Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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spare moments hastily snatched from busy college life, and lias not had the advantages that arise from continuity f)f thought and oi)]jortiiiiity for uninterrupted effort. It may be said that one mission of The Halcyon is to jest, but not to jest in a way that leaves a sharp sting behind it. To do so, is both cruel and unmanly. Fate never wounds more deep the generous heart, Than when a blockhead ' s insult points the dart. We trust that the victims of our harmless jests may bear in mind one of the wise sayings of old Plautus: Si quid dictum est per jocum Non £equum est id serio provortier. As we place our little work — the result of some spare moments of col- lege life — before our Class and in the archives of our Alma Mater, we feel both a sense of pleasure and of pain ; pleasure, that the work devolved upon us is performed ; pain, that we are brought to a severance of our relations with an agreeable companion. 19

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Editorial ]preface. Joking decides great things, Stronglier and better oft, than earnest can. Milto7i Trans, of Horace Satire I. E BELIEVE that it was the author of The Poet at the Breakfast Table who said, that The foolishest book is a kind of leaky boat on a sea of wisdom ; some of the wis- dom will get in anyhow. We trust that the little boat which the Class of ' 92 launches to-day will not be pronounced entirely wisdom proof. The members of the editorial staff who have been instru- mental in setting it afloat bespeak for it a kindly reception, and trust that the winds of heaven may not visit its course too roughly, but that the gentlest of zephyrs may swell the bosom of its sails. We have not thought of attempting to emulate the work of the bril- liant corps of editors who have immortalized themselves in previous numbers of The Halcyon. We have aimed only to perform, to the best of our ability, the duty which a generous class devolved upon us. If we have fairly well succeeded, the glory in a great measure attaches to our electors. If we have failed, they, too, must bear a part of the igno- miny of failure. How pleasant to have the responsibility so largely diffused ? A very reasonable excuse for the many imperfections in the little book we are about to cast upon the waters, is that it has been the work of 18

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If t.l]i§ book lacks aught in wit or serjse, ©r jokes appear a trifle den§e ; ' Twas r)ot for lack of dood intents, ©f searchjigg earrjestly to firjd Sorrjewhat to suit each rea der ' s rrjind. We pray you, then, to be n]ost kind, Wl-jatever does not please your eye T urn o ' er the leaf and pass it by. T o each of you we wish it said- — pead as you ' d have your alcyorj read.