ON ARRIVING AT HOME.
The old homestead looms into view. How sweet the dear old salutations sound! The hackneyed sound of the college bell has been transformed into the lovely echoes of a sister’s voice. The grim countenances of college professors are, in our minds, readily replaced by the piercing glances and approving smiles of lovely maidens. The dark pages of textbooks give way to the cheery bonfires of Christmas Eve. Our boyhood days flash into renewed existence, and we seem to live over again the scenes of our childhood. We are wafted back on the wings of imagination to the time when, long before we had heard of college, we used to hang our stockings by the chimney and await with impatience the coming of Santa Claus. O that we could all live and die without learning too much of this kind old man! This “ignorance is bliss.” We are again in the family circle; the benevolent face of the father is before us; the tender words of a loving mother sound again in our ears. But in this time of great rejoicing we pause and say, May God bless the Christmas of
our kind faculty, who so willingly granted us the great privilege of spending Christmas at home.
CHRISTMAS IS OVER.
Although joyful was Christmas, and although charming were its scenes, the flying moments could not be either lengthened or checked. The great wheel of time continuing to turn has carried us from the jolly days of Christmas into the calm days which always follow. If to see friends, if to be with loved ones, if to eat turkey, if to have a good time, is a big Christmas, we can say that, if possible, we have had more than our share. Although we have been greatly refreshed and invigorated for the work of the ensuing term, yet, so pleasant was our stay at home that we are led to approve the sentiment of the old darkey, who said:
“Oh! what a blessin’ it would ‘a’ been,
If Santa had been born a twin;
For then we’d ‘a’ had two Chrismusses a year,
And prob’bly one would ‘a’ settled here.”
But, recognizing the fact that pleasure is always sweetest when it follows duty well performed, we readily loose our moorings, and with purer motives, with nobler aims, set sail for our summer vacation.