Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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34 oUr- DIRE pouncing upon every white grub in sight. Thev were evidently his favorite morsel, as he would frctpuently neglect other worms when the fat white ones were plentiful. llis capacity for these gruhs seemed unlimited, and when you re- member that one white grub can kill in a single night a cauliflower which is worth fifteen cents to a gardener, -lim is seen to have had a very positive commercial value. Another item of .lim's dict was mice. XYe first found this out after the corn had been shocked and the fields frozen, for he used to follow anyone who went out to the barn for a load of fodder, and hover over the box as it was lifted. Frequently, mice would scurry out from beneath, and ,lim would pounce down upon them with astonishing speed, and apparently kill them with one tweak of his bill. Then he would hide them. It was curious to watch him hide things. .Xny small shining object particularly attracted him, and he would spend hours attempting to hide bits of crockery in the dog's ear. ,Tack's ear seemed to be his favorite hiding place. -lim would hop upon the dog's head, drop his treasure into -lack's ear, then carefully fold the ear-Flap down. -lack did not seem to mind this if he were awake, but if he were trying to sleep, it provoked him greatly, for -Tim would follow him from place to place and repeat the offense, lt seems to me that crows might be taught to talk, lt is said that if you would slit their tongues they could talk. Certainly ,lim said l'apa, as plain as most babies do when they are being shown off. We found our pet dead one morning, no doubt from having eaten too much, for he seemed to like to eat better than to do anything else. Al- though he seemed to desire only human com- panionship, our pet never showed any affec- tion. He would let you stroke his head, seem- ingly because he enjoyed the sensation, but if you attempted to pick him up-away he would fly. Nevertheless we missed ,lim greatly, for we never have had another pet like him. i hi. 'I5. WILL OF THE SENIOR CLASS. a member of the Senior Class, attending Xlmchester School, Fifth avenue, being of sound mind, memory and understandingi do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament. ' .Xfter the payment of our debts, I devise and bequeath all of our estate, consisting main- ly of school property, old customs, honors, and privileges to the members of the upper school, VIZ.: To the Eighth Grade-the new Ninth: The honor of moving down to the first floor, .Xn honor I know that young 'girls just adoreg To be counted as members of the upper school, .-Xnd promising to go by our great Golden Rule. To the Ninth Grade-the new Tenth: The honor of stepping up one other place, .Xnd looking all daily tasks square in the face, Uf coming nearer and nearer the long-wished- for goal, As days, weeks, and months swiftly past you do roll. To the Tenth Gradewthe new Juniors: The honor of giving the ever-famed dance, tThe thoughts of which make every one prancel. - XYith its planning and troubles, perplexities great, .Xs it takes every penny for giving this fete. To the -luniors-the new Seniors: The honor of being the great Senior Class, ttf owning the book shelves with doors made of glassy Uf possessing the dignified set-apart nook, XYhere all things in order, give a neat, tidy look. The honor of reproving small chatt'ring girls, .Xll a-shaking their heads with their long, bob- bing curlsg XYho pass swiftly and merrily along through the halls, .Xnd who turn a deaf ear to our soft warning calls. The honor of being the guests at the ball, lfor which plans are made throughout the whole fall, .Xnd for which you no longer your money must pay 1 llut when clocks strike out one you no longer Can stay. The honor of roaming about at your will, tXever once being told that you must be more still PU, To the library, lawn, or perhaps to the roofg lie as faithful as we if you need any proof. T nominate and appoint the President of the Senior Class the executress of this our last will and testament. XYitness my hand and seal, this the tenth day of May, nineteen hundred and fifteen. L. H., IIS. S

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GUI-DIRE royal entrance, but thou must remain with me and I shall show thee how to lind these secrets. Fahanger consented, and when the moon shone white and full in the heavens, Umar sent him into the gardens to pluck rose leaves. This is thy work, he said, every night must thou all these jars with rose petals and sprinkle them with the magic water of the fountain. 'ZX task for poets, thought Fahanger as he set to work diligently: but the thorns began to tear his fingers, and his back began to hurt, and the hiss- ing and rustling in the grass warned him of the presence of snakes, Night after night he con- tinued his work until long months had passed. At times he became overcome by a mad desire to slip away on his camel, which was now quite well. Xllas he not wasting his life in this lonely place? Then the words of Omar, Patience, have patience, Fahang-er, came to him and he would take a new grip on things. At last one day towards the close of the long hot summer, Omar called him to him and said, Fahanger, I have watched thee continually since thou hast been here, and I think thou de- servest thy reward, for thou hast proved thyself worthy to be a sharer of my secrets. Come, I will show thee. Seest thou this tiny vial? lt weighs but a rupee and yet princes would give one-half of their kingdoms if they could but ob- tain it. It contains the marvelous perfume of my roses. Take it, Fahanger, and proceed to the Golden City. Behold the gift of the desert, this is thy reward for thy patient service in its soli- tudefl So saying, Omar Khayyam placed the vial in Fahanger's hand and bade him good-bye. Then Fahanger went forth, and the camel. healed in the long wait, bore him swiftly across the sands to the Golden City, and the Golden Gate which would not open to any common vendor, swung wide for Fahanger. llrinces brought their pearls to exchange for drops of his perfume, and kings their bags of gold. livery- where he went, the sweetness of the magic attar opened for him a way and won for him a wel- come. Xklhenever he saw a head bowed down under misfortune he would whisper Clmar's words and stop to teach tlmar's lesson, that from the commonest experiences of life may be distilled its greatest blessingsf, l.I.. ll.'1q. liliil SUMMER NIGHTS. The water lapping softly, Against my little boat, Makes music sweet Unto my ears, .Xnd through the years, .Ns on I float, No sound so very meet: For me no music costly. Stars over the whole world shine, tliently winds are blowing llirds calling sweet, The waving trees, The balmy breeze, The cows' soft lowing, .Nnd all the summer heat: T'is of all the loveliest time. 1. M. 12. 15. MY PET CROW. -lim was captured by the employment of an energetic small boy to climb the pine tree where the nest was. .Xfter being lifted from the nest, he was gently put into a bag and lowered by a cord to the ground. lle was then taken home and put in a barrel. In the bottom of this, many small sticks had been placed for him to catch hold of with his feet. lle continually cried for food, and even kept on siluawking with his mouth full. Until he could be perched outside his barrel, lim was given a diet of milk-soaked bread. Presently he was placed on the low roof of the woodshed, and taught to fly. After this lesson was learned, he became a self-sustaining member of the house- hold, and by no means the least conspicuous member. lle had the free range of the garden and of the farm. He never molested the garden or the lield corn, in spite of the many opportunities. The reason for this may be because he could easily get food at the kitchen door!scraps fallen from the garbage-pail, for instance, for crows are natural scavengers, and they are very fond of meat and fish. No effort was made to confine him, yet he showed no desire to join his feathered fellows. ln fact he seemed to fear his own kind, and when wild crows came into the garden, he would fly for the protection of the woodshed. He never molested any of the numerous robin and held-sparrow nests about the place, simply be- cause he could get food elsewhere. Isle turned out to be very beneficial in the garden. XYhen the gardener picked up a hoe or a fork, and started out to cultivate, lim would come walking with that quaint, or rather uncer- tain sidelongi gait of his tribe, and follow the rows of fresh-turned earth behind the gardener, 33

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OUI- DIRE 35 Signed, sealed and delivered by the testatrix as our last will and testament, and attested by us as witnesses at her request in her pres- ence. and in the presence of each other. fx. ., IS, . v . IL. P. lx., 15, XYitnesses. THE VITAL QUESTION. One morn thc Seniors trampled in And each one wore a worried grin. Since no one knew who was to blame, They questioned each as in they came. They went the rounds of each in turn fT'l1e Seniors still a lot must learnj' Ilut soon the charge the dears denier And thus th' accused were put aside. i XYhen each had asked of each around, And everyone said quickly, No, The ten o'clock scholar arrived, The myst'ry to unwind contrived. lYhy, girls, you are all blind! I'm sure the culprit I can find. IYithout delay I-I. D. she spied, Endeavoring hard herself to hide. Alia, she cried, 'tis as I thought, She did it or perhaps forgot, lint anyhow we now do know NYho's bringing F. to be her beau. S. E. I. 'r5. A DAY AT MELROSE. Two summers ago my father and mother and I. while traveling in Scotland, were very much disappointed in the continued wet weather, and welcomed gladly any day' of even the most feeble sunshine. On one of these rare, bright days we decided to visit Melrose and the home of VValter Scott. Xkfe left Edinburgh early in the morning, from the great Ikfaverly station, which was crowded with incoming and outgoing travelers. of the confusion, our train and we were soon slipping green fields and stretches of saw many interesting old I'Iowever, in spite was easily found, along by pleasant woodland. NWC places among which was Bothwick Castle, where M-ary Queen of Scots, at one time took refuge, accompanied by Bothwell. Melrose is not far from lldinburgh, and it seemed but a short time until we were alighting at the little old town. From Melrose we took the coach to Abbotts- ford, the home of Scott. On such a bright, clear day as this, the ride was most enjoyable. Ifrom time to time we caught glimpses of the silver Tweed, fiowing smoothly between its low, green banks. Ijeyond it we could see the bare Iiildon lfills. to which Scott so often re- fers. Ilike to think that sometimes, accom- panied by his dogs, he himself walked on these very hills. XYheu we had nearly reached Ab- bottsford, an old ivy-covered border tower was pointed out to us. In the days when England and Scotland were at war, these towers on the border between the two countries were very necessary. XYe soon were able to see the roof and turrets of Abbottsford, and, a few minutes after, we arrived. .Xbbottsford itself is situated rather low on the banks of the Tweed, and we had to descend a slight hill to reach it. The house is light buff in color, and it was very beautiful in the midst of its green lawns and bright yellow flowers. XVe could have spent a day in the gar- dens, which were all in bloom. Beautiful red and white roses, climbing over the walls, made a lovely picture against the green ivy. Reluc- tantly leaving them we passed into the great entrance hall. A huge, stone fireplace almost fills one wall, and at either end are two mailed figures, fully armed. These give a stern and warlike appearance to the room, and we felt as if Ivanhoe or cruel Front-de-Iloeuf stood wait- ing to greet us. The walls, covered with trophies and pieces of armor, made the place seem like a great mediaeval castle. There are also many interesting things in the library. Above the fireplace hangs a very good paint- ing of Scott, with his favorite dog lying at his feet. In the great baywindow overlooking the Tweed is a case in which lies the little black and white marble crucifix which Mary, Queen of Scots, carried at the time of her execution. The room, with its view of the Tweed, is one of the pleasantest in the house. But the room in which I was most interested was Scott's own studv. My first impression of it was of a room filled withibooks. Not one square inch of wall space is left uncovered and, since the ceiling is high, a little gallery runs around the room, from which books at the top of the wall may be reached. The great desk, where Scott did his writing, stands under a window overlook-