Dante, Andubon, Browning and Brahms belong to May.
Dante's story, his life in Florence, his love for Beatrice, his military service, his exile and death all need plenty of time to study. His fame as a poet is unrivaled in its power and beauty of language. Have sketches of his life, his times and his work, and read what critics have said of it. Read also from translations of the "Vita Nuova" and the "Divina Commedia," in their translations. (See Longfellow's.)
The work of our own Audubon is better known to-day than when he was living. His life story is most romantic; read this, and show what he accomplished. Have shown some copies of his famous pictures of birds. Compare him with other naturalists.
Robert Browning did what no other poet has done; when he was twenty years old he found the theme for his life work, the development of the human soul; this is the key to his verse.
Read of his life in England and in Italy; speak of his friendships; study his philosophy; discuss his versification; show his different styles of work; have many illustrative readings. Compare him with other poets. Have some of his songs sung which are set to music; read also "Pippa Passes."
X—JUNE
Now come the birthdays of the musicians, Gounod and Schumann, and also of the patriot Nathan Hale, the teacher Thomas Arnold, and the novelist Thomas Hardy.
Hale is one of those men of whom we are always learning more. Have papers on his early life, his years at Yale, the events which led to his capture and his execution; show a picture of the statue in the City Hall Park of New York. Compare him with André. Give selections from different writers showing their estimate of him.
Thomas Arnold is the ideal for all teachers, and so an excellent subject for a meeting. Tell of his home; of Rugby as he found it; of his ideas for the school and for the individual boys; mention some of the great men he trained; read from "Tom Brown at Rugby" and show pictures of the school.
Hardy is one of the great Victorian novelists, a writer of somber, realistic and pessimistic stories of great power. Read of Wessex and its moors and wind-swept fells in the "Return of the Native." Notice the homely humor in all his books. Read from his most artistic work, "Far from the Madding Crowd," and from "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," his most dramatic. Compare him with other writers of the day. Discuss his philosophy.