Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 30 text:

28 The Branksome Slogan Snap Shots

Page 29 text:

i S] HE Carnival was held this S|S year during the last week ffllJS of Feibruary, and, as Miss ff Read very kindly took the wihole School, ' we had the joy of ' witnessing a per- formance that surpassed in bril- liancy and beauty those of other years. From the beginning, when the lig ' hts were lowered and the partici- pants glided out onto the gleaming ice in a silently myst erious array (only the sudden metallic clink of a soliitary skate breaking the hushed, expectant silence) till the triumphant and glorious finish, when the hun- dreds of gorgeously costumed fig- ures joined in the final number — the Grand March — it was a veri- table triumph of colorful beauty and lilting rhythm. There were crowds of little people from Fairyland, dressed in dainty rose with sparkling wings, and funny-folk from Elfinknd, all in glinting green, and visitors from Topsy-turvy land, where pretty girls are prancing steeds and men walk uipside down. Sunshine girls from Southern lands, bringing with them warm summer breezes, pirouetted before the admiring spectators, with light- hearted grace. Then the lovely vision of the Corps de Ballet met the gaze of the onlookers, when a flock of golden dancers in clouds of fluffy tulle, flit- ted in and out under the soft glow of the lights. ... A sudden dash of silver-shod feet as Cecil-Eustace-Smith flew over the ice — an d then a performance of exquisite skill that delighted us all as she lea ped and whirled from one position to lanother as lightly as a piece of thistle-down upon a windy day — ending in a spin that was just a misty whirl of rose and silver silk. There were skaters from Ottawa, New York and Switzerland, who performed deeds of daring that thrilled and sometimes horrified the spectators. There were — but if I were to tell you all of the wonders of that wonderful night, I would never be done. When it was all over, only a de- lightfully dreamy impression re- mained to us of a gigantic rainbow broken and strewn upon the ice — a magical conglomeration of bril- liant colors intermingled upon the floor Of the arena to the distant strains of music. What was it but a rare and glori- ous glimpse of Fairyland? 27

Page 31 text:

The Branksome Slogan 29 HE Hallowe ' en masquerade was held this year on Octo- ber the thirteenth in the gymnasiurn, where dancing was rendered very enjoy- able by the music of an extremely good orchestra. The costumes were varied and beautiful, in some cases weird and wonderful. The (prizes for the pret- tiest costumes were awarded to Leith Hutchision anid Ruth Gray, as a piair of courtiers in flowered satin and powdered hair. Ida Bur- chell and Alice Watson won the prizes for the funniest costume, and the prizes for the most original cos- tu ' mies went to Isiobel Eastcott ' and Margaret Withers, as Sparkplug. The triumph of the evening, how- ever, was not supper, as you might expect, ' but the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, executed by the staff. A difficult drill was dexter- ously performed under the expert leadership of Miss MacLennan, while the serious aspect and painted counteances of our respected teach- ers were so amusing that the per- formance was greeted with roars of laughter and applause. The successful evening ended in the dining-room, with the consum- ing of many delicious forms of re- freshment, and the distribution of the prizes. We had a very interesting lecture on astronomy, from Dr. Young, of Toronto University, on January the fifteenth. The lecture was illus- trated by mk sit unusual and startl- ing lantern slides, picturing the movements oif the heavenly ibodies in relation to each other at all times oif the year. We feel that we ab- sorbed a great deal of information on this fascinating subject. On Wednesday morning, January 27th, Dr. Thompson, of the Dental College, came to speak to us on our health in general, and our teeth in particular. There have been in all three of thlese lectures, in which everyone has been deeply interested. During the last period of the morning on the third of February, we received interesting insight into the coal situation. The lecturer, who came from the Dominion Coal Company, gave us statistics con- cerning the daily consumption and wasite of coal which were amiazing. Form HI. iput on two iplays on Friday evening, February 9th. The first of these, The Man in the Bowler Hat, was an amusing farce with a startling climax, to which the actors worked up with vigorous and spirited acting. The second play, The Button, was a translation from the German and very humorous in a melo-dramatic, sentimental way. One oif the biggest laughs of the year was afforded the school on February 20th, when the staff acted Bimbo the Pirate. The outstand- ing characters were Bimbo him- self and the hysterical heroine. All the parts were very appropriate and most re ilistic, however. The at- mosphere of fierce piratical cruelty at the beginning, which changed grtadually to ' self-righteous piety at the end, was very amusing, and the audience was kept in a state of weak and helpless laughter. Nothing but the Truth, as de- monstrated iby the Fourth Form, did n ' ot apipear a very practidal ' pol- icy. In every way the actors suc- ceeded in convincing us that the unembroidered truth does not pay and they did it so well that it took