Fitchburg High School - Boulder Yearbook (Fitchburg, MA)

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tricities. George Miller, the giant, was standing beside an ele- phant and towered above the beast by as inueh as an ordineiry man towers above an ox. Miss Beinis was swallowing swords. It might be as well to say here that she was aeenstomed from childhood to swallow at one gulp cakes of sweet ehoeolate whieh she borrowed from Messrs. Andrews and Foster for the oeeasion. In the eenter of the tent was a Kamehatkan village trans- ported into the eireus. The buildings consisted of a dozen tents made of skins, not high enough to permit even a hunehbaek to stand up straight. A group of half-naked ehildren were playing about the tents, and in the foreground two men were sitting elose to an open fire solemnly smoking. They were dressed from head to foot in bearskins and on their heads they wore caps of mink furs. In spite of paint and grease, I could make out the characteristic features of Brownell and Kangas. The latter now and then would utter a monosyllabic click, while the other would reply with a vague movement of the head. These at first seemed to be the only men about the place. I concluded that the rest had probably gone hunting or fishing. But there were many women about the place, who like the rest of their sex were chat- tering continuously, in harsh and discordant tones. Among them I recognized still more of my acquaintances. Miss Gallup was gazing intently upon the giant. Miss Dormin was cooking fish in a stone pot, and Miss Nellie Smith was superintending operations with profuse suggestions. “Cupid” Merriman was here also. Around him was a group of women receiving instruction in needle- work, and to my great astonishment, Misses Miller, Wheeler and Minott were serenely smoking. This whole scene gave me such a feeling of peace and quiet, that I was sorely tempted to withdraw to Kamchatka and end my days in its restful environment. Not far from this village, a young lady was walking a tight rope, utterly unmindful of the fatal abyss below. At first I could not see her face, but as she turned around, I could see the smiling face of Miss Desmond, now listed as “Mile. Marie Desmonde.” Suddenly my attention was attracted to the other end of the tent by a great uproar. A policeman was scuffling with a man who was making desperate efforts to get away. But he was soon 17

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Horcalis was brightcMiin up the dreary ])()lar ni ht with her brilliant flashes of golden lij ht. Contrasting sharply with this warinthful glow, there were lined up against the horizon eold and dreary mountains of iee. In the foreground was a granite monu- ment and two flags waving above it. One was the flag of our eountry and the other the flag of our elass. These two had never fluttered in the breeze together before. I read the following inseription upon the monument: This is the exact location of the North Pole. Discovered by the Shanks Expedition, Au , ust 23, 1918. We were the first that ever burst Into this silent sea. W. R. Shanks, Captain. G. N. Anderson, First Lieutenant. Dr. Harlow, Scientist. Foster, Trapper. Neylon, J. V. Keating, E. O. Andrews. I next saw the assembh hall gorgeously decorated with bunt- ing and flowers and the seats packed with an eager crowd of students. The principal, William Keating, had just seated him- self after announcing that Signor Madogain, the celebrated Italian artist, would sing. Presently he appeared in full dress, accompa- nied b ' the pianist. Mademoiselle Helene Peirce, as it was announced. She seated herself at the piano and began to pla} the prelude. Signor Madogain cleared his throat and then began to sing in a deep bass voice such as I had never heard before, but as nearh as I could describe it, it sounded like the distant rum- bling of thunder. I next saw myself before a circus tent. Newcomb was perched upon a high stool, cr dng out in his thundering voice “Right this way, ladies and gents! Here 3 311 get 3 our tickets for the show. OnH half a dollar to see all the wonders of the world; children half fare.” The inside of the tent then came before m3 C3 es. All around were the freaks in attitudes best adapted to displa3 their eccen- 16

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liandcufTed and led toward the entrance. I was suri)rised to learn IVoin the conversation that the woman who had the man arrested was a secret service detective employed b} ' the circus company to watch for ])iek])oekets. As they came nearer, I saw Michael Gonlding transformed into a ])olieeman. The woman was Miss Drake. It might seem surprising at first that she should choose such an avocation, but when one reflects that during her school da ’S she wrote essays upon induction and deduction and criti- cisms upon Conan Doyle, her profession seems only to be a nat- ural consequence. I again turned to the curiosities before me. A group of Span- ish dancing girls were performing with tambourines, while their feet moved about gracefully, keeping time in perfect accord. As the dance progressed the momentum of the women increased until finally, whirling gracefully around the ring, they all dropped down exhausted upon the floor. The} ' were eight in number, all sisters as the program said, but I found it to be otherwise, for I recognized them as my classmates in Spanish garb. They were Miss Benjamin, Miss Caswell, Miss Conant, Miss Hanna, Miss Hosley, Miss Hawkins, Aliss Keefe, and Miss Murph ' . I next saw before me a wild and rock-bound coast and the high surf beating furiously against the stern cliffs. The white foam of the billows was seething and flying about on all sides and a fierce wind was driving the mountain waves toward the coast and dashing them headlong upon the shore. Above the clifts stood a man whose melancholy countenance and deep, hag. gard eyes bespoke a personality in strange harmony with the scene around him. Just then I heard him utter in a distant voice “To be or not to be, that is the question.” What thoughts could he have? Why stood he thus alone? I wondered at the sight. A great sadness seemed sometime to have overcast him. Perhaps he had lost a dear friend, perhaps he had been unfortunate in love, or perhaps it may be, he had committed some crime for which he had afterward repented. The picture faded away. Another appeared. It was now spring, and the birds and the flowers had begun to cheer the world. A young woman was gathering flowers in the meadow. She was happy, for I could hear her humming the strains of an is