Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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THE SOM ERVI LUC HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR. 5 Glimpses of IRome. % M IS. MAh' I). PR A' .All. We had been all the morning in the Roman Forum, reconstructing there, in fancy, the splendid temples, basilicas and arches, and hearing the echo of Marc Anthony’s address over the body of great Caesar, and the mighty shouts of the citizens for “revenge.” We had lingered in the house of the Vestal Virgins; had paused a moment upon the site of the little temple, where the Vestals kept alight the sacred fire ; had noted the spot where once bubbled the little fountain, at which the immor- tal twins, Castor and Pollux, stopped to refresh their tired steeds, as they came from Lake Regillus to tell the Romans of the victory there; had listened to the rushing of the water through the great sewer, that to reach the Tiber, crossed under the Forum ; had wandered along the Via Sacra, seeing the mighty host of victorious armies on the march to the temple of Olympian Jove, on the Cap- itol Hill, there to offer sacrifice and thanksgiving; and we had shuddered in the horrible gloom of the Marmertine prison, where the Catiline conspirators were strangled, and when Jugurtha, the Numidian king, was starved to death. At noon we had lunched at a popular restaurant garden just out of the Corso, where trellised vines arched the walks and tables and the sunshine flickered in delicate shadows over a little group of musicians in picturesque Neapolitan costumes, over prettily dressed women and a score or more of handsome Italian officers in their striking uniforms. We had caught the European spirit and custom of devoting several hours in the middle of the day to the lazy, restful enjoyment of doing nothing, so it was quite 4 o’clock before we began to think of what we should do with the rest of our day. After considering various points of vital interest, a plaintive voice said, “O dear, I have absorbed so much ancient history this morning, and been so far back into the past, I feel absolutely musty. Can't we do something this afternoon more full of life than a cata- comb ? ” This sentiment seemed to be the pop- ular one, so we decided for the Traste- vere and the Janiculum Hill. Our way lay past the fine old ruin of the theatre of Marcellus, which, having been begun by Julius Cassar to give pleasure to the people, was finished by Augustus, who named it for his nephew, Marcellus. Some 12 of the outside arches are standing, and within these are shops, where all sorts of odds and ends are sold, from rusty nails and bits of iron chain and charcoal, to coarse brooms and common vegetables—for this is a section of the city where the poorer people dwell. This theatre, that seated 20,000 persons, was used in the middle ages as a fortress, and in later times it served as the quarry, from which stone was taken for many of the great palaces. We crossed the Tiber by the Island of San Bartolommeo, about which there is a little story that reaches back into the days of Pagan Rome. About 300 years before the Christian era, there raged in the city a terrible plague. The senators fitted out a ship to go to Epidaurus, in the Peloponnesus, and ask of Esculapius, the god of medi- cine, some gift that should save the peo- ple. Esculapius listened to the prayers of those who came, and gave them to carry back to Rome a sacred serpent that would destroy the disease. We can picture the scene as the ship came up the Tiber—the crowds of peo- ple along the banks, the shouts of joy and gladness that rent the air ! As the serpent was being transported to the shore, it slipped into the river. The joy- ous shouts changed to cries of bitter woe, but lo! the serpent swam to this island in the Tiber and was easily cap- tured. This was considered an omen for all good, and a temple, dedicated to Esculapius, was built upon the island, which last being in the form of a boat, was surrounded and enclosed with blocks of stone, and an obelisk was erected in the middle of it, like a mast, so that it

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4 Till-: SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR. We shall be very glad to receive articles from any of the former editors of the paper and also graduates of the school. ALTHOUGH each class has its edi- tor, it must be remembered that the classes are divided into two or more divisions and many recitations are being carried on during each period. As an unavoidable result, the class editor, how- ever alert he or she may be, can get but a small amount of the bright and inter- esting things which occur and are so amusing. Let each one, then, feel a personal responsibility. A GLANCI', at our advertising col- umns will show that the different Somerville stores have a large variety of stock on hand and that it is the wish of our dealers to cater to the very best trade. Let the Somerville people pat- ronize home industries and there would be no trouble about the prices of the goods. Also let the pupils remember this and give their preference to the lo- cal trade. MR. S. HLNRY HADLEY is con- ducting a chorus Thursday even- ings at the Prospect Hill church prepa- ratory to giving the oratorio of the “Creation.” Many recent graduates and present members of the two schools have joined the chorus and much pleasure and profit is anticipated. Mr. Hadley is also conducting a chorus in less dim- cult music Wednesday evenings at the Flint St. church. THE Latin High School is fortunate in being made the recipient of a por- trait of Isaac X. Reals which is the gift of his widow. Mr. Reals was principal of the High School nearly forty years ago in 1858-1859. AMID the discussion relative to the formation of an athletic association the suggestion is made that the direct- ors should be men not connected with either team, so that if any difficulty be brought to their notice an impartial judgment may be given. This seems to us the wisest course if the association is to be a controlling power and not a mere figurehead. DURING the vacation the city gov- ernment went to considerable ex- pense in putting down new flooring and repainting the walls in the corridors of Latin School building. The desks have also been varnished in all of the rooms. The result is that the appearance of the interior of the building has been greatly brightened, for which the pupils of the school extend their thanks to the city. OUR baseball team victorious; the “Senior Interscholastic League” afraid of us; and our vocal accomplish- ments praised on the Western prairies— what next shall we aspire to? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to send a racing team into Mechanics Hall and at least be rep- resented among the schools we have defeated on the diamond and gridiron? THE success of the June, 1897, issue of the Radiator is well illustrated by the fact that the editorial staff can- not obtain a spare copy to use in solicit- ing advertisements. A generous sub- scription to the paper will make a like result possible in every issue. TIIE leading article for the Radiator this month is entitled “Glimpses of Rome,” by Mrs. Mae 1). Erazar. This is very interesting and instructive espec- ially so for those who are studying Latin and history. A E are much indebted to Mr. R. I '. »Y Freeman, our popular Rroadway photographer, for the use of the photo- graph for our frontispiece.

