M. You are cordially invited to be
present.
M. M.
[As this gathering is highly intellectual, you are invited to
bring poems.]
It was, at first, held in the evening, but during the last years was a
breakfast party, its character in other respects remaining the same.
Little tables were spread under the dome, around the big telescope; the
flowers were roses from Miss Mitchell's own garden. The "poems" were
nonsense rhymes, in the writing of which Miss Mitchell was an adept.
Each student would have a few verses of a more or less personal
character, written by Miss Mitchell, and there were others written by
the girls themselves; some were impromptu; others were set to music, and
sung by a selected glee-club.
"June 5, 1881. We have written what we call our dome poetry. Some nice
poems have come in to us. I think the Vassar girls, in the main, are
magnificent, they are so all-alive....
"May 20, 1882. Vassar is getting pretty. I gathered lilies of the valley
this morning. The young robins are out in a tree close by us, and the
phoebe has built, as usual, under the front steps.
"I am rushing dome poetry, but so far show no alarming symptoms of
brilliancy."
A former student writes as follows about the dome poetry:
"At the time it was read, though it seemed mere merry nonsense, it
really served a more serious purpose in the work of one who did nothing
aimlessly.
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