St Johns College - Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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A Trip Through Southern Maryland l at I ALTIMGRE, 'Wilmington, Philadelphia and New York, Popels Creek and VVay Stations! All aboard! It is early upon a beautiful morning of Qctober that we board this north-bound express at the Pennsylvania depot in VVashington, anticipating' a delightful trip through Southern Maryland. To the left the dome of the Congressional Library, reflecting the glory of the rising sun, shines like a hemisphere of burnished gold. To the right, against the blue vault of heaven, VVashington Monument stands forth as a pillar of cloud. To the front stretches a broad expanse of water and marsh, spanned by a long trestle. Nightls candles have burnt out, and jocund day stands tip-toe on the misty mountain topf' Had Shakespeare interwoven a Prince George county scene into his tragedy he would have had to be content with a small hill covered with scrubby pine trees instead of a mountain. But Shakespeare seems to have not been impressed to any great degree by Prince George county scenery, probably because he never saw it. George Alfred Townsend once attempted a graphic description of Southern Maryland, and the remembrance still lingers green in the hearts of the natives. Wliile we have thus been meditating upon the vicissitudes of human existence in general and nothing in particular, the train has been flying through woodland and Held. As we glide on, the landscape becomes very interesting. From my Window I count seven hills, two creeks, four negro huts, five rabbits, one snipe, one farm house, six buzzards and three signboards. Upon the first signboard is the following legend inscribed: And he took him unto an high place and said unto him: 'iff thou canst do all things, I command thee to change these stones into bread. And he answered and said, No, thanks, but I will change them into VVilliams' Pink Pills for Pale People, if you wish. ' The second read thus: Wfhen I can read my title clear, To mansions in the sky, I'll bid farewell to every fear, And drink old Roxbury Rye. 17o f l 1 2 l ,i f X. ab ll rr i sf 'l l llo yr- L ll l

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i I 0+ r i l l fl ii ll F F l ,li l I I I i l '. i lj I if t Q, if Ei -if 1, Jarvis looked through the open door and saw not only what has been men- tioned, but also that the Freshie looked lonesome. With a view to cheering up the youngster, he walked in and introduced himself. After some common talk ' ' Jarvis realized suddenly that he was desperately hungry, and the Freshie, for the sake of being agreeable, owned up that he was, too. Come along, then,' said Jarvis, and we'll see what is in store for us. You'll never get along here till you learn how to make yourself at home. Come on and fill show you around. They strolled to Room 79, where Jarvis thought he could probably find some caramels. It happened that the occupants of 7Q were in and that a half dozen other fellows were in with them, all enjoying a little feast. Just the thing! 9 Gentlemen, Jarvis sang out when, after much persuasion and not a few threats, T have the honor to present to you Mr. Willie Verdant n H J , ewly arrived, kindly make him comfortable. ' The gang, seeing that Jarvis had some game on hand, very generously made themselves agreeable to the lately homesick Mr. Verdant. After a while Jarvis left the room, saying he would be back shortly. Of course it did not take long to carry innocent W'illie's bed up to his own room, so he was able to be as good as his word. . X After spending a very pleasant evening, during which he learned that the l upper c assmen were real nice fellows, Willie withdrew to his now pleasant room. Jarvis happened in a little later and very vehemently expressed his opinion of anyone who could stoop so low as to steal a bed. After a little skirmishing around he found another new bed in a freshman's room and, after giving its owners a good lecture and promising them a good, honest hazing, he removed it to the new man's room. Later he happened in and told the bed-stealing Q PJ freshman that the hazing might be averted if someone would go do-wn to 196 Dobbin Street and bring up a trunk that had been brought there that evening. The Freshies took the hint and the trunk was pushed into room 65, at 11.39 P. M. Two or three hours later enough good sense to get along well in the world. Jarvis went to bed, congratulating himself on having 45 vgoabqv itgyli 169

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Q .....,, - -...,aW-.. f-ff-f-f-fa--. H e-H----A V'--1-.f,vr--as-r-:fy - f -'I A Upon the third, shining forth as a warning to a lost and benighted world, was the following: Verily, I say unto you: D Except ye eat Mellin's Baby Food in your infancy, ye will surely hzzle out. Bowie, next stop! Change cars for Pope's Creek Line! yells in a fog-horn voice, a little brakeman with a big cap and Roman nose. Aroused from our con- templation of the beauties of nature, we collect ourself and alight. The most conspicuous feature of Bowie, and the one that invariably attracts and holds the attention of travelers, is in the great number of shields or probably coats-of- arms suspended along the fronts of the houses. Let me read you a few: Tivola Qnever heard of itj g Rochester Qsaw the name once in a geographyj g Bartholomay Qsounds familiarj 3 Annheuser Busch Qpleasant recollectionsj ig Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous. Ah! here is the key to the riddle.- We feel an almost uncontrollable desire to perambulate across, but remembering the well- known and time-honored adage: There will be no baseball game today, we choke down our thirst and decide to forego the pleasure of a high ball. Although we feel that we cannot indulge, at least there is no harm in looking at the signs. If we do not see doubly and can count correctly, there are just 67 of these insignias. This is surely an era of prosperity in our history. Long may it continue, may the beer signs multiply an hundredfold and our money never run out. That star-spangled banner Qf freedom, so dear, O long may it wave, VVhile we empty down beer. But here is our train. All aboard! and we are off. WVe chanced to sit beside a gray-haired old gentleman of benevolent appearance, and were soon engaged in an animated conversation with him. He seemed to be well informed, and we discussed several of the questions of the day: i. e., Did Vlfasliington cross the Delaware in a rowboat or a mud scow? Should John Brown have been hanged or electrocuted? VVhich is the better to keep cider from getting too hard, peppermint or sassafras? Hello ,! Here we are at Upper Marlboro. On one side can be seen a frog pond 3 on the other a weather-boarded station and express office, behind which stands a mule hitched to a dogcart. We are told by the old gentleman that the town is just across the hill, and, of course, have no cause to doubt him. We are not ordinarily easy, but where it is none of our business, we are not in the habit of calling a man a liar on a supposition. E After leaving Upper Marlboro our companion, who seemed to be something of a philosopher, broke upon a new theme. My young friend, said he, do you ' I7I -