shut off from the outside world. There were no department
building’s ; the armory had not been built; the western end
of the main building was then partitioned off as the ladies
apartment; in fact .everything was included in the one large
building. There was even a kitchen and a dining’ room in
the building and the greater part of the students took their
meals there.
Now the feminine members of the college in those days
were usually very few, seldom more than two or three.
These few were in most cases, the only creatures of that na
ture the boys came in contact with during the whole three
terms of school. The town of State College was then rep
resented by eight or ten houses, and offered to 1 the students
very little chance for social education. Besides, as a result
of rooming and boarding in the main building, about the
only thing- which took them into the town was the mail, and
often one fellow performed this errand for half a dozen or
more.
Under such circumstances as these it is easy to imagine
that the few young ladies of the college were regarded with
profound respect. It was almost like the case of the only
lady in a mining camp, where everyone is on his guard lest
he shall do something to displease her, and when all are
ready at any time to punish an offender of the respect in
which she is held.
It was when affairs were in this condition at State, or
rather P. A. C. (Pennsylvania Agricultural College), for
that was the name of our institution then, that a young
fellow named Harry Pulton entered the Freshman class. He
was a rather, what we now call, swelled-headed fellow, an
unfortunate characteristic, especially in a Freshman, as it
seldom fails to be severely dealt with. The introduction
this sort of fellow g’ets to his college life usually coes him
good; but in order that this good may result he must possess
a certain quality—he must know how to take a little fun
good naturedly, even though he does not, at the time, exact-