Eastern High School - Echo Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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A Perfect Period MARGARET HowsER '29 ERHAPS SOME OF You feel that you have never had a perfect period. Ah! you mis- erable unfortunates! What you have missed! It is for your benefit that I am now declaiming on this subject. Therefore, heed well-and envy not, for you too may some day experience a per- fect period. I shall tell you, for example, about a perfect English period. The very brightest class in E. H. S. had assem- bled and immediately become quiet. Books were opened noiselesslyg pens were poised for action. The teacher gave a little ahem.', Suddenly loud talking was heard in the corridor. Girls,,' said the teacher, your assignment for tomorrow -more noise from without-louder- your assignment for tomorrow-pardon me, but will you close the door, Mary? A draft swept down the corridor and the door closed with a resounding bang! The class jumped. To continue, observed Miss --, who had jumped along with the class, your assignment will be -The door opened and a sweet-faced little teacher entered. Pardon me, Miss--, but I left my roll book on your desk. Thank you so much. She tripped out and the door closed softly. Well, continued the teacher, your assign- ment, as I previously started to say, will be to take the nextu- Again the portal opened and a fat, genial old man peered inside, a puzzled expression in his bespectacled eyes. The teacher went to his assistance. Excuse me,', he was heard to say, but where may I find the principal?,' He was told and the class once more awaited the verdict. Girls, -the teacher spoke a bit hurriedly- before another thing interrupts us',- The class again poised pens joyfully. Suddenly, loud coughing came from the rear of the room. Miss -, may I get some water P Barely waiting for an assenting nod, the victim of the cough made her exit, allowing the door to swing to according to its will, which was very strong just then. 'fThe assignment, said the resolute teacher, will be - The door was flung wide and this time a solemn black face appeared. A dark gen- tleman entered, his arms full of crockery. 'Scuse me, Ma'am,', he explained, but can you all tell me wheh all dis is to go F With a touch of dramatic irony, Miss 1- sent him on his way. Then, turning to the class, For tomorrow, she began. Yet again the wooden panels moved and a smiling miss stepped daintily into the room and deposited a long sheet of paper on the desk. Then she daintily tripped out again, smiling graciously. To proceed, said Miss -. A sudden en- trance was made into the room by an excited figure. Miss 1, youire wanted on the phone ! Pardon me, girls. Go right on with the dis- cussionf' A student council member detached herself from the group. Girls, I think Miss - was trying to say thatU-- Once more the door opened, this time to admit two men who stood with folded arms in the doorway and gazed at the ceiling. I-Im-m, said one. A-hem, said the other. Still they 'gazed at the ceiling, then abruptly about-faced and de- parted, leaving the door ajar. Around this ap- peared the teacher. I'm sorry, girls. Now where was I? Oh, yes! Tomorrow's assignment will be to take -- Another figure appeared on the scene and prof- fered the teacher a paper and pencil. Hastily reading it, she scribbled an answer. Then she resumed speaking. As I was saying --a loud clang-Miss -- hurried thru the nearest doorway, and the students jumped hastily to their feet and followed. Returning from the fire drill, the brightest class in Eastern found Miss i awaiting them. For to-morrow, she began.-An overalled figure entered, carrying a ladder which he propped against the wall. Then, offering some slight apologies as he moved chairs and upset the waste-paper basket, he proceeded to fix the clock. Miss - looked smilingly at the class. The class nodded happily. The clock-man began his exit, in the course of which he backed into a stack of books coming in the door. With re- sounding thwacks the books crashed to the floor. revealing a perturbed janitor behind them. The clockman and the janitor collected books. The front bench squeaked as the books were thrust in piles upon it. , There was not the 'slightest touch of despera- fC,ontinued on Page 115D Page Z 6

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THE EASTE.RN ECHO one is tying his sandal 3 one is arranging his cloak, some are riding, some are trying to mount, some are walking. Slab VIII is called Phidias and his horse, for, although it is not the sculptor himself, the perfection, both of horse and man, could only have been done by the master. The entire frieze is considered to be, perhaps, the most perfect piece of relief ever made. The horses are the most life-like and spirited ever rep- resented in marble. The forward movement of this western frieze will probably never be repro- duced as wonderfuly as it is here. All of you go and look at it, and see if you don't notice its perfect rhythm and movement. I suppose you all have recognized Venus de Milo in room 109, where, I imagine, she sees a great deal more of what goes on in the classes than we would want anyone else to! The figure was found at Milo, in about 1840, by a peasant, who, not realizing its value, sold it, for about three hundred and forty dollars, to a Frenchman. It was taken to the Louvre at Paris, where it is now. Venus de Milo, as she is now, has no arms. They were broken off, somehow, and no one has ever been able to make, a pair that are perfect enough for the figure. 'An article published some weeks ago says that there is an authentic descrip- tion of her, written by her purchaser, and that her arms were not broken till after she was found. Some people do not believe this, although the paper also says that her arms, iii several pieces, were taken with her to the Louvre, and that they are there now. Venus de Milo is the most beautiful female statue in the world. The graceful outline and simple modeling have never been equaled, and probably never will be. Besides the Venus de Milo you will find a copy of the bust of Venus in room 102, and another full length figure, holding an apple, in 109. You all know the story of Venus and the apple. This story is probably the history of the first beauty contest! The plaster face hanging.from the wall of 109 is that of an unknown Roman maiden. What a tiresome position that must be! You will find the bust of the statue of Apollo Belvedere in the library on top of the bookcase. Some people think his is the most perfect male figure, others think his position keeps him from perfection, for he has both arms outfiung. The original was probably made by the sculptor Leo- chares in the first or second century B. C. The original, or rather the Roman copy of the Greek original, stands in the Belvedere Gallery of the Vatican at Rome. He gets his name from this Page 2 5 room, Belvedere,' means beautiful view. He was first owned by Pope Julius II, and was the first piece in the Vatican collection of sculptures. The large relief, in the library also, is called Bacchantes, Dancing. You all know about Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry, who held his orgies every few years, these are his female followers, or at least some of them, for when Bacchus started reveling, everyone reveled with him. The real antique original, not a Roman copy, is in the Louvre at Paris. It was made in the fourth century B. C. The statues of Venus de Milo and Venus with the apple, and the busts of Venus, Ajax, the Greek hero in the Trojan War, the poet Virgil, and the head of the Roman Maiden belong to the S. P. Q. R. See if you can find Virgil and Ajax, they aren't hard to locate! We have three copies of the same bust of Shakespeare, one in l0l, the second in the of- fice, and the third in the library. The one in 101 has a history, for he came from the old East- ern High. You may find out something of this history from Miss Buchholz. The bust of the poet Dante is to be found in 302, Look at him closely before forming an opinion, for at first glance he looks a little like an Indian. There is another member of the stafi' of the Echo who will tell you that. It was her im- pression, not mine! Although the sculptor is un- known, the bust is believed to have been made from nature. The original is in the Naples Mu- seum. Of an entirely different style of sculpture are the two pieces in the Assembly Hall. They are Mother and Child by Charles Agusta Fraican and Precious Time, also thought to be by him, but his name is not on it. They were made in the period in which baroque sculpture was popu- lar, that is, the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. In room 309 are several small plaster casts rescued from the basement. Among them is a little copy of a Barye Lion. You know of the fine collection of original Barye pieces in the Walters' Art Gallery, I'm sure. Also in 309 is a collection of originals, all of them animals, I think. If you have made one of these yourself, you know that I am referring to the things known as soap sculps, made by some of the first-year classes. If you haven't made one, you've missed lots of fun, for what joy is greater than that of a creator? You see your lump of soap pass from one thing to an- fC0ntinued on Page 1151

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Should Studying Be Adopted At Eastern? A Scholastic Dialogue Persons taking part: Mary E. Cann, Editor-in-Chief of the Echo, author of My Kingdom for a Horse, and other treatises on subjects of the day Dorothy M. Sinclair, Literary Editor of the Echo, and Shakespeare's rival in sonnet writ- mg Alice Lonise Shngars, Feature Editor, only one of her kind, always gets 100 or more in tests Virginia Kilharn, Ex-Assistant Joke Editor, most serious member of the stall D. V. H., our dreamy poet fshe on honey-dew 1 hath fed, and drunk milk-shakes at Gon- trum'sj Dorothy Hayden, the small boy of the stall fcp. Echo partyj Miss Hartrnan, Literary Adviser of the Echo, manufacturer of the famous short-answer tests on Long's English Literature. PLACE: Room 208 TIME: About 3 P. M. Members of the Echo staff strewn about, proof reading. Miss Hartman at her desk marking Long short-answer tests. Miss H. fglancing up from her Long testsj Oh, pshaw! from the looks of these tests one would think you girls never opened a book. fStaff assumes hurt expressions. Dorothy H. winks reprovingly at Dorothy SJ Mary. ftaking up for her colleagues as is her dutyj But you know, Miss Hartman, Much study is a weariness of the flesh. Alice. But, honestly, I think itls terrible the way girls never study for those Long tests. Lots of them really could do it if they tried. Miss H. That's a good subject for argument, isn't it? I'll mention it to the class to-mor- row. Mary. Let's settle it here and now. Should students study? Miss H. Some of them don't even know what 'study' means. Doris, you aren't doing any- thing-suppose you look up the work in the dictionary. Give a clear definition of the terms,-that's the proper start. D. V. H. What word, Miss Hartman? Alice. Qbefore Miss Hartman can answerj I have a dictionary. Here! Study-to en- deavor to learn by means of mental applica- tion. Page Z 7 Mary. Application! I told you we shouldnit study. D. V. H. faimlessly turning pages of Websterj What was that word you said to look up, Miss Hartman? Miss H. fshaking her head sadlyj I'm really worried about you. fDoris looks at Miss H- in a politely inquiring way, then, re- ceiving no further enlightenment, crosses to a window and stands gazing at the sky.j Dorothy S. Well, hurry up and start. I'm against it. Mary. Ditto. Dorothy H. Me, too. Dorothy S. fpatientlyj Oswald, you rnnst learn how to speak. Miss H. Of course I'm against it too-by all means! CStaff stares, but Miss H. looks quite seriousj Alice. fdolefullyj Well, the rest of us will have to be on the affirmative, then. Miss H. Of course. Good practice to argue for the side you donit want. Mary. Well, in the first place, studying wastes too much electricity. Dorothy H. Cheap-skate! Dorothy S. Qassuming grandmotherly mannerj Now, Oswald! Don't be rude. Alice. Well, you can study in the afternoon. Mary. I can't. I never get home till six o'clock. D. V. H. Cturning aside from windowj Isn't this the loveliest day? fTemporary collapse of staff. Miss H- starts to Speak, then decides not to. Doris picks up a magazine and immediately forgets her surroundingsj Virginia. frecoveringj Since I rnnst-studying is good for the teacher's nerves. Dorothy S. Yes, but how about our nerves? Alice. Well, it helps our nerves, because we get awfully nervous when we don't know the answers to test questions. Miss H. Well, from the looks of these Long papers you all ought to be nervous wrecks. Mary. Besides, I don't think studying is good for people. Look how it chokes their imagina- tion, look how it hinders their resources, how it checks their originality. just think how knowing all the facts for a test would prevent them from straining their minds to capacity. Furthermore- Dorothy H. fyawningj What, more? Gee!