Everyone rowed, and the girls as well as the youths had their races,and developed their muscles in the most scientific manner. The large,level meadow near the old willow was now the college playground, andhere baseball battles raged with fury, varied by football, leaping,and kindred sports fitted to split the fingers, break the ribs, andstrain the backs of the too ambitious participants. The gentlerpastimes of the damsels were at a safe distance from this Champ deMars; croquet mallets clicked under the elms that fringed the field,rackets rose and fell energetically in several tennis-courts, andgates of different heights were handy to practise the graceful boundby which every girl expected to save her life some day when the madbull, which was always coming but never seemed to arrive, should bebellowing at her heels.

 

　　One of these tennis grounds was called 'Jo's Court', and here thelittle lady ruled like a queen; for she was fond of the game, andbeing bent on developing her small self to the highest degree ofperfection, she was to be found at every leisure moment with somevictim hard at it. On a certain pleasant Saturday afternoon she hadbeen playing with Bess and beating her; for, though more graceful,the Princess was less active than her cousin, and cultivated herroses by quieter methods.

 

　　'Oh dear! you are tired, and every blessed boy is at that stupidbaseball match. 'What shall I do?' sighed Josie, pushing back thegreat red hat she wore, and gazing sadly round her for more worlds toconquer.

 

　　'I'll play presently, when I'm a little cooler. But it is dull workfor me, as I never win,' answered Bess, fanning herself with a largeleaf.

 

　　Josie was about to sit down beside her on the rustic seat and wait,when her quick eye saw afar off two manly forms arrayed in whiteflannel; their blue legs seemed bearing them towards the battle goingon in the distance; but they never reached the fray; for with a cryof joy, Jo raced away to meet them, bent on securing this heaven-sentreinforcement. Both paused as she came flying up, and both raisedtheir hats; but oh, the difference there was in the salutes! Thestout youth pulled his off lazily and put it on again at once, as ifglad to get the duty over; the slender being, with the crimson tie,lifted his with a graceful bend, and held it aloft while he accostedthe rosy, breathless maid, thus permitting her to see his raven lockssmoothly parted, with one little curl upon the brow. Dolly pridedhimself upon that bow, and practised it before his glass, but did notbestow it upon all alike, regarding it as a work of art, fit only forthe fairest and most favoured of his female admirers; for he was apretty youth, and fancied himself an Adonis.

 

　　Eager Josie evidently did not appreciate the honour he did her, forwith a nod she begged them both to 'come along and play tennis, notgo and get all hot and dirty with the boys'. These two adjectives wonthe day; for Stuffy was already warmer than he liked to be, and Dollyhad on a new suit which he desired to keep immaculate as long aspossible, conscious that it was very becoming.

 

　　'Charmed to oblige,' answered the polite one, with another bend.

 

　　'You play, I'll rest,' added the fat boy, yearning for repose andgentle converse with the Princess in the cooling shade.

 

　　'Well, you can comfort Bess, for I've beaten her all to bits and sheneeds amusing. I know you've got something nice in your pocket,George; give her some, and 'Dolphus can have her racket. Now then,fly round'; and driving her prey before her, Josie returned intriumph to the court.

 

　　Casting himself ponderously upon the bench, which creaked under hisweight, Stuffy--as we will continue to call him, though no one elsedared to use the old name now--promptly produced the box ofconfectionery, without which he never travelled far, and regaled Besswith candied violets and other dainties, while Dolly worked hard tohold his own against a most accomplished antagonist. He would havebeaten her if an unlucky stumble, which produced an unsightly stainupon the knee of those new shorts, had not distracted his mind andmade him careless. Much elated at her victory, Josie permitted him torest, and offered ironical consolation for the mishap which evidentlyweighed upon his mind.

 

　　'Don't be an old Betty; it can be cleaned. You must have been a catin some former state, you are so troubled about dirt; or a tailor,and lived for clothes.'

 

　　'Come now, don't hit a fellow when he is down,' responded Dolly fromthe grass where he and Stuffy now lay to make room for both girls onthe seat. One handkerchief was spread under him, and his elbow leanedupon another, while his eyes were sadly fixed upon the green andbrown spot which afflicted him. 'I like to be neat; don't think itcivil to cut about in old shoes and grey flannel shirts beforeladies. Our fellows are gentlemen, and dress as such,' he added,rather nettled at the word 'tailor'; for he owed one of those tooattractive persons an uncomfortably big bill.

 

　　'So are ours; but good clothes alone don't make a gentleman here. Werequire a good deal more,' flashed Josie, in arms at once to defendher college. 'You will hear of some of the men in "old boots and greyflannel" when you and your fine gentlemen are twiddling your ties andscenting your hair in obscurity. I like old boots and wear them, andI hate dandies; don't you, Bess?'

 

　　'Not when they are kind to me, and belong to our old set,' answeredBess, with a nod of thanks to Dolly, who was carefully removing aninquisitive caterpillar from one of her little russet shoes.

 

　　'I like a lady who is always polite, and doesn't snap a man's headoff if he has a mind of his own; don't you, George?' asked Dolly,with his best smile for Bess and a Harvard stare of disapprobationfor Josie.

 

　　A tranquil snore was Stuffy's sole reply, and a general laughrestored peace for the moment. But Josie loved to harass the lords ofcreation who asserted themselves too much, and bided her time foranother attack till she had secured more tennis. She got anothergame; for Dolly was a sworn knight of dames, so he obeyed her call,leaving Bess to sketch George as he lay upon his back, his stout legscrossed, and his round red face partially eclipsed by his hat. Josiegot beaten this time and came back rather cross, so she woke thepeaceful sleeper by tickling his nose with a straw till he sneezedhimself into a sitting posture, and looked wrathfully about for 'thatconfounded fly'.

 

　　'Come, sit up and let us have a little elegant conversation; you"howling swells" ought to improve our minds and manners, for we areonly poor "country girls in dowdy gowns and hats",' began thegad-fly, opening the battle with a sly quotation from one of Dolly'sunfortunate speeches about certain studious damsels who cared morefor books than finery.

 

　　'I didn't mean you! Your gowns are all right, and those hats thelatest thing out,' began poor 'Dolphus, convicting himself by theincautious exclamation.

 

　　'Caught you that time; I thought you fellows were all gentlemen,civil as well as nice. But you are always sneering at girls who don'tdress well and that is a very unmanly thing to do; my mother saidso'; and Josie felt that she had dealt a shrewd blow at the elegantyouth who bowed at many shrines if they were well-decorated ones.

 

　　'Got you there, old boy, and she's right. You never hear me talkabout clothes and such twaddle,' said Stuffy, suppressing a yawn, andfeeling for another bon-bon wherewith to refresh himself.

 

　　'You talk about eating, and that is even worse for a man. You willmarry a cook and keep a restaurant some day,' laughed Josie, down onhim at once.

 

　　This fearful prediction kept him silent for several moments; butDolly rallied, and wisely changing the subject, carried war into theenemy's camp.

 

　　'As you wanted us to improve your manners, allow me to say that youngladies in good society don't make personal remarks or deliverlectures. Little girls who are not out do it, and think it witty; butI assure you it's not good form.'

 

　　Josie paused a moment to recover from the shock of being called 'alittle girl', when all the honours of her fourteenth birthday werefresh upon her; and Bess said, in the lofty tone which was infinitelymore crushing than Jo's impertinence:

 

　　'That is true; but we have lived all our lives with superior people,so we have no society talk like your young ladies. We are soaccustomed to sensible conversation, and helping one another bytelling our faults, that we have no gossip to offer you.'

 

　　When the Princess reproved, the boys seldom resented it; so Dollyheld his peace, and Josie burst out, following her cousin's lead,which she thought a happy one:

 

　　'Our boys like to have us talk with them, and take kindly any hintswe give. They don't think they know everything and are quite perfectat eighteen, as I've observed the Harvard men do, especially the veryyoung ones.'

 

　　Josie took immense satisfaction in that return shot; and Dolly showedthat he was hit, by the nettled tone in which he answered, with asupercilious glance at the hot, dusty, and noisy crowd on thebaseball ground: 'The class of fellows you have here need all thepolish and culture you can give them; and I'm glad they get it. Ourmen are largely from the best families all over the country, so wedon't need girls to teach us anything.'

 

　　'It's a pity you don't have more of such "fellows" as ours. Theyvalue and use well what college gives them, and aren't satisfied toslip through, getting all the fun they can and shirking the work. Oh,I've heard you "men" talk, and heard your fathers say they wish theyhadn't wasted time and money just that you might say you'd beenthrough college. As for the girls, you'll be much better off in allways when they do get in, and keep you lazy things up to the mark, aswe do here.'

 

　　'If you have such a poor opinion of us, why do you wear our colour?'

 

　　asked Dolly, painfully conscious that he was not improving theadvantages his Alma Mater offered him, but bound to defend her.

 

　　'I don't; my hat is scarlet, not crimson. Much you know about acolour,' scoffed Josie.

 

　　'I know that a cross cow would soon set you scampering, if youflaunted that red tile under her nose,' retorted Dolly.

 

　　'I'm ready for her. Can your fine young ladies do this? or youeither?' and burning to display her latest accomplishment, Josie ranto the nearest gate, put one hand on the top rail, and vaulted overas lightly as a bird.

 

　　Bess shook her head, and Stuffy languidly applauded; but Dollyscorning to be braved by a girl, took a flying leap and landed on hisfeet beside Josie, saying calmly: 'Can you do that?'

 

　　'Not yet; but I will by and by.'

 

　　As his foe looked a little crestfallen, Dolly relented, and affablyadded sundry feats of a like nature, quite unconscious that he hadfallen into a dreadful snare; for the dull red paint on the gate, notbeing used to such vigorous handling, came off in streaks upon hisshoulders when he turned a backward swing and came up smiling, to berewarded with the aggravating remark:

 

　　'If you want to know what crimson is, look at your back; it's nicelystamped on and won't wash out, I think.'

 

　　'The deuce it won't!' cried Dolly, trying to get an impossible view,and giving it up in great disgust.

 

　　'I guess we'd better be going, Dolf,' said peaceable Stuffy, feelingthat it would be wise to retreat before another skirmish took place,as his side seemed to be getting the worst of it.

 

　　'Don't hurry, I beg; stay and rest; you must need it after thetremendous amount of brain work you've done this week. It is time forour Greek. Come, Bess. Good afternoon, gentlemen.' And, with asweeping courtesy, Josie led the way, with her hat belligerentlycocked up, and her racket borne like a triumphal banner over oneshoulder; for having had the last word, she felt that she couldretire with the honours of war.

 

　　Dolly gave Bess his best bow, with the chill on; and Stuffy subsidedluxuriously, with his legs in the air, murmuring in a dreamy tone:

 

　　'Little Jo is as cross as two sticks today. I'm going in for anothernap: too hot to play anything.'

 

　　'So it is. Wonder if Spi............