The march was to the Hall of Philosophy, where the orator, officers, and guests occupied the platform, the little flower girls were grouped on opposite sides of the path from the Golden Gate up to the Hall; the graduating class still standing outside the entrance protected by the Guard of the Gate. A messenger came from the Gate to announce that the class was now prepared to enter, having fulfilled all of the conditions, and the order was given, "Let the Golden Gate now be opened." The portals were swung apart, and the class entered, passing under the historic flag and successively under four arches dedicated respectively to Faith, Science, Literature, and Art, while the little girls strewed flowers in their path. As they marched up the hill they were greeted by Miss Lathbury's song:
THE SONG OF TO-DAY
Sing pæans over the Past!
We bury the dead years tenderly,
To find them again in eternity,
Safe in its circle vast.
Sing pæans over the Past!
Farewell, farewell to the Old!
Beneath the arches, and one by one,
From sun to shade, and from shade to sun,
We pass, and the years are told.
Farewell, farewell to the Old!
Arise and possess the land!
Not one shall fail in the march of life,
Not one shall fail in the hour of strife,
Who trusts in the Lord's right hand.
Arise and possess the land!
And hail, all hail to the New!
The future lies like a world new-born,
All steeped in sunshine and dews of morn,
And arched with a cloudless blue
All hail, all hail to the New!
All things, all things are yours!
The spoil of nations, the arts sublime
That arch the ages from oldest time,
The word that for aye endures—
All things, all things are yours!
The Lord shall sever the sea,
And open a way in the wilderness
To faith that follows, to feet that pass
Forth into the great TO BE
The Lord shall sever the sea!
The inspiring music of this inspiring hymn was composed, like most of the best Chautauqua songs, by Prof. William F. Sherwin. The class entered, and while taking their seats were welcomed in the strains of another melody:
A song is thrilling through the trees,
And vibrant through the air,
Ten thousand hearts turn hitherward,
And greet us from afar.
And through the happy tide of song
That blends our hearts in one,
The voices of the absent flow
In tender undertone.
Chorus
Then bear along, O wings of song,
Our happy greeting glee,
From center to the golden verge,
Chautauqua to the sea.
Fair Wisdom builds her temple here,
Her seven-pillared dome;
Toward all lands she spreads her hands,
And greets her children home;
Not all may gather at her shrine
To sing of victories won;
Their names are graven on her walls—
God bless them every one! Chorus.
O happy circle, ever wide
And wider be thy sweep,
Till peace and knowledge fill the earth
As waters fill the deep;
Till hearts and homes are touched to life,
And happier heights are won;
Till that fair day, clasp hands, and say
God bless us, every one! Chorus.
Another responsive service followed, read in turn by the Superintendent and the class, and then Dr. Vincent gave the formal Recognition in words used at every similar service since that day:
Fellow-Students of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.
You have finished the appointed and accepted course of reading; you have been admitted to this sacred Grove; you have passed the arches dedicated to Faith, Science, Literature, and Art; you have entered in due form this Hall, the center of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. And now as Superintendent of Instruction,[1] with these my associates, the counsellors of our Fraternity, I greet you; and hereby announce that you, and your brethren and sisters absent from us to-day, who have completed with you the prescribed course of reading, are accepted and approved graduates of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, and that you are entitled to membership in the Society of the Hall in the Grove. "The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace."