Barringer High School - Athenaeum Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

Page 21 text:

VOICES OF THE NIGHT. 9 the thought of returning a vanquished man without an army to his kingdom was un- endurable to his haughty soul; he plotted to involve the Turks in a war with Rus- sia. At length his plans seemed about to succeed. The Turks marched against the Czar, and, but for the sagacity of the Em- press Catharine, would have captured his entire army. Peace soon followed. Charles still re- mained in Turkey even after the Sultan had withdrawn the hospitality. It was not until news was brought him, that nearly all his possessions in Germany were in the hands of the enemy that he sudden- ly left Turkey, after a residence of five years, and arrived unexpectedly before the gates of Stralsund. The King continued the war for five years without success. In 1716 he fell upon Norway with a small army. It was here that Charles met his death before the fortress of Freidrichshall, which he was besieging. Thus closed the life of a monarch whose military career may be likened to the flight of a meteor, dazzling in its brilliancy, but brief in dura- tion. The ba.ttle of Pultowa may well be reckoned as one of the most decisive battles in history. Had the Swedes been vic- torious, their heroic king might have driven back the semi-barbarous Russians to their Asiatic home, and the glorious banner of Sweden might to-day be floating from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. VOICES OF THE NIGHT. BY CLARA VALENTINE. ’81. It came to pass during the reign of King Dobbins in the province governed by Prince E. O., that one of the rulers in the province came unto me and said, “ Thou shalt write a composition and do thou make it good, so that the girls of this di- vision may shine in the Annual, and be puffed up with righteous pride like unto the rest of womankind. And do thou take for a subject unto thy composition.— “ Voices of the Night. And I lifted up my voice and wept, and said unto her, “ Why hast thou brought this affliction upon me? Have I not always been a faithful servant unto thee? Have I not always said rightly unto thee my les- sons, and is that not sufficient for thee ? And she was wroth against me; and said unto me, ‘‘Oh, thou girl of little wisdom, knowest thou not that it is the custom of this kingdom to give unto the maidens, compositions, when the burden of lessons is more than they can bear? Knowest thou not that it is well for the mind to be crammed ? Get thee away, I am angry with thee for thy blindness. And I went unto my dwelling place, and thought and wondered much concerning the things which had been revealed unto me. And I said unto myself,—“ I will wait until all my people are asleep, then I will arise and go to my window, and 1 will listen unto those things that raise their voices in the night, that I may the more easily judge concerning them. And it came to pass as I said. And behold I heard a grievous cry, like unto six harps with strings broken, and the clashing of untoned cymbals. And I lifted up mine eyes unto the next place wherein

Page 20 text:

8 CIIAKLKS XII OK SWKDKN. CHARLES XII OF SWEDEN. BY G. C. H . '79 BRILLIANT arc the scenes displayed in history ; the rise, the fall, the noon-tide, the splendor, the gradual decline, and at last the utter extinction of the most powerful nations; the lives and the deeds of heroes long since dead, kingdoms lost and won, kings dethroned, the age of chivalry, the crusades, the extinction of Feudalism, and the Reformation, all of which were truly grand events. About the close of the 17th century, Charles XII, a youth of sixteen, ascended the throne of Sweden. Sweden, at this time, stood at the- highest point of her power. The possessions of the crown had been increased, and the Treasury filled by the prudence and frugality of Charles XI. The fleet and army were in a good condition; much of the present territory of Russia was then under Swedish rule, the site now occupied by St. Petersburg being a swampy hollow on Swedish soil. In courage and military spirit, the Swedes were inferior to none. On the death of Charles XI, the rulers of Russia, Poland and Denmark thought that the time had come for depriving Sweden of the lands which she had conquered. They accord- ingly concluded an alliance, and proceeded to attack Sweden at different points. But, to the astonishment of Europe, the young king of Sweden, who had hitherto been looked upon as weak in intellect, suddenly displayed a lively and energetic spirit, and remarkable military talents. In a few months he had conquered Denmark, re- peatedly defeated the united armies of Saxony and Poland, and on the 30th of November, 1701, with a force of 8,000 Swedes, he defeated a Russian force of ten times his number, at Narva. Having de- posed the King of Poland, and placed a creature of his own on the throne, he next turned his attention to Saxony—the ruler of which country he completely humilia- ted. Whilst Charles was lingering in Sax- ony, Peter the Great, was not idle. He built vast fortresses, reclaimed after pro- digious labor the swampy valley of the Neva, and laid the foundation of the new capital—St. Petersburg. Had Charles, when he left Saxony to turn his arms against the last and greatest of his foes, marched directly against St. Petersburg, he might easily have destroyed the Czar’s new plans : but. fortunately for Russia, he proceeded to penetrate into the heart of the country. No Russian army opposed the fool-hardy king, who, at the head of his gallant forces, waded through streams, and marched across pathless morasses. But now came the turning point in the life of Charles. Instead of waiting for his General (Lowenhaupt), confident of victo- ry, he fought the battle of Pultowa, which resulted in a total defeat of the Swedish army. Charles, a helpless fugitive, barely saved himself, with about 2,000 followers in a shelterless desert in the dominions of Turkey: the remainder of the fugitives— some 16,000—were obliged to surrender. Not one of those brave warriors ever re- visited his home. They were dispersed over the vast empire, some died in the mines of Siberia, others as beggars on the highways. Thus perished this heroic band, as admirable in their endurance as in their triumphs. Charles was honorably received and generously treated by the Turks, but

