Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 18 text:

16 OUT-DIRE novels in the world those of Dickens stand out preeminent in interest and humanness. l'rimarilv Dickens was a reformer. England was certaiiilv in need of reform, and Dickens ,lpnlt 1,1.vvy giftt-1' ldow at the evils of his day. ln tllix'C1' Twist, what a wretched life the poor panptrs led. under the rule of the cruel Mig llnnilde, who would force the children into anv tradt to get rid of them, and who :txt-tl -fatter while the paupers waxed thin- ner, ln Ulilcak llutlxfn llickens ridiculed the tedious lawsuits in the tiourt of Liltancery, and stitral other liooks, so vividly portrayed the l,,,1-11,1-4 ttf the delitors' prison, that he may al- lllllst he considered the lirst champion for l'ris- on Reform. llc do get rather a cheerful pic- ture of the life which Xlr. Xlicawher lcd in prison, hut then anything connected with Mr. Klicawher ix cheerful, from his walking stick. swaggeriiig with two tassels. to the little din- ner parties with which he would entertain lit- tle David, when pecuniary hopes were high,- or when they had pawned the silver spoons. Yet in t'l.ittle llorritu the scene is gloomy enough. and Dickens knew whereof he wrote, for we know that he himself was far too fa- itiiliar with the interior of a prison. The sys- icxn of education received its share of censure, in that most interesting of hooks, Nicholas ,fi'l-.leliyf lJotheltoy's llall, where they cer- jf Jn! tht- lioys-a new thought to me, T 1 1: fd ','i. aj- pronounced it l7rlf!If7tJVX .V llall- -: f-- It fiery vivid picture of the very hungry lioy-. making a very nieagre meal, one .f.f--pofnititl apiece td hrimstone and IHO- f ft wi'y economical way of disposing of apprtitt s for hreakfast, Tyrannical '- had his own method of education, i -ttfllig' tltt' Ltctilllt to tllc XX'o1'tl, OF, to ti-Qplitit, of spelling winder and then and wt' must admit that this meth- , lift fl rc-nlts, 'I'o illustrate how ridicu- '- 'fi' 3'-twin of teaching was in those days, fi lZ'trion gave the spelling lesson, memor- :. f in more senses than one, whcrc Sissv vlujie, xmitlt great rapidity, interpreted a horse fi- xinnnal. tjnadruped, used for hauling or draw irtg liurdens. Although Dickens was a i't-lorttn-1, il is im posstlile to keep that lacl in nnnd Itergtnsl there are so many other l':ts.t'itt.ttiotiw in his lnnwksr lllt'l't' Lll't' llli t'lliIIJlt ll'lH' jnrlll.lNi'ml with that most individual ltwllt In .il l.,,,,,,,,-I liven if you havcn't read .int ol I n. l,, ,, ,' l,,,,,j,., you are actjnatntcd with wont- ol ln, .l,,,,,,,- ttts. Klanvx ltavt lnionls I.nn..l,, ,,,,ll,I,jl,,,,, in the English language. Pickwickia11,'f fOr instance. As in cartoons, some predominant feature is so depicted that in a pair of glasses and a smile we recognize our friend Teddy Roosevelt, so in Dickens' caricatures-for we shall call them that-the prevailing peculiari- ties, the small touches that reveal the whole, are so vividly portrayed, that once we become acquainted with one of Dickens' characters, we will never forget him-or her, as the case may lie. In illustration of this suggestive pow- er. take Tilly Slowlaoy thy rights it ought to to he Slowgirlj, standing with mouth and eyes agape, and garments also agape, showing some llannel vestment of singular structure and glimpses in the hack of a pair of stays, in color dead green, Cant you just picture her bringing the precious hahy's head in contact with deal doors, dressers, stair rails or hed- posts. Dickens has created hundreds, yea thousands ll'm not dead certain as to the ex- act numhern, of characters, and each as differ- ent and distinct as Tilly. Minor characters are as well drawn as major ones. and some- times ltetter. In David Coppertieldf' when David has wandered into town he meets a cab- man. XYe never hear of that cabman again. Yet we know that he was kind and sorry for little David and he directed him to Miss Betsy 'l'rotwood's house and gave him a penny, As for Dickens' humor-well his characters and his humor and the funny things his people do and say are so mixed together that it keeps you laughing all the time-unless von are crying. Y For not all of Dickens is funny. There is pathos and deep feeling shown in some scene or other in almost everyone of his books. fLet us except l'ickwick l'apers, it is just plain nonsensel Could anything he much saclder than the death of l'anl Domhey, or that of little Nell? Some say Dickens' sentimentalitv is overdrawn. Well what if it is? That it makes one cry. Well, what if it does? The Anglo- Saxon race is one which prides itself on its stern sell-control. Sell-control is a good thing, llltt who wants to he so self-contained. so un- accnstonietl to ever shedding' a tear, that when sonn-tltilng really sad happens his weeping or- gans w tll he out of coinntission, and he will not he :ddr lo cry ?, Think of not heing' able to cry al tour own ntother's funeral! Dr. Burton said that in his classes he considered one require- ment ol' living reallv well educated the ahilitv to laugh or to cry at the right time. Don't be .tlraidl When you come to a sad place, like S

