"Dance, freshmen, dance!"

Then the freshmen danced around the fire, holding hands and spreading
into an ever widening circle as the fire crackled and the flames leaped
upward. Slowly, almost impressively, the upper-classmen chanted:

"Round the fire, the freshmen go,
Freshmen go,
Freshmen go;
Round the fire the freshmen go
To cheer Sanford."

The song had a dozen stanzas, only the last line of each being
different. The freshmen danced until the last verse was sung, which
ended with the Sanford cheer:

"Closer now the freshmen go,
Freshmen go,
Freshmen go;
Closer now the freshmen go
To cheer--

SANFORD!
Sanford! Rah, rah!
Sanford! Sanford!
San--San--San--
San--ford, San--ford--San--FORD!"

While the upper-classmen were singing the last stanza the freshmen
slowly closed in on the dying fire. At the first word of the cheer, they
stopped, turned toward the grand stand, and joined the cheering. That
over, they broke and ran for the bleachers, scrambling up the wooden
stands, shoving each other out of the way, laughing and shouting.

The football captain usually made a short and very awkward speech, which
was madly applauded; perhaps the coach said a few words; two or three
cheers were given; and finally every one rose, took off his hat if he
wore one--nearly every one but the freshmen went bareheaded--and sang
the college hymn, simply and religiously. Then the crowd broke,
straggling in groups across the campus, chatting, singing, shouting to
each other. Suddenly lights began to flash in the dormitory windows. In
less than an hour after the first cry of "Peerade!" the men were back
in their rooms, once more studying, talking, or playing cards.

It was the smoker rallies, though, that Hugh found the most thrilling,
especially the last one before the final game of the season, the "big
game" with Raleigh College. There were 1123 students in Sanford, and
more than 1000 were at the rally. A rough platform had been built at one
end of the gymnasium. On one side of it sat the band, on the other side
the Glee Club--and before it the mass of students, smoking cigarettes,
corn-cob pipes, and, occasionally, a cigar. The "smokes" had been
furnished free by a loc