The Glee Club Trip.

Last Saturday morning the Glee, Banjo and Mandolin Clubs returned from the Christmas tour.

The trip was a success socially and financially, and the clubs played to large and enthusiastic audiences, in spite of the fact that in many of the large cities the Yale and the Princeton Glee clubs were competing with them.

The men were treated magnificently wherever they went, and whatever misgivings the faculty may have had concerning the effect of a tour like this, they will certainly be removed when they hear of the enthasiasm for Harvard that the clubs are used among our graduates, and in the various cities visited.

Thanks to the various Harvard clubs the concerts were in general well managed and though unlike Yale and Princeton, Harvard did not have photographs of its "victorious" foot ball team on exhibition as an advertise-of the concerts, and did not cover the bill boards with large posters, yet the concerts were very well attended.

The travelling was tedious although the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Mr. Macdonough (Yale '85), their tourist agent, did everything in their power to make the men comfortable, but the extra cars always made the trains late,- the trip to Chicago took nearly forty-one hours,- and in consequence the schedule was changed several times that the men might reach their destination in time.

It is hard for those who did not go on the trip to realize the amount of enthusiasm for Harvard that the clubs created; in Pittsburg it was due to their coming that the Harvard Club of Pittsburg was started, and in one other city they infused new life into a Harvard Club that was "not dead, but sleeping."

It is to be hoped that in the future the clubs will again make their Christmas tour to the West, and keep alive the love of Harvard's graduates for their Alma Mater. The following is a condensed account of the trip:

On Monday, the 22d, at 7 o'clock, the men met at the Boston and Albany station and boarded their special sleeper for Chicago. After two hours spent in running about the car the men formed into two parties; those who wanted to go to sleep, and those who wanted to make a noise. The sleepy men finally got the best of it, that is to say, those did who slept through the shifting of the cars at Albany. Tuesday morning after breakfast at Syracuse, the men amused themselves by watching the engineer trying to cool a hot box, and by running races along side of the train. In the afternoon the weather kept them on the train, and after lunching at Buffalo the men wandered all over the train. They were treated in a rather cold manner by the conductor, but after Cleveland, where we stopped for supper, the car was properly heated.

Wednesday morning we arrived in Chicago at about 11 o'clock and drove to the Auditorium Hotel, had breakfast and then rehearsed until lunch time.

In the afternoon a very pleasant reception was given to the clubs by Mrs. W. B. Walker, but the men had to leave early to dress for the concert which was held in Central Music Hall.

The clubs all did well, but the members of the Mandolin Club showed that they had not much experience in receiving flowers over the footlights. The solos were well received in Chicago as well as in the other cities and Wendell's songs were encored to the echo. The Banjo Club played extremely well and it and Wendell and Williams deserve perhaps the most praise for the uniformly good character of their performances.

After the concert a reception was held at the University Club.

Thursday afternoon the men sang and played at a reception given them by the Calumet Club, and after the concert, they were given a delightful dinner by the club which lasted until it was time for the men to leave for the Yale Glee Club Concert.

The next morning we left for St. Louis, and the dinner provided for us at Champagne was so poor that we were given one on the dining car. The day on the train was spent as usual, the men reading and playing cards and instruments; in fact the whole trip was made to the banjo accompaniment of one or two of the men.

At St. Louis we put up at the Southern Hotel, and after the usual rehearsals on Saturday we were given a reception by Mrs. James B. Howe, and the concert was held in the evening at Entertainment Hall. Later a reception was given to the clubs by the University Club of St. Louis.

Sunday morning we left for Cincinati.

(To be concluded in the next issue.)

L.