Major Edwards High School - Mesa Yearbook (West Boylston, MA)

Page 25 text:

Besides the poems of soldier and Indian life there pstri otic pieces, filled with confidence in Britain’s destiny. Ko dis- liked what he called little .England ism and the sheltered life and he made abstract themes, lake imperialism, living realities, just as he made an electric cable or a steam engine the subject of a song. The finer shades of character and style he lacked, and except in rare cases, he did not deal v ' ith spiritual matters One of these rare exceptions is The Recessional. Gertrude Jewett THE RECESSIONAL God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful Hand we hold Dominion ever palm and pine; Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forgot! Lest we forgot! The tumult and the shouting dies, The Captains and the Kings depart, Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite hea t. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget! Lest we forget! Par call’d, our navies melt away. On dune and headland sinks the firo, Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget! Lest we forget If drunk with sight of pow’r we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe. Such boasting as the Gentiles use, Or lesser breeds without the law, Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget! Lest we forget’ For heathen heart that puts her trust, In reeking tube and iron shard All valiant dust that builds on dust, And guarding calls not Thee to guard. For frantic boast and foolish word, Thy mercy on Thy people, Lord! Rudyard Kipling

Page 27 text:

THE FASCINATION OF In reeding the histories of various precious stores no- th e superstitions regarding them, one finds many curious ana interesting facts. These superstitions, together with the iridescent beauty of precious stones, lend a certain mysterious fascination to them that has caused all races of men to value them 30 highly. They have been found in all parts of the world, in the polar regions as well as in tropical countries, the slight variations in stones coming from different localities oeing accounted for by geological rather than geographical conai- tions. Amon. precious stones, the diamond is the universal gem stone. The rainbow-hued rays of refracted light which are so admired in the cut stone are the result of the diamond cut- ter’s shill. Oftentimes, when cut, a diamond must oe -reauly reduced in size in order to eliminate flaws, a fact that is brought out by the history of the famous diamond, the Kohinur. This, an Indian stone, was of unusual sice when first crudely cut, but when it was brought to England, in 1850, its lob carats were reduced to 102 carats by recutting Jnf ortunatn.ly , instead of enhancing its beauty, the recutting destroyer its former uniqueness. Many strange superstitions have become attached to certain precious stones The agate, for example,- was thought to have the power of guarding the wearer from ail dangers ana also o be a cure for insomnia. Amber was one of the first stones to be used in the form of ornaments. In ancient times there were many belieis as to its composition. One poetic belief was, that amber was toe essence ? the irilliaA rays of the setting sun congealed in the sea and then cast upon the shore. Another oeliei, non known to be true, was, that it was an exudation from certain trees. Talismans carved from amber in the form of curious animals were thought to be particularly e tie c 1 1 v t .