Academy of the Visitation - Crescent Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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A COMEDY OF ERRORS Time Saturday Afternoon Place Visitation Academy Persons The D1rectress Sister X Gertrude Copeland Ralph Copeland and Rabbi Cohen ACT I Miss Gertrude Copeland a former pupil and a friend of the D1rectress had a handsome young nephew Ralph whom she wlshed her to meet Ger trude was also deeply mterested in the Rabbi Cohen and she determmed that both should v1s1t the Convent Accordingly she telephoned one morning to the Directress saying that the Rabbi was in the city and that he would call at the Convent that afternoon at 2 00 o clock At 2 00 o clock Sister was summoned to the parlor to meet as she thought the ewxsh Rabbi no card havmg been presented and no name having been announced Gertrude had previously told her that the Rabbi was a wonderful man superbly endowed w1th magical power over all whom he met With this 1n mmd Sister approached the stranger with her cold calm d1gn1ty at the top notch determmed to adequately represent the Community before the Hebrew sage whom she smcerely desired to meet At the Hrst glance how ever she was dlsconcerted Never had she seen a gentile less like a jew than was thls man and her surprlse told unfavorably upon her manner Would you like to see the building? Sister asked I will gladly go through your beautrful Academy he answered and the tour through the house began From the parlor the D1rectress took her guest to the Science Hall This was a fairly easy matter to dlspose of and they passed on to Blessed Lady s Oratory which was a more difficult problem owlng to the supposed per suasxon of the visitor He seemed most attentive and reverent however while Sister explained 1ts purpose Evidently the gentleman too was ill at ease he had not anticipated such versation d1d not flow readily When they came to the Chapel the strangeness of the situation deepened To Sister s great amazement her visitor took Holy Water and blessed himself upon entermg genuflected devoutly and knelt for a minute in prayer What can all this mean? thought the D1rectress in utter bewilderment as they walked along the corridor in silence after leaving the Chapel They must have converted th1s man else he IS very broad minded doing in Rome as the Romans do He IS certainly a queer Rabbi so fair and so gent1le looking I wonder what I can start conversation on now? At last she remarked You were born in Germany were you not? Oh no I was born here But you were educated in Germany? I have never been in Germany CS1ster thmkmg to herselfj Am I dreaming all this? I m sure Ger trude told me that Rabbi Cohen was born in Germany What can this mean? When they arrived at the studio as they were lookmg at the paintings something called forth from the young man the remark that his mother had been educated with the SISYCYS on Cass Avenue The mystery was solved Whatl? Your mother'? educated' wxth Sxsters'? R Certainly haven t you ever heard any of the Sisters speak of Mary Southern? 20 U 9, T I g l 1 9 . y . . . , 9 9 ' ! ' Y ! ! , 7 . , . . - ' I ! , , . . . . 7 I 7 Q ' 9 ' , 1 ss , ' ' ' n - ' if ' ' 77 , - c u . y l , . i . . v . Q ' 5 ? , , : ' ' a frigid reception. Things were strangely inexplicable all around, and con- . , . . . . D . . . ,, ! ! U . ,, . . . ' ! 7 . . . . U , . . . . , . . 1 ' 9 . , , ' !9 CC ' . 19 sa , l as , . 7 Y ' ll . Y? ll ' 97 . . . . . ,, . . , , . . ' 91 l I 1 S , u 1- L1 . , 11 . . C.: ' 3 ' ' 99

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In regard to polltncs and socral questlons we find them dnt-ferent agam Tennyson s sympathles were deeply rooted ln Engllsh soil so he set down h1s vrews on these questrons and stamped them wlth Great Brrtam T nrough out hrs works we see the Constrtutron hke Zeus on Olympus w1th the world below awartmg 1ts nod From hrs poetry one would suppose that only the Englxsh nat1on had ach1eved h1gh deeds of sacrrnce and glory 1n battle Brownmg on the other hand was cosmopol1tan He was qulck to sympa thlze w1th natlons of the ancrent or the modern world wlth Greece or Rome or Spam or France or Germany or Italy The first great characterxstlc of hls poetry IS undoubtedly the essential elemental quality of 1tS humanlty tralt ln whrch lt IS surpassed only by Shakespeare In