,digital ,library47                     
,by ,helen ,dawes ,brown                
,,talks ,,to ,,freshman ,,girls4        
,,how ,,phoebe ,,found ,,herself4       
,with frontispiece4                     
,,orphans4                 ,,mr4        
,,tuckerman',s ,,nieces4 ,illustrated4  
,a ,,book ,,of ,,little ,,boys4         
,illustrated4                 ,,the     
,,petrie ,,estate4 ,also in paper       
binding4                 ,,two ,,college
 ,,girls4                 ,,little      
,,miss ,,phoebe ,,gay4 ,illustrated4    
,,her ,,sixteenth ,,year4 ,a ,sequel to 
,little ,miss ,phoebe ,gay4             
,,houghton ,,mifflin ,,company          
,boston and ,new ,york                  
,,talks ,,to                            
,,freshman ,,girls                      
,,by                             ,,helen
 ,,dawes ,,brown                        
,author of ,two ,college ,girls         
,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york             
,,houghton ,,mifflin ,,company          
,the ,riverside ,press ,cambridge       

#aiad                      ,,copyright1 
#aiad1 ,,by ,,helen ,,dawes ,,brown     
,,all ,,rights ,,reserved               
,published ,september #aiad     ,,talks 
,,to ,,freshman ,,girls                 
,i--,,studies ,,serve ,,for ,,delight1  
,,for ,,ornament1 ,,and ,,for ,,ability 
,no man could have written this sentence
 with more authority than ,francis      
,bacon1 for no man ever loved ,studies  
better4 ,in his youth he had declared   
passionately that he took all knowledge 
for his province1 and it was his        
lifelong teaching that the sovereignty  
of man lieth hid in knowledge4  ,studies
 serve for delight1 for ornament1 and   
for ability4 ,i imagine ,bacon writing  
these words with fervor1 out of his own 
happy experience4 ,at the age of        
thirty-five1 he could determine what    
,studies had been worth to him4 ,they   
had been his delight1 his ornament1 and 
the means to his usefulness4  ,for      
delight he wrote in his first edition   
pastimes1 as he wrote ornaments and     

abilities1 then wisely changed his      
sentence4 ,his beautiful old word       
delight means1 ,i take it1 a heightened 
pleasure1 a pleasure touched with       
imagination1 full of suggestion and     
invitation4  ,i have a far glimpse of   
its meaning when ,i hear a young person 
say that she is going to college to have
 a good time2 a good time for the rest  
of her life is what1 ,i believe1        
,studies will secure to her4 ,you are so
 young1 ,i may speak to you of age4     
,there is a new old age for women1 with 
enlightened care of health and          
increasing intellectual interests4 ,as  
for you freshmen1 ,i have a vision of   
your erect forms and of your bright     
faces at seventy-five1--of your health  
and your gayety and your wisdom1 you    
charming old ladies of #aigj6 ,age      
cannot wither you1 nor custom stale your
 infinite variety1 you women whom       
,studies have served for delight4  ,and 
you are so happy that ,i may speak to   
you of unhappiness4 ,we need three      

things to meet life with3 a religion1 an
 education1 and a sense of humor4 ,the  
pursuit of ,studies is a refuge as well 
as a delight4 ,studies will fortify one 
to encounter loneliness1 or ill-health1 
or losses of any kind soever4 ,the      
chances of life are such that ,i believe
 a woman suffers from lack of an        
education more than a man does4 ,he has 
a wider world to draw from2 she has need
 of more within herself4 ,when ,bacon   
writes of the care of the body1 he says 
that for our very health1 we should     
entertain studies that fill the mind    
with splendid and illustrious objects4  
,in order that knowledge should be a    
delight1 ,i submit that knowledge should
 be remembered4 ,a certain man ,george  
,eliot describes1 who had a sense of    
having had a liberal education until he 
tried to remember something6 ,the       
culture of some people seems to consist 
in having heard a large number of proper
 names4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i've heard of        
him--the rest a blank4 ,in our day1     

mental training has neglected the       
training of the memory4 ,i even urge a  
considerable amount of old-fashioned    
memorizing4 ,lay up for yourselves      
treasure3 possess for your own a sonnet 
of ,shakespeare1 a poem of ,wordsworth1 
a passage of ,bacon4 ,lay up also a good
 store of facts1 such facts as will make
 the reading of the daily paper         
profitable4 ,there is no surer test of  
your outfit of information4 ,shall we   
say that an educated person should be   
able to spell1 pronounce1 and reasonably
 explain about two thousand proper      
nouns8  ,when ,i dwell on the delight of
 ,studies1 ,i take no thought of ease4  
,let us have no royal road to learning1 
but meet valiantly all the hardships of 
the way4 ,no girl of stamina is looking 
for soft courses4 ,i trust that in your 
freshman year you are having just what  
,schiller meant when he talked of sport 
in art2 ,i hope you are having sport in 
education1 the spirited conquest of     
difficulty6 ,do you not feel the great  

adventure of education1 the romance of  
the quest of knowledge8  ,you should    
know the keen delight of competition1   
not so much with one another as with    
yourselves4 ,the determination to equal 
yourself1 to surpass yourself1 is a fine
 incitement4 ,set before thee thine own 
example1 says ,bacon again4  ,on the    
other hand1 you have not discovered all 
the delight of ,studies unless you have 
secured repose as well as excitement in 
your intellectual life4 ,it is the      
world's sweet inn from pain and         
wearisome turmoil4 ,only in quiet can   
you practice the abstraction and        
concentration that give you power as a  
thinker4 ,i dare to say that education  
goes on with far too much chatter and   
sociability in all our colleges4 ,true  
enough1 you are not getting the complete
 delight of your studies unless you have
 the intellectual stimulus of           
companionship1--the friendship that     
maketh daylight in the understanding4   
7,bacon again67 ,but you must have also 

the silence and the solitude in which to
 brood1 and in which to give your       
imagination its chance for flight4 ,have
 you freshmen any long1 dreaming        
twilights8 ,or have we all grown too    
busy--or too frivolous--to pause between
 the dark and the daylight8 ,sane1      
strong minds we want1 but beautiful1    
poetic minds as well4 ,the final delight
 of education is in that culture of the 
imagination that makes an idealist of   
every fine college girl4  ,bacon himself
 said of ,studies1 ,their chief use for 
delight is in privateness and retiring4 
,when he caused his essays to be        
translated into ,latin1 to get them     
safely out of perishable ,english1      
delight was there rendered meditationum 
voluptas4 ,that our twentieth-century   
girl should know an harmonious1         
well-balanced life1 ,i would see her    
delighting in her joyous athletics1 but 
acquiring also the meditationum         
voluptas1 for which ,studies have       
furnished her mind4  ,in my youth the   

