and other measures secured an audience of about five hundred in the chapel of the Strong Place Baptist Church. The pastor of the church presided at the gathering.

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The secretaries of the three circles read a report of their work and the methods pursued in each circle. Their residences were given on the cards and new members were invited. Vocal and instrumental music were furnished. graceful and eloquent address followed on ‘Chautauqua, An Outlook," by Miss C. E. Coffin, President of the A. E. Dunning Circle. Mrs. George H. Hale of Ad Astra Circle read an excellent paper on 'Chaucer and his Pilgrims." Several of the Canterbury Tales were then told by members in costume, which closed a very enjoyable program, the tone and interest of which was well calculated to increase the popularity of the movement. A similar union meeting by four local circles in the eastern district of Brooklyn is already planned. We are glad to see the practical suggestions of the committee on organization at the recent Chautauqua convention in that city put into practice.

GRADUATE CIRCLES.

INDIANA.-The Vincent Memorial Circle, recently established at Indianapolis, is pursuing the graduate course in English History and Literature. Twelve members are reported from this circle.

IOWA. The graduate circle of Des Moines consists of four members, who are now pursuing the eighth year of their work together. They form a "small but very happy family." MINNESOTA.-Blue Earth City has a flourishing circle of fifteen, most of whom are graduate members.

NEW CIRCLES.

MASSACHUSETTS.-The C. L. S. C. of Manchester-by-the-Sea is the poetical name of a new circle at Manchester, which numbers twentyone members, all of whom belong to the Class of '94.-A new circle of sixteen is reported trom Plympton.

CONNECTICUT.-Thirteen "enthusiastic and studious Chautauquans" have formed a new circle at Rowayton.

NEW YORK.-The secretary of a new club at Johnsonville reports twenty members with "interest constantly increasing."-New circles have been formed at Clarence Centre and Middletown, the latter being named the Independents. Live to Learn: Learn to Live, is the motto of a new club at South Salem.

NEW JERSEY.-Most interesting and instructive programs have been carried out during the I-Apr.

year by the Palisade Circle of Englewood. The club is divided into four sections, each in turn supplying the program for one meeting. "Hot shot" in the form of questions, is "fired" at each other, and lively meetings are the result. Forty-two regular members comprise this circle. PENNSYLVANIA. Eighteen members are added to the Class of '94 by the formation of a new circle at Bethlehem. -A new club has been organized at Cross Creek Village.—The new circle at Clarion is doing enthusiastic work and its members hope to graduate with honors at the end of the course.

WEST VIRGINIA.-The Avalon, with a membership of sixteen, has been formed at Holliday's Cove.

NORTH CAROLINA.-Sixteen young people of Concord have banded themselves together for the four years' course of study.

FLORIDA.-A little company of seven members at Ormond has joined the Chautauqua army.

ALABAMA.—Anniston reports a new circle of

sixteen.

TEXAS.-"Labor omnia vincit,"-Labor conquers all things-is the motto of the Lone Star Circle of Columbus, recently organized at that place.- -The Chaucer, a new club at Huntsville, is reported.

OHIO.-May the "Germ" in Westville flour. ish and bear fruit, and the "Marguerites" of Sand Hill, prove a "star of hope" to other struggling new circles. A new circle, with eight members, is reported from Dover.—Tallmadge has a little club of six.

INDIANA.-The new C. L. S. C. at Raub reports completion of work up to date.

ILLINOIS.-The Kenwood Chautauquans, recently formed in Chicago, have made a somewhat new departure. Each of the thirty members paid five dollars toward engaging an instructor, who directs the lessons. The social element has been encouraged by means of "teas" and receptions given in honor of the circle.A new club at Mont Clare has decided to wait until next October before beginning the regular work, on account of lateness in organizing. In the mean time they will pursue a special course of reading.- -We extend best wishes to the new Clover Leaf Circle of Beardstown.

MICHIGAN.-Seven bright Chautauqua stars constitute the Pleiades of Belding.- -New circles are reported from Vale, St. Ignace, and White Cloud.The E. B. Forest is the name of a recently organized circle at Harbor Springs.

