My sister and I helped at the sale of their household possessions, and it was very sad indeed.
The Swiss custom-officers had surrounded the school property; they were even in the fields: and it was with difficulty that our vice-consul was able to get our luggage across Switzerland without paying duty.
I afterward had the great pleasure of seeing my favorite teacher, Mère Flavie, in Paris, when on her way to England to teach,
PLEASURE OF WINTER.
By Maud Dudley Shackelford (age 15.)
(Honor Member.)
From his path adown the skies,
And the sleety branches rattle,
And the rising night wind cries,
’T is the time when home is brightest,
In the rosy firelight’s glow;
When within, the cheer of winter,
And without, the drifting snow.
Summons forth his mighty host
With a sound as of the surging
Of the waves upon the coast,
Then it is that shadows waver
As the dying log burns low;
All within, the cheer of winter,
And without, the drifting snow,
Of the deepest winter wears,
Though each window-pane is frosted,
And each twig a diamond bears,
On the hearth the flames are leaping,
From the north the wild winds blow;
Then within, the cheer of winter,
And without, the drifting snow.
“Yellowstone Deer.” By Lucy Williams, age 14. (First Prize, “Wild-animal photograph.”)
An Episode in French History.
By Helen Whitman (age 10.)
(Gold Badge)
Louis XI reigned king over Trance in the year 1461. Louis was very superstitious, He believed that a certain man whom he knew could forecast the future.
One time this man told Louis something that did not come true. The king was very angry. He was going to hang this astrologer who had told him such a falsehood. So he sent for the astrologer.
But when the astrologer came into the presence of the king and saw all the soldiers standing around he knew what Louis was going to do. So he fell to thinking what he should do. The king began to reproach him.
Then the astrologer said: “The stars may have made a mistake, or I did; but of one thing I am sure—that you will die a few hours after I die.”
So the king did not have the cunning astrologer hanged, for fear that he should die a few hours afterward.
“Owl.” By Isabel Caley, age 12. (Second Prize, “Wild-bird photograph.”)
PLEASURES OF FEBRUARY.
By Gertrude A. Strickler (age 14.)
(Honor Member.)
And the ground is white with snow,
Down the hil] on a toboggan
With our friends we laughing go.
Ah! what pleasure in the moments,
Short, but oh, such jolly fun!
How in joy our breath ’s suspended
Till the glorious slide is done.
And there is n’t any snow,
With our skates across our shoulders
To the skating-rink we go.
Ah! what pleasure in the moments
When across the ice we fly;
And when low the sun is sinking,
We are loath to say “Good-by.”
Whether clouds or whether clear,
We stand watching by the window
For the postman to appear,
Ah! what pleasure in that moment
When the bell the postman rings;
What a joyful rush and scramble
For St. Nicholas he brings!
“Gull’s Nest” By Caro Kingman, age 12. (Third Prize, “Wild-bird photograph.”)
An Episode in French History.
By Frances Lubbe Ross (age 13.)
(Gold Badge)
When the young king, Louis XVI, married the beautiful Austrian princess, Marie Antoinette, many of the old “grandes dames” of the French court were shocked by the young queen’s light and somewhat frivolous manners, and her disregard of old formal customs. Her chief
lady of the bedchamber, the Duchess of Naoilles (an old court lady who, though well-intentioned, was somewhat