1933

We have a special treat in store for you this month. We shall take you by the hand, lead you up to our ivory tower, and give you a peek at what goes on inside. It's especially nice inside just now, because the students are away on vacation. A highly placed administrative officer of one of our greatest institutions of higher learning once made the observation that a college would be a wonderful place if it weren't for the faculty, the students and the alumni. Well, professors have a little of the same feeling, especially after a long winter in the classroom. It's nice not to have the old tower cluttered up with distractions.

Before we proceed with the main business of the column, we should—speaking of distractions— give you the news. It won't take long. We are no more embarrassed with news than usual. It was announced recently that Russell Shaver had been appointed acting manager of all IBM sales and services in the Brooklyn area. He has been assistant manager of the New York downtown office. The George Rideouts welcomed an addition, Sally Rhodes, on January 30. Bill Lang was in Hanover on business for Republic Steel for a couple of days mid-March.

Francis O'Toole has transferred from the Veterans Administration in Worcester, Mass., to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Treasury Department. Now there's a job with a big future. Francis can grow with the business. The Rutgers Alumni Magazine for March carried a picture of Associate Professor WaltBezanson discussing a theme with what the caption described as a "serious undergraduate." Walt still has his hair, tweed jacket, and even, the furrowed brow he wore years ago, when, as an English instructor here, he was wrestling with Melville's whale.

Harding Macdona in future will play squash in the Boston area. He has just become New England manager for Cosmopolitan Magazine. Bob Colborn is with Business Week in New York, and is living in New Canaan. When we came through Canaan, N. H., a week ago the town was under water. Floods, you know. John Blumenthal lives at 21 Afterglow Ave., Montclair, which, we submit, is a nice address to head for at the end of a long day. James A. Noonan is in the Army, but he took a green eye shade with him and they put him to work as an accountant in the Signal Corps in Rittenhouse Square, Philly.

Now, getting back to the ivory tower, take a peek. If we weren't a sociologist we'd tell you that this is a very fine example of a cultural lag. Since we are we'll just stick to the facts. After World War I American expatriates at the Closerie de Lilas on the Rive Gauche first developed what has come to be known as Fractured French. The game enjoyed a brief vogue in New York in the twenties, then died out, to be revived a year or so ago, whence it travelled to Chicago and other banlieues. All that is ancient history and need not detain us. Our story begins with Jus Stanley, who became an adept practitioner at the sport, and who, on a trip East, introduced it into our ivory tower, otherwise known as Bedlam Manor. It was a wonderful evening, traductions schizophréniques jaillissaient from every easy chair. At this point we respectfully suggest that those of you who met the College language requirement by taking German, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese or Sanskrit bear to leeward and read Mike Cardozo's notes, if he managed to get them in this month. Içi on parle translation: It's one parlor frenzy. Also, si vous etes adonné soit à I'insomnie, soit au cauchemar, ne lisez pas plus avant; at si vous ne savez pas faire vos délices de I'absurde, qu'y puis-je? We think it was Jean Meek who said, in delicate counterpoint, so to speak, to husband John's profit and loss statements: "Il s'agit d'affreux à peu près auxquels vous ne voudrez pas croire."

But you do not need to take as deep a plunge into your rusty French to appreciate how Jus stirred up the placid waters of Bedlam Manor. The first few weeks after his visit we tossed around all the more familiar translations. Dinner was announced with "Soup Marcia would step out for the evening, saying, "Allons, enfants de ls patrie"; translation: Come on, kids, let's go to the party. "Honi soit qui mal y pense" meant: I honestly think I am going to be sick. Gibraltar was the word for Roquefort. The milkman was referred to as "Carte blanche," and "avoirdupoids" meant Have some more peas. A criminal was sent to a "coup d'etat," while a "coup de grace" meant Cut the grass. When Marcia set the table it was with "sill vous plait," not sterling. One of the children's teachers was a "hors de combat." "Marseillaise" meant Ma says yes, I can go, and "pas de deux" was father of twins. "Ecole frangaise" meant They call her Frances, "Clair de lune" was Crazy Clara.

But, since Bedlam Manor never does any but the more prosaic activities of everyday by halves, we soon broke all the rules and came up with monstrosities that would make Justin's flesh crawl. Marcia, carrying on the scholarly traditions of the Manor, made notes on some of them. Here are a few samples: Le peuple emu repondit—The purple emu laid another egg. Notre voisin est mort d'une congestion pulmonaire—Our neighbor died in a crash on a Pullman car. Corps diplomatique shamming dead. J'ai plus d'habits que mon frère—l have more inhabitants than my brother. Chemin de fer—a fur shirt. Tant pis, tant mieux—Auntie went to the bathroom and now she feels better. Cela va sans dire—It walks without talking. En colore elle mordit son oreiller—ln her anger she bit her ear. II y a eu grosse mer—He had a fat mother. Il recommanda son ame a Dieu—He said goodby to his donkey. Lettres de cachet—perfumed letters. Quel metier delicieux que celui de bouffon—What is as pleasant as a dog's life! La belle dame sans mer^i—The beautiful lady who never said "Thank you." I'Anglais avec son sangfroid habituel—Here comes the Englishman with his usual bloody cold.

Well, mes souvenirs sont peu precis—my recollections are precious few—but it was fun, and it all shows how profound an influence a visiting alumnus may have upon the lives of a professor and his family. The ivory tower is not one whit less susceptible to schizophrenia than the world outside.

Secretary, 20 Valley Rd., Hanover, N. H.

Treasurer, 2812 Grant Bldg., Pittsburgh 19, Pa.

Class Agent, The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn.