A COLLEGE CUSTOM.

In the only restaurant in Princeton a much worn book lay in a conspicuous place on a table.

"You have the college students for customers, I see?" said a stranger in Princeton to the restaurateur, who had just placed before him half a dozen oysters on the half shell. "Very thoughtful of you to keep literature for them to read while waiting for their orders to be filled."

"I keep that book for cutting," said the resterateur.

The stranger wondered why he wanted to cut the book, and turned the leaves to see where they were mutilated. The book had never been injured with knife or scissors, although it seemed about to tumble to pieces from age and misuse.

"What do you mean by cutting?"

"It's a way the students have of deciding who shall pay for the oysters. Several students come in and sit down. One opens the book and all note what letter of the alphabet is the second in the second line from the top of the left-hand page. The book is passed to each student in turn, who cuts or opens to a new place. He who has the letter furthest down the alphabet from the letter A has to pay for the oysters.

"You must have a good deal of custom; the book has been used a good deal."

"Oh, bought that yesterday in a second-hand book-store. It contains lectures on Greek literature, the most uninteresting subject I could find. You see, if I did not get an uninteresting book, it would be carried off under some student's jacket."

"Do you have your books stolen in that way!"

Don't I? The books that are stolen from this place in a year would found a library. I have tried religious books for a while, but even those were carried away. Now I get Greek or Latin or scientific books. Students seldom care anything about them." - [N. Y. Sun.