St Genevieves Academy - Le Flambeau Yearbook (Asheville, NC)

Page 47 text:

. X xv,-'fs' xii 'PWWR Wall? f f F., - 'f X . X-ff-ic I ffl - w-f- Af X- X-, A ' y4y.ff,,j i t 'IM 4 I I I ... MYWZ f' , . 1 1 M .W -Maltz.. . his nose. He possessed three strands of hair, the restof his head shining like a mirror, being the one spot in the room minus dust. At another desk sat an extremely thin woman whose figure was outlined in oblique angles. This personage, with her elbows on the desk, was regarding the ceiling while chewing vigorously at a pencil, when the small man turned round and said: Miss er-would you mind interpreting this letter for me? It is written in Sanscritf' Oh, certainly, said the angular lady, and having taken the epistle, swiftly read the entire contents in English. I And here are a few more in Ger- man, French, Greek, Hawaiian and Yiddish, said the small man. Thank you very much, Miss Er-? King, said the thin lady. Then I recognized Marion, who had always been such a good student in French. The lights on the stage went out and came on dimly. I saw a narrow, dark street filled with dirty children who were playing and quarreling before the rickety houses. Suddenly down the grimy street came a handsome lim- ousine which stopped before the most dilapidated building. A man alighted carrying two baskets loaded with pro- visions. Behind him came an elegantly dressed lady also carrying baskets. An unkempt woman emerged from the house and the lady stepped forward, saying, My good woman, I am bringing you some provisions. My name is Mrs. Rockefeller. Rockefeller, I wondered, who-? But just then she turned around and I recognized Elizabeth Chapman, our class president, now happily married, and a bountiful philanthropist. But what was this? A large room filled with all sorts of bottles, machin- ery, etc. Smoke seemed to be issuing from one corner. Why, it was a labora- tory! A figure in a long, white apron emerged from behind a counter, holding a flask in one hand and a dish in the other. This personage was mumbling while pouring the contents of the bottle into the dish. I caught the words, If this experiment turns out as I expect it to, I shall have discovered a new fact in science-namely, 'Gravity is caused by the attraction of all bodies to the earth.' The inverse to my theory has been proved, i. e., 'The cause of the attraction of all bodies to the earth is the force of gravityf Now my discovery will cause a sensation among learned scien- tists, and I shall become famous. While saying this, the scientist reached out for another bottle, poured three drops of its contents into the dish and began stirring. Suddenly there was a big report! A flame! The experimen- ter and several contents of the room emigrated towards the ceiling with a velocity which it would have been diffi- cult for the scientist to figure out, even in a more propitious moment. This seemed to contradict his theory of grav- itation and I wondered how this was meant to illustrate it, unless it was his consequent descent which, although rather swift, was certainly not as rapid as his ascension. Just then the door opened. People rushed in with loud ex- clamations, Oh, what has Professor Williams been doing? She will some

Page 46 text:

Jff 1 , X I , , my If, f 4 'I f I F!f7',77- X . ' ' ,' 1 I -We .f l f, , M 'ff ff it ' it f if ff 1 if 4 ff fff c'- Wffff ' . M5644 f ' I - 5f ff'Wf ff z 'f - cf mathematician, who with a Ph.D. de- gree, was at that moment teaching Geometry. The lights on the stage dimmed, then turned on again, revealing a slightly dif- ferent scene, the Senate Chamber at Washington. A large crowd was gath- ered. A man rose, bowed, and said, Gentlemen and ladies, it is my pleasure to introduce to you this evening Sena- tress Sweeney, who has been unani- mously elected as poetess for the com- position of our national war song. She will honor us by reading what she has composed. A stout, mannish-looking individual arose, unrolled a piece of pa- per and began to read a stirring poem,- Four score and seventy years ago We were not so, we were not sol Remember Washington, the brave, Who his grand country's life did save Remember Jefferson, the true, Who never fear of danger knew. Then let us on to war, my braves, And let us beat all cowardly knaves! At these words there was great cheering and as it continued I gazed in astonishment at my old class mate Georgie Sweeney, who had never been known to make a rhyme except by mis- take. She stood majestically on high, bowing to the applauding multitude, whose loud clapping gradually grew less, dying away with the scene. Again the lights blazed up, this time on a beautiful cathedral from which faint notes of an organ issued. A priest stood, a prayer book in his hand. Around the corner came a wedding pro- cession which wended its way up the aisle. In the midst came the bride, very young and girlishlooking. She paused at the altar, her husband-to-be beside her. The priest spoke, Virginis Ran- dolph, do you take this man Count Chas- seur d'Argent . . . So Virginia had married a count, and a French count at that! I only hoped she would remain as happy always as she appeared at that moment in the beautiful cathedral of Amiens. I What scene was this appearing? Evidently a large summer house. Palm trees were growing around it. Could it be in Africa? It must bel The inhabi- tants were certainly a contradiction to the proverb that Looks deceive, for there could be no doubt that they were Africans. It seemed to be a sort of school room in which were seated the said inhabitants, all of whom were grin- ning broadly, their black eyes gleaming in the half light. At one end stood the teacher. She was tall and fair. While trying to remember which of my former class mates she could be, my eyes fell on a sign attached to the front of the house on which, to my intense surprise, I read the words: Special French Lycee-Tuition Fif- ty Cocoanuts a Year. Taught by Miss Helen Gad-Bible Lessons Free. I was greatly astonished to discover that Helen had become a missionary. Just then one of the pupils spoke, Missy Gady, me a wanta toa parley toah Susy, and Helen's familiar voice replied, Silence, Mirandahl You must speak French! And you did not white- wash your face today! This scene shifted to a very different one, an office untidily strewn with pa- pers. At a large desk sat a short, stout man who had a large wart at the end of

Page 48 text:

. A - -fxffg X X fry! ul If I ,I , ,NK X f 'If A 1 I ' .4 'A W IIILZIZIU 'Z ,fiIY7!'l iffy 1 we f V 'ffm I ' Wi.. V' wffffyf W V. ' A 77? ff 'I f' fffllf ffjfwf fw , ' rf.. A day blow up Harvard University and the whole town of Cambridge! IIN- !12z111.v, I thought, that name is familiar. Why, Anne Williams I It was undoubt- edly she and I saw her face as she rose from the midst of the smoke and debris. Anne a Professor of Science in Harvard! Well, I thought, our class certainly rep- resented a variety. The laboratory disappeared and all was dark. Someone spoke in a high, tragic whisper. Then I distinguished a Woman's voice,+ Upon my life fast asleep Observe her, stand close! I saw a wavering light, a candle held in a shaking hand. It was the sleeping scene in Macbeth Who was the su- perb actress? The candle light fell on her face. It was Lillian Felthausl The lights dimmed. I could see noth- ing distinctly. Soon, however, in the half light, I found myself gazing on a cemetery-a dark, gloomy spot amidst al group of trees. It was night. The pale moon rose slowly and glimmered through the ghostly branches which cast strange shadows over all. It rose higher and threw a clear light on one lonely tombstone in particular. There its pale light seemed to collect and shine with its utmost energy. I believed I could read the inscription. I looked curiously at it. The words were per- fectly clear,- Here lies Caroline Wells, who started to write her own epitaph but did not finish it, so we in kindness do write one for her: Here lies one who never finished anything she started. She had just begun her life when she de- parted! C. WELLS, Acad., '17. 9?