Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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8 VOX COLLEGII In this group are all those splendid souls who may well be represented by such as Florence Nightingale, Frances Willard. and the Seventh Earl of Shaft- esbury ' . 2. The second principle is— Life pro- pagates its own kind. We cannot die as Jesus died, but we must yield our lives as living sacrifices in the interests of men. For how can man die better Than facing fearful odds For the ashes of his fathers And the temple of his gods, or For whethej- on the scaffold Or in the battle ' s van. The fittest place for man to die Is where he dies for man. We cannot live for selfish purposes and then enjoy the common happiness and glory of the race. Self-seeking means self-destroying. Think of the burning, blighting influence of jealousy, envy or hate. God and the world demand our best work, and only what we do with pleasure can be our best. Find your happiness in the happiness of many rather than in the happiness of one, and life becomes simple and inspii ' ing. Every human life is un- der this law. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. This cannot be imderstood or appreciated by the selfish or self-center- ed, nor by any one charged with a sec- ond or third gi ' ade view. The contrast has been tritely set by Florence Earle Coates in a poem called: Poor Love, said Life. ' ' which runs as follows : Poor Love, said Life, thou has nor gold. Nor lands, nor other store I ween ; Thy very shelter from the cold Is oft but lowly built and mean. Nay, though of brushes be my bed, Yet I am rich, ' ' Love said. Persisted Life: Thrice fond art thou To yield the sovereign gifts of earth, The victor ' s sword, the laureled brow, For visioned things of little worth. Love gazed afar, with dream-lit eyes, And answered ' ' Nay, but wise. ' ' Yes, Love, said Life, What can atone For all the travail of the years. The yearnings vain, the vigils lone The pain, the sacrifice, the tears ' ? Soft as the breath breathed from a rose The answer came, Love knows. Life is a mission. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Sent ? Yes, but not more than you and I are sent, also every one who ' ' willeth to do His vvill. Ask yourself these questions: — Whence came I? What am I? What am I here for Is there any good in me? If there is, have I found it? In wha t way is it functioning? Dear members of the Class of 1918, no class in any year has ever gone out in a time of greater opportunity. There is a place for each one of you. Find it! and say with Van Dyke : ' ' May I but find it in my heart to say, When vagrant wishes beckon me astray. This is my Avoi ' k ! my blessing ! not oiy doom. Of all who live, I am the one by whom This Avoi ' k can best be done. ' ' MONDAY JUNE 10th. ( ' lass Day is always very interesting, and nevei ' more so than this year. A new feature was the introduction of a tree planting ceremony by the .Seniors, a link which will bind the Seniors to the Col- lege for all time. It is hoped that this may prove a precedent for future grad- uating cla.sses. This ceremony was followed by the as- .sembly of the Seniors in the concert hall where the cutting of the dais chjiin, the reading of biographies and prophecies, the valedictory addi ' css and songs and sallies were gi ' catly enjoyed. The President of the class, Muriel Maw, presided and spoke feelingly and appropriately as follows : As President of the Senior Class I would like to say that the association has been a pleasant one. I have felt the support of the Seniors in all the func- tions that we have undertaken, and now, on behalf of the Senior Class, I would like to express our appreciation for the the counsel and support of our Senior

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vox CO stand it, and felt a sense of rebellion against its implication. Life ! largest life ! is the goal of every- body. It may not be unreasonable to assume that all are seeking it, and im- agine they are finding it. The key will be found in the interpretation we place on life or the point of view from which we regard it. The individual who thinks in terms of his body only, will very nat- urally have one view, and a limited one at that. The man who interprets in terms of mind will find limitations, while the spiritual view is boundless. The apostle James in our text has set us thinking, and Jesus in John twelve, twenty-four, offers the solution. Two principles are involved. We will turn our thought to an investigation of these. 1. The living force in any life reaches its proper value and influence through death and self-denial. A careful and modest estimate justifies the statement that every Christmastide in North Amer- ica we sacrifice one hundred millions of years of evergreen tree-life to gratify our desires and tastes. At first blush we are horrified by the thought, and yet is not that just what they are for? They also thus serve. Every time we take food, we kill to sustain. There is not a particle of food that does not represent death unto life. It is remarkable that we ' ' kill and eat, kill and eat to sustain the body, but the process is inverted in soul de- velopment. In this it is crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts. It was thus that Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross despising the shame. The joy set before Him was the joy of serving others —you and me. This is what He meant when in John ' s setting He said, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. By living for others our interests are widened, our desires for life increased, and the results and ends of life enriched. Observe the influence of selfishness in any life as it bears fruit in the latter half of that life. Who does not abhor the home that is wilfully childless and L E G 1 1 , 7 lovingly yearn for that empty ann and heart where the longed for family does not come, or coming has so soon been snatched away. I repeat to you the val- ued