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twigs, tied to a stick. There are brushes of every shape and size, and it is a common sight to see venders going from door to door with their carts laden with brushes and sponges, and scouring sand of all grades and colors.

The whole subject of smoking in Holland may be dismissed with just two words everybody smokes. But to be more precise I might add-and they smoke all the time. In a class room in one of the schools of the The Hague which I visited, I saw on the teacher's table, together with his hat and gloves, his cigarette still burning.

The Dutch language does not seem quite so impossible to us as it did at first when the words suggested nothing and we could not even try to pronounce them. A day or two after we arrived, I noticed on the gate of a particularly handsome villa a neatly painted sign, "Boodschappen aan de Kukendeur lenks. Gelieve het Hek te sluiten." It had such an interesting look, as all the signs here have, for some reason, that I carefully copied it and took it home for Dr. H. to translate, thinking I might have made a discovery about our neighborhood. It proved to be Messengers to the kitchen door to the left. Please shut the gate." It was my first Dutch lesson.

In almost every shop there is someone who can speak at least a little English and when we start off in bad Dutch or French, we are not infrequently met with, "Can you speak English?” It seems to be their general custom to answer affirmatively all questions and remarks not fully understood. I asked a man the other day which of two things he considered better. He looked thoughtful for a moment, smiled, and then replied, "Yes." I told him I wished to take part of my purchases home with me. "Yes," he said and waited for me to go. At another time I said, "I do not care for this, I do not think it is pretty." "Yes, it is pretty," was the reply in the usual even tone, as though he agreed with me entirely. | We have been fortunate in meeting socially the members of a number of Dutch families, and these we have found most charming in their warm-hearted hospitality. There was the attractive young teacher and the practical philanthropist; the Little Minister," as we like to call him, who from his island home in South Holland went a year or two ago to give lectures at Woodbrooke; the wholly womanly young woman lawyer; the fine lady whose house is a treasury of masterpieces in oils, carved chests, splendid brasses and rare old china; the author who is just publishing a book on her recent visit to America; the aristocrat, and by no means last, the real homemaker-these have received us cordially and made us feel it was their pleasure to do so.

They all speak English-otherwise our conversations would have been limited indeed-and speak it well. Only now and then such expressions creep in as "You would prefer this, is it not?" and The plural of the people do so and so." Very few of those we have met have been to America and they seem to think the journey such a great undertaking as to be quite out of the question for them.

And now, only a few more days and our six months in Holland will be a thing of the past, a bright and happy memory of golden days, of green meadows and still waters, of wind-mills and redroofed cottages, of kindly greetings and friendly hospitality. While Paris, with, its inexhaustible interests is tugging at our thoughts, urging us to hasten thither, our hearts still belong wholly to Holland, and we shall leave with loving regret this place which it has been easy to call our home. BERTHA L. BROOMELL

23 Oude Scheveningsche Weg.,

The Hague, December, 1907.

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of his poetry came not out of the spirit of the Orthodox Friends, but by way of protest against their grim and narrow conception of God and.. duty. "The Eternal Goodness was written in pain and sorrow because he was obliged in his religious thinking to part company with many with whom his feet had trod the silent aisles of prayer. of prayer. Because of his wonderful poems of faith, it is perhaps safe to say that he has done more to make saints tolerant, religion friendly, and the churches liberal than any theologian in America. The "low sweet prelude " of his thought found its way into the hearts of thousands who were relieved from the shadows cast by clouds of doubt and creeds of fear. His denunciations of his fellowmen will be forgotten, but his ascriptions of praise to the eternal goodness will abide and cheer the hearts of men through many generations.

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--Christian Register (Boston).

20

FRIENDS' INTELLIGENCER.

"A LOST OPPORTUNITY.”
(Concluded from last week.)

