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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1887)
.( y 2 7'iViE HESPERIAN. I llU'J UHI'K. n i!' ft i n iw c 1IN difficulties to surmount however. A large number of the new sti dents have little realization of the im portance of the literary society or have a disinclina tion to take up its work. A great many are afflicted with natural bashfulness which, especially if combined with the feelings just mentioned, will keep them out of society work a long time unless some outside in fluence is brought to bear. We are willing then that a moderate amount of "working" should be applied. We have only a few words of warning and paternal advice to these lately entered. Do not allow your self to be taken in by exuberant instantaneous friend ship or a bewitching glance from a Junior co-ed's eye. Such things have their use but they do not make orators and essayists. Accept all the oysters, candy, fllattery and smiles which are offered, but be not unduly influenced thereby. Examine all the lit erary societies. Choose that one in which you feel that you can do the best and greatest amount of liter ary work. This may not always be thesociety which shows off to the greatest advantage in their programs. Such an one may have a number of excellent mem bers who render fine exhibitions of their skill while the younger and less experienced mem ber receives little practice. The social port of society work is certainly important, but any society is sure to have a number of members whose acquaintance will be both pleasant and helpful. It you are wise make literary practice your prime object and give social pleasure a minor place in making your decision. Hut do not delay, for the sooner you join the more good you ob tain from your work. Since the beginning of this year an innovation has been attempted in the matter of Senior orations by having them delivered in chapel before the assembled -multitudes. There has been a general objection by all classes though of course there are exceptions. This objection has been shown very strongly in va rious ways by boycotting chapel, by leaving the room when orations commenced, by much general talking against the plan and by petitioning the faculty for a change. Perhaps all these methods are not exactly what should be done but it has at least been made evident that the students as a rule do not approve of chapel orations. This change of proce dure is doubtless for the purpose of giving the Seniors practice in oiatory. This is a most excellent thing and we would be heartily m favor of it if we had no other means of giving this practice. But we have lit erary societies which are for that especial purpose and others equally important. We hold that ihese so cietiesareof more importance than anyone branch of study in the curri'-ulum. If it has come to the ques tion of soyiely or rhetoric class we say "Down with rhetoric." It is hardly fair to expect that a Senior will prepare distinct orations for rhetorical and so ciety work. This requires him then to deliver an oration twice, in part at least, before the same au dience. Both orator and audience would prefer that this be not so. There seems to us to be no reason why the same rule followed in the other classes should not be applied to the Senior class. If the professoi of rhetoric wishes to hear the oration delivered before a large audience, let him attend the society to which each senior belongs and listen to its delivery there. If the students "are not the University," they are a rather important element of it and any attempt upon the lives or prosperity of the literary societies will be followed by trouble. LITERARY. Hefore entering upon the duties of our responsible position, we made a careful study of the chief characteristics, mental and otherwise, of the great writers from the base ball editor of the primal antideluvian Chinese newspaper, down to Cod ing. If any one peculiarity of the yens attracted our atten tion more than another it was the proverbial beastly scrawl. Homer recognises this as existing in his time. You will, no doubt, recall the beautiful simile wherein he likens the writ ing of the Grecian war-correspondents to turkey tracks in soft mud. Now,' we thought, this custom is too well established to be departed fiom. However, we have learned, to our sor row, that the majority of silver linings have their cloud at tachments. The typo, our honored co-laborer for the enlight enment and elevation of mankind, managed to read our word 'magnified" as "manifested." If you will make .this cor rection in the note on Mr. LangV Forum article, last issue of Tub IIksi'i:kian, you may be able to find a little meaning in the sentence. In a recent number of The Fortnightly, George Saintsbury re-discusses a well-worn subject in his article on "The Pres ent State of the Novel." It must be almost as amusing as tiresome to the modern masters of fiction to observe the 'an alyses of their works and wrangles over them; that is, if the said masters take time to observe such tilings, and we are strongly inclined to believe they do not. How critically is each new novel examined, dissected, and re-examined, and how accurately is its precise tendency given and its cficct foietold. While Mr. Saintsbury is somewhat given fo these ways that critics have, yet he always includes so much that is of real value in his productions that we should take the more charitable plan and profit by his ideas and advice, and, if our time is limited, skip the rest. In the case of the pres ent article, the first four pages may be set down as exceed ingly fit material for skipping, consisting almost entirely of a Uriton's customary discussion of the merits of first person, and written in the affable, conversational style that our cous ins across the water seem to regard as especially winning. The last three pages, however, arc worthy to be called good literature. Mr. Saintsbury is icjoiccd at the disposition, shown by Mr. Kider Ilaggaid and ? few othcis, to return to the romance. Unquestionably the subjects uf manner and custom analysis Jiave become well-worn; -as Mr. Saintsbury says, it is 'working over and over again in shallow ground, Which Yields a thinner mill U'l'l'difr lellllll nf ivrl-irfrnnninrTl Vl .- - W'J 'fb 1 lie public is ready loi a change, ai come. and some change must 4 H v