Wheeling Register

Annual Commencement of the Wheeling Female College
On the Opera House Stage Last Evening.
Seven Young Ladies Step From the College Door,
Amid the Choicest of Flowers and the Sweetest of Music.
The Class, the Toilets, the Addresses and the Honors.

PROGRAMME:
Music.
Prayer. Rev. Dr. Cunningham
Salutatory Miss Lizzie V. Hunter, City
German Address... Miss Josephine Peterman, City
Music.
Theme—"Pangenesis" Miss Maggie A. Evans, Benwood, W. Va
Address—"Lessons of the Diamond" Miss Nellie Thoburn Warren, City
Music.
Theme—"The Unknown Quantity" Miss Cora Parkinson, Moundsville, W. Va
Music.
Address—"Spectacles" Miss Nina Blundon, Charleston, W. Va
Address—"Our Own Affairs" Miss Imogene Stroble, City
Music.
Valedictory .........Miss Josephine Peterman, City
Conferring Degrees,
By Hon. C. F. Hubbard,—President Board of Trustees
Benediction.

Last evening the annual commencement of the Wheeling Female College transpired at the Opera House, before an audience seldom paralleled either in numbers or intelligence. The ninth event of the kind since Miss Taylor assumed the Presidency of the College, it was one of the most successful ever coming under our notice, and the President, Faculty, Trustees and pupils are to be congratulated upon this last and crowning work of an institution which has done so much in the past for the education of the young ladies of this city and State.

Below will be found the events of the evening in detail:

THE OPERA HOUSE.
The Stage Tastefully Arranged and Exquisitely Decorated.

The enormous throng of ladies and gentlemen, which by 8 o'clock had filled the entire building full to overflowing, began to arrive at the Opera House entrance before seven o'clock, and when the doors were thrown open quite a large crowd had gathered. As the hour set for the inauguration of the exercises approached a steady stream of gaily attired ladies and their escorts filed up the stairs leading to the entrance, most of the former and not a few of the latter bearing floral tributes to be laid at the feet of the ladies of the class. At half past seven every seat, downstairs, and three-fourths of those in the gallery were occupied, and twenty minutes later there was not a vacant chair in sight—from the stage. The stage had been arranged under the supervision of Manager Richardson. And it was something to be proud of. Along the footlights a row of choice potted plants sent out a delicious perfume, while at intervals along the wings on either side, surrounded by clusters of white azalias, were cages of canaries and other songsters, the occupants making the air vocal with their warblings. The arches in the rear were crowned with clusters of roses. Seats for the graduating class, seven in number, had been arranged in a semi-circle in the centre of the stage with the president and faculty on the right and Chairman Hubbard, of the Board of Trustees, on the left. In the rear of the stage were Messrs. A. B. Caldwell, Col. Robert White, Judge Okey Johnson, Henry K. List, A. Pollock, Dr. Smith, F. P. Jessop, Dr. T. H. Logan, and others.

Promptly at 8 o'clock the members of the graduating class entered from the left of the stage, preceded by the President, Miss A. Taylor, and the faculty, and the orchestra began the overture.

THE CLASS.
Its Personnel and the Costumes in Which the Members Appeared.

The graduating class was made up of the following young ladies: Miss Lizzie V. Hunter, Wheeling, Salutatorian; Miss Maggie A. Evans, Benwood; Miss Nellie Thoburn Warren, Wheeling; Miss Cora Parkinson, Moundsville; Miss Nina Blundon, Charleston; Miss Imogene Stroble, Wheeling, and Miss Josephine Peterman, Wheeling, Valedictorian, and a prettier picture than this "rosebud garden of girls" cannot well be imagined. Seven sweet girl graduates there were and each one looked so pretty in her snowy robes that it was impossible to select the "queen rose"—unless Miss Josie Peterman, the Valedictorian, was given the place of honor. Miss Peterman looked so ethereal in her dainty white surah with lace flounces and long white gloves that it seemed impossible that her pretty brown head could contain so much wisdom. Next with the second honor came Miss Lizzie Hunter, whose wild rose prettiness was set off to the best advantage by her toilet. The dress was of white surah (as indeed were all the others) with beaded front and white lace trimmings. She wore a diamond pendant at the throat, and a corsage bouquet of pink roses. Pretty, petite Miss Nellie Warren wore a charming toilet almost covered with oriental lace—the front was beaded, and the neck was cut square with a white satin ribbon tied collar wise at the throat. The corsage bouquet was of Marchal Niel roses. The sleeves were short and were almost met by long white gloves. Miss Cora L. Parkinson looked charming in a white surah almost covered with oriental lace. The neck was cut square with white gloves and feathers—a very pretty toilet.

showed an easy familiarity with the language on the part of this talented young lady.

The orchestra filled the intermission here occurring with music, and when they had finished the selection the announcement of the theme
"PANGENESIS"
Brought Miss Maggie A. Evans, of Benwood, to the front of the stage. Miss Evans, as her title foreshadowed, went back to the very beginning of all things and spoke of the cause which had gradually brought about the beautiful and wonderful results we see on all sides. Granted that the result was intelligent, she held it to be self-evident that that result was due to an intelligent cause, and from that arose that man was created in the image of his creator, and that that creator was the God of the Christian. Miss Evans spoke clearly and distinctly, but her voice was so low as to be inaudible at a short distance from the stage.

"THE LESSONS OF THE DIAMOND"
was the subject chosen by Miss Nellie Thoburn Warren of this city. She spoke of the chief constituent of the diamond—carbon—described the properties of the gem, and said it was wonderful that Nature, out of such commonplace material, could form such a beautiful object as the colorless and brilliant stone so eagerly sought for and so highly prized the world over. She named the largest and most celebrated diamonds in history, from the Orloff of Russia to the Koh-i-noor of Great Britain, sketching briefly the history and value of each, and drawing a parallel between these marvellous gems and the human soul, declared that the latter was a gem above all price. She sketched the various lessons to be drawn from a contemplation of this gem and a knowledge of its properties, and applied them to humanity at large skillfully and thoughtfully, retiring at the close of her paper with a round of hearty applause. Miss Warren received several baskets of flowers and more than a dozen choice bouquets, besides a number of elegant books.

Another intermission for music came here, and then
"THE UNKNOWN QUANTITY"
received attention at the hands of Miss Cora Parkinson, of Moundsville. The wanderings of man, in all ages and in all countries, in search of knowledge, was the theme upon which this excellent paper was based. Land, ocean, air, and even the depths of the starry firmament have in turn been the fields of man's insatiable thirst for unknown truths, and the result has been the bringing to light of a vast volume of hitherto unsuspected and undreamed of facts, with the consequent widening of human thought and action. She alluded to the unknown quantity which confronted the lover who had propounded the question which was to decide his future for happiness or misery; the unknown quantity which confronted the young lady on a shopping tour, and the unknown quantity which lay just beyond the doorway of the hall in which she spoke, for her and her schoolmates, now upon the threshold of life, and closed with a word of caution to her companions, saying to them that life was but what one chose to make it and that happiness or its reverse awaited them, as they might elect. Miss Parkinson's floral trophies were numerous and beautiful.

The orchestra was again called into requisition, and then Miss Nina Blundon, of Charleston, looked at her audience over a paper entitled
"SPECTACLES."

"Why are they worn?" said she, and at once answered her question by saying: "To see better, of course." She described the various sorts of these aids to vision, and ran through their different properties. Some she said, wore glasses which highly magnified all which came before them, and as a result everything appeared on an enlarged scale, and their wearer was apt to have an exaggerated idea of the world. Others again, wore colored glasses, and as a result the owner of them always attributes to things a color other than that they really possess, or viewed the world imperfectly by reason of smoked or dusty lenses. Others had a predilection for far-sighted glasses and lived fifty years in the future, while others again were near-sighted and their owners were constantly falling over the most prominent objects in their paths. Lastly she turned her attention to that style of eye-glass which diminished the object in the field of vision, and ended by calling the attention of her auditors to the importance of wearing the right kind of spectacles.

"OUR OWN AFFAIRS"
was the theme chosen by Miss Imogene Stroble, of this city. This address was a gem, and was delivered in a tone and with a manner eminently in keeping with it. She alluded humorously to the prominence in which the members of the class held their own affairs, touched intelligently upon the importance of our county to the State, saying it was a pretty good sized rivet in the handle of the pan, alluded to the late effort at "reform" by Mayor Grubb, the well-remembered exodus of the boys about grand jury time, spoke eloquently of the great sigh of relief which went up when the last Legislature finally concluded to adjourn, recited the anomalous act of a Democratic President in appointing a pronounced Republican to office, and called attention to the remarkable spectacle of a Republican editor urging the appointment of a Democrat to one of the chief offices falling to this State, closing by anxiously inquiring "What is to happen next?" Miss Stroble was several times interrupted by rounds of applause, and when she had concluded the audience responded to her gracefully put and most effective query with a thundering outburst of approbation and appreciation. Many beautiful flowers were showered upon her by admiring friends.

More music followed, and then came
THE VALEDICTORY
By Miss Josephine Peterman, of this city. Beginning by paying her respects to the vast audience before her with great hope and courage because the God of the past is the God of the future. To review my work in connection with this institution would be unnecessary, as its history is all before you. Your city is full of enterprises, but without a college to educate your daughters it would lack its crowning glory. Perhaps it would not be out of place for me in parting to say one word with regard to the future of the Wheeling Female College. During the ten years that I have been connected with it, its prospects have never been more promising than they are for the future. I did hope to have the pleasure of introducing my successor to you to-night. That, however, must now be done through the public press. I regret to sever the ties in the midst of this great unfinished work; but, as the valedictorian has said, there was a Joshua ready to take up the unfinished work of Moses, and lead Israel into the promised land, so the Lord will send some Joshua to take up my unfinished work. Educate your daughters, and thus complete the work which I leave, and make your College a greater success and blessing than it ever has been. May Heaven's richest, choicest benediction rest upon the Wheeling Female College; rest upon this city, and upon you, my friends. With these words of blessing, I bid you all a last, affectionate farewell.

THE DEGREES.
Honors Conferred by Hon. C. D. Hubbard of the Board of Trustees.

Hon. C. D. Hubbard, President of the Board of Trustees, then conferred the honors as follows:
Degree of Mistress of English Literature—Misses Lizzie V. Hunter, Maggie Evans, Cora Parkinson, Nina Blundon and Imogene Stroble.
Degree of Baccalaureae Scientiae—Miss Nellie Thoburn Warren.
Baccalaureae Artium—Miss Josephine Peterman.
Gold Medal for German Honor—Miss Josephine Peterman.

This brought the exercises of the evening to a close, and the audience was dismissed with the benediction by Rev. Dr. Harris, of the college.

An informal reception was held on the stage immediately after, and friends of the college and of the class swarmed forward to pay their respects to President, teacher and pupil: and exchange congratulations upon the great success which had crowned the event.