Browmng we have men and women as multxform as nature or soc1ety has made them Tennyson with exqursrte art mterprets the customs and comforts and proprletres of respectable Englrsh hfe the decorous and the Httmg rn the present order of thmgs Poverty and dlstress and humble llvmg dxd not msplre hlm Hls temperament hrs social rank hrs trammg at an old um verslty and h1s phxlosophlc learning all bred 1n htm a llberal conservatism H1s easy popularlty the fame whlch he reached at a bound strengthened hls lnchnatlon to accept thmgs as they were He was too mtellectual not to age but he was not the man to lead a reform or dzsturb the pleasant condl trons around hlmself Tennysons smooth melodlous art subjects d1d not represent the clashlng complexlty of llfe the turbulence and turmoll exther of the passlons or of the xntellect or of the movements of the world Many were the new dxscords approaching wrth the new era and few concords, but out of the dlscords emerged a steady thought and controlled emotlon ln one case at least that of Brownmg s poetry Tennyson hoped for th1s but was uncertaln and often lamented the fact But Browning was certam of hls hope and set hlmself to resolve the dxscords Tennyson was a slave to certa1n soclal and pol1t1cal conventlonalxtles and could not see beyond them They all bear the stamp of the hlgher type of Engllsh soc1ety and he rarely came out of hrs shell Browmng s poetry on the contrary IS free from the op1n1ons maxlms and conventlons of any perlod It belongs to no type of soc1ety to no speclal nat1on to no separate creed or church Both Tennyson and Brownmg are truly great poets whose contrlbutlons to Engllsh llterature have shed a glory over thelr own doubtmg mechamcal materlallstlc age and have enrlched the world wlth poems that could xll be spared The crown of England s laureates w1ll ever be greener from the brows of hnm who uttered nothmg base The poems Prosplce and Crossing the Bar have the same theme the last tremendous act ln the drama of mans llfe The one shows the xdeallsm of Tennyson the other the realism of Browmng Margaret Fa1rch1ld 21 19 , . . . . ! l Y v 9 ' ' . . . . . . -a v . . . , . U 9 - 1 1 ' . . , . y see the wrongs existing among the oppressed and struggling classes of his , - . . , . . . 1 . . . , . . . 7 , - - . , . ' ! 1 u . s u , . 7 ' 7 9 9 9 ' 3 3 I . , . . - u a Q , , 1 9 ' 66 ' ' Sl If ' 79 CC ' V! T- . , . . . 3 , . . D . . , .. , I

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Well my lands' You are Ralph Copeland R Who dxd you thmk I was? Why the jewlsh Rabbl of course They had a hearty good laugh over lt all Slster was transformed 1nto er own graclous self and returned wxth her newly drscovered fr1end to the parlor there to meet Gertrude and the real Rabbl ACT II Whlle Gertrude and the Rabbl were s1tt1ng m the 1ns1de parlor warttng for the D1rectress Slster X entered and seemg Gertrude thought that the young man accompanymg her was her nephew Ralph she greeted hrm enthus1ast1cally Slster X Welcome our own dear boy' Ctakmg h1s hands ln both of hers J The Rabbr looked surprlsed confused at thrs rather gushmg receptxon Gertrude S1ster' He rsnt Ralph He IS Rabbr Cohen Cpresentmg Slster X Q S1ster X Cwlth abated enthuslasmj I am pleased to meet you At th1s pomt the DIFCCIFESS and Ralph came upon the scene and found themselves partxclpants rn a verxtable Comedy of Errors Bernetta Hemp 21 THE PLAYROOM MIRROR A JUNE REVERIE I wonder lf I m growmg old? I never felt before As I feel now to see my gxrls Go out the Convent door They were a Jolly llvely set The best I ever had I hope they ll all come back thls fall I shall be very glad To see thelr brlght young faces when In front of me they stand I ve seen them m the mornmg when They feel so lnght and gay I ve seen them ln the1r mlddxes and Thelr bloomers start for play I ve shown them how they look thelr best In dark blue umformed They ve stood before me consclously In Fmery adorned Many a party I have seen And many a costume too Of falry dancer clown and wxtch Of varxed make and hue But there IS one thmg that I do, And thls I l1ke the best, 21 S , .4 99 .. , . . C , n ' ' va S , H - - vs .. , , . h l If ' Y! , . n ' 1 9 s 1 , . H ,, . . . .. , . ... ' ' H . . , . . ,, . - ' ' , xc u 7 ' ' - ' as as s L , I I r il . , . y 1. , . , . . 1 , . . . . , . , . , . , . y s 9 9 1 y