Grey Highlands Public Library Digital Collections

Flesherton Advance, 13 Aug 1947, p. 6

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â- mr-. /ShohtStokJ^ Humble By Matthew Christopher The knock sounded like tlit soil rlick of a niKhf latch. Naomi open- ed the door, aiu! he stt)od thcre--a tall, humble looking figure whose sunken ^rey eyes peered unolitni sively from a sun-liatliered face If Philip had been here she woulil hii.c closed llie door. She would say, "I'm sorry, but we have nothing left." Or, just, "I'm sorry." liut Philip wasn't herr. And she was leady to place the food on the table. "Good morning. Ma'am?" he said. He SMiileil, a tender smile that broke through his grey whiskers, "Would you be kind enough to give an old man a â€" a bite to eat?" Then it was as if Philip was be- hind her, staring over her shoulders glaring with those level brown eyes of his, s;iying, "Tell him to go on his way." The sun flashed a welcoming sig- nal on her bright smile, and touched the high tones of her smoothly planed face. "Come in," she said. "You're just in time." He had a cautious quality about his step as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen. She could almost hear Philip say, "See how careful he is? You got to watch that kind. That characteristic quirk isn't exactly lium.TU nature!" Connie ran in from the dining loom, ht r brown curls bobbing on her head like soft coils of spring. "Go back and get in your chair, Connie," Naomi said. "We're going to have conipanj." She gave the beg- gar a radiant smile, and pointe<l to a chair in the dining room. "You may sit there. The hat can go on the bureau bdiiiKl you." Suddenly site sau< her purse there. She had tUiied it there after haviiuj brought home the Ihiiujs jrom the grocer's. But It tvoutd look silly now to remove' it, she thouyhl. Even if h* were one of Philip's charaetcrs, there was only 60 eents, to the pen- ny, in the purse. It woidd have made no difference in the w(jrld to Philip that he was old. The older, the more experi- enced; the more experienced, the craftier, was I'hilip's philosophical slant on it » • * Naomi heard the man chuckle as she stood at the stove, mixing the gravy willi the potatoes. She brought the food to the table, put some in Connie's [ilate, an<I urged the man to help himself. He diil, uncmbar- rassingly, but he didn't take niticli Just a little of each. He pushed the plate away from him when he was finished, patted his skinny stomach with satisfac- tion. "You're not through?" Naomi laid. "There's lots more." He shook his head. "No, Ma'am, thanks. I'm through. It was delici- ous, believe me, Ma'am. I'm cer- tainly thankful to ye." Philip would rave when he'd hear. She'd tell him, of course. Why not? She tl^ught, if Philip C(nild be here, now; if he could jnsl sit in a corner and watch, he would cast out of his mind all those ridiculous beliefs he had about these unfortunate human beings. Ihit she'd tell him, and she woidd lauKh when he'd rave. Hack iri the dining room, she sat down again and began finishing her Meal. « » * "Mamma?" "Yes, dear?" she glanced up. Connie's black eyes were ftaring peculiarly at her. "What is it, darling ?" "That man opened your purse," ( onnic said. Naomi stared incre<lulously at her daughter. "( <jnnie," hrr voice was •harp. "An yini sure?" "Yes, Mam- ma." Immedialely, she thought of Phil •P- Quickly, she rose from the chair, swooped the piuse off the top of the bureau. She flicked it open with kcr thumb, and sprawed into it with trembling fingers. And, sud- fcnly-- "Connie!" Iter voiee thrilled high, hell-l.ke. "Ciniiie, look I" She U'Ot tniiliiig radmrlly. The rhild stared blatullv at the lid, wil Mill, one dollar bill Manmi •ui holdiiiii ill her h,-vnd. 'Y New Oakville Home of Ontario".-; Lieut. -iJiuv. Ray Lawsuii is Ballytnena, here, wiiich lie is reported to have purchased. Buildings on the eight-and-a-half acre estate were erected in 1922 by the late Col. William Eaton who died three years ago. The property then was ac- quired by A. S. Auld. jCleut.-Covernor aiul Mr.s. Lawson hope to take up residence at Ballyniena before the end of August. Here Hon. Ray Lawson is seen with one of his Angus steers. 4< X 'A Seabirds of Gaspe Find Breeding Grounds Close to Pounding Surf By James Montagnes in the Christian Science Monitor. While ocean liners pass close to the little French-Canadian village of Perce, no man-made booming of boat horns sound above the pound- ing of the surf, the thunderous beat- ing of countless wings, and the rau- cous calling of tens of thousands of birds. Though Perce is one of the first sights of land an ocean captain sees after his crossing, his whis- tles keep still, his salutes after a successful crossing wait imtil he is further up the Gaspe coast of Canada, for the regulations call for no man-made noise blasts off the little village of Perce. For off this little fishermen's village, with its French-speaking Scots and Irish, are the two last breeding places on this continent of many types of seabirds, which flocked the coasts in countless millions when the first explorers discovered what is now the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Today Perce Rock, off the little village, and Bonaventure Island, three miles out to sea from Perce, arc the remaining breeding places of gannets, cormorants, puffins, gulls, aulks, ninrres and other sea- fowl. Loud blasts from boats would startle the birds; they would upset their eggs in their baste to take flight. • ♦ ♦ Uonaventure Island is about three miles long and a mile and a half wide. On its seaward side arc great cliffs of red sandstone, whose broad ledges form secure nesting (daces for throngs of seabirds. It is like a huge apartment house for birds, witli a sea view on all sides. Perce Kock is an isolated limestone mass about 1,.M10 feet long, :100 feet wide, and about as higlj above the sea. * * » Brightly colored, rugged with steep cliffs which cannot be easily climbed, these two nesting rocks arc secluded, according to the instincts of breeding birds, which pick hidden places to lay their eggs and hatch their young. Perce Kock has no inhabitants except birds; its sides are too steep for the best climbers. Bona- venture Lsland has a few homes, an old ehiircli, ruins on its top, and can be climbed from one side, the other sides slipping almost straight down into the pounding sea. Some 10 families live on Uon- aventure Island, hut hack in UiUU it was widely known to fishermen. The birds were so numerous they were like a "fog" to quote the early explorers. Later Uonaventure became the home of bauccaneers and priva- teers who waged war on the ships of France. Settlers came from the Hritish Channel Islands, and while their names are still of Scots and Irish de^'.nit, F'rench if spoken on Mie island, and the customs of the Channel Islands prevail. * * * When the birds on the two rocks appeared to he losing the battle of slaughter and pillaging of eggs al)out 25 years ago, the t anadian and Quebec governments tlcclareil the nesting places sanctuaries, and forbade the blowing of boat whiillea and horns. Since then bird life has made a major comeback, and annually a growing number of visitors come by highwu' and boat to see the birds in their increasing number swarm the cliff tideii. Recause from the top nf Dona- venture Island the wlieelin.;;, cir- cling birds can he studied at close range, naturalists flock to the is- land in Summer time. Aerodyna- mic engineers have also been re ported on the island to study every action of the birds with fast cameras to aid the study of aviation. The bird roosts are reached by climbing the western beach along a hardly visible trail through the spruce woods. Blueberries and strawberries grow wild for" the picker on the narrow trail. * * » Glimpses of the ocean far be- low are seen between the thickly grown bush, and here and there in the clearing near the lower part of the island the ruins of old homes are passed, while from a few ancient houses smoke curls from the chim- neys. After a long climb an open spot is reached from wliere can be seen the rows of birds as they sit in tiers on their rock ledges watching the continuous play of the waves in the sea below. Most studied of the birds is the gannet, known to ancient mariners as solan geese, a bird as large as a goose, pure white with black wing tfjis and a slight creamy wash on the crown and its hind neck. Lines about its eyes re- sembling spectacles