Natick High School - Sassamon Yearbook (Natick, MA)

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YEAR BOOK, 1927 7 are common to all: a dip in the ocean, a cross-country walk, a little garden plot-all these are common, close at hand, and simple, if one has only acquired the habit of contentment. Stevenson says, There is no duty we so much underestimate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous bene- fits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves, or, when they are disclosed, surprise nobody so much as the benefactors. A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five-pound note. Each is a radiating focus of good-will, and the entrance of either into a room is as though another candle had been lighted. One of the most delightful ways of acquiring this spirit of con- tentment is by reading. In this way one be-comes acquainted with new friends, he broadens his horizon and his point of view. Books furnish inspiration as well as relaxation. The-y take one from the deadening monotony of the daily routine, they give confidence, poise, companionship, they furnish glorious adventure or high romance. 'fShow me a family of readers, said Napoleon, and I will show you the people who rule the world. And so as we set out on our great adventure we can keep Henry Van Dyke's well-known Doors of Daring in mind: The mountains that enclose the vale With walls of granite, steep and high, Invite the fearless foot to scale Their stairway toward the sky. ' The restless, deep, dividing sea That flows and foams from shore to shore, Calls to its sunburned chivalry, Push out, set sail, explore ! The bars of life at which we fret, That seem to prison and control, Are but the doors of daring, set Ajar before the soul. Say not, Too Poor, but freely give, Sigh not, Too weak, but boldly try, You never can begin to live Until you dare to die. FRANCIS BURKE

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6 THE SASSAMON and six sheep, which brought me S,S84. Still, during those eleven years of hard work, he managed to read and study over one hundred hooks. Many really big men master new subjects yearly. Gladstone took up a new language when he was over seventy. When a man ceases to study, he ceases to grow. Emerson said, The gods sell any- thing to everybody at a fair price. This is really the philosophy of business. The job that can be learned in two hours' training is worth just what it costs, the only job which is worth much is that which demands unceasing study and work. That doesn't mean a disparagement of lowly toil. Those who perform lowly, humble duties well and cheerfully are contributing their bit to the advancement of the world. Carlyle preached the dig- nity of labors-and he followed his own preaching. With diligence are allied two other qualities equally necessary for success: enthusiasm and imagination. Napoleon's enemies used to call him the 100,000 man -meaning that his vim and enthusiasm injected into the army a spirit equal to that of 100,000 men. Be- cause of that enthusiasm he inspired his soldiers to seemingly impos- sible achievements. History records the results of imagination, with- out it, Columbus would never have dared to sail away to our shores, if Watts hadn't watched the steam from the tea kettles, and dreamed a dream, the steam engine might not have materialized, if Benjamin Franklin had not played with his famous kite, 175 years ago this month, the present day electrical miracles might still be unknowng il' the Wright brothers hadn't dreamed and experimented, aviation would not have made such remarkable progressg if Bismarck had not dreamed of military power, he would not have developed such a war machine and the World War might have been averted. Practically all modern business of importance is the result of some dreamer's vision and enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm and intelligent imagina- tion Col. Charles Lindbergh would never have undertaken his epoch- niaking trans-Atlantic flight. With enthusiasm and imagination there is needed what has been termed a divine discontent to make a man dissatisfied with his in- telligence and to stimulate him to further study, to urge him to qualify for a bigger, better position, to cause him to enlist in Hbetter- ment movements , to strive for really worth while things. If Lincoln had not had this spirit of discontent, he would have remained unlet- tered like his father, and the world would have lost a leader. This spirit of discontent stimulates mankind to nobler endeavor. On the other hand, a certain degree of contentment leads to the en- joyment of many pleasures. Some of the happiest experiences of life

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1927 GIRLS' BASKETBALL,