“The band strike up, and the long procession march around the College, plant their ivy, and return to cheer the buildings.”—­Vol.  XX. p. 228.

The following song was written by Francis Miles Finch of the class of 1849, for the Presentation Day of that year.

 “Gather ye smiles from the ocean isles,
    Warm hearts from river and fountain,
  A playful chime from the palm-tree clime,
    From the land of rock and mountain: 
      And roll the song in waves along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And grand and hale are the elms of Yale,
        Like fathers, bending o’er us.

 “Summon our band from the prairie land,
    From the granite hills, dark frowning,
  From the lakelet blue, and the black bayou,
    From the snows our pine peaks crowning;
      And pour the song in joy along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And grand and hale are the towers of Yale,
        Like giants, watching o’er us.

 “Count not the tears of the long-gone years,
    With their moments of pain and sorrow,
  But laugh in the light of their memories bright,
    And treasure them all for the morrow;
      Then roll the song in waves along,
        While the hours are bright before us,
      And high and hale are the spires of Yale,
        Like guardians, towering o’er us.

 “Dream of the days when the rainbow rays
    Of Hope on our hearts fell lightly,
  And each fair hour some cheerful flower
    In our pathway blossomed brightly;
      And pour the song in joy along,
       Ere the moments fly before us,
     While portly and hale the sires of Yale
        Are kindly gazing o’er us.

 “Linger again in memory’s glen,
    ’Mid the tendrilled vines of feeling,
  Till a voice or a sigh floats softly by,
    Once more to the glad heart stealing;
      And roll the song on waves along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And in cottage and vale are the brides of Yale,
        Like angels, watching o’er us.

 “Clasp ye the hand ’neath the arches grand
    That with garlands span our greeting,
  With a silent prayer that an hour as fair
    May smile on each after meeting;
      And long may the song, the joyous song,
    Roll on in the hours before us,
      And grand and hale may the elms of Yale,
        For many a year, bend o’er us.”

In the Appendix to President Woolsey’s Historical Discourse delivered before the Graduates of Yale College, is the following account of Presentation Day, in 1778.