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Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 32
"B'hoys of Yale: The Scrapes of a Hard Set of Collegians" by John D. Vose appears in this Beadle & Adams dime library issue. The story concerns the organization of the "Philistine Society," a secret student society of twenty-six Yale undergraduates—one from each state—drawn from all class years. The narrative opens with townspeople, particularly gossips Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Dewesenberry, reacting with alarm to rumors of student misconduct and secret societies. Faculty members debate responses while professors and town officials discuss the "young rebels." The story then shifts to describing the Society's constitution and membership, detailing initiation requirements: members must stand treat each other, pay fines promptly, never abandon the group, remain silent to outsiders, defend fellow members, and assist in operations by majority vote. Members range from seventeen to twenty-one years old, including representatives from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, each characterized by distinctive regional traits.