Seventy-two

For the ttrst time In the history of our schools Univcrsity hall lias been used for the high school commcnccmcnt exercises, and long before ten o'clock a. m. last Frldny the people began to fill that vast auditorium, go that when "the band beg.in to play" there were about 2,000 assembled to Iluten to the orations and essays of the graduating class. Prnyer was offered by Rey. Dr. Haskell, who referred in a feeling manner to those wl,o would have been present had they not fallen by the wayside and ;ind been gathered to their Father's home. The music for the occasion, fnrnished by the Chequamegons was of a superior order, and gave excellent satisfaction. The program was coininenced wlth an oration. A Plea for the Rustían Peaêantry. By Arthur H. Covert, of Superior. He opened with the uss Ttinu tlmt man is by divine appolntmentau Inherltor of personal llberty, hul Unit ho quletly subiuita to laws ofgovruinent, except wben too baUly oppressed, when he Justly revolts. To-day we are oalled upon to witm-ss one of the most appalllug spectacles clvtllzatlon ba ever seen, tbe opprensión and degredatlon of the peasantry of Kiisshi. The poiiKiintiv constitutes nlneteuthsof the populatton of Kussta, and they are pnu-t l-al ly owned by tho arlstocracy, who hold in their possesslon all the land, which the peasanls are oompellod to rent at exorbitant rutes and when unable to pay their renta, are turned adrlfl llke dog. The speaker thoiiKht no one would ilinpulf'tlnit Kus-ln deserved the condeinnatlon of all Iberly-lovlng people, and that in no other natlon could the mass of the people be found in Kuch tin utterly deplorable coQdltion. ltussla was able to reform but dld not want to, it w as the üeHtre of the rulers to perpetúate that state of things. "Wliat Is the purpose of government, If not to Mess 1U subJecls ? " "No man can govern a people without belng one of the people." The tboughu were excellent, well expressed and nlcely dellvereii, and were umciently democratie In tendeuules to expel the Idea from the head of ereu (ov. l.ura, tliat our schools tend to foster aristocratie notlons. Conventimality. By Sara Q. Come, Ann Arbor. Il is characlerlsUc of the human famlly to run in groovea. The principie of caste is oue deeply rooted in tbe human heart. In America, wealtu seems to be tbe one thlng worahlped and convemionallty Malles approval upon that WDich is oostly. A house must be refurnlsued every three or four season. In dreHS the fashlong conBtautly demand new and dltfereul things, and iimny a man spends hls entlre lncome In keeping lu tbe groove conventionallly layit out, and when reverses come he Is unprepared, and goesdown. The evlls of tamefy submlttlng to the popular tlde, I astead of raanfully brea8tlng 11- and doiug the rlght thlng, was grueefully portrayed, aud the eisaylsts closed wlth a quotatlon froia Dr, Holland: The need for reform Is everywhere. and when all is reformed who suull reform tbe reformera?" The BenefiU of Vice, as deplcted by Nellle G. Phillips, of Ann Arbor, was of much Interest. She thought that muiiy of the dark tblngs of life were only seemlng, and wben exaiolned and analyzed were found to be put here for sonie good purpose. It was the constant ett'ort of those In the humblest walks of llfe to lift themselves to the class above, and that cluss was constantly endeavoring to wurk tli. Ir wuy to lüe hlgher classes, whlle theldleuessand luxuriouseaseof tbe wealthy arlstocracy brought upon them vlees that wrought their own destructlou, and thus lelt room to be tllled by those working up from bclow. In some iustances the only hope of the people has been In the vlees of ttielr wlcked rulers. At the eitrllest possible moment of our Uves we are placed lu physical danger that we may learn to guard agaiost them and provide our own necessltles, and il is the same wlth the moral llfe. Thleves and robbers never eujoy their galns, for the passlons that control them leau to their destrucllou; as an instance the James gang was cited. Krom the oppresslon of our fathers sprang glorlous America. It was the dark crime oi slavery tbal caused our late war, but theresult liberated millionsof human belngs. We look wlth horror iipon the crime tbat uallud our (Saviour to the cross, but the cross has becoine the symbol of elerual hope to all ciirlstendom. The Land of Promise, hy Qrace A. Stayt, Anu Arbor. The poetical Idea tbat "man is a pllgrlm here below," is a true one, as he hasalways been a wanderer. In the case of Abraham tbe voice of Uod hluiself bade hlm jouraey west, and from that time man's uourse hasalways been in the same dlrection. To-day, the slreant of humanlty Is pouring out ou to the broad plains and fertlle valleys of our great western suites, where each family sees lu the future lts land of promise. a happy home hewn out of the wilderness by persistent labor and herolc self denlals. The western