Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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18 The: Branksome Slogan some. And I wonder, could they in 1571 or any time during the long years since, ' have needed that motto to guide them as we do now. In this year 1932, with all our boasted modern civilization, our culture and inven- tions, our high standards of living, our facilities for travel, and our organized charitable work, have we not wandered from the road? Have we not been so intent that the road should ' be more smooth and more wide that we have forgotten it is the destination that is the real quest of life, and it is only those who keep the road w.ho finally arrive at the desired destination, the destination of achievement, of the fullest development of one ' s character. We stand at the close of another school year and before us lies the future. In that future may our school so play its part that all who come within our gates may learn, not only i ndustry and knowledge, but the way of achievement. And for our guidance on that way what better words can we take than the words of our new motto, Keep well the road. EDITH M. READ. Tapestries x methyst, Stardust and onyx — Three Araib ' girls by a well. Emerald, silver and ruby — A bronze (hammered temiple-bell. A lone Hindu boy in a head-band of jade, These are the tapestries Time can- not fade. The silk threads are woven by dark native bands. And dyed by a process unknown to our lands. They are sent from the looms of the humble and poor, And carry a message from desert and moor That even the hot, greedy sun can- not fade. For the life-span of one soul is spent as they ' re made. WILMA BATE, Form V.

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Our New Motto When I visited the original Branksome Hall in Scotland during the summer of 1927, I found these words carved over the ancient door of the castle : — In varld is nocht nature has vroucht that sal lest ay thairfore serve God Keip veil ye rod thy fame sal nocht de Kay Schir Valter Scot of Branxholme Knycht Magret Douglas 1571 ( In the world there is nothing nature has wrought that shall last forever. Therefore serve God, Keep well the road, ithy fame shall not decay. ) And ever since the words ' ' Keep well the road have been ringing in my ears. At the time I remember that I wished Miss Scott had seen them before she founded the school, for I thought this surely would have been what she would have chosen for our motto. It was not, however, until the Alumnae dinner this year that the idea of changing our motto and taking this one came to me, but so many of the girls said to me that evening, ' ' Miss Read, could we not have ' Keep well the road ' for the school motto, that as soon as possible a special committee of the Alumnae met and definitely decided upon the change. And so, beginning this June, 1932, the motto for our school is Keep well the road. What a splendid thought it is, Keep well the road! Since 1571, for over three hundred and fifty years it has stood above the ancient Brank- 17

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The Branksome: Slogan 19 Catullus: No. 4. ' Phaselus ille, quern videtis, hospites. My ship, good friends to you declares That she of ships hath been most swift, Past any craft triumphant fares And flies by sail or oar throug-h rift Of foaming seas — through Adriatic ' s Engulfing billows, Cyclades Isles, And far-famed Rhodes, and grim Propontis, And the horror of the Black Sea ' s miles Of treacherous shore — o ' er every lea ! To ' think, she sighs, that long ago On Pontic ' s slopes a shapely tree I stood, and murmurs soft and low Came whispering through my rustling leaves. Amastris and Cytorus too My trusted friends have been, and breathes Amid the box-trees there some fev Of youth ' s proud memories, as with bow Fresh hewn I sailed in the shining dawn ; And thence through storm-tossed seas my prow Hath bravely borne my master on! To port or starboard, it mattered not To me how breezes blew, nor were My prayers ascending breathed to the god Of the shore when last I journeyed home. All this a tale of the greying past: In peace my veteran ship grows old, And dedicates herself at last To thee, O Castor, and to Pollux bold. CLARE BROWN, Form V (Douglas Clan).