diff options
Diffstat (limited to '16821.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 16821.txt | 2653 |
1 files changed, 2653 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/16821.txt b/16821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..43e4295 --- /dev/null +++ b/16821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2653 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Scarlet Gown, by R. F. Murray + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Scarlet Gown + being verses by a St. Andrews Man + + +Author: R. F. Murray + + + +Release Date: October 8, 2005 [eBook #16821] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET GOWN*** + + + + + + +Transcribed from the 1891 Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton & Co. edition by +David Price, ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + + +THE SCARLET GOWN: +BEING VERSES BY A ST. ANDREWS MAN + + +ST. ANDREWS, N.B.: A. M. HOLDEN +LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON & CO. +1891 + + ' . . . the little town, + The drifting surf, the wintry year, + The college of the scarlet gown, + St. Andrews by the Northern Sea, + That is a haunted town to me.' + + ANDREW LANG. + + + + + PREFACE + + +St. Andrews, but for its Town Council and its School Board, is a quiet +place; and the University, except during the progress of a Rectorial +Election, is peaceable and well-conducted. I hope these verses may so +far reflect St. Andrews life as to be found pleasant, if not over +exciting. + +I am able to reprint the verses on 'The City of Golf' by the special +courtesy of the Editor of the _Saturday Review_. + +A few explanatory notes are given at the end of the book. + +R. F. MURRAY. + + + + + THE VOICE THAT SINGS + + +The voice that sings across the night + Of long forgotten days and things, +Is there an ear to hear aright + The voice that sings? + +It is as when a curfew rings + Melodious in the dying light, +A sound that flies on pulsing wings. + +And faded eyes that once were bright + Brim over, as to life it brings +The echo of a dead delight, + The voice that sings. + + + + + THE BEST PIPE + + +In vain you fervently extol, + In vain you puff, your cutty clay. +A twelvemonth smoked and black as coal, + 'Tis redolent of rank decay +And bones of monks long passed away-- + A fragrance I do not admire; +And so I hold my nose and say, + Give me a finely seasoned briar. + +Macleod, whose judgment on the whole + Is faultless, has been led astray +To nurse a high-born meerschaum bowl, + For which he sweetly had to pay. +Ah, let him nurse it as he may, + Before the colour mounts much higher, +The grate shall be its fate one day. + Give me a finely seasoned briar. + + The heathen Turk of Istamboul, + In oriental turban gay, +Delights his unbelieving soul + With hookahs, bubbling in a way +To fill a Christian with dismay + And wake the old Crusading fire. +May no such pipe be mine, I pray; + Give me a finely seasoned briar. + +Clay, meerschaum, hookah, what are they + That I should view them with desire? +Both now, and when my hair is grey, + Give me a finely seasoned briar. + + + + + HYMN OF HIPPOLYTUS TO ARTEMIS + + +Artemis! thou fairest +Of the maids that be +In divine Olympus, +Hail! Hail to thee! +To thee I bring this woven weed +Culled for thee from a virgin mead, +Where neither shepherd claims his flocks to feed +Nor ever yet the mower's scythe hath come. +There in the Spring the wild bee hath his home, +Lightly passing to and fro +Where the virgin flowers grow; +And there the watchful Purity doth go +Moistening with dew-drops all the ground below, +Drawn from a river untaintedly flowing, + They who have gained by a kind fate's bestowing +Pure hearts, untaught by philosophy's care, +May gather the flowers in the mead that are blowing, +But the tainted in spirit may never be there. + +Now, O Divinest, eternally fair, +Take thou this garland to gather thy hair, +Brought by a hand that is pure as the air. +For I alone of all the sons of men +Hear thy pure accents, answering thee again. +And may I reach the goal of life as I began the race, +Blest by the music of thy voice, though darkness ever veil thy face! + + + + + ON A CRUSHED HAT + + +Brown was my friend, and faithful--but so fat! + He came to see me in the twilight dim; + I rose politely and invited him +To take a seat--how heavily he sat! + +He sat upon the sofa, where my hat, + My wanton Zephyr, rested on its rim; + Its build, unlike my friend's, was rather slim, +And when he rose, I saw it, crushed and flat. + +O Hat, that wast the apple of my eye, + Thy brim is bent, six cracks are in thy crown, + And I shall never wear thee any more; +Upon a shelf thy loved remains shall lie, + And with the years the dust will settle down + On thee, the neatest hat I ever wore! + + + + + A SWINBURNIAN INTERLUDE + + +Short space shall be hereafter + Ere April brings the hour +Of weeping and of laughter, + Of sunshine and of shower, +Of groaning and of gladness, +Of singing and of sadness, +Of melody and madness, + Of all sweet things and sour. + +Sweet to the blithe bucolic + Who knows nor cribs nor crams, +Who sees the frisky frolic + Of lanky little lambs; + But sour beyond expression +To one in deep depression +Who sees the closing session + And imminent exams. + +He cannot hear the singing + Of birds upon the bents, +Nor watch the wildflowers springing, + Nor smell the April scents. +He gathers grief with grinding, +Foul food of sorrow finding +In books of dreary binding + And drearier contents. + +One hope alone sustains him, + And no more hopes beside, +One trust alone restrains him + From shocking suicide; + He will not play nor palter +With hemlock or with halter, +He will not fear nor falter, + Whatever chance betide. + +He knows examinations + Like all things else have ends, +And then come vast vacations + And visits to his friends, +And youth with pleasure yoking, +And joyfulness and joking, +And smilingness and smoking, + For grief to make amends. + + + + + SWEETHEART + + +Sweetheart, that thou art fair I know, + More fair to me +Than flowers that make the loveliest show + To tempt the bee. + +When other girls, whose faces are, + Beside thy face, +As rushlights to the evening star, + Deny thy grace, + +I silent sit and let them speak, + As men of strength +Allow the impotent and weak + To rail at length. + + If they should tell me Love is blind, + And so doth miss +The faults which they are quick to find, + I'd answer this: + +Envy is blind; not Love, whose eyes + Are purged and clear +Through gazing on the perfect skies + Of thine, my dear. + + + + + MUSIC FOR THE DYING + + +FROM THE FRENCH OF SULLY PRUDHOMME + +Ye who will help me in my dying pain, + Speak not a word: let all your voices cease. +Let me but hear some soft harmonious strain, + And I shall die at peace. + +Music entrances, soothes, and grants relief + From all below by which we are opprest; +I pray you, speak no word unto my grief, + But lull it into rest. + +Tired am I of all words, and tired of aught + That may some falsehood from the ear conceal, +Desiring rather sounds which ask no thought, + Which I need only feel: + + A melody in whose delicious streams + The soul may sink, and pass without a breath +From fevered fancies into quiet dreams, + From dreaming into death. + + + + + FAREWELL TO A SINGER + + +ON HER MARRIAGE + +As those who hear a sweet bird sing, + And love each song it sings the best, +Grieve when they see it taking wing + And flying to another nest: + +We, who have heard your voice so oft, + And loved it more than