Pembroke High School - Mattakeesett Yearbook (Pembroke, MA)

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10 THE WAMPUM anything bend to his will, not through fright, but through love for him. Pa- tience was his motto, and he followed it very closely. Finally the day of the race dawned clear and bright, and the contestants looked very beautiful in the sun light. At the last round Ben Hur ran into Messala ' s chariot and broke it, thus winning the race. This was not consistent with his character. It was below Ben Hur generally but he was so anxious to win the race that he let his desire overrule his judgment. There had been many bets on the race, and Messala ' s followers were heavily in debt; but Ben Hur was relentless and exacted the last cent from them. He might have been more merciful, but no, he was firm. One redeeming virtue was his zeal- ousness in following Christ. Many times he was disappointed, but he did not falter. His faith was strong and he believed. All this time he kept up the search for his people, and when he found them, he did not forget to thank his Master for his joy. Through all his troubles and misfortunes, through all his baser and more degrading ac- tions, there ran a faithfulness to all his people and a loyalty to his God. H. C. ' 15. Almost Caught. Horace Taylor was noted as the meanest man in town. When anyone had business dealings with him, he always felt as though he was being cheated. He lived in an old, ram- shackle house which rumor said had been inhabited by his ancestors since they first came to America. He kept two lean cows, an old horse, and a small flock of hens regularly, but in the course of trading, sometimes ob- tained a large amount of stock. At the time at which I write, his family consisted of his wife and a boy of about fourteen summers. One evening upon going to the hen roost, he discovered that three White Rock hens were miss- ing. This worried him very much, but instead of trying to find the missing hens, he concluded at once that some of the neighbors had stolen them. He went into the house for a coat, and while in there his boy asked for a half dollar to buy a new hat. After growl- ing a while, the father finally handed over a quarter, and shoved his pocket- book back into his pocket. As he had nothing better to do at the time, he concluded to go over to neighbor Smith ' s henyard. He knew there was no fear of detection, as he had seen Mr. Smith drive by with his dog about thirty minutes before. When he reached neighbor Smith ' s, he did not hesitate to enter another man ' s hen house, but slammed open the door and marched in. Once in there, the thought of the consequences if he were caught struck him, and he started to the roosts in a hurry to find out whether he was right or not. Since it was nearly dark, he could not see very well, and he hit his foot against an iron feed dish. He landed at full length, knocking over a pail of muddy water as he struck. The water, as it ran out of the pail, formed a large pool, in the middle of which was poor Mr. Taylor. Naturally such a commo- tion awoke the hens that before had been sleeping peacefully, and such a disturbance was never before known in the hen house. Mr. Taylor began to use language not fit for publication, but stopped suddenly, choked by the thick dust which filled the hen house. Fi- nally the tumult partly subsided, and Mr. Taylor rose to a sitting position. Just then the rooster — perhaps mis- taking Taylor ' s head for the roost — landed on the very top of his head, spurs first, and emitted an exceeding- ly loud crow. This was too much for poor Mr. Taylor; picking up his hat which was half full of water and clap- ping it on his head, with muddy water running down all over him, he started on the run for home. Upon entering the house, other dif- ficulties presented themselves. His wife asked where he had been, and not wanting to tell the truth, he said that he had just fallen into the brook. He

