,,through ,,the ,,school ,illustration3 ,i ,,appeared ,,before ,,the ,,president ,,considerably ,,unnerved ,,through ,,the ,,school ,,the ,,experiences ,,of ,a ,,mill ,,boy ,,in ,,securing ,,an ,,education ,,by ,,al ,,priddy ,author of3 ,through the ,mill3 ,the ,life of a ,mill ,boy ,illustration ,,the ,,pilgrim ,,press ,,boston ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,copyright1 #aiab ,,by ,,luther ,h4 ,,cary ,published1 ,september1 #aiab ,,the,,plimpton,,press ,w ,d ,o ,,norwood,,mass,u,s,a ,,to ,w4 ,h4 ,s4 ,in the same terms and pictures ,i would employ were ,i in the cheer of his parson's study giving my experiences by word of mouth4 ,preface ,these forty chapters of absolutely real autobiography are intended to give the reader faith in ,american education and to reconstruct the human struggles and tests of character which attend the progress of the poor but ambitious lads through a formal education for life4 ,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,fifteen ,dollars and ,sixty-five ,cents ,worth of ,international ,travel4 ,an ,inspiring ,reception in ,front of ,chief ,pungo ,memorial ,hall #c ,,chapter ,,ii ,i ,help a ,real ,poet to ,sing his ,hymn4 ,my ,first ,chance and ,how ,i ,succeeded with it #bd ,,chapter ,,iii ,thropper's ,puff ,tie4 ,sounds ,that ,passed in the ,night4 ,the ,possible ,advantages of ,speaking ,tubes4 ,the ,scroll of ,divine ,history4 ,the ,meditations of a ,saint4 ,how ,thropper ,lost his ,pious ,reputation #cf ,,chapter ,,iv ,thundering ,gymnastics4 ,how to ,keep on the ,good ,side of the ,young ,women with ,scriptural ,quotations4 ,the ,establishment of ,friendship4 ,carrying ,water for ,beauty4 ,how ,music may be ,something ,more than ,music4 ,the ,wonderful1 ,austere ,m an that ,thropper led me to #dd ,,chapter ,v ,pungo ,hall's ,occupants3 ,estes ,who ,planned to ,take a ,tent and ,plant it in the ,midst of ,the ,world's ,sin2 of ,the ,little ,man ,who ,fled from the ,chidings of a #8,d4,d4'3 of ,calloused ,hands and ,showing ,how 8,pa0 ,borden was ,beaten by the ,grass ,widower with ,the ,long ,hair #eh ,,chapter ,,vi ,a ,financial ,pessimism ,taken in ,hand by ,thropper and ,shown in its ,real ,light4 ,a ,turkish ,rug that ,smoked4 ,a ,poet in ,search of ,kerosene4 ,the ,wonderful ,antics of an ,ironing-,board4 ,economy at a ,tub and ,three ,waiting for it ,after ,brock's ,bath4 ,the ,chemical ,reduction of a ,cauldron of ,tomatoes into ,something ,sweet #fg ,,chapter ,,vii ,an ,academic ,ride in ,five ,carriages at ,once4 ,a ,business ,appeal ,mixed in with the ,order of ,creation4 ,how ,we ,got ,lost in a ,discussion4 ,whether it is ,best for a ,man to ,marry his ,first ,love4 ,a ,sleuth-,dean4 ,a ,queen's ,birthday ,supper with an ,athletic ,conclusion4 ,jerry ,birch ,stands up for ,albion4 ,how we ,tamed him #hj ,,chapter ,,viii ,the ,doctrinal ,temper of the ,university1 and ,thropper's ,talk about it4 ,introduces the ,select ,board of the ,pharisees4 ,a ,prayer-meeting ,monopoly ,combated by ,independants4 ,jason on my ,track and ,how it ,came out #hi ,,chapter ,,ix ,my ,trip into the ,magic ,world of the ,past4 ,how ,appreciation is sometimes ,worth ,more than ,money4 ,jason and his ,coterie on ,scent of ,terrible ,heresies4 ,how ,god ,takes ,care of ,his ,orators4 ,how a ,big ,soul can go through ,annoyances #ajb ,,chapter ,x ,the ,magnitude of a ,postage ,stamp4 ,showing how ,desperate the ,thirst for ,money made me4 ,brock's ,rosy ,nose and its ,possibilities as a ,fireplace4 ,how ,brock thought he was ,fooling me and the ,other ,way ,about4 ,the ,barrow that ,became our ,enemy and how ,brock ,revenged himself on it #aji ,,chapter ,,xi ,how ,i ,competed with ,patrick ,henry and was made ,aware of a ,waste of the ,eighth ,letter of the ,alphabet4 ,how ,i ,condensed all my ,studies into an ,oration4 ,how the ,populace ,greeted my ,rehearsal4 ,striking the ,top ,pitch #aai ,,chapter ,,xii ,the ,personnel of 8,the ,clamorous ,eight0 and other ,social ,matters4 ,the 8,blepoes0 and ,the 8,boulomaies0 ,invite me into ,fellowship with a ,protest from ,jason4 ,epics and ,lyrics of ,love4 8,pa0 ,borden ,speaks for the ,benedicts on a ,momentous ,matter4 ,how the ,magic ,tree ,lured ,some ,unfaithful ,ones from their ,sworn ,duty #abf ,,chapter ,,xiii ,how ,one ,dollar and a ,half ,secured 8,the ,devil in ,society40 ,the ,medicine ,chest which ,became a ,tract ,depository under the ,teachings of a ,new ,creed4 ,how ,i ,stuck to ,orthodoxy #ace ,,chapter ,,xiv ,a ,chapter ,depicting how ,strife ,existed ,between the ,pro-,gymnasiums and the ,anti-,gymnasiums and ,showing how baseball1 ,debates and an ,epidemic ,determined ,matters ,this ,way and ,that #adj ,,chapter ,,xv ,a ,ph4,d4 in a ,clay ,ditch and the ,futility of it4 ,a ,can of ,beans at the ,conclusion of a ,morbid ,meditation4 ,how ,thropper and ,i ,played ,david and ,jonathan #ade ,,chapter ,,xvi ,visions1 ,hysteria1 ,dogma1 and ,poor ,lessons to the ,front when the ,revivalists ,arrived4 ,how ,natural it ,sounded when 8,bird0 ,thurlow ,asked a ,flippant ,question #aea ,,chapter ,,xvii ,my ,presidential ,pose and its ,central ,place in 8,the ,record40 ,a ,wistful ,glance and ,some ,practical ,plans towards ,eastern ,education4 ,how the ,little ,sparrow ,brought my ,class ,colors as ,i ,gave the ,class 8,oration40 ,ends in a ,fight #aeg ,,chapter ,,xviii ,thropper ,unfolds ,something ,better than ,canned ,foods4 ,a ,lesson with the ,flat ,iron4 ,thropper ,proposes that ,i ,chaperone ,horses #afb ,,chapter ,,xix ,a ,chapter ,which ,has to do with a ,series of ,exciting ,affairs that ,occurred between the ,west and the ,east1 and ,which are ,better to ,read about than to ,endure #aga ,,chapter ,,xx ,my ,aunt ,millie's ,interpretation of ,education4 ,the ,right ,sort of an ,adviser ,gets ,hold of me #ahh ,,chapter ,,xxi ,over the ,sea to a ,new ,educational ,chance4 ,how ,i ,revenged ,myself on the ,hungry ,days4 ,the ,cloistered ,serenity of the ,new ,place #aig ,,chapter ,,xxii ,stoves with ,traditions1 ,domestic ,habits1 and ,greek1 8,boys ,will be ,boys0 #bjd ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,a ,plot ,which had for its ,end the ,raising up of a ,discouraged1 ,young ,preacher #bjh ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,burner1 a ,searcher ,after ,truth4 ,how a ,may-,pole ,subdued a ,tribe of ,little ,savages #bai ,,chapter ,,xxv ,at the ,heart of ,human ,nature4 ,a ,confidential ,walk with a ,dollar ,bill at the ,end of it4 ,a ,philosophical ,observation from the ,stage-,driver #bbf ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,the ,strange ,adventure of ,burner into ,nothing1 and ,how my ,own ,mind ,got into ,trouble1 and ,how my ,faith was ,strengthened under the ,chapel ,window #bce ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,the ,wonderful ,summer on the ,pleasure ,island #bdc ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,how a ,parsonage ,suggests a ,wife4 ,the ,convincing ,revelations of a ,phrenologist ,who ,examined ,the ,students' ,bumps #bdh ,,chapter ,,xxix ,it ,devolves upon me to ,entertain a ,guest4 ,the ,sentimental ,consequences ,which ,ensued #bef ,,chapter ,,xxx ,a ,heretic ,hunter4 ,the ,orthodoxy of the ,seminary ,admirably ,defended4 ,i ,contract a ,fashionable ,disease1 and also ,receive a ,very ,unsettling ,letter #bfc ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,how ,some of the ,joys of ,friendship ,came to me in the ,tower ,room4 ,the ,orator in the ,white ,vest4 ,how ,soon ,i ,lost my ,diploma #bfi ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,how1 ,though ,i was ,ready for ,service1 ,i was ,forestalled by a ,new ,trouble1 and the very ,interesting ,plan ,which ,came ,out of it #bgf ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,of a ,village where ,locomotive ,whistles ,sounded like ,lingering ,music3 of the ,esthetic ,possibilities in a ,college ,catalogue3 of a ,journey over the ,hills to the ,college where we find1 besides a ,wonderful ,array of ,structures1 a ,large ,room and the ,junior with his ,barnful of ,furniture #bhb ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,my ,wife ,packs me off to ,college4 ,the ,senior and ,i ,stop at a ,rock for a ,drink1 ,meet the ,advance ,guard of ,students1 ,plunge into a ,bedlam1 and ,witness the ,labors of the ,freshmen4 ,the ,finger-study of ,quarles and my ,apology ,given to the ,retired ,medical ,man who was ,specializing in ,hens #bib ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,hot-,popovers and a ,cold ,watch in the ,station4 ,the ,sleigh-load of ,talent #cae ,,chapter ,,xxxvi ,a ,chapter of ,sentiment and ,literary ,atmosphere1 ,including the ,account of ,sanderson1 the ,procrastinator4 ,how ,two ,prize ,checks ,were ,spent4 ,a ,parish of ,talent #cbc ,,chapter ,,xxxvii ,tieresias1 the ,blind ,prophet1 and ,squeem1 the ,student in the ,back-waters of ,college ,life4 ,a ,night of ,grim ,fate #cdh ,,chapter ,,xxxviii ,a ,chapter in which a ,hero ,does a ,thing to his ,credit #cei ,,chapter ,,xxxix ,the ,lost ,parrot4 ,academic ,burlesque4 ,the ,nervousness of the ,final ,minute4 ,a ,religious ,outcropping in a ,non-,pious ,heart #cgi ,,chapter ,,xl ,in ,which the ,account ,comes to a ,conclusion in the ,life of a ,relative4 ,martin ,quotes ,spanish1 and has the ,,last ,,word #chg ,illustrations ,i ,,appeared ,,before ,,the ,,president ,,considerably ,,unnerved ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,,jason1 ,,the ,,poet1 ,,looked ,,in #gf ,,evangelical ,,university ,,was ,,treated ,,to ,,its ,,first ,,match ,,game #adb ,,say1 ,,how ,,much ,,yo' ,,want ,,fo' ,,dat ,,watch8 #ahd ,,so ,,arm ,,in ,,arm ,,the ,,blind ,,student ,,and ,i ,,walked #cej ,,through ,,the ,,school ,,through ,,the ,,school ,illustration ,chapter ,i4 ,fifteen ,dollars and ,sixty-five ,cents ,worth of ,international ,travel4 ,an ,inspiring ,reception in ,front of ,chief ,pungo ,memorial ,hall ,it was like taking off an old1 worn1 unadorning suit of clothes as the ,boston ,express whirled me away from the ,city of ,mills4 ,it hummed with me over the streets on which ,i had walked to and from work as a mill boy4 ,it darted me past the rows of tenements where sordid and sinful memories lingered4 8,thank ,god6 ,thank ,god60 ,out and away from it all4 ,away from the hum1 the bee-like1 monotonous hum of the mill machines that overpower the nerves and dull the spirit of the workers6 ,away from the bells and blaring fog whistles that disturb the sleep of tired1 weary1 discouraged toilers2 the bells and whistles that sometimes mean the jubilant clamor of the mills over their moaning1 rebellious workers4 ,past the pale faces that waited at the crossings for the train to pass2 faces whose eyes gleamed with an instant's wish that the train had them in it1 too6 ,yes1 ,i was the chosen from among over twenty thousand workers that day4 ,i was actually on my way to seek an education6 ,there1 for proof that it was no dream1 was my long green ticket with its dozen coupons in my hands6 ,there was my brand new suit-case6 ,how lucky ,i was6 ,think of the fellows who had better mental furnishing than ,i1 who had even money in the bank1 parents who were urging them to strive for an education1 friends who would loan them money1 and yet1 they were going to the mill at that very moment1 and would go tomorrow1 and the day after1 because they were afraid to make the break6 ,then ,i thought3 8,well1 they would have made the break long ago if they had lived with an aunt and uncle who wasted their money on drink4 ,that would frighten them into it4 ,there's some good in evil after all4 ,i shouldn't be on this train today if my foster parents had been kinder1 more considerate6 ,i guess it'd be a good thing if a few of the other mill fellows1 who are ambitious1 had something like it to frighten them off4 ,it's probably the only way they'll go out and make their chance60 ,then the vision of the country-side1 painted in the glories of ,autumn1 the flashing views of cranberry bogs1 crowded with sun-bonneted pickers1 called my mind to the new joys of existence4 ,here ,i was1 out in the world at last6 ,not the romp of a holiday1 with the mill room for next morning1 not a vacation of two days with a return at the end of it2 but the beginning of an education1 a start towards a profession1 a great big chance at last to 8make something of myself60 8,here10 ,i said to the train boy1 as he was about to pass me1 8give me a packet of that there gum--the peppermint sort40 ,that train boy didn't know1 as ,i paid him the five cents by giving him a dollar bill to change1 that the purchase was the greatest luxury ,i should have on that trip of fifteen hundred miles4 ,while working in the mill1 ,i had never been able to afford a trip to ,boston1 so when ,i arrived in the station1 and realized that ,i was even going beyond it1 on my first excursion1 ,i said to myself1 8,boston is only the first1 small step in your travel60 ,the next coupon on my long ticket paid my fare from the ,south ,station to the ,north--in a ,,cab ,,with ,a ,,uniformed ,,driver66 ,it was the first time ,i had been in a cab1 except at a funeral4 ,i was pleased when the driver took me through the main streets2 glad when he had to move cautiously through congested traffic1 because people could see me1 as ,i sat nonchalantly in the cab4 ,i took care to see that the blinds were up as far as possible4 ,in the ,north ,station1 when the cab driver had taken me to the train1 the car that ,i was to travel on1 to ,montreal1 was marked off from its fellows by its salmon color4 ,awed1 impressed1 ,i went groping through the dim car until ,i found a vacant seat into which ,i comfortably arranged myself4 ,but as the train pulled out1 ,i studied my railroad map1 and1 on discovering that the ,green ,mountains would be on the opposite side of the railroad1 ,i made haste to change my seat1 so that ,i might insure myself a view of them2 for ,i had never seen a mountain in my life4 ,that ride of twelve hours1 on an express1 did not tire me one bit4 ,i was before the world with a starved1 hungry mind and starved1 hungry eyes4 ,i kept my eyes glued on the out-of-doors4 ,yes1 ,i watched both sides of the car at once4 ,i listened for the comments around me and if anything of interest was mentioned ,i bobbed up my head to look4 ,i watched the time-table for the stations so that ,i might know when the train passed from one state to another ,i was actually passing through whole states--five of them in all6 ,five states of the ,united ,states of ,america6 ,there were few details that ,i did not observe4 ,i watched the farms1 the villages1 the back yards of cities2 watched the flying trees1 the colors of soil1 the crops that were being reaped1 the winding roads1 and the vehicles that waited for us at the country crossings4 ,at noon we were lumbering through the streets of ,manchester1 ,n4,h41 past the long canal which flows like a sluggish moat along the dismal wall of the mill4 ,crowds of workers were waiting for us at the crossings2 watching us with looks of envy1 ,i thought4 ,i threw up my window1 leaned back in my seat1 and ostentatiously chewed gum with a smug1 proud look1 with which ,i hoped to show the mill boys how unconcerned ,i was about being a passenger on a ,montreal ,express6 ,it was not until we had cleared the big cotton factory towns and cities of ,new ,england that ,i felt entirely like an adventurer1 however4 ,only by the time the cities had been left1 the big cities1 and the small towns were succeeded by country villages1 and the country villages by vast wildernesses of woods and uncultivated fields1 did ,i feel satisfied4 ,then ,i knew that if a train wreck should end my journeying1 ,i could settle down on some farm4 ,i should not have to go back into the mill4 ,by watching my time-table carefully1 ,i knew when to look for the mountains2 but long before we reached the place appointed for the vision1 my heart was leaping with expectation4 ,we had reached the hilly country1 and every high knoll served me for a mountain4 ,but on and on and on1 past soaring foothills1 went the train until what seemed a slate-colored storm-cloud1 a thin veil of atmosphere1 caught my attention4 ,then1 as the train turned a bend1 the foothills dropped away1 and there1 like a majestic dream1 higher than anything on earth before imagined1 were the mountains6 ,following the delight of the mountains1 ,i had to think of our approach into another country4 ,we were actually going to leave the ,united ,states and enter ,canada6 ,immediately the ,english blood stirred within me4 ,i was actually entering the domains of the ,queen4 ,just over the border1 the train stopped at a little village for water4 ,i spoke to the brakeman 8,please1 mister10 ,i said1 8how long will we stop80 8,eight minutes altogether10 he replied2 8eight sure40 8,are we really in ,canada now80 ,i ventured4 8,yep10 he said with decision1 8this is ,canada1 sure enough40 8,then ,i'm going to get off1 for a couple of minutes10 ,i said4 ,i didn't explain to him the motive ,i had in getting off4 ,it was to put the soles of my shoes on ,,foreign ,,soil6 ,unfortunately there had been a generous rain that had mixed with the dirt of the village road1 so that when ,i sought to step on ,canadian earth ,i was called upon to wallow in ,canadian mud1 and that ,i would not do4 8,never mind10 ,i consoled myself with4 8,this board walk is a ,canadian board walk and will do40 ,so ,i ran a hundred yards into the village along the board walk and came back to the train satisfied4 ,i had stepped on ,queen ,victoria's territory1 come what might4 ,when the darkness shut out the view1 even then ,i did not keep my eyes from the windows4 ,i did not know what sights ,i should get a view of even in the darkness4 ,but all ,i saw of towns were lights1 like stars1 followed by masses of inky night4 ,then we stopped at a ,canadian city station4 ,i pushed up the window1 and heard the great ,french chatter that went on outside4 ,not a word of ,english could ,i pick out1 neither did ,i want to hear such a word4 ,it would have spoiled all4 ,at last ,i was in a new country1 among a people who spoke a different language from my own6 ,i was a real traveler at last6 ,at ten o'clock the lights of ,montreal1 strings of stars1 flashed by the windows4 ,three miles away from the station the passengers became restless4 ,some of them stood up and waited during all that time4 ,at last the brakeman called out with finality1 a downward deflection of the last syllable1 as if that ended his day1 8,mon-tree-,,al60 ,there my ticket told me ,i should have to change4 ,the next stage of my journey would take me along the border of ,canada as far as ,detroit2 an all-night journey4 ,during the hour that ,i had to wait in ,montreal1 ,i went on a thrilling1 timid sight-seeing4 ,i recollect to have seen a couple of dim-lit business streets1 silent1 ghostly1 a couple of buildings which must have been structures of importance in daylight1 and a sign which could be read because it was directly in the glare of an arc light1 8,national ,bank40 ,having seen so much1 and satisfied my provincial soul on so spare a meal1 ,i went back to get on my new train4 ,i found myself in a most comfortable car4 ,the seat was well padded1 the back was high enough to serve for a pillow1 and there was no one in the seat in front4 ,so ,i turned over that seat1 took off my coat and hat1 unlaced my shoes and put them on one side1 leaned back with a sigh of content1 ready for a night's rest when--the conductor came down the aisle1 looked at my ticket1 and said1 8,this is a first-class car and you have a second class ticket4 ,the next car ahead1 sir60 ,i slung my coat over my arm1 picked up my shoes and suit-case and went into the car ahead4 ,it was a ,tourist ,sleeping car and was filled1 largely1 with a medley of ,europeans4 ,europeans1 too1 with peasant manners1 with peasant dirt and peasant breath4 ,there was odor of garlic mixed with odor of stale rye bread1 as some ate lunches4 ,there was odor of unwashed clothes mixed with odor of sour milk4 ,double seats1 leather padded1 had been pushed together into berths1 while overhead shelves had been let down for upper berths1 with thin pads of mattress for the colonists to find rest upon4 ,the aisles were littered with paper1 fruit remnants1 broken cigarette stubs1 empty bottles1 and expectoration4 ,the air was vapid1 like a drunkard's breath4 ,i waded through it all to the lower end of the car where there seemed to be an oasis of cleanliness and order4 ,here1 though1 were men sprawled out in unpoetic postures of sleep4 ,at the lowest end1 even the train boy had left his basket of fruit and soda on one side1 while he lay for the night1 crumpled up1 snorting like a pig4 ,i looked around and up for a place to sleep4 ,there on one of the high shelves1 ,i saw a young fellow sitting up1 eating a sandwich4 ,he saw me looking in his direction4 8,hello1 fellow10 he greeted cheerily1 8you're ,english1 aren't you1 fellow80 ,i replied that ,i was and that ,i was wanting a place to sleep for the night4 ,he said1 8,these places are for two4 ,get a leg up and bunk with me40 ,he reached down his hand1 braced me as ,i stood on the edge of a lower berth1 and then ,i found myself in the bed with my benefactor4 ,he sat there in his shirt1 ready for bed1 with a large basket of sandwiches in front of him4 ,there were more sandwiches together in that one basket than ,i have ever seen piled up on the counter of any lunch room4 8,you aren't a train boy1 are you80 ,i asked4 8,oh1 no10 said the young fellow1 8that's my lunch4 ,i got a week's go on the trains yet1 so ,i brought enough to eat for that time4 ,i'm going to college away out ,west4 ,have one10 he broke in and pointed to the basket4 ,i had no scruples in assisting at the reduction of such a mountain of sandwiches1 for ,i imagined that a company of soldiers could have subsisted on them for three days4 ,i ate my fill1 and the young fellow watched me with evident delight4 8,i'm going out to college1 too10 ,i explained4 8,we're birds of a feather1 eh80 8,what college80 he asked4 8,evangelical ,university10 ,i replied4 8,it's easy to get through there because expenses are moderate4 ,i don't think ,i'll have a chance to get in right away10 ,i explained4 8,you see1 ,i haven't written them that ,i'm coming or asked for a chance even4 ,i can get out there and get some kind of work1 and when everything's arranged1 get into the ,university4 ,a friend told me about it40 8,why didn't you go back with some one80 asked my friend4 8,well1 you see10 ,i answered1 8,i couldn't afford to go the way the others go4 ,it costs twenty-four dollars and this route only costs me fifteen dollars and sixty-five cents40 8,oh10 said the young fellow4 8,when you do enter the ,university what class will you join80 8,i'll have to join the beginners with common school branches10 ,i said4 8,then ,i'll work up into the ,academic course to prepare for college1 then go through college1 you see40 8,oh1 yes10 he said1 8,i see40 ,he then asked me to help myself to another sandwich4 8,you've got nerve1 anyway10 he commented4 8,it'll be a long pull1 won't it1 to do what you plan8 ,how old are you80 8,oh1 around twenty10 ,i answered4 8,i wish1 for your sake10 said the young man1 8that you were through with it2 this education business takes a lot out of a fellow4 ,it's a fight right from the start if you don't have any money4 ,i'm a sophomore in college4 ,by the way1 you haven't told me your name1 fellow4 ,mine's ,harlan ,m4 ,n4 ,i4 ,droughtwell4 ,plenty of initials because my folks wanted to please both branches of the family4 ,in full1 ,i am ,harlan ,micknell ,norman ,ingraham ,droughtwell40 8,and ,i10 ,i replied1 8am just ,al ,priddy4 ,no middle name4 ,i suppose1 though1 that really ,i am ,albert1 but it ain't used much40 ,harlan put the basket aside1 after having put over the bread a damp towel and closed the cover4 ,then he told me to turn in near him4 ,so we both gave ourselves into the keeping of the engineer and slept profoundly above the odors1 the litter1 the droning aliens3--two youths college bound4 ,i was first up1 in the morning4 ,harlan1 on opening his eyes1 proposed that ,i 8dive in0 and he pointed to the sandwiches4 ,first of all ,i wanted to wash my face4 ,i did so at the drinking tank4 ,i looked around4 ,there was a stirring among the aliens2 just a stirring4 ,some were turning over1 yawning and giving guttural explosions of sleepy comment4 ,mothers were feeding hungry1 lively babies2 but at my end everything was profoundly still4 ,the train boy's basket was still where ,i had seen it the night before with the fruit exposed to the air4 ,the boy himself was a tousled1 sleepy1 uninspiring bundle of blue and white4 ,i looked at my berth-mate1 the sandwich man1 and noted that he combed his hair from the side4 ,immediately ,i was conscious that ,i combed mine down the middle1 and ,i recollected that my aunt ,millie had always said that ,i looked like a masher with it in that way4 ,so ,i took out my pocket comb and changed the style of my hair-dressing1 while ,harlan1 entirely unconscious of having wielded so powerful an influence over a fellow1 sat in his berth and struggled with his clothes4 ,all through the morning we traveled2 over high trestles1 through deep cuts1 skirting tobacco fields1 whirling through little settlements until at last we were rolled to the deck of a massive iron ferry and1 still in the cars1 were taken across the lake and landed at ,detroit4 ,meanwhile1 ,i had parted company with ,harlan1 who had told me to 8keep right at it10 meaning thereby1 a college education4 ,transfer after transfer was made for another night and a day1 each time the trains seemed to get slower1 to stop more at stations1 while the cities grew less frequent4 ,friday turned into ,saturday1 ,saturday into ,sunday1 and by ,sunday1 too1 we plunged into an overpowering odor of gas4 8,is the lamp leaking80 ,i asked the trainman mournfully4 8,it's terrible4 ,it must be leaking4 ,it makes me seasick40 ,the man laughed4 8,oh1 you're in the gas belt10 he said4 8,it's in the air4 ,you will get used to it4 ,i can't smell it at all1 though at first it smells like being right in a gas house1 doesn't it80 ,the gas tinged everything2 food and drink4 ,i felt like going to sleep to lose the sense of it4 ,but deeper and deeper into it the train plunged1 without mercy4 8,if you've got a piece of silver about you10 said the trainman1 8a watch-chain or anything of gold or silver1 this air will turn it black soon enough4 ,but you'll get used to it10 he added comfortingly enough4 8,i shall have to10 ,i complained1 gloomily4 8,it tastes as if all the gas works in the world had exploded about here40 ,finally ,i was nearing ,groat's ,crossing1 the seat of ,evangelical ,university4 ,the train deposited me at a station within twelve miles of it1 where ,i should have to take an accommodation four hours later4 ,there was nothing to see in the place where ,i waited1 but glaring brick buildings and houses on stilts4 ,so ,i waited around the hot1 splintered platform1 seated now on a truck1 watching a group of young men reading sections of a ,sunday paper1 or walking miserably up and down wishing for the train1 for the gas had gotten into my system1 and ,i felt lonesome1 miserable4 ,i might have gone to sleep in the waiting room1 but the seats were spoiled for beds by having iron arm rests at intervals of two feet4 ,i tried to thread myself through these1 at full length1 but could not4 ,there was nothing to do1 but stand around and taste gas1 until the ,groat's ,crossing train came4 ,with great joy ,i watched the accommodation come into the station4 ,only twelve more miles between me and ,evangelical ,university6 ,the end of three days' travel4 ,three days from the cotton mills6 ,in that thought ,i renewed my spirit4 ,soon ,i should at least be ,,near a college6 ,college6 ,for me6 ,it was the anticipation of a first watch twenty times intensified4 ,i1 go to college6 ,look back in the genealogies of the ,priddys1 rooted back in ,britain's centuries1 and lay your finger on a single member of it who ever went beyond the secondary school6 ,and there was the brakeman calling1 inconsequently1 8,groat's ,crossing60 ,i half stumbled from that car1 thanking ,god that ,he had allowed me this sweet day4 ,here ,i was on the platform at last4 ,there was no one about4 ,a ,sabbath quiet lingered over everything4 ,the black splinters on the platform went like knife blades between the soles of my worn shoes4 ,groat's was a very small station4 ,some sort of a village lay behind it4 ,i asked a man on the street corner if this was where ,evangelical ,university could be found4 ,he pointed away from the village in the direction of a rutted1 clay road bordered by a line of houses on stilts which ended in a pasture fence made from dry stumps interlocked4 8,the place's up thar60 mumbled the man as he moved the morsel of tobacco from one cheek to the other4 8,you'll run smack inter it ef yo' keeps ergoin'40 8,how far about80 ,i asked4 8,uh1 'bout a mile or mo'1 ,i guess40 ,the fumes of gas half choked me4 ,they drowned out the perfumes from decaying leaves which lay thick on the streets4 ,it was a land given over to gas1 evidently1 for instead of cows grazing in the flat pastures1 latticed derricks towered over oil and gas wells4 ,in place of the twitter of ,fall songsters reaching me from the trees along the roadside1 came the mournful creaking of oil pumps and the gasps and barks from the sputtering engines4 ,a well had just been shot4 ,a crowd of spectators stood at the base of a derrick whose latticework glistened with the black baptism of oil1 and the dead grass on which the spectators stood was soaked by a tarry iridescence2 the thick1 black1 greasy mess which had spouted up from the torn heart of the underworld4 ,i walked along a board walk which gave me a level path over little brooks1 open culverts1 house drains1 and masses of surface gas mains4 ,it took me up a slight grade in a lonesome part of the road where were neither houses nor trees4 ,i stood on the crest of the hill looking ahead for the ,university4 ,it stood on the open plain ahead of me1 in full sight1 ,evangelical ,university6 ,i had never seen a college before4 ,i had feasted my imagination on photographs of the world's leading universities3 ,cambridge1 ,oxford1 ,edinburgh1 and ,harvard4 ,i had revelled in the ,tom ,brown type of literature which has for its background armorial gateways1 ivy-clothed turrets in which sparrows twitter all the day2 which showed myriads of mullioned windows peeping shyly through the branches of sedate1 century oaks2 which showed grassy-carpeted lawns1 yew gardens1 swans breasting placid1 rose-fringed lakes1 lakes girded by pebbled paths whereon walked pale1 lanky scholars in board caps and mourning gowns1 walking with bulky tomes of ,latin on their palms in serene meditation6 ,and there the reality of a college1 ,evangelical ,university1 spread itself for my contemplation1 a heart-choked contemplation1 because that view shattered a lifetime's romance6 ,it brought to mind a group of tenements surrounding a big square1 brick grammar school4 ,the buildings stood open to the glare of the sun1 for there were no tall trees for shade4 ,the smaller houses1 little cheaply constructed cottages1 stood on cedar posts and were so fragile that the first tempest might readily twist them from their anchorages and carry them tumbling down the fields like empty hat-boxes4 ,after the armorial-gatewayed universities of my dreams had completely melted away1 and the reality in its ,puritan1 pioneer severity challenged me1 ,i took a firm hold on my slate-colored baggage and strode rapidly on towards my goal4 8,what do you want for ninety dollars a year80 ,i argued with myself4 8,it's your chance1 and that's enough40 ,i soon came to a newly plowed road which led to the first of the university buildings4 ,the hot sun had not been thirsty enough to suck all the rain which had fallen on the new road in the last storm4 ,the clayey earth had mixed with it and formed a broth which waited for the first unwary foot to slip from the springy board walk1 which led over it4 ,directly ahead1 ,i saw a salmon-colored1 clapboarded building squat and frail like an evangelist's tabernacle1 over which ,i read on a sign the following explanatory inscription3 8,,chief ,,pungo ,,hall1 #ahhi4 ,,born ,,in ,,africa4 ,,died ,,here #ahhe40 ,with but a mere glance at this ,memorial ,dormitory1 ,i had need next to press my teeth over my under lip1 stiffen my gait1 bulge out my chest1 and perform all the other affectations of courage1 for in front of ,pungo ,hall stood a group of well-dressed young men1 all looking at me6 ,the heart of the horseman who dashed in the charge of the ,six ,hundred was a stouter one in feeling than mine when ,i charged on those lolling young men4 ,my kneecaps vibrated like a cello string4 ,my finger nerves leaped one over the other4 ,my heart pumped double quantity of blood to my cheeks4 ,the board walk dropped from under my shoes and ,i walked on a tipping cloud4 ,one of the students1 in response to my waiting and my embarrassment1 which must have been as clear to him as an electric advertisement over a skyscraper1 advanced and asked if he could be of any service to me1 saying that his name was ,thropper1 ,james ,thropper4 ,now1 during the long1 three days' journey1 ,i had spent much thought in preparation of the introduction of myself to the ,university upon arrival4 ,i had succeeded in framing an introduction which had both the qualities of completeness and brevity4 ,i had rehearsed it1 mentally1 in many hypothetical contingencies1 so that ,i might let them see that ,i knew1 definitely1 what ,i had come for4 ,but among all the contingencies ,i had invented not one of them had resembled the one in which ,i found myself3 making my business known to a student4 ,i had thought of meeting with a gowned don or a 8bursar0--whatever he was--because ,i was saturated with ,tom ,brown4 ,but ,i managed to explode my introduction to the student1 with all its brevity1 in all its boyish completeness4 8,my name is ,al ,priddy4 ,i have come from the mills4 ,i have not been to school beyond common fractions4 ,i am nineteen years old4 ,i am willing to learn4 ,i heard of this place from a friend4 ,he said there was a chance4 ,i have only three dollars4 ,i am willing to work4 ,if you think ,i can't be taken in1 right off1 ,i shall be happy to live near here1 so that when ,i have earned more money ,i can begin60 ,james ,thropper picked up my slate-colored suit-case and led me before the group of students1 without comment4 ,then1 after he had introduced me to them all1 as 8,brother ,priddy10 he signalled to a tall1 moustached ,german4 8,come here1 ,brock40 ,the ,german came to one side1 and ,thropper repeated1 though not so completely nor with equal brevity1 the tale ,i had unfolded4 8,you've come to just the right place1 ,brother ,priddy10 said ,brock4 8,we have plenty of students here who arrive without much money or much education4 ,it's a splendid place for getting a start1 isn't it1 ,brother ,thropper80 ,thropper said1 8,it's been a blessing to many a struggler40 8,but is there room80 ,i asked4 8,i could wait4 ,it will be nice to live so near a college and join it--later10 ,i tremblingly ventured4 8,i didn't come with the expectation of beginning studies right off1 ,i thought ,i might go to work in the glass factory a while and then when ,i'd--0 8,that would be a waste of time10 said ,brock4 8,i think you'll be able to start right away40 8,excuse me--are--are you a professor--sir80 ,i enquired4 8,no10 laughed ,brock1 8just a theologue1 that's all4 ,i started late1 you see40 ,then he explained3 8,you'll not be able to do any business here on ,sunday4 ,the ,president will see you the first thing in the morning2 but you needn't fear4 ,there's no turning of you off when you've come so far4 ,just remember that1 ,brother ,priddy4 ,meanwhile1 ,i think ,i might be able to place you at a job that will pay your board40 ,with a wild leap of the heart1 ,i gasped1 thrilled1 8,oh1 if you only could60 8,i'm head waiter in the dining-room10 he explained1 8we have a place not filled yet4 ,i'll see you later about it4 ,better take him in with you10 he announced1 turning to ,thropper4 8,yours is a double room4 ,that's where the ,president would put him1 anyhow40 8,my1 the gas does smell60 ,i announced1 merely to say something as ,thropper led me into the dimness of ,pungo ,hall4 8,doesn't it spoil the food1 when it soaks in it80 ,thropper laughed4 8,you won't mind it1 after a while4 ,you'll get so that you won't notice it4 ,here's the room1 #8#i'4 ,come in1 ,priddy60 ,i heard the scraping of a key against the lock1 a frosty light overhead showed me where the transom was swung at an angle4 ,finally there came a click as the key snapped back the bolt1 ,thropper threw back the door and ushered me in my college room1 a double room within a narrow compass of a few feet something4 ,i swept a pair of greedy eyes over this1 the first substantial step in my educational ambition4 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,i ,help a ,real ,poet to ,sing his ,hymn4 ,my ,first ,chance and ,how ,i ,succeeded with it ,the double bed had two depressions plainly visible on the mattress where two previous occupants had maintained their respective sleeping rights4 ,the double quilt1 patterned after a gaudy ,chinese puzzle1 sank into the depressions of its own1 warm weight4 8,the best thing about that quilt10 explained ,thropper1 8is that when my eyes get weary with study or tired from writing1 ,i look at the combinations of colors1 and my eyes are rested4 ,it's great for that4 ,by the way1 ,i'll call you ,al if you'll call me ,jim10 he suggested4 ,that bed occupied the major portion of the floor4 ,its edge left just a narrow alley between it and two kitchen tables that were covered with black oil-cloth4 ,one of the tables--farthest from the window1 in the dim light1--was bare of books1 and ,jim said that it would be mine4 ,the other had about a dozen text books on it1 some scraps of paper1 and an open ,bible1 marked with purple and red ink where ,jim told me he was busy emphasizing all the texts that he might preach sermons from--some day4 ,the chair allotted me was a plain kitchen affair1 as hard as a tombstone2 but ,jim's was fearfully and wonderfully stuffed4 ,there it stood like a parody on a fluffy ,morris1 library chair4 ,it was a kitchen chair grotesquely stuffed and upholstered within a faded1 torn1 and highly colored bed comforter4 ,when ,jim noted that ,i took an interest in it1 he said1 8,padding made quite a difference in that chair1 ,al4 ,it's real comfortable1 though there isn't much seat left2 it's so thickly padded4 ,i was out in the fields one day1 and near the fence ,i picked up a sheep's skin of thick wool4 ,i thought then that ,i could make good use of it1 so ,i brought it back1 left it on the clothes-line at the back of the building to let the air sweeten it1 for it was pretty strong2 then ,i came to the conclusion that ,i could use it to stuff the chair--real wool1 you know4 ,the comforter was left in the back room by a fellow and ,i used that1 too4 ,it's a real comfortable chair2 almost makes you fall asleep when you sit in it40 8,you didn't manage to sweeten all of the wool1 did you1 ,jim80 ,i asked dubiously as ,i noted the dank odor that came from the chair2 an odor that was reminiscent of a junk shop after a rain4 8,why10 replied ,jim1 in good humor1 8,i don't notice it a bit4 ,i think it must be your imagination40 8,well10 ,i concluded1 ungraciously1 8probably it's like the gas4 ,you've got used to it40 ,between the gas stove and the wash stand stood a galvanized water pail1 three-quarters filled and with a fuzzy growth on its oily surface4 8,that ain't drinking water1 is it80 ,i asked in alarm4 8,no10 laughed ,jim4 8,that's in case of fire4 ,i ought to have changed that water two weeks ago1 but ,i guess ,i'm getting lazy40 ,by this time ,i had my coat off and had accepted ,jim's invitation to wash the train dust off my face4 ,for this purpose ,i scraped around in the soap dish until ,i had secured two thin wafers of soap1 one a transparent reminder of perfumed toilet soap1 the other a dull yellow1 and odorous with naphtha1 which ,i recognized as the remnant of a powerful disinfecting and wash-day soap2 used by my ,aunt to drive black oil from overalls4 ,i had to rub these two antagonistic wafers together to make sufficient lather for washing4 ,then1 too1 ,i had to hurry my toilet1 for the flowered wash bowl had a yellow crack on its under side1 through which the water dripped rapidly while ,i washed4 ,jim said1 8,until you get some1 ,al1 you must use my towel40 ,he took it down from the wire behind the stove and let me have it1 with the remark3 8,there's a dry corner1 there near the fringe40 ,the window was open1 and while ,i was busy brushing the dust from my clothes1 a gust of wind came in and ,i heard a rip on the wall followed by an exclamation from ,jim1 8,there it goes again6 ,the wall will be going next60 ,on examination ,i found that the wall paper1 with its highly conventionalized lotus leaves1 had lost its grip on the wall behind the gas stove and had uncovered a great area of plastered wall4 ,jim produced some tacks1 and using a flat-iron for a hammer managed to return the paper to its place and to keep it anchored there through a liberal use of tacks4 ,he apologized1 when he came down to the floor1 8,all this is miserable enough1 ,al1 and ,i don't blame you for thinking so40 8,uh10 ,i retorted1 8,i ain't grumbling4 ,beggars can't be choosers4 ,besides1 ,i don't see what more the college can do for ninety dollars a year1 board1 room1 and teaching40 8#8,tuition' you ought to say10 corrected ,jim4 8,i'm glad you've got the right spirit about this place1 ,al4 ,you're right1 we can't expect any more for ninety dollars6 ,i don't see how they can do for us what they can4 ,it's worth a mighty lot for you and me to get a chance1 and if education should cost more1 where would you and ,i be80 8,that's just what ,i think60 ,i replied with spirit4 8,it is just the chance we want4 ,here ,i am1 with only three dollars to begin on and a poor foundation for study in the bargain4 ,what other place is there where ,i could be given a start on such easy terms80 8,a lot of fellows come here10 commented ,jim1 8who don't look at the matter in that way--and they soon leave and don't have any chance at all4 ,i know you'll appreciate the hard scrabble to get the education4 ,besides1 poor buildings1 poverty-stricken rooms1 cheap board1 and limited privileges ought to make us get the most out of our studies4 ,that's something40 8,but suppose they don't let me begin80 ,i gasped2 for up to this time ,i had not let a doubt of my acceptance at ,evangelical ,university mar the afternoon4 8,i don't think they'll let a fellow like you go begging1 ,al10 responded ,jim4 8,you might as well count yourself one of us1 right off40 ,just then1 out in the upper end of the corridor1 went up a high1 lisping1 effeminate voice1 calling1 8,oh1 ,brother ,thropper2 ,brother ,thropper60 ,jim went to the door and replied1 8,all right1 ,jason60 ,then he turned to me and whispered1 8,hardwick is one of the smartest fellows in the ,university4 ,he's a poet1 too4 ,he's got a hymn set to music in this book10 and he waved a much worn1 manila paper covered ,gospel hymn book4 8,it's very popular2 sung in many of the big revivals60 ,with a throb of excitement ,i waited for the advent of this real poet4 ,i had seen men who had called themselves poets in the mill2 but their productions were local in theme1 personal in lines1 unpoetic in metre and never reached a further fame than insertion in the 8,original ,line0 column of the papers4 ,but ,i was now to view a real poet2 one whose words were sung in churches4 ,i was thoroughly subdued when ,i heard the poet's fingers searching for the knob1 outside4 ,he was all that the comic papers and the actors suggest for poets4 ,there was not a bit of the world about his aspect4 ,in reaching for the dwelling places of the muses he had lengthened out until his head1 covered with a thick cluster of curls1 roamed through the higher levels of the atmosphere4 ,he had to incline his head in order to get through the doorway4 ,his face had a poetic paleness and his lips were pulled out as if he were on the verge of inspired speech4 ,he wore a clerical vest and all his clothes were of a very spiritual black4 ,he carried a mandolin4 ,i was formally introduced and on my part1 in acknowledging the introduction1 ,i agreed that ,i was 8right glad to know0 ,mr4 ,hardwick4 ,the poet had come to rehearse some hymns with ,jim4 ,the latter produced his guitar2 both musicians sat on the edge of the bed before a nickel-plated music stand1 the ,gospel hymn book was put in place1 and to the strumming of the instruments1 the vocalists sang some revival hymns with such effect as to produce from me the comment1 8,my1 that sounds fine60 ,then1 growing bold through intimacy1 ,i said1 8,i wonder1 ,mr4 ,hardwick1 if you will sing that song you wrote1 please80 ,the poet said that he would be pleased to sing it as a trio1 and asked me1 when he had found the place1 if ,i could join in with the bass4 ,i thought ,i could4 ,so the three of us1 ,i between the two musicians1 sat on the edge of the bed and sang the lilting reiterations of the hymn1 8,there's a welcome home1 ,there's a welcome home1 ,there's a welcome home1 ,for you and me40 ,we were interrupted by the ringing of a bell1 on the ,university tower1 which1 ,i learned1 was the call to the ,sunday afternoon preaching service4 ,as my roommate was trying to urge me to attend1 and while ,i was protesting that my clothes were not good enough1 the head waiter came into the room and said1 8,priddy1 ,i'm going to give you a try as a waiter at supper4 ,don't go to the preaching service4 ,i will try to rig you up with an apron and jacket40 ,oh1 what inspiration those words had in them6 ,it meant that the ,university was already willing to give me a chance to show what ,i could do4 ,i should not have to get work in the glass factory4 ,i should not have to wait before ,i could enroll myself in the ,university4 ,my chance had come4 ,i cried for joy2 tears of which ,i was not ashamed1 even though ,brock1 the head waiter1 saw them4 8,i'm only poor1 and a big blunderer1 without any manners10 ,i protested1 8but if you give me a chance1 ,i'll do my utmost40 ,at five o'clock ,brock came into the room carrying on his arm a well-starched waiter's jacket and a patched white apron4 8,i had these on the side10 he announced4 8,they are worth forty cents4 ,you may pay for them when you are able4 ,don't be worrying about the matter4 ,be over at the dining-room at quarter past five40 ,after that ,i moved as if in the midst of a grand dream4 ,was ,i actually in a dormitory1 at a college8 ,was it true that in a quarter of an hour ,i should be trying to wait on a group of real students8 ,the dining-hall was a squat wooden bungalow with a great many windows in it4 ,the front hall floor bent under my weight as ,i crossed it4 ,i unlatched one of the double doors and viewed the roomful of tables with the dull reflector lamps hanging above them4 ,white jacketed students were busy with plates and plated silver cutlery4 ,brock1 himself in glorious white1 came down the room with a word of greeting4 ,i was introduced to the student-waiters1 was told that ,i was on trial only1 and that ,i should be carefully watched1 as there were many trained waiters among the students who coveted the position4 ,brock indicated two tables near the door1 the farthest away from the kitchen of all the tables4 8,you will wait on them10 he said4 8,there will be ten to a table4 ,when they come in1 before the blessing1 they will stand behind their chairs4 ,you must go around1 find out what they want to drink2 hot water1 tea or cold water1 then you must go to the other end of the room1 get one of the trays and fill it with twenty cups4 ,then you must get them served just as soon as you can4 ,you will find plenty of chores to do when they are seated40 ,with a wild1 thumping heart1 and with a maximum of terror1 ,i heard the first of the students enter the outer hall4 ,brock stood at the opposite end of the room1 near the slides that connected with the kitchen1 his finger on a ,sunday-school bell4 ,the students1 well-dressed young men and women1 swept past me1 crowded me1 stared at me1 stood at my tables2 went to the different parts of the room chattering1 bantering1 laughing1 and accosting one another familiarly with such abandon and effect that ,i felt like an intruder4 ,no one spoke to me4 ,the young men and women at my two tables commented about something in a low murmur4 ,they cast doubting looks toward me4 ,for a minute ,i was in a panic1 then1 because ,i was tall1 ,i could see ,brock's eyes telling me to do something4 ,i went through the crowded aisles1 around my tables1 saying to each person1 in a trembling1 very ,english way1 8,will you 'ave 'ot1 cold water1 or tea1 please80 ,i received eighteen orders for hot water and tea and two orders for cold water4 ,i came out from the ordeal of having addressed so many students and went perspiring to the upper end of the room where the urns and trays were4 ,i put the weighty cups and the thick glasses on a tray the size of an ordinary five o'clock tea table1 filled them by twisting the tray under the spigots of the urns1 and with the weighty load raised as high as my long arms could exalt it1 pushed my way nervously down the aisle1 past the students whose backs were turned to me1 and conscious that all the inquisitive and critical eyes in the world were watching me to see how ,i should manage4 ,i was very fortunate in being able to squirm my way to the lower end of the room and to reach the vicinity of my own tables without accident4 ,it helped me1 too1 to hear the students singing a hymn4 ,it took their minds off me1 the green mill boy trying to wait on college tables6 ,thus encouraged1 ,i tried a bold thing1 which ,i saw the other waiters doing4 ,as there were no stand tables to rest our trays upon1 while steadying mine against my body as it lay on the palm of my hand1 ,i took off a cup of hot water from the lowered tray1 and tried to reach the cup around the waist of the young woman who had called for hot water4 ,the balance would have been maintained had not the person next to me suddenly drawn back1 jolted the tray from my hand1 and sent the hot liquids streaming down the skirts and shoes of those in the vicinity4 ,there followed1 too1 the crash and thump as the heavy cups clattered to the floor4 ,the two glasses splintered into bits1 and while the students were sitting down1 ,i found myself growing more and more conspicuous until the seated throng looked up from every part of the room1 to see me furiously red1 with tears gathering1 and with untold chagrin over the mishap4 ,i waited1 among the ruin1 for ,brock to come to me1 get me by the scruff of the neck1 hurl me outside to say1 8,get back to the mill4 ,what right have you to pretend to know how to act among cultured people8 ,you're too green60 ,i imagined1 too1 that the students at my table must be delegating one of their number to go to the head waiter to say1 8,we don't want that clumsy person bothering with us4 ,he's spoiled a couple of fine dresses and made a regular bothersome mess4 ,throw him out6 ,send him back to where he came from60 ,but ,i had mistaken the temper of ,evangelical ,university4 ,brock came down1 and with great kindness patted me on the back and said1 encouragingly1 8,don't let a thing like that bother you1 ,priddy4 ,i know how they crowd4 ,cheer up1 old fellow40 ,then the student who had jolted the tray bent back and said1 8,it was all my fault1 ,brock4 ,he wasn't to blame a bit4 ,it was downright careless of me4 ,i'm sorry40 ,then1 after he had assisted me in bringing the hot water and other drinkables to the tables1 ,brock took pains to introduce me to the twenty young men and women1 saying1 8,mr4 ,priddy1 ,i hope1 will see that you do not go hungry as much as you might60 ,i walked on air after that2 for the head waiter had called me1 8,mr4 ,priddy60 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,thropper's ,puff ,tie4 ,sounds ,that ,passed in the ,night4 ,the ,possible ,advantages of ,speaking ,tubes4 ,the ,scroll of ,divine ,history4 ,the ,meditations of a ,saint4 ,how ,thropper ,lost his ,pious ,reputation ,shortly after my return from the dining-hall1 ,thropper thundered into the room1 in his impetuous way1 jerked his arms out of his coat1 tore at his collar and lifted up the lid of his tin-covered trunk with every evidence of excitement4 8,what's the matter--,jim80 ,i asked1 from my seat near the window4 8,got a date on1 that's what10 he answered1 half smothered in his trunk4 8,miss ,ebberd's going--church--with me4 ,lucky--duck1 that's what6 ,going down the board walk to--,new ,light revival6 ,say10 he interrupted1 holding up for my inspection a black1 puff tie1 with an opal stone nesting in the midst of its folds1 8,how would this go with a choker collar1 ,priddy80 8,put it on first1 ,thropper10 ,i suggested4 ,he fastened it around his high choker collar3 a collar whose pointed fronts might have been successfully used by ,spanish ,inquisitors to make heretics look up continually unless they wished to have holes punctured under their chins4 8,the reason ,i wear this tie10 said ,thropper1 confidentially1 8is because it blocks up my shirt bosom2 hides it and saves washing1 of course4 ,you've got to get on to all those sort of tricks when you work your way through school1 you'll find1 ,priddy4 ,now1 how do ,i look1 eh80 ,i thought him a very attractive ,lothario indeed1 although ,i did not venture so far with an expression of opinion4 ,i merely said1 8,you look slick60 ,as he was leaving the room1 ,thropper suddenly turned and in a very apologetic tone said1 8,i had planned1 ,priddy1 to stay with you tonight1 but you see how it is1 don't you1 old fellow80 8,why1 certainly10 ,i agreed4 8,i wouldn't like to have you miss this chance for anything1 ,thropper4 ,go ahead and good luck60 8,thanks10 he said4 8,you can lock the door when you go to bed if ,i'm not back4 ,you must be tired60 8,yes1 ,i am tired1 ,thropper4 ,i'll sit by the window--and think4 ,good luck to you60 ,he was gone4 ,as his feet echoed in the bare hall1 ,i heard him humming1 like a happy lover1 8,there'll be no dark valley60 ,the evening shadows were gathering outside1 as ,i sat near the window1 looking out4 ,from the village centre came the drawn out stroke of a church bell4 ,then the campus was alive with sounds4 ,the whole ,university seemed astir4 ,some one raised up a window in the second story1 over my head1 and a quiet1 vibrant voice called1 8,hey1 ,brother ,merritt80 ,the man in the next room stopped his strumming on a guitar1 lifted up his window and replied1 8,what80 8,going to the service tonight1 ,brother ,merritt80 ,to which my neighbor answered1 8,no1 ,i'm afraid ,i can't4 ,i'm tired40 ,a door in the next house burst open and a trio of young women gathered on the porch4 8,that's only the first bell10 said one4 8,we shan't have to hurry40 8,i'm glad of that10 replied another1 8for the board walk is just simply terrible in places3 full of holes that we might trip in if we had to run40 ,then their pattering footfalls could be heard growing dimmer and dimmer in the distance on the board walk4 ,little groups of young men hummed hymns as they1 too1 passed ,pungo ,hall on their way to the revival4 ,others laughed and argued4 ,i heard the fragment of one discussion in which three earnest-toned young men were indulging3 8,saint ,paul did make a failure in that ,mar's ,hill speech60 said one1 loudly4 8,it all depends on what you mean by #8failure1'0 replied his antagonist2 8true1 the ,greeks might not have been strongly enthusiastic at the time1 but it seems to me that ,god would use that speech for--,no60 ,the argument was swallowed up in the twilight and the distance4 ,a group of young women swept by the gloom which hung like a mystic veil between me and them4 ,i heard only one sentence of their conversation1 8,fried potatoes--ugh60 ,they were succeeded by a procession of late starters who slipped by shrouded in the gloom1 a happy1 familiar1 shadowy procession ignorant of the lonesome lad who sat back of a window and envied them their evening's excursion4 ,the last of the footsteps died down on the board walk1 as if the last of my generation had left me to occupy the world alone4 ,but the stars came out for friendliness1 ruling over the silences of the campus and rendering it more silent4 ,the tolls of the church bell announced the beginning of the service4 ,when the double stroke had been given for a last warning1 the silence was about me once more4 ,suddenly the troubled cry of a sheep from the back pasture broke out on the night1 a plaintive bleat as if a dog or some prowling beast of prey had been scented4 ,then1 through an open window in the next house1 ,i heard the voice of a girl as it read something1 followed by a deeper voice which said1 8,oh1 yum1 ,i've been dozing1 ,grace60 ,that was followed by a hand which drew apart the curtains1 and soon two girls' heads were outlined against the golden glow in the room1 and one remarked1 8,oh1 what a stupid night60 ,i hurriedly dodged my head into the room1 drew down the window shade and lighted the flaring1 hissing blaze of gas4 ,the whole room was cheapened when the powerful gas light shone on it4 ,the crowded space1 filled with the tawdry effects of my roommate and myself3 the rack of dusty photographs of people ,i had never seen1 the stuffed chair1 the bed quilt1 the water bucket2 all those things oppressed me4 ,i turned off the light and threw myself on the bed determined not to undress till ,thropper's return4 ,i felt the need of ,thropper4 ,it seemed to me that he would cheer me1 hearten me1 be a companion4 ,i began to speculate about ,thropper in a dreamy sort of way4 ,overhead1 some one began to walk back and forth1 back and forth1 monotonously1 humming a tune unknown to me4 ,i listened for the melody hoping to discover that it would be something with which ,i was familiar1 so that ,i could hum it too4 ,but it was suddenly interrupted by a terrific yawn4 ,then the man upstairs said1 8,oh1 ,oh-h-h60 and ,i heard the clatter as a pair of shoes fell on the floor4 ,the man was going to bed4 ,i began to wonder who it was that had been walking and singing and going to bed over my head4 ,i also speculated on the social value of a speaking tube which should connect our rooms4 ,then a long1 long silence1 broken at last by a clatter in the hallway and at last ,thropper's cheery voice1 8,well1 you couldn't wait to undress1 eh1 ,priddy80 8,oh10 ,i mumbled1 8got back80 8,yes10 he laughed4 8,isn't it time80 8,what time is it80 8,nearly ten40 8,i must have been asleep1 ,thropper4 ,the sounds sent me off40 8,you were homesick1 ,i'll bet10 he laughed4 8,that's a fine description of it40 8,it wouldn't be surprising1 would it80 ,i asked4 8,not a bit10 he said1 8but you just wait till you get to know the folks about here1 and you'll get over that40 8,did you have a good service1 ,thropper80 8,oh1 fair10 he replied4 8,fair4 ,miss ,ebberds didn't particularly like the sermon40 8,but she enjoyed the walk to and from it10 ,i laughed4 8,well10 he said earnestly1 8,i know ,i did40 ,while he was preparing himself for bed1 he said1 8,when ,i went out ,i forgot to tell you about the ,scroll4 ,you might have had a good time with it4 ,have you ever seen one80 8,scroll80 8,yes40 8,what is it80 ,thropper plunged into the heart of his trunk again1 and this time extracted a black1 leather case4 ,he opened the front1 turned a knob and unfolded a scriptural panorama of chromo pictures1 depicting the thrilling events which took place in ,eden1 first of all1 and then continuing through the murder of ,abel to the ,flood4 8,i was agent for this last summer10 said ,thropper4 8,look through it1 ,priddy1 it's quite interesting40 ,the ,scroll had unfolded to ,sinai accompanied by a running comment by ,thropper1 which1 itself1 was a panorama of the exciting adventures of a ,scroll agent1 when he heaved a sigh and said1 8,oh1 um60 ,i looked up in time to see him throw himself on his knees at the bed-side1 to bend his head in a cup made by his hands1 for his evening prayer4 ,the ,scroll brought before me the ,tabernacle1 the ,temple1 the victory of ,david over the ,giant in the midst of a profound silence4 ,thropper was still engaged in his devotions as devoutly1 as deeply1 as any ,augustinian monk4 ,the panorama of the ,divine ,plan unfolded the adventures which befell the prophets and came at last to the ,birth of ,christ1 when ,i looked around again to find ,thropper still kneeling at the bed-side4 ,to me it was a display of the prayer-spirit unusual and ,i was just investing my roommate with all the pious dignity of a ,saint1 when a loud1 long-drawn snore came from him4 ,he had fallen asleep6 ,i shook him4 ,he drawled1 as he crept into bed1 8,i'm glad you wakened me1 ,priddy4 ,i fall asleep quite often4 ,one night ,i nearly got frozen to death4 ,i didn't have a roommate4 ,thanks4 ,turn off the light1 won't you40 ,after the ,crucifixion ,i closed the ,scroll and snuggled into bed with ,thropper4 ,my first day in ,evangelical ,university had ended4 ,chapter ,,iv4 ,thundering ,gymnastics4 ,how to ,keep on the ,good ,side of the ,young ,women with ,scriptural ,quotations4 ,the ,establishment of ,friendship4 ,carrying ,water for ,beauty4 ,how ,music may be ,something ,more than ,music4 ,the ,wonderful1 ,austere ,man that ,thropper ,led me to ,i linked myself to the following day's life by clutching the gaudy comforter in both my hands while ,i sat up in bed1 startled by a thundering that shook ,pungo ,hall4 8,what's--that80 ,i gasped1 turning towards ,thropper1 expecting to discover that the vibrations had brought him up in alarm4 8,it's only #8,budd' doing his gymnastics10 he muttered1 drowsily1 8what time80 8,six40 8,better get up and go over to the dining-room at half-past10 he explained4 8,say10 he added1 lifting up his head1 8you wouldn't mind letting me know at twenty minutes past1 would you1 ,priddy80 8,not at all1 ,thropper40 ,he dropped half under the clothes and in a surprising manner was soon invested in all the dignity of thorough repose4 ,from that moment until the clamor of the rising bell1 at half-past six1 the heart of ,pungo ,hall was turned into a huge alarm clock1 for first in this corner1 then in that1 on this floor and then on that1 intermittent clatterings of clocks brought intermittent yawns and mutterings as the different students were signalled by their