THE HESPERIAN.
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only for specific purposes, and education is without its prov
ince. Both speakers felt what they said. The delivery o.' both,
though somewhat rapid, was sufficiently loud and distinct.
Following the debate was a piano quartette, "Polacca," by
Misses Edith Doolittlc and Minnie Cochran and Mesdames
Raymond and Hartley. Too much praise cannot well be giv
en both for the selection and the rendition of this piece. All
the ladies are accomplished players and the Palladians should
consider themselves fortunate in securing their services.
An essay, "Virgilia," was then read by Miss Harris. Miss
Harris was evidently under some embarrassment which rend
crcd her reading unsatisfactory, but her article was deserving
of high praise for its literary worth.
VIRGIMA.
Shakespeare was able through the power of sympathy to
present many a type which he had never seen. Virgilia is a
most striking example of tbis'virtue in Shakespeare. The
court of this time was filled with women of the Cleopatra
strmp. She is a silent, effectual force in the life of Coriolan"
us an imperial autocrat. Her character is understood prin
cipally by realizing her relations to, and influence over, Cori-
olanus, and the strong contrasts of Valeria and Voluminia
Her character is inferred not affirmed, and, after all, this is
the most trustworthy manner of expression. Hamlet solilo
quized a great deal, yet essayists arc not over confident of his
character. Virgilia's part contains scarcely twenty-three lines
but the student of Shakespeare feels the dynamic force of
her character through the exercise of that same quality which
forms so important an clement in the cast of Shakespeare.
Mr. C. S. Lobingier, the orator of the evening, spoke on
THE BATTLE OF TOUUS.
The recent events of the Soudan have riveted the gaze of
the civilized world, in the track of the Madhi's army lie de
spair and destruction. At the battle of Tours, eleven centu
ries ago, a fate was averted from Europe similar to that which
awaits now the land of the Nile. In that battle the Saracen
race with its brilliant past and the Teuton with its grand fu
ture met in mortal combat. The time was a critical one for
Europe. Only the germs of modern civilization were in exis
tence and the ruthless hand of the Arab might have crushed
them with case. A JSaraccn Europe at that time also would
have prepared the way for a Saracen America. The conquest
of the Teutonic nee by the Arab meant change in the entire
course of human history. The Saracen race was not without
its viitucs but these were over balanced by the religious faith
which they had embraced. In the Middle Ages, it is true
they reached a high state of ciAilization, but their system was
an ephemeral one and its subsequent rapid decay proved its
instability. The civilization which the Arabs would have
brought into Europe was not the hardy oak which afterwards
flourished there, but a system freighted wiih the germs of de
cay and bearing the means of its own destruction. Syria and
North Africa today, sunk in the depths of ignorance and sen
suality, offer a constant reminder of our own happy deliver
ance. On the whole the battle of Tours affords important
lessons. It teaches us how slight arc the causes that shape
the destinies of the world, how much we are indebted to those
who lived centuries ago, and how impossible it is to under
stand the Present without a knowledge of the Past. The bat
tle of Tours was no slight encounter of Saracens and Franks;
it was a decisive conflict between two civilizations. Ir was
Aryan progress against Semitic stagnation. It was Christian
ityi as it then existed, as opposed to Islam. It was a struggle
not for a single nation, but for humanity not for an age
alone, but for an eternity.
Mr. Lobingier has an excellent delivery and evidently has
much natural talent in the oratorical line. He writes a bold
but easy and graceful style and is possessed of a more than
ordinarily strong voice.
Mrs. Adolphe Weber then sang a soprano solo' "Bird
Song," which was executed in her usual happy and skillful
manner. She responded to an encore with a selection which,
if not more difficult, was even more pleasing to many.
Thr recitation of the evening was given by Miss Grace Per
shing. The selection, "The Hero of St Michael's," was ren
dered in a manner which fully satisfied the expectations and
hopes of friends. Miss Pershing is new to Lincoln audiences
but it is to be hoped she will not remain lond a stranger.
The program closed with a song by a male quartette, Mes -srs.
Jones, Camp, Churchill and Harmer. These gentlemen
are well known to Lincoln musicians and their singing elicited
the heartiest applause.
COMMENCEMENT ORATIONS.
An invocation was offered by the Rev. A. F. Shcrrill, pas
tor of the Congregational church at Omaha.
The first speaker was George Bell Frankforler, an extract
of whose oration is here given.
THK SriRIT OF THE AGE.
The present age is characterized by the earnest demands for
practical and useful applications. The first tendency, how
ever, toward the practical and useful began centuries ago and
gradually developed, each centnry bringing something which
helped to span the difficulties and lessen the weariness of hu
man life.
In order to understand the process of this development it is
only necessary to compare the several branches of industry at
the present time with those of the past. Before the time of
Watt and Stephenson transportation between Liverpool and
Manchester could be carried on by a half dozen pack mules.
Now it exceeds a million tons annually. Railroads, then un
known, now bind state to state and nation to nation with
bands of steel. In fact, there is no end to the varied forms of
industrial art to which the energies of steam have been appli
ed. While it has snatched the oars from the sluggish barge
and torn the white sails from the kissing breeze it has filled
the seas with quicker and surer messengers of trade, whose
speed no current can arrest and scarce wind and tide delay.
So it is in manufacturing, its whole nature being changed by
inventions which accomplish the work of the weary horse and
far more weary man.
Immense as appear the present applications of every branch
of scientific research yet still greater achievements are wait
fng to be accomplished in the future. Scarce a decade has
elapsed since the destruction of our forests and the draining
of our coal fields filled with consternation the minds of the
heavy consumers. A substitute was sought for and found in
natural gas. By this discovery 500, 000 tons of coal are saved
daily in the city of Pittsburg alone. Although this fact is im
pressive it is made even more so when we consider that prob
ably one hundred and fifty years at the present rate will con
sume our forests and drain our coal fields.
Such are the questions which stare the nation in the face;
such the demands for the practical and useful, and such tbc
problems to be solved in the immediate future. Is it not time
then that the people were awakened from the sleep of centu
ries and made to hear the summons of this spirit which in the
future will rule the world. The past has sown what we are
rcapimg and we must sow, else the future will cease to reap;
Fold our hands and disaster will surely follow but apply what"
GOOD GOODS AND LOWEST PRICES AT MAYER BROS.,ioth ST CLOTHIERS.
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