The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-04
LOOK BACKWARD AT YALE
THE UNDERGRADUATED DAYS oFPRES-
InGN..ELECE MADLEY


end the Now ChRpeI-Cuatoms ut Yale
Then Tho Yale Spirit-Youthful Charac-
teristics of MIR. Hadley-IIis Scholarship.
When Arthur Twining hadley was q Yale
unGe re raduate In tho class OF 1876 the uni
yerslty did not exist. Not only was Yale
college but the college was the academic de-
partmcnt. the other branches being dependen-
ccs. more islands Of Guam to the great repub-
lie So at rongly did this exclusive feeling pre-
vail that strenuous objection was made to
Julian Kennedy. member OF tho Sheffield
Scientific School. rowing on the crew. though
his broad long back and lightly arm had much
TO do with forging the shell ahead to unao-
eustomcd victory.
Il am u Roman citizen" said the classical
student, and snffod disdanfully toward all
outside the sacred boundary OF the fence.
The campus practically comprised Yale. 1t
lny green and open to the view. bisected by the
old brick row in it's naked entirety. and with
the Two modern dormitories. Farnam and
Durfee. at the upper end. There was no arch.
no pent-up quadrangle; the great elms cast
their shadows as freely as they had for o CEN
fury agone.
College rooms were allotted to the students
In due order Of priority. While those in Far
nam and Durfee we're the most expensive and
convenient. Old South. with its ample spaces.
its low studded ceilings and its mammoth
hearths was the favorite with many seniors
and juniors. The sophomores huddled In
South Middle. where they could do no harm,
since vandalism must be improvement. and
where their excessive vitality rendered them
Indifferent to a leaky roof. crazy easements.
uneven floors. and a dearth OF all sanitary
arrangements There was but meagre picking
left for the freshmen. thus forced under the
care Of the New Haven landlady. much harsher
pnrsa he foil n Romuua and Remua
Each class. then averaging in number. say,
100 membe was in itself complete body
polite The lines were distinctly. even sterny.
drawn. and there was absolutely no social COM
mingling In way. the ideals for the four
years were governed by that old song. "As
Freshmen First We Came to Yale" Thus ID
was considered the loyal part for sophomores
to reve at night with torch and mask: for
juniors to take their ease. smoking and singing
glees. and for seniors to be sentimental and
dignified. Tradition ruled remorseles and
any custom adhered to beyond the recollection
OF an undergraduate. say for five years. was
deemed to run from time immemorial.
Class feeling was intense 1t was thought
wellnigh tratorous for a man to fail to take
part in any class function. Thus the delicate
and the near sighted were emulous to hold the
front ranks in the rushes thus the impecuni-
GUS managed in some way to attend the prone
made concerts and the class suppers. Let the
cry. "Seventy-sixl" Seventy |" be raised
on the campus. and the Dig would desert his
midnight lamp. the Deacon would forget that
he was Il man OF peace. To paraphrase De-
catur's toast, 1t was MY class first and last;
right il may be. wrong II must be: in any
event, my class!"
Glasses were themsel divided into society
men and neutrals. There were two secret So
cieties In each year, the membership OF each
for the first three years being about thirty five.
but in senior year only fifteen. Thus. during
the years when by far the most important col
lege honors were allotted. the society mon by
combining had at least bare majority Be-
sides. the neutrals. for the most parh from
lack Of common reason for their neutrality.
had little homogeneity and consequently less
influence. Thus Yale was society ruled. Soci-
ETY. men made up the committces society men
took such distinctions as the class could grant.
For instance. five editors OF the Yale Literary
Magazine. commonly called the Lit, were elect
cd at class meeting during junior year The
two junior societies. Psi L. and d. X. E.. would
unite on ticket and force it through OF
course. such a system engcndered heart burn
inGs, but as the 1rishman said about dones-
tic row. 1T was all IN the family" Against
the outsider. whether upper classman towny
or member of the faculty. the class presented
an unbroken front
Athletics were just beginning to be an i'm
portant factor in college life. For years Yale
hn! been uniformly unsuccessful in her con-
tests, SO much so that Yale luck" was the
synonym for i'll luck OF the darkest, drearest
blue. If an oar broke or a shell was smashed
or pitcher strained a sinew. as was the order
OF the day. men shrugged their shoulders.
muttered Yale luck" and hoped for better
things some time.
With 70 better things began to come. Bob
Cook WAS in this class, back from England.
with brand new stroke In his valise. 1t was
then that the change was made from the six
cared races at Saratoga in which ten or twelve
colleges participated, to the old eight-oared
four-milc contest with Harvard. That was a
famous crew with which Cook swung to victory
at Springfield in 1876. with such men OF pluck
and Drawn as Kennedy. Kellogg and " Doc "
Fowler behind him No wonder that a new
boathouse was bu1t and an enthusiasm
aroused which has kept at white heat ever
since. Before this baseball was probably the
most popular sport. the frequent games at Ham
ilton Park forming probably the pleasantest
outdoor diversion OF studious men like Had
lev. who took their athletics vicarously and
through their eyes. As for football, the game
was unknown until 1872. when an association
was founded and a twenty formed. The game
aS then played consisted manly OF s!uERlnV
and wrestling matches. Old graduates will
remember with interest how scrub team OF
Eton and Harrow graduates residing in New
York came up to show the Yale men how to
play tho English game, and incontnently re-
tired from the field in ambulances There was
none Of the minor sports Of such infinite va
riety at the present time. Tennis was I'M
known. save as it might be recoected that the
States General met once in tennis court. and
golf was unknown.
Class boat races were held each fall at Lake
Satenstall. and it was then that some genius
unknown to fame lisped forth these immortal
numbers:
And IL it Is girl, SIR We'll dress her un in Llue
And send her out TO Salenstall to coach the fresh
man crew;
And II is boy. sir. We II put him on the crew.
And he shall wax tho Harvards as his daddy used
to do.
Tradition provided plenty OF rough-ani-
tumble exercise, especially for freshmen and
sophomores. The manner In which the cam
paign committees canvassed for pledGes to the
freshmen societies could scarcely be called