unsleeping timepieces4 ,every noise seemed to pierce from room to room as if it went through telegraphic sounding boards4 ,splashings1 jumpings1 muttered prayers1 readings aloud1 animated conversations3 these increased as half-past six drew near4 ,the ,monday morning1 with its new week of study1 demanding a fresh enthusiasm after the ,sabbath's interruption1 was not being approached in any business manner4 ,over the banister1 leading to the top floor1 a voice exclaimed1 so that all could hear1 8,say1 ,headstone1 how fine you looked last night with ,her60 ,to which an answer came from a suddenly opened door1 8,thank you60 ,then over that banister1 into the laundry basket1 in a dark corner of the hall1 the bed wash was hurled accompanied by dull thuds4 8,got your quotation80 asked ,thropper1 as he dressed4 8,quotation80 8,yes1 ,bible verse for the tables4 ,you'll probably be asked to give one4 ,you see1 it's a sort of custom for ,bible verses to go the rounds of the tables1 in the morning4 ,you don't have to have one1 but it fits in nicely1 if you have one4 ,especially if you're a waiter40 8,oh1 of course ,i'll take one10 ,i said4 8,only just remember and not do what one waiter did1 ,priddy3 take that verse and quote it3 #8,let your women keep silence in the churches4' ,it would get you in wrong--with the young ladies40 8,why80 8,well1 so many of them are going to be evangelists and ministers and missionaries3 ever so many of them4 ,you see how they would be liable to take it40 8,we had better keep on the good side of--the ladies10 ,i laughed4 ,thropper winked4 8,betcher life10 he replied4 ,just then the head waiter peeped in at the door to say1 8,brother ,priddy1 are you coming across to the dining-room8 ,i'm going over40 ,eager to face my responsibilities of the day in the leadership of somebody ,i accompanied the tall ,german across the road and into the dining-room4 8,black for breakfast and supper4 ,white for dinner10 announced ,brock4 8,i mean the kind of coats that are to be worn10 he explained4 ,while ,i arranged my two tables for twenty people with plates1 knives and forks1 milk in granite-ware pitchers1 sliced bread1 corn bread left over from the previous night's meal1 tomato butter1 and dishes of crisp1 browned1 fried potatoes1 the other waiters came in and greeted me with hearty1 8,morning's60 8,howdy's60 and 8,hello1 ,priddy's60 which had the effect of making me feel in strong fellowship with them1 although our acquaintance was but a day and a night old1 at the utmost4 ,brock smiled at all these evidences of friendship1 and whispered1 as he showed me how to arrange the breakfast things1 8,things are going well1 eh80 8,yes10 ,i muttered1 8if ,i can manage not to drop another tray60 ,then the breakfast bell brought the hurried1 chattering1 hungry crowd of young men and women into the room again1 though1 at this meal1 they were less formidable in their every-day clothes4 ,some brought books1 others writing pads4 ,fountain pens and pencils projected from the outer pockets of the men1 and were stabbed in the hair of the women4 ,my tables were soon lined with students4 ,they1 too1 seemed to have met me1 long ago1 in the remote past and to some of them ,i must have been at least a third cousin or present at a family party1 so freely and lavishly did the greetings come3 greetings that put me at my ease because ,i felt that they came from sincere hearts4 ,the floor was ready to bend under the weight of the crowd that stood waiting behind the chairs for ,brock's signal to sit4 ,like a stern1 powerful1 determining ,ruler1 the head waiter stood at the opposite end of the room1 with his eye on his watch1 not willing to press his thumb on the ,sunday-,school bell until the instant seven o'clock arrived4 ,eyes looked longingly on the hot1 fried potatoes4 ,it was no use4 ,seven o'clock was a minute off4 ,some rumbled the legs of the chairs4 ,to no purpose4 ,the ,german had patience4 ,finally the snap of the bell sent every man and woman to the table accompanied by the roar of scraping chairs1 thumping feet1 and expressions of satisfaction4 ,near the head of my first table sat a very young1 pink-cheeked ,southern girl possessed of charming1 gracious ways4 ,her 8,mr4 ,priddy1 please1 a spoon10 was as musical as ever a request could be4 ,it made me feel sorry that the spoon was not gold instead of ,german metal4 ,consequently1 when she asked me for a third glass of water during the first five minutes of breakfast1 it was no small happiness for me to secure it1 as speedily as possible1 for her4 ,but on my return with the third glass her neighbor asked for one4 ,on my return with that1 the ,southern girl had her glass emptied4 ,so it went for ten minutes3 each one of them drinking amounts of water sufficient for ducks or geese to swim in--it seemed to me4 ,finally1 on picking up a fork some one had let fall on the floor1 ,i saw several glasses1 full to the brim with water1 under the ,southern girl's chair4 ,she had been initiating me4 ,with a broad wink at the others1 ,i very slyly sprinkled some pepper on the glass of water before her when her head was turned and then waited for results4 ,they soon came4 ,she reached for her glass1 took a sip1 and then commenced to choke4 8,what is the matter1 miss80 ,i asked1 8will you have some more water80 ,she looked at me in resentful astonishment1 at first1 and then seeing that the others at the table were laughing1 she joined in with them1 saying1 8,who peppered the water80 8,was there pepper in the water80 asked one across the table4 ,there the matter ended1 although1 when in a spirit of boastfulness ,i recounted the experience at the waiter's table1 ,brock chided me by saying1 8,you will have to be careful4 ,we must have discipline1 brother ,priddy60 ,thropper was waiting for me1 after breakfast1 when the call to chapel sounded3 the first exercise of the day4 ,we joined the procession of students which moved swiftly towards the central building4 ,into it the procession hurried1 racing against the tolling of the bell4 ,then followed a tiresome climb up three pairs of stairs to the topmost room of all1 used for a chapel4 ,an attic room1 square and dimly lighted by dormer windows4 ,the roof girders overhead clung together like knitted arms bent on holding together such a load of humanity as trusted to them4 ,against the wall1 opposite the door1 spread a broad platform with a semi-circle of male and female faculty arrayed on it4 ,before it1 and awed into respectful silence by it1 spread a fan of students1 sitting in chairs1 by groups4 ,i sat at the heart of ,evangelical ,university4 ,this chapel1 in its plainness1 its bareness1 its poverty1 formed the pivot on which the life of the ,university swung2 for here the religious faith and doctrine which were the most eagerly sought gifts of the place were received4 ,here1 in these simple chairs1 was where men and women found ,god3 the highest advertisement of the ,university4 ,the doors closed out late-comers4 ,a hymn was sung4 ,this has been said1 and echoed many a time3 that a hymn was sung4 ,but this first hymn ,i heard1 proceeding from over a hundred hearts1 should not be plainly1 unemphatically said to have been merely sung4 ,if each word be trebly underscored and trebly emphasized1 then1 one may say1 a hymn was sung that morning1 for to me1 the first bar of melody seemed to be the onrush of an ,angelic symphony through a suddenly opened door of ,heaven6 ,were they common men and women who were singing with such resonant exultation6 ,the boarded ceiling and the huge square attic room throbbed with it4 ,rapture1 adoration1 victory1 joy unspeakable weighted down each note as the melody unfolded itself4 ,the reliant basses1 anchored to the background of the melody--a resonant1 manly anchorage--made sudden excursions into the higher realms of the theme1 but not to displace the tenors whose shrill praises were the nearest to what a hammer stroke on a bar of silver would produce4 ,the dulcet altos1 as rich depths of throat as any one might expect1 entwined themselves in and out of the sopranos' soaring1 singing as if to keep those higher voices from too suddenly darting past the doors of ,heaven and surprising ,god4 ,that was no mere singing of a hymn4 ,it was a hymn for the love of the hymn2 singing for the pure love of singing4 ,or1 better1 a spiritual exercise that could certainly be no more willingly or much better done in a morning rehearsal of the ,court melodists6 8,wonderful60 ,i gasped to ,thropper1 whose tenor had added much to the dignity of that part4 8,they do sing well1 don't they80 he commented4 ,a demure little woman in black1 with a very set1 white face1 came to the reading desk and read a scripture lesson4 ,then the sober ,dean1 whose eyes knew every thought in that room and said so1 gave some notices4 ,there followed a prayer whose outstanding character was earnestness of expression1 of theme1 of length4 ,then the whole service was embroidered by three verses of another hymn1 after which we fell in orderly lines and marched through the open doors1 where an electric gong broke up the line into unorganized groups1 scattering for the classrooms4 8,now for the ,president's office10 announced ,thropper1 abruptly4 ,but a sudden pang of fear whipped across my thoughts4 8,oh1 suppose ,i can't enter1 ,thropper60 ,i exclaimed4 8,it has tasted so good1 thus far60 ,he patted me on the back1 in his manly way1 did ,thropper1 and heartened me by saying1 8,well1 ,priddy1 if you like the first taste1 ,i guess you'll stay for the whole meal--if you are hungry60 8,thanks1 old fellow10 ,i said4 8,take me to the ,president60 ,he led me downstairs into a very busy office where some young women were typewriting1 inscribing books1 and where one dudish young man with up-combed1 wavy hair1 was flirting with a pretty1 tan-cheeked girl who was supposed to be engrossed in the task of trimming a window shelf of geraniums4 ,thropper was told that the ,president was engaged and that we should have to wait our turn4 ,so we sat in high-backed chairs1 in line with three others1 where ,i waited with a palpitating heart that began to spell panic if my turn were delayed much longer4 ,to increase this threatened panic of courage1 ,thropper began to whisper terrible things about the ,president3 how he was a wonderful reader of books and had a mentality and memory so well disciplined that he was able to read an entire page at a mere glance and be able to pass an exacting examination on its contents a day afterwards6 ,thropper also whispered in an awe-struck voice1 8,the ,president just feeds on learning6 ,he can speak in ten different languages1 read in fifteen1 about1 and think in twelve3 so they say4 ,you mustn't fool with him or tell him any funny stories6 ,he'd never get over it1 ,priddy4 ,now1 come on1 it's your turn4 ,i'll introduce you and leave you with him60 ,my sensitive imagination enkindled by all that ,thropper had fed me on1 in the waiting room1 ,i appeared before the ,president considerably unnerved4 ,he sat behind his desk1 waiting for me3 the embodiment of every austere report ,i had heard4 ,his mouth twitched2 twitched all the time4 ,his eyes shone as brightly as those of an aroused lion from the dark mask of a cave4 ,it was a race between his mouth and his eyes3 the mouth slipped in and out1 lip over lip1 lip under and over lip1 while those two small eyes snapped back and forth with electric suddenness4 ,his gaunt features had the pallor of death4 ,a world of woe1 of hunger1 of intellectual dissipation could be read in him4 ,he tried to compose his features into a smile of welcome when he saw me1 but it seemed so unusual a thing for those ascetic signs to be disturbed by the intrusion of anything pleasurable1 that the first attempt ended in a sad failure4 ,he did not try again4 ,his voice was tired when he spoke4 ,it had neither vibration nor health in it4 ,i stood before that presence chilled1 uninspired1 while a strong temptation to flight pulled on my courage4 8,sir10 began ,thropper1 fingering his cap1 8,i've brought ,mr4 ,priddy in4 ,he came yesterday1 and ,i've been letting him share my room till he saw you40 8#8,had seen1' you should say1 sir10 corrected the ,president1 8if you are after the proper tense of the verb4 ,you may go40 ,thropper sighed deeply as he left1 probably over the grammatical correction just imposed on him4 ,a seat was indicated and ,i was asked to place myself in it4 ,then the ,president said1 8,just tell your story in your own way till ,i interrupt you1 young man40 ,thereupon ,i went into such minute details about myself1 that ,i soon brought from the official a grunt of impatience4 8,no10 he said1 8,i'm not a bit eager to know how many times your family has moved about the country4 ,i want to know the salient things about you yourself40 8,i've been working in the mill till last week10 ,i said4 8,i always have been eager to get an education4 ,i haven't been able to save any money4 ,i heard about this place4 ,i came on4 ,if you can't take me1 then please let me live here2 just live here1 it will do me good even if ,i don't take any studies4 ,i can work out and earn my board1 ,i promise you4 ,i have been earning my own living for a long time now1 sir40 8,how much money have you brought80 he asked4 8,three dollars10 ,i said4 8,but you don't need to take me in yet1 sir10 ,i explained1 hurriedly1 for ,i felt that he would surely turn me off4 8,a young woman came here1 last year1 with just four cents in her pocket and only her own strength to rely upon1 young man10 replied the ,president4 8,her own strength and ,god to rely upon1 ,i should say1 sir40 8,yes80 8,there are several here who1 at middle age1 have arrived with wives and families and hardly more than enough to keep them a week1 save their own strength and ,god's40 8,yes80 8,there is one student here who1 at forty-five1 has given up his position in business to begin in the lowest grade of study1 with arithmetic1 that he may receive an education40 8,yes1 sir40 8,so that you1 with your youth1 your three dollars1 your opportunity1 ought really to get along fairly well here40 8,if you take me1 sir80 8,do you think we would turn you off1 young man80 8,you mean that you'll give me a chance1 then80 ,i cried1 in great exultation at his quiet words4 ,at last a faint smile did untangle itself from his austere line4 8,you are already earning your board in the dining-hall1 ,i understand40 8,yes1 sir40 8,that leaves merely the small item of tuition and room rent4 ,i think that you will be able to find enough work about the campus and in the village to arrange for the payment of that4 ,if not1 you should be able to earn enough next summer to do it40 8,just the thing1 sir10 ,i cried4 8,i'll do it6 ,here is the first payment40 ,i handed him the three dollars4 ,he waved his hand4 8,keep them for necessities10 he said4 8,there is no hurry4 ,god is back of us1 young man1 and will raise up friends for us4 ,i want you to work hard and make of yourself a useful man in the world4 ,we have no luxuries here4 ,it is plain living and high thinking3 the two essential equipments of manhood1 ,i believe4 ,if you will share our hardships faithfully and work hard1 we welcome you to us4 ,that is all4 ,now we will see about your list of studies40 ,after fifteen minutes' appraisement of my intellectual attainments and of my intellectual aim1 the ,president made me out a list of subjects with such diverse studies on it as3 ,beginning ,grammar1 ,church history1 elementary arithmetic1 ,jevon's ,logic1 elementary ,latin1 typewriting and zology6 ,i hurried from the office1 with the card1 to attend my first class1 the first real step in my higher education1 the class in ,church history6 ,chapter ,v4 ,pungo ,hall's ,occupants3 ,estes ,who ,planned to ,take a ,tent and ,plant it in the ,midst of the ,world's ,sin2 of the ,little ,man ,who ,fled from the ,chidings of a #8,d4 ,d4'3 of ,calloused ,hands and ,showing ,how #8,pa' ,borden was ,beaten by the ,grass ,widower with the ,long ,hair ,every scar that a sin may leave1 every phase of ambition made possible in a democratic world1 every type of dramatic character3 these ,i found in ,pungo ,dormitory4 ,as to a shelter from the world's temptations had come firm-lipped1 tense-browed men in middle life4 ,as to the door which led into serviceable adventures1 had come stout-hearted1 finely-fibred but poor youths4 ,evangelical ,university meant more than a place where one could get a formal education4 ,to some it meant a haven from a rough sea3 a sea so rough1 indeed1 that but for the harbor must have wrecked them inevitably4 ,the sea1 for instance1 on which ,estes1 in ,number #ah1 had found such tempestuous experiences4 ,to imagine ,estes you have to think of two small1 very glistening black eyes shining through a forest of beard like hut lights gleaming like faint stars in the midst of a dense grove4 ,that was all you noticed1 at first1 about him1 for his body was insignificant1 unimportant4 ,the little knobs of cheek that came between the eyes and the black beard shone with a dull red glow1 like flesh that the winds and the frosts had hardened and tinted4 ,when on the campus1 ,estes crowned his blackish head with a cow-boy's sombrero1 worn at a rakish1 foppish slant1 as if he were trying to be reminiscent of a ,mexican seor4 ,a man to be called merely a poseur when met on the campus or in the classroom1 with his arithmetic1 his grammar1 his ,english history1 and his black teacher's ,bible in the crook of his arm2 a thirty-seven-year-old man with his foot on the first rung of the educational ladder4 ,to most of the students he was known only in the rle of 8elementary student40 ,but in the confidence of his chamber1 among his selected friends1 when he opened his record1 it was akin to the opening of furnace doors to show the furious white heat of a man's sinful passion and the dark1 twisting1 sulphurous smoke of criminal deceit4 ,he had betrayed men and women in selfish conspiracies2 had drowned his wit in seas of alcohol2 had abandoned his mother and family to the cruelties of poverty and illness2 had stolen money and honor from his fellows2 had mixed in the cheap and petty evil sports of sailors and tramps2 had roamed through the land in the guise of an ,indian doctor selling watery and greasy medicaments under a hissing1 gasolene torch to confiding purchasers2 had held responsible positions in shops2 had--there seemed to be no end to his adventures in which the coloring always turned out to be the fact that in all of them he had introduced elements of sin1 of criminality1 of cruelty4 ,they always ended against those grim stone walls6 ,after walking through the pages of several high-strung romances of vagabondage and clap-trap he had turned to ,evangelical ,university as to the mould for a new character which was to form him over1 not only into a socialized being1 but into a serviceable1 spiritual servant2 for after he should have had ingrained on him the elementary knowledge of ,grammar1 ,bible1 and ,history1 he planned to take a tent into the world1 set it in the midst of the slums for a season1 and nightly exhort bad men to become good with the same fervid impulsiveness with which he had formerly exhorted them1 under the yellow blaze of gasolene lamps1 to buy pills and medicine-cure-alls4 ,in room 8#bj0 dwelt a student of an opposite type who embodied in an eloquent degree the strength and adventure to which ambition may attain4 8,dr40 ,upwell was a little north-of-,ireland ,scotchman1 past his forty-third summer3 an ordained clergyman in an energetic denomination4 ,he was one of those unfortunate men--of which there are a sad number in the pastorate--who1 in a moment of illogical frailty had succumbed to the temptation which a letter offered1 of securing for a trivial sum of dollars the dignified1 honorary degree of 8,doctor of ,divinity40 ,at first the privilege of adding two capital 8,d's0 to his name1 on his letter heads1 his visiting cards1 his church advertisements in the ,saturday evening paper1 and on the gold-lettered sign in front of his church1 had been highly appraised4 ,those two 8,d's0 had added almost a furlong to his mental egoism4 ,he felt himself admitted to the highest peak where dwelt the chosen theological giants4 ,but finally1 after much thinking--for ,upwell was at heart an honorable man--conscience had asserted itself with a flaming manifestation that shrivelled up this mental egoism and left inside the poor man's mind a mass of smoking1 smouldering remorse which no amount of 8,poohing0 could quench4 ,conscience1 in that sure way it has1 and blunt1 kept saying3 8,you are not worthy of the #8,d4,d4' ,in the first place1 you are ill furnished with education4 ,you have never been under the discipline of a school4 ,what you have is merely the results of desultory home reading4 ,you have never accomplished anything worthy of a #8,d4,d4' honor4 ,you are minister to a handful of farmers1 in an isolated community1 in a church which pays a salary of five hundred and fifty dollars a year--when it does4 ,you have never made more than four speeches in ,conference1 and they were in debate--remarks from the floor1 in which the ,chairman found you #8out-of-order' twice6 ,you have played no heroic part in social reform or made any spiritual stir4 ,the degree was purchased because you were selfishly ambitious4 ,it was sold to you in cold blood by a college that funded itself1 partly1 by such sales4 ,suppose that ,peter1 when you came to the gates of ,heaven1 should ask you1 #8,upwell1 give me name1 dignities1 and titles6' what would you reply8 #8,chadworth ,upwell1 ,doctor of ,divinity6' with a host of angels to laugh at you8 ,not so4 ,you would feel cheap1 miserable60 ,thus stung more and more into remorse1 the little ,scotchman had finally been driven out to seek a place where1 at least1 he could be worthy of his ill-gotten honorary degree4 ,he had come to ,evangelical ,university to fill the mind with theology1 ethics1 history1 and literature1 so that at the end of a year or two there might be some degree of merit and fitness when he placed 8,d4,d40 after his name6 ,of course1 ,upwell did not put it in that bald way1 but from the persistency with which he rolled the 8,d4,d40 under his tongue1 while criticizing the possession of it1 it was not difficult to know that he would never bury it4 ,in ,pungo ,hall ,i came face to face with young men to whom the gates of educational privilege had been closed until they1 like myself1 were on the threshold of young manhood4 ,they had come from the hearts of coal mines and breakers1 bringing their life's dreams with them1 and an indomitable purpose4 ,every penny they spent for books and board had been earned by the sweat of their brow4 ,they had come1 many of them1 from far-away farms and from the ,southern mountain fastnesses where life's expressions of hope and desire were to be seen in crude form2 where they found that it took the 8breath of an ideal to blow the dust off the actual40 ,hands ,i shook1 in fellowship1 that were scarred from hard toil1 calloused through contact with the tools of labor4 ,the comprehensiveness of the curriculum of ,evangelical ,university was shown in the case of the ,borden family4 ,i became intimately acquainted with the head of the family1 ,julius ,borden1 while cutting sugar-cane on the ,university farm4 ,julius was a pale edition of ,falstaff3 fat1 self-sufficient1 self-important1 with a scraggly yellowish moustache half screening his pouting lips1 and with a triple chin constantly slipping like a worm back and forth over the folds of the points of his collar4 ,mr4 ,borden1 even at forty-two1 after the discipline of business1 married life1 and children1 took himself too seriously4 ,he spoke with hesitating precision1 though not with grammatical fluency1 as if he had predetermined that no word should ever come from the depths of his profundity that did not aptly fit into the seriousness of life4 ,the merest word ,i flung at him became a challenge that could be answered only when the hoe had been put down1 the moustache pulled1 the brows contracted in thought1 and the throat cleared4 ,when ,i greeted him with a trivial1 8,how do60 he could not trust himself to reply with audible words2 he wanted me to take his acquiescence for granted--,i could see it by the surprised look in his eyes4 ,as he had been a success at the grave-stone business1 had been married the longest of any of the married students1 and possessed the most children1 he seemed to realize that these were tokens of superior power when compared to our bachelor1 or the other married students' bridal1 limitations4 ,he fairly withered our proffered suggestions or theories or criticisms1 with his weighty authoritative1 8,i've seen so much1 you see60 ,it was1 in his own estimation1 equal to a hurricane from the ,talmud blowing on the chaff of the ,apocrypha4 ,by reason of this constantly paraded wisdom1 ,julius soon became current on the campus as 8,pa0 ,borden4 ,he had given up his grave-stone business2 had brought his money1 his wife1 and two children to the ,university for a 8family fitting0 as he termed it2 much as a farmer goes to the general store with his family to be clothed1 shoed1 and candied4 ,the wife1 at her marriage1 had just graduated from a high school1 so that she entered the collegiate department of the ,university1 on her way towards an ,a4,b4 to be earned outside of the chicken-raising in which she indulged4 ,jack1 a quick-witted lad of twelve1 found a place in the elementary classes1 by the side of ,estes1 two ,porto ,ricans1 a ,japanese1 a missionary's little girl1 and several other students who had to commence at the bottom of the educational scale4 ,edith1 a romantic-eyed daughter1 who wore ,scotch-plaid dresses and ,sis ,hopkins' braids1 was plunging through the ,college ,preparatory division close on the heels of her mother4 ,the father1 least of the family in school discipline1 had to humble himself so low as to take his place with a backward grass widower in a 8,b0 section of the grammar class because of his tendency to forget1 after a day1 the relations and distinctions between verbs and nouns and the various other members of the grammar family4 ,but ,julius saw to it that besides the baneful necessity of his humble place in the grammar class he came to a proper level in those studies in which he could express his preference4 ,he revelled in the ,bible class1 the ,historical and the ,oratorical classes to his heart's content1 but though he shone creditably in them1 he never could quite clear himself from the 8,b0 section of the grammar class2 grammar being his thorn in the flesh1 as he testified in one evening's prayer-meeting1 when the ,apostle ,paul and his historic affliction was the lesson4 ,even the backward grass widower1 who had a thick mass of shining curls and intended becoming a temperance 8orator0 finally graduated from the 8,b0 section1 thereby heightening the shame of poor ,julius1 who seemed predestined to do poorly with the science of speech1 and forever linger in the shadow of the 8poor-doers40 ,chapter ,,vi4 ,financial ,pessimism ,taken in ,hand by ,thropper and ,shown in its ,real ,light4 ,a ,turkish ,rug that ,smoked4 ,a ,poet in ,search of ,kerosene4 ,wonderful ,antics of an ,ironing-,board4 ,economy at a ,tub4 ,three more ,waiting for it ,after ,brock's ,bath4 ,the ,chemical ,reduction of a ,cauldron of ,tomatoes into ,something ,sweet ,my capital of three dollars was very quickly expended4 ,after ,i had spent the last quarter of a dollar for writing paper and pens1 my pockets were as empty as they were the hour ,i bought my suit from the ,jewish merchant4 ,i stood penniless in the first week of my educational career3 a realization that brought out every atom of self-distrust1 philosophical pessimism and gloomy foreboding4 ,i had been completely dependent upon nickels and half dollars previously4 ,i had not moved without they paved the way4 ,nothing of enjoyment and privilege had been secured without money4 ,theatres1 games1 parties1 trips2 these had always made their call on my spending money4 ,now ,i stood facing an academic career absolutely without a penny and with no possible hope that in the outside world there would ever be any benefactor to forward one4 ,i was stranded4 ,i thought of the students who relied upon monthly checks from home or from friends4 ,i thought of the students who had their own bank accounts which would carry them through the school4 ,i thought1 with a kindling of envy1 of the students who the previous summer had earned the following year's expenses4 ,i secured a minimum of comfort from such reflections4 ,they plunged me deeper and deeper into the gulping pit that sucks enthusiasm out of life4 ,thropper found me1 standing by the window1 indulging in such a dispiriting review of my prospects4 ,in his bustling way he shouted3 8,well1 ,priddy1 what's the row now1 eh80 8,i shouldn't be--here10 ,i choked4 8,well10 he exclaimed1 8,i thought you'd get 'em--soon40 8,what do you mean1 ,thropper80 8,homesick blues1 that's all4 ,you've got every symptom showing1 ,priddy4 ,they're on you1 all right40 8,i'm not homesick1 ,thropper10 ,i blurted out4 8,i have no reason to be homesick4 ,it's not that at all4 ,i'm fretting about money3 that's all40 8,the root of all evil10 he mocked4 8,wrong there1 ,thropper40 ,i half smiled1 cheered beyond measure by his banter4 8,i heard a preacher say that the ,bible said1 #8,the love of money is the root of evil4'0 8,well10 bluffed ,thropper1 8what's the difference8 ,wherever you find money you find the love of it4 ,they are synonymous40 8,i'm in no danger from either1 about this time1 ,thropper4 ,i haven't a cent to my name1 and as ,i search the future ,i don't see a prospect of any except ,i give up the ,university40 8,that needn't worry you1 ,priddy60 ,i looked at my roommate in amazement4 ,he was not smiling4 ,in fact1 he was looking very seriously at me4 8,not worry me80 ,i gasped4 8,that's comforting1 to be sure60 8,what have you got to worry about80 he asked4 8,what--worry about80 ,i stammered1 not falling in with his mood4 8,yes4 ,tell me60 8,in the first place10 ,i explained1 8you know that ,i had but three dollars--three--t-h-r-e-e1 three1 d-o-l-l-a-r-s1 dollars2 three dollars--to begin my education with40 8,yes40 8,i don't think ,i told you that ,i shall never expect any help from the outside2 that if ,i stay here ,i shall have to rely entirely on what ,i can earn with my own hands40 8,i see40 8,well60 8,well80 8,well60 8,well80 8,isn't it clear1 ,thropper80 8,isn't what clear80 8,the predicament ,i'm in40 8,predicament80 8,of course60 ,i retorted1 impatiently4 8,what else is it for a fellow to be stranded as ,i am8 ,you surely wouldn't call it a blessing1 would you80 8,i might60 8,what60 ,then ,thropper1 without another word1 deliberately turned inside out each pocket that he owned and deposited in my hands the following items3 ,a well-worn ink and pencil eraser1 a fountain pen1 a stub of a ,dixon's indelible pencil1 some blurred pencil notes1 a half-dozen toothpicks1 a crumpled letter1 a bunch of keys1 a bachelor button1 two handkerchiefs1 and fifteen cents in two nickels and five coppers4 8,there10 he sighed4 8,that's all4 ,there's not a penny in my trunk4 ,the money represents my worldly fortunes--until ,i go out and earn more4 ,i1 too1 have to rely upon my own efforts4 ,shake1 ,priddy60 ,the big-hearted fellow reached for my empty hand and gave it a vigorous shaking4 8,you're not bad off60 he declared4 8,let me tell you why4 ,you see10 he went on to explain1 8after you've got in the swing of things here1 you become somewhat of a social or economic philosopher4 ,you're rich1 ,priddy60 ,he smiled benevolently on me4 8,what do you mean80 ,i demanded4 8,you're ,english1 aren't you80 8,of course40 8,that accounts for it1 probably40 8,accounts for what80 8,your high and exalted estimate put on money necessary to get you through college4 ,i understand that across the water it is only the rich and the noble who are welcomed to the colleges2 that the mass of workers have come to respect education accordingly4 ,at least1 that is the idea one gets through the books and magazine articles which have to do with ,english college life4 ,whether it is true or not is another matter4 ,anyway1 ,priddy1 you've got to understand that things are different in ,america4 ,our colleges are democratic and extremely practical4 ,now take yourself1 for instance2 you have come out here regarding it impossible for you to move hand or foot towards your education without money in your pocket4 ,things are so arranged that you don't need to give yourself much trouble on that account4 ,you say you've got no money and that you ought to get away from here1 on that account4 ,that's the way thousands of plow boys and machine tenders are arguing1 only they say1 #8,we haven't any money2 therefore we've no chance to get to college4'0 8,i know that's so10 ,i interrupted4 8,you see this arm10 and ,thropper made a sledge-hammer of his right arm1 bringing his clenched fist down on his table4 8,that represents my endowment of good health and strength4 ,how much is that worth1 in terms of dollars earned in a year during spare time1 ,priddy80 8,why--,i--0 8,sixty-five dollars during school terms last year1 outside of vacations3 sixty-five dollars earned at odd jobs during ,saturdays and odd hours10 he said4 8,all the spare cash ,i was called upon to spend4 ,of course in the summer1 by canvassing stereoscopic views1 ,i cleared sixty-seven more1 above my expenses4 ,that's what the arm stands for4 ,its strength is convertible into cash almost any day that ,i care to go out and earn it--keeping on with my studies1 too1 of course40 8,but ,i'm earning my board by waiting on table10 ,i urged2 8that does not touch my tuition and room rent1 ,thropper40 8,which amounts to about thirty dollars outside of board10 he laughed4 8,you aren't worth much if you can't earn that in a year and keep on with your studies1 ,priddy4 ,i think you're lucky1 that's what ,i think1 in earning your board so easily4 ,that's the big item60 8,but what can ,i find to do8 ,i can't leave the campus4 ,i have to be around for the meal hours40 ,thropper went over to his desk and secured a brown-backed account book1 and read off the following list3 8,stacking books in the library1 twelve cents an hour4 ,wheeling ,professor ,dix's invalid aunt in wheel chair1 twelve cents an hour and dinner4 ,scrubbing floors in ,university ,hall1 twelve cents an hour4 ,weeding garden1 cutting sugar-cane1 thawing frozen gas pipes1 grading lawn1 kneading bread1 cleaning black-boards1 ringing bell1 watchman1 running washing-machines1 errands1 pruning trees1 dusting ,professor ,harvey's insects2 all twelve cents an hour1 ,priddy4 ,the list of my chores for last year4 ,possibilities for you1 my boy60 8,oh1 ,i see60 8,feel better1 now80 ,i smiled and then said1 feelingly1 to my roommate3 8,thropper1 you'd be worth ten dollars an hour in a hospital bracing up discouraged financiers2 that you would60 8,oh1 ,i don't know10 he answered1 pleased with what ,i said4 8,i've been up against it myself1 ,priddy4 ,i understand1 that's all40 8,have been up against it80 ,i gasped4 8,thropper1 ,i guess you should put it in the present tense3 are up against it4 ,here is your fifteen cents1 your present fortune4 ,what are you going to do about money80 8,oh1 me80 ,he felt under his table and brought out to view a tin lunch box made to resemble a bundle of school books4 8,i'll have that filled on ,saturday morning at six o'clock1 put on these--0 he rumbled behind his clothes-screen and threw a pair of dirty overalls on the floor and a soft1 black shirt--8and go to my regular ,saturday job in the glass factory4 ,a dollar and fifty for the day2 regular as the week comes around4 ,that's the way ,i take care of myself1 ,priddy60 8,but when ,i work for the ,university ,i don't get cash1 do ,i1 ,thropper80 8,no10 he said1 8it goes on your bill4 ,but you won't find it hard to get along without money here10 he said1 8there isn't much that you can buy1 outside of clothes and a lecture in the village once in a while4 ,you'll soon become accustomed to getting along without cash1 all right40 ,when ,saturday morning arrived1 it was a distinct surprise to hear ,thropper moving in the room first1 for he usually had droned while ,i prepared for the day's work4 ,i opened my eyes4 ,the alarm clock on the table told me that it was half-past five4 ,i watched my roommate as he donned his working clothes and put on a slouch hat4 8,an ,englishman would call you a #8navvy1'0 ,i smiled4 8,i should think an ,american would call me a tramp60 he replied4 8,but you ought to see some of the ,bulgarians ,i have to work with60 ,he spread out his hands expressively to indicate that whatever the ,bulgarians did look like1 he had not the rhetoric available at that moment with which to describe them4 ,there came a knock on the door and in response to ,thropper's cheery 8,come in60 there appeared another 8tramp0 with his lunch box2 a tall1 high-cheek-boned ,southerner1 named ,tripp1 who drawled1 8,best be gettin' deown1 ,thropper60 ,so with a good-bye1 ,thropper left the room1 turning to tell me that if ,i found time1 ,i might clean up the room--in his absence4 8,be sure and shake the ,turkish rugs10 he laughed1 pointing to the patches of well-worn carpet that were used for rugs4 8,when you shake them you'll find them very ,turkish2 they smoke60 ,by the time the early lunch for the workers had ended1 there were seven 8tramps0 who went to the glass factory with ,thropper4 ,included among them were two students1 whom1 judged by their excellent dress and their social graces on the campus1 ,i had thought were none other than the sons of wealthy parents4 ,when the ,bible verses had been given at the tables and after the last slice of fried potato had been scraped out of the dish1 the students hurried from the room and disposed themselves for work4 ,as ,i left the dining-hall1 ,i saw young women with duster caps on their heads1 leaning out of dormitory windows shaking rugs2 others ,i found hurrying down to other dormitories with bundles of laundry4 ,when ,i arrived in ,pungo ,hall1 ,i was greeted with the thumping of brushes1 the clatter of furniture1 and the shouts of the men as they called to one another above the clouds of dust that were being hurled from the rooms into the hallway4 ,a knock came on my door as ,i started to sweep the room1 and ,jason1 the poet1 poking his long neck around the corner of the door-post1 asked in the most concerned way imaginable1 8,brother ,priddy1 is the kerosene can here80 8,why--no1 ,i haven't seen it4 ,what do you do with kerosene8 ,don't you burn gas80 ,jason blushed1 and then replied1 8,oh--we--er--use the kerosene for beds60 ,illustration3 ,,jason1 ,,the ,,poet1 ,,looked ,,in 8,beds80 8,to subdue those fiery creatures who domicile in beds60 he affirmed4 8,oh1 bugs60 ,i blurted with such roughness that it must have made his sensitive and poetic nerves clang4 ,at eight o'clock a group of students1 with clean collars and well-pressed clothes1 came down from the ,university building1 each carrying an ironing-board1 to be sold in some nearby town4 ,this ironing-board was entirely unlike every other ironing-board invented by man or woman4 ,it was the product of the fertile and practical mind of our mathematical professor2 its chief virtues being1 as described in the prospectus1 that 8it stands up like a soldier1 kneels down like a camel1 and folds up like a jack-knife60 ,with all its novelty1 it was extremely practical and1 the agents reported1 sold well4 ,a large number of useful citizens are out in the serviceable centres of life1 who1 if they ever choose a coat of arms will have to adorn their shield with an ironing-board--8rampant10 for to it they owe much of the financial lubrication which smoothed their passage through the school4 ,hurrying after the same train were three young women1 each armed with a book1 on their way to make fifty per cent from literary householders4 ,at different hours of the morning other students went to the village where every sort of task from house-cleaning to raking up dead gardens was undertaken4 ,evangelical ,university was at work4 ,the head waiter1 ,brock1 came into the room as ,i was cleaning it and said3 8,priddy1 has any one been in after the tub80 8,the tub80 8,yes1 and the rubbing board60 8,i didn't know those things were here40 8,your roommate and ,i have a whole laundry set on shares4 ,look in my room and you'll see the irons2 the flat-irons40 8,no1 the tub and the board are not here10 ,i reported1 after a search4 ,the tall ,german went into the hall1 raised his voice in a great1 resounding shout3 8,the wash tub6 ,who has it80 ,a door at the end of the hallway opened and a voice replied3 8,just rinsing out my shirt1 ,brock4 ,have it in a jiffy60 ,a few minutes later ,brock called to me from his room4 ,when ,i presented myself before him1 ,i discovered him with his sleeves rolled up1 busily engaged in pouring hot water from a kettle over some shirts and handkerchiefs4 8,any white things of yours1 handkerchiefs or shirts1 ,priddy10 he announced1 8might just as well go in with mine40 ,so we shared the wash that morning4 ,after they had been rinsed1 ,i carried them to the rear of the building and hung them on a double wire line where the gas-laden air from the sheep pastures hummed through them and the sun burned them dry in an hour4 ,that same afternoon1 after having expressed to ,brock my desire for extra work in the hours when ,i was not on duty in the dining-hall1 ,i found myself standing over an immense cauldron under which blazed a hot camp-fire4 ,in the cauldron were bushels of tomatoes and many pounds of sugar4 ,with a long ladle ,i stirred the concoction until nine o'clock that night1 save for the interruption of supper1 and by that time ,i had the satisfaction of seeing it turn from a vivid pink to a dark red until it turned into a tarty1 pasty preserve1 not unlike strawberry damson in appearance4 ,that night there went on the ,university records1 against my name1 8,to seven hours' labor1 at #ab cents1 4#hd40 ,i had paid that much1 that week1 towards my tuition4 ,chapter ,,vii4 ,an ,academic ,ride in ,five ,carriages at ,once4 ,a ,business ,appeal ,mixed in with the ,order of ,creation4 ,is it ,best for a ,man to ,marry his ,first ,love4 ,a ,sleuth-,dean4 ,a ,queen's ,birthday ,supper with an ,athletic ,conclusion4 ,jerry ,birch ,stands up for ,albion4 ,how we ,tamed him ,the terror that at first had been imposed upon me by the sense of my own ignorance1 a terror which had led me to think that at twenty years of age no ambitious youth could at all fit into the educational scheme1 died down quite rapidly at ,evangelical ,university4 ,the curriculum there was no arbitrary imposition1 as it is so commonly in the ,four-,hundred-,dollar-a-,year ,university1 into which a student must fit himself willy-nilly1 and to which he must either conform or not approach4 ,the ,evangelical ,university curriculum was made to bend to the needs of an illiterate man of forty and to the advanced demands of the graduate who sought his doctorate in ,philosophy4 ,its principle was that of intellectual service to fit the needs of all who come whether poorly fitted1 old or poor4 ,estes1 8,pa0 ,borden1 myself and many others1 who certainly would not have had the chance for inspiration offered us in hundreds of dignified schools1 especially on such terms1 were given our lifetime's chance in ,evangelical ,university4 ,but it must have looked chaotic1 intellectually riotous1 to a dignified dean of a classic university1 and1 no doubt1 he would have had much in criticism of the university to offer1 from his proper angle1 after looking on the manner in which the students mixed their courses4 ,in my first term ,i spread myself through the common school1 the business1 the college preparatory1 the collegiate1 and the theological divisions of the ,university6 ,it was akin to taking an academic ride in five carriages at once6 ,when the professor dismissed me from the college class in logic ,i went immediately into the basement1 where ,i joined the grammar class1 and from the grammar class ,i went to the theological department and recited on ,church ,history4 ,from that class ,i went into the scientific department and was heard in zology1 and from zology ,i found my way in the business department where ,i practised on the typewriter4 ,though ,i came before this intellectual privilege with a hungry mind1 yet1 threaded throughout it all were the complaints of the professors in regard to the limitations under which they worked4 ,the professor of science constantly unfolded to us1 who met him in zology1 a pet dream of his which comprehended a future benefactor who should increase the number of specimens in the museum4 ,the ,english professor was embarrassed frequently by the inadequacy of the library4 ,in our ,bible classes1 the ,president would take us into his confidence1 the day after a faculty meeting1 and descant upon the hardship1 the embarrassing1 financial hardship1 of meeting the expenses of the school4 ,there was no lack of dignity to this proceeding1 for each one of us felt under obligations to the ,university1 knowing well enough that whatever financial sacrifices the faculty underwent1 were sacrifices made in order that we might receive an education4 ,so the ,president was within the bounds of propriety and discipline when he concluded his report with his customary3 8,and so1 young ladies and gentlemen1 if you are acquainted with any business men or wealthy person who might be made generous by our worthy appeal1 kindly hand me their names and addresses after class4 ,mr4 ,stanton1 you will please describe the order of creation as given in the first book of ,moses60 ,but it was not long before ,i had to realize that ,i had put myself under an exacting discipline by coming to ,evangelical ,university4 ,we had a dean who in effectiveness and as a sleuth would have been the dean of deans had an international society of them existed4 ,the presence of young men and women on the campus rendered the ,dean's duties doubly hard4 ,the rules were rules of a ,mede4 ,his surveillance was that of a man who felt an austere obligation to over a hundred anxious parents4 ,no one1 except by special permission1 could be out of his room after half-past seven in the evening1 save on society nights or on ,sundays4 ,for the enforcement of this rule1 the ,dean depended upon the reports of student monitors1 but mainly upon his own vigilance4 ,every dormitory was always in danger of a visit from the ,dean1 and as the students in the dormitories were prevailingly men and women considerably beyond their 'teens1 there was no inconsiderable disobedience of this rule2 it made us feel too much like little children who are put to bed while the daylight lingers on the earth4 ,i soon had a taste of the common experience4 ,one evening three students met with ,thropper and me to indulge in a heated and loud discussion on the question3 8,that it is best for a man to marry his first love60 ,we started it at half-past six and once on the line of our pros and cons all sense of time and existence went out of mind4 ,we heard not the inrush of students as the last bell rang1 nor heeded the brooding silence that had come over the campus4 ,we lived only in our arguments on that 8love0 issue1 and ,thropper was in the midst of a very final story of first love coming out happily when tested by marriage1 when three knocks were heard on our wall1 given by the student in the next room3 ,that was the signal that the ,dean was stirring4 ,instantly the window was opened1 our three visitors leaped out1 and a few seconds later1 when the ,dean knocked on the door1 ,thropper met him innocently with the proposal1 8,have a chair1 sir80 and the ,dean1 glancing about merely said1 with a pleasant smile1 8,i just thought ,i'd look in1 that's all40 ,when he left1 we knew that when he went to the rooms of our three friends1 upstairs1 he would find them in their shirtsleeves poring over their books4 ,i often saw him in the twilight or under the glow of lighted windows1 this ,dean performing his duty which1 to a man of his fine1 academic temper1 must have been so incompatible3 a tall1 ungeared1 gaunt-faced1 tight-lipped man1 stooped and stealthy1 searching the campus with his glinting eyes1 squaring his jaws as he approached windows where law-breakers were gathered1 post-haste after delinquents6 ,i chanced to be one among a half-dozen stout ,english hearts2 at least they were ,english hearts when somebody proposed that it might be a patriotic act for us to celebrate1 in a fitting1 ,english manner1 the birthday of ,queen ,victoria4 ,on account of the un-,american aspect of the proposed celebration it was deemed injudicious to ask the consent of the ,dean1 for we felt sure he would prohibit it4 ,we were determined1 however1 to conduct a celebration that would be quiet1 dignified1 and memorable1 without having in it any semblance of disorder4 ,we also resolved to hold it on a ,saturday evening1 when the rules were not so strictly upheld4 ,to this end1 then1 we persuaded the master of the dining-hall1 who was also chef and baker1 to fall into our scheme1 though he was a loyal ,american4 ,we engaged him to fry the steaks1 and also gave him an ,english recipe for chipped potatoes4 ,on the night of the celebration we met in a student's room in the ell of ,pungo ,hall1 in the rear3 a quiet1 isolated room which also had the double virtue of being a wash-room with a stove in it6 ,over this the chef worked1 quietly4 ,we blanketed the windows so that no one could peep on the scene4 ,the table was spread and the seats occupied4 ,before us1 on a white platter and in white dishes1 were the steaks and the chips1 surrounded by coffee1 cake1 and candy4 ,after the meal1 the chairman proposed speeches which had for their theme the greatness1 the majesty1 and the high repute of the 8glorious ,queen40 ,at the conclusion of these speeches1 we tried to sing a reminiscent snatch of 8,rule ,britannia10 but had1 finally1 to compromise on 8,god ,save the ,queen40 ,the college bell had struck eleven when one of the party proposed that it might waken us up if we went out on the campus and exercised ourselves by holding a jumping contest4 ,on account of the lavishness of the feast and the heartiness with which we had partaken1 we were ready to fall in with this proposal4 ,in front of a little cottage in which a few students had double rooms1 we leaped and jumped very quietly for some minutes1 speaking in whispers1 for it was nearly midnight1 on the verge of the ,sabbath4 ,but suddenly we were startled by a loud voice calling from one of the windows1 8,i have your names60 ,the heartless monitor had spied on us4 ,we were undone4 ,heartlessly1 guiltily1 we went back to our rooms4 ,the damage had been done4 ,we had been caught breaking the dread laws of the ,university4 ,nothing could keep us from the wrath of the ,dean4 ,we indulged in our prayers and our ,bible study and our church attendance the following day with little enthusiasm1 for when we chanced to meet one another we asked the same question1 over and over1 8,what will he say80 ,for we had our heart in it4 ,we were not flagrant despisers of order4 ,we cared for the respect of our ,dean4 ,on ,monday morning we assembled in chapel for the usual morning service4 ,the ,dean led the service4 ,we were expecting that during the notices he would say1 reading from his book1 8,i wish to see ,mr4 ,priddy and ,mr4 this and ,mr4 that10 and so on through the list of ,englishmen1 8at the conclusion of chapel40 ,but not so4 ,in place of the customary sermon of ten minutes1 he delivered a very ,patrick-,henryish philippic against certain unnamed students who had so far forgotten themselves as not only to be unpatriotic towards their adopted country1 and had not only demeaned themselves by an unlawful 8revelry10 but had even been indulging in sports at midnight1 on the verge of the ,sabbath1 and thereby rendered themselves unfit to give ,god the highest1 most efficient service on the holy day4 ,the unexpectedness of it1 the fierceness of it1 the lurid interpretations put on our innocent feast1 its coloring into a 8night revel10 and the charge of impiety1 unnerved me4 ,i sat riveted to my chair1 in a cold sweat4 ,i felt as must a murderer in his sober moments when he realizes to the full the enormity of his deed4 ,the ,dean concluded his philippic1 during which he had not mentioned a name1 by this oracular notice3 8,i want each one of those revelers to meet me after chapel1 in my office40 ,all eyes were sympathetic towards the ,englishmen as we gathered at the ,dean's door4 ,in his sanctuary he further explained to us the extent of our crime1 making it1 to the mind of ,jerry ,birch1 a stubby1 vigorous-minded ,briton1 treason4 ,jerry flared forth in an attempt to prove to the ,dean that he 7the ,dean7 was an enemy to the ,queen1 and that an appeal might properly be made to the ,british ambassador1 and--but here we cautioned ,jerry to stop4 ,we finally tamed him into quietness1 and the ,dean dismissed us with the warning to show ourselves peace-respecting ,americans from then on4 ,chapter ,,viii4 ,the ,doctrinal ,temper of the ,university and ,thropper's ,talk about it4 ,introduces the ,select ,board of the ,pharisees4 ,prayer-,meeting ,monopoly ,combated by ,independents4 ,jason on my ,track and ,how it ,came out ,evangelical ,university was founded by a minister of intense religious convictions and its policy was directed by a ,board composed of men characterized by religious zeal4 ,the ,university stood committed1 also1 to the ,christianization as well as to the education of its students4 ,in its advertisements1 special emphasis was laid on 8annual revivals10 8personal1 religious work of students10 and other evidences of a flourishing religious atmosphere4 ,now in this1 ,evangelical ,university stood in line with hundreds of efficient institutions1 but it went a step farther1 and not only made its boast in regard to its ,christian background1 but it also gained repute as the exponent of a particular1 very sectarian1 very dogmatic1 and intense doctrine2 namely1 that not until a particular emotional experience had been secured was a ,christian a substantial and serviceable ,christian4 8,the triple-birth doctrine10 as ,thropper christened it1 8being natural birth1 spiritual birth1 and extra-spiritual birth40 ,there were several students in the ,university who were there merely for its intellectual privileges and who did not believe in this intense doctrine of 8the triple-birth40 ,thropper said to me1 one night1 when we were discussing this matter3 8,priddy1 ,i'll guarantee that out of all the students here1 you will not find more than five in all that do not profess to have a religious experience4 ,now that ought to satisfy the ,university1 but it won't4 ,that isn't enough4 ,until every one believes heart and soul in its doctrine of the #8triple-birth1' and gets emotionalized1 the whole place will be turned upside down4 ,now ,i have always thought myself a religious fellow4 ,i belong to the church4 ,i am trying to live a ,christian life4 ,i have a ,christian home in which ,i have always been trained piously and well4 ,but they have given me no rest since ,i came here4 ,they pray for me every year and struggle with me1 and quibble about me1 all in order to get me to go through the #8triple-birth1' which may be all right for them1 but does not appeal to me4 ,yet1 because ,i don't go over to their way of thinking1 they can't regard me as a religious man4 ,i'm not the only one1 either4 ,there are others whom they bother in the same way4 ,if we were out and out heathen1 they couldn't be more alarmed over us4 ,if we were unsocial atheists and immoral beings1 their enthusiasm and concern would be worth while1 but when some of us are to be preachers and respect everything that is true and helpful and yet have to be prayed for in public and hounded from pillar to post by them1 why--0 8,who do you mean by #8they' and #8them1' ,thropper80 ,i asked4 8,oh1 certain of the students who are enthusiasts on the #8triple-birth' doctrine10 he replied4 8,they mean well enough1 and are good folks1 but ,i can't agree with their peculiar doctrines and ,i tell them so1 right out40 8,but a few students can't carry off the whole situation1 ,thropper40 8,can't1 eh8 ,well1 you see1 as this is the particular doctrine for which the ,university officially stands1 the few aggressive students who preach the idea are really in the majority4 ,there's a little set of them1 led by ,jason1 the ,poet1 who roam through the life of this ,university like a little group of heretic hunters in some medieval community1 with all power and authority back of them40 ,he sighed1 deeply4 8,they make life miserable for many10 he said4 ,i laughed at him4 8,why1 ,thropper1 don't take it to heart so2 just go along your own way1 tolerantly1 knowing that if some of us can't actually agree1 we can respect one another's differences--if they're not vicious40 ,he regarded me as if ,i had lost my wit4 8,that sounds nice1 that does1 ,priddy1 and it is good sense1 too1 but it's wasted here1 old boy4 ,you and ,i and some others may find consolation in it1 but ,jason and his ,board of ,pharisees would have their tongues cut out and their right hands severed before they would rest easy with us differing from them1 standing outside their particular doctrines4 ,you don't know ,jason4 ,besides1 wait till you have been here a year and then you will see so many things take place under the direction of the ,university that it will be impossible for you not to know that you are persona grata here only when you swing over to a full acceptance of the doctrine of the #8triple-birth'3 there'll be the annual revival when a whole1 intense week will be devoted to hardly anything else but a propaganda of that doctrine4 ,there will come the weekly prayer-meetings1 the talks from visiting exponents of the doctrine2 oh1 they won't let you rest easy in your differences1 ,priddy4 ,wait till ,jason and his crowd get on your track60 8,you talk as if they were going to be the worst sort of meddlers1 ,thropper40 8,didn't you hear me call them the ,board of the ,pharisees8 ,did you think ,i didn't mean that for a good description1 ,priddy8 ,well1 what were ,pharisees always doing8 ,meddling4 ,telling the people to be holy by washing the dinner plates thus and so2 telling the people that ,god was found by wearing this and that4 ,well1 that's what ,jason and his crowd are busy doing about here1 through the year4 ,the sight of a gold ring on my finger fairly dilated the nostrils of one of them2 he set about praying for me and urging me day after day to stop wearing it because it was the symbol of #8carnal pride1' and he quoted ever so much ,scripture1 too40 ,after that ,i noted with especial interest the monopoly exercised by ,jason and a small number of the students--male and female--over the multitude of religious meetings that embroidered the week of study4 ,the two noon prayer-meetings1 the after-supper services1 the ,thursday evening university service1 the many missionary meetings1 the ,bible study classes1 the ,sunday morning 8search0 services3 in all these the tone was given by the fervid and dogmatic ,jason and his followers4 ,wherever a religious interest of any sort chanced to be organized1 one was certain to find on its list of officers some representative of ,jason1 the ,poet4 ,thropper and ,i1 and several others among the students1 formed 8independent0 circles for prayer and ,bible study1 where we could1 for once a week1 at least1 have our own1 special beliefs prevail4 ,one ,november morning1 as ,i was leaving the dining-hall1 ,jason met me at the door4 8,i should like to have a word with you1 ,brother ,priddy10 he announced4 8,certainly10 ,i replied4 8,i have been considerably burdened for you1 lately1 ,brother ,priddy40 8,eh80 8,you have been the subject of my prayers40 8,how is that80 8,because ,i think1 though you may not realize it1 that ,satan is trying to lead you astray10 he answered1 solemnly4 8,that's interesting1 ,i'm sure40 8,it's terrible60 he half shuddered4 8,but--er--what especial act of mine1 ,jason1 has brought out this--er--burden for me80 8,carnal pride60 he exclaimed4 8,pride80 ,i gasped4 8,i didn't think ,i had anything or had done anything to be proud over--that ,i know of40 8,i thought you did not see it10 he announced2 8that is the deceitfulness of sin1 it blinds us4 ,that is why ,i came to you--to warn1 you understand40 8,then you will relieve the tension ,i am suffering from at this minute10 ,i retorted1 8by telling me just what it is to which ,i am blind1 and which is sinful4 ,i am sure ,i stand ready to renounce anything that is liable to stand between me and ,god1 ,jason40 ,his severe1 but intensely spiritualized features relaxed at that declaration4 ,he nodded his head and rubbed his pale hands4 8,i am glad that you are open to the truth1 ,brother ,priddy10 he crooned1 with satisfaction4 8,i have especial reference to that watch-chain of yours and to that scarf-pin40 8,what60 8,that and that10 he reiterated1 pointing first to my watch-chain and then to my scarf-pin4 8,nonsense10 ,i exclaimed4 8,what in the world are you making this bother over80 8,that watch-chain and the pin are ornaments and personal adornments1 not necessary to the person4 ,they are expressions of pride which lies in the heart to corrupt it4 ,therefore you will never find peace with ,god until you have discarded them40 8,those things expressions of pride80 ,i gasped1 8why1 that chain is gold-plated and didn't cost more than a dollar and a half1 and as for the tie-pin60 ,i laughed4 8,well1 ,i paid ten cents for it1 opals and all1 in a ,five and ,ten ,cent ,store1 ,jason4 ,not much to grow proud over40 8,it is not the price1 ,brother ,priddy1 but the principle40 8,but ,i swear to you1 ,jason1 that ,i don't give those things a thought40 8,no1 granting that they don't hurt you10 went on ,jason1 persistently1 8they are liable to lead others into pride4 ,it is the weak brother you must think of40 8,i don't think there's much danger of others finding much to emulate in my jewelry or dress10 ,i answered4 8,i do recognize the force of what you have to say about the weak brother1 ,jason1 and if1 for a minute1 ,i imagined ,i was doing anything or wearing anything that would hurt the life of another in any appreciable degree1 why ,i'd renounce it quickly enough1 you can wager60 8,i never indulge in wagers10 protested the literalist1 8it is ungodly4 ,i still persist in asking you to give up that jewelry on the ground that in all things we should walk soberly1 as the ,bible enjoins40 8,well1 ,i'll think it over1 ,jason10 ,i said1 walking hurriedly away4 ,when ,thropper returned from his trigonometry1 ,i recounted my experience with ,jason4 8,well1 your days of quietness are gone now1 ,priddy10 he declared4 8,you've got a ,pharisee on your trail who will keep it until your days are made miserable40 8,but why doesn't he cut off his beautiful curls and be consistent80 ,i protested4 8,why doesn't he throw off that peculiar vest and that military coat8 ,he'd be consistent if he did6 ,talk about offending the weak brother6 ,if a dude wouldn't be jealous of those finely cultivated curls1 ,i don't know a dude4 ,i'll wager ,jason is always looking in the glass1 at himself60 8,oh10 smiled my roommate1 8you just tell him about his coat and his curls and he'll have his explanation ready4 ,those curls are sent by the ,lord4 ,as for his coat and vest2 they are simple1 without the fancy incidents common to our coats6 ,don't try to beat him in a quibble1 ,priddy4 ,he's got you before you start4 ,can you quote over half the ,bible word for word without once looking at it80 8,no-o60 8,jason can6 ,are you able to read it in ,hebrew and in ,greek80 8,no-o-o60 8,jason is6 ,he's got you when it comes to ,biblical quotation and can fit a passage even to so common an act as eating a dish of creamed toast60 8,but ,i shan't give in to him--that is1 unless ,i really see the force of his arguments1 ,thropper40 8,oh10 smiled ,thropper1 8he'll give you forceful arguments enough1 that's the hang of the fellow4 ,he knows so much6 ,i tell you1 ,priddy1 when you employ logic1 biblical lore1 and a fanatical sincerity in trying to persuade an innocent little greenhorn like you--to give up a watch-chain and a tie-pin1 why1 the greenhorn is bound to go under60 8,we'll see60 ,i declared1 as the conclusion of the subject4 ,the next day1 ,jason found me in a corner of the library busy with my ,latin4 ,without a word he edged over to me1 pulled a little black book from his pocket1 opened it at a marked place1 fixed it on the chair handle before me1 indicated the marked passage with one of his long1 white fingers and left me to myself4 ,i put aside my ,latin and investigated4 ,the book was the writing of ,john ,wesley1 and the place marked was a passage in a sermon on 8,the ,wearing of ,ornaments0 or some such theme4 ,in any case1 that was the subject treated in the marked passage4 ,it was a reiteration of the arguments ,jason had advanced1 but coming from so noted and often quoted an authority as the founder of the ,methodists1 it considerably sobered my impressionable senses4 ,i had no sooner closed the book1 than out of the unseen the ,poet flitted to my side1 and with a whispered1 8,forceful1 isn't it80 ,jason took up the book and returned to his study4 ,a day or two later he brought into the dining-hall a little green bound book1 printed on cheap paper and entitled1 8,the ,victory of ,selina ,bostwick--,evangelist40 ,as he handed it to me1 ,jason said1 8,sister ,bostwick is well known to me4 ,i have sung for her in tent meetings1 near ,chicago4 ,she is a saint of ,god4 ,i want you to read the place ,i have marked1 if you cannot find time to go through the whole book40 ,in the privacy of my room1 when ,thropper chanced not to be around--for ,i did not want him to see me reading ,jason's book--,i read the extract4 ,it recounted1 in a very rambling manner1 the 8third-birth0 of ,miss ,bostwick--who1 by the way1 had been so inconsiderable a person as a seamstress who exhorted in revival services4 ,the tale went on to show how1 as a young girl1 ,selina had been especially addicted to wearing gaudy jewelry3 stone-tipped hat-pins1 glass ornamented combs1 two rings1 one with a cluster of imitation rubies1 the other a plain band1 which had been her mother's wedding-ring1 and various brooches and fancy studs4 ,these1 it seemed1 had entirely prevented ,selina from entering into the deeper faith in ,god1 and for proof argued that so long as she fastened her heart on those trinkets she had never once been able to preach or exhort in meeting or revival4 ,then the day came when she plucked them from her and threw them in her trunk4 ,from that day on1 she had gone into the world preaching and exhorting successfully6 ,when ,i returned the book to ,jason1 he entered into a long discussion with me1 and by the subconscious seriousness he had created in my heart over the question of ornaments and the kingdom1 and because ,i was getting weary of the theme1 and also because the tie-pin and the watch-chain were becoming eyesores to me1 ,i finally said1 8,oh1 ,i'll stop wearing them1 ,i guess60 ,jason rubbed his white hands and patted me on the shoulders4 8,there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth10 he quoted4 8,i'm not a sin--,oh1 don't let us get into any more arguments over the matter10 ,i corrected1 eager to be out of the reach of my persecutor4 8,here they are2 both of them to be put in a drawer--or something40 ,i pulled out the tie-pin and unfastened the watch-chain4 ,then ,i was perplexed4 8,but1 ,jason10 ,i remonstrated1 8,i have to carry this watch1 you know4 ,the watch-chain was handy4 ,it kept me from losing the watch4 ,what am ,i to do1 if ,i don't have this chain8 ,it seems to me that ,i had best keep wearing it4 ,what do you do for your watch80 ,as he pulled out a gold ,waltham ,i felt like asking him if it would not be more consistent for him to wear a nickel-plated one1 but remembering ,thropper's comments1 ,i expected ,jason would argue that it was more economical to buy a gold watch on account of its wearing qualities and reliability1 so ,i kept the protest to myself4 ,jason's watch was attached to a woven black chain1 which1 he said1 he had made from a long shoe-lace6 8,i'll make one for you1 too10 he added generously1 8if you'll get a long lace40 ,the next day ,i gave him the lace1 and after dinner1 we sat in the reception room1 where in ten minutes1 he wove for my watch a chain as artistic as a shoe-string chain may be4 ,after he had fastened it in my button-hole and to my watch1 he said3 8,well1 ,brother ,priddy1 the weak brother will not have cause to stumble now1 will he80 ,chapter ,,ix4 ,my ,trip into the ,magic ,world of the ,past4 ,how ,appreciation is sometimes ,worth ,more than ,money4 ,jason and his ,coterie on ,scent of ,terrible ,heresies4 ,how ,god ,takes ,care of ,his ,orators4 ,how a ,big ,soul can go through ,annoyances ,the strangeness of my life had worn off by winter4 ,i knew every man and woman by name and character1 and they knew me4 ,the daily routine of class work and waiting on table more and more took the novelty from my existence4 ,i was getting the maximum of inspiration from my studies4 ,leaning back in my chair1 under the hissing1 flaring gas flame1 with drowsy ,thropper opposite me in his sheepskin upholstered chair1 ,i went forth into the new worlds where ,csar led his mailed ,romans and his following of slave kings1 where the gaudy coronations and noisy wars of ancient ,england were enacted2 into the world whereon ,christ scattered the seed of faith out of which grew1 stone by stone1 dipped in martyrs' blood1 the magnificent cathedral ,universal ,church4 ,with the guidance of the professors1 ,i pierced into the living1 animal world where tooth and fang and claw were in contest and where the divine finger was busy sorting moral law out of it4 ,i was being daily disciplined in the use of language and in the finer esthetic appreciations of it1 under the direction of the ,english teachers and the ,oratorical ,professor4 ,there were many1 who with me1 went in confidence to our teachers and gave them our thanks for their sacrificial services4 ,of all the service that ,i have seen men and women render1 that done by the faculty of ,evangelical ,university measured up to the finest4 ,they were men and women of liberal culture2 trained1 many of them1 in our most prominent institutions4 ,every day that they lingered at the ,university teaching us was a sacrifice4 ,they were sadly underpaid4 ,there was no endowment from which to guarantee them their salaries4 ,some of them worked with us1 out of sheer enthusiasm1 claiming that their wages were the gold of our thanks and outspoken appreciations4 ,they were willing to economize and live in poorly furnished homes1 in order to awaken in those of us who had had little opportunity1 the first spark of intellectual response4 ,one of our teachers took me aside1 in the privacy of his empty classroom1 for the purpose of assisting me with a back lesson4 ,i had occasion to remark1 8,professor1 you aren't giving yourself a fair chance1 here1 are you8 ,some of the students have been saying that you have had more than one opportunity to better yourself40 ,the kindly eyes of the man glistened with tears1 for he was very readily responsive to his feelings1 and he said1 8,albert1 ,i cannot better myself4 ,there is no higher privilege in this world than to invest what ,god has seen fit to give us in the way of privilege or attainment in other lives that thirst for what we have6 ,there are men in colleges1 whom ,i know1 surrounded by their books in pleasant college communities1 fitted to a delightful social and intellectual life1 teaching in classrooms filled with students who do not have to fight for a living as do the students here1 yet they are not happy men2 not one-tenth so happy as ,i am teaching you boys and girls6 ,no1 sir6 ,all that those positions that have been offered me could have done would have been to ease me from financial worries1 and relieve me from a few hours of instruction2 but there is nothing in this wide world1 ,albert1 can equal the work ,i am privileged to do with such as you1 to inspire you for useful service4 ,it is missionary work2 but missionary work pays the highest wages4 ,i have the first chance at men in the making60 ,it was not alone the poverty of the university equipment and the inadequate compensation they received which intensified the nobleness of our teachers' characters1 but also their endurance of some of the petty1 trivial annoyances they suffered from the dogmatic ,jason and his few followers4 ,for even into the classrooms religious1 doctrinal quibbles were carried by those stern and unyielding students4 ,the little coterie went on strike in the ,english department when the ,professor refused to debar ,shakespere and ,burns from the reading courses1 in response to the charges drawn up and presented by ,jason's clique that those writers had unreadable passages in their works4 ,some one replied1 that on this basis1 ,jason had better stop reading the ,bible for the same reasons4 ,to this ,jason replied that 8,the ,bible is the ,bible1 but ,shakespere is only ,shakespere60 ,but the more acute issues between ,jason and his followers and the curriculum were to be found in the scientific and theological classrooms4 ,here the conflict between 8science and religion0 as the ,church ,history termed it1 became pointed1 tragical4 ,i can still see them1 the two followers of ,jason1 standing before the scientific professor after class had been dismissed4 ,they are on scent of a terrible heresy6 ,aggressively they quiz the able exponent of science1 as follows3 8,you said in this recitation1 professor1 that the world was created in millions of years80 8,i did60 8,but the ,bible says plainly1 that ,god created it in six days and that ,he rested from his labors on the seventh day60 8,oh1 the ,bible1 in that part is not to be taken literally--it--0 ,but he could get no further4 ,two shocked faces were before him1 and one of the students interjected1 8,why1 we have to believe the ,bible60 8,we shall stick to the ,bible60 added the other in support4 8,but let me explain10 began the professor1 patiently1 8you see the early ,hebrews possessed no real science--0 8,but1 professor10 interrupted one of the students1 8,god revealed it to them and--0 8,we will not discuss the matter further at this time10 interrupted the teacher4 8,but what shall we do when the examination comes around10 asked the first speaker1 8if you tell us to give the age of the earth1 we shall either have to say that it is millions of years old or that it was made in six days80 8,of course10 added the second student1 with finality1 8we shall have to stick to the ,bible statement1 even if you mark us down60 8,rest easy in your minds1 young men10 retorted the severely tried professor1 8,i don't think ,i shall call on you to undergo such a martyrdom60 ,even the professor of elocution was not exempt from this little band of literalists4 ,some of this band had so firm a confidence in ,god that they 8could leave with ,him0 what they were to speak1 how they were to speak it1 and the sort of gestures that should accompany their exhortations1 for they were preparing themselves for the church4 8,pa0 ,borden was the leader in this sort of thought4 ,he had done some exhorting before becoming a member of the ,university1 and he summed up the case quite well when he said1 in his heavy1 sober way1 8,what right has any man1 ,i don't care who he is1 to improve on what ,god has done1 ,i'd like to know8 ,it will be given us in that day1 says the ,bible1 what we shall say and how we shall say it4 ,what more do you want80 ,so this little band of the sons of the prophets stood apart from the kindly and helpful criticisms of the professor of elocution1 and continued their old practise of yanking their stiff arms1 standing on their awkward feet1 speaking from tight throats1 in stubborn loyalty to their faith in ,god's oratorical interest in them4 ,the patience1 the ,christian patience1 of the professors carried them past such trivial1 but real annoyances with the same nobleness with which a true-compassed ship goes straight to its port despite the little chips that tap against it4 ,for every one of these quibblers over doctrine1 there were several appreciative1 awakening minds1 leaping at the truth4 ,the professors centered their real efforts on the majority of those who could face the truth no matter in how startling a dress it first presented itself4 ,in such1 these deep-hearted1 sacrificing teachers found their real reward3 lasting gratitude4 ,chapter ,x4 ,the ,magnitude of a ,postage ,stamp4 ,showing how ,desperate the ,thirst of ,money made me4 ,brock's ,rosy ,nose and its ,possibilities as a ,fireplace4 ,how ,brock thought he was ,fooling me and the ,other ,way ,about4 ,the ,barrow that ,became our ,enemy and how ,brock was ,revenged on it ,it was a morning in early ,december4 ,an unsealed letter lay on my table1 a ,christmas greeting to a mill friend4 ,i had written it the previous night4 ,when the morning dawned1 ,i realized that ,i had not enough money with which to purchase a stamp for it4 ,a feeling of utter miserableness took hold of me4 ,there ,i stood1 working my way through school successfully1 from week to week without any difficulty1 and yet when it came to forwarding a message of greeting to the outside world ,i was a pauper6 ,that strong term mastered me4 ,i knew that for the mere asking ,thropper had a stamp waiting for me1 but ,i resented the thought of charity1 the humiliation of asking for the gift of a postage stamp4 ,after chapel ,i went into the ,president's office and on being shown in1 made the following announcement4 8,please1 ,doctor1 ,i think ,i had better leave the ,university4 ,it is no use60 8,what is the matter now1 young man80 he enquired1 gently4 8,i've got to earn some cash1 sir4 ,you know that ,i shall never have any by working for the ,university2 it all goes on my account4 ,i need some clothes1 and just at present ,i need a stamp4 ,i haven't handled any money since my three dollars was spent2 it is almost three months since then40 8,but you don't have to run away from your education1 do you80 asked the ,president1 bending on me his searching eyes4 8,i thought you would stick to it60 8,but what can ,i do1 sir80 ,i demanded1 8,i am busy waiting on the table1 and cannot leave the campus to earn money4 ,i give all my spare time to the ,university4 ,if ,i could work a week or two at outside tasks ,i might get some money on hand40 8,there need be no trouble about that10 agreed the ,president4 8,get some one to take your place in the dining-hall on ,saturdays1 and ,i will see if there are any jobs you can do40 ,the following morning1 in chapel1 the ,dean read off my name as one of the students that the ,president wished to see1 in his office4 8,there is a load of bricks on a siding of the brick-mill--you know where that is1 of course10 he said4 8,brock has taken the contract for loading a car at something or other a thousand--which means about twenty cents an hour1 ,i believe4 ,he is quite willing to take you with him on ,saturday1 if you care for the work40 ,inwardly ,i thought of my frail muscles hurling rows of brick through the air on a winter's day--and felt doubtful about the adventure1 but the ,president was waiting for his answer1 so ,i said hastily1 8,anything at all1 sir1 that will bring me in a real1 substantial piece of money4 ,it will look big enough when ,i do see it1 sir60 ,thropper was eager to take a day off from the glass factory and so was able to take my place at the tables4 ,i had a conference with ,brock1 relative to the proposed loading of the car of bricks4 8,can you manage it80 he asked dubiously1 scanning his eyes doubtfully over my frail physique4 ,i was in a desperate mood just then1 and with an accent in my voice that scorned even the suggestion of any mental1 physical1 or moral incapacity1 ,i declared1 8,can ,i80 ,then scanning ,brock's ungeared physique1 ,i asked in turn1 8,how about yourself8 ,seems to me you are a near rival to a centre-pole yourself1 ,brock60 ,he grinned1 guiltily4 8,i used to exercise with dumb-bells--once upon a time4 ,it is long since4 ,i am afraid that the daily exercise of pressing the button of the call bell hasn't done well by my muscles40 8,i've watched the ,portuguese load schooners with bricks many a time10 ,i affirmed4 8,your experience might help--some10 he declared1 8the man who engaged me told me how to place them in the car and all about the number of rows and the count4 ,i'll be able to manage that part of it4 ,i hope that you and ,i1 ,priddy1 will be able to succeed with the brick end of it40 8,the way the brick loaders do10 ,i explained1 8is to pass them from hand to hand four or five bricks at a time--just like passing ball1 you know60 8,um1 um60 nodded ,brock4 8,but what about the sharp ends of the bricks8 ,they cut gashes in soft hands1 of course40 8,oh1 we'll wear thick gloves10 ,i explained1 8something to protect the hands40 8,we should have to wear gloves under any circumstances10 said ,brock1 8the weather we're getting is very far from a summer day60 8,oh1 we'll manage all right10 ,i affirmed1 for the mere thought of a possible dollar and a half in cash set my brain in a whirl of incaution and illogical optimism4 ,in that mood1 if the ,president had offered me his place for a week--for a cash wage--it is doubtful if ,i should have refused him4 ,by half-past seven the following ,saturday morning1 ,brock and ,i1 bundled in the oldest garments we had been able to borrow or beg1 with quadruple thicknesses of old socks covering our hands1 for mittens1 and with lunches put up in pasteboard boxes1 left the village center1 walked down a frozen turnpike1 until we came to the lonesome1 neglected brickyard with its ,egyptian tombs of piled brick1 yet unsold4 ,a covered freight car had been left on the rusty siding2 the car stood off from the nearest brick-pile separated by a gap of two yards4 ,it was a dreary and very cold prospect1 for the north wind surged down over the frozen pastures1 and hummed and wailed through the black latticework of an abandoned oil-well on the opposite side of the track4 8,your face is blue to begin with10 mumbled my companion from behind the folds of his cap4 8,and your nose would make an excellent danger signal on the rear end of a train10 ,i retorted4 8,when my hands get cold1 which they are rapidly doing1 ,i'll warm them over your nose60 8,better get to work10 suggested ,brock1 8before we freeze to death in this miserable place4 ,worth twenty cents an hour for this work1 eh80 8,worth a dollar an hour1 ,i think10 ,i replied4 ,we fixed some stout planks into a run-way between the top of a brick-pile and the freight car1 after the door had been unbarred4 ,we found a shallow and creaky barrow under a shed4 ,after helping me fill it with the first load1 ,brock tried to wheel into the car what we had put in4 ,he gained the edge of the plank1 and the ill-balanced load dumped over on the ground4 8,we put in too many1 to begin with10 suggested ,brock4 8,next time we'll reduce the load by half4 ,i forgot they were so heavy4 ,i was too ambitious40 ,the next load went across the planks successfully1 and after they had been dumped on the floor of the car1 ,brock said1 8,i'll pack these in the car the way the man told me1 and then when the load is properly started1 we can take turns with the barrow40 ,at first it was exciting and warm work1 but after the first warm glow had died down in the blood1 my body began to stiffen with the exposure4 ,then my muscles1 ill-treated by excessive and continuous lifting of the loads1 began to tighten and shoot with pain4 ,but at first1 ,i did not care to let ,brock know1 ,brock1 who was snugly shielded from the wind1 with the easier and less straining task4 ,but he must have noticed me gasp in with a load for he suddenly leaped to his feet and said1 8,your turn here1 now1 ,priddy4 ,give me the barrow60 ,i flung myself to the dusty floor of the car when he relieved me of the barrow and never lifted a hand until ,i heard him coming with his first load4 ,then ,i picked up a brick and fitted it in one of the rows1 and tried to say cheerfully1 when he entered1 8,is that placed right1 ,brock80 8,all right1 ,priddy10 he replied1 and then went out whistling with the barrow4 ,with the change in the task1 ,i recuperated somewhat1 and worked on with the thought warming me1 that every hour added twenty cents in cash to my credit4 ,when the first twenty cents had been earned1 ,i took heart and said to myself1 8,well1 ,i shall be able to buy that stamp for the letter60 ,brock ceased whistling after his fourth load4 ,i took a look at his face4 ,it was pale and strained4 8,hadn't you better take a breathing spell1 ,brock80 ,i suggested4 8,it comes hard when one isn't used to it4 ,that barrow wheels hard1 too4 ,we ought to have brought some wheel grease40 8,i guess ,i will sit down a few seconds10 agreed ,brock4 8,it's quite a lift--at first1 but ,i think we'll manage the job1 don't you80 8,we'll try60 ,i commented1 grimly4 ,so we passed the barrow from hand to hand1 the loads growing smaller and smaller as the noon hour approached1 and the need of rest and change becoming more and more imperative4 ,when half-past eleven arrived ,i proposed that we eat our lunches2 not so much for the mere satisfaction of hunger1 but for the opportunity of absolute rest for an hour4 ,brock assented to the proposition the instant it had left my lips4 ,in fact1 he dropped his barrow in the middle of the plank2 an act on which ,i commented by that fragment of an old song3 8,for ,i've worked four hours this day1 this day1 ,for ,i've worked four hours this day4 ,keep your whiskers on1 till the morning1 ,john1 ,for ,i shan't work another minute longer60 ,we closed the doors of the car1 sat in a far corner and munched our bread and cold meat as if it had been a luxury from a king's banquet table4 ,then after our meal1 in spite of the chilliness of the car1 we stretched ourselves on our backs and gave our strained1 worn muscles the opportunity of relaxation4 8,how do you feel80 ,brock demanded after an interminable silence4 8,cold1 tired1 weary and sick60 ,i replied1 throwing the mask off4 8,let us either wheel that old barrow again or go back to the ,university40 8,well10 muttered ,brock1 dispiritedly1 8our backs can't really get much worse1 ,priddy4 ,we might as well finish a day's work4 ,if we leave now we'll be unfit for work for another week anyway4 ,we might as well get all we can out of it while we are about it40 8,oh1 that barrow6 ,if it were a thing of flesh ,i'd stab it for my worst enemy60 ,i cried4 8,we worked too steadily10 suggested ,brock4 8,we were too ambitious4 ,we'll loaf along this afternoon and take more frequent rests4 ,you pack the bricks for awhile4 ,i'll wheel60 8,lucky you proposed to wheel first10 ,i muttered1 8for ,i'd have gone on strike if ,i'd been the first40 ,brock looked knowingly at me1 showed me the blisters on his hands and said1 8,i know just how you feel60 ,numb1 dispirited1 weary and backsore1 we worked until four o'clock in the afternoon4 ,at that time1 ,brock was just coming across the bridge with a reduced load1 staggering under it4 ,i called out to him1 8,i'll not handle another brick60 8,neither will ,i60 he replied1 losing his grip and the handles of the barrow so that it fell to the frozen ground with a resounding thud4 8,i'm done60 ,when we reported at the office of the brickyard owner1 and ,brock had given the computations of the work we had done1 my heart throbbed warmly for the first time since early morning when we were each handed a dollar and ten cents in real cash6 8,this is the first money ,i have handled for three months60 ,i could not help exclaiming in the office4 8,do you mean it80 asked the contractor1 interestedly4 8,i do1 sir60 8,then any time between now and the end of the month that you want to earn a dollar or two come to this office and ,i'll have some more bricks for you to load40 ,i looked with a smile towards ,brock4 ,brock returned my gaze with a hearty laugh4 ,then he said1 holding out his swollen hands1 for the man to view1 8,no1 thanks60 ,and ,i1 ,i said1 8,cash is good and ,i need it1 but ,i think ,i'll leave the handling of bricks to the ,portuguese40 ,chapter ,,xi4 ,how ,i ,competed with ,patrick ,henry and was made ,aware of an ,uneconomical ,waste of the ,eighth ,letter of the ,alphabet4 ,how ,i ,condensed all my ,studies into an ,oration4 ,how the ,populace ,greeted my ,rehearsal4 ,striking the ,top ,pitch ,by the middle of the year ,i had obtained such a grip on study that ,i was bold enough to incorporate two extra subjects in the week's routine4 ,besides that1 ,i conceived the idea of reading ,english history outside of class and then securing permission to pass an examination on it1 a scheme in which the teacher acquiesced4 ,i felt that ,i must make up for lost time and hungrily1 voraciously threw myself at the privilege which fortune had brought me4 ,i began to realize in my own mind what men called 8enthusiasm in his work40 ,every day seemed to me a momentous day of opportunity3 a day in which ,i might atone for the educational privilege ,i had missed up to my twentieth birthday4 ,when ,i saw ,aborn1 stately1 gifted1 and on his way towards his ,master's degree at twenty1 ,i was made to realize how long a road ,i had before me and how energetic ,i should have to be in order to get anywhere in education from my elementary and preparatory studies4 ,so ,i put in my studies an investment of interest and patient attention which ,i had put in no other work that ,i had ever done4 ,the most outstanding interest that ,i had was the class in oratory4 ,this class met on the top floor1 under the rafters1 in a room directly off from the chapel4 ,it resembled the studio of a poor artist with its gray northern skylight and little windows high above the bare floor4 ,the class included young men and women4 ,nearly all were preparing for religious work1 as ministers1 missionaries1 and evangelists4 ,one student1 a shock-haired young ,westerner with 8temperament0 and 8personality10 who generally sat in the pose of an actor1 was planning for the career of a public reader4 ,after the preliminary weeks of physical gymnastics and throat clearing1 and after we were able to say 8,oh60 without making the flame of a candle flicker1 we began on the real excitement of speaking ,orations2 ,i began with the traditional ,patrick ,henry1 of course1 and naturally1 after long and patient rehearsals in my room credited myself with the fact that if the author of that thriller should chance to come into the oratorical studio on the morning when ,i planned to recite it before my professor1 he would feel that his forceful utterance had passed into no mean mouth6 ,the morning on which ,i was scheduled to speak duly arrived and with it an increase in my confidence that ,i should do well with it3 the confidence without which no orator yet--in school--ever did much4 ,i stood out before the class1 struck my pose--left foot at an angle from the right and slightly in front with the weight on the right foot to maintain balance--and attempted to recreate the atmosphere1 the thrill1 and the historic eloquence of the ,virginia ,convention where the oration had had its birth1 before the innumerable army of school lads had passed it on from generation to generation4 ,applause greeted my effort and ,i sat down in a flush of happiness4 ,however1 the professor1 after crediting me several points of excellence1 brought up a criticism that plunged me into a sweat of guilty self-consciousness4 ,he said1 8,mr4 ,priddy1 why is it that you aspirate your words so8 ,i know you were born in ,england1 but you have been in this country for some time now4 ,there were several places in the oration where you placed #8h's' where they should not have been placed1 and where you left them off when they should have been retained60 ,it was the first time in my whole life that anybody had called my attention to that fault4 ,i said1 8,will you please give me samples1 sir80 8,well10 replied the professor1 consulting his tablet1 8you said #8w'ile' instead of #8while1' and #8,hi' instead of the pronoun #8,i4' ,and #8w'at' instead of #8what1' and #8,forbid it1 ,halmighty ,god1' and you declaimed that passage1 #8,is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery8' became #8,his life so dear hor peace so sweet has to be bought hat the price of chains and slavery8'0 ,i felt angry at myself1 chagrined4 ,there trooped into my guilt-smitten consciousness the innumerable times ,i must have put #8h's' where they had not belonged and left them off where they should have been retained4 8,nobody ever told me--about it before1 sir60 ,i exclaimed4 8,this is just the place to get rid of the habit10 replied the professor4 8,i am here to help you4 ,i think that when you get rid of that habit you will make a fair showing in public speech4 ,now that you are aware of it1 you will be on your guard40 ,i made known my discovery at the waiter's table at noon1 and instantly my friends poured out for my consideration a whole museum of sentences ,i had originated in their hearing and over which they had secretly smiled4 ,it seems ,i had said1 8',ave you got your 'at1 ,brock80 and 8,will you 'ave another ,hegg1 please80 and 8,look hout for this 'ot water60 ,when the waiters saw that ,i took the criticism in good part and was eagerly anxious to rid my speech of that defect1 they were instant and sometimes severe in their criticisms2 with the result that in a very short while ,i gained the advantage over my 8h's0 and somewhat tamed them4 ,with the mastery of my 8h's0 and the daily discipline in the oratorical class came an overmastering desire to make a public speech4 ,i thought that if ,i could accomplish that ,i should vindicate myself so far as ,i had gone in my education4 ,it should be the first milestone in my school career4 ,the opportunity was given in a proposed oratorical contest to be held in the village church4 ,i took ,thropper into my confidence as ,i prepared my original oration4 ,into this ,i tried to exemplify every admirable rule of rhetoric and every stern rule of logic and every manner of long1 short1 periodic1 balanced1 and climactic sentence ,i was then learning in ,rhetoric4 ,i marshalled historical allusions1 read widely in the library hour after hour4 ,then1 when ,i had put myself through this profitable discipline and had typewritten my manuscript--the final triumph of my educational career thus far--,i was ready for rehearsals4 ,after ,i had practised alone and as the evening of the contest drew near1 ,i asked ,thropper if each evening after supper he would accompany me into the woods and listen while ,i delivered my oration4 ,he consented1 cheerfully enough4 ,that same evening he accompanied me to the pastures in the rear of the ,university4 ,i poised myself seriously on a stump1 while ,thropper stood with his back to the wind in a waiting attitude4 ,i had not delivered more than two paragraphs of my speech before there came a yell from behind me and a half-dozen students ran shouting1 applauding and screaming before me4 ,when the crowd of interrupters had exhausted their animal spirits1 ,i said to them1 addressing them from the stump1 8,i've a good mind to invite you to stand out there near ,thropper and listen60 8,why not80 they demanded4 8,if you can't address a bunch of farmers like these10 smiled ,thropper1 8you won't be able to stand up in church before three hundred people and give it4 ,go ahead60 ,i did1 and the result was that the students rallied about me at the end1 carried me on their shoulders1 shouting1 mockingly1 8,hail to the new ,webster60 and to show their approval of me1 they sat me astride a rail and would have given me a ride home on that conveyance had not ,thropper prevented it4 ,the evening of the contest arrived and with it the seating of seasoned1 experienced1 graceful1 prize-winning orators1 in comparison with whom ,i knew ,i should not and could not under any stretch of the imagination be placed4 ,i wanted to give a speech in public1 that was the height to which my expectancy went1 but1 of course1 ,i had to set before me the prizes that were offered and be prepared for 8accidents40 ,when my turn came and ,i faced that illimitable sea of white faces1 ,i felt my feet slip from under me while ,i seemed to float above this conscious world4 ,then ,i picked out an interested face in the far1 far corner of the church4 ,at him ,i threw my strident voice1 determined to make him hear what ,i had to say4 ,the result was1 in ,thropper's words1 8,priddy1 it seemed that you placed your pitch on top of the highest mountain in the world1 and after that it was a scream1 that's all1 old fellow4 ,that was due to inexperience40 ,but this failure was atoned for when the judges especially commented on the 8careful thought10 8the good ,english10 and 8the excellent form of the written oration0 and when they marked me in second place on the literary side of the matter1 ,i felt repaid with my first adventure into public speech4 ,i felt that ,i had vindicated the struggles ,i had set before me1 through the long years1 to go through the school4 ,chapter ,,xii4 ,the ,personnel of 8,the ,clamorous ,eight0 and other ,social ,matters4 ,the 8,blepoes0 and the 8,boulomaies0 ,invite me into ,fellowship with a ,protest from ,jason4 ,epics and ,lyrics of ,love4 8,pa0 ,borden ,speaks for the ,benedicts on a ,momentous ,matter4 ,how the ,magic ,tree ,lured ,some ,unfaithful ,ones from their ,sworn ,duty ,the routine of that winter's work was embroidered with many interesting social experiences4 ,for though many of the students were stern in religious doctrine and practise1 hearts were youthful and recreation was sought4 ,thropper belonged to a 8,bachelor's ,club10 a facetious group of married and unmarried male students who met every now and then for the avowed purpose of upholding the dignity of bachelordom6 ,thropper also joined a 8,moustache ,club10 whose members met and compared lip sprouts and looked forward to the day when they would be sufficiently mature to be called 8moustaches40 ,these two institutions were more satirical than practical2 outlets for the humor resident in the students4 ,but the 8,clamorous ,eight0 was a real institution of the noisiest1 most untamed spirits of the school1 seven of whom were young men and the eighth member a young1 gum-chewing1 blondish1 hobbledehoy girl in the ,business department4 ,what we knew of the charter of the 8,clamorous ,eight0 was in their shoutings1 their numerous practical jokes1 their songs1 and their rebellions against the ,university rules4 ,if anything of an unlawful nature occurred1 like the throwing of a live rooster into the sleeping room of a sedate female monitor or the placing near the chapel door of a stuffed dummy1 suspicion of its own1 fluent accord fixed itself first of all on the 8,clamorous ,eight10 and hung there with tenacity until every member had been through a 8,faculty sweat40 ,there were two rival literary societies in the ,university and the students were supposed to be portioned out between them4 ,the 8,blepoes0 or 8,the ,seers0 and the 8,boulomaies0--8,the ,willers0 sent their agents after me and made a bid for my membership4 ,these were not secret organizations1 for such an institution was considered sinful by the ,university authorities4 ,their gatherings were open to the public and each student was supposed to attend the different meetings before deciding which society he would join4 ,jason1 who considered even these literary meetings harmful to the morale of the students1 on hearing that ,i had been asked to join one of them1 sought me out and for a long mournful hour tried to make me promise to keep my name off their rolls1 8,for10 he whined1 8they are of the ,devil1 brother ,priddy60 8,what makes you think so80 ,i demanded4 8,they joke in their meetings and tell light things and for every idle word ,god will hold us accountable60 8,but jokes and light conversation have their places in life1 haven't they80 ,i persisted4 ,jason looked at me with his round1 poet's eyes growing rounder in wonderment4 8,lincoln couldn't have borne the weight of the ,civil ,war if it had not been for jokes and fun--at times10 ,i concluded4 8,but the ,bible says that for every idle word we shall have to give a full account10 said ,jason4 8,are not jokes idle words80 8,they don't--eh--0 ,i stammered1 limply4 8,the ,bible is true1 isn't it80 went on the logician4 ,i gave up in desperation4 8,look here1 ,jason10 ,i cried1 8you might get me to give up wearing a watch-chain and a tie-pin1 but you aren't going to stop me from joining one of these societies4 ,i want social life and ,i'm going to have it1 jokes or no jokes4 ,i'm not so good as you on logic or ,bible1 but you aren't going to stand between me and a few pleasures4 ,don't some of the faculty belong to the ,blepoes and the ,boulomaies8 ,if they can join without scruples--and they are ,christian men and women--,i can join4 ,so it's no use arguing the matter with me1 ,jason4 ,i think ,i'll send in my name to the ,blepoes for the next meeting40 ,and ,i did join myself to the ,blepoes and partook of their suppers1 their programs1 and even went so far one night as to appear on the platform myself1 before a blackboard on which ,i drew sketches to illustrate a temperance address1 and at the conclusion of which ,i recited with great fervor and many gestures1 ,kipling's 8,recessional40 ,that winter1 too1 though far outside of love1 and even the thoughts of love1 in the seriousness of my tasks1 ,i looked on little epics and little lyrics of love between man and woman4 ,thropper himself had ,cupid's dart in his heart and his rhapsodies concerning his 8luck0 and his 8happiness0 and 8her wonderful sweet spirit0 were only a few of many indications of the depth to which he had fallen in love4 ,those of us who were not enamored of love had to be diplomatic in making engagements to walk or exercise with the boys1 for there were times and seasons when ,thropper and his fellow-lovers devoted themselves exclusively to their fiances4 ,for instance1 there was lecture night in ,pubbets ,junction1 six miles away1 and on that evening1 under chaperonage1 the couples would seat themselves in carriages and not be back till midnight1 returning to tell the bachelors and maidens the next morning the expressive points of the lecture and any exciting episodes of the trip1 like the adventure of the wheels up to the axles in mud and a plunging horse pulled out by a nearby farmer1 the adventure which befell ,thropper and his love when they were on their way to hear ,sam ,small lecture4 ,those among us1 like myself1 who were not concerned with sentiment1 held various speculative conferences1 on ,sunday evenings1 as to how this and that student would mate4 ,we had precedent to argue from1 for we had seen ,donald ,bryce1 a laughing-eyed ,evangelist-to-be1 pick out ,clara ,trine1 an athletic and extremely conscientious ,missionary-to-be4 ,we had seen one of the 8,clamorous ,eight10 a light-haired1 flush-cheeked banker-to-be1 sort out and become deeply attached to the female member of the 8,eight10 the blondish hobbledehoy1 whom we judged1 like grocery store sages1 would at least fit herself to spend quickly enough what money he should chance to make as a banker4 ,these loving couples considerably colored our social life and often made the ,university picnics problems4 ,when the first touch of spring pervaded the gassy atmosphere and1 at least1 suggested the scent of coming flowers and grassy banks1 notice was given out by ,brock one ,saturday morning that the usual spring trip to the river would be undertaken and that each one who went should go to the kitchen and prepare a lunch from materials that would be furnished by the cooks4 ,after the breakfast a meeting of the excursionists was held in the reception room1 presided over by ,brock1 who announced1 8,now1 friends1 this year--mind you1 this year1 we are going to keep together4 ,in the past1 on our excursions1 there has been altogether too much coupling up and going off alone4 ,that has spoiled more than one excursion and it is not the fair thing4 ,is it80 ,a chorus of 8,noes0 gave emphasis to his protest and appeal4 8,this time1 though10 he went on to explain1 8we are to keep together4 ,no matter if you are in love with the sweetest girl on earth and can't be alone much under the ,university rules1 you are not to wander off when we get out of bounds and not come around to the main party again until lunch time and then go off and not return till it is time to come home4 ,what have you to say about it1 ,brother ,borden80 8,pa0 ,borden1 thus appealed to1 raised his pompous head1 cleared his throat after the best mode of the orator1 and said1 8,i'm married myself and maybe shouldn't have much to say on the matter4 ,i agree with everything's been said3 agree with it hard60 and to give oratorical force to his last word1 he brought his plump fist down on the centre table1 thereby spilling half the water out of the glass which held in it a sprig of geranium4 ,a representative of the ,benedicts having been heard1 ,thropper1 as representing the unmarried was asked for his opinion4 ,he replied1 8,of course we ought to keep together4 ,i'm certain of it1 ,mr4 ,chairman4 ,that's all ,i need to say60 ,at nine o'clock the excursionists started for the river forty-five people strong4 ,to prove the sincerity of the social aspect of the excursion1 ,thropper and the other lovers separated themselves from their beloveds and walked1 sacrificially1 either with other young women or mingled freely with the male members of the party6 ,thus two by two and three by three we walked down the rutted1 soggy lane past the root-fenced sheep pastures where the woolly young lambs squeaked and bleated like crying children1 down past the grove where the wood-choppers were measuring cord wood2 past dismal1 wind-swept forests of burnt stumps and rusty underbrush1 over which desolation huge vultures soared1 and pivoted themselves in wait for prey2 past clayey roads over which mud boats were dragged by struggling horses and oxen1 past pig-pastures torn up by the sniffing snouts of the ruminants4 ,then we entered a fresh1 dampish wood-path which led us along the rocky bed of a river over which a thin stream of water churned with great energy as if to impress us with its importance4 ,at last we entered a cleared grass space over which the sun held itself and lighted gloriously the deep pool of water the river had become4 ,here we deposited our lunch boxes and began to arrange our games4 ,so far the party had remained one1 much to the admiration of ,brock4 ,but now1 after the lunch boxes had been unloaded1 a rearrangement of the party began to take place4 ,thropper1 who had been walking and talking with me1 hurried over to the side of his beloved1 and said3 8,there's a magic tree farther along the path1 growing right through a big boulder1 about which there's a legend of ,indians4 ,i'll tell you about it60 ,that was all4 ,they two passed out of sight while the angry ,brock gazed speechlessly after them4 ,that was the signal for other couples who wanted to see the 8magic tree10 and to such an extent did the defection of the lovers take place1 that before long only two couples remained with the bachelors to share the games we tried to play4 ,by the lunch hour1 however1 they came from their expeditions from this side and that1 unapologetic for leaving us1 came to eat their lunches and then go off again1 paying no heed to ,brock's impassioned appeal to their esprit de corps4 ,when the hour for the return to the ,university arrived1 the couples returned and then either went ahead1 arm in arm1 or loafed behind1 immersed in their own thoughts2 leaving us bachelors to amuse ourselves by bantering flings at them1 which1 however1 were no more than peas aimed at the mailed shell of an armadillo4 8,it'll be the same over again next time60 growled ,brock4 8,these lovers--oh60 ,chapter ,,xiii4 ,how ,one ,dollar and a ,half ,secured 8,the ,devil in ,society40 ,the ,medicine ,chest which ,became a ,tract ,depository under the ,teachings of a ,new ,creed4 ,how ,i ,stuck to ,orthodoxy ,the spring was full upon us1 with the return of the birds1 the tang of the new plowed soil in the sugar-field where the 8,university ,mare0 tugged listlessly at the plow whose blade sliced through the clayey earth leaving back of it shiny1 damp slices on which the birds stood and pecked up the exposed grubs and worms4 ,the dynamite wagon with its frail springs and its dangerous load jogged by along the turnpike on its way to newly-bored oil-wells4 ,flocks of sheep with an accompanying host of maximum-legged lamblets passed over the turnpike on their way to the railroad-cars1 to be followed by grunting packs of hogs directed by sapling-armed drovers who in one minute of speech profaned the whole ,english language4 ,chugging traction-engines1 hauling plows and harrows and on their way to hundred-acred wheat and corn fields1 passed in the night-time with their shrill whistle-screams for water and their explosive puffing and puffing as if no breath in their steel bodies could successfully spurt them through the soft mire4 ,thropper said to me1 one afternoon1 8,priddy1 how would you like to sell books80 8,sell books1 ,thropper80 ,thropper nodded4 8,what for80 ,i asked1 interestedly4 8,for money1 of course1 ,priddy6 ,what do you think80 8,it takes talk to sell books1 ,thropper60 8,then you ought to make a success at the business1 ,priddy60 8,what's the book80 8#8,the ,devil in ,society1 or ,high ,life in ,washington by an ,ex-,congressman1'0 quoted ,thropper4 8,sensational1 then80 8,a moral book--with a lesson10 laughed ,thropper1 8pepper to make you know that it stings1 you see1 ,priddy4 ,fifty per cent on each one4 ,buy them for seventy-five cents1 sell for dollar and a half4 ,easy money1 everybody wants the book on sight4 ,i'll loan you three dollars for four if you want4 ,sure to sell them60 8,anything to get some cash10 ,i cried4 8,besides this would take me on ,saturday trips into the surrounding towns4 ,that would be quite an adventure after staying here throughout the winter4 ,will you show me the book80 8#8,pa' ,borden will bring one around tonight4 ,he's the general agent10 declared my roommate4 ,in the evening1 before the half-past seven bell had signalled silence and study1 8,pa0 ,borden had displayed the book to us4 ,it was a lurid green cloth-bound affair in which the glue showed in the web of the cloth1 printed with blotched1 worn type on the cheapest of cheap paper and interspersed with amateurish wood-cuts of which ,i recall a drunken revel in a ball-room and some ballet-dancer-garbed women on a seashore with wooden waves indicated by wavy lines4 ,i was no connoisseur of literature at the time and took as solemn truth 8,pa0 ,borden's words that 8anything that was of the ,devil ought to be showed up1 even if it cost a dollar and a half60 ,i allowed ,thropper to get me four of the books and placed myself under his instructions for a week during which time ,i learned how to point out the chief items of interest in the illustrations when they were upside down1 to give a kinetoscopic view of the table of contents1 and to end by flashing the record of previous sales before the astonished housewife's eyes before she could make up her mind whether she wanted the book or not4 ,the following week1 then1 after engaging a substitute waiter for the day ,i accompanied ,thropper to ,pubbets ,junction to place 8,the ,devil in ,society40 ,the first door on which ,i knocked chanced to be that of a ,christian ,science ,reader1 a very highly cultivated and sweet-spirited woman who1 the minute ,i announced that ,i was agent for a book entitled 8,the ,devil in ,society0 immediately knocked my 8patter0 hors de combat by announcing1 firmly1 that there was no such thing as a ,devil and that it was all a delusion of mortal mind1 adding various other remonstrances of a philosophical1 semi-philosophical1 and dogmatic nature which ,i was in no mood or mind to combat4 ,besides bewildering me in the intellectual meshes of that new doctrine1 the woman made me sit in her office and listen to a fascinating recital of her household's progress from a drug-store of drugs to an empty medicine chest3 to a radical change in the family temper from semi-pessimism into a real sunburst of glorious1 mellowing optimism3 to an intricate and involved interpretation of the ,old ,testament and then in a very cloudy but1 to me1 excitingly suggestive denial of all facts that men and books had told me were positive and real4 ,all this1 of course1 was the precursor to an attempt to proselyte me to the faith of ,christian ,science4 ,after she had shown me the empty medicine chest1 which she was then using as a store-house for all sorts of ,christian ,science literature1 ,i told her that ,i had learned a great deal that was both new and novel1 that ,i would think it over seriously1 but that ,i should never believe in anything but orthodoxy4 ,then ,i called at the next house and many other houses1 so that by noon1 when ,i met ,thropper at a candy store1 where we lunched on a glass of milk and some ,washington pie1 ,i had sold two books and earned one dollar and a half4 ,in the flush of that success1 ,i returned to the ,university1 ready to repeat the excursion the following and several other ,saturday mornings4 ,according to ,thropper's epigram1 8,the ,devil in ,society0 meant dollars in our pockets6 ,chapter ,,xiv4 ,a ,chapter ,depicting how ,strife ,existed ,between the ,pro-,gymnasiums and the ,anti-,gymnasiums and ,showing how ,baseball1 ,debates and an ,epidemic ,determined ,matters ,this ,way and ,that ,next to its faith in religion an extreme abhorrence of matched athletic games pervaded the ruling spirits of the ,university and found its sanction in the charter of the institution4 ,in the ,bleponian and ,boulomanian literary societies the characteristic discussion for heated and vigorous debate1 next to the eternal question3 ,does ,love or ,money ,rule the ,world8 was3 ,are ,athletic ,contests ,moral8 ,the charter and advertisements of the ,university said very emphatically that they were not and should not be tolerated by ,christian people4 ,jason and his ,board of ,pharisees agreed with the ,university4 ,on the other hand1 there were many young men and women who had an opposite mind and took issue on every occasion with ,jason and the authorities4 ,thus one could find them on every occasion in the springtime when the fields and the paved paths lured forth whatever sporting proclivities nature had deposited in the blood1 ,jason and his followers firmly insisting that under no consideration should a contest of any sort--even a game of checkers or 8,pit0 be countenanced1 as it led to gambling1 and1 if not to gambling1 then to unchristian feeling4 ,this feeling became acute when the students began to discuss the necessity for an athletic field and a gymnasium3 a very hypothetical discussion remote and probably ever to remain remote1 for the ,university had need of money for more impending goods than gymnasiums4 ,but ,jason's party argued as if the gymnasium were about to be built1 and said that it would only lead young men into racing for prizes6--and competing for wagers6 ,the party was called the ,anti-,gymnasiums4 ,thropper and ,i aligned ourselves to the ,pro-,gymnasiums1 for1 as ,thropper said to me3 8,my kneecaps fairly creak for need of stretching4 ,as for my arm joints and muscles1 they pain me on the least provocation4 ,i need proper1 systematic exercise40 ,the ,pro-,gymnasiums were thoroughly represented by 8,the ,clamorous ,eight10 whose faces and veins throbbed with healthy1 well-exercised blood2 in fact1 they were eight who cared for little else beyond exercise of muscles4 ,the program of the ,blepoes one ,friday evening was devoted to the debate of the question3 8,resolved3 ,that the ,bible ,prohibits ,athletic ,contests40 ,larry ,thomas1 who debated for the ,pro's and who was almost as well versed in biblical lore as was ,jason1 argued well1 basing his strongest rhetoric on ,paul's words3 8,i so run that ,i may receive a prize10 and 8,i box1 not as beating the air10 but1 as ,larry paraphrased it1 freely1 8to give a knock-out1 pure and simple1 a plain indication that ,paul believed in the prize-ring and the running-track60 ,the ,anti's1 realizing the force of these quotations1 attempted to minimize their power by arguing1 8,oh1 ,paul was only using the common terms of his day2 the ordinary experiences of unchristian men1 to represent to them the ,christian life4 ,that was all4 ,he was not giving sanction to sports40 ,this explanation1 the judges informed us1 considerably helped the ,anti's1 but the debate was declared a draw4 ,illustration3 ,,evangelical ,,university ,,was ,,treated ,,to ,,its ,,first ,,match ,,game ,one ,saturday morning when the air was crammed with the warmth and lassitude of early summer1 and a considerable number of ,pro-,gymnasiums were playing scrub baseball1 one of the 8,clamorous ,eight10 in a fit of healthy rebellion against the ,university1 proposed3 8,say1 fellows1 this knocking out a ball is too tame4 ,let's choose up sides4 ,there's no harm in it60 ,thropper1 who was not working that day1 and myself1 were among those enjoying the sport1 and in the excitement and thoughtlessness of the minute we consented4 ,i was placed in the field1 ,thropper went in the catcher's box4 ,we even engaged the services of an umpire1 though few were found from whom we could select a capable official4 ,many of the ,pro's dared not come into the game1 but stood off ready to look on an incident that should become historic1 like a ,civil ,war or a ,french ,revolution3 the first matched game ever played on the ,university grounds6 ,jason looked on the opening of the game with horror4 ,to him it seemed that the ,evil ,one had just made his bold appearance in the morale of the institution4 ,when he heard the umpire's decisions and saw the sides changing positions1 and realized at last that the whole event had actually developed into a matched game1 he hurried to the home of the ,dean and gave notice of the rebellion that he had scented4 ,instantly the authorities came1 ordered the game disbanded1 took our names for ,faculty discipline1 and we left the field to the ,anti's1 who sincerely believed that ,satan himself had been flouted4 ,but even the anti-match spirit of ,jason and his band could not eliminate from their joints and muscles the need of exercise1 and while they argued against the advent of contested sports1 they could be found on the cinder walk after supper1 previous to the evening prayer-service1 leaping1 bounding1 twisting1 and jumping1 ,jason in competition manifesting the grace of a rheumatic frog4 ,shortly after this an epidemic of disease broke out in the village4 ,the ,university was quarantined--even from attendance at the village church services4 ,the momentousness of this is plainly evident when it is remembered that it was these church services which gave to the ,university lovers their chance to walk together1 sit together1 sing and pray and talk together2 consequently the quarantine imposed a severe restriction upon the poor unfortunates4 ,when ,sunday dawned1 glorious with the summer sun1 some of the members of ,jason's clique together with their young ladies took their black-bound ,bibles and sat under the campus saplings for ,bible study3 two in a class and every sapling shade occupied4 ,but the ,dean1 who hated sham of every sort1 interrupted these classes and the next morning in chapel he had some very emphatic and pointed remarks to make on the subject3 8,the ,sacrilege of ,pretending to ,study the ,bible when ,you are ,doing ,nothing but ,make ,love60 ,it was the ,pro-gymnasiums' turn to laugh then4 ,chapter ,,xv4 ,a ,ph4,d4 in a ,clay ,ditch and the ,futility of it4 ,a ,can of ,beans at the ,conclusion of a ,morbid ,meditation4 ,how ,thropper and ,i ,played ,david and ,jonathan ,the first summer vacation brought joy to a majority of the students1 but to me it merely meant a lonely isolation for three months on the campus where ,i was accustomed to watch my friends move back and forth hour after hour through the day4 ,they went out with tents3 the ,evangelists4 ,they went out with books3 the canvassers4 ,they went out with brawn and health3 the miners and farmers4 ,they left me alone to share the solitude of the campus with the few professors who were not going to conferences1 and with the superintendent of grounds1 whose assistant ,i was to be4 ,the winter's struggle1 though pleasant1 had left me tired and listless4 ,i needed a rest1 but saw no possibility of any4 ,i had few good clothes and no money4 ,any adventure into the world would have been utter folly4 ,so ,i began to scrub floors in the ,university building1 to mow the grass1 and trim the flowers4 ,i painted and scraped and hung wall paper1 all in the silences of the dormitories once full of merry sounds1 the recollections of which doubled the loneliness ,i suffered from4 ,meanwhile ,i made my home in the little room where we had held our feast in honor of ,queen ,victoria's birthday4 ,in it stood the stove on which ,i cooked my own meals3 canned goods1 tea1 and sundry fries of bacon1 eggs1 ham1 and potatoes4 ,here1 too1 ,i washed my clothes4 ,during a lull in the work1 one of the married students1 who had been given his ,ph4,b4 at commencement asked me to go with him to the outskirts of the village where some eight-inch gas pipes were to be laid4 ,he wanted me to join him at the shovel6 ,at the time ,i weighed but one hundred and twenty pounds4 ,the foreman put us in a clay ditch under a scalding ,july sun with a gang of knotted-muscled1 tanned ,irishmen to whom the picking of dried lumps of clay and the shovelling of heaps of it were mere items of a day's work to be done mechanically1 but for my friend and myself tasks for ,titans4 ,the ,irishmen at my heels kept passing me1 doubling on me1 until1 after a two days' attempt1 with the lure of twenty-five cents an hour for the prize1 my friend with his ,ph4,b4 and ,i with my ambitions fell out of the race and rode wearily back to the village and to the ,university1 where for days neither of us was fit for even so simple a task as lifting a pound weight2 the excessive strain had undermined our strength4 ,while recuperating1 ,i was given food by the superintendent and spent most of my time wandering into the woods or through the sheep pastures where my uppermost thought was3 8,what is the use of all this8 ,it is weariness and a vanity of the flesh4 ,give up your education6 ,you must have money and strength1 money and strength1 money and strength60 ,and then the thought of my classmates would obtrude itself and ,i saw them in visions at their tasks1 at their homes1 in the full enjoyment of work1 companionship1 and wages4 ,i seemed to hear1 borne on the summer wind1 above the bleating of the sheep1 the exhortations of the evangelists in their tents which were crowded with farmers1 paying heed to the gospel1 and ,i was envious of them4 ,i thought of the miners deep under the earth1 black with their toil but happy in earning a substantial wage2 strong1 oh1 so strong6 ,my fight for an education1 when contrasted with their natural endowments of strength and friendships1 seemed puny1 futile4 ,in such a way did the black demon ,despair lay its sharp claws on my spirit and make it bleed4 ,i would start back across the field1 not heeding the innocent1 questioning gaze of the sheep as they packed off and watched me go1 not watching the swift circlings of the sombre vultures high above my head1 but going back to my lonely room feeling that ,i should never have another flash of happiness flood my life again4 ,then ,i would get out the can-opener1 uncover a can of beans1 and warm them on the stove for supper4 ,but everything has its end1 even as my homesickness and discouragement had their ending when the students came back once more1 bringing others with them4 ,they came back flushed with eagerness for another year's work2 eager once more to invest themselves in sacred ties of friendship4 ,thropper came back with a hundred dollars3 his summer's earnings4 ,i reported that ,i had just managed to pay my last year's tuition and my summer's board3 ,i could enter upon my second year of education with a clean slate4 ,once more the round of studies1 prayer-meetings1 and chores commenced3 this time with less of novelty4 ,the approach to winter brought with it the same questions of how to earn cash4 ,to this end ,i went into the woods for a day and tried to chop down trees1 but my arms were not attuned to axe swinging2 after my first cord had been cut ,i had to abandon the quest for dollars in that healthful but too vigorous work4 ,i returned to the ,university and assisted the baker with bread and pies and the janitor with the university floors2 the money to be credited against my account on the books4 ,but ,i realized at last that ,i was in the midst of inestimable privileges4 ,the studies awakened me to the possibilities of culture and mental fitness4 ,some of my last year's friends had entered upon the pleasant vocations of teaching and business for which they received a moderate1 but1 as it appeared to me1 a flattering compensation4 ,thropper--ever on the alert with inspiration--comforted me one night when my empty pockets had induced a pessimistic frame of mind1 by saying3 8,now look here1 ,priddy4 ,suppose you don't have any money and have to scrimp on things4 ,here you are privileged to take extra studies every day2 a millionaire's son couldn't do more4 ,you don't have to lose a term of study1 either4 ,you are going along through the schedule about as comfortably as any one4 ,that's worth a good deal4 ,there's ,harry ,lane--got plenty of money1 but you know he was compelled to drop out for a term on account of bad eyes4 ,you're lucky1 old fellow60 and the good-natured fellow gave me a staggering1 but well-meant1 clap on the shoulder that knocked every ounce of pessimism out of my system4 8,i am in luck1 ,thropper4 ,i know it60 ,i declared1 and then went to my study with new courage4 8,the only trouble about the whole matter1 ,thropper10 ,i declared1 after some moments of quietness1 8is that ,i am making the fight alone--no one to rely on if ,i get stuck1 you know4 ,the other fellows can depend upon more or less from friends--,i can't2 all those bridges are cut behind me60 ,thropper closed his book with an energetic snap4 8,you ,chump60 he exclaimed1 with a melting light in his clear eyes1 8what do you think8 ,that you haven't won any friends since coming to the ,university8 ,that's where you're wrong3 sadly out of tune6 ,all you have to do1 any day1 is to say the word and you can get any amount ,i have on hand60 ,i jumped to my feet and said1 very gently1 8,thropper1 you're all right60 ,then1 without another word1 for the situation was getting close to the edge of tears1 ,thropper threw himself in his stuffed chair and ,i sat on the edge of the bed1 under the hissing flare of the gas1 both of us as busy as could be with the next day's lessons4 ,chapter ,,xvi4 ,visions1 ,hysteria1 ,dogma1 and ,poor ,lessons to the ,front when the ,revivalists ,arrived4 ,how ,natural it ,sounded when 8,bird0 ,thurlow ,asked a ,flippant ,question ,then the annual winter revival was announced4 ,upon this event the ,university centered all its prayers1 its hopes1 its attention1 as the banner event of the year4 ,in the church papers where the advertisement of the ,university appeared1 the annual revival was featured4 ,several of the students had been sent to the institution by their parents principally for the spiritual benefits that might come to them in the atmosphere of the revival4 ,the whole air began to stir with the throb of revival preparation4 ,a spiritual census of the students was taken1 not officially or in any stereotyped way1 and all the energy of ,christian effort was brought to bear on creating the right1 psychological mood for the time the evangelists should arrive4 ,the prayer bands wove in extra meetings and increased their unction4 ,neglected1 after-supper prayer-services were suddenly filled4 ,bands of earnest1 zealous men and women roamed from room to room holding spiritual inquisitions over 8,the ,clamorous ,eight0 and any others who were thought to need special portions of grace4 8,i'm heartily in favor of ,christian effort10 ,i said to ,jason1 one day1 when we were talking over the coming revival1 8but take last year and think how many hours were lost to study and given to the meetings6 ,i should think that those things might be left to camp-meetings and churches--there were three long revivals in the village last winter--and we ought to center our precious time on study60 ,jason declared1 emphatically and finally1 8,brother ,priddy1 what are heads compared to souls80 8,oh1 ,i don't object to any sort of efforts being indulged if people are to be made ,christian1 ,jason1 but according to what you said in the prayer-meeting last night1 there are only three in the whole ,university who do not make any profession of religious faith3 just three1 and yet two whole weeks are to be set apart to the ,evangelists who will come and preach the #8third-birth doctrine' and other dogmatic matters4 ,that is what ,i protest against40 ,again ,jason answered with his inclusive1 8,brother ,priddy1 what are heads compared to souls80 ,by the time the revivalists appeared it had been announced in the prayer-service that not one of the students stood 8outside the ,christian fold40 ,the revivalists had a clear chance1 then1 to preach the special doctrine of 8the third-birth10 without any further parley4 ,the revivalists were a man and his wife1 both of them uneducated1 whose chief claim to merit in their field lay in the fact that they were said to be 8filled with the ,spirit40 ,in spite of the bad grammar1 the mixed figures of rhetoric1 traces of demagogism1 and an excessive ex cathedra tone1 the revivalists were given full power in the meetings4 ,all interests in pure scholarship were crowded aside4 ,the valedictorian1 the temperance orator who had won the interstate oratorical prize1 the professors1 and the humble seeker after knowledge were subordinated to the zealot1 the exhorter1 the unctuous pleader4 ,in morning chapel the time was generously lengthened to accommodate the doctrinal exhortations of the revivalist and his wife1 who spake not so much of practical concerns1 but entered into a bewildering maze of ,scripture quibblings1 text jugglings1 super-rational conclusions1 and a daze of fantastic analogies4 ,when the closing bell sounded1 the speaker would turn to the ,president and say1 familiarly--even commandingly1 8,well1 brother1 studies can wait on the ,lord1 can't they80 and the ,president had nothing to say but1 8,yes40 ,the morning exhortations infringed on our nine o'clock classes so that often they had to be discontinued2 much to the reluctance of the professors who had to bear the brunt of the intellectual disqualifications of students at graduation time4 ,as the meetings continued1 in the evenings1 the enthusiasm increased4 ,when emotions were running at flood the meetings were carried well into the night and ,thropper and ,i often did not reach our room until eleven o'clock--with all opportunity for study taken away4 ,but again the professors had to lose1 for if any of us were backward with lessons the next morning1 by saying1 8,professor1 ,i was at the meeting last night4 ,i did not have any opportunity to study10 a proper adjustment was made in our favor4 ,for1 as ,jason had said1 the theory at that time was1 8,what are heads compared to souls80 ,at the conclusion of the first ,thursday evening's meeting1 the revivalist and his wife let it be known that 8,at last ,god is blessing us60 ,high tide had been reached4 ,that meeting had been given into the hands of the students after the leader had preached for an hour on a doctrinal theme4 ,a hymn was started by a young woman4 ,she stood while she led the singing and at the conclusion she still stood erect1 with her eyes fixed on the ceiling4 ,she had thrown herself into a trance and spoke in a jumble some words nobody could decipher but which were understood to be a 8revelation40 ,that was the signal for a wild demonstration4 ,jason leaped to his feet and after shouting1 8,god is with us6 ,emmanuel60 he sat shivering in his seat as if his body were in the grasp of angry spirits4 ,a group of young women paraded down the aisles and before the pulpit waving their handkerchiefs and shouting in shrill ecstasy4 ,suddenly one of the young men near me burst into lamentations and tears1 moaning as if his heart would break4 ,meanwhile the evangelists knelt at the front of the platform in prayer2 praying for people by name4 ,then the young man who had been crying suddenly darted to his feet and broke into a torrent of wild1 hysterical laughter and ran to the upper end of the room clapping his hands4 ,hymns of different sorts and tunes had broken out in different parts of the room1 making a musical ,babel4 ,the young woman who had had the trance came into consciousness again1 and1 on the urgence of the revivalists1 ascended the platform from whence she described a vision fit to be framed in ,miltonic verse4 ,at eleven o'clock hands were joined1 a hymn was sung1 and after a benediction from 8,pa0 ,borden1 we went back to our rooms4 ,then the revivalists with their honors full on them departed1 and the emotional tension left us4 ,it was a distinct relief1 like a bit of bird's chatter after the epic storm1 to hear 8,bird0 ,thurlow shout across the walk1 one morning1 8,hey1 ,paddy1 going to take ,miss ,adee to the lecture next ,wednesday80 ,chapter ,,xvii4 ,my ,presidential ,pose and its ,central ,place in 8,the ,record40 ,a ,wistful ,glance and ,some ,practical ,plans towards ,eastern ,education4 ,how the ,little ,sparrow ,brought my ,class ,colors to me as ,i ,gave the ,class 8,oration40 ,ends in a ,fight ,in the spring1 when announcements of ,commencement and ,graduation were in the air1 a gathering of four members of the collegiate department1 as many members of the preparatory division1 two business students1 and five who could not be classified by reason of their slowness to master their studies1 met in response to a call1 sent out by the ,seniors1 for the members of the ,freshmen ,class to elect officers1 and after due deliberation made me their president4 ,with this honor thrust on me1 ,i was immediately in a dilemma1 for the main purpose of the class organization was to have each member's photograph in the ,senior's 8,record10 a souvenir book of the ,university life4 ,had ,i been other than the president1 ,i should not have fretted about my inability to afford a visit to the picture gallery1 but there ,i was3 due to have my picture in the middle of the group4 ,i was in despair until finally ,i thought of little ,jack ,borden1 who owned a three-dollar camera4 ,i told him my predicament and he consented to make a snap-shot of me for ten cents that should be fit to be in the center of a group of 8gallery ones0 as he termed those that the official photographer would take4 ,as ,jack had no photographer's background1 he snapped me with my back to the flowered wall paper1 and when the finished picture was handed me1 there ,i sat1 outlined against a mass of conventional crocus leaves and a picture of 8,pa0 ,borden hung on the wall above my head6 ,i was told by one of 8,the ,record0 ,committee that the picture would never be fit to reproduce with such a background3 that it should be in relief against a plain one4 ,i returned to my room in despair1 but finally resolved to cut my picture out from the wall paper and paste it on a piece of plain1 black pasteboard4 ,after going over the outline with the scissors ,i finally succeeded in accomplishing the feat and the picture went in the middle of the group1 an undignified1 flat1 ill-posed1 and somewhat jagged outline of myself1 most conspicuous as 8the president40 ,as the year drew to an end1 and the students began to talk so emotionally of home and friends1 ,i began to feel that ,i had been long enough in exile from my eastern home and friendships4 ,i also began to wonder if now that ,i had learned the art of working a way through school ,i should not be more comfortable in ,massachusetts4 ,i had heard the graduating students talk of 8,dartmouth0 and 8,boston ,university0 and 8,yale0 and 8,harvard10 with a sort of worshipful accent1 not far short of reverence4 ,one or two graduates in the past1 so the local legend ran1 had even attained to post-graduate work in ,yale and ,harvard6 ,therefore1 as ,i heard this talk1 listened to this semi-worship of ,new ,england education1 and realized that it was my home1 my own environment1 ,i also asked myself the question3 8,why not go and complete your education in that atmosphere80 ,i mentioned this fact to ,thropper4 ,he said to me3 8,i have often wondered1 ,priddy1 why you came away out here for your education when you have such good schools in ,new ,england4 ,i should think you'd be able to work your way along out there and get some mighty fine chances4 ,i just wish ,i had been an ,easterner60 8,i've a good mind to go ,east when school closes1 ,thropper1 and try4 ,i must confess ,i feel lonesome1 homesick out here4 ,i miss the ocean and the hills4 ,i can't help it4 ,i suppose ,i run the risk of not getting to school next year1 though1 if ,i break off now60 8,not if you're willing to work as you have10 said ,thropper4 8,though ,i'd hate to have you go4 ,i thought you might be my right hand man when ,i marry1 next fall60 8,marry80 8,yes1 in ,september4 ,oh1 you'll get an invitation even if you won't be able to attend1 ,priddy10 he added1 solemnly1 8,i wouldn't try to keep you from going ,east even with my wedding4 ,try it1 old fellow4 ,you owe it to yourself1 now that you've got such a good start here4 ,this place doesn't pretend to be in competition with the big ,eastern institutions4 ,evangelical ,university is concerned mostly with giving a fellow a start towards them4 ,the faculty would be only too glad to have you leave here1 if they knew you were going to stick to your education in the ,east40 8,i'll do it1 ,thropper60 ,i replied4 ,the busy season of ,commencement was ushered in3 a busy time even for those of us who were far1 very far from graduation4 ,my 8class0 voted that ,i represent them with an oration on 8,class ,day40 ,no classic1 intellectual1 or sentimental event was ,class ,day at ,evangelical ,university1 but1 rather1 a ,western outflow of burlesque and banter4 ,every day for a week ,i practised my 8oration0 in the attic of the ,university building4 ,in this speech ,i had put1 as all previous ,class ,day orators had made a practise of putting1 puns1 alliterations1 pompous passages1 personalities1 and much bathos4 ,i tried to perfect myself in its delivery1 not knowing just what experiences ,i should encounter on the day ,i should speak it4 ,a wild1 untamed1 yelling1 crowding procession filled the chapel hall1 each class in a section by itself and the 8orators0 seated on the platform4 ,it came my turn4 ,i stepped to the front and raised my hand for the first word when suddenly the class next above mine yelled1 poked up slang signs1 and then from the square ventilator hole high above my head darted a sparrow with a trailing streamer of our class ribbon fluttering from its tail4 ,at every sentence1 nearly every word1 ,i had to pause on account of the yellings1 the banter1 and the interruptions caused by flying hats and scudding pieces of pasteboard4 ,after about a half hour of disciplined posing1 ,i finally concluded the 8oration0 amid the admiring plaudits of my class4 ,thus orator followed orator1 each one outdoing the other with satire1 pun1 and rhetorical nonsense4 ,to the accompaniment of a thudding fight which was taking place between the representatives of two classes over our heads where the bird had been sent down1 ,class ,day came to an end1 and my active life at ,evangelical ,university likewise4 ,chapter ,,xviii4 ,thropper ,unfolds ,something ,better than ,canned ,foods4 ,a ,lesson with the ,flat ,iron4 ,thropper ,proposes that ,i ,chaperone ,horses 8,how are you going to get back to ,massachusetts1 ,priddy80 asked ,thropper when ,i was shuffling some photographs which ,i had taken down from a wire rack on the wall4 8,oh1 ,i'll have to try to get work in a factory or on a farm about here10 ,i answered1 8until ,i earn my fare60 8,have you any definite work planned for1 yet80 8,no1 but ,i thought ,i'd go out this afternoon and see what ,i might pick up4 ,i could keep this room and board myself1 ,thropper40 ,he made a wry face1 and blurted out3 8,warmed over canned beans1 ugh60 8,what do you mean1 old fellow80 8,boarding yourself--canned soups1 canned meats1 canned everything--ugh60 8,that's what your wife will feed you on--at first1 while she learns to cook1 ,thropper10 ,i laughed4 8,perhaps you'll prefer canned things60 8,is that so80 he retorted1 with some show of heat4 8,well1 that's all you know about things4 ,she can cook already3 you just wait till you taste some of her cooking4 ,canned things--ugh60 8,well10 ,i sighed1 8,i've little choice60 8,how would you like to spend the summer at a neat little hotel in ,michigan80 8,thropper60 8,and room in a little cottage in the midst of a little grove of pines1 near little sandhills1 among a little group of the finest fellows in the world--college students80 continued ,thropper1 with a smile4 8,a little bit too much imagination in your little talk1 my dear little fellow60 ,i retorted4 8,and go down to the beach every day for a bath among the big waves1 and go boating and fishing2 seeing the great crowds of excursionists and vacationists60 8,go on10 ,i gasped1 8have it out1 ,thropper1 if you particularly enjoy the stunt60 8,food10 continued my roommate1 8well1 let me see3 strawberry shortcake la much1 mutton chops with bacon la juicy1 calves' brains on toast la delicious1 hashed browned potatoes la second helping1 and for desserts3 cream and jellies1 sherberts and pies--0 8-- la imagination1 eh1 ,thropper10 ,i interrupted4 ,my roommate's rugged face was overspread with a grin4 ,he clapped me over the shoulder and said1 continuing his whim3 8,to enjoy many beautiful1 moon-lit hours1 watching the glint of the phosphorescent waves as they twinkle like fairy lights over the broad expanse of ,lake ,michigan2 to--0 8,look out1 ,thropper10 ,i exclaimed at this poetic outburst1 8or you'll be crowding the spring poets out of a job60 8,to roam at will through the shady groves1 over the sand dunes1 to hear the orchestral music1 the light plash of the waves against the pier while you hold a fish-line in the water2 to loll on the fragrant pine needles and read1 muse1 rest1 and be inspired3 what do you think of that for a program for the next three months1 ,priddy80 8,ask a ,mohammedan what he thinks of ,paradise or an exiled ,prince what he thinks of a ,kingdom1 ,thropper80 8,then10 continued ,thropper1 8the whole experience not to cost you a cent3 rather you are to be paid at the rate of four dollars a week3 wages for a treat like that1 ,priddy3 what do you think of that80 8,it is impossible for me to think about such a prospect1 ,thropper1 my imagination is intoxicated60 8,then you will go60 ,i looked at ,thropper as if he had parted with his senses4 8,what an actor you are1 ,thropper4 ,one would imagine you serious in all this60 8,of course ,i'm serious60 he announced4 8,i am merely offering you the chance to go with ,brook and myself to ,macatawa1 ,michigan1 to wait on table at one of the hotels there40 8,oh60 8,but all the things ,i have enumerated1 ,priddy1 are facts and not dreams4 ,the work is very easy3 six hours a day2 two hours a meal1 with the interims filled with all sorts of good times4 ,what do you say8 ,our railway fares and steamer passages will be sent and later will be deducted from our wages4 ,will you go80 8,do they let the waiters eat calves' brains on toast1 ,thropper80 ,i asked1 seriously4 8,extra orders which are not taken10 he responded4 8,of course ,i'll go1 old fellow4 ,it will be a wonderful chance1 won't it80 8,it will give you a good chance to get a rest1 ,priddy10 he averred1 solemnly4 8,your poor1 pinched body needs it60 8,when do we leave80 8,in two days2 soon as ,brock gets word to the hotel that we are coming4 ,i can lend you some collars and things till we get there40 8,the first month's wages are to go for clothes10 ,i announced4 8,all aboard for ,ma-cat-a-wa3 last call for dinner60 ,i cried1 and then ,thropper and ,i1 sharers of confidences and of dreams1 linked arms and waltzed crazily around the room--for sheer joy4 ,one week after having waltzed with ,thropper over the creaky boards of the dormitory1 ,i found myself adjusted to a new phase of existence1 delicious and inspiring in its every aspect4 ,after a lifetime spent in the midst of places where toil and only toil held the boards3 after twenty years' vision of strenuous tasks done by those about me1 in mills1 shops1 and on the street1 at last ,i found myself in the midst of a place set apart to idleness3 where the indolent were given the palm branch1 and where work1 for a wonder1 found itself1 even by honorable people1 spurned as a thing out of place4 ,the six hours' work a day put at my command all the recreational advantages of the resort3 the shapely sand dunes1 the boardwalks through cool1 shaded pine groves1 the smooth1 sandy1 slippery beach down which one walked past artists' studios1 soap box shanties1 and pretentious pillared cottages4 ,and the water6 ,we bathed by day and by night4 ,in it we fished and raced4 ,over it we rowed in boats that were tossed like light corks from engulfing wave to engulfing waves1 while the life-boat man from the pier kept a sharp eye on our adventure4 ,by its edge on a moon-light night we built a chain of fires and in the flames of them we roasted marshmallows1 sang songs1 and passed all sorts of banter4 ,in the dining-hall ,i met my fellow waiters and waitresses3 college students1 all of them1 from different parts of the country4 ,the orchestra1 at dinner1 played complimentary college tunes in our honor3 our guests broke down all perfunctory relations and intimately entered into our ambitions4 ,while waiting for the arrival of guests at breakfast the waiters stood under a wooden canopy in the hotel yard and ironed napkins and towels4 ,of course neither ,thropper nor ,i were very expert in the laundry1 but that did not excuse us from it4 ,one day the ,irishwoman1 who was proprietor of the hotel1 came and investigated the laundry4 ,she paid particular attention to the manner in which ,i conducted the flat-iron over the towels4 ,after watching me for some moments1 during which1 for a woman1 she maintained a severe and terrible silence1 during which perspiration poured down my face1 she suddenly exploded with laughter and said3 8,ah1 ah6 ,you should see ,mister ,priddy use his iron4 ,it's a rale treat4 ,he is that gentle on the cloths6 ,i want you all to come around and take a lesson4 ,you girls now10 she indicated some of the college girls1 8have been doing it wrong all the time60 ,she laughed loudly1 as they gathered about my board4 ,taking the iron gingerly in her massive1 red1 and scarred hand1 the ,irishwoman very gently tipped the back edge of it on a towel and deliberately1 though exactly1 drew the iron backward several times1 lifting it from the board to carry it forward4 8,that's the way ,mr4 ,priddy says you ought to iron60 she shouted1 her burly face reddening with merriment1 as she noticed my chagrin4 8,it's backwards and not forwards that you should iron1 all of ye60 and then she sat down on a bench in the midst of a most industrious crowd of laughing boys and girls4 ,after the fun1 she took the iron in hand in an endeavor to show me the true1 laundry method of using a flat-iron4 ,all the tricks1 the horse-plays1 the trivial but welcome expressions of fun that crowd themselves into a college life1 were indulged at the hotel by the waiters and waitresses4 ,a group of ,michigan students lived in a long1 loosely-built shanty in the yard1 on the doors of which they had painted its name3 8,lover's ,roost10 and the better to carry out the fancy of its being a roost1 the boys were in the habit of receiving expected visitors1 who came to inspect their quarters1 perched on the upper beams1 above the partitions1 flapping their hands and crowing like lusty1 gigantic roosters6 ,the season rushed past in its merry whirl4 ,tired muscles relaxed1 taut nerves slacked1 weary bodies gained repose1 there on the sand dunes1 amid parties1 ftes1 musicales1 and picnics4 ,the first chill winds from the lake wafted hordes of people back to work1 and soon left the hotel nearly unpeopled4 ,as the day approached when ,i should have to leave1 ,i found that ,i had saved but a trifle out of my earnings3 the money had gone for a much-needed1 but not expensive1 ward-robe4 ,i counted over my change and found that ,i did not have enough money left with which to purchase a ticket for so far away a place as ,massachusetts4 ,i mentioned the matter to ,thropper4 ,he1 in turn1 in that generous way of his1 began to plan for me4 ,one day he came and said3 8,priddy1 you know ,gloomer1 the fellow from ,indiana ,state ,university2 well1 if you go down to ,indianapolis with him1 he'll see that you get a chance to go on a freight train as far as ,new ,york2 from there you'll have enough to get home1 won't you80 8,yes4 ,a freight train1 you say8 ,as a tramp1 riding on the axles80 ,i gasped1 with an inward shudder at the thought of such a desperate ride4 8,of course not60 declared ,thropper4 8,you'd go in the caboose4 ,we'd send you with a load of horses1 you know4 ,you'd be the man in charge2 to feed them40 8,but ,i don't know anything about horses1 ,thropper40 8,you don't have to know anything about them10 he said1 with a smile4 8,it's just a technical way of expressing it4 ,you see1 when the horse-dealers send a carload of horses ,east1 they are entitled to a representative to go along and take care of them4 ,you'd be the representative4 ,gloomer could give you a line to an ,indianapolis sales stable4 ,they'd do the rest--as far as ,new ,york4 ,what do you say60 ,in a wild moment of incautious self-confidence1 ,i responded3 8,anything to get to ,new ,york1 ,thropper40 8,it's settled1 then10 he responded4 8,albert ,priddy1 horse chaperone1 ,i salute thee10 and he gravely saluted me4 8,when will his lordship occupy his caboose80 he went on in good-humored raillery4 8,as soon as ,i can get it60 ,i replied4 ,chapter ,,xix4 ,a ,chapter ,which ,has to do with a ,series of ,exciting ,affairs that ,occurred between the ,west and the ,east1 and ,which are ,better to ,read about than to ,endure ,thropper accompanied me to the wharf in ,chicago where1 so far as ,i was able to judge1 we were to part forever4 ,the manner of our parting was as follows3 ,thropper insisted on carrying my suit-case1 though his own was loaded to excess4 ,on crossing a street to enter the railroad station1 ,i half stumbled1 blunderingly1 under the heavy hoofs of a dray horse which a swearing driver had pulled shortly into the air1 when ,thropper1 by a lunge at my back with his heavy suit-case1 startled me into such action1 that ,i lurched ahead and away from danger4 8,thanks1 old fellow60 ,i called1 above the roar of the traffic4 ,my train was announced1 and as ,i gripped my suit-case1 ,thropper blurted out3 8,well1 ,priddy1 ,i wish you luck3 plenty of it60 8,well10 ,i stammered1 in return1 8you've certainly been good to me1 ,thropper4 ,i shall never forget it60 8,i shall miss you1 ,priddy60 8,maybe ,i shan't miss you1 old fellow60 ,i said hoarsely1 for ,i was on the verge of tears4 8,god bless you60 cried ,thropper1 with an effort4 8,god be with you60 8,make a man of yourself1 old fellow60 ,i replied4 ,one moment of profound1 tearful silence1 with our hands tightly clasped1 and then ,i broke away and ran as fast as ,i could towards my train1 pretending by that action that ,i might be in danger of losing my train1 though my only intention was to be by myself1 where1 unseen1 ,i could baptize this parting from ,thropper with unrestrained1 heartfelt tears4 ,the brick-paved and marvellously wide streets of ,indianapolis were oppressively hot when ,i arrived in the city1 with ,gloomer's letter of introduction to the sales-stable manager in my possession4 ,i had to spend two days in the city before a regular auction day arrived when it would be possible for me to make a contract with the manager4 ,i had been told that the psychological time to approach the horse-dealer would be at a sale when a carload or two of horses would be made up4 ,during my wait1 ,i had to harvest my cash diligently1 for fear of getting stranded on the way4 ,the four dollars in my pocket seemed indescribably trivial when measured against the gigantic journey ,i had between ,indianapolis and ,new ,york ,city4 ,i went on a side street and searched among the cheaper lodging-houses until ,i found one whose red1 illuminated sign told me that beds there were fifteen cents a night4 ,i went in1 talked with a wizened-faced tramp of a man1 and was shown up a flight of back stairs into a large1 dirty-papered room1 in which stood a wooden bedstead with dampish1 musty coverings4 ,as ,i slept that night1 ,i was awakened by loud quarrelsome voices in the back kitchen1 and from what ,i heard1 ,i realized that ,i was sleeping in a thieves' lodging-house4 ,after that1 ,i found myself waking up in nervous fright every few minutes1 expecting to see the door open while some villain entered with a knife or gun to strip me of what little ,i owned6 ,it was a night of horror1 of wakeful1 excited1 dread4 ,i was afraid to sleep1 and yet ,i kept waking1 hour after hour1 with the consciousness that ,i had given in to sleep1 and had made it possible for some one to overpower me4 ,then early morning dawned1 without any accident befalling me1 and ,i seized upon an excuse to leave4 ,i went downstairs very stealthily and confronted three ragged1 evil-faced men who were sitting on chairs1 smoking with the landlord4 ,i emptied a half-dozen soiled collars on the table and said3 8,i haven't time to have these laundered1 and don't need them4 ,you may have them--if they fit4 ,i wear fifteens4 ,i have to leave early4 ,here is my lodging fee for the night4 ,good morning60 and without another word ,i rushed from the house1 hoping that the men would imagine that my excitement was due to fear of losing a train rather than to any dread of them6 ,the only sight-seeing ,i accomplished in ,indianapolis came in a long walk ,i took past the freight yards1 at the end of which ,i came to a tomato ketchup factory1 where1 for two hours1 ,i watched a carload of ripe and otherwise tomatoes unloaded in barrows and carted into the store vats4 ,then ,i hurried back to the stables1 for a sale was due for late afternoon1 and my heart was centred entirely upon the hope of securing the ride to ,new ,york ,city4 ,guided by the snap of whips and the strident calls of the auctioneer1 ,i entered a dim vault of a place1 where the sale was in progress4 ,after the glare of the sun had worn itself out of my eyes1 ,i found myself on the outer edge of a large group of horse-dealers1 watching the animals put through their paces and holding up fingers to the auctioneer4 ,after the sales had been concluded1 ,i approached a cubby-hole1 which was filled with stale tobacco smoke through which ,i had a view of lithographs of race horses4 ,the manager of the stables sat at his desk1 apparently not busy1 but eloquent in cigar smoke over the sales he had made that day4 ,he had a blown1 raw face1 as red as his sunset shirt bosom and dotted with unshaved blotches of bristles4 ,his thin nose had been turned aside by a blow of some sort1 his mild blue eyes might not have been out of place in a woman's head4 ,however1 on seeing me hesitate1 and probably knowing from my abject1 petitioning manner1 that ,i was after some favor1 he flavored the air with an oath and tacked on an impatient demand as to my wants4 ,i thereupon unfolded what was in my heart1 and in the nervousness of the moment1 instead of handing him ,gloomer's letter of introduction1 gave him1 instead1 my pocket comb4 ,then ,i thought he would horse-whip me1 but1 instead1 he laughed1 and said3 8,well1 you're a thoroughbred1 ain't ye6 ,what's this80 ,i thereupon exchanged the comb for the letter1 which he took with some show of interest4 ,after reading it he said3 8,why1 ,i'd ship you to ,jericho1 if ,i was sending hosses that fur1 but only thing ,i can do's to send ye to ,buffalo4 ,you'll mebbe get another haul from there1 though ,i can't say40 ,i thought of the small amount of money in my pocket1 and of the distance at which ,i found myself from home1 and then said3 8,i was told that you might be able to ship me to ,new ,york1 sir4 ,i need the lift4 ,i have less than five dollars40 8,sorry1 kid10 he muttered4 8,buffalo's best thing in the ring for a week or more4 ,good day1 sonny60 8,but ,i'll take the chance to ,buffalo10 ,i gasped1 fearful that he would turn me off entirely4 8,i'll be very thankful for that much of a ride1 sir40 ,he opened a drawer and wrote several items on a yellow way bill which he handed to me4 8,shove that in yer pocket and skedaddle1 sonny10 he said4 8,i wish yer joy in yer ejucation1 though ,i don't in hang know what ye'll do with it when yer got it2 plant corn1 in all likelihood4 ,s'long6 ,train leaves at half-past six3 freight yard4 ,numbers of the cars on the pass60 ,at six o'clock ,i appeared in the terminal freight yards with a bag of three-cent egg sandwiches under one arm and with my slate-colored suit-case bumping against my shins4 ,it was not until ,i reached the yards and beheld the illimitable maze of tracks and the innumerable dragon-like trains of freight cars and the hive of busy1 shifting engines that were making up trains1 that ,i realized how wise ,i had been by coming a half hour early4 ,i asked a switchman where ,i should find the freight which left for ,buffalo at half-past six4 ,then ,i realized still more acutely that my difficulties were only begun1 for after he had whirled the lever over and allowed the section of shunted cars to rattle past1 he turned to me and with a very decided and pugilistic gesture1 asked me if ,i would not immediately consign myself and all my ancestors to a very negative theological place4 ,i stumbled over the switches and as ,i went felt the hot1 resentful glare of the railroad crews1 as they refused me the information ,i sought and spiced their refusals with peppery idioms4 ,they would have buffeted me had ,i not been armed by the pass4 ,finally1 knowing that ,i was in danger of losing my train1 ,i entered the switch-house and after ,i had gulped a stomachful of pipe-smoke1 one of the men told me that ,i should find the train if ,i would look for the numbers of the cars which were written on the pass4 ,so ,i went out in the dim twilight and tried to match numbers1 which to my startled1 nervous imagination looked like #edfgiijjiicbei and #efcghjeccbeeeeeeeeegcbge1 but which1 in reality1 were an inch or two shorter6 ,finally ,i found the two numbers1 and then ,i eagerly ran down the length of the train until ,i came to the caboose4 ,i climbed up the steps1 opened the dusty door and was immediately greeted by the angry gaze of the conductor and brakemen who were busy with some sort of schedules4 ,as ,i humbly presented my pass to the conductor1 and when it was made known to the crew that ,i was to be their guest in the comfortable caboose1 they immediately gave me a lurid and explicit welcome3 one that made me shiver4 ,genealogical connections of a hitherto unknown nature were ascribed to me2 to them ,i appeared as one of the brood of imps from that negative theological place1 and various exciting and blood-bringing adjectives were loaded on me that made my flesh quiver4 ,the conductor1 after generously and minutely explaining how undesirable was my presence in that caboose1 going into the minutest details of my personal limitations1 sent me1 shuddering1 over to the opposite side of the car1 as far away as possible from his presence1 where ,i found a padded window seat which was to be my bed overnight4 ,when the train started1 and the crew were sitting around with nothing to do1 ,i tried to enter into conversation with one of them4 ,but ,i was persona non grata2 of a different caste1 ,i was told to 8hang my lip on the clothes-hook10 a grewsome feat and quite a poetic conception4 ,the window1 a little square one1 was high above my head4 ,i stood on the seat in the attempt to look through it into the night4 ,immediately ,i was told to 8switch off40 ,then ,i made myself comfortable for the night by spreading myself at full length on the seat4 ,after a time1 the fumes of the lamp drugged me into a doze1 and then the thunder of the freight and the dull1 dull rumble of the train crew's voices sent me off into a fretful1 but long sleep4 ,in the morning1 when ,i opened my eyes1 and looked out of the back door window1 we were passing stations in ,ohio4 ,the morning was very pleasant1 and thinking that a whole night of my presence might have made the train crew tolerant1 ,i ascended into the lookout1 above the roof of the caboose1 where1 from the cushioned seat1 ,i could make a splendid observation of country through which we were passing4 ,but my joy was short-lived4 ,immediately the thunders of the conductor called me down and ,i was sternly ordered to 8sit down where you belong10 a command which was followed by a descriptive phrase which linked me to a low and disreputable order of creation4 ,by nine o'clock we brought up in the ,cleveland yards1 where a new caboose and a new train were to be fastened to the freight4 ,i was told to 8grab0 my belongings and 8git the-twelfth-letter-of-the-alphabet out of this60 which ,i did1 and found1 when ,i got to the ground1 that the freight train had gone off and left the caboose standing in the yard4 ,then ,i went on a frightful1 heart-thumping search for the two cars with the long numbers on them3 not spending any time to be rebuffed by the yard men4 ,i leaped from track to track and searched car after car until1 at last1 ,i found the numbers ,i wanted1 and by following out the length of the train1 came to the new caboose4 ,in this second caboose ,i resolved not to irritate the crew1 and to this end ,i made myself comfortable in my allotted place1 took off my boots1 put on a pair of tennis shoes1 and read a book ,i had in my suit-case4 ,when the train finally entered the ,buffalo freight yards ,i was hurried out1 as the conductor wanted to lock the caboose without the loss of a minute4 ,when ,i got to the ground1 in my hurry1 and after the conductor had locked the door and left me standing dazed1 ,i found that ,i had left my shoes in the caboose4 ,but no amount of search for the conductor succeeded1 and finally one of the railroad men told me that ,i might as well give up the search1 especially as the caboose had been whirled out of sight by a switching engine4 ,so ,i went into the city with my suit-case and my lean purse1 determined to visit the sales stables and stock-yards1 until ,i should find a chance to ride on to ,new ,york ,city4 ,i realized that if ,i should ever arrive in ,new ,york ,i should not have enough money to carry me home1 but ,i followed a blind instinct which seemed to tell me that1 ,new ,york attained1 8something would turn up40 ,in one of the back streets of ,buffalo ,i found a ,temperance ,hotel1 where beds and rooms were fifteen cents a day4 ,the hotel had in its frowsy lobby a group of unkempt men who seemed to be temperate in one thing more strikingly than another1--work1 for during any part of the day ,i found them there tipped back in the chairs holding their conferences on momentous matters4 ,i left my umbrella with the clerk for collateral1 and told him that further security for my board would be my suit-case which was certainly worth thirty-five cents4 ,i had a good thirty-cent dinner in the dining-room1 and then went out to visit the stock-yards of the city4 ,when ,i saw the multitude of cattle pens1 near the railroad1 and saw them filled with sheep and cattle1 ,i estimated that in them alone were two hundred and fifty possible trips to the end of the world2 but when ,i entered the lobby of the ,stockman's ,hotel and tried to get the influence of the cattle-buyers towards a pass1 they would have nothing to do with me4 ,thus rebuffed1 ,i went the rounds of the sales stables1 of which there were many facing the stock pens4 ,in these ,i was told there were no sales on just then1 but that if anything turned up they would see what they could do4 ,that gave me hope1 so ,i said that ,i would call on them during the next day4 ,during this wait ,i found that my money was nearly gone4 ,i had fifty cents on hand for board4 ,i asked a disreputable fellow1 near the ,temperance ,hotel1 where ,i could get some cheap meals4 ,he pointed to the next street and told me that they had three-cent meals in some of the eating-houses there4 ,that evening ,i indulged in a three-cent supper4 ,it consisted of a dish of beans1 a slice of bread1 some 8butter0 and a cup of coffee4 ,i went to the same place for breakfast the next morning and for three cents secured a cup of coffee1 a doughnut1 and a dish of stew4 ,that morning a heavy rain began to fall1 and1 for the first time1 ,i began to miss the shoes ,i had left in the caboose4 ,i had on a suit of good clothes1 so that the worn tennis shoes on my feet were all the more startling2 but when the streets were filled with running brooks of rain through which ,i was forced to walk1 it was not merely a matter of appearance with me1 but a matter of comfort4 ,on my way to the stock-yards to see what the sales stables could do for me1 my feet were uncomfortably soaked to the skin4 ,the canvas tops of the shoes were like mops4 ,every step ,i took on the sidewalk was the cause of a soggy1 moppish slop4 ,i expected the first policeman to arrest me as a suspicious character4 ,i went from stable to stable1 and at each one asked in a tremulous voice if they were about to send any horses to ,new ,york or ,boston in the near future1 but neither sales nor shipments were being made4 ,i tried to interest some of the stock-drovers in the cattle yards in my affairs1 but evidently ,i bored them4 ,i paid another1 desperate visit to the ,stockman's ,hotel1 but the cattle-buyers would not give me a word of encouragement towards a pass to ,new ,york ,city4 ,after this ,i returned to the heart of the city and began to plan against absolute starvation4 ,even with three-cent meals ,i could not have a much longer time to eat unless ,i obtained some more money4 ,then ,i felt the bulge of my nickel-plated watch1 in my vest pocket4 ,i had paid a dollar for it and had used it for two years4 ,it had been purchased second-hand from a mill friend and had originally cost not more than three dollars4 ,i hurried to a pawn-broker's shop and said1 eagerly1 as ,i handed the shopman the weighty time-piece3 8,you can have this at your own price--,i don't care how much you offer4 ,i need the money60 ,he tossed the watch in the palm of his hand1 then laughed1 and as he handed it back to me he said1 impatiently3 8,g'wan6 ,it ain't wuth a flea6 ,i wouldn't buy dat t'ing fer junk6 ,git60 ,disconsolately ,i passed out1 with the shopman's scornful eyes on me1 and the gaze of a burly negro and his wife following me4 ,i had no sooner reached the sidewalk1 however1 than the negro came out and said3 8,say1 how much yo' want fo' dat watch80 ,the negro's wife appeared1 and from their excessive interest in the watch ,i knew that they would purchase it if ,i should put out an enticing price4 ,i cogitated in my mind as to how much ,i might have to pay for a pair of second-hand shoes1 and then said3 8,fifty cents6 ,keeps good time1 too1 see60 ,the negro took the watch in his hand1 and evidently it was the enormous size of it rather than its efficiency as a time-keeper that interested him1 for he spent more time gazing on its back than he did in contemplating its works4 ,he thrust his hand into his pockets and gave me a fifty-cent piece which1 just then1 looked as round and golden as a harvest moon1 but more tangible4 ,i hurried from the negro as swiftly as ,i could in fear that he might repent and ask for a return of the precious coin4 ,i hastened down a side street1 made a spiral through a maze of streets1 and then felt that the half dollar belonged to me4 ,i next began a search for a pair of shoes4 ,there were rows of them in a ,jewish cobbler's window1 so ,i went in4 ,the ,jewish woman1 who was in charge1 in the absence of her husband1 asked me what size ,i wanted1 and then pulled out for my inspection a pair of iron-clads that would not have been amiss on the feet of ,ulysses when he started out on his wearing travels1 and they surely would have lasted him through all his strenuous adventures4 ,illustration3 ,,say1 ,,how ,,much ,,yo' ,,want ,,fo' ,,dat ,,watch 8,fifty-four cents60 announced the woman4 ,i told her that ,i could not spend a cent more than fifty for foot-wear else ,i should have to go without supper1 and that wet feet were more comfortable than an empty stomach4 ,we then entered upon an oriental haggling during which ,i found it imperative to credit myself with every virtue of honesty and candidness1 and during which she called on every prophet to witness that the shoes should not go for a cent less than fifty-four4 ,i held up my soggy tennis shoes and tapped them on the floor so that their miserable splash should strike a compassionate chill in her hard heart4 ,i told her my lifetime's history2 gave her a most pathetic list of my adventures2 descanted with fervor on the unkindness of men towards one who was trying to make his way1 and then the shoes were mine6 ,i had to learn to walk over again when the dry shoes were on4 ,i half stumbled at first with the weight1 but ,i felt that at last ,i could go on the main street of the city and pass among respectable people without having harsh comments made4 ,after my three-cent supper1 ,i hurried to a church where a prayer-meeting was in progress4 ,after the meeting ,i made a confidant of the minister1 who took me before a group of men2 the total result of which was that they lent me ten dollars on a note which ,i later paid1 or tried to pay1 but they refused to accept the money and sent me back my note4 ,a scalper's ticket to ,new ,york ,city took nearly all of the ten dollars4 ,i returned to the 8hotel0 where ,i sold my umbrella and out of the proceeds paid my room rent and bade good-bye to the men who lounged there4 ,the ,new ,york train which ,i had to take did not leave ,buffalo until two o'clock in the morning4 ,as ,i went through the quiet streets1 the scavengers were out1 with bags on their shoulders1 fingering the refuse barrels that lined the curbs in front of hotels and eating-houses4 ,it was a glimpse of poverty that made me shudder1 and which by comparison made me feel quite aristocratic4 ,the conductor accepted my scalper's ticket without comment1 though he might have put me off the train on the least suspicion4 ,i took off my heavy shoes1 leaned back in the seat and fell asleep without a care to distract me while the express hummed smoothly through the night4 ,as soon as the train arrived in the ,new ,york station ,i had to hurry across the city to the steamboat wharves in time to board the ,providence steamer for the dollar ride into the ,fall ,river zone4 ,though ,i had never been in the metropolis before1 and though ,i stood for a thrilling moment in the very midst of its wonders1 impelling poverty drove me across the city like a slave-master's whip1 and ,i boarded the steamer with merely an impressionistic glance of some ferry-houses1 some wholesale fruit houses1 a dilapidated horse-car1 some street corner blockades1 a whiff of ,hester street1 and the ,east ,river bridges4 ,after a night in the forward part of the boat1 sleeping in a berth which might have been the confines of a barrel1 while a drunken man next to me kept up a periodic1 loose-mouthed protest to a man in the upper berth that he wished he wouldn't snore so loud and keep everybody awake1 ,i was put ashore in ,providence4 ,from there ,i was taken by trolley into ,massachusetts and home4 ,when ,i arrived in ,new ,bedford ,i had thirty-five cents remaining in my pocket4 ,but ,i was home6 ,and ready for the next step in my education1 whatever that should be4 ,chapter ,,xx ,aunt ,millie's ,interpretation of ,education4 ,the ,right ,sort of an ,adviser ,gets ,hold of me ,i hurried--with a feeling of pride--in the direction of the tenement where my aunt and uncle were living4 ,it was nearly noon4 ,i would surprise my aunt6 ,i knocked on the door4 ,my ,aunt ,millie stood before me4 8,hello60 ,i cried4 8,how are you80 ,she gazed on me with evident surprise1 and with a mixture of suspicion1 which she put in her first words3 8,i thought you were out getting made into a gentleman--at one of those schools80 8,why1 aunt1 ,i've had two years of education--so far4 ,i mean to have more40 8,but where's that fortune you've made80 ,i gasped4 8,fortune8 ,i've only got thirty-five cents and ,i'm in debt for that60 8,it's a failure1 then80 she asked1 maliciously4 8,of course it isn't a failure60 ,i insisted1 desperately4 8,two years of it have helped me very much4 ,i mean to get more of it1 aunt60 8,but you look poorly dressed1 and you tell me that you're poorer than the day you went4 ,i always thought education meant getting along in life60 8,it does mean getting along in life10 ,i argued1 8but not necessarily getting along in money--or even good clothes4 ,it has to do with the mind--with the thinking powers--eh--0 ,she burst into mocking laughter and said3 8,oh1 that's it8 ,then maybe you'll not be needing bed and board now that you've had two years of education1--is that the state of things80 8,oh1 you don't understand1 aunt4 ,of course you can't do much in the world with only two years of it4 ,it needs several years of it before you can really get a position in which money or prestige may be made4 ,i'm only just on the way3 in the first stages40 8,then why aren't you in it8 ,what have you come back to us for8 ,i suppose you are short of money and want us to help you along in your brainless undertaking1 eh80 8,have ,i asked a cent from you during the last two years1 aunt80 ,i asked with some show of spirit4 8,haven't ,i earned my own living even when ,i have been at home8 ,is it likely that ,i'll ask you to help me through now80 8,it wouldn't do any good if you were to ask us10 she said1 firmly4 8,we have debts enough in the house now to drive us to distraction40 8,of course10 ,i said1 8it will be some weeks1 probably1 before ,i can shape my plans4 ,you will let me stay here80 8,there10 she sniffed1 8he's coming the soft soap act on1 now6 ,i thought you had something up your sleeve4 ,so you want me to board you free of charge for some weeks1 eh1 while you lord it around without working80 8,i shall have to plan just what to do next60 ,i announced1 feeling that this last touch to my already heavy load would break me4 8,that's all4 ,i shall be going off to some sort of a school if it's possible40 8,two days free3 that's as long as you can stop without board10 she announced4 8,i never was for this hair-brained business4 ,it's taken your earnings away4 ,after two days you must pay board40 ,i knew it was fruitless to argue with her any further and ,i longed for the noon to arrive when ,i could have ,uncle ,stanwood's more comforting greetings4 ,my uncle came in and was extremely pleased to greet me1 and my return so unexpectedly considerably upset him4 8,two years of learning1 steady10 he commented4 8,that's good4 ,you are the first ,priddy to get such a chance4 ,make the most of it4 ,two years is a good beginning4 ,i can notice a difference in your speech and your manner already4 ,keep on1 ,al60 8,his learning hasn't given him any silk shirts or gold-headed canes1 has it80 scoffed my ,aunt ,millie4 8,don't heap it on the lad10 chided my uncle1 8it's taken a lot of courage and perhaps suffering for him to get through as he has4 ,we haven't done anything towards it1 ,millie2 so we shouldn't have much to say60 ,then my uncle asked a perfectly natural and innocent question4 8,what are you aiming to be1 ,al1 when you're through with the schools80 ,tremblingly ,i whispered3 8,a preacher1 ,i think60 ,if the world had cracked or the moon had leaped into the middle of our kitchen1 my aunt could not have been more startled than she appeared to be at that announcement4 ,she instantly rallied her powers of ridicule and sarcasm and indulged in the following monologue that had little savor of love in it3 8,oh1 oh6 ,that's the lay of the land1 is it8 ,a parson6 ,a ,priddy a parson6 ,a fawning1 hypocritical parson6 ,a tea-drinking1 smirking thing in black4 ,why1 at least1 didn't he choose to be a lawyer or a doctor or something worth while8 ,i thought he had brains60 8,millie60 thundered uncle4 8,shut up6 ,do you want to crush the lad80 ,but she was not to be stopped4 ,she grew almost hysterical in her tirade4 8,i suppose he'll be hurling his sermons at us1 so sanctimonious and pious60 8,hush1 aunt1 please10 ,i pleaded1 8don't shout so loud1 people will hear and wonder what's wrong60 8,there10 she went on with a dry laugh1 8just hear that low voice3 it's just the voice for a parson60 ,then she posed before me in dreadful mimicry1 with her finger tips touching in front of her and an affected1 upward cast in her eyes1 while she cried1 ingratiatingly3 8#8,be good1 be very1 very good1 my dears6 ,do right like me and get to heaven6'0 and then releasing herself from this display she suddenly roared1 8,you old hypocrite1 you6 ,the idea1 you a parson60 8,god knows10 muttered uncle1 8it is to be wondered how a lad brought up with us could ever turn his eyes in that direction60 ,at that my ,aunt ,millie cast on her husband a frown and said1 snappishly3 8,aye1 you old sinner4 ,your conscience is working now4 ,no wonder you talk like that60 ,during the dinner1 while my aunt was in the pantry1 uncle bent towards me and whispered3 8,come out with me after dinner1 ,al4 ,we'll talk there60 ,at half-past twelve we left the house together and sat down on some logs on an empty lot near the mill where uncle said1 after ,i had recounted to him my two years' experiences3 8,but what can you do now8 ,it seems that you have cut yourself off from everything by leaving that school4 ,you have nothing to go to now60 8,oh10 ,i replied1 8there are scores of places that ,i might go to in the ,east here1 if ,i only knew where to look4 ,rather than be idle1 ,i might go to the local high school and work during the spare time for my board and clothes4 ,then there are free academies and preparatory schools where ,i might get a chance4 ,i will begin to look around4 ,mr4 ,woodward1 the minister1 might know of some things4 ,i mean to see him this afternoon4 ,i shall try to keep on with my studies somehow40 8,why don't you go into the mill for awhile and then get some money by you1 ,al4 ,it would make it easier for you80 8,but ,i can't spare the time1 uncle4 ,i ought to keep right in with an unbroken school career4 ,it can be done if only the right place be found4 ,i am all at sea1 just now1 but ,i shall inquire4 ,i know ,i shall find something40 ,we talked until the one o'clock whistle sounded1 and then ,i went in the direction of the minister's house to consult with him concerning my future4 ,mr4 ,woodward was minister over a little church of mill people1 one of those underpaid men who not only preach faith but express it in many kindly but unheralded services to society4 ,he obtained congenial work for overworked factory girls1 sent tired mothers into the country in the summer season1 sent invalids to hospitals1 inspired mill lads in self-culture1 and kept his own busy mind furnished with the latest and most scholarly information in social science and theology4 ,when ,i rang his door-bell my heart nearly failed me with the thought that as he had never had the privilege of attending a college or a theological seminary1 he might be unable to give me any advice on my immediate problem4 ,but after we had sat in his study for an hour1 and he had sounded me on my past experiences1 and when ,i had concluded with a very pessimistic exclamation1 8,but ,i guess ,i've thrown away my chance by leaving ,evangelical ,university1 ,mr4 ,woodward4 ,i don't know what took possession of me1 ,i'm sure4 ,it was such a whim1 especially when ,i was doing so well out there60 ,the big ,scotchman stood up1 laid his heavy hand on my shoulder and exclaimed1 8,albert1 ,i think ,i see you continuing the fight from now on1 if ,i can possibly do anything4 ,you must have courage and faith2 they are more to you than money40 ,he swept his hand across his eyes as if to sweep back the years and said1 reminiscently1 8,oh1 if ,i'd had your chance1 lad6 ,you don't know what it cost me to lose my chance6 ,listen60 ,he then recounted to me his own experience in search of an education and unfolded dramatic incident after dramatic incident for my encouragement4 ,he showed me himself by a peat-bog fire1 in the north of ,ireland1 amidst poverty1 struggling with his few books4 ,he showed me himself1 an immigrant landing in ,new ,england1 where he began to work in the flare of a furnace4 ,next he showed me how his chance for going to college had been cut off by his marriage4 ,that was followed by the picture of him1 sitting in a room through the day learning ,greek and theology1 while his wife went into the mill to earn the money for rent and clothes and books4 ,the memory of those severe struggles which had cost nerve and health brought tears swimming into his kindly eyes4 ,he said1 in conclusion1 8,why1 if ,i were in your place1 lad1 ,i'd black boots to get to a college1 ,i would4 ,don't lose a day4 ,i know a theological seminary in high standing where you can get as good a training for the ministry as may be secured anywhere in the ,united ,states1 where your mind will awaken and where you may not feel ashamed after graduating from it4 ,from there you can go to a college1 entering the ,junior year4 ,that will mean five years more1 ,albert1 five years of blessed privilege1 which ,i shall envy you1 lad60 8,but ,i have no money1 and it must cost money to enter the theological seminary10 ,i insisted4 8,i should have to get there1 and there would occur several expenses for books and things when ,i get there40 8,i can get fifty dollars for you on a note1 which ,i will secure4 ,trust me10 replied ,mr4 ,woodward4 8,i mean that you shall go ahead4 ,the world can't afford to let one of its ambitious lads slip up4 ,it's not good economy4 ,fifty dollars will start you off4 ,the expenses at the seminary are trivial4 ,there will occur opportunities for self-help4 ,in the summer you may get a church4 ,come to me tomorrow afternoon4 ,i'll get busy with the telephone and telegraph right away4 ,the ,seminary opens this week4 ,come tomorrow1 lad1 and ,i hope to have good news for you4 ,i feel that you've got your chance60 ,as ,i left him standing at the door1 gazing after me1 ,i hurried home whistling2 thinking1 too1 what an overturn of emotion can occur in a single day4 ,chapter ,,xxi4 ,over the ,sea to a ,new ,educational ,chance4 ,how ,i ,revenged ,myself on the ,hungry ,days4 ,the ,cloistered ,serenity of the ,new ,place ,the following afternoon when ,i arrived at ,mr4 ,woodward's house1 ,i found a young man with him1 whom he introduced as ,mr4 ,blake1 a ,congregational minister from a nearby town1 whom he had invited in to talk to me about the ,seminary4 8,mr4 ,blake graduated there a few years ago and can tell you all about it10 added my friend4 8,had you better not show him the telegram you have from the ,president of the ,seminary80 suggested the young man4 ,mr4 ,woodward smiled1 and showed me a telegram which read1 8,send the young man at once60 and bore the signature of the ,seminary ,president4 ,then ,mr4 ,woodward put his hand into his pocket and brought out from thence a cluster of crinkling bills4 8,hold your hand1 ,albert10 he smiled4 8,it's money60 ,he counted into my hand fifty dollars and said1 8,if you are energetic1 this is all the money you will have to borrow for awhile4 ,i am glad for you1 my lad4 ,now ,i have to attend a funeral4 ,you go out for a walk with ,mr4 ,blake and come back with him in time for supper4 ,we're to have an informal celebration together40 ,i led ,mr4 ,blake to the ,point ,road1 the peninsula which juts out like a forefinger from the south end of ,new ,bedford into ,buzzard's ,bay4 ,we walked along the grassy foot-path1 near the low wall1 past the shimmering sea1 the flying1 croaking gulls1 and a parade of scallop boats4 ,my companion had a very ambitious moustache which was trying hard to mature1 and he had a trick of unconsciously aiding the ends by pulling them as he talked4 ,while he interjected theological shop talk1 and had a long dissertation on ,textual ,criticism versus ,literal ,inspiration1 when he found that ,i had been in such a conservative theological atmosphere as ,evangelical ,university1 and though he prattled familiarly the names of ,renan1 ,weissmann1 ,schleiermacher1 and ,ritschl1 ,i found inspiration in the man himself1 for ,i kept thinking to myself on that walk1 8,he has attained to what you are after40 ,we came to a grove of spruces that had grown on the edge of some rocks by the side of the road4 ,here1 a quartet of blue-bloused ,chinamen were celebrating some sort of a holiday by playing strident tunes on queer pipes and tom-toms1 joining in with their falsetto voices4 ,mr4 ,blake and ,i found a secure place on some ledges1 from which we could throw pebbles at the white gulls that walked up and down the beach in lady-like fashion4 ,when we returned1 at the supper hour1 we sat down with ,mr4 ,woodward at the table1 where both men set my head to whirling by the confidence with which they recounted my future enjoyment of the ,seminary4 ,had it not been for the crumpled fifty dollars in my pocket1 the entire experience would have had the shape of a dream1 for only two days before ,i had stood before my critical aunt with no plans and with thirty-five cents for my fortune4 ,my freight ride and ,buffalo experience seemed years back1 in a dim haze4 ,on arriving home1 ,i pulled out the fifty dollars and showed the amount to my aunt and uncle4 8,where did you get all that80 gasped my uncle4 8,borrowed it10 ,i replied4 8,i go to a theological seminary in two days40 ,my aunt wanted to know what sort of a lunatic ,i was to borrow money on which to get an education4 ,her theory yet remained1 that only those with large fortunes were entitled to an education4 ,but from the shining eyes of my uncle1 ,i gathered that he felt glad over my prospects1 as ,i unfolded them to him4 ,two evenings later ,i sat on the hurricane deck of a steamer that was to carry me to the ,seminary city4 ,i watched the golden dome of the ,state ,house dwindle to the size of a noonday sun4 ,i watched the waves from our paddles wash the edges of innumerable islands4 ,we passed the lighthouses3 huge warning fingers flashing their diamond lights4 ,our bow foam swirled over the low-lying decks of loaded coasters4 ,then we entered the silences of the ocean3 even the sun left us and we swirled into night4 ,the dismal echoes of bending bell-buoys reached our ears out of the darkness4 ,the chilly1 night wind threatened us with influenza1 so we hurried into the cabins where1 under bright lights1 people were chatting1 and where1 in a far corner1 a musician was tickling the popular tune from the piano3 8,all the ,stars in the ,sky1 ,dear1 ,speak through the ,night of ,you-u-u60 ,when the glistening negro1 in spotless