Annie Wright School - Shield Yearbook (Tacoma, WA)

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H Y A K 9 MISS WILLIAMS WRITES HOME The Annie Wright Seminary, Tacoma, Wash., May 2, 1910. My dear Sister: The gentle field day, so long and strenuously prepared for, has come upon us and departed. Praise be! no bones are broken, no arms re- moved, not even the sound of hysterics still lingers. The sophomores won the basket-ball game, hence the 4 ‘Bishop Keator cup” goes to them. The score was seven to twelve. I rather imagined the sopho- more class would win, for they are such clever little girls. Last night the Juniors were pledged into the Senior Sorority. Therefore, I deemed it advisable to visit the respective domiciles of the members of the Junior class. I started on my round of calls at the gentle hour of three a. m. and was fortunate enough to find many of those whom I called on “out.” However, I managed before the evening was over to see nearly all of them crowded into their friends’ domiciles. The funny part of it was, though, that as soon as 1 appeared they hurried away. Take, for instance, what happened at the home of the Misses Kellogg — when I went in several young ladies were there having a splendid time, but as soon as I came, they left — really I was tempted to think I was the cause of it. Then I proceeded down to Addie Young’s room, where I found Miss Robb reading a Bible that looked suspiciously like one of M. J. Holmes’ books, and Addie in a supposedly devout posture that looked too much as if a basket of fruit might be dangling outside her window’ from the room above hers. I interrupted the Bible reading, sent that pious young Miss to her own apartments and requested that the other lady should retire. From here I sauntered up to the third floor, where I found the noble Seniors foregathered in the east end hall. Inquiring anent their business there at that unholy hour, I w’as informed that they w r ere awaiting the appearance of the comet. “Which,” the fair- haired Bessie explained, “according to the Juniors’ astronomical cal- culations would appear at 3:30 a. m.” I opined that it would be well to adjourn, as it was well known that the Juniors were apt to make miscalculations on the time, but promised that if the comet pierced the gloom before I retired I w ' ould call them. I continued my march to the “Wade Inn” (as called be- cause one has to pick one’s way around trunks, boxes, etc.), the home of Mary Louisa (to get the effect be careful to pronounce the name Mary Lo-ui-sa), where I found a goodly number of jolly Juniors com- fortably established. I begged them to tell me what their occupation was in Miss Mary’s room at the break of day, and was informed thax these demoiselles were awaiting the departure of the Seniors. “Be-

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8 H Y A K hands; I have known her to continue in this a quarter of an hour, ’ quoted Edna in turn. “Yet here’s a spot, ” and Louise patted Martha on the hand. “Hark! she speaks; I will set down what comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly,” went on Lorna. Then Louise : “Out, damned spot! out, I say! Who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him!” This was too much. The girls went off in a gale of laughter, laugh- ing until they were limp and breathless. When they had recovered a little, Edna asked: “But what will you do about dinner? You can’t wear gloves at the table. “Oh, and Miss Heath has invited that nephew of hers from Port- land, and he will be at our table for dinner, added Lorna. “Well,” answered Martha, “we’ll put all the powder on the backs of our hands that will stick, and I’ll ask Miss Heath to move us down to the other end of the table. No, you ask her, Lorna, and ask her not to tell.” But too late, the girls had returned to their hair-dressing. “I have looked forward so to this party and now it’s spoiled.” “It really is too provoking for words,” she went on, after the other meeting Adams Heath. You know he was here last year at Thanksgiv- ing, and Lorna has raved about him until I am just wild to meet him. They say he is a very brilliant conversationist. Oh, well, such is life!” The twins were very quiet as they came up from the ball, and went straight to their rooms, without lingering to talk with the other girls. “Had a good time, Peggy?” asked Martha, listlessly, beginning to take down her hair. “Pretty fair. I’m dead tired. Does your head ache still?” “Yes, it has ached all evening, and I felt so heavy and dull.” “And this was our June Ball, that w T e ve looked forward to so long.” “Did you dance with Mr. Heath at all?” queried Martha. “Yes, I had the fifth waltz with him. But Madge Jenkins had just been barn-dancing with him, and I just know she told him about our dyeing and all. He kept looking at my gloves so mischievously, then he sat out a dance with me and began quoting poetry, and said some- thing about ‘rosy-fingered dawn.’ ” “The mean, teasing, horrid man!” stormed Martha. “Oh, I don’t think he meant to be hateful, at all. But I was so fussed, I couldn’t think of a thing to say, and I know he thought I was a perfect fool. Oh, well. I’ll never see him again, most likely.” It was more than three years before they met again, but when they met the second time — w T ell, that is another story. D. F. WILLOUGHLY, 11.

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10 H Y A K cause,” they told me, “we told the Seniors about the comet. We didn’t say that the comet would show, we just said that it might be visible. We are trying to get even with them for making us go into the drawing room against our wishes during initiation,” this from Rebecca. I made it clear to them that they would suffer for their escapade in due season and warned them that it might be wise to withdraw. They took my caution and disappeared. Next morning the Juniors received many haughty glances from their elder sorority sisters and three hours serving apiece from their duty teacher. Now I must go punch a bell to start the mob to church; therefore, I’ll finish this chronicle later in the day. I get back to my epistle once more, sister mine. Today, being as- cension day, I have been kept busy explaining its meaning to the young hopefuls. Almost as soon as I arrived on the scene of action this morning, Vernita (the child of whom I often speak to you) came up to me and said, “Miss Williams, is Mr. Hamilton going to ascend today because this is ascension day!” (To understand the pathos of this joke, you must know that Mr. Hamilton’s flying machine was here a few months ago and that the school girls went to see the flight.) A little later a young lady, aged nine, said to me, “Miss Williams, why do they talk about flying machines in the Bible?” Monday Eve. I had to hold a little meeting after school today in honor of the talkative maidens. I gave each of them some fifty lines of Tennyson’s Idylls to learn. On the whole, I spent a very pleasant afternoon listen- ing to poetry. I had only my most intimate friends — can’t you see them all? In the first row came Katherine, a little girl with a tongue and glasses, beside Mary, whom you know ; then Rebecca of the red hair, and next to her, Rowine, who smiles while she is learning “Sir Gaha- hed.” Also Lotus, Mary Louise, Marion, Addie, Lena. Leone and Edna. This is about all for this time, as I have to aid a poor struggler with her class day speech, see if the lights are out, and see how my sick girls are. Give my love to mother and tell her I will write tomorrow. Is anything the matter with H. He hasn’t written for two days. Your affectionate sisrter, MYRA L. WILLIAMS, Per KATIE M’RAE, ’12.