Hamilton Collegiate Institute - Vox Lycei Yearbook (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)

Page 51 text:

Christmas, 1923 VOX nature! commented the Shade. Puzzled, but not daring to satisfy my curiosity by questioning the Shade as to the portent of these words, I remained silent. Since thou art here, thou mayest ae- company us on our journey through Hades. But take heed lest thou lose sight of our persons, else misfortune will surely befall thee. And so, with a, heart filled with grati- tude, I went with them on their way. To describe all thehorrors I beheld would be a task almost beyond human powers. Let it suftiee, therefore, that I relate those several scenes which had the most effect on me. After viewing the different stages of suffering and anguish which was the lot of certain, wocbegone souls, whose earthly life had been given to sensuality and an egotistical gratification of desires, of murderers and thieves, and of sundry others who had lived evil lives, we came at last upon a scene, which, bee cause of its proximity to my own thoughts, made the hair stand up on my head. In the centre of a large, forbidding cavern, there was burning, with a heat so intense that it all but drove out thc senses, a mighty furnace, in which, jutting out like evil black spikes, lay a row of six iron rods-branding rods-and, cluster- ed about the furnace, ministering to the flames, their grinning, evil features re- iieeted in the glowing light, was a horde of black imps, the Devil's own servants, But wait, thy curiosity will soon be satisfiedf' said thc Shade of Vergil to individuals, who gazed out of glassy eyes me, in answer to my thoughts. There- upon, there entered' the cavern two red demons, bearing between them a poor, weeping soul, whose piteous cries but lent merriment to his blackehearted captors. Immediately a half dozen imps, like inf satiafble vultures, sprang upon the creature, bound him hand and foot, then lashed him to insensibility with great whips of steel. Suddenly these fiends sprang up, and each grasping a rod, imprinted the fiat, white-hot end of it in the sensitive, quivering tiesh of their victim. This done, they revived him with cold water, and, grinning maliciously, left him to endure the excruciating torture of 'his condition. Oh, God! that I should be a witI1eSS of LYOEI 43 this. Many more were brought in and treated in a like manner. I grew faint with revulsionq a. nameless dread seized me, and in a shaking voice, I asked: Vi'l1at crime have these poor souls been guilty of that they must suffer thus? These, answered the Shade of Vergil, are those accursed whose watchword was proerastinatiou, whose maxim through- out life wats, I shall do it tovmorrowfl I started violently. Many times had I given voice to these self-same words, and to me they had seemed innocent enough, if, perhaps, smacking somewhat of indol- 0114342 Look! exclaimed the Shade. The suffering' souls arose, twisting and writhing in their agony, and behold! on their backs, branded in great red capital letters, were the words, I Shall Do It To-Morrowfl Oh, the cold horror of itl A wave of keen repentance, of virtue in- spired by terror, possessed me. If ever I should return to earth--. Glad enough was I when we left the foul place. IVe next came to a chamber, from which there issued forth such a volley of mocking laughter, such heart- 1'QIllllIl,L', piteous sobs, such an insane come motion, that I thought surely Bedlam must be a veritable haven of peace in comparison. We entered. Oh, the sight that met our eyes! There, on a long table in the centre of the room, lay a ,iumblcd mass of bones and skulls of every size and form, which a number of hideous little dwarfs were busily en- gaged in piecing together into skeletons, ,Qflllllillg and ghastly. Soon, alas, too soon, I was to discover the reason of their work. In the darkest corner of the chamber, huddled together in numb terror, crouched a. motley collection of at the bloody jaws of monstrous, red- cyod dogs: great, ferocious brutes. straining' at their leashes, which were held hy chafing demons, impatient to see the animals freed. At any moment might come the terrible word of com- mand, at anyw- Suddenly there is a tiendish ery, Newt and with 51 leap of insensate fury, the great beasts bear down upon their hyp- notized vietims, and proceed to rend them limb from limb. J

Page 50 text:

