Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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38 OUT- DIRE again. Very few could do this, but finally one young nonian accomplished the feat. The last was a shoe race for children. Each girl and boy took off his or her shoes and put them into a large bag which was placed at one end of the deck, Starting at the opposite end they were to run to the bag, dump the shoes out, put on their own pair, and then run hack to the starting point again. XYhoever accomplished this first was the winner. Une little girl, very much excited, reached the bag first, put on a pair of shoes, and ran back to the starting point. liut much to her dismay, she found that she had on mismates. She then ran all the way back again: hut. by this time, a little fellow, much younger, found his shoes, put them on, even laced them up, and reached the starting point first. Thus he was proclaimed the winner. Everyone, very much surprised, crowded around him and congratulated him upon his quickness. The prizes were then awarded to the winners. These were spoons, penknives, and cups with a picture of the Tmperator upon them. They had been donated by the commodore of the ship. This ended a most enjoyable afternoon, not only for the contestants, but also for the audience. D. L. '16, THE ERL-KING. CTrar1s1ated from the Germanj XYho rides through the night and the wind so wild? A father, it is, with his little childg lie has his little son well in his arm, He holds him closely, he keeps him warm. My son, what makes you your pale face hide See, father, the wicked lirl-king l have spied The old Erl-king with his crown and train. 'fMy son, it is only the fog and rain. 'ff Jh, dear, sweet child, come go with me! Most beautiful toys l will give to thee: Many gay Howers I will give thee to holdg My mother has many a garment of gold. My father, my father, oh, do you not hear XYhat the Erl-king whispers soisoft in my ear? He still, he quiet, my little child, i In the dry leaves rustles the wind so mild. Uh, nice little boy. will you gn with me? My daughters gladly will wait on thee: My daughters will put you to sleep at night, ljy singing and dancing so soft and light. My father, my father, and do you not see The Erl-king's daughters in yonder dark tree. My son, it is naught but the willow so gray, That shines in the fog like a pale moon ray. pn Your beautiful form has captured my heart, And force I will use, if unwilling thou art! My father, my father, oh, do you not see llow the Erl-king is seizing and hurting me? The father rides fast and shudders to hear The groans of his own little son so dear, .-Xt last, with great trouble, he reaches the farm, Hut cold and dead is the child in his arm. M. D. L. 'I6. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH DRAMA. About the eleventh century, the clergy be- gan to feel that the illiterate mass of people should be taught more about the Bible than the Latin services could give. .Xccordingly they arranged tableaux in the chaneel of the church and acted out scenes for each festival day. For instance, on Christmas, they repre- sented Christ in the manger. A star, strung on a wire from one end of the church to the other, guided some shepherds to the manger. The English knew only of English shepherds, so the costumes were not those of shepherds in the lloly Land. The little Child was rep- resented by a doll in a cradle, and the gifts of the shepherds were mittens, balls, and various other toys. The choir boys, singing hymns, were the angels. Un Good Friday the cruci- fix was buried and on Easter morn it was brought from the tomb. These representa- tions were in Latin and were always acted by the clergy. They were called Liturgical Plays. XYhen the Normans came into England, they brought the Miracle l'lays. These were plays based on saintly legends and Bible stories. The first recorded miracle play in England was given in honor of St. Katherine by the pupils in a school near St. Albans. At first they were controlled entirely by the Church, and pro- duced in the churches, then in the church- yards and later on the village green, or in the town streets. Gradually they passed out of the control of the Church and were performed by the Guilds for incorporated associations of various trades and crafts j. At length these miracle plays were arranged in series called cycles The cycles narrated events from the Creation to Doomsday, and were often elabor- ated by some imaginative author. In one Old N hai

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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.

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OUT- DTRE 39 cycle it mentions Noah's wife, and states that she insisted on spinning and would not enter the ark. She disliked the shape, for she said she could not tell the front from the back! At last, as the tlood rises higher and higher, Noah picks her up, spinning wheel and all, and car- ries her to safety. The miracle plays were often given on page- ants. A pageant looked like a huge box on low wheels. This box was divided into two stories,-the lower one, enclosed by curtains, was used as a dressing room, and the upper one as a stage. The pageants were drawn through the town, stopping at each appointed place, and giving one play in the series. At each stopping place the townspeople gather- ed and could, by remaining in one spot, see the whole cycle from beginning to end. The cos- tumes of the actors were always in the latest English fashion, and the scenery was decided- ly crude. At almost the same time as the miracle plays came the Moralities. These were alle- gories, i. e., symbolic representations in which abstract qualities were personified. They showed every man's constant struggle with various temptations and evils. They were usually performed in courtyards, over which the balconies 'hung on three sides, leaving the fourth as a stage. One of the most famous plays of this kind is Everyman, in which the hero represents an ordinary human being, who is oppressed by earthly vanities. Gradually, humor began to enter more and more into these plays, until. the audience became more in- terested in the funny little evil spirits who hopped about and annoyed the hero, than in the good spirits who recited long religious moralizing speeches. About the middle of the sixteenth century, John Heywood introduced a new form of amusement called the Interlude. The Interludes were often performed between the courses of a banquet or immediately after it. They were short, comical plays, composed mostly of wit- ty conversations. Heywood's best-known work is 'KThe Four P's,,'-a dialogue between the Palmer, the Pardoner, the 'f'Poti- ti ti 'AP H Cary, an ie edlar. For a prize each man tries to tell the biggest lie. The Palmer wins, for his lie is that, in all his travels, he has never seen a woman out of patience! The only thing n-ow needed to make a regu- lar drama was the development of a plot and a cli-max. The first regular comedy, Ralph Roister Doisterf' was written by a Sql-10O1maS- ter and acted by his pupils. The plot turns on the importance of correct punctuation. l'oor Ralph, tricked by his friend, sent what he thought was a love letter to a fair widow. Sweet mistress whereas 1 love you nothing at all, Regarding your substance and riches chief of all, For your personage, beauty, demeanor and wit, f commend me unto you never a whit. Sorry to hear report of your good welfare. fly changing the punctuation to its correct position, we have what the hero reallv intend- ed to say: I Sweet mistress, whereas l love you: nothing at all Regarding your substance and riches: chief of all For your personage, beauty, demeanor and wit I commend me unto youi never a whit Sorry to hear report of your good welfare. The first English tragedy was Gorboduc or Ferrex and Porrexf' From this time on, drama developed in plot, characterization, and variety of subject matter. I. McC., '16. A VISIT FROM LAFAYETTE. fn 18.24, when Lafayette revisited the United States, he was to spend an evening in Frank- fort, Kentucky, The town was greatly ex- cited over this coming honor and eagerly set about to prepare his welcome. An entertain- ment committee was elected, consisting of the most prominent citizens. Among these was my great-great-aunt, Rfargaretta Brown, who was usually chosen for such duties because she was the wife of the judge. She was doubly pleased to find herself in this position. as Laf- ayette had been a friend of her own father. NYashington's army chaplain. and she herself knew him. But she heard with dismay that it was decided to hold a large ball in his honor, for, having been brought up in a strict Pres- byterian household, she felt that it would be wrong to go. However, preparations did not lag for want of her help. She did her best in decorating the city hall and in assisting with the refreshments. It was to be a delightful af- fair and Aunt Kfargaretta's part in the antici- pation made her wish to go more than ever. The day came only too rapidly, but every- thing was in readiness. At the appointed hour. even ,fudge flrown had been looked over and approved by his fond wife, and started oiif for