IOWA.-A new club consisting of a trio of young ladies, is reported from Hartland. Twelve members have banded together at Williamsburg.

MISSOURI.-The Bead Circle has been formed at Calumet. A new circle at Cyrene, has adopted the same cognomen as the club at Calumet. The members hope to go through the course with the Philomathean class.

ARKANSAS.-A little club of nine members all of whom are active workers, is reported from Fordyce.

OREGON.-Great interest in the work is reported from a new club of eleven members at East Portland.

NEVADA. The members of the Argentea, a new circle at Virginia City, have commenced work.

CALIFORNIA. The little mountain town of Yreka has a flourishing circle of thirty-five members, and increasing interest in the work is evinced. -The Ramona is a new circle at Fullerton. Traver has a very interesting circle of nineteen members, who are showing great interest.

WASHINGTON.-Seven members comprise the Crescents of Gig Harbor.

OLD CIRCLES.

CANADA.-The Cobourg Chautauquans expect to have lectures on Geology by Professor W. S. Ellis, Principal of the Collegiate Institute of Cobourg. The Alphas of Galt held their annual banquet Thursday, January 15.The members of the C. L. S. C. at Paris have adopted a novel plan. The Secretary says: "When there are more than four meetings in a month, we have a Special Evening. We had a very interesting Canadian Evening, when essays were read on Canadian History, Industries, and Literature, followed by extracts from Canadian authors. The next Special Evening will be devoted to Astronomy."-The Athenas and Y. M. C. A. Circle of St. John recently held a joint meeting, followed by a sociable.

MAINE. The "dauntless three" forming the Margaret Fuller Circle of Auburn are doing excellent work.—The Lamalphas of Bath evince an indomitable spirit. Difficulty in finding a poem on Joan of Arc resulted in each member writing one in her praise, and reading it after the usual program, at a recent meeting. A Shakspere Club has been organized in connection with the Lamalphas. Various causes have diminished the number forming the Sunrise Circle of Eastport, but a faithful few are still continuing the work and consider themselves a part of the Class of '91.-The Andros of Topsham report renewed interest in the work. The Bryants of Portland have carried out good programs thus far in the year. Forty-nine

NEW HAMPSHIRE.-Farmington and Candia Village both have good circles.

VERMONT.-The members of the Minerva Circle at Barre are enjoying instruction in Delsarte.—The Hartland club held a pronunciation-match recently.- -The Informals of West Randolph are still faithful.

MASSACHUSETTS.-The Secretary of the Rantoul Circle of Beverly writes: "Some of us are looking forward to graduating this year and hope to have some representatives at the Assembly.". -The Sherwins of Dorchester send some charming souvenir programs of recent meetings. One, in honor of the English year, consists of two cards bound together by a silk cord; one card contains a fine photograph of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the other Westminster Abbey. Another program of white card board has a four-leaf clover on the cover, "for luck."

-Abington and Barre have good working circles. The Pearsons of Boston are earnest and enthusiastic Chautauquans. -Pottersville has a club of twelve members.- -The Kalmias of North Middleboro are eyer faithful; they have been organized since 1879.

CONNECTICUT.-The Hurlbut of Manchester, the Hall of West Hartford, and the Golden Circle of Harwinton are all in a healthy condition, with memberships ranging between nine and twenty-six.

RHODE ISLAND.-The Bythesas of Newport are a sociable and energetic crowd. They have enjoyed during the year a golden-rod party, a cob-web party on New Year's Eve, and a nut social. From the Fort Hill Delvers of Providence come the words, "We are all busy Marthas, careful and troubled about many things, but we are trying to enter into the meaning of one of Chautauqua's grandest mottoes, 'never be discouraged.'"The Whittier Circle of Providence has visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, attended Vesper Services conducted by Dr. Hurlbut in Trinity M. E. Church, visited Sculpture Hall of Brown University, and observed all Memorial Days during the year; also celebrated Whittier Memorial Day on December 17.-Block Island has a good club of nine members.

