Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

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Alexandria Qddilies By Harry Kauffman - by George HI for the use of Alexandria I saw six or eight rather ' ' elaborate brass pans evidently measures and four small rusty weights, none of which weighed as much as five pounds. His I , N the City Hall is a case labeled weights and measures sent over -jk Majesty must have gotten stingy by the time he reached the Weights. il I il Under the pulpit of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House Dr. Muir, one of the first pastors of the church, is buried just as he stipulated in his will. It seemed to be a successful, if a rather peculiar, way for the worthy pastor to have his name remembered in connection with the quaint old church. l U 8 In the graveyard beside Christ Church - I is a slab of granite perhaps two inches J, tphp A za'-' thick lying horizontally over a grave , ' 13 ' about a century and a half old. The brick -iigiftuQsi.iA:11i.rE' masonry supporting the slab has given 'Q Ly, way and the granite has sagged several inches in the middle, but there is no trace 'i' 'f 'ff+Y f f'f' ' i - lfggx of a crack. I had no idea stone would I I- bend so far without snapping in two. 1 1 8 In many of the old colonial churches most of the old square pews have benches all around the enclosure so that all occupants face the center of the pew. It has always been a source of wonder to me how anyone sit- ting on the side of the pew nearest the pulpit can see the preacher with- out twisting around in his seat. Maybe the preachers Weren't worth looking at. 1 Ill IF I was impressed by the number of the old foot scrapers around prac- tically all the old homes of Alexandria. These were a necessity in the days when streets were ankle deep in mud and there were no sidewalks, T H E M I S S I L E Page eighty-five

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just as he had always done in rain storms, but the power of the mantle which hung over his shoulder compelled him to pass the place. Philip could not understand what was happening to himg why did he not go in? Certainly the white robe of a crucified Man could change the heart of a soldier! Now he thought only of how he had mistreated Helena and her son, and beaten the citizens of Jerusalem unjustly. The rain had thoroughly soaked the hard-packed streets. The mud was ankle deep, and Philip made very slow progress. The earth shook, iires broke out in various parts of the city, and Philip tried to protect himself by dodging the timbers that fell in his path. The darkness was like a curtain about him, with no light except a flickering candle in the distance. Screams and moans were heard often. Philip shuddered for the first time in years. Why should he, a man of iron will fear the moans of dying people when he had nailed Christ to the cross? The thought of the blood trickling down the Body of Jesus, the King of the Jews, lingered in his mind during his struggle against the storm. Philip stopped and shook his aching head to see if it was aill a dream or imagination. He removed his helmet, and the cool rain relieved the pain as it splashed on his well shaped head. The light ahead grew larger and brighter. Philip smiled, for he could see his house in the distance, but when he came closer he saw a large post had crushed the side of the house. Panic struck him-Helena! I-Ie ran and called her name again and again. He opened the door and stood there amazed. In the corner of the room knelt Helena praying, calling upon the name of Jesus. She did not feel the presence of her husband, but Philip silently went over and knelt beside her. He put the mantle down before him and kissed it. Helena smiled, for all was well. ' ' Gentle south winds softly sighing Nlght Sounds At the close of dayg By Florence Johnson Flapping wings of creatures ilyingg Crickets, with each other vieing, Tunes on tiny trumpets play. Shrilly shrieks the whipporwill Above the screeching owl: While croaking frogs the night air fill With a rumble, grumble, echoing still, The steady, drowsy, droning growl. Page eighty-four T H E M I S S I L E

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and I noticed that all the crossbars, on which the actual scraping was done, were worn down in the middle by constant use. Another reminder of horse and buggy days was a little metal statue about two feet high of a darkie holding in his hand a ring to which horses were hitched. He was attractively painted Cthat's how I knew he was a negrol, but his face was coal black, and, if there is anything I dislike to see, it is the picture of a negro with a too black face. - if 'll 8 Out in the court at Gadsby's Tavern was a weatherbeaten old coach, was a shame for a relic out in the weather but that in all probability considered b u y i n g it est in the coach was to 1 C' qi gl jg f A of such value to be left soon it dawned on me Madison had never even However, my chief inter- see if it had the leather said to have belonged to James Madison. My first thought was that it 7 ?wl? , ' . . il' ' ' Q' X springs which I had .lr 'N Li . -H54 ' .x 'fv if If - Hur, A nf- --1 fi- , - 05:':, '-x,gLg......-- heard were on these old vehicles. I found them, somewhat to my surprise, big, heavy leather straps, which my father could use for purposes of chastisement even to better advantage than the accustomed belt. IF HK PII In the Masonic Temple there are many articles once belonging to Washington: chairs, his wedding gloves, his clock, a pruning knife, his Bible, his penknife and a very plain glass goblet, the first piece of glass made in America. I wonder what could have happened to his snuff-box. About the above-mentioned penknife this interesting story is told: His mother had given it to Washington when he was eleven years old to reward him for not joining the navy, and he carried it around for many years. During that discouraging winter at Valley Forge when Washing- ton was s-o disheartened that he was about to hand in his resignation, he chanced to catch sight of the knife, and was so inspired by it that he de- stroyed the resignation. Therefore, Washington continued to serve as commander-in-chief of the American forces, and the Revolution was brought to a successful conclusion all because of this knife. By the way, I discovered when I was about to leave the Temple that all this to do about Washington was because he had once been a grand master of the Masons. ' ' 4' is lk A peculiar style of architecture was exhibited in two or three of the buildings in Alexandria. A house of this type looks more like a jail to me Page eighty-Six T H E M I S S I L E