New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-06-20

LIFE AT PRINCETON COLLEGE. l'6S,l''$
Mills Illustrated. Octave, PIP. 1872. Phlaoel-
pha J. B. Lippincott Company
William Paterson, the Attorney General Oh
New-Jersey during the Revolution. and after
ward the Governor of the State, wrote the pages
which Mr.. Mills has gathered together III TINS
little book. Both the letters and the poems
which it contains plainly reveal the lnlluehce VI
the time in which they were written. 1t was a
time when sincerity often failed to get on speak
ing terms with literature. and therefore we nho
our poet and letter writer sadly affected In
deed giving John Moses possession Of tract OF
land the young Paterson, only recently out or
college unburdened himself as follows:
How sweet to listen to a purlng stream
MhoSe Ia t - %{ea and III the fit should take
To court the muses. by sunny pIahe:
How soothing sad TO hear yon turte-doVe
DepIore the loss untimely OF her love
..x-erees n Sally. are written on portion of
an old letter The author never finished them
Something probably enlightened his judgment
or il NAV be that doubt of the reality Of his
poetic inspiration crossed his youthful mind
Such as they are we present the fragments;
Hail. beauteous maid! Thy, charms inspire
Old age with transport and UnWoIueG q5a 1ae
Nature sure formd thee with her utmost . art
Fen Nassau's sons. so dazzling bright thy eye
Revere in silence and in silence Ole
Sally Of thee sing: the belle the toast.
Auroras self not half thy charms "a ms can BOAST:
Love Coo; ;ia Of raptures in each features seen
And so on and so on. and so on All the
heaux of this period were scribbling just such
verses about Just such Sallies. whenever they
could secure q pencil, a scrap Of paper ana
some shreds of poetic recollection.
The early letters betray much the same quail
ties of froth and insincerity which distinguish
the poems The standing joke among the young
people Of those days was to accuse each other
of being in love. Thus We find Paterson accus-
ing the young to whom he writes and re-
,,eiy-ing similar counter accusations. They are
not at all delicate about naming young ladies in
connection with such matters and tell who kissed
who how many times. and what the sensation
was like What world Of difference there is
between the letters which Paterson wrote to
his friends soon after his graduation and the
grave rrissive which, as grandfather Of Stephen
Van Rensselaer,, he sends to Henry Kollock.
tutor at the College of New-Jersey, in the year
1894.
Sir: Mr. Van Rensselaer, requests that you
would he so good a to inform HIM, through me-
of the character of Mr.. Elliott Stephens chum;
and if il is not very steady and serious pegs
that YOU would endeavor TO get him with some
other gentleman that is So stephen was SUI
fered to remain too long in New-York- and has
been much INDUCED. His father is very anxious
about him. and particularly, that he shoGld De
connected with a studous, regular ana moral
roommate whose manners and exemplary con-
duct will prove beneficial to him and facilitate
his progress in literature.
Excuse this trouble and believe me TO be.
Yours sincerely,
VIM. PATERSON
II annears that at this time Princeton was af-
Aicted with Young gentlemen who thought it a
spirited thing, as we'll as humorous. to blow up
q portion of the college building by way Of con-
tributing little mild excitement Of life there
There was a wild set, and Van Rensselaer,
seemed TO lean toward it