Charles Alling Diary, 1883-1884
(Hanover College, Class of 1885)
Charles Alling, Jr., entered Hanover College in 1879, when he was thirteen
years old, as a student in the "preparatory department";
he graduated in 1885, when he was nineteen. During his junior and senior years,
he kept a diary, recording his day-to-day experiences. He seems to be a fairly
typical student of his time. He had an active social life, getting into mischief
with his friends, escorting girls to dances, and participating in fraternity
life as a member of Sigma Chi. He also had a serious side, reading poetry,
discussing sermons with his friends, and worrying about how to find the right
career after graduation.
After graduating from Hanover, he went on to practice law in Chicago and
to serve as an Alderman there. He maintained interests that he had developed
at Hanover --directing the First Presbyterian Church School in Chicago and
becoming a national officer in Sigma Chi, for instance. He married in 1914
and had no children. -smv
Sources: Finding
Aid to the Charles Alling Diary, Archives of Hanover College, Duggan Library,
Hanover College (Hanover, Indiana); "Alumni File of Charles Alling, Class
of 1885, "Archives of Hanover College, Duggan Library, Hanover College
(Hanover, Indiana); Doug Denne, Archivist, Hanover College (Hanover, Indiana),
personal communication.
The complete diary is available at the Duggan Library Archives, Hanover
College (Hanover, Ind.). These entries were transcribed in Winter 2009
by the students of His234 "Studies in American Cultural History: The
Middle Class," taught by Sarah McNair Vosmeier (vosm@hanover.edu).
83
Monday, April 7 [1884]
I have been intending for the last month to write up many of the interesting
events that have happened, but it seems I will never have the time unless I
just take it from something else. It may be that I have been doing more real
labor lately and have not had as many opportunities to communicate with my journal
as I used to. However, believing that the more man does, the more he can do,
I will re-consecrate myself to the keeping of a diary, if not as much of a journal
as in the past.
The Spring Exhibitions have come and gone since Feb. 23. Sister visited at
Dr. Fisher's during them and had a very pleasant time. I was not on our exhibition
and threfore did not have much to do at the end of the term; especially so,
because we were releived of having examinations, that is, only the juniors and
Seniors. I occupied some of this spare time in reading "Yesterday, Today
and Forever", a long poem, written by Brickerseth. It is a spendid work
something on the order of Paradise Lost. I intended to read more but think this
quite a large step in the right direction.
I went home last week to attend the Leap Year Party at Pogue's and felt amply
repaid. It was a delightful affair and I enjoyed the fine music and dancing
immensely. . . . I took Ella Peace riding the next day and also read her Virgil.
I have always been very attentive to her and do not like to see other boys get
too strong a hold. She is quite popular since "Aunt Drusie & Uncle
Newt" allow her to go out in society.
Notes
for page 83
84
Tuesday, Apr. 8th [1884]
Alas, my intentions are good but I have not written for a week and it is now
April 15. Since last we met, I have taken a trip to Indianapolis, having been
excused as a "backer" of the Hon. Nathan Powell, Hanover's delegate
to the state oratorical. The primary contest was held on the 7th inst., the
contestants being Powell, Iddings and Montgomery; they came out in their respective
order as named above. We went up Wednesday Afternoon, stopped at the New Denison
for supper, but stayed at the Grand Hotel afterwards, as that was headquarters.
Ed Powell, Fisher, Wiggam, Turner, Irwin, Voris and I represented Chi and did
it well too. Irwin and I took the Misses Fisher, of 242 E. South Street, to
the contest and afterwards to the Sigma Chi banquet at the New Denison. This
was the most elegant affair your honor ever attended, both as to the banquet
and the manner in which it pulled my pocket book. Of course we went in a hack
and I felt quite "cosmopolitan" when we were told by our "nigger"
that the conveyance was in readiness, when we were descending in the elevator,
when we were rattling oe'r the stony street and when we walked in the opera
house late and took our seats among the upper ten in the parquet. It has been
hard for me to come down to the homely fare of the C.P.H. and to think again
that I am only a poor Boy with my fortune and fame yet unrealized. I
often thought while strutting around the city that the bustle and metropolitan
self-satisfaction would just suit me. . . . Nathan came out third, but should
have had second place.
