Hudson High School - True Blue Yearbook (Hudson, WI)

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1G THUE BLUE branches of the tree of life. From Milton we rise with hope and gather confidence as we advance, in the belief that the most perfect mental discipline, and civilization are not antagonistic to poetry; but that it attains its highest development when under the most enlightened judgment. With the advance of civilization, however, there seems to be a proportional decline in the powers of the imagination and fancy. Consequently there is a decay in poetry. Nations, like individuals, only once in their history appear in the freshness of their youth, and in the bloom of beauty. Such a period having once passed further attempts are useless. Thus it is with prose. It may have the substance but it can never have the music and splendor, or the supernatural charm and rapture of poetry. It has been said that we are growing prosaical; that the influence of modern scien- tific discoveries, the growth of the trades and manufactures will kill the poetic spirit. Human nature, however, is the same as it always has been, surroundings alone are different. The human heart responds to the same notes and the same impulses. Poetry that charms now will ever inspire us. So long as the hearts exults with rapture, droops with sorrow, palpitates with hope, or is overwhelmed with despair, melts with love, rages with jealousy, glows with anger, is maddened with revenge; in short, is subject to the innumerable feelings wnich can find utterance only in the language of the bard; so long will there be material for poetry, and so long will it be ap- preciated by the human race. There will come a time when the picturings of the bard shall be made real, when man’s moral and intellectual nature shall be more fully developed, and when Christianity shall so influence the hearts and minds of men that the imagination will take hold of the people, and poetry become the original once more. What Women Have Done. By Eva Greenfield. What women have done was the subject of Miss Eva Green- field’s Essay. Nowdays there are confusing opinions regarding woman’s proper sphere. Miss Greenfield thinks we can obtain the best knowledge of woman’s ability by considering her influence

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TRUE BLUE 15 ’tis of thee. ” The reason you will understand when you know that their ancestors came from the “tight little Island.” Two are “Canucks” who have wandered over the border and are true Americans. Six are “Yankees” true and simple. Eleven of the twenty-eight are graduates from the English course, ten have finished the General Science course and the re- maining seven completed the Modern Classical course. All have decided to attend schools of higher education. Some intend to grace the pulpit with their eloquence, others will sway audiences and juries with their oratory and arguments, some are going to construct vast engineering works and others charm refined aud- iences with their music. In fact the whole class promises that all shall be “leaders and masters in every walk of life.” The Influence of Poetry. By Nina Nye. The very earliest forms of literature were poetry. These con- sisted of songs or ballads, sung by a class of men called bards, who made it their chief occupation relating the lives and exciting adventures of their ancestors. They did not write these rhymes but composed them as they sang. Homer’s Illiad and Odessy are examples. The earliest forms among the Anglo Saxons had the spirit of war and religion. In fact poetry has been ever connected with religion, which affords occasion for the expression of all hu- man emotions. These early narrative poems and ballads were re- peated and sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Later, poetry was written, and it could then be more easily read and carefully studied. Deeper subjects were treated by Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Burns, on down to Tennyson. The works of these illustrious writers flow like a living stream, rendering the imaginative products, the richest and most varied of modern times. With Milton we may trace the flight of his daring genius, through the regions of death, chaos. We may follow him farther and bathe our wearied spirits in Elysium, or wander with the heavenly guests through the fragrant groves and bowers of para- dise, listening to the song of earliest birds, and the sound of lulling waters, or reposing with the most innocent and loveliest pair the earth has ever born upon its bosom, beneath the lowering

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TRUE BLUE 17 in the past, on the history of the world. All through the ages of history, woman has been prominent in public life. Aristotle placed Sappho in the same rank with Homer and Archilochus. The women of Rome were noted for their cul- ture and education. Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus wielded such influence over her sons that they became leaders in the Agrarian movement. It was she who referred to her sons as jewels. Perhaps no woman ever had exerted more powerover men than did Madame Roland over the Girondist during the terrible French Revolution. Queen Elizabeth secured peace with France and Scotland, and during her reign England prospered as never before. Literature flourished, and the brightest literary period in English History is the Elizabethan era. Victoria was another Queen who, by her patience, industry, tact and good judgment exerted an unbounded moral control over British policies. , Jennie Lind, who endowed the schools of Sweden with money earned by means of her songs; Florence Nightingale the sanitary reformer of the British army, and Clara Barton the organizer of the Red Cross society are household words throughout the civilized world. Perhaps the woman best known to the people of the pres- ent generation is Frances E. Willard. She was the organizer and leader of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Words fail to adequately express appreciation of Her life’s work. Her death is mourned in a million homes, and her name will ever remain among the brightest stars in the galaxy of the world’s illustrious workers in the cause of humanity. The Mormon Church. By Esther Flynn. This essay was an explanation of the origin of the Mormon church, and something of the life of Joseph Smith its founder. The founder was born in a village in the State of New York. His educational advantages were few, but he was naturally of a reli- gious temperament. This religious tendency was increased by religious excitement which prevailed in the vicinity of his home during his boyhood.