Page 22 text:

IO MR. micawber's letter-writing propensity. I dwelt, and saw animals to the number of eleven singing with a song of praise,— “Come into the garden, Maud.” And there was to the single part a bass tenor, and a tenor alto, and a variation between an alto and a soprano; and the chorus was cre- scendo and diminuendo, and flat and sharp with trills and quavers, and semi quavers and demi semi-quavers, with the prelude in the minor and major keys. And it came to pass in the midst of the most im- pressive chorus, I saw eleven other animals like unto those who were singing, come out of the places wherein they did dwell, and they came to greet the other animals, and they all united in their songs, and loud was the singing they did make. Now, grievous to tell, a sudden shower of wonderful things fell upon this mighty host, and they stopped not to give unto one another the brotherly kiss. And I heard a mighty voice saying—“ Drat them cats! ” and I said unto myself, “ It is well.” Now, a naughty host of small animals descended upon me, and great was the affliction they did bring upon me. and they had long bills with a full set of sharp lan- cets within them, and there was to their bodies a great buzz, and they did move quickly with a great noise about my face. And 1 fought bravely with this mighty host, and killed two of them, whereat I re- rejoiced exceedingly, and I went unto my bed well pleased with what I had done. And it was the third watch of the night. And in the fourth watch, I heard a noise ascending unto the heavens, mighty in power, and passing strange in sound, and 1 arose from my bed, and went unto my window, and behold I saw seated in a half- circle, ten beasts, with pug noses and short tails, and each nose was turned to an angle of forty-five degrees, and twenty eyes were lifted unto the “Queen of the Night,” and each mouth was opened widely, and they were singing unto her, “ Silver Moonlight.” And I lifted up my voice and said unto them,—“ Shoo!” and they sang unto the moon,—“ Bow, wow, wow, o-o o-o.” And I said again unto them,—“ Go way, dog- gie. Go way, go way! go way! Shoo!” and they came unto me under my window, and lifted up their voices and said,—“ Bow wow, wow, bow, wow! ” And 1 saw that I could not contend with so mighty a host. Then I went back to my bed, and in the fifth watch I arose and wrote these things. And let not the un- believers say among themselves they never happened, for think’st thou I would bear false witness. MR. MICAWBER’S LETTER WRITING PROPENSITY. BY BRUNO HOOI). ’to. It is a fact which requires no exemplifi- cation that to write a good letter is an ad vantage of great importance which only one out of a thousand possesses. There is a peculiar pleasure in the very nature of correspondence which assumes the propor- tion of delight when graced with excel- lence. We say these things in sober earnestness, and when we refer to Mr. Wilkins Micawber in this connection, it is only to illustrate the old rule how, what in itself is grand and good can be pervert-