THE STUDENTS' AMUSEMENTS 183 



A few years ago I was taken by a friend to a rather famous play, 

 but had to leave in the middle of the performance and wait in 

 the railway station for an hour for the going of my train. To 

 operas I went for the music, generally choosing a place where 

 I could comfortably avoid seeing the actors. 



It was our custom in going to the theatre or opera to make 

 up a gang of a dozen or more, march to the Boston Theatre, 

 and go to the uppermost part of the gallery, which was then 

 called in students' phrase "Olympus." Sometimes we had 

 trouble with its denizens, for the ancient hatred between town 

 and gown had not been forgotten. Once or twice there was 

 fighting, but several of our side were good at it, so we were 

 never driven out. After the performance, which on theatre 

 nights cost twenty-five cents, and on those of opera fifty, we 

 had a bit of supper at Brigham's oyster-shop, and then tramped 

 home singing. Only once do I recall any trouble with the police, 

 and that was not provoked by us. A silly "peeler" ordered us 

 to stop singing and made a vain effort to enforce his order, a 

 performance which led to his considerable discomfort. 



Once or twice a year our gang used to go fishing. A schooner 

 was chartered, and we sailed to some ground outside the Har- 

 bor, caught what fish happened on our hooks, and had them 

 cooked on the shore, sometimes at some inn and sometimes in 

 a rough way by ourselves. I distinctly recall only the last of 

 these rather tedious outings, in the spring of 1861, and that 

 because of a fatiguing incident. Our party was large, some 

 fifty or more. When we rendezvoused at the wharf where the 

 schooner lay, the tide was low and the craft aground with two 

 hours to wait for it to float. As it was about two o'clock in the 

 night and very chill, it was proposed that we march through 

 the streets to keep warm, and for the fun of it we agreed to 

 answer no questions the police would put to us, but to keep 

 perfectly mum, even if we had to tussle with them to do it with- 

 out a word. Setting out, we marched in good order; we had 

 been in a drill club for two years or so, so we marched well. 



