THE NEBRASKAN
7i
features. The speaker subordinated manner
to matter throughout. He pleased the ear
rather than the eye. His deliberate earnest
ness, perfect enunciation, and above all his
utter disregard for artificial elocution were
particularly effective and enjoyable.
The orator began with a brief, compre
prehensive sketch of the development of
universities, starting with the universities
of Paris and Bologna, and speaking quite
extensively of English and German uni
versity systems, explaining the differences
in their organization and methods. Passing
then to the universities of America, he spoke
of their history and growth, and particularly
of how we might make the American uni
versity the ideal one. American institutions
must be able to provide for Americans what,
at present, they must go to Germany to ob
tain. Johns Hopkins is trying to supply this
heed. The speaker thought we had great
reason to be proud of the fact that in all the
period of wonderful growth in higher educa
tion, in this country, where immense sums of
money have been handled for university
work there has not been a single betrayal of
trust.
President Low talked for an hour and a
half, brightening his solid thoughts with oc
casional flashes of wit. When he had fin
ished, and the benediction had been pro
nounced by Rev. Hewitt, Charter Day was
over, and the universal verdict was, "The
Best Yet."
Prof. Lees1 class in Antigone has just com
pleted some interesting work. After critic
ally reading the tragedy in the class, each
member was assigned 150 lines of the text to
turn into good smooth English. At a meet
ing of the class last week these translations
were read, thus presenting the play intelli
gently as a whole. This sort of thing is
splendid, especially in the classics, where for
lack of some such connected presentation the
true beauty and value of what is read is often
missed entirely.
Sitctary,
Messrs. E. P, Dutton & Co. announce that
a memoir of the late Bishop Brooks, made
up largely from his papers and letters, will
be publisned in due course by arrangements
with the family of the bishop.
John Brisben Walker has laid aside his
literary work on account of ill health, and
will travel in foreign lands for a year. Ar
thur Sherburne Hardy will edit the Cosmo
politan during Mr. Walker's absence.
Professor George E. Woodbury has under
taken to write for the "American Men of
Letters" series the life of James Russell
Lowell. It is hardly necessary to say that
no more thoroughly equipped man could
have been selected for that work.
The young women of Vassar college are
preparing to present the Antigone of Sopho
kles. It is a sort of offset to the Elektra
which the students of Smiths' college gave a
year or two ago. Apropos of this subject of
Greek plays, we wish to mention the etch
ings of Mr. R. Farress, illustrating the Oidi
pous, which was rendered by the men at
Cambridge University. The etchings are
exquisite, and express more than pages ot
description could.
Easterners still maintain that there is no
true culture in the West. It is possible that
this is so and that this want of culture is re
sponsible for our lack of appreciation for
some eastern work. To most westerners a
large part of the poetry, which eastern maga
zines are permitting "poets" to inflict on their
readers, seems a mere waste of pen and ink
and space. Women, unless geniuses, run to
fashions in literature almost as much as in
clothing. The present literary fashion cor
responds somewhat to the spasms of "aes
thetic" dressing which the appearance of Os
car Wilde caused in this country some years
ago. The preponderance of sickly green?
and dirty pinks, the absence of distinct out
lines and the attempted deshabille of the
dresses of those days are often brought to
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