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

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RAREBITS 45 barges along the canals with long- piked poles, and also load the barges with hay while the men sit by and super- vise the work. The grain is threshed in the antique fashiong indeed, along these lines practically all their work is done. This is truly a picture of the Holland of the Middle Ages. - Amsterdam, the largest city in Hol- land, is typical of the Dutch people. To compare it with one of our Canadian cities would be a comparison that one would not dare to make. In the older sections of the city the canals form the streets but in the more modern parts fine cement roads are being constructed. The canals throughout the business section are lined with cobble stone streets so that it is evident that the antiquity of the Dutch canals is grad- ually giving away to the more modern methods of travel. Practically all the buildings consist of four stories owing to the fact that the soft soil is incapable of supporting more weight. There has been constructed in the last few years a large number of new buildings such as modern apartment houses and modern American homes, which give the im- Eression of great prosperity. Every ome, no matter how small, has its garden of flowers and what colorsl Indeed, Holland is noted for its bright colors. Most of the houses are painted in bright greens, reds, and blues, prac- tically always against a white stucco background. Nearly all the better homes have their small white tea-tables and chairs out on the lawns where tea is served on the warm summer after- noons. In Amsterdam there are 170,000 bicycles, that is one to every three people living in the city. On both sides of the newly-constructed highways there are bicycle-paths as well as foot-paths. This is only an indication of the popul- larity of bicycle travel in this country of tree-bordered highways. Every high- way is bordered with at least two and sometimes three rows of beautiful trees. The beer-gardens of Amsterdam, char- acteristic of all central European cities, line its main streets. Here you may sit for hours right out on the street under a variegated awning and sip your beer as slowly as you wish for in Holland you never have to hurry. No doubt some of you will be saying O for a day of Holland I' ' Many of the houses in Amsterdam are situated right in the water. When their occupants step out of their back doors they must step into a boat or they will have a wet reception. During my stay in Amsterdam the people of Holland were celebrating their Queen Mother's birthday and as it is an occasion of great festivity the entire city was decorated for the occasion. Along all the canals were streamers of lights which reflected their brilliance into the water below. The real beauty of the canals could not, to my mind, be demon- strated in a more fitting manner. It was truly a sight worth remembering. I visited a church in Amsterdam which was built in 1475 and I was struck by the extreme simplicity of the building. It was most unusual to see so simple a church so near the mighty cathedrals of Belgium, France and England. The home of Rembrand von Rign is another place of interest although it is painfully plain. According to tradition the art of Holland is preserved in the beautiful art galleries where you can spend days ad- vantageously and then leave with a feel ing that you have missed something of real interest. The Hague, the Government centre of Holland, is a purely residential city. The beach here is wonderful, large crowds frequenting its sands daily. In place of sun umbrellas the Dutch have substituted wicker baskets with a wicker covering over them to supply the necessary shade. I had the rare privilege of visiting the Queen's palace. and going through her private suite of rooms, all the walls of which were covered with very valuable tapestries. The Peace Palace also in the Hague is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in Holland. Holland is a country worth visiting- It feels nationally but in its ideas it is international. Every foreigner will find something there of his own race, of his own views but with the Dutch stamp. Holland is not, as I once read, a Dutch cream cheese floating on the Zuyder Zee. Wien Neerlands bloed door de adren vloeit, ' Van vreemde smetten vry. En voor zyn land van liefde gloeit Verhef den zang met my.

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44 RAREBITS ilinnhnn By TOM LEIGHTON, IIIA. It is said that all roads lead to Rome. Well Rome had a great deal to boast about, and it still has great renown, but its glory has long since crumbled. Down through the centuries the peoples of the 'i'Little Island Kingdom have trod, slowly but surely. First Spain, then France, then Germany tried to stop her progress. But the spirit of England, like a glacier, moved slowly but never stopped. To-day we have the greatest Empire the world has ever known, and all roads lead to London, its capital. Mine is not a detailed account of London. Thousands of volumes have been written about Londonand still its story is not told. If I am successful in giving you some impression of the city my article has achieved its end. I shall begin with London's doorway, the docks. The docks of London start at Tower Bridge and continue for forty- five miles towards the mouth of the Thames. Through them come the riches of the Empire. London is more cos- mopolitan in this section than in any other. Through the crowded noisy streets swarm negroes, Turks in sash and fez, Italians, laps, Chinese, Indians, every nationality. , Immediately west of Tower Bridge, on the north side of the Thames, is the cradle of British history, the Tower of London. It consists of a broad moat, tnow drained and used as a parade ground by the garrisonj, a stout outer wall with towers and battlements, a courtyard, another turreted wall, and an inner courtyard containing barracks, hospital, chapel, andthe White Tower, or keep, the oldest part of the castle. In the outer wall, facing the river, is the Traitors' Gate. Any popular prisoner, if brought through the city streets, might be rescued by the mob, so they brought him down the river and under the Traitors' Gate. The inner wall con- tains thirteen towers, among which are the Bloody Tower and the Wakefield Tower. The Bloody Tower was the scene of- he murder of the two princes, and als, 'of the long imprisonment of Sir' Wa ter Raleigh. The Wakefield Tower is the most valuable tower in the world as it contains the Crown Iewels. The White Tower has four storeys. The lowest, the Crypt, was formerly used as a dungeon and place of torture. It now stores cannons from old ships, castles, and battlefields. The second floor contains many trophies of war, among which is the cloak in which General Wolfe died. The third floor houses numerous swords of all varieties and ages. The top floor contains armour of all periods. It is the most complete armoury in the world. The beams that support the roof are of timbers from the invincible Spanish Armada. Also on the top floor is one of the finest Norman chapels in existence, the St. Iohn's Chapel. It has never been changed since it was built and is still in use. The other chapel of the Tower is St. Peter ad Vincula. It was here that the famous victims of the Tower said their last prayers and went forth to die. Shortly after the fall of the axe their bodies were buried in the chapel. Here rest four Earls of Essex, fthe Tower was fatal to the heads of that earldomj, and the odd queen of Henry VIII. A short walk west along the river and up King William street brings us to a low, dirty building of classic style. No stranger would ever guess it, but it is one of the richest buildings in the world, the Bank of England. It is entirely windowless on the street sides as an added security, and the windows face the inner courtyard. Continuing westward we come to St. Paul's Cathedral. The original church, still known as Old St. Paul's, was a Gothic structure with a spire five hundred and twenty feet high. Con- sider that it was built in the thirteenth century and think about it. The Bank of Commerce in Toronto is only four hundred and fifty-five feet high. Old St. Paul's was 'destroyed in the great fire of 1666. Sir Christopher Wren started the present building in 1675 and finished it in 1710. It is a tremendous Romanesque church. The ball above the dome can hold ten people. The dome itself has a very interesting feature in its Whispering Gallery . A person can whisper against the wall, and a