Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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26 CJUI- DIRE The cactus and a few other plants that were able to survive, began to cover these desert plains. llaving overcome the first of its foes, the drought, the cactus was still to be tortured. Klanv animals, finding that it was very good to eat, now came day after day, and destroyed thousands of the plants. The cactus began to search for a way by which to defend itself against this new foe. tlf the million cactus plants that were eaten to the ground, only a thousand or two made the effort to throw out new leaves and try once more. They under- took to protect themselves. At lirst they sent out nothing but a modified fruit bud, or leaf. which proved more tempting than ever to the auiinals, for they still continued to enjoy the edible plant. l'erhaps only a hundred out of the two thousand were able to avoid destruc- tion. This hundred, hardier than the rest, al- though eaten to the ground, sent up again and again new leaves. lfach time a new crop ap- peared the hair became stiffer and stronger and the protuberances harder and more point- ed, until they had formed a strong armor which the animals could not disregard. Thus we see the cactus was able to rise to all emerg- encies. XYhen the cactus is first planted it is a slab of brilliant green color. lt is flat, of an oval shape, and about an inch or less in thickness. This slab contains a large amount of water, and is of soft mushy libre. There I1I'C eyes on this slab which are capable of giving growth to roots, to a fruit, or to another slab, which- ever seems to be most needed. :Xfter it be- gins to grow, it becomes tough and woody and loses a great deal of its moisture. lt also changes its color from green to brown, and its slain becomes rough like the bark of a tree. This change is to protect itself from the rav- ages of ground animals. As one readily can understand, the cactus is a very hardy plant, so much so that it is able to survive conditions under which any other plant would wither and die in a short Linn-, These cactus plants are known to live from one to ten years without a drop of rain and still manage to get enough moisture from the parched desert, by sending t'heir roots down deep into the soil, to make them as juicy as a watermelon, .Xn experiment showed 'that one, lying on a lnirlap-covered wooden shelf four feet above the ground, sent down long Touts through the cracks of the boards within a few days. .Xnother experiment proved that a cactus, having been tied to a branch of a tree for nearly seven years, and having had no nourislnnent during that time, still retained life. lts slabs had withered and turned brown and appeared to have died but, when it was planted in six inches of ground, it immediately took root and threw out new flowers and slabs. lt has been proved that this plant, cared for, cultivated, watched over and protected, re- mains no longer poisonous or bitter and loses its spine entirely. lt has taken twelve years to produce the cactus as it was many years ago, but it is now very rapidly taking the place of alfalfa as food for cattle. XYe can see that the environment of a plant has a great deal to do with its character. All kinds of garden plants, well nurtured and cared for, seem to vie with one another as to which can produce the largest and the greatest num- ber of flowers. lforinstance, geraniums, roses, pansies and liollyhoclcs seem to try to return ltindnesses paid to them by brightening up the garden or flower bed with their variously col- ored blossoms. These flowers have always been well treated, but our poor cactus plant, during its entire life, has had to struggle for existence. ls it any wonder then that it has surrounded itself with all manner of defense- denionstrating the great law of life. self-pres: ervation? To a gentle application of the law of kindness, the despised cactus responds gladly by casting away its spine and poison. Surely, after such efforts. it deserves a place of honor respect in the plant kingdom. K E R, 'I and 1 ...5. SPRING. The new robin in the tree, XX lnstles clear and merrily, Spring is here! Spring is here! The crocns, peeping through the earth, l ells to all with loving mirth. Spring is here! Spring is here! l'ussy-willow by the brook, Xl lnspers with enchanting look, Spring is here! Spring is here! The cladodils are gaily dancing, XX ith their yellow robes entrancing, Spring is here! ,Spring is here! ' A lVe welcome it so gleefully, And do our work so cheerfully, Spring is here! Spring is here! M. I. C. S

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OUT- l 911112 25 Now she was taking care of her grand- mother very well, but she could not make the Howers that she brought from the woods grow in her garden. She cared for them very tenderly and watered them every day, but they all drooped and died as soon as she took them from the woods. Because Patricia lived so far away from the royal palace and from the beaten track to the nearest village, she did not know of the in- tention of l'rince Charles, the prince of the country, to ehoose a wife from among the sub- jects of his father's kingdom, One day she had brought in a beautiful wild rose and planted it near her kitchen door. Xiihile she was watering it, the good Fairy of Love stopped at her gate and watched her. She saw what a useless task it was for l.'atricia to plant woodland tlowers in her sunny gar- den, because they always died for lack of shade. The fairy decided that she would help to fulfil Patricia's simple wish, and to make the flowers grow with the help of l'atrici:t's constant care and attention. This was her plan. That very night she would come back and bring all the good tree fairies with her to plant trees near the cottage to shade the garden. They did -this, and also painted the cottage a beautiful clean white with the doors and window ledges green. For the good Fairy, Love, knew that the flowers would grow and bloom with care, but die if they were not watered regularly. The good fairy 'had had an idea in her head from the first, so now she sent a messenger to the palace to urge the prince to come in the direction of Patricia's cottage. The next day when he went out riding, Prince Charles did not know that a good fairy was guiding his horse, but was content to go where his horse took him. Finally he came to a road that was almost grown over with grass, but it looked so pleasant and cool that he took it, hoping it would lead to a cottage where he could get a drink of water, for he was very thirsty. That morning when Patricia went out to her garden, she was very much delighted to see that her rose bush was still alive, but did not notice that 'the forest had moved nearer to the house. She brought out her bucket of vvater and was watering her flowers when someone knocked at the gate. It was the prince, but she did not know it. He asked her for a drink of Wa-ter and the direction to the nearest village. She gave him a ffourd full of cool, sparkling Water, and theiin called her grandmother to give him the directions to the next town. Then she finished watering her flowers, and all at once they seemed to take heart and grow, and blossomed out in full bloom. The prince noticed how charming she was. how tenderly she spoke to her grandmother, and how well the garden was kept. lie had never before seen this small cottage near the woods, but resolved to come back again. XYhile he was talking to l'atricia's grandmother, he asked her if he might not call again to see the lovely garden. Something told her to say yes, for she knew that it would be all right for him to come. So he came again and again, and in the course of a few months l'rince Charles and llatricia were married and lived happily ever after, for so must all fairy tales end. D. li. 