Rye Neck High School - Scraps Yearbook (Mamaroneck, NY)

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eenth century, has been changed little. Great care is now given to reproduce scenes repre' senting paintings of Ruben, Raphael and Niurillo. The hnest costumes that can be made are used, but rouge, lipstick and grease paints are taboo among the actors. Originally the play was given in the church, then the church yard, but now it has grown to such dimensions that the per' formances are held on a stage accommodating 500 people and an auditorium seating 5000 persons.. Through the generations the people have become as skillful at acting as they have at woodeutting and similar arts. They use their talent in amateur theatricals in the intervals between the Passion Plays. The town, small and unique, necessitates the guests' leaving after each performance. Becauseiof the length of the play, eight hours, the tourists arrive the night before and then see the town, quaint and lively, which pre' serves its ancient customs and unique houses and colorful dress.fLiterary Digest. ' in Edith Meyer TO RUSSIA A NEW ALPHABET Russia's 'complicated alphabet has set her back from civilization many centuries. It has been predicted that Soviet Russia will be much better understood once it adopts the Latin alphabet. Mr. Kostenko states that with this ailpha' bet, it will be easier for the Russians to5learn foreign languages, and in this way, they will absorb the western ideas more readily. Eur' tliermore, it will aid foreign visitors to get around theicountry with greater ease. 'He also declares that the Latin alphabet has the advantage of containing fewer letters which will reduce printing costs. i ' This excellent idea of a new alphabet was first taken up many months ago by Turkey. Her plan was to get in a closer contact .with European civilization. We now await Rus' sia's move toward the adoption of the more civilized alphabct.fLiterary Digest. Madeleine Houpert One of the seniors thinks that the Mosiac law was a law requiring that every one pave his floors with colored stones. BGOK REVIEWS NBARNABY LEE One of the most interesting phases of human nature to my way of thinking is that which prompts people, living in the midst of interesting and historical places to take any interest at all in them. This, indeed, is evidently the thought that struck Mr. Ben' nett when, on harking back to those me' morable days spent in the highways and by' ways of Jamestown, he received the inspira' tion to write L'Barnaby Lee . A To find a suitable time in which to set his story, the author goes back to the early een' turies when the Dutch and English were con' stantly fighting for possession of I-New Am' sterdam and the North River region. A So it was that. an English ship forced its way up the river only to be captured later with all its crew except the cabin, boy, Bar' naby Lee. Here the story begins. It is, of course, of the happy ending, ehildren's type. The boy, rambles in the woods for days and is found by two Dutch children. He lives in New Arnsterdam after the English refuse to pay for his ransom, Later his father, whom he believes to have been killed on leaving England, turns up and they go to live onda beautiful estate under the Bjririsn flag, p Bennettfs power of description reaches its height in a vivid picture of this their boy whose wish, uto be back on land to see. the dirty stones, the rocks wifrnoss on 'em and the conies in the green brakes is fulfilled in full. The picture shows Barnaby rubbing the earth between his fingers and rejoicing When he Hnds that the birdsin the land of his dreams lay little blue eggs just as in Eng' land. For a while his paradise was in' deed a paradise. The sin, cruelty and inhumanity of hatred is very 'impressively shown when the young Dutch boy rews to save ,Barnaby because he is English. The most striking feature of the .characters in this book is that Bennett not only has created many types and characters but that he has placed all these characters in times of peace, merriment and war. 'This gives us an opportunity to judge the created char' aeters and to form true opinions of them. , George Fitiroy Page Thirty

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THE REVIEW MAGAZINE In this age of economy, when every minute is scrupulously put to work and accounted for, it is not unnatural that even reading matter should assume a to-the-point, terse form. This can be noted in all forms of literature: the novel, drama and short story, with their realism and absence of the flowery passages that so profusely adorned the pages of earlier romanceg the newspaper article, with its blatant headlines and fast moving accountg and last, but perhaps the most no- ticeable, the magazine article. There has been born a child of this age the magazine of reviews. It contains only the interesting, important topics condensed into the compacted, meaty form that has made it the business man's magazine. Many of these periodicals have assumed pocket size, so that they may be conveniently carried around for the few in-between minutes that a person may have for reading. Prominent among these magazines bearing out the quality not quantity principle is the Literary Digest. This weekly is pre- eminently valuable for its articles on current politics. Another of high standing in this field is the Review -of Reviews. In the smaller' editions are found,' Readers Digest, Current Readings, Forum Features, Ctiffeint Readings, Forum Features, Current Bi- Biography. ' ' ' Judson Benjamin CLARE BRIGGS, AMERICAS ' SMALL BOY we very seldom stopnto think of the per- sons who are responsible for the 'fun which we enjoy when reading the comic strips. We all have our favorite characters. Now, I have a passion for Mr. and'Mrsf' and it is more than natural for me to expect it every Sun'- day in the Herald-Tribune . I was never disappointed. When I heard that Clare Briggs had died, it immediately struck me that this was the last of Mr, and Mrs . Up to this time, I had never thought of Clare Briggs nor recognized the ability which caused so many laughs. I began to realize that behind this, as well as behind any suc- cessful accomplishment, there was a working head. The charm and popularity of Clare Briggs comics is due to the fact that they are the very expression of American life. Mr. and Mrs. has material for volumes on Life in tne Suburbs or 'fThe American Home. The satire of familiar instances in which the reader may even catch an unwelcomed glimpse of his environments, is the true answer to wit and humor. Briggs had merely to look about him and record the ridiculous things he saw. He is America's Small Boy . The Nation says, One large reason for his success was the perpetual fountain of small- boy enthusiasm for life that was his. It was never forced: it welled up in the man. W-The Nation. - Jeanne Egger THE DILIGENT SENATOR SMOOT Reed Smoot, the senator ef a thousand tariffs, through his hard and efficient work, has saved the country millions of dollars. A man of sturdy, adventurous stock, he' is per- sistent in every task which he takes ups I During the recent tariff legislation, Smoot's seat has never .been vacant. If the session continues till late at night he is always pres- ent tzo give his views on- the subject. P Even? when he returns home he spends his leisure hours going over financial problems. He is one man who iinds pleasure in his work.- The World's Work. in-1 -,-i e ' Martha Truesdell THE PASSION PLAY v More than three centuries ago a group of people in a little Bavarian village made a vow to act the passion and death of their Lord every ten years. Now the world after twen- tyitwo performances of the Passion Play again looks with anticipation to the little town Ober-Ammergau where bearded men and long-haired women ply their trades as wood- cutters, sculptors or stenographers when they are not rehearsing. ' The Passion Play has gone thru an evolu- tion cluring its existence of three centuries. It -still preserves 'the'Bible phrases and pic- tures with few changes, but the original ver- sion has twice been rewritten bythe Ettal monks. The 'music, composed by Rochus Dedler, the village school master' in the eight- Page Twenty-nine

