Hathaway Brown School - Specularia Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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from one side or the other in the frankness of anger. And as we follow the storm with its thunder and lightning, the clouds piling themselves against the horizon in such a manner that we catch glimmerings of their silver linings, we feel that the essay is a beautiful little thing. At last beams of that broad smile which spreads itself over the whole earth pierce our hearts and we are glad.. When the apple blossoms come with all their sweetness and purity, we feel their presence through the rest of the essay, and the foam of blossoms bury- ing the world in a billowy sea is constant- ly before us. The beautiful way in which the author holds communion with the blos- soms is very attractive, and involuntarily a wish comes from our hearts that all who look upon the apple tree when its boughs are covered with snowy beauty, might take away as noble and high thoughts as Mr. Mabie. Surely the world would then be better in every way. , GRACE G. GILMAN, ,QQ Reprinied from THE INDEX gf December f, 1898. fkffl I Zine tops' 113311. p s i It was New Year's Eve, the night of the annual toy-ball at McGillan's large toy store. As soon as the clerks closed .up for the night, the decorating committee began' its work. The tiny doll musicians were placed on one corner of the large glass show case, and around them were tastefully arranged some small Christmas trees, and a baby palm or two. They could not decorate very much, for atthe stroke of twelve every- thing must be in its place, because Tom the watchman came at that time, and they were afraid of being caught. The guests began coming early, all dressed gaily for the occasion. The rag doll came with her rag doll brother. The French dolls with their clzic dresses looked very attractive and pretty. The slang doll fthe newest inventionb was the belle of the ball, she was kept wound up all the evening, and talked slang to her heart's content. Well, isn't this fun? said the Peck twins, or the half bushel, as the little tin soldier jokingly called them. The music struck up My Rag Time Baby, and I thought the rag dolls would go insane They simply tore, something I hate to see, it is so unbecoming, and also so injurious to one's constitution. The colored 'dolls walked a cake walk, to the amusement of all the rest. Do look at the little tin soldier and that French doll! said one of the gaily dressed paper dolls. Such flirtations I never did see. I do believe he is holding her hand! Oh, how shocking, answered one of her more substantial friends, a large knitted doll with black beads for eyes. Oh, this is too sudden, sang out the slang doll. You are not-- She could not finish. She had run down. Suddenly the big clock struck,-one-two -three-and before the twelfth stroke, everything was in its place. The door opened and in walked the watchman. Si- lence reigned. I Crash! 4 For the love-- 'I' Oh! whispered one of the twins, the slang doll has fallen. Tom was- quite startled, but he picked her up and set her in a chair, and walked . through to the back door. I-Ia! ha!', laughed the little tin soldier. But no one answered. They were all asleep. NADINE J. SIMMONS, ,9Q. I I

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II. Gbe open Jfielos. Mr. Mabie proves himself well 'able to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature, to paint its varying hues and aspects. His description of the Hplaygroundl' in this essay is spontaneous,-it seems no effort for him to describe it vividly, -minutely, graph- ically. The essay is not long, on the contrary, when it is inished one feels rather disap- pointed because it is no longer. Yet it is complete, one feels sure that the author has said all he meant to say, and that well. Very often similes and ,metaphors in pro- fusion do not enhance the beauty of a de- scription. Here one has no such feeling. The author's likening of the great sum- mer clouds to vessels is very real and true to nature. How often has one had just such an idea of them as they sail through the air, but how few could put it into words as pleasing and as graphic as Mr. Mabie's! Whether he looks up- to the heavens or down to the earth, or turns to the prospects around, he certainly Ends something beautiful and remarkable in everything. ' MINERVA C. KLINE, '9o. 3' III. 1In tbe iforest of Broan. A sojourn in the Forest of Arden with Rosalind is a delightful and profitable dream. To bring us nearer to nature, to point out the universal harmony of all things, and to show the essentials for gain- ing admittance to this fancifulrealm are the aims of Mr. Mabie in his beautiful essay. The contemplation of nature for awhile, far removed from the series of interrup- tions which constitute the life 'of the world, and away from all hurry and care of common life, is sweet indeed and refreshing. Delightful it is to learn lessons, not from books which are mere translations, but from the great original of all books-from Nature herself, and make ' This our life, exempt from public haunt, Find tongues in trees, and books in run- ning brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in every- thing In the Forest, too, we learn the sacred.