A Freshman Writes Home

Excerpts from Letters of Clifford H. Smith '79 to His Father, Mother, and Sisters in 1875-76.

\Continued from the last issue]

March 4—We have a daily noon prayer meeting which is well attended and well carried on, and several Christians whom I have never heard before have spoken, but no new ones have opened their mouths.

. We had two of the best sermons Sunday that I have heard since I have been here. Even some fellows thought it a good one who I am afraid never listened before to see if it was good My club is getting onto a firmer basis than formerly, now numbering eighteen and I guess we shall pull through together. I think Mr. Pelton believes I am doing my best For several days after we came back I went to the depot to catch them as they left the train, and it was rather curious to see three commissaries there beside myself, all waiting to get at two or three students that might come on the train

May be you would like to know how I spend the ordinary day. Yesterday morning I got up at 6.45 and did my house work till 7.00, and then studied geometry till 7.30. Ate breakfast and went to chapel till 8.10 and then recited in geometry till 9. Studied Greek till 11, and recited till 12. Then prayer meeting till 12.30 and dinner till 1. Played till 2 and studied Latin till 2.30. Gymnastics till 3, and studied Latin till 5 and recited till 6. Supper till 6.30 and geometry till 8.30. Then a classmate came and visited me a little while and I wrote a letter and went to bed at 10.

March 10—Since the N. H. elections come off next Tuesday and many of the students wish to go home to vote we are to have a recess from nine o'clock tomorrow untill Thursday noon There is much interest here in politics for as you know this state is very closely contested. The boys who go home to vote all get passes one way at least and most of them both ways. Last eve I attended a lecture by Gen. Kilpatrick. I had fully resolved not to go when an old lady who is at Mr. Andrews wanted to go so bad that she said she would pay .25 of my fare if I would go with her. As the whole fare was only .§5l thought I had better do it and was very glad I did.

I went to quite an extravagance the other day. A man was around selling books and he had a very pretty copy of all the poems of Milton for a dollar and as it was just what I wanted I purchased.

I have found a man to room with me next year thought we haven't decided upon the place yet. His name is George H. Rockwood. He is a very nice fellow, a hard student, a very quiet man, a Christian and withal as economical, and poor as I am.

... He is twenty two years old, though not as large as I am by considerable The only fault that I find with him is that he is a democrat I am studying pretty hard now a days and have succeeded in making very fair recitations excepting Wednesday morning when for some reason I failed in geometry.

March 18—I have had the high honor to be "trusteed!". . . A man thinks that a butcher owes him a hundred and fifty dollars, and as our club has meat of that butcher we are trusteed for our debts to him, and lest any one at the club should pay him every one has been treated in the same manner. I have quite a row to hoe here, running a club against all the others, especially as it is a prevailing opinion that almost anything will do on a freshman, but I rather think I shall have a club as large as any of them some time, and I think Mr. Pelton has entire confidence in my ability to come out all right.

.... I made application today to ring the bell Junior year, which job brings in ninety dollars to someone. Several applications were made before mine, but they reserve judgment till the time comes, and then give it to the one they like.

March—Mr. Pelton wants from $75.00 to $lOO the first of April and I find I can't get quite that out of the boys so soon, so I would like to have you send me forty dollars before the first of April. I shall take as much as necessary of it to pay him then and get it from the boys afterward. I shall want from $lO to $l5 of it to pay Mr. Andrews what I owe him, and I have no idea but what I shall have to pay part or all of my board this term That trusteeing business has "quashed" pretty thin. I believe I wrote that one of the students took that means to get back some money from a butcher, but the faculty have informed him that he will consider that matter settled or leave college!....

I never realized before how easy it is for a button to come off or a seam to rip, for I have to do some mending almost every morning when I get up. March 24—I am in the enjoyment today of one of those colds that I know how to have so well.. . . . I have managed to go to recitation untill now when I am at home instead of at the five o'clock recitation. I was sorry not to go as I haven't missed any thing before this term I have engaged a room for next year which is partly furnished, and fortunately it has in it just what I haven't got. I shall put in my furniture and if we need any thing else my room mate will furnish it till he has an equal value with me. We took the room up in the upper part of the village It will be away from this low part where almost all the sickness was last year

April /—The religious interest seems to be almost dead. We still continue our noon prayermeetings, but I doubt the wisdom of doing so somewhat. From twenty to thirty attend and we have good meetings but many who came when they started and took hold bravely,. . . never come near it now, or if they come in don't open their mouths.

.... This morning there were handbills in all the seats in chapel announcing a lecture this evening in the church, which I do not think I shall attend, and I haven't seen any one yet that is going April 3—Two of our class didn't see the joke in that announcement of the lecture and brushed themselves all up borrowed fifty cents to pay for their tickets and set out, but when they got in sight of the church they suddenly had a thought and returned sadder if not wiser.

I have 19 men at dinner at my club now and expect one or two more soon. Three of them only take dinner so the other meals are not so large. We have very pleasant times there. I got up at half past six this morning and walked about a mile to the top of a high hill near the village, and walked back again in an hour. There was a good crust so it was easy walking.