MjtliilHllMWWHUH'M
4
THE HESPERIAN
it a large number, of which Eugenic Grandet it the type,
whose purity and true maidenly qualitiet will compare favor
ably with those of any nation.
THE STUDENTS' REVENGE.
It was midnight. The halls were deserted. Darkness was
everywhere. SilcnccVcigncd supreme avc when the upper
hall echoed the sound of the gentle bicathing of a sleeping
tutor. Cutting sneers no longer crawled over the transom of
No. 62. 'Hie arch-fiend of the boiler room no longer paced
the hall in search of ceiling kickers.
A certain cron suddenly appeared in the darkness. He
icalcd himself on a stairpost and gazed at a certain kethofe.
He was a lonely a the "two for fiver" that once lay pB
the chapel floor. He whistled a tunc that caused ibe
"ponies" to canter from their hiding places. He vaisty
tried to remove the blocks from the stair banisters. Then be
looked up to the fourth story and groaned. Slowly he I3
from the post and began to ascend the stairs. Higher asd
higher he mounted until he reached the beginning of ibe
upper end of the stair mil. Then he calmly mounted ibe
sloping steed and reached the first floor in three sec
onds. Again and again he performed the trip, ascending
and descending. Hut he seemed to have no more liking for
the trip than the ordinary student.
A sleeping spirit, whose abode was in the room of the
departed "medics" was aroused, and started forth to investi
gate. The lonely rider was approached and asked, "Why
arc you disturbing the rest of the spirits?" The ansucr came:
"It was my misfortune in the past to arouse the enmity of a
tribe ol beings, whose hearts were hardened by long endur
ance. They were called filii chancelloris. In an evil hour
they seized and brought me to judgment. They condemned
me to descend upon this stair rail until the blocks could 110
longer bring erring students to grief. Such is my fate,
"And who art thou? What is thy name?" asked the ghost of
the departed "medic." "My name is Legion," answered
the unknown personage," and I was once a Charter Day
orator."
CURRENT COMMENT.
The Plattsmouth Herald is not a college papa, yet wc arc
glad it comes to us as a regular exchange, Wc think that
wc can occasionally discern in its editorial columns traces of
the facile pen of a well known former U. of N. man Mr. C.
S. Polk. That Mr. Polk would ever enter the high and noble
profession of journalism is quite a surprise to his friends here.
Nevertheless wc arc glad to note that he is a success. The
Herald is becoming intensely partisan, and we cannot refrain
from cautioning the gentleman that his chances for obtaining
a soft job under the present administration aie becoming
microscopically small. Hut even if he fails in this, the paper
gives evidence of good sense and sound judgment from a
republican standpoint.
home means should be devised whereby our criminals can
be gotten rid of, without letting newspaper coi respondents
know about it until after the execution takes place. A great
many favor electricity instead of the gallows, and this
scheme seems to meet the approval oi nearly all who arc
desirous of a change. Wc believe that this would limit, to a
certain extent, at least, the details of an execution. The
worst feature of the journalism of today is the detailed and
elaborate account of every execution that occurs. The
leportcr sets the criminal before the public as a hero, and
makes him the central figure of the whole aflalr. If some
means can be inaugurated, whether it be by electricity or
any other way that will be an improvement on the present
system, whereby criminals can be dispatched so that the
newspaper men may not know the fatal moment, they will
condense their observations into a single statement and let it
pass, instead of giving an exaggerated and detailed account.
If some such method were adopted in this country it
would be hailed with delight by all good citizens.
If the Nebraska representatives in congress by their votes
aad tsSaesce sapport the Dawes Hill, which provides for the
xjppNaBeal of a fish commissioner, they will not only meet
&e wi&es. of Jibe major part of their constituents, but will
give air imperas- Jo home industries and help to satisfy a want
ihzz fat Jcmg beta felt in our state. There is no bureau of
j&e gpx arroeot which has developed more speedily or which
Ibas grown 10 be so popular in so short a time as the fish com
aahiacin. In many parts of the country it has done much to
reduce lie price of food, and must be regarded as a benefac
tor Jo ibe poorer classes. There arc in the borders
of ov ttaJe many turbid streams where carp would thrive",
if there Tere some means of stocking them. Then,
agaia, if this bill becomes a law it will have a tendency to do
axy with the existing jealousy on the part of some of the
commissions in the different states, and the field of usefulness
of the national commission will thereby be enlarged.
The admission of Dakota to a place among the states ol
the Union ts being much agitated at present, and in all prob
ability will be one of the most prominent questions before
the present congress. Such questions as this bring out an
array of partisan oratory from both of the leading political
parties, and give our great guns in congress a chance to put
in their valuable time representing their parties instead of
making laws to benefit their constituents. While wc do not
object to a certain amount ol party spirit, yet wc believe too
much tends to create a feeling of discord and sectional strife
between parts of the country scrambling for legislation for
thesmcives. We heartily sympathize with Dakota in her
noble efforts to become a state, yet wc do not feel justified in
condemning the party in power for keeping her out, if by so
doing there is a chance to score a point. The tendency of
political parties in every country and in cvciy age has been
to hold on to the reins of government-as long as there was a
shadow of a chance. Other parties than the one at present
in power have objected to the admission of states when they
knew such states would be antagonistic to their future
prosperity.
The appioach of the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of America by Columbus seems to be arousing an
interest in the claims of earlier discoverers, by their admirers.
Most of these claims arc not well established, yet there arc
many now living who credit Lief, son of Eric, with the honor
of being the real discoverer. There arc some evidences that
rumors of a country called Vineland were afloat, ana' talcs
were told ol men that had been thcie. Hut if there is any
truth contained in these stories, some falsehoods arc
mingled, and no one will ever be able to separate the one
from the other with any degree of precision. To the average
student of history these stories will be taken for what they
are worth, and the honor of discovery will be given to
Columbus. He did not have to go to the Sagas and
read about Lief to tell him of a land beyond the seas. For
many centuries stories of a great undiscovered lanu had
floated before the minds of dreamers, and Columbus grasped
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