From two widely distant points in Ohio we have received copies of an editorial in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. One of these Friends writes, "Of one thing I feel very certain and that is that Swarthmore College will in the end regret its decision. My opinion is that Swarthmore will find that she has lost very much of the moral support of the well-grounded Friends and with it the financial and material support she has enjoyed from them. I know very well that by her action the Society of Friends of our branch will suffer in the public mind, for they will get the credit, unjustly, of being inconsistent. Many of us are disgusted." The editorial was, in part, as follows:

Until it can be shown that athletics are more than a mere incident of a college course, there will be very many to hesitate before giving in adhesion to the soundness of the motives which impelled the decision. Young men do not matriculate for athletic, but for academic purposes. If the bequest had been coupled with a condition which would have determined the academic policy of Swarthmore for all time, its acceptance would have been a surrender of the rights and the duties of the governing authorities of the institution. But it embraced in its terms merely an incident of college life which brings fame and credit and renown in athletic circles, but counts for nothing when cap and gown are considered, and they are the first and the last consideration. There was no intention, expressed or implied, on the part of the testatrix to encroach upon the established educational policy of Swarthmore. On the contrary, the intent and the design were to aid in the widening of that policy by saving the time spent by the student body in the part taken by it in intercollegiate football.

In refusing the bequest because they held that it would have determined the educational policy of Swarthmore, the trustees of the institution have advanced the gridiron to the plane of Messrs. Euclid and Sallust and Virgil and Homer and Euripides and the rest of them. Swarthmore ought to add another to the honors it has hitherto bestowed on Commencement Day. Bachelor of Football, for instance, or Doctor of the Gridiron.

A Friend brought up in the Middle West, but for many years resident in the East, calls our attention to the following from an editorial in the Brooklyn Daily Times:

The estate in question is variously estimated. It is worth at least $1,000,000. It may be worth $3,000,000. In time it may prove to be even more valuable. A large gift of this kind is no offer to be rejected heedlessly by a small college. It means much for material development. It means great opportunity in many directions. But in this case, the gift means the surrender of all events between Swarthmore and all other colleges. That means the practical death of athletics in this particular college. Athletic teams and crews train principally for the purpose of meeting men from other colleges. While there are events between the different men and classes within the one college, such events are principally aimed to develop

[First month 11, 1908

men for the purpose of competing with the athletes of other institutions. The college that gives up absolutely all intercollegiate sport surrenders the vital flame which inspires all athletics. If Swarthmore accepts this gift, Swarthmore will become a college in which athletics will play a most unimportant part.

do.

This naturally leads to the question, Do athletics justify themselves? The almost universal opinion is that they The good athlete is nearly always a good student. With a healthy body goes a healthy mind. Some athletic games develop the mind as surely as do mathematics or Greek or logic or any other subject in the curriculum.

Most of the college presidents addressed declare that Swarthmore should not surrender her liberty for a cash payment. There is a ring about that utterance that will catch the ear of most listeners. But it is an idle warr ing. If a wealthy woman wants to leave her money to an institution on condition that what she regards as obnoxious in that and similar institutions shall be eliminated she is justified. If the college desires to accept, may it not do so, and conform to the donor's wishes? Swarthmore's surrender of intercollegiates will not injure the nation. It will not injure higher education. It will bind the future trustees of the college within certain limits, but the future owners of institutions of all kinds are similarly bound. Companies are formed under charters which are accepted carrying limitations upon unrestricted liberty. There are colleges which cannot have as professors any not professing the Catholic belief. Colleges continually accept bequests which can be used only for specified purposes. Their future Boards of Officers are bound by these pledges just as and no more than would Swarthmore be under the present offer.

If

It might be well for Swarthmore to accept this gift. She might develop some system of athletics, if put to it, that would be preferable to intercollegiate sport. Her trustees should well consider the relationship of the value of this offer to her present wealth and endowments. this gift means a doubling of Swarthmore's resources, it should not be hastily rejected. For will not greater scholastic attractions serve to draw students more than intercollegiate sport? Which, after all, is the dominating factor in bringing matriculants to such a college? Extracts from other letters follow:

"In the discussion of this question, stress has been laid upon the objection to receiving the gift, that the College should not submit itself, for all time, to the "ruling of a dead hand." This is rather a sophistical than a clearly rational argumentative phrase, that often tends to obscure the perception of truth.

"The question at issue, in this instance, is-does the restriction relating to the acceptance of the Jeanes legacy, involve a problem of morals, or of expediency? If it be a problem of morals, then there should be no hesitation whatever, in refusing the gift. If in the slightest degree its acceptance would involve the binding of the consciences of the Mangers, the Faculty, or the Students of Swarthmore College now, or at any future time, then the bequest should be rejected whether it be three millions of dollars, or a single dollar.

"But the discussion has thus far revealed, it seems to me, the fact that it is not a question of morals, but is, instead, a question of expediency. This I infer from the following evidence:

"(1.) In the discussion of the subject by the Students and Alumni of the college, so far as I have heard, the principal argument that has been advanced is that Swarthmore's fame on the athletic field has been a very prominent factor in making the College popular with young men, who are making their choice of the college they will enter.

(2). The Board of Managers has appointed a committee to ascertain the value of the gift, whether it be a million, more or less.

'(3.) President Swain, in a letter to the Board, suggested the acceptance of the gift for a term of years, conditionally, to see how it shall affect the welfare of the College, to be returned if it prove disadvantageous.

'Certainly all of these evidences go to show the consideration of the subject has been from the standpoint of its expediency rather than of its ethical bearing.

"The President of Cornell, in emphasizing his reason for thinking Swarthmore should not accept the gift, states that Cornell has found great value in the practice of military drill, and indicates that he would be unwilling to accept a gift that involved the discontinuance of this by Cornell's students. Would the Swarthmore Board have hesitated to accept the legacy had this been the provision of acceptance in the Jeanes will?

"If a moral question is involved may there be no delay in casting aside the temptation; if of expediency only, may the most deliberate judgment be exercised." WM. M. JACKSON.

New York City.

" In all discussions relative to accepting the Anna T. Jeanes bequest to Swarthmore College, I notice that great stress is laid upon the probable amount of money which may come to the College from that source. I am extremely sorry to see the matter placed upon this basis. The present policy of Swarthmore College toward intercollegiate athletics is either right or wrong. If it is right, it should not be changed in order to obtain any sum of money; if it is wrong, as I personally believe it is, it should be changed at once irrespective of the financial aspect.

“Those of us who know much about the attitude of Friends on this question know that a large majority of our membership is opposed to the present state of intercollegiate athletics in Swarthmore, but outsiders do not know that this feeling exists in our Society. It, therefore, appears to them that the College is being bribed to give up something that it believes to be right. Such an Such an

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"As I understand the terms of the will of Anna Jeanes, they do not affect athletics as practised in the College, but only the intercollegiate games and contests. If I remember aright, athletics were introduced in this college and others for the purpose of recreation, relaxation from too close mental study, often to the detriment of physical health, and it was thought this change to occasional out door life and sports, would be an advantage, which it has proved to be, and therefore should be continued in moderation. But this can be carried on without the undue excitement, the engrossment of mind, the absorption of time, the strenuous preparation, that necessarily attend the intercollegiate contests, for in these every participant feels that on him perhaps depends victory or defeat, and his pride being thus aroused, he exerts himself that his side may "beat," consequently diverting his thoughts and stealing his time from his legitimate studies. Can one doubt the result, generally?

"If Swarthmore were a college for the training of athletes primarily, and secondarily for the culture of the mind, it would put a different aspect on the matter, but certainly this was not the original intent of its founders.

"It is a fine thing to have a stainless reputation -better still to have a good character; when the two are combined, how grand a union. Swarthmore, so far, has enjoyed both of these; let her not sully them by openly avowing a preference for athletic contests, to the wonderful advantages this munificent gift would bestow on her students, many of whom are young women, debarred by sex and custom from indulging in these games, and consequently if this gift is rejected, they are the losers, and only their brothers the gainers, thus making the college, not a real co-educational institute but one for men only. The whole country is looking on, waiting, as it were with bated breath, the decision of the Board, and so far as I have read the newspaper comments, hoping the gift will be accepted, and speaking in no complimentary terms of the college, if rejected.

