THE HESPERIAN.
ing and speaking. There can be no lack of college
eloquence then, and no opposition to entering the
Slate Oratorical contest, while enthusiasm in such
work is assured.
Our University is in luck. Not long since we wax
ed jubilant over the fact that we were to have a $50,
000 general science hall and that the prospects were
good to receive the full appropriation of $165,000.
We did not dream that there was a thing to happen,
unheard of in the history ol this institution, that of
the appropriation from the state funds of money
enough for an armory and gymnasium. But so it hap
pened, and so we are to have a magnificent $20,000
building besides the science hall. To further prove
the saying that good fortunes never come singly, we
receive, by the terms of the Hatch Bill, $15,000
annually lor experiments and investigations in
agriculture, of which $3,000 the first year and $750
each subsequent year, may be expended in buildings.
Owing to a slight technical flaw we cannot receive
this sum until appropriated by the next Congress, yet
it must ultimately come, and then more at a time.
With such unlooked-for advancement financially,both
the faculty and the students must needs make great
strides to keep pace. That it shall be done there is
no doubt, for with increased facilities both will be
able to accomblish much more in shorter time, and
thereby widen our college work.
IO A' TENSE.
Whcrinne is shown ye craftinesse of her lover.
Ilortensc is haughtye, and no smile
She dcigncs toe shetldc on me
Although I love her to despaire,
And serve her faythfullyc.
Each mornyngc, when ye Sonne first shines,
I from my couch doc springe;
And toe kcr Lattice windowc then,
Dew sprinklcdc floucrcts bringe.
And when she gocth toe ye wodc,
Downc through ye mossic dell,
And with her lovlie armes doth drawc
Ye water from ye well,
I haste to followc aftcrr her,
Although the tells me "nay."
And when I tell my love toe her,
She not a word will sayc.
t toke her ly tel hande in mine,
And quoth full softc and lowe:
"Deare hearte, I must ncedes sayc farewell,
I 'toe yeWarres must goe."
Straightway her face gat deathlie white,
"O Cyril dear!" quoth she,
"Nowe prithee doe notte goe awaye,
Forsoothe, I, I love thee." Dartmouth,
BALZAC.
The works of Honorc dc Balzac arc so well known to
most renders of fiction and have so oitcn been the subject
of literary criticism, that there has remained very little of
importance to be said concerning either the man himself
or what he has written. With regard to the personal histo
ry of Balzac the accounts arc necessarily incomplete and
unsatisfactory, because his manner of life was such as to
throw into obscurity many of the incidents surrounding the
early part of his literary career. In a book recently pub
lished, entitled "Celebrities of the Century," there is an
article devoted to Balzac, in which the writer has given
evidence that she has made a profound study of the great
novelist's works, and in which she has related many interest
ingoccurrences pertaining to his personal history. This ar
ticle will be received with no little interest by those who have
read any of Balzac's novels, and who have been led to feel a
more personal interest in their author.
Balzac was born in Tours in 1799 and died in 1858. He
early gave evidence of that wild, restless disposition which
unfitted him for going through the ordinary routine of life,
and which drove him into scenes and situations where he
could indulge his passion for studying the extraordinary prob
lems of human life, and constructing weird combinations of
facts which he observed. As has been the case with many a
master mind, Balzac's early career was a hard and unhappy
one. His wonderful ability was entirely unappreciated by
his friends, who could sec in the actions of the romantic
youth nothing that gave evidence of any remarkable powers
of intellect, but much, on the contrary which seemed to them
to be but the fruits of a diseased and disordered imagination.
As a natural consequence he was left to work and starve in a
garret by himself, where, secure in the belief of his own gen
ius, he labored on, unknown and almost forgotten by every
one.
It was his habit to shut himself up for months at a time,
work day and night on his subject, and through all that time,
see no one but his printer. After he had in this way secured
enough money to enable him to gratify his curious caprices,
he would plunge into the reckless gaiety of Paris, squander
his gains on fine clothing, jewelry and pictures, and in this
way soon exhaust his resources and be compcllcd'to resort to
his pen again to enable him to repeat the same process at
some future time. This manner of life could not fail to un
dermine his health and break down his wonderful constitu
tion. Just at this time he contracted a marriage with a Rus
sian lady who paid all his debts and enabled him to once
more assume a position ol independence. It had been one of
Balzac's favorite dreams to possess a fine house of his own,
and thus be able to entertain his friends and live in a state of
magnificence in conformity with his expensive tastts. Unfor
tunately, however, just as he was preparing to pass the rest
of his days in case and comfort, his health gave way, and at
the age of fifty-nine he died.
As regards Balzac's novels, it is very difficult to form an ac
curate judgment, because in most cases one is utterly igno
rant of the scenes he depicts, and is entirely unacquainted
with the types of character he has drawn. He tells us that
he was but the chronicler of his times, that he but made an
inventory of he virtues and vices of society. Truly he has
done so. Balfcac believed that nothing was too obscure,noth
tng too low down in the sca'e of existence which could not,
and ought not, be made the subject of literary treatment.Con
sequently we find in his works that microscopic analysis of
character, that detailed description of place and event which
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