D 2162 T4 opy 1 U.^//l^r.Ay POEM DELIVERED BEFORE THEIADMA HARVARD COLLEGE, THURSDAY, JBfsl; 27, 1850. A. WALLACE THAXTER. CAMBRIDGE: METCALF 4ND COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 1850. I k POEM DELIVERED BEFORE THE lADMA HARVARD COLLEGE, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1850. BY A. WALLACE THAXTER. CAMBRIDGE: METCALF AND COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY, 1850. -< Cambridge, Jane 28, 1850. Dear Sir : — At a meeting of the ladma, holden June 27th, it was voted to solicit for publication copies of the first annual oration and poem before that Society. We are most happy, as committee for the purpose, to ful- fil the order of the Society by requesting of you a copy of the poem for the printer. With feelings of delight and gratification, we are, Sir, &c., &c. E. E. Anderson, E. H. Neal, S. P. Jennison. Mr. a. Wallace Thaxter. f Cambridge, July 2, 1850. Gentlemen : — I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of your courteous note, asking a copy of a poem delivered before the lad ma, on the evening of June 27th, 1850, for pub- lication. Conscious that it will not stand the test of a critical perusal, allow me, in complying with your request, to ask some indulgence for it as a " first attempt." I have the honor to remain, &c., &c. A. Wallace Thaxter. Messrs. E. E. Anderson, \ E. H. Neal, \ Committee. S. P. Jennison, ) In reply to a similar communication made to Mr. J. B. Kimball, the committee received a note refusing to allow the publication of the Oration. POEM. I WAS breakfasting one morn, half asleep and half awake. Endeavouring to masticate a very tough beefsteak, And sipping what the waiter denominated tea, — What tasted more like dishwater than real old Bo- hea, — When suddenly the door was oped. Immediately appeared A Sophomore with fierce moustache and an incipi- ent beard ; A Regalia in his mouth, a dicky huge and tall, And a hat whose rim terrific concealed his person small. 2 He sat him down beside me and smiled a ghastly- smile. Then, taking it from off his head, began to brush his '' tile " ; And knowingly he winked to me ; — quite a pecu- liar wink ; Not the jolly one inviting a friend to take a drink, But a sympathizing wink, a compassionate grimace, A queer, uncouth. Bob Logic like contortion of the face. A peal of laughter followed ; with a loud, stentorian roar, Prostrate he fell for very glee, and rolled him on the floor. And when he had recovered, and once again was still, I asked him what had rendered him so gay, — so volatile. '' Wherefore this joy ecstatic } Hast spent the livelong night In smoking Esculapios, — in getting jolly tight } Hast gone astray unwittingly } Hast fallen into error ? Hast pummelled guardians of the night ? Hast ' punished that Madeira ' ? Hast been with beauteous maiden by moonlight gleam a rambler ? Hast ta'en a ' smile ' at Brigham's, — a punch at the Alhambra ? Hast ' hquored up ' at Parker's, — at Davenport's hast ' bled ' ? Hast imbibed a sherry-cobbler at the famous Gar- rick Head ? Hast made a call at Baker's with other jolly blades ? To drink a Tom-and- Jerry hast visited the Shades ? Didst relieve thyself at Morgan's of thy superfluous cash ? Or didst thou at the Pemberton absorb a brandy- smash ? Sub rosd art engaged to furnish arms and ammunition To ' Los Libertadores ' for the Cuban expedition ? Or yet, — though 't were incredible, — say, hast obtained a detur ? " Making a reverence, quoth he, ^' salve nunc^ poeta ! Prepare to be astonished ! ^ Stand firmly in your shoes,' And repress your agitation when you hear the fatal news : 8 Last evening the ladma its orator elected. And, to fill the poet's onerous post, yourself, my friend, selected." I incontinently tried to faint, but 't was of no avail ; My limbs still did their duty, though my spirit 'gan to quail. I sought some hope to borrow by thinking it a ''sell,'' By fancying it a fiction, my anguish to dispel ; But when I made inquiries, I found that he 'd asserted A simple, '' round, unvarnished tale," and not one word perverted ; That 't was no deceitful story with which I 'd been surprised ; In short, to use a classic phrase, that I was '' victim- ized." I felt the honor, and I ceased my fortune to deplore. Yet still I thought the compliment a most decided bore. As THE Iadma willed it, I cheerfully obeyed ; '^ The greatest poet for ideas more earnestly ne'er prayed." And now I 've ta'en the office, and must woo the Muse poetic. Grant me a shght excuse, — allow a word apologetic. To the title of a poet I Ve not the slightest claim, — Have perpetrated naught but trash most '' impotent " and '' lame " ; And I Ve a dread of rhyming, — 't is very danger- ous fun ; By trying it some years ago, I was regularly '' done." 'T was w^hen I first w^s deep in love ; systematical- ly smashed ; '^ When, like comet, by my fancy's glass the imaged fair one flashed." When of Andrews' Latin Grammar I w^as a firm peruser, And after many nights of woe at last had mastered In my '' Dealings with the " Livings a girl I chanced to meet. With the tastiest bonnet of the day, the neatest black visite^ With the sweetest smile that ever a mortal could ensnare. With provoking, kiss-inspiring lips, and the darkest raven hair, And, as if she were determined all breastworks to assail, She had no pseudo-modesty and did n't wear a veil. 10 (When a holiday procession by her window chanced to pass. She a student could distinguish without an opera- glass,) Instanter I was '' smitten " ; I resolved to press my suit. And, could I see her once again, to address her coute que coute. That evening in my chamber I wrote some amorous verses. Swearing I 'd love her ever, through troubles, griefs, reverses. And if from odious spinsterhood she wished me to purloin her. When next she saw me on the street to bow, and T would join her. O, how I tugged and worked and strove those verses to compose. And how I cursed all poetry and wished I 'd taken prose. And how full often in despair I threw away my pen. And, when I 'd gained a new idea, — resumed it once again ! 11 When I had sent the verses, and waited for the mor- row Which was to fill my heart with joy, or burden it with sorrow, How slowly seemed to wear the time ! — each hour appeared a year, And the long-desired to-morrow I thought w^ould ne'er be here. And when the fatal day arrived when I was to know my doom. Which was to crown my ardent hopes or crush ' them in their bloom, I took a port wine sangaree just to keep my temper mild ; But 't was so strong, that schoolmates asked what made me look so wild. When twelve arrived, the dreaded hour when I was to meet my fair. No artful '' dodge " to leave my school could I just then prepare, Till my ever-ready genius did a ^^ fancy " one pro- pose, — A complaint that 's very common now, — a bleed- ing at the nose. 12 I saw her on the street, but with a sneering, pitying gaze, When I doffed my hat and bent me low before her beauty's blaze, She curled her lip that I might see how much I was derided, And responded to my bow by a cut the most de- cided. That night I was quite frantic ; I thought of poi- sons, drugs. Of charcoal, arsenic, laudanum, and the stuff for killing bugs, • But on second thoughts concluded to die a natural death. And ^' throw physic to the dogs," like that nice young man, Macbeth. And since that time to woo the Muse I have never been inclined ; — '' For this night only," since you wish, I 'm induced to change my mind ; — I must say 't is a ^' grind," though — (perchance I spoke too loud) — I should have recollected here no grinding is al- lowed. 13 Yet to try my hand at scribbling why should I be a coward ? I may in time, perchance, become another ^' Waldo Howard." If I plagiarize unconsciously, pray do not criticize My unpretending doggerel with Aristarchian eyes, — Think a new poetic debutant unused to fiction's style, '^ As you know me all, a plain, blunt man," requests your favoring smile. I sing of Humbug, — not that which t' amuse some scores of dummies Imports a Swedish Nightingale or opes Egyptian Mummies, — Which hears ''Mysterious Knockings," — which gloats o'er each new mystery, — But Humbug as connected with a Cambridge Stu- dent's history. The Student 's now in embryo, counting the weary hours Before the next Commencement ; praying his guardian powers 14 To assist a poor '' Sub Fresh" at the dread Ex- amination, And free from all '^conditions " to insure his first vacation. For many weeks he ''crams" him, — daily does he rehearse " Incomprehensibilities " writ by Professor P=^*=^*=^. He cons the College Bible with eager, longing eyes. And wonders how poor students at six o'clock can rise. He reads concerning punishments with great delib- eration. And thinks that he would rather die than suffer " rustication." The awful day at last has come ; he dresses in his best. And with eager, anxious, bloodshot eyes, — (for not an hour of rest The night before has blest his couch,) — at four o'clock he rises, And on the '' Latin Scanning Rules " his memory exercises 15 For half an hour ''by