The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-02-06
THE PRIZE GRAFTON.


The faculty of Brandon acascmy had
offered prize for the lest Grafton to be
delivered ut the coming commencement
by any member of the graduating class.
This prize was to he scholarship in
zone of the best colleges in the country.
John Darryll's heart gave y great
thrill when the announcement was
shade regaraipgthe nature of the Prize
NO be gwen" II he could only gainit!
He was poor boy. 1t had been'h hard
work for him to complete the academy
course. But by doing whatever he
B found to do. outside of school. hours,
and patient. persistent study. he had
succeeded in not only keeping up with
his cluss. but in practically leading it.
He was looked upon as the member of
the graduating class who was most
likely to carry off the honors at the
coming commencement.
RAJ. His heart was set upon obtaining q
thorough education. but it seemed
Rrobable that his school days must end
with the completion of the academy
course. But when the possibility Of
securing scholarship in college was
presented great hope took posses
sion of him. He could crafty his am
bition. perhaps, if he were to win that.
'sI'll do the best can to get it" he
said, bravely and hopefully. THAT'S
the best anyone can do"
He had one rival IN his class. That
riva. was Robert Torrey. the son of the
-one rich man of Brandon. He was fell
low Of good natural ability. Tut being
a rich mans son had interfered with
his progress in many ways. He had
not felt the spur of necessity. as had
John Darryll, and the result was that
the had become careless and lacked am
sbition. He would 60 through school
because it was expected that one in his
,positlon would do SO, but not because
he cared very much about the educa-
ton which y college course is supposed
ITO represent.
He recognized the fact that in John
Daryl he had rival who was quite
1ilsely to carry of the honors of the
class. lie respected John. as did all
who knew the manly young fellow. but
that did not prevent him from cherish
ing feeling of jealousy toward hi1n.
1t seemed to Robert that the honors
ought naturally to come to him. be-
cause he occupied social position
which the other did not. He did not
care aboutHthe' scholarship as a schol-
-arship, but it would crafty his pride
to win it away from his rival, and so
he made up his mind to secure it il it
were possible to do SO.
II suppose you're going to try for the
prize?'' he said to John one day.
Eyes. am" answered John. frankly.
~'You will, of course%
certainly" responded Robert. "And
mean to win. I give you fair warning
of that"
"All right. if you win fairly" an
swered John, with one of his bright,
pleasant smiles that made his face ut
tractive. 'I:shall try very hard to get
tho start of you, but, of course, I may
fail to do so. If do. you may be very
sure that it won't be because didn't
do my best"
''Of course, the prize lies between us. ="
said Robert. "Both of us know that
no ono else stands any chance of get
ting it. It's you and land I'm going
ITO win"
IF you can" laughed John.
The orations which were to be de-
aivered in competition for the prize
were to be submitted to the president
of tho academy q month before COM
mencement. just about that time Pres
ident jackson was obliged to 60 away
for a fortnight, and he announced to
the graduating classsjust before'his. de-
fparture that the orations were to be
handed to Prof. Fay. the secretary of
tho faculty. for examination.
John Darry]l put a great deal OF
honest. conscientious work on his ora
ton. He wrote and rewrote it. He was
not content with it as long as he saw a
chance of .improvingit.
"There!" he said. as he finished
copying it for the last time. THAT is
all can do with it. 1t may not win the
prize. but shall have the satisfaction
of knowing that 1 did my best to make
it winner"
Tho next day the orations were
handed in to Prof. Fay. Three or four
days;iater they were returned to their
owners with such criticism as he saw
fit to make and few suggestions about
delivery.
I'm little surprised about young
Torrey's oration," Prof. Fay said to an
other member of the faculty. Hes a
sbright. keen fellow. but he hasn't
seemed to have ambition enough to do
himself justice. But his Grafton is a
'finc piece of work. Really, most SUI
perior thing. 1t would do credit to a
student graduating from college"
"Eetter than Darryll's?"
Eyes. because it shows more ma
turity of.thought and firmer menta!
grasp" was the reply. THAT'S what
surprised me. didn't give Torrey
credit for so much development, men
tally. or such knowledge of composition
and command of language"
4 "Of course. the prize should 60 to the
one who deserves it, said Prof. Strong,
'"'but shall be somewhat disappointed