"SAID MR. BARNUM-"

Once again is the wily faker preying on the innocence of the gullible undergraduate. Once again is the plausible perpetrator of hoaxes ingratiating himself with eager bargain-hunters, making them astounding offers at incredibly low prices, "letting them in on" opportunities for investment so heaven-sent that it seems nothing short of a crime to let the occasion slip.

Each year the gentleman "just back from Havana" pays us a visit with his stock of secretly imported "Perfectos"; each year poor, unsophisticated Freshmen tell their tale of woe to unsympathetic upperclassmen who are sadder but wiser from personal experience. A boundless field exists for those who take such pains to favor guileless students with their marvelously discounted wares. Cigars are not the only bargains. Recently we have welcomed the financial agent and his alluring pictures of profitable speculation. Many of us, unfortunately, can testify to his convincing arguments on doubling or trebling the initial sum.

And now we have still another dealer. A cloth merchant has appeared in our midst, selling bolts of the most value "English" goods at a ridiculously cheap rate for these days of the H. C. L. The chance for a real barter here is too imposing to miss. Visions of imported tweeds and cheviots fascinate the youthful mind, and not until the "nominal payment" is made does bitter realization dawn. Verify, there is one born every minute. And as time goes on, human ingenuity will invent other bait for the fish; may we not shortly have the privilege of hailing the affable bootlegger with his spurious case of champagne, Canadian Club or Chianti?