Page 17 text:

OUT-D I RE I5 quest, whatever it might be, so that he might win the escutcheon for his shield. Wfhat a noble thing for a man to do: to institute a means to help men live truer lives! How pure, true and unselfish was Arthur, even generous- ly forgiving those who betrayed his cause and sinned most grievously against him! Do we wonder that Arthur, the greatest hero of the Celts, has become an ideal knight of the uni- verse? H. c. D., '15, , MY SENIOR YEAR. As I finish my work this spring afternoon I gaze dreamily out of the window on the fresh green leaves which are quivering in the warm May breeze. Can it be my senior year is almost over? How long I have looked for- ward to this year! It does not seem possible that it is almost a past joy. Yet there will be the happy memory, one of the happiest I shall ever have. How eagerly I have awaited the reaching of this goal, The privileges of the Seniors: our own tables in the private and secluded corners of the study hall, the honor of studying un- chaperoned in the library, on the lawn in the beautiful days, or up in the bright sunny court, are the rewards gained through honest study. XVe have such good times together, as all the Senior classes do in our school. There are annual festivities, the pleasure of the inter- esting lecturesg we have even enjoyed our hard work. XVC are proud of the accomplish- ments and talents of the girls because they belong to our beloved class. NVe rejoice in those who sing and play: those who draw and paintg those who can write: and those who enter enthusiastically into their work and gain success. Our frequent meetings and friendly talks on important affairs of class and school have done much to bring us together. Unconsciously the bond of union in the class has become stronger day by day. Vtfe have learned to love the girls with a deeper and truer love, and We feel in whatever we do or whatever might happen, th-ough we be separated by land or sea, this union will never be broken. lkfe have tried to be examples of kindness, thoughtful- ness and obedience 'and we trust we will al- ways be a joy to our class and school. Wfe shall forever hold in loving remembrance our friendships and the good times of our class of IQIS. ' I' B W ,I5 4 i l-i.?l A SENIOR'S IMPRESSION OF DR. BUR- TON'S LECTURE ON DICKENS. Wlhen Miss Mitchell announced that Dr. Richard Burton, president of the Drama League of America, would speak on Dickens, the school unanimously agreed that it would be very pleasant to gain any enlightenment on that subject. In the Senior corner the inhabi- tants were much more enthusiastic. Xods and smiles were exchanged, and-l regret to say- perhaps a few whispers, as lle's awfully in- teresting, Funny, you know, besides being really intellectual. For, you see, the Seniors had been privileged in hearing addresses on Ibsen and Tiernard Shaw given by Dr. Burton at the Twentieth Century Club and they were wise. On going to the Gym the next day, we found -will wonders never cease-that the Seniors were in the front rows tfor being the elder, as the l.atin name implies, we usually sit in the last rowl. .Xlter much squirming land many discussions as to who should sit be- side whom, and whether this hair ribbon was in the way, and requests to please quit kick- ing my chair, when all this had subsided. I say, comparative quiet reigned, .Xfter some ca- lumnious remarks as to their respective ages, judge liuffmgton, as a fellow-graduate of his own college, verv delightfully introduced the speaker, Dr. Tiurton. As Dr. liurton began to speak of the bar- renness of the present-day feeling toward lit- erature, I forgot all consciousness of self, and self-importance. I realized that there is not enough encouragement in many homes, for the children to read good books, and that the schools, under the arbitrary requirements for college entrance, are not able to take time to create in the pupils a desire for cultured read- ing. Such a chance as we have! A populous world of books lies before each of us. Yet how many appreciate our blessings? XVe sav Scott is tiresome in his descriptions, Thack- eray moralizes too much, Dickens overdrawsg or we say nothing because we have read noth- ing. So Dr. llurton, attempting to interest us in this world,-to many an unexplored one,- began with Dickens, for of the many fine