we can tell, +Our hearts grow sad, our voices soft, + Our eyes grow dim, to say farewell. + +It is not kind to leave us thus; + Yet we forgive you and combine, +Although you now bring grief to us, + To wish you joy, for auld lang syne. + + + + + THE CITY OF GOLF + + +Would you like to see a city given over, + Soul and body, to a tyrannising game? +If you would, there's little need to be a rover, + For St. Andrews is the abject city's name. + +It is surely quite superfluous to mention, + To a person who has been here half an hour, +That Golf is what engrosses the attention + Of the people, with an all-absorbing power. + +Rich and poor alike are smitten with the fever; + Their business and religion is to play; +And a man is scarcely deemed a true believer, + Unless he goes at least a round a day. + + The city boasts an old and learned college, + Where you'd think the leading industry was Greek; +Even there the favoured instruments of knowledge + Are a driver and a putter and a cleek. + +All the natives and the residents are patrons + Of this royal, ancient, irritating sport; +All the old men, all the young men, maids and matrons-- + The universal populace, in short. + +In the morning, when the feeble light grows stronger, + You may see the players going out in shoals; +And when night forbids their playing any longer, + They tell you how they did the different holes + +Golf, golf, golf--is all the story! + In despair my overburdened spirit sinks, +Till I wish that every golfer was in glory, + And I pray the sea may overflow the links. + + One slender, struggling ray of consolation + Sustains me, very feeble though it be: +There are two who still escape infatuation, + My friend M'Foozle's one, the other's me. + +As I write the words, M'Foozle enters blushing, + With a brassy and an iron in his hand . . . +This blow, so unexpected and so crushing, + Is more than I am able to withstand. + +So now it but remains for me to die, sir. + Stay! There _is_ another course I may pursue-- +And perhaps upon the whole it would be wiser-- + I will yield to fate and be a golfer too! + + + + + THE SWALLOWS + + +FROM JEAN PIERRE CLARIS FLORIAN + +I love to see the swallows come + At my window twittering, +Bringing from their southern home + News of the approaching spring. +'Last year's nest,' they softly say, + 'Last year's love again shall see; +Only faithful lovers may + Tell you of the coming glee.' + +When the first fell touch of frost + Strips the wood of faded leaves, +Calling all their winged host, + The swallows meet above the eaves + 'Come away, away,' they cry, + 'Winter's snow is hastening; +True hearts winter comes not nigh, + They are ever in the spring.' + +If by some unhappy fate, + Victim of a cruel mind, +One is parted from her mate + And within a cage confined, +Swiftly will the swallow die, + Pining for her lover's bower, +And her lover watching nigh + Dies beside her in an hour. + + + + + AFTER MANY DAYS + + +The mist hangs round the College tower, + The ghostly street +Is silent at this midnight hour, + Save for my feet. + +With none to see, with none to hear, + Downward I go +To where, beside the rugged pier, + The sea sings low. + +It sings a tune well loved and known + In days gone by, +When often here, and not alone, + I watched the sky. + + That was a barren time at best, + Its fruits were few; +But fruits and flowers had keener zest + And fresher hue. + +Life has not since been wholly vain, + And now I bear +Of wisdom plucked from joy and pain + Some slender share. + +But, howsoever rich the store, + I'd lay it down, +To feel upon my back once more + The old red gown. + + + + + HORACE'S PHILOSOPHY + + +What the end the gods have destined unto thee and unto me, +Ask not: 'tis forbidden knowledge. Be content, Leuconoe. +Let alone the fortune-tellers. How much better to endure +Whatsoever shall betide us--even though we be not sure +Whether Jove grants other winters, whether this our last shall be +That upon the rocks opposing dashes now the Tuscan sea. +Be thou wise, and strain thy wines, and mindful of life's brevity +Stint thy hopes. The envious moments, even while we speak, have flown; +Trusting nothing to the future, seize the day that is our own. + + + + + ADVENTURE OF A POET + + +As I was walking down the street + A week ago, +Near Henderson's I chanced to meet + A man I know. + +His name is Alexander Bell, + His home, Dundee; +I do not know him quite so well + As he knows me. + +He gave my hand a hearty shake, + Discussed the weather, +And then proposed that we should take + A stroll together. + + Down College Street we took our way, + And there we met +The beautiful Miss Mary Gray, + That arch coquette, +Who stole last spring my heart away + And has it yet. + +That smile with which my bow she greets, + Would it were fonder! +Or else less fond--since she its sweets + On all must squander. +Thus, when I meet her in the streets, + I sadly ponder, +And after her, as she retreats, + My thoughts will wander. + +And so I listened with an air + Of inattention, +While Bell described a folding-chair + Of his invention. + + And when we reached the Swilcan Burn, + 'It looks like rain,' +Said I, 'and we had better turn.' + 'Twas all in vain, + +For Bell was weather-wise, and knew + The signs aerial; +He bade me note the strip of blue + Above the Imperial, + +Also another patch of sky, + South-west by south, +Which meant that we might journey dry + To Eden's mouth. + +He was a man with information + On many topics: +He talked about the exploration + Of Poles and Tropics, + + The scene in Parliament last night, + Sir William's letter; +'And do you like the electric light, + Or gas-lamps better?' + +The strike among the dust-heap pickers + He said was over; +And had I read about the liquors + Just seized at Dover? + +Or the unhappy printer lad + At Rothesay drowned? +Or the Italian ironclad + That ran aground? + +He told me stories (lately come) + Of good society, +Some slightly tinged with truth, and some + With impropriety. + + He spoke of duelling in France, + Then lightly glanced at +Mrs. Mackenzie's monster dance, + Which he had danced at. + +So he ran on, till by-and-by + A silence came, +For which I greatly fear that I + Was most to blame. + +Then neither of us spoke a word + For quite a minute, +When presently a thought occurred + With promise in it. + +'How did you like the Shakespeare play + The students read?' +By this, the Eden like a bay + Before us spread. + + Near Eden many softer plots + Of sand there be; +Our feet, like Pharaoh's chariots, + Drave heavily. + +And ere an answer I could frame, + He said that Irving +Of his extraordinary fame + Was undeserving, + +And for his part he thought more highly + Of Ellen Terry; +Although he knew a girl named Riley + At Broughty Ferry, + +Who might be, if she only chose, + As great a star. +She had a part in the tableaux + At the bazaar. + + If I had said but little yet, + I now said less, +And smoked a home-made cigarette + In mute distress. + +The smoke into his face was blown + By the wind's action, +And this afforded me, I own, + Some satisfaction; + +But still his tongue received no check + Till, coming home, +We stood beside the ancient wreck + And watched the foam + +Wash in among the timbers, now + Sunk deep in sand, +Though I can well remember how + I used to stand + + On windy days and hold my hat, + And idly turn +To read 'Lovise, Frederikstad' + Upon her stern. + +Her stern long since was buried quite, + And soon no trace +The absorbing sand will leave in sight + To mark her place. + +This reverie was not permitted + To last too long. +Bell's mind had left the stage, and flitted + To fields of song. + +And now he spoke of _Marmion_ + And Lewis Morris; +The former he at school had done, + Along with Horace. + + His maiden aunts, no longer young, + But learned ladies, +Had lately sent him _Songs Unsung_, + _Epic of Hades_, + +_Gycia_, and _Gwen_. He thought them fine; + Not like that Browning, +Of whom he would not read a line, + He told me, frowning. + +Talking of Horace--very clever, + Beyond a doubt, +But what the Satires meant, he never + Yet could make out. + +I said I relished Satire Nine + Of the First Book; +But he had skipped to the divine + Eliza Cook. + + He took occasion to declare, + In tones devoted, +How much he loved her old Arm-chair, + Which now he quoted. + +And other poets he reviewed, + Some two or three, +Till, having touched on Thomas Hood, + He turned to me. + +'Have _you_ been stringing any rhymes + Of late?' he said. +I could not lie, but several times + I shook my head. + +The last straw to the earth will bow + The o'erloaded camel, +And surely I resembled now + That ill-used mammal. + + See how a thankless world regards + The gifted choir +Of minstrels, singers, poets, bards, + Who sweep the lyre. + +This is the recompense we meet + In our vocation. +We bear the burden and the heat + Of inspiration; + +The beauties of the earth we sing + In glowing numbers, +And to the 'reading public' bring + Post-prandial slumbers; + +We save from Mammon's gross dominion + These sordid times . . . +And all this, in the world's opinion, + Is 'stringing rhymes.' + + It is as if a man should say, + In accents mild, +'Have you been stringing beads to-day, + My gentle child?' + +(Yet even children fond of singing + Will pay off scores, +And I to-day at least am stringing + Not beads but bores.) + +And now the sands were left behind, + The Club-house past. +I wondered, Can I hope to find + Escape at last, + +Or must I take him home to tea, + And bear his chatter +Until the last train to Dundee + Shall solve the matter? + + But while I shuddered at the thought + And planned resistance, +My conquering Alexander caught + Sight in the distance + +Of two young ladies, one of whom + Is his ambition; +And so, with somewhat heightened bloom, + He asked permission + +To say good-bye to me and follow. + I freely gave it, +And wished him all success. _Apollo_ + _Sic me servavit_. + + + + + A BUNCH OF TRIOLETS + + +TO --- + +You like the trifling triolet: + Well, here are three or four. +Unless your likings I forget, +You like the trifling triolet. +Against my conscience I abet + A taste which I deplore; +You like the trifling triolet: + Well, here are three or four. + + Have you ever met with a pretty girl + Walking along the street, +With a nice new dress and her hair in curl? +Have you ever met with a pretty girl, +When her hat blew off and the wind with a whirl + Wafted it right to your feet? +Have you ever met with a pretty girl + Walking along the street? + +I ran into a lady's arms, + Turning a corner yesterday. +To my confusion, her alarms, +I ran into a lady's arms. +So close a vision of her charms + Left me without a word to say. +I ran into a lady's arms, + Turning a corner yesterday. + + How many maids you love, + How many maids love you! +Your conscious blushes prove +How many maids you love. +Each trusts you like a dove, + But would she, if she knew +How many maids you love, + How many maids love you? + + + + + A BALLAD OF REFRESHMENT + + +The lady stood at the station bar, + (Three currants in a bun) +And oh she was proud, as ladies are. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + +For a weekly wage she was standing there, + (Three currants in a bun) +With a prominent bust and light gold hair. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + +The express came in at half-past two, + (Three currants in a bun) +And there lighted a man in the navy blue. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + + A stout sea-captain he was, I ween. + (Three currants in a bun) +Much travel had made him very keen. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + +A sober man and steady was he. + (Three currants in a bun) +He called not for brandy, but called for tea. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + +'Now something to eat, for the train is late.' + (Three currants in a bun) +She brought him a bun on a greasy plate. + (And the bun was baked a week ago.) + +He left the bun, and he left the tea, + (Three currants in a bun) +She charged him a shilling and let him be, +And the train went on at a quarter to three. + (And the bun is old and weary.) + + + + + A DECEMBER DAY + + +Blue, blue is the sea to-day, + Warmly the light +Sleeps on St. Andrews Bay-- + Blue, fringed with white. + +That's no December sky! + Surely 'tis June +Holds now her state on high, + Queen of the noon. + +Only the tree-tops bare + Crowning the hill, +Clear-cut in perfect air, + Warn us that still + + Winter, the aged chief, + Mighty in power, +Exiles the tender leaf, + Exiles the flower. + +Is there a heart to-day, + A heart that grieves +For flowers that fade away, + For fallen leaves? + +Oh, not in leaves or flowers + Endures the charm +That clothes those naked towers + With love-light warm. + +O dear St. Andrews Bay, + Winter or Spring +Gives not nor takes away + Memories that cling + + All round thy girdling reefs, + That walk thy shore, +Memories of joys and griefs + Ours evermore. + + + + + A COLLEGE CAREER + + +I + +When one is young and eager, + A bejant and a boy, +Though his moustache be meagre, + That cannot mar his joy +When at the Competition +He takes a fair position, +And feels he has a mission, + A talent to employ. + +With pride he goes each morning + Clad in a scarlet gown, +A cap his head adorning + (Both bought of Mr. Brown); + He hears the harsh bell jangle, +And enters the quadrangle, +The classic tongues to mangle + And make the ancients frown. + +He goes not forth at even, + He burns the midnight oil, +He feels that all his heaven + Depends on ceaseless toil; +Across his exercises +A dream of many prizes +Before his spirit rises, + And makes his raw blood boil. + +II + +Though he be green as grass is, + And fresh as new-mown hay +Before the first year passes + His verdure fades away. + His hopes now faintly glimmer, +Grow dim and ever dimmer, +And with a parting shimmer + Melt into 'common day.' + +He cares no more for Liddell + Or Scott; and Smith, and White, +And Lewis, Short, and Riddle + Are 'emptied of delight.' +Todhunter and Colenso +(Alas, that friendships end so!) +He curses _in extenso_ + Through morning, noon, and night. + +No more with patient labour + The midnight oil he burns, +But unto some near neighbour + His fair young face he turns, + To share the harmless tattle +Which bejants love to prattle, +As wise as infant's rattle + Or talk of coots and herns. + +At midnight round the city + He carols wild and free +Some sweet unmeaning ditty + In many a changing key; +And each succeeding verse is +Commingled with the curses +Of those whose sleep disperses + Like sal volatile. + +He shaves and takes his toddy + Like any fourth year man, +And clothes his growing body + After another plan + Than that which once delighted +When, in the days benighted, +Like some wild thing excited + About the fields he ran. + +III + +A sweet life and an idle + He lives from year to year, +Unknowing bit or bridle + (There are no proctors here), +Free as the flying swallow +Which Ida's Prince would follow +If but his bones were hollow, + Until