Cedar Grove Academy - Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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In the quaint setting and costumes of the early nineteenth century, the ladies of Cranford came to life again on the Cedar Grove stage. They sipped tea at Miss Matty's, played cribbage, and chatted about Miss Barker's cow that fell in the lime pit. Cranford society was so well portrayed that were Mrs. Gaskell in the audience she would have recognized her characters immediately. Mrs. Jamieson and Carlo were the center of attraction and when Miss Pole, the village gossip, and the poor deaf Mrs. Forester got together they spoke of ittle else but Mrs. jamieson's elegant economy , and her brother-in- law, the great Earl of Glenmire. Many were the allusions to the one man who lived-and alas, who died-in Cranford. Lady Glenmire's marriage gave rise to severe criticism, yet many of our Cranford dames betrayed not a little envy of the fortunate Mrs. Hoggins . The old-fashioned bridal procession formed a picturesque close to the play. Enebeentfnent Sunlight filtering slowly thru blue stained glass Filling a hallway with ghostly twilight, Making a statue seem to breathe, Increasing one's faith in miracles, Doors opening, releasing cascades of children's laughter To flow into the twilight. Changing a convent hall into an anteroom of the angels, All on a dismal, rainy afternoon! To the Sirtere of Clmrigf, in whore borne CCedezr Gravel tim' was inrpired. Edward A. Byron, February Io, 1917. 59

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be Senior T151 J ETNQL 'mix' HE Senior Dramatic Club, under the direction of Miss Cecelia Hennessey, of the College of Music, presented 1 L? two one-act plays on the evenings of May 31 and June I. Eifvkyavj The first of these, The Freshman Initiation was a ,-s-,veff-fu!-. very clever comedy, well cast and well acted. The plot centered around the mild hazing of a Freshman who later was introduced by the Principal as the new instructor of the English Department. The curtain closed on a group of chagrined Seniors. FRESHMAN INITIATION THE CAST Peggy Vernor .... MARCELLA BRONSTROP Barbara Jergens . . GRACE SCHWEER Constance Cary . . HELEN WINTERS Jane Ray . . ANNA MARIE VEHR Cecile Rose . . VERNA JEAN ROSEN Miss Romney . . . VERA LEISTNER Mrs. Cole . . . MARY LOUISE AUFDEMKAMPE Sonia ....... MARY MCGURK CRANFORD DAMES An adaptation of Mrs. Gaskell's Novel THE CAST Miss Matilda Jenkyns .... MARY HORGAN Mrs. Jamieson . . . FLORA ENDERLIN Mrs. Forester . . . CAMILLE VOELKER Miss Mary Smith . . . HELEN CONNELL Miss Pole . . . . CATHERINE FLANNERY Miss Betty Barker . . GRACE SCHWEER Martha ...... CATHERINE HERBERS Peggy ........ JULIA HEALY Brides: ANNA MARIE VEHR, VERNA JEAN ROSEN, MARY LOUISE AUFDEMKAMPE. Bridesmaids: MARY MCGURK, VERA LEISTNER, JULIA HEALY, GRACE SCHWEER, MARCELLA BRONSTROP, HELEN WINTERS. 58

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The Roman Eipic - -fflijif fgq EEPLY implanted in the heart of every nation is an intense desire to it perpetuate the memory' of its heroes. Oriental peoples reared ,g rjvly colossal monuments to ibmmortalize their illustrious dead, but -the CJ l ,Sit professional bards of ancient Greece and Rome chanted the heroism of their countrymen in songs which should live and stir men's hearts ,. . .-.ua long after architectural tributes had crumbled to decay. ln the held of epic poetry, two widely different classes of composition are dis- cussed. The first includes that fund of legendary lore which invigorates a nation's youth-its cherished traditions of gods and heroes, its long struggles of love and war. In fact, it embodies all those things that vitally touch the heart of man. It may exist in scattered fragments welded into a whole by the genius of some heroic bard who gives spontaneous out-pouring to his divine possession. Such epics s ring from a remote period and can not originate in a state of advanced civilization. hey are designated in poetic discussion as the primitive or authentic epic. Of this class of writers, Homer is an unrivalled example. Of a far different character is the type known as the literary epic which is composed amid the influences of a highly developed social and political life. Scien- tific knowledge here distinguishes between historic fact and the fairyland of fancy. To write an epic that will endure, a poet must sing not only of heroic deeds, but he must weave into his narrative all the tangled threads which bind the strongest interests of civilized man. It is the pre-eminent glory of Virgil to have achieved this. In his magnificent epic, the Aeneid, he has reared an artistic monument, not meant to eclipse, but to do honor to his predecessors. Virgil borrows copiously from nearly every older master, but he is by no means in mental bondage to any of them. lt seems remarkable that the two poets on whom Rome cast her most powerful spell, Ennius and Virgil, were born outside the pale of Roman citizenship. In the little village of Andes near Mantua, Virgilius Maro was born in the year 70 B. C. He studied at Milan and in Rome where he became familiar with the best learnin of the time. Gentle and retiring, not hysically strong, Virgil possessed a singu ar sweetness of disposition which inspire affection and confidence. He had a humble opinion of himself which led him to undervalue his poetical genius. Hon- ored and loved by all, his life seems to have been shadowed by a tender abiding melancholy which is discernible in all his writings. At what time in his life Virgil turned his thoughts to epic poetry, is not known, but it is related that from his earliest years he felt the ambition to embody Caesar's glories in an epic strain. It is the opinion of many that Virgil's genius lacked heroic fiber, invention and dramatic power. He had no conception of the stern joy that warriors feel, an element so necessary to the martial song. Yet the balance was in the poet's favor, for he ossessed a high enthusiasm for his art, a rare literary excellence, and a soul attune to the music of the past. Virgil stands for Im rial Rome. The object of the Aeneid, was to praise her glorious career. Paralle with this runs another theme-the glorification of Augus- tus. Virgil heartily supported the Emperor's attempt to revive religious enthusiasm, hence the religious e ement in the Aeneid is most rsuasive. Virgil clung tenaciously to the two beliefs which other writers scorn ully put aside, faith in an all-wise, over-rulin Providence, and in the soul's existence after death. To ive a brief summary of its merits, we may say that the Aeneid possesses technicafperfection, mastery of language, a tender majestic sadness, a sense of Rome's imperial power and destiny, and a love of nature ruled by an intelligent, universal mind. The genius of Virgil was too great to be confined within the limits of a single country. He, like Homer and Dante, sang to the whole world and the great heart of the whole world enshrined him forever. K. M. 60