Chapter & Verse

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Pat Donovan hopes that someone can provide her with the original source of the phrase “…and she wiped the ambassador’s nose”; the reference is to an infant envisioned by his doting mother as a distinguished diplomat one day.

 

Dorothy Richardson requests an identification of the poetic fragment with which William Dunlap closes his History of the American Theatre (1832): “Time rushes o’er us; thick as evening clouds/ Ages roll back; what calls them from their shrouds?/ What in full vision brings their good and great,—/ The men whose virtues make the nation’s fate;/The far, forgotten stars of human kind?/ The STAGE —the MIGHTY TELESCOPE OF MIND!”

 

Send inquiries and answers to “Chapter and Verse,” Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via e-mail to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

The popular Harvard English professor published Under Water this spring.

Author and Harvard Divinity School writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams finds beauty in the world around us.

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common

Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks studies horror and fear in literature. 

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

Harvard rugby first-year scorer Sofie Fella

Rugby’s freshman scorer Sofie Fella

Lafayette’s Unexpected Gift to George Washington: Pheasants

The two birds will be on display at Harvard this summer.

Explore More From Current Issue

A vibrant group of dancers in colorful outfits poses on a stage with shiny decorations.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.

A profile illustration of a man surrounded by colorful, whimsical text in multiple languages.

For both American and international students, growing up is like learning a new language.

Katie O’Dair in academic regalia holds a ceremonial staff outdoors at a graduation ceremony.

How Katie O’Dair makes kings, comedians, and parents feel welcome on campus.