[An invitation extended to the Associated Harvard Clubs to hold their next meeting, in 1905, at Louisville. Read at their meeting in Indianapolis, December 2, 1904.]
Know'st thou the land where the corn tassels bloom,
Where the mystical cocktail exhales its perfume,
Where the highballs sparkle with flavor divine,
And the schooners sail fast 'neath the shade of the vine?
Know'st thou that land, that beautiful land?
Know'st thou the land where the julep was born.
Where the mint yields its breast to the Spirit of Corn,
Where the ice strikes the glass with a musical sound.
And the straw shrieks dismayed when the bottom is found?
Know'st thou that land, that beautiful land?
Hear'st thou the call of the Bluegrass to thee?
"Come over the river, come southward to me,
Where a welcome awaits from Harvard's old boys,
Oh, come to that Southland and taste of her joys.
Oh, come to that land, that beautiful land.
Know'st not that land? Then thou art unlucky.
'Tis gallant, 'tis brave, 'tis hearty Kentucky
That calls from the river that flows to the sea,
"Come Southward to meet us, cross over and see.
Oh, come to that land, that beautiful land."