Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

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Ours is the fountain That feeds the mountain And the torrent in its rush to the sea. The strongest of powers are we. In azure bowers Amidst rocky towers, Where the sun never shone, Firm stands our throne. We hoist our flag O ' er cliff and crag. And every depth on the heights Belongs to our valiant knights, And the broadest space Is but a vase To hold our solid mass Of living glass. Once soft as the down of the thistle, Now the hardest granite we chisel And polish its sparkling steel On slowest wheel. On unseen shoulder We lift high the boulder And again, as we move our feet, We crush it like a grain of wheat. But downward we go. Many and many a glittering caravan, Bridging the ages in a single span. Our friend is the moon, And never too soon Does she peer through the curtain of clouds, Through the fleecy lace or the matted shrouds. In pensive mood Many a night she stood. And we noticed her looking about In mournful doubt — Her face so soft, so white — For the kindred light Of the snowy field. And her grief was healed, And a brighter sheen On her brow was seen, And she lifted her head As long she sped. New joys excited And banners united. The Moon and ourselves, We conquer the cloudy shelves. To the darkness below We impart our glow. To boggy fen and quaggy mire Our frozen fire. As down to the horizon she goes A snow-white swan, White as the resting, the glittering caravan. Our hope is the sun, And we never shun The fiery eye That rules over earth and sky. Not ourselves to protect, But his rays to reflect. His fervent kiss to return, With constant desire we burn. From dawn till down In yielding we add to his crown, To the scepter and sway Of the lord of the heavenly way. His days we brighten. His glory we heighten. But the mutual fire Is our funeral pyre; Our glitter and light Is hushed in night. And yet and yet No fret or regret. All fears we banish Though our forms must vanish. No pang, no strife. Our death is our life. The heavenly token, The angel ' s seal is broken. So down we go In steady flow, Once more a homely caravan, Once more to rise above the children of man. To join the cloud And the watery shroud And the ship that is laden with rain, That sails the heavenly main. Up and up Each tiny cup. Up to the presence of God, To await His beck and nod. Our forms renewed, With the starry model imbued, Down and down And up and down, Down we go, A glittering caravan. To gladden the earth and the children of man. And this is our paean of glory. Resounding from ages hoary. To the song of the glittering caravan Listen, earth, and ye children of man. 29

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THE SONG OF THE WHITE CARAVAN Prof. Karl Bauer Our home is above, In the realm of love, In the love of the living God, At His beck and nod We sally forth In the land of the North. Down and down And up and down, Down to the earth we go, A luminous caravan. To gladden the earth and the children of man. Our home is above. Where the clouds do move, Where the clouds move swiftly along In jostling and buffeting throng. Without any fears, With our eyes and ears We have watched the flash. We have heard the crash. With sights and sounds Our mem ' ry abounds Beyond the ken Of the oldest and wisest of men. But down we go, A luminous caravan. To gladden the earth and the children of man. Our home is the cloud And the watery shroud And the ship that is laden with rain. That sails the heavenly main. Full many an hour, With natural power It speeds, it skims, it floats. The lightest, the lightest of boats. But lo! and lo! The sight of woe! In stearn or beak There is sprung a leak. Or the fiery spark Disrupts the bark, And mast and keel They totter and reel. They are riven asunder To the echoing peal of thunder. And our swarm of drops Never halts nor stops, Through every gate of the skies Downward and downward it flies. Downward we go. Such is our fate. Unsightly our figure and state. Then the angel of beauty Performs his duty. With radiant pencil He traces our stencil. Impresses the heavenly stamp On the whole of the vapory camp. We have ceased to be. New-born are we! No pang, no strife. Our death is our life. Our greatest career, ' Tis near, ' tis here! Ye all shall be stars Despite Venus and Mars. Ye all shall be flowers And great among powers. And downward we go. For such is our fate. Transfigured and raised in estate. Our path is delight For elf and sprite. For the whispering elves And for ourselves. Who would not be ready For the whirl and the eddy? So merry our dance. Our reteat and advance, Our meeting And greeting. Our musical laughter The friendly clash after, Our chime and our rhyme. Our rhythmical flow As downward we go. And oh, how surprising Our frequent uprising When the wind stirs about And joins the frolicsome crowd! But down we go, A glittering caravan. To gladden the earth and the children of man. 28 m

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ELMS STAFF OF 1925 Charles Binder Gerhard Friz Dan Lang EwALD Lang Henry Kroehler Theodore Stoerker Herbert Schmidt James O ' Leary R. Ferris Brown Clarence Huprich Milton Bierbaum Karl Carlson . Editor-in-Chief Associate Editor Business Manager Assistant Business Manager Circulation Manager Assistant Circulation Manager . ' . . Athletics Editor Organization Editor Literary Editor Joke Editor Art Editor . Faculty Advisor 30