The Complete Club Book for Women

Song: "Hark, Hark, the Lark!"

Reading: From "Our Neighbors, the Birds," by Mabel Osgood Wright.

Reading or recitation: Shelley's "To a Sky-Lark."

Paper: "The Birds and the Milliner."

Reading: From "The Tragedies of the Nests," by John Burroughs.

Song: "Spring Hath Waked the Song-Bird," by Mendelssohn.

Reading: From "Bird Courtship," by John Burroughs.

Recitation: "The Robin Singing in the Rain," by Kate Upson Clark.

Song: "Swing, Robin, Swing."

For some of these readings others may be substituted if preferred. Here are a few suggestions, which can readily be amplified: "Baby Days" and "The Tricks and Manners of a Cat-Bird," by Olive Thorne Miller; "Bird Life and Its Romance," by John Lea, and numerous magazine articles which may be found in an "Index to Periodical Literature," contained in all public libraries.

Among the many poems appropriate to the occasion are: "O, Swallow, Swallow, Flying, Flying South," from Tennyson's "Princess" and Wordsworth's "To a Sky-Lark."

Some lovely songs are: "From Twig to Twig," by Rubinstein; "The Passage Birds' Farewell," by Mendelssohn, and "The Nightingale," by Schumann. Liza Lehman has also written some fascinating bird songs, including "The Wood Pigeon," "The Yellowhammer" and "The Owl."

A really valuable paper on "Bird Music" might be written; material for this will be found in any good reference library, for it is a subject which has interested several musicians. A delightful discussion could easily be arranged by the chairman of the day on "Personal Experiences with Birds," with brief talks by members on what they have actually observed in the way of nest building or feeding of young birds, or how they have tamed some bird.

IX – THE MODERN SCIENCE OF HOUSEHOLD SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Paper on Our Grandmothers' Ways (disregard of what is to-day considered as essential).

The Sanitary Nursery; carpets or rugs; cribs; ventilation; the preparation of foods for children; the care of milk; the baby's bottle; disinfection.

The Sanitary Kitchen; sinks and floor corners; mops and dish-cloths; refrigerators.

The Butcher and Grocer; pure food.

The Family Table; discussion on new ideas; vegetarianism; the use and abuse of cereals; how to meet the high cost of living sensibly.

X – THE PHYSICAL SIDE OF THE CHILD

Paper: A Child's Right to a Perfect Body.

Paper: The Child's Sleep. Arrangements for Perfect Sleep; Hours for Sleep.

Discussion: Shall the Baby Sleep Out of Doors?

Paper: The Child's Dress; Healthfulness; Simplicity; the Plague of Clothes.

Paper: The Child's Food. The Education of Mothers on This Line; the Milk-Supply in Town and Country.

Discussion: A Child's Health as Affected by Its Surroundings.

Paper or Talk: The City Child and the Country Child.

Should music be made a feature of these meetings, there are settings of Stevenson's, Eugene Field's and Riley's child verses which would be especially appropriate.

XI – AN AMERICAN POET AND HIS FRIENDS

Paper on Longfellow's Early Home and Life.

Talk: His Married Life; His Children.

Reading: The Children's Hour.

Paper on Longfellow as Harvard Professor.

Readings from His American Poems: "Hiawatha," "Evangeline," "Courtship of Miles Standish."

Paper: Foreign Honors; Westminster Abbey.

His Translations: Norwegian, "The Saga of King Olaf"; Swedish, "King Christian"; German, "The Happiest Land"; French, "A Quiet Life"; Spanish, "Coplas de Marigue."

Talk: At Mount Auburn.

XII – AN EDUCATIONAL MEETING

Paper or talk on Froebel and the Kindergarten. The Kindergarten in the Public School. The Sanitation of Our Public Schools. Discipline in the School. The Relations of Teacher and Parent. Beautifying the School-Building and Grounds.

The discussion might also be on such topics as Social Life Versus School Life; The Health of High-School Girls; Athletics and Study, etc.

The topic in the program of "Froebel and His Work" might be taken up by a trained kindergartner; perhaps the head of a high school might come in and speak on the Health of the High-School Girl, and some teacher interested in art might tell what could be done to beautify the school-building with pictures, plaster casts and growing plants, the grounds outside with trees and vines. By dividing the subject into Primary Schools and High Schools, and arranging the topics under each and adding to them, two programs could easily be made out of this one. Or, a meeting could be held, following this one, on college life, in its various aspects; college for girls; athletics; training for life in college and outside, and the relation of college boys and girls to their homes.

XIII – A MAGAZINE MEETING

Give to six members the names of four or five good magazines, and ask one to speak of some of the essays in them; another to take up the travel articles; a third the poetry; a fourth the popular science, and a fifth the short stories. Let each give a brief résumé of the one which seems best of all to the speaker, and have a sixth read some of the lighter and more humorous bits of prose and verse from the various magazines.

The chairman of the day might also prepare a short discussion by four of the members, each one speaking for two minutes at the close of the program on such subjects as "Do We Read Too Many Magazines?" "Do They Affect Our More Serious Reading?" "The Growth of the Short Story" and "Which Magazine Seems on the Whole the One Best Worth Taking in a Family, and Why?"

Some one might also speak on the subject of "What Each Magazine Seems to Stand For"; one perhaps has most literary quality, one bright fiction, and so on. A very clever talk might be given also, comparing the magazines now with those published thirty years and more ago, with some idea of the writers of that time and the general character of the articles.

XIV – PROGRAM FOR A THANKSGIVING MEETING

Business; reports of secretary and treasurer.

Paper or talk on The First Thanksgiving Day.

Reading from "Old Town Folks," by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Getting Ready for Thanksgiving.

Reading or recitation from "Miles Standish."