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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1873)
aa Tiiu ii;i'i:niA student. ?i 111 HESPERIAN STUDENT. LINCOLN, MARCH, 1878. TnK Hesveiuan Student, a Collcno paper Eubllshed monthly by tho students of the No raska Stato University. Terms 50 conts per year, In advance Subscriptions will bo received at J. F. Adams1 News Stand, next door north of Post Ofllco. Communications aro solicited from all tho stu dents and our friends in general. Address the Hesperian Student, P. O. Box GOO Lincoln, Ne braska. II. K. ME I CALF, Editor-in-Chief. Q.A.Watbow,, Aoo!.to. Some excitement has prevailed for some time, with regard to the instability of our University building, and-an Investigating commitee was appointed as that is the order of the day .just now in this country composed of architects, who made a careful examination. The 'result of their examination is generally known, viz: that the north wing, which contains the Chap el, Cabinet and Palladian Hull, is not en tirely safe, as the foundation walls were found to be crushed and settling in sever al places; but that the main part of the building is perfectly secure. Since the report of tho architects was made, everything lias been done by the Faculty to rrnove all apprehensions as to the safety of the students. The north part of the building has been locked up, so to remain until the necessary repairs can be made. This causes but little inconven ience, however, except to those students who had suddenly found an excuse to lo absent from chapel exercises, as these are bow conducted in the Library. In this we find even an advantage, as it enables many of the students to look upon the gay covers of the books which otherwise they would never see at all. It is a question, however, whether the bare walls and blackboards of a recitation room will call forth the same eloquence from the society boys as the influence of their own hall Would do. At all events it is not so pleas ant and we would hasten the time when WO may return. A meeting of the Board of Regents has been called and we have no doubt they will fully provide for the exegincies of the case. We are a little behind with this issue of the Student, owing partly to our en fjagement in the affairs of the Palladian, und partly to the unwonted slowness of our contributors. We regret the necessity of omitting our artlcie "Modern Cul ture"from this number; the conclusion will appear in our next, however. These Ciirls. The early life of woman is like a stream of. water, above a cascade. What a merry, heedless, romping, joyous time, is this girlhood I llun the waves go dancing and babbling and jostling each other,impatient eager for the reckless leap over the falls of marriage; then after tho headlong (v t i?e comes a turbulent commotion, an ab'4? r lifting of white hands, some rebell- ,sm stream sun-kissed with peace, or 'Suerings, and finally a silent drift- with sorrow. But it is of These to Bpeak, not of this everlast- "stream of life." comes the real,live,intelligent ,10 beauty, for who can look face, and poetic eyes, hly.ipres8cd with tho toul? She is ond her with t'V thinks-hersclf-to-be-talented young lady. She has a bold front, gray eyes and is sprightly, and sometimes oven dazzling for a time. She has much temerity, no real modesty. Is ready to speak on all oc casions, causing all sensitive people un speakable anguish by her numberless grammatical errors. She is in misery when not herself tho most conspicuous per son in the room. She never walks out, or goes into an assembly, that she does not imagine herself to bo the "observed of all observers," and that people are remarking upon her extraordinary ability. Sho advo cates "womans rights" or uny thing'that will bring her into notice. She detests men yet sho has a remarkably original way of showing her detestation, for her eyes have an ungovernable habit of for ever turning in their direction. But who is this light hearted, hoydenish girl, careless of her appearance, yet always fresh and lovely, with her beaming face, laughing eyes and exquisitely beautiful complcction? She spoils your curls, tears your clothes, and prances you arouud whenever she pleases. If you write her a sentimental note, in confidence, about some of your lovers, she laughs at it, and repeats little snatches of it before the others, keeping you in a con tinual flutter of anxiety, lest she will let the whole secret out finally, but she never docs. When you first know her, you try hard to detest her, but that is impossible, and afterwards when you aro sick or in trouble, and she ministers to you, and you realize how sweet uud good and tender she can be, you are thankful that it was im possible. And in school, how she learns! She sometimes has five studics'and plays all day, yet she recites Letter than anyone in her class and is always ready to prompt others. I take leav.u of this girl with re grets ! And n.w comes hor-opposlte the one to whom, at first, you are drawn, so gentle and perfectly good she seems. She is always ready to weep witli yr.u and wrings your girlish secrets out of you as easily as sho does the tears from her eyes. Before young men, she is fond of saying "Would you think her so much older than myself " ? This girl is ambitious, persever ing md treacherous. In this garden of girls all are not either useful or poisonous plants Oh no! here are crowds of pretty perfumeless blossoms, only made to dunce on their stalks and nod coquettishly to the winds. This is that class of simple, gay, good-natured, pretty, fashionable flirts, placed on thi8 old earth to embellish it, as we place sprigs of myrtle or evergreen around the dishes on our tables. I know one of these with the blackest eyes and hair, and most dazzling olive complexion, who can wear a blue dress, scarlet sack, with blue ribbon and scarlet flower in her hair, and would not strike one as being untustefully attired, cither. The tout en semble has the efl'ect of a bouquet of bright autumn flowers. Such girls are not harmful, not to bn despised for their ignorance their aimless lives. They never profess to know any thing more than music, perhaps, and that indifferently. They belong to this beautiful world as much as the butterflies or humming-birds. Yet one seldom sees a girl of. this class whose sweet unthinking heart is utterly barren of noble aspirations ; and these will undoubtecMy ripen in God's good time. It may be that trouble and responsibility are necebsary to bring out the woman in her but when the time comes, depend