"Friends have always stood for the 'higher education.' The name of Friend or Quaker, is almost a ̄synonym for that term. Let us not degrade it, for fear that by accepting this condition

22

FRIENDS' INTELLIGENCER.

al bequest, it will pave the way for other bequests that might bind to a policy morally wrong, for it in no wise can interfere with the acceptance or rejection of any future gift, conditional or otherwise. The conscience of the Board is not bound, or its free thought hampered for the future by its present action. It does not interdict change for all time to come.

"While it is true that ‘a college should be loyal to its students, and its friends,' has it necessarily to pledge loyalty to its alumni? Has it not shown its loyalty to them in the past and does the fact that they were once its pupils, pledge allegiance to their views for all time to come.

"It is a serious question, and it is my hope that those concerned may be guided by best wisdom in their decision, for so much depends on it, not only now but in the future." ELIZABETH H. COALE. Nashville, Tenn.

"I have been more or less interested in the articles appearing in the Intelligencer relating to the conditional gift of Anna T. Jeanes. It appears the negative answer is founded not upon the merits of intercollegiate sports, but upon college freedom; this reminds one of what temperance workers have heard for the last quarter of a century. Local option is not opposed upon the ground that drinking intoxicants is right, or that the more liquor consumed the better for the community, but solely upon finance and personal liberty, many well meaning men claiming that if we allow our liberty to be taken it establishes a governmental policy and another liberty will soon be demanded, until Democratic institutions will defeat their own aims and purposes. We however are unable to see the danger, as it establishes no policy binding upon future generations, and we can safely trust the freedom of fundamentals that underlie life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the enlightened moral sentiment of American citizenship.

"If these be facts we are unable to understand why they cease to be facts when applied to a college. Is the enlightened judgment of college trustees inferior or less dependable than that of citizenship in general? I do not think, whatever the decision may be, that it will establish a policy curtailing college freedom in the least degree except in the one specific particular, but will allow college trustees to act with perfect freedom as to what they consider its best interests unfettered by any action on the part of their predecessors.

If intercollegiate athletics are particularly beneficial to college students as a whole, developing their physical, moral and intellectual possibilities, do not barter them away for any money considerations; if, on the other hand, it requires a micro

[First month 11, 1908

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If there has been but little printed expression from Friends in this locality, in reference to the Jeanes conditional bequest to Swarthmore College, it has not been in consequence of a want of interest in the matter, but because through the comments given from so many sections of Friendly centers, the preponderating sentiments of which seemed to be so favorable to its acceptance, we deemed further expression unnecessary.

It is not now proposed to reproduce the weighty arguments favorable to its acceptance; but having recently learned that the town of Hudson, Ohio, the home of the old Western Reserve College, which has been noted for its "wet" proclivities, had, by a large majority, voted “dry” at a late election, in order that it might secure a donation of $200,000 offered by one of its philanthropic sons, upon condition that the sale of intoxicants should be debarred from the place, and as the college there was to be benefitted thereby to a considerable amount, we thought there was sufficient similarity between these conditions and what seems to prevail at Swarthmore to warrant their presentation for our reflection. We presume that the action at Hudson would by Friends be universally commended: and that we would still commend if it was necessary to bind the town to such an abstemious course for all time; when it was obvious that the gift would result in such advantage to the college, and in the establishing of electric and gas plants and a sewage system for the city. for the city. We believe a great majority of the Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, while admitting the necessity for moderate athletic exercises cannot but recognize that intellectual culture is the fundamental object for which the college was organized; and very many of us are led to believe through observation and experience with those in whom we are interested, that the craze produced by the intercollegiate contests and the attending excitement, is not conducive to the intellectual and moral development of those connected with the contesting teams. When such an opportunity is presented for relieving the financial stringency of those who feel the need of reduced rates to our educational institutions, it

seems to us that the question of intercollegiate contests is worthy of but little consideration and should in no way mar the beneficent project of our worthy benefactress. I curb a feeling to enlarge on what has already been well discussed and trust the wisdom displayed at Hudson, may have its counterpart at Swarthmore.

