"Blue"  is  the  color  of  Yale,  "red"  that  of  Harvard,
and  every  human  being  in  Worcester  "  shows"  one  of
them  on  Regatta  Day, — the  latter  being  the  predomi
nant  one  among  the  citizens,  though  the  hackmen,  boot
blacks,  and  other  public  officers  announce  their  impar
tiality  by  affecting  both.  Strips  of  ribbon  at  the  button
hole,  hat-bands,  flaunting  neck-ties,  badges  impressed
with  the  college  name  or  monogram  in  gold  or  silver,  all
serve  to  announce  the  connections  or  sympathies  of  the
wearer, — blue  or  red.  The  ladies,  too,  in  numberless
ways,  likewise  display  their  colors  ;  and  even  the  execra
bly  printed  cards,  on  which  are  incorrectly  indicated
the  names  and  statistics  of  the  oarsmen,  are  stained
with  the  partisan  pigments, — "  And  you  can  take  your
choice  for  five  cents,"  shout  the  hawkers  of  them.  Most
of  the  other  ^colleges  have  patterned  after  the  leading
two  in  adopting  distinctive  "  colors," — the  "  brown"  of
Brown  University  being  the  happiest  choice  of  any, —
and  their  representatives  often  display  them  at  the  race,


384  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE.
