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

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102 THE CO LL EGIATE prows, but the life of adventure on board a ship still appeals to yfouith. The very sound of the word makes us think of rushing water, gleaming drop-s and white foam. VVe can see a beautiful sail-boat outlined against the sunset with the sunlight and glinting gold on the white sails. We think of cargoes from foreign lands, silks, sihawls and spices. All the tnagedy , all the romance of centur- ies and all the great advance of the world's commerce has centred round the ship and the sea. -O Q-8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8- DAWN By .'l1L1l'flUl'l'f Smith, 3B Coll. assztsssssazsszsssi -8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 W--4 VERYTHING is silent - the birds have hushed their early chatteringg t'he wind has died in the tall silver poplaris and dark pines, the waters of the lake have quieted their thunder to the musical ryithm of the ripples. The stars fade one by one in the western skyg the moon is becoming paler, gradually. Dew covers the shrubs and grasses. A silver mist is spread across the hori- zon. Silently-the whole world waits for dawn. ln the east, small, fluffy clouds are gatihered to greet the monaroh of the day. Huge white masses like sentinels float near by. A flush of delicate colour breaks across the sky. The sm-all clouds turn silver- pink-gold-then become like flames of fire. The sky is a riot of colour- delicate pink-deep orange4bril- O liant scarlet. The huge clouds gradually become crimson. Then ah! then comes the monarch--red as fire. The clouds retreat in awe be- fore his splendid majesty. Tfhe lake becomes his glowing mirror,-reflecting the wondrous colours until it looks like a gleam- ing opal. The dew sparkles like a thousand diamonds: the silver mist fades into the sapphire of the west- ern horizon. Then the lark breaks forth into a song of welco-meg the birds, great and small, beautiful and drab, all join in to greet the rising sun with the Salutation to the Dawn. The trees lift their leafy branclhes to the wonderful sight and t'he flowers raise their faces to this magnificent splend'our. Always the same-al- ways beautiful and inspiring-the dawn. 1 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8- THE STAGES OF MAN -oztsscztsaazoottiii 9 3 'i HAKESPEARE has appropriate- ly written that one man in his time passes through seven ages. Wye all know, at first there is the in- fant, innocent and pure, knowing nothing of the outside forces of the great wide world. Then as the child grows he begins to notice things, tries to talk and wialk, and though quite young many of the happenings of his childhood are so impressed on his mind that they may often be re- called when he has reached matur- ity. At this stage the chiilid cares only for getting the things he wants, exactly at the time he asks for them

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THE COLLEGIATE lOl q 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8- SHIPS By Nfargarrt Cobbau, 3B Coll. -onassassins:aatotaaanaggggg,, HIPS are treasure ltroves. The very name breathes of romance and adventure. Tales of gallant and daring sailors, tragedies of war and bloodshed come before our minds at the sound of the word. Many a beautiful vessel sailing out of the sunset's glow in days of yore, riding proudly on the crest of the waves, was in reality a deadly menace. On its decks tall, gaunt men could be seen with folded arms. se-arching the sea for their helpless prey. Pirates! How the term thrilled and horrified peaceful, pros- perous merchants! Wit'h scant re- gard for law and order these bravos roam-ed the vast ocean, free, yet de- serving death. To 'them their ship w-as a useful tool and if they loved her it was merely for the strength which enabled them to plunder and destroy. They could never appreci- ate the wealth of love a true mfaster and cap-tain bestows upon his vessel. Tlhen mfarching up from the ghosts of the pasut, come the explorers. Brave, dauntless men, they were, at the time of the reign of good Queen Bess. These men sailed into the un- chartfered seas to discover new lands. Trusty vessels were required to wi.thstand the storms and tempests. lYe can imagine the unstinted love these toilers of the sea must have had f-or their ships. To brave the awful perils of huge, vast stretches of gray wa-ter wi-th merely a frail wooden boat must have required a very real tru-st in their craft. NVith untiring flaith in their Mother count- ry, they 'toiled until as a result there came the word of the discovery of the wonderful new land to the west. Indeed, ever since the bare suppos- ition 'had arisen that there were lands yet undiscovered, the thrilling cry of Westward Ho! had been re- sounding. Wfith royal response the brave explorers suffered and toiled with their vessels to overcome the vast ocean. lVhen we see in our imagination the crudely built wooden ship of the days of yore we think of war. NVar, thrilling yet terrible in its intensity of hate. Ships played no small part in the awful battles fought. Att first -they were built on lines of beauty and grace in order to give the large fleets a magnificent ap- pearance. The old, Roman vessels wereubuilt long and narrow, with beautiful bows. Under tmheir beaultv disguised by ornamented woodwork the galley slaves lived in constant round of toil. L-a-ter, however, ships were more sturdily built and in the case of the Battle of the Spanish Armada, it was the plain British ves- sels which won, rather than the more beautiful ships of the Span- iards. So frail were they for the purpose of war that. as Queen Eliza- beth said. God blew with his wind, and they were scattered. But in more recent years the deadly de- stroyer and submarine are used, and to their power beauty contributes nothing. Beautiful sailing boats and pictur- esque old vessels will always carry an appeal to the lovers of romlance. Men will die rather than leave their sahips, and the voice of a hardened sea-captain quivers as he tells of his last trip wit'h his vessel. This ap- peal of the ships and the sea is well exprersfsed in the poet's words: I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. Everywhere we may see ships sailing to and fro on our Canadian lakes and streams. We must admit their usefulness and their aid in commerce. Tshey may have lost their beauty and graceful lines, their beautiful figureheads and beautiful

