 | [Poem by Fenollosa in] Baccalaureate Sermon, and Oration and Poem. Class of 1874 |  |
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POEM.
I.
I only sing the song we all are singing,
For each man is a poet here to-day,
And each a wreath of memories is bringing
Upon the tomb of four dead years to lay.
For each man is a poet here to-day,
And each a wreath of memories is bringing
Upon the tomb of four dead years to lay.
And as I strike my lyre to wake the feeling
Which is, perhaps, unconsciously your own,
I hear through all its joyous measures stealing
The sad key-note in restless monotone.
Which is, perhaps, unconsciously your own,
I hear through all its joyous measures stealing
The sad key-note in restless monotone.
And this is well; for otherwise our pleasure,
Now so intense, would be a senseless void:
'Tis honest work alone which finds a treasure,
And sweetness is not such when unalloyed.
Now so intense, would be a senseless void:
'Tis honest work alone which finds a treasure,
And sweetness is not such when unalloyed.
A million years may change the hosts of Heaven,
Through centuries vast nations rise and fall;
But only once on earth our life is given,
And in its briefness is contained our all.
Through centuries vast nations rise and fall;
But only once on earth our life is given,
And in its briefness is contained our all.
Then do not underestimate, my brother,
The difference between the Now and Then.
We came untutored boys before our Mother,
She waved her wand, and lo! she finds us men.
The difference between the Now and Then.
We came untutored boys before our Mother,
She waved her wand, and lo! she finds us men.
Yet let us not of Future trouble borrow;
Our friends should sympathize alone with joys:
To-day a thick veil hangs before To-morrow,
And let us still believe that we are boys.
Our friends should sympathize alone with joys:
To-day a thick veil hangs before To-morrow,
And let us still believe that we are boys.
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The pleasant sun is smiling bright above us,
As when we first ran through the daisied field;
And in the happy eyes of those that love us
Old home associations are revealed.
As when we first ran through the daisied field;
And in the happy eyes of those that love us
Old home associations are revealed.
Here in our second home about the portal
A family of brothers we remain,
Whose lives are one from mortal to immortal,
Although we all may never meet again.
A family of brothers we remain,
Whose lives are one from mortal to immortal,
Although we all may never meet again.
For, as the tiny bodies of the coral
Are nurtured by their fellows' mutual play,
So we our mental sustenance, and moral,
Have drawn from one another day by day.
Are nurtured by their fellows' mutual play,
So we our mental sustenance, and moral,
Have drawn from one another day by day.
To-day both ties of family are round us;
And let us linger in their dear embrace,
Forgetting stern Necessity has bound us
To make our home with the whole human race.
And let us linger in their dear embrace,
Forgetting stern Necessity has bound us
To make our home with the whole human race.
II.
How vividly we can recall
The looks almost funereal
Of those who stood four years ago
Beneath the sympathetic trees
Which lent their own fresh verdant glow,
All ignorant of the mysteries
Which each dark building might conceal
And which the future would reveal.
The looks almost funereal
Of those who stood four years ago
Beneath the sympathetic trees
Which lent their own fresh verdant glow,
All ignorant of the mysteries
Which each dark building might conceal
And which the future would reveal.
The new-fledged Soph stalked bravely by
And scanned us with bloodthirsty eye,
As ancient priests their victims did,
Or Brighton butcher does his sheep.
And then a bell rang overhead,
Which, strange no more, has oft from sleep
Called many an unrepentant soul
Still dreaming of the flowing bowl.
And scanned us with bloodthirsty eye,
As ancient priests their victims did,
Or Brighton butcher does his sheep.
And then a bell rang overhead,
Which, strange no more, has oft from sleep
Called many an unrepentant soul
Still dreaming of the flowing bowl.
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But, like a set of painful dreams,
That long examination seems
Half shrouded in forgetfulness,
As all its various subjects do.
For who could now correctly guess
The longitude of Timbuctoo,
Or translate the Anabasis,
Or scan a page of Virgil through?
And who could now in Mathematics
Extract cube-roots or solve quadratics?
That long examination seems
Half shrouded in forgetfulness,
As all its various subjects do.
For who could now correctly guess
The longitude of Timbuctoo,
Or translate the Anabasis,
Or scan a page of Virgil through?
And who could now in Mathematics
Extract cube-roots or solve quadratics?
Bright scenes come crowding thick and fast
From out the bosom of the Past.
And Memory only shows the roses,
But covers o'er forgotten thorns;
And reckons not of bloody noses
Or battered shins or trodden corns,
But only how we rushed the Soph,
And hats as trophies carried off.
From out the bosom of the Past.
And Memory only shows the roses,
But covers o'er forgotten thorns;
And reckons not of bloody noses
Or battered shins or trodden corns,
But only how we rushed the Soph,
And hats as trophies carried off.
About our rooms, which tales might tell
Of madcap pranks and joys, still dwell
Affectionate remembrances.
And we forget the midnight grind,
Forgive the goody's carelessness,
And, to our chum's ill-nature blind,
Think of our life as happy play,
From which we sadly pass away.
Of madcap pranks and joys, still dwell
Affectionate remembrances.
And we forget the midnight grind,
Forgive the goody's carelessness,
And, to our chum's ill-nature blind,
Think of our life as happy play,
From which we sadly pass away.
How pleasant in our fragile boat
Upon the winding Charles to float,
And watch the evening clouds grow red,
And feel cool breezes round us blow,
As o'er the mirrored sky we sped,
Our pulsing blood with health aglow,
And when the shades of night came down,
Stronger and fresher, seek the town!
Upon the winding Charles to float,
And watch the evening clouds grow red,
And feel cool breezes round us blow,
As o'er the mirrored sky we sped,
Our pulsing blood with health aglow,
And when the shades of night came down,
Stronger and fresher, seek the town!
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Our crews an honorable place
Have won in almost every race;
And, even if the wrath divine
Of river-gods o'erturn their boat,
They swim with it across the line,
And dripping seek the friendly float,
Where laughing crowds the heroes greet,
And cheer their unexpected feat.
Have won in almost every race;
And, even if the wrath divine
Of river-gods o'erturn their boat,
They swim with it across the line,
And dripping seek the friendly float,
Where laughing crowds the heroes greet,
And cheer their unexpected feat.
The champions of the Harvard Crew
With pride among our ranks we view,
Each year more celebrated grown,
The giants of each summer's course.
And as this year we watch the sun
Flash from their quickly dipping oars,
May no diagonal's deceit
At Saratoga bring defeat.
With pride among our ranks we view,
Each year more celebrated grown,
The giants of each summer's course.
And as this year we watch the sun
Flash from their quickly dipping oars,
May no diagonal's deceit
At Saratoga bring defeat.
But other sports the warm days yield
Upon the turf at Jarvis Field.
Far out the anxious fielder sees
A white ball quivering 'gainst the sky,
And swerving sidelong with the breeze.
A catch, a throw, the umpire's cry!
Another victory over Yale!
Nay, e'en the Boston champions fail!
Upon the turf at Jarvis Field.
Far out the anxious fielder sees
A white ball quivering 'gainst the sky,
And swerving sidelong with the breeze.
A catch, a throw, the umpire's cry!
Another victory over Yale!
Nay, e'en the Boston champions fail!
Forget we not the Football Club
With whom McGill had quite a rub.
No doubt the valiant members hold
Each bruise an honorable sign
They did their duty, strong and bold;
And, time permitting, many a line
'Twould take to tell the charms of Cricket,
The valiant contests at the wicket.
With whom McGill had quite a rub.
No doubt the valiant members hold
Each bruise an honorable sign
They did their duty, strong and bold;
And, time permitting, many a line
'Twould take to tell the charms of Cricket,
The valiant contests at the wicket.
Of course there never was a class
Which could in scholarship surpass
The record of our Seventy-four,
So many on the rank-list know,
So many candidates before
For honors in all branches show.
And none could ever boast like us
A triple-headed Cerberus.
Which could in scholarship surpass
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So many on the rank-list know,
So many candidates before
For honors in all branches show.
And none could ever boast like us
A triple-headed Cerberus.
A second College paper, too,
Our class may boast of “putting through,”
Which amicably holds its place
Beside the Harvard Advocate.
The Reading Room its birth must trace
In future backward to our date.
The French and German Clubs shall be
Our gift to all posterity.
Our class may boast of “putting through,”
Which amicably holds its place
Beside the Harvard Advocate.
The Reading Room its birth must trace
In future backward to our date.
The French and German Clubs shall be
Our gift to all posterity.
But while the stalwart Gods we woo,
And homage to Minerva do,
The Muses we do not forsake,
Euterpe and Polymnia.
Sweet sounds at night the students wake;
And busy voices sound afar
The Harvard Glee Club's well-earned fame,
The honor of Pierian's name.
And homage to Minerva do,
The Muses we do not forsake,
Euterpe and Polymnia.
Sweet sounds at night the students wake;
And busy voices sound afar
The Harvard Glee Club's well-earned fame,
The honor of Pierian's name.
Ah! sweet to stand at evenfall
And sing beneath the elm-trees tall,
Through whose soft rustling leaves the moon
Glances with melancholy beam,
While the delicious air of June
Turns life into a fairy dream,
And in the shadows grouped around
The students listen to the sound!
And sing beneath the elm-trees tall,
Through whose soft rustling leaves the moon
Glances with melancholy beam,
While the delicious air of June
Turns life into a fairy dream,
And in the shadows grouped around
The students listen to the sound!
Yet turn we from these higher themes
To one which seldom comes in dreams.
With us the ancient glory dies
Of Commons we so well have known.
No more the stinging snow-ball flies,
The hats shall now be let alone,
No president shall grow irate
When Freshmen dodge the flying plate.
To one which seldom comes in dreams.
With us the ancient glory dies
Of Commons we so well have known.
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The hats shall now be let alone,
No president shall grow irate
When Freshmen dodge the flying plate.
And here just gliding from the shore
We greet our gallant Seventy Four.
Her canvas now shall be unfurled,
And every port be opened wide,
And to the evil of the world
Defiance bidden with broadside.
And ne'er her flag shall cease to wave
Till all her crew are in the grave.
We greet our gallant Seventy Four.
Her canvas now shall be unfurled,
And every port be opened wide,
And to the evil of the world
Defiance bidden with broadside.
And ne'er her flag shall cease to wave
Till all her crew are in the grave.
III.
Let voices be subdued within these walls
Before an audience of unseen dead,
Who even now perchance adown the halls
Pass and repass with ever-noiseless tread,
And in our faces look, and list to what is said.
Before an audience of unseen dead,
Who even now perchance adown the halls
Pass and repass with ever-noiseless tread,
And in our faces look, and list to what is said.
When life was brightest, and their years in bloom,
They rushed a-field to meet their country's foes;
With their own hearts shut out the impending doom,
And with their blood, a price no human knows,
Bought for a down-trod race immunity from woes.
They rushed a-field to meet their country's foes;
With their own hearts shut out the impending doom,
And with their blood, a price no human knows,
Bought for a down-trod race immunity from woes.
The nation, on whose fate the whole world hung,
Faced her inevitable problem then,—
The dreaded problem shunned while she was young;
And in that hour she found her sons were men.
They died, but in their death we all breathe free again.
Faced her inevitable problem then,—
The dreaded problem shunned while she was young;
And in that hour she found her sons were men.
They died, but in their death we all breathe free again.
But by their graves in some neglected spot
Their great and noble spirits could not stay.
They came to see if they had been forgot;
And, lo! they find yon massive Hall's array,
And would inspire the class that graduates to-day.
Their great and noble spirits could not stay.
They came to see if they had been forgot;
And, lo! they find yon massive Hall's array,
And would inspire the class that graduates to-day.
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There in the shadow of the solemn tower
Which stands at night with all the stars alone,
'Neath arms of oak, the symbol of that power
Which great men wield who break a tyrant's throne,
The visitor with awe shall scan each marble stone.
Which stands at night with all the stars alone,
'Neath arms of oak, the symbol of that power
Which great men wield who break a tyrant's throne,
The visitor with awe shall scan each marble stone.
No more the martial trump to battle calls;
And with the fiery test we are not tried,
Like those who live in yon memorials;
And yet methinks there is a field as wide,
Wherein we must defend the prize for which they died.
And with the fiery test we are not tried,
Like those who live in yon memorials;
And yet methinks there is a field as wide,
Wherein we must defend the prize for which they died.
The gathering storm a century ago
Upon the trembling air sent signs before.
Men braced themselves for the last overthrow;
And all advantages we have in store
We owe alone to those stout hearts of Seventy-four.
Upon the trembling air sent signs before.
Men braced themselves for the last overthrow;
And all advantages we have in store
We owe alone to those stout hearts of Seventy-four.
Yet do not think their victory is won
While still the hosts of tyranny and wrong
At work beneath the dome in Washington
Would drain the country's blood, which once so strong
Flowed busy through her veins, and commerce whirled along.
While still the hosts of tyranny and wrong
At work beneath the dome in Washington
Would drain the country's blood, which once so strong
Flowed busy through her veins, and commerce whirled along.
As long as sits Corruption on high thrones,
And but in name the people's choice is free,
And Congressmen fill offices with drones
And vote themselves increased back-salary,
And men the State and Church united fain would see,
And but in name the people's choice is free,
And Congressmen fill offices with drones
And vote themselves increased back-salary,
And men the State and Church united fain would see,
So long the blood of slaughtered brethren cries,
So long the fathers of our land implore,
“Young men, with whom her destiny now lies,
Take up the arms which we have used before
And stern defend the heritage we hand you o'er.”
So long the fathers of our land implore,
“Young men, with whom her destiny now lies,
Take up the arms which we have used before
And stern defend the heritage we hand you o'er.”
But 'mid the inspirations of the Past
The freshest is of him but lately gone,
For years the Ship of State's most stanch mainmast,
Who fell asleep with his great victory won,
America's and Harvard's loved and honored son.
The freshest is of him but lately gone,
For years the Ship of State's most stanch mainmast,
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America's and Harvard's loved and honored son.
We saw the solemn train pass silently
Which bore him to his final resting-place.
And though, when we are called upon to die,
We may not be thus mourned by all our race,
Each leaves upon the world his everlasting trace.
Which bore him to his final resting-place.
And though, when we are called upon to die,
We may not be thus mourned by all our race,
Each leaves upon the world his everlasting trace.
A little pebble falling in the sea
Ruffles the ether to its outmost star.
And so our influence, whate'er it be,
Shall stretch into the misty Future far,
And that which men shall be result from what we are.
Ruffles the ether to its outmost star.
And so our influence, whate'er it be,
Shall stretch into the misty Future far,
And that which men shall be result from what we are.
What eminence our country shall attain
In culture or in useful arts or power
Is ours to say; for we are like the grain
Of mustard-seed, or leaven within the flour.—
And the great end shall come in some unreckoned hour.
In culture or in useful arts or power
Is ours to say; for we are like the grain
Of mustard-seed, or leaven within the flour.—
And the great end shall come in some unreckoned hour.
We have a standard of high aim to set,
A native literature to put in form,
A school of art it may be to create,
At least make culture and true friendship warm
Our frigid worldly rules into some higher norm.
A native literature to put in form,
A school of art it may be to create,
At least make culture and true friendship warm
Our frigid worldly rules into some higher norm.
Make men feel greater earnestness in life,
A childlike reverence for all they see.
Show the whole world with love and beauty rife.
Hope well of that which is through God to be,
And teach a steadfast individuality.
A childlike reverence for all they see.
Show the whole world with love and beauty rife.
Hope well of that which is through God to be,
And teach a steadfast individuality.
The sea is swayed by worship of the moon.
The mountains stand aghast before the storm,
Or gaze upon loved valleys nestled warm
Under their shoulders. Birds their sweetest tune
Pour forth in praise. So let us love and sing,—
The mountains stand aghast before the storm,
Or gaze upon loved valleys nestled warm
Under their shoulders. Birds their sweetest tune
Pour forth in praise. So let us love and sing,—
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For all things full of wondrous beauty are,—
And reverence the lustre of a star,
Be it in heaven or be it in some dear eye.
So may the love of every man and thing
Possess our souls, that we may not decry
The meanest of God's creatures. World, thou art
That mystery of which we are a part.
And each event the years bring as they fly
Is eloquent unto our listening heart.
And reverence the lustre of a star,
Be it in heaven or be it in some dear eye.
So may the love of every man and thing
Possess our souls, that we may not decry
The meanest of God's creatures. World, thou art
That mystery of which we are a part.
And each event the years bring as they fly
Is eloquent unto our listening heart.
E'en as this earth for countless years hath rolled
About the sun in orbit of her own,
With independent pride and all alone,
Save one sweet page that doth her sleep behold,
Yet bound by laws omnipotent of old
To every swinging star that studs yon zone,
The centre of an influence unknown,
A unit free, controlling and controlled,
So is the man of great and noble deeds
Bound by the gravitating force of Right,
Uninfluenced by those who feel his might,
Holding his own amid all thoughts and creeds,
Though reverent of all, a unit still
Of social force, an independent will.
About the sun in orbit of her own,
With independent pride and all alone,
Save one sweet page that doth her sleep behold,
Yet bound by laws omnipotent of old
To every swinging star that studs yon zone,
The centre of an influence unknown,
A unit free, controlling and controlled,
So is the man of great and noble deeds
Bound by the gravitating force of Right,
Uninfluenced by those who feel his might,
Holding his own amid all thoughts and creeds,
Though reverent of all, a unit still
Of social force, an independent will.
The years are stepping-stones by which we rise
To dreamed-of regions. Like a distant peak
Whose snowy top the mountaineer must seek
By passing o'er the ridge that 'neath it lies,
The misty Future looms before our eyes;
And longing for its beauty spurs our weak,
Slow steps with hope we hardly dare to speak,
And soon the goal is won to our surprise.
No progress on this earth was ever wrought,
No grand nobility of soul was seen,
Where no strong wish disturbed the course serene
Of men who were contented with their lot.
Hoping, we grasp the hand that God extends,
And in our own complete his perfect ends.
To dreamed-of regions. Like a distant peak
Whose snowy top the mountaineer must seek
By passing o'er the ridge that 'neath it lies,
The misty Future looms before our eyes;
And longing for its beauty spurs our weak,
Slow steps with hope we hardly dare to speak,
And soon the goal is won to our surprise.
No progress on this earth was ever wrought,
No grand nobility of soul was seen,
Where no strong wish disturbed the course serene
Of men who were contented with their lot.
Hoping, we grasp the hand that God extends,
And in our own complete his perfect ends.
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The dreamed-of Golden Age would come again,
Nor stifled Virtue longer darkly grope,
If we could teach our sordid countrymen
Their hearts unto this Trinity to ope,
Reverence, Individuality, and Hope.
Nor stifled Virtue longer darkly grope,
If we could teach our sordid countrymen
Their hearts unto this Trinity to ope,
Reverence, Individuality, and Hope.
IV.
