Wellesley College - Legenda Yearbook (Wellesley, MA)

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The music this year is very good and strong. After listening to a few old favorites, such as Alma Mater and Lake of Grey, we will present the final portion of our subject, which deals with Float in full maturity. To give an adequate presentation to this most important and significant phase of devel- opment, we shall make use of the biograph, an instrument which is doubtless sufficiently familiar to most of our hearers to warrant no explanation on our part. First of all, see this low, green building skirting the shore on your left. Boat-house, presented by ' 94, murmurs the phonograph, gratefully. Notice the hu ge multitude, armed with white tickets, which has collected to see ' 98 make its first bona fide appear- ance on the lake as an organized class crew. The crowd waits patiently, amid clouds of dust arising from the shore, while the lake is all alive with move- ment and color. Fireworks light up the whole scene. Boats, adorned with lanterns, are floating about. The Hunne- well gondola, with its picturesque gondolier and sombre coloring, lends a special dignity to the scene. In a light cedar boat a certain vivacious person in black and white is being rowed about, amid the myriad canoes, darting hither and thither. She gives a signal, and from the boat-house a long, slender shell shoots out. The people seem pleased as ' 96 pulls away up the lake, showing off a most excellent stroke. ' 97 also receives generous applause as she makes her appearance. Her boat bears upon its stern an ambiguous I. O. U., and is somewhat stained by reason of a certain champagne bath administered in mys- terious fashion, on a summer evening, shortly before tea. Listen, now, to the full clear notes of a brass band stationed on the boat- house. What event does this portend? The ' 98 crew is about to appear on the lake. Thunderous applause greets them as they swing by. Observe their boat, unequaled by any on Lake Waban. Notice the strength of their stroke, the steady, graceful sweep of their oars. The phono- graph is saying, in short, quick gasps, Catch, swing, catch, swing. The crowd is wild with excitement. Admiring shouts can be heard. Indeed, do they speed well, says the pho- nograph, with full and ear- nest conviction. Our friends of ' 99 are here, doing nobly in gym. suits of sober blue. Their efforts are really praise- worthy, and give evidence of what we may expect from them in June, ' 97. But what have we here? A long shell filled with stalwart girls, in white sweaters and true new woman bloomers, goes swiftly by. What strength of back, what depth of chest, what breadth of shoulder, what width of waist, is here ! Hear the shouts now given forth by our phonograph: Varsity Crew of Wellesley College. Bravo !

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mt she bears. Here are dainty maids, clad in thin white muslins, with ribbons of festive pink and blue floating from their waists. A second slide, conveniently adapted to our purpose, will en- able you to see the movements of these strange boats as propelled by their occupants. Behold the Mayflower, followed by her sister tubs, now takes on a queer sidling motion, responding to the strokes of the heavy oars wielded by the white-robed maidens. What a catching of crabs is here ! What sputtering, what effort ! At last they succeed in forming a strange clump close off shore. Hearken to our phonograph. In distinct tones, it says: A star. We of ' 98, being well versed in astronomy, can hardly recommend this would-be construction as truly representative of its kind, but that is neither here nor there. Without stopping to regale you with the list of songs which the phonograph is willing and ready to render, but which are too faint and desultory to merit further straining of the ears, we pass on to the second phase of our subject. Skipping over a few years, we shall now show you a picture taken in the year ' 89, representative of Float in its adolescent period. This view is com- paratively distinct, and would be perfect if it were not for heavy showers which fell at frequent intervals during the day in question. First, observe the crowd, courageously armed with galoshes and umbrellas. A goodly gathering of men and women is cheerfully standing on the muddy margin of the lake. On the shore, our old friends the tubs wait ready to be moored. Another slide shows a gay procession of girls winding down the hill. They are dressed in brilliant colors, and brandish long oars aloft. Some of these young women are of a dignified and lofty carriage, and wear suits of red, and what, for convenience ' sake, we shall style ecru. The phonograph says, The Senior Class of ' 89. Another group in heliotrope and gold follow close in their wake. Here are others in bright green, and last, but not least, come nine squads in blues and reds and whites. The phonograph whispers, Freshmen crews ! Glance at their variegated headgear. Observe a few sailor hats with bands of blue and white. See these bright red Tarn O ' Shanters of heavy velvet, close by. Of a truth, there is spice in variety. In another view, we see the girls grouped in the time-honored star. We will give a few of the vocal gems with which they favored the audience of the evening. Notice, how exceedingly high and squeaky they are. Here is a better one, the crew song of ' 91. It is really quite full and good. We must pass hastily on to Float as it existed during its transition period, the step between youth and full-grown maturity. You note several radical changes. You will first see that the spectators have increased considerably in numbers since ' 89. They look as if they had been spending a great part of the day picnicking in the grounds, for they seem jaded, and are surreptitiously bear- ing luncheon baskets. But see the boats. Here is a new variety. It is fitted out, to be sure, with double seats, but shows marked signs of developed elonga- tion. The ' 94 crew has appropriated one of these unto itself, and, as the pho- nograph puts it laconically, is floating by on the half shell. ' 92 and ' 93 are conspicuous for jaunty suits, the one in clover pink and white, the other in stiff ducks with gold trimmings. But look with care at ' 95. See the brawn of their muscles, the strength of their backs. Says the phonograph proudly: First crew on the lake chosen on the athletic basis.

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Now the fireworks cease to sizzle, the crowd grows quiet, and the boats form a clearly defined star, not far from the boat-house. The Glee Club is rowed out in the rejected and despised tub, the Lume D ' Oro, by a valiant friend of Senior dignity, and the singing begins. We might give many numbers, but forbear for lack of time. The phonograph will furnish only one, which was sung with especial success. The words, set to an old German air, go like this : — May ' 98 be strong To serve and worship long Her Alma Mater, dear Alma Mater. We feel that we must now bring our discursion to a close. With the com- bined aid of our trusty friends, the spectroscope, phonograph and biograph, we hope that we have adequately presented Float in its evolutionary light. We need not spend time in enumerating the manifold causes which enabled this evolution to culminate so successfully in the year of ' 96. ' 98 believes that the unprecedented brilliancy of that occasion was due, first, to one who has devoted much interested time to our athletic development ; and, second (here we speak modestly), to the good appearance of those who rowed in the Speedwell.