word ornament was the word of dread in  
education4 ,we earliest college girls   
scoffed at accomplishments4 ,ornament   
stood to us for all that was smattering 
and frivolous in education4 ,we were of 
the new order6  ,since the day when     
ornament was the bugbear of woman's     
education1 we have grown somewhat wiser4
 ,studies should serve for delight and  
for ornament1 we now say gladly2        
education should make you a delight to  
yourself and it should make you a       
delight to other people4 ,said ,poor    
,richard3 ,hast thou virtue8 ,acquire   
also the graces and beauties of virtue4 
,hast thou education8 ,acquire also the 
graces and beauties of education4 ,your 
common sense will save you from         
pedantry4 ,you will not make your       
knowledge a discomfort to your families1
 as ,mr4 ,taft once gently expressed it 
in talking to college girls4  ,shall    
ornament mean accomplishments8 ,why not8
 ,if ,i were you1 ,i would do some one  
interesting1 amusing1 agreeable thing so

 well as to make a small art of it4     
,have some accomplishment that will     
render you interesting in your own home1
 entertaining to children and to        
grandmothers1 and that will make you    
welcome in your own set4  ,i take       
ornament as including all the externals 
of education1 and ,i ask1 where does    
education show on the outside8 ,one of  
its most exposed points is the letter   
that a woman writes4 ,a good address1 in
 the old-fashioned phrase1 is about the 
most valuable of worldly possessions4   
,it should include a good address--a    
good manner and presence--upon paper4   
,as for the letter1 all your education  
leads up to it3 its clearness1 brevity1 
point1 and grace4 ,good sense brightly  
delivered1 should describe a college    
girl's letter as well as one by ,lady   
,mary ,wortley ,montagu4  ,in ,bacon's  
opinion1 the chief ornament bestowed by 
,studies was that of conversation       
7orationis ornamentum74 ,in the matter  
and manner of discourse1 education      

achieves its utmost4 ,it tells upon     
conversation in obvious ways4 ,studies  
furnish the mind with matter worth      
talking about1 and they give an appetite
 for ideas4 ,it may be hoped that they  
give the sense of proportion in         
conversation1 and prevent the educated  
woman from ever becoming that object of 
dread1 a talker4 ,most ,american women  
talk too much1 perhaps because they are 
so bright1 and think of so many things  
to say6 ,one hears the criticism3 ,she  
is a brilliant woman2 she talks well2   
but she doesn't give the other person a 
chance4 ,does this pauseless talker     
forget what a delight is the educated   
listener1 quick1 responsive1 eager for  
the other's thought8 ,one of the finest 
ornaments education can bestow is the   
social grace of good listening4  ,alas  
that it so often fails to bestow the    
ornament of good speech6 ,the failure of
 the colleges in this matter is         
lamentable4 ,its importance is not      
brought home to individuals with        

sufficient severity4 ,they are left in  
their carelessness and laziness1 with   
the social stigma of bad speech upon    
them for life4 ,the colleges should help
 to make ladies and gentlemen as well as
 scholars4 ,what a bright girl6 said the
 woman who sat next a college freshman  
at dinner1 but can the college do       
nothing to cure her abominable speech8  
,i believe that whatever his early      
associations1 the speech of an educated 
person lies within his choice4 ,if he be
 a person of will1 and of the right     
energy and ambition1 he can conquer     
provincialism or inherited faults of    
speech4 ,it means caring and trying4 ,it
 takes character1 in short4 ,one of the 
best instances of achievement of        
cultivated speech is that of ,george    
,eliot1 who by birth would have spoken a
 rich dialect4  ,perhaps the subtlest   
ornament that education may confer is   
that which we call distinction4 ,after  
the refining process of the four years  
in close association with noble things1 

commonness ought to be impossible4 ,the 
beginning of distinction is simplicity  
and sincerity1 all absence of           
affectation1 pedantry1 or the desire to 
make an impression4 ,education is an    
immense simplifier2 it does away with so
 many unnecessary pretences4  ,bacon    
sent a copy of the ,advancement of      
,learning to a man whom he addressed    
thus3 ,since you are one that was       
excellently bred in all learning1 which 
,i have ever noted to shine in all your 
speeches and behaviors4 ,such is        
,bacon's way of saying1 ,abeunt studia  
in mores4 ,educated perceptions and a   
quickened imagination should make for   
intelligence in conduct1 and for beauty 
in all human relations4 ,the            
reasonableness of goodness appeals to   
one's intellect1 while1 on the other    
hand1 one must have character to make   
his intellect tell4  ,when they praised 
,lady ,margaret1 ,countess of ,richmond1
 the great lady of her time1 they said  
of her1 ,every one that knew her loved  

her1 and everything that she said or did
 became her4 ,that is the woman of      
distinction1 whether countess or college
 girl4 ,every one that knew her loved   
her4 ,distinction is of a poor1 cold    
quality which has not sympathy for its  
final charm4  ,if ,studies give us      
delight within ourselves1 and add to us1
 we fondly hope1 such ornament without1 
what more may we expect from them8 ,they
 fit us to take our share in the day's  
work4 ,studies serve us for ability4    
,says ,kipling1 ,knowledge gives us     
control of life1 as the fish controls   
the water he swims in4 ,the utilitarian 
view of education is very well1 if kept 
in its proper place2 but education1 we  
all know1 is for the making of a life as
 well as of a living4 ,some mothers used
 to say1 ,but my daughter isn't going to
 support herself2 why should she go to  
college8 ,for delight1 for ornament1    
madam2 and ,i would add1 for ability and
 usefulness in any sphere whatever4     
,bacon's exposition of his own text     

shows that he means by ability much what
 our ,new ,england aunts meant by       
judgment4 ,he says education is of use  
in the plotting and marshalling of      
affairs4 ,how does this planning and    
organizing go on8 ,how does business    
move8 ,by constant wise decisions4 ,good
 judgment1 you say1 is a matter of      
inborn common sense1 and you don't get  
common sense by going to college4 ,i am 
not so sure of that1 though ,i grant it 
is better to inherit it from a          
grandmother4 ,but certainly you are     
learning all the time at college sense  
of proportion1 the fitness of things1   
sweet reasonableness1 which come near to
 being names for refined common sense4  
,life is lived by innumerable decisions1
 great and small2 and a person's        
happiness and success will depend much  
on making these decisions quickly1      
firmly1 and wisely4 ,the helpfulness and
 comfort that a woman may give to others
 will consist more in her love and      
wisdom than in any material benefits she

 may be able to confer4  ,one field for 
the ability of the educated woman of our
 day is the making of a good home on a  
small income4 ,she is the woman who will
 not1 consciously or unconsciously1 goad
 her husband to money-making4 ,i should 
like a fresh sermon preached upon the   
text1 ,blessed are the peacemakers4     
,this time it should be of those blessed
 peacemakers who create the harmony1    
calm1 and love of a happy home4 ,that is
 the great task1 the first task of      
women4  ,she has no doubt her civic     
duties1 and again her education puts the
 edge on her abilities3 she is a more   
valuable helper in the world's work4    
,she may be a bread-winner1 for herself 
and for others2 and herein1 perhaps1 is 
the most simple and popular argument for
 a woman's pursuit of ,studies1 one so  
self-evident that ,i need not dwell upon
 it4  ,i have been speaking of an ideal 
education and of an ideal woman1 but    
where should we consider them both if   
not in this very place8 ,a college like 

yours aims at nothing less6             
,,ii--,,real ,,readers   ,do we make    
real readers of our students8 was the   
anxious question of a college president4
 ,i remembered his phrase when ,i read  
his annual report4 ,most of these young 
people1 he said1 are to go out into     
ordinary life1 into general pursuits1   
where the one chance of their           
maintaining their intellectual growth   
will come through stimulating them in   
these years to interest in some         
particular line which they may continue1
 in the midst of the general pressure of
 social1 domestic1 or professional life4
 ,unless a student learn to read and    
love books1 she will1 in a large        
majority of cases1 be thrown out of all 
relation to resources that are in any   
fair sense of the word intellectual4 ,he
 pleaded that to make a girl a real     
reader is to safeguard her intellectual 
life4  ,a student leaves college1 not   
perhaps having read much1 but knowing   
what she wants to read4 ,her education  

has been an appetizer2 now she is       
invited to partake of the banquet4      
,may good digestion wait on appetite1   
,and health on both4  ,the hunger for   
books no doubt began with many of you as
 soon as you had learned your alphabet4 
,it was very likely hereditary4 ,indeed1
 the ideal way to become a lover of     
books is to be1 like ,mary ,lamb1       
tumbled at an early age into a spacious 
closet of good old ,english reading4    
,fortunate for you1 if you have had a   
grandfather who reluctantly puts off his
 reading-glasses as dinner is announced1
 or a grandmother who hides a book in   
her work-basket4 ,for the real reader   
has a book close by2 he does not walk   
across the room for it4 ,if your busy   
father and mother still find time to    
read a new book and talk about it1 then 
you and your brother ,dick will be      
readers1 and you will never know why4   
,reading is the most catching thing in  
the world4 ,when school and college     
shall have added their stimulus1 the    

prospect is good for a full-blooded     
reader4  ,if a girl should not come out 
of a reading home1 it may be hoped that 
she will fall into the hands of a       
book-loving teacher4 ,there are two     
women in the ,american town who are to  
be envied for their opportunity3 one is 
the teacher of ,literature in the ,high 
,school1 and the other is the librarian 
of the ,public ,library4 ,both may say1 
in words of the ,oriental proverb1 ,i   
will make thee to love literature1 thy  
mother2 ,i will make its beauties to    
pass before thee4  ,greedy of books1--so
 ,petrarch described himself2 and he    
himself was the first great reader of   
modern times4 ,i like these metaphors of
 the body applied to reading4 ,the books
 that feed the mind1 the nourishing     
books1 are they not the ones that last  
and live8 ,the hunger for books has its 
rhythm like the hunger for meat4        
,observe that the real reader reads     
regularly1--he has to4 ,the regularity  
is unconscious3 a healthy appetite does 

not keep one eye on the clock4 ,the     
healthy reader feels faint and hollow   
for lack of nourishment3 he seeks a book
 and he is content4  ,he reads from the 
simplest motives3 in fact1 he is a      
rather irresponsible person4 ,he reads  
for the sense of life3 he eats to live1 
he reads to live4 ,he is not fiercely   
following up a subject2 he is not       
pursuing references4 ,that is another   
field of reading1 which has its         
necessary and stimulating part in the   
intellectual life4 ,reading to order is 
indispensable to a student's work2 but  
the fear is1 lest reading up may leave  
no time for reading4 ,i get no time to  
read1 is about the most disheartening   
thing ,i hear from college boys and     
girls4 ,a university librarian said the 
other day that in their freshman year1  
students drew books from the library for
 general reading1 but after that year no
 student entered the library unless     
obliged to4 ,i found a high school boy  
working out a problem about pressures   

and resistances2 he looked up gleefully1
 ,this isn't for school2 this is for    
myself6 ,it is reading for yourself1    
reading for fun1 that ,i am pleading    
for4  ,yet you1 too1 say that there is  
no time in college for reading4 ,i      
assure you there is a great deal more   
time than you think there is4 ,what are 
the things that you might just as well  
not have done to-day8 ,one of the       
busiest of men1 ,matthew ,arnold1 wrote3
 ,the plea that this or that man has no 
time for culture will vanish as soon as 
we desire culture so much that we begin 
to examine seriously our present use of 
our time4 ,give to any man all the time 
that he now wastes1 on useless business1
 wearisome or deteriorating amusements1 
trivial letter-writing1 random reading1 
and he will have plenty of time for     
culture4 ,some of us waste all our time1
 most of us waste much of it1 but all of
 us waste some4  ,culture was in my     
youth a word to conjure with4 ,somehow  
of late it has become separated from    

education and almost opposed to it4     
,culture is suspected by one of being   
dilettante1 by another1 of being        
selfish4 ,let us have a reconciliation  
of education and culture1 and see that  
they go on together4  ,the real reader  
is active1 not passive4 ,there are      
people who look upon a book as that     
which best brings on an afternoon nap3  
something for the dull hours of the day1
 to quiet one's nerves1 to take one's   
mind off4 ,much writing does appear to  
have been done for tired people4 ,real  
reading1 however1 is not a stop-gap4 ,we
 should take up a book while the mind   
has a good grip and can do its part4    
,as you who are city-bred ride from end 
to end of this country1 through prairie 
villages1 mountain hamlets1 valley      
towns1 you wonder what makes these      
out-of-the-world places habitable4 ,but 
,i assure you1 that prairie town is not 
so dead a level as it looks1 for there  
is a woman's club1 and there is a public
 library1 and there are young people    

going to college4 ,it is books that make
 such places habitable4  ,the real      
reader is fortified against solitude1   
even that worst of solitudes1 a company 
in which he dare not speak of a book4   
,books prepare you to live in strange   
places1 as often falls to the lot of the
 ,american woman4 ,you may marry a      
missionary or an army officer2 you may  
go to the ,klondike or the ,philippines4
 ,you could set that woman down         
anywhere1 said a mourning widower1 in   
praise of his departed wife4 ,you can   
set the real reader down anywhere4 ,for 
one small matter1 it is something to be 
made independent of weather6  ,the      
reader1 grown old1 has youth at his beck
 and can forget the passage of years4   
,place is no more to him than time2 he  
is master of his fate4 ,reading1 also1  
is the poor man's wealth1 the prisoner's
 release4  ,our reader is patient2 he   
will put up with a good deal from his   
author1--as for instance1 when he reads 
,meredith or ,browning4 ,he is patient  

