Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School - Collegiate Yearbook (Sarnia, Ontario Canada)

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THE COLL EGIATE. 97 all her heart and to her the latter told all her troubles and unburdened her silly and strange ideas. Jane was a good listener and saw in the little girl a character of passionate tenderness and an over-developed mind. Margaret had been the odd child of the Bond family since a baby because all her sisters were so much older than she. She had been left to herself a great deal and from a young tot had expressed amazing ideas and taken delight in lis-tening to the deep conversations of her father, a university professor. Margaret reached the kitchen and looked for Jane, but she was no- where to be found. She searched everywhere and then she suddenly remembered Jiane's gone shop- ping . XVith a bound she was out of the house and ran down the street witlh a peculiar half-running and half-walking stride. Mother would be angry, she knew, at her running d-own town in an old dress and es- pecially since she was after Jane- but then mother seemed always angry. Down shady boulevards and through the park: Margaret didn't stop until she came to the business centre of the town-then only did she slow down and began to look inquiringly about for Jane. Marg- aret had been thus walking, much saw lane, hurrying along through the crowd, on the other side of the street. She started across the road in a blind rush, when in about the middle she heard a wild confusion of blowing horns. She stopped and looked around dumibly. Then she felt a dull blow and fell head- long on the pavement, under a car with grinding brakes ...... Some days later Margaret awoke. for the first time since her accident, to see herself surrounded by tearful parents and sisters, also a nurse and doctor. She moved to sit up but fell back with a fearful pain surging through her body. She looked at the doctor, then at the bed and at once her eyes took on that far-see- ing stare, a short time ago so famil- iar t-o them. Then she smiled, a slow, happy smile. Oh, doctor-she smiles! She will live? cried her exhausted mother. The doctor shook his head but spoke not a word. Margaret con- tinued smiling and staring straight ahead, seeing none of the anguished faces around her. T'hen she stirred, slowly, painfully, and whispered Sally, God didn't punish me, he blessed me. And she smiled happily again, fior she knew that no longer was the big problem of life to bo-ther her. to the amusement of many shoppers, Yes! Margaret was decidedly ' - C ! for about ten minutes when she 'queer'. Httttttttztnttnsaaaetztttattto- CANADA AMONG THE NATIONS tThis Essay is the winner of the C:llegiate Essay Cmipeiitinll- -assistants: stnnsnaoattatttaah O understand arigfht the position of Canada among the nations it is necessary to c-onsider not only her present relationship, bult also her past position, and from a study of these to vision her future standing in the world. When Canada's history began she was handicapped in her struggle for progress by the fewness of her pe-ople, but these few fought on bravely, and not in vain, againslt the difficulties which presented themselves. The population gradu- ally increasedjand the vast extent of Canada not yet developed provi- ded t'he new settlers with great op-

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96 TI-IE. CO LL EGIATE. page-no, it couldn't be possible. Yes-without a doubt there was Clara smiling at us, t-he old Clara still, with that trusting smile that the world would smile back at her. Feverishly we read the print. Claire la Jeanne was coming in a wonder- ful talking picture at the Up-town. Yes, she was the leading lady, a star now. XYe did remember a lovely soft voice Clara just a trace of huskiness volume. Clara had made now what had, with to give it good, she had crashed through. I-Ier chance had come and she had grasped the opportunity. Yet somehow think- ing it over we had rather expected O it after all. That determined line of her jaw told plainer than words how she had succeeded. Yet it didn't seem right that she should have all this honour, and yet we wouldn't find a reason to deny it of her. All our work seemed so sordid now, without dreams, and all the glamour stripped off. And there was Clara-Clara with wealth, suc- cess, friends,-we were likely for- gotten long ago. She didn t seem useless or inadequate any more, she was glorious now. Yet we kept seeing her, that half defiant, half pleading air, and that toss of her head as she came into a room. Rcsszsasoznaaasazzazzczaezsaso- MARGARET'S DELUSION -ottztozttzsoazasnz aacttacntsh 55 IFE is a big problem, Sally. isn't it?-such a big prob- lem. So mused a young girl, in her early teens, on a sunny afternoon in June. Sfhe had come slowly up the broad green slope and had flung herself down on the ground beside an older girl, who was reading a book. Margaret Bond was young indeed, barely fourteen, but a look at her earnest little face would start- le one. There seemed something fathomless in her deep blue eyes, which constantly stared straight a- head as though seeing great things far beyond her surroundings. W'lha.t makes you say that, Marg- aret? her sister asked. Everything, Sal. Do you know Iim afraid of life, because it seems so big and mysterious? I don't want to live long. Olh! Margaret, what a terrible speech. God will surely punish you for that! Really I can't understand you. I know you can't, Sally, no one understands me because I'm so dif- ferent. I re-ally love y-ou Sal, but oh. I seem such a stranger to you. I can't do the things you do and the things girls of my own age do don't interest mef' Never mind, dear, you really are a remarkable child, and as you grow older you'll change your views. But I don't want to get older! I don't w-ant to live: can'-t you see, Sally, I am frightened of life. VV'hat is there in it ?-nothing but strife- strife always. Oh! how I hate it all. Sally rose and walked away in disgust. Every little wihile her ec- centric young sister would suddenly declare her fear of life in general- without any apparent reason. Sally did not know her sister nor did she try to become familiar with her. The wfhole family in fact treated Margaret almost as a stranger be- cause there seemed to be about her no childish or girlish traits to love. She was decidedly queer . Afiter her sister's abrup-t dismissal Margaret stood up, looked around her with that vacant stare and made for the kitchen. 'Ilhere she wanted to find comforft. Fat, genial old Jane, the cook, loved Margaret with