NEW YORK.-The De Kalbs, a flourishing club of thirty in Brooklyn, observed Cromwell Day on January 29.—The Walker Circle of Canaseraga boasts a membership of fifty-six. Among the clubs doing good work in the Empire State are the Philomath of Fillmore, the Alpha Beta of Mexico, the Renesslaer of West Sand

Lake, and the Originals at Auburn and the Resolutes at Somers Center. The Bryants of New York have an increased membership over last year. Of the six members of the Cubic, of Pulaski, two are in Vermont, one in Missouri, one in Syracuse, N. Y., and the remaining two are still at the birth-place of the club. They continue their readings, however, in spite of the distance which separates them. Here is a good suggestion from the circle at Hannibal : by way of preparation, when the readings are gone over, each member makes notes of any particular points which he may not understand fully, or may wish to hear discussed; then when the meetings are held, the notes are compared and a great many good points are brought out.- -The clubs at New Rochelle, Angelica, Morristown, Andover, and Bethlehem are all doing well. NEW JERSEY.-The Whittiers of Camden enjoyed a great treat recently. An invitation was extended to the club by a gentleman of the city to visit his observatory. The invitation was accepted with pleasure, and a very interesting and instructive evening was the result. The secretary says, "We saw some of the finest objects that can be seen in the heavens, such as the Great Nebula in Orion, the star clusters in the sword hand of Perseus, the clusters in Taurus, Hind's (smallest red star) 'Lepus the Hare,' Eridanus (double star, topaz yellow and blue), and several others. We remained fully two hours and a half with Professor Read, and were much delighted with our visit. The fine system in our circle is a great success; we have enough in our treasury to have our annual banquet sometime this month, on which occasions we have a grand good time." -The Chautauqua Class of Rahway has nearly doubled its membership of last year.- -The clubs at Westfield and Williamstown are both doing good work. This good word comes from the Centenary in Camden: "Our circle is quite an institution, not only in our own church but in the whole community. We have members from most of the surrounding congregations, and the circle has tended to produce harmony and good fellowship among the several denominations."

PENNSYLVANIA.-The circles from the Keystone State are all flourishing. The Du Bois of New London has a membership of nine.The number of members at Canton is greater than at any time in the past three years.- -The Petroleum C. L. S. C. of Bradford has forty-two regular members. The clubs at Scranton, Octoraro, and Hazelton are hard at work.The Trio of Philadelphia will add its quota to the Class of '93.-The Acorn is a small club in Philadelphia.—Pleasantville and Scotland

have good circles. The members of the Lebanon Club of eight are "all for '93.”—The sample programs received from the Harrisburg Circle show that the members are doing some excellent work.

DELAWARE.-The circle at Smyrna numbers seventeen and that of Bridgeville eighteen. MARYLAND.-The Mount Vernon Circle at Hampden reports a membership of thirteen. VIRGINIA.-The Old Dominion Circle of Norfolk sends an excellent sample program.

SOUTH CAROLINA.-The White Rose of York at Yorkville is flourishing. The members recently enjoyed a banquet gallantly tendered by the gentlemen of the club to the ladies. The evening was a decided success.

ALABAMA.-Birmingham has a good circle of seventeen, the North Highland.The club at Huntsville has the use of a Chautauqua column in the local newspaper, and items of interest are inserted every week.

TEXAS.-The Immortelles form a small circle at Bastrop.

KENTUCKY.-Covington is enjoying a lecture course this winter which is under the auspices of the Bryant Circle of that place. Robert J. Burdette and Mrs. Mary Livermore are among the speakers. On Christmas a fine program was carried out. This club numbers over fifty and is in its customary flourishing condition. Newport has a good circle, the Bellevue. OHIO. The members of the circle at Norwood celebrated Bryant and Milton Days, and those meetings proved to be the most successful of the year. All are enthusiastic over the "Chautauqua Idea.”— -The Newport Circle enjoyed a lecture on Pompeii, illustrated by stereopticon views, recently.- -Ever since the organization of the Sharon of Shelby four years ago, the members have given a Christmas banquet. They have been termed American, Roman, Greek, and English banquets, and always prove a great success. -The Hartwell C. L. S. C. has doubled its membership since last year. The Collamers of East Cleveland organized in 1884 with a membership of forty and still continue work with constant interest and numbers.

