Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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16 Winter's Night Cold moon stares on white expanse And watches Renard's sly advance, Whirling wisps of snow appear As rabbits leap the drifts in fear, Snowy flakes to blanket all Like stars from heaven gently fall. Soon the trees begin to wail, CThey're telling of a winter's galejg Treetops in the wind are toss'dg The moon behind the clouds is lost. Now the snow falls thick and fast, Driven by the tempest's blast. When the night at last gives way Before the pleasant light of day, What an artist could have done With bright blue sky and redden'd sun, And the little chickadees Afflitting through the frosty trees! PATRICIA McMAi-ioN, Grade VIII All That Glitters . . . Madeleine waited until her father was com- fortably settled with his coffee before bringing up the matter that had been uppermost in her mind all through dinner. L'Dad, there is a conference in New York this Easter, she began, wand all the dramatic clubs are sending two representatives to it. Miss Sparling said I was a possibility for one of ours, and that I should ask you if I could go. May I? Please? Mr. Smith would not give an immediate answer. He had a methodical mind, and wanted to know who would be in charge, details of the plans, and other things which were, to Madeleine, quite trivial. However, she promised to find the answers to these questions since without them the idea was obviously not to be considered. The next day there was a meeting of the Dramatic Club, when Miss Sparling gave them more details about the proposed trip. To Made' leine's dismay, her archfrival, Jane Patterson, was very interested in it, and, furthermore, her parents had apparently consented without reservation to her going. If that isn't just like her, thought Madeleine bitterly. 'lShe always gets everything she wants. Well, this is one time when she is going to have to earn it! The teacher explained that to qualify for the trip, each person would have to achieve good marks while learning a part from a play to demon' strate his acting ability. The choice would also be made on the basis of the person's ability to work with others, she added. Madeleine resolved to be pleasant to Jane Patterson at all costs. By dint of ceaseless persuasion, she wrung her parents' consent from them, thus surmounting obstacle Number One. Obstacle Number Two presented a greater difficulty, however, for it concerned that old bugbear, money. The Little Theatre of Hamilton had agreed to pay the railway fares, but that still left the hotel bill. Mr. Smith promised to meet Madeleine halffway on that, and so she began to work towards her goal. Babyfsitting seemed the most logical way to earn the money, and so almost every evening saw her putting a neighbourhood child to bed. When her homework was done, she spent the evenings learning the part of Portia in the court scene from The Merchant of Venice. The day for the test came at last. All morning, lines from the play kept flitting through her mind, but, try as she would, she could not conjure up the whole part. Several times Madeleine came in for rebukes for inattention, and her answers to questions were far enough off the track to bring a gleam into jane Patterson's eyes. At two o'clock she went to the hall, with her knees knocking like castanets. Once she had begun the opening line, however, Madeleine lost herself in the part as she always did. As soon as she had finished, she returned to class and tried to prepare herself for the possible forthcoming disappointment. When the bell finally rang for assembly, every' one's excitement had reached fever pitch. The teacher came straight to the point, saying, We have had a very difficult time choosing from among our excellent candidates, but we have decided that the two who deserve this trip most are David Atkinson and Madeleine Smith. Amid the burst of clapping that followed, Madeleine sat in a happy daze while her friends congratulated her. The remaining two weeks before their def parture flew by. With the financial problem now overcome, Madeleine's thoughts turned to clothes. Mr. Smith hovered suspiciously in the background while several outfits were made, and he was at last persuaded to let her have a new party dress. An added surprise was the gift of a pair of diamond ear' rings from her aunt, to wear with the new dress. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were astonished at such ex' travagance, but Madeleine accepted the gift calmly. After all, she had been chosen to go to New York, and so nothing seemed impossible. Her parents watched her leave with mixed feelings, secrectly hoping that all this unaccustomf ed attention would not spoil their daughter. The week in New York passed in a whirlwind of dramatic classes, sightfseeing, shopping, and meeting people. On their last night they went to the opening performance of a new Broadway play. When they returned to the hotel and were pgeparing for bed, Madeleine suddenly gave a s riek.

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15 direction in which they were travelling. We should be in the wood soon, he thought, then perhaps the trees will shelter us a littlef' The fierce wind and blinding snow were not the only diiliculties facing Doctor McGarther, for he began to feel sleepy, then strange, weird thoughts entered his mind, and the monotonous white wall of snow was becoming a burden to his eyes. Often, when he felt drowsy, his wife's face appeared before the sled in a mirage. As they passed through the woods, the force of the wind was broken to some extent, but another danger arose. Great piles of snow falling from the trees would often land in the sled. Molly halted when she came to the creek at the edge of the tree line, but with a word of encouragement from her master, she proceeded cautiously to cross the frozen ice. john said a silent prayer for the horse's safety. No sooner had he finished, than Molly's right foot slipped and she tumbled on the ice with a dreadful cry of pain, sending the doctor sprawling too. Uninjured, john staggered to his feet. He took a bottle of ether from his bag and approached old Molly, who was lying in anguish. Reluctantly, he poured out the contents, knowing that a horse with a broken leg in a growing blizzard, and five miles from the nearest shelter, would have had no chance of survival. Now the problem of his own survival faced McCarther. Shall I go on, or return home? He pondered a moment, then decided to continue, for again devotion to his work gave him renewed courage. Walking was dillicult and slow without snow' shoes, so John travelled very little distance in the next hour. His legs ached from the cold and with each step he sank down into the deep drifts. Again he felt the temptation to sleep, but with the thought of the sick woman waiting for him, he plunged onwards in the raging storm in a semi' conscious state. Gradually his courage and physif cal strength weakened, his limbs became immovable, and the doctor's will to live faded as sleep conf quered his exhausted frame. An anxious week of worry passed for Agnes McCarther, wondering if her husband would return or if he were lying dead in the snow. When these doubts could be contained within her soul no longer, she resolved to tell the next visitor. A few days later, a party of neighbors was formed and the task of finding Doctor McCarther began. Not until spring was the body found. It lay one quarter of a mile from its destination. Yes. Doctor John McCarther, like so many of the early settlers, had lost the battle against the forces of nature. MARGARET Goonna, Grade IX Liberty Our lot was servant to the King And nobles. We dressed in rags of dirt and grime And filth. All men worked hard, and harder still, But starved. Because the King loved riches well, We suffered. Then bitterness became too great To bear. Gut hate gave strength unto our arms At last. And so, with hate, we started out To slay All those oppressors. One by one They fell, Their blood looked red upon our knives And swords. Revenge was sweet, and grew unchecked. We watched The guillotine give up her dead With glee, And cry for more to bring her axe Upon. And now so many years have passed, And men can work with mind and hand, We're proud we fought for liberty, In this our free and prosperous land. MARGARET FISHER, Grade IX Intermediate Literary Competition Prize Poem Rainy Days The ground was saturated, and still the rain pelted down on the small farm buildings. In the fields, the cows tried to graze on the soggy grass, The hens huddled in the henhouse to keep them' selves warm, their heads under their wings. Old farm cats and little kittens sulked in the barn, while two pups hid under the tractor in the only dry spot they could find. But inside the toolfshed no one was idly waiting for the rain to stop. The farmer was mending a harness, his sons were building a trough for the chickens, and the hired man hammered at a dent in the fender of the new combine. You may have no use for this kind of weather, remarked the farmer to the old collie who was gazing forlornly through the doorway, but we have. When else would we get all these jobs done? And besides, just think how the corn will be shooting up in a day or two after this! No, we couldn't do without a few rainy days. BETTY Nicol., Grade VIII

