THE UNIVERSITY SOCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11714, 25 July 1901, Page 3

THE UNIVERSITY SOCIAL.

, . TO THE EDITOR. Sir, May I be allowed to express my sympathy with your contributor "Zadig," who really seems to have suffered severely, He attended the University social, which was held:on the 13th inst., and came away so bitter and cynical that eight days afterwards he is moved to write such a letter as appeared in your issue of Tuesday. Well, Mr. Editor, I went, but I certainly did not see any insult to visitors, nor have I heard of any since. The incident of the distinguished graduate whioh is mentioned is not quite correctly . described, and was the want of tact and manners of one man, not of the college. But the strange part of the matter is that your correspondent went to a social of this kind to obtain his idea of the college tone. I should have thought that would have - been looked for in the work done, arid the results obtained, not .in the one night's fun indulged in after the year's work. Such an entertainment is a bit of fooling, which may or may not meet any individual's taste, though the anxiety of the public to witness it seems good proof that most people appreciate the wit and the frolic, of which I make bold to say, there was a very reasonable proportion. Such exhibitions soem to me somewhat of the same kind as the miracle plays of our ancestors. In those good old times the faith of the people was so- deeply rooted that their religious directors could permit and encourage them to occasionally play with the mysteries and with all they held in reverence. In the same way our college students have so much love and respect for the Auckland University College that once in a while they oan poke a . little innocent fun at it without losing their reverence for it, or t'.ieir appreciation of the benefits to be derived therefrom.— am, etc., Hermit. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Kindly permit a mere undergraduate •to offei " Zadig" the sinoerest condolences on the scandalous treatment accorded him by the Auckland University College. Here we have the sad ease of ft gentleman, possibly a prominent citizen, compelled to pay the exorbitant sum of Is for admission to an entertainment to which in former years, owing to the delicacy of his hosts in the matter of doorkeepers, he has managed to get in free. Such, he tells us,' were the "bitter and cynical" reflections induced by this compulsory payment that "large numbers stayed away." Strangely enough, large numbers are staying away from the. opera just now for precisely the same reason, which is a strong disinclination to pay cash. Our space being very limited, it was absolutely necessary to limit the number of tickets, while to let anyone in, free would have been extremely unfair to those rich and provident people who had "submitted to the inevitable" and paid their shillings. Thus the marked discourtesy" of the doorkeepers seems to

mean that they performed a most disagreeable duty in a faithful and conscientious manner. As regards the tone" of the entertainment, " Zadig" -would too doubt have preferred scenes from Greek and Latin plays, interspersed with a few humorous recitations from Sanskrit. There is always, a certain class of humanity which prefers something it cannot understand, but the congratulations received from the public on our entertain-ment-quite compensates for the "disgust"