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Title: A Memory of Wesleyan College
Author: Rogers, Loula Kendall, 1838-1931
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A MEMORY OF WESLEYAN FEMALE COLLEGE.Dedicated to her class by MRS LOULA K. ROGERS.There was brightness in the dawning of that golden summermorningWhen arrayed in the snowy whiteness stood a young and timid band,And their hearts were bowed with sadness, tho' the futureheld but gladnessAs the glitt'ring world before them called with syren voiceso bland,To radiant dreams, to sparkling streams, and sunlit mountainsgrand.How glad was the greeting!  And how joyful was the meetingOn that alluring threshold with the gay and brilliant throngWho trod the halls of pleasure deeming earthly joys a treasure,Higher than the far off glories that t' eternity belongHow blind were they the young and gay, so careless was their song!How eagerly they listened as their eyes with tear-drops glistened,For they dreamed not of the darkness that the future held in store.They heard not distant thunder, they only glanced in wonderOn the dazzling world before them and the mocking smile she wore,So merrily they could not see the miseries. in store.Ah, we only saw the flowers blooming in those wayside bowers,Each holding crystal dewdrops that reflected life and light,We know not that the morrow would bring forth grief and sorrow,Or the storm of war, unheard afar would cast a withering blight,Transforming all our visions to a dark and cheerless night!Yet night brings out the gleaming of beauteous planets beamingAll the brighter in the darkness, lighting up the earth and sky.So woman's strength and power in adversity's dark hour,Should illumine hall and cottage tho' a wintry blast is nigh;Its shadows grin can never dim her starry cross on high.Ah, well I yet remember, 'twas an evening in NovemberWhen our honored Alma Mater rose before my raptured sight,There were zephry's softly sighing while the autumn sunset dyingA hundred fair young faces in its rosy tinted light,The earth to them like sparkling gem reflecting love's delight.There was one among the number who often in my slumberRises radiantly before me like a spirit of the air,No cloud could ever hover o'er the hearts that used to love her.So cheerful was the smile that shed its beauty everywhere,The dewy morn could not adorn her cheek with hues more fair.O'er these winding paths we wondered as we often deeply ponderedO'er some perplexing problem or some lesson nature taught,And we lingered on the pages of the ancient classic sagesInterlining them with fancies that imagination wrought,Singing ever, caring never what fate the future brought.No study room could ever be more fulll of bright endeavor,Than that to which fond memory turns so happily tonight,Oh, the joking and the teasing e'en when Latin was displeasing,As Fannie, Julia, Ida threw Geometry out of sight,The Aftermath a merry path to Learning's lofty height!Dear Ida with her roses and a smile where love reposes,Was to my childish fancy all a poet ever dreamed,And Fannie G. enhancing every soul to her entrancing,So joyous in her loveliness, a very sprite she seemedTo hover near with words of cheer, God's sunlight on her gleamed.Alas!  those friends are scattered!  The flowers they saw areShattered,Our lives are not all sunshine - there is often grief and pain!Death has crept with stealthy lightness taking her who was all brightness,E'en when the bridal wreath was fresh, upon her forehead lain,One golden tie beyond the sky for us who yet remain.Then let us cling together!  braving storm and wintry weather,Meeting frequently in spirit where our youthful feet have trod.And our love we still will cheerish tho' one by one we perish.Learning thro' affliction's lessons and from beneath the sod,That earthly joy is all alloy without the light of God*Miss Dinda Howard, of Columbus, Ga., July 4, 1872Memories of

      Wesleyan Female College