42 VOX LYCEI Christmas, 1923 thought of lying curled up in luxurious comfort before a cheerful tire, a book spread out in front of me, while the wind howled outside and the rain spattered upon the roof overhead. So that this night I welcomed with joy the thought of spending a pleasant evening. As for my work, that would keep for another time. Meanwhile nothing must interfere with my comfort, no unpleasant thoughts concerning algebra and trigonometry must mar my enjoyment. As I walk, the world becomes shrouded in :L veil of darkness. How fickle is nature! The heavens, but yestcrnight a moonlit sea, have without warning be- come a swirling, raging whirlpool! Now and then short lightnings shooting through the sky reveal a heavy onrush of ominous clouds. Suddenly the thunder, beginning with a low growl, breaks forth in a mighty roar of fury, and thick, stinging drops beat down in my face. The storm, as if released from a long bondage, overwhelms the earth in a, mighty cataract: a wind- blown sheet of icy water, which, like a merciless war-lord, drives all to destruc- tion. And thus, throughout the long night, the tempest rages. Ah, unfortunate one that I am, with what relish I ate my substantial slipper that night! Had I but the slightest inkl- ing of the experience which I was soon to undergo, perhaps I would not, like a greedy gourmand, have asked for a. third helping of dessert. Nay, it is more likely that I would have left my supper-of which I partook so heavily, and which was, I am certain, the cause of all my woes-totally untouched. As it was, I smacked my lips, as would a Falstaff, after satisfying the foremost law of nature, and sinking down i11 glorious ease amid the soft down of a morris chair, I drew up my legs under me, while the fire crackled pleasantly, and was soon deeply engrossed in the depths of Inferno. On and on I read, undisturbed by the frequently flashing lightnings, and the thunders, which, growing ever stronger and more fierce, seemed as if they would rend the very house from its foundations. But at last Morpheus, whom I had thus far rebuffed, would brook play no longer. Slowly the book slid from my hand, my eyelids began to close drowsily, and I experienced that feeling of lethargy which comes over one after partaking too freely of the earth 's bounty. I became but half-sensible to 1ny surroundings. In a darkening haze the room took on weird, grotesque shapes, the tire seemed to tlare up suddenly till it assumed the proportions of a furious conflagration, and-I fell back in deep and profound slumber. Then I dreamed-a vision such as only a supper like the one I had eaten could create. It seemed that the four walls of the room, animated by some supernatural force, quickly receded until they disap- peared in dark, gloomy eavernsg that the tioor gradually descended, lower and lower, till at las' it took shape as a rocky ter- race in the very bowels of the earth. From everywhere, and yet from nowhere, came a long, drawn-out wail. which sud- denly broke off into a harsh, rasping, demoniacal laughter: then, as suddenly, rose to an agonized, blood-curdling shriek, Good heavens! What child of caprice could this be? IVhat name 'had this foul nest of fiends? Of a sudden, the air is rent by a thun- derous roar, a. thick, yellow-gray smoke oozes forth from the porous walls, malici- ous tongucs of fire shoot out from every corner, and, pursuing a 'horde of crazed, shrieking creatures, in cold terror I rec- ognized the very master of Hades him- self! Then he is gone, in his fiery chariot, drawn by two green-eyed serpents! For a moment I stand, my eyes staring, un- able to move. Then comes a sweeping reaction, and I shake as with the palsy, like an aspen leaf. For a space all became silent. Then, turning, I beheld in mute wonder, Dante, and accompanying him, the august Shade of Vergill My heart leaped within me! Surely, with them I could find protection, shelter from the countless, unknown dangers conjured up by my fertile imag- ination. All at once the Shade of Vergil looked up, and beholding me, beckoned to me to approach. W-hen I had done so, in a surprisingly cultured and gentle voice it asked of me, How earnest thou here? I do not know, I replied, in what strange manner I made the transition from our earth to these hellish regions. XVondrous, indeed, are the Ways of

Page 52 text:

44 VOX The seem- was so horrible th:1t I elosed my eyes, :tml wlten I opened them again the victims 'had disappeared. Such is the fate, explained the Shade of Xvl'I Lfil. of those unhappy ones who lived lives ntade irresponsible by the motto 'Another time will do as well.' With :t ttuztking heart, I direetetl 111y attention to om- of these :tttlivtetl erea- tures, who, kneeling on tlte ground, his hands rlaspetl in sttpplieatiott, made plea in an agottized voice: How long yet, O All-Powerful, how long' yet must we pine? 'Ca-nnot now ottr pai11 he alleviated? Aml tltereupon :t voiee, a relentless voice, made answer, Another time will do as well! A chill thrilled 1ne tltro11,Q'l1 fllld left me weak :tml spent. I turned altout. Then :t hettutnhing fear piereed to my very heart, for my eompaniotts were nowhere to be seen! Half-crazed witlt anxiety, I rushed out, looking to :tll sides: but they had van- ished. Left thus friettdless :tml alone, what was I to do? Of a sudden, a. 'hellish voit-e eried, Seize him, lte is a slave to every form of provrztstittationl I waited to hear no more. Fear, lending tieetness to nty feet, I took to my heels, :tnd ran, ltlintlly, wlierever 1ny senses dirt-eted. Behind me, so elose that I eould feel their hot breaths on llly neck, Came fi howling paeli of fiends, tlteir eztgt-r, eluttflting h:t1tds outstretched to eatt'h hold of tny hair. Gradually my pat-e slaekenetl, lllf' feet grew heavy :ts lead, and, just when I tltottgrltt they had at last eztttgltt me, c-ante a blinding tiash of light, :t vast gaping pit opened before me :tml I fell headlong, dowtt, down into tht- darkness--. I awoke ill a t-old swe:tt. Oh, how I cursed my gluttony! And how relieved was I to find myself alive :t11d on earth once tnorol Ill tltis world there is a goodly mixture of evil aml good, of beauty aml ugliness. And it is this very evil whieh makes us esteem the good, this very uglinests whieh causes us t0 reeognize tlte ltextutifulg so, too, do We appreciate the sweet wl1e11 we taste of the hitter. Thus it was that 11ty heart was LYCEI Cll1'lSl1ll3S, 1923 filled witlt at full and flowing gratitude: after expet-it-neittg the terrors of :1 Hades, how great was llly appreeiation of the ealnt peace of our earth! And at the same montent I formed 21 most noltlt- and exalted rt-solution. No more would I attempt the theft of time, tlte wanton waste of preeious l10l1l'S3 indeed, should I ever again eneounter the same horrors, I would he altle to behold them with :t guiltless, though pitying, 1ni11d. How long I shall n1ai11t:tin this determ- ination I ant i11 no p0SitiO1l to Sfflfe- Suftiee it to say that I was thoroughly friglttenedg hut whether the seare will endure in its etfeets, only tinte, that great revealer of destinies, will show. MOODS AND HUES qC0ntinued from page 295 I know thy heart is weary, I know the lonely way Come to Mo beloved, Come-I'll he thy stay. Ill the sky altove, the stars like beacons of hope :tppt-ared. In the east, the moon, in gtrttber glory rose. III the west, the sinking sun still shed a, warnt and rosy ilush. The lake surged boisterously: and o'er its frothy ltillows daneed a moon- ljfltllll, whieh lit up all the wet roeks to- eheer 111e. The wind blew to me joyfully, ltringing the sounds of revelry from the distant pleasure rt-sort: aml lights appear- ed in the farmhouses to augtnent the hap- piness of the seene. Far out on the lake, :1 freighter trudgetl along. It disappeared in the 111ist. With it I sent 1t1y troubles, :tnd laughed aloud for the sheer joy of living i11 this kimlly world. Then we prayed, my friend aml I- O God, help tts to st-e in beautiful nature a retlt-etion of Thy goodness, and to realize that we ourselves, form a small but i111portt:t1ttt part in the great life- pietures, Thott dost paint. Help us to play this part with a glad and willing heart lllltil our day is over, and night, and an endless day are drawing nigh.