Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 28 text:

26 The Branksome Slogan The Tale of Alza The wind had risen from a mournful sigh to a whirling madness, driving leaves, twigs and stones before it, crack- ing the branches of the trees, shriek- ing wildly through the forest; forked lightning cut the sky into fragments of blackness, while, from the moun- tain-top, Jove hurled his thunder-bolts until it seemed that these fragments of the heavens must come crashing to the earth. At last the rain came, falling in a raging torrent, washing the leaves from the trees, drowning any animal which had not sought shelter in time. It was a night in which the evil spirits held sway, howling and laughing like maniacs in the darkness, and striking terror to the heart of an unfortunate mortal, caught in the bosom of the storm. It was a boy, struggling vainly against the force of the wind and rain, until he was driven, as though by the hand of Providence, against a log-cabin. Numb from the cold, wet, and weak from hunger he staggered to the door and fell, in an exhausted heap, on the cabin floor. When he had somewhat recovered his senses, he saw a fire burning on the hearth and an old hag bent over him, muttering strange incantations to herself. She might have been a thousand years old, and indeed her face .was lined with a thousand wrinkles; her eyes were black and burned like live coals, her nose was like the beak of a hawk, and what teeth she had were yellow and decayed; her hair was gray and matted with dirt, and she was bent almost double with age, one bony hand clutching a twisted stick. My name is Alza, she hissed, ten hundred years have passed before my eyes, but always I tell the same tale .... always always And sit- ting on a three-legged stool, the ghostly light of the fire casting weird shadows on her face, she began — Centuries ago, when Romance and Chivalry walked together throughout the land, a huge, gloomy castle stood on one of the foot-hills of yonder mountain, which guarded the village huddling at its feet as a hen guards her brood. The castle was built around a square court in the middle of which was a well, running, it was said, straight through the centre of the earth, for nothing thrown into it had ever been heard to strike bottom. The king had no children of his own, but a beautiful young niece of his, with bronze-gold locks and blue eyes, lived at the castle, and when she had taken a noble and wealthy husband, he intended to name them as his successors. But who can tell at which port the ship of love will anchor? There .were, in the king ' s guard, two handsome knights, Alfred and Arthur, brothers, of low birth. Alfred was dark and Arthur fair, and each had the sta- ture of a viking. Alfred and the princess were in love, each living in constant dread of the day when the king would choose a husband for his beautiful niece. They met secret- ly by night in the deserted court-yard, as all the guards were stationed on the out- side of the castle. Here they would com- pare the depth of their love for each other to the depth of the well, until fin- ally the king made his choice. It was the night of their last meeting, the next day the princess was to be wed and the knight .was going to leave the king ' s guard and ride through the land, fighting evil and relieving all whom he found in distress, until he .would meet his death, bravely, in conquest. It was a sad sweet farewell, but alas! fate was more cruel than either had thought. A page, seeing a shadow move on the court, aroused the king; He, with two knights from the guard, strode into

Page 27 text:

The Branksome Slogan 25 Slogan Staff The Twilight Hour Thy beauty is a joy to all Who love the sunset glow, That evening quiet enchants the land, And peace reigns here below. The clouds above serenely float. Like fairy ships they glide, Above they dreamily sail away All pink, with eventide. The evening birds are singing songs, As dusk falls on the land; The world is quiet with peacefulness, For rest is now at hand. The flaming sky behind the wood Strange shadows cast, as if a magic lamp Shot its glory through the sombre trees, Dark and still, as sentinels at camp. The herds and flocks are wandering home. As the setting sun sinks o ' er Yon distant hill of purple hue, And night has come once more. V. J. GOULDING, Form III.

Page 29 text:

The Branksome Slogan 27 the court-yard. Great was his wrath upon discovering his niece in the embrace of a humble knight. He ordered Alfred to be beheaded at da.wn, and his body thrown to the dogs, while his head was to grace the wedding feast as a gruesome reminder to the princess. The king ' s orders were executed, and when Arthur heard of his brother ' s cruel death, he was overcome with rage and grief, and in his heart he planned a ter- rible revenge. That night when the courtiers were drinking and carousing in the great hall in celebration of the royal wedding, Arthur appeared before the king and told him that the princess had been found murdered out in the court. The drunken king staggered after Arthur to find the princess pierced through the heart with Arthur ' s sword. With a yell of rage he turned upon the knight; but Arthur sprang at him, pressing his thumbs into the king ' s throat, and slowly bending him back over the edge of that awful chasm of death — the well! Slowly — slowly the body of the king went back into the well. It fell at last. Scream- ing with half mad glee, Arthur jumped on the edge of the well and plunged after his enemy down down down . . . . The boy groped his way to the door and opened it. Over in the east the sun was rising, a flaming ball, tinging the tiny fleecy clouds with a rosy glow, and turning the drops of water hanging from the leaves to sparkling jewels; a bird call- ed to its mate, and a few yards away a rabbit hopped into a thicket. Once more Mother Nature smiled upon the world — the spell of the evil spirits .was broken! EDITH MERRILL, IV. A. The Desert Golden and brown were the sands of the desert, Red and golden and brown, The sun was golden and azure the heavens; To Beth-Arad .went I down. Ivory like milk, and the gold of the mountains. Silk and jewels and wine, Daggers of silver and slippers of velvet. Such a cargo was mine. Merchants in robes of yellow and crim- son. Ears pierced with golden rings. Eyes as old as the purple mountains. Bought all my beautiful things. Grey and black were the sands of the desert. Leaden the angry sky. Groaning the wind and choking the sand came; So young I was to die. Awful the storm, and the sand was blinding. Came death in a terrible way; Smiling the morn and the sun shone brightly. Alone on the sands I lay. So lie I dead on the sands of the desert, Happy at length with my lot; There ' s beauty of sun and of wind and of heavens. Far more than the treasures I ' d bought. LOIS TEDMAN, Form IV.