The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-06-01

means one of roses If, either because of the
fact that during his period of candidacy he has
incurred the spleasure of any then existing ca
det, or the fact that after entering his general
demeanor is not perfectly satisfactory to every
one of the two or three hundred above him, he
is very likely to be made the subject of an
amount of hazing more or less severe as he is
unpopular
From $50 until 10 o'clock at night the men
are allowed the freedom of each others rooms,
and company of higher classmen, assembling
in the room of one of their number, will send
for one more plebs, in the manner that the
Roman emperors ordered up gladiators to while
away the time. When he comes the pleb is
made to sing, dance, or jump around for the
amusement of the crowd. He is told to climb
to the top of the wardrobe, and from that lofty
perch take casual view of his prosecutors.
He is then informed that there is no time to
come down the way he went up, but must in this
case fly. He sets up tremendous tapping of
arms, and usually alights with about the grace
that we read of in "Darius Green and His Fly
ing Machine" If the entertainment is held in
the pleb's own room they will tie his bed-clothes
to his cot in lieu of ropes, and with the informa-
ton that he is engaged in an artillery drill start
him on mad and destructive career around the
room. In the old days he was compelled to eat
soap and engage in other forms of amusement
hardly to the credit of the reputation of fun-lov-
ing men, but now the rules against haZing are
enforced more strictly, and the man engaging to
such an extent therein is forced to leave.
The pebs, on the other hand, have their op-
portunities to get even with the third cassmen.
Here again we find evidence of the caste which
predomnates so largely in the life of the cadet.
The pleb may have what is called a 'spoon" in
one of the higher classes, and armed with his
sanction, half dozen Ylsh into a mans room,
upset his bed, oyerturn his table, wardrobe, and
chairs, with the result that the occupant of the
room will be on the verge of distraction by the
/ time the wreck is cleared away.
Among each other, with less regard to caste,
there is the faVorite trick of so doctoring a mans
bed as to cause him discomfort of degree long
to be remembered. AS preliminary the bed is
fixed so as to collapse when called upon to bear
the weight of its occupant, That done, on top
of the hair mattress several quarts of water are
poured and the covers replaced. This is done
during the off period of n half hour before 10
O'Clock. The occupant meanwhile has been
detained in the room of another until the last
moment before 10, when all men must be in bed
and lights out. AS the l0-O'clock bugle sounds
the owner rushes TO his room, turns out his light,
and jumps into bed to await the inspection.
The result is easy TO imagine, and in that rather
uncomfortable condition the victim must lie un-
til the inspection has been made, and even then
he cannot light his gas, but must grope around
in the dark until he has fixed his affairs so that
life, if not pleasant for the night, is at least en-
durable.
These are only few of the many means to
which fun-loving cadets resort in order to harass
one another, but enough has been given to indi-
! cate something of the spirit permeating them as
| body.
The restrictions with regard to leaving the
! yard to visit the town are many and severe.
! To outwit those above them in this matter the
| inventive faculties of the most ingenious are
sorely taxed. Climbing a wall ten feet in
height, the top of which is covered with broken
glass, at spot free from the presence Of the
guards, is favorite method, and the one gene
! rally practiced. On the Saturday nights on
which hops are given someo Of those who do not
dance make use of the cabs in order to escape
the vigilance of the guards Pressed far back
in the corner of one of these vehicles, hidden
from the view of any one looking into it from
the outside, they enter or leave the grounds in
comparative safety.
! The use of whisky and tobacco is prohibited