Saint Ursula Academy - Scroll Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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ton where llr. Nlurphy was. She said that he was in his room, sleeping, and she was about to do likewise, because she added a few more pints of tomatoes to her already plentiful store. UAm-azingf' l whispered to myself, Hand l thought crime,-No, I must not say that. Well, what is it then?y' l argued aloud to myself. ln the kitchen, on a small roughly built table. stood six beautiful, gleam- ing pints of tomatoes. I Carefully extracted the tomatoes from my pockets, and found a knife in the table drawer. After peeling them, I opened one of the pints. l thought of what l would do with the tomatoes in the jar. After a meal of only tomatoes-the good ones--l Carefully packed the others in the pint jar and sealed it. l then retired for the night. llrs, Slaxton served her first jar of tomatoes two weeks later. I ate corn instead of tomatoes. VVell, that's all to tell. That's the way it happened. I only wanted Nlrs. Slaxton to eat them, but old glutton Klurphy had to eat also. 'fSay, l gasped weakly. how did you find out? 'fYou were seen taking tomatoes from lllrs. Swartz's garden, and the poison- ing came from the tomatoesg so we came to the Conclusion that you were the one. I moaned. and said weakly, Hthose rotten tomatoes. they -- .H Dead, someone said softly, dead. BECAUSE I mics li'?ZL'ZL' a man who zvas oId and gray, IIO 'zcas jmor and clothed in rags, 11nd ht' tald me the story of 'why it was so- Of zrhy hr was dothffd in rags. II Izvn I was young, I was greedy and mid, And had nothing to do with the poor. I never had time to say a hind word, Or pray for the sich a cure. I 7lt l't'7' smiled at little children I hmficx flnd I rzvwr tcm! out of my way, To sand flowvrs to those who were IanvIy, Or say thanhs for II favor one gafuefi Nou' I'w last mifrything and have no jwlarv to go. rind nary a friend do I fad. I'm afonv in the tvorld, and the reason zt'hy- Is hvfvzzzsv I 'zcas never hind. So I Ieaw you this message: Never For- aft! That the best things in Iife are free. For a song, a s1niIe, and a hind word shared, Illahe Iifv a s-zveet symphony. -ANN Loisizt '46 Paga Fifteen

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boarding house at the other end of town. I had to wait there until they removed the bodies and then was grant- ed permission to leave. Upset and nervous as I was, I found I still had an appetite. I ate a hearty dinner in a small restaurant , as the sign read. Upon leaving, I slowly walked to my new abode. A few weeks later I came home from a jaunt to the bank and went to my room, hardly expecting to be confronted bytwo burly men who said my presence was requested at the Police Station. Upon recovering myself, I said, Hsurely, Ifll be glad to -accommodate you, gentlemen, but would you mind if I washed up a bit first ?!' They looked at each other and gave a silent approval. I smiled at them warmly. I took my leave and walked to the lavatory -at the end of the hall, silently locked the door and got my-! But what is this? Someone rapping on the door. f'I'll be through in a minutef' I called. Unlock the door a minute, Johnsonf! answered the voice on the other side of the door. Then, and only then, did I know that I had been discovered. I grasped a razor blade, and quickly slashed my wrists again and again, Then my ankles. Hurry! They'll be getting help. Oh! Things are beginning to get hazy. They're at the door again! Too late! Crash!! The door gave way to faces bobbing in front of me. f'Too late! I screamed at them, 'ftoo late! YVhen I regained consciousness, my wrists and ankles were swathed in ban- dages. and there was an armed guard sitting outside my door, and one stand- ing -at the foot of my bed. At first I wouldn't tell them why or how I had done it, but then I knew I was going, and I wanted them to know just how clever I was. Here is the story: One night I discovered quite by acci- dent Klrs. Slaxtonfs secret cache of money. I had been dozing in a chair and when I awoke, it was well after Page Fourteen dusk. I reached out to turn on a lamp, and because I couldn't see very well, I knocked it to the floor. As I fumbled around to reach it, my grasping fingers encountered some paper-a wad of pa- per. I anxiously turned on the light. A roll of one-hundred-dollar bills glared up at me invitingly. I stuffed them into my pocket, as I heard footsteps in the h-all. Whats the matter. called Nlrs. Slaxton. Did you drop something? UNO, I lied, I only bumped against the lamp.'