Ann Arbor High School - Omega Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Glass l7oe-am- Whes Que-3515, BY J.. RALEIGH NELSON. f HE morn had come and all the palace roofs Were glistening in the early sun that peeped From o'er the wood-clad hills of Attica. And all the palace court was now astir, For on that morn the kir1g's own son would go Far over hill and dale, through wood and glade, To seek and capture wisdom as his slave. S0 to and fro the busy servants passed, And eien the chattering ,magpies on the roofs Seemed now to feel the excitement in the air, And in the courts the anxious horses pranced. The king, resplendent in his jewelled robes, Expectant waited in the audience hall, While all around his lords and ladies stood. At last the distant blare of bugles rang Through all the hall, and every heart stood still, And scarce did any move or even breathe But listening, waited for the prince to come. And e'er increased the rippling round of notes 'Till through the massive marble-pillared arch There swept a glittering train of courtiers proud, And at their head, lithe limbed, and noble bro Wed, Majestic, fair, the king's own son was seen, Clad all in glittering garments made of gold. And round his sheeney spear and o'er his helm Were twined sweet garlands made of dewy flowers And on his feet were well wrought sandals bound. But now the music ceased, and he alone With reverent eyes and step approached the throne, And humbly kneeled upon the broad gold steps

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I account ot man's actions -his successful attempts and his fail- ures, his risings and his tallings. WVe can read our own history only so far as it is made. WVe can only dimly portray what it shall be from the signs which the Times unfold to us. VVe have no deiinite way of telling whether we hold in our hands the weal or the woe of the unborn millions. Two parties of History everywhere present, the party of the Past and the party of the Future, divide society to-day as of old. The Times are the masquerade of the eternitiesg trivial to the dull, tokens of noble and majestic agents to the wise, the receptacle in which the Past leaves its history 3 the quarry out of which the genius of to-day is building up the Future. But the subject of the Times is not abstract. The nations of the world, their manners and customs, their varied institutions, their opinions, their dissent- ing and consenting voices, are to be studied as omens, as sacred leaves on whose surface is inscribed a weighty sense, if only we search it out. They hold within themselves the solution of many vexing questions. When we speak of the age in which we live, we only mean our own semi-company of people, as it were, as Dante and Milf ton painted in gigantic size their two divisions, and called them Heaven and Hell. In the highest idea of the progress of man, we cannot get beyond this personal picture of the association of man with man. T Since the Times can reveal so much to us, let us awake our senses to them. ' Let us grasp what lies within their bosom and strive on with the determination that, by our actions, we shall make happiness attend those who follow us. By our striving to act noblest and best, we do not' think that the blue dome of heaven, which hangs alike o'er all will put on a brighter hue for us, our honey be sweeter, our climate more temperate, but only that our relations to our fellows will be simpler and happier. Man has always acted g man will act. The years will come and go, time and change will write their inevitable legend upon all natureg the earth itself may shrivel and decay, and the heavens be rolled together as a scroll 3 but not until man has drunk of the cup of oblivion and is lost for- ever on the Lethean wave will he cease to strive for something better.

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To hear his father's blessing on his head. Who then looked down with pride and yet some fear And said, Go forth, my noble son, go forth! The gods attend thy way and 'neath thy feet ' Cast flowers of sweetest bloom, that ne'er the rocks Or rough and weary way thy tender feet shall wound! And when again thou com'st may by thy side, Enslaved and conquered. Wisdom meekly walk! And on that day shalt thou ascend the throne And wear upon thy head the golden cro wn.', Thus speaking stooped and kissed his son's fairbrow. And he, with one long lingering look turned 'round And 'twixt the ranks of courtiers passed alone, 'Till through the marble arched door he went, When, with ablast of bugles and a shout, The people and the court all followed him, Until they came to where the river flo wed And he was borne across, and, standing there, Gave one farewell to all that boisterous folk And turned and disappeared within the wood. Long days he wandered over field and fen And sought incave and cavern, glade and glen To find the one for whom his quest was made. At last one day, half wearied of , his task And wishing much that now the end were nigh, He came to where, besidea murmuring brook, An ancient oak tree, seamed and gnarled stood, And underneath its crooked' arms was spread A broad, smooth mat of soft and silky grass Embroidered here and there with lovely flowers. And here awearied did he lay him down And taking off his helmet let his curls i Fall free, unbound upon the shady grass. Then lulled and soothed by all the sweet voiced birds And half enrapt by sweetly scented flowers, His eyelids drooped and he went half asleep. But sudden in the oak-tree's seamed side A door swung out, and in the odorous air, And in that lovely jubilee of song There stood a maiden, tall and lithe and fair, Half draped in clinging robe of some thin silk And veiled beneath the glorious golden hair That played and fretted in the balmy breeze. When he surprised, amazed, then half arose, She, coming forward, spake in flute-like tones These words: Oh, Hero, who o'er wild and waste hast come Well know I whom thou long hast sought to find.