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5 F-S F3 .
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNIVERSITY ATHLKTIC ASSOCIATION., v
Vol. 6,
UNIVERSITY Of NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, N. C, January 25th. 1898.
NO. 13.
it v p x
, .jfck. tiff
PROF, MERRIL'S LECTURE
A Delightful Hour With the- Van
' (jerlilt 'Elocutionist,
It was a ; delighted audience that
left the Chapel last Tuesday evening
after having' heard the recitals and
readings of . Prof A. II. Merrill of
Vaflderbilt University. Mr. Merrill,
gfrbly recommended, came to us un
der the management of the Athletic
Association and those who went out
to Itear rm were looking forward to a
pleasant evening, and they were not
disappointed. Dr. Alderman introdu
ced the lecturer in a short appropriate
speech in which he spoke of the kind
ly feelings and relation of our own
University to Vandet bilt. The speak
er was greeted with applause and
opened his program with a selection
from Thomas Nelson .Page's
"Uric Edinburgh Drowndin".' We
are all familiar with this well known
dialect story of the ante-bellum Vir
ginia negro, but only those who have
heard such renditions as Prof. Merrill
gave us can appreciate the real beauty
of the story. It was as true to life as
if we had been hearing "Uncle" Edin
burg himself tell the tale. The alli
ance thoroughly enjoyed the recitati
on and the frequent bursts of laughter
showed that they fully appreciated
the old negro's humor.
The next piece was one of a totally
different kind but the speaker showed
himself fully capable of the change.
It was a selection from one of Rich
ard. Harding Davis' stories. It was a
court scene in a Texas court. Two' rar
ities of composition entered into this,
one the speech of the prosecuting
lawer, the other was the speech of the
prisoner.after the jury had found him
guilty. Both were giver, true to life
and though at one instance we found
ourselves condeming the prisoner, at
the next tears glittered in the eyes of
the audience and glance of approval
were cast on the speaker when the
judge declared the sentence indefinitely
suspended.
The next was the recitation of Eu
gene Field's "Seeing Things at
Night". Now the lecturer was a small
boy boasting of his bravery in one
breath and in the next telling of the
frights he had at night on seeing all
sorts of things especially after a day
of unusually wicked deeds."' Laughter
was in vogue now and everyone did
thoroughly enjoy a few minutes of
this healthful exercise.
Prof. Merrill next introduced us to
our old friend Rip van Winkle and
carried us with him into the goblin's
house on the mountain. We have of
fen seen this scene acted and heard it
recited but never before with such re
alistic efforts as under the artistic
handling of Prof. Merrill.
After an intermission of ten min
utes the entertainment was concluded
the reading of W. D. Howell's
farce .."The Sleeping Car". Prof.
Merrill's power of adapting himself
to the character of the different per
sonages is indeed wonderful. The
house was in a perfect uproar through
out the entire reading of the farce and
the "spontaneous combustion, of ap
plause" with apologies to Mark Med
dlefrom the audience at the end
showed their appreciation for the de
utful evening which they owed to
Prof. Merrill.
From a Student's Standpoint.
There was' an article in last
week's Tar Heel setting- forth the
great need in the University' of a
teacher of Elocution. We have
since learned that through the ef
forts of our esteemed Professor of
English, who is indefatigable in his
endeavors to render the . University
and
students overv service in
his
power, such a teacher, has been: se
cured. We do not know how soon
he will be at the University; but
trust in time to train the ""speakers
for Commvncemen t .
It is a sad fact that in these pro
saic and scientific days the, good
speaker and the good conversation
alist, the man who char nip by his
flow of -wit and his elegant manner
of speech is a rarity. He is cer
tainly not trained at the University.
And -we need not expect the teacher
ot doctition. when he comes,' to fill
d need." He can do
'the
iu
uiei
Ins. part, but there are other paeans
often neglected that might be used
by the teachers in the various de
partments and by the students
p-reat
el ve.
which would go
the-.;
way to vards the development of
the power of expression. The
writer would not presume to criti
cise the methods of teaching adopt
ed by the instructors, but, having
felt keenly the lack of this art of
expressing himself, would make
some, suggestions from the students
stand-point.
One ' cannot learn to talk except
by talking. Some of the professors
encourage the students to express
their views on class and discuss
with them freely the questious that
come up. But enough of this is not
done. It is true that many of the
classes are too large to be conduct
ed in this way, but in the Junior
and Senior Classes, at least, this
method can be adopted effectually.
Let the teacher require the student
to state his opinion and defend it,
not confining himself to the book.
Make the recitation a round table
where each man feels free to have an
opinion and to express it. It is too
often the case that the teacher is so
full of his own knowledge that he
iuiafines he must do all the talking
himself. Life is so short that he
must hasten and unload his valua
ble store into the empty brains of
his students lest wisdom should die
with him. This soon becomes mo
notonous to the student and it all
passes in at one ear and out at the
other. His lessons are not prepared
because lie d?esnot expect to be
called on; and he not only doesn't
learn. anything; but also misses the
valuable training in expression that
he might get by being often requir
ed to answer on class.
Now as to the student. What
can he do to develop himself along
this particular line? Let him pre
pare his lessons with the expecta
tion of being called on on every par-
graph in it.
As he read.-, it over,
let him ask himself the question,
'now how would I answer this if I
' Continued to fourth page.
The Mew Hotel.
And they say Chapel Hill is to have
a new hotel. It is to be built by' Mr.
Peckham of New York, proprietor of
the University Inn. All of Pickard's
old hotel between the brick part and
the Inn is to torn away and the new
hotel built in its place. The first floor
will contain the dining- room, parlor,
offices, and sample room; There
will be twenty four rooms on the sec
ond floor. The contract has been ta
ken by ijachary and Zachary of
Raleigh for $6000, the hotel to be fin
ished by the 20th of April,
Chapel Hill has for a long time felt
the. need of a new hotel, but lacked an
enterprising man. to build one. We
can't see where a more paying1 invest
ment could be made, and feel sure
that Air. Peckham is doing a good
thins: for himself as well as for the
University.
Bolder TUan Ever.
The presumption of our friends
the entlemen -highwaymen who
have of. late been infesting the roads
around Chapel Hill is getting to be
quite annoying.
Percy Whitaker was strolling
through the woods near the campus
about dusk last Friday afternoon
and struck into the Raleigh road
immediately' in front of the ceme
tery whereupon there was a slight
rustle in the hushes net far ahead.
Looking in that direction our friend
perceived the figure of a man be
hind a bush le.-s than fifty yards
away. It did not take him long to
decide he'd gone far enough so he
"about faced" and resumed his
stroll towards College. But the
highwaymen was not to be so easily
thwarted. He began to describe a
semi-circle through the woods but
his intentions were discovered and
P. Whitaker showed him a clean
pair of heels thereby making good
his escape.
UNIVERSITY RECORD.
Not CJeophas.
The following notice appeared on
the bulletin board last Thursday:
"I, L. L. Allen, otherwise known as
Peck and Uuncle . Zeke, hereby chal
lenge any student of the University,
or any member of the Faculty, or any
body thats' got anything to do with
the. college to wrestle with me at any
place or any time."
This is not Cleophas the inventor,
but Zeke-the wrestler. -
Meeting of A .
The regular meeting of the Alpha
Theta Phi Society, the .University
honorary society, was held in the
Modern Language room Friday at
2:30.
The president "Mr. Henderson an
nounced that Mr. P. 11. Kiev having
retired from college the office of secre
tary fell to Mr, E. K. Graham. Mr
K. H. Lewis having the next highest
grade was elected treasurer.
The following gentlemen were init
iated into the society, C. S, Carr '"-',
C. it. Benson '99, J. K. Dower- "W,
!Jno. Donnelly '99, Marsden Bellamy
'99, and J. R, Carr.
A Full R.eview Given.
The University Record is again be
fore us showing in. simple statement
of fact that ve are indeed in the line
of progress. Ten days after opening,
the University had registered 490 for
the spring- term, and of these over
ninety per. cent are North Carolinians
"a larger percentage" says the Re
cord, than- is shown by. any other
State University.
Extracts from Dr. Weeks' valuable
Civil War pamphlet are continued.'
In this paper it is seen that the
mind which guided the State through
those turbulent times was of Universi
ty rearing. The leader of secession
forces in North Carolina, the -delegation
sent to Alabama, to meet similar
delegations from other states, three of
the five commissioners sent to the
Peace Congress at' Washington am
one third of the Secession Convention
had been students in this University.
The Senators and Representatives
sent by this-Convention to the Provis
ional Congress of the Confederate
States were all University men.
The foot-ball situation is presented
from the standpoint of those who un
derstand the game and know its char
acter and effects from every day expe
rience "and have faithfully and con
scientiously considered it". The ne
cessity of exercise, the profit of recre
ation and the mental tonic of healthy
excitement are spoken of. The uni
versal interest, the scientific element
and mental training, the necessary
self control and the physical develop
ment connected with the game are
given their important relations to col
lege life. The roughness and dangers
are thoughtfully considered. While
in fifty match games and five hundred
practice games played during the last
eight years no serious injury has been
sustained, the University advocates
the elimination of features that tend
to cause lesser injuries and the out
look is that such changes will be in
troduced. The Record goes on to say
that only five days absence from class
work is allowed for trips, that the
players do not show a lower grade of
scholarship and that "no student who
has failed to pass in one half of his
examinations at the close of any term
can-become a member of a team dur
ing a subsequent term".
Governor Atkinson's veto of the
Georgia anti-football bill is commend
ed and a portion of the Governor's
message quoted. "It is not a pleasant
thought", adds the Record, "that this
outcry of fear from physical injury
should come from the South'.
In"The Curricula of the University,
1857 58 and J 897 98" one sees that
our post, bellum progress is not confin
ed to the number of students enrolled.
Four departments have been added,
the Faculty increased from twenty to
thirty and four important societies es
tablished. The address delivered by the Presi
dent at the David Gaston Worth mem
orial services is fittingly preserved in
the Record'. It is a feeling tribute to
a well spent life.
In Germany university students are
exempt from arrest by the police.
A. College of Commerce and Politics
is to be formed under the auspicies of
Chicago University.
J