A Ballad.

There were several chosen prophets,
The wisest of the land.
The master minds of Varsity,
A shrewd and cunning band;
Imbued with power and knowledge,
And fearless to a man,
For the betterment of College,
They devised a subtle plan.

Skilled they were and crafty,
We scarcely saw them act,
Till the College of Electors
Was a well accomplished fast.
Then through the ranks of women
There ran a warning note,
The whisper grew, the cry was spread.
The girls have lost their vote!

The rumour grew, the truth was known,
They faced the naked fact;
Pale and proud, but steadfast,
Then they made a solemn pact.
From common room and vestibule.
All tilled with grim intent,
From every hall and corridor,
Into the gym. they went.

This their fear and this their dread,
This their noble cause,
"We'll not be crushed by brutish man
Nor bound by man-made laws."
Firm they were, and faithful
To the pact of which we wrote,
To throw the constitution out,
Thus gain their vanished vote.

The light was long, the struggle fierce,
And wordy was the strife,
Bitterness and hate were shown,
And argument was rife.
But the grim determined women,
Unmoved by threat or plea,
Were deaf to all the burning words,
And flaming oratory.

Unmoved, unbeaten, steadfast,
Rock-like stood the band,
Until the Palm of Triumph,
Lay there in their leader's hand.
The scene is o'er. I but remark,
How painful is't to see,
The female of the species prove
How dang'rous she can be.

The moral's plain, the meaning clear,
Oh, for the days of yesteryear!
When female brains and female grace
Dwelt always in their rightful place.