The Rafflesian 1929 Dec Vol 5 No 3

CALENDAR.

First Term 1930.

Dec. 13th 1929 Third T erm ends.

January 20tl1 1930 First Term begins.

„ 25th— February 2nd Chinese N ew Year Holidays.

Feb. 3rd School re-opens.

March 3rd . H ari Raya Puasa.
March 24th T erm Tests begin.

April 17th First T erm ends.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.

E ditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

O ld Boys’ C olum n .. .. .. .. .. 4

H is to ry o f R . I. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4

'S chool N o te s .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 5

T he M ystery .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 7

O n e ’s S i s t e r .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 10

O h , dear, w h atcan the m a tte r be? . . . . . . . . 13

O n going to the dentist . . . . . . . . . . 17

Eggs ..................................................................................................................................... 20

T h e C au se o f it all . . . . . . . . . . . 23

A Reverie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

T h e G y m n a stic C lass . . . . . . . . . . . 27

T h e M agazine or " T w o points of view ” . . .. . . 28

M es-V oisins .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 31

H ockey . . .. . . .. .. . . . . .. 33

C haracteristics o f the " Z ”T eam . . . . . . . . 37

T h e C adets .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 40

P o rt D ickson C am p .. .. .. .. .. . . 43

B adm inton T o u rn am en t . . . . . . . . . . 47

P in g -P o n g ................................................................................................................... 50

T ennis . . .. .. .. .. .. . 52

O ffice Bearers .. .. .. .. .. . ,5 4

C alendar . . . . . .i n s i d e . f r o n t c o v e r .

S t a f f ■ • . . . . . . . . inside back cover.

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MAGAZINE OF RAFFLES INSTITUTION
SINGAPORE.

V o l. 5. December 1929. No. 3

EDITORIAL.

" A l l dullness is in th e m in d ; it comes o u t thence and diffuses

itself on everything round the dull person and then he terms every­

thing dull.”

--- C. M O N T A G U E .

N o th in g is more deadening th a n dullness and dullness has no more
deadening an effect than on the preparing of a magazine. We do not
mean ordinary magazines, of course— it pays thoseresponsible for them
to make th e m readable. B ut a school magazine is different— it has
th e same c ircu latio n w h e th e r it is readable or n o t; n o t t h a t the " Raffle-
sian ” is n o t readable! Besides, a school m agazine does n o t possess
very m any contributors who seem anxious to have their literary (sic!)
efforts appear in it! A n d so te rm a fte r te rm this glorification o f a
select few is t h r o w n o u t to those w ho w ould th i n k t h a t the school was
g oing to pieces .if the " Rafflesian ” did n o t co n ta in its usua'l n u m b e r of
pages.

2 T h e Rafflesian-

W e do n o t deny th a t it is an easy m a tte r to fill o u t the required
num ber of pages. W e can publish lists of uninteresting facts which
are waiting to be copied down. As a last resort, we can tell the
printers to space out the type and there are other means of increasing
the size of the magazine, b u t a school magazine m ust reflect the life of
the school. E v e ry page of t h a t magazine th a t is dull shows th a t some
p a r t of the school is dead. I t is no secret t h a t c ertain sections of this
magazine are read only by those who expect to find their names in
print!

A m ong the oldest and most honoured inhabitants of the " Raffle-
sian ” are the House reports. There seems to be a definite formula
upon which these reports are w ritten. They begin:

" W e were unfo rtu n a te last term in being unable to w in any
o f the inter-house events, but hope to do better this term. The
w e a th e r ................. ”
and read on to:

" W e lost ( three names here) b u t no w ( one nam e) is senior
p r e fe c t and ( th e same na m e) is also in charge o f indoor games.
F o rtu n a te ly th e w e a th e r ................. ”
and then conclude:

" W c have a fe w good volley-ball players and hope to w in
the challenge cup, b u t the iveather continues to be bad.”

W e p ity th e poor H ouse-M asters if e v e ry th in g is as d u ll as all
this. Perhaps the H ouse spirit is a mere m y t h — we c a n n o t otherwise-
account for the dullness and lack of enthusiasm shown by the H ouse

The Rafflesian 5

reports. In any case the writers would be rightly disappointed if
their reports do not appear in the magazine.

A nother m atter upon which we feel inclined to com ment upon
is the apparent Iack of clear th in k in g on the p art of boys about to
leave school. It would appear that most boys do not feel the parting
w ith either their school or their class mates. O n breaking-up day,
we do not find anyone gazing on the school walls which will house
them no more. N either do we find boys in earnest conversation w ith
their chums. Has anyone ever heard words spoken earnestly to this
effect: " Must make arrangements to meet regularly. You will write,
w o n ’t you? T ell me h o w you get on, old b ean.” T his entire lack o f
sentim ent speaks badly for any spirit th a t m ay be in the boys.

A part from this lack of school spirit, most boys leave the school
w ith only a vague idea of w hat they will do or w ant to do. T hey are
quite content to be clerks at small salaries— sometimes hardly a living;
wage— and are apparently satisfied w ith everything if they are allowed
to w o rk th u s as long as th e y live. I n m a tte rs o f im p o rt w h ich m ay
occur later on in life they seldom assert themselves. The opinions,
and e-x-amples o f others are rigidly observed. T h e y seem to th i n k to-
themselves, " Well, everybody does this and besides, m y people before
me did it also. So, well, I suppose I w ill do th e same.” N o th in g
can be more w retch ed th a n this a ttitu d e w h ic h is h eld -b y the greater
p o rtio n o f the people we see everyday. I t is probably the cause o f
more ruined lives th a n we care to a dm it. I t is to be hoped th a t while
our readers are enjoying their holidays they will also give this m a tte r
some thought for we know th a t many who are now spending their
last days in the school have not thought it out seriously.

L. E. N .

4 The Raftlesian

OLD BOYS’ COLUMN.

W e reg ret t h a t as no in fo rm a tio n has been received fr o m either
the Secretary or the Games’ Secretary of the O. R. A. we are com­
pelled to leave this column vacant.

HISTORY OF R. I.

We are unable to give a further instalment of this in the present
issue but hope to continue it in the near future.

We have to render our sincere thanks to the following for gene­

rously presenting cups for House or Team Competition:—

Mr. D. H. Kleinman. for Tennis.

Messrs. Robinson & Co., Ltd. for Badminton.

Messrs. B. P. de Silva, L td . fo r Ping-P ong.

Mr. K leinman has also offered to assist in coaching promising
tennis players .next year and we tru st th a t advantage will be taken of
this offer.



H o u s E IV HocKF.Y T E A M -W lN N E R S OF THE IN TER -HOUSE LEAGUES.
SlTTING IN THE CENTRE IS P. R . LEWlS, C A P T A IN .

The Rafflesian

SCHOOL NOTES.

We are sorry to have lost Mr. G. T. Peall, the Senior Commercial
master, who sailed to England on leave early in the term , together w ith
Mrs. Peall. His place in the Comm ercial classes was taken by Mr. C.
J. H all who joined the staff when Mr. Peall left. W e wish Mr. and
Mrs. Peall an enjoyable holiday.

The Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur, sent down their Foot­

ball team to play against the Schools here, and we were A t Home to

them on Monday, November i i , when, before a large crowd that

. - i Q : " :' * " •■-.• . : :'. ’ - .'■ : . v ' V ' . . ' " ■ • .'■ ' f t * . .;..«»

included Mr. F. Shaw, w ho was last year acting Principal at Raffles

and i s n o w H ead m a ste r o f the V. I. and Mr. J. B. N eilson, the Inspector

■ .t
of Schools, Malacca, we beat them by five goals to nothing. In a

b a d m in to n m a tc h w h ich was arranged a t a m o m e n t’s n otice we won

all our games against them.

T h e latest in tro d u c tio n in to the School is H o c k e y against th e
Y .W .C.A . Big numbers turned up to w atch tw o matches, one of
which was played on the Y.M.C.A. ground and the other on our own,
and both of which we won, though the Y.W. played splendidly on
the tw o occasions, at times even succeeding in knocking our fellows
over, no mean feat, considering.

The School has all of a sudden taken an extraordinary am ount o f
interest iri games fo r no few er th a n five Leagues or T o u rn a m e n ts have
been completed, besides m any other inter-H ouse matches. T he bad­
minton and Ping-Pong Tournaments resulted in House t. winning the

6 The Rafflesian

former and House VI. the latter w ith good games played on all oc­
casions, while the inter-class Tennis tournam ent win w ent to the
Specials, and House IV, won the Hockey Cup. The Football League
is n o t yet com pleted, b u t so far, H ouse IV . again has the lead.

Second L ieutenant Yusof b. Isahaak resigned his commission in the
■Cadet Corps to join the F.M.S. Police.

The shield presented to the Cadets by Mr. Gaw Khek Khiam for
com petition amongst the various sections has this year been won by
Section 2, whose leader is Sgt. A. Desker and w h o m we heartily c o n ­
gratulate.

The total sum collected on Poppy Day amounted to $6oo; of
this the highest contribution fro m any one class was $84 collected
from VII E.

O n November 22nd Mr. Gerald Sydney gave a musical and
humorous entertainm ent in the School Hall. Judging by the uproar
which at times filled the hall, the boys m ust have-enjoyed themselves
greatly. I t is a great pity t h a t there was n o t a bigger audience.

O n F riday N o v . 23 rd the B atu P ahat English School football XI
visited us and a fte r a thrilling game w on by 3 goals to 2. T hey were
entertained to dinner afterwards.

The Rafflesian 7

THE MYSTERY.

N ow boys and girls I w ant you to pay attention and not let
y o u r m in d w an d e r because I am sure th a t y o u ’ll say Bully before you
finish this. M y story is about Peter T idm arsh w ho was a detective
th a t is he never succeeded in solving any mysteries o nly he had a w ax y
moustache and a funny way of saying Ahem which frightened anybody
w h o was a b o u t to do w icked deeds so th e y d id n ’t do th e m so P e te r
d id n ’t have to solve an y mysteries. I t follows I mean.

P eter was s ittin g a t his g re a t d e te c tiv e ’s desk o nly i t w a sn ’t
different f r o m an y o th e r desk o n ly it was called a dete c tiv e ’s d'esk and
th a t was the difference I mean when someone entered and said Good
m o rn in g I ’ve come to see y o u a b o u t a m y s te ry and P ete r said certainly
have a drink which shows how clever he was because if he had said Ah
like th a t he would have p u t the fellow on his guard and spoilt every­
th in g you see so the fellow had a d rin k o f gin o n ly it was w a te r
because you couldn t notice the difference only when you started to
drink then Peter would make a noise like a corkscrew and you believed
it was gin and it was ever so m uch cheaper in the end.

Then they talked about the boat-race and the chances of Whatope
in the 3.30 because Peter said it never did to talk shop only the man
was rather upset because his time was valuable and he got red in the
face only I think it was the fault of the gin only it was w ater and he
m u s t have im agined it was gin and P e te r said W a r m day isn’t it and
the m a n said H e ll or som ething and I came to see you about a m y ste ry
and Peter said Brother you have our ear say on and the man said on
M y nam e is Moseseliabraham Jo h n C ohenook only call me T o to be-

T k e .RafBesian

cauce t h a t is ra th e r a lot to say artd' P eterr Said N o t a t all say on and
th e m a n said on o n ly w h a t he said o n doesn’t interest us a t all only
after a little while he picked up his hat and said Good m orning and
Peter said G ccd m orning I will Icok into the mystery.

Then he sat d o w n in a c h airan d read a lot pf detectivebooks only
h e d id n ’t rem em b e r a n y th in g because his m in d was th in k in g abo^t the
m ystery arjd at last he said I have found a clue and he p u t on his hat
and w ent out and said W hatho to a taxi and,$aid,Double M ug and sooq
he was th ere and he w e n t in and had so m ething o nly I ’m n o t very
certain b u t he wiped his m outh with his hand when he came out and
said I imagine th a t the plot thickens so we m ust imagine too.

T h e n he behaved in a v e ry stran g e m a n n e r only i t ’s no use m y
telling you w h a t he did because you w o u ld n ’t u n d e rs ta n d b u t he w e n t
to C ry sta l Palace and asked the Keepers all sorts of questions such as
How many children have you and Have you a tattoo mark on your
neck and silly things like th a t and then he said Its a problem I assure
y o u o n ly I ’m n o t beaten y e t and he to o k a c ro w b a r and started to dig
up H vde Park and soon he struck something hard and he said Lord
bless m y soul o n ly it tu r n e d o u t to be a stone and P eter said I c a n ’t
understand it and w ent home to bed.

T hat night he solved the mystery only it was in a dream anyway
he rang up Cohenook next m orning and said I have solved the mystery
and the m an said Bully and Peter said T hank you would like to hear
all ab o u t it and th e m a n said O h it doesn’t m a tte r as long as the
m y s te r y ’s solved it doesn’t w o rry me and P eter said T h a n k you no
doubt you will send the cheque along immediately only when he went

The Rafflesian 9

to the B ank he co u ld n ’t cash it o n ly it d id n ’t w o rry h im because he
said I d id n ’t really solve the m y s te ry a fte r all.

A n d the m oral is if you d o n ’t w a n t stuff like this in T h e M agazine
its up to you to send in something yourself only we have to fill the
M agazine som ehow o n ly we c a n ’t do i t all o u rs e lv e sa s M r. H o n o ra ry
C ensor said the o th e r d ay T his c a n ’t go on an d I said Q u ite like t h a t
and he said W e shall have to do som eth in g and I .said O n ly w h a t are
we to do because th e fellows a re n ’t h alf as keen to c o n trib u te as th e y
are to g ru m b le w hen the M agazine is a few hours late or som ething
and I said f u r t h e r I t ’s a m y s te ry a n d he said I t is o n ly its a bigger
m y s te ry th a n y o u r sto ry w h ic h is ra th e r silly y o u k n o w o n ly we c a n ’t
help it so I said I quite u n d erstand th a n k you very m u c h Sir and I w en t
away.

R . S.

IO T h e Rafflesian

ONE’S SISTER.

A sister is the m ost curious th in g u n d e r the sun, I suppose be­
cause she is a girl. All girls are curious creatures. W h a t w ould you
think of a girl who bought you a birthday present of tie, socks and
handkerchiefs all to m atch, when you have been angling most pointedly
for a beautifully bound volume of your favourite writer or for a dozen
badly w anted tennis balls, or some Casals records. O f course all girls
think they know best about everything (or n o th in g ); their taste
is infallible! B ut im agine one o f m y hue w ith a b it of old rose,
gold and royal blue around my neck, and bands of the same colours
encasing m y legs. Artistic!

O f course sisters are useful when our buttons get lost in the
laundry or our socks require open work in the best broderie anglais
manner— in other words, darning. N o t that we men cannot stick
a paltry button on our trousers all by ourselves. All we have to do
is to thread the needle. I adm it it does take some tim e before our
piece of thread is fairly in the eye of the needle— sufficient tim e fo r
the thread to have turned a rather grubby hue, and we are on the
verge o f saying words begin n in g w ith d----- ! B u t w hen once we have o u r
needle threaded, w hy, the rest is plain sailing; I should say plain sewing.
In and o u t goes the needle, a few twists round the b u tto n , then a knot.
T here! w h o says a mere m an c a n ’t sew his b u tto n s on. B u t d o n ’t tell
m y sister so, w hen I tell you som ething secret— you kn ow w h a t m odern
girls are, so self-reliant, confident th a t no one else am ong us mortals
c a n do a n y th in g h alf as well as th e y can— how she’ll jeer! F or I ’m
afraid the skin on all m y fingers is all pricked, and m y trousers have—
one, two, three spots of blood. But never mind! The main point

The Rafflesian

is, th a t the b u tt o n is on, th o u g h three quarters of an h o u r have been
spent in so doing.

A nd how girls do scream! T hey do little else on the tennis
■c o u rt. T h e air is h eav y w ith " O o h ’s” and " O h ’s” and " H e l p ’s” and
"Y o u rs, I c a n ’t tak e this b r u t e ” and "K ill i t ” and o th e r encouraging
remarks which if unuttered would have left enough breath to allow
the dear girls to ru n faster. T hey do have such curious ideas of "e x ­
pression” as one realises all too well w h en one is the ir u n f o r tu n a t e
acco m p an ist fo r voice, or violin or ’cello. H o w S chubert or T c h a ik o v ­
ski would have turned in their graves if they heard their tempo being
m u rd ered — sacrificed a t "expression’s” altar. N o w o n d er the A n d a n te
Cantabile, O p. i i is said to be haunting.

H owever, sisters have their uses. W hen I invade th a t dressing
table of hers, the array of powders and creams, lotions and scents
c o n fr o n tin g me is e nough to sto ck a c h e m ist’s. W h e n we n e x t have
.a play in th e e n d -te rm con certs I shall m ake use of her rouge and
lipstick.

O f course sisters must be kept in their proper places, in keeping
w ith our proper dignity— and yet one does condescend now and then—
say once a week— to grace their teas and " a t homes.” I t is rath er
nice to be ordered about to hand cakes and things round by a dim inu­
tive th in g scarce as h ig h as y o u r shoulder. She fo n d ly imagines she
will be w inning the respect of her cronies by— apparently— bossing her
great lout o f a b ro th e r— she doesn’t k n o w h o w her b ro th e r feels about
it; like a St. Bernard w hich tolerates the gambols of a fluffy little puss.
B u t th e re’s a Hmit to e v ery th in g . I firm ly p ro test at being d ragged
from a comfortable nest of swelling cushions to pay visits or take my

The Raftlesian

sister shopping. Good lord! H o w girls can bargain! A n d th e y ’ll
spend hours m a tc h in g colours! W h y saxe-blue is different fr o m p o w ­
der-blue beats me. T h e y ’re all blue, a re n ’t they? So w h y w aste tim e
over such trivialities as a shade deeper or lighter!

But what can I do when a pair of arms entwine themselves firmly
round my neck and a coaxing voice whispers, "D o come, dear! You
kn o w I need someone to look afte r me, and, you do it so well when

you like.” O r again when she w ants to go visiting, 'Dear, didn t
you h alf-prom ise to ta k e me to the S------- ’s this afternoon? D o be
a d e a r a n d come! I know th a t H ilda Lessways is very interesting,
b u t I ’ll in tro d u c e you to ever such a more in teresting creature. A n d
I do so w a n t to show off m y great, big, beau tifu l bro th er too. Y ou
k n o w you can be so handsom e and distinguished as a prince w hen

you like— so quiet and distinguished and appealing. I shall be so proud
to be taken o u t by yo u .” A fte r th a t, w h a t is a mere m an to do?
A n y w a y I can say my sister is quite a sweet little th in g , and it s ra th e r

nice to be seen out with her.

EMPTY.

The Raftlesian i3

OH, DEAR, W HAT CAN THE MATTER BE!

N urse was on holiday. Before going she had promised Miss Ida

to w rite about all her doings. A t a p arty given by her sister-in-law,

Mrs. Janet Donough, w ith w hom she was staying, something tragic,

so she says, took place. F ro m the letters she received, Ida never could

find out w hat did happen. Specimens of the correspondence from

both people are appended.

(i-)

Dear Nanny,

Very many thanks for your letters. They have livened up the

d reary days w h en I am fo rced to keep in bed. Mrs. D o n o u g h ’s p a r t y

m u st be very jolly, fro m w h a t you w rite me. I seem to see everybody

there. But what exactly happened there and who caused it? You

know you hinted most mysteriously at some catastrophe.

I am much better now, and soon 1 hope to be able to get up for
a little turn about in the garden.

W ith m uch love,
Il)A.

(*•)

D ear Miss Ida,

O f course, it w asn ’t m y f a u lt a t all. B u t, th e n , there it is. I t

happened all of a sudden. W e would be sitting doWn to tea, I th ink;

no, it m u s t have been at dinner. I c a n ’t say w hich. I t m u st be at

dinner, I think, for 1 remember— no, I think it was Mr. Playfair who
was saying t h a t — well, I ’m sure I c a n ’t rem em ber w h a t he said; b u t

then he m ust have said it at tca. Janet was handing me a cup of tea,
or was it a plate of cake? Cake, I ’m sure; fo r I rem em ber Miss J a y

i 4 T he Rafflesian'

just came in, and she wore a very p retty frock, and Mr. G reauphatt
was calling Mrs. M oggs’s a t te n tio n to J a n e t, saying, " D o take a cake;
that chocolate one w ith almond on top. Yes, that. My wOrd, looks
like Miss Jay here.” A n d then we all looked round, and sure enough
there she was. A b ro w n fr o c k , yet, no it w asn’t so m u c h b ro w n as
w h a t you m a y call yellow; yet, no, it w asn t so e x a c tly yellow as
orange. W ell, just like that, you know , m y dear. A nd there were
streaks of something white all d ow n the frock. Exactly like that
cake, y o u k n o w . B u t, oh, y o u d o n ’t! So sorry, dear. B u t yo u
un d erstan d me, d o n ’t you? Well, th e n just like th a t. T h ere it was.
I mean there was Miss Jay, and she was powdering her nose. I parti­
cularly remember it was her nose because Mr. Goodrftan was just then
stirring his tea, and the spoon fell to the ground. E xactly like that
the spoon fell. B ut never m ind the spoon. As I said Miss Jay was
powdering her nose. A n d then it happened. O f course, 1 wasn t t 0 1
blame, but then you can hardly say who was. For none of us knew
a n y th in g a b o u t it till it did happen, and th e n it took place so quickly
nobody knew who did it. Janet was quite worried and said she kn ew
something would happen because when she w ent to her mirror this
m orning she found — I think it was before she w ent to the mirror.
It was before, for she said she had some anxiety about her complexion
and so she rushed to the m irror. B u t as I said she f o u n d — she was
q u ite in details a b o u t it b u t F m sure y o u w o u ld n ’t like me to retail
e v e ry th in g . Besides 1 h a v e n ’t the ch arm ing w a y of Jan et. Y ou
should have h eard h e r repeat her story. I t was glorious. B u t as I
said she found her husband had forgotten to tu r n on the hot w ater for
her bath, and before she knew anything she had dipped a hand in
ice-cold (!) water, m uch to her horror. Just like that, my dear,

T he Rafflesian

she said, hence her p rem o n itio n — t h a t ’s the c o rre c t w ord. I looked
up the dictionary for the spelling— well, hence her premonition some­
th in g terrible w ould happen. A n d d id n ’t it just? So she said she’ll
n ever disregard w arn in g s any more. O f course, n o b o d y ’ll say she isn’t
rig h t. I t ’s quite n a tu ra l, isn’t it? I t was terrible, very. B u t w rite
and tell me what you think of it. A nd here I beg to remain, your
loving nurse,

THEODOSIA GHORGIANA SMITH.

(30

Dear Nanny,

W hat did actually happen?

Do paragraph your letters, N an n y dear.

lDA.

(40

D ear Miss Ida,

Dearie me! B iih it I say w hat happened? A nd I was thinking

to myself— I was sure I had w ritten all about it in my last letter. Are

you quite sure you have not overlooked it? You know how one can

skim over a th in g so q u ic k ly especially w h en one is clever and reads

so m uch like you, m y dear. M y dear late husband— the first one, you

know. Gustavus Aloysius Miggs was his name. Well, he used to

read so m u c h before he died, th e poor man. I t was a tr e a t to see h im

read, the poor soul, though he only read the Times of the previous

Christmas and an old edition of the Boxing Record. H e could tell

w hat advertisements appeared on which page and could almost teIl

y o u h o w m a n y times D em psey s tru c k — I d o n ’t rem em ber w ho it was,

b u t it was some sort o f m a n called R ’free, I th in k , leastwise t h a t ’s

always w hat I heard him say. A nd this man was in every fight I heard

16 T h e Raftlesian

m y G u stav u s ta lk about. M u s t be a stro n g m an!! G u stav u s w asn ’t,
you k n o w , and t h a t ’s w h y he was so fo n d o f those fights. A n d then
there was something about giving the count, 'though what they gave
th e g en tlem an I ’m sure I n ever fo u n d o u t. F or I seldom asked
Gustavus about such things which he thinks every one should know.

Oh, paragraph, my dear; certainly.
I k n o w w h a t th a t is.
7 was told about it in school.
T h o u g h I d id n ’t q u ite see th e p o in t of it.
W aste of space, I always said. .
Makes your letters look like verse.
D o n ’t it?
I have no time for that, m y dear.
Past my younger days.
A n d you m u s tn ’t be a n g ry when nurse fo rgets about it again.
They say letters be speech w ritten down.
But one does not have paragraphs in speeches, m y dear.
So where’s th e sense of them ?
Good-bye, Miss Ida.
1 hope you get well soon.

Your Ioving nurse,

THEODOSIA GEORGIANA MlGGS-SMITH.

The Rafflesian

ON GOING TO THE DENTIST.

Exactly! O f course I know w hat you think of me. A w ful bore!
T rying to fill up space in the magazine to make up for lack of articles;
harping on the same old subject; and so on ad infinitum . Y ou th in k
I may be discouraged from w riting on this m atter but thm k again.
O f course I shall n ot be discouraged, and this is n o t the last tim e a n y ­
one will write on this— the subject has too great potentialities for
comedy and tragedy to be left alone for long! However, for the
guidance of future writers, I will lay down three fundam ental rules.
First of all, do not begin by mentioning the depression and abject
misery w ith w hich you make y o u r w ay to y o u r dentist. This is u n ­
necessary for no prisoner ever went to the torture-cham ber w ith
singing and dancing, but rather to the roll of muffled drums. Second­
ly, never bore your readers by telling them how you endured the pain

w ith quiet dignity— you had no other alternative! A nd thirdly do
not say w ith w hat relief you left your dentist— no victim was ever
reluctant to be taken from the rack, nor was Promethues unhappy
w hen the eagle left off pecking his liver.

H aving delivered these injunctions to posterity I will proceed
w ith the tale.

I was in the waiting-room together w ith half a dozen others
awaiting the dreaded call like the missionary waiting for the cannibal
feast to begin. A t last it came, the cosy chair and its inviting arms
reminded me of a spider inviting a fly to enter its parlour. The soft
red plush was to me a nest of pins. However

18 T h e Rafflesian

"W ide open, please,” the voice was grim, almost sepulchral but
insistent. It had to be obeyed.

" O h , t h a t ’s the one is it ? ” A ta p on the to o th sent a searing
flame down m y spine. Then out came the drill, that cursed thing
that science has put in the hands of every dentist. Buzz, buzz, rasp,
grind, squeak, buzz, buzz, buzz, rasp, rasp. It shook my innermost
being. Buzz, buzz, rasp, grind squeak. Was it ever going to end?

I fell to speculating on how soon I could get away and— oh,
H ell is e m p ty and all the devils are let loose on me! T h e m aster o f
ceremonies at the torture chamber has only simple thumb-screws
and red hot needles driven under his victim s’ nails to keep them fully
aware of the situation but the dentist,— he has all the realms of science
to help him. Let you for a moment show signs that you are not
in the supremest agony and you will be quickly disillusioned. A
blast of hot air on the nerve through a hole specially drilled for the
purpose gives the requisite degree of pain to the victim to keep him
from dreaming. Alternatively ice-cold air may be used and in cer­
tain cases both hot and cold air are used. A nother school of dentists
advocate a jab on the nerve with a sharp instrum ent, but for this I
advise the use of leg-straps also!

M y dentist is a conscientious m a n and likes to be thorough. H e
uses all three methods— hot air, a jab on the nerve and then cold air.
W ith each jab he asks the same superfluous question:—

"Does it hurt?”
"Yes”
" C a n ’t be very m u c h — like the stin g of a m o sq u ito ”
"M uch more than th a t”

The Rafflesian !9

"T hen like tw o mosquitoes.”
You see w h a t a callous m a n he is, I w o n d er w h ic h course afforded
him the greatest entertainm ent— the hot air, the jab on the nerve
or the cold air. Occasionally he adds a fo u rth course to his usual
programme— he drops a wad of cotton wool steeped in the most foul
smelling, evil tasting corrosive chemical on your tongue. Probably
the extra expense incurred by using the chemical upsets him for he
invariably gives v en t to the same language as I m ig h t have used had
i spoken my thoughts!

B ut ev erything m u st have an end and so w ith an air of great
regret he told me I could take m y departure.

20 The Rafflesian

•

EGGS.

I am nearly positive th a t b u t very few of us have ever sat dow n
and seriously th o u g h t ab o u t eggs, so, because I am sure th a t there can
be no subject in w hich we c a n n o t find interesting or in stru c tiv e facts,
we shall in this essay be occupied upon the entirely diverting subject
of eggs.

Eggs were first discovered in the days of Julius Caesar, but
experiments had been carried out previous to his time, chiefly by the
tribunes who, I believe, were tired of throw ing bricks at the fellows
who would deliver their seductive expositions in the market place or
in the Forum to the untrained and wondering plebs. A n interesting
sto ry is told a bout Caesar and the eggs, b u t according to the historian
Baldus Apex, no p roof is yet available as to its a u th e n tic ity . I t goes
that Cacsar had been out severely telling oif certain outside tribes who,
in their barbaric childishness had caused no little discomfort to other
tribes by m aking noises outside their windows and throw ing banana-
skins at th eir children. FIe was as a result, rath er tired, and entering
the dining room very rudely shouted at Calpurnia, '' Sardines for
dinner, I suppose.”

N ow if there has been anything that threatened the domestic
felicity ( r a th e r a good phrase, d o n ’t you th i n k ) of the home it had
been the subject of sardines. Caesar most sensibly loathed them, but
C alp u rn ia said th e y wer<~ cheap, and the m a tte r had to rest there.
But to-day, however, the good wife was ready w ith the cheering
answer "N o, dear. As a m atter of cold fact Blastus Egginus brought
some eggs as a present to y o u this m o rn ing. B ut I ’m sure th a t I
d o n ’t k n o w ho w to cook th e m a n y w a y .” Caesar tried to swallow

The Rafilesian 21

th e m th e n and there, and th o u g h he d id n ’t seem to enjoy them , the
incident gave rise to th a t vulgar expression ' Go and suck eggs.’ But
I ’m glad to say th a t Caesar and C a lp u rn ia made up their quarrels, and
were married and lived happily ever afterwards— No! I beg your
pardon. They had been married before.

I could go on for hours telling you little stories how eggs made
th e ir w ay in to the lives o f the people, b u t as I ’ve com pletely f o r g o tte n
ho w th e y go, it will be b e tte r th a t I d id n ’t. B ut I should like to
point out how much the world owes to the egg. Take America fo r
instance. H ad not Columbus and the fellow had that bet that
C o lu m b u s co u ld n ’t m ake th e egg stan d up, he certa in ly w o u ld n ’t
have gone and discovered America. Just imagine a world in which
there w e re n ’t an y people to laugh at!

But there are other things to talk about. Let us consider the
different kinds of eggs. There are Straight from the H en eggs, N ew -
laid eggs, Fresh eggs, Good eggs and just plain Eggs. The difference be­
tw een these is p urely a m a th e m atic a l one, by w h ich I mean th a t y o u ’ve
g ot to consider how long th e y ’ve been w a itin g to be sold. S traig h t
from the H ens are all right, one can p u t up w ith Fresh or New-laids,
but they say that if you cannot afford to keep a canary, the eggs
m a rk ed Plain or Good do nearly as well.

I am a great admirer of eggs, for I believe that were it not for
th em the world would be ov er-ru n w ith p e tty elocutionists, appalling
actors, distressing contraltos and cracked basses, b u t eggs and a good
eye have succeeded in a great measure in rem oving these nuisanc.es.
Mir_d you, I d o n ’t mean t h a t a good revue is n o t w o r th y o u r m o n e y ,
n o r would I th ro w eggs at a Ballet because— Sh. Manners!

IZ The Rafflesian

I must include in this, those appallingly frequent eggs seen on a
c ric k e t scoring board. I ’m n o t an a u th o rity on these m a tte rs b u t if
you really w a n t e n lig h te n m e n t go to D ’C ------- w ho dabbles in things
like this, but be careful to provide for yourself a ready means of retreat,
because the dear fellow is som ew hat adverse to references-—er— on
this painful question.

Then think of those charming things— Easter Eggs. I remember
once buying a beautiful one which I meant to send home— would you
believe it b u t I h a v e n ’t the b a s t idea w h a t to say n ext, because this
never really happened, but 1 had to say something more to make m y
a rticle longer. ' Sub eis circum stansis ’ as one b rig h t scholar said
the other m orning in the Latin class, and was well and truly told off in
w ords straig h t fro m the shoulder, w h a t the d evil’s the use of w asting
paper. But before I stop let me give you the latest parting expres­
sion— " Pansy, h o w ’s the lig h t.” T h e sto ry behind this som ew hat
stu p id question w asn ’t invented to be told in School Magazines, b u t
i t ’s w o r th hearing, so if you are c o rr u p te d enough and are w illing
to come down to the Prefects’ Room any time after 11.29 on Tuesdays,
an d if you u n d ersta n d good m ilita ry language, I ’ll tell it to you.

R. S.

Tlie Rafllcsian

THE CAUSE OF IT ALL.

W orried? O f course he is or else w h y does he look so w retched?
Poor chap; wonder w hat can be the matter. Funny the way he wipes
his brow so o fte n ; m u st be ru b b in g aw ay his wrinkles, he being so
worried.

Such were the remarks made about a certain member of the school
seen wiping his face every three seconds with a large handkerchief.
W h a t the trouble was no one knew , b u t-----------

N e v e r seen him like th a t before; th in k w e’d b e tte r ask him .
W a it a b it; let h im calm d o w n ; I ’ll ask the o th e r chappies; say! you
fellows, look round. Ooh; ooooh; oh; gracious; my great sainted aunt;
isn’t he fu n n y ? T h in k so? O h , w h a t ’s w ro ng? T h a t ’s w h a t we
w a n t to k n o w . TeIl you w h a t; i t ’s about the magazine. W h a t about
it? W h y , d o n ’t y o u k n o w ; fellows are n o t w ritin g a n y th in g . R u b ­
bish, he has e v ery th in g sent to the press already; c a n ’t be th a t.

B ut look, h e’s tu rn e d ro u n d ; n o t w orried at all, only sw eating!
So he is; heavens, w here does all the w a te r come fro m ? O o zin g
fro m every pore! W h a t ’s he been u p to? Gone to the printers and
back? N o , was in the shed all m o rn in g . C a n ’t have done m u c h
w o rk there! A n d he doesn’t look so tired to sweat such a lot! Looks
quite fresh.

I k n o w w h at, h e ’s feeling the heat. C h u m p ! i t ’s raining cats and
dogs! U m ! H u h ! M u st be it; someone’s th reaten ed his life; does
he have personal enemies? Silly, does a threatened m an look pleased?
Eh? B u t-----------

'' Look here, (wipe) you silly asses, (w ipe) stop staring at (wipe)
a chap will (wipe) you? ”

*4 Thc Rafilesian

" B ut, I say, w h a t ’s the m a tte r? ”
" Eh? ”
" You are pouring w ith sweat.”
'' W hat (wipe) of that? ”
'' Y o u ’ve n ever tu r n e d on the w a te r-w o rk s like this before.”
" G o to -----------” (w ipe)
" Look here-----------”
" Chump! Fathead!
" H as anyone threatened your life? ”
W h -h -h-hu h-h-aa-arzatt? (wipe) Ho, ho, ho, (wipe) ha, ho!
(w ipe) Silly (w ipe) asses. C a n ’t you (w ipe) see I have (w ipe) ha,
ha, j- j- ju g -ju s t (w ipe) had a g u g -g u g (w ipe) feed of (w ipe) ha,. ha,
gug-gug (wipe) satay gug-gug-groo babi (wipe) and the (wipe)
sambal (wipe) s-s-si-i-s had (wipe) too m uch chilly (wipe) s-s-si-i-ss
in it.”

The Rafflesian

A REVERIE.

W e stood on the b ro w o f th e hill, m y com panion and I, and as we
looked across the valley could see the glorious sunset th r o u g h the tall
pines, we could hear th e trill o f the birds as th e y sought the ir nests,
could see the rabbits as th e y scu ttled to th e ir holes. " A beautiful p ic ­
ture,” I said at last. "Somehow I seem to imagine it a stage set for the
actors.” My companion smiled, but before he could say anything we
saw a young boy step across the valley. The golden rays of the sun
caught his head of fair curly hair, and w ith his head erect and his u n ­
fa lterin g step he made a fine p ic tu re, and as I looked it seemed th a t
he was pressing forward to some goal, some ambition, some ideal, for
he scanned the horizon w ith shaded eyes and quickened his step as if
he saw his objective.

" L o o k ,” said m y com panion. ' 'T h a t is y o u r y o u th ; you have y our
life before you, and are w ont to plan and scheme your future. You are
fu ll o f o ptim ism , you do n o t u n d e rsta n d th a t life is a struggle all the
time, you do not comprehend the meaning of failure, for you are sure
you can succeed. Look at th a t young Iad there. T hough perhaps he
is in d o u b t as to his w ay, his step does n o t falter, because he c an n o t
realize the consequences of a mistake b u t lives in the present.” "B u t,”
cried I, "Is it not true th a t he goes farth est who knows n o t where he
steps?” But again my companion was prevented from answering, for,
from where the young Iad had stepped came a man in the prime of his
life, yet as I w atc h e d h im cross the valley I noticed th a t his shoulders
were slightly stooped, th a t his step was not quite steady, th a t now and
then he faltered, b u t th a t anew his s tre n g th retu rn ed . " W h a t is
t h a t ? ” I asked as I tu rn e d to h im w ho stood by m y side.

26 The Rafflesian

Q u ie tly he said, " T h a t is w hen your life has half r u n its course.
You are not young, yet you have not reached old age, but you have
already tasted the bitter fruits of dreams that have not come true, of
schemes that somehow have not succeeded, and you falter in your way,
disappointed, horribly disappointed, and w on d ering if i t ’s w o rth the
struggle, w orth those weary miles th a t have to be tramped, that
journey that has to be trod to the very end. T hen you remember w hat
is dear to you in the world. Y o u r home, y o u r loved ones, w ho are
watching at the window for your return when you come back to them
a man, a man in the true and highest sense, and you pick up courage
anew. C an you see the shadows th a t lengthen across his path. Those
are the shadows of failure. You will find them dark shadows indeed,
my friend, and you will wonder if light will ever shine again, you will
be sore te m p te d to give it all up. B ut look again! See the moon
rising yonder. W a t c h the mellow moonbeams as they m e lt aw ay the
shadows, and brighten the path before.” As hespoke once more I
saw a figure step across the valley. But this time it was that of an
old man. His hair was snowy white, his shoulders were bent, his step
weak and faltering, yet he kept his way. I touched m y companion
on his arm and pointed to the figure I saw.

N o w he spoke very slowly. " Y o u r life is nearly over. Y ou have
gone th rough it all, all the shadows, all the failures, b u t also the suc­
cesses, you have done w ith all th a t savours of the struggle. Look!
See how he tu r n s ro u n d , how he looks over the landscape of his life,
now the dark and shadowy valleys, now the sun-kissed hills, now the
valleys again, and yet again the hills, how he smiles over both the
la u g h te r and the tears, the b itte r and the sweet. H e is satisfied. I t

The RafBesian

is ail over. C om e m y friend, fo r the n ig h t is late, and we m u s t be
home. A nd slowly we walked on, while the moon shone radiantly
up in G o d ’s heaven, lig h tin g th e p a th before us.

R . S.

THE GYMNASTIC CLASS.

U nder the able guidance of Mr. Sabapathy this class has existed
unobtrusively for some time past, holding meetings in the old girls’
school on Saturdays. It was, therefore, a m atter of no small surprise
fo r one o f the editors, u pon a chance call, to find a score or so of boys,
all as keen as m u stard , going th r o u g h some exercises on the parallel
bars. A dozen or so o f the boys are quite proficient and can p e rfo rm
mvolved movements w ith a certain am ount of confidence. The rest
o f the class are more or less beginners.

The Raftlesian
2«

THE MAGAZINE,
or

4Two points of view.’

SCEN E I.

T h e curtain rises on th e E d ito rs’ room. I t is cold and cheer­

less, and on tw o deal-wood chairs sit the Editors, one o f them
partially bald, the other w ith grey hairs on his m anly brow. T h ey

seem upset, and converse in groans.
First Editor. H ow m any articles have been sent in?

Second Editor. Precisely one. fill?
F. E. H ow many pages will that

S. E. W e ’re n o t a c cep tin g it. .

F. E. No?
S. E. P e rf e c t trash.
F. E. T h a t leaves us w ith how many articles?

S. E. Precisely none.
(A long pause.)

F. E. T h a t means t h a t there isn o th in g to fill the Magazine.

S. E. T ru e, b ro th e r, true.
F. E. You sent the notices round, I suppose?
S. E. T h e School was positively in u n d a te d w ith them . N o effect, o f

course. Sort of standing joke, those notices. Masters giggle,
and boys collapse w h en th e y see them . N o b o d y cares. ,
F. E. W e could appeal to the Head.
S. E. M y dear fellow, th e H e a d has le ft the M agazine in our h a n d v
W e c a n ’t appeal to him . Is n ’t done.

The RafBesian *9

F. E. Then?
S. E. W h a t the School needs is a shock. If the Mag. d id n ’t come o u t

this T e r m t h a t w ould shock th e m a bit. T h e re ’d be a row,
of course.

F. E. RatheP not. F a c t is, F m scared to do th a t. W e could w rite
the thing up ourselves.

S. E. T h a t ’ll make it the f i fth Mag. w e ’ve w r it te n u p ourselves.

F. E. M m . . But you know, there ought to be some reason for
all this. I mean there are pots of fellows who could write.

S. E. Lots o f reasons w h y th e y sh o u ld n ’t th o u g h . Love afFairs,
fo r one th in g . T o o engrossed in things th e y o u g h t n ’t to
know anything about and th at sort of thing. Spite, for
another. W h y w e re n ’t we made the editors; well, since w e
w e re n ’t le t’s c u t the Mag. N o t every b o d y ’s like t h a t ,
though, thank heaven!

F. E. O h well! L ife’s short, and the M a g ’s, g ot to be o u t in a f o r t ­
n i g h t ’s tim e, so le t’s away, and w rite our b rig h t and breezy
articles.

S E. A nd serve the fellows right. I quite agree.

CURTAIN.

3° The Raftlesian

SCENE II.
A class-room on the day that the Magazinc com:s out.

Several fellow s sit around reading their copies.
First fellow. Trash!
Second fellow. Offal!
F. E. Sewage!
S. E. Tripe!
F- E- T h e stu ff’s a disgrace to the School. H a n g it! I pay a dollar

a year to get something decent.
S. .E. These fellows o u g h t to be k ic ked o u t. W h ere are the H ouse

reports, anyway m y name ought to appear somehow and
somewhere. Jealousy, if you ask me. (H e reads on) I am
about to be horribly sick. Let us ooze. ( T hey ooze.)

CURTAIN.

R . S.

Thc Rafilesian 31

MES VOISINS.

N o w , you n eed n ’t sneer at me th in k in g I ’m show ing off m y k n o w ­
ledge o f a foreign language. N o t the least: the ti tl e ’s m e an t fo r pre­
caution, w h ich I ’m told is the b e tte r p a rt of valour. Y ou k n o w w h at
it means— mes voisins— b u t, hush! n o t a w ord about it. Y ou see,
serious trouble m ay develop between us, and— well! I ’m n o t quite
physically fit fo r a tussle w ith any one, least of all n e x t-d o o r’s m o th er-
in-law; nor do I think I can match her in language, though— well,
to get on.

I t ’s a noisy neighbourhood, this of mine. Perhaps, noisy is too
mild a term. But you shall judge.

Early in the m orning, from the bungalow across th a t bit of
waste land comes the wheezy tones of a gramophone that must have
been considered old-fashioned in 1910. And for some tw o hours you
hear all the favourite hits of last year, of the year before th a t, and of
still more rem ote years. Each tu n e is played several times over w ith
varying speeds. A nd when you begin to thank your stars th a t the
gramophone has stopped the boy over the hedge begins his practice
on the piano. H e fondly imagines he will develop into a C ortot, and
no one has disillusioned h im ; w henever a visitor calls, y o u ’ll hear the
mother calling to him, "John, do come and play us a tune; Mrs.
D a u g h ’s heard all a b o u t y o u .” A n d Mrs. D a u g h will second the
m o th e r’s m otion. Jo h n agrees w ith alacrity, fe a rfu l the request will
not be repeated. John doe? n o t p!ay d raw in g -roo m pieces; he de­
spises such favourites as Bl1imenlied, SparkIi11g Cascades, Fairy Boat,
and variations on H ome, Sweet, Home-. he tackles Chopin, Beethoven,
Moskowski, R a ch m a n in o v , and a strin g o f others. Tt’s m oving music
you hear— it moves you to such heights of passion you feel you can

32 TIie Rafflesian

murder the cat, purring complacently at your feet. And when John
stops somebody in the house plays a violin— and never was violin
played in such a m anner before. Tlie player gropes all over the finger­
board— at least th a t is the impression I get. E v ery m in u te I imagine
a piece o f h eav y fu r n it u r e is dragged over the floor. A t the same
time, from across the road, comes the strains of the national anthem,
played with one finger on a crazy piano. You hear no more than the
first few bars, which are repeated some dozen times. Then a me­
lancholy thum ping out of Yes, we have no bananas.

T h a t ’s n o t all. A t d in n e r tim e a m o u r n f u l male voice and a
reedy female voice sing duets. Apparently both vocalists have no
idea of time, and in trying to drow n each other, they produce an aw ful
din. It sounds like a steam siren with a cold.

Soon yet an o th er vocalist comes on the scene. She th in k s she’s
got a delightful voice. She sings ballads reeking w ith sentimentalism:
U n til is a fav o u rite. T h e n occasionally you hear T h e end or' a Par-r-
f e c ’ die. T h e b eau ty o f it all is she is n o t decided as to w h a t note she
should attack; her voice wavers between one note and its flat, and you
get a trem bling effect in sustained passages.

The dogs, too, are resolved not to leave you in peace. The
people down at the corner of the road keep more than a dozen mangy
pariahs. There are others including several stray, starved dogs in the
neighbourhood. Long d raw n -o u t wails fill the night a ir,w h ile other
dogs bark furiously. A fight ensues; snarls, yelps, more whines.
W indows open— human voices " shoo-shoo-ing ” join in th ; din. Cans
of w ater are thrown. Peace for a while.

The Rafflesian 33

E v ery day o f the week is alike. I t ’s all very well to ta lk about
loving one’s neighbours; b u t — come and live w ith me fo r a tim e and
y o u ’ll k n o w all about it. M eanw hile I ’m g e ttin g a gram ophone and
b u y in g all the ro w d y records I can lay hands on; I ’ll welcom e any
suggestions.

HOCKEY.

Master 1/ C Mr. W . E. Dyer

Captain ......................... .1 I. F. Oehlers

V ice-C a p t. ............................. K. M u t h u c u m a r u

S c c re ta ry .................................... P. R. Lewis

C o m m itte e ........................... M ohd. Said

Mohd. Haniff

I h e School Ist XI has so far played nine matches, fo u r of w hich
were won, four lost, and one drawn.

T h e first m a tc h o f the season was played on September 23 rd w hen
we m et and defeated the W elch Band by 3 clear goals. O u r scorers
were A rm strong (2) and Haniff.

O ur next two matches were played against the S.R.C. on Septem­
ber 27th and O ctober 9th respectively, and in both we were defeated,
the first by3 — 1, and the second b y 4— 1. O u r scorers were A r m ­
strong, in the first game, and Mr. Retnam in the second. In the latter
m a tch we had two masters playing for us, Mr. Retnam and Mr. Bal-
hetchet.

34 The Rafflcsian

W e Iost our next m a tch against the " C ” Coy. W elch R egim ent,
on O cto b er 21st by 3— 2, our goals being scored by Haniflf and Said.

On October 24th we defeated the Y.M.C.A. by the only goal
scored in the match just a few minutes before the final whistle went.
Haniff was the scorer.

We lost our sixth m atch on Oc.tober 31st to the " A ” Coy.
W elch R eg im en t by 5— 3. H aniff scored tw ice fo r us and Sassoon
once.

O n the following day we met and defeated an S.C.C. XI by 3
goals to nil. O u r scorers were Han'iff, Said and Sassoon.

We played our next match against the " A ” Coy. Welch Regiment
on November 9th. We reversed our previous defeat by winning the
game by 3 goals to nil. The goals were scored by Haniff, Said and
Oehlers.

The ninth m atch was played against the Old Boys on N ovem ber
21st. The ground was in a dreadful state after the rain on the day
before, and consequently the standard of hockey was low. We would
have w on this game had our forwards made use of the opportunities
presented them , b u t as it was the m a tc h was d ra w n 2 goals all. Haniflf
and Said were our scorers.

As will be seen from the above reports, our chief goal-scorer has
been H aniff with 8 goals to his credit. Said and A rm stro n g come
next w ith 4 and 3 goals respectively.

The RaffIesian 35

T he composition of the School is t X I is n o t quite settled, es­
pecially w ith regard to the goal-keeper. In the first six matches H ong
Cheong kept goal fo r us, and in the next three games he was replaced
by Lewis who had previously played at half-back. W e have now dis­
covered a new goal-keeper in A h m a d b. A b d u lla h of H ouse 4, and in
all probability he will play for the first team in that position in future.
Lewis will play in his old position at right half-back, and Jansen who
deputised for him will go up to the rig h t w ing in favour of Sassoon,
so th a t the School te a m will be— A h m a d b. A b d u lla h ; M u t h u c u m a r u ,
Mohd. T am by; R. Lewis, H . Oehlers, G. Ross; Jansen, Mohd. Said,
Mohd. H aniff, A rm stro n g and De Souza. The reserves will be Sas­
soon and Sohan Singh.

A n interesting feature of the season was the introduction of mixed
hockey. The School has played four matches w ith the Y .W .C.A ., all
of which have proved very enjoyable. O f course the boys who took
part in these games were necessarily beginners but even taking this
into consideration, the Y.W .C.A. will undoubtedly benelit by games
of this nature.

A n Inter-House League has been held and the following are the
final positions.

Played. W on. Lost. Drew. Goals for. Goals agnst. Points.

House 4 S 50 0 37 0 10
House 1 5 311 47
House 3 5 22 1 24
House 6 j 22 1 95
House 2 5 140 5
House 5 5 041 23
6 23 2
2 17 1
2

The Rafflesian

House 4 must be congratulated on their excellent performance in
the League this year, although it should be realised th a t six members
of the first team played for them. Against the Rest, the Winners
played a v ery good game indeed and w o n c o m fo rta b ly by 3 goals to 1.
T h e R est, as was to be expected, lacked co m b in atio n and their f o r ­
wards never seemed to be able to get going against the sturdy defence
of House 4.

A fte r the m atch against the Old Boys, the ground was in such
an awful condition that it was found impossible to play any more
m atches on the old p itch. H o c k e y is, therefore, now played, as it was
played a couple of years back, on the football pitch, and this of course
is a great im p ro v e m e n t.

H . F. OEHLERS.
Capt.

[Since going to press we learn that the school hockey team will
visit Kuala Litinpur during the holidays and the follow ing are the 1
fixtu res:—

W ed. 18thDec. vs. St. Johns In stitution ( on old V . I. G ro u n d ).
T h u r. i<)th „ vs. Selangor C lu b ( on S. C. G r o u n d ).
Fri. 2 0 th „ vs. V . 1. (on old V. l. G r o u n d ) .
Sat. 21st „ vs. Y . M. C. A . (o n .Y . M. C. A. G round).

— Ed. Rafflesian.'[

The RaiBesian 3T

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE “ Z ” TEAM.

1. Simon. Goal-keeper. R a th e r on th e f a t side b u t ideal as
a goal-keeper. Usually plays w ithout pads. Kicks
well, b u t is inclined to m ake grimaces w h en he
feels the pain. Can also play forw ard b u t lu m ­
bers along a bit too slowly. Shows smiles of ap­
preciation when cheered after effecting a difficult
save. O u g h t to be called upon to explain the
slushy condition of the ground about his goal.

2. T h o o n Lip. Right full-back. Tackles well— on the wrong
side; clears well also, but fouls by undercutting.
Fond of kicking and " sticking ” but has a few
good points! Does the work of the other back
w hen the la tte r is unplaced.

3. Ee Ngee. Left full-back. Gets " pumped out ” in a few
minutes. Tries to score b u t releases the ball when
tackled, and e m u latin g a swallow dive, lies pros­
trate on the field. Does not trouble to go back
and defend; too m uch work! M ight be mistaken
for an inter-national w ith his gloves, etc.!

4. M. Tan. R ight half-back. Tackles well but simply cannot
clear. Too fond of hitting the air and allowing
the ball to be robbed by players in the same side.
Fiolds the stick like an umbrella not in use.

5. Tee Kiat. Centre half. Plays well against girls. Always
encouraged by shouts of " Well done, fu n n y face,.
shoot!” FIowever, he pays no heed to these but
c o n centrates so m u c h on the game th a t his hair

3« T he Rafflesian

flops about! Looks surprised w h en the ball is
robbed from him. " D arn cheek!” sort of a t­
titude.

6. Chee Hock. Left half. Inclined to do the Charleston on the
field. H is physique is such th a t he manages to
w orm his w ay out of a melee w ith ball goalwards
before his opponents are aware of it. Tries to
look modest after scoring a goal, but inwardly
feels a hero!

7. F. Chua. Left wing. Dribbles well b u t allows the ball to be
8. Leicester. robbed from him too easily. Plays very seriously
w ith a " do or die ” spirit.

Inside left. Shows keenness, but rarely gets the
ball. Rambles all over the field in anxiety to do
something— tackling, worrying, attacking, "stick­
ing ” and kicking!

9. E n g Lian. O u r enterprising centre forward. Very aggressive;
in fact, too aggressive! Inclined to look helpless,
however, when surrounded by too many fair op­
ponents. Has a knack of placing his unprotected
shins in the way of sticks w ith the result of m ulti­
coloured bruises. A pparently finds his position
too trying; sits down violently in the m ud very
o ften . Breathes like an ox a fte r a h a rd d a y ’s
work. Plenty of chances to score but w ith such
a sense of direction th a t he shoots at the spectators
w ith the fond idea of shooting at goal. Inclined
to allow his stick to ru n away w ith the ball. M ust

The Rafflesian 39'

io. De Silva. Iearn to bully off if he desires to be capped fo r the
I I . Solomon. is t XI! V ery keen on playing against girls.

Inside right. V ery fond of robbing a player in his
ow n side of the ball. Eager on gaining glory for
himself by scoring. Is so bent on doing this th a t
he surreptitiously uses the w ro n g side of the stick,
only to be detected by the keen-eyed umpire.

Right wing. Very fond of hacking up the turf.
Gazes wistfully at the scrimmages on the other
side of the field and is n o t sure if his position
ought to be forsaken to join in the fun. Jum ps
up well w h en op p o n en t is about to h it the ball
to w a rd s him , b u t is shocked to find the ball ju s t
rolling under him!

The Rafflesian
40

TH E CADETS.

The Cadets have had, w ith the rest of the School, a very busy
te rm and there is a lot to re p o rt on. In the M id -su m m er v acatio n
about 50 boys were in C am p at Port Dickson, and this C am p did a
lot to im prove the general d e p o rtm e n t of our C om p an y . I t is a p ity
that the whole Corps was not able to be present.

O n Septem ber th e 1 5th, tw o platoons tu r n e d o u t to act as
' enemy ’ in a tactical exercise carried out by '' C ’ Scottish Company
at Siglap, and besides h av in g a good tim e ourselves we learnt a lot as
Section and Platoon commanders. For the General Officer Com-
m a n d in g ’s Inspection th e C o m p a n y provided tw o cyclist sections for
the S.V.C. and a few runners for the W elch Regiment. The cyclists,
u n d e r th e c o m m a n d o f Lieut. P. F. H o w i t t , acted as an advance guard
to th e In v ad in g a rm y , and in th e m o r n in g ’s operations came into
contact with the Enemy toward the end of the movement, con­
vinced that had it not been for them, the Invaders would have been
wiped out. In the a fte rn o o n ’s m anoeuvres only one section w e n t
into action, while the other stood by and did a lot of good by en-
couraging their side on to victory.

The practical part of the Proficiency examination was carried out
b y C ap t. Savile, and C ap t. B. U . S. C ripps, w h e n of the nine w ho
entered the following passed— 2/L ieut. Yusof b. Isahak, C.S.M. A.
Mallal, C.Q.M.S. Ismail b. Mohd. Ali, Sgts. A. Desker, Lim Tee Kiat,
P. R. Lewis, Sohan Singh, and CpL Seah Peng A nn. T hey are now in
preparation for the theoretical part of the test which takes place on
November 29th.

The Proficiency Class, and the Company in general are indebted
to the m any Officers who so very kindly helped in the various branches
of the work. W e specially wish to thank Lieut. Col. FIore and the

The Rafilesian 4i

Officers of the W elch R egt., Lieut. Col. D. P. Dickinson, D.S.O., M.C.,
for tactical lessons, C apt. R. X. W h itty , adjutant of the W elch R egt.
for lectures on 'The administrative duties of a Platoon Comm ander,’
and on Lewis Guns, Capt. Dearden, R.A. for his lecture on ' A rtillery
and the In f a n try ’ and also C apt. Savile, M.C. for m any interesting
sand-table lectures. We must not forget R.S.M. Imm, of the S.V.C.
who has always been willing to tu rn out and help in our drill and
carriage. O n N ovember 4th, the Proficiency Class was invited by
Lieut. Col. Dickinson to attend a field-firing practice carried out by
the 2nd Batt. the Welch Regt. on the Bukit Timah Golf Course, and
saw th e nearest ap p ro x im atio n to a real b a ttle as is possible u n d e r peace
conditions. The four chief in fa n try weapons, the rifle, bayonet, Lewis
Gun and Machine Gun were brought into action.

A p a r t y o f senior N . C . O ’s. was c o n d u c te d ro u n d T a n g lin B ar­
racks by Capt. W hitty, and a very interesting morning was spent,
when many shows were carried out for our benefit, and when we saw
B arrack life, and also the various necessaries in a battle. A platoon
of Machine guns went into action, showing us how it would behave
in real war-life, while a platoon of Infan try carried out a fire-and-
m ovem ent excrcise using their j^ewis guns and Rifle grenades.

O u t of a total of 92 cadets 75 are efficient. This makes a per­
centage of 83.25, a very high standard considering that 64% of the
Com pany have not been cadets twelve months. In the Empire Test
76 boys fired, 22 qualifying as F irst Class shots, 22 as Second. T he
highest Classification score was 114 out of the possible 120 by Sgt.
P. R. Lewis, but Cadet Gan Koon Lim won the Isahak Medal, which
was com peted fo r 011 the 30 yards range. C adets have acted as
scorers in the rifle meetings of various companies in the S.V.C. and the
following have won prizes:

4* T h e Rafflesian

" D ” Eurasian Company, ist Sgt. Desker, 2nd Cpl. Judge.
"F ” MalayCompany. ist Cdt. Gan Koen Heng, 2nd Cdt. Benja-

" C ” Scottish Company. field.
ist Sgt. Desker.

The Cadet year was to all intents and purposes brought to a
close by the A nnual Inspection. H . E. the General Officer C om ­
manding conducted the Inspection himself, and was accompanied by
C apt. Savile, A.S.O.L.F. FIis Excellency expressed himself satisfied
w ith our w ork, but said th a t there was lots of room for im provement.
Recruits are still wanted. There are already 37 names on the w aiting
list, but these are only sufficient to fill up the places of the boys w ho
w ill leave. W e m u st have as m a n y more to make up a C o m p a n y t h a t
n School like this ought to have.

N o 31.

[ W e learn on going to press th a t C.S.M. A. K. Mallal, Sgt. P. R .

Letcis and Sgt. Sohan Singh have passed the Cadets’ Proficiency E xa­

m ination. T his is th e first year this exam ination has been held ancf

only tw o other boys in the country have passed it. W e congratulate
them.

— Ed. Rafflesian.]

STARlING IOR PoR T DlCKSON,

O N TH E WAY TO P oR T DlCKSON C A M P.
---- A T T H E W H A R F ----

MESS PORT DlCKSON CA M P.