St Francis Xavier Academy - Xavier Yearbook (Providence, RI)

Page 33 text:

THE FRANCESCA imagine that we do not notice how very far from the portals of reason you are. You are young and silly, and doubtless your heads are much inflated with self-conceit, so. by the time you have scaled our walls you will understand how insignificant you now are. It would be well for you to have a model to which you might lift your eyes. You surely have one in the class of 1906. To the youngsters, those mere nobodies, the freshmen of the High School, we think it best to extend a few well-meant words. We emphatically request you to consider the many times we have been forced to observe your childish pranks, and to reflect we were not in the kindergarten. We sincerely hope that our conduct has somewhat modified your boistrous tendencies. Regarding respect, we are capable of saying nothing to you. In that you have always been leaders, and we wish only that in the approaching years your juniors may be as gracious to you as you have been to us. And now. beloved graduates of 1906, we must look to ourselves for the perfections we fail to find in others. We have amongst us learning, magnetism, beauty, health, happiness and every requisite of an ideal life, so we can easily perceive our superiority and with one glad song can say.—there was never a class like 1906. We are about to depart. The farewells are on our lips, but before we go, dear girls, in all sincerity, the class of 1906 wish you all possible blessings and success. Success! Ah, may it come to each of you in abundance, and may you reach that goal only to find there the real victory for which you battled ! 29 MARY CATHERINE FOLEY.

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THE FRANCESCA ADDRESS TO UNDERGRADUATES. Y children, listen and you shall hear the farewell wisdom of the most renowned and glorious class that ever graced this school! Four long years we have honored it with our presence and we have tried to imprint upon your minds the absolute necessity of following our example. We have been disappointed in our efforts, but, as with age grows wisdom, now we know that we were ever an exception. Who could work such wonders? Who could do what we have done? In triumph we answer,—none but ourselves. To you, the coming seniors, we desire to offer a little advice, and we hope that you will strive to the best of your scanty abilities to occupy our places, although, of course, we realize that you can never attain to the sublime heights which we have reached. We deem it not necessary to allude to the question of evading lessons, or extending the study periods, for you. we must acknowledge, are masters of the art. We hope to see in the next year that decorous and modest deportment of which we have always given so brilliant and illustrious an example and which you so sadly lack. Concerning the entertainments we would say a word, those which you will attempt to produce instead of our most notable performances. Well, little ones, do the best you can. and if your audiences do not shower you with the flattery you crave, try not to be down-hearted and jealous, because they have been elevated by our select talents to a higher standard than your poor exertions can ever hope to climb. The future juniors we charge to try to follow slowly the steps that we have traced and to aspire to the laurels that we have won. We command you to show to your seniors a trifle more respect than they have shown to theirs, but while we warn you to be careful of your manner, you need not, for a moment, 28

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THE FRANCESCA OUH LIBRARY. NE of the most pleasurable and most profitable apartments of our Academy Is the dearly loved sunny library. It is within those walls that our many and true friends are collected, and where the girls of all classes delight in assembling to talk over much of their reading mat- ter. This apartment is now well equipped and furnished, and is an honor as well as a benefit to the school. Besides the books contained in the cases, the room can boast of a quite complete librarv of reference, in the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Century Dictionary, and other similar works of smaller fame. The cases with which the walls are lined, are sectioned ofif into such divisions as. (i) Standard Fiction, (2) Popular Fiction, (3) School and Reference, (4) History and Biography, (5) Miscellaneous, and last but by no means least. (6) Religion. To further the students’ interest in the library, it is constantly supplied with several up-to-date magazines, containing all the current news at home and abroad. The library room is in itself a delight and a maker of memories. The long reading table in the middle of the room can tell its own story of class meetings, where business and pleasure were marvellously combined. The easy chairs round about were attractive refuges with a book, or drawn together for a tete-a-tete. But now let 11s consider to whom we are indebted for much that the library is. Frequently, when some good has been bestowed upon us, we are so absorbed in the gift, we are apt to forget to whom we should extend our hearty thanks. For this great benefit we should express our sincere gratitude to our Right Reverend Bishop, lie has been the library’s special patron since his coming to Providence; even munificent have been his donations to its shelves, for some large tomes of great value have been his gifts as well as many smaller ones. It is most fitting that the steel engraving of the Right Reverend Bishop which is in the library should be there to bespeak his devotion to its interests; the room is. as it were, honored with his presence. annie i.ouise smith. 30