'I5. A PRICKLY CHILD OF THE DESERT. The cactus is one of the most wonderful plants of the desert. lt has showed, by the many defenses with which it has surrounded itself, its great capability of self-preservation, and its wonderful adaptability to the con- stantly changing conditions of the soil and the atmosphere of its home. .Xt one time. parts of Nevada, Arizona. Utah and Northern Mexico were a great in- land sea. Through a stretch of years, as the water gradually evaporated or leaked from this sea, the damp soil opened a great oppor- tunity for the growth of many species of plants. Une of the most important of the plants that helped to cover this vast space was the cactus-not the cactus of to-day--but the cactus of long ago. This plant was one with well-defined stalks and with multitudes of leaves, each as large as a man's head. As the heat of the sun began to dry up the soil the cactus prepared to meet this chang- ing condition. lt gradually dropped its leaves in order to prevent the all necessary moisture from evaporating too rapidly, sent its roots deeper and deeper into the earth, where the heat of the sun had not yet penetrated, and thickened its stalks into broad slabs. ln this way it was able to withstand the heat of the sun and get most of its nourishment from deep beneath the ground. There were probably many other plants which could not adapt themselves so well as the cactus to the chang- iff conditions and therefore must have per- n g ished, for we know nothing of them to-day.

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OUT- DIRE 27 A DAYDREAM AT KENILWORTH. It was a beautiful sunshiny day in july: the sky was blue, with here and there a tieecy cloud sailing slowly towards the horizon. I had wandered over 'the ruins of Kenilworth and had seated myself to rest before returning to Wfarwick. The lovely grounds stretched around me, and in their midst were the ruins of the famous old castle. The roof and much of the walls had fallen and sheep were grazing in the court and kitchens, but the gardens were still gorgeous with the summer Howers. As I gazed steadily upon the place where the lake had been in the time of Queen Eliza- beth, the hollow seemed gradually to be filling with water. I turned my eyes again to the castle, a transformation scene had taken place. and now it had regained all its former splen- dor. Leaning from a turret window of BIervyn's Tower was a beautiful girl, pale and sad, watching the festivities on the lake, the tire- works hissing here and there above her head, and Leicester's royal guests as they passed to and fro. I immediately recognized the girl as the unfortunate Amy Robsart, who had secret- ly married the Earl of Leicester and had been hidden away at Cumnor Place because of Leieester's fear of the jealousy of Queen Eliza- beth. At the first opportunity, she had es- caped from her close confinement to the castle of Kenilworth, hoping to obtain her rightful position from Leicester. She arrived there on the very day on which Queen Elizabeth and her retinue were expected. But she soon dis- appeared from the window, and silence pervaded the castle and its surroundings. It seemed to me that only a few moments later I saw the figure of that same forlorn girl 'hurrying across the court and into the gardens of Pleasance. There she sought a secluded grotto which was ornamented with rustic seats and a fountain. Presently the Queen and Leicester walked near, and the wretched Amy felt that she must escape, but she was powerless to move a limb when the Queen entered the grotto alone. The astonished girl stood motionless and her cheeks were pallid with fear. VVhen the Queen fixed her keen glance on her, Amy slowly drop- ped her eyes and bowed her head. Elizabeth at once concluded that this was one of the per- formers who had been placed in various situa- tions to surprise her. I saw the Countess Amy fall to her knees before her sovereign and look up beseechingly into her face, earnestly pleading for her pro- tection, as I supposed. llistory does not tell us that her plea was granted, The two tignres grew dim, and soon they had vanished entirely, and now the magnifi- cent castle was once more only a stately ruin. I rose slowly and walked thoughtfully back towards the town, but it was not until I met a friend, that I fully realized that I had been so absorbed in the sad story of .Xmy Robsart that my vision had been only a day dream. ln. ll. L., iq. THE LIGHT THAT FAILED. The play that l have enjoyed most is The Light That Failed, in which l7orbes-Robert- son played the leading part of Dick lleldar. The play is very pathetic and full of emotion, and the audience was so impressed with Forbes- llobertson's interpretation of the part that there was scarcely a sound throughout the theater. The curtain rose on a scene in the English military camp in Egypt, the men sitting around on boxes or the ground, mending their sorely worn clothes with old Hour and sugar sacks, Dick lleldar, who had received a dang- erous saber cut, was there with a bandage over his eyes, listening to the men laughing and joking with each other. l-Ie had been told that he must keep the bandage on for some time or he would probably become blind for the rest of his life, and blindness might time. In spite of this warning, he suddenly jumped up and tore the bandage from his eyes and cried out that he could not stand it any longer, that he must and would see. This scene was only an introduction to the rest of the play. One of the loveliest thoughts of the play is the companionship existing between Dick and his most unseltish friend, Torpenhow, lrle it is who came into Dick's room as the latter was sitting sketching, carrying a very poorly-clad girl who, he said, had collapsed in the hall from hunger and cold. They gave her some- thing to eat, and when she revived and they found she was destitute, Dick engaged her as a model for a picture to be called Melanchol- ia, that he was going to paint. This was to be his masterpiece and he was delighted to find a face so expressive of his idea as Ilessie's was. In this way a third character was introduced into the play. come at any