Our Lady of Lourdes High School - Knight Yearbook (Marinette, WI)

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wg - g g my - i 9, ,N RX, Y , ii'eesSfxc .,s, gg.-' sf- . 155.1 away to far-off lands and he built his castles in the air. His building was not in vain. - p Now and then a poet, or a great writer, gives one a glimpse of his air castles and his inner self. Charles Lamb often revealed a little of his castles. In his touching revery, Dream Children, he takes the reader into one of his air castles and unfolds in a most pathetic and beautiful manner the great yearning of his heart-a home and family. His renunciation of home and family for duty's sake is a revelation of his greatness of soul. We meet many sunny characters whom no misfortune, no care ca11 disturb. These characters seem to enjoy the most wonderfully good spirits, even though they are unsuccessful, even though they meet disasters of every kind. If we could examine their castles in the air, we could quickly find the secret of their charming dispositions. If we could visit the castlesof friends and neighbors, of our classmates, what an interesting, astounding, perhaps, at times, amusing sight we would see. If we would visit the poor, struggling inventor, who, in spite of the fact that he is for- saken and ridiculed by friend and foe alike, is ever contented and hopeful. Smiling at the pity and contempt shown him, he invites us to investigate his magnificent castles built in sunny Spain. We cannot understand what makes the weary laborer sigh so contentedly after a day of toil, until we see him open the treasure-door of his castle. So it is with the brave warrior, the sculptor, and the artist. Their castles spell fame, vic- tory, and glory. Others we find revelling in the love and happiness of the past. VVe often wonder at the sweet contentment and happiness of the hard-working mother-the key is found when we glance at the splendid castles she builds for her children. These reflections make us involuntarily examine our own castles and we must admit that they are not all vain or idle day dreams, but often a much needed recre- ation and pleasure. Build away at your air castles, then, but do not let them be- come an excuse for idleness, but keep in mind Kingsley's words: Do noble things, not dream them, all day long. MARION MARTIN, '29. YN , 1. in ' - jaasg- Q Ars... -5 , r .si .,?-ZiI'f0?AL', nigga 39 - Page 65

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iifqi A ,- 25521490 CASTLES IN THE AIR Air castles, peacefully floating amid Heecy white clouds--what a picture of delight they bring to mind. We often hear castles in the air defined as vision- ary and fanciful creations of the imagination, as theories or notions usually strange or impractical, as baseless schemes or projects having no solid founda- tion, as effortless thought, or as day dreams. Since this subject can be defined in such a variety of ways, we must, after a careful consideration of circumstances and individuality, draw our own conclusions. Dreams they may be, but kings and queens, knights of old, as well as the present knights, the laborer, the peasant- all had their air castles, their dreams, by no means in vain-since they spell com- fort and pleasure to the weary and sad. We frequently hear the statement: If you wish to know what a man is, ex- amine his air castlesf' From this we naturally infer that every man indulges in day dreams or builds his air castles. VVhy, then, do so few people show their castles in the air? Are they ashamed of the contrast between their real and imag- inary selves? It may be that they fear the ordeal of comparison for the real per- son. Not that they wish to be other people, but they desire to be rid of their dis- abilities. And, as, in real life, this is often difficult or impossible, they shut their castle doors behind them, as did the lords of medieval times when fortifying their castles. In an instant, all their fetters fall from them, and they are just as happy and powerful as they wish to be. A few lines from Adelaide Proctor's poem, Dream Life, may serve as a suitable illustration here: Half my lifel live a beggar, ' Ragged, helpless and aloneg But the other half a monarch, With my courtiers round my throne. Half my life is full of sorrow, I-Ialf of joy, still fresh and new: One of these lives is a fancy, But the other one is true. While I live a wretched beggar, One bright hope my lot can cheerg Soon, soon thou shalt have thy kingdom, Brighter hours are drawing near. So you see my life is two-fold, Half a pleasure, half a grief: Thus all joy is somewhat tempered, And all sorrow finds relief. Children, however, never hesitate to expose their castles to the view of all who are interested in their youthful dreams, their fairy castles peopled with the strangest fancies. They never tire of revelling in fairy and elfland, in adventures of land and sea. They live like Alice in Wonderland in rarest contentment and JOY- Some air castles may indicate future greatness, or may reveal wonderful depths of character. Columbus, for instance, as a boy sat watching the ships sail VN g . in '- ' - gig- 5 .-X M .X an .2-Simi-tru 2-It-. sagem' ft Page 64

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