Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-06-21

nrSC primary room, ana continued unLll
after reaching the High School. He then
took a long vacation of six years. But
the length of his vacation will not COM
pare with the number of vocations
with which he was engaged during that
time. He was first slater, painter and
general roofer, then printer and pub
Usher, amateur journalist, President of
the New England Amateur Press Asso-
citation, clerk in probate Office, "ambas-
sador of commerce." mechanical
draughtsman and again student,
Years ago, Bennington brought forth
abundantly its statesmen and its gener-
ais, and it has had fully its share of gov
errors, for three great men formerly
governors of the Green Mountain State,
now slumber by the side of the Revolu-
tionary heroes, in the old churchyard at
the Centre, but very rarely in all its long
history has it produced the equal in
scholarship and learning of one of the
lady members of the class of '05. She
was born with quick perception and a
wonderful memory, and in childhood
was extremely precOcious, reading most
of the Bible at the age of three years, and
at five, eagerly devouring the contents of
the Encyclopedia Britannica When
seven years old she was prepared for the
grammar school and entered that depart
ment of the Graded School. Here she
invariably stood highest in examination,
below 95 per cent. At one time receiving
99.5 per cent. in an astronomy examina-
ton, worry over the missing five-tenths
deprived her of sleep the rest of the
week, but safely surviving this calamity,
one summers day, while she raked the
meadows sweet with hay" she was in
formed that the highest class honor, that
of Valedictorian, had been awarded her.
Four or five years since, one of the
members of this class, who comes from
Pownal was engaged in teaching school
in one of the districts of that town. For
ty years before this Chester A. Arthur,
afterwards President of the United
States taught school in the same place.
Now if the young Pownal pedagogue
continues diligently to follow the exam
pie of his illustrious predecessor, who
can predict but that he also will event
ually fill the Presidential chair.
After more music by the band, Mr..
Hurlburt read the following poem which
speaks for itself:
Homer sang of ancient Ilium
And Achilles vengeful ire;
Rome, the mistress of the nations,
Was the lay of Vergil's Tyre:
But have a'theme that's grander,
For my heroes are alive
IT'S in chanting loud the praises
OF the Class of Ninety Five.
These old minstrels begged the muses.
To assist them in their song
So I'll ask them all to aid me,
Just to help the work along.
Since I've quit the Greek and Latin
Ponies doubtful, hating speed
I'll invoke the heet-winged Pegasus,
The poets proper steed.
Lol he comes, the noble Pegasus.
He's bearing me away
To the realms of inspiration,
Where the muses. hold their sway.
There | meet the sad Cassandra,
Who the future knows so we'll;
y But whose word is never trusted,
When the truth she tries to tell.
And she gazes up the vistas
OF our fated destiny,
And she whispers what each member
OF our class is going to be-
How the Misses Pierce and Miller,
Dodging Cupid's darts acute,
Henceforth spend their time in teach
Young ideas how to shoot;
How the skillfu1 Walter Sumner,
With an NJ. d. on his plate,
Will without the least discomfort
Saw your leg off while you wait
While the genial junior Partridge
With a piece of poison lead
Will bedeck your dental worries
Till you'll wish that you were
dead;
How the elder Partridge chicken,
Will Ills COIL pass CudluS ana
things,
Will survey the Shirlshire railroad,
Crooked as the Lebanon Springs;
How the reverend and respected
Mr.. Herbert Heminway
Will adorn some backwoOds chapel,
There to speak and sing and pray,
While his colleague in the pulpit
Muse, blush your words to hear
Occupies city charge for
Fifty thousand every year,
And I'd tell you all about it,
And our futures now disclose,
But fear l should be treading
On our good class prophets toes.
So I'll keep discreetly silent,
That l may her wrath survive
And instead I'll chant the praises
Of the Class of Ninety-Five.
Caesar tells of mighty combats
With the German, Celt and Gaul,
Days of toll and nights of danger,
But at last he conquered all.
So we, too, in daily conflict,
Striving thus our tasks to learn,
Every obstacle have conquered,
Even Caesar in his turn.
And as he his name emb1azoned
In bright characters of fire,
So we write our mystic figures,
Only just little higher: