Freeport High School - Clarion Yearbook (Freeport, ME)

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LITERARY he chaneed to think of Mrs. Morse. The cards in her case had been those of Mrs. J. Fred Morse. Might this not he some relative of hers. He questioned Grandma hut got slight satisfaction, although he did think he caught a glimmer of understanding in her eyes at the mention of Boothsport. Finding no clue he departed. He took the letter to his pri- vate office, where he sat debating as to whether he should open it or not. Opening another's mail is a, serious otlense in the Civil Service and the postmaster was well aware of the fact. Never- theless, he reached a decision and, steaming the letter open, he extracted the contents. The letter was hrief and read: '4Hamden, Ohio, Nov. 19- llear Fred: As much as I hate to say it, we can find no traee of Mother. VVe have advertised and called the police on the ease, hut no results as yet. If you find a clue, wire at once. Yours, Tom. As the man finished reading he jumped to his feet and started in search of Grandma again. Mrs Morse, he began, when she answered the door, Udo these names mean anything to you? Tom, Fred, llamden, Boothsport ? and he seanned her taee intently for any glimmer of recognition. Slowly Mrs. Morse repeated them after him, t'Tom, Fred, Hamden,-7' her voice trailed off into a whisper as she sank to the doorstep. Quickly, the postmaster lifted her and carrying her into the house, placed her on a divan. However, it was only a faint from which Grandma soon revived. As soon as she could collect herself, she said rather hesitat- ingly, I know, it all comes back. Tom and Fred are my sons and I was living with Tom when-when l ran awayf, she tin- ished with a feeble smile. Telegrams were sent to the 'fhoysv to announce the glad news, and that night two sad-faced men were again smiling. Vvhen Tom came to take her home, Grandma asked, lVhat will you do to me? When the hahy runs away, you put him to hed. Tom only took her in his arms for answer. Dems REID, '29. I9

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THE CLARION saying that she was going out and for them not to worry. The note did not state where she was going nor how long she would stay. Grandma laughed to herself in sheer mischief at the thought of her adventure. The day was fine and the road enchanting. lt stretched out a smooth, winding ribbon towards that mysterious city whither Grandma was hound. She had made up her mind to go for a visit with Tillie Marshall. Tillie was always asking her, in the letters she wrote, and had often deseribed to Grandma the de- lightful times they would have. Grandmafs mind returned, from the eontemplation of her glorious adventure, to rest again on the scenes they were pass- ing. The driver was slowing up a little for a curve. There was a breath-taking instant of fear. as two ears came eareening around the eurve side by side. II. Grandma Morse awoke in a hospital, with a terrible headache and without the least recollection of her surroundings or of the accident which had necessitated her being brought here. The doctor told her that calling cards with the name Mrs. tl. Fred Morse on them were found in her pocket book with some money and a few small articles, but that they were unable to find out where she had come from or where she had been going. The bus driver, poor fellow, who might have been of assistance, had been killed. Grandma recovered rapidly and was soon able to be about, apparently as well as ever, hut not a shadow of the past dark- ened her mind. As time wore on, the doc-tors gave up all hope of her ever regaining her memory. She was fortunate in find- ing a home with two elderly ladies. Her duties being light, she managed very well. All attempts of the kind people of Bucks- port to discover traces of her former hoine were in vain, hut though Graudma's past remained a blank she seemed perfectly happy in this new state. One day, however, the postmaster was seen hurrying up the steps of the home where Mrs. Morse lived. ln his hand was a letter and he asked to see Mrs. Morse at onee. The envelope bore the address HM rs. .T. F. Morse, Boothsportf' It had been missent to Bueksport. The postmaster had been on the verge of marking it Missent', and putting it in the outgoing mail, when I8

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THE OLARIQN 1bietorQ M Ebortbanb The history of shorthand may be traced to the time of Julius Caesar. He had many noble thoughts to record, so he wrote his thoughts in shorthand himself and had one of his stenog- raphers transcribe them later. 'ily ro was a shorthand man and a erackerjaek, too. He was so good at shorthand writing that he was made a Hi-l'C0H12l11H by Cicero and employed to report speeches in the Roman Senate. As the great Caesar ascended the Ii0St1'lllll and addressed the forum on some important busi- ness, Tyro, or some I'I0!lH'lili as they called them, would sit near and with his stylus scratch on wax tablets signs which he after- wards transcribed into Latin. The poet Quintus Ennius had a scheme of abbreviated Writ- ing with eleven hundred signs! .lt was something like the Chinese language. And Uassianus, Bishop of Brescia, is re- ported to have thrust upon his students of shorthand several thousand additional arbitrary signs. This was in 63 B. C., when they had no pencils, ink, or pens. Fountain pens were unheard of. Pans tilled with wax formed the notebooks of the speed writers of llonie, and toriuous implements were the only writing instruments with which to inseribe the wax tablets. In the Middle Ages many who wrote shorthand were burned at the stake because their signs were thought to be wicked. The people thought it was Black Magic. VVhen the great Renaissance of liearning was brought about. shorthand eaine into its own once more. Tymothe Bright, Doc- tor of Physics, was the first to publish a system in modern times. His book, The Art of Short, Swift, and Secret VVrit- ing by Character, appeared in 1588, dedicated to Queen Eliz- abeth. 4'Father of Modern Shorthandn is the title by which he is honored. His shorthand was planned for the reporting of sermons. Metcalfe in 1645 engraved in his textbook the Ten Commandments and a representation of the l,ord's Prayer. Beneath his portrait a poem appeared, testifying to the use to which he intended his system to be put. One had to learn long lists of strokes, curves, straight lines, curlicues, to translate the thought of the orator into symbols which would be re-written in longhand. Signs, related and unrelated, were employed. A circle rep- resented thc globular aspect of the world and a dot to indicate 20