- ness of true friendship, and locked in the wood, speech is not necessary-wefeel, and that is sufficient. - And what if it was a dream, and what if the Forest of Arden, with all its unspoiled beauty, exists only in the mind, and is only a passing fancy! Should we not wake to reality, carrying the lessons of harmony, love, and inspiration into our daily lives, and shaping for ourselves a veritable Arden round about us? Oh, if we all, with Rosa- lind, could enter the Forest of Arden! FLORENCE W. SHEHAN, '99. 3' T IV. 'Glnoer the Elpple JBougbs. . ' Mr.-,Mabie's delightful book of essays, Under the Trees and Elsewhere, has just been brought to my notice, and my only re- gret in reading it is that I had not known the charm of its pages before. The essay, Under the Apple Boughs, seems to me singularly fresh and dainty, even as the blossoms themselves. One of Mr. Mabie's. most pleasing characteristics is his ability to make you see and feel as he does. You immediately become conscious of the, mys- tery of Nature and you watch with himas the plot unfolds. The workings of nature are shown by him in a newer and fresher way. Then, too, the daintiness of his style touches you and you feel a pleasant thrill, when in describing Nature as she busily works with her storms and sunshine, he speaks of a falling out between the conspiratorsu and sets himself to watch for some disclosure which might escape 'E i f i. S 2 2. E. if f. 1' S a s 3 l I i 'I- t in it l Q in 'il ' r ,, 1 ,th s , .Fr .3 F. ws I r at ..,i Jil . , fig . gl .W -,3!' .Lflf 'Jug '15 I i 'i ,.i il .5

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Mews from Spain. I. IIIBQ Gastle ill Spain. I shall be an old maid. I know I shall, and live all alone in a big, big flat .with servants,a dog, and an Angora cat. Then I shall have horses and carriages to ride and drive as much as I please, and be able to go and come at ease. I shall love no one, and no one will care for me, and people will consider me eccen- tric and queer, and -talk of my latest whims and notions, when they meet 'to sew for charitable purposes. There will be many things in which I shall excell, such as letter writing, for by that time I shall be able to spell g also paint- ing and singing, for in the future I shall be capable of drawing a straight line and car- rying a tune. As to order, everything will have a place and be kept in it too, for things out of place will drive me to distraction. Oh ! and when I am dead, people will call me a funny old thing when I have never made a joke in my life. I hope that what I have written will con- tradict history completely. ELLA WHITE, 1902. 5' II. Eon Quixote. A good many years ago there lived in Spain a gentleman who was known every- where for his great fondness for stories of chivalry. Finally his mind became so affected that at night he would often lie awake trying to reason out such conceits as this: It stands to reason that the reason for reasoning such a reason is no reason at all. At last this demented gentleman decided to go out into the world as a knight-errant. He thought that he really ought to .do this for his own sake and for the wor1d'S, He E I 2 had an old hack-which was all skin and bones-but which suited his purpose very well, so he gave it the name of Rocinante g he had already called himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. Of course such an illustri- ous knight as' Don Quixote of La Mancha must have a Ht suit of armor 5 so this ingen- ious gentleman inspected his great-grand- father's armor 5 it pleased him very well, all except the head piece, or morion, which had no protection for the face. He supplied this great deficiency by making a face pro- tector of card-board. r But what good is a knight-errant if he has not a lady, even if he has a famous war steed and an invulnerable suit of armor? Don Quixote thought that he ought to have a noble damsel for whom he could perform many deeds of valor, so he chose a pretty farmer's daughter-without. consulting her about the matter at all--4 and called her Dulcinea del Toboso. After everything was arranged to his taste, Don Quixote set out .one hot July morning, on his horse Rocinante and wear- ing his full 'suit of armor. ' He thought that the surest way to meet with . an adventure was to let his horse go its own way, so' this he did, but much to his disappointment, night came on and nothing unusual had happened. At last he arrived at an inn, but to his eyes it appeared like a castle with a moat and drawbridge. EMMA H. POWELL., 1901. it . III. Don CD,uixote's- BDVGUTUPZ 'llillitb tbe Illtlinoa I ,milI5. Along the country road, riding, one on a stumbling old plow horse, and the other on an ass, went the crazed Don' Quixoteof La Mancha and his squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote was explaining to his squire that when he conquered an island, which he might do any day, he-would' make Sancho