testimony of an experienced friend who once said to me, ' ' There is nothing in life calculated to develop the manhood in man and the womanhood in woman like the sacrifices that are demanded by the presence of child life in the home. He was right. The law of the seed is the law of hu- man life. Use your life for present and selfish gratification, and you lose it for- ever. Renounce self, yield yourself to service, spend your life for the common good irrespective of recompense or lack of it, personal pleasure or the absence of it, and although your life may seem to be lost, it is finding its best and highest development and passes into life eter- nal. Your life is a seed now, and it can be- come a developed plant, only by your taking heart to cast it from you and sow it in the fertile soil of other men ' s needs. B} ' this means you set free the vital forces that are in your life. The man who most freely uses his life for others, keeping least to himself and living sole- ly for the common good of mankind has the most enduring influence. He sets in motion forces which propagate fresh re- sults eternally. The only permanent in- vestment possible in life is wha.t we in- vest in the soul life of other people. In relation to others, people are divid- ed into three classes : ( a ) Those who seek — by using others. In this class are grafters, those who steal, slanderers, oppressors, gossipers. Jealousy of others can only lead to ill- treatment. It is easier to weep with those that weep than to rejoice with those that rejoice. If you don ' t believe it, try to be glad with the person who is surpassing you in influence, in society, on exams., etc. (b) Those who seek — without molest- ing others. In this class belong those who go a- way back and sit down and who won ' t play at all if things can ' t go their way. (c) Those who seek — by aiding others.

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vox COLLEGII 9 teacher. Not. only has Miss Thompson given of her counsel and support, but we have also enjoyed her companionship throughout the year, and we wish to pub- licly express our appreciation. Instead of the last will and testament which has been given by the Seniors in former years, the Class decided to give a valedictoiy speech, and 1 know that you will all be glad to hear that Ruth Dixon has the honor of being appointed our Valedictorian. Miss Dixon then read the valedictory ' as follows : The task which I have before me, that of Valedictorian, is a very difficult one, for tw o reasons — first, that farewells are always painful, and, secondly, because, i valedictory address has no definite text. In spite of the difficulty and the sadness of it there is a certain pleasure in it. too, for it recalls to us our first days of school and all the happy hours of work and fun w hich have followed. I am sure that all present have vivid recollections of their first days at school, the straiigeness of surroundings, the bewildering numbers of new faces, the amazing knowledge dis- played by the old students, and last, but not least, the terrible awe inspired by the most learned and dignified faculty. How uncertain we Avere about courses, and how ambitious we w ere to make every subject on the curriculum fit Avith our time table! But w e gradiially gave up one subject after another and each finally confined herself to one coui se. The regular daily tasks, the friendliness of our school mates, and the sports and other activities of college life soon drove away all feelings of loneliness and home- sickness ; and it was not long before the college seemed to us a very dear home. Time sped by — hard work, fleeting week- end visits, sleighrides, our Junior con- cert, and before we realized it we found ourselves into the whirl of Commence- ment week. The return in the fall was a joyous on6 — friends separated for the summer months, reunited, and oh — the interest- ing talks and visits we must have with each other. In the midst of the joy of reunion, the recollections of the first lonely days of the previous year mado us anxious to extend a warm welcome to the new students, for we remembered how much a kindly word from an old girl really meant. The settling down to work and the ar- ranging of classes was not such a difficult task this year for we had learned many lessons from the previous year and we understood that the realizing of our at- tainments depended upon steady and un- failing work. Then we found ourselves with responsibilities, for we were the old girls, and must try to fill the positions of honor which the seniors of the year before had vacated. I am sure I speak on behalf of every member of the Senior class wdien I say that it is with mingled feelings of appre- ciation a,nd regret that we leave our col- lege home. We owe to it a debt of loy- alty because it has developed in us to some small extent the lofty ideals for Avhich it stands. We wish to thank Mr. Farewell for his personal and almost fatherly interest in each individual stu- dent which has made each one of us feel perfectly free to go to him at any time with our special difficulties. The ideals of development Avhich he is so success- fully working out in this college hava been a constructive force in our own de- velopment. His persistent optimism in seeing ahvays the very best in us has helped us to live up to what he believed us to be. To Miss Maxw ' ell Aye feel we owe deep gi ' atitude for the careful thought and anxious consideration Avhich she gives :to every student. Her kindness, and her SA ' mpathy in trouble have won our re- spect and affection. Her rare culture and refinement have influenced us more than even Ave ourselves realize. Those of us who have had the privilege of studying English under Miss Maxwell have some faint appreciation of her keen intellect and literary insight. To the Faculty we wish to express our sincerest thanks for all that they have meant to us during our school days. The awe Avhich we first felt for them gradually gave way to wannth and