Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute - Breezes Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 7 text:

sometime, but when, he did not seem to know. My reply to this I cannot repeat. As you can imagine, I soon had had enough of this situation, and so I racked my brain to find a possible means of getting out of the difficulty. Suddenly a clever idea struck me—at least, I thought it was clever. My uncle had bought in Berlin a quantity of German cigarettes to take with him to Poland. To get these through the customs, we had to keep them on our persons, and therefore I had some with me. I well knew the Polish soldier’s fondness for “Papirus,” as cigarettes are called in Polish, and I determined to see whether or not I could bribe the worthy gentleman who was detaining me. This was a fine mistake on my part, for he took the cigarettes and declared, “Shut up, or you will be arrested for smuggling.” I decided that perhaps, if I were arrested, it would be warmer in jail than out in the cold; so I started to argue with him. Fortunately for me, my argument was closed by the timely return of my uncle. He soon arranged everything and once again we were on our way. In approximately another hour, we reached our destination, and all troubles were forgotten in the joyous reception given to us by our relatives. —George Poliak, Room 48, J.B. IF (With apologies to Rudyard Kipling) If you can do your work when all about you Are shirking theirs and copying it from you, If you can trust yourself when teachers doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too. If you can pass the girls you meet in hallways And keep upon the straight and narrow path. If you can keep your mind upon your business And not bring on your head the teacher’s wrath. If you can put aside the dances, parties, To write out compositions in your book, And spend two hours a night upon your English To satisfy exacting Mr. Cooke. If you can bear to hear the things you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, And smile upon the teacher that has done it, As he calls you varieties of mules. If you can talk to teachers with great patience, And take all their upbraiding with a grin. Your’s is the scholarship and all that’s with it, But you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. — Harvey Powell.

Page 6 text:

Do not try so much to draw pictures of objects you see, for that is simply reporting; but try, rather, to put on paper the feelings you experienced in seeing these objects—that is art. Always be willing to accept criticism, if it is criticism that will help you the .better to construct. Criticism, without any advice as to how to remedy what is criticised, is useless to a writer. Canadian literature is now just at its awakening, and the writer of to-day in Canada are blazing the trail for you who will follow. In the words of our famous war poet, Colonel John McCrae, “To you from failing hands we throw The torch, be yours to hold it high.” AN ADVENTURE IN POLAND A cold, bleak day greeted my first vision of Poland, “the Land of Snow.” Such a scene was naturally not at all calculated to cheer the weary traveller. My uncle and I had just completed the first lap of our journey from Berlin to Kempen, Posin.a small city, or rather town, in Poland. Thus far we had come in an evil-smelling, cold, and badly-lighted train. “This” we thought, “must be the maximum of hardship to which any traveller can be subjected;” but we were not much surprised when we saw in what way the remainder of the journey would be made. Previously we had lacked air; now we were to travel in a carriage which was composed chiefly of air. The roof was like a fish net. The wheels stood up. (I will say that much for them.) This type of car¬ riage, in its better days, was called a “Droshke.” Now our troubles began in earnest. Our driver, who, by the way, resembled his horse and carriage, simply refused to take both us and all our baggage in one load. His horse wasn’t strong enough, he said, and even if he were, the carriage wouldn’t stand it. Therefore, the only thing we could do was to divide forces. My uncle decided to take half the baggage and an old farm cart which was, happily, on the spot. As for me, I could take my chance with the “Droshke,” and the horse. To this day, I think my uncle got the better of the bargain. Our two vehicles started together, but my horse was no match for the husky farmer’s, and soon I was left far behind. It was bitterly cold, the wind blew through the carriage, and snow began to fall. My man told me that the reason he never put runners on his carriage in winter was that he feared he could not get the wheels back on, and this I firmly believed. I tried to doze off, but suddenly came to with a jerk. A uniformed man barred our way with a rifle. From my driver, I gathered that my passport was wanted. That finished things for me. My uncle, who was now so many miles ahead of me, had both passports comfortably in his inside pocket. I did my best to explain this to the man, and it pleased him so greatly that he told me I could either stay out there all night, or go back whence I came. Since I could not do the latter, I had to remain where I was, whether I ' wished to do so, or not. As if this were not enough, he gave me the honour of an armed guard. This fine fellow informed me that he supposed my uncle would come back for me 4

Page 8 text:

THE ORATORICAL CONTEST In the school the final contestants were selected from a large number of competitors. These were John Leishman, Katherine Queen, Helen Lowe, Fred Gilbert, Katherine Elliott, Gordon Brooks. The merits of these six were very equally balanced. The judges, Mrs. Mathers, Mr. H. Macintosh and Mr. W. A. Cuddy, decided upon Miss Helen Lowe, Room 61, Grade XII, to represent the school. Second and third places were given to Kay Queen and John Leishman. Briefly we may sum up the qualities found in each. Helen Lowe made a definite appeal to her audience. She had excellent poise, rhythm of speech and harmony of time. Her voice was pleasant, balanced, modulated, and infused with emotion. Katherine Queen was more of the argumentative and persuasive type. She was a strong speaker and showed wonderful control. John Leishman was quite colloquial, which made it easy to listen to him—a little explanatory. Gordon Brooks, may be called the poet of the group—his treatment was so imaginative; but numbers are hard things to remember! Katherine Elliott thrilled her audience with her beautiful soft voice, which was quite dramatic, especially at the close of her speech. Gilbert had a pleasant voice, and a strong personality. Nervousness probably accounts for his slightly forced attitude. With such orators in our midst we may feel justly proud and we expect to hear their names in the future. In the provincial finals, April 22, at the Walker Theatre, a splendid group of contestants was gathered. We may compliment our repre¬ sentative on her excellent performance. Simone Landry, the winner, has once again won high honor by obtaining second place in the Dom¬ inion finals. The first place was awarded to an Ontario boy—Fred Hotson. — D.G. IN MEMORIAM Marjory Waugh, of Room 12, passed on at seven o’clock, May 19th. Our sympathy and that of the school is extended to her family and friends. “Death sits on her like an untimely frost, The sweetest flower of all the field.” PIRATES OF PENZANCE “It’s comedy to some folks, but it’s tragedy to me.” This saying repeated itself over and over again during the performances of the “Pirates of Penzance” by the leading characters of the back-stage. Back-stage was a scene of much hustle and bustle. The lassies, for once, came into their own and donned the make up— assisted by the teachers, who proved to be masters of the art. As for the lads, Lon Chaney had better look to his laurels. Finally, on Thursday the curtain scrambled up; and lo! All the fearsome pirates were in their places—behind their moustaches. Will 6