Westport High School - Herald Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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IO THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. long, but for some reason women have been accused of doing this more than men. lt does not follow necessarily that there are fewer ladies than gentlemen in the world. The same general principles apply in the making of a lady as of a gentleman: SA simple maiden in her flower, Is worth a hundred coats-of-arms. lt is not royal insignia. or birth that makes a lady, for a virtuous, simple girl with good early training may become a lady with all that the name implies. In summing up all the requisites for the right to these names let us place first this one of kindness.. May all learn to be kind, to forbear, to be considerate of the feelings of others. Then shall we approach the near- er to the perfect lady and the perfect gen- tleman. In introducing the class of 1902 to the ladies and the gentlemen of this au- dience, I submit them to your kindness-we are pleased to greet you. IPR? KEY TO CLASS OF 1902. 1. Miss Barton. 2. Mr. Clark. 3. Miss Burns. 4. Miss Wiedenmann. 5. Mr. Eyman 6. Miss Moore. 7. Mr. Knepp. 8. Miss Rumsfeld. 9. Miss Amy Price. ' 10. Miss Hiatt. 11. Miss Hill. 12. Mr. Hatch. 13. Miss Endres. 14. Miss Russell. 15. Miss Lowerre. 16. Miss Eggleston. 17. Miss Bastman. Miss Spence. Miss Courtney Miss Ogden. Mr. Patton. Mr. Porter. Mr. Towsley. Miss Shotwell. Miss Sharp. Mill Hile. Mr. Snodgrass. Miss Cross. Miss Patton. Miss Julia Price. Mr. Colburn. Miss Prince. Mr. Samuel. Miss Lindsey. 2? if? ESSAY. RUNAWAY HEROINES. BEssIE SPENCE. From the beginning of modern literature there have been certain characteristics which a hero and heroine must possess, and cer- tain deeds. which they must perform, to con- form with the requirements of an orthodox i ' novel. At first the characters were all either good or bad, but as time went on writers of fiction grew more introspective and their heroes and heroines took mildly contra- dictory traits of character. As with the characters, so with the plots, there were certain ones which gave authors greater privileges and wider scope, than others. One of these was the plan of having the heroine run away. This was not gen- erally made use of, however, until the threads of the story were so tangled up in the read- er's mind that there was no other way but this for the hero and heroine to live hap- pily ever afterfp When there was absolutely no hope of both a consistent and a happy ending, the heroine left the paternal roof to fly to her lover, or to try her fortunes in the world. If she w-ere good, all went smoothly 5 but, woe betide her, if she failed to reach the standard of perfection, for her adventure led only to dire disaster, and punishment for her waywardness was meted out by a just but cruel fate. The plan of the interesting but naughty runaway grew in favor until we find lovely and youthful ladies fugitives, almost from the beginning of the book. Occasionally some story t-eller either ex- tremely bold or of a melancholy turn of mind flew in the very face of all the established rules of etiquette in running away, and made the good and beautiful young lady come to grief in her flight. Such a pitiful maid is Juliet, who steals away at night to marry Romeo, but alas, for her, poor lady, she 'eventually meets her death through a series of fatal mistakes which occur, of course, through no fault of hers, except that of eloping. Exactly opposite is the case of thc more modern heroin-es of fiction, who Hee to escape marriage. Recall, if you please, the dainty Jocelyn in the new-old book, 'fTo Have and to Hold, who sails by stealth to Virginia to avoid marrying the man whom the king, her guardian, wishes her to marry.

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QISNQF ha s :vibe . sf, N . safes s, '- 5.- ff S4 'V fi ' fag? 5 use .5 a 5 - sas I Ark 1 Qs if . Jail 23? s 4 N765-375 nu ,, fs f THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. 9 SALUTATORY. WTHE GRAND OLD NAME OE GEN- TLEMANF, VICTORINE EGGLESTON. All of us, since childhood, have had an ideal of what a gentleman should be. The boy of three or four, when he 'takes his first lessons in deportment, is told to be a little gentleman, and the model held up be- fore him is always the father in whom he sees no fault and from whom he knows noth- ing but kindness. It is natural for us to be- lieve in the gentleman and the term is always associated in our minds with those men near- est and dearest to us, and this very associa- tion of the name- with those we love, and who are kind to us, teaches us to measure the standard of a gentleman by his kindness. As we grew older our ideas broadened and we learned that there were other qualifica- tions 'neeessary to perfect, as Thackeray says, the ideal of agentlemanhoodf' In the days when the knights lived and flourished, they were supposed to be unblemished gen- tlemen and the title then meant birth, fam- ily, courtliness in manner, bravery in battle and a heritage of wealth. But kindness was their motto and this implied kindness to all -ladies especially. History and literature have given a long list of these who embodied in themselves many of these characteristics, but fe-w that could lay claim to all. In the register of kings and monarchs who have occupied the thrones of Europe, so few can be found that they might be told upon the fingers. But Anglo-Saxon literature has furnished three delightful types of the gentleman-Sir Rog- er de Coverly, the simple, loving old man, Sir Charles Grandison, the perfect Christian, and Sir Philip Chesterfield, the model of eX- quisite manners. Even at presen.t many of these requisites of knighthood are still retained abroad to justify the use of the epithet, but in this country there is nothing so Kkingly as kind- nessj' and if to this be added self-control and refinement of manners, it may be said of each man: . Thus he bore without abuse, The grand old name of gentleman. lt is certainly