The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17
SMITH COLLEGE HOLIDAYS.
OCCASIONS WHEN THE COUNTRY
ROUND IS OTERRUN WITH GIRLS.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass, Oct. l4.-with Noun
tain Day on last Thursday the outdoor holidays
of Smith began. Except to the Decoration Com
mlttec for the sophomore reception, this day
means all play and no work. The reception to
tho freshmen always falls tho night before
Mountain Day, and the clearing up necessary
aft err 1t would make the biceps of II day laborer
ache. The pillows, lamps, porticrGs, tables, and
chairs that made the gym a thing of beauty TO
the freshmen the night before must be tugged
back TO their respective owners by the weary
members Of tho committee before they taste the
pleasures OF Mountain Day. This sophomore
reception Is the pivot around which oil the social
life Of the fall turns, and from the opening day
of college until the night the sophomores toll
hard for the entertainment Of the freshmen.
Each freshman Is invited to the reception by q
sophomore. or, II the sophomores are too few. by
an upper class girl, who sends her flowers,
makes out her dance programme. escorts her to
the gym and safely home again. The freshman
is surprised to find herself whirled about in tho
waltz, or guided over the floor to two.step meas
ure, almosta as well by a girl In evening dress as
she would DO by her brother or some one else in
q dress suit. She is refreshed with lemonade in
conventional reception fashion, famed by her
partner, and treated like any queen of the realm.
But-her rose has a thorn, and before she Leaves
the hall she is presented with a daintily fash
ohCu RuihphlSko biiLub Nulth IL NOlu
black and white every "break" that the fresh
man class has made collectively or individually
| since its debut at college.
| All the new gowns are aired at this reception.
and the delicate colors, with never q sombrely
clad man to mar tho effect, make the gym look
like a mammoth flower garden. Close on the
heels Of the reception follows Mountain Day,
when chapel and all recitations are suspended.
By 10 O'Clock on Mountain Day. the campus Is as
| ,,,a nc m 80 M ul,o ,,b oln ,oll,rn Z. 4, nt l.
Sophomore Decoration Committee) has cmptied
i~iselfinto the surrounding country. Armed with
q box Of lunch. each student has driven, walked,
rowed. or wheeled away. The freshmen in little
clusters usually seek the top OF Mount Tom or
Holyoke, or they explore The quaint streets of
old Hadley. But the upper class girls are moro
ambitious and make longer expeditions to the
outskirts of the Berkshire Hills. to Chesterfield,
Worthington. Cummington, where William Gull
len Bryant was born, or Ashfeld Of 1.-The Ash
field dinner fame. The cider mills along the
road do a thriving trade, and after the army OF
girls has swept over the woods on Mountain
Day not q chestnut can a hungry squirrel find.
Another feature that Smith College life pos
sesses is the celebration OF WashinGton's Birth
day. Some lecturer gives a address on a
historical subject in Assembly Hall. Then the
students adjourn to the gym and relax them
selves in q jolly rally" The different classes
bihS soHBs I u otner, al5o original bOnBs eA-
tolling their own merits. They listen to q
debate on some such frivolous subject as. "The
Reality Of George Washington" After hearing
it proved conclusively. that he never existed.
but. was simply a myth. the classes in order,
each girl g%rasping the shoulder of the girl in
ing Here's, to old smith College. drink her
down" until the line breaks and the rally ends
Not until Decoration Day is there such an ex-
odus from tho college again as on Mountain
with girls, ana for days thereafter egg shells and
olive stones greet the unwary, traveller In the
dSys. VneAPt the eo Rl,aSs' as n a body, is sn gwen oH over
TO festirity. are the many halfholidays, when
s E',sR week OF ioS fr or ex clue T,sli I,t steal e. 11@f 9os OF o. Z
their own-a trolley ride out, to williamsburg,
and a gorgeous sunset for an ending; or a walk
past the insane asylum to the apple orchards
ihat offer such tempting bait to a w~ayfarer;
The hospital grounds are very extensive, and
Boating on Paradise Lake is a recent achieve.
and is SIMPLY a Widening i Of Mil River. Last
year a LIGHTHOUSE was built there, and all
derSntn The [a' g SprinS A of the the insane 1osIs P asylum %1 'o oa
one side are dubbed PurEatory. Hades is a spot
wi Which drove even penG the p re i%at som o' back " to the
arms of his father. In the winter Paradise.
the girls and their Amherst callers, who haunt
the pond on Wednesday and Saturday;
and this fall goitine is aided to the list Of out,
door amusemcnts. Driving is not SO popular
since wheels made the liverymen pull long faces
over their pros poets, but there are still enough
lazy girls at college TO relish long drives when the
nomadic ft is on. Four OF these started out one
iogicai horse. They had all been through a course
Of Jevon's. but the horse knew more logic than
the four put together. II there WAS doubt about
was visibly distressed at their indocision; but
OF the country, the climax came. Three of the
girls tumblcd out OF the carriage to pick some
came back wet Of foot, but triumphant, with
great punches, OF cowslips, to find the driver
snapped them in, ali in a trice, then turned to
get into the carriage. but lol the place where
l roa had ss stG sst0 Mfs san nRsyid sir: S saa tnf their sG"R Ro sss
waving his tai as ne and the carriage disap-
ERSf1 sa, fFGq in the a Gsad: Mtt4 a a m maIoT p PFemisee
logical mind--the inevitable conclusion fol-
This the horse lost no time in doing, but the
girls. ten miles from home, dashed madly after
him. They ran; they shouted; they pmffod, but
Granger" happened along and held the horse
III the first pursger arrived; She 10
her thanks. made a profound bow, and. pointing
to the tagging three, exclaimed: :,
" would have done that for a fool. What
would | not have done for thcsel Seniors e. he
asked. as he climbed into his wagon. A faint
YES foated out on the air.
They don't learn you horse sense at college,
VIII this he drove away. The horse gave up
W
said:
How beautifully that nice long run has dried
our shoes. We won't catch a bit OF cold and the
. Cowslips are lovely!'
But not all the mishaps OF Smith girls are due
to their own carelessnCss. The same quartet,
, on another ride, boarded a Connecticut River
: ferryboat. The boat slides on a wire which
goes from one bank to the other. The fcrryman
i grips tho wire and pulls the boat along, while
) The passengers ePj9y the view which is one Of
Exactly in the middle of the river the
college poet, who was one o., the four.
there forever. At that moment the wire broke.
tectotum. For a Few moments il seemed AS IL
the poet might have her desire. The ferryman
looked helpless. lie called to n man on shore
y for n rope, but fnding rowboat tied to the ferry.
he sprang into it himself, and leaving the girls
to the mercy of the current and an uneasy
!, horse he pulled for the shore. He returned with
a another man and a rope, which proved. 100
short. At last the current whirled the boat
5ER<&ekS A. SEMONSON.