Page 2
n
THE CHOWANIAN
EDITORIAL STAFF
Wilma Woolard
Gwendolyn Vann».
Associate Editor
BUSINESS STAFF
Martha Seymour.
Assistant overusing Manager
...Business Manager
...Advertising Manager
Mattie Gray Hoggard...
Evelyn Whitley.-
Wilma Woolard..
Edith Johnson—
..Circulation Manager
REPORTERS
Maxine Fillyaw...
Pauline Byrum....
Johnston Hale
Ruby Edens
.Alathenian Society
Lucalian Society
Senior Class
Junior Class
...Sophomore Class
Freshman Class
B. S. U.
...President
, COLLEGE DIRECTORY
ADIVUNISTRATIVE OFFICERS
Dr. R. R. McCulloch -
Miss Valerie M. Schaible - - -Dean of the Facul y
Mrs. Mary Kennedy ^ea^n of Women
Dr. A. G. Gillaspie
Miss Dorothy Evans,
...Dean of Men
Librarian
STUDENT OFFICERS
Martha Seymour... --Pres, of Student ^vernment
Helen Edwards.- - - --Pres, of Lucalian Society
Ruth Taylor- - - - -Pres, of Alatheman Society
Ethel Jones — - - Pres, of Semor C ass
Marion Holloman - - Pres, of Junior C ass
Lillian Waldo - Pres, of Sophomore Class
Lila Ward Cooke - - Pres, of Freshman Class
Madeline Modlin. - Pres, of Baptist Student Union
..Gen. Director of B. Y. P. U.
Pres, of Y. W. A.
Carmen Morgan,
Ruby Caudle , ,r . . r, j
Beatrice Martin Pres, of Student Life Service and Volunteer Band
PARAGRAPHICS
, Ju^t to say it in a different way
—'■Happy Christmas” and a “Mer
ry New Year!”
Come on, dumb Freshmen, Pea
nuts are not to eat but to feed.
Everything that comes down the
chimney is not Santa Claus. You
should have seen Martna \ates
Seymour's hands on Friday.
The college fire-chief is caini,
cool, and composed, and a real
girl scout. When Maxine Hud
gins dress caught on fire at Wood
land in the religious pageant.
Spud Johnson calmly reached
over and smothered it with her
hand.s.
Really White Christmas is not
a big snow or tons of sugar on the
ground, but a chance to give some
thing to those in need without
gtiiting anything material in re
turn.
Every boom is followel by a
depression; so eQually as sad is
that Christmas is followed by
exams.
A woman is not an old maid
when she is 25, but when .ihe is
too young to die and too old to
have any fun.
The law of economic,s is that
when a man sees another fellow
wearing a hat like his he feels that
his own good taste is proved; a
woman under similar circumstan
ces rushes home and gives her
hat to the cook.
Answer this riddle:
Murfreesboro is said to be the
easiest place to get into and the
hardest place to get out of in
North Carolina. Could Chowan
College be the reason?
of Christmas music.
Many of us are not gifted so that
we can express our emotions by
composing so we have to resort to
singing those things composed by
others. Everyone likes to express
his joy in the Christmas season
and, as a result, much music is
heard at that time.
There are still others of us
who cannot express our joy in
song because or musical ability is
lacking. Since this is so, those
who have musical ability are glad
to give of their talent to others.
So it is that at the Christmas sea
son those who have musical ability
give programs for the enjoyment
of others.
Members of the college family
and people of Murfreesboro are
especially generous with their
talents. At the college, the Glee
Club gives a Christmas Vesper
Service on the Sunday before
the holidays. As a general rule,
the choir of the Baptist Church
gives a cantata on the Sunday be
fore the liolidays. In addition to
these special programs, the glee
club usually goes out carolling on
the night before Itaving for the
holidays.
