closed l;,,st fall we felt that the darkness that shut us in was very, very dense, and it was. Yet there was one ray of light that pierced it-the hope that from bitter necessity would come a oneness of purpose that would presa ge a new day, and that hope is being fulfilled. Our faculty and trustees have come to a very full realization that winning . athletic teams are just as necessary to our College as landscape gardens or Gothic to wers. Our classes are better organized than ever before , and our class teams are making for a healthful class spirit which will crystalize into college spirit, and are helping in a more definite way by developing men for the Varsity .

All these things argue well for future athletics at Richmond College.

Now let us come nearer home. In less than four months we'll have a football squad on the field and whether a championship team can be picked for that squad or not will depend on the quality of the new men. Here's where your work comes in.

Is there a man in your neighborhood who can play ball or who shows promises or ability in track work. Talk Richmond College to him by day and Red and Blue to him by night. Send his name to the President of the College that catalogues and literature may be sent him. Send it to the President of the Varsity club that the influence of that body may be brought to bear in seconding your efforts. And listen! The captains and managers of the various teams have obligated themselves to write personal letters to any man whose name you may give them, so send it to them too, oy all means. Make that man think that Richmond College is the athletic bub of the universe and if he mentions scholarship gently remind him that Richmond is the educational centre of Virginia, and that rthe United S\tates Government ranks Richmond College degrees above those of any school in the State except the University of Virginia, and then-bring that man back with you.

J. B. D., '13.

AS OTHERS SEE US. Among the best of our exchanges we find THE RICHMOND COLLEGEMESSENGER. In it we have something rather unusual "Chinatown in New York-A Chinaman's View." Like everything there seems to be two sides to this proposition, a good as well as a bad side and here for once we are given the good side of Chinatown. The writer not only pictures the better side but generously acknowledges its faults as well.-The Buff and Blue, March.

The article in THE RICHMOND COLLEGEMESSENGERon "Chinatown in New York" by a Chinaman is excellent. It clearly presents many points which are hazy in our minds and is most unbiased. Every point is treated in a clear-sighted and thorough manner. "The Fire Dragon'' is full of dramatic action and the suspense is well drawn. The · superstitions of China offer many themes for good stories and yet from our point of view they are often over done. "The Function of a Small College" is a subject which bears of much discussion pro and con. This article is · treated entirely from the favorable side and the author's points are all well taken although arguments on the other side could be easily placed against them.-The Lesbian Herald, March .

"The Return" impresses us as the best story in THE RicHMO:N'D COLLEGEMESSE NGER. The parallelism in its development 1s well worked out .-The Chisel, March.

THE RICHMONDCOLLEGE MESSENGERcertainly has variety.

Fiction, history, social studies, and poetry that tells of nature an<l the higher life may be found within its covers·. Of these various a'dicles we fain would mention a few by name . The fable entitled "The Sin at God's Door," is all too true an expression of what some people understand by the Christian religion. . The author gives us the incidents in !iO dear a way that we feel ourselves to be of the crowd in every one of them . This sketch is one that should have a wider circu lation than it will probably have in a college magazine . "Mi ll Life in the South'' gives a

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glimpse of social conditions in mill districts, especially in North Carolina. We feel pretty bad when we realize that such things ex1sr, some of us being "Tar Heels " ourselves, but it is certainly our duty to study such conditions, and try to better them. The author deserves to be congratulated on his interest in such vital questions and the creditable manner in which he discusses them.

Now to the poetry . 'Tis a great task to criticize a poem. Who sees in readin g one the soul of the writer behind? Or who tries to put himself in the writer's place and live the situation as he has lived it? It is a prevailing tendency in most students wheri picking up a magazine to ha sten to the stories of sentiment and oth er light matter rather than the articles of greater depth and the poetry. It is in this way that we often fail to develop the esthetic side of our natures as fully as we ought. Of course, it is as great an art to write a love st ory successfully as it is to write· anything else-but the point is, not to over appreciate such literature as that at the expense of other good things a magazine may contain. The poetry in this number is all fairly good, but "The Lights Burn ed Low" appeals more stron gly to us than any other because of its pathos.-The Focus, May .

The Focus, after the se remarks, makes a reprint of "The Lights Burned Low.'' The story, "Just Another Tragedy" in THE RICHMONDCoLLEGEMESSENGER, presents a state ·of things which all college men should avoid. We do not always realize how intere sted others are in our ambitions and how they hope for our success. Of course the intere st is greatest in those who have sacrificed to give us an opportunity to realize our ambition. When we have chosen a worth y goal in life we should never allow ourselves to be turned from it, not only becau se of the failure we make of our own lives but because of the disappointment we cause in those whose interests are bounded by our own. This magazine is a new· one in our exchange list and is to be classed among the best. The quality of the writin gs is high and for number of contributors and variety of contributions it is unsurpassed by any of our exchanges. The exchan ge column is to be commended especially.-The Washington-I effersonian.

CAMPUS NOTES. HR.

Eckles.

This year the Faculty of the College has ordained that the Seniors shall have their exams . one week before the regularly allotted time, as a special privilege. We are even now, paragorically speaking, sweating blood over them, for the crisis has arrived, the time of trial and tribulation through which we must pass before we enter heaven-the possession of one "sheepskin."

For some of us, this is already within view, for others of us, the descent to Avernuss is easy, and there may be weeping and gnashing of teeth, but may this be far from the lot of all of us!

May we all be counted among the sheep, and not among the goats! May we all pass the river in safety, and land on the farther bank-perhaps some can not see it for the distance-and take part in the general joy and thanksgiving.

We mention this, not by way of apology for our inadequacy, for to apologize is to make it worse, and our faults are very evident, but simply to invite and solicit the prayers of all for the members of the Class of 1912-The Greatest Class in the history of the College.

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The last regular meeting of the Athletic Association was held Monday, May 6th, 1912.

This was the most important meeting ' of the year, as all the officers for the ensuing year were to be elected, and there was much politicing on foot. The following were elected, duly installed, and are now encumbered with the onerous duties pertaining to their respective offices: Prof. W. A. Harris, President; R. C. Duval, Jr ., Vice-President; J. W. Edmonds, Jr., Treasurer; J. H. Moore, Secretary.

Executive Committee: F. G. Lowhan, F. C. Riley, J. J. Coleman, F. M. Benton and A. Harris.

The most intense excitement prevailed in the elections of the Track and Baseball Managers for next session.

In the former department, J. W. C. Johnson was declared winner, after a most interesting contest. Mr. Johnson is a man of great ability and genius for hard work, which admirably fit him for his office. In the baseball election, W. T. Luck was winner out of a field of four. The track was rather rough in places, but he got a good lead in the last lap and won by a length. He has already learned the principal precept for a manager, that by the sweat of his brow shall a man manage a team, and ought to reflect credit on the College.

First Lawyer ( discussing a case) : And the man sneaked into the room and swiped the alarm clock off the mantel-piece, with the dog on the hearth.

Second Lawyer: Well, why didn't the dog make a noise?

First Lawyer: You see, he was only a watch dog.

Lost.-One head. Finder will please return to A. B. Carter or A. B. Wilson and receive reward.

A recent visitor on the Campus Mintz's manly form, and enquired if latter heard of the error, and since noted coolness between Dr. Thomas why?

happened to see Mr. E. G. he were Dr. Thomas. The that time there has been a and Mr. Mintz. Wonder

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Agent (meeting Fritz Jones on Campus): Can you tell me where I could find the President's office? I would like to get some information.

Fritz (pointing it out) : Yes, sir, there it is. But if you really want to know anything, you'd better see P. Wilson in Memorial Hall, or Dyche in the Central Building. They can tell you more than anybody else.

- Gary: Johnnie, why did you quit your job? . Didn't your employers treat you well?

Harwood: No. Guess what they wanted me to do? Wanted me to be agent for their bottled lithia water in Kentucky !

