College News, 1929-05-15, Vol. 15, No. 23

              -I-
* r-
',
ews
VOI^ XV, NO. 23
BRYN MAWR (AND WAYNE), PA., WEDNESDAY,.MAY 15, 1929
PRICE.   10  CENTS
Etiquette Traced
in English Works
Similarity of Precepts for Wom-
an's Conduct Shown by
Miss*Carey.
EMPHASIZE       CHASTITY
Glee Club Elects
At the im-etiiA>!" the Glee Club
which was heldTPn Monday, May
11, Elinor Latane, '30, was elected
president; Laura Richardson, '30,
vice-president; Gertrude Bancroft,
'30, Business Manager; and Char-
lotte  Tyler,  '32,   secretary.
"I read the other day," said Miss Carey
in chapel on Wednesday, '.'an article in
Harper's for April, called What Shall
We Tell the Children? It is the re-
"flective lament of a woman of about
thirty-five, who is in despair as to how
she shall instruct her childreu in regard
to anything�religion, morals, ethics, be-
haviour in general. It occurred to me
as I "read it that this theme�what moral
instruction shall be given to the young�
not only is of- perennial interest but has
always been so; and I decided that it
would be fuh' to trace the theme through
English literature, to give a background
and sense of proportion to a future dis-
cussion in which I hope to' give current
ideas on the subject.
"As one looks through moral and didac-
tic Englsh writings, the first thing of
interest is the recurrence of certain ideas
about young men and young women.
Always clothes, table manners, and for
women the necessity of quietness, humil-
ity, andBbbove all,. chastity, come again
and again. In twttve hundred, there
appeared a book entitled Hali M^idenhad
which is not very interesting to us, >6ince
it extols maidenhood above the marriage
state. If a maid marries she loses her
freedom and high dignity and is turned
into a drudge. It describes all the draw-
backs of married life and the joys of a
single one.
Knight Makes Book for Children
"During the three centuries following
twelve hundred, apparently many articles
and stories *on women* were written�
mostly by men. In the Book of the
Knight of La Tour-Landri, a collection
of tales which this man made for his
motherless daughter, we find^the good
Knight walking in the -garden, heavy<|
with thought, listening to the birds and
musing in this wise: 'And as Y was in
the saide gardein, Y sawe come towardes
me my iii doughters, of the whiche I was
joyfull, and had grete desire that thei
Shtlld tufne to good and worshipe above
all erthli thinges, for thei were yonge,
and had but tendir witte; and so atte
the begynnyng a man aught to lerne his
doughters with good ensaumples.' As he
walks, he thinks of all the terrible things
that -might- happtu -to his daughters, Of
how his fellows have deceived with fair
.words the gentlewomen he knows. 'And
for these causes aforesaid, Y thought to
make this litelle boke to my yong dough-
ters, wherupon thei might rede and
studie, to that entent that thei might
lerne and see bothe good and evelle of
the tyme passed, and for to kepe them
in good clennesse and from all evelle in
tyme comyng.'
"So he makes one book for his sons
and another for his daughters, in which
there follows a succession of tales, lurid
and very spicy, recounting the misadven-
tures of unsuspecting and innocent and
wicked women. Each ends with ,a moral
turn in which the good girl is rewarded
by a splendid marriage witb^ someone like
a King of Greece or Denmark, and the
wicked girl is punished in some gentle
way such as being drowned in the river,
or falling into a well, or breaking her
nose. Always the woman with the
broken nose loses her husband's love.
Dr. Taylor Speaks on the
Philosophy of Sperigler
"The virtues extolled in the stories are
those well-known to the Middle Ages:
piety, chastity, humility, and obedience.
The ideal girl evidently does not chatter,
nor eat too much, nor sing and play in
loose company. It is very important to
keep fast days and to say prayers.
"There are many stories of three daugh-
ters�usually the eldest is beautiful but
light of maurier, the second is wise but
talks too much, and the third, who is
quiet and humble, marries the King of
Denmark Mere it is worthy of notice
that the light familiar manner always
loses the husband.
"Then the Knight goes on to a discus-
sion of dress. He prays his daughters
not to "be the first to takje "new shapes
CONTINUED ON THE FOURTH PACK
Dr. Lily Ross Taylor spoke on
Spengler, the German philosopher, in
chapel on Monday morning, May 13.
