The Plastic Age, Percy Marks [top 10 books of all time TXT] 📗
- Author: Percy Marks
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He Thought Over Every Word That He And Cynthia Had Said. She Certainly
Had Been Square All Right. Not Many Like Her, But "By Heaven, I Knew
Down In My Heart All The Time That I Didn't Want To Get Married Or Even
Engaged. It Would Have Played Hell With Everything."
Chapter 24
The Next Morning Hugh's Mother And Father Arrived In The Automobile. He
Was To Drive Them Back To Merrytown The Day After Commencement. At Last
He Stood In The Doorway Of The Nu Delta House And Welcomed His Father,
But He Had Forgotten All About That Youthful Dream. He Was Merely Aware
That He Was Enormously Glad To See The "Folks" And That His Father
Seemed To Be Withering Into An Old Man.
As The Under-Classmen Departed, The Alumni Began To Arrive. The "Five
Year" Classes Dressed In Extraordinary Outfits--Indians, Turks, And Men
In Prison Garb Roamed The Campus. There Were Youngsters Just A Year Out
Of College, Still Looking Like Undergraduates, Still Full Of College
Talk. The Alumni Ranged All The Way From These One-Year Men To The
Fifty-Year Men, Twelve Old Men Who Had Come Back To Sanford Fifty Years
After Their Graduation, And Two Of Them Had Come All The Way Across The
Continent. There Had Been Only Fifty Men Originally In That Class; And
Twelve Of Them Were Back.
What Brought Them Back? Hugh Wondered. He Thought He Knew, But He
Couldn't Have Given A Reason. He Watched Those Old Men Wandering Slowly
Around The Campus, One Of Them With His Grandson Who Was Graduating This
Year, And He Was Awed By Their Age And Their Devotion To Their Alma
Mater. Yes, Henley Had Been Right. Sanford Was Far From Perfect, Far
From It--A Child Could See That--But There Was Something In The College
That Gripped One's Heart. What Faults That Old College Had; But How One
Loved Her!
Thousands Of Japanese Lanterns Had Been Strung Around The Campus; An
Electric Fountain Sparkled And Splashed Its Many-Colored Waters; A Band
Seemed To Be Playing Every Hour Of The Day And Night From The Band-Stand
In Front Of The Union. It Was A Gay Scene, And Everybody Seemed Superbly
Happy Except, Possibly, The Seniors. They Pretended To Be Happy, But All
Of Them Were A Little Sad, A Little Frightened. College Had Been Very
Beautiful--And The "World Outside," What Was It? What Did It Have In
Store For Them?
There Were Mothers And Fathers There To See Their Sons Receive Their
Degrees, There Were The Wives And Children Of The Alumni, There Were
Sisters And Fiancées Of The Seniors. Nearly Two Thousand People; And At
Least Half Of The Alumni Drunk Most Of The Time. Very Drunk, Many Of
Them, And Very Foolish, But Nobody Minded. Somehow Every One Seemed To
Realize That In A Few Brief Days They Were Trying To Recapture A
Youthful Thrill That Had Gone Forever. Some Of The Drunken Ones Seemed
Very Silly, Some Of Them Seemed Almost Offensive; All Of Them Were
Pathetic.
They Had Come Back To Sanford Where They Had Once Been So Young And
Exuberant, So Tireless In Pleasure, So In Love With Living; And They
Were Trying To Pour All That Youthful Zest Into Themselves Again Out Of
A Bottle Bought From A Bootlegger. Were They Having A Good Time? Who
Knows? Probably Not. A Bald-Headed Man Does Not Particularly Enjoy
Looking At A Picture Taken In His Hirsute Youth; And Yet There Is A
Certain Whimsical Pleasure In The Memories The Picture Brings.
For Three Days There Was Much Gaiety, Much Singing Of Class Songs,
Constant Parading, Dances, Speech-Making, Class Circuses, And Endless
Shaking Of Hands And Exchanging Of Reminiscences. The Seniors Moved
Through All The Excitement Quietly, Keeping Close To Their Relatives And
Friends. Graduation Wasn't So Thrilling As They Had Expected It To Be;
It Was More Sad. The Alumni Seemed To Be Having A Good Time; They Were
Ridiculously Boyish: Only The Seniors Were Grave, Strangely And
Unnaturally Dignified.
Most Of The Alumni Left The Night Before The Graduation Exercises. The
Parents And Fiancées Remained. They Stood In The Middle Of The Campus
And Watched The Seniors, Clad In Caps And Gowns, Line Up Before The
Union At The Orders Of The Class Marshal.
Finally, The Procession, The Grand Marshal, A Professor, In The Lead
With A Wand In His Hand, Then President Culver And The Governor Of The
State, Then The Men Who Were To Receive Honorary Degrees--A Writer, A
College President, A Philanthropist, A Professor, And Three
Politicians--Then The Faculty In Academic Robes, Their Many-Colored
Hoods Brilliant Against Their Black Gowns. And Last The Seniors, A Long
Line Of Them Marching In Twos Headed By Their Marshal.
The Visitors Streamed After Them Into The Chapel. The Seniors Sat In
Their Customary Seats, The Faculty And The Men Who Were To Receive
Honorary Degrees On A Platform That Had Been Built At The Altar. After
They Were Seated, Everything Became A Blur To Hugh. He Hardly Knew What
Was Happening. He Saw His Father And Mother Sitting In The Transept. He
Thought His Mother Was Crying. He Hoped Not.... Some One Prayed
Stupidly. There Was A Hymn.... What Was It Cynthia Had Said? Oh, Yes: "I
Can't Marry A Stranger." Well, They Weren't Exactly Strangers.... He Was
Darn Glad He Had Gone To New York.... The President Seemed To Be Saying
Over And Over Again, "By The Power Invested In Me ..." And Every Time
That He Said It, Professor Blake Would Slip The Loop Of A Colored Hood
Over The Head Of A Writer Or A Politician--And Then It Was Happening All
Over Again.
Suddenly The Class Marshal Motioned To The Seniors To Rise. They Put On
Their Mortar-Boards. The President Said Once More, "By The Power
Invested In Me...." The Seniors Filed By The President, And The Grand
Marshal Handed Each Of Them A Roll Of Parchment Tied With Blue And
Orange Ribbons. Hugh Felt A Strange Thrill As He Took His. He Was
Graduated; He Was A Bachelor Of Science.... Back Again To Their Seats.
Some One Was Pronouncing Benediction.... Music From The Organ--Marching
Out Of The Chapel, The Surge Of Friends--His Father Shaking His Hand,
His Mother's Arms Around His Neck; She _Was_ Crying....
Graduation Was Over, And, With It Hugh's College Days. Many Of The
Seniors Left At Once. Hugh Would Have Liked To Go, Too, But His Father
Wanted To Stay One More Day In Haydensville. Besides, There Was A Final
Senior Dance That Night, And He Thought That Hugh Ought To Attend It.
Hugh Did Go To The Dance, But Somehow It Brought Him No Pleasure.
Although It Was Immensely Decorous, It Reminded Him Of Cynthia. He
Thought Of Her Tenderly. The Best Little Girl He'd Ever Met.... He
Danced On, Religiously Steering Around The Sisters And Fiancées Of His
Friends, But He Could Not Enjoy The Dance. Shortly After Eleven He
Slipped Out Of The Gymnasium And Made One Last Tour Of The Campus.
It Was A Moonlight Night, And The Campus Was Mysterious With Shadows.
The Elms Shook Their Leaves Whisperingly; The Tower Of The Chapel Looked
Like Magic Tracery In The Moonlight. He Paused Before Surrey Hall, Now
Dark And Empty. Good Old Carl.... Carl And Cynthia? He Wondered....
Pudge Had Roomed There, Too. He Passed On. Keller Hall, Cynthia And
Norry.... "God, What A Beast I Was That Night. How White Norry Was--And
Cynthia, Too," Cynthia Again. She'd Always Be A Part Of Sanford To Him.
On Down To The Lake To Watch The Silver Path Of The Moonlight And The
Heavy Reflections Near The Shore. Swimming, Canoeing, Skating--He And
Cynthia In The Woods Beyond.... On Back To The Campus, Around The
Buildings, Every One Of Them Filled With Memories. Four Years--Four
Beautiful, Wonderful Years.... Good Old Sanford....
Midnight Struck. Some One Turned A Switch Somewhere. The Japanese
Lanterns Suddenly Lost Their Colors And Faded To Gray Balloons In The
Moonlight. Some Men Were Singing On The Union Steps. It Was A Few
Seniors, Hugh Knew; They Had Been Singing For An Hour.
He Stood In The Center Of The Campus And Listened, His Eyes Full Of
Tears. Earnestly, Religiously, The Men Sang, Their Voices Rich With
Emotion:
"Sanford, Sanford, Mother Of Men,
Love Us, Guard Us, Hold Us True.
Let Thy Arms Enfold Us;
Let Thy Truth Uphold Us.
Queen Of Colleges, Mother Of Men--
Alma Mater--Sanford--Hail!
Alma-Mater--Hail!--Hail!"
Hugh Walked Slowly Across The Campus Toward The Nu Delta House. He Was
Both Happy And Sad--Happy Because The Great Adventure Was Before Him
With All Its Mystery, Sad Because He Was Leaving Something Beautiful
Behind....
ImprintPublication Date: 05-16-2014
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