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THE WAMPUM Character of Ben Hur. Ben Hur was a young man, quite tall and very dark. He had a lithe and athletic figure, and his muscles were very strong. His features were rather sharp and dusky, showing that he was a Jew by birth. His hair was black and straight, and it was always combed in a becoming style. He was careful of his dress, because he belonged to a wealthy family in Palestine. Ben Hur had a playmate, whom he loved dearly, and that love had been returned. Messala had been to Rome, studying to be a soldier, and he had come back again very different from what he was when he went away. Now he scorned the Jewish nation, and ridi- culed Ben Hur. This was a sad blow to Ben Hur, because he expected him to be the same as when he went away. Ben Hur ' s love was very sorrowfully blighted, and he was crushed under his disappointment. He was a young and innocent youth, trusting completely in Messala, and for the first time his faith was shaken, and he did not know how to grapple with his sorrow. From now on, Messala and Ben Hur must be as strangers to each other, and Ben Hur was deeply wounded. After the sad interview with Messala, Ben Hur went home and poured the whole tale out to his mother. He was like a little child seeking comfort from its mother, and he found it. After a long talk with her he told her of a long cherished desire. He was very ambitious and wanted to go to Borne to study to be a soldier. This was his main aim in life, and he could hardly wait until he was old enough to go. About the time of this talk with his mother, the Roman Governor passed the streets of Palestine in front of Ben Hur ' s home, and he went to the edge of the roof to see him. As he leaned over the railing, a tile fell and stunned the Governor. Quickly, officers came and took his mother and sister away to prison, and him to the life of a galley slave. He tried in every way to shield, them from the officers, but they would not listen. He loved his mother and sister, and he was very sorrowful be- cause he could not help them. No thought for himself entered his mind, only for the other two. The hope to be a soldier was crushed for the time, be- cause those who are galley slaves are considered the same as dead. They are chained to the ships and made to row the boats in time, until they are dulled to every other sense, but the ceaseless motion of the oars. But Ben Hur had a strong will-power, and he determined to keep his mind from that condition. He had hopes of being free some day, and he was more fortunate than the other slaves. He was not chained, be- cause the owner of the boat liked him. Through his mind ran a desire for revenge upon Rome. He was more anxious than ever to be a soldier. He made up his mind that he would make Rome teach him how to reek vengance uoon her. The opportunity was nearer than he thought. In a battle on sea he and the master escaped, and the owner made Ben Hur his son. He went to Rome and very zealously he studied, and progressed rapidly. No part of the art was left unstudied by him, and he became an excellent sol- dier. When his studies were completed, he went back to Palestine. In his heart still ran the desire for revenge. He met an Egyptian girl and a Jewish girl. At first he thought he was in love with the fair Egyptian, and he was very ardent, and devoted to her. He was happy, but running through his happiness was a sadness and long- ing for his own people. The Egyptian scoffed at this devotion, and Ben Hur discovered that he did not love her, but the Jewish maiden. Day by day his new love grew, and absorbed his whole being. About the time of his return from Borne there was going to be a chariot race, and Messala was a contestant. Ben Hur saw at once that here was a grand opportunity to humilate Rome and ruin Messala. He trained his horses until they were in excellent con- dition. He had a knack of making

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THE WAMPUM 11 then went to change his clothes, but more troubles were in store for him. He discovered that he had lost his pocket- book, and what was worse, the ten dol- lars and sixty-two cents which were in it! This he decided must have been lost when he fell down, and he made up his mind to go over and try to find it. This time he took the lantern, so that he would have no more difficul- ties. It was now about ten o ' clock so the neighbor and dog were home and in bed. Taylor reached the hen house door in safety, but since the hinges were rusty, it squeaked quite loudly when he opened it. Naturally this awoke the dog, and he began to bark. Neigh- bor Smith poked his head out of the window, and in a loud voice demanded who was there. Eeceiving no answer and seeing the light at the hen house door, he picked up the shotgun which always stood in the corner of his room, and delivered a charge of rock salt. Taylor was just entering the hen house when Smith shouted, so he stepped back from the door. But not daring to make himself known and not want- ing to lose the money, he was just step- ping in when the rock salt struck the door. It struck with a rattle and crash, and swung the door against him, blow- ing out the lantern. As he did not want to risk another shot, Taylor pick- ed up the blown out lantern, and ran home for the second time that evening. After going home, he sat for about two hours, trying to think of some way of getting the money back. He could think of nothing better than to go over to Smith ' s the next morning. Upon this decision he went to bed. He lay awake for some time, worrying about the money and wishing that he could get it back, but finally he went to sleep. The next morning he went out and did the chores as usual, and when he arrived at the hen house, he found the three lost White Rock hens trying to get in. Somehow he did not seem pleased to find that his neighbor did not steal them ; and the realization of what a fool he had been came to him sud- denly. After finishing the chores and eating breakfast, he started for neigh- bor Smith ' s. He found Smith with his sleeves rolled up, hard at work at the wood pile. After talking about the weather and various other things, Taylor asked him if he had found any- thing around there lately. Smith re- plied that he had found a pocket-book with some money in it, belonging to a dirty hen thief. He went on to say that he had shot at the thief once and missed him, but that if he caught him around there again, he would push him to the full extent of the law. Mr. Tay- lor had nothing more to say, and a few minutes later started home, a sadder but wiser man. He never told anyone about it, not even his wife, but after that, he never looked at a neighbor ' s for anything until he had first looked at home. H. B. J. ' 16. Stung. Imagine a swamp of large pines, large for these days, when the lumber- man ' s axe has made many a broad woodland a waste of brush, stumps, and scrub oaks, standing tall and straight in the cold winter sunlight, the snow of a recent storm lying white and smooth between the trunks and making a broad, white lane of an old wood road which ran through them. The silence, which is particularly noticeable in the winter wood was unbroken until a blue jay screamed as if in warning. Then slipping silently through the pines from the direction of the bird ' s call came a fox. He trotted along with his head held low and his tail almost brushing the snow until he reached the road, where he stopped for a minute, testing the light breeze, which had sprung up, for suspicious odors. After that he got leisurely onto his : feet, stretched, and trotted off in the woods on the other side of the road, as silent- ly as he came. A half hour later the silence was broken by the creak of heavy footsteps on the snow, and a tall man appeared, walking down the road with a quick, swinging stride. He was rather rough-