white1 rushed through the cabin1 waving a pink-bordered towel and muttering to the ceiling or to the thick carpet1 as if it were no concern of his1 that this was 8the last call for dinner10 ,i felt that ,i would adventure into the considerable menu a dollar would bring me1 if for nothing else but to atone for those hungry days of three-cent meals in ,indianapolis and ,buffalo6 ,the next morning the steamer was poking its prow insistently through the sea and through a drizzling rainstorm4 ,we were near land again and passed bleak islands hardly bigger than a man's hand on which were exiled lonesome1 bleating sheep4 ,then we left the bays back of us and entered the mouth of a river roadway whose banks were lined with golden foliage4 ,we passed a grim1 grey fort and then stopped at a quiet town whose roofs were buried in tall trees1 which in turn were topped by the spires of two old-fashioned churches which seemed to be telling the townspeople in which direction ,god was to be found4 ,the river roadway deepened and narrowed and twisted as we ascended it4 ,then we left the autumn beauties of tree and shrub and passed between ice-houses1 factories1 and tenements until a bridge marked the limits of navigation and we were put ashore in the ,seminary city4 ,the steamboat wharf was the front porch to a large city which began at the summit of a hill to the south1 crowded the hillside1 wandered into the valley1 and ascended another hill and continued on it as far as the eye could reach4 ,i walked over the cobbled street in front of the wharf shed1 made my way past long rows of cordage and commercial houses1 and came out into a triangular market-place1 shut in by low-set brick and wooden houses1 cheap hotels1 fruit1 fish1 and sailors' clothing stores4 ,the market-place was thronged with wagons and stalls4 ,in one section the hay wagons were massed and over them groups of stablemen and citizens argued until load after load had been sold4 ,in another section1 with their backs forming an aisle through which ,i walked1 were the butcher-carts offering roasts1 strings of sausage1 coral strings of frankfurts1 and whole sides of pork4 ,back of them were the vegetable carts with loads of squashes fresh from the fields and heaps of greens4 ,after walking through this noisy market1 ,i came to the main business street of the city1 lined with stores and humming with cars4 ,then ,i walked up a hill past residences and dying grass lawns1 until1 in a triangular fence which followed the parting of two streets1 ,i had my first view of the theological seminary4 ,the seminary was separated from the modern houses about it not only by the fence1 but also by its age1 its soberness1 its shaded walks1 and its ample stretches of lawn4 ,behind the leaves of the trees ,i saw one of those mill-like dormitories which our stern1 eighteenth-century forefathers loved to build when they planned colleges and seminaries4 ,the whole aspect of the place1 as ,i entered the gate1 was one of monkish repose1 of academic sedateness4 ,the drab paint on the porches of the dormitory and covering the professors' houses1 the dignified layers of brick in the chapel1 all said1 as plainly as you please1 8,don't laugh here60 ,all my early dreams concerning how colleges and places of learning should look1 were realized4 ,the very bricks in the buildings seemed to be after a theological education4 ,as ,i put my foot on the porch a young man met me1 asked me if ,i was 8,mr4 ,priddy10 and on learning that ,i was1 he escorted me immediately over to the president's house1 where the final arrangements for my matriculation in the ,seminary were completed4 ,an hour later1 under the guidance of ,burner1 who was an upper-classman1 ,i was purchasing an oil lamp1 a parlor stove1 a ton of coal1 a wash basin1 two coal-hods1 and sundry decorations4 ,two hours after that ,i had unpacked my belongings in a double room on the fourth floor of the dormitory1 and when the chapel bell sounded for supper1 ,burner conducted me into a very old-fashioned ,commons1 on the walls of which were paintings of ships and shipwrecks4 ,here ,i was introduced to the students and then found myself eating voraciously of the fare that was set before me4 ,the next morning1 ,i was awakened by the piping of a little bird that sang on the window ledge1 under the open window4 ,chapter ,,xxii4 ,stoves with ,traditions1 ,domestic ,habits1 and ,greek1 8,boys ,will be ,boys0 ,the apocalyptic hope of the students who were domiciled in ,therenton ,hall1 the ,seminary dormitory1 included steam heat and running water2 for neither of those modern conveniences had been installed up to that time and students had to carry hods of coal up four flights of stairs2 and were compelled to convey pitchers of water the same distance4 ,each one had his own coal bin in the vaulted cellar and also owned a kindling pile which he watched with suspicious and amusing jealousy4 ,besides that1 ashes had to be raked from stoves1 carried downstairs1 and sifted--by the thrifty--in a far corner of the cellar1 where lay the dormitory ash heap4 ,the parlor stoves1 coal-hods1 water bowls1 and pitchers1 the personal possessions of the students1 were handed down from class to class1 in many instances1 until the most trivial price--say a dollar for a six-foot stove--gave a profit of ten cents and three years' use to the senior who sold out4 ,the stove ,i purchased for two dollars was a giant of a stove1 high1 bulky1 and lavishly decorated with ring-a-rosy cherubs1 covered with a thick coating of stove polish until they had ceased being an angelic silver and had become an ,ethiopian black4 ,i mention this stove because its sheet-tin girth was hallowed by hoary traditions1 and if it could have spoken it would have kept me cheered for many hours by a recital of the different escapades in which it had figured at the hands of the theologues4 ,the rust on its bands1 for instance1 was due to the fact that some students had plastered it with a swaddling of sticky fly paper4 ,the dent immediately under the hood had been made by a flying theological treatise which had been aimed originally at the head of an intruder1 who insisted on keeping one of the stove's former owners from a study of ,hebrew nouns4 ,the broken foot1 which rested on some thin wafers of wood1 was caused by the attempt on the part of some students to reverse the stove during the absence of another owner who was paying court to one of the young women in the city4 ,we attended to the dusting and care of our own rooms with more or less thoroughness4 ,some of my friends chose to sleep and study amidst dust and disorder rather than to endure the strain and toil of a sweeper1 a beater1 and a duster for a ,saturday morning4 ,when we went to a city prayer-meeting or a lecture1 we would usually dangle our greasy kerosene cans as far as the corner grocery and leave them to be filled4 ,in fact1 so inextricably interwoven with our intellectual concerns were our domestic habits1 that ,i had not been in the dormitory very long before ,i caught myself entering my ,greek class holding fast to a coal-hod1 which ,i had taken the trouble to carry along the walk and into the recitation building1 while ,i had unconsciously propped my ,greek ,testament very snugly behind the lower banister1 under the impression that it had been the coal-hod4 ,one ,saturday morning1 ,providence or ,fate--whatever it would be at a theological seminary--arranged a mise en scne which called attention1 in an effective way1 to the inconvenience of permitting the students the use of coal-hods and wash bowls4 ,the ,president was entertaining a gentleman who had been the first donor to our new and splendid gymnasium4 ,he had escorted the benefactor through the bathrooms1 the bowling-alleys1 over the running-track1 and had taken him among the equipment1 with evidences of great pleasure4 ,i had occasion to be leaving the gymnasium in their wake4 ,i saw the ,president throw open the door which led into the lower hall of the dormitory and heard him say1 8,this is our dormitory--0 or something to that effect1 and he stepped back to allow the seminary benefactor to precede him into the dignified precincts of our domicile4 ,then he followed1 and one may imagine how he must have felt1 as he gazed upon a chaos of coal1 of wood1 of water1 and of broken crockery1 which lay like the trail of a sloven over the hall and over the first flight of steps2 echoes from the preceding night1 when the top floor had engaged the lower floors in a counter demonstration of noise1 smash1 and confusion4 ,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,a ,plot ,which had for its ,end the ,raising up of a ,discouraged ,young ,preacher ,one day ,i was sitting in the apparently deserted library1 looking over the new books which were always kept on a side shelf1 at the entrance to one of the alcoves1 when ,i heard a heavy1 most disconsolate sigh1 coming from a hidden corner in the rear of the room4 ,the sigh was followed by the rustling of book leaves4 ,i continued my investigation of the new books1 but was once more interrupted by that same1 prolonged sighing4 ,it was just such a sigh as ,dante must have heard proceeding from the lips of those unfortunate creatures who stood in neither hope nor despair4 ,i decided to investigate1 and1 for that purpose1 went down the alcove from which the sighing seemed to have come1 and there1 with his back turned to me1 seated at one of the reference tables1 with his head resting woefully on his spread out arms1 sat ,amos ,tucker1 an upper-classman4 ,i hesitated to approach him1 at first1 and pretended that ,i had come into the alcove for a book4 ,then again the sigh proceeded from the limp heap at the table1 and1 throwing all restraint to the winds1 ,i went to the table1 touched ,amos on the shoulder1 and said1 8,are you in trouble1 ,tucker80 ,he raised his tearful1 grey eyes to me1 and said1 8,they say ,i'm not fit to be a preacher60 ,i sat down beside him1 for from his manner ,i knew that he welcomed me to be his confidant4 8,who says so8 ,any of the students80 ,i asked4 8,no1 it wouldn't matter if it came from them3 the church says so60 8,what church is that1 ,tucker80 ,he sat up in his chair and replied1 8,i have just started to preach1 this year4 ,i have been out for two ,sundays in a little place where they give me seven dollars1 out of which ,i have to pay a dollar and a half for expenses4 ,it's not that ,i care a snap about the money1 though1 but ,i want a place to call my parish4 ,i feel that ,i ought to preach4 ,well1 ,i've got a letter from the committee this morning1 telling me that they will have to get along without me2 that they cannot have me any longer for their minister40 8,what reasons do they offer80 8,that's it60 he responded1 with a catch in his voice1 8they have had the bravery to tell me the exact reason4 ,it is this3 they tell me--oh1 hadn't you better read for yourself10 and he handed me the last page of a letter1 explaining1 8,it's all on that one page3 all that you want to know40 ,i read3 8,you can never make a preacher1 we feel--excuse us for telling you so frankly--you have no voice1 you do not read well1 your grammar is poor1 your themes are not interesting4 ,your last ,sunday morning's talk on #8,conscience' was beyond our understanding4 ,several good supporters have threatened to forego their subscriptions if we have you another ,sunday4 ,will you kindly suggest some one to come to us next ,sunday and oblige1 yours in ,christian sincerity1 etc40 8,blunt1 isn't it80 he half smiled4 8,the idea of asking you to send them somebody1 after that60 ,i gasped4 8,oh10 he sniffed1 8it's all in ,christian sincerity1 you know60 8,well10 ,i added1 8there are other places1 ,tucker4 ,cheer up60 ,then a most discouraging change came into his eyes1 he nodded his head1 and replied1 with vigor1 8,the trouble of it is1 ,priddy1 what they say is all true1 every word of it6 ,i have a terrible voice and can't seem to get my words out4 ,i don't know much about grammar2 never had much of a chance on the farm4 ,i'm not quick to learn like so many here4 ,i have to plod and plod and plod4 ,as for interesting sermons1 why1 if they aren't interesting ,i do the best ,i can60 ,i wanted to ask him1 then1 why he persisted in entering the ministry1 but ,i couldn't find courage to do so1 but he had read my thoughts1 for he said1 immediately1 8,you wonder why1 if ,i know all this1 ,i enter the ministry1 and fight against hope8 ,well1 ,i'll tell you4 ,i have felt1 right along1 that ,i might break down my handicaps4 ,at least ,i thought ,i would give myself a thorough trial1 no matter how bitter the disappointment of failure might be4 ,i didn't mind losing two or three places at first1 if ,i could finally master myself4 ,it was a sort of inherent vanity of mine that ,i could succeed4 ,but this--this seems to be a judgment on me1 ,i guess4 ,i think ,i'll pack up and go out and become--oh1 anything that pays day wages4 ,at least1 ,i can try to be a good layman60 8,why don't you try it another year80 ,i suggested4 8,things might turn40 8,how can ,i stay here if ,i can't earn some money by preaching80 he asked4 8,if no church will take me1 why1 ,i shall have to leave the ,seminary40 8,i wouldn't leave before having a good talk with some of the professors10 ,i suggested4 8,i think you have the sort of a spirit which will finally prevail1 ,tucker40 8,oh10 he replied1 8,i haven't got much spirit--now--after that letter4 ,they might have borne with me a month or two longer--perhaps ,i should have surprised them40 ,then he laughed1 bitterly4 8,you can't guess why ,i came into the library with my troubles1 ,priddy1 can you80 8,no40 8,you see this60 and he indicated a large1 open book1 on which his tears had been falling4 ,it was a huge1 ancient tome1 with metal bands and chipped leather binding4 ,the leaves were yellowed1 and from them came a dampish odor of musty age4 ,it was a ,latin edition of 8,the ,book of ,martyrs0 opened at the page where the fanciful wood-cut showed heaps of flaming fagots1 blazing in ,smithfield market1 directly under the bare feet of a woman1 tied to a stake and holding to her breast a crying infant4 8,there is a story about here10 went on ,tucker1 with a smile1 8to the effect that a former student in the ,seminary1 when discouraged1 would come into the library and pore over these dismal1 grewsome pictures1 and persuade himself that his own sufferings were trivial when compared with the sufferings of these martyrs6 ,i thought ,i'd come and try it1 too1 but it only intensified my own misery60 ,he shut the great book with such an explosion that the dust issued from it and gleamed in the rays of the sun which streamed in through the window4 8,but ,i'd stay on till the end1 ,tucker10 ,i persisted4 8,it's worth trying--if you feel that you have a call to preach60 8,i have the call clearly enough10 he insisted1 evidently cheered by my confidence in him4 8,if ,i could only persuade others of it1 though1 ,i should feel happier40 8,probably you'll have another chance to preach before you expect it10 ,i said1 in conclusion1 and left him with the intention of speaking in his behalf to some of the students1 who might be able to encourage him in a substantial manner4 ,i went1 quite naturally1 to ,burner1 the upper-classman who had manifested an interest in my arrival4 ,the big student heard my version of ,tucker's experience without comment1 and then1 after a moment of thought1 answered1 8,don't you bother yourself any further about him4 ,i'll do all ,i can4 ,this is an upper-classman's work1 and it needs1 too1 some fine work by the professors4 ,it wouldn't take much to drive ,tucker off4 ,by the way1 don't mention to him about your conversation with me4 ,i'm sure he's got the stuff in him for a preacher4 ,he needs practical encouragement and he shall have it4 ,you just watch60 ,two days later1 while ,i was in the gymnasium1 practising alone with the basket-ball1 ,tucker appeared on the floor in his gymnasium clothes1 and1 apparently1 in a very happy frame of mind4 ,as he stood opposite to me and caught the ball as ,i threw it to him1 he said1 8,priddy1 ,i'm going to preach on ,sunday2 another chance to botch it40 8,good for you10 ,i declared4 8,where are you to preach80 8,for ,burner10 ,tucker explained2 8he wants a ,sunday off4 ,do you know whether he preaches from manuscript or not1 ,priddy80 8,i think that he does read--,i know he does4 ,i recollect to have heard him declare that it was only by reading that one could get logical sequence3 his pet hobby40 ,tucker held the ball in the air for a second and sighed1 audibly4 8,that makes it somewhat easier for me1 ,priddy4 ,you see1 even if ,i ramble on with notes1 so long as ,i don't read my sermon word for word1 the congregation will give me credit for it1 and ,i may have a chance4 ,anyway1 ,i mean to keep on1 even if ,i am rebuffed again40 ,the following ,sunday morning1 while ,burner was shaving1 he said to me1 8,i hope that ,tucker has a sermon with some logic in it4 ,anyway1 he will get back encouraged4 ,deacon ,herring will see to that60 ,he turned his face from the glass and smiled at me through the lather4 8,what do you mean80 ,i demanded4 8,i have written a letter to my deacon--about ,tucker and the tight place he's in10 explained ,burner4 8,told him all the facts and asked him to work with us to save a good man for the ,lord's cause4 ,after his sermon1 no matter how good or ill it is1 ,deacon ,herring will go up to ,tucker with a radiant face1 tell him how glad they are to have him along1 and invite him to preach the following ,sunday4 ,meanwhile the deacon will forward to me a carefully written1 frank criticism of ,tucker1 from which we can diagnose his troubles1 fairly1 and then get some of the professors to work on his case4 ,oh10 and ,burner's face was gleaming1 8,i guess if there's any good points under ,tucker's skin1 we'll uncover them60 ,it was an unusual edition of ,tucker who returned the following day4 ,i walked with him1 arm in arm over to the ,commons4 8,there1 ,priddy10 he chattered1 8at last ,i've found somebody who thinks ,i'm called to preach4 ,they want me to supply ,burner's pulpit again next ,sunday6 ,he's to have another day off4 ,tired1 he told me4 ,that's the best sort of appreciation1 isn't it80 he added4 ,burner said nothing to me or any one else about the personal sacrifice he made in giving up two ,sundays to the discouraged ,tucker1 but ,i knew that the money he gave up was much needed4 ,burner1 meanwhile1 received the diagnosis from his deacon1 and reported matters to one of the professors to whom ,tucker looked with great reverence and respect4 ,the result of this came out in a diplomatic invitation1 sent by the professor1 for ,tucker to come and have a talk about his affairs--a perfectly natural request for the professor to make4 ,it did not take the professor long--armed as he was by ,burner's report-to get from ,tucker a statement of his situation4 ,finally1 the professor set himself to work1 not only on the written sermons of ,tucker1 but also on his enunciation1 his gestures1 and his habits of thought4 8,the professor's helping me wonderfully10 exclaimed ,tucker to me one day1 as we took a walk into the outskirts of the city4 8,he's landed ker-plunk on my worst faults1 just as if he could read me like a book4 ,you'd laugh at the sort of mournful stuff ,i've been giving from the pulpit6 ,it's quite plain to me now4 ,i've been too depressing4 ,that's been one thing4 ,no wonder the people didn't want some of the stuff ,i've been guilty of giving4 ,it's optimism they want1 ,priddy1 optimism6 ,the professor's proved that1 all right6 ,just you wait till next ,sunday1 when ,i preach for ,burner4 ,i'm to have a sermon1 entitled1 #8,rejoice1 and again ,i say1 ,rejoice6'0 8,what have you been preaching on1 ,tucker80 ,i asked4 ,he smiled1 as one who could afford now to smile at past faults4 8,judgment1 and ,conscience1 and the ,inheritance of ,penalty1 and such-like10 he said4 8,heavy1 eh80 8,i've no doubt you had some good ideas on those subjects1 ,tucker1 though1 as you say1 they are a trifle doleful1 one after the other40 8,got thinking in a groove1 ,priddy1 that's what the professor thought4 ,but1 of course1 ,i've other faults4 ,i don't speak up--just whisper3 no life or action4 ,but10 he went on with a confidential smile1 8,i'm working hard on that1 too4 ,mean to brighten up on those things next ,sunday2 though reformation can't come in a day or a week40 ,the next ,monday a most encouraging report came to ,burner from his deacon4 ,among other things1 the old man said in his letter1 8,there were not many out to hear him1 for they had not cared for his preaching of the previous ,sunday3 but to those of us who had heard him the first time1 his second appearance was startling4 ,first of all1 he seemed to have confidence4 ,that was the striking thing4 ,then1 in his effort to make himself heard he kept on a high-pitched note1 which was somewhat monotonous1 but more effective than his former timid whispering as if he were afraid of bursting the ear-drum of a gnat which sat on his desk4 ,he fanned the air like a windmill in an effort to remedy lack of action3 but that was a good sign4 ,it argues well for the young man when he gets on the middle ground4 ,but his sermon6 ,he really gave us a cheering word2 that made most of the others1 who were there1 like him4 ,personally1 he would be glad to know in what a different way ,i have taken the application of his sermon1 to #8rejoice1 and again--rejoice4' ,i wish him the best of success4 ,there is hope for him4 ,i am getting one or two people1 who told me they like what he had to say about rejoicing1 to write notes of appreciation to him40 8,twenty dollars well spent60 concluded ,burner1 with a smile4 8,at the rate1 he is going ,tucker will have a church of his own1 over which he will cast his blessing4 ,he has confidence--now60 ,late in the spring1 ,tucker found himself enjoying somewhat of a local reputation among us1 for he was a decided success1 by that time1 on his preaching expeditions4 ,he said to me1 8,priddy1 the other people think ,i've got a call--now4 ,i had a narrow escape1 didn't ,i80 ,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,burner1 a ,searcher ,after ,truth4 ,how a ,may-,pole ,subdued a ,tribe of ,little ,savages ,burner1 the upper-classman1 though not my roommate1 and by his upper-class privileges under no sentimental obligations to me1 became my constant companion4 ,he was a tall1 thick-set man with a very heavy black moustache1 much older than myself and dominated by a very heavy but sincere temperament4 ,he had been a real estate agent and a country auctioneer up to his thirtieth birthday4 ,then he had studied for three years1 privately1 with a high-school principal1 and later he had come to the ,seminary to put himself under training for the ministry4 ,burner almost frightened me by his hunger and thirst after knowledge1 for in him ,i looked upon the epic grandeur of a mind1 long starved1 completely awake4 ,all the outstanding1 amazing1 bewildering intellectual problems of the ,universe and ,god1 had solutions which ,burner1 with a sense of his limitations1 sought to master4 ,i had seen students of books before1 prize scholars1 in ,evangelical ,university1 but ,i had never beheld the workings of an awakened1 mature mind4 ,books and the teachings of the masters were merely the starting points1 the paths of departure1 for ,burner4 ,he sought his path to ,god and ,god's mind by his own charts4 ,he was his own authority in thought1 an independent ship under full sail exploring unmapped territory4 ,he would sit in his ,morris chair1 in a secluded corner of his room1 with his bony fingers propping up his gaunt chin1 and with blazing eyes try to think out1 in his own words1 from a synthesis of his own observations1 why ,god permitted evil4 ,one night he rushed into my room with almost fanatical eagerness and compelled me to listen while1 from a newspaper item which told of a father who had given some of his blood to his sickly child1 he gave an eloquent theory of the ,divine ,fatherhood1 suggested by that analogy4 ,all his studies1 in language1 science1 and philosophy were focussed upon his thought of ,god4 ,they were not merely a discipline1 or parts of a necessary curriculum1 but the means to an end1 the roads over which he went to a completer knowledge of his faith4 ,the most unrelated and even trivial items of truth aroused his mind to action and set him at work on the most intricate and abstruse doctrines4 ,he was critical down to the fine points of sharpening a pencil3 he was intolerant of those who got their conclusions from text books4 8,i'm doing my own thinking10 was his favorite sentence1 8basing it on careful reading and minute information and nearly always ,i find that ,i get conclusions1 after hard thought1 that ,i might have secured1 second-hand1 from books4 ,but oh1 ,priddy1 what a treat it is to be in the ,seminary1 filling in the mind after it has been starved all these years60 8,it must be a tremendous inspiration to you1 ,burner10 ,i said1 8you seem to enjoy it so60 8,enjoy it60 he gasped4 8,i revel in it6 ,just think how blank my mind was when ,i came here6 ,i thought they wouldn't take me4 ,i had never been to college1 and had little preparation4 ,when they did take me and give me my chance1 ,i resolved to make up for lost time1 ,priddy4 ,other seminaries would have refused me1 and ,i should never have gone into the ministry4 ,of course it is the biggest inspiration that has ever come to me4 ,it is my first real chance60 ,i soon learned that ,i had found in the ,east what ,i had found in ,evangelical ,university1 a professional school that was willing to bend to the service of the ambitious but unprepared student4 ,but in the ,seminary there was more point and breadth to the teaching2 the studies were more thorough1 intellectually more satisfying2 so1 with ,burner and with many others who1 like myself1 had never been to college1 ,i began the exciting adventure into disciplined truth4 ,it was rich fare to which ,i was invited1 during that first year3 the tough meat1 ,hebrew1 which even moderately digested1 meant exegetical strength in ,old ,testament lore1 the tenderer portions of ,greek which nourished one's ,new ,testament appetite2 entres of psychology and philosophy2 well-baked and spiced ,church history1 and a various dessert of special lectures comprising every viand from the art of preaching to nerve-stirring appreciations of social movements4 ,the social life of ,evangelical ,university had been so narrow that ,i was ready to appreciate the broadness of that permitted us in the ,seminary4 ,the professors had us in their homes for teas and dinners4 ,the intimate touch between us and our teachers formed part of the discipline of those years4 ,there was hardly any sign of that academic aloofness which ,i had always supposed to be characteristic of eastern institutions4 ,i ran into the room of a sick classmate one ,saturday morning1 only to find him being nursed by the professor of theology4 ,the utmost freedom of thought was given us in the speculations of the classrooms4 ,it was an atmosphere where bigotry and dogmatism could not live overnight4 ,our lives1 by being linked to that of the ,seminary1 began to be linked to the life of the city2 for the churches and the people showed us many thoughtful courtesies1 took us into their circles1 and made many winter evenings merry and profitable4 ,i still had to rely upon my own efforts for money1 but the days of loading brick1 raking lawns1 making furnace fires1 were gone now1 and ,i was enabled to earn money in a more professional way4 ,i was given the task of organizing some children for one of the smaller churches of the city4 ,one hundred of them met me on ,sunday afternoons1 in the body of the church1 where for an hour we tried to get along harmoniously together and incidentally learn some concrete definitions of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,i tried to preach through pictures on a blackboard and through objects like keys and nails1 knives and flowers4 ,many of the little ones were not used to church etiquette1 so ,i had to wander away from the ,kingdom of ,god many times to instruct some of them concerning the necessity of taking off caps in church1 of the inhumanity of pulling one another's hair braids1 of the injudiciousness of poking pins in one another's necks4 ,often1 too1 when the neighborhood1 after a ,sunday feast of mutton and peas1 was enjoying its mid-afternoon slumbers1 some of the boys would whirl the church bell and make startled men and women imagine it was the fourth alarm of a fire4 ,i had to correct that practise4 ,we held several socials during the year1 socials of a unique character4 ,my assistants would keep the door locked in the little chapel until the oil lamps had been lifted out of danger4 ,the popcorn and candy would be put on tables in heaps and the signal of admission given4 ,into the room the horde of yelling1 scrambling children would come and fill it with all manner of wild romping4 ,the refreshments would be given1 there would follow another wild frolic1 and at half-past eight the children would go home persuaded that they had had 8a dandy time6 ,three helpings of popcorn and all the lemonade you could drink60 ,when the first of ,may arrived1 ,i announced a picnic for the children1 and though the day was cold1 more than our actual membership appeared--with individual lunches4 ,when we arrived at the grove ,i had to stand guard over the lunches until the noon hour4 ,then1 after an afternoon of disordered fun and fight1 ,i managed to secure order on the way home by permitting the children to hold the ribbons of the ,may-pole and to trail behind in orderly procession1 singing1 as we entered the residential section of the city1 very piously and earnestly1 8,onward1 ,christian ,soldiers60 ,meanwhile the arched elms on the seminary campus leafed out and shaded the walks with cool shadows4 ,the students met after supper1 threw off their coats1 and played ball until darkness4 ,the robins began to perch on my bedroom window ledge and waken me by their dulcet flutings long before breakfast4 ,the fumes of burning leaves came through the open windows from the campus4 ,it was spring and it was graduation time for the seniors4 ,it was the season of the year when at ,evangelical ,university the students1 like ,thropper1 would be planning to earn money during the coming vacation by taking subscriptions for 8,the ,devil in ,society0 and similar objects2 but my summer was to be one full of inspirational and serviceable possibilities4 ,it had been arranged for me1 by the seminary president1 that ,i should take two schoolhouses in a far-away district and preach during the long vacation4 ,at last ,i was to actually enter upon my chosen profession4 ,chapter ,,xxv4 ,at the ,heart of ,human ,nature4 ,a ,confidential ,walk with a ,dollar ,bill at the ,end of it4 ,a ,philosophical ,observation from the ,stage-,driver ,a four hours' journey by train1 each minute going farther and farther away from thickly settled country1 and then ,i found myself waiting on a depot platform for the stage-driver who was to conduct me to ,upper and ,lower ,village1 twelve miles from the railroad4 ,i looked around and when my eyes lighted on a wooden-legged man1 seated on the front seat of a democrat wagon1 ,i knew that ,i had found the conveyance4 ,i went over to him and said1 8,are you going to ,upper and ,lower ,village80 ,he aimed some colored expectoration over his horse's ear1 watched it alight upon a fluttering piece of paper1 and then1 satisfied with his marksmanship1 he said1 gruffly1 8,ef you're th' ,elder1 why1 ,i got a seat4 ,jump in60 ,the day was excessively hot1 and we sat under the full glare of the sun4 ,we left the little railroad village and plunged on through the churned-up swirls of choking dust straight into the isolation of this world1 into a part of ,new ,england where whole townships have not even yet attained unto the dignity of names1 but like prisoners with their suffrage taken from them1 must be known by mere numbers4 ,the forests had been leveled1 and there were innumerable acres of deforested land covered with rusty branches which had been left after the choppers had trimmed the logs4 ,after several miles1 we came to wide stretches of plain1 covered with blueberry bushes4 ,a dip in the road1 and we had plowed through the last inch of dust3 the wheels of the democrat rattled merrily over the stone road of ,lower ,village4 ,word had been telephoned from the first farm we had passed that 8the new ,elder was on the stage with ,bill40 ,the women boldly stood at their doors watching2 from behind many windows ,i saw intent faces engaged in taking a comprehensive glance at me4 ,i maintained a stolid attitude1 and pretended not to be aware of the intense and continuous surveillance to which ,i was subjected4 ,we thundered over a wooden bridge1 went up a steep hill1 and drew rein at a long veranda1 which 8,bill0 informed me was the 8,office1 whar you git down40 ,a tall1 timid octogenarian1 in shirtsleeves1 whose thick trousers were drawn up tightly above soil-daubed shoes1 introduced himself as 8the deacon0 and conducted me to a little house down a lane which ended in a pasture4 ,the hot air of the day was fragrant with the odor of sweet-smelling foliage4 ,crows were screaming in the distance over the tops of some burnt pines4 ,a woman1 tall and thin and pale1 welcomed me with all the hospitality with which a mother would welcome a son4 ,i knew from that moment that ,i had a pleasant summer before me4 ,the two villages were nothing more than single rows of houses on either side of a main road4 ,that road went inland for miles and miles through immeasurable solitudes1 where no man dwelt4 ,we were at the end of the world1 apparently4 ,then began my missionary experience4 ,i was passed from home to home1 sometimes staying but three days in one place3 the object being both economical and social4 ,the cost of my board1 under this arrangement1 was very light on each household1 and as each hostess was not satisfied unless she gave the 8,elder0 the very best cooking she could produce1 my short stay did not permit any embarrassment to the menu4 ,but more especially this arrangement made it possible for me to know nearly every family in my parishes intimately1 as the association with the families at the table was the means of establishing more than a perfunctory friendship4 ,they learned some of my shortcomings1 and ,i was made aware of their needs4 ,when1 in the latter part of the summer1 ,i was boarding in ,upper ,village1 in the shadow of the mountain1 and went down to ,lower ,village for a ,wednesday evening meeting1 one of the households expected me to creep into the house with the eldest son1 go into the pantry and 8steal0 huge slices of blueberry cake4 ,this done1 the husband and wife would come into the kitchen1 have a hearty laugh1 and before ,i started back for my boarding-place1 we would have our serious talk over matters of faith and life4 ,there were few well-to-do farmers in the community4 ,the distance was too great from the railroads for the injection of much social life4 ,the winters were filled with days when life was grim4 ,had it not been for the telephone and the mail1 the life of that back-road would have been without any great attractions4 ,but the very isolation of the villages1 and the absence of many social opportunities through the winter1 like a church and preaching1 made these farmers the prey of traveling fanatics1 who imported here and there the most fanciful conceptions of religion and sought1 by all manner of persuasion1 to turn people into ,mormons and 8,new ,lights10 8,holy ,ghosters0 and 8,disciples40 ,it did not take long to see that some of these perversions had taken root in some homes1 and ,i found myself having to attempt the feat of constructing a positive and less fanatical doctrine3 a feat which at the time ,i did poorly enough1 but which ,i took pleasure in attempting4 ,but it was not formal doctrine or intellectual discriminations which those parishes needed as much as it was a social man1 to impart into their midst1 after the austere winter1 a joke1 a song1 a story1 and a friendly hand-clasp4 ,if ,i had preached no sermon1 but merely gone from home to home1 from field to field1 telling men and women and children that ,i was their friend1 ,i believe that ,i should have accomplished the major part of the needed ministry4 ,the meetings were held in the upper rooms of two very solidly constructed schoolhouses four miles apart4 ,our meetings had to be announced in two kinds of time1 for some set their clocks by the sun1 while others set them by the ,standard1 sent over the telephone wires4 ,the dim1 chalky atmosphere of the rooms was always colored by rich green ferns and assortments of wild flowers4 ,even though the flowers were bunched in the necks of mustard bottles1 tumblers1 and cream jugs1 and not always arranged according to ,japanese art1 yet the thought that the sense of beauty in religion found expression even in wild flowers apologized for all else4 ,when the hob-nailed boot and the plow1 year in and out1 are uprooting and crushing field flowers1 it marks the high tide of esthetic appreciation when the wearers of the hob-nailed boot and guiders of the plow take pains to pick those flowers and add them to their hymns1 their prayers1 and sermons in praise to ,god4 ,no small1 narrow opportunity was mine1 such as in my gloomier moments ,i had ascribed to a country pastor4 ,preaching a sermon formed but a fraction of my duty4 ,there were young men and women who sought advice about the outside world1 and their business chances in it4 ,there were business colleges1 academies1 hospitals1 and mills to propose to the restless ones1 who1 like young birds1 were to try life on their own wings4 ,entwined in the pastoral work1 were many social pleasures that made my body strong and rested my nerves3 adventures over the high hills for soul-subduing vistas of mountains and lakes2 trout fries by the side of meadow brooks2 picnics by the river2 visits to bark-peeling camps1 over corduroy roads1 and encampment on a lake shore where at night the wild birds gave voice and were interpreted to us by a guide4 ,the golden-rod lined the dusty road at last1 and the purple flowers took the place of the lighter summer ones1 and it was time for me to return to the ,seminary4 ,the services were crowded that last ,sunday2 mothers brought their babies and did not care if the little ones did compete with me1 in voice4 ,i knew what was in the faces1 as they looked intently on me1 as ,i preached4 ,they were thinking that this would probably be the last preaching they would hear until the following summer1 unless some stray1 itinerant evangelist strolled that way and opened up the schoolhouse for an evening4 ,there were many tearful farewells1 and then the people went out into the night4 ,it was a clear night of stars and chill4 ,as ,i left the schoolhouse1 having bade good-bye to the janitor1 for ,i was due to leave on the next morning's stage1 a young farmer stepped out from the deep shadow of an oak near the flag-staff and accosted me with1 8,say1 ,elder1 do you care to go up the road a piece80 ,i responded that ,i should enjoy a walk and a chat with him4 ,while we walked between two walls of trees1 our way dimly outlined by the faint flicker of the stars1 my friend said1 8,i'm one of the bashful sort1 ,elder4 ,you know that2 but ,i didn't want you to leave without having me tell you how much you have helped my folks this summer4 ,the time you come in our house and played and sang at the organ for us1 and cheered us up with a laugh1 why it made things different in our house4 ,since mother died1 we've been having a hard row to hoe1 and you don't know how much we've appreciated the cheering up you give us4 ,it gets terrible lonesome out here through the winter1 and ,i want to thank you for all that you've done60 ,we took a long walk through the night1 paying no attention to distance2 but sharing confidences in true brotherly fashion4 ,then we turned about and when we came to the crossroad1 in front of the schoolhouse1 we clasped hands1 and as he hurried1 without another word1 into the darkness towards his motherless home1 ,i felt something crisp in the palm of my hand4 ,when ,i returned to my room and had a light ,i found that he had given me a dollar bill for a thank offering4 ,the next morning ,i had my baggage on the stage1 this time for a return4 ,bill1 with his wooden leg1 greeted me1 for by this time we were old friends4 ,the word of parting was given at the post-office1 and the democrat rattled down the grade and over the bridge4 ,this time a continuous flutter of handkerchiefs and aprons1 and a continuous hearty shout from the men and boys1 followed our passage through the two villages and then we drove into the dusk of the road through the blueberry barrens1 ,bill aiming expectoration at every soap sign within reach1 and confiding in me1 on the way1 the fact that he had loved once and 8lost10 which he seemed to take in a very philosophical mood1 for he concluded with this phrase1 8,you can't get the hang of wimmen1 anyhow60 ,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,the ,strange ,adventure of ,burner into ,nothing1 and ,how my ,own ,mind ,got into ,trouble1 and ,how my ,faith was ,strengthened under the ,chapel ,window ,on my return to the ,seminary ,i found ,burner in the throes of intellectual despair4 ,the big fellow was sitting in his room1 half buried in the depths of the green ,morris chair1 his bony fingers prodded into his working brows4 8,what's wrong1 ,burner80 ,i demanded4 8,i've been thinking back too far10 announced the serious fellow4 8,thinking back too far80 ,i gasped4 8,yes10 he muttered4 8,i've nothing to stand on1 now40 8,what do you mean80 8,i've thought away all substance--now60 he moaned1 in despair4 8,i can't even conceive a ,god60 8,burner60 8,horrible1 isn't it1 ,priddy80 8,what do you mean--explain1 so that ,i can get this thing by its head10 ,i suggested4 ,burner seriously gathered himself together in his chair1 sipped from a glass of water1 and then began1 8,probably ,i do too much thinking2 maybe that's what's the matter1 ,priddy4 ,when ,i left here1 last ,june1 and went out for the summer1 ,i began to try to think through substance2 ,i thought ,i might do it1 sometime4 ,i got to thinking about it1 when ,i took my walks over the hills1 and kept thinking about it1 but1 somehow1 ,i couldn't get my thought back of the material4 ,when ,i got back here1 last week1 ,i was sitting in this chair1 when all of a sudden ,i did think back of ,god2 and conceived all reality as being so immaterial that nothing exists3 no1 nothing60 he shouted1 8not even--,god60 8,can't you think back again--to him80 ,i demanded1 making an effort to be of some assistance and comfort to the disconsolate man4 ,burner stood on his feet1 and paced the floor1 excitedly1 and said as he gestured with his hands1 8,i've got to be honest--with truth1 no matter how far it leads me60 8,yes60 8,just think how horrible it is2 ,i've thought back till ,i've struck nothing--nothing60 8,come1 it's not so bad as that1 ,burner1 is it80 8,i shan't be able to preach1 to study1 to believe anything60 he declared4 8,how can ,i when there is nothing to preach1 to study1 or to believe80 ,i could not conceive a more pathetic restraint on a man who sought to get his living by preaching and study4 8,perhaps some of the professors might help you back--at least as far as a belief in ,god10 ,i suggested1 timidly4 8,oh1 if ,i only could get back there10 he pleaded1 8,i would pray about the matter1 but ,i can't pray to nothing1 can ,i80 ,i began then to realize how much a dilemma a philosophical honesty could create4 8,you are too serious1 ,burner10 ,i proposed4 8,you ought to take some things for granted2 not seek to explain everything1 you know40 ,he looked at me through astonished eyes1 8,i will take nothing for granted that cannot bear the test of logic60 8,there10 ,i cried exultantly1 8your intellectual adventures have brought you into ,german ,rationalism3 that's just what's the matter with you1 ,burner4 ,you're not the first one that has been caught4 ,it is a passing experience4 ,keep on thinking1 old fellow1 you'll come back after a time4 ,it looks serious now1 but it's only a phase4 ,read the biographies of some of the saints2 it will help you back to a positive faith1 ,i'm sure40 ,so ,i left him with that comfort1 hoping that he would not leave the ,seminary in his intellectual excitement1 for ,i felt sure that his ,rationalism or ,agnosticism or whatever form of mind he was in1 would pass and give way to something with more color and inspiration in it4 ,our studies for the second year were more practical and philosophical than those we received during the first year4 ,i was ready to appreciate the value of the studies more after my summer's experience as a missionary4 ,the intellectual honesty and sincerity of ,burner was indicative of the spirit which one of the professors1 who later left us1 engendered in us4 ,one incident will illustrate the temper of his art of teaching4 ,our class1 in its first year1 had approached this man's recitation with a feeling of fear1 for his astute mind and his impassive manner in the classroom1 and withal1 his absolute fearlessness in bringing up the other side of an affirmative1 had not reacted in his favor4 ,even before we knew him1 we had him placarded1 in our minds1 as an unbeliever6 ,one day when we came into his class we found that some one had written on the blackboard1 the professor's name with this legend after it3 8,professor ---- ,atheist60 ,when he came into the classroom1 and saw that1 ,i thought he would burst into tears2 a look of patient wonder came into his eyes1 and he merely said to me1 8,mr4 ,priddy1 will you kindly take the eraser and give us a clean blackboard60 ,our first class under this teacher was one in psychology4 ,we met and his first question was1 8,what are we to study80 ,instantly one of my classmates replied1 8,psychology60 8,what is psychology80 ,my classmate1 who had read the definition in the day's lesson replied1 confidently1 8#8,the study of the mind and the processes of the mind1' sir40 8,ah1 and what do you mean by the mind8 ,what do you know about the mind8 ,have you ever seen one80 ,my classmate stammered1 8,why--eh1 no1 sir40 8,then perhaps some one else will inform me what we are here for80 ,no one was willing4 8,then you will return to your rooms1 gentlemen10 said the professor1 without a trace of a smile1 8and come tomorrow at the same hour and tell us what we are to study during the year4 ,i really must know4 ,we cannot get along until ,i do40 ,the next day1 some of us met1 before the class and conspired to teach that professor his lesson4 ,we memorized the definitions and the explanations so that it would be impossible for us to slip4 ,then we entered the classroom4 8,what are we here for1 gentlemen80 began the professor4 ,instantly the answer came from the corner1 8,to study psychology1 sir40 8,will any one tell me what is meant by psychology80 8#8,a study of the mind and the processes of the mind1 as such1'0 responded another student4 8#8,as such4' ,what is meant by that1 sir80 ,one of my classmates undertook to explain that 8as such0 meant that the 8states of the mind0 were to be studied as 8states of the mind10 and not as--eh-- 8,mince pies80 asked the professor1 with a slight1 serious elevation of his eyebrows4 ,for the next five minutes he went around the class involving each one of us in our own ignorance until it was impossible for him to get a reply to any one of his questions4 8,too bad10 he muttered1 seriously4 8,i really don't see how we are to get on4 ,this won't do4 ,you had better go back to your rooms and come tomorrow and see if we can let in any daylight on this matter4 ,good afternoon1 gentlemen60 ,we resolved that we would not study a single word for the morrow2 but that we would go into the class and have no information to offer4 ,we would see how the professor would like that6 ,the following afternoon1 pursuant to this plan1 when the professor had greeted us1 his first question was1 8,what are we to study8 ,can any one tell me80 ,it brought no response4 ,he looked around the room in great astonishment and went from man to man1 asking1 8,can you tell me80 and each time getting a decided and belligerent negative4 ,then a smile of satisfaction lighted up his sober face and he said1 8,there1 gentlemen4 ,now that you have made up your minds that you know nothing about psychology1 ,i am ready to begin to teach you60 and from then to the end of the year we sat under instruction that was masterly1 inspiring4 ,this spirit of thoroughness and critical honesty was needed during the second year1 for we were constructing a personal faith3 a task more serious than the mere acquisition of historic facts or encyclopdic knowledge4 ,but the teachers were patient1 kindly1 and watched us let conservative and traditional habits of mind go1 not in any spirit of intolerance4 ,there were many times1 that year1 when ,i found myself almost duplicating ,burner's misery1 by sitting in my room and wondering1 after ,i had let go my traditional habits of thought about ,god and the ,bible1 what ,i should do without faith4 ,but as one conception went1 another1 larger conception came1 and ,i found a nobler faith than ,i ever had before4 ,the self-distrust and miserable vacancy of doubt1 were1 as ,i had blunderingly told ,burner1 mere phases towards a positive faith4 ,one winter morning1 after a night of mental struggle1 during which ,i suffered fully as much as ,i had ever suffered from any physical hardship1 ,i went out on the campus to walk about in the crisp air4 ,the students had just gone into the chapel for morning prayers4 ,i stopped under the windows and heard the drone of the parlor organ4 ,then1 on the quietness of the morning1 the manly melody came to my ears3 a hymn resonant with a man's faith1 and bringing peace to my doubts4 8,oh1 ,love ,that ,will ,not ,let ,me ,go10 they were singing1 a monkish1 monastic tinge to it1 coming from male throats1--only the tenor was too boyish for a monk1 too thrillingly rampant in its ambitious soaring after ,god over the high notes4 ,but it soothed me and ,i went in the strength of that hymn for many days4 ,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,the ,wonderful ,summer on the ,pleasure ,island ,my next opportunity of earning money for my education came in a call to preach on ,sundays in a little church sixty miles from the ,seminary at a fashionable summer resort4 ,the compensation to be ten dollars a week3 compensation for three days' absence from the ,seminary1 one hundred and twenty miles of travel and expenses1 and the nervous exertion of preaching twice and teaching a ,sunday-school class1 not excluding pastoral work whenever opportunity should offer6 ,these weekly journeys began when ,i arose on ,saturday morning at five o'clock1 drank a hastily prepared cup of cocoa1 and hurried off to the station for the six o'clock train4 ,then the train would start on its way through the snowdrifts1 puffing and gasping down white aisles through rows of stiff1 stately pines whose hands held puffy clouds of snow1 and then followed a slow passage through miles of birches bending low under the weight of wet snow like robed saints humbled by too great a weight of glory4 ,the railway trip was followed by a steamer journey of eight miles through a heavy1 sad sea which never seemed to have any light in it1 and in whose icy surface pretty grey and mottled gulls were not afraid to dip their palpitating breasts4 ,the steamer put me ashore on an island whose centre was loaded with a serried row of little mountains4 ,at the landing ,i found a stage and drove for eight miles over the island to my parish4 ,the stage horse rushed us down dipping roads that threaded between precipitous mountain sides1 whose summits were desert rocks and at whose feet had crumbled cliff after cliff of red rock1 spread out like a rusty iron yard4 ,then the road became a climb until some highlands were attained and we sped through a little fishing village which nestled close to a mysterious1 secluded cove1 guarded by stern1 fretted cliffs1 a place where ,stevenson would have had a cave of smugglers or the anchorage of a rakish pirate craft4 ,then came a turn in the road1 where1 behind a fringe of thick1 old gold birches and in the midst of some dead oak stumps1 nature had placed a cathedral pile of gigantic slabs of stone1 one on another1 as if to show to man what the angels of strength could do once they started to build with stone4 ,next followed a bewildering ride over a spiral road up a steep hill on which stood aristocratic summer homes4 ,at a lookout where the road took a sudden dip1 one saw the cold ocean far down below with its heavy1 listless breakers pounding wearily against the iron cliffs1 as if saying1 8,why do the poets insist on our ceaselessly trying to shatter this cliff8 ,i wish they would let us rest through the winter1 till the summer visitors come3 then ,i will pound like ,vulcan's hammer to please them60 ,in the distance1 little dismal islands stood in the sea like burnt dumplings in gravy4 ,over them the gulls were screaming and wailing1 adding to the solitude and the winter's dreariness4 ,then the stage slanted down the hill and after a long1 twisting ride drew up before the village post-office1 where ,i met my host and was duly welcomed as the new minister4 ,back and forth1 week after week1 returning to the ,seminary on ,monday evenings1 ,i accomplished my journeys faithfully4 ,each week besides my studies ,i had to plan for the church4 ,there was little time for idleness1 for the hours of recreation were taken up in travel4 ,on these trips ,i took a book and tried to have it read on my return4 ,but my reward was near at hand4 ,the summer arrived1 and with it an inflow of wealth1 honor1 and leisure to my parish4 ,a wonderful transformation came over the island--the ,pleasure ,island4 ,boards were unscrewed from cottage windows4 ,the dead grass gave way to green carpets4 ,lifeless sticks budded with colored foliage4 ,the dead sea and the listless waves became animated with restless energy4 ,the sun kissed the roads into smoothness and lined the highways with flowers4 ,fresh painted steamers1 with flying banners1 whistled into the wharves and unloaded crowds of visitors4 ,steam yachts lay at anchor in the cove4 ,the white wings of yawls and catboats were dipping in the breeze4 ,the mountain paths had been re-charted and were filled with adventurers4 ,the pine groves and the quiet cliffs lured tired men and women to their restful silences4 ,trout fishers rubbed oil of camphor over their faces to restrain the ambitious stings of flies and mosquitoes1 and sought the brook pools where ,walton's classic trout waited to be played with4 ,my little rustic church became filled with city people1 who not only sat in the pews1 but sang in the choir1 decorated the pulpit with flowers and grasses1 and served on responsible committees4 ,then1 too1 my rest and opportunity came1 for we had a list of distinguished clergymen and professors who were to occupy my pulpit every ,sunday morning1 for the resort was very rich in clerical talent of a willing and gracious sort4 ,we had so much professional talent indeed1 that one morning near the post-office ,i beheld two bishops1 two university presidents1 two professors1 and a world-famous author standing on less than two square yards of ground6 ,we left the doors and the windows of the church open while the noted men preached1 and their voices had to vie with the song birds who perched on the waving trees outside the windows4 ,the sea tang blew across the church1 the sweetest of summer incense4 ,i had little enough to do1 for the people were too busy with pleasure to be at home3 they wanted me to sit on the cliffs with books and take a rest--on a salary4 ,but there came calls to preach on some of the outlying islands to which ,i was carried on different ,sunday afternoons in a launch4 ,then they all left us1 tanned1 virile1 rested3 the whole community took itself to the decks of the island steamers and was carried to the trains4 ,the tennis courts were closed4 ,the shutters were fastened over the display windows of the flower stand4 ,many pews were empty in my little1 rustic church4 ,the flowers and shrubs were bedded in straw4 ,soon the snow and frost and bleakness of winter would spread over the island4 ,my second pastorate ended1 too1 for ,i had received a call to supply a larger church much nearer to the ,seminary1 a church where ,i intended to preach after my graduation from the ,seminary4 ,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,how a ,parsonage ,suggests a ,wife4 ,the ,convincing ,revelations of a ,phrenologist ,who ,examined the ,students' ,bumps ,on the return to the ,seminary1 to enter upon my senior year1 the first men ,i missed were ,burner and ,tucker1 who had graduated the previous summer4 ,burner wrote me a very interesting letter from the precincts of a prominent ,new ,england university to the effect that he was a member of the junior class of that institution1 that on ,sundays he preached in a very delightful country town2 that he was having a rich feast in college fare2 the courses in animal psychology1 metaphysics1 especially in relation to the fundamentals of faith1 holding the fullest fascination for him4 ,tucker1 able at last to do a preacher's work1 not only to his own personal taste1 but also to the gratification of his parish1 was giving himself1 sacrificially1 to the work of dignifying the life of the people who had called him4 ,he wrote me that he felt his special work in life to have two phases to it3 that he should remain unmarried in order that1 like a monk1 he could do ,god's work with singleness of purpose1 and that he should go only to struggling1 discouraged parishes where the small salaries and the hardships formed a sufficient missionary challenge3 parishes in which he should labor until they were transformed and able finally to pay a salary on which a permanent1 married man could settle among them and give them the fullest1 freest service4 8,i am setting myself10 concluded ,tucker1 8to be a mortgage-lifter1 parsonage-getter1 and salary-raiser for other ministers who are to follow me60 ,the parish to which ,i ministered during my last year in the ,seminary1 and in which ,i planned to settle immediately upon graduation1 was in a seaport town of a quaint type3 buried back in the rugged coast lines of the ,atlantic4 ,the ,embargo ,act had been like the chilling breath of petrification on the ,east ,indiamen1 the ,ceylon traders1 the ,china brigs1 and the many other ships which had gone out from its port4 ,the wharves to which of old time these sea-rovers had been tied when in port had rotted until1 in my day1 the water-front was outlined by their black1 damp1 soggy ruins4 ,here and there1 outside the precincts of the town1 half buried among young saplings and deep grasses1 could be seen the piles and planks of a once stout wharf4 ,in the village itself1 almost everything pointed1 with an index finger1 to the past as the scene of the town's glory4 ,the hotel in which ,i stayed1 in stage-coach days had been a tavern1 and from the porch of it the landlord1 wearer of a blue military coat with brass buttons1 had fed the wild birds and pigeons4 ,the house had an office-boy who was seventy odd years old1 a man whose clothes and speech were tinctured with reminiscences of the sea and the past glory of the village4 ,as one tipped back in one of the hundred-year-old chairs1 which were whittled1 by loungers' pocket knives1 to skeletons of rungs and seats1 one saw slow-pacing oxen1 nodding their heads in two-four metronomic time1 pulling loads of sun-dried1 salted codfish from the outdoor driers to the packing factory4 ,in the parlors1 on the hillside1 were many interesting relics of the past1 left by the race of sea captains and ship-owners almost extinct4 ,there were trinket boxes made from scented1 oriental woods1 and little ,ceylon gods of brass and porcelain4 ,there were ,japanese ivories and vases and draperies4 ,there were ebony ornaments from savage islands and carved novelties1 the product of barbarous intelligence4 ,the old families1 remaining in the village1 were of that splendid ,puritan sort who serve ,god with mind1 heart1 and purse1 and while the older men and women remained at home1 the sons and daughters1 blessed with their heritage1 had gone out into the world to do no small share of the brilliant and serviceable tasks for which honor and wealth are given4 ,when the bells on the two churches rang1 on ,sunday mornings1 one waited for the other1 so that they might ring in antiphonal brotherhood1 seeming to say1 8,good morning10 and to reply1 8,good morning10 in praise of the doctrinal harmony in the parishes where1 in the by-gone years1 opposing pulpits had been girt about with demoniac lightnings and surmounted by the wild-eyed heresies of dethroned angels4 ,in addition to the salary for my preaching1 a white1 green-shuttered1 iridescent-windowed parsonage1 perched on a summit of grass terraces1 stood ready1 as my home1 whenever ,i should want it2 in other words1 as members of my parish phrased it1 8when ,i should bring ,mrs4 ,priddy60 ,now a twelve-roomed house1 rent free1 perched on grass terraces1 guarded on one side by a syringa and on the other side by some red currant bushes1 says nothing to a young bachelor theologue1 about to graduate1 but1 8,how about a wife80 ,as there was no ignoring such a house1 there was no ignoring its consequent1--a wife4 ,the two1 like a 8neither0 and 8nor10 went together4 ,probably that is why parishes generally see to it that there is a parsonage1 especially where young ministers are concerned3 that such a concrete suggestion will work on the mind and heart of their minister1 through the night hours with all the terror of an inescapable dream1 in the day hours as a thing to be accounted for whether or no4 ,there is1 perhaps1 no suggestion more haunting can befall a young1 bachelor minister1 than an unoccupied1 ,colonial parsonage1 standing on a summit of terraces1 unoccupied6 ,if he rents it to outside parties1 it is one way of saying to your parish1 8,i am too cowardly to marry60 ,if he permits it to remain empty1 he has to spend many precious hours explaining to the church committee and their wives his good reasons for having it empty1 and there are so few good reasons that the task is no desirable one4 ,however1 ,destiny1 using a strange mouthpiece1 showed me a clear path in the