Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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LZL ' r pect to be alike in our tastes and abilities? Sad would be our condi¬ tion if it were so. And thougli we may possess but one talent, while our more fortunate neighbor has ten, yet if we xxse that one it shall be doubled. Do you see the path winding up yon mountain-side, whose summit is crowned with the temple of knowl¬ edge, splendid in workmanship and grand in its proportions? Within is everything for which the energy of man struggles, but without stands la¬ bor, guarding the door night and day. She must be satisfied ere she permits us to pass. Many there are who be¬ gin the ascent, but few whose perse¬ verance overcomes the obstacles and attains the longed-for goal ; for steep is the path and rugged is the way. We stand upon one of the lesser heights. Below is the past, while still above towers the summit, and many rocks and chasms lie in our way thithei’; but a voice within us cries, “Go up higher.” Let us press onward till we reach the land where nothing isu nknown. L. D. c. L. From the forests of Maine to the glowing savannahs of the Great Gulf, and far to the l acific coast, thei-e are a hundred races, but there is only one language. To Noah Web¬ ster, more than to any or all othei- causes, this nation owes its unity of language.—[PLx. A bridge is to he built over the Straits of Messina to connect Sicily with Italy. The place selected for the great luideriaking is where the channel is two and a half miles wide, and 361 feet deep. We extend congratulations to the Boston K. IT. S. Becord on the mark¬ ed imi)rovement its January number shows over any ])revious issue. Rev. A. Arundel has kindly of¬ fered to supply our chapel prayers during examination week.—[Wolfe Hall Banner. Is this by proxy ? ' I ' he exchange editor of the Van- lerbilt Observer is certainly like Yumyum and the moon, “veiy wide awake,” and knows how to tell what he sees, d’he local dejxartment dif¬ fers from that of most of our ex¬ changes in being entei-taining to out¬ siders. Extracts from the Sujxerinten- dent’s report, in the Kentuck}’ Deaf Mute, give an interesting account of the manner of educating the ])U])ils in the Danville Institute for the Deaf. The success of the methods employed is shown in three articles in the same number, written by the pupils themselves. The naive sim¬ plicity of style, the directness of ex¬ pression and the peculiarity of idiom which seem to belong to those who are shut out from the world of sound, make these contributions particu¬ larly interesting. We heartily re¬ joice that a school like the one in Danville can exist, and we do not wonder that those condemned to live in a world of silence wish to show their gratitude to Dr. Gallaudet bv erecting a monument in his honor. We see by the School Medium that the North Brookfield High School intended to give an industrial exhibition the twenty-second of this morth. We hope the material re¬ sult will be the desired piano; and that the benefits in other directions may prove as great as those we i-e- ceived from a similar exhibition a few years ago. We shall look with interest for the February number of the Medium. The January number of the Prem¬ ier, is quite full of brightness, perhaps the one exception to the general bril¬ liancy being the following ci ' iticism in the exchange column: “The East Orange Record comes to us this month glowing with its juctures of hne buildings and railroad hardships, and also with its usual accounts of brilliant ])arties and entertainments.” How can a jxaper glow with pictures of railroad hardshijls? The High School Journal of Evan¬ ston, Ill., is apparently ambitious of following the approved methods of the jxrofessionals. It offers premiums to new subscribers, jxresumably pays for some of its contributions, and has corresj)ondents in many other cities. It is evidently determined to succeed financially, and we hope it will, but we regret to see it stoop to the “j)rize chrorno” method, for tlie magazine is good enough to stand on its mei-its. Its editorials and literary articles ai ' c above the average. The anecdotes and jxoems in F ' rench and G ‘rman are an interesting feature of this periodical. ' I ' hree ladies in Boston are just entering with much enthusiasm upon the work of supplying a long felt “need” for young people. It had seemed as though nothing could be wanting in the direction of juvenile journalistic literature, that every pos¬ sible need in that line had been sup- ])lied by the many excellent maga¬ zines for children already jniblished, but not such is evidently the opinion of these three Boston ladies. Their aim is certainly a lofty one almost too high to be reached, but we wish them success in their endeavors. It is a little unfortunate for the Young Idea of Gloucester that these ladies should have decided upon the same name for their magazine. There is Avhere we have one advantage over most of our exchanges; our name is ours alone, and likely to remain so. “Education for Profit or Loss” is the name of an article contributed by E. H. Barrows to the Acamedian of Washington, Iowa. What opinion the writer intends to express is per¬ haps known to himself, but we frank¬ ly confess our inability to penetrate the obscurity of his rhetoric. Judg¬ ing from the construction of many of