The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-12-06

They frankly dare to do the thing they
ought.
-[Warren Holden.
A Thanksgiving Dinner.
Many years ago, when old DR.. Tap
pan was President of Michigan Uni
versity and / was q junior, we had a
Thanksgiving dinner at Professor
C.'s which some members of our class
will never forget. -
Professor C. was the youngest man
in the faculty, a keen, critical scholar,
and near enough to his own college
days to have some sympathy with
undergraduates.
He was a tavorite with our class
boys, though no amount of telling
would have induced him to believe
that every individual a%spirant for
next years honors was not ready to
fairly fay him alive with unmerciful
criticism upon the slightest provoca-
ton.
He had. one noticeable fault, which
is rather a popularity of scholarly
men, and thatwas an absent-minded-
ness that at times made him as
utterly oblivious of terrestrial things
as he would have been had he dwelt
in the planet Mars. The juniors had
been a little rough on his 'luny
ways" as they called them, though
they really liked him.
Their shafts ofwit had been pointed
how could they help it?-and he,
being very sensitive on the point,
imagined every arrow barbed with
venom and hurled especially at his
youth and inexperience.
He had just reached the place where
he was forever on the alert to main
tain his dignity and ward off any at
tempts on the part of the students to
put him in a light that would affect
his future standing at the growing
university. This constant fear Of
some unpleasant occurrence kept
him so much to himself that his
hearty good nature was obscured
and his good standing amongst the
boys, at least, vas lessened, though
he was a good deal of favorite.
He had been married about a year
and his wife Kate was as charmingly
loquacious as he was reserved. A
very pretty sister of the bride was
also a part OF the household, and
this fact made some ofus rather more
anxious to keep on good terms with
the family than we might otherwise
have been. The boys we're not long
in finding out that Mistress Kate
had the tact to awaken her
liege lord from his Drawn study in a
good deal of hurry when such fits
came upon him in unwarrantable
place. 1t was whispered amongst
the family friends that she had had
some rather trying experiences be-
fore she was able to reduce him to
anything like his present training.
1t vas Thanksgiving eve. Some
of the boys had gone home, and
others, like myself and chum, were
too far away from home to take adj
vantage of the short vacation in
that way.
"Dick Jones and Harry Lancaster
were in our room. We sung college
songs; talked of the thousand and
one things mostinterestingto college
boys with day or SO of, and an even
ing before them without the necessity
for study. Soon after 9 O'Clock
Dick and Harry rose to go.
"Now boys, I'll tell you just what
I'd like to do. said Alvah, rising
leisurely from his position as post
holder on the side Of the bed.
"What is it, old boy?" we oil ex-
claimed, "out with it-we'n do any.
thing"
"Well," he said, with a most ora
torical flourish of his righthand. ~
should like to leave a fat turkey on
Professor C--'s door, just to see
his look of surprise when he finds it
there s.
"We'ndo it. boys, by Jove," roared
Dick, fully in with the idea at once,
"and what's more Wen put our
names on q card and let him sec
that he has some warm friends
amongst the scalawags of the junior
class" @
"Plank down the rhino, boys
here's the contribution bag" and
Alvah presented his hat with a sane
titled look that would have done
credit to q deacon oflong standing
Out we sailed and raided all the
grocery stores and meat markets il
the vicinity. We imagined that the
biggest and latest turkey would be
the best. We bought one weighing
just twenty-five pounds that Harry
said facetiously s'must be the father
Of all turkeys"
When we got through with the pre-.
iminaries and REACHED the professors
cosy home there was still q light il
the parlor, though it was on the ap-
proach to III o'clock.
The rest of us watched while Harry
made the old gobbler fast to thedoor
knob. He gave the bell a tremen.
dous pull and we oil hastened across
the way to q hiding place where we
could watch the effect. The light
moved up stairs, and nobody came
to the door.
Dick, thinking that the bell hadn't
reused the attention Of the inmates,