St Mary of the Woods College - Les Bois Yearbook (Terre Haute, IN)

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L. 14 :5 ' . W , M .J ,, .,...1 ' - W ff LES BOIS A Spirits By Gertrude Hom Gregor, '02 The following is the text of the toast delivered by Mrs. Gertrude Horn Cregor, '02 at the Indiana Alumnae Luncheon in Indianapolis, April 12, l917. Q Madam President, Dear Alumnae: In the correspondence concerning this honored appearance, our good Mrs. Mitchell cheerfully left the choice of subject Q to me, suggesting how- ever that it be bright and light and brief. After some mental ma- noeuvering I decided upon Spirits, as a sub- ject broad enough to permit me to say What- ever I would about do- MRs.GER'1'RUDE HORN CREGOR, '02 ings and b9l1'1gS in heaven and earth and under the earth, a subject as bright as the day, yet as light as the thistle-down weight of a thought! And brief? Well, that all depends. You are to judge Whether my Spirits are brief. I assured Mrs. Mitchell that I Would not treat the subject philosophically, as a churchmang nor William Jennings Bryanly, as a prohibitionistg neither will I treat it poetically, as a Milton. Mrs. Mitchell replied accepting my topic, providing I promised to comply with the recent law and evoke no table-tapping stunts, etc., that would call out the patrol. So with the Spirits of Religion and the Spirits of the Spirit- ualists and Spiritus Frwmenti all banished, :I ap- proach nearer the haunts of my Spirits I have always been interested in the spirit lore of other days and other lands, and I fain would dwell on the stories of the Lorelei of the Rhine, of the sirens of Homer, or of Puck, that tricksy house sprite of early England, or of the banshees, lepre- chauns, and other little people of Old Ireland, or the stories of the trolls of the Norwegians, who are pictured now as dwarfs and again as giantsg or the Krampus of the Austrians who comes on the sixth of December with a bunch of switches to give bad chil- dren a last warning before Christmas 5 or on the ffl! jf . ..-. --vs . . 'ff' 'ap . ,f , .,.,. g --.., -. - 1 -1- A .,q, AY., V . ,nf- ,pd I' t - 'Ol' y 0118

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..., ..- N . - - - LES B0lS ' --, c .-. .. - . '.','. 67 'WN ff X -:- J C Q' H- ' 'cf l K. 1 f If - sr J , H' stories of the legions of fairies, elves, dryads, ko- bolds, nymphs, and the goblins that'll git you Ef you don't watch out. But it is not as a mythographer that I wish to speak to you, but as an Alumna of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and of the Spirits that I have known and loved in our Woodland Home !-The Spirits of St. Mary-of-the- Woods! Can't you see them as they hover around our Alma Mater? Those glorious and beneiicent Spirits who have guided and guarded St. Marys since the early days when blessed Mother Theodore and her companions chose this wondrously beautiful spot for Home! And what spirits do you think were present on that auspicious day over seventy-five years ago? I am sure that in the very front ranks of the legion were the Spirits of Beauty and Love of Na- ture. And to bless with success this settlement, was that Trinity of Spirits, which are Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in such an undertaking-the Spirits of Wisdom, Self-sacrifice, and Work. In close attend- ance too, were the Spirits of Faith and Hope and Charity, the Spirits of Fortitude, Piety, Christian Endeavor, and the never-vanquished Spirit of Trust in God. For floating ever over St. Marys is the ban- .41-. ner bearing the magic words, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. Can you girls remember the first-well, let me say, intimate-Spirits you felt upon arriving at St. Marys? I know you were all impressed with the Spirits of Quiet and Classic Repose and Architec- tural Perfection as you came up the driveway-but after you had entered into the St. Marys life? To explain, I will be personal. As a mere child, I was sent to a mission school of the Sisters of Providence, and soon heard of the beloved home, St. Marys. It was very early in life then, that I began to hope some day to be an Alumna of that institution. As they say in stories- At last the long-looked-for day ar- rived. My father took me to St. Marys, and after spending a joyful day, the evening brought the part- ing. Naturally-that is naturally for the little black-robed school girl that was-I shed tears and would not be comforted until a kind-faced Sister put her arms around me and said, Don't cry, Gertrude! It will be all right very soon. We'll take good care of you. I smiled again, because I knew that I had found a friend. Father often refers to this incident and how he went away easy in mind and content, for he had heard the voices of the Spirts of Watchful- ness and Responsibility. As I look backward, I ap- fffff M. X I ,, vw- - -. If- - Y H V, H Y, - -,, 4, .f- - - - '53 W, WH ,.. M., - - .. .,.. , 1' - - 4 oi ty two