Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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had her.self admitted to Mr. Cyril Clemens, he certainly stretched things a little. If we are to trust our authorities, Mark Twain enjoyed a boyhood that many of us might envy to-day; he did so many of the things that he should not have done and got away with them. He played hooky from school and, when his father tried to catch him, he just dodged round the trunk of a large tree, and escaped punishment. Like all the boys of his age, his great ambition was to be a pilot on one of the Mississippi paddle steamers. Incidentally, it was from the cry of the leadsman on these boats calling out the depth of the water that he adopted the nom-de-plume by which he is now universally known. On one occasion he ran away from home and stowed away on one of these boats in what he though was a nice out-of-the-way place, only to find, when it was too late, that he had chosen the Captain ' s cabin. The Captain put him off the ship twenty miles from home down-steam and left him to walk back. Mark Twain ' s humour was as much appreciated in England as in America. He was once asked by a friend why he carried such a disgracefully dilapidated umbrella, and replied, This is the only sort of umbrella that you English will not steal. He went on, It does not matter where you are; if it begins to rain, just run out and take an umbrella from the first person that you see. He will not know that it is not yours. Part of the pleasure derived from reading Mark Twain came from the fact that he was a man of such wide experience. In addition to travelling in Europe, he had in his youth tried his hand at prospecting for gold. His failure to make a fortune at this business in no way discouraged him; it merely elicited the remark that A mine is nothing but a hole in the ground with a fool at the end of it. Mr. Cyril Clemens concluded a very interesting lecture by recommending us, if we had not already done so, to read some of Mark Twain ' s books, especially Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer , and at the same time presented a copy of these books to the school library, a gift for which we are sincerely grateful. 0 Swimming, During the past two years interest in swimming in Bermuda has increased considerably. This has undoubtedly been oc- casioned by the efforts of that excellent coach, Mr. J. W. Brooks, coupled with the sending of the first Bermuda Olympic swim- ming team to Berlin during the past summer. 6

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whether they had come to any decision about their future occu- pation. This was followed by a General Assembly in Hall. The ceremony opened with the entry of His Excellency, which was immediately followed by the singing of God save the King. Addressing the boys, His Excellency said that he wished to re- mind them that they were members of the British Empire. Here, in one of the outposts of that Empire, it was easy to for- get the importance of that fact, and the responsibility which it entailed. Wherever a Briton went, he should feel that he had a reputation, not only to be proud of, but to maintain. This could only be achieved if boys left school determined to do their best to work for the Empire, and carry on the tradition. In Bermuda, where so many people came for a holiday with the sole intention of enjoying themselves, it was easy to forget how serious a business life was, but in the changing world it was essential to remember this, if one was to do one ' s work properly. Especially were conditions changing here, and the time was coming when Bermudians would have to leave their native home and go abroad. Whether they went abroad or stayed at home, they could only succeed in life if they were well educated, and it was up to every boy to persuade his parents to keep him at school as long as possible, so that he might be fitted to take his place in the world. The great men of the past had all become great because they had kept before them from boyhood the aim of doing great things with their lives. Every boy should feel, as much now as in the past, that it was his duty to the Empire to fit himself for his place in the world. The Headmaster then thanked His Excellency, and the school song was sung. Finally, the Captain of the School called for three cheers for His Excellency, the Governor, and, when these had been given with enthusiasm, the Assembly dispersed. The proceedings for the day closed with a display of physi- cal training, which was watched with great interest by the Governor. 0 Lecture. On Monday, September 28th, we had the privilege of hear- mg a lecture on the celebrated American humorist, Mark Twain, delivered by his kinsman and biographer, Mr. Cyril Clemens ' . Mr. Clemens reviewed the life of the celebrated humorist in a series of anecdotes that appealed to us greatly. Sam , we were told, had left us some account of his own life in his book, Tom Sawyer , although at times, as the original of Becky Thatcher 5

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The younger generation shared in this interest, and due to the geniality and endeavours of Mr. Brooks, the progress made by the boys of Saltus was exceptionally good. On September 25th the second Annual Inter-House Compe- tition took place, the events v ere altered slightly from those of our first meet in order to conform more closely to the B. S. S. A. events, but in almost all events that were comparable to those of last year, the progress in the standard of performance was most noticeable. Darrell House was the winner of this contest. The second Annual Inter-School Competition was held soon afterwards, and the school did well, capturing two group com- petitions, and also the Banner for the greatest number of points in the boys ' events. An innovation this season in the Saltus swimming pro- gramme was the pentathlon competition, which aims at develop- ing all-round swimmers. This competition consists of five com- pulsory events, a standard performance being set for each event, the standard varying according to the age group of the com- petitor. Marks are aw arded for the competitor ' s performance in each event, the one with the highest total in each age group winning a shield. The trophies for this competition were kindly presented by the Old Boys ' Association; Mr. Jack King and Mr. Brooks were responsible for the arrangement and execution of the contest. It is hoped that Mr. Brooks will return to Bermuda again next summer, for, there is no doubt that, under his guidance further progress will be made. 0 Sport. The past cricket season was one of the most successful that Saltus has had for a good many years. The 1st. XI were specially strong, the bowling and fielding being of the usual standard, while the batting was exceptionally good. The great event of the season was O. B. day, when the 1st. and 2nd. XI ' s played matches against teams of Old Boys. Both games were won by the Old Boys, but th e 1st. XI made them play exceptionally well and the 2nd XI appeared to have a great deal of fun. The Colts did not actually play any matches during this season, but they obtained some very useful practice in the nets. The 2nd Division played two matches, of which they won one and lost the other. The House Competition was again run on the knock-out system and was again won by Butterfield House. No other 7