The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-07-10

ut marked the presence of our hero there;
ever a spot on Hopes bright shield
ut marked his victorious battle field;
ever sorrow by tears expressed
ut came through him the self-confessed
of crime and "father of lies"
hose eye never dims, whose strength ne,
dies.
Such is the hero of my song,
The subjects bad, the same the verse,
The critics surely are not wrong
Who say that neither could be worse.
Though bad the verse as bad may be,
1t may not be amiss to say
That it was made to match the ID -
Upon this, our Alumni Day.
And now methnks hear you call
His name in full, but if YOU please
We much prefer that one and all
Should call him MephistOphcies.
MephistopheieS, a stranger (niend
To every one know,
Seeks an Introduction; and
If be your pleasure SO,
I'll ask his majesty to send
His card to each of you,
And thus, perchance, you may extend
Acquaintance ere you go.
Don't wish his card Don't care to see
THIS quOnddm friend of all
Whom Eve met near the apple tree
In the garden, before the fall
Stop there | see you're well informed
In fact, Pm not surprised
That even under q nom de plume
He is quickly recognized.
Since then you scoin an interview
With the hero Of my song,
just give good heed while | review
His doings, pro and con,
And tell me true. when am through,
If thus you've always done
If always thus right prudcntly
His presence sought to shun.
If always thus each errlng son
Had stunned an interview,
And mothers daughters, every one,
Had done the same thing too,
What threads of Joy the Fates had spun
TO ill lite's wOoi anew
With lines of life and happiness
That mortals never knew
The German bard on lustrous page
Portrayed poor Gretchen's wrong,
And sirens ON the lyric stage
Rehearsc the same in song.
MephiStOpheieS walks with Faust
As in the days of yoru-
Ensnares the soul with devices
OFT used by him before.
This spirit turks in human hearts
Whom Goethe never knew,
And shoots from ambush poisoned darts
When GretchenS come in view.
He's always young-has always been
A bright and sprightly blade;
If rejected here or there, finds room
Elsewhere to ply his trade.
ON many dark historic page
That shames the human race
In every cline, OF every age,
His presence you may trace;
In lowest vale, on mountain top,
And many sacred place,
BV fOOtmarkS in the hardening sands
That time can not efiace.
On Shinar's plain. in slight disguise,
lie strove to build a fame
Whose crystal dome sho uld kiss the skies,
In honor to his name.
But when confusion smOte the speech
OF all his chosen bands,
In blindest rage he scattered each
Throughout the distant lands.
When all were gone, and he alone
stood on the ruined fame,
And saw them vanish, one by one,
out on the distant plain,
He swore by every wasted tile
In that unfinished tower,
He'd get right down and follow them
Forever from that hour.
If in all else he's proved untrue,
And justly been abhOrred,
In tins, at least, mostly faithfully
Our hero kept his word.
Whcre'er YOU go, whate'er you do,
Keep this one fact in view
He's followed all who've gone before,
And now he's after you.
lie built the lofty pyramids
In quaint Egyptian style.
And a labyrinth of palaces
To enshTine a crocodile;
llc sat with PhaToahs on the throne
All sorrows TO beguile,
And sought for MOses, while he took
bOatrdc on the Nile.
He troubled Jacob, bewitched Saul,
Paid David tribute due.
While solomon surrendered all
II history be true.
Ii matters not how many stalls
OF fiery steeds we keep
Or temples of gold, with gilded halls,
For worship blindly seek.
Earth's richest trappings but invite
Our herO's presence sure;
Fast horses are his great delight,
Wild oats his sinecure
The gilded halls and vestments rare,
And palaces of gold.
Are but to him iowler's snare,
His victims 10 enfold.
lie poured the wine at Belshazzar's feast.
And reyeled in the throng;
The mural writing but Increased
His rlbaldry and song.
lie was AleNander's right hand man.
lie rode with Tamerane,
And helped him build his monuments
With heads of countless slain.
The cOliseum's walls surround
The field where Christian life
Went out in death, when man and beast
Closed in the unequal strife
AS raging storms in fury lash
The ocean into foam,
SO passions fiery tempest passed
Throughout the realms OF Rome.