To take degrees we must have equal powers;

The loss of these is as the loss of all.

It is the little rift within the lute,

That soon will leave the Girton lecturer mute;

And, slowly emptying, silence Newnham Hall.

The little rift in academic lute,

The speck of discontent in hard-earned fruit,

That, eating inwards, turns it into gall.

It is not worth the keeping; let it go:

But shall it? Answer fairly, answer no;