Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 1st PRIZE —BY VIRGINIA C. TABLER. The Legend of the Holy Grail! How many tales of unequaled adventures do the words bring to mind? Such terrible and unheard of dangers as the knights of old underwent in search of this holy vessel, one can scarcely imagine! What then was this Holy Grail, which was so much sought after? According to the mythology of the Romancers, the Holy Grail, or San Greal, was a cup supposed to possess powers of in¬ suring chastity and prolonging life to those who held it in keeping. It was believed to be made of one great precious stone, prob¬ ably an emerald. It was first brought from Heaven by angels, and was the cup used by Christ at the supper in the upper room, when for the last time before His crucifixion, He and his apostles sat at meat together, and later it was used to catch the last drops of His sacred blood as He hung dying upon the cross. This thrice blessed vessel was preserved and guarded carefully by angels, and knights, whose lives were chaste and pure. Later, Joseph, of Arimathea, became the keeper, and it remained among his lineal descendants for a long time, an object of pilgrimage and adoration. It was incumbent upon whoever had it in keeping, to live a life both chaste and pure, and one of Joseph’s descendants having bro¬ ken this condition, the cup disappeared. From that time until Sir Galahad, after many trials and tribulations, found the sacred ob¬ ject, it was the favorite entertainment of the knights to search for it. The adventures of ‘ ‘ King Arthur and his Knights of the Table Round, ’’ while in search of the Holy Grail, have for many years been the favorite subjects with the poets, and we now find many beautiful poems in all languages commemorating these events. From Walter Map who, in 1200, wrote the original story of Lancelot and Elaine, we learn as much of the search and finding of the sacred vessel as from any other author. He portrays Lancelot, the son of King Pillimore, as being brought out of retirement and introduced to King Arthur and by him made a knight of an infe¬ rior degree. The young man was a great favorite of both Arthur and his wife, Queen Guinevere, and in turn was deeply devoted to both. But in time, he came to have treasonable meetings with the Queen. He did not, however, lose any of his respect for the King, and was continually doing penance for his great sin against his benefactor. At first he was one of the knights who sought the Holy Grail, but because of the requirements of pureness and chas¬ tity of life and character, he gave up the quest. From this one act, it would appear that he had not become entirely degraded. He would not pretend to be what in reality he was not. Later, Lancelot became deeply in love with the maiden Elaine. They were, afterwards married and one son, Galahad, blessed their union. After the death of Lancelot, which occurred while in exile, Galahad took up the quest of the Holy Grail. In King Arthur’s court when his knights were all seated around the Round Table, there was one vacant chair, and this seat was reserved for the knight who should be successful in his quest of the sacred vessel. On Pentecost eve an old man clothed in white brought a young man to the court, and signified that the young hero should occupy the vacant seat. Very soon the Holy Grail appeared, and the room was filled with divine light and fra¬ grance. But it soon disappeared again, and the next day the knights all started out in search of it. As had been designated by the old man the night before, Sir Galahad was the successful one. He became King of the Holy City, and guarded the sacred gift well until his death, when it passed into the hands of Joseph of Arimathea. From this legend Tennyson drew his poem, ‘ ‘Elaine. ” Oh, that there was today some object to keep the knights of modern times chaste and pure in their lives. But alas! they, too often, as Sir Launfal, of whom Lowell wrote, spend their lives in searching far and wide for that which may be found at their own

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.1 l) N I () II Y K A It MOO K . show he honored Caesar, even though he had he!lied to kill him? On the other hand, look at the character of Cassius. He was shrewd, ambitious and disloyal. His part in the conspiracy was wholly for the motive of gain for himself, and not because he hoped to better the conditions of his country. By his wily talk he persuaded Brutus to .enter into a plan which was distasteful to such a nature, and led the other members of the plot to believe that Brutus, and not himself was the leader, so that the blame might not fall upon him. Cassius formed the plot with the idea of success, and he worked for this without one thought as to whether it was right or wrong. He took men for what they were, Brutus, for what they ought to be. These two men had at one time stood for praetership of Rome, and Brutus was elected through Cassius’ influence. Thus Cassius held a private hatred for Caesar and constantly thought of this while planning to take his life. After the assassination, Brutus was a changed man, and brooded much over his part in the cruel deed; but Cassius was unaffected and apparently as happp as ever, until Antony’s army attacked them. The fact that Brutus was the better and greater man was recognized at the time of the tragedy, for after his death, Antony said of him: “This was the noblest Roman of them all: All the conspirators save only he, Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; lie only in a general honest thought And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle; and the elements So mixed in him, that nature might stand up And say to all the world, This is a man!” Thus we see that two great and wise men made a seri¬ ous mistake; the one for what he thought to be the best thing for his country; the other, to satisfy his own am¬ bition. Who sits and waits for dead men’s shoes, In which to make his climb, Will leave no footprints of his own Upon the sands of time.

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JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. doors. They overlook the leper there entirely, or fling him a coin hurriedly, never dreaming—as Sir Launfal never dreamed—that in him they might find the realization of their hopes. How often people today are made to realize the truth of these words: “Not what we give, but what we share, For the gift without the giver is bare Who gives himself with his alms, feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor and me.” Today, in the time of wealth and plenty, it is hard to make people realize that very often it is not so much what or how much we give, as how we give it, that counts. As we learn from the Bible, even the gift of the richest man in the country was not counted so great in God ' s sight as the mite which the widow gave; because she gave of her poverty and with faith and love toward her Master, while the man gave of his abundance, simply as a matter of course. Then may we all be able to say as Sir Galahad: “All arm ' d I ride, what ' er betide, Until I find the Holy Grail.” -........................ | ..— BLISSFUL IGNORANCE . Teacher—(In Physical Geography Class) —“What can you tell of the work of beavers?” Freshman—(very earnestly) — “A beaver is a little river.” Teacher—(amid the laughter of the whole class) — “You ' d better look it up in the dictionary.” Little Tommy—“Can I eat another piece of pie?” Mamma (witheringly) — “I suppose you can.” Tommy—“Well, May I?” Mamma—“No, dear, you may not.” Tommy—“Darn Grammar, anyway.” LAFAYETTE , THE FRIEND OF AMERICAN LIBERTY . BY SERINA JOHNSON. There now and then bright spots appear on this darkened planet of ours—great and glorious examples of human virtue interrupting the otherwise sad history of the race. Patriotism is a rare virtue yet rarer when it causes a man to suffer for the freedom of an¬ other country. This virtue was found in Marquis De La Fayette, who left his home in France to aid the straggling Americans in their fight for freedom. He was not a man of genius, nor did he possess remarkable intellectual powers. He offered his aid to the Americans from motives of the purest kind, unmixed with ambi¬ tion or private views for he was prompted only by his great love for liberty. La Fayette came to America at the age of nineteen, as a mere boy, knowing not what his fate would be, whether he would die in early battle, or live to see the victory of his strug¬ gles. He spent much money in aiding the Americans, and staked his all on the glory of their triumph. His was a wonderful sacri¬ fice and one that will be remembered by the Americans as long as this great nation enjoys the liberty for which he fought. One of La Fayette ' s noble traits was simplicity. He was a titled foreigner, but when he came in contact with Americans he forgot his rank and became one of the plain people by whom he was surrounded, entered Washington ' s poorly clad and poorly fed army and shared every hardship with them. His love and rever¬ ence for Washington was constant and he acknowledged Washing¬ ton as his leader. Washington was not only his leader, but his model, and La Fayette became like him in patriotism and virtue. His name is always associated with Washington and the Revolu¬ tion, and he is ever remembered as the dear friend of America. La Fayette left his family and connections, and, at his own ex¬ pense came to offer his services to the United States, without pension or particular allowance, and there risked his life in the