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

Page 33 text:

XjIH.’ST EXCp NQE?- The editorials in the March Haver¬ hill Life we find j)articularly good. The valedictory address to Virgil awakens a sympathetic response in us, but what “Styx” us is why the Young Idea has put that definition of a demagogue among its editorials. Is it so that the “Chestnut” ed. might copy it verbatim et literatim. How do you like the color of the paper this month ?—[Chauncy Hall Abstract. Just the color in which to hurrah over a successful exhibition. Please accept our sincere thanks— not “thumps”—for straightening out our name. I f “the comuositor does not care a fig” for calling us Oak, Lily and Fig, I v(y)ow ice do. “What’er girls do, or say, or dream,” O girls of the Stubeiiville Sem.! how did you ever dare clu-isten your new paper “ The ' Fattier” ? Is there method in your madness? Did YOU mean to forestall criticism? We like your paper, and b ' g you to .ac¬ cept our corilial c.ongratnlations on the success, in every w.ay, of your Hrst effort. Come and see us again. Pray tell us. Stylus, the number of scholars in the Brockton high school. How can you have 59 cases of tardiness in four weeks. Is there not some mistake in the report? We, with an average daily attemlance of 109.8, had only 85 for the whole year. With the same average :is ours your school ought to number m.any hun- lreds. Our list of new exchanges for this month is unusually long, l)ut every one is welcome. ' Fhey .are, as a rule, bright and reachable, .and call them¬ selves as follows: The (Tolden Eagle, The High Sch ' )o! Mirror, ' I’he Col¬ lege Whim, The Reveille, The Acad¬ emy Monthly, Our New Scheme, Southwest rn Presbyteiaan Journal, ' File Meteor, ' Fhe Institute Record, ' Fhe Bellevue College Star. The Oak, Lily and Ivy shows poor taste in mixing up so many .adver¬ tisements with the reading matter.— [Stray Shot. You are very right, but did you copy this stray shot from fifty other exchanges, or is it original? Won’t you whisper to us softly how you manage to float along so buoyantly on the financial sea without any ads. at all ? They are oar indispensable life-jcreservers,—without them we sink. Our “taste” no more than yours approves of the “mixing up,” which, nevertheless, stern necessity compels. If it is rich uncles that helj) you along, can’t you spare us a few? We congratulate the Haverhill Life and Our New Scheme on their printer. We have tried him for years and have never found him wanting. O Professor, translating Virgil— “There are to me twice seven nym 2 )hs of excellent body, which I will give to you.” “M.ac—“How much is a nym))h. Professor?”—[Res Academicae. What is a “which,” Mac might have asked. Does the High School Bulletin wish to retaliate by giving us “too much of a good thing” in return for the same kindness on our part? Is that Yvhy it sends us an extra cover? Or is it intended as something under which to hide our diminished heads? Nous decouvrons. Fhe Ex.-ed. of the Sunbeam con¬ fesses herself weary of bowing in ac¬ knowledgement of complimentary puns on the name of her magazine, but what can she expect if she will l)ersist in flashing her brightness U|)on us as she does in the Jan.-F ' eb. issue. ' Fhe literary department of the March number of the Dartmouth is particularly enjoyable. The poetry is far above the average. “My Aunt’s Specs” is a bright and natui-al sketch, and we enjoyed a hearty laugh over the .absurdities of “Pas¬ sages from The Modern Gulliver.” We welcome the “College Reflec¬ tor” from the Miss. .Agricultural College. The j aper is well printed, ably edited, and the motto is a help¬ ful one; but on t.aking it up, and on putting it down, a question»comes to us not for the first time, “Why do most of our Southern exchanges use such miserably ) ooi’ paper?” There are some noticeably fine ar¬ ticles in the January number of the Riclmiond College Messengeia “Re¬ marks on P’iction” shows how a taste for sensational literature is engtm dered and fostered, and hints at some of the benefits received from reading the best authors of fiction. In “Over Education,” taken from the Johns Hopkins University is a healthy pi ' otest against educating the mental power ' s at the expetrse of the physical. The arguments ai ' e good, but we take exception to this state¬ ment: “It is safe to say that the physically active ar ' e almost always tho.se who carry off no intellectual prizes.” That tliat was the case foi’- rnerly, we grant, but such a state of affairs is no lorrger a foregone con- chtsion with us in the East. It is too generally the age of athletic sports here. How is it in the South, friend Messenger? We are glad to see the Niagai-a Index for March. January and Feb- ruai-y failed to brirrg us the custo- mar-y “bitter-s” fr-orn the College of Our Lady of Angels, and we feared we might have been “vexatioiisly crossed” off of the list of exchanges. “Bitters” are excellent as a spring tonic, and we need them. We an¬ ticipate you. If “the girls who edit the Oak, Lily and Ivy”—oh, boys! oh, whei e ai’e ye !