THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
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guo did for a moment l'altur lot him stand
forth and say It ; if there he throe in all
your company dure face mo in tho lyco
urn hall, let them come on. And yet I
was not always thus, a willing advocate,
a nulling chief of a still more ranting
sisterhood. My early life ran quiet as tho
wheel by which I spun, and when at
noon I spread the family board and blow
the dinner horn, there was a friend, the
son of a neighbor, to join me at the gar
den gate. Together wo sought the foui
leaved clover and pluckod'thc wild rod
rose.
One evening when the meal was ended,
and we were all seated beneath the Cot
tonwood that, shades our cottage, my
graudamc, an old woman, told of Anthony
and "Woodhull, and how in old Connect
icut a little band of Smith sisters, in de
fence of their rights, had defied the tax
collector. I did not then know what
"rights" were; but my cheeks burned, 1
knew not why, ml I clasped the knees of
that venerable woman, until my father,
parting the hair from oil' my forehead,
kissed my throbbing temples, and bade
me go to rest, and think no more of those
old maids and shrewish wives. That very
night the Suffragists convened in our
town. I saw the eyes of my mother flush
with a new-awakened sense of bondage;
and the guilty gaze of my father us they
hurled their burning denunciations upon
him.
To-day I vanquished a man in the con
veution; and when lie dropped his head
and shrunk into his seat, behold! lie was
my friend, lie knew me, smiled faintly,
gasped, and wiped the perspiration troni
his brow; the same sweet smile upon his
lips that I had .narked, when, in auda
cious boyhood, he asked if he might sec
me home from spelling school. I told
the president that the defeated man hud
been my friend, gallant and devoted; and
I begged that 1 might grasp him by the
hand and loll him I meant not the half I
said. Ay! upon my knees, amid the
sneers and jeers of the convention I beg
ged that poor boon, while all the assem
bled men and boys, and the graceless
rabble they cull "hoodlums," shouted in
derision; deeming it rare sport, forsooth,
to sec woman's fiercest advocate turn
pale and tremble at the sight of that
piece of masculine humanity!
And the picsident drew buck as I were
a lunatic, and sternly said, "Let the dull
creature fret; there are no noble beings
but women !" And so, sister-women, must
you, and so must I, steel our hearts to the
shafts of cupid.
0 Nebraska! Nebraska! thou bust been
a tender nurse to inc.- Ay! thou hast
given, to that poor, gentle, timid, domes
tic maiden, who never knew a higher as
piration than to wed some man, cheeks of
brass and a heart of flint; taught her to
drive away all thought of love; to gaze
into the beseeching eyeballs of the ar
dent, pleading suitor, even as a boy upon
his little sister! And she shall pay thee
back, until thy senate halls are filled
with a noble band of women, and in their
tender care thy prosperity lies assured!
Ye sit hero like Ami.zons as ye are!
Strong-mindedness marks your every
teature;but tomorrow home love speak,
ing Adonis, breathing sweet ilattery from
his deceitful soul, shall profess to lay his
heart at your teet, and you'll "tumble to
bis racket." Hark! hear ye yon youth
swearing in his rage? 'Tis three days
since he has met a woman's smile; but
tomorrow he shall feast his eyes upon
yours, and the greater fool you'll bo!
If ye are slaves, then sit here l'ke brainloss
creatures waiting for the coming man!
If ye are woman, follow me! Strike off
the chains of man's tyranny, gain the
ballot, and there do noble work! Is
Xantippa dead? Js her old Grecian
spirit frozen in your veins that ye do
bow and smile and say "Yes, my lord?"
0, sisters! women I Sullragists! if we
must love, let us love our
tetea&l II we must smile, let us smile in
scorni If we must wed, let it be with the
understanding that our side of the house
shall represent the family politics!
SrAitTAcnsA.
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
Published semi-monthly by the students of tho
Nebrnka Stato Unlvondty.
WEDNESDAY, NoVEMHEII, 8. 1880.
KDITOItS IN CHIEF,
May 1). Faiiifield, II. W. Haiuunoton
Ahsociatk Editou Minnik Williams
Local Kiutoii, 11. 15. Davis
liUSINKSS -MANAUKH, 1). W. FlHllKIt
TKltMS OF SUllSOltlPTtON.
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All articles Tor publlcntl n should by addressed
Kdltor IlRsr-EKiAN Student, State University.
Lincoln. Nebraska. All Mibscrlptlons and busl
ness communications, with tho address, should
bo sont to 1). W. FISHElt. Subscriptions col
lected invariably in advance. Advertisements
collected monthly.
jjjjditorial,
It is sometimes a vexatious question as
to how a class shall occupy itself when
meeting for social purposes in the eve
ning. A college class usually considers
itself too literary and, if the Senior class,
too dignified to indulge in the customary
amusements of an evening company.
Consequently a half-learned oration is
stumbled through, a warmed-over essay
is hastily read, or Shakespeare is murder
ed and Byron sentimentally quoted and
the evening is considered to have been
spent in an appropriate literary manner!
Wo have no patience with the advocates
of such class gatherings. The members
bud better be at home engaged in reading
or writing than making themselves ridic
ulous over such entertainment and calling
it literary! A student who does his duty
during the month lias a surfeit of literary
work and needs at least one evening in
the month for something else. Let us
then have plenty of fun at our class meet
ings. Music and dancing and jokes and
nonsense. Those who try to be always
literary and stately and as a consuquencc
arc insufferably stupid are fortunate if
thej' never know how many of the good
tilings of this common, work-a-day, but
after all gay world, they miss. Culture
and the encyclopaedias, J. S. Mill and
Balfour on Philosophic doubt are all
woll enough in their way, and indeed very
necessary but have no business witli a
student's horrs for recreation.
