Year: 1878

whose low forehead, broken nose, an


general truculency of expression, togeth


er with the handle of a revolver whlcl


portruded from his pocket, unmlstakabl


showed that he was Princeton under


graduate. The timid passengers REGARDED


him with much CONSERVATION, and the
:, illogical student tainted on the spot. Th
+ Undergraduate, however seemed peace
: fully inclined, and smiled grimly as h.
r noted the effect which his entrance pro


duced. He sat down near the middle o
( the car, and, drawing the Police Gazette
from his pocket, resumed his collegiate
studies. In point of fact, alarming as hi


appearance was, he was not as violent anc


reckless as are many of his class. Doubt


less, he had passed through the scenes o


bloodshed and horror which are nova


days inseparable from college life Doubt


less, too, he was ready to take his share
r in any assault on Freshmen or theolog
ical students in which his assistance
not an unredeemed ruffian, and, as the
= event proved was silly rather than bru


tai.


Immediately in front Of this young


man sat an unprotected widow, with a


young baby of months Of age in her


arms. She was young widow, and had


successfully mastered her grief for her


late husband. Indeed, in spite Of her


youth and beauty, there was a certain de-


termined look in her eye which would


have suggested to a physiognomist the
probability that the deceased husband


must have led a rather exciting life in
case he was in the habit of awakening his
wife's jealousy. When the other passen-
gers noticed that the undergraduate S
gaze had been attracted by his charming g
neighbor, a shudder went through the
car. 1t was felt that at any moment the
savage nature of the young man might
| display itself in way that could not fail
to alarm the widow, and to require the
bolder passengers to rush to the baggage
car in search of the conductor.


Contrary to public expectation, the un-
dergraduate did not proceed to any acts
of violence. He leaned over the back of
the widows seat and began to converse
in gentle tone upon the state of the
weather Gradually the conversation be-
| came brisker, and in a little while the
undergraduate changed his seat and se
next to the young widow. The passen-
gers saw that they had made mistake,
and that, instead of being an abandoned
ruffian, delighting in nothing but mid
night riot and debauchery, the under
graduate was one of those particularly
silly young men who fancy that to 'firt,
as they call it, with a casual young lady
in railway car is the noblest work of
man. So rapid was the revival of courage
that large man sitting near the end of
the car remarked to his neighbor in
loud whisper that "those Princeton stu
dents weren't half as dangerous as they
looked" and that as far as he was con-
cerned, he would not hesitate to call the
conductor the moment the undergradu-
ate should become violent


There is no doubt that the widow her
self was censurable for entering into con-
versation with a stranger, and especially
with one who obviously belonged to the
studous and criminal class. Still, she
gave no signs of bashfulness or fear, and
conversed with great fiuency and redund-
ant giggling. The undergraduate was ev-
identity delighted and felt that he was
engaged in a most successful firta ton
Presently the train stopped at way sta
tion, and the young widow, remarking
that she wished to get out for moment
to see if one of her friends who resided
at the station in question was visible,
laid the baby in the undergraduate lap,
and bade him take good care of it for a
moment or two.


Had he not been Princeton under
graduate the passengers would certainly
have smiled at him, as he sat awkwardly
holding the infant; but the terrible rep
utation of the Princeton students was
sufficient to protect him from ridicule.-
When however, the train started before
the widow had reappeared, the passen-
gers could no longer restrain their sense
of the righteousness of the situation, and
a simultaneous laugh rang through the
car. So many persons shared in this
laugh that no one particular individual
II e., - Il Il, 4oo
and the undergraduate contented himself
with scowling fiercely, and demanding in
a threatening tone to be informed how
far it was to the next station.


1t so happened that the train was due
at the next station in about five minutes
AS soon as it arrived the undergraduate
rose up and carried the baby to the ticket
office, where he deposited it, remarking
to the terrified ticketseller that he would !
confer particular favor on a Princeton
student by keeping that infant till it
should be called for. OF course, the ticket |
seller did not dare to refuse, and the !
Undergraduate, returning to the car re-
sumed his seat, first announcing, in
loud tone of voice, that if any gentleman
present entertained the opinion that
there was anything laughable in his con-
duct he would be glad to prove that such
an opinion was mistake.


The silence that fell upon the passen-
gers was speedily broken. The abandon
ed baby had been left but few miles be-
hind when from another car entered the
missing widow, wreathed in smiles and
accompanied by the female friend whom
she had met at the last station, but one.
Her smiles disappeared as she approach
ed the undergraduate and saw that her
baby was no longer in his arms. To her
peremptory demand that he should in
stantly give it up, he family replied that
it must have gone into the next car in
search Of its mother. Forced to admit
that babes of 6 months old do not usually
walk alone, he was next compelled to
take refuge in general denial that the
baby was concealed about his person or
that he knew where it was. At this
point forbearance ceased to be a virtue,
and the widow fell upon the undergrad
uate and in a few moments reduced him
to a mere wreck 1t was not until the
| other passengers took pity upon the un-
happy man and interposed to check the
further effusion of hair, by telling the in
furiated mother the truth as to her child
that she released her victim. The latter
at once made his escape to the smoking
car, and when next the train stopped fled
into the woods.


This shows US the folly of flirting with
casual widows and also teaches the Valu-
able lesson that the Princeton undergrad
uate is not always as dangerous as he
| seems.