Cathalina, with note book and pencil, approached Betty and Mrs. Norris, while walking down the slope behind her came Isabel, Lilian, Juliet and Hilary. The girls all wore their bright sweaters and locks were flying in the wind.
“How will this do for the announcement, Mrs. Norris?” Cathalina handed Patricia a slip of paper from which she read aloud
“NOTA BENE SOCIETAS LATINA HODIE CONVENIT. VENITE, SOCII, VENITE. OMNES ADSINT. LINGUA LATINA IN LITERATURA, ETC. (Latin Club, Room 32, Today)”
“Would you say ‘Societas Romana’ instead of ‘Latina’? asked Cathalina.
“I believe I would. That is good, Cathalina. Translate it, Betty.”
“Take notice. The Latin Club meets today. Come, friends—associates?—companions?—come. Let all be present. The Latin language in literature and so forth.”
“What would Greycliff be in Latin, Mrs. Norris?”
“Let me see. ‘Mons’, ‘collis’, ‘saxum’, ‘rupes,’—that is it, ‘rupes.’ Then ‘glaucus’ is blue-grey, sometimes silver-grey, or sea-green.”
“Rupes, is feminine,” announced Eloise. “Q. E. D., Rupus Glauca, Greycliff! Feminae Rupis-Glaucae sumus. Est optima schola omnium gentium!”
“Mercy, Elo’, don’t go so fast; I can’t keep up with you!” cried Isabel. “We are the girls, or women, of Greycliff. It is——”
“The best school in the world,” finished Eloise. “Cathalina found some Latin by Charles Lamb, giving some lines of ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ and ‘Little Jack Horner’; so two of the girls are going to dress up as children and recite them, and some others that Cathalina made up. Come on, Cathalina, cheer up your Latin teacher by reciting your latest masterpiece!”
“All right.” Cathalina dropped a little curtsey, put one finger to her mouth and took hold of her dress with the other hand.
“Ma_ri_a agnellum ha_be_bat, Cujus vellus niveum erat; Et quacunque M_a_ria Iter faci_e_bat, Ag_nel_lus eti_am_ semper _i_bat.”
“There is more, but I have forgotten it. You have to accent the ‘i’ the first time in ‘Maria,’ and the first ‘a’ the second time, to get the right effect. The ‘i’ is either long or short.
“O, give us ‘Vetus Mater Hubbard ad armarium venit’,” urged Isabel.
Mrs. Norris was smiling over the fun. “Have you any serious Latin on your program?”
“O, yes. Most of the program is serious. Dorothy has an article on the famous Latin Hymns and some girls are going to sing the Adeste Fideles. Then one of the Academy girls is going to recite the first part of Cicero’s First Oration against Catiline, and there are some other things,—historia, musica, scientia, et multae res de quibus dicere tempus non est!”