London Central Secondary School - Golden Glimpses Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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46 The Flag of France The National Flag of modern France dates back to the year 1789 when the French people first rose up in righteous rebellion against the h a t e f u l conditions of the Uancien regime. Thus the French Revolution. Before this date, the iiag of France was the Hfleur-de-lys, of which we really know very little. What it was supposed to represent we are not certain. It may have been an iris, or a lily, or perhaps the head of a lance. At any rate, with the coming of the Revolution it quickly fell into disuse. The Tri-coleur as it is popular- ly called is composed of the three colours, red, white, and blue. The red and blue are the colours of the city of Paris. The white was add- ed at the suggestion of the Marquis de Lafayette, famed for his part in the American Revolution. The French flag has often falter- ed under the storms of revolutions, political dissensions, world wars and civil strife, but its engrained traditions of liberty and loyalty have always carried it through triumphantly. Indeed, the French people may well be proud of a flag which has stood for so much and played such a prominent part in history. -Claire Hicks EIU Raymond Poincare In this section set aside for France it seems fitting to mention one of France's greatest and most beloved statesman, the late Ray- mond Poincare. Tl-IE REVIEW Editor-Elizabeth Harvey H f France f Raymond Poincare was thrice premier of France. From 1913 to 1920 he was President of the French Republic. Five years 'ago he re- tired from the premiership and the politics of his country, and until his death was announced on Oct. the fifteenth, 1934, the world had all but forgotten that he had lived. But history had already judged and marked him for one of the notable figures of his age. He was a mild-eyed, rotund little man, with a pointed beard. Noth- ing in his outward appearance sug- gested the man of iron which he proved himself to be. He strove for the security of France with passionate devotion and cold real- ism. His mind mirrored with cur- ious exactness the mind of France, and in more than one moment of decision his voice proved to be the voice and his will the will of the French people. Raymond Poincare was a man of whom France may well be proud, for he did much to make her one of the leading nations of the world. -E. Harvey EIU The Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees The Place de la Concorde by day is vast rather than beautiful, and by night it is a congress of lamps. l-ln' Sucre Lim-ur. 4-Avcuue des Champs Elysees. 10-Pluce-de la Concorde. Because it is sacred ground Paris is unthinkable without it. In 1763 the open and uncultivated space was enclosed, surrounded with fosses, made trim and called La Place Louis Quinze. Twenty-two years later, kings having suddenly become cheap, the statue of Louis XV. was melted down and cast into cannon, while a clay figure of Liberty was set up in its stead, by the order of the National Convention. La Place was to be renamed La Place de la Revolution. A little later the guillotine which was to see the deaths of the king and queen and the proud rnobility of France was erected there. In 1799, the Reign of Terror being ended, the Place won the name of Concorde. Since then certain symbolic statues of great French cities have been set up, and the Place is a model of symmetry. Its two great fountains are a source of joy and coolness in hot weather. This basis of safety assures hap- piness in the presence of so much tinkling, falling water. If the Place de la Concorde may be called at night a congress of light, the Champs Elysees may be called in the afternoon a congress of wheelsg wheels revolving along this superb roadway, so wide and open, climbing so confidently to the Arc de Triomphe, with its graves on either side at the foot and its white mansions afterwards. Marie de Medicis in 1616 planned and laid out the Champs Elyseesg but Napoleon is the father of the scene which culminates so mag- nificently in the Arc de Triomphe. The particular children's paradise of Paris, where they bowl their hoops and ride the horses of minute roundabouts turned by hand and watch the marionettes is between the main road and the Elysees. -Marjorie Vining DEI Carnival Days on the Riviera Laughter, shouting, music, con- fetti, gaiety, confusion, milling crowds of gayly dressed people, nightmarish alarm clocks ten feet high, men in skirts, girls in trousers, and the Carnival is on. In the middle of the parade rides King Carnival, a gorgeous dummy on a wild steed, surrounded by his court. His reign is short but furious and then he is burnt at the stake. This is the Riviera in Carnival

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sour. There is very little drunk- enness in Greece. One traveller describes the wine as a mixture of raspberry vinegar flavoured with snuff! However, the beer is very good. The same traveller tried a mouthful of eel and - did the only thing to be done with it. At weddings the Greeks eat, drink, and are merry. There are usually three instalments of food, consisting of chicken and rice soup, joints of lamb, bread, vegetables, pudding, sweetmeats and sugared almonds. -Marjori.e Fetherston EIU The Corinthian Canal The idea of cutting a canal is said to date as far back as the reign of Periander, who was ac- counted one of the seven wise men of Greece. The Corinthian Canal was begun by a great number of soldiers and prisoners with much solemnity, apparently about the end of 67 A.D, Emperor Nero himself, after chanting hymns in honour of the marine deities, set the example by giving a few strokes with a golden pickaxe which the Governor of Greece formally handed to him. A beginning was made on the western end of the Isthmus but operations were sus- pended soon in consequence of evil tidings which Nero received. The modern canal, completed in 1893, has a striking appearance to one sailing through, owing to the height of its banks on either side, rising like walls to a height of more than one hundred feet At one point the railway passes over it one hundred and seventy feet above the water. Unfortunately the canal is too narrow to be of much use to larger ships and there is little prospect of it ever becom- ing one of the great highways in the east. -Helen Elliott DD Travel in Greece There are certain traits about the Greeks which make you won- der if these people think enoughg for instance, the launching forth into roads that are never finished. The roads that are completed are so roundabout that one travels five times the distance to get from one THE REVIEW place to the next as the crow flies. There are so many hair pin curves that travellers are frequently car- sick and curse the bus drivers, who are very unwilling to let them out and delay the bus. Many moun- tainous regions are traversed only by mule tracks. -Nora Fetherstozze ECI A Grecian Trireme The word trireme comes from the two Latin words tres, three and Uremusf' oar. Hence a tri- reme was a warship with three banks of oars. Long before the battle of Salamis in 480 B.C., the Greek warriors decided that they needed larger warships. Yet to add more oars to the one tier would necessitate the lengthening of the boat. This would make their ships too heavy for rapid progressg and so they devised a boat with two banks of oars, one above the other, and later a third was added above the second. The lowest deck was barely three feet above the water level and required fifty-four rowers, each at his own oar. On the second tier there were fifty-eight rowers and their oars were longer than the ones below. Finally the third bank numbering sixty rowers had oars which were longer still. These measured thir- teen feet six inches. This bank was eleven feet from the water. The trireme had sails but these were only used in ordinary cruis- ing, never in battle. The ship was built extremely light so that it not only skimmed over the water with great rapidity but it was easily hauled up on shore. At the battle of Salamis, the Greeks had a fleet of three hundred and eighty ships, most of which were triremes. -Victoria Dearle. UU Princess Marina All the world loves a lover, and this phrase is no more applic- able to any other race than itis to the people of the British Isles when it concerns a member of the beloved Family. Every Britisher is anxious to know more about Princess Marina of Greece. In the first place Marina has not a drop of Greek blood in her, as her grand- father was elected to the throne of 45 Greece. He was Prince VVilliam of Denmark and took the title of King George of Greece. Princess Marina lived with her parents in their modest Bourgeois flat in Paris, near the Bois de Boulogne. Their flat occupies the fifth and sixth floors of the house. Each member has his or her own apartment. The Princess has had to over- come many handicaps. Not only the money problem confronted her, but the heel of her left shoe is a bit higher than the right. The hrst time she saw London was when she went there to undergo treatment, and as a result, the limp is scarcely noticeable in her athletics, golf, tennis and riding. She makes all her own clothes and her cooking is to be envied by any woman. She uses make-up like any other girl, relies on a permanent wave which enhances her individuality, has a clear skin, dancing eyes and an enchanting smile. The Princess is a woman of perfect poise, keen personality, and charm, but she confides only in her sisters and closest friends. To our new British Princess we extend our most sin ce re wishes for her future happiness under the throne of the British Empire. -.Marjorie Roulston EIU Did You Know That? 1. The first trireme was built at Corinth? 2. Friendship was the greatest ship of ancient Greece? '3. Muleteers supposed to speak English are an irritating breed that should be specially avoided by the traveller? 4. None, save people with ostrich-like digestions, can travel in the interior of Greece with com- fort? 5. French is the language used on Greek postcards and even in English hotels there are French maids? 6. In Greece you are not hounded with people trying to sell knick-knacks and postcards but have to hunt for them in curio stores? 7. Most Grecian stamps have a picture of Lord Byron on them? I Continued on page 97

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days. The wise onlooker protects his face from flying pellets with a mask, as do the judges, and wears a cape with a high frilly collar to protect his ears from the blaring, clashing bedlam of many bands. There is, however, surprisingly little drunkenness, although wine flows freely. The streets are crowded with flower sellers. The air is thick with confetti. For days after one seems to leave a little trickle of it wherever one goes. King Carnival knows no restric- tions. Do as you please is his motto. Yet there are conventions even amid confetti showers. The masquer must disguise his voice as well as his face and preferably assume the costume of opposite sex. Carnival time is the gala. occa- sion of the Riviera. -Frances Copeland ED French Customs Any newcomer to France would find life so utterly different from that of other countries that it would take some weeks of readjust- ment before one felt really at ease. Thrift is an outstanding trait in a Frenchman. Comfort costs money, and to the Frenchman com- fort seems transient, while money is not, and the cheapest thing with which to pay is his own skin. For this reason he forfeits good plumb- ing and heating and mourns aud- ibly over a small hole burnt in an old rug or tapestry. Nor is food ever wasted. A French cook can cover a medley of unappetizing scraps with a heavenly sauce and make it a dish fit for the gods. No one ever leaves food on his plate, for besides it being a dread- ful waste it is an insult to the culinary arts of the hostess. The housewife in France is responsible for every little detail. She must attend to the process of cooking a dinner, even if she has a cook, as closely as though she were doing it herself. She must listen patiently to the account of the workman who repairs the stove on the temperamental character of that object. Besides this she watches her children's studies, helps them diligently in their homework, and makes herself their constant companion. Another distinguishing charac- teristic of a Frenchman is his THE REVIEW exquisite manners. Shop keepers and clerks manage to show a flatter- ing deference to their customers without losing any of their own dignity. Youth looks up to middle- age but never speaks to an older person with What would you do if you were young? In France the gentle art of con- versation still flourishes. It would be an insult to ask one's dinner guests to play cards after dinner or to go to the theatre. At any rate it would be superfluous for con- versation flows freely and delight- fully. The French feel that it should never develop into a lesson or an argument. Altogether the French are a charming people, thrifty without being mean, conscientious, tactful and exquisitely polite and enter- taining. -E. Harvey UU Le Petit Trianon Le Petit Trianon fLittle Castlej is to-day a touching memorial to Marie Antoinette. It was the gift of Louis XVI to his Queen when she asked him for a place of retire- ment where she could lay aside her duties and cease to be Queen. The Petit Trianon was one of the most perfect and graceful and delicate creations ever designed. It was situated in a retired nook in Versailles park, well out of sight 47 of Versailles and yet conveniently near. It was no larger than a country mansion of to-day and was furnished in an unostentatious manner. everything d e n o t i n g privacy and ease. The Queen pro- duced fashionable plays and comic opera there for her amusement and that of her friends. The boudoir for social amenities and amusements was the centre of the house. The panelling was of carved and gilded wood and there Were soft silken hangings. The prevailing colours were cream, delicate cherry and pale blue. It was designed for pleasant, intimate gatherings by a woman in the springtime of life. It was a doll's house whose win- dows looked out upon beautiful lawns and gardens. Marie Antoi- nette desired a natural garden and so engaged the best known horti- culturists to build it for her. This garden was to contain within its four square kilometres a reproduction of the whole of nature. T h e r e were French, Indian and African trees, Dutch tulips, a lake, a river, a mountain and a grotto, a roman- tic ruin, Greek temples, Dutch windmills. In this garden of nature the Queen spent the most enjoy- able hours of her life and even the King came only as a guest. In one section there was a com- plete miniature farm, equipped l-L'Opera 3-La Madeleine 2-L'Arc de Triomphe 4.-Tomb ol' lNapoleon