Hobart College - Echo of the Seneca Yearbook (Geneva, NY)

Page 14 text:

,f: P i i n ; !i H g P f | j ECHO OV THE SENECA. , ...- - 1c EAR with all its vicissitudes, its joys and its sorrows, i' A'- ias PaF sec hearing with it into the unalterable past our actions, whether good or bad, and once again are we called upon to appear before the readers of the Echo. Wc now enter upon this task with more confidence than we did a year ago? for what then were hopes are now facts, and wc speak no longer of what may be, but of what is. A surprising fluctuation has taken place in the Class of ’82 dur- ing the past year. Of the original number of the class but one half remains at Hobart. ' The rest have betaken themselves—some to schools of medicine or theology, others to business. With pain- ful regret do we recall the death of one of the most respected of our number, who, though with us for so short a time, by his noble bearing won from us our love, and whose example we- may well; imitate. To compensate in part for these losses in number, ir) place of those- who have gone five have joined ua, hfotwithstanding all the changes that have taken place, the char- acteristics of the class have been preserved, and it is with pride that wo point, among others, to the entire absence of discord of ill feeling in all class business, though before aud behind us wc sec repeated instances of faction, disagreement and the like. As to our interest in all college matters, we need only say that we are fully represented in each organization: in the college choir, in the glee club, in the base ball nine, as well as in the foot ball team', while in our own number we have a base ball nine, a double quartette, and an orchestra From our proficiency in athletic sports it may be- well to pass to our mental characteristics; and while we would not boast, yet we confidently say that not in vain have wo grappled with the intricate subject of coast surveying and naviga- tion, a practical application of which was given in a cruise last term. Demosthenes has failed to terrify us with liis ringing argu- ments 7T?pl rov rre j avovj though so early In the course have wc met him. m A-A. r . £- £• .... 17 ' rr ’-Viv v Wr'i -V ir.V.'s -' Ac -1' V N ■iwhr.i-tJafUismtvG'

Page 13 text:

And so the unfortunate victim retires to his study and sits down at his desk to write an editorial which shall ill! a page and a half of the Ectto arid, if possible, do justice to the class. But- however that may be, the apace must be filled. What can lie write? Shall he speak of the satisfaction, the dignity and gravity that come with the Junior year? Of the zeal with which the class is follow- ing out the labarinthine arguments of the “Do Corona?” Of the enthusiasm with which they delve among the treasures of the mother-tongue? Shall ho describe the awe. and reverence inspired in the timid Freab. by heating from Junior lips the “ Mnemonic Lines75 quoted and. discussed in preference to the idle, bootless chatter of less highly favored mortals? The unquenchable thirst of knowledge w'hich prompts a thorough investigation of the Nat- ural Laws as laid down by Ganot? Or, belter still, shall he assume a vivacious tone and tell of the conquests made by the Junior, gal- lant and gay, and then grow pensive as he mentions the sorrowful fact that for the Class of ’81 the course is more than half completed and the end draw's on apace? It cannot be that he write of these, for when the book comes from the press some college antiquary, well read in many preceding u Echoes, •5 will exclaim, “ The Junior editor has smoag- ed ’GO’S Sophomore editorial;” or “He has mixed ’75’s Junior cd. and ’75-s Senior effusion.” And old files will be produced and the hapless writer condemned, because, forsooth, the experience of one class is much like that- of another [ Bo the present- Junior searches in the house of his intellect for some item of class interest that is not an echo, and, finding none, heaps imprecations both loud and deep upon the mover of his election, and yows that, so far as he i.s concerned, the. Class of ’81. will have to do without its editorial. NZXZhl i

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1 ► t! hi .Along with our college duties have we kept up tiio college cus- toms. We held our annual class supper a few weeks since at. the house of one of our number: and ours is the first class which has giv- en a Sophomore Exhibition for several years. In connection with this subject it is but right that some attention should, be paid to the Freshman burlesque (?), which met with such entire lack of notice at the time. It is unfortunate that the very first index the public received of 5835s mental capacity was so correct. It was their intention that the production should be a joke, and after three or more meetings for deliberation, after intense thought on. the subject and encouragement on the part of the Juniors, they evolved that “stinging’1 bit of sarcasm. The spirit in which the concoction of this gem of wit was undertaken was highly commend- able, but the product of their deliberations was “infinitely silly.’1' Wc sincerely hope that the pleasure of anticipation in which their infantile minds indulged while evolving this so-called burlesque, was sufficient to outweigh the utter disappointment which neces- sarily followed when they submitted it to a criticising public.. However, wc would add by way of consolation that, we noticed a fewr among the audience who by immense physical, exertion actu- ally managed to excite a visible smile. The class of ’83 has distinguished itself by a stupidity uncommon even in Freshmen. By a strange resemblance to that animal, they remind us forcibly of the Bou, rla which they will encounter in. thei r Junior Greek. (The Freshmen may obtain a- translation of this phrase by taking it to their guardians the Juniors, who will call in the aid of a “pony.”) The innocence of some of their num- ber in buying tickets to the Sophomore Exhibition, and i-he total want of class feeling exhibited by those who discovered the joke and afterward assisted in selling tickets to their class-mates, are conclusive proofs that ’83 hi the most remarkable class that has entered Hobart for years. But enough of this. That the coming year may prove for us as successful as the past year, and that we may always maintain our previous high standard, is the wish of THE CLASS OF EIGHTY-TWO. U H ft ; :t L? n k