prane, aud the western mountalni, mines and valleys were plctured lu glowlng colors, iis thu abode ol mauy mlllions of our people lu the coming years. Wltb her wellrouuded seuleuces. good voice, excelleut deIlvery, pretty and graceful nianuers, the essayist captured the heaits as well as the heads of her uudlence. The Art of üaking Poverty, by Thomas B. Cooley, Aun Arbor. There is a coiumon but errouèouK tinpression that every man deslres, riclies.aud tlmt hc beuds every energy to tbeir lo-iiniiilalion, but most people neem lo be occupled in maklug poverty, and natter themselves thal they oajoy It. In America there Is a coiupetence witliin tlie reach of every able-bodied man, If only strlves for 11. Mauy care more for ease than accumulating a competence, aud waste their tlme;others work unoeasiUKly, but waste their earnlngs lu varlous ways. A single clgar, for Instance, may be indulged lu untll it renders accumulut ion lmposslble. A glass of wlue Is a thing in luself mat can liana no man, but lts ladutgence rulns tbousauds. Temptations are about uk on every side, aud It is for us to deelde whelher we shall fulfll a noble destlny or becoiue worthless to ourselves. The only way lo success is by untlriug tndustry and perse veranee. Let u then be up and doins;, With a heart tor any fate, Still achievlni, .till punuing, Learn to labor and to wait. The Heen and the Unteen. M. Belle Sperry, Ann Arbor Town. Spring time Is a new act In the drama of the seasons. The frozeu streaius are unlocked aud go ehattrlng, hurrylng off; the trees awakened from thelr long rest put fortb thelr leaves, aud ¦nulher earth glows in velvety graen. We gaze wlth admlratlon upon the beautltul tlower, but wheu we try to look further into the stem of the youug plant we caunotsee how the leaf Is made it colorlng glven or lu delicate frlnges eut. All of nalure's workshops are unseen. 'ui te as much in our own live Is Ihere a seen and unseen. The thouithta we cherlsh wlthln us make our character. In this great mass oí human belnicsall can not be good. Noble Impulses are bidden genis. The little unseen farces of our Uves are as rain drops, wben the un shines upon them redecís our cnaructer. We oanuot see the holy spirit wheu It enters the hearts of a repenlant sinner, but when he commences doiug good, Is It not evldence of an unseen power? Evidouce of thls power is everywhere; aclence cannot set It aslde ; nlillosopliers have failed to explaln it, nor do we hope they ever wlll, for "now we nee as through a glass darkly, but then face to face." Whut Nextf By Earl B. Dow, Itellefontalne, Ohio. History is au epitome of change. Hut, however great. the one grand motive of every age and every rank has been : "Let us progresa " Thls foroe ensnrined In every hunian soul. no power can curb, deep, mlghty. misterlous. There Is only one dlrection, and that forward. The speaker tben traced in eloquent phrase the course of religión aud civlllzatlon from the bondage of the Chlldren of Israel, through the campalgns of Alexander and the grand Crusades that crushed the despotlsm of the feudal system. Then another cloud appeared rising out of the soutu, the eloak of Pope Leo. It feil upou and became the shroud of many natlons. Then carne the cry, what next? But hark, liear that volee! How sweat the answor: "Martin Luther." Thls oration was probably the most eloquent, and dellvered in the most polislied manner, of any of the day, and left he general Impression that lts auilior iiilght some day rival the late Henry Ward Bceeher in the line of pulpit eloquence. Couraae and Raihnets. Viola M. Williams, Anu ArT)or Town. What Is the difTerenceT Courage comes from flrmness of spirit and herolsinofsoul. Itashness acts upon the tlrst Impulse Courage conslders well before actInK Courage thiuks twlce; rashness thlnks nol at all. There Is little dlfterence lu the motive. A courageoua man act, cooly, a rah one rushes bllndfy forward. Coiuage Is the better part, but rashness preforable to cowardlce. Kaatern and Weitern Civilitalion. BenJ. E. lae Ann Arbor. Kastern clvllliation Is Hlatiönary, Western progresslve: iu the foriner the goveruinent are despotlc. In tlie lulter constltutlonal In form ; in the east the iHMiple are serfs and ignorant. In the west the Jeople are free and Intelligent; In the one the Lople are made for klngs, In the olber the Pulers are made lor the people. The reeks uppealed to Europe in valu to savo Constantlnople from the hands of eastern eivlllzation. and now Constantlnople Is agaln the great iilvot H should be the ohlef alm of Kuropèiin stalesiueu toprevent llie power of Ki ssla from selzlng thls ureat gateway. W nat mliiht nol her power be wlth thlh in her posMMlonT Whlle thls natlon eau not enter Into the contest It should glve it moral support agalnst Kussia'sagKressTve polley. The piece was full of sound reasoning aud good common sense, and was excelled by not auother