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

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XX ' fxwkmatwgiykgio 29 POUR Hy rlltllfllllll D. For never was a story ol more woe Than this of Vluliet and her Romeo. The last sweet words ol' poetry drilted out into the wings. Then catne the thunderous applause which meant he must slip out onto the stage to add to the back-ground while Romeo and Juliet take their bows. They stood there, bowing and smiling, while the great gold curtain rose and fell seven times. Often. Paddy had thought ol him- self as the great Romeo. He knew the lines by heart and had practised them before the mirror until he could mimic every gesture of the famous player. But what chance had he, whom everyone knew as poor Peter, the servant , to play such a part? If the star fell ill, there was the understudy, ready to step in. But always. did he cherish the hope that sometime it might hap- pen. Every night he had thought about it as he trudged home to his room. Once. he had even composed a poem-not a good poem, he knew, for it wouldnt scan for whatever a poem should doj -but still, a poem Always a clown, never a knight In burnished armour, gleaming bright, On a snowy charger, eager to fight: Always a clown, never a knight. .Always the iester, never the king For whom the glorious trumpets sing And sages, old, their treasures bringg Always the iester, never the king. Always humorous, never sad, The only parts I've ever had Are dumb men, deaf men, gayly cladg Always humorous, never sad. Always in the direst plight, Always losing every fight, Always wrong, never right, Always a clown, never a knight. XVhen he reached his flat he would brood over his supper, alter reading of PADDY .lIIlt'Kll1I1t2Il, Xllfl all the amazing adventures which belell other people. Nothing. he thought, ever hzzpt ened to him. The headlines blaletl with romantic tragedy -one des- pairiiig lover had jumped lrom the top of a skyscraper. another had for- lornly thrown himsell on the tracks belore a streamiiner at Grand Central btation, ll only he could perform such an exploit, the world would realize his true character. But he would never have the courage to iump lrom a tall building. lX'hat could he do? And then it tame to him The stilling air of a summer night lilled the theatre with a restless mur- mur. On the stage, the action moved wearily. with the mechanical plodding of a play which has run too long. The magic words had become a means of earning a living. rather than a miracu- lous adventure into a realm ol rotnallee. At the appointed time, luliet rose lrom her rollin, but it was not the same listless luliet who had been placed there. but a lresh. vivid artist-with a husky voice perhaps-but ll t1'llC sense ol' the tragic depth of her lovely lines. I will kiss thy lipsg Haply some poison yet doth hang on them . The audience had roused to a carelul attention as she drew Romeo's dagger and prepared to plunge it to her heart, when suddenly Iuliet's cas- ket began to quiver. It tottered on the edge and fell from its niche. The shouts that came from yluliet as the casket struck her were not at all those which one would expect from a lady ot distinction. The impact sent the' bewildered thespian sprawling on the lloor, with his golden wig around his neck. The dagger with which poor Paddy had intended to end his miser- able life lay embedded in the floor. The great gold curtain came swirling down as the original luliet. bound and w w'u'etl rolled across the stage in her rsumq P n EJGHICORIS.

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Page 99 text:

30 ,v 4:51 'llhe faces of his lite conirzidex were glowing now, their pain lorgotten lor Z1 moment, as they twixted their necks toward the bed in the corner, where l'ztddy was doing him imitations in his funniest manner. Ever since his legx had begun to get better he had tried to cheer up his ward-mates, all of whom were sicker than he, with his show tricks. XYhen he saw those gleaming laces he knew A CLGS Bi' Carolyn I' It had Iinatlly come: the clan I had dreaded for months, the day ol' ollt final examination. The rult-N which had been set lor it were xeri strict. Each one ol ns had ll separate little plzttllornl ol her own with at small dexk in the centre ol' it, XXX: were alll at good CIISKZIIILKL' Irom each other, :ind were not allowed to lizive any papers with ns at all. .XII we were allowed to hate were the exznnination paper and pentil gixen its hy the teacher. Alter we had been tliorouglily exti- minetl In the teachers to he sure we Q how wrong he had been to wish for ll sad life. I-Ie had even serawled zin- otlier poem on :t scrap ol paper- Ihis world of ours knows too much sadness. So always let my part be gladness. Let me plat bulloon or fool: Never rascal, ghost or ghoul. For 'tis ott' the clown and not the knight XYlio makeQ anotlierk life more bright. '1 I: bHAV E 1121 Loon, IXI-I didn't hate any srrzrteli paper on which we might liztve notes, I mounted the wmztll plattlorm slowly and nnsteadily. I was -.linking NU much I lelt like a tihrzlting lllllfllllllf. IX'e sal down with strict orders lrom the teacher: then he said the word: I3egin . I tried to stea dx mwell. I wrote an lze-t as I rould to get Iinikhed on time. Suddenly I tonld Ieel the xtern eyes of the teacher peering through me. Slowly I turned my exes toward the floor. I felt like xt eriminztl in court. I nervonslx looked np and rantglit tezncher looking the stern erex ol the :tt me. ruins wax quzn' ? S A qgggg. naar A EL fzusru ' N Yovbu cor T0 x- A ALKAN uv SOME A - CL. 1-mr Jil -a , '- -5'!zS- .SINGLE FILE .f S 7 --. . , 5 IF :cuff FWD HY 'gl X N, Hilo f Gussfs now ' N l f .1 nND Ynu QDA nrilitgrf jf . 4 'g -- , U 'N ' f ff I A J--,- Il I . 1. xx Clegg, ,S 1,5 I N 4. U x M W' W - I . I' 175' Q .1 UVM. 5 . 1 1-14, 1' 4 ..l.Q:,ff-1 JS. .- 72- 5 mum ww .2 x ' , ,e-'ag'--f,:9,h Ig' E I E my Q I, MA - A uousc .qyjf - - 4- f et . U Q f - 't Q -,, Y 5 Il - if -, . +I y n?-Yevsusin A , 1 I ' Q V, X V ,,..... - r , I Q' I . W a 'Rf . ' -lt . 'N.. W If . vw. , .1 - , - . 1 Ll-I .- -V 3 A.. . '-Avh '-1,3 X1 F -, 1-- , H' - f mfg ,Y v 0 1 , 1 . G , 5 1 .A ,1,..., I - Q ' if f -'f -f