Burlington High School - Rarebits Yearbook (Burlington, Ontario Canada)

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RAREBITS 41 the rays of the afternoon sun, that claim one's last look before departing. However, one's ,enthusiasm for Paris is apt to carry one beyond the space allotted. There are so many places in the old city which make history live again before one's eyes. There is, for example, the Conciergerie, a prison famous in the Revolution of 1789. Here the unhappy Austrian, Marie Antoinette, spent the last days of the awful nightmare, which turned the gay, laughing beauty to a sad-eyed figure of tragedy. There is the Place de la Con- corde, one of the finest squares in the world. Here in 1795 was erected the guillotine, and the jeering crowds in the square below watched with horrible glee the execution of their King, Louis XVI, his Queen, his sister, Madame Elisabeth, besides a host of less illustrious person- ages. Surrounding the same square at a later date were built the monuments representing the chief towns and depart- ments of France, and here from 1870- 1918 the undying embers of the French hatred of Germany were fanned by the yearly renewal of the wreaths and immortelles covering the ,statues of 'LPIUNDR the lost provinces of Alsace and Lor- raine. It must be apparent that our mental etchingsn have had a decidedly historical tinge. This is tobe expected but far be it from us to forget other gay little memories that pop up their frivolous heads in the midst of more sombre pictures. There are the cafes, those pre- eminently French institutions, where you sit on the sidewalk on uncertain spindle- legged chairs, eat your ices well flavoured with the dust of the street, and watch the world go by. There is the Grand Opera if you incline to classical opera, the Opera Comique,if you are less seriously inclined or you may visit the Folies Bergere, if you feel like being amused without any effort on your part. Finally dear to the feminine heart, are those long glittering arcades with their tiny shops, where you may buy almost anything in the world and pay almost anything for it. As we have said, the charm of Paris is its cosmopolitanism. There is some- thing there for everyone: and each of us must interpret for himself the spirit of this age-old, ever-young city. Uv- W. --11-I 4 l'l'ol.E iq rig

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40 RAREBITS within the massive masonry. Under the great arch is interred the body of the Unknown Soldier and each day the tomb is heaped with fresh and beautiful flowers in honour of the unknown hero who represents the million and a half men who died for France. Since memories of Paris are inevitably associated with Napoleon, the tomb of the Emperor is for most of us one of the impressive sights of Paris. The dome forms in itself a separate church sur- mounted by a great cross. In the in- terior, from the Hoor of the church, one looks down into the open crypt, where exactly beneath the lofty dome, in a sarcophagus of red Finland granite, the gift of Emperor Nicholas of Russia, are deposited the remains of the great Napoleon in accordance with his own wish, inscribed over the bronze entrance to the crypt: Ie desire que mes cendres reposent sur les bords de la Seine, au milieu de ce peuple francais que j'ai tout aimeu. Twelve colossal figures representing the chief victories of Na- poleon surround the sarcophagus and between the statues are fifty-four flags, silent witnesses to the victory of Aus- terlitz. Another famous name, the Place de la Bastille, commemorates a dark phase in French history. It is true that this dreaded state prison has long since disappeared but - one can reconstruct within the line of white granite blocks now marking the place, the outline of the grim old rectangular fortress, flanked by its threatening towers. One can imagine the narrow slits of windows through which the light filtered dimly and from which must have peered the pallid, stricken faces of those despairing suffer- ers, condemned by the infamous Ulettres de cachet to this awful living death. From the Bastille a walk of a mile takes one to the old section of Paris. Less beautiful than the newer, more modern section, it is yet not lacking in interest. There is situated the great cemetery of Pere Lachaise, a small city of tombs. Originally the land belonged to Pere Lachaise, the Iesuit Confessor of Louis XIV and it now houses more celebrities than any other cemetery- city of its size. As one wonders along its winding moss-covered paths, where the footsteps of pedestrians are muffled to correspond with the .solemn stillness around, one notices such names as Patti, Chopin, Rosa Bonheur, Talma, Here, too, is the tomb of Thiers, a former President of the Third French Republic, and by a queer stroke of fate which here combines all nationalities, not far from him lies the body of Oscar Wilde, the English dramatist. The cathedral of Notre Dame and the Church of La Madeleine, we shall merely mention. Those of you who have read Victor Hugo's romance Notre Dame de Paris have received a much more graphic impression of the cathedral than any modern impression-hunting tourist could hope to give. The Madeleine is the finest modern church in Paris with a very handsome interior, but to my mind, its magnificence leaves one cold. Infinitely more beautiful is the less frequently visited old Sainte Chapelle. Tucked away behind the Palais de Iustice, one sees at first only its gilded Spire. Then, as one turns a corner, one comes upon the ancient edifice, termed by Ruskin the most precious piece of Gothic in Northern Europe. Little wonder that the gray old stones are weather-worn for this royal chapel dates back to 1248, when it was built at the earnest desire of the pious King Louis IX to enshrine such relics as a piece of the true Cross, the blade of the lance and the sponge used by Christ on the Cross. The interior at first is a soft, gray gloom, especially if one enters quickly from the glare of the bright streets, but as one advances, suddenly there bursts upon one the full glory of the fifteen windows filled with stained glass of the 15th century-a time when workmen were artists and nothing less than the best was the standard. Words fail to describe these windows. Softly, rad- iantly they glow jewel-like through the semi-twilight of the dim chapel below. Deep wine-reds, rich blues, gorgeous violets mingle their splendour to make of the whole a thing of unforgettable beauty. One looks at the magnificence of the decorated pillars and walls, brilliant with gold and colours, one notices with interest the private niches once occupied by the King and his at- tendants but it is those glowing, vivid windows, made into living beauty by

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42 RAREBITS ll garmin 1-Inllanh By EDNA RoB1NsoN, IV. Holland-a nation below the sea- A tourist's paradisel Antiquity and modernism are equally represented in this small, energetic country, for the people of Holland move with the times, although they still abide by their tried traditions. But those characteristics of the country and its peoples have not remained so obviously nationalistic as you may think. Holland is a modern country, with modern cities, with up- to-date citizens who are quite capable of speaking to you in your own tongue. The vast majority of Dutchmen can speak three or four languages which in itself shows how willing they are to learn. ' Upon a very few islands and in some parts, far removed from the great high- ways you will still find those primitive people walking about in clothes, peculiar to that part of the country. Here the men will be seen in widely-cut knicker- bockers with-short velvet jackets and huge Marken hats ,on their heads, a long Gouda clay pipe between their lips and a small Delit bottle of gin in each pocket. In these remote places the women wear peasant lace caps with gold ear ornaments and extremely full skirts with white aprons and very 'colorful waists. You may ask And what about the wooden shoes we in this part of the world hear so much about? Well, wooden shoes are typically Dutch and the Dutch farmers in practically every part of Holland, no matter how modern they may be, wear wooden shoes. They claim that they are more practical for work in the fields and consequently maintain this quaint custom. In fact, it is not unusual to see a person in any of the larger cities, wearing wooden shoes, although in every other respect their dress will be decidedly modern. Cleanliness has long been associated with the Dutch people and this tradition still remains. Upon the threshold of nearly every home of the so-called peasant class may be seen three or four pairs of wooden shoes ranging in size from those of the father to those of the smallest child. ln this way no dirt is tracked into the house. The stables and barns are kept so clean that in some of the less modern farms the barns and homes consist of only one building in which the cattle and their owners sleep sometimes in the same room. Holland is a country unique as to land- scape. It has been wrested almost foot by foot from the sea so that it must be defended day and night from the jealous water-its greatest enemy. Therefore, one finds a spider web of dykes which protect the inland country and which are enclosed within the strong sea-dykes that join the dunes, the natural guards along the Dutch seashores. The entire country is covered with a network of waterways, ditches, canals and moats, used by barges. Holland is famous for its canals which add a real touch of beauty to its beautiful landscape. Along the sides of every canal are lines ot barges, among which are mingled a number of house-boats in which the people live to avoidgpaying the govern- ment taxes. Each houseboat is brightly painted and on every window sill is a box of geraniums. There are no freight trains in the Netherlands. All the carrying of freight is done by means of the barges. Everybody has read about the Dutch windmills which are of such great importance to this low-lying country. They are practically all green in color, covered with a thatched roof and shingled around the wide bases. In some of the larger ones the farmers and their families live observing all their quaint customs. The many pic- turesque bridges, the high-vaulted and the white draw-bridges which serve as a background to so many Dutch paintings, add considerable beauty to the land- scape of this absolutely flat country. Every peculiarity of the Dutch landscape is a result of the land lying low amidst so much water. As the humid soil demands moisture-absorbing trees, the willows give a great special beauty to this waterland. The water fowl also render charm to the dykes, beaches and islets. The curious construction of most of the towns and villages that sprang up along the waterway, the architecture of the houses, constructed upon piles in the swampy soil, are essentially Dutch on account of the watery country. On the Island of Marken, one of the many outlying islands of Holland, the ancient habits of the Dutch are still maintained. Here the women draw the