College stories, American; Princeton (N.J.) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Princeton University -- Fiction
Mingled bits of conversation and tobacco smoke and the odor of
lemon-peel met them in the little hall-way as they entered it. But
Symington the prep. looked behind the door and made up his mind that
his door would have an electric apparatus like that when he came to
college.
A fellow stuck his head out of one of the bedroom doors and pointing
across the hall-way to the main room with a long, bright deer-knife,
said, "Come in, Tom, I'll be there in a moment." He rubbed
perspiration from his brow with the back of the hand which held a
lemon and disappeared into the bedroom.
"Yea-a-a!" cried several voices as Tucker pushed back the portière and
stood in the door-way. "Come in, Tommy," they said. "Come in,
Symington," said one of the fellows that knew the prep.
"Fellows, this is my friend Symington, the prep.'" said Tucker;
"Symington, this is de gang." Tucker tossed his cap and Symington's
gracefully into the scrap-basket and pushed Charlie into a seat on the
sofa. A fellow with spectacles began asking him what he thought of
the afternoon's game. The prep. did not know the man's name, but that
did not matter.
There were about a dozen fellows scattered about the room, but the
thing that attracted Symington's attention was in the centre of it.
Two square-topped desks had been placed end to end. On these lay a
table-cloth, or rather some sheets, and on them was stacked a pile of
things good to look at and better to eat. The only reason the food did
not immediately become part of the dozen fellows was because they were
waiting with watering mouths for something to wash it down with. And
this was being prepared as rapidly as Randolph and Ashley in the
bedroom could do it. Perhaps they were trying to do it too rapidly,
for Symington heard a voice exclaim, "Aw, look out, you ass, you're
spilling it all over my bed."
While they were waiting, Dougal Davis and Reddy Armstrong and Harry
Lawrence and Jim Linton and others came in. When the lounge,
window-seat, chairs, tables, and coal-scuttle became crowded, the
new-comers sat on the floor.
Presently the introductory strains of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March"
came from the bedroom, followed by Randy and Dad Ashley and two
assistants bearing aloft two basins, which seemed to be heavy. They
strode in, swinging their feet far out in front in a stagey manner to
the tune of the "Wedding March" which they shouted with their heads
thrown back.
Hunter Ramsay jumped up and marched behind them. The rest thought this
a good idea and did likewise, and all sang loud and stamped hard and
made the poler growl in the room below, which did no good. Then after
marching twice around the table they carefully set the bowls down at
either end of it with the ice tinkling against the sides. One of the
bowl-bearers remarked, "Maybe you don't think those things are heavy."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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