Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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22 THE AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANNUAL. tributes of both the Muses and the Graces, for take us all in all, you ne ' er shall look upon our like again. Let me now call forth individually, the members of this band, and leave with them the last will and testament of the class-prophet. First, to our song-bird, the fair representative of St. Cecelia ' s art, Duncan Williams, we bequeath a new and rare song, which, we are sure, will show to the best advantage her notes of linked sweetness long drawn out, Treat it quietly — it is sacred: Little Annie Rooney. To the book-worm, Edna Baer, that unto Logik hadde longi-go, we present for summer reading, three dime- novels from the Sea-side Library : The Advancement of Learning, Hobbes ' Leviathan, and Sartor Resartus. To our wit, Margaret Epes, with deepest gratitude we dedicate our most precious possession — the almighty Semi- nary joke: Caution ; Too frequent use may dull the point. To our Army-girl, Emma Baldwin, our sole represen- tative of the Wild West, we give an Arabian steed, and a tin sword. May she never quail (?) before the Bomb-shells of life ! A palette and brush is our legacy to the artist of the class. Sue Stribling. However, let us give a parting injunction not to paint things red. To the two who remain of this ' ' Dream of Fair Women , ' ' Mary Guy, Whose due feet never fail, To walk the studi- ous cloister ' s pale, and Lizzie Hanger, a scholar, and a ripe and good one, as a fitting gift we leave a bust of Pallas with the bird of wisdom. Besides the eight members of the class -proper, that is the applicants for Literature certificates, there are other members of our circle who all deserve more than a passing mention. Therefore, we overstep the bounds of a con- ventional class-legacy, and read what is recorded in the tes- tament for them. To the beauties, Mamie Richmond and Eva Bowe, we present two mirrors, (triple-plated,) — Look, and looking, look again, For thou mayst see what none e ' er saw before

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THK AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANXUAL. 21 Last Will and Testament of the Class-Prophet. O heavenly muse, I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous sonj While it pursues Things unattenipted yet in prose or rhinie. To write successfully the history of this class, the writer should have a readier pen than mine ; therefore, let it be said that this is but a brief sketch, intended to give an admiring public some idea of the Literature class of ' 91. What class more progressive, — for who before us has issued a Seminary Annual ? What one broader in its views ? — or able to boast of nobler representatives of the muse of the quill ? What brighter stars destined to shine in the literary firmament? To state the case briefly, and with the becom- ing modesty of ye little school-girls; — We are the people ! For our fame on brightest pages. Penned by poets and by sages, Shall go sounding down the ages. For us, the softer Adams of our Academe, Knowledge is no longer a fountain sealed. From the first days ot school, through the long winter months, and up to the delightfully lazy days preceding the Finals, the literature girl nobly shoulders the responsibility resting on her, and lives fi-om da} to day, drinking deep from Wisdom ' s Well. Indifferent alike to the world, the frivol ties of society, and the alluring wiles of creation ' s lords, she turns from Terpsichore to worship at the shrine of Minerva. Now she amuses herself by digging deep into English soil, and unearthing Anglo-Saxon roots; then she soars to the sublime heights of poesy, and lives in a world of her own. Her leisure hours are w hiled away in reading Burke and Bacon; Shakespeare is her wildest dissipation, and awful odes she writes, treating of Home Rule, Irish Emigration, Social and Religious Liberty, c. c. Yet, in spite of the hard work, there is no class more delightful, or instructive than this. As I write, a thousand memories come to me, bringing to mind the pleasant hours spent on Literature work, and in Literature class. In our circle, there is a gracious mingling of the at-

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TIIK AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANNUAL. 23 — nothing. We warn one of them that there is never a rose without a Thorn. To Laura Hagood and Mary Irwin, our painters, — as it is only a question of time before they reach the ultima thule of artistic aspirations, and make Claude and Turner, and all such lesser lights, wild with envy, we leave the canvas and the brush. May their clouds all other clouds dispel ! For Pearl McCreery and Mary Jones, we predict a bright literar} ' career. We give them the blue ribbon, but beg that they do not affect the blue stocking. To Evelyn Morton we give a small time-piece, — that runs a little fast. Time waits for no man. •• For Nora Simpson, There ' s pansies, that ' s for thoughts. Betty Coffee will be a journalist, Eliza Anderson and Eloise Butt fashion-reporters; the former also a stenographer, and our zealous and untiring business-manager, Mary Guy, proprietor of The Staunton Boomer. To these we offer the scroll and pen. In less than three weeks the class of ' 91 will be but a thing of the past. Before the curtain falls, however, we hope to make a last appearance before the public to receive and bear off in triumph the long coveted sheep-skins. As we retire under cover of the d eafening applause of the assembled thousands, the mantle of our wit and learn- ing will descend upon the shoulders of the Intermediates. May the} wear it gracefully and well ! Ring down the drop, — The Act is o ' er ! A. Lucille Foster. Since our Class -Prophet, Lucille Foster, who has so generously showered upon us, kind wishes, and valuable legacies, has stolen from Apollo, the gift of prophecy; from Mercury, the god of eloquence, her glorious talent; has thieved away Cupid ' s own eyes, while the little god, in con- sequence must ever more be blind, there is nothing left, which, we, poor mortals, can bequeath to her, except our very heartiest wishes for her success and happiness in life.