University of Toronto Schools - Twig Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE TWIG 36

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THE T WIC strictly rationed as the rest of the country, and no wine was allowed on the table until the termination of hostilities. His lVlajesty suffered with the people, and his kindness, friendliness, and confidence in adversity, endeared him to all his subjects, making him beloved, not as a figurehead, but as a man. During his eventful reign, the Empire has gained an astonishing unity of purpose, and political solidarity. By lmperial Confer- ences, Britain and her Dominions and Colonies have grown in mutual understand- ing of their problems and policies, and have been able to work together in exceptional harmony. But, above the ties of Law and Commerce, is the stronger bond of affection. When the call to arms rang out, men rallied from every corner of the globe to serve their King. They suffered, bled, and died, not for gain or glory, but in loyalty to the throne, the nation, and the empire. Without the throne, the Empire would dissolve. Their Majesties are its sensitive heart, to which all their subjects are drawn by a common love. Treaties may be broken, but the people's affection for their King and Queen is sufficient, alone, to preserve the Empire. It has always been the King's desire to be regarded as the l-lead of a great house. ln one of his Christmas broadcasts, he said, l would like to think that you who are listen- ing to me now, are bound to me and to one another by the spirit of one great family. That he has succeeded in gathering his peo- ple together is largely due to his sympathetic consideration of all the members of his house, and to a happy knack of putting himself in the other man's place, To Her Maiesty, Queen Mary, the King gives not a little credit for the success of his reign. She has been his guide, counsellor and friend, as well as his wife and the mother of his children. With prudence and judgment she has watched over the Royal Household, and given a high moral tone to the Court. As a mother, she has brought up her family to a strict sense of duty to the Empire, teaching them to win for themselves the respect and affection of the people. So, in her time of trial during the King's illness in l928, the sympathy of the Empire went out to her, and her burden of anxiety was shared by all her people. That time of sickness and distress was a revelation. When His lVlajesty's illness be-- came critical, a pall of gloom settled over the Empire, and an anxious people offered heartfelt prayers for its monarch. That he did recover was, according to the Royal doctors, because he willed himself to live for his people. When, at last, he was able to return to his duties, the Empire bowed in humble and glad thanksgiving. Not even the celebrations of the jubilee, entered into so heartily by the very outposts of the Em- pire, gave finer evidence of the esteem which upholds the British Throne. Not imperial sway, but imperial fellowship, is the bond of loyalty. Thus, in the troublous days of economic depression, when burdens were heavy and anxieties many, the British peoples have been guided by sympathy and kinclliness to the dawn of a better day, and it has been their good fortune to have had so wise a King, so gracious a Queen. Through all the dust of Time, the Stone of Destiny has watched the ways of men. It has seen the armies of the proud come to naught and the common people rise to power, but it has seen no reign more colour- ful ancl glorious, no reign fraught with deeper significance for the welfare of the world, than the reign of George and Mary of Windsor. This essay was one of twentv-Eve prize winning essays in the Dominion- wide competition sponsored by the Robert Simpson Company. 38