Skippy Haislip is a very affable kid, and likes to show his kindly disposition. ~-Ie went to see a girl one¡ night and the canary bird in the cage began to chirp.

Said Skippy, cheerily: What's the matter, bird?

The girl, in a Southern drawl: He thinks it's mawnin'.

Skippy hasn't been back yet On April 24th, there was held the Triangular Intercollegiate Debate between Randolph-Macon, William and Mary, and Richmond Colleges. The subject for debate was, "Resolved, That the State of Virginia should adopt the Initiative and Referendum" ( ?) , and each College put out two teams, of two men each, one on the negative and one on the affirmative side of the question, those upholding the negative to debate at their own institution, those on the affirmative to go to one of the opposing colleges.

Messrs. J. vV.Decker and R. C. Duval represented the college on the affirmative against Randolph-Macon at Ashland, and Messrs.

J. B. Duval and A. R. Hawkins upheld the negative against William and Mary at Richmond.

We won from William and Mary at Richmond, but lost to Randolph-Macon, and the latter also won from William and Mary at Williamsburg, and were, in consequence, declared winner of the <legate. ¡

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Knott: Where you goin', Bill?

Matthews: I'm goin' down to Bachrach's to soak my watch.

I understand he's not gettin' much business, and I think I ought to help him along . ( Chorus of Rats) : What a noble, charitable fellow he is !

Mattox had a girl out at the Society Circus, an(l they hap pened to pass near a pop-corn stand. The girl said: ¡My, that pop-corn smells good! ¡ Mattox: Let's walk closer, so you can smell it better.

The decision of the judges of the writer's contest has just been rendered as we go to press, and Mr. G. V. McManaway was declared winner. Mr. McManaway has served long and faithfully on THE MESSENGERstaff and in the Literary Society, and has shown marked ability in writing short stories.

John Edmonds ( in drug store , to Dick Richards) : Hey, Dick, what are you putting mustard on your milk shake for?

Reckon he meant nutmeg. He's young, however, and we hope he will improve .

Charlie O'Neill: Was that your sister with you last night, Miss Reams? She looked exactly like you.

Miss Reams: No, that was my fri end Miss--.

Don't you think she is pretty?

They had been discussing a question for debate in Literary Society, and had finally decided on the International Marriage and Divorce Law. Meeting Dr. Lewis soon thereafter, Gary, an interested participant in the discussion, said: Doctor, what do you think of this question of marriage and divorce?

Dr. Lewis (after a pause): Why, I-that is-you see-er it may be a very good thing.

Wonder what made him blush and look so embarassed?

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Koontz ( collecting money) : Say, Woodward, we went $10 in the hole on that dance, and we are trying to make it up.

Lawrence says he will give a quarter of it. Can you do anything for us ?

Woodward: Sure, I'll give another quarter. Got change for · a half?

G. W. B., '13.

This has been a season of varied result s. We were not successful on our Southern trip as the scores will show. On that trip we played V. M. I. at Lexington, April 24th, and were defeated by a score of 6 to 4.

Washington and Lee ran up a score of 12 to 6 on us on April 26th .

On April 27th the University of Vir ginia beat us 14 to 4 a larger score than we had anticipated.

On April 30th, the tide turned and we played better ball when once back on our home grounds.

We played Roanoke College a one-sided game, the score being 17 to 3 in our favor.

On May 2d, the team went up to Farmville, and played our first championship game with Hampden-Sidney HampdenSidney home grounds have always been unlucky for us, and so they proved this time, as the score 5 to 2 in favor of the enemy shows.

The next game played was the first champion ship game with William and Mary played in Richmond, May 8th. It was an enjoyable game especially to us, as the score rolled around 6 to 4 in our favor.

On May 13th our rivals from Ashland came down and captured the game 5 to o. The loss of the game was not due so much to superior play.ing on Randolph-Macon's part as to a number of costly errors on uur part.

May 18th was the date of our second championship game with William and Mary . The game was played at Williamsburg and a score of 6 to 5 swung the game around in our favor.

