The Girls of St. Cyprian's: A Tale of School Life

by Angela Brazil

  CHAPTER XVII

  The Alliance Exhibition

  Half-term had come and gone, and November days were closing in fast. Thedate fixed for the Alliance Exhibition of Arts and Handicrafts wasdrawing near, and it behoved St. Cyprian's delegates to be makingpreparations for the event. Freda Kingston and Ivy Linthwaite had notlet the grass grow under their feet, and since the re-opening inSeptember had been quietly arranging what exhibits were most likely todo credit to the College, and setting apart certain girls to work atthem. A wide choice had been given, for the "show" was to include notonly drawings and paintings, but clay modelling, fretwork, carpentry,repousse brasswork, stencilling, bookbinding, basket-making, embroidery,illuminating, bent iron-work, wood-carving, poker-work, photography,sweet-making, cookery, and in fact every variety of handicraft thatmight be submitted.

  Naturally St. Cyprian's did not hold classes of instruction for allthese branches, but some of the girls took private lessons at home, ortried experiments on their own account. Miss Whitlock, thedrawing-mistress, was very anxious to cultivate an artistic spirit amongher pupils, and had introduced many new methods. She particularlyendeavoured to encourage originality, condemning the old-fashionedcourse of "freehand, model, and cast" as likely to reduce all to onelevel of monotony. When she came as art mistress to St. Cyprian's shehad astonished the girls by demanding from them a weekly portion of homework, and setting them a subject which they were to illustrate.

  At first it had seemed to them an utter impossibility to draw "TheParting of Arthur and Guinevere", or "The Meeting of King John and hisBarons", but with a little practice they were soon able to make the kindof design which Miss Whitlock required. She did not allow them to copyany picture outright, but they might take a horse from one, a knightfrom another, a lady from a third, and adapt them so as to make a freshillustration. She knew that the skill of her pupils was not equal toevolving the figures for themselves, but she considered that in this waythey would gain a far better knowledge of the requirements ofcomposition than by a mere slavish reproduction of a drawing intact.

  The girls found it quite interesting work, and as Miss Whitlock gave outthe list of subjects for the whole term beforehand, they would amusethemselves in their leisure hours by searching through art books forsuitable figures to act as the Lady of Shalott, Robin Hood, KingCophetua, Flora Macdonald, Lord Marmion, or other heroes and heroines ofromance. Naturally many of the results were not remarkably talented, butMiss Whitlock considered that they had served their purpose by trainingthe judgment, and that with practice would come an increased facilityboth in the drawing and the general arrangement of the designs.

  The sketches were not confined either to any particular size or specialmedium--they might be executed in pencil, pen and ink, chalks, pastels,or water-colours, according to individual taste; and this latitude gavea much wider scope to the work. Freda Kingston, who loved to try newdepartures, had hit upon quite an original method of her own, which shepursued at home. She pinned large sheets of cartoon paper upon the wall,then, placing a strong lamp in a suitable position, would persuade oneof her brothers or sisters to stand in the attitude she required, so asto throw a shadow upon the paper. She would carefully outline this, andafterwards reduce the life-size drawing to more manageable proportions.In this way she was able to get some very striking poses, which held allthe freshness of the living model. She did not attempt to elaborate themtoo much, but would lay on flat washes of body colour, and finish with abold outline, so that in style they much resembled advertisementposters.

  It was quite a little weekly excitement for the art class to pin upthese home studies in the studio, and see all the widely differingrepresentations which had been made of the same subject. Miss Whitlockwould criticize them, and class them according to ability, giving manyhelpful hints and suggestions for future improvement.

  The lessons themselves were made as varied as possible. One day it wouldbe the drawing of objects in a given time; on another it would be memorysketching. Sometimes only a single outline was required, and on otheroccasions great detail would be demanded, so that nobody had the chanceof getting into a groove and cultivating only one style of expression.

  Though Miss Whitlock had little time to teach the girls handicrafts, shewould criticize what work they brought to school to show her, and giveany hints she could on the subject, leaving them to try experiments athome. By recommending tools, manuals of instruction, and suitablematerials she was able to give substantial help, and would often start agirl on a new hobby, and by judicious aid, if she got into a difficulty,tide her over the initial stages till she was able to make progress onher own account. There is always something infectious in enthusiasm, andMiss Whitlock's genuine love of her subject made her students very keenin carrying out all her ideas. One or two of them were really clever,and the general average improved quickly under her system of tuition,the imaginative girls especially finding scope for their particulartalents.

  With this foundation of art training to work upon, St. Cyprian'sconsidered it ought to make as good a show as any of the other schoolsin the Alliance. Six members were chosen for a committee, and a verybusinesslike meeting was convened in the studio. Freda, as principaldelegate, took the chair, and Ivy Linthwaite, as second delegate,occupied the position of secretary.

  "What we've got to do," said Freda, "is to find out any individualtalent in the school, and push it for all we're worth. I think we'd besteach make out a list of those who, we consider, ought to do certainthings, and then keep them as our special protegees. There are lots ofgirls who'll begin a thing, go on a little way, and then get tired ofit, or be discouraged and throw it up. These are the ones we must lookafter. They need constantly urging on, and keeping up to the mark. Hasanybody any particular person to suggest, whom she thinks likely to doanything outstanding?"

  "I believe Rhoda Somerville has rather original ideas," said NinaCampion. "She was telling me about a model of a cottage which she hadmade at home. It sounded most ingenious."

  "Then take Rhoda as your protegee, and see that she makes somethingequally good."

  "I have my eye on Nancy Rostron," said Eleanor Duncan, "but I'd rathernot say in what particular line till I've discussed the matter withher."

  "Meg Croisdale's the girl for me!" declared Pauline Middleton. "Herilluminations are beautiful!"

  "And I have a scheme on hand with Gertrude Spencer," announced AvelineWilson.

  "I book Cissie Milne," said Ivy Linthwaite; "we've been working togetherfor a fortnight."

  "Well, if we each have a protegee, with what we're going to doourselves, that will make at least twelve principal contributors. I daresay we'll soon fill the one table we're to be allowed for specialexhibits," said Freda. "It won't do to crowd things up too much; betterhave a fair amount of space, so as to show them up well."

  "I rather believe twelve is the limit allowed for table exhibits," saidIvy, consulting a note-book. "Yes, that is what we arranged at theGeneral Committee."

  "Good! Then we'll soon fix that up."

  As the room where the united exhibition was to be held had only limitedaccommodation, and the Alliance was conducted on lines of strictestfairness and equality, a certain number of feet of wall space and onetable were apportioned to each school, so they were obliged to confinethe number of their exhibits within specified bounds. The conditionsapplied equally to all, so there was no particular hardship; it wasmerely a question of elimination, and making the very wisest choiceamong the many and varied crafts from which they had to select. Fredaconsidered that anything out of the common, and original, would probablyattract the judge's attention, and also that a diversity of objectswould be likely to form the most interesting table. She herself was verybusy making a beautiful set of illustrations to Hans Andersen's "GooseGirl". She spared no trouble, printing the text of the story in anexquisitely neat hand, so that the little book should be perfect, andcompleting it with a most artistic cover. Quite early in the term shehad fired her friend Natalie Mas
ters with an enthusiasm forillustrating. Natalie could not draw well, but she was decidedly cleverwith the camera, and she resolved to make a series of photographic viewsdepicting scenes from "The Babes in the Wood". She prepared for her workby arranging costumes for her two little sisters, who were to representthe babes, and for two brothers whom she induced to act as eitherfather, wicked uncle, or ruffians, as the case might be.

  The Masters possessed a country cottage in a very beautifulneighbourhood, and the whole family went there for the half-termholiday, so that Natalie was able to get backgrounds for her photographswhich she could not have obtained in Kirkton. She posed her modelspartly in the lovely autumn woods, partly in an old castle, and, for themore domestic scenes, in an ancient farmhouse that was provided withantique furniture, and therefore made an excellent fourteenth-centurysetting for her figures. The results were mostly very good; allowing fora few failures, where she had miscalculated the exposures, or the lighthad been insufficient, she got a sufficient number of negatives to beable to select a dozen as satisfactory, and with the aid of a littleretouching made a series of beautifully soft sepia prints. These weremounted, three together, on long brown cards, and had a most harmoniousand artistic effect. Her models had been excellent, the little sisterwho was dressed as the boy looking particularly charming in the woodscene, where the two babes were standing among the tall bracken,reaching up to gather the blackberries growing overhead. The last sceneof all was a triumph, for by the bait of some tempting crumbs laid uponthe leaves, Natalie had been able to take a snapshot of a pair of robinsthat ventured within a few feet of the two little figures lying claspedin each other's arms under a bramble bush. She felt that in thisphotograph she had almost rivalled the achievements of Mr. Kearton orMr. Seton-Thompson, and that she might some day turn her attention toproducing a volume of "Wild Nature in the Camera", or some equallyambitious project.

  Ivy Linthwaite and her protegee Cissie Milne were concentrating theirenergies on wood-carving. Ivy had had a course of lessons the previouswinter, and had grown sufficiently accustomed to her tools to be able toundertake quite an elaborate piece of work with deep undercutting; butCissie, who was a beginner under Ivy's tuition, contented herself withdoing a lightly-chipped picture-frame.

  Nina Campion was busy with a beautiful set of flower paintings inwater-colours. Some were done at school under Miss Whitlock'ssuperintendence and some at home, but to both she gave equal care andher very best endeavours.

  Rhoda Somerville, when questioned by Nina as to her capacity for makinga model as an exhibit, was at first rather dismayed by the project, buton thinking it over she began to see her way more clearly, and consentedto undertake the task. She decided that she would try to construct aminiature edition of Castleford Church. She had the whole outline of itin her mind's eye, as well as possessing photographs which would help ifher memory failed. She set about it very systematically. First, shebegged an old drawing-board from the studio to act as stand. Then out ofstiff cardboard she fashioned the model church, cutting out spaces forthe windows and covering them with coloured gelatine paper to representstained glass. When roof, tower, and walls were all neatly fixedtogether, she put a thin coating of glue over all, and dusted it wellwith sand, which made a really excellent imitation of the yellowishstone of which Castleford was built. With the aid of a paint-brush shemade the traceries round the windows and some attempt at gargoyles onthe tower, and reproduced the dark oak of the heavy door, studded withiron nails. The churchyard next claimed her attention. She mixed aquantity of plaster of Paris, and put it down all round the church,which cemented the model firmly to the board that she had used for astand, and also gave the effect of uneven ground. She smoothed down thepath, and while the plaster was still wet, stuck in little pieces ofsanded cardboard for grave-stones, and small twigs of yew to representthe ancient gnarled trees that surrounded the chancel. A coat of greenpaint, applied to the cement when dry, was supplemented by somebeautiful moss, which her mother sent her from the woods at home, andwhich gave a finishing touch to the whole. The little model was reallyextremely pretty when all was completed, and such an exact copy inminiature of Castleford Church that Mildred declared she could almostimagine that she heard the organ inside it.

  The progress of Rhoda's work had been a subject of intense interest tomany of the girls, who had watched it stage by stage from its firstrough commencement, and they were agreed that it would be one of themost uncommon exhibits on their special table, if not in the whole ofthe show.

  Mildred, who felt responsible for Rhoda at St. Cyprian's, was glad tofind that her friend could make so important a contribution to theAlliance. She realized that any success in the exhibition would be agreat point in Rhoda's favour, and likely largely to increase herpopularity in the school. Rhoda herself had taken keen pleasure in herconstruction, independently of its value as an exhibit. Her deft handsenjoyed making things, and her thoughts had all the time been centred atCastleford. She was too happy at St. Cyprian's to be home-sick;nevertheless she missed the Vicarage, and anything which reminded her ofit was a doubly-welcome pastime.

  Meanwhile the other members of the committee and their protegees werealso busily occupied. Pauline Middleton, whose bent was towards figures,had finished a very clever pair of heads executed in pastels, quite thebest work she had so far accomplished at school, and a subject of muchsatisfaction to Miss Whitlock. Meg Croisdale, whose hobby wasillumination, had copied a page from an old missal upon a sheet ofvellum, and had thoroughly enjoyed herself amongst the quaint Celticspirals and twists of the capitals, and the strange little animals andfigures which composed the interlaced border. She had laid on the brightcolours and the gold-paint with a steady hand, marvelling only at thepatience of the monks of old who could complete a whole book, one singleleaf of which it had cost her so much time and attention to reproduce.

  Aveline Wilson and Gertrude Spencer had gone in for pyrography, andshared a poker-work apparatus between them, which they took it in turnsto use, the one who was not manipulating it standing near and blowinggentle puffs with a pair of bellows to prevent the smoke from the burntwood from rising into the face of the worker, a division of labourgreatly appreciated after an experience of smarting eyes produced by thefumes. Aveline finished a large photograph frame with a tasteful designof irises, and Gertrude decorated a little corner cupboard with aconventional pattern copied from a piece of antique furniture. EleanorDuncan concentrated all her energies on an oil-painting of still-lifewhich she did in the school studio, partly during lesson hour and partlyduring her recreation time. It represented several Venetian jars, with apiece of silk drapery as a background, and a few flowers flungcarelessly across the foreground in company with a nautilus shell and astring of beads. The whole made a beautiful harmony of colour, and MissWhitlock was more than satisfied with the result.

  Nancy Rostron had made a complete departure in her exhibit. She hadchosen to dress a dozen small dolls as representatives of variousEuropean nations, and had made each tiny costume with the greatestelaboration, carrying out every detail with a considerable amount ofskill. When finished, the dolls were wired, and placed in a circle rounda stand, so that each might equally show its points and claim thejudge's attention. With Rhoda's model church, this was perhaps one ofthe prime favourites among the exhibits, for though it could not claimthe artistic merit of some, it certainly possessed the charm of novelty.

  The girls had given a great deal of trouble, and had devoted many hoursof their spare time to these preparations, and all looked forwardeagerly to the day of the "Show". By the kindness of the Mayor, a roomin the Exchange Assembly Hall had been lent to the Alliance for theoccasion. A small admission fee was to be charged, and the proceeds wereto be sent to the Kirkton Guild of Play, an institution for brighteningthe lives of the children of the slums. Everybody was pleased with thisloan of a room. It put the various schools upon a more equal footingthan if the exhibition had been held in one of their own buildings; andthe Exchange Assembly Hall was si
tuated in a very central position inthe city, easy of access by tram for all the suburbs.

  The premises were only available for one day, so the exhibits had to betaken down and arranged during the morning, to be in time for theopening at half-past two. The six members of St. Cyprian's Art Committeewere granted a special holiday for the purpose, and a private omnibuswas engaged in which to convey them and the various treasures in theircharge to the hall. Through Nina Campion's care, Rhoda's model churchreached its destination without the displacement of even a tomb-stone,and Eleanor Duncan took equal precautions to preserve Nancy Rostron'sset of dolls from injury. Miss Webster, the art mistress from the HighSchool, was in charge of the room, and showed the St. Cyprian'sdelegates which wall space and table had been allotted to them. They hadbrought hammer and tacks and other requisites, so they at once set towork. They placed Eleanor's large oil-painting (which she had hadframed) as a centre piece of their portion of wall, with Pauline'spastel heads (also framed) on either side. Nina's flower paintings andNatalie's photographic views were accorded the next post of honour, andthen all spare space was filled with selections of the best studio workthat had been done during the term. The table was certainly not any toolarge for the twelve exhibits that were to appear upon it. The churchand the dolls, being the largest, were placed in the middle, and theother specimens ranged round. Various members of the art class had sentin picked contributions, so there was a good display of carving,poker-work, wood-staining, illuminating, and designs for illustration.

