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

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15 enabled to pierce the veil of the Infinite, and come into closed communion with all that is best and noble, for it is here that the highest thoughts of noble minds and the great truths of life are recorded. The treasure- house of literature has been stored with the fruits of minds of all ages and all lands, from ancient Greece and Rome, whose noble contributions to the written records of man have been added to and developed, to modern times. It is like a stream that has grown into a great river from many other streams and from many sources. All truly great men have added to their own lives by absorbing the teachings of others, and from the beautiful thoughts and truths offered by great minds, our own minds acquire culture and a taste for what is true and beautiful. Literature is made more pleasing by its various forms. One of the largest and most delightful forms of literature is poetry, and this subject covers a wide-str etching field in itself. The study of the best poetry is comparable to a pleasure trip. Sublime thoughts in the most pleasing language awaken our souls with their lofty inspiration. Con¬ stantly in poetry new pleasures are met with, or forgotten joys of childhood or youth are resurrected, and the reader experiences them once more. Ihe great forces and works of Nature are vividly portrayed. By a few lines of verse the solemnity of the pine-clad mountains, the freedom of the plains, and the stillness of the forest depths are brought to us. Who, after reading the description of a June day in Lowell ' s “Vision of Sir Launfal” has not experienced the beauty of that day, though he read it in mid-winter? Where is there a nobler monument to virtue than that raised by Milton in his “Comus?” “He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i’ the centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Himself is his own dungeon. In Milton’s “Sonnet to his Blindness we see the patience and faith of a great mind in affliction. Another lesson from Milton’s “Comus’’ is the advice given by the departing Spirit as he returns to the celestial regions from the “dim spot that men call earth:’’ “Mortals, that would follow me, Love virtue; she alone is free. She can teach ye how to climb, Higher than the sphery chime.’’ In William Cullen-Bryant’s “Thanatopsis’’ we read the whole phil¬ osophy of life couched in these lines: “So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, which moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take LI ' S chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.’’ Because of its effect on the emotions poetry has been used to stir men’s minds against evil or to do good, and so has brought about many reforms. It has been used, for example, by many poets to celebrate courage, bravery and patriotism as Tennyson has done in his “Charge of the Light Brigado.’’ In Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King’’ the reader is introduced to a new and magical world of lofty thought and poetry, and in the idyll of “Lancelot and Guinevere,’’ we learn that position and

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14 was granted a leave of absence to answer the call to the nation’s defense. Miss Mary FitzPatrick resigned her position after five years of faith¬ ful service to accept a position in the Worcester school. To her we owe our heartfelt appreciation for her efforts in our behalf. When we re¬ turned for our fourth and final year of study we welcomed to our teach¬ ing force Miss Agnes Lynch as teacher in commercial subjects. Six weeks of the school year was lost during the influenza epidemic and dur¬ ing this period our classmate Raymond Grayson left us to join the Avia¬ tion Section of the United States Army. While we had just cause in feeling saddened at his departure, we also took great pride in the thought that we had given forth a soldier, during his course of study, to join the vast body of Uncle Sam’s fighting men. We also enjoy the proud realization that he is back with us to-night to take part in the graduation exercises of his class. It was during this year that our social events were the greatest. Two successful dances were held in Town Hall under the auspices of the class, one on January 17, and the other on May 27, a total of $173.00 be¬ ing realized from these events. Part of this money has been donated to the Athletic Association and part to the library fund. On January 8 two plays entitled, “The Obstinate Family” and “The Hollytree Inn” were presented in the Assembly Hall by a cast made up of Seniors, before an audience which filled the hall. Well deserved credit was accorded the players and their instructor for the remarkable success of the pro¬ duction. On February 3 of this year at a reception in the Assembly Hall, our class, assisted by the Juniors, welcomed Mr. FitzGerald who rose from the rank of private to first lieutenant, and Mr. Berry back to their positions as principal and sub-master of the school. The originality of a class has heretofore never been so emphatically manifested as was ours in our Class Day, held on Monday of this week. Class Day to Milford High school meant an event new and unexper¬ ienced, but our celebration this year v as a splendid success and to us be¬ longs the credit of introducing a practical event as a precedent for succeeding graduating classes. The day’s program consisted of the planting of a class tree on Town Park, that the memory of the class of 1919 might long be cherished by undergraduates, races, ball games, and other sports, which gave proof of the athletic ability of so many of our members. In the afternoon at a mystery program, suitable gifts in accordance with each person’s hobby were presented to each of the class. In the evening a most enjoyable social was held in the Assembly Hall consisting of an entertainment followed by dancing. It is our hope, that we have instituted in our celebration of Class Day, a lasting custom in the High School and that future graduating classes will follow our illustrious example in that regard. As we stand looking out upon the future, let us pause to-night to express our heartfelt appreciation to our instructors who have labored conscientiously and earnestly for our advancement that we might at¬ tain the golden goal to-night, graduation. In parting, we sincerely hope that we will bring future credit upon our teachers, our Alma Mater and ourselves by remembering our class motto ever dear, “Facta Non Ver¬ ba”, “Deeds Not Words.” Joseph T. Murphy THE INSPIRATION OF GOOD LITERATURE It is impossible to overestimate the value of good literature in all its forms. It is an ever-flowing fountain at which all may be refreshed. Through it our minds are lifted above our every-day lives, we are

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1 6 riches will not make life happy unless accompanied by a clear conscience. Other poets seem to have vivid descriptive powers, by which events are painted with a striking reality, as in the battle scene of Scott’s “Marmion.” Another important branch of good literature is formed by good novels, which not only entertain but teach a truth or point a moral. In Goldsmith’s “Vicar of Wakefield” we are led to appreciate the true and the simple, and we read the demonstration of many useful maxims. In George Eliot’s “Silas Marner” we see how much the love of a little child can do to restore faith in humanity and in God. In essays we partake of the truths that other minds have learned, and the form of reasoning that has led to their beliefs. What more helpful piece of literature could be offered to one who has doubted in the existence of a life after death than Addison’s contribution to the Spectator on “The Immortality of the Soul ?” Still another branch of literature whose value is not so often realized by youthful minds is biography. The especial value here is that biog¬ raphy is made up of the experiences of men and women that have really lived, and as our minds become matured, we appreciate the fact that our decisions in life are more apt to be influenced by the way nobler minds have acted in like situations. As they have met adversity and triumphed over it, so do we receive from them inspiration and courage to meet the trials of life unflinchingly. That a biography can be not only useful, but entertaining as well, is proved by Irving’s “Life of Goldsmith” and Macaulay’s “Life of Johnson.” The branch of literature that has been especially honored by the greatest name in English literature is the drama. Shakespeare has manifested so complete a knowledge of the human heart and the themes that he has treated are so varied that he overshadows all other dramatists. He portrays with exactness life in many lands and under all circum¬ stances. Yet this man whose mind could ascend to greater heights than any before or after him, and who had such a capacity for grasping the sublime and beautiful, leaves behind him in his characters a lesson of the simplicity of true nobility. In his “Merchant of Venice” he shows us the racial hatred of his time against the Jews, yet he himself does not partake of this feeling. In the character of the good men and women he has drawn, the former are noble and generous, the latter firm yet gentle. In his Anthony and Cleopatra,” he shows the power for evil that a wicked woman can become. In “Julius Caeser” he says: “Therefore is it meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; For who so firm that cannot be seduced?” And where could we find a more forceful colossal warning of the consequences of crime than in the tragedy of “Macbeth”? Here we tead the story of the gradual punishment of a murderer by the torment ot his conscience. His mind is “full of scorpions,” he declares; no more can he enjoy blessed sleep, “the balm of hurt minds,” “great Nature’s second course.” In place of the love and respect of his subjects, he has hatred mouth-honor, and ucrses, “not loud but deep.” In the end he dies . a frxutal tyrant at the hand of the thane whose innocent wife and cmldren he had foully put to the sword. The lesson of this drama can be expressed m a few words: “There is an exact equality between sin and its retribution.” Let us be grateful then to modern progress and invention that has made good books so easy of access to us. Let us remember that “the Jo ve of books is a love which requires neither justification, apologv nor cietence - Alice Holland.