The Complete Club Book for Women Part 2

IV--GEORGIA

Georgia, the most southerly of the colonies, is famous because of one man, James Edward Oglethorpe, the soldier, statesman, and philanthropist. He planned to make it a refuge for all persecuted Protestants of Europe, one where debtors of good family could come and make an honest living, and where criminals might begin life anew; it was to be the poor man's paradise.

One hundred and fourteen persons came over with him, and in six weeks Savannah was laid out, and clearing and building begun. The story reads like a romance. All went well till lazy and shiftless immigrants arrived to enjoy the paradise also. Oglethorpe returned to England for a time, taking several Indian chiefs with him. Read of their visit to court. He returned with John and Charles Wesley.

But trouble with Spain was at hand; war followed, and Oglethorpe again went to England and never came back. Slave holding, before prohibited, was now permitted; plantations grew up, commerce developed, and an era of prosperity was established. Read "Doris Kingsley," by Emma Rayner (Small, Maynard & Co.).

V--THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

Before turning to the north, to the study of the New England colonies, clubs should take rather thoroughly the history of England in the seventeenth century and familiarize themselves with conditions there, and also in Holland.

After this will come the well-known story of the voyage of the _Mayflower_, the landing of the Pilgrims, and the establishment of the first little settlement. Read of the leaders, John Carver, William Bradford, Standish, Winslow, and Alden, and of the first winter.

The great advantage Ma.s.sachusetts had over all other colonies lay in the fact of the great Puritan emigration from England. Earnest, intelligent, devoted people of high ideals made up the great bulk of the settlers.

Note the fact of the growing religious intolerance of the Puritans; one meeting may be spent on this topic. Speak of Ann Hutchinson and Roger Williams, the harsh treatment of the Quakers, and of witchcraft. Have readings showing how the belief in the last grew, and its terrible results. Read from Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter."

Next take these New England colonies in the order of their settlement, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and show the differences in them.

Notice how, in Ma.s.sachusetts, the vote was given to church members only, while in Connecticut it was given to all citizens. Read of education in New England, of schools, of the founding of Harvard and Yale colleges.

Have a paper on Cotton Mather, Thomas Hooker, and Davenport. Describe the Town Meeting. Have a paper also on the Indians, and discuss the Pequot War, the Deerfield Ma.s.sacre, and similar events.

Close this study with an appreciation of the character of the men and women of New England. Read from "Men, Women and Manners in Colonial Times," by Sidney G. Fisher (Lippincott), "Customs and Fashions in Old New England," by Alice Morse Earle (Scribner), "Home life in Colonial Days," and "Child Life in Colonial Days," by the same author (Macmillan), and "Soldier Rigdale," by Beulah M. Dix (Macmillan).

Several meetings may take up furniture, pewter, china, silver, old coverlets, embroidered linen, and the like. Read "The Quest of the Colonial," by Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton (Century Co.), and "Colonial Furniture in America," by L. V. Lockwood (Scribner).

VI--NEW AMSTERDAM

Between New England and Virginia lay several colonies, the most important, New Amsterdam. Preface its study with one paper on Holland at the time. Then describe the coming of the little _Half Moon_, the voyage up the Hudson, and the friendliness of the Indians shown here, as in each of the different colonies at the beginning of their history. Three settlements were soon made, one at Fort Orange, now New York, one at Fort Na.s.sau, now Albany, and a third in New Jersey across from Fort Orange. Tell how in a few years there were farms with stone houses, churches, schools, and a regular system of fur trade with the Indians which brought in huge yearly revenues. Three papers may be on the governors Minuit, Van Twiller, and Kieft, noting their unlikeness, and what each accomplished. A fourth paper may describe the patroon system and compare it with that of other colonies.

The interesting figure of Stuyvesant, and his times, in New Amsterdam, should have a meeting. Others may take up the coming of negro slaves, the establishment of settlements on the Hudson, the trouble with Long Island and its English settlers, the appearance of the English fleet, the surrender of New Amsterdam, and the taking of the oath of allegiance.

Have a description of life in Dutch New York and Albany and on Long Island. The famous siege of Lady Moody's house at Gravesend and its defense by forty Englishmen is also of interest.

Discuss the topic: What did the Dutch settlers give to the American people? Compare them with the Southern and New England colonists, showing that they gave substantial virtues but lacked the love of beauty shown by the Virginians and the idealism of the Puritans. Read "The Dutchman's Fireside," by J. K. Paulding (Scribner), "Free to Serve," by Emma Rayner (The Page Company), "The Begum's Daughter," by E. L. Bynner (Houghton Mifflin Co.), and "The Bow of Orange Ribbon," by Amelia E.

Barr (Dodd, Mead & Co.).

VII--NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE

The early history of New Jersey is closely connected with that of New Amsterdam. It was settled by the Dutch; after the coming of the English, however, the land was given by the Crown to the Carterets, and as they were from the Island of Jersey French settlers came over with them. The Dutch, a handful of Puritans, and some Swedes who had settled inland, soon began to quarrel among themselves.

Major Edmund Andros, the governor of New York, jealous of the growing power of his neighbors, kidnapped the governor of New Jersey and made him a prisoner. Read the story of his trial and return. Turn next to that part of Jersey on the edge of Delaware and notice how it was bought and settled by Quakers. Have a sketch of Fenwick, the pioneer, and of the coming of new colonists, the influence of Penn on the government, and how the two parts of Jersey were taken under the Crown and governors sent from England, who ruled with uncertain success. Note the founding of Princeton College later, and the growth of the colony in prosperity.

Delaware was coveted by three nations: the Dutch claimed it, the Swedes acquired it, and the English were given it. One paper may tell of Minuit and his rule, and another take up the invasion of Peter Stuyvesant, the fall of the fort, and the surrender of the Swedes. Then came ten years of Dutch rule, which is an interesting chapter of history, for the colony came into collision with Maryland. From this point on there is constant bickering and struggle until the coming of the English. Read of Lovelace and his famous house, and the story of Jacobson and how, later, the English almost effaced the Dutch in Delaware, changing even the names of the towns to English. Read "In Castle and Colony," by Emma Rayner (Stone, Chicago).

VIII--PENNSYLVANIA

The story of the settlement of Pennsylvania by William Penn and his Quaker friends is familiar to every one. Aided by money given by the King and welcomed by the Dutch, who had many settlements, he established himself on fifty thousand acres of land, and sent word to those in England to come to him. The a.s.sembly soon met, and the remarkable doc.u.ment known as the Great Law of Pennsylvania was drawn up; clubs should read the substance of this.

The Mennonites, a religious sect from Germany, soon settled in the colony and greatly influenced its future, as did the Germans who came later from the Palatinate, an industrious, frugal people, who printed the first Bible in America and first protested against slavery. Read from "The Germans in Colonial Times," by Lucy F. Bittinger (Lippincott).

CHAPTER IV

SOME POETS OF TO-DAY

Our day is a time when more good verse is being written than ever before, much of it in our own country. The yearly output in English alone is enormous, and much of it is so strong, so original, that club women should certainly familiarize themselves with it.

To study the subject intelligently there may be a preliminary course on modern poetry and its criticism, using these books, in part or whole: "Studies in Poetry and Criticism," by Arthur Symons (Bell), "An Introduction to Poetry," by R. M. Alden (Henry Holt & Co.), "The Enjoyment of Poetry," by Max Eastman (Scribner), and "Lectures on Poetry," by A. C. Bradley (Macmillan).

As the modern poets are studied, have plenty of ill.u.s.trative readings from the works of each one. Selections will be found in "Poets of the Younger Generation," by William Archer (John Lane Co.), and two volumes edited by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse, "The Younger American Poets"

(Little, Brown & Co.) and "The Little Book of Modern Verse" (Houghton Mifflin). Also "The Lyric Year," edited by Ferdinand Earle (Mitch.e.l.l Kennerley), will be found helpful. There are three magazines which constantly present the best new work of our poets, _Poet Lore_, _Poetry_, and _The Poetry Journal_.

It is of course extremely difficult to cla.s.sify the writings of poets, because few devote themselves to one style of verse alone. The writer of dramatic poetry will sometimes write lyrics, and the author of philosophical verse will write poems about nature. But for this study the princ.i.p.al work of each poet has been selected, with references to what else has been done by him.

I--INTRODUCTORY

Before beginning with the regular program for the year clubs should devote one or two meetings, as has been suggested, to the study of poetry as a whole. Then there should follow two more on the history of poetry, showing that all early national expression takes this form; ill.u.s.trate with readings from the Vedic Hymns (translated in Warner's "Library of the World's Best Literature"), and the "Song of Miriam" from the Hebrew, in the Bible. Have papers on the great epics, also, with readings from the "Iliad," the "Odyssey," the "aeneid," the "Nibelungenlied," the "Divine Comedy," the Arthurian cycle and "Paradise Lost."

Turning then to the poetry of to-day, notice that its spirit is something quite new. It is individual. It aims at truth and realism. In much of it there is a great moral purpose--the pa.s.sion for justice.

The form of modern poetry is also largely new. Rhymed monologues, long narratives, and especially dramatic poems are frequent. Read to ill.u.s.trate this, "The New Poetry," by James Oppenheim, in Volume 22 of _Poet Lore_.

Following this, take up in several meetings the topic of dramatic poetry.

II--DRAMATIC POETRY

An early meeting should study the comparison of poetry and prose in plays, and the question, Is poetry acceptable on the stage? What are its limitations? There should also be a paper on the versified plays of to-day as contrasted with those of two centuries ago. Following these may be a study of several dramatic poets of to-day.

Percy Mackaye has some strong work: "Fenris the Wolf," "Jeanne d'Arc,"

"The Canterbury Pilgrims," and "The Scarecrow" are all worth reading.

Present selections from each. Stephen Phillips, an Englishman, has some splendid, vital dramas. His best is "Paolo and Francesca," but both "Herod" and "Ulysses" are to be studied. Read from all three. His experience as an actor has made his plays especially suited to the stage.

Richard Hovey has chosen the Arthurian cycle as his inspiration, and presents the mediaeval spirit with unusual faithfulness; he keeps nearer to Mallory than Tennyson did. Read "The Quest of Merlin," and "The Marriage of Guenever."

Among women poets Sara King Wiley has two dramatic poems of note, "Alcestis," and "The Coming of Philibert." Josephine Preston Peabody (Mrs. Marks) took the Shakespearean prize for "The Piper," which was performed at Stratford. Lately she has written another drama, "The Singing Man," full of beauty. Read from this, and also from her short poems.

III--POEMS WITH CLa.s.sICAL AND ROMANTIC THEMES

Among the poets of the last generation Keats, Sh.e.l.ley, Browning and Swinburne chose cla.s.sical themes, and Byron and Tennyson took romantic.