DANDELION DOWN.

Happy spirit of the air, Floating all the sunny day Here and there and everywhere Down the shadowy woodland way, I would like to be like you, Tossing, drifting down the May, 'Neath the skies of cloudless blue With the breezes e'er at play. R. K. Munkittrick.

BY GASTON V. DRAKE.

XVIII.—FROM BOB TO JACK.

Geneva.

DEAR JACK,—I did dream about that Guillotine as I was afraid I would and it wasn't any fun. I'm sorry I went to bed that night. I thought I went to the barber's to get my hair cut and all he had to cut it with was the guillotine. He said his scissors were off being ground but if I wouldn't wiggle the guillotine was just as safe, and it was, though I didn't enjoy it very much until I waked up and found it was all a dream, and then like a donkey I went and told Ma all about it and she said I'd have to stop eating Table d'hôte. Do you know what table-d'hôte is? It's French for a kind of a dinner where you eat everything there is on the bill of fare, and it's great because they ring in three or four different kinds of desert in such a way that nobody thinks of telling you it isn't good for you. First you have soup and then you have fish and next comes a patty which is generally a sort of chicken-hash short cake, and it goes right to the spot. Then you have roast lamb with mint sauce and green pease about as big as bird shot cooked with sugar and soft as peaches. Then comes another desert called sherbet, which is only lemon water ice and you think your dinner is over when pop! in walks the waiter with some kind of a bird, with some salad. Then you have cheese and then a pudding and on top of the pudding ice-cream and cake. They call the cakes petty fours but I could eat 'em by the petty sixes and I do. If you ever come abroad don't forget to eat all of these dinners you can. They're cheap and good only don't try to get one by asking for a Tay-bill-de-hote as you'd think it was called. No Frenchman would know what you meant, but if you call for a Tar-bull-doat they'll bring it in a minute. Ma said it was too many of these that was making me have dreams like the guillotine one but Pop said he didn't think it was; the boy is naturally excited by what he sees and hears about. We'll have to tell Jules to stop telling him stories. I'd rather go without the table d'hôte said I. And there it dropped and you can bet I'm not going to bring the subject up again no matter if I dream my head's being chopped off.

We left Paris yesterday. We didn't any of us want to come away but our time was up and so we left leaving about ninety-nine per cent. of the city unvisited. We didn't see the cemetery or go to the opera or any of those places—at least I didn't. Pop went to see the cemetery and he said it was not very cheerful and reminded him of a city of bathing houses, which I think must have been a mighty queer looking cemetery. Jules took me and the babies to the circus, but it isn't like our circus. There wasn't any pink lemonade or monkies or things like that, but all sorts of goings on in the ring and only one ring which I don't think is much and all the clowns cracked their jokes in French so I was just as glad when it was over.

It was a long ride from Paris to Geneva. Fourteen hours and near the end a Frenchman insisted on getting into our compartment which Pop had paid a man to let us have all to ourselves—and wasn't Pop mad! He tried to tell the Frenchman he had no business there, but his French got mixed up with several other languages and Pop never was strong on pantomime so the man didn't catch the idea until we got to Geneva and then he got out, but it was too late. All this time Jules was in the next car but we couldn't get at him to tell him, and that made Pop more nervous than ever. However we all got here alive and Pop has calmed down. He couldn't help calming down here. It's a beautiful city and clean as a whistle—I don't mean a railroad whistle, but the clean kind. It's right on the lake and such green water you never saw and way off in the distance Mount Blanc plays peek-a-booh with you through the clouds. Mount Blanc is the finest Alp I ever saw and it looks good enough to eat—like a great big plate of ice-cream. I wanted Jules to get up early the next morning and go out and climb it with me and have a snow-ball fight, but he says it takes nine hours to get to it riding all the way in a wagon, and two days more to climb it. It hardly seems possible, but I guess he knows because he's done it—leastways he says he has though Pop doubts it. Pop says Jules is a French Sandboys who has done a heap of things which no man ever did, but I don't care he's a good fellow to go with and I like him. He told me that when he climbed up Mount Blanc it was so cold it contracted his head so that he couldn't keep his hat from sliding down over his eyes, and as he had lost his golf cap and wore a beaver this was trying because it prevented him from seeing many of the things that other people who have climbed the mountain have seen and made books of. Jules wants to write a book and I wish he would because I'd like to read it. He's had so many things happen in his life. Why the time he went up this Mount Blanc he encountered a polar bear that wanted to eat him and Jules was willing he should because he said he was so cold he was willing to go anywhere where it was warm and he says the inside of a bear is a great deal warmer than the outside of a bear, but in his frozen state he didn't know what he was doing and so fought like a tiger and killed the bear, which warmed him up a good deal and really in the end saved his life, for if it hadn't been for the bear's skin he'd have frozen while he was up on top of the mountain which rises to a height of 16,000 feet above the level of the sea.

Pop and I went into a place this morning where there was a race going on between two music-boxes and one of 'em did a tune in at least a minute less time than the other one did the same tune. I enjoyed it very much but Pop called it a din and said let's go, so we went. Aunt Sarah may be musical but I've heard her play the piano and she can't get through that Cavalere Rusticannio half so quick as one of these music-boxes.

Pop bought me a gold watch here yesterday, but I don't see what good it's going to do me because he says he thinks he'll carry it a year himself until it gets regulated.

When we get to Genoa where Columbus used to go I'll write again.

Yours always, Bob.

The New England Interscholastics will be held next Friday instead of Saturday, because of the Harvard-Pennsylvania ball game which is to be played on Holmes Field on the latter date. The events will number fourteen, being the regular inter-collegiate programme, except that the bicycle event will be limited to a one-mile race.

ANDOVER'S SPRINTERS.

The English High-School athletes are determined to win this meet. They have won every championship so far this year, and will make a strong bid to complete the season victors in every department. Their chances at the present writing seem much brighter than those of any other school. Worcester Academy, however, will have plenty of fire in its eye. Its backers claim to be sure of three firsts, which is a big bonus to begin with. Worcester is smarting under the poor showing made in the winter meet, and is sure to retrieve itself this spring. Andover, too, will send down a hot set of runners.

For the sprints the Worcester men count on Robinson, who can run in .10-1/5. But Kane of E.H.-S., who had his first experience in racing in the winter meet, is backed by his schoolmates to win the event. Owens of Newton, Mason of W.H.-S., Duffy of E.H.-S., Jones of Andover, Kennington of Dedham High, Seaver of Cambridge High, and Hersey of W.A., make a list that, with Kane and Robinson, probably includes the six starters in the final heat. This list will have to be enlarged to fit the 220. Boyce of Brookline High, who won the 150 at the Harvard open games early in May, runs with a beautiful stride and finishes strong, and is making a specialty of this game. Carleton of Hopkinson's is training for this event. His legitimate distance is the quarter; but a recent serious illness will prevent his getting into condition for that exhausting race, and he will probably confine himself to the 220 in hope of beating his old rival, Robinson. With Carleton in good form, this 220 ought to furnish an exciting race.

There are a dozen lads around Boston who can run the quarter in better than .55. In the interscholastic relay race at the Harvard games English High's winning team of Kane, Purtell, Hanson, and Emery averaged .54½. Emery has been selected to win this event for them Friday. To do it he will have to beat men like Badger of W.H.-S., Shirk of W.A., Clapp and Huntress of Hopkinson's, Garrett of Cambridge High, and Thompson of C.M.T.S. Thompson and Badger are the best of the lot, and with Emery ought to get the three places. The race will probably be run in one heat, as heretofore, although the field in the event, which is the prime favorite in New England, will be unusually large. Burke's record is not in danger, but the race is sure to be a pretty one.

Albertson of Worcester High will be out to win the half this year, and with Dadnum and Boyle of the same school will make a trio of exceedingly high-class performers. Hartwell of W.A., Burdon of Newton, Gaskell of Andover, if he is in condition, and Applegate of Cambridge High, ought to be well bunched at the finish. Purtell will not run this distance this year, but has assigned the task of beating Albertson to Hanson, who won the 600 so pluckily at the winter meet. If Porter of Chauncy Hall enters the half-mile, Hanson may find it hard to get better than third.

Mills of Berkeley School is almost sure of the mile, with Sullivan, W. H., second, now that Dow of E.H.-S. has stopped training. Dow's withdrawal will be a severe loss to E.H.-S., and will lower their chances materially. Lincoln of Boston Latin, Richardson and Palmer of Andover, and Porter of Chauncy Hall will keep the race from dragging. Laing's old record of 4.34 will probably stand; but the winner should make at least 4.37.

Purtell in the high and Ashley and Converse in the low hurdles are a good team from E.H.-S. Purtell takes the flights in excellent form, and is particularly strong in the short dash to the tape. His special rival will be Cady, from Andover, who bears a name of international reputation in hurdling. English High is backing Ashley and Converse to win two places in the low hurdles, shrewdly reckoning that Seaver of Brookline is devoting too much time to baseball and tennis. But Mason of W.H.-S. is still in the game, and so is Hallowell of Hopkinson's; and Boyce of Brookline has developed into a dangerous man this spring.

English High has three good walkers, Rudickhauser, Mohan, and O'Toole. The best of them is O'Toole, who walks in perfect form, and is an experienced athlete. He ought to get first out of the race. His nearest rival, now that Delaney of W.H.-S. is barred, is Mallette of B.L.S. Mallette has improved wonderfully since he has been out-of-doors. He is a big strong fellow, very different from the wiry O'Toole, and could give him a hard race, except that he is very liable to break when hard pressed. He won the mile walk at the Harvard games, having the limit handicap, but got two warnings. Crouse of Andover and Lockwood are both working hard, and if they can manage to stay on the track, ought to make it a hard race.

It would be hard to make a prediction in regard to the bicycle-race, since so much depends on accidents. Stone of Andover is riding better than any one else just at present, and, barring smash-ups and pockets, ought to draw first. The pole vault will probably go as it did in the in-door meet—Johnson of W.A. first, Sharey of Cushing Academy second, and a big lob of other lads tied for third. Johnson already holds the out-door record of 10 feet 7 inches, and is going after it again this spring. Duffy of E.H.-S. has been doing some good work lately, and is likely to get a place.

The high jump will probably go to Arthur Rice, of Noble's; Perry of Andover, Howe of W.A., Rotch of Hopkinson's, and Converse of E.H.-S. are any of them likely to get a place. The shot is a sure thing for O'Brien, E.H.-S.; next to him is Edmands of W.A.; Heath of Hopkinson's or Coe of Noble's ought to get third place.

Andover and Worcester held their second dual games a week ago Saturday, at Andover, and Worcester for the second time defeated her old rival. It is true that the Andover team was slightly crippled by the loss of Senn and Peck, who were "ineligible" for faculty reasons, and of Gaskell, who was laid up. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if the presence of these men would have been of great assistance, for Andover was strong as it was in their events.

ANDOVER-WORCESTER DUAL GAMES, ANDOVER, MAY 23, 1896.

Event.Winner.

100-yard dashJones, A.10-3/5sec.

220-yard dashJones, A.23-1/5"

Quarter-mile runRobinson, W.52-2/5"

Half-mile runRichardson, A.2m.10-1/5"

Mile runPalmer, A.5"1"

Mile walkLockwood, W.8"7"

Two-mile bicycleStone, A.5"33-2/5"

120-yard hurdlesEdmands, W.17-3/5"

220-yard hurdlesHersey, W.28-3/5"

Throwing 12-lb. hammerEdmands, W.115ft.

