New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-13
ALUMNI DAY AT VEST POINT.
A VETERAN FEAST OF "REMINISCENCES.

STRUGGLING WITH THE PoNrooN BRIDGE-rHh
sEAcoAsT BATTERY AT PLAY.
Wesr POINT June 49," How are you. old boyI
Why you look ten years younger than the last time
saw you Had to come up and sec the boys, did yout
Where's Jimi Won't he be herei Oh, yes forgot
Poor fellow, he dropped ont. But you, why, you're
getting hearticr every day. Remember that time IN 81
when We were down on the Potomac together; you
slim major. and"
MANY are the conversations of like character that 90
70 make up the continual hum of voices that arises
from the shady yeranda of the West Point Hotel The
members of the Alumni Association. some gray and
weather-beatel some with the smooth rotundty Of
middle life and others in the prime OF vigorous man.
hood are meeting, joking, handshaking and talking
over old times and old comrades with the fervor that
always distinguishes the yearly reunion of these genial
sons of Mars This is alumni day, and the old fell
lows have taken possession of everything The cadets
ia their unwonted freedom from care are enjoying
sweet nothingness in their barracks, excepting
here and there who is endeavoring TO make
small parasol hide himself and somebody in white
dress from the pryng eyes OF the world But the VET
erans many of whose lives written in the Nations
history forget the heat of the day in their enoymens
of the renewal Of old associations.
meeting was held in tn, library IN the afternoon,
and Colonel William C. Young of New-York. men,
Der of the class of ID and eghtysix years old was
elected president After being escorted to the char
BIZ General George w. Cass class OF 81 and General
T. A. Davies class of 30 also of NewYork, he DENY.
cred a short address full Of "reminiscences OF cades
life in the first quarter OF the century:
little after O'Clock the annual dinner OF the ASSOC
citation was served in the hail Over eighty per-
sons sat down to the tables After the various courses
had disappeared aud the one formal toast, 10 our
Alma Mater" had been drunk standing, rroIe ss
Kendrck who knows all the ms and OUTS the hoooics
and N peculiarties of his fellow members was gwen
the chair and the feast OF remniscenceand the now
wit began and continued with unhagemg VYaeiyy Tet
INTO the night But all things must end and the LAST
broadside stories delivered and the last joke eX-
ploded on the departing veterans.
In the morning the cadets OF the first two glasses
struggled with the pontoon bridge With much bump
ing OF timber and padding of pontoons the bridgewas
quickly constructed ftom one proinoniory to anotner
and the cadets lode and walked across After the spec
tators had finished applauding they scrambled down
the banks and crossed Also that only the smoke ana
flame of burning buildings was necessary 10 coh'neo
the imaginative spectator that the bridge was Tue oh
oyeuue of escape for the garrison and inhabitants OK
some fotunate city which had fallen INTO the enemy
hands The suns rays poured down with more iersv,
than ON any previous day. and the cadets toed anu
nespired in their spotess linen, laundry STOCK wehs
IN 10 an enormous figure Their brethren OF the lower
classes expressed the dsnterested desire that some
one miob fall overheard to add variety to the exhpi-
ton but no such mishap occurred: .,o- 81 Tho mr..
At the guns doomed AGAIN h ~ dark enough
70 render the spec ace effective, the norta az the seq
coast battery were fred the fuses being so arranged
that the shells exploded when at their ngnes. Po,s
homhs burstiug in air" did the best they couid
toward keeping up their end of the rhyme
some of the visitors went home to-day put the ms
ority will stay to see the graduating exercises
- m, deepest oy of that occasion Is experiences
Inv the pleb" who drops the hated " Mister tne
woment the diplomas leave the hands OF the secretary
of War At one jump he is received int9 iuii fellow
shin nv the upper cassmen with all the glorious PRIV
ess of iaying and wreaking from his unfortunate IN
sor complete satisfaction tor the year of indigntes
through which he has just passed. There are variou;
xnlanations for this practice Of addressing the peo
"a Mister" and compelling him to return the coinpf
ment The generally received Is that he Is too con-
temptble an object to be treated with anything n.o
familiarity, but the origin OF the practice is lost IN he
miss of antiquity. Thus for instance, when the newly
initiated cadet becomes too obstreperous he is ae.
b. j." stands for II down IRON the forefatnsfS
and for these devotees of CUSTOM that Is snhcient
THE PROGRAMME AT PRINCETON
PRINCETON, June 1.-THE 13Sth anrua'
commencement OF the College Of New-Jersey begins "
morrow, and every incoming train brings visitors ~
tend the exercises, which extend to "Wednesday oo~
mencement Day The programme begins with the reaa'.
OF theses by students OF the John G. Green scnooi
science; at noon tho popular Csledonan games wiz
held In the afternoon tho Dartmouth College paso ~
game Of the championship series will be played ss
nignt there will be given glee club and banjo conccs
CLASS PRODUCTIONS AT BROWN
PROVIDENCE, June 12.-The Class-Day excs,
cises at Brown University were heid to-day Theron
Carter the class orator, delivered an Grafton on
vidualism In the State" The class poem. BY simssiv
| comb. on Change" was production OF -
| high standard Of excellence