MANNKKS.
True dignity is one of the rare gifts of
nature. It will always assert itself when
occasion requires, and in just that degree
most suitable to the place and circum
stance. It is as sure an indication of the
true character, as the clear ring of the
coin ii thai its metal is gold. Never is
it entirely wanting in the truly noble na
ture however contaminating the influ
ences have been from youth up. But the
same principle which preserves the ex
cellencies that nature has given, against
the circumstances of lite, provides tho
best ground-work for manners. As the
polished coin shows best the true charac
ter of tho metal, so good manners simply
removes the rude, actions and awkward
ness that would hide tho real value of the
individual. An easy, graceful, self-poised
manner, just deference enough not to cast
a doubt upon one's independence, or to
obscure his self-confldenee, are unmistak
able evidences of good breeding. Tho
highest attainment of art is the ability to
conceal the existence of art, and the best
milliners are those thai make the little
formalities of society appear natural.
Trilling as these forms, considered in
themselves, may seem, tho fact that tlicy
receive the sanction of the best, in all
classes of society make thorn imperative.
They become a factor of civilization. No
one but a genius can afford t. be eccen
tric, and lie who affects odd manners in
order to appear distinguished, seldom de
ceives anyone but himself. The place
where one would naturally expect to find
the best manners, is among those who are
spending a series of a cars together, bli
the purpose of culture. The dignity of)
their manners ought to correspond with
the dignity of their common pursuit. It
Is not always to be found thus; a tact that
has been forced upon our observation of
late. Let each one who observes this
statement apply the test of self criticism
to find how far it is true.
Tho Student's suggestion lias at length
been carried out and wo are to have a con
test once more. It seems to be the gen
eral wisli of the students that there should
be some decision rendered upon the mer
its of the literary productions other than
the former verdict of the judges which
resulted in a tie. To insure a decision
one way or the other the orators should
be pitted against each ether, tho essayists
against cacli other, and so on through the
whole class. This would compel the
judges to decide for one or the other. It
would be a personal decision and the re
sult a personal honor. In former con
tests the judges have been left to make
their decision upon the evening of the
contest, having no knowledge previously
of the productions they wore to hear. It
seems to the Student that it would bo
well if the judges were given the produc
tions beforehand and allowed to mark
them upon style and thought and thus
make their final decision to depend upon
the delivery of the evening. This would
make three points upon which a decision
must be based and would be more just to
those who are to participate in the con
test, as some would have an advantage in
delivery and others in style or thought,
and by taking all these into consideration
each one has u chance, by his excellence
in one way or another, to redeem his fail
ure in the other direction- It is to be
presumed that each society will put on its
best members allowing no party and conse
quently trivial reasons to prevent the se
lection of those who will be most likely
to win and thus secure to their society an
honor which will last until the next con
jest may transfer it to the other. It was a
good suggestion of one of the Seniors that
a silver cup be purchased which shall be
given to the succssful society and kept
by it until the defeated society should
send a challenge to them for another con
test the following year. It would thus
inaugurate a pleasant custom of having a
literary contest eacli year and the Stu
dknt trusts for tlio sake of good feeling
and the host results that if lhe plan is
eventually adopted the cup will bo trans
fored each year. "May those tilings be."
The Student has always been deficient
hi what has becu a very interesting part
of other college papers: a column of com
munications upon upon subjects of inter
est and importance to the students, a place
to discuss the live questions of the college,
giving all a chance to commend the fair
ness or complain of tlte injustice of reg
ulations, customs, principles current in
the school. Our first page we are com
pelled to fill up with an old oration which
someone lias kindly lent us, but which no
one hut the author ever thinks of reading,
and not iinfrequently the Student taxes
tho good nature of its readers by publish
ing poems (?) which are enough to make
even the ancient shade of Shakespeare rise
in protest. The students should take an in
tcrest in this matter and send us in short
breezy articles upon subjects which inter
est them atul probably would us too. "We
know that we are reiterating the old cry,
but in another key, for copy, more copy
The Student as at present constituted is
by no means an index of the thoughts and
opinions of the students, but is simply the
expression of ideas belonging to the ed
itors of the different departments. It Is as
though the students said, when the pres
ent editorial corps was chosen, now that
we have elected you, you are for one year
to write everything for our paper, express
our opinions and give your own ideas of
things as though they were the sentiment
of tho whole school. The Student is be-
coming more and more what the editors
make it and the students as a class let the
paper entirely alone. A college paper
should be the expression ot the views
from all students as far as possible and
not simply an opportunity for the editors
to air and publish at no expense to them
selvse their favorite theories and possible
one-sided views.
liWinQ8.
Dartmouth published she first college
paper in 1800.
Harvard lias made recitations for the
Sophomores elective.
During the 242 years of its existence,
Harvard lias turned out 14002 graduates.
Cambridge College, England, has decid
ed to drop Greek from the list of required
studies.
Oberlin lias 1000 students; Michigan
University, 4308; Harvard, 1350; Yule,
1003, and Columbia 1430.
Prof. "Whutdo you make it?'. Prop.
I make it next." Prof. '.'Come into the
ante-room after class and I will make it
clubs."
Columbia has added to her numerous
departments a school of Political Science'
and lias also abolished the grading system
She is growing merciless withal. Out of
one hundred applicants for admission,
only twenty entered without conditions.
I.
