Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Pirates WeVe pirates all, my merry men, So let us now set sail : And. well take a drink in our pirates ' den And tell many a joke and tale. We ' ll set sail for the Spanish Main, Where there ' s plenty of treasure and gold, And many a trinket and silver chain. And well store them all in the hold. Then back we will go for some more. To fill our great ship to the full; For we ' re pirates all to the core. And we ' ll follow our Captain Bull. Aye then we ' ll sail for home. And with a share and share alike ; We will say adieu, my men. Till we are ready for one more fight. Jean M. McGoun, Form IIIa. Betty — ' ' Mother, when I grow up, will I marry a man like Daddy? Mother — Yes, dear. Betty — ' ' Or if I don ' t get married, will I be an old maid like Aunt Polly? Mother — Yes, dear. Betty (with a sigh) — Life ' s hard for us women!

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to come. Perhaps they hold more charm for us because they are so far away and shadowy, and things we dream of are given a certain glamour by that touch of dimness and uncertainty. They are fragile things, the castles we build on clouds. A touch will send them tumbling about our ears leaving us to contemplate a disordered heap of stones which once composed a fairy palace fit for Queen Mab herself. But lo, a dream house, fairer than the last, has sprung up as if by magic! Whence did it come? Who knows? Its foundations may he laid by the merest trifle, which passes unnoticed by those around us. It may be only a fluffy cloud, chasing its fellows across the summer sky, or perhaps the lilt of the song-bird at twilight which sends a fairy fancy flitting across our thoughts commanding us to build for it a home whose turrets shall reach to the very skies, so high are our aspirations. Betty Hurry, Form Upper V. Why is an after ' dinner speech hke a wheel? Because the longer the spoke, the greater the tire. The Influence of the Sagas upon Scandinavian Life and Thought FROM time immemorial, poetry has been a natural means of expression of primitive people; it has been one method of recording the history of their achievements, the legends and deeds of their forefathers. Poetry is the next rung on the ladder of recorded history above picture ' writing, and its degree of excellence is a measure of the civilization of its composers. In Germany, the ancient poets found voice in the Nibelungenlied, while the Scandinavian myths were set forth in the Sagas and Eddas. Saga in Norwegian means saying or story; the exact meaning of the word Edda is unknown, but, as many of the poems in the Eddas are of Icelandic origin, it is thought to mean the Book of Oddi, a small town in southern Iceland. During the Middle Ages, the minstrels were most welcome at the entertainments in the courts of the kings and nobles, and it was on such occasions that the Eddas were sung. As one historian says, The poet was at once the chronicler, entertainer, musician, and lyric artist, and It is to him that we owe a record of the happenings of his time. He lifted up his voice in exultation after victory, mourned the dead, lamented misfortune, and satirized the enemies of his patrons. The poems of the Eddas, which, fortunately, have been preserved in their original pagan form, were written during the general period of from 900 to 1050 A.D., previous to the introduction of Christianity into northern Scandinavia. For this reason, they are of more present day interest than the Danish ' ' Beowulf, which the early Anglo ' Saxons somewhat altered and Christianized. The Eddas were not the compositions of any one man or group of men; they were, rather, the out- pourings of the minds and imaginations of hundreds of people who lived far back in the days of which we have no other record, and the tales and beliefs which form their foundation have been called by some the Bible of the old Norse pagans. These poems and Sagas do much to reflect the life of the people whose work they were. The massive mountains of Scandinavia, the turbulent rivers and great rocky crags give one an impression of the omnipotence of a Supreme Power, and make one feel the insignificance of man. It is for these reasons, perhaps, that Norwegian literature has an underlying feeling of melancholy, and, not unlike Greek drama, is intended to demonstrate the remorseless power of Destiny over man. The general view of things is inclined to be somewhat gloomy and depressed, as is a great deal of the modern work of Ibsen, Gunnarsson and others, and there can be little doubt but that the creation story of the ' Poetic Edda ' has lent its sombre colouring to Norse life and thought. On the other hand, in some of the Lays of the Gods there is a sprinkling of a jolly humour, an attribute almost entirely lacking in the greater part of Germanic poetry. On the whole, however, there is something so satisfying and uplifting, so thoroughly Scan- dinavian about these ancient stories, that it may be truthfully said, The Sagas and Eddas were the epitome of the life of the people, and offer the best indication of their character and customs. Alice E. Smith-Johannsen, Form Upper V. I 30 1

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Sunset The flaming golden glory of the sky, The ever -changing hues that sparkling lie Reflected in the shining sapphire bay. With all the colours of the closing day Combined their brilliance; and the sea of gold With crested waves that ever onward rolled Mirror ' d their beauty; and when the sun was gone. The first small stars came out and brightly shone. Vivian Stewart, Form IIIa. Wings Whir-r-r. The drone of wings falls on my ears, As I look up the ' plane appears From a deep cloud. It glides Swiftly, throbbingly, And hides Away again In that deep cloud. But still I hear, though distantly, The sound of wings persistently; And the steady droning seems to say This is a new, a wondrous day, A day of wings ! Whir-r-r. Janet Cameron, Form Upper V. I I