The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
BAN PUT ON BOTTLE NIGHT.
ANOTHER YALE CUSTOM RBPRESsED
By RI FACULTY..

ana Eaaay Objections 70 tho Practice.
New HAVEN, Juno 1S.-Anothor custom Of
Yale has como under tho ban Of the faculty.
In accordance with tho time-honored practice,
an attempt was made last Monday to celebrate
Bottle Night" but tho vigilance OF the tutors
and instructors and tho woll-known hostility OF
tho Dean made tho occasion q miserable SOM
blanco Of Its former self. Last year several Of
the most aggressive participants In the fcstivl-
ties OF Bottle Night were summoned to n brief
interview with Prof Wright, as a result Of
which they were obliged to room OFT the campus
this year. 1t was we'll known that the penal
ties this year would DO even moro severe. So
Bottle Night has entered the limbo Of departed
Undergraduate customs and taken its place be-
side the Burial of Euclid, the Wooden Spoon
festivities, the Thanksgiving Jubilee and the
other Publications that have been Obliged to
give way to official disNpproval.
No ono knows whom Bottle Night was insti-
tutsd or by whom. For several years 1t has
been one of the features OF the last few days Of
tho spring and summer term. Unlike most Yale
occurrences, 1t Is never arranged for in ad-
vance. No date has over been assigned to It.
1t has been unattended by the elections Of com.
mitteos with which nearly every evont 10
ushcrod in. 1t is not oven announced in tho
columns Of tho Ne,Ds or on the university bulle-
tin board. No undergraduate knows that
Bottle Night has arrived until the very moment
tho ceremonies begin. Then in a twinkling the
whole campus Is transformed into the pande-
moniuin that has proved SO Objectionable to the
President and the faculty. The event may he
inaugurated by the most insignificant member
Of the university or by one of the sweeps, old
clothes men and other picturesque hanEers-on of
Yale life. A few years ago a senior in Wander
bilt unwittinRly tossed an ash tray on his win
dow seat and 1t fell into the court below. I'M
nodiately the whole campus was Uttered with
missiles OF q similar kind. Again one of the
spring water jugs that throughout the year
adorn window stills on the campus happened to
fall with q crash upon the sidewalk, and in q
second tho whole quadrangle took tho cue.
Last year the game was inAugurated by an inno-
cent expressman. with a somewhat frayed-out
horse, ambling peacefully through the campus
street. A fow seniors on the fence began to
jeer tho old man and one Of their companions in
Durfee encouraged them with a caRt-off shoe.
This was followed by q ~spittoon from another
quarter. and from that moment until the am
munition was exhausted the college yard was
pounded with superfiuous articles of furniture.
Bottle Night seems to have been the under
graduate way of cleaning house. At the end of
the college year the students have necessarily
accumulated a vast amount of rubbish for which
there is no ready sale. In the auctions that are
held in tho college rooms at this time for tho
disposal of furniture there would be, were 1t not
for Bottle Night, Il large number of articles,
especially in the way of crockery and cheap
bric-a-brac, for which no purchaser could be
found. AL this stuff is carefully boarded until
the proper evening, when 1t Is dumped. amid
cheers and yells, upon the college yard. The
ceremony proper usually takes about two
hours. though 1t Is frequently prolonged by bon
fires and private celebrations.
The first intimation the college men receive
that tho moment for which they have been pre-
election OF some article Of furniture or wearing
apparel from a dormitory window. The missile
may maze. be Do t6 6TS.ren6 by in TSn dGou Or az ,S d 9tid 1t
Immediately dash for their rooms, both in or
der to take part In tho fray ana to get under
an exposed position during the celebration. as
the college mon arc not oyerscrupulous about
Attic first sign every undergraduate suspends
all other operations to, give entire attention
to the supreme duty Of the hour. If he happens
to have anything in his hands. no matter what
It is. he must throw 1t before he proceeds fur
pitcher of wator.up a flight Of stairs in old North.
He at once ran to the window and throw his
senior was industriously writing in his room in
Durfee. At tho unmistakable Bottle Night sig.
S stand Dc tsss TmS E W i2s open WINDOW inS 1nriG Thi his is Inc 1he
proper Bottle Night spirit. Az the name i'm.
plie,s the occasion was first ntilized to dispose
for several seasons these:played a principal part
In the fray: Through. tho windows there como
ties, bottles half, filled with pickles and pre-,
these break into N Thousand pieces on the pave
ment below, threatening destruction to any
bottles have been. exhausted, the college men
fall back upon, their crockery and earthenware.
Water pitchers AID mugs and wash bowls fol-
low the glassware upon the fiagstones below.
Every window is crowded with undergraduates
Of %F WSgs' Nea m the eSo 5,SFi @an IS armed IN q v witS =
large club, with which he beats upon the stone
window sIll, filling in tNe psuseS with Apache
ground receives a louN roar of encourage.
nent. especially when s'me ventpresSme Gn-
adds to the rubbish belo " an unwonted con-
Occasionally from tie top floor of WEIGH, or
Vanderbilt a largo chair will come crashing
down into the open court, at which display of
grow wild with applause. THIS, Of course. only
whets the enthusiasm Of the students. and an
atsly added to the heap. OLD chairs, stools.
tables, pieces Of carpet and rortierss Gome
of foghorns and rah! rahi raha! There ID an
avalanche OF wooden boxes. usually tiled with
senior takes a large roll Of paper, touches it on
with a match and sends it foati pg TO tho
FrSnma; and aaii his s' tclo %Sw co iSaf%rS or not slow
TO follow tho lead: From n h%undretl windows
these The Sr blazing a55 bS E7id. ,S of ga3Ssf f5 are si G'' n h. up B6 by
reckless way. 1t is now entirely dark and this
latest feature not only affords a new safety
'~A'C ~ - D''tN "
men, but adds a picturesque element 10 ! he scene.
By this time the larger amount OF Tho more
dangerous ammunition having been COZ sumed,
and there being hardly a whole bottle Of water
pitcher in the university, travelling ,Vn the
campus becomes safer and the college mon
hasten into the quadrangle. They asssmtQ o in
crowds in front Of WEIGH or Lawrence, slnLt tho
college songs and give the college yoll. A few
Industrious students have found their way
through the storm OF missiles into Chapel str, vet
and purchased a large amount of the Trevor. vs.
held on hand for the Fourth OF July. In a fe "
moments the campus is illuminated with re-
fire and Roman candles and the smashing ana
banging OF the hour previous is succeeded by
the roar of the cannon tirecracker. Tho short
interim Is utilized In singing, bright College
Years" and Here's to Good Old Yale"
squash! A duh, ~gurgling sound comes from
tho midst of the crowd, and in n second Is sue
ceeded by loud shouts OF amusement and pre-
tended wrath. In a moment. a badly bespat-
tered Yale man is seen TO fold his coat collar
about his neck and rush for his room, followed
by the derisive cheers of his associates. An
investigation. diSoloses tho fact that he has been
struck with a paper bag filled with water pro-
ceedinR from some unknO n source. In a
.hnuV Nipn. n a d. f-n ~ ghnaa na,,,Iiar nrn-