Repository: UIHistories Project: Illio - 1896 [PAGE 145]

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|.i»Mi time airo, farther back than most of us can r e m e m b e r , in fart before we had attained to the dignity of our lir>t rattles, Alethenai came into existence. IVrhaps ii would he Letter not t.. say just w hen, f«,r being J feminine she might not like it ami I fear she would have to be classed among what we call now the bachelor maids. Still she will never seem old, for she manages to keep always a train of young people around her. Kvery year she sends away those who have been with her longest, to the remote corners of her kingdom, keeping only her younger, newer friends. But she does not forget her former favorites. <>. no,—for she keeps pictures of all of them close at hand. Alethenai came into this world with a mission—she was aspiring; she had high ambitions. In one respect at least she has succeeded : she lives at the very top of her castle, and if she went any higher, she would surely have to furnish a cozy little elevator, or a captive balloon. However, h e r purpose was not physical elevation, especially, but rather mental and social. She gave to her little circle an impulse toward general literary culture, and a chance to stand up and be frightened at the sound of their own voices. And she did well. T h e r e was a time when the whole social life of t h e University c e n t e r e d around her, and t h e y o u t h s and maidens answered her call faithfully and devotedly. And h e r purpose is still as great, and h e r work as i m p o r t a n t , though now she must hold h e r place against a dozen other clubs and organizations which have s p r u n g up a r o u n d , urging their claims on time and thought. Of late h e r masculine friends have not been so attentive, and indeed their visits have come to be something of a surprise and almost of a shock. But at any rate she is not forgotten by her neighbors up and down the hall. Valentines and mav-baskets find their wav to her shrine, and she smiles to herself as she guesses where they came from. And then, sometimes— though, of course, they never imagine who is the giver—she sends valentines, too. Very pleasant times she has up there in her own domain, and not all of the pleasures are intellectual either. A little while for amusements and some favorite combination of indigestibles often follow the literary feast. Any girl who passes through the University without coming under the influence of Alethenai, has certainly not made as much of her life there as she might have done. As long as there is a niche which only she can fill, and that is just as long as our University shall exist, will Alethenai "Live."

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