! I sauntered into the kitchen and talked to her for a short while, and then, because I could no longer stand the money burning in my pocket, I went upstairs to my room, closed and locked the door. I stumbled to the dresser, turned on the light, and pulled the money from my pocket. I nervously counted it-one thousand dollars. I fell back on the chair, stunned. I had no idea it was such a large amount. It was then I remembered an article I had read in an old magazine about food being poisoned in .a natural sort of way. I hunted through the pile of magazines on the stand. Ah! Here it is! Here's the page! I mused. Botulism is poisoning from eating meats, fish, or vegetables in which a specific bacillus has developed. This can happen, espe- cially in home cooking, when you do not cook the food and pack it in jars immediately!! The dangerous thing concerning botulism is that it does not change the color, nor the odor of the foodf' I concluded half aloud to my- self. Then I proceeded to think of what would happen if I did exactly what it said not to do. I knew IXIrs, Slaxton had canned a few pints of tomatoes from her meager garden. Yes, I murmured to myself, now you are using your brains. gn Y! I took a stroll that afternoon and passed a small, weather-beaten farm. A fence, or what looked like the re- mains of one, enclosed a- Well, of all things, I exclaimed, 'fa lovely little tom-ato patch! Arriving at the hotel later in the day, I cautiously inquired of Nirs. Slax-

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'Twas Heaven T 0 Be Young 9 O ATTENIPT will be made here to compare or contrast the two English poets chosen for this study. Each will be treated separate- ly-the unity being achieved by dealing with their common interest, children- since some of the greatest flashes of their inspiration were enkindled from their attraction and love for the littlest ones in the kingdom of man. f'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive But to be young was very Heaven l This VCl'SC was written by one of E n gl an d ' s greatest poets, Williain VVordsworth. C1770-18505. It no doubt would be surprising to some peo- ple to have their attention brought to the fact that some of the greatest mas- ters in versecraft actually spent hours writing fanciful verse about the delight- fully entertaining episodes of childhood. It is noticeable in the above-quoted verse that VVordsworth writes with a childlike perceptiveness, lndeed at times he has even been accused of being too consciously childlike, some critics make the indictment that in his desire for simplicity he allows the chatter and baby talk of the child to insinuate it- self into his incessant pen, so utterly engrossed is he in his subject. It was possible that VVordsworth had hoped to settle in France, but the Con- tinental disorders and the war between France and England in 1793 upset his plans and he returned to England, sad and disillusioned. Late in his thirties, he married Nlary Hutchinson, by whom he was blessed with four children. S0 intrigued was he with his offsprings' every living H10- ment, so observing of their whims and artihces, that his father-heart urged him to set down in verse their every belief and action. Thus he wrote of his daughter, Catherine. Loving she is, and traitable. though wild, Page Sixteen 0 And Innocence hath privilege in her, To dignify arch looks and laughing eyesfl The very close propinquinity between father and son gave VVordsworth an excellent opportunity to express his feel- ing concerning this filial bond. Having experienced the same, he wrote in L'An- ecdote for Fathersfl- HI have a boy of five years old. His face is fair and fresh to seeg His limbs are crest in beautv's mold, And dea1'ly he loves mef, Although life may run smoothly. one cannot expect to pass along its winding road without stumbling here and there. Into VVordsworth,s life death stalked, taking two of his children, thus caus- ing him much grief and sorrow, In reflecting on his loss, again the desire came to verbalize his emotions. It seemed to relieve his mind and heart of the poignant sadness which tortured him: Departed child! I could forget thee once Though at my bosom nursed: this woeful gain Thy dissolution brings that fn my soul Is present and perpetually abidesf' 'Q' 'U' '? 1 .' 'U' 'TQ' '. l .' 'lfiff' By . Betty Gerken L-Q-4 -1-ll'-'fl-'lf' 'M' 'll' 'fl-JP 'in-Qui So was the life of VVordsworth-one of delicate understanding and sympathy as a father to his much-loved children. In his works he shows true genius in revealing thoughts that occur to all men but who do not possess the ability to express them. 0 i-.. o Children, their charm and simplicity engaged the pen of another great Eng- lish poet, Francis Thompson. As was