Havergal College - Magazine Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Havergal College Magazine member this — They can ' t keep it up — and to make it our resolve that nothing on our part shall weaken the ties of friendship we have formed. But great care should be exercised in the choice of our friends. True happiness Consists not in the multitude of friends, But in the worth and choice, , and the very fact that girls have such numerous friends should warn us of the fact that their choice may not always be the best, for enthusiasm and feeling of good fellowship will often outrun discretion. The girl who shews her friendship in an emotional, sentimental way is not one to be cultivated, any more than the one who makes friends in order to use them for her own interests. The sensible girl will see that she does not choose for companions those whose influence lowers the standard of her moral life ; but she will look for friends among those whose tone is healthy and uplifting. And of this tone among companions, one cannot speak too strongly. Whether we wish it or not, we are ever influencing those wim whom we come in contact, and equally are we being influenced by them. Whatever our companionships, they must exert a strong influence on our characters — instinctively we adopt the tone of those with whom we associate. Let us never disregard this truth. We must, therefore, seek the best type of friend, and every noble im- pulse in her will be roused in our hearts. Emerson writes beauti- fully on this point : O friend, Through thee alone the sky is arched, Through thee the rose is red ; All things through thee take nobler form And look beyond the earth. The fountains of my hidden life Are through thy friendship fair. And what is it that constitutes a friendship? Briefly it is a bond of sympathy, an inner harmony, which, as Dryden says, makes a friend seem the other half of one ' s soul. The word sym- pathy is derived from two Greek words meaning with and feeling, and surely this expresses to us how necessary is this bond. There must be a compatibility of temperament underlying natures which very often appear to be the exact opposite of one another. Sometimes we take dislikes to people for no apparent reason — I do not like thee, Dr. Fell; The reason why I cannot tell. 30

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Havergal College Magazine gone. A playful mood succeeded. Humorous notices appeared, warning us out of our own hall. Enviously we watched them frolicking on the gymnastic apparatus we seemed destined never to use. Mutinously we beheld the re-doing and undoing what they had done the day before. Now wherever we crept, our way was blocked by a smiling workman and a ladder, or a cheerfully whist- ling workman with a few hundred feet of boards, or a strolling workman with pots of paint. So, hounded and hunted, we saw the months slip past. The advance of spring brought on the end with a rush. Gradually the swarm of men dwindled, then vanished. Peace settled down on our halls and heads again and, shaking off the horror and humiliation of the winter, we thankfully said good- bye to those super-men who, whether in the bustle and throng of school routine, or in the flurry and turmoil of breaking up, or in the peaceless calm of the holidays, had moved upon their way su- preme and indifferent, had hurried not, had flurried not, had bother- ed not the — genus homo, species faber. M. S. (I thank thee for this word. — Principal.) FRIENDSHIP. A friend is worth all hazards we can run. Perhaps it would not be altogether out of place to say a few- words in a College Magazine on the subject of friendship. Those whose privilege it is to look back on happy years of school life, look back also on friendships formed during that period, which last throughout one ' s life. But in looking back with pleasure and grati- tude on the past, one must not forget those friendships which were formed and broken — formed in all good faith, but broken because they would not bear the test that inevitably followed. And why is it, we ask ourselves, that friendships are so easily broken? Youth is the golden age for friendship. Girls have a perfect genius for making friends, but how does it happen that so many women have very few friends of their own sex? A boy was once asked to name any historically famous friend- ship that existed between two women. His ready reply was : There is none; they can ' t keep it up! Being reminded of the Duchess of Marlborough ' s friendship for Queen Anne, he replied that it was purely selfish, to advance her husband ' s interests, and that it came to an end when the Queen at last grasped the situation. Perhaps the lad was somewhat severe, but there is more than a grain of truth in his answer, and it would be well for us to re- 29

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Havergal College Magazine And, on the other hand, more often do we form strong attach- ments without being able to trace them to their source, except that we have much in common — that is, a bond of sympathy. Granted that we have formed a friendship, what is necessary in order that we may keep it fresh and beautiful? We are all familiar with the expression give and take, and often it happens that there is much taking and very little giving. But this involves, on the one side, much sacrifice, and, on the other, encouragement in selfishness. In friendships, the requirements are mutual — all that we wish our friends to be, we ourselves must also be — all that we would have our friends be, of that, we too, must be capable. What, for example, is more inspiring than the beautiful story of David and Jonathan, or that of Damon and Pythias, and com- ing down to modern times, of Tennyson and Hallam? And what these men were to one another, so was Ruth to Naomi. Through- out the realms of sacred and classic literature, can one find any- thing more lovely or affecting than this story, in which we see the aes of kinship lost in the depths of true and lasting friendship? In sight of the dear hills of Moab, the beautiful land of her birth, Ruth was put to the test. She did not fail, and thus for all times, this story of Naomi and Ruth, told in such exquisite lan- guage, will stand as a type of true friendship between one woman and another. Intreat me not to leave thee. Whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. Such is the voice of friendship, throbbing with the deep love of which a woman is capable. Ruth knew not the land to which she was going. To her, Bethlehem and its people meant a new, strange life, but Naomi was her friend, and for Ruth that was sufficient. In sacrifice lies the supreme test and measure of friendship. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Amicitia. AN EASY GUESS •ss. My i, 2, 3, 4 means to posses My 6, 7, 8, 16 means a heavy wind. My g, io, 5, ii, 14, 15 is found in every exercise book. My 9, 12, 13, 16 means a winding path. My whole is hailed with delight every year. For the answer look at the cover. Cecily Mortlock, Form IV. Lower. 31