of dullness as well as of eccentricity4 
,lowell's dogged reading has to go to   
the ripened experience of the trained   
reader3 it is required of him that he do
 a certain amount of unprofitable       
reading in the forming of his critical  
judgment4  ,he must be patient and he   
must be calm4 ,quick and complete       
absorption is the mark of the happy     
reader4 ,he is sincere and he is modest2
 his reading is not for show4  ,common  
sense tells the reader when and where he
 may talk about books4 ,happy the family
 that read the same books3 happier still
 the family that can talk about them6   
,love of reading is the best safeguard  
against gossip1 and against excessive   
talking4 ,one woman of your acquaintance
 fills every gap with talk2 another     
fills the pauses of the day with        
reading4  ,in this country that boasts  
no class distinctions1 we1 nevertheless1
 have a class at the very top3 the      
privileged caste of readers4 ,what a    
freemasonry there is among them6 ,they  

speak the same language2 they toss about
 allusions2 they dare to quote to one   
another2 they take worlds for granted4  
,but if you belong to this aristocracy1 
beware of snobbishness4 ,the            
snobbishness of culture is the most     
contemptible of all1 for culture knows  
better4 ,the other snobbishness is based
 on pure ignorance of the true values of
 life1 and has so far excuse4  ,people  
of moderate means probably make the best
 readers1 because they have the largest 
share of rational leisure4 ,the very    
poor and the very rich know not leisure1
 and its graces and benefactions4 ,give 
me neither poverty nor riches--such     
would be the best condition for the     
intellectual life4 ,miss ,jeannette     
,gilder once drew a pleasant picture3 as
 she passed along a ,boston street of a 
winter evening1 she noted the friendly  
custom of leaving up the window shades1 
and letting the light and cheer of the  
home shine forth upon the wayfarer4 ,but
 to her ,new ,york eyes it was a        

striking fact that these ,boston        
families sat reading by the evening     
lamp2 that appeared to be their regular 
nightly occupation4 ,she carried away   
the feeling that the good old ,boston of
 ,emerson and ,lowell and ,longfellow   
was not altogether vanished4  ,a        
bookless home6 ,was ever such suggestion
 of dreariness6 ,the reader1 if he own  
anything1 will own some books4 ,they    
need not be many4 ,some of the greatest 
readers have had but a modest number4   
,those few volumes go far to furnish    
your home4 ,no wall covering is so rich4
 ,when the western light strikes across 
your bookshelves1--and no library should
 be without its western window1--the    
blended colors of those goodly volumes  
convey the charm of even the outside of 
literature4 ,i like ,montaigne's way of 
saying1 ,as soon as ,i was able1 ,i     
hired a spacious house in the city1 for 
myself and books2 where ,i again1 with  
rapture1 resumed my literary pursuits4  
,a house for myself and books6  ,no2    

your books need not be many4 ,they will 
be more to you if you have made         
sacrifices for their sake1--as ,charles 
,lamb did in the days when his purchase 
was not merely a purchase1 but nothing  
short of a victory4 ,if you own but few 
books1 you will know the pleasures of   
re-reading4 ,you will find the second   
reading fixes a book1 gives you its     
essence and its true proportions4 ,yet  
it is rather the intimacies and         
friendships among books re-read that ,i 
have in mind1 when they become all      
interwoven with endearing memories and  
associations4 ,every ten years you      
become a wiser reader and turn a new    
light upon your author4 ,i imagine three
 tests of a book3 do you read it        
aloud8--do you give it away8--but above 
all1 do you read it a second time8      
,your reading should have much variety1 
ranging from the newspapers to the great
 poets4 ,of course we must know what the
 great world is about and must live in  
our own age2 but the little world of the

 newspapers let us waste no time upon4  
,said ,matthew ,arnold again3 ,reading a
 good book is a discipline such as no   
reading of even good newspapers can ever
 give4 ,scrappy reading makes scrappy   
minds1 for it destroys power of         
attention4  ,i believe that there should
 be a backbone of ,history throughout   
your lifetime of reading4 ,be sure to   
choose first-rate historical books2     
never waste yourself upon second-rate   
histories4 ,biography1 ,i am aware1 is  
middle-aged reading2 and ,i can only    
promise you immense pleasure from it    
when you are past forty4 ,those large1  
heavy volumes in dull bindings1 which   
did not invite your youth1 will become  
alive and significant1 and full of good 
society4  ,i have never a seen college  
girl who did not enjoy reading essays1  
whatever her sentiment about writing    
them4 ,essays1 too1 are good society1   
the companionship of fine minds giving  
you their best4 ,this literary form1    
with its modest1 careless name1 has yet 

the widest range in all literature4     
,nothing human is alien to it4 ,if you  
read for the sense of life1 a good essay
 will give you precisely that4  ,books  
of travel are especially good to read   
after you have traveled4 ,one glimpse of
 the ,old ,world1 for example1 gives you
 the clue1 the key1 which makes books   
and pictures intelligible to the        
imagination ever after4 ,when once you  
have this clue1 you can read far beyond 
your own travels4 ,and while you are on 
the road1 do a little reading day by    
day1--,henry ,james's ,little ,tour in  
,france while you are making that very  
tour2 ,hawthorne's ,our ,old ,home1     
while you1 too1 are in ,england4 ,in    
foreign lands read a newspaper of the   
country1 and read a novel by its best   
writer of fiction4  ,said that fine old 
novel-reader1 ,professor ,jowett1 of    
,baliol1 when he was writing to a young 
lady1 ,have you thoroughly made yourself
 up in ,miss ,austen and the ',vicar of 
,wakefield'8 ,no person is educated who 

doesn't know them4 ,good fiction        
educates not only the intellect but the 
heart4 ,it enriches the imagination and 
the sympathies1 and teaches us to walk  
not by sight but by insight4 ,this is   
fiction fair1 and with fiction foul1 why
 should we concern ourselves8  ,who     
reads poetry nowadays8 people are asking
 miserably4 ,my real reader1 ,i answer  
with confidence4 ,he must have poetry1  
and why he must1 ,richard ,crashaw's    
friend said once for all in the quaint  
preface to the poet's verses3 ,maist    
thou take a poem hence and tune thy soul
 by it into a heavenly pitch4  ,another 
old writer once described the four      
classes of readers3 ,sponges which      
attract all without distinguishing2     
hour-glasses which receive and pour out 
as fast2 bags which only retain the     
dregs1 and let the wine escape2 and     
sieves which retain the best only4 ,i am
 now1 of course1 addressing the sieves4 
,real readers need not take high moral  
ground about trash2 they are simply     

bored by it4 ,a publisher said the other
 day that he must publish a certain     
amount of trash in order to be able to  
publish some good books4 ,he needs a    
body of better readers4 ,mediocre       
readers make mediocre books4  ,superior 
people1 however1 are often disloyal to  
their own standards4 ,you are1 for      
example1 untrue to yourself1 if you sit 
at a theater assisting--admirable       
,french word6--at a play that your whole
 soul rejects4 ,it is like a breach of  
faith to read a book which is moral     
trash or literary trash4 ,no mind is    
safe from the suggestion of such plays  
or such books4 ,said ,fielding1 ,we are 
as liable to be corrupted by books as by
 companions4 ,happily it is just as true
 that we are as liable to be purified by
 books as by companions4  ,to be quite  
fair1 we must acknowledge some dangers  
of reading4 ,you remember ,kipling's    
bank clerk1 who in a previous           
incarnation had been a ,viking1 and who 
might have written tales as good as     

,kipling's own had he not been so       
steeped in ,english literature4 ,i have 
known people who had plainly been dulled
 by over-reading3 they were the sponges 
of our old writer4 ,over every book we  
should think at least as long a time as 
we spend in the reading4 ,i notice the  
real reader frequently looks up and off 
from his book1 to think the better4     
,ask from your book not only ideas1 but 
style4 ,careless readers have permitted 
slipshod books4 ,the writer says to     
himself1 ,this is quite good enough for 
the people who are likely to read it4   
,he is fond of the simile of the pearls 
and the swine1 confident that it is the 
swine who have thwarted his genius4     
,real readers help to make real writers4
  ,who are some of the real readers we  
have known8 ,there is ,chaucer's ,clerk 
of ,oxenford4 ,he owned books1 poor as  
he was2 he kept them at the head of his 
bed2 and there you have two unfailing   
marks of the real reader4 7,i even like 
that dash of color1--the black or red of

 his bindings2 for the real reader loves
 the outside of his book as well47  ,i  
think of ,milton1 who made the most     
beautiful definition of a book ,i       
know--the precious life-blood of a      
master spirit1 treasured up on purpose  
to a ,life beyond ,life4 ,none but a    
real reader could have so nobly imagined
 the book and its author4  ,when ,keats 
read ,chapman's ,homer and said that a  
new planet swam into his ken1 he        
expressed for all readers the sense of  
surprise1 of discovery1 and of          
acquisition when they have found a real 
book4  ,into this noble fellowship you  
and ,i are allowed to enter1 as we leave
 our college4     ,,iii--,,the ,,use    
,,of ,,the ,,pen   ,says the            
census-taker once in ten years1 ,can you
 write ,english8 ,we are a bit startled 
by the question3 ,can we8 we ask        
ourselves humbly4 ,it is the question ,i
 ask you freshmen4  ,the educated person
 has the implements of writing at hand  
and in order3 his inkstand is filled and

 his pen does not scratch4 ,the         
uneducated man searches for a penholder1
 and keeps the ink-bottle on the top    
shelf2 and the difference signifies much
 in the lives of the two people4  ,you  
live pen in hand during your four years 
in college4 ,you acquire the useful art 
of note-taking1--by itself no mean      
intellectual exercise4 ,the untrained   
note-taker brings from a lecture a rare 
muddle of senseless1 half-caught        
remarks4 ,but a good mind soon shows    
itself in its taking of points and      
getting them quickly to paper4 ,and who 
does not know that a note taken on the  
spot is worth a cartload of             
recollections8  ,that a notebook should 
be attractive and convenient for        
reference is its raison d'tre4 ,one     
secret of comfort in notebooks is       
variety in covers1 that there may be no 
exasperating searches for the right one4
 ,buy only good-looking notebooks1      
sounds like frivolous advice2 but it is 
in the interests of scholarship that    

your notebooks should have an honorable 
place on your bookshelves4 ,i would make
 a handsome page1 with wide margins1    
large type1 generous spacing4 ,paragraph
 freely1 and drop a line often4         
,underline profusely1 that you may catch
 the meaning quickly1 and preserve the  
emphasis of the lecturer4 ,use          
parentheses1 brackets1 numerals1        
letters1 and thus organize your matter  
as you go along and make it easy to     
glance at4 ,have divisions or           
pigeonholes at the back of your book1   
where you can put away and classify all 
sorts of memoranda4  ,with these        
mechanical devices1 the use of the pen  
becomes the easier4 ,it will be able to 
shape sentences on the wing1 and capture
 the thought and much of the language of
 a lecturer in full flight4 ,it is a    
strenuous exercise1 and good mental     
athletics4  ,yet for all education to be
 carried on in this way would not be    
well4 ,there should be variety in the   
conduct of classes4 ,that comes of      

itself1 through the varied personality  
of teachers4 ,the next man may make of  
his hour a quiz4 ,does anything remain  
of a quiz that can be written down8 ,a  
good exercise for the pen to shape      
something out of the flying questions   
and answers6  ,you live pen in hand in  
the classroom1 and also in the          
preparation of your work4 ,note-taking  
in a library is a fine process in       
education4 ,unless your book is a       
masterpiece of style1 paraphrase and    
condense for your notebook4 ,add your   
own thoughts1 in brackets4 ,a book thus 
read is twice yours4 ,i would date every
 piece of note-taking2 for the          
autobiography of your mind is writing   
itself4  ,in these college exercises    
your pen has acquired practice1 and to  
turn it next to use for artistic        
purposes should be natural4 ,for it is  
the literary art that you are set to    
study4 ,when you are asked to write your
 first freshman essay1 you are asked to 
turn life into literature4 ,shakespeare 

did no more than that4 ,this single1    
exalted aim should be yours3 and you    
should remember in your humblest writing
 ,ruskin's definition of the artist4 ,he
 is a person who has submitted in his   
work to a law which was painful to obey1
 that he may bestow by his work a       
delight which it is gracious to bestow4 
,the literary art as practiced in       
college goes by the excellent name      
essay-writing3 a comprehensive1 modest1 
dignified word4 ,it gives you liberty to
 write about anything2 and if you happen
 to have the literary instinct1         
everything will present itself to you as
 waiting to be written about4 ,to turn  
into words is the impulse of the born   
writer1 like ,irving1 or ,emerson1 or   
,stevenson4 ,there is probably one such 
person in this company1 possibly there  
are two4 ,but it is to the average young
 essay-writer that ,i address myself4   
,as to the matter of which you make your
 essays1 only let it be the real thing3 
a piece of yourself1 one of your own    

interests4 ,you have active minds1 or   
you would never be here3 to you the     
world is so full of a number of things  
that subjects can never fail you4 ,the  
fact that you expect to write much      
during your college life is stimulating 
to your observation4 ,you are out after 
ideas1 as a college girl expressed it4  
,you look and listen and read with an   
eye on your next essay4 ,once set up a  
subject in your mind1 and it gathers    
material as a magnet draws steel4       
,everybody is conspiring to help you    
with fresh points of view and apt       
illustrations4 ,you have heard of       
,madame de ,stal's method3 when         
preparing to write1 she gave a          
dinner-party and led up the conversation
 of her guests to the subject she had   
chosen4 ,your essay will also require   
solitude and brooding1 long walks alone1
 and possibly hours in the library4     
,when you begin to write1 write rapidly1
 even if you leave many gaps and many   
crudities4 ,you will then have something

 to work upon4 ,moreover1 the mere act  
of writing is stimulating to thought4   
,movendo move3 move by moving4 ,by      
writing1 write4 ,i stared at the page an
 hour before ,i had a thought1 says one 
miserable young woman4 ,keep on looking 
at your paper4 ,things will come to you1
 you know not whence2 but you must      
prepare the way for them1 by thinking   
and feeling and dreaming1 by reading and
 listening and observing1 with every    
part of you alive and receptive4 ,then  
wait for yourself patiently4  ,it is for
 most people unprofitable to correct    
their work as they write1 because the   
productive state of mind and the        
critical state of mind are quite apart4 
,there should be the hot writing and the
 cool writing4 ,the fatal thing is to   
cool off in the first writing3 you will 
soon be grinding out your essay4 ,when  
the time comes for the critical         
re-writing1 remember what ,schiller     
said1 ,by what he omits1 show me the    
artist4 ,there is a hard saying1 ,art is

 the rejection of the almost right4     
,yet when you subject your work to      
pitiless cutting1 see that you do not   
destroy its flow and rhythm4 ,look      
carefully to the little connectives that
 bind up the thought1 words that are    
only too rare in our ,english language4 
,the delicate nuances of meaning are    
indicated and the harmony of the        
sentence is preserved by the judicious  
placing of these little words4 ,in      
revision study to improve the diction4  
,insert trial words each time that you  
read your paper4 ,use every means to    
enrich your vocabulary and to widen your
 choice of words4 ,be able to run your  
fingers over that loved instrument1 the 
,english language1 as a musician lets   
his hands play over his keys4           
,precision in diction is the mark of    
intellect1 but also of patient labor4   
,stevenson said the man not willing to  
spend the whole afternoon in search of  
the right word was unfit for the        
business of literature4 ,be unsparing of

 your time4 ,the silliest boast is of   
the short time a writer has spent upon  
his work4 ,authors' vanity is peculiarly
 distasteful1 because they are the      
people from whom one might expect more  
intelligence4  ,the force1 that is1 the 
interest1 of your writing1 will depend  
much on the freshness of your choice of 
words1 and on the freshness of your     
phrasing4 ,yet in the pursuit of        
freshness1 beware of affected or        
far-fetched words1 or words too old1 as 
gotten2 or too new1 as viewpoint1       
foreword1 words that1 for mere ugliness1
 should not be allowed to exist4  ,write
 with words1 not phrases4 ,commonplace  
writing is composed of bromidic phrases4
 ,they are very catching4 ,excessive    
reading1 unaccompanied by thinking1 is  
sure to produce a stilted1 conventional 
style4 ,i wonder if college girls know  
how often they are1 even in             
conversation1 stilted in their language1
 though often with a half-humorous      
intent4 ,i have noticed one who uses a  

,latin participial construction even at 
the breakfast table4  ,in order to be   
vigorous1 your writing must be brief1   
simple1 and clear4 ,yet in our cult of  
simplicity1 let us not be content with  
the clear and simple commonplace4 ,some 
books nowadays1 though written by the   
cleverest of men1 have a commonness of  
style that is a mere coming down to     
their inferiors4 ,it will never make    
literature4  ,put into your notebook    
what writers have said about their      
craft4 ,you will find in ,shakespeare   
some admirable hints about his art1     
though people often tell us he gave no  
account of himself4 ,modern             
self-consciousness has made authors more
 and more aware of themselves and their 
processes4 ,mark what ,goethe1 ,emerson1
 and all our later writers have said of 
their work4 ,in my college days1 we read
 the old writers upon these subjects3   
the incomparable ,ars ,poetica of       
,horace1 and the pleasant pages of      
,quintilian4 ,do you read them now8     

,how reading should help writing is a   
question4 ,i have heard it said that a  
professional writer should read some    
other more excellent writer one hour a  
day6 ,how far we should take another    
writer for master is very doubtful4     
,said a ,michigan man to ,mr4 ,emerson1 
as he came out from a lecture1 ,mr4     
,emerson1 ,i see you never learned to   
write from a book4 ,it goes without     
saying that we want only original1      
first-hand work from our writer2        
nevertheless1 it is true that he may    
learn something about his art from      
nearly every book he reads4 ,you        
yourselves are observing readers2       
observe1 among other things1 how the    
thing is done4  ,beyond and out of      
college1 the educated woman should live 
pen in hand4 ,power of expression is    
power itself1 and expression with the   
pen will add much to a woman's          
efficiency as a member of society4 ,with
 many business careers opening to her1  
success depends not a little on the     

ability to write an admirable business  
letter4 ,her usefulness as a secretary  
hangs on the efficiency of her pen4 ,a  
teacher's letter of application often   
settles her fate4 ,the librarian will   
introduce books to readers all the more 
effectively if she hold the pen of the  
ready writer4 ,the college woman should 
be valuable in many branches of         
journalism4 ,in philanthropic work1     
occasions arise for wise1 tactful1      
brief1 effective composition1 in        
letters1 reports1 and public addresses4 
,the pen is not enough used in          
preparation for speaking4 ,we should be 
spared many a rambling discourse if the 
orator had first submitted to its       
discipline4  ,the club paper has a place
 in many women's lives4 ,few of them    
take it seriously enough4 ,if they have 
possession of an hour's time of fifty   
women1 they should give their utmost as 
an equivalent for fifty hours of human  
life4 ,to make her club paper worth     
while1 a woman should have lived pen in 

hand for a year1 reading1 thinking1     
taking notes4 ,the paper of the educated
 woman should be reasoned1 ordered1 and 
shapely1 while every sentence should    
have its meaning4 ,as ,john ,synge said 
of a play3 ,every speech should be as   
fully flavored as a nut or an apple4    
,this is not the club paper of the lady 
who rises with smiling apology1 ,i have 
had very little time to prepare this    
paper4 ,i really did not begin to write 
it until night before last4  ,whether   
women desire it or not1 they are        
destined to take more and more part in  
public life1 and whatever they may be   
called upon to do1 they will find that  
,have it in writing is one of the best  
maxims of the great world they are      
entering4  ,i would1 however1 have you  
first regard the use of the pen in      
letter-writing1 in preserving the unity 
and love of the family1 in cherishing   
friendship1 in sweetening human         
intercourse4 ,it makes society of       
solitude for the lonely woman1 or for   

the invalid1 or for the aged4 ,reading  
and writing together are proof against  
loneliness4  ,by all means1 use the pen 
as a means of efficiency and of         
happiness1 but ,i would even cultivate  
writing for writing's sake4 ,i would    
dabble in it as an amateur6 ,it is worth
 while to draw and sketch for the       
training of the eye1 and for the greater
 appreciation of others' work4 ,write1  
and you will be a far better reader4    
,you help to create a literary          
atmosphere in which some one else can   
write better than without you1 as       
musicians say that an orchestra must    
have players in the audience4 ,writers  
need the understanding reader4 ,we have 
not yet in our country a large enough   
body of eager1 expectant readers1 of    
literary sympathies4 ,moreover1 it seems
 a law of ,nature that1 if many are     
writing and keenly interested in        
literature1 out of such an environment a
 great writer is sure in time to emerge4
  ,by writing you may discover yourself4

 ,the call may come to you1 and nothing 
then can stop you4 ,you will say1 like  
,carlyle1 ,had ,i but two potatoes in   
the world and one true idea1 ,i should  
hold it my duty to part with one potato 
for pen and ink1 and live upon the other
 till ,i got it written4  ,the woman of 
letters is a type sure to develop from  
the present intellectual training of    
women4 ,such a vocation should not take 
her apart from the great experiences of 
womanhood3 these should but make her the
 better writer4 ,her career of writer   
will be a higher education in itself1 a 
steady intellectual and moral           
development4 ,i urge you to write       
because it will hold you to the ideal2  
it will develop the philosophic mind2 it
 will stimulate character and intellect4
 ,it opens vistas of happiness1 as the  
practice of every art does4 ,to know the
 joys of the creative artist one needs  
not to write a novel or a drama4 ,he can
 know them from a letter1 happily       
written1 or even from a fortunate phrase

 that has come to him4  ,whether or not 
such writing bring you fame and money1  
it will have given you something no one 
can take away from you4 ,the modest     
person of a quiet mind who does her best
 and thinks not much about the          
consequences1 this person shares some of
 the sweets of authorship with those she
 knows to be her betters4 ,the          
perquisites of the writer are many3 the 
good society2 the sympathy1 sometimes   
the love1 of strangers2 the mysterious  
and fascinating communication with one's
 fellow-men4  ,people ask why college   
women have not distinguished themselves 
in literature4 ,colleges for women began
 as our great literary period in        
,america was drawing to a close4 ,if    
women have not been notable in our      
literature in the last fifty years1     
neither have we had another ,emerson or 
,hawthorne4 ,american intellect has     
expressed itself in other and wonderful 
ways1 but not in great poetry or prose4 
,women have not yet had a long enough   

trial of education to be adjusted to the
 new conditions it has made for them4   
,they have had culture sufficient to    
make them critical1 but not creative2 to
 make them modest and distrustful of    
their own work1 but not greatly daring  
in any art4 ,they do small things       
delicately and delightfully1 but the    
great works are still to come4 ,women   
need more power to the elbow4 ,they need
 a richer tradition1 and growth from a  
deeper soil2 for a writer oftenest      
ripens through generations of readers   
and thinkers4  ,do not let this         
discourage you4 ,each of us may in our  
day contribute to the progress of       
,american literature2 for we are helping
 to make the tastes and traditions out  
of which in a later generation a great  
poet may arise4     ,,iv--,,everyday    
,,living   ,the freshman girl is happy  
who1 in her preparation for college1 has
 included some knowledge of the art of  
living with others4 ,miss ,ellen        
,emerson once read aloud to our         

,sunday-,school class an essay by ,sir  
,arthur ,helps on this very subject4    
,one sentence ,i remember3 ,a thorough  
conviction of the difference of men is  
the great thing to be assured of in     
social knowledge3 it is to life what    
,newton's law is to astronomy4 ,miss    
,ellen paused1 and bade us not forget   
that saying4 ,the girl who goes to      
college prepared to find people         
different has a mastery of the          
situation4  ,i would have assigned her1 
as a piece of college preparation1 a few
 good magazine articles about the       
,united ,states1 with three or four of  
the best new books about her country4   
,these would make her glad to talk with 
a student from ,oregon on her right and 
a girl from ,boston on her left at that 
first homesick supper-time4 ,she is1    
perhaps1 a provincial ,new ,york ,city  
girl1 who has never seen anything but   
,europe and her own town4 ,her horizon  
will at once widen at college4  ,not    
that open-mindedness requires you to    

abandon your own beliefs4 ,college      
preparation should include ,convictions4
 ,truth and honesty there cannot be two 
opinions about2 and in the art of living
 with others truth and honesty bear a   
great part4 ,said ,oliver ,cromwell1    
,give me a man that hath principle--,i  
know where to have him4  ,a girl should 
have had some preparation in business   
habits for living with others in        
college4 ,plain business honesty is a   
college requirement4 ,borrowing is1 ,i  
fear1 one of the sins of student life4  
,girls of your breeding do not borrow   
wearing apparel or personal belongings4 
,but a borrowed postage stamp or a      
car-fare is a matter of business honor4 
,so is punctuality2 the robbery of other
 people's time is petty larceny4        
,integrity1 uprightness1 enter into the 
art of living with others1 every hour of
 the day4 ,the girl who is scrupulously 
delicate about other persons' rights and
 possessions is the girl you find easy  
to live with4  ,teachableness is a      

charming quality in a freshman1 in or   
out of class3 a little wonder and awe   
become her4 ,a newcomer who knows it all
 is unbearable4 ,meekness is an         
old-fashioned virtue1 not enough        
appreciated in these days4 ,yet who does
 not feel its charm in the unassuming   
woman1 ready to learn1 and to reverence 
superiority8  ,prepare yourself to be at
 first of not much importance1 to be    
outshone in recitation1 to work hard    
without much recognition2 but you will  
find soon that a teacher will grow to   
rely on you1 will meet your eye1 will   
welcome your response2 and before you   
are aware1 you and she will have laid   
the foundation of a lifelong sympathy   
and friendship4 ,and1 when all is said1 
the art of living with others is the art
 of making friends4  ,do not forget your
 old friends4 ,when you travel abroad1  
one of the most important subjects you  
learn about is ,america2 when you go to 
college1 you learn to know your home4   
,the first ache of homesickness will    

teach you much4 ,it would mean something
 very sad if you did not feel it4 ,you  
would lose one of the tenderest         
experiences4 ,when the pain softens1 you
 find you understand your home and your 
dear ones as you never did before4 ,that
 is the reward of the freshman's        
homesickness4  ,there will quickly come 
new interests1 but do not become so     
absorbed in them as to lose this new    
relation to your home4 ,much as the     
friends there miss you1 your college    
life may be made a constant pleasure to 
them4 ,let us hope that your preparatory
 ,english has made you a good           
letter-writer4 ,write clearly and       
legibly1 with loving care1 that your    
father may not say1 ,am ,i wasting a    
college education on a girl that can't  
even spell8 and that your mother need   
not sigh1 ,there is a word ,i shall have
 to give up4 ,the illiteracy of         
collegians of both sexes ,i know to be a
 source of pain to parents who sit      
deciphering their letters by the evening