Putting 16-lb. shotEdmands, W.86"8in.

Running high jumpJohnson, W.5"7¼"

Running broad jumpHersey, W.21"1½"

Pole vaultJohnson, W.10"

Event.Second.Third.

100-yard dashRobinson, W.Clark, W.

220-yard dashGould, W.Clark, W.

Quarter-mile runJohnson, W.Newcombe, A.

Half-mile runBennett, W.Hartwell, W.

Mile runMcPherson, W.Poynter, A.

Mile walkCrouse, A.Wright, A.

Two-mile bicycleManning, A.Whitney, W.

120-yard hurdlesCady, A.Shirk, W.

220-yard hurdlesLindenburg, A.Cady, A.

Throwing 12-lb. hammerDunston, A.Campbell, W.

Putting 16-lb. shotCampbell, W.Hersey, W.

Running high jumpPerry, A.Long, A.

Running broad jumpTherrein, W.Williams, A.

Pole vaultPerry, A.Kendall, W.

Points.

Event.A.W.

100-yard dash53

220-yard dash53

Quarter-mile run17

Half-mile run53

Mile run62

Mile walk35

Two-mile bicycle71

120-yard hurdles26

220-yard hurdles35

Throwing 12-lb. hammer26

Putting 16-lb. shot08

Running high jump35

Running broad jump17

Pole vault26

——

Total4567

F. A. EDMANDS.

The star athletes of the day were the Worcester men Edmands and Bascom Johnson. Edmands took first place in three events, the shot, the hammer, and the high hurdles—which, by-the-way, is exactly what Holt of Andover did in these same games last year. Johnson was not far behind Edmands in the number of points he scored. He took first in the high jump and the pole vault, and second in the quarter-mile run. Robinson, of whom Worcester expected so much, disappointed his schoolmates in not winning the 100. A little later, however, he redeemed himself by taking the quarter in the easiest kind of way in very good time.

In the low hurdles and broad jump Worcester produced a dark horse in Hersey. He is a promising young athlete, and ought to take some points at the New England Interscholastics on Friday. The mile walk was easy for Lockwood, who secured a big lead early in the race, and beat out his Andover opponents by fully a quarter of a lap. Jones, the new Andover sprinter, won both dashes with ease. He is a large powerful runner, and moves along the path in fine form. He has three years more in school, and will undoubtedly make a fine record for himself before he graduates.

On account of Gaskell's being unable to run in the half, Richardson, who took second in the mile last year, was put in there to represent Andover. He ran a good race and won. McPherson of Worcester was picked for first man in the mile, but Palmer of Andover outran him. He showed good head-work all the way around, and beat his pace-maker with a strong dash at the finish.

It is interesting to note that, excepting in the distance runs and the walk, the conditions this year in respect to winners of events were exactly reversed from that of last season, the case of Holt and Edmands being the most striking. Andover is strong in the sprints this year, but weak in field events, whereas Worcester, whose representatives made such a poor showing on the field last year, captured every turf event on this occasion.

The Connecticut interscholastics will be held next Saturday at New Haven on the Yale field instead of at Hartford as last year. There are three new members of the League—Black Hall, University School of Bridgeport, and Hopkins Grammar of New Haven—and their entries will materially affect the result.

With so much new material it is impossible to guess who will win the dashes, none of last year's point winners being in school. With the high hurdles it is the same, now that Cady has gone to Andover, but the low hurdles ought to go to Hotchkiss with Cheney. Foster of Bridgeport H.-S. and Luce of Hartford H.-S. will have a close race in the quarter. In the half Bassett of New Britain ought to win in time pretty close to 2.05.

