Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 30 text:

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

Page 29 text:

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

Page 31 text:

OUT-DIRE 29 to spend the day shopping in New York City, as she had an appointment with the dentist. A few weeks later she was with some friends to whom she related her experiences of that Mon- day in the following manner: Before getting on the train at jersey City, I asked the guard if that train wcnt to Sixth Avenue, New York, He replied that it did, so I stepped into the car and looked about for a comfortable seat near the front. Inst before we entered the tube, a very bashful bride and groom stepped up to me and asked if they might watch and get off when I did at Sixth Avenue, as they had never been in New York before, so I told them I should be very glad if I could be of any assistance to them. At Hoboken the conductor came through the car, and in a high and mighty voice, told us we would have to change cars, as that train did not go any further. The passengers were furious at this announcement after being told by the guard that the train would take them to Sixth Avenue. They all wished to go back and report him. and even threatened to do so. I looked around for the bride and groom, but could not see them anywhere, so I decided to get on the other train with the rest of the trav- elers, and as I was hurrying down the aisle for a seat, an elderly-looking woman stopped me and said, I heard you say you were going to Sixth Avenue, may I watch and get off when you do ? I told her I did not mind at all, only I was afraid I might lead her astray as I had the bride and groom, but she said that was not likely to happen again, so we found a seat where we both sat down and made ourselves comfortable for the remainder of the jour- ney. NVe talked about different things, and she was telling me all the troubles she had had in the past year, when I suddenly looked out of the window and the only thing I could see on the signboard was th Avenue. and knowing it must be Sixth Avenue, immediately got off, not looking to see whether the old woman had or not. Ikfell, if I wasn't angry when I found I had got off at Ninth ,Xvcnue instead of Sixth Avenue. As I stood there on the platform looking at the pouring rain and wondering what I should do, a man came up to me and said: XVhy. this isn't Sixth Avenue. I turned around and said, 'fVVell, who said it was? Then he told me he had heard me say I was going to Sixth Avenue, and, as he wished to go there also, he had hurriedly followed me OH? the train. I just looked at him and in a very cold tone said, ffvvell., can't I change my mind? He asked me if he might take me to the car under his umbrella, so we made our way to the street, where we boarded a car for the city. Xkfhen the conductor came for the fares, the only change I had was a dime, so he took it and rang up two fares. Ifor some reason he came back and the man offered his fare, but the conductor told him he had already got it. The man turned to me and asked me if I had paid it, and l told him I did. but that I eer- tainly had not meant to do so. Ifle laughingly gave me back my nickel. .Xs we neared Twen- ty-third Street I transferred, and when l hand- ed the conductor my transfer he laughed and I noticed I had got on the wrong car and was going in the wrong direction. .Xt the next corner, I left the car and went into an hotel nearby, where I telephoned the dentist to open his window and stick his head out every few seconds to sec that I should get there without having any further difficulties. M. XY. T., '15. SONG HITS OF 1915. Truth llinns .Xlong Came tT'J Ruth. Dollie lilraun Matilda llrown Dorothv ehallener Mary Crabtree Dorothy Crump llarriet Dally Adelia Iforncrook Flora Goehring I.ucile lrlartje -Iosephinc Ileckcl Kfary Ilogg Elinor -Iohnston Elizabeth -lohnstoi Eleanor Kelly Edna Love Anna Mcfandless Katharine Reed Jane Sheppard Edith Siefers .-Xlice Smith Mary Tener Iva Thomas Margaret XX'hite Emily XVolfe l XYhen You're a Long, Long XYay from Ilome. XX'hen the lirown-Up I.a- dies .Xct Like Iiabies. Follow the Crowd. I XYant to Linger. You Never Can Tell. On the QZIQ. 7 tlcase Don't Flirt lVith Ne. li o o d -by e, Girls, I'm Through. Tickling I,ove Taps. My I.ady of the Tele- phone. .Xt the llall, That's All. Still XYe Smile. Dancing .-Xround. XYhat is Done You Never Can Undo. The Grey Dove. They llad to Swim Hack to Shore. Xthen You're Away. Yon're Always XVelcome at Our House. fl, Those Days. Xtateh Your Step. They Start the Yictrola. They IYouldn't Believe Me. lVinter Nights. Mighty Lak' a Rose. L. I-I., '15.