Old Plato was a good old soul,
Old Plato, Old Plato!
He loved his pipe and he loved his bowl,
Old Plato! Old Plato!
But more than all he loved a scrap;
He’d argufy at the drop of the cap;
Oh, he was a fine old sporting chap,
Old Plato! Old Plato!
Hurrah, hurrah for Plato,
Hurrah for our Patron Saint!
He was a hot potato
In the good old days that ain’t!
A very lucky man was he,
A lucky man as you’ll agree,
For “Greek ain’t never Greek to me,”
Said Plato, Old Plato!
Old Plato dealt in philosoph-ee;
Old Plato! Old Plato!
And he founded this great Societ-ee;
Old Plato! Old Plato!
He wrote the Protagoras, too,—
Which wasn’t a thoughtful thing to do—
And made much trouble for me and you;
Old Plato! Old Plato!
Old Plato lived in Ancient Greece;
Old Plato! Old Plato!
And when he died he died in peace;
Old Plato! Old Plato!
They buried him under a cypress tree,
And said, as they danced with joy and glee;
“No more of your fool philosoph-ee,
Old Plato! Old Plato!”
Hurrah, hurrah for Plato,
Hurrah for our Patron Saint!
He was a hot potato
In the good old days that ain’t!
A very lucky man was he,
A lucky man as you’ll agree,
For “Greek ain’t never Greek to me,”
Said Plato, Old Plato!
Afterwards they sang “Crow, Crow for Crofton!” and then “Follow the River”:
Follow the river up from the sea,
Through sun and shadowy tracery,
Over the shallows and past the green pools;
You’ll come at last to the School of Schools.
Then came the old college songs, “Mother Yale,” “Fair Harvard,” “Old Nassau,” and the football songs, “Boola,” “Veritas,” and many more. And then it was bedtime—Mr. Brown was the first to discover the fact—and instruments were put away, the lights extinguished and by twos and threes and larger groups the Platonians dispersed. The Counsellor lived in Browne Hall—most appropriately—and as Browne was the last dormitory on the campus the instructor was accompanied homeward by some dozen or more students. Gil and Poke were amongst the number, for it was quite as near for them to walk to the school and then go home through the woods as to follow the winding road. Besides, there was a full moon to-night to light their way.
They talked about the new students and speculated as to whom they would draw into Plato when the elections came. This was a subject of unfailing interest, although it was too early in the school year for the interest to wax intense. The societies took their members from the three upper classes in January and each sought to select fellows who had in some way distinguished themselves.