It was my intention to give, in this issue, a description of the Library at the new School, but as the Magazine Committee has in mind the publication of a Souvenir Number, illustrated with photographs, in the near future, I must defer my account, which will be included, with other interesting articles, in that number.
    There is little to add this term, except that we have to acknowledge, with many thanks, further gifts, both to the Reference and the General Departments. At the same time, it is the duty of all who use the libraries to assist in avoiding losses, and to return books more promptly than has been the case in the past. We have allowed readers as much freedom as possible, but unless full and willing co-operation is shewn, further restrictions (which always tend to become vexatious as they increase) will have to be imposed.
    A word to those who find that the General Library has not met all their wishes. Will they please communicate with me direct, that I may assist them in getting books suited to their requirements? Inquirers will find me in the Library every Tuesday at break or immediately after dinner.

A. W. SALMON. - Junior Prefect; Vice-Capt., School Football (1929 - 30 - 31); 1st XI. Cricket (1930); Colours, 1930; Capt., Maxton House; Sjt. Cadet Corps; Cert. “A” Chingford (1928 - 29 - 30) ; Dramatic Society; Musical Society; Debating Society; to Military College, Sandhurst.

R. A. HARRISSON. - Train Prefect; Country House 1st XI. Football; Musical Society; clerk at Chislet Colliery.

H. H. MADAMS. - Buckland House 1st XI. Football and 2nd XI. Cricket ; Lce.-Cpl. Cadet Corps - Band ; Musical Society; School Orchestra; to M.O.H. Dept., Dover.

A. G. SMITH. - Country House 1st XI. Football; Debating Society (Committee); Musical Society; reporter to Kent Messenger.

R. W. AUSTIN. - Dramatic Society; Musical Society; Debating Society (Committee); to Park Royal Engineering Co., Willesden.

R. A. PLAYFORD. - TOWNI House 2nd XI. Football; Musical Society; working for R.A.C.

E. J. SMITHEN - Town House 2nd XI. Football and Cricket; Cpl., Cadet Corps; Cert. "A"; clerk at Central Garage, Dover.

A. L. BARTON. - TOWN House 2nd XI. Football and Cricket; clerk to Kent Messenger.

H. J. SHERRED. - Buckland House 2nd XI. Football; joining Merchant Service.

K. MATHSON. - Cadet Corps - Band ; taking up electrical engineering.

R. W. GOLDSMITH. - Maxton House 2nd XI. Football ; transferred to Aldershot.

V. ST. G. WISE. - Parents removed to London.

N. ST. G. WISE. - Parents removed to London.

E. W. BRADLEY. - Removal abroad.

A. MCDONALD . - Transfer to Edinburgh.

I. A. CLARKE. - Removal to Glasgow.

B. R. CURTIS. - Leaving town.

R. V. HARE. - Transferred to Dover College.

J. H. FOULDS - Transferred to Maidstone Grammar School.

London. Intermediate Science.  - L. S. Byrne, H. G. Hopkins, E. H. B. Martin.
Imperial College of Science Entrance Scholarships. - H. G. Hopkins (3rd on list), E. H. B. Martin (4th on list). 

Entrance Examination, to R.M.C., Sandhurst. - A. W. Salmon (37th out of 130 who passed the written examination).

OLD Boys-

London Matriculation. - N. Landrock.

Second Year Examination at Sydney University - C. M. Donald (High Distinction in Principles of Agriculture, Botany, Agricultural Geology and Economic Entomology; Distinction in Agricultural Chemistry).

Intermediate Examination of Corporation of Certified Secretaries. - C. F. Lamidey (Distinction in Commercial Arithmetic).

Form V. (Joint Board). - Bailey (3), Hickman (3). Milne (2), Southey (2), Tyrell (2), Tapley (2), Vosper (2), Bussey (2), Moseling (2), Winter (2), Hewes, J. W. White, Brown, Abbott, Waite, Wraight, Unstead, Dewar, Hutley, Cooke.

Form V. (O.L., Sc.). - Godfrev (2), Bromler, Pamplin, Ellis, Meacock, Atkins, Oliver, Hockley, Stone, Johnson, Wise, Andrews, Pateman, Whitehead.

Form V. (OL., Ind.). - W. J. Newman (3), Young (3), R. Borthwick (3), Crush (3), Solley (2).

Form IVA. - Cockfield (3), Ellis (2), Ewell, Bowles.

Form IVB. - Ward (2), W. S. Bortbwick (2), Jenkins (2).

Form IIIA (i.). - Le Prevost (3), Stanley (3), Gale.

Form IIA. - Blaxland (s), Fittall (3), Heller, Pearson.

Form IIX. - Bowers (2), Hutton (2), Grainger, Arnold.

Form IA. (i). - Baker (3). Jacobs (3), Giiham (3), Muston (2), Watkins.

Form IA. (ii). - Myers (3), Binfield (3), Hopkins (2), Parish (2), Brigham.

Form Upper Trans. - R. Allen (3), F Dunn (3), Lawrence (3), F. Martin (3), Niblett (3), Paddock (3), L. Watt (3), Bryant (2), Kenward (2). Hayden, Martel.

Form Lower Trans. - Harman (3), F. J. Smith (3), Howarth (2), Eaton, Jones.

Form Prep. - Kirk (3), Maker (3), Manning (s), Paddock (3), Waters (2), Dunster, Howard.

    In spite of the vagaries of the weather, the term seems to have passed all too quickly. It has been without outstanding incident for most of us, although it has had its anxious moments for some. The terminal examinations were upon us almost before we had realised they were due.
    Many visits to the playing fields had to be abandoned on account of the weather, but we never lost hope of a game till the last minute and often plodded to School on Tuesday or Friday afternoon in football garb, through drenching rain, but still optimistic.
    Only two matches were played during the term. We beat Harvey Grammar School by 6 - 3 in a well-fought game, but lost to the Duke of York’s School by 3 - 0. Unfortunately, the return match in both cases had to be abandoned.
    We have found two new friends in the persons of Mr. Healing amid Mr. Kendall, and hope that their stay with us will be long and fraught with pleasurable experience.

E.S.A.

    The School Charity Fund for this term amounted, on 16th March, to £9 6s. 3d., making a total for the School Year to that date of £27 10s. 9d.

    M. H. Hearn has been elected to the Pharos Committee, in place of S. T. Claw, who left School last term.

    The School Sports will be held at Crabble on Wedlnesday, 27th May.

    Swimming practices will he resumed next term in Thursday afternoons, following the usual arrangements.

    After one term's play, the Rugby enthusiasts have found that all they received for their pains is liniment!

    More Rugby rumours! - Is it true that, as a result of the Cadets v. School match, the groundsman now owns a patchwork quilt?

    On taking the Census - "He (the householder) puts his occupation, and states whether he is married or singular."

