December 1951 School Magazine

December, 1951

Btisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

December, 1951

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

It: is about an ·hour or i so · by rail from Frankfurt-if you make tHe· right cbnhection, which I didn't on · the way there. Had tci> ' change at Mainz, and was so quick on the draw that the fitst time I saw -the word "Mainz", I sprang off like a' gazelle, ohly to fihd myself in a distant suburb of Mainz, where I had to wait for the next train to come along, and misses the 'con- nection to Warms, and had to wait again in Mainz. However, after two and a ha·lf hours on the road, I found Worms. The ebtirjtiy ~ through which you travel is very lovely, for both Mc:ti'nz and Worms · are . on the ' Rhine, and so I saw fdr the firs t . ti:rne the mightY" Rh!ine River, J:'Jroad and strongflowing. The lands_around the Rhine . are heavy with Crops, ~nd es- pecially with vines-there are hill-slopes covered with terraces of -vines-the river flats are thick with orchards-it is ' a bounti- ful country side and very beautifuL Warms is a very old cfty, going back to Roman times. And it is terribly bombed, afid there has not been nearly as much rebuilding as in Frcink- fillt_i_so it is a sad city. In the centre of the town stands th~ handsome .Reformation monument, set in ·a pretty park. The central figLire is Luther, and at his feet sit Savanorola,t Wyclif, Calvin, Knox, Then other figures of kings and princes flank thes·e ' figures. It is a fine monument, simple, · massive, betmti- ful-the very best of taste. From there I went on to the mag- nificent Roman Catholic Cathedral-somewhat overpowering with its effungence of gilt, and strange old stations of the Cross, the stone worn and the faces shapeless. Then on to the Museum, where there are many examples of Roman and Frank- ish art, and many relics of Luther-his Bible and so on. Then . one of the attendants at the Museum-just like an illustration of a typical Terman, round head, round tummy-took me to the tram that went to Herrnsheim, a suburb, where stands the Schloss Herrnsheim. A nice young German woman with a small child took me through the woods to the Schloss but it is only open on Sundays, so I just stood outside the gat~s and

EXTRACTS FROM LETTER WRITTEN BY MISS ENGLAND Cambridge itself is so beautiful-it has a very strong at- mosphere that takes hold of you as soon as you arrive. At first it's a shock: to realise that there is no University as we understand it- it's just a collection of colleges scattered about the town, all among the shops and offices . There are also odd lecture rooms and laboratories round the town but there is nothing central-no great brick pile to house all this scholar- ship. We visited Emanuel, Downing, Corpus Christi, King's and Newnham Colleges, strolled in the quadrangles; stood in the bare, austere dining halls; gazed at the chapels . Every- thing is so quiet, so gracious, and I read the notices on the boards-just like the ones at Q'ld. University-felt very much at home. Most wonderful of all was King's College chapel- the whole college is magnificent, with lawns down to the River Cam, but its glory is the chapel-a very big one. The College was built by Henry VI, and bears his insignia everywhere. The chapel is long and narrow and very high, crowned with a series of fine intricately wrought spires-it reaches heaven- ward. And the day was perfect-clear and very warm, and to look upward at the white spires against the blue sky was so lovely a sight that it hurt. And even more so the interior. It is the most exquisite thing I have ever seen. Lt' s all white stone, and fine columns which are part of the wall, ascend to the roof where they branch into a delicate tracery, the centre of each section crowned with the rose of York, alter- nating with the insignia of the City of London. The lower portion of the walls is also thick with these insignia, together with the King's crown and £leur-de-lis. The upper two-thirds of the wall is made up of two sets of stained-glass windows, in which the colours are g lorious, although there is much white and clear glass which gives a most ethereal beauty. Across the chapel is the organ-loft, a massive structure of warm, dark wood, handsomely carved, The organ pipes are gilt, and up- on them stand. carved wooden figures, blowing gilt horns. We were there from 2.30 to 4.30 at a recital of sacred music from 13th Century and Tudor manuscripts sung by the King's Col- lege Chapel Choir. After the recital we stood among the choir stalls and looked down to the door, and the trees out- side, hazy in the warmth of the summer afternoon. Truly, God was everywhere in that place. On Wednesday I sprang up early and set off on a day trip, alU:{Y,IP_YSelf, ~Y train to Worms, Martin Luther's town. 36

-MERLE FASS'NIDGE, Ill E

37.