—have “stung with their sar¬ casm” the editor-s of the Literary Morrthly, or of any other of their ex- chatrges, they can only say the woutrd has irot been given intention¬ ally. It was the sin and not the sin¬ ner at which they aimed, but to qirote fr-oirr the L. M. itself, “Wra- tiirg or printing is like shooting with a rifle; you may hit your reader’s mind or nriss it;” “ ' i ' he girls who edit” etc., atrd the boys, too, have only the friendliest feelings for all their exchamjes. O We “laiise” fruits, “cultivate” plants, “break” colts, “breed” stock, “tr-ain” pigeons; but we “educate” man. “It is cert.aiirly true that the ti-ain- irig of a manual training school lets in a flood of light upon a thousand things hut imperfectlg understood before.’’ ' ' “Prof. Pi ' oetor asserts that 100,- 000,000 people lived and died in Amer-ica before its discovery by Colunrbus.” Of coui-se the learned pi ' ofessoi- must be right, but we’ve counted twice and make it 99,999,- 999 each time. For tvveirty-two year’s, and even longer-, Mr. Bergh has devoted his eitergy aird wealth to the ameliora¬ tion of the coirditioir of the dumb cr’eation. Since that time he has seeir the rrrodest society which he founded, atrd of wifrich he was the president, becortre orre of the strong¬ est benevolerrt orgarrizations, not only iir this city, but in America, for there is now h.-irdly a state iir the Uitioir which does not corrtain a kin¬ dred organizatioir In thirty-seven states and territories laws forbidding the ill treatment of animals have beetr passed, aird itt thirty-four of them societies to carry out their pro- yisions have beeir organized. Very few metr have ever lived to see the work which they started grow to such colossal jrroportiorrs, and there is iro other I’efoi’mer irow living who has Yvitiressed the spread of his ideas over so vast a territory.—[Benjamin Northroj).

Page 32 text:

Feathers. S ITTING one day near the wind- do v,I noticed a small bright feath¬ er pass by, borne along in its course by the wind. I remarked, “What a pretty feather that is!” whereunon I was .asked by a young friend then in the I ' oorn, “What is a fe.ather, anyway ?” So I attempted the explanation of one, which 1 gave as follows:— A feather is made uj) of three parts, the quill, the shall, and the vane, or beaial, consisting of little barbs. The (]uill, the ] art attached to the skin, is hollow inside, very transparent, and resembles horn in its appearance. It is light, but very strong. At the end is a small opening where the nourishing vessels enter. The shaft is a continuation of the quill, and diminishes in size as you go towards the ti]). It is always slightly curved, the upper and lower parts being separated by a grove. It is covered with a thin, horny layer, and in the hollow ])art is stored a white, soft, elastic substance, which is called the j)ith. This gives strength and nourishment to the feather. The vane consists of two webs, one on each side of the shaft. Kach web is composed of barbs, fixed obliquely to the shaft, and varying in tliick- ness, length ,‘ind width. In almost every feather, near the opening in the quill, there is an addition of a downy charactei ' , very small i n the quills of the wing and tail. Young birds are covered with down before the feathers have develo|)ed, this down helping the feathers to pierce the skin. If you ever notice a peacock, you can find as many different kinds of feathers on him as on any one bird you can think of. On the head of this vain bird are .short feathers, each one having at least four colors. These foi-m a jiart of his clothing. Also on his head are three thin shafted feathers, standing upright, having at their ends eyes of a yellow- green color, which are called “head¬ dress” feathers. On his neck the feathers are of the same brirrlit kind, only longer, while under him, or on his breast, they are of a grayish color. Those on his back are quite long and .all colors of the rainbow. But the great pride of the peacock’s heart is Ids tail feathers, and these certainly are beautiful. They con¬ sist of long shafts, with the short, narrow rainbow feathers in rows on each side, while at the ends are heart shaped jiieces of four colors. The smallest heart is in the centre of the end piece, and is of two colors. That is enclosed by another larger one, until the wdiole end is one large heart. It makes a very pretty feather. There are more than fifty of these tail feathers on one bird. When spread, they take the form of a fan, and are the vain creature’s es- ])ecial delight F’eathers serve to protect birds from the extremes of heat, cold, and I ' ain, for which their arraimement is especially adapted. They also en.a- ble them to fiy, and for this jiurpose are longer and more compact than those which cover the body. Feath¬ ers gave to mail his first pen. The shaft was sharpened and considered very fine to write with. They formed a part of his first weapon, the Indi.ans using them on the ends of arrows to straighten their course. The small, short feathers that come from hens and ge« se are used for feather beds, ]iillows, and cushions. The beautiful birds that inhabit South America and Australia have come to grief through the hands of man. They have been stripjied of their lirilliant plumage tliat we might be benefited thereby. There is jirobably hardly a Lady in the country, but has been guilty, at one time or another, of wearing the feather or wing, or even the whole of a bird. The many ships that sail across the ocean bring us rich gifts in the form of feathers, or we lhiid we are rich if w ' e happen to have certain costly ones in our possession, that were obtained not only through great danger to man, but at the cost of life to the jioor, innocent bird. In such numbers have these devoted creatures been slain to gratify the vanity of woman, that it has at hast attracted the ' a. tention of lienevolent individuals, who have formed a soci¬ ety for their protection, and named it after the great natur.alist, Audu¬ bon. The efforts of this society have somew ' hat diminished the “slaughter of the innocents,” so that many of the sweet-voiced creatures, that would otherwise have been killed, still remain to gladden our hearts with their songs. E. G. w., ’90. A Typical English Home. S IIACEBHIDGE Hall gives a clear idea of an English home of half a century or so ago. In this work Washington Irving describes the daily life of one of those old fami¬ lies, now almost extinct, in which he W ' as visiting for a few ' weeks. The house, a large, stone building, is almost entirely conce.aled from the view of one jiassing by the tall oaks and elms which surround it. An ave¬ nue, bordered on both sides by the same kinds of trees, le.ads to the front door, which is the entrance to a large, airy hall, at one end of which is a fire-place, w ' here at most times of the year, a large log can be found burning. This room is the tavorite resort of the family in the evenings, esjiecially during the win¬ ter, when each one must l»e ready with a story for the entertainment of the others. Passing through the hall the kitchen is reached, where often a number of gyj sies may be seen enjoying themselves at the ex¬ pense of the Squire’s larder. This is an illustration of the hospitality for which the English are noted. In a household of this kind the servants form an important part. Many of them have served in the family so long that tlu ' v seem almost apart of it; the housekeeper is a dignified old lady who can tell the history of every person represented in the picture gallery, w’ithout w’hich no English house is compb-te. Under her supervision everything is done quietly and (juickly. Next in impor¬ tance come the footman and butlei’, both skilled in their own duties. Horseback riding, besides being a pleasure here, is almost a necessity, as it is nearly the only mode of trav¬ eling ; and haw ' king, wi.ich is one of the favorite amusements, requires both a good horse and an experi¬ enced rider. The stable is ahvays well filleil, not only foi- the benefit of the family, but also for any guest. In a grove a short distance from the house is a rookery, and as rooks are said to add dignity to the ])lace where they build, no one is allow ' ed to harm them; in consequence of which there is hardly a tree about the grounds but has Mt least one nest in it. A half-mile walk takes one to the village, ov r which the Sipiire holds much the same power as did the lords in the feudal times over their tenants. The only excitement here is the daily arrival of tlu- stage-coach W’ith the mail,which is almost the only means of intercourse with the out¬ side world, as few travelers come to such an out-of-the-w ' ay place. H. Al. C. ’8(S. Dr. John Murray of the (Tiallen- ger expedition says the mean height of the land is 2 230 feet above the sea level and the mean depth of the ocean is 12,480 feet. Should the whole of the solid land be reduced to one level under the ocean, then the surtace of the earth would be cov¬ ered by an ocean wdth a uniform de})th of about two miles.

Page 34 text:

TP 0 K, miiYIIYY. MARCH, 1H88. Published Monthly During tlie School Year, nv The Senior Class of the Milford High School PRINTED BY G. M. BILLINGS. BUSINESS EOITORS. GK.4CE L. BLOOD and LYDIA A. ROBERTS. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. (Ten Numbers.) For the Year, . 50 cents 1 Single Copies, . 5 cents Tdis paper is for sale at the well-known drug store of J. Allen Rice, where subscriptions for tlie year will also be received, and back numbers can be obtained. Address all communications to THE OAK. LILY AND IVY, Lock Bo.x 137. Entered at the Milford. Mass., Post-Office, as second class matter. GENERAL EDITORS. Olie L. Brown and Lillian E. Tho.mpson. Howoinl in the Sund.-iy Globe of the eighteenth instant gives cigar¬ ettes tlieir just due in language more vigorous than classical. The paper is on file. Be sure ami read it. Most Chemistries assert that oxy- gen, the insatialile iconoclast, meets an enemy in fluorine, which alone of the seventy-one elements can succes.s. fully resist its attack; hut we learn that a French chemist has succeeded in comhining the two, and thus seems to have proved the theoiw to lie true that fluorine is the most active of the chemical elements. We are indebted to Representa¬ tive Lally for this year ' s Manual of the General Court of Massachusetts. The school has f-»r the several suc¬ cessive yea.rs past lieeu presented with a Manual and it has always jiroved a much used reference hook for the Civil Government classes. The gift is very opportune, and sin¬ cere thanks an due .Mr. Lally for his kindness. A Texas superintendent who fa¬ vors the Blair hill for Federal aid likens a republic, in general, to a cone resting on its base, for the peo¬ ple are the government; and a mon¬ archy, a one-man-j)ower, to