-New Richmond, Atwater, Hockingport, and Mechanicsburg all have good circles.—The members of the Bacon Circle of Cleveland evince increased interest in the work.- -Tippecanoe City has a club of nineteen.-The Periclean Circle of Berlin Heights send a favorable report.

INDIANA. The members of the Bishop Bowman Circle of Greenscastle, the home of De Pauw University, have received an invitation from Professor Brown, who has charge of the McKim Observatory at the University, to visit

ILLINOIS.-The Franklin Circle of Grand Crossing celebrated Longfellow Day and has in prospect a lecture on the city of Washington, illustrated by stereopticon views of the Capital City. The Athenas of Sycamore, a body of ambitious ladies, seeing the great need of a public library in their town, have organized themselves into a Library Association and are working faithfully to see the fruition of their hopes. Under the auspices of these ladies Mrs. Mary Livermore lectured on February 5, and Mr. Frank Beard gave one of his p pular "ChalkTalks" on February 10. From the present outlook, Sycamore will soon be the possessor of a free public library. Ten members of the Mars Circle of Woodlawn Park pursued the Garnet Seal Course during last summer's vacation.The Nestors form a club of sixteen in Sycamore. -Joliet, Kirkland, Odin, and Carbondale all have good clubs.-The Argo is a small circle at Macomb.

MICHIGAN.—The clubs from Jackson, Montague, and Hillsdale send interesting programs of their work.The Lee Circle of Hastings has thirty-six members.-Portland and Blissfield each have small clubs.-The Hartford C. L. S. C. numbers an even dozen.The little town of Gladstone has a club of earnest workers. The circles at Fennville, Rockford, and Climax are all following the path that leads to the Golden Gate and the Hall in the Grove. WISCONSIN.-The St. Croix of Hudson is doing well this year, with an average attendance of from eighteen to twenty.-The Willard Circle of Janesville is pursuing the even tenor of its way.

Thou art not here, thou art not there,
Thy place we cannot see;

We only know that where thou art
The blessed angels be,

And Heaven is glad for thee.

IOWA.-The club of Malvern appoints a leader for each book and one for THE CHAUTAUQUAN. This is a good idea. The club at Sioux City is now a year old and is a healthy infant.—The Zeta Sigma of Burlington is composed exclusively of ladies. The circles at Burlington, East Des Moines, and Menlo are still faithful.

MISSOURI.-The members of the club at Maryville are continuing their second year's study. KANSAS-Sedgewick is enjoying a lecture course this winter under the auspices of the circle at that place. A member of the club at Burlingame writes, "The idea of having a children's course has been suggested to us by the fact that some of the little tots meet every Saturday afternoon and read from their primers, calling it their Chautauqua Circle."―The club of Seneca is increasing in numbers.

COLORADO.-Colorado Springs, situated at the foot of Pike's Peak, has a circle of twenty-five enthusiastic members.

NEBRASKA. The Tekamoh Chautauquans watched the Old Year out and the New Year in, and a good program was carried out. Wyclif Day was also observed. The circle at Roca has an increase of five in its last year's membership.

Schuyler and Ewing both have faithful clubs. NORTH DAKOTA.-Three members will be added to the Class of '93 by the club at Langdon.

SOUTH DAKOTA.-The circle at Yankton has been organized since 1882 and is still interested in its work. All Memorial Days have been observed.- -Aberdeen reports fourteen members. NEVADA.-Tybo has a quartet circle.

CALIFORNIA. - Twenty-four new members have been added to the circle at San José during the year, making a total membership of fortyfive. Lectures on Chaucer, Geology, and En

of San Francisco is a large and flourishing circle of fifty-three members. Twenty-eight out of a possible four hundred is the proportion of C. L. S. C. members to the population of Sierra Madre. St. Helena and Santa Clara both have loyal circles.