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98 THE CO LLEGIATE portunit-ies for progress. From coast to coast lay a large expanse of untouched country which made Canada the 1-argest territorial unit in the world. On the east were forests and good agricultural land. Farther west lay the W-orld's best known highway, the Great Lakes System. Beyond this could be seen an unbounded stretch of prairie land 1 .'.' hich would, in time, contribute to the country's wealth in grain, and fir to the west remained the unseen mining fields of the Rockies. To the north of the Great Lakes lay, untouched, the world's richest mine- rals, which remain even to-day, scarcely developed. lVe now have before ' us a geographical back- ground on which our forefathers advanced. Gradually Canada grew. Her many riches were being discovered and agriculture became t'he leading indusftry. Althougih some mines had been developed, her forests were more rapidly making progress. Gwing to the abundance of raw ma- terial, the cheap power facilities. and the existing labour conditions, nilantgfacturing began to develop. But Canada not only grew indust- rially, but also politically. At first she had varied institutions, but after confederation she adopted one meth- od of government. Since confeder- ation she had been greatly strength- ened for defence, unity and nation- alism, and the last was t'he making of Canada. Also, slhe took an inde- pendent part in the world's affairs and after the war she signed the Treaty of Versailles, only on her own account. Resulting from this signature. she entered the League of Nations and met with the world's standard. The Great NVar had made a vast difference in Canada. Her soldiers had fought side by side with other countries for the same cause, and had tfhus adopted broader views and become one with the world. As a result from this great ohange she was on the threshold of what prom- ised to be a wonderful period of development, surpassing all the a- chievements of her past. But Canada has now passed that period and is entering upon another, still greater. At present agriculture leads t'he industrial source, and Can- ada yields annually to the world the greatest contribution of wlheat and flour. She has every obtain- able mineral except tin, and the ex- tent of her forest growth has placed her as the leading producer of newls- print- Her railway-s too, have strengthened her p'hysically by link- ing coast to coast and transporting a momentous amount of freight each year. Bu-t the government has undergone the test of t'he time. Al- though Canada still belongs to the British Empire, of which the mother country has free government, justice and liberty, ye-t she has an indepen- dent federal government. She has developed her sense of nationality, makes her own treaties, and has a represented citizensihip in the Com- monwealth. Canada is really a con- stitutional. monarchy. The education of our country is rapidly becoming the best in the world. More of the younger gener- ation are interested in teaching, teachers are more thoroughly train- ed for their positions, and scholars receive the education never before equalled. But it goes beyond t'he limits of education at home. De- blting and pufblic speaking are en- tered into very enthusiastically for inter-national competition, and we have just recently a young Canadian taking third place in the World Series. Canadian literature is also mak- ing favourable progress and the bet- ter reading of the time is written by Canadians. It is n-ot the quantity that Canada produces but the quali- ty. It has been quoted by many that Canada is worth more to the Empire than any sugar island in the world, but there remains her future. Canada's future is Within the Em- pire. Gf late, Britain 'has been trading extensively with the rest of the European coun-tries but in time she will be forced -to turn to a