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

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common

Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks studies horror and fear in literature. 

Radcliffe Institute Announces 2026-2027 Fellows

Scholars will tap Harvard’s intellectual resources during the coming academic year.

Most popular

The Marketplace of Perceptions

Like all revolutions in thought, this one began with anomalies, strange facts, odd observations that the prevailing wisdom could not explain...

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

There’s a growing movement to curb light pollution. It starts on your front porch.

Explore More From Current Issue

Singer performing on stage with a guitar, wearing a hat, and surrounded by band instruments.

Singer Elisa Smith’s whiskey-soaked voice and subversive feminism is part of the genre’s urban shift.

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.

Colorful abstract design resembling an octopus with intricate swirls and patterns.

Growing liver implants, mapping the sense of smell, and journalism at risk