Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

Page 13 text:

THE GOLDEN-ROD 11 Newfoundland. This certainly seemed true because the ship was almost com- pletely covered with the waves all the time. We had one terrific storm which lasted for three days, during which time no passengers were allowed on deck. The captain and the crew kept vigilant watch day and night, and not a light was allowed in any of the state rooms after dark; all the port holes were darkened also so that no German warships might detect her. Most of the passengers dreaded to lie awake at night and hear the officers on watch report every little while, “All’s well. To sit up all night and listen to this would make one’s blood run cold. What a different scene from our jour- ney across in June. We were glad when we reached Boston, not only on account of the bad weather, but also because of the many dangers on the Atlantic at that time, owing to the activities of the Ger- man submarines in those waters. POMPEII, THE CITY OF RUINS Mary Infascelli, J.’28 To visit Italy, my parents’ birthplace, has always been my fondly cherished hope. My father, who was born near Pompeii, has related so many stories of this city that to me it has almost become a reality. I can close my eyes and see Pompeii in its ruinous state. It has the aspect of the ancient Roman city, the streets being straight and narrow. The most picturesque street of Pompeii is the old road from Naples to Reggio. According to ancient use the dead were buried along the sides of the roads and in this street many monuments are to be seen. The street of Abundance is perhaps the prin- cipal street of Pompeii. It is straight and narrow with raised pavements, on which are some fountains made of lava. Of the street of Mercury, which is narrow like the other streets of Pompeii is situated the Temple of Apollo. This temple is dedicated to the worship of Love. It was constructed before the Samnite epoch and is surrounded by col- umns which originally were of the Doric style, but afterwards were restored and transformed with stucco into Corinthian columns. In the House of the Faun everything is of great artistic taste. This house de- rived its name from the antique, beauti- ful, and renowned statuette found there. This statuette is now in the museum of Naples. Of all the houses in Pompeii the House of the Vettii is the most important be- cause of its painted decorations. This house was discovered several years ago. All the pictures, statues, and household utensils are in their original places and give to the house something living that fails elsewhere. At the entrance to the excavations, a little museum has been provided, where a part of the antiquities found during the excavations have been preserved. The greater part, however, and almost all the most important have been removed to the Museum of Naples. On the street of Nola is the house of Marcus Lucretius, a noble man. This house is remarkable because of the beauty and elegance of its decorations, paintings, and statues. To see, not only to hear of, this ruined city is my one great desire, and I hope that some day my dream will come true. TRAVELING BY GAS Mary Aulbach, J.’28 It was a custom of mine to visit my dentist twice a year, and as I had no real work done at these times, I rather enjoyed it. My dentist was a fine look- ing man, tall, with blonde curly hair, nice blue eyes, and a smile that certainly at- tracted everyone. All my girl friends were secretly in love with him, and al- though I wouldn’t admit it, I think that I had a few symptoms myself. Ouida,

Page 12 text:

10 THE GOLDEN-ROD To the Golden Rod Doris Bohanan, F.’29 Oh Goldcnrod—you artful pest, You make us work with toilful zest. You make us wrinkle up our brows And twist our features into frowns; Causing us to scratch our head For inspirations almost dead. Then when we’ve written something rare It’s handed back with best of care. On each one—sometimes—a mark nuitc fine As if to sooth and ease our mind, But inwardly, we wonder why Such splendid talent is passed by. Oh, Goldcnrod, you surely aim To be worthy of a Quincy name. CONFESSIONS OF A TRAVELER Elsie Eagle, J.’28 1 am a girl, I must confess, who likes to travel. Are you that kind of a girl ? Do you sit and dream of a majestic steamer plowing her way to another world, with you aboard ? I do! Can you sit on the deck, watching the clouds and the sky, with not a care in the world? I can! Or have you plodded along on a queer little donkey at the Grand Can- yon as T have? Why, I ride in a gon- dola every time I visit Venice. Do you? I can even turn all France, England, and Spain upside down and still find time to roam the Orient. Can you ? Yes, I’ve scaled the Alps in record time, And even sailed right down the Rhine, Ah, I’ve traveled miles just in my mind—have you? ECHOES FROM THE WAVES William Paterson, J.’29 It was a warm summer’s day, the third of June, in the year 1914. My mother and I sailed from Boston on board the “Pretorian” for Glasgow, Scotland. The weather was ideal for sailing, and we en- joyed the trip thoroughly. During the day we had our deck chairs placed in comfortable positions, and the deck stew- ards saw that all were wrapped in their robes. We spent the time in reading and conversing with the other passengers, for all are like one large family on board ship. During the day we also played shuffle board and ringers on the deck. At night we sang and danced and listened to concerts, in the music room. On Sun- day morning religious services were held. We sighted a French fishing fleet at work. The ship slowed up and a small boat from the fleet drew along side. Two buckets were hoisted aboard. One of them contained mail to be brought to Europe, the other some fish for the cap- tain. We continued on the journey, sighting one or two steamers at a dis- tance. We passed two enormous icebergs but kept at a respectable distance, and the captain said he “would be glad to be some distance out of their course before darkness settled down.” We arrived safely at Glasgow nine days later. We were having a delightful holiday with my grandparents, when the war broke out, cutting our visit short. We thought it best to get back to the United States before America should enter the war. At that time no one knew what a day would bring forth. Well, it was one thing saying, “we’ll go back,” but it was altogether another thing to try to get back. We booked on several ships, but the Government stepped in before each sailing and took over the ships for transports. We finally booked on the “Sardivian.” The name certainly fitted the ship, because it was a small, old ‘tub’ about the size of a good sized sailing yacht. The captain tried to make us feel happy by telling us that she had been a first class boat forty years ago, and that Royalty had sailed aboard her at one time. However, that did not help us any when we ran into boisterous weather and a raging sea. The so-called boat was rocking and swaying first on the crest of a wave, then with a sudden rush into the trough. The captain said that she was a good submarine. She went under at Mo- ville, Ireland, and came up at Cape Race,

