Act L--Young man starting from home :
Little white farm house in the foreground ;
Wagon passing over the hill ; Mother and
sister stand weeping at the gate ; Father turns
his head reluctantly away ; Farewell kiss
thrown back ; Slight fluttering of handker
chiefs. Ring the bell and let the curtain
drop.
Act IL—Scene, College campus. Young
man wanders disconsolately to and fro ; Sun
almost setting; Homesick and discouraged ;
Enters another young man ; Looks disdain
fully at first ; Smile passes over his counte
nance ; Advances ; Grasps hands ; " Hello,
freshness, '93 " '93." Exit towards town.
Ring .the bell and let the curtain drop.
Act lll.—Rumbling heard in the distance;
String of wagons dashes in sight ; Horses
galloping furiously ; Anxious faces on seats
behind ; Pass the college door at break-neck
speed ; Cheers and yells, " Where are the
Sophs ;" "'93 for ever," etc. ; Old gold and
blue flag unfurled ; Exit in distance; Crowd
of young men rush around corner ; Exclama
tions of dismay; Murmurings of surprise;
Cries for revenge. Ring the bell and let the
curtain drop.
Act IV.—Five big professors in a small
room ; Young man standing before them ;
persistent demand on part of professors; Ve
hement denunciation on part of young man ;
He finally departs; Entrance of class, '93 on
their breasts ; With loud protests each mem
ber takes pen and signs paper ; Professors
stand menacingly around ; Final exit of class ;
Professors seize hands and execute a war dance
with loud scalp halloo. Ring the bell and'let
the curtain drop.
Act V.—lsolated graveyard ; Five graves
in a lonely spot ; Slight mounds overgrown
with briers and brambles ; Small headstones,
with common epitaph, "Non Requiescat en
Pace;" All about is dreariness and solitude ;,
Sun has long since set; Owl hooting over
head ; Whip-poor-will calls out mournfully ;
THE FREE LANCE.
Slow music heard in the distance. Quick !
Quick ! Ring the bell and let the curtain
There has been in recent years no small
amount of controversy over this perplexing
subjedt in all parts of the civilized world, and
as there appears even yet to be so much mis
conception lingering in the public mind as to
its nature and claims, I will endeavor with the
aid of the FREE LANCE to set the whole
matter right once for all.
The censure-mark system can boast an
ancient lienage. It almost antidates antiquity
itself. If it did not originate in Eden, it was
certainly first put in motion not far from there,
for Cain was its first victim, and the censure
mark which he received he was never able to
get rid of, and it doubtless affected materially
his life career. What was designed originally
for man's good became, like many other good
things, perverted in the course of time and
wrought him evil, Coming clown through the
ages and striking hands with the Neronian
Persecution and the Spanish Inquisition, the
French Revolution and the Star Chamber,
this system acquired torce and efficiency, until
now in these modern days we see it in all our
schools of learning enthroned in unassailable
might, an engine of tyranny, an instrument of
cruel torture.
The censure-mark 0 compound word,
freighted deep with terror and laden with des
olation and misery unspeakable ! Who does
not tremble at the sound of the name ? Who
can contemplate unmoved the aweful specta
cle of a thousand schools and colleges in all
lands writhing in the •grasp of this hundred
headed Brianens and struggling to get free ;
often thousand noble youths striving hard to
gain an education but "cabined, cribbed,
confined" by this unreasonable, exacting and
arbitrary poWer ? How passing strange it
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