Alton High School - Tatler Yearbook (Alton, IL)

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“THE TATLER.’’ 28 Iorture and death were not tar oft. The enemies of popular freedom, the wicked corrupt men of the city, the followers of the banished ruler and the friends of the Pope made a formidable band of bitter enemies. The Pope, judging Savonarola by himself, attempted to silence him by the offer of a cardinal’s hat. but Savonarola scorned it saying. No red hat will I have but that of a martyr reddened with my own blood.’’ 1 he red hat of a martyr! When interdiction and excommunication had silenced that wonderful tongue, his enemies gained the ascendancy and the fickle Florentines turned upon their benefactor; arrest, imprisonment, insult, torture, the gibbet and the stake were the rewards he received for his services. Yet today Florence and the world revere his memory; for “They may shatter to earth the lump of clay that holds the light divine But they cannot blot the spoken words from the memory of mankind. Today abhorred, tomorrow adored So round and round we run And ever the truth comes uppermost And ever is justice done.” Yes. Savonarola, the end of the contest is victory! Lucii.i.k Ewers LOST. STRAYED OR STOLEN- From the A. H. S. Building on the evening of April 4. Three or four dozen hurdles. Finder please return to this address and receive reward.

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• • T H E T A TLE R.’ 9 27 How was this diffident, melancholy, austere monk to realize his fond dream—to restore liberty to his adopted city and to regenerate its people? to make of pagan Florence a Christian republic? There was only one possible weapon for a man in his position—eloquence. But to the cultured, refined Florentines, his northern accent seemed harsh, his manners and speech rough, his gestures awkward and his sermons neither attractive nor impressive. Yet through the agony of repeated failures he was trained to success, until he became the greatest orator of all Italy. I ord says: “He was transcendant in his oratorical gifts, the like of which has never before nor since been witnessed in Italy; he was as vehement as Demosthenes, as passionate as Chrysostom, as electrical as Bernard; he was a torrent that bore everything before him. His voice was musical, his attitude commanding, his gestures superb.” But the man was greater than the orator; it was his character that lent force to his words; his personality that dominated the people. Independent, honest, courageous, he extorted admiration and respect even from his enemies. He did not prophesy “smooth things”—he was unsparing in his terrible denunciation of vice in high or low places. Lorenzo tried in vain bv bribes and threats to silence his bold antagonist. Yet when the prince lay dying at Careggi, it was the immovable Prior of St. Marks whom he summoned. Then occurred that famous interview in which the patriotic monk who loved God and Florence, commanded the dying prince to restore liberty to the city. On no other terms would the stern patriot grant absolution to the dying tyrant. And when two years later, Florence, torn by internal dissensions and threatened by foreign foes, tottered on the verge of ruin, the citizens turned in their despair to the patriotic Prior who had so courageously demanded the restoration of their liberties from the dying Lorenzo. The great preacher became also a great statesman, guided the bewildered city to safety and for three years was practically dictator of Florence. Yet he attended no political meetings—he simply preached those wonderful sermons and his utterances became the laws of the assembly. The Florentines forsook their evil ways and looked to Christ as their leader; the city was completely transformed. And what clear-sightedness, what courage, what sublime faith Savonarola exhibited during this desperate struggle with the forces of evil! “If you ask me in general, what shall be the end of the contest,” he said, “then T answer—victory, but if you ask me in particular, I answer—torture and death.

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ALTON HIGH SCHOOL. CIuns of 100H. Class Day Program. June 7lh, 2:00 p. m. A Music—“Merry June”........................High School Chorus Class History....................Josephine McPike Oration—“An American of the South”......John Keene Music ....................................High School Orchestra Class Prophecy.......................Lucille Ewers Oration—“The Queen of Tongues”.......Lucia Bowman Class Poem............................Emma I Iartmann Music—“Welcome Pretty Primrose”......Senior Quartet Oration—“The Preservation of Niagara Kails” Lea Johnstone Class President’s Address..............Edward Enos Music.....................................High School Orchestra