On May 22d we got back at Hampden-Sidney with a vengeance. The visitors came down expecting an easy victory and

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had even announced in the papers that the result of the game would leave the dispute of the ¡ cup between them and Rando lphMacon. They had gone even further and had challenged Ran dolph-Macon to play off the tie. All of this makes the little bouquet of II to 8 we handed them all the more enjoyable.

All interest is now centered on our prospects for next yea r.

The indications at present are extremely bright. Although we lose some of our most valuab le men from the footba ll and baseball teams there will be no dearth of prep school materia l to be developed. Our greatest, and I might say, almost irreparab le loss, is the loss of our relay team which was composed entire ly of seniors . This was the strongest relay the College has ever had, winning from Georgetown University and St. John's, who were the champions of Maryland . Well, anyhow, here's hoping that we will have three strong teams next session. If every ma n does his duty, there is no reason in the world why we sho uld not have the most successful athletic session in the history of the college .

The services of Mr. Harry Griffin who, for the past severa l years, has coached at Fork Union Military Academy, have been obtained. He will be assistant coach in football and head coach in baseball. Arrangements are now being made with an ex ceedingly capable man to act in the capacity of head coach m football and track.

The football schedule for next session is as follows : October 5.-Maryland Agricultural College, at Richmond.

October 12.-Randolph-Macon College, at Richmond.

October 19.-Richmond Blues, at Richmond.

October 26.- University of Virginia, at Charlottesville .

November 2.-William and Mary (championship), at Richmond.

November ¡ 9.-Hampden-Sidney (championship), at Farm ville.

November 16.-Rock Hill College, at Richmond .

Novembe r 23.- Randolph-Macon College (champ ionship ) , at Ri chmo nd.

ALUMNI NOTES. W. B. Miller,

'12.

Geo. W . Fogg, M. A., '04, of Deadwood, S. D., was married on May 22d.

Archie Ryland, B. A., '08, Dean of the Chatham Training School, Chatham, Va ., paid a visit to his Alma Mater recently.

J. Jeter Hurt, '98, of Conway, Ark., has accepted the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Durham, N. C. A. T. Ransone has just closed a successful session as High School Principal at Amherst, Va. He was on the campus a few days recently.

Henry Martin, M. A., 'oo, is Professor of Latin in Welis College, Aurora, New York.

J. T. Dickinson, D. D., '81, has resigned the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Rochester, N. Y., and is spending a year in Europe .

J. B. Peters, B. A., '09, who is now a student in Princeton Theological School, visited the scenes of college days recently.

He will preach in Albany, N. Y., this summer.

W. R. D. Moncure, B. A., '09, who has been Professor of History in Fork Union Military Academy for two years, was recently married to a young lady of North Carolina.

H. G. Noffsinger, M. A., '99, President of Southside Institute, Chase City, Va., has resigned to accept Vice-Presidency of the Virginia Interment College, Bristol, Tenn.-Va. Edward B. Pollard, M. A., '86, D. D., who has been prominent for years as teacher and preacher, now Professor of Homiletics in Crozer Theological Seminary, will preach the Baccalaureate Sermon here this Commencement.

E. M. Louthan, M. A., 'o8, has resigned the Principalship of Alderson Baptist Academy, Alderson, W. Va., and will enter the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville in the fall.

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B. B. White, B. A., 'II, who taught last year _in West Virginia, was on the campus a few days recently.

E. W. Robertson, '09, pastor at Kellar, Va., was married some weeks ago to Miss Mabel Wiley of Eagle Rock, Va .

Several members of the Fork Union Faculty of this past year who were students here came by to pay their respects after the close of that school: Miss Gay Broaddus, '05; W. R. D. Moncure, B. A., '09; W . L. O 'Flaherty, A. 0. Lynch and A. L. Shumate, all of last year's class.

J . E . Hicks, M. A., 'oo, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Danville, Va., is to be the chief speaker on Alumni Night of this Commencement.

