My friends, College is a famous place for reverie; for that quiet thought which almost seems to be the absence of all thought; for letting your thoughts run whither they will, without making any effort to control them. How many of us indulge in these reveries, as we sit, on some cold evening, before our cheerful fire, in our College rooms. Ah! if one could, with the genius of a Hawthorne, catch and weave into a tangible form, the subtle fancies which surround him in that hour, a readable article would it make; for then, every one would recognize a picture of his own thoughts on like occasions, and I think nothing pleases us more, than to find that some one has succeeded in catching and enchaining those fancies which at times fly so vaguely around us all. We are fully conscious of them, and yet they elude us when they seem almost within our grasp. I can only hope to present to you some of the more common and tangible of these.

Some evening, then, we sit down with the delightful consciousness of no immediate duty pressing upon us, draw our chair up before our open fire, and, perchance, light a cigar. Soon a kind of dreaminess steals over us; the rays of the fire cast a soft and mellow light upon the familiar objects around us, imparting to them almost a strange appearance. The faces upon the wall look down more kindly upon us;

our natures expand; we feel at peace with all the world. The petty annoyances and troubles of our daily life vanish; we view everything by the mellow light of our fire.

Different objects pass in review before us, while we apparently sit apart from them, and watch the procession as it passes by. We think sharply, and yet our thoughts seem not to emanate from ourselves; we are conscious of no effort.

It is wonderful how many pictures we see in that open fire; it is a complete picture gallery, in which all the pictures bear a close relation to ourselves. There is portrayed the past, the present, and it almost seems as if, from time to time, we could obtain faint glimpses of the future. I look now into its depths, and there is passing in review a picture of College, and College life. First comes Freshman year, with its many acts of folly, and we laugh heartily at some of the appearances we then presented. But a glorious year is our first year in College, after all, when we are becoming established in the ways here; are making acquaintances and forming friendships. A joyous year is Freshman year, and we shall long remember its many incidents and pleasures.

Then comes boisterous Sophomore year, when recklessness is the quality most admired. Junior year quickly follows, with its many periods of ease, truly the social year of College, and many rare evenings do we see before us, spent in old North Middle. And now they are gone. We can hardly appreciate it. We look back upon them with many feelings of pleasure, perchance some of regret. We form resolutions to spend more usefully the hours of the present year, which is swiftly passing by. May we keep these resolutions.

us.

I look again into my fire, and behold there pictured the College, and its future prospects. What a charm do these old buildings have for We almost wish that they might remain unchanged, and that in the future we could see the same old buildings, the same old rooms. And yet, after all, we love our College too well to wish to hinder her . advance. We are not so selfish as to wish everything to remain just as we saw it. And so we hail with a quiet delight the improvements to be made. We admire the liberal spirit displayed in our College affairs, and look forward to the day, as not far distant, when culture and refinement will be inseparably connected with the College life. When more attention will be paid to the beautiful; when the object of College will be not more to educate than to cultivate; not more to strengthen than to refine. We look with delight upon the beautiful picture. We rejoice in it; our hearts beat with greater enthusiasm, and are filled with a more ardent love.