Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES Characters Dionysius — King of Sicily. Damocles — A fla.tterer. A group of flatterers or followers of the king. A complete train of attendants belonging to Dionysius. Many beautiful pages. SCENE I Time: Mid-summer. Place: In a beautiful garden belonging to the castle of Dionysius. (Diouysius, followed by many attendants, is seen walking about in a large beautiful garden. The green slirubljery and the bloom- ing plants form a background which sets off the richly ornamental robes of the king. The garden lies to the south of a castle which can be seen in the distance. In one corner of the garden is a group of men, some sitting and siome standing. They aire superficial, sentimental and insincere. One of these, a young man of perhaps twenty-five, named D-i- mocles, calls the attention of the others to tlie fact that Dionysius is aijproachiaig. They all arise and bow and acknowledge his pres- ence in a ceremonious way customary iu an- cient times. They gatlier around him and give their flattering opinions of his wealth and power. To them Di,onysius seems an ex- ample of perfect happiness.) First man: It must be delightful to have nothing to do all day but live iu luxury. Second man: Oh! IIow we envy you with all your riches. Damocles: And to have all of Sicily at yonv command. Third man: With all your wealth and pow- er you must be the happiest man alive. (Dionysius prejjares to sjieak but Damocles also begins. Dionysius simply shakes lii.s head in a dicspnting manner, meaning he is not happy.) Ah, Damocles! My Lord — (sees Dionysius shake his head) What Not hapjjy! All men (together): What! Damocles: Surely you don ' t mean that! You have riches untold. No man was ever gre;iter. No king ever had such extent of power. Your royal magnificence is the envy of all kings. Not happy — I don ' t believe it! (Shakes his head to emi)hasize the fact.) Dionysius: llast thou a mind, Damocles, to taste this happiness and to know by experience what the enjoyments are of which you have so liigh an idea? Damocles: That I have and would be de- lighted to share them. Dion3 ' sius (turns to the chief attendant) : Command the cooks to prepare the best supper possible for tonight. (He bids hi,s friends good-day and walks toward the castle.) Curtain falls. SCENE II Time: At the feast. I ' lace: In the great banqueting room of the jjalaee. (All are seated. In Dionysius ' s place sits Damocles. His countenance is marked with pleasure as he observes all the royal splendor around him. The numerous seats of honor are magnificent but his outshines them all. Pages of extraordinary beauty wait upon the table. The gold of the carved plates glitters under the lights. Flowers adorn the center of every table. Judging by the taste of the deli- cate foods, the cooks are the best in the land. Damocles is spellbound. He sits In silence. Upon glancing at the ceiling, hi pleased countenance suddenly freezes witli terror. Just above his head, hanging by a single hair, is a sword! He rises abruptly and ' stands behind his chair.) Damocles (in frantic apj)eal): Eemove this sword, O king! Dionysius (calmly) : When I am king, that sword always hangs there. Damocles (looking for a way to escape) : I don ' t wish to be king any more. Dionysius (smiling sadly) : I think then I have proven to you that wealth and power do not always bring hapiiiness. Curtain falls. Dramatized by LOUISE ALLMAN, ' 27. SOUNDS FROM THE OLD BARN oil, the sounds which resouiul from tlie old country barn Are so i)leas:int, so choery, so quaint in their charm That ii( ver could anyone hasten aAvay Fiom tlu ' ir sweet entioemeats, a gray, rainy (l:iy. There ' s the stamping of cattle upon the old floor, Tlie musical sound of the slijiling bai ' U door. There ' s tlie cl;u(ging of i)low chains wliic!i hang on the wall. And the neigh of Old Major who st;inds in his stall. Oh, tlie memories which linger of fresh new- mown liay Will ne ' er be forgotten, of that rainy ijiy ARTHUR NEWCOMB, 25. J8

