North View High School - Southside Echoes Yearbook (North View, VA)

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40 SOUTHSIDE ECHOES “Then pale and worn, he kept his deck, And peered through darkness. Ah, that night Of all dark nights ! And then a speck — A light! A light! A light! A light! It grew, a starlit flag unfurled ! It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. He gained a world ; he gave that world It’s grandest lesson: On! sail on!” Thus may it be with our Alma Mater. The fondest hope of the class of 1908 is that it may go on widening its sphere and increasing in usefulness. We would, in the words of the poet, say to our high school and our schoolmates : “On ! sail on !” The path lies open before you. It may be steep and rugged in places, but keep your eye always fixed upon the goal of a well spent life. Take no backward steps nor even hesitate to look back. We have started in the right direction and the nearer we approach success, the brighter becomes our vision. Before us lies the city of our dreams. Let us, like “Christian,” in Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” cast aside the evils, doubts and hindrances which try to accompany us, and look only toward the time when our brightest dreams and as- pirations shall be satisfied. In this way we shall secure the most enduring peace of mind and most lasting happiness. Helen Smithson Russell, ’08.

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SOUTHS IDE ECHOES 39 when the one who is not a Christian would never stop to think about it. We need always be up and doing something for the ad- vancement of some good cause. “To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift nor lie at anchor.” We have some men and women in our community who have made it their life’s aim to take no backward steps. They have always taken an active part in all Christian work, and are always ready to do a deed of kindness. They have always tried to help those around them to obtain better and higher things. Take, for example, Lawrence and Columbus. After Lawrence was mortally wounded, as he was borne below, he exclaimed : “Don’t give up the ship.” Columbus’s greatest desire was to discover the new country, or a passage to India. He took no backward steps. He went to sea at the age of fourteen years. He was continually engaged in voyages. He had many diffi- culties in setting out, but by the aid of Queen Isabella he finally obtained three vessels and ninety men. He sailed from Palos August 3rd, 1492. The weeks passed so drearily by, that the sailors became very much discouraged and wanted to turn back, but Columbus said, “No steps backwards,” so they still pressed on. After many weeks of hardships and discourage- ment, Columbus began to notice green branches floating about on the water, and birds flying about in the air. At two o’clock in the morning of October nth a shout from the Pinta an- nounced the discovery of land. They were all very glad to think they had resisted all temptations to give up, and had gained great success. We can almost see Columbus now as he stood on the deck with his pale face turned toward the west, and longing for the sight of land. Joaquin Miller has written a beautiful poem concerning this part of the admiral’s life. He says in part :

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Cigar SUett $oe Genius wherever found always attracts the human mind. It is this attraction which impels us to consider and discuss the life of Edgar Allen Poe, mystic and genius that he was. Much has been said about the estimate of Edgar Allen Poe. His genius is unquestionable, but it had a limited range and lacked a substantial moral basis. Like Pope he did not hesitate to mystify and mislead his readers. Poe occupies a singular place in American literature. He was once called our most interesting writer. He ranks first for intellectual brilliancy, and stands alone in his great failure to use it wisely. No person can read his works without being deeply im- pressed with his extraordinary ability. But the moral element in life is the most important, and Poe was lacking in this. He never cared anything about the truth and -would not mind using an untruth where he knew it would add to the weirdness of his story. Edgar Allen Poe sprang from an honorable ancestry. His grandfather, David Poe, was a Revolutionary hero, over whose grave it is said that Lafayette, as he kissed the sod, said : “Ici repose un coeur noble” — ‘‘Here reposes a noble heart.” His father, a young wayward youth, became enamored of an English actress, and left the bar for the stage. They were soon married, and while in an engagement in Boston, the young poet was born, January 19, 1809. Two years later the wandering pair were in Richmond, where they died in about two weeks of each other in extreme poverty. They left three children. The second, of whom we are now speaking, was left in the home of a wealthy merchant, Mr. John Allan.