Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Mah Jong Mah Jong is very beautiful and sweet, As nice as one could ever wish to meet. She ' s tall and dark and of the greatest fame For after her is named that wondrous game Mah Jong. Pah John keeps all the books and the accounts He adds, subtracts and doubles great amounts. A true and gentle Chinaman is he. And as one he is very proud to be Pah Jong. The eldest child, the only girl in fact Would go down to Woo-Chang and learn to act. The Flower of the family without doubt, She ' s popular and all the time is out. Girl Jong. The eldest son is noisy, rough and rude His manners impolite and very crude. He smokes a lot and puffs and blows about, They call him Wind, it suits him well no doubt. Wind Jong. The second son a dreamer straight and plain Would have St. George ' s days come back again. He ' s dragon mad both red and green and white, I ' m sure he dreams about them every night. Young Jong. The third son Pong is gentle meek and good. He does the things that every good boy should. And he will someday like his father be, A noble Chinese Character is he. Pong Jong. The fourth son Gong a carpenter will be. That from his youth was very plain to see. He makes all sorts of things from Bamboo reeds. He tries to make Bamboo supply all needs. Gong Jong. [27]

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Miss Betsy Barker and Her Alderney Cow MivSS Betsy lived in Cranford town, An Alderney had she, She told her friends about this cow When they went there to tea. She loved it as she would her child, It really was so sweet The way the cow walked up to her, And from her hand did eat. One day the cow to pasture went As it was wont to do, When suddenly the air was rent With a most dreadful moo! It slipped on some banana peel, Into a pit it fell. The lime scorched all its hair away, And burned its skin as well. Miss Betsy ' s grief was sad to see, Just like a child she cried. Her tears fell on her poor dear cow, And sizzled on its hide. The cow was hauled out of the pit, It looked forlorn and bare. And all the people fought to see The cow, who ' d lost its hair. Miss Betsy asked them for advice When Captain Brown did say, Make her a flannel petticoat And jacket of dark gray. ' ' Unless you wish the beast to die That only can you do. Miss Betsy quickly wiped her eyes And said, My friend thank you! In a short time, the people all Assembled for to see The cow, in dark gray flannel draped. With frills around each knee. The cow recovered from its shock I ' m very glad to say. And I ' ve had news from Cranford town The cow ' s alive to-day. Eileen Fosbery, IV. b. [26]

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The fifth son Chou, the youngest Httle Jong, Draws big and Httle circles all day long. To be a mathematician is his aim And to rob Euclid of his world wide fame. Chou Jong. They all have passed, my song is at an end. Each one to the whole world is a great friend. Here you may see that all are not the same, I hope you ' ll always hke to play that game, Mah Jong. Eileen Peters, Form V. a. Sugaring ONE of the pleasantest seasons of the year in the country is the early Spring. Not only are the birds coming back from their winter trip South, the buds on tree and bush beginning to swell, and the fields to take on a slightly green tinge, but in the woods the snow is vanishing, and in the trees the sap is stirring. It was such a Spring as this when all the family went, as we always do for the Easter hcHdays, to the farm. The farm lies between two sloping hills, on whose sides the snow had not com- pletely vanished, and stretches to the edge of a large lake — blue in summer, but in the early dawn of spring white and icy. All the lower part of the property is one large hay- field, broken here and there by occasional stone-piles, but on the whole open and clear of trees. The attraction of the place at this time of year lies at the end of the farm furthest from the lake. Here, in the midst of a large wood of maples and evergreens, covering about sixty acres, stands a little hut of boards, which by virtue of the manufacture carried on within it, is called the Sugar-house. It was to this spot that we hastened the morning after our arrival at the farm. As the apparatus had not been used for two years, many holes had to be soldered before the pans could be used. This done, and armed with a pail of spiles, an augur and hammer, we set off to tap the trees at whose feet buckets had been laid the day before. It was great fun to wade through the drifted snow to a tree, and after boring a hole in its side, and hammering in the spout, to see the sweet, water-like sap run out in a small trickle. About a hundred trees were tapped in this way, and a shining bucket hung on the side of each. Then we left the wood, so silent before, but now echoing to the drip-drip of the sap as it fell into the tin pails. For a day and a half nothing was done in the backwoods, while we waited for the buckets to fill. Then one morning bright and early, the horses were hitched to the sleigh, on which a great hogshead had been placed, and the whole family with shouts of joy fared forth to gather the sap. Standing on the sleigh, it was all one person could do to [ 28 ]