    When that ye olde year hadde past awaye, ye knightes, squiers and yeomen retourned onto ye Castel. Ande thogh ther hadde y-bin no festinge atte ye Towne Halle, yit weer they not caste doon, but didde grete eche odre righte murily. Butte amonge ye knightes and squiers of ye Toppe Corridour was muche grife and soore displeasure. For ye puissant Overlorde had y-bid ye men of Indoustrie to quitte ye Lesser Hole, ande in hir stead hath he establisht ye very smalleste fry. And as for ye Indoustrie, hem hath he cast into ye dark and chirless spudderoom, where they groane and rage, and seek to escape unto odre dwellynges. While on ye Toppe Corridour ye smallest fry doe strutte most proudlie among ye myghtie knightes anti squiers, and eke lifte uppe hir heads and hir voyces right haughtily. Ye Tucke-Shoppe, also, is mouved to ye spuddle-room, and dailie ther is such struggel ande confousion ansong ye chocolat hunters, that Sir Bar-Tomlin, with his henchemen, is greviously perplext to keepe ye peace.
    Ant wen ye merye men wer y-mot togedre, they foonde too newe knightes, famous men and wys, yclept Sir Nekladl and Sir Leaghin. These hadde com that they mighte tak ye place of Sir Miths and Sir Osace, and they wer mad most wilcom. Then aboote this tym did ye boolde, brighte Lomnas arise and tak his leave of his bredren, sayinge; "I muste goe learne to fyghte myne countrie's battels, and eke to wield ye sworde in fer londes." Thus he dipartyd and was lamented monie daies.
    Nowe men doe calle thise saisoun ye Springe Termte, but in trouth ye name doth ill befitte it. For ther nis no sunne, nor onie warmthe, nor pleasanutness. Ande evene snowe hath thrice y-fallenne, and couvredde ye erthe. Wich snowe, when ye knightes andl squiers didde bihold it, mad hem much rejoyse. Ande they sayde one to ye odre, "Now shalle we be righte joyous and sport in aincient wyse." But agyn ye Overlorde y-forbad hir revels, andec ye snowe himselfe did melt speedilie awaye. Whereat they wer muche cast doone, and soughte consoulacioun in odre sportes. Then didde they finde an newe pleye after their harte’s desir, yclept Rhuggere; which comfortid hem gretely. For in this sport is lunch stryf and grete violense, ande ye wights wich pleye atte it, doe bicom moore muddie than they wich maak mudde pyes. So now is muche stryf upon ye windie plaines of Astorre, with monie bumpes and bruises. And whil this was being done. ye armie of ye Kadettes didde soudenne rimembere thatte ye sterne fighte at Chingeforde is fast approcheing, Therfor did they summuoune alle hir braveste warriours and y-bad them ronne uppe hill and doone for manie myls, that they winne muche glorye on ye daie of battel, Ande ye Kadettes doc stryfe righte manfully acrosse mudde and evil countrie, until they are in worser plighte than they wich play at Rhuggere.
    At that tym didde ye Overlorde gan dailie lifte uppe his voyse, sayinge how soone must alle ye compagnye dipart this present Castel and ascende unto ye newe dwollinge thatte riseth uppe above ye plaines of Astorre. This newe castel is moste straunge and wondrouse to behold, and is eke a place of much mystery and legende. For none may enter therein, thogh doth ye Overlorde often saye how monie straunge and fayre thinges doe wayt for him that shall enter ye xvondrous palays. And lo, whil these tales are told, ther cometh yet otheres of a sorrye countenaunce, spreadynge false tydynges and sayinge thatte ye newe Castel hath verily ye air of an prisoun. Butte nowe is it said that alle ye hoost shalle goe by companies to bihold for hemselves ye wondrees of ye palays. Therfore are alle ye peple righte gladde and eagerlie look forward to ye tym wen thys shalle be fulfilde. Ande monie odre deedes wer wrought, amid eke excoursions were made, butte if thou wouldest lerne
of these rede ye evene in ye boke Pharos.

