The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-07-11
GRADUATED.



Majesty, Beauty and Wit form an Attrac-
live n-Scntillations of Gen
ius from Fair Graduates and Demo,nen
Ia PeroratiOns from the Rising spirits 81
'Sl-NoIes and Happenings.
The graduating exercises of the high school
class of S4 passed off with great success at the
town hall Monday evening. Although the
,evening was an almost insufierably warm one,
and the hall crowded with people. order and at
tention prevailed throughout. The class con-
sisted of ID members, girls and boys, as fol-
lows. Annie L Horton Mary Il Ayers, Frances
Il Guild, Belle Hodgkins, Lucy NJ Chase, Mary
] Clark, Minnie A Colburn, Theodore W Kirk
land. Charles Il Crosby, George III Horton,
Frank Taft Martin Austin and Fred Cressy.
The stage was ornamented at the right and left
with groups of flowers and ferns very tastefuly
arranged, and in the center background was q
large gilt horseshoe and sprig of four leaf clover,
the former bearing the motto, "Non N0bis
Soluna." Below were pots of ferns and bright
colored flowers. While the orchestra were
playing the opening number, the class took
their places upon the stage, with Revs Lee and
Collins, DR. II ID Hoton and Il w Stoddard at
the right. The young ladies wore white muslin
gowns, with short tu,l skirts and bclted waists /;
white satin ribbon was worn about the waists,
and fell at the left side in long loops and ends.
knotted with daisies and buttercups. The
young men also wore boMtonnieres OF roses and
buds, and all wore class badges Prayer was
Offered by Rev H Lee, as follows:
THE PRAYER.
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we thank
Thee for the inheritance which VIC have from our
Father for all the institutions OF religion and edu-
cation by which society through lie is guarded
and maintained. We bless Thee that Thou didst bring
to these godly men, men who had been foster
ed in institutions of learning, which are power
for christianity in the church OF Christ the school
and the college. We desire to acknowledge, 0 God,
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and source OF
hail in
day. Now this evening, our Father, we especially
thank Thee for the schools which have been built
up and sustained in this community. we thank
Thee for all the discipline, training and culture
conferred upon the young people in this commun,
ity. We thank Thee tonight again that they send
forth from these schools class OF young people
who are looking forward in life eagerly, hopefully
and gladly with large expectation, and we ask Thy
blessing, o Lord, upon this hour. Grant Thy
blessing, we pray Thee upon these scholars ana
give wisdom unto the teachers. Give them just
sense of the high functions they fill in this COM
munty, in their lives and character. and may
the instruction given leave such al impression
upon the young shall be perpetual guiding pow
Ell through all the future. Bless, we pray Ihee,
especially this graduating class. Our eyes are upon
them and we pray Thee, God, that every one OF
them may be true to the teachings they have receiv-
ed, that every one of them may remember all tnat
they have learned, and may the wisdom concerning
life with the discipline they have received WIN ,ne
power for good to this community, and In the World
wherever their lot shall be cast. Grant, y Lord,
May they not be satisfied with what has been at,
tanned, but thirst for 0 Lord bless us in all
our homes all the families of this community that
are receiving instruction from these schools. ELL
these schools with wisdom and light from above.
God bless these institutions here and elsewhere.
Bless them throughout our land, and grant, God,
that the young of land may be aroused to right
eousness, knowledge and truth, and become great,
true and grand nation, leading the nations OF the
earth in knowledge and righteousness. Now wilt
Thou bless us this hour. Grant us Thy blessing on
all that is said and done, and lead in the way of
truth and light, and finally save us for Christs
sake. Amen.
The defamation by Theodore Kirkland on
Patriotic Virtue which followed, was delivered
in an earnest and energetic manner ana was u.s.
tened to with close attention. Miss Chase then
read an essay written by herself at the cose OF
which she recited portion of the lovely poem,
1.-TWO Villages" Following is her subject and
few of the thoughts she expressed upon it:
SILENT CITIES Earth is dotted with them.
Beside the busting, NOISY city lies the silent one.
The essay spoke of the cemeteries or the OLD
and new world describing some, around which
cluster many historic memories. Silent cities
like cities of the living vary in size and popula-
ton. There is sad pleasure in strewlng with
flowers the graves of our departed ones. Our
feelings are touched in reading inscriptions that
recall scenes in their lives and we leave the 81
lent spot with saddened hearts But we must
remember that sometime we shall 1nhaDlt that
quiet village on the hill where the houses are OF
grass and flowers and the doors arc OF marble,
and where all the inhabitants lie and rest.
After singing by large chorus of scholars,
Miss Hodgkins read her thoughtful essay on
WORKING AND REsTING.-Man can obtain
livelihood in three ways: by working, begging
and stealing. Although only the first Is re-
spectacle, the latter are practiced either by
those who cannot obtain employment OF by
those who are too indolent. Each one has his
rightful share of labor, and for each idle per-
son there is heavier burden laid on willing
shoulders. In affluent circumstances, in the
humble conditions of life, there should be no
exception. And if necessity does not compel
us to toll for ourselves, let us do SO for the good
of others, and often the result of our endeavors
will unexpectedly bless our lives. Working for
others we uproot the seeds of selfisLness and in
their stead SOW seeds of love and kindness
which will yield harvest of happiness. Rest
ing she held to be one of the essentials OF llfe
hut to obtain rest we must not fill our lives
with the spirit of unrest by continual longing
for the unattainable. Rest is enjoyment, bodily
and mental, and contentment is rest Our mo-
ments of cessation from toll may be employed
in reading or other useful manner, and when
our work is accomplished on this earth God
will give us as a reward for our falthfulness
rest which shall not be broken.
Frank Taft did himself much credit both in
his defamation on the "1mperishabilty of
Great Examples" and in his essay, which
showed him to be not only capable OF thinking
upon grave and important questions but of
thinking logically.
TARIFF SHOULD BE FOR REVENUE ALONE
He held the protective tariff to be an injustice
and illustrated his statement by the bicycle
trade The English make the machines cheap
er, but owing to the tariff laid by the American
Government, buyer must pay for them even
more than the eXorbtant price asked by Amer
lean manufacturers. OF course he is compelled
to buy of the latter who get the profit. He
claimed that the government has no right to
compel one man to pay more than goods are
worth to benefit another. 1t should treat all
alike. He does not believe that country is
benefited by protective tariff in the ways so
often argued. There is no reason why countries
should not trade with one another as men of
the same country do. Though a small revenue
tariff would cut off the manufacture of many
things in such quantities as they are now made,
and throw many people out of employment, yet
there are other wide fields of labor with better
pay.-as, for instance, the taking up of western
Government lands a protective tariff yields
less money for the government than revenue
tariff would, because foreign article, highly
taxed is not bought and the government loses
both protective and revenue taxes, which go
into the pockets of manufacturers, while others
are compelled to pay high prices for the COM
forts of life.
A very pleasant feature of the entertainment
1vere the recitations by Misses Mary Clark and
Annie Horton. Both spoke clearly and dis
tinctlv, and their selections, both excellent,
though widely different in sentiment, seemed
especially fitted to their respective Evolutionary
talents Miss Clark's recitation, "The Old
WAYS and the New" was followed bv chorus
song, aye shepherds Tell Me, in the course of
which several very well executed solos were
heard. Perhaps the most thoughtful, analytic
and well written essay of the evening was that
of Miss Horton, which was read by Miss Min