Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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The Branksome Si ogan 21 Rupert A Romance. Of course, he ' s mad about me ' said Georgina, as she opened the second box of flowers that week and took out a small but exquisite bunch of large, blue violets. But aren ' t these too adorable for words! The small white card fell out and one of the girls leaned over to pick it up. It was only an instant, but all of them had time to catch a glimpse of the bold masculine handwriting, Adoringly — Rupert. What a romance! And a tremor ran through the little group gath- ered about Georgina as she slipped the note in the pocket of her middy blouse, and pressed the flowers to her lips. There is little of the romantic in life at a girls ' boarding school, and even the slightest hint of it is enough to cause a sensation. Georgina Gregory seemed the very essence of it. Sweet and seventeen, pretty and popular, though only lately, in fact, since the girls had discovered her thrilling intrigue with the handsome Ru- pert, whose photograph, in all its glory, graced her small dressing-table. A chorus of envious sighs stirred the group. How touching and how thrill- ing it all was, to be sure! Dear Georgina, do tell us about it, breathed Nathalie, plain and stout, but with a taste for the idealistic, nevertheless. Oh, cfo ' came the urgent echo from the rest of the girls. About what? asked Georgina, af- fecting an innocent air, and gazing off into space as if lifted high above such trivial and inconsequental, every-day things as school. About Rupert, of course, Nathalie replied. Yes, all about it, begged the others. You ' ve never told us, you know — all, we mean. Well, began Georgina, sighing con- tentedly (she loved to talk) , as she settled among the cushions on her small bed and the girls gathered eagerly about to listen, it ' s not a long story, but I do think it ' s remarkably thrilling. It was when I was in Cairo last winter. There was a carni- val at the hotel at which I was staying, and thousands of people there, of course, in fancy dress. Thousands? interrupted Nancy, who was of a practical nature. Well, hundreds, then — two hundred, anyway, continued Georgina, a little an- noyed. I wore a ravishing Spanish cos- tume with a gorgeous shawl. I had a perfectly divine time, too, and met so many thrilling men — well — (Georgina loved superlatives) . And there was one in particular who was really the hand- somest thing you ever saw. Dark and very Spanish-looking, you know? And— Was he Rupert? broke in Nancy again. Just wait and you ' ll hear, and Georgina went on with her story. He was tall and wore a shiek ' s costume that suited him — honestly, girls, I just wish you could have seen him. Well, anyway, he came over to where I was standing — gazing out over the dark blue of the Nile — and said: ' Senorita, your shawl has fallen. Allah has indeed been kind to allow me to be of service to one so fair. ' So he arranged my shawl for me. It really had fallen off, but I hadn ' t noticed it. Of course, we danced, and he dances divinely. Then we went out into the moonlit gar- den, and there he kissed my hand, and told me that he loved me passionately — adoringly — and hopelessly. Not hopelessly, dear Rupert, I mur- mured.

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20 Thk Branksome S1.0GAN Editorial Staff. Summer-Time The meadow grasses whisper as a light breeze wanders by, They ripple, sway and rustle in a sooth- ing lullaby; The sweet, soft scent of clover drowns the sleepy summer noon. And among the plumy willow purls the brook ' s confiding croon; And above its shimmering shallows streaks a lightning flash of blue. While a loud, triumphant rattle tells the kingfisher struck true. The sun-baked road meanders ' twixt tall hedges of wild rose. Whose tender, poignant fragrance like some dear, faint memory flows Upon my languid senses, as I gaze up from the grass At the fleecy, fragile cloudlets as they softly, slowly pass Across a sky whose blueness is so glori- ous — so rare — That I, in wondering ecstasy, can only lie and stare. JUNE WARREN, Form IV.

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22 The Branksome Slogan ' Ah, Georgina, do not play with my heart ' , he said in a low, tense voice. ' How can one so beautiful care for a poor thing like me? But you will bid me hope — is it not so, Carissima? ' Rupert — yes, indeed, I replied. Ah, the fragrance of the garden, the odor of tropical flowers, the sound of music in the distance — Georgina sighed in memory of the scene, and the girls gazed at her spell- bound. Well, a week went by and each day we saw one another, and I fell more madly in love with him every time I saw him. We decided to elopel Unfortun- ately, however, my family heard of our affair, and, foolishly thinking that they could break it off, moved on, the day before our proposed flight, to Rome. Rupert followed me there, and, of course, we met secretly at every possible oppor- tunity. From Rome we went to Paris, and from Paris to London, and thence homeward. Rupert followed me all the way. The family, of course, knew no- thing of this, and imagined that I had not seen him since leaving Cairo. Un- luckily, though, Dad met him on the street near our house one evening, and next day I was packed off here to school. Rupert writes continually, begging me to flee with him to Europe. He says he has a beautiful castle in Spain, but I cannot yet make up my mind what I shall do. Rupert says he will wait for mc until the end of all time, and that there can never be anyone else for him if I do not consent to — Her sentence was left unfinished, for the going-to-bed bell rang out suddenly, and her audience abruptly fled, though not without a sympathetic glance and a reassuring pressure of the hand from three or four of the girls, which meant, Poor dear — we can imagine what you are go- ing through. We understand. That night after lights-out bell had rung, and the dormitories were presum- ably wrapped in slumber, Georgina stir- red sleepily, a smile on her lips as she thought of Rupert. How lucky that she had brought that actor ' s picture with her when she left home to come to school. What a great thing imagination is, she murmured to herself. But I do wonder what that bill at the florists is going to amount to. M. H. H., Form V.