one. A Oeente of PosMve Opiniont. Anna B. Wllsey. Ann Arbor. Thls essay wasapleu for the men of posltlve opinlons who had the courage to malntaln the same tlugh the popular clamor bc agalnsttbem; Wm. Lloyd Öarrliton with hls lltlle newspaper shook the country to IU foundation ; and he dld not lonií stand alone. Wendeli Phillips bas sald thttt when you nud a dozen or more men pleilged toan Idea, you havemet a revolution. Other great men of poaitlve oplulons mentloned were Martin I.uther KoX and ottm. The world has but lew thlnker, but what would we be without them? What would have been the fate of America had there been no Christopher Columbus? What wecando the best the Lord ouly can teach us. Oh, that we oould act accordlng to our cony ctlous i.ractlce what we preach, and above all thlngs ureach what we belleve. People who have opinlons of thelr own and the courage to eipress them lose frlends and make eneni les. P'hrlst dled upon the cross, betrayed by a frlend.and we cali ourselves followers of Hlm. Vletory ha ever perchcd upon the bannen o men of poattlvc oonvlcttons. Tlie esaay was well recelved, and the the slrapUolty o ndornmeiit, beauty and grace of the essayUt ini.lixl in ita charm. Satire and Ui UWeeM. Nellle O. Williams. Anderson. SatlrTeal writlngs obtaln a greal dogree of populartly, especially aatlre agalnsl Individuáis, whlcn is the keeueal method of revenga. lopc was a wlcked wasp, and wlth hls keen thrusts overwhelmed nis llternry ouemies. Truo satire Is prompted by a noble spirit. Addlson was clted as a true satlrlat who never deHltau unfalr blow. In oontrasl was s in. wliorallod wlth unscrupulous sari-HMii agalnatthe government, and agalnst tbose In high standing, and witfi wonderfully brlght and dazzllng flash l the keenest wit exponed the black lboughta of men. Iu the early davs of the slavery agltation James KuHselllIiOwelI employed satire to ridicule thennti-slavery belfevers.and oneoftbe boldestploces of satire ever wrltten was oneof the letters In the North Amerloan Review, holding Lowell up to tlerlslon,;but It was unfalr, forlt Is the public doeds not the private Ufe of men in whlch the people are Interested. It Is generally unwlse and dangerous to satlrIze and ridicule religión, and yet Voltalre, in hls day, efl'ecled much good by tearlng the mask from the corrupt church of that perlod and thoH modern auperstlliou recelved a deadly blow. Science, fYiend or Fue t By Mark Kook well, Oorey. It Is absurd to regard sclenoe as a tu. The crneltles of vivlsectlon have been held uu as a terrible thlng, but the Uves of milllons of our blrds, taken to gratlfy the vanlty of dress, stlrs no aympathy In the bearta of these people. The speaker then referred to the great lmprovements that Hclence had given to the world lu tbe telegraph.telephone wlilch crowda luto days the events oi moiitliK, In machlnery of all kinds, eto., and argued that the world bad been bettered a thouxand fold by ltsproduetlons. TbelalMirer who cries out agalnst linproved machtnery forgeto thal It takes labor lo produce the machino, and that where hels shut ofl In one Held auother opons up to blm. Tbe laborlng classes are the very ones who can not a Hord toopposescientiflc progresa, in tbe pages of hlstory there are no ñames uobler than those who have spent thelr lives in unfoldlug tbe law or nature. Luck or QumpUont Qertrude S. Wade, Ann Arbor. How orten do we flnd people searcblng for a four-leafed dover and Imagine they can have no good luck antll one can be found, and we belleve them not entlrely free from superstltlon. If this is only an ldle fancy whence qame the general belief In UT We ofieii ponder over the aeemlug suoceaa of a frlend,wnlle another frlend,equally descrving, meeU wlth UI success on every band. To live one must enter lato the game and whlrl wlth the wbirllng world. It is uot always the men who possess the greatest push and natural forcé to whom the world uwea;the most, for sueh men would niake very poor presidenta of peace socletles. Wlth some men you could argue In valn for good roads, hut Just propoNcJa boulevard and they are wlth you- nol a cent for roads butmllllons for boulevards. How often do we see see genlua thwarted. Nature bllghts tbousKnds where ahe only rlpens one. The raoe Is not always to the swlrt, the battle to the ¦trong, or rlches to men of understandlng. Thla was one of the brlghtestof the many brlght essays of the day, and the pleaslng marnier of lts author gave It a tone that a pencll finds dlfflcult to transfer to paper. This closed the programme, of whlch too tnany wordu of praise cautiot be spoken. There was nota poor paper or oration In the entire number, iu fact all were of a superior order. After the diplomas had been riven, and tbe boquete and presenta all received by the jjraduates the benediction was pronounoed nnd the audience filed out to the pleasing struius of the Chequainegons.