The Normal Record. November 1904

              16
THE NORMAL RECORD.
Blossom the lovely stars, the for-get-me-nots of
the angels."
I gaze for quite a while into the sky thinking about the "how, why, when, and wherefores" of the stars.
But oh! The full October moon is beginning
to appear from behind tho Sierras. All is
suddenly changed. The indistinctness of twilight   has   gone;   the   moon   sheds   its     pure,
peaceful, mellow light over all; the trees
cast long fantastical shadows. It is certainly
the kind of a night that I should imagine the
so-called "faries" and "spirits" would be
abroad. Something is peculiarly strange and
beautiful about it all and,--
"I yield myself to the perfect whole."
B. N.  H.
FIRST TERMER.
" Impressions From the Side Lines."
By  Edith  Campbell.
"When Greek meets Greek" was the terse
way that the Ancients had of expressing the
indomitable courage and unyielding spirit of
those who contested for the prize in the time
of long ago. "When Californian meets Cali-
fornian" we may say now-a-days and still the
meaning will remain unchanged. Let him who
holds a doubt, go forth some Autumn day and
witness the battle royal—a football game.
Add to the silvery haze of October, a somber
hued sky; trees brilliant in their Autumn coloring; some thousand or more restless people;
the dull brown earth crossed and re-crossed
with white lines—and there you have the setting of our modern football game, the game
that calls for the brawn and muscle of energetic
young America.
As I crossed the field from the entrance, the
most striking feature of the scene beyond me,
was the glorious blaze of color that seemed to
be everywhere. The grandstand loomed up
literally swathed in the cheery hue of the cardinal—pennants, ribbons, caps and sweaters.
The people were partial in choosing their color.
Nature was not. The trees that stand like
sentinels on two sides of the field, radiated a
mass of tints and hues in which the green and
gold were not found wanting, even though the
visiting eleven held these colors as their
standard.
A crowd is always intersting, but a "football crowd" of people is particularly entertaining. You do not know what they will say next.
If you do know, you may find it difficult to interpret, for football brings out the language
of the "yell"—that impossible conglomeration
of sounds which causes distress to the aesthetic
ear of the uninitiated.
After one of the most inspiring "yells" had
been hurled defiantly at the Auburn eleven, a
spectator remarked triumphantly, "Chico ought
to do something after that." And Chico did
"do something.' The appearance of the
Auburnites suggested to the rooters that song
was needed, and out of the chaos of sounds,
drifted:
"O!  won't there be a hot old time,
When our boys go on the field,
Every  Auburn  lad  will  know  his  fate  is
sealed.
With a ha, ha, ha, and a yell,
We'll help them in their play,
And we'll make tracks through Auburn, on
this Saturday!"
There soon appeared to be a doubt in the
minds of many as to whom the roped In portion of the football field was intended for. The
majority of the spectators held the idea that
they should be allowed to wander thereon.
Some few had a lurking suspicion that the field
might have been set aside for the benefit of the
twenty-two who were to take the leading part
in the proceedings. The announcement that
such was the case, and that only the twenty-
two chosen ones were to hold sway on the enclosed ground, caused active hostilities to begin at once. The forbidden territory held irresistible charms for the Auburn coach, for
the Chico coach, for the ex-football player in
the green sweater and for a swarm of small
boys. Their motto appeared to be, "Don't give
up the ship," or rather in this case, "Don't give
up the field." The faculty representatives expostulated. The spectators evinced disapproval. The Normal football manager tried moral
suasion, and impressively flourished a gold-
headed cane. This summation of stimulul
should have been successful—but it wasn't. It
remained for the Normal coach to retire gracefully and then the Auburn coach lowered his