matter4 ,it came about in this wise4 ,the lower floor1 in the east wing of ,therenton ,hall1 at the ,seminary1 was devoted to social purposes4 ,it was the meeting-place of the students immediately after supper1 where all sorts of recreations were indulged4 ,a song1 a piano solo1 a burlesque1 or a bit of clever mimicry was usually in order in that place4 ,it was ostensibly a reading-room1 where1 on the tables1 were to be found magazines of interest to theological students4 ,it was in this room where our freak visitors came to describe to us their specialties3 men who came and tried to woo us from study to strange1 emotional cults2 men who came and told us1 to our faces1 with prophetic fearlessness of consequences1 that by our alignment to the ,seminary1 and to any institution of learning1 we were making ourselves heretics and outcasts4 ,one evening1 at the supper table1 in ,commons1 ,bobbett announced that 8,professor ,hoyle1 a fellow that feels bumps1 a phrenologist1 would be in the reading-room1 ready to read our capabilities1 our faults1 and our destinies for twenty-five cents a head1 special price to theological students from the usual fifty-cent rate4 ,no satisfaction1 no pay60 ,town lassies1 in medieval ,europe1 never flocked to palm-reader or card-turner1 with more curiosity or 8pooh-poohing10 than did we4 ,on the way through the yard1 the same critical faculties which we had brought to bear on 8hallucinations0 and 8superstitions0 in our studies of psychology and savage religions were brought to bear upon our impending interview with 8,professor ,hoyle40 ,certainly the majority of us1 by the time we had entered the parlor1 were there on account of no other emotion than the wish to bring to bear on this man's acts our trained1 critical1 scientific acumen2 though it cost us twenty-five cents6 ,the 8professor0 was waiting for us1 a tall1 slightly stooped1 well-dressed young man4 ,he made no claims1 no speech4 ,he merely said1 8,come up1 one following another1 and after ,i have examined you and made a note of my findings1 ,i will write out each one's report on paper and if it does not suit1 why none need pay40 ,one after another then we filed into the chair and had those pliant1 nervous1 cold fingers steal1 subtly1 over our cranial topographies4 ,silently1 quickly1 skilfully1 bumps that nature had placed on our skulls1 and bumps that basket-ball and parallel bars had induced1 were sorted out1 interpreted1 and their meanings put on a pad of paper1 against our names4 ,then1 after some moments of scratching1 the 8professor0 handed each one of us his report4 ,laughingly they were received1 laughingly they were perused1 and then looks of startled wonder were the rule1 for in some unaccountable way1 the 8professor0 had managed to find strange true interpretations of us4 ,he informed one student that if the latter had not planned to become a minister1 he would have done well at mechanical engineering1 a vocation in which the student had had some proficiency4 ,there were some intimate revelations for each one of us1 true appraisals of temperament1 inclination1 and habit4 ,but it was the unknown things over which we smiled1 the mysterious future1 which we were ready to believe on account of the truthfulness with which he had told our present4 ,instantly the parsonage on the summit of grass terraces came into mind1 as the last words of my phrenological report read3 8,love3 brown-haired young woman40 ,i paid my quarter1 willingly1 and went to my room1 linking an unknown1 unnamed1 intangible 8brown-haired young woman0 with the waiting parsonage4 ,chapter ,,xxix4 ,it ,devolves upon me to ,entertain a ,guest and the ,sentimental ,consequences ,which ,ensued ,then1 as if in conspiracy with the traveling phrenologist1 the ,seminary itself made 8the brown-haired young woman10 concrete1 before my eyes4 ,as the emotional revival had been the feature1 the advertised feature of ,evangelical ,university1 so ,lecture ,week was the unique1 advertised feature of the ,seminary4 ,as the ,revival was doctrinal1 controversial1 and excessively unintellectual1 so ,lecture ,week was undoctrinal1 constructive1 and preminently intellectual4 ,lecture ,week was1 par excellence1 one of the most inspiring intellectual treats of a week's duration to be found within the bounds of the ,atlantic and ,pacific oceans4 ,for the special lecturers of the year pooled interests and appeared together4 ,these lecturers were preminent men drawn from the ranks of highest achievement3 specialists of high1 world-wide repute on preaching1 social service1 and belles lettres4 ,they were men for whose speech and thought any student would gladly put aside treatises on oratory and explanations of social movements and interpretations of literature1 and give himself entirely into their safe-keeping4 ,three words were inscribed over those precious1 inspiring weeks3 8,golden ,speech10 8,ripe ,thoughts10 and 8,impressive ,personalities60 ,students were never the same in ambitions after the lecturers had shuffled their notes into their leather pouches and left3 ,i had one student preach for me the ,sunday following one such week1 and there1 before the eyes of my parishioners1 some of whom had been in attendance on the lectures1 appeared an excellent facsimile of the noted divine who had given the course on preaching2 the student stroked back his hair exactly as the noted man had done1 he leaned over the pulpit in perfect accord with the latter's peculiar and distinguishing trait2 even some of his climaxes and intonations of voice followed those used by the famous preacher in his most forceful oratorical moments4 ,i think this student was not alone among those who played the sedulous ape to the ,lecture ,week speakers4 ,i know that more than once ,i caught myself thinking that probably a change in method to that of ,dr4 ,gladden's conversational ease might impress my audience la ,dr4 ,gladden4 ,during that week the ,seminary became a generous host to the country ministers1 not only sending the poorer ones an urgent invitation to the feast1 but following very closely that gospel which urges one to go out into the highways and compel them to come1 for she aided some by railway fares1 helped others by having the fares reduced1 and when she had them into the city1 gave them free lodgings in the dormitory and in the gymnasium1 with students for chambermaids and professors for general managers of departments4 ,the result1 in my senior year1 for ,lecture ,week1 was inspiring4 ,the heroic preachers from the isolated parishes1 who in true poverty and in chastity of heart hold up ,god's light amidst a darkened1 back way1 came to us in their brushed-up frayed frock coats and white percale ties to find themselves somewhat surprised at the city ministers1 who not only did not wear white ties during the week-days1 but had even left their frock coats at home to appear on the campus more like doctors on holidays than sedate ministers of the gospel4 ,however1 in heart1 neither frock nor sack coats made a difference1 for it was astounding how boyish and playful the faces of both city ministers and country missionaries became in the interim of lectures1 or at night when in the midnight hours some sedate man would get out of his cot1 skulk past the snoring brethren who were arrayed in a row on the cots in the gymnasium1 and either by rolling a thundering bowling ball at the pins1 or by some other act of deliberate mischief1 awaken ,babel6 ,morning1 afternoon1 and evening the city people united with the seminary members in crowding the lecture hall2 school-teachers1 women's clubs1 college professors and college students1 librarians1 esthetic clerks1 intellectually inclined mill-workers1 doctors1 lawyers1 and church people1--these were in evidence always1 for the lecturers' names1 and the three poles of their thought--religion1 social service1 and letters--made a universal appeal4 ,in fact1 it must have somewhat embarrassed the speakers to have been called in to lecture to theological students and find before them all the ,gentiles of the city4 ,in any case1 the speakers who had been so uninformed as to head each separate lecture1 whether on 8,the ,pastor in his ,study10 8,the ,turmoil in ,society10 or 8,the ,supremacy of ,browning over the ,saxon ,heart10 with the usual1 8,my ,dear ,young ,men10 were compelled1 on appearing1 to make it read1 8,the ,citizens of this ,city1 ,visiting ,school-teachers and ,professors1 the ,faculty and my ,dear ,young ,friends of the ,seminary6 ,ahem60 and then go ahead and wonder how the ,barbarians would be interested in what was intended for the ,greeks6 ,it was1 in all1 a reincarnation of a medieval monastery acting as light-bringer1 with this difference1 that the ,seminary's light was a ,welsbach burner and no smoky fish-oil one that made a fog6 ,the visiting clergymen who had overrun the privacy of the ,seminary left1 and the parishes in the back places were to ring with the echoes of ,lecture ,week1 and from many and many a dried-up well in the mind and heart of a minister who had never had money enough for timely books or visits to inspiring conferences1 was to be flowing living1 leaping water for months after4 ,one missionary pastor1 however1 had been left within the precincts of the ,seminary1 a missionary whose work lay far back from the railroad1 amidst the heavy1 drifted snow roads in winter and amidst the serenity of the isolated hills and fields in summer2 a missionary preacher who had been to a college1 but not a theological seminary1 and one who evidently strongly believed in equal suffrage--for this minister was a 8brown-haired young woman40 ,she attended our classes in company with an elderly woman student and was present when our homiletical professor1 to make his instruction clear as to how we should engineer a wedding1 took a long and short man1 called one the bride and the other the groom1 and had them plight their troth before us1 ex more4 ,one evening ,i sat at a supper table in the family hotel to where ,i had transferred my appetite1 when ,i was surprised to see the busy little woman manager guide the 8brown-haired young woman0 over to my table and say1 without a lift of the brow1 as she came1 8,she is a minister and you are to be a minister1 ,i think you ought to sit at the same table60 ,she left the young woman sitting opposite me at the table1 not being aware that we were strangers to each other4 ,but there we were1 and it seemed as if the phrenologist's ghost must have been wandering near1 though by that time ,i had put his report out of mind entirely4 ,suddenly it was rumored about the ,seminary that ,i had in charge the entertainment of our guest1 the missionary1 and students stumbled over us in the most unexpected places1 as we took our walks over the city4 ,curious persons began to speak about the usefulness of a wife who could herself take to the pulpit6 ,it was even reported about the ,seminary that some day she would be writing my sermons6 ,when the missionary had returned to her parish a sharp watch was kept over the mail box at the foot of ,therenton ,hall stairway1 for it was expected that probably some correspondence would take place between the missionary and myself4 ,some letters did pass between us1 though those from the missionary conveyed to me the fact1 expressed in clear1 unequivocal language1 that she was wedded to her mission and felt that her whole life and sympathy belonged to her people1 despite any personal wishes of her own4 ,the matter had reached that stage when examination and graduation week drew near1 a time which brought suffering with it4 ,chapter ,,xxx4 ,a ,heretic ,hunter4 ,the ,orthodoxy of the ,seminary ,admirably ,defended4 ,i ,contract a ,fashionable ,disease1 and also ,receive a ,very ,unsettling ,letter ,the fifty-year-old elms are budding2 the shapely ,norway maples are bursting into ,may leafing2 the sun1 after having melted away the ice and packed snow in the north corners1 is now pouring down over the sloping field in front of the dormitory porch2 the snow shovels which the students have used through the snowy winter months in clearing gridirons of paths--a task which they have chosen by lot--these tools of winter have been packed away in remote corners of the vaulted cellar4 ,there is a slack fire kept in the stoves1 a sure sign of a seminary spring4 ,one or two bicycles are seen leaning against the steps of the chapel1 waiting for their owners to come from class and take a ride over the hills4 ,nature has set the campus for loafers1 but the professors have chosen the dramatic month of ,may for the hard grind of final examinations6 ,just about this time the students begin to debate very seriously on this matter1 of acute interest--to them3 8,resolved3 ,that ,examinations ,do ,not ,gauge the ,mental ,fitness of a ,student10 and substantiate their proposition by the following proofs3 8,that examinations induce nervousness1 prohibiting the student from actually expressing what is actually in his mind4 8,that all knowledge cannot be put on paper1 for it is possible for a man to profit by study and yet not be able to give proof of it when asked4 8,that examinations depend upon memory3 that all students are not perfect in memory--0 and the many other usual arguments which examinations1 from the earliest times1 must have had against them4 ,but1 in the ,seminary1 these examinations on paper1 while almost decisive1 were supplemented by oral examinations1 made in public1 with full liberty given to any visitors1 especially visiting ministers1 to ask questions4 ,immediately it is seen what a heresy-hunting1 heretic-discovering opportunity these oral examinations gave3 for if ever a study has brought men's thumbs into the screw and men's necks into nooses1 and caused the suspicions of men to flame into white heat1 has it not been ,theology8 ,for two years ,i had sat with my fellow victims in the little chapel where our hymns of praise and our prayers had been wont to ascend4 ,class by class we sat1 the lower classes unimportant in dramatic possibilities because they were to be examined merely on ,hebrew and ,church ,history1 and surely it would have taken a persecutor with a keener nose than ,hildebrand or a ,scotch vestryman to cull a heresy on the ,trinity or the ,virgin ,birth from a hiphil or a hophal or a padrigram with a kametshhatauph in it6 ,in fact1 after a minister has been away from the ,seminary a few years1 he attends these oral examinations in ,hebrew1 merely to nod his head at the recital of every jot and the pronunciation of every drunken row of consonants1 as if it were a matter of every-day understanding with him1 and needed no comment6 ,at least1 it seemed so to me as ,i watched during my first experience as a participant in an oral examination in ,hebrew4 ,neither is there much of a chance for heresy-hunting in ,church ,history1 for is it not1 in itself1 a record of heresy after heresy8 ,but 8the senior class in ,theology60 ,the mere announcement of such an event is enough to lure from his tombs every theological ragger who ever drew breath4 ,think of the chance3 to be given carte blanche with eight young students who are ready to be quizzed on their theology6 ,the senior class sit in their students' chairs hardly comprehending what they face4 ,perhaps because they are young and have a certain amount of bel esprit1 in any case1 they sit ready2 each one ready to take up arms in defense of the orthodoxy of the seminary of that present year against the orthodoxy of the seminary forty1 fifty1 or fifty-eight years ago2 a clash which may have in it every element of theological tragedy4 ,that there may be need of it is clear1 for in the second settee of visitors sits a white-haired1 stern-faced minister1 who had stopped progress before ,darwin wakened the world1 or ever ,first ,isaiah was said to have a double1 or before such startling queries as 8,what ,sage ,influenced the ,psalter80 and 8,did the ,code of ,hammurabi ,help ,moses80 began to be made4 ,he antedates those novelties3 is strongly entrenched1 unwilling to lend his ear to them lest ,zion's song be not heard4 ,traditions of this man have been handed down to the seniors1 who now sit ready for his ringing challenge4 ,they know he is waiting eagerly for them1 to follow every word1 every answer that has in it any deviation from the straight doctrine of his senior year6 ,the examination begins4 ,first the professor asks some questions that will indicate the range and character of his instruction4 ,the old man jots down something in a note-book1 which he holds in his hand1 for he is experienced in these matters4 ,then the cross-examination ensues4 ,the old minister asks1 first of all1 in a bewildered voice1 8,do you mean to say1 young gentleman1 that the first sin was not done in the ,garden of ,eden1 as exactly recorded8 ,does the ,seminary teach that80 ,the student replies1 at length1 showing1 in terms of modern research and science1 exactly what he means3 that he has not denied the terrible fact of sin nor of its penalties1 etc4 ,but1 in the audience sit some younger men1 recently graduated1 who1 by skilfully injected questions1 deflect examination into constructive and spiritual channels1 bringing out from the students the rich faith that they have to preach and the helpful doctrine that they mean to proclaim to men1 and the examination closes with only one man imagining that faith is on its last legs through too much wisdom4 ,these parlous times of test1 of trial were approaching for me1 and ,i had my class note-books in order on my desk1 for a review1 when one morning ,i awoke suffering agony from the then fashionable ailment--appendicitis2 just at a time when the papers were reporting that some ,philadelphia society women were compelling doctors to operate on them as a new fad6 ,the student across the hall opened his medicine-closet and made me a very stout and vigorous mustard plaster2 but that did not avail4 ,then the doctors were asked in and gave out the news that ,i should have to be operated upon immediately4 ,visions of graduation melted in thin air4 ,while a carriage was secured1 ,i dictated two short letters1 not knowing whether they would be my last4 ,then ,i had my friend read me a letter which the missionary had sent4 ,it was a letter to the effect that she felt that our personal feelings should be put aside in order that she might devote herself to ,god's work4 ,it pleaded that we should bring our correspondence to an end1 in order not to heighten the tragedy to which the matter had reached4 ,the words were like knife blades driven deep1 and causing a pain more acute than that physical pain which had brought me next door to death4 ,as the students carried me downstairs and put me in the carriage1 they saw my face contorted and purple with physical agony4 ,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,how ,some of the ,joys of ,friendship ,came to me in the ,tower ,room4 ,the ,orator in the ,white ,vest4 ,how ,soon ,i ,lost my ,diploma ,from the ether cone which a house surgeon had held over my nostrils ,i breathed unconsciousness and peace4 ,i awoke in a tower room1 with a semi-circle of bright windows letting in the morning sun on me1 and with a quiet-motioned1 white-capped nurse watching me as ,i struggled free from grim dreams and tried to regain my right mind4 ,the merest turn of the eyes toward the low windows permitted me to see the ,may day outside3 a day in which salmon fishers came in boats up the river and patiently1 skilfully lured giant fish from the deep waters to their bags4 ,the little1 bare room was soon colored with gifts of flowers from friends in my parish1 from my classmates in the ,seminary1 and from the missionary4 ,letters of consolation and good cheer1 visits from the president of the ,seminary1 who told me not to fret about examinations1 because ,i should graduate1 and cheering minutes with my class friends took the edge from my suffering4 ,one morning a delegation of little children came bashfully into the room1 and after standing in a row before me1 each waiting for the other to speak1--for they represented the children whom ,i had organized in the mission church1 two years before1--one of them1 a little girl1 stepped forward and with a quick thrust put on my white coverlet a paper bag1 saying3 8,mr4 ,priddy1 we're sorry you're sick and hope you'll soon be well4 ,we chipped in for those and hope you'll like 'em1 please40 ,when they had left the room1 the nurse opened the bag and discovered one half-dozen maximum-ripened bananas4 ,but graduation6 ,should ,i be in the hospital while my classmates enjoyed the festivities1 the sobering joys1 the inspiration of that event8 ,the doctor1 who with his trail of a clinic examined me each morning1 had been given a word by the ,president1 for though a stern man in appearance and very blunt in speech1 he would turn1 half fiercely1 in mock ferocity to my nurse and say1 8,this young man must be ready for the sixth of ,june4 ,remember1 he is not to be in this place on that day60 ,though he never smiled as he said this2 yet because he said it ,i imagined him as the best friend ,i had ever called friend1 for the sixth of ,june was the day of graduation6 ,from the fragments of news which came to me1 day by day1 ,i knew that the ,seminary was shaping itself for the graduation exercises4 ,the oral examinations had been held2 the visiting alumni had met for their annual meeting2 the reception1 in one of the professors' homes1 had been given2 and on the morrow1 in the evening1 my classmates would stand before the pulpit in the brick church while the ,president handed them their diplomas4 ,graduation morning found me shaved1 expectant and nervous1 sitting at one of the windows watching a little girl cruelly strip a tiny sapling of its first glorious flowers4 ,suddenly the nurse came into the room1 with a knowing smile1 and said that there was a stranger to see me6 ,there followed the scrape of a foot along the rubber-carpeted corridor and into the room1 dressed in demure black1 came the missionary6 ,she had followed the leading of her heart and had come down to cheer me on for graduation1 for a strange dream had come to her the night ,i had been smitten down1 a dream that came before any news of my illness had reached her1 in which some spirit of warning had whispered that ,i was suffering1 in danger of my life6 ,then the mail had brought her the truth1 and there she stood before me to share the honors of the day sympathetically with me4 ,by ten o'clock two classmates rattled into the hospital yard in a carriage2 came into my room1 their arms loaded with my best clothes4 8,you've got to graduate with us60 they exclaimed4 8,we've been together through the years1 and we can't afford to have the line broken now60 ,one half hour later1 supported by them1 ,i was placed in the carriage and carried triumphantly to my room in the dormitory1 where ,i was to remain quiet and patient until evening1 when ,i should go down to the brick church for my diploma6 ,from the lofty height of my dormitory window ,i could look down on the house-tops of the city and see the hazy hills far1 far against the distant sky-lines4 ,i could also look down between the veil of elm leaves and see the processions of visitors and the hurrying forms of my classmates1 as they passed over the tar walk1 under the shady arch of the trees towards the gymnasium1 where a banquet was to be served in honor of my class4 ,there was a clatter outside my door1 and the classmate who had been chosen to deliver the speech for us in the gymnasium appeared in my doorway with a hearty1 8,how do ,i look1 ,priddy80 ,no groom ever did better with a frock coat1 a white1 flowered vest1 a brilliant tie1 and neatly combed hair1 and ,i told him so4 ,he then left me for the momentous occasion in which he was to figure after dinner1 when he would stand up at the head of all the tables1 strike his pose1 and in his best manner--with an incidental throwing back of his frock coat to display his grand white vest--give the felicitations1 the thanks1 the hopes1 and ideals of our class4 ,so ,i sat apart from the revelry of the day1 with a beating1 thankful heart1 waiting for the arrival of evening4 ,after supper a student came into the room1 fitted me into the best collar that ,i had1 fastened the groomish1 white silk tie skilfully about it1 put the golden links into my new cuffs1 and then helped me insert myself into my new frock coat6 8,there10 he cried1 stroking the front of my coat and then standing back for the effect1 8,i think you are ready to be escorted down to the church by the missionary2 she will meet you in the reception room4 ,good luck to you1 ,priddy60 ,i was so faint that ,i walked through the great congregation of visitors and friends as through a blur4 ,i took my seat in the front of the church with my classmates and saw only the array of palms and flowers on the communion table4 ,i needed to marshal every ounce of nerve and strength in order to get through the service without accident4 ,a terrible fear rushed into my heart1 as my head kept whirling like a top and leaving me exhausted1 a fear that ,i should tumble from my seat and spoil the exercises4 ,one after another of my classmates crowded past me1 ascended to the pulpit1 and delivered his speech4 ,next my name on the program1 and the subject of the speech on which ,i never wrote1 was a star1 followed by the note3 8,excused on account of illness40 ,after the addresses1 the ,president came down from the pulpit throne and we stood lined up before him1 with the vast audience at our backs4 ,i could not listen to the words of parting that our mentor gave us1 for ,i felt every minute that ,i should tumble back like a stricken ninepin2 bowled over by my insufficient strength4 ,sweeps of pain1 of cold and heat went through me like differing winds4 ,slowly1 ever so slowly1 the diplomas were handed us1 seeming to take a day or more1 and every minute ,i felt like stopping the solemn service and asking to be allowed to go back to my seat4 ,finally the last of the diplomas were given1 we turned our faces to the congregation1 walked nervously back to our seats1 and waited for the exercises to be concluded4 ,the organ thundered its exultant recessional1 the people crowded into the aisles and intercepted us as we struggled through1 seeking out sweethearts1 friends1 parents1 whose congratulation we sought first4 ,the missionary was waiting for me near an exit door1 anxious for me1 as ,i saw by her face4 ,i had just shown her my diploma1 with its blue silken bow1 when suddenly the ,dean tapped me on the shoulder and politely requested my diploma1 saying1 8,you may have it again1 ,mr4 ,priddy1 after you have completed your deferred examinations60 ,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,how1 ,though ,i was ,ready for ,service1 ,i was ,forestalled by a ,new ,trouble1 and the ,very ,interesting ,plan ,which ,came ,out of it ,then the reward of the years came to me3 ,i had my whole time to give to my parish1 ,i had my home in the parsonage and a wife--the 8brown-haired young woman0--to preside over it4 ,though ,evangelical ,university had nurtured narrow1 dogmatic1 and discontented versions of faith in me1 and though the first months of instruction in the ,seminary had witnessed the destruction of these versions of faith1 finally had come the larger world of faith1 without narrow bounds1 with deeper reaches and a much brighter sky4 ,like ,burner1 ,i had been called upon to pass through skeptical valleys1 and to climb over high walls which bruised the spirit1 but it was only to climb to the top of a lofty faith1 at last1 in which ,i seemed to behold the world of men1 spite of their common sins1 tending towards the central place--,god's garden4 ,i felt that ,i could go into the pulpit and preach on themes1 which instead of arousing the hostility of men1 as the doctrine of ,evangelical ,university seemed destined to do1 would by their breadth1 optimism1 and freedom from ,phariseeism win the repentant consent of men4 ,i had gone into the ,seminary tutored by ,evangelical ,university to be afraid to let the sun shine on religion's chief doctrines1 ,i had come from the ,seminary believing that the flood of light intensified the beauty of religion4 ,so1 at last1 ,i had the opportunity of testing on community life this doctrine which comforted me with an inexpressible comfort4 ,i bent to my work1 with my wife at my elbow1 as proud of my chance as any king called suddenly from obscurity to a kingdom4 ,i occupied a study whose front window overlooked the trees and gave me an excellent view of the sailing ships and steamers which dotted the bay4 ,i had my typewriter in one corner1 my desk in the centre of the room1 and an abundant supply of manuscript paper on which ,i intended writing years and years of sermons for that parish4 ,one day1 in spring1 my wife insisted that ,i consult a specialist about a throat affliction which had been interfering with my parish duties4 ,i sought one out and had him make a thorough examination of me4 ,gravely he plied his tools and searched my throat1 and gravely he announced1 8,you will have to bring your pastoral work to an end1 sir4 ,your throat will have to be cared for4 ,you must go1 immediately1 to a dry climate1 among the high hills1 and use your throat for a year or two with great economy4 ,that is all4 ,there is no better remedy40 ,i gazed on him with startled eyes4 8,but ,i've just got settled down10 ,i insisted4 8,i have no money saved4 ,i have just married4 ,is there no other remedy80 8,none10 he replied1 8,i am sorry to say4 ,you will have to do as ,i prescribe or lose your voice altogether4 ,it is very serious40 ,late that afternoon ,i appeared before my wife4 ,she had been planting some old-fashioned flowers in the garden4 ,she saw by my downcast countenance that ,i had bad news4 8,what has he told you80 she enquired4 8,don't quibble with me1 please60 8,we'll have to say good-bye to this place10 ,i began1 miserably4 8,it's all at an end3 this fine dream60 8,have to leave80 she echoed1 faintly4 8,is that it80 ,then ,i reported to her what the specialist had told me4 8,and we've planted the garden60 ,i concluded4 8,we shan't be able to stay here long enough to reap it60 ,there followed some moments of silence1 during which the full shock of the news had time to hurt her1 and then she proved herself to be one in that sisterhood of wives who in proposing a comfortable escape from a domestic difficulty bravely commit themselves to hardships3 for she said1 with a smile1 8,there1 now1 this will give you a chance to get to college60 ,i looked at her with great astonishment4 8,but we cannot afford to go to college10 ,i protested4 8,oh1 can't we80 she smiled4 8,well1 ,i suppose it may be possible for you to get a little church to supply near a college1 and ,i will stay at home through the week1 keeping an eye on the parish work while you study for your degree40 8,i had never thought of that60 8,you will have to be idle if you go to a parish1 you might as well use your time in getting a college degree10 she insisted4 ,in two weeks' time ,i had written to the ,dean of an old ,new ,england college1 of great reputation1 and1 on the strength of my seminary study1 was informed that ,i should be eligible to enter the junior class at the college the following fall4 ,with that matter settled1 ,i soon learned that ,i might supply a country church1 some miles from the college1 and let my wife occupy the parsonage4 ,the financial end of college thus concluded1 ,i resigned from the church3 the church in which all the sentimental ties of student days1 ordination1 and marriage were merged4 ,an old seaman came and boxed my household goods1 and as he worked1 tried to blunt the sting of the task by reciting to me in great detail1 how ,moses1 after becoming the wisest man among the ,egyptians1 likewise became the greatest war general of his time4 8,how is that80 ,i asked4 8,well1 you see10 said the seaman1 8the ',gyptians was allus goin' over the sands of the desert to battle1 and the sands of the desert was filled with biting snakes1 and the men died by whole companies from the glare of the sun1 so ,moses1 he invented some red umbrellas and give one to every soldier and took 'em onto the blazing1 snake-ridden floor of the desert4 ,result was1 when the snakes seen the glaring umbrellas they was scart off1 and the men was covered from the hot blaze of the sun1 and went into other lands and won big victories under that same ,moses60 8,where did you learn that80 ,i asked1 in great curiosity4 ,he mumbled the name of some strange-sounding history1 and then returned to his work1 for which ,i was paying him twenty cents an hour4 ,that legend had cost me fifteen cents2 it had taken him a full three-quarters of an hour to recount it with its frills and the many interjections4 ,then my wife and ,i1 feeling like the first man and woman leaving ,eden1 bade a tearful good-bye to the house1 to the parish1 and went forth to a new educational adventure1 one that would have its own peculiar hardships1 pain1 and pleasures4 ,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,of a ,village where ,locomotive ,whistles ,sounded like ,lingering ,music3 of the ,esthetic ,possibilities in a ,college ,catalogue3 of a ,journey over the ,hills to the ,college where we find1 besides a ,wonderful ,array of ,structures1 a ,large ,room and the ,junior with his ,barnful of ,furniture ,to a bird the north ,new ,england hill country whither our adventure took us might have resembled in shape a crumpled pie crust4 ,in one of the depressions lay our new parish3 the horizons high and lifted up by reason of the hills which girt it closely about4 ,all the exits from the village were over roads that sloped upward4 ,only the river had an even course as its shallow body bruised itself in rushing over the sharp1 white rocks which tried to hold it back4 ,the village was composed of groups of neatly painted cottages branching from an elm-shaded green around which stood the town buildings3 the drab-painted pillared church1 the post-office and general store1 the glaring red brick townhouse1 the mill-like school building1 the parsonage1 the doctor's residence1 the postmaster's house1 and the farm of the first select-man4 ,the two fine contributions to the national reputation that a majority of our parishioners were sending into the markets1 were golden bars of butter and finely-fed beef4 ,very quietly the people were giving themselves to these tasks1 having but little touch with the great world outside4 ,it was difficult for me1 in the midst of such rustic peace and isolated civilization1 to realize that twelve miles back of the hills lay a famous college whose traditions had gone out into every part of the country during the century and a half of its existence4 ,its name had been reverently spoken in so far away a place as ,evangelical ,university4 ,the history of the ,united ,states cannot be written without mention and eulogy of some of its noted graduates4 ,during those ,july days1 while we were establishing our household goods in the parsonage1 ,i caught myself sniffing the east wind1 as if eager to slake my curiosity by catching the flavor of the college4 ,my enthusiasm was unbounded over the possibility of at last attaining unto a college education3 the trade-mark of ,american culture4 ,my wife and ,i had promised ourselves to drive over the hills as soon as the house had been established1 so that together we might have our first view of the institution and that ,i might confer with the dean and arrange my schedule of studies for the first term4 ,i waited impatiently for that day to come4 ,meanwhile1 during the lulls in house settling1 ,i took the college catalogue and selected a course of studies4 ,it was an enticing feast before which ,i sat3 ,i felt like a lad having to choose from fifteen nectar flavors of ice cream1 only the courses of study from which ,i had the privilege of choosing went into the hundreds4 ,almost every theme of my desire was spread before me2 explorations into literature1 social life1 fine arts1 science1 language1 and economics4 ,old yearnings could be abundantly gratified at last3 a formidable list of professors and a more formidable list of studies awaited my option4 ,evangelical ,university had given me the foundations of an education1 the ,seminary had given me the technical knowledge of my profession1 at last ,i had come to the studies that should broaden my outlook1 extend my habits of thought beyond the narrow groove of my vocation1 and link me to the great world-thought4 ,i put down ,italian so that at last ,i might1 with my own ears1 hear ,dante speak to me through his euphonious and inspired ,cantos1 and ,i chose a course in which ,goethe should at last be met face to face4 ,i also determined to test my theology in a science course to find out for myself if ,god and the forces of ,nature were actually engaged in undying warfare4 ,i chose1 also1 a course in composition1 which had in it all the lure towards authorship and the fascination of literary creation4 ,my technical studies in the ,seminary had prepared me to secure from the college the highest inspiration ,i should ever receive from books4 ,early in the month of ,august1 my wife and ,i started from the village in a buggy for a drive over the hill roads to the college4 ,my wife reminded me1 during the drive1 of the strangeness of the situation3 of the fact that five years previously she had received her degree from her alma mater and that she was now on the way to witness the matriculation of her husband4 ,midway on the route we drove through an abandoned village1 past a once commodious church1 a mill1 and several houses1 all storm bent and in forsaken ruin4 ,we rode along sand-rutted highways which seemed to take us farther and farther away from living creatures4 ,we passed acres and acres of stumps showing where the axes and saws of woodsmen had left a permanent scar in the forestry of the back-roads4 ,then we emerged on the first street of a quaint1 slumberous town whose green and drab-shuttered white houses hid demurely behind screens of elm and of maple4 ,on the outskirts of this village we found ourselves on a sandy plain which sloped down towards a wide river4 ,on the opposite bank1 set like gleaming red and white flowers in a bed of green1 were towers1 windows1 houses1 chimneys3 acres of them1 a mile distant1 scattered over a narrow elevated plain behind which rolled hills far to the ,north1 to the ,east and to the ,south1 their sky-lines lost in clouds4 8,it's the college60 ,i exclaimed1 dropping the reins for further1 excited contemplation4 ,the patches of red and the hundreds of gleaming1 sun-blazing windows1 were dormitories and academic halls4 ,the white blotches were innumerable houses surrounding the college buildings4 ,one had to pick them out from the lavish clusters of shade trees whose leaves left cool1 dark shadows on the buildings4 ,fifteen minutes later our horse had dragged us toilsomely up a steep roadway on either side of which were a few scattered houses1 the outposts of the college town1 and brought us right into the midst of the college campus itself1 a very green oasis surrounded by a hollow square of college structures4 ,yes1 the ,fence was there1 a double line of it with the grass worn off where ,seniors' sacred feet had rubbed6 just as in my boyish speculations ,i had always conceived a college with its ,fence4 ,very near the green1 too1 lay a solid stone sarcophagus of a drinking fountain3 just the sort which1 in my boyish speculations and boyish reading1 ,i had seen used for the baths of recalcitrant ,freshmen and too obtrusive ,sophomores4 ,over on the north side a snow-white meeting-house fronted us with a stiff1 proud chest1 and with its hexagonal bell-tower rising above the roof like the smoke-stack of a railway engine1 made one expect to see it start puffing forward over the campus1 with a very tiny1 ,greek-pillared vestry accompanying it1 like a colt engine1 destined1 sometime later1 perhaps1 to grow into a meeting-house1 like its companion4 ,across the street from where we had entered stood a brick tavern1 under whose canopy an old coach waited equipped with glass doors1 outside seats1 and with thick leather straps to keep the pliant springs from sending the body of the coach leaping off the wheels at the 8thank-you-ma'ams40 ,to the left we discovered a huge square brick structure with a fenced-in roof faced by a spacious walled-in porch1 with pillar-supported roof which1 we learned1 was the combined college club and commons4 ,screened by the arching trees and massed in companies of twos and threes1 fives and sixes1 were recitation halls1 a ,renaissance museum1 a stone chapel1 a power house1 numerous dormitories1 a snow-white observatory1 a gymnasium1 and last1 a stone tower crowning a knoll and dominating the campus4 ,the dean gave me my papers1 approved my courses of studies1 and then sent my wife and me on an inspection of available dormitory rooms1 for ,i should have to reside at the college six days out of seven4 ,after the penury of ,evangelical ,university and the quaint compactness of the ,seminary1 the broad acres1 costly1 comfortable buildings and lavish size of the college gripped my imagination4 ,we threaded our way past a set of dormitories1 through a wooded road1 and entered a rustic park where ,commencement festivities were held every ,june4 ,we passed sedate rows of professorial residences fronted by hedges and smooth-clipped lawns4 ,over to the south we viewed a fenced-in athletic field2 a mass of green with ovals and straightaways of black cinders1 and with bleachers and a grandstand at one end3 the place where1 fully as much as in the college buildings1 the culture of youth went on3 the culture of health1 of muscular skill1 and of moral temper4 ,a janitor--a young man with a broad forehead and gentle ways--extracted a bunch of keys and showed us into a very old dormitory where were single rooms1 double rooms1 quadruple and sextuple rooms2 according to taste1 but no room which met with my approval1 especially when the dormitory bore such a sinister name as ,demon ,cottage1 a corruption of ,damon ,cottage4 ,the janitor1 who turned out to be1 himself1 a graduate of the college1 on learning that ,i was an aspirant for the ministry1 promptly advised me to examine a room in the ,christian ,association building4 ,this we did1 and when he had guided my wife and me up three flights of stairs and thrown open the door of a massive1 square room1 with shop windows for light1 ,i said1 8,isn't this the college ,socialistic ,hall1 or the band practise chamber80 8,no1 this is merely a double1 dormitory room10 he admitted4 8,sixty dollars a year for each occupant with an extra bedroom over there and an enormous storeroom through that door40 8,well10 ,i concluded1 after some discussion1 8a flat-full of furniture would hardly furnish the center of the room1 but there's sure to be a good circulation of air1 and that is important4 ,i think ,i'd better take it40 ,when we returned to the campus we discovered a group of canvas-clad students punting a football while a group of ,freshmen1 with eyes bulging out of their heads1 looked on in worshipful wonder1 for ,ellis1 ,barton1 and ,chipman1 three of the ,varsity team1 were in the advance guard of athletes engaged in early practise4 ,the janitor had sent us to 8,durritt's ,barn0 where1 he informed us1 we should be able to pick up a team load of dormitory furniture at second-hand for very little money4 8,durritt's ,barn0 was actually a barn attached to a pleasant little house which had been transformed1 by a very energetic ,junior1 into a second-hand furniture store4 ,the ,junior1 whose name ,i learned was ,garden1 presented himself from behind a bewildering mass of dusty rugs1 topsy-turvy mission chairs1 and sectional book shelves1 and picked his way to us through a narrow aisle made by massed heaps of bedsteads1 mattresses1 chiffoniers1 tables1 and desks4 ,when we expressed amazement at his business audacity in having such a mass of second-hand furnishings on his hands1 he informed us that we had not seen it all and then he led us up a stairway to the loft where we discovered another heaped up mass of material4 8,i shall have it all sold by the time college has opened10 said the ,junior4 8,in fact1 ,i shall not have enough for the demand40 8,where do you get the furniture80 demanded my wife4 8,from the ,seniors10 replied ,garden4 8,they sell it for next to nothing during ,commencement4 ,it is a profitable business--while it lasts4 ,it gives me an excellent chance for earning my way through the college4 ,now1 how would that iron bedstead suit you1 for your room1 ,mr4 ,priddy1 and that felt mattress1 which goes with it3 three dollars for the whole80 ,after informing him that he did not have in his stock a rug expansive enough to cover the floor of my spacious apartment in ,association ,hall1 we compromised on a very limp1 red carpet rug which would resemble a bandanna handkerchief when spread out on my room floor1 but which was actually the broadest floor covering ,i could purchase4 ,a half hour later ,i paid twelve dollars and a quarter for the bed1 the rug1 a chair1 a small book shelf1 and a tied-together chiffonier with most of its brass handles missing4 ,after having left the moving of the furniture in the hands of ,garden1 my wife and ,i were once more driving over those lonesome1 sandy1 rutted roads1 in the midst of the profound silences of remote civilization4 ,again we passed through the deserted village4 ,two hours later we were back in the parsonage ready1 next1 to pack my trunk preparatory to the opening of college4 ,chapter ,,xxxiv4 ,my ,wife ,packs me off to ,college4 ,the ,senior and ,i ,stop at a ,rock for a ,drink1 ,meet the ,advance ,guard of ,students1 ,plunge into a ,bedlam1 and ,witness the ,labors of the ,freshmen4 ,the ,finger-study of ,quarles and my ,apology ,given to the ,retired ,medical ,man who was ,specializing in ,hens 8,here ,i am1 in our honeymoon year1 packing you off to college10 commented my wife1 as she folded some towels and handed them to me to put in my trunk4 8,it takes me back to the day when my mother did it for me40 8,and you're to have the hard end of the business10 ,i replied1 8staying in this house alone and keeping an eye on the parish4 ,not much of a honeymoon to that through the long1 winter days1 while ,i am in the swirl of college events1 with all the fellowship one can desire40 8,but there'll be holidays and ,saturdays at home1 for you10 she answered4 8,i shall see you once a week at least1 for you will have to preach here every ,sunday4 ,we're working together1 now10 she added1 quietly4 8,if there's any suffering1 any hardship1 any self-denial involved1 ,i am willing to undergo it1 else ,i would not have married you60 ,in her voice ran an undertone of tragic feeling and for the first time ,i began dimly to realize1 in the midst of my own opportunity for a college education1 that in this little home1 back over the hills1 my wife would be waiting1 and waiting1 through the long hours of the day and night1 for the two years' study to be at an end3 the study which would break up our home and separate us during the first days of our married life4 ,i vowed then to give it all up3 to plunge into the pastoral work3 to send word to the college dean that he must not expect me4 8,no1 not that3 not that60 protested my wife4 8,it is your chance1 take it60 ,as ,i descended from my pulpit the following ,sunday morning1 ,i was introduced to a quiet youth who was recommended to me as a ,senior in the college4 ,that afternoon my new acquaintance came down to the parsonage and willingly permitted me1 in my curiosity1 to question him concerning the traditions1 the customs1 and the personnel of the college4 ,i asked him some very trivial and laughable questions1 ,i remember1 because1 at the time1 ,i had some very curious and perhaps too exalted notions concerning colleges1 especially colleges of the high standard of the one in which ,i had just matriculated and to which ,i was to journey on the morrow4 ,after our conversation1 the ,senior promised to call for me next day and escort me to the college3 a proffer which ,i was glad to accept4 ,that ,september ,monday morning was a very pleasant one in the ,northern country4 ,the maple groves on the hill slopes made one think that ,god had let fall his color pots1 for the leaves of the trees flamed with reds1 with yellows1 and with blacks4 ,the mail wagon drove up to the parsonage door and collected myself1 the ,senior1 and my trunk4 ,my wife stood at the door telling me not to forget this and that1 with true motherly solicitude4 ,then1 with a dash through the dust1 the wagon wheeled us on our way across the river to the train that should carry us to within four miles of college4 ,the ,senior said1 as we changed at a junction1 8,the train that will get us to college does not go for some hours4 ,are you fit for a four-mile walk8 ,we can eat lunch on the way4 ,i have some in my suit-case40 ,i agreed that ,i was ready for the walk1 so we left the town precincts by walking through a lumber yard4 ,our travel took us over a cinder path between the ties and switch rods of a railroad4 ,at the right1 far below us1 flowed a very wide and swift river1 whose surface twinkled through the shields of pine and white birch which lined the bluff4 ,here we met several young men walking slowly and engaged in earnest conversation4 8,those are students60 the ,senior whispered1 8out for a walk40 ,when some mill whistles at a remote distance announced the noon hour1 the ,senior conducted me to a grove of stiff1 tall pines where on the brown1 fragrant needles he spread a lunch of sandwiches1 jelly1 and pears4 ,then we took up the walk again1 passing on into the wilderness of trees and rushing river4 ,at a turn in the track we came to a high cliff whose outer surface was stained with moss and glistened with dampness4 ,the ,senior stopped before a niche out of whose cool interior spouted a stream of ice-cold water1 bringing to mind the rock which ,moses struck with his wand and which slaked the thirst of the children of ,israel4 8,nearly every student who passes this way10 the ,senior announced1 8gets a drink of this water40 ,ten minutes later we walked into the station and ,i was amazed at the heaps of trunks that covered the platform4 ,drays were doing their best to reduce the pile by carting them away in enormous loads4 ,as we made our way around the trunks there dashed into the station one of the coaches ,i had seen near the tavern on my previous visit2 this time topped by a group of healthy-faced1 shouting students1 wearing tan shoes1 flannel trousers1 and flapping caps such as clowns1 in the circus rings1 wear with such comical effect4 ,this coach was quickly followed by another1 similarly loaded with students come down to greet the arrival of classmates and friends4 ,at last ,i was able to realize the task that was on my hands if ,i were to fit into the college life1 for scores of students passed us or trailed after us as the ,senior and ,i walked up the hill4 ,how should ,i ever succeed in remembering their names1 in entering into the acquaintance of a small number of all those students8 ,and the trains were bringing more6 ,on top of the hill1 just before entering the campus1 some fraternity houses1 lavishly appointed1 had their verandahs filled with students1 singing snatches of songs and bantering one another4 ,then there flashed into view again1 the campus and the business street1 only on this occasion it was a far different campus and a very different business street from what ,i had seen on my previous visit4 ,the sidewalks were thronged with students1 some leaning against shop windows1 others sitting on steps1 while others roamed along engaged in conversation4 ,on the campus1 keeping to the paths1 were groups of ,freshmen walking timidly enough past ,sophomores in sweaters and negligee attire and past ,seniors in graver dress and mien4 ,on the front lawn of a dormitory four neatly-dressed youths were beating rugs and as their energetic actions continued they were half smothered in the clouds of dust4 8,i should imagine that they would don rougher clothes while they dust rugs10 ,i commented to the ,senior4 ,my companion smiled1 knowingly1 8,they have no chance to change clothes10 he replied4 8,they are ,freshmen which some of the upper-classmen have picked up from the campus and compelled to do that work4 ,it will be the ,freshmen's turn1 next year1 however1 so that it isn't much of an imposition4 ,now you'll see some fun4 ,watch that football man with the sweater60 ,the football man in the sweater had come out of the dormitory and had gone over to the ,freshman who was working more energetically than his fellows1 and said to him1 8,say1 ,freshie1 what're you sleeping on the job like that for1 eh8 ,do you want the ,sophs4 to give you a black mark so soon80 ,he glared with mock savagery at the bewildered ,freshman1 who replied1 8,please sir1 ,i am working very hard1 sir60 8,if you call that work1 then10 stormed the football man1 8,i wonder what you do when you loaf8 ,die probably1 eh80 8,i thought1 sir--0 persisted the ,freshman1 but he was cut short by the football man who said1 8,just carry that up to my room1 put it straight1 set the furniture in place1 and then go to work and copy those marked extracts from the coach's note-book which you'll find on the desk4 ,hurry and have it done in two hours' time60 ,as the football man ended those savage orders1 he turned away with an amused smile and as he came towards us he winked and said to the ,senior1 8,that young cuss's got the making of a fine kid in him1 even if he is the son of a several hundred thousand dollar ,senator4 ,just watch him make the dust fly6 ,ain't he a peacherino1 though60 ,the ,senior informed me1 after the football man had strolled away1 that the fagging was in full force just then and that the ,freshmen took it in good humor1 and1 in fact1 would have considered themselves not actually at college had that feature been omitted4 ,the different noises that filled the air made a ,babel4 ,from dormitory windows came shouts1 cornet practise1 and various moanings which1 at a quieter time1 would have been differentiated as vocal trios and duets4 ,down the business street1 from the upper floors where some of the fraternities had rooms1 the sounds of clanging piano rag-time tried to merge with explosive bellowings of happy1 singing fraternity men4 ,on the ,college ,club porch a jostling crowd of students could be seen1 shaking hands1 telling summer experiences1 and knocking chairs about in the anxiety to get at one another4 ,the shop windows were gay with college banners1 souvenirs1 books1 picture cards1 college photographs1 and sporting goods4 ,i found the furniture ,i had purchased from ,garden heaped before my door and a half hour later ,i had it scattered lonesomely over the floor of my large room4 ,from my open window ,i could look down on the stir of life on the campus4 ,night deepened1 and with it came an increase1 rather than a quieting of the noises1 as if ,youth were bound to have one last1 gleesome frolic before the sedate masters of ,books curbed their liberties4 ,in the darkness of the night1 sitting at the window1 exactly as ,i had done at ,evangelical ,university six years previously1 ,i had an alien feeling as ,i listened to the sounds which soared up to my ears from the gloom below4 ,demon yells1 demon howls of acute misery1 throbbings of mandolin strings1 the hoarse tooting of a fish horn1 a piercing falsetto voice under my window trying to sing1 8,o1 ,o1 ,o6 ,dear1 dear old days1 love60 the clanging of a hand bell and intermittent revolver shots4 ,these were only a few of all the riot of sounds spreading through the night air1 over the campus and bursting out of the dormitory windows on every side of me4 ,while ,i sat wondering how a hundred or so of faculty could ever bring seriousness out of such a chaos of youthful energy1 ,i heard a chug underneath my window as a truckman hurled a trunk to the sidewalk3 my trunk4 ,immediately ,i went on the campus1 discovered two ,freshmen1 and with all the abandon of a ,junior that ,i could muster for the occasion1 ,i coolly invited them to assist me in carrying the heavily loaded trunk up the three flights of stairs4 ,so conformed to the fagging custom were the ,freshmen1 that when one of them unfortunately sliced his finger on a loose nail and ,i commiserated him on it1 he said1 keeping his grip on the trunk1 meanwhile1 8,nothing at all1 sir4 ,nothing at all40 ,next morning the trio of bell chimes1 in the tower of the college chapel1 hurled clanging1 throbbing scales-of-three over the quiet campus4 ,immediately from the doorways of dormitories1 boarding clubs1 and the ,commons1 appeared chatting groups of students who took the paths across the campus towards the first chapel service4 ,from the ,north1 the ,south1 the ,east and the ,west they hurried2 hundreds and hundreds of well-dressed youths1 arm in arm or four and five abreast as they walked4 ,the choir1 transepts and gallery were soon crowded1 almost to suffocation4 ,the morning sun in trying to break through the windows into the dimness merely glorified the pictured saints1 and prophets1 shepherds and sheep4 ,the gowned organist played a part of the grand finale of ,the ,pilgrim's ,chorus4 ,the gowned figure of the ,president arose and stood silent a second while a wave of reverent stillness swept through the chapel4 ,scripture followed hymn1 and a simple prayer was followed by a general confession4 ,then the organ burst into a triumphant recessional1 and the students noisily crowded down the aisles into the open air4 ,the day's work was begun1 having had invoked on it the blessing from the ,author of all ,truth1 and the ,creator of that ,world which throughout the days and years1 has had such fascination for students and professors1 of ,science1 of ,art and ,faith4 ,in the confusion of the multitude of students1 most of them strangers to me1 ,i felt the futility of my social ambitions4 ,in ,evangelical ,university and in the theological seminary ,i had been in the midst of small groups of students1 whose names1 characteristics and acquaintance could be compassed in a few short weeks4 ,but the vast procession of young men which blackened the greensward of the campus that morning dismayed me4 ,it seemed that mere hand-shaking and saying to each individual member of it1 8,i am glad to know you60 would demand months and months of time4 ,it was a new experience1 too1 after the simple democracy in my previous schools1 to have those who were my classmates and college associates1 pass me without a word of morning greeting1 without a lift of the eyes4 ,but that was only the first day6 ,the second morning1 as ,i sat in the chapel1 ,i chanced to have my attention attracted by a curious fingering of paper4 ,it was the student next to me who had some blank sheets of paper in his hands which he shuffled intermittently and over which he kept passing the ball of his forefinger4 ,the organ had not ceased its prelude1 and the students had not ceased entering the chapel1 so ,i paid a stricter attention to the strange recreation of my companion4 ,though he shuffled his blank papers with great skill and fingered their surfaces with scientific regularity1 his eyes--wide1 staring ones1--were kept fixed on the ,president's pulpit--never once did they turn on my inquisitiveness or towards the papers4 ,one of the students then slipped by me and took a vacant seat next to this shuffler of papers4 ,as soon as he was seated1 however1 he bent forward and said1 to me1 8,your name's ,priddy1 isn't it8 ,i'm ,sanderson1 the monitor who keeps the attendance of this section4 ,by the way1 have you met ,quarles8 ,quarles10 he said to the student who was shuffling the papers1 8meet ,priddy1 your classmate60 ,quarles1 without taking his eyes from their fixed stare on the ,president's pulpit1 extended me his hand1 and said1 in a very quiet voice1 8,i'm glad to meet you1 ,priddy6 ,i'm blind1 as you probably know40 ,i expressed my amazement that he should be in college4 8,oh10 ,sanderson exclaimed1 8it doesn't seem to bother him any4 ,i notice that he's getting on for ,phi ,beta ,kappa4 ,he makes us hump60 8,then you are able to take the regular studies60 ,i gasped4 8,yes10 said ,quarles1 8the regular studies60 8,of course10 ,i went on1 8you omit mathematics1 languages1 and such things60 8,why should ,i1 ,priddy80 asked ,quarles turning toward me his expressionless eyes4 8,well1 ,i really don't see how you can manage--those subjects10 ,i explained4 8,he manages all right10 interrupted ,sanderson1 8why1 ,priddy1 he's taken nineties in calculus1 ,french and ,german and ,greek1 and is right there when it comes to such graft courses1 as philosophy and ,english6 ,oh1 you don't need to pity him3 rather pity me1 who with my eyesight1 am hardly able to pull through ,fine ,arts ,one60 ,quarles then explained to me how1 before taking his courses1 he had a student read to him the complete text which he translated into ,braille with his blind-writing apparatus1 on sheets of paper4 ,he also used the same instrument1 almost as quickly as we1 with our sight1 would use our pencils in the professor's lectures4 ,the leaves he had been shuffling that morning1 formed a reading lesson in ,french4 ,everybody was the friend of ,quarles4 ,he would be groping his way alone over a path to a class but a brief moment1 for a student1 playing ball1 nearby would signal to his comrade1 who would hold the ball1 and then1 throwing down his glove would hurry over1 have a cheery word of greeting1 ask ,quarles whither he was bound1 link arms with the blind student and guide him into a path where he could find his own way without need of piloting4 ,in this way1 ,quarles must have felt the arm of nearly every upper-classman1 for not only were they willing to straighten out his walks for him1 and read to him1 but they also took him with them on excursions1 which he shared with excellent comradeship and proved to be as good a mountain climber as the best4 ,in this way1 too1 through walks1 at meals1 and in classes1 ,i soon had the students differentiated and had a formidable list of friendships4 ,it was my custom1 throughout the fall months when the highways were hard and untouched by snow1 to ride weekly to and from college on a bicycle which ,i had bought for that purpose4 ,on this twenty-mile excursion1 along a winding river and through quiet1 little hamlets1 ,i had certain resting-places where ,i could breathe and refresh myself with a sup of water4 ,doctor ,floyd's well1 conveniently near the highway at the summit of a steep grade1 had also a rustic bench near it1 from which a most gratifying vista could be obtained1 which included the view of a pyramidal mountain cone framed in a circular opening of twinkling poplar leaves1 at whose foot a silvery dash of river curved under high1 bush-lined banks1 with now and then a cow or a colt completing the composition by standing in the river4 ,the ,doctor1 himself1 whose permission to drink of the water and to seat myself on the bench for a rest ,i had taken pains to secure1 was a short1 stout1 bald-headed man of about sixty1 whose clean-shaven cheeks were always flushed by an excess of blood4 ,he had retired from active practise and was engaged in the delightful1 old age recreation of seeing how many eggs he could persuade a harem of ,plymouth ,rocks to lay through a most careful1 scientific mixture of laying foods1 use of germless drinking troughs1 and adaptation to an expensive mode of existence4 ,one ,saturday noon1 as ,i sat on the bench puffing for breath1 for the day was both dusty and hot1 the ,doctor1 with the egg record for the week in his hands1 which he came down to show me1 sat down on the bench and said1 8,well1 do those wild students know what they are in college for80 8,what do you mean80 ,i asked1 puzzled by his sneer4 8,usually10 he explained1 8more'n half of the students in the college over there don't know why they're there60 8,oh10 ,i said1 8there are a great number of my friends who are not certain what they are going to do in the world1 after graduation1 if that is what you mean1 ,doctor40 ,he rubbed his fat hands in revengeful gratification4 8,that's just it6 ,just it60 he laughed1 cynically4 8,it's all a waste of good money and precious time4 ,there's no good can come of it4 ,they don't take their studies seriously enough4 ,let me see1 how many subjects does a student have to select from under that new-fangled election system they have--study made easy1 ,i call it--how many1 now80 8,i think there must be in the neighborhood of a hundred different courses1 a majority of which are elective1 so far ,i know40 8,and the young lazybones pick out the easiest courses they can1 independent of the good it'll do 'em1 eh80 8,perhaps they do10 ,i replied1 antagonized by his critical and belligerent tone4 8,but then1 ,i don't believe that a liberal education3 a college course1 has to do merely with giving a student a lot of technical information60 ,the little man fussily remonstrated4 8,what8 ,i thought that colleges were in the world to fit men for their work1 and that if they're to be doctors1 why1 they're to be taught medicine and nothing else60 8,that is the function of professional schools10 ,i agreed4 8,take my case1 for instance4 ,i am a minister4 ,i spent three years in a good theological seminary4 ,while there ,i wanted technical information on my profession4 ,i got it1 and assimilated more or less--perhaps less4 ,but when ,i came to college ,i did not come to add to my technical theological knowledge2 not at all60 8,what did you come for1 then10 he asked1 with another sneer1 8to get the degree1 ,i suppose1 like a lot of others80 8,i don't think you give me credit for being a man of ordinary intelligence10 ,i replied1 hotly1 angered by his insinuation4 8,then what under heaven did you come to college for1 if not to increase your theological information and whatever ability you might have as a preacher40 8,i came to college10 ,i replied1 8to get the other man's point of view4 ,i reasoned with myself that a purely technical education tends to narrow a man unless supplemented by an education which might be entitled1 #8,the ,other ,man's ,point of ,view4'0 8,that's a thrust at me10 replied the ,doctor1 8as if to say that ,i1 because ,i took my medicine with old ,dr4 ,desbrow1 and never went to one of your colleges1 was narrow4 ,the idea60 8,i was not alluding to you1 sir10 ,i responded4 8,i was merely making a generalization which seems provable4 ,for instance1 ,i have a friend who is an expert surgeon4 ,he has been trained in some of the best clinics and has diplomas from the most reputable medical colleges4 ,he has learned his profession well1 in all its finer1 technical points4 ,but he never received any liberal education4 ,the result is1 that he is narrow in his tastes1 caring for nothing which is not flavored by anaesthetics or redolent of carbolic acid4 ,as there are among his friends those whose stomachs turn at the mention of an operation or at the whisper of anaesthetics1 he has no way of interesting them on subjects in which they are interested4 ,he imagines that because all the world is not poking steel points in ulcers and cancers1 it had better be left alone4 ,the result is1 that when you mention the surgeon's name to the townsfolk1 you will hear words like these3 #8,a fine surgeon1 but as cranky and bitter as a hobby-rider4' ,no one can get along with him4 ,he loses business by it4 ,he knows nothing but his profession60 8,well10 demanded the doctor1 8that's a job big enough for any man with brains1 isn't it80 8,true10 ,i responded1 8but the truly educated surgeon has not only to know his tools1 his diagnoses1 his operating methods1 but along with that knowledge1 his final success demands that he be liberally trained in human nature1 that he have at least a faint idea of the subjects in which other people are interested4 ,a liberal education1 added to his professional education gives him that40 8,i'd like to know how80 demanded the ,doctor4 8,well1 take my case again1 for instance4 ,i am going to take a lot of studies which are not technically pertinent to sermons or doctrines3 study of ,dutch paintings1 ,italian1 ,chemistry1 ,anatomy of the ,brain and ,sense ,organs1 and others which ,i can't mention at this time1 because ,i have not decided just what they will be4 ,here is what ,i mean4 ,after an introductory study of ,italian1 ,i shall learn just how the ,italians think4 ,it is good to know that1 surely8 ,then after a brief course in chemistry1 though ,i shall not care enough about it when ,i am through with the experiments1 to carry off a test tube1 tie it with baby ribbon and keep it for a souvenir1 as some students do1 ,i shall ever after realize that while ,i am swearing by theology1 others1 about me1 have reason for being engrossed in chemical formulas and tests4 ,each study that ,i shall take1 and each classroom that ,i shall visit1 will form opportunities for me to get at the points of view which determine why ,tom differs from ,joe and why ,joe differs from me4 ,if the college can do that1 ,doctor1 and not add a single jot to my theological knowledge1 ,i shall feel more than repaid for the time ,i spend in it and the money ,i pay to it4 ,so that is why ,i don't think it either wasted time or an entirely hopeless situation1 ,doctor1 if a large number of students in the college do not know why they are there4 ,one thing is certain1 they are getting trained in the other man's point of view60 ,the ,doctor1 evidently not at all in agreement with my explanation1 after he had pooh-poohed to himself for a minute1 thought to change the subject and for that purpose he said to me1 8,i rather pity you1 young man4 ,i always did pity ministers4 ,they don't seem to do anything substantial2 that's why ,i don't go near a church4 ,it's all up-in-the-air preaching1 and darned little doing4 ,now1 keeping pullets or mixing a sick draught--why1 they are something worth while1 now--but preaching and preachers--um60 8,the other man's point of view1 ,doctor10 ,i laughed1 as ,i mounted my wheel and started off4 ,a week later1 the ,doctor came out of the house1 when ,i stopped at the well1 and as he drew near he shouted1 8,i drove over to the college1 last ,wednesday4 ,what a lazy set of loafers you've got over there1 to be sure4 ,i was there in the afternoon and saw them reading papers1 strolling around the campus and playing all sorts of games4 ,i don't think they'll amount to much in the world if they go on at that rate4 ,they seem so aimless6 ,i heard one fellow1 with turned up trousers and purple socks that would have given light at night1 say to another student1 something about throwing books and professors to the dogs--or some such stuff60 8,yes10 ,i admitted1 8,i hear that every day4 ,i know a good many students who care little about classes and text books40 ,the doctor1 evidently gratified with that admission grunted1 8,then what's the good of the college--to them4 ,why doesn't it send them into the world to be useful80 8,that's what a good many people say1 about us students10 ,i replied4 8,but books and professors and courses of study are only a part of what a student gets in our college1 sir4 ,it's a very peculiar situation4 ,i'm older than most of the students1 and have had the advantage of a professional training1 and so can look on the college through somewhat serious eyes4 ,you would be astounded1 for instance1 at the tremendous education that the men receive from purely student affairs40 8,going into the country1 when the football team's won over ,princeton1 for instance10 sniffed the ,doctor1 8and tearing down farm fences6 ,oh1 yes1 a wonderful education in student affairs8 ,like one of your boys that came into this village1 and in broad daylight went up to the grocery store1 there1 on the main street1 and deliberately took down and carried off a four-foot1 patent-medicine thermometer1 the folks all the while thinking him to be an agent fellow1 come to mend it1 or change it4 ,oh1 yes1 a wonderful education those fellows get among themselves60 ,after the old man had frightened one of his pullets back into the rear of the house1 ,i replied1 8,no1 ,i didn't refer to isolated acts of mischief1 ,doctor1 but to the student enterprises that create ability4 ,our college is nothing more than wheels within wheels4 ,there are professors and classroom studies for the big1 outside wheels1 and for the inner wheels1 whirling all the time1 are the college newspaper1 the college magazine1 the athletic business1 the writing and staging of plays1 the dramatic clubs1 the musical clubs1 the social service enterprises1 the political clubs and the religious work4 ,why1 ,doctor1 those students conduct all those things practically without help from outsiders4 ,you would be astounded at the amount of executive and administrative ability they demand4 ,the students who run the monthly magazine1 for instance1 must be good editors1 fair writers1 and managers of astuteness1 for it has to pay for itself1 at least1 and must express literary power4 ,it is the same with the newspaper4 ,that is a business in itself1 yet1 it is managed1 financed and edited entirely by students1 many of whom find it difficult to get interested in the routine of the college curriculum4 ,when you multiply these business and serious activities1 you find the students actually doing profitable and character-forming tasks outside of the classrooms which few critics of the college take the trouble to notice4 ,why1 it was only a week ago1 that a student came into my room and had a talk with me about a new college enterprise that seemed formidable4 ,he was a student who did not care five toothpicks for his studies4 ,he was in difficulties with his physics course1 at the time1 having failed in it twice1 and seeming to be letting his third and last chance for his degree slip past without giving it a thought4 ,the people on the campus1 and the professors in the classrooms appraised this fellow as a #8loafer' and an #8idler4' ,yet1 that morning he came to me and said that he proposed to start a comic monthly1 at ten cents a copy1 himself to be editor-in-chief1 and the jokes1 poems1 pictures1 designs1 the securing of advertisement and subscribers1 to be under his general charge and apportioned to willing students4 ,he went off for two days1 at his own expense1 secured over a hundred dollars' worth of advertising1 and only last week had newsboys selling on the campus a first-class1 neatly printed1 well-filled1 artistically illustrated comic monthly1 which1 by this time has its regular staff of student artists1 poets1 joke writers1 business managers1 and board of editors2 it's a paper which promises to be one of the features of student life4 ,no1 ,doctor10 ,i concluded as ,i felt of my tires1 preparatory to taking up my journey towards home1 8students may seem shiftless1 indifferent1 and unenthusiastic on the campus1 but when you get behind the laziest of them you are liable to find that they are giving themselves to some sort of character-making work1--contrary to the posters which lead outsiders to think that college life consists of a place where the student sits in the sun on a fence1 smoking a pipe with a leashed bull-pup at his feet60 8,say10 called the ,doctor1 as ,i fitted the toe clips to my shoes1 8my pullets did a hundred and sixty this week4 ,laying1--eh80 ,chapter ,,xxxv4 ,hot-,popovers and a ,cold ,watch in the ,station4 ,the ,sleigh-load of ,talent ,when the winter storms piled the river highway with snowdrifts1 ,i had to put aside my bicycle and use the railway trains4 ,this made it necessary for me to leave my home on the ,sunday midnight train that ,i might be ready for my classes at college1 on ,monday morning4 ,in that northern part of ,new ,england what storms could grip the land and put a stop to train traffic and cartage6 ,one of my parishioners showed me1 for my comfort possibly1 an actual photograph of a drift of snow so high that a liberal load of hay on a wagon stood on a level with it1 when a gap was dug through4 ,i had packed fir boughs around the parsonage cellar wall1 and that was soon covered with the drifts2 even the window sills were reached by the snow at last4 ,as for the crumpled hills surrounding the village1 their lonely1 hurricane-swept crests1--with the stick-like birches bending away from the north like timid creatures afraid to stand up1 day by day1 against those icy assaults1--presented a wild1 dismal picture of winter's fury4 ,my custom was1 during those months1 to arrive home on the ,saturday afternoon train and immediately set to work splitting the maple blocks of wood into convenient fire-wood and stacking a week's supply in the kitchen wood-box1 while my wife held a meeting with the children of the parish in the parlor4 ,then on ,sunday1 ,i would preach two sermons4 ,i had to wear my overshoes in the evening on account of the chill in which the vestry was always wrapped4 ,after this service1 my wife would have the supper table spread with preserved pears1 hot pop-overs and cocoa4 ,we would linger over this meal1 the last ,i should have at home for a week1 and keeping a sharp eye on the clock4 ,at the first announcement of ten o'clock1 the lantern would be lighted and the words of farewell be given at the door4 ,then out into the dark misery of the night1 with my lantern flickering my shadow over the houses1 and my wife's lonesome sigh echoing in my heart1 ,i would creep through the storms of swirling snow1 which wet my hot cheeks1 pass over the quiet bridge to the opposite side of the river and climb up a steep road until the silent1 isolated station was reached4 ,across the river ,i could see the dark outlines of the village1 and in the midst of it1 a golden point of light3 the light of my home4 ,the train was due at half-past ten1 but it was never on time and so ,i had long waits4 ,the station-master left the station dark on ,sunday evenings4 ,he gave me a key with which ,i unlocked the door and was able to keep warm while waiting4 ,after having lighted the swinging lamp1 ,i would produce a book and let the slow minutes pass until the late train screamed around the corner1 as if angry with itself for its slow progress between stations4 ,on the first sound of the whistle1 it would be a wild scramble to quench the light1 lock the door1 and rush out to the train before it pulled out from the station4 ,an hour later the train would draw into the terminus and leave me stranded1 four miles away from my dormitory4 ,then ,i had to cross over to the hotel1 engage one of the rooms and try to sleep till half-past five the next morning2 if sleep were possible with such a screaming of freight-train whistles1 and such a bumping of shifting engines as prevailed through the small hours of the night4 ,at eight o'clock the following morning1 eyelids leaden with loss of sleep and my body weakened through lack of rest1 and an inadequate breakfast1 ,i would commence the first of my three ,monday morning classes1 and not be free from the intellectual discipline again until nearly noon1 after which ,i would spend the afternoon in sleep or recreation4 ,one day the director of social service1 a department of the religious work done by students1 came to me and said1 8,priddy1 we've got all sorts of concert talent about here4 ,would your church care if we should give them an evening's entertainment80 8,they can't afford to do much in that line10 ,i replied4 8,but all we shall expect will be our expenses and a good1 hot supper4 ,we can hire a big sleigh and make up quite a party to go over the hills40 8,what have you got--for talent80 ,i asked4 ,he thought a minute1 and then said1 8,why1 we've got banjo players to spare1 club jugglers1 a sleight-of-hand performer1 four or five male quartettes1 a stringed orchestra1 two readers1 and a ventriloquist4 ,of course1 the night we could give to you would find some of these students unable to go1 but tell me what sort of an entertainment you would like and ,i'll see what we can do for you4 ,we want to make the evenings brighter in some of these isolated1 north country villages4 ,it's a little bit of social service that brings its own reward1 for the boys like to get out and have a good country supper60 ,he was able1 finally1 to make up a program which included a reader1 a young professor who would swing flaming clubs1 a sleight-of-hand performer and a male quartette4 ,on the afternoon appointed1 these artists1 wrapped up in thick clothes1 appeared in front of a dormitory and were packed into a huge barge on runners until1 including some invited professors and their wives1 we numbered twenty or more4 ,the four horses1 with streamers of brass bells hanging in front of them jingled over the packed snow roads of the village and finally brought us into the less used hill roads1 which1 in places rambled over the hills until the climb seemed interminable4 ,the snow began to fall and we plunged down the steep declivities1 half blinded by it1 but opposing the storm with jokes1 songs and banter4 ,on a shelf of road1 which had been cut from a steep hillside1 and which the winds1 unhindered by protecting wall or trees1 had stripped of snow and left glare ice for the sleigh to cross1 our runners skidded to such an angle that we were threatened with an overturn that would have hurled us down the steep bank1 had not some of the students leaped to the ground1 and by sheer strength1 aided by the careful control of the driver1 kept the sleigh to the road until we were in safety4 ,then as the twilight set in1 and there were no sign-posts to guide us1 we stopped at the first house and asked how far we were from the village4 ,an old woman1 dressed in a greasy print wrapper1 and drawing gulps of smoke from a briar pipe1 said she guessed we were 8nigh four miles this side of it40 ,we drove through the storm for a quarter of an hour more1 and then1 thinking that we should be coming in sight of the village1 we stopped a man who was going to his barn with milking cans and repeated our request as to how far we were from the village1 and1 as if he had been in league with the old woman with the pipe1 a mile back he said1 8',bout four mile1 ,i'd say60 ,hopefully1 then1 we rumbled and scraped down a hill for another half hour1 and then1 meeting another sleigh1 coming in our direction1 our driver hailed the man at the reins1 who was muffled to his ears in a swathing of crazy-quilt1 and shouted1 8,how far are we from the village80 ,and much to our dismay1 a rumbling answer came from the folds of the crazy-quilt1 which we had to interpret as1 8,jes' four mile60 ,ten minutes1 later1 however1 we had the joy of arriving hungry1 cold1 but not without spirit1 at the church door1 where1 under kerosene lamps1 and on white paper table-cloths1 was spread a meal of hot biscuits1 hot yellow-eyed beans1 hot pea beans1 potato salad1 hot kidney beans1 dill pickles1 pickled beets1 four sorts of frosted cake1 luscious lemon pies and coffee4 ,after the supper1 the students went into my church and found a hundred of the villagers gathered1 in spite of the storm4 ,the quartette sang entrancingly their college jingles4 ,the young professor swung his flaming clubs1 until1 when he was in the midst of some complicated spirals his alcohol-soaked rags burnt out1 unexpectedly1 and he had to apologize since he could not go on with his novel act because his 8spirits had given out40 ,the reader gave1 with great effect1 a memorable quarrel between man and wife1 and sparkling anecdotes which would have taken the dullness off a yokel's heart4 ,then the star of the concert1 the sleight-of-hand performer began his skilful mysteries4 ,he made a pencil cling to the palm of his hand1 brought flags and flowers from an empty hat1 multiplied a billiard ball into six1 wafted a half dollar into thin air1 and1 finally1 produced a pack of cards1 at the sight of which1 ,i thought my deacons would institute proceedings of worldliness against me for allowing it1 but which1 when made to do the weirdest acts1 finally reconciled even the most austere of them2 so much so that one grim ,puritan even came forward and held the pack--after much persuasion--while the man of mystery seemed to change them without the holder's knowledge4 ,at the close of the entertainment1 the college delegation1 after going1 every one1 to the church women and declaring that they had never eaten a better supper than had been provided1 got into the sleigh1 the driver cracked his long whip with a deft explosion for the ears of the on-looking villagers1 and with a hearty yell1 they started on their way down the river road through the storm1 and ,i stood with my wife at our door until their songs died away among the midnight shadows of the hills and storm4 ,chapter ,,xxxvi4 ,a ,chapter of ,sentiment and ,literary ,atmosphere1 ,including the ,account of ,sanderson1 the ,procrastinator4 ,how ,two ,prize ,checks ,were ,spent4 ,a ,parish of ,talent ,when came the announcement of ,spring1 at college1 after the lawns and the paths had dried1 and when the evenings were filled with the throaty gurglings of hopping robins4 ,a sign in front of the ,commons announced1 8,class ,sing ,tonight #g3cj40 ,this is a 8,sing20 ,at seven o'clock the students gather by classes at four different parts of the campus3 the seniors to sit on their double fence1 the juniors to sit on the steps of the recitation hall1 the sophomores to occupy the commodious steps of the ,assembly ,hall1 and the freshmen to stand near the library4 ,silence6 ,suddenly the low1 vibrating voices of the seniors fill the air with1 8,harvest ,moon40 ,on its completion1 the three lower classes send snapping hand claps over to the fence4 ,silence6 ,the juniors send across to the seniors the melodious1 sentimental song1 8,summer ,days and ,love1 ,love1 ,love60 over the triple trills of which the high-pitched tenors linger as if they would stop there and sound those musical half tones until out of breath4 ,led by the seniors1 the underclassmen repeat the hand-clapping4 ,silence6 ,with a sudden1 flank attack1 the sophomores1 directed by a shirt-sleeved and very fat student fly into the midst of 8,dolly ,grey10 a stirring war ballad1 and from the pathos which wells out of the sentimental passages1 one can easily imagine those wild1 irresponsible sophomores crying in harmony with it4 ,once more the three classes snap their applause4 ,silence6 ,a longer silence this time1 for the freshmen1 making their first appearance in the rle of class singers--a thick mass of them--cannot agree with their director as to what the premiere shall be4 ,soon the matter is settled4 ,an arm is raised and then--a low rumble that dies down1 followed by three giant laughs from three different points of the campus4 ,the freshman leader has pitched the tune too low4 8,out with it1 ,freshies60 comes a mocking1 cutting call across from the sophomores--traditional enemies of the freshmen4 ,one more try1 and with the effect of an aeroplane getting its flight slowly1 hesitatingly1 the freshman song at last rises to a mighty1 boyish1 exultant rendering of 8,old ,black ,joe60 for they dare not trust themselves with a recent melody4 ,after the songs1 the cheers6 the class cheers6 ,the seniors give one for the juniors1 and the juniors applaud it4 ,the seniors give one for the sophomores1 and the sophomores applaud it4 ,then the seniors give a heartier one for the freshmen1 and those boys almost split the heavens with their yellings4 ,next the juniors make the rounds of the classes1 with the same response of applause1 save that their cheer for the seniors gets but scant and dignified applause1 for the seniors must not be too boyish6 ,then the sophomores and the freshmen have their turn and the cheering is over4 ,silence4 ,the night is deepening1 and one hardly stirs4 ,four huge masses of shadow move in the direction of the campus centre4 ,then one hears a martial1 drill-sergeant's 8,left1 left1 left60 as the classes catch the step4 ,it is so arranged that1 without a halt1 the four classes merge into one mass in the middle of the green4 ,silence again4 ,not a sound is heard1 until the college song-leader hums a pitch4 ,then the ,alma ,mater hymn goes up with all the thrilling reverence in it of a song of love sung to the college mother4 ,if one were near the singers1 it would be possible to see1 how1 when the song deepens in theme1 the sophomore unconsciously throws his arm over the shoulder of the freshman1 and the senior throws his over the shoulder of the junior3 all brothers as the melody unfolds itself4 ,the hymn ended1 the cheer-leader moves to the side of the song-leader1 says a few words1 and then1 as he takes the position of a prize-fighter1 on guard1 with his fist extended1 he pulls out from the disciplined throats1 a snappy1 thundering crash of a college cheer4 ,it is over4 ,the crowd thins out over the star-lighted campus4 ,spring has come6 ,i was amazed1 that year1 at the amount of personal supervision the professors gave to the students1 out of hours1 amidst such large classes as they were called upon to instruct4 ,it had been drilled into my mind at ,evangelical ,university that only in the small college is it possible for the professors to 8get next0 to the student in a wise1 helpful manner4 ,so that when ,i came into the centre of the college life1 in all its complexity1 diversity and confusion1 ,i actually expected to see the professors deliver their lectures1 and then coldly leave us to ourselves1 withdrawing themselves from the student life with academic aloofness4 ,but on ,tuesday evenings the faculty were 8at home0 and welcomed such student visitors as cared to accept the courteous hospitality of their cheerful homes4 ,after classes1 and in their offices at certain hours1 we could go to our teachers and be sure of receiving their most thorough attention on the matter in mind4 ,then1 too1 the professors were always eagerly seeking to align themselves to our life3 to enter with us into the profitable ventures of a social1 inspiring nature4 ,thus it came about that they served on athletic committees1 religious boards1 literary and social programs4 ,it was because they possessed this spirit of fellowship with their students1 that ,i was enabled to venture into a new world of opportunity4 ,it was in this wise4 ,i had been spending the largest proportion of my time in literary composition1 for my wife1 my sermon critic1 had found that in my pulpit address ,i needed rhetorical clearness1 so ,i determined to discipline myself to that end4 ,when the ,english professor gave out exercises1 like editorials1 descriptions1 book reviews1 or short stories1 ,i resolved to put the burden of my time in such writings with no other thought than to remedy my pulpit faults4 ,when some of these exercises were returned1 after examination by the professor1 ,i found red pencil notes1 suggesting that this or that be submitted for publication in the college periodicals4 ,these red pencil suggestions were common in the class1 and gave great inspiration to the other students1 as they gave inspiration to me4 ,one day1 when ,i arrived late at class1 ,i found the professor reading aloud a description ,i had written4 ,this was followed by a request for a conference in the teacher's office4 8,i have been watching your work10 said the professor1 kindly1 8and think that you might try for the junior essay prize and also for the prize offered for the best piece of college fiction4 ,i have been advising several others in the class to compete1 and hope that you will find time for the work4 ,these prize competitions are real tests as to the value of classroom work4 ,i hope you and the others will try60 ,on account of the professor's kindly suggestion1 ,i began to work on the essay and the story1 and kept my typewriter clattering hour after hour when not in class4 ,for all the lure of authorship was before me4 ,the lure of substantial prizes4 ,the lure of contest4 ,the lure of doing something1 in composition1 that seemed real4 ,when ,i entered upon this special literary adventure ,i found that ,i was part of a considerable fellowship1 whose interest in the work was kept alive by the wise1 far-seeing1 personal interest of our different literary instructors4 ,i found one student who confidentially informed me that he was making a special research in the library concerning some wild1 unknown pirates who once infested the ,new ,england coast4 ,he meant to write at length upon that subject for the gratification of his own literary curiosity4 ,another student was busy1 like the youthful ,stevenson1 in imitating1 deliberately1 the styles of the world-famous authors1 and just then1 on our first acquaintance1 was in the wild morals1 but cameo-cut phrases of ,maupassant6 ,by the end of spring1 in fact1 ,i found myself in as inspiring a literary atmosphere as1 probably1 ever an undergraduate experienced4 ,for ,i had been made a member of the editorial board of the college magazine1 and even wrote comic doggerel and attempts at descriptive wit for the now thoroughly established comic monthly4 ,i have been in a magazine board meeting1 held in a student's room1 when the conversation would rise into debatable heights1 and would excite the whole company1 over such questions as3 8,are there more than seven types of plot possible in fiction80 8,is the supernatural in ,shakespere scientific80 8,was ,poe a plagiarist80 8,will any of the present-day six best sellers become classic80 ,not only did we have these conversations among ourselves1 but one of the professors invited a group of us into his home1 once a week1 where seated in his snug library amid his choice editions1 we would take up the technical study of literature1 enter into interesting debates about it1 and then sit back in our chairs as our generous host rang for the refreshments3 a home touch which we appreciated thoroughly4 ,another pleasurable surprise was the small number of text books that ,i found must be purchased4 ,during my first term ,i bought only two books for seven classes4 ,the professors regarded the college library as a sort of encyclopdic text book for over a thousand students3 forming the standard work on history1 economics1 social science1 literature and the various other departments of the curriculum4 ,at last1 ,i found1 professors and students had broken loose from artificial authorities and took their history and economics not only from many treatises on the matter1 but from current periodicals1 the daily newspaper1 catalogues1 year books and similar vital1 first-hand sources4 ,this method of study1 in use throughout the college1 made the library something more vivid than a stack of collected books1 magazines and pamphlets3 it vitalized it and made it the resort of hundreds of students every day4 ,it linked our classroom work1 the professors' lectures and our own studies to hundreds and hundreds of books1 periodicals and papers1 where otherwise we should have been limited to a half-dozen omnipotent authorities4 ,in place of reading selected ,orations from a book of compilations1 ,i was compelled to find the original oration in some yellowed book in which it was first printed4 ,in studying the leading principles of ,forensics ,i had to go to the records of the courts to read the original evidence and pleas in the case4 ,a procedure like that appealed to the mind and made one alert in judgment4 ,it also made the library the centre where the real1 serious work of the student was accomplished1 and where one could come in daily contact with the fellows who were after serious results during their four years' residence in the college4 ,it was in the library that ,i first made one of my deepest and most valuable college friendships4 ,it chanced that one of my studies1 the life and works of ,goethe1 took me to a particular section of the reference room where the shelves of ,sociology and ,economics filled considerable space4 ,as ,i made my excursions into the section1 ,i became accustomed to the presence of a serious-faced ,senior who was constantly occupied with books and periodicals from those two departments4 ,it became natural for us1 as the term advanced1 to ask one another the time or to borrow pencils or paper4 ,finally these approaches to intimacy developed into a friendship2 into a ripe friendship which included visits to one another's rooms1 long walks1 communings in the club-room and ante-class conversations3 on all these occasions a true exchange of serious and most profitable confidences taking place4 ,thurber1 for that was my companion's name1 though the son of a very wealthy father and accustomed to the finer touches of society life1 had undergone1 in his contact with the college1 one of those conscience awakening1 ambition refining and ideal lifting experiences which our president informed us1 time and time again1 should be the final results of a true1 college education4 ,thurber's father was one of that type of ,american men who boast that their success has been attained through self-improvement and self-education and who crystallize their own peculiar and fortunate experience into formal axioms1 on which every one else must seek success4 ,thurber's father had to his credit at the time a very large textile mill in a textile city in the ,south and it had been his supreme desire that his son1 immediately on quitting ,high ,school1 should go into the industry1 work his way through it1 and take charge of it in the end4 ,but ,thurber had no inclination towards lint and the stifling heat of a cotton mill1 and he had so informed his father4 ,he also told him that nothing less than four years at a college1 where he could meet fellows worth meeting1 would please him4 8,you can imagine the look my father gave me when ,i made that proposition1 for it knocked to splinters his special pet theories concerning education10 said ,thurber4 8,he stormed about #8self-made men1' and quoted ,lincoln and some others from the classic list of non-college men3 pointed to himself and the huge industry he had created without the aid of a college education1 and1 in all1 gave me to distinctly understand that a college education would spoil a good employer3 that it was a waste of time1 and that if ,i was set on going to college1 why ,i could go on my own funds--which ,i did not have--and be hanged6 ,of course ,i was lazy1 undecided and youthful3 just at the age when all life is a perpetual sunny day4 ,i wanted to come to college to sport around and imagined my doom sealed when father emphatically refused to fund me1 but mother--say ,priddy1 what would the spoiled children of the rich do without generous-hearted mothers8--my mother privately funded me and sent me here and still maintains me1 even against father's orders1 for he will not relent and imagines me to be the fool of fools in taking the course ,i did40 8,the so-called #8self-made men' are usually very set men10 ,i replied4 8,set80 muttered ,thurber1 8even a vice1 tight locked1 is loose by comparison with the prejudices my father has against a liberal education4 ,well1 ,i came this way and started in to sport it and expected to be tutored through my courses by the narrowest passing marks4 ,i spent most of my time either in the fraternity house chugging at a piano or sitting in my room with my feet perched on the table gazing into space4 ,then ,i got the--the glimpse1 ,priddy1 and that changed it all40 8,the glimpse1 what was that80 8,well1 ,i can't exactly define it or locate where it first began1 but ,i do recall that one day1 in the classroom--it was in ,sociology--the professor set me thinking on a line ,i had never considered before4 ,i can't tell what it was that he said explicitly1 but he implicitly suggested to my mind that there are such things as dividends-not-of-money4 ,of course having been used to the other sort of dividends all my life1 ,i was attracted to the idea that there were other dividends4 ,i kept thinking about it and one thing led to another4 ,the president spoke one day1 in chapel1 of the educated man's duty to his generation4 ,i linked that to #8dividends-not-of-money' and worked it out to my satisfaction that there was for me1 the son of a wealthy manufacturer1 a place of usefulness and service in the world40 8,you had a call to the ministry1 then1 ,thurber80 ,i demanded4 8,gracious1 no3 not that60 he exclaimed1 in a tone that implied ,i had proposed something too extravagant for fancy4 8,i a clergyman6 ,i respect the cloth1 ,priddy1 and ,i am glad that you are making it your profession1 but really1 that's not my line4 ,perhaps ,i'm not cut out for it4 ,i know ,i'm not40 8,you planned to go into settlement or ,y4,m4,c4,a4 work1 probably10 ,i hinted1 8so many college fellows give themselves to that form of service in these days1 ,thurber40 8,i know they do1 ,priddy1 but ,i didn't work it out in those directions1 either1 but in a more vital way3 one that has aroused every bit of latent enthusiasm for service and helpfulness that might have been hidden away in so pampered a body as mine4 ,it's what ,i call the glimpse1 ,priddy4 ,want me to explain it80 8,certainly ,i do40 8,well1 ,i really was put in a fix by so much talk in the classrooms from the faculty and in the chapel by the ,president about #8moral leadership' and all that1 and really thought at first that they were asking me to go into definite self-sacrificing avocations like settlement work and the other forms of social service1 and ,i had no hankering for that1 either4 ,i hated to leave father alone in his old age and wanted1 eventually1 to succeed him in the ownership and direction of his mills4 ,i imagined myself a callow materialist1 opposed to spiritual forms of influence1 but ,i did not want to give up the business4 ,you can probably imagine how heathenish ,i felt when ,i contrasted father's industrial policy with the call to be a social servant4 ,i began to think back to what father's self-education had done for him and had done for his employees4 ,i faced the truth for the first time3 how his narrow-minded policy had brought him great wealth at the expense of his self-respect and the happiness of so many of the people who worked for him4 ,for years and years and years1 he had been just paying wages for work done3 that was all4 ,he had paid no attention to the moral or social welfare of his people3 the hundreds of families under his control4 ,he did not go to their church1 attend their lodges1 go into their homes1 or ever make it his policy to inquire about their welfare4 ,he was just simply using them as tools towards the securing of a fortune--for me1 that was all4 ,i saw it all1 how he had been creating in his little corner of our ,american industry1 labor hostility1 unsanitary conditions1 poor types of ignorant1 drunken1 loafing citizens until the tenements belonging to his firm formed a perfect slum4 ,but he had not the eyes to see1 nor has he yet2 but he goes on in the darkness and in the groove of his own selfishness1 intensifying the disloyalty of his employees and incidentally hurting his own reputation4 ,yet ,i could not bring myself to give up desiring to take on that industry4 ,it was right then that the glimpse came40 ,thurber paused for a moment and then continued3 8,like the breaking of day1 it flashed into my soul one morning in ,ethics class1 that if ,i could only go to work in that industry and reform it1 that ,i should be doing a public service3 that ,i should be following the advice of the college and giving moral service4 ,but ,i realized that ,i should have to train myself in the science of ethics and morals2 the history of economics and the deeper things of social science in order to reform the business intelligently1 constructively and profitably to myself and the employees40 8,oh10 ,i commented1 8you want to make your type of social service earn money8--is not that an unusual sort of social service80 ,thurber smiled and said3 8,it does sound worldly1 especially to a minister1 ,priddy1 but the strange thing about it is1 as ,i have figured it out1 that if ,i do take an educated1 intelligent1 thoroughly scientific interest in my employees1 and manage to clean up their tenements1 their morals and their minds through welfare work1 ,i shall1 in the same stroke1 be increasing their loyalty to the business1 be redoubling their efficiency1 be preparing a higher grade of workman3 all of which will increase the earnings of my plant40 8,in other words1 ,thurber1 you are going to work on the principle that humanity and welfare work are good business policy80 8,yes10 nodded ,thurber4 8,if you1 as a minister1 were phrasing it you would say1 #8,godliness is profitable in all things'--even in good industrial management--to mix in ,shakspeare1 it is #8twice blessed1 it blesseth him that giveth'--the employer--#8and him that receiveth'--the worker4 ,that's what ,i call #8the glimpse' and you may imagine how eagerly ,i am tugging at the strings in order to be working it out practically40 8,but it may turn out to be fine theory3 mere dreaming1 ,thurber80 8,oh no10 he protested4 8,read the countless numbers of sociological works that ,i have and follow the countless numbers of experiments that have been made in this direction and you will agree that it is the most sane procedure40 8,college has meant something very definite to you1 then1 ,thurber80 8,i should say it had4 ,i tell you ,i believe ,i understand1 now1 the tremendous suggestion that lies behind the college emphasis that its students stand in their businesses and interests against mere commercialism and flood them with intelligent1 moral service4 ,besides1 think what significance lies in my studies now3 the whole course seems bent to broaden me towards the intelligent1 economical use of human beings3 psychology will give me trained insight1 a course or two in physiology helps me to understand the limits of workingmen's endurance and wide reading in literature will aid me to intelligently work out a policy of self-culture in the workingmen's libraries ,i shall form4 ,oh1 ,i have come to realize that a business education is a thousand times more than learning bookkeeping1 the names of the tools1 and a little mathematics from which to compute wages4 ,it demands1 in my estimation1 the broadest college culture and ,i mean to secure it40 8,just the antithesis of your father's theory10 ,i suggested4 8,yes1 and think1 too1 how much he has lost by it4 ,you would understand how enthusiastic ,i am about it1 ,priddy1 if you could have one glimpse of the people and tenements around father's mill4 ,i feel that right there is my call40 8,i know something about the waste1 the riot and the ruin that have followed in the wake of narrow-minded1 selfish1 uncultured and unsympathetic manufacturers1 ,thurber4 ,if the college only manages to send out a hundred thousand graduates filled like you with this spirit of humane statesmanship1 what a revolution would take place in labor conditions60 8,it would be the front door of ,god's kingdom1 ,priddy10 affirmed ,thurber1 8sure enough60 ,throughout that year1 from the seriousness with which ,thurber asked questions in his classes1 from the eagerness with which he was ready to talk about welfare work1 from the diligence with which he fastened himself to the library alcoves marked3 ,economics and ,sociology1 and from the pervading seriousness of his manner1 one might easily have guessed that in him one looked on a youth aflame with a consuming1 zealous ambition to make his stewardship of men and his college culture yield the highest per cent of moral earnings4 ,i felt proud to call him my friend4 ,another of my companions during the senior year was 8,quiet0 ,sanderson1 the student who had introduced me to ,quarles4 8,quiet0 was one of those illogical and fanciful appellations in which the students delighted1 and was paradoxically twisted from ,sanderson's fluent tendencies4 ,sanderson occupied a corner room in one of the newer dormitories4 ,in it was a piano on which he played ,beethoven and rag-time with equal ease4 ,the mission bookcase was topped by a very large1 felt college streamer and a 8perpetual care0 sign1 which in his ,freshman wildness he had taken from a cemetery4 ,as he was a literary man with a pronounced taste for ,poe and the ,french short story writers1 there were various evidences of 8atmosphere0 in the orderings of the room4 ,for instance1 some old swords1 which might have been discovered in the ruins of ,troy1 but which1 in fact1 were clever imitations bought for a song in ,boston1 hung over the door4 ,a ,turkish fez1 which ,sanderson would wear when company was present1 usually hung from the clothes post in a corner of the room1 over a quaint1 full-length lounging robe made from scarlet cloth and embroidered with ,mohammed's crescent4 ,an oriental scent lingered on those habits of dress2 a scent which ,i have seen ,sanderson compound from barks and minerals bought at the druggist's and of which he would never give me the names4 ,when he held a spread or a meeting of any sort1 ,sanderson's room would be thick with the fumes of joss which he kept burning from a blue ,chinese bowl4 ,if any one complained1 ,sanderson would have no scruples in telling the complainant that perhaps the smoke would be even denser and more sulphurous in a later destination6 ,it was fortunate that ,i did not catch1 like some insidious fever1 ,sanderson's habit of procrastination1 for while his dreams were in the present tense1 real1 and vivid1 his deeds lingered in the nebulous future4 ,thus1 one night while he lounged on his couch wearing his fez1 he informed me that he had the plot of an exciting tale that a publisher might make a fortune by4 ,there was a secret staircase in the first chapter1 and between that and the twenty-eighth--a distance of eight thousand words1 for he had measured them--enough blood was shed in the numerous duels1 alley encounters and small riots with the watch1 to stain a miniature ,waterloo4 8,what are you wasting your time with those blood and thunder yarns for80 ,i exclaimed1 for the utmost frankness was the rule between us4 8,blood and thunder60 he echoed4 8,why1 it's thoroughly exciting1 whatever you may say about it1 ,priddy4 ,in my best style1 too4 ,racy1 full of tender sentiment at the love passages1 and written with an iron pen1 whose tip was flaming hot60 8,let me see this epic of thunder then10 ,i demanded4 8,i should like to look it over40 8,oh10 yawned ,sanderson1 8,i haven't had time to put it on paper--yet4 ,i have my studies you know60 ,thus it was not only with his literary dreams1 but also with his studies4 ,he never seemed to be in his books1 but ,i knew that at some secret hour he must work hard1 for his recitations were generally brilliant4 ,he was a sly fellow1 at times1 especially when he chanced to be back with work4 ,it was his habit then to get me in his room1 when he would yawn and say3 8,priddy1 what did the professor conclude about that ,lochner fellow80 ,stephen ,lochner was one of the ,dutch painters we were studying4 ,i would tell him as well as ,i could4 ,then he would drawl3 8,uh1 ,i didn't follow the professor at all when he said that the early ,dutch school1 ,van ,eyck and the others--let's see1 how many were there80 ,i would tell him1 exactly1 with names and dates1 and then he would drawl3 8,sure you got them all1 ,priddy80 8,yes1 ,i have40 8,i'll bet you're grafting the course1 ,priddy1 and haven't been near the references in the library1 eh80 8,sanderson1 ,i've got every note of importance1 and have worked up every single picture60 ,then the yawning fellow would turn over to me1 lift up his fez in the politest manner and say1 with his endearing smile3 8,oh1 is that so6 ,then ,priddy1 ,i shan't need to bother much myself1 shall ,i8 ,you can give me some fine dope on the course60 ,seeing that ,i was caught1 there was no way out of it but to become the unofficial tutor to his lazy highness2 a duty1 however1 which was pleasant enough1 for we had so many things in common4 ,there was a sense of embarrassment1 however1 in the fact that ,sanderson would go into the examinations of the course1 after ,i had prompted him1 and by some freak of the angel of ,providence1 his guardian spirit1 he would out-top me with marks6 ,one ,monday morning ,i dropped into his room1 on my way across the campus1 when he came from his bedroom arrayed in his bath-robe1 for he had been oversleeping1 and he said to me1 8,congratulations1 ,priddy60 8,what's this for80 ,i exclaimed4 8,for the honorable winner of two literary prizes60 he exclaimed4 8,two80 ,i gasped4 8,yes1 and firsts1 my friend6 ,i want to get in on the ground floor and get a college ice on the prize money10 he smiled4 8,and how do you know this80 ,i asked4 8,the announcements were posted ,saturday1 after you had left1 ,priddy40 8,then you shall have the treat1 ,sanderson40 ,the two prize checks--beautifully decorated with the college seal and ornamental borders--were used to pay for the winter's supply of wood1 at home1 and to clear off a store bill4 ,i felt that my first adventure into literature had amply repaid me in fellowships1 discipline1 and cash3 a well-rounded reward4 ,when ,i arrived home1 for the long summer vacation1 ,i began to ride over the hills to outlying farm-houses in a canvass of fellowship among my parishioners1 whom ,i had never seen in church4 ,my bicycle rides exhausted me in this work1 as the summer was excessively hot4 ,between the village services1 on ,sundays1 ,i trundled my bicycle up a long hill until ,i came to a crossroad schoolhouse to which ,i had invited the isolated people1 for services4 ,the people who came to this service would not sing1 so that part of the time they were treated to vocal solos by me1 to which ,i had to play my own accompaniment on the little parlor organ ,i had secured4 ,as my skill on the organ keys was limited to hymns up to the limits of two sharps or as many flats1 my repertory1 like that of a hand-organ1 was easily exhausted4 ,but the people seemed thankful for this interruption of the monotony of their back-road life1 and though ,i never took up an offering or asked them to do anything more than attend the services1 which they did with increasing enthusiasm1 ,i knew from their thanks and their faces that it had been a profitable venture1 an appreciated service4 ,but the strain of such a responsibility in addition to my college work was bound to ruin my health1 so ,i resolved that the parish should be free to engage a permanent1 resident pastor1 and to that end ,i resigned and sought out a place nearer the college1 where ,i could go through the next year as a pulpit supply and have my wife with me1 in my own home1 near the college campus4 ,my new parish1 which ,i visited only on ,sundays1 was a most delightful village1 where an unusual number of interesting people made their homes4 ,though1 at first sight1 the village appeared an isolated1 sleepy place1 yet a plunge into its activities and a catching of its spirit meant the discovery of a number of enterprising1 intellectual1 and social efforts1 of which any large community would have been proud4 ,there was a village nature club4 ,this club was composed entirely of the townspeople1 yet one of the members had been the co-author with a scientist in the study of fresh-water alg1 another member had made an exhaustive study of grasses and minerals in such a scientific manner that his work had received the commendation of the state botanist4 ,the club had expert bird students and a butterfly collector4 ,another of its members had discovered a rare fern1 hitherto never found east of the ,mississippi4 ,the members of this club1 surrounded as they were by the riches of summer and winter beauty1 lived in a glorious world of adventure4 ,when one family drove home1 up the long road to its pine groves and isolated farm-house1 it counted the varieties of flowers growing by the wayside and made a report of great interest to the other members of the society4 ,another member watched the stars and gave reports on the newer astronomical happenings4 ,then1 too1 such intellectual interests reacted upon the social life of the little community1 and a tennis court for the boys1 clubs and sports for the girls1 village improvement undertakings1 and very interesting and rare lectures through the long winter1 were the rule1 backed by trained1 interested people4 ,this type of community1 also1 made the church a very desirable and interesting one1 and made it easier for me to be away from ,sunday to ,sunday1 for the social concerns were certain to go on under efficient and responsible management4 ,meanwhile1 my wife and ,i had brought our little boy to the college town1 and had established ourselves in three rooms under the roof of a very tiny cottage4 ,though we had our dining-table near the kitchen stove and were otherwise crowded almost to discomfort1 yet the last year of my educational career meant less anxiety and more inspiration because ,i could have my home in the midst of it4 ,chapter ,,xxxvii4 ,teiresias1 the ,blind ,prophet1 and ,squeem1 the ,student in the ,back-waters of ,college ,life4 ,a ,night of ,grim ,fate ,one winter afternoon as ,i approached ,quarles' room1 to take him for a walk1 ,i heard a loud voice raised in angry altercation1 as ,i thought4 ,i paused on the dormitory stairs1 and there came to my ears the blind student's voice1 raised high1 as if he were spitting fire4 ,i hurried to his door and entered the room to see what the quarrel between my friend and his enemy could be4 8,priddy1 sit down60 quoth ,quarles1 pausing in his strange heat of jargon4 8,listen10 and then1 standing in the center of the room1 he declaimed this strange-sounding sentence3 8,eipo ti deta kall1 in orgitze pleon60 and attended it with a fierce and angry thrust of his fist1 as if he were thrusting red-hot bolts down the unwilling throat of a helpless foe4 8,well1 of all the strange jumbles1 ,quarles60 ,i exclaimed1 8what is the baby talk1 please80 8,soo de athlios ge taut oneiditzon1 a soi oudeis os ouxi tond oneidiei taxi60 he continued1 scowling frightfully and staring with his expressionless eyes as if he would have his stored up wrath break through to flash like fierce lightning on the pride of his unseen opponent4 8,taxi80 ,i mused1 8that means automobile riding at ten dollars a minute--what is the rest80 8,it's ,greek10 he explained1 sitting down4 8,i am the blind ,prophet ,teiresias1 in the ,greek drama #8,king dipus1' to be given by the college4 ,let me translate60 ,he sprang to the middle of the floor1 and1 in ,english1 attended by the same angry gestures1 he declaimed to the scoffing ,king whom he was warning3 8#8,shall ,i speak something more1 to feed thy wrath8'0 and then he paused to explain1 8and when you called it baby talk1 ,i recited the line which ,i am to use when the ,king slanders me for being blind1 #8,o miserable reproach1 which all who now behold thee1 soon shall thunder forth on thee6' and10 went on ,quarles1 8you are to know1 if you do not know it now1 how that later the ,king does blind himself with hot irons and fulfils the prophecy ,i hurl at his coward lips60 8,horrible1 it must be60 ,i shuddered4 8,what a dark tragedy to lighten a college stage60 8,but10 mused ,quarles1 8think of the achievement1 in these days1 when the college critics are charging the college with immersing itself in practical concerns so as to forego the classics4 ,my work is cut out for me1 ,priddy10 he went on4 8,if they are to have a real blind man for ,teiresias1 they must also have fair acting of the lines1 for it is all to be given in ,greek1 not a word of ,english2 for barbarians like you1 who will probably be mystified1 there will be an ,english line-for-line translation40 8,oh10 ,i retorted1 8,i have studied some ,greek4 ,i have read the ,new ,testament60 ,quarles laughed1 8,that is only the introduction to ,greek4 ,listen60 ,he stood before me and recited the fluid1 rounded1 ,greek lines of the blind ,prophet1 as he leaves the ,king1 8#8,ere ,i depart1 ,i will declare the word ,for which ,i came1 not daunted by thy frown4 ,thou hast no power to ruin me4'0 8,you will have to have a clear brain for the storing of so much pure1 classic speech1 ,quarles10 ,i said4 8,come out for a walk over the four-mile road with me and you may talk ,king dipus to me till ,i faint60 ,so1 arm in arm1 over the ruts of the four-mile road1 which first took us up a steep hill and then around to the west through some dark1 cool woods1 the blind student and ,i walked1 and talked of the ,greek tragedy in which he was to play so realistic a part4 ,illustration3 ,,so ,,arm ,,in ,,arm ,,the ,,blind ,,student ,,and ,i ,,walked ,on our way back1 as we neared the campus1 ,quarles said3 8,priddy1 have you ever met #8,squeem' ,hirshey8 ,i've got to see him before supper1 if you'll take me to him4 ,he's one of the old men of the chorus1 in the play1 and wants me to help him with pronunciation40 8,no1 ,i haven't met him10 ,i said4 8,a poor ,georgian10 explained ,quarles1 8lives in a stuffy bit of a room with an ,irish family1 down at ,the ,alley2 you know where that is1 of course40 ,so while we walked in the direction of 8,squeem's0 lodging1 ,quarles gave me full information about this student1 one who lived in the back-waters of college life4 8,in some unaccountable way10 said ,quarles1 8,squeem managed to get a decent preparatory education in the ,south1 in a place where most of the people lived in huts4 ,missionary education1 ,i think4 ,however1 he came here1 passed entrance exams all right1 and was awarded a couple of scholarships that bring him in about a hundred and fifty dollars a year4 ,he tells me that he manages to get enough work to support him3 that he earns his room rent with the ,gibboneys by doing chores1 though what chores such a poor family can have for him to perform1 ,i cannot understand4 ,he cooks his own meals on an oil stove1 and1 for that purpose tries never to go over seventy-five cents a week for his food4 ,as for clothes1 well--he patronizes #8,eddie'1 the old clothes-man1 and manages to get cast-off shoes and clothes at ridiculously low prices4 ,a suit for four dollars and a decent pair of shoes1 not much worn1 for fifty cents60 8,i must have seen him10 ,i explained1 8but of course1 ,i cannot place the name4 ,a queer one1 too2 reminds one of ,dickens' ,squeers1 the ugly schoolmaster40 ,quarles smiled4 8,that name was tacked on a year ago1 when he was a ,freshman4 ,it seems that he kept himself to his room and never mixed in things1 sort of a timid1 bashful chap1 but full of energy when it comes to study4 ,a down-at-the-heels fellow1 ,i have heard him called4 ,well1 he was squeamish about everything1 and it was natural for the ,freshies to tack him with #8,squeem' and by that name he will always be known to the future generations of college men40 8,here's the alley60 ,i announced1 after a few minutes more of talk4 ,we had passed down an outlying road where1 on the very outskirts of the village1 stood a row of cheap tenements4 ,between these1 at an angle1 lay an alley filled with ashes1 tin cans and broken bottles4 ,this alley led up to two ill-looking shanties1 so small that by comparison with the houses farther in the town they seemed no more than half-ruined doll houses4 8,it's the blackest house10 whispered my companion4 8,go around to the rear4 ,his room is up the back stairs40 ,as we rounded the black shanty the sound of gurgling and churning reached our ears1 and then1 back of a line of flapping1 wet clothes1 we came on a middle-sized1 but excessively gaunt youth1 wearing an oil-cloth apron1 such as we wore in the chemistry classes when we performed experiments1 with a bib that fitted close to his neck4 ,he wore under it a ragged1 red sweater1 and was churning a washing machine full of clothes1 while1 at his back1 a stout1 red-faced ,irishwoman was engaged in taking clothes from a basket and hanging them on lines4 ,hanging from a row of nails on the outside of the house were all shades and colors of students' laundry bags4 ,underneath them1 wriggling in a broken and dirty clothes basket1 lay a six-months-old baby1 sucking a soiled thumb and apparently finding it nourishing4 8,hello1 ,quarles60 greeted the washerman1 in great embarrassment at our discovery of him1 8,i didn't expect you60 ,a ,southern drawl was evident in his speech4 ,he was about to take off his apron1 when the ,irishwoman1 throwing a frown of dissatisfaction in my direction1 growled3 8,mister ,hirshey1 an' don't you be lavin'1 mind you4 ,them things've got to be done4 ,you can talk while you work2 but work you must1 and the young gentlemen can go hang till you've time1 if they care60 ,squeem's waxen cheeks1 which seemed before to have no signs of blood about them1 flushed1 and he said1 apologetically1 as he resumed his churning1 8,only ten minutes more1 ,quarles4 ,we can talk1 and then we can go to the room40 ,i was introduced to the student and recognized in him the one whom ,i had passed on the campus1 time and time again in the winter1 with his shivering body fitted to ill-measured clothes1 and his goose-fleshed wrists and ungloved hands hanging like dead weights from below his coat sleeves4 ,ten minutes later1 after ,i had watched the ,southerner dip out the dripping mass of laundry and put it through the wringer1 we were conducted into the dark kitchen with its odor of cabbage1 and ascended by a wabbly stairway to the loft1 one half of which was given to ,squeems for his abode4 ,a greasy1 sour odor of cooking permeated the room4 ,it was lighted by two narrow panes of glass fitted to a makeshift frame1 and covered by a curtain of imitation tapestry1 with the design of a red ,swiss house half buried amid gray bushes and a row of stiff1 brown poplars4 ,a cot bed stood in a corner with a bundle of warm quilts in confusion on it1 for evidently our host had little skill in his housekeeping4 ,a packing case1 on end1 with the open side towards us1 had been skilfully transformed into book shelf1 storage place and desk4 ,a short row of text books was ranged on the packing case4 ,besides a kitchen chair there was no other seat1 save a tin-covered trunk from which ,squeem had to take a few dishes1 an oil stove and a bread tin1--his dining apparatus1--before it could be utilized for a seat4 ,the following half hour was spent by ,quarles and the ,southerner in the pronunciation1 the translation1 and oratorical interpretation1 not only of the chorus part of the play1 which would be sung1 but of the ,blind ,prophet's thrilling lines1 which ,quarles recited before ,squeem with even more spirit than he had to me1 for1 he explained1 as we left the house3 8,that poor fellow may be in the back-waters of college1 but he's got a really excellent mind4 ,it wouldn't surprise me to see him come near to leading his class in scholarship4 ,i like him--that ,squeem10 and then my blind companion quoted1 with great impressiveness1 8#8,grand1 gloomy1 and peculiar1 he sat upon his throne1 a sceptred hermit1 wrapped in the solitude of his 444 originality4'0 ,then the night of the ,greek play arrived in which ,quarles and his strange friend were to appear4 ,my wife and ,i sat in the gallery1 in ,assembly ,hall1 amongst the vast throng of spectators4 ,a dark1 green curtain covered the stage4 ,the white interior of the hall1 with soaring ceiling panels1 dotted with flaming rows of electric lights1 the paintings on the gallery walls of presidents and benefactors of the college1 the ushers in evening dress1 fine1 manly samples of youth1 the well-dressed women in their opera costumes3 all this was a glorious show to look upon1 in itself4 ,but when a group of gowned students took their places1 in chairs1 near the stage1 and were followed by the orchestra1 and the musical director1--then the programs fluttered1 expectantly1 even in the hands of the professors and invited guests from other colleges1 who had come to enjoy the literary treat of the much-heralded play4 ,the leader1 with a gentle tap on his rack1 brought the musicians into position4 ,a stroke of the wand in the air1 and the instruments began with the introductory theme1 a droning chant1 with wild whisperings in the background1 as the violins tried to paint for our senses the chatter of the fierce ,fates that were to hound ,king dipus to his horrid death1 in payment to their stern laws for his unconscious sin4 ,then1 as the haunting prelude paused on a wailing minor1 as if to tell us that forever and forever man's despair should continue--under the rule of the ,fates1 the lights in the hall were darkened1 amidst a silence4 ,there was a pause1 and then1 as the heavy curtains were drawn aside while the drums crashed forth a suggestion of impending strife1 we looked upon a marvelous palace front in ancient ,boeotian ,thebes4 ,austere gloom1 the fluted1 pillared doorway with the brazen door bespoke1 though the sky was tinted as if for a sunrise1 or sunset4 ,then before our eyes1 in that ancient world was unfolded the grim lesson that even unconscious sin must pay at last the uttermost farthing4 ,quarles1 transformed into a bearded1 led prophet1 spake his lines with heart-ringing pathos4 ,but as for 8,squeem0 among the bearded men1 who chanted their parrotish gossip1 ,i could not distinguish him4 ,heaps on heaps of color were massed on the stage1 with a studied effort to inflame the imaginations of the audience4 ,when it seemed that the finest effects of grouping and harmonies of color had been obtained1 other actors would suddenly appear and make the splendor of the setting pass belief4 ,word by word1 gesture by gesture1 chant by chant1 we followed the dismal but dramatic tale from its air of glory and freedom into the darker shadows of dread which ,teiresias foretold4 ,moods of king and queen1 of the old men who stood by the temple1 of the priest and the shepherd changed slowly and steadily from scoffing to belief1 from belief to alarm1 from alarm to fear1 from fear to resistance1 from resistance to submission1 from submission to final reparation4 ,woven into the shudderings of the old men1 witnesses of death and grewsome penalties1 were the musical whisperings1 to keep our minds upon the unseen spirits of the vengeful gods who were directing the grim tragedy until all the sobs that men and women could give were ended1 until the last dreg of a tear remained1 and until only the merest whisper of a cry could sound in the chambers of a suffering heart6 ,we went into the night1 from it1 feeling that our hearts had been smitten heavy blows1 that our life had fastened itself to leaden anchors4 ,the terrible reality1 the magnificence of ,fate1 the classic splendor of sufferings in epic girth had been staged before us4 ,teiresias' words hung in the air1 everywhere1 even under the dark sky outside3 8,o miserable reproach6 which shall soon ,thunder forth on thee60 ,chapter ,,xxxviii4 ,how ,ellis1 the ,captain1 ,taught me the ,spirit of ,contest4 ,i ,turn ,pamphleteer on ,behalf of ,scholarship4 ,but ,find from ,garvin that ,scholarship and ,education may be ,separate ,matters4 ,account of a ,truly ,classic ,event1 which ,makes the ,students ,study ,color ,schemes and ,gives us a ,chance to ,appear in ,gowns ,one afternoon ,i was sitting on the senior fence1 watching two fraternity teams wage a contest in baseball1 when ,i saw ,ellis1 the football captain approaching1 with his finger upraised to draw my attention4 ,ellis was an impressive fellow with his towering shoulders1 oak-like limbs1 and ruddy cheeks4 ,in his flannels1 tan oxfords1 and varsity cap he spelled in large capitals1 8,exercise40 ,for ,ellis was known preminently1 in the athletic world1 as one of the year's gods who sit on the pinnacle of ,olympus1 the revered of freshmen1 the applauded of sophomores1 and the envied of fellow seniors4 ,by the newspapers he was heralded as the best player of football in his position in all ,america4 ,his name1 through the years of his playing1 when he appeared with nose guard and canvas suit1 had been on the lips of admiring multitudes4 ,his photographs1 showing him catching a football1 or in pose for a scramble1 had been spread on many city papers that year4 ,in the college1 more than in the outside world1 ,ellis' fame had won the highest respect4 ,he was the marked man3 marked for friendships1 for class honors1 and for the respect of the faculty4 ,a freshman1 given the merest smile or word by ,ellis1 immediately ran to his room and wrote a burning letter about it to his mother or his sister4 ,the fraternities and senior societies had vied with one another to secure him for a comrade4 ,he was the college 8boss0 in a good sense1 for if a group of excited students broke the public peace1 by an unruly demonstration before the town jail1 where one of the students had been immolated for throwing a snowball at the village justice1 it was ,ellis who jumped on a flour barrel1 which he had ordered brought from the back door of a nearby grocery1 and at a word1 commanded the incipient riot to break up2 which it did without a murmur4 8,take a walk1 ,priddy80 asked ,ellis1 as he drew near4 8,certainly10 ,i said1 jumping from my perch and measuring my stride to his4 8,priddy10 he said1 8you know about the ,bristow ,oratorical ,prize for seniors80 8,yes40 8,the trials come off soon4 ,why don't you go into it80 8,i hadn't thought of it10 ,i admitted4 8,besides1 ,i don't think it would be wise4 ,i am no orator2 ,i mean that ,i do not use finished gestures1 and my throat trouble has taken the spirit from my voice4 ,in addition to that1 ,ellis1 when one is used to the pulpit1 it is really a different proposition to speak in an exhibition40 8,but you will have a chance with the literary side4 ,that counts one half10 persisted ,ellis4 8,now look here10 ,i smiled1 turning on him1 suddenly1 8why don't you go into it80 8,i will1 ,priddy4 ,i certainly will60 8,you've made your record in football1 and you ought to go into this oratorical contest1 ,ellis40 8,i'm going into it10 he replied1 8not so much for the mere idea of trying for the prize1 but for a purpose40 8,what's that80 8,well1 ,priddy10 he continued1 seriously1 8,i've been up against it ever since ,i indulged in sports4 ,it has eaten up much of my time1 and there have been days and days when the grind of training and practise and of having to go to bed early1 and all that1 have been wearing and uninspiring4 ,if it hadn't been that ,i felt that ,i was maintaining the honor of the college by my playing1 ,i should have quit the game long ago4 ,well1 there are a lot of folks that think of college athletics as a waste of the student's time and as a feature of college life not good in itself1 but which must be endured1 if men are to be won to college4 ,of course you know that's not the truth2 at least in this place40 8,of course it's not so10 ,i insisted1 just as earnestly4 8,college sports are the cleanest1 most honorable of sports4 ,they teach the students in this college to be manly in losing1 to hold their tongues when the visiting team makes a fumble1 and to cheer one for the other4 ,it's so different from the national game1 outside of the college1 where the crowds in the bleachers throw pop bottles at the umpire1 insult the players1 and nag one another bitterly4 ,our college sports teach the students moral control and self-restraint40 8,i'm glad to hear you say that1 ,priddy10 agreed ,ellis1 warmly4 8,if the game had been otherwise1 ,i would not have wasted my time with it4 ,well1 there are a lot of folks1 even in college10 he continued1 8who really think that because a man makes good on a football team that he's not capable with his studies1 or with the literary features of the college40 8,there again10 ,i agreed1 8they don't know all the facts4 ,think of the fellows on your team1 this year4 ,several of your best players are making excellent records in class work40 ,i enumerated three of the brightest players who had maintained a rank of over eighty-five1 in spite of the great amount of time given to sports4 8,yes1 ,priddy10 replied ,ellis1 8that's so1 but the public at large don't think of it in that way4 ,well1 that is why ,i want to go into the oratorical contest2 just to show folks that a fellow interested in athletics is also able to manifest an interest in literary matters60 8,good60 ,i exclaimed1 won by his sincere earnestness4 8,but why do you want me to go in1 too1 as a competitor8 ,i should think you wouldn't care to increase the competition1 merely as a matter of self-interest40 8,oh10 he laughed1 8the more1 the merrier4 ,i thought you ought to go in1 too1 for ,i think you would stand a good chance1 ,priddy40 ,finally ,i agreed to go in with him4 ,on the walk we advised about subjects and the next day ,ellis came to my room for some material ,i had promised him on his proposed theme4 ,then began the strangest preparation for a contest in which ,i had ever indulged4 ,we conferred with one another about the points we were to make1 and prodded one another on1 when either became slothful4 ,finally1 when our speeches were memorized1 we took afternoon walks into a field where we shaped our orations into some definite spoken form before each other4 ,ellis would hear me through1 suggest how this gesture and that thought might be improved4 ,then ,i would criticize him in the same way4 ,we hid nothing from one another1 though we were to be rivals on the platform4 ,he knew every turn of my speech and ,i knew every turn of his4 ,he added force to mine by thinking out for me a new analogy that ,i could insert at a weak part4 ,i altered a misquotation in his which would have lost him a point4 ,it was an inspiring experience for me4 ,i was witnessing1 in ,ellis1 a sportsmanship of which there could be no more refined example4 ,i did not wonder1 then1 at the praise the college had given him4 ,but this was not all1 for on the afternoon when the trials took place1--in the big1 dim room of empty seats1 with a few judges scattered lonesomely about1--as ,i took my turn and was walking to the platform1 ,i felt a hearty clap on the shoulder and heard ,ellis whisper1 8,good luck to you1 ,priddy60 exactly the way in which he had encouraged his men in the big football contests4 ,i walked to the platform thrilled through by the magnificence of ,ellis' sporting spirit4 ,i felt that if any other man won1 it should be ,ellis4 ,i did not do well with my oration4 ,i was marked down4 ,ellis' turn came4 ,i watched him1 admiringly1 as he strode to the platform in his masterful way4 ,his gestures1 over which we had worked with patience1 were still undisciplined1 and at times his voice thundered too much4 ,but he came down with the consciousness of having done his best4 ,he was declared eligible for the final contest4 ,later1 when the final contest took place1 ,ellis1 who had gone into it with the loftiest ideal of all the contestants1 had the thrill of knowing that he was the winner of the prize4 ,he had won both sides of the medal1 the athletic and literary4 8,at least10 he said to me1 in bashful comment on his victory1 8,i think that some folks will be persuaded that a football man may have some interest in scholarship40 ,garvin1 a fellow ,senior1 illustrates another phase of college life and thought4 ,he was a clever individual and one of the editors of the college newspaper4 ,his 8den10 as he loved to term his narrow room in ,wise ,hall1 had been made to resemble as much as possible an editorial sanctum4 ,galley proofs1 daubed black with corrections1 revisions and proof marks1 had been hung over his desk1 as if to forever remind him that the true function of an editor is revision1 as it is the true function of life4 ,original artists' drawings1 in charcoal1 pen and ink and pencil1 were mixed in with ,gibson ,girl sketches on the walls4 ,three samples of 8the worst contributions ever sent into the paper0 were framed in passe partout and hung over the brick of the fireplace where the curious might read them2 one was a ,freshman poem whose theme had never been understood and for the interpretation of which ,garvin had a standing offer of a box of cigars4 ,the 8poem0 said something about 8the ancient cow1 sitting munchingly on the steep broadside of green1 fertile country10 and then went on to irrelevantly bring in various other cattle1 scenes1 and people in such an unexplained matter-of-fact way that the mind was in a whirl at the end4 ,the other two contributions were attempts at stories1 and judged from the first pages of manuscript exhibited1 ended in being nothing more than attempts4 ,i had visited ,garvin to speak on a matter to which ,i was giving considerable thought at the time3 the curious disparagement of scholarship by so many of the students4 ,i had even gone to the pains of having published in ,garvin's paper my undergraduate protest against the universal tendency to despise the 8plugger0 and to esteem the 8grafter02 two terms which marked the antipodes of scholarship4 ,my article1 entitled1 8,on the ,spirit of ,work in ,college10 had been printed and followed by a parody1 written by an unknown student and entitled3 8,priddy ,has ,a ,grouch10 in which the writer had openly given all the honors of the college to the student who refrained from seeking a salutatory1 vying with his classmates for the valedictory or hastening after academic honors of whatever sort4 8,blatant heresy60 ,i announced1 pointing out the anonymous article4 8,oh1 ,i don't know10 replied ,garvin4 8,i rather like it60 ,i regarded him in astonishment for a moment and then protested1 8,but think of it1 man6 ,denouncing scholarship6 ,a student in a college denouncing the very charter of the college4 ,it's incredible3 audacious and heretical3 undermining the very foundations of the college6 ,and to think that you1 an editor1 interested in culture and education1 support such a paradox4 ,you ought to be tortured in a ,smithfield fire or have your thumbs twisted with ,inquisition screws60 8,oh1 ,i don't know60 smiled ,garvin4 8,i'm not the only one that scoffs somewhat at the scholars3 there are hundreds of us on the campus3 hundreds of us40 8,yes10 ,i replied1 8sour grapes1 probably40 8,now look here1 ,priddy4 ,i'm no loafer4 ,you know me4 ,i believe in education or ,i would not be spending my four years here4 ,if ,i were to put all my time in study3 the time which ,i invest in my editor's duty1 for instance1 and in the mandolin club1 ,i think there is in me a potential honor man at least1 even as there is in ,sanderson a potential valedictorian1 and in ,ellis a potential ,phi ,beta ,kappa 7if he left off athletics71 and in ,forrest a potential magna1 triple ,x1 summa1 double-barrelled cum lauda if he didn't put so much effort into the evening classes for the ,italian laborers down at the ,reservoir4 ,but the truth is--these men1 like myself1 aren't very enthusiastic about high marks1 or the honors that high marks and class rankings bring to the undergraduate40 8,no wonder the professors get discouraged1 ,garvin4 ,it's enough to make the college founder place dynamite under the campus and blow us to kingdom come60 ,garvin's eyes twinkled at his next question4 8,hear about ,scholarship ,night1 ,priddy8 ,i know you weren't there for you went home that day40 8,hear about it80 ,i gasped4 8,i should say ,i had4 ,they say that there was about as much enthusiasm over the reading of the honor roll that night1 in assembly hall1 before the students and invited guests1 as there is enthusiasm over--well1 say a book entitled1 #8,the ,thesaurus of ,diction--or ,recent ,explorations into the ,vocabulary of ,monkeys4'0 8,enthusiasm60 repeated ,garvin1 8it was ten miles away that night4 ,just a handful of students1 lonesomely huddled in the first few rows of seats and behind them a lighted vacancy4 ,i tell you1 ,priddy1 the students aren't interested very much in pure scholarship3 even many of the men who are here for a serious purpose40 8,then why do they come here1 ,garvin1 tell me that80 ,i demanded4 8,for an education1 ,priddy40 8,but how can they secure an education unless they are solicitous about scholarship1 ,garvin80 8,oh1 ,i see what is the matter1 ,priddy4 ,you imagine that because so many of us aren't interested in scholarship1 pure scholarship1 we aren't interested in education4 ,education and scholarship are two very different things40 8,how do you argue that80 8,you have the old-fashioned idea of a college10 continued ,garvin4 8,what do you mean80 8,the old ,new ,england college3 the representative college of olden days1 injected a love of books and the wisdom of books in their students3 reams of the classic poets and prose writers3 encyclopdic furnishings of the mind with the contents of a few good1 stimulating books4 ,those were the hey-days of pure scholarship4 ,they have existed here3 but we students1 today1 are illustrations of an evolution in educational ideals1 even if most of us don't seem to realize it4 ,we represent the changed temper of higher education4 ,if ,i may phrase1 offhand1 my idea of the change1--it is that the older generation considered pure scholarship1 in itself1 the central aim of a college course1 and to an ideal of that sort1 ,scholarship ,nights1 ,phi ,beta ,kappas1 and all such educational fashions were not only in keeping but were producers of tremendous enthusiasms4 ,on the other hand1 what seems to me to lie in the heart of the students now is the demand for scholarship1--plus accomplishment4 ,it is due1 no doubt1 to the practical turn of the world during the last few years4 ,i am interested mightily in scholarship when it helps towards actual accomplishment3 when like a gold coin it purchases something2 unlike the old notion that scholarship was a gold or silver medal1 good only to decorate or dignify the person1 or to be kept on exhibition40 8,are you sincere in that1 ,garvin80 ,i demanded4 8,if so1 you should write it out in editorials1 for the criticism of the professors3 if you could substantiate it by concrete facts40 8,concrete facts1 ,priddy6 ,why1 it would carry us into the small hours of the morning if ,i were to begin their enumeration4 ,take ,ellis1 for instance4 ,you tell me that he went into the medal contest to vindicate the athletes4 ,there is one example of the coin of scholarship purchasing something3 one concrete expression of the student interest in scholarship when it leads to something practical and concrete4 ,can you imagine ,ellis going into a literary contest that would wind up in itself1 without relation to something practical to be gained by it80 8,no40 8,you go around the campus with a test like that1 ,priddy1 and you will find that scholarship is highly respected wherever it has resulted in accomplishment4 ,don't we respect ,professor ,florette8 ,i should say we did4 ,one of the most perfect scholars in the college and yet even the grafters among the students would throw their caps in the air at any time for the ,professor1 and why is it8 ,it is because his scholarship has actually made him accomplish something4 ,he is president of the ,national ,science ,division of ,college ,instruction and is known and quoted abroad as an authority in his line4 ,that's why the students like him4 ,on the other hand you might pick out a professor here and a professor there who is very erudite--notice my vocabulary1 ,priddy--and who is a perfect scholar in his department1 and yet who never translates his knowledge into life3 never writes a useful book1 or influences thought abroad1 or is asked to address even a ,kindergarten ,teachers' ,convention4 ,all we know of him is that #8he is a scholar4' ,you don't catch us shouting much for that man1 do you8 ,he has not accomplished anything tangible1 ergo--his scholarship is merely an esthetic satisfaction4 ,that's why we fellows prefer old ,florette40 8,but that's a very youthful and shallow way of judging1 ,garvin10 ,i replied4 8,well1 whether you call it youthful1 shallow1 or what not1 that is the way most of the students seem to regard scholarship4 ,they are only interested in it when it means contact with life and the enlargement of the scholar's ability for civic usefulness4 ,that is the outcome of practical ,america1 ,i suppose4 ,but for the #8grind' who slaves for big marks and the sheer worship of books--and nothing else1 why1 ,i don't have much use for him4 ,on the other hand1 if a fellow grinds out big marks to play on the football team in security3 why1 that's the fellow that gets the cheer4 ,it's scholarship plus1 with my crowd1 and ,i think you'd better come in the band-wagon with us1 ,priddy1 for whether the professors like it or not1 and choose to cling to the seventeenth century exaltation of scholarship per se--note my ,latin1 ,priddy--why1 it won't change matters any40 8,that's something to think about1 ,garvin1 at any rate40 8,if you observe the students closely1 ,priddy1 ,i think you'll find that they do respect scholarship2 put it in the very highest possible place of influence--when it has led to something40 8,i am glad ,i had this talk with you1 ,garvin4 ,i think ,i understand the fellows a little better1--,i can even forgive the unknown who wrote3 ,priddy ,has ,a ,grouch60 8,thank you1 ,al10 replied the editor4 8,i am the chap60 ,if the failure of ,scholarship ,night--and a dismal one it was--had seemed to indicate little respect for pure academic accomplishment at the ,college1 there soon took place an event which swallowed up that failure in its overwhelming scholarly success and aroused1 in the student heart1 every last atom of admiration for the academical ideal4 ,our new ,president was inaugurated4 ,inauguration ,day was pre-eminently the real ,scholarship ,day with the links closely forged between what ,garvin called scholarship and accomplishment4 ,the ,president we were to honor represented the close tie between scholarship and accomplishment4 ,his learning had brought him a world reputation as a scientist1 and it was extremely interesting1 after the talk with ,garvin1 to note with what unction the students lingered on the reputation of the ,president1 and how deferentially they spoke the names of this ,royal ,society and that ,foreign ,body which had honored him for his work4 ,garvin's paper1 weeks before the event1 teemed with anticipatory gossip concerning the stellar names in education that were to be printed on the list of college guests4 ,the campus was to be the show ground for the ,american academic peerage2 come to honor our chief6 ,at last even such a loafer in the college as ,bridden1 who was in danger of losing his degree by reason of his overindulgence in pool3 even he expressed a pride and interest in the coming of the scholars3 the scholars par excellence4 ,even down to so technical a consideration as the language of hoods1 the undergraduates manifested fully as much interest as they had been wont to give to baseball batters' averages4 ,garvin's paper came out with a color list by which the college presidents1 university chancellors1 international statesmen1 state officials1 seminary heads and the host of lesser academics could be fully interpreted through the colors on the gowns they would wear in the procession3 white signifying arts and letters1 scarlet theology1 purple for philosophy1 blue for science1 brown for music and so on through the list1 which ,garvin editorially advised each student to either cut out and have in his hand when the procession moved1 or1 better still1 to carefully memorize it4 ,the dignity of the impending1 classic1 stately event2 the sorting of gowns1 the whispers and queries concerning what world-famous shoulders were to receive the highest degrees3 all this sobered the students and stimulated imaginations1 days before the actual event transpired4 ,to me it promised to be the opportunity to see1 face to face1 the men of culture and administrative power whose names were familiar in the far corners of the country3 men who not only figured as authors1 administrators1 lecturers1 scientists1 travelers1 and moral leaders1 but1 among them1 potential ,presidents of the nation1 honored citizens of public reputation1 men whose names were already merged with civic movements1 patriotic events1 and national political advances4 ,it meant that history1 successful ambition1 leadership1 and moral fibre were to be personified for me in their highest types4 ,the morning of the inauguration brought with it a great excitement4 ,the ,seniors were to wear gowns that morning for the first time4 ,on leaving the house1 after breakfast1 and taking my position near the ,senior ,fence1 to wait for the formation of the line1 a sunburst of silken scarlet gown dazzled my eyes1 as a sedate man of sixty1 with a white beard1 hurried along the path1 his head topped by a black velvet bonnet4 ,he was followed by others1 in the silken glares of ,oxford and ,cambridge1 and a continual procession of black-draped figures whose multi-colored hoods were like lurid gashes cut in the mourning by a deftly wielded blade4 ,by nine o'clock the campus was astir with visitors1 faculty1 alumni1 undergraduates1 the band and the sight-seers4 ,ellis marshalled us into a double line1 so that to the beholder1 in our black gowns and black caps1 we resembled a very mournful1 if dignified1 procession of upright ravens4 ,then the band blared forth a martial thunderclap which pulled our feet into time4 ,slowly1 led by the musicians1 we filed on our way around the outer edge of the campus1 dragging after us the faculty and distinguished visitors whose chief distinction in the procession lay in their inability or unwillingness to keep to the step we fixed4 ,our two hundred and odd pairs of hands swished against the sides of our flapping gowns in rhythmic evenness4 ,not even the precision of a ,black ,watch drill could have been finer rendered than was our ,senior march4 ,the heads and bodies swept from side to side like the orderly attack of a straight1 long wave beating backwards and forwards against a cliff4 ,then1 at ,assembly ,hall1 our double line divided and we stood with heads uncovered3 a lane of honor1 while the recipients of honors1 the visiting presidents1 the faculty and the alumni threaded their way between our lines into the hall4 ,deeper and deeper into formalism we plunged3 all the traditions of scholarship were called up3 all the esthetic possibilities of academic show and etiquette passed in review before us1 cap tipping1 hood placing1 and the summing up of the achievements of a lifetime in two sentences as an honorary degree was bestowed4 ,the trappings and medievalism of scholarship added a new dignity to the college atmosphere4 ,the very air we breathed was musty with the scholar's tradition4 ,the only modernness in the event came in the moments of hand-clapping1 as addresses1 investiture and degrees followed one another4 ,the undergraduate chorus1 massed in the rear of the enormous carpeted platform1 added to the impressive solemnity of the exercises by its sonorous harmonies4 ,then came the event of the occasion1 and ,ellis1 knight of valor and skill on the football field1 was the central figure in the event4 ,he had been assigned the address representing the undergraduates4 ,he stalked his way to the platform and stood before us1 backed by the massed greatness of ,america's university world4 ,but he paid no heed to that1 as he had not been wont to pay much heed to the thousands of on-lookers who admired his skill in the games4 ,he took fire1 and was the first to disturb the quiet soberness of the program by putting vivid gesture and loud1 vibrant voice into play4 ,the effect on the visitors and the undergraduates was electrical4 ,each one bent forward as1 in no stately rhetoric or formal phrase1 ,ellis opened his heart which1 at the moment1 comprehended the loyalty of all the student body4 ,as he concluded1 the students stood in a mass1 and after the prolonged applause--the finest applause of the event--our cheer-leader dragged a husky1 but thrilling college cheer from our throats1 while ,ellis modestly found his place in our midst4 ,as we filed out into the light of the noon sun1 and could easily discover the towering1 broad shoulders of ,ellis1 our leader1 at the head of the line1 ,i thought of the honor he had brought to the college in his four years' presence in it1 and saw in him the union of all that is best in ,american college life and those qualities which the college aims to invest in every willing student's life3 loyalty to one's fellows1 physical fitness1 moral alertness1 humility in success1 and a respect for the law that governs men and nations4 ,chapter ,,xxxix4 ,the ,lost ,parrot4 ,academic ,burlesque4 ,the ,nervousness of the ,final ,minute4 ,a ,religious ,outcropping in a ,non-,pious ,heart ,since the establishment of my family in the college precincts1 ,i had seen very little1 in a social way1 of my old friend ,sanderson4 ,i determined to pay him a visit one evening1 and took with me a glass of grape jelly and some hermit cookies1 as a remembrance from my wife4 ,i found him before a heap of blue papers on which were lead pencil scribbles4 ,a look of anxiety was on his face4 ,when he saw me1 however1 he smiled his pleasure1 went over to the hat rack and put on his fez4 8,how are you getting along1 ,sanderson80 ,i asked4 8,say10 he pleaded1 8you couldn't just run over these reports of mine on your typewriter1 could you1 ,priddy4 ,i'm back about a dozen1 and must have them in to get passing marks4 ,it would be such a help60 8,unfortunately1 what with sermons1 two prize essays on which ,i am working1 and my own studies1 ,sanderson1 ,i haven't a spare minute60 8,then ,i'll have to root out some freshman and give him the job1 though a freshman's so uninformed6 ,why1 ,i asked one of 'em to just scribble a two-page description of ,jane ,austen's #8,pride and ,prejudice' and it took the idiot most a week to do it1 and ,i don't think it can be hard reading1 from what the ,prof4 said about it4 ,now if ,i'd had time1 ,i could have read it in a night60 8,same old ,sanderson10 ,i muttered4 8,i don't know how you'd get through without help60 8,well10 he retorted1 8since you brought your wife and boy to town1 you've done mighty little for me1 eh80 8,oh1 you'll take care of yourself10 ,i replied4 8,well10 he winked1 8,i have been lucky1 lately4 ,jimmy's stuck by me60 8,who's your latest benefactor1 #8,jimmy8'0 ,i enquired4 8,he's a medic4 who rooms across the campus4 ,the nicest man you ever met3 patient--oh1 so patient1 and motherly--oh1 so motherly60 8,motherly80 8,yes1 can sew patches on1 and buttons1 like a real endowed maiden aunt1 and when ,i'm out of sorts he reads to me1 and when ,i prick my thumb he brings over a medicine case and drops peroxide on4 ,i sprained my wrist at hand-ball1 and ,jimmy soaked and painted it with stuff1 and made a firm leather brace for it4 ,oh1 you wait till he blows in on the medical profession1 he'll fit in it as no man1 before him1 ever fitted in it4 ,he looks after me like a regular private physician1 if ,i'll only let him come in and study with me4 ,you see1 his own room's always so full that he wants to get away40 ,sanderson smiled significantly at me4 8,filled with a lot more soft-soapers like you1 eh80 ,i laughed4 8,well1 willing good-nature like ,jimmy's is liable to be imposed on10 he agreed4 8,he comes to my room for protection4 ,i tell you1 my lessons have picked up wonderfully since he came40 8,will he be in tonight80 ,i asked4 8,he sure will60 said ,sanderson4 8,if he doesn't ,i don't know how ,i'll get along with my biology quiz in the morning4 ,i was saving it for him60 8,you fraud6 ,he has his own work to do60 8,don't scold1 please10 replied ,sanderson4 8,he gets through his work all right4 ,he'd starve if he couldn't be a benefactor to somebody4 ,he will come in tonight4 ,we'll have a few minutes' chat4 ,then he'll ask me about the quiz and he'll let go at me for an hour or so4 ,then we'll have another chat and it will be my bedtime1 for ,i never plan to be out of bed after half-past ten except on exceptional occasions4 ,i'll leave my bedroom door open while ,i get ready4 ,jimmy'll talk to me until ,i let out a snore1--,i'll tell him to be sure and snap the lock after he leaves4 ,perhaps an hour later he'll creep out1 and go to his own room4 ,oh1 ,i swear by ,jimmy60 8,and get your marks by him1 too1 eh80 8,what's a fellow to do80 asked ,sanderson4 ,as ,i turned to go1 ,sanderson yawned1 8,say1 ,priddy1 could you run in with that print on ,holbein's #8,saint ,barbara8' ,i failed to get it1 and we have to recite on it1 in the morning4 ,you might bring me the dope on it1 too60 ,i entered at last upon the final stretch towards my degree4 ,in the stress of work and the excitement of writing a philosophical and a literary essay1 in competition for two senior prizes1 the days of winter changed into the brighter aspects of spring almost before ,i was aware of it4 ,once more we assembled on the campus for the class 8sing10 and this time my wife could enjoy the music with me1 as we stood on the corner and let our year-old boy ask1 8,what80 when the cheers began4 ,the class elections were held1 the photograph of the class was taken1 backgrounded against a most rustic wall of stone and arrangement of wild shrubbery4 ,our caps and gowns soon followed the class pictures1 and then we wore them to chapel1 in which we marched so slowly and solemnly under the guide of our marshal1 that more than one irrepressible spirit in the ranks would burst out with laughter at so much dignity in so youthful a crowd4 ,through these days ,i often grew impatient4 ,i was eager1 now1 with restored health1 and with a richer mine of truth1 to be in a parish again1 doing my chosen work4 ,but when commencement week arrived with its sentimental spirit1--then ,i felt the full significance of this last educational experience4 ,a band1 brought from the city1 gave concerts on the college club porch1 amid a forest of plants and shrubs1 and under fairylike illuminations4 ,class reunions brought crowds of graduates1 who donned yellow hats1 wore clownish clothes1 and paraded up and down seeing how much burlesque they could express4 ,one class engaged an ,italian hand-organ artist who had also1 perched on his music-box1 an intelligent parrot which would pick out fortune slips from a box--for five cents4 ,in some way the class lost the parrot1 and ,i came across the ,italian boy1 crying bitterly1 as he searched a wild gully for the bird1 saying1 when ,i asked him what the trouble could be1 8,ah1 my parrote1 he los'1 my ,god1 what ,i do for live now60 ,meanwhile the renters of the organ sat in an automobile and raced back and forth down the main street while it scattered its wheezy music along the trail of gasolene fumes4 ,on one corner1 a group of distinguished-looking men and women stood in the dry gutter1 with slips of paper in their hands1 singing with more or less effect1 and great seriousness1 8,oh1 the class of ',eighty odd1 ,it is a glorious band1 ,it scatters wisdom1 grace and power1 ,throughout this mighty land60 ,over on the opposite side of the campus a crowd of lawyers1 bankers1 ministers1 and business men1 who would shock their neighbors at home if they had a shoe-lace untied1 paraded in purple wrappers and sun-bonnets topped with paper roses4 ,then the morning of graduation arrived4 ,the mock wrappings were put aside by the visitors1 who appeared in frock coats and sedate manners4 ,by nine o'clock ,i joined my classmates at the fence and found my place in the line4 ,meanwhile crowds of people in holiday dress thronged the campus once again1 members of the faculty with gowns fluttering in the wind1 and with scarlet1 purple1 yellow1 and white hoods1 gathered at the administration building4 ,as at the ,inauguration the band once more took its place at our head1 struck up its vibrant tune1 and then at the dropping of the marshal's baton we took the step and marched around the campus1 a black1 rhythmical procession of academics4 ,the gay-hooded1 but sedate faculty followed1 to march through the double line of honor we formed at the entrance to the hall4 ,then we entered and stood at our seats until the marshal's baton gave us the signal to be seated4 ,the deep platform before us was ranged with the faculty1 the trustees1 the recipients of honorary degrees1 and the musicians1 including a robed choir of students and the musical director4 ,but my eyes fell on the table at the head of the centre aisle on which lay a thick1 flat heap of sheepskins2 mine among them4 ,nervously ,i picked up the program1 and1 as ,i looked it through1 to see the catalogue of my academic career1 it told to all who searched it through that ,albert ,priddy graduated cum laude1 and that he had won four first prizes3 two in his junior year and two in his senior year3 two essays1 a story1 and a research in philosophy4 ,the addresses1 the salutatory1 valedictory1 and the greeting by the faculty were given4 ,the choir sang an impressive anthem4 ,the honorary degrees were conferred with great solemnity4 ,the classmate next to me said3 8,priddy1 my heart is beating so fast that if we don't get our degrees soon1 it will burst4 ,just think if anything should prevent our getting them--now60 8,don't mention it10 ,i suggested1 in nervous agitation1 8please40 ,finally1 however1 the dean came down from the platform and we stood4 ,then we began a very slow walk around the side aisles1 down past the platform to pass before the dean and receive our degrees4 ,slowly1 ever too slowly1 ,i drew near1 and then1 a whispered 8,priddy0 from the ,dean and the sheepskin was in my hand4 ,immediately ,i changed the position of the tassel of my cap for ,i had1 that moment1 officially shifted myself from the undergraduate rle of the college and entered the long1 historic ranks of the alumni4 ,when ,i got back to my seat1 my neighbor1 who had expressed the fear that something would occur1 whispered with relief3 8,i'm not a religious fellow1 ,priddy1 but ,i do feel like singing the doxology1 now that ,i've got this60 ,he pointed to his diploma4 ,chapter ,,xl4 ,in which the ,account ,comes to a ,conclusion in the ,life of a ,relative4 ,martin ,quotes ,spanish and ,has the ,last ,word4 ,after we had been established in a parish for some time1 ,i suggested to my wife that probably the best ,christmas present ,i could give my ,uncle ,stanwood and ,aunt ,millie would be to make them a personal visit after all my years of absence and recite to them all the facts of my education1 my marriage1 and describe to them the two interesting members of my family4 ,so ,i arrived at ,uncle ,stanwood's house the week before ,christmas with the intention of spending a week with him4 ,i had been asked to preach the ,christmas sermon by ,mr4 ,woodward1 the minister1 who had started me off to the seminary4 ,my uncle was still living in a mill tenement4 8,so you've got an education after all60 he commented1 putting a loving hand on my shoulder4 8,education has made a difference in you altogether4 ,you are much different4 ,sit down and tell me all about it40 ,as for my ,aunt ,millie1 she said1 8,what did you marry an ,american for8 ,can she cook80 ,just then the door opened and in slouched the tallest man ,i ever saw2 slouched past us without a word and threw himself moodily into a chair at the end of the supper table4 ,his face had been carved--roughly carved--out of mahogany2 it was gaunt1 sun-beaten and lined with fret marks4 ,he laid big1 scarred hands on his plate4 ,his shoulders drooped and yet were massive in strength4 ,his eyes were like distant lights well back under the shadow of his bulging brows4 ,a look of disgust seemed to have lingered on his thin1 curled lips since his birth4 ,he was my cousin ,martin who had arrived from ,england two years before4 ,when he rose up to reach out one of his great hands to me1 there was a curious1 unaccountable antagonism in his tone when he said1 8,oh1 this's him1 eh8 ,he's the lucky dog1 is he80 ,during the recital of my educational experiences which followed1 ,i noticed that my most interested listener was ,martin4 ,when ,i came to those parts which had to do with self-support1 he was alert in every muscle4 ,his eyes blazed at me1 devouring every word that ,i said4 ,when aunt and uncle left us alone1 ,martin said3 8,priddy1 do you think the world's treated me--oh1 right1 just right80 8,what do you mean1 ,martin80 ,i asked4 8,you've got fight in your tone4 ,what's wrong80 8,did you never ask that1 too80 he retorted1 hotly4 8,did you ever kick against the goad8 ,i think you did1 once4 ,don't forget it1 ,priddy1 ever6 ,you're not the only chap that ever wanted to get ahead1 don't lose sight of that4 ,if it comes to matching ambition1 ,i've got enough and to spare4 ,here you are1 not much over twenty1 ,i take it1 yet you've got polished by seven years of schooling4 ,seven years of it6 ,have you any more right to it than me8 ,here ,i am nearly thirty and what am ,i8 ,blest if ,i'm anything but a hod carrier6 ,what have ,i ever been1 ,priddy8 ,did ,i ever have a chance8 ,i went into the mill at eight and have been there till this winter set in4 ,god knows it's little ,i know in the way of schooling6 ,i can write my name and read some2 but ,i got it myself4 ,you know what the mill can be to an ambitious chap4 ,you never felt it pressing down and stifling you more than ,i did4 ,i tell you that40 ,he actually spit on his hands and rubbed them1 as if on the verge of striking me4 8,the beginning of this winter ,i said ,i wouldn't stand it no longer1 and ,i won't6 ,no mill will get me again2 not if ,i have to starve4 ,i nearly have starved1 this winter1 trying to keep out4 ,i've peddled shoes1 run a baker's cart1 been janitor of a club-room and now ,i'm carrying bricks6 ,maybe you don't think it's hard6 ,i wish you had it to go through4 ,perhaps you have1 only your hands arn't spoiled like mine with the frost4 ,even my feet are lame1 this very minute1 through frost4 ,i'm earning a dollar seventy-five a day3 good pay1 but ,i shouldn't last more than a few years at it and then----4 ,besides1 ,i want to get married4 ,she's waiting4 ,i've just got fifty dollars in the bank4 ,do you wonder ,i feel so80 ,on ,christmas ,sunday a blackboard in front of the church announced that the 8,rev4 ,albert ,priddy1 formerly of this church1 will preach in the morning and evening4 ,everybody ,welcome60 ,my uncle took me aside1 in the morning1 and said3 8,i'm coming out to hear you1 ,al4 ,do your best1 lad4 ,i'll be with you4 ,god knows ,i don't deserve all this60 ,it was a very simply arranged church2 plain1 white-washed walls1 and a cheaply carpeted platform4 ,while the first hymn was being sung1 my ,uncle ,stanwood crept into a rear pew and kept his eyes down4 ,but while ,i preached1 a half smile of pride stole into his face and to my excited imagination his head seemed to be nodding approval to all ,i said4 ,the look in his eyes seemed to be saying1 8,show them1 ,al60 ,i whispered to the minister1 8,let me pronounce the benediction and while we are singing the last hymn1 get down the aisle and meet my uncle4 ,he may get out before you4 ,he's timid40 ,but ,uncle ,stanwood crept out before the benediction and ,i did not see him again until my arrival home for dinner4 ,on arriving home1 ,i was startled by what ,aunt ,millie did4 ,she came up to me1 patted me lovingly on the head and said1 8,i'm glad you did so well1 ,al4 ,your uncle's been telling me all about it4 ,i'll go and hear you tonight1 too40 ,martin evidently was interested1 for in that belligerent tone of his1 though softened by a light laugh1 he said3 8,i suppose ,i'll have to go1 too1 seeing ,i'm his relation60 ,i left the house that evening somewhat early1 because ,i had to meet some friends4 ,martin was blacking his shoes2 ,aunt ,millie was troubling herself unduly over what she should wear3 a superfluous question1 as she had but one ,sunday dress and hat4 ,on my way to church that night1 ,i could not help feeling that ,i must have misunderstood my aunt4 ,i chided myself for not having read her aright4 ,i began to realize that there was a deep under-current to her nature--perhaps one of love8 ,it was a thought like that that proved my best girding for the evening sermon4 ,i sat in the pulpit while the church filled2 for this evening service was always well attended4 ,the choir of mill boys and girls1 led by a patriarchal man whose face and hands were white as fuller's earth1 sang stirring anthems in which we saw the ,palestinian shepherds in mute adoration of the stable miracle4 ,the congregation sang1 with great unction1 another ,christmas theme4 ,martin's head towered at the rear2 but ,i could find no trace of ,aunt ,millie4 ,after the service1 and the greetings of old-time friends1 ,i looked about for ,martin and ,aunt ,millie4 ,i saw neither4 ,it was somewhat late when ,i arrived home4 ,aunt ,millie was waiting for me with a troubled face4 8,you managed to hide yourself pretty well60 ,i laughed4 ,she cried as she confessed3 8,i didn't go1 ,al4 ,i didn't hear you at all4 ,that's the plain truth60 8,why1 ,i thought ,i saw you getting ready when ,i left10 ,i said4 8,yes1 ,i was2 but ,i didn't hear you preach4 ,i couldn't60 8,oh10 ,i laughed1 8you couldn't8 ,what was the matter80 8,i started out2 but on the way ,i lost heart4 ,i was afraid that ,i might cry out in church1 with you preaching1 lad4 ,besides1 ,i'm not a dissenter4 ,i was passing the ,episcopal church and went in there1 instead4 ,i felt more at home4 ,you can understand1 can't you1 lad80 ,then she asked me to sit on the sofa and tell her everything ,i had spoken of in my sermon2 not to miss a point1 but to give it all4 ,she gave my points commendation1 remarking every now and then while her eyes brimmed with tears1 8,it must have done them good1 that60 ,uncle sat at the lower end of the room1 saying not a word2 but listening1 carefully4 ,in the midst of my report the front door opened1 and ,martin1 taking long1 determined strides1 hurried through the room without looking at any of us1 closed the kitchen door with a bang1 and left us looking into each other's faces in bewilderment4 8,maybe he's mad at something you said1 ,al4 ,you didn't chance to look his way and talk of #8coming to ,god1' did you80 ,i solemnly averred that ,i had not been so evangelical as that4 ,my aunt hurried into the kitchen where she lingered for a few moments4 ,on her return she said3 8,it's all right1 ,al4 ,there's nothing wrong4 ,he's just impressed by hearing you preach1 that's all4 ,he said to me1 #8,if education can do that1 for a fellow1 ,i want some of it6'0 ,the next morning a heavy snow was falling4 ,martin would have no work4 ,after breakfast he asked me if ,i would go into the parlor and have a talk1 he wanted to ask me something4 ,i readily agreed4 ,the former antagonism had gone from his voice as he began to speak4 ,his words came quietly1 curiously1 like a child's4 8,priddy1 what can a chap learn to be in college80 8,what do you mean8 ,what does a college fit men for80 ,i asked4 ,martin nodded soberly1 his eyes fixed on mine4 ,i laughed1 8,oh1 college will train you for almost any profession2 that is1 the professional schools will4 ,you can study to be a doctor1 a lawyer1 a forester1 a teacher--oh1 anything you think of60 8,what do you think's the best kind of a thing for a chap to be80 8,why10 ,i replied1 in embarrassment1 8that depends upon the fellow1 you know40 8,well10 said ,martin1 8what kind of a profession would you advise a chap like me to take1 for instance80 ,i smiled1 knowing what all this fencing meant4 8,forestry is a good profession1 just now10 ,i advised4 8,it's a new branch to the government and brings in good money4 ,i am sure you would like to be a forester40 8,what's his work1 especially80 came the question4 ,i explained1 as best ,i knew1 the different functions of a trained forester1 emphasizing1 8,mind you1 ,martin1 he's paid for what he knows and not what he does with his hands4 ,he doesn't have to chop down trees and all that sort of stuff2 but he knows all about saving the forests1 improving them1 doctoring them40 8,how long does it take a man to learn that trade80 was the next question4 8,about seven years1 including college and professional school40 8,it would take a fellow like me that long80 8,oh10 ,i admitted1 reluctantly1 for ,i felt that this would put a stop to any ambition that he had1 8of course you are not ready for college4 ,that would mean at least three years more60 ,martin mused1 8,seven and three--ten4 ,i'm twenty-eight years old4 ,that would bring it up to thirty-eight40 8,yes10 ,i assented1 8but you must remember that there are a good many working years left1 after that60 8,i'm not thinking about myself2 it's ,nora4 ,we planned to get married by spring4 ,of course ,i should put it off4 ,i wonder if you'd help me80 8,help you--how--what80 8,help me to explain to ,nora2 so she'll wait--wait probably that long60 8,you can count on me to help you in anything1 ,martin40 8,when she knows it's for her betterment1 maybe she'll be willing10 interjected ,martin1 as if in argument with himself4 ,i nodded1 vigorously4 8,anyway10 he said with that belligerent tone of his1 8she'll have to be60 ,under the inspiration of this conversation1 ,i pulled ,martin out of the house and took him to the public library1 where we asked for a bundle of preparatory school and college catalogues4 ,these we whispered over and patiently studied until noon4 ,we found that1 by unusual labor1 it would be possible for ,martin to get his preparation1 his college degree1 and his professional training within nine years6 ,as a further proof of our optimism1 we decided that ,martin should enter ,yale when he was fitted6 ,we found from the catalogue of the preparatory school that ,martin had decided upon1 that the term opened within two days4 ,when ,i advised ,martin to write a letter to the principal and await a reply1 he stormed at me3 8,and probably it would be a week before ,i heard from him4 ,that would put me behind the classes--and you would be gone1 too4 ,if they aren't overcrowded1 why1 ,i'll not wait to write2 but just take my fifty dollars and go4 ,they can only say no40 ,his decision made1 ,martin began to show me what a decided nature he possessed4 ,he drew the fifty dollars out of the bank4 ,he bought some necessary clothes out of the money4 ,the next day he gave notice to the contractor that he would carry bricks no more4 ,then he outlined his scheme to uncle and aunt4 ,my ,aunt ,millie stormed4 8,this education business is getting on my nerves4 ,first it's one and then another of you40 ,turning on me she said1 8,nice way of treating us3 coming to take a good paying boarder from us--and we need the money so1 too60 ,but ,martin interjected1 8,look here1 ,i did it all myself4 ,blame me for it60 ,but my aunt would not be consoled4 8,and ,i'd been planning so for the wedding1 too60 she exclaimed4 ,as ,i chanced to be going on a trip to the ,seminary at the time1 ,i told ,martin that ,i could be his companion as far as he had to go4 8,but you've got to go to the ,north ,end with me and help me explain matters to ,nora4 ,you've got a smoother tongue than ,i have and she'll listen to you40 ,so ,martin and ,i started out on our dismal mission4 ,nora lived on the top floor in one of the tenements4 ,she was a stout1 fair-faced woman of twenty-seven with a way of casting her head sidewise when she spoke to me1 as if she had trouble with her sight4 ,she stood gazing at us1 at that unexpected hour1 from behind the ironing-board4 ,the odor of burning cloth reached my nostrils1 as she stood wondering4 ,she had burnt the shirtwaist and no amount of frantic rubbing with soap could take the scar out4 ,she dismissed us to the parlor while she put on a more presentable dress4 ,martin said not a word to me2 but he pointed dumbly to his photograph in a place of honor on the mantel4 ,nora came into the room exclaiming3 8,why1 ,martin1 didn't you let me know8 ,what's the matter80 ,martin started to speak2 but could not4 ,he nodded to me4 ,carefully1 painfully1 hesitantly1 ,i outlined ,martin's ambition to ,nora4 ,more than that ,i explained the reasonableness of it1 the prime importance of it to their later fortunes4 ,i tried to paint in glowing terms the high station to which ,nora1 through ,martin1 might be exalted4 ,i leaped from point to point with enthusiastic eloquence1 when the theme had mastered me4 ,but when ,i had concluded1 and was looking eagerly into the young woman's face for a favorable sign1 she gasped1 then in a cold voice she said3 8,oh1 yes1 it's all right for him2 but don't ,i know that if he goes to college he'll meet other girls1 better looking1 better dressed1 better educated than ,i am1 or can ever hope to be4 ,suppose ,i don't break off this engagement now1 how am ,i to know that he'll not forget me1 throw me over4 ,have you thought of that in all your plans80 8,martin's a man of his word1 ,i suppose10 ,i protested4 8,you'd find me true1 ,nora10 declared ,martin4 8,how long do you want me to wait80 demanded the girl4 8,only about seven or eight years or so60 haltingly explained ,martin4 ,nora leaped to her feet and stamped the floor1 angrily1 imperatively4 8,you'd keep me waiting seven or eight years2 waiting that long for you1 with all the risk6 ,not me6 ,not for a thousand ,martins60 ,that was her answer4 ,we left her without more words4 ,we left her watching us1 crying4 ,martin commented1 when we were outside3 8,now1 if she'd only had more faith in me and made me feel certain of victory1 maybe ,i'd given the whole thing up2 but now--we'll go tomorrow1 sure60 ,the following evening we sat in the ,north ,station in ,boston1 awaiting the train that would carry us on an all-night journey4 ,every nerve ,martin possessed quivered with pessimism4 ,he scolded1 chided1 lodged complaints at everything and everybody4 ,he tried to give me the impression that ,i had made a prisoner of him2 that he no longer had any initiative of his own4 ,as we sat in the waiting room he held humorous monologues the purport of each one being1 8,what a fool ,i am1 at my age1 to be running out among a lot of kids to get ready for college4 ,what a fool60 ,during that hour's wait1 he had resolved four times to expend that fifty dollars in a ticket to the orange groves of ,california4 ,finally1 when he had been brooding in silence for some moments1 with a quick action he pulled out his pocket book1 handed it to me and said1 savagely1 8,here1 take this and keep it safe4 ,no matter how ,i beg or what ,i say1 don't let me have it4 ,to make things sure1 you'd better run and get me my ticket to the school2 then ,i'll be sure and not turn back60 ,as our train started from the station it plunged into a heavy1 blinding snow-storm that had been raging throughout the entire day4 ,once in our seats1 ,martin recommenced his tirades against this 8foolishness40 ,but there were propitious signs near at hand1 for his encouragement4 ,a man was coming down the aisle looking for a seat in whom ,i recognized a ,seminary comrade of mine4 ,he was a stubby fellow of middle age1 with an ill-kept1 drooping moustache4 8,say1 ,harlan1 old fellow10 ,i greeted1 8stop right here and meet my cousin40 ,when he was seated1 ,i talked with him1 and1 for ,martin's benefit1 to whom ,i slyly winked as ,i talked1 brought out the fact that ,harlan had been much older than my cousin when he had started out for an education4 ,nay1 he had been handicapped with a wife and a child6 ,now he enjoyed the dignity of the ministerial profession4 ,the moral was evident to ,martin4 ,he braced up and became very agreeable1 especially to my old friend ,harlan4 ,we talked in low tones until three o'clock in the morning1 at which time the brakeman called out the station where ,i should leave ,martin to his fortunes4 ,the poor fellow seemed on the verge of tears as he gripped his suit-case and followed me to the door as the train slacked up its speed4 ,i looked off from the platform4 ,the storm had not abated4 ,i could see only a great snowdrift where the station platform should have been4 ,a street light flickered weakly out on the street4 ,as ,martin dropped up to his knees in the snowdrift and reached for his suit-case ,i whispered3 8,find a hotel1 and let me hear from you1 old fellow4 ,keep up your courage4 ,if there's anything ,i can do1 call on me60 ,harlan waved his hand and called1 8,never too late to mend60 an aphorism which might have been pertinent to the occasion1 and then the brakeman's lantern swung4 ,as the train lumbered through the drifts1 ,i saw ,martin bend his head to the storm1 lift his suit-case above the drifts1 and go plodding towards the street light4 ,the station was deserted1 and ,i hoped that my cousin would find some one to direct him before the storm discouraged him4 ,a few months later1 ,i stopped off at the town where ,i had left my cousin4 ,he met me at the train1 the same serious man ,i had left1 though with a trace of a smile on his face and more of content in his speech than before4 ,he guided me past a grocery store and said3 8,i get up at four in the morning1 do my studying1 then before classes ,i go out and take orders for that firm40 ,he led me down a placid street1 through the shovelled paths of snow1 and after opening the front door led me into a well-warmed and very nicely furnished chamber4 8,i do their chores and earn the rent for this room10 he announced1 with a grim smile4 8,furnace to look after1 paths to shovel1 and baby to keep happy1 if it wakens when they want to go to an entertainment40 ,at supper time he led me into the heart of the town into an eating-house4 ,he had a meal ticket punched by the waitress4 8,this ticket costs three dollars10 he said1 8enough to last a week at three meals a day4 ,i make it last three weeks by scrimping and having a bottle of milk a day in my room40 8,how do you like the school80 ,i asked1 pleased with these evidences of his thrift4 8,well10 he mused1 8they are a lot of kids1 to be sure1 and ,i'm quite a freak among them4 #8,grandad' ,martin they call me4 ,i suppose they've never had so old a man in their classes before4 ,anyhow1 that's the way you would argue from their looks and talk4 ,but it doesn't bother me--much4 ,i guess we'll all get used to it1 by and by40 8,how is ,nora getting along80 ,i ventured to enquire4 8,married60 he snarled1 and talked no more about that4 8,what do you think about this opportunity1 ,martin80 8,wouldn't have missed it for fifty weddings60 he declared4 ,throughout the year ,i received word from him1 couched in various tempers of letters4 ,sometimes he was about to throw the whole ambition over1 because as he wrote1 his mind was not as fresh as it might be4 ,then he would write that the boys wanted him to become a member of the basket-ball team1 but he had refused1 because1 he argued1 so old a man1 and so tall a one1 would not do in playing against sixteen and eighteen-year-olds6 ,in spring1 he had trouble with his ,french4 ,then a complication of physical troubles cropped out1 as if to test his patience4 ,finally1 after being confined to his bed by illness1 and having had to forego the final examinations1 he decided that he was too old to keep at it1 and that he had too many handicaps4 ,he went to the ,west1 thus keeping to his old intention1 and after he had secured the position as 8boss0 of a large gang of men1 on construction work1 a 8shirt-sleeved1 and white collar job0 as he termed it1 he wrote to me the following letter4 8,,my ,,dear ,,cousin3 8,don't feel at all that you did me a bad turn by having me go to that school for a year4 ,it was the most profitable investment ,i have ever made6 ,i find that out more and more each day4 ,it has released me1 perhaps forever1 from that miserable hand drudgery ,i always hated1 for in that single year's contact with polite speech1 with teachers1 and with the finer opportunities of life1 ,i was given more confidence in myself and my opportunities4 ,i am not afraid to approach educated people any more4 ,i hold my head up higher2 ,i feel myself more of a man4 ,i can even write at the end of my letter1 something impossible before1 #8,remunda de pasturaje hace becerros gordos1' which is a ,spanish proverb out here for1 #8,change of pasture makes fat calves6' ,god bless our schools60 ,,the ,,end ,,transcriber',s ,,notes3 ,italicized text is surrounded by underscores3 italics4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 ,inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized4 ,archaic or variant spelling has been retained4