Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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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.

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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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A Korean Legend Once upon a time in the ancient land of Korea there lived a king who found that life was getting dull. To relieve the monotony of his daily routine he an- nounced that to the man who could tell him a lie that he could not possibly be- lieve he would give ten thousand won, which is in our money, about five thou- sand dollars. One of the prominent vices of a Korean is his appreciation of a cun- ning and complicated lie, and this king was no exception. Many competitors came, confident that their tales were unbelievable, but went home disconsolate because, however un- believable a story was told, the king agreed with them perfectly. At last, the king got tired of the common lies and said that unless their lies were absolutely unbelievable not to take the risk of tell- ing them for there would be a serious penalty. One day, a young man came who was exceptionally smart-looking, and the king, although eager to hear his lie, warned him. Young man, he said, you know that there is a severe penalty for any believable lie, so I warn you not to begin if it is believable. Oh, the young man replied, excuse me, your Majesty, but you cannot pos- sibly believe this lie. Proceed, said the king. As you know, began the young man, in the south of Korea we have a wonderful sacred sphinx. Now, one day as I was going past it I saw an unlucky crow building a nest in its ear. I realized that this must not be or the gods would be angry, so I took stones and threw them at the nest but, as I soon ran out of stones, I picked up chestnuts and threw them. At last, the bird fled. A few days later, I noticed a wonderful tree growing in the soil on the head of the sphinx and, instead of growing at an ordi- nary rate, it grew very quickly, and at last I saw chestnuts on it and remembered that the tree must have grown from a chestnut I had thrown up there. A few days later, I saw that the chestnuts were ripe and wanted to pick them. If I wait- ed till they dropped they would be of no use as they would drop on the head of the sphinx and it would be impossible for me to get them. At last, I had a plan and went home to get a basin of pepper and with a pair of bellows blew it up 23