(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
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The text under the picture comes from an elegy by the Roman poet Albius Tibullus (c. 55 BCE - c. 19 BCE). The poem imagines that in a time of troubles, Venus arrived to rescue the narrator and carried him to the Elysian Fields. That was a mythical place of peace and learning, where gentle youth practice the arts and sciences. Another threat intervenes, but Aurora saves them in her chariot (pictured). This invitation, though, was for a more gentle event. Each year, high schools and colleges held an exhibition of their students' accomplishments in music and oratory. This was held at Washington College, founded in 1823 in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1978 this college merged to form the present day Trinity College.