Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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If, however, he should say the subject of the conversation is fat, our ears perk up and our eyes brighten with interest. Tragedy in the life of a thin man draws our sympathy, but it is the misfortune of a fat man that brings a tear to our eye. But, perhaps you will disagree with me, and say that fat men are usually stupid and careless; and didn ' t Shakespeare say, in Love ' s Labour Lost , fat paunches have lean pates ? Now, I can disagree with you. Fat men are extremely smart. That is half the reason why they hold our interest. There is, of course, much proof that they do hold our attention; for what other reason did Shakespeare make Henry V ' s friend, Falstaff, a fat man? Falstaff was important as he represented our human weaknesses, and our attention had to be drawn to him. Also, The Fat Man on the radio shows that not all fat men are stupid, or always jolly and careless. In the first place, the title is enough to make us buy a paper and find out what time the programme comes on. We half expect him to be funny, but he turns out to be a very clever, serious detective. Yet we listen to him, because he is a fat man. Why are fat men better liked? Because they are jolly, you say. But they were jolly before they were fat. A great majority of men are fat because they are happy, have no worries, do not bother about indigestion, and so eat to their heart ' s content. Thin men are thin because they are usually worriers, and unfortunately, pessimists. They think a lot. For again, Shakespeare said through Julius Caesar, Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o ' nights; Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Shakespeare was quite right. The world would be a better place if there were more of these contented, fat men than those worried, skinny ones. There are usually three types of fat men — the gourmet, the gourmand, and the type who just grows fat for no particular reason. We are inclined, of course, to favour the gourmet, as we feel he had a purpose in life in being fat. He can tell us which is the best way to have pheasant under glass, or crepes Suzettes, or rattle-snake meat. His profession is eating, it seems, but he prefers quality to quantity. However, he finds that there is so much quality . . . The gourmand does not appeal to us. He, of course, prefers quantity to quality and becomes huge from mere piggishness. Perhaps we feel a little sorry for the man who gets fat for no particular reason. But he is usually full of fun and enjoys life more than any of us. Look at Santa Glaus. Why is he drawn as a fat man? Because he is so jolly, and jolly men are considered fat. Perhaps we say fat men are jolly because, when they laugh, they shake more and create a much greater impression than does a thin man . . . Fat men should really never revolt us, because they are the ones, if they are not too fat, who really enjoy life, and seldom develop ulcers and other nervous conditions. What a fine, contented world it would be if all men were fat! Linda McDougall, Form Vb, Fairley House. [21]

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Tartans are described according to their purpose. Clan tartans are patterns for general use by the clanspeople. When a clan tartan of recent origin is described as Ancient Clan Tartan it is misleading, for the word ancient is merely an indication that the tartan has been woven in lighter shades. Dress tartans were originally worn by the ladies of the Clan who wanted lighter coloured patterns. The majority of them had a white background and were variations of the Clan pattern. Nowadays they are confined to dress occasions. At one time there was a mourning tartan, worn for that purpose, which was generally black and white. Many are now worn as dress tartans. Hunting tartans are worn for sport and outdoor activities. Brown and green are usually the predominant colours. The colours are arranged so that the tartan blended with the surroundings when hidden in the heather. Chief tartans are the personal tartans of the chiefs and should be worn only by the chief and his immediate family. District tartans are probably the oldest of our tartans and from them Clan tartans may have developed. Although many old patterns have been saved, these show only the beauty of the old vegetable dyes and the hand spun weaving of the eighteenth century. Hardly any of them are now recognizable as Clan tartans. The greatest number of our tartans are less than one hundred years old; a fairly large number may be dated to the opening years of the nineteenth century, while a very few are of more ancient date. Marion MacRae, Form Va, Ross House. THE VICTOR ONE DAY I took a ride out on the plains with my horse. All of a sudden far off in the distance I heard the shrill cry of a stallion. I lifted my head and looked up, and there on the cliff were a piebald stallion and a dark bay stallion fighting. They were up on their hind legs and pawing at each other with their hooves, while their large white teeth bit into the other ' s flesh. I watched, horrified, and then it was over. The piebald was dead. The dark bay stood up on the cliff uttering his challenge. His black mane and tail stood out in the sunshine and his bay coat shone. His nostrils seemed to quiver with joy as he looked at his dead opponent. Far down in the green valley, mares and their foals grazed quietly as if they were unaware of their new king. And then as I raised my eyes to look at the stallion again, he reared and galloped off into the distance. Nancy Wood, Form HIb, Ross House. FAT MEN HAVE YOU ever wondered what is so fascinating about fat men? or why they are considered so jolly? They either keep us terribly interested, or revolt us. More often they hold our interest. If someone is speaking of a person we do not know and happens to say that this person is thin, we are unimpressed. [20]

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THE RAIN The hollow drumming of rain on a wet city street Blends with the musical patter of hurrying feet. Street lamps are blurred by a silvery curtain of rain; Neon lights shimmer through hazy dimness, and then Gutters are flowing with muddy torrents and streams, Bubbling and eddying onward, reflecting the gleams Of a thousand headlights, glowing then slowly paling, Piercing the folds of rain, then quietly failing . . . Drip of the rain from eaves o ' erhanging the walk; Rhythms so varied and changing that they seem to mock The composer who labours all day to improve his style — And pools of water ' neath the eaves all the while Are rippling, as drop after drop breaks on their surface. Glittering silver in the glow of a lamp, as the surplus Of water floods the walk with a sudden surge. And the drumming of rain and the patter of feet seem to merge. MoRVEN McIlquham, Form Vb, Ross House- SPARTACUS ONE OF THE most inspiring passages of ancient history concerns a miserable slave of the Romans who rose to become a great legendary figure, and to lead his fellow slaves in a heroic fight against intolerable conditions and inhuman treatment — a man named Spartacus. Spartacus, a Thracian slave, born of generations of slaves, had never even tasted freedom, and, in common with other slaves, had known nothing but indescribable squalor. Spartacus was now a gladiator, with the only prospect ahead of him that of dying horribly in the arena for the pleasure of his degenerate masters, products of a corrupt Rome. Out of the depths of such wretchedness his undefeated spirit and essential humanity rose to make him leader of his fellow slaves and to defy a Rome at the height of her military and political power. The indomitable courage of Spartacus and his followers inspired other slaves to revolt, and soon their stronghold in the crater of mighty Mount Vesuvius was garrisoned by seventy thousand men. In spite of their strength the Romans were very much alarmed lest the states subject to them should rise to follow Spartacus ' s example, but the three armies sent to subjugate those united in their desperate fight for freedom were defeated. Spartacus and his followers held the field for three long years against furious onslaughts, until ( rassus, the richest man in Rome, and Pompey, the greatest general, managed to conquer those slaves who were emancipated for so short a time. The fact that they held out against overwhelming and insurmountable odds in number and arms was probably the reason that so little of this tremendous story was recorded by contemporary Romans. What we have of historical fact is that [22]