Havergal College - Magazine Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Haverga! College Magazine there was always something to watch. Sometimes a big brown owl would sail noiselessly by in search of his evening meal, or a squirrel begin to scold us from the trees overhead. The stillness was broken occasionally by the splash of a fish leap- ing out of the water, or by the notes of the thrush and the whitethroat sparrow. One evening, some small animal started to swim across the bay and we set off in pursuit to see what it was. Just as we got near, it dived, but soon reappeared some yards away. We started after it again, but happening to look towards the back of the bay I saw on the shore a small deer quietly feeding on the grass and lily pads. Letting the canoe drift, we sat perfectly still while it fed, now and then lifting its dainty head to gaze uneasily in our direction. It was a light reddish brown in colour, with large soft ears, no horns, and pretty, delicately shaped legs and body. For ten or fifteen minutes it stayed in view and then quietly disappeared into the woods. Our long waiting had been rewarded. PHYLLIS ROSS, Form Lower VI. WINTER. Spirit of Winter, glorying in thy power, From bitter North, where none dispute thy reign, Thou comest down, and following in thy train Are elements which make the strongest cower ; And few there be who may escape thy lour. Long months thou guard ' st well the key we fain Would have unlock earth ' s streams, and for them claim Their vanished life for yet another hour. And yet, Winter, thou are not always cruel — Thou too hast days, when far afield we wander Charmed by the beauty thou dost so freely squander. Thou too, like man, canst claim a nature dual, At once relentless, stern and seeming hard And vet of summer ' s gifts the faithful guard. H. L. LES PRECIEUSES. In studying the rise of the drama, we turn to France, and France of the seventeenth century, for the supreme examples of comedy. When we find that the greatest master of this most delicate art, Moliere, has twice over selected a passing phase of the manners of his time as a fitting subject for his genius, we do well to pause and ask ourselves what this phase signified. In France, in the early and middle seventeenth century, there was a tendency to lower the standard of conversation 37

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Havergai College Magazine England. He then tells his adventures to Edward, whose death and funeral follow immediately after (it may be noticed that the funeral comes first). Amidst great rejoicings Harold ascends the throne. Then the news reaches AYilliam and he begins im- mediate preparations for war. The Normans set sail at once for England, and here we see a mariner walking lightly upon the waves bearing a huge anchor, which he fastens to a slender tree. They march to Hastings, and encamp there ; then the great battle follows, Harold is killed and the English flee. Quite a number of buildings are included in the tapestry, such as Edward ' s palace, AYilliam ' s castle and Westminster Abbey itself. They are all perfectly flat, as a small child draws houses, but there are signs of Norman architecture in the rounded arches and heavy pillars. Much can be gleaned from the study of the work con- cerning the military and civil dress of the times. The costume of the ordinary man appears to be composed of a short smock caught in at the waist by a cord and a long sweeping cape fastened to the shoulders. A soldier wears a coat of mail made of heavy chain, and bears on his head a very fine helmet. He carries the usual banner and shield. The manners and customs of these people seem to be very natural and true to life, and the whole production speaks of vigour and spirit. The ex- pressions of the different faces seem animated and full of life. For instance, AYilliam ' s feelings on receiving the news of what is taking place in England are quite apparent from the sulky, disagreeable expression he bears. The old tapestry remains a monument to the patience and industry of those ladies of the eleventh century and to the grim realities bv which a mighty Empire is built up. EMBREE McBRIDE. Form Lower VI. A SUMMER EXPERIENCE. It was a lonely little bay on the mainland, not often visited because there was nothing out of the ordinary to attract most people. One side was high and rocky and covered in places with masses of moss and ferns, the other was low and marshy, the shore fringed with tall grass and reeds. The end of the bay was filled with lily pads and tall grass with a background of evergreens and poplar. Deer had been seen in the bay, though not often, but we were determined to see one, at least, before the end of the summer. Every evening about sunset we paddled quietly into the bay and hid the canoe and ourselves, as well as possible, among the tall grass at one side of the bay. Generally the watching and waiting were in vain, and often we were driven home by sand flies and mosquitoes. But if no deer appeared 36

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Havergal College Magazine and literary taste. To prevent this degeneration of their lan- guage, certain learned ladies of the Court formed a society, whose chief aim was to preserve the niceties and refinements of the French tongue. They were polished and extremely witty, and succeeded in refining both literature and manners. They met regularly at the house of the Marquise de Rambouillet and discussed literature and most of the leading questions of the day. It was their custom to receive in their boudoirs, in little alcoves surrounded by a ruelle or a railing, but naturally the manners of the ruelles and the alcoves were very artificial. The real Precieuses were soon imitated by a number of ladies of the bourgeoisie, and the false Precieuses arose. However, the real Precieuses were partly successful in their aim, and they certainly helped to raise the standard of French manners and French speech. But naturally, when these provincial fine ladies, less intellectual and often highly ridiculous, drew attention to themselves, the good work of the real Precieuses was soon over- shadowed by the affectation and stupidity of the false ones. Already literature was being infected with the style of the Precieuses, and we see in the greatest authors, such as Corneille, and even in Moliere himself, traces of their influence. Moliere, realizing the humour and absurdity of it all, and that the influence of the Precieuses was unfavourable to a healthy development of French literature, rendered his country a great service when at one blow he absolutely killed the progress of the movement in his famous play, Les Precieuses Ridicules. In this play he has unmercifully pilloried all the Precieuses of the seventeenth century. He no doubt did not intend to satirize the Hotel de Rambouillet and its society, but the affectation and bad taste of the false Precieuses, the ridiculous imitators of the real ones. We have, too, in this play, Moliere ' s views on the educa- tion of women — his ideal woman was, like all other ideal women, capable of looking after her home and her children, of speaking correctly and with elegance, and with a fair ap- preciation of literature. But, the study of philosophy, poetic composition and the inauguration of learned societies did not enter into his view of woman ' s realm. Moliere, I think, is not wholly justified in these views. Why, if a woman is capable of writing, of learning philosophy, of opening large schools and societies, should she not do so, provided her home is not neglected? The history of education in the last hundred years shows us how much can be safely undertaken by women. Why, then, should a woman tie herself down to her home alone, when she is capable of doing some- thing big, which not only helps herself and her family, but goes to help the whole nation? 88