Page 54 - 1916 February - To Dragma

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 133

The Luzern girls had had still another course of education f o r
which few Americans have time. They could do a l l kinds of fancy
work f r o m knitting to the making o f Venetian laces. I n the convents
the girls even learn to do the elaborate gold embroidering on the
priests' robes.

We enjoyed this side of our Swiss education very much. I t was
lovely to have time f o r such things. I t seemed as though there were
more than twenty-four hours i n the Swiss day, as leisure time was
so abundant. W e k n i t socks f o r the soldier boys, woolen caps f o r the
orphans, and dressed dolls at Christmas time f o r poor children. The
women of the old aristocratic families spend much of their time in
such charity work.

But the Luzern girls were not only good students and able to do
a l l kinds of fancy w o r k ; they were true sportswomen besides. They
could fence, skate, skii, swim, row, or paddle a canoe like profes-
sionals. We envied them and tried w i t h special lessons to acquire
skill. Lessons, especially i n the winter sports, are very popular in
Switzerland. We found ourselves too clumsy, however. A f t e r sprain-
ing most of the joints in our bodies, we gave up skiing on the Alps
as an accomplishment not meant f o r American girls.

Our year i n Luzern was ended before we knew it, and before
we had any feelings of having had enough. We were half hoping
that the war would make us extend one year into two. Being the
only Americans left in Luzern, we spent our second Fourth of July
at a dinner given for us by a Luzern friend. This time there was
a combination of Swiss and American patriotism which suited the
occasion, f o r we had adopted Switzerland as our second fatherland.
We l e f t Luzern the f o l l o w i n g week; made the t r i p across France and
from Bordeaux to New York without experiencing more of the war
than enough to give spice to the t r i p .

R E F E R E N C E WORK FOR T H E HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT

" H o w much reference work shall I require of the student of
history i n the high school?" T h i s question meets every teacher of
history. O n the one hand, simple lack of time answers i t f o r her.
But on the other the realization that i t is imperative f o r the student
who goes on to college, confronts her.

She cannot neglect the textbook—the foundation—and yet she
must somehow add a few embellishments, both because they give
the class as a whole a broader knowledge and a greater interest in
the subject, and because the college student who has had no previous