The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-11-12
THE SOPHOMORE PLAY.
BY GRACE MARGARET GALLAHER.



Tilly Ingersoll as an understudy for
fate. She was such foolish little
person, so reckless and irresponsible.
Even the professors, who fiunked her
with harmony of Judgment pleasant
to contemplate in faculty, never
took her at all seriously. Yet 1t was
she who, In the impersonal, indiffer-
ent way supposed to characterize the
walk and conversation of fate, turned
from its course the most beautifully
ordered career in college.
She, with four other unfortunates
whom the weekly raid of the sweeper
had driven from their rooms into the
corridor, was seated on forgotten
trunk-truck, one April afternoon.
The others, mindful of the nearness
OF their next recitation, were vigor-
ously acquiring few "glittering gen.
eralities" on the early English drama.
His window-blinds are shut
tight" announced Tilly, suddenly,
leaning out of the window with such
@ swoop that her neighbor made a
startled clutch at her apparently dis
appearing form.
THAT means he is either gone to
town or dead. In either case, we have
a cut in English. Do you hear?"
"Tilly, II you want to quit this
naughty world, please choose some
other means of exit than hurling
yourself on the stones down there.
It's such a messy style of dying!"
complained Marcia Grennell, the girl
who held her by the skirt.
Away or dead!" chanted Tilly.
"We have cut. Hi! you" to a girl
who came swiftly round the corner.
"oh!-er-I beg pardon, Miss Aims
ley. I thought you we're some one
else."
The girl hardly turned her head as
she hurried by.
"It's a regular shame about herl"
said Tilly, in half-whisper, waving
toward the disappearing figure.
somebody ought to stop that. We
ought; she belongs to our class!"
No one made any reply. ,Tilly went
on excitedly: "We ought to get her
to know some girls, to have some
fun!"
The others were only half-listen-
ing; the subject was so old 1t had lost
all interest. Keith Mcknight raised
her soft, earnest eyes to Tilly.
Should we do something?" she
asked, anxiously.
"Of course we should! You should.
Put her on your play committed"
"But, Tilly, dear child"
whats that?" Tilly's head was
out of the window again. "a cut in
English! l told you so, Come on,
fellows! Hot chocolate and frabjous
little nut-cakes in my room to cele-
brate. I've got the cakes all right,
and we can borrow the rest" OF
darted Tilly with all other thoughts
swept from her mind.
The others followed joyfully. Keith
sat still on the trunk-truck. She was
the president of p, and held that
"a public Office is public trust. "
She felt herself responsible for the
success and happiness of every girl
In the class.
Ought to look after Miss Aims
ley?" she pondered. "Her life GER
tainly is queer; it can't be good for
her. How am going at it?' Keith
frowned at mild little freshman who
happened to be passing. to the terror
Of that innocent child.
Whenever you met Orpha Ainsley.
you desired to put your fingers In her
dimples, ruffle up her dandelion hair,
and handle her generally as you
would baby. She was so round and
pretty and attractive, so altogether
lovable. Strangers who saw her rum
ming down the walk, golf-clubs in her
hand, her cheeks rubbed red by the
wind and her eyes aglow, smiled as
they said 10 one another, "Tho typ
ical college girl. vigorous, wide awake
and full of fun"
And that proves that "the world is
still deceived by ornament" The
girls would rather have kissed the
statue of Minerva that adorned .the
main entrance. than crlnkle one OF
Orpha's immaculate frills, and as for
being the typical college girl
Why, Orpha was grind" A girl
who studied from the time she got
out Of bed in the morning until she
got into 1t at night; studied straight
through class-meetings, basketball
games, ice-carnivals. plays receptions;
sometimes without even knowing that
all these important things were hap
pening. She was not oven the typical
grind, for she was rosy and OF calm
nerves, and went outdoors every day,
making this one exception to her all
work program.
Orpha had come to college deter
mined to be IAN educated woman"
TO her that meant to have her intel
lect cultivated to the highest degree
possible. OF that broadening and
sweetening of the character, that
learning to view life with appropri-
ate emotions" which is so far above
any training of the mind, she never
dreamed. She was unnaturally clever
already; her essays always were
marked with neat little red-ink
excellent" her Greek prose--still
more potent cause of swelling pride
bore no red ink at all; she received
commendatory notes after each exam
nation; and she asked such "intelli-
gent questions" in class that the pro-
iessors themselves could not answer
them.
) But OF the world Of college outside
OF books, that happy, Jolly, whole