Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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THE AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANNUAL. 27 Mary Pres, Nannie Graham and Nat Venable have a fine opportunity for shedding lustre upon our ranks by medical or law studies; but I have heard that, in these University towns, the young disciple of higher culture begins her labours by scientific research as to the characteristics of the individual law or medical student, and that this preparatory course, lasting from two to three years, has a fatal tendency to remove her from the classic haunts of learning. — I wish some old girl would let us know whether she is pursuing an object of any kind. It is not the style to be without one now-a-days. You must be scientific, literary, or aggressively rampart concerning some theory. — That girls as devotedly fond of enterprising labour as Daisy Holiday, Min Scovell, Lil Briggs, Garnette McKay, Rosalie White, Mallie Otey, Letitia Scott, I ou Goffigon, Kid Grant, Carrie Riecke, and Virginia Butter- more should be giving afternoon teas, instead of lectures on women ' s rights, deals a blow at the root of our school pride. — We had always cherished hopes of Amelia Daven- port, but they were built on sand. I was recently walking down the corridor of a Maryland hotel when I heard a school yell behind me, as musical to my ear as the war whoop to a Sioux chief. It was Amelia, in the glory of a Parisian gown and bonnet. She had recently come from abroad after a three months ' tour as Mrs. Woodruff, of Kentucky. She lives a mile from Sara Hanson, who is as clever as ever. I would like to add that Sara and Liz Bonn are taking the Chataqua course, but that commenda- ble fact can be recorded of Lucj Hughes alone, who spent last winter over Grecian history and could give all the dates without winking. — Tish Scott does deser ' e special men- tion. She has not gotten literary, she has gotten dig- nity. ' ' At times this is obscured from the public eye, but it is only a momentary eclipse. A former school-mate was re- cently driving down Massachusetts Avenue, when a sort of human skyrocket rushed from the sidewalk. Of course it was Tish. Before the wave of greetings had subsided. Since receiving this article we have heard that Virginia Butter- more is studying medicine. — Eds.

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26 THE AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANNUAL. womanly woman, her school life promised, and Lucy Tabb blushes as sweetlj ' as ever. I opened a ver} pretty wed- ding present Sarah Walton sent Parks, which being the only fact I can present concerning her, simply proves she was then in existence and still had good taste. If I could only reach one of 3 ' ou several hundred girls, and make you swear you wouldn ' t tell, I could a tale unfold , and feel sure, of course, that m} ' secret would be safe. I know of about twent} of the escaped, each one of whom is en- gaged to the dearest fellow in the world. It will be a valuable piece of information to the public that there are now twenty wonders of the world instead of seven. These little affairs, however, are some times as variable as the tints of the chameleon, so it would not be well, even if the names of these wonders could be secured, to place them on record. Just here some more facts of national interest must find expression. It is only fair that I should interrupt myself long enough to relieve the minds of the old girls concerning such interesting subjects. Shall I whose lamp of knowl- edge is lighted neglect to cast its rays on those far off Southern and California girls, who have not been privileged to allay their fears in person ? Beauty and Midget are not dead. It is the parrot that has departed this life and no longer yells, Who ' s that ! Who ' s that ! to the abject ter- ror of the approaching V. M. I. cadet. Uncle Ches, still vigilantly guards the mail, and remains unshaken in his firm conviction that Miss Mary July runs the United States and has Europe for a foot-stool ! I feel, now that I have relieved mj mind, that I can continue a conscientious effort I have been making to hunt up a few lawyers or ph5 sicians among our number. I can find some hobbjasts, May Faulkner, Nat Venable and Lill Bridges have the house-keeping hobby ; the} have it badl5 I can personallj testify that it is a mania with the third member of this band of workers ; shei made some bis- cuit recently — the doctor says, with extreme care, the con- sumers thereof may recover. Since this article was written. Midget has died. — Eds.

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28 THE AUGUSTA SEMINARY ANNUAL. there stood before her a being before whom the words aw- fulh ' jolly froze on the awe-struck lips. It was as if some tall cliff had reared its awful form. — Emma Russell and Neal Roberts were in Europe traveling and studying last summer, the adjective literar % I have reser ' ed for them, for if the} did not add literarj ' and every other kind of knowledge to their stock, the} ' did not desen ' e the compan- ion they had. — Minafred and Perle Habicht are still singing their way into the hearts ot the public. — Our distinguished graduate, Katherine Paxton, has been visiting Hope Somer- ille and teaching in North Carolina. — Laura Taylor can manage a wild horse with as much grace as ever. — Gus Pat- terson, Libbie Alby, Marj Irwin and Maria Pratt have all been teaching, and teaching Avell. Maria was down in Mex- ico, helping her father teach the Mexican students English. I am sure the} ' never tread a more flowery path to knowl- edge.— While few of us, as you see, are doing work that is worth mentioning, we owe to our Alma Mater the training that has helped us to meet the temptations of life ; and to her too we owe help towards living the noble, pure, and wise, though quiet lives, that tell powerfully on the world ' s histor} ' , even if their deeds have no record. I cannot close without a tribute to the memor} ' of those who have passed away. So has it been, so will it be for- ever; the chain is broken that no hand can mend. Though Mary Anderson ' s gentle brown eyes have been closed for years, and laughing Annie Kinnier has long since gone home, their death ' s sad stor} ' is immortal in the school where they lived their sweet Christian lives. Only last sum- mer was there another link broken from the chain, when Janet Meetze ended her young life. In the hearts of the most careless of us girls may there rise a prayer that when our days shall be as a tale that is told, we may join them, in that higher school where Christ himself doth rule. Helen Mar Bridges. ■Full graduate in ' 88. — Eds.