ball nine, and her foot-ball eleven, but her pre-eminence has been gained only by unflagging perseverance and honest endeavor. It is proper to say that skill in any athletic sport is rarely attained at the expense of intellectual acquirements, despite the popular idea to the contrary. In confirmation of this statement it may be remarked that last season, when Yale won the "triple crown," the captains of the crew, nine, and eleven were competitors for the De Forest prize, the highest literary honor that can be secured in the university course.
It is the opinion of most of the members of the faculty that the training undergone by an athlete incites him to greater intellectual efforts than he would otherwise put forth.
Much has been said for and against the secret society system at Yale, and it is doubtful if anything new can be advanced at this time. At all the smaller colleges a man rushes headlong into a society almost as soon as he enters his Alma Mater. He is eagerly sought for on all sides, and, if at all prominent, practically has his pick of the Greek-letter fraternities. He also maintains his connection with his society throughout his whole college course. Not so at Yale. Each class has its separate societies, and the upper-classmen have no active connection with the fraternities to which they belonged in Freshman or Sophomore years. In a social way the societies are of great advantage to a man while in college, and are often a means of assisting him materially after he has graduated. The Senior societies are productive of much rivalry among the members of lower classes in athletic contests and in a friendly strife for literary honors. That they have been the means of causing many a heart-ache and considerable hard feeling is true, but that the good they have accomplished more than counterbalances the evils that have arisen from their existence is also true.
Yale's most celebrated Senior societies are "Skull and Bones," "Scroll and Key," and "Wolf's Head." To be elected a member of "Skull and Bones" is considered one of the greatest honors that can fall to a Yale man. To secure such an election a man must achieve celebrity in one direction or another. Wealth or popularity is of minor importance. The society is limited to fifteen members. Among them are generally to be found the captains of the university crew, the base-ball and foot-ball teams, and also prominent track athletes. Among others generally chosen are the valedictorian of the Senior class, one or more members of the board of editors of the Yale Literary Magazine, and one or more officers of the various athletic organizations. The society has been in existence fifty-five years, and numbers among its past members some of the most noted men who have graduated from Yale. Its meetings are held in a moss-covered sandstone building
