Susan Edmonstone Ferrier Ferrier visited Walter Scott at Ashiestiel Farm and House on the banks of the River Tweed, near Clovenfords in the Scottish Borders, and again in 1829 and 1831 at his new house, Abbotsford. They enjoyed each other's company and he wrote of her: "This gifted personage besides having great talents has conversation the least exigeant of any author, female at least..., simple, full of humour, and exceedingly ready at repartee, and all this without the least affectation of the blue stocking." He mentioned her in the same sentence as Maria Edgeworth and Frances Burney in 1825. Ferrier's account of the
On the Banks of the Old Raritan is often sung at university occasions, including performances of the Rutgers University Glee Club, and other campus musical groups, at convocation and commencement exercises, and especially at the conclusion of athletic events. An altered version of the song is sung at Rutgers University-Camden commencement ceremonies incorporating the lyrics "on the banks of the old Delaware" and references to Leaves of Grass by the poet Walt Whitman. While there are five verses to the song, typically only the first and last (fifth) verse are sung. Current Lyrics (2013) Revised lyrics (1914) Original lyrics (1873) In August 2013, The Rutgers University Glee