Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-07-03

brawu and muscle on the diamond and
gridifon IL not the only representative
Of our coHcges and universities who nov
| wins glory. In the last decade or so.
| our larger educational institutions. real
izIng that the foct-baiIists and base
bailists were plucking by far the greater
| portion OF the laurels. inaugura:rd
system OF literary work which gives the
| pshyically weak and studious an oppor-
tunity for display Of skill II Is now
| the custom In nearly all colleges ana
| universities for the students. near the
| end OF each session, TO publish handsome
| iy-bound volumes called ANIMALS,
| which chronicle the collegiate events OF
| the preceding nine months. The editor
| ln-chief Is elected generally by mass
| meeting of his colleagues, and proud In
| deed 10 the young man on whom TINS
| honor falls With him are associated
stafr OF assistant editors chosen by the
respective literary organizations. fra
ternities, &c. The fellow who sketches
cleverly--or thinks he does. which Is al
most as goods also called In, and then
the inexperienced book-makers proceed 10
business Money Is subscribed. begged.
and obtained from advertisements. and
after much honest effort the stu
dents procure the requisite sum for their
enterprise. And then the real literary
work begins-the delicious smell Of print
er's ink, the correction Of proof-sheets.
the assortment and editing of much
miscellaneous matter. the mysteries OF
head-pieces and tail-pieces. and thou
sand other things neer before dreamed
Of in college philosophy. Bright young
fellows. who lead the classes in Senior
English" and are considered rhetorical
paragons, awake to find that the publica-
ton of book is a fearful undertaking,
and that compositors are the most exact
ing people on earth. And the editor-iI-
chief, Respondent in unlimited powers,
soon learns that his Job is akin to the vo-
cation OF digging dirt, and that 1t is
hard matter 10 tell a brother editor that
his contribution Is not half so funny as
the brother thinks. Maybe, too, the coll
lege artist" will learn that sketches for
publication should not be drawn in pencil.
or with ordinary writing fluids. and that
many mechanical considerations enter in
10 the manufacture of cuts" In truth,
every editor and contributor learns some
thng-chiehy how little he knows-and by
the time the annual is we'll under way
the staff is thoroughly subdued. And
herein lies the benefit of the publication.
1t takes the student out Of the beaten
curriculum, throws him in contact with
the hard cold world and inpresses upon
him the dsagreeable fact that there is
still much wisdom for him TO acquire.
In the course Of two or three months he
gets scores Of practical ideas. which open
his eyes, and serve him in good purpose
for years.
It is a mistake to suppose that these
worthy young men do not profit by their
experience. When the annual ulti-
mately appears-it is invariably delayed
for most obvious reasons-the publication
is nearly always most creditable. Oft
times it Is even artistic and replete with
good things. The cover. usually bound
in the college colors, coruscates with gold
and silver trimmings, and within are
many many things of profoundest in
terest to the students. There are half
tone pictures OF the ball teams. and other
campus celebrities, cautious and dplo-
matte jokes about the professors, poems
on love and mess-hall fare, humorous in
nuendos about pious students, photo
gravures of nearly every collegan, and
what-not.
When the first instalment of the books
arrive, there is tremendous rush for
the publication, and the editors stalk
abroad veritable literary giants. Every
body buys an annual; those whose
pictures are contained therein buy two
or three, and the man with a clever con-
tribution-or one which he thinks is
cever-struggles to prevent himself from
cornering the whole market. And the
college girls-the maids who are the spe
cal favorites of the students-rave over
the books. and commend them with the
word "cute."
1t is all very interesting and commenda-
ole and fresh and innocent, and exactly
as It should be. We would not have il
otherwise. To our mind the college
annual is a worthy institution, with
all it's crudities, and serves a splendid
purpose. 1t is never. at its worst, an OBJ
ject of ridicule; more frequently 1t is
an object of admiration.
The ANIMALS" of Richmond College and
Hampden Sydney, which are before us,
show the world that the Virginia student
OF to-day is very clever. enterprising
fellow, with no little ability and taste
and that the training of the institutions
represented is producing most excellept
results.