St Josephs College - Footprints Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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The Fourth Dimension IF you were to tell someone that a flexible sphere might be turned inside out without tearing, that an object might be removed from a closed room without penetrating the walls and that the links of a chain might be separated unbroken, he would say Impossible, Absurd. No more so than is the idea that the earth is round or that it revolves about the sun. These tacts are as contradictory to the senses as are the former and yet they are accepted as established facts. So, too, as time goes on, perhaps, the idea of a fourth dimension may be received with equal credulity. It is impossible to form a mental picture of the fourth dimension. To gain a partial idea of it one must resort to analogy with dimensions of a lower order. By imagining two-dimensional beings living in a plane and incapable of understanding our world of three dimensions, we get an idea of our relation to the world of four dimensions. Suppose we place a two- dimensional being, a flatlander, in a circle. He would go all around the circle but finding it closed would despair of getting out, as we would, locked in a closed cell. But we of the third dimension could step over the boundary to the outside o! the circle. In like manner, if we place a four-dimensional being within the six walls of a cell, he could get out without breaking ceiling, walls or floor. He could do it as easil) as we pass over the circle — so won- derful to our friend in llatland. We might call the space enclosed within the fourth dimension hyperspace. The question now arises, bias ' hyperspace ' a real physical existence? If so. our world must have a slight extension in the fourth dimension, other- wise it would be nothing but a shadow cast by a more real four-dimensional world. The existence of a slight extension in fourth dimension would simplify many scientific theories. Hyperspace has been brought somewhat into disrepute because the spiritualists have assumed its existence to give a local habitation to their imaginings. Nevertheless, no one has yet found the possibility of its existence to be in conflict with any scientific fact, and the limit of space to three dimen- sions is therefore empirical. MARGARET JOHNSTON, ' 26. Prayer I wandered through the moonlit woods alone. The night was still: no leaf stirred in a breeze. A pond I sought, but. in its place I found A pool of liquid moonlight ' mid the trees. And while I gazed, a dazzling angel came Bearing on high, a star bedimmed, once bright, And dipping ' neath the pool his burden great, He drew from thence a blazing, blinding light. ( )h, God, give me the ever constant will To plunge into Thy ] 1 of living grace. That, shining like another deathless star. I ever may give joy before Thy face. MABEL I. BARTON, ' 26. 16}S --

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Wanted — More Degrees IF there is any accomplishment you would like to acquire, college is the place for you. Not having wide experience, I cannot vouch for every college, but I am sure that St. Joseph ' s provides the broadest training possible. Ostensibly you come to college for a degree, usually in arts; and if you are an earnest and thorough student, success will probably crown your efforts. Yet how many more degrees could, deservedly, be awarded at the close of our college career. In the first place, there is not one of us who would he unable to preside oxer Congress. Long experience with meetings conducted under the most strict observance of Parliamentary Law has made even such an occasion as the above seem nothing. 1 suppose committees for all sorts of events from an athletic meet to one ' s Senior Prom might also be included under this heading. But to my mind it certainly is an art in itself and worthy ot special merit to be able to convince the proprietor of New York ' s most exclusive hotel that a mere reduction of half his price is nothing compared ■ itli the privilege of having his place the scene of a St. Joseph ' s prom. Domestic science, also, holds not tin- least terror for us who have sur- vived a series of college teas and class days. If in years to come the literary market is flooded with hooks on this topic, 1 venture to say that the students of our Alma Mater will form no small percentage of their authors. The various little tricks that form a useful addition to the knowledge of any ■-killed cook are also among our accomplishments. There is not one of us who is not equal to an) emergency from opening cans without the conven tional can opener to that time-honored custom of stretching the soup supply by means of a glass or two of water. And. of course, the art of serving with speed and perfection is quite second nature. Basketball games and lectures naturally bring with them the necessity for colorful decoration, especially in the lunchroom; and so in this way the artistic side of our nature is developed. Hut it is not until Senior year that this