This afternoon, if the present weather hold off, we shall have a proof of the muscle of '86. "From so large a class," as every one has said before, we may confidently expect the average number of candidates for the crews and nines, as well as new-comers to fill up the vacancies and to better the records of past years. Rumors are so unsatisfactory, that we feel much relieved that at length an opportunity is offered the freshmen to show us who and what they are, and in the future we shall be able to build our expectations upon what they are doing and not upon what they are said to have done. But, again, we can take today's work only as a promise, by no means as a realization of '86's full strength. Fall meetings never allow that steady and regular training which is possible in the May meetings ; we have barely escaped the hot summer months, when even the most rigid athletes fall off in their exercise, and we have not enjoyed the long winter months spent in the gymnasium at the weights and on the track. Therefore we take occasion to warn any would-be competitor in the spring sports from discouragement at his failure or success this fall, when these hindrances have labored against him. What we expect now more than anything else is a manifestation of live interest in our athletics, which in the end goes a long way towards assuring success.