John Tolman, B. A., '07, who played star football center for three years, familiary known as "Rattler'' is now wearing a new appellation, namely: "Father."

Robert Bowling, B. A., 'IO, now a student at Colgate Theo logical Seminary, is also listed with the patres .

T. E. Peters, B. A., '09, resigned some time since his position as Campaign Manager for the Alderson Baptist Academy, Alderson, W. Va., and we understand he expects to enter the Southern Baptist Seminary next session .

Several of the fellows dropped in for a day or two on the ir return from Colgate Seminary : B. M. Davidson, E. Belfort, Jason Rowe and W. M. Black. The latter qualified just a day or two too late to receive B. A. here last year . The degree will probably be conferred upon him this year . He receives the B. D. at the Seminary this year.

John Glenn Barbe, B. A ., 'IO, who for the past two years has been preaching at Bacon's Castle, Va., was on the Campus with his bride recently.

E. Michaux Crump, B. A., 'iI, has been teaching in the Chatham TrainiÂľg School for the past session and has recent ly returned to his home in Richmond .

CHANGE C. T . O'Neill,

'12.

The William and Mary Literary Magazine contains some very good material this month, but let it is not up to its standard, which is very high.

The poems are all The William and good, especially "Elise," and "Eve o' June."

Mary Literary However, the prose is not of the same deMagazine . gree of excellence as the verse-only two productions by the students, and one of those by the editor himself. It is hardly enough. Even a half dry essay might have been a desirable addition. "The Origin of the Honor System," by Dr. Wilson, is extremely interesting and instructive . "Squaring Accounts" has in it a touch of realism, and its easy style and not overworked theme are excellent qualities. Though "Fulfillment'' is an often-told-tale, it is really good.

Its unity and clearness combined with its smooth style adds much to it. "Famous and Infamous" hardly makes its point .

The magazine as a whole is somewhat thin. There are no Campus Notes nor is there an Athletic Department, ¡ and hence, in a way, it partly fails in its prime duty-to reflect the college life.

The "Short Story Number" of the Hampton-Sidney Maga zine is up to its usual standard. It not only contains good stories but the other departments accomplish The Hampden- their ends equally as well, and give us the impression of a well-balanced magazine portraySidney ing college life. A number of this kind gives Magazine. us an opportunity of judging the value of verse to a magazine. Even in a short story number a poem or two would not have been out of place, and we think, would have

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helped. This number makes us feel keenly the lack of verse.

"The Primitive Method" is interesting, but .very unreal and not at all true to life. A girl friend engaged to another would hardly become one's fiancee so hastily. ''One More Success" is a good characteristic short story and is not overdrawn .and unnatural.

"The Way of a Maid with a Man" is the best story in the magazine : It is both well planned and well ,written, and is quite a credit to the number.

It is always a pleasant task to re~iew a magazine like the Southern Collegian. We expect to feast upon good things there and they seldom disappoint us.

They often The Southern roam in "fresh woods and pastures new." "The Collegian Sketch-Indian Summer'' shows this. More of this would help all qf our magazines. The thought in "Comrades'' is good, but we think it would have been better suited for prose than an attempt at poetry. Among its prose contents "Twenty .Years After" staQcls out as a well constructed, interesting story. The characters are 'possibly a little overdrawn, but not so much so that they are unnatural. The essays are exceedingly good, but four essays and only two stories make the magazine a little heavy.

The University of Virginia Magazine fails to come up to its normal high grade. Its material as a whole is only fair, and it is lacking in some of the most important depart. The University ments which go to make the college magazine a true reflector of college life. No Campus of Virginia Notes! ¡ It's a shame. They add more to the Magazine. interest of a magazine than the stories. The two stories "A Psychological Miracle" and "A Spring Affair," are hardly creditable for a magazine which has produced such excellent material during the past months. The authorc;, in attempting _to give something unusual, succeeded only in producing crude results. "La Fontaine'' is the best poem in the number, having both better thought and the writer handled ftis meter exceedingly well.