Wesleyan College - Veterropt Yearbook (Macon, GA)

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9 4 :Q cf yy Y? eterrupt t, 7 N exe, - --,,--.-- - vll ill. - i 41 - it Uhr Blemish Zlzle CDediCated to Mr. N. B. Duke, in appreciation of his generosity in helping to make possible a Greater Wesleyfanl . . To the island-valley of Avilion, Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, Nor ever wind blows loudly: but it lies Deep-meadow'cl, happy, fair with orchard lawns And bowery hollows croWn'd with summer sea. . . -Tennyson, Idylls of the Kll1g.,, In days of old King drthur, head of all The mystic, wondrous order of the Table Round, Was wounded sore and borne by Bediwere Upon the barge of three black-mantled queens With crowns of gold, thence carried in their ship Alcross the far-off deep to blessed isles, Unknown by man and knight but thought a place Enchanted, whence at last King Arthur will Return unto his own. So say the bards. Alnd in their ancient faith they hold steadfastl At time of need their king will come at last. ff ek :rf :if be we :sf But in this modern order of the day, Where knights are lVesleyan girls and where the king Is but the spirit of their honored group, Afvilion, the blessed isle, is not The place they send their chief with mourning wail But rather is the spot they hope for all To know and lofve and dwell therein for aye. J For Rifuoli is not a thing apart. The knights of all the order love it well. For her the Launcelots will wield their swords Of energy and daunlless mind and soul. The Galahads will seek their I-loly Grail Of love and hope and faith and purpose high. fr'qhfF-3 T ' TWD ij: -- ' li I '-Q 7'-2.-.-. , . -L . f'3E -, , ..- .11 1303

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4 - , ' J '-w --- . -- Y -- axxv ' - f- - Lg ..- ,-, ,. mdlllli NIU 'WIFI' V' ,if wi 19ete1r1'n,pI 'Si e 4222 .1 u g -all mealvgan-152151, Igrearnt sinh Fllutnre The 0111 order ehangeth, yielding place to new. Frilled hoopskirts, flowered bonnets, gentle voices, soft laughter, delicate perfume of lavender and scent of summer flowers, the blending of the spirit of youth with the spirit hovering over the towers and walls-such was the scene when the first graduating class-the class of 1840-went out from Wesleyfan College, fo'ur years after its opening. The founding of Wesleyan was the result of toil and effort on the part of far- sighted ones who felt, rather than saw, the great emancipation of woman looming in the coming years. On the now historic walls of the college hangs, faded and wrinkled and quaint, in its frame of old gilt, the first diploma granted to a woman. Bearing the date 184.0 and the name of Bliss Catherine Brewer-later the mother of Admiral VV. S. Benson, of lllacon, it hangs there, a memorial to the struggle which has at last resulted in victory, the struggle of the womanhood of the world for freedom from the irksome bonds of ignorance and repression. Since those first years of Bishop George F. Pierce's administration, when Wesleyan was surrounded by a high wall, when there were few students, when there was much opposition and many drawbacks, VVesleyan has become a standard institution recognized by the world as the first chartered college to grant a degree to a woman. Its curriculum has been raised, the endowment fund increased and the faculty and student body enlarged to such an extent that it has received membership in the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in the Southern States, the American Association of Colleges, and the American Association of University VVomen. All VVesleyan graduates are now eligible to membership in this latter organization. At about the time when this class of '26 goes forth from the old chapel, equipped with a hard-won diploma and the indomitable spirit which is wafted vaguely to all who come within the historic portals of the institution, work of construction will be begun on the magnificent new plant at Rivoli. Here, on one hundred and thirty-two acres of rolling land, will rise the enlarged structures from which new names will constantly be added to the list of already more than three thousand graduates. These graduates have gone out, and will continue to go out, honoring the name of the Oldest and Best and contributing a share, however small or great, to the progress of the world. The dream of a Greater Wesleyfan at Rivoli was a far more gigantic one than the iirst dream of the college on the hill, but the same spirit was the basis of both visions. The same courage which constructed the first old buildings at the present site will carry through to its completion the program of advancement embodied in the plans for Greater VVesleyan. And now? Tailored skirts, short-cut hair, gay young voices, girlish laughter, delicate perfume of Coty, and scent of summer flowers, blending with the spirit hovering over the walls and campus-such is the scene when the latest graduating class-the class of 1926- goes out from VVesleyan College, ninety years after its foundation-perhaps the last class to ever receive diplomas from the college on the hillfl A new campus, a new life, but a continuation of the same indomitable, loyal spirit of VVesleyan, will be found out at Rivoli. Dreams really do come true. The Wesleyfan of old will be truly the Greater VVesleyan f tomorrow. EVELYN AVEN. Ti :- I ce A I L., 'P'--tr ' -36-7 gg ,, ,L i 5 tb - g 2,33 C295

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Hs Q l s 're 1 g f, my etefmpi - K X -X --- - 4- v M M--Q- - t- - -- -- . - ,glltm-v11 'l For her the other knights will tourney long, Chifualric ntount their steeds and battle hard Lest any foreign knight of faith delayed dud hope confused and 'vigor undermined, Should triumph and should dare to harm The shores they hope to sail unto themselfues, Their Riwoli, the blessed isle they love. :nf Pk :sf Pk we :sf use These modern knights, these Wesleyan girls who wear The golden shield that graced King .flrthur's friends, Haz'e losee and faith and reverence for their king, The spirit of their loved, historic school, But they would not send their king away Alone to sail to fair dfuilion. They banish war, which did for .f1rthur's knights And hail not one but many barges sailed By stately queens in robes of purest white, With music which the coming dawn proclaims, And joy to all upon the blessed isles. bn: :ef x Pk wk :nf sf Then haste the day when Arthur's modern knights Shall take their king triumphant o'er the seas Of new adventure, forthwith to a place Where falls not hail or rain or any snow, Impediments to the progress of their clan, A lofuely place, called Rifuoli by man, But known to all of gallant knightly span As the island-valley of zifuilionf' ISABELLA DBAs HARRIS. X ii ' X' C' 5 s-,..s ,, ,Ln Zwqwh , , -L Y ,, Jfjigazaumngggzx' , V , , ,f 1315