“Mamma!  I had forgotten that,” exclaimed Walter, blushing vividly.

“A poor excuse, my son,” she replied. “’Remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them.’  Those are his own words given to Moses to speak unto the Children of Israel.  Jesus was and is God; therefore what he commanded is the command of God.  And since he had just proved his ability to create abundance of food, his command to avoid waste must have been given for the benefit of his hearers; and can you think he would have approved of the waste of good, nourishing food of which you have just been telling?”

“No, mother; I am convinced that it was not right; that it was, in fact, wicked waste.  I must own that I had a share in it; but I promise you I will never be guilty of the like again.  It does seem very wrong when one thinks of the multitudes of people in different parts of the world who are actually starving.”

“Yes, I hope you will be more thoughtful in future—­will use your influence against such objectionable sport; surely bright young men and boys should be capable of finding or making better or less blameworthy fun.  You may feel assured, however, that your mother is interested in all that interests you.  So if you have anything more to tell of your college experiences we will be glad to hear it.”

“You found the Sophs rather domineering, didn’t you?” asked Herbert.

“About as much so as they dared to be, I should say,” laughed Walter.  “For instance, they won’t let the Freshes wear white duck trousers till some time in May.  Nor will they allow them to wear the colours gold and black till just at the close of their Freshman year.”

“Well, that is tyranny!” exclaimed Lucilla, “and if I were a Freshman I wouldn’t stand it.”

“Ah! but if you didn’t you might have something worse to stand,” laughed Walter.  Then he went on, “I must tell you about the cane spree.  They have it at the time of the first full moon.  The players are three men from each class—­one light-weight, one middle, and one heavy-weight.  The students of all classes gather in a circle around them to watch the sport.  First the light-weights try a tussle for the cane; then the middles, and lastly the heavys.  It is not so much strength as skill that wins, and the victors keep their canes as trophies, and are proud to show them for the rest of their lives.”

“Well, really,” laughed Maud Dinsmore, “it does not strike me as anything worth taking particular pride in.”

“Mayhap that is because you are only a girl, Maud,” remarked Chester teasingly.

“Yes,” she returned sportively, “if I were only a boy I might be as silly as the others.”

“Does it strike you as very silly, Gracie?” asked Walter.

“Well, no; not for boys,” she returned doubtfully, “but rather so for a man.  There are so many other things in which—­at least it seems to me—­it would be better worth while to excel.”