TWO FRENCH APHORISTS.

ONE of the most commonly known of all books of maxims, after the Proverbs of Solomon, are the "Moral Reflections" of La Rochefoucauld. The author lived at court, himself practiced all the virtues which he seemed to disparage, and took so much trouble to make sure of the right expression that many of these short sentences were more than thirty times revised. They were given to the world in the last half of the seventeenth century in a little volume which Frenchmen used to know by heart, which gave a new turn to the literary taste of the nation, and which has been translated into every civilized tongue. It paints men as they would be if selflove were the one great main-spring of human action, and it makes magnanimity itself no better than self-interest in disguise.

He says:

Interest speaks all sorts of tongues and plays all sorts

of parts, even the part of the disinterested. Gratitude is with most people only a strong desire for greater benefits to come.

Love of justice is with most of us nothing but the fear of suffering injustice.

Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests, a mutual exchange of good offices; it is a species of commerce out of which self-love always intends to make something.

We have all strength enough to endure the troubles of other people.

Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done, as fear of the ill that may come to us in consequence.

In the adversity of our best friends we often find something that is not exactly displeasing.

A We cannot wonder that in spite of their piquancy of form such sentences as those have aroused in many minds an invincible repugnance for what would be so tremendous a calumny on human nature if the book were meant to be a picture of human nature as a whole. "I count Rochefoucauld's Maxims," says one critic, "a bad book.

As I am reading it, I feel discomfort; I have a sense of suffering which I cannot define. Such thoughts tarnish the brightness of the soul; they degrade the heart." Yet as a faithful presentation of human selfishness, and of you and me in so far as we happen to be mainly selfish, the odious mirror has its uses by showing us what manner of man we are or may become. Let us not forget, either, that not quite all is selfishness in La Rochefoucauld. Everybody knows his saying that hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue. There is a subtle truth in this, too, that to be in too great a hurry to dis

charge an obligation is itself a kind of ingratitude. Nor is there any harm in the reflection that no fool is so troublesome as the clever fool; nor in this, that only great men have any business with great defects; nor, finally, in the consolatory saying, that we are never either so happy or so unhappy as we imagine.

I will say little of La Bruyère, by far the greatest, broadest, strongest, of French characterwriters, because he is not of the houses of which you can judge by a brick or two taken at random. For those in whom the excitements of modern literature have not burnt up the faculty of sober meditation on social man, La Bruyère must always be one of the foremost names. MaBut Macaucaulay somewhere calls him thin. lay has less ethical depth, and less perception of ethical depth, than any writer that ever lived with equally brilliant gifts in other ways; and thin is the very last word that describes this admirable master. We feel that La Bruyère, though retiring, studious, meditative, and selfcontained, has complied with the essential condition of looking at life and men themselves, and with his own eyes. His aphoristic sayings are the least important part of him, but here are one or two examples :

Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men

less.

There is in some men a certain mediocrity of mind that helps to make them wise.

The flatterer has not a sufficiently good opinion either of himself or of others.

People from the provinces and fools are always ready to take offence, and to suppose that you are laughing at them: we should never risk a pleasantry, except with well-bred people, and people with brains.

All confidence is dangerous, unless it is complete : there are few circum tances in which it is not best either to hide all or to tell all.

When the people is in a state of agitation, we do not see how quiet is to return; and when it is tranquil, we do not see how the quiet is to be disturbed.

Men count for almost nothing the virtues of the heart.

and idolize gifts of body or intellect. The man who quite coolly, and with no idea that he is offending modesty, says grateful, would not dare to say that he is quick and clever, that he is kind-hearted, constant, faithful, sincere, fair, that he has fine teeth and a delicate skin.-From John Morley's "Aphorisms."

A SHAKER MEETING.

DR. BOYNTON went to the family meeting, and remained profoundly attentive to the services with which the speaking was preceded. He saw the sisters seated on one side of the large