itute.

There was an eight-oared boat rowed by a crew of the young ladies, of
which Miss Euthymia was the captain and pulled the bow oar. Poor little
Lurida could not pull an oar, but on great occasions, when there were
many boats out, she was wanted as coxswain, being a mere feather-weight,
and quick-witted enough to serve well in the important office where
brains are more needed than muscle.

There was also an eight-oared boat belonging to the University, and
rowed by a picked crew of stalwart young fellows. The bow oar and
captain of the University crew was a powerful young man, who, like the
captain of the girls' boat, was a noted gymnast. He had had one or two
quiet trials with Miss Euthymia, in which, according to the ultras of
the woman's rights party, he had not vindicated the superiority of his
sex in the way which might have been expected. Indeed, it was claimed
that he let a cannon-ball drop when he ought to have caught it, and
it was not disputed that he had been ingloriously knocked over by a
sand-bag projected by the strong arms of the young maiden. This was of
course a story that was widely told and laughingly listened to, and
the captain of the University crew had become a little sensitive on
the subject. When there was a talk, therefore, about a race between the
champion boats of the two institutions there was immense excitement in
both of them, as well as among the members of the Pansophian Society and
all the good people of the village.

There were many objections to be overcome. Some thought it unladylike
for the young maidens to take part in a competition which must attract
many lookers-on, and which it seemed to them very hoidenish to venture
upon. Some said it was a shame to let a crew of girls try their strength
against an equal number of powerful young men. These objections were
offset by the advocates of the race by the following arguments. They
maintained that it was no more hoidenish to row a boat than it was to
take a part in the calisthenic exercises, and that the girls had nothing
to do with the young men's boat, except to keep as much ahead of it as
possible. As to strength, the woman's righters believed that, weight
for weight, their crew was as strong as the other, and of course due
allowance would be made for the difference of weight and all other
accidental hindrances. It was time to test the boasted superiority
of masculine muscle. Here was a chance. If the girls beat, the whole
c