Shrewsbury clock" : then, mounting on his beast. Betakes him to a hair-dresser, — I beg pardon, — - an artiste. And when the curling 's finished, he leaves his native glades. And wends his weary pilgrimage towards Harvard's classic shades ; Inquires for ''University," and, when he 's safely in it. Considers carefully his age up to the very minute. And when 't is safely registered, to breakfast swiftly hastes. And, gloating o'er the smoking cup, the Mocha (?) coffee tastes. Perchance in haste he burns his mouth, greases his Sunday vest, Or else he nearly chokes himself in trying to digest A chicken, dead of age alone, — that is to say, a hen ; But he thinks there 's "better luck next time " ; he '11 even "try again." He wonders at the custom, to which he 's yet unused, Of leaving without asking if one may be " ex- cused " ; 16 When his fellow-boarders twig him, and can't con- ceal their laughter. Considers if those wicked youths e'er think of an hereafter ; And if a wicked Sophomore at the waiting-maid e'er winks. Of warning her of masculines most seriously thinks. And when the first day 's over, he considers how to spend The coming stupid evening ; which way his steps to bend Long time his thoughts engrosses ; but in misery and gloom, He 's compelled to pass that evening in his soHtary room. And then that home-sick feeling which ne'er can be expressed ! — In which, as in Pandora's box, all evils are com- pressed ! — Our ^' Sub Fresh " has that feeling ; — in grief and in despair He reads the Pilgrim's Progress ; then whistles Rob Adair ; 17 Then on a well-known instrument, formed of paper and a comb. Expresses his conviction that there is ''no place like home." At last to bed he hies him, and soon his senses loses. And till the bell awakes him he most profoundly snoozes. The second day is over, — he 's admitted on probation ; It behooves him to indulge in a litde dissipation. So carefully he locks his door, that no one may in- vade. And then, like Toots, he drinks a glass of the strongest — lemonade ; And, growing bold with courage, assumes a dashing, jaunty air, — Has an idea of learning how to smoke and how to swear. And, filled with self-importance, he boldly seeks the road That reconducts his footsteps to his fondly loved abode. 18 He spends his long vacation there ; he strives him- self to render The idol of the village belles ; he is a warm de- fender Of his own loved Alma Mater. If he sees his former friends, His new-born Freshman dignity not a tittle e'er de- scends. But he instantly begins to cut w^homever now he meets, — Himself the most egregious ass that w^alks the village streets. And when vacation 's over, and he returns to College, His father sagely counsels him to acquire naught but knowledge ; — Smoking, swearing, drinking, must be eschewed for ever. And to ''study hard and take a part" he must earnestly endeavour. He prepares for his departure, — but he must, ere he repair To the ''classic shades," et ccetera^ — visit his " ladye fayre." 19 He makes his farewell call, and in her gentle ear He swears that in his ''heart of hearts " she ne'er shall have compeer. Taking his farewell kiss, swearing that he '11 be true. Vowing fidelity for aye, he bids his love adieu. She waves her 'kerchief to him as he gallops down the street, And sings a woful ditty about dying at his feet. But the poor, hapless maiden would of reason be be- reft. If, thinking it ''all right," she found it "over the left"; Could she but view her lover's heart and read the falsehood there, Could his perfidy but be exposed, his treachery laid bare, 'T would her pictured happiness destroy, her bright- est dreams dispel, — Show her Humbug as love's essence, — ever a po- tent spell. Arrived at Harvard, straightway he adopts the bulletin's advice. And buys his books at the College Store, all "at the lowest price " (?) ; 20 Since all his cash in buying them he has managed to exhaust. He sells his old clothes to licoxo) * for a tenth of the prime cost ; Then devotes himself to study, with a steady, earnest zeal. And scorns an ''Interlinear," or a ''Pony's" meek appeal ; Resolves that he will be, in spite of toil or of fatigue, That humbug of all humbugs, the staid, inveterate And though to mar his enterprise no one will e'er attempt. Yet still there is a torture whence no Freshman is exempt. At midnight treacherous Sophomores, in conspiracy convening, — But hold ! — perhaps a parody will best express my meaning. Under sheets of clean linen lay the young Fresh ; The hole in the window let in the night w^ind. Yet watch- worn and w^eary he lustily snored, And visions of college life danced o'er his mind. * The orthography of this word being doubtful. I have preferred to use the Greek character. 21 He dreamed of his home, of his pa and his ma. And the loaf of plum-cake they sent him that morn ; Of the rooster, whose meals he was wont to prepare, And the little Scotch terrier, now sad and forlorn. Then Gammon her quizzical pinions spread wide. And bade the young Freshman in ecstasy rise ; A mind's panorama oped, free of expense, And his governor's brick domicile blesses his eyes. The geranium-pots bloom in the window-seat still. And the cats make a noise on ''the top of the roof," The little pigs squeal to hail the young heir. And the mare in the stall paws the ground with her hoof. A father surveys him through silver-bowed specs ; A mother low courtesies, '' in style," — a la Fran- paise ; He flies to the maiden his bosom holds dear. He kisses, embraces, and "je vous laisse 22 The heart of the Freshman beats high in his breast ; He thinks the term 's over, — vacation has come, — And, kicking the bed-clothes, exuhingly cries, " Mint-juleps and Principes! is n't this 'rum' ? " Ah ! whence is that light which now dazzles his eye ? Ah ! what is that sound which now startles his 'T is the Sophomores rushing the Freshmen to haze ! 'T is the Sophomores' wild, demoniac cheer ! He springs from his bedstead ; he flies to the door ; Amazement confronts him with Sophomores dire ; Torpedoes are ruthlessly thrown on the floor, — His matches and candles are flung to the fire. Like maniacs let loose, his tormentors still yell; In vain the lost Fresh calls on Proctors for help ; Unseen boots of Sophs attack in the rear, And their clamor is drowning the poor victim's yelp. 23 O Freshman ! O, woe to thy dream of delight ! Like ice in the sun mehs thy frostwork of bliss ! Where now is the vision thy fancy touched bright Of thy sire ''shelling out," — thy loved one's fond kiss ? O victimized Freshman ! never again Leave unbolted your door when to rest you retire, And, unhazed and unmartyred, you proudly may scorn Those foes to all Freshmen who 'gainst thee conspire. No Soph shall e'er plead to his classmates for thee, Or redeem thy poor frame from their merciless rage. But the smashing of glass shall thy serenade be. And the creaking of leather thy foemen presage. By the cool college pump shall thy corpus be laid. And on thy nude limbs the free water shall pour, Till, worn and exhausted, they carry thee back. And deposit thy carcass inside of thy door. 24 Perchance on a sick-bed for weeks thou mayst lie. And thy doctor ex more thy torture prolong ; Still thy anguish perhaps will a lesson convey, — Thou 'It have learnt how to ''suffer," — if not to ''be strong." About this time to his father his first letter he indites. And somewhat in this style the verdant, serious Freshman wrhes : — " Dear Pa : I write, ' as in duty bound,' to say that I received Your letter of the twenty-first, and ' its import I per- ceived.' You wish that I should write to you a full and com- plete account Of my hfe thus far at Harvard ; with pleasure will I recount All that as yet has happened ; imprimis at the foot- ball sport. Where I anticipated pleasure, I was severely hurt ; And when I did remonstrate, and asked them why 't was done. They said that my anxious mother should have warned me of such fun, 25 And with a pitying, sneering laugh, and with a haughty stare. Remarked that boys must stay at home, nor taste the evening air. I 've been assaulted in my room, — my matches have been wasted ; For quoting Scripture to my foes, I 've been se- verely basted. Drinking is very prevalent, and oaths are free and plenty ; As for cigars, some Sophomores can daily smoke their twenty. Church-members are like 'angels' visits,' and tracts are seldom seen ; And sober, moral men, like me, are reckoned rather ' green.' To heed your fostering counsels I '11 earnestly en- deavour. Permit me to subscribe myself, Your loving son, as ever." Our hero 's not long verdant ; when his eyes are opened wide, He ''makes up" for past" digging"; and then, ah ! woe betide 26 The pockets of his governor! The serious, steady youth, Last year a mere epitome of temperance and of truth. Becomes, by Humbug's influence, the veriest, sad- dest rake, That e'er tried to make night hideous, or watch- man's head to break. The fall is never sudden, but 't is effected by de- grees ; As gradually as fall the leaves stirred by the autumn breeze. We '11 view the initial