Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-01-12
BY MARGARET E. sANGsTER.

:, Copyright. 1905. by Joseph B. Bowles)
 When I was schoolgirl we used to look forward with great anticipation
 to our annual school exhibitions. I do
 not know why the powers that were
 then in authority made a distinction
 between girls reading her own essay and girls reciting a poem by some.
 body else, but this they did. Boys were required to declaim and great stress was laid in their education on the cultivation of ease before an audi. ence. But we girls, as rule, sat modestly in the front seats of the chapel, ins our white -ffocks,., while members of the school committee or local clergyman read our compositions for us:.' Tn, the, ideal of thai. day wof1. ans place was in the sweet shelter and beautiful background of her home, and young girls were not encouraged to take part in public exercises of any kind. The exception was in favor of the smaller girls, who were dressed like fairies and came tripping out to sing solo or recite a bit of verse, and who were taught to curtsey deep ly in response to applause from the listeners.
 In my later schooldays there came . change. remersber very well the first time stood before what seemed to me crowd of attentive faces and read composition of my own. The subject was Temperance" and it was treated with great force by the IA year-old girl who had chosen so big a theme. In the middle of the reading she became frightened, lost her place and her voice, and could hardly have gone on, but for kind gentleman who came and stood by her side, say ing: Never mind them, my dear. Read straight ahead. I'll stay right by you" I still remember that man most gratefully.
 Still later we had in our school what to-day might be called venture in school dramatics. We of the senior class decided that we must have a May Queen, with court attendants, fairies, elves trolls, queens of flow CTS and of grains. Ceres, Flora, a Persephone, and train of people different phases of the earth and the sea. Our scheme was so ambitious that we could not find any. thing in print by which we could carry it out, and the girls with one consent turned to me, saying: You must write play for us, or else our May Queen will be failure" Looking back, I have always been surprised at the way the teachers acted in the mat. ter, but our lovely principal when ap- preached was really most gracious. Why, yes," she said. Miss NJ may be excused from all her classes for the next week. while she is writing the Mey Queen play"
 wish had it now, but it long ago was lost in the limbo of forgetful. ness. The thing can see with my eyes shut is the beautiful pageant, WltH tHe plcttlSSl ehi III sCuuOl ds Queen of the May. and everyone from the oldest to the youngest taking some part in her coronation, either singing a song or making an address while the whole school. drilled by the mu. sical director, broke forth into fire luent chorals.
 
 School dramatics are very common now. They afford a great deal of di version to those who form the cast .o the rest of the class interested, and .o the spectators. Tn our colleges an event of the year is the rendering of ! play of Shakespeare. such as Mid, summer Nights Dream" or Much Ado About Nothing" The properties Ire usually simple. and the stage set ing is necessarily whatever the girls ,an manage with screens and portieres md their own clever wits. But there S far more than diversion secured IT the care and pains with which the characters are selected. in the many -ehearsals under the supervision of and in the fidelity with xhfah tha girle ranaot sha linaz n.