Speaking of Rocks 



of the state, buried itself in the earth, 

 and was soon afterwards acquired by 

 the State University. 



I don't like to follow either geology 

 or astronomy too far. They both lead 

 you to the edge of a precipice so sheer 

 and so enveloped in the clouds of 

 mystery that you dare not look into 

 the unfathomed depths without grow- 

 ing groggy. I prefer to take the sea 

 as I see it at Sorrento, the cedar as it 

 grows on the cliffs of Monterey, the 

 pine tree as it stands erect on lofty 

 Appalachian heights, the rose as it 

 blooms in Baltimore, the corn as it 

 wears its silk and tassels on the prairies 

 of Illinois, the cattle as they graze on 

 old Kentucky's hills, the cricket as it 

 chirps now on my hearth at Dumbie- 

 dykes, the men and women who may 

 be our guests when lamps are lighted 

 right here in Chicago in this year of 

 our Lord 1920, the stars as they rise 

 and shine in obedience to some law I 

 know not of, and cannot understand 

 [i79l 



