Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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Tin: ivKAXKso.AiK sl()(;ax 29 A CHRISTMAS DINNER Tlie sinall iiiining- eanip Avas in no great danger of liaving a Cbi ' istnias without snow. For three or four weeks tlie trail that led up the steep mountainside liad been closed by it, and the only letters that entered the camp were brought in by some pei ' son with a strong will and a plenteous knowledge of snowshoes. The few remaining trees, which the woodman ' s axe had spared, were bowed under their great load of snow. Do not let this give you the impi ' ession that tliei ' e was want in the camp. There was plenty of ' ' grub, the fuel supply was abund- ant, and evei ' yone possessed the amount of clothing necessary in such a place. Jack, the son of the boss, a healthy lad with a fi-eckled face and cuily black haii , was looking out of the Avindow of his cabin home at the wintry scene. He was not missing the Clnistnuis shopping, the sti ' eets bright with holly, the gloiy of the shoit-lived toys that do so much to nudve the life of a city boy happy, lie was not a city boy, and it was something else that had made his eyes brim with tears, until the view before him was one gi ' eat, white blur. His mother moved quietly al)out the room; the sobs of his sister, Crace, only intensified the silence that filled the cal)in. Three days befoi ' e there had been a cave-in at the mine, and, when file cal)le I ' cached the surface on its last trip, only five men w ere clinging to it. Jack, vv ' ho Avas sorting ore a short distance aAvay, did not I ' ecognize his fatlier anu)ng them, and realiz( d, therefore, that he had eithei ' been killed by the cave-in, or Avas a living pi ' isoner in the mine. Having been brought up in a hard school, and trained to man- hood long before his time, he did ]U)t begin at once to ciy, as many b oys woidd have done, but rushed to the men who had just come up from the mine, shouting, ' ' Where ' s Dad! One of the minei ' s, putting a comforting arm about him, said, Don ' t worry, my boy, A e ' ll get him out. He ' s safe; he Avas on the fourth level, and the ground ' s safe thei-e. AVe ought to be able to get him out in thi ' ee or four days. The boss is a strong man; and there is plenty of air and Avater on that level. That had been three long days ago. Come here, sis, Jack called, and led his sister into the next ] ' Oom. NoAv, look here, l:e said, I ' m going to tell you a secret, but you must fii ' st promise me that you Avon ' t tell a soul. Oh, lu) ! Jackie! Truly, I Avon ' t! she said, proud to be taken into her big brother ' s confidence. Well, said Jack, There ' s no one rouiul here can climb better that I can, the shaft ' s pretty neaily opened up, and I ' m going to take Dad ' s Christnms dinner to him. Noav, this is Avhere you conu in. Dad loves nu)th.ei ' ' s. mince pies, and you must get oiu of them, and anything else you think he ' d like, put it all in a gunny sack, and leave it in the Avoodshed Avhere I can get it tonight.

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28 THE BRANKSOME SLOCIAN CATHERmE BRESHKOVSKY One of the most interesting political prisoners whom the over- throw of Czardom liberated was Catherine Breshkovsky, ' ' The Little Grandmother of the Enssian Revolution. Though belonging herself to the wealthy class, she felt keenly the injustice of the peasants ' lot in Russia. Disguised as a peasant she went from village to village, sharing the hardships of the most downtrodden class in Europe, and trying to kindle in their liearts the fires which burned in her own. She was incarcerated many times and spent, in all, thirty-five years of her life in prison or in exile in Siberia. No one- was more active than she ill sowing the seeds of revolt against Romanoff despotism, and, when the dynasty was overthrown, she returned to Petrograd. Madame Breshkovsky had served the cause of liberty too long to tolerate the Bolshevism there. She escaped from Soviet-ruled Russia, and is now preparing for the regeneration of her country by enlisting the world ' s sympathy and support for its destitute children and war orphans. It was to collect money for orphanages in Russia that Madame Breshkovsky visited America, and, while in Toronto in June, 1919, we v ere fortunate enougli to have a short visit from her at the school. The girls formed a guard of honor on either side of the driveway, and, after giving three cheers and a tiger for Madame, presented her with a bouquet of roses. Standing on the steps of the motor, Madame Breshkovsky spoke briefly on education in this country, saying how fortunate Canadians were to live in a land where opportunities for learning were within the reach of everyone. Those of us who saw her will not soon forget the heroic figure of Breshkovsky, of whom an eminent man once said, ' ' My ideals of courage, fortitude, and self- sacrifice were raised for all time, and raised by the hand of this vomaii.

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30 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN That iiig ' lit, when lii.s motlier and sister were going to bed, Jack announced tliat he was going to the shaft, and, as he went frequently to get the latest news, his mother thought nothing- of it. He went cautiously to the shed, and found the well-stocked gunny- sack, which he fastened across lii s neck with the aid of a stout cord. At the shaft mouth he put a lighted candle in his hat, and started clambering down over masses of debris. At the third level he struck his liead against a projecting mass, and knocked his cap off, and now complete darkness surrounded him. Unable to clioose liis footing any more, he trod on a piece of rotten wood which gave way ])eneath him, and he fell, carrying clowii with him stones and rubbish. When he came to, he felt a cold hand stroking his head, and cried out, ' ' Is that you. Dad? His fatlier i-eplied in a shaking voice, ' ' Is it you, Jackie? Heaven grant that you are not badly hurt, my boy. I don ' t think so. Dad, but I ' m afraid your Christmas dinner may be a little the worse for wear. The pie was damaged, but it was still eatable, as they saw by the dim glow of a match Avhich Jack ' s father lighted. A¥hen the matcli flickered out, they talked in the darkness for a few moments, tlien Jack ' s head nodded against his father ' s shoulder and he fell asleep. A¥lien he awoke tliey had their Cliristmas dinner in the dim light that Altered througli the piles of debris, and later on in the day when more rubbish had been dug out and a strong rope lowered, the boss and his boy were brought up to the surface again, the father somewhat weak from his three days in the shaft, but so strengthened and heart- ened by his boy ' s presence in the last hours, and by the nourishing food he had brought him, that he suffered no lasting ill effects from liis imprisonment. JEAN SHEAFE, Form III. A GROUP OF PREFECTS AND SENIORS Left to Right -Upper Row— Isabel Keid, Edith Burchell, Helen Howard, Jean McLauchlin. Lower Row —Mary Clay , Muriel Zybach, Bernice Derris, Laura Stone,