Wellesley College - Legenda Yearbook (Wellesley, MA)

Page 20 text:

pursuit. Its mobility of character was at an end, for its ingredients became fixed and known quantities : cream, fresh butter, granulated sugar, Baker ' s chocolate, — without such a combination it was deemed impossible to make it. When done, it was snatched as a brand plucked from the burning, and consumed almost before its last bubbles had ceased to rise. ' Twas made the center and sole entertainment of large and eager parties, instead of being introduced inci- dentally into the quiet of an evening ' s pastime among a small and select group of congenials (three is the ideal number). It was also desecrated by improper motives which inspired its use as a gift to both equals and superiors, a habit diminishing, however, on account of non-return of china, etc., etc. Such phase of the movement one cannot but regret. One longs with Rousseau to return to a state of nature and non-civilized pursuits, where con- densed milk, lump sugar, cocoa, and mature butter conduce to perfect enjoy- ment. And in the height of the flood tide one sees the possibility. Palled by the over-sufficiency of this cordial for failing physiques, the inconstant crowd is swaying in another direction. And as they gloat over the glories of Penu- ci, simpler natures may resort again to the innocent pleasures of Freshman year. We cannot in truth restore the old flame which burned beneath the tin box. It has been replaced by the confining bulb. The inspiration of a Higher Criticism Behind Closed Doors is also beyond our reach (c. f. Wellesley Magazine, ' 96). But the old-time materials, the fluted teacup saucers — three of them — and the rocky rings, are still happy possibilities. NIBBLING BEGUN.

Page 19 text:

being a P. G., and concerned through the evening with French I and History of Art, could not be expected to give more than counsel and advice. The others, Freshmen, floundering in German and History I, had miserably caught each other ' s eyes, — astraddle the lamp chimney between them, — and read apiece, two bottomless yearnings for that which was not speculation, — two soulful desires for that which no board bill includes, no housekeeper furnishes, and no scholarship supports. The stifled cry of the fasting flesh had been heard, the eye responded, caught an answering gleam, and the moment was ripe. Mem ory was instantly active with the one recipe which was to toucl the aching spot with its healing fingers in the endless days t come. The contents of a tea-table offered themselves for trial and the movement had begun ! She of the P. G. work was asked to relinquish her shan of the lamp, which was placed conveniently in the center of tin floor. Into a large tin box was rattled a score or so of sugar lumps, bedewed with a thin mixture of condensed milk and water and a scant sprinkling of Huyler ' s cocoa; this en- sconced comfortably, though with some nec- essary display of talent in balancing, upon the = lamp chimney. i r r She of the German grammar took her place on one side of this edifice — she of Division and Reunion on the other, a microscopic teaspoon alternating between them. P. G. work, redoubled by such frivolous Freshman interruptions, went on by the light of a superior lamp in the bedroom. For five minutes the silence was unbroken. The kneeling worshipers, the fragrant incense arising from the altar, lent a peacefulness to the scene which was most profoundly marred by her of History I. A quivering palate had given to the hand of necessary gentleness a force incompatible with the object upon which it was expended. A resisting lump of sugar, a vicious squash, — and Division and Reunion in the lap of its owner was submerged in a flood of the Ideal Mixture. The horror of that silence was only broken by the slamming of the bedroom door. It was no tragedy to the P. G. With the Higher Criticism thus beyond the pale, the search for perfection was taken up afresh, ending in the crowning success which has set the whole academic world aglow with the fire of emulation. In the face of the repeated and suggestive unresponsive- ness of the Higher Criticism — which was confined, it ap- peared, to investigations of the end, not the means of the search — it was continued ; other seekers were admitted to the circle, the fire of the altar was transferred to a fitter shrine, the incense arose from a nobler casket, and the day when a C. Dish received the whole, marks the first step in modern advancement. The result of these experiments, the fudge of this period, was typ- ically New England, — stern, hard and cold. Cast into narrow quarters, it was molded un- alterably to one form, stamped indelibly with the pattern of its environment, usually three fluted teacup saucers, from which, deftly loosened by the insertion of a knife blade, it rolled off, round, ribbed and rocky. From the primitive enjoyment derived from devouring these simple dain- ties, composed of such ingredients as circumstances offered — revolved like a horizontal pin wheel, and nibbled into an infinitesimal circle — one passes with regret to the advancing and final stages of this art. Practice and experiment during the summer vacation, the proffered skill of trained cooks among the upper classes, introduced Epicurean tastes which soon metamorphosed the simple

Page 21 text:

Evolution of Wellesley Float K | ' : HE class of ' 98 fears that the members of the College who had the good fortune to be present at Float last year failed to catch the full signifi- cance of the occasion. In the minds of our ' 99 friends, the morning of that day is fixed with mathematical precision. We kindly excuse their inability to assimilate the subtle meaning of the evening, remembering the jaded condition, — one, alas! too prophetic of others still to follow, — to which the day ' s toil had reduced them. We shall find, however, if we turn for aid to those whom we devotedly believe all-wise, all knowing (we speak of our revered Faculty), that a little, we are sorry not to say all, of the subtlety of the evening was suggested. Doubt- less, a few of this learned body as they looked on said to themselves : What a lesson in an evolutionary sense even so frivolous a part of the college year as Float teaches us! Since no one of this chosen few has seen fit to work up the subject for class-room presentation, ' 98 modestly assumes the responsibility, keenly aware of the magnitude of the undertaking, but well content to shoulder it, inasmuch as, by this means, we hope to enlighten the ignorance of both Faculty and students. In discussing Float as a completed product of evolution, we have decided to employ, for a clear apprehension of the subject, a series of stereoscopic views, which will picture Float as it has existed in different periods of development: (1) in infancy, (2) in adolescence, (3) in its transitional period between youth and full development, and (4) in maturity. In connection with the stereoscope, which will give you a visual cognizance of the successive steps taken, we wish to make use of the phonograph to give a realistic touch to the whole. We now ask for full and undivided attention. ( All ready ! ) Our first view, which is somewhat nebulous, but which we hope to make sufficiently clear, represents Float in its embryonic form in the early days of the ' 8o ' s. In the foreground, you see the grassy shores of Lake Waban, on a warm June evening. Here, a small crowd of women, with a very modest sprinkling of men in attendance, are standing about in groups or seated comfortably on the green benches scattered about. On the outskirts of the crowd a few inquisitive small boys are lurking in quest of fun. An atmosphere of repose hangs over all. Out on the lake, close to the point, jutting out from the west woods, you can see certain huge hulks which are drifting nearer. The white-robed girls, riding secure in their queer-looking tubs, are resting on their oars and leisurely floating in to shore. Now they begin to sing. We are sorry that our phono- graph does not give us more volume, but all efforts to produce a fuller tone have proved futile. If you strain your ears you can catch a few shrill notes, and even distinguish several of the words. Listen ! Why is there only one Mayflower on the lake? Answer: Because there is only room for one. Look well at the Mayflower. She is immense, cumbrous, tublike, so rounded at stern and bow that you cannot judge when she is headed bow to. See the