Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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28 THE PIONEER. Alcalde. This Alcalde was a greedy, avari¬ cious man, and when he heard that a trav¬ eller, as he supposed, had been made way with, he wished to gain possession of the money, for which he thought the Moor had been murdered. By means of a little bluster and a few threats, he forced the water-carrier to relate all the particulars of the death of the way¬ farer. When he found that nothing was to be gained, he allowed the frightened Peregil to go, but took his beloved donkey. Peregil was very despondent for a while, and was much upbraided by his wife, but at last he thought of the box bequeathed to him, and, opening it, found that it contained a paper by which he might gain possession of a great treasure hidden in a cave. He, in company with another Moor, carried out the direc¬ tions, and suddenly the little water-carrier was a rich man. Now Peregil would have been free from harm, if he had not com¬ mitted an indiscretion, which men are prone to do ; he told his wife. She was seen by the meddlesome barber one morning, parad¬ ing in her room covered with jewels, and off he went again to the Alcalde. When that officer was told about it, lie straightway posted himself to Peregil’s house, and forced him to tell where he had gained possession of so much wealth. Doubtless the Alcalde would have imprisoned them, and confiscated their property, had he not been desirous of securing all that was left in the cave. They went to the place, and the water-carrier and his companion went down into the cavern, and brought up as much as they could carry. But the Alcalde was not satisfied with this and resolved to bring up the contents of an iron box, which had been described by the others. As soon as he, his assistant, and the meddlesome barber had entered the cave, the spell was broken which kept it open, and there they were, and there they probably are to this day. The water-carrier and his friend returned home, and lived in luxury for the rest of their lives. “The Alhambra” was probably written both for entertainment, and as a description of the Alhambra and its occupants. The author asks the reader to use much imagina¬ tion, and makes the narrative very interest¬ ing with his artistic hand. Irving especially excels in descriptions of scenery, and is noted for his simplicity of style. Bernard Barrows, ’ 92 . THE PIECE. The boy stood by the master’s desk, His piece lie could not speak And when he essayed an attempt, Ilis voice seemed strangely weak. The master took him by the sleeve And led him from the floor, And it was very late that night Before he reached his door. A MONDAY VISITOR. In the first place it was on Saturday night that I received a letter from Aunt Jane announcing that she and Bobby would be here on Monday morning by ten, and if we would kindly send the carriage to meet the train she would be very much obliged. Now to any one who does not keep a ser¬ vant, company on washing day means gen¬ eral discomfort and the old remains of yes¬ terday’s leg of lamb, but to have Aunt Jane, who was the terror of the whole family was even worse than ordinary circumstances of this kind. But what must be, must be, so I accepted the inevitable and saved the best portion of the boiled ham for Monday’s din¬ ner, and made everything ready for the washerwoman. On Monday I arose early and went into the pantry to make something for dessert.

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THE PIONEER. 27 But few have the advantages Irving had, as he was allowed to dwell in the old palace for some time, thus having an opportunity to make an interesting description of the place, lie paints true to life many of the characters of the Alhambra, and it becomes an enchanted spot to the reader. The manner of dress and the speech of the ancient Moors are described in his sketches in such a way as to give a good idea of the customs of the followers of Mahomet. Such a sub¬ ject as “The Alhambra” treated by another writer, would-be liable to become monot¬ onous, but Irving, by interweaving fact with fiction, makes it grow more interesting as the reader proceeds. The Alhambra, a fortified suburb of Gra¬ nada and forming an acropolis to the city, is surrounded by a strong wall more than a mile in length and studded with towers. The portions still standing are ranged about two oblong courts, one called the “Court of the Fish Pond,” the other the “Court of the Lions.” They consist of porticos, pillared halls, cool chambers, small gardens, foun¬ tains, etc. The beauty of the columns and arches, and the richness of the ornamenta¬ tion, have never been surpassed. On enter¬ ing the palace, one would think he was in the time of the Moors, so excellently has it been preserved. The stone lace work scat¬ tered over the building appears, to those ignorant of the Arabic language, as mere quaint and beautiful scrolls, but it is really a complex arrangement of Arabic poetry and verses from the Koran. The coloring, which has been marvellously preserved, uses the three primary colors only, of which the blue is employed the most, although the atmosphere has transformed much of it to green. Entrance is by a horse¬ shoe arch, called by the Moors, the “Gate of the Law,” where the king sat to admin¬ ister justice. Here the work of the Moors has been broken to make a place for a wooden image of the Virgin. Irving tells of many strange characters, the most interesting of whom I think to be Boabdil El Chico, or “The Unlucky.” He merited the title, for indeed he was very unfortunate from the cradle to the grave; yet, notwithstanding all that has been said of him, he was a kind, amiable and just king. He had great courage, which cannot be denied ; but, when the time for quick decisions came, was found wanting, because he was of a wavering disposition. Another person who interested me nearly as much was Jusef Abul Hagias, the finisher of the Alhambra. The reign of this monarch was very different from that of “The Un¬ lucky,” as was also his character. He was of fine appearance, with fair complexion and had great strength. Although he was brave, he fared better in peace than in war. He introduced many improvements in the city, besides completing the Alhambra, and made Granada a city of palaces. His great mag¬ nanimity was shown in a number of inci¬ dents, and he deserved a better fate than he met with. Of the legends which Irving has written, I hardly know which pleased me most, as all are very amusing. The “Legend of the Moor’s Legacy,” especially so. Here is a short sketch of it: In the Alhambra there once lived a water-carrier, Peregil by name, who was in very fair circumstances, being the happy possessor of a donkey. One evening he took in a Moor who was com¬ pletely exhausted, and gave him lodging. During: the night the traveller died, but first gave to Peregil, as a reward for his kindness, a small box. The family now had to dispose of the body, and so the water-carrier took it to the river bank and there buried it. As ill-luck would have it, a meddlesome barber saw him do it and reported the fact to the

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THE PIONEER. 29 I had decided that vanilla custard would he the only thing available and brought out my materials, when I discovered that the vanilla bottle was nowhere to be found. After a protracted search it was found scattered around behind the flour barrel, having fallen from the shelf and broken. As I was minus vanilla I had to take lemon, and snatching 7 c the bottle for fear that it might get away, I hastily turned out a tea spoonful and then set it away. I had been in hopes that the washerwoman would arrive early, but luck was against me and it was eight before she appeared with a strong aroma of whiskey clinging to her dress to inform me in unsteady tones that little Tommy had turned the faucets and tilled the tub with cold water and it would be half an hour before she could begin. Smothering a strong inclination to cry I told her to begin as soon as she could and went to get the custard to hake it. Upon entering the pantry I saw a furry tail disappear through the open window and a plate fly onto the floor. On further inves¬ tigation I found that the family cat had taken a mean advantage of the open window to steal in and get on the outside of the plate of carefully reserved ham. But if in her flight she had not knocked a cupful of yeast into the custard I would not have felt so bad, but this was the unkindest cut of all. It seemed to me that the family reputation was lost, for I well knew that Aunt Jane would note all defects and noise them abroad, supple¬ menting in a pitying tone “I always told James that Louisa Jones wouldn’t be no kind of a manager, none of them Jones’s ever was.” But I put a brave face on for I knew that my action must be prompt and I must not lose my wits at this critical moment, so I resolved to go down town, buy a spring chicken (how many springs better be left unsaid) and some fruit (which would probably be stale) for dessert, so I swiftly put on my hat and jacket and started. I purchased the chicken (called so by courtesy only) and the fruit and was returning home thinking that my difBculties were beginning to lessen when the clock in the church near by struck ten. This startled me so that I almost dropped my basket, for this was the time at which the carriage should have been sent. Visions of Aunt Jane sitting up in awful dignity waiting tor the carriage, and the thinly veiled contempt with which she would regard the excuse for leaving her which I should be obliged to make in order to pre¬ pare dinner, poured in upon me until I would fain have found a hole, crawled into it and let Aunt Jane shift for herself. But I did not give up to these reflections long, the car¬ riage must get there sometime, so I hurried home and ordered the horse harnessed. With a sigh of relief I saw the horse trot¬ ting down the walk ten minutes later, and turning from the window I sat about fixing the chicken. The morning wore on, the washerwoman cleared up and departed, the chicken roasted in the oven and I had time to cool my heated face and tidy my dis¬ hevelled hair. Eleven struck and then the half hour, by this time I was getting worried, visions of John’s being drunk and letting the horse run away flashed through my brain when to add to my fears the bell was rung and a telegram was handed me. I paid the boy and col¬ lapsed into the nearest chair to read. It read thus :— Detained on account of Bobby’s illness. Expect us next week. Wicked as it may seem I was so thankful when Bobby’s illness took a turn for the worse and prevented Aunt Jane from leaving him for a month, that I wished I could find some way in which to celebrate the joyful occasion.