Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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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

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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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23 oUt-DIRE Dick had a xerv dear friend, Maisie, with whom he had been brought up, and whom he met in a park in laiiuldii after many years' separation. lle had always loved her. 11105 ardentlv and had thought of her continually in spite of their having' been parted for So long. Soon after their meeting he spent an afternoon at her studio. XX'hile she was show- ing him some of her pictures, he realized that she could never gain any great position as an artist, so he asked her if she felt she could give up her work and come til him. ,Xfter some minutes' meditation she decided that it would be impossible to be happy as his wife, as she cared so much to gain success in her painting. An interesting, but minor, character is intro! duced here ill the form uf the lied llI1i1'eil l,ill'l. as she is called tlliwnlgllout the story. She preparerl tea and showed in her attentions how much she realized the mistake Maisie was making. lfroin that time on we were made aware that she herself was deeply in love with llick. although she persisted in pleading his 51111 to her friend. After Xlaisios refusal. Dick went thought- fully home, ready tu start on his KlelancholA ia as slum as llessie CZIINC. lle devoted many days ln this work, although his eyes were fast becoming dim. With the aid mmf a great deal nf whiskey he was able to continue his paint- ing. During this time he became very sloth- ful, often disreputable looking. and sometimes, even drunk. Xxilltdl he had at last finished this wonderful picture he was very happy and lfroullg he knew that he had indeed created his masterpiece. 'lihat evening he paid llessie and dismissed her as a good-liir-nothing. lu- furiated and hot for revenge, 5111- watched her 1.'IJlHJ1'llll11lf', and that niglit, crept back to de- stroy the picture. She rubbed it with turpcn- t.ue and then cut it until no trace of its former beauty remained. Luckily for lliek his blindness came suddeulv during the night, and he never saw his marred picture. The next day, ignorant of 115 de- struction, he showed it lu 'lioiqmeulimv and asked him if it were not a beauty. 1115 friend was xeiy much surprised at the ruin and in- tensely moved with sympatliy. but after a I-ause he said that he thought it was wonder- ful. This was tlioroiielily satisfactory, as Dick, in his rleligjlll, did not notice his hesitation. 'l'nwarfls evening several 01' '1'f,1-l,r-lqlqowg friends came for dinner, and to them also the picture was limiiillv shown. Xs no one of theni had llle lieart lu tell pool' lbiek uf its utter ruin, they all joined in with praise of it. The friends asked Dick to dine with them, but he refused as he said he wished to get used to his blindness by remaining alone for awhile. .Xs he sat there musing, with the shouts of laughter coming from the other room, he felt exceedingly lonely and hated to think of the long weary days to come. In the midst of his thoughts he heard a band on the street below. and the cheers as the soldiers marclied by. lle wished with all his heart that he might be able to join them, but on account of his great affliction, he could only stand there in his desolation and mark time to the music. Later 'l'orpenhow's guests came in to see him, and they told him all about the coming war, and how very sorry they were he could not accompany them. While they were talking 'liorpenhow sudden- lv realized that it would not be right to go off and leave Dick alone in his sad plight. Many times he had heard Dick calling out for Maisie, and he decided to go to her and tell her that lleldar needed her more than he needed any- thing else in the world. lle told her in plain, decisive words that if she cared at all for Dick, her place was with him in his trouble. After a hard battle with her own feelings. she hnally decided to go to Dick. During 'l'orpenhow's absence Bessie came to see llick. and he had just about concluded to engage her when she, convinced that he knew nothing of the terrible wrong she had done him, and certain that nothing could stand in the way of his keeping her, told him about his picture. He sat perfectly still for a long time, but at last he stirred, and in a very gentle voice told her that he would not take her, but instead he would give her a large check and let her go. When Maisie came in, Dick, thinking it was Torpenliow, called to him. As she spoke, he became bewildered and asked why she was there. She told him she loved him and wanted ln be with him. lt seemed to Dick too won- derful to be true. He thought it must be from pity that she had come, but when she took down her hair and said, Come, Dickie. it is the same old Maisie. he went over to her and felt the soft long hair and knew it must be UAUC. M. C. H., ,I5. MRS. SMITH'S ATTEMPT TO REACH SIXTH AVENUE. Un Monday morning' Mrs. Smith, who Wag staying for some time in Atlantic Clty, dccidgd S . V' 1