upon it, she will weild the broom as grace fully and vircourously as she now does tho croquet mallet. A, A. 0. myMnGiw mii. "M,-m BFat ' . ;'"WWr SpMJPa 'nFf Krrt r -n irBiTf - VJHnflHHr, Horace Iff ami. No. 2. Then, too, this young man of thirty years conceived and consummated an en terprise as beneficial in its results as it was humane and beautiful in conception. Institutions for the higher education were numerous. Massachusetts had her own lneompurable Hurvurd, besides many oth ers. Churches were found in every town and hamlet; but nowhere in all America could there be found an asylum for the care and treatment of tho insane upon broad humanitarian principles. Mr. Mann prepared with great care a Bill for an In sane Asylum, pleaded eloquently for It, curried it through tho Legislature unaided, despito the opposition of old and able conservatives ; was then appointed Chair man of tho Commissioners for building it; afterward chairman of the trustees for ad ministering it, and today the noble struct ure at Worcester, nay, all similar struct ures throughout the land are the enduring monuments of his noble humanity, wis dom and worth. Aftof having been for ten consecutive years a member of the Legislature, dur ing four years of which he had served as President of the Senate, discovering in this responsible position murvelous tact and knowledge of parliamentary rules having never been at a loss or almost nev er at fault, ho found himself unexpectedly invited to another and very dlll'erent field of lubor. This new field for exertion har monized exactly with tho benevolent, phi. lanthropic instinct of his generous nature and he entered upon it at once, though ho had to sacrifice his ambitious as well us relinquish a most lucrative legul practice for the paltry recompense of a thousand dollars a year. It was in 1837. Massu chusetts hud just crcuted a state Board of Education whereof thut most accomplish ed Statesman and Scholar, Edward Ever ett, wus president. Associated with him were such eminent men as tho Historian Jared Sparks, the genial und eloquent Robert Runtoul, Dwight, Newton, Putnam und others. They were to appoint a Secretary who was to be really the agent und factotum of the Board, churged with the most im portant duties. At their first mooting, they chose Mr. Mann, "deeming him," says Mr. Everett, "of all men in the Common wealth of Massachusetts," for his zeal and fidelity, for his enthusiasm in the cause of education, for his clear perception of. things desirable and possible, "the best fit ted to discharge the interesting duties of his trust." For eleven years, from 1837 to 1847 in elusive, he devoted to thiB work, without the respite of a day or an hour, all his physical and mental energies. Fifteen hours a duy of hurd labor, was what he averaged during those eleven years. A single engagementonly did he fail to meet, and that from sickness. As Secretary of the Board of Education his duties, us prescribed by the law, were: "To collect and arrange information of the actual, condition of tho common schools and other means ot popular cdu cation throughout tho state; to diffuse as widely us possible throughout every part of the commonwealth, information of the most approved und successful methods of urranging the studies and conducting the education of the. young. To accomplish the first of these objects, he may be said to have at onco made al most a personal examination of the 8,000 common schools then supported by the people of Massachusetts. Ho went from county to county, every where culling together tho friends of cd ucutton, holding tho first series of Teach er's Institutes ever held In America, giving Instruction In methods of teaching all day, while in tho ovonlng ho lectured to throng, cd houses drawn together by his magic eloquence und glowing enthusiasm. In this way he Infused a new spirit into the work of education and prepared tho way for the radical reforms ho had in con templatlon. The inefficiency of the teacli ing he determined to remedy first, as ho felt that without competent teachers all olhor appliances were nearly useless. For immediate relief, he devised the Instltuto of which wo have spoken ; but for perma nent and thorough reform, he planned and secured the adoption of a System of Nor al Instruction for teachers. G. E. C. (To bo continued.) Starved Minds. There are persons whom wo often meet with large, stout physical frames, and wo at once oc they have been well fed with the food that goes to make up bone and muscle. But we talk with them awhile; and poor souls ! wo find they have' not been fed with that mental food that goes to make up thought und sentiment. Their minds ure lean und perishing; starving to death for want of intellectual nourishment. There are two classes of these starved minds. One class is constantly reaching out und crying: give us Knowledge; this hunger is gnawing upon our vitals ; but life's circumstances prevent our obtaining negessury food. For s'ucli there Is hojjc. They reulize their condition, and some benevolent heart will ofFor them assistance and they will gladly accept it. But the other class alas! their case is almost hopeless. They have drunk of the poison stimulants of pride, fashion and love of money, until they are so Intoxicated, tliey v feel not their need of pure mental food. Their minds will probably never grow any more, but soon die and sink them into bigotry or crime. L. How many common figurative expre , sionS in our languuge are borrowed fron the art of carpentry, may be seen from tho ' following sentence : " The lawyer who filed the bill, shaved the note, cut an ac quaintance, split a hair, made an entry; $ got up a case, framed an indictment, im paneled a jury, put them into a box, nail a witness, hammered a judge, and bored a whole court, all In one day, has since laid down law und turned carpenter." The following anecdote of Profs. Adans and ShurtlefF, of Dartmouth College, is us good as any narration of Irish wit: Prof. ShurtlefT was obliged to bo very cureful about going out without his hat, lest ho should take cold ; and Prof. Adams was obliged to bo equally careful about wetting his feet, for the same reason, "It seems," said Prof. A. to Prof. S., one day, "that your head, and my feet, are our weak est parts." "Our most sensible ports, would bo tho way that I should phrase it," was Prof. ShurtlolFs quick and happy retort. Always take the part of an absent per. son who is censured in company, so far as truth and propriety will allow. I. 1 A WtWmSm rSSaiSS'WMMRP 'Kf'jM wwm