Sagittulae, Random Verses | Page 6

him her vassal,
The
rooms of a reading young man.
In the days of our fathers how pleasant
The May Term up here must
have been!
No chignons distracting were present,
And scarcely a
bonnet was seen.
As the boats paddled round Grassy Corner
No
ladies examined the crews,
Or exclaimed with the voice of the
scorner--
'Look, how Mr. Arculus screws!!
But now there are ladies in College,
There are ladies in Chapels and
Halls;
No doubt 'tis a pure love of knowledge
That brings them
within our old walls;
For they talk about Goldie's 'beginning';
Know
the meaning of 'finish' and 'scratch,'
And will bet even gloves on our
winning
The Boat Race, Athletics, or Match.
There's nothing but music and dancing,
Bands playing on each
College green;
And bright eyes are merrily glancing
Where nothing
but books should be seen.
They tell of a grave Dean a fable,
That
reproving an idle young man
He faltered, for on his own table
He
detected in horror--a fan!
Through Libraries, Kitchens, Museums,
These Prussian-like
Amazons rush,
Over manuscripts, joints, mausoleums,
With equal
intensity gush.
Then making their due 'requisition,'
From 'the lions'
awhile they refrain,
And repose in the perfect fruition
Of ices, cold
fowl, and champagne.
Mr. Editor, answer my question--
When, O when, shall this tyranny
cease?
Shall the process of mental digestion

Ne'er find from the
enemy peace?
Above all if my name you should guess, Sir,
Keep it
quite to yourself, if you can;
For I dread, more than words can
express, Sir,
My affectionate friend Mary Ann.

(1871).
A TRAGEDY OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
"Et potis es nigrum vitio praefigere Delta."--PERSIUS.
It was a young Examiner, scarce thirty were his years,
His name our
University loves, honours, and reveres:
He pondered o'er some papers,
and a tear stood in his eye; He split his quill upon the desk, and raised a
bitter cry-- 'O why has Fortune struck me down with this unearthly
blow? "Why doom'd me to examine in my lov'd one's Little-go?
"O
Love and Duty, sisters twain, in diverse ways ye pull; "I dare not 'pass,'
I scarce can 'pluck:' my cup of woe
is full.
"O that I ever should have lived this dismal day to see"! He
knit his brow, and nerved his hand, and wrote the fatal D.

It was a lovely maiden down in Hertford's lovely shire;
Before her on
a reading-desk, lay many a well-filled quire: The lamp of genius lit her
eyes; her years were twenty-two; Her brow was high, her cheek was
pale,
her bearing somewhat blue:
She pondered o'er a folio, and laboured
to divine
The mysteries of "x_" and "_y," and many a magic sign:

Yet now and then she raised her eye, and ceased
awhile to ponder,
And seem'd as though inclined to allow her
thoughts
elsewhere to wander,
A step was heard, she closed her book; her heart
beat high and fast,
As through the court and up the stairs a manly
figure passed. One moment more, the opening door disclosed unto her
view Her own beloved Examiner, her friend and lover true.
"Tell me,
my own Rixator, is it First or Second Class?"
His firm frame shook,

he scarce could speak,
he only sigh'd "Alas!"
She gazed upon him with an air serenely calm
and proud--
"Nay, tell me all, I fear it not"--he murmured
sadly "Ploughed."
She clasped her hands, she closed her eyes as fell
the word of doom;
Full five times round in silence did she pace her
little room; Then calmly sat before her books, and sigh'd "Rixator dear,
"Give me the list of subjects to be studied for next year."
"My own brave Mathematica, my pupil and my pride,
"My
persevering Student whom I destine for my bride;
"Love struggled
hard with Duty, while the lover marked you B; "In the end the stern
Examiner prevailed and gave you D.
"Mine was the hand that dealt
the blow! Alas, against my will "I plucked you in Arithmetic--and
can'st thou love me still?" She gazed upon him and her eye was full of
love and pride-- "Nay these are but the trials, Love, by which
true love is tried.
"I never knew your value true, until you marked me D:
"D stands for
dear, and dear to me you evermore shall be."

A year had passed, and she had passed, for morning,
noon, and night,
Her Euclid and her Barnard-Smith had been her sole
delight. Soon "Baccalaurea Artium" was added to her name,
And
Hitchin's groves, and Granta's courts resounded
with her fame;
And when Rixator hurried down one day by the
express,
And asked if she would have him, I believe she answered
"Yes." For now they live together, and a wiser, happier pair,
More
learned and more loving, can scarce be found elsewhere; And they
teach their children Euclid, and

their babies all can speak
French and German in their cradles, and at
five
can write good Greek;
And he is a Professor and she Professoress,

And they never cease the Little-go in gratitude to bless; When love
could not the Lover from the path of duty sway, And