Lord, we adore thy matchless bounty And grace which, after giving birth To sun and moon and stars and earth. Gave us a land of rarest worth And cast our lot in Christian County! ’Mid meek-eyed Jerseys, guileless mules, Hopkinsville peaches, Public Schools, Tobacco farms and gilt-edged bonds, Wheat-fields and sheep and fishing-ponds, Coveys of quail and double barrels, Opossums, pheasants, doves and squirrels, Damsels whose pamphanescent eyes, If stars were quenched would light the skies; And for to-night, to make us merry, Provided Izaak Walton’s berry, Ten inches round in lawful measure, The garden’s glory, pride and treasure-- Nor Brenner’s brush nor Prentice’s pen Could tell their worth--and so, Amen! YE PICNIC. Fill high the bowl! In blissful vision We wander over fields Elysian, Through ever-lengthening colonnades, Of whispering elms and beechen shades; Grave manhood’s cares are cast away, And all are boys again, to-day By one sure sign we know each other-- “The strawberry mark!--Our long lost brother!” While all discourse on sylvan pipe Of golden cream and berries ripe, Or sound on Memory’s silver horn, “I too was in Arcadia born!” Sooth, ’tis a goodly sight to see The revellers’ mutual ministry: Stanton shall drive the Jersey cow, Sam Gaines shall cause her milk to flow, Logan shall hold her by the tail, And Kelly bear the foaming pail; Woodson shall crush the crystal ice, Johnston hand spoons, all polished nice, The Courier-Journal pass the berries, With brisk champagne and golden sherries And he shall serve his country best Who stores most berries ’neath his vest. By shady glen and waterfall Our early loves will we recall, Maids whom no time can ere eclipse, With strawberry cheeks and sugared lips, Phantoms which haunt boyhood’s dream, Life’s fragrant, pure crême de la crême-- Delicious cream, which soured too soon, And left us with an empty spoon! YE PIONEER’S WILD STRAWBERRIES. _Master of the Feast_: “Father, thy locks are thin and gray, Hast thou no legend for us pray? Sing of the wild strawberry’s flame When first Kentucky hunters came.” _Old Pioneer_: