Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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THE SPECTATOR 15 sincerely disliked by Robert. When Robert had invited her to the theater that night she had declined without stating a reason. Robert wondered to himself, “Is she trying to test me, or has she really conceived an affection for that fellow? But no! that could not be. Still, why has she turned me down to go driving with him?” “A good, swift ride will drown it all,” he thought, and accordingly in a short time he was speeding at fifty miles an hour over one of the finest roads in the country. But he could not get Grace Beverly out of his mind. The purring engines seemed to say, “ Has she been true? Has she been true?” This was maddening. He opened the throttle to the last notch and advanced the spark till the engines made a veritable roar. As he shot by a farmhouse, he noticed a chaise stand- ing in front of the gate with a lady and gentleman in the seat, but of this he thought nothing. Several miles more had been covered when Robert reached a magnificent straight stretch of road. By this time his temper had cooled down somewhat, and the car had been allowed to drag for awhile, but now he threw the throttle wide open. The car responded with a leap forward. But soon he noticed that the machine would no longer answer to the throttle, and that the speed was beginning to slacken, tho the engines were running furiously. Robert advanced the spark still further, and yet the speed continued to diminish. There was but one conclusion—the gears had slipped. Robert re- leased the clutch and applied the brakes, bringing the car to a stand-still. He then threw on the low speed, and gently let in the clutch. The car started forward slowly, and after it had attained a slight momentum Robert threw it on intermediate. This also held, but as the afternoon was well spent and there was but little pleasure to be de- rived from running on the intermediate gear, he did not go farther, but turned the car about and started for home. The home journey was more aggravating than the out- bound trip on account of the increased noise of the engines for the low speed obtained—not more than fifteen miles an hour at the most. Rounding a sharp turn in the road, Rob- ert came upon a wagon piled high with hay. To avoid a

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14 THE SPECTATOR tion before referred to is lovely, as it could not help being, for the person who inspired it was a woman ‘who believes in God and duty and immortal love.’ Dedications, sometimes, like those just mentioned, re- veal the writer’s personality; sometimes they pay a com- pliment to the person addressed. The dedication of Ten- nyson’s “Idylls of the King’’ serves another purpose, for it indicates the theme of that poem. In tne dedicatory lines addressed by their writer to the memory of King Albert, the poet asked Queen Victoria to accept his old, imperfect tale, “New-old, and shadowing Sense at war with Soul.” From this line the purpose of his poem can be inferred. The original purpose of these dedicatory prefaces, how- ever, was no doubt to secure the patronage of the great. Writers hoped that the men to whom they dedicated their books would render them pecuniary aid. The practice was abused so seriously that patronage in literature was aban- doned. One of the first books to be published without such a preface was Johnson’s Dictionary. Before the dic- tionary had been compiled, Johnson addressed to the Earl of Chesterfield a prospectus, that is a statement of the plan of the book. Now, Lord Chesterfield, not keen enough to recognize the master mind under Johnson’s coarse and vulgar exterior, wounded Johnson’s pride by paying no heed to the prospectus, and Johnson, stung to the quick by the neglect, retalliated by abandoning his intention of ad- dressing a dedication to Chesterfield. Johnson’s Dictionary contained no dedication. ELIZABETH ELLENBERGER ’08. His Triumph ♦IOOBERT DILLINGHAM was angry, angry with him- self and the world in general. Twice that afternoon had Grace snubbed him. When he had asked her to take a spin in his new Packard she had flatly refused, only to go driving soon after with Jim Reynolds. Reynolds was a caddish young fellow, who was politely, but none the less

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16 THE SPECTATOR collision he was forced to run the car over the little em- bankment at the side of the road and into some low bushes. As the clutch was not thrown out the engines stalled, but both this and the wagon driver’s thanks passed unheeded. It came upon Robert like a flash. “That was Grace and Reynolds I saw back at the armhouse. Suppose I should meet-----” But here his thoughts were interrupted by the clattering hoofs of a horse. In a moment a light chaise swung around the turn in the road, and there, clinging des- perately to the sides, were Grace and Reynolds. Reynolds was yelling at the horse, and never thinking of making an attempt to secure the reins. As the chaise careened by he showed his cowardliness by jumping, thus leaving Grace to her fate. Robert waited no longer. In a moment the engines were purring, and the machine made a mad dash up the hill to the road, and then away after the flying horse. But on intermediate gear ! Could he ever make it ? He opened the throttle with a jerk, and shoved forward the spark lever as far as he dared. Soon the car was speeding at its mid-geared limit. The race was down grade, and Robert soon noticed that he was steadily gaining. At times he could faintly hear Grace calling his name, and it drove him nearly wild. In despair he threw the le- ver back on high, and — O joy! it held! The car shot ahead, but for a second only. Then came a crack, a jerk, and the speed slackened. He waited until the car had-ar- rived at its former speed, and then threw forward the le- ver, again running the machine on the intermediate gear. He could see that it was gaining rapidly now, for the horse was tiring. They were passing dense woods on either side, with barely, room for two carriages to pass, and should the horse succeed in getting past this stretch there would be lit- tle chance of Robert’s being able to do anything. Slowly the machine came up to the vehicle, and care- fully Robert edged in beside it. The noise of the engine frightened tbe horse still more, and for a while it looked as if he would get away thru increased speed. But his strength was spent, and Robert came up rapidly. Cau- tiously Robert passed the rear hubs of the chaise and drew