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

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Fashion Notes by Marion Cameron SAT at my desk, gazing out of the win- dow at nothing in particular. I had been trying for some time to dream up a topic for a composition, when quite suddenly my thoughts were disturbed by a strange spectacle. There, before my very eyes, and seemingly walking along the window sill was a brightly-coloured feather. In broad daylight, this seemed rather odd. Hmmm . . . , quoth I, maybe there is something at the bottom of this. Indeed, investigation proved this fugitive tail feather to be nothing less than the sky-scraping adornment of a very jaunty little pill-box. To my further amusement, I found its proud owner to be escorted by a snappily- dressed young man in a hard hat and ear muffs. Eureka! I shrieked, Hats! ! -And hats it shall be. But first we must establish a viewpoint. If the subject of ladies' hats were discussed from the feminine angle, prejudice and preference might interfere. So we shall let the men say a word. The average man contimted from page 23 siege, surrender, and the Republicans rode in to take Maximilian a prisoner. But Paris in 1867 had more immediate interests. The new Government Expos- ition in the Champ de Mars attracted thousands of visitors from all corners of Europe, who came to inspect the latest marvels of science, the steam locomotive, the new light-weight metal aluminium and wonder of wonders, a rocking-chair. An interesting day, and an entertaining evening at the Alcazar where the bons vivants wined and dined mid laughter and applause as the ladies of the footlights danced to the merry measures of Offenbach. But one May day the gay crowds were temporarily silent when Napoleon made a speech at the Exposition for it was known in Paris that Maximilian lay dead at Queretaro, shot. The Mexican adventure was over, a failure. The first note of the swan song of the Second Empire had been struck. Had this been fiction a happy ending would have been possible. But fiction plays no part in history and in this enterprise one can say that disaster almost trod on the heels of triumph. Page 24 might roughly classify ladies' hats into three divisions: First, there is the jelly mould or mixing bowl type, which may range in style and general shape from the plainest to the fanciest-usually with very little incidental decoration. Shifted to the back of the skull, this type degenerates into something re- sembling a baby's bonnet. Elongated, it becomes the boat-shaped hat 3 and stretched three ways, the tricorne. Women haven't quite gotten around to anything as elaborate as the star-shaped jelly mould-but just give them time. In most cases, however, the individual size seems to have somewhat superceded the family size in popularity- at least for the moment. Secondly, there is the popular pancake or griddlecake hat. This particular variety ranges in dimensions from the man-sized buckwheat flapjack, to the dainty little French pancake. They may have their edges coyly rolled to enclose a mass of per- manently-waved plumage. Or they may be perfectly flat, and adorned with a single over-sized flower, a feather as long as a bullrush, a voluminous veil, or all three. In any case, they are designed to be worn by those who can manoeuvre without the use of their right eye, for it is upon the right eye that these creations perch. Thirdly, there is the bird nest, or sunken garden variety-adorned or unadorned. This type varies, of course, with the taste of the wearer. She may harbour a tender spot in her heart for feathered creatures, whole or in disconcerting pieces. On the other hand she may prefer to crown her chapeau with a suggestion of Spring-a truly wierd and wonderful variety of botannically non-ex- istant monstrosities. The characteristic of all of these, is that they cannot be worn-they must be attached, for they are designed to fit organ grinder's monkeys, not women. Whether suspended over one eye or perched on the back of the head, they invariably leave wide open spaces exposed to wintry winds. The former are supported 'by elaborately-ribboned elastic bands, or by fish net hoodsg the latter, merely by a ribbon under the chin. Inci- dental decoration upon such chapeaux is Widely varied indeed. In short, anything goes, as long as it is impracticable, un- wearable, impertinent, insecure, and tiny to the point of insigniiicance. 3411444 When they kiss and make up, she gets the kiss and he gets the make-up. LUX GLEBANA

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A Hapsburg in America by Eric Minton N 1862 Napoleon III tried to create a French empire in Mexico. This short account deals with his attempt and its result. . France in the eighteen-sixties, the last decade of the Second Empire .had begun. Napoleon III, fresh from imposing v1ctor1es over the Austrians at Magenta and Solfer- ino, was at the height of his power and with a most facile imagination was already plan- ning a grandiose scheme for enlarging the empire. Napoleon had visited America in 1837 where he conceived the idea of the Canale- Napoleonen fPanamaJ. Central America had fascinated him, its importance obsessed him and ever since then he thought he knew and understood it. The Mexican adventure was primarily a financial matter. A rather amiable civil war had been going on in that country for years. Its treasury was exhausted. The crisis came in 1861 when President Juarez suspended for two years the payment of foreign debts. Posthaste a joint expedition was sent out by England, France and Spain. The first and last went simply as debt col- lectors, but the man in the middle thought differently. The English and Spanish soon realized this, broke off' the alliance, did their business, and went home, leaving behind a French force of some six thousand men. Defeat at La Puebla now brought France into open war in Mexico. Superior equipment and well-trained troops told the story in the end and early in 1863 saw the French marching into Mexico City unmoles- ted, while Juarez and his republican govern- ment fled to the northern provinces. Meanwhile in his castle on the Adriatic a young man watched the Mexican struggle -Archduke Maximilian, brother of the Em- peror of Austria, and a Hapsburg. Napoleon was looking for a monarch to rule over his new conquest. An offer of the Mexican throne to Vienna might please Franz-Joseph -bring about an alliance with Austria. He pursued this idea and in the spring of 1864 a picturesque delegation of Mexican emigres travelled to Trieste and offered Maximilian the throne of their country. The time LUX GLEBANA seemed opportune, America was embroiled in a civil warg the Munroe Doctrine lay dormantg and the French army was vic- torious and well-received, hailed with cheers and flowers Qtypical Latin courtesyj. Urged on by Charlotte, his ambitious wife, he accepted, signed the final documents, and one afternoon in April he bade Napoleon good-bye and sailed away to be crowned in the great Cathedral in Mexico City. For the next two years this colonial ex- periment which held the interest of French investors was a queer medley. Maximil- ian's authority existed only in the cities and towns occupied by the army. The country was perpetually bankrupt, and finally had to resort to the expedient of lotteries to raise money. Interminable guer- illa warfare went on between the republicans and the French. Juarez continued to harass and embarass the monarchy. Gradually the glamour of the Mexican adventure began to fade. New problems were forming in Central Europe. Germany under Bis- marck was rising, and rising fast, and the Rhine was nearer than the Rio Grande. By 1865 the American Civil War was over, and the government of President Johnson curtly refused to recognize Maximilian. Napoleon valued American goodwilland he valued more highly still his army which was in Mexico. Early in 1866, France, and the diplomatic world were informed that the troops would be withdrawn. No money, loyalty or support, Maximilian and his empress were left alone, and as the foot- steps of the departing troops died away down the long, hot, dusty, road to Vera Cruz they thought not of the unfortunate Haps- burg but only of Paris and home. Amid all his wars and schemes, Napoleon sought to make Paris the most attractive capital of Europe, and in these last years, before the fall of the Second Empire, it-was at its gayest. To this new Paris came Charlotte, from Mexico. Ill and a little wild-eyed she begged the 'French Emperor to support her husband. No, he would not, could not help her. Several days later by the new American cable Maximilian learned of his wife's death at Rome. Wavering between abdication and resistance he travelled from town to town. His position at home would be questionable, he could expect no welcome from Franz-Joseph. With no forces op- posing them, the Republican Government under Juarez returned to Mexico City, while the ex-ruler retired with fifteen hundred followers to Queretaro. There was a short Page 23

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0 I M - 5 aff 6 R bt mf 5 Q jx 90 665000 X K s Q QQ r ' W QQ 'C,,,w KF 7x R r 3 ,Y I ll Lu 090 SN? lf! ffff 'rf 89 23? 1 , D D l, .7 jj U fy J '.Z FHVWZF LF My Hat Thing infernal- Embodiment of femine yearning 3 Thing eternal- Deathless as earth's turning 5 , Yet in itself short-lived, Sudden, tempestuous, brief, Breathless as any whirlwind, Amazing beyond belief 5 Without form or fashion, Incomprehensible as any maze, Alluring, devastating, dramatic, Mind and eye to daze, Thing inspired- Prodigy of genius, insanity's relation, Thing admired- My lovely hat-exotic creation! HARRIET HALL-5C. wk Pk if The Mail Order Catalogue The mail order catalogue is absolutely free. Withlxfiftegn thousand items, complete from i to , Fifteen thousand items-any one you can X choose, Every one a bargain, something you can use. A tractor or a hose-or cod liver oil, Christmas cards, milk cans, wire by the coil, Diapers for the baby, aprons for the maid, Scarf pins and watches, yard goods and braidg Nail polish, auto polish, fioor polish, racks, Silver polish, stove polish, leather polish, 'jacks, Patterns, pantry sets, rubber bands, and cordg Flashlights, and parts of a T Model Fordg Stockings and garters, girdles and toys, Dresses for girls, suits for little boys, Shirts and books and powder and soap, Dishes and sheets and glasses and rope, Napkins, paint, pencils, and pastes, Scooters, drawer-pulls, bikes, and waists, Ribbon, reels, screws, and inks, Stoves, linoleum, luggage, and sinks 3 So senddfor a copy if there's anything you nee , And even if you don't-it's a good book to read. W. F. With humble apologies to T. Eaton and Co.