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ALICE OF- OLD VINCENNESM The historian and the romanticist alike, turn with pleasure to read Alice of Old Vincennes by Maurice Thompson. This book covers the main facts and most romantic incidents of Colonel, George Rogers Clark s memorable campaign on the Wabash in the midwinter of 1779. The source of Maurice 'Thompson's material was a letter in the private collection of a distinguished Creole family connected with the early life of old Vincennes. And a word as to the characters: Alice was the heroine of the town Vincennes, one of the earliest French posts on the Wabash. It was she who raised the Hrst flag and res- cued itifrom the British. We read of Col? onel George Rogers Clarke,ithe conquerer of the Wabash,'l and his thrilling leadership through the worst of trials of winter to res- cue the pest of Vincennes from the British' One ofthe most amusing characters is Emile jason, a famous scout in 'thetime of Boone and Clark. His famous patriotic cry on see' ing Alice's banner was,' Vive la banniere d'Alice Rousillon! Vive Zhorazh Vasinton! This book makes a vivid impression on the reader of that period of' American history which was most strenuous and of which we have so many! heroes. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Edith Meyer . , l THE BEAUTY OF 'THE' PURPLE By WILLIAM STEARNS DAVIS i It is not frequent that an author achieves the double accomplishment of following his' tory in its strictest sense and-producing a vivid, enjoyable novel. With the aid of his historic theme, the delay 'of the capture of Constantinople by the Saracens, Davis has woven a delightful story of no little historic value, The Beauty of the Purple. Beiifg a professor of history, it is not un' natural that he should base his narrative on established chronicled events. His style is truly unsophist-icated, natural and vigorous. Its delight and beauty lie' in its simplicity which imparts to it a unifying strength. His writing is characteriked by a careless ease, tinged' with a subtle iroiiy, creeping in here and there. 'Even -his' most joyous and unrestrained events are suddenly mollified by Page the introduction of a fatality, mayhap de- pressing, but never morbid. He exhibits superb 'management of action, although he falters in one or two placesg for instance, at the time when the two plotters offer the crown to the unaccepting Leo-the characters' emotions during the offering and refusal appear to unreal and stageflike. On the whole, however, it must be ae' cepted as a beautiful,,powerful work, worthy of admiration. His characters go simply and unaffeetedly about their business, revealing in themselves their emotions, their fineness and weakness, blending together their lives always unique in strength of character, good or bad. E Iudson Benjamin MY GARDEN ACQUAINTANCEM Do you likeiibirds? If not, read thisessay of Lowell's, for it will teach you to appreciate them. If you do, read it for the satisfaction of agreeing, with the author on every phase. Turn to any page of it and you are intro' duced to, one of our feathered friends in a manner souknowing and simple that you can imagine yourself lying under the elm watchf ing the red squirrels chase through the branches, or you are at the window watching the silly love making of the crow, trying to soften his croak to a coo, as Lowell says, with the 'ieffect of a Mississippi boatman quoting Ten-Bryson. , - Unlike the modern informal essays of Mor' ley or ,Boreham, this does not contain that free philosophy of life, but rather treats on the subject matter in a detailed way. One might call My ,Garden Acquaintancen crif tical as well as informative, for in it Lowell studies White's Natural History of Selbourne, from which he received his first impressions of outdoor life. b Victoria Maxwell SMALL MEN MENTIONED IN THE . BIBLE Nehemiah fKnee high miahj, joshua the son of Nun fNonej. 'Peter who slept on his watch. Bildad the Shuhite Qshoe highj. A history. pupil thought the Poll tax was a tax on Parrots. Thirtyfone