Central High School - Mirror Yearbook (Birmingham, AL)

Page 14 text:

We have tried very hard t make it better ami brighter -i- it- rcllcctions may be higher and more woi-h ilc. I'hat the figures behind it mav he reflected beautifully on the white mn oi its pages, the students themselves, must be figures of beautiful character. And, indeed, they will be. The pictures on the pages n ill always reflect loyalty, heroism, anil lo c. It is our sincere parting wish, that the Mirror will continue to grow; tha .it will become bigger, brighter, belter as the ve r$ pass tf r of hobl • minds. OR LINE B ARNETT. HARRY J. WHITE.

Page 13 text:

Evolution of the Mirror LONG, long time ago, the river god Cephisius, ami the nymph Lciriope, had a beautiful son, whom they called Narcissus. 'I he fair youth suffered a tragic death, for having gained the disfavor of the gods by rejecting the love of the nymph. Echo. He gazed upon his own image in a spring, fell in love with it. and paid his penalty,—pined away and died. And there sprang up by that mythical spring, the flower that bears his name and that now is the symbol of death, lint all mirrors do not reflect death. Psyche saw in her spring the story of life and love and happiness, expressed in her own beauty. The nymphs were reflected on the surface of Grecian streams as playful figures, whose graceful forms flitted gaily through woodland glades. Or perhaps there were scenes of lovers, warriors or Olympic heroes. Arc not these stories prophecies of the future' Yes for 4hey too, were icfiections of the intellectual mirror, the one reflector that endures and improves with age. Literature reflects the thoughts of an author and of an age. Each hook has its own individuality and charm, for each must hear the stamp of the mind of the thinker. It is an old superstition that to break a mirror means seven years’ bad luck. The Lady of Shalott watched the shadows of the world too long as she spun, the mirror cracked, and her seven years' had luck came concentrated To break an intellectual mirror is a greater misfortune than a mere seven year hoodoo, for a mirror of the mind is of intrinsic value, even greater than the prized magic mirrors of Japan, whose special function is that they can reflect on a white screen the decorative figures on their backs. The High School Mirror is a part of the great magic mirror of the mind. It is but a small piece of literature but its High School reflections are true. II

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Cinderella’s Ancestor N THE center oi the lofty city oi Bn last is in Egypt, ruse the heavy wall of the great temple t I’asni, tnc cat faced goddess in whose honor the ci y was buili. All ..r uiul th. central 0 temple the (luted columns of the torrid rs ran in circle beyond re-1 groves and gard ns. fhe A. , shrine was tiilt foi the worship oi Pa ht, the go dc s oi light r 1 and lire, of song and music, oi pleasure and social delights. She had the body oi a woman and the head of a eat. and in almost every Eg ptian house could he found a little image oi this beloved goddess. At a certain season of the year, people from all parts of Egypt would come floating down the river in gaily decorated barges, with men playing • 'ii the flutes of lotus wood, and women clanging the brazen Cymbals and chanting songs. They would sail up the canal, land at the foot of the street of the Temple, and proceed in joyful procession down the sloping roadway to the statued vestibule of the great shrine to do homage to the grove girl. 'This grove girl was usually the most beautiful of all the maidens of Bttbas-tis. selected to sit upon a decorated throne in the midst of the sacred groves of Pasht. and, as the representative of light and beauty, receive the homage of the gay revelers. In one of the manv houses, not far in m the entrance to the sacred grove and near the great roadway, lived Set.it. who manufactured the images of the goddess, llis house was larger and better than most of the houses in Bubastis. for Sebu was a thrifty and prosperous maker of images. His only daughter Nit. or as the neigh’ ors called her. Nbaker, “the perfect Xita. had been almost since her babyhood, his companion and helper. But since Sebu bad married Nebt-hcpct. the widow of the armorer, poor little Nita’s life had been a burden, a sad thing indeed for a gay-hearted maiden of fiiteen. Perhaps the swarthy stepmother disliked ita because of the tair face and light hair which the girl had inherited in in her T.ibvan mother. One day. near to the season « f the great festival of Pasht as the fa mi y of the image-maker were eating their evening meal just outside the open window of his shop. Sebu said to his daughter, “And whom, Nita. do you suppose the good priests will select for the grove girl at the feast? “I know not. my father. she said, “would that the good fortune could be mine.’ “Thine indeed! exclaimed her stepmother scorn full v. “Thine indeed! As if tlie good priests would select such a pink-faced dolt as thou t • sit enthroned in honor of the glorious black-haired goddess. It i more 1 Pc to be the daughter of the Lord Kliua. the Treasurer, or perchance the beautiful 13