New Lincoln School - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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and slapping of thighs which accompanied the outburst. As the rest of the group busied itself in copying down bits of Gaulic history and pertinent as- pects of Gaulic grammar, there rose from the back of the room Q piercing voice which shrieked, 'Touch me again and I'l1 screaml' Frightened lest we should be swept into the clutchesof the bushy-haired youth, and having seen enough, we hastened from that door and sped on frightened feet unto the cham- ber of those who wished to be educated in the mysteries of the Illyrian lan- guage. The great Pencilshaker, Blysseus, having peered around the door, in- formed us with gracious words that the gloom and darkness which were in that chamber would prevent us from viewing the sacred rite which was being per- formed, they were seeing a movie. with heads bent and sorry countenance, we were ushered along the great hall. Hwhile in our wanderings, we saw the great hall of feasting whence came the sound of dishes clashing one against the other, and a merry chatter of voices. Turning our backs upon this hearten- ing scene, we were confronted with a horrible spectacle. There, before our astonished eyes A was a deep, enclosed pit wherein dwelt a hor- Q rible monster, barred and suspended from cables which engulfed unfortunate passersby on upper levels and spewed them forth on the lower ones X . While we feasted our eyes on this marvel, the monster stopped before us and disgorged a fair young girl with graceful, black tresses, who said not a word but smiled graciously upon us and hastened on. Before she was out of sighg Plysseus called her unto him and said, 'As thou art my slave and as these noble strangers have asked me for my counsel, I would desire it of you that you hasten to deliver this mes- sage of import.' Not biding one more instang the girl hastened away into the unknown depths V 7 49 'Q' it C 1 'Cla Q -X' ,I if r ,vu -ff, .P 1' ,, Na A al 6 X g,, and we were left alone. spake no more Blysseuq V but led us into the black cage and, although x ' - my men shivered and shook, I strode in boldly as a lion to the kill, for had I not seen the Q monster Scylla, with her six heads and cruel teeth? HArriving safely at the lower levels, Blysseus brought us into the rooms where slaves shaped figures out of the clay of mother earth, while others busied themselves with daubing paint on tablets or hacking great boards of sweet-smelling pine, while yet others brewed vile concoctions in great ovens we paused to watch two youths, one tall and slender, and the other with his hair close-cropped. while we observed them, they were stirrinQ G 1GTQ9 Pot of white, creamy substance, which wou later be shaped into a mold, thus en- abling large quantities of trinkets to be manufactured and eventual large sums of money to be gained. We listened to their Conversation. Said the tall one to the shorter one, 'Hark friend, unto the thundering footsteps of the approaching Blysseus.' And answered ha..tily the Other, HY-ITTYJ let Us hasten to ena our work and then take ourselves hence.' lmpressed by the in- dustriousness of these two stalwartlGdS, we flung a lastglance at the swirl- ing pot of plaster and wended our way past scattered busy people, all the :rl x. W I

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rod! Over in another corner of the great hall, there appeared before our amazed eyes the figure of a care-worn maiden, hunched over the leaves of a beautifully engraved booklet entitled 'The U.N. Report on Atomic Energy'. Spake Blysseus then unto us, 'There you View a studious maid, well-learned in the manners and morals of atoms, with hope foremost in her heart to one day become high priestess of Physicus. Turning our eyes from these tortured V ones, we entered the room of Biologus. There, WGS a collection of ghoulish creatures poking about in the inner workings of dead rats and relishing the grisly sight. 'Ch, lead us away!' we cried, and Blysseus brought us unto the rooms where the unfortunate slaves were ' schooled in complicated manipulations with Q numbers. Seated beneath a towering black slate rg , was the mentor of this class, chanting incom- N K prehensible words at her stupified charges. A vague and unsubduable murmur filled the high- , v walled room. Tomorrow, tomorrow was the day ' of the long-dreaded supreme sacrifice...to- morrow was the day of the test! Then, above .S X the babbling, worried populance rose mightily Q the cry, shrill and vibrating, of a maiden V 'iblond and scowling, whose voice my men and I 4: fa could compare to naught in our travels but the gi screeching eagles of Zeus almighty. Llven as 'jf we turned to Blysseus, the Pencilshaker, for 4 explanation of this phenomenon, the light- hairea damsel leapt from her seat to defy the word of her lord, the mentor of the black slate, ana conducted forth were we, out of that mighty Chamber. shortly thereafter, conducted were we by izlysseus unto the rooms where strange tongues were taught: that ot the Gauls in the north and that of the lllyrians in the west. Q Upon glancing into the room of the Gaulic lan- guage, we were immediate- Q1 ly struck by the sight gl of the great dispensor- of-wisdom attempting I I ay, using all the powers Q. 0 I B which the gods had given 'I her, to Curb the antics I C of a bushy-haired youth seated in a corner of the chamber. It was of no avail. My men were 1 fairly frightened out of their wits by the gutter- NNN, coming from his throat, and the flapping of arms al, ape-like mutterings -A

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, while smelling the odors of tantalizing foods cooked by I the young slaves. Finally, we entered a huge chamber painted the color of raw heart of egg. Turning to the Pencilshaker, Blysseus, we were told that this was the holy of holies, the core room. .f' HThen spake the noble Elysseus to us, saying, 'My friends, though I have wandered far to show you the con- 'A fines of this place, I bring you at last to my home, the J1?:a place where, when the sun is beyond its zenith, l spout 4,0 --A forth wisdom from my lips. Here taught I the story of K' the founding oi that nation across the sea known as the Soviet Union, and now that that study is completed, I and my subjects do delve into the civilization of ancient Greece, hoping one day to progress unto a general understanding of that glorious ball which is our earth. Here, also, do they school themselves in the art of writing grace- ful phrases, and expressing their innermost passions on various topics which I do to them assign.' Upon entering this chamber, we were struck first by the sight of a bony, dark-eyed youth carrying a large sack in his arms. Upon peering more closely, we perceived numerous crumpled bits of paper protruding from the sack and settling onto the floor like locusts settle upon corn. As the youth madly pawed through the sheaves of paper, Blysseus spread his hands in a gesture of dispair. 'Ay,' spake Blysseus, 'he is moved by his innermost soul to fill pages and pages with closely-packed manuscript comprising an epic called UThe TrainU.' As soon as the youth was seated, silence fell o'er the room and we found our eyes resting on a short raven-haired maiden who commanded the group to cease their infernal babbling. Evidently, she held executive power in the group. She spoke to a wavy-haired youth, who was hum- ming a musical tune in a deep tenor voice, 'How progressed you yesterday on your mission of rug-shampooing, the purpose of which is, in time, to replen- ish our barren treasury?' 'Fair one,' quoth he, 'my mission went right well and I and my companions have had the great fortune to receive for our labor, 57.25, which will, in due course, be entrusted to the class treasurer. Also have 1 left half a bottle of rug-cleaning fluid.' Then, with flowing words which filled the room with music, shouted she, 'Pluid, shmooid, varlet! How darest thou clutter up our meeting with such hog-wash.' Hence followed a stormy debate which my poor brain could not follow, with VGTiOuS miS9TObl9 individuals in the group being singled out for more labors, including one especially vicious one called baby- sitting. Then, with a roar and a clatter, the group rose from their chairs and fled hence. we followed at a safe distance. Hshortly thereafter, we encount- ered them again, this time segregated 5, The youths were in the greatest hall of all, the damsels, dressed in black tights, were in the assembly hall where men fear to tread. Hastening to the men's hall, we saw that its walls were lined with hoop-suspended nets into which the graceful youths tossed balls with airy abandon. - I QL L Q USSR SWR-'Q 0,941-'a.AxA iv Cameue-' wut, wtuu- goes