  There was no time to compile a catalogue of the "Show", but each exhibitbore a small label with the name of the contributor and her school, andin addition each table and separate wall space was surmounted by a largecard bearing the name of its school. The committees did their workthoroughly, and by twelve o'clock the whole room was in order, and readyfor the inspection of Mr. Baincroft, the artist who had promised to actas judge.

  During the course of the afternoon a very large number of girls from thevarious schools, together with parents and friends, visited theexhibition. Mrs. Graham accompanied Mildred, for she was anxious to seethe St. Cyprian's department, and particularly Rhoda's model church, ofwhich she had heard much.

  There were to be no prizes, for the headmistresses of the six schoolshad agreed that it would be better for the Alliance to work without anydefinite rewards, but "Honourable Mention" was to be given to the bestexhibits, and any of outstanding merit were to be "Specially Commended".

  At the door of the hall, Rhoda, who was arriving with the rest of theboarders, in charge of a mistress, happened to meet Mildred and heraunt. Miss Rowe readily allowed her to join her friends, so she enteredthe room under Mrs. Graham's escort.

  "I can't look at a single thing till I've seen St. Cyprian's table, solet's go there first, please!" declared Mildred, avoiding theattractions of Newington Green on the one hand and Marston Grove on theother, and urging her companions forward. "Oh, here we are! There's thechurch, Tantie! Isn't it lovely? Oh, Rhoda! It has actually got'Specially Commended'! I'm so glad; it thoroughly deserved that! What apoint for St. Cyprian's! Has anybody else had such luck?"

  Freda's illustrations to "The Goose Girl", one of Pauline's pastelheads, and Aveline's poker-work had won "Honourable Mention", so thatSt. Cyprian's had four honours to its credit, which was as much as anyof the other schools had gained. The judge had only given tickets ofcommendation to exhibits which he considered of quite unusual merit ororiginality, but he had written a short report, highly praising thegeneral excellence of the work submitted. When Mildred and Rhoda hadfinished rejoicing over the St. Cyprian's successes, and had shown Mrs.Graham each several contribution to their own portion, they turned theirattention to the departments of other schools. It was interesting to seethe various hobbies which had been pursued. Templeton girls hadevidently been going in for fretwork, while the High School had made aspeciality of stencilling and bent-iron work. Some of the Anglo-Germangirls had sent exquisite specimens of embroidery and drawn-thread work,and also bore off the palm for cake-baking and sweet-making, a branchwhich St. Cyprian's had not attempted. Marston Grove excelled inclay-modelling and repousse brasswork, while Newington Green hadproduced very excellent results in carpentry, basket-weaving, andbookbinding.

  The virtue of the little exhibition was that it gave the girls anopportunity of seeing what was being done by other schools, and suppliedthem with many hints for future work. Several St. Cyprianites went homeresolved to learn bookbinding, while Freda's illustrations were pointedout by the Templeton art mistress to her pupils as something which theymight try to emulate. All the various members of the Alliance met on avery friendly footing, and heartily admired each other's exhibits, soperhaps no other department of their mutual league could be regarded asa greater success.

  "Well done the Arts and Handicrafts!" said Freda, as she helped to clearSt. Cyprian's table after closing time. "It's been an absolutely rippingafternoon, and do you know we've taken twenty pounds in admissions? TheGuild of Play ought to bless us!"

  "Everyone's enjoyed it," agreed Ivy. "And we've all worked together soamicably, that's the best of it. This 'Show' ought to become an annualaffair. It's quite an institution, and if next year we might have it ina larger room, we'd--well, we'd----"

  "Astonish the world of Kirkton!" laughed Freda.