    Of all the professions in the world, advertising is, without doubt, one of the oldest. In very simple language, advertising means "telling," or "making known." so that the first merchant who "told" the passers-by about his wares by shouting was the originator of advertising.
    With the development of the world, particularly on the commercial side, methods of selling goods were improved. Stalls and booths were set up in the market place, and the goods were displayed. New methods of attracting attention were devised, and messages were scratched on the ground or on blocks of stone near the stalls. Still later, inscriptions on skins and tablets were used, amid although these early methods may seem crude when compared with the attractive press announcements, posters and show cards which we see to-day, yet they served exactly the same purpose - to "make known" amid to produce sales.
    The modern merchant is different from his "ancestors," in that, whereas the old-time merchant was content to accept advertising as part of selling, the modern looks upon advertising as an additional outside influence, which aids personal salesmanship. Modern advertising may well be defined as "silent" salesmanship.”
    Selling a commodity or service through an advertisement and selling the same article "over the counter" are two very different things. The shop manager, once a customer has entered his shop, usually "sells" by sheer force of personal salesmanship. The task of the advertiser is to get the customer into the shop with the idea of buying the commodity, and that is, obviously, the harder task.
    Therefore, in modem advertising, no matter what form the announcement may take - newspaper advertisement, poster, showcard, catalogue, folder or the like - it is essential to capture the force of "Personal Salesmanship" and pin it clown in print. That force must be behind the advertisement as a whole and behind each unit that makes time whole - reading matter or "copy," general design or "layout," illustration, and, if possible, behind the name of time advertiser. With that vital force behind it, the advertisement "lives," amid literally  "tells" the prospective customer. But to make it live and talk is an art in itself. Try it yourself; sit down with pencil and paper and write, design and illustrate an advertisement that would make everyone who read it crave for, say, a cup of cocoa or anything else you like.
    While very few advertisements ever reach that ideal, it must be the goal that everyone who writes and designs advertising material strives for. Let us see then, what sort of mental makeup a man or woman needs to make a success of an advertising career.
    Without question, the first requirement is an intimate knowledge of human nature - especially in the mass. Next in importance come imagination and originality, behind which there must be the more tangible power of expressing a sales message very clearly in writing or by illustration. The message must, by the way in which it is expressed, make an instantaneous appeal - otherwise it is worthless.
    In advertising, then, we find artists, copy-writers and layout men (or designers), all specialists in their own sphere, who, between them, are capable of preparing any kind of advertising material. They, in their turn, are backed up by an army of clerical workers, whose jobs do not offer great scope to the ambitious, but serve as very useful "kicking-off" points. These routine jobs enable a newcomer to find his feet and his talents. Very often a man who can write good copy is also an expert at design, but the combination of a good artist and copy-writer is very rare. No one can expect a Whistler and a Bernard Shaw rolled into one.
    Now you may be able to write quite well, or your talent may be sketching, or even more advanced artistic work; have you ever thought of making Advertising your career? It offers great opportunities to anyone who can write "selling" copy, or who is clever with pencil, pen and brush. If you are on the point of leaving School, you will want to know just how to set about getting into the advertising world.
    If you have the time and money, it would be a very sound plan for you to take a correspondence course with one of the well-known training colleges. If you do this, don’t expect too much. A course cannot teach you everything, but it will give you some idea of advertising methods, make you familiar with technical terms - in short, teach you the A B C of the profession.
    It is obvious that a better way than this is to obtain a post in an advertising department or agency in London or one of the industrial centres. The position will naturally be a minor one and the wage may be very small at first, but the experience is invaluable and you will be given the opportunity to learn something of printing and the reproduction of drawings and photographs by means of "blocks." In such a position, you may see how every kind of advertisement is prepared anti, even if you specialise later on, that knowledge will always be of the greatest use to you.
    If you are prepared to begin at the bottom of the ladder, as I have suggested above, write to some of the Advertising Agencies in London and the Provinces. You will find their names and addresses in The Advertiser’s Weekly. This paper will also keep you in touch wiith current advertising, and also with "Situations Vacant." A small advertisement in the Situations Wanted column might be useful later on. The Secondary School Headmasters’ Employment Bureau is a great help.
    Once you have secured a position, either in an advertising department or agency, opportunities will occur which will enable you to get a grasp of the work, and you will soon see in what direction your particular talents can be used to the greatest advantage. You may have all the attributes (except experience) of a successful copy-writer or layout man. If you can already draw really well, you may, with further commercial training, become an artist.
    The work an artist in the advertising world is almost self explanatory. Some artists are capable of producing any type of drawing - line, wash ort pencil. Others specialise in such branches as hand lettering. detail drawing, and so on. One of the most highly paid branches of the artistic side is the work of "retouching" photographs for reproduction. This is a highly technical job, and needs long experience before proficiency is reached.
    The layout man, or advertisement designer, assembles and designs advertisement material of all kinds. He must be able to produce in pencil, pen and wash, a replica of what the finished work will be. If you can rough-sketch and do neat hand lettering, you possess two if the greatest assets a layout man can have. A good eye for line and balance is also necessary. You can test yourself for these by trying to pick out a badly-designed advertisement in a newspaper and finding the faults. The common ones to look for are:-
            (1) Overcrowding of space.
            (2) Top or bottom heaviness.
            (3) Too heavy type - or the reverse.
    If you have an eye for design you may find other faults as well. The layout man’s work is remarkably interesting and, if you can obtain such a post, you will have the opportunity to develop your talents on the side of copy-writing.
    A successful copy-writer needs a journalist's "nose" for news, a working knowledge of almost everything under the sun, and the ability to express his meaning in a very few words, in vivid and arresting language. He must be able to size up the salient features of the product and to describe them in such a way that his writing appeals to the masses. In short, he must be a psychologist, and thoroughly understand the science of "Silent Salesmanship." As I have already mentioned, he is very often a good layout man, and, in any case, layout man
and copy-writer work as a team.
    From the ranks of copy-writing, time managerial positions in the world of advertising are obtained. Naturally, some copy-men prefer to remain such all their lives for the sake of the "copy " itself. The copy-layout man makes a successful manager because he knows the whole business, and is therefore a good leader.
    As artist, copy-writer or layout man, time advertising profession offers great opportunities to men and women with talents such as I have outlined very briefly. Of all professions, it is one of the most highly paid - although wages vary considerably according to the type of work done. Promotion, however, usually depends upon ability, rather than on length of service. The career rewards you for what you can do, not for what you are.
    If you have the necessary talents, why not consider making advertising your career in life?

W. T. SERGEANT (1919 - 27),
Layout Man,
W. H. Smith and Son, Ltd ., Advertising Agency.

TAKING THE LONG VIEW.

    "Work dashed off at the last minute, perhaps in response to the Editor’s announcement of the 'final date,' seldom has much merit," reads an editorial note in a former issue of The Pharos. Like Miss Miggs, “I places my reliances on them which entertains my own opinions,” so perhaps it will not be taken amiss if I offer a few suggestions based on recent experiences.
    Let me begin by saying that there must be quite a number of those invited to contribute to The Pharos who never offend in this way. They appear rather to obey the law, which, if I remember rightly, one of the enemies of Voltaire claimed to have discovered,- “the principle of least action.” It may be, of course, that they belong to the school who believe that all our present troubles are due to over-production or it may be merely that they wish to avoid any possibility of being classed with those who “rush in, where angels fear to tread.”
    In any case, we are not dealing with these at present; it is literary impetuosity which now concerns us. We have to find some surer way of gaining editorial commendation, and recent experiences have persuaded me that one solution of the difficulty lies along the lines of evolution, by a process of gradual variation from an original, or even unoriginal, source. The method, in practice, is really quite simple. For example: a very young writer two years ago handed in a vivid little article, evidently copied from some local newspaper, describing a fire he had witnessed when away on holiday. It was returned to him, and the discrepancy between the style of the article and that of his exercise book was politely remarked upon. Nothing daunted, he has, ever since that time, term by term, submitted a revised version of “The Fire.” As the actual event recedes into the past, the writer draws increasingly on his imagination, and I estimate that, by the time he reaches the Sixth Form, no perceptible trace of the original will remain. He bids fair by then to rival Defoe, and I invite all those now in the lower part of the School to look out for his article about 1937, as for a comet whose appearance is confidently predicted.
    The same method of gradual approach to authorship offers distinct possibilities in the case of another article, giving an account of the youthful writer’s own escape from an octopus, while bathing last summer in the Mediterranean. The work at present scarcely does him full justice, for the octopus measures but a bare two feet across. If, however, he will persevere with its tentacles on the lines already suggested, there is no reason why he should not, in due course, become as famous in this class of literature as Louis de Rougemont, a writer known to boys of a former generation.
    A somewhat similar procedure, but one more akin to the instalment system, might be adopted with advantage in the case of suitable poetical compositions. For instance, a poem of two dozen lines was quite recently handed in by an aspiring youth who evidently suffered from an exiguousness of inspiration, for only one stray couplet of it differed from a poem I knew myself in my own youthful days. The writer was apparently under the impression that one original couplet in six stanzas absolved him from any suspicion of plagiarism. In fact, he seemed quite aggrieved at the mere suggestion that the poem could hardly be regarded as his own unaided work.
    Now, if he will proceed on the lines indicated above, and send in the poem term by term with just one new couplet of his own each time, he will avoid all charge of impetuosity. Further, he will, within the space of four years, stand a chance of being acclaimed a poet in his own right. After all, four years is not an unduly long time in which to make a poet. In fact, there are still those who cherish the time-honoured belief that a poet is born, not made at all.
    Further examples might be adduced in support of the plan suggested, but I think sufficient guidance has been given. Besides, many readers have doubtless arrived, ere now, at the conclusion that this article should have been hoist with its own petard, so to speak, and have had its publication indefinitely postponed. Anyhow, this is my conclusion.

E.S.A.

IONA

                        A. D. DEWAR (V. Jt. Bd.).

A VISIT TO THE SCHOOLBOYS’ EXHIBITION.

    By dint of much assiduous “saving up,” it was found possible, on the last day of the Christmas holidays, for the writers to visit the Daily Mail Schoolboys’ Exhibition, then in progress at the Empire Hall, Olympia, London.
    One’s first sensation, on entering the immense three-floored hall, was one of confusion. What a medley of ear-splitting noises! The clang of bells, the hoot of sirens, the rattle of machinery, and a continual background of raucous loud-speaker “music”-a veritable human beehive.
    After a time, having grown accustomed to the noises we decided to make a methodical tour of the hundred odd exhibits - a well-nigh impossible task in the short space of a few hours. The ground floor was devoted mainly to electricity and its applications, to heavy mechanical engineering and to demonstrations of many important industrial processes. Modern wireless practice might here be seen from beginning to end; the telephone was explained, and, for the curious, there were television demonstrations. In addition, many electrical novelties were to be seen. Who would not like to hear a spider walk; to see how guns may be fired by radio, and watch a burglar detected by an invisible ray?. Who would not like to see sounds make pictures, and hear heart-beats reproduced at loudspeaker strength?
    The motor industry was well represented by the display of the Ford Motor Company, in which was a large scale model of the immense new factory now under construction near London. Talking films dealing with Ford products were shown to those interested.
    And then, again, one could see how railways are controlled - could work points and signalling apparatus for oneself. Aeroplanes, too, attracted attention, and there were many other features of which space will not permit the description.
    The exhibits on the first floor were of a different character. Here was a wonderful panorama of Captain Scott’s last tragic voyage. Many relics of the memorable journey could be seen, and one could touch the very sledges used in that heroic effort whose memory will still endure for years to come. On this floor too, was the combined display of the London hospitals, where might be seen, through the microscope, all kinds of bacteria, living and dead. The work of the hospitals was here shown fully, everything being explained by willing assistants. Here, too, was something of interest to all hobbyists. For the stamp collector there were cases of rare stamps; the sports enthusiast, pet lover, boy scout, wood and metal worker, each found a section dealing with his special hobby. Here also was one of The most interesting exhibits “Dawn,” a light-controlled boat. This boat, invented by Mr. H. Grindall, in 1914, has several times been demonstrated to the Admiralty, and once to His Majesty King George V., but has not yet been exploited. It can be controlled fully five miles away at night, and three thousand yards in the day-time.
    The second floor contained the larger, more extensive exhibits. A model electric railway, in which, one learned on inquiry - for the spirit of the Exhibition was intelligent question and informative reply - were employed over two thousand feet of track, was in constant operation. On a pond, 6o ft. in diameter, frequent displays by model speed boats took place; and, finally, there was a talking picture theatre, where one could tour the world in sight and sound.
    Science, art, industry, aviation, engineering, wireless, sports, hobbies - here they were all brought before youth in such a way that seeking and gaining new knowledge became not a task but a most delightful entertainment. . . . ."

E. R. S. WINTER AND G. BAILEY (V. Jt. Bd.).

SNOW SCENES.

    We left Dover on a cold, wet day in December. The sea was rough, and many unfortunate travellers passed the time away in their cabins, in attitudes of silent agony. Water is a truly remarkable thing when you come to think of it from a practical point of view! . . .
    The remainder of the journey passed uneventfully. I will digress to say that, if ever you have to get out at Vallorbe at half-past four in the morning, the refreshment room is on the right, and two cups of coffee cost only one franc. The first experience of a Swiss frontier is very bitter. You will be glad to get back into a warm carriage, after looking through your luggage under the eagle eye of a customs officer.
    St. Cergue was our destination. This little village, tucked away in the Swiss Jura, boasted a bobsleigh run, right through the main street, with a hotel at the end, to remind the reckless ones who omit to put the brake on that there are such things as stops. This unpretentious village is reached by means of a mountain railway, starting from Nyon, which runs through the street of the town with a great deal of fuss, bother and jerking, hooting mournfully at every cross-road, warning motor cars of its arrival; the horn is a superfluous attachment, as the clatter created announces the train’s arrival from at least a hundred yards. I had suspicions that the weather, closely resembling Dover’s perpetual downpour, was responsible for this state of affairs. I admit I had given up all hope of seeing any snow, and was already visualising a dejected return to England. I hoped for the best.... The train, having groaned up five hundred feet of hillside, decided to stop with a jerk that nearly dislocated my spine. I wiped the steam off the window pane and gazed on a patch of snow. Small flakes were coming down, intermingled with rain. The train, restarting, cut my meditations short, and the window steamed up again. Ten minutes later the door of the carriage was opened by a portly and redfaced ticket collector, and a whirl of large flakes went down my back.
    This cheerful personage looked round the carriage and boomed out, “St. Cergue, messieurs, mesdames, tout le monde descend.” “Tout le monde” arose and gathered stray packages together. As soon as the train stopped, everybody made a dash for the guard’s van. The first arrival got up and started doling out skis as a sergeant distributes rifles to a company. These skis were implements of offence, for many were the pokes and hits given by these slats of wood on other people’s faces and chests.
    I took stock of my surroundings. The train ran right through the lower section of the main street. There were no wheeled vehicles in sight. Everything was on runners. Our suitcases were taken to the hotel on a sledge, and we attended to the most important consideration, namely, our skis. All I can say is that it is truly remarkable how your skis can get mixed up. We arrived at the hotel in twenty minutes, a walk that would have taken under ordinary circumstances three.
    As we neared the hotel, a far-off voice was heard shouting “Fore fore” A low, but increasing rumble was heard, and a bobsleigh passed us with a roar, turned round and skidded to a standstill. The driver climbed out, wiped the snow off his face, and said, in a dissatisfied voice, “Hum, one minute, twenty-eight seconds over the mile. We’ve done it before in one minute, ten seconds,” and looked accusingly at the “brake as if he were to blame.
    Strange to say, most people, during their stay, did not ski at St. Cergue. Instead, they took the train to the next station, “Col de la Givrine,” and came down by the road. We used to follow in the wake every morning when the crowd wended its way to the station en masse. People used to expostulate at the high charges on the railway. The ticket man would cheerfully shrug his shoulders and say, “Mais monsieur, personne ne descend par le train. Il est vide. Il faut qu’on fasse un bénéfice! To be precise, the fare was twice the amount it should have been because nobody came down by train.
    Our hotel owned a chalet near the station of La Givrine, where, on exchange of a ticket supplied at the hotel clerk’s office a meal was provided free of charge. Pleasant memories come to my mind when I think of that chalet with its scent of hot soup, the masses of people packed like sardines within its interior, the clothes line which succumbed under the weight of sodden garments, the cowbells hanging on the rafters, which you rang to attract the waitresses’ attention, the wet floor, the hot tomato soup, the dog with the ever-wagging tail, sniffing around the tables in its search for stray scraps of food. Those recollections are as vividly impressed on my mind as if they were drawn on paper.
    A ski-jumping competition was held during our stay there. The day previous to the ceremony, I looked at the jumping ground, and asked myself how the men contrived to keep their balance and prevent their necks being broken by a fall. The next day dawned cold and clear. My brother and I had obtained a good position for viewing the proceedings and were awaiting the start. A man on a stand announced the name of the competitor; a trumpet was blown. A tense silence hung over the crowd.... Swooosh A flying object hurtled past, landed with a smack on the snow, and went sailing down the hill. “Thirty metres,” announced the impassive judge. Another shout, another sound like the whistling of the wind, and the second man came down. He was unlucky. Landing on the snow, he lost his balance, pitched forward, rolled over and over, then lay still. His skis skittered down the slope. Was he hurt? No: he picked himself up and went in pursuit of his elusive skis. Two more competitors came down, and the results of their jumps were announced. The last man nearly dashed into a wall at the end of the run, but turned round and disappeared in a cloud of snow - a perfect turn. We left the course, awed by what we had just witnessed, and wondered what the world’s record was.
    The skating rink was also a great attraction. Young and old, thin and fat, skated over the hard, glass-like surface or sat down abruptly. Beside the skating rink was a roped-off area, which I surmised to be a curling rink. I was not wrong; four or five men appeared with their sets of curlers and a small mat. A “jack” was set up at one end of the run and the men stationed themselves at the other. The first man took his curler up lovingly and, with a quick throw, sent it sliding up the course. It missed the jack by inches and stopped a foot behind it. The next man tossed his weapon, and stood up to watch the result. It stopped two inches in front of the “jack.” It was the throw that decided the game. His opponents tried in vain to oust him from his position, but to no avail. I grew tired of watching, and turned away. The heavy hand of Nemesis descended upon my shoulder and made me sit down on the ice. I am very wary now when I turn away from an uninteresting game.

M. E. HEARN (VI. Commerce).

THE LIFE HISTORY OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS.

    Butterflies and moths belong to the Natural Order Lepidoptera, or scale-winged insects. This Order is divided into two sections, viz., the Rhopalocera (butterflies) and the Heterocera (moths). The difference between the butterflies and moths is not so distinct as is sometimes imagined. It is often thought that whereas butterflies fly only by day, the moths fly only by night, but this is not true, as many species of moths are on the wing in bright sunlight, and fly only by day. The true difference lies in the antennae or feelers, and in the body and wings of the insect, but no characteristic can be said to be constant. In the British Isles there are about seventy species of butterflies, and over two thousand species of moths.
    Before attaining the perfect state, all butterflies and moths pass through three distinct stages, viz., the egg, the caterpillar and the chrysalis. The eggs (ova) are usually deposited on or near the leaves of a suitable food-plant, upon which the young caterpillars (larvae) can feed when hatched. These ova vary considerably in size, shape and marking according to the species, and, when examined under the microscope, reveal great beauty. The number of ova laid by different species also varies; sometimes several hundreds are laid by a single female.
    After the lapse of a week or so, the young larvae hatch out. At first they are very small, but they soon begin to eat ravenously, some making the first meal off the egg-shells. After this they begin to feed upon the food-plant. The larval stage is the one in which the insect grows, and during the process the skin is changed several times. Seeing the large quantity of eggs laid by a single female, it is easy to realise that some species would become exceedingly abundant in a few years if Nature did not provide some means of reducing the numbers. Thus it is that as some larvae feed up, they are attacked by the Ichneumon Fly.
    The female fly settles on the back of the larva, and, after piercing the skin, deposits its egg within the body. The larva is not greatly inconvenienced, apparently, by this attack, and continues its feeding, but it is a doomed creature. Within a short time the Ichneumon egg hatches, when the grub at once commences to feed upon the flesh of its victim. Thus, when the time arrives for the larva to change to the chrysalis (pupa) it is too weak to do so, and dies. Many larvae perish in this way. Mention may be made of the common large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) as one of the species so attacked.
    Those larvae which have managed to escape this parasite, and have reached maturity, select some convenient place for pupation. Some burrow in the earth, others spin a cocoon round themselves for protection, whilst others hang from the food plant or roll themselves up in the leaves. Many species pass the winter months in this dormant state, whilst others hibernate as young larvae, and feed up in the spring. In other cases, the winter is passed in the perfect state.
    In due course, the perfect insect (imago) emerges from the pupa. At first the wing cases are limp and closely folded round the body. The action of the sun after the wings have been extended soon hardens them, and it is interesting to watch the insect endeavouring to use its wings after expansion. Then, when all is ready, it flies off to make the best of its short life in this beautiful world.

WILLIAM E. BUSBRIDGE.

THE SHEPHERD.

            E. C. RATCLIFFE (V. it. Bd.).

A WINTER’S MORNING.

    Spring is coming; the days lengthen, and the dark winter nights are forgotten. Now the sun rises before I start my journey to school, and also shows me my way home again. Six weeks ago, however, I was well on my road to school before he rose, and I had to get home by the feeble glare of my bicycle lamp.
    The first stage of my daily journey is along a muddy road, formerly one of the fine set of roads the Romans made, but now, alas, sadly neglected. Should I attempt to ride my bicycle, a sudden gust of wind may make me swerve into a deep rut, and I may land in a ploughed field. Next I go through a very muddy farm, and then on to the high road. One morning recently, it started to snow soon after I reached this point, and, as I rode my bicycle, I was exposed to the full blast of the storm.
    Soon I arrive at a very stony bit of road, where it is quite easy to get one’s tyre punctured. If such a thing happens, I do not get to school till about 10 a.m. When I arrive at the bus route, I am prepared to have some prank played on me by my friends. If there is any snow on the ground, I may get some snowballs thrown at me, or some other trick played at my expense. When the bus arrives, all is plain sailing, unless I have forgotten my money.

R. F. KIRBY (Form IIX)

CADETS.

                            “ORDERLY CORP.”

CAMP, 1931.

    Investigation of the question of camping arrangements for this year, completed just before going to press, has shown that it will be quite possible to hold a camp, though fees may be a few shillings more than last year. A site will be chosen if possible at Dymchurch, as a combined camp with Ashford and Bromley Cadet Corps is being considered.
    Many cadets wish to know what will take the place of arms-drill, and there are several possibilities. More attention will be paid to musketry and signalling, since the former has proved so popular and the latter was once an important part of the Corps activities. We already have equipment, namely flags, heliograph and field telephones. Junior members of the Corps might well spend some time in the vacation in mastering the Morse Code, as an examination for the position of Company Signaller will be held next term.
    Boys who have not yet joined the Corps are advised to give in their names as soon as possible, if they wish to qualify for Camp.