step in sin, — '' the first gleam of evil's star " ; We '11 observe our erring hero as he smokes his first cigar. With fearful agitation, with a pale, cadaverous face, He smokes, if not with awkwardness, most certainly not with grace. He wonders if it ever entered Sir Walter Raleigh's head, (Who first used the ''filthy weed" 'gainst which the Author-King inveighed,) That by his fell discovery full many a luckless wight Would feel the tortures of the damned ; that every proselyte 27 That bent before tobacco's shrine, that rejoiced to take a smoke. The '' stomach demons " by that act did unwitting- ly provoke ; That those horrible sensations, which we call ventri dolores^ Would be propagated chiefly by Manuel A mores. And when his smoking 's over, and his toilette he 's adjusting, His inner man begins to feel a pain that 's quite dis- gusting. But why relate a twice-told tale ? He 's in trouble for an hour. And then, as drooping plants revive after a hearty shower, He feels relieved, and banishes all remembrance of his pain ; Having passed the fatal ordeal, Fresh is ^' himself again." We '11 inspect our Freshman hero when first him- self he shaves ; How at each deep cut the razor makes he furiously 28 He loudly curses Sheffield steel as mortals' worst affliction. And on '^ MacdaniePs best improved" he mutters malediction. He cuts and scrapes and pulls and hacks ; his face the while still bleeding, — Each fearful gash the one before by half an inch exceeding. And when the awful job is o'er, he can't find the wished court-plaster ; Fortunio's fairy-given slave, Lightfoot, ne'er ran faster Than runs our hero swiftly to the neighbouring drug- gist's store ; 2-40-like he rushes in, and commences to implore For the assuaging piaster, and his sufferings to recite, Boasting as '^rueful" a ''countenance" as famed La Mancha's knight, — While the '' lookers on in Venice " survey the mirth-fraught scene. And quiz the verdant Freshman, and joke his sad- dened, downcast mien. The soft emollient purchased, he returns his room to seek. Nor once again he shaves him for full many a long, long week. 29 Perhaps our hero feels inspired, and fain would woo the Muses, — And metre, rhyme, and reason he most horribly misuses. His theme at first, of course, is love ; he inscribes some verses poor To some love-gift from his chosen fair, — some Freshman's gage d''amour. His sad experience well could tell what nonsense 't is to rhyme ; 'T is indeed a '' waste of patience," but much more a ^' waste of time." Perchance he hails that '' conscious moon," or salutes the evening star ; Sings of some most daring lover, — some Italian Lochinvar. 'T is usually written in a state of desperation ; 'T is very soft and flowery; — I '11 try an imitation. '^ Wilt come with me, fair lady ? Wilt share a soldier's lot } Wilt leave thy lordly palace For poor and lowly cot ? No luxury can I proffer. Gold-bought from choicest mart, — 30 One only gift I offer, — An undivided heart." The while amid the greenwood Whistled the summer breeze. Thus wooed fair Mantua's maiden The gallant Genoese. '' Thy father proud may chide thee. And repulse his daughter fair, — But with thee, my love, beside me. His reproaches I can bear. Meet me at eventide, love ; Come to my lowly cot, And sw^ear, whate'er may chance thee, Thou 'It share a soldier's lot." The while amid the greenwood Whistled the summer breeze. He kissed fair Mantua's maiden, — That daring Genoese. '^ I 've no ducats nor no rent-roll Wherewith to claim thee, sw^eet ; No vassals nor no handmaids Their lady fair will greet ; 31 But a heart that is no truant Is dedicate to thee, — That from its beauteous lady liege Sweareth it ne'er will flee." The while amid the greenwood Whistled the summer breeze. Thus vowed to Mantua's maiden That loyal Genoese. " Though Milan's maid may tempt me, Or Padua's dame invite. Their favors and caresses For thee, my love, I 'd slight, — Would scorn the gemmed tiara. The diadem pass by ; Thine eye their boasted beauty. Their lustre, can outvie." The while amid the greenwood Whistled the summer breeze, Thus sued to Mantua's maiden That earnest Genoese. '' I fear no foe's stiletto. No coward's threat I heed ; 32 No danger can appall me, — No peril e'er impede. Swear on the holy cross, love. To share my poor career, Through weal or woe to prove thyself Still trusting and sincere." The while amid the greenwood Whistled the sumnv r breeze, Besought fair Mantua's maiden The t ardent Genoese. She kissed his dagrer cross-hilt, Her holy vow she breathed, And trustingly upon his lips Her bridal kiss she wreathed ; And to her lover's keeping. In sight of highest Heaven, With all a maiden's purity Her virgin heart was given. The while amid the greenwood Whistled the summer breeze. Fair Mantua's maiden swore to wed Her Icving Genoese. 33 That even to the trysting-tree The maiden gladly hied ; The cavaher on swiftest steed Bore off his Mantuan bride. And as they passed her father's halls, Loud rose her lover's shout O'er all the furious wassail din : — ^^ Call all thy vassals out ! Arm thy retainers, dotard ! Fling thy banner to the breeze ! For Mantua's maid has fled her sire To wed her Genoese ! " He now affects the opera ; says Snooksini is his pet ; Wears immaculate white kids, and sports a double sized lorgnette ; Says at Snooksini's benefit her " troops of friends " must "^ rally " ; Perchance he ardently admires the sweet, seductive ballet ; Talks of tours de force and pirouettes; he quotes from each new play ; He catches an operatic air, and hums it all the day. 34 While some Italian gallows-birds, some scoundrel lazaroni. Some friendless, houseless vagabonds add to their names an om. Let their mass of hair make up for brains, daily '' salute their glass," And, slightly skilled in ''silver sounds," but en- dowed much more with brass^ Humbug our Fresh, who little thinks, unsophisticat- ed dupe. That who 's a primo basso here, in Italy 's a " supe," Or a claqueur^ paid to applaud at every new concoc- tion, — But here, the lion of the day, his tickets puts at auction ; His fame is duly trumpeted to all Boston's eager ears ; Even the Bite Tavern wakens from its lethargy of years ; — And the Italian charlatan, versed in naught save to deceive, And very '' sharp " to catch a '' flat," laughs ex- ulting in his sleeve, — 35 Henceforth to glorious Humbug his sole allegiance gives, And, protected by her sage advice, he like a — Bar- num lives. 'T were useless to note his progress through the Sophomoric year ; As well search for Sir John Franklin, — trace Lola Montes' career, — Ask why religious jurymen themselves to praying yield, — Or S. P. Townsend in despair has given up '' the field " ; It were an oft-repeated tale, and to our theme irrele- vant. To shorten a long story, our hero '' sees the ele- phant." To show how great, how fell, a change o'er the stu- dent's mind has passed Since we have seen his first epistle, shall we peruse his last ? '^ Dear Governor : How 're you off for cash ? How stands it with the stumpy ? Why have n't I received the tin ? Hast got the blues ? Art dumpy ? 36 Please ' pony up,' — I 'm rather short. Why art so long about it ? I Ve pledged niy word so oft, that creditors begin to doubt it. Art growing careful of the ready ? Will the sup- plies e'er fail ? 'Because thou art grown virtuous,' are there 'no more cakes and ale ' ? Just think ' on all my glorious hopes and all my young renown,' And by the very next express the needful send to town, — For I 've many scores of duns who 're any thing but lenient. Your used up son. P. S. As soon as is convenient." And thus he enters college, and thus at last he takes his leave ; Though rosy bright at morning, there are gathering clouds at eve. 'T is Humbug guards his destiny, henceforth, as heretofore ; We '11 drop the mystic curtain, — - and, like Caw- dor, ''see no more." 37 'T is time that I should finish this crude and most imperfect strain, '' Cut off the water ^^ [of Helicon], — descend to prose again. Let me speak a heartfelt wish ere this doggerel I conclude ; — Believe me, 't is an honest one, though expressed in sentence rude. All hail to our Iadma ! — its course be onward ever ! Be it hke Gonzalo's falchion, " contaminated never." Be it no brief ephemeral, decayed as soon as born, A " peerless flower " at midnight, and withered at the morn : — May a congenial spirit unite us when divided : — Be we faithful to our '' Union," though we 're per- chance '' misguided " ; Be the '' even tenor of our way " like the unruffled stream, — Undisturbed by " rude commotion," — sweet as midsummer dream. And like the exhausted sailor, — the veteran of the seas, — Who for many tedious years '' has braved the bat- tle and the breeze," : — 4 38 May we, like him, " laid up in port," sow the fruit- ful seed betimes, And, when '' life's fitful fever 's o'er," meet we in happier climes ! — And since we 've hailed the fraction, O, let one ear- nest wish ensue : — Prosperity to the integer, — the class of ' 52 ! / LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 029 934 665 1