Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute - Acta Nostra Yearbook (Guelph, Ontario Canada)

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ACTA NO-S golden sand. Many pretty pebbles and shells can be found which are frequently picked up and kept as remembrances of St. Malo. just off this shore are many rocky islands on which forts are built an-d at sunset when the tide is high they often appear as magnificent castles in the air embedded in a deep blue sky. From this. seemingly very small. unimportant town there set sail a man who wended his way to -the west and by beginning a small settlement on the banks of the St. Lawrence really made a strong nucleus on which our Canada has been built. Not only has the country been settled around the St. Lawrence River. but Canada 'has been populated from Halifax to Victoria. and as far north as Hu-dson Bay and the Peace River. Little did Jacques Cart- ier ever think that he was laying the founda- tion for such a wealthy and prosperous coun- try as Canada with a population of about nine million people. Never did it enter his mind that behind the bleak rocky shores covered with bush there would develop a country noted for the extent of its agriculture, for its ex- tensive wealth in timber and pulpwood. for its lakes and rivers abounding in fish. and for its innumerable water falls which when harnessed produce millions of horse power of electricity which run our factories. light our houses and streets and help to cook our food. MY TRIP ABROAD lBy E. Buckingham. Form III Sr. BJ Some minds improve with travel. others. rather resemble copper. wire or brass. which get narrower by going faster. After a remarkably smooth passage. we landed at Liverpool on july the twelfth. My first impressions of England were not very favourable. Liverpool appeared to be a dirty manufacturing city. but perhaps this was be- cause we landed in the midst of a dense fog. and. besides. we left Liverpool for XVinder- mere within a few hours. before we were able to see very much of the city. At First I thought the English train system could not comipare with ours. The trains looked like toys. so small are they. but although they are much smaller than ours they travel at a terrific rate. and do not have to slow up for level crossings. as they are all bridged. On the other hand the stations and trains are not nearly so clean as ours. and on very rare oc- casions does one chance to procure a com- partment alone. without several, usually un- desirable. travelling companions. There is no one to call out the trains or the stations. consequently one thas to be very alert to watch out for one's destination. Vile arrived at Wlindermere after a tedious journey. for we had a long wait for a train at Preston. strictly a manufacturin-' town on the way to XK'indermere. and a filthy unattrac- tive place. TRA, 1926 69 At Windermere I changed my op-inion about England. for this place its a quiet fairy- land with a beautiful lake dotted with islands which we looked out upon from our rooms. The gorgeous sunsets which did not fa-de out until almost twelve o'clock at night. and the many pretty walks and flowers completed its charm. The lovely village of Grasmere and the lake districts where we saw NVordswort-h's home and the tombs of VVoodswor-th. Hartley Coleridge. and Southey were a great source of interest to us. But the inevitable tourist did annoy me. talthough I myself was onej. for he was everywhere no matter in what quiet and secluded spot we happened to be. On -luly 17th we arrived at Edinburgh. the most beautiful city in the world. and we were First impressed by its famous Princes' Street. This street has beautiful gardens on one side. with the statues of her great sons placed there to be an inspiration to future sons, On the other side are s-hops. and over all towers the dreary old Edinburgh castle. Rival- ling Princess' Street in interest is the High Street. which is now the slum district. swarm- ing with drunkenness. where formerly were the 'homes of the aristocracy. Holyrood Castle. St. Giles' Cathedral. the art Galleries. where I liked especially the splendid Raeburns. and where the delicate Greuzes impressed us im- mensely. Here the illustrious Forth Bridge. that marvellous and magnificent structure. the longest bridge in the world. reaches a mile and a half across the Forth River. W'ith all these and many other fascinations. Edinburgh is the most interesting city I have seen. The gorgeous beauty of Scotland was revealed to us on our week's motor trip through the Highlands. 'We saw the huge. gloomy. domineering mountains. covered with purple heather. the long succession of lakes known as the Caledonian Canal. the quaint Highland villages. built of stone. with bright- eyed people, keen. imaginative. alert. astonis.h- ingly well-read and educated. Ruddy-checked and sandy-haired youngsters waved to us as we passed. I cannot begin to describe the Highlands. for there is too much to tell. and I have not touched on Oban. Pitlochry. the granite city of Aberdeen. Melrose Abbey. St.-Andrews-by-the Sea. Scott's home, Ab- botsford, Stirling Castle. with its thrilling history and so many other interests of Scot- land. Spending a day at Lincoln and York to view their cathedrals. we arrived at London on August the -lth. The roar of the city. its great throngs and innumerable buses we-re bewildering after the quiet peacefulness of the Highlands. Our time was spent at the Kensington Gardens. Kew Gardens. St. James' Park. Hyde Park. ancient XN'estminster Abbey, filled with memorials. St. Paul's Cathedral. fas- cinating VVembley. the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery. the lYallace Collection. the

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68 ACTA NO-STRA, 1926 feel that Wasaga Beach. the fiourishing sum- mer resort. is really a sport of historic interest. This summer, rumors 'travelled to Oak- view, three miles from the m-out-h of at-he Nottawasaga. to the effect that the sailing ship was being removed. Accordingly. early one morning my cousin and I decided to row down the river and investigate the pro- ceedings. The hands of the clock were pointing to ten minutes to seven when we silently emerg- ed from the co-ttage and made our way to the boat. As the oars dipped into the water and we slid from the bank, several huge. dusky turtles flopped into the river and disappeared under some white water-lilies. The woo-ds seemed alive this clear morning. Our wild neighbours had been abroad for hours before we. disturbing mortals. appeared on the scene. On our right. astartled blue heron rose from the 'brush and flapped southward: a mink scurried into safety. a kintgfisher flew scream- ing overhead and. from an overhanging pine, two furry hits of energy chattered angrilv as though to dispute our right in spoiling the stillness of their river. This was too sunny a morning for fishing as the black bass refused to he lured 'from the green depths below us. Now we turned the first bend and high sand banks rose into view covered with dense clusters of pines with. here and there. the Hash of a white birch. All was still here ex- cept for the steady dip, dip of oars an-d the muffled roar of waves beating upon the beach. One more bend and the river took a straight course towards the white-capped blue of t'he Bay. Though on one side still rose sand banks. the other shore was low and dotted with cottages. This was the Hiasaga of the holiday-maker. Xte were now fast approach- ing an island in mid-stream. a very small is- land. partly mud flats and covered with low bushes. lt was here that the schooner Nancy lay buried deep in mud. XYe ground- ed the boat and got out. It was not too early for curio .hunters to be abroad. and already a num-ber of men were standing knee-deep in water. digging in the sand. In due time we were shown a quantity of nails. an old bolt. several pieces of iron. and a key. all of which had been extracted from the debris. Only the ribs and keel of the schooner were above surface: .these were of thick. but decay- ed timber. These, besides an assortment of iron implements. tfhe anchor, a couple of can- non balls and an old Indian skull are all -that is left of the once staunch and gallant little bi ig. the Nancy . SAINT MALO tBy Peggy Hall. Form II BJ St. Malo is. in the minds of Canadians, a very important little town. because it was from this place that Jacques Cartier set sail in 1534 for the New World. It has been mad-e still more noteworthy by the poem entitled, The Seaport of St. Malo. writ-ten by D'Arcy McGee. who was a member -of the Dominion Legislature about the time of Confederation. This poem is in all third public school readers and for this reason we are more familiar witlh lt. A wall entirely surrounds the greater part of the town and is very strong and well built. As St. Malo is a very ancient town the build- ings are old. and as a result some are very quainft and picturesque. The streets inside the wall are very narrow and crooked with here and there a little square or an unoccupied building. The people are rather backward. and though the town is clean it is not sanitary. There are no sewers and Waterworks are very scarce. Almost all the dirty water and refuse is thrown into the streets and thus one could not say that sanitation existed in St. Malo. However. the inside of their homes is very clean and all brass and metal is kept in the very best condition. The inhabitants of St. Malo are mostly engaged in market gardening as there are few. if any, important factories. In the little -squares. which I mentioned before. a market is held each day. Ordinary fish and shell fish are the chief 'products for sale. but fresh vegetables are sometimes plenti- ful. Potato tops are often sold in these mar- kets to he use-d as a fertilizer. Loads and loads of these come in each day and the poor little donkeys which have to pull them some- times seem to be very tired. There are few motors and most transportation is carried on hy two wheeled donkey carts. The women of Malo wear the regular Brittany costume, which consists of a little white cap. well starched. and sitting just on top of their heads. an old-fashioned dress, usually black. with a purple or blue bodice. the skirt being full and nearly touching the ground. Felt slippers with leather soles or wooden shoes are worn by' all the poor classes while the better classes indulge in black leath- er low shoes. The girls dress just about tihe same as do our girls. but the boys when in short trousers wear a black satin apron to prevent their clothes from becoming soile-d. but when they begin to wear long trousers they do away with the apron. None of the people speak English Huently. but some of those who work in stores have a limited know- ledge of it. St. Malo is on an island in the estuary of the River Rance. It also 'faces the sea, and on all sides is surrounded by a rampart from fifteen to twenty feet high. At l-ow tide the water recedes about a mile, while at high tide it frequently splashes over the top of the ramipart. Paramie is a sister town to St. Malo, and here is situated a very wonderful bathing beach.. because when the water goes back it leaves a beautiful smooth coating of

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70 ACTA NOSTRA, 1926 British Museum, the Historical tower-London is too vast to begin to describe. A day at XN'indsor showed us the Castle and the Queen's Dolls' House, wonderfully planned and complete to the minutest details, Another day we spent at Oxford and its Colleges. W'e tiew 'past Belgium. catching a glimpse of Brussels. Ostend and the desolate country about Ypres and Hill Sixty. where bodies are still being unearthed. This district is still in a state of devastation and very awful, with its fields and Helds of sad .little crosses. The Belgians did not attract me as a people, not only because they are small and thick-set, but because of their selfish. shrewd natures. September the third saw us in the most fascinating. most alluring and most beautiful city in the wo-rld, Paris. The Champs-Ely- sees is a wide and beautiful avenue with shops and mansions on either side. with its Arc de Triomphe at one end of it. where a fire in memory of the Unknown Soldier is forever lit. and the Place de la Concorde and the Obelisk at the other end of it. The Louvre Museum, formerly a palace. is fascinating-an imimense palace-and there we saw the famous XYinged Yictory and the Venus de Milo. and many Yan Dykes. Gruzes. Reubens. Millets. Fra .-Xngelicos, and other great and world-famed pictures. The Luxem- bourg and the Cluny. the latter once Roman fbaths, later a palace. and now a museum. are smaller and almost as interesting. The churches of Paris are gems: mighty Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle. with its exquisite glass. Saint Germain, Saint Severin. very an- cient. and Saint Etienne. with its lacy carved in the interior. The most beautiful house in the world. the Pantheon. Na- stone opera poleon's Tomb, the Seine River. the amazing Tower are part of the myriad charms Eiffel of Paris. A short week-end. we spent at the delight- fulivillage of Barbizon, the home of Millet and Rousseau. and we walked through the mighty forest of Frontainbleau and saw the famous palace. Q Yersailles is very grandiose. About the palace are wonderful gardens. fountains. ponds. a canal and forests. and as it is built on a height. it faces a gorgeous view. looking d-own the canal. The palace in the interior is quite bare as so much in it was destroyed in the Revolution. The French people are exceedingly in- dustrious. quick. clever. and always busy. a very fine creative people in every way, es- pecially in decorative arts. Yery early on the morning of September the 25th. when dawn was beginning to break. we boarded our boat at Cherbourg and looked back upon that town. still asleep. bathed in the sunrise. with a pang of regret, yet with a secret joy at the thought of home. :Xs our steamer came in sight of Cana-da the worlds of Scott came to my mind: Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath. said. This is my own, my native lanidf' lVhose heart hath ne'er within him burned. As home his footsteps he hath turned. From wandering on a foreign strand. A DAY ON SAFARI' tllfritten for Acta Nostra by H. Wfestoby, Chairfman Finance Committee, Board of Edu- cation.J Four o'clock in the morning. The air was chill-even cold-and. as we came out of our tents we discovered a sky all sapphire and honey. Big Macgregor, the elephant hunter, tndovu-mwaam-unu. 'the Swahili porters called html. was swearing at the niggers, .and callin-g to them Upesi lhurry upl, since we were to start as soon as things could be packed. VVThat a day! Before us was Mount Keyna. the dome of Africa. grand. solitary, stupendous. with a summit like silver thrown from a mould. Soon great bars of pink and violet were seen streaming from its top. and then the sun Hamed up. and gilded the vtree tops in a most engaging manner. Thousands of monkeys were soon chattering among -the woods. and millions -of bright colored insects began to Hy in all directions. lt was the dawn of a new day. XYe wore pithy helmets. and duck suits. all but Macgregor. who was an sight t-o behold. He stood more than six 'feet l-l'l1l'1Elgl1llf, and wore a double terai tdoubile felt hat with a broad briml. with a strip of leopard's skin around it. Clad in khaki shorts. and shirt, and armed with a rifle. he looked what he was, the elephant hunter to the very life. The natives were clad in a loin cloth, and wreathed in broad smiles. In less than an hour we had eaten. and were off. Mac went in front. with XYhite. the Safari followed, and -loyce and I brought up the rear. all being armed with rifles. Soon numbers of hartee- beasts. giraffes. and waterbucks were seen. but no lions. or leopards. or even a stray elephant. Mac had warned us about the buifaloes. which he said were the wickedest things in East Africa. since they would hide in a clump of bamboo. and dash out with red eyes, all afire, thirsting for blood. The lordly lion is differ- ent. He will hunt by night. often leaping a high fence, kill with a stroke of his paw a cow, and then spring back, carrying the cow with him. If you encounter him by day perihaips he will run away. when accompanied by a lioness. the rules are shoot the female. and leave the lion itill the last. lYoe be unto you if you don't. Shoot the lion, and the lioness will he on you like a flash. all claws. and fight. Shoot the lioness. and the lion will likely skulk away. to hide where he can. It's a known