Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

Page 14 text:

6 THE NASSAU H ERALD. taneous enjoyment of the hour. And when around the cannon our orators, with good-natured sarcasm unfold our history, or narrate our mishaps, then if you do not appre- ciate the allusions and the cause of roaring laughter, bear with us, for remember that it is all pertinent and pregnant with meaning to us. And now, kind friends, it is my pleas- ant duty to offer you a sincere and hearty Welcome in the name of the Class of '85.

Page 13 text:

Sasliuztatcrga ddress. BY CLINTON W. BIRD, N. Y. Ladies and Gentlemen-You are gathered here to-day to Witness those exercises and ceremonies, which from time immemorial have marked the last chapter in the history of each graduating class. College graduates are unanimous in the sentiment that there are few associations so delightiul or so zealously treasured as those which cluster around our Alma Mater. It is there that their intellectual life was born and nourished, there that the battle between boyhood and manhood was fought, there, too, that friendships were formed, life-long in duration, cherished even to the grave. When We shall have passed from this seat of learning, and are struggling for an honorable and useful ,place among our fellow-men, our memories Will ever bring back to us some- thing of our early strength and vigor by recalling the happy days of our youth spent here. It is then that the remem- brance of generous friendships-some strengthened only by the lapse of time-and others sundered by the separa- tion of death, then it is that remembrance will touch us with peculiar delight, or make use better men by giving us sober, solemn thoughts. To-day, my friends, We are assem- bled for theclast time as a class, to-morrow we must be men, Whether We Will or not. To-morrow, life, stern, exact- ing, practical life, with all its anxieties and perplexities, will stare us in the face. Let us not shrink from the ordeal, but let us to-day give ourselves up unreservedly to the spon-

Page 15 text:

THE JVASSAU HERALD. Glass lltrreiu. FRANK S. WOODRUFF, N. J. 'Tis evening-time on fair New England's hills, Deep shadows bridge the limpid, mossy rills NVith graceful span, as falls the lingering light, Latest and most beauteous, that borders on the night Rich is the landscape now that greets the eye, Of hills and valleys green and amber sky. So gently blows the fragrant vesper breeze As scarce to draw a murmur from the trees, That leafy and in summer garments dressed, Keep silent watch, sheer to the hillock's crest. Nor elen a whisper of the wintry spell That yearly binds with icy hand each dell - And height 5 when whirling snow-flakes ill the sky, And tempests toss the withered leaves on high. The place lies inland 5 there do people dwell Who never see the heaving ocean swell, Nor hear his music, yet are well content, And often, while on rural task intent, See in the Hitting vap'rous shapes of clouds What they imagine hulls and snowy shrouds. Inviting, wide, and peaceful lies the street . Where winding paths from od' the hillside meet, - And following down, you cross the little bridge That spans a gushing streamlet from the ridge, And gives the town the name of Silver Brook. Below it wanders like a shepherd's crook, And dashes o'er the rocks with liquid tune To fill its moss-rimmed basins, water-hewn. The voices sweet of children, sorrow-free, Now soothe the heart with innocence and glee And at this evening hour scarce else is heard, Save now and then the note of some wood-bird. J