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ITe spread his huge wings, and findi,ng them unhampered, he seemed to realize his oppor- tunity. With a miglity leap, he shot into flic air and went spiralling upwards in glorious sweeps and curves. As he strode to the edge of the clearing, Joe King, the true sportsman, waved his cap to the eagle, saying, So long, old friend, I ' ll be back soon, and you w ' 1l ne er be trapped again if I can help it! ' ' II may or may not have been a coincidence, but the eagle screamed harshly in farewell, once, twice, tlirice. And the rising sun, peejjing over the edge of the forest, beheld the scene; and the frow. ' i (in its rotund face was displaced by a satisfied smile. A. E. TEKKINS, ' 2;! pain. Perhaps these plants are not capable of the sensation in quite the way we under- stand it, but surely they can stand no rougii treatment. LOIS PARKS, 25. CAN A PLANT FEEL PAIN? Some very iiiteiest i-iu ' cxiieriitients have re- cently been carried out in coniieclioii wit ' i the well known sensitive plant. Its habits are so peculiai ' that no one evei ' witnesses its strange lieliavior without astonishment. Wh: n the phuit is healthy, it needs only the touch of a finger tip to bring about the closing of the little leaves and the dro()))ing of the stalk . Kven a lireath of cold air makes the jilant huddle together; while ii su(blen .j(d mak ' . ' s a lightning-quick drawing uj) of the leaves to the stalk. The shrinking is so sudden that one might really believe the plant to be frightened. It has been known for some time th.-it the sensitive-plant is easily effected by the fumes of chloroform, . ' inil these special experi.ments were performed to tind out if the jilant could still, when unconscious (if that word may be used) feel. First to show the effects of hot air on a nor- mally healthy plant, a piece of wadding s.it- urated with oil is liighted and passed (|uicklv back and forth under the leaves. Remember that the flame does not touch them, yet the little heat makes the plant droop imme li- ately. They then give this fascinating plant chlor- oform, and it is carried out in this manner. . second piece of wadding is soaked in chloro- form and placed beside the plant; both being covered quickly with a glass shade. In al)Out a half-hour the leaves begin to droop, in fact, i i a very short time the whole plant seems completely under the effects of the anaesthetic. Now, when the plant is tested in these various ways, none has any effect; the tip of the stalk is even touched l)y the flame with no result. One wonders if this curious plant feels THE LIGHTHOUSE Perched on a great, grey rock the little lighthouse stands, year in, year out, guarding the barren coast. In summer when the light- ning flashes and the thunder crashes, it sends its brave little beacon across the angry spra3 When the storm king of winter grips all in its sway, when shrieking winds tear through the su3-f, the lighthouse is steadfast. Its light forever guides the v.orn sailor on its way and welcomes the homeward schooner. Above the storm and thundering sjiray it s ;iuds . ' I monument of man ' s love and care for his brotluM ' . The lighthouse is a symbol of (ic-d ' s love. DORIS DUTJ V, 2 ' k THE FALLS The majesty, the power, the grandeur of the falls! One is held spelll)ound by its tei- rilde thunderings and its wild beauty. The Niagara, that river famous ' n legend, i-ushes on tO ' its doom. In vain the angry waters attempt to draw back. In vain thev leap into the air or tumble back over them- selves. They sweep along in their narrow con- fines uttering a mighty song, the awful song of death. The raging flood is (piieted for a moment just before reaching the brink. Per- hajis freedom awaits at the bottom of the un known! With a sudden eageiiiess and a roar wli ' ch increase ' s until the ei ' y heaxcns le- sound with its thunder, the waters sweep ovei- the !)rink and fall down — down — down to the rocks below, which for centuries have been resisting that terrible attack. Such is the force with which they fall that tons of the Ijluish- L;reen waters are thrown even higher than the top of the falls, an l lose themselves in mi.st, a white dazzling mist in which dwell a thou- sand rainbows. Hut what of the rest? Stunned by its tre- mendous fall, it slowly takes its way along its course. Gradually, however, it awakens and soon is tumbling and raging through wild rapids and thence to the sea. EMILY SMITH, ' 25. 17

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THE NEW BOV Five school boys were lounging around the school grounds during the noon hour. Don ' t you wish tlie tire whistle would blow now? said Jennings, better known as Bryan. Yes, and I ' d like to hear it was the school house burnt to the ground. And dou ' t you wish tlie fire-engine woiiM Ijreak down ? ' ' Just then Eunton Fisher was seen hurrying toward them. Wliat you s ' pose! he ejacu- lated ; there ' ' s n new boy in town — maybe he ' ll start to seliool — he ' s from Kansas or soinewliere — and lie don ' t know what Ch!H is — n ' lie never saw a mountain before — ' n ho thinks— Enougli, enough! Jennings interrupted; what are you goin ' to do to him? Everything! ' ' exclaimed several in a breath. Let ' s make him think one of us is crazy! No, let ' s take him skatin ' . ' ' Skating! Why they have skating all win- ter where he came from. AVe can scare him about Indians, though. Suggestions came thick and fast, and when the boys reluct antly complied with the sum- mons of the school bell, their plans were on ' y partly completed. Threo toilsome hours were spent in study, candy-eating, and making plans. A commit tee of two was aijpointed at the close of school to call on the new boy at his home. They fed him two kinds of taffy and sMccecdi ' I in gaining his entire friendship and confi- dence. It was arranged to go to the river the next day, which was Saturday and there- fore a holiday. The walk was a little longer than the new boy liad expected, but he was well enter- tained by numerous stories of the Cotton- wood Gang, of boy desperadoes. He was told that they held the smaller surrounding set- tlements in terror, and that tliey were well known throughout that entij-e region. They were said to be boys that had been kidnapped by the greatest robber outfit on earth, and had grown up to their wild ways. Their cap- tors had all been hanged or imprisoned , and tlie boys were le t to do as they pleased. The new boy was mucli interested. He had never heard of this remarkable Cotton- wood Gang before, and he asked many ques- tions. The boys were just entering the nar- row strip of cottonwoods that bordered the river. And did they ever iiide around here? he queried. Well, I guess! Once they hunted ' em here three months and the gang never moved out of this patch of trees onee. But they ' d hardlj ' be here this t!,me (jf year? Oh, they may be, you never can tell. They may have held up an express and are hiding out somewhere from a posse. The three boys were penetrating deeper and deeper into the mighty forest — fifty yards wide. They walked stealthily and spoke only in the lowest of whispers. Do they ever hurt anybodj- seriously? ' the new Ijoy wanted to know. Never did more ' n four or five murder. , mostly keep ' em prisoners, was the comfort- ing reply. He wanted to run, but he might run straight into their arms. Tlic situation was becoming unbearalile. A dry twig in front of them cracked. The new boy glanced from the frightened face of one companion to that of the other. They stood motionle.?s awaiting the crisis. It came very suddenly. Four boys on horse- l)a( ' k burst througli the foliage. Tliey wore masks and had red l)andanas around their necks. The leader held two murderous-look- ing revolvers before him, and a broad grin was all that could bo seen of his face beneatli his wide-i ' inuned hat. The hands of the trembling victims were raised above their heads. Two of the robber.s dismounted and proceeded to relieve them of toi)s, marbles, pencils, and pictures of tlieir best beloveds, expressing no little disgust at the cliaracter of the booty they found. After a short conference, the higliwaymen began to bind the captives. T1ie new l)oy was blind folded first and set on the back of one of the steeds. He imagined his compan- ions were in a like condition and after a moment the seven l)0j ' s started away on the four liorses. Tliey went over various roada, and made so many turns, that our young friend lost all sense of direction. At last coming to a halt, one of the band an- nounced, the cave! and the new boy wan taken from his uncomfortable seat. He was hurried to a spot a short distance away and commanded to sit on the bare ground and wait. He was given to understand it meant instant death to remove the blindfold. He heard them gallop away, but he was sure there was at least one guard left. He sat there thinking of his home and wonder- 19