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

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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.

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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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I2 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. ESSAY. OUR NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. STELLA onoss. Nature has endowed this country with such an excess of vitality in her people that all the nations of the world find within an American some characteristic that is to be found no where else. This may perhaps be due to his compositeancestry, for from his French ance.stor he getshis wit and vivacity, from the Celt, his nimble brain and keen rel- ish for fun 5 from the Dutch, his cleanliness and honesty, from the Spaniard, his dark complexion, from the Scandinavian, his golden hair and blue eyes 5 and to his Eng- lish ancestor he owes his sturdiness and strength of character. The blending of all these qualities gives him as his natural char- acteristics, quickness of understanding and keenness of perception. It was the Pilgim of Massachusetts, the Dutchman of New York, the Quaker of Pennsylvania, the Swede of Delaware, and the Cavalier of Virginia, who united in building up the individuality and in contrib- uting to the greatness and the unexampled progress of this magnificent country. The peculiarities of our population, which some have th-ought misfortunes, are in reality the happiest circumstances attending the settle- ment of this broad land. The American is such an interesting per- son. He reads a great d-eal and can talk easily on any question. He takes a broad view of the worldps events. Perhaps this is due to the commingling of so many people of all nationalities, and in order to appear as fully conversant with national and interna- tional affairs as those with whom he asso- ciates, he keeps up with all the news of the day. Foreigners have often been heard to say: The Amerie'an's view of life is so wholesome and frank, his originality is so marked, his flashes of wit are so genuine and bright that his talk is like a tonic? He seems like a bit of fine metal easily bent, but unbreakable, readily turned, twisted and -vm. ,,...-- - wrought into any form or shape and yet re- taining all the inherent qualities. It is this power of adapting himself to all or any conditions which makes him a constant surprise to the observer of other nations, and an enigma to the slower, duller minds of foreign lands. If he has a fault it is no doubt that of a too great exuberance both of under- standing and of perception. He see.s too quickly, he concludes too readily. This very richness in intellect is shared also by his sis- ter. She is at once the wonder and delight of all who meet her, true, she sometimes causes an uplifting of the brows, but if, as is predicted in London, the girl of the twen- tieth century is to resume the manners of the seventeenth century models, then with this toning down, the girl of America may hope to become the ideal of femininity. We Americans have taken a stand among the nations of the earth and have success- fully asserted our claim to political equality. We possess an enviable elevation so far as con- cerns the structure of our government and the energy of our institutions-those institu- tions which established by our forefathers, we hold in trust for all mankind. It is this assurance that all men possess of their right to a nationality in America that is gradually spreading over the face of the earth the spirit of independence, once our only inherit- ance 5 and to Americanize the world may ,not in future generations be so chimerical an idea as it now appears. It is not to be wondered at, that brea-thing always in this independent atmosphere the American should be self-assertive as com- pared with the polished nations of the old world, but is it undesirable to be so stamped? He recognizes no difference in caste, and his aggressiveness creates a fric- tion whicd grinds to a powder the barriers raised between men, and his breath blows it away. These barriers broken down between him and his fellowmen he learns to love his kind and with that greater love- for man there comes a greater love for God. In Puritan days where his forefathers bowed in duty to a king they were God-fearing men, but now