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 with the collection of the money for the house fund.

To begin with, the signing of these notes was entirely voluntary. The use to be made of the money and the need of raising it were usually explained to the fellows, so that they did not enter into the obligation blindly or through force. Not all the men signed them, and no men lost caste or favor who refused to do so. In the majority of cases the first note came due within a year after the student's graduation, though some were payable at the beginning of the sophomore year. Even though the man at first drew a small salary, or lived upon a moderate allowance, ten dollars a year could not be considered a very heavy assessment.

The work which I do in the attempt to collect these three series of notes is of course entirely gratuitous. There is no personal advantage to me in the collection of the money. I have paid my own notes as any other alumnus might. It takes time and often time which I can very ill afford. I have never received in return what the collections have actually cost me, and I seldom get thanks, even from the people whose interest I am trying to conserve. I have always felt that if I were willing to work for nothing and pay a part of my own expenses that I am at least entitled to a courteous reply to the letters that I write, but