Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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16 THE QUIVER A SHIP O’ FANCY A ship o’ fancy I once did sail, O’er a beautiful amethyst sea; But a wind did blow That wrecks such ships, And my ship o’ fancy It wrecked for me. I Faith was my captain, ; Hope, his mate; But Illusion stood guard O’er the wheel with Fate. • And one dark night, When Faith was not there, The storm did come That wrecked my ship fair. i Though my ship is wrecked, My captain’s left for me, And he still in my dreams Sails that amethyst sea. MILDRED L. BUXTON, ’23.

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THE QUIVER 15 Leading up to the house from the gate is a beautiful avenue lined on both sides with giant pine, elm, and ash trees. In front of the house is a charming flower garden with little walks of white stone, which glisten in the sun, and here and there are cozy nooks with little white benches, also of stone, sheltered by rambling rose vines. There is but one low step before a door made of wood and painted dark brown. On the door is a big brass knocker, on which are engraved the coat of arms and the motto of my mother’s people. The house is surrounded by acres of valuable land. On the east side is a large hay yard closed in by a high wall, where the hay, corn, and turf are kept for use during the winter. Some distance beyond this is a small brook, which adds to the charm of the scene. Stretching away to the west is a great farm, where the planting is done. Here also is a large coach house, where the farming implements and the carriages are kept; and here again is a large paddock, where a ferocious bull is confined. At the western extremity is a remarkable spring, from which all the drinking water and all the water used for cooking are taken. This is drawn in great pails every morning and carried to the house for use during the day. Behind the house is the dairy, where the cream is separated and the butter made. Going down a little slope, one sees a large space fenced in, where the cattle graze. There are. perhaps, ten or twelve cows, two horses, twenty-four pigs, and twenty sheep, both black and white, each kind of animal in its own compartment within this enclosure. The northern extremity is the most picturesque. Here is a large river, Abann Sliah, Mountain River, which joins the Shannon. At this point on the river is a beautiful castle, which was formerly the ancient residence of the Obriens, earls of Inchiquin, on the opposite side of which is lovely Inchiquin Lake, a mile in length, with a hill (Cantlay or Countlay), celebrated in legend, rising over its western shore. The lake gives name to the barony of Inchiquin. This view is plainly seen from the northern side of the house. The death of any member of this family was made known to the household a week before its occurrence by the crying of the banshee, famous in Irish tradition, who came to the hank of the river every night and could be heard crying from evening till daybreak. This castle is now untenanted and is gradually falling to decay. The beauty of this Irish home under the light of the moon is a sight long to be remembered. The stillness of the scene in the evening twilight seems to be invoking the blessing of God after the labors of the day. FRANCES M. BETAGH. ’23.

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THE QUIVER A MORTAL COMBAT 17 Early one morning last summer, I had gone into my hack yard to look at the garden, when my eye was attracted by what looked like a piece of fine cloth. It was covered with dew drops and sparkled in the early sun. I bent closer to examine it and discovered that it was a spider’s web. It was shaped like a funnel, with the mouth spreading out over the grass like a cloth. The smaller end of the funnel disappeared under a large lettuce leaf. Deep in the tunnel I could see two glistening spots, barely visible to the eye. While I could not see what they were, I knew that they must be the eyes of the spider. What the spider looked like I had no idea. Wishing to see him, I took a small stick and tried to poke him out. Instead of running out, he ran farther into his tunnel. Upon further provocation he disappeared from sight. Looking under the lettuce leaf to see where he had gone, I discovered that there was an opening at the other end of the tunnel, through which he had escaped. Realizing that it would be useless to try to find him, 1 left the web, intending to come again the following morning to learn more. The next morning I was out in the garden very early. The web of the previous day was still there, but it was badly torn and was unoccupied. I was disappointed; but as I looked up, I was pleased again, tor not five feet from the first web was another one. 1 approached cautiously so as not to scare the occupant, if any were there. This time the spider was out in plain sight. His body was of a uniform gray. His legs were of a light shade of brown with darker stripes running in bands. Down his back were also two rows of small, black spots, with a lighter line running between them. The spinnerets protruded about one-eighth of an inch. His head was not much smaller than his abdomen. On the forehead were set two small, glossy, coal-black eyes, between which were clustered four smaller eyes. His mouth was armed by two heavy, powerful fangs. His body fn.m tip to tip was about an inch long. Just then my attention was attracted by the buzzing of a wasp that was hovering over the web. I made a sweep with my hand and succeeded in knocking the wasp into the spider’s web. The conflict that followed was a real combat. The spider rushed towards the wasp, but stopped short as if considering whether it were best to attack or not. The wasp could not get away because she was entangled in the web. She was opening and closing her jaws as if to bite and was also brandishing her dagger. The spider was at an advantage because he could run around, while the wasp was limited in her motions.