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Show CO-EDUCATION OF THE SEXES. Ohrliu, Oii'.u, btfrtU-l.iceJ littio liuckftye town, ii fiomtivtiat famoua for ita colleo, ita puntnisui, uuJ i's love for the nptfrn. Ti.in l-'er, however, how-ever, hna not been t-xerciat,d to any alarming degree during itn p.at few yeans, Hiouku it wns Ic-uiing char-acturUtic char-acturUtic of the (Jjcrliuii - --vim n tlie WHi wiiB in npignaH. f. r.i.ipu Cher !ia hutj boeu the only hilly good town in America wince the iUy when New England burned witches and nent men to jail for nbuving on 3'jndiiy. But what Oberlin a-yJ ita pinna people and college prolctnora have ttiken most 'prido in ia the good mora'a ot the place. They point with a degrte of exultation and eelf-Kloi location that is annoying to the averaga Ohio burg, to the fact Oberlin has never had a immaterial cr social scandal; that no gonuiue resident of the town haB over been guilty of conduct that waa not in strict harmony with the Decalogue Deca-logue and the college rules; that, in fact, Oberlin was as near perfect as it ia possible for a mundane villago to become. "Liquor could not be die posed of in the p!ace. When a wicked person aet up a billiard table there a few months ago, he narrowly escaped being taired and feathered, and the local paper refused tj advertise adver-tise that a lfadiug merchant would give the proceeds ol one ay s tooacco sales to the yellow fever Bufierera, the ' editor remarking thai his subscribers would bo oQended at Beeing a tobacco "ad" in the paper. Merchante cloao their stores at 6 o'clook in the evening, and regularly attend church and prayer meeting from fear of losing customers. And so Oberlin has gone along, becoming purer and purer, until perfection has been reached, when forth bursts a frightful scandal, and tho lair fame of the Tillage suffers a fearful blacking. : This scandal is nothing less than the discovery of the fact that boys and girls have actually been indulging in the delightful pastime ao popular elsewhere else-where courting. There uro 800 . students at lha oducaliouul institution of Obeilin, 250 ot them being ladit s, and the college ban boasted of fur nishing a conspicuous example of the benefits to be derived from the co I education of the aeiea. The faculty, ' professors, matrons and teachers, have all united In the general answer to whatever objections have been raised to (bo system: "No ecandal has ever blotted (bo fair fame ot our village or I its inatitutlms, and years of trial have given the experiment a thorough; i test." A lew daja ago, in a moment, of contrition, a blooming belle, whose, conscience smote her, told her sister . that she had ftir months past been ' oourting, and fuitlur that other girls of the college were doing the same thing; in fact, it was a common practice prac-tice among them, and not a tew of the damsels,- herself among the number, had each "two string to her bow;" that is, tc-night they would look lovingly up into the eyes of one fond admirer and drink in his honeyed words, and to-morrow uigbt ramble in the lanes and count the Btara with another devoted lover. Of . course the confession struck like a thunderbolt upon the ears of the affrighted relative who, residing in a neighboring stale, ww living along in the. serene deception that her sister, 22 years of ae, waa pur suing herstudieB without evendream-icg evendream-icg of men, much lets enjoying the pleasure of moonlight strolls with them. The outcome of the coufesaion was that the girl had to make a full and complete slatument to the faculty, fac-ulty, when the shock nearly rent the college buildiuys themselves. - One profe;Sor said he would rather have all the buildings burn to tho ground than have such a thing happen. "It was a blot upon Oberlin, an injury to the college, and a blow at the co-education co-education of the sexeB." . The rules of the college are strict iudeed. The students are required to attend prayers in the morning, at noon aud at 5 p.m; Al 10 o'clock, a.ru., they alio have prayers, and more praying before tbey retire. The ladies are required to be in their rooms at 7.30 and the miles at 10, and to remain there until ruorniog. Thi3 rula has been violated to an alarming extent. The boys and girls have been holding clandestine meetings. meet-ings. They made their eacape from the-rooms, some by back stairs, others by : ru ivenient roofa of summer kitchens, and still others by hastily-improvised hastily-improvised ropes, made by knotting togthoi sheets and blankela, with .which they let themselvea down from window li doea not transpire that any real harm has comtr Irouj Ibese irregular proceedings, but in a virtuous vir-tuous etl:n to wash away some of the stain ufK'U 0:ierlin'8 good name eev-eral eev-eral student, ladies and gentlemen, have been summarily dismissed from the college, and others are to follow, while hereafter (be coda of rules ia to be more rigidly enforced. Despite the contrary opinion of the Oberlin professor-, we hold that the conduct of the students in this mat-ler mat-ler ia quite natural, U . not acilntfly commendh;it-, .and . thi exposure ' argues in Tavo rather than against the x oo-cducation of the sexes. It cer-taiolytelis cer-taiolytelis one truth very plainly that girU will be girla and boys will , baiuye, whstuer Uiey ace iw Oberlin "-rjf 'eieewht-A; and aujf 'attempt to" tuke tuem-ol Iter wise w pretty apt -to-"reult in failure. The Bexes will communicate com-municate wi'.b fidch other ai.d come v tocether despite college rules. Some-- Some-- limes they are separated, at school by hi;h walla, wuiuo- quakes i6 ,-iocop , venient, but. UiJjfcM be foucd Even the pup:U a: a leojalo bearding school, who nevtr appear upon the street except in the company of a prim and precise spinster, will have tbeir beaux and Sad meins and op-. op-. porlunity for communicating wifh v them. There are some" people, and they areueually found as college prc-"fc-FSors or boarding schojl mistresses. who never were young. Tboy know ! nothing of the lovea. the frolics, the affections or the passions of youth. They are simply withered, heartless, driod-up old people, and nobody can recall the time when tbey were anything any-thing e'ae. Tbeee are the ones who make rules aud devise schemes for keeping boys and girla aurt in school and out, at-.d who are horrified at the thought ol young folks getting o9 by them-aolveB them-aolveB and rambliug about iu the moonlight. When the tyrannically cruel aud unnatural Uwa which forbid for-bid the association of boy a and girls are trodden under fo jt, everybody who has ever been young, will rejoice. We hope that every such rule, which baa neither roason nor sense to recommend it, will be sot at defiance, even if a dozen Oberlin colleges are scandalized, and back kitchen roofs swarm with young lalies and the air around the college walla is filled with feminine hosiery, as its lovely wearers let themselves clown from bedroom windows. A girl never suffers morally or otherwise by freely associating with noble, high-minded aud manly boys, and the young man can never find better society than that of pure and virtuous girla. There ia no danger in their association, and their frequent coming together has a refining influence upon both, inspiring inspir-ing in them a higher regard for each other. But there is danger in pursuing the opposite courae, for as stolen fruits are sweet, they are liable to be indulged in to excess. |