desirable to bear without abuse this honored name which has been misused under many circumstances. The unrefined man may veil his ill-breeding for a time but the ego in him will assert itself, try as he may to keep it hidden. It is far from the strength of any man constantly to act a part 5 he cannot keep up a chain of de- eeits and the observant person can readily detect the artifices that any real gentleman would consider beneath him, for, as Sir Philip Sidney says, A churlls courtesy rarely comes, but either for gain or false- hoodf, V The reason a true gentlemants courtesy al- ways comes is because he has so many de- lightful memories to reflect -upon. He has the recollection of a happy childhood and the softening influence of a mother's love and training always before him. A man never forgets them p The men who have not had this early training have tried various ways to deceive the world, but they have never succeeded and have only shown the beauty and the strength in the name. In practicing the de- ception they have tried the effect of fine clothes and of elegant manners, and some- times by the seeming possession of knowl- edge they have tried to pass themselves into the society of gentlemen, but they always fail . - - With the name gentleman the name lady is always associated and the names are simply inseparable. You can not think of one without the other any more than you can think of a king without a queen. A knight of old would not have been very romantic or chivalrous if it had not been for the Uladie faireu he had to defe-nd. And the title lady coming to us with all the associations of old brings with it as much grandeur and honor as the name gentleman does. It is true of ladies as well as of men that ill breeding cannot be hidden under false manners and fashionable dress very

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her . of ieir .Ta- rts 5 ors ian ing en- ads ad- but ap- ely JPY t to the ly 5 the led her out ity ely om ex- ind ied ind Ldy ful to ly 5 1 a of hat of rho Lse, To to om ry. THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. II ln Virginia, she and everybody else have enough trials and tribulations to punish her for her naughtiness, but then, she gains hap- piness in the end. Not always did th-e runaways run away for love, but often out of pure kindness of heart. Her beautiful friendship for her cousin, Rosalind, led Celia, when the former was condemned to exile, to l-eave the palace, their home, to go to the woods with Rosalind. Such an unselfish spirit, must, of course, be rewarded, as it is, and the story leaves both Celia and Rosalind with a husband as a re- ward of merit. But one author severely criticises the time honored runaway plot. We behold,', he says, young ladies traveling over the coun- try without a change of wardrobe or a penny in their pockets. He finds fault generally with the misguided damsels, and ends with: Why not let them stay at home where they belong and b-e happy? Evidently this au- thor cannot understand the sympathy which we feel for the timid maiden who dares so much, whatever the cause. We have a pe- culiarly keen interest in her from the time she makes her resolution, until the time when, her plans completed in spite of threat- ening dangers, she stands wrapped in her dark, hooded cloak tremblingly awaiting the sound of gravel against her window pane, which is the necessary signal that all is ready for her flight. We do not approve of her-oh, no! far from it, and we are con- scious of some pity for her sorrowing parents -for the runaway has probably left con- sternation in her wake, yet our compunc- tions are not unmixed with censure for the severity which forced the maiden out into the cold world. If she is going to meet her lover, we hope all may be well, but if she go from an uniselfish motive, we are indeed im- patient with wicked fortune-or a perverse writer-if misfortune befall her. Women runaways have caused the most dreadful calamities. Possibly Helen of Troy, whose story has furnished us with one of our most useful and familiar bits of lit- erature, little dreamed of the immense up- heaval which would follow her flight-for I have always believed it was flight, not theft -yet her elopement caused a war between two nations. She was a woman, not an im- pulsive girl, and so we cannot condone her offense as we can and do, the runaways of the charming but mischievious maidens' who lacked the age and experience which would have caused them to think more seriously before following the bent of their own sweet wills. - Jessica possibly claims our indulgence more than she would otherwise, because the father she deserted was a cruel and unnatural parent. Poor old man! He is doubly be- reaved as he bemoans his loss on th-e streets of Venice. 'fMy daughter, O, my ducatsl Justice find the girl, She hath the stones upon her, and the ducatsf' He seems equally divided be-tween sorrow for loss o-f his daughter and anger at the loss of his moneys, and one wonders if he does not wi.sh his daughter back simply that he may regain his moneys. Then, too, there arises a doubt in my mind as to whether Lorenzo himself was as entirely indifferent to those ducats as he might have been. We are inclined, perhaps, to be blinded to such a possibility by the pretty love making of the romantic J ewess and the gallant young Venetian, but nevertheless the thought of filthy lucre seems to run quite frequently through the latteris mind, 'for even in the stars he finds a suggestion of wealth as he calls upon Jessica in the midst of a love scene to Look how the floor of heaven ls thick inlaid with patines of bright gold. Now, I would advise young ladies to re- main at home under their parent's protect- ing wing, else they may come to the sad and lamentable end of Desdemona, who fell Vic- tim to the jealousy of the very man for whom she disobeyed her father, and left her home. Runaway heroines are all very well in books, very interesting and very enter- taining, but in real life we would better have the obedient girl.