Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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The History of An Old Dress HANGING in a dark part of my cupboard is a dress. It is a very old one and is cut in the fashion of i860. Its big hoop skirt comes in contact on one side with a short gym. tunic, and on the other with a pair of skiing breeches. Poor thing! It has quite a shocked air as it hangs there with these two modern bits of clothing on top of it. The dress is a very beautiful one, and although it is so old has not got one tear in it. Its silky pale green folds hang just as proudly as they did when it was first worn. The dress is not really mine, it was only lent to me to wear at a very special masquerade party. It belongs to an old lady, one of my grandmother ' s friends, and it was her first real party dress. She told me, when I went to get it, some of its history, and Tm sure not many of the dresses nowadays have such a glowing story. It was the old lady ' s coming out gown, and she wore it first at a great ball given in honour of the late King Edward VII, who was then Prince of Wales. The lady was only seventeen years old, and with her sweet fair hair curling around her face she was quite the loveliest girl present. The Prince at once noticed her, and followed her out on to a low balcony. The young girl, quite oblivious of who was following her, dropped her handkerchief, and with a quick stoop the Prince picked it up and bowed low before her. There is little need to tell how the rest of the ball went by. The Prince danced with the loveliest of girls most of the evening, and it is not surprising that when she got home she found that a certain little perfumed handkerchief was missing. The girl was of course so excited and proud she could think of nothing else for days, for of course she could not know that the second time she wore her beloved dress would see the beginning of real happiness for her. It was at the next big ball that she met the man who was to be her husband. A tall dark young man from Virginia who had come to Canada on engineering work. When she first caught a glimpse of him through the crowd, all thought of the Prince — for she had been thinking of him — left her mind, and she became at once interested in the handsome stranger. The young Southerner had also noticed her, and procured an introduction. Later, when they were dancing together, he told her that he had noticed her almost imme ' diately and had asked various people who she was. The young girl was charmed by his slow drawling voice and his droll and extravagant praises were said in such a sincere manner that they won her heart. Thus passed the first evening of a pair whose romance was to last for so many years. The young Southerner became engaged to the lady of his choice and they were married not long after. For many years they lived happily together, and the beautiful dress, which soon went out of style, had a sacred place of its own and hung in an out ' of ' thcway cupboard. The young wife would often go and touch it with loving fingers, thinking of the happiness she had gained while wearing it, and it was on one of these hastily snatched visits that she made up her mind to lend it to some other young girl sometime. Ne er did she have the opportunity, however, until I asked her for an old ' fashioned dress to wear at a masquerade. She smiled at me and then hurried away, soon to appear with the dress of my dreams, and then, while she wrapped it up carefully, she told me its sweet story. N. A. Stocking, Form Lower V. 1 7 3

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The New Ford EOPLE can no longer joke about the Ford and call it Lizzy, Asthma, and such names, for it is now a real car. It no longer spouts and chokes and refuses to go up a hill unless you turn it around and go up backwards. It no longer has springs that keep up a regular conversation as you jaunt upon your way; and it seems at last to realize that its roof does not need to be six feet from the floor to avoid bumping your head. In short — as the jazz piece goes — Henry ' s Made a Lady out of Lizzy. One can hardly say that she has not risen to nobility, after her name has been m the headlines of the New York papers and she herself has been shown off like a mannikm to a thousand people by a man in dress clothes. The new Ford now rivals all the small cars. It has a comfortable rumble seat, nice upholstering, and four-wheel brakes and that which is the most astonishing fact of all — Lizzy has lost that queer little wheeze of hers and now can purr along the road at seventy miles an hour. Nevertheless it seems too bad that Lizzy should change for the better. Everyone somehow felt a warm affection for her, and when you saw her beginning to stall on a hill you felt like running out and pushing her up to the top. When the radiator boiled over you felt that it was protesting against the warm summer day. You felt it was obstinate when it would not start m the morning, and when you mended a punctured tire it was just like bringing out the first aid kit. If you lay underneath a good car for half an hour by the roadside passers-by made remarks about you, but if you lay underneath a Ford in the same conditions they only smiled and passed on — they under- stood. Since Lizzy has become one of the elite she had probably more respect for her exterior, but in her poorer times she was an excellent fighter. I can say with certainty, that nine times out of the ten I have seen a Ford collide with an expensive car, Lizzy has come out without a scratch, while the other car has been smashed to atoms. I have therefore come to the conclusion that it is not the collisions b ut the overwork that made Lizzy in the end run about with her parts tied together with string. I join heartily in the cry of a thousand people: Back to the pioneer days when we threw sand under the fan belt and tightened the horn with a dime. Audrey Doble, Form Va.

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Autumn in the Laurentians Morning Scarlet and yellow the trees stand out Against the autumn sky, Fluffy and careless the frolicking clouds Glide gaily by. And the blue ' green lakes like jewels lie, And the soft ' rippled lakes like jewels lie. Evening The merry breezes grown wild and strong Whitecap the sullen waves, And whistle in woods where long ago Lawless Indian braves, Hunted the fox and dwelt in the caves, Hunted the lynx and dwelt in the caves. Janet Cameron, Form IVa. The Old Man Speaks And so you want to fly now? So you do! All they can do is talk of flying now; Soon no one will be walking here on earth ! Up in the clouds ! That ' s no kind of a life ' . But you ' ll see more before you die, my son. For me — I am content now that I know That all man ' s deeds are but worthless trash; It is the man that counts and nothing else. Look at the boy that turned the trick last year! He left this side a boy, but the long day And weary night soon made a man of him. He ' s pure gold none the less. I know no dross That could endure the fires which he endured. And then they followed! Batches of them, fools! He had the glory! All they got was risk And some small meed of praise when they returned. And so you want to try, lad? Twenty, soon! How old you are! I hope you ' ll soon grow young! Ay, go and try, boy, ' tis a sport for youth ! But first, before you do it, think awhile. In everything there must be pioneers; In this there have been many, and their bones Disturb the lost Atlantis in its sleep. Nungesser, Coli, Hinchliffe, see they ' re gone; And the Old Glory sinking, sinking down, Through dim cold darkness, through the Atlantic waves. But it must be, there must be pioneers! They have attained to wealth undreamed by us, Those men who risked all for a moment ' s joy. Well, go then; try it; luck be with you, boy! And fly — while I — while I sit here, Battered and tired, worn by destroying time! Oh my lost youth ! Come back ! Come back to me ! And let me fly again as youth can fly . The sun is warm, the garden still and sweet. And while the brown bees hum, I am content. Annie Rowley, Form Upper VI.