Page 5 - The Adventures of a Freshman

Matthew Goldie, the famous old proctor, was sauntering down the walk wriggling his fingers, as was his
habit, and looking apparently in the other direction. This was also his habit.

Even in those days, before hazing was abolished by the undergraduate vote, when it was thought, even by the
Faculty, that hazing had its redeeming features, it was a rather reckless proceeding for a crowd of Sophomores
to take a Freshman in hand on the front campus in broad daylight and in plain sight of the Dean's house.

The small Sophomore's pipe was not two inches from the Freshman's face when the warning was sounded and
Matt Goldie was coming straight down the walk toward him, and yet, to the surprise of all, he went on in the
same earnest manner, only now he was saying:

"I tell you, my dear sir, you will thank me all your life if you join Whig Hall. Why, there is no comparing the
two literary societies. Now, just look at the records of the past years: In the first place, Whig Hall was founded
by President James Madison when he was a student here"— and then the small Sophomore went glibly on
with the arguments the Whig men usually employ when claiming superiority to their rival society, Clio Hall.

Matthew Goldie had approached, come even with the group and passed by, oblivious of its existence,
apparently. But the Sophomores knew he was not so oblivious as he looked, so they began to move off.

"Good-by, Freshman," they said, laughingly, "sorry we have to leave you so soon. Come on, Channing."

But Channing lingered a moment. "What's your name?" he demanded

The Freshman thought it was none of this fellow's business, but he wanted to show he was not afraid.
"Young," he said.

"Your initials?"

"My name is William Young, if you want to know," answered the Freshman, decisively.

"Willie, eh?"

Those of the others who were near enough to hear laughed at this.

"Well, you are rather old to be called Young--Willie Young, especially. Hereafter you shall be known as
'Deacon Young.'"

"Aw, come on, Chan," called the others.

"All right," said Channing, but he turned to the Freshman as he started off and remarked, threateningly, "We'll
meet again, you big, green Freshman."

"I hope so," promptly returned Young, "you little, mouthy Sophomore."

And this was the very worst thing he could have said, as he was afterward taught, if he had wanted to avoid
hazing. He did not know that the best way to get along with the Sophomores was to take their initiating--not
humbly, which was almost worse than getting mad about it--but laughingly and good-naturedly, for as soon as
he acknowledged the fact that he was only a Freshman and recognized that he belonged to the lowest of four
grades of college importance, they would let him alone.

But Young was not of a sort readily to acknowledge subordination to anybody, and he had never been hazed
and he knew very little about college custom and all that, because he had been a college man less than