a cone resting upon its apex supported by the sword, juirse and bayonet. He adds, however, that our government, the republic of Jefferson, is an arch of thirty-eight parts, resting upon two abiUments of universal suffrage and of universal education. By illus¬ trations taken from the last census he shows that it is impo.ssible for the Southern States, with less than half the resources of 1860, to educate double the number of children. We were all much gratified this rnonlh at the signs of care and art exhibited by the Chemistry class in etching copper. For the Chemistry scholars now “seeing is believing;’ as this school has ihe good fortune to have a laboratory in which the class may test their knowledge. By a class vote, tho.se etchings judged to be the Lest were by Miss Connolly, (whose specimen was a remarkably fine imitation of the title of this pa¬ per,) by Miss Clark, and by Master Gould, all of’89. Much to the surprise of Latin L, Ben Hur seems to illustrate a great majority of the jioints brought up while reading Cicero’s orations. In General Lew Wallace’s novel they find the chariot I’ace, the advantages of being a Roman citizen, the farm¬ ing ami jiaying of tributaries, the scourges practised at those times and the method of carrying on a naval battle with the galley slaves. J’hc succession of the Roman command, the fate of Judea, is clearly and in¬ terestingly brought forth and im¬ prints it u])on one’s memory betti-r than a history could have done. We advise the scholars to I’ead it, not lor wdiat the author designed it perhaps, but for the practical bene¬ fits to be obtained from it. When a person has read this book, that one may truly say that he has read one standard novel, and thus must hav e broadened his mind in some respects. It is just such books as this which should fill a well selected library, and —ours does not contain this book, but W ' e shall cheerfully acknowledge its receptjon. Our principal, trying to seek sub¬ jects for compositions that would not be above the knowledge of the scholars, and wdiich wmuld obviate the necessity of eopying from ency- clopsedias, gave out the subject, “Feathers,” with the following top¬ ics: Parts, kinds, value to the birds, and value to us. It was to lie written “as if the wudter were telling a friend younger than himself, who has never seen a feather.” The following is an extract from a composition :— “A feather, my dear child! ‘What is a feather?’ A feather is a comjilica- ted modification of the ligumentary system forming the plumage of a bird. ‘What is it made of ?’ It con¬ sists a hollow cylindrical semi-trans¬ parent tube composed of coagulated albumen, in both form and appear¬ ance resemljling the chemical consti¬ tution of bone. This is terminated at an obtuse extremity by the lower umbilicus through which the nutri¬ tious vessels enter a continuous shaft communicating with a shrivelled membrane at the other end. Now, little one, 4vill you know a feather when you see one?” O would that there were a uniform rule for capitals! Every publishing house seems to lie a law unto itself, and therefore it is that our text¬ books do not agree. Then, again, our newspaper proof-readers, to save time and expense, have a newspa])er rule, and they decapitate with the effectiveness of a guillotine. As a general rule, however, capitals are jiassing over to the minority; but still are ever ready, as our friends un¬ der the dome in Boston, to “submit their repoit. Teachers who rely on one text¬ book in their teaching take the same risk that scholars do when tliey inva¬ riably make their answers to | rob- lems agree with the Ix-ok answers. In looking iij) the liasis of apjiortion- ment for a national representative we learned from .Mowry’s Studies in Civil Government tliat it is 151,912; from Miss Dawes’ How We Are Gov¬ erned, 154,(I(J0; from Geo. V. Jones’ The People’s Family Atlas, 151,894. The Congre.ssional Record of Febru¬ ary, 1882, gives no number beyond the 325 rejiresentatives then voted for the next decade. Whoever is so inclined can divide the population of the thirty-eight states by tins num¬ ber, and he will obtain 151,911.8-1- As the result of a petition by the scholars asking for a certain time to be set aside each month for debating the leading questions of the day in Milford, this new and what prom¬ ises to be a very interesting feature, has been introduced into the rhetori¬ cal exercises this month. From a number of subjects handeil in to our principal for the tojiic of discussion for the first debato, he has selected, “Resolved,that Milford should estab¬ lish a sewerage system.” Duly the young men will jiarticipate in argu¬ ing this subject, and for the leaders in the aftirmative the scholars have chosen Masters Fales ’88, Fitzgerald ’89, Howard ’90, Noyes ’91; and in the negative ’rirrell ’88, Spaulding ’89, Larnson ' 90, Scully ’91. The debates are to lie carried on by the parliamentary rules of procedure, and the books in the book-cases con¬ taining the method by which de¬ bates should be conducted are now constantly in use. Although the young ladies do not take part in this debate, our principal has in mind a subject in which they will actively engage. The success of this new method will wholly depend upon the interest and desire manifested by the scholars.