The Complete Club Book for Women

CHAPTER XVII

The Age of Queen Anne

I – IMPORTANCE OF THIS PERIOD

The reign of Queen Anne, the last sovereign of the House of Stuart, is one of the important epochs in English history. McCarthy says it ranks with that of Pericles in Greece, of Augustus in Rome, and of Elizabeth in England. In war, in politics, in the spread of social democracy, and above all in literature, this was truly a remarkable period.

In order to understand the times several meetings should be given to a comprehensive view of Europe. The reign of Louis XIV and a sketch of his court will fill one meeting. One on Spain should follow; a third may take up Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire, and what it stood for. After these have a fourth presenting the question of the balance of power in Europe. Discuss the English Pretender in France. Follow with brief papers on Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden.

II – THE QUEEN AND HER COURT

Turning now to England, Queen Anne and her court may be taken up in detail. Anne lacked the force of the Tudors and the attractive temperament of the Stuarts. She had neither the brains of her predecessor, William, nor the Teutonic dullness of the Georges who followed her; but she was, above all things, distinctly English. She loved her people; she believed in Protestantism; she was kind, affectionate and good; she possessed all the domestic virtues. Yet she was by no means a strong character. Her reign owes nothing of its brilliance to its queen. In everything she had to be guided, and the power of the individuals who governed her is one of the curious facts of the time. One paper may present her home life, with its simplicity. Contrast the court life of this period with that which had preceded it. Read selections from "Henry Esmond."

III – THE MARLBOROUGHS

The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough should be the theme of two papers. The latter had an extraordinary influence upon Anne and dictated her court policy. Read of the letters they exchanged, signed "Mrs. Morley" and "Mrs. Freeman." The Duke was a man in whom weakness and strength united. Have the paper on his character show his self-interest, his treachery even, and his notorious parsimony; contrast these qualities with those which redeemed the man. Note his wonderful military genius.

IV – THE WARS AND AFTER

After this will come the subject of the Grand Alliance, which will serve as an introduction to the great topic of the European wars which occupied the Continent for years. In studying this use a map at each meeting, and have papers on Marlborough in Flanders; the campaigns of the armies in Germany, Bavaria, and the West Indies; the war in Spain; the persecution of the Huguenots and Camisards and, finally, a summing-up of the struggle.

The next stages of the war may be divided into the Year of Victory and the Year of Defeat. If time allows, follow the war to its close.

The next great subject under Queen Anne's reign is that of the extension of power in England of the two great parties, the Whigs and Tories. Notice how the ministry changed from time to time, and who its leaders were. See how Anne, under the influence of a favorite, Mrs. Masham, gave her support to the Tories, and how this finally led to the Peace of Utrecht, which concluded the war.

Observe here the alienation which rose between the Duchess of Marlborough and the Queen, also the disgrace of Marlborough; read his letter of defense, and have a sketch of his later life. Show pictures of Blenheim Palace.

Following these events comes the Union of Scotland, Ireland and Wales with England, a topic full of interest. Discuss the bargain each country made; what did she lose and what did she gain? What results were brought about later?

The unpopularity of the Union in Scotland had one direct result, that of the rising in favor of the Young Pretender. Have a paper on this romantic episode. Observe how it led to the establishment of the Protestant Succession.

In closing this period study as many of the great leaders of English political life as possible, notably Walpole, Bolingbroke and the Earls of Oxford and Shrewsbury.

V – LITERATURE OF THE TIMES

Turning now from war and politics, there may be a delightful study of the literature of the time, for the period was one of great intellectual originality.

Dean Swift, the greatest English satirist, may be taken up first, his life, his work and his influence. Read from "The Tale of a Tub."

Addison may be studied as a man, a poet, an essayist and a dramatist. It was, however, as one of the two authors of The Spectator that he was most remarkable. Writing in collaboration with his friend Steele he gave his paper a world-wide popularity. Read from "Sir Roger de Coverley" and from comments upon it from some writers. Note also the founding of The Tatler, and point out the differences between that and The Spectator.

Alexander Pope was one of the geniuses of the time. Give a sketch of the man and his eccentricities. Read from the "Rape of the Lock," the "Dunciad," and the "Essay on Man"; also from his other poems, and his translations from Homer.

The life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu should be discussed, with readings from her still celebrated "Letters." The work of Daniel Defoe must also be noticed.

Addison was famous as a dramatist, and his "Cato" was believed at that time to be the forerunner of a new and brilliant era in the drama; it was received in London with enthusiasm.

VI – THE BEGINNING OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL

But it was perhaps the rise of the English novel which made the time most notable. Samuel Richardson wrote "Pamela," the first novel in which the interest centered exclusively upon the heroine, and followed it with "Clarissa Harlowe," which was immediately popular all over the English-speaking world. Both books were intended as moral tales by their author, whose sympathy with women was genuine and intelligent. The work done in science by Bishop Berkeley, and that of Sir Isaac Newton, with an account of the great controversy, should be studied. Take up also the music of Handel, then living in London, and the art of Wren, who was completing St. Paul's.

A study of the many famous clubs and coffee houses frequented by the writers of the day should be made here. There is much of interest in the life of the times, the duels, the gambling, the coaches and quaint inns and hostelries.

London itself is a most interesting subject; it was just being rebuilt after the great fire, and its churches should be especially noted as they almost wholly conform to the ideas of Wren. Describe the prisons, especially Newgate and the debtors' prisons.

There is an abundance of material on all these subjects, and many pictures. The book on coaching suggested below will give many ideas on vehicles and inns. Chapters in McCarthy's history will be found readable also. Among other reference books are these:

"Social life in the Reign of Queen Anne." J. Ashton. (Scribner.)

"Queen Anne and Her Court." P. F. Ryan. (Dutton.)

"The Reign of Queen Anne." Justin McCarthy. (Harper.)

"John and Sarah, Duke and Duchess of Marlborough." Stuart J. Reid. (Scribner.)

"Coaching Days and Coaching Ways." W. Outram Tristram. (Macmillan.)

"Among English Inns." Josephine Tozier. (The Page Company.)

CHAPTER XVIII

Our Educational System

In order to understand the state of education in our land to-day it is necessary to know something about the beginnings in our early history. So the first meeting should be on the founding of schools in Colonial and Revolutionary days.

One paper should tell of the earliest grant of money made by Parliament in 1619 for a university in Virginia. The Indian wars prevented the carrying out of the plan for a time, and meantime the first schoolmaster came over to the Dutch of New Amsterdam and opened a school in Brooklyn. The Boston Latin School was begun in 1635, two years later, and schools were opened also in Dorchester and New Haven. Notice that in many of these early schools provision was made to educate Indian children free of charge. Rhode Island had the first public school, founded at Newport in 1640. Throughout the colonies the schools were endowed with lands and money and later taxes were given for their support, but tuition was always paid.

I – COLONIAL COLLEGES

The Colonial colleges rose from the spirit of forty men, all educated at Cambridge, England, who lived in the New England colonies. John Harvard, a young minister, gave his library of two hundred and sixty volumes and half his estate of seventeen hundred pounds to found Harvard College.

The University of William and Mary rose in Virginia at this time, richly endowed at once with money, a tobacco revenue, and lands; this was the direct outcome of the school originally planned sixty years earlier.

Yale was founded in 1700, each trustee giving a few books as a guarantee; but it had been originally planned as early as 1647, when John Davenport had a lot set apart for a college in New Haven. Its early years were full of hardship; it existed at New Milford for fifteen years, and was not settled at New Haven until 1718, when it received a bequest of five hundred pounds from Elihu Yale.

All the colonies had grammar schools and a few had dame schools. The Massachusetts law of 1647 provided that when a town had one hundred families or householders they must set up a school under penalty of a fine. One paper should deal with the interesting topic of these early schools, their discipline, their curricula, their teachers. Notice especially the famous teacher Ezra Cheever, who compiled a Latin book and taught in many places for seventy years. His salary, a large one, was sixty pounds a year.

Another paper may be on the lack of school advantages for girls in early times. A few went to the dame schools, but many to none at all. It was not until Revolutionary times that the Moravians established a girls' school at Bethlehem and girls were admitted to the Penn School in Philadelphia and the Female Academy there; and in 1785 a girls' school was opened at Greenfield, Connecticut, and the Medford School near Boston in 1789.

Read from the opening chapter of "Education in the United States," by B. G. Boone (Appleton) and from "Old Town Folks," by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Close this meeting with a talk on early education in general; show how poor the school system was in the early days of the nineteenth century; speak of private schools for boys and girls, of schoolhouses and playgrounds and their gradual improvement. Mention the founding of each great college and where possible show pictures of them from old books and catalogues. Speak of famous educators and college presidents, and also of such women as Mary Lyon; read from her life recently published. Discuss the former attitude of men toward women's education with that of to-day.

II – KINDERGARTENS

Education to-day usually begins in the kindergarten, so the second meeting may begin with this topic by presenting a paper on Froebel, his ideas and methods, the adoption of his system of early education all over the world. Have a brief discussion follow it, showing some of the possible disadvantages of the work. Are children paid too much attention? Are they over-amused? Is it a benefit to children in their later education to have it begun in the kindergarten?

The second paper should turn at once to the Montessori method of teaching. It should explain exactly what it is and show how it differs from the kindergarten. There is abundance of material in present day magazines to make it perfectly plain. Speak of the rapid advance children make in development under this new system. Then have again a brief discussion: Is the Montessori system adapted to American children? Is it a benefit to them? Is it wise to develop the mind of a young child rapidly? What is the effect in its later education? Compare the system with that of the kindergarten. See: "Dr. Montessori's Own Method," by herself (Stokes), and "A Guide to the Montessori Method," Ellen Yale Stevens. (Stokes.)