She quoted Edward Cheyney's ad-
dress to the United States Historical
Society in January, 1923, in which he
said that Spengler desired to establish
an historical law of the future: what
we need is not a clue to the present,
but to the future. Spengler's own
book begins with these words: "In this
work, for the first time, the attempt
is ventured upon to anticipate in ad-
vance the course of history." Miss
Taylor pointed out that although one
may not entirely agree with Spengler,
he is Certainly very significant, and
very hard to get away from after
reading his works.
Spengler is a "private scholar" in
Munich, and has refused many posi-
tions in order to continue his writings
and his work. His first volume ap-
peared in 1917, but the theory was
fully worked out before 1914, and is
definitely not post-war pessimism. The
second volume was 'published in 1922,
and much literature has appeared on
Spengler ever since, but Miss Taylor
expressed the belief that many of the
critjes who are unfavorable have not
read Spengler thoroughly, and at any
rate do not understand him. Spengler
shows remarkable judgment and a
mind of great range and sweep and ob-
jectivity. He is detached from every-
thing that is going on, and manifests
no national feeling or passion or ex-
citement.
Spengler's object is to establish a
philosophy of world history that will
replace artificial developments of an-
cient, mediaeval and modern by a
study of the great cultures. A great
culture is the result of the birth of
a_soul which-has. come to life in the
shapeless mass of humanity and which
has gone through the life of a man
�childhood, youth, maturity and old
age, which is the end of growth and
the period of decay. There are seven
such cultures: Egypto-Babylonian, In-
dian, Chinese, Classical, Mogian, Maya
and Faustian. The Russian is now in
the moment of birth. These cultures
differ in different characteristics; our
own, the Faustian, is striving towards
infinity; the aim of the classical was
concentration in time, place and char-
acter. The general developments have
been, on the whole, roughly identical.
The Russian culture is being changed
by external influences; Tolstoi shows
western influence, but if Dostoyevsky
had lived to write his story of Christ
it would have beeen the story of a
new evangelist.
Our own culture is about where that
of the ancient world was in the year
100 B. C. We are at the end of the
really creative period in art, music and
iiterature. We are now working for-
ward to" development in scholarship
and formalization.
Spengler's first volume is entitled
The General Principles of Form and
Reality, and the second, World Histori-
cal Perspectives. Miss Taylor said that
it was the second volume that had the
most contact with her own experience,
because the illustrations and parallels
from Roman history are so rich.
Spengler insists on the Graeco-Roman
world as a unity, and he considers
Rome the natural development of the
tendencies of the time. He holds that
Rome is not.So-primitive as it is usu-
ally   made   out   to ~b~e,   and   uses 'the
CONTINUED ON THE SECOND PAGE
Varsity Loses to               *
Vassar at Tennis
The Bryn Mawr varsity tennis team
was defeated by Vassar by the score of
four to one. � The matches were held at
Vassal on Saturday, May 11, and though
the score and the defeat were the same
as last year, Bryn Mawr's performance
was on the whole better.
The first was a closely contested
match between Swan and Hutchins, in
which Miss Hutchins finally proved her-
self the superior player by the score,
7-5,-3-6, 6-4. Stokes was subsequently
defeated by Du Bois, 6-3, 8-4, .who will
be remembered for the excellent form
she displayed here last year. ' Cambell's
game, possibly because of the frequency
of her chop strokes, was more than Bar-
bara Humphreys could cope with, and
she lost, 6-0, 6-1. We were more suc-
cessful in the next match, (or Harden-
bergh played a beautiful, if somewhat
uphill, game to defeat McClane, 5-7, 6-4,
Poe and Humphreys started out
yaliantjp in the doubles, but the team-
work of DuBois and Hutchins, which
was rather faulty at the beginning, im-
proved visibly, and Vassar eventually
won the last mateh, 12-10, 6-3. Despite
the smallness 6f the number inv6lved,
the annual tennis encounter wjth Vassar
is probably our most pleasant sporting
connection, and we congratulate them
most heartily on the success which they
so obviously deserved.
President of Undergrad
Urges Student Initiative
(Contributed by   V.'Fain. J29.)
It is customary on this occasion to
review the events of the past year, but
as I happen to be more interested in the
future than the past, and as you know
what has happened here as well as I do,
I shall refer to those events only in'so
far as they point to the future.
The early collegiatism gave way about
a college generation ago to a pose of
blase indifference to the affairs o� the
college as a whole. But that somewhat
brutal individualism has already borne
fruit, I think, in "the shape of a growing
interest in education as such- If we have
ceased to go picnicking four hundred
strong, to be ready to die on the hockey
field -for the glory of Bryn Mawr, and
to shout in Greek that it is the best, col-
lege that ever was, we have at least
paused to ask ourselves, perhaps origi-
nally from purely selfisji motives,
whether the four years we spend here
are as worth while intellectually as they
might be. This questioning, which began
as isolated cries of merely destructive
complaint, shows signs of becoming a
serious and united effort to take an ac-
tive part in our own education. The
Curriculum Committee has been revived,
and the Faculty have shown great will-
ingness to allow it to co-operate with
them in tljeir experiment in honors
work; the Committee hopes later to turn
its energies to the problem of required
subjects and the curriculum in general.
There is a mistaken notion that a pro-
fessor regards docility as the first of the
cardinal virtues. The l>est professors
do not demand it, and the best students
do not display it. The ideal student has
an active, lucid, challenging mind, as
well as diligence and conscientiousness.
I feel that there has been lately a con-
i-ONTINUED  ON  THE  FOURTH  PAGE
Apologies
The N'ews wishes to apologize for an
error made in last week's issue, under
the list of scholarships awarded purely
for    distinction     in    academic     work.
Memorial Scholarship and of the
Elizabeth Duane Gillespie Scholarship,
was listed as prepared by the Brearley
and the Shipley Schools. Miss Gordon
actually attended only the Shipley
School in Bryn Mawr. We are sorry
that the  mist '
Elections
The Lantern takes pleasure in
announcing that Frances Frenaye,
'30, will be Editor-in-Chief during
the year 1929-30.'
Margaret Martin,-1930, has been
elected Senior -Member of the
Self-Government   Board.
The  class  of  1930  has  elected,
the    following   people    fp   act    as
Chairmen    of    Committees    under
the   Undergraduate   Association:
Vocational   Committee    E.   Baxter
Employment' Bureau.......D.   Cross
Posters...............................M.  Park
Trophy ................................B. Coney
Speakers'.....................................E. Stix
Ushers...........                 C-  Sulltvan
Cut.......................................A.   Parkhurst
Audjfing................................A.  Hannay
Goodhart................................M.   Martin
Senior Song Mistress,
K.   Hirschberg
Hampton Quartet in
Perfect Harmony
- The musical genius of the negro race
was again demonstrated by the Hamp-
ton Quartet in the auditorium of Good-
hart Hall on Monday, May 13. Rarely
are. the negro spirituals sung in the
simple, plaintive manner which car-
ries to the hearers the picture of a
suffering race, childlike in its sim-
plicity, yet thrilling with a deep, mys-
tical experience. The songs them-
selves, whether swinging to strong
rhythm, borne along by a naive hu-
mor or lost in the maze of strange
harmopies, have an Undertone of sad-
ness. There is a minor, penetrating
note which'can only be brought out
by utter participation in their mood.
Just such abandon, coupled with the
unique quality of voice required, char-
acterizes the Hampton Quartet. The
fullness of trreir, chords with the rich,
sustained bass is strangely comparable
to organ music, and the plaintive,
almost strained, individual notes re-
create the thrilling' sadness of the
songs. In_ more familiar spirituals,
such as Deep^ River and Swing Low,
Siveet Chariot, the unhampered manner
is lost in an effort to develop to the
fullest the possibilities of rhythm and
harmony. The total impression of the
quartet, however, is one of litter spon-
taneity.   *
New Opportunity For
Students to Publish
Sarah  Stanley  Gordon,  winner  of  the
Maria     I..      Eastman     Brooke      Hall   not detract from their chances of being
Mr. Willis H. Kinnear, of Indian-
apolis, has undertaken a publication
which, as far as we know, is quite unique
in the magazine world. The new
monthly, to be called Manuscripts, wijl
be issued for the first time during the
third week in next September. Its ob-
ject is to represent the student writing of
Americaff institutions   of   learning.
The publisher writes: "This proposi-
tion is a definite challenge to the pro-
fessor and his student. The magazine is
an outlet for the students' work�and the
result of the contact he has had with
the professor. What has the professor
done in the moulding of the creative
tendencies of his students? Is the stu-
dents' work really creative? Is-the pro-
fessor's work of any value? Is it stimu-
lating the student to original writing?
If it is. this is an opportunity for show-
ing what is actually being done in the
colleges today.
