Page 105 - 1918 VES Meteor

4 THE METEOR
due to his ability to "take-off" certain members of the faculty andstudentbody. Hesoonbecan~efamousforhismimicry, and obtained such a prominent paxt in <'ollege theatricals that many predicted that he would win fame upon the stage. But his ambition lay toward the law, and he bent all his en- deavors to cultivate an accurate legal knowledge aud a masterful delivery.
But in his third year, just as he was neariug his co•eted degree, and winning the esteem of all his professors by his unusual ability, he wenkened-and was lost. IIis head tmned by success, and flattered by the praise of his comrades, he began to slight his studies, believing himself to be able to pass with little effort, and to travel with a faster set than he had ever gone with; for his old parents bad sacrificed their all to give him the opportunity that had been denied them. IIis more steady friends at first attempted to make
him see the error of his ways, but he grew impatient of all restraint., and plunged into extraYagance and debt. He learnt tD drink and gamble, but managed to conceal this from the faculty, though he had lost the respect and liking of his old :friends.
After rus Junior year, when he spent rus vacation at his country home, the familiar place did not seem as peaceful and restful as of yore, but slow and stupid. The climax came in his fotll'th year when his dissipations were discovered by the faculty, and he was summarily dismissed from col- lege, after a wild night in town which had resulted in his apprehension. Now that he was no longer uone of the bunch," his fast companions would ban>none of him, and he had alienated his :former friends by his rudeness and neglect. He retained enough pride not. to return to the home he had disgracctl; and at first, sought employment in various law offices, but was discharged as soon as his old habits cropped out, which had taken sncb a. grip on him that he 'vas 11nable tD withstand temptation.