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6 THE SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR. stood as a memorial of the ship that was sent upon the sacred mission. To-day, after all these ages, there stands upon the site of the Pagan tem- ple a large hospital, still connecting the spot with the god of medicine. A fine old church also stands near the hospital, and many of the superb columns incor- porated in it belonged to the temple of Ksculapius. And now we reached the Trastevere, the largest of the quarters or sections into which Rome is divided ; a section unique and full of interest, for it is here that dwell a people who claim to have descended directly from the early Rom- ans. They seldom marry outside their sec- tion, and they pride themselves upon having kept closely to the old customs of Rome, and to be in a high degree superior to those who live in the other quarters of the city. It is certain that here one does hear a refined language ; the people have a simple dignity, even be- yond the ordinary Romans, and the men, women and children, as a rule, have wonderful physical beauty. They live much of their life in the open air—the houses are so gloomy— and upon this bright, glad afternoon of summer the scenes along the way were most amusing. A Trastevere barber was busily working at his trade, while half a dozen men sat, or lay about on the sidewalk, awaiting a turn. A group of women had their heads together in lively gossip; a young mother, beautiful beyond words, sat in a low chair and watched her baby who lay in her lap, with the same look of divine, motherly love that Raphael painted in the eyes of all his Madonnas; children at play sported and laughed; a young girl was combing and plaiting her long, fine hair, looking the while into a bit of mirror; carpenters were busily at work at benches set on the sidewalks and, in fact, all the busy and social life of the quarter was in the streets. There arc rare old churches in the Trastevere, each with a history, but one of the most remarkable is that of St. C.xcilia, about whom there is a story. She was a child of noble and pagan parents, and while quite young was converted to the Christian faith. The church occupies the site of her house, and in one portion of it is pre- served the vapor bath in which St. Caecilia was confined with intent to stifle her for her falseness to the gods of her fathers. This bath, dating from the third cen- tury, and having in it, in perfect preser- vation, the pipes regularly laid for letting in the steam, with gratings in the floor for letting off the condensed water, is one of the most interesting sights in Rome A zig-zag drive, lined with trees and vines and flowering shrubs, brings us to a grand terrace, where stands another old church, built by the Emperor Con- stantine—he who saw in the heavens the sign of the cross through which he won his victory over the Romans. We are now on the Janiculum Hill the mount sacred to Janus—Janus, to whom Saturn gave the gift of knowing the past and the future, tor when Saturn was banished from High Olympus, Janus gave him welcome and helped him found his Saturnine city on the Capitol Hill. It was here upon the Janiculum Hill that Garibaldi, the devoted Italian pa- triot, held a position against the French that is one of the proudest records in Italian history. He used the church as a headquarters for his cavalry, and one may see to-day many balls imbedded in the walls. On the highest part of the hill, overlooking the whole city, stands a magnificent equestrian statue of Garibaldi, a deserved honor to this man who aided so materially in bringing about the uniting of Italy into one king- dom and freeing it from all foreign rule. On a higher spur of the hill lies an- other terrace, and flashing in the sun is the splendid Paola Fountain that once turned all the flour mills of Rome as they stood below in the Trastevere. To- day it feeds many of the fountains about the city that are so refreshing and so musical. Silently we approach the parapet of the terrace and look abroad upon Rome lying bathed in golden sunshine and afar to Frascati, nestling at the foot of the blue Albanian hills and away to the