Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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36 QUT DIRE ing the gardens, 'lille fact lllllt sollle of his best lull lks were written here lll1lllL' tllis Slllllllt l'OOlll sec-nl verv XX'llllllL'l'ltll. llowever, we had still other things to see, so we llalle good-bye to ,Xllllllttsfol'll. flllfl clinlllell into the coach for l Jry llurgh Abbey. After eating lllllcll at a little village, we soon arrived at l.Jl'ylllll'Qll. The Abbey, now only a lovely grove sur- l'lllll, is very beautiful. .X loullds it and luakes a dark, green liPZlCliAQ'1'OllllCl for the old cloisters Zllltl XVlIll'l4'lXY5 wllicll are still stallding, llere, ill a little corner of the ruinell chapel, stands Scotts lfllllll. lt St'ClllS verv fitting tllat he should be lllll'lCfl here. for lJTi'lllll'Q.'l'l ,Xbbey was one of the places wllicll llC'llJYL'tl turist. The arcllitectllre of the Abbey is NOl'll'l2lll and very interesting. ,'XCl'lOlllll'lg it was the old 1llUll2lSlCI'j' of wllicll nothing now lQl'Il2llllS except the valllted wine-cellars of the old lnonks. The windows are of a pillkisll- colored stone. Zllltl are particularly beautiful. The only thing now left to see was Melrose Abbey. This Abbey, sonle distance lil'Ol'll Ury- llurgh, is also in 1'l,llllS. llut Melrose is ll'lllCll larger, alld lllIll'C of its ruins are stancling. Our Qlllflk' at this .Xlllley was very fullllv. lle talked all the lllllt' wllicll, of course, he was supposed to do, lllllf l have never heard sllcll a Yillllllllllgi discourse before. lle called our attention to the l'4'u'Il and the floor ill the very same breath. and filled ill all the pallses hy quoting poetry. lle certainly kllew his gC4l'tt well, for he never ran out of Kllllillillllillli. l'le showed us the old grave of Michael Scott, wllicll was supposed to have been opened one lligllt by a lllflll who thought tllat a book. containing the great sec- rets of life, was buried ill it. ln fact he evell showed us the very crack ill the stone slab which lay over it. Near tllis grave is a very inA teresting tllillg wllicll has just been discovered within the last few years. lt seenls tllat the windows ofthe .Xlllley all represent solnething, and one of the windows contains a heart.. lliercell witll an arrow, the Syllllilll of the great ll4lllQ'l2lS fanlily. llpon lFlll'lllt'l' investigation it was found tllat just llnder the svnlhol lie graves in wllicll l-ZllllVlllS lllL'lllllL'l'S of the Doug- las fanlily have been buried. K The 7ll'CllllL'L'llll'C of Melrose is verv wonder- flll. Xu two of the great windows,fwhich, as l said before all represent S4'llllCllllllQ,', are alike. Une in the shape t1ffLC1'l'1Ss represents Calvary, and IlllHlllL!I', witll tllree parts blending into onie, l'4'lP.l'L'Sk'lll.9- lllt' lloly Trinity. .Xnother llllC1'- iollvlly' window I9 one ill the shape of rl heart, which IS called the heart of llruce. The conn- try people about Melrose used to beliCVC that XVllC1l the 1TlOOll sllone through tllis heart on the grave of Michael Scott, the grave would again open. But the window is so placed that the JTIOOTI can never shine through it, SO, of course. no one has ever proved this. The frieze which rulls around the walls of the Ab- lley is lllade up of collventionalized leaves, and no one of these leaves is exactly like allotller. .Xt first we refused to believe this, for there seellls to be llliles of frieze. However, on in- vestigating ollrselves at places wllcre it eanle near the ground, we found tllat here, at least. L'2lCll leaf was ill SOll'lC way different frolll the otllers. .Xt the corners of the walls are gro- tesque little l'lQ'll1'CSOfSlO1lC.SOlllC of tl'lClll very fulllly. Une ill particular lllflt is quite fZl1ll011S, is the figure of a pig playing the bagpipe. He is perclled up there so carelessly, and is play- ing so gaily, tllat you wallt to dance the nlin- llte you see llllll. ,Al'tI'lfllQl' interesting figure is a little head of all angel. She is lE1llQil'llllgHlCI'- rily, Zlllfl looks so carefree and happy tllat she HL'L'lllS ZllllltlSl alive. The architect of Melrose nlust have had a lllk'l'I'y heart. for all these lit- tle tigures are laughing and gay. The Abbey is surrounded by a small graveyard, and it is said illfll XYllCll the nloon shines down on the old ruins Zlllfl the wllite tonlbstones. it looks like a llit of fairyland itself, lke left the .Xbbey slowly Zlllfl reluctantly. As we tllI'llL'fl for a last look, a bright QlC2l1l1 from the setting sun, which SllO11C through the great Trillity window, covered the ruined lxalls witll a wonderful golden glow Ztllfl left us a sweet Illlfl beautiful lllClllOl'V of Melrose. , M. D. L., 16. A RAIN STORM IN THE GRAND CAN- YON OF ARIZONA. Une Sllllll1lCl' about four years ago while visiting the lil'1lllKl Canyon we saw a 1llOSt in- teresting Illlfl extraordinary sight, one that, ill the llllllly years people have known of the Can- yon, has occurred only once or twice. All lllOl'lllllQf huge, dark clouds had slowly beell Q'lllllLTl'lllQ' above the Canyon alld lightning had been streaking across the sky, followed by distant, lloonlillg thunder. After l1lllCllCOll the clouds l7CL'1ll'llC evell lllore tlll'CZltCl'llll,Q' and yet where we sat on the rilll of the lllarvelous chasnl lllill the Colorado River has formed, the sun shone brightly. XVhen the stornl hnally broke ill the Canyon, everyone of us ruslled headlong for the veranda of El Tovaf. fllllb' Qxpeeting to get S

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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-

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out-mar. 37 a wetting before we reached its shelter. lint the rain did not follow us: it stayed, as if bound by a spell, jt1st beyond the rim. lt seemed to us as if we were in a theatre watching a play, for while we sat in the stmshine we watched the lightning and the pouring rain, saw the trees on the edge bend over so far that it seemed they must break and crash to the bottom, and heard the thunder. now crackling and crashing close at hand, again roaring and reechoing in the dis- tance. Gradually, as if yielding to some greater power, the rain ceased, the wind died away, and in the mist which rose from the Canyon there faintly appeared an unusual rainbow, for the sun- light was retiected in such a way that it formed a perfect circle. Xkihile we gazed, almost breath- less, the colors deepened until they became ex- ceedingly brilliant. In the few spots where tiie mist that surrounded the rainbow had lifted, the richer, deeper shades of the grotesque rocks peeped through. Although the vision faded all too quickly, in those brief moments it made a strikingly beautiful and never-to-be-forgotten picture. XYhen the mist had entirely lifted, the Can- yon lay in a glory of splendid colors, seemingly proud that it had given its best for our pleasure. A KI. li. H. 'i6. DECK SPORTS. One summer, while crossing the Atlantic ocean on the Imperator, many amusements were planned to entertain the guests. Those which interested me most were the t'Deck Sportsf' These took place on the top-most deck, a part of which was roped off for those who had entered them. Boys and girls went around with paper and pencil asking the passen- gers to sign their names under the name of the sport they wished to take part in. After a sulii- cient number had signed, the games commenced. First there was a potato race for girls. Rows. consisting of seven potatoes for each one, were The plan was to pick run back to the other a pail. A whistle was The girls seemed to ac- placed upon the deck. these up with a spoon, end, and put them into blown and all were off. complish this very easily at first and for a time it looked as though there would be a tie, but towards the end, the ship gave a lurch, making all the potatoes roll to one side. A great dis- pute would have then arisen concerning the Winner of the race, if one of the girls had not reached the pail with her last potato just at this moment. -- After this came a contest for men and boys C2lllCfl UTl1C Pillflw light on the spar. For this a large pole was stretched from a small deck house to the railing of the ship. Two boys each with a pillow in one hand would then sit across the spar. The one who could knock the other off tirst was the winner. ,Ns they were not al- lowed to touch anvthing with the other hand they had to balance themselves the best way they could. .Xs many of them were very clever at this stunt, it lasted for quite a while be- fore anyone was proclaimed the winner. Third on the program came the three-legged race for ladies. This caused more laughter than any of the others, as there was one couple which was very amusing. Une girl had on white ten- nis shoes, and a wide white skirt: the other wore black high-heeled slippers, purple stock- ings and a narrow skirt. The latter not being able to take long steps, had to be pulled and dragged along by her partner. .Xs their oppo- nents were simplv dressed, everybody thought, of course, that they would easily win the race. llut,-this was not so easy. The whistle was blown and they were off. Much to the surprise of everyone it was a tie. They ran a second time. This also was a tie, llut the third time the girl with the high-heeled slippers draffffed 1 5 . Pu ' 65 along, almost carried by her partner, won the race. Then arose great applause and cheering. Une of the most amusing sports was the sack race for men. in this each man tied himself in a bag and had to race from one end of the course to the other. Some of them tried to run, but as this was impossible, they consequently fell down. tlne man was quite an expert at this, as he knew exactly how it must be done. He gave long hops, jumping with both feet together and therefore had no ditticulty in winning. Following this came the needle and thread race for men and women. They stood in a row opposite each other, the women at one end holding the needles and the men at the other with the thread. liach man had to run to the woman opposite him, thread the needle, then run back again with it. This was a ditlicult task as they had to thread the needle without touch- ing it., The one who accomplished this tirst was This race was most unique as it showed the adaptability of the men, for the one who won it proved to be a regular bachelor. Then came one of the most interesting sports of the dav, the l'ounding Nail contest for women, .X box, hammer and nails were given to each woman. They then had to pound the nails straight in the box. if one was pounded in crooked, it had to lie taken out and put in the winner.