Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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THE NORMAL OFFERING 21 Hear me, O students, that ye may learn many things con+ cerning the Art of Teaching. And lo ! the students listened and learned many things of priceless worth which aided them in their work. Moreover in those days of the fourth year that the people of the Section that is called D abode at Bridgewater, they be- came teachers of the children of the Model School. And behold! they began their work with much fear and trembling, as it had been prophesied concerning them. But it came to pass that they grew strong and courageous, and in the last days labored in the work with much rejoicing. Now four among the brethren, and one of the women. chose to sit at the feet of William and learn of him concerning trigo- nometry and geometry which was muchadvanced. And as he taught them they marvelled at his sayings, es- pecially when he spoke, saying,- I beseech ye, O students, that ye gain a little facility and much felicity in the use of those numbers which are called loga- rithmsf' ' Moreover, he warned them many times that they take great heed lest they use too often new truths which they had discov- ered by much thought. And behold they answered, So let it be. And going on they labored with great valor and courage. N Now in a certain month of that year, and about the middle of that month, a strange malady seized upon certain of the peo- ple of Section D, so that they could remember no more to as- semble with their teacher to take counsel concerning their work among the children of the Model school. And the malady afflicted them sorely for many days and many remembered not to meet as they had been commanded. And the teacher wondered, yet laughed and said, This that has come upon 'us came likewise in the days of our fathers and it will straightway disappear. And it came to pass that the prophecy concerning the mal- ady was fulfilled in the same month that it came upon them, and the students again assembled according to the commandment of' their leaders.

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Glass B. M. D. CARROLL. . President LULA E. PAYsoN, . . Vice-President AMY W. LANVRENCE, . Secretary and Treasurer BESSIE E. WATERMAN, A . Historian ffzkfory. ' 71 eff' OW in the ear one thousand nine hundred and two, T az 92 . . gp, 2g in the sixth month of that ear, there arose among Q .54 k y C the members of the class that was called A, a we '4 4imfl . . ig mighty prophet, who spake, thus, saying, And those that come after us, shall they not at first tremble and fear much, and shall they not lack confidence to lift up their voices in the assemblies ? Yet shall they struggle with good spirit till they wax exceeding strong and courageous, and there be none like unto them for courage. S Thus was the prophecy fulfilled by the Section whom the leaders and chief among the people called D. And behold their names are written in the book of the Normals which is called the catalogue. And this is the record of these people in whom was the ful- fillment ofthe prophecy, in the fourth year that they dwelt in Bridgewater. In that same year their number was ten. Now in the first month which is called September, they spent much time, yea, two hours a day spent they, with Albert, the chief of teachers, whois also called the Righteous. Thus they also spent the second month, and the third month, and also the fourth, and the fifth which is called January. And behold there were with them many others from the Specials and the Irregulars, so that the congregation numbered about seven and forty.

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22 THE NORMAL' OFFERING Now when they were assembled together to learn the art of reading, their leader stood up before them and exhorted them saying, What shall it profit a man if he gain all manner of knowledge and lack control of himself? And the students saw that her words were full of wisdom and they sought diligently to follow them. Whereupon they be- came great in the art of reading in the eyes of all the people, so that tney rendered the words of Shakespeare as no others had rendered them since the time they were written. And one of the brethren achieved also great skill in the control of his body so that he was able to throw himself at a lady's feet with exceeding gracefulness And the honor of the Section was great because of these things. But the work required much exhortation before it was finished. Now it came to pass on the fourteenth day of the sixth month, that the people of Section D gave a feast and bade all the people who were sojourneying in the land of the Normals for three or four years to join with them. And it pleased these people greatly, so that they came gladly and aided the Section in its great feast. And when they were all assembled together there was much rejoicing and all were satisfied. But behold! these are not all the things which the people of the Section that is called D did in the fourth year that they abode at Bridgewater. For lo, they studied the sun, the moon and the stars, and they made many drawings of much complexity, for the subject was exceeding difficult. , And it came to pass that the number of these drawings grew exceeding large so that they weighed upon the students like unto a heavy burden. Therefore one of the students said, Lo, I will sell my draw- ings which are called diagrams and add many shekels unto my purse. But behold, all the people had a great many and to spare and would not buy. And they also made drawings in geology which added unto their burden, so that they began to cry aloud saying, Truly we are fed with nothing save Shakespeare and dia-