Biddeford High School - Olympian Yearbook (Biddeford, ME)

Page 41 text:

THE UNKNOWN TO ME. Within the bounds of immaturity, Untouched by cold virility, By immortality scarce pressed, As yet slight by the bard addressedg Nor by the gallant Spenser's queen Or Chaucer's characters in mien Or blinded Milton's paradise Wherein the good of mortals lies, In throes of youth without the grace Of Homer-'s clan or Virgil's race, Unknowing of Ulyses' wiles Or Carraran quarries whose tiles The Julian race chiseled to make Their potency which then did break The empires of the world to bring That age that might great poets sing. Once all these were known to me, Until when sager I can see, The more I learn to keep to know, The less I know to keep to know. Unknown to me are things to come, The am'rous mood and success won, The look, the word and then the sigh, When ecstasy conquers the shyg And then to seek my worldly lot Amid the growing of this spot Wherein sweet virtues are now bought By Vice to increase his growing lotg Thus unknown to me is all The poet and love's successes thrall The wheel by greatest Parcas spun. Yea, not yet sage, I am but young. William Osher, '38 -limi SOLILOQUY. Let us not wish our youth away, Our happy, carefree time of play. Instead, let's greet each added year With smiling face, and not a fearg Learning life's lessons as they come, Both joys and sorrows, one by one, Facing life's battles unafraid, Trusting in God for strength and aid. D. Hopkins, '38 COUNTRY BOY. I love to eat green apples raw, Go swimming in the lake, Of fears and worries I have none, No rules or laws to break. I am a simple country boy With bandaged toes and feet. I fish and play all through the day, With hair and clothes not neat. 0'er creaky rafters, old and worn, Through scented hay and straw I crawl and creep with silent ease Without a slip or Haw. OLYMPIAN 37 My days of ease will soon pass by, My joys will be no more. I'1l often think of carefree days Upon some distant shore. A Student. THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE By Kenneth Roberts The author of Arundel again has given us a masterpiece of early Amer- ican pioneering in the best historical romance of many a year, Northwest Passage. This story consists of two parts. In the first part, beginning in I75 7, Langdown Towne, of Kittery, tells of his experiences with Major Rog- ers of the Rangers, stationed at Crown Point. The expedition against St. F ran- cis, with the ensuing massacre and the hunger and hardships of the company on the march back to Crown Point, is a monument to the author's ability to transform a simple major into a god and a devil in one stroke. ln Book Two, Rogers begins his search for the famous Northwest Pas- sage, a mythical route linking the east- ern part of the North American conti- nent to its western coast. Rogers' trip to London, during which he writes and successfully publishes two books, proves disastrous, for back in the Unit- ed States, he fails to receive funds for the search. Determined to find his ob- jective, Rogers sends three men in search of the route, but he is betrayed and he himself is put in prison. Typical of Roberts' books, it is relig- iously accurate as to historical data and the author heaps fascinating scenes upon another with such rapidity and frequence that he has the reader fascin- ated to a point where he wistfully wishes the end would never come. But like all great books, the end comes in a most disappointing way. The originality and the mastery of expression in dialogues make of the Northwest Passage a truly great book. Jeanne Bellefeuille, '39

Page 40 text:

GLEE CLUB

Page 42 text:

38 THE OLYMPIAN THE CITADEL By A. Cronin ln The Citadel Mr. Cronin has cleverly portrayed the climb of a strug- gling young physician. The circum- stances surrounding the rise to recogni- tion of Dr. Andrew Manson provide in- teresting as well as entertaining read- ing, told, as they are, in Mr. Cronin's straightforward style of expressing his thoughts. The watchful demon finance is brought subtly into the story by the in- fluence of a fellow surgeon, who places his pecuniary interests above the code of medical ethics. Conquered by his desire for wealth, Dr. Manson loses self- respect, although he gains prestige in his chosen profession, by devoting his education for some time exclusively to amassing a fortune. The opposing force is presented in the person of his understanding wife who endeavors to lift him above his mercenary methods to a realization of the nobility of serving others. The manner in which Mr. Cronin por- trays the principles of cause and ef- fect places him in his deserved position as one of today's leading authors. The plot of The Citadel moves speedily to a climax wholly unexpected, rather tragic, but nevertheless carrying a moral-an unusual feature of most present-day novels. The Citadel may well be placed upon the list of be sure to read books for this season. The author has much material within the covers of his book which is good for serious thought- again a somewhat unusual circumstance for a present-day best seller. How- ever, it is a refreshing change. D. Hopkins.