the end draws near. + +Then comes a Dies Irae, + When full of misery +And torments worse than fiery + He crams for his degree; + And hitherto unvexed books, +Dry lectures, abstracts, text-books, +Perplexing and perplexed books, + Make life seem vanity. + +IV + +Before admiring sister + And mother, see, he stands, +Made Artium Magister + With laying on of hands. +He gives his books to others +(Perchance his younger brothers), +And free from all such bothers + Goes out into all lands. + + + + + THE WASTER'S PRESENTIMENT + + +I shall be spun. There is a voice within + Which tells me plainly I am all undone; +For though I toil not, neither do I spin, + I shall be spun. + +April approaches. I have not begun + Schwegler or Mackintosh, nor will begin +Those lucid works till April 21. + +So my degree I do not hope to win, + For not by ways like mine degrees are won; +And though, to please my uncle, I go in, + I shall be spun. + + + + + THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION + + +The Session's over. We must say farewell + To these east winds and to this eastern sea, + For summer comes, with swallow and with bee, +With many a flower and many a golfing swell. + +No more the horribly discordant bell + Shall startle slumber; and all men agree + That whatsoever other things may be +A cause of sorrow, this at least is well. + +The class-room shall not open wide its doors, + Or if it does, such opening will be vain; + The gown shall hang unused upon a nail; +South Street shall know us not; we'll wipe the Scores + From our remembrance; as for Mutto's Lane, + Yea, even the memory of this shall fail. + + + + + A BALLAD OF THE TOWN WATER + + +It is the Police Commissioners, + All on a winter's day; +And they to prove the town water + Have set themselves away. + +They went to the north, they went to the south, + And into the west went they, +Till they found a civil, civil engineer, + And unto him did say: + +'Now tell to us, thou civil engineer, + If this be fit to drink.' +And they showed him a cup of the town water, + Which was as black as ink. + + He took three sips of the town water, + And black in the face was he; +And they turned them back and fled away, + Amazed that this should be. + +And he has written a broad letter + And sealed it with a ring, +And the letter saith that the town water + Is not a goodly thing. + +And they have met, and the Bailies all, + And eke the Councillors, +And they have ta'en the broad letter + And read it within the doors. + +And there has fallen a great quarrel, + And a striving within the doors, +And quarrelsome words have the Bailies said, + And eke the Councillors. + + And one saith, 'We will have other water,' + And another saith, 'But nay;' +And none may tell what the end shall be, + Alack and well-a-day! + + + + + [GREEK TITLE] + + +I love the inoffensive frog, + 'A little child, a limber elf,' +With health and spirits all agog, +He does the long jump in a bog +Or teaches men to swim and dive. +If he should be cut up alive, + Should I not be cut up myself? + +So I intend to be straightway + An Anti-Vivisectionist; +I'll read Miss Cobbe five hours a day +And watch the little frogs at play, +With no desire to see their hearts +At work, or other inward parts, + If other inward parts exist. + + + + + TO NUMBER 27X. + + +Beloved Peeler! friend and guide + And guard of many a midnight reeler, +None worthier, though the world is wide, + Beloved Peeler. + +Thou from before the swift four-wheeler + Didst pluck me, and didst thrust aside +A strongly built provision-dealer + +Who menaced me with blows, and cried + 'Come on! Come on!' O Paian, Healer, +Then but for thee I must have died, + Beloved Peeler! + + + + + A STREET CORNER + + +Here, where the thoroughfares meet at an angle + Of ninety degrees (this angle is right), +You may hear the loafers that jest and wrangle + Through the sun-lit day and the lamp-lit night; +Though day be dreary and night be wet, +You will find a ceaseless concourse met; +Their laughter resounds and their Fife tongues jangle, + And now and again their Fife fists fight. + +Often here the voice of the crier + Heralds a sale in the City Hall, +And slowly but surely drawing nigher + Is heard the baker's bugle call. +The baker halts where the two ways meet, +And the blast, though loud, is far from sweet +That with breath of bellows and heart of fire + He blows, till the echoes leap from the wall. + + And on Saturday night just after eleven, + When the taverns have closed a moment ago, +The vocal efforts of six or seven + Make the corner a place of woe. +For the time is fitful, the notes are queer, +And it sounds to him who dwelleth near +Like the wailing for cats in a feline heaven + By orphan cats who are left below. + +Wherefore, O Bejant, Son of the Morning, + Fresh as a daisy dipt in the dew, +Hearken to me and receive my warning: + Though rents be heavy, and bunks be few +And most of them troubled with rat or mouse, +Never take rooms in a corner house; +Or sackcloth and ashes and sad self-scorning + Shall be for a portion unto you. + + + + + THE POET'S HAT + + +The rain had fallen, the Poet arose, + He passed through the doorway into the street, +A strong wind lifted his hat from his head, + And he uttered some words that were far from sweet. +And then he started to follow the chase, + And put on a spurt that was wild and fleet, +It made the people pause in a crowd, + And lay odds as to which would beat. + +The street cad scoffed as he hunted the hat, + The errand-boy shouted hooray! +The scavenger stood with his broom in his hand, + And smiled in a very rude way; +And the clergyman thought, 'I have heard many words, + But never, until to-day, +Did I hear any words that were quite so bad + As I heard that young man say.' + + + + + A SONG OF GREEK PROSE + + + Thrice happy are those + Who ne'er heard of Greek Prose-- +Or Greek Poetry either, as far as that goes; + For Liddell and Scott + Shall cumber them not, +Nor Sargent nor Sidgwick shall break their repose. + + But I, late at night, + By the very bad light +Of very bad gas, must painfully write + Some stuff that a Greek + With his delicate cheek +Would smile at as 'barbarous'--faith, he well might. + + For when it _is_ done, + I doubt if, for one, +I myself could explain how the meaning might run; + And as for the style-- + Well, it's hardly worth while +To talk about style, where style there is none. + + It was all very fine + For a poet divine +Like Byron, to rave of Greek women and wine; + But the Prose that I sing + Is a different thing, +And I frankly acknowledge it's not in my line. + + So away with Greek Prose, + The source of my woes! +(This metre's too tough, I must draw to a close.) + May Sargent be drowned + In the ocean profound, +And Sidgwick be food for the carrion crows! + + + + + AN ORATOR'S COMPLAINT + + +How many the troubles that wait + On mortals!--especially those + Who endeavour in eloquent prose +To expound their views, and orate. + +Did you ever attempt to speak + When you hadn't a word to say? + Did you find that it wouldn't pay, +And subside, feeling dreadfully weak? + +Did you ever, when going ahead + In a fervid defence of the Stage, + Get checked in your noble rage +By somehow losing your thread? + + Did you ever rise to reply + To a toast (say 'The Volunteers'), + And evoke loud laughter and cheers, +When you didn't exactly know why? + +Did you ever wax witty, and when + You had smashed an opponent quite small, + Did he seem not to mind it at all, +But get up and smash you again? + +If any or all of these things + Have happened to you (as to me), + I think you'll be found to agree +With yours truly, when sadly he sings: + +'How many the troubles that wait + On mortals!--especially those + Who endeavour in eloquent prose +To expound their views, and orate.' + + + + + MILTON + + +WITH APOLOGIES TO LORD TENNYSON + +O swallow-tailed purveyor of college sprees, +O skilled to please the student fraternity, + Most honoured publican of Scotland, + Milton, a name to adorn the Cross Keys; +Whose chosen waiters, Samuel, Archibald, +Helped by the boots and marker at billiards, + Wait, as the smoke-filled, crowded chamber + Rings to the roar of a Gaelic chorus-- +Me rather all those temperance hostelries, +The soda siphon fizzily murmuring, + And lime fruit juice and seltzer water + Charm, as a wanderer out in South Street, +Where some recruiting, eager Blue-Ribbonites +Spied me afar and caught by the Post Office, + And crimson-nosed the latest convert + Fastened the odious badge upon me. + + + + + MAGNI NOMINIS UMBRA + + +St. Andrews! not for ever thine shall be + Merely the shadow of a mighty name, + The remnant only of an ancient fame +Which time has crumbled, as thy rocks the sea. + +For thou, to whom was given the earliest key + Of knowledge in this land (and all men came + To learn of thee), shalt once more rise and claim +The glory that of right belongs to thee. + +Grey in thine age, there yet in thee abides + The force of youth, to make thyself anew + A name of honour and a place of power. +Arise, then! shake the dust from off thy sides; + Thou shalt have many where thou now hast few; + Again thou shalt be great. Quick come the hour! + + + + + SONG FROM 'THE PRINCESS' + + +As through the street at eve we went + (It might be half-past ten), +We fell out, my friend and I, +About the cube of _x+y_, + And made it up again. +And blessings on the falling out + Between two learned men, +Who fight on points which neither knows, + And make it up again! +For when we came where stands an inn + We visit now and then, +There above a pint of beer, +Oh there above a pint of beer, + We made it up again. + + + + + ANDREW M'CRIE + + +FROM THE UNPUBLISHED REMAINS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE + +It was many and many a year ago, + In a city by the sea, +That a man there lived whom I happened to know + By the name of Andrew M'Crie; +And this man he slept in another room, + But ground and had meals with me. + +I was an ass and he was an ass, + In this city by the sea; +But we ground in a way which was more than a grind, + I and Andrew M'Crie; +In a way that the idle semis next door + Declared was shameful to see. + + And this was the reason that, one dark night, + In this city by the sea, +A stone flew in at the window, hitting + The milk-jug and Andrew M'Crie. +And once some low-bred tertians came, + And bore him away from me, +And shoved him into a private house + Where the people were having tea. + +Professors, not half so well up in their work, + Went envying him and me-- +Yes!--that was the reason, I always thought + (And Andrew agreed with me), +Why they ploughed us both at the end of the year, + Chilling and killing poor Andrew M'Crie. + +But his ghost is more terrible far than the ghosts + Of many more famous than he-- + Of many more gory than he-- +And neither visits to foreign coasts, + Nor tonics, can ever set free +Two well-known Profs from the haunting wraith + Of the injured Andrew M'Crie. + +For at night, as they dream, they frequently scream, + 'Have mercy, Mr. M'Crie!' +And at morn they will rise with bloodshot eyes, + And the very first thing they will see, +When they dare to descend to their coffee and rolls, +Sitting down by the scuttle, the scuttle of coals, + With a volume of notes on its knee, + Is the spectre of Andrew M'Crie. + + + + + AN INTERVIEW + + +I met him down upon the pier; + His eyes were wild and sad, +And something in them made me fear + That he was going mad. + +So, being of a prudent sort, + I stood some distance off, +And before speaking gave a short + Conciliatory cough. + +I then observed, 'What makes you look + So singularly glum?' +No notice of my words he took. + I said, 'Pray, are you dumb?' + + 'Oh no!' he said, 'I do not think + My power of speech is lost, +But when one's hopes are black as ink, + Why, talking is a frost. + +'You see, I'm in for Math. again, + And certain to be ploughed. +Please tell me where I could obtain + An inexpensive shroud.' + +I told him where such things are had, + Well made, and not too dear; +And, feeling really very sad, + I left him on the pier. + + + + + THE M.A. DEGREE + + +AFTER WORDSWORTH + +It was a phantom of delight +When first it gleamed upon my sight, +A scholarly distinction, sent +To be a student's ornament. +The hood was rich beyond compare, +The gown was a unique affair. +By this, by that my mind was drawn +Then, in my academic dawn; +A dancing shape, an image gay +Before me then was my M.A. + +I saw it upon nearer view, +A glory, yet a bother too! + For I perceived that I should be +Involved in much Philosophy +(A branch in which I could but meet +Works that were neither light nor sweet); +In Mathematics, not too good +For human nature's daily food; +And Classics, rendered in the styles +Of Kelly, Bohn, and Dr. Giles. + +And now I own, with some small spleen, +A most confounded ass I've been; +The glory seems an empty breath, +And I am nearly bored to death +With Reason, Consciousness, and Will, +And other things beyond my skill, +Discussed in books all darkly planned +And more in number than the sand. +Yet that M.A. still haunts my sight, +With something of its former light. + + + + + TRIOLET + + +After the melting of the snow + Divines depart and April comes; +Examinations nearer grow +After the melting of the snow; +The grinder wears a face of woe, + The waster smokes and twirls his thumbs; +After the melting of the snow + Divines depart and April comes. + + + + + VIVIEN'S SONG + + +AT THE L.L.A. EXAMINATION + +In Algebra, if Algebra be ours, +_x_ and _x^2_ can ne'er be equal powers, +Unless _x_=1, or none at all. + +It is the little error in the sum, +That by and by will make the answer come +To something queer, or else not come at all. + +The little error in the easy sum, +The little slit across the kettle-drum, +That makes the instrument not play at all. + +It is not worth correcting: let it go: +But shall I? Answer, Prudence, answer, no. +And bid me do it right or not at all. + + + + + THE WASTER SINGING AT MIDNIGHT + + +AFTER LONGFELLOW + +Loud he sang the song Ta Phershon +For his personal diversion, +Sang the chorus U-pi-dee, +Sang about the Barley Bree. + +In that hour when all is quiet +Sang he songs of noise and riot, +In a voice so loud and queer +That I wakened up to hear. + +Songs that distantly resembled +Those one hears from men assembled +In the old Cross Keys Hotel, +Only sung not half so well. + + For the time of this ecstatic +Amateur was most erratic, +And he only hit the key +Once in every melody. + +If 'he wot prigs wot isn't his'n +Ven he's cotched is sent to prison,' +He who murders sleep might well +Adorn a solitary cell. + +But, if no obliging peeler +Will arrest this midnight squealer, +My own peculiar arm of might +Must undertake the job to-night. + + + + + THIRTY YEARS AFTER + + +Two old St. Andrews men, after a separation of nearly thirty years, meet +by chance at a wayside inn. They interchange experiences; and at length +one of them, who is an admirer of Mr. Swinburne's _Poems and Ballads_, +speaks as follows: + +If you were now a bejant, + And I a first year