Bryn Mawr College - Bryn Mawr Yearbook (Bryn Mawr, PA)

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THE BOOK OF THE CLASS OF NINETEEN-TWELVE 26 The rest belongs to history. Everybody knows of the great night and of the plaudits of an admiring multitude. What I have tried to do, feebly and falteringly, mayhap, as one conscious of a great message and fearful lest he let drop some portion of his precious burden, is to draw the veil away from the first wonderful beginning of our Lantern Song, to give posterity a glimpse, a somewhat more intime impression of genius at work and of the rise and development of a masterpiece. Julia Taylor Houston.

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24 THE BOOK OF THE CLASS OF NINETEEN-T WELVE the superior qualities of their candidate and those members of our little Athenian Democ- racy who remained true to the Greek tradition, as sturdily upheld Monty ' s protege. Though I say it myself, I made an admirable campaign manager, for know, O reader, that by now I had become an ever-faithful devotee of those Druidic-Romanic-Ionic-Buddhistic har- monies. I was everywhere at once, explaining, arguing, illustrating, suggesting practical improvements in the Scale, which would enable it to be learned with ease. Every now and then Monty would be requested to sing it again. At such moments she arose, wrapped her gown about her in classic folds and, in time to the solemn notes of Come we the Class o-of Nineteen Twe-e-elve, paced with as much majesty as the somewhat limited space would allow, back and forth between the table and the fireplace, chanting as she went. It was very impressive. We voted by a large majority to accept her song. And then the trouble began to brew, Trouble that Monty couldn ' t subdue, that is, for a while. The song had to be adapted to popular needs. Jean and others put their beautiful heads together and discussed matters harmonious. They wore out the floor of Music Room G in a frantic effort to ever increase in peripatetic excellence, and still one little difficulty remained. They could walk, all right, and they could sing, all right, but they could not walk and sing at the same time. (This was awkward.) Monty could, but then Lantern Night was supposed to be a co-operative affair. At last they saw a great light and they said Goto! We will not sing ft J. Ajf- See the difference? Simple yet momentous.

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26 THE BOOK OF THE CLASS OF NINETEEN-T WELVE CATH THOMPSON says that it does not really amuse Mary Gertrude and me to throw bread and water across the table at our friends. We only do it to humour Louise when she feels playful and Jean and Pauline when they seek recreation from their conversation in blank verse. This has made us feel that our grade of wit was something quite superior. My conviction of it was unshaken until one day when I remarked enthusiastically to my fellow editors, Don ' t you think course books and hazing would make funny articles? After the pause, Biffie tactfully voiced the sense of the meet- ing and told me that if I thought so I could write them. On after thought I abandoned the course books for fear my record of having always made my course out wrong, so that all my pages are in glued bunches, might be attributed to stupidity rather than wit. Now there is a humour in hazing of that quiet, cynical sort that strikes you when the Freshmen slam a door in your face or start Anassa, and you know that but for your peculiar and excel- lent training you might have treated Shirley Putnam or Elsa Denison in this same breezy manner. The education 1911 gave us has, however, had such a far-reaching effect on the