Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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Hz'sZ01jf W' Ike Class qt '96. 31 as the 'Varsity nine lost those games with an admirable consist- ency the excitement would soon subside, and we had no more bonfires. To be sure, we did beat Pennsylvania, but they did not count. Almost before we were aware the final examinations were upon us, and O, how hard it was to poll during those soft sum- mer evenings! From without the faint sound of the Senior singing would be Wafted up to us, or the tantalizing tinkle of a mandolin would urge us to throw aside our, books and join the throng on the front campus. But the examinations were inevita- ble and we had to meet them with as much resignation as we could command. So we endured the hot lamp, the hotter brow and the aching eye for yet a little while, and lo ! the exams were over. And then came the night of the Sophomore parade, when we, the late Freshmen, became full-fledged Sophomores and cel- ebrated the event in fitting style. We had carried our newly- purchased class caps -with the orange '96 upon them-in our pockets as we went to our last examination, and on emerging from the final test had donned them with a joyous thrill. But now we must hold a parade to commemorate our emancipation. Do you remember, classmates, how we gathered at the head of Nassau Street, arrayed in fantastic combinations of orange and black ?-how with the band in front playing that stirring Triangle Song we marched down the street, three hundred strong, singing the brave old tune:- Nassau ! Nassau ! ring out the chorus free ! Nassau ! Nassau ! thy jolly sons are we, Cares shall be forgotten, all oui' sorrows Hung away, While we are marching through Princeton. Ah, that indeed was a glorious night !

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30 Hz'sZo1g1 qf like Class Qf '96. on April 29th, in a close and brilliant struggle, that we held a bonfire to celebrate our victory. The whole college had been in attendance at this game and now cheered us on to the task of gathering wood. We took everything we could lay our hands upon, from the scaffolding around Alexander Hall to corpse preseffvefs, and had a royal old fire about the cannon. We were the first class to meet the Harvard Freshmen, and since we had started our games with them so auspiciously for us, we rejoiced accordingly. The next event of interest was the annual handicap games, open to all amateurs, held on the 'Varsity field in early May. In these Carnochan and Hall were point-winners from our class, Rolla Wilson also covered himself with glory by winning the 440-yard run in the face of the entire field. Lesperance had undertaken to capture the 120-yard hurdle without effort, but for some reason failed to connect. He was trying to explain the reason to some anxious friends the next day: 'f You see, he said, the whole trouble was I lost my stride? 'f Yes, said joe Righter, who was one of his inquisitors, I saw it going out toward Lawrenceville early this morning. I tried to put it in my buggy, but the thing was too long to fit. After this we heard no more of the lost stride, although Les continued to fall down persistently in every race he attempted to run. Little by little the beautiful spring days grew longer and longer, white ducks took the place of corduroys, and the Seniors began to sing on the steps. It was then our chief occupation and delight to lie on the grass in front of Old North and listen to the songs of those rulers of the college world. There are no Seniors like the first Seniors-the men, I mean, who occupy that proud position when one is a Freshman. None so old, none so dignified, none so worthy of that reverend name as they! Now and then a baseball game with Yale or Harvard would cause a strong ripple in the even flow of undergraduate life, yet

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32 Hisiofgf of Me Class cy' ,96. The next day occurred the Caledonian games, then the de- ciding game of the series with Yale, and then, for most Fresh- men do not wait through Commencement, came the long vacation. We departed, ffsorne for Rahway, some for Rome, but more, far more, for the World's Fair at Chicago. Thus ended our first year at Princeton-a year peculiar to itself, mi gmwfis. We had been thrust suddenly upon the col- lege World and our reception had at first been somewhat harsh, nevertheless, we had held our own in almost every case and had liked the experiences we had undergone. No right-minded fel- low could have gone through our Freshman year without being the better and more manly for it. The classical information which we had imbibed had been of service to us, giving us, I hope, something of the broadmindedness of the Greeks and something of the resolution of the Romans. We had long since begun to love our dear old college and to acquire that respect for her cus- toms and traditions, that reverence for her institutions, that desire for her welfare, which has ever been the chief character- istic of the class of Ninety-Six.