Central High School - Aglaia Yearbook (Manchester, NH)

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14 IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE Ghost. The wedding is now over and the priest makes a speech on how to live happy and contented. The groom and bride descend from the altar and stand there while the peo- ple come up and wish them luck and happi- ness. Each person is given a tiny basket con- taining Iordan almonds. This is a very old custom, handed down for many generations. Then they leave church and go to the groom's house where a Ugood time may be had by all those invited, and even by the un- invited. Late in the evening the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, but Q rest of the people remain, and they dance and sing till morning. HELEN PAPADOPLOS. MEIGE I am a person of extremes. Things that ap- peal to me are those which are odd and en- tirely different from the usual run. That is probably why I got such a thrill when the expressman drove into our driveway and left the crate which contained Meige, for Meige was certainly an extreme dog. Being half Eskimo husky and half wolf, he made an excellent lead dog for Admiral Byrd on his latest trip to the South Pole. He was the most beautiful animal I had ever seen. He stood almost four feet and measured about seven feet from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. His great head and intelligent face was framed with a bristling white ruff. The rest of him ranged between tan and grey in col- or. The fact that he had been shipped all over the country, used in vaudeville, and for advertising purposes, accounted for his adapt- ability to his surroundings, and his friendly nature coupled with good humor. At the time we had him, he was advertising Purina Dow Chow, the only prepared dog food used in Antarctica. As my Dad is New Hamp- shire's representative for Ralston Purina Products, we had the honor of entertaining Meige for about a week. After spending a quiet day in the Sears and Roebuck show window, Meige would come home bursting with exuberance, and ready for anything. Although we have a large kitchen it seemed to be filled to cf' acity when Meige was there. How the chil- dren loved him! Our cat resented the in- trusion and was not afraid to show it. She was almost forgotten in some remote part of the house. In the evening Meige was ushered to his sleeping quarters, the cellar. This did not always please him and he would give a howl such as his ancestors sent up to the moon when hungry and lonely. One morning I got up early for the express purpose of taking Meige for his morning airing. It was a cold morning and we were having one of the first snow falls of this win- ter. This delighted Meige, and the result was that he took me for the airing. Where he wanted to go, on we went, and we went so far that I began to get worried about get- ting to school on time. While we were run- ning through the snowy streets of the still sleeping city of Manchester it seemed to me that Meige, with his big human eyes and his friendly bark, was trying to tell me what real snow and cold weather was, and about his experiences in Little America. He seemed to be saying, You don't know what it means to have the weather sixty-five degrees below. Youlre soft. You think this is cold, but you should have been with us at the South Pole.'l I shall never forget this famous dog with which I hated so to part. Since his visit with us, other dogs have seemed to me both un- important and insignificant. LORENE COMSTOCK. EACH A LEADER The leader of the orchestra is by far the most interesting member to watch from an opera seat, outside of a trick drummer, per- haps. The classical maestro looks as if he really had his whole heart and soul in the

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5 IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE 13 on his hat, slipped into his worn coat, and went out. Once out on the street, Harry felt better. The cool night air seemed to freshen him up. He shifted his coat and walked a little faster. He wasn't old yet, but the spring had left his step. Life held no illusions for him. He no longer dreamed of glowing achievement, of power, or of fame. His main concern in life was to keep his job as accountant at the office of the importing company. He stopped in front of the lighted win- dow of the second-hand store. The mass of knick-knacks there usually interested him, but tonight he didn't see them. He was thinking of the job he'd been offered. His company was opening a branch office in Brazil, in the heart of the coffee growing region. An accountant would be needed, and he had been offered the post. It wasn't a gold mine, his boss had pointed out, but it was a chance to get away and see something of the world. Of course the climate wasn't very good, and it would be tough sledding for a few years. He turned abruptly and walked down the Street to the drug store. After the clerk had given him his cigar- ettes he gazed idly at the newspapers on the rack. He opened the package and lit up. There was nothing in the headlines that in- terested him, so he went over to the tele- phone, dropped a nickel in, and dialed his boss' number. While he was waiting for an answer he went over the facts again. Life, adventure, a chance to get ahead, but it was risky. The oiiice might fold up, or the cli- mate might get him. He had heard stories about the climate and how it affected men. No, he decided, just as he had a dozen other times. It's too risky. Some other guy, but not me. Out on the street again he walked slowly toward his dingy Hat. He wasn't sorry he had refused the job but he couldn't get rid of a feeling that he had missed something. It was too risky, he repeated, too darned riskyf' Still through his Hngers. Perhaps if he had tried ...... . RUSSELL K. WOODBURY. A GREEK WEDDING The organist is slowly playing ...,.. the wed- ding march. Then we see the bridegroom coming up the aisle to the altar with his father, where he awaits the bride. Then the bride comes up the aisle with her father, and following her are the bridesmaids and ushers and the ring bearer. The bride and bride- groom step in front of the altar and stand together waiting for the priest to begin the ceremony. The music stops and the ushers and bridesmaids form a semi-circle around the couple. A table is set out with a loaf of bread, wine in a small bottle, two candles for the best man and his wife, and most im- portant of are two wreaths of white beads, joined together by a wire also covered with beads. The priest starts his sermon of the wedding and after he has finished, the best man, whom we call Kombaro, places the wreaths on the heads of the bride and groom. That is the climax of the wedding, because they now are pronounced man and wife. The Kombaro exchanges the wreaths on the heads of the couple three times, from one head to the other. Then the Kombaro'l places the ring on the bride's finger and ex- changes it three times with the ring on the groom's finger, and then they are put on to stay. The priest then holds up the Holy Bible, which the groom kisses and then the bride. He then has the groom and bride and the Kombaro and his wife sip wine from a glass three times. Then the priest gives the bride and groom a lighted candle to hold, and gives the Kombaro and his wife the same. Then the couple and the brides- maids and the ushers walk three times around the table that contains the Bible. They do everything three times in honor of the Trinity of Father , Son and Holy

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l y IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE 15 directing of his musicians. I picture him with tousled hair 'Cprobably because he runs his fingers up through it every little whilej, a large collar affording plenty of room for excess motion, and trousers that have no press whatsoever. ' He uses his free hand as much as his baton, and if someone shouted his name ten feet away, he wouldn't hear it because of such deep concentration. When a selection is finished, he wipes his brow, smooths his hair,' and gives the audience a curt bow. Now to go to the other extreme, where the leader is one Qof the musicians, not be- cause his orchestra is any better trained but because he has rriore faith in them to keep an even tempo and to notice each crescendo and diminuendo. He sits at the piano Cno musicj, looks at the dancers, ceiling, or any- thing that happens to catch his eye. Occasion- ally he waves his left hand slightly, more for the benefit of lhis audience than anything else. And then thereps the leader in a white lin- en suit who would rather talk into the micro- phone than direcf his players. He waves a highly polished black and white baton and taps his foot at the same time. Every so often he turns around and favors his following with an artificial smile such as you see in tooth paste advertisements. He has an over- estimated opiniorl of himself but a wonder- ful group of musicians. Which of these do you like best? I like the extremist-such as Fats Waller. DONALD PERRY. . .i,,1.1..-T 'ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT Outside, the wind was howling about the eaves, and blowing torrents of rain against the house. It was a wild night late in Octo- ber when such istorms are frequent at the beach. Inside our weather-beaten dwelling a cheery fire roared in the fireplace. The large hunk of driftwood on the andirons filled the room with the odor of tar as it burned mer- rily. Above the sound of the wind and rain we could hear the constant, thunderous roar of the waves as they dashed upon the rocky shore. It was high tide, higher than usual, and the waves were breaking far up on the rocks. As we sat reading by the fire, I suddenly thought I heard a sound which was neither the roaring of the wind, nor the door bump- ing against the side of the house. There heemed to be a pitiful howling coming from not far off. As I strained my ears to hear above the din, the sound seemed to come from somewhere near the region of the front porch. Our dog was awakened from his dreams of rabbit-hunting. He, too, heard the wailing. He growled deep down in his throat and his back bristled. What could be out on such a night? Gath- ering all my courage, I called my compan- ions, took Rigo by the collar, and opened the door. After turning on the porch light, I could see nothing for an instant. Then I made out a huddled form near the steps. I went over and picked up the whining crea- ture, and took it into the house. To our sur- prise, we beheld a shivering Collie puppy about four months old. She was drenched, cold, and apparently starving. Rigo strolled over to the newcomer, and after examining her curiously, showed his sympathy by lick- ing her dripping face. We gave the pup a pan of hot milk, and dried her fur thoroughly before the fire. Soon she seemed to feel much better. She was a pretty dog-golden with white markings. We did not know where she came from and could only assume that some summer people had gone off and left her to starve when they moved back to the city. ELIZABETH TORREY.