The Portland daily press., 1868-01-17

COLLEGE MANNERs.-"Plantat manners"
used to be considered the perfection of lawless
insoence, and the students in most of our
the old style of department. The Springfield
Republican gives the following account Of
some late proceedings at the Massachusetts
Agricultural College at Amherst, which hard
ly find parallel in anything short of New
York prize fight. The Republican says:
On Friday evening" the 10th, three boys of
Amherst village made a most dastardly attack,
in the Agricultural College dormitory, upon
Clarence T.. Brown, both member and iani-
tor of the institution. 1t appears that Cook,
one of the village boys was a member of the
college for about three weeks. W hen he was re-
moved by the faculty for general inefficiency
For an uniounded reason Cook suspected
Brown had reported him to the president and
on this account, when under the influence of
liquor, had made severe threats against Brown
The object of the attack was certainly to
frighten Brown, if not horsewhip him, as two
rawhdes were found in the debris after the
unsuccessful attack. The plan was to induce
Brown to open his door, when the whole par
ty were to rush in and administer the punish
ment. To this end the whole party quietly
went up the stairs and one of them knocked
at Browns door under pretenec of finding
some individual i'll the building. Brown was
in bed and refused admission to the outside
party. Very soon he overheard whispering
outside, and then suspected aparty of drunken
rowdies. They then went into rear rOOm
and gaining access to his bedroom yentilator
broke all the glass, but left it when they were
unable to open it. After this they again kick
ed and knocked at the door, but he again re-
fused them admission aud ordered them TO
leave. Then, by skeleton key, his own was
forced inside, and the door thrown open. At
this Brown stepped to the door and threw at
the crowd (who We're disguised in old clothes,
moustaches and cork blackin2) stove wrench
or handle, and closed the door on them, when
the whole party were driven into an adjoining
room. This action only increased their attack,
as they now felt sure he had no pistol, which
they feared before. The door was now kicked
open again and broken, when Brown threw
his stove poker at the party and stepped out
OF his door to disperse the crowd, at which he
was struck and seized by three ON one side of
him, and one on another, who soon brought
him to the floor at the bottom of the pile The
only other weapon he had was a small cabi-
net-makeI's chisel, one-quarter of an inch
wide, with which he slashed with n nervous
violence, right and left, until he had stabbed
Rowland four times, Hall three times, Cook
once, Deadly once, and Graves once. This
dispersed the party the second time, and as
from where he was stabbed, he slipped and
brought his head to the floor with such vio-
lence that he has been in an unconscious
state nearly all the time since, and now lies in
a critical condition. The other parties are all
doing well.
Young Brown is a student of excellent char
acter, and no blame is attached to him for his
conduct in this affair by President Clarke or
any of the citizens of Amherst.