Alas! to-morrow lies not in the ken
Of us who are, O Nicias, mortal men.
Next followed a bit, "in lighter vein, from the Simonides of Amorgas," entitled "A Fickle Woman":
Her nature is the sea's, that smiles to-night
A radiant maiden in the moon's soft light;
The unsuspecting seaman sets his sails,
Forgetful of the fury of her gales;
To-morrow, mad with storms, the ocean roars,
And o'er his hapless wreck her flood she pours.
Field then went on to describe Judge Cooley as equally felicitous in Latin verse, presenting in proof thereof the following, "sung at the junior class supper at Ann Arbor, May 14th, 1854":