The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-11

monthly "Levee" at The Jtdson Tor the
 purpose. as the catalogue says, e"of form ing the young ladies' manherss" To these l levees all the married trustees and their , wives were Invited. and they say once q
 unmarried man. by some unforeseen and
 uncalculated drift of circumstances, was 1 let into the dove cote. What futterlnG of wings there must have been.
 Now Is the time for my hero to como
 upon the stage but l am sure he could not have made his entrance In this way. <, Whether 1t was that he happened to be at the gate of his mothers house (where
 Judge Huey now lives) as the pink-bon- netted procession passed by, "and no sooner saw her than he sighed no sooner sighed than asked the reason why. and , so built a stairs to love- or whether It was that on day when he passed the Judson gate. Miss Charlotte was near the danger line" and their eyes rushed together by mutual attraction, l do not | know. But certain it is he could never have met her as now at receptions and | entertainments.
 Spring came on-"inthe spring a young
 mans fancy" and young girls, too, perhaps, for did they not doffthe green
 and put on the pink, when spring same !? | The magnolia trees were in bloom. pe- 1 tals large and white and soft. Did you ever write your name on one? I did | young Mir. Smith, and tossed 1t over The Judson gate as he passed by.
 Strange that she chanced to be near snd | found if! Strange that next day sho | found other magnolia petals torn rudely from their secure fastenngs In the bud
 and traced with mystic signs, How did she know they were his words? Because poor ostrich that hides It's head in the sand they were In latin. The petals now fell thick and fast; some good lady's $ magnolia tree doubtless his mothers
 must havc greetly suffered They were written in English now and rhymed; no name slgrod though; directed to no one
 yet they always fell where Charlotte found hom. and with the vanity of youth
 she took iheri to hcrcclf, If the old Log
 had been near the gate in those days
 am sure Miss Charlotte would have whis-
 per cd to 1t secrets which it iii turn wolld
 have whispered to the adventurous vonth
 who di1 no aaim as he passed by-onlv
 scattered magnolia petals Ilut there was no log, no postoffice So far as l have bcer told. and she with the innocence of il ! white dcve one day dropped her petals
 in his yard, nor stopped the procession us
 she did so. He found them. of course.
 and they held Just the one word he want cd to hear.
 It YVES commt nccment, in 1Si9. In the Chapel, where we now stand. was what was then knon as the Study Room Picture it without transepts, with a low
 ceiling. deeper. shorter platform, mo
 organ, and several pianos on the plat form, long wooden benches covering tn. floor tsome of them may now be seen up stairs in our lecture ro0ma). This was examination week. From in tho morn ing till l2. from 10 , in the efternoon. examinations ragged; ond they were oral. On the platforms aL, ono side sat the boir,l of visitors distinguished men from all parts of the south, who presided over these inquisltions Trembling classes sat at the other side of the platform while a trembling teacher stood between them.
 Tho awful Judges looked on out of hlgil ste cks and black cravats. Topics were distributed by lot and then the work be- gan.
 Examinations are not pleasing pro- cegscs at the present day, when one sits quietly alone at her desk and answers, a few questions with no one nigh fo hinder or toi know her blunders. what must 1t have been to the pink-dressed girls, who when they failed. failed as the Rink of France dressefl--in public?
 Then. at commencements. visitors came from all over Alabama and the adjoin- states In their private carriages. accom- panied by baggage wagons and attended by servants They stayed for a week or ten days. and all the homes In Marion were thrown open to entertain them Such dinners! Such drives Such merry
 making. and oh, such examinations in the day time. And, at night, such con certs. art levees. ano ~ilor exhibitions, and sub-Stnior exhibitions and. last. com niencement night with all of It's essays
 On examination week, the young ladies dressed In white one day and in pink the next. From this custom arose The Jud- son colors-the pink and the white. The last day of the week was Senior examin- ations. On this year, the Seniors. Miss Jewett, Miss Lockhart, Miss Hornbuckle.