H. A. A.

The first ladies' day of the winter meetings of the Athletic Association resulted in an even greater success than that which favored the introductory meeting. In spite of the threatening weather the occasion drew forth an attendance whose brilliancy and enthusiasm rivalled that of any that has yet graced the association. The arrangements for the meeting were substantially the same as those of last Saturday. Some minor changes and improvements were however introduced into the arrangements for seating the immense audience of the day. Mr. Evert J. Wendell presided over the meeting, assisted by the other officers of the association. Dr. Dudley A. Sargent again acted as general referee, and Prof. William E. Byerly and Mr. Wilbur Parker as judges. The referee for sparring, as at the last meeting, was Mr. John Boyle O'Reilly, and the judges were Messrs. Edward C. Ellis and Clifford Brigham. The judges for fencing were Messrs. Cushing, L. S., and Cabot, '83, and the judge for club swinging, Mr. C. P. Nichols.

The first event called was the Two-hand Vault, for which there were nine entries : Messrs. T. C. Batchelder, '83; Walter Soren, '83; C. M. Field, '84; M. J. Stone, '85; C. H. Atkinson, '85; O. S. Howard, '85; H. R. Woodward,' 84; G. B. Morison, '83, and A. C. Denniston, '83. The bar was placed in position upon the entrance of the contestants, at 3.25. All went over easily until, at the eighth vault, Woodward failed to make it and consequently withdrew. But Woodward's vaulting was noticeable for its ease and grace, and received much applause; for some time it seemed as if he would be the victor. As the bar ascended from time to time and the athletes successfully vaulted it, the enthusiastic audience showed its approbation by hearty applause. In the tenth round Morison failed and withdrew. One by one the contestants withdrew, until all had left but Soren and Atkinson. At 7 feet 1 inch the judges declared a tie between the two, and Mr. Wendell announced that the cup had been awarded Walter Soren, '83, on account of his style.

The first drawing of the contest in Fencing was the second event. The contest elicited considerable interest. The first bout was between W. A. Henry, Jr., S. S., and S. H. Ordway, L. S. Ordway won the bout by 7 points to 3. In the second bout the contest was between W. O. Underwood, '84, and R. H. McDonald, '82. McDonald, by his peculiar manner of guarding and thrusting, provoked much laughter and applause. Underwood was the more cool and skilful, while McDonald showed great activity and quickness, although he was awkward and lacked science. The bout was awarded to Underwood by a score of 7 points to 4.

The next feature on the programme was Light Weight Sparring; the contestants for the first bout being G. F. Spalding, '82, and O. G. Smith, '83. After shaking hands, the men went at each other, and without much ado began to pound one another. At first it seemed as if Smith had fallen, but it was merely a slip on the floor. Spalding drew first blood, Smith having been hit in the eye. In the second round, after several feints, the contestants delivered a number of hard blows, Spalding escaping several well-directed blows from Smith, by very skilful ducking. There was some doubt at first whether the third round could be fought, but finally the men put in their appearance. In this round Smith succeeded in getting in some pretty and telling hits, but the bout was awarded to Spalding by the judges. The second bout brought forward Joseph Dorr, Jr., '83, and E. K. Butler, Jr., 83. Both parties in the first round sparred in a very lively manner, exciting much applause. Popular feeling seemed in favor of Butler, on account of his slighter build. Dorr sparred continuously and made every blow tell. Butler was very quick and made several very skilful cross-counters. At the end of the second round both men appeared fresh and no blood had been drawn. Time was called for the third round at 3.40. Sharp sparring was done on both sides, and many hard blows were given and received. Butler, however, in the third round evidently felt the work tell on him, while Dorr remained seemingly fresh. By decision of the judges the bout was awarded to Butler.