Page 19 text:

our-DIRE I7 the death of jo, the crossing sweeper, cry and cry hard. Your eyes may smart, and your nose may be red afterwards, but you will feel better in the end, and the real world will seem brighter in comparison. To illustrate the humorous side of Dickens Dr. Burton read two selections, one from David Copperfield, the other from the Christmas Carol. The first told of how little David ran away to Dover to seek his only aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood, a Spinster of spinsters, and how she received him. Hungry and footsore, sunburned and covered with dust, David appeared in her garden and revealed his identity, thereupon causing the old lady to fall over backwards very suddenly. .-Xfter she had recovered herself and said Mercy on us a great many times and had made many hor- rified remarks over his very soiled appear- ance and his mistake over being a mere boy instead of Miss Betsy Trotwood Copperhcld, jr., she led him into the neat little parlor of the spick and span house. But in one short t ?l essay it is impossible to tell of how David was dosed with salad dressing and anchovy sauce and how the donkeys had to be shooed off the grass plot in front of the house. Let it suffice that Mr. Dick was called into consultation, and that very wisely Mr. Dick suggested a bath. We draw the curtain there, as did Dr. liurton. The scene changes, and we, in company with Old Scrooge, are transported to llob L'rachit's home for a Christmas diimer. The whole fame ily is there, and all very busy, Mrs. Craehit engaged in basting the goose and in testing the pudding, and the younger Crachits of all ages engaged in setting the table, controlling their appetites and generally getting underfoot. Tiny Tim is here too. with his pitiful little crutch and his cheerily pitiful little smile. Ah! Dinner is served, The goose is brought in and is eaten, we might say devoured, until there is absolutely nothing left but the bones, and I have no doubt they are well polished off. .Xhl again. The blazing, steaming pudding, with a sprig of holy in the top, is borne aloft, leav- ing a trail of blue tire behind! XYell, it is too delicious to imagine. XYith such a pleasant taste in our mouth, or rather in our imagination, Dr. llurton brought his lecture to a close. The spell was broken, the enchantment ended. Dr. llurton earnest- ly entreated us that very night to go to the book ease, and start one uf Dickens' novels, ff we did this we would be sure to finish it, and would be amply repaid. l did. Did you? M. ri. n. 15. 'l M s s .I sa--. as - X XQZTTQQQ Q ivxw -i LUN i M - ... A 2522 f' 'SN5 ' -1-ff' T- -X ' ' in f,l?h+'ic . ,f 5 - -112.5 Y-Q v V f e Q. fb .QIil - .rsfag-1:-,,,. 7 ' '-'