We Give Below Clippings from the "Seminary Notes" of the Mt. Carroll Papers.
Miss Maud Elder is proving to Ise as good a businesswoman as musician, and is highly praised for her services at the bank at Concord, Ia.
Miss Mary Franklin has been entertaining some of her American friends in her home in Paris. She occasionally furnishes letters, while abroad, for The Woman's Week, published in Athens, Ga.
The Oread Society have recently been improving the looks of their rooms by new curtains. The Society is growing in numbers, new members are being received at every meeting. Further improvements in the way of furnishings are to be made soon.
The Y. W. C. A. monthly missionary meeting occurred Sunday evening, and was unusually well attended. The subject was, "Woman in Japan." Miss Winter and Miss Gordon are the chief members of the missionary committee, and make the meetings very interesting and helpful. Bible class has recently been organized, meeting Sunday afternoons. The Y. W. C. A. is proving a very helpful influence among us.
Mr. and Mrs. Hazzen spent a few days last week in the hospitable home of Prof. and Mrs. Hursh, in Sterling. Mrs. Hazzen went to Sterling to serve as the soprano soloist of the concert given Friday evening, by the Music Club of the city, under the charge of Prof. Rice. Mrs. Hazzen was very cordially received by the audience, made up of the most highly cultured of the city. Mrs. Hursh and Mrs. Jessie Miles Strickler are prominent members of the society. Both assisted in the concert: the former with her rich contralto voice, and the latter with her ready, sympathetic accompaniment, contributed their full share to the evening's entertainment.
Mrs. Rhoda B. Clark, a notice of whose death has already been given, was well known by many in our city, and recognized by them as a woman of unusual strength of character. The Watchman, published in Boston, says of her: "Since 1864 she has been with her only daughter, Miss Sarah B. Clark, in the four seminaries where she has taught, and in them she was greatly honored and beloved. In her extreme age she became quite feeble, and the last year was one of much suffering, but her cheerful submission, patience and tender regard for others made her life bright to the very last."
The following, cut from an Eastern paper, will interest the friends of Mrs. Alice Ives Breed, one of the Seminary Alumnae:
Women's Club—Reception of Guests from Boston and Other Places—Address by Lucy Stone—Music, Lunch, Etc.
The house of Mrs. Francis W. Breed, on Ocean street, was the scene, Thursday afternoon, of a gathering of the Women's Club of Lynn, and the reception of guests from the Women's Clubs of Boston and suburban cities and towns. Members came from the Boston Club, Northampton and Springfield Clubs, the Fortnightly Club of Roxbury, and from Malden, Melrose, East Boston, Winchester, Woburn, West Newton, Hyde Park, Cambridge, Swampscott, Salem, and the young Women's Club of Lynn, from Andover, Newburyport and Worcester. Among them were Mrs. Lucy Stone, whose nobility of character and grand life-work has made her great among famous women; Mrs. George W. Cable, wife of the author; Mrs. Maltby; Mrs. Haseltine, of the New England Women's Club, and Mrs. Robinson, of the National Advisory Board. An invitation to Charlotte Emerson Brown, of New Jersey, President of the National Federation, to which is attached all the Wmen's Clubs, including Sorosis, of New York, brought a letter of regret as did invitations extended to Julia Ward Howe, Mrs. E. H. Merrill and Sallie Joy White, of the Boston Women's Press Assoctation. Of the one hundred members of the Lynn Club, sixty-six were in attendance, and the visitors were forty-one in number.
The ladies of the Reception Committee were President Mrs. Mary E. Burnham, First Vice-President Mrs. F. W. Breed, Second Vice-President Mr. Roach, Secretary Mrs. Lummus, ex-Secretary Mrs. Sheldon, ex-President Mrs. Forman, and ex-Vice-Presidents Mrs. Ladd and Mrs. Dame. Mrs. Frank Keene was Directress of Carriages, and Mrs. William Keene officiated in the dining-room.
The exercises were partly formal and agreeably social. Mrs. Barnham, President of the Lynn Club, spoke briefly and pleasantly, introducing Mrs. Lucy Stone. Mrs. Stone's address was an admirable one, given in her usual expressive manner, carrying with it that sympathetic interest and instructive thought that will cause it to be remembered by her hearers. She was a center of attraction, and her presence here in these later days of her useful life was a distinguishing mark of honor to the club. Following her remarks came music, with Mrs. Breed singing; a duet by Mrs. and Miss Cummings, and two selections by Mrs. George F. Lord, Jr.
At the conclusion of the exercises the company repaired to the dining-room, where a tempting lunch was served by Valiquet. Afterward. with many expressions of the hearty enjoyment experienced and praise of the Lynn Club for its hospitality, and of Mrs. Breed as hostess, the out-of-town guests took carriages for the trains.
Mr. and Mrs. Hazzen were suddenly called to Lynn, Mass., in the spring by a message announcing the dangerous illness of Mrs. Hazzen's mother, Mrs. Dearborn. Though apparently held by the slenderest thread, she has crept back to life, her friends and the daughters who so tenderly cared for her. Only a few days after the return of Mr. and Mrs. Hazzen, Miss Redington was summoned to New Hampshire, to await but a day before the messenger took from her and her brother a fondly loved father. Vacation that was to unite friends had almost come, when the wires brought to Miss Hall the tidings that her older sister, who had been as a mother in the many years since her own had left her, had been suddenly called to that other life from which we are separated by barriers we may not remove.
Mrs. Shimer spent some time again this year in her much loved Florida. Since health and business make it a necessity that she should be in the South for awhile each year, it is a matter for rejoicing that she is so charmed by this land of, not only flowers, but luscious fruits and balmy breezes.
The Daily Times of Brunswick, Ga., some months ago, noticed Miss Preston pleasantly. We insert a part of the notice: "Miss Laura Preston, who had before been complimented by Brunswick's citizens for her splendid vocal talents, then sang 'Judith,' scene and aria, by Concone. Miss Preston, with her rich mezzo-soprano voice, surpasses any vocalist yet heard in Brunswick. Her singing last night was simply superb. She was recalled, when she sang 'Annie Laurie.'
We record with deep regret the death of Mrs. Helen Perrine Dey, Princeton, N. J., and Mrs. L. Wallace Patterson, a student of thirty-five years ago, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
A recent visit at Mt. Carroll gave me a better understanding and a higher appreciation of the work done in the Seminary. Of course space forbids ex-tended notice of the work done. I was much interested in the departments of art and music; it seemed to me that especially good work was done in the art department and upon correct principles. What was most gratifying, however, was the high spiritual tone of the school. There seemed to be no attempt to exercise authority, but all in attendance gave evidence that the authority of Christian character held sway. When I saw the beautiful grounds and felt the influence of the alumnae I could not refrain from hoping that Baptists might see their opportunity and endow the school in accordance with Mrs. Shimer's liberal proposition.
C. H. Moscrip.
—The Standard, June 18, 1891.