The mile will bring out a great many new men, and at the present writing there is no one of great enough promise to claim it in advance. Tichbourne of Hillhouse ought to take the walk. Lyman of Hotchkiss and Strong of Hartford will have a hard fight for first place in the bicycle event. Sturtevant of Hartford should take the high jump, with Goodwin of Hotchkiss second. The broad jump is claimed by a dark horse from the University School, of Bridgeport. In the pole vault Paulding of Black Hall will have to do his best to defeat Sturtevant. The latter defeated Paulding at the Yale games of May 2 with a leap of 10 ft. 4¾ in., but Paulding can go higher than that.

C. W. BEGGS, JUN., Winner of the Princeton Interscholastic Tennis Tournament.

Ingalls of Hartford High seems to have a pretty sure thing of it in the hammer and shot. At the Hartford H.-S. games a week ago Saturday he threw the 16-pound hammer 113 ft. 6½ in., and put the same weight shot 36 ft. 1 in. At these games Luce took the 100-yard in .10-2/5. If he can repeat this performance Saturday he ought to take that event.

The Princeton Interscholastic Tennis Tournament was won again this year by Lawrenceville. The victor was C. W. Beggs, Jun., who won the Chicago Interscholastic Tennis Tournament last year. He has been doing a good deal of track-athletic work this spring, and it had hardly been hoped by Lawrenceville that he could pull out first honors in tennis; nevertheless, he went in strongly at Princeton a week ago Saturday, and earned the privilege of representing that association at Newport in August. The runner-up, H. Little, as well as the winners of third and fourth places, H. Richards, Jun., and J. P. Kellogg, are Lawrenceville men.

Although forty or fifty schools had been invited to the Princeton tournament, not more than six were represented on the courts. Next year, however, it is probable that there will be a much larger representation. In the preliminary round McMillan of the Princeton Preparatory School defaulted to Richards, Lawrenceville, who defeated King, New York Military Academy, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round. Kellogg, Lawrenceville, beat Musselman, N.Y.M.A., 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Beggs beat Cook, Hackettstown Institute, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; and Little, Lawrenceville, beat Trump, Kiskiminetas School, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, making a clean sweep for Lawrenceville in the first round.

In the semi-finals Beggs beat Richards, 6-4, 6-0; and Little beat Kellogg, 8-6, 6-3. In the finals Beggs won from Little, 7-5, 6-1, the third set being defaulted. Outside of the Lawrenceville players, Cook of Hackettstown Institute was decidedly the best man, and shows considerable promise. Beggs won handily over the other Lawrenceville men, and is probably the best tennis-player Lawrenceville has ever had. The fact that there are thirty tennis-courts on the school grounds, and that there exists a regulation for compulsory play, brings out every year some very fair material, and serves also to develop good men like this year's champion, who may come to Lawrenceville from other schools.

PRINCETON INTERSCHOLASTIC TENNIS CUP. Won by Lawrenceville.

The silver cup, of which a picture is given herewith, is now the property of Lawrenceville School, having been won for three successive years—in 1893, by J. H. Smith; in 1894, by S. G. Thomson, now one of Princeton's best tennis men; and in 1895, by M. G. Beaman, now at Harvard. This cup was offered by the Princeton Lawn-Tennis Association. The cup now being competed for has been offered by Mr. T. E. McVitty, of Bryn-Mawr, a graduate of Lawrenceville. The conditions under which it is offered for competition are the same as those of the previous cup, but this trophy is far handsomer than the first.

The Inter-Academic League's Tennis Tournament was held in Philadelphia, on the Belmont Cricket Club grounds. J. K. Willing, of De Lancey, was the winner, defeating S. H. McVitty, also of De Lancey, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3, in the finals. Willing will probably go to Newport in August to represent the Inter-Academic League. This will be the first time that the Philadelphia schools have sent a representative to the national tournament.

F. L. R. S. Jr.—1. There is a chapter on the care of a bicycle in Track Athletics in Detail (Harper & Brothers, $1.25). 2. We cannot recommend any individual make of wheel. 3. The different manufacturers have various ways of designating the "year" of their machines. Inquire at the agency for the make you wish to learn about.

The Graduate.