Hamilton College - Hamiltonian Yearbook (Clinton, NY)

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confidentially that the Freshman came very near breaking away at one time, so that we had to get a couple of clothes-lines from Dimoo's house and tie him up more securely, and then like a triumphal procession we moved up the hill with a body guard of 15 men, the rest of us armed with clubs in case of some of the other '4 Freshies U might hear of it and come out to help. Old 4' jocko showed up great. I-Ie was everywhere at once, skirmish- ing about in thickets with five men at his back all provided with hick- ory billets, and blood in their eye, Nancy I' really did himself proud, and I think he was the bravest of us all, for he wouldn't carry a club or weapon of any sort because he thought it was wrong. Say, Sully, he should be a professional nurse, he is so kind and tender, and if a Freshman ever does get him I think he should be treated as nicely as he treated that Freshman last night. It was mighty squeamish busi- ness for me, I can tell you, and I think we all would have felt better with you in our midst, 4' Sully, for you had as much wind as the Freshman had nerve, and Hwindl' goes a good ways when there are plenty of fellows behind you to supply any deficiency in the article. Then, too, that grinning spectre of the sickening defeat of our whole class at the hands of 6 determined Sophomores might have been fright- ened from our quaking minds with a conscious knowledge of your ever present and scintillating Irish H gabf' There is nothing like show of power when you haven't got the real stuff to brace a class up, and a good man to wield the horn offsets 4 or even 6 men with clubs. IfVell, we got the Freshman up the hill without incident, save once when a slight stampede occurred in the rear of our ranks, when a junior 'told some of the class behind that 5 Freshmen equally armed were hur- rying up after us. This was all a Fake, as we afterwards learned, but it all goes to show that a class on an expedition like that should be on the alert continually. The circus we had with that Freshman in the Gymnasium is some- thing you wouldn't have missed for a cock-fight. 'We made him drink milk tainted with kerosene-we thought this at the time and were quite gleeful over the fact, but afterwards learned that 'L Nancy thought it wrong and cruel, and unbeknown to us replaced the kerosene with sugar-made him skip the rope and speechify, and all sorts of humil- iating things till I thought the upper classmen would just bust with laughing, VVe couldn't get the Freshie to holler for our class, how- ever, and we're going to hold a grudge against him for a long time on that account, Well, we got through just in time, for just as we got in 138

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C86 Beffer fliaf Qleger 'IDenf. DITOR'S NOTE.b-One day last winter a Freshman was holding his way down town soon after the mail had gone down. Being in a pensive mood his gaze was bent upon the ground, and suddenly fell upon a sealed letter. Now this letter had probably been dislodged from the mail bag, owing to the terrific speed at which the express travels. Picking up the letter, the Freshman, who was an honest lad, 1nerely glanced through its contents, and then handed it to an Editor of THIS I'IAMIL'l'ONI.-KN. Thinking that it might interest our readers we publish it entire: CHURN 'rms LE'l I'Ell.J CL1NToN, Jan. 30, 1893. ll0f Dmf' Szzffzbnyz .- I have so much to tell you that I hardly know where to begin. But it must all be in the strictest conndenee you know. You should have seen the row we had last fall with one of the Freshiesf' It was a complete walk-over for us, and altogether reHects great credit on our class. One night we heard that a Freshman would be out for a walk and with our characteristic speed--which, by the way, you will remem- ber we learned in a hot encounter of 26 of our men with 6 Sophomores last year, when we would have used their remains Qthe 6'Sophsj in nx- ing up a sickening spectacle, if only you had been with us, and if Ball had not hurt his little Hnger the day before in closing the laundry bag -well, to proceed, we lay in wait for the Freshman, and with 8 of the biggest men in the class at our head we made a dash on him, and after a pretty severe and I may say quite dangerous struggle we succeeded in getting him on his back and tying him hand and foot. I tell you what, old man, you never cast your peepers on a prouder lot of fellows than those 22 classmates of yours that night, with a strong Freshman at last safe in their grasp, and luckily no one injured, except Greeny, who came near scratching his face on the low shrubbery in his efforts to get out of reach of the Freshmanls kicks. Now say, old man, don't ever give it away, but I want to tell you 137

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bed we heard the whole Freshman class out on the campus, and you can bet we felt pretty lucky to get through without any trouble. You ought to been there. But, Sully, what I am thinking of now makes me blush for shame, and I can hardly pen these words. But seeing that we are such confi- dential friends I mas! tell you. You know some friends gave us a flag- pole and a flag to help adorn the campus. 'Well, after the pole was up but before the Hag had been raised, what did those miserable Freshmen do but go and hoist their class Hag to the top of the pole, under cover of the darkness. lVasn't we mad when we saw it, though! Of course we tried to take it down, First we sent up St-n, but a stone is heavier than air, so specinc gravity fand one or two Freshmanj pulled him down. Then we got out our whole class, but those blamed Freshmen stood around the pole like sheep, and wouldn't let us come near it. Oh! it was humiliating to see our giants like D-d-y, go down before the Freshmen like leaves before an autumn blast! But if you and M-t-l and Sc-v-l had been there we would have been all right. Finally one of the Profs. in spite of personal feelings, rendered us valuable assist- ance and the flag was pulled down, but remained in the possession of the Freshmen. I tell you, '95 hasn't much to say about that flag-pole episode. Of course we made it interesting for the Freshmen in the snow-ball row, and supposed that our confiicts and disgraces were finish ed. But one night in January as I was sitting in my window I saw a fire kindle suddenly on the campus. It increased rapidly and soon I beheld a human hgure hanging in its midst. l7Vas this a barbarous murder? Suddenly the certainty dawned upon me that it was an efhgy of our class! I ground my teeth in rage to think that all the Sophomores in North College could not dare to risk an encounter with the six Fresh- men who were managing the bonfire. And I had to sit there and calmly witness the successful' completion of this infamy upon our glo- rious class. Imagine my feelings! I am afraid that the Freshmen are learning too fast and will soon be able to teach us. But we have not room for much more, as our heads are already full to overflowing with the greatness and perfection of the class of 'g5. lVe should be glad to hear of your progress at school in Syracuse, and hope our correspondence may not be broken off. Write soon to your FRIEND. T39