Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1859-07-22
From the Magnolia.
The Vacation.
BY 5 {. n

: BY c.
The sal;sy days drag YEARLY on t
In our vacant halls, for the girls are gone
And their merry voices no longer ring as
Through the echoing courts like the songs Of sprin
There sounds no footstep upon the STAIR
There rings no bell for the morning prayer;
The fearless spider forsakes his nook
And spins his meshes DER globe and book,
And gathers the dust on :he map unrollcd
tAnd the motionlcss pail of the curtains fold
The July suns roll slowly on, ss s -sl.
The girls the beautiful girls are goncl
The dog-star flames in the rainless sky,
And frowns on Bethel with angry eye. aN.e
In vain he shines in the tenantless room ~
Where his light but flouts the cherries gloom
In vain he seeks for the busy maid
Who conned her task meath the wide oak shade /;
In vain his fiery darts invade
The seats of the pillared colonado; ft
In vain he scorches the browning lawn,
For the girls, the beautiful girls are gone
The summer days move listlessly on,
For the girls the innocent girls, are gone!
The pendulous click of the chapel clock
Now echoes so clear it seems to mock
At the silent seats which rise as dread
As the pale memorials of the dead,
While the sun itself comes peering in
With look like skeletons chatterng grin,
And he says, in very impudent tone:
"The College, this morning, seems very lone
Your hour, Professor, is rather late
Do you let the young sluggards doze till eight'
You have grounds for very vinegar talk
In your morning ecture-at twelve o'clock
The vacation wscts MOVE slowly on,
The swallows.hase come, but the girls are gone.
The swallows fly thick as the autumn leaves
Drifting and whirling around the caves,
And the pigeon rich and restless wings
Anon from his coigne of vantage" springs,
And many pinion fans the'air,
And bright and beautiful hues shine there
Like bubbles aaoat on the airy wave,
Or the meteor fires of the starry pave
Around the swallows and pigeons fly
But they look below with lingering eye
And seem to pine at the long delay
OF the lovely girls who are far away.
The lonely Professor moves slowly on,
For his own dear pupils are scattered and gone,
And sadly he walks the sounding floor
and thinks of some he shall see no more.
For ceaseessly swings the scythe of death,
Nor spares the flower of sweetest BREATH
And wide is the sea and the continents range,
And wondrous is times unceasing range
And ere the September bell shall call
To prayers again in the College hall,
Some shall be roaming in distant lands,
B v the far lakes shore or the oceans Strands
And some shall rest in the shroud of snow,
Softly fading from mortal eye,
Like beautiful cloud from the morning sky.
en- now at the hour of evening prayer,
Sweet voices float down from the fields of air,
Where angel KATIEs walks in love
By the beautiful groves and streams above.
In vain is the teachers tear repressed
Which falls for one who is with the blessed
But, oh for the loss of that face so fair
And the desolate look of that vacant chair
Oh, schoolgirl, rowing fancy free
In all thy maiden revelry,
Play on but know that sterner bell
Shall summon thee soon with a sadder kncll,
And thou must haste to mighty hall,
Where tapestries wave like funeral pail,
Where the harp and the viol are eaten with rust
And jewecd robes are bestrewn with dust;
Around thee shall pass shadowy throng
Thou shalt hear no jest nor mrfh, nor song,
No eye shall meet thee in friendly glance
No footstep meet thee in giddy dance.
The noble, the lowly, the humble and proud,
All robed alike in the spotess shroud,
There, trembling, await the Masters call
" LET THE SCHOLARS COME TO THE JUDGMENT HALL %
Oh, teacher beyond earth's change and pain
Thou with thy flock must meet again.
See that thou Dearest thy golden sheaycs
! Weeping but not as one who grieyes,
But as one who, with earnest tears and prayers,
Has saved his charge from the tempters snares,
And thou and thy pupils shall learn 10 love
In the All-wse Teachers school above.
loved and lamentcd puiA