Potosi journal., 1906-01-17
BY MARGARET r sANGSTER

d dAhGAREI Z. SANdSl
Copyright 1905. by Joseph B. Bowles.)
When l was schoolgirl we used to
| look forward with great anticipation
to our annual school exhibitions. do
| not know why the powers that were
| then in authority made a distinction
| between girls reading her own essay
and girls reciting 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 a rule. sat
modestly in the front seats of the
chapel, in our white frocks, while
members OF the school committee or
local clergyman read our compositions
for us. In the ideal of that day wom-
| 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
Q change. l remember very we'll the
first time stood before what seemed
to me a crowd of attentive faces and
read a composition of my own. The
subject was Temperance" and it was
treated with great force by the IA,
year-od 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" l still remember that man
most gratefully.
Still later, we had in our school
what today 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
ers and of grains, a Ceres, Flora,
a Persephone, and a train of people
representing 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
1t 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, l 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 May Queen play"
wish I had it now, but it long
ago was lost in the limbo Of forgetful.
ness. The thing l can see with my
eyes shut is the beautiful pageant
with the prettiest girl in school as
Queen of the May. and everyone from
the oldest TO the youngest taking some
rart in her coronation. either singing
song or making an address while
the whole school, drilled by the mu
sical director. broke forth into fre.
quent chorals.
now. They afford a great deal of di.
version to those who form the cast
to the rest of the class interested, and
to the spectators. In 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
are usually simple, and the stage set
ting is necessarily whatever the girls
can manage with screens and portieres
and their own clever wits But there
is far more than diversion secured
! in the care and pains with which the
| characters are selected, in the many
| rehearsals under the supervision of
teachers, and in the fidelity with
which the girls repeat the lines as
signed them.
Whatever part a girl may take, she
Is expected to prepare for it with dill.
gence and accuracy and to regard it
as important. whether it be that of
q leading lady or of a maid in wait
ing. On the mimic stage of the school.
room there must be respect for the
work for the works sake; there must
be due consideration of the honor of
the school as a whole, and there must
be also great patience and fOrbearance
among the girls themselves. because
when group of people are rehearsng
for a play there may be impulsive
criticisms of those who blunder and
little frictions which, for the moment
hurt the sensitive and annoy the
quick-tempered. Girls rush to superla.
tives at such times. We have to put
temper wholly aside whenever we
are working towards a common enc.
One of the most important lessons
In life. one that girls need to learn,
is bow to work in harmony with 9th.
ers. In this life we are all somehow
bound in one bundle, and il anybody
declares that she is going to stand
all alone and DO her work all alone,
and have her pleasures all alone, she
Is making a great mistake one that
she will find out to her cost after
awhile
A girl who takes her little share in
school dramatics will by and by be a
graceful hostess in her home, and IL
the opportunity arises. she will be
able easily to entertain her friends,
and tn arrange pleasant evenings for
little social groups. In her church,