New-York tribune., 1900-06-24
THE SMITH COLLEGE PLAY
TWELFTH NIGHT" PERFORMED R+y
GIRLS

they are there about a twentieth part OF tbs
population Of Northampton. At a rough est-
mate. therefore. they form about tenth OF tbs
feminine population and about a quarter of
the feminine adult population. But in com
mencement week. with the augmentation n,
some hundreds Of aIumnse. they seem to form
pretty nearly the whole Of it. How they seem
at other times the present writer is not in a
position to say.
With the streets Of the town so fun Of girls
that man feels like asking whether he is in.
truding, before he gets off train it is not Ar
all hard to distinguish which Of them all belon,
to the college and which do not The differ
ences in the general characteristics OF the aver
age college girl and the average New-E England
woman Of the same age are quite apprecabIe
but the veriest beginner could distinguish a.
most without a mistake by remembering The
simple rule that in the street the native women
wear hats while the gownswomen do not
The air Of festivity pervades the whole col
1ege and the whole town which the college over
runs and occupies But there are grounds for
a suspicion that for three-quarters OF the COL
lege some Of the festivity is only air The
seniors are sleeping themselves in such glory
as comes to few for more than week in a
lifetime. and to many never at all II is right
Commencement week has been the happiest
week Of many a life and to nobody who can
have il should II be denied. But the poor stu
dents Of the lower classes can only look on and
rejoice in the exaltation OF others, and console
themselves with the thought that their own
turn viii come. They nobodies, and the
seniors are too honest 10 mislead them in any
way as TO that fact.
They will treat alumnR with a certain grudg-
ing show Of respect because Of their gray hairs
not visible Of course. as yet, but doubtless in
pending, and liable to appear within the next
forty years. or fifty at most. But the junior
may put on all her sweetest gowns. one after
another; she may succeed in affecting the
susceptibiIties of some callow boy whom the
pickets have allowed to slip through the lines
into the town. and who is not wise enough to
see the great gulf which is fixed between her
and the senior even man of middle age may
take more than one look, even more than two
looks at her. for there are such men. for whom
the sight of blooming youth and beauty has not
lost its charm. But she may not accomplish
anything Of this, for there are not enough OF
these aestheticaIly inclined men to go around
and the seniors are caring for the most of those
that there are. And for any of her dainty
wiles touching a seniOri She binds her stony
heart with bands of steel and her manner says:
"Ah, at last our time has come to do to you
as we were done by in other years; pass it on
ronizing the faculty.
The junior tries to bear up. For the sophO-
more and the freshman 1t is hardly worth while
to try. The pure goodness Of heart which keeps
these three classes from armed rebellion against
a class which they Outnumber as three to one is
one of the great hopes of the Nations future
Yet, rebellion no. the sin Of Witchcraft-
may be laid at their doors. as has already been
limited
One of the greatest griefs of the girls OF the
lower classes is that only rigidly limited num-
Der Of them can so to the play Saturday
night. They have all seen it once and some Of
them twice before, but Saturday night Is the
time when they all want to it The desire
is not prompted altogether by the wish study
Shakespeare. 1t is due in some Slight measure
to the fact that the festivity as far as the play
is concerned. reaches it's climax Saturday
night Indeed, one would scarcely suppose thai
the holiday air pervading everything would
prove conducive to the serious study of dramatic
poetry.
And yet college women have been charged
with taking themselves too seriously, If the
students ard graduates of Smith College DO this,
they conceal it with remarkable success during
commencement week. And yet it may be Just
this that saves one Shakespearian play a year
from disaster. For, though the audience may
look upon the whole affair festive frolic, to
the actors it is a solemn function, lofty effort,
a means of grace. a sacrifice to dramatic and lit
erary art Il know this is a joyful trouble to