The contestants entered for the Club Swinging were A. Hamlin, '84, C. L. Barnes, '85, Robt. Luce, '82, and W. W. Kent, '82; the two former swinging together, as well as the two latter. Barnes began very actively, using a pair of much admired clubs. Hamlin swung his clubs easily and gracefully. Barnes performed some beautiful evolutions, requiring both skill and strength. Hamlin, too, gradually became familiar with his clubs, and in reality did not seem to tire as much as his opponent. After the five minutes had expired they withdrew, and Luce, '82, and Kent, '82, entered. Neither of these handled the clubs with the ease of Hamlin or Barnes. Kent attempted more difficult feats than his opponent, and his muscular arm seemed never to tire. Toward the last of the five minutes Luce made more frequent changes. The prize was awarded to Barnes, whose swinging has seldom been equalled in the gymnasium.

The next feature introduced was the Exhibition of Rowing on the weights (150 strokes) by the University Crew of 1882, which rowed as follows : Bow, Cabot, '83; No. 2, Sawyer, '83; No. 3, Chalfant, '82; No. 4, Hammond, '83 (eaptain); No. 5, Perkins, '84; No. 6, Hudgens, '84; No. 7, Clarke, '84; stroke, Curtis, '83. The sliding seats were arranged on the floor, and the crew entered amid deafening cheers. Some enthusiastic individual arose and asked three cheers for the nine, which were heartily given. Some one then asked nine cheers for the 'Varsity Crew, and the crew must have certainly been gladdened by the enthusiasm of the plaudits. The crew seemed to row a shorter and quicker stroke than usual. After finishing they were again cheered.

In Fencing (second drawing), D. Leavitt came into the hall as the antagonist of Underwood, the winner of the second bout, first drawing. During the set-to the parties seemed evenly matched, Leavitt getting a few more points, while he was disarmed twice by Underwood. The fencing was rather better than in the previous bouts. Underwood is left-handed, and has some very good tricks, His "tierce" is to be especially praised. The bout was awarded to Leavitt by a score of 7 points to 5.

The final bout of the Light Weight Sparring was fought by Spalding, '82, and Butler, '83. The first round was very exciting. Spalding sparred pluckily, and showed himself to be a master of the art of dodging, while his counters were frequent and forcible. When time was called for the second round both men appeared fresh and little troubled by their previous bouts. In this round Spalding got in some good work, and by rapid and forcible hitting succeeded in confusing Butler to such an extent that the latter hardly knew where he was striking. In the third round Butler seemed to have collected himself, and appeared to better advantage, although the contest was entirely in the hands of Spalding. Butler again pulled himself together, and gave several good blows. The bout was finally awarded to Spalding, who seemed to be the favorite.

The next contest was the Standing High Jump, for which Batchelder, '83; Soren, '83; Edmands, S. S.; Morison, '83; and Denniston, '83, entered. Soren jumped so easily at the lower rounds as to excite laughter in the audience. At the third trial Denniston failed to go over the stick, it being then-at 20 inches. Batchelder then withdrew, while Morison succeeded in going over in his third attempt. At 4 feet 5 1/2 inches Morison took the stick with him after three trials, and then withdrew. Soren and Edmands were left; then Edmands failed. After raising the bar three rounds, Soren failed in his first endeavor, but went over in his second. At this time he received applause and cheers. At last the bar was just too high for him and insisted on going with him. The winning jump was 4 feet, 11 3/4 inches. The cup was awarded Mr. Soren.

The first bout in the Feather Weight Sparring was not held, and Lowman and Heilbron contested the final and only bout immediately after the standing high jump. Heilbron had the slight advantage of being the taller, but Lowman was very plucky, and succeeded in reaching the face of his taller adversary very forcibly. In the first part of the second round Lowman was floored by a well-directed blow on the temple from Heilbron. After this Lowman sparred more cautiously, and made several good blows. In the third round both men came up to the scratch smiling and did some very good work on each other's faces. The bout was awarded to Heilbron.

The contestants for the final bout in Fencing were Messrs. Ordway and Leavitt. In this there was some skilful work, Leavitt being disarmed once. The cup was awarded to Ordway, by seven points to four.

The '82 Tug-of-War Team was composed of McArthur, Smith, Delaney (anchor), Manning, the latter taking the place of Blodgett. The opposing team of the class of '83 were Bachelder, Page, Mitchell and Codman (anchor). The limits had been changed from ten minutes to six. The entry was won by '82.

The meeting closed at 5.22.