Notes
for page 84
85
Wednesday, Apr. 23 [1884]
Today and tomorrow are our busy days this term. We have four good, solid recitations
on these days and three every other except Monday. Think of getting twenty pagers
of International Law, thirty lines of Greek (Antigone), ten pages of physiology,
and a chapter of Optics in one afternoon and then going to fraternity at night
as we had to do yesterday! I managed to read my Law and Mathematics before supper,
my Greek immediately after, and my physiology at 11 p.m. after coming home.
Besides this small amount of labor we are expected to write in our leisure (?)
moments an essay and an oration for chapel which are both due at the same time-
four weeks. Truly a student's lot is a hard one; it is up in the morning in
time to get greek before breakfast, then a rush to make it to chapel, then a
weary hour of worthless mathematics, then a course of greek ponies called Antigone;
after this severe treatment, an hour among the learned expounders of the law;
finally, he is subjected to an hour's mental anguish from that prince of quizzers
the scientific professor. A few moments then for refreshments at the College
Point House, an afternoon of battle with the hosts of Morpheus, which, when
conquered, demand that the replenishing of the alimentary canal, at supper,
falsely so called; meanwhile. kind friends drop in to find they are not disturbing
you in your lessons. The evening shadows fall and soon the midnight hour ends
this day of weary care.
Notes
for page 85
86
Sunday, May 4 [1884]
John has returned and I am no longer an old bachelor. I find it
quite pleasant to have him to talk to and confide in. His landlady--Mrs. Gilchrist--wrote
a very exaggerated letter to his mother, saying that he was forming very loose
habits, and had become a very bad boy. Mrs. Ferguson sent the letter back and
John returned it to Mrs. Gilchrist or rather she snatched it from his hands
when he confronted her with what she said. Dr. Fisher took hold of the case
and the consequence is that, "Alling and Ferguson" still hold the
fort in No. 7. Both members have seen trials and difficuties in mantaining their
places in the firm but all is serene again. One fact is established now-we are
older. John has become greatly subdued by his different misfortunes and is not
the same "wild scamp" as of yore. Charles Jr. too has been improved
by a two months and a half solitude; and during this time the importance of
economizing and using every spare moment has been deeply impressed upon his
mind. So that between us, there is quite a change in our corner of the third
floor; we are less noisy, more dignified and more sedate. yes, it is time, I
was learning to think more of the future and less of the frivoloties of the
present. I have become so inured to the idea of leaving college that it seems
as if I was to go in June. One short year! And college life will be over for
me; precious hours have gone never to return and eventide is closing its shades
around.
Notes
for page 86
Sunday, May 25 [1884]
I have finished my oration on "Social Inequality" even
to its delivery in chapel on last Wednesday. I am better pleased with this production
than any I have ever written. This can not be egotistical, for none of my lofty
themes have ever satisfied me; on the contrary I have always become disgusted
with my orations by the time I have severely scrutinized them in committing.
Turner, who is not in the habit of loose flattery, told me that mine was the
best oration of the morning. Will Baird did not do near as well as he has the
reputation of being capable to do. I also finished my class essay yesterday
after a continuous siege of reading in the morning and writing in the afternoon
and evening. My subject is the "Oregon Controversy" and I have managed
to grasp the principles of the case - in my own mind at least.
The Freshman Ex. was held last Saturday. Ella Peace was my company; Howard Fisher
took Mame Taylor, a new blossom on our society tree, and Heller, Carrie Calloway.
We had a magnificent time and danced nearly all day. I was quite a figure in
this part of the programme, having all the calling to do. We went on Wolf's
barge with the Mamie Glass, a steam yacht, to propel us. It brought to my mind
the similar scenes of a year ago on the J. M. Abbot when the last class went.
This is a very nice custom and every class should perpetuate it. Turner took
Alice Emmet whom I recommended to him. She is a fine girl and I now have one
of her rings; she is as lively as a cricket.
Notes
for page 87
88
Monday, May 26 [1884].
I have never enjoyed a Sunday in Hanover so much as I did yesterday. It seems
that this day of rest becomes more and more acceptable to me as I grow older.
I remember of sitting in the village church last year and thinking that in whatever
calling I might engage, whatever might be my disappointments, Sundays would
come to me, doubly dear, as one sweet refreshing place, where I could enjoy
the pleasures of the sanctuary and lay aside the anxious forebodings concerning
my future career. Yesterday was enjoyed the more by me because my essay was
completed, my oration was done, and the prospect of an easy time on account
of Prof. Young's departure lay before us. My physical condition was eminently
fitted for appreciating the beautiful day, for I had not felt so well for a
long time. Upon coming home from S.S, I took off my coat and stretched out upon
the bed to read the "Little Classics." By the way, these little sketches,
such as "My Chateux," A Bachelor's Reverie, are very entertaining
and I become greatly interested in them. Another cause of my perfect satisfaction
was a new suit of clothes with a four button cut-away coat. This is my first
appearance in one and of course the novelty was quite pleasant. Howard Fisher
also has a frock coat; we have started the style in Madison, for five other
boys have followed us; among whom is Howard Alling. Last Sunday, Bert, Eck.
Graham, Howard, and I loomed up with a row of cutaways and canes that made everybody
wonder at the amounts of style. It is a new departure for the young men but
a very acceptable one.
89
But to continue my remarks about Sunday: or more appropriately,
the Sabbath: As far back as I can remember, this day has been the milestone
of the different events of my life. I can see myself now upon father's knee,
with Howard and Will on the other, hearing him read the interesting narratives
in the "Child's Bible Story Book"; concerning Moses and the Children
of Israel, Samson and the Philistines, David and Goliath. The pictures of Noah's
ark, the Brazen Serpent, the dividing of the Red Sea, and others are firmly
fixed in my mind as if they lay before my eyes. Truly, the impessions of childhood
are the most lasting of all periods of life. An eminent priest has said, "give
me the children to educate till six years of age and you (protestants) can make
what you please of them." I will always remember the first coat and vest
I ever had; father took me in to see Miss Mary Hanley and she made a great many
remarks about it; I can just imagine how I looked and what my thoughts were
when I see Van. He has pretty suit with his first vest and it makes me live
that period of my life over again. And just in this connection I think of the
many times grandma Crane has taken us to dinner and supper on Sunday; how greatly
I enjoyed the good bread when she would give us a lunch during the afternoon,
to eat under the syringa bush near the old pit. That corner of the lot has changed
wonderfully since then; a high board fence used to stand in place of the present
stone wall and comparatively low fence on the west. There was a deep
Notes
for page 89
90
ditch on the inside of the fence, composed of clay soil and many
an hour have I spent in rolling clay marbles and balls to bake in the sun. This
has remained distinct in my mind on account of the frequent references of Will
Harper who was an interested party at that time. My early years on Main St.
are intimately associated with the Harper boys - George and Will. George was
Berts great crony; and how they did try to rule me and Will. One day we strolled
to the river and who should we see taking the forbidden skiff ride, but Bert
and George. Of course our threats of exposure soon brought the boat to land,
and we had quite a pleasant ride. The only time I remember of playing at their
house was one Sunday when my parents and Will's had gone to Mr. Geo. Brights
funeral and had sent me to their house. Every toy we used is plainly before
me now. Then when Harpers moved to their present home on Second St. we used
often to see the boys. That was the time when our passion for keeping a store
was at its height. Those fellows were in the habit of stealing all the stock
from the drug store. So that all we made was clear gain. Licorice, cinnamon
essence, almanacs and memoranduum books were the principal articles of merchandise.
I cannot forget either how Mr. Harper
91
came up stairs one day and found Bert and Geo. dipping promiscuously
into all the stores; "ah! then there was hurrying too and fro" as
he went among the crowd with his paddle - the top of a box. Charley, alias Sonny,
Belser and I found a convenient avenue of escape and were soon past all danger.
About this time, in my numerous escapades about that drug store, the farce of
"Harvey" Young met me. How little did the shaver in short pants and
bare feet think that he was in a few years to bow submissively beneath the iron
rule of "Professor" A. H. Young - a change for both, as the bare feet
have been covered and the pants lengthened. Will often tells that Harvey, as
he calls him, grew very angry one day where he stopped him in a buggy just to
ride from Broadway hotel to his grandfather Greens - Dr Ford's present residence.
Let me not fail to mention the velocipede they had given them on one Christmas.
It was among the first in Madison and the rest of us boys considered it quite
a treat to have a ride. We all went through the Walnut St. sewer just after
it was built and of couse the velocipede went too. Bert, Will and George were
greatly interested in printing enterprises and edited the Amateur Banner and
Star.
Notes
for pages 90 and 91
92
I cannot leave this subject of the Harper boys without saying a word about
our mutual interests at Capt. Spillman's; whose place was located just opposite
Eagle Hollow in Kentucky. The old gentleman is a warm friend of Mr. Harper and
in this way the boys have become as well acquainted with him as if he were a
neighbor. Bert and George often visited together and as soon as they came home
Will and I took their places. Oh! Those good old Kentucky dinners! I can taste
that good old buttermilk even now and that was nothing to the delicious biscuits
which always form a part of Kentucky dinners. I have often said at home that
only Kentuckians knew how to make real cornbread; and it is a fact that I have
never in my life tasted a meal so palatable and satisfying as the simple, yet
elegant dinner, which I ate one summer day, long ago, when Will Harper and I
left in the afternoon in a carriage which brought Mrs. Harper over for a short
visit. The old lane dividing Trimble and Carroll Counties lies before me now
with every twist and turn; the beautiful hills and groves at its terminus rise
up before my imagination till I seem to stand in the cool shade on some commanding
height and look far away to the Indiana Hills and then to the no less grand
prospect of the beautiful farms spread out all over the fertile river bottoms.
Notes for page 92
93
But I started to write something about Sunday and many of my words have sadly
missed the aim. It seems appropriate that I should here mention my S.S. reminiscences.
A faint and dim impression of my first hours in the basement of the First Pres.
Church on Broadway still lingers. Miss Mary E. Reid was the first and only teacher
of the infant class during my course. I can remember one or two Sabbaths when
the class occupied the larger square apartment just north of the present room.
But all my recollections centre just now upon the little rows of chairs, one
above the other, till they almost reached the ceiling. My seat was upon the
second row and many the time have I risen from it to repeat six verses of scripture
and gain a card for it. Greater was my delight to receive a small book (pamphlet)
when I had secured twenty of these cards. Father used to enjoy standing in the
room when I was repeating them- secretarie's book in hand. It seems strange
but pleasant to me now to think that he has remained in that capacity for so
many years, while I, a youth, have deserted my post this early in the conflict.
But my heart is still warm toward the S.S. and if I am needed, the only thing
necessary is to call on me.
Notes for page 93
94
My most pleasant recollections of the First Church Sabbath School are connected
with Mrs. Weyer's class. Here I learned nearly all of what I know of the Bible.
Let me record just here that I owe my religious inclinations to her faithful
teachings more than any other human agency. Sam Moffett and I (who alas! have
become so greatly estranged of late) used to carry on arguments with our teacher
as profound as either could produce even now. My intellect seemed to grasp the
situation better then and memory did her part more nobly. A book Mrs. Weyer
gave me - Romulus and Remus - in 1878 stirred my desire for J. S. C. Abbott's
histories and I did not stop till I had read most of those in the Madison Library.
Although Miss Kate White was accustomed to review family affairs every week
her heart was evidently in the good work. She succeeded Mrs. Weyer when the
latter took sick. I do not know what her ailment is, but she is still confined
to her bed and grows weaker all the time. The Sabbath School by the way is or
rather has just been in the last stages of dissolution. Scholars have become
very scarce and teachers more so. There is some advancement of late; but the
prospect is not bright for restoration to its former self. Well, it is time
I should say Vale' to this subject.
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