course, wore his head on the left shoulder. Catiline was reproduced in Clodius, who imitated his vices, though not his daring courage. The peculiarities of every prince are eagerly seized and copied; and all remember what a passion our republican ladies had for Prince Albert bonnets, although no prince ever kissed the fair owners. We will omit French fashions, opera girls, and short petticoats.

Our young miss, just returned from Europe with her head full of fashions and folly, lisps bad French, wears a Paris hat, talks of "the dear Rhine," and is in raptures with its ruined castles, most of which you may safely swear she passed in the steamboat asleep in her berth. We hope that all our traveled ladies know more than the Englishman, who, being asked respecting Rome, replied, "Oh, I remember, a very fine city-we stopped there to change horses." His interrogator continued: "You must have spent some time on the continent." "Why," replied he, "you know one must do up' these sort of things; so I put it through as fast as possible. I came from Rome to London in ten days, taking the Rhine in my way. I made my valet arouse me at every castle we passed, till one damp night I caught cold holding the lantern to look at one, and after that I slept the rest of the journey." Knowledge on such a foundation must be profound indeed! Another pitiful imitation is that of smoking. But I will not include all smokers. Yet fairly one half who smoke do it for no earthly reason except that it is fashionable for your "high blade" to sport a "meerschaum :" it looks like heaven save the mark!-like a German student! Such men may resemble German students in their drunkenness and their contempt of good morals; but certainly never in their knowledge. Why should any American wish to imitate the manners of a most graceless set of "rowdies," as they are while in the university, whatever they may become after they leave it; to whom all possible vices and evil passions are bosom friends; whose discipline is that of the slave kept in subjection by the civil law and by dragoons; whose arbiters are the schläger and dueling pistol? This is affectation with a vengeance! Why not finish by swilling beer and gulping down" Crambambuli ?" How prone men are to imitate, however poorly, what is bad! The good, alas! they leave for their neighbors to imitate.

Great authors, as well as great generals or great drunkards, have their "umbrae." Genius is said to imitate, first, art; then, nature: but dullness likewise imitates; and then we have books, whose sole recommendation seems to be the resemblance which the style bears to that of some author whose fame is widely spread. Thus, we find innumerable imitations of Carlyle, of Dickens, and of Wilson-each like the model only in the faults which belong to these authors, and destitute of the masculine energy, the brilliant narrative, the refined simplicity, which characterizes their writings. An awkward imitation is sure to appear affected, and as surely will produce disgust. Why not look within, and not without, for the form as well as material? To write in an affected style is like borrowing another's coat because it looks well on him, and, by analogy, on you. But analogy is not necessarily argument or proof. The coat may either pinch your shoulders or hang on

you like a meal-bag; the sleeves may be a great deal too long or too short. Be original in style; choose the words which best express your meaning; place them so that the meaning is clear and harmony is preserved; then, granting your thoughts to be worth hearing, what more is necessary? what more can any one, any genius, do? Will the words which Carlyle uses express your ideas better than classical English? Then use them; but good writers lived before Carlyle, and, please Heaven, will live in spite of him.

Affectation is so diffused, it meets us so often, that we may almost despair of reforming it, and assert that it is only waste of breath to denounce it. Before ending, permit a word respecting one phase of affectation-namely, the pretension of a love for music-which the mass of people put forth. Amateur singers are charged with affecting reluctance to sing, when it is said, in reality "they are dying to sing." Now we venture to affirm, that nine times in ten this is a real reluctance arising from affectation, but not that of the performer. The auditors pretend to love music, but they love the sound of their own gossiping tongues far better. Who likes to be asked to sing, and then sing all to herself; to hardly hear the sound of her own voice! If the company would acknowledge that they care not a straw for music, that flirting is much more agreeable, that scandal is much more effective than crescendos, they would be far less impolite and more endurable to all who have an ear for nature's own language.

A witty observer of men and manners will find many weak points to contemplate; but however imperfect man may be naturally, it is true that imitation and affected graces do more to show his relationship to monkeys, than all Lord Monboddo's theories and folios.

SAYINGS AND DOINGS OF COLLEGE LIFE.

BY DELTA.

"Wryten as they sholde comen into my mynde."

MESSRS. EDITORS:-Have you ever met with one of those unfortunate individuals, who, after passing through the pleasant years of the "Preparatory Course;" after weathering in safety the perilous storms of College life; after threading, for some little time at least, the pathless mazes of life in general, still find themselves, as far as usefulness in the world is concerned, almost in statu quo? If not, I can inform you that there are, nevertheless, many such; many who remain in an obscurity as undesirable as it is unprofitable, although amply competent, both from natural abilities and intellectual attainments, to make small stir" in their day and generation. Not naturally retiring in their dispositions, they feel perhaps a desire of being known, but from a want of confidence in their own abilities, or a reluctance to make the necessary effort, they still continue to plod wearily on, unknown and

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unregarded. Of this unhappy community, I acknowledge that I have too long been a willing member. The fact is, I have never allowed my thoughts to confine themselves to any particular subject for five minutes together, and my reflections are consequently too discursive to attract much notice. Unlike Pollock's rustic, "who never had a dozen thoughts in all his life and never changed their course," I have been troubled perhaps with a superfluity of ideas; ideas so jumbled up and intertwisted, however, that it is almost impossible to extract from them any connected course of thought.

But this evening, Messrs. Editors, as I sat gazing listlessly from my window on the world without, and felt how slight was my connection with that world, how strong my sympathies in its behalf, I formed a resolution which, should it meet with your approbation, may perhaps be remembered as an era in my existence. This was nothing less than a fixed determination to unlock the portals of my brain, and to unfold, through the medium of your pages, the many scraps of desultory thought, the many recollections of remarkable "sayings and doings," which had there accumulated, while I, like you, boasted myself to be a constituent part of Yale College. I know not that in so doing I shall contribute to the gratification of your many readers; I know not that I shall succeed in raising a single smile, save at my own expense; yet I do cherish the hope, that in the budgets of nonsense and gravity, fun and frolic, which I may from time to time place at your disposal, there may be some hints, which, if followed out, may render the four years of those who take them, less wearisome and less vexations than many find them to be.

I was a proud boy when I received from the hands of the senior Professor that important document which informed me that, "having passed a satisfactory examination," I was entitled to attend the exercises of the Freshman Class. In all the pride of incipient Freshmanity, I took my seat on a broken-backed bench in the mathemathical recitation room, and there, with some thirty classmates, as verdant as myself, awaited the coming of our new Instructor. With what an air of mingled awe and reverence did I rise from my seat as he opened the door, and how did my young heart throb with trepidation, when I first rose to recite! I remember that scene as if it occurred but yesterday. Strange how matters of trifling importance will sometimes fix themselves in the memory, when others, almost absolutely necessary to be remembered, are forgotten in an hour! I rose to recite; every eye was fixed upon me, and for a moment I felt dizzy-almost faint. Partially recovering myself, I stammered out some answer-I know not what to the question proposed, and amid a roar of laughter from the whole division, sank into my seat completely abashed and disconcerted. I ventured, at last, to look up towards the tutor. His very sides were convulsed with laughter. For what, I knew not, nor could I guess, but, confused and bewildered, I seized my hat and rushed from the room.

In the silence and solitude of my own apartment, I strove to recall my unlucky answer. I knew my lesson perfectly. I had spent hours in committing it, and I could not conceive, for my life, to what circum

stance my failure was owing. Shortly after, my chum entered; but, to my great surprise, instead of condoling with me at my misfortune, as soon as he saw my face he burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, which lasted, if I remember rightly, nearly ten minutes. I began to be angry, and was just about to evince my displeasure by a knockdown argument, when he placed a looking-glass before me, and disclosed to my astonished gaze, a queue of silvery hair, some three feet long, which a friendly Sophomore had attached to my neck, while expatiating on the advantages to be derived from my connection with a certain Literary Society.

Some weeks of my college life had passed away without any remarkable occurrences, save an occasional visit from a masquerading party of Sophs., armed with pipes and asafetida, or a slight drenching from the rain, as it poured, of a stormy night, through my bed-room windows, from which some friendly hand had kindly dashed the sashes, when I was one evening started from a revery by a loud knocking at the door. I rose to admit the visitor. He was a stranger, and apparently a gentleman. Not so, in reality, however; for while I stood at the door, expecting him to declare his errand, he cooly walked in, and ensconcing himself in the snug rocking-chair, which I had just left, placed his feet on the table and commenced singing a song.

"Fas est, ab hoste doceri,"

thought I, and, drawing up a chair, I adopted a similar position, and listened to his words. As nearly as I can recollect, they ran as follows: "What a jolly young Soph'more am I!

I am slender and very well made,

My forehead is fine, and my eye

Has a glance that no heart can evade.

The ladies all look at me sharp,

And wherever I go I astonish,

Then what if the sober ones carp?

And what if my tutor admonish?"

He was a tolerable singer, and as the words of his song somewhat amused me, I did not interrupt him. He sang several verses, accompanying his voice by the beating of his heels on my table, at the same time giving additional force and spirit to the entertainment, by sundry ludicrous gesticulations, well calculated to interest and amuse the spectator. Having finished his song, he drew forth a cigar-case, and selecting a fragrant Havana, tossed it over to me. The delicious weed had never yet stained my lips; but, astonished at his effrontery, though softened by his coolness, I took the proffered cigar and quietly lit it. He did the same. For some few moments we puffed away in silence, and, strange to say, I felt no sensation of sickness, not the slightest twinge of nausea. Indeed, I even then derived from the fumes of that fragrant roll, a satisfaction almost equal to that which I now experience some half-dozen times a day, albeit, now a "seasoned smoker." My

resentment, however, was beginning to rise, and as the streams of saliva, ejected from the lips of my visitor, found their way in various directions over my new and elegant carpet, I sprang from my seat, and with all the force of which I was master, hurled my cigar full in his face. Stung by the blow and enraged by the insult, tenfold more aggravating as coming from a Freshman, he sprang upon me with the violence of a wild-cat, and, seizing me by the throat, hurled me to the floor. I struggled to release myself from his grasp, but without success. As his fingers tightened around my throat, I felt the blood rushing to my head, and a horrible sensation of strangling was just creeping over me, when he suddenly relaxed his grasp and fell prostrate on the floor. blow from an iron hand had knocked him flat.

A

I rose to thank my deliverer. He was one of the most singular specimens of flesh and blood arrangement, that I ever had the pleasure of beholding. Without stopping to hear my expressions of gratitude, he seized my enemy by the collar and lifting him like a child from the floor, politely showed him the staircase. Meanwhile, I had time to glance at his person and habiliments. He was rather tall and gaunt-looking, with long yellow hair, flowing down his neck; a beard of the same hue, which somewhat resembled a carding machine; and a pair of shoulders that seemed borrowed from Atlas. A coat of rough gray cloth encased the upper part of his person, from the sleeves of which protruded some three inches of brawny wrist, and a hand that Vulcan himself might envy. His lower limbs were fancifully ornamented by a pair of pantaloons, striped with almost all the colors of the rainbow, while a pair of thick cow-hide boots, and a rough coonskin cap, completed his "tout ensemble."

"Well, stranger," said he, as he returned from the entry, " Fair play is a jewel any how. I happened to pass your door just now, and hearing a rumpus inside, I thought as how I'd see the fun. Lucky for you I did, p'raps."

"Yes, indeed," said I, "and many thanks do I owe you for your kindness. It will be incumbent, however, to make a night of it,' or, as the poet saith,

'Carpere noctem, quam minimum credula diei.'”

To this proposal my guest agreed without the least hesitation, and a "wee short hour ayont the twal" found us still prolonging the joyous hours. My first college friend was a Kentucky hunter, a man of little refinement, but of a noble mind; of a rough exterior, but of the kindliest heart. Through the whole four year's of college life we remained first in each other's estimation, and many were the laughable scrapes and amusing adventures which we together enjoyed. Perhaps some future occasion shall introduce you to a more intimate acquaintance with my first, last, best friend. He is now practising law in L-e; is the best stump speaker west of the Alleghanies, and his future prospects are equal to those of any young man in the Western Country.

Apropos of prospects. I was walking for exercise, one fine spring morning, three or four years ago, when it suddenly occurred to me,