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17 One of my earrings is gone! she exclaimed as she began rummaging in her purse. A frantic hour of searching followed, but it produced nothing. The next day they went back to the theatre and inquired, but the clerk told them that no earring had been found. During the trip home, the incessant clicking of the train's wheels only served to imprint more Hrmly in Madeleine's mind the fact that she had lost a diamond earring, an article of great value. While the others reviewed the wonders of the past week, she could only think of her loss, and wonder how she was going to face her family, especially Aunt Connie. Back in Hamilton, she nearly went hoarse telling of the wonderful time she had had, and asking about local events. Several of her relations, including Aunt Connie, had dropped in to welcome her home, and Madeleine dreaded the moment that one of them would ask a question about her earrings. Fortunately, no one did. When everyone was leaving, Madeline sighed with relief, determining to tell her family about the loss the next day. As her aunt left the house, she said, I am so glad you had such a lovely time, dear, and I know you will become a great actress. When you make your debut, I shall give you a pair of real diamond earrings. SARA ALLAN, Grade X . ..,T,.... The Little Lion-Tamer Sally Baker was a lionftamer, or she tried to be. Her father was a very famous animal tamer, and occasionally he gave a show at the circus. When Sally was six she became fast friends with Leo, Mr. Baker's best performer. Leo took the same place in her life that a cat or dog takes in most other children's. Sally would spend hours at a time training Leo or playing pranks on him, but whatever she did, Leo never growled or clawed at her. Time after time Sally would sit, beaming, as Leo took all the bows for his wonderful performances. When Sally was ten years old her father gave her permission to enter the lion's cage during the act and perform with Leo. Sally was thrilled and practised her tricks constantly with Leo till they both knew them by heart. When the circus posters came out, Sally proudly showed Leo their pictures. As the day of their first performance neared, Sally began to feel nervous, but with a little reassurance from her father, all went well. Hearing the thundering applause, Sally felt more at ease. Gradually the act became just a regular routine to her. One terrible day, however, Leo stumbled and crashed to the floor while balancing on his stool. The next week, Mr. Baker brought home another lion who had not even attained his full mane. Sally cried bitterly all night at the thought of losing Leo, and vowed she would never enter the ring again. Nevertheless, in the morning, she followed her father into the cage, resolving to help Stevie, the new lion, as best she could. Slowly and painfully, Sally, Mr. Baker and Leo trained him. In spite of this, the young lion was jealous of the older one, and he constantly growled at Leo, provoking him to iight. Leo, being as wise as he was old, refused to be tempted by these challenges. Painfully the weeks dragged by, and the season was coming to a close. At last, it was felt that Stevie was ready for the ring which would lead to his fame and Leo's retirement. Sally felt sad when the Grand Finale came, this was to be Leo's last performance in the circus ring. Stevie, who had never before witnessed the rush and excitement that went on when the circus was preparing to close for winter, became dangerf ously uneasy. Consequently, when the lion's act came, he was very jumpy and had to be prodded several times with the whip. After a minute or two, Sally entered the cage and went over to give Leo a reassuring pat before snapped her fingers, they started. Then she calling Stevie over, and as she did so, Mr. Baker turned to face the audience for a second. Stevie crouched. The audience shrieked in terror, Mr. Baker whipped round, tiring his gun, but the bullets sailed over Stevie's head as he lunged towards Sally. Then Leo saw his chance, and with a mighty roar, he sprang from his stool, knocking Stevie off his feet. This was enough, and Stevie backed reluctantly away. Leo, seeing that Sally was safe in her father's arms, returned to his corner. Once again, Leo was the hero of the circus! SUZANNB EVANS, Grade VIII An Interruption The moon shone down from her heavenly tower Through the silver leaves of a wilting flower, All was silent, all was still In that forest upon the hill. Although in the daytime they were gay. Rabbits and squirrels now sleeping lay, All was silent, all was still In that forest upon the hill. The deer were sleeping in coverts when An owl went Whoo in the night, and then All was silent, all was still In that forest upon the hill. NORA BAKER, Grade VII