Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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S A M A R A 31 Intermediate Art by .Margaret Watson, 5C in the field. Then the moon reaches her full power and for a moment we think it is day for we may see the beautiful countryside. Yes, it is beautiful in spite of the life and death struggle in the forest; it is beautiful, from a cottage window. MiCHFXE Betts Is Money the Root of All Evil? Money and power have often been the framers of history, and have many times de- cided the course of history throughout the ages, because of their stranglehold upon hu- man nature. It was for money that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, for money that the Son of Man was delivered into the hands of his enemies. In the same way, it is for money that the world forsakes her principles. It is always easier to put the blame on the object behind which the fault hes, rather than to admit that the doer of the crime is the guilty one. I think that such is the case with money. We thoughtlessly condemn it before we have time to realize that the blame rests upon the misuser, rather than upon the mis- used. One common misuser of money is the miser. The more he gets, the more he saves. When he eventually dies of starvation (over his money-bags) not a penny of his fortune is willed to the poor. There are men who crave money so much that they would desert all principle to lay hold of it. It seems that there must always be a Judas in the world somewhere. The snob is another money misuser. He is always judging — sorting those who have money as valuable acquaintances and those who have not as beneath contempt. Snobbery is usually the product of an inferiority com- plex — it is easier to understand and help a snob if one remembers that he feels uncom- fortable and unwanted, and so tries to make himself above others. Since he can seldom achieve this through his intellectual and social gifts, he must try to make an impression on others with his money. The person who gives away his earthly riches to comfort a sick or destitute neighbour is truly rich. He knows that by his act of self- denial he has attained true spiritual manna. Money is never ours. It is God ' s. Those who have money possess a powerful instrument with which they may do either good or evil. They have a great responsibility, a debt to repay to God. It is up to them to use their power in a manner by which mankind may prosper. If we think of money in this respect it can never be the root of all evil. Money in

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30 SAMARA the middle. She put her face to the rim and gazed in, Oh! she cried when she saw the contents, How beautiful! At the bottom of the vase wa s a little lane fringed with trees and flowers. High on a hill was a castle, glistening in the sunlight. There were wild deer running through the forest and swans swimming on the little blue lake. Everything was so beautiful. Soon a little pixie came trotting along and said to Alice: You must follow me. I have come to take you to the castle. The next thing Alice knew was that she was walking along the draw- bridge to the castle. She was ushered into a room which seemed like a royal bedroom. Six ladies-in- waiting were there and they soon began to dress her in rich robes and to do her hair. They told her she was to be Princess for a day and was to rule the castle. After they had finished dressing her she was led to a large dining-hall, where a feast had been prepared. As she entered the room everyone bowed and waited till she had seated herself before they did so. The feast was magnificent, the table was set with duck, suckling pig, fruit, wine and many other delicacies. When the meal had ended she was taken to her carriage which had six white horses pulling it. It carried her to the village where she met all the village people and sat on a throne on the village green while the people sang and danced for her. Soon she had to leave them and return to the palace where she changed her dress. This time she wore a gold dress with diamonds in her hair. She was going to attend a meeting of her lords and barons. She was led to a large hall, where many gentlemen stood waiting for her. They were all introduced and soon the meeting be- gan. The Barons were having trouble with their servants about their wages. Could Prin- cess Alice give them more money? Alice thought for a moment, then she asked the treasurer: How much money do we have in the treasury? We have exactly four hundred thousand eight hundred and ninety . . . Alice! Alice! wake up dear. I ' m home. Alice sat up rubbing her eyes, to see her mother standing beside her with a cup of hot cocoa and some cookies. You have been asleep a long time. Have you been dreaming? Oh, yes, Aiother! I had a wonderful dream, replied Alice. Judy Carter From a Cottage Window From a cottage window in the early morn- ing you can see all the beauty of the country- side. The pale sky, awaiting dawn, that lovely sight; a few animals coming to drink at the forest pool; but they all seem waiting for something. Then the sun rises in all its glory, its beams coming up through the trees on the horizon, and all the countryside becomes alive. In the trees birds stretch their wings and fly ofl in search of food, while the fledg- lings which remain in the nest wait expect- antly for the sight of the parent birds return- ing with perhaps a wriggling worm in their beaks, just enough to make a lovely breakfast for the patient young ones. In the forest all the animals, deer, rabbits, otters and beavers by the forest pool are searching for food. What is that dark shape which runs across the field and dashes into the pool just underneath the window? It is cer- tainly a weasel which catches and eats fish when it can find nothing else. This struggle for food and play will most certainly go on throughout the day for some animals, but, for most, dusk is the signal to hunt. As soon as dusk comes the day animals retire to their burrows and the birds to their nests. As the last glimmer of light disappears over the horizon an almost heavenly peace descends on the countryside. But, soon from the window could be seen, by the rising light of the moon, dark shapes in the forest. The badger comes out only at night to search for food; the owl may be heard from a lone tree

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32 S A M A R A itself is neither good nor bad; it is what we do A ith it that counts. Gail Fincham The Origin of Playing Cards Playing cards have been traced back as far as 500 A.D. when they were popular in Hindustan, and from there they spread both east and west. They are said to have come into Europe when the Crusaders learned about them from the Saracens. The ancient packs of cards varied widely in different countries. Some of them had as many as ten suits, as in Hindustan where the suits symbolized ten in- carnations of their god Vishnu. Our four suits, clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades were meant to portray a trefoil leaf, diamonds, hearts and su ords. The word spade comes from the Italian word for sword. The court cards, or face cards at first consisted of only masculine figureheads, as the early card games were supposed to be a sort of play warfare, in which women had no part. The double- headed court cards came into use in about the thirteenth century, to avoid the risk of revealing information about one ' s hand by turning the face cards. The pack, as we know it, with four suits of thirteen cards, is thought to symbolize the year of fifty-two weeks divided into lunar months, or perhaps to symbolize a pack of hounds which also consists of fifty-two mem- bers. At one time the four kings were sup- posed to represent Charlemagne, David, Alexander and Julius Caesar. In fact, the sym- bolism attached to playing cards has been extensive. The history of card-playing has a dark side; for centuries cards have been employed in gambling games. To most people, however, they furnish pleasant and harmless entertain- ment. Karen Loeb An Interesting Character The appointment of Canada ' s first Cana- dian Governor-General in 1952 was greeted by loud protests from the press. No, No, No, read the headlines of one Ontario news- paper. Another lemon, came the undignified response of a second. The people considered the choice a poor one, and the press pro- phesied that those responsible would live to regret their weak-willed work . Almost all of the papers took the trouble to express their appreciation for the high qualities of the appointee, the Right Honor- able Vincent Massey. But some pointed out that he had been a member of a Mackenzie King cabinet, and an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Commons. But it soon became apparent to even the most bitter opponent that the new representa- tive of the Crown was a man of unceasing ability. In 1952 there had been few signs that this slight, quiet man would become so popu- lar. He could mix with people in all walks of life, talk with them about their activities and win their admiration with his sympathy, un- derstanding and human warmth. Of him it has been said, Mr. Massey is an uncommon man, who has the common touch . Mr. Massey has travelled more miles, visited more communities, and talked to more people of a greater variety of occupations than any of the other seventeen Governors- General since Confederation. He has toured the whole of Canada and made himself loved in all four corners. He has entertained on a large scale at Government House, he helped charities as much as possible, has been an excellent host to many personnages such as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, President Eisenhower and Prime iVIinister Mac.Millan. Now after seven excellent years of office, Governor-General Massey is retiring to his estate, Batterwood House, near Port Hope, Ontario. His record is such that the idea of controversy about his appointment seems ridi- culous. One writer a few years ago defined the qualities of a Governor-General by saying that they should be just what we have got in the present one . As Mr. A-Iassey ends his term of office this is a statement with which few Canadians would disagree. Helena Reed