The Republican journal., 1905-07-13
A FRESHMAN AT U. OF NJ.

How Dig and grown up you felt when
you started away from home. with a
suitcase full of new clothes and a trunk
checked through to Orono. The people
down at the station might think Won
were only going away for a visit-but
the trunk, they really couldn't misun.
derstand the significance of that-that
was an unmistakable announcement to
the world in general, and the by ISLANDERS
IN particular, that you were going to
college. Father was down to see YOU
off-you wouldn't let mother and the
girls come, for the college man" to be
does not want any tears and lamenta-
lions, and reminders to 'be good boy"
when he sets forth to conquer his new
world. And as for being good, of
course you have promised your mother
and Her, about that, ages ago, and you
are going to have good time anyway,
and they might as we'll understand
that, first as last. By this time you
have had your last handshake with
| father, and your chum, who ran down
just second, from the store to say
goodbye, has got ride uptown on one
OF the returning hacks, and the con-
ductor says call aboard and the
whistle shrieks one long goodbye"
and you are really off. You will be a
| full-t1edged college man the next time
you 60 over this ground, and that will
| be at Thanksgiving time-a little more
than two months later Nine weeks is
rather a long time, after all, and you
wonder how you will like your room
mate and what your chum is doing in the
store, and you think that it is too mean
for anything that he can't 60 along.
and you think how much you will do
for him next year when he comes up,
Freshman and you are a mighty
Sophomore. Oh, you forget for a
moment, Sophomores are no better
than anyone else although you had
understood that they thought they
were. Well, you would show them
what you thought if they tried any
funny business on you.
1t was a long tedious wait at the
junction. and you were glad when the
train came along and you got aboard,
and were still more rejoiced when you
found seat all by yourself in the front
of the car. There we're a number of
young fellows down in the end of the
Car, and they looked at you and laughed,
when you came in, and one big fellow
with silly grin said, so loud that the
whole carful heard and joined in the
laugh, 81 bet you dollars to doughnuts
that that's Freshman"
A beautiful red overspread your face,
and you hated the big fellow and his
grin. You were as good as anybody
and it wasn't any of his business wheth-
er you were Freshman or a Senior,
but the laughter and remarks kept on,
and your ears grew redder and redder,
and you got more and more provoked,
but you didn't bulge an inch from your
place near the window and by and by
they stopped laughing and began to
sing. The tune was familiar enough,
b1t you didn't know the words. You
listened, with all your might, for you
knew that it was one of your college
songs. After while you got the words,
and somehow or other little thrill ran
through you when they came to ''Three
cheers for Maine, boys, for she's all
right with the "What's the matter
with Maine?" on the end OF it, and you
wished you could join in it, too, but you
didn't dare.
By and by when the lively little
group had got tired of singing and had
settled down to exchange vacation sto-
lies in comparative quiet, somebody
dropped into the seat beside you and
said, How'd do? Wonder if you aren't
going up to Maine?" and you said you
were in rather short way; for you
weren't going to submit to any non
sense, you remembered, and although
the fellow looked nice and pleasant he
might be Sophomore. You soon found
out, however, that he was Junior and