London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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Take Time To Read EyWi11iam O1msted,IIIC. Hround The World In Eleven Years By Patience, Richard and lohn Abbe HlS is an amusing autobiography written by three children who, after spending some ten years roaming around Europe, have come to America to make pictures in Hollywood for our future enjoyment. Their mother was Polly Platt, a stage actress. Their father is a photographer for many leading European and American newspapers. He con- tinually rushes from place to place and leaves his family to straggle along after him as best they can. The fortunes of the Abbes fluctuate like the stock quotations of Wall Street. One day they are very wealthy, living in a fine home, and the next they are out on the street without a penny. Patience, the eldest, is eleven years old, Iohn nine years and Richard seven. They are ex- tremely intelligent, witty children. They have attended school in America, Russia, France and Germany and speak several languages. They write their tale in a very frank and humorous manner, even telling of the frequent quarrels of their mother and father. Although most of their story is written with childlike simplicity, one wonders at the philosophy expressed here and there. During the course of their travels they have met many famous people, such as Lilian Gish, Adolph Hitler, President Roosevelt, Ronald Col- man, Stalin and hosts of others. They give their opinion of these famous folk quite frankly. The book has become one of the best sellers of the year. I certainly recommend it for entertaining reading. -Bill Olmsted, Ill C. Away To The Gaspe By Gordon Brinley F you are looking for a book that is interesting, humorous, and yet at the same time educa- tional, let me recommend Away to the Gaspef' Throughout the story, the author carries you in your imagination with The Duchess and Don in their faithful phaeton, Sally, on a summer vacation trip from the New England States to the Gaspe Peninsula. Many amusing incidents happen while the young couple are camping along the Way. One time Faithful Sally belies her nickname by leaving the Duchess and Don stranded, and the two are forced to bathe in alcohol and drink orange juice. On their trip they pass through all sorts of small villages, many of which are not well known, but your interest is keenly aroused in them by the Duchess' detailed history of them. Gordon Brinley has combined fiction and travel very successfully to make Away to the Gaspe- enjoyable reading. -Olive Eviscn, HIC. The Forbidden River By Harold Bindloss The Forbidden River! The very name sug- gests the mysterious glamour of this exciting West African tale, whose setting is the impene- trable jungles throbbing with the eerie beat of the hollow-sounding tom-toms. Frenzied lu-ju men and maniacal witch- leopards had instilled a cruel mortal fear into the hearts of superstitious bushmen, suddenly hold- ing the flow of trade to the white man's factory at the river mouth. A young, adventurous Englishman, wise in the ways of the jungle, undertakes, accompanied by the young nephew of the rich factory owner, the arduous task of opening up the tabooed river for the native's dugouts, which bring wealth to the white man in the form of palm-oil. Their encounters with the savage tribes of the fear-ridden bushland and the success of their thwarting of the cunningly set traps of the black men's attempts against their lives, form a contrast to the peaceful romance which finds its way even into the wilds of darkest Africa, to save the life of one adventurer and to be the foundation for the building of the fortunes of another. -Bill Nichols, Ill C. Gino Watkins By I. M. Scott Gino Watkins is the story of the young explorer, written by his closest friend and explor- ing companion. Although he was only in the middle of his twenties when he died, he had already made a name for himself which ranks with the explorers of all times. The story of the four Watkins expeditions, one to Labrador and three to the Arctic, is the story of exploring under great hardships. They were small expeditions and poorly financed, but the knowledge of the men, and the quality of their instruments, made up for it, and they have made many useful contributions to modern geographical knowledge. The book is very interesting throughout, and contains many photographs, maps and extracts from Gino Watkins' diary. In this book the reader is shown that the thrills and hardships of explora- tion did not cease with the advent of the steamship and the aeroplane. -Fred Chesharn, V B. 27

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Like Father By Grant Dorland, IVC. HE stadium was not large, but it was adequate. The crowd lined its steep walls like ants in a brown sugar-bowl. The band played stirring marches and the players hunched on the bench in their cowls, looking for all the world like pious monks. The sky was monotonously gray. Soon the linesmen and the referee and the umpire came on the field. Then one team lined up in a solid wall, and the other scattered well back toward their goal. The whistle shrilled and the ball spun end over end. lt ctxme down on the l5-yard line and a great hulk of a fellow caught it as you would a delicate baby. He zigzagged his way up-field until he was downed on the 40. The crowd was now standing and yelling itself hoarse. The teams lined up, nose to nose. The ball was snapped and the big fellow went through to the 48. On the next play the same player took the ball on a fake reverse and went through the line for six yards more and a first down. The big fellow was Iohnny Williams, star backfield man of the team. He had a way of lifting his knees high, like pistons, and a knack of getting his great bulk to move quickly in a few yards. Watching him intently were two men who sat high in the stands on the left side of the field. One was a short, ruddy-faced man with high cheek-bones. The other man was big, and had soft, sentimental eyes. lf you knew Iohnny, you would know this was Father. Every time his son carried the ball, Old Wil- liams swung and dodged with the boy. He squirmed and twisted in his seat. He half straight- armed the man who sat beside him. When Iohn Williams had double-tracked him- self to the ll-yard line, the other team called time out. Old Williams turned to his neighbour. lsn't he a pip'? he shouted. Isn't that kid of mine a honey? The little man grinned. He's there all right, he said. You oughta be right proud of him. You know, said Williams, I think that kid of mine is as good a football player as I ever was. I He watched his son wiggle through a deter- mined wall of men. Two seconds later he was 26 over for a touchdown and five points. The try for a convert was a failure. Old Williams rubbed his chin. Y' know something, Pete? Back in the days when we played on this team, they'd have called us sissies if we heaved the ball around like they do today. When you were quarter and l was playing halfback, we hugged that football and it was nothing if we came off the field with a busted nose or collarbone. Today the kids have suits of armour and the book is so full of rules that nobody knows what's legal. Ain't it the truth? sighed Pete. Those were the good old days. Old Williams watched the kick-off, which was returned far past middle field. He stood up to watch his boy chase the ball carrier down the field. lohn tried a flying tackle. But he merely scraped his man's ankles, and the touchdown was over. The place-kick was good and the score at half time was the same, 6-5 in favour of the opposition. The band stepped out and paraded down the field. Old Williams brought out a small flask and the two men drank to the boy's success. After intermission, they watched the teams line up again-and both admitted that, old as they were, they would probably half-kill these kids, if they were in the game. At the end of the third quarter the score was still 6-5. lohnny had limped to the bench after a pile-up in that quarter-but now, as the fourth quarter opened, he came prancing back on the field and reported to the referee. The mob in the stands screamed for a touch- down. Old Williams was full of good cheer and fair rye. The years melted from the old man's frame as he watched his son go places. The boy had renewed vigour now, and he found gaping holes in the line as he plunged through for gains. Now and then, others in the backfield carried the ball. But most of the heavy work was done by Iohnny. With four minutes to go, his team lost the ball on downs. The stands groaned. It looked to be all over now. But the opposition elected to gamble. tContinued on page 601

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War Memoirs of David Lloyd George HIS story, based on unrivalled knowledge and experience, is written with the characteristic vigour and vividness of this well-known author, and is accurately documented at every contro- versial point. These memoirs of Britain's War-time Premier make a narrative of enthralling interest and a record of incalculable historical importance. ln his treatment of the problems and person- alities of the war, Mr. Lloyd George never for a moment indulges in personal recrimination nor polemic extravagances. He gives a gravely measured account of the momentous transaction in which he was always a leading personality, lf these memoirs, in their ultimate effect, are a spirited, or even a glorified version of his own actions and policies, that is inevitable in the per- sonal story of one who was without doubt the master-genius of the war, and whose judgment was almost invariably sustained in the light of later events. Mr. Lloyd George's narrative is of immense value for its clear definition of affairs in England and on the continent during the crisis of the war and its aftermath. lt contains mellow and restrained, but often damaging, comments on the major personalities of the time. lt presents a par- ticularly vivid picture of the struggle that took place between official minds which were deep fixed in the rut of set ideas, and minds which were nimble and powerful enough to break down established customs and so release the full energies of a modern community of war. For those who wish to gain further enlighten- ment about the political question in England, the equipping of armies, the plight of the Russians, and other allied questions, l heartily recommend this book and vouch for its thoroughly interesting content. -Don Kerr, lll C. The Story of a Prophecy By Harry Iames Forman Prophets have always been with us and will continue to be as long as there are human beings on this earth. Henry Iames Forman reveals in his book The Story of Prophecy an absorbing and almost unbelievable account of those remarkable humans who are blessed with second sight. This gift has enabled them to prophesy correctly such varied episodes as the birth and fate of Napoleon Bona- parte three hundred years before he was born. The proper name and description of every Pope from lO94 A.D, to the present time is a proof of their unerring ability. Other strange and fantastic prophecies foretold by the uncanny powers of prophets were the World War and the assassina- tion of Dolfuss, the dictator of Austria. These are only a few of the hundreds of other events which have affected the lives of millions. Among the predictions of the future is the banishment of Mussolini from ltaly in l9377 the second Russo-Iapanese war will commence in l938 and Russia will be the victory Fascism will never succeed in Spain, and the Kaiser's fourth son will be restored to the throne of Germany. Such are the things that are revealed forcefully in Henry Iames Forman's most unusual and inter- esting book. -George Aziz. J A Boy s Dream of Treasure Bv John Bowey, in. Little scraps of paper, Little bits of string, Half an old Wax taper, 2 ia And a curtain ring. if 4 ,535 Boxes full of many l,-A5 1. Cu riosities, E' Ag -'I-H Here and there a penny, X Fewer, though, of these. C N g if? C- dl , Two small sparroW's eggs, lx - An old tin Whistle, t 252: I One of mother's pegs, Q f g, A pressed Scotch thistle. ' K Marbles great in number, T Glassies, many more- All of these encumber ' A small boy's treasure drawer. 28