College stories, American; Princeton (N.J.) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Princeton University -- Fiction
Harry Lawrence started up "The Orange and the Black." They sang all
the stanzas. Then they sang more songs, old songs which are still
popular and new songs which were then popular and are now quite
forgotten, probably. Everyone sang, whether he knew how or not.
Symington sang too. The one he liked the best was a funny song
beginning, "Oh, to-day is the day that he comes from the city." They
sang that one over and over again. Then they sang it once more. They
were all having a good time.
After a while the room became quiet and someone turned down the lights
and they told ghost stories, which frightened the prep.
They wound up the evening by trooping downstairs in the dark, for the
lights were turned out long ago, and marching up to the front campus,
singing as they went. And there they danced about the cannon and sang
and whooped and yelled until Bill Leggett came over with his lantern
and said, in his gruff voice and good-natured manner, "Boys, it's
nearly Sunday morning."
"All right, Bill," they answered. Then all said good-night and went to
bed.
Tucker had a roommate some place, but Symington had his bedroom that
night.
"If you want anything, just yell for me, Charlie. My room is right
next, you know. Goodnight." Tucker was half undressed.
"I sha'n't want anything. Wait a minute, Tucker, please. I'm not sure
about something, and it bothers me."
"Well?"
"Princeton won the football championship in '78, didn't we?"
"Say that again."
"Didn't we win in '78?"
"Yes, Charlie, we did."
Symington thought his friend Tucker was smiling at his ignorance. But
that wasn't it.
THE MAN THAT LED THE CLASS
The Latin salutatory was finished. Dougal Davis bowed and took his
seat and the applause began.
He had done well and he knew it, but he did not stop to dwell upon
that now. There would be plenty of time to feel pleased with himself
later on. At present his chief sensation was of jubilant relief at
telling himself that the thing was over with at last.
Not many of his audience had understood much of what he had been
saying, but that did not matter. The fellows smiled at the right time
when he said something about _puellas pulchras_, and they nodded their
heads knowingly when he made the reference to athletics, as he had
told them beforehand to do. And he had gotten through without
forgetting the paragraph beginning with "Postquam," as he feared he
would.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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