Silver Links Part 7

May fortune on you ever smile, And blessings on you flow, This, this shall be our prayer for you, Wherever you may go.

For many truly grateful hearts, You surely here may find, Who fully all your gifts esteem To elevate the mind.

Now, with best wishes to you all, On parting we'll not dwell, But to our teachers, cla.s.smates, friends We'll say, farewell, farewell.

Address of Mr. Henry Moore

_To the Cla.s.s of '91._

IN BEHALF OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Of course, it is not expected that the representatives of the School Committee will have very much to say. You have listened very attentively to all that has been already said, and I think that the ground has been still further covered in what has already been said.

It may not be known to all present that this Society, merging community of interest at the time when the camp fires of the Revolution had just burned out, a.s.sociated themselves together for mutual protection and for one another's general good. It was to relieve the unfortunate, the widow and the orphan that brought together the great mechanic minds of the past, and all a-down the past century we can find that they have always been ready, always been anxious, always been willing to lend the hand of kindness and attention to those whom they found in need, to a.s.sist, to protect and to care for. Robinson, in one of his poems, has said, "Who will break the bread of sorrow? Who will give the cup of sympathy? Who breathe of sympathy to those who are suffering, and relieve with the cup of sympathy the sorrowing ones of earth?" I do not think I have quoted that exactly, but it has been the motto of this Society ever to protect those who needed their protection; to care for those who needed their care and their bounty, and to-night we find the result of this care and protection, in the graduates of the Cla.s.s of '90-'91. I leave this matter with you for reflection. We all know and realize what it is to be a member of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, and I, for one, am thankful to be able to say to you in hearty welcome and in hearty greeting that the evidences are now before you of the well-being, and the comfort, and the joy, and the happiness of the graduates of the Cla.s.s of '90-'91.

Valedictory

BY MISS HILDA BUSICK.

_Cla.s.s of '91._

[A]Das ist im Leben haslich eingerichtet, Das Bei den Rosen gleich die Dornen stehn; Und was das arme Herz auch sehnt und dichtet, Zum Schlusse kommt das Voneinandergehen.

[Footnote A: 'Tis said, alas, that life must have its sorrows, That with the roses cruel thorns should grow; And though we fondly dream of love's to-morrows, Must every heart the grief of parting know.]

The words of the poet are but too true. What rose does not hold up its pretty, fragrant head, feigning unconsciousness of the thorns hidden beneath its bright, green leaves? And just so life's joys are with its sorrows a.s.sociated. There never was a _perfectly_ happy day, unclouded as the skies of June, for every pleasure, inasmuch as it must end, carries with it some sadness--every meeting, the pain of parting.

So to-night the joyous echo of "welcome" is still to be heard, the fragrance of its roses is yet perceptible, when the solemn "_Farewell_" rings upon our ears and its thorns pierce our hearts.

Ruskin says, "It is a type of eternal truth that the soul's armor is never well set to the heart, unless a woman's hand has braced it, and it is only when she braces it loosely that the honor of manhood fails." If then, the honor of the world is dependent upon woman, if she is to be responsible for all war and all peace, happiness or discontent, it behooves us to consider the greatness, amounting to almost awe, of the duty imposed upon us. Our task may, perhaps, be a difficult one, but not if we seize it with an unyielding grasp, and fight it to the bitter end--"to the last syllable of recorded time"--if need be.

Our circle of usefulness is constantly widening. The doors of colleges, and thus those of every profession, have opened to admit us within their sacred precincts. In all parts of the world our sisters are successful as musicians, painters, sculptors--Harriet Hosmer, for example--physicians, professors, stenographers. Many of them are now on the highest rounds of the ladders from which their lack of superior education formerly excluded them. This is especially true of stenography. Yet some one has recently written, that, owing to their superior tact in arrangement, their neatness, their un.o.btrusiveness, their faithfulness, and numerous other excellent qualities, the demand for women in this capacity is steadily increasing. We find them filling lucrative positions in banking, commercial and publishing houses; in brokers' and insurance offices, in law firms, in fact, in every place where the haste of this nineteenth century requires a stenographer's speed. Indeed, they have made for themselves, in the use of the "winged words," a name which it is our duty to a.s.sist in more firmly establishing.

In behalf of my cla.s.smates, as well as for myself, I wish to thank our Instructor most cordially for his thorough teaching; for the interest he awakened in us toward this intricate art, without which we would have long since been compelled to cry "Vanquished;" for his timely a.s.sistance over the sharp pointed stones and by the brier bushes in the darkened forest, and for his patience which our forgetfulness so sorely tried. And, though our words of grat.i.tude may be weak, the feeling is deep-rooted in our hearts, and through the years to come we shall carry with us many pleasant memories of the hours spent with him, and never fail to appreciate his more than kindness.

The neat typewritten exercises, letters and legal doc.u.ments, which the members of the typewriting cla.s.s have at different times shown us, are an earnest of the work done in that department, and we can have no doubt that his pupils feel grateful to their teacher.

The School Committee, indeed all the members of the G. S. M. & T., have our heartiest thanks for their kindness in enabling so many to gain a profession, and for the interest they have always manifested in our welfare.

One word of "Farewell" to my cla.s.smates: During the past Winter, while studying together, many of us have formed strong friendships, which we hope shall never decay, or have bound more closely those who were friends before. Several of the more fortunate have already obtained positions, making profitable use of the treasures received from our Instructor. But the others need not despair, for if we are faithful and determined we shall in due time receive our call, and "In quiet and in confidence shall be our strength," perfection shall be our aim, and when we have reached the goal, may it be said of us, as Antony said of Brutus:

"Nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"

In our journey through life, when doubts fall thick and fast around us, and the lowering sky seems just above our heads, surely these beautiful words of Goethe will fill us with encouragement:

"Wouldst thou win desires unbounded?

Yonder see the glory burn, Lightly is our life surrounded, Sleep's a sh.e.l.l to scorn and spurn, When the crowd sways unbelieving, Slow the daring will that warns, He is crowned with all achieving Who perceives and then performs."

CLa.s.s NIGHT EXERCISES

A Prophecy of the Cla.s.s of '91.

BY MISS HILDA BUSICK.

Know All Men By These Presents, that I, having departed this life, have received permission from Pluto, King of the Shades, to return to this world and make known to you, less fortunate mortals, your destiny. While lounging idly on the banks of the "River of Oblivion,"

the sovereign of that sunless region permitted me to read in his "Book of Life." Listlessly turning over the pages I saw a name in bold characters: "W. L. Mason, City, County and State of New York." Then the pages began to turn of their own accord and the names of my former friends and acquaintances, _inter alia_, presented themselves in rapid succession.

Mary A. Moore and her husband; John Williamson; our well-known pugilistic friend, John L. Sullivan; a "hen-pecked" Bostonian, and others.

As I read a dim mist seemed to come from the river, causing the words to fade; bona fide pictures arose in their stead.

_First._ In the famous city of Kroy Wen, stood a large paG.o.da, on which was emblazoned the startling legend: "College of Stenography, W.

L. Mason, President." At this hour the college doors were open and within could be seen the bulletin of the staff; it was, the President, the right honorable W. L. Mason, D. D., a.s.sisted by his able corps of instructors, the professors Ma.s.sie and Shaughnessy, the latter by their punctuality and the sweet temper of the former, being of the utmost a.s.sistance to him. Et signiture was the course.

First Term. Lecture on the Principles of Shorthand, together with practical lessons in disorder, untidiness, negligence, forgetfulness and carelessness, all thoroughly taught in three months more or less.

Second Term. Practice in misapplying all that you have learned, with a view to writing as illegibly and slowly as possible.

Third Term. Literature, the reading of Mother Goose Rhymes in shorthand, and the writing of dime novels for the literature of the 20th century.

The Right Honorable President, as hereinbefore mentioned, is old and decrepit, unable to keep order in his cla.s.ses, and therefore always carries with him a jumping rope, the handles of which he uses on the knuckles of his unruly pupils, while the rope itself brings to him recollections of his youthful days when it was used for the legitimate purpose for which it was manufactured.

_Second._ Now the panorama changes and shows a lady of medium height, fair, slight and happy. She walks through one of the crowded streets of Kroy Wen, handing to the pa.s.sers by circulars which read as follows:

"To the People of the City of Kroy Wen,

"GREETING:

"I beg to notify the public that the first issue of my new paper,--Wit,--will be ready in two weeks and I hereby guarantee to the said public that it will afford amus.e.m.e.nt, entertainment and instruction, with a special column devoted to Phonography.

"In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day and year last above written.

Signed, "C. CELLPUR."

_Third._ A revolution had evidently taken place in England; the people were clamoring for Const.i.tutional Government. Discussions were loud and prolonged in the "House of Lords." In the latter, on one of the front benches, sat the stenographer who had been admonished on her life to write the turbulent speeches verbatim. She was our dear friend, Miss Rhythm.

_Fourth._ An imposing publishing house in the city of Not Sob, which city is noted for its cultured inhabitants. Small boys were placing on the doors and windows of said publishing house, the same to remain thereon without hindrance or molestation, large notices which bore this inscription: "Our most recent publication is a book written by Miss N. Murphie. It is important as a work of art and is an authority on all topics of etiquette, especially as regards language.

The cultured inhabitants of Not Sob cannot afford to lose this opportunity of making themselves more familiar with those refinements of speech which have long marked them as the most cultured people in the land."