his sentences, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the greater part of Ids education has been “for loss” to him. For instance: “The one thing most needed in this life is what are we as individuals ex¬ pecting to do.” “The momentous question imminent to all who enter the race for life with a purpose in view,” etc. We may be narrow minded, but if we were racing for our life we should consider tliat a sufficient “purpose” in itself. “Thus their minds are caused to search “and then see how quickly the airy vessel (an empty boat) will succumb to its (the wind’s) fickle force for want of a resisting power, for which it should have been prepared to sus¬ tain it.” “Observe the tiny plant as it slowly and quietly peeps its head above mother earth. ” “But there are some kinds of knowledge that does not, as a rule, pay its possessor.” “Do not understand me as saying that a scholastic education is not necessary; on the contrary, it is necessary. But do understand me as knowledge is the line of business you intend to follow is of the utmost importance in starting, as an impe¬ tus to work, and as a valuable assis¬ tant in gaining that experience for its practical apjilication.” Will some one please translate? George Bancroft accounts for his longevity W ' ith three reasons: First, that he was the middle child in his father’s family, equally distant from the youngest and the oldest; second, that he had always gone to bed at 10 o’clock, unless it had been impossible; and third, that he had always spent four hours in each day in the open air, unless prevented by a storm. “The Wayside,” Margaret Sidney’s summer home in Concord, was once the home of Hawthorne, and “The Tower.” where the great novelist wrote, is now her study.

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eloquence to offer suggestions, to give good advice, or to calm their angry counsels, especially when Achilles and Agamemnon quarreled in the Assembly. He was egotisti¬ cal, to be sure, but spoke with au- thorit} A great warrior in his younger days, he fought with some of the most warlike men on the earth. We find his stamp of orato¬ ry in few men of the present day. Such men, however, attract the peo¬ ple and have tremendous influence with them. When men who have this quality use it on the right side they are a ])ower for good. Achilles, Ulysses, Nestor,—these three immortal Greeks I place before you. If the elements of their charac¬ ters could be combined in one man of a Christian character, what a power for good would that man be to the state, what a blessing to the town in which he lived! How he would be ‘ consulted and followed! Today there is so much need of such men—men of strong minds, who can see the wants of their times and supply them. Let us try to cultivate some of the best traits of their characters, and illustrate them in our daily life. E. B. B. Queen Featherweight. Oft have T climbed the smoking Aetna, or have been hurled to the sky by its fearful eruptions. Earth’s hollow mountains are my delight and afford abundant caverns for my hid- ing-])laces. I also love to linger near the bright constellations, which, like so many diamonds studding the sky in many a fantastic foian, light the aerial world when earth is in peace¬ ful repose. Sometimes I visit the boundless expanse around the Sun- and gaze upon his vast realms. But these journeys are long and very dis¬ agreeable, especially if one is alone, and so 1 rarely take them. My husband, who is very obliging, accompanies me on ilelightful trips through broad rivers and lakes whose banks are teeming wdth vegetation, through narrow valleys with sloping hills on either side, between narrow mountains, flinging dark shadows over the water, into the bright sun¬ light. Now and then w e ascend into the air, and having refreshed our¬ selves with sleep in the snow-white clouds, steal quietly down with the falling dew and kiss the tired flowers. It would be useless to give you my photograph, for you would not rec¬ ognize it, and altho ugh those canni¬ bals on earth are thirsting after my blood and that of my husband, still it neither conveys to them taste nor smell, but still they will devour us. I have gone so far up into the air as to frighten my husband who called loud¬ ly for me to return. It makes me laugh to hear those men on earth, called “astronomers,” talk about stars, planets and the like. If they would listen to me, I could give them facts enough to reach around their little O globe. Ton can burn me at a high tem¬ perature, aud my heat is very intense. I do not use face-powder, even if my complexion is rather pale. I am totally different from my husband. He is always attacking everything and working the best he knows how. But for all that he is sixteen times heavier than I am. I do not help you breathe, on the contrary I retard your breathing. Fire has no terror for me while it hails with delight the apj)roach of my husband. Woe be to the animal that is so unlucky as to fall into my clutches ! His fate wouM be a speedy death. I remember once my husband and I were traveling and, as we were cold, we thoughtlessly lighted a fire. There was a terrific explosion, knocking me off my feet and throwing us together with such force that water flew all around and extinguished the fire. I am the light¬ est lady in the world, and Avould make the fortune of that greatest of curiosity seekers, P. T. Barnum. In spite of so many good qualities I also have my failings; for I have only one arm, and so, whenever I feel unusually affectionate I can oidy clasp one of my husband’s two hands at a time. Man is indebted to no one more than to me. My husband and I give him intense heat for his arts, ena¬ bling him to melt refractory metals and produce a beautiful light used in light-houses. Every Fourth of July you see what seem to be huge soap- bubbles of many colors, which the toy-makers have fashioned, and many little heart has been gladdened by this simple device. Lately men have put this princi|)le to practical use in war-balloons, wdiich are used both for surveying an enemy’s coun¬ try and for dropping explosive shells on it. Man has been sleeping and is just waking uj) to the fact that I, Queen Featherw ' eight, am one of the most useful of all the elements and to me he is most indebted. ,1. L. M., ’89. Energy. “ ■ HIS world belongs to the ener- l getic,” so sai d Emerson, so say we. But wdiat is energy? In imagi¬ nation stand with me uj)on the banks of the Merrimac. It is Sunday morn¬ ing. Everything is (piiet and ])eace- ful. Along its borders are the im¬ mense mills, building after building. Behind a massive dam lies the hoard¬ ed water, striving to burst its barri- trs. Here is potential energy—the power of doing work. But wdien, on the morrow, the gate is raised, when the great wheels begin to turn and the noisy hum of the machinery is heard, then the power is utilized and we have kinetic energy. Nearly all of us possess the former, but it is the latter, the ability towmrk exerted, that is so essential to every¬ one of us in the accomplishment of anytiiing we undertake. It stands first among the agents of success; above genius, above natural ability, above education, all of which are val¬ uable oidy as they are directed by the spurring force of energy. The old saying, “The gods for labor sell us all good things,” expresses the true sentiment that labor is master of everything we seek; for when a man takes for his motto, “Either I will find a way or make one,” nothing can effectually hinder his success. In¬ deed, the more labor we exert, the more hardship we endure in securing an object of so much the more worth is it to us, and so much the more ap¬ preciated when in our possession. Hecall Napoleon’s passage of the Alps, the toils of its rugged passes, the dangers of its rivers of ice, the perils of the avalanches ;—and yet his wonderful energy surmounted the eternal snovys and brought him into Italy, victorious. Look through the pages of history, and you may rightly record, in the list of examples of en¬ ergy, all who have won great achieve¬ ments and whose names are handed down to posterity. ' I ' here is a phys¬ ical and a mental energy, and today the latter is triumphing grandly. Ten long years were the Greeks striving by brute force to batter down the walls of Troy, fighting hand to hand, sparing no toil nor blood. At last the mental energy of the wily Ulys¬ ses contrived the wooden horse, be¬ fore which fell Priam’s citadel. In the training-school of life each must be the architect of his own for¬ tune, and life will be what each one’s j)ersonal energy makes it. Indeed, Chas. Buxton has said that, in his ex¬ perience, the difference between one man and another, between the weak and powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy, invinci¬ ble determination, a pur])ose once formed, and then victory or death. But it may be said, “Had I the ad¬ vantage which this one possesses, or the superior talent in any direction ' which that one exhibits, I would then know what to do.” Can we all ex-

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I ■VST TPE 0 K, IimYlIVY. FEBRUARY, 1888. Published Monthly lluriug the School Year, BY The Senior Class of the Milford High School PRINTED BY G. M. BILLINGS. BUS1NE.SS EDITOR.?. GR.4CE L. BLOOD and LYDIA A. ROBERTS. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. (Ten Numbers.) For the Year, . 60 cents | Single Copies, . 6 cents This paper is for sale at the well-known drug store of fJ. Allen Rice, where subscriptions for the year will also be received, and back numbers can be obtained. Address all communications to THE OAK, LILY AND IVY, Lock Box 137. Entered at the Milford, Mass., Post-Oliice, as second class matter. EDITO I Iig. GENERAL EDITORS. Olie L. Brown an d Lillian E. Thompson. We have adopted a new plan this terra, and have recorded tlie temper¬ ature at the beginning of school every morning. The average has been 63.3 ' F. It has so far been more than satisfactory. Much credit is due to our janitor, who has per¬ formed his duty faithfully. Our school-room is well ventilated and therefore there are many ways by which cold air can be admitted. It is a strange, yet sad fact, that when scholars have been out of the Grammar schoo Is only a short time, they seem to have forgotten their former geographical and historical lessons. Some of the scholars—we hope not many—recently were really surprised to find that Gettysburg is so near home. However, it is to their credit that more than eighty out of one hundred and twenty pupils at¬ tended the recent exhibition and ex¬ planation of the Battle of Gettysburg. There the vivid paintings and clear description rendered plain what would have required days of