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

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A FRESHMAN CLASS IN THE STUDY HALL. U, I

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iportant us turn es. At 3 armor, 'bor de- : center any at- n front rs, who of the leships. ed oars, so here ted for of t-T' 's, sail- Greek Jf con- warks, fls was ferrat. ifduck- itected 2 with- proved Vy the n two ind it nnon, if the ?e ap- then elad. Tough ,s be- large, CSU - 37 Un- : ran and ' the time THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHGOL HERALD. 25 another iron-clad, but similar in shape td the old 'ibarbotesji was built in Japan. This craft was propelled by a central paddle-wheel, and mounted ten guns. The armor consisted of iron and copper plates, which gave the vessel the appearance of a huge turtle. In the eighteenth century, the British sail- ors protected themselves from an enemyps mis- siles with old cables and ropes, which they hung from spars and piled up on the bulwarks. These rude shelters, it is claimed, reduced the loss in men at least one-half. In the latter part of the same century, the Spanish, at the siege of Gibraltar, atte1npt.ed to demolish the English forts with the aid of float- ing batteries, which were cut down from frig- ates, they were covered with sloping roofs, be- hind which was a thickness of seven feet of cork and wet sand. The English soon proved, with the aid of red-hot cannon-balls, that these vessels, supposedly fire-proof, were as easy to set on fire as the common wooden ships. The Americans, in the first part of the last century, had several vessels of a much improved pattern, among which were two steam warships, built by Robert Fulton. But it remained for them, at a single stroke, to force the powers of the world to build their entire navies anew. That stroke was the battle between the Merri- mae and the Monitor, in the Civil War, it pro-ved to all progressive nations that wooden ships were no longer of use in actual warfare. So far has this idea now developed, that, in bat- tles between ships of to-day, all wooden articles are thrown overboard, for it has been found that splinters are the cause of more dangerous wounds than those made by shot. Since the Clivil War, our styles of ships have grown far larger and stronger, until now we have those huge vessels which are like floating cities, using as much coal and provisions as are used by a good-sized village. It seems, however, that the limit in size has almost been reached, and that the chief requisites of the greater part of the battle-ships in the future will be speed and ef- fective armament. This has been noticed in the showing ol' the armored cruiser in recent wars, that its guns were almost as effective as those of a battle-ship, while in speed it surpasses the battle-ships by a great margin. The world is waiting for the submarine boat to be put into actual service 5 great things are expected of it, and it is probable- that in the near future these hopes will be realized. There 'is good reason to believe that, if this style of ves- sel ever reaches the perfection of the present ordinary kind, an even greater revolution will be made in the navy than was made by the M onitor and M errfimac. Walter Wolf, '05. A LUNCHEON. One of the most pleasant occurrences of the year was the German and French luncheon given by the students of those languages. Ev- erything was thoroughly German and French-- only the foreign languages were spoken, and tlie dishes were strictly in accordance with the nationality of the table. At the German table was to be had einmagnierte Herring, Kartoifel Salat, Apfel Charlotte, verdoppeltes Butter- brot, Ffefferniisse, Pumpernickel, Roggenbrot, Schmier-kase and Zweiback. At the French table were shrimp salade ei la Mayonnaise, 0-lives a llAmerigne, ham a la naturelle, salade a la pomme de terre and ice-cream francaise. As many of the dishes as it was possible to prepare at home were made by the students themselves. After the luncheon, two inte-resting programmes were rendered by various pupils. The German 'fDie Wacht am Rheinv and thc French Le Marseillaisep' were sung. The programmes were as follows: ' In Germain. Die Loreleiv.. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . Qduetj. Miss Greswell, Mr. Robertson. In Lauterbach half ich mein' Strumpf ver- lorenf' Paul Luther. In French. Marietta . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ruth Johnson. Imitation of Modjcska. . . .Mary Abercrombie. The luncheon was pronounced a grand suc- cess and was heartily enjoyed by all who took part.

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STUDY HALL. E TH AN CLASS IN FRESHM A THE WESTPORT HIGHLSCHOOL HERALD. 27 CUPID'S POSTMAN. I A .I Say, J ack, I don't think it's square to go back on a fellow like this. I thought it was de- cided at the beginning of the year that you were to come home to New York with me. The Patcr, you know, has a fine position waiting for both of us? I I know, Dick, your father is a brick, and it is with regret, I assure you, that I' must re- fuse , but you see I couldn't ask mother to leave the old home and the many associations and dear friends of years-it would mean real sor- row to us bothf' The above conversation tookiplace in Dickh luxuriously furnished 'fdenv atiYale. These two chums had been hazedi together when Freshies, had taken the same course, and in every way were loyal comrades. And now their Senior year was drawing to a close, and Dick Huntington was exerting all his powers of per- suasion to induce his friend, Jack Downley, to accompany him to his home in New York. But Jack was firm. I 'CN o, Dickjj said J ack, I appreciate your father?s kindness more than I can say, but I have been independent all my life, and I expect to hustle from the bottom of theladder to the top, if I ever get there, without any helpf' They sat in silence, puffing their pipes. Each thought of a fair young girl that he had known and loved since childhood. She had shared all their boyish sports, permissible for a girl, and had shown no preference, tho-ugh each boy secretly thought that he found special favor in her clear blue eyes. Owing to his increasing business, Mr. Hunt- ington removed, with his family, to New York. When, four years later, Dick was sent to Yale, by hard struggling Jack earned a scholarship inthe same college. Each boy silently enter- tained the hope that when he graduated he would tell a certain golden-haired girl of his love and try to win heir. 0 Q - - . 1 - . ffDick, see here what I got in this morning's mail-an offer of a position as postinan in our town, from an old friend of my father, who is postmaster there., Now, of course, this must appear to you rather a, slow beginning, and I confess that I have higher ambitions, but this will do for a starter and ,I shallaccept with thanks? ' . Dickyibetrayed great excitement and eyed his friend impatiently. Jack returned the look with interest. I . , . KWell! why don7t you say something-+con- gratulate a fellow on his luck P Dick murmured something that was any- thing but complimentary to his chum. Then, changing the subject, he said, in an off-hand manner: , Oh, by the way, I got a letter from Tess to-day, and -with a frown- she sent you her love and said for me to tell you that you will hear from her soon. She says she is surely com- ing down with your mother to see us graduate. She also asked me if I remember the day she put her foot through a kite we had made,be- cause we wouldn't let her fly it. Girls never could fly kites anyway. Say, J ack, those were jolly times 5 we never realized it until now that they are passed. e And Dick uttered a sigh at the memory. of those by-gone childish pleasures that would never come again. ' ' A V - Two months later old Yale was Hying blue ribbons and bunting decorations from every doorway and window, for the end of the year had come, and the air rang with cheers for Jack Downley, who had carried off the hono-rs. I Tears of joy stood in the eyes of Jack's mother, as he delivered the valedictory, and she had a very sympathetic companion in' Tessic Deane. Tessie, however, was laboring under conflicting emotions, for she could not tell, in her heart, which boy she would rather have had win that glorious honor. ' . o - u Q u Q 1 Another summer had come, and, as Jack assorted his mail in the Hamton postoffice, he thought of the time, just a year ago that very day, when he had been the lion at Yale and Tessie had looked up into his eyes and told him 1