WHY THE GLEE CLUB SANG.

"The station-agent homeward plods his weary way,

And leaves the world to darkness and to me,"

muttered Ned as he groped his way up the steps from the College station.

Nothing more was said until Ned and his companion slackened their speed as they reached the steep pitch of the hill.

"It does seem too bad for our Class Day to slump through and all on account of a mercenary Band-Master," said Jack as he turned to Ned, a half-step behind.

"I never realized before what a desert of hours existed between Tree Exercises and dancing in the Gym. Jack, what are we to do?"

"Don't ask that question until you can answer it yourself. I don't know which way to turn."

They walked in silence past East Hall, where only one dismal little light was to be seen.

"Ray is very proud of the Glee Club," said Ned, as he glanced at the lighted window; "is there any way we could turn it to account ?"

Jack shook his head. "Ray and I talked it over, but the chapel is the only place where they could sing, and what we need is something out-of-doors and very informal. A promenade concert hits it exactly." He dug his hands deeper into his pockets. "Ned, we must get hold of an idea somehow."

"I reckon Morpheus is the only one left to appeal to." "Don't jest, Ned, our class honor is at stake."

With a nod Ned turned quickly off toward Dean Hall, leaving Jack with one foot on the lower step of the east porch of West Hall. Jack hesitated; he didn't want to turn in now, he wanted to think. Slowly he turned and walked over to the steps of the new Museum. He sat with his chin resting in his palms, look

ing off toward Medford and the darkly outlined hills beyond. He thought of everything connected with his four years of college life, from the Freshman-Sophomore flag-rush, from which he had emerged slightly the worse for wear, down to the music question which the Class Day Committee had to solve. All was honor for his class.

He sat there an indefinite length of time before he was conscious of a noise which obviously emanated from beyond the double doors at his back. He had not even formulated a probable cause of the disturbance before the doors opened and the two horns on the nose of the rhinoceros appeared. Slowly his huge body pushed through the doorway.

“I declare, Elky, if this isn't great." This to the American Elk who followed him out onto the steps.

"Tell the skeletons back there that it's a fine warm night and they needn't fear getting ossical rheumatism,-they couldn't get muscular very well," he added in an undertone.

"Oh, were they the ones who black-balled all our motions for a night on the campus?"

"Elky's as thick-headed as some are thick-skinned, eh, 'Noceros?" drawled out the alligator from Florida with his usual sickly twelve-inch grin, and was answered by a slow wink from the thick-skinned gentleman from Africa.

"Oh, by the way," added the Alligator, "Jumbo can't get one of his feet off his platform; some of you heavy-weights go back and hold it down until he can free himself;—it would be a pity for the pet of the Museum to lose this night's fun."

The Elk and Acelaphus, a gentleman who was very particular to have his name pronounced in full, helped Jumbo, who with a good-natured laugh finally came puffing out onto the steps. He raised his head slightly and let the breeze blow full in his face and turn back the edges of his large ears; then he lifted his trunk and gave the long, low Menagerie call. The sound thundered back and forth among the buildings and then was faintly echoed by the distant hills.

"Wrinkle my skin, Jumbo, but you've spoilt our fun now. Why?" He gave the Alligator another wink which was answered by a snapping together of the jaws. "I'll give the boys up stairs just two minutes to get the better of Giraffe and Dromedary, and then we'll have those Rochester people down here too."

The Alligator spoke but too truly. A pane of glass was broken in a window up stairs and the small head of the Giraffe appeared, but no one below could hear what he said because the bears, lions, leopards, and all the old Menagerie boys were answering Jumbo's call in their several keys. Finally the Giraffe made himself heard in detached phrases. "Beg Jumbo-name of P. T.— come down-won't mind-night off."

The Alligator slid up to Jumbo. "Remember the Rochester people, all powerful master."

Jumbo's expression changed; he was always a kind and lenient leader, but like a loyal Barnum and Bailey animal he held a bitter hatred for those of Prof. Ward's collection. He shouted back a short "No." The noise above redoubled, the giraffe grew purple in the face trying to make himself heard.

"No go-pity us-for love of our common

The animals below looked distressed. Then Jumbo with a sweep of his trunk indicated that the Lord of Menagerie and Museum was going to assert his authority.

"Come down, if you will take the responsibility of getting them all back again."

The Giraffe's head disappeared and there was silence for a few

moments.

"Most worthy of you, high master," said the Alligator, "most magnanimous, most kind."

Jumbo seemed a little disturbed at this praise, it sounded rather doubtful. He was wont to be led by the advice and wishes of his nine counselors, who, with himself, enjoyed freedom in the room on the ground floor. The animals in cages in the large hall above were almost all members of the collection recently purchased from Prof. Ward of Rochester. Over these the Giraffe

and Dromedary, stanch Barnum and Bailey subjects, acted as keepers, and were at this moment busily engaged in marshaling their forces preparatory to a march downstairs and out onto the campus. The Giraffe whispered to the Dromedary, "I haven't the slightest uneasiness about the Menagerie boys, but it makes my spots pale, it really does, Derry, to think of how we shall manage the Rochester horde."

The birds were allowed to pass out onto the balcony, the Screech-owl standing at the door and calling the roll. All the rest were permitted to go down the staircase in whatever way best suited to his former habits of life, but not until they had given their words as peaceful stuffed animals to return at one o'clock.

Jack, from the shadowy corner to which he had retreated, watched them pass out onto the green campus. He could witness the joyous meetings between two Menagerie people long separated and was heartily weary of hearing them say:

"Well, well, when we lived in cages side by side, we little thought we would be separated in this fashion after death," or "Do you remember the night of the big fire at Bridgeport?"

"Remember it? Shall I ever forget it, and the picture you presented when you crawled into the big bass drum for safety." Then there would be a shout at the expense of the questioner and more reminiscences brought up. "They're almost as bad as old grads," muttered Jack between his teeth.

Quite naturally, most of the Menagerie people strolled under the trees talking over old times in groups of threes and fours. But the bears, seals, porpoises, the sea-lion, little sea-horse and the flying-fish all decided in favor of the Res for a promenade. The Rhinoceros and Alligator decided not to go. "Not mud enough," they both agreed. The Polar Bear, however, although a Menagerie boy, could hardly endure the excessive warmth. "Dye my coat-black-boys-but I can't-stand-this. Awfully sorry."

"That's all right, Polar, go along. Poor, stupid old thing,"

chuckled the Alligator, as he waddled slowly over to the little gathering around Jumbo. The Rochester people of course could roam about and do as they pleased, and indeed, they were not at a loss for employment.

Jack saw many curious sights, animals from every corner of the globe, of every size and degree of civilization. Some monkeys started a quarrel between the sloth from Brazil and his cousin from Costa Rica, not far from Jack. These cousins were never well-disposed toward each other, simply from the fact that they differed in number of toes, the Brazilian having. two, the Costa Rican three. The former now chose his friend and fellowcountryman, the Ant-Eater, as his second, while the African Porcupine acted for the Costa Rican. Asinus Burchelli from South Africa,-known to his friends as Zebra, acted as a neutral party.

The sloths were placed one foot apart, but owing to their customary slowness of movement it took them a long while even then to get within reach of each other. Just as the third claw of the three-toed sloth had made a scratch on his cousin's nose,— and everyone had revived interest, the furious ringing of the bell in Ballou Hall arrested the duel.

The monkeys, who had stirred up the quarrel; had wearied of the slow fun and left it for new mischief. This they had found by climbing up onto Ballou and ringing the bell.

Jumbo was much disturbed; he sent a bat messenger commanding them to come down immediately, "and tell them to be careful not to get into the building, for then there'd be 'the devil to pay.'"

The Alligator smiled to himself, he enjoyed nothing so much as to see another in a dangerous position. Jumbo now thought it would be safest to gradually get the animals together ready to go back into the Museum, and accordingly sent word to the Giraffe and Dromedary.

The bats were chosen to round up the animals because they could see so well in the dark, and were just stupid enough to do exactly as they were told. The owls were unsuited for this sort