University of Maryland College Park - Terrapin / Reveille Yearbook (College Park, MD)

Page 31 text:

An Incident of ' 95, If 3 ' ou ' ll listen to me, I ' ll relate an event Which happened a very short while lieforc Lent. The fellows who room on the Sophomore Hall, With their usual cheek and pre].osterous gall. Concluded that they were lords of the school. And straightway proceeded the college to rule. The boys who on Madison Avenue dwelt, A great deal of pride and dignity felt, And their Buzzards ' Roost rivals who wanted to reign Were treated with lofty contempt and disdain. But the light-headed Sophomores not a moment could rest. And to open a quarrel all did their best. Now, on Broadway there dwelt a lot of gay chaps Well practiced in making a row after Taps, These, not so high-minded as the Seniors below. Considered the Sophomores as being their foe. And, warned that the Sophs were out on a raid. For a battle got ready, and in ambush were laid. Meanwhile the Sophs had conceived the bold plan Of leaving their quarters to the very last man. And, each arrived with a pillow as a weapon of war. To wipe out the Freshmen upon the next floor. Now, how these wild villains could gain their consent. To go from their hall on such dire mischief bent. To prevent other students at work on their course From doing their duty, by this show of force. Is beyond every reasonable shadow of doubt Too deep for the writer to clearly make out, Be that as it may, it matters not now ; Since the belligerent Sophs were out for a row. They mounted the stairway in two terrible ranks. At its head they were met by a brilliant phalanx Of Freshmen, who, standing prepared for the war Surprised their opponents from the next lower floor. A thunderbolt striking a down from the skies Would not to the Sophs have caused greater surprise. Tbey expected to find all the Freshmen unarmed, And hence had great reason for being alarmed When the strange apparition burst o ut on their sight Of the whole Freshmen class marshalled out for the fight. But too late for retreat, they are in for it now. And fight now they must, the best they know how, All at once at a signal, the Freshmen rushed forth And belabor the Sophomores for all they are worth. And the Sophs, thus attacked engaged in the fight And hammer the Freshmen to the left and the right. 25

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pulses and tastes, onr mental powers, and last but not least, our habits — habits of doing and habits of thinking. But no one can build well without the plans of an architect, nor mould a character without an ideal. We must have ideal types, and these types must be the highest. We may feel that some knowledge is too wonderful ; it is high, and we can not attain unto it — but that is no matter. Approximation is in itself growth and development. A goal wholly gained means effort ended ; and without growth we will certainly have degeneration. As to what the final end of self-culture may be, we can not say. We do no not recognize anything final in it. Growth is endless, and self-culture has no limitations. But what are its practical results to the individual who practices it? If nothing else, these: First, fullness of life, that is, life whose every moment has a meaning and a purpose, life full of interest, because full of thought and work, life that is above the commonplace and mean, life that satisfies. Second, force of character, decision, clear- ness of purpose, with all the respect and confidence from others that this insures. Last, the conscious- ness of being somc In ' iig, a real entity, self-made, self-controlled, self-owned. Such a consciousness alone is worth a lifetime of effort, and more than compensates for every loss occasioned in its getting. 24

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Such confusion that followed I can not describe, The light was extinguished. It seemed like a tribe Of murderous Indians were fighting a battle And the racket was like to the stampede of cattle. The fight had waxed warm ; the Sophs were hard pressed, The Freshmen themselves were needing a rest. When, without any warming, there began a wild flight Every fellow was fleeing at the best of his might. Every Sophomore who just a few moments before Was doing his best to add to the roar, Forgot in a moment the plan of the raid And he hustled downstairs not a little dismayed. Every Freshman who recently fought at his best In the stampede that followed, quickly joined all the rest. And all in a twinkling the top hall was clear. As silent as death. Not a sound could I hear Save a very faint rustle of the wind overhead. Or a Freshman in hiding under his bed. The scene of the battle was a sight seldom seen When the hall was deserted and all was serene. Here and there lay a pillow which some Soph in his fright At the danger approaching, left behind in his flight And a carpet of feathers o ' er the whole hall was laid F ' rom the pillows which burst on the combatants ' heads. But what caused this wild riot of so valiant a crowd, In the midst of a turmoil so awfully loud ? ' Twas this : A Sophomore, returning in haste, Towards the south doorway by a Freshman was chased. As he turned to the right down the stairway to go He, Commandant saw coming up from below. This alarm quickly spread, was what ended the game. For each one of the villains at the sound of that name Grew pale, and quickly deserting his post. Rushed off just as if all his senses were lost. And the fact that perhaps was the strangest of all. Was, that Commandant carried no pillow at all. 26