Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Girl: But if 1 alone didn ' t buy forbidden material — bow niucb would tbat bclp VIS win tbe war? Caesar: Wby not encourage your friends to sacrifice witb you? Girl: (Suddenly serious) Tliey ' d laugh. Caesar: (Impatiently) Never mind tbat! If you succeed in influencing tbem, in turn tbey ' d persuade otbers. Soon, your wbole community would be enthusiastic and the St. Lawrence would tremble underneath her banks to hear the replication of their response ! Girl: Ob, Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! — Are you going now? Caesar: I am, but, before I do — Lend me your ears. You have a great responsi- bility, if you ' re stubbornly selfish enough to neglect it, you — not only your country ' s political leaders and military generals — but you and all your generation will be blamed for the downfall of democracy. Your future depends not upon your stars — but on yourselves. Farewell ! ( disappears ) . Girl: Live a thousand years. I shall never forget what ' s happened this afternoon! (pensively) He had rather a distinguished face and seemed intelligent — but, trans- migration — How funny! (She gathers up fishing paraphernalia and exits). Jane Hildebrand, Form IV b., Ross House. MY IMPRESSIONS OF THE MASTERPIECES OF THE ART GALLERY (Prize Essay) THOSE pictures which have been displayed at the Art Gallery for more than three weeks now are symbols of past life and history of many comitries; they express the actual life and customs which have been kept for us, and future generations, on these canvases. Montrealers are both lucky and honoured to have these paintings, even for a short while, because these priceless masterpieces have been collected from the four corners of the world, and brought here, to America — to the only comparatively safe spot left in the world. I found everyone of those paintings fascinating, partly because they are so famous, but mostly because of the characteristics and style of the separate painters which showed so clearly on canvas; for example the wonderful depth of Gainsborough ' s Harvest Waggon , I think no other painter could get quite the same look of reality as Gainsborough has in this painting, 1 almost expected to see the waggon moving along the road into the distance, and hear the dog barking up at the peasants in the waggon. Another of my favourites is Constable ' s Salisbury Cathedral . I know it is the favourite of many, and I think I know why; the colouring is so soft and realistic, I like the soft [25]

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Man: (( omiiif ; directly to the |)(»inl ) Do you Im-Hcvc in ni l ' iii|)Ky liOHi8? Girl: What! — er — 1 ha your pardon? Man: Do you believe in llie transmigration of tli(; houI ; Girl: (Emphatically) Of course not! Man: I do. Girl: (Alarmed) Who are you, sir? Man: As it happens, I ' m a lawyer; but, for an hour eacii year 1 have the power to remember my former lives — the most interestin};; of which was that of the mighty Julius Caesar. Girl: Art thou some god, some angel or some devil — Man: Do you believe me? Girl: I ' m trying terribly hard to make up my mind. — (annoyed j you said you had a message. Caesar: Ah, yes! — The allied nations will win this war — Girl: (Rising) Well, thank you, Mr. Caesar! Now, if you ' ll excuse me — Caesar: I said, the allied nations will win this war on one condition! Girl: (Amused) Yes? Caesar: On the condition that every individual does all he can by sacrifice and service, to help his country ' s war effort. Girl: (Eagerly) We do! All our organizations and everything — Caesar: Now, wait a moment! Are you a faithful member of (the girl pales, con- science stricken) aren ' t you supposed to be attending a Red Cross Meeting, this afternoon ? Girl: (Embarrassed) Yes — bvit! — such a perfect day for fishing! Who would criticise me for spending an afternoon in the open? Caesar: We tyrants have found it easy to overcome nations, the people of which neglect their duty. Girl: But, the other members are all at the meeting! Caesar: (Sharply) I have told you, young woman, that you will win this war, only if each and every person does his duty ! Girl: (Meekly) Yes, sir. SILENCE Caesar: (Changing the svibject Have you ever studied my life — at school? am constant as the northern star Of whose true fix ' d and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament. (jirl: Yet Brutus said you were ambitious. Caesar: ( Reminiscently ) 1 was a great conqueror; I brought many captives home to Rome where ransoms did the general coffers fill. ( irl: ( riioughlfully ) 1 gathered from Shakespeare that you were conceited. — Well, I really hmikI be going! Cai ' nar: (Pulling himself logellier) Wail! — Are those rubberbools new? Girt: They are! — the latest slylc, loo. Cai-sar: CANADA is trying lo conserve rubber! Ou were wrong to buy them! |24

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l)i (»wii o( llie trees and loliafjc, and llic clrfiHls Hcurry iiijj; l)cliin J llic hlc(-| le i i tli - elmreli; il is .siicli a well-balanced pic liirc, and llie main objeel Hlands out tso clearly in tlie night. Turner ' s The Slave Ship seems to bespeak torture in every corner; the blood red sky, the floundering ship, and the bodies of liumans and beasts seems a little over- powering, too dramatic, and too highly coloured. As to the religious paintings, I liked El Greco ' s St. Francis in Meditation . ' I here is such a look of pious quietude in his face as he kneels praying with the skull in big hands. Another one I liked was the picture of (Christ with the crown of thorns on his head. In that painting there was so much suff ering in his face that one wondered at the inhumanity of man. There were many of the portraits I liked; Fragonard ' s ( hild with (Cherries , Hals cynical looking Michiel de Wael , Hogarth ' s The Graham Children , and especially Devis ' Master Simpson . This I think, is my favourite, he looks such a lovable child with his bright colouring and handsome clothes and he looks so very human clutching the little dog in his arms. The Graham Children is, of course, very famous and no wonder; they must have been very beautiful children, their clothes are so dainty and rich and the picture shows the atmosphere in which they lived. The most realistic pictures are, I think, The Arsenal of Venice and The Linen Cupboard . The latter seems very domestic with the little girl apparently playing golf while her mother puts away the linen. On the whole I liked Poussin ' s St. Peter and St. John healing the lame man , it is the kind of picture that looks as if one could step into and not feel out of place. It seems a little too full of figures, but they all have such different expressions that one enjoys looking at it because there is so much to see. One cannot overlook the paintings of Canada. The Laurentian scenes are ones which no one wants to miss because they show scenes we all know of the beauty of Canada in such vivid colouring. These masterpieces will be gone soon, probably never to return in the same number, certainly not until the world is again settled in times of peace and harmony, because they belong in the great galleries of London and Europe where they originated. While they are liere they will continue to teacli us how common expressions of face and beauty of landscape can be preserved on canvas. ClIAHLOTTE SCUIMGER, Form YIa., Ross House.