Bryn Mawr College - Bryn Mawr Yearbook (Bryn Mawr, PA)

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worthy break with the Belascan tradition of over ornamentation. Take, for example, their realistic Scottish lake, suggested by a single sheet, under which writhed one of the general utility of the company. In order to still the almost uncontrollable passion roused in the audience by these artless ballads, a series of morality plays followed, taken from the book of Cautionary Tales upon which Dean Taft was raised. The justification of this method of elevating the public has been admirably shown in the after life of the members of that company, for was it not here that Katharine Woodward first learned the art of fire-brigading in the denouement of Matilda Told Such Dreadful Lies, and what but the lines of Charles Augustus Fortescue, who did everything a boy should do, could have stimulated the self-government germ in Goggin ? Florence Billstein, Helen Hill. SHADOWY creatures in dim lit gardens Flitting about, all whites and greys, Such was the meaning I gave to ghosts, in My pure subfreshman days. Different now is my understanding College has taught me more things than one I asked for light on a certain subject, — Mother, they gave me the sun ! Helen D. Hill. 20

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Drama THE spirit of reform in the theatre so prevalent in America in the winter of 1917-18 spread immediately to the progressive Main Line communities of Merion and Radnor. In Merion this spirit gave birth to the On the Square ' ' players. It is beyond doubt that the moral tone of the community was improved thereby. The first effort worthy of note was entitled The Dark Horse. The plot is more subtle than that of the ordinary run of plays, and the whole is written in the most exquisite verse. The climax comes when the soldier hero is unable to save the heroine from the base German spy because his trousers are stuck to the Dark Horse with wet paint. With great presence of mind our soldier boy rises to the occasion by stepping out of his trousers and performing the rescue efficiently in H. V. D ' s. Who can say that this sort of drama does not educate the taste of the community? In the initial performance the title role was played by Miss Frances Riker, her hair proving to be a most realistic tail. The sincere efforts of the players were rewarded by only minor successes during the next few months. In Prejudice the Puritan Maid the high-minded heroine refuses her lover because he can read only ten pages of German per hour, and con- secrates her life to the higher education of women. This play, in blank verse, was given for the famous Miss Sarah Taylor and her coterie. It was not appreciated. On the whole, these great pieces of dramatic art were above the heads of the laity. It was not until the On the Square players entered broader fields and gave their never-to-be-forgotten Birth of Meekness that their struggle to improve the dramatic taste of the common herd bore any fruit. Elizabeth Kales. A REVIVAL of the old English tradition was the contribution of the Radnor group toward a general public interest in higher things. On the fourth floor Young Lochinvar came out of the West clad technically super-correct, having his entire costume composed of athletic clothes. He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone, for his good broad hockey stick served interchangeably for sword and horse. He stayed not for break, but boldly entered the Netherby hall to find his fair Ellen kissing a watering can. The leading parts in the other plays were Goggin as the lily white doe, who dropped her head in Lady Clare ' s hand and followed her all the way; and numerous bounding billows, whose loud waves lashed the floor beneath a sheet, and whose waters wild went o ' er Lord Ullin ' s daughter, and ended her stormy journey in a wicker rocking chair. The simple yet forceful settings for these classics was a note- 19

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR The editors do not hold themselves re- sponsible for opinions expressed in this column. To the Editor of the College News: We will make you love us all before tlic year is done. Thus 1921 confidently sang at the beginning of the year, and we had hopes. If such was their intention, some of its members have adopted very strange methods to accomplish this end. We do not quarrel with them for being fresh , because unlike most Freshman classes, 1021 has been commendably meek. As common courtesy is to be expected from anyone, it has never been thought necessary to include it in Sophomore miles. When a whole room full of Freshmen re- mains not only glued to their seats at the entrance of upper classmen, but even fails to rise at the entrance of an elderly lady; when the sidewalks are continually blocked by sauntering Freshmen; when their whole attitude expresses with ' 21 there is nothing wrong ; it seems that if we would, we could not, love them. And yet the year is almost done. Disgusted. (In this letter the birth of Meekness, child of 1921, was announced.) To the Editors: Events of the past few days have led us to believe that the Sophomores are too much impressed with the dignity of their own position. While we have long since learned to consider our crackers and jam as community property, we should like, if possible, to keep our hats, desks, rugs, and pictures for our own use. In con- scription days, when time is no longer our own, may we not pursue our Sunday meditations free from the intrusion of rude appraisers? If this is the Sophomore idea of courtesy, who are they to vote the Fresh- men fresh? Indignant Sister-Classmen. [Seven Signatures.] (This letter, written a year later, proves that Meekness icas dead.) Here Lies Meekness 21