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Article COLLEGE MUSINGS. Page 1 of 4 →
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College Musings.
COLLEGE MUSINGS .
HY LITHOUKGOS . THE IDLER AT PARIS . { Continued from page 285 , lillli . ) CHAfTF . lS vill . MID-DAY 1 embarked on-board tlie steam packet to cross the straights
of Dover . Aly eyes cast a svistful look on the fast receding shores of my native land , svhiist quitting them for the first time in my life to visit a foreign shore ; but the ssvift speeding vessel soon entering the harbour of Calais , my thoughts svere quickly diverted into another channel . This is a strongly fortified place , and the numerous barriers one had to pass through in reaching the hotel , the importunate services of Le Commissionaire , and the sort of rubbing down at the Custom-house , svere
impediments to the free exercise of the limbs , rather astonishing to the impetuous spirit of youth , unaccustomed to such fetters upon his motions . Sleeping one night at Calais , I pursued my route to Paris par Boulonge , Abbeville , and Beauvais . One incident at Calais svonderfull y amazed me . I happened to stroll into the cathedral ; the priest svas performing mass , and in the middle of the ceremony the doors svere throsvn open , and in marched an entire regiment of the garrison , svith
drums beating and colours flying , and svhen svithin a fesv yards of the altar they halted , ground arms with a prodigious noise , and reverently bosved the knee at the elevation of the host . The scene had a strange mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous .
Well-a-day ! as old Dominie Sampson svould say , " pro-di-gi-ous !" Already one month at Paris contrary to a vosv—not registered in heaven —but seriously made previous to leaving home , only to stay one brief fortnight . And such a plucking too ! One vosv I religiously keep , never again to enter Frascati ! Four thousand francs at a sitting ! no joke , youngster . But my fickle , svaysvard indetermination deserved it . Ye gods and Stygian shades ! Fool that I svas to be cozened b y
a greater , though an older fool ! Where are those airy castles , those enormous svinnings , those irresistible , invincible systems , based upon the nicest calculation ? crumbled into dust , all , all evaporated into emptyfaugh 1 I have no patience svith myself for idly listening to such schemes of moonshine speculation . The master was an ass , and his dnpe a dolt . It svas aggravating enough to lose the money—more galling to reflect hosv svastefully forfeited ! But , by my troth , as Asmodeus ssvears , enough of it . I shall balance the loss with experience , and in the end it svill turn out a profit .
A renesval of my old complaint , the cacoethes scribendi , has this dull morning prompted me to take up my pen , and pursue my original object ! Here a puzzling query starts up : What svas the original and primeval object of this journal ? Mercury , thou god of invention , lend me thy ears ! I come to reveal myself to myself . Was it rational ? Doubtful . Was it irrational ? No . Ergo , it svas neither rational nor irrational . So much for the guiding rod of logic in tlie discovery of truth ! So much for the perspicuity of syllogistic reasoning !
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
College Musings.
COLLEGE MUSINGS .
HY LITHOUKGOS . THE IDLER AT PARIS . { Continued from page 285 , lillli . ) CHAfTF . lS vill . MID-DAY 1 embarked on-board tlie steam packet to cross the straights
of Dover . Aly eyes cast a svistful look on the fast receding shores of my native land , svhiist quitting them for the first time in my life to visit a foreign shore ; but the ssvift speeding vessel soon entering the harbour of Calais , my thoughts svere quickly diverted into another channel . This is a strongly fortified place , and the numerous barriers one had to pass through in reaching the hotel , the importunate services of Le Commissionaire , and the sort of rubbing down at the Custom-house , svere
impediments to the free exercise of the limbs , rather astonishing to the impetuous spirit of youth , unaccustomed to such fetters upon his motions . Sleeping one night at Calais , I pursued my route to Paris par Boulonge , Abbeville , and Beauvais . One incident at Calais svonderfull y amazed me . I happened to stroll into the cathedral ; the priest svas performing mass , and in the middle of the ceremony the doors svere throsvn open , and in marched an entire regiment of the garrison , svith
drums beating and colours flying , and svhen svithin a fesv yards of the altar they halted , ground arms with a prodigious noise , and reverently bosved the knee at the elevation of the host . The scene had a strange mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous .
Well-a-day ! as old Dominie Sampson svould say , " pro-di-gi-ous !" Already one month at Paris contrary to a vosv—not registered in heaven —but seriously made previous to leaving home , only to stay one brief fortnight . And such a plucking too ! One vosv I religiously keep , never again to enter Frascati ! Four thousand francs at a sitting ! no joke , youngster . But my fickle , svaysvard indetermination deserved it . Ye gods and Stygian shades ! Fool that I svas to be cozened b y
a greater , though an older fool ! Where are those airy castles , those enormous svinnings , those irresistible , invincible systems , based upon the nicest calculation ? crumbled into dust , all , all evaporated into emptyfaugh 1 I have no patience svith myself for idly listening to such schemes of moonshine speculation . The master was an ass , and his dnpe a dolt . It svas aggravating enough to lose the money—more galling to reflect hosv svastefully forfeited ! But , by my troth , as Asmodeus ssvears , enough of it . I shall balance the loss with experience , and in the end it svill turn out a profit .
A renesval of my old complaint , the cacoethes scribendi , has this dull morning prompted me to take up my pen , and pursue my original object ! Here a puzzling query starts up : What svas the original and primeval object of this journal ? Mercury , thou god of invention , lend me thy ears ! I come to reveal myself to myself . Was it rational ? Doubtful . Was it irrational ? No . Ergo , it svas neither rational nor irrational . So much for the guiding rod of logic in tlie discovery of truth ! So much for the perspicuity of syllogistic reasoning !