give it a slight- ly comic appearance. * * * It is a large and powerful bird, measuring nearly three feet in length, and has pointed wings which spread to over six feet when in flight. It can fly swiftly, climb rapidly, or instantly check its flight and nose dive from 200 feet with un- erring accuracy on a mackerel, its chief food. When its landing area is not too small, the gannet lands on the edge of its nesting ledge, runs for several feet, sometimes falling on its breast if the speed is great. In limited space though the gannet is awkward on its feet, it can make a perfect spot landing. Boatmen circle Bonaventure Is- land each Suiiiiuer with the grovy- ing number of visitors. From the sea can be seen every ledge and shelf covered with white as though snow had been piled in drifts on the cliffs, allowing only the dull red color of the rock to show in a few spots. * » ♦ Perce Rock is mainly Inhabited by double-crested cormorants. They raise their young on its rocky roof, the only place on the promontory which allows any sort of foothold. It is called Perce (French for Pierce) Rock because of the unique arch at one end of its base, through which a boat can sail, and which is passable at ebb tide on foot. Perce Rock is considered one of the beauty siiots of the Atlantic coast, and has drawn geologists from all parts of the world to see its natural arch and its riot of color when a sunset plays on it-e limestone formation. The birds of Bonaventure Is- land and Perce Rock are no friends of the fishermen, and yet the pen .le of the Perce coast would miss the birds should tliev vanish Verdict Satisfactory A man bought a house on the boundary separating Russia from Rumania, but zvas uncertain tvliich country it was in, especially as he received demand notes for rates from the officials of both. A surveyor employed to dcterniiiie the question had much difficulty tn doing so. However, si.r months later he gave his verdict. "The house," he said, "is definitely in Rumania." "Thank Heaven!" ejaculated the owner; "I couldn't possibly stand another Russian winter." Willing Helper Jack : Let's give the bride a show- #r. John: Count me inâ€"I'll bring the soap. The First Glass Investigators seem to agree that the first glass probably was made in Egypt, but the point never has been satisfactorily settled. According to Pliny's account, Phoenician merchants carrying a cargo of soda from Egypt, landed in Syria on the River Belu?, near Mount Carmel, and made fires to cook their meals. Resting the iron pots on blocks of the (solidified) soda, the heat caused fusion of the alkali and sand, thus forming glass. The legend of .Iosephu.= states that glass was discovered when the Israelites set fire to a wood and that nitre became fused with sand. 'it takes 3,250 ties to carry a mile of C.N.R. track. There are 09,2nO,T50 ties used in the 30,551 miles of C.N.R. track in Canada. Natural State 'Jf The languid youth seated himself in the dentist's chair to have a tooth extracted He wore a tvonderful striped silk shirt, and an even more wonderful check suit. He alsi} wore the vacant stare that so often goes with both. "I'm afraid to give him gas," said the dentist to his assistant. "Why?" asked the assistant. "Do- you think his heart is groggy?" "Xc," replied the dentist, "bu! just lock at him. How will I knoti' vihen he is unconscious'" At the "Ex." Theme of Canada's national wo- men's organization at the Canadian National Exhibition this year is ''We Build Canada". /;' msm/ao/77/£prBW Hardy men, seaiching out the liidden wealth of a nation; accepting privation, lone- liness and the stern challenge of nature to the hope of finding the elusive 'strike!" The discovery of a nation's mineral wealth, so essential to progress, lies in the strong hands and willing heart of The Prospector. Men like this, some of Ctnnda's finest, are in the service of the publicâ€" at ymir service. DAWES BIA(K HORSE BREWERY "a A One of a series of aditrtisemenls in tribute to those Canadians in the semce of the public POPâ€"Stagger System By J. MILLAR WATT Dib IT TAKE VOU tOHbTO Gtm^OWE Pf^OMTVie PARTY, COI.OKtBl.7 v^ «5 no! I >>/eNT "^ HO/V^E LIKE UI6HTNIN(5-- : ^Atl

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