Columbus School for Girls - Topknot Yearbook (Columbus, OH)

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COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS to have some of the honor. I was deathly afraid to gog yet I dared not stay away though I died a thousand deaths in going. Fear, self-consciousness, and hysteria, three great terrors of youth! Each man has his portion of them but some overcome these curses more easily than others. Will they ever cease to menace the general happiness of the young world? MARGARET KINDER, '28 THE TRYSTING PLACE When the world was in the morning And the dew was on the grass, I was lying in the meadows Waiting, there, for you to pass. And you knew that I'd be waiting, And you promised you'd be there In the blue and silver morning When the mist was everywhere. And I waited in the morning In the blue and silver misty I was growing cold and lonely, Only dew my temples kissed. Softly as the breath of morning, Warm and fluttering, you came, Turning silver mist to fire And the cold dew into flame. DOROTHY BANCROFT, '29 18

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TOP-KNOT, 1928 found myself, and it itself, that note was hastening ever upward and on- ward. The bass seemed possessed of the same pangs, for his note kept sliding down, down, down--I up-he down-till I ended in a wail and he in a grunt. Shortly afterward the song was finished with a hearty, thankful Amen, As we sat down the whole choir loft trembled as if struck by a fit of Saint-Vitus's disease. There were a few moments of silent prayer after our selection had been rendered. The minister sat, bent nearly double, his head in his hands, quivering in the very earnestness of his plea. The congregation sat with bowed heads in a convulsion of prayer, but the little boys on the front row impiously nudged each other while their elders plead for their souls. With the sermon well upon its way and the horrors safely behind us a species of hysteria enveloped the chorus. Away in the back of the church the janitor sat, tilted back against the wall, his jaws hanging open, sound asleep. A sight such as this would have been comical any time- but now! Something was disturbing his slumber, he stirred uneasily and gave a blind bat at the insect that apparently settled on one of his dangling legs. He lost his balance and the chair came crashing,-but no, his feet hit the floor first, saved the day and awakened the man. A titter swept over our corner of the church. Some one punched me, pointing to a small boy sitting upon his mother's lap. He was pinching both of her cheeks. He whispered some deep secret into her inatten-tive ear. She sat immovable as the sphinx. He pulled the corners of her mouth into a clown-like grin. Still she sat, a true stoic. He pulled the corners of her mouth down, producing a very pleasing effect. He giggled delightedly. The imp yanked one corner down and one corner up, liked the result and tried the same thing with the corners of her eyes. His experiment was a huge success. He burst into peals of joyous baby laughter. Gasps, forced coughs, muffled laughs issued from the loft above the wearied pastor's head. In desperation the poor man pronounced the benediction and, with the end of that, once more began our awful march, truly a pilgrims' progress. Oh, the agony of that fear! Or was it self-consciousness? Just looking back upon that day I feel that my fear was ridiculous, but when I put myself into the part again I am overcome and I wish that the earth might open up to swallow me. I wanted to be there, to be in the thing, 17

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TOP-KNOT, 1928 LIFE'S LITTLE PLEASANTRIES HE Firelands Historical Society was about to present its annual pageant and I was to be the Spirit of the United States. It was small wonder that I, a gawky nine-year old, should realize the great responsibility thrust upon me and should be somewhat over-awed by my newly acquired prestige. I found myself glorying in the tedious rehearsals, thrilling at the very sound of my own voice as I repeated the words, Rise, Connecticut, rise! and placed a benevolent hand upon the uplifted brow of the kneeling Connecticut. I thought it best to ignore the fact that mother insisted I was too tall to wear the flowing, multi-colored, cheesecloth robe which Miss Jenkins had made for me. I heard Miss Jenkins apologizing to a critical visitor for my stumbling over a loose board. She's just at the awkward age, you know, but she'll outgrow it. I endured even this slighting remark in noble silence and felt quite flattered when I hear-d her comment on my voice as slightly nasal, though it carries very well. I did not know at the time what nasal meant, but I was confident that my voice was receiving a compliment. I was happy that my voice carried, that, too, was desirable. At last the eventful night arrived, and the glamor of rehearsals was far overshadowed by the joy of reality. While Miss Jenkins was sketching interesting looking circles under my eyes, I repeated my lines industriously to myself. As she finished me with a last flourish of the blue pencil, she mumbled something about hoping I wouldn't be nervous when my time came. Then, patting me on the shoulder in a most reassuring manner, she moved lightly over to finish Uncle Sam, who waited disconsolately by the door. I shall never forget the feeling that swept over me as the curtain rose. I was in a different world, separated from the mass- of people by a row of shining footlights. I raised my hand in a gentle flourish as Miss Jenkins had taught me. I must do my best and give the public what it wanted. Ah, mine was a great responsibility! Carefully I vibrated my s's and d's as I had done so often before. But, oh, how different! This was the beginning of something novel. My life was taking on a new aspect. I was through with playing marbles in front of the Methodist church. Never again would I spend a perfectly good Saturday morning fighting with the dirty little Italians that lived down across the tracks. 19