Happiness, thankfulness, and
generosity make up the Christmas
spirit. Happiness and thankful
ness are best expressed in music of
various types. Generosity is
shown in njany ways during the
Christmas season. A very out
standing means of expressing gen
erosity is the gift of their talent by
those w'ho have it for the benefit
of those who liSve it not. Music
is one of the best means of ex
pressing the true spirit of Christ
mas and those of us who can not
sing are grateful to those who can
and do.
THE CHOWANIAN
in Fi-ance as Noels.
Though in the early beginning
the carol was secular and was in
reality a song accompanied with
dancing, having been danced by
many performers by taking hands,
forming a ring and singing as they
went round, we have good author
ity for believing that the oldest
carol was that sung by the heaven
ly host when the birth of the
Christ was announced to the Shep
herds on the plains of Bethlehem.
The practice of singing carols at
Christmas time likely came about
as an imitation of this, particular
ly since the majority of the carols
declare the good tidings of great
joy.
The oldest known carol is that
one written by Aurelius Pruden-
tius of the fourth century, but it
was Francis of Assisi who started
the custom of singing Christmas
carols. It was back in the time
of the Manichean heresy—a denial
of the Virgin Birth of Christ—that
Francis began to focus the atten
tion of the people upon the birth
of Christ. In order to do this, he
constructed a crib in the church
near Assisi and placed around it
an ox and a donkey, thus trying
to represent the Holy Night at
Bethlehem. People crowded into
the church, and while the torches
flared, they 'sang hymns,—spon
taneous outbursts of joy. That
was in 1223. In this way Francis
of Assisi succeeded in reminding
the people of Christ’s Virgin birth.
Carols were not always strictly
religious. One writer has said
that among the carols we may
find “secular tunes sanctified and
the sacred tunes popularized”. At
first they were sung between the
acts of the mystery plays. Many
of them are based on old legends
and may be classed as story-tell
ing carols. There are tree carols,
nature carols, dealing witli birds
and flowers, and carols built
around the childhood of Christ.
Of the latter there are a great ma
jority emphasizing both the human
life of Jesus and the prominence
of his Virgin Mother. The appear
ance of the angels and the Wise
Men and carols which welcome
and bid farewell to Christmas
prove popular themes.
It is well to distinguish between
the carol and the hymn. A hymn
is a more elaborate composition
with particular attention given to
the music and the words and is
sung in a more subdued manner
than the carol, which is meant to
be pictorial and employs simple
and concrete language. Facts and
first hand knowledge rather than
reason and deduction is a distin
guishing feature between the
hymn and the carol.
During the Reformation Christ
mas carols, festivities, and even
Christmas itself were suppressed.
The spirit of joy and happiness
was looked upon unfavorably as
being pagan. The Pilgrims ab
horred the thought of joy on
Christmas. For them it was a day
of hard work at their usual secular
tasks.
SINGING IN THE
CHRISTMAS SEASON
The Christmas season is always
a season of music. It is the sea
son of thankfulness and joy and
these can be expressed in music
better than any other way.
Through the years people ha
expressed their various emotions
in music. Soitow, despair, joy,
and many other things have
caused people to compose musical
selections expressing their feel
ings. At the Christmas season,
mapy have expres.sed their thank
fulness for the Great Gift and
their joy in the season itself. So
it is that there are many selections
CHRISTMAS CAROLS
HAVE BEEN SUNG
SINCE 13TH CENTURY
Christmas comes again, and with
it the singing of many old and
familiar Christmas carols. We
seldom pause long enough in the
exultant and joyful spirit of the
;eason to question the origin and
meaning of the carols we sing
familiarly. The carols and Christ
mas go together because they were
ght into the world at the same
time, at least the carols as we
know them today.
The world "Carol” is derived
from the two words, “cantare”,
meaning “to sing”, and "rola”, an
interjection of joy. Caroling means
to sing joyfully. Being a species
of folk art, the carol comes to us
known in some countries as folk
songs, in England as Carols and
As practiced m England, carol
ers would go from house to house,
and frequently were invited in
side for refreshments. This cus
tom i; growing to be more popular
in America. Many groups in vari
ous churches gather together on
Christmas Eve and in one large
group go from one home to an
other. singing the good tidings of
peace and great joy.
Many are saying that we hare
lost the true spirit of Christmds
and that Christmas has become too
commercialized. If this is true,
we may well consider the carol as
a means of bringing back the true
Christmas spirit—that of good
cheer, neighborliness, good-will
among men. “The first Christmas
morning,” says an old writer, “was
a time of rejoicing. In the heavens
the angels sang the first Christmis
carol, heralding the birth of the
Savior!”
SCIENCE NOTES
With “Truth” as its motto. Har
vard University fittingly closed its
tercentenary celebration with the
historic pledge to continue the
search for truth. The renewal of
this pledge is fitting for other rea
sons. The parade of painstakingly
acquired knowledge which featur
ed the tercentenary could not have
failed to open the eyes of the sav
ants to the vastness of the phy
sical, mental, and spiritual worlds
still unconquered. For them lo
fail to dedicate themselves to fur
ther effort in the search for truth
would have been to manifest a
sense of smugness—resting on the
accomplishments of the past—or
of indifference.
The president of Harvard, Dr.
James B. Conant, chemist, quoted
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who speak
ing of the American scholar al
most one hundred years ago, de
clared that the scholar is that man
who must take up unto himself
all the ability of the time, all the
contributions of the past, all the
hopes of the future. As this spe
cification with the passing of time
becomes increasingly difficult, and
with this “unquiet modern world
which inventions have compressed
to the size of Emerson’s America”,
Dr. Conant pleads that the burden
be borne not by one individual or
group, but by those who live in
many lands.
Truth as an abstract force and
freedom of inquiry is now as ever
before and ever will be, a crying
need of the hour. It is undeniably
significant that the decline of the
by-products of ignorance—preju
dice and intolerance—^has accele
rated with the growth of knowl
edge and freedom of inquiry. They
fade in the light of truth.
B. S. U. COLUMN
A meeting of the general B. S.
U. was held at the regular time
Thursday morning, December 3,
during the chapel hour. After a
devotional led by Lowell Sodeman
and Mattie Gray Hoggard, Made
line Modlin, who was presiding,
announced a plan of socials for
week-ends at the college. Ruby
Caudle, Y. W,. A. leader, announced
the purpose and the plans of Lot
tie Moon Christmas offering this
year. The main feature of the
program was a talk based on per
sonal experiences by Norman L.
Blythe.
At the regular B. S. U. Council
meeting Thursday night, Decem
ber 3, plans v/ere made to encour
age attendance at the various or
ganizations through the member
ship committee, the leaders of the
organizations, and the B. S. U.
president.
Miss Jeannette Valentine was
the week-end guest of November
28 with Miss Florine Farless in
Colerain.
Misses Mattie Gray Hoggard,
Virgie Cowan, and Margaret Mil
ler were tlie Than’Ksgiving dinner
guests of Miss Elizabeth Brett, of
Murfreesboro of the class of 1936.
Dr. Frank H. Leawell, executive
secretary of the Southwide B. S.
U., will be on Chowan campus
February 11-12, 1937. Mr. Perry
Crouch, secretary of Christian
education in North Carolina, wHl
come with him. Dr. Leawell will
meet with the B. S. U. council on
Thursday and conduct chapel Fri
day.
The B. S. U. Council sponsored
a “Sunrise Service” in the ravine
Thanksgiving morning. Eleanor
Daniel presided, and after a brief
devoitonal Miss Ivey Gravette, the
Council advisor, gave a short but
very impressive Thanksgiving
message conc>ti>ung thoughts well
to be observed on Thanksgiving
Day.
Florence Ward, chairman of the
entertainment committee, with the
B. S. U. Council hasmade ar
rangements for all college students
to enjoy a social hour each Sat
urday night from 7:30 until 9
o’clock. This social hour is held for
the benefit of those students who
remain at the college during the
week-ends. Both the day stu
dents and the co-eds are invited.
The first social was held Saturday
night, December 5, and proved to
be quite a success.
The membership contest for the
month of November won 25 new
members. The Eunice McDowell
Union, with Walter Dudley as pre-
(Continued on page 3)
BOOK WORM
An old, musty' book entitled
“Letters From An American
Farmer” is not one which most
of us would feel an immediate urge
to read; however, the date 1793
might rouse our curiosity suf
ficiently to cause us to look into
it. Such a book is in the Chowan
College library, and contains let
ters of J. Hector St. John, a farm
er of Pennsylvania, written to the
Abbe Raynal of England. After
returning to England from a visit
to America, and in the home of
Mr. St. John, the Abbe wrote and
desired him to keep up a corre
spondence.
To us this request, though per
haps complimentary, would not
be a cause for extragrdinary
amazement and consternation. In
the home of the St. Johns, how
ever, it caused as much excite
ment as would the explosion of , a
bombshell in the front yard. Writ
ing letters was not as simple a
matter as it is in our day. Mr. and
Mrs. St, John discussed the matter
at great length, read and reread
the letter to make sure of its con
tents, and finally called in the
minister for a consultation.
We find some pithy comments
during the course of their discus
sion. Mrs. St. Johns was aston
ished that her husband actually
contemplated such a correspond
ence. “Wouldst not thee,” she
said, “be ashamed to write unto a
man who has never in his life done
a single day’s work, no, not even
felled a tree; who hath expended
the Lord knows how many years
in studying stars, geometry, stones,
and flies, and in reading folio
books? Who hath travelled, as he
told us, to the city of Rome it
self! Where is it that these Eng
lish folks won’t go?”
The minister, however, was en
couraging: “Although he is a man
of learning and taste, yet I am
sure he will read your letters with
pleasure: if they be not elegant,
they will smell of the woods, and
be a little wild; I know your turn,
they will contain some matters
which he never knew before.”
His wife, practical soul, though
relenting, was still skeptical, and
warned: “If thee persistest in be
ing such a foolhardy man, let it
be kept a secret among us; if it
were once known abroad that thee
writest to a great and rich man
over at London, there would be
no end of the talk of the people;
some would vow that thee art go
ing to turn an author; some would
say this, some would say that.
Therefore, let it be as great a
secret as if it was some heinous
crime. I would not have t’nen,
James, pass for what the world
calleth a writer; no, not for a peck
of gold, as the saying is,” The good,
wife did not approve of writers.
The letters which follow well
prove that the minister was cor
rect in his conjectures. They are
written with a freshness and
naivete which undoubtedly de
lighted the Abbe Raynal, for he
was moved to publish them both
in England and America.
An interesting feature of the
copy in the Chowan library is the
signature upon the title page' of
W. H. Murfree, who founded Mur
freesboro. Mrs. H. McD. Spiers
preseiited the book to Chowan.
Of quite a different type is a
little book called “Mental Im
provement”. It consists of a
series of conversations among
members of a family, designed to
instruct the youth of 1809. It iS
not only instructive, but extreme
ly remarkable to us to note the
words of wisdom issuing from the
children of this family.
Fancy Cecilia, aged twelve,
making the following statement:
“I thank you, dear mamma, in the
name of my brothers, and sisters,
for the pleasure you have given
us in allowing us to accept Farm
er Dobson’s invitation to his sheep-
shearing. We have passed a very
agreeable afternoon, both from the
civility of the honest farmer and
his wife, and the novelty of the
scene, which was very striking to
us. It reminded me of Thomson’s
description of a sheep-shearing,
which, with your leave, I will re
peat.”
Her mother grants her leave,
(Continued on page 3)