man, +We'd grind and grub together +In every kind of weather, +When Winter's snows were regent, + Or when the Spring began; +If you were now a bejant, + And I a first year man. + +If you were what you once were, + And I the same man still, +You'd be the gainer by it, +For you--you can't deny it-- + A most uncommon dunce were; + My profit would be nil, +If you were what you once were, + And I the same man still. + +If you were last in Latin, + And I were first in Greek, +I'd write your Latin proses, +While you indulged in dozes, +Or carved the bench you sat in, + So innocent and meek; +If you were last in Latin, + And I were first in Greek. + +If I had got a prize, Jim, + And your certif. was bad, +And you were filled with sorrow +And brooding on the morrow, + I'd gently sympathise, Jim, + And bid you not be sad, +If I had got a prize, Jim, + And your certif. was bad. + +If I were through in Moral, + And you were spun in Math., +I'd break it to your parent, +When you confessed you daren't, +And so avert a quarrel + And smooth away his wrath; +If I were through in Moral, + And you were spun in Math. + +My prospects rather shone, Jim, + And yours were rather dark, +And those who knew us both then +Would often take their oath then, + That you would not get on, Jim, + While I should make my mark; +My prospects rather shone, Jim, + And yours were rather dark. + +Yet somehow you've made money, + And I am still obscure; +Your face is round and red, Jim, +While I look underfed, Jim; +The thing's extremely funny, + And beats me, I am sure, +Yet somehow you've made money, + And I am still obscure. + + + + + THE GOLF-BALL AND THE LOAN + + +AFTER LONGFELLOW + +I drove a golf-ball into the air, +It fell to earth, I knew not where; +For, so swiftly it flew, the sight +Could not follow it in its flight. + +I lent five shillings to some men, +They spent it all, I know not when, +For who is quick enough to know +The time in which a crown may go? + +Long, long afterward, in a whin +I found the golf-ball, black as sin; +But the five shillings are missing still! +They haven't turned up, and I doubt if they will. + + + + + TO THE READER OF 'UNIVERSITY NOTES' + + +Ah yes, we know what you're saying, + As your eye glances over these Notes: +'What asses are these that are braying + With flat and unmusical throats? +Who writes such unspeakable patter? + Is it lunatics, idiots--or who?' +And you think there is 'something the matter.' + Well, we think so too. + +We have sat, full of sickness and sorrow, + As the hours dragged heavily on, +Till the midnight has merged into morrow, + And the darkness is going or gone. +We are Editors. Give us the credit + Of meaning to do what we could; + But, since there is nothing to edit, + It isn't much good. + +Once we shared the delightful delusion + That to edit was racy and rare, +But we suffered a sad disillusion, + And we found that our castles were air; +We had decked them with carvings and gildings, + We had filled them with laughter and fun, +But all of a sudden the buildings + Came down with a run. + +Not a trace was there left of the carving, + And the gilding had vanished from sight; +But the 'column' for matter was starving, + And we had not to edit--but write. +So we set to and wrote. Can you wonder, + If the writing was feeble or dead? +We had started as editors--Thunder! + We were authors instead. + + We'd mistaken our calling, election, + Vocation, department, and use; +We had thought that our task was selection, + And we found that we had to produce. +So we sigh for release from our labours, + We pray for a happy despatch, +We will take our last leave of our neighbours, + And then--Colney Hatch. + +We are singing this dolorous ditty + As we part at the foot of the stairs; +We cannot but think it's a pity, + But what matter? there's nobody cares. +Our candle burns low in its socket, + There is nothing left but the wick; +And these Notes, that went up like a rocket, + Come down like the stick. + + + + + [GREEK TITLE] + + +Ever to be the best. To lead + In whatsoever things are true; + Not stand among the halting crew, +The faint of heart, the feeble-kneed, +Who tarry for a certain sign + To make them follow with the rest-- +Oh, let not their reproach be thine! + But ever be the best. + +For want of this aspiring soul, + Great deeds on earth remain undone, + But, sharpened by the sight of one, +Many shall press toward the goal. + Thou running foremost of the throng, + The fire of striving in thy breast, +Shalt win, although the race be long, + And ever be the best. + +And wilt thou question of the prize? + 'Tis not of silver or of gold, + Nor in applauses manifold, +But hidden in the heart it lies: +To know that but for thee not one + Had run the race or sought the quest, +To know that thou hast ever done + And ever been the best. + + + + + CATULLUS AT HIS BROTHER'S GRAVE + + +Through many lands and over many seas +I come, my Brother, to thine obsequies, +To pay thee the last honours that remain, +And call upon thy voiceless dust, in vain. +Since cruel fate has robbed me even of thee, +Unhappy Brother, snatched away from me, +Now none the less the gifts our fathers gave, +The melancholy honours of the grave, +Wet with my tears I bring to thee, and say +Farewell! farewell! for ever and a day. + + + + + LOST AT SEA + + +Lost at sea, with all on board! +No one saw their sinking sail, +No one heard their dying wail, +Heard them calling on the Lord-- +Lost at sea, with all on board. + +Till the sea gives up its dead, +There they lie in quiet sleep, +And the voices of the deep +Sound unheeded overhead, +Till the sea gives up its dead. + + + + + PLEASANT PROPHECIES + + +A day of gladness yet will dawn, + Though when I cannot say; +Perhaps it may be Thursday week, + Perhaps some other day,-- + +When man, freed from the bond of clothes, + And needing no more food, +Shall never pull his neighbour's nose, + But be extremely good. + +When Love and Nobleness shall live + Next door to Truth and Right, +While Reverence shall rent a room, + Upon the second flight. + + And wishes shall be horses then, + And beggars shall be kings; +And all the people shall admire + This pleasant state of things. + +But if it seems a mystery, + And you're inclined to doubt it, +Just ask your local poet. He + Will tell you all about it. + + + + + THE DELIGHTS OF MATHEMATICS + + +It seems a hundred years or more + Since I, with note-book, ink and pen, +In cap and gown, first trod the floor + Which I have often trod since then; +Yet well do I remember when, + With fifty other fond fanatics, +I sought delights beyond my ken, + The deep delights of Mathematics. + +I knew that two and two made four, + I felt that five times two were ten, +But, as for all profounder lore, + The robin redbreast or the wren, + The sparrow, whether cock or hen, + Knew quite as much about Quadratics, +Was less confused by _x_ and _n_, + The deep delights of Mathematics. + +The Asses' Bridge I passed not o'er, + I floundered in the noisome fen +Which lies behind it and before; + I wandered in the gloomy glen +Where Surds and Factors have their den. + But when I saw the pit of Statics, +I said Good-bye, Farewell, Amen! + The deep delights of Mathematics. + +O Bejants! blessed, beardless men, + Who strive with Euclid in your attics, +For worlds I would not taste again + The deep delights of Mathematics. + + + + + STANZAS FOR MUSIC + + +I loved a little maiden + In the golden years gone by; +She lived in a mill, as they all do + (There is doubtless a reason why). +But she faded in the autumn + When the leaves