The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-11-12
TOWN TALES.

The Boston Record publishes a letter
in. answer to the announcement of the
| engagement of a young man, and sent
| to the girl to whom he had previously
! been engaged. For some reason, she
was not exactly pleased at this atten-
ton on his part, and this is the letter
| she sent to him. 1t read:
| Dear Sir-I have received the letter
| containing the announcement of your
engagement to Miss Blank. As 1 do
not know her. L cannot congratulate
you, and as 1 do know you, 1 cannot
congratulate her.
After this, she signed her name, and
with feeling of great pleasure of a
certain kind sent off the epistle.
Life has q little exercise in what it
calls railroad grammar" that should
only be tackled by persons with strong
heads:
What was the next station?"
you mean what is the next station"
mo. What was is, isn't it?''
That doesn't make any difference. Is
is was, but was is not necessarily is"
Look here; what was, is, and what is,
is Is was is or is is was
Nonsense! Was may be is, but is
is not was. Is was was, but if was
was is, then is isn't is or was wasn't
was. If was is, was is was, isn't it?|
But II is is was then
Listen. Is is, was was, and is was
and was was is; therefore is was is
and was is was, and if was was is, Isl
is is, and was was was and is is was"
Shut up, will you! I've gone by my
station already"
whatever you do" wrote Robert
Louis Stevenson to a young American
of sixteen read something else be-
sides novels and newspapers; the first
are good enough when they are good;
the second, at their best. are worth
nothing. Read great books of litera-
ture and history; try to understand the
Roman empire and the middle ages,
and thus, reasoned this idolater of "lit-
erature," you will know a little more
about today, and may be good presi-
dent"
All of which shows how much fool
ishness a clever man can crowd into a
few lines. A modern man may well
read the great books of literature, in
GLIDING Gibbons Roman Empire" and
Hallam's Middle Ages" but, unless he
wishes to live in the past, he must not
despise and ignore the history of the
world as it is now made day by day. |
1t would be far saner to warn youth
to read no novels than to read no
newspapers.
I am heartily in sympathy with the
views of the writer in the Chicago Tri- |
bune on the action of the faculty of
Brown university in dropping several
members of the foot ball team, simply
because. they neglected to go to recita-
tons and were behind in their recita-
tions I look upon it exactly as does
the Chicago man, that it is an insult to
the college and to the college spirit
and a material blow to college pride.
To the best of my knowledge, Brown
has never sent a graduate to coach a I
western college team; hence, it has very
little standing outside Of Rhode Island;
and, indeed were it not for the inter-
reputation and imperishable
fame of DR.. Andrews l dare say the
achievements of Brown would be con-
fined wholly to the pleasant town of
This treatment of the
earnest and conscientious gentleman Of
Brown foot ball squad was most brutal
and unfair, and subversive of the high
est ends of college education.
That the American Bicycle Company
or cycle trust will have no mean rival
in the Cycle Trade Protective Associa-
ton, Is now evidenced. ] am told on
very high authority that the organiza-
ton of the latter combination is being
rapidly perfected and, according to one
Interested in it's welfare, it will soon
possess on its membership rolls more
of bicycles than are in
GUIDED in the American Bicycle Com
pany.
The primary object Of the new asso-
citation will be the protection of the pa
Ients held by its members. If the