= 0 LiITERflRY. a
MARTIAL POETRY IN THE TRANSVAAL.
Quite a spell,
Quite a spell,
Quite a spell onward,
Into the labyrinths of Elaandslaagte,
Rode the six hundred.
Waakerstrooem to the right of them,
Maaodderspruuit to the left of them,
Pietermaaritzbooerg in front of them,
Pronunciations thundered.
Their not to reason why,
Theirs but to spell or die.
Faced by orthography
At which the world wondered,
Banged at by syllables,
Bravely they rode and well—
Oh, ’twas an awful spell—
Into the jaws of Haanspooerit,
Into the mouths of Haaenelmaaenlichers,
Rode the six hundred.
—Durand.
••••••
HE work of the Calliopean So
ciety has been progressing in
a magnificent manner since the last
issue of The Battalion. We,
as members of the Calliopean So
ciety, are glad to see that the stu
dents of the A. and M. College,
session ’99-’00, are taking a great
er interest in literary work than
has been manifested in previous
years. The time is coming when
the ruling of the “grand old state
of Texas” will fall upon the
shoulders of us young Texans who
have received our training at the
A. and M. College of Texas and
elsewhere. Keeping this in mind
and remembering that much will
be expected of us, let us in the
future strive harder than ever be
fore to raise the Calliopean Soci
ety to an equal footing with any
literary society in any institution
of the state. It has been shown
that we have the material here
and that all it needs is to be cul
tivated. Success in any line was
never accomplished without a
firm will and an active determi
nation; neither is there any such
a thing as “can’t.”
Let the interest that has been