St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-08-20

Wide sweeps of forest turned to fertile farms,
7 he rivers roar outnoised by factories,
The red mans trail outtrodden into roads,
Until at last the steam lived In the iron
And sent 1t on to touch the Western coast,
Making a place of hope of unknown lands.
And even as New England's hard-raised
wheat
Has multiplied on plains of Washington,
SO that clear thought that gave thee origin
Has spread in harvest OF a thousand schools.
And thou hast seen the eager " ord move on,
Until in all the clash Of destiny
One land. thy land. outgrows its infancy
And stands with ancient England eye to eye,
And proudly smiles at war-spiked Germany
Republics rise and fall. and yet these walls
Hear quiet. hourly classes as of yore,.
And even while the star OF Greece declines
Declcnsions here are still OF ancient Greek.
Yet, though the world be elsewhere wholly
mad,
In still redemption places 1t is sane;
And peaceful learning sources such as this
Send freshening breezes to earths West air
In shape Of mighty souls, the foes OF wrong,
Who first learned here to think and feel their
way
To truth and Righteousness and liberty.
l saw in vision a fair Western land,
And groups of youths that seemed to gather
flowers,
Some thoughtlessly, some earnestly, but all
With Joy. One wore the golden rod of wealth
Until it dropped. Another plucked a rose
And said. This shall be fame;" but soon 1t
passed.
A lily on ones bosom spoke oflove,
And he bchcld no other flower save this.
But, looking soon, / saw no lily, but
A face of tears. Yet one there was in all
Whose face was bright with earnings keen
desire,
And. walking there, he seemed proprietor,
And he alone. Pausine before each bloom
He drank in all its beauty, scent and form,
And marked it's coloring and tracery.
The golden-rod was blessing him with wealth
Although he pluckcdit not. The rose was his
Hut faded not. The lily's love was his.
Without the tears; and when he passed the
/ followed him and saw a man whose face
Shone with the light of knowledge, ana his
skirts
We're scented with the rich perfume of all
The flowers. So passed he out into the world.
Academy of years! Thy life work this.
To set a mental goal beyond the earth,
And shed the light OF culture over all.
That indefinable rich air OF thought,
of better feeling and of kee ier sight
That makes life joy and maj almost a God!
Beloved Academy! No shining word
Belts thy century's fame. The heart .
Would breathe unspoken tribute and unheard
By all save thee. OF this a part
Be memory of happy student days;
A part be faith in future years.;
But more than all and deeper be the praise
We give thy struggles, hopes and fears.
Calm is thy history as fneadow-stream
That opens slowly from it's source
Through widening, greener fields to break in
CLEAN
At last in some still water-course.
But thou hast fructifed thy town and state,
And manv q one at thy release
Has made his distant way with step elate
To spread The lessons ,of thy peace.
Thou, dear Academy, cen though unchanged,
Go on. The light that now fulhlls
A hundred years of hope shall still undimmed
Reflect afar from Peacham's hills.
II. ID. WILD.
Aug. ~, 1897.
After this poem an adjournment was
made till 2 O'Clock p. m.