Avondale, Chester Co., Pa. AUGUSTUS BROSIUS. As the managers of Swarthmore College seem to be somewhat in doubt as to receiving the legacy, I can suggest a plan. After the class of '07 have graduated, make Swarthmore a woman's college. The high tide of co-education has been reached, followed by a period of slack water, and now the ebb has set in. Those who have watched must have observed the change."

Westbury, Long Island, N. Y. ISAAC H. Cocks.

FIRST-DAY SCHOOL GENERAL
EXERCISES-II.

Ethical lessons that impress truths of which we all need constant reminder, find a natural place in general First-day school exercises. The use of objects and the blackboard to impress such lessons is often profitable. Many teachers are timid about this kind of work because they feel the lack of technical skill in drawing. We need to entirely disabuse our minds of the idea that the successful use of the blackboard depends upon mechanical or artistic ability. Experience has abundantly shown that the crudest diagrams and illustrations appeal to the minds of observers with quite as much ethical force as more elaborate pictures. The same quality of mind that enables a child to see sets of dishes in a few clam shells, and to attribute volition to her dolls, helps children to see in the imperfect outline on the blackboard the thing it is meant to represent; moreover the real purpose of the drawing is only to suggest a line of thinking and help to keep the children's interest and attention on it.

Everybody then can draw well enough to make use, to some extent, of graphic illustration in the First-day school. If the superintendent or teacher has confidence to draw on the blackboard as he explains his thought, he will more surely hold the interest of the school. We all like to see things evolve before our very eyes. Those who do not Those who do not feel equal to this, may attain fairly satisfactory results in interest and attention by preparing the work beforehand which is used during the school session.

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salient features should be dwelt upon. Strained or complicated parallelism should be avoided. In general only one central thought should be deduced from the lesson and that should be made so emphatic that the attention of the school-will not rest mainly upon the picture on the blackboard instead of upon the thought lying back of it.

The writer heard William I. Hull give a blackboard lesson many years ago whose principal features are still fresh in memory. He represented in outline the state of Pennsylvania and showed in the western part a chalk line to represent at certain seasons of the years, the muddy waters of the Monongahela River, while a white one stood for the sometimes clear waters of the Allegheny. He called attention to the fact that where the two rivers merge into the Ohio, the water on either side of the river at first keeps the characteristics of the inflowing streams, but soon the clear water becomes tinged with the muddy color of the southern tributary and the entire Ohio takes on the likeness of the muddy Monongahela. So it is in our lives. If we try to live half good and half bad, eventually the evil tendencies will obscure the image of divine impress on our lives. We cannot generally do right and sometimes do wrong with impunity. This lesson is simplicity itself; the subject is familiar, the drawing without elaboration, elaboration, the application single, striking and direct. It is cited as containing the typical requirements for an effective les

son.

Specific lessons will be offered occasionally in this department if there is a desire to have this done. done. Teachers who have successfully carried on this work are invited to contribute subjects and lessons for the benefit of others. No one need to hesitate to use in First-day school an illustration which has been thought of and used elsewhere. The diffusion of ethical knowledge is nowhere held in check by copyright.

Stories have a place in the general exercises also. If they are told rather than read, they possess an element of vigor and vitality which can never be transmitted in book phraseology. They should be short, clear and with a balance in the conclusion in favor of the triumph of right, rather than with an expressed moral. Stories told merely because they contain some centre of exciting interest which holds the attention of the school, have no place in First-day school exercises. Whenever introduced they should be chosen to impress or illustrate some definite contribution to our education. Teachers who know of satisfactory sources from which to obtain groups of suitable stories are invited to share their knowledge with

In selecting a subject for illustration, care should be taken to choose something familiar to the pupils, and with possibilities of very direct application. In making the application only really | us.

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