Middletown transcript., 1871-07-15

Read Ly George Alfred Townse"d at he COMMENCE
ment Of Delamare C5i,egs, July ah, 1871.
A hundred years, less six, has White Clay run
Toward deep Chris,iana, turgcd In the sun,
Since from Grays Hill the General through his
glass
Ills thread .oa,e army saw through Newark pass
I,s s,raQgiing villagers, their nervous chins
Poisca on the windows of the shops aud inns,
kud much they hoped II battle he mus, seek,
Farther he d 90 and choose the Red Clay creek.
The Red Clay country pleased him for hight;
From Iron Hill he marked |, by daylight;
The Stanton folks, and the Newport people sent
tered;
Expecting both. their hip roofs 10 he battered;
But General Washington advanced his line
Far North as Chadds Ford on the Branaywinc,
And after all this waiting aud relrea'ing,
Sir William gave him nm cfccinal beating.
We've learned the lesson this Commencement
dawn:
Defeats inglorious tempted farther on
This spot was picked TO check the foes advance,
iTis nearest 10 his lines, Sir Ignorance
Here on these classic Stones again To thrive
We seek our gracious College To revive
To plant It's STANFORD dropping since lang syne,
To fight the action out upon this line,
And keep nj heart, though Norlhward we might
roam,
The ,nugger pretcp, Educate a, homcr
No, wacs, empires lure the reverend most;
The wiscs, Mngi sought small Judah coast,
The Russian czar to modest Holland sped,
To little Wcimcr, Schiller GTihc He'd,
Famed Heidelberg in narrow Hadct ssf,
And crnmped Boiocne ios,crcd ltdy
shut In the so.,cs, vcrdurc Of the East,
our Delaware nook, although the least
Has soil enough for education = seeds,
Aud sros,s and students are what mos, she needs.
M sign ,yc want TO tell Us when We roam:
L. t...s. fNfEa
ror,-if We say II need there lie blush p
Good boys, unlike good wine, need most the bush.
The ccu,ury-aower has blossgmcd pleasantly
Above the tiles of yon Ach's.ny
which from the peaceful penns derived It's lease
And six score ycars hns taugh, the arts Of peace.
In nscycu;y-sx lis hoys marched with the Bues
The urls behind them stitched their soldiers
shoes,
npcichtful task to mend the tender boot,
And teach the young idea how To shoot.
Here labored long ,hoso quiet Scottish Chiefs,
Holding for God Ills precious souls as TETS
Mcdowell Ewing, Allison, amt more
Whose gentle influence illel this Eastern shore,
And hunanizcd its homes from Chester creek,
Far rs the lonely capts oi Chesapeake
In precnest grnycyards sleep those pilgrim sires
Dy Swedish ehapcls or hy English spires,
nv country kinks wrnpt IN deN or miss,
Or lulei To peace ly singing Nclhpiistsi
TRANQUIL their lives rlt .es.it nothing Grand
Bu, melted in the cl ic Il tie bud,
Par, of the nation strong anl yindicated,
Par, OF the school they cherished and creatfli
part of she light and culture which endure,
The dawping arts aud sircaei bcning literature,
The social life, which seeks high thoughts for food,
And buwarks of our pride OF ncgl'borhood.
Scarce fifty years had scattered Freedoms foes,
Al. ,.,,l. tfaf nj gf,'t
Loud spoke Its lell--Nhnt melody dill swing IT,
Whcnc'er the .Ianitor would let IA ring i
A score of years or more came, for It's crack,
Fu, boys from Cecil, lean fran Aceomac,
Pale hoye from the cities. fran the country pink,
Queer bows from buck aud ..rpoqunomnl
Boys raised on Iron lill,-real nuuniainceis,-
ON shady Sassairas, oyster Tangicrs
From wlaic or neck, or sound or manor rassen-
They all stole pears and apples down at llosscn-
gers.
Nv hnsiy muse, rouse up aud once more show,
The scenes in Newark twenty years ago.
Tho morning prayer, the tells boom strong and
sweet,
swunc down the one Idle Of the village street,
"pay-schonrs hurrying ON foot. In gigs,
Professors smoothing out their hairs, or Wigs.
Tho shy ness student who can eat no pi,nnce,
Wockcd by the old hoy spending his remittance,
Tha, marvel Of all Freshmen III their turn,
The one queer boy who came 10 school TO learn,
That other wonder. whom the mass insist
ia lie sans luer the College hnmorisi:
An ii c, jolly, impccunious elf,
Who tests on every thinr,-cNccpt himself,
And, greater than all iasories OF rcnown,
The hoy whose pretty sister lives in town
In all his woes rose dozens oi r.drcsscrs.
lie was a fnyori,e, even with some professors
Al summer noon the lanes nad fields are secu,
To ill with nrchns fastening 10 " The Green,
proud swimmer hc whose shy probation oer,
pisdains less f,,homs than the Sycamore,
Or nudis rerl,s Whitley stands revealed
Poised ON The q Deep Rocks ''-us he calls il
npcecdn y
And palms claspcd Ia mod, head formos, he goes
To fetch up stones while small boys tic up his
clothes.
Meantime the oyclorn student roams hehnd.
And caryes his torment on the beach tree rind,
And TO ,ae dear initials makes his moan
A bolder student silly adds his own.
Our fine girl then, nor skater was, nor sailor;
Therefore her children in our days are Trailer;
Ie, us admit we both did something err
Uprnllani she 10 Nature, we 10 her.
She never wrote in ice her cpgrar,
Cu,ting High Dutch T" on Deans or Curtis dam,
Nor down the Roseyillc rapids shoSed her skill,
hoys.
Risking logging for /, from the mill-boys.
She never wished the Northern hills 10 climb
Which on our border lean their ribs Of CRIME,
And strangle streams which hurl more mill
wheels arms,
And battle more sheep, and bcau,ify more farms
That royal road the North, she did not dare,
Like our wild hearts pent up in Delaware,
And wondering what beyond those hl-,ops lay,
when trudsing toward them on Saturday.
Not In that fashion did our sweetheart journey
But only when with power-of Attorney,
Two trunks, n nun, bridesmaid, and a fan,
She sacrificed the sccnry for the man.
Twas still her triumph when Commencement
came
And ,allow candles made the College flame;
For her alone the Anihcnnums speak,
tn, Delta phians don their badge Of Greek,
For her, for nothing less do both submit
TO wear a coat cut In the neither pitt
And hear tho pert Academcians cry,
In chorus: "Whcn the Swallows llomeward Fly"
Nothing between a boy and book can slip,
like the uo(t vision Of an eye and lin,