Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Said sleepily: YouM better tell The teacher That many pupils nowadays Like Algebra Instead. The neighbour Said: Oh, fancy! ' And turned to The President She looked at the President and She turned a little red: Excuse me Dear President For taking of the liberty, But algebra is tasty if It ' s not too Thickly Spread. The President said: Oh! And turned to The teacher: Let ' s leave the question of ' Is Alexander dead? ' As many people Think that Algebra Is nicer. Would you like to try a little Algebra Instead? The teacher said: Hollior! And tlien she said: Oh, deary me! Tlu ' Icai licr wighcd: Oh, deary me ' And liirn(Ml away ber head. Nobody Sllf IIIOilMcd, ( ould call me A Fussy thing, I only want To know is Alexander Dead! The girl said: There, there. And turned to Her neighbour The neighbour Said: There, there Again turned her head. The President said: There, there I didn ' t really Mean it. Here ' s answers for most anything And Alex, is now dead. The girl took The answer And said it to The teacher; The teacher said: Answer eh? And didn ' t turn her head. Nobody, she said As she questioned Her again, Nobody, she said As she wrote On the board, Nobody Dear children Could call me A Fussy thing — But I do like an answer when its properly said. J. Seely, Form Upper V2.

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it was a mystery to find how they all packed in — they began to go into the next room where all was cleared for the occasion, and the large bed, in which were two wide eyed little Indian boys, was pushed aside. Willie and one of his brothers then brought out their fiddles. Now the square dance had started, the men chose their partners and the fiddlers began their playing. Old and young joined in the dance, they turned and they spvin, round and round to the com- mands of the master of ceremonies, Elzear Simon, another of Willie ' s brothers. On they went, faster and faster as the fiddlers played. This is called swingay , in fact the whole entertainment is called either swingay or veille , swingay , somehow, seems to describe it better, and convey what type of entertainment to expect. In the middle of the swingay there was quite a delightful solo dance, performed by Elzear, the caller. It was an odd mixture of tap dancing and acrobatics; in the middle of tapping he would suddenly sommersault, jump up in the air and land in a ball, or bang his knees, elbows, then head, on the floor. Meanwhile the people gathered round him in awe and admiration, they all knew the steps well and knew when to expect his surprising antics. After he had been well applauded the dancing went on. Sharp at twelve the dancing stopped and fresh buttered bread and cold water was handed to all. Then slowly and reluctantly the people began to leave. The French Canadians are very polite; they thanked Willie and his wife cordially and did not outstay their time. At last they had all left. The air in the two rooms was blue with smoke and smelt of the strong shag tobacco so popular among these people. The two little fellows in the bed were sound asleep, and the fiddles lay worn and shaken after their long usage. Thus ended a happy evening in the life of a French Canadian. The customs, the lives and the simple entertainment of these people are things to be treasured and kept, through the years to come. Faith Lyman, Form Upper Vi. THE TEACHER ASKED THE GIRL {with apologies to A. A. Milne) The teacher asked The girl, and The girl asked Her neighbour: Could we have the answer for Is Alexander dead? The girl asked The neighbour. The neighbour Answered, Certainly, I ' ll look at The book Now. And ducked down the head. The neighbour She smiled. And turned and told Another girl: Can ' t find the answer for Is Alexander dead? The other girl [19]

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STAMP COLLECTING STAMP collecting; is one of the most popular hobbies for two reasons. First, it is cheap. Buy a dollar album, a ten-cent packet of stickers, an envelope containing a thousand mixed stamps costing a quarter, and you have become a stamp collector. Second, stamps are compact. They may be valued at five dollars or five hundred dollars, but there it is between the covers of a volume that you can carry under one arm. Moreover, anyone can collect stamps; with a capital of one dollar or one hundred thousand dollars: and at the age of nine or ninety. That is why stamp talks are given over the air, and why many newspapers devote a weekly page to philately. The rise in stamp value has been steady and consistent. About 1860, an Englishman named Hughes got together a small collection worth less than four hundred dollars. Twenty years later, the same stamps were sold for fifteen thousand dollars, and today, they could not l)e bought for ten times that amount. The costliest stamp was discovered in 1872 by a school boy in Georgetown, British Guiana. He found an envelope in his attic with a specimen of the one cent magenta. He sold it to a dealer for six shillings; the dealer afterwards sold it for six hundred dollars. Following the war, this identical stamp was bought by an agent of Mr. Arthur Hinds of Utica, N.Y., for the sum of thirty-two thousand, five hundred dollars. That is the largest sum ever paid for a single postage stamp. This, of course, is an unusual and rare specimen. One of the mistakes of most beginners is to assume that stamps acquire value through age. This is true to a certain extent, but the oldest stamp is not necessarily the most expensive. The value of a stamp depends upon the numbers of copies extant. Stamp collections are of two kinds, general and specialized. The general collections take in anything, whenever it is issued, whereas the specialized collections are limited to one country, or just airmail stamps, or there are collections devoted to music and art. Collecting stamps is a pursuit of royalty. The late King George of England is said to have had the finest collection of stamps, from Great Britain and the colonies in the world. King Edward, the late King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, the Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden, and the former King Alfonso of Spain also are great roval collectors. When Sir Rowland Hill suggested to put a Government stamp on all letters, he must be considered not only the father of the postage stamp, but also the father of stamp collecting. RuPERTA Macaulay, Form Upper Vi. [21]