The Republican journal., 1905-10-12
A FRESHMAN AT U. OF N.
KILL.

at it afterward, was pretty strenuous
time. In the first place you had to do
an amount of studying that made you
smile at high school work, and look
upon it as child's play in comparison
with the assignments over which you
were obliged to spend hours of prepare
ton. Then there was football, for you
Kept up your interest in that sport
manfnlly, and the end of the season
found you still on the second, hardened
to being pounded and thumped and
sworn at and with very different idea
of the sport from that which you had
brought with you from prep. schools.
There were moments when you would
have given worlds to exchange places
with this or that fellow who had been
| chosen for sub. on the varsity, and
there were others when you would
! have given great deal more than the
amount of money you had foolishly
left in that brand new pocket book in
the gym locker to have had the salts
faction of smuggling" the Big Fellow,
who was trying hard for varsity
place and against whom you sometimes
played But on the whole the game
was worth the candle, and at the end
of the season you decided that you
were the better for your perseverance.
You had to carefully explain to Her,
however, that you would not be able
to wear thick blue sweater emblaz-
oned with big white ''M' when you
came home at Thanksgiving time; and
she was vastly disappointed, only she
did not say so.
Then there were the ball games, and
it was JOY to know that you had help
ed your class break the long chain of
Freshman defeats and win two games
out of the three in the series. 1t made
life seem worth living when one heard
ones name on the end of hearty
cheer from the threats of ones class
mates and it was an added Joy to hear
your name read in classmeeting as one
of those entitled to the coveted class
numerals. And then there was a copy
of the Campus which found its way
home and in which your name stared
out from the paragraph about the
probable varsity material among the
Freshman.
The morning of the flag rush was a
memorable one, also, in the early fall.
Everyone responded we'll to the urgent
request that every Teller in the class
get out" and in motley and weird COM
binations nearly everyone appeared on
the field. Two upper classmen held the
stout canvas affair midway between the
ranks of the opposing classes, drawn up
in battle array on opposite sides of the
athletic field. At the crack of a pistol
the rush began, and, as no Freshman
was quite positive who were members
of his class, and who were not, and
as the Sophomore leaders had carefully
mapped out a definite plan of action,
the lower class was pretty much 'out
of sight at the end of the affair. Per
sonally. you were in the thick of it, and
spent most of your time and energy in
trying to remove husky youngster
who really kept dangerously near the
coveted flag, and whom you afterWard
found out, much to your mutual dis
comfort, was also Freshman.
There were classmeetings which
usually meant going practically dinner
less, but which were sources of great
responsibility. The plans for offence
and defence upon which the glory of
the class so largely depended could be
arranged in no other way. Then there
were sundry midnight excursions, plus
paint pots and brushes, in which you
and Jack took an active hand, but
those are among the things that no.
body ever knew anything about, the
next day
The first party you were invited to
up at the Coop was also a memorable
affair, and caused you good deal of
good-natured ''jollying" in the house.
Jack more than did his share until he
also got "bid'' in the next mail. and
thereafter had very little to say on the
subject. You found, as you suspected,
that her friend was responsible for your
invitation and she gave you very
pleasant evening. You had your turn
at jollying afterward, for Jack danced
a lot with baShful little Freshman
who was just learning to dance, and
who was SO evidently completely alb
sorbed in counting steps that converse
tion was matter of considerable diff
ficulty.
But after all the very most important
day was the one on which you and Jack
put pin in the lapel of your coat,
which announced to the college world
that you had chosen a certain frater-
nifty and that fraternity had chosen
you. You had visited several of the
frat houses and seen something, through
observation, Of the chief characteristics
of each group of fellows, and had come
to certain definite conclusions, SO that