all-round training reaches its completion. The Sanctum is the final test the application step, if 1 may call it such, in the lessons of general usefulness. It is certainly a summary of all previous experiences with several new ones for good measure. First of all. there is the acquisition of furnish ings, paint, draperies and cushions -to say nothing of the innumerable inci- dentals sure to crop up at the most unforeseen moments. There really is a decided thrill to purchasing them, although it is as nothing compared with the feeling of gratitude that comes when some very public spirited parent decides to do his share towards furnishing our room o ' dreams by a most welcome contribution of cretonne, paint or rugs. f course the most exciting time is during the painting. For obvious reasons, the particular brighl blue of Twenty-Six ' s Sanctum will be ever present in our memories, or at any rate, as long as most of our wearing apparel is in existence. Really, there seems to be no limit to the opportunities a college course at St. foseph ' s offers for acquiring general, useful knowledge. Our onlj regret — and time may dissolve even that — is that, through some oversighl oi the Faculty, all the labor and time expended on these courses is not rewarded by degrees. M ( RKT CROWLEY, ' 26. ■ 4 1 5 f -

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The Charm of Venice IN all my travels there was nothing more beautiful, more charming, than tin spectacle which greeted m sighl as I first looked upon Venice, the glorious city in the sea. There, before mj ryes stretched thai glistening city of my dreams, a pretty picture upon the sands of the seashore. Her statelj palaces reflected on the gleaming waters, resembled a phantom cit) i ' ii a silver} stream. How solemn, how impressive was the tranquility that wrapped the scene! Travel where I did, neither London nor Paris, neither Berlin nor Rome feasted m vision with such a banquet of beauty. It was the unfolding of a dream, a fairy land made real by art. age and industry. Fancy a cit) ' where tin- silence is unbroken by the tread of horses or the rumbling of wheels, when- the streets are crossed in boats, and where gondolas drift to merry-makings or to funerals. Such a city is Venice. As 1 alighted from the railroad station into one i these bewitching boats the charm of Venice was alreadv upon me. The gondola swayed to and fro in almost human response to the gondolier ' s rhythmic oar. This was the only sound ' hat broke flic quietness of the scene and left my eye at full liberty to take in the inexhaustible loveliness of color and form. Sa premi. cried the gondolier as he turned the corner, and for a moment all was in confusion. Everywhere were gondolas, gondolas moored at the quay waiting for passengers, gondolas drawn up in front of palaces, and gondolas sweeping down the Grand Canal. All were painted black, in accordance with an ancient law. passed when the decorations of the fascinating water-carriages were becoming too sumptuous for Republican morals. Hut even now man} of them were very elegant. They were long and slender in appearance, with a high, steel pointed beak, oddly shaped and usually fitted out with superb carvings. In striking contrast with these sombre ships were found vessels. in the large canal, with sails of brilliant hues, mostly red and orange. The radiance of these sails and of the bright and grotesque vanes at the mast- heads under sunlight were beyond all painting. As my gondola glided over the great lagoon, the splendor of the spec- tacle impressed me. The buildings that 1 had so fondlj studied in hooks and pictures now rose before me. They far exceeded m expectations, being wonderfully beautiful with their superb architecture and their great variety pf color. One by one the) appeared, the hooded cupolas of St. Mark, the tall Campanile, glittering red in the sun: the Morescoe Palace of the Doges; the gloomy Bridge of Sighs and the dark dungeons to which it leads. The palaces and churches on each side of the water gave the scene a medieval Setting and the illusion was such that as the gondola neared the Rialto I would not have been surprised to have encountered Shylock. The Rialto was formerly the rich business and mone) center of the iil . hut now it has fallen into decay and is used b the poorer classes for simps. I soon learned that the same man who built this bridge also built the Bridge of Sighs. There is a world of sentiment around this beautiful hut gruesome link connecting the State prisons with the Doge ' s Palace. Prisoners who crossed it never saw the light of day again. They spent their remaining days in dark and damp cells which would make the saddest lite in the Free light and air seem bright and desirable. Venice is the city of majestic palaces. It has been said of some oi her larger buildings that they serve as a standard by which the ancient great- ness of Venice itself may he measured. I he principal one is the Palace ol the Doges. This is claimed to he the finest building in the world. Charles { 1 ' i