Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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just to be able to say we had done so on a hot day in August. In several places we would see little shafts of sunlight coming through cracks in the rock overhead. Although anxious to investi ' gate thoroughly what seemed to be a vast expanse of subterranean rooms and passages, we soon felt we must get back to warmth and sunshine as we were not clothed for Arctic exploration. The ascent was much more difficult than the descent. Our hands and shoes were wet and slippery, which made it difficult to obtain a firm grip of the rope; but with each other ' s help we all managed to reach the surface in safety. The country being entirely uninhabited, there is no tradition or history attached to this very extraordinary rock formation ; and I suppose it would not be very interesting even if it were known. Nevertheless we felt we had had a very interesting and thrilling experience, and returned to our camp promising ourselves another trip under circumstances which would give us more time to make a complete exploration and, perhaps, to make discoveries of great interest and importance. Sylvia Howard, Form Upper V2. The Water-Lily ' s Lover A lovely water ' lily grew in a pond, With a sea ' shell pink ' tinted face; But she slept all day, while her sisters gay Fluttered with flowery grace. She slept alone ' mid the other flowers, Which opened wide every day. Her sister lilies adorned the sun. They flourished beneath his ray. He was their lover; they wondered why He wasn ' t their sister ' s too. She was as pretty as any of them That danced on the silvery blue. But she kept her beauty for only one. The one that she loved most dearly : The one that she loved was the golden moon That shone in the night so clearly. And every night when the moon was bright. When the stars were merrily twinkling; The water-lily would open wide With a soft and bell-like tinkling. And when the first rays of dawn arose. The moon would fade away; The water-lily would close her eyes. And sleep through the sunny day. The other lilies were unaware That she met her lover at night ; Till a butterfly told them of what he had seen, As he paused in his rapid flight. At eve when the lilies have gone to sleep The moon smiles down from above — Smiles down on a lily who murmurs, Oh! I am here, I am here, my love! Barbara Ward, Form IIIa. [ 16 1

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Fairyland A story, please! The children stand, Expectant eyes to niine uplitted. And, in a trice, we all have drifted Down Fancy ' s stream to Fairyland. There tlow ' rs ne ' er fade, nor chill winds blow. And magic wands wave care away; In this tair land we long to stay, That all its secrets we might know. O children with the eager eyes. And parted lips so sweet to kiss. What can I tell you more than this? Youth ' s Fairyland about you lies. As coming years unfold their tale. And, all intent, you turn the page, May Fairyland attend your age, Tho ' , like the morning star, waxed pale! Gr.ace M.ather, Form IVb. Jce-Caves in the Laurentians NE hot August day last year, nine of us set out by canoe from our camp in the Laurentians to explore some ice caves about ten miles away. In the early afternoon we beached our three canoes at the base of an exceptionally high moun ' tain, where we were to meet a guide. When he failed to arrive, we decided to proceed alone. As we were unable to find the trail, we used a compass and blazed our own trail through the dense undergrowth, thus ensuring our safe return to the canoes. As we climbed higher our progress became more and more ditficult, and we grew steadily hotter. Finally we reached the summit of the mountain, from which vantage point we could see the rivers, lakes and mountains for miles around, and could even locate our camp ten miles away. After a short rest, five of us set out again and presently w ere overtaken by our anxious guide, who immediately led us to the object of our journey — the ice-caves. These were located in a large and comparatively level stretch of rock, in which we found a crevice about three feet wide, across which lay a tree trunk. Much to our astonishment, this proved to be the entrance to the caves. Our preconceived idea of caves had been entirely different from this. The guide tied a long, heavy rope to the tree trunk and, with a flashlight at his belt, descended it. Two of the more adventurous followed him into the depths, one of whom soon called up that it seemed miles going down, but was delightfully cold. I mustered up my courage and started down, chiefly to get shelter from the blazing sun. During the first part of the descent rock ledges provided footing and assistance, but I soon came to a huge boulder wedged between the sides of the crevice. I sat on it for a minute and, looking down, could see the guide ' s light; so I grasped the rope again and at a perilous rate slid dow-n, down, to the bottom, where I found the others eager to explore. My first impression was that of intense cold, which seemed the more severe because of the heat at the surface. Since the two still left on the top would not attempt the climb down, we set off with our guide. It was very dark, but with the aid of the flashlight we could easily see. The floor of the caves was covered with ice and we found it hard to keep on our feet. The sides of the caves were covered with a cold, wet, slimy substance. In many of the caves we found piles of snow; and we made snowballs [ 15 ]

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There are pounds that make us heavy; There are pavements that we pound In the hope of getting Hghter, And a smaller size be found. There are pounds that stray dogs go to; There are pounds that give us wealth; There are pounds that masseuse gives us, In the hope of gaining health. There ' s the pound the grocer gives us, In exchange for which we pay; There ' s the pound that Traf possesses. That ' s unique, in every way. It also takes your pennies, But for quite a different plan; Just lose your own possession, Then forget it — if you can! Charlotte Barnes, Form IVa. The Eclipse as I Saw It pOR many months before the day on which the eclipse was to occur, people had been planning where they would go, so that they might see it to the best advantage. Scientists came to Canada from all over the world to observe and photograph the great and rare phenomenon. I was staying in the country, about thirty miles south of Montreal, when the day of August thirty-first arrived. We were all excited and wondered if all the things that were prophesied would come to pass. Dawn broke, a very dull and disheartening morning; the sky was cloudy and had every appearance of rain. Our hopes were raised for a short time about noon, when the sun peeped out from behind a cloud but soon became obscured from our view again. About 2.15 p.m. E.S.T. the clouds broke and the sun shone forth in all its glory. We stood in silence, watching the change that was taking place, and a wonderful sight it was. At the right hand side of the sun could be seen a black shadow which eventually proved to be the moon. As we continued to gaze upward (using smoked lens) the sun became very bright and we could see flames of fire bursting from the [ 17 ]