The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-04-04

unable to attend afternoon classes on
account of It," she retorted.
Edward did not reply to this thrust,
which was In keeping with the CONVEX
sational habits of many of the girls In
the hall.
81 might as well pay now" he said
Of the girls dollar, and they accepted
with merry thanks.
When he had gone out, Miss Seton
sobered down quite suddenly.
"Do you think hurt his feelings by
what l said about his articleY she
asked rather slowly and eyed Freeda
thoughtfully.
"Of course not. Ned understood your
nonsense"
81 don't think he did," replied Miss
Seton positively. HE takes most ev-
erything seriously"
But he isn't slow In that sense"
said Freeda. somewhat sharply for her.
Maybe not, but he Is very serious
about most everything. When | told
him the other night that had given
up the Sunday study, he looked as sol
emn as II something dreadful had hap
pened. 1t would kill me to take every
thing as seriously as that"
There's no danger Of your dying
suddenly, Ida," said Freeda as they
went out of the parlor.
"And STILL" persisted Ida as If trying
to defend her own lack Of seriousness,
II don't object to it in other people.
like your brother good deal better
than the chattering, grinning kind, like
Willis Preston. think there Is some
thing very nice In your brothers sober
face"
Freeda did not reply to this frank
admission, and, after staying in the
hall to chat with some newcomers a
little while, she went up stairs. AS
| she went into her room she wondered
for the first time how she would feel
IL Ida and her brother should begin
to like each other. 1t was only
momentary thought. The life of the
students at Hope college was remark
| ably free from any foolish, sentimental
or harmful lovemaking. The students
had their social meetings frequently;
they were constantly seeing one anoth-
| err In chapel, In the classroom and
| library and on the grounds, and, In
| general, there was a healthy, natural
| atmosphere about the relations that
| existed between them that was the
best possible argument for the CO.
| educational idea, so far as this particu-
lar part of 1t was concerned. Perhaps
| President Royce expressed the truth
| about 1t best when he said once, In
| answer to n question put to him by
| visiting stranger who was unfamiliar
| with the student life of America: THE
| fact Is, there Is no more lovemaking
| among the boys and girls In our CO.
| educational schools than there is
among the same boys and girls as
| they meet in one another's home out
| side Of college. And the fact Is. also.
| that most of them are too busy with
| the regular work of the college course
to contract engagements or to act in
| anyway so rs to interfere seriously
| with the purpose for which they are
here. The association Of the students
in the college is based upon healthy,
| natural, frank associations, exactly
the same that exist In any circle Of
neighborhood families In n Christian
community Of the United States where
boys and girls grow up together with
out restraint and in n freedom which
Is seldom abused"
While all this was emphatically true,
so true that only once or twice In the
history Of the college had anything
happened that even the enemies Of a
coeducational idea could quote against
Il, at the same time the president knew
that. with several hundred students to-
gether I'm the institution, 1t would be
very remarkable II some Of them did
not occasionally find warm friend
ship or acquaintance ripening into
something more serious. But it is safe
TO say that he was thoroughly surpris-
ed that winter at an event which open
ed his eyes to one side of the student
life as he had never seen 1t before.
1t was fully three months after the
debate, and Edward was developing In
many ways with a rapidity that he
himself was not conscious of. His nat
urally slow, logged, somewhat phleg-
matte temperament was changing un-
der the influences of his training. His
mind was more alert, his faculties be-
coming more ripe In their powers, his
pcquisitive faculties growing I'm capac-
ity as well as in active perception.
With all this he had developed even
further yet, II possible, the qualities Of
obstinate determination, and his real
love for the truth was no less mingled
with his consciousness of moral up
rightness. He was apparently no near
err n positive decision as to the personal
Christian life. His satisfaction with
himself was as strong as ever. If the
result Of the debate had humbled his
intellectual pride at the time, his moral
pride had not been touched or lessened.
1t was therefore an event to him Of
farreaching seriousness when, late In
the spring, he began slowly, but none
the less surely;;t to realize thGt he was
thinking a good deal more about Miss
Seton than about his college work. He
had never cared for girls, and now that
he began to think OF this one he was
troubled about It. The change In him
was gradual. He had met her with
] rraAha- naturally oftanar than he mat