“Already from far off points, Princeton men are starting back to see the Yale game—­back to their Alma Mater.  They’re coming back to see the old rooms they used to live in, and it is up to us to make their visit a memorable one.  You can do that by beating Yale.”

George K. Edwards

Many of you men have perhaps heard of the great love for Princeton shown in the story of the last days of Horse Edwards, Princeton ’89.  He will never return to Princeton again.  He used to live in East College, long since torn down.  Some years after he left college, he was told that he had but a few short months to live.  He decided to live them out at Princeton.

One Friday afternoon in the summer of 1897, Horse Edwards arrived in Princeton from Colorado.  He was very weak from his illness.  He could barely raise his hand to wave to the host of old friends who greeted him as he drove from the station to East College, where his old room had been arranged as in his college days for his return.

There he was visited by many friends of the old days, who had come back for Commencement.  Old memories were revived.  That night he attended his club dinner, and the following day was wheeled out to the field to see the baseball game, Princeton beat Yale 16 to 8, and his cup of happiness was overflowing.  On the following Monday Horse Edwards died.  He told his close friends that as long as he had to go, he was happy that he had been granted his last wish—­to die there at Princeton.  And his memory is a treasured college tradition.

Job E. Hedges

Among the men who are always welcome at Princeton mass meetings and dinners, is Job E. Hedges.  I remember what he said at a mass meeting at Princeton in 1896.  He was then secretary to Mayor Strong, in New York, in which city the game with Yale took place that year.

The scene was in the old gymnasium.  Every inch of space was occupied.  On the front seats sat the team and substitutes.  Around them and in the small gallery were the students in mass.  Before the team were prominent alumni, trustees and some members of the faculty.  Earnest appeal had been made by the various speakers tending to arouse the team to a high point of enthusiasm and courage, and the interest of their alma mater and of the alumni had been earnestly pictured.  Mr. Hedges was called on as he frequently is at Princeton gatherings and as the usual field had been fairly covered, his opportunities were limited, without repetition of what had been said.  He addressed the team and substitutes in typical Princeton fashion and concluded, so far as a record is made of it, somewhat as follows: