Riverbend School for Girls - Vox Fluminis Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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20 Vox Fluminis A VISIT T0 HELL THE good ship Devil's Trill, so called after a certain piece of music of which her owner was fond, had set sail with four passengers on board. They consisted of the Hon. Peter Lang- don, a fiery-tempered man given to swearing, his son John, a captain in the Indian army at present home on furlough, his nephew Christopher Langdon, on shore a well-known doc- tor, on ship a very poor sailor, and his niece Margaret, Christopher's sister. They were sailing along the coast of Scotland one night, when the storm came up. It was not the usual type of storm, swift to come and swift to go. Its arrival was heralded by a low moan- ing around the hatches, and it con- tinued to increase in fury, until on the night of the third day, Peter Langdon was heard to say, that he would sell his soul to the devil in hell to know where the hell they were going. The oath had hardly left his lips, when a mighty roar rent the heavens and a thunderbolt crashed to earth. The boat whirled around in an eddy and the last any of them remembered was the fiendish laughter which filled their ears . . . When Margaret came to her senses, she was lying in a very modernistic room of red and black design. Sitting up, she saw that her Uncle Peter, John and Chris were all in the same room. Before they could say a word, how- ever, part of the wall slid away and the tall figure of a man stepped down into the room. He was tall and slim, black moustache and 7 Q with a little pointed goatee, which gave him a sleek. well-groomed, nonchalant air. He was dressed in the height of fashion, and only the suspicion of a sneer, which played around his mouth, spoiled his appearance. With a slight bow to Mar- garet, he addressed himself to her uncle. I must introduce myself, he drawled. I am your humble servant, the Devil. The devil you are, replied Peter. In that case, would you mind telling us where the hell we are? Not at all my dear fellow, I would be charmed. You are at present in my study in Hell, and in a little while you will be escorted to your rooms, where you will undergo a slight process called 'Hell on Earthf It is fairly pain- less, we use absolutely modern meth- ods. With a suave smile and slightly inclined head, he was about to go out, when suddenly he turned, and address- ing Peter Langdon said, I am sure you would like a game of golf. The caddies are waiting. Will you come? Peter rose, and with an abrupt nod. at his companions followed the devil from the room. Outside the air was cool, and Lang- don and the Devil walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the golf-course. Langdon being a golf- fiend, was looking forward to the game. A caddy approached and offered him a ball, and Langdon placing it on the tee, turned with a smile to choose a club, but suddenly he froze. There's no club, he said. I must have a club to play with, I must! That's the hell of it, shrugged the Devil. Just think, you'll have to stay here trying to hit a ball without a club, until your soul is extracted, and you are ruined. It won't be long! And with a fiendish laugh he vanished. As he had said, it was not long before Langdon had fallen writhing to the ground, his lips mouthing the words, There must be a club. In heaven's name, give me a club. Back in the house, Margaret, John and Christopher had been taken to their rooms and were undergoing the process of Hell on Earthf' Margaret lay motionless on her bed. Her head was whirling and in her ears there echoed a fiendish laugh, and the words, You'll soon forget. You'll soon for- John Langdon's room, the was walking up and down. was twisted with pain, and perspiration hung upon his voice was whispering in his get. In occupant His face beads of brow. A ear: Don't you know me, Langdon? I'm the friend you had court-martialed for insubordination to a senior officer.

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Vox Fluminis 19 MY ADVENTURES AS A KITTEN I WAS born on December 3rd, 1941. I I am pure black and my name is Blacky. I have two brothers and four sisters. I am the youngest. I am now practically one and a half. My latest adventure was when I went out for a little walk on that day when it was so hot. I lay down under the big maple tree. As I lay there all of a sudden I saw this dog, and you know how I hate dogs! Well, he came closer and closer, and at last I jumped up and I met him, and I hissed. He barked and the fight was on. He bit me, so I spat back at him, which made him still more angry, so he tackled me. I was then in a terrible rage. I flew at him and jumped on top of him. He jumped up and I came off with a bad bump. Then all of a sudden I woke up and discovered that it was a horrible dream. I then ran back into the house where my mother and my brother and sisters were. I crept in beside my mother and while I told her about my dream she washed me all over with her soft tongue, and as I finished I fell asleep again, but this time I had a lovely dream about milk, cream, and fish. Sheelagh Burke, Grade VI, Douglas Hall. .1 MRS. CHATTER HELPS WITH MY, HOMEWORK I certainly didn't want her to help, it was her suggestion and I couldn't do anything else but let her help. Mrs. Chatter, who came over about twice a year, and only came then be- cause my mother invited her, out of politeness, was the type of woman that our family could not tolerate. She knew all and her name, Chatter, really did suit her. I had come home from school only to find my dear friend Mrs. Chatter sitting chattering to my mother. I spoke to her very politely and then rushed off to my desk in a secluded part of the room, hoping that she would not see meg but, just as I thought, she saw me sit down to my homework. Be- fore I could open one of my books, she was by my side eager to help. I thanked her for her kind offer, but said I could manage very nicely by myself. She in- sisted on helping, and that's when all the trouble started. I was doing algebra, but she insisted it was geometry and put geometry all over my books. After I had seen that messed up enough, I started my gram- mar, but she insisted I write a story for her with good English in it. This went on in each subject, until at last Mrs. Chatter said she must be on her way. It was two hours wasted, but it really was two hours of fun. Pat Ford, Grade IX, Douglas Hall. . .l 1. THE LONELY MAIDEN Once there was a flowiring maiden, Always smiling, shining, gay, Then her lover died in battle, Left her lonely till death's day. Lonely as the sea in winter When the skies are bleak and grey, While the water's sea-tossed blackness Cries the lengthening nights away, Lonely as the mountain summits Capped by mists throughout the day, Stilled by blizzards in the winter, Tow'ring out of all menis way, Lonely as the woods in twilight When the forest giants sway, While the dust of her beloved Coldly lies enwrapped in clay. Patricia Northcote, Grade XI, Douglas Hall. When in the woods I walk With Laddie by my side, With him I laugh, with him I talk. Sometimes I try to hide, But if I drop behind a log, In a moment, there's my dog. Clementine McNern, Grade III, York Hall. Mrs. Laing: Jane, what .does 'Pas de tout' mean? Jane Lee Cabsent mindedlybz Father of twins.

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Vox Fluminis 21 No one ever knew you did it because I was going to marry the girl you loved. No one ever knew the real rea- son why I was dishonourably dis- charged. But you'll never forget, you'll never forget. You ruined my life, and now your own is being ruined . . . is being ruined. With a low moan John Langdon fell to the floor. Meanwhile, the doctor was sitting at the window of his room, looking out upon a never- ending sea of misery and pain. The knowledge that people were suffering untold agonies all over the world, and the realization of his own helplessness, filled him with utter misery, and it was only when he fell into a drunken stupor that peace came to his weary mind. Next morning the London papers included this announcement on their front pages: ULANGDON MYSTERY Yesterday evening, the coastguard of a small fishing village in Scotland sighted a yacht drifting aimlessly to- wards the shore. As the ship was in danger of foundering on the rocks, a boat was launched to investigate. The landing party, however, found no trace of any members of the crew on board, only four dead bodies. When the yacht was safely docked, the bodies were identified as the Hon. Peter Langdon, a well-known business man, Captain John Langdon, of the Indian Army, his song Doctor Chris- topher Langdon, his nephewg and Mar- garet Langdon, his niece. A post- mortem is being held, but so far no reason is given for their deaths or for the disappearance of the crew. The late members of the Langdon family were found lying in their bunks, and the look of anguish, pain and in- describable torment depicted on their faces is the only clue to the manner of their deaths. Truly, they must have been through hell. Dulcie J. E. Ellershaw, Grade XII, Garry Hall. DELUDED BY DEATH Forty-five Lost at Sea . . . Among those drowned was the famous English pianist, Franzel Burk- ett who joined the Navy at the out- break of war. Franzel's brilliant work as a pianist won him fame throughout the British Eimpire. His concerts al- ways attracted large crowds of music lovers. He is survived by his mother, Freda Burkett, and his brother Londiff. Londiff is serving in the R. A. F. Mrs. Burkett was very fond of music and F ranzel spent many evenings playing for her as she sat by the fireplace knitting. Franzel was 293' Music, a lamentation of deepest sor- row, echoed in the massive stillness of the drawing room in the home of Com- mander Stitson. A young girl of twenty- five years sat at the piano in the corner of the large room. Her pale, tearful face was turned towards the large French windows which composed one wall. Her dark and doleful eyes stared out into the windy night. Only the moon's rays and a dim lamp lit up the room. The girl's fingers slid over the keys in a slow, audible expression of grief. Softly the music penetrated her heartg her face lifted to the sky as sorrow wrung her heart and her lips offered a silent prayer. The music continued. The murmur and groan of the wind in the trees, the creaking of a gate and the slight rattling of the window panes accom- panied her music. It grew more ex- pressive of her feeling, her tears were a part of it, her pitiable condition influ- enced the melancholy strain. A discord! Her beautiful head fell over the keys as sobs wracked her body. A folded newspaper on the bench be- side her was the explanation of her grief. Mad'moiselle Duprey and a com- panion sat at dinner together on the same evening. It's a shame, isn't it? remarked Mad'moiselle Duprey, who had recently arrived in England. Such a fine young artist he was too! I'm sure it was a