Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

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Brentwood College Magazine Salesmanship I MET him in the lounge of the Metropole Hotel. He was a tall, spare, round-shouldered man, with a decided limp in his right leg. We started talking casually about many subjects, he giving me the impression that he had travelled over most of the world. During a pause in the conversation, I happened to ask him if he had got his game leg in the war. Oh no! he replied, with a sudden gleam in his eyes, would you like to hear about that? I assented. Well, to begin with, he started, I got it several years ago when I was on a tiger-shooting expedition in Assam. One day we arrived at a village, from the inhabitants of which we learned that a man-eating tiger infested the neigh- bourhood, and they asked me if I would go out after it one night. Not having very good eyesight at that time, I refused to sit up all night in an uncomfortable platform in the branches of some tree, and insisted that if I was to hunt it at all, I would do so from the back of an elephant, and in no other manner. At this they started muttering . to one another, and at last a man whom I supposed to be the chief of the village approached me. ' Sahib, ' he said with many salaams, ' but there are no elephants within fifty miles of this village, and it would take at least five days for them to be brought here. ' It is impossible, I replied, for me to stay here for longer than two days at the most, and as my eyes are not strong enough to see in the dark, I am afraid that your tiger will have to remain alive, or kill himself by over-eating. On hearing my words, the fellow, with another salaam, walked off to the group of natives with whom he had been chatting, and told them what I had said. After some arguing, they dispatched a messenger to the other end of the village. When he presently returned, he had in his wake a wizened old man, covered with mud and ashes, whom I should judge to have been at least a hundred years old. The spokesman again approached me, this time having in tow the old man, whom he presented to me as the oldest and wisest fakir of the village. ' Sahib, ' he said, ' this man is extraordinarily wise in the art of medicine, and if you wish it, he will make you an ointment which will give you the eyes of the owl which flies by night. ' I demurred a bit at first, but as they both seemed in earnest, I told them to go ahead and do their worst. Next morning I was awakened by my servant, who informed me that a messenger, who was to direct me to the hut of the old fakir, was outside. After breakfast, I accompanied him to the old fellow, who presented me, with much ceremony, with a small clay pot containing an oily ointment of some sort, with which he told me to cover my eyes that night before going to sleep. Page Sixteen

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Brentwood College Magazine On May 24th the J. B. A. A. sent out two crews to race against the College. Both College crews were successful, the 1st crew winning by six lengths and the 2nd crew by three lengths. The Lower House won the inter-house race, which took place on Speech Day. It was a very good race, both crews rowing level till almost the finish, when Smith called on his men for a last effort which enabled them to pass the post with a canvas lead. The College 1st crew are rowing at the Gorge on July 1st in the J. B. A. A. Regatta, and in the N. P. A. Regatta at Harrison Hot Springs on July 23rd. We wish them the best of luck. SMITH: A good oar, his blade work is much improved. He has a tendency to cover his blade too deep and must remember to let his hands come well into the chest before starting the recovery. FURBER: Has improved immensely, a little slow with his hands, a good oar with a nice body swing. NICKSON: Has improved a great deal, very painstaking and a hard worker, must remember to pull straight. MASON-ROOKE: A greatly improved oar. Has overcome the difficulty he had in coming off the feather and getting a firmer catch. Very slow with his hands, must get them away more smartly before starting the recovery. Has a tendency to be late. NCE more swimming has proved to be one of the most popular sports in the school. The warm weather came late this year and consequently the swimming parades of the early part of the Summer Term were not so well attended as the corresponding parades of last year. During the latter half of the term, however, the whole school bathed whenever they were allowed and on many days two or three swimming parades were necessary to satisfy the most energetic. Those of the new boys who were unable to swim when they joined us, have been taught and, while two boys have not yet passed their tests, all of the boys are able to swim a little. The standard of our swimming has been well maintained and an excellent exhibition of water sports was given on Speech Day. Notes on Rowers Swimming Page Fifteen

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Brentwood College Magazine ' In the morning, Sahib, ' he continued, ' you will have the eyes of a vulture. ' Although I did not altogether believe him, I accepted his gift and went away. ' ' That night I remembered the fakir ' s ointment and, thinking that there would be no harm in trying it, I plastered it liberally over my eyes before retiring, and was soon asleep. On waking the next morning, I felt that a subtle change of some sort had come over me. I could not imagine what it was at first, but suddenly the truth dawned on me. I could see better than I had ever been able to see before. Yesterday the end of the tent had been a dull white blotch ; now I could easily distinguish the threads of canvas of which it was composed. The jungle, which had been a dull green blur before my eyes, now resolved itself into splotches of light and shadow. I could even pick out individual trees and creepers. Life all of a sudden took on a new and rosier hue. The next night I sat up in a tree and secured the tiger which had been regularly thinning the population of the village. The head and feet were too decayed to be of any value as trophies, and so I extracted the claws and whiskers for keepsakes, and still have them. The rest of the tiger I turned over to the spokesman to do what he liked with it. The following day I made my departure with a fixed determination to float a company whose purpose was to manufacture the ointment which the fakir had given me, believing it to be the only infallible remedy in the world for defective eyesight. The company was formed, using the pot of ointment which the old man had given me, as evidence, in cases of unbelief, and in a few months I returned to the village for the purpose of buying the old fakir ' s prescription. I was successful, and to-day that old man and I are the only people who know its composition and ingredients. The company produces it in tubes of two sizes, at 35c and 50c respectively, and in handsome porcelain jars containing a quarter of a pound at a dollar and a quarter the jar. In all fairness, I must add that the ointment must be applied at least once a fortnight to obtain the best results. Now, sir, he continued, opening a suitcase at his side, which size will you have? I got up in disgust and walked off. It was humiliating enough to have listened to this grafter for about three-quarters of an hour, but to have actually believed his st ory made it a thousand times worse, although I could not help admitting to myself that he had imposed on me very effectively. The next afternoon I saw him at the railway station, and in a fit of curiosity reminded him that he had not told me how he had got his game leg. He started to laugh so immoderately that I thought he would choke. That, my dear friend, he replied, is the subject on which I lure inquisitive people like you into conversation. Look! — and for a space of ten or fifteen yards he walked absolutely normally before relapsing once more into his old limping gait. W. S. Robertson. Page Seventeen