study. The following program was ren¬ dered on our last rhetorical day. The .speakers were chosen from the different rhetorical divisions because of their excellence, and were, there¬ fore, worth honorable mention :— Master Tirrell, Miss Thayer, Master Fales, Master Martin, Miss Toomey, Miss Whitney, Master Barry, Miss O’Sullivan, Gill. Master Sheedy, Miss Pierson, Master McKay, Miss Sumner, Extract from Ilomer Extract from Homer Wendell Phillips Two Homes Hodge and the Vicar To the Young Ladies Our Debt to the Sun Goody Blake and Harry Chicago’s Eire The Captain The Fireman’s Story The Two Lovers Now that our school days are so near their close, let us resolve to add to our stock of knowledge by patron¬ izing our public library. To do this wisely, we ought to have at hand a list of books that are of acknowl¬ edged merit, and such as will edu¬ cate and broaden our minds. Our principal is constantly referring to such books and we are glad to see that some are making a list for fu¬ ture use. In this connection wh quote from the Journal of Education the following: “Our reading largely determines our mental calibre, and we must feel its responsibility. We must consider how we spend our reading time as we do what we eat and how we spend our money. We must never lose sight of our standard and our needs.” Recently our jirincipal’s actions as he entered the class-room at the be¬ ginning of a recitation might have been very suspicions to the unsophis¬ ticated looker-on. He was not cold, neither was he sounding his lungs, but he patted and slapjied himself in the most mysterious manner, now here, now there. What was the matter ? To us it was a well-known sign, for we always expect that from one of his dozen pockets, filled to their utmost capacity with papers, subjects for compositions, topics of interests from the newspapers for the various classes and the school as a whole, some item will come forth and add to the lesson of the day. He is indeed a walking post-office. How fortunate it is that he is not com¬ pelled to have only one pocket as the modern woman is, and that one so covered v ' ith draperies that nine times out of ten she cannot find it. The work during the last half- term has been very satisfactory, so much so that the teachers are begin¬ ning to feel repaid for their time and hard work. Out of our one hundred and twenty scholars only twelve failed to gain the rank of promotion and all these were members of the f ourth class. More scholars have had “Good” (80 to 90 per cent) written upon their report cards than usual. We are also proud to say that many were successful in gaining per cents in the nineties, and carried home “Honor” upon their reports. Below are the names of these honored scholars:— First Class—Thayer, Tirrell, Co¬ burn, Toohey, Lawless. Second Class—Blake, Goldsmith, Toomey, Morgan, Spaulding. Third Class— Mathewson, O’Sullivan, Collins, Wil¬ ber. Fourth Class—Foley M., God¬ frey, Morgan. Physiology IV., who are now study¬ ing the sense of sight, are much in¬ terested in optical illusions. Our principal has offered an opportunity for raising their per cents by giving credits to those who have enough en¬ ergy to devise and bring in original illustrations. Some unusually good ones showing considerable “head work,” have been handed in. On one card by rapid whirling we read Oak, Lily and Ivy ; but when it was at rest we could only decipher a num¬ ber of unmeaning mark. “Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice.” Were you standing under the dome of St. Paul’s cathe¬ dral you might read this epitaph on the tablet over the grave of the great architect. Sir Christopher Wren. The historic date of this month sug¬ gests the appropriateness in Wash¬ ington’s case and perhajis this was in Winthrop’s mind when he wrote: “The wide-spread Republic is the true monument to Washington. Maintain its independence. Uphold its Constitution. Preseive its union. Defend its liberty. Let it stand be¬ fore the world in all its original strength and beauty, securing peace, order, equality, and freedom to all within its boundaries, and shedding light, and hope, and joy, upon the pathway of human liberty through¬ out the world; and Washington needs no other monument.” Generally a statement or fact, dif¬ ficult to learn in itself, may be im¬ printed upon the memory by some simple and perhaps foolish method. An article in an old number of the St. Nicholas was lately brought to our princijial’s notice as interesting to his Physiology class, and although jiarticularly to them in that they are studying that branch, it is also of in¬ terest to the older scholars. There the whole brain is likened to the business office of a large establish¬ ment. The Big Brain is the head of theis business, the Little Brain, the foreman who has charge; the Medulla is the Life Department, and although extremely small never rests; the Bridge is the “go between” for the Big Brain and the smaller de¬ partments, and is assisted by the Ear Lobes and Optic Lobes, who seem to run a kind of central tel- graph or telephone office. Lastly, the Central Ganglia or Gang are the little fellows who store up the knowledge of our habitual voluntary actions. All through it is treated as worked by persons and is brought home to us so simply that it is very enteriaining. Nothingis foolish which fixes useful knowledge in the memory.