"Manuscripts will be the evidence of
the creative writing of our universities.
It give> the student author the opportu-
nity to publish and become known; we
offer the student his best and possibly
his only chance. It is a way for the
student to show what he is worth."
The fact that manuscripts have already
been printed in campus publications will
accepted by this new magazine. Also,
Mr. Kinnear will pay for anything that
is printed in Manuscripts, on the basis,
of its merit and its length. Those who
are interested should see the poster on
the English "^bulletin board, in Taylor
Han.     '   Ul �-----
Even Uninitiated Enjoy
Fencing Tournament
On Thursday evening. May 9, the final
matches of the Fencing tournament were
held in the gymnasium before a small,
but extremely interested audience. The
bouts between the Setiior and Junior
fencers who carried off the honors in
the preliminaries were not, however, the
most exciting events of the evening. The
exhibition bouts with the sabre, the foils
and the epee held those who were pres-
ent spellbound, nor was any knowledge
of t|ie rules of the art necessary to ap-
preciate the thrilling display of speed,
keen judgment and grace, made by Mr.
Boeckmans and hts opponents, Dr. Her-
ben, Mr.  Robbins and Mr. Groff.
Mr. Boeckmans and Mr. Robbins
opened the tournament by a demonstra-
tion of the Grand Salute, a complicated
series of gestures with the foils, which,
slow and beautiful as it is, showed the
dexterity and precision of the fencers.
After Dr. Herben had explained to the
uninitiated the uses of the three fencing
weapons, Mr. Boeckmans and A. Park-
hurst gave an exhibition lesson, a smooth
and perfectly co-ordinated example of the
lessons as-they should be in the fencing
classes. This was followed by a bout
With the foils between Mr. Boeckmans
and   Mr.   Robbins.
The first college bout, between the
Junior fencers, A. Davison and M.
Humphrey, ended in 'a victory for.
Humphrey. It was interesting to notice
in this and the other college matches the
uncertain and cautious beginnings of the
art which Mr. Boeckmans has mastered
so thoroughly. The next event was an
exhibition bout with the sabre between
Mr. Boeckmans and Mr. Gtoff. Ttie'r
sabre, a more dangerous weapon, with'its
sharp edge, than the foil; is more excit-
ing to see in motion because it is used
for cutting as well as for*thrusting. The
exponents of this branch of fencing
acted so quickly that their movements
could scarcely be followed though the
audience watched intently. A Senior
match followed between C. Cone and
H. Seligman. Their play was conserva-
tive, in very good form, and resulted in
the victory of Seligman, The epee exhi-
bition bout was of particular interest
because Mr. Boeckmans' opponent was
Dr. Herben, who showed a great deal
of skill in handling the different weapons.
The following Senior bout between
H. Seligman and A. Parkhurst, who
Jenced in excellent form, resulted in vic-
tory for the latter. Two Junior bouts
were next on the program. M. Hum-
phrey defeated R. Hatfield-in a rather
slow contest, and M. Brice defeated" A.'
Davison.
The final bout was an exhibition be-
tween A. Parkhurst and Miss Virginia
McCall. The quick, graceful match in
beautiful form was another success for
A. Parkhurst. At the end of the tourna-
ment the medals were awarded. In the
Senior group, A. Parkhurst received first
place, H. Seligmanr second, and A. Lord,
third. In the Junior group, first place
was awarded to M. Humphrey, second to
R.  Hatfield, third to M.  Brice.
Last Musical Service
.a Complete Success
The,last musical service of the Bryn
Mawr League was held on Sunday eve-
ning, May 12, in the Music Room of
Goodhart Hall. We are sure that every-
one will agree as to the success of these
sen-ices throughout the year, and .urge
their continuance next winter. The pro-
gram Sunday evening was as follows:
Professional   Hymn: "Hail the Day that
Sees Him Rise"�Tune "Ascension"
Organ:  "Air"   (from Orchestral Suite
in D), "Bouree" in D from the 4th
Orchestral  Suite
Bach
Prayers
Hymn:    "The   Eternal   Gates   Lift   Up
Their Heads "�Tune St   Magnus    ___
Choir: Prologue from "The Apostles,"
Elgar
Unfold Ye  Portals  (from the "Re-
demption" )                            Gounod
Recessional    Hymn:    "Our    Lord    Is
Risen  from  the  Dead"�Tune  "Duke
Street"
/*
Dresden  Amen.