Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-11-18
THOSE BAD HARVARD BOYS
And How They Assisted the
Leader of an Orchestra.
TALK OF A CAMBRIDGE EXODUS
Dancing Coming Into Fashion Again
The RolIIcking Racket and
All that that Implies.
CULTIVATING THE SOCIAL ART


BosToN, Nov. S.-Tne election is over
and Boston coDgratu!ates herself that it is
SO, though the torch-light parades and
other political demonstrations have been
peaceful, well-behaved q fairs this year
and not accompanied by ''wows and
wiots and wumpusses" like those Of some
of our dear neighbors, the towns and
cities round about. But though we have
been fres from political trouble, there is
an unquiet element among US, or rather so
near rs to be practically of us. The
Harvard boys have tired of the serenity of
good behavior and have resolved to have
some fun" As consequence, many of
the unoffending townspeople and shop
people of Cambridge are making up their
minds to move out of town.
Last Tuesday evening some 60 of these
seekers after the knowledge which is dis
pensed within Harvard's classical shades,
went to the Boston Theatre. 1t was the
opening night of "voysgers in Southern
Seas" the play which made such an i'm
mense success in Paris last season under
the title "The Children of Captain Grant"
and which by the way, is in for long run
at the Boston, being asplendidly gotten up
affair.
The Harvard boys filled the front three
rows of the parquette, and as soon as the
orchestra struck up, Harvard struck up
too, by means of tinkling tea bell which
one of the party jingled in time with the
music. To the huge delight of the
students and the annoyance of everybody
else-and the great house was filled-this
tinkling accompaniment was kept up.
Every time that Conductor Lothian would
lift his baton, the bell ringer would lift his
bell, and then would jingle away right
lively. Finally the little, fat, good
natured Mr.. Lothian, who is quite an
autocrat in his way, could stand it no
longer and turned about in his seat and
spoke to the young fellow in a half
threatening manner. But this produced
no effect at all, and he sent for police
man and the officer of the place came and
spoke to the student, but he couldn't tell
who the bell ringer was, for he was
surrounded by his comrades, who of
course wouldn't blsb. He peered round,
but could see no bell, and il was only
when he took himself off that the ringing
recommended. Lothian declared he
would shut up the shop, by ordering his
musicians to stop playing altogether If the
nuisance didn't cease, which it finally did,
after the students had sufficiently shown
their independence.
1t is said that this manifestation was
ono of personal spite against Mr.. Lothian
himself, who, in his capacity as master of
ceremonies at one of the big Saratoga
hotels last summer, refused to let any
gentleman enter the hail at the nightly
"hops" who had not on wedding gar
ment-otherwise dress coat, and as
many young fellows-''as good fellows as
there are in New York, or Massachusetts
either, said the young gentleman who was
telling me about the matter-had been in
the habit of running up to Saratoga for a
day or two, at any time, without baggage,
they were quite disgusted, and laid it up
against Lothian as grudge to De paid of
sometime.
After thus settling this little matter, the
students left the theatre-about half an
hour after midnight, at which time the
play ended-and marched through the
city Cambridgewards, in high elee and
musically inclined. They walked midnight
seepers all along their route with their
college songs; they took down shutters
and swapped signs and set up barbers
poles against thread-and-needles stores and
cut up other 'shines" after the fashion OF
the most approved legends of 'fun"
formerly indulged in by their brave
predecessors.
1t was only sometime last winter that a
lot OF Harvard seniors were arrested for an
assault on policeman, who tried to stop
their noise one night. The newspapers
were full of the affair for few days and
then 1t suddenly and mysteriously sank
out Of notice, as is usually the case and
nobody knew what the end OF the matter
was.
Perhaps the students who congregate
about the Hub-for, besides Harvard
there is Boston University, with its many
schools and colleges; Tufts College, four
or five miles out; the Institute of Tech
nology, ard many other schools and insti-
tutions that bring countless young men
into Bo5ton-appear at their best, when
they are pursuing that branch of their
education known as learning to dance.
IT it We're not for them, not all the
dancing schools (cf which the city boasts)
could find support
/ don't kaow rs to that this season,
however. For everybody is going back
to dancing-school. Everybody has to, if
he or she has the least idea of ever dancing
any more any where. most ex,rsordi.
nary change has taken place in this
''sociai art, as the professors of Terp-
sichoTe call it, within the last few months.
couple of years ago dancing was de-
cidedly out of fashion. Nothing but the
waltz was danced, or had been for half
dozen years, and everybody knew that and
could dance it more or less to perfection,
and was tired of it.
Its the same old thing; nobody goes
now" were the last opinions that | had
heard on the dancing subject until this
fall, when chance meeting with any
social friend" has brought an avalanche
of questions
Are you going to So-and-Sos parties
this season? What do you think of the
racket? Can you get the heel and toe
polka? Have you seen the Singing
Quadrille? !? and isn't the new Schottische
pretty ?"
For twelvemonth the waxed floor had
been q stranger to my feet, but curiosity
and the general, very Latural dislike to
being "behind the times" took me to
very familiar little private dancing school
the other evening, and there, to my sur
prise, found many old acquaintsnces,
who, like myself, found it quite necessary
to go back to rudimentary instruction.
The dancing masters and amateurs of
the art, who depend on it to bolster up a
very unsubstantial sort OF Society" have
indeed made q ten-strike, by inventine
something novel-introducicg a new sense-
tion.
The waltz itself is by no means what it
was two or three years ago; the graceful
glide" is ages out of date, and the pres
ent waltz is funny little jiegle of a
movement The figures in the old quad
rilles-even the "Lancers"-are changed.
The racket, or ''raquet" galop, is ''ali the
go" in more senses than one. The new
polka is the most complicated round dance
| ever saw, and the Schottische nearly as
bad. But they must be learned if one is
to be anybody, you know, and before thst
first evening was over-during which
came the novel experience of sitting still
because We didn't know how to danee-we
had joined the class, and invited half
dozen friends home to practice the new
steps. Two evenings week to be devoted
to learning to dance, Was there ever
anything SO ridiculous? But, whether
they own it or not, the same is true of
most people nowadays. RoBlN.