Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 25 text:

T 1 1 K li R A N K 8 O : I K S L O ( J A N 21 on our i y ajiniii. We fouiul out l.ilt ' i- that Essence ' ' is French for tjasoline and that there is a tax on gasoline £!,o ni ' into Paris. We drove for some distance hefoi ' e we got into the heart of the city, and then we stopped up every few minutes to enquire for Rue Castigiione and Hotel liOtti. When you consider that all we knew about our destination was the name of the street and the hotel, and that the answers to our enquiries were for the most part unintelligible, it is ratlier remarkable that we only went two blocks out of our way in reaching the hotel. ' W e were greatly amused at our chauffeur at one of the very busy corners. A num- ber of motors had been stopped in a line, and we drove past them, instead of taking our place behind the others. A gendarme ru.shed upon us, and began to remonstrate, but when our chauffeur an- swered him in Engl ' sh, he decided not to bother with us and turned away with a significant smile. Whereupon the chauffeur, as he started up ' the car again, called after him, Which way to the hotel? It was really very funny. Well, we got to the Lotti, and had not been long in our rooms before we were sipping afternoon tea in good old English fash ' o]], and I as-ure you that tea reached a spot that hadn ' t been touched for some time. W e are near the shops here, and not far from the Louvre, the Opera House, etc. W e haven ' t done any sightseeing as yet, but we went out right after breakfast this morning to some of the fascinating little shops on the Rue de Rivoli. We are planning a trip to A ersailles for to-morrow if it is f ine. I think I hear the family discussing in seath ' ng terms iny weakness for letter-writing and it behooves me to break away. If you see any of the old Branksomites please give them my love, and write when you can. With all sorts of good wishes, Sincerelv, E. U. A.

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' I ' II I-: p. K, A N K s () . H sl()(;a. Fiincy oiii- r-eiici ' wln ' ii llic lios1 of 1lic ' ' I ' etc ](; J or;uf greeted us in P n ilish, iinri jissiind u- IIkiI hi- IkkI accommodation for us. The place w;is )io1 lliat it miyhl liavc been, but the rooms seemed tolcraljly clean, and we were all pretty {rlad to hit the feathers. In the morn ' iiii ' we made a preleuce of eatiii r Ijreakfast, but the repast left much to be desired (and we left much of it that was not desii ed). We set out about eleven, armed with ham f-and- wiehes and plums, and farther along we got a bottle of water at a dirty little tavern in a dismal village. Farther on .still, we stopped by the roadside aud ate what we were forced to call our lunch. It was a gloriou.s day, ajid tin. ' trip of a liuudred miles to Par ' s was delis ' htful. We passed aercs iipoi] acres of fine-looking farm land. The country in tint ]nii-t of Fi ' ;ince is very beautiful, but the villages are the most desolate-looking j)laces. mostly very small and s-:o poorly kept. After the quaint little villages of Eng- land, with their picturesque stene cottages and profusion of flowers, the contrast is very marked. The roads are almost as good as those of England, but quite different, hi that there are many long stretches of straight road. The curves are, of course, more picturesque but not so conducive to speed. We drove through miles and miles of avenue, bordered by fine, tall trees — poplar, chestnut and a species of maple, they seemed to be — and we marvelled at their numbers. It was really surprising how little diificulty we had in finding our way. My Est-ce la route de Paris? was quite effectual and though in most cases I had very little idea as to what my inform- ants were saying, they invariably pointed out the direction, and we felt very grateful for the national weakness for gestures. Early in the afternoon we reached the gates of Paris, and were arrested (I mean stopped) as we were about to drive throueh, by an imperative repetition of Essence! essence! which, in our innocence, we imag-iiied was a request to see the license for run- ning the car. Father dived into his pocket and brought foT ' th various and sundry papers, which he presented in turn to the official at hand, but all of them failed to have the desired effect. After much wasted effort and hicomprehensible lansruaffe on the part of the said official, and much amusement and confusion on our side, some interested bystanders enouired in French if we were German. I answered Anglais, and foi thwith our man disap- peared and returned with a paper on which was written, Have you any mineral o ' ls? It oceiirred to someone that he meant gasoline and I renlied Oui. He wrote again. How much? and, after con- idting with the chauffeur, I told him the number of gallons. Whereupon he made it clear that what he wanted was money, so after handing over two or three francs we went gla.dly

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T II !•; I ' . I, A N K S O M !•; S h O ; A N ' riicic was .u ' l ' cat cxcitcinciit at Branksf.jiic Hall un file avcn ' n of October 10th, for the V. W. ( ' . A. was ;iviii ; a Baby-Partx. Each g ' irl as she entered the yynina.siurri was f reeted with loud laughter, and such remarks as. Doth baby talk? Wh reth your dolly, baby? and My mamma wouldn ' t let me even wear a bracelet ' cause she said children should never wear jewels. ' ' The last to enter the crowded room was Betty Travi.s, com- monly known as Bones, smiling ' sweetly on the whole a sembly. Being nearly five feet n ' ne and very slender she looked almost breakable. Her costume was a little hand-embroidered dres.s, end- ing quite three inches above her knees, a wide scarlet sash, a very short pair of white socks and little black slippers. The short- ness of the skirt and socks gave her a never-ending, always-going- np appearance that made us gasp. Her pretty brown hair was parted on one s ' de of her face and tied with a large bow matching her sash. The ringlets were really marvelous and they had been made in such a short time. Tender her arm hi carried an enormous teddy-bear, around whose neck was a searlet ribbon. Her conduct during the evening whs quite in keeping with her appearance. When they played musical rhairs she didn ' t think she ' d play, ' cause of erush ' ng her dress, so sat smi iiig on th platform.