Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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22 The Branksome Slogan Sir Harry: Goodnig-ht. Pleasant dreams. (Exit he and Sir Francis Bacon.) Richard Corbett: Goodnight Jacko and Will. (Exit.) Annie: Mr. Will, sir. ' Ere ' s a whole pile of your manuscripts that you left ' ere last night. It ' s a shame the way you leave ' em lying about. Now if I wrote nice plays like you, would I leave ' em sitting a ' bout to be swept into any ' h ' ash can ? Not Annie. Shakespeare: (Laug ' hing) Thank you, Annie. Goodnight. (Exit.) Jacko: (Clearing- up the room and muttering to himself.) Balmy, the whole lot of ' em — that ' s what I say. One minute they ' re friends, the next they ' re foes, they drink and make it up, and so it goes on. Penniless yesterday, throwing guineas away tomorrow, and caroiusing night after night when decent folk should be in bed. They ' re queer, alrig ' ht! Well, they get me my business, so I ' ll not complain. Blow out the candles, Annie, before you come to bed. (The gong sounds once again, bringing us back from that scene of long ago.) Voice: What things have we seen Done at the Mermaid! Heard words that have been So nimble, and so full of subtle flame, As if that everyone from whence they came Had merely to put his whole life in a jest. PATRICIA ROGERS ' ' Off to the Trail

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The Branksome Slogan 21 we writers are. Nor can you know of the charm of Stratford. I ' ll never forget the dank, crumbling cellars of Kenilworth, nearby, where we would play make-believe for hours on end as boys. And I ' ll always remember the honest old farmers. I ' ll tell you, you can get a wealth of knowledge from them that you could never find in any classroom. Behind all their gossip and vulgarity a profound poetry is sleeping. Beaumont: Richard Corbett, you old devil, come over and join us. Whatever is that strange-looking derelict with you? Another of your practical jokes? The whole city is still laughing about you masquerading as a ballad singer and raking in a fine profit — and you a minister, too ! Corbett: (Laughing) Here ' s a sui ' prise for you all. This man, my friend, is a ship-wrecked sailor who w as given up for lost for over a year. Ben Jonson: Where ' s he been, Richard? Corbett: On some islands called the Be rmudas, apparently for ten whole months. He ' s been telling me all about them. They ' re myster- ious islands, full of weird, unknown sounds and strange magic. Sir Francis Bacon: Have a drink, son. You must have conjured up a fine thirst on your ' ' Magical Islands. Ben Jonson : Will, why do you look so odd ? Shakespeare: A storm — shipwreck — a haunted island full of inex- plicable noises. The Tempest (in a frenzy of excitement), I have it. It shall be called ' The Tempest. Boy, be at the Black- friar Theatre early tomorrow morning. You ' ll be rewarded for your trouble. (The clock strikes two A.M.) Ben Jonson: Well — I, for one, am off to bed. Tomorrow will be a heavy day for me. I ' m taking young Herrick to court to show him how a masque is produced. I ' m doing it for His Majesty ' s birthday. Goodnight, Annie, my love. f Beaumont and Fletcher: We ' ll be going along, too. Goodnight, Ben. Goodnight.

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The Branksome Slogan 23 PEACE Peace has a meaning deep and true, That dwells in the heart of all mankind, In days of battle, strife, and pain. We ask, Will there ever be peace again? ' God, will there ever be peac2 again? And shall we all be together once more? When we have learned the mean- ing of peace. Then there will never again be war. ELIZABETH WINTER, (Form V S). A STUDENT ' S SOLILOQUAY (Apologies to the Immortal Bard) Is this a paper that I see before me. The questions in bold print? Come. let me try them! I know them not, and yet I see them still. Hast thou not, fatal paper. answers as Well as questions? Or art thou but A torture for the mind, a subtle trick Proceeding from some heartless cranium? I see thee yet, in form unanswer- able As those I ' ve tried before. I thought I knew my verbs and Geometry, Was able to quote Milton without thought, But my brain has made a foci of all my hopes. Has shown me I ' m no genius. I see thee still And by thy questions, marks of little value, Which Mean I ' m ruined. MARION COBBAN and ELIZABETH BUSK ' ' Hanson! What on earth is the idea of wearing my new trench coat? ' Well, Pov ell old girl, you cer- tainly don ' t want your new spring suit to get wet.