began to fade, +And the night before she faded, + These words to me she said: +'Do not forget me, Henry, + Be noble and brave and true; +But I must not bide, for the world is wide, + And the sky above is blue.' + +So I said farewell to my darling, + And sailed away and came back; + And the good ship _Jane_ was in port again, + And I found that they all loved Jack. +But Polly and I were sweethearts, + As all the neighbours know, +Before I met with the mill-girl + Twenty years ago. +So I thought I would go and see her, + But alas, she had faded too! +She could not bide, for the world was wide, + And the sky above was blue. + +And now I can only remember + The maid--the maid of the mill, +And Polly, and one or two others + In the churchyard over the hill. +And I sadly ask the question, + As I weep in the yew-tree's shade +With my elbow on one of their tombstones, + 'Ah, why did they all of them fade?' + And the answer I half expected + Comes from the solemn yew, +'They could none of them bide, for the world was wide, + And the sky above was blue.' + + + + + THE END OF APRIL + + +This is the time when larks are singing loud + And higher still ascending and more high, +This is the time when many a fleecy cloud + Runs lamb-like on the pastures of the sky, +This is the time when most I love to lie + Stretched on the links, now listening to the sea, +Now looking at the train that dawdles by; + But James is going in for his degree. + +James is my brother. He has twice been ploughed, + Yet he intends to have another shy, +Hoping to pass (as he says) in a crowd. + Sanguine is James, but not so sanguine I. + If you demand my reason, I reply: + Because he reads no Greek without a key +And spells Thucydides c-i-d-y; + Yet James is going in for his degree. + +No doubt, if the authorities allowed + The taking in of Bohns, he might defy +The stiffest paper that has ever cowed + A timid candidate and made him fly. +Without such aids, he all as well may try + To cultivate the people of Dundee, +Or lead the camel through the needle's eye; + Yet James is going in for his degree. + +Vain are the efforts hapless mortals ply + To climb of knowledge the forbidden tree; +Yet still about its roots they strive and cry, + And James is going in for his degree. + + + + + THE SCIENCE CLUB + + +Hurrah for the Science Club! + Join it, ye fourth year men; +Join it, thou smooth-cheeked scrub, + Whose years scarce number ten + +Join it, divines most grave; + Science, as all men know, +As a friend the Church may save, + But may damage her as a foe. + +(And in any case it is well, + If attacking insidious doubt, +Or devoting H--- to H---, + To know what you're talking about.) + + Hurrah for the lang-nebbit word! + Hurrah for the erudite phrase, +That in Dura Den shall be heard, + That shall echo on Kinkell Braes! + +Hurrah for the spoils of the links + (The golf-ball as well as the daisy)! +Hurrah for explosions and stinks + To set half the landladies crazy! + +Hurrah for the fragments of boulders, + Surpassing in size and in weight, +To be carried home on the shoulders + And laid on the table in state! + +Hurrah for the flying-machine + Long buried from sight in a cupboard, +With bones that would never have been + Desired of old Mother Hubbard! + + Hurrah for the hazardous boat, + For the crabs (of all kinds) to be caught, +For the eggs on the surface that float, + And the lump-sucker curiously wrought! + +Hurrah for the filling of tanks + In the shanty down by the shore, +For the Royal Society's thanks, + With Fellowships flying galore! + +Hurrah for discourses on worms, + Where one listens and comes away +With a stock of bewildering terms, + And nothing whatever to pay! + +Hurrah for gadding about + Of a Saturday afternoon, +In the light of research setting out, + Coming home in the light of the moon! + + Hurrah for Guardbridge, and the mill + Where one learns how paper is made! +Hurrah for the samples that fill + One's drawer with the finest cream-laid! + +Hurrah for the Brewery visit + And beer in liberal doses! +In the cause of Science, what is it + But inspecting a technical process? + +Hurrah for a trip to Dundee + To study the spinning of jute! +Hurrah for a restaurant tea, + And a sight of the Tay Bridge to boot! + +Hurrah, after every excursion, + To feel one's improving one's mind, +With the smallest amount of exertion, + And that of the pleasantest kind! + + + + + IMITATED FROM WORDSWORTH + + +He brought a team from Inversnaid + To play our Third Fifteen, +A man whom none of us had played + And very few had seen. + +He weighed not less than eighteen stone, + And to a practised eye +He seemed as little fit to run + As he was fit to fly. + +He looked so clumsy and so slow, + And made so little fuss; +But he got in behind--and oh, + The difference to us! + + + + + REFLECTIONS OF A MAGISTRAND + + +ON RETURNING TO ST. ANDREWS + +In the hard familiar horse-box I am sitting once again; +Creeping back to old St. Andrews comes the slow North British train, + +Bearing bejants with their luggage (boxes full of heavy books, +Which the porter, hot and tipless, eyes with unforgiving looks), + +Bearing third year men and second, bearing them and bearing me, +Who am now a fourth year magnate with two parts of my degree. + + We have started off from Leuchars, and my thoughts have started too +Back to times when this sensation was entirely fresh and new. + +When I marvelled at the towers beyond the Eden's wide expanse, +Eager-hearted as a boy when first he leaves his father's manse + +With some money in his pocket, with some down upon his cheek, +With the elements of Latin, with the rudiments of Greek. + +And his spirit leaps within him to be gone before him then, +Underneath the towers he looks at, in among the throngs of men, + + Men from Fife and men from Forfar, from the High School of Dundee, +Ten or twelve from other counties, and from England two or three. + +Oh, the Bursary Competition! oh, the wonder and the rage, +When I saw my name omitted from the schedule in the cage! + +Grief is strong but youth elastic, and I rallied from the blow, +For I felt that there were few things in the world I did not know. + +Then my ready-made opinions upon all things under heaven +I declaimed with sound and fury, to an audience of eleven + + Gathered in the Logic class-room, sworn to settle the debate, +_Does the Stage upon the whole demoralise or elevate_? + +This and other joys I tasted. I became a Volunteer, +Murmuring _Dulce et decorum_ in the Battery-Sergeant's ear; + +Joined the Golf Club, and with others of an afternoon was seen +Vainly searching in the whins, or foozling on the putting-green; + +Took a minor part in Readings; lifted up my voice and sang +At the Musical rehearsals, till the class-room rafters rang; + + Wrote long poems for the Column; entered for the S. R. C, +And, if I remember rightly, was thrown out by twenty-three; + +Ground a little for my classes, till the hour of nine or ten, +When I read a decent novel or went out to see some men. + +So I reaped the large experience which has made me what I am, +Far removed from bejanthood as is St. Andrews from Siam. + +But with age and with experience disenchantment comes to all, +Even pleasure on the keenest appetite at last will pall. + + Had I now a hundred pounds, a hundred pounds would I bestow +To enjoy the loud solatium as I did three years ago, + +When the songs were less familiar, less familiar too the pies, +And I did not mind receiving orange-peel between the eyes. + +Yet, in spite of disenchantment, and in spite of finding out +There are some things in the world that I am hardly sure about, + +Still sufficient of illusion and inexplicable grace +Hangs about the grey old town to make it a delightful place. + + Though solatiums charm no longer, though a gaudeamus fails +With its atmosphere unwholesome to expand my spirit's sails, + +Though rectorial elections are if anything a bore, +And I do not care to carry dripping torches any more, + +Though my soul for Moral lectures does not vehemently yearn, +Though the north-east winds are bitter--I am willing to return. + +At this point in my reflections, on the left the Links expand, +Many a whin bush full of prickles, many a bunker full of sand. + + And I see distinguished club-men, whom I only know by sight, +Old, obese, and scarlet-coated, playing golf with all their might; + +As they were three years ago, when first I travelled by this train, +As they will be three years hence, if I should come this way again. + +What to them is train or traveller? what to them the flight of time? +But we draw too near the station to indulge in the sublime. + +In a minute at the furthest on the platform I shall stand, +Waiting till they take my trunk out, with my hat-box in my hand. + + As the railway train approaches and the train of thought recedes, +I behold Professor --- in a brand new suit of tweeds. + + + + + TO C. C. C. + + +Oh for the nights when we used to sit + In the firelight's glow or flicker, +With the gas turned low and our pipes all lit, + And the air fast growing thicker; + +When you, enthroned in the big arm-chair, + Would spin for us yarns unending, +Your voice and accent and pensive air + With the narrative subtly blending! + +Oh for the bleak and wintry days + When we set our blood in motion, +Leaping the rocks below the braes + And wetting our feet in the ocean, + + Or shying at marks for moderate sums + (A penny a hit, you remember), +With aching fingers and purple thumbs, + In the merry month of December! + +There is little doubt we were very daft, + And our sports, like the stakes, were trifling; +While the air of the room where we talked and laughed + Was often unpleasantly stifling. + +Now we are grave and sensible men, + And wrinkles our brows embellish, +And I fear we shall never relish again + The pleasures we used to relish. + +And I fear we never again shall go, + The cold and weariness scorning, +For a ten mile walk through the frozen snow + At one o'clock in the morning: + + Out by Cameron, in by the Grange, + And to bed as the moon descended . . . +To you and to me there has come a change, + And the days of our youth are ended. + + + + + ON AN EDINBURGH ADVOCATE + + +In youth with diligence he toiled + A Roman nose to gain, +But though a decent pug was spoiled, + A pug it did remain. + + + + + THE BANISHED BEJANT + + +FROM THE UNPUBLISHED REMAINS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE + +In the oldest of our alleys, + By good bejants tenanted, +Once a man whose name was Wallace-- + William Wallace--reared his head. +Rowdy Bejant in the college + He was styled: +Never had these halls of knowledge + Welcomed waster half so wild! + +Tassel blue and long and silken + From his cap did float and flow +(This was cast into the Swilcan + Two months ago); + And every gentle air that sported + With his red gown, +Displayed a suit of clothes, reported + The most alarming in the town. + +Wanderers in that ancient alley + Through his luminous window saw +Spirits come continually + From a case well packed with straw, +Just behind the chair where, sitting + With air serene, +And in a blazer loosely fitting, + The owner of the bunk was seen. + +And all with cards and counters straying + Was the place littered o'er, +With which sat playing, playing, playing, + And wrangling evermore, + A group of fellows, whose chief function + Was to proclaim, +In voices of surpassing unction, + Their luck and losses in the game. + +But stately things, in robes of learning, + Discussed one day the bejant's fate: +Ah, let us mourn him unreturning, + For they resolved to rusticate! +And now the glory he inherits, + Thus dished and doomed, +Is largely founded on the merits + Of the Old Tom consumed. + +And wanderers, now, within that alley + Through the half-open shutters see, +Old crones, that talk continually + In a discordant minor key: + While, with a kind of nervous shiver, + Past the front door, +His former set go by for ever, + But knock--or ring--no more. + + + + + NOTES + + +For the information of those who have not the happiness to be members of +the University of St. Andrews, it may be well to explain a few terms. A +_bejant_ is an undergraduate student of the first year. In his second +year he becomes a _semi_, in his third a _tertian_, and in his fourth a +_magistrand_. The last would seem to be a gerundive form, implying that +a man at the end of his fourth year ought to be made a Master of Arts; +but unfortunately this does not always happen. A _divine_ is a student +in Divinity. A _waster_ is a man of idle and (it may be) profligate +habits. A _grinder_, on the contrary, is one who 'grinds' or reads with +an unusual degree of application. A _bunk_ is the lodging or abode in +St. Andrews of any student. A _spree_ is not necessarily an +entertainment of rowdy character; the most decorous Professorial dinner- +party would be called a spree. A _solatium_ is a Debating Society spree, +held in December or January; a _gaudeamus_ is a festival of the same +kind, only rather more ambitious, celebrated towards the close of the +session. _Session_ would be rendered in England by 'term.' The +_Competition_ (for _Bursaries_), or the 'Comp.,' is the examination for +entrance scholarships. The _cage_ is a curious structure of glass, iron, +and wood, in which notices and examination lists are posted. The letters +_S. R. C_. denote the Students' Representative Council. An _L.L.A_. is a +Lady Literate in Arts. _Math_. (as the discerning reader will not be +slow to perceive) is an abbreviation, endearing or otherwise, of the word +Mathematics. _Moral_ stands for Moral Philosophy. _Prof_. is a +shortened form of Professor, and _certif_. of certificate. _Plough, +pluck_, and _spin_ are used indifferently, to signify the action of an +examiner in rejecting a candidate for the M.A. or any other degree. It +should be mentioned that the degree of B.A. is not now conferred by the +Universities of Scotland. + +Page 4. Euripides: _Hippolytus_, 70-87. + +Page 22. _Odes_, I. II. + +Page 52. _The Town Water_. The state of things described in this +ballad, so far as the quality of St. Andrews water is concerned, has long +since been remedied. As to the demeanour of the Bailies and Councillors, +I cannot speak with the same certainty. + +Page 64. _Milton, a name to adorn the Cross Keys_. Mr. Milton's name is +no longer associated with this time-honoured tavern, but with a new +hotel. + + Page 86. [GREEK TITLE]. The motto in the Upper Library Hall, where the +ceremony of Graduation takes place. + +Page 88. Catullus, CI. + +Page 101. _The shanty down by the shore_. The St. Andrews Marine +Biological Laboratory. + +Page 117. _This was cast into the Swilcan_. The Swilcan Burn is a small +stream which flows across the golfing links, and forms one of the hazards +of the course. + +EDINBURGH +T. & A. CONSTABLE +Printers to Her Majesty + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET GOWN*** + + +******* This file should be named 16821.txt or 16821.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/6/8/2/16821 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |