Glebe Collegiate Institute - Lux Glebana Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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UX GLEBANACQ- ,gf,,PgALERE FLAMMAM IFTH FORM VALEDICTCRY H19 EMOTION induced by saying good- bye has always been a fertile source of rhetoric. Leave-taking has always been an occasion for both sentiment and sentimentality. The distress of parting has been productive of many lyric master- pieces, from In Memoriam to Fare Thee Well Annabelle . For us fifth formers, to-day marks the end of our five years' stay at Collegiate. The school is finished with us, we think, and we with it. Our five years' work is behind us. No matter how onerous the task may have been, the knowledge that now it has passed irrevocably beyond is distressing. Often, how- ever, the distress is masked with a kind of relief and joy that we are done, but with the years the joy fades and the regret waxes stronger. In a very true sense the Fifth Form are aware of this. Very dimly now perhaps, but increasingly as the years advance, the realization of what is irretrievably behind us will be felt. But it is with only the greatest difficulty that we can give voice to this as yet vague emotion. It used to be the fashion to weep and the he-est of he-men thought nothing of whisking forth his neat and delicately scented square of cambric, and dabbing his eyes at the sight of a poor wilted geranium, or a cross-eyed cat. lt used to be the fashion, too, to break into purple prose at the least emotion, and iterate and re-iterate in johnsonian language that one was experiencing a moment of poignant re- crimination or an anguished interlude, when one had simply eaten too much turkey for dinner. But fashions change, and few of us Fifth- formers when asked what we felt upon leaving the school, would include such phrases in our answer. This does not mean that we are in- different to parting, although some of us may pretend to be so, and indeed may be quite loud in our protests of how glad we are to leave this Old Dump . Finally we discover all 3 DUNCAN YVHITAIORE that we are not pleased at all. In fact our minds have been playing that trick on us which the psychologists call rationalization. There is something upsetting and Hnal about the word never , and to the Fifth Form this day means the beginning of a host of nevers. Never again will we skulk, palpitating, into Miss Cowie's room without our homework done, never again will we try to divert Mr. Thoms into the discussion of some social prob- lem instead of taking up fifteen questions on Sohrab and Rustumwg never again will we experience that awful dread as we realize that that twinkle in Mr. Sonley's eyes means that we are about to be initiated into another of his mysterious Mystos g never again will we argue with Mr. Bullock whether the latest precipitate is to be filed under caterpillar green, or whether it isn't really colourless after all, we will never note with astonishment and delight that the fire alarm has rung just when Mr. Kiell was getting too inquisitive about our homework. After to-day we who are graduating will never again from this platform be called fellow-students . At the concerts we will be outsiders looking in, privileged out- siders of course, who will pass remarks on How infinitely better the concerts were when . . . , but outsiders none the less. At the At- lf' lCanlimced on Page 95

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UX GLEBANAGEQQ- MARGARET BURNETTE oU KNOXV, now that I look out at you, some of those fine phrases I thought of have been swept away. Maybe it is stage fright, but I think most of it is amazement and a little sadness too. There are so many of you, and you look so splendid here in this hall. It makes me think of the number of you who are .leaving and going out into-well, I just donlt know what, and perhaps you don't either. . This is the end of one lap in the journey and it is a good time to pause and look around. School has been a lot of fun-most of the time! We are inclined to slip along, not giving much thought to what we are getting out of our school days. It would be diflicult to deal with all the valuable lessons we have learned here. But the three that I have chosen really seem more important to me than a good many of our studies. The Hrst thing that everyone learns at high school is how to mix with other people. That may seem like a very easy and natural thing to do. But it is, oh, so very important! None of us can possibly succeed if we can not get along with other people. The second is honesty and truth. These are necessary I1Ot only for our own good but for the sake of those around us. I am going to quote a passage familiar to you all. It is from m5PALERE FLAMMAM OURTH FORM VALEDICTORY Shakespeare's Hamlet: To thine own self be true, and it shall follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. This was a father's advice to his son when he went out into the world. It is unlikely that this thought has since been put in clearer form. It is easy to understand that if we don't break faith with ourselves we can not break faith with others. This next idea is a little harder to explain. I am going to call it sight . When you have sight you won't be narrow minded or warped, it gives you the ability to see things properly, in their own light. And perhaps, too, when you are walking in the dark shadows it will help you to look up to the shining mountains . Perhaps you will even be able to laugh at your troubles. To illustrate this sight I am going to tell you a story. A blind man lived in a garret with his friend, an author. The author had not only a keen imagination but a deep sense of the beautiful. Every evening the two would stand at the window and the author would describe to the blind man what he saw. He would tell of the blue sky and dark green trees with their ever changing purple shadows. I-Ie told of the bril- liant sunshine, of the laughing brooks, and of silver fish. And the blind man was happy to live in such a world of beauty, for, through the eyes of his friend, he saw. Then the won- derful thing happened, a clever young doctor was going to operate to restore his sight. The blind man was overjoyed. At last he would see the fairyland the author had described. The operation was a success. Evening found the blind man standing by his window looking down into narrow dirty streets, and rows of brick houses veiled in black factory smoke. And he dropped on his knees and sobbed bit- terly- When I was blind I could see. Oh, God, give me back my sight. I hope you understand, and I hope you may keep your sight. In the words of Portia, I say, . 'fl 'wish you fwell, and so l take my leave. -fi12l

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