Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-07-21
Correspondence.
From our special correspondent. !
Letter from Saratoga.
SARATOGA. New York.


topmost seats of the grand stand, (there are
seven seats below me,) between the green
colors of Dartmouth and the blue coors of
Yale, and where l can have splendid view
of the race from the beginning to the close,
your correspondent looks around upon the
situation. 1t is an hour, since spoke the
thunder voice of the cannon from Snake
Hill, and the boats have not started. The
sun shines brightly down, but the lake is
somewhat rough, and that is probably one
cause of the delay. The grand stand is full
of people, and they begin TO congregate
thickly in front of the seats, to the edge Of
the beach. AT intervals from the topmost
seat of the grand stand float the flags of the
various colleges, On the extreme right
floats the royal purple flag Of Williams Col
lege, and on the extreme left tlutters the
garnet colors of Union. And between these
two ranged from right to left in the follow
ing order, futter the red and white colors of
Cornell, the purple and white of Amherst,
the white flag of Bowdoin, the brown flag
of Brown, the white and blue of Columbia,
the lavendar of Wesleyan, the Orange colors
of Princeton, the dark green of Dartmouth,
and the dark blue of Yale, the rose colors OF
Hamilton, and the crimson flag of Harvard.
Trinity college is not represented at the re-
gatta this season, One of her boats crew
was accidentally drowned on the 2Sth of
May, and her colors of white and green, are
yelled by the dark Grape of mourning.
Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton,
Bowdoin, Williams, and their sister collie
ges; we repeat the names, and the very air
we breathe seems full of the power of intel
lect and of mental culture.
Bright stars of talent of the first magni-
tude, cultivated and polished to the highest
degree of perfection, and sons of genius,
with their burning fires and brilliant lights
seem to be shining on every side.
Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton,
Amherst, Columbia, and their sister colleges
we repeat the names once more, and Ed
wards and Webster, and Everett and Sum-
ner, and scores and hundreds of others of
the great and renowned in the past, seem to
come forth from the shadowy land and pass,
in review before our vision. Whilst here to-
day seated on the grand stand, on the right
hand and on the left, are scores on scores of
the living graduates of those grand institu-
tions of learning, many of them occupying
the highest seats of power and influence in
the land. Whilst hundreds of students in
the morning brightness of young manhood,
the flower and pride of our country's sons,
are scattered all through the crowd, which
can be numbered by thousands on thousands.
But they shout, they are coming! and the
rush of the people on the ground in front of
the seats, to the edge of the beach, scatters
the musings and reflections of your cores
pondent to the winds. Looking down the
lake, the far flash of distant oar blades, tells
us that the rival boat crews indeed are COM
ing.
Like huge birds with long wings brushing
aside the watery element, on, on they come.
The boys Of the different colleges on the
ground, hurra in each others faces for their
coming crews, and try to shout each other
down.
What excitement What anxiety and in
terest are displayed on all sides
Old men are as nervous as young school
girl the first time that she attempts to read
Or speak in public. Perhaps some of them
have got "pile" bet on the result.
But the fast propelled boats are rapidly
drawing near. So near that the colors of
each are readily distinguished. On the
right of the swiftly moving line, Harvard is
CALAMITY leading. One boats length, yes,
two are between her and her nearest rivals.
How the "rah, rah, rah" of Harvard rings
out, as the Harvard boys on the ground with
their crimson badges on their hats, pour like
torrent down the walk in front of the
stand to be in at the finish.
But the tide of interest is suddenly turned
from the right, to the left of the on rushing
line, where the Cornell boat is coming down
with the sweep of tempest. How the
long narrow boat strides over the water as
if each man within it had the strength of a
hercules. With what magnificent, yes,
magnificent sweep, they pass the grand
stand, and like an arrow in headlong flight
shoot across the line: then they coolly lay
back upon their oars and watch the coming
in of their rivals in the race. To say that
the excitement is tremendous over the re-.
suit, and the enthusiasm unbounded, is say
ing simply the truth. That the youngest
college in the land should carry off the hon.
ors and prizes in the freshmen race Of yes
terday, and in the university race of to-day,
wholly unlocked for, and totally unexpect-
ed and therefore the surprise and wonder
at the result are all the greater. All the
afternoon, or what was left of it after the
return to town, (the lake is four miles dis
tant, the college boys have been having a
jubilee. Here and there, up and down the
streets they have marched, cheering the
champion crews, carrying them on their
shoulders, cheering the hotels, cheering
each other, making short speeches, singing
whistling, and giving way to all the hilari-
Gus abandon for which college boys (when
they boil over are so distinguished. The
tramping, marching, whistling, cheering,
singing, the ''rah, rah, rah," and the "ugh,
ugh, ugh" was heard from the middle of
the afternoon until long after nightfall
| And in closing, would say, hurrah for the