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THE COLLEGIATE. l03 because he cannot understand why he should be disappointed. His young life, therefore consists of eat- ing, playing and sleeping-when finally he is prevailed upon to go to bed. Then we have the school boy with shining morning face,'. This, I believe to be the most important stfage, in life, for this is the time when the boy's life is being shaped, and ideals are set before him at which to aim. Here the boy en- counters mfany small temptations, which if he is to possess a golden character, he must overcome in his boyhood, or else when th-e greater ones assail him he will prove a cringing coward and cheat. At s-chool, the boy with the many op- portunities for sport, learns the meaning of cleanliness in actions and deeds. Although these are very important traits in one's character we must not overlook the boy's aim in life. From his studies he is able to see to which line of work he can best adopt himself. Then with an honest purpose, invincible determin- ation, he is fully equipped to strike out bravely al-ong Life's pathway to his goal. The next is the adolescent stage.- As the eager youth begins to stride along the rugged path laid before him, he finds himself face to face with many obstacle-s in the form of unfortunate derelicts, unable to journey along, beoause of the pitfalls and stony places. These are the people who heeded not the teachings of' their youth, who wasted their living, and never bothered about planning their lives or having as a motto: Look up and aim high . These degraded creatures, full of bit-ter thoughts, bliaming everybody and everything for their downfall. seek to tempt and drisioourage the youth. Here, however, supreme trust in One greater and the worth while lessons of youth come before him, and with a sigh of pity he pas-ses on. As he goes along to the fourth milestone human nature plays her part and he feels a sense of loneliness, a yearning for his old school acquaintances. Once again his teachings of youth serve him in good stead and the surrounding evils have no infiuence on his life. At this stage our traveller feeling rather discouraged begins to wonder what life has in store for him. It is now that he realizes the truth of the ordinances, that man shall not live alone, and so he becomes the ar- dent lover. His affinity with words of encouragement and sympathy gives him felicity in an eager out- look on life. This new association proves to be one of pure delight, changing his harassed life into brightness and illuminating the in- ner sanctuary of his soul. The new element in his life bringing the good to the surface and quenclhing the baser passions. Thus Life weaves its web. Now we find him striding happily along tlhe path, stepping from stone to stone, with words of comfort, paying no attention to the follies of others, gazing -straight ahead to- wards the greater glistening goal. He realizes the hey-day of life at its fulness. Nature shows to him the spring, the buds on the trees, the fiowers, the newly freed streams or the opening up of life. Summer is to him symbolical of the fulness of life when the fiowers and trees reap the benefit of the rain and sunshine. Yes, this too may be called the suic- cessful stage for our traveller, for now he reaps the benefit of his toil as Nature in due time enjoys hers. At the sixth stage we find him middle-aged, and not so fieet of foot, finding peace in relaxation. When alone and quiet, thouglhts of God's goodness and his own prosperity, recall within him a thankful spirit. As he looks around on his harvest, he realizes the need of benevolence to those less fortunate than himself. Thus the strong bear the infirmities of the weak. After the day comes the setting sun, and the peaceful quiet of even- tide. Alt this seventh stage, we find our traveller with his faithful ad-