Upon her where she stands;
And leaf by leaf unfolding
Within her reverent hands,
The earth and seas and heavens
Disclose her secrets old,
And every force of Nature
Reveals its heart of gold!
Now knoweth she the answer
That ends the schoolmen's strife,--
That knowledge bears no blossom
Till quickened by the Life.

O holy, holy city!
The life of God with men!
Descending out of heaven
To ne'er ascend again.
O Light, O Life immortal!
One sea above, below!
If unto us be given
That blessed thing,--_to know_--
Hope's beatific vision,
And Faith's prophetic sight
Shall die before the fullness
Of that unclouded Light.

After the reading of the poem, Dr. Vincent said, "In the preparation for
this important occasion, I have consulted some of the most experienced
and practical educators of the country, and from a number of
distinguished gentlemen I have received letters relating to this
movement."

[Illustration: C. L. S. C. Alumni Hall]

We can only quote a sentence or two from a few of these letters.

Dr. Lyman Abbott wrote:

It seems to me if you can lay out such plans of
study, particularly in the departments of
practical science, as will fit our boys and young
men in the mining, manufacturing, and agricultural
districts to become, in a true though not
ambitious sense of the term, scientific and
intelligent miners, mechanics, and farmers, you
will have done more to put down strikes and labor
riots than an army could; and more to solve the
labor problem than will be done by the
Babel-builders of a hundred labor-reform
conventions.

Professor Luther T. Townsend, of Boston University:

Your plan for the promotion of Christian culture
in art, science, and literature, among the masses
of the American people, strikes me as one of the
grandest conceptions of the nineteenth century.

Dr. A. A. Hodge, of Princeton:

The scheme is a grand one, and only needs to
insure its success that efficient administration
which has so eminently characterized all your
enterprises.