The Portland daily press., 1893-06-07
THE GLORY OF JUNE.
The Month Of Flowers and Sweet
Girl Graduates.

a. "
Portentous Days Are These For the Maid
en- Who Stands Upon the Threshold O.
the world-Preparing Her Graduation
Thesis and Commencement Gown.
tCopyright, 1898. by American Press Associa
toni
It is in June that the sweet girl grad.
uate holds court. She is one of the pref
test sights to look at in a month full OF
lovely things Surrounded by flowers
she seems part of the month of flowers,
rs indeed she is. The two have become
one for the time. She is the personifca.
ion of this month of roses and summe,
beauty. Her life is at it's June, and to
her
Never has the world been half so radiant.
Nor its shapes Of sorrow and dismay
Ever seemed SO few and faraway.
Let no one think that the flowers and
music and lights and costumes of com
mencement are anything but the merest
accessories. The evolution of a gradu-
ate began years before when fright
ened little girl was left for her first day
in school away from her mother. That
day was followed by hundreds of others,
each with its own tasks and it's pleas
ures as well. There are great many
OF the former and judicious sprinkling
OF the latter, enough to sweeten but not
to spoil the school life. Class after class
is passed like the various stations on
railway journey until at last the ter
minus is near.
Then there are many special prepara-
tions, mental as well as material, for the
sweet girl graduate isn't composed en-
tirely of clothes, as many Of her para
graphers seem to think. Underneath
the silken or muslin or lace gowns are
hearts full of purpose and earnestness-
hearts that lean out hopefully toward
the life that lies before them. The ma
jority look forward to time spent at
least partly in work, and the common
resolve made on commencement night is
to have that work good. 1t may not be
SO. Some of the girls may turn out to
be failures, but at least their purpose is
high and relieves them from the charge
of being naught but distracting bundles
of fine feathers
Do you, oh, women in thousand
walks of life, ever go back to your grad
uation night? Perhaps you do when your
daughters last year at high school, SEM
mary or college is hurrying you in your
preparations for her commencement sea-
son. How it all comes back again! It
was the happiest as it was SO far the
most important night in your young
life. Work lay behind, work lay before,
but on that June night there needed to
be only folded hands whose greatest bur-
den was the white scroll, ribbon tied
your essay-or that other white scroll
marked with name-your diploma. At
most you would be laden with book
or medal or the floral gifts Of friends
only such sweet burdens as these.
You sat surrounded by figures in white
dresses, like yourself, with dainty sashes,
gloves and few flowers for ornament.
The sweet girl graduate never needs any
other. She is flower herself, and jew
els are out of place on her. The boy
graduates sat behind. Alas, poor thingl
that he cannot be given more special
mention, and an august body of men
those who had in charge the administra-
ton Of the schools affairs-were near.
There was singing, and the boys showed
their skill in oratory on some stirring
subject, while the girls, you among the
rest, read essays on very pretty topics,
in which you had absolutely no expert
ence, but in which imagination played
an important part.
There was more music, then speeches
from the august body before mentioned,
every one of whom told you III substance
that your life work lay before you and
that school life was only preparation
for it, and last the prizes and diplomas.
Then friends crowded round to congrat-
ulate you on having finished school and
on your essay writing and reading. You
were whirled away home in carriage.
and the great day was over.
1t does one good to recollect all this
once in awhile Commencement day is
time dedicated to the celebration OF
success No failures are evident then.
The pupils who tried and fell short in
the scholarship necessary to graduation
are Of course too ashamed and disap-
pointed to show their faces. So that
only successes are present. Everything
goes smoothly, and everybody looks well.
No matter how many plain girls have
lived in the senior classrooms for a year,
somehow all look pretty in white dresses
under gaslight. There is magic about
the two that transforms every one.
Do you know what is the very pref
test commencement costume that can
be devised for the sweet girl graduate?
A simple white dress, with black Ok
ford cap and gown. It is too bad that
only college girls are supposed to wear
them-and they do not always don them
at commemorative probably there
are 10 times as many high school as college
graduates, and the caps and gowns are
so bewitching. They make the plainest
girl look striking, and the prettiest one
well, words will not express it. But