[Twin spirits] in alternate ebb and flow.[1]
Studious and silent he has read life’s page,
Scholar and chemist [he sees part and whole];
Teaching and thought let loose his [noble rage]
And [stir the genial current] of his soul.
His [golden rod] absorbs our meaner staves
As Aaron’s rod the rods of Phara-oh,
Or as New Brunswick’s river-name outbraves[2]
The [pious Jordan] of Ontario.
His May-blossoms relieve our [strenuous May],