nts
will have the best kind of a time; forgive us for not answering letters;
we are too disillusioned about ourself to make any resolutions to do
better. We're going home now; on the way we'll think of a lot of nice
things we might have said, write them down and use them to-morrow. Hope
Dorothy Gish will get something nice in her stocking. Don't make the
obvious retort. Grand time, Christmas!

IN WEST PHILADELPHIA

[Illustration]

Climbing aboard car No. 13--ominously labelled "Mt. Moriah"--I voyaged
toward West Philadelphia. It was a keen day, the first snow of winter
had fallen, and sparkling gushes of chill swept inward every time the
side doors opened. The conductor, who gets the full benefit of this
ventilation, was feeling cynical, and seeing his blue hands I didn't
blame him. Long lines of ladies, fumbling with their little bags and
waiting for change, stepped off one by one into the windy eddies of the
street corners. One came up to pay her fare ten blocks or so before her
destination, and then retired to her seat again. This puzzled the
conductor and he rebuked her. The argument grew busy. To the amazement
of the passengers this richly dressed female brandished lusty epithets.
"You Irish mick!" she said. (One would not have believed it possible if
he had not heard it.) "That's what I am, and proud of it," said he. The
shopping solstice is not all fur coats and pink cheeks. If you watch the
conductors in the blizzard season, and see the slings and arrows they
have to bear, you will coin a new maxim. The conductor is always right.

It is always entertaining to move for a little in a college atmosphere.
I stopped at College Hall at the University and seriously contemplated
slipping in to a lecture. The hallways were crowded with earnest youths
of both sexes--I was a bit surprised at the number of co-eds,
particularly the number with red hair--discussing the tribulations of
their lot. "Think of it," said one man, "I'm a senior, and carrying
twenty-three hours. Got a thesis to do, 20,000 words." On a bulletin
board I observed the results of a "General Intelligence Exam." It
appears that 1,770 students took part. They were listed by numbers, not
by names. It was not stated what the perfect mark would have been; the
highest grade attained was 159, by Mr. (or Miss?) 735. The lowest mark
was 23. I saw that both 440 and 1124 got the mark of 149. If these
gentlemen (or ladies) are eager to play off the tie, it