The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-08

Cambridge, February 6.-(Special) )-Just about the time 1sI years ago. sammy Chandler, a very lively youth of Glou- cester. Massachusetts, was packing his chest preparatory to joining the class of 1775 at Harvard College where he not only studied Latin and Greek-with a side ann bition to play the banjo or become a con jurer-but also kept diary sammy's diary recently published in part in the Graduates Magazine. presents curious picture of student life at an American college in the very last days of the old colonial regime
 The diarist indeed often ran away from college to see what was going forward in old-time Boston. Contemporary life at Harvard is curiously mingled with con- temporary events in Boston in this 18th century American schoo l boys diary, running as 1t does from the experiences of Master Sammy in his efforts to recover vanished $5 through the assistance of local conjurer-who gave us full satis- faction that he well understood the art he professed' despite the non-recovery of the treasure-to the hissing of two stu dents who attempted to speak a dialogue against the "Preceedings' of the Ameri- can revolutionists. Sammy himself was what would nowadays be called a sport and his account of his own performances is often an interesting commentary upon college discipline in the time of our an- cestors.
 Sammy Chandler set out for Harvard February 10, 1773, lat about of ClolS in Schooner & although the Wind was con- trary we got to Boston about g at night" Nowadays he would have travelled on the f,.afr Io q ter in something over an hour. The first thing that happened to him after he reached Cambridge was the loss of his s5 and he decided, having his own suspicious, to seek the aid of conjurer
 Thursday, 25,' he writes in his diary, this fore Noon I hired MT. Steetmans hors & Sha in which Emerson and to- gether with Battle and Hall went to Dedham to one Dusts a Conjurers. told him had lost Something and wanted his Heipe in discovering ye Person Jinon no other Information he told me when lost it how l left my Money and that I sus- pected Parker so exactly that before he had mentioned one Quarter of ye Descrip- ton two of my Company (who knew noth- ing of the Affair." knew it by ye Descrip- ton of him and mentioned his name. he described ye place where ye Money was (viz on the East side of Chimney which is ye Place where Parkers Chest stands) he also described the House exactly in which it was. on our Return we drank tea at ye Punch Bowl and got home to Prayers" Sammy however failed to re- cover his five dollars although he had later the consolation of hearing from all seeing Dusts that 'the Money has some Part been Spent but the Remainder is hid near ye College House Pump I go out and lock for it." he adds, but do find it''
 On March IS. This Morning after some Trouble in getting a Hors ts Sha Willard Tyler and myself about II of the Clok set out to go to Dustes to have their For tunes told them. talked to him about learning the Art. he gave me great En- couradgment coming back our hors tired so as with great Difficulty one riding the others going on Foot we got to ye Punch Bowl about where We Drank Coffee. got home before H. put the Hors & Sha up at Brandshes. We had a very fatigueing Ride it being very muddy and exceeding bad riding so ye Hors could hardly git along.' Perhaps 1t was this "fatigueing Ride that spoiled Master Sammys am bition to master the art of conjuring for we hear no more of Dust the Conjurer.
 Later in the year he ran with the Har- ward fire engine and succeeded in being ahead of the town engine in putting out fire at the "Gail'-"which is not the first time" he adds, apparently sweetly oblivious of the pun in his reckless spell Ing, that the scholars have had the Prefirence." Later in the same day he goes to Boston, hastening to the water front, where the Kings storeship had been accidentally set on fire; and burned apparently with very little sympathy from the townspeople. 'It seems now,'' he says. that the Inhabitants see her burn with Pleasure only they are sorry the Commissioners are not on Bord.'
 Although the student body out at Cam bridge very well reflected the revolution ary spirit of their ancestors there were many other things to think about-par- ticularly the thew discipline" that re- stricted many of Sammy's antics and lead him to declare it tyrannical Also, al- though his studies do not appear serious ly to have worried him, he neatly record ed both the lectures and recitations he attended and those that he managed to escape. Sometimes he even regretted such evasions. In November. for exam pie. thinking MT. Winthrops lecture would not be very interesting I stayed out but find it was upon Electricity for which I am very sorry I did not attend.