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C A M PUS MIR R 0 R
5
MADONNA Alma Vaughan
A Christmas Prayer
Let us not tonight in our revelry,
Midst the tinsel and lights and mistletoe,
Forget that somewhere across the sea
The struggle still rages fierce and strong,
That men have bravely left their homes
To pit their strength against hatred and
greed.
To offer their lives unselfishly
For the cause of freedom and brotherhood;
That somewhere in subterranean rooms
Folk huddle and force themselves to be gay,
While the droning planes fly overhead,
Despoiling in seconds the fruits of the years;
And that people are hungry and naked and
cold
In our own as well as in other lands.
0 grant that the Christmas Day may come
When the words of the angels’ carol of old
Shall be realized on earth;
That in peace men shall live
And love and good will shall reign.
Keeping Up with Current
Events
Elizabeth Robinson, ’46
Today everybody should keep well-in
formed on important world affairs. It is our
responsibility to learn details of the news,
to be abreast of the times. The social and
political importance of World War II cannot
be gainsaid. Let us learn of this w'ar. There
are many sources of information concerning
current events. One of the best sources of
news is the daily newspaper. If we read the
newspaper regularly, we can obtain the news
of our rapidly changing world. Our na
tional periodicals such as “The Atlantic
Monthly,” “Time,” “P.M.,” and “Life,”
contain important and critical comment.
Other available and significant sources of
news are the radio and current movies. On
the Columbia network over station WGST
there are news programs throughout the day.
Over the Blue Network on station WAGA
Raymond Gram Sv r ing reports at regular
intervals. The tw r o radio programs, “John
Freedom” and “You Can t Do Business With
Hitler" depict life under the Nazi regime.
Many of the current movies portray war
conditions throughout the world. Important
among these movies are: “Mrs Miniver,”
“Joe Smith, American,” “Wake Island,”
“Captain of the Clouds,” and “This Above
All. from these and similar sources we
have gained information concerning the Sec
ond Front in French Africa, the raids made
by British and American planes on occupied
France and the Netherlands, the scuttling of
the French fleet at Toulon, and the landing
of American troops at different points in
North Africa. If we obtain all the informa
tion we can in these and other ways, and if
we take part in classroom and outside discus
sions, we not only come into possession of
information concerning world happenings,
but we also broaden our understanding of
the world today. Let us read. Let us learn
the news of the world.
On the Morning of Christ’s
Nativity
I Composed by John Milton, at the age of 21
“The most magnificent ode in the English
language.”]
I.
“This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav’ns eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual
peace.
II.
“That glorious Form, that Light insufferable,
And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty,
Wherewith he wont at Heav’ns high Council-
Table,
To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,
He laid aside; and here with us to be,
Forsook the Courts of everlasting Day,
And chose with us a darksome House of
mortal Clay.
III.
"Say Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred
vein
Afford a present to the Infant God?
Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn
strain,
To welcome him to this his new abode,
Now while the Heav’n by the Sun's team
unt rod,
Hath took no print of the approaching
light,
And all the spangled host keep watch in
squadrons bright?
IV.
'See how from far upon the Eastern road
The star-led Wizards haste with odors sweet:
0 run, prevent them with thy humble ode,
And lay it lowly at his blessed feet;
Have thou the honor first, thy Lord to greet,
And join thy voice unto the Angel Quire,
From out his secret altar touch’d with
hallow’d fire.”
I he story of the birth of Christ upon earth
has been told many times, by those with ar
tistic tongues and pens, and by those who
merely wanted the details of the story to be
known. The words may be simple or complex,
but the sincerity and emotional power of the
account do not change. The combination of
the human and the divine have never failed
to touch us. An inward peace lies in the
story.
One of the most beautiful versions of the
event is the poem written by John Milton
in his twenty-first year, his “Ode on the
Morning of Christ's Nativity.” This poem,
which has been called the “most magnificent
ode in the English language,” brings sublimi
ty right into our hearts, as it calls us mor
tals to welcome “that glorious Form, that
Light insufferable and that far-beaming blaze
of Majesty to the “darksom House of mor
tal Clay ’ that Christ chose, in order that he
might bring our great redemption from above.
We run, with Milton, to beat the “star-led
Wizards” to the manger, that we may be the
first to greet the holy babe, in song. There
we stand, next His blessed feet, ecstatic with
joy in the fusion of the immortal “Son of
Heav’ns eternal King” with the most hopeful
experience known on earth, the birth of a
child.
At this Christmas season, this year, we
need to seek such means of inspiration as
Milton’s ode. The peace that must have been
felt by those who knelt at Christ’s manger
can be re-created within our own souls, as
we join our voice with the angel choir “From
out His secret altar touch’d with hallow’d
fire.”
Eleanor Milton, ’45.
Amateur Hour
Evelyn Spann, ’46
One of the traditional events which occurs
late in the fall prior to the Thanksgiving
Day Drive is the Amateur Hour. This is one
of the many programs given to raise money
for the Thanksgiving Drive. The \mateur
Hour for this year was presented by the
Junior class on the evening of November 20,
in Howe Hall. An entertaining and amusing
program of music and dancing was inter
rupted by a blackout, which occurred in the
midst of the program, and brought to a halt
the fun of the evening.