Whene'er each business-driven dog
Looks o'er the Harvard Catalogue,
The papers which he finds therein
Will quick recall what erst has been,
And fresh before his eyes will loom
His well-known recitation room,
The ghosts of authors he has read,
Examinations, squirt and dead.
Looks o'er the Harvard Catalogue,
The papers which he finds therein
Will quick recall what erst has been,
And fresh before his eyes will loom
His well-known recitation room,
The ghosts of authors he has read,
Examinations, squirt and dead.
Our much-revered professors too
In memory's glass we oft shall view;
And Wisdom shall before us flit,
Upon a mental black-board writ.
Oh, had I a blue book once more,
Such as we bought at Sever's store,
How quick my loyal hand should fly
To scribble on its page, or die!
In memory's glass we oft shall view;
And Wisdom shall before us flit,
Upon a mental black-board writ.
Oh, had I a blue book once more,
Such as we bought at Sever's store,
How quick my loyal hand should fly
To scribble on its page, or die!
O well-proportioned polygon!
O parallelopipedon!
In fancy's strange prismatic light
You flash again upon my sight.
O tangent, secant, and cosine!
We've sung your praise o'er ruby wine;
And even sometimes made a note
Of conjugate or asymptote.
O parallelopipedon!
In fancy's strange prismatic light
You flash again upon my sight.
O tangent, secant, and cosine!
We've sung your praise o'er ruby wine;
And even sometimes made a note
Of conjugate or asymptote.
Thank Heaven! we have been taught to speak
The native pure accented Greek.
And those who study Latin know
Rome's orator as Kikero.
Farewell, old Aristophanes,
Euripides and Sophocles!
The upper shelf, sirs, if you please,
Where you shall be allowed your ease.
The native pure accented Greek.
And those who study Latin know
Rome's orator as Kikero.
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Euripides and Sophocles!
The upper shelf, sirs, if you please,
Where you shall be allowed your ease.
O horrid thoughts of Boylston Hall!
My blood grows cold as I recall.
A friend of mine, upon my word,
Who water on some powder poured,
Was driven down the stairway clean
By a Phenylamylamene!
The Chloropropionic there
Delights, 'tis said, to make his lair.
Beware the Pseudoporpurine,
The Ethomethoxanodine!
My blood grows cold as I recall.
A friend of mine, upon my word,
Who water on some powder poured,
Was driven down the stairway clean
By a Phenylamylamene!
The Chloropropionic there
Delights, 'tis said, to make his lair.
Beware the Pseudoporpurine,
The Ethomethoxanodine!
Come hither, pure Philosophy;
Press your Platonic lips to me,
And sing the transcendental strain
Sweet and familiar o'er again.
Far, vague, and dim, strange spirits come,
With wizzled forms and faces glum.
'Tis Fichte's ghost astride the wind,
With Kant and Hegel on behind!
Press your Platonic lips to me,
And sing the transcendental strain
Sweet and familiar o'er again.
Far, vague, and dim, strange spirits come,
With wizzled forms and faces glum.
'Tis Fichte's ghost astride the wind,
With Kant and Hegel on behind!
Say, dwellers with the Noumenon!
Where have the Categories gone?
Leaves on your memory no trace
This nightmare world of Time and Space?
Mighty Trichomistic seer,
Unto the Absolute Idea
Our best respects take back with thee,
And let it be assured that we
All hope it isn't kept awake
With Dialectic stomach-ache.
Where have the Categories gone?
Leaves on your memory no trace
This nightmare world of Time and Space?
Mighty Trichomistic seer,
Unto the Absolute Idea
Our best respects take back with thee,
And let it be assured that we
All hope it isn't kept awake
With Dialectic stomach-ache.
But all these forms are hid from view
By History, and Physic too;
And modest in the foreground is
A sister troupe of Ologies.
While timid Music ends the train
With one low solitary strain.
By History, and Physic too;
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A sister troupe of Ologies.
While timid Music ends the train
With one low solitary strain.
V.
Look back upon the distant plain,
From which your weary feet
Have climbed the livelong day with pain.
Glance o'er its pleasant groves again,
And all its meadows sweet.
From which your weary feet
Have climbed the livelong day with pain.
Glance o'er its pleasant groves again,
And all its meadows sweet.
Now, at the setting of the sun,
The mountain shadows fall.
Dark lines across the picture run,
And all the elm-trees one by one
Come out distinct and tall.
The mountain shadows fall.
Dark lines across the picture run,
And all the elm-trees one by one
Come out distinct and tall.
Afar behold a smoky wreath
Rise slowly and serene.
Your ancient cottage lies beneath,
And all your childish playgrounds with
Their carpeting of green.
Rise slowly and serene.
Your ancient cottage lies beneath,
And all your childish playgrounds with
Their carpeting of green.
I see the furrows where our plough
All day we used to guide,
And clearings in the forest now
Where our stout arms made tall trees bow,
High up the mountain side.
All day we used to guide,
And clearings in the forest now
Where our stout arms made tall trees bow,
High up the mountain side.
There flows the crystal river still,
In whose luxuriant flood,
When through our haying on the hill,
We tumbled at our own sweet will,
And cooled our heated blood.
In whose luxuriant flood,
When through our haying on the hill,
We tumbled at our own sweet will,
And cooled our heated blood.
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Thus, comrades, stay your course awhile,
And thoughtfully look back.
I see upon your lips a smile,
As if regardless of the toil
Before you on the track.
And thoughtfully look back.
I see upon your lips a smile,
As if regardless of the toil
Before you on the track.
High overhead the bare peaks loom
Whose summit are our goal,
To Heaven so near, although a tomb
To find thereon must be the doom
Of each aspiring soul.
Whose summit are our goal,
To Heaven so near, although a tomb
To find thereon must be the doom
Of each aspiring soul.
Turn back, and with a tear, O friends,
The map unrolled review.
An added charm the distance lends,
And all its features memory blends
Into a picture true.
The map unrolled review.
An added charm the distance lends,
And all its features memory blends
Into a picture true.
Up from the ocean creeps the mist;
And Night with hurrying wing
Hangs out her lanterns in the East.
Quick! fore the vision shall have ceased,
And mark each fading thing.
And Night with hurrying wing
Hangs out her lanterns in the East.
Quick! fore the vision shall have ceased,
And mark each fading thing.
Farewell, dear homes of bygone years!
Sweet life of youth, good-night!
Your fairy land is drowned in tears.
Look up! for now above appears
Our only hope of light.
Sweet life of youth, good-night!
Your fairy land is drowned in tears.
Look up! for now above appears
Our only hope of light.
Look up! for through the drifting night is gleaming
A glory brighter than our earthly day,
And all the toilsome rocks before are seeming
To beauty softened in its holy ray.
A glory brighter than our earthly day,
And all the toilsome rocks before are seeming
To beauty softened in its holy ray.
The bow of promise arches o'er the Heaven.
Glory and Love and Duty bid us come.
Bright forms there are we have not dreamed of even,
Ready within our hearts to make their home.
Glory and Love and Duty bid us come.
Bright forms there are we have not dreamed of even,
Ready within our hearts to make their home.
46
Our ways diverge, as up life's journey pressing
We set our feet toward the final goal.
Companions, brothers, give each other blessing,
For the last time let soul commune with soul.
We set our feet toward the final goal.
Companions, brothers, give each other blessing,
For the last time let soul commune with soul.
Often shall we recall familiar faces,
And on these happy years delight to dwell.
But now the hour draws nigh with stealthy paces,
Which bids us grasp each hand and say
And on these happy years delight to dwell.
But now the hour draws nigh with stealthy paces,
Which bids us grasp each hand and say
Farewell.
| [Poem by Fenollosa in] Baccalaureate Sermon, and Oration and Poem. Class of 1874 | |