96 THE CADET. , ‘
We are to take our leave of you, beloved teachers and school-
_ mates, to go each to his destined end and appointed work in life.
» This is enough to make us serious. But from this unpleasant scene of
Hnal separation,memory transports us to the most pleasing retreats T
of our former associations, where our hearts find unmixed comfort and · i
repose. t
Ah, Memory! kiud,·appeasing angel, thou that doth soothe us by j
renewing our richestjoys, who can estimate thy worth to man '? Yes, { q
'tis sweet now to recall that first day at college, when we, timid and ¥
forsaken, were the victims of wild phantasies. How deep were those  
longings for the familiarity of the old places at home! How tender 3
then was the thought of every field and grove, of every nook and
haunt of ehildhood’s days! How barren life would have been to us h
then, removed far from every dear friend a11d·pleasing spot, had we a
been denied the charms of memory I  
But the loving Creator has given us social tendencies and capacities _,_
so that we can nowhere live unto ourselves, unblessed by friends. Ah, e
yes l friendship is a flower that blossoms in every vale, on every moun- in
tain top, ever shedding its heavenly fragrance upon man as he pursues
his earthly pilgrimage. Thus happily endowed we soon became
attached to teachers and students, and have for many months enjoyed
that fellowship of kindred souls that redeems life from despair and
crowns it with bliss divine. Our affiliations and experiences here will T
be a source of joy and profit to us until time shall be no more; and in
‘ the future, whether adversity shall frown or fortune smile upon us, this l
period will he a fond remembrance, an oasis of perpetual delight. A
To sever connections like these can not but give us pain. It is like
waving an adieu tothe old homestead again. By numerous assoeia- .
tions, rich treasures for future reminiscenee, these very walls are Y
endeared to us. They are witnesses of so many of our happy incidents I
that they speak to us a language, though silent, yet rich in pathos and .
tenderness. This beautiful campus consecrated to the interests of learn-
ing and adorned with these buildings that are to us monuments of
admiration, the accustomed walks and retreats with their mingled coin-
eidents, all, all of these, make us loathe to depart. V
Though we eagerly dwell upon these recollections, yet they do not ‘
all spring from joy. Some of them are sweetened only by their sorrow. Q
Again and again during our stay here has the Angel of Death shaken
the fatal dew from his ebon wing upon some of our numbc1·. We A
` have seen that the young, the beautiful and the buoyant, as well as the
aged and the weak, must succumb to this appalling conqueror. WVith T