Mr. Black's Booklet

A. JOSEPH ARMSTRONG
AND THE BROWNINGS
AT BAYLOR

Pinned upon his chest and all about
Were Reminders of What He'd planned to do. - -
This noble Man of giant mind, all out
Of vast experience, study, and love for New

And Old, relaxed in my barber chair!
As I shaved and dressed his Strong and Forceful Face,
And sometimes dressed his hair, without a word,
(For his rest was momentary and precious - - Grace
Was there from our Lord) - -
I sought his comfort and dared not foil or break
The sequence of his rest and relaxation,
Unless, of course, as on occasion He'd take
The lead in Bright and wistful conversation.

This Energetic Man. not only a Teacher,
But also an Enthusiast of His Goal:
To Lift the Brownings and every Feature
Of their Lives, their Works, their Loves that Hold
So High a Place within the compass of England's fold
Of great and varied poets; to bestow
Upon the Brownings an honor pure, a Memoir for Two
Whose Souls seemed Fixed as One; their Union
In its Inception, its Duration, and its Marked
Intensity of Holy Dedication
To the Institutions of Marriage and Literature!
Added to this array of information
Are many Personal Belongings of the two Poets,
Thus making a unique Collection of Things
And Thought to impress the Baylor Students and bring
From afar many in research and Love of Letters.

My Parents taught me to Love my Teachers and Instruction.
For this, I'm grateful. This holy principle evoked
From me responses to meet the ample Deductions
That streamed from my Professors, and the Inductions
So Put by them to show the details in strokes
Of Thought that Magnifies the Whole!

But to describe this Man, the actuating
Force that Moved him, I confess my
Paucity of Power, though I'm constrained to try!
To observe him in action was a treat:
I see him as he enters the classroom, always
Seemingly in a hurry - - he throws his torn and
Tattered volume of Browning upon his desk,
Fingers the pages and restlessly reads - - but lest
The Time slip by, he pushes the book aside,

Addresses the Class with enthusiasm in a vast
Display of knowledge and detail - - a wide
Relating lecture that overflows and casts
The Assignment in a Larger Light! Truly,
The Man is the Force in such a Teacher and
The Giver of Inspiration that accompanies so well
The important information. Indeed to inspire
Was the evident Factor that crowned his efforts in Plain
Devotion to his chosen task: to Give
The Brownings, their works and their Example of Life
In its relating to Holy Virtues and to the chain
Of the inevitable flow of Joys and Sorrows; to live
Triumphantly in Freedom and in Bonds! Strife
Is thus ruled out, and Law is thus Fulfilled!

What more might we ask of a Great Professor - - One
Who taught us Much, Inspired us More! Thrilled,
We Behold the Browning Building, adorned and designed
By a Lover of the Highest, to help the Students rise
Above the drab routine of school to find
The Elevation of the Spirit and of the Soul!
Oh, Thanks be to You, our Noted Professor; and
To You, Historic Baylor, for giving One
Your full support, Who wraught in Lands o'er
Seas even, Who Gave You Much and Left You More!
Such strength of character, dedication to High Ideals,
And Hard Work To accomplish such Goals, had Great Appeal
To Those Whose Contributions We Now Enjoy!
But the distraught and bleeding World Today,
Sallying forth in darkness where Mind and Flesh
Can't point the Way nor illumine It, and ready
Almost to crumble, finds its people in dismay,
Searching for knowledge and technology, and proud
Only to exploit them in Selfish Goals of Humanistic

Endeavor! Leaving God out, the World Now faces an
Empasse of Conflicting Principles that cancel out
All efforts to Reform! This turbulent flood
Of egotism, pornography, and Confusion
In general, has formed a chasm which Only
The Grace of God can bear us over! Indeed,
The Christian Faith is the only Bridge to span
These Troubled Waters'. The Tributaries that feed
This moving Gulf spring from the thoughts of Man!
This Fateful Assumption rejects the Holy Plan
Of God Whose Ways and Thoughts Are Higher! But Man
Claims Progress to be his Humanistic
Goal! Ah, but Progress in which Direction? When
Man puts by his Fallen State, in pride
Forgets Our Lord, he loses his way ; and Wide
Becomes his Loss of All Redemption then,
Alone, can meet Man's Present Urgent Need!

Surely this challenge leads us all to Find
In the Browning Emphasis at Baylor that Kind
Of Profundity in Education which Binds
Its Usefulness to a Noble Simplicity
That gives our Lord all Praise for Man's Triumphant Living!
Our Courageous Curator is a Noble Example of Giving
Christian Credit to Crown this Whole Projection!

So, let the World and Texas Swell our Commendation!
Let Strangers join us in bidding Him shine forth as "Berl
With Jasper", Our Belov'd Sage and Saga of the Browning World!