Page 14 text:

12 THE GOLDEN-ROD my closest friend, seemed to interest him the most, but, as I think it over, she possessed an attractive older sister who was a decided brunette. To return to my story, a back tooth started to trouble me, so off I hurried for treatment. An examination showed that the tooth was perfect, so the X-ray was resorted to in order to determine the trouble. As you can imagine, I was hav- ing a perfectly lovely time as an inter- esting invalid. I was sent home finally and told to return the next morning for the report. How kind and considerate he was! Even the pain couldn’t still the feeling of elation that had possession of me as I departed. According to orders, I arrived punc- tually at the appointed time. Needless to say, I had dressed most carefully and knew I was looking my best as I entered that office. Demurely I sat and waited for the verdict, thinking that I would be told to paint it with iodine, or some sim- ilarly simple remedy. As I think of it now, how peaceful and almost happy were my feelings! Can you imagine my surprise when my Prince Charming en- tered with the pictures and quietly and gravely informed me that, although very unusual, the pain was caused by a full grown tooth that was trying to force an- other tooth out of place, and that the extraction of one of them was the only remedy. Extract one of my teeth,—horrible! I would never consent to that, but how could I ever get out of it and keep his good opinion of me? I looked at him. His face showed that he knew I was afraid, so summoning all my courage, and trying to speak naturally T said, “Of course, you know best so I will see you later for an appointment.” To my horror and disgust he smiled and said. “No time like the present. T could do it now if you wish.” How fervently I wished that I had never bothered, but finally it occurred to me that I would have to think fast if I was going to save my tooth and my dignity at the same time. I reflected a few moments and then remarked, “I would love to have it done now, but I must tell Mother first.” I thought that it was clever of me to let him know that my mother knew best. With undaunted perseverance the den- tist retaliated with, “It would be cruel to worry your mother with such a trivial matter. A little gas and the tooth will be removed in three minutes. Think of it. Nothing serious. Surely you are not afraid?” Trivial! How could he call it trivial ? I felt panicky and weak. Why not say no and be done with it? What right had he to press the issue like that? And the mocking tone in his voice as he said, “Afraid, are you?” I could picture his telling Ouida and the girls all about it if I turned coward. What a dilemma I was in. I wondered what would be the outcome. I glanced at my tormentor who only said, “Well?” The derision in his voice stung me, and before I realized what I was doing I answered, “All right.” What had I done? Why hadn’t I counted ten before I answered? All was lost. I had given my consent, and I had to abide by it. The dentist started the preparations for the slaughter. How calm lie appeared. Of course, why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t his tooth. I could be calm in his place, too. Conditions reversed, I would pull all his teeth. What a cruel face! What did I ever see in that man? How foolish I am to take his word that the offending tooth must be removed. Of course, I could only go home. Why couldn’t I run out when he turns his back ? No, I would not forfeit my dignity like that. I would rather lose the tooth and perhaps my life. Awful thought! People have been known to die while under anesthetics. I wonder what he would do if I did die. It would comfort me if I gave him a scare, but I can’t picture him being surprised at any- thing. What he would probably do when he discovered that my unhappy spirit had left my body would be to raise his eyes, shrug his shoulders, sterilize his instru-