REPORTS AND QUESTIONS.
Dr. Vincent: There are persons in this world who unite in purely literary and intellectual enterprises. The union creates a sort of literary friendship. There are people who unite in sympathy, loving a common object, sharing in sorrow, sharing in joy, creating a friendship full of sentiment. There are people in this world who are united in practical efforts. They have a common aim. They agree upon a method; they coöperate for the result, and this is practical friendship.
The charm of the C. L. S. C. is found in this, that it is a union in intellectual and literary activity, a union in affection, a union in practical aim and service. It aims to do three things:—To cultivate the intellect, to cultivate the heart, and to develop the executive forces of our natures. By this three-fold bond we are united as members of the C. L. S. C. We meet this glad day in this beautiful grove, under the play of this charming sunshine; we meet to remember, we meet to rejoice, we meet to resolve. And as the years go by may our memories grow sweeter, our rejoicing more intense, and our resolves stronger. And as we meet from year to year “to study the words and the works of God,” let us try “to keep our Heavenly Father in the midst.” The blending of the mottoes, felicitous only as a blending of mottoes, does not express the whole theological truth I would convey.
Mr. Robertson said, in writing one of his charming letters to his brother, “I have through all these years been seeking God, and I am just awakening to the fact that all these years it is God who has been seeking me.” We need not try to keep our Heavenly Father in the midst. In the boundlessness of his grace, he is glad to come into the midst and here to abide, and if we have any longing of heart after him, however feeble it may be, it is because he is already there, breathing into us his own life, and giving to us a measure of his own joy. Let us pray to him.
We thank thee, our Father, that through the year thou hast been with us, and that thou hast guided us; that in hours of prosperity thou hast held us, and in hours of sorrow thou hast given us comfort. And on this beautiful afternoon, in this sacred place, we meet and make mention of thy name and of thy love. We thank thee for thy great kindness to us. We confess our great sinfulness against thee, and our utter unworthiness before thee. We ask for the gifts of grace which thou art ready to bestow, and we open our hearts by the leadings of thy spirit, that thy spirit may enter in and abide with us.
Bless the homes we represent; bless the circles of which we are members; bless the vast sweep of the circle with which we are connected, and may all the members of our fraternity have thy presence and thy grace. And with all their seeking, may they seek spiritual power, and seeking, may they find. Enlighten our understanding with thy wisdom, inspire our hearts with thy love; strengthen our wills with all holy purposes. Bring us after these reunions, and after the separations, after all the joys and sorrows, the gains and the losses of human life, into thine own immediate presence, and we shall praise thee, the only God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
After a song Dr. Vincent said:
Is any body here from Monteagle? Are any here who were present this year at Lakeside, Monona Lake, Lake Bluff, Ocean Grove? Have we any one here who could make us a brief report of the C. L. S. C. work at any of these assemblies? Where is Dr. Hurlbut? Kansas Assembly—Dr. Hurlbut presided there.
Dr. Hurlbut: I would state that we recognized the C. L. S. C. at Kansas, and we had a very pleasant time. When we called for the members of the C. L. S. C. to have a meeting I found but five, but we had a Round-Table. And the next day we had twenty present, and when we came to the day for the recognition of the members of ’83, we found three members of the class. We marched the three members of ’83 in procession, and took them down to the tabernacle and made a speech to them. We had a number of Round-Tables, and distributed the circulars, and a great many people said that they were going to join. This was in Ottawa, Kansas.
On the afternoon of graduation an address was delivered by Dr. G. P. Hays, an old Chautauquan, who delivered an admirable address. In the evening we had a camp fire, and though there were only about twenty members present, we had a fine camp fire. We had a good place to hold it, and we gave notice that we would admit no one but members of the C. L. S. C., but we made an exception that any who wished to join, or if they had any friends whom they wished to represent, or if there were any members of the C. L. S. C. in the towns where they lived, they might come. We made a procession three hundred strong by actual count, all interested in the C. L. S. C., to a greater or less degree. We had some interesting addresses. Mr. Hatch, a member of the C. L. S. C. of that city, made a very interesting address, and Dr. Hays spoke, and one or two others from the places around, and we had a few solemn words from Prof. Sherwin, and a few more solemn words from Prof. Beard. At the close of the camp fire we found that the C. L. S. C. stock had gone up above par. People wanted to know all about it. One old gentleman from the country came up to the president and said that he did not know any thing about this C. L. S. C. that we were talking about, but he was going to join if it did not cost more than a dollar, and he joined that night. You will find that the next year there will be over two hundred members of the C. L. S. C. present.
Dr. Vincent: That is a very refreshing report in every sense.
Dr. Hurlbut: I could tell you all about Island Park.
Dr. Vincent: Let us hear from that.
A gentleman: I could tell you about Monteagle.
Dr. Vincent: Let us hear it.
A gentleman: There were some sixteen or eighteen of the C. L. S. C. present. We did not have very many meetings, but we met once or twice and agreed to form a procession and give Dr. Vincent a welcome when he came. This we did. We met in a body and called on him, and had a very pleasant talk from him.
Dr. Vincent: That was not all that was done by the C. L. S. C. at Monteagle. I was greeted very warmly by the C. L. S. C. members at Monteagle. I found Monteagle literally a very high place, something over 2000 feet above the sea. To my surprise there were more than twenty members of the C. L. S. C. at our Round-Table. Going up the mountain on the railway a young gentleman came to me and introduced himself. He said, “I am a member of the C. L. S. C., and my sister is a member. She is on the train, and very anxious to see you.” I saw her, and found her to be an enthusiastic C. L. S. C. She knew all about the Memorial Days, and knew all about everything in connection with the C. L. S. C. work, the C. L. S. C. column, the news from the various states, the mottoes, and all the special directions that had been given. She had read all the reading for the year and much on the Seal Course. I think she had completed the White Crystal Seal. She said she was all alone in the town where she lived. She had done everything that was required, even to the buying a badge, and wearing it, and observing the five o’clock hour. She said that next year there would be a large number from her town.
I am always afraid of obtruding Chautauqua on these other centers, lest they suggest that Chautauqua be a little more modest. I therefore do not allow the name to be used too much.
Dr. Hurlbut: In Kansas, I know that one person wrote to a newspaper and said that there was one evil that ought to be nipped in the bud. He said that this evil was the peddling around of Chautauqua ideas by professionals through the country.
Dr. Vincent: I am always sensitive about speaking too much of Chautauqua. At Lakeside I made my first speech without naming Chautauqua, and I did the same at Framingham, until others came to me and said that I need not be so particular, that they considered themselves in some degree a part of Chautauqua. I found the same spirit at Monteagle. I did not see a thing, or hear a syllable at Monteagle, that did not indicate a hearty sympathy with the Chautauqua work. I never was more royally treated.
At one Round-Table on errors of speech they criticised several of my mispronunciations, and what was the worst of it, when I sent for Webster, Webster sustained those southerners. They got an idea that I rather enjoyed the pointing out of my errors. We had a good time in the correction of errors in speech. We had also a recognition speech. We formed in procession, one graduate of ’83, and I had the satisfaction of extending the right hand of fellowship to the one in the procession at that service.
Mr. Van Lennep told me that they kept up their Round-Tables every day until the close of the Assembly, and that they numbered seventy strong and raised a fund of $500 toward building a hall of philosophy at Monteagle. (Applause.)
This is a sort of reunion meeting; for songs, for questions, for statements of difficulties, and for reports. Are there any large local circles represented here? Is there a local circle of one hundred members represented here to-day? Let the leader of that circle stand up and raise the hand. Are there any? Mr. Martin, of Pittsburgh, has such a circle.
Mr. Martin: I would say that we have a circle in Pittsburgh that has enrolled something like seven or eight hundred members altogether. Occasionally one or two hundred of them will drop out, so we do not claim that we have a circle quite up to that number all the time. We have fifty-four graduates enrolled as a sort of executive committee to keep up our Local Circle movement. We have monthly meetings, and also have numerous weekly meetings in different parts of the city. These weekly meetings are usually reported to the central circle, and the members attend more or less at our monthly meetings.
As an alumni association, we have got up on a little higher plane, and during the past year we held three meetings. Our first meeting was a reunion and banquet at one of the leading hotels. Our second meeting was a very enthusiastic one, conducted by the members of the alumni association in the eastern part of our city. At our last and final meeting we had Bishop Warren to address us. We had one of the largest churches in the city filled, and charged an admission fee as well. We felt rich. We have a fund of about $60 to start with next year. We expect to bring a large number of ’83 members into our alumni association. We are still enthusiastic over the C. L. S. C. We were enthusiastic five years ago, have been every year since, and propose to continue to be enthusiastic as long as the C. L. S. C. exists. (Applause.)
Dr. Vincent: That is good. Is there any one here who can make some report from Monterey Circle? They had an unusual time last year. Is Miss Hudson present? Although she has not been at Monterey, she has been in communication with the Monterey people. Would you object to make a statement as you have it?
Miss Hudson: I can give a few facts.
Dr. Vincent: Please do so. Miss Myrtie Hudson, of Ann Arbor.
Miss Hudson: I have received quite enthusiastic reports from Monterey. There were present in July twenty-five members to graduate. I do not know how large the class was through the state, but they had about that number present. The exercises held were in the hall, which was beautifully decorated for the occasion. An address was delivered and the diplomas were given out by Dr. Stratton, our president of the branch of the Pacific coast. He was one of the graduates of ’83. Dr. Wythe, the author of our book on biology, was also one of the graduates.
I have received this message from there to-day, that the book, “The Hall in the Grove,” has been of very great value in their work, and they want to make the suggestion, that it would be a good idea to have this book read by members in the first year, instead of the fourth year.
Dr. Vincent: The suggestion of having “The Hall in the Grove” read in the first year instead of the fourth year is a very good one.
Mrs. Barlow, of Detroit: I would like to speak in behalf of “The Hall in the Grove.” I was a graduate of ’82. We have a large circle in Detroit, but I do not know the membership, because I have not been able to attend very frequently. Our president of that circle, Mrs. A. L. Clark, who has been president for five years, died this summer. I suppose that she intended to come to Chautauqua this year. I waited here some minutes, thinking some one else from Detroit would speak of her. I wish you could know what a work she did in Detroit, what an influence she had in the community of young people, not always among the wealthy, but among those in the stores, and those who had no other way of cultivation. No one knows how much they owe to Mrs. Clark.
About “The Hall in the Grove.” I have tried in our neighborhood for four years to organize a local circle, but have failed. But this last summer I had two copies of “The Hall in the Grove” which I have circulated very industriously, and I hope to organize a circle in October.
Dr. Vincent: I intended to speak at the proper time, concerning Mrs. Clark, this devoted worker. There is no woman in connection with our Circle who has done more hearty work. I have received from many members of the Circle tributes to her worth and work.
Mrs. Barlow: Mrs. Clark had a very large class of colored adult people that she taught every Sabbath in the Y. M. C. A. room. They would have filled almost any house. A great many of them have been converted, I have no doubt, from her work.
Dr. Hurlbut: I had the privilege last winter in Washington City of visiting a circle composed entirely of colored people, and I thought I should like to make a little mention of that circle. It was a circle of between thirty and forty people of color. They met at a private house, a handsome residence, with every thing about it in the finest taste. The exercises that night in that circle impressed me wonderfully. From the conversation that I had with the members I learned that some of them were teachers in the city of Washington, and one was a member of the Washington Board of Education. Another had read five times as much as we required on geology last year. One of the city teachers read a paper of great interest. Every person connected with the circle belonged to what we call the African race. I never in my life was impressed with the earnestness, thoroughness, efficiency and downright energy in the C. L. S. C. work of any class of people more than I was on that occasion with that of these members in Washington City.
Mr. Bridge: You have not spoken about New England.
Dr. Vincent: At Framingham, Mass., we have an Assembly which opens immediately after the close of Chautauqua Assembly, and this year a little before the close. Last year we had four hundred and forty recorded members present at that Assembly, and the sales of the books are reported as being double what they were the year before. And I believe the prospects for this year are much more brilliant.
After various announcements Dr. Vincent said: Turn to the nineteenth number. We must sing “Day is Dying in the West,” or it would not seem natural. The other evening we omitted it, and a few of us came back and sang it.
After the song, the Round-Table was dismissed with the benediction by Rev. Mr. Alden.