 lamp4 ,it is all a question of your    
taking trouble1 and of your thoughtful  
consideration for others4  ,literacy    
attained1 see that your letter gives    
pleasure1 and that it share with your   
parents the fun and interest of your    
college life4 ,see that it make old     
hearts young4 ,don't send home a letter 
without a laugh in it4 ,and pray write  
occasionally to an uncle or an aunt6    
,do not drop your old acquaintance when 
you go away from home4 ,perhaps you have
 some humble village friends1 to whom it
 seems a fine1 romantic thing that you  
have gone off to college4 ,every person 
whom you know may be in some way pleased
 and benefited by your experience4      
,there are little girls who are         
examining you as only a little girl can1
 and are making up their minds whether  
they1 too1 will go to college some day4 
,when you see this bright child peering 
at you1--there is your chance to be     
something adorable6  ,no one follows you
 with more sympathy than the teachers   

who have fitted you for college4 ,they  
have a share in you1 remember2 for      
teachers have a reward beyond money in  
the futures of their pupils4  ,we speak 
of college girls as if they had departed
 for the cloister2 but reckoning by     
weeks1 how large a proportion of their  
time is spent at home6 ,in short        
vacations the unselfish mother plans all
 sorts of pleasures for her daughter1   
and perhaps says sadly at the end1 ,i   
saw little of ,ruth4 ,she made or       
received visits all the fortnight4 ,the 
short vacations should1 ,i think1 belong
 to your parents3 the summer gives time 
for other friends4 ,some day you will   
understand what it has cost your father 
and mother to send you out of their     
sight just as you have become most      
companionable to them4  ,in the case of 
some of you there are sacrifices made at
 home that you may go to college2 and   
you will bravely share with your parents
 the doing without that is making your  
liberal education possible4 ,your social

 position in these next four years does 
not depend on money3 it does depend on  
intellect and character2 on taste1 not  
expense1 in dress and belongings2 and on
 the traditions that you bring with you4
 ,to him that hath shall be given4 ,the 
girl who takes something to college gets
 more1 as1 when she travels1 she gains  
in proportion to what she carries with  
her4 ,for example1 if you take to       
college the family tradition of reading1
 your college lot is a happier one4     
,the poor girl in college has certain   
advantages3 she is respected for the    
effort she has made to get there2 she at
 once excites the interest of her       
teachers2 she finds herself in an       
atmosphere of sympathy and              
encouragement4 ,she is generously       
praised1 and is made happy by the       
appreciation of her gifts4 ,let her     
guard against vanity and priggishness4  
,the poor and brilliant girl has her own
 temptations4  ,if she suffer in some   
things because of her poverty1 it does  

not matter much4 ,privations1 if they do
 not injure health1 are bracing and     
tonic4 ,a girl will learn at college1 if
 anywhere1 how to be rich though poor4  
,she could be placed in no situation    
where she could more successfully ignore
 poverty4 ,simplicity in dress is good  
form in college4 ,the fatal word vulgar 
is fixed by the initiated upon display1 
or extremes of fashion4 ,taste and      
neatness are luxuries within the reach  
of girls of small means4  ,the rich girl
 has her difficulties4 ,she is often    
handicapped by poor preparation1 which  
is not so much the fault of her fitting 
school as of her social life too soon   
begun4 ,she has had many distractions1  
with less serious labor of preparation4 
,college routine will be at first       
irksome to her2 but if she has chosen to
 go to college1 she has stuff in her1   
and she can make of herself the finest  
type of student4 ,her money will be     
means1 and she will learn noble ways of 
spending it4 ,many is the rich girl who 

is secretly helping a poor girl to get  
her education4  ,rich appointments make 
a girl's way harder at college1 on the  
whole4 ,scholars are distrustful of the 
appearances of wealth1 sometimes        
unjustly4 ,the wise college girl will   
cultivate simplicity1 that she may be in
 harmony with her surroundings1 and that
 she may have a free mind4  ,the girl of
 wealth may lack the element of the     
heroic and the romantic in the college  
career of the poor girl1 but her        
compensations are that she can command  
all means of culture2 she can travel1   
buy books1 visit cities1 and meet       
significant people4 ,her wealth buys her
 a wider life2 while the girl of small  
means has one more concentrated and     
intense4 ,her pleasures may be keener   
because they are conquests2 she relies  
on herself and develops her own         
resources4 ,we will wait to judge the   
two until they are forty4  ,health is   
one of your college duties2 so is       
happiness4    ,if ,i have faltered more 

or less   ,in my great task of          
happiness1--  wrote ,robert ,louis      
,stevenson4 ,he was a master of gallant 
living4 ,he really had something to     
whine about1 but he lived with all his  
colors flying4  ,however1 ,i shall not  
deny that there are blues peculiar to   
college life4 ,occasionally they will be
 part of your education4 ,there will be 
wounds to your vanity2 and years        
afterwards you will remember the snub of
 some brusque1 brilliant professor and  
will smile to think how much you learned
 by it4 ,you will see another girl      
surpass you1 and envy will give you a   
fit of the blues2 for envy always       
punishes itself4 ,the college has1 on   
the whole1 an atmosphere of noble       
feeling1 of admiration1 hope1 and love2 
but a sin that some college girls have  
to fight is the ugly sin of envy4       
,jealousy is akin to it1 and is sure to 
enter into narrow1 intense friendships4 
,the remedy is many friends and many    
interests4  ,a genuine source of blues  

is disappointment in one's self4 ,i     
wonder if you will believe an old       
college girl's experience that an       
occasional bracing failure is the best  
thing that can happen to you4 ,it will  
help you to keep your balance1 and to   
know yourself4 ,moreover1 it will rouse 
you as nothing else will4  ,trifles loom
 large in college life1 its critics say4
 ,a freshman's world looks black to-day 
because of a bad recitation or a        
neglectful friend4 ,i do not reason away
 her troubles3 ,i only remind her of    
,abraham ,lincoln's remedy for the blues
 7and he knew well what they were74     
,remember1 he said1 that they don't     
last4 ,also ,i would set her to some    
absorbing task3 work is good company1   
and compels her to think about what she 
is doing and not of her troubles4  ,it  
was recorded upon the tomb of a ,roman  
lady long ago1 ,she made nobody sad4    
,make nobody sad with your woes1 or your
 face1 or your voice4 ,and if you wish  
to cheer yourself1 cheer somebody else4 

,you very likely need rest for your     
nerves4 ,college girls wear upon        
themselves and upon one another by too  
much talking4 ,their minds are so       
mutually stimulating that they need rest
 from their own company4 ,one of the    
first conditions for a satisfactory     
intellectual life is a room to one's    
self4 ,the college girl who cannot      
command it should spend much time alone 
out of doors1 even if she carry with her
 a book4  ,when the college day is      
ended1 and you look back over its hours1
 what will have made its success1 and   
what will have made its happiness8 ,have
 you been nobly busy8 ,i leave to you   
the answer4                             
,the ,riverside ,press                  
,,cambridge 4 ,,massachusetts           
,u 4 ,s 4 ,a