The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-18

his classmates at Cornell. He was as
fastidious as any one in the university in
those days.
He wore cutaway coat, lavender hued
trousers. actually skin tight, and patent
leather CATERS with yellowish plush tops.
He delighted in collars that reached to the
loDes OF his ears and cuffs that projected
two inches from his coat sleeves. He was
ultra fashionable. When checks were in
vogue Balestier wore suits having the loud
est checks in the college. When watch fobs
were worn he had one that dangled from
his waist down.
He lived in little but select boarding
house, and seldom associated with the stu
dents. His ambition at that time was to
be a great newspaper editor, and he pro-
posed to study history, especially under the
instruction of Andrew d. White, then pres
ident of Cornell and now United States am
bassador at Berlin, to the end of perfecting
himself for educational work. The Gar
field Hancock presidential campaign of
1880 was on and Balestier was heart and
soul in the campaign for Garfield. / remem-
Der that Henry Ward Beecher came to
Ithaca that fall to speak for Garfield. Bales
tier went and called upon that famous
preacher from Brooklyn and asked his ad
vice about becoming an editor In his eager
ness to see what talent he had for editorship
he mailed several long editorials in support
of Garhelds candidacy to the New York
Times and the Tribune, and watched eagerly
for their appearance. He never talked
more of his projected career after each edi-
torial came back as fast as the mails could
carry it,.
NOT A STUDENT.
He was nothing oc a student in the sense
that his classmates were, but we found a
few years later that he had lived in diff
ferent world from ours while he was among
US. He was plucked in geometry, and he
despised the required course in rhetoric.
when the terms work came to a close in
chemistry he would not even take the ex-
amlnations. But he was an incessant read
er. and the university library, with it's $780,,
UOU volumes, was treasure house to him.
He once said that his idea of heaven was
spot where one might live in peace and
comfort and read Alexander Dumas and
Victor Hugo throughout all eternity. He
used to love to walk alone about the old
college town late at night often for an
hour or two long after midnight. He once
remarked to a friend that he knew his in
most thoughts better then than at any other
time. His landlady, however, found fault
with Balestiers nocturnal perambuations
and musings, because he awoke her going
in and out.
The straw that broke the camel's back
and made Balestier suddenly give up his
college course burcsque of descrip-
tive article of his, which appeared in the
Cornell Review. 1t was a story of visit
he had made during the previous summer
vacation to the we'll known New England
poets. the Goodale sisters Balestier's ar
ticle was very sophomore, and it seems
remarkable now that it ever came from his
pen. There were such phrases in it as
looking down through the horoscope Of the
past, and "effulgent rays illuminated the
dome of thought y The article set the
whole student body in laughter. There were
few there who knew that young Balestier
had soul above collars and patent leath-
ers. week later the Cornell Era came out
h,,,, h,,rl
titled "a Visit to the Badbeer Brothers"
All of Balestler'S sOphOmOrisms were aped
and his literary quirks We're turned into
shafts of ridicule.
The edition of the Cornell Era was soon
exhausted and every student in the Unver-
sty was smiling over the nonsense week
later it was noised about that Balestier had
packed up and gone hon to Rochester Fle
never returned to Corr ell.-Henry Sinsley,
in the San Francisco f 1aminer.