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Title: A Collection of College Words and Customs

Author: Benjamin Homer Hall

Release date: July 9, 2004 [eBook #12864]
Most recently updated: October 28, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Rick Niles, John Hagerson, Tony Browne and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A COLLECTION OF COLLEGE WORDS AND CUSTOMS ***

A

COLLECTION

OF

COLLEGE WORDS AND CUSTOMS.

BY B.H. HALL.

 "Multa renascentur quæ jam cecidere, cadentque Quæ nunc sunt in
  honore, vocabula."

 "Notandi sunt tibi mores."
    HOR. Ars Poet.

REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by

B.H. HALL,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

INTRODUCTION.

The first edition of this publication was mostly compiled during the leisure hours of the last half-year of a Senior's collegiate life, and was presented anonymously to the public with the following

"PREFACE.

"The Editor has an indistinct recollection of a sheet of foolscap paper, on one side of which was written, perhaps a year and a half ago, a list of twenty or thirty college phrases, followed by the euphonious titles of 'Yale Coll.,' 'Harvard Coll.' Next he calls to mind two blue-covered books, turned from their original use, as receptacles of Latin and Greek exercises, containing explanations of these and many other phrases. His friends heard that he was hunting up odd words and queer customs, and dubbed him 'Antiquarian,' but in a kindly manner, spared his feelings, and did not put the vinegar 'old' before it.

"Two and one half quires of paper were in time covered with a strange medley, an olla-podrida of student peculiarities. Thus did he amuse himself in his leisure hours, something like one who, as Dryden says, 'is for raking in Chaucer for antiquated words.' By and by he heard a wish here and a wish there, whether real or otherwise he does not know, which said something about 'type,' 'press,' and used other cabalistic words, such as 'copy,' 'devil,' etc. Then there was a gathering of papers, a transcribing of passages from letters, an arranging in alphabetical order, a correcting of proofs, and the work was done,—poorly it may be, but with good intent.

"Some things will be found in the following pages which are neither words nor customs peculiar to colleges, and yet they have been inserted, because it was thought they would serve to explain the character of student life, and afford a little amusement to the student himself. Society histories have been omitted, with the exception of an account of the oldest affiliated literary society in the United States.

"To those who have aided in the compilation of this work, the Editor returns his warmest thanks. He has received the assistance of many, whose names he would here and in all places esteem it an honor openly to acknowlege, were he not forbidden so to do by the fact that he is himself anonymous. Aware that there is information still to be collected, in reference to the subjects here treated, he would deem it a favor if he could receive through the medium of his publisher such morsels as are yet ungathered.

"Should one pleasant thought arise within the breast of any Alumnus, as a long-forgotten but once familiar word stares him in the face, like an old and early friend; or should one who is still guarded by his Alma Mater be led to a more summer-like acquaintance with those who have in years past roved, as he now roves, through classic shades and honored halls, the labors of their friend, the Editor, will have been crowned with complete success.

"CAMBRIDGE, July 4th, 1851."

Fearing lest venerable brows should frown with displeasure at the recital of incidents which once made those brows bright and joyous; dreading also those stern voices which might condemn as boyish, trivial, or wrong an attempt to glean a few grains of philological lore from the hitherto unrecognized corners of the fields of college life, the Editor chose to regard the brows and hear the voices from an innominate position. Not knowing lest he should at some future time regret the publication of pages which might be deemed heterodox, he caused a small edition of the work to be published, hoping, should it be judged as evil, that the error would be circumscribed in its effects, and the medium of the error buried between the dusty shelves of the second-hand collection of some rusty old bibliopole. By reason of this extreme caution, the volume has been out of print for the last four years.

In the present edition, the contents of the work have been carefully revised, and new articles, filling about two hundred pages, have been interspersed throughout the volume, arranged under appropriate titles. Numerous additions have been made to the collection of technicalities peculiar to the English universities, and the best authorities have been consulted in the preparation of this department. An index has also been added, containing a list of the American colleges referred to in the text in connection with particular words or customs.

The Editor is aware that many of the words here inserted are wanting in that refinement of sound and derivation which their use in classical localities might seem to imply, and that some of the customs here noticed and described are "More honored in the breach than the observance." These facts are not, however, sufficient to outweigh his conviction that there is nothing in language or manners too insignificant for the attention of those who are desirous of studying the diversified developments of the character of man. For this reason, and for the gratification of his own taste and the tastes of many who were pleased at the inceptive step taken in the first edition, the present volume has been prepared and is now given to the public.

TROY, N.Y., February 2, 1856.

A COLLECTION OF COLLEGE WORDS AND CUSTOMS.

A.

A.B. An abbreviation for Artium Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Arts. The first degree taken by students at a college or university. It is usually written B.A., q.v.

ABSIT. Latin; literally, let him be absent; leave of absence from commons, given to a student in the English universities.—Gradus ad Cantab.

ACADEMIAN. A member of an academy; a student in a university or college.

ACADEMIC. A student in a college or university.

A young academic coming into the country immediately after this great competition, &c.—Forby's Vocabulary, under Pin-basket.

A young academic shall dwell upon a journal that treats of trade, and be lavish in the praise of the author; while persons skilled in those subjects hear the tattle with contempt.—Watts's Improvement of the Mind.

ACADEMICALS. In the English universities, the dress peculiar to the students and officers.

I must insist on your going to your College and putting on your academicals.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 382.

The Proctor makes a claim of 6s. 8d. on every undergraduate whom he finds inermem, or without his academicals.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 8.

If you say you are going for a walk, or if it appears likely, from the time and place, you are allowed to pass, otherwise you may be sent back to college to put on your academicals.—Collegian's Guide, p. 177.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT. At Harvard College, every student admitted upon examination, after giving a bond for the payment of all college dues, according to the established laws and customs, is required to sign the following acknowledgment, as it is called:—"I acknowledge that, having been admitted to the University at Cambridge, I am subject to its laws." Thereupon he receives from the President a copy of the laws which he has promised to obey.—Laws Univ. of Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 13.

ACT. In English universities, a thesis maintained in public by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.—Webster.

The student proposes certain questions to the presiding officer of the schools, who then nominates other students to oppose him. The discussion is syllogistical and in Latin and terminates by the presiding officer questioning the respondent, or person who is said to keep the act, and his opponents, and dismissing them with some remarks upon their respective merits.—Brande.

The effect of practice in such matters may be illustrated by the habit of conversing in Latin, which German students do much more readily than English, simply because the former practise it, and hold public disputes in Latin, while the latter have long left off "keeping Acts," as the old public discussions required of candidates for a degree used to be called.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 184.

The word was formerly used in Harvard College. In the "Orders of the Overseers," May 6th, 1650, is the following: "Such that expect to proceed Masters of Arts [are ordered] to exhibit their synopsis of acts required by the laws of the College."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 518.

Nine Bachelors commenced at Cambridge; they were young men of good hope, and performed their acts so as to give good proof of their proficiency in the tongues and arts.—Winthrop's Journal, by Mr. Savage, Vol. I. p. 87.

The students of the first classis that have beene these foure years trained up in University learning (for their ripening in the knowledge of the tongues, and arts) and are approved for their manners, as they have kept their publick Acts in former yeares, ourselves being present at them; so have they lately kept two solemn Acts for their Commencement.—New England's First Fruits, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 245.

But in the succeeding acts … the Latin syllogism seemed to give the most content.—Harvard Register, 1827-28, p. 305.

2. The close of the session at Oxford, when Masters and Doctors complete their degrees, whence the Act Term, or that term in which the act falls. It is always held with great solemnity. At Cambridge, and in American colleges, it is called Commencement. In this sense Mather uses it.

They that were to proceed Bachelors, held their Act publickly in
Cambridge.—Mather's Magnalia, B. 4, pp. 127, 128.

At some times in the universities of England they have no public acts, but give degrees privately and silently.—Letter of Increase Mather, in App. to Pres. Woolsey's Hist. Disc., p. 87.

AD EUNDEM GRADUM. Latin, to the same degree. In American colleges, a Bachelor or Master of one institution was formerly allowed to take the same degree at another, on payment of a certain fee. By this he was admitted to all the privileges of a graduate of his adopted Alma Mater. Ad eundem gradum, to the same degree, were the important words in the formula of admission. A similar custom prevails at present in the English universities.

Persons who have received a degree in any other college or university may, upon proper application, be admitted ad eundem, upon payment of the customary fees to the President.—Laws Union Coll., 1807, p. 47.

Persons who have received a degree in any other university or college may, upon proper application, be admitted ad eundem, upon paying five dollars to the Steward for the President.—Laws of the Univ. in Cam., Mass., 1828.

Persons who have received a degree at any other college may, upon proper application, be admitted ad eundem, upon payment of the customary fee to the President.—Laws Mid. Coll., 1839, p. 24.

The House of Convocation consists both of regents and non-regents, that is, in brief, all masters of arts not honorary, or ad eundems from Cambridge or Dublin, and of course graduates of a higher order.—Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xi.

Fortunately some one recollected that the American Minister was a
D.C.L. of Trinity College, Dublin, members of which are admitted
ad eundem gradum at Cambridge.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng.
Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 112.

ADJOURN. At Bowdoin College, adjourns are the occasional holidays given when a Professor unexpectedly absents himself from recitation.

ADJOURN. At the University of Vermont, this word as a verb is used in the same sense as is the verb BOLT at Williams College; e.g. the students adjourn a recitation, when they leave the recitation-room en masse, despite the Professor.

ADMISSION. The act of admitting a person as a member of a college or university. The requirements for admission are usually a good moral character on the part of the candidate, and that he shall be able to pass a satisfactory examination it certain studies. In some colleges, students are not allowed to enter until they are of a specified age.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 12. Laws Tale Coll., 1837, p. 8.

The requisitions for entrance at Harvard College in 1650 are given in the following extract. "When any scholar is able to read Tully, or such like classical Latin author, extempore, and make and speak true Latin in verse and prose suo (ut aiunt) Marte, and decline perfectly the paradigms of nouns and verbs in the Greek tongue, then may he be admitted into the College, nor shall any claim admission before such qualifications."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 515.

ADMITTATUR. Latin; literally, let him be admitted. In the older American colleges, the certificate of admission given to a student upon entering was called an admittatur, from the word with which it began. At Harvard no student was allowed to occupy a room in the College, to receive the instruction there given, or was considered a member thereof, until he had been admitted according to this form.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798.

Referring to Yale College, President Wholsey remarks on this point: "The earliest known laws of the College belong to the years 1720 and 1726, and are in manuscript; which is explained by the custom that every Freshman, on his admission, was required to write off a copy of them for himself, to which the admittatur of the officers was subscribed."—Hist. Disc, before Grad. Yale Coll., 1850, p. 45.

He travels wearily over in visions the term he is to wait for his initiation into college ways and his admittatur.—Harvard Register, p. 377.

I received my admittatur and returned home, to pass the vacation and procure the college uniform.—New England Magazine, Vol. III. p. 238.

It was not till six months of further trial, that we received our admittatur, so called, and became matriculated.—A Tour through College, 1832, p. 13.

ADMITTO TE AD GRADUM. I admit you to a degree; the first words in the formula used in conferring the honors of college.

  The scholar-dress that once arrayed him,
  The charm Admitto te ad gradum,
  With touch of parchment can refine,
  And make the veriest coxcomb shine,
  Confer the gift of tongues at once,
  And fill with sense the vacant dunce.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, Ed. 1794, Exeter, p. 12.

ADMONISH. In collegiate affairs, to reprove a member of a college for a fault, either publicly or privately; the first step of college discipline. It is followed by of or against; as, to admonish of a fault committed, or against committing a fault.

ADMONITION. Private or public reproof; the first step of college discipline. In Harvard College, both private and public admonition subject the offender to deductions from his rank, and the latter is accompanied in most cases with official notice to his parents or guardian.—See Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 21. Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 23.

Mr. Flynt, for many years a tutor in Harvard College, thus records an instance of college punishment for stealing poultry:—"November 4th, 1717. Three scholars were publicly admonished for thievery, and one degraded below five in his class, because he had been before publicly admonished for card-playing. They were ordered by the President into the middle of the Hall (while two others, concealers of the theft, were ordered to stand up in their places, and spoken to there). The crime they were charged with was first declared, and then laid open as against the law of God and the House, and they were admonished to consider the nature and tendency of it, with its aggravations; and all, with them, were warned to take heed and regulate themselves, so that they might not be in danger of so doing for the future; and those who consented to the theft were admonished to beware, lest God tear them in pieces, according to the text. They were then fined, and ordered to make restitution twofold for each theft."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 443.

ADOPTED SON. Said of a student in reference to the college of which he is or was a member, the college being styled his alma mater.

There is something in the affection of our Alma Mater which changes the nature of her adopted sons; and let them come from wherever they may, she soon alters them and makes it evident that they belong to the same brood.—Harvard Register, p. 377.

ADVANCE. The lesson which a student prepares for the first time is called the advance, in contradistinction to the review.

                Even to save him from perdition,
  He cannot get "the advance," forgets "the review."
    Childe Harvard, p. 13.

ÆGROTAL. Latin, ægrotus, sick. A certificate of illness. Used in the Univ. of Cam., Eng.

A lucky thought; he will get an "ægrotal," or medical certificate of illness.—Household Words, Vol. II. p. 162.

ÆGROTAT. Latin; literally, he is sick. In the English universities, a certificate from a doctor or surgeon, to the effect that a student has been prevented by illness from attending to his college duties, "though, commonly," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "the real complaint is much more serious; viz. indisposition of the mind! ægrotat animo magis quam corpore." This state is technically called ægritude, and the person thus affected is said to be æger.—The Etonian, Vol. II. pp. 386, 387.

To prove sickness nothing more is necessary than to send to some medical man for a pill and a draught, and a little bit of paper with ægrotat on it, and the doctor's signature. Some men let themselves down off their horses, and send for an ægrotat on the score of a fall.—Westminster Rev., Am. Ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 235.

During this term I attended another course of Aristotle lectures, —but not with any express view to the May examination, which I had no intention of going in to, if it could be helped, and which I eventually escaped by an ægrotat from my physician.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 198.

Mr. John Trumbull well describes this state of indisposition in his Progress of Dullness:—

 "Then every book, which ought to please,
  Stirs up the seeds of dire disease;
  Greek spoils his eyes, the print's so fine,
  Grown dim with study, and with wine;
  Of Tully's Latin much afraid,
  Each page he calls the doctor's aid;
  While geometry, with lines so crooked,
  Sprains all his wits to overlook it.
  His sickness puts on every name,
  Its cause and uses still the same;
  'Tis toothache, colic, gout, or stone,
  With phases various as the moon,
  But tho' thro' all the body spread,
  Still makes its cap'tal seat, the head.
  In all diseases, 'tis expected,
  The weakest parts be most infected."
    Ed. 1794, Part I. p. 8.

ÆGROTAT DEGREE. One who is sick or so indisposed that he cannot attend the Senate-House examination, nor consequently acquire any honor, takes what is termed an Ægrotat degree.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 105.

ALMA MATER, pl. ALMÆ MATRES. Fostering mother; a college or seminary where one is educated. The title was originally given to Oxford and Cambridge, by such as had received their education in either university.

It must give pleasure to the alumni of the College to hear of his good name, as he [Benjamin Woodbridge] was the eldest son of our alma mater.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 57.

I see the truths I have uttered, in relation to our Almæ Matres, assented to by sundry of their children.—Terræ-Filius, Oxford, p. 41.

ALUMNI, SOCIETY OF. An association composed of the graduates of a particular college. The object of societies of this nature is stated in the following extract from President Hopkins's Address before the Society of Alumni of Williams College, Aug. 16, 1843. "So far as I know, the Society of the Alumni of Williams College was the first association of the kind in this country, certainly the first which acted efficiently, and called forth literary addresses. It was formed September 5, 1821, and the preamble to the constitution then adopted was as follows: 'For the promotion of literature and good fellowship among ourselves, and the better to advance the reputation and interests of our Alma Mater, we the subscribers, graduates of Williams College, form ourselves into a Society.' The first president was Dr. Asa Burbank. The first orator elected was the Hon. Elijah Hunt Mills, a distinguished Senator of the United States. That appointment was not fulfilled. The first oration was delivered in 1823, by the Rev. Dr. Woodbridge, now of Hadley, and was well worthy of the occasion; and since that time the annual oration before the Alumni has seldom failed…. Since this Society was formed, the example has been followed in other institutions, and bids fair to extend to them all. Last year, for the first time, the voice of an Alumnus orator was heard at Harvard and at Yale; and one of these associations, I know, sprung directly from ours. It is but three years since a venerable man attended the meeting of our Alumni, one of those that have been so full of interest, and he said he should go directly home and have such an association formed at the Commencement of his Alma Mater, then about to occur. He did so. That association was formed, and the last year the voice of one of the first scholars and jurists in the nation was heard before them. The present year the Alumni of Dartmouth were addressed for the first time, and the doctrine of Progress was illustrated by the distinguished speaker in more senses than one.[01] Who can tell how great the influence of such associations may become in cherishing kind feeling, in fostering literature, in calling out talent, in leading men to act, not selfishly, but more efficiently for the general cause through particular institutions?"—Pres. Hopkins's Miscellaneous Essays and Discourses, pp. 275-277.

To the same effect also, Mr. Chief Justice Story, who, in his Discourse before the Society of the Alumni of Harvard University, Aug. 23, 1842, says: "We meet to celebrate the first anniversary of the society of all the Alumni of Harvard. We meet without any distinction of sect or party, or of rank or profession, in church or in state, in literature or in science…. Our fellowship is designed to be—as it should be—of the most liberal and comprehensive character, conceived in the spirit of catholic benevolence, asking no creed but the love of letters, seeking no end but the encouragement of learning, and imposing no conditions, which say lead to jealousy or ambitious strife. In short, we meet for peace and for union; to devote one day in the year to academical intercourse and the amenities of scholars."—p. 4.

An Alumni society was formed at Columbia College in the year 1829, and at Rutgers College in 1837. There are also societies of this nature at the College of New Jersey, Princeton; University of Virginia, Charlottesville; and at Columbian College, Washington.

ALUMNUS, pl. ALUMNI. Latin, from alo, to nourish. A pupil; one educated at a seminary or college is called an alumnus of that institution.

A.M. An abbreviation for Artium Magister, Master of Arts. The second degree given by universities and colleges. It is usually written M.A., q.v.

ANALYSIS. In the following passage, the word analysis is used as a verb; the meaning being directly derived from that of the noun of the same orthography.

If any resident Bachelor, Senior, or Junior Sophister shall neglect to analysis in his course, he shall be punished not exceeding ten shillings.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 129.

ANNARUGIANS. At Centre College, Kentucky, is a society called the Annarugians, "composed," says a correspondent "of the wildest of the College boys, who, in the most fantastic disguises, are always on hand when a wedding is to take place, and join in a most tremendous Charivari, nor can they be forced to retreat until they have received a due proportion of the sumptuous feast prepared."

APOSTLES. At Cambridge, England, the last twelve on the list of Bachelors of Arts; a degree lower than the [Greek: oi polloi] "Scape-goats of literature, who have at length scrambled through the pales and discipline of the Senate-House, without being plucked, and miraculously obtained the title of A.B."—Gradus ad Cantab.

At Columbian College, D.C., the members of the Faculty are called after the names of the Apostles.

APPLICANT. A diligent student. "This word," says Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "has been much used at our colleges. The English have the verb to apply, but the noun applicant, in this sense, does not appear to be in use among them. The only Dictionary in which I have found it with this meaning is Entick's, in which it is given under the word applier. Mr. Todd has the term applicant, but it is only in the sense of 'he who applies for anything.' An American reviewer, in his remarks on Mr. Webster's Dictionary, takes notice of the word, observing, that it 'is a mean word'; and then adds, that 'Mr. Webster has not explained it in the most common sense, a hard student.'—Monthly Anthology, Vol. VII. p. 263. A correspondent observes: 'The utmost that can be said of this word among the English is, that perhaps it is occasionally used in conversation; at least, to signify one who asks (or applies) for something.'" At present the word applicant is never used in the sense of a diligent student, the common signification being that given by Mr. Webster, "One who applies; one who makes request; a petitioner."

APPOINTEE. One who receives an appointment at a college exhibition or commencement.

The appointees are writing their pieces.—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, p. 193.

To the gratified appointee,—if his ambition for the honor has the intensity it has in some bosoms,—the day is the proudest he will ever see.—Ibid., p. 194.

I suspect that a man in the first class of the "Poll" has usually read mathematics to more profit than many of the "appointees," even of the "oration men" at Yale.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 382.

He hears it said all about him that the College appointees are for the most part poor dull fellows.—Ibid., p. 389.

APPOINTMENT. In many American colleges, students to whom are assigned a part in the exercises of an exhibition or commencement, are said to receive an appointment. Appointments are given as a reward for superiority in scholarship.

As it regards college, the object of appointments is to incite to study, and promote good scholarship.—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, p. 69.

  If e'er ye would take an "appointment" young man,
  Beware o' the "blade" and "fine fellow," young man!
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 210.

  Some have crammed for appointments, and some for degrees.
    Presentation Day Songs, Yale Coll., June 14, 1854.

See JUNIOR APPOINTMENTS.

APPROBAMUS. Latin; we approve. A certificate, given to a student, testifying of his fitness for the performance of certain duties.

In an account of the exercises at Dartmouth College during the Commencement season in 1774, Dr. Belknap makes use of this word in the following connection: "I attended, with several others, the examination of Joseph Johnson, an Indian, educated in this school, who, with the rest of the New England Indians, are about moving up into the country of the Six Nations, where they have a tract of land fifteen miles square given them. He appeared to be an ingenious, sensible, serious young man; and we gave him an approbamus, of which there is a copy on the next page. After which, at three P.M., he preached in the college hall, and a collection of twenty-seven dollars and a half was made for him. The auditors were agreeably entertained.

"The approbamus is as follows."—Life of Jeremy Belknap, D.D., pp. 71, 72.

APPROBATE. To express approbation of; to manifest a liking, or degree of satisfaction.—Webster.

The cause of this battle every man did allow and approbate.—Hall, Henry VII., Richardson's Dict.

"This word," says Mr. Pickering, "was formerly much used at our colleges instead of the old English verb approve. The students used to speak of having their performances approbated by the instructors. It is also now in common use with our clergy as a sort of technical term, to denote a person who is licensed to preach; they would say, such a one is approbated, that is, licensed to preach. It is also common in New England to say of a person who is licensed by the county courts to sell spirituous liquors, or to keep a public house, that he is approbated; and the term is adopted in the law of Massachusetts on this subject." The word is obsolete in England, is obsolescent at our colleges, and is very seldom heard in the other senses given above.

By the twelfth statute, a student incurs … no penalty by declaiming or attempting to declaim without having his piece previously approbated.—MS. Note to Laws of Harvard College, 1798.

Observe their faces as they enter, and you will perceive some shades there, which, if they are approbated and admitted, will be gone when they come out.—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, p. 18.

How often does the professor whose duty it is to criticise and approbate the pieces for this exhibition wish they were better! —Ibid., p. 195.

I was approbated by the Boston Association, I suspect, as a person well known, but known as an anomaly, and admitted in charity.—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. lxxxv.

ASSES' BRIDGE. The fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid is called the Asses' Bridge, or rather "Pons Asinorum," from the difficulty with which many get over it.

The Asses' Bridge in Euclid is not more difficult to be got over, nor the logarithms of Napier so hard to be unravelled, as many of Hoyle's Cases and Propositions.—The Connoisseur, No. LX.

After Mr. Brown had passed us over the "Asses' Bridge," without any serious accident, and conducted us a few steps further into the first book, he dismissed us with many compliments.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 126.

I don't believe he passed the Pons Asinorum without many a halt and a stumble.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 146.

ASSESSOR. In the English universities, an officer specially appointed to assist the Vice-Chancellor in his court.—Cam. Cal.

AUCTION. At Harvard College, it was until within a few years customary for the members of the Senior Class, previously to leaving college, to bring together in some convenient room all the books, furniture, and movables of any kind which they wished to dispose of, and put them up at public auction. Everything offered was either sold, or, if no bidders could be obtained, given away.

AUDIT. In the University of Cambridge, England, a meeting of the Master and Fellows to examine or audit the college accounts. This is succeeded by a feast, on which occasion is broached the very best ale, for which reason ale of this character is called "audit ale."—Grad. ad Cantab.

This use of the word thirst made me drink an extra bumper of "Audit" that very day at dinner.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 3.

After a few draughts of the Audit, the company disperse.—Ibid. Vol. I. p. 161.

AUTHORITY. "This word," says Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "is used in some of the States, in speaking collectively of the Professors, &c. of our colleges, to whom the government of these institutions is intrusted."

Every Freshman shall be obliged to do any proper errand or message for the Authority of the College.—Laws Middlebury Coll., 1804, p. 6.

AUTOGRAPH BOOK. It is customary at Yale College for each member of the Senior Class, before the close of his collegiate life, to obtain, in a book prepared for that purpose, the signatures of the President, Professors, Tutors, and of all his classmates, with anything else which they may choose to insert. Opposite the autographs of the college officers are placed engravings of them, so far as they are obtainable; and the whole, bound according to the fancy of each, forms a most valuable collection of agreeable mementos.

When news of his death reached me. I turned to my book of classmate autographs, to see what he had written there, and to read a name unusually dear.—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, p. 201.

AVERAGE BOOK. At Harvard College, a book in which the marks received by each student, for the proper performance of his college duties, are entered; also the deductions from his rank resulting from misconduct. These unequal data are then arranged in a mean proportion, and the result signifies the standing which the student has held for a given period.

  In vain the Prex's grave rebuke,
  Deductions from the average book.
    MS. Poem, W.F. Allen, 1848.

B.

B.A. An abbreviation of Baccalaureus Artium, Bachelor of Arts. The first degree taken by a student at a college or university. Sometimes written A.B., which is in accordance with the proper Latin arrangement. In American colleges this degree is conferred in course on each member of the Senior Class in good standing. In the English universities, it is given to the candidate who has been resident at least half of each of ten terms, i.e. during a certain portion of a period extending over three and a third years, and who has passed the University examinations.

The method of conferring the degree of B.A. at Trinity College, Hartford, is peculiar. The President takes the hands of each candidate in his own as he confers the degree. He also passes to the candidate a book containing the College Statutes, which the candidate holds in his right hand during the performance of a part of the ceremony.

The initials of English academical titles always correspond to the English, not to the Latin of the titles, B.A., M.A., D.D., D.C.L., &c.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 13.

See BACHELOR.

BACCALAUREATE. The degree of Bachelor of Arts; the first or lowest degree. In American colleges, this degree is conferred in course on each member of the Senior Class in good standing. In Oxford and Cambridge it is attainable in two different ways;—1. By examination, to which those students alone are admissible who have pursued the prescribed course of study for the space of three years. 2. By extraordinary diploma, granted to individuals wholly unconnected with the University. The former class are styled Baccalaurei Formati, the latter Baccalaurei Currentes. In France the degree of Baccalaureat (Baccalaureus Literarum) is conferred indiscriminately upon such natives or foreigners and after a strict examination in the classics, mathematics, and philosophy, are declared to be qualified. In the German universities, the title "Doctor Philosophiæ" has long been substituted for Baccalaureus Artium or Literarum. In the Middle Ages, the term Baccalaureus was applied to an inferior order of knights, who came into the field unattended by vassals; from them it was transferred to the lowest class of ecclesiastics; and thence again, by Pope Gregory the Ninth to the universities. In reference to the derivation of this word, the military classes maintain that it is either derived from the baculus or staff with which knights were usually invested, or from bas chevalier, an inferior kind of knight; the literary classes, with more plausibility, perhaps, trace its origin to the custom which prevailed universally among the Greeks and Romans, and which was followed even in Italy till the thirteenth century, of crowning distinguished individuals with laurel; hence the recipient of this honor was style Baccalaureus, quasi baccis laureis donatus.—Brande's Dictionary.

The subjoined passage, although it may not place the subject in any clearer light, will show the difference of opinion which exists in reference to the derivation of this work. Speaking of the exercises of Commencement at Cambridge Mass., in the early days of Harvard College, the writer says "But the main exercises were disputations upon questions wherein the respondents first made their Theses: For according to Vossius, the very essence of the Baccalaureat seems to lye in the thing: Baccalaureus being but a name corrupted of Batualius, which Batualius (as well as the French Bataile [Bataille]) comes à Batuendo, a business that carries beating in it: So that, Batualii fuerunt vocati, quia jam quasi batuissent cum adversario, ac manus conseruissent; hoc est, publice disputassent, atque ita peritiæ suæ specimen dedissent."—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. p. 128.

The Seniors will be examined for the Baccalaureate, four weeks before Commencement, by a committee, in connection with the Faculty.—Cal. Wesleyan Univ., 1849, p. 22.

BACHELOR. A person who has taken the first degree in the liberal arts and sciences, at a college or university. This degree, or honor, is called the Baccalaureate. This title is given also to such as take the first degree in divinity, law, or physic, in certain European universities. The word appears in various forms in different languages. The following are taken from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. "French, bachelier; Spanish, bachiller, a bachelor of arts and a babbler; Portuguese, bacharel, id., and bacello, a shoot or twig of the vine; Italian, baccelliere, a bachelor of arts; bacchio, a staff; bachetta, a rod; Latin, bacillus, a stick, that is, a shoot; French, bachelette, a damsel, or young woman; Scotch, baich, a child; Welsh, bacgen, a boy, a child; bacgenes, a young girl, from bac, small. This word has its origin in the name of a child, or young person of either sex, whence the sense of babbling in the Spanish. Or both senses are rather from shooting, protruding."

Of the various etymologies ascribed to the term Bachelor, "the true one, and the most flattering," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "seems to be bacca laurus. Those who either are, or expect to be, honored with the title of Bachelor of Arts, will hear with exultation, that they are then 'considered as the budding flowers of the University; as the small pillula, or bacca, of the laurel indicates the flowering of that tree, which is so generally used in the crowns of those who have deserved well, both of the military states, and of the republic of learning.'—Carter's History of Cambridge, [Eng.], 1753."

BACHELOR FELLOW. A Bachelor of Arts who is maintained on a fellowship.

BACHELOR SCHOLAR. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a B.A. who remains in residence after taking his degree, for the purpose of reading for a fellowship or acting as private tutor. He is always noted for superiority in scholarship.

Bristed refers to the bachelor scholars in the annexed extract. "Along the wall you see two tables, which, though less carefully provided than the Fellows', are still served with tolerable decency and go through a regular second course instead of the 'sizings.' The occupants of the upper or inner table are men apparently from twenty-two to twenty-six years of age, and wear black gowns with two strings hanging loose in front. If this table has less state than the adjoining one of the Fellows, it has more mirth and brilliancy; many a good joke seems to be going the rounds. These are the Bachelors, most of them Scholars reading for Fellowships, and nearly all of them private tutors. Although Bachelors in Arts, they are considered, both as respects the College and the University, to be in statu pupillari until they become M.A.'s. They pay a small sum in fees nominally for tuition, and are liable to the authority of that mighty man, the Proctor." —Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.

BACHELORSHIP. The state of one who has taken his first degree in a university or college.—Webster.

BACK-LESSON. A lesson which has not been learned or recited; a lesson which has been omitted.

In a moment you may see the yard covered with hurrying groups, some just released from metaphysics or the blackboard, and some just arisen from their beds where they have indulged in the luxury of sleeping over,—a luxury, however, which is sadly diminished by the anticipated necessity of making up back-lessons.—Harv. Reg., p. 202.

BALBUS. At Yale College, this term is applied to Arnold's Latin Prose Composition, from the fact of its so frequent occurrence in that work. If a student wishes to inform his fellow-student that he is engaged on Latin Prose Composition, he says he is studying Balbus. In the first example of this book, the first sentence reads, "I and Balbus lifted up our hands," and the name Balbus appears in almost every exercise.

BALL UP. At Middlebury College, to fail at recitation or examination.

BANDS. Linen ornaments, worn by professors and clergymen when officiating; also by judges, barristers, &c., in court. They form a distinguishing mark in the costume of the proctors of the English universities, and at Cambridge, the questionists, on admission to their degrees, are by the statutes obliged to appear in them.—Grad. ad Cantab.

BANGER. A club-like cane or stick; a bludgeon. This word is one of the Yale vocables.

  The Freshman reluctantly turned the key,
  Expecting a Sophomore gang to see,
  Who, with faces masked and bangers stout,
  Had come resolved to smoke him out.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 75.

BARBER. In the English universities, the college barber is often employed by the students to write out or translate the impositions incurred by them. Those who by this means get rid of their impositions are said to barberize them.

So bad was the hand which poor Jenkinson wrote, that the many impositions which he incurred would have kept him hard at work all day long; so he barberized them, that is, handed them over to the college barber, who had always some poor scholars in his pay. This practice of barberizing is not uncommon among a certain class of men.—Collegian's Guide, p. 155.

BARNEY. At Harvard College, about the year 1810, this word was used to designate a bad recitation. To barney was to recite badly.

BARNWELL. At Cambridge, Eng., a place of resort for characters of bad report.

One of the most "civilized" undertook to banter me on my non-appearance in the classic regions of Barnwell.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 31.

BARRING-OUT SPREE. At Princeton College, when the students find the North College clear of Tutors, which is about once a year, they bar up the entrance, get access to the bell, and ring it.

In the "Life of Edward Baines, late M.P. for the Borough of Leeds," is an account of a barring-out, as managed at the grammar school at Preston, England. It is related in Dickens's Household Words to this effect. "His master was pompous and ignorant, and smote his pupils liberally with cane and tongue. It is not surprising that the lads learnt as much from the spirit of their master as from his preceptions and that one of those juvenile rebellions, better known as old than at present as a 'barring-out,' was attempted. The doors of the school, the biographer narrates, were fastened with huge nails, and one of the younger lads was let out to obtain supplies of food for the garrison. The rebellion having lasted two or three days, the mayor, town-clerk, and officers were sent for to intimidate the offenders. Young Baines, on the part of the besieged, answered the magisterial summons to surrender, by declaring that they would never give in, unless assured of full pardon and a certain length of holidays. With much good sense, the mayor gave them till the evening to consider; and on his second visit the doors were found open, the garrison having fled to the woods of Penwortham. They regained their respective homes under the cover of night, and some humane interposition averted the punishment they had deserved."— Am. Ed. Vol. III. p. 415.

BATTEL. To stand indebted on the college books at Oxford for provisions and drink from the buttery.

Eat my commons with a good stomach, and battled with discretion. —Puritan, Malone's Suppl. 2, p. 543.

Many men "battel" at the rate of a guinea a week. Wealthier men, more expensive men, and more careless men, often "battelled" much higher.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 274.

Cotgrave says, "To battle (as scholars do in Oxford) être debteur an collège pour ses vivres." He adds, "Mot usé seulement des jeunes écoliers de l'université d'Oxford."

2. To reside at the university; to keep terms.—Webster.

BATTEL. Derived from the old monkish word patella, or batella, a plate. At Oxford, "whatsoever is furnished for dinner and for supper, including malt liquor, but not wine, as well as the materials for breakfast, or for any casual refreshment to country visitors, excepting only groceries," is expressed by the word battels.—De Quincey.

  I on the nail my Battels paid,
  The monster turn'd away dismay'd.
    The Student, Vol. I. p. 115, 1750.

BATTELER, BATTLER. A student at Oxford who stands indebted, in the college books, for provisions and drink at the buttery.—Webster.

Halliwell, in his Dict. Arch. and Prov. Words, says, "The term is used in contradistinction to gentleman commoner." In Gent. Mag., 1787, p. 1146, is the following:—"There was formerly at Oxford an order similar to the sizars of Cambridge, called battelers (batteling having the same signification as sizing). The sizar and batteler were as independent as any other members of the college, though of an inferior order, and were under no obligation to wait upon anybody."

2. One who keeps terms, or resides at the University.—Webster.

BATTELING. At Oxford, the act of taking provisions from the buttery. Batteling has the same signification as SIZING at the University of Cambridge.—Gent. Mag., 1787, p. 1146.

Batteling in a friend's name, implies eating and drinking at his expense. When a person's name is crossed in the buttery, i.e. when he is not allowed to take any articles thence, he usually comes into the hall and battels for buttery supplies in a friend's name, "for," says the Collegian's Guide, "every man can 'take out' an extra commons, and some colleges two, at each meal, for a visitor: and thus, under the name of a guest, though at your own table, you escape part of the punishment of being crossed."—p. 158.

2. Spending money.

The business of the latter was to call us of a morning, to distribute among us our battlings, or pocket money, &c.—Dicken's Household Words, Vol. I. p. 188.

BAUM. At Hamilton College, to fawn upon; to flatter; to court the favor of any one.

B.C.L. Abbreviated for Baccalaureus Civilis Legis, Bachelor in Civil Law. In the University of Oxford, a Bachelor in Civil Law must be an M.A. and a regent of three years' standing. The exercises necessary to the degree are disputations upon two distinct days before the Professors of the Faculty of Law.

In the University of Cambridge, the candidate for this degree must have resided nine terms (equal to three years), and been on the boards of some College for six years, have passed the "previous examination," attended the lectures of the Professor of Civil Law for three terms, and passed a series of examinations in the subject of them; that is to say in General Jurisprudence, as illustrated by Roman and English law. The names of those who pass creditably are arranged in three classes according to merit.—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 284.

This degree is not conferred in the United States.

B.D. An abbreviation for Baccalaureus Divinitatis, Bachelor in Divinity. In both the English Universities a B.D. must be an M.A. of seven years' standing, and at Oxford, a regent of the same length of time. The exercises necessary to the degree are at Cambridge one act after the fourth year, two opponencies, a clerum, and an English sermon. At Oxford, disputations are enjoined upon two distinct days before the Professors of the Faculty of Divinity, and a Latin sermon is preached before the Vice-Chancellor. The degree of Theologiæ Baccalaureus was conferred at Harvard College on Mr. Leverett, afterwards President of that institution, in 1692, and on Mr. William Brattle in the same year, the only instances, it is believed, in which this degree has been given in America.

BEADLE, BEDEL, BEDELL. An officer in a university, whose chief business is to walk with a mace, before the masters, in a public procession; or, as in America, before the president, trustees, faculty, and students of a college, in a procession, at public commencements.—Webster.

In the English universities there are two classes of Bedels, called the Esquire and the Yeoman Bedel.

Of this officer as connected with Yale College, President Woolsey speaks as follows:—"The beadle or his substitute, the vice-beadle (for the sheriff of the county came to be invested with the office), was the master of processions, and a sort of gentleman-usher to execute the commands of the President. He was a younger graduate settled at or near the College. There is on record a diploma of President Clap's, investing with this office a graduate of three years' standing, and conceding to him 'omnia jura privilegia et auctoritates ad Bedelli officium, secundum collegiorum aut universitatum leges et consuetudines usitatas; spectantia.' The office, as is well known, still exists in the English institutions of learning, whence it was transferred first to Harvard and thence to this institution."—Hist. Disc., Aug., 1850, p. 43.

In an account of a Commencement at Williams College, Sept. 8, 1795, the order in which the procession was formed was as follows: "First, the scholars of the academy; second, students of college; third, the sheriff of the county acting as Bedellus," &c.—Federal Orrery, Sept. 28, 1795.

The Beadle, by order, made the following declaration.—Clap's
Hist. Yale Coll., 1766, p. 56.

It shall be the duty of the Faculty to appoint a College Beadle, who shall direct the procession on Commencement day, and preserve order during the exhibitions.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 43.

BED-MAKER. One whose occupation is to make beds, and, as in colleges and universities, to take care of the students' rooms. Used both in the United States and England.

T' other day I caught my bed-maker, a grave old matron, poring very seriously over a folio that lay open upon my table. I asked her what she was reading? "Lord bless you, master," says she, "who I reading? I never could read in my life, blessed be God; and yet I loves to look into a book too."—The Student, Vol. I. p. 55, 1750.

I asked a bed-maker where Mr. ——'s chambers were.—Gent.
Mag., 1795, p. 118.

  While the grim bed-maker provokes the dust,
  And soot-born atoms, which his tomes encrust.
    The College.—A sketch in verse, in Blackwood's Mag., May,
    1849.

The bed-makers are the women who take care of the rooms: there is about one to each staircase, that is to say, to every eight rooms. For obvious reasons they are selected from such of the fair sex as have long passed the age at which they might have had any personal attractions. The first intimation which your bed-maker gives you is that she is bound to report you to the tutor if ever you stay out of your rooms all night.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 15.

BEER-COMMENT. In the German universities, the student's drinking code.

The beer-comment of Heidelberg, which gives the student's code of drinking, is about twice the length of our University book of statutes.—Lond. Quar. Rev., Am. Ed., Vol. LXXIII. p. 56.

BEMOSSED HEAD. In the German universities, a student during the sixth and last term, or semester, is called a Bemossed Head, "the highest state of honor to which man can attain."—Howitt.

See MOSS-COVERED HEAD.

BENE. Latin, well. A word sometimes attached to a written college exercise, by the instructor, as a mark of approbation.

  When I look back upon my college life,
  And think that I one starveling bene got.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 402.

BENE DISCESSIT. Latin; literally, he has departed honorably. This phrase is used in the English universities to signify that the student leaves his college to enter another by the express consent and approbation of the Master and Fellows.—Gradus ad Cantab.

Mr. Pope being about to remove from Trinity to Emmanuel, by Bene-Discessit, was desirous of taking my rooms.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 167.

BENEFICIARY. One who receives anything as a gift, or is maintained by charity.—Blackstone.

In American colleges, students who are supported on established foundations are called beneficiaries. Those who receive maintenance from the American Education Society are especially designated in this manner.

No student who is a college beneficiary shall remain such any longer than he shall continue exemplary for sobriety, diligence, and orderly conduct.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 19.

BEVER. From the Italian bevere, to drink. An intermediate refreshment between breakfast and dinner.—Morison.

At Harvard College, dinner was formerly the only meal which was regularly taken in the hall. Instead of breakfast and supper, the students were allowed to receive a bowl of milk or chocolate, with a piece of bread, from the buttery hatch, at morning and evening; this they could eat in the yard, or take to their rooms and eat there. At the appointed hour for bevers, there was a general rush for the buttery, and if the walking happened to be bad, or if it was winter, many ludicrous accidents usually occurred. One perhaps would slip, his bowl would fly this way and his bread that, while he, prostrate, afforded an excellent stumbling-block to those immediately behind him; these, falling in their turn, spattering with the milk themselves and all near them, holding perhaps their spoons aloft, the only thing saved from the destruction, would, after disentangling themselves from the mass of legs, arms, etc., return to the buttery, and order a new bowl, to be charged with the extras at the close of the term.

Similar in thought to this account are the remarks of Professor Sidney Willard concerning Harvard College in 1794, in his late work, entitled, "Memories of Youth and Manhood." "The students who boarded in commons were obliged to go to the kitchen-door with their bowls or pitchers for their suppers, when they received their modicum of milk or chocolate in their vessel, held in one hand, and their piece of bread in the other, and repaired to their rooms to take their solitary repast. There were suspicions at times that the milk was diluted by a mixture of a very common tasteless fluid, which led a sagacious Yankee student to put the matter to the test by asking the simple carrier-boy why his mother did not mix the milk with warm water instead of cold. 'She does,' replied the honest youth. This mode of obtaining evening commons did not prove in all cases the most economical on the part of the fed. It sometimes happened, that, from inadvertence or previous preparation for a visit elsewhere, some individuals had arrayed themselves in their dress-coats and breeches, and in their haste to be served, and by jostling in the crowd, got sadly sprinkled with milk or chocolate, either by accident or by the stealthy indulgence of the mischievous propensities of those with whom they came in contact; and oftentimes it was a scene of confusion that was not the most pleasant to look upon or be engaged in. At breakfast the students were furnished, in Commons Hall, with tea, coffee, or milk, and a small loaf of bread. The age of a beaker of beer with a certain allowance of bread had expired."—Vol. I. pp. 313, 314.

No scholar shall be absent above an hour at morning bever, half an hour at evening bever, &c.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 517.

The butler is not bound to stay above half an hour at bevers in the buttery after the tolling of the bell.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 584.

BEVER. To take a small repast between meals.—Wallis.

BIBLE CLERK. In the University of Oxford, the Bible clerks are required to attend the service of the chapel, and to deliver in a list of the absent undergraduates to the officer appointed to enforce the discipline of the institution. Their duties are different in different colleges.—Oxford Guide.

A Bible clerk has seldom too many friends in the
University.—Blackwood's Mag., Vol. LX., Eng. ed., p. 312.

In the University of Cambridge, Eng., "a very ancient scholarship, so called because the student who was promoted to that office was enjoined to read the Bible at meal-times."—Gradus ad Cantab.

BIENNIAL EXAMINATION. At Yale College, in addition to the public examinations of the classes at the close of each term, on the studies of the term, private examinations are also held twice in the college course, at the close of the Sophomore and Senior years, on the studies of the two preceding years. The latter are called biennial.—Yale Coll. Cat.

"The Biennial," remarks the writer of the preface to the Songs of Yale, "is an examination occurring twice during the course,—at the close of the Sophomore and of the Senior years,—in all the studies pursued during the two years previous. It was established in 1850."—Ed. 1853, p. 4.

The system of examinations has been made more rigid, especially by the introduction of biennials.—Centennial Anniversary of the Linonian Soc., Yale Coll., 1853, p. 70.

  Faculty of College got together one night,
    To have a little congratulation,
  For they'd put their heads together and hatched out a load,
    And called it "Bien. Examination."
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

BIG-WIG. In the English universities, the higher dignitaries among the officers are often spoken of as the big-wigs.

Thus having anticipated the approbation of all, whether Freshman, Sophomore, Bachelor, or Big-Wig, our next care is the choice of a patron.—Pref. to Grad. ad Cantab.

BISHOP. At Cambridge, Eng., this beverage is compounded of port-wine mulled and burnt, with the addenda of roasted lemons and cloves.—Gradus ad Cantab.

  We'll pass round the Bishop, the spice-breathing cup.
    Will. Sentinel's Poems.

BITCH. Among the students of the University of Cambridge, Eng., a common name for tea.

The reading man gives no swell parties, runs very little into debt, takes his cup of bitch at night, and goes quietly to bed. —Grad. ad Cantab., p. 131.

With the Queens-men it is not unusual to issue an "At home" Tea and Vespers, alias bitch and hymns.—Ibid., Dedication.

BITCH. At Cambridge, Eng., to take or drink a dish of tea.

I followed, and, having "bitched" (that is, taken a dish of tea) arranged my books and boxes.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 30.

I dined, wined, or bitched with a Medallist or Senior Wrangler. —Ibid., Vol. II. p. 218.

A young man, who performs with great dexterity the honors of the tea-table, is, if complimented at all, said to be "an excellent bitch."—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 18.

BLACK BOOK. In the English universities, a gloomy volume containing a register of high crimes and misdemeanors.

At the University of Göttingen, the expulsion of students is recorded on a blackboard.—Gradus ad Cantab.

Sirrah, I'll have you put in the black book, rusticated, expelled.—Miller's Humors of Oxford, Act II. Sc. I.

All had reason to fear that their names were down in the proctor's black book.—Collegian's Guide, p. 277.

So irksome and borish did I ever find this early rising, spite of the health it promised, that I was constantly in the black book of the dean.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 32.

BLACK-HOOD HOUSE. See SENATE.

BLACK RIDING. At the College of South Carolina, it has until within a few years been customary for the students, disguised and painted black, to ride across the college-yard at midnight, on horseback, with vociferations and the sound of horns. Black riding is recognized by the laws of the College as a very high offence, punishable with expulsion.

BLEACH. At Harvard College, he was formerly said to bleach who preferred to be spiritually rather than bodily present at morning prayers.

  'T is sweet Commencement parts to reach,
  But, oh! 'tis doubly sweet to bleach.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 123.

BLOOD. A hot spark; a man of spirit; a rake. A word long in use among collegians and by writers who described them.

With some rakes from Boston and a few College bloods, I got very drunk.—Monthly Anthology, Boston, 1804, Vol. I. p. 154.

  Indulgent Gods! exclaimed our bloods.
    The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 15.

BLOOD. At some of the Western colleges this word signifies excellent; as, a blood recitation. A student who recites well is said to make a blood.

BLOODEE. In the Farmer's Weekly Museum, formerly printed at Walpole, N.H., appeared August 21, 1797, a poetic production, in which occurred these lines:—

  Seniors about to take degrees,
  Not by their wits, but by bloodees.

In a note the word bloodee was thus described: "A kind of cudgel worn, or rather borne, by the bloods of a certain college in New England, 2 feet 5 inches in length, and 1-7/8 inch in diameter, with a huge piece of lead at one end, emblematical of its owner. A pretty prop for clumsy travellers on Parnassus."

BLOODY. Formerly a college term for daring, rowdy, impudent.

  Arriving at Lord Bibo's study,
  They thought they'd be a little bloody;
  So, with a bold, presumptuous look,
  An honest pinch of snuff they took.
    Rebelliad, p. 44.

  They roar'd and bawl'd, and were so bloody,
  As to besiege Lord Bibo's study.

Ibid., p. 76.

BLOW. A merry frolic with drinking; a spree. A person intoxicated is said to be blown, and Mr. Halliwell, in his Dict. Arch. and Prov. Words, has blowboll, a drunkard.

This word was formerly used by students to designate their frolics and social gatherings; at present, it is not much heard, being supplanted by the more common words spree, tight, &c.

My fellow-students had been engaged at a blow till the stagehorn had summoned them to depart.—Harvard Register, 1827-28, p. 172.

  No soft adagio from the muse of blows,
  E'er roused indignant from serene repose.
    Ibid., p. 233.

  And, if no coming blow his thoughts engage,
  Lights candle and cigar.
    Ibid., p. 235.

The person who engages in a blow is also called a blow.

I could see, in the long vista of the past, the many hardened blows who had rioted here around the festive board.—Collegian, p. 231.

BLUE. In several American colleges, a student who is very strict in observing the laws, and conscientious in performing his duties, is styled a blue. "Our real delvers, midnight students," says a correspondent from Williams College, "are called blue."

I wouldn't carry a novel into chapel to read, not out of any respect for some people's old-womanish twaddle about the sacredness of the place,—but because some of the blues might see you.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 81.

  Each jolly soul of them, save the blues,
  Were doffing their coats, vests, pants, and shoes.
    Yale Gallinipper, Nov. 1848.

  None ever knew a sober "blue"
    In this "blood crowd" of ours.
    Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

Lucian called him a blue, and fell back in his chair in a pouting fit.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 118.

To acquire popularity,… he must lose his money at bluff and euchre without a sigh, and damn up hill and down the sober church-going man, as an out-and-out blue.—The Parthenon, Union Coll., 1851, p. 6.

BLUE-LIGHT. At the University of Vermont this term is used, writes a correspondent, to designate "a boy who sneaks about college, and reports to the Faculty the short-comings of his fellow-students. A blue-light is occasionally found watching the door of a room where a party of jolly ones are roasting a turkey (which in justice belongs to the nearest farm-house), that he may go to the Faculty with the story, and tell them who the boys are."

BLUES. The name of a party which formerly existed at Dartmouth College. In The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117, 1842, is the following:—"The students here are divided into two parties,—the Rowes and the Blues. The Rowes are very liberal in their notions; the Blues more strict. The Rowes don't pretend to say anything worse of a fellow than to call him a Blue, and vice versa"

See INDIGO and ROWES.

BLUE-SKIN. This word was formerly in use at some American colleges, with the meaning now given to the word BLUE, q.v.

  I, with my little colleague here,
    Forth issued from my cell,
  To see if we could overhear,
    Or make some blue-skin tell.
    The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 22.

BOARD. The boards, or college boards, in the English universities, are long wooden tablets on which the names of the members of each college are inscribed, according to seniority, generally hung up in the buttery.—Gradus ad Cantab. Webster.

I gave in my resignation this time without recall, and took my name off the boards.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 291.

Similar to this was the list of students which was formerly kept at Harvard College, and probably at Yale. Judge Wingate, who graduated at the former institution in 1759, writes as follows in reference to this subject:—"The Freshman Class was, in my day at college, usually placed (as it was termed) within six or nine months after their admission. The official notice of this was given by having their names written in a large German text, in a handsome style, and placed in a conspicuous part of the College Buttery, where the names of the four classes of undergraduates were kept suspended until they left College. If a scholar was expelled, his name was taken from its place; or if he was degraded (which was considered the next highest punishment to expulsion), it was moved accordingly."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 311.

BOGS. Among English Cantabs, a privy.—Gradus ad Cantab.

BOHN. A translation; a pony. The volumes of Bohn's Classical Library are in such general use among undergraduates in American colleges, that Bohn has come to be a common name for a translation.

'Twas plenty of skin with a good deal of Bohn. Songs, Biennial Jubilee, Yale Coll., 1855.

BOLT. An omission of a recitation or lecture. A correspondent from Union College gives the following account of it:—"In West College, where the Sophomores and Freshmen congregate, when there was a famous orator expected, or any unusual spectacle to be witnessed in the city, we would call a 'class meeting,' to consider upon the propriety of asking Professor —— for a bolt. We had our chairman, and the subject being debated, was generally decided in favor of the remission. A committee of good steady fellows were selected, who forthwith waited upon the Professor, and, after urging the matter, commonly returned with the welcome assurance that we could have a bolt from the next recitation."

One writer defines a bolt in these words:—"The promiscuous stampede of a class collectively. Caused generally by a few seconds' tardiness of the Professor, occasionally by finding the lock of the recitation-room door filled with shot."—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

The quiet routine of college life had remained for some days undisturbed, even by a single bolt.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 192.

BOLT. At Union College, to be absent from a recitation, on the conditions related under the noun BOLT. Followed by from. At Williams College, the word is applied with a different signification. A correspondent writes: "We sometimes bolt from a recitation before the Professor arrives, and the term most strikingly suggests the derivation, as our movements in the case would somewhat resemble a 'streak of lightning,'—a thunder-bolt."

BOLTER. At Union College, one who bolts from a recitation.

2. A correspondent from the same college says: "If a student is unable to answer a question in the class, and declares himself unprepared, he also is a 'bolter.'"

BONFIRE. The making of bonfires, by students, is not an unfrequent occurrence at many of our colleges, and is usually a demonstration of dissatisfaction, or is done merely for the sake of the excitement. It is accounted a high offence, and at Harvard College is prohibited by the following law:—"In case of a bonfire, or unauthorized fireworks or illumination, any students crying fire, sounding an alarm, leaving their rooms, shouting or clapping from the windows, going to the fire or being seen at it, going into the college yard, or assembling on account of such bonfire, shall be deemed aiding and abetting such disorder, and punished accordingly."—Laws, 1848, Bonfires.

A correspondent from Bowdoin College writes: "Bonfires occur regularly twice a year; one on the night preceding the annual State Fast, and the other is built by the Freshmen on the night following the yearly examination. A pole some sixty or seventy feet long is raised, around which brush and tar are heaped to a great height. The construction of the pile occupies from four to five hours."

  Not ye, whom midnight cry ne'er urged to run
  In search of fire, when fire there had been none;
  Unless, perchance, some pump or hay-mound threw
  Its bonfire lustre o'er a jolly crew.
    Harvard Register, p. 233.

BOOK-KEEPER. At Harvard College, students are allowed to go out of town on Saturday, after the exercises, but are required, if not at evening prayers, to enter their names before 10 P.M. with one of the officers appointed for that purpose. Students were formerly required to report themselves before 8 P.M., in winter, and 9, in summer, and the person who registered the names was a member of the Freshman Class, and was called the book-keeper.

I strode over the bridge, with a rapidity which grew with my vexation, my distaste for wind, cold, and wet, and my anxiety to reach my goal ere the hour appointed should expire, and the book-keeper's light should disappear from his window; "For while his light holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return."—Collegian, p. 225.

See FRESHMAN, COLLEGE.

BOOK-WORK. Among students at Cambridge, Eng., all mathematics that can be learned verbatim from books,—all that are not problems.—Bristed.

He made a good fight of it, and … beat the Trinity man a little on the book-work.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 96.

The men are continually writing out book-work, either at home or in their tutor's rooms.—Ibid., p. 149.

BOOT-FOX. This name was at a former period given, in the German universities, to a fox, or a student in his first half-year, from the fact of his being required to black the boots of his more advanced comrades.

BOOTLICK. To fawn upon; to court favor.

Scorns the acquaintance of those he deems beneath him; refuses to bootlick men for their votes.—The Parthenon, Union Coll., Vol. I. p. 6.

The "Wooden Spoon" exhibition passed off without any such hubbub, except where the pieces were of such a character as to offend the delicacy and modesty of some of those crouching, fawning, bootlicking hypocrites.—The Gallinipper, Dec. 1849.

BOOTLICKER. A student who seeks or gains favor from a teacher by flattery or officious civilities; one who curries favor. A correspondent from Union College writes: "As you watch the students more closely, you will perhaps find some of them particularly officious towards your teacher, and very apt to linger after recitation to get a clearer knowledge of some passage. They are Bootlicks, and that is known as Bootlicking; a reproach, I am sorry to say, too indiscriminately applied." At Yale, and other colleges, a tutor or any other officer who informs against the students, or acts as a spy upon their conduct, is also called a bootlick.

Three or four bootlickers rise.—Yale Banger, Oct. 1848.

  The rites of Wooden Spoons we next recite,
  When bootlick hypocrites upraised their might.
    Ibid., Nov. 1849.

Then he arose, and offered himself as a "bootlick" to the
Faculty.—Yale Battery, Feb. 14, 1850.

BOOTS. At the College of South Carolina it is customary to present the most unpopular member of a class with a pair of handsome red-topped boots, on which is inscribed the word BEAUTY. They were formerly given to the ugliest person, whence the inscription.

BORE. A tiresome person or unwelcome visitor, who makes himself obnoxious by his disagreeable manners, or by a repetition of visits.—Bartlett.

A person or thing that wearies by iteration.—Webster.

Although the use of this word is very general, yet it is so peculiarly applicable to the many annoyances to which a collegian is subjected, that it has come by adoption to be, to a certain extent, a student term. One writer classes under this title "text-books generally; the Professor who marks slight mistakes; the familiar young man who calls continually, and when he finds the door fastened demonstrates his verdant curiosity by revealing an inquisitive countenance through the ventilator."—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

In college parlance, prayers, when the morning is cold or rainy, are a bore; a hard lesson is a bore; a dull lecture or lecturer is a bore; and, par excellence, an unwelcome visitor is a bore of bores. This latter personage is well described in the following lines:—

 "Next comes the bore, with visage sad and pale,
  And tortures you with some lugubrious tale;
  Relates stale jokes collected near and far,
  And in return expects a choice cigar;
  Your brandy-punch he calls the merest sham,
  Yet does not scruple to partake a dram.
  His prying eyes your secret nooks explore;
  No place is sacred to the college bore.
  Not e'en the letter filled with Helen's praise,
  Escapes the sight of his unhallowed gaze;
  Ere one short hour its silent course has flown,
  Your Helen's charms to half the class are known.
  Your books he takes, nor deigns your leave to ask,
  Such forms to him appear a useless task.
  When themes unfinished stare you in the face,
  Then enters one of this accursed race.
  Though like the Angel bidding John to write,
  Frail ——— form uprises to thy sight,
  His stupid stories chase your thoughts away,
  And drive you mad with his unwelcome stay.
  When he, departing, creaks the closing door,
  You raise the Grecian chorus, [Greek: kikkabau]."[02]
    MS. Poem, F.E. Felton, Harv. Coll.

BOS. At the University of Virginia, the desserts which the students, according to the statutes of college, are allowed twice per week, are respectively called the Senior and Junior Bos.

BOSH. Nonsense, trash, [Greek: phluaria]. An English Cantab's expression.—Bristed.

But Spriggins's peculiar forte is that kind of talk which some people irreverently call "bosh."—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 259.

BOSKY. In the cant of the Oxonians, being tipsy.—Grose.

Now when he comes home fuddled, alias Bosky, I shall not be so unmannerly as to say his Lordship ever gets drunk.—The Sizar, cited in Gradus ad Cantab., pp. 20, 21.

BOWEL. At Harvard College, a student in common parlance will express his destitution or poverty by saying, "I have not a bowel." The use of the word with this signification has arisen, probably, from a jocular reference to a quaint Scriptural expression.

BRACKET. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the result of the final examination in the Senate-House is published in lists signed by the examiners. In these lists the names of those who have been examined are "placed in individual order of merit." When the rank of two or three men is the same, their names are inclosed in brackets.

At the close of the course, and before the examination is concluded, there is made out a new arrangement of the classes called the Brackets. These, in which each is placed according to merit, are hung upon the pillars in the Senate-House.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 93.

As there is no provision in the printed lists for expressing the number of marks by which each man beats the one next below him, and there may be more difference between the twelfth and thirteenth than between the third and twelfth, it has been proposed to extend the use of the brackets (which are now only employed in cases of literal equality between two or three men), and put together six, eight, or ten, whose marks are nearly equal. —Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 227.

BRACKET. In a general sense, to place in a certain order.

I very early in the Sophomore year gave up all thoughts of obtaining high honors, and settled down contentedly among the twelve or fifteen who are bracketed, after the first two or three, as "English Orations."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 6.

There remained but two, bracketed at the foot of the class.—Ibid., p. 62.

The Trinity man who was bracketed Senior Classic.—Ibid., p. 187.

BRANDER. In the German universities a name given to a student during his second term.

Meanwhile large tufts and strips of paper had been twisted into the hair of the Branders, as those are called who have been already one term at the University, and then at a given signal were set on fire, and the Branders rode round the table on chairs, amid roars of laughter.—Longfellow's Hyperion, p. 114.

See BRAND-FOX, BURNT FOX.

BRAND-FOX. A student in a German university "becomes a Brand-fuchs, or fox with a brand, after the foxes of Samson," in his second half-year.—Howitt.

BRICK. A gay, wild, thoughtless fellow, but not so hard as the word itself might seem to imply.

He is a queer fellow,—not so bad as he seems,—his own enemy, but a regular brick.—Collegian's Guide, p. 143.

He will come himself (public tutor or private), like a brick as he is, and consume his share of the generous potables.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 78.

See LIKE A BRICK.

BRICK MILL. At the University of Vermont, the students speak of the college as the Brick Mill, or the Old Brick Mill.

BUCK. At Princeton College, anything which is in an intensive degree good, excellent, pleasant, or agreeable, is called buck.

BULL. At Dartmouth College, to recite badly; to make a poor recitation. From the substantive bull, a blunder or contradiction, or from the use of the word as a prefix, signifying large, lubberly, blundering.

BULL-DOG. In the English universities, the lictor or servant who attends a proctor when on duty.

Sentiments which vanish for ever at the sight of the proctor with his bull-dogs, as they call them, or four muscular fellows which always follow him, like so many bailiffs.—Westminster Rev., Am. Ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 232.

The proctors, through their attendants, commonly called bull-dogs, received much certain information, &c.—Collegian's Guide, p. 170.

And he had breathed the proctor's dogs. Tennyson, Prologue to Princess.

BULLY CLUB. The following account of the Bully Club, which was formerly a most honored transmittendum at Yale College, is taken from an entertaining little work, entitled Sketches of Yale College. "Bullyism had its origin, like everything else that is venerated, far back in antiquity; no one pretends to know the era of its commencement, nor to say with certainty what was the cause of its establishment, or the original design of the institution. We can only learn from dim and doubtful tradition, that many years ago, no one knows how many, there was a feud between students and townsmen: a sort of general ill-feeling, which manifested itself in the lower classes of society in rudeness and insult. Not patiently borne with, it grew worse and worse, until a regular organization became necessary for defence against the nightly assaults of a gang of drunken rowdies. Nor were their opponents disposed to quit the unequal fight. An organization in opposition followed, and a band of tipsy townsmen, headed by some hardy tars, took the field, were met, no one knows whether in offence or defence, and after a fight repulsed, and a huge knotty club wrested from their leader. This trophy of personal courage was preserved, the organization perpetuated, and the Bully Club was every year, with procession and set form of speech, bestowed upon the newly acknowledged leader. But in process of time the organization has assumed a different character: there was no longer need of a system of defence,—the "Bully" was still acknowledged as class leader. He marshalled all processions, was moderator of all meetings, and performed the various duties of a chief. The title became now a matter of dispute; it sounded harsh and rude to ears polite, and a strong party proposed a change: but the supporters of antiquity pleaded the venerable character of the customs identified almost with the College itself. Thus the classes were divided, a part electing a marshal, class-leader, or moderator, and a part still choosing a bully and minor bully—the latter usually the least of their number—from each class, and still bestowing on them the wonted clubs, mounted with gold, the badges of their office.

"Unimportant as these distinctions seem, they formed the ground of constant controversy, each party claiming for its leader the precedence, until the dissensions ended in a scene of confusion too well known to need detail: the usual procession on Commencement day was broken up, and the partisans fell upon each other pell-mell; scarce heeding, in their hot fray, the orders of the Faculty, the threats of the constables, or even the rebuke of the chief magistrate of the State; the alumni were left to find their seats in church as they best could, the aged and beloved President following in sorrow, unescorted, to perform the duties of the day. It need not be told that the disputes were judicially ended by a peremptory ordinance, prohibiting all class organizations of any name whatever."

A more particular account of the Bully Club, and of the manner in which the students of Yale came to possess it, is given in the annexed extract.

"Many years ago, the farther back towards the Middle Ages the better, some students went out one evening to an inn at Dragon, as it was then called, now the populous and pretty village of Fair Haven, to regale themselves with an oyster supper, or for some other kind of recreation. They there fell into an affray with the young men of the place, a hardy if not a hard set, who regarded their presence there, at their own favorite resort, as an intrusion. The students proved too few for their adversaries. They reported the matter at College, giving an aggravated account of it, and, being strongly reinforced, went out the next evening to renew the fight. The oystermen and sailors were prepared for them. A desperate conflict ensued, chiefly in the house, above stairs and below, into which the sons of science entered pell-mell. Which came off the worse, I neither know nor care, believing defeat to be far less discreditable to either party, and especially to the students, than the fact of their engaging in such a brawl. Where the matter itself is essentially disgraceful, success or failure is indifferent, as it regards the honor of the actors. Among the Dragoners, a great bully of a fellow, who appeared to be their leader, wielded a huge club, formed from an oak limb, with a gnarled excrescence on the end, heavy enough to battle with an elephant. A student remarkable for his strength in the arms and hands, griped the fellow so hard about the wrist that his fingers opened, and let the club fall. It was seized, and brought off as a trophy. Such is the history of the Bully Club. It became the occasion of an annual election of a person to take charge of it, and to act as leader of the students in case of a quarrel between them, and others. 'Bully' was the title of this chivalrous and high office."—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, pp. 215, 216.

BUMPTIOUS. Conceited, forward, pushing. An English Cantab's expression.—Bristed.

About nine, A.M., the new scholars are announced from the chapel gates. On this occasion it is not etiquette for the candidates themselves to be in waiting,—it looks too "bumptious."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 193.

BURIAL OF EUCLID. "The custom of bestowing burial honors upon the ashes of Euclid with becoming demonstrations of respect has been handed down," says the author of the Sketches of Yale College, "from time immemorial." The account proceeds as follows:—"This book, the terror of the dilatory and unapt, having at length been completely mastered, the class, as their acquaintance with the Greek mathematician is about to close, assemble in their respective places of meeting, and prepare (secretly for fear of the Faculty) for the anniversary. The necessary committee having been appointed, and the regular preparations ordered, a ceremony has sometimes taken place like the following. The huge poker is heated in the old stove, and driven through the smoking volume, and the division, marshalled in line, for once at least see through the whole affair. They then march over it in solemn procession, and are enabled, as they step firmly on its covers, to assert with truth that they have gone over it,—poor jokes indeed, but sufficient to afford abundant laughter. And then follow speeches, comical and pathetic, and shouting and merriment. The night assigned having arrived, how carefully they assemble, all silent, at the place appointed. Laid on its bier, covered with sable pall, and borne in solemn state, the corpse (i.e. the book) is carried with slow procession, with the moaning music of flutes and fifes, the screaming of fiddles, and the thumping and mumbling of a cracked drum, to the open grave or the funeral pyre. A gleaming line of blazing torches and twinkling lanterns wave along the quiet streets and through the opened fields, and the snow creaks hoarsely under the tread of a hundred men. They reach the scene, and a circle forms around the consecrated spot; if the ceremony is a burial, the defunct is laid all carefully in his grave, and then his friends celebrate in prose or verse his memory, his virtues, and his untimely end: and three oboli are tossed into his tomb to satisfy the surly boatman of the Styx. Lingeringly is the last look taken of the familiar countenance, as the procession passes slowly around the tomb; and the moaning is made,—a sound of groans going up to the seventh heavens,—and the earth is thrown in, and the headstone with epitaph placed duly to hallow the grave of the dead. Or if, according to the custom of his native land, the body of Euclid is committed to the funeral flames, the pyre, duly prepared with combustibles, is made the centre of the ring; a ponderous jar of turpentine or whiskey is the fragrant incense, and as the lighted fire mounts up in the still night, and the alarm in the city sounds dim in the distance, the eulogium is spoken, and the memory of the illustrious dead honored; the urn receives the sacred ashes, which, borne in solemn procession, are placed in some conspicuous situation, or solemnly deposited in some fitting sarcophagus. So the sport ends; a song, a loud hurrah, and the last jovial roysterer seeks short and profound slumber."—pp. 166-169.

The above was written in the year 1843. That the interest in the observance of this custom at Yale College has not since that time diminished, may be inferred from the following account of the exercises of the Sophomore Class of 1850, on parting company with their old mathematical friend, given by a correspondent of the New York Tribune.

"Arrangements having been well matured, notice was secretly given out on Wednesday last that the obsequies would be celebrated that evening at 'Barney's Hall,' on Church Street. An excellent band of music was engaged for the occasion, and an efficient Force Committee assigned to their duty, who performed their office with great credit, taking singular care that no 'tutor' or 'spy' should secure an entrance to the hall. The 'countersign' selected was 'Zeus,' and fortunately was not betrayed. The hall being full at half past ten, the doors were closed, and the exercises commenced with music. Then followed numerous pieces of various character, and among them an Oration, a Poem, Funeral Sermon (of a very metaphysical character), a Dirge, and, at the grave, a Prayer to Pluto. These pieces all exhibited taste and labor, and were acknowledged to be of a higher tone than that of any productions which have ever been delivered on a similar occasion. Besides these, there were several songs interspersed throughout the Programme, in both Latin and English, which were sung with great jollity and effect. The band added greatly to the character of the performances, by their frequent and appropriate pieces. A large coffin was placed before the altar, within which, lay the veritable Euclid, arranged in a becoming winding-sheet, the body being composed of combustibles, and these thoroughly saturated with turpentine. The company left the hall at half past twelve, formed in an orderly procession, preceded by the band, and bearing the coffin in their midst. Those who composed the procession were arrayed in disguises, to avoid detection, and bore a full complement of brilliant torches. The skeleton of Euclid (a faithful caricature), himself bearing a torch, might have been seen dancing in the midst, to the great amusement of all beholders. They marched up Chapel Street as far as the south end of the College, where they were saluted with three hearty cheers by their fellow-students, and then continued through College Street in front of the whole College square, at the north extremity of which they were again greeted by cheers, and thence followed a circuitous way to quasi Potter's Field, about a mile from the city, where the concluding ceremonies were performed. These consist of walking over the coffin, thus surmounting the difficulties of the author; boring a hole through a copy of Euclid with a hot iron, that the class may see through it; and finally burning it upon the funeral pyre, in order to throw light upon the subject. After these exercises, the procession returned, with music, to the State-House, where they disbanded, and returned to their desolate habitations. The affair surpassed anything of the kind that has ever taken place here, and nothing was wanting to render it a complete performance. It testifies to the spirit and character of the class of '53."—Literary World, Nov. 23, 1850, from the New York Tribune.

In the Sketches of Williams College, printed in the year 1847, is a description of the manner in which the funeral exercises of Euclid are sometimes conducted in that institution. It is as follows:—"The burial took place last night. The class assembled in the recitation-room in full numbers, at 9 o'clock. The deceased, much emaciated, and in a torn and tattered dress, was stretched on a black table in the centre of the room. This table, by the way, was formed of the old blackboard, which, like a mirror, had so often reflected the image of old Euclid. In the body of the corpse was a triangular hole, made for the post mortem examination, a report of which was read. Through this hole, those who wished were allowed to look; and then, placing the body on their heads, they could say with truth that they had for once seen through and understood Euclid.

"A eulogy was then pronounced, followed by an oration and the reading of the epitaph, after which the class formed a procession, and marched with slow and solemn tread to the place of burial. The spot selected was in the woods, half a mile south of the College. As we approached the place, we saw a bright fire burning on the altar of turf, and torches gleaming through the dark pines. All was still, save the occasional sympathetic groans of some forlorn bull-frogs, which came up like minute-guns from the marsh below.

"When we arrived at the spot, the sexton received the body. This dignitary presented rather a grotesque appearance. He wore a white robe bound around his waist with a black scarf, and on his head a black, conical-shaped hat, some three feet high. Haying fastened the remains to the extremity of a long, black wand, he held them in the fire of the altar until they were nearly consumed, and then laid the charred mass in the urn, muttering an incantation in Latin. The urn being buried deep in the ground, we formed a ring around the grave, and sung the dirge. Then, lighting our larches by the dying fire, we retraced our steps with feelings suited to the occasion."—pp. 74-76.

Of this observance the writer of the preface to the "Songs of Yale" remarks: "The Burial of Euclid is an old ceremony practised at many colleges. At Yale it is conducted by the Sophomore Class during the first term of the year. After literary exercises within doors, a procession is formed, which proceeds at midnight through the principal streets of the city, with music and torches, conveying a coffin, supposed to contain the body of the old mathematician, to the funeral pile, when the whole is fired and consumed to ashes."—1853, p. 4.

From the lugubrious songs which are usually sung on these sad occasions, the following dirge is selected. It appears in the order of exercises for the "Burial of Euclid by the Class of '57," which took place at Yale College, November 8, 1854.

Tune,—"Auld Lang Syne."

I.

  Come, gather all ye tearful Sophs,
    And stand around the ring;
  Old Euclid's dead, and to his shade
    A requiem we'll sing:
  Then join the saddening chorus, all
    Ye friends of Euclid true;
  Defunct, he can no longer bore,
    "[Greek: Pheu pheu, oi moi, pheu pheu.]"[03]

II.

  Though we to Pluto _dead_icate,
    No god to take him deigns,
  So, one short year from now will Fate
    Bring back his sad re-manes:
  For at Biennial his ghost
    Will prompt the tutor blue,
  And every fizzling Soph will cry,
    "[Greek: Pheu pheu, oi moi, pheu pheu.]"

III.

  Though here we now his corpus burn,
    And flames about him roar,
  The future Fresh shall say, that he's
    "Not dead, but gone before":
  We close around the dusky bier,
    And pall of sable hue,
  And silently we drop the tear;
    "[Greek: Pheu pheu, oi moi, pheu pheu.]"

BURLESQUE BILL. At Princeton College, it is customary for the members of the Sophomore Class to hold annually a Sophomore Commencement, caricaturing that of the Senior Class. The Sophomore Commencement is in turn travestied by the Junior Class, who prepare and publish Burlesque Bills, as they are called, in which, in a long and formal programme, such subjects and speeches are attributed to the members of the Sophomore Class as are calculated to expose their weak points.

See SOPHOMORE COMMENCEMENT.

BURLINGTON. At Middlebury College, a water-closet, privy. So called on account of the good-natured rivalry between that institution and the University of Vermont at Burlington.

BURNING OF CONIC SECTIONS. "This is a ceremony," writes a correspondent, "observed by the Sophomore Class of Trinity College, on the Monday evening of Commencement week. The incremation of this text-book is made by the entire class, who appear in fantastic rig and in torch-light procession. The ceremonies are held in the College grove, and are graced with an oration and poem. The exercises are usually closed by a class supper."

BURNING OF CONVIVIUM. Convivium is a Greek book which is studied at Hamilton College during the last term of the Freshman year, and is considered somewhat difficult. Upon entering Sophomore it is customary to burn it, with exercises appropriate to the occasion. The time being appointed, the class hold a meeting and elect the marshals of the night. A large pyre is built during the evening, of rails and pine wood, on the middle of which is placed a barrel of tar, surrounded by straw saturated with turpentine. Notice is then given to the upper classes that Convivium will be burnt that night at twelve o'clock. Their company is requested at the exercises, which consist of two poems, a tragedy, and a funeral oration. A coffin is laid out with the "remains" of the book, and the literary exercises are performed. These concluded, the class form a procession, preceded by a brass band playing a dirge, and march to the pyre, around which, with uncovered heads, they solemnly form. The four bearers with their torches then advance silently, and place the coffin upon the funeral pile. The class, each member bearing a torch, form a circle around the pyre. At a given signal they all bend forward together, and touch their torches to the heap of combustibles. In an instant "a lurid flame arises, licks around the coffin, and shakes its tongue to heaven." To these ceremonies succeed festivities, which are usually continued until daylight.

BURNING OF ZUMPT'S LATIN GRAMMAR. The funeral rites over the body of this book are performed by the students in the University of New York. The place of turning and burial is usually at Hoboken. Scenes of this nature often occur in American colleges, having their origin, it is supposed, in the custom at Yale of burying Euclid.

BURNT FOX. A student during his second half-year, in the German universities, is called a burnt fox.

BURSAR, pl. BURSARII. A treasurer or cash-keeper; as, the bursar of a college or of a monastery. The said College in Cambridge shall be a corporation consisting of seven persons, to wit, a President, five Fellows, and a Treasurer or Bursar.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 11.

Every student is required on his arrival, at the commencement of each session, to deliver to the Bursar the moneys and drafts for money which he has brought with him. It is the duty of the Bursar to attend to the settlement of the demands for board, &c.; to pay into the hands of the student such sums as are required for other necessary expenses, and to render a statement of the same to the parent or guardian at the close of the session. —Catalogue of Univ. of North Carolina, 1848-49, p. 27.

2. A student to whom a stipend is paid out of a burse or fund appropriated for that purpose, as the exhibitioners sent to the universities in Scotland, by each presbytery.—Webster.

See a full account in Brande's Dict. Science, Lit., and Art.

BURSARY. The treasury of a college or monastery.—Webster.

2. In Scotland, an exhibition.—Encyc.

BURSCH (bursh), pl. BURSCHEN. German. A youth; especially a student in a German university.

"By bursché," says Howitt, "we understand one who has already spent a certain time at the university,—and who, to a certain degree, has taken part in the social practices of the students."—Student Life of Germany, Am. Ed., p. 27.

  Und hat der Bursch kein Geld im Beutel,
    So pumpt er die Philister an,
  Und denkt: es ist doch Alles eitel
    Vom Burschen bis zum Bettleman.
    Crambambuli Song.

Student life! Burschen life! What a magic sound have these words for him who has learnt for himself their real meaning.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany.

BURSCHENSCHAFT. A league or secret association of students, formed in 1815, for the purpose, as was asserted, of the political regeneration of Germany, and suppressed, at least in name, by the exertions of the government.—Brandt.

"The Burschenschaft," says the Yale Literary Magazine, "was a society formed in opposition to the vices and follies of the Landsmannschaft, with the motto, 'God, Honor, Freedom, Fatherland.' Its object was 'to develop and perfect every mental and bodily power for the service of the Fatherland.' It exerted a mighty and salutary influence, was almost supreme in its power, but was finally suppressed by the government, on account of its alleged dangerous political tendencies."—Vol. XV. p. 3.

BURSE. In France, a fund or foundation for the maintenance of poor scholars in their studies. In the Middle Ages, it signified a little college, or a hall in a university.—Webster.

BURST. To fail in reciting; to make a bad recitation. This word is used in some of the Southern colleges.

BURT. At Union College, a privy is called the Burt, from a person of that name, who many years ago was employed as the architect and builder of the latrinæ of that institution.

BUSY. An answer often given by a student, when he does not wish to see visitors.

Poor Croak was almost annihilated by this summons, and, clinging to the bed-clothes in all the agony of despair, forgot to busy his midnight visitor.—Harv. Reg., p. 84.

Whenever, during that sacred season, a knock salutes my door, I respond with a busy.—Collegian, p. 25.

"Busy" is a hard word to utter, often, though heart and conscience and the college clock require it.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 58.

BUTLER. Anciently written BOTILER. A servant or officer whose principal business is to take charge of the liquors, food, plate, &c. In the old laws of Harvard College we find an enumeration of the duties of the college butler. Some of them were as follows.

He was to keep the rooms and utensils belonging to his office sweet and clean, fit for use; his drinking-vessels were to be scoured once a week. The fines imposed by the President and other officers were to be fairly recorded by him in a book, kept for that purpose. He was to attend upon the ringing of the bell for prayer in the hall, and for lectures and commons. Providing candles for the hall was a part of his duty. He was obliged to keep the Buttery supplied, at his own expense, with beer, cider, tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, biscuit, butter, cheese, pens, ink, paper, and such other articles as the President or Corporation ordered or permitted; "but no permission," it is added in the laws, "shall be given for selling wine, distilled spirits, or foreign fruits, on credit or for ready money." He was allowed to advance twenty per cent. on the net cost of the articles sold by him, excepting beer and cider, which were stated quarterly by the President and Tutors. The Butler was allowed a Freshman to assist him, for an account of whom see under FRESHMAN, BUTLER'S.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., pp. 138, 139. Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, pp. 60-62.

President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse pronounced before the Graduates of Yale College, August 14th, 1850, remarks as follows concerning the Butler, in connection with that institution:—

"The classes since 1817, when the office of Butler was, abolished, are probably but little aware of the meaning of that singular appendage to the College, which had been in existence a hundred years. To older graduates, the lower front corner room of the old middle college in the south entry must even now suggest many amusing recollections. The Butler was a graduate of recent standing, and, being invested with rather delicate functions, was required to be one in whom confidence might be reposed. Several of the elder graduates who have filled this office are here to-day, and can explain, better than I can, its duties and its bearings upon the interests of College. The chief prerogative of the Butler was to have the monopoly of certain eatables, drinkables, and other articles desired by students. The Latin laws of 1748 give him leave to sell in the buttery, cider, metheglin, strong beer to the amount of not more than twelve barrels annually,—which amount as the College grew was increased to twenty,—together with loaf-sugar ('saccharum rigidum'), pipes, tobacco, and such necessaries of scholars as were not furnished in the commons hall. Some of these necessaries were books and stationery, but certain fresh fruits also figured largely in the Butler's supply. No student might buy cider or beer elsewhere. The Butler, too, had the care of the bell, and was bound to wait upon the President or a Tutor, and notify him of the time for prayers. He kept the book of fines, which, as we shall see, was no small task. He distributed the bread and beer provided by the Steward in the Hall into equal portions, and had the lost commons, for which privilege he paid a small annual sum. He was bound, in consideration of the profits of his monopoly, to provide candles at college prayers and for a time to pay also fifty shillings sterling into the treasury. The more menial part of these duties he performed by his waiter."—pp. 43, 44.

At both Harvard and Yale the students were restricted in expending money at the Buttery, being allowed at the former "to contract a debt" of five dollars a quarter; at the latter, of one dollar and twenty-five cents per month.

BUTTER. A size or small portion of butter. "Send me a roll and two
Butters."—Grad. ad Cantab.

Six cheeses, three butters, and two beers.—The Collegian's
Guide.

Pertinent to this singular use of the word, is the following curious statement. At Cambridge, Eng., "there is a market every day in the week, except Monday, for vegetables, poultry, eggs, and butter. The sale of the last article is attended with the peculiarity of every pound designed for the market being rolled out to the length of a yard; each pound being in that state about the thickness of a walking-cane. This practice, which is confined to Cambridge, is particularly convenient, as it renders the butter extremely easy of division into small portions, called sizes, as used in the Colleges."—Camb. Guide, Ed. 1845, p. 213.

BUTTERY. An apartment in a house where butter, milk, provisions, and utensils are kept. In some colleges, a room where liquors, fruit, and refreshments are kept for sale to the students.—Webster.

Of the Buttery, Mr. Peirce, in his History of Harvard University, speaks as follows: "As the Commons rendered the College independent of private boarding-houses, so the Buttery removed all just occasion for resorting to the different marts of luxury, intemperance, and ruin. This was a kind of supplement to the Commons, and offered for sale to the students, at a moderate advance on the cost, wines, liquors, groceries, stationery, and, in general, such articles as it was proper and necessary for them to have occasionally, and which for the most part were not included in the Commons' fare. The Buttery was also an office, where, among other things, records were kept of the times when the scholars were present and absent. At their admission and subsequent returns they entered their names in the Buttery, and took them out whenever they had leave of absence. The Butler, who was a graduate, had various other duties to perform, either by himself or by his Freshman, as ringing the bell, seeing that the Hall was kept clean, &c., and was allowed a salary, which, after 1765, was £60 per annum."—Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 220.

With particular reference to the condition of Harvard College a few years prior to the Revolution, Professor Sidney Willard observes: "The Buttery was in part a sort of appendage to Commons, where the scholars could eke out their short commons with sizings of gingerbread and pastry, or needlessly or injuriously cram themselves to satiety, as they had been accustomed to be crammed at home by their fond mothers. Besides eatables, everything necessary for a student was there sold, and articles used in the play-grounds, as bats, balls, &c.; and, in general, a petty trade with small profits was carried on in stationery and other matters, —in things innocent or suitable for the young customers, and in some things, perhaps, which were not. The Butler had a small salary, and was allowed the service of a Freshman in the Buttery, who was also employed to ring the college bell for prayers, lectures, and recitations, and take some oversight of the public rooms under the Butler's directions. The Buttery was also the office of record of the names of undergraduates, and of the rooms assigned to them in the college buildings; of the dates of temporary leave of absence given to individuals, and of their return; and of fines inflicted by the immediate government for negligence or minor offences. The office was dropped or abolished in the first year of the present century, I believe, long after it ceased to be of use for most of its primary purposes. The area before the entry doors of the Buttery had become a sort of students' exchange for idle gossip, if nothing worse. The rooms were now redeemed from traffic, and devoted to places of study, and other provision was made for the records which had there been kept. The last person who held the office of Butler was Joseph Chickering, a graduate of 1799."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, 1855, Vol. I. pp. 31, 32.

President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse pronounced before the Graduates of Yale College, August 14th, 1850, makes the following remarks on this subject: "The original motives for setting up a buttery in colleges seem to have been, to put the trade in articles which appealed to the appetite into safe hands; to ascertain how far students were expensive in their habits, and prevent them from running into debt; and finally, by providing a place where drinkables of not very stimulating qualities were sold, to remove the temptation of going abroad after spirituous liquors. Accordingly, laws were passed limiting the sum for which the Butler might give credit to a student, authorizing the President to inspect his books, and forbidding him to sell anything except permitted articles for ready money. But the whole system, as viewed from our position as critics of the past, must be pronounced a bad one. It rather tempted the student to self-indulgence by setting up a place for the sale of things to eat and drink within the College walls, than restrained him by bringing his habits under inspection. There was nothing to prevent his going abroad in quest of stronger drinks than could be bought at the buttery, when once those which were there sold ceased to allay his thirst. And a monopoly, such as the Butler enjoyed of certain articles, did not tend to lower their price, or to remove suspicion that they were sold at a higher rate than free competition would assign to them."—pp. 44, 45.

"When," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "the 'punishment obscene,' as Cowper, the poet, very properly terms it, of flagellation, was enforced at our University, it appears that the Buttery was the scene of action. In The Poor Scholar, a comedy, written by Robert Nevile, Fellow of King's College in Cambridge, London, 1662, one of the students having lost his gown, which is picked up by the President of the College, the tutor says, 'If we knew the owner, we 'd take him down to th' Butterie, and give him due correction.' To which the student, (aside,) 'Under correction, Sir; if you're for the Butteries with me, I'll lie as close as Diogenes in dolio. I'll creep in at the bunghole, before I'll mount a barrel,' &c. (Act II. Sc. 6.)—Again: 'Had I been once i' th' Butteries, they'd have their rods about me. But let us, for joy that I'm escaped, go to the Three Tuns and drink a pint of wine, and laugh away our cares.—'T is drinking at the Tuns that keeps us from ascending Buttery barrels,' &c." By a reference to the word PUNISHMENT, it will be seen that, in the older American colleges, corporal punishment was inflicted upon disobedient students in a manner much more solemn and imposing, the students and officers usually being present.

The effect of crossing the name in the buttery is thus stated in the Collegian's Guide. "To keep a term requires residence in the University for a certain number of days within a space of time known by the calendar, and the books of the buttery afford the appointed proof of residence; it being presumed that, if neither bread, butter, pastry, beer, or even toast and water (which is charged one farthing), are entered on the buttery books in a given name, the party could not have been resident that day. Hence the phrase of 'eating one's way into the church or to a doctor's degree.' Supposing, for example, twenty-one days' residence is required between the first of May and the twenty-fourth inclusive, then there will be but three days to spare; consequently, should our names be crossed for more than three days in all in that term, —say for four days,—the other twenty days would not count, and the term would be irrecoverably lost. Having our names crossed in the buttery, therefore, is a punishment which suspends our collegiate existence while the cross remains, besides putting an embargo on our pudding, beer, bread and cheese, milk, and butter; for these articles come out of the buttery."—p. 157.

These remarks apply both to the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge; but in the latter the phrase to be put out of commons
is used instead of the one given above, yet with the same meaning.
See Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, p. 32.

The following extract from the laws of Harvard College, passed in 1734, shows that this term was formerly used in that institution: "No scholar shall be put in or out of Commons, but on Tuesdays or Fridays, and no Bachelor or Undergraduate, but by a note from the President, or one of the Tutors (if an Undergraduate, from his own Tutor, if in town); and when any Bachelors or Undergraduates have been out of Commons, the waiters, at their respective tables, shall, on the first Tuesday or Friday after they become obliged by the preceding law to be in Commons, put them into Commons again, by note, after the manner above directed. And if any Master neglects to put himself into Commons, when, by the preceding law, he is obliged to be in Commons, the waiters on the Masters' table shall apply to the President or one of the Tutors for a note to put him into Commons, and inform him of it."

  Be mine each morn, with eager appetite
  And hunger undissembled, to repair
  To friendly Buttery; there on smoking Crust
  And foaming Ale to banquet unrestrained,
  Material breakfast!
    The Student, 1750, Vol. I. p. 107.

BUTTERY-BOOK. In colleges, a book kept at the buttery, in which was charged the prices of such articles as were sold to the students. There was also kept a list of the fines imposed by the president and professors, and an account of the times when the students were present and absent, together with a register of the names of all the members of the college.

  My name in sure recording page
    Shall time itself o'erpower,
  If no rude mice with envious rage
    The buttery-books devour.
    The Student, Vol. I. p. 348.

BUTTERY-HATCH. A half-door between the buttery or kitchen and the hall, in colleges and old mansions. Also called a buttery-bar.—Halliwell's Arch. and Prov. Words.

If any scholar or scholars at any time take away or detain any vessel of the colleges, great or small, from the hall out of the doors from the sight of the buttery-hatch without the butler's or servitor's knowledge, or against their will, he or they shall be punished three pence.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Coll., Vol. I. p. 584.

He (the college butler) domineers over Freshmen, when they first come to the hatch.—Earle's Micro-cosmographie, 1628, Char. 17.

There was a small ledging or bar on this hatch to rest the tankards on.

I pray you, bring your hand to the buttery-bar, and let it drink.—Twelfth Night, Act I. Sc. 3.

BYE-FELLOW. In England, a name given in certain cases to a fellow in an inferior college. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a bye-fellow can be elected to one of the regular fellowships when a vacancy occurs.

BYE-FELLOWSHIP. An inferior establishment in a college for the nominal maintenance of what is called a bye-fellow, or a fellow out of the regular course.

The emoluments of the fellowships vary from a merely nominal income, in the case of what are called Bye-fellowships, to $2,000 per annum.—Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 285.

BYE-FOUNDATION. In the English universities, a foundation from which an insignificant income and an inferior maintenance are derived.

BYE-TERM. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., students who take the degree of B.A. at any other time save January, are said to "go out in a bye-term."

Bristed uses this word, as follows: "I had a double disqualification exclusive of illness. First, as a Fellow Commoner…. Secondly, as a bye-term man, or one between two years. Although I had entered into residence at the same time with those men who were to go out in 1844, my name had not been placed on the College Books, like theirs, previously to the commencement of 1840. I had therefore lost a term, and for most purposes was considered a Freshman, though I had been in residence as long as any of the Junior Sophs. In fact, I was between two years."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 97, 98.

C.

CAD. A low fellow, nearly equivalent to snob. Used among students in the University of Cambridge, Eng.—Bristed.

CAHOOLE. At the University of North Carolina, this word in its application is almost universal, but generally signifies to cajole, to wheedle, to deceive, to procure.

CALENDAR. At the English universities the information which in American colleges is published in a catalogue, is contained in a similar but far more comprehensive work, called a calendar. Conversation based on the topics of which such a volume treats is in some localities denominated calendar.

"Shop," or, as it is sometimes here called, "Calendar," necessarily enters to a large extent into the conversation of the Cantabs.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 82.

I would lounge about into the rooms of those whom I knew for general literary conversation,—even to talk Calendar if there was nothing else to do.—Ibid., p. 120.

CALVIN'S FOLLY. At the University of Vermont, "this name," writes a correspondent, "is given to a door, four inches thick and closely studded with spike-nails, dividing the chapel hall from the staircase leading to the belfry. It is called Calvin's Folly, because it was planned by a professor of that (Christian) name, in order to keep the students out of the belfry, which dignified scheme it has utterly failed to accomplish. It is one of the celebrities of the Old Brick Mill,[04] and strangers always see it and hear its history."

CAMEL. In Germany, a student on entering the university becomes a Kameel,—a camel.

CAMPUS. At the College of New Jersey, the college yard is denominated the Campus. Back Campus, the privies.

CANTAB. Abridged for CANTABRIGIAN.

It was transmitted to me by a respectable Cantab for insertion. —Hone's Every-day Book, Vol. I. p. 697.

Should all this be a mystery to our uncollegiate friends, or even to many matriculated Cantabs, we advise them not to attempt to unriddle it.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 39.

CANTABRIGIAN. A student or graduate of the University of Cambridge, Eng. Used also at Cambridge, Mass., of the students and inhabitants.

CANTABRIGICALLY. According to Cambridge.

To speak Cantabrigically.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng.
Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 28.

CAP. The cap worn by students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., is described by Bristed in the following passage: "You must superadd the academical costume. This consists of a gown, varying in color and ornament according to the wearer's college and rank, but generally black, not unlike an ordinary clerical gown, and a square-topped cap, which fits close to the head like a truncated helmet, while the covered board which forms the crown measures about a foot diagonally across."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 4.

A similar cap is worn at Oxford and at some American colleges on particular occasions.

See OXFORD.

CAP. To uncover the head in reverence or civility.

The youth, ignorant who they were, had omitted to cap them.—Gent. Mag., Vol. XXIV. p. 567.

I could not help smiling, when, among the dignitaries whom I was bound to make obeisance to by capping whenever I met them, Mr. Jackson's catalogue included his all-important self in the number. —The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 217.

The obsequious attention of college servants, and the more unwilling "capping" of the undergraduates, to such a man are real luxuries.—Blackwood's Mag., Eng. ed., Vol. LVI. p. 572.

Used in the English universities.

CAPTAIN OF THE POLL. The first of the Polloi.

He had moreover been Captain (Head) of the Poll.—Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 96.

CAPUT SENATUS. Latin; literally, the head of the Senate. In Cambridge, Eng., a council of the University by which every grace must be approved, before it can be submitted to the senate. The Caput Senatus is formed of the vice-chancellor, a doctor in each of the faculties of divinity, law, and medicine, and one regent M.A., and one non-regent M.A. The vice-chancellor's five assistants are elected annually by the heads of houses and the doctors of the three faculties, out of fifteen persons nominated by the vice-chancellor and the proctors.—Webster. Cam. Cal. Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 283.

See GRACE.

CARCER. Latin. In German schools and universities, a prison.—Adler's Germ, and Eng. Dict.

  Wollten ihn drauf die Nürnberger Herren
  Mir nichts, dir nichts ins Carcer sperren.
    Wallenstein's Lager.

  And their Nur'mberg worships swore he should go
  To jail for his pains,—if he liked it, or no.
    Trans. Wallenstein's Camp, in Bohn's Stand. Lib., p. 155.

CASTLE END. At Cambridge, Eng., a noted resort for Cyprians.

CATHARINE PURITANS. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the members of St. Catharine's Hall are thus designated, from the implied derivation of the word Catharine from the Greek [Greek: katharos], pure.

CAUTION MONEY. In the English universities, a deposit in the hands of the tutor at entrance, by way of security.

With reference to Oxford, De Quincey says of caution money: "This is a small sum, properly enough demanded of every student, when matriculated, as a pledge for meeting any loss from unsettled arrears, such as his sudden death or his unannounced departure might else continually be inflicting upon his college. In most colleges it amounts to £25; in one only it was considerably less." —Life and Manners, p. 249.

In American colleges, a bond is usually given by a student upon entering college, in order to secure the payment of all his college dues.

CENSOR. In the University of Oxford, Eng., a college officer whose duties are similar to those of the Dean.

CEREVIS. From Latin cerevisia, beer. Among German students, a small, round, embroidered cap, otherwise called a beer-cap.

Better authorities … have lately noted in the solitary student that wends his way—cerevis on head, note-book in hand—to the professor's class-room,… a vast improvement on the Bursche of twenty years ago.—Lond. Quart. Rev., Am. ed., Vol. LXXIII. p. 59.

CHAMBER. The apartment of a student at a college or university. This word, although formerly used in American colleges, has been of late almost entirely supplanted by the word room, and it is for this reason that it is here noticed.

If any of them choose to provide themselves with breakfasts in their own chambers, they are allowed so to do, but not to breakfast in one another's chambers.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 116.

Some ringleaders gave up their chambers.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 116.

CHAMBER-MATE. One who inhabits the same room or chamber with another. Formerly used at our colleges. The word CHUM is now very generally used in its place; sometimes room-mate is substituted.

If any one shall refuse to find his proportion of furniture, wood, and candles, the President and Tutors shall charge such delinquent, in his quarter bills, his full proportion, which sum shall be paid to his chamber-mate.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 35.

CHANCELLOR. The chancellor of a university is an officer who seals the diplomas, or letters of degree, &c. The Chancellor of Oxford is usually one of the prime nobility, elected by the students in convocation; and he holds the office for life. He is the chief magistrate in the government of the University. The Chancellor of Cambridge is also elected from among the prime nobility. The office is biennial, or tenable for such a length of time beyond two years as the tacit consent of the University may choose to allow.—Webster. Cam. Guide.

"The Chancellor," says the Oxford Guide, "is elected by convocation, and his office is for life; but he never, according to usage, is allowed to set foot in this University, excepting on the occasion of his installation, or when he is called upon to accompany any royal visitors."—Ed. 1847, p. xi.

At Cambridge, the office of Chancellor is, except on rare occasions, purely honorary, and the Chancellor himself seldom appears at Cambridge. He is elected by the Senate.

2. At Trinity College, Hartford, the Chancellor is the Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut, and is also the Visitor of the College. He is ex officio the President of the Corporation.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, pp. 6, 7.

CHAPEL. A house for public worship, erected separate from a church. In England, chapels in the universities are places of worship belonging to particular colleges. The chapels connected with the colleges in the United States are used for the same purpose. Religious exercises are usually held in them twice a day, morning and evening, besides the services on the Sabbath.

CHAPEL. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the attendance at daily religious services in the chapel of each college at morning and evening is thus denominated.

Some time ago, upon an endeavor to compel the students of one college to increase their number of "chapels," as the attendance is called, there was a violent outcry, and several squibs were written by various hands.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 235.

It is rather surprising that there should be so much shirking of chapel, when the very moderate amount of attendance required is considered.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 16.

To keep chapel, is to be present at the daily religious services of college.

The Undergraduate is expected to go to chapel eight times, or, in academic parlance, to keep eight chapels a week, two on Sunday, and one on every week-day, attending morning or evening chapel on week-days at his option. Nor is even this indulgent standard rigidly enforced. I believe if a Pensioner keeps six chapels, or a Fellow-Commoner four, and is quite regular in all other respects, he will never be troubled by the Dean. It certainly is an argument in favor of severe discipline, that there is more grumbling and hanging back, and unwillingness to conform to these extremely moderate requisitions, than is exhibited by the sufferers at a New England college, who have to keep sixteen chapels a week, seven of them at unreasonable hours. Even the scholars, who are literally paid for going, every chapel being directly worth two shillings sterling to them, are by no means invariable in attending the proper number of times.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 16, 17.

CHAPEL CLERK. At Cambridge, Eng., in some colleges, it is the duty of this officer to mark the students as they enter chapel; in others, he merely sees that the proper lessons are read, by the students appointed by the Dean for that purpose.—Gradus ad Cantab.

The chapel clerk is sent to various parties by the deans, with orders to attend them after chapel and be reprimanded, but the chapel clerk almost always goes to the wrong person.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 235.

CHAPLAIN. In universities and colleges, the clergyman who performs divine service, morning and evening.

CHAW. A deception or trick.

To say, "It's all a gum," or "a regular chaw" is the same thing. —The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

CHAW. To use up.

Yesterday a Junior cracked a joke on me, when all standing round shouted in great glee, "Chawed! Freshman chawed! Ha! ha! ha!" "No I a'n't chawed," said I, "I'm as whole as ever." But I didn't understand, when a fellow is used up, he is said to be chawed; if very much used up, he is said to be essentially chawed.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

The verb to chaw up is used with nearly the same meaning in some of the Western States.

Miss Patience said she was gratified to hear Mr. Cash was a musician; she admired people who had a musical taste. Whereupon Cash fell into a chair, as he afterwards observed, chawed up.—Thorpe's Backwoods, p. 28.

CHIP DAY. At Williams College a day near the beginning of spring is thus designated, and is explained in the following passage. "They give us, near the close of the second term, what is called 'chip day,' when we put the grounds in order, and remove the ruins caused by a winter's siege on the woodpiles."—Sketches of Williams College, 1847, p. 79.

Another writer refers to the day, in a newspaper paragraph. "'Chip day,' at the close of the spring term, is still observed in the old-fashioned way. Parties of students go off to the hills, and return with brush, and branches of evergreen, with which the chips, which have accumulated during the winter, are brushed together, and afterwards burnt."—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.

About college there had been, in early spring, the customary cleaning up of "chip day."—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 186.

CHOPPING AT THE TREE. At University College in the University of Oxford, "a curious and ancient custom, called 'chopping at the tree,' still prevails. On Easter Sunday, every member, as he leaves the hall after dinner, chops with a cleaver at a small tree dressed up for the occasion with evergreens and flowers, and placed on a turf close to the buttery. The cook stands by for his accustomed largess."—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. 144, note.

CHORE. In the German universities, a club or society of the students is thus designated.

Duels between members of different chores were once frequent;—sometimes one man was obliged to fight the members of a whole chore in succession.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 5.

CHRISTIAN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of
Christ's College.

CHUM. Armenian, chomm, or chommein, or ham, to dwell, stay, or lodge; French, chômer, to rest; Saxon, ham, home. A chamber-fellow; one who lodges or resides in the same room.—Webster.

This word is used at the universities and colleges, both in
England and the United States.

A young student laid a wager with his chum, that the Dean was at that instant smoking his pipe.—Philip's Life and Poems, p. 13.

          But his chum
  Had wielded, in his just defence,
  A bowl of vast circumference.—Rebelliad, p. 17.

Every set of chambers was possessed by two co-occupants; they had generally the same bedroom, and a common study; and they were called chums.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 251.

I am again your petitioner in behalf of that great chum of literature, Samuel Johnson.—Smollett, in Boswell.

In this last instance, the word chum is used either with the more extended meaning of companion, friend, or, as the sovereign prince of Tartary is called the Cham or Khan, so Johnson is called the chum (cham) or prince of literature.

CHUM. To occupy a chamber with another.

CHUMMING. Occupying a room with another.

Such is one of the evils of chumming.—Harvardiana, Vol. I. p. 324.

CHUMSHIP. The state of occupying a room in company with another; chumming.

In the seventeenth century, in Milton's time, for example, (about 1624,) and for more than sixty years after that era, the practice of chumship prevailed.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 251.

CIVILIAN. A student of the civil law at the university.—Graves.
Webster.

CLARIAN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of Clare
Hall.

CLASS. A number of students in a college or school, of the same standing, or pursuing the same studies. In colleges, the students entering or becoming members the same year, and pursuing the same studies.—Webster.

In the University of Oxford, class is the division of the candidates who are examined for their degrees according to their rate of merit. Those who are entitled to this distinction are denominated Classmen, answering to the optimes and wranglers in the University of Cambridge.—Crabb's Tech. Dict.

See an interesting account of "reading for a first class," in the
Collegian's Guide, Chap. XII.

CLASS. To place in ranks or divisions students that are pursuing the same studies; to form into a class or classes.—Webster.

CLASS BOOK. Within the last thirty or forty years, a custom has arisen at Harvard College of no small importance in an historical point of view, but which is principally deserving of notice from the many pleasing associations to which its observance cannot fail to give rise. Every graduating class procures a beautiful and substantial folio of many hundred pages, called the Class Book, and lettered with the year of the graduation of the class. In this a certain number of pages is allotted to each individual of the class, in which he inscribes a brief autobiography, paying particular attention to names and dates. The book is then deposited in the hands of the Class Secretary, whose duty it is to keep a faithful record of the marriage, birth of children, and death of each of his classmates, together with their various places of residence, and the offices and honors to which each may have attained. This information is communicated to him by letter by his classmates, and he is in consequence prepared to answer any inquiries relative to any member of the class. At his death, the book passes into the hands of one of the Class Committee, and at their death, into those of some surviving member of the class; and when the class has at length become extinct, it is deposited on the shelves of the College Library.

The Class Book also contains a full list of all persons who have at any time been members of the class, together with such information as can be gathered in reference to them; and an account of the prizes, deturs, parts at Exhibitions and Commencement, degrees, etc., of all its members. Into it are also copied the Class Oration, Poem, and Ode, and the Secretary's report of the class meeting, at which the officers were elected. It is also intended to contain the records of all future class meetings, and the accounts of the Class Secretary, who is ex officio Class Treasurer and Chairman of the Class Committee. By virtue of his office of Class Treasurer, he procures the Cradle for the successful candidate, and keeps in his possession the Class Fund, which is sometimes raised to defray the accruing expenses of the Class in future times.

In the Harvardiana, Vol. IV., is an extract from the Class Book of 1838, which is very curious and unique. To this is appended the following note:—"It may be necessary to inform many of our readers, that the Class Book is a large volume, in which autobiographical sketches of the members of each graduating class are recorded, and which is left in the hands of the Class Secretary."

CLASS CANE. At Union College, as a mark of distinction, a class cane was for a time carried by the members of the Junior Class.

The Juniors, although on the whole a clever set of fellows, lean perhaps with too nonchalant an air on their class canes.—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

They will refer to their class cane, that mark of decrepitude and imbecility, for old men use canes.—Ibid.

CLASS CAP. At Hamilton College, it is customary for the Sophomores to appear in a class cap on the Junior Exhibition day, which is worn generally during part of the third term.

In American colleges, students frequently endeavor to adopt distinctive dresses, but the attempt is usually followed by failure. One of these attempts is pleasantly alluded to in the Williams Monthly Miscellany. "In a late number, the ambition for whiskers was made the subject of a remark. The ambition of college has since taken a somewhat different turn. We allude to the class caps, which have been introduced in one or two of the classes. The Freshmen were the first to appear in this species of uniform, a few days since at evening prayers; the cap which they have adopted is quite tasteful. The Sophomores, not to be outdone, have voted to adopt the tarpaulin, having, no doubt, become proficients in navigation, as lucidly explained in one of their text-books. The Juniors we understand, will follow suit soon. We hardly know what is left for the Seniors, unless it be to go bare-headed."—1845, p. 464.

CLASS COMMITTEE. At Harvard College a committee of two persons, joined with the Class Secretary, who is ex officio its chairman, whose duty it is, after the class has graduated, during their lives to call class meetings, whenever they deem it advisable, and to attend to all other business relating to the class.

See under CLASS BOOK.

CLASS CRADLE. For some years it has been customary at Harvard College for the Senior Class, at the meeting for the election of the officers of Class Day, &c., to appropriate a certain sum of money, usually not exceeding fifty dollars, for the purchase of a cradle, to be given to the first member of the class to whom a child is born in lawful wedlock at a suitable time after marriage. This sum is intrusted to the hands of the Class Secretary, who is expected to transmit the present to the successful candidate upon the receipt of the requisite information. In one instance a Baby-jumper was voted by the class, to be given to the second member who should be blessed as above stated.

CLASS CUP. It is a theory at Yale College, that each class appropriates at graduating a certain amount of money for the purchase of a silver cup, to be given, in the name of the class, to the first member to whom a child shall be born in lawful wedlock at a suitable time after marriage. Although the presentation of the class cup is often alluded to, yet it is believed that the gift has in no instance been bestowed. It is to be regretted that a custom so agreeable in theory could not be reduced to practice.

  Each man's mind was made up
  To obtain the "Class Cup."
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

See SILVER CUP.

CLASS DAY. The custom at Harvard College of observing with appropriate exercises the day on which the Senior Class finish their studies, is of a very early date. The first notice which appears in reference to this subject is contained in an account of the disorders which began to prevail among the students about the year 1760. Among the evils to be remedied are mentioned the "disorders upon the day of the Senior Sophisters meeting to choose the officers of the class," when "it was usual for each scholar to bring a bottle of wine with him, which practice the committee (that reported upon it) apprehend has a natural tendency to produce disorders." But the disturbances were not wholly confined to the meeting when the officers of Class Day were chosen; they occurred also on Class Day, and it was for this reason that frequent attempts were made at this period, by the College government, to suppress its observance. How far their efforts succeeded is not known, but it is safe to conclude that greater interruptions were occasioned by the war of the Revolution, than by the attempts to abolish what it would have been wiser to have reformed.

In a MS. Journal, under date of June 21st, 1791, is the following entry: "Neither the valedictory oration by Ward, nor poem by Walton, was delivered, on account of a division in the class, and also because several were gone home." How long previous to this the 21st of June had been the day chosen for the exercises of the class, is uncertain; but for many years after, unless for special reasons, this period was regularly selected for that purpose. Another extract from the MS. above mentioned, under date of June 21st, 1792, reads: "A valedictory poem was delivered by Paine 1st, and a valedictory Latin oration by Abiel Abbott."

The biographer of Mr. Robert Treat Paine, referring to the poem noticed in the above memorandum, says: "The 21st of every June, till of late years, has been the day on which the members of the Senior Class closed their collegiate studies, and retired to make preparations for the ensuing Commencement. On this day it was usual for one member to deliver an oration, and another a poem; such members being appointed by their classmates. The Valedictory Poem of Mr. Paine, a tender, correct, and beautiful effusion of feeling and taste, was received by the audience with applause and tears." In another place he speaks on the same subject, as follows: "The solemnity which produced this poem is extremely interesting; and, being of ancient date, it is to be hoped that it may never fall into disuse. His affection for the University Mr. Paine cherished as one of his most sacred principles. Of this poem, Mr. Paine always spoke as one of his happiest efforts. Coming from so young a man, it is certainly very creditable, and promises more, I fear, than the untoward circumstances of his after life would permit him to perform."—Paine's Works, Ed. 1812, pp. xxvii., 439.

It was always customary, near the close of the last century, for those who bore the honors of Class Day, to treat their friends according to the style of the time, and there was scarcely a graduate who did not provide an entertainment of such sort as he could afford. An account of the exercises of the day at this period may not be uninteresting. It is from the Diary which is above referred to.

"20th (Thursday). This day for special reasons the valedictory poem and oration were performed. The order of the day was this. At ten, the class walked in procession to the President's, and escorted him, the Professors, and Tutors, to the Chapel, preceded by the band playing solemn music.

"The President began with a short prayer. He then read a chapter in the Bible; after this he prayed again; Cutler then delivered his poem. Then the singing club, accompanied by the band, performed Williams's Friendship. This was succeeded by a valedictory Latin Oration by Jackson. We then formed, and waited on the government to the President's, where we were very respectably treated with wine, &c.

"We then marched in procession to Jackson's room, where we drank punch. At one we went to Mr. Moore's tavern and partook of an elegant entertainment, which cost 6/4 a piece. Marching then to Cutler's room, we shook hands, and parted with expressing the sincerest tokens of friendship." June, 1793.

The incidents of Class Day, five years subsequent to the last date, are detailed by Professor Sidney Willard, and may not be omitted in this connection.

"On the 21st of June, 1798, the day of the dismission of the Senior Class from all academic exercises, the class met in the College chapel to attend the accustomed ceremonies of the occasion, and afterwards to enjoy the usual festivities of the day, since called, for the sake of a name, and for brevity's sake, Class Day. There had been a want of perfect harmony in the previous proceedings, which in some degree marred the social enjoyments of the day; but with the day all dissension closed, awaiting the dawn of another day, the harbinger of the brighter recollections of four years spent in pleasant and peaceful intercourse. There lingered no lasting alienations of feeling. Whatever were the occasions of the discontent, it soon expired, was buried in the darkest recesses of discarded memories, and there lay lost and forgotten.

"After the exercises of the chapel, and visiting the President, Professors, and Tutors at the President's house, according to the custom still existing, we marched in procession round the College halls, to another hall in Porter's tavern, (which some dozen or fifteen of the oldest living graduates may perhaps remember as Bradish's tavern, of ancient celebrity,) where we dined. After dining, we assembled at the Liberty Tree, (according to another custom still existing,) and in due time, having taken leave of each other, we departed, some of us to our family homes, and others to their rooms to make preparations for their departure."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. pp. 1, 3.

Referring to the same event, he observes in another place: "In speaking of the leave-taking of the College by my class, on the 21st of June, 1798,—Class Day, as it is now called,—I inadvertently forgot to mention, that according to custom, at that period, [Samuel P.P.] Fay delivered a Latin Valedictory Oration in the Chapel, in the presence of the Immediate Government, and of the students of other classes who chose to be present. Speaking to him on the subject some time since, he told me that he believed [Judge Joseph] Story delivered a Poem on the same occasion…. There was no poetical performance in the celebration of the day in the class before ours, on the same occasion; Dr. John C. Warren's Latin oration being the only performance, and his class counting as many reputed poets as ours did."—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 320.

Alterations were continually made in the observances of Class Day, and in twenty years after the period last mentioned, its character had in many particulars changed. Instead of the Latin, an English oration of a somewhat sportive nature had been introduced; the Poem was either serious or comic, at the writer's option; usually, however, the former. After the exercises in the Chapel, the class commonly repaired to Porter's Hall, and there partook of a dinner, not always observing with perfect strictness the rules of temperance either in eating or drinking. This "cenobitical symposium" concluded, they again returned to the college yard, where, scattered in groups under the trees, the rest of the day was spent in singing, smoking, and drinking, or pretending to drink, punch; for the negroes who supplied it in pails usually contrived to take two or more glasses to every one glass that was drank by those for whom it was provided. The dance around the Liberty Tree, "Each hand in comrade's hand," closed the regular ceremonies of the day; but generally the greater part of the succeeding night was spent in feasting and hilarity.

The punch-drinking in the yard increased to such an extent, that it was considered by the government of the college as a matter which demanded their interference; and in the year 1842, on one of these occasions, an instructor having joined with the students in their revellings in the yard, the Faculty proposed that, instead of spending the afternoon in this manner, dancing should be introduced, which was accordingly done, with the approbation of both parties.

The observances of the day, which in a small way may be considered as a rival of Commencement, are at present as follows. The Orator, Poet, Odist, Chaplain, and Marshals having been previously chosen, on the morning of Class Day the Seniors assemble in the yard, and, preceded by the band, walk in procession to one of the halls of the College, where a prayer is offered by the Class Chaplain. They then proceed to the President's house, and escort him to the Chapel where the following order is observed. A prayer by one of the College officers is succeeded by the Oration, in which the transactions of the class from their entrance into College to the present time are reviewed with witty and appropriate remarks. The Poem is then pronounced, followed by the Ode, which is sung by the whole class to the tune of "Fair Harvard." Music is performed at intervals by the band. The class then withdraw to Harvard Hall, accompanied by their friends and invited guests, where a rich collation is provided.

After an interval of from one to two hours, the dancing commences in the yard. Cotillons and the easier dances are here performed, but the sport closes in the hall with the Polka and other fashionable steps. The Seniors again form, and make the circuit of the yard, cheering the buildings, great and small. They then assemble under the Liberty Tree, around which with hands joined they run and dance, after singing the student's adopted song, "Auld Lang Syne." At parting, each member takes a sprig or a flower from the beautiful "Wreath" which surrounds the "farewell tree," which is sacredly treasured as a last memento of college scenes and enjoyments. Thus close the exercises of the day, after which the class separate until Commencement.

The more marked events in the observance of Class Day have been graphically described by Grace Greenwood, in the accompanying paragraphs.

"The exercises on this occasion were to me most novel and interesting. The graduating class of 1848 are a fine-looking set of young men certainly, and seem to promise that their country shall yet be greater and better for the manly energies, the talent and learning, with which they are just entering upon life.

"The spectators were assembled in the College Chapel, whither the class escorted the Faculty, headed by President Everett, in his Oxford hat and gown.

"The President is a man of most imperial presence; his figure has great dignity, and his head is grand in form and expression. But to me he looks the governor, the foreign minister and the President, more than the orator or the poet.

"After a prayer from the Chaplain, we listened to an eloquent oration from the class orator, Mr. Tiffany, of Baltimore and to a very elegant and witty poem from the class poet Mr. Clarke, of Boston. The 'Fair Harvard' having been sung by the class, all adjourned to the College green, where such as were so disposed danced to the music of a fine band. From the green we repaired to Harvard Hall, where an excellent collation was served, succeeded by dancing. From the hall the students of 1848 marched and cheered successively every College building, then formed a circle round a magnificent elm, whose trunk was beautifully garlanded will flowers, and, with hands joined in a peculiar manner, sung 'Auld Lang Syne.' The scene was in the highest degree touching and impressive, so much of the beauty and glory of life was there, so much of the energy, enthusiasm, and proud unbroken strength of manhood. With throbbing hearts and glowing lips, linked for a few moments with strong, fraternal grasps, they stood, with one deep, common feeling, thrilling like one pulse through all. An involuntary prayer sprang to my lips, that they might ever prove true to Alma Mater, to one another, to their country, and to Heaven.

"As the singing ceased, the students began running swiftly around the tree, and at the cry, 'Harvard!' a second circle was formed by the other students, which gave a tumultuous excitement to the scene. It broke up at last with a perfect storm of cheers, and a hasty division among the class of the garland which encircled the elm, each taking a flower in remembrance of the day."—Greenwood Leaves, Ed. 3d, 1851, pp. 350, 351.

In the poem which was read before the class of 1851, by William C. Bradley, the comparisons of those about to graduate with the youth who is attaining to his majority, and with the traveller who has stopped a little for rest and refreshment, are so genial and suggestive, that their insertion in this connection will not be deemed out of place.

 "'T is a good custom, long maintained,
  When the young heir has manhood gained,
  To solemnize the welcome date,
  Accession to the man's estate,
  With open house and rousing game,
  And friends to wish him joy and fame:
  So Harvard, following thus the ways
  Of careful sires of older days,
  Directs her children till they grow
  The strength of ripened years to know,
  And bids their friends and kindred, then,
  To come and hail her striplings—men.

 "And as, about the table set,
  Or on the shady grass-plat met,
  They give the youngster leave to speak
  Of vacant sport, and boyish freak,
  So now would we (such tales have power
  At noon-tide to abridge the hour)
  Turn to the past, and mourn or praise
  The joys and pains of boyhood's days.

 "Like travellers with their hearts intent
  Upon a distant journey bent,
  We rest upon the earliest stage
  Of life's laborious pilgrimage;
  But like the band of pilgrims gay
  (Whom Chaucer sings) at close of day,
  That turned with mirth, and cheerful din,
  To pass their evening at the inn,
  Hot from the ride and dusty, we,
  But yet untired and stout and free,
  And like the travellers by the door,
  Sit down and talk the journey o'er."

As a specimen of the character of the Ode which is always sung on Class Day to the tune "Fair Harvard,"—which is the name by which the melody "Believe me, if all those endearing young charms" has been adopted at Cambridge,—that which was written by Joshua Danforth Robinson for the class of 1851 is here inserted.

 "The days of thy tenderly nurture are done,
    We call for the lance and the shield;
  There's a battle to fight and a crown to be won,
    And onward we press to the field!
  But yet, Alma Mater, before we depart,
    Shall the song of our farewell be sung,
  And the grasp of the hand shall express for the heart
    Emotions too deep for the tongue.

 "This group of thy sons, Alma Mater, no more
    May gladden thine ear with their song,
  For soon we shall stand upon Time's crowded shore,
    And mix in humanity's throng.
  O, glad be the voices that ring through thy halls
    When the echo of ours shall have flown,
  And the footsteps that sound when no longer thy walls
    Shall answer the tread of our own!

 "Alas! our dear Mother, we see on thy face
    A shadow of sorrow to-day;
  For while we are clasped in thy farewell embrace,
    And pass from thy bosom away,
  To part with the living, we know, must recall
    The lost whom thy love still embalms,
  That one sigh must escape and one tear-drop must fall
    For the children that died in thy arms.

 "But the flowers of affection, bedewed by the tears
    In the twilight of Memory distilled,
  And sunned by the love of our earlier years,
    When the soul with their beauty was thrilled,
  Untouched by the frost of life's winter, shall blow,
    And breathe the same odor they gave
  When the vision of youth was entranced by their glow,
    Till, fadeless, they bloom o'er the grave."

A most genial account of the exercises of the Class Day of the graduates of the year 1854 may be found in Harper's Magazine, Vol. IX. pp. 554, 555.

CLASSIC. One learned in classical literature; a student of the ancient Greek and Roman authors of the first rank.

These men, averaging about twenty-three years of age, the best Classics and Mathematicians of their years, were reading for Fellowships.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 35.

A quiet Scotchman irreproachable as a classic and a whist-player.—Ibid., p. 57.

The mathematical examination was very difficult, and made great havoc among the classics.—Ibid., p. 62.

CLASSIC SHADES. A poetical appellation given to colleges and universities.

  He prepares for his departure,—but he must, ere he repair
  To the "classic shades," et cetera,—visit his "ladye fayre."
    Poem before Iadma, Harv. Coll., 1850.

I exchanged the farm-house of my father for the "classic shades" of Union.—The Parthenon, Union Coll., 1851, p. 18.

CLASSIS. Same meaning as Class. The Latin for the English.

[They shall] observe the generall hours appointed for all the students, and the speciall houres for their own classis.—New England's First Fruits, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 243.

CLASS LIST. In the University of Oxford, a list in which are entered the names of those who are examined for their degrees, according to their rate of merit.

At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the names of those who are examined at stated periods are placed alphabetically in the class lists, but the first eight or ten individual places are generally known.

There are some men who read for honors in that covetous and contracted spirit, and so bent upon securing the name of scholarship, even at the sacrifice of the reality, that, for the pleasure of reading their names at the top of the class list, they would make the examiners a present of all their Latin and Greek the moment they left the schools.—Collegian's Guide, p. 327.

CLASSMAN. See CLASS.

CLASS MARSHAL. In many colleges in the United States, a class marshal is chosen by the Senior Class from their own number, for the purpose of regulating the procession on the day of Commencement, and, as at Harvard College, on Class Day also.

"At Union College," writes a correspondent, "the class marshal is elected by the Senior Class during the third term. He attends to the order of the procession on Commencement Day, and walks into the church by the side of the President. He chooses several assistants, who attend to the accommodation of the audience. He is chosen from among the best-looking and most popular men of the class, and the honor of his office is considered next to that of the Vice-President of the Senate for the third term."

CLASSMATE. A member of the same class with another.

The day is wound up with a scene of careless laughter and merriment, among a dozen of joke-loving classmates.—Harv. Reg., p. 202.

CLASS MEETING. A meeting where all the class are assembled for the purpose of carrying out some measure, appointing class officers, or transacting business of interest to the whole class.

In Harvard College, no class, or general, or other meeting of students can be called without an application in writing of three students, and no more, expressing the purpose of such meeting, nor otherwise than by a printed notice, signed by the President, expressing the time, the object, and place of such meeting, and the three students applying for such meeting are held responsible for any proceedings at it contrary to the laws of the College.—Laws Univ. Cam., Mass., 1848, Appendix.

Similar regulations are in force at all other American colleges. At Union College the statute on this subject was formerly in these words: "No class meetings shall be held without special license from the President; and for such purposes only as shall be expressed in the license; nor shall any class meeting be continued by adjournment or otherwise, without permission; and all class meetings held without license shall be considered as unlawful combinations, and punished accordingly."—Laws Union Coll., 1807, pp. 37, 38.

  While one, on fame alone intent,
  Seek to be chosen President
    Of clubs, or a class meeting.
    Harv. Reg., p. 247.

CLASSOLOGY. That science which treats of the members of the classes of a college. This word is used in the title of a pleasant jeu d'esprit by Mr. William Biglow, on the class which graduated at Harvard College in 1792. It is called, "Classology: an Anacreontic Ode, in Imitation of 'Heathen Mythology.'"

See under HIGH GO.

CLASS SECRETARY. For an account of this officer, see under CLASS
BOOK.

CLASS SUPPER. In American colleges, a supper attended only by the members of a collegiate class. Class suppers are given in some colleges at the close of each year; in others, only at the close of the Sophomore and Senior years, or at one of these periods.

CLASS TREES. At Bowdoin College, "immediately after the annual examination of each class," says a correspondent, "the members that compose it are accustomed to form a ring round a tree, and then, not dance, but run around it. So quickly do they revolve, that every individual runner has a tendency 'to go off in a tangent,' which it is difficult to resist for any length of time. The three lower classes have a tree by themselves in front of Massachusetts Hall. The Seniors have one of their own in front of King Chapel."

For an account of a similar and much older custom, prevalent at
Harvard College, see under CLASS DAY and LIBERTY TREE.

CLIMBING. In reference to this word, a correspondent from Dartmouth College writes: "At the commencement of this century, the Greek, Latin, and Philosophical Orations were assigned by the Faculty to the best scholars, while the Valedictorian was chosen from the remainder by his classmates. It was customary for each one of these four to treat his classmates, which was called 'Climbing,' from the effect which the liquor would have in elevating the class to an equality with the first scholars."

CLIOSOPHIC. A word compounded from Clio, the Muse who presided over history, and [Greek: sophos], intelligent. At Yale College, this word was formerly used to designate an oration on the arts and sciences, which was delivered annually at the examination in July.

Having finished his academic course, by the appointment of the
President he delivered the cliosophic oration in the College
Hall.—Holmes's Life of Ezra Stiles, p. 13.

COACH. In the English universities, this term is variously applied, as will be seen by a reference to the annexed examples. It is generally used to designate a private tutor.

Everything is (or used to be) called a "coach" at Oxford: a lecture-class, or a club of men meeting to take wine, luncheon, or breakfast alternately, were severally called a "wine, luncheon, or breakfast coach"; so a private tutor was called a "private coach"; and one, like Hilton of Worcester, very famed for getting his men safe through, was termed "a Patent Safety."—The Collegian's Guide, p. 103.

It is to his private tutors, or "coaches," that he looks for instruction.—Household Words, Vol. II. p. 160.

He applies to Mr. Crammer. Mr. Crammer is a celebrated "coach" for lazy and stupid men, and has a system of his own which has met with decided success.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 162.

COACH. To prepare a student to pass an examination; to make use of the aid of a private tutor.

He is putting on all steam, and "coaching" violently for the Classical Tripos.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d. p. 10.

It is not every man who can get a Travis to coach him.—Ibid., p. 69.

COACHING. A cant term, in the British universities, for preparing a student, by the assistance of a private tutor, to pass an examination.

Whether a man shall throw away every opportunity which a university is so eminently calculated to afford, and come away with a mere testamur gained rather by the trickery of private coaching (tutoring) than by mental improvement, depends, &c.—The Collegian's Guide, p. 15.

COAX. This word was formerly used at Yale College in the same sense as the word fish at Harvard, viz. to seek or gain the favor of a teacher by flattery. One of the Proverbs of Solomon was often changed by the students to read as follows: "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the coaxing of tutors bringeth forth parts."—Prov. xxx. 33.

COCHLEAUREATUS, pl. COCHLEAUREATI. Latin, cochlear, a spoon, and laureatus, laurelled. A free translation would be, one honored with a spoon.

At Yale College, the wooden spoon is given to the one whose name comes last on the list of appointees for the Junior Exhibition. The recipient of this honor is designated cochleaureatus.

  Now give in honor of the spoon
    Three cheers, long, loud, and hearty,
  And three for every honored June
    In coch-le-au-re-a-ti.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 37.

See WOODEN SPOON.

COFFIN. At the University of Vermont, a boot, especially a large one. A companion to the word HUMMEL, q.v.

COLLAR. At Yale College, "to come up with; to seize; to lay hold on; to appropriate."—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 144.

By that means the oration marks will be effectually collared, with scarce an effort.—Yale Banger, Oct. 1848.

COLLECTION. In the University of Oxford, a college examination, which takes place at the end of every term before the Warden and Tutor.

Read some Herodotus for Collections.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 348.

The College examinations, called collections, are strictly private.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 139.

COLLECTOR. A Bachelor of Arts in the University of Oxford, who is appointed to superintend some scholastic proceedings in Lent.—Todd.

The Collectors, who are two in number, Bachelors of Arts, are
appointed to collect the names of determining bachelors, during
Lent. Their office begins and ends with that season.—Guide to
Oxford.

COLLECTORSHIP. The office of a collector in the University of
Oxford.—Todd.

This Lent the collectors ceased from entertaining the Bachelors by advice and command of the proctors; so that now they got by their collectorships, whereas before they spent about 100_l._, besides their gains, on clothes or needless entertainments.—Life of A. Wood, p. 286.

COLLEGE. Latin, collegium; con and lego, to gather. In its primary sense, a collection or assembly; hence, in a general sense, a collection, assemblage, or society of men, invested with certain powers and rights, performing certain duties, or engaged in some common employment or pursuit.

1. An establishment or edifice appropriated to the use of students who are acquiring the languages and sciences.

2. The society of persons engaged in the pursuits of literature, including the officers and students. Societies of this kind are incorporated, and endowed with revenues.

"A college, in the modern sense of that word, was an institution which arose within a university, probably within that of Paris or of Oxford first, being intended either as a kind of boarding-school, or for the support of scholars destitute of means, who were here to live under particular supervision. By degrees it became more and more the custom that teachers should be attached to these establishments. And as they grew in favor, they were resorted to by persons of means, who paid for their board; and this to such a degree, that at one time the colleges included nearly all the members of the University of Paris. In the English universities the colleges may have been first established by a master who gathered pupils around him, for whose board and instruction he provided. He exercised them perhaps in logic and the other liberal arts, and repeated the university lectures, as well as superintended their morals. As his scholars grew in number, he associated with himself other teachers, who thus acquired the name of fellows. Thus it naturally happened that the government of colleges, even of those which were founded by the benevolence of pious persons, was in the hands of a principal called by various names, such as rector, president, provost, or master, and of fellows, all of whom were resident within the walls of the same edifices where the students lived. Where charitable munificence went so far as to provide for the support of a greater number of fellows than were needed, some of them were intrusted, as tutors, with the instruction of the undergraduates, while others performed various services within their college, or passed a life of learned leisure."—Pres. Woolsey's Hist. Disc., New Haven, Aug. 14, 1850, p. 8.

3. In foreign universities, a public lecture.—Webster.

COLLEGE BIBLE. The laws of a college are sometimes significantly called the College Bible.

  He cons the College Bible with eager, longing eyes,
  And wonders how poor students at six o'clock can rise.
    Poem before Iadma of Harv. Coll., 1850.

COLLEGER. A member of a college.

We stood like veteran Collegers the next day's screw.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 9. [Little used.]

2. The name by which a member of a certain class of the pupils of Eton is known. "The Collegers are educated gratuitously, and such of them as have nearly but not quite reached the age of nineteen, when a vacancy in King's College, Cambridge, occurs, are elected scholars there forthwith and provided for during life—or until marriage."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 262, 263.

They have nothing in lieu of our seventy Collegers.—Ibid., p. 270.

The whole number of scholars or "Collegers" at Eton is seventy. —Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 285.

COLLEGE YARD. The enclosure on or within which the buildings of a college are situated. Although college enclosures are usually open for others to pass through than those connected with the college, yet by law the grounds are as private as those connected with private dwellings, and are kept so, by refusing entrance, for a certain period, to all who are not members of the college, at least once in twenty years, although the time differs in different States.

  But when they got to College yard,
  With one accord they all huzza'd.—Rebelliad, p. 33.

  Not ye, whom science never taught to roam
  Far as a College yard or student's home.
    Harv. Reg., p. 232.

COLLEGIAN. A member of a college, particularly of a literary institution so called; an inhabitant of a college.—Johnson.

COLLEGIATE. Pertaining to a college; as, collegiate studies.

2. Containing a college; instituted after the manner of a college; as, a collegiate society.—Johnson.

COLLEGIATE. A member of a college.

COMBINATION. An agreement, for effecting some object by joint operation; in an ill sense, when the purpose is illegal or iniquitous. An agreement entered into by students to resist or disobey the Faculty of the College, or to do any unlawful act, is a combination. When the number concerned is so great as to render it inexpedient to punish all, those most culpable are usually selected, or as many as are deemed necessary to satisfy the demands of justice.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 27. Laws Univ. Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 23.

COMBINATION ROOM. In the University of Cambridge Eng., a room into which the fellows, and others in authority withdraw after dinner, for wine, dessert, and conversation.—Webster.

In popular phrase, the word room is omitted.

"There will be some quiet Bachelors there, I suppose," thought I, "and a Junior Fellow or two, some of those I have met in combination."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 52.

COMITAT. In the German universities, a procession formed to accompany a departing fellow-student with public honor out of the city.—Howitt.

COMMEMORATION DAY. At the University of Oxford, Eng., this day is an annual solemnity in honor of the benefactors of the University, when orations are delivered, and prize compositions are read in the theatre. It is the great day of festivity for the year.—Huber.

At the University of Cambridge, Eng., there is always a sermon on this day. The lesson which is read in the course of the service is from Ecclus. xliv.: "Let us now praise famous men," &c. It is "a day," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "devoted to prayers, and good living." It was formerly called Anniversary Day.

COMMENCE. To take a degree, or the first degree, in a university or college.—Bailey.

Nine Bachelors commenced at Cambridge; they were young men of good hope, and performed their acts so as to give good proof of their proficiency in the tongues and arts.—Winthrop's Journal, by Mr. Savage, Vol. II. p. 87.

Four Senior Sophisters came from Saybrook, and received the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, and several others commenced Masters.—Clap's Hist. Yale Coll., p. 20.

  A scholar see him now commence,
  Without the aid of books or sense.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, 1794, p. 12.

Charles Chauncy … was afterwards, when qualified, sent to the
University of Cambridge, where he commenced Bachelor of
Divinity.—Hist. Sketch of First Ch. in Boston, 1812, p. 211.

COMMENCEMENT. The time when students in colleges commence
Bachelors; a day in which degrees are publicly conferred in the
English and American universities.—Webster.

At Harvard College, in its earliest days, Commencements were attended, as at present, by the highest officers in the State. At the first Commencement, on the second Tuesday of August, 1642, we are told that "the Governour, Magistrates, and the Ministers, from all parts, with all sorts of schollars, and others in great numbers, were present."—New England's First Fruits, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 246.

In the MS. Diary of Judge Sewall, under date of July 1, 1685, Commencement Day, is this remark: "Gov'r there, whom I accompanied to Charlestown"; and again, under date of July 2, 1690, is the following entry respecting the Commencement of that year: "Go to Cambridge by water in ye Barge wherein the Gov'r, Maj. Gen'l, Capt. Blackwell, and others." In the Private Journal of Cotton Mather, under the dates of 1708 and 1717, there are notices of the Boston troops waiting on the Governor to Cambridge on Commencement Day. During the presidency of Wadsworth, which continued from 1725 to 1737, "it was the custom," says Quincy, "on Commencement Day, for the Governor of the Province to come from Boston through Roxbury, often by the way of Watertown, attended by his body guards, and to arrive at the College about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. A procession was then formed of the Corporation, Overseers, magistrates, ministers, and invited gentlemen, and immediately moved from Harvard Hall to the Congregational church." After the exercises of the day were over, the students escorted the Governor, Corporation, and Overseers, in procession, to the President's house. This description would answer very well for the present day, by adding the graduating class to the procession, and substituting the Boston Lancers as an escort, instead of the "body guards."

The exercises of the first Commencement are stated in New England's First Fruits, above referred to, as follows:—"Latine and Greeke Orations, and Declamations, and Hebrew Analysis, Grammaticall, Logicall, and Rhetoricall of the Psalms: And their answers and disputations in Logicall, Ethicall, Physicall, and Metaphysicall questions." At Commencement in 1685, the exercises were, besides Disputes, four Orations, one Latin, two Greek, and one Hebrew In the presidency of Wadsworth, above referred to, "the exercises of the day," says Quincy, "began with a short prayer by the President; a salutatory oration in Latin, by one of the graduating class, succeeded; then disputations on theses or questions in Logic, Ethics, and Natural Philosophy commenced. When the disputation terminated, one of the candidates pronounced a Latin 'gratulatory oration.' The graduating class were then called, and, after asking leave of the Governor and Overseers, the President conferred the Bachelor's degree, by delivering a book to the candidates (who came forward successively in parties of four), and pronouncing a form of words in Latin. An adjournment then took place to dinner, in Harvard Hall; thence the procession returned to the church, and, after the Masters' disputations, usually three in number, were finished, their degrees were conferred, with the same general forms as those of the Bachelors. An occasional address was then made by the President. A Latin valedictory oration by one of the Masters succeeded, and the exercises concluded with a prayer by the President."

Similar to this is the account given by the Hon. Paine Wingate, a graduate of the class of 1759, of the exercises of Commencement as conducted while he was in College. "I do not recollect now," he says, "any part of the public exercises on Commencement Day to be in English, excepting the President's prayers at opening and closing the services. Next after the prayer followed the Salutatory Oration in Latin, by one of the candidates for the first degree. This office was assigned by the President, and was supposed to be given to him who was the best orator in the class. Then followed a Syllogistic Disputation in Latin, in which four or five or more of those who were distinguished as good scholars in the class were appointed by the President as Respondents, to whom were assigned certain questions, which the Respondents maintained, and the rest of the class severally opposed, and endeavored to invalidate. This was conducted wholly in Latin, and in the form of Syllogisms and Theses. At the close of the Disputation, the President usually added some remarks in Latin. After these exercises the President conferred the degrees. This, I think, may be considered as the summary of the public performances on a Commencement Day. I do not recollect any Forensic Disputation, or a Poem or Oration spoken in English, whilst I was in College."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., pp. 307, 308.

As far back as the year 1685, it was customary for the President
to deliver an address near the close of the exercises. Under this
date, in the MS. Diary of Judge Sewall, are these words: "Mr.
President after giving ye Degrees made an Oration in Praise of
Academical Studies and Degrees, Hebrew tongue." In 1688, at the
Commencement, according to the same gentleman, Mr. William
Hubbard, then acting as President under the appointment of Sir
Edmund Andros, "made an oration."

The disputations were always in Latin, and continued to be a part of the exercises of Commencement until the year 1820. The orations were in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and sometimes French; in 1818 a Spanish oration was delivered at the Commencement for that year by Mr. George Osborne. The first English oration was made by Mr. Jedidiah Huntington, in the year 1763, and the first English poem by Mr. John Davis, in 1781. The last Latin syllogisms were in 1792, on the subjects, "Materia cogitare non potest," and "Nil nisi ignis naturâ est fluidum." The first year in which the performers spoke without a prompter was 1837. There were no Master's exercises for the first time in 1844. To prevent improprieties, in the year 1760, "the duty of inspecting the performances on the day," says Quincy, "and expunging all exceptionable parts, was assigned to the President; on whom it was particularly enjoined 'to put an end to the practice of addressing the female sex.'" At a later period, in 1792, by referring to the "Order of the Exercises of Commencement," we find that in the concluding oration "honorable notice is taken, from year to year, of those who have been the principal Benefactors of the University." The practice is now discontinued.

At the first Commencement, all the magistrates, elders, and invited guests who were present "dined," says Winthrop in his Journal, Vol. II. pp. 87, 88, "at the College with the scholars' ordinary commons, which was done on purpose for the students' encouragement, &c., and it gave good content to all." After dinner, a Psalm was usually sung. In 1685, at Commencement, Sewall says: "After dinner ye 3d part of ye 103d Ps. was sung in ye Hall." The seventy-eighth Psalm was the one usually sung, an account of which will be found under that title. The Senior Class usually waited on the table on Commencement Day. After dinner, they were allowed to take what provisions were left, and eat them at their rooms, or in the hall. This custom was not discontinued until the year 1812.

In 1754, owing to the expensive habits worn on Commencement Day, a law was passed, ordering that on that day "every candidate for his degree appear in black, or dark blue, or gray clothes; and that no one wear any silk night-gowns; and that any candidate, who shall appear dressed contrary to such regulations, may not expect his degree." At present, on Commencement Day, every candidate for a first degree wears, according to the law, "a black dress and the usual black gown."

It was formerly customary, on this day, for the students to provide entertainment in their rooms. But great care was taken, as far as statutory enactments were concerned, that all excess should be avoided. During the presidency of Increase Mather was developed among the students a singular phase of gastronomy, which was noticed by the Corporation in their records, under the date of June 22, 1693, in these words: "The Corporation, having been informed that the custom taken up in the College, not used in any other Universities, for the commencers [graduating class] to have plumb-cake, is dishonorable to the College, not grateful to wise men, and chargeable to the parents of the commencers, do therefore put an end to that custom, and do hereby order that no commencer, or other scholar, shall have any such cakes in their studies or chambers; and that, if any scholar shall offend therein, the cakes shall be taken from him, and he shall moreover pay to the College twenty shillings for each such offence." This stringent regulation was, no doubt, all-sufficient for many years; but in the lapse of time the taste for the forbidden delicacy, which was probably concocted with a skill unknown to the moderns, was again revived, accompanied with confessions to a fondness for several kinds of expensive preparations, the recipes for which preparations, it is to be feared, are inevitably lost. In 1722, in the latter part of President Leverett's administration, an act was passed "for reforming the Extravagancys of Commencements," and providing "that henceforth no preparation nor provision of either Plumb Cake, or Roasted, Boyled, or Baked Meates or Pyes of any kind shal be made by any Commencer," and that no "such have any distilled Lyquours in his Chamber or any composition therewith," under penalty of being "punished twenty shillings, to be paid to the use of the College," and of forfeiture of the provisions and liquors, "to be seized by the tutors." The President and Corporation were accustomed to visit the rooms of the Commencers, "to see if the laws prohibiting certain meats and drinks were not violated." These restrictions not being sufficient, a vote passed the Corporation in 1727, declaring, that "if any, who now doe, or hereafter shall, stand for their degrees, presume to doe any thing contrary to the act of 11th June, 1722, or go about to evade it by plain cake, they shall not be admitted to their degree, and if any, after they have received their degree, shall presume to make any forbidden provisions, their names shall be left or rased out of the Catalogue of the Graduates."

In 1749, the Corporation strongly recommended to the parents and guardians of such as were to take degrees that year, "considering the awful judgments of God upon the land," to "retrench Commencement expenses, so as may best correspond with the frowns of Divine Providence, and that they take effectual care to have their sons' chambers cleared of company, and their entertainments finished, on the evening of said Commencement Day, or, at furthest, by next morning." In 1755, attempts were made to prevent those "who proceeded Bachelors of Arts from having entertainments of any kind, either in the College or any house in Cambridge, after the Commencement Day." This and several other propositions of the Overseers failing to meet with the approbation of the Corporation, a vote finally passed both boards in 1757, by which it was ordered, that, on account of the "distressing drought upon the land," and "in consideration of the dark state of Providence with respect to the war we are engaged in, which Providences call for humiliation and fasting rather than festival entertainments," the "first and second degrees be given to the several candidates without their personal attendance"; a general diploma was accordingly given, and Commencement was omitted for that year. Three years after, "all unnecessary expenses were forbidden," and also "dancing in any part of Commencement week, in the Hall, or in any College building; nor was any undergraduate allowed to give any entertainment, after dinner, on Thursday of that week, under severe penalties." But the laws were not always so strict, for we find that, on account of a proposition made by the Overseers to the Corporation in 1759, recommending a "repeal of the law prohibiting the drinking of punch," the latter board voted, that "it shall be no offence if any scholar shall, at Commencement, make and entertain guests at his chamber with punch," which they afterwards declare, "as it is now usually made, is no intoxicating liquor."

To prevent the disturbances incident to the day, an attempt was made in 1727 to have the "Commencements for time to come more private than has been usual," and for several years after, the time of Commencement was concealed; "only a short notice," says Quincy, "being given to the public of the day on which it was to be held." Friday was the day agreed on, for the reason, says President Wadsworth in his Diary, "that there might be a less remaining time of the week spent in frolicking." This was very ill received by the people of Boston and the vicinity, to whom Commencement was a season of hilarity and festivity; the ministers were also dissatisfied, not knowing the day in some cases, and in others being subjected to great inconvenience on account of their living at a distance from Cambridge. The practice was accordingly abandoned in 1736, and Commencement, as formerly, was held on Wednesday, to general satisfaction. In 1749, "three gentlemen," says Quincy, "who had sons about to be graduated, offered to give the College a thousand pounds old tenor, provided 'a trial was made of Commencements this year, in a more private manner.'" The proposition, after much debate, was rejected, and "public Commencements were continued without interruption, except during the period of the Revolutionary war, and occasionally, from temporary causes, during the remainder of the century, notwithstanding their evils, anomalies, and inconsistencies."[05]

The following poetical account of Commencement at Harvard College is supposed to have been written by Dr. Mather Byles, in the year 1742 or thereabouts. Of its merits, this is no place to speak. As a picture of the times it is valuable, and for this reason, and to show the high rank which Commencement Day formerly held among other days, it is here presented.

"COMMENCEMENT.

 "I sing the day, bright with peculiar charms,
  Whose rising radiance ev'ry bosom warms;
  The day when Cambridge empties all the towns,
  And youths commencing, take their laurel crowns:
  When smiling joys, and gay delights appear,
  And shine distinguish'd, in the rolling year.

 "While the glad theme I labour to rehearse,
  In flowing numbers, and melodious verse,
  Descend, immortal nine, my soul inspire,
  Amid my bosom lavish all your fire,
  While smiling Phoebus, owns the heavenly layes
  And shades the poet with surrounding bayes.
  But chief ye blooming nymphs of heavenly frame,
  Who make the day with double glory flame,
  In whose fair persons, art and nature vie,
  On the young muse cast an auspicious eye:
  Secure of fame, then shall the goddess sing,
  And rise triumphant with a tow'ring wing,
  Her tuneful notes wide-spreading all around,
  The hills shall echo, and the vales resound.

 "Soon as the morn in crimson robes array'd
  With chearful beams dispels the flying shade,
  While fragrant odours waft the air along,
  And birds melodious chant their heavenly song,
  And all the waste of heav'n with glory spread,
  Wakes up the world, in sleep's embraces dead.
  Then those whose dreams were on th' approaching day,
  Prepare in splendid garbs to make their way
  To that admired solemnity, whose date,
  Tho' late begun, will last as long as fate.
  And now the sprightly Fair approach the glass
  To heighten every feature of the face.
  They view the roses flush their glowing cheeks,
  The snowy lillies towering round their necks,
  Their rustling manteaus huddled on in haste,
  They clasp with shining girdles round their waist.
  Nor less the speed and care of every beau,
  To shine in dress and swell the solemn show.
  Thus clad, in careless order mixed by chance,
  In haste they both along the streets advance:
  'Till near the brink of Charles's beauteous stream,
  They stop, and think the lingering boat to blame.
  Soon as the empty skiff salutes the shore,
  In with impetuous haste they clustering pour,
  The men the head, the stern the ladies grace,
  And neighing horses fill the middle space.
  Sunk deep, the boat floats slow the waves along,
  And scarce contains the thickly crowded throng;
  A gen'ral horror seizes on the fair,
  While white-look'd cowards only not despair.
  'Till rowed with care they reach th' opposing side,
  Leap on the shore, and leave the threat'ning tide.
  While to receive the pay the boatman stands,
  And chinking pennys jingle in his hands.
  Eager the sparks assault the waiting cars,
  Fops meet with fops, and clash in civil wars.
  Off fly the wigs, as mount their kicking heels,
  The rudely bouncing head with anguish swells,
  A crimson torrent gushes from the nose,
  Adown the cheeks, and wanders o'er the cloaths.
  Taunting, the victor's strait the chariots leap,
  While the poor batter'd beau's for madness weep.

 "Now in calashes shine the blooming maids,
  Bright'ning the day which blazes o'er their heads;
  The seats with nimble steps they swift ascend,
  And moving on the crowd, their waste of beauties spend.
  So bearing thro' the boundless breadth of heav'n,
  The twinkling lamps of light are graceful driv'n;
  While on the world they shed their glorious rays,
  And set the face of nature in a blaze.

 "Now smoak the burning wheels along the ground,
  While rapid hoofs of flying steeds resound,
  The drivers by no vulgar flame inspir'd,
  But with the sparks of love and glory fir'd,
  With furious swiftness sweep along the way,
  And from the foremost chariot snatch the day.
  So at Olympick games when heros strove,
  In rapid cars to gain the goal of love.
  If on her fav'rite youth the goddess shone
  He left his rival and the winds out-run.

 "And now thy town, O Cambridge! strikes the sight
  Of the beholders with confus'd delight;
  Thy green campaigns wide open to the view,
  And buildings where bright youth their fame pursue.
  Blest village! on whose plains united glows,
  A vast, confus'd magnificence of shows.
  Where num'rous crowds of different colours blend,
  Thick as the trees which from the hills ascend:
  Or as the grass which shoots in verdant spires,
  Or stars which dart thro' natures realms their fires.

 "How am I fir'd with a profuse delight,
  When round the yard I roll my ravish'd sight!
  From the high casements how the ladies show!
  And scatter glory on the crowds below.
  From sash to sash the lovely lightening plays
  And blends their beauties in a radiant blaze.
  So when the noon of night the earth invades
  And o'er the landskip spreads her silent shades.
  In heavens high vault the twinkling stars appear,
  And with gay glory's light the gleemy sphere.
  From their bright orbs a flame of splendors shows,
  And all around th' enlighten'd ether glows.

 "Soon as huge heaps have delug'd all the plains,
  Of tawny damsels, mixt with simple swains,
  Gay city beau's, grave matrons and coquats,
  Bully's and cully's, clergymen and wits.
  The thing which first the num'rous crowd employs,
  Is by a breakfast to begin their joys.
  While wine, which blushes in a crystal glass,
  Streams down in floods, and paints their glowing face.
  And now the time approaches when the bell,
  With dull continuance tolls a solemn knell.
  Numbers of blooming youth in black array
  Adorn the yard, and gladden all the day.
  In two strait lines they instantly divide,
  While each beholds his partner on th' opposing side,
  Then slow, majestick, walks the learned head,
  The senate follow with a solemn tread,
  Next Levi's tribe in reverend order move,
  Whilst the uniting youth the show improve.
  They glow in long procession till they come,
  Near to the portals of the sacred dome;
  Then on a sudden open fly the doors,
  The leader enters, then the croud thick pours.
  The temple in a moment feels its freight,
  And cracks beneath its vast unwieldy weight,
  So when the threatning Ocean roars around
  A place encompass'd with a lofty mound,
  If some weak part admits the raging waves,
  It flows resistless, and the city laves;
  Till underneath the waters ly the tow'rs,
  Which menac'd with their height the heav'nly pow'rs.

 "The work begun with pray'r, with modest pace,
  A youth advancing mounts the desk with grace,
  To all the audience sweeps a circling bow,
  Then from his lips ten thousand graces flow.
  The next that comes, a learned thesis reads,
  The question states, and then a war succeeds.
  Loud major, minor, and the consequence,
  Amuse the crowd, wide-gaping at their fence.
  Who speaks the loudest is with them the best,
  And impudence for learning is confest.

  "The battle o'er, the sable youth descend,
  And to the awful chief, their footsteps bend.
  With a small book, the laurel wreath he gives
  Join'd with a pow'r to use it all their lives.
  Obsequious, they return what they receive,
  With decent rev'rence, they his presence leave.
  Dismiss'd, they strait repeat their back ward way
  And with white napkins grace the sumptuous day.[06]

  "Now plates unnumber'd on the tables shine,
  And dishes fill'd invite the guests to dine.
  The grace perform'd, each as it suits him best,
  Divides the sav'ry honours of the feast,
  The glasses with bright sparkling wines abound
  And flowing bowls repeat the jolly round.
  Thanks said, the multitude unite their voice,
  In sweetly mingled and melodious noise.
  The warbling musick floats along the air,
  And softly winds the mazes of the ear;
  Ravish'd the crowd promiscuously retires,
  And each pursues the pleasure he admires.

 "Behold my muse far distant on the plains,
  Amidst a wrestling ring two jolly swains;
  Eager for fame, they tug and haul for blood,
  One nam'd Jack Luby, t' other Robin Clod,
  Panting they strain, and labouring hard they sweat,
  Mix legs, kick shins, tear cloaths, and ply their feet.
  Now nimbly trip, now stiffly stand their ground,
  And now they twirl, around, around, around;
  Till overcome by greater art or strength,
  Jack Luby lays along his lubber length.
  A fall! a fall! the loud spectators cry,
  A fall! a fall! the echoing hills reply.

 "O'er yonder field in wild confusion runs,
  A clam'rous troop of Affric's sable sons,
  Behind the victors shout, with barbarous roar,
  The vanquish'd fly with hideous yells before,
  The gloomy squadron thro' the valley speeds
  Whilst clatt'ring cudgels rattle o'er their heads.

 "Again to church the learned tribe repair,
  Where syllogisms battle in the air,
  And then the elder youth their second laurels wear.
  Hail! Happy laurels! who our hopes inspire,
  And set our ardent wishes all on fire.
  By you the pulpit and the bar will shine
  In future annals; while the ravish'd nine
  Will in your bosom breathe cælestial flames,
  And stamp Eternity upon your names.
  Accept my infant muse, whose feeble wings
  Can scarce sustain her flight, while you she sings.
  With candour view my rude unfinish'd praise
  And see my Ivy twist around your bayes.
  So Phidias by immortal Jove inspir'd,
  His statue carv'd, by all mankind admir'd.
  Nor thus content, by his approving nod,
  He cut himself upon the shining god.
  That shaded by the umbrage of his name,
  Eternal honours might attend his fame."

In his almanacs, Nathaniel Ames was wont to insert, opposite the days of Commencement week, remarks which he deemed appropriate to that period. His notes for the year 1764 were these:—

"Much talk and nothing said."

"The loquacious more talkative than ever, and fine Harangues preparing."

 "Much Money sunk,
  Much Liquor drunk."

His only note for the year 1765 was this:—

 "Many Crapulæ to Day
  Give the Head-ach to the Gay."

Commencement Day was generally considered a holiday throughout the Province, and in the metropolis the shops were usually closed, and little or no business was done. About ten days before this period, a body of Indians from Natick—men, women, and pappooses—commonly made their appearance at Cambridge, and took up their station around the Episcopal Church, in the cellar of which they were accustomed to sleep, if the weather was unpleasant. The women sold baskets and moccasons; the boys gained money by shooting at it, while the men wandered about and spent the little that was earned by their squaws in rum and tobacco. Then there would come along a body of itinerant negro fiddlers, whose scraping never intermitted during the time of their abode.

The Common, on Commencement week, was covered with booths, erected in lines, like streets, intended to accommodate the populace from Boston and the vicinity with the amusements of a fair. In these were carried on all sorts of dissipation. Here was a knot of gamblers, gathered around a wheel of fortune, or watching the whirl of the ball on a roulette-table. Further along, the jolly hucksters displayed their tempting wares in the shape of cooling beverages and palate-tickling confections. There was dancing on this side, auction-selling on the other; here a pantomimic show, there a blind man, led by a dog, soliciting alms; organ-grinders and hurdy-gurdy grinders, bears and monkeys, jugglers and sword-swallowers, all mingled in inextricable confusion.

In a neighboring field, a countryman had, perchance, let loose a fox, which the dogs were worrying to death, while the surrounding crowd testified their pleasure at the scene by shouts of approbation. Nor was there any want of the spirituous; pails of punch, guarded by stout negroes, bore witness to their own subtle contents, now by the man who lay curled up under the adjoining hedge, "forgetting and forgot," and again by the drunkard, reeling, cursing, and fighting among his comrades.

The following observations from the pen of Professor Sidney Willard, afford an accurate description of the outward manifestations of Commencement Day at Harvard College, during the latter part of the last century. "Commencement Day at that time was a widely noted day, not only among men and women of all characters and conditions, but also among boys. It was the great literary and mob anniversary of Massachusetts, surpassed only in its celebrities by the great civil and mob anniversary, namely, the Fourth of July, and the last Wednesday of May, Election day, so called, the anniversary of the organization of the government of the State for the civil year. But Commencement, perhaps most of all, exhibited an incongruous mixture of men and things. Besides the academic exercises within the sanctuary of learning and religion, followed by the festivities in the College dining-hall, and under temporary tents and awnings erected for the entertainments given to the numerous guests of wealthy parents of young men who had come out successful competitors for prizes in the academic race, the large common was decked with tents filled with various refreshments for the hungry and thirsty multitudes, and the intermediate spaces crowded with men, women, and boys, white and black, many of them gambling, drinking, swearing, dancing, and fighting from morning to midnight. Here and there the scene was varied by some show of curiosities, or of monkeys or less common wild animals, and the gambols of mountebanks, who by their ridiculous tricks drew a greater crowd than the abandoned group at the gaming-tables, or than the fooleries, distortions, and mad pranks of the inebriates. If my revered uncle[07] took a glimpse at these scenes, he did not see there any of our red brethren, as Mr. Jefferson kindly called them, who formed a considerable part of the gathering at the time of his graduation, forty-two years before; but he must have seen exhibitions of depravity which would disgust the most untutored savage. Near the close of the last century these outrages began to disappear, and lessened from year to year, until by public opinion, enforced by an efficient police, they were many years ago wholly suppressed, and the vicinity of the College halls has become, as it should be, a classic ground."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. pp. 251, 252.

It is to such scenes as these that Mr. William Biglow refers, in his poem recited before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, in their dining-hall, August 29th, 1811.

 "All hail, Commencement! when all classes free
  Throng learning's fount, from interest, taste, or glee;
  When sutlers plain in tents, like Jacob, dwell,
  Their goods distribute, and their purses swell;
  When tipplers cease on wretchedness to think,
  Those born to sell, as well as these to drink;
  When every day each merry Andrew clears
  More cash than useful men in many years;
  When men to business come, or come to rake,
  And modest women spurn at Pope's mistake.[08]

 "All hail, Commencement! when all colors join,
  To gamble, riot, quarrel, and purloin;
  When Afric's sooty sons, a race forlorn,
  Play, swear, and fight, like Christians freely born;
  And Indians bless our civilizing merit,
  And get dead drunk with truly Christian spirit;
  When heroes, skilled in pocket-picking sleights,
  Of equal property and equal rights,
  Of rights of man and woman, boldest friends,
  Believing means are sanctioned by their ends,
  Sequester part of Gripus' boundless store,
  While Gripus thanks god Plutus he has more;
  And needy poet, from this ill secure,
  Feeling his fob, cries, 'Blessed are the poor.'"

On the same subject, the writer of Our Chronicle of '26, a satirical poem, versifies in the following manner:—

 "Then comes Commencement Day, and Discord dire
  Strikes her confusion-string, and dust and noise
  Climb up the skies; ladies in thin attire,
  For 't is in August, and both men and boys,
  Are all abroad, in sunshine and in glee
  Making all heaven rattle with their revelry!

 "Ah! what a classic sight it is to see
  The black gowns flaunting in the sultry air,
  Boys big with literary sympathy,
  And all the glories of this great affair!
  More classic sounds!—within, the plaudit shout,
  While Punchinello's rabble echoes it without."

To this the author appends a note, as follows:—

"The holiday extends to thousands of those who have no particular classical pretensions, further than can be recognized in a certain penchant for such jubilees, contracted by attending them for years as hangers-on. On this devoted day these noisy do-nothings collect with mummers, monkeys, bears, and rope-dancers, and hold their revels just beneath the windows of the tabernacle where the literary triumph is enacting.

                             'Tum sæva sonare
  Verbera, tum stridor ferri tractæque catenæ.'"

A writer in Buckingham's New England Magazine, Vol. III., 1832, in an article entitled "Harvard College Forty Years ago," thus describes the customs which then prevailed:—

"As I entered Cambridge, what were my 'first impressions'? The College buildings 'heaving in sight and looming up,' as the sailors say. Pyramids of Egypt! can ye surpass these enormous piles? The Common covered with tents and wigwams, and people of all sorts, colors, conditions, nations, and tongues. A country muster or ordination dwindles into nothing in comparison. It was a second edition of Babel. The Governor's life-guard, in splendid uniform, prancing to and fro, 'Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.' Horny-hoofed, galloping quadrupeds make all the common to tremble.

"I soon steered for the meeting-house, and obtained a seat, or rather standing, in the gallery, determined to be an eyewitness of all the sport of the day. Presently music was heard approaching, such as I had never heard before. It must be 'the music of the spheres.' Anon, three enormous white wigs, supported by three stately, venerable men, yclad in black, flowing robes, were located in the pulpit. A platform of wigs was formed in the body pews, on which one might apparently walk as securely as on the stage. The candidates for degrees seemed to have made a mistake in dressing themselves in black togas instead of white ones, pro more Romanorum. The musicians jammed into their pew in the gallery, very near to me, with enormous fiddles and fifes and ramshorns. Terribile visu! They sounded. I stopped my ears, and with open mouth and staring eyes stood aghast with wonderment. The music ceased. The performances commenced. English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French! These scholars knew everything."

More particular is the account of the observances, at this period, of the day, at Harvard College, as given by Professor Sidney Willard:—

"Commencement Day, in the year 1798, was a day bereft, in some respects, of its wonted cheerfulness. Instead of the serene summer's dawn, and the clear rising of the sun, 'The dawn was overcast, the morning lowered, And heavily in clouds brought on the day.' In the evening, from the time that the public exercises closed until twilight, the rain descended in torrents. The President[09] lay prostrate on his bed from the effects of a violent disease, from which it was feared he could not recover.[10] His house, which on all occasions was the abode of hospitality, and on Commencement Day especially so, (being the great College anniversary,) was now a house of stillness, anxiety, and watching. For seventeen successive years it had been thronged on this anniversary from morn till night, by welcome visitors, cheerfully greeted and cared for, and now it was like a house of mourning for the dead.

"After the literary exercises of the day were closed, the officers in the different branches of the College government and instruction, Masters of Arts, and invited guests, repaired to the College dining-hall without the ceremony of a procession formed according to dignity or priority of right. This the elements forbade. Each one ran the short race as he best could. But as the Alumni arrived, they naturally avoided taking possession of the seats usually occupied by the government of the College. The Governor, Increase Sumner, I suppose, was present, and no doubt all possible respect was paid to the Overseers as well as to the Corporation. I was not present, but dined at my father's house with a few friends, of whom the late Hon. Moses Brown of Beverly was one. We went together to the College hall after dinner; but the honorable and reverend Corporation and Overseers had retired, and I do not remember whether there was any person presiding. If there were, a statue would have been as well. The age of wine and wassail, those potent aids to patriotism, mirth, and song, had not wholly passed away. The merry glee was at that time outrivalled by Adams and Liberty, the national patriotic song, so often and on so many occasions sung, and everywhere so familiarly known that all could join in grand chorus."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. pp. 4, 5.

The irregularities of Commencement week seem at a very early period to have attracted the attention of the College government; for we find that in 1728, to prevent disorder, a formal request was made by the President, at the suggestion of the immediate government, to Lieutenant-Governor Dummer, praying him to direct the sheriff of Middlesex to prohibit the setting up of booths and tents on those public days. Some years after, in 1732, "an interview took place between the Corporation and three justices of the peace in Cambridge, to concert measures to keep order at Commencement, and under their warrant to establish a constable with six men, who, by watching and walking towards the evening on these days, and also the night following, and in and about the entry at the College Hall at dinner-time, should prevent disorders." At the beginning of the present century, it was customary for two special justices to give their attendance at this period, in order to try offences, and a guard of twenty constables was usually present to preserve order and attend on the justices. Among the writings of one, who for fifty years was a constant attendant on these occasions, are the following memoranda, which are in themselves an explanation of the customs of early years. "Commencement, 1828; no tents on the Common for the first time." "Commencement, 1836; no persons intoxicated in the hall or out of it; the first time."

The following extract from the works of a French traveller will be read with interest by some, as an instance of the manner in which our institutions are sometimes regarded by foreigners. "In a free country, everything ought to bear the stamp of patriotism. This patriotism appears every year in a solemn feast celebrated at Cambridge in honor of the sciences. This feast, which takes place once a year in all the colleges of America, is called Commencement. It resembles the exercises and distribution of prizes in our colleges. It is a day of joy for Boston; almost all its inhabitants assemble in Cambridge. The most distinguished of the students display their talents in the presence of the public; and these exercises, which are generally on patriotic subjects, are terminated by a feast, where reign the freest gayety and the most cordial fraternity."—Brissot's Travels in U.S., 1788. London, 1794, Vol. I. pp. 85, 86.

For an account of the chair from which the President delivers diplomas on Commencement Day, see PRESIDENT'S CHAIR.

At Yale College, the first Commencement was held September 13th, 1702, while that institution was located at Saybrook, at which four young men who had before graduated at Harvard College, and one whose education had been private, received the degree of Master of Arts. This and several Commencements following were held privately, according to an act which had been passed by the Trustees, in order to avoid unnecessary expense and other inconveniences. In 1718, the year in which the first College edifice was completed, was held at New Haven the first public Commencement. The following account of the exercises on this occasion was written at the time by one of the College officers, and is cited by President Woolsey in his Discourse before the Graduates of Yale College, August 14th, 1850. "[We were] favored and honored with the presence of his Honor, Governor Saltonstall, and his lady, and the Hon. Col. Taylor of Boston, and the Lieutenant-Governor, and the whole Superior Court, at our Commencement, September 10th, 1718, where the Trustees present,—those gentlemen being present,—in the hall of our new College, first most solemnly named our College by the name of Yale College, to perpetuate the memory of the honorable Gov. Elihu Yale, Esq., of London, who had granted so liberal and bountiful a donation for the perfecting and adorning of it. Upon which the honorable Colonel Taylor represented Governor Yale in a speech expressing his great satisfaction; which ended, we passed to the church, and there the Commencement was carried on. In which affair, in the first place, after prayer an oration was had by the saluting orator, James Pierpont, and then the disputations as usual; which concluded, the Rev. Mr. Davenport [one of the Trustees and minister of Stamford] offered an excellent oration in Latin, expressing their thanks to Almighty God, and Mr. Yale under him, for so public a favor and so great regard to our languishing school. After which were graduated ten young men, whereupon the Hon. Gov. Saltonstall, in a Latin speech, congratulated the Trustees in their success and in the comfortable appearance of things with relation to their school. All which ended, the gentlemen returned to the College Hall, where they were entertained with a splendid dinner, and the ladies, at the same time, were also entertained in the Library; after which they sung the four first verses in the 65th Psalm, and so the day ended."—p. 24.

The following excellent and interesting account of the exercises and customs of Commencement at Yale College, in former times, is taken from the entertaining address referred to above:—"Commencements were not to be public, according to the wishes of the first Trustees, through fear of the attendant expense; but another practice soon prevailed, and continued with three or four exceptions until the breaking out of the war in 1775. They were then private for five years, on account of the times. The early exercises of the candidates for the first degree were a 'saluting' oration in Latin, succeeded by syllogistic disputations in the same language; and the day was closed by the Masters' exercises,—disputations and a valedictory. According to an ancient academical practice, theses were printed and distributed upon this occasion, indicating what the candidates for a degree had studied, and were prepared to defend; yet, contrary to the usage still prevailing at universities which have adhered to the old method of testing proficiency, it does not appear that these theses were ever defended in public. They related to a variety of subjects in Technology, Logic, Grammar, Rhetoric, Mathematics, Physics, Metaphysics, Ethics, and afterwards Theology. The candidates for a Master's degree also published theses at this time, which were called Quæstiones magistrales. The syllogistic disputes were held between an affirmant and respondent, who stood in the side galleries of the church opposite to one another, and shot the weapons of their logic over the heads of the audience. The saluting Bachelor and the Master who delivered the valedictory stood in the front gallery, and the audience huddled around below them to catch their Latin eloquence as it fell. It seems also to have been usual for the President to pronounce an oration in some foreign tongue upon the same occasion.[11]

"At the first public Commencement under President Stiles, in 1781, we find from a particular description which has been handed down, that the original plan, as above described, was subjected for the time to considerable modifications. The scheme, in brief, was as follows. The salutatory oration was delivered by a member of the graduating class, who is now our aged and honored townsman, Judge Baldwin. This was succeeded by the syllogistic disputations, and these by a Greek oration, next to which came an English colloquy. Then followed a forensic disputation, in which James Kent was one of the speakers. Then President Stiles delivered an oration in Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic,—it being an extraordinary occasion. After which the morning was closed with an English oration by one of the graduating class. In the afternoon, the candidates for the second degree had the time, as usual, to themselves, after a Latin discourse by President Stiles. The exhibiters appeared in syllogistic disputes, a dissertation, a poem, and an English oration. Among these performers we find the names of Noah Webster, Joel Barlow, and Oliver Wolcott. Besides the Commencements there were exhibitions upon quarter-days, as they were called, in December and March, as well as at the end of the third term, when the younger classes performed; and an exhibition of the Seniors in July, at the time of their examination for degrees, when the valedictory orator was one of their own choice. This oration was transferred to the Commencement about the year 1798, when the Masters' valedictories had fallen into disuse; and being in English, gave a new interest to the exercises of the day.

"Commencements were long occasions of noisy mirth, and even of riot. The older records are full of attempts, on the part of the Corporation, to put a stop to disorder and extravagance at this anniversary. From a document of 1731, it appears that cannons had been fired in honor of the day, and students were now forbidden to have a share in this on pain of degradation. The same prohibition was found necessary again in 1755, at which time the practice had grown up of illuminating the College buildings upon Commencement eve. But the habit of drinking spirituous liquor, and of furnishing it to friends, on this public occasion, grew up into more serious evils. In the year 1737, the Trustees, having found that there was a great expense in spirituous distilled liquors upon Commencement occasions, ordered that for the future no candidate for a degree, or other student, should provide or allow any such liquors to be drunk in his chamber during Commencement week. And again, it was ordered in 1746, with the view of preventing several extravagant and expensive customs, that there should be 'no kind of public treat but on Commencement, quarter-days, and the day on which the valedictory oration was pronounced; and on that day the Seniors may provide and give away a barrel of metheglin, and nothing more.' But the evil continued a long time. In 1760, it appears that it was usual for the graduating class to provide a pipe of wine, in the payment of which each one was forced to join. The Corporation now attempted by very stringent law to break up this practice; but the Senior Class having united in bringing large quantities of rum into College, the Commencement exercises were suspended, and degrees were withheld until after a public confession of the class. In the two next years degrees were given at the July examination, with a view to prevent such disorders, and no public Commencement was celebrated. Similar scenes are not known to have occurred afterwards, although for a long time that anniversary wore as much the aspect of a training-day as of a literary festival.

"The Commencement Day in the modern sense of the term—that is, a gathering of graduated members and of others drawn together by a common interest in the College, and in its young members who are leaving its walls—has no counterpart that I know of in the older institutions of Europe. It arose by degrees out of the former exercises upon this occasion, with the addition of such as had been usual before upon quarter-days, or at the presentation in July. For a time several of the commencing Masters appeared on the stage to pronounce orations, as they had done before. In process of time, when they had nearly ceased to exhibit, this anniversary began to assume a somewhat new feature; the peculiarity of which consists in this, that the graduates have a literary festival more peculiarly their own, in the shape of discourses delivered before their assembled body, or before some literary society."—Woolsey's Historical Discourse, pp. 65-68.

Further remarks concerning the observance of Commencement at Yale College may be found in Ebenezer Baldwin's "Annals" of that institution, pp. 189-197.

An article "On the Date of the First Public Commencement at Yale College, in New Haven," will be read with pleasure by those who are interested in the deductions of antiquarian research. It is contained in the "Yale Literary Magazine," Vol. XX. pp. 199, 200.

The following account of Commencement at Dartmouth College, on Wednesday, August 24th, 1774, written by Dr. Belknap, may not prove uninteresting.

"About eleven o'clock, the Commencement began in a large tent erected on the east side of the College, and covered with boards; scaffolds and seats being prepared.

"The President began with a prayer in the usual strain. Then an English oration was spoken by one of the Bachelors, complimenting the Trustees, &c. A syllogistic disputation on this question: Amicitia vera non est absque amore divina. Then a cliosophic oration. Then an anthem, 'The voice of my beloved sounds,' &c. Then a forensic dispute, Whether Christ died for all men? which was well supported on both sides. Then an anthem, 'Lift up your heads, O ye gates,' &c.

"The company were invited to dine at the President's and the hall. The Connecticut lads and lasses, I observed, walked about hand in hand in procession, as 't is said they go to a wedding.

"Afternoon. The exercises began with a Latin oration on the state of society by Mr. Kipley. Then an English Oration on the Imitative Arts, by Mr. J. Wheelock. The degrees were then conferred, and, in addition to the usual ceremony of the book, diplomas were delivered to the candidates, with this form of words: 'Admitto vos ad primum (vel secundum) gradum in artibus pro more Academiarum in Anglia, vobisque trado hunc librum, una cum potestate publice prelegendi ubicumque ad hoc munus avocati fueritis (to the masters was added, fuistis vel fueritis), cujus rei hæc diploma membrana scripta est testimonium.' Mr. Woodward stood by the President, and held the book and parchments, delivering and exchanging them as need required. Rev. Mr. Benjamin Pomeroy, of Hebron, was admitted to the degree of Doctor in Divinity.

"After this, McGregore and Sweetland, two Bachelors, spoke a dialogue of Lord Lyttleton's between Apicius and Darteneuf, upon good eating and drinking. The Mercury (who comes in at the close of the piece) performed his part but clumsily; but the two epicures did well, and the President laughed as heartily as the rest of the audience; though considering the circumstances, it might admit of some doubt, whether the dialogue were really a burlesque, or a compliment to the College.

"An anthem and prayer concluded the public exercises. Much decency and regularity were observable through the day, in the numerous attending concourse of people."—Life of Jeremy Belknap, D.D., pp. 69-71.

At Shelby College, Ky., it is customary at Commencement to perform plays, with appropriate costumes, at stated intervals during the exercises.

An account of the manner in which Commencement has been observed at other colleges would only be a repetition of what has been stated above, in reference to Harvard and Yale. These being, the former the first, and the latter the third institution founded in our country, the colleges which were established at a later period grounded, not only their laws, but to a great extent their customs, on the laws and customs which prevailed at Cambridge and New Haven.

COMMENCEMENT CARD. At Union College, there is issued annually at Commencement a card containing a programme of the exercises of the day, signed with the names of twelve of the Senior Class, who are members of the four principal college societies. These cards are worded in the form of invitations, and are to be sent to the friends of the students. To be "on the Commencement card" is esteemed an honor, and is eagerly sought for. At other colleges, invitations are often issued at this period, usually signed by the President.

COMMENCER. In American colleges, a member of the Senior Class, after the examination for degrees; generally, one who commences.

These exercises were, besides an oration usually made by the President, orations both salutatory and valedictory, made by some or other of the commencers.—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. p. 128.

The Corporation with the Tutors shall visit the chambers of the commencers to see that this law be well observed.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 137.

Thirty commencers, besides Mr. Rogers, &c.—Ibid., App., p. 150.

COMMERS. In the German universities, a party of students assembled for the purpose of making an excursion to some place in the country for a day's jollification. On such an occasion, the students usually go "in a long train of carriages with outriders"; generally, a festive gathering of the students.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 56; see also Chap. XVI.

COMMISSARY. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., an officer under the Chancellor, and appointed by him, who holds a court of record for all privileged persons and scholars under the degree of M.A. In this court, all causes are tried and determined by the civil and statute law, and by the custom of the University.—Cam. Cal.

COMMON. To board together; to eat at a table in common.

COMMONER. A student of the second rank in the University of Oxford, Eng., who is not dependent on the foundation for support, but pays for his board or commons, together with all other charges. Corresponds to a PENSIONER at Cambridge. See GENTLEMAN COMMONER.

2. One who boards in commons.

In all cases where those who do damage to the table furniture, or in the steward's kitchen, cannot be detected, the amount shall be charged to the commoners.—Laws Union Coll., 1807, p. 34.

The steward shall keep an accurate list of the commoners.—Ibid., 1807, p. 34.

COMMON ROOM. The room to which all the members of the college have access. There is sometimes one common room for graduates, and another for undergraduates.—Crabb's Tech. Dict.

  Oh, could the days once more but come,
  When calm I smoak'd in common room.
    The Student, Oxf. and Cam., 1750, Vol. I. p. 237.

COMMONS. Food provided at a common table, as in colleges, where many persons eat at the same table, or in the same hall.—Webster.

Commons were introduced into Harvard College at its first establishment, in the year 1636, in imitation of the English universities, and from that time until the year 1849, when they were abolished, seem to have been a never-failing source of uneasiness and disturbance. While the infant College with the title only of "school," was under the superintendence of Mr. Nathaniel Eaton, its first "master," the badness of commons was one of the principal causes of complaint. "At no subsequent period of the College history," says Mr. Quincy, "has discontent with commons been more just and well founded, than under the huswifery of Mrs. Eaton." "It is perhaps owing," Mr. Winthrop observes in his History of New England, "to the gallantry of our fathers, that she was not enjoined in the perpetual malediction they bestowed on her husband." A few years after, we read, in the "Information given by the Corporation and Overseers to the General Court," a proposition either to make "the scholars' charges less, or their commons better." For a long period after this we have no account of the state of commons, "but it is not probable," says Mr. Peirce, "they were materially different from what they have been since."

During the administration of President Holyoke, from 1737 to 1769, commons were the constant cause of disorders among the students. There appears to have been a very general permission to board in private families before the year 1737: an attempt was then made to compel the undergraduates to board in commons. After many resolutions, a law was finally passed, in 1760, prohibiting them "from dining or supping in any house in town, except on an invitation to dine or sup gratis." "The law," says Quincy, "was probably not very strictly enforced. It was limited to one year, and was not renewed."

An idea of the quality of commons may be formed from the following accounts furnished by Dr. Holyoke and Judge Wingate. According to the former of these gentlemen, who graduated in 1746, the "breakfast was two sizings of bread and a cue of beer"; and "evening commons were a pye." The latter, who graduated thirteen years after, says: "As to the commons, there were in the morning none while I was in College. At dinner, we had, of rather ordinary quality, a sufficiency of meat of some kind, either baked or boiled; and at supper, we had either a pint of milk and half a biscuit, or a meat pye of some other kind. Such were the commons in the hall in my day. They were rather ordinary; but I was young and hearty, and could live comfortably upon them. I had some classmates who paid for their commons and never entered the hall while they belonged to the College. We were allowed at dinner a cue of beer, which was a half-pint, and a sizing of bread, which I cannot describe to you. It was quite sufficient for one dinner." By a vote of the Corporation in 1750, a law was passed, declaring "that the quantity of commons be as hath been usual, viz. two sizes of bread in the morning; one pound of meat at dinner, with sufficient sauce" (vegetables), "and a half a pint of beer; and at night that a part pie be of the same quantity as usual, and also half a pint of beer; and that the supper messes be but of four parts, though the dinner messes be of six." This agrees in substance with the accounts given above. The consequence of such diet was, "that the sons of the rich," says Mr. Quincy, "accustomed to better fare, paid for commons, which they would not eat, and never entered the hall; while the students whose resources did not admit of such an evasion were perpetually dissatisfied."

About ten years after, another law was made, "to restrain scholars from breakfasting in the houses of town's people," and provision was made "for their being accommodated with breakfast in the hall, either milk, chocolate, tea, or coffee, as they should respectively choose." They were allowed, however, to provide themselves with breakfasts in their own chambers, but not to breakfast in one another's chambers. From this period breakfast was as regularly provided in commons as dinner, but it was not until about the year 1807 that an evening meal was also regularly provided.

In the year 1765, after the erection of Hollis Hall, the accommodations for students within the walls were greatly enlarged; and the inconvenience being thus removed which those had experienced who, living out of the College buildings, were compelled to eat in commons, a system of laws was passed, by which all who occupied rooms within the College walls were compelled to board constantly in common, "the officers to be exempted only by the Corporation, with the consent of the Overseers; the students by the President only when they were about to be absent for at least one week." Scarcely a year had passed under this new régime "before," says Quincy, "an open revolt of the students took place on account of the provisions, which it took more than a month to quell." "Although," he continues, "their proceedings were violent, illegal, and insulting, yet the records of the immediate government show unquestionably, that the disturbances, in their origin, were not wholly without cause, and that they were aggravated by want of early attention to very natural and reasonable complaints."

During the war of the American Revolution, the difficulty of providing satisfactory commons was extreme, as may be seen from the following vote of the Corporation, passed Aug. 11th, 1777.

"Whereas by law 9th of Chap. VI. it is provided, 'that there shall always be chocolate, tea, coffee, and milk for breakfast, with bread and biscuit and butter,' and whereas the foreign articles above mentioned are now not to be procured without great difficulty, and at a very exorbitant price; therefore, that the charge of commons may be kept as low as possible,—

"Voted, That the Steward shall provide at the common charge only bread or biscuit and milk for breakfast; and, if any of the scholars choose tea, coffee, or chocolate for breakfast, they shall procure those articles for themselves, and likewise the sugar and butter to be used with them; and if any scholars choose to have their milk boiled, or thickened with flour, if it may be had, or with meal, the Steward, having reasonable notice, shall provide it; and further, as salt fish alone is appointed by the aforesaid law for the dinner on Saturdays, and this article is now risen to a very high price, and through the scarcity of salt will probably be higher, the Steward shall not be obliged to provide salt fish, but shall procure fresh fish as often as he can."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 541.

Many of the facts in the following account of commons prior to, and immediately succeeding, the year 1800, have been furnished by Mr. Royal Morse of Cambridge.

The hall where the students took their meals was usually provided with ten tables; at each table were placed two messes, and each mess consisted of eight persons. The tables where the Tutors and Seniors sat were raised eighteen or twenty inches, so as to overlook the rest. It was the duty of one of the Tutors or of the Librarian to "ask a blessing and return thanks," and in their absence, the duty devolved on "the senior graduate or undergraduate." The waiters were students, chosen from the different classes, and receiving for their services suitable compensation. Each table was waited on by members of the class which occupied it, with the exception of the Tutor's table, at which members of the Senior Class served. Unlike the sizars and servitors at the English universities, the waiters were usually much respected, and were in many cases the best scholars in their respective classes.

The breakfast consisted of a specified quantity of coffee, a size of baker's biscuit, which was one biscuit, and a size of butter, which was about an ounce. If any one wished for more than was provided, he was obliged to size it, i.e. order from the kitchen or buttery, and this was charged as extra commons or sizings in the quarter-bill.

At dinner, every mess was served with eight pounds of meat, allowing a pound to each person. On Monday and Thursday the meat was boiled; these days were on this account commonly called "boiling days." On the other days the meat was roasted; these were accordingly named "roasting days." Two potatoes were allowed to each person, which he was obliged to pare for himself. On boiling days, pudding and cabbage were added to the bill of fare, and in their season, greens, either dandelion or the wild pea. Of bread, a size was the usual quantity apiece, at dinner. Cider was the common beverage, of which there was no stated allowance, but each could drink as much as he chose. It was brought, on in pewter quart cans, two to a mess, out of which they drank, passing them from mouth to mouth like the English wassail-bowl. The waiters replenished them as soon as they were emptied.

No regular supper was provided, but a bowl of milk, and a size of bread procured at the kitchen, supplied the place of the evening meal.

Respecting the arrangement of the students at table, before referred to, Professor Sidney Willard remarks: "The intercourse among students at meals was not casual or promiscuous. Generally, the students of the same class formed themselves into messes, as they were called, consisting each of eight members; and the length of one table was sufficient to seat two messes. A mess was a voluntary association of those who liked each other's company; and each member had his own place. This arrangement was favorable for good order; and, where the members conducted themselves with propriety, their cheerful conversation, and even exuberant spirits and hilarity, if not too boisterous, were not unpleasant to that portion of the government who presided at the head table. But the arrangement afforded opportunities also for combining in factious plans and organizations, tending to disorders, which became infectious, and terminated unhappily for all concerned."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. pp. 192, 193.

A writer in the New England Magazine, referring to the same period, says: "In commons, we fared as well as one half of us had been accustomed to at home. Our breakfast consisted of a good-sized biscuit of wheaten flour, with butter and coffee, chocolate, or milk, at our option. Our dinner was served up on dishes of pewter, and our drink, which was cider, in cans of the same material. For our suppers, we went with our bowls to the kitchen, and received our rations of milk, or chocolate, and bread, and returned with them to our rooms."—Vol. III. p. 239.

Although much can be said in favor of the commons system, on account of its economy and its suitableness to health and study, yet these very circumstances which were its chief recommendation were the occasion also of all the odium which it had to encounter. "That simplicity," says Peirce, "which makes the fare cheap, and wholesome, and philosophical, renders it also unsatisfactory to dainty palates; and the occasional appearance of some unlucky meat, or other food, is a signal for a general outcry against the provisions." In the plain but emphatic words of one who was acquainted with the state of commons, as they once were at Harvard College, "the butter was sometimes so bad, that a farmer would not take it to grease his cart-wheels with." It was the usual practice of the Steward, when veal was cheap, to furnish it to the students three, four, and sometimes five times in the week; the same with reference to other meats when they could be bought at a low price, and especially with lamb. The students, after eating this latter kind of meat for five or six successive weeks would often assemble before the Steward's house, and, as if their natures had been changed by their diet, would bleat and blatter until he was fain to promise them a change of food, upon which they would separate until a recurrence of the same evil compelled them to the same measures.

The annexed account of commons at Yale College, in former times, is given by President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse, pronounced at New Haven, August 14th, 1850.

"At first, a college without common meals was hardly conceived of; and, indeed, if we trace back the history of college as they grew up at Paris, nothing is more of their essence than that students lived and ate together in a kind of conventual system. No doubt, also, when the town of New Haven was smaller, it was far more difficult to find desirable places for boarding than at present. But however necessary, the Steward's department was always beset with difficulties and exposed to complaints which most gentlemen present can readily understand. The following rations of commons, voted by the Trustees in 1742, will show the state of college fare at that time. 'Ordered, that the Steward shall provide the commons for the scholars as follows, viz.: For breakfast, one loaf of bread for four, which [the dough] shall weigh one pound. For dinner for four, one loaf of bread as aforesaid, two and a half pounds beef, veal, or mutton, or one and three quarter pounds salt pork about twice a week in the summer time, one quart of beer, two pennyworth of sauce [vegetables]. For supper for four, two quarts of milk and one loaf of bread, when milk can conveniently be had, and when it cannot, then apple-pie, which shall be made of one and three fourth pounds dough, one quarter pound hog's fat, two ounces sugar, and half a peck apples.' In 1759 we find, from a vote prohibiting the practice, that beer had become one of the articles allowed for the evening meal. Soon after this, the evening meal was discontinued, and, as is now the case in the English colleges, the students had supper in their own rooms, which led to extravagance and disorder. In the Revolutionary war the Steward was quite unable once or twice to provide food for the College, and this, as has already appeared, led to the dispersion of the students in 1776 and 1777, and once again in 1779 delayed the beginning of the winter term several weeks. Since that time, nothing peculiar has occurred with regard to commons, and they continued with all their evils of coarse manners and wastefulness for sixty years. The conviction, meanwhile, was increasing, that they were no essential part of the College, that on the score of economy they could claim no advantage, that they degraded the manners of students and fomented disorder. The experiment of suppressing them has hitherto been only a successful one. No one, who can retain a lively remembrance of the commons and the manners as they were both before and since the building of the new hall in 1819, will wonder that this resolution was adopted by the authorities of the College."—pp. 70-72.

The regulations which obtained at meal-time in commons were at one period in these words: "The waiters in the hall, appointed by the President, are to put the victuals on the tables spread with decent linen cloths, which are to be washed every week by the Steward's procurement, and the Tutors, or some of the senior scholars present, are to ask a blessing on the food, and to return thanks. All the scholars at mealtime are required to behave themselves decently and gravely, and abstain from loud talking. No victuals, platters, cups, &c. may be carried out of the hall, unless in case of sickness, and with liberty from one of the Tutors. Nor may any scholar go out before thanks are returned. And when dinner is over, the waiters are to carry the platters and cloths back into the kitchen. And if any one shall offend in either of these things, or carry away anything belonging to the hall without leave, he shall be fined sixpence."—Laws of Yale Coll., 1774, p. 19.

From a little work by a graduate at Yale College of the class of 1821, the accompanying remarks, referring to the system of commons as generally understood, are extracted.

"The practice of boarding the students in commons was adopted by our colleges, naturally, and perhaps without reflection, from the old universities of Europe, and particularly from those of England. At first those universities were without buildings, either for board or lodging; being merely rendezvous for such as wished to pursue study. The students lodged at inns, or at private houses, defraying out of their own pockets, and in their own way, all charges for board and education. After a while, in consequence of the exorbitant demands of landlords, halls were built, and common tables furnished, to relieve them from such exactions. Colleges, with chambers for study and lodging, were erected for a like reason. Being founded, in many cases, by private munificence, for the benefit of indigent students, they naturally included in their economy both lodging-rooms and board. There was also a police reason for the measure. It was thought that the students could be better regulated as to their manners and behavior, being brought together under the eye of supervisors."

Omitting a few paragraphs, we come to a more particular account of some of the jocose scenes which resulted from the commons system as once developed at Yale College.

"The Tutors, who were seated at raised tables, could not, with all their vigilance, see all that passed, and they winked at much they did see. Boiled potatoes, pieces of bread, whole loaves, balls of butter, dishes, would be flung back and forth, especially between Sophomores and Freshmen; and you were never sure, in raising a cup to your lips, that it would not be dashed out of your hands, and the contents spilt upon your clothes, by one of these flying articles slyly sent at random. Whatever damage was done was averaged on our term-bills; and I remember a charge of six hundred tumblers, thirty coffee-pots, and I know not how many other articles of table furniture, destroyed or carried off in a single term. Speaking of tumblers, it may be mentioned as an instance of the progress of luxury, even there, that down to about 1815 such a thing was not known, the drinking-vessels at dinner being capacious pewter mugs, each table being furnished with two. We were at one time a good deal incommoded by the diminutive size of the milk-pitchers, which were all the while empty and gone for more. A waiter mentioned, for our patience, that, when these were used up, a larger size would be provided. 'O, if that's the case, the remedy is easy.' Accordingly the hint was passed through the room, the offending pitchers were slyly placed upon the floor, and, as we rose from the tables, were crushed under foot. The next morning the new set appeared. One of the classes being tired of lamb, lamb, lamb, wretchedly cooked, during the season of it, expressed their dissatisfaction by entering the hall bleating; no notice of which being taken, a day or two after they entered in advance of the Tutors, and cleared the tables of it, throwing it out of the windows, platters and all, and immediately retired.

"In truth, not much could be said in commendation of our Alma Mater's table. A worse diet for sedentary men than that we had during the last days of the old hall, now the laboratory, cannot be imagined. I will not go into particulars, for I hate to talk about food. It was absolutely destructive of health. I know it to have ruined, permanently, the health of some, and I have not the least doubt of its having occasioned, in certain instances which I could specify, incurable debility and premature death."—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, pp. 113-117.

See INVALID'S TABLE. SLUM.

That the commons at Dartmouth College were at times of a quality which would not be called the best, appears from the annexed paragraph, written in the year 1774. "He [Eleazer Wheelock, President of the College] has had the mortification to lose two cows, and the rest were greatly hurt by a contagious distemper, so that they could not have a full supply of milk; and once the pickle leaked out of the beef-barrel, so that the meat was not sweet. He had also been ill-used with respect to the purchase of some wheat, so that they had smutty bread for a while, &c. The scholars, on the other hand, say they scarce ever have anything but pork and greens, without vinegar, and pork and potatoes; that fresh meat comes but very seldom, and that the victuals are very badly dressed."—Life of Jeremy Belknap, D.D., pp. 68, 69.

The above account of commons applies generally to the system as it was carried out in the other colleges in the United States. In almost every college, commons have been abolished, and with them have departed the discords, dissatisfactions, and open revolts, of which they were so often the cause.

See BEVER.

COMMORANTES IN VILLA. Latin; literally, those abiding in town. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the designation of Masters of Arts, and others of higher degree, who, residing within the precincts of the University, enjoy the privilege of being members of the Senate, without keeping their names on the college boards. —Gradus ad Cantab.

To have a vote in the Senate, the graduate must keep his name on the books of some college, or on the list of the commorantes in villâ.—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 283.

COMPOSITION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., translating
English into Greek or Latin is called composition.—Bristed.

In composition and cram I was yet untried.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 34.

You will have to turn English prose into Greek and Latin prose, English verse into Greek Iambic Trimeters, and part of some chorus in the Agamemnon into Latin, and possibly also into English verse. This is the "composition," and is to be done, remember, without the help of books or any other assistance.—Ibid., p. 68.

The term Composition seems in itself to imply that the translation is something more than a translation.—Ibid., p. 185.

Writing a Latin Theme, or original Latin verses, is designated Original Composition.—Bristed.

COMPOSUIST. A writer; composer. "This extraordinary word," says Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "has been much used at some of our colleges, but very seldom elsewhere. It is now rarely heard among us. A correspondent observes, that 'it is used in England among musicians.' I have never met with it in any English publications upon the subject of music."

The word is not found, I believe, in any dictionary of the English tongue.

COMPOUNDER. One at a university who pays extraordinary fees, according to his means, for the degree he is to take. A Grand Compounder pays double fees. See the Customs and Laws of Univ. of Cam., Eng., p. 297.

CONCIO AD CLERUM. A sermon to the clergy. In the English universities, an exercise or Latin sermon, which is required of every candidate for the degree of D.D. Used sometimes in America.

In the evening the "concio ad clerum" will be preached.—Yale
Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 426.

CONDITION. A student on being examined for admission to college, if found deficient in certain studies, is admitted on condition he will make up the deficiency, if it is believed on the whole that he is capable of pursuing the studies of the class for which he is offered. The branches in which he is deficient are called conditions.

  Talks of Bacchus and tobacco, short sixes, sines, transitions,
  And Alma Mater takes him in on ten or twelve conditions.
    Poem before Y.H. Soc., Harv. Coll.

                          Praying his guardian powers
  To assist a poor Sub Fresh at the dread Examination,
  And free from all conditions to insure his first vacation.
    Poem before Iadma of Harv. Coll.

CONDITION. To admit a student as member of a college, who on being examined has been found deficient in some particular, the provision of his admission being that he will make up the deficiency.

A young man shall come down to college from New Hampshire, with no preparation save that of a country winter-school, shall be examined and "conditioned" in everything, and yet he shall come out far ahead of his city Latin-school classmate.—A Letter to a Young Man who has just entered College, 1849, p. 8.

They find themselves conditioned on the studies of the term, and not very generally respected.—Harvard Mag., Vol. I. p. 415.

CONDUCT. The title of two clergymen appointed to read prayers at
Eton College, in England.—Mason. Webster.

CONFESSION. It was formerly the custom in the older American colleges, when a student had rendered himself obnoxious to punishment, provided the crime was not of an aggravated nature, to pardon and restore him to his place in the class, on his presenting a confession of his fault, to be read publicly in the hall. The Diary of President Leverett, of Harvard College, under date of the 20th of March, 1714, contains an interesting account of the confession of Larnel, an Indian student belonging to the Junior Sophister class, who had been guilty of some offence for which he had been dismissed from college.

"He remained," says Mr. Leverett, "a considerable time at Boston, in a state of penance. He presented his confession to Mr. Pemberton, who thereupon became his intercessor, and in his letter to the President expresses himself thus: 'This comes by Larnel, who brings a confession as good as Austin's, and I am charitably disposed to hope it flows from a like spirit of penitence.' In the public reading of his confession, the flowing of his passions was extraordinarily timed, and his expressions accented, and most peculiarly and emphatically those of the grace of God to him; which indeed did give a peculiar grace to the performance itself, and raised, I believe, a charity in some that had very little I am sure, and ratified wonderfully that which I had conceived of him. Having made his public confession, he was restored to his standing in the College."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. pp. 443, 444.

CONGREGATION. At Oxford, the house of congregation is one of the two assemblies in which the business of the University, as such, is carried on. In this house the Chancellor, or his vicar the Vice-Chancellor, or in his absence one of his four deputies, termed Pro-Vice-Chancellors, and the two Proctors, either by themselves or their deputies, always preside. The members of this body are regents, "either regents 'necessary' or 'ad placitum,' that is, on the one hand, all doctors and masters of arts, during the first year of their degree; and on the other, all those who have gone through the year of their necessary regency, and which includes all resident doctors, heads of colleges and halls, professors and public lecturers, public examiners, masters of the schools, or examiners for responsions or 'little go,' deans and censors of colleges, and all other M.A.'s during the second year of their regency." The business of the house of congregation, which may be regarded as the oligarchical body, is chiefly to grant degrees, and pass graces and dispensations.—Oxford Guide.

CONSERVATOR. An officer who has the charge of preserving the rights and privileges of a city, corporation, or community, as in Roman Catholic universities.—Webster.

CONSILIUM ABEUNDI. Latin; freely, the decree of departure. In German universities, the consilium abeundi "consists in expulsion out of the district of the court of justice within which the university is situated. This punishment lasts a year; after the expiration of which, the banished student can renew his matriculation."—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 33.

CONSISTORY COURT. In the University of Cambridge, England, there is a consistory court of the Chancellor and of the Commissary. "For the former," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "the Chancellor, and in his absence the Vice-Chancellor, assisted by some of the heads of houses, and one or more doctors of the civil law, administers justice desired by any member of the University, &c. In the latter, the Commissary acts by authority given him under the seal of the Chancellor, as well in the University as at Stourbridge and Midsummer fairs, and takes cognizance of all offences, &c. The proceedings are the same in both courts."

CONSTITUTIONAL. Among students at the University of Cambridge,
Eng., a walk for exercise.

The gallop over Bullington, and the "constitutional" up
Headington.—Lond. Quart. Rev., Am. ed., Vol. LXXIII. p. 53.

Instead of boots he [the Cantab] wears easy low-heeled shoes, for greater convenience in fence and ditch jumping, and other feats of extempore gymnastics which diversify his "constitutionals".—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 4.

Even the mild walks which are dignified with the name of exercise there, how unlike the Cantab's constitutional of eight miles in less than two hours.—Ibid., p. 45.

Lucky is the man who lives a mile off from his private tutor, or has rooms ten minutes' walk from chapel: he is sure of that much constitutional daily.—Ibid., p. 224.

"Constitutionals" of eight miles in less than two hours, varied with jumping hedges, ditches, and gates; "pulling" on the river, cricket, football, riding twelve miles without drawing bridle,… are what he understands by his two hours' exercise.—Ibid., p. 328.

CONSTITUTIONALIZING. Walking.

The most usual mode of exercise is walking,—constitutionalizing is the Cantab for it.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 19.

CONVENTION. In the University of Cambridge, England, a court consisting of the Master and Fellows of a college, who sit in the Combination Room, and pass sentence on any young offender against the laws of soberness and chastity.—Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.

CONVICTOR. Latin, a familiar acquaintance. In the University of Oxford, those are called convictores who, although not belonging to the foundation of any college or hall, have at any time been regents, and have constantly kept their names on the books of some college or hall, from the time of their admission to the degree of M.A., or Doctors in either of the three faculties.—Oxf. Cal.

CONVOCATION. At Oxford, the house of convocation is one of the two assemblies in which the business of the University, as such, is transacted. It consists both of regents and non-regents, "that is, in brief, all masters of arts not 'honorary,' or 'ad eundems' from Cambridge or Dublin, and of course graduates of a higher order." In this house, the Chancellor, or his vicar the Vice-Chancellor, or in his absence one of his four deputies, termed Pro-Vice-Chancellors, and the two Proctors, either by themselves or their deputies, always preside. The business of this assembly—which may be considered as the house of commons, excepting that the lords have a vote here equally as in their own upper house, i.e. the house of congregation—is unlimited, extending to all subjects connected with the well-being of the University, including the election of Chancellor, members of Parliament, and many of the officers of the University, the conferring of extraordinary degrees, and the disposal of the University ecclesiastical patronage. It has no initiative power, this resting solely with the hebdomadal board, but it can debate, and accept or refuse, the measures which originate in that board.—Oxford Guide. Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 223.

In the University of Cambridge, England, an assembly of the Senate out of term time is called a convocation. In such a case a grace is immediately passed to convert the convocation into a congregation, after which the business proceeds as usual.—Cam. Cal.

2. At Trinity College, Hartford, the house of convocation consists of the Fellows and Professors, with all persons who have received any academic degree whatever in the same, except such as may be lawfully deprived of their privileges. Its business is such as may from time to time be delegated by the Corporation, from which it derives its existence; and is, at present, limited to consulting and advising for the good of the College, nominating the Junior Fellows, and all candidates for admissions ad eundem; making laws for its own regulation; proposing plans, measures, or counsel to the Corporation; and to instituting, endowing, and naming with concurrence of the same, professorships, scholarships, prizes, medals, and the like. This and the Corporation compose the Senatus Academicus.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, pp. 6, 7.

COPE. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the ermined robe worn by a Doctor in the Senate House, on Congregation Day, is called a cope.

COPUS. "Of mighty ale, a large quarte."—Chaucer.

The word copus and the beverage itself are both extensively used among the men of the University of Cambridge, England. "The conjecture," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "is surely ridiculous and senseless, that Copus is contracted from _Epis_copus, a bishop, 'a mixture of wine, oranges, and sugar.' A copus of ale is a common fine at the student's table in hall for speaking Latin, or for some similar impropriety."

COPY. At Cambridge, Eng., this word is applied exclusively to papers of verse composition. It is a public-school term transplanted to the University.—Bristed.

CORK, CALK. In some of the Southern colleges, this word, with a derived meaning, signifies a complete stopper. Used in the sense of an entire failure in reciting; an utter inability to answer an instructor's interrogatories.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. In the older American colleges, corporal punishment was formerly sanctioned by law, and several instances remain on record which show that its infliction was not of rare occurrence.

Among the laws, rules, and scholastic forms established between the years 1642 and 1646, by Mr. Dunster, the first President of Harvard College, occurs the following: "Siquis scholarium ullam Dei et hujus Collegii legem, sive animo perverso, seu ex supinâ negligentiâ, violârit, postquam fuerit bis admonitus, si non adultus, virgis coërceatur, sin adultus, ad Inspectores Collegii deferendus erit, ut publicè in eum pro merítis animadversio fiat." In the year 1656, this law was strengthened by another, recorded by Quincy, in these words: "It is hereby ordered that the President and Fellows of Harvard College, for the time being, or the major part of them, are hereby empowered, according to their best discretion, to punish all misdemeanors of the youth in their society, either by fine, or whipping in the Hall openly, as the nature of the offence shall require, not exceeding ten shillings or ten stripes for one offence; and this law to continue in force until this Court or the Overseers of the College provide some other order to punish such offences."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. pp. 578, 513.

A knowledge of the existence of such laws as the above is in some measure a preparation for the following relation given by Mr. Peirce in his History of Harvard University.

"At the period when Harvard College was founded," says that gentleman, "one of the modes of punishment in the great schools of England and other parts of Europe was corporal chastisement. It was accordingly introduced here, and was, no doubt, frequently put in practice. An instance of its infliction, as part of the sentence upon an offender, is presented in Judge Sewall's MS. Diary, with the particulars of a ceremonial, which was reserved probably for special occasions. His account will afford some idea of the manners and spirit of the age:—

"'June 15, 1674, Thomas Sargeant was examined by the Corporation finally. The advice of Mr. Danforth, Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Thacher, Mr. Mather (the present), was taken. This was his sentence:

"'That being convicted of speaking blasphemous words concerning the H.G., he should be therefore publickly whipped before all the scholars.

"'2. That he should be suspended as to taking his degree of Bachelor. (This sentence read before him twice at the President's before the Committee and in the Library, before execution.)

"'3. Sit alone by himself in the Hall uncovered at meals, during the pleasure of the President and Fellows, and be in all things obedient, doing what exercise was appointed him by the President, or else be finally expelled the College. The first was presently put in execution in the Library (Mr. Danforth, Jr. being present) before the scholars. He kneeled down, and the instrument, Goodman Hely, attended the President's word as to the performance of his part in the work. Prayer was had before and after by the President, July 1, 1674.'"

"Men's ideas," continues Mr. Peirce, "must have been very different from those of the present day, to have tolerated a law authorizing so degrading a treatment of the members of such a society. It may easily be imagined what complaints and uneasiness its execution must frequently have occasioned among the friends and connections of those who were the subjects of it. In one instance, it even occasioned the prosecution of a Tutor; but this was as late as 1733, when old rudeness had lost much of the people's reverence. The law, however, was suffered, with some modification, to continue more than a century. In the revised body of Laws made in the year 1734, we find this article: 'Notwithstanding the preceding pecuniary mulcts, it shall be lawful for the President, Tutors, and Professors, to punish Undergraduates by Boxing, when they shall judge the nature or circumstances of the offence call for it.' This relic of barbarism, however, was growing more and more repugnant to the general taste and sentiment. The late venerable Dr. Holyoke, who was of the class of 1746, observed, that in his day 'corporal punishment was going out of use'; and at length it was expunged from the code, never, we trust, to be recalled from the rubbish of past absurdities."—pp. 227, 228.

The last movements which were made in reference to corporal punishment are thus stated by President Quincy, in his History of Harvard University. "In July, 1755, the Overseers voted, that it [the right of boxing] should be 'taken away.' The Corporation, however, probably regarded it as too important an instrument of authority to be for ever abandoned, and voted, 'that it should be suspended, as to the execution of it, for one year.' When this vote came before the Overseers for their sanction, the board hesitated, and appointed a large committee 'to consider and make report what punishments they apprehend proper to be substituted instead of boxing, in case it be thought expedient to repeal or suspend the law which allows or establishes the same.' From this period the law disappeared, and the practice was discontinued."—Vol. II. p. 134.

The manner in which corporal punishment was formerly inflicted at Yale College is stated by President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse, delivered at New Haven, August, 1850. After speaking of the methods of punishing by fines and degradation, he thus proceeds to this topic: "There was a still more remarkable punishment, as it must strike the men of our times, and which, although for some reason or other no traces of it exist in any of our laws so far as I have discovered, was in accordance with the 'good old plan,' pursued probably ever since the origin of universities. I refer—'horresco referens'—to the punishment of boxing or cuffing. It was applied before the Faculty to the luckless offender by the President, towards whom the culprit, in a standing position, inclined his head, while blows fell in quick succession upon either ear. No one seems to have been served in this way except Freshmen and commencing 'Sophimores.'[12] I do not find evidence that this usage much survived the first jubilee of the College. One of the few known instances of it, which is on other accounts remarkable, was as follows. A student in the first quarter of his Sophomore year, having committed an offence for which he had been boxed when a Freshman, was ordered to be boxed again, and to have the additional penalty of acting as butler's waiter for one week. On presenting himself, more academico, for the purpose of having his ears boxed, and while the blow was falling, he dodged and fled from the room and the College. The beadle was thereupon ordered to try to find him, and to command him to keep himself out of College and out of the yard, and to appear at prayers the next evening, there to receive further orders. He was then publicly admonished and suspended; but in four days after submitted to the punishment adjudged, which was accordingly inflicted, and upon his public confession his suspension was taken off. Such public confessions, now unknown, were then exceedingly common."

After referring to the instance mentioned above, in which corporal punishment was inflicted at Harvard College, the author speaks as follows, in reference to the same subject, as connected with the English universities. "The excerpts from the body of Oxford statutes, printed in the very year when this College was founded, threaten corporal punishment to persons of the proper age,—that is, below the age of eighteen,—for a variety of offences; and among the rest for disrespect to Seniors, for frequenting places where 'vinum aut quivis alius potus aut herba Nicotiana ordinarie venditur,' for coming home to their rooms after the great Tom or bell of Christ's Church had sounded, and for playing football within the University precincts or in the city streets. But the statutes of Trinity College, Cambridge, contain more remarkable rules, which are in theory still valid, although obsolete in fact. All the scholars, it is there said, who are absent from prayers,—Bachelors excepted,—if over eighteen years of age, 'shall be fined a half-penny, but if they have not completed the year of their age above mentioned, they shall be chastised with rods in the hall on Friday.' At this chastisement all undergraduates were required to be lookers on, the Dean having the rod of punishment in his hand; and it was provided also, that whosoever should not answer to his name on this occasion, if a boy, should be flogged on Saturday. No doubt this rigor towards the younger members of the society was handed down from the monastic forms which education took in the earlier schools of the Middle Ages. And an advance in the age of admission, as well as a change in the tone of treatment of the young, may account for this system being laid aside at the universities; although, as is well known, it continues to flourish at the great public schools of England."—pp. 49-51.

CORPORATION. The general government of colleges and universities is usually vested in a corporation aggregate, which is preserved by a succession of members. "The President and Fellows of Harvard College," says Mr. Quincy in his History of Harvard University, "being the only Corporation in the Province, and so continuing during the whole of the seventeenth century, they early assumed, and had by common usage conceded to them, the name of "The Corporation," by which they designate themselves in all the early records. Their proceedings are recorded as being done 'at a meeting of the Corporation,' or introduced by the formula, 'It is ordered by the Corporation,' without stating the number or the names of the members present, until April 19th, 1675, when, under President Oakes, the names of those present were first entered on the records, and afterwards they were frequently, though not uniformly, inserted."—Vol. I. p. 274.

2. At Trinity College, Hartford, the Corporation, on which the House of Convocation is wholly dependent, and to which, by law, belongs the supreme control of the College, consists of not more than twenty-four Trustees, resident within the State of Connecticut; the Chancellor and President of the College being ex officio members, and the Chancellor being ex officio President of the same. They have authority to fill their own vacancies; to appoint to offices and professorships; to direct and manage the funds for the good of the College; and, in general, to exercise the powers of a collegiate society, according to the provisions of the charter.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 6.

COSTUME. At the English universities there are few objects that attract the attention of the stranger more than the various academical dresses worn by the members of those institutions. The following description of the various costumes assumed in the University of Cambridge is taken from "The Cambridge Guide," Ed. 1845.

"A Doctor in Divinity has three robes: the first, a gown made of scarlet cloth, with ample sleeves terminating in a point, and lined with rose-colored silk, which is worn in public processions, and on all state and festival days;—the second is the cope, worn at Great St. Mary's during the service on Litany-days, in the Divinity Schools during an Act, and at Conciones ad Clerum; it is made of scarlet cloth, and completely envelops the person, being closed down the front, which is trimmed with an edging of ermine; at the back of it is affixed a hood of the same costly fur;—the third is a gown made of black silk or poplin, with full, round sleeves, and is the habit commonly worn in public by a D.D.; Doctors, however, sometimes wear a Master of Arts' gown, with a silk scarf. These several dresses are put over a black silk cassock, which covers the entire body, around which it is fastened by a broad sash, and has sleeves coming down to the wrists, like a coat. A handsome scarf of the same materials, which hangs over the shoulders, and extends to the feet, is always worn with the scarlet and black gowns. A square black cloth cap, with silk tassel, completes the costume.

"Doctors in the Civil Law and in Physic have two robes: the first is the scarlet gown, as just described, and the second, or ordinary dress of a D.C.L., is a black silk gown, with a plain square collar, the sleeves hanging down square to the feet;—the ordinary gown of an M.D. is of the same shape, but trimmed at the collar, sleeves, and front with rich black silk lace.

"A Doctor in Music commonly wears the same dress as a D.C.L.; but on festival and scarlet-days is arrayed in a gown made of rich white damask silk, with sleeves and facings of rose-color, a hood of the same, and a round black velvet cap with gold tassel.

"Bachelors in Divinity and Masters of Arts wear a black gown, made of bombazine, poplin, or silk. It has sleeves extending to the feet, with apertures for the arms just above the elbow, and may be distinguished by the shape of the sleeves, which hang down square, and are cut out at the bottom like the section of a horseshoe.

"Bachelors in the Civil Law and in Physic wear a gown of the same shape as that of a Master of Arts.

"All Graduates of the above ranks are entitled to wear a hat, instead of the square black cloth cap, with their gowns, and the custom of doing so is generally adopted, except by the HEADS, Tutors, and University and College Officers, who consider it more correct to appear in the full academical costume.

"A Bachelor of Arts' gown is made of bombazine or poplin, with large sleeves terminating in a point, with apertures for the arms, just below the shoulder-joint.[13] Bachelor Fellow-Commoners usually wear silk gowns, and square velvet caps. The caps of other Bachelors are of cloth.

"All the above, being Graduates, when they use surplices in chapel wear over them their hoods, which are peculiar to the several degrees. The hoods of Doctors are made of scarlet cloth, lined with rose-colored silk; those of Bachelors in Divinity, and Non-Regent Masters of Arts, are of black silk; those of Regent Masters of Arts and Bachelors in the Civil Law and in Physic, of black silk lined with white; and those of Bachelors of Arts, of black serge, trimmed with a border of white lamb's-wool.

"The dresses of the Undergraduates are the following:—

"A Nobleman has two gowns: the first in shape like that of the Fellow-Commoners, is made of purple Ducape, very richly embroidered with gold lace, and is worn in public processions, and on festival-days: a square black velvet cap with a very large gold tassel is worn with it;—the second, or ordinary gown, is made of black silk, with full round sleeves, and a hat is worn with it. The latter dress is worn also by the Bachelor Fellows of King's College.

"A Fellow-Commoner wears a black prince's stuff gown, with a square collar, and straight hanging sleeves, which are decorated with gold lace; and a square black velvet cap with a gold tassel.

"The Fellow-Commoners of Emmanuel College wear a similar gown, with the addition of several gold-lace buttons attached to the trimmings on the sleeves;—those of Trinity College have a purple prince's stuff gown, adorned with silver lace,[14] and a silver tassel is attached to the cap;—at Downing the gown is made of black silk, of the same shape, ornamented with tufts and silk lace; and a square cap of velvet with a gold tassel is worn. At Jesus College, a Bachelor's silk gown is worn, plaited up at the sleeve, and with a gold lace from the shoulder to the bend of the arm. At Queen's a Bachelor's silk gown, with a velvet cap and gold tassel, is worn: the same at Corpus and Magdalene; at the latter it is gathered and looped up at the sleeve,—at the former (Corpus) it has velvet facings. Married Fellow-Commoners usually wear a black silk gown, with full, round sleeves, and a square velvet cap with silk tassel.[15]

"The Pensioner's gown and cap are mostly of the same material and shape as those of the Bachelor's: the gown differs only in the mode of trimming. At Trinity and Caius Colleges the gown is purple, with large sleeves, terminating in a point. At St. Peter's and Queen's, the gown is precisely the same as that of a Bachelor; and at King's, the same, but made of fine black woollen cloth. At Corpus Christi is worn a B.A. gown, with black velvet facings. At Downing and Trinity Hall the gown is made of black bombazine, with large sleeves, looped up at the elbows.[16]

"Students in the Civil Law and in Physic, who have kept their Acts, wear a full-sleeved gown, and are entitled to use a B.A. hood.

"Bachelors of Arts and Undergraduates are obliged by the statutes to wear their academical costume constantly in public, under a penalty of 6s. 8d. for every omission.[17]

"Very few of the University Officers have distinctive dresses.

"The Chancellor's gown is of black damask silk, very richly embroidered with gold. It is worn with a broad, rich lace band, and square velvet cap with large gold tassel.

"The Vice-Chancellor dresses merely as a Doctor, except at Congregations in the Senate-House, when he wears a cope. When proceeding to St. Mary's, or elsewhere, in his official capacity, he is preceded by the three Esquire-Bedells with their silver maces, which were the gift of Queen Elizabeth.

"The Regius Professors of the Civil Law and of Physic, when they preside at Acts in the Schools, wear copes, and round black velvet caps with gold tassels.

"The Proctors are not distinguishable from other Masters of Arts, except at St. Mary's Church and at Congregations, when they wear cassocks and black silk ruffs, and carry the Statutes of the University, being attended by two servants, dressed in large blue cloaks, ornamented with gold-lace buttons.

"The Yeoman-Bedell, in processions, precedes the Esquire-Bedells, carrying an ebony mace, tipped with silver; his gown, as well as those of the Marshal and School-Keeper, is made of black prince's stuff, with square collar, and square hanging sleeves."—pp. 28-33.

At the University of Oxford, Eng., the costume of the Graduates is as follows:—

"The Doctor in Divinity has three dresses: the first consists of a gown of scarlet cloth, with black velvet sleeves and facings, a cassock, sash, and scarf. This dress is worn on all public occasions in the Theatre, in public processions, and on those Sundays and holidays marked (*) in the Oxford Calendar. The second is a habit of scarlet cloth, and a hood of the same color lined with black, and a black silk scarf: the Master of Arts' gown is worn under this dress, the sleeves appearing through the arm-holes of the habit. This is the dress of business; it is used in Convocation, Congregation, at Morning Sermons at St. Mary's during the term, and at Afternoon Sermons at St. Peter's during Lent, with the exception of the Morning Sermon on Quinquagesima Sunday, and the Morning Sermons in Lent. The third, which is the usual dress in which a Doctor of Divinity appears, is a Master of Arts' gown, with cassock, sash, and scarf. The Vice-Chancellor and Heads of Colleges and Halls have no distinguishing dress, but appear on all occasions as Doctors in the faculty to which they belong.

"The dresses worn by Graduates in Law and Physic are nearly the same. The Doctor has three. The first is a gown of scarlet cloth, with sleeves and facings of pink silk, and a round black velvet cap. This is the dress of state. The second consists of a habit and hood of scarlet cloth, the habit faced and the hood lined with pink silk. This habit, which is perfectly analogous to the second dress of the Doctor in Divinity, has lately grown into disuse; it is, however, retained by the Professors, and is always used in presenting to Degrees. The third or common dress of a Doctor in Law or Physic nearly resembles that of the Bachelor in these faculties; it is a black silk gown richly ornamented with black lace; the hood of the Bachelor of Laws (worn as a dress) is of purple silk, lined with white fur.

"The dress worn by the Doctor of Music on public occasions is a rich white damask silk gown, with sleeves and facings of crimson satin, a hood of the same material, and a round black velvet cap. The usual dresses of the Doctor and of the Bachelor in Music are nearly the same as those of Law and Physic.

"The Master of Arts wears a black gown, usually made of prince's stuff or crape, with long sleeves which are remarkable for the circular cut at the bottom. The arm comes through an aperture in the sleeve, which hangs down. The hood of a Master of Arts is black silk lined with crimson.

"The gown of a Bachelor of Arts is also usually made of prince's stuff or crape. It has a full sleeve, looped up at the elbow, and terminating in a point; the dress hood is black, trimmed with white fur. In Lent, at the time of determining in the Schools, a strip of lamb's-wool is worn in addition to the hood. Noblemen and Gentlemen-Commoners, who take the Degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts, wear their gowns of silk."

The costume of the Undergraduates is thus described:—

"The Nobleman has two dresses; the first, which is worn in the Theatre, in processions, and on all public occasions, is a gown of purple damask silk, richly ornamented with gold lace. The second is a black silk gown, with full sleeves; it has a tippet attached to the shoulders. With both these dresses is worn a square cap of black velvet, with a gold tassel.

"The Gentleman-Commoner has two gowns, both of black silk; the first, which is considered as a dress gown, although worn on all occasions, at pleasure, is richly ornamented with tassels. The second, or undress gown, is ornamented with plaits at the sleeves. A square black velvet cap with a silk tassel, is worn with both.

"The dress of Commoners is a gown of black prince's stuff, without sleeves; from each shoulder is appended a broad strip, which reaches to the bottom of the dress, and towards the top is gathered into plaits. Square cap of black cloth and silk tassel.

"The student in Civil Law, or Civilian, wears a plain black silk gown, and square cloth cap, with silk tassel.

"Scholars and Demies of Magdalene, and students of Christ Church who have not taken a degree, wear a plain black gown of prince's stuff, with round, full sleeves half the length of the gown, and a square black cap, with silk tassel.

"The dress of the Servitor is the same as that of the Commoner, but it has no plaits at the shoulder, and the cap is without a tassel."

The costume of those among the University Officers who are distinguished by their dress, may be thus noted:—

"The dress of the Chancellor is of black damask silk, richly ornamented with gold embroidery, a rich lace band, and square velvet cap, with a large gold tassel.

"The Proctors wear gowns of prince's stuff, the sleeves and facings of black velvet; to the left shoulder is affixed a small tippet. To this is added, as a dress, a large ermine hood.

"The Pro-Proctor wears a Master of Arts' gown, faced with velvet, with a tippet attached to the left shoulder."

The Collectors wear the same dress as the Proctors, with the exception of the hood and tippet.

The Esquire Bedels wear silk gowns, similar to those of Bachelors of Law, and round velvet caps. The Yeoman Bedels have black stuff gowns, and round silk caps.

The dress of the Verger is nearly the same as that of the Yeoman
Bedel.

"Bands at the neck are considered as necessary appendages to the academic dress, particularly on all public occasions."—Guide to Oxford.

See DRESS.

COURTS. At the English universities, the squares or acres into which each college is divided. Called also quadrangles, abbreviated quads.

All the colleges are constructed in quadrangles or courts; and, as in course of years the population of every college, except one,[18] has outgrown the original quadrangle, new courts have been added, so that the larger foundations have three, and one[19] has four courts.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 2.

CRACKLING. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., in common parlance, the three stripes of velvet which a member of St. John's College wears on his sleeve, are designated by this name.

Various other gowns are to be discerned, the Pembroke looped at the sleeve, the Christ's and Catherine curiously crimped in front, and the Johnian with its unmistakable "Crackling"—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 73.

CRAM. To prepare a student to pass an examination; to study in view of examination. In the latter sense used in American colleges.

In the latter [Euclid] it is hardly possible, at least not near so easy as in Logic, to present the semblance of preparation by learning questions and answers by rote:—in the cant phrase of undergraduates, by getting crammed.—Whalely's Logic, Preface.

  For many weeks he "crams" him,—daily does he rehearse.
    Poem before the Iadma of Harv. Coll., 1850.

A class of men arose whose business was to cram the candidates. —Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 246.

In a wider sense, to prepare another, or one's self, by study, for any occasion.

The members of the bar were lounging about that tabooed precinct, some smoking, some talking and laughing, some poring over long, ill-written papers or large calf-bound books, and all big with the ponderous interests depending upon them, and the eloquence and learning with which they were "crammed" for the occasion.—Talbot and Vernon.

When he was to write, it was necessary to cram him with the facts and points.—F.K. Hunt's Fourth Estate, 1850.

CRAM. All miscellaneous information about Ancient History, Geography, Antiquities, Law, &c.; all classical matter not included under the heads of TRANSLATION and COMPOSITION, which can be learned by CRAMMING. Peculiar to the English Universities.—Bristed.

2. The same as CRAMMING, which see.

I have made him promise to give me four or five evenings of about half an hour's cram each.—Collegian's Guide, p. 240.

It is not necessary to practise "cram" so outrageously as at some of the college examinations.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 237.

3. A paper on which is written something necessary to be learned, previous to an examination.

"Take care what you light your cigars with," said Belton, "you'll be burning some of Tufton's crams: they are stuck all about the pictures."—Collegian's Guide, p. 223.

He puzzled himself with his crams he had in his pocket, and copied what he did not understand.—Ibid., p. 279.

CRAMBAMBULI. A favorite drink among the students in the German universities, composed of burnt rum and sugar.

Crambambuli, das ist der Titel Des Tranks, der sich bei uns bewährt. Drinking song.

To the next! let's have the crambambuli first, however.—Yale
Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 117.

CRAM BOOK. A book in which are laid down such topics as constitute an examination, together with the requisite answers to the questions proposed on that occasion.

He in consequence engages a private tutor, and buys all the cram books published for the occasion.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 128.

CRAMINATION. A farcical word, signifying the same as cramming; the termination tion being suffixed for the sake of mock dignity.

The —— scholarship is awarded to the student in each Senior Class who attends most to cramination on the College course.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 28.

CRAM MAN. One who is cramming for an examination.

He has read all the black-lettered divinity in the Bodleian, and says that none of the cram men shall have a chance with him.—Collegian's Guide, p. 274.

CRAMMER. One who prepares another for an examination.

The qualifications of a crammer are given in the following extract from the Collegian's Guide.

"The first point, therefore, in which a crammer differs from other tutors, is in the selection of subjects. While another tutor would teach every part of the books given up, he virtually reduces their quantity, dwelling chiefly on the 'likely parts.'

"The second point in which a crammer excels is in fixing the attention, and reducing subjects to the comprehension of ill-formed and undisciplined minds.

"The third qualification of a crammer is a happy manner and address, to encourage the desponding, to animate the idle, and to make the exertions of the pupil continually increase in such a ratio, that he shall be wound up to concert pitch by the day of entering the schools."—pp. 231, 232.

CRAMMING. A cant term, in the British universities, for the act of preparing a student to pass an examination, by going over the topics with him beforehand, and furnishing him with the requisite answers.—Webster.

The author of the Collegian's Guide, speaking of examinations, says: "First, we must observe that all examinations imply the existence of examiners, and examiners, like other mortal beings, lie open to the frauds of designing men, through the uniformity and sameness of their proceedings. This uniformity inventive men have analyzed and reduced to a system, founding thereon a certain science, and corresponding art, called Cramming."—p. 229.

The power of "cramming"—of filling the mind with knowledge hastily acquired for a particular occasion, and to be forgotten when that occasion is past—is a power not to be despised, and of much use in the world, especially at the bar.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 237.

I shall never forget the torment I suffered in cramming long lessons in Greek Grammar.—Dickens's Household Words, Vol. I. p. 192.

CRAM PAPER. A paper in which are inserted such questions as are generally asked at an examination. The manner in which these questions are obtained is explained in the following extract. "Every pupil, after his examination, comes to thank him as a matter of course; and as every man, you know, is loquacious enough on such occasions, Tufton gets out of him all the questions he was asked in the schools; and according to these questions, he has moulded his cram papers."—Collegian's Guide, p. 239.

We should be puzzled to find any questions more absurd and unreasonable than those in the cram papers in the college examination.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 237.

CRIB. Probably a translation; a pony.

Of the "Odes and Epodes of Horace, translated literally and
rhythmically" by W. Sewell, of Oxford, the editor of the Literary
World remarks: "Useful as a 'crib,' it is also poetical."—Vol.
VIII. p. 28.

CROW'S-FOOT. At Harvard College a badge formerly worn on the sleeve, resembling a crow's foot, to denote the class to which a student belongs. In the regulations passed April 29, 1822, for establishing the style of dress among the students at Harvard College, we find the following. A part of the dress shall be "three crow's-feet, made of black silk cord, on the lower part of the sleeve of a Senior, two on that of a Junior, and one on that of a Sophomore." The Freshmen were not allowed to wear the crow's-foot, and the custom is now discontinued, although an unsuccessful attempt was made to revive it a few years ago.

The Freshman scampers off at the first bell for the chapel, where, finding no brother student of a higher class to encourage his punctuality, he crawls back to watch the starting of some one blessed with a crow's-foot, to act as vanguard.—Harv. Reg., p. 377.

  The corded crow's-feet, and the collar square,
  The change and chance of earthly lot must share.
    Class Poem at Harv. Coll., 1835, p. 18.

  What if the creature should arise,—
    For he was stout and tall,—
  And swallow down a Sophomore,
    Coat, crow's-foot, cap, and all.
    Holmes's Poems, 1850, p. 109.

CUE, KUE, Q. A small portion of bread or beer; a term formerly current in both the English universities, the letter q being the mark in the buttery books to denote such a piece. Q would seem to stand for quadrans, a farthing; but Minsheu says it was only half that sum, and thus particularly explains it: "Because they set down in the battling or butterie bookes in Oxford and Cambridge, the letter q for half a farthing; and in Oxford when they make that cue or q a farthing, they say, cap my q, and make it a farthing, thus, [Symbol: small q with a line over]. But in Cambridge they use this letter, a little f; thus, f, or thus, s, for a farthing." He translates it in Latin calculus panis. Coles has, "A cue [half a farthing] minutum."—Nares's Glossary.

"A cue of bread," says Halliwell, "is the fourth part of a half-penny crust. A cue of beer, one draught."

J. Woods, under-butler of Christ Church, Oxon, said he would never sitt capping of cues.—Urry's MS. add. to Ray.

You are still at Cambridge with size kue.—Orig. of Dr., III. p. 271.

He never drank above size q of Helicon.—Eachard, Contempt of
Cl., p. 26.

"Cues and cees," says Nares, "are generally mentioned together, the cee meaning a small measure of beer; but why, is not equally explained." From certain passages in which they are used interchangeably, the terms do not seem to have been well defined.

Hee [the college butler] domineers over freshmen, when they first come to the hatch, and puzzles them with strange language of cues and cees, and some broken Latin, which he has learnt at his bin.—Earle's Micro-cosmographie, (1628,) Char. 17.

The word cue was formerly used at Harvard College. Dr. Holyoke, who graduated in 1746, says, the "breakfast was two sizings of bread and a cue of beer." Judge Wingate, who graduated thirteen years after, says: "We were allowed at dinner a cue of beer, which was a half-pint."

It is amusing to see, term after term, and year after year, the formal votes, passed by this venerable body of seven ruling and teaching elders, regulating the price at which a cue (a half-pint) of cider, or a sizing (ration) of bread, or beef, might be sold to the student by the butler.—Eliot's Sketch of Hist. Harv. Coll., p. 70.

CUP. Among the English Cantabs, "an odious mixture … compounded of spice and cider."—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 239.

CURL. In the University of Virginia, to make a perfect recitation; to overwhelm a Professor with student learning.

CUT. To be absent from; to neglect. Thus, a person is said to "cut prayers," to "cut lecture," &c. Also, to "cut Greek" or "Latin"; i.e. to be absent from the Greek or Latin recitation. Another use of the word is, when one says, "I cut Dr. B——, or Prof. C——, this morning," meaning that he was absent from their exercises.

Prepare to cut recitations, cut prayers, cut lectures,—ay, to cut even the President himself.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F. 1848.

Next morn he cuts his maiden prayer, to his last night's text abiding.—Poem before Y.H. of Harv. Coll., 1849.

  As soon as we were Seniors,
    We cut the morning prayers,
  We showed the Freshmen to the door,
    And helped them down the stairs.
    Presentation Day Songs, June 15, 1854.

We speak not of individuals but of majorities, not of him whose ambition is to "cut" prayers and recitations so far as possible. —Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 15.

The two rudimentary lectures which he was at first forced to attend, are now pressed less earnestly upon his notice. In fact, he can almost entirely "cut" them, if he likes, and does cut them accordingly, as a waste of time,—Household Words, Vol. II. p. 160.

To cut dead, in student use, to neglect entirely.

I cut the Algebra and Trigonometry papers dead my first year, and came out seventh.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 51.

This word is much used in the University of Cambridge, England, as appears from the following extract from a letter in the Gentleman's Magazine, written with reference to some of the customs there observed:—"I remarked, also, that they frequently used the words to cut, and to sport, in senses to me totally unintelligible. A man had been cut in chapel, cut at afternoon lectures, cut in his tutor's rooms, cut at a concert, cut at a ball, &c. Soon, however, I was told of men, vice versa, who cut a figure, cut chapel, cut gates, cut lectures, cut hall, cut examinations, cut particular connections; nay, more, I was informed of some who cut their tutors!"—Gent. Mag., 1794, p. 1085.

The instances in which the verb to cut is used in the above extract without Italics, are now very common both in England and America.

To cut Gates. To enter college after ten o'clock,—the hour of shutting them.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 40.

CUT. An omission of a recitation. This phrase is frequently heard: "We had a cut to-day in Greek," i.e. no recitation in Greek. Again, "Prof. D—— gave us a cut," i.e. he had no recitation. A correspondent from Bowdoin College gives, in the following sentence, the manner in which this word is there used:—"Cuts. When a class for any reason become dissatisfied with one of the Faculty, they absent themselves from his recitation, as an expression of their feelings"

D.

D.C.L. An abbreviation for Doctor Civilis Legis, Doctor in Civil Law. At the University of Oxford, England, this degree is conferred four years after receiving the degree of B.C.L. The exercises are three lectures. In the University of Cambridge, England, a D.C.L. must be a B.C.L. of five years' standing, or an M.A. of seven years' standing, and must have kept two acts.

D.D. An abbreviation of Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor in Divinity. At the University of Cambridge, England, this degree is conferred on a B.D. of five, or an M.A. of twelve years' standing. The exercises are one act, two opponencies, a clerum, and an English sermon. At Oxford it is given to a B.D. of four, or a regent M.A. of eleven years' standing. The exercises are three lectures. In American colleges this degree is honorary, and is conferred pro meritis on those who are distinguished as theologians.

DEAD. To be unable to recite; to be ignorant of the lesson; to declare one's self unprepared to recite.

Be ready, in fine, to cut, to drink, to smoke, to dead.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848.

I see our whole lodge desperately striving to dead, by doing that hardest of all work, nothing.—Ibid., 1849.

Transitively; to cause one to fail in reciting. Said of a teacher who puzzles a scholar with difficult questions, and thereby causes him to fail.

  Have I been screwed, yea, deaded morn and eve,
  Some dozen moons of this collegiate life,
  And not yet taught me to philosophize?
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 255.

DEAD. A complete failure; a declaration that one is not prepared to recite.

One must stand up in the singleness of his ignorance to understand all the mysterious feelings connected with a dead.—Harv. Reg., p. 378.

  And fearful of the morrow's screw or dead,
  Takes book and candle underneath his bed.
    Class Poem, by B.D. Winslow, at Harv. Coll., 1835, p. 10.

  He, unmoved by Freshman's curses,
  Loves the deads which Freshmen make.—MS. Poem.

  But oh! what aching heads had they!
  What deads they perpetrated the succeeding day.—Ibid.

It was formerly customary in many colleges, and is now in a few, to talk about "taking a dead."

  I have a most instinctive dread
  Of getting up to take a dead,
    Unworthy degradation!—Harv. Reg., p. 312.

DEAD-SET. The same as a DEAD, which see.

  Now's the day and now's the hour;
  See approach Old Sikes's power;
  See the front of Logic lower;
    Screws, dead-sets, and fines.—Rebelliad, p. 52.

Grose has this word in his Slang Dictionary, and defines it "a concerted scheme to defraud a person by gaming." "This phrase," says Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms, "seems to be taken from the lifeless attitude of a pointer in marking his game."

"The lifeless attitude" seems to be the only point of resemblance between the above definitions, and the appearance of one who is taking a dead set. The word has of late years been displaced by the more general use of the word dead, with the same meaning.

The phrase to be at a dead-set, implying a fixed state or condition which precludes further progress, is in general use.

DEAN. An officer in each college of the universities in England, whose duties consist in the due preservation of the college discipline.

"Old Holingshed," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "in his Chronicles, describing Cambridge, speaks of 'certain censors, or deanes, appointed to looke to the behaviour and manner of the Students there, whom they punish very severely, if they make any default, according to the quantitye and qualitye of their trespasses.' When flagellation was enforced at the universities, the Deans were the ministers of vengeance."

At the present time, a person applying for admission to a college in the University of Cambridge, Eng., is examined by the Dean and the Head Lecturer. "The Dean is the presiding officer in chapel, and the only one whose presence there is indispensable. He oversees the markers' lists, pulls up the absentees, and receives their excuses. This office is no sinecure in a large college." At Oxford "the discipline of a college is administered by its head, and by an officer usually called Dean, though, in some colleges, known by other names."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 12, 16. Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 223.

In the older American colleges, whipping and cuffing were inflicted by a tutor, professor, or president; the latter, however, usually employed an agent for this purpose.

See under CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.

2. In the United States, a registrar of the faculty in some colleges, and especially in medical institutions.—Webster.

A dean may also be appointed by the Faculty of each Professional
School, if deemed expedient by the Corporation.—Laws Univ. at
Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 8.

3. The head or president of a college.

You rarely find yourself in a shop, or other place of public resort, with a Christ-Church-man, but he takes occasion, if young and frivolous, to talk loudly of the Dean, as an indirect expression of his own connection with this splendid college; the title of Dean being exclusively attached to the headship of Christ Church.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 245.

DEAN OF CONVOCATION. At Trinity College, Hartford, this officer presides in the House of Convocation, and is elected by the same, biennially.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 7.

DEAN'S BOUNTY. In 1730, the Rev. Dr. George Berkeley, then Dean of Derry, in Ireland, came to America, and resided a year or two at Newport, Rhode Island, "where," says Clap, in his History of Yale College, "he purchased a country seat, with about ninety-six acres of land." On his return to London, in 1733, he sent a deed of his farm in Rhode Island to Yale College, in which it was ordered, "that the rents of the farm should be appropriated to the maintenance of the three best scholars in Greek and Latin, who should reside at College at least nine months in a year, in each of the three years between their first and second degrees." President Clap further remarks, that "this premium has been a great incitement to a laudable ambition to excel in the knowledge of the classics." It was commonly known as the Dean's bounty.—Clap's Hist. of Yale Coll., pp. 37, 38.

The Dean afterwards conveyed to it [Yale College], by a deed transmitted to Dr. Johnson, his Rhode Island farm, for the establishment of that Dean's bounty, to which sound classical learning in Connecticut has been much indebted.—Hist. Sketch of Columbia Coll., p. 19.

DEAN SCHOLAR. The person who received the money appropriated by
Dean Berkeley was called the Dean scholar.

This premium was formerly called the Dean's bounty, and the person who received it the Dean scholar.—Sketches of Yale Coll., p. 87.

DECENT. Tolerable; pretty good. He is a decent scholar; a decent writer; he is nothing more than decent. "This word," says Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "has been in common use at some of our colleges, but only in the language of conversation. The adverb decently (and possibly the adjective also) is sometimes used in a similar manner in some parts of Great Britain."

The greater part of the pieces it contains may be said to be very decently written.—Edinb. Rev., Vol. I. p. 426.

DECLAMATION. The word is applied especially to the public speaking and speeches of students in colleges, practised for exercises in oratory.—Webster.

It would appear by the following extract from the old laws of Harvard College, that original declamations were formerly required of the students. "The Undergraduates shall in their course declaim publicly in the hall, in one of the three learned languages; and in no other without leave or direction from the President, and immediately give up their declamations fairly written to the President. And he that neglects this exercise shall be punished by the President or Tutor that calls over the weekly bill, not exceeding five shillings. And such delinquent shall within one week after give in to the President a written declamation subscribed by himself."—Laws 1734, in Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 129.

2. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an essay upon a given subject, written in view of a prize, and publicly recited in the chapel of the college to which the writer belongs.

DECLAMATION BOARDS. At Bowdoin College, small establishments in the rear of each building, for urinary purposes.

DEDUCTION. In some of the American colleges, one of the minor punishments for non-conformity with laws and regulations is deducting from the marks which a student receives for recitations and other exercises, and by which his standing in the class is determined.

Soften down the intense feeling with which he relates heroic
Rapid's deductions.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 267.

2. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an original proposition in geometry.

"How much Euclid did you do? Fifteen?"

"No, fourteen; one of them was a deduction."—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 75.

With a mathematical tutor, the hour of tuition is a sort of familiar examination, working out examples, deductions, &c.—Ibid., pp. 18, 19.

DEGRADATION. In the older American colleges, it was formerly customary to arrange the members of each class in an order determined by the rank of the parent. "Degradation consisted in placing a student on the list, in consequence of some offence, below the level to which his father's condition would assign him; and thus declared that he had disgraced his family."

In the Immediate Government Book, No. IV., of Harvard College, date July 20th, 1776, is the following entry: "Voted, that Trumbal, a Middle Bachelor, who was degraded to the bottom of his class for his misdemeanors when an undergraduate, having presented an humble confession of his faults, with a petition to be restored to his place in the class in the Catalogue now printing, be restored agreeable to his request." The Triennial Catalogue for that year was the first in which the names of the students appeared in an alphabetical order. The class of 1773 was the first in which the change was made.

"The punishment of degradation," says President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of Yale College, "laid aside not very long before the beginning of the Revolutionary war, was still more characteristic of the times. It was a method of acting upon the aristocratic feelings of family; and we at this day can hardly conceive to what extent the social distinctions were then acknowledged and cherished. In the manuscript laws of the infant College, we find the following regulation, which was borrowed from an early ordinance of Harvard under President Dunster. 'Every student shall be called by his surname, except he be the son of a nobleman, or a knight's eldest son.' I know not whether such a 'rara avis in terris' ever received the honors of the College; but a kind of colonial, untitled aristocracy grew up, composed of the families of chief magistrates, and of other civilians and ministers. In the second year of college life, precedency according to the aristocratic scale was determined, and the arrangement of names on the class roll was in accordance. This appears on our Triennial Catalogue until 1768, when the minds of men began to be imbued with the notion of equality. Thus, for instance, Gurdon Saltonstall, son of the Governor of that name, and descendant of Sir Richard, the first emigrant of the family, heads the class of 1725, and names of the same stock begin the lists of 1752 and 1756. It must have been a pretty delicate matter to decide precedence in a multitude of cases, as in that of the sons of members of the Council or of ministers, to which class many of the scholars belonged. The story used to circulate, as I dare say many of the older graduates remember, that a shoemaker's son, being questioned as to the quality of his father, replied, that he was upon the bench, which gave him, of course, a high place."—pp. 48, 49.

See under PLACE.

DEGRADE. At the English universities to go back a year.

"'Degrading,' or going back a year," says Bristed, "is not allowed except in case of illness (proved by a doctor's certificate). A man degrading for any other reason cannot go out afterwards in honors."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 98.

I could choose the year below without formally degrading.—Ibid., p. 157.

DEGREE. A mark of distinction conferred on students, as a testimony of their proficiency in arts and sciences; giving them a kind of rank, and entitling them to certain privileges. This is usually evidenced by a diploma. Degrees are conferred pro meritis on the alumni of a college; or they are honorary tokens of respect, conferred on strangers of distinguished reputation. The first degree is that of Bachelor of Arts; the second, that of Master of Arts. Honorary degrees are those of Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Laws, &c. Physicians, also, receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine.—Webster.

DEGREE EXAMINATION. At the English universities, the final university examination, which must be passed before the B.A. degree is conferred.

The Classical Tripos is generally spoken of as the Tripos, the
Mathematical one as the Degree Examination.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 170.

DELTA. A piece of land in Cambridge, which belongs to Harvard
College, where the students kick football, and play at cricket,
and other games. The shape of the land is that of the Greek
Delta, whence its name.

What was unmeetest of all, timid strangers as we were, it was expected on the first Monday eventide after our arrival, that we should assemble on a neighboring green, the Delta, since devoted to the purposes of a gymnasium, there to engage in a furious contest with those enemies, the Sophs, at kicking football and shins.—A Tour through College, 1823-1827, p. 13.

Where are the royal cricket-matches of old, the great games of football, when the obtaining of victory was a point of honor, and crowds assembled on the Delta to witness the all-absorbing contest?—Harvardiana, Vol. I. p. 107.

I must have another pair of pantaloons soon, for I have burst the knees of two, in kicking football on the Delta.—Ibid., Vol. III. p. 77.

  The Delta can tell of the deeds we've done,
  The fierce-fought fields we've lost and won,
    The shins we've cracked,
    And noses we've whacked,
  The eyes we've blacked, and all in fun.
    Class Poem, 1849, Harv. Coll.

A plat at Bowdoin College, of this shape, and used for similar purposes, is known by the same name.

DEMI, DEMY. The name of a scholar at Magdalene College, Oxford, where there are thirty demies or half-fellows, as it were, who, like scholars in other colleges, succeed to fellowships.—Johnson.

DEN. One of the buildings formerly attached to Harvard College, which was taken down in the year 1846, was for more than a half-century known by the name of the Den. It was occupied by students during the greater part of that period, although it was originally built for private use. In later years, from its appearance, both externally and internally, it fully merited its cognomen; but this is supposed to have originated from the following incident, which occurred within its walls about the year 1770, the time when it was built. The north portion of the house was occupied by Mr. Wiswal (to whom it belonged) and his family. His wife, who was then ill, and, as it afterwards proved, fatally, was attended by a woman who did not bear a very good character, to whom Mr. Wiswal seemed to be more attentive than was consistent with the character of a true and loving husband. About six weeks after Mrs. Wiswal's death, Mr. Wiswal espoused the nurse, which, circumstance gave great offence to the good people of Cambridge, and was the cause of much scandal among the gossips. One Sunday, not long after this second marriage, Mr. Wiswal having gone to church, his wife, who did not accompany him, began an examination of her predecessor's wardrobe and possessions, with the intention, as was supposed, of appropriating to herself whatever had been left by the former Mrs. Wiswal to her children. On his return from church, Mr. Wiswal, missing his wife, after searching for some time, found her at last in the kitchen, convulsively clutching the dresser, her eyes staring wildly, she herself being unable to speak. In this state of insensibility she remained until her decease, which occurred shortly after. Although it was evident that she had been seized with convulsions, and that these were the cause of her death, the old women were careful to promulgate, and their daughters to transmit the story, that the Devil had appeared to her in propria persona, and shaken her in pieces, as a punishment for her crimes. The building was purchased by Harvard College in the year 1774.

In the Federal Orrery, March 26, 1795, is an article dated Wiswal-Den, Cambridge, which title it also bore, from the name of its former occupant.

In his address spoken at the Harvard Alumni Festival, July 22, 1852, Hon. Edward Everett, with reference to this mysterious building as it appeared in the year 1807, said:—

"A little further to the north, and just at the corner of Church Street (which was not then opened), stood what was dignified in the annual College Catalogue—(which was printed on one side of a sheet of paper, and was a novelty)—as 'the College House.' The cellar is still visible. By the students, this edifice was disrespectfully called 'Wiswal's Den,' or, for brevity, 'the Den.' I lived in it in my Freshman year. Whence the name of 'Wiswal's Den' I hardly dare say: there was something worse than 'old fogy' about it. There was a dismal tradition that, at some former period, it had been the scene of a murder. A brutal husband had dragged his wife by the hair up and down the stairs, and then killed her. On the anniversary of the murder,—and what day that was no one knew,—there were sights and sounds,—flitting garments daggled in blood, plaintive screams,—stridor ferri tractæque catenæ,—enough to appall the stoutest Sophomore. But for myself, I can truly say, that I got through my Freshman year without having seen the ghost of Mr. Wiswal or his lamented lady. I was not, however, sorry when the twelvemonth was up, and I was transferred to that light, airy, well-ventilated room, No. 20 Hollis; being the inner room, ground floor, north entry of that ancient and respectable edifice."—To-Day, Boston, Saturday, July 31, 1852, p. 66.

Many years ago there emigrated to this University, from the wilds of New Hampshire, an odd genius, by the name of Jedediah Croak, who took up his abode as a student in the old Den.—Harvard Register, 1827-28, A Legend of the Den, pp. 82-86.

DEPOSITION. During the first half of the seventeenth century, in the majority of the German universities, Catholic as well as Protestant, the matriculation of a student was preceded by a ceremony called the deposition. See Howitt's Student Life in Germany, Am. ed., pp. 119-121.

DESCENDAS. Latin; literally, you may descend. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., when a student who has been appointed to declaim in chapel fails in eloquence, memory, or taste, his harangue is usually cut short "by a testy descendas."—Grad. ad Cantab.

DETERMINING. In the University of Oxford, a Bachelor is entitled to his degree of M.A. twelve terms after the regular time for taking his first degree, having previously gone through the ceremony of determining, which exercise consists in reading two dissertations in Latin prose, or one in prose and a copy of Latin verses. As this takes place in Lent, it is commonly called determining in Lent.—Oxf. Guide.

DETUR. Latin; literally, let it be given.

In 1657, the Hon. Edward Hopkins, dying, left, among other donations to Harvard College, one "to be applied to the purchase of books for presents to meritorious undergraduates." The distribution of these books is made, at the commencement of each academic year, to students of the Sophomore Class who have made meritorious progress in their studies during their Freshman year; also, as far as the state of the funds admits, to those members of the Junior Class who entered as Sophomores, and have made meritorious progress in their studies during the Sophomore year, and to such Juniors as, having failed to receive a detur at the commencement of the Sophomore year, have, during that year, made decided improvement in scholarship.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 18.

"From the first word in the short Latin label," Peirce says, "which is signed by the President, and attached to the inside of the cover, a book presented from this fund is familiarly called a Detur."—Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 103.

  Now for my books; first Bunyan's Pilgrim,
  (As he with thankful pleasure will grin,)
  Tho' dogleaved, torn, in bad type set in,
  'T will do quite well for classmate B——,
  And thus with complaisance to treat her,
  'T will answer for another Detur.
    The Will of Charles Prentiss.

Be not, then, painfully anxious about the Greek particles, and sit not up all night lest you should miss prayers, only that you may have a "Detur," and be chosen into the Phi Beta Kappa among the first eight. Get a "Detur" by all means, and the square medal with its cabalistic signs, the sooner the better; but do not "stoop and lie in wait" for them.—A Letter to a Young Man who has just entered College, 1849, p. 36.

  Or yet,—though 't were incredible,
        —say hast obtained a detur!
    Poem before Iadma, 1850.

DIG. To study hard; to spend much time in studying.

  Another, in his study chair,
  Digs up Greek roots with learned care,—
    Unpalatable eating.—Harv. Reg., 1827-28, p. 247.

Here the sunken eye and sallow countenance bespoke the man who dug sixteen hours "per diem."—Ibid., p. 303.

Some have gone to lounge away an hour in the libraries,—some to ditto in the grove,—some to dig upon the afternoon lesson.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 77.

DIG. A diligent student; one who learns his lessons by hard and long-continued exertion.

  A clever soul is one, I say,
  Who wears a laughing face all day,
  Who never misses declamation,
  Nor cuts a stupid recitation,
  And yet is no elaborate dig,
  Nor for rank systems cares a fig.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 283.

I could see, in the long vista of the past, the many honest digs who had in this room consumed the midnight oil.—Collegian, p. 231.

And, truly, the picture of a college "dig" taking a walk—no, I say not so, for he never "takes a walk," but "walking for exercise"—justifies the contemptuous estimate.—A Letter to a Young Man who has just entered College, 1849, p. 14.

He is just the character to enjoy the treadmill, which perhaps might be a useful appendage to a college, not as a punishment, but as a recreation for "digs."—Ibid., p. 14.

  Resolves that he will be, in spite of toil or of fatigue,
  That humbug of all humbugs, the staid, inveterate "dig."
    Poem before Iadma of Harv. Coll., 1850.

          There goes the dig, just look!
  How like a parson he eyes his book!
    The Jobsiad, in Lit. World, Oct. 11, 1851.

The fact that I am thus getting the character of a man of no talent, and a mere "dig," does, I confess, weigh down my spirits.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 224.

  By this 't is that we get ahead of the Dig,
  'T is not we that prevail, but the wine that we swig.
    Ibid., Vol. II. p. 252.

DIGGING. The act of studying hard; diligent application.

  I find my eyes in doleful case,
    By digging until midnight.—Harv. Reg., p. 312.

I've had an easy time in College, and enjoyed well the "otium cum dignitate,"—the learned leisure of a scholar's life,—always despised digging, you know.—Ibid., p. 194.

How often after his day of digging, when he comes to lay his weary head to rest, he finds the cruel sheets giving him no admittance.—Ibid., p. 377.

        Hopes to hit the mark
  By digging nightly into matters dark.
    Class Poem, Harv. Coll., 1835.

  He "makes up" for past "digging."
    Iadma Poem, Harv. Coll., 1850.

DIGNITY. At Bowdoin College, "Dignity," says a correspondent, "is the name applied to the regular holidays, varying from one half-day per week, during the Freshman year, up to four in the Senior."

DIKED. At the University of Virginia, one who is dressed with more than ordinary elegance is said to be diked out. Probably corrupted from the word decked, or the nearly obsolete dighted.

DIPLOMA. Greek, [Greek: diploma], from [Greek: diploo], to double or fold. Anciently, a letter or other composition written on paper or parchment, and folded; afterward, any letter, literary monument, or public document. A letter or writing conferring some power, authority, privilege, or honor. Diplomas are given to graduates of colleges on their receiving the usual degrees; to clergymen who are licensed to exercise the ministerial functions; to physicians who are licensed to practise their profession; and to agents who are authorized to transact business for their principals. A diploma, then, is a writing or instrument, usually under seal, and signed by the proper person or officer, conferring merely honor, as in the case of graduates, or authority, as in the case of physicians, agents, &c.—Webster.

DISCIPLINE. The punishments which are at present generally adopted in American colleges are warning, admonition, the letter home, suspension, rustication, and expulsion. Formerly they were more numerous, and their execution was attended with great solemnity. "The discipline of the College," says President Quincy, in his History of Harvard University, "was enforced and sanctioned by daily visits of the tutors to the chambers of the students, fines, admonitions, confession in the hall, publicly asking pardon, degradation to the bottom of the class, striking the name from the College list, and expulsion, according to the nature and aggravation of the offence."—Vol. I. p. 442.

Of Yale College, President Woolsey in his Historical Discourse says: "The old system of discipline may be described in general as consisting of a series of minor punishments for various petty offences, while the more extreme measure of separating a student from College seems not to have been usually adopted until long forbearance had been found fruitless, even in cases which would now be visited in all American colleges with speedy dismission. The chief of these punishments named in the laws are imposition of school exercises,—of which we find little notice after the first foundation of the College, but which we believe yet exists in the colleges of England;[20] deprivation of the privilege of sending Freshmen upon errands, or extension of the period during which this servitude should be required beyond the end of the Freshman year; fines either specified, of which there are a very great number in the earlier laws, or arbitrarily imposed by the officers; admonition and degradation. For the offence of mischievously ringing the bell, which was very common whilst the bell was in an exposed situation over an entry of a college building, students were sometimes required to act as the butler's waiters in ringing the bell for a certain time."—pp. 46, 47.

See under titles ADMONITION, CONFESSION, CORPORAL PUNISHMENT,
DEGRADATION, FINES, LETTER HOME, SUSPENSION, &c.

DISCOMMUNE. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., to prohibit an undergraduate from dealing with any tradesman or inhabitant of the town who has violated the University privileges or regulations. The right to exercise this power is vested in the Vice-Chancellor.

Any tradesman who allows a student to run in debt with him to an amount exceeding $25, without informing his college tutor, or to incur any debt for wine or spirituous liquors without giving notice of it to the same functionary during the current quarter, or who shall take any promissory note from a student without his tutor's knowledge, is liable to be discommuned.—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 283.

In the following extracts, this word appears under a different orthography.

There is always a great demand for the rooms in college. Those at lodging-houses are not so good, while the rules are equally strict, the owners being solemnly bound to report all their lodgers who stay out at night, under pain of being "discommonsed," a species of college excommunication.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 81.

Any tradesman bringing a suit against an Undergraduate shall be "discommonsed"; i.e. all the Undergraduates are forbidden to deal with him.—Ibid., p. 83.

This word is allied to the law term "discommon," to deprive of the privileges of a place.

DISMISS. To separate from college, for an indefinite or limited time.

DISMISSION. In college government, dismission is the separation of a student from a college, for an indefinite or for a limited time, at the discretion of the Faculty. It is required of the dismissed student, on applying for readmittance to his own or any other class, to furnish satisfactory testimonials of good conduct during his separation, and to appear, on examination, to be well qualified for such readmission.—College Laws.

In England, a student, although precluded from returning to the university whence he has been dismissed, is not hindered from taking a degree at some other university.

DISPENSATION. In universities and colleges, the granting of a license, or the license itself, to do what is forbidden by law, or to omit something which is commanded. Also, an exemption from attending a college exercise.

The business of the first of these houses, or the oligarchal portion of the constitution [the House of Congregation], is chiefly to grant degrees, and pass graces and dispensations.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. xi.

All the students who are under twenty-one years of age may be excused from attending the private Hebrew lectures of the Professor, upon their producing to the President a certificate from their parents or guardians, desiring a dispensation.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 12.

DISPERSE. A favorite word with tutors and proctors; used when speaking to a number of students unlawfully collected. This technical use of the word is burlesqued in the following passages.

Minerva conveys the Freshman to his room, where his cries make such a disturbance, that a proctor enters and commands the blue-eyed goddess "to disperse." This order she reluctantly obeys.—Harvardiana, Vol. IV. p. 23.

  And often grouping on the chains, he hums his own sweet verse,
  Till Tutor ——, coming up, commands him to disperse.
    Poem before Y.H. Harv. Coll., 1849.

DISPUTATION. An exercise in colleges, in which parties reason in opposition to each other, on some question proposed.—Webster.

Disputations were formerly, in American colleges, a part of the exercises on Commencement and Exhibition days.

DISPUTE. To contend in argument; to reason or argue in opposition. —Webster.

The two Senior classes shall dispute once or twice a week before the President, a Professor, or the Tutor.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 15.

DIVINITY. A member of a theological school is often familiarly called a Divinity, abbreviated for a Divinity student.

      One of the young Divinities passed
  Straight through the College yard.
    Childe Harvard, p. 40.

DIVISION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., each of the three terms is divided into two parts. Division is the time when this partition is made.

After "division" in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, a student, who can assign a good plea for absence to the college authorities, may go down and take holiday for the rest of the time.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 63.

DOCTOR. One who has passed all the degrees of a faculty, and is empowered to practise and teach it; as, a doctor in divinity, in physic, in law; or, according to modern usage, a person who has received the highest degree in a faculty. The degree of doctor is conferred by universities and colleges, as an honorary mark of literary distinction. It is also conferred on physicians as a professional degree.—Webster.

DOCTORATE. The degree of a doctor.—Webster.

The first diploma for a doctorate in divinity given in America was presented under the seal of Harvard College to Mr. Increase Mather, the President of that institution, in the year 1692.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 68.

DODGE. A trick; an artifice or stratagem for the purpose of deception. Used often with come; as, "to come a dodge over him."

  No artful dodge to leave my school could I just then prepare.
    Poem before Iadma, Harv. Coll., 1850.

Agreed; but I have another dodge as good as yours.—Collegian's
Guide, p. 240.

We may well admire the cleverness displayed by this would-be Chatterton, in his attempt to sell the unwary with an Ossian dodge.—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 191.

DOMINUS. A title bestowed on Bachelors of Arts, in England. Dominus Nokes; Dominus Stiles.—Gradus ad Cantab.

DON. In the English universities, a short generic term for a
Fellow or any college authority.

He had already told a lie to the Dons, by protesting against the justice of his sentence.—Collegian's Guide, p. 169.

Never to order in any wine from an Oxford merchant, at least not till I am a Don.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 288.

  Nor hint how Dons, their untasked hours to pass,
  Like Cato, warm their virtues with the glass.[21]
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

DONKEY. At Washington College, Penn., students of a religious character are vulgarly called donkeys.

See LAP-EAR.

DORMIAT. Latin; literally, let him sleep. To take out a dormiat, i.e. a license to sleep. The licensed person is excused from attending early prayers in the Chapel, from a plea of being indisposed. Used in the English universities.—Gradus ad Cantab.

DOUBLE FIRST. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a student who attains high honors in both the classical and the mathematical tripos.

The Calendar does not show an average of two "Double Firsts" annually for the last ten years out of one hundred and thirty-eight graduates in Honors.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 91.

The reported saying of a distinguished judge,… "that the standard of a Double First was getting to be something beyond human ability," seems hardly an exaggeration.—Ibid., p. 224.

DOUBLE MAN. In the English universities, a student who is a proficient in both classics and mathematics.

"Double men," as proficients in both classics and mathematics are termed, are very rare.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 91.

It not unfrequently happens that he now drops the intention of being a "double man," and concentrates himself upon mathematics. —Ibid., p. 104.

To one danger mathematicians are more exposed than either classical or double men,—disgust and satiety arising from exclusive devotion to their unattractive studies.—Ibid., p. 225.

DOUBLE MARKS. It was formerly the custom in Harvard College with the Professors in Rhetoric, when they had examined and corrected the themes of the students, to draw a straight line on the back of each one of them, under the name of the writer. Under the names of those whose themes were of more than ordinary correctness or elegance, two lines were drawn, which were called double marks.

They would take particular pains for securing the double mark of the English Professor to their poetical compositions.—Monthly Anthology, Boston, 1804, Vol. I. p. 104.

Many, if not the greater part of Paine's themes, were written in verse; and his vanity was gratified, and his emulation roused, by the honor of constant double marks.—Works of R.T. Paine, Biography, p. xxii., Ed. 1812.

See THEME.

DOUBLE SECOND. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., one who obtains a high place in the second rank, in both mathematical and classical honors.

A good double second will make, by his college scholarship, two fifths or three fifths of his expenses during two thirds of the time he passes at the University.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 427.

DOUGH-BALL. At the Anderson Collegiate Institute, Indiana, a name given by the town's people to a student.

DRESS. A uniformity in dress has never been so prevalent in American colleges as in the English and other universities. About the middle of the last century, however, the habit among the students of Harvard College of wearing gold lace attracted the attention of the Overseers, and a law was passed "requiring that on no occasion any of the scholars wear any gold or silver lace, or any gold or silver brocades, in the College or town of Cambridge," and "that no one wear any silk night-gowns." "In 1786," says Quincy, "in order to lessen the expense of dress, a uniform was prescribed, the color and form of which were minutely set forth, with a distinction of the classes by means of frogs on the cuffs and button-holes; silk was prohibited, and home manufactures were recommended." This system of uniform is fully described in the laws of 1790, and is as follows:—

"All the Undergraduates shall be clothed in coats of blue-gray, and with waistcoats and breeches of the same color, or of a black, a nankeen, or an olive color. The coats of the Freshmen shall have plain button-holes. The cuffs shall be without buttons. The coats of the Sophomores shall have plain button-holes like those of the Freshmen, but the cuffs shall have buttons. The coats of the Juniors shall have cheap frogs to the button-holes, except the button-holes of the cuffs. The coats of the Seniors shall have frogs to the button-holes of the cuffs. The buttons upon the coats of all the classes shall be as near the color of the coats as they can be procured, or of a black color. And no student shall appear within the limits of the College, or town of Cambridge, in any other dress than in the uniform belonging to his respective class, unless he shall have on a night-gown or such an outside garment as may be necessary over a coat, except only that the Seniors and Juniors are permitted to wear black gowns, and it is recommended that they appear in them on all public occasions. Nor shall any part of their garments be of silk; nor shall they wear gold or silver lace, cord, or edging upon their hats, waistcoats, or any other parts of their clothing. And whosoever shall violate these regulations shall be fined a sum not exceeding ten shillings for each offence."—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1790, pp. 36, 37.

It is to this dress that the poet alludes in these lines:—

 "In blue-gray coat, with buttons on the cuffs,
  First Modern Pride your ear with fustian stuffs;
 'Welcome, blest age, by holy seers foretold,
  By ancient bards proclaimed the age of gold,'" &c.[22]

But it was by the would-be reformers of that day alone that such sentiments were held, and it was only by the severity of the punishment attending non-conformity with these regulations that they were ever enforced. In 1796, "the sumptuary law relative to dress had fallen into neglect," and in the next year "it was found so obnoxious and difficult to enforce," says Quincy, "that a law was passed abrogating the whole system of distinction by 'frogs on the cuffs and button-holes,' and the law respecting dress was limited to prescribing a blue-gray or dark-blue coat, with permission to wear a black gown, and a prohibition of wearing gold or silver lace, cord, or edging."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 277.

A writer in the New England Magazine, in an article relating to the customs of Harvard College at the close of the last century, gives the following description of the uniform ordered by the Corporation to be worn by the students:—

"Each head supported a three-cornered cocket hat. Yes, gentle reader, no man or boy was considered in full dress, in those days, unless his pericranium was thus surmounted, with the forward peak directly over the right eye. Had a clergyman, especially, appeared with a hat of any other form, it would have been deemed as great a heresy as Unitarianism is at the present day. Whether or not the three-cornered hat was considered as an emblem of Trinitarianism, I am not able to determine. Our hair was worn in a queue, bound with black ribbon, and reached to the small of the back, in the shape of the tail of that motherly animal which furnishes ungrateful bipeds of the human race with milk, butter, and cheese. Where nature had not bestowed a sufficiency of this ornamental appendage, the living and the dead contributed of their superfluity to supply the deficiency. Our ear-locks,—horresco referens!—my ears tingle and my countenance is distorted at the recollection of the tortures inflicted on them by the heated curling-tongs and crimping-irons.

"The bosoms of our shirts were ruffled with lawn or cambric, and 'Our fingers' ends were seen to peep From ruffles, full five inches deep.' Our coats were double-breasted, and of a black or priest-gray color. The directions were not so particular respecting our waistcoats, breeches,—I beg pardon,—small clothes, and stockings. Our shoes ran to a point at the distance of two or three inches from the extremity of the foot, and turned upward, like the curve of a skate. Our dress was ornamented with shining stock, knee, and shoe buckles, the last embracing at least one half of the foot of ordinary dimensions. If any wore boots, they were made to set as closely to the leg as its skin; for a handsome calf and ankle were esteemed as great beauties as any portion of the frame, or point in the physiognomy."—Vol. III. pp. 238, 239.

In his late work, entitled, "Memories of Youth and Manhood," Professor Sidney Willard has given an entertaining description of the style of dress which was in vogue at Harvard College near the close of the last century, in the following words:—

"Except on special occasions, which required more than ordinary attention to dress, the students, when I was an undergraduate, were generally very careless in this particular. They were obliged by the College laws to wear coats of blue-gray; but as a substitute in warm weather, they were allowed to wear gowns, except on public occasions; and on these occasions they were permitted to wear black gowns. Seldom, however, did any one avail himself of this permission. In summer long gowns of calico or gingham were the covering that distinguished the collegian, not only about the College grounds, but in all parts of the village. Still worse, when the season no longer tolerated this thin outer garment, many adopted one much in the same shape, made of colorless woollen stuff called lambskin. These were worn by many without any under-coat in temperate weather, and in some cases for a length of time in which they had become sadly soiled. In other respects there was nothing peculiar in the common dress of the young men and boys of College to distinguish it from that of others of the same age. Breeches were generally worn, buttoned at the knees, and tied or buckled a little below; not so convenient a garment for a person dressing in haste as trousers or pantaloons. Often did I see a fellow-student hurrying to the Chapel to escape tardiness at morning prayers, with this garment unbuttoned at the knees, the ribbons dangling over his legs, the hose refusing to keep their elevation, and the calico or woollen gown wrapped about him, ill concealing his dishabille.

"Not all at once did pantaloons gain the supremacy as the nether garment. About the beginning of the present century they grew rapidly in favor with the young; but men past middle age were more slow to adopt the change. Then, last, the aged very gradually were converted to the fashion by the plea of convenience and comfort; so that about the close of the first quarter of the present century it became almost universal. In another particular, more than half a century ago, the sons adopted a custom of their wiser fathers. The young men had for several years worn shoes and boots shaped in the toe part to a point, called peaked toes, while the aged adhered to the shape similar to the present fashion; so that the shoemaker, in a doubtful case, would ask his customer whether he would have square-toed or peaked-toed. The distinction between young and old in this fashion was so general, that sometimes a graceless youth, who had been crossed by his father or guardian in some of his unreasonable humors, would speak of him with the title of Old Square-toes.

"Boots with yellow tops inverted, and coming up to the knee-band, were commonly worn by men somewhat advanced in years; but the younger portion more generally wore half-boots, as they were called, made of elastic leather, cordovan. These, when worn, left a space of two or three inches between the top of the boot and the knee-band. The great beauty of this fashion, as it was deemed by many, consisted in restoring the boots, which were stretched by drawing them on, to shape, and bringing them as nearly as possible into contact with the legs; and he who prided himself most on the form of his lower limbs would work the hardest in pressure on the leather from the ankle upward in order to do this most effectually."—Vol. I. pp. 318-320.

In 1822 was passed the "Law of Harvard University, regulating the dress of the students." The established uniform was as follows. "The coat of black-mixed, single-breasted, with a rolling cape, square at the end, and with pocket flaps; waist reaching to the natural waist, with lapels of the same length; skirts reaching to the bend of the knee; three crow's-feet, made of black-silk cord, on the lower part of the sleeve of a Senior, two on that of a Junior, and one on that of a Sophomore. The waistcoat of black-mixed or of black; or when of cotton or linen fabric, of white, single-breasted, with a standing collar. The pantaloons of black-mixed or of black bombazette, or when of cotton or linen fabric, of white. The surtout or great coat of black-mixed, with not more than two capes. The buttons of the above dress must be flat, covered with the same cloth as that of the garments, not more than eight nor less than six on the front of the coat, and four behind. A surtout or outside garment is not to be substituted for the coat. But the students are permitted to wear black gowns, in which they may appear on all public occasions. Night-gowns, of cotton or linen or silk fabric, made in the usual form, or in that of a frock coat, may be worn, except on the Sabbath, on exhibition and other occasions when an undress would be improper. The neckcloths must be plain black or plain white."

No student, while in the State of Massachusetts, was allowed, either in vacation or term time, to wear any different dress or ornament from those above named, except in case of mourning, when he could wear the customary badges. Although dismission was the punishment for persisting in the violation of these regulations, they do not appear to have been very well observed, and gradually, like the other laws of an earlier date on this subject, fell into disuse. The night-gowns or dressing-gowns continued to be worn at prayers and in public until within a few years. The black-mixed, otherwise called OXFORD MIXED cloth, is explained under the latter title.

The only law which now obtains at Harvard College on the subject of dress is this: "On Sabbath, Exhibition, Examination, and Commencement days, and on all other public occasions, each student, in public, shall wear a black coat, with buttons of the same color, and a black hat or cap."—Orders and Regulations of the Faculty of Harv. Coll., July, 1853, p. 5.

At one period in the history of Yale College, a passion for expensive dress having become manifest among the students, the Faculty endeavored to curb it by a direct appeal to the different classes. The result was the establishment of the Lycurgan Society, whose object was the encouragement of plainness in apparel. The benefits which might have resulted from this organization were contravened by the rashness of some of its members. The shape which this rashness assumed is described in a work entitled "Scenes and Characters in College," written by a Yale graduate of the class of 1821.

"Some members were seized with the notion of a distinctive dress. It was strongly objected to; but the measure was carried by a stroke of policy. The dress proposed was somewhat like that of the Quakers, but less respectable,—a rustic cousin to it, or rather a caricature; namely, a close coatee, with stand-up collar, and very short skirts,—skirtees, they might be called,—the color gray; pantaloons and vest the same;—making the wearer a monotonous gray man throughout, invisible at twilight. The proposers of this metamorphosis, to make it go, selected an individual of small and agreeable figure, and procuring a suit of fine material, and a good fit, placed him on a platform as a specimen. On him it appeared very well, as a belted blouse does on a graceful child; and all the more so, as he was a favorite with the class, and lent to it the additional effect of agreeable association. But it is bad logic to derive a general conclusion from a single fact: it did not follow that the dress would be universally becoming because it was so on him. However, majorities govern; the dress was voted. The tailors were glad to hear of it, expecting a fine run of business.

"But when a tall son of Anak appeared in the little bodice of a coat, stuck upon the hips; and still worse, when some very clumsy forms assumed the dress, and one in particular, that I remember, who was equally huge in person and coarse in manners, whose taste, or economy, or both,—the one as probably as the other,—had led him to the choice of an ugly pepper-and-salt, instead of the true Oxford mix, or whatever the standard gray was called, and whose tailor, or tailoress, probably a tailoress, had contrived to aggravate his natural disproportions by the most awkward fit imaginable,—then indeed you might have said that 'some of nature's journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.' They looked like David's messengers, maltreated and sent back by Hanun.[23]

"The consequence was, the dress was unpopular; very few adopted it; and the society itself went quietly into oblivion. Nevertheless it had done some good; it had had a visible effect in checking extravagance; and had accomplished all it would have done, I imagine, had it continued longer.

"There was a time, some three or four years previous to this, when a rakish fashion began to be introduced of wearing white-topped boots. It was a mere conceit of the wearers, such a fashion not existing beyond College,—except as it appeared in here and there an antiquated gentleman, a venerable remnant of the olden time, in whom the boots were matched with buckles at the knee, and a powdered queue. A practical satire quickly put an end to it. Some humorists proposed to the waiters about College to furnish them with such boots on condition of their wearing them. The offer was accepted; a lot of them was ordered at a boot-and-shoe shop, and, all at once, sweepers, sawyers, and the rest, appeared in white-topped boots. I will not repeat the profaneness of a Southerner when he first observed a pair of them upon a tall and gawky shoe-black striding across the yard. He cursed the 'negro,' and the boots; and, pulling off his own, flung them from him. After this the servants had the fashion to themselves, and could buy the article at any discount."—pp. 127-129.

At Union College, soon after its foundation, there was enacted a law, "forbidding any student to appear at chapel without the College badge,—a piece of blue ribbon, tied in the button-hole of the coat."—Account of the First Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Philomathean Society, Union College, 1847.

Such laws as the above have often been passed in American colleges, but have generally fallen into disuse in a very few years, owing to the predominancy of the feeling of democratic equality, the tendency of which is to narrow, in as great a degree as possible, the intervals between different ages and conditions.

See COSTUME.

DUDLEIAN LECTURE. An anniversary sermon which is preached at Harvard College before the students; supported by the yearly interest of one hundred pounds sterling, the gift of Paul Dudley, from whom the lecture derives its name. The following topics were chosen by him as subjects for this lecture. First, for "the proving, explaining, and proper use and improvement of the principles of Natural Religion." Second, "for the confirmation, illustration, and improvement of the great articles of the Christian Religion." Third, "for the detecting, convicting, and exposing the idolatry, errors, and superstitions of the Romish Church." Fourth, "for maintaining, explaining, and proving the validity of the ordination of ministers or pastors of the churches, and so their administration of the sacraments or ordinances of religion, as the same hath been practised in New England from the first beginning of it, and so continued to this day."

"The instrument proceeds to declare," says Quincy, "that he does not intend to invalidate Episcopal ordination, or that practised in Scotland, at Geneva, and among the Dissenters in England and in this country, all which 'I esteem very safe, Scriptural, and valid.' He directed these subjects to be discussed in rotation, one every year, and appointed the President of the College, the Professor of Divinity, the pastor of the First Church in Cambridge, the Senior Tutor of the College, and the pastor of the First Church in Roxbury, trustees of these lectures, which commenced in 1755, and have since been annually continued without intermission."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. pp. 139, 140.

DULCE DECUS. Latin; literally, sweet honor. At Williams College a name given by a certain class of students to the game of whist; the reason for which is evident. Whether Mæcenas would have considered it an honor to have had the compliment of Horace, "O et præsidium et dulce decus meum," transferred as a title for a game at cards, we leave for others to decide.

DUMMER JUNGE,—literally, stupid youth,—among German students "is the highest and most cutting insult, since it implies a denial of sound, manly understanding and strength of capacity to him to whom it is applied."—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 127.

DUN. An importunate creditor who urges for payment. A character not wholly unknown to collegians.

  Thanks heaven, flings by his cap and gown, and shuns
  A place made odious by remorseless duns.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

E.

EGRESSES. At the older American colleges, when charges were made and excuses rendered in Latin, the student who had left before the conclusion of any of the religious services was accused of the misdemeanor by the proper officer, who made use of the word egresses, a kind of barbarous second person singular of some imaginary verb, signifying, it is supposed, "you went out."

  Much absence, tardes and egresses,
  The college-evil on him seizes.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, Part I.

EIGHT. On the scale of merit, at Harvard College, eight is the highest mark which a student can receive for a recitation. Students speak of "getting an eight," which is equivalent to saying, that they have made a perfect recitation.

  But since the Fates will not grant all eights,
    Save to some disgusting fellow
  Who'll fish and dig, I care not a fig,
    We'll be hard boys and mellow.
    MS. Poem, W.F. Allen.

  Numberless the eights he showers
    Full on my devoted head.—MS. Ibid.

At the same college, when there were three exhibitions in the year, it was customary for the first eight scholars in the Junior Class to have "parts" at the first exhibition, the second eight at the second exhibition, and the third eight at the third exhibition. Eight Seniors performed with them at each of these three exhibitions, but they were taken promiscuously from the first twenty-four in their class. Although there are now but two exhibitions in the year, twelve performing from each of the two upper classes, yet the students still retain the old phraseology, and you will often hear the question, "Is he in the first or second eight?"

  The bell for morning prayers had long been sounding!
    She says, "What makes you look so very pale?"—
  "I've had a dream."—"Spring to 't, or you'll be late!"—
  "Don't care! 'T was worth a part among the Second Eight."
    Childe Harvard, p. 121.

ELECTIONEERING. In many colleges in the United States, where there are rival societies, it is customary, on the admission of a student to college, for the partisans of the different societies to wait upon him, and endeavor to secure him as a member. An account of this Society Electioneering, as it is called, is given in Sketches of Yale College, at page 162.

Society electioneering has mostly gone by.—Williams
Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 285.

ELEGANT EXTRACTS. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a cant title applied to some fifteen or twenty men who have just succeeded in passing their final examination, and who are bracketed together, at the foot of the Polloi list.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 250.

EMERITUS, pl. EMERITI. Latin; literally, obtained by service. One who has been honorably discharged from public service, as, in colleges and universities, a Professor Emeritus.

EMIGRANT. In the English universities, one who migrates, or removes from one college to another.

At Christ's, for three years successively,… the first man was an emigrant from John's.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 100.

See MIGRATION.

EMPTY BOTTLE. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the sobriquet of a fellow-commoner.

Indeed they [fellow-commoners] are popularly denominated "empty bottles," the first word of the appellation being an adjective, though were it taken as a verb there would be no untruth in it.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 34.

ENCENIA, pl. Greek [Greek: enkainia], a feast of dedication. Festivals anciently kept on the days on which cities were built or churches consecrated; and, in later times, ceremonies renewed at certain periods, as at Oxford, at the celebration of founders and benefactors.—Hook.

END WOMAN. At Bowdoin College, "end women," says a correspondent, "are the venerable females who officiate as chambermaids in the different entries." They are so called from the entries being placed at the ends of the buildings.

ENGAGEMENT. At Yale College, the student, on entering, signs an engagement, as it is called, in the words following: "I, A.B., on condition of being admitted as a member of Yale College, promise, on my faith and honor, to observe all the laws and regulations of this College; particularly that I will faithfully avoid using profane language, gaming, and all indecent, disorderly behavior, and disrespectful conduct to the Faculty, and all combinations to resist their authority; as witness my hand. A.B." —Yale Coll. Cat., 1837, p. 10.

Nearly the same formula is used at Williams College.

ENGINE. At Harvard College, for many years before and succeeding the year 1800, a fire-engine was owned by the government, and was under the management of the students. In a MS. Journal, under date of Oct. 29, 1792, is this note: "This day I turned out to exercise the engine. P.M." The company were accustomed to attend all the fires in the neighboring towns, and were noted for their skill and efficiency. But they often mingled enjoyment with their labor, nor were they always as scrupulous as they might have been in the means used to advance it. In 1810, the engine having been newly repaired, they agreed to try its power on an old house, which was to be fired at a given time. By some mistake, the alarm was given before the house was fairly burning. Many of the town's people endeavored to save it, but the company, dragging the engine into a pond near by, threw the dirty water on them in such quantities that they were glad to desist from their laudable endeavors.

It was about this time that the Engine Society was organized, before which so many pleasant poems and orations were annually delivered. Of these, that most noted is the "Rebelliad," which was spoken in the year 1819, and was first published in the year 1842. Of it the editor has well remarked: "It still remains the text-book of the jocose, and is still regarded by all, even the melancholy, as a most happy production of humorous taste." Its author was Dr. Augustus Pierce, who died at Tyngsborough, May 20, 1849.

The favorite beverage at fires was rum and molasses, commonly called black-strap, which is referred to in the following lines, commemorative of the engine company in its palmier days.

 "But oh! let black-strap's sable god deplore
  Those engine-heroes so renowned of yore!
  Gone is that spirit, which, in ancient time,
  Inspired more deeds than ever shone in rhyme!
  Ye, who remember the superb array,
  The deafening cry, the engine's 'maddening play,'
  The broken windows, and the floating floor,
  Wherewith those masters of hydraulic lore
  Were wont to make us tremble as we gazed,
  Can tell how many a false alarm was raised,
  How many a room by their o'erflowings drenched,
  And how few fires by their assistance quenched?"
    Harvard Register, p. 235.

The habit of attending fires in Boston, as it had a tendency to draw the attention of the students from their college duties, was in part the cause of the dissolution of the company. Their presence was always welcomed in the neighboring city, and although they often left their engine behind them on returning to Cambridge, it was usually sent out to them soon after. The company would often parade through the streets of Cambridge in masquerade dresses, headed by a chaplain, presenting a most ludicrous appearance. In passing through the College yard, it was the custom to throw water into any window that chanced to be open. Their fellow-students, knowing when they were to appear, usually kept their windows closed; but the officers were not always so fortunate. About the year 1822, having discharged water into the room of the College regent, thereby damaging a very valuable library of books, the government disbanded the company, and shortly after sold the engine to the then town of Cambridge, on condition that it should never be taken out of the place. A few years ago it was again sold to some young men of West Cambridge, in whose hands it still remains. One of the brakes of the engine, a relic of its former glory, was lately discovered in the cellar of one of the College buildings, and that perchance has by this time been used to kindle the element which it once assisted to extinguish.

ESQUIRE BEDELL. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., three Esquire Bedells are appointed, whose office is to attend the Vice-Chancellor, whom they precede with their silver maces upon all public occasions.—Cam. Guide.

At the University of Oxford, the Esquire Bedells are three in number. They walk before the Vice-Chancellor in processions, and carry golden staves as the insignia of their office.—Guide to Oxford.

See BEADLE.

EVANGELICAL. In student phrase, a religious, orthodox man, one who is sound in the doctrines of the Gospel, or one who is reading theology, is called an Evangelical.

He was a King's College, London, man, an Evangelical.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 265.

It has been said by some of the Evangelicals, that nothing can be done to improve the state of morality in the Universities so long as the present Church system continues.—Ibid., p. 348.

EXAMINATION. An inquiry into the acquisitions of the students, in colleges and seminaries of learning, by questioning them in literature and the sciences, and by hearing their recitals.—Webster.

In all colleges candidates for entrance are required to be able to pass an examination in certain branches of study before they can be admitted. The students are generally examined, in most colleges, at the close of each term.

In the revised laws of Harvard College, printed in the year 1790, was one for the purpose of introducing examinations, the first part of which is as follows: "To animate the students in the pursuit of literary merit and fame, and to excite in their breasts a noble spirit of emulation, there shall be annually a public examination, in the presence of a joint committee of the Corporation and Overseers, and such other gentlemen as may be inclined to attend it." It then proceeds to enumerate the times and text-books for each class, and closes by stating, that, "should any student neglect or refuse to attend such examination, he shall be liable to be fined a sum not exceeding twenty shillings, or to be admonished or suspended." Great discontent was immediately evinced by the students at this regulation, and as it was not with this understanding that they entered college, they considered it as an ex post facto law, and therefore not binding upon them. With these views, in the year 1791, the Senior and Junior Classes petitioned for exemption from the examination, but their application was rejected by the Overseers. When this was declared, some of the students determined to stop the exercises for that year, if possible. For this purpose they obtained six hundred grains of tartar emetic, and early on the morning of April 12th, the day on which the examination was to begin, emptied it into the great cooking boilers in the kitchen. At breakfast, 150 or more students and officers being present, the coffee was brought on, made with the water from the boilers. Its effects were soon visible. One after another left the hall, some in a slow, others in a hurried manner, but all plainly showing that their situation was by no means a pleasant one. Out of the whole number there assembled, only four or five escaped without being made unwell. Those who put the drug in the coffee had drank the most, in order to escape detection, and were consequently the most severely affected. Unluckily, one of them was seen putting something into the boilers, and the names of the others were soon after discovered. Their punishment is stated in the following memoranda from a manuscript journal.

"Exhibition, 1791. April 20th. This morning Trapier was rusticated and Sullivan suspended to Groton for nine months, for mingling tartar emetic with our commons on ye morning of April 12th."

"May 21st. Ely was suspended to Amherst for five months, for assisting Sullivan and Trapier in mingling tartar emetic with our commons."

Another student, who threw a stone into the examination-room, which struck the chair in which Governor Hancock sat, was more severely punished. The circumstance is mentioned in the manuscript referred to above as follows:—

"April 14th, 1791. Henry W. Jones of H—— was expelled from
College upon evidence of a little boy that he sent a stone into ye
Philosopher's room while a committee of ye Corporation and
Overseers, and all ye Immediate Government, were engaged in
examination of ye Freshman Class."

Although the examination was delayed for a day or two on account of these occurrences, it was again renewed and carried on during that year, although many attempts were made to stop it. For several years after, whenever these periods occurred, disturbances came with them, and it was not until the year 1797 that the differences between the officers and the students were satisfactorily adjusted, and examinations established on a sure basis.

EXAMINE. To inquire into the improvements or qualifications of students, by interrogatories, proposing problems, or by hearing their recitals; as, to examine the classes in college; to examine the candidates for a degree, or for a license to preach or to practise in a profession.—Webster.

EXAMINEE. One who is examined; one who undergoes at examination.

What loads of cold beef and lobster vanish before the examinees. —Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 72.

EXAMINER. One who examines. In colleges and seminaries of learning, the person who interrogates the students, proposes questions for them to answer, and problems to solve.

Coming forward with assumed carelessness, he threw towards us the formal reply of his examiners.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 9.

EXEAT. Latin; literally, let him depart. Leave of absence given to a student in the English universities.—Webster.

The students who wish to go home apply for an "Exeat," which is a paper signed by the Tutor, Master, and Dean.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 162.

[At King's College], exeats, or permission to go down during term, were never granted but in cases of life and death.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 140.

EXERCISE. A task or lesson; that which is appointed for one to perform. In colleges, all the literary duties are called exercises.

It may be inquired, whether a great part of the exercises be not at best but serious follies.—Cotton Mather's Suggestions, in Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 558.

In the English universities, certain exercises, as acts, opponencies, &c., are required to be performed for particular degrees.

EXHIBIT. To take part in an exhibition; to speak in public at an exhibition or commencement.

No student who shall receive any appointment to exhibit before the class, the College, or the public, shall give any treat or entertainment to his class, or any part thereof, for or on account of those appointments.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 29.

If any student shall fail to perform the exercise assigned him, or shall exhibit anything not allowed by the Faculty, he may be sent home.—Ibid., 1837, p. 16.

2. To provide for poor students by an exhibition. (See EXHIBITION, second meaning.) An instance of this use is given in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, where one Antony Wood says of Bishop Longland, "He was a special friend to the University, in maintaining its privileges and in exhibiting to the wants of certain scholars." In Mr. Peirce's History of Harvard University occurs this passage, in an account of the will of the Hon. William Stoughton: "He bequeathed a pasture in Dorchester, containing twenty-three acres and four acres of marsh, 'the income of both to be exhibited, in the first place, to a scholar of the town of Dorchester, and if there be none such, to one of the town of Milton, and in want of such, then to any other well deserving that shall be most needy.'" —p. 77.

EXHIBITION. In colleges, a public literary and oratorical display. The exercises at exhibitions are original compositions, prose translations from the English into Greek and Latin, and from other languages into the English, metrical versions, dialogues, &c.

At Harvard College, in the year 1760, it was voted, "that twice in a year, in the spring and fall, each class should recite to their Tutors, in the presence of the President, Professors, and Tutors, in the several books in which they are reciting to their respective Tutors, and that publicly in the College Hall or Chapel." The next year, the Overseers being informed "that the students are not required to translate English into Latin nor Latin into English," their committee "thought it would be convenient that specimens of such translations and other performances in classical and polite literature should be from time to time laid before" their board. A vote passed the Board of Overseers recommending to the Corporation a conformity to these suggestions; but it was not until the year 1766 that a law was formally enacted in both boards, "that twice in the year, viz. at the semiannual visitation of the committee of the Overseers, some of the scholars, at the direction of the President and Tutors, shall publicly exhibit specimens of their proficiency, by pronouncing orations and delivering dialogues, either in English or in one of the learned languages, or hearing a forensic disputation, or such other exercises as the President and Tutors shall direct."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. pp. 128-132.

A few years after this, two more exhibitions were added, and were so arranged as to fall one in each quarter of the College year. The last year in which there were four exhibitions was 1789. After this time there were three exhibitions during the year until 1849, when one was omitted, since which time the original plan has been adopted.

In the journal of a member of the class which graduated at Harvard College in the year 1793, under the date of December 23d, 1789, Exhibition, is the following memorandum: "Music was intermingled with elocution, which (we read) has charms to soothe even a savage breast." Again, on a similar occasion, April 13th, 1790, an account of the exercises of the day closes with this note: "Tender music being interspersed to enliven the audience." Vocal music was sometimes introduced. In the same Journal, date October 1st, 1790, Exhibition, the writer says: "The performances were enlivened with an excellent piece of music, sung by Harvard Singing Club, accompanied with a band of music." From this time to the present day, music, either vocal or instrumental, has formed a very entertaining part of the Exhibition performances.[24]

The exercises for exhibitions are assigned by the Faculty to meritorious students, usually of the two higher classes. The exhibitions are held under the direction of the President, and a refusal to perform the part assigned is regarded as a high offence.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 19. Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 16.

2. Allowance of meat and drink; pension; benefaction settled for the maintenance of scholars in the English Universities, not depending on the foundation.—Encyc.

  What maintenance he from his friends receives,
  Like exhibition thou shalt have from me.
    Two Gent. Verona, Act. I. Sc. 3.

This word was formerly used in American colleges.

I order and appoint … ten pounds a year for one exhibition, to assist one pious young man.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 530.

As to the extending the time of his exhibitions, we agree to it. —Ibid., Vol. I. p. 532.

In the yearly "Statement of the Treasurer" of Harvard College, the word is still retained.

"A school exhibition," says a writer in the Literary World, with reference to England, "is a stipend given to the head boys of a school, conditional on their proceeding to some particular college in one of the universities."—Vol. XII. p. 285.

EXHIBITIONER. One who has a pension or allowance, granted for the encouragement of learning; one who enjoys an exhibition. Used principally in the English universities.

2. One who performs a part at an exhibition in American colleges is sometimes called an exhibitioner.

EXPEL. In college government, to command to leave; to dissolve the connection of a student; to interdict him from further connection. —Webster.

EXPULSION. In college government, expulsion is the highest censure, and is a final separation from the college or university. —Coll. Laws.

In the Diary of Mr. Leverett, who was President of Harvard College from 1707 to 1724, is an account of the manner in which the punishment of expulsion was then inflicted. It is as follows:—"In the College Hall the President, after morning prayers, the Fellows, Masters of Art, and the several classes of Undergraduates being present, after a full opening of the crimes of the delinquents, a pathetic admonition of them, and solemn obtestation and caution to the scholars, pronounced the sentence of expulsion, ordered their names to be rent off the tables, and them to depart the Hall."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 442.

In England, "an expelled man," says Bristed, "is shut out from the learned professions, as well as from all Colleges at either University."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 131.

F.

FACILITIES. The means by which the performance of anything is rendered easy.—Webster.

Among students, a general name for what are technically called ponies or translations.

All such subsidiary helps in learning lessons, he classed … under the opprobrious name of "facilities," and never scrupled to seize them as contraband goods.—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. lxxvii.

FACULTY. In colleges, the masters and professors of the several sciences.—Johnson.

In America, the faculty of a college or university consists of the president, professors, and tutors.—Webster.

The duties of the faculty are very extended. They have the general control and direction of the studies pursued in the college. They have cognizance of all offences committed by undergraduates, and it is their special duty to enforce the observance of all the laws and regulations for maintaining discipline, and promoting good order, virtue, piety, and good learning in the institution with which they are connected. The faculty hold meetings to communicate and compare their opinions and information, respecting the conduct and character of the students and the state of the college; to decide upon the petitions or requests which may be offered them by the members of college, and to consider and suggest such measures as may tend to the advancement of learning, and the improvement of the college. This assembly is called a Faculty-meeting, a word very often in the mouths of students.—Coll. Laws.

2. One of the members or departments of a university.

"In the origin of the University of Paris," says Brande, "the seven liberal arts (grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music) seem to have been the subjects of academic instruction. These constituted what was afterwards designated the Faculty of Arts. Three other faculties—those of divinity, law, and medicine—were subsequently added. In all these four, lectures were given, and degrees conferred by the University. The four Faculties were transplanted to Oxford and Cambridge, where they are still retained; although, in point of fact, the faculty of arts is the only one in which substantial instruction is communicated in the academical course."—Brande's Dict., Art. FACULTY.

In some American colleges, these four departments are established, and sometimes a fifth, the Scientific, is added.

FAG. Scotch, faik, to fail, to languish. Ancient Swedish, wik-a, cedere. To drudge; to labor to weariness; to become weary.

2. To study hard; to persevere in study.

  Place me 'midst every toil and care,
  A hapless undergraduate still,
  To fag at mathematics dire, &c.
    Gradus ad Cantab., p. 8.

Dee, the famous mathematician, appears to have fagged as intensely as any man at Cambridge. For three years, he declares, he only slept four hours a night, and allowed two hours for refreshment. The remaining eighteen hours were spent in study.—Ibid., p. 48.

  How did ye toil, and fagg, and fume, and fret,
    And—what the bashful muse would blush to say.
    But, now, your painful tremors are all o'er,
      Cloath'd in the glories of a full-sleev'd gown,
      Ye strut majestically up and down,
    And now ye fagg, and now ye fear, no more!
    Gent. Mag., 1795, p. 20.

FAG. A laborious drudge; a drudge for another. In colleges and schools, this term is applied to a boy of a lower form who is forced to do menial services for another boy of a higher form or class.

But who are those three by-standers, that have such an air of submission and awe in their countenances? They are fags,—Freshmen, poor fellows, called out of their beds, and shivering with fear in the apprehension of missing morning prayers, to wait upon their lords the Sophomores in their midnight revellings.—Harvardiana, Vol. II. p. 106.

His fag he had well-nigh killed by a blow. Wallenstein in Bohn's Stand. Lib., p. 155.

A sixth-form schoolboy is not a little astonished to find his fags becoming his masters.—Lond. Quar. Rev., Am. Ed., Vol. LXXIII, p. 53.

Under the title FRESHMAN SERVITUDE will be found as account of the manner in which members of that class were formerly treated in the older American colleges.

2. A diligent student, i.e. a dig.

FAG. Time spent in, or period of, studying.

The afternoon's fag is a pretty considerable one, lasting from three till dark.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 248.

After another hard fag of a week or two, a land excursion would be proposed.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 56.

FAGGING. Laborious drudgery; the acting as a drudge for another at a college or school.

2. Studying hard, equivalent to digging, grubbing, &c.

  Thrice happy ye, through toil and dangers past,
    Who rest upon that peaceful shore,
    Where all your fagging is no more,
  And gain the long-expected port at last.
    Gent. Mag., 1795, p. 19.

To fagging I set to, therefore, with as keen a relish as ever alderman sat down to turtle.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 123.

See what I pay for liberty to leave school early, and to figure in every ball-room in the country, and see the world, instead of fagging at college.—Collegian's Guide, p. 307.

FAIR HARVARD. At the celebration of the era of the second century from the origin of Harvard College, which was held at Cambridge, September 8th, 1836, the following Ode, written by the Rev. Samuel Gilman, D.D., of Charleston, S.C., was sung to the air, "Believe me, if all those endearing young charms."

 "FAIR HARVARD! thy sons to thy Jubilee throng,
    And with blessings surrender thee o'er,
  By these festival-rites, from the Age that is past,
    To the Age that is waiting before.
  O Relic and Type of our ancestors' worth,
    That hast long kept their memory warm!
  First flower of their wilderness! Star of their night,
    Calm rising through change and through storm!

 "To thy bowers we were led in the bloom of our youth,
    From the home of our free-roving years,
  When our fathers had warned, and our mothers had prayed,
    And our sisters had blest, through their tears.
  Thou then wert our parent,—the nurse of our souls,—
    We were moulded to manhood by thee,
  Till, freighted with treasure-thoughts, friendships, and hopes,
    Thou didst launch us on Destiny's sea.

 "When, as pilgrims, we come to revisit thy halls,
    To what kindlings the season gives birth!
  Thy shades are more soothing, thy sunlight more dear,
    Than descend on less privileged earth:
  For the Good and the Great, in their beautiful prime,
    Through thy precincts have musingly trod,
  As they girded their spirits, or deepened the streams
    That make glad the fair City of God.

 "Farewell! be thy destinies onward and bright!
    To thy children the lesson still give,
  With freedom to think, and with patience to bear,
    And for right ever bravely to live.
  Let not moss-covered Error moor thee at its side,
    As the world on Truth's current glides by;
  Be the herald of Light, and the bearer of Love,
    Till the stock of the Puritans die."

Since the occasion on which this ode was sung, it has been the practice with the odists of Class Day at Harvard College to write the farewell class song to the tune of "Fair Harvard," the name by which the Irish air "Believe me" has been adopted. The deep pathos of this melody renders it peculiarly appropriate to the circumstances with which it has been so happily connected, and from which it is to be hoped it may never be severed.

See CLASS DAY.

FAIR LICK. In the game of football, when the ball is fairly caught or kicked beyond the bounds, the cry usually heard, is Fair lick! Fair lick!

  "Fair lick!" he cried, and raised his dreadful foot,
  Armed at all points with the ancestral boot.
    Harvardiana, Vol. IV. p. 22.

See FOOTBALL.

FANTASTICS. At Princeton College, an exhibition on Commencement evening, of a number of students on horseback, fantastically dressed in masks, &c.

FAST. An epithet of one who is showy in dress, expensive or apparently so in his mode of living, and inclined to spree. Formerly used exclusively among students; now of more general application.

Speaking of the student signification of the word, Bristed remarks: "A fast man is not necessarily (like the London fast man) a rowing man, though the two attributes are often combined in the same person; he is one who dresses flashily, talks big, and spends, or affects to spend, money very freely."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 23.

  The Fast Man comes, with reeling tread,
  Cigar in mouth, and swimming head.
    MS. Poem, F.E. Felton.

FAT. At Princeton College, a letter with money or a draft is thus denominated.

FATHER or PRÆLECTOR. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., one of the fellows of a college, who attends all the examinations for the Bachelor's degree, to see that justice is done to the candidates from his own college, who are at that time called his sons.—Gradus ad Cantab.

The Fathers of the respective colleges, zealous for the credit of the societies of which they are the guardians, are incessantly employed in examining those students who appear most likely to contest the palm of glory with their sons.—Gent. Mag., 1773, p. 435.

FEBRUARY TWENTY-SECOND. At Shelby, Centre, and Bacon Colleges, in Kentucky, it is customary to select the best orators and speakers from the different literary societies to deliver addresses on the twenty-second of February, in commemoration of the birthday of Washington. At Bethany College, in Virginia, this day is observed in a similar manner.

FEEZE. Usually spelled PHEEZE, q.v.

Under FLOP, another, but probably a wrong or obsolete, signification is given.

FELLOW. A member of a corporation; a trustee. In the English universities, a residence at the college, engagement in instruction, and receiving therefor a stipend, are essential requisites to the character of a fellow. In American colleges, it is not necessary that a fellow should be a resident, a stipendiary, or an instructor. In most cases the greater number of the Fellows of the Corporation are non-residents, and have no part in the instruction at the college.

With reference to the University of Cambridge, Eng., Bristed remarks: "The Fellows, who form the general body from which the other college officers are chosen, consist of those four or five Bachelor Scholars in each year who pass the best examination in classics, mathematics, and metaphysics. This examination being a severe one, and only the last of many trials which they have gone through, the inference is allowable that they are the most learned of the College graduates. They have a handsome income, whether resident or not; but if resident, enjoy the additional advantages of a well-spread table for nothing, and good rooms at a very low price. The only conditions of retaining their Fellowships are, that they take orders after a certain time and remain unmarried. Of those who do not fill college offices, some occupy themselves with private pupils; others, who have property of their own, prefer to live a life of literary leisure, like some of their predecessors, the monks of old. The eight oldest Fellows at any time in residence, together with the Master, have the government of the college vested in them."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 16.

For some remarks on the word Fellow, see under the title COLLEGE.

FELLOW-COMMONER. In the University of Cambridge, England, Fellow-Commoners are generally the younger sons of the nobility, or young men of fortune, and have the privilege of dining at the Fellows' table, whence the appellation originated.

"Fellow-Commoners," says Bristed, "are 'young men of fortune,' as the Cambridge Calendar and Cambridge Guide have it, who, in consideration of their paying twice as much for everything as anybody else, are allowed the privilege of sitting at the Fellows' table in hall, and in their seats at chapel; of wearing a gown with gold or silver lace, and a velvet cap with a metallic tassel; of having the first choice of rooms; and as is generally believed, and believed not without reason, of getting off with a less number of chapels per week. Among them are included the Honorables not eldest sons,—only these wear a hat instead of the velvet cap, and are thence popularly known as Hat Fellow-Commoners."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 13.

A Fellow-Commoner at Cambridge is equivalent to an Oxford Gentleman-Commoner, and is in all respects similar to what in private schools and seminaries is called a parlor boarder. A fuller account of this, the first rank at the University, will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 20, and in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, p. 50.

"Fellow-Commoners have been nicknamed 'Empty Bottles'! They have been called, likewise, 'Useless Members'! 'The licensed Sons of Ignorance.'"—Gradus ad Cantab.

The Fellow-Commoners, alias empty bottles, (not so called because they've let out anything during the examination,) are then presented.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 101.

In the old laws of Harvard College we find the following: "None shall be admitted a Fellow-Commoner unless he first pay thirteen pounds six and eight pence to the college. And every Fellow-Commoner shall pay double tuition money. They shall have the privilege of dining and supping with the Fellows at their table in the hall; they shall be excused from going on errands, and shall have the title of Masters, and have the privilege of wearing their hats as the Masters do; but shall attend all duties and exercises with the rest of their class, and be alike subject to the laws and government of the College," &c. The Hon. Paine Wingate, a graduate of the class of 1759, says in reference to this subject: "I never heard anything about Fellow-Commoners in college excepting in this paragraph. I am satisfied there has been no such description of scholars at Cambridge since I have known anything about the place."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Coll., p. 314.

In the Appendix to "A Sketch of the History of Harvard College," by Samuel A. Eliot, is a memorandum, in the list of donations to that institution, under the date 1683, to this effect. "Mr. Joseph Brown, Mr. Edward Page, Mr. Francis Wainwright, fellow-commoners, gave each a silver goblet." Mr. Wainwright graduated in 1686. The other two do not appear to have received a degree. All things considered, it is probable that this order, although introduced from the University of Cambridge, England, into Harvard College, received but few members, on account of the evil influence which such distinctions usually exert.

FELLOW OF THE HOUSE. See under HOUSE.

FELLOW, RESIDENT. At Harvard College, the tutors were formerly called resident fellows.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 278.

The resident fellows were tutors to the classes, and instructed them in Hebrew, "and led them through all the liberal arts before the four years were expired."—Harv. Reg., p. 249.

FELLOWSHIP. An establishment in colleges, for the maintenance of a fellow.—Webster.

In Harvard College, tutors were formerly called Fellows of the House or College, and their office, fellowships. In this sense that word is used in the following passage.

Joseph Stevens was chosen "Fellow of the College, or House," and as such was approved by that board [the Corporation], in the language of the records, "to supply a vacancy in one of the Fellowships of the House."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 279.

FELLOWS' ORCHARD. See TUTORS' PASTURE.

FEMUR. Latin; a thigh-bone. At Yale College, a femur was formerly the badge of a medical bully.

  When hand in hand all joined in band,
    With clubs, umbrellas, femurs,
  Declaring death and broken teeth
    'Gainst blacksmiths, cobblers, seamers.
    The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 14.

 "One hundred valiant warriors, who
    (My Captain bid me say)
  Three femurs wield, with one to fight,
    With two to run away,

 "Wait in Scull Castle, to receive,
    With open gates, your men;
  Their right arms nerved, their femurs clenched,
    Safe to protect ye then!"—Ibid., p. 23.

FERG. To lose the heat of excitement or passion; to become less angry, ardent; to cool. A correspondent from the University of Vermont, where this word is used, says: "If a man gets angry, we 'let him ferg,' and he feels better."

FESS. Probably abbreviated for CONFESS. In some of the Southern Colleges, to fail in reciting; to silently request the teacher not to put farther queries.

This word is in use among the cadets at West Point, with the same meaning.

  And when you and I, and Benny, and General Jackson too,
    Are brought before a final board our course of life to view,
  May we never "fess" on any "point," but then be told to go
    To join the army of the blest, with Benny Havens, O!
    Song, Benny Havens, O!

FINES. In many of the colleges in the United States it was formerly customary to impose fines upon the students as a punishment for non-compliance with the laws. The practice is now very generally abolished.

About the middle of the eighteenth century, the custom of punishing by pecuniary mulets began, at Harvard College, to be considered objectionable. "Although," says Quincy, "little regarded by the students, they were very annoying to their parents." A list of the fines which were imposed on students at that period presents a curious aggregate of offences and punishments.

                                                         £ s. d.
Absence from prayers, 0 0 2
Tardiness at prayers, 0 0 1
Absence from Professor's public lecture, 0 0 4
Tardiness at do. 0 0 2
Profanation of Lord's day, not exceeding 0 3 0
Absence from public worship, 0 0 9
Tardiness at do. 0 0 3
Ill behavior at do. not exceeding 0 1 6
Going to meeting before bell-ringing, 0 0 6
Neglecting to repeat the sermon, 0 0 9
Irreverent behavior at prayers, or public divinity
    lectures, 0 1 6
Absence from chambers, &c., not exceeding 0 0 6
Not declaiming, not exceeding 0 1 6
Not giving up a declamation, not exceeding 0 1 6
Absence from recitation, not exceeding 0 1 6
Neglecting analyzing, not exceeding 0 3 0
Bachelors neglecting disputations, not exceeding 0 1 6
Respondents neglecting do. from 1s. 6d. to 0 3 0
Undergraduates out of town without leave, not exceeding 0 2 6
Undergraduates tarrying out of town without leave, not
    exceeding per diem, 0 1 3
Undergraduates tarrying out of town one week without
    leave, not exceeding 0 10 0
Undergraduates tarrying out of town one month without
    leave, not exceeding 2 10 0
Lodging strangers without leave, not exceeding 0 1 6
Entertaining persons of ill character, not exceeding 0 1 6
Going out of College without proper garb, not exceeding 0 0 6
Frequenting taverns, not exceeding 0 1 6
Profane cursing, not exceeding 0 2 6
Graduates playing cards, not exceeding 0 5 0
Undergraduates playing cards, not exceeding 0 2 6
Undergraduates playing any game for money, not exceeding 0 1 6
Selling and exchanging without leave, not exceeding 0 1 6
Lying, not exceeding 0 1 6
Opening door by pick-locks, not exceeding 0 5 0
Drunkenness, not exceeding 0 1 6
Liquors prohibited under penalty, not exceeding 0 1 6
Second offence, not exceeding 0 3 0
Keeping prohibited liquors, not exceeding 0 1 6
Sending for do. 0 0 6
Fetching do. 0 1 6
Going upon the top of the College, 0 1 6
Cutting off the lead, 0 1 6
Concealing the transgression of the 19th Law,[25] 0 1 6
Tumultuous noises, 0 1 6
Second offence, 0 3 0
Refusing to give evidence, 0 3 0
Rudeness at meals, 0 1 0
Butler and cook to keep utensils clean, not
    exceeding 0 5 0
Not lodging at their chambers, not exceeding 0 1 6
Sending Freshmen in studying time, 0 0 9
Keeping guns, and going on skating, 0 1 0
Firing guns or pistols in College yard, 0 2 6
Fighting or hurting any person, not exceeding 0 1 6

In 1761, a committee, of which Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson was a member, was appointed to consider of some other method of punishing offenders. Although they did not altogether abolish mulets, yet "they proposed that, in lieu of an increase of mulcts, absences without justifiable cause from any exercise of the College should subject the delinquent to warning, private admonition, exhortation to duty, and public admonition, with a notification to parents; when recitations had been omitted, performance of them should be exacted at some other time; and, by way of punishment for disorders, confinement, and the performance of exercises during its continuance, should be enjoined."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. pp. 135, 136.

By the laws of 1798, fines not exceeding one dollar were imposed by a Professor or Tutor, or the Librarian; not exceeding two dollars, by the President; all above two dollars, by the President, Professors, and Tutors, at a meeting.

Upon this subject, with reference to Harvard College, Professor Sidney Willard remarks: "For a long period fines constituted the punishment of undergraduates for negligence in attendance at the exercises and in the performance of the lessons assigned to them. A fine was the lowest degree in the gradation of punishment. This mode of punishment or disapprobation was liable to objections, as a tax on the father rather than a rebuke of the son, (except it might be, in some cases, for the indirect moral influence produced upon the latter, operating on his filial feeling,) and as a mercenary exaction, since the money went into the treasury of the College. It was a good day for the College when this punishment through the purse was abandoned as a part of the system of punishments; which, not confined to neglect of study, had been extended also to a variety of misdemeanors more or less aggravated and aggravating."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. p. 304.

"Of fines," says President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse relating to Yale College, "the laws are full, and other documents show that the laws did not sleep. Thus there was in 1748 a fine of a penny for the absence of an undergraduate from prayers, and of a half-penny for tardiness or coming in after the introductory collect; of fourpence for absence from public worship; of from two to six pence for absence from one's chamber during the time of study; of one shilling for picking open a lock the first time, and two shillings the second; of two and sixpence for playing at cards or dice, or for bringing strong liquor into College; of one shilling for doing damage to the College, or jumping out of the windows,—and so in many other cases.

"In the year 1759, a somewhat unfair pamphlet was written, which gave occasion to several others in quick succession, wherein, amidst other complaints of President Clap's administration, mention is made of the large amount of fines imposed upon students. The author, after mentioning that in three years' time over one hundred and seventy-two pounds of lawful money was collected in this way, goes on to add, that 'such an exorbitant collection by fines tempts one to suspect that they have got together a most disorderly set of young men training up for the service of the churches, or that they are governed and corrected chiefly by pecuniary punishments;—that almost all sins in that society are purged and atoned for by money.' He adds, with justice, that these fines do not fall on the persons of the offenders,—most of the students being minors,—but upon their parents; and that the practice takes place chiefly where there is the least prospect of working a reformation, since the thoughtless and extravagant, being the principal offenders against College law, would not lay it to heart if their frolics should cost them a little more by way of fine. He further expresses his opinion, that this way of punishing the children of the College has but little tendency to better their hearts and reform their manners; that pecuniary impositions act only by touching the shame or covetousness or necessities of those upon whom they are levied; and that fines had ceased to become dishonorable at College, while to appeal to the love of money was expelling one devil by another, and to restrain the necessitous by fear of fine would be extremely cruel and unequal. These and other considerations are very properly urged, and the same feeling is manifested in the laws by the gradual abolition of nearly all pecuniary mulcts. The practice, it ought to be added, was by no means peculiar to Yale College, but was transferred, even in a milder form, from the colleges of England."—pp. 47, 48.

In connection with this subject, it may not be inappropriate to mention the following occurrence, which is said to have taken place at Harvard College.

Dr. ——, in propria persona, called upon a Southern student one morning in the recitation-room to define logic. The question was something in this form. "Mr. ——, what is logic?" Ans. "Logic, Sir, is the art of reasoning." "Ay; but I wish you to give the definition in the exact words of the learned author." "O, Sir, he gives a very long, intricate, confused definition, with which I did not think proper to burden my memory." "Are you aware who the learned author is?" "O, yes! your honor, Sir." "Well, then, I fine you one dollar for disrespect." Taking out a two-dollar note, the student said, with the utmost sang froid, "If you will change this, I will pay you on the spot." "I fine you another dollar," said the Professor, emphatically, "for repeated disrespect." "Then 'tis just the change, Sir," said the student, coolly.

FIRST-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, England, the title of First-Year Men, or Freshmen, is given to students during the first year of their residence at the University.

FISH. At Harvard College, to seek or gain the good-will of an instructor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities; to curry favor. The German word fischen has a secondary meaning, to get by cunning, which is similar to the English word fish. Students speak of fishing for parts, appointments, ranks, marks, &c.

  I give to those that fish for parts,
  Long, sleepless nights, and aching hearts,
  A little soul, a fawning spirit,
  With half a grain of plodding merit,
  Which is, as Heaven I hope will say,
  Giving what's not my own away.
    Will of Charles Prentiss, in Rural Repository, 1795.

  Who would let a Tutor knave
  Screw him like a Guinea slave!
  Who would fish a fine to save!
    Let him turn and flee.—Rebelliad, p. 35.

  Did I not promise those who fished
  And pimped most, any part they wished?—Ibid., p. 33.

  'T is all well here; though 't were a grand mistake
  To write so, should one "fish" for a "forty-eight!"
    Childe Harvard, p. 33.

  Still achieving, still intriguing,
  Learn to labor and to fish.
    Poem before Y.H., 1849.

The following passage explains more clearly, perhaps, the meaning of this word. "Any attempt to raise your standing by ingratiating yourself with the instructors, will not only be useless, but dishonorable. Of course, in your intercourse with the Professors and Tutors, you will not be wanting in that respect and courtesy which is due to them, both as your superiors and as gentlemen."—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 79.

Washington Allston, who graduated at Harvard College in the year 1800, left a painting of a fishing scene, to be transmitted from class to class. It was in existence in the year 1828, but has disappeared of late.

FISH, FISHER. One who attempts to ingratiate himself with his instructor, thereby to obtain favor or advantage; one who curries favor.

You besought me to respect my teachers, and to be attentive to my studies, though it shall procure me the odious title of a "fisher."—Monthly Anthology, Boston, 1804, Vol. I. p. 153.

FISHING. The act performed by a fisher. The full force of this word is set forth in a letter from Dr. Popkin, a Professor at Harvard College, to his brother William, dated Boston, October 17th, 1800.

"I am sensible that the good conduct which I have advised you, and which, I doubt not, you are inclined to preserve, may expose you to the opprobrious epithet, fishing. You undoubtedly understand, by this time, the meaning of that frightful term, which has done more damage in college than all the bad wine, and roasted pigs, that have ever fired the frenzy of Genius! The meaning of it, in short, is nothing less than this, that every one who acts as a reasonable being in the various relations and duties of a scholar is using the basest means to ingratiate himself with the government, and seeking by mean compliances to purchase their honors and favors. At least, I thought this to be true when I was in the government. If times and manners are altered, I am heartily glad of it; but it will not injure you to hear the tales of former times. If a scholar appeared to perform his exercises to his best ability, if there were not a marked contempt and indifference in his manner, I would hear the whisper run round the class, fishing. If one appeared firm enough to perform an unpopular duty, or showed common civility to his instructors, who certainly wished him well, he was fishing. If he refused to join in some general disorder, he was insulted with fishing. If he did not appear to despise the esteem and approbation of his instructors, and to disclaim all the rewards of diligence and virtue, he was suspected of fishing. The fear of this suspicion or imputation has, I believe, perverted many minds which, from good and honorable motives, were better disposed."—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., pp. xxvi., xxvii.

  To those who've parts at exhibition,
  Obtained by long, unwearied fishing,
  I say, to such unlucky wretches,
  I give, for wear, a brace of breeches.
    Will of Charles Prentiss, in Rural Repository, 1795.

  And, since his fishing on the land was vain,
  To try his luck upon the azure main.—Class Poem, 1835.

Whenever I needed advice or assistance, I did not hesitate, through any fear of the charge of what, in the College cant, was called "fishing," to ask it of Dr. Popkin.—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. ix.

At Dartmouth College, the electioneering for members of the secret societies was formerly called fishing. At the same institution, individuals in the Senior Class were said to be fishing for appointments, if they tried to gain the good-will of the Faculty by any special means.

FIVES. A kind of play with a ball against the side of a building, resembling tennis; so named, because three fives or fifteen are counted to the game.—Smart.

A correspondent, writing of Centre College, Ky., says: "Fives was a game very much in vogue, at which the President would often take a hand, and while the students would play for ice-cream or some other refreshment, he would never fail to come in for his share."

FIZZLE. Halliwell says: "The half-hiss, half-sigh of an animal." In many colleges in the United States, this word is applied to a bad recitation, probably from the want of distinct articulation which usually attends such performances. It is further explained in the Yale Banger, November 10, 1846: "This figure of a wounded snake is intended to represent what in technical language is termed a fizzle. The best judges have decided, that to get just one third of the meaning right constitutes a perfect fizzle."

With a mind and body so nearly at rest, that naught interrupted my inmost repose save cloudy reminiscences of a morning "fizzle" and an afternoon "flunk," my tranquillity was sufficiently enviable.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 114.

  Here he could fizzles mark without a sigh,
  And see orations unregarded die.
    The Tomahawk, Nov., 1849.

  Not a wail was heard, or a "fizzle's" mild sigh,
  As his corpse o'er the pavement we hurried.
    The Gallinipper, Dec., 1849.

At Princeton College, the word blue is used with fizzle, to render it intensive; as, he made a blue fizzle, he fizzled blue.

FIZZLE. To fail in reciting; to recite badly. A correspondent from Williams College says: "Flunk is the common word when some unfortunate man makes an utter failure in recitation. He fizzles when he stumbles through at last." Another from Union writes: "If you have been lazy, you will probably fizzle." A writer in the Yale Literary Magazine thus humorously defines this word: "Fizzle. To rise with modest reluctance, to hesitate often, to decline finally; generally, to misunderstand the question."—Vol. XIV. p. 144.

My dignity is outraged at beholding those who fizzle and flunk in my presence tower above me.—The Yale Banger, Oct. 22, 1847.

  I "skinned," and "fizzled" through.
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

The verb to fizzle out, which is used at the West, has a little stronger signification, viz. to be quenched, extinguished; to prove a failure.—Bartlett's Dict. Americanisms.

The factious and revolutionary action of the fifteen has interrupted the regular business of the Senate, disgraced the actors, and fizzled out.—Cincinnati Gazette.

2. To cause one to fail in reciting. Said of an instructor.

  Fizzle him tenderly,
    Bore him with care,
  Fitted so slenderly,
    Tutor, beware.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIII. p. 321.

FIZZLING. Reciting badly; the act of making a poor recitation.

Of this word, a writer jocosely remarks: "Fizzling is a somewhat free translation of an intricate sentence; proving a proposition in geometry from a wrong figure. Fizzling is caused sometimes by a too hasty perusal of the pony, and generally by a total loss of memory when called upon to recite."—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

  Weather drizzling,
  Freshmen fizzling.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 212.

FLAM. At the University of Vermont, in student phrase, to flam is to be attentive, at any time, to any lady or company of ladies. E.g. "He spends half his time flamming" i.e. in the society of the other sex.

FLASH-IN-THE-PAN. A student is said to make a flash-in-the-pan when he commences to recite brilliantly, and suddenly fails; the latter part of such a recitation is a FIZZLE. The metaphor is borrowed from a gun, which, after being primed, loaded, and ready to be discharged, flashes in the pan.

FLOOR. Among collegians, to answer such questions as may be propounded concerning a given subject.

  Then Olmsted took hold, but he couldn't make it go,
  For we floored the Bien. Examination.
    Presentation Day Songs, Yale Coll., June 14, 1854.

To floor a paper, is to answer every question in it.—Bristed.

Somehow I nearly floored the paper, and came out feeling much more comfortable than when I went in.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 12.

Our best classic had not time to floor the paper.—Ibid., p. 135.

FLOP. A correspondent from the University of Vermont writes: "Any 'cute' performance by which a man is sold [deceived] is a good flop, and, by a phrase borrowed from the ball ground, is 'rightly played.' The discomfited individual declares that they 'are all on a side,' and gives up, or 'rolls over' by giving his opponent 'gowdy.'" "A man writes cards during examination to 'feeze the profs'; said cards are 'gumming cards,' and he flops the examination if he gets a good mark by the means." One usually flops his marks by feigning sickness.

FLOP A TWENTY. At the University of Vermont, to flop a twenty is to make a perfect recitation, twenty being the maximum mark for scholarship.

FLUMMUX. Any failure is called a flummux. In some colleges the word is particularly applied to a poor recitation. At Williams College, a failure on the play-ground is called a flummux.

FLUMMUX. To fail; to recite badly. Mr. Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms, has the word flummix, to be overcome; to be frightened; to give way to.

Perhaps Parson Hyme didn't put it into Pokerville for two mortal hours; and perhaps Pokerville didn't mizzle, wince, and finally flummix right beneath him.—Field, Drama in Pokerville.

FLUNK. This word is used in some American colleges to denote a complete failure in recitation.

This, O, [signifying neither beginning nor end,] Tutor H—— said meant a perfect flunk.—The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

I've made some twelve or fourteen flunks.—The Gallinipper,
Dec. 1849.

  And that bold man must bear a flunk, or die,
  Who, when John pleased be captious, dared reply.
    Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

The Sabbath dawns upon the poor student burdened with the thought of the lesson, or flunk of the morrow morning.—Ibid., Feb. 1851.

    He thought …
  First of his distant home and parents, tunc,
  Of tutors' note-books, and the morrow's flunk.
    Ibid., Feb. 1851.

  In moody meditation sunk,
  Reflecting on my future flunk.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 54.

  And so, in spite of scrapes and flunks,
    I'll have a sheep-skin too.
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

Some amusing anecdotes are told, such as the well-known one about the lofty dignitary's macaronic injunction, "Exclude canem, et shut the door"; and another of a tutor's dismal flunk on faba.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 263.

FLUNK. To make a complete failure when called on to recite. A writer in the Yale Literary Magazine defines it, "to decline peremptorily, and then to whisper, 'I had it all, except that confounded little place.'"—Vol. XIV. p. 144.

They know that a man who has flunked, because too much of a genius to get his lesson, is not in a state to appreciate joking. —Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 253.

Nestor was appointed to deliver a poem, but most ingloriously flunked.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 256.

The phrase to flunk out, which Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms, defines, "to retire through fear, to back out," is of the same nature as the above word.

Why, little one, you must be cracked, if you flunk out before we begin.—J.C. Neal.

It was formerly used in some American colleges as is now the word flunk.

We must have, at least, as many subscribers as there are students in College, or "flunk out."—The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 3.

FLUNKEY. In college parlance, one who makes a complete failure at recitation; one who flunks.

I bore him safe through Horace, Saved him from the flunkey's doom. Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 76.

FLUNKING. Failing completely in reciting.

  Flunking so gloomily,
  Crushed by contumely.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIII. p. 322.

We made our earliest call while the man first called up in the division-room was deliberately and gracefully "flunking."—Ibid., Vol. XIV. p. 190.

  See what a spot a flunking Soph'more made!
    Yale Gallinipper, Nov. 1848.

FLUNKOLOGY. A farcical word, designed to express the science of flunking.

The —— scholarship, is awarded to the student in each Freshman Class who passes the poorest examination in Flunkology.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 28.

FOOTBALL. For many years, the game of football has been the favorite amusement at some of the American colleges, during certain seasons of the year. At Harvard and Yale, it is customary for the Sophomore Class to challenge the Freshmen to a trial game, soon after their entrance into College. The interest excited on this occasion is always very great, the Seniors usually siding with the former, and the Juniors with the latter class. The result is generally in favor of the Sophomores. College poets and prose-writers have often chosen the game of football as a topic on which to exercise their descriptive powers. One invokes his muse, in imitation of a great poet, as follows:—

 "The Freshmen's wrath, to Sophs the direful spring
  Of shins unnumbered bruised, great goddess, sing!"

Another, speaking of the size of the ball in ancient times compared with what it is at present, says:—

 "A ball like this, so monstrous and so hard,
  Six eager Freshmen scarce could kick a yard!"

Further compositions on this subject are to be found in the
Harvard Register, Harvardiana, Yale Banger, &c.

See WRESTLING-MATCH.

FORENSIC. A written argument, maintaining either the affirmative or the negative side of a question.

In Harvard College, the two senior classes are required to write forensics once in every four weeks, on a subject assigned by the Professor of Moral Philosophy; these they read before him and the division of the class to which they belong, on appointed days. It was formerly customary for the teacher to name those who were to write on the affirmative and those on the negative, but it is now left optional with the student which side he will take. This word was originally used as an adjective, and it was usual to speak of a forensic dispute, which has now been shortened into forensic.

For every unexcused omission of a forensic, or of reading a forensic, a deduction shall be made of the highest number of marks to which that exercise is entitled. Seventy-two is the highest mark for forensics.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848.

What with themes, forensics, letters, memoranda, notes on lectures, verses, and articles, I find myself considerably hurried.—Collegian, 1830, p. 241.

                                  When
  I call to mind Forensics numberless,
  With arguments so grave and erudite,
  I never understood their force myself,
  But trusted that my sage instructor would.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 403.

FORK ON. At Hamilton College, to fork on, to appropriate to one's self.

FORTS. At Jefferson and at Washington Colleges in Pennsylvania, the boarding-houses for the students are called forts.

FOUNDATION. A donation or legacy appropriated to support an institution, and constituting a permanent fund, usually for a charitable purpose.—Webster.

In America it is also applied to a donation or legacy appropriated especially to maintain poor and deserving, or other students, at a college.

In the selection of candidates for the various beneficiary foundations, the preference will be given to those who are of exemplary conduct and scholarship.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 19.

Scholars on this foundation are to be called "scholars of the house."—Sketches of Yale Coll., p. 86.

FOUNDATIONER. One who derives support from the funds or foundation of a college or a great school.—Jackson.

This word is not in use in the United States.

See BENEFICIARY.

FOUNDATION SCHOLAR. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a scholar who enjoys certain privileges, and who is of that class whence Fellows are taken.

Of the scholars of this name, Bristed remarks: "The table nearer the door is filled by students in the ordinary Undergraduate blue gown; but from the better service of their table, and perhaps some little consequential air of their own, it is plain that they have something peculiar to boast of. They are the Foundation Scholars, from whom the future Fellows are to be chosen, in the proportion of about one out of three. Their Scholarships are gained by examination in the second or third year, and entitle them to a pecuniary allowance from the college, and also to their commons gratis (these latter subject to certain attendance at and service in chapel), a first choice of rooms, and some other little privileges, of which they are somewhat proud, and occasionally they look as if conscious that some Don may be saying to a chance visitor at the high table, 'Those over yonder are the scholars, the best men of their year.'"—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.

FOX. In the German universities, a student during the first half-year is called a Fox (Fuchs), the same as Freshman. To this the epithet nasty is sometimes added.

On this subject, Howitt remarks: "On entering the University, he becomes a Kameel,—a Camel. This happy transition-state of a few weeks gone by, he comes forth finally, on entering a Chore, a Fox, and runs joyfully into the new Burschen life. During the first semester or half-year, he is a gold fox, which means, that he has foxes, or rich gold in plenty yet; or he is a Crass-fucks, or fat fox, meaning that he yet swells or puffs himself up with gold."—Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 124.

"Halloo there, Herdman, fox!" yelled another lusty tippler, and Herdman, thus appealed to, arose and emptied the contents of his glass.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 116.

At the same moment, a door at the end of the hall was thrown open, and a procession of new-comers, or Nasty Foxes, as they are called in the college dialect, entered two by two, looking wild, and green, and foolish.—Longfellow's Hyperion, p. 109.

See also in the last-mentioned work the Fox song.

FREEZE. A correspondent from Williams College writes: "But by far the most expressive word in use among us is Freeze. The meaning of it might be felt, if, some cold morning, you would place your tender hand upon some frosty door-latch; it would be a striking specimen on the part of the door-latch of what we mean by Freeze. Thus we freeze to apples in the orchards, to fellows whom we electioneer for in our secret societies, and alas! some even go so far as to freeze to the ladies."

"Now, boys," said Bob, "freeze on," and at it they went.—Yale
Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 111.

FRESH. An abbreviation for Freshman or Freshmen; FRESHES is sometimes used for the plural.

When Sophs met Fresh, power met opposing power. Harv. Reg., p. 251.

The Sophs did nothing all the first fortnight but torment the Fresh, as they call us.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.

Listen to the low murmurings of some annihilated Fresh upon the
Delta.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848.

FRESH. Newly come; likewise, awkward, like a Freshman.—Grad. ad
Cantab.

For their behavior at table, spitting and coughing, and speaking loud, was counted uncivil in any but a gentleman; as we say in the university, that nothing is fresh in a Senior, and to him it was a glory.—Archæol. Atticæ, Edit. Oxon., 1675, B. VI.

FRESHMAN, pl. FRESHMEN. In England, a student during his first year's residence at the university. In America, one who belongs to the youngest of the four classes in college, called the Freshman Class.—Webster.

FRESHMAN. Pertaining to a Freshman, or to the class called Freshman.

FRESHMAN, BUTLER'S. At Harvard and Yale Colleges, a Freshman, formerly hired by the Butler, to perform certain duties pertaining to his office, was called by this name.

The Butler may be allowed a Freshman, to do the foregoing duties, and to deliver articles to the students from the Buttery, who shall be appointed by the President and Tutors, and he shall be allowed the same provision in the Hall as the Waiters; and he shall not be charged in the Steward's quarter-bills under the heads of Steward and Instruction and Sweepers, Catalogue and Dinner.—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1793, p. 61.

With being butler's freshman, and ringing the bell the first year, waiter the three last, and keeping school in the vacations, I rubbed through.—The Algerine Captive, Walpole, 1797, Vol. I. p. 54.

See BUTLER, BUTTERY.

FRESHMAN CLUB. At Hamilton College, it is customary for the new Sophomore Class to present to the Freshmen at the commencement of the first term a heavy cudgel, six feet long, of black walnut, brass bound, with a silver plate inscribed "Freshman Club." The club is given to the one who can hold it out at arm's length the longest time, and the presentation is accompanied with an address from one of the Sophomores in behalf of his class. He who receives the club is styled the "leader." The "leader" having been declared, after an appropriate speech from a Freshman appointed for that purpose, "the class," writes a correspondent, "form a procession, and march around the College yard, the leader carrying the club before them. A trial is then made by the class of the virtues of the club, on the Chapel door."

FRESHMAN, COLLEGE. In Harvard University, a member of the Freshman Class, whose duties are enumerated below. "On Saturday, after the exercises, any student not specially prohibited may go out of town. If the students thus going out of town fail to return so as to be present at evening prayers, they must enter their names with the College Freshman within the hour next preceding the evening study bell; and all students who shall be absent from evening prayers on Saturday must in like manner enter their names."—Statutes and Laws of the Univ. in Cam., Mass., 1825, p. 42.

The College Freshman lived in No. 1, Massachusetts Hall, and was commonly called the book-keeper. The duties of this office are now performed by one of the Proctors.

FRESHMANHOOD. The state of a Freshman, or the time in which one is a Freshman, which is in duration a year.

  But yearneth not thy laboring heart, O Tom,
  For those dear hours of simple Freshmanhood?
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 405.

  When to the college I came,
        in the first dear day of my freshhood,
  Like to the school we had left
        I imagined the new situation.
    Ibid., Vol. III. p. 98.

FRESHMANIC. Pertaining to a Freshman; resembling a Freshman, or his condition.

The Junior Class had heard of our miraculous doings, and asserted with that peculiar dignity which should at all times excite terror and awe in the Freshmanic breast, that they would countenance no such proceedings.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 316.

I do not pine for those Freshmanic days.—Ibid., Vol. III. p. 405.

FRESHMAN, PARIETAL. In Harvard College, the member of the Freshman
Class who gives notice to those whom the chairman of the Parietal
Committee wishes to see, is known by the name of the Parietal
Freshman. For his services he receives about forty dollars per
annum, and the rent of his room.

FRESHMAN, PRESIDENT'S. A member of the Freshman Class who performs the official errands of the President, for which he receives the same compensation as the PARIETAL FRESHMAN.

  Then Bibo kicked his carpet thrice,
  Which brought his Freshman in a trice.
  "You little rascal! go and call
  The persons mentioned in this scroll."
  The fellow, hearing, scarcely feels
  The ground, so quickly fly his heels.
    Rebelliad, p. 27.

FRESHMAN, REGENT'S. In Harvard College, a member of the Freshman
Class whose duties are given below.

"When any student shall return to town, after having had leave of absence for one night or more, or after any vacation, he shall apply to the Regent's Freshman, at his room, to enter the time of his return; and shall tarry till he see it entered.

"The Regent's Freshman is not charged under the heads of
Steward, Instruction, Sweepers, Catalogue, and Dinner."—Laws of
Harv. Coll., 1816, pp. 46, 47.

This office is now abolished.

FRESHMAN'S BIBLE. Among collegians, the name by which the body of laws, the catalogue, or the calendar of a collegiate institution is often designated. The significancy of the word Bible is seen, when the position in which the laws are intended to be regarded is considered. The Freshman is supposed to have studied and to be more familiar with the laws than any one else, hence the propriety of using his name in this connection. A copy of the laws are usually presented to each student on his entrance into college.

Every year there issues from the warehouse of Messrs. Deighton, the publishers to the University of Cambridge, an octavo volume, bound in white canvas, and of a very periodical and business-like appearance. Among the Undergraduates it is commonly known by the name of the "Freshman's Bible,"—the public usually ask for the "University Calendar."—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 230.

See COLLEGE BIBLE.

FRESHMAN SERVITUDE. The custom which formerly prevailed in the older American colleges of allowing the members of all the upper classes to send Freshmen upon errands, and in other ways to treat them as inferiors, appears at the present day strange and almost unaccountable. That our forefathers had reasons which they deemed sufficient, not only for allowing, but sanctioning, this subjection, we cannot doubt; but what these were, we are not able to know from any accounts which have come down to us from the past.

"On attending prayers the first evening," says one who graduated at Harvard College near the close of the last century, "no sooner had the President pronounced the concluding 'Amen,' than one of the Sophomores sung out, 'Stop, Freshmen, and hear the customs read.'" An account of these customs is given in President Quincy's History of Harvard University, Vol. II. p. 539. It is entitled,

"THE ANCIENT CUSTOMS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, ESTABLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IT."

"1. No Freshman shall wear his hat in the College yard, unless it rains, hails, or snows, provided he be on foot, and have not both hands full.

"2. No Undergraduate shall wear his hat in the College yard when any of the Governors of the College are there; and no Bachelor shall wear his hat when the President is there.

"3. Freshmen are to consider all the other classes as their seniors.

"4. No Freshman shall speak to a Senior[26] with his hat on, or have it on in a Senior's chamber, or in his own, if a Senior be there.

"5. All the Undergraduates shall treat those in the Government of the College with respect and deference; particularly they shall not be seated without leave in their presence; they shall be uncovered when they speak to them or are spoken to by them.

"6. All Freshmen (except those employed by the Immediate Government of the College) shall be obliged to go on any errand (except such as shall be judged improper by some one in the Government of the College) for any of his Seniors, Graduates or Undergraduates, at any time, except in studying hours, or after nine o'clock in the evening.

"7. A Senior Sophister has authority to take a Freshman from a Sophomore, a Middle Bachelor from a Junior Sophister, a Master from a Senior Sophister, and any Governor of the College from a Master.

"8. Every Freshman before he goes for the person who takes him away (unless it be one in the Government of the College) shall return and inform the person from whom he is taken.

"9. No Freshman, when sent on an errand, shall make any unnecessary delay, neglect to make due return, or go away till dismissed by the person who sent him.

"10. No Freshman shall be detained by a Senior, when not actually employed on some suitable errand.

"11. No Freshman shall be obliged to observe any order of a Senior to come to him, or go on any errand for him, unless he be wanted immediately.

"12. No Freshman, when sent on an errand, shall tell who he is going for, unless he be asked; nor be obliged to tell what he is going for, unless asked by a Governor of the College.

"13. When any person knocks at a Freshman's door, except in studying time, he shall immediately open the door, without inquiring who is there.

"14. No scholar shall call up or down, to or from, any chamber in the College.

"15. No scholar shall play football or any other game in the College yard, or throw any thing across the yard.

"16. The Freshmen shall furnish bats, balls, and footballs for the use of the students, to be kept at the Buttery.[27]

"17. Every Freshman shall pay the Butler for putting up his name in the Buttery.

"18. Strict attention shall be paid by all the students to the common rules of cleanliness, decency, and politeness.

"The Sophomores shall publish these customs to the Freshmen in the Chapel, whenever ordered by any in the Government of the College; at which time the Freshmen are enjoined to keep their places in their seats, and attend with decency to the reading."

At the close of a manuscript copy of the laws of Harvard College, transcribed by Richard Waldron, a graduate of the class of 1738, when a Freshman, are recorded the following regulations, which differ from those already cited, not only in arrangement, but in other respects.

COLLEGE CUSTOMS, ANNO 1734-5.

"1. No Freshman shall ware his hat in the College yard except it rains, snows, or hails, or he be on horse back or haith both hands full.

"2. No Freshman shall ware his hat in his Seniors Chamber, or in his own if his Senior be there.

"3. No Freshman shall go by his Senior, without taking his hat of if it be on.

"4. No Freshman shall intrude into his Seniors company.

"5. No Freshman shall laugh in his Seniors face.

"6. No Freshman shall talk saucily to his Senior, or speak to him with his hat on.

"7. No Freshman shall ask his Senior an impertinent question.

"8. Freshmen are to take notice that a Senior Sophister can take a Freshman from a Sophimore,[28] a Middle Batcelour from a Junior Sophister, a Master from a Senior Sophister, and a Fellow[29] from a Master.

"9. Freshmen are to find the rest of the Scholars with bats, balls, and foot balls.

"10. Freshmen must pay three shillings a peice to the Butler to have there names set up in the Buttery.

"11. No Freshman shall loiter by the [way] when he is sent of an errand, but shall make hast and give a direct answer when he is asked who he is going [for]. No Freshman shall use lying or equivocation to escape going of an errand.

"12. No Freshman shall tell who [he] is going [for] except he be asked, nor for what except he be asked by a Fellow.

"13. No Freshman shall go away when he haith been sent of an errand before he be dismissed, which may be understood by saying, it is well, I thank you, you may go, or the like.

"14. When a Freshman knocks at his Seniors door he shall tell [his] name if asked who.

"15. When anybody knocks at a Freshmans door, he shall not aske who is there, but shall immediately open the door.

"16. No Freshman shall lean at prayrs but shall stand upright.

"17. No Freshman shall call his classmate by the name of Freshmen.

"18. No Freshman shall call up or down to or from his Seniors chamber or his own.

"19. No Freshman shall call or throw anything across the College yard.

"20. No Freshman shall mingo against the College wall, nor go into the Fellows cus john.[30]

"21. Freshmen may ware there hats at dinner and supper, except when they go to receive there Commons of bread and bear.

"22. Freshmen are so to carry themselves to there Seniors in all respects so as to be in no wise saucy to them, and who soever of the Freshmen shall brake any of these customs shall be severely punished."

Another manuscript copy of these singular regulations bears date
September, 1741, and is entitled,

"THE CUSTOMS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, WHICH IF THE FRESHMEN DON'T OBSERVE AND OBEY, THEY SHALL BE SEVERELY PUNISHED IF THEY HAVE HEARD THEM READ."

"1. No Freshman shall wear his hat in the College yard, except it rains, hails, or snows, he be on horseback, or hath both hands full.

"2. No Freshman shall pass by his Senior, without pulling his hat off.

"3. No Freshman shall be saucy to his Senior, or speak to him with his hat on.

"4. No Freshman shall laugh in his Senior's face.

"5. No Freshman shall ask his Senior any impertinent question.

"6. No Freshman shall intrude into his Senior's company.

"7. Freshmen are to take notice that a Senior Sophister can take a Freshman from a Sophimore, a Master from a Senior Sophister, and a Fellow from a Master.

"8. When a Freshman is sent of an errand, he shall not loiter by the way, but shall make haste, and give a direct answer if asked who he is going for.

"9. No Freshman shall tell who he is a going for (unless asked), or what he is a going for, unless asked by a Fellow.

"10. No Freshman, when he is going of errands, shall go away, except he be dismissed, which is known by saying, 'It is well,' 'You may go,' 'I thank you,' or the like.

"11. Freshman are to find the rest of the scholars with bats, balls, and footballs.

"12. Freshmen shall pay three shillings to the Butler to have their names set up in the Buttery.

"13. No Freshman shall wear his hat in his Senior's chambers, nor in his own if his Senior be there.

"14. When anybody knocks at a Freshman's door, he shall not ask who is there, but immediately open the door.

"15. When a Freshman knocks at his Senior's door, he shall tell his name immediately.

"16. No Freshman shall call his classmate by the name of Freshman.

"17. No Freshman shall call up or down, to or from his Senior's chamber or his own.

"18. No Freshman shall call or throw anything across the College yard, nor go into the Fellows' Cuz-John.

"19. No Freshman shall mingo against the College walls.

"20. Freshmen are to carry themselves, in all respects, as to be in no wise saucy to their Seniors.

"21. Whatsoever Freshman shall break any of these customs, he shall be severely punished."

A written copy of these regulations in Latin, of a very early date, is still extant. They appear first in English, in the fourth volume of the Immediate Government Books, 1781, p. 257. The two following laws—one of which was passed soon after the establishment of the College, the other in the year 1734—seem to have been the foundation of these rules. "Nulli ex scholaribus senioribus, solis tutoribus et collegii sociis exceptis, recentem sive juniorem, ad itinerandum, aut ad aliud quodvis faciendum, minis, verberibus, vel aliis modis impellere licebit. Et siquis non gradatus in hanc legem peccaverit, castigatione corporali, expulsione, vel aliter, prout præsidi cum sociis visum fuerit punietur."—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. p. 133.

"None belonging to the College, except the President, Fellows, Professors, and Tutors, shall by threats or blows compel a Freshman or any Undergraduate to any duty or obedience; and if any Undergraduate shall offend against this law, he shall be liable to have the privilege of sending Freshmen taken from him by the President and Tutors, or be degraded or expelled, according to the aggravation of the offence. Neither shall any Senior scholars, Graduates or Undergraduates, send any Freshman on errands in studying hours, without leave from one of the Tutors, his own Tutor if in College."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 141.

That this privilege of sending Freshmen on errands was abused in some cases, we see from an account of "a meeting of the Corporation in Cambridge, March 27th, 1682," at which time notice was given that "great complaints have been made and proved against ——, for his abusive carriage, in requiring some of the Freshmen to go upon his private errands, and in striking the said Freshmen."

In the year 1772, "the Overseers having repeatedly recommended abolishing the custom of allowing the upper classes to send Freshmen on errands, and the making of a law exempting them from such services, the Corporation voted, that, 'after deliberate consideration and weighing all circumstances, they are not able to project any plan in the room of this long and ancient custom, that will not, in their opinion, be attended with equal, if not greater, inconveniences.'" It seems, however, to have fallen into disuse, for a time at least, after this period; for in June, 1786, "the retaining men or boys to perform the services for which Freshmen had been heretofore employed," was declared to be a growing evil, and was prohibited by the Corporation.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 515; Vol. II. pp. 274, 277.

The upper classes being thus forbidden to employ persons not connected with the College to wait upon them, the services of Freshmen were again brought into requisition, and they were not wholly exempted from menial labor until after the year 1800.

Another service which the Freshmen were called on to perform, was once every year to shake the carpets of the library and Philosophy Chamber in the Chapel.

Those who refused to comply with these regulations were not allowed to remain in College, as appears from the following circumstance, which happened about the year 1790. A young man from the West Indies, of wealthy and highly respectable parents, entered Freshman, and soon after, being ordered by a member of one of the upper classes to go upon an errand for him, refused, at the same time saying, that if he had known it was the custom to require the lower class to wait on the other classes, he would have brought a slave with him to perform his share of these duties. In the common phrase of the day, he was hoisted, i.e. complained of to a tutor, and on being told that he could not remain at College if he did not comply with its regulations, he took up his connections and returned home.

With reference to some of the observances which were in vogue at
Harvard College in the year 1794, the recollections of Professor
Sidney Willard are these:—

"It was the practice, at the time of my entrance at College, for the Sophomore Class, by a member selected for the purpose, to communicate to the Freshmen, in the Chapel, 'the Customs,' so called; the Freshmen being required to 'keep their places in their seats, and attend with decency to the reading.' These customs had been handed down from remote times, with some modifications not essentially changing them. Not many days after our seats were assigned to us in the Chapel, we were directed to remain after evening prayers and attend to the reading of the customs; which direction was accordingly complied with, and they were read and listened to with decorum and gravity. Whether the ancient customs of outward respect, which forbade a Freshman 'to wear his hat in the College yard, unless it rains, hails, or snows, provided he be on foot, and have not both hands full,' as if the ground on which he trod and the atmosphere around him were consecrated, and the article which extends the same prohibition to all undergraduates, when any of the governors of the College are in the yard, were read, I cannot say; but I think they were not; for it would have disturbed that gravity which I am confident was preserved during the whole reading. These prescripts, after a long period of obsolescence, had become entirely obsolete.

"The most degrading item in the list of customs was that which made Freshmen subservient to all the other classes; which obliged those who were not employed by the Immediate Government of the College to go on any errand, not judged improper by an officer of the government, or in study hours, for any of the other classes, the Senior having the prior right to the service…. The privilege of claiming such service, and the obligation, on the other hand, to perform it, doubtless gave rise to much abuse, and sometimes to unpleasant conflict. A Senior having a claim to the service of a Freshman prior to that of the classes below them, it had become a practice not uncommon, for a Freshman to obtain a Senior, to whom, as a patron and friend, he acknowledged and avowed a permanent service due, and whom he called his Senior by way of eminence, thus escaping the demands that might otherwise be made upon him for trivial or unpleasant errands. The ancient custom was never abolished by authority, but died with the change of feeling; so that what might be demanded as a right came to be asked as a favor, and the right was resorted to only as a sort of defensive weapon, as a rebuke of a supposed impertinence, or resentment of a real injury."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. pp. 258, 259.

The following account of this system, as it formerly obtained at Yale College, is from President Woolsey's Historical Discourse before the Graduates of that Institution, Aug. 14, 1850:—

"Another remarkable particular in the old system here was the servitude of Freshmen,—for such it really deserved to be called. The new-comers—as if it had been to try their patience and endurance in a novitiate before being received into some monastic order—were put into the hands of Seniors, to be reproved and instructed in manners, and were obliged to run upon errands for the members of all the upper classes. And all this was very gravely meant, and continued long in use. The Seniors considered it as a part of the system to initiate the ignorant striplings into the college system, and performed it with the decorum of dancing-masters. And, if the Freshmen felt the burden, the upper classes who had outlived it, and were now reaping the advantages of it, were not willing that the custom should die in their time.

"The following paper, printed I cannot tell when, but as early as the year 1764, gives information to the Freshmen in regard to their duty of respect towards the officers, and towards the older students. It is entitled 'FRESHMAN LAWS,' and is perhaps part of a book of customs which was annually read for the instruction of new-comers.

"'It being the duty of the Seniors to teach Freshmen the laws, usages, and customs of the College, to this end they are empowered to order the whole Freshman Class, or any particular member of it, to appear, in order to be instructed or reproved, at such time and place as they shall appoint; when and where every Freshman shall attend, answer all proper questions, and behave decently. The Seniors, however, are not to detain a Freshman more than five minutes after study bell, without special order from the President, Professor, or Tutor.

"'The Freshmen, as well as all other Undergraduates, are to be uncovered, and are forbidden to wear their hats (unless in stormy weather) in the front door-yard of the President's or Professor's house, or within ten rods of the person of the President, eight rods of the Professor, and five rods of a Tutor.

"'The Freshmen are forbidden to wear their hats in College yard (except in stormy weather, or when they are obliged to carry something in their hands) until May vacation; nor shall they afterwards wear them in College or Chapel.

"'No Freshman shall wear a gown, or walk with a cane, or appear out of his room without being completely dressed, and with his hat; and whenever a Freshman either speaks to a superior or is spoken to by one, he shall keep his hat off until he is bidden to put it on. A Freshman shall not play with any members of an upper class, without being asked; nor is he permitted to use any acts of familiarity with them, even in study time.

"'In case of personal insult, a Junior may call up a Freshman and reprehend him. A Sophomore, in like case, must obtain leave from a Senior, and then he may discipline a Freshman, not detaining him more than five minutes, after which the Freshman may retire, even without being dismissed, but must retire in a respectful manner.

"'Freshmen are obliged to perform all reasonable errands for any superior, always returning an account of the same to the person who sent them. When called, they shall attend and give a respectful answer; and when attending on their superior, they are not to depart until regularly dismissed. They are responsible for all damage done to anything put into their hands by way of errand. They are not obliged to go for the Undergraduates in study time, without permission obtained from the authority; nor are they obliged to go for a graduate out of the yard in study time. A Senior may take a Freshman from a Sophimore, a Bachelor from a Junior, and a Master from a Senior. None may order a Freshman in one play time, to do an errand in another.

"'When a Freshman is near a gate or door belonging to College or College yard, he shall look around and observe whether any of his superiors are coming to the same; and if any are coming within three rods, he shall not enter without a signal to proceed. In passing up or down stairs, or through an entry or any other narrow passage, if a Freshman meets a superior, he shall stop and give way, leaving the most convenient side,—if on the stairs, the banister side. Freshmen shall not run in College yard, or up or down stairs, or call to any one through a College window. When going into the chamber of a superior, they shall knock at the door, and shall leave it as they find it, whether open or shut. Upon entering the chamber of a superior, they shall not speak until spoken to; they shall reply modestly to all questions, and perform their messages decently and respectfully. They shall not tarry in a superior's room, after they are dismissed, unless asked to sit. They shall always rise whenever a superior enters or leaves the room where they are, and not sit in his presence until permitted.

"'These rules are to be observed, not only about College, but everywhere else within the limits of the city of New Haven.'

"This is certainly a very remarkable document, one which it requires some faith to look on as originating in this land of universal suffrage, in the same century with the Declaration of Independence. He who had been moulded and reduced into shape by such a system might soon become expert in the punctilios of the court of Louis the Fourteenth.

"This system, however, had more tenacity of life than might be supposed. In 1800 we still find it laid down as the Senior's duty to inspect the manners and customs of the lower classes, and especially of the Freshmen; and as the duty of the latter to do any proper errand, not only for the authorities of the College, but also, within the limits of one mile, for Resident Graduates and for the two upper classes. By degrees the old usage sank down so far, that what the laws permitted was frequently abused for the purpose of playing tricks upon the inexperienced Freshmen; and then all evidence of its ever having been current disappeared from the College code. The Freshmen were formally exempted from the duty of running upon errands in 1804."—pp. 54-56.

Among the "Laws of Yale College," published in 1774, appears the following regulation: "Every Freshman is obliged to do any proper Errand or Message, required of him by any one in an upper class, which if he shall refuse to do, he shall be punished. Provided that in Study Time no Graduate may send a Freshman out of College Yard, or an Undergraduate send him anywhere at all without Liberty first obtained of the President or Tutor."—pp. 14, 15.

In a copy of the "Laws" of the above date, which formerly belonged to Amasa Paine, who entered the Freshman Class at Yale in 1781, is to be found a note in pencil appended to the above regulation, in these words: "This Law was annulled when Dr. [Matthew] Marvin, Dr. M.J. Lyman, John D. Dickinson, William Bradley, and Amasa Paine were classmates, and [they] claimed the Honor of abolishing it." The first three were graduated at Yale in the class of 1785; Bradley was graduated at the same college in 1784 and Paine, after spending three years at Yale, was graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1785.

As a part of college discipline, the upper classes were sometimes deprived of the privilege of employing the services of Freshmen. The laws on this subject were these:—

"If any Scholar shall write or publish any scandalous Libel about the President, a Fellow, Professor, or Tutor, or shall treat any one of them with any reproachful or reviling Language, or behave obstinately, refractorily, or contemptuously towards either of them, or be guilty of any Kind of Contempt, he may be punished by Fine, Admonition, be deprived the Liberty of sending Freshmen for a Time; by Suspension from all the Privileges of College; or Expulsion, according as the Nature and Aggravation of the Crime may require."

"If any Freshman near the Time of Commencement shall fire the great Guns, or give or promise any Money, Counsel, or Assistance towards their being fired; or shall illuminate College with Candles, either on the Inside or Outside of the Windows, or exhibit any such Kind of Show, or dig or scrape the College Yard otherwise than with the Liberty and according to the Directions of the President in the Manner formerly practised, or run in the College Yard in Company, they shall be deprived the Privilege of sending Freshmen three Months after the End of the Year."—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, pp. 13, 25, 26.

To the latter of these laws, a clause was subsequently added, declaring that every Freshman who should "do anything unsuitable for a Freshman" should be deprived of the privilege "of sending Freshmen on errands, or teaching them manners, during the first three months of his Sophomore year."—Laws Yale Coll., 1787, in Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 140.

In the Sketches of Yale College, p. 174, is the following anecdote, relating to this subject:—"A Freshman was once furnished with a dollar, and ordered by one of the upper classes to procure for him pipes and tobacco, from the farthest store on Long Wharf, a good mile distant. Being at that time compelled by College laws to obey the unreasonable demand, he proceeded according to orders, and returned with ninety-nine cents' worth of pipes and one pennyworth of tobacco. It is needless to add that he was not again sent on a similar errand."

The custom of obliging the Freshmen to run on errands for the Seniors was done away with at Dartmouth College, by the class of 1797, at the close of their Freshman year, when, having served their own time out, they presented a petition to the Trustees to have it abolished.

In the old laws of Middlebury College are the two following regulations in regard to Freshmen, which seem to breathe the same spirit as those cited above. "Every Freshman shall be obliged to do any proper errand or message for the Authority of the College." —"It shall be the duty of the Senior Class to inspect the manners of the Freshman Class, and to instruct them in the customs of the College, and in that graceful and decent behavior toward superiors, which politeness and a just and reasonable subordination require."—Laws, 1804, pp. 6, 7.

FRESHMANSHIP. The state of a Freshman.

A man who had been my fellow-pupil with him from the beginning of our Freshmanship, would meet him there.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 150.

FRESHMAN'S LANDMARK. At Cambridge, Eng., King's College Chapel is thus designated. "This stupendous edifice may be seen for several miles on the London road, and indeed from most parts of the adjacent country."—Grad. ad Cantab.

FRESHMAN, TUTOR'S. In Harvard College, the Freshman who occupies a room under a Tutor. He is required to do the errands of the Tutor which relate to College, and in return has a high choice of rooms in his Sophomore year.

The same remarks, mutatis mutandis, apply to the Proctor's
Freshman.

FRESH-SOPH. An abbreviation of Freshman-Sophomore. One who enters college in the Sophomore year, having passed the time of the Freshman year elsewhere.

I was a Fresh-Sophomore then, and a waiter in the commons' hall. —Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 114.

FROG. In Germany, a student while in the gymnasium, and before entering the university, is called a Frosch,—a frog.

FUNK. Disgust; weariness; fright. A sensation sometimes experienced by students in view of an examination.

In Cantab phrase I was suffering examination funk.—Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 61.

A singular case of funk occurred at this examination. The man who would have been second, took fright when four of the six days were over, and fairly ran away, not only from the examination, but out of Cambridge, and was not discovered by his friends or family till some time after.—Ibid., p. 125.

One of our Scholars, who stood a much better chance than myself, gave up from mere funk, and resolved to go out in the Poll.—Ibid., p. 229.

2. Fear or sensibility to fear. The general application of the term.

So my friend's first fault is timidity, which is only not recognized as such on account of its vast proportions. I grant, then, that the funk is sublime, which is a true and friendly admission.—A letter to the N.Y. Tribune, in Lit. World, Nov. 30, 1850.

G.

GAS. To impose upon another by a consequential address, or by detailing improbable stories or using "great swelling words"; to deceive; to cheat.

Found that Fairspeech only wanted to "gas" me, which he did pretty effectually.—Sketches of Williams College, p. 72.

GATE BILL. In the English universities, the record of a pupil's failures to be within his college at or before a specified hour of the night.

To avoid gate-bills, he will be out at night as late as he pleases, and will defy any one to discover his absence; for he will climb over the college walls, and fee his Gyp well, when he is out all night—Grad. ad Cantab., p. 128.

GATED. At the English universities, students who, for misdemeanors, are not permitted to be out of their college after ten in the evening, are said to be gated.

"Gated," i.e. obliged to be within the college walls by ten o'clock at night; by this he is prevented from partaking in suppers, or other nocturnal festivities, in any other college or in lodgings.—Note to The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

The lighter college offences, such as staying out at night or missing chapel, are punished by what they term "gating"; in one form of which, a man is actually confined to his rooms: in a more mild way, he is simply restricted to the precincts of the college. —Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 241.

GAUDY. In the University of Oxford, a feast or festival. The days on which they occur are called gaudies or gaudy days. "Blount, in his Glossographia," says Archdeacon Nares in his Glossary, "speaks of a foolish derivation of the word from a Judge Gaudy, said to have been the institutor of such days. But such days were held in all times, and did not want a judge to invent them."

                              Come,
  Let's have one other gaudy night: call to me
  All my sad captains; fill our bowls; once more
  Let's mock the midnight bell.
    Antony and Cleopatra, Act. III. Sc. 11.

            A foolish utensil of state,
  Which like old plate upon a gaudy day,
  's brought forth to make a show, and that is all.
    Goblins, Old Play, X. 143.

Edmund Riche, called of Pontigny, Archbishop of Canterbury. After his death he was canonized by Pope Innocent V., and his day in the calendar, 16 Nov., was formerly kept as a "gaudy" by the members of the hall.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. 121.

2. An entertainment; a treat; a spree.

Cut lectures, go to chapel as little as possible, dine in hall seldom more than once a week, give Gaudies and spreads.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122.

GENTLEMAN-COMMONER. The highest class of Commoners at Oxford
University. Equivalent to a Cambridge Fellow-Commoner.

Gentlemen Commoners "are eldest sons, or only sons, or men already in possession of estates, or else (which is as common a case as all the rest put together), they are the heirs of newly acquired wealth,—sons of the nouveaux riches"; they enjoy a privilege as regards the choice of rooms; associate at meals with the Fellows and other authorities of the College; are the possessors of two gowns, "an undress for the morning, and a full dress-gown for the evening," both of which are made of silk, the latter being very elaborately ornamented; wear a cap, covered with velvet instead of cloth; pay double caution money, at entrance, viz. fifty guineas, and are charged twenty guineas a year for tutorage, twice the amount of the usual fee.—Compiled from De Quincey's Life and Manners, pp. 278-280.

GET UP A SUBJECT. See SUBJECT.

This was the fourth time I had begun Algebra, and essayed with no weakness of purpose to get it up properly.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 157.

GILL. The projecting parts of a standing collar are, from their situation, sometimes denominated gills.

  But, O, what rage his maddening bosom fills!
  Far worse than dust-soiled coat are ruined "gills."
    Poem before the Class of 1828, Harv. Coll., by J.C.
    Richmond, p. 6.

GOBBLE. At Yale College, to seize; to lay hold of; to appropriate; nearly the same as to collar, q.v.

  Alas! how dearly for the fun they paid,
  Whom the Proffs gobbled, and the Tutors too.
    The Gallinipper, Dec. 1849.

  I never gobbled one poor flat,
  To cheer me with his soft dark eye, &c.
    Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

  I went and performed, and got through the burning,
  But oh! and alas! I was gobbled returning.
    Yale Banger, Nov. 1850.

Upon that night, in the broad street, was I by one of the brain-deficient men gobbled.—Yale Battery, Feb. 1850.

  Then shout for the hero who gobbles the prize.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 39.

At Cambridge, Eng., this word is used in the phrase gobbling
Greek, i.e. studying or speaking that tongue.

Ambitious to "gobble" his Greek in the haute monde.—Alma
Mater, Vol. I. p. 79.

It was now ten o'clock, and up stairs we therefore flew to gobble Greek with Professor ——.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 127.

You may have seen him, traversing the grass-plots, "gobbling
Greek" to himself.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 210.

GOLGOTHA. The place of a skull. At Cambridge, Eng., in the University Church, "a particular part," says the Westminster Review, "is appropriated to the heads of the houses, and is called Golgotha therefrom, a name which the appearance of its occupants renders peculiarly fitting, independent of the pun."—Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 236.

GONUS. A stupid fellow.

He was a gonus; perhaps, though, you don't know what gonus means. One day I heard a Senior call a fellow a gonus. "A what?" said I. "A great gonus," repeated he. "Gonus," echoed I, "what's that mean?" "O," said he, "you're a Freshman and don't understand." A stupid fellow, a dolt, a boot-jack, an ignoramus, is called here a gonus. "All Freshmen," continued he gravely, "are gonuses."—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 116.

If the disquisitionist should ever reform his habits, and turn his really brilliant talents to some good account, then future gonuses will swear by his name, and quote him in their daily maledictions of the appointment system.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 76.

The word goney, with the same meaning, is often used.

"How the goney swallowed it all, didn't he?" said Mr. Slick, with great glee.—Slick in England, Chap. XXI.

Some on 'em were fools enough to believe the goney; that's a fact.—Ibid.

GOOD FELLOW. At the University of Vermont, this term is used with a signification directly opposite to that which it usually has. It there designates a soft-brained boy; one who is lacking in intellect, or, as a correspondent observes, "an epithetical fool."

GOODY. At Harvard College, a woman who has the care of the students' rooms. The word seems to be an abbreviated form of the word goodwife. It has long been in use, as a low term of civility or sport, and in some cases with the signification of a good old dame; but in the sense above given it is believed to be peculiar to Harvard College. In early times, sweeper was in use instead of goody, and even now at Yale College the word sweep is retained. The words bed-maker at Cambridge, Eng., and gyp at Oxford, express the same idea.

The Rebelliad, an epic poem, opens with an invocation to the
Goody, as follows.

  Old Goody Muse! on thee I call,
  Pro more, (as do poets all,)
  To string thy fiddle, wax thy bow,
  And scrape a ditty, jig, or so.
  Now don't wax wrathy, but excuse
  My calling you old Goody Muse;
  Because "Old Goody" is a name
  Applied to every college dame.
    Aloft in pendent dignity,
      Astride her magic broom,
    And wrapt in dazzling majesty,
      See! see! the Goody come!—p. 11.

  Go on, dear Goody! and recite
  The direful mishaps of the fight.—Ibid., p. 20.

  The Goodies hearing, cease to sweep,
  And listen; while the cook-maids weep.—Ibid., p. 47.

  The Goody entered with her broom,
  To make his bed and sweep his room.—Ibid., p. 73.

On opening the papers left to his care, he found a request that his effects might be bestowed on his friend, the Goody, who had been so attentive to him during his declining hours.—Harvard Register, 1827-28, p. 86.

I was interrupted by a low knock at my door, followed by the entrance of our old Goody, with a bundle of musty papers in her hand, tied round with a soiled red ribbon.—Collegian, 1830, p. 231.

Were there any Goodies when you were in college, father? Perhaps you did not call them by that name. They are nice old ladies (not so very nice, either), who come in every morning, after we have been to prayers, and sweep the rooms, and make the beds, and do all that sort of work. However, they don't much like their title, I find; for I called one, the other day, Mrs. Goodie, thinking it was her real name, and she was as sulky as she could be.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.

  Yet these half-emptied bottles shall I take,
  And, having purged them of this wicked stuff,
  Make a small present unto Goody Bush.
    Ibid., Vol. III. p. 257.

Reader! wert ever beset by a dun? ducked by the Goody from thine own window, when "creeping like snail unwillingly" to morning prayers?—Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 274.

          The crowd delighted
  Saw them, like Goodies, clothed in gowns of satin,
  Of silk or cotton.—Childe Harvard, p. 26, 1848.

  On the wall hangs a Horse-shoe I found in the street;
  'T is the shoe that to-day sets in motion my feet;
  Though its charms are all vanished this many a year,
  And not even my Goody regards it with fear.
    The Horse-Shoe, a Poem, by J.B. Felton, 1849, p. 4.

A very clever elegy on the death of Goody Morse, who "For forty years or more … contrived the while No little dust to raise" in the rooms of the students of Harvard College, is to be found in Harvardiana, Vol. I. p. 233. It was written by Mr. (afterwards Rev.) Benjamin Davis Winslow. In the poem which he read before his class in the University Chapel at Cambridge, July 14, 1835, he referred to her in these lines:

 "'New brooms sweep clean': 't was thine, dear Goody Morse,
  To prove the musty proverb hath no force,
  Since fifty years to vanished centuries crept,
  While thy old broom our cloisters duly swept.
  All changed but thee! beneath thine aged eye
  Whole generations came and flitted by,
  Yet saw thee still in office;—e'en reform
  Spared thee the pelting of its angry storm.
  Rest to thy bones in yonder church-yard laid,
  Where thy last bed the village sexton made!"—p. 19.

GORM. From gormandize. At Hamilton College, to eat voraciously.

GOT. In Princeton College, when a student or any one else has been cheated or taken in, it is customary to say, he was got.

GOVERNMENT. In American colleges, the general government is usually vested in a corporation or a board of trustees, whose powers, rights, and duties are established by the respective charters of the colleges over which they are placed. The immediate government of the undergraduates is in the hands of the president, professors, and tutors, who are styled the Government, or the College Government, and more frequently the Faculty, or the College Faculty.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, pp. 7, 8. Laws of Yale Coll., 1837, p. 5.

For many years he was the most conspicuous figure among those who constituted what was formerly called "the Government."—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. vii.

  [Greek: Kudiste], mighty President!!!
  [Greek: Kalomen nun] the Government.—Rebelliad, p. 27.

  Did I not jaw the Government,
  For cheating more than ten per cent?—Ibid., p. 32.

  They shall receive due punishment
  From Harvard College Government.—Ibid., p. 44.

The annexed production, printed from a MS. in the author's handwriting, and in the possession of the editor of this work, is now, it is believed, for the first time presented to the public. The time is 1787; the scene, Harvard College. The poem was "written by John Q. Adams, son of the President, when an undergraduate."

"A DESCRIPTION OF A GOVERNMENT MEETING.

 "The Government of College met,
  And Willard[31] rul'd the stern debate.
  The witty Jennison[32] declar'd
  As how, he'd been completely scar'd;
  Last night, quoth he, as I came home,
  I heard a noise in Prescott's[33] room.
  I went and listen'd at the door,
  As I had often done before;
  I found the Juniors in a high rant,
  They call'd the President a tyrant;
  And said as how I was a fool,
  A long ear'd ass, a sottish mule,
  Without the smallest grain of spunk;
  So I concluded they were drunk.
  At length I knock'd, and Prescott came:
  I told him 't was a burning shame,
  That he should give his classmates wine;
  And he should pay a heavy fine.
  Meanwhile the rest grew so outragious,
  Altho' I boast of being couragious,
  I could not help being in a fright,
  For one of them put out the light.
  I thought 't was best to come away,
  And wait for vengeance 'till this day;
  And he's a fool at any rate
  Who'll fight, when he can RUSTICATE.
  When they [had] found that I was gone,
  They ran through College up and down;
  And I could hear them very plain
  Take the Lord's holy name in vain.
  To Wier's[34] chamber they then repair'd,
  And there the wine they freely shar'd;
  They drank and sung till they were tir'd.
  And then they peacefully retir'd.
  When this Homeric speech was said,
  With drolling tongue and hanging head,
  The learned Doctor took his seat,
  Thinking he'd done a noble feat.
  Quoth Joe,[35] the crime is great I own,
  Send for the Juniors one by one.
  By this almighty wig I swear,
  Which with such majesty I wear,
  Which in its orbit vast contains
  My dignity, my power and brains,
  That Wier and Prescott both shall see,
  That College boys must not be free.
  He spake, and gave the awful nod
  Like Homer's Didonean God,
  The College from its centre shook,
  And every pipe and wine-glass broke.

 "Williams,[36] with countenance humane,
  While scarce from laughter could refrain,
  Thought that such youthful scenes of mirth
  To punishment could not give birth;
  Nor could he easily divine
  What was the harm of drinking wine.

 "But Pearson,[37] with an awful frown,
  Full of his article and noun,
  Spake thus: by all the parts of speech
  Which I so elegantly teach,
  By mercy I will never stain
  The character which I sustain.
  Pray tell me why the laws were made,
  If they're not to be obey'd;
  Besides, that Wier I can't endure,
  For he's a wicked rake, I'm sure.
  But whether I am right or not,
  I'll not recede a single jot.

 "James[38] saw 'twould be in vain t' oppose,
  And therefore to be silent chose.

 "Burr,[39] who had little wit or pride,
  Preferr'd to take the strongest side.
  And Willard soon receiv'd commission
  To give a publick admonition.
  With pedant strut to prayers he came,
  Call'd out the criminals by name;
  Obedient to his dire command,
  Prescott and Wier before him stand.
  The rulers merciful and kind,
  With equal grief and wonder find,
  That you do drink, and play, and sing,
  And make with noise the College ring.
  I therefore warn you to beware
  Of drinking more than you can bear.
  Wine an incentive is to riot,
  Disturbance of the publick quiet.
  Full well your Tutors know the truth,
  For sad experience taught their youth.
  Take then this friendly exhortation;
  The next offence is RUSTICATION."

GOWN. A long, loose upper garment or robe, worn by professional men, as divines, lawyers, students, &c., who are called men of the gown, or gownmen. It is made of any kind of cloth, worn over ordinary clothes, and hangs down to the ankles, or nearly so. —Encyc.

From a letter written in the year 1766, by Mr. Holyoke, then President of Harvard College, it would appear that gowns were first worn by the members of that institution about the year 1760. The gown, although worn by the students in the English universities, is now seldom worn in American colleges except on Commencement, Exhibition, or other days of a similar public character.

The students are permitted to wear black gowns, in which they may appear on all public occasions.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 37.

Every candidate for a first degree shall wear a black dress and the usual black gown.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 20.

The performers all wore black gowns with sleeves large enough to hold me in, and shouted and swung their arms, till they looked like so many Methodist ministers just ordained.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 111.

  Saw them … clothed in gowns of satin,
    Or silk or cotton, black as souls benighted.—
  All, save the gowns, was startling, splendid, tragic,
  But gowns on men have lost their wonted magic.
    Childe Harvard, p. 26.

  The door swings open—and—he comes! behold him
    Wrapt in his mantling gown, that round him flows
  Waving, as Cæsar's toga did enfold him.—Ibid., p. 36.

On Saturday evenings, Sundays, and Saints' days, the students wear surplices instead of their gowns, and very innocent and exemplary they look in them.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 21.

2. One who wears a gown.

And here, I think, I may properly introduce a very singular gallant, a sort of mongrel between town and gown,—I mean a bibliopola, or (as the vulgar have it) a bookseller.—The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. II. p. 226.

GOWNMAN, GOWNSMAN. One whose professional habit is a gown, as a divine or lawyer, and particularly a member of an English university.—Webster.

The gownman learned.—Pope.

  Oft has some fair inquirer bid me say,
  What tasks, what sports beguile the gownsman's day.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

For if townsmen by our influence are so enlightened, what must we gownsmen be ourselves?—The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. I. p. 56.

Nor must it be supposed that the gownsmen are thin, study-worn, consumptive-looking individuals.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 5.

See CAP.

GRACE. In English universities, an act, vote, or decree of the government of the institution.—Webster.

"All Graces (as the legislative measures proposed by the Senate are termed) have to be submitted first to the Caput, each member of which has an absolute veto on the grace. If it passes the Caput, it is then publicly recited in both houses, [the regent and non-regent,] and at a subsequent meeting voted on, first in the Non-Regent House, and then in the other. If it passes both, it becomes valid."—Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 283.

See CAPUT SENATUS.

GRADUATE. To honor with a degree or diploma, in a college or university; to confer a degree on; as, to graduate a master of arts.—Wotton.

Graduated a doctor, and dubb'd a knight.—Carew.

Pickering, in his Vocabulary, says of the word graduate: "Johnson has it as a verb active only. But an English friend observes, that 'the active sense of this word is rare in England.' I have met with one instance in an English publication where it is used in a dialogue, in the following manner: 'You, methinks, are graduated.' See a review in the British Critic, Vol. XXXIV. p. 538."

In Mr. Todd's edition of Johnson's Dictionary, this word is given as a verb intransitive also: "To take an academical degree; to become a graduate; as he graduated at Oxford."

In America, the use of the phrase he was graduated, instead of he graduated, which has been of late so common, "is merely," says Mr. Bartlett in his Dictionary of Americanisms, "a return to former practice, the verb being originally active transitive."

He was graduated with the esteem of the government, and the regard of his contemporaries—Works of R.T. Paine, p. xxix. The latter, who was graduated thirteen years after.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 219.

In this perplexity the President had resolved "to yield to the torrent, and graduate Hartshorn."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 398. (The quotation was written in 1737.)

In May, 1749, three gentlemen who had sons about to be graduated.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 92.

Mr. Peirce was born in September, 1778; and, after being graduated at Harvard College, with the highest honors of his class.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 390, and Chap. XXXVII. passim.

He was graduated in 1789 with distinguished honors, at the age of nineteen.—Mr. Young's Discourse on the Life of President Kirkland.

His class when graduated, in 1785, consisted of thirty-two persons.—Dr. Palfrey's Discourse on the Life and Character of Dr. Ware.

2. Intransitively. To receive a degree from a college or university.

He graduated at Leyden in 1691.—London Monthly Mag., Oct. 1808, p. 224.

Wherever Magnol graduated.—Rees's Cyclopædia, Art. MAGNOL.

GRADUATE. One who has received a degree in a college or university, or from some professional incorporated society.—Webster.

GRADUATE IN A SCHOOL. A degree given, in the University of Virginia, to those who have been through a course of study less than is required for the degree of B.A.

GRADUATION. The act of conferring or receiving academical degrees. —Charter of Dartmouth College.

After his graduation at Yale College, in 1744, he continued his studies at Harvard University, where he took his second degree in 1747.—Hist. Sketch of Columbia Coll., p. 122.

Bachelors were called Senior, Middle, or Junior Bachelors according to the year since graduation, and before taking the degree of Master.—Woolsey's Hist. Disc., p. 122.

GRAND COMPOUNDER. At the English Universities, one who pays double fees for his degree.

"Candidates for all degrees, who possess certain property," says the Oxford University Calendar, "must go out, as it is termed, Grand Compounders. The property required for this purpose may arise from two distinct sources; either from some ecclesiastical benefice or benefices, or else from some other revenue, civil or ecclesiastical. The ratio of computation in the first case is expressly limited by statute to the value of the benefice or benefices, as rated in the King's books, without regard to the actual estimation at the present period; and the amount of that value must not be less than forty pounds. In the second instance, which includes all other cases, comprising ecclesiastical as well as civil income, (academical income alone excepted,) property to the extent of three hundred pounds a year is required; nor is any difference made between property in land and property in money, so that a legal revenue to this extent of any description, not arising from a benefice or benefices, and not being strictly academical, renders the qualification complete."—Ed. 1832, p. 92.

At Oxford "a 'grand compounder' is one who has income to the amount of $1,500, and is made to pay $150 for his degree, while the ordinary fee is $42." Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 247.

GRAND TRIBUNAL. The Grand Tribunal is an institution peculiar to Trinity College, Hartford. A correspondent describes it as follows. "The Grand Tribunal is a mock court composed of the Senior and Junior Classes, and has for its special object the regulation and discipline of Sophomores. The first officer of the Tribunal is the 'Grand High Chancellor,' who presides at all business meetings. The Tribunal has its judges, advocates, sheriff, and his aids. According to the laws of the Tribunal, no Sophomore can be tried who has three votes in his favor. This regulation makes a trial a difficult matter; there is rarely more than one trial a year, and sometimes two years elapse without there being a session of the court. When a selection of an offending and unlucky Soph has been made, he is arrested some time during the day of the evening on which his trial takes place. The court provides him with one advocate, while he has the privilege of choosing another. These trials are often the scenes of considerable wit and eloquence. One of the most famous of them was held in 1853. When the Tribunal is in session, it is customary for the Faculty of the College to act as its police, by preserving order amongst the Sophs, who generally assemble at the door, to disturb, if possible, the proceedings of the Court."

GRANTA. The name by which the University of Cambridge, Eng., was formerly known. At present it is sometimes designated by this title in poetry, and in addresses written in other tongues than the vernacular.

  Warm with fond hope, and Learning's sacred flame,
  To Granta's bowers the youthful Poet came.

    Lines in Memory of H.K. White, by Prof. William Smyth, in
    Cam. Guide.

GRATULATORY. Expressing gratulation; congratulatory.

At Harvard College, while Wadsworth was President, in the early part of the last century, it was customary to close the exercises of Commencement day with a gratulatory oration, pronounced by one of the candidates for a degree. This has now given place to what is generally called the valedictory oration.

GRAVEL DAY. The following account of this day is given in a work entitled Sketches of Williams College. "On the second Monday of the first term in the year, if the weather be at all favorable, it has been customary from time immemorial to hold a college meeting, and petition the President for 'Gravel day.' We did so this morning. The day was granted, and, recitations being dispensed with, the students turned out en masse to re-gravel the college walks. The gravel which we obtain here is of such a nature that it packs down very closely, and renders the walks as hard and smooth as a pavement. The Faculty grant this day for the purpose of fostering in the students the habit of physical labor and exercise, so essential to vigorous mental exertion."—1847, pp. 78, 79.

The improved method of observing this day is noted in the annexed extract. "Nearly every college has its own peculiar customs, which have been transmitted from far antiquity; but Williams has perhaps less than any other. Among ours are 'gravel day,' 'chip day,' and 'mountain day,' occurring one in each of the three terms. The first usually comes in the early part of the Fall term. In old times, when the students were few, and rather fonder of work than at the present, they turned out with spades, hoes, and other implements, and spread gravel over the walks, to the College grounds; but in later days, they have preferred to tax themselves to a small amount and delegate the work to others, while they spend the day in visiting the Cascade, the Natural Bridge, or others of the numerous places of interest near us."—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.

GREAT GO. In the English universities the final and most important examination is called the great go, in contradistinction to the little go, an examination about the middle of the course.

In my way back I stepped into the Great Go schools.—The
Etonian, Vol. II. p. 287.

Read through the whole five volumes folio, Latin, previous to going up for his Great Go.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 381.

GREEN. Inexperienced, unsophisticated, verdant. Among collegians this term is the favorite appellation for Freshmen.

When a man is called verdant or green, it means that he is unsophisticated and raw. For instance, when a man rushes to chapel in the morning at the ringing of the first bell, it is called green. At least, we were, for it. This greenness, we would remark, is not, like the verdure in the vision of the poet, necessarily perennial.—Williams Monthly Miscellany, 1845, Vol. I. p. 463.

GRIND. An exaction; an oppressive action. Students speak of a very long lesson which they are required to learn, or of any thing which it is very unpleasant or difficult to perform, as a grind. This meaning is derived from the verb to grind, in the sense of to harass, to afflict; as, to grind the faces of the poor (Isaiah iii. 15).

  I must say 't is a grind, though
        —(perchance I spoke too loud).
    Poem before Iadma, 1850, p. 12.

GRINDING. Hard study; diligent application.

The successful candidate enjoys especial and excessive grinding during the four years of his college course. Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 28.

GROATS. At the English universities, "nine groats" says Grose, in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, "are deposited in the hands of an academic officer by every person standing for a degree, which, if the depositor obtains with honor, are returned to him."

To save his groats; to come off handsomely.—Gradus ad Cantab.

GROUP. A crowd or throng; a number collected without any regular form or arrangement. At Harvard College, students are not allowed to assemble in groups, as is seen by the following extract from the laws. Three persons together are considered as a group.

Collecting in groups round the doors of the College buildings, or in the yard, shall be considered a violation of decorum.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, Suppl., p. 4.

GROUPING. Collecting together.

It will surely be incomprehensible to most students how so large a number as six could be suffered with impunity to horde themselves together within the limits of the college yard. In those days the very learned laws about grouping were not in existence. A collection of two was not then considered a sure prognostic of rebellion, and spied out vigilantly by tutoric eyes. A group of three was not reckoned a gross outrage of the college peace, and punished severely by the subtraction of some dozens from the numerical rank of the unfortunate youth engaged in so high a misdemeanor. A congregation of four was not esteemed an open, avowed contempt of the laws of decency and propriety, prophesying utter combustion, desolation, and destruction to all buildings and trees in the neighborhood; and lastly, a multitude of five, though watched with a little jealousy, was not called an intolerable, unparalleled violation of everything approaching the name of order, absolute, downright shamelessness, worthy capital mark-punishment, alias the loss of 87-3/4 digits!—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 314.

The above passage and the following are both evidently of a satirical nature.

  And often grouping on the chains, he hums his own sweet verse,
  Till Tutor ——, coming up, commands him to disperse!
    Poem before Y.H., 1849, p. 14.

GRUB. A hard student. Used at Williams College, and synonymous with DIG at other colleges. A correspondent says, writing from Williams: "Our real delvers, midnight students, are familiarly called Grubs. This is a very expressive name."

A man must not be ashamed to be called a grub in college, if he would shine in the world.—Sketches of Williams College, p. 76.

Some there are who, though never known to read or study, are ever ready to debate,—not "grubs" or "reading men," only "wordy men."—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 246.

GRUB. To study hard; to be what is denominated a grub, or hard student. "The primary sense," says Dr. Webster, "is probably to rub, to rake, scrape, or scratch, as wild animals dig by scratching."

I can grub out a lesson in Latin or mathematics as well as the best of them.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 223.

GUARDING. "The custom of guarding Freshmen," says a correspondent from Dartmouth College, "is comparatively a late one. Persons masked would go into another's room at night, and oblige him to do anything they commanded him, as to get under his bed, sit with his feet in a pail of water," &c.

GULF. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., one who obtains the degree of B.A., but has not his name inserted in the Calendar, is said to be in the gulf.

He now begins to … be anxious about … that classical acquaintance who is in danger of the gulf.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 95.

Some ten or fifteen men just on the line, not bad enough to be plucked or good enough to be placed, are put into the "gulf," as it is popularly called (the Examiners' phrase is "Degrees allowed"), and have their degrees given them, but are not printed in the Calendar.—Ibid., p. 205.

GULFING. In the University of Cambridge, England, "those candidates for B.A. who, but for sickness or some other sufficient cause, might have obtained an honor, have their degree given them without examination, and thus avoid having their names inserted in the lists. This is called Gulfing." A degree taken in this manner is called "an Ægrotat Degree."—Alma Mater, Vol. II. pp. 60, 105.

I discovered that my name was nowhere to be found,—that I was Gulfed.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 97.

GUM. A trick; a deception. In use at Dartmouth College.

Gum is another word they have here. It means something like chaw. To say, "It's all a gum," or "a regular chaw," is the same thing.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

GUM. At the University of Vermont, to cheat in recitation by using ponies, interliners, &c.; e.g. "he gummed in geometry."

2. To cheat; to deceive. Not confined to college.

He was speaking of the "moon hoax" which "gummed" so many learned philosophers.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 189.

GUMMATION. A trick; raillery.

Our reception to college ground was by no means the most hospitable, considering our unacquaintance with the manners of the place, for, as poor "Fresh," we soon found ourselves subject to all manner of sly tricks and "gummations" from our predecessors, the Sophs.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 13.

GYP. A cant term for a servant at Cambridge, England, at scout is used at Oxford. Said to be a sportive application of [Greek: gyps], a vulture.—Smart.

The word Gyp very properly characterizes them.—Gradus ad
Cantab., p. 56.

  And many a yawning gyp comes slipshod in,
  To wake his master ere the bells begin.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

The Freshman, when once safe through his examination, is first inducted into his rooms by a gyp, usually recommended to him by his tutor. The gyp (from [Greek: gyps], vulture, evidently a nickname at first, but now the only name applied to this class of persons) is a college servant, who attends upon a number of students, sometimes as many as twenty, calls them in the morning, brushes their clothes, carries for them parcels and the queerly twisted notes they are continually writing to one another, waits at their parties, and so on. Cleaning their boots is not in his branch of the profession; there is a regular brigade of college shoeblacks.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 14.

It is sometimes spelled Jip, though probably by mistake.

My Jip brought one in this morning; faith! and told me I was focussed.—Gent. Mag., 1794, p. 1085.

H.

HALF-LESSON. In some American colleges on certain occasions the students are required to learn only one half of the amount of an ordinary lesson.

They promote it [the value of distinctions conferred by the students on one another] by formally acknowledging the existence of the larger debating societies in such acts as giving "half-lessons" for the morning after the Wednesday night debates.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 386.

HALF-YEAR. In the German universities, a collegiate term is called a half-year.

The annual courses of instruction are divided into summer and winter half-years.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. Ed., pp. 34, 35.

HALL. A college or large edifice belonging to a collegiate institution.—Webster.

2. A collegiate body in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In the former institution a hall differs from a college, in that halls are not incorporated; consequently, whatever estate or other property they possess is held in trust by the University. In the latter, colleges and halls are synonymous.—Cam. and Oxf. Calendars.

"In Cambridge," says the author of the Collegian's Guide, "the halls stand on the same footing as the colleges, but at Oxford they did not, in my time, hold by any means so high a place in general estimation. Certainly those halls which admit the outcasts of other colleges, and of those alone I am now speaking, used to be precisely what one would expect to find them; indeed, I had rather that a son of mine should forego a university education altogether, than that he should have so sorry a counterfeit of academic advantages as one of these halls affords."—p. 172.

"All the Colleges at Cambridge," says Bristed, "have equal privileges and rights, with the solitary exception of King's, and though some of them are called Halls, the difference is merely one of name. But the Halls at Oxford, of which there are five, are not incorporated bodies, and have no vote in University matters, indeed are but a sort of boarding-houses at which students may remain until it is time for them to take a degree. I dined at one of those establishments; it was very like an officers' mess. The men had their own wine, and did not wear their gowns, and the only Don belonging to the Hall was not present at table. There was a tradition of a chapel belonging to the concern, but no one present knew where it was. This Hall seemed to be a small Botany Bay of both Universities, its members made up of all sorts of incapables and incorrigibles."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 140, 141.

3. At Cambridge and Oxford, the public eating-room.

I went into the public "hall" [so is called in Oxford the public eating-room].—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 231.

Dinner is, in all colleges, a public meal, taken in the refectory or "hall" of the society.—Ibid., p. 273.

4. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., dinner, the name of the place where the meal is taken being given to the meal itself.

Hall lasts about three quarters of an hour.—Bristed's Five Year in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.

After Hall is emphatically lounging-time, it being the wise practice of Englishmen to attempt no hard exercise, physical or mental, immediately after a hearty meal.—Ibid., p. 21.

It is not safe to read after Hall (i.e. after dinner).—Ibid., p. 331.

HANG-OUT. An entertainment.

I remember the date from the Fourth of July occurring just afterwards, which I celebrated by a "hang-out."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 80.

He had kept me six hours at table, on the occasion of a dinner which he gave … as an appendix to and a return for some of my "hangings-out."—Ibid., p. 198.

HANG OUT. To treat, to live, to have or possess. Among English
Cantabs, a verb of all-work.—Bristed.

There were but few pensioners who "hung out" servants of their own.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 90.

I had become … a man who knew and "hung out to" clever and pleasant people, and introduced agreeable lions to one another.—Ibid., p. 158.

I had gained such a reputation for dinner-giving, that men going to "hang out" sometimes asked me to compose bills of fare for them.—Ibid., p. 195.

HARRY SOPHS, or HENRY SOPHISTERS; in reality Harisophs, a corruption of Erisophs ([Greek: erisophos], valde eruditus). At Cambridge, England, students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and hence are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy.—Gradus ad Cantab.

See, also, Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 818.

HARVARD WASHINGTON CORPS. From a memorandum on a fly leaf of an old Triennial Catalogue, it would appear that a military company was first established among the students of Harvard College about the year 1769, and that its first captain was Mr. William Wetmore, a graduate of the Class of 1770. The motto which it then assumed, and continued to bear through every period of its existence, was, "Tam Marti quam Mercurio." It was called at that time the Marti Mercurian Band. The prescribed uniform was a blue coat, the skirts turned with white, nankeen breeches, white stockings, top-boots, and a cocked hat. This association continued for nearly twenty years from the time of its organization, but the chivalrous spirit which had called it into existence seems at the end of that time to have faded away. The last captain, it is believed, was Mr. Solomon Vose, a graduate of the class of 1787.

Under the auspices of Governor Gerry, in December of the year 1811, it was revived, and through his influence received a new loan of arms from the State, taking at the same time the name of the Harvard Washington Corps. In 1812, Mr. George Thacher was appointed its commander. The members of the company wore a blue coat, white vest, white pantaloons, white gaiters, a common black hat, and around the waist a white belt, which was always kept very neat, and to which were attached a bayonet and cartridge-box. The officers wore the same dress, with the exceptions of a sash instead of the belt, and a chapeau in place of the hat. Soon after this reorganization, in the fall of 1812, a banner, with the arms of the College on one side and the arms of the State on the other, was presented by the beautiful Miss Mellen, daughter of Judge Mellen of Cambridge, in the name of the ladies of that place. The presentation took place before the door of her father's house. Appropriate addresses were made, both by the fair donor and the captain of the company. Mr. Frisbie, a Professor in the College, who was at that time engaged to Miss Mellen, whom he afterwards married, recited on the occasion the following verses impromptu, which were received with great eclat.

 "The standard's victory's leading star,
    'T is danger to forsake it;
  How altered are the scenes of war,
    They're vanquished now who take it."

A writer in the Harvardiana, 1836, referring to this banner, says: "The gilded banner now moulders away in inglorious quiet, in the dusty retirement of a Senior Sophister's study. What a desecration for that 'flag by angel hands to valor given'!"[40] Within the last two years it has wholly disappeared from its accustomed resting-place. Though departed, its memory will be ever dear to those who saw it in its better days, and under its shadow enjoyed many of the proudest moments of college life.

At its second organization, the company was one of the finest and best drilled in the State. The members were from the Senior and Junior Classes. The armory was in the fifth story of Hollis Hall. The regular time for exercise was after the evening commons. The drum would often beat before the meal was finished, and the students could then be seen rushing forth with the half-eaten biscuit, and at the same time buckling on their armor for the accustomed drill. They usually paraded on exhibition-days, when the large concourse of people afforded an excellent opportunity for showing off their skill in military tactics and manoeuvring. On the arrival of the news of the peace of 1815, it appears, from an interleaved almanac, that "the H.W. Corps paraded and fired a salute; Mr. Porter treated the company." Again, on the 12th of May, same year, "H.W. Corps paraded in Charlestown, saluted Com. Bainbridge, and returned by the way of Boston." The captain for that year, Mr. W.H. Moulton, dying, on the 6th of July, at five o'clock, P.M., "the class," says the same authority, "attended the funeral of Br. Moulton in Boston. The H.W. Corps attended in uniform, without arms, the ceremony of entombing their late Captain."

In the year 1825, it received a third loan of arms, and was again reorganized, admitting the members of all the classes to its ranks. From this period until the year 1834, very great interest was manifested in it; but a rebellion having broken out at that time among the students, and the guns of the company having been considerably damaged by being thrown from the windows of the armory, which was then in University Hall, the company was disbanded, and the arms were returned to the State.

The feelings with which it was regarded by the students generally cannot be better shown than by quoting from some of the publications in which reference is made to it. "Many are the grave discussions and entry caucuses," says a writer in the Harvard Register, published in 1828, "to determine what favored few are to be graced with the sash and epaulets, and march as leaders in the martial band. Whilst these important canvassings are going on, it behooves even the humblest and meekest to beware how he buttons his coat, or stiffens himself to a perpendicular, lest he be more than suspected of aspiring to some military capacity. But the Harvard Washington Corps must not be passed over without further notice. Who can tell what eagerness fills its ranks on an exhibition-day? with what spirit and bounding step the glorious phalanx wheels into the College yard? with what exultation they mark their banner, as it comes floating on the breeze from Holworthy? And ah! who cannot tell how this spirit expires, this exultation goes out, when the clerk calls again and again for the assessments."—p. 378.

A college poet has thus immortalized this distinguished band:—

 "But see where yonder light-armed ranks advance!—
  Their colors gleaming in the noonday glance,
  Their steps symphonious with the drum's deep notes,
  While high the buoyant, breeze-borne banner floats!
  O, let not allied hosts yon band deride!
  'T is Harvard Corps, our bulwark and our pride!
  Mark, how like one great whole, instinct with life,
  They seem to woo the dangers of the strife!
  Who would not brave the heat, the dust, the rain,
  To march the leader of that valiant train?"
    Harvard Register, p. 235.

Another has sung its requiem in the following strain:—

 "That martial band, 'neath waving stripes and stars
  Inscribed alike to Mercury and Mars,
  Those gallant warriors in their dread array,
  Who shook these halls,—O where, alas! are they?
  Gone! gone! and never to our ears shall come
  The sounds of fife and spirit-stirring drum;
  That war-worn banner slumbers in the dust,
  Those bristling arms are dim with gathering rust;
  That crested helm, that glittering sword, that plume,
  Are laid to rest in reckless faction's tomb."
    Winslow's Class Poem, 1835.

HAT FELLOW-COMMONER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the popular name given to a baronet, the eldest son of a baronet, or the younger son of a nobleman. A Hat Fellow-Commoner wears the gown of a Fellow-Commoner, with a hat instead of the velvet cap with metallic tassel which a Fellow-Commoner wears, and is admitted to the degree of M.A. after two years' residence.

HAULED UP. In many colleges, one brought up before the Faculty is said to be hauled up.

HAZE. To trouble; to harass; to disturb. This word is used at Harvard College, to express the treatment which Freshmen sometimes receive from the higher classes, and especially from the Sophomores. It is used among sailors with the meanings to urge, to drive, to harass, especially with labor. In his Dictionary of Americanisms, Mr. Bartlett says, "To haze round, is to go rioting about."

Be ready, in fine, to cut, to drink, to smoke, to swear, to haze, to dead, to spree,—in one word, to be a Sophomore.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848, p. 11.

  To him no orchard is unknown,—no grape-vine unappraised,—
  No farmer's hen-roost yet unrobbed,—no Freshman yet unhazed!
    Poem before Y.H., 1849, p. 9.

  'T is the Sophomores rushing the Freshmen to haze.
    Poem before Iadma, 1850, p. 22.

                                Never again
  Leave unbolted your door when to rest you retire,
  And, unhazed and unmartyred, you proudly may scorn
  Those foes to all Freshmen who 'gainst thee conspire.
    Ibid., p. 23.

Freshmen have got quietly settled down to work, Sophs have given up their hazing.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 285.

We are glad to be able to record, that the absurd and barbarous custom of hazing, which has long prevailed in College, is, to a great degree, discontinued.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 413.

The various means which are made use of in hazing the Freshmen are enumerated in part below. In the first passage, a Sophomore speaks in soliloquy.

                      I am a man,
  Have human feelings, though mistaken Fresh
  Affirmed I was a savage or a brute,
  When I did dash cold water in their necks,
  Discharged green squashes through their window-panes,
  And stript their beds of soft, luxurious sheets,
  Placing instead harsh briers and rough sticks,
  So that their sluggish bodies might not sleep,
  Unroused by morning bell; or when perforce,
  From leaden syringe, engine of fierce might,
  I drave black ink upon their ruffle shirts,
  Or drenched with showers of melancholy hue,
  The new-fledged dickey peering o'er the stock,
  Fit emblem of a young ambitious mind!
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 254.

A Freshman writes thus on the subject:—

The Sophs did nothing all the first fortnight but torment the Fresh, as they call us. They would come to our rooms with masks on, and frighten us dreadfully; and sometimes squirt water through our keyholes, or throw a whole pailful on to one of us from the upper windows.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.

HEAD OF THE HOUSE. The generic name for the highest officer of a college in the English Universities.

The Master of the College, or "Head of the House," is a D.D. who has been a Fellow.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 16.

The heads of houses [are] styled, according to the usage of the college, President, Master, Principal, Provost, Warden, or Rector. —Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xiii.

Written often simply Head.

The "Head," as he is called generically, of an Oxford college, is a greater man than the uninitiated suppose.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 244.

The new Head was a gentleman of most commanding personal appearance.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 87.

HEADSHIP. The office and place of head or president of a college.

Most of the college Headships are not at the disposal of the Crown.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, note, p. 89, and errata.

The Headships of the colleges are, with the exception of Worcester, filled by one chosen by the Fellows from among themselves, or one who has been a Fellow.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. xiv.

HEADS OUT. At Princeton College, the cry when anything occurs in the Campus. Used, also, to give the alarm when a professor or tutor is about to interrupt a spree.

See CAMPUS.

HEBDOMADAL BOARD. At Oxford, the local governing authority of the University, composed of the Heads of colleges and the two Proctors, and expressing itself through the Vice-Chancellor. An institution of Charles I.'s time, it has possessed, since the year 1631, "the sole initiative power in the legislation of the University, and the chief share in its administration." Its meetings are held weekly, whence the name.—Oxford Guide. Literary World, Vol. XII., p. 223.

HIGH-GO. A merry frolic, usually with drinking.

  Songs of Scholars in revelling roundelays,
  Belched out with hickups at bacchanal Go,
  Bellowed, till heaven's high concave rebound the lays,
  Are all for college carousals too low.
  Of dullness quite tired, with merriment fired,
  And fully inspired with amity's glow,
  With hate-drowning wine, boys, and punch all divine, boys,
  The Juniors combine, boys, in friendly HIGH-GO.
    Glossology, by William Biglow, inserted in Buckingham's
    Reminiscences, Vol. II. pp. 281-284.

He it was who broached the idea of a high-go, as being requisite to give us a rank among the classes in college. D.A. White's Address before Soc. of the Alumni of Harv. Univ., Aug. 27, 1844, p. 35.

This word is now seldom used; the words High and Go are, however, often used separately, with the same meaning; as the compound. The phrase to get high, i.e. to become intoxicated, is allied with the above expression.

Or men "get high" by drinking abstract toddies? Childe Harvard, p. 71.

HIGH STEWARD. In the English universities, an officer who has special power to hear and determine capital causes, according to the laws of the land and the privileges of the university, whenever a scholar is the party offending. He also holds the university court-leet, according to the established charter and custom.—Oxf. and Cam. Cals.

At Cambridge, in addition to his other duties, the High Steward is the officer who represents the University in the House of Lords.

HIGH TABLE. At Oxford, the table at which the Fellows and some other privileged persons are entitled to dine.

Wine is not generally allowed in the public hall, except to the "high table."—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 278.

I dine at the "high table" with the reverend deans, and hobnob with professors.—Household Words, Am. ed., Vol. XI. p 521.

HIGH-TI. At Williams College, a term by which is designated a showy recitation. Equivalent to the word squirt at Harvard College.

HILLS. At Cambridge, Eng., Gogmagog Hills are commonly called the
Hills.

  Or to the Hills on horseback strays,
  (Unasked his tutor,) or his chaise
  To famed Newmarket guides.
    Gradus ad Cantab., p. 35.

HISS. To condemn by hissing.

This is a favorite method, especially among students, of expressing their disapprobation of any person or measure.

  I'll tell you what; your crime is this,
  That, Touchy, you did scrape, and hiss.
    Rebelliad, p. 45.

  Who will bully, scrape, and hiss!
  Who, I say, will do all this!
  Let him follow me,—Ibid., p. 53.

HOAXING. At Princeton College, inducing new-comers to join the secret societies is called hoaxing.

HOBBY. A translation. Hobbies are used by some students in translating Latin, Greek, and other languages, who from this reason are said to ride, in contradistinction to others who learn their lessons by study, who are said to dig or grub.

See PONY.

HOBSON'S CHOICE. Thomas Hobson, during the first third of the seventeenth century, was the University carrier between Cambridge and London. He died January 1st, 1631. "He rendered himself famous by furnishing the students with horses; and, making it an unalterable rule that every horse should have an equal portion of rest as well as labor, he would never let one out of its turn; hence the celebrated saying, 'Hobson's Choice: this, or none.'" Milton has perpetuated his fame in two whimsical epitaphs, which may be found among his miscellaneous poems.

HOE IN. At Hamilton College, to strive vigorously; a metaphorical meaning, taken from labor with the hoe.

HOIST. It was formerly customary at Harvard College, when the Freshmen were used as servants, to report them to their Tutor if they refused to go when sent on an errand; this complaint was called a hoisting, and the delinquent was said to be hoisted.

The refusal to perform a reasonable service required by a member of the class above him, subjected the Freshmen to a complaint to be brought before his Tutor, technically called hoisting him to his Tutor. The threat was commonly sufficient to exact the service.—Willard's Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. p. 259.

HOLD INS. At Bowdoin College, "near the commencement of each year," says a correspondent, "the Sophs are wont, on some particular evening, to attempt to 'hold in' the Freshmen when coming out of prayers, generally producing quite a skirmish."

HOLLIS. Mr. Thomas Hollis of Lincoln's Inn, to whom, with many others of the same name, Harvard College is so much indebted, among other presents to its library, gave "sixty-four volumes of valuable books, curiously bound." To these reference is made in the following extract from the Gentleman's Magazine for September, 1781. "Mr. Hollis employed Mr. Fingo to cut a number of emblematical devices, such as the caduceus of Mercury, the wand of Æsculapius, the owl, the cap of liberty, &c.; and these devices were to adorn the backs and sometimes the sides of books. When patriotism animated a work, instead of unmeaning ornaments on the binding, he adorned it with caps of liberty. When wisdom filled the page, the owl's majestic gravity bespoke its contents. The caduceus pointed out the works of eloquence, and the wand of Æsculapius was a signal of good medicine. The different emblems were used on the same book, when possessed of different merits, and to express his disapprobation of the whole or parts of any work, the figure or figures were reversed. Thus each cover exhibited a critique on the book, and was a proof that they were not kept for show, as he must read before he could judge. Read this, ye admirers of gilded books, and imitate."

HONORARIUM, HONORARY. A term applied, in Europe, to the recompense offered to professors in universities, and to medical or other professional gentlemen for their services. It is nearly equivalent to fee, with the additional idea of being given honoris causa, as a token of respect.—Brande. Webster.

There are regular receivers, quæstors, appointed for the reception of the honorarium, or charge for the attendance of lectures.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 30.

HONORIS CAUSA. Latin; as an honor. Any honorary degree given by a college.

Degrees in the faculties of Divinity and Law are conferred, at present, either in course, honoris causa, or on admission ad eundem.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 10.

HONORS. In American colleges, the principal honors are appointments as speakers at Exhibitions and Commencements. These are given for excellence in scholarship. The appointments for Exhibitions are different in different colleges. Those of Commencement do not vary so much. The following is a list of the appointments at Harvard College, in the order in which they are usually assigned: Valedictory Oration, called also the English Oration, Salutatory in Latin, English Orations, Dissertations, Disquisitions, and Essays. The salutatorian is not always the second scholar in the class, but must be the best, or, in case this distinction is enjoyed by the valedictorian, the second-best Latin scholar. Latin or Greek poems or orations or English poems sometimes form a part of the exercises, and may be assigned, as are the other appointments, to persons in the first part of the class. At Yale College the order is as follows: Valedictory Oration, Salutatory in Latin, Philosophical Orations, Orations, Dissertations, Disputations, and Colloquies. A person who receives the appointment of a Colloquy can either write or speak in a colloquy, or write a poem. Any other appointee can also write a poem. Other colleges usually adopt one or the other of these arrangements, or combine the two.

At the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who at the final examination in the Senate-House are classed as Wranglers, Senior Optimes, or Junior Optimes, are said to go out in honors.

I very early in the Sophomore year gave up all thoughts of obtaining high honors.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 6.

HOOD. An ornamented fold that hangs down the back of a graduate, to mark his degree.—Johnson.

  My head with ample square-cap crown,
  And deck with hood my shoulders.
    The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. I. p. 349.

HORN-BLOWING. At Princeton College, the students often provide themselves at night with horns, bugles, &c., climb the trees in the Campus, and set up a blowing which is continued as long as prudence and safety allow.

HORSE-SHEDDING. At the University of Vermont, among secret and literary societies, this term is used to express the idea conveyed by the word electioneering.

HOUSE. A college. The word was formerly used with this signification in Harvard and Yale Colleges.

If any scholar shall transgress any of the laws of God, or the House, he shall be liable, &c.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 517.

If detriment come by any out of the society, then those officers [the butler and cook] themselves shall be responsible to the House.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 583.

A member of the college was also called a Member of the House.

The steward is to see that one third part be reserved of all the payments to him by the members of the House quarterly made.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 582.

A college officer was called an Officer of the House.

The steward shall be bound to give an account of the necessary disbursements which have been issued out to the steward himself, butler, cook, or any other officer of the House.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 582.

Neither shall the butler or cook suffer any scholar or scholars whatever, except the Fellows, Masters of Art, Fellow-Commoners or officers of the House, to come into the butteries, &c.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 584.

Before the year 1708, the term Fellows of the House was applied, at Harvard College, both to the members of the Corporation, and to the instructors who did not belong to the Corporation. The equivocal meaning of this title was noticed by President Leverett, for, in his duplicate record of the proceedings of the Corporation and the Overseers, he designated certain persons to whom he refers as "Fellows of the House, i.e. of the Corporation." Soon after this, an attempt was made to distinguish between these two classes of Fellows, and in 1711 the distinction was settled, when one Whiting, "who had been for several years known as Tutor and 'Fellow of the House,' but had never in consequence been deemed or pretended to be a member of the Corporation, was admitted to a seat in that board."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. pp. 278, 279. See SCHOLAR OF THE HOUSE.

2. An assembly for transacting business.

See CONGREGATION, CONVOCATION.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. At Union College, the members of the Junior Class compose what is called the House of Representatives, a body organized after the manner of the national House, for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the forms and manner of legislation. The following account has been furnished by a member of that College.

"At the end of the third term, Sophomore year, when the members of that class are looking forward to the honors awaiting them, comes off the initiation to the House. The Friday of the tenth week is the day usually selected for the occasion. On the afternoon of that day the Sophomores assemble in the Junior recitation-room, and, after organizing themselves by the appointment of a chairman, are waited upon by a committee of the House of Representatives of the Junior Class, who announce that they are ready to proceed with the initiation, and occasionally dilate upon the importance and responsibility of the future position of the Sophomores.

"The invitation thus given is accepted, and the class, headed by the committee, proceeds to the Representatives' Hall. On their arrival, the members of the House retire, and the incoming members, under the direction of the committee, arrange themselves around the platform of the Speaker, all in the room at the same time rising in their seats. The Speaker of the House now addresses the Sophomores, announcing to them their election to the high position of Representatives, and exhorting them to discharge well all their duties to their constituents and their common country. He closes, by stating it to be their first business to elect the officers of the House.

"The election of Speaker, Vice-Speaker, Clerk, and Treasurer by ballot then follows, two tellers being appointed by the Chair. The Speaker is elected for one year, and must be one of the Faculty; the other officers hold only during the ensuing term. The Speaker, however, is never expected to be present at the meetings of the House, with the exception of that at the beginning of each term session, so that the whole duty of presiding falls on the Vice-Speaker. This is the only meeting of the new House during that term.

"On the second Friday afternoon of the fall term, the Speaker usually delivers an inaugural address, and soon after leaves the chair to the Vice-Speaker, who then announces the representation from the different States, and also the list of committees. The members are apportioned by him according to population, each State having at least one, and some two or three, as the number of the Junior Class may allow. The committees are constituted in the manner common to the National House, the number of each, however, being less. Business then follows, as described in Jefferson's Manual; petitions, remonstrances, resolutions, reports, debates, and all the 'toggery' of legislation, come on in regular, or rather irregular succession. The exercises, as may be well conceived, furnish an excellent opportunity for improvement in parliamentary tactics and political oratory."

The House of Representatives was founded by Professor John Austin Tates. It is not constituted by every Junior Class, and may be regarded as intermittent in its character.

See SENATE.

HUMANIST. One who pursues the study of the humanities (literæ humaniores), or polite literature; a term used in various European universities, especially the Scotch.—Brandt.

HUMANITY, pl. HUMANITIES. In the plural signifying grammar, rhetoric, the Latin and Greek languages, and poetry; for teaching which there are professors in the English and Scotch universities. —Encyc.

HUMMEL. At the University of Vermont, a foot, especially a large one.

HYPHENUTE. At Princeton College, the aristocratic or would-be aristocratic in dress, manners, &c., are called Hyphenutes. Used both as a noun and adjective. Same as [Greek: Oi Aristoi] q.v.

I.

ILLUMINATE. To interline with a translation. Students illuminate a book when they write between the printed lines a translation of the text. Illuminated books are preferred by good judges to ponies or hobbies, as the text and translation in them are brought nearer to one another. The idea of calling books thus prepared illuminated, is taken partly from the meaning of the word illuminate, to adorn with ornamental letters, substituting, however, in this case, useful for ornamental, and partly from one of its other meanings, to throw light on, as on obscure subjects.

ILLUSTRATION. That which elucidates a subject. A word used with a peculiar application by undergraduates in the University of Cambridge, Eng.

I went back,… and did a few more bits of illustration, such as noting down the relative resources of Athens and Sparta when the Peloponnesian war broke out, and the sources of the Athenian revenue.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 51.

IMPOSITION. In the English universities, a supernumerary exercise enjoined on students as a punishment.

Minor offences are punished by rustication, and those of a more trivial nature by fines, or by literary tasks, here termed Impositions.—Oxford Guide, p. 149.

Literary tasks called impositions, or frequent compulsive attendances on tedious and unimproving exercises in a college hall.—T. Warton, Minor Poems of Milton, p. 432.

Impositions are of various lengths. For missing chapel, about one hundred lines to copy; for missing a lecture, the lecture to translate. This is the measure for an occasional offence…. For coming in late at night repeatedly, or for any offence nearly deserving rustication, I have known a whole book of Thucydides given to translate, or the Ethics of Aristotle to analyze, when the offender has been a good scholar, while others, who could only do mechanical work, have had a book of Euclid to write out.

Long impositions are very rarely barberized. When college tutors intend to be severe, which is very seldom, they are not to be trifled with.

At Cambridge, impositions are not always in writing, but sometimes two or three hundred lines to repeat by heart. This is ruin to the barber.—Collegian's Guide, pp. 159, 160.

In an abbreviated form, impos.

He is obliged to stomach the impos., and retire.—Grad. ad
Cantab., p. 125.

He satisfies the Proctor and the Dean by saying a part of each impos.—Ibid., p. 128.

See BARBER.

INCEPT. To take the degree of Master of Arts.

They may nevertheless take the degree of M.A. at the usual period, by putting their names on the College boards a few days previous to incepting.—Cambridge Calendar.

The M.A. incepts in about three years and two months from the time of taking his first degree.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 285.

INCEPTOR. One who has proceeded to the degree of M.A., but who, not enjoying all the privileges of an M.A. until the Commencement, is in the mean time termed an Inceptor.

Used in the English universities, and formerly at Harvard College.

And, in case any of the Sophisters, Questionists, or Inceptors fail in the premises required at their hands … they shall be deferred to the following year.—Laws of 1650, in Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 518.

The Admissio Inceptorum was as follows: "Admitto te ad secundum gradum in artibus pro more Academiarum in Angliâ: tibique trado hunc librum unâ cum potestate publice profitendi, ubicunque ad hoc munus publicè evocatus fueris."—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 580.

INDIAN SOCIETY. At the Collegiate Institute of Indiana, a society of smokers was established, in the year 1837, by an Indian named Zachary Colbert, and called the Indian Society. The members and those who have been invited to join the society, to the number of sixty or eighty, are accustomed to meet in a small room, ten feet by eighteen; all are obliged to smoke, and he who first desists is required to pay for the cigars smoked at that meeting.

INDIGO. At Dartmouth College, a member of the party called the
Blues. The same as a BLUE, which see.

The Howes, years ago, used to room in Dartmouth Hall, though none room there now, and so they made up some verses. Here is one:—

 "Hurrah for Dartmouth Hall!
  Success to every student
  That rooms in Dartmouth Hall,
  Unless he be an Indigo,
  Then, no success at all."
    The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

INITIATION. Secret societies exist in almost all the colleges in the United States, which require those who are admitted to pass through certain ceremonies called the initiation. This fact is often made use of to deceive Freshmen, upon their entrance into college, who are sometimes initiated into societies which have no existence, and again into societies where initiation is not necessary for membership.

A correspondent from Dartmouth College writes as follows: "I believe several of the colleges have various exercises of initiating Freshmen. Ours is done by the 'United Fraternity,' one of our library societies (they are neither of them secret), which gives out word that the initiation is a fearful ceremony. It is simply every kind of operation that can be contrived to terrify, and annoy, and make fun of Freshmen, who do not find out for some time that it is not the necessary and serious ceremony of making them members of the society."

In the University of Virginia, students on entering are sometimes initiated into the ways of college life by very novel and unique ceremonies, an account of which has been furnished by a graduate of that institution. "The first thing, by way of admitting the novitiate to all the mysteries of college life, is to require of him in an official communication, under apparent signature of one of the professors, a written list, tested under oath, of the entire number of his shirts and other necessary articles in his wardrobe. The list he is requested to commit to memory, and be prepared for an examination on it, before the Faculty, at some specified hour. This the new-comer usually passes with due satisfaction, and no little trepidation, in the presence of an august assemblage of his student professors. He is now remanded to his room to take his bed, and to rise about midnight bell for breakfast. The 'Callithumpians' (in this Institution a regularly organized company), 'Squallinaders,' or 'Masquers,' perform their part during the livelong night with instruments 'harsh thunder grating,' to insure to the poor youth a sleepless night, and give him full time to con over and curse in his heart the miseries of a college existence. Our fellow-comrade is now up, dressed, and washed, perhaps two hours in advance of the first light of dawn, and, under the guidance of a posse comitatus of older students, is kindly conducted to his morning meal. A long alley, technically 'Green Alley,' terminating with a brick wall, informing all, 'Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther,' is pointed out to him, with directions 'to follow his nose and keep straight ahead.' Of course the unsophisticated finds himself completely nonplused, and gropes his way back, amidst the loud vociferations of 'Go it, green un!' With due apologies for the treatment he has received, and violent denunciations against the former posse for their unheard-of insolence towards the gentleman, he is now placed under different guides, who volunteer their services 'to see him through.' Suffice it to be said, that he is again egregiously 'taken in,' being deposited in the Rotunda or Lecture-room, and told to ring for whatever he wants, either coffee or hot biscuit, but particularly enjoined not to leave without special permission from one of the Faculty. The length of his sojourn in this place, where he is finally left, is of course in proportion to his state of verdancy."

INSPECTOR OF THE COLLEGE. At Yale College, a person appointed to ascertain, inspect, and estimate all damages done to the College buildings and appurtenances, whenever required by the President. All repairs, additions, and alterations are made under his inspection, and he is also authorized to determine whether the College chambers are fit for the reception of the students. Formerly the inspectorship in Harvard College was held by one of the members of the College government. His duty was to examine the state of the College public buildings, and also at stated times to examine the exterior and interior of the buildings occupied by the students, and to cause such repairs to be made as were in his opinion proper. The same duties are now performed by the Superintendent of Public Buildings.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 22. Laws Harv. Coll., 1814, p. 58, and 1848, p 29.

The duties of the Inspector of the College Buildings, at
Middlebury, are similar to those required of the inspector at
Yale.—Laws Md. Coll., 1839, pp. 15, 16.

IN STATU PUPILLARI. Latin; literally, in a state of pupilage. In the English universities, one who is subject to collegiate laws, discipline, and officers is said to be in statu pupillari.

  And the short space that here we tarry,
  At least "in statu pupillari,"
  Forbids our growing hopes to germ,
  Alas! beyond the appointed term.
    Grad. ad Cantab., p. 109.

INTERLINEAR. A printed book, with a written translation between the lines. The same as an illuminated book; for an account of which, see under ILLUMINATE.

  Then devotes himself to study, with a steady, earnest zeal,
  And scorns an Interlinear, or a Pony's meek appeal.
    Poem before Iadma, 1850, p. 20.

INTERLINER. Same as INTERLINEAR.

In the "Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D.," a Professor at Harvard College, Professor Felton observes: "He was a mortal enemy to translations, 'interliners,' and all such subsidiary helps in learning lessons; he classed them all under the opprobrious name of 'facilities,' and never scrupled to seize them as contraband goods. When he withdrew from College, he had a large and valuable collection of this species of literature. In one of the notes to his Three Lectures he says: 'I have on hand a goodly number of these confiscated wares, full of manuscript innotations, which I seized in the way of duty, and would now restore to the owners on demand, without their proving property or paying charges.'"—p. lxxvii.

Ponies, Interliners, Ticks, Screws, and Deads (these are all college verbalities) were all put under contribution.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 25.

INTONITANS BOLUS. Greek, [Greek: bolos], a lump. Latin, bolus, a bit, a morsel. English, bolus, a mass of anything made into a large pill. It may be translated a thundering pill. At Harvard College, the Intonitans Bolus was a great cane or club which was given nominally to the strongest fellow in the graduating class; "but really," says a correspondent, "to the greatest bully," and thus was transmitted, as an entailed estate, to the Samsons of College. If any one felt that he had been wronged in not receiving this emblem of valor, he was permitted to take it from its possessor if he could. In later years the club presented a very curious appearance; being almost entirely covered with the names of those who had held it, carved on its surface in letters of all imaginable shapes and descriptions. At one period, it was in the possession of Richard Jeffrey Cleveland, a member of the class of 1827, and was by him transmitted to Jonathan Saunderson of the class of 1828. It has disappeared within the last fifteen or twenty years, and its hiding-place, even if it is in existence, is not known.

See BULLY CLUB.

INVALID'S TABLE. At Yale College, in former times, a table at which those who were not in health could obtain more nutritious food than was supplied at the common board. A graduate at that institution has referred to the subject in the annexed extract. "It was extremely difficult to obtain permission to board out, and indeed impossible except in extreme cases: the beginning of such permits would have been like the letting out of water. To take away all pretext for it, an 'invalid's table' was provided, where, if one chose to avail himself of it, having a doctor's certificate that his health required it, he might have a somewhat different diet."—Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven, 1847, pp. 117, 118.

J.

JACK-KNIFE. At Harvard College it has long been the custom for the ugliest member of the Senior Class to receive from his classmates a Jack-knife, as a reward or consolation for the plainness of his features. In former times, it was transmitted from class to class, its possessor in the graduating class presenting it to the one who was deemed the ugliest in the class next below.

Mr. William Biglow, a member of the class of 1794, the recipient for that year of the Jack-knife,—in an article under the head of "Omnium Gatherum," published in the Federal Orrery, April 27, 1795, entitled, "A Will: Being the last words of CHARLES CHATTERBOX, Esq., late worthy and much lamented member of the Laughing Club of Harvard University, who departed college life, June 21, 1794, in the twenty-first year of his age,"—presents this transmittendum to his successor, with the following words:—

 "Item. C—— P——s[41] has my knife,
   During his natural college life;
   That knife, which ugliness inherits,
   And due to his superior merits,
   And when from Harvard he shall steer,
   I order him to leave it here,
   That't may from class to class descend,
   Till time and ugliness shall end."

Mr. Prentiss, in the autumn of 1795, soon after graduating, commenced the publication of the Rural Repository, at Leominster, Mass. In one of the earliest numbers of this paper, following the example of Mr. Biglow, he published his will, which Mr. Paine, the editor of the Federal Orrery, immediately transferred to his columns with this introductory note:—"Having, in the second number of 'Omnium Gatherum' presented to our readers the last will and testament of Charles Chatterbox, Esq., of witty memory, wherein the said Charles, now deceased, did lawfully bequeath to Ch——s Pr——s the celebrated 'Ugly Knife,' to be by him transmitted, at his college demise, to the next succeeding candidate; ———— and whereas the said Ch——s Pr——s, on the 21st of June last, departed his aforesaid college life, thereby leaving to the inheritance of his successor the valuable legacy which his illustrious friend had bequeathed, as an entailed estate, to the poets of the university,—we have thought proper to insert a full, true, and attested copy of the will of the last deceased heir, in order that the world may be furnished with a correct genealogy of this renowned Jack-knife, whose pedigree will become as illustrious in after time as the family of the 'ROLLES,' and which will be celebrated by future wits as the most formidable weapon of modern genius."

That part of the will only is here inserted which refers particularly to the Knife. It is as follows:—

 "I—I say I, now make this will;
  Let those whom I assign fulfil.
  I give, grant, render, and convey
  My goods and chattels thus away;
  That honor of a college life,
  That celebrated UGLY KNIFE,
  Which predecessor SAWNEY[42] orders,
  Descending to time's utmost borders,
  To noblest bard of homeliest phiz,
  To have and hold and use, as his,
  I now present C——s P——y S——r,[43]
  To keep with his poetic lumber,
  To scrape his quid, and make a split,
  To point his pen for sharpening wit;
  And order that he ne'er abuse
  Said ugly knife, in dirtier use,
  And let said CHARLES, that best of writers,
  In prose satiric skilled to bite us,
  And equally in verse delight us,
  Take special care to keep it clean
  From unpoetic hands,—I ween.
  And when those walls, the muses' seat,
  Said S——r is obliged to quit,
  Let some one of APOLLO'S firing,
  To such heroic joys aspiring,
  Who long has borne a poet's name,
  With said Knife cut his way to fame."
    See Buckingham's Reminiscences, Vol. II. pp. 281, 270.

Tradition asserts that the original Jack-knife was terminated at one end of the handle by a large blade, and at the other by a projecting piece of iron, to which a chain of the same metal was attached, and that it was customary to carry it in the pocket fastened by this chain to some part of the person. When this was lost, and the custom of transmitting the Knife went out of fashion, the class, guided by no rule but that of their own fancy, were accustomed to present any thing in the shape of a knife, whether oyster or case, it made no difference. In one instance a wooden one was given, and was immediately burned by the person who received it. At present the Jack-knife is voted to the ugliest member of the Senior Class, at the meeting for the election of officers for Class Day, and the sum appropriated for its purchase varies in different years from fifty cents to twenty dollars. The custom of presenting the Jack-knife is one of the most amusing of those which have come down to us from the past, and if any conclusion may be drawn from the interest which is now manifested in its observance, it is safe to infer, in the words of the poet, that it will continue "Till time and ugliness shall end."

In the Collegiate Institute of Indiana, a Jack-knife is given to the greatest liar, as a reward of merit.

See WILL.

JAPANNED. A cant term in use at the University of Cambridge, Eng., explained in the following passage. "Many … step … into the Church, without any pretence of other change than in the attire of their outward man,—the being 'japanned,' as assuming the black dress and white cravat is called in University slang."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 344.

JESUIT. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of Jesus
College.

JOBATION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a sharp reprimand from the Dean for some offence, not eminently heinous.

Thus dismissed the august presence, he recounts this jobation to his friends, and enters into a discourse on masters, deans, tutors, and proctors.—Grad. ad Cantab., p. 124.

JOBE. To reprove; to reprimand. "In the University of Cambridge, [Eng.,] the young scholars are wont to call chiding, jobing."—Grad. ad Cantab.

I heard a lively young man assert, that, in consequence of an intimation from the tutor relative to his irregularities, his father came from the country to jobe him.—Gent. Mag., Dec. 1794.

JOE. A name given at several American colleges to a privy. It is said that when Joseph Penney was President of Hamilton College, a request from the students that the privies might be cleansed was met by him with a denial. In consequence of this refusal, the offices were purified by fire on the night of November 5th. The derivation of the word, allowing the truth of this story, is apparent.

The following account of Joe-Burning is by a correspondent from Hamilton College:—"On the night of the 5th of November, every year, the Sophomore Class burn 'Joe.' A large pile is made of rails, logs, and light wood, in the form of a triangle. The space within is filled level to the top, with all manner of combustibles. A 'Joe' is then sought for by the class, carried from its foundations on a rude bier, and placed on this pile. The interior is filled with wood and straw, surrounding a barrel of tar placed in the middle, over all of which gallons of turpentine are thrown, and then set fire to. From the top of the lofty hill on which the College buildings are situated, this fire can be seen for twenty miles around. The Sophomores are all disguised in the most odd and grotesque dresses. A ring is formed around the burning 'Joe,' and a chant is sung. Horses of the neighbors are obtained and ridden indiscriminately, without saddle or bridle. The burning continues usually until daylight."

  Ponamus Convivium
  Josephi in locum
    Et id uremus.
    Convivii Exsequiæ, Hamilton Coll., 1850.

JOHNIAN. A member of St. John's College in the University of
Cambridge, Eng.

The Johnians are always known by the name of pigs; they put up a new organ the other day, which was immediately christened "Baconi Novum Organum."—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV., p 236.

JUN. Abbreviated for Junior.

The target for all the venomed darts of rowdy Sophs, magnificent Juns, and lazy Senes.—The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

JUNE. An abbreviation of Junior.

  I once to Yale a Fresh did come,
    But now a jolly June,
  Returning to my distant home,
    I bear the wooden spoon.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 36.

  But now, when no longer a Fresh or a Soph,
    Each blade is a gentleman June.
    Ibid., p. 39.

JUNE TRAINING. The following interesting and entertaining account of one of the distinguishing customs of the University of Vermont, is from the pen of one of her graduates, to whom the editor of this work is under many obligations for the valuable assistance he has rendered in effecting the completeness of this Collection.

"In the old time when militia trainings were in fashion, the authorities of Burlington decided that, whereas the students of the University of Vermont claimed and were allowed the right of suffrage, they were to be considered citizens, and consequently subject to military duty. The students having refused to appear on parade, were threatened with prosecution; and at last they determined to make their appearance. This they did on a certain 'training day,' (the year I do not recollect,) to the full satisfaction of the authorities, who did not expect such a parade, and had no desire to see it repeated. But the students being unwilling to expose themselves to 'the rigor of the law,' paraded annually; and when at last the statute was repealed and militia musters abolished, they continued the practice for the sake of old association. Thus it passed into a custom, and the first Wednesday of June is as eagerly anticipated by the citizens of Burlington and the youth of the surrounding country for its 'training,' as is the first Wednesday of August for its annual Commencement. The Faculty always smile propitiously, and in the afternoon the performance commences. The army, or more euphoniously the 'UNIVERSITY INVINCIBLES,' take up 'their line of march' from the College campus, and proceed through all the principal streets to the great square, where, in the presence of an immense audience, a speech is delivered by the Commander-in-chief, and a sermon by the Chaplain, the roll is called, and the annual health report is read by the surgeon. These productions are noted for their patriotism and fervid eloquence rather than high literary merit. Formerly the music to which they marched consisted solely of the good old-fashioned drum and fife; but of late years the Invincibles have added to these a brass band, composed of as many obsolete instruments as can be procured, in the hands of inexperienced performers. None who have ever handled a musical instrument before are allowed to become members of the band, lest the music should be too sweet and regular to comport with the general order of the parade. The uniform (or rather the multiform) of the company varies from year to year, owing to the regulation that each soldier shall consult his own taste,—provided that no two are to have the same taste in their equipments. The artillery consists of divers joints of rusty stove-pipe, in each of which is inserted a toy cannon of about one quarter of an inch calibre, mounted on an old dray, and drawn by as many horse-apologies as can be conveniently attached to it. When these guns are discharged, the effect—as might be expected—is terrific. The banners, built of cotton sheeting and mounted on a rake-handle, although they do not always exhibit great artistic genius, often display vast originality of design. For instance, one contained on the face a diagram (done in ink with the wrong end of a quill) of the pons asinorum, with the rather belligerent inscription, 'REMEMBER NAPOLEON AT LODI.' On the reverse was the head of an extremely doubtful-looking individual viewing 'his natural face in a glass.' Inscription,—'O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursel's as others see us.'

"The surgeon's equipment is an ox-cart containing jars of drugs (most of them marked 'N.E.R.' and 'O.B.J.'), boxes of homoeopathic pills (about the size of a child's head), immense saws and knives, skeletons of animals, &c.; over which preside the surgeon and his assistant in appropriate dresses, with tin spectacles. This surgeon is generally the chief feature of the parade, and his reports are astonishing additions to the surgical lore of our country. He is the wit of the College,—the one who above all others is celebrated for the loudest laugh, the deepest bumper, the best joke, and the poorest song. How well he sustains his reputation may be known by listening to his annual reading, or by reference to the reports of 'Trotwood,' 'Gubbins,' or 'Deppity Sawbones,' who at different times have immortalized themselves by their contributions to science. The cavalcade is preceded by the 'pioneers,' who clear the way for the advancing troops; which is generally effected by the panic among the boys, occasioned by the savage aspect of the pioneers,—their faces being hideously painted, and their dress consisting of gleanings from every costume, Christian, Pagan, and Turkish, known among men. As the body passes through the different streets, the martial men receive sundry testimonials of regard and approval in the shape of boquets and wreaths from the fair 'Peruvians,' who of course bestow them on those who, in their opinion, have best succeeded in the object of the day,—uncouth appearance. After the ceremonies, the students quietly congregate in some room in college to count these favors and to ascertain who is to be considered the hero of the day, as having rendered himself pre-eminently ridiculous. This honor generally falls to the lot of the surgeon. As the sun sinks behind the Adirondacs over the lake, the parade ends; the many lookers-on having nothing to see but the bright visions of the next year's training, retire to their homes; while the now weary students, gathered in knots in the windows of the upper stories, lazily and comfortably puff their black pipes, and watch the lessening forms of the retreating countrymen."

Further to elucidate the peculiarities of the June Training, the annexed account of the custom, as it was observed on the first Wednesday in June of the current year, is here inserted, taken from the "Daily Free Press," published at Burlington, June 8th, 1855.

"The annual parade of the principal military body in Vermont is an event of importance. The first Wednesday in June, the day assigned to it, is becoming the great day of the year in Burlington. Already it rivals, if it does not exceed, Commencement day in glory and honor. The people crowd in from the adjoining towns, the steamboats bring numbers from across the lake, and the inhabitants of the town turn out in full force. The yearly recurrence of such scenes shows the fondness of the people for a hearty laugh, and the general acceptableness of the entertainment provided.

"The day of the parade this year was a very favorable one,—without dust, and neither too hot nor too cold for comfort The performances properly—or rather _im_properly—commenced in the small hours of the night previous by the discharge of a cannon in front of the college buildings, which, as the cannon was stupidly or wantonly pointed towards the college buildings, blew in several hundred panes of glass. We have not heard that anybody laughed at this piece of heavy wit.

"At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Invincibles took up their line of march, with scream of fife and roll of drum, down Pearl Street to the Square, where the flying artillery discharged a grand national salute of one gun; thence to the Exchange, where a halt was made and a refreshment of water partaken of by the company, and then to the Square in front of the American, where they were duly paraded, reviewed, exhorted, and reported upon, in presence of two or three thousand people.

"The scene presented was worth seeing. The windows of the American and Wheeler's Block had all been taken out, and were filled with bright female faces; the roofs of the same buildings were lined with spectators, and the top of the portico of the American was a condensed mass of loveliness and bright colors. The Town Hall windows, steps, doors, &c. were also filled. Every good look-out anywhere near the spot was occupied, and a dense mass of by-standers and lookers-on in carriages crowded the southern part of the Square.

"Of the cortege itself, the pencil of a Hogarth only could give an adequate idea. The valorous Colonel Brick was of course the centre of all eyes. He was fitly supported by his two aids. The three were in elegant uniforms, were handsomely mounted, rode well and with gallant bearing, and presented a particularly attractive appearance.

"Behind them appeared a scarlet robe, surmounted by a white wig of Brobdinagian dimensions and spectacles to match, which it is supposed contained in the interior the physical system of the Reverendissimus Boanerges Diogenes Lanternarius, Chaplain, the whole mounted upon the vertebræ of a solemn-looking donkey.

"The representative of the Church Militant was properly backed up by the Flying Artillery. Their banner announced that they were 'for the reduction of Sebastopol,' and it is safe to say that they will certainly take that fortress, if they get a chance. If the Russians hold out against those four ghostly steeds, tandem, with their bandy-legged and kettle-stomached riders,—that gun, so strikingly like a joint of old stove-pipe in its exterior, but which upon occasion could vomit forth your real smoke and sound and smell of unmistakable brimstone,—and those slashed and blood-stained artillerymen,—they will do more than anybody did on Wednesday.

"The T.L.N. Horn-et Band, with Sackbut, Psaltery, Dulcimer, and Shawm, Tanglang, Locofodeon, and Hugag, marched next. They reserved their efforts for special occasions, when they woke the echoes with strains of altogether unearthly music, composed for them expressly by Saufylur, the eminent self-taught New Zealand composer.

"Barnum's Baby-Show, on four wheels, in charge of the great showman himself, aided by that experienced nurse, Mrs. Gamp, in somewhat dilapidated attire, followed. The babies, from a span long to an indefinite length, of all shapes and sizes, black, white, and snuff-colored, twins, triplets, quartettes, and quincunxes, in calico and sackcloth, and in a state of nature, filled the vehicle, and were hung about it by the leg or neck or middle. A half-starved quadruped of osseous and slightly equine appearance drew the concern, and the shrieking axles drowned the cries of the innocents.

"Mr. Joseph Hiss and Mrs. Patterson of Massachusetts were not absent. Joseph's rubicund complexion, brassy and distinctly Know-Nothing look, and nasal organ well developed by his experience on the olfactory committee, were just what might have been expected. The 'make up' of Mrs. P., a bright brunette, was capital, and she looked the woman, if not the lady, to perfection. The two appeared in a handsome livery buggy, paid for, we suppose, by the State of Massachusetts.

"A wagon-load of two or three tattered and desperate looking individuals, labelled 'Recruits for the Crimea,' with a generous supply of old iron and brick-bats as material of war, was dragged along by the frame and most of the skin of what was once a horse.

"Towards the rear, but by no means least in consequence or in the amount of attention attracted, was the army hospital, drawn by two staid and well-fed oxen. In front appeared the snowy locks and 'fair round belly, with good cotton lined' of the worthy Dr. Esculapius Liverwort Tarand Cantchuget-urlegawa Opodeldoc, while by his side his assistant sawbones brayed in a huge iron mortar, with a weighty pestle, much noise, and indefatigable zeal, the drugs and dye-stuffs. Thigh-bones, shoulder-blades, vertebræ, and even skulls, hanging round the establishment, testified to the numerous and successful amputations performed by the skilful surgeon.

"Noticeable among the cavalry were Don Quixote de la U.V.M., Knight of the patent-leather gaiters, terrible in his bright rectangular cuirass of tin (once a tea-chest), and his glittering harpoon; his doughty squire, Sancho Panza; and a dashing young lady, whose tasteful riding-dress of black cambric, wealth of embroidered skirts and undersleeves, and bold riding, took not a little attention.

"Of the rank and file on foot it is useless to attempt a description. Beards of awful size, moustaches of every shade and length under a foot, phizzes of all colors and contortions, four-story hats with sky-scraping feathers, costumes ring-streaked, speckled, monstrous, and incredible, made up the motley crew. There was a Northern emigrant just returned from Kansas, with garments torn and water-soaked, and but half cleaned of the adhesive tar and feathers, watched closely by a burly Missourian, with any quantity of hair and fire-arms and bowie-knives. There were Rev. Antoinette Brown, and Neal Dow; there was a darky whose banner proclaimed his faith in Stowe and Seward and Parker, an aboriginal from the prairies, an ancient minstrel with a modern fiddle, and a modern minstrel with an ancient hurdy- gurdy. All these and more. Each man was a study in himself, and to all, Falstaff's description of his recruits would apply:—

"'My whole charge consists of corporals, lieutenants, gentlemen of companies, slaves as ragged as Lazarus in the painted cloth, where the glutton's dogs licked his sores; the cankers of a calm world and a long peace; ten times more dishonorable ragged than an old-faced ancient: and such have I, that you would think I had a hundred and fifty tattered prodigals lately come from swine-keeping, from eating draff and husks. A mad fellow met me on the way and told me I had unloaded all the gibbets and pressed the dead bodies. No eye hath seen such scarecrows.'

"The proceedings on the review were exciting. After the calling of the roll, the idol of his regiment, Col. Martin Van Buren Brick, discharged an eloquent and touching speech.

"From the report of Dr. Opodeldoc, which was thirty-six feet in length, we can of course give but a few extracts. He commenced by informing the Invincibles that his cures the year past had been more astounding than ever, and that his fame would continue to grow brighter and brighter, until eclipsed by the advent of some younger Dr. Esculapius Liverwort Tar Cant-ye-get-your-leg-away Opodeldoc, who in after years would shoot up like a meteor and reproduce his father's greatness; and went on as follows:—

"'The first academic that appeared after the last report was the desideratum graduatere, or graduating fever. Twenty-seven were taken down. Symptoms, morality in the head,—dignity in the walk, —hints about graduating,—remarkable tendency to swell,—literary movement of the superior and inferior maxillary bones, &c., &c. Strictures on bleeding were first applied; then treating homoeopathically similis similibus, applied roots extracted, roots Latin and Greek, infinitesimal extracts of calculus, mathematical formulas, psychological inductions, &c., &c. No avail. Finally applied huge sheep-skin plasters under the axilla, with a composition of printers' ink, paste, paper, ribbons, and writing-ink besmeared thereon, and all were despatched in one short day.

"'Sophomore Exhibition furnished many cases. One man hit by a Soph-bug, drove eye down into stomach, carrying with it brains and all inside of the head. In order to draw them back to their proper place, your Surgeon caused a leaf from Barnum's Autobiography to be placed on patient's head, thinking that to contain more true, genuine suction than anything yet discovered.

* * * * *

"'Nebraska cancers have appeared in our ranks, especially in Missouri division. Surgeon recommends 385 eighty-pounders be loaded to the muzzle, first with blank cartridges,—to wit, Frank Pierce and Stephen A. Douglas, Free-Soil sermons, Fern Leaves, Hot Corn, together with all the fancy literature of the day,—and cause the same to be fired upon the disputed territory; this would cause all the breakings out to be removed, and drive off everybody.'

"The close of the report was as follows. It affected many even to tears.

"'May you all remember your Surgeon, and may your thoracic duck ever continue to sail peacefully down the common carrotted arteries, under the keystone of the arch of the aorta, and not rush madly into the abominable cavity and eclipse the semi-lunar dandelions, nor, still worse, play the dickens with the pneumogastric nerve and auxiliary artery, reverse the doododen, upset the flamingo, irritate the high-old-glossus, and be for ever lost in the receptaculum chyli. No, no, but, &c. Yours feelingly,

'Dr. E.L.T.C.O., M.D.'

"Dr. O., we notice, has added a new branch, that of dentistry, to his former accomplishments. By his new system, his customers are not obliged to undergo the pain of the operations in person, but, by merely sending their heads to him, can have everything done with a great decrease of trouble. From a calf's head thus sent in, the Doctor, after cutting the gums with a hay-cutter, and filing between the teeth with a wood-saw, skilfully extracted with a pair of blacksmith tongs a very great number of molars and incisors.

"Miss Lucy Amazonia Crura Longa Lignea, thirteen feet high, and Mr. Rattleshanks Don Skyphax, a swain a foot taller, advanced from the ranks, and were made one by the chaplain. The bride promised to own the groom, but protested formally against his custody of her person, property, and progeny. The groom pledged himself to mend the unmentionables of his spouse, or to resign his own when required to rock the cradle, and spank the babies. He placed no ring upon her finger, but instead transferred his whiskers to her face, when the chaplain pronounced them 'wife and man,' and the happy pair stalked off, their heads on a level with the second-story windows.

"Music from the Keeseville Band who were present followed; the flying artillery fired another salute; the fife and drums struck up; and the Invincibles took their winding way to the University, where they were disbanded in good season."

JUNIOR. One in the third year of his collegiate course in an
American college, formerly called JUNIOR SOPHISTER.

See SOPHISTER.

2. One in the first year of his course at a theological seminary. —Webster.

JUNIOR. Noting the third year of the collegiate course in American colleges, or the first year in the theological seminaries.—Webster.

JUNIOR APPOINTMENTS. At Yale College, there appears yearly, in the papers conducted by the students, a burlesque imitation of the regular appointments of the Junior exhibition. These mock appointments are generally of a satirical nature, referring to peculiarities of habits, character, or manners. The following, taken from some of the Yale newspapers, may be considered as specimens of the subjects usually assigned. Philosophical Oration, given to one distinguished for a certain peculiarity, subject, "The Advantage of a Great Breadth of Base." Latin Oration, to a vain person, subject, "Amor Sui." Dissertations: to a meddling person, subject, "The Busybody"; to a poor punster, subject, "Diseased Razors"; to a poor scholar, subject, "Flunk on,—flunk ever." Colloquy, to a joker whose wit was not estimated, subject, "Unappreciated Facetiousness." When a play upon names is attempted, the subject "Perfect Looseness" is assigned to Mr. Slack; Mr. Barnes discourses upon "Stability of character, or pull down and build greater"; Mr. Todd treats upon "The Student's Manual," and incentives to action are presented, based on the line "Lives of great men all remind us," by students who rejoice in the Christian names, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Charles James Fox, and Henry Clay.

See MOCK PART.

JUNIOR BACHELOR. One who is in his first year after taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

No Junior Bachelor shall continue in the College after the commencement in the Summer vacation.—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 19.

JUNIOR FELLOW. At Oxford, one who stands upon the foundation of the college to which he belongs, and is an aspirant for academic emoluments.—De Quincey.

2. At Trinity College, Hartford, a Junior Fellow is one chosen by the House of Convocation to be a member of the examining committee for three years. Junior Fellows must have attained the M.A. degree, and can only be voted for by Masters in Arts. Six Junior Fellows are elected every three years.

JUNIOR FRESHMAN. The name of the first of the four classes into which undergraduates are divided at Trinity College, Dublin.

JUNIOR OPTIME. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who occupy the third rank in honors, at the close of the final examination in the Senate-House, are called Junior Optimes.

The third class, or that of Junior Optimes, is usually about at numerous as the first [that of the Wranglers], but its limits are more extensive, varying from twenty-five to sixty. A majority of the Classical men are in it; the rest of its contents are those who have broken down before the examination from ill-health or laziness, and choose the Junior Optime as an easier pass degree under their circumstances than the Poll, and those who break down in the examination; among these last may be sometimes found an expectant Wrangler.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d p. 228.

The word is frequently abbreviated.

Two years ago he got up enough of his low subjects to go on among the Junior Ops.—Ibid., p. 53.

There are only two mathematical papers, and these consist almost entirely of high questions; what a Junior Op. or low Senior Op. can do in them amounts to nothing.—Ibid., p. 286.

JUNIOR SOPHISTER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a student in the second year of his residence is called Junior Soph or Sophister.

2. In some American colleges, a member of the Junior Class, i.e. of the third year, was formerly designated a Junior Sophister.

See SOPHISTER.

K.

KEEP. To lodge, live, dwell, or inhabit. To keep in such a place, is to have rooms there. This word, though formerly used extensively, is now confined to colleges and universities.

Inquire of anybody you meet in the court of a college at Cambridge your way to Mr. A——'s room, you will be told that he keeps on such a staircase, up so many pair of stairs, door to the right or left.—Forby's Vocabulary, Vol. II. p. 178.

He said I ought to have asked for his rooms, or inquired where he kept.—Gent. Mag., 1795, p. 118.

Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary, cites this very apposite passage from Shakespeare: "Knock at the study where they say he keeps." Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, says of the word: "This is noted as an Americanism in the Monthly Anthology, Vol. V. p. 428. It is less used now than formerly."

To keep an act, in the English universities, "to perform an exercise in the public schools preparatory to the proceeding in degrees." The phrase was formerly in use in Harvard College. In an account in the Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 245, entitled New England's First Fruits, is the following in reference to that institution: "The students of the first classis that have beene these foure yeeres trained up in University learning, and are approved for their manners, as they have kept their publick Acts in former yeeres, ourselves being present at them; so have they lately kept two solemn Acts for their Commencement."

To keep chapel, in colleges, to attend Divine services, which are there performed daily.

"As you have failed to make up your number of chapels the last two weeks," such are the very words of the Dean, "you will, if you please, keep every chapel till the end of the term."—Household Words, Vol. II. p. 161.

To keep a term, in universities, is to reside during a term.—Webster.

KEYS. Caius, the name of one of the colleges in the University of
Cambridge, Eng., is familiarly pronounced Keys.

KINGSMAN. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of King's
College.

He came out the winner, with the Kingsman and one of our three close at his heels.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 127.

KITCHEN-HATCH. A half-door between the kitchen and the hall in colleges and old mansions. At Harvard College, the students in former times received at the kitchen-hatch their food for the evening meal, which they were allowed to eat in the yard or at their rooms. At the same place the waiters also took the food which they carried to the tables.

The waiters when the bell rings at meal-time shall take the victuals at the kitchen-hatch, and carry the Same to the several tables for which they are designed.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 41.

See BUTTERY-HATCH.

KNOCK IN. A phrase used at Oxford, and thus explained in the Collegian's Guide: "Knocking in late, or coming into college after eleven or twelve o'clock, is punished frequently with being 'confined to gates,' or being forbidden to 'knock in' or come in after nine o'clock for a week or more, sometimes all the term."—p. 161.

KNOCKS. From KNUCKLES. At some of the Southern colleges, a game at marbles called Knucks is a common diversion among the students.

[Greek: Kudos]. Greek; literally, glory, fame. Used among students, with the meaning credit, reputation.

I was actuated not merely by a desire after the promotion of my own [Greek: kudos], but by an honest wish to represent my country well.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 27, 28.

L.

LANDSMANNSCHAFT. German. The name of an association of students in
German universities.

LAP-EAR. At Washington College, Penn., students of a religious character are called lap-ears or donkeys. The opposite class are known by the common name of bloods.

LATIN SPOKEN AT COLLEGES. At our older American colleges, students were formerly required to be able to speak and write Latin before admission, and to continue the use of it after they had become members. In his History of Harvard University, Quincy remarks on this subject:—

"At a period when Latin was the common instrument of communication among the learned, and the official language of statesmen, great attention was naturally paid to this branch of education. Accordingly, 'to speak true Latin, both in prose and verse,' was made an essential requisite for admission. Among the 'Laws and Liberties' of the College we also find the following: 'The scholars shall never use their mother tongue, except that, in public exercises of oratory or such like, they be called to make them in English.' This law appears upon the records of the College in the Latin as well as in the English language. The terms in the former are indeed less restrictive and more practical: 'Scholares vernaculâ linguâ, intra Collegii limites, nullo pretextu utentur.' There is reason to believe that those educated at the College, and destined for the learned professions, acquired an adequate acquaintance with the Latin, and those destined to become divines, with the Greek and Hebrew. In other respects, although the sphere of instruction was limited, it was sufficient for the age and country, and amply supplied all their purposes and wants." —Vol. I. pp. 193, 194.

By the laws of 1734, the undergraduates were required to "declaim publicly in the hall, in one of the three learned languages; and in no other without leave or direction from the President." The observance of this rule seems to have been first laid aside, when, "at an Overseers' meeting at the College, April 27th, 1756, John Vassall, Jonathan Allen, Tristram Gilman, Thomas Toppan, Edward Walker, Samuel Barrett, presented themselves before the Board, and pronounced, in the respective characters assigned them, a dialogue in the English tongue, translated from Castalio, and then withdrew,"—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 240.

The first English Oration was spoken by Mr. Jedediah Huntington in the year 1763, and the first English Poem by Mr. John Davis in 1781.

In reference to this subject, as connected with Yale College,
President Wholsey remarks, in his Historical Discourse:—

"With regard to practice in the learned languages, particularly the Latin, it is prescribed that 'no scholar shall use the English tongue in the College with his fellow-scholars, unless he be called to a public exercise proper to be attended in the English tongue, but scholars in their chambers, and when they are together, shall talk Latin.'"—p. 59.

"The fluent use of Latin was acquired by the great body of the students; nay, certain phrases were caught up by the very cooks in the kitchen. Yet it cannot be said that elegant Latin was either spoken or written. There was not, it would appear, much practice in writing this language, except on the part of those who were candidates for Berkeleian prizes. And the extant specimens of Latin discourses written by the officers of the College in the past century are not eminently Ciceronian in their style. The speaking of Latin, which was kept up as the College dialect in rendering excuses for absences, in syllogistic disputes, and in much of the intercourse between the officers and students, became nearly extinct about the time of Dr. Dwight's accession. And at the same period syllogistic disputes as distinguished from forensic seem to have entirely ceased."—p. 62.

The following story is from the Sketches of Yale College. "In former times, the students were accustomed to assemble together to render excuses for absence in Latin. One of the Presidents was in the habit of answering to almost every excuse presented, 'Ratio non sufficit' (The reason is not sufficient). On one occasion, a young man who had died a short time previous was called upon for an excuse. Some one answered, 'Mortuus est' (He is dead). 'Ratio non sufficit,' repeated the grave President, to the infinite merriment of his auditors."—p. 182.

The story is current of one of the old Presidents of Harvard College, that, wishing to have a dog that had strayed in at evening prayers driven out of the Chapel, he exclaimed, half in Latin and half in English, "Exclude canem, et shut the door." It is also related that a Freshman who had been shut up in the buttery by some Sophomores, and had on that account been absent from a recitation, when called upon with a number of others to render an excuse, not knowing how to express his ideas in Latin, replied in as learned a manner as possible, hoping that his answer would pass as Latin, "Shut m' up in t' Buttery."

A very pleasant story, entitled "The Tutor's Ghost," in which are narrated the misfortunes which befell a tutor in the olden time, on account of his inability to remember the Latin for the word "beans," while engaged in conversation, may be found in the "Yale Literary Magazine," Vol. XX. pp. 190-195.

See NON PARAVI and NON VALUI.

LAUREATE. To honor with a degree in the university, and a present of a wreath of laurel.—Warton.

LAUREATION. The act of conferring a degree in the university, together with a wreath of laurel; an honor bestowed on those who excelled in writing verse. This was an ancient practice at Oxford, from which, probably, originated the denomination of poet laureate.—Warton.

The laurel crown, according to Brande, "was customarily given at the universities in the Middle Ages to such persons as took degrees in grammar and rhetoric, of which poetry formed a branch; whence, according to some authors, the term Baccalaureatus has been derived. The academical custom of bestowing the laurel, and the court custom, were distinct, until the former was abolished. The last instance in which the laurel was bestowed in the universities, was in the reign of Henry the Eighth."

LAWS. In early times, the laws in the oldest colleges in the United States were as often in Latin as in English. They were usually in manuscript, and the students were required to make copies for themselves on entering college. The Rev. Henry Dunster, who was the first President of Harvard College, formed the first code of laws for the College. They were styled, "The Laws, Liberties, and Orders of Harvard College, confirmed by the Overseers and President of the College in the years 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, and 1646, and published to the scholars for the perpetual preservation of their welfare and government." Referring to him, Quincy says: "Under his administration, the first code of laws was formed; rules of admission, and the principles on which degrees should be granted, were established; and scholastic forms, similar to those customary in the English universities, were adopted; many of which continue, with little variation, to be used at the present time."—Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 15.

In 1732, the laws were revised, and it was voted that they should all be in Latin, and that each student should have a copy, which he was to write out for himself and subscribe. In 1790, they were again revised and printed in English, since which time many editions have been issued.

Of the laws of Yale College, President Woolsey gives the following account, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of that institution, Aug. 14, 1850:—

"In the very first year of the legal existence of the College, we find the Trustees ordaining, that, 'until they should provide further, the Rector or Tutors should make use of the orders and institutions of Harvard College, for the instructing and ruling of the collegiate school, so far as they should judge them suitable, and wherein the Trustees had not at that meeting made provision.' The regulations then made by the Trustees went no further than to provide for the religious education of the College, and to give to the College officers the power of imposing extraordinary school exercises or degradation in the class. The earliest known laws of the College belong to the years 1720 and 1726, and are in manuscript; which is explained by the custom that every Freshman, on his admission, was required to write off a copy of them for himself, to which the admittatur of the officers was subscribed. In the year 1745 a new revision of the laws was completed, which exists in manuscript; but the first printed code was in Latin, and issued from the press of T. Green at New London, in 1748. Various editions, with sundry changes in them, appeared between that time and the year 1774, when the first edition in English saw the light.

"It is said of this edition, that it was printed by particular order of the Legislature. That honorable body, being importuned to extend aid to the College, not long after the time when President Clap's measures had excited no inconsiderable ill-will, demanded to see the laws; and accordingly a bundle of the Latin laws—the only ones in existence—were sent over to the State-House. Not admiring legislation in a dead language, and being desirous to pry into the mysteries which it sealed up from some of the members, they ordered the code to be translated. From that time the numberless editions of the laws have all been in the English tongue."—pp. 45, 46.

The College of William and Mary, which was founded in 1693, imitated in its laws and customs the English universities, but especially the University of Oxford. The other colleges which were founded before the Revolution, viz. New Jersey College, Columbia College, Pennsylvania University, Brown University, Dartmouth, and Rutgers College, "generally imitated Harvard in the order of classes, the course of studies, the use of text-books, and the manner of instruction."—Am. Quart. Reg., Vol. XV. 1843, p. 426.

The colleges which were founded after the Revolution compiled their laws, in a great measure, from those of the above-named colleges.

LEATHER MEDAL. At Harvard College, the leather Medal was formerly bestowed upon the laziest fellow in College. He was to be last at recitation, last at commons, seldom at morning prayers, and always asleep in church.

LECTURE. A discourse read, as the derivation of the word implies, by a professor to his pupils; more generally, it is applied to every species of instruction communicated vivâ voce. —Brande.

In American colleges, lectures form a part of the collegiate instruction, especially during the last two years, in the latter part of which, in some colleges, they divide the time nearly equally with recitations.

2. A rehearsal of a lesson.—Eng. Univ.

Of this word, De Quincey says: "But what is the meaning of a lecture in Oxford and elsewhere? Elsewhere, it means a solemn dissertation, read, or sometimes histrionically declaimed, by the professor. In Oxford, it means an exercise performed orally by the students, occasionally assisted by the tutor, and subject, in its whole course, to his corrections, and what may be called his scholia, or collateral suggestions and improvements."—Life and Manners, p. 253.

LECTURER. At the University of Cambridge, England, the lecturers assist in tuition, and especially attend to the exercises of the students in Greek and Latin composition, themes, declamations, verses, &c.—Cam. Guide.

LEM. At Williams College, a privy.

Night had thrown its mantle over earth. Sol had gone to lay his weary head in the lap of Thetis, as friend Hudibras has it; The horned moon, and the sweet pale stars, were looking serenely! upon the darkened earth, when the denizens of this little village were disturbed by the cry of fire. The engines would have been rattling through the streets with considerable alacrity, if the fathers of the town had not neglected to provide them; but the energetic citizens were soon on hand. There was much difficulty in finding where the fire was, and heads and feet were turned in various directions, till at length some wight of superior optical powers discovered a faint, ruddy light in the rear of West College. It was an ancient building,—a time-honored structure,—an edifice erected by our forefathers, and by them christened LEMUEL, which in the vernacular tongue is called Lem "for short." The dimensions of the edifice were about 120 by 62 inches. The loss is almost irreparable, estimated at not less than 2,000 pounds, avoirdupois. May it rise like a Phoenix from its ashes!—Williams Monthly Miscellany, 1845, Vol. I. p. 464, 465.

LETTER HOME. A writer in the American Literary Magazine thus explains and remarks upon the custom of punishing students by sending a letter to their parents:—"In some institutions, there is what is called the 'letter home,'—which, however, in justice to professors and tutors in general, we ought to say, is a punishment inflicted upon parents for sending their sons to college, rather than upon delinquent students. A certain number of absences from matins or vespers, or from recitations, entitles the culprit to a heartrending epistle, addressed, not to himself, but to his anxious father or guardian at home. The document is always conceived in a spirit of severity, in order to make it likely to take effect. It is meant to be impressive, less by the heinousness of the offence upon which it is predicated, than by the pregnant terms in which it is couched. It often creates a misery and anxiety far away from the place wherein it is indited, not because it is understood, but because it is misunderstood and exaggerated by the recipient. While the student considers it a farcical proceeding, it is a leaf of tragedy to fathers and mothers. Then the thing is explained. The offence is sifted. The father finds out that less than a dozen morning naps are all that is necessary to bring about this stupendous correspondence. The moral effect of the act of discipline is neutralized, and the parent is perhaps too glad, at finding his anxiety all but groundless, to denounce the puerile, infant-school system, which he has been made to comprehend by so painful a process."—Vol. IV. p. 402.

Avaunt, ye terrific dreams of "failures," "conditions," "letters home," and "admonitions."—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. III. p. 407.

The birch twig sprouts into—letters home and dismissions.—Ibid., Vol. XIII. p. 869.

But if they, capricious through long indulgence, did not choose to get up, what then? Why, absent marks and letters home.—Yale Banger, Oct. 22, 1847.

He thinks it very hard that the faculty write "letters home."—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

And threats of "Letters home, young man," Now cause us no alarm. Presentation Day Song, June 14, 1854.

LIBERTY TREE. At Harvard College, a tree which formerly stood between Massachusetts and Harvard Halls received, about the year 1760, the name of the Liberty Tree, on an occasion which is mentioned in Hutchinson's posthumous volume of the History of Massachusetts Bay. "The spirit of liberty," says he, "spread where it was not intended. The Undergraduates of Harvard College had been long used to make excuses for absence from prayers and college exercises; pretending detention at their chambers by their parents, or friends, who come to visit them. The tutors came into an agreement not to admit such excuses, unless the scholar came to the tutor, before prayers or college exercises, and obtained leave to be absent. This gave such offence, that the scholars met in a body, under and about a great tree, to which they gave the name of the tree of liberty! There they came into several resolves in favor of liberty; one of them, that the rule or order of the tutors was unconstitutional. The windows of some of the tutors were broken soon after, by persons unknown. Several of the scholars were suspected, and examined. One of them falsely reported that he had been confined without victuals or drink, in order to compel him to a confession; and another declared, that he had seen him under this confinement. This caused an attack upon the tutors, and brickbats were thrown into the room, where they had met together in the evening, through the windows. Three or four of the rioters were discovered and expelled. The three junior classes went to the President, and desired to give up their chambers, and to leave the college. The fourth class, which was to remain but about three months, and then to be admitted to their degrees, applied to the President for a recommendation to the college in Connecticut, that they might be admitted there. The Overseers of the College met on the occasion, and, by a vigorous exertion of the powers with which they were intrusted, strengthened the hands of the President and tutors, by confirming the expulsions, and declaring their resolution to support the subordinate government of the College; and the scholars were brought to a sense and acknowledgment of their fault, and a stop was put to the revolt."—Vol. III. p. 187.

Some years after, this tree was either blown or cut down, and the name was transferred to another. A few of the old inhabitants of Cambridge remember the stump of the former Liberty Tree, but all traces of it seem to have been removed before the year 1800. The present Liberty Tree stands between Holden Chapel and Harvard Hall, to the west of Hollis. As early as the year 1815 there were gatherings under its branches on Class Day, and it is probable that this was the case even at an earlier date. At present it is customary for the members of the Senior Class, at the close of the exercises incident to Class Day, (the day on which the members of that class finish their collegiate studies, and retire to make preparations for the ensuing Commencement,) after cheering the buildings, to encircle this tree, and, with hands joined, to sing their favorite ballad, "Auld Lang Syne." They then run and dance around it, and afterwards cheer their own class, the other classes, and many of the College professors. At parting, each takes a sprig or a flower from the beautiful wreath which is hung around the tree, and this is sacredly preserved as a last memento of the scenes and enjoyments of college life.

In the poem delivered before the Class of 1849, on their Class Day, occur the following beautiful stanzas in memory of departed classmates, in which reference is made to some of the customs mentioned above:—

 "They are listening now to our parting prayers;
    And the farewell song that we pour
  Their distant voices will echo
    From the far-off spirit shore;

 "And the wreath that we break with our scattered band,
    As it twines round the aged elm,—
  Its fragments we'll keep with a sacred hand,
    But the fragrance shall rise to them.

 "So to-day we will dance right merrily,
    An unbroken band, round the old elm-tree;
  And they shall not ask for a greener shrine
    Than the hearts of the class of '49."

Its grateful shade has in later times been used for purposes similar to those which Hutchinson records, as the accompanying lines will show, written in commemoration of the Rebellion of 1819.

 "Wreaths to the chiefs who our rights have defended;
    Hallowed and blessed be the Liberty Tree:
  Where Lenox[44] his pies 'neath its shelter hath vended,
    We Sophs have assembled, and sworn to be free."
    The Rebelliad, p. 54.

The poet imagines the spirits of the different trees in the College yard assembled under the Liberty Tree to utter their sorrows.

 "It was not many centuries since,
    When, gathered on the moonlit green,
  Beneath the Tree of Liberty,
    A ring of weeping sprites was seen."
    Meeting of the Dryads,[45] Holmes's Poems, p. 102.

It is sometimes called "the Farewell Tree," for obvious reasons.

 "Just fifty years ago, good friends,
        a young and gallant band
  Were dancing round the Farewell Tree,
        —each hand in comrade's hand."
    Song, at Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Class of 1798.

See CLASS DAY.

LICEAT MIGRARE. Latin; literally, let it be permitted him to remove.

At Oxford, a form of modified dismissal from College. This punishment "is usually the consequence of mental inefficiency rather than moral obliquity, and does not hinder the student so dismissed from entering at another college or at Cambridge."—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 224.

Same as LICET MIGRARI.

LICET MIGRARI. Latin; literally, it is permitted him to be removed. In the University of Cambridge, England, a permission to leave one's college. This differs from the Bene Discessit, for although you may leave with consent, it by no means follows in this case that you have the approbation of the Master and Fellows so to do.—Gradus ad Cantab.

LIKE A BRICK OR A BEAN, LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE, LIKE BRICKS. Among the students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., intensive phrases, to express the most energetic way of doing anything. "These phrases," observes Bristed, "are sometimes in very odd contexts. You hear men talk of a balloon going up like bricks, and rain coming down like a house on fire."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 24.

Still it was not in human nature for a classical man, living among classical men, and knowing that there were a dozen and more close to him reading away "like bricks," to be long entirely separated from his Greek and Latin books.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 218.

"Like bricks," is the commonest of their expressions, or used to be. There was an old landlady at Huntingdon who said she always charged Cambridge men twice as much as any one else. Then, "How do you know them?" asked somebody. "O sir, they always tell us to get the beer like bricks."—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 231.

LITERÆ HUMANIORES. Latin; freely, the humanities; classical literature. At Oxford "the Literæ Humaniores now include Latin and Greek Translation and Composition, Ancient History and Rhetoric, Political and Moral Philosophy, and Logic."—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 245.

See HUMANITY.

LITERARY CONTESTS. At Jefferson College, in Pennsylvania, "there is," says a correspondent, "an unusual interest taken in the two literary societies, and once a year a challenge is passed between them, to meet in an open literary contest upon an appointed evening, usually that preceding the close of the second session. The contestors are a Debater, an Orator, an Essayist, and a Declaimer, elected from each society by the majority, some time previous to their public appearance. An umpire and two associate judges, selected either by the societies or by the contestors themselves, preside over the performances, and award the honors to those whom they deem most worthy of them. The greatest excitement prevails upon this occasion, and an honor thus conferred is preferable to any given in the institution."

At Washington College, in Pennsylvania, the contest performances are conducted upon the same principle as at Jefferson.

LITTLE-GO. In the English universities, a cant name for a public examination about the middle of the course, which, being less strict and less important in its consequences than the final one, has received this appellation.—Lyell.

Whether a regular attendance on the lecture of the college would secure me a qualification against my first public examination; which is here called the Little-go.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 283.

Also called at Oxford Smalls, or Small-go.

You must be prepared with your list of books, your testamur for Responsions (by Undergraduates called "Little-go" or "Smalls"), and also your certificate of matriculation.—Collegian's Guide, p. 241.

See RESPONSION.

LL.B. An abbreviation for Legum Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Laws. In American colleges, this degree is conferred on students who fulfil the conditions of the statutes of the law school to which they belong. The law schools in the different colleges are regulated on this point by different rules, but in many the degree of LL.B. is given to a B.A. who has been a member of a law school for a year and a half.

See B.C.L.

LL.D. An abbreviation for Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws.

In American colleges, an honorary degree, conferred pro meritis on those who are distinguished as lawyers, statesmen, &c.

See D.C.L.

L.M. An abbreviation for the words Licentiate in Medicine. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an L.M. must be an M.A. or M.B. of two years' standing. No exercise, but examination by the Professor and another Doctor in the Faculty.

LOAF. At Princeton College, to borrow anything, whether returning it or not; usually in the latter sense.

LODGE. At the University of Cambridge, England, the technical name given to the house occupied by the master of a college.—Bristed.

When Undergraduates were invited to the conversaziones at the Lodge, they were expected never to sit down in the Master's presence.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 90.

LONG. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the long vacation, or, as it is more familiarly called, "The Long," commences according to statute in July, at the close of the Easter term, but practically early in June, and ends October 20th, at the beginning of the Michaelmas term.

For a month or six weeks in the "Long," they rambled off to see the sights of Paris.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 37.

In the vacations, particularly the Long, there is every facility for reading.—Ibid., p. 78.

So attractive is the Vacation-College-life that the great trouble of the Dons is to keep the men from staying up during the Long. —Ibid., p. 79.

Some were going on reading parties, some taking a holiday before settling down to their work in the "Long."—Ibid., p. 104.

See VACATION.

LONG-EAR. At Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, a student of a sober or religious character is denominated a long-ear. The opposite is short-ear.

LOTTERY. The method of obtaining money by lottery has at different times been adopted in several of our American colleges. In 1747, a new building being wanted at Yale College, the "Liberty of a Lottery" was obtained from the General Assembly, "by which," says Clap, "Five Hundred Pounds Sterling was raised, clear of all Charge and Deductions."—Hist. of Yale Coll., p. 55.

This sum defrayed one third of the expense of building what was then called Connecticut Hall, and is known now by the name of "the South Middle College."

In 1772, Harvard College being in an embarrassed condition, the Legislature granted it the benefit of a lottery; in 1794 this grant was renewed, and for the purpose of enabling the College to erect an additional building. The proceeds of the lottery amounted to $18,400, which, with $5,300 from the general funds of the College, were applied to the erection of Stoughton Hall, which was completed in 1805. In 1806 the Legislature again authorized a lottery, which enabled the Corporation in 1813 to erect a new building, called Holworthy Hall, at an expense of about $24,500, the lottery having produced about $29,000.—Quincy's Hist. of Harv. Univ., Vol. II. pp. 162, 273, 292.

LOUNGE. A treat, a comfort. A word introduced into the vocabulary of the English Cantabs, from Eton.—Bristed.

LOW. The term applied to the questions, subjects, papers, &c., pertaining to a LOW MAN.

The "low" questions were chiefly confined to the first day's papers.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 205.

The "low subjects," as got up to pass men among the Junior
Optimes, comprise, etc.—Ibid., p. 205.

The low papers were longer.—Ibid., p. 206.

LOWER HOUSE. See SENATE.

LOW MAN. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the name given to a
Junior Optime as compared with a Senior Optime or with a Wrangler.

I was fortunate enough to find a place in the team of a capital tutor,… who had but six pupils, all going out this time, and five of them "low men."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 204.

M.

M.A. An abbreviation of Magister Artium, Master of Arts. The second degree given by universities and colleges. Sometimes written A.M., which, is in accordance with the proper Latin arrangement.

In the English universities, every B.A. of three years' standing may proceed to this degree on payment of certain fees. In America, this degree is conferred, without examination, on Bachelors of three years' standing. At Harvard, this degree was formerly conferred only upon examination, as will be seen by the following extract. "Every schollar that giveth up in writing a System, or Synopsis, or summe of Logick, naturall and morall Philosophy, Arithmetick, Geometry and Astronomy: And is ready to defend his Theses or positions: Withall skilled in the originalls as above-said; And of godly life and conversation; And so approved by the Overseers and Master of the Colledge, at any publique Act, is fit to be dignified with his 2d degree."—New England's First Fruits, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 246.

Until the year 1792, it was customary for those who applied for the degree of M.A. to defend what were called Master's questions; after this time an oration was substituted in place of these, which continued until 1844, when for the first time there were no Master's exercises. The degree is now given to any graduate of three or more years' standing, on the payment of a certain sum of money.

The degree is also presented by special vote to individuals wholly unconnected with any college, but who are distinguished for their literary attainments. In this case, where the honor is given, no fee is required.

MAKE UP. To recite a lesson which was not recited with the class at the regular recitation. It is properly used as a transitive verb, but in conversation is very often used intransitively. The following passage explains the meaning of the phrase more fully.

A student may be permitted, on petition to the Faculty, to make up a recitation or other exercise from which he was absent and has been excused, provided his application to this effect be made within the term in-which the absence occurred.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 16.

… sleeping,—a luxury, however, which is sadly diminished by the anticipated necessity of making up back lessons.—Harv. Reg., p. 202.

MAN. An undergraduate in a university or college.

At Cambridge and eke at Oxford, every stripling is accounted a Man from the moment of his putting on the gown and cap.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 75.

Sweet are the slumbers, indeed, of a Freshman, who, just escaped the trammels of "home, sweet home," and the pedagogue's tyrannical birch, for the first time in his life, with the academical gown, assumes the toga virilis, and feels himself a Man.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 30.

In College all are "men" from the hirsute Senior to the tender Freshman who carries off a pound of candy and paper of raisins from the maternal domicile weekly.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 264.

MANCIPLE. Latin, manceps; manu capio, to take with the hand.

In the English universities, the person who purchases the provisions; the college victualler. The office is now obsolete.

  Our Manciple I lately met,
    Of visage wise and prudent.
    The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. I. p. 115.

MANDAMUS. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., a special mandate under the great seal, which enables a candidate to proceed to his degree before the regular period.—Grad. ad Cantab.

MANNERS. The outward observances of respect which were formerly required of the students by college officers seem very strange to us of the present time, and we cannot but notice the omissions which have been made in college laws during the present century in reference to this subject. Among the laws of Harvard College, passed in 1734, is one declaring, that "all scholars shall show due respect and honor in speech and behavior, as to their natural parents, so to magistrates, elders, the President and Fellows of the Corporation, and to all others concerned in the instruction or government of the College, and to all superiors, keeping due silence in their presence, and not disorderly gainsaying them; but showing all laudable expressions of honor and reverence that are in use; such as uncovering the head, rising up in their presence, and the like. And particularly undergraduates shall be uncovered in the College yard when any of the Overseers, the President or Fellows of the Corporation, or any other concerned in the government or instruction of the College, are therein, and Bachelors of Arts shall be uncovered when the President is there." This law was still further enforced by some of the regulations contained in a list of "The Ancient Customs of Harvard College." Those which refer particularly to this point are the following:—

"No Freshman shall wear his hat in the College yard, unless it rains, hails, or snows, provided he be on foot, and have not both hands full.

"No Undergraduate shall wear his hat in the College yard, when any of the Governors of the College are there; and no Bachelor shall wear his hat when the President is there.

"No Freshman shall speak to a Senior with his hat on; or have it on in a Senior's chamber, or in his own, if a Senior be there.

"All the Undergraduates shall treat those in the government of the College with respect and deference; particularly, they shall not be seated without leave in their presence; they shall be uncovered when they speak to them, or are spoken to by them."

Such were the laws of the last century, and their observance was enforced with the greatest strictness. After the Revolution, the spirit of the people had become more republican, and about the year 1796, "considering the spirit of the times and the extreme difficulty the executive must encounter in attempting to enforce the law prohibiting students from wearing hats in the College yard," a vote passed repealing it.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 278.

On this subject, Professor Sidney Willard, with reference to the time of the presidency of Joseph Willard at Harvard College, during the latter part of the last century, remarks: "Outward tokens of respect required to be paid to the immediate government, and particularly to the President, were attended with formalities that seemed to be somewhat excessive; such, for instance, as made it an offence for a student to wear his hat in the College yard, or enclosure, when the President was within it. This, indeed, in the fulness of the letter, gradually died out, and was compromised by the observance only when the student was so near, or in such a position, that he was likely to be recognized. Still, when the students assembled for morning and evening prayer, which was performed with great constancy by the President, they were careful to avoid a close proximity to the outer steps of the Chapel, until the President had reached and passed within the threshold. This was a point of decorum which it was pleasing to witness, and I never saw it violated."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, 1855, Vol. I. p. 132.

"In connection with the subject of discipline," says President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of Yale College, "we may aptly introduce that of the respect required by the officers of the College, and of the subordination which younger classes were to observe towards older. The germ, and perhaps the details, of this system of college manners, are to be referred back to the English universities. Thus the Oxford laws require that juniors shall show all due and befitting reverence to seniors, that is, Undergraduates to Bachelors, they to Masters, Masters to Doctors, as well in private as in public, by giving them the better place when they are together, by withdrawing out of their way when they meet, by uncovering the head at the proper distance, and by reverently saluting and addressing them."

After citing the law of Harvard College passed in 1734, which is given above, he remarks as follows. "Our laws of 1745 contain the same identical provisions. These regulations were not a dead letter, nor do they seem to have been more irksome than many other college restraints. They presupposed originally that the college rank of the individual towards whom respect is to be shown could be discovered at a distance by peculiarities of dress; the gown and the wig of the President could be seen far beyond the point where features and gait would cease to mark the person."—pp. 52, 53.

As an illustration of the severity with which the laws on this subject were enforced, it may not be inappropriate to insert the annexed account from the Sketches of Yale College:—"The servile requisition of making obeisance to the officers of College within a prescribed distance was common, not only to Yale, but to all kindred institutions throughout the United States. Some young men were found whose high spirit would not brook the degrading law imposed upon them without some opposition, which, however, was always ineffectual. The following anecdote, related by Hon. Ezekiel Bacon, in his Recollections of Fifty Years Since, although the scene of its occurrence was in another college, yet is thought proper to be inserted here, as a fair sample of the insubordination caused in every institution by an enactment so absurd and degrading. In order to escape from the requirements of striking his colors and doffing his chapeau when within the prescribed striking distance from the venerable President or the dignified tutors, young Ellsworth, who afterwards rose to the honorable rank of Chief Justice of the United States, and to many other elevated stations in this country, and who was then a student there, cut off entirely the brim portion of his hat, leaving of it nothing but the crown, which he wore in the form of a skull-cap on his head, putting it under his arm when he approached their reverences. Being reproved for his perversity, and told that this was not a hat within the meaning and intent of the law, which he was required to do his obeisance with by removing it from his head, he then made bold to wear his skull-cap into the Chapel and recitation-room, in presence of the authority. Being also then again reproved for wearing his hat in those forbidden and sacred places, he replied that he had once supposed that it was in truth a veritable hat, but having been informed by his superiors that it was no hat at all, he had ventured to come into their presence as he supposed with his head uncovered by that proscribed garment. But the dilemma was, as in his former position, decided against him; and no other alternative remained to him but to resume his full-brimmed beaver, and to comply literally with the enactments of the collegiate pandect."—pp. 179, 180.

MAN WHO IS JUST GOING OUT. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the popular name of a student who is in the last term of his collegiate course.

MARK. The figure given to denote the quality of a recitation. In most colleges, the merit of each performance is expressed by some number of a series, in which a certain fixed number indicates the highest value.

In Harvard College the highest mark is eight. Four is considered as the average, and a student not receiving this average in all the studies of a term is not allowed to remain as a member of college. At Yale the marks range from zero to four. Two is the average, and a student not receiving this is obliged to leave college, not to return until he can pass an examination in all the branches which his class has pursued.

In Harvard College, where the system of marks is most strictly followed, the merit of each individual is ascertained by adding together the term aggregates of each instructor, these "term aggregates being the sum of all the marks given during the term, for the current work of each month, and for omitted lessons made up by permission, and of the marks given for examination by the instructor and the examining committee at the close of the term." From the aggregate of these numbers deductions are made for delinquencies unexcused, and the result is the rank of the student, according to which his appointment (if he receives one) is given.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848.

  That's the way to stand in college,
  High in "marks" and want of knowledge!
    Childe Harvard, p. 154.

If he does not understand his lesson, he swallows it whole, without understanding it; his object being, not the lesson, but the "mark," which he is frequently at the President's office to inquire about.—A Letter to a Young Man who has Just entered College, 1849, p. 21.

I have spoken slightingly, too, of certain parts of college machinery, and particularly of the system of "marks." I do confess that I hold them in small reverence, reckoning them as rather belonging to a college in embryo than to one fully grown. I suppose it is "dangerous" advice; but I would be so intent upon my studies as not to inquire or think about my "marks."—Ibid. p. 36.

Then he makes mistakes in examinations also, and "loses marks." —Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 388.

MARKER. In the University of Cambridge, England, three or four persons called markers are employed to walk up and down chapel during a considerable part of the service, with lists of the names of the members in their hands; they an required to run a pin through the names of those present.

As to the method adopted by the markers, Bristed says: "The students, as they enter, are marked with pins on long alphabetical lists, by two college servants, who are so experienced and clever at their business that they never have to ask the name of a new-comer more than once."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 15.

  His name pricked off upon the marker's roll,
  No twinge of conscience racks his easy soul.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

MARSHAL. In the University of Oxford, an officer who is usually in attendance on one of the proctors.—Collegian's Guide.

MARSHAL'S TREAT. An account of the manner in which this observance, peculiar to Williams College, is annually kept, is given in the annexed passage from the columns of a newspaper.

"Another custom here is the Marshal's Treat. The two gentlemen who are elected to act as Marshals during Commencement week are expected to treat the class, and this year it was done in fine style. The Seniors assembled at about seven o'clock in their recitation-room, and, with Marshals Whiting and Taft at their head, marched down to a grove, rather more than half a mile from the Chapel, where tables had been set, and various luxuries provided for the occasion. The Philharmonia Musical Society discoursed sweet strains during the entertainment, and speeches, songs, and toasts were kept up till a late hour in the evening, when after giving cheers for the three lower classes, and three times three for '54, they marched back to the President's. A song written for the occasion was there performed, to which he replied in a few words, speaking of his attachment to the class, and his regret at the parting which must soon take place. The class then returned to East College, and after joining hands and singing Auld Lang Syne, separated."—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.

MASQUERADE. It was formerly the custom at Harvard College for the Tutors, on leaving their office, to invite their friends to a masquerade ball, which was held at some time during the vacation, usually in the rooms which they occupied in the College buildings. One of the most splendid entertainments of this kind was given by Mr. Kirkland, afterwards President of the College, in the year 1794. The same custom also prevailed to a certain extent among the students, and these balls were not wholly discontinued until the year 1811. After this period, members of societies would often appear in masquerade dresses in the streets, and would sometimes in this garb enter houses, with the occupants of which they were not acquainted, thereby causing much sport, and not unfrequently much mischief.

MASTER. The head of a college. This word is used in the English Universities, and was formerly in use in this country, in this sense.

The Master of the College, or "Head of the House," is a D.D., who has been a Fellow. He is the supreme ruler within the college Trails, and moves about like an Undergraduate's deity, keeping at an awful distance from the students, and not letting himself be seen too frequently even at chapel. Besides his fat salary and house, he enjoys many perquisites and privileges, not the least of which is that of committing matrimony.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 16.

Every schollar, that on proofe is found able to read the originals of the Old and New Testament into the Latine tongue, &c. and at any publick act hath the approbation of the Overseers and Master of the Colledge, is fit to be dignified with his first degree.—New England's First Fruits, in Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. pp. 245, 246.

2. A title of dignity in colleges and universities; as, Master of Arts.—Webster.

They, likewise, which peruse the questiones published by the Masters.—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. pp. 131, 132.

MASTER OF THE KITCHEN. In Harvard College, a person who formerly made all the contracts, and performed all the duties necessary for the providing of commons, under the direction of the Steward. He was required to be "discreet and capable."—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1814, p. 42.

MASTER'S QUESTION. A proposition advanced by a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts.

In the older American colleges it seems to have been the established custom, at a very early period, for those who proceeded Masters, to maintain in public questions or propositions on scientific or moral topics. Dr. Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, p. 132, referring to Harvard College, speaks of "the questiones published by the Masters," and remarks that they "now and then presume to fly as high as divinity." These questions were in Latin, and the discussions upon them were carried on in the same language. The earliest list of Masters' questions extant was published at Harvard College in the year 1655. It was entitled, "Quæstiones in Philosophia Discutiendæ … in comitiis per Inceptores in artib[us]." In 1669 the title was changed to "Quæstiones pro Modulo Discutiendæ … per Inceptores." The last Masters' questions were presented at the Commencement in 1789. The next year Masters' exercises were substituted, which usually consisted of an English Oration, a Poem, and a Valedictory Latin Oration, delivered by three out of the number of candidates for the second degree. A few years after, the Poem was omitted. The last Masters' exercises were performed in the year 1843. At Yale College, from 1787 onwards, there were no Masters' valedictories, nor syllogistic disputes in Latin, and in 1793 there were no Master's exercises at all.

MATHEMATICAL SLATE. At Harvard College, the best mathematician received in former times a large slate, which, on leaving college, he gave to the best mathematician in the next class, and thus transmitted it from class to class. The slate disappeared a few years since, and the custom is no longer observed.

MATRICULA. A roll or register, from matrix. In colleges the register or record which contains the names of the students, times of entering into college, remarks on their character, &c.

The remarks made in the Matricula of the College respecting those who entered the Freshman Class together with him are, of one, that he "in his third year went to Philadelphia College."—Hist. Sketch of Columbia College, p. 42.

Similar brief remarks are found throughout the Matricula of
King's College.—Ibid., p. 42.

We find in its Matricula the names of William Walton, &c.—Ibid., p. 64.

MATRICULATE. Latin, Matricula, a roll or register, from matrix. To enter or admit to membership in a body or society, particularly in a college or university, by enrolling the name in a register.—Wotton.

In July, 1778, he was examined at that university, and matriculated.—Works of R.T. Paine, Biography, p. xviii.

In 1787, he matriculated at St. John's College,
Cambridge.—Household Words, Vol. I. p. 210.

MATRICULATE. One enrolled in a register, and thus admitted to membership in a society.—Arbuthnot.

The number of Matriculates has in every instance been greater than that stated in the table.—Cat. Univ. of North Carolina, 1848-49.

MATRICULATION. The act of registering a name and admitting to membership.—Ayliffe.

In American colleges, students who are found qualified on examination to enter usually join the class to which they are admitted, on probation, and are matriculated as members of the college in full standing, either at the close of their first or second term. The time of probation seldom exceeds one year; and if at the end of this time, or of a shorter, as the case may be, the conduct of a student has not been such as is deemed satisfactory by the Faculty, his connection with the college ceases. As a punishment, the matriculation certificate of a student is sometimes taken from him, and during the time in which he is unmatriculated, he is under especial probation, and disobedience to college laws is then punished with more severity than at other times.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 12. Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 9.

MAUDLIN. The name by which Magdalen College, Cambridge, Eng., is always known and spoken of by Englishmen.

The "Maudlin Men" were at one time so famous for tea-drinking, that the Cam, which licks the very walls of the college, is said to have been absolutely rendered unnavigable with tea-leaves.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 202.

MAX. Abbreviated for maximum, greatest. At Union College, he who receives the highest possible number of marks, which is one hundred, in each study, for a term, is said to take Max (or maximum); to be a Max scholar. On the Merit Roll all the Maxs are clustered at the top.

A writer remarks jocosely of this word. It is "that indication of perfect scholarship to which none but Freshmen aspire, and which is never attained except by accident."—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

Probably not less than one third of all who enter each new class confidently expect to "mark max," during their whole course, and to have the Valedictory at Commencement.—Ibid.

See MERIT ROLL.

MAY. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the college Easter term examination is familiarly spoken of as the May.

The "May" is one of the features which distinguishes Cambridge from Oxford; at the latter there are no public College examinations.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 64.

As the "May" approached, I began to feel nervous.—Ibid., p. 70.

MAY TRAINING. A correspondent from Bowdoin College where the farcical custom of May Training is observed writes as follows in reference to its origin: "In 1836, a law passed the Legislature requiring students to perform military duty, and they were summoned to appear at muster equipped as the law directs, to be inspected and drilled with the common militia. Great excitement prevailed in consequence, but they finally concluded to train. At the appointed time and place, they made their appearance armed cap-à-pie for grotesque deeds, some on foot, some on horse, with banners and music appropriate, and altogether presenting as ludicrous a spectacle as could easily be conceived of. They paraded pretty much 'on their own hook,' threw the whole field into disorder by their evolutions, and were finally ordered off the ground by the commanding officer. They were never called upon again, but the day is still commemorated."

M.B. An abbreviation for Medicinæ Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Physic. At Cambridge, Eng., the candidate for this degree must have had his name five years on the boards of some college, have resided three years, and attended medical lectures and hospital practice during the other two; also have attended the lectures of the Professors of Anatomy, Chemistry, and Botany, and the Downing Professor of Medicine, and passed an examination to their satisfaction. At Oxford, Eng., the degree is given to an M.A. of one year's standing, who is also a regent of the same length of time. The exercises are disputations upon two distinct days before the Professors of the Faculty of Medicine. The degree was formerly given in American colleges before that of M.D., but has of late years been laid aside.

M.D. An abbreviation for Medicines Doctor, Doctor of Physic. At Cambridge, Eng., the candidate for this degree must be a Bachelor of Physic of five years' standing, must have attended hospital practice for three years, and passed an examination satisfactory to the Medical Professors of the University,

At Oxford, an M.D. must be an M.B. of three years' standing. The exercises are three distinct lectures, to be read on three different days. In American colleges the degree is usually given to those who have pursued their studies in a medical school for three years; but the regulations differ in different institutions.

MED, MEDIC. A name sometimes given to a student in medicine.

  —— who sent
  The Medic to our aid.
    The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 23.

 "The Council are among ye, Yale!"
  Some roaring Medic cries.
    Ibid., p. 24.

  The slain, the Medics stowed away.
    Ibid., p. 24.

    Seniors, Juniors, Freshmen blue,
  And Medics sing the anthem too.
    Yale Banger, Nov. 1850.

  Take …
  Sixteen interesting "Meds,"
  With dirty hands and towzeled heads.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 16.

MEDALIST. In universities, colleges, &c., one who has gained a medal as the reward of merit.—Ed. Rev. Gradus ad Cantab.

These Medalists then are the best scholars among the men who have taken a certain mathematical standing; but as out of the University these niceties of discrimination are apt to be dropped they usually pass at home for absolutely the first and second scholars of the year, and sometimes they are so.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 62.

MEDICAL FACULTY. Usually abbreviated Med. Fac. The Medical Faculty Society was established one evening after commons, in the year 1818, by four students of Harvard College, James F. Deering, Charles Butterfield, David P. Hall, and Joseph Palmer, members of the class of 1820. Like many other societies, it originated in sport, and, as in after history shows, was carried on in the same spirit. The young men above named happening to be assembled in Hollis Hall, No. 13, a proposition was started that Deering should deliver a mock lecture, which having been done, to the great amusement of the rest, he in his turn proposed that they should at some future time initiate members by solemn rites, in order that others might enjoy their edifying exercises. From this small beginning sprang the renowned Med. Fac. Society. Deering, a "fellow of infinite jest," was chosen its first President; he was much esteemed for his talents, but died early, the victim of melancholy madness.

The following entertaining account of the early history of this Society has been kindly furnished, in a letter to the editor, by a distinguished gentleman who was its President in the year 1820, and a graduate of the class of 1822.

"With regard to the Medical Faculty," he writes, "I suppose that you are aware that its object was mere fun. That object was pursued with great diligence during the earlier period of its history, and probably through its whole existence. I do not remember that it ever had a constitution, or any stated meetings, except the annual one for the choice of officers. Frequent meetings, however, were called by the President to carry out the object of the institution. They were held always in some student's room in the afternoon. The room was made as dark as possible, and brilliantly lighted. The Faculty sat round a long table, in some singular and antique costume, almost all in large wigs, and breeches with knee-buckles. This practice was adopted to make a strong impression on students who were invited in for examination. Members were always examined for admission. The strangest questions were asked by the venerable board, and often strange answers elicited,—no matter how remote from the purpose, provided there was wit or drollery. Sometimes a singularly slow person would be invited, on purpose to puzzle and tease him with questions that he could make nothing of; and he would stand in helpless imbecility, without being able to cover his retreat with even the faintest suspicion of a joke. He would then be gravely admonished of the necessity of diligent study, reminded of the anxiety of his parents on his account, and his duty to them, and at length a month or two would be allowed him to prepare himself for another examination, or he would be set aside altogether. But if he appeared again for another trial, he was sure to fare no better. He would be set aside at last. I remember an instance in which a member was expelled for a reason purely fictitious,—droll enough to be worth telling, if I could remember it,—and the secretary directed 'to write to his father, and break the matter gently to him, that it might not bring down the gray hairs of the old man with sorrow to the grave.'

"I have a pleasant recollection of the mock gravity, the broad humor, and often exquisite wit of those meetings, but it is impossible to give you any adequate idea of them. Burlesque lectures on all conceivable and inconceivable subjects were frequently read or improvised by members ad libitum. I remember something of a remarkable one from Dr. Alden, upon part of a skeleton of a superannuated horse, which he made to do duty for the remains of a great German Professor with an unspeakable name.

"Degrees were conferred upon all the members,—M.D. or D.M.[46] according to their rank, which is explained in the Catalogue. Honorary degrees were liberally conferred upon conspicuous persons at home and abroad. It is said that one gentleman, at the South, I believe, considered himself insulted by the honor, and complained of it to the College government, who forthwith broke up the Society. But this was long after my time, and I cannot answer for the truth of the tradition. Diplomas were given to the M.D.'s and D.M.'s in ludicrous Latin, with a great seal appended by a green ribbon. I have one, somewhere. My name is rendered Filius Steti."

A graduate of the class of 1828 writes: "I well remember that my invitation to attend the meeting of the Med. Fac. Soc. was written in barbarous Latin, commencing 'Domine Crux,' and I think I passed so good an examination that I was made Professor longis extremitatibus, or Professor with long shanks. It was a society for purposes of mere fun and burlesque, meeting secretly, and always foiling the government in their attempts to break it up."

The members of the Society were accustomed to array themselves in masquerade dresses, and in the evening would enter the houses of the inhabitants of Cambridge, unbidden, though not always unwelcome guests. This practice, however, and that of conferring degrees on public characters, brought the Society, as is above stated, into great disrepute with the College Faculty, by whom it was abolished in the year 1834.

The Catalogue of the Society was a burlesque on the Triennial of the College. The first was printed in the year 1821, the others followed in the years 1824, 1827, 1830, and 1833. The title on the cover of the Catalogue of 1833, the last issued, similar to the titles borne by the others, was, "Catalogus Senatus Facultatis, et eorum qui munera et officia gesserunt, quique alicujus gradus laurea donati sunt in Facultate Medicinæ in Universitate Harvardiana constituta, Cantabrigiæ in Republica Massachusettensi. Cantabrigiæ: Sumptibus Societatis. MDCCCXXXIII. Sanguinis circulationis post patefactionem Anno CCV."

The Prefaces to the Catalogues were written in Latin, the character of which might well be denominated piggish. In the following translations by an esteemed friend, the beauty and force of the originals are well preserved.

Preface to the Catalogue of 1824.

"To many, the first edition of the Medical Faculty Catalogue was a wonderful and extraordinary thing. Those who boasted that they could comprehend it, found themselves at length terribly and widely in error. Those who did not deny their inability to get the idea of it, were astonished and struck with amazement. To certain individuals, it seemed to possess somewhat of wit and humor, and these laughed immoderately; to others, the thing seemed so absurd and foolish, that they preserved a grave and serious countenance.

"Now, a new edition is necessary, in which it is proposed to state briefly in order the rise and progress of the Medical Faculty. It is an undoubted matter of history, that the Medical Faculty is the most ancient of all societies in the whole world. In fact, its archives contain documents and annals of the Society, written on birch-bark, which are so ancient that they cannot be read at all; and, moreover, other writings belong to the Society, legible it is true, but, by ill-luck, in the words of an unknown and long-buried language, and therefore unintelligible. Nearly all the documents of the Society have been reduced to ashes at some time amid the rolling years since the creation of man. On this account the Medical Faculty cannot pride itself on an uninterrupted series of records. But many oral traditions in regard to it have reached us from our ancestors, from which it may be inferred that this society formerly flourished under the name of the 'Society of Wits' (Societas Jocosorum); and you might often gain an idea of it from many shrewd remarks that have found their way to various parts of the world.

"The Society, after various changes, has at length been brought to its present form, and its present name has been given it. It is, by the way, worthy of note, that this name is of peculiar signification, the word 'medical' having the same force as 'sanative' (sanans), as far as relates to the mind, and not to the body, as in the vulgar signification. To be brief, the meaning of 'medical' is 'diverting' (divertens), that is, turning the mind from misery, evil, and grief. Under this interpretation, the Medical Faculty signifies neither more nor less than the 'Faculty of Recreation.' The thing proposed by the Society is, to divert its immediate and honorary members from unbecoming and foolish thoughts, and is twofold, namely, relating both to manners and to letters. Professors in the departments appropriated to letters read lectures; and the alumni, as the case requires, are sometimes publicly examined and questioned. The Library at present contains a single book, but this one is called for more and more every day. A collection of medical apparatus belongs to the Society, beyond doubt the most grand and extensive in the whole world, intended to sharpen the faculties of all the members.

"Honorary degrees have been conferred on illustrious and remarkable men of all countries.

"A certain part of the members go into all academies and literary 'gymnasia,' to act as nuclei, around which branches of this Society may be enabled to form."

Preface to the Catalogue of 1830.

"As the members of the Medical Faculty have increased, as many members have been distinguished by honorary degrees, and as the former Catalogues have all been sold, the Senate orders a new Catalogue to be printed.

"It seemed good to the editors of the former Catalogue briefly to state the nature and to defend the antiquity of this Faculty. Nevertheless, some have refused their assent to the statements, and demand some reasons for what is asserted. We therefore, once for all, declare that, of all societies, this is the most ancient, the most extensive, the most learned, and the most divine. We establish its antiquity by two arguments: firstly, because everywhere in the world there are found many monuments of our ancestors; secondly, because all other societies derive their origin from this. It appears from our annals, that different curators have laid their bones beneath the Pyramids, Naples, Rome, and Paris. These, as described by a faithful secretary, are found at this day.

"The obelisks of Egypt contain in hieroglyphic characters many secrets of our Faculty. The Chinese Wall, and the Colossus at Rhodes, were erected by our ancestors in sport. We could cite many other examples, were it necessary.

"All societies to whom belong either wonderful art, or nothing except secrecy, have been founded on our pattern. It appears that the Society of Free-Masons was founded by eleven disciples of the Med. Fac. expelled A.D. 1425. But these ignorant fellows were never able to raise their brotherhood to our standard of perfection: in this respect alone they agree with us, in admitting only the masculine gender ('masc. gen.').[47]

"Therefore we have always been Antimason. No one who has ever gained admittance to our assembly has the slightest doubt that we have extended our power to the farthest regions of the earth, for we have embassies from every part of the world, and Satan himself has learned many particulars from our Senate in regard to the administration of affairs and the means of torture.

"We pride ourselves in being the most learned society on earth, for men versed in all literature and erudition, when hurried into our presence for examination, quail and stand in silent amazement. 'Placid Death' alone is coeval with this Society, and resembles it, for in its own Catalogue it equalizes rich and poor, great and small, white and black, old and young.

"Since these things are so, and you, kind reader, have been instructed on these points, I will not longer detain you from the book and the picture.[48] Farewell."

Preface to the Catalogue of 1833.

"It was much less than three years since the third edition of this Catalogue saw the light, when the most learned Med. Fac. began to be reminded that the time had arrived for preparing to polish up and publish a new one. Accordingly, special curators were selected to bring this work to perfection. These curators would not neglect the opportunity of saying a few words on matters of great moment.

"We have carefully revised the whole text, and, as far as we could, we have taken pains to remove typographical errors. The duty is not light. But the number of medical men in the world has increased, and it is becoming that the whole world should know the true authors of its greatest blessing. Therefore we have inserted their names and titles in their proper places.

"Among other changes, we would not forget the creation of a new office. Many healing remedies, foreign, rare, and wonderful, have been brought for the use of the Faculty from Egypt and Arabia Felix. It was proper that some worthy, capable man, of quick discernment, should have charge of these most precious remedies. Accordingly, the Faculty has chosen a curator to be called the 'Apothecarius.' Many quacks and cheats have desired to hold the new office; but the present occupant has thrown all others into the shade. The names, surnames, and titles of this excellent man will be found in the following pages.[49]

"We have done well, not only towards others, but also towards ourselves. Our library contains quite a number of books; among others, ten thousand obtained through the munificence and liberality of great societies in the almost unknown regions of Kamtschatka and the North Pole, and especially also through the munificence of the Emperor of all the Russias. It has become so immense, that, at the request of the Librarian, the Faculty have prohibited any further donations.

"In the next session of the General Court of Massachusetts, the Senate of the Faculty (assisted by the President of Harvard University) will petition for forty thousand sesterces, for the purpose of erecting a large building to contain the immense accumulation of books. From the well-known liberality of the Legislature, no doubts are felt of obtaining it.

"To say more would make a long story. And this, kind reader, is what we have to communicate to you at the outset. The fruit will show with how much fidelity we have performed the task imposed upon us by the most illustrious men. Farewell."

As a specimen of the character of the honorary degrees conferred by the Society, the following are taken from the list given in the Catalogues. They embrace, as will be seen, the names of distinguished personages only, from the King and President to Day and Martin, Sam Patch, and the world-renowned Sea-Serpent.

"Henricus Christophe, Rex Haytiæ quondam, M.D. Med. Fac. honorarius."[50]

"Gulielmus Cobbett, qui ad Angliam ossa Thomæ Paine ferebat, M.D.
Med. Fac. honorarius."[51]

"Johannes-Cleaves Symmes, qui in terræ ilia penetravissit, M.D.
Med. Fac. honorarius."[52]

"ALEXANDER I. Russ. Imp. Illust. et Sanct. Foed. et Mass. Pac.
Soc. Socius, qui per Legat. American. claro Med. Fac.,
'curiositatem raram et archaicam,' regie transmisit, 1825, M.D.
Med. Fac. honorarius."[53]

"ANDREAS JACKSON, Major-General in bello ultimo Americano, et
Nov. Orleans Heros fortissimus; et ergo nunc Præsidis
Rerumpub. Foed, muneris candidatus et 'Old Hickory,' M.D. et
M.U.D. 1827, Med. Fac. honorarius, et 1829 Præses Rerumpub.
Foed., et LL.D. 1833."

"Gulielmus Emmons, prænominatus Pickleïus, qui orator eloquentissimus nostræ ætatis; poma, nuces, panem-zingiberis, suas orationes, 'Egg-popque' vendit, D.M. Med. Fac. honorarius."[54]

"Day et Martin, Angli, qui per quinquaginta annos toto Christiano
Orbi et præcipue Univ. Harv. optimum Real Japan Atramentum ab
'XCVII. Altâ Holborniâ' subministrârunt, M.D. et M.U.D. Med. Fac.
honorarius."

"Samuel Patch, socius multum deploratus, qui multa experimenta, de gravitate et 'faciles descensus' suo corpore fecit; qui gradum, M.D. per saltum consecutus est. Med. Fac. honorarius."

"Cheng et Heng, Siamesi juvenes, invicem a mans et intime attacti, Med. Fac. que honorarii."

"Gulielmus Grimke, et quadraginta sodales qui 'omnes in uno' Conic
Sections sine Tabulis aspernati sunt, et contra Facultatem, Col.
Yal. rebellaverunt, posteaque expulsi et 'obumbrati' sunt et Med.
Fac. honorarii."

"MARTIN VAN BUREN, Armig., Civitatis Scriba Reipub. Foed. apud
Aul. Brit. Legat. Extraord. sibi constitutus. Reip. Nov. Ebor.
Gub. 'Don Whiskerandos'; 'Little Dutchman'; atque 'Great
Rejected.' Nunc (1832), Rerumpub. Foed. Vice-Præses et 'Kitchen
Cabinet' Moderator, M.D. et Med. Fac. honorarius."

"Magnus Serpens Maris, suppositus, aut porpoises aut horse-mackerel, grex; 'very like a whale' (Shak.); M.D. et peculiariter M.U.D. Med. Fac. honorarius."

"Timotheus Tibbets et Gulielmus J. Snelling 'par nobile sed hostile fratrum'; 'victor et victus,' unus buster et rake, alter lupinarum cockpitsque purgator, et nuper Edit. Nov. Ang. Galax. Med. Fac. honorarii."[55]

"Capt. Basil Hall, Tabitha Trollope, atque Isaacus Fiddler Reverendus; semi-pay centurio, famelica transfuga, et semicoctus grammaticaster, qui scriptitant solum ut prandere possint. Tres in uno Mend. Munch. Prof. M.D., M.U.D. et Med. Fac. Honorarium."

A college poet thus laments the fall of this respected society:—

 "Gone, too, for aye, that merry masquerade,
  Which danced so gayly in the evening shade,
  And Learning weeps, and Science hangs her head,
  To mourn—vain toil!—their cherished offspring dead.
  What though she sped her honors wide and far,
  Hailing as son Muscovia's haughty Czar,
  Who in his palace humbly knelt to greet,
  And laid his costly presents at her feet?[56]
  Relentless fate her sudden fall decreed,
  Dooming each votary's tender heart to bleed,
  And yet, as if in mercy to atone,
  That fate hushed sighs, and silenced many a groan."
    Winslow's Class Poem, 1835.

MERIT ROLL. At Union College, "the Merit Rolls of the several classes," says a correspondent, "are sheets of paper put up in the College post-office, at the opening of each term, containing a list of all students present in the different classes during the previous term, with a statement of the conduct, attendance, and scholarship of each member of the class. The names are numbered according to the standing of the student, all the best scholars being clustered at the head, and the poorer following in a melancholy train. To be at the head, or 'to head the roll,' is an object of ambition, while 'to foot the roll' is anything but desirable."

MIDDLE BACHELOR. One who is in his second year after taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

A Senior Sophister has authority to take a Freshman from a
Sophomore, a Middle Bachelor from a Junior Sophister.—Quincy's
Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 540.

MIGRATE. In the English universities, to remove from one college to another.

One of the unsuccessful candidates migrated.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 100.

MIGRATION. In the English universities, a removal from one college to another.

"A migration," remarks Bristed, "is generally tantamount to a confession of inferiority, and an acknowledgment that the migrator is not likely to become a Fellow in his own College, and therefore takes refuge in another, where a more moderate Degree will insure him a Fellowship. A great deal of this migration goes on from John's to the Small Colleges."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 100.

MIGRATOR. In the English universities, one who removes from one college to another.

MILD. A student epithet of depreciation, answering nearly to the phrases, "no great shakes," and "small potatoes."—Bristed.

Some of us were very heavy men to all appearance, and our first attempts mild enough.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 169.

MINGO. Latin. At Harvard College, this word was formerly used to designate a chamber-pot.

  To him that occupies my study,
  I give for use of making toddy,
  A bottle full of white-face Stingo,
  Another, handy, called a mingo.
    Will of Charles Prentiss, in Rural Repository, 1795.

Many years ago, some of the students of Harvard College wishing to make a present to their Tutor, Mr. Flynt, called on him, informed him of their intention, and requested him to select a gift which would be acceptable to him. He replied that he was a single man, that he already had a well-filled library, and in reality wanted nothing. The students, not all satisfied with this answer, determined to present him with a silver chamber-pot. One was accordingly made, of the appropriate dimensions, and inscribed with these words: "Mingere cum bombis Res est saluberrima lumbis."

On the morning of Commencement Day, this was borne in procession, in a morocco case, and presented to the Tutor. Tradition does not say with what feelings he received it, but it remained for many years at a room in Quincy, where he was accustomed to spend his Saturdays and Sundays, and finally disappeared, about the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It is supposed to have been carried to England.

MINOR. A privy. From the Latin minor, smaller; the word house being understood. Other derivations are given, but this seems to be the most classical. This word is peculiar to Harvard College.

MISS. An omission of a recitation, or any college exercise. An instructor is said to give a miss, when he omits a recitation.

A quaint Professor of Harvard College, being once asked by his class to omit the recitation for that day, is said to have replied in the words of Scripture: "Ye ask and receive not, for ye ask a-miss."

In the "Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D.," Professor Felton has referred to this story, and has appended to it the contradiction of the worthy Doctor. "Amusing anecdotes, some true and many apocryphal, were handed down in College from class to class, and, so far from being yet forgotten, they are rather on the increase. One of these mythical stories was, that on a certain occasion one of the classes applied to the Doctor for what used to be called, in College jargon, a miss, i.e. an omission of recitation. The Doctor replied, as the legend run, 'Ye ask, and ye receive not, because ye ask a-miss.' Many years later, this was told to him. 'It is not true,' he exclaimed, energetically. 'In the first place, I have not wit enough; in the next place, I have too much wit, for I mortally hate a pun. Besides, I never allude irreverently to the Scriptures.'"—p. lxxvii.

  Or are there some who scrape and hiss
  Because you never give a miss.—Rebelliad, p. 62.

  —— is good to all his subjects,
  Misses gives he every hour.—MS. Poem.

MISS. To be absent from a recitation or any college exercise. Said of a student. See CUT.

Who will recitations miss!—Rebelliad, p. 53.

  At every corner let us hiss 'em;
  And as for recitations,—miss 'em.—Ibid., p. 58.

  Who never misses declamation,
  Nor cuts a stupid recitation.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 283.

Missing chambers will be visited with consequences more to be dreaded than the penalties of missing lecture.—Collegian's Guide, p. 304.

MITTEN. At the Collegiate Institute of Indiana, a student who is expelled is said to get the mitten.

MOCK-PART. At Harvard College, it is customary, when the parts for the first exhibition in the Junior year have been read, as described under PART, for the part-reader to announce what are called the mock-parts. These mock-parts which are burlesques on the regular appointments, are also satires on the habits, character, or manners of those to whom they are assigned. They are never given to any but members of the Junior Class. It was formerly customary for the Sophomore Class to read them in the last term of that year when the parts were given out for the Sophomore exhibition but as there is now no exhibition for that class, they are read only in the Junior year. The following may do as specimens of the subjects usually assigned:—The difference between alluvial and original soils; a discussion between two persons not noted for personal cleanliness. The last term of a decreasing series; a subject for an insignificant but conceited fellow. An essay on the Humbug, by a dabbler in natural history. A conference on the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness, between three persons, one very tall, another very broad, and the third very fat.

MODERATE. In colleges and universities, to superintend the exercises and disputations in philosophy, and the Commencements when degrees are conferred.

They had their weekly declamations on Friday, in the Colledge Hall, besides publick disputations, which either the Præsident or the Fellows moderated.—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. p. 127.

Mr. Mather moderated at the Masters' disputations.—Hutchinson's Hist. of Mass., Vol. I. p. 175, note.

Mr. Andrew moderated at the Commencements.—Clap's Hist. of
Yale Coll., p. 15.

President Holyoke was of a noble, commanding presence. He was perfectly acquainted with academic matters, and moderated at Commencements with great dignity.—Holmes's Life of Ezra Stiles, p. 26.

Mr. Woodbridge moderated at Commencement, 1723.—Woolsey's
Hist. Disc., p. 103.

MODERATOR. In the English universities, one who superintends the exercises and disputations in philosophy, and the examination for the degree of B.A.—Cam. Cal.

The disputations at which the Moderators presided in the English universities "are now reduced," says Brande, "to little more than matters of form."

The word was formerly in use in American colleges.

Five scholars performed public exercises; the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge acted as Moderator.—Clap's Hist. of Yale Coll., p. 27.

He [the President] was occasionally present at the weekly declamations and public disputations, and then acted as Moderator; an office which, in his absence, was filled by one of the Tutors.—Quincy's Hist. of Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 440.

MONITOR. In schools or universities, a pupil selected to look to the scholars in the absence of the instructor, or to notice the absence or faults of the scholars, or to instruct a division or class.—Webster.

In American colleges, the monitors are usually appointed by the President, their duty being to keep bills of absence from, and tardiness at, devotional and other exercises. See Laws of Harv. and Yale Colls., &c.

  Let monitors scratch as they please,
  We'll lie in bed and take our ease.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 123.

MOONLIGHT. At Williams College, the prize rhetorical exercise is called by this name; the reason is not given. The students speak of "making a rush for moonlight," i.e. of attempting to gain the prize for elocution.

In the evening comes Moonlight Exhibition, when three men from each of the three lower classes exhibit their oratorical powers, and are followed by an oration before the Adelphic Union, by Ralph Waldo Emerson.—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.

MOONLIGHT RANGERS. At Jefferson College, in Pennsylvania, a title applied to a band composed of the most noisy and turbulent students, commanded by a captain and sub-officer, who, in the most fantastic disguises, or in any dress to which the moonlight will give most effect, appear on certain nights designated, prepared to obey any command in the way of engaging in any sport of a pleasant nature. They are all required to have instruments which will make the loudest noise and create the greatest excitement.

MOSS-COVERED HEAD. In the German universities, students during the sixth and last term, or semester, are called Moss-covered Heads, or, in an abbreviated form, Mossy Heads.

MOUNTAIN DAY. The manner in which this day is observed at Williams
College is described in the accompanying extracts.

"Greylock is to the student in his rambles, what Mecca is to the Mahometan; and a pilgrimage to the summit is considered necessary, at least once during the collegiate course. There is an ancient and time-honored custom, which has existed from the establishment of the College, of granting to the students, once a year, a certain day of relaxation and amusement, known by the name of 'Mountain Day.' It usually occurs about the middle of June, when the weather is most favorable for excursions to the mountains and other places of interest in the vicinity. It is customary, on this and other occasions during the summer, for parties to pass the night upon the summit, both for the novelty of the thing, and also to enjoy the unrivalled prospect at sunrise next morning."—Sketches of Will. Coll., 1847, pp. 85-89.

"It so happens that Greylock, in our immediate vicinity, is the highest mountain in the Commonwealth, and gives a view from its summit 'that for vastness and sublimity is equalled by nothing in New England except the White Hills.' And it is an ancient observance to go up from this valley once in the year to 'see the world.' We were not of the number who availed themselves of this lex non scripta, forasmuch as more than one visit in time past hath somewhat worn off the novelty of the thing. But a goodly number 'went aloft,' some in wagons, some on horseback, and some, of a sturdier make, on foot. Some, not content with a mountain day, carried their knapsacks and blankets to encamp till morning on the summit and see the sun rise. Not in the open air, however, for a magnificent timber observatory has been set up,—a rough-hewn, sober, substantial 'light-house in the skies,' under whose roof is a limited portion of infinite space shielded from the winds."—Williams Monthly Miscellany, 1845, Vol. I. p. 555.

"'Mountain day,' the date to which most of the imaginary rows have been assigned, comes at the beginning of the summer term, and the various classes then ascend Greylock, the highest peak in the State, from which may be had a very fine view. Frequently they pass the night there, and beds are made of leaves in the old tower, bonfires are built, and they get through it quite comfortable."—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.

MOUTH. To recite in an affected manner, as if one knew the lesson, when in reality he does not.

Never shall you allow yourself to think of going into the recitation-room, and there trust to "skinning," as it is called in some colleges, or "phrasing," as in others, or "mouthing it," as in others.—Todd's Student's Manual, p. 115.

MRS. GOFF. Formerly a cant phrase for any woman.

  But cease the touching chords to sweep,
  For Mrs. Goff has deigned to weep.
    Rebelliad, p. 21.

MUFF. A foolish fellow.

Many affected to sneer at him, as a "muff" who would have been exceedingly flattered by his personal acquaintance.—Blackwood's Mag., Eng. ed., Vol. LX. p. 147.

MULE. In Germany, a student during the vacation between the time of his quitting the gymnasium and entering the university, is known as a mule.

MUS.B. An abbreviation for Musicæ Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Music. In the English universities, a Bachelor of Music must enter his name at some college, and compose and perform a solemn piece of music, as an exercise before the University.

MUS.D. An abbreviation for Musicæ Doctor, Doctor of Music. A
Mus.D. is generally a Mus.B., and his exercise is the same.

MUSES. A college or university is often designated the Temple,
Retreat, Seat, &c. of the Muses.

Having passed this outer court of the Temple of the Muses, you are ushered into the Sanctum Sanctorum itself.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 87.

Inviting … such distinguished visitors as happen then to be on a tour to this attractive retreat of the Muses.—Ibid., Vol. I, p. 156.

My instructor ventured to offer me as a candidate for admission into that renowned seat of the Muses, Harvard College.—New England Mag., Vol. III. p. 237.

A student at a college or university is sometimes called a Son of the Muses.

It might perhaps suit some inveterate idlers, smokers, and drinkers, but no true son of the Muses.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 3.

While it was his earnest desire that the beloved sons of the
Muses might leave the institutions enriched with the erudition,
&c.—Judge Kent's Address before [Greek: Phi Beta Kappa] of Yale
Coll., p. 39, 1831.

N.

NAVY CLUB. The Navy Club, or the Navy, as it was formerly called, originated among the students of Harvard College about the year 1796, but did not reach its full perfection until several years after. What the primary design of the association was is not known, nor can the causes be ascertained which led to its formation. At a later period its object seems to have been to imitate, as far as possible, the customs and discipline peculiar to the flag-ship of a navy, and to afford some consolation to those who received no appointments at Commencement, as such were always chosen its officers. The Lord High Admiral was appointed by the admiral of the preceding class, but his election was not known to any of the members of his class until within six weeks of Commencement, when the parts for that occasion were assigned. It was generally understood that this officer was to be one of the poorest in point of scholarship, yet the jolliest of all the "Jolly Blades." At the time designated, he broke the seal of a package which had been given him by his predecessor in office, the contents of which were known only to himself; but these were supposed to be the insignia of his office, and the instructions pertaining to the admiralty. He then appointed his assistant officers, a vice-admiral, rear-admiral, captain, sailing-master, boatswain, &c. To the boatswain a whistle was given, transmitted, like the admiral's package, from class to class.

The Flag-ship for the year 1815 was a large marquee, called "The Good Ship Harvard," which was moored in the woods, near the place where the residence of the Hon. John G. Palfrey now stands. The floor was arranged like the deck of a man-of-war, being divided into the main and quarter decks. The latter was occupied by the admiral, and no one was allowed to be there with him without special order or permission. In his sway he was very despotic, and on board ship might often have been seen reclining on his couch, attended by two of his subordinates (classmates), who made his slumbers pleasant by guarding his sacred person from the visits of any stray mosquito, and kept him cool by the vibrations of a fan. The marquee stood for several weeks, during which time meetings were frequently held in it. At the command of the admiral, the boatswain would sound his whistle in front of Holworthy Hall, the building where the Seniors then, as now, resided, and the student sailors, issuing forth, would form in procession, and march to the place of meeting, there to await further orders. If the members of the Navy remained on board ship over night, those who had received appointments at Commencement, then called the "Marines," were obliged to keep guard while the members slept or caroused.

The operations of the Navy were usually closed with an excursion down the harbor. A vessel well stocked with certain kinds of provisions afforded, with some assistance from the stores of old Ocean, the requisites for a grand clam-bake or a mammoth chowder. The spot usually selected for this entertainment was the shores of Cape Cod. On the third day the party usually returned from their voyage, and their entry into Cambridge was generally accompanied with no little noise and disorder. The Admiral then appointed privately his successor, and the Navy was disbanded for the year.

The exercises of the association varied from year to year. Many of the old customs gradually went out of fashion, until finally but little of the original Navy remained. The officers were, as usual, appointed yearly, but the power of appointing them was transferred to the class, and a public parade was substituted for the forms and ceremonies once peculiar to the society. The excursion down the harbor was omitted for the first time the present year,[57] and the last procession made its appearance in the year 1846.

At present the Navy Club is organized after the parts for the last Senior Exhibition have been assigned. It is composed of three classes of persons; namely, the true NAVY, which consists of those who have never had parts; the MARINES, those who have had a major or second part in the Senior year, but no minor or first part in the Junior; and the HORSE-MARINES, those who have had a minor or first part in the Junior year, but have subsequently fallen off, so as not to get a major or second part in the Senior. Of the Navy officers, the Lord High Admiral is usually he who has been sent from College the greatest number of times; the Vice-Admiral is the poorest scholar in the class; the Rear-Admiral the laziest fellow in the class; the Commodore, one addicted to boating; the Captain, a jolly blade; the Lieutenant and Midshipman, fellows of the same description; the Chaplain, the most profane; the Surgeon, a dabbler in surgery, or in medicine, or anything else; the Ensign, the tallest member of the class; the Boatswain, one most inclined to obscenity; the Drum Major, the most aristocratic, and his assistants, fellows of the same character. These constitute the Band. Such are the general rules of choice, but they are not always followed. The remainder of the class who have had no parts and are not officers of the Navy Club are members, under the name of Privates. On the morning when the parts for Commencement are assigned, the members who receive appointments resign the stations which they have held in the Navy Club. This resignation takes place immediately after the parts have been read to the class. The door-way of the middle entry of Holworthy Hall is the place usually chosen for this affecting scene. The performance is carried on in the mock-oratorical style, a person concealed under a white sheet being placed behind the speaker to make the gestures for him. The names of those members who, having received Commencement appointments, have refused to resign their trusts in the Navy Club, are then read by the Lord High Admiral, and by his authority they are expelled from the society. This closes the exercises of the Club.

The following entertaining account of the last procession, in 1846, has been furnished by a graduate of that year:—

"The class had nearly all assembled, and the procession, which extended through the rooms of the Natural History Society, began to move. The principal officers, as also the whole band, were dressed in full uniform. The Rear-Admiral brought up the rear, as was fitting. He was borne in a sort of triumphal car, composed of something like a couch, elevated upon wheels, and drawn by a white horse. On this his excellency, dressed in uniform, and enveloped in his cloak, reclined at full length. One of the Marines played the part of driver. Behind the car walked a colored man, with a most fantastic head-dress, whose duty it was to carry his Honor the Rear-Admiral's pipe. Immediately before the car walked the other two Marines, with guns on their shoulders. The 'Digs'[58] came immediately before the Marines, preceded by the tallest of their number, carrying a white satin banner, bearing on it, in gold letters, the word 'HARVARD,' with a spade of gold paper fastened beneath. The Digs were all dressed in black, with Oxford caps on their heads, and small iron spades over their shoulders. They walked two and two, except in one instance, namely, that of the first three scholars, who walked together, the last of their brethren, immediately preceding the Marines. The second and third scholars did not carry spades, but pointed shovels, much larger and heavier; while the first scholar, who walked between the other two, carried an enormously great square shovel,—such as is often seen hung out at hardware-stores for a sign,—with 'SPADES AND SHOVELS,' or some such thing, painted on one side, and 'ALL SIZES' on the other. This shovel was about two feet square. The idea of carrying real, bonâ fide spades and shovels originated wholly in our class. It has always been the custom before to wear a spade, cut out of white paper, on the lapel of the coat. The Navy Privates were dressed in blue shirts, monkey-jackets, &c., and presented a very sailor-like appearance. Two of them carried small kedges over their shoulders. The Ensign bore an old and tattered flag, the same which was originally presented by Miss Mellen of Cambridge to the Harvard Washington Corps. The Chaplain was dressed in a black gown, with an old-fashioned curly white wig on his head, which, with a powdered face, gave him a very sanctimonious look. He carried a large French Bible, which by much use had lost its covers. The Surgeon rode a beast which might well have been taken for the Rosinante of the world-renowned Don Quixote. This worthy Æsculapius had an infinite number of brown-paper bags attached to his person. He was enveloped in an old plaid cloak, with a huge sign for pills fastened upon his shoulders, and carried before him a skull on a staff. His nag was very spirited, so much so as to leap over the chains, posts, &c., and put to flight the crowd assembled to see the fun. The procession, after having cheered all the College buildings, and the houses of the Professors, separated about seven o'clock, P.M."

  At first like a badger the Freshman dug,
  Fed on Latin and Greek, in his room kept snug;
  And he fondly hoped that on Navy Club day
  The highest spade he might bear away.
    MS. Poem, F.E. Felton, Harv. Coll.

NECK. To run one's neck, at Williams College, to trust to luck for the success of any undertaking.

NESCIO. Latin; literally, I do not know. At the University of Cambridge, England, to sport a nescio, to shake the head, a signal that one does not understand or is ignorant of the subject. "After the Senate-House examination for degrees," says Grose, in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, "the students proceed to the schools, to be questioned by the proctor. According to custom immemorial, the answers must be Nescio. The following is a translated specimen:—

"Ques. What is your, name? Ans. I do not know.

"Ques. What is the name of this University? Ans. I do not know.

"Ques. Who was your father? Ans. I do not know.

"The last is probably the only true answer of the three!"

NEWLING. In the German universities, a Freshman; one in his first half-year.

NEWY. At Princeton College, a fresh arrival.

NIGHTGOWN. A dressing-gown; a deshabille.

No student shall appear within the limits of the College, or town of Cambridge, in any other dress than in the uniform belonging to his respective class, unless he shall have on a nightgown, or such an outside garment as may be necessary over a coat.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1790.

NOBLEMAN. In the English universities, among the Undergraduates, the nobleman enjoys privileges and exemptions not accorded to others. At Oxford he wears a black-silk gown with full sleeves "couped" at the elbows, and a velvet cap with gold tassel, except on full-dress occasions, when his habit is of violet-figured damask silk, richly bedight with gold lace. At Cambridge he wears the plain black-silk gown and the hat of an M.A., except on feast days and state occasions, when he appears in a gown still more gorgeous than that of a Fellow-Commoner.—Oxford Guide. Bristed.

NO END OF. Bristed records this phrase as an intensive peculiar to the English Cantabs. Its import is obvious "They have no end of tin; i.e. a great deal of money. He is no end of a fool; i.e. the greatest fool possible."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 24.

The use of this expression, with a similar signification, is common in some portions of the United States.

NON ENS. Latin; literally not being. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., one who has not been matriculated, though he has resided some time at the University; consequently is not considered as having any being. A Freshman in embryo.—Grad. ad Cantab.

NON PARAVI. Latin; literally, I have not prepared. When Latin was spoken in the American colleges, this excuse was commonly given by scholars not prepared for recitation.

  With sleepy eyes and countenance heavy,
  With much excuse of non paravi.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, 1794, p. 8.

The same excuse is now frequently given in English.

The same individuals were also observed to be "not prepared" for the morning's recitation.—Harvardiana, Vol. II. p. 261.

I hear you whispering, with white lips, "Not prepared, sir."—Burial of Euclid, 1850, p. 9.

NON PLACET. Latin; literally, It is not pleasing. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the term in which a negative vote is given in the Senate-House.

To non-placet, with the meaning of the verb to reject, is sometimes used in familiar language.

A classical examiner, having marked two candidates belonging to his own College much higher than the other three examiners did, was suspected of partiality to them, and non-placeted (rejected) next year when he came up for approval.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 231.

NON-READING MAN. See READING MAN.

The result of the May decides whether he will go out in honors or not,—that is, whether he will be a reading or a non-reading man.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 85.

NON-REGENT. In the English universities, a term applied to those
Masters of Arts whose regency has ceased.—Webster.

See REGENT. SENATE.

NON-TERM. "When any member of the Senate," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "dies within the University during term, on application to the Vice-Chancellor, the University bell rings an hour; from which period Non-Term, as to public lectures and disputations, commences for three days."

NON VALUI. Latin; literally, I was sick. At Harvard College, when the students were obliged to speak Latin, it was usual for them to give the excuse non valui for almost every absence or omission. The President called upon delinquents for their excuses in the chapel, after morning prayers, and these words were often pronounced so broadly as to sound like non volui, I did not wish [to go]. The quibble was not perceived for a long time, and was heartily enjoyed, as may be well supposed, by those who made use of it.

[Greek: Nous]. Greek; sense. A word adopted by, and in use among, students.

He is a lad of more [Greek: nous], and keeps better company.—Pref. to Grad. ad Cantab.

Getting the better of them in anything which required the smallest exertion of [Greek: nous], was like being first in a donkey-race. —Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 30.

NUMBER FIFTY, NUMBER FORTY-NINE. At Trinity College, Hartford, the privies are known by these names. Jarvis Hall contains forty-eight rooms, and the numbers forty-nine and fifty follow in numerical continuation, but with a different application.

NUMBER TEN. At the Wesleyan University, the names "No. 10, and, as a sort of derivative, No. 1001, are applied to the privy." The former title is used also at the University of Vermont, and at Dartmouth College.

NUTS. A correspondent from Williams College says, "We speak of a person whom we despise as being a nuts." This word is used in the Yorkshire dialect with the meaning of a "silly fellow." Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, remarks: "It is not applied to an idiot, but to one who has been doing a foolish action."

O.

OAK. In the English universities, the outer door of a student's room.

No man has a right to attack the rooms of one with whom he is not in the habit of intimacy. From ignorance of this axiom I had near got a horse-whipping, and was kicked down stairs for going to a wrong oak, whose tenant was not in the habit of taking jokes of this kind.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 287.

A pecker, I must explain, is a heavy pointed hammer for splitting large coals; an instrument often put into requisition to force open an oak (an outer door), when the key of the spring latch happens to be left inside, and the scout has gone away.—The Collegian's Guide, p. 119.

Every set of rooms is provided with an oak or outer door, with a spring lock, of which the master has one latch-key, and the servant another.—Ibid., p. 141.

"To sport oak, or a door," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "is, in the modern phrase, to exclude duns, or other unpleasant intruders." It generally signifies, however, nothing more than locking or fastening one's door for safety or convenience.

I always "sported my oak" whenever I went out; and if ever I found any article removed from its usual place, I inquired for it; and thus showed I knew where everything was last placed.—Collegian's Guide, p. 141.

If you persist, and say you cannot join them, you must sport your oak, and shut yourself into your room, and all intruders out.—Ibid., p. 340.

Used also in some American colleges.

And little did they dream who knocked hard and often at his oak in vain, &c.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. X. p. 47.

OATHS. At Yale College, those who were engaged in the government were formerly required to take the oaths of allegiance and abjuration appointed by the Parliament of England. In his Discourse before the Graduates of Yale College, President Woolsey gives the following account of this obligation:—

"The charter of 1745 imposed another test in the form of a political oath upon all governing officers in the College. They were required before they undertook the execution of their trusts, or within three months after, 'publicly in the College hall [to] take the oaths, and subscribe the declaration, appointed by an act of Parliament made in the first year of George the First, entitled, An Act for the further security of his Majesty's person and government, and the succession of the Crown in the heirs of the late Princess Sophia, being Protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales, and his open and secret abettors.' We cannot find the motive for prescribing this oath of allegiance and abjuration in the Protestant zeal which was enkindled by the second Pretender's movements in England,—for, although belonging to this same year 1745, these movements were subsequent to the charter,—but rather in the desire of removing suspicion of disloyalty, and conforming the practice in the College to that required by the law in the English universities. This oath was taken until it became an unlawful one, when the State assumed complete sovereignty at the Revolution. For some years afterwards, the officers took the oath of fidelity to the State of Connecticut, and I believe that the last instance of this occurred at the very end of the eighteenth century."—p. 40.

In the Diary of President Stiles, under the date of July 8, 1778, is the annexed entry, in which is given the formula of the oath required by the State:—

"The oath of fidelity administered to me by the Hon. Col. Hamlin, one of the Council of the State of Connecticut, at my inauguration.

"'You, Ezra Stiles, do swear by the name of the ever-living God, that you will be true and faithful to the State of Connecticut, as a free and independent State, and in all things do your duty as a good and faithful subject of the said State, in supporting the rights, liberties, and privileges of the same. So help you God.'

"This oath, substituted instead of that of allegiance to the King by the Assembly of Connecticut, May, 1777, to be taken by all in this State; and so it comes into use in Yale College."—Woolsey's Hist. Discourse, Appendix, p. 117.

[Greek: Hoi Aristoi.] Greek; literally, the bravest. At Princeton College, the aristocrats, or would-be aristocrats, are so called.

[Greek: Hoi Polloi.] Greek; literally, the many.

See POLLOI.

OLD BURSCH. A name given in the German universities to a student during his fourth term. Students of this term are also designated Old Ones.

As they came forward, they were obliged to pass under a pair of naked swords, held crosswise by two Old Ones.—Longfellow's Hyperion, p. 110.

OLD HOUSE. A name given in the German universities to a student during his fifth term.

OPPONENCY. The opening of an academical disputation; the proposition of objections to a tenet; an exercise for a degree.—Todd.

Mr. Webster remarks, "I believe not used in America."

In the old times, the university discharged this duty [teaching] by means of the public readings or lectures,… and by the keeping of acts and opponencies—being certain vivâ voce disputations —by the students.—The English Universities and their Reforms, in Blackwood's Magazine, Feb. 1849.

OPPONENT. In universities and colleges, where disputations are carried on, the opponent is, in technical application, the person who begins the dispute by raising objections to some tenet or doctrine.

OPTIME. The title of those who stand in the second and third ranks
of honors, immediately after the Wranglers, in the University of
Cambridge, Eng. They are called respectively Senior and Junior
Optimes.

See JUNIOR OPTIME, POLLOI, and SENIOR OPTIME.

OPTIONAL. At some American colleges, the student is obliged to pursue during a part of the course such studies as are prescribed. During another portion of the course, he is allowed to select from certain branches those which he desires to follow. The latter are called optional studies. In familiar conversation and writing, the word optional is used alone.

  For optional will come our way,
  And lectures furnish time to play,
  'Neath elm-tree shade to smoke all day.
    Songs, Biennial Jubilee, Yale Coll., 1855.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an essay or theme written by a student in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, is termed original composition.

Composition there is of course, but more Latin than Greek, and some original Composition.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 137.

Original Composition—that is, Composition in the true sense of the word—in the dead languages is not much practised.—Ibid., p. 185.

OVERSEER. The general government of the colleges in the United States is vested in some instances in a Corporation, in others in a Board of Trustees or Overseers, or, as in the case of Harvard College, in the two combined. The duties of the Overseers are, generally, to pass such orders and statutes as seem to them necessary for the prosperity of the college whose affairs they oversee, to dispose of its funds in such a manner as will be most advantageous, to appoint committees to visit it and examine the students connected with it, to ratify the appointment of instructors, and to hear such reports of the proceedings of the college government as require their concurrence.

OXFORD. The cap worn by the members of the University of Oxford, England, is called an Oxford or Oxford cap. The same is worn at some American colleges on Exhibition and Commencement Days. In shape, it is square and flat, covered with black cloth; from the centre depends a tassel of black cord. It is further described in the following passage.

  My back equipped, it was not fair
  My head should 'scape, and so, as square
          As chessboard,
  A cap I bought, my skull to screen,
  Of cloth without, and all within
          Of pasteboard.
    Terræ-Filius, Vol. II. p. 225.

  Thunders of clapping!—As he bows, on high
  "Præses" his "Oxford" doffs, and bows reply.
    Childe Harvard, p. 36.

It is sometimes called a trencher cap, from its shape.

See CAP.

OXFORD-MIXED. Cloth such as is worn at the University of Oxford, England. The students in Harvard College were formerly required to wear this kind of cloth as their uniform. The color is given in the following passage: "By black-mixed (called also Oxford-mixed) is understood, black with a mixture of not more than one twentieth, nor less than one twenty-fifth, part of white."—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1826, p. 25.

He generally dresses in Oxford-mixed pantaloons, and a brown surtout.—Collegian, p. 240.

It has disappeared along with Commons, the servility of Freshmen and brutality of Sophomores, the Oxford-mixed uniform and buttons of the same color.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 263.

OXONIAN. A student or graduate of the University of Oxford,
England.

P.

PANDOWDY BAND. A correspondent writing from Bowdoin College says: "We use the word pandowdy, and we have a custom of pandowdying. The Pandowdy Band, as it is called, has no regular place nor time of meeting. The number of performers varies from half a dozen and less to fifty or more. The instruments used are commonly horns, drums, tin-kettles, tongs, shovels, triangles, pumpkin-vines, &c. The object of the band is serenading Professors who have rendered themselves obnoxious to students; and sometimes others,—frequently tutors are entertained by 'heavenly music' under their windows, at dead of night. This is regarded on all hands as an unequivocal expression of the feelings of the students.

"The band corresponds to the Calliathump of Yale. Its name is a burlesque on the Pandean Band which formerly existed in this college."

See HORN-BLOWING.

PAPE. Abbreviated from PAPER, q.v.

  Old Hamlen, the printer, he got out the papes.
    Presentation Day Songs, Yale Coll., June 14, 1854.

  But Soph'more "papes," and Soph'more scrapes,
    Have long since passed away.—Ibid.

PAPER. In the English Universities, a sheet containing certain questions, to which answers are to be given, is called a paper.

To beat a paper, is to get more than full marks for it. In explanation of this "apparent Hibernicism," Bristed remarks: "The ordinary text-books are taken as the standard of excellence, and a very good man will sometimes express the operations more neatly and cleverly than they are worded in these books, in which case he is entitled to extra marks for style."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 238.

2. This name is applied at Yale College to the printed scheme which is used at the Biennial Examinations. Also, at Harvard College, to the printed sheet by means of which the examination for entrance is conducted.

PARCHMENT. A diploma, from the substance on which it is usually printed, is in familiar language sometimes called a parchment.

There are some, who, relying not upon the "parchment and seal" as a passport to favor, bear that with them which shall challenge notice and admiration.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. III. p. 365.

  The passer-by, unskilled in ancient lore,
  Whose hands the ribboned parchment never bore.
    Class Poem at Harv. Coll., 1835, p. 7.

See SHEEPSKIN.

PARIETAL. From Latin paries, a wall; properly, a partition-wall, from the root of part or pare. Pertaining to a wall.—Webster.

At Harvard College the officers resident within the College walls constitute a permanent standing committee, called the Parietal Committee. They have particular cognizance of all tardinesses at prayers and Sabbath services, and of all offences against good order and decorum. They are allowed to deduct from the rank of a student, not exceeding one hundred for one offence. In case any offence seems to them to require a higher punishment than deduction, it is reported to the Faculty.—Laws, 1850, App.

  Had I forgotten, alas! the stern pariètal monitions?
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 98.

The chairman of the Parietal Committee is often called the Parietal Tutor.

I see them shaking their fists in the face of the parietal tutor.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1849.

The members of the committee are called, in common parlance, Parietals.

Four rash and inconsiderate proctors, two tutors, and five parietals, each with a mug and pail in his hand, in their great haste to arrive at the scene of conflagration, ran over the Devil, and knocked him down stairs.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 124.

  And at the loud laugh of thy gurgling throat,
  The pariètals would forget themselves.
    Ibid., Vol. III. p. 399 et passim.

  Did not thy starting eyeballs think to see
  Some goblin pariètal grin at thee?
    Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 197.

The deductions made by the Parietal Committee are also called Parietals.

  How now, ye secret, dark, and tuneless chanters,
  What is 't ye do? Beware the pariètals.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 44.

Reckon on the fingers of your mind the reprimands, deductions, parietals, and privates in store for you.—Orat. H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848.

The accent of this word is on the antepenult; by poetic license, in four of the passages above quoted, it is placed on the penult.

PART. A literary appointment assigned to a student to be kept at an Exhibition or Commencement. In Harvard College as soon as the parts for an Exhibition or Commencement are assigned, the subjects and the names of the performers are given to some member of one of the higher classes, who proceeds to read them to the students from a window of one of the buildings, after proposing the usual "three cheers" for each of the classes, designating them by the years in which they are to graduate. As the name of each person who has a part assigned him is read, the students respond with cheers. This over, the classes are again cheered, the reader of the parts is applauded, and the crowd disperses except when the mock parts are read, or the officers of the Navy Club resign their trusts.

Referring to the proceedings consequent upon the announcement of appointments, Professor Sidney Willard, in his late work, entitled "Memories of Youth and Manhood," says of Harvard College: "The distribution of parts to be performed at public exhibitions by the students was, particularly for the Commencement exhibition, more than fifty years ago, as it still is, one of the most exciting events of College life among those immediately interested, in which parents and near friends also deeply sympathized with them. These parts were communicated to the individuals appointed to perform them by the President, who gave to them, severally, a paper with the name of the person and of the part assigned, and the subject to be written upon. But they were not then, as in recent times, after being thus communicated by the President, proclaimed by a voluntary herald of stentorian lungs, mounted on the steps of one of the College halls, to the assembled crowd of students. Curiosity, however, was all alive. Each one's part was soon ascertained; the comparative merits of those who obtained the prizes were discussed in groups; prompt judgments were pronounced, that A had received a higher prize than he could rightfully claim, and that B was cruelly wronged; that some were unjustly passed over, and others raised above them through partiality. But at whatever length their discussion might have been prolonged, they would have found it difficult in solemn conclave to adjust the distribution to their own satisfaction, while severally they deemed themselves competent to measure the degree in the scale of merit to which each was entitled."—Vol. I. pp. 328, 329.

I took but little pains with these exercises myself, lest I should appear to be anxious for "parts."—Monthly Anthology, Boston, 1804, Vol. I. p. 154.

Often, too, the qualifications for a part … are discussed in the fireside circles so peculiar to college.—Harv. Reg., p. 378.

The refusal of a student to perform the part assigned him will be regarded as a high offence.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 19.

Young men within the College walls are incited to good conduct and diligence, by the system of awarding parts, as they are called, at the exhibitions which take place each year, and at the annual Commencement.—Eliot's Sketch of Hist. Harv. Coll., pp. 114, 115.

It is very common to speak of getting parts.

              Here
    Are acres of orations, and so forth,
    The glorious nonsense that enchants young hearts
  With all the humdrumology of "getting parts."
    Our Chronicle of '26, Boston, 1827, p. 28.

See under MOCK-PART and NAVY CLUB.

PASS. At Oxford, permission to receive the degree of B.A. after passing the necessary examinations.

The good news of the pass will be a set-off against the few small debts.—Collegian's Guide, p. 254.

PASS EXAMINATION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., an examination which is required for the B.A. degree. Of these examinations there are three during a student's undergraduateship.

Even the examinations which are disparagingly known as "pass" ones, the Previous, the Poll, and (since the new regulations) the Junior Optime, require more than half marks on their papers.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 319.

PASSMAN. At Oxford, one who merely passes his examination, and obtains testimonials for a degree, but is not able to obtain any honors or distinctions. Opposed to CLASSMAN, q.v.

"Have the passmen done their paper work yet?" asked Whitbread. "However, the schools, I dare say, will not be open to the classmen till Monday."—Collegian's Guide, p. 309.

PATRON. At some of the Colleges in the United States, the patron is appointed to take charge of the funds, and to regulate the expenses, of students who reside at a distance. Formerly, students who came within this provision were obliged to conform to the laws in reference to the patron; it is now left optional.

P.D. An abbreviation of Philosophiæ Doctor, Doctor of
Philosophy. "In the German universities," says Brande, "the title
'Doctor Philosophiæ' has long been substituted for Baccalaureus
Artium or Literarium."

PEACH. To inform against; to communicate facts by way of accusation.

It being rather advisable to enter college before twelve, or to stay out all night, bribing the bed-maker next morning not to peach.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 190.

  When, by a little spying, I can reach
  The height of my ambition, I must peach.
    The Gallinipper, Dec. 1849.

PEMBROKER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of
Pembroke College.

The Pembroker was booked to lead the Tripos.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 158.

PENE. Latin, almost, nearly. A candidate for admission to the
Freshman Class is called a Pene, that is, almost a Freshman.

PENNILESS BENCH. Archdeacon Nares, in his Glossary, says of this phrase: "A cant term for a state of poverty. There was a public seat so called in Oxford; but I fancy it was rather named from the common saying, than that derived from it."

          Bid him bear up, he shall not
  Sit long on penniless bench.
    Mass. City Mad., IV. 1.

That everie stool he sate on was pennilesse bench, that his robes were rags.—Euphues and his Engl., D. 3.

PENSIONER. French, pensionnaire, one who pays for his board. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., and in that of Dublin, a student of the second rank, who is not dependent on the foundation for support, but pays for his board and other charges. Equivalent to COMMONER at Oxford, or OPPIDANT of Eton school.—Brande. Gent. Mag., 1795.

PERUVIAN. At the University of Vermont, a name by which the students designate a lady; e.g., "There are two hundred Peruvians at the Seminary"; or, "The Peruvians are in the observatory." As illustrative of the use of this word, a correspondent observes: "If John Smith has a particular regard for any one of the Burlington ladies, and Tom Brown happens to meet the said lady in his town peregrinations, when he returns to College, if he meets John Smith, he (Tom) says to John, 'In yonder village I espied a Peruvian'; by which John understands that Tom has had the very great pleasure of meeting John's Dulcinea."

PETTY COMPOUNDER. At Oxford, one who pays more than ordinary fees for his degree.

"A Petty Compounder," says the Oxford University Calendar, "must possess ecclesiastical income of the annual value of five shillings, or property of any other description amounting in all to the sum of five pounds, per annum."—Ed. 1832, p. 92.

PHEEZE, or FEEZE. At the University of Vermont, to pledge. If a student is pledged to join any secret society, he is said to be pheezed or feezed.

PHI BETA KAPPA. The fraternity of the [Greek: Phi Beta Kappa] "was imported," says Allyn in his Ritual, "into this country from France, in the year 1776; and, as it is said, by Thomas Jefferson, late President of the United States." It was originally chartered as a society in William and Mary College, in Virginia, and was organized at Yale College, Nov. 13th, 1780. By virtue of a charter formally executed by the president, officers, and members of the original society, it was established soon after at Harvard College, through the influence of Mr. Elisha Parmele, a graduate of the year 1778. The first meeting in Cambridge was held Sept. 5th, 1781. The original Alpha of Virginia is now extinct.

"Its objects," says Mr. Quincy, in his History of Harvard University, "were the 'promotion of literature and friendly intercourse among scholars'; and its name and motto indicate, that 'philosophy, including therein religion as well as ethics, is worthy of cultivation as the guide of life.' This society took an early and a deep root in the University; its exercises became public, and admittance into it an object of ambition; but the 'discrimination' which its selection of members made among students, became an early subject of question and discontent. In October, 1789, a committee of the Overseers, of which John Hancock was chairman, reported to that board, 'that there is an institution in the University, with the nature of which the government is not acquainted, which tends to make a discrimination among the students'; and submitted to the board 'the propriety of inquiring into its nature and designs.' The subject occasioned considerable debate, and a petition, of the nature of a complaint against the society, by a number of the members of the Senior Class, having been presented, its consideration was postponed, and it was committed; but it does not appear from the records, that any further notice was taken of the petition. The influence of the society was upon the whole deemed salutary, since literary merit was assumed as the principle on which its members were selected; and, so far, its influence harmonized with the honorable motives to exertion which have ever been held out to the students by the laws and usages of the College. In process of time, its catalogue included almost every member of the Immediate Government, and fairness in the selection of members has been in a great degree secured by the practice it has adopted, of ascertaining those in every class who stand the highest, in point of conduct and scholarship, according to the estimates of the Faculty of the College, and of generally regarding those estimates. Having gradually increased in numbers, popularity, and importance, the day after Commencement was adopted for its annual celebration. These occasions have uniformly attracted a highly intelligent and cultivated audience, having been marked by a display of learning and eloquence, and having enriched the literature of the country with some of its brightest gems."—Vol. II. p. 398.

The immediate members of the society at Cambridge were formerly accustomed to hold semi-monthly meetings, the exercises of which were such as are usual in literary associations. At present, meetings are seldom held except for the purpose of electing members. Affiliated societies have been established at Dartmouth, Union, and Bowdoin Colleges, at Brown and the Wesleyan Universities, at the Western Reserve College, at the University of Vermont, and at Amherst College, and they number among their members many of the most distinguished men in our country. The letters which constitute the name of the society are the initials of its motto, [Greek: Philosophia, Biou Kubernaetaes], Philosophy, the Guide of Life.

A further account of this society may be found in Allyn's Ritual of Freemasonry, ed. 1831, pp. 296-302.

PHILISTINE. In Germany this name, or what corresponds to it in that country, Philister, is given by the students to tradesmen and others not belonging to the university.

  Und hat der Bursch kein Geld im Beutel,
    So pumpt er die Philister an.

  And has the Bursch his cash expended?
    To sponge the Philistine's his plan.
    The Crambambuli Song.

Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, says of this word, "a cant term applied to bailiffs, sheriffs' officers, and drunkards." The idea of narrowmindedness, a contracted mode of thinking, and meanness, is usually connected with it, and in some colleges in the United States the name has been given to those whose characters correspond with this description.

See SNOB.

PHRASING. Reciting by, or giving the words or phraseology of the book, without understanding their meaning.

Never should you allow yourself to think of going into the recitation-room, and there trust to "skinning it," as it is called in some colleges, or "phrasing," as in others.—Todd's Students Manual, p. 115.

PIECE. "Be it known, at Cambridge the various Commons and other places open for the gymnastic games, and the like public amusements, are usually denominated Pieces."—Alma Mater, London, 1827, Vol. II. p. 49.

PIETAS ET GRATULATIO. On the death of George the Second, and accession of George the Third, Mr. Bernard, Governor of Massachusetts, suggested to Harvard College "the expediency of expressing sympathy and congratulation on these events, in conformity with the practice of the English universities." Accordingly, on Saturday, March 14, 1761, there was placed in the Chapel of Harvard College the following "Proposal for a Celebration of the Death of the late King, and the Accession of his present Majesty, by members of Harvard College."

"Six guineas are given for a prize of a guinea each to the Author of the best composition of the following several kinds:—1. A Latin Oration. 2. A Latin Poem, in hexameters. 3. A Latin Elegy, in hexameters and pentameters. 4 A Latin Ode. 5. An English Poem, in long verse. 6. An English Ode.

"Other Compositions, besides those that obtain the prizes, that are most deserving, will be taken particular notice of.

"The candidates are to be, all, Gentlemen who are now members of said College, or have taken a degree within seven years.

"Any Candidate may deliver two or more compositions of different kinds, but not more than one of the same kind.

"That Gentlemen may be more encouraged to try their talents upon this occasion, it is proposed that the names of the Candidates shall be kept secret, except those who shall be adjudged to deserve the prizes, or to have particular notice taken of their Compositions, and even these shall be kept secret if desired.

"For this purpose, each Candidate is desired to send his Composition to the President, on or before the first day of July next, subscribed at the bottom with, a feigned name or motto, and, in a distinct paper, to write his own name and seal it up, writing the feigned name or motto on the outside. None of the sealed papers containing the real names will be opened, except those that are adjudged to obtain the prizes or to deserve particular notice; the rest will be burned sealed."

This proposal resulted in a work entitled, "Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos." In January, 1762, the Corporation passed a vote, "that the collections in prose and verse in several languages composed by some of the members of the College, on the motion of his Excellency our Governor, Francis Bernard, Esq., on occasion of the death of his late Majesty, and the accession of his present Majesty, be printed; and that his Excellency be desired to send, if he shall judge it proper, a copy of the same to Great Britain, to be presented to his Majesty, in the name of the Corporation."

Quincy thus speaks of the collection:—"Governor Bernard not only suggested the work, but contributed to it. Five of the thirty-one compositions, of which it consists, were from his pen. The Address to the King is stated to have been written by him, or by Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. Its style and turn of thought indicate the politician rather than the student, and savor of the senate-chamber more than of the academy. The classical and poetic merits of the work bear a fair comparison with those of European universities on similar occasions, allowance being made for the difference in the state of science and literature in the respective countries; and it is the most creditable specimen extant of the art of printing, at that period, in the Colonies. The work is respectfully noticed by the 'Critical' and 'Monthly' Reviews, and an Ode of the President is pronounced by both to be written in a style truly Horatian. In the address prefixed, the hope is expressed, that, as 'English colleges have had kings for their nursing fathers, and queens for their nursing mothers, this of North America might experience the royal munificence, and look up to the throne for favor and patronage.' In May, 1763, letters were received from Jasper Mauduit, agent of the Province, mentioning 'the presentation to his Majesty of the book of verses from the College,' but the records give no indication of the manner in which it was received. The thoughts of George the Third were occupied, not with patronizing learning in the Colonies, but with deriving revenue from them, and Harvard College was indebted to him for no act of acknowledgment or munificence."—Quincy's Hist. of Harv. Univ., Vol. II. pp. 103-105.

The Charleston Courier, in an article entitled "Literary Sparring," says of this production:—"When, as late as 1761, Harvard University sent forth, in Greek, Latin, and English, its congratulations on the accession of George the Third to the throne, it was called, in England, a curiosity."—Buckingham's Miscellanies from the Public Journals, Vol. I. p. 103.

Mr. Kendall, an English traveller, who visited Cambridge in the year 1807-8, notices this work as follows:—"In the year 1761, on the death of George the Second and the accession of his present Majesty, Harvard College, or, as on this occasion it styles itself, Cambridge College, produced a volume of tributary verses, in English, Latin, and Greek, entitled, Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos; and this collection, the first received, and, as it has since appeared, the last to be received, from this seminary, by an English king, was cordially welcomed by the critical journals of the time."—Kendall's Travels, Vol. III. p. 12.

For further remarks, consult the Monthly Review, Vol. XXIX. p. 22;
Critical Review, Vol. X. p. 284; and the Monthly Anthology, Vol.
VI. pp. 422-427; Vol. VII. p. 67.

PILL. In English Cantab parlance, twaddle, platitude.—Bristed.

PIMP. To do little, mean actions for the purpose of gaining favor with a superior, as, in college, with an instructor. The verb with this meaning is derived from the adjective pimping, which signifies little, petty.

  Did I not promise those who fished
  And pimped most, any part they wished.
    The Rebelliad, p. 33.

PISCATORIAN. From the Latin piscator, a fisherman. One who seeks or gains favor with a teacher by being officious toward him.

This word was much used at Harvard College in the year 1822, and for a few years after; it is now very seldom heard.

See under FISH.

PIT. In the University of Cambridge, the place in St. Mary's
Church reserved for the accommodation of Masters of Arts and
Fellow-Commoners is jocularly styled the pit.—Grad. ad
Cantab.

PLACE. In the older American colleges, the situation of a student in the class of which he was a member was formerly decided, in a measure, by the rank and circumstances of his family; this was called placing. The Hon. Paine Wingate, who graduated at Harvard College in the year 1759, says, in one of his letters to Mr. Peirce:—

"You inquire of me whether any regard was paid to a student on account of the rank of his parent, otherwise than his being arranged or placed in the order of his class?

"The right of precedence on every occasion is an object of importance in the state of society. And there is scarce anything which more sensibly affects the feelings of ambition than the rank which a man is allowed to hold. This excitement was generally called up whenever a class in college was placed. The parents were not wholly free from influence; but the scholars were often enraged beyond bounds for their disappointment in their place, and it was some time before a class could be settled down to an acquiescence in their allotment. The highest and the lowest in the class was often ascertained more easily (though not without some difficulty) than the intermediate members of the class, where there was room for uncertainty whose claim was best, and where partiality, no doubt, was sometimes indulged. But I must add, that, although the honor of a place in the class was chiefly ideal, yet there were some substantial advantages. The higher part of the class had generally the most influential friends, and they commonly had the best chambers in College assigned to them. They had also a right to help themselves first at table in Commons, and I believe generally, wherever there was occasional precedence allowed, it was very freely yielded to the higher of the class by those who were below.

"The Freshman Class was, in my day at college, usually placed (as it was termed) within six or nine months after their admission. The official notice of this was given by having their names written in a large German text, in a handsome style, and placed in a conspicuous part of the College Buttery, where the names of the four classes of undergraduates were kept suspended until they left College. If a scholar was expelled, his name was taken from its place; or if he was degraded (which was considered the next highest punishment to expulsion), it was moved accordingly. As soon as the Freshmen were apprised of their places, each one took his station according to the new arrangement at recitation, and at Commons, and in the Chapel, and on all other occasions. And this arrangement was never afterward altered, either in College or in the Catalogue, however the rank of their parents might be varied. Considering how much dissatisfaction was often excited by placing the classes (and I believe all other colleges had laid aside the practice), I think that it was a judicious expedient in Harvard to conform to the custom of putting the names in alphabetical order, and they have accordingly so remained since the year 1772."—Peirce's Hist. of Harv. Univ., pp. 308-811.

In his "Annals of Yale College," Ebenezer Baldwin observes on the subject: "Doctor Dwight, soon after his election to the Presidency [1795], effected various important alterations in the collegiate laws. The statutes of the institution had been chiefly adopted from those of European universities, where the footsteps of monarchical regulation were discerned even in the walks of science. So difficult was it to divest the minds of wise men of the influence of venerable follies, that the printed catalogues of students, until the year 1768, were arranged according to respectability of parentage."—p. 147.

See DEGRADATION.

PLACET. Latin; literally, it is pleasing. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the term in which an affirmative vote is given in the Senate-House.

PLUCK. In the English universities, a refusal of testimonials for a degree.

The origin of this word is thus stated in the Collegian's Guide: "At the time of conferring a degree, just as the name of each man to be presented to the Vice-Chancellor is read out, a proctor walks once up and down, to give any person who can object to the degree an opportunity of signifying his dissent, which is done by plucking or pulling the proctor's gown. Hence another and more common mode of stopping a degree, by refusing the testamur, or certificate of proficiency, is also called plucking."—p. 203.

On the same word, the author in another place remarks as follows: "As long back as my memory will carry me, down to the present day, there has been scarcely a monosyllable in our language which seemed to convey so stinging a reproach, or to let a man down in the general estimation half as much, as this one word PLUCK."—p. 288.

PLUCKED. A cant term at the English universities, applied to those who, for want of scholarship, are refused their testimonials for a degree.—Oxford Guide.

Who had at length scrambled through the pales and discipline of the Senate-House without being plucked, and miraculously obtained the title of A.B.—Gent. Mag., 1795, p. 19.

O what a misery is it to be plucked! Not long since, an undergraduate was driven mad by it, and committed suicide.—The term itself is contemptible: it is associated with the meanest, the most stupid and spiritless animals of creation. When we hear of a man being plucked, we think he is necessarily a goose.—Collegian's Guide, p. 288.

  Poor Lentulus, twice plucked, some happy day
  Just shuffles through, and dubs himself B.A.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

POKER. At Oxford, Eng., a cant name for a bedel.

If the visitor see an unusual "state" walking about, in shape of an individual preceded by a quantity of pokers, or, which is the same thing, men, that is bedels, carrying maces, jocularly called pokers, he may be sure that that individual is the Vice-Chancellor. Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xii.

POLE. At Princeton and Union Colleges, to study hard, e.g. to pole out the lesson. To pole on a composition, to take pains with it.

POLER. One who studies hard; a close student. As a boat is impelled with poles, so is the student by poling, and it is perhaps from this analogy that the word poler is applied to a diligent student.

POLING. Close application to study; diligent attention to the specified pursuits of college.

A writer defines poling, "wasting the midnight oil in company with a wine-bottle, box of cigars, a 'deck of eucre,' and three kindred spirits," thus leaving its real meaning to be deduced from its opposite.—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov., 1854.

POLL. Abbreviated from POLLOI.

Several declared that they would go out in "the Poll" (among the
[Greek: polloi], those not candidates for honors).—Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 62.

At Cambridge, those candidates for a degree who do not aspire to honors are said to go out in the poll; this being the abbreviated term to denote those who were classically designated [Greek: hoi polloi].—The English Universities and their Reforms, in Blackwood's Magazine, Feb. 1849.

POLLOI. [Greek: Hoi Polloi], the many. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who take their degree without any honor. After residing something more than three years at this University, at the conclusion of the tenth term comes off the final examination in the Senate-House. He who passes this examination in the best manner is called Senior Wrangler. "Then follow about twenty, all called Wranglers, arranged in the order of merit. Two other ranks of honors are there,—Senior Optimes and Junior Optimes, each containing about twenty. The last Junior Optime is termed the Wooden Spoon. Then comes the list of the large majority, called the Hoy Polloi, the first of whom is named the Captain of the Poll, and the twelve last, the Apostles."—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 3.

2. Used by students to denote the rabble.

  On Learning's sea, his hopes of safety buoy,
  He sinks for ever lost among the [Greek: hoi polloi].
    The Crayon, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 21.

PONS ASINORUM. Vide ASSES' BRIDGE.

PONY. A translation. So called, it may be, from the fleetness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass over places which to a common plodder present many obstacles.

One writer jocosely defines this literary nag as "the animal that ambulates so delightfully through all the pleasant paths of knowledge, from whose back the student may look down on the weary pedestrian, and 'thank his stars' that 'he who runs may read.'"—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854

And stick to the law, Tom, without a Pony.—Harv. Reg., p. 194.

  And when leaving, leave behind us
    Ponies for a lower class;
  Ponies, which perhaps another,
    Toiling up the College hill,
  A forlorn, a "younger brother,"
    "Riding," may rise higher still.
    Poem before the Y.H. Soc., 1849, p. 12.

Their lexicons, ponies, and text-books were strewed round their lamps on the table.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 30.

In the way of "pony," or translation, to the Greek of Father
Griesbach, the New Testament was wonderfully convenient.—New
England Magazine, Vol. III. p. 208.

The notes are just what notes should be; they are not a pony, but a guide.—Southern Lit. Mess.

Instead of plodding on foot along the dusty, well-worn McAdam of learning, why will you take nigh cuts on ponies?—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIII. p. 281.

The "board" requests that all who present themselves will bring along the ponies they have used since their first entrance into College.—The Gallinipper, Dec. 1849.

The tutors with ponies their lessons were learning. Yale Banger, Nov. 1850.

We do think, that, with such a team of "ponies" and load of commentators, his instruction might evince more accuracy.—Yale Tomahawk, Feb. 1851.

  In knowledge's road ye are but asses,
    While we on ponies ride before.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 7.

PONY. To use a translation.

We learn that they do not pony their lessons.—Yale Tomahawk,
May, 1852.

  If you pony, he will see,
  And before the Faculty
  You will surely summoned be.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 23.

POPPING. At William and Mary College, getting the advantage over another in argument is called popping him.

POPULARITY. In the college use, favor of one's classmates, or of the members of all the classes, generally. Nowhere is this term employed so often, and with so much significance, as among collegians. The first wish of the Freshman is to be popular, and the desire does not leave him during all his college life. For remarks on this subject, see the Literary Miscellany, Vol. II. p. 56; Amherst Indicator, Vol. II. p. 123, et passim.

PORTIONIST. One who has a certain academical allowance or portion. —Webster.

See POSTMASTER.

POSTED. Rejected in a college examination. Term used at the
University of Cambridge, Eng.—Bristed.

Fifty marks will prevent one from being "posted" but there are always two or three too stupid as well as idle to save their "Post." These drones are posted separately, as "not worthy to be classed," and privately slanged afterwards by the Master and Seniors. Should a man be posted twice in succession, he is generally recommended to try the air of some Small College, or devote his energies to some other walk of life.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 74.

POSTMASTER. In Merton College, Oxford, the scholars who are supported on the foundation are called Postmasters, or Portionists (Portionistæ).—Oxf. Guide.

The postmasters anciently performed the duties of choristers, and their payment for this duty was six shillings and fourpence per annum.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. 36.

POW-WOW. At Yale College on the evening of Presentation Day, the Seniors being excused from further attendance at prayers, the classes who remain change their seats in the chapel. It was formerly customary for the Freshmen, on taking the Sophomore seats, to signalize the event by appearing at chapel in grotesque dresses. The impropriety of such conduct has abolished this custom, but on the recurrence of the day, a uniformity is sometimes observable in the paper collars or white neck-cloths of the in-coming Sophomores, as they file in at vespers. During the evening, the Freshmen are accustomed to assemble on the steps of the State-House, and celebrate the occasion by speeches, a torch-light procession, and the accompaniment of a band of music.

The students are forbidden to occupy the State-House steps on the evening of Presentation Day, since the Faculty design hereafter to have a Pow-wow there, as on the last.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 35.

PRÆSES. The Latin for President.

  "Præses" his "Oxford" doffs, and bows reply.
    Childe Harvard, p. 36.

  Did not the Præses himself most kindly and oft reprimand me?
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 98.

    —the good old Præses cries,
  While the tears stand in his eyes,
  "You have passed and are classed
  With the boys of 'Twenty-Nine.'"
    Knick. Mag., Vol. XLV. p. 195.

PRAYERS. In colleges and universities, the religious exercises performed in the chapel at morning and evening, at which all the students are required to attend.

These exercises in some institutions were formerly much more extended than at present, and must on some occasions have been very onerous. Mr. Quincy, in his History of Harvard University, writing in relation to the customs which were prevalent in the College at the beginning of the last century, says on this subject: "Previous to the accession of Leverett to the Presidency, the practice of obliging the undergraduates to read portions of the Scripture from Latin or English into Greek, at morning and evening service, had been discontinued. But in January and May, 1708, this 'ancient and laudable practice was revived' by the Corporation. At morning prayers all the undergraduates were ordered, beginning with the youngest, to read a verse out of the Old Testament from the Hebrew into Greek, except the Freshmen, who were permitted to use their English Bibles in this exercise; and at evening service, to read from the New Testament out of the English or Latin translation into Greek, whenever the President performed this service in the Hall." In less than twenty years after the revival of these exercises, they were again discontinued. The following was then established as the order of morning and evening worship: "The morning service began with a short prayer; then a chapter of the Old Testament was read, which the President expounded, and concluded with prayer. The evening service was the same, except that the chapter read was from the New Testament, and on Saturday a psalm was sung in the Hall. On Sunday, exposition was omitted; a psalm was sung morning and evening; and one of the scholars, in course, was called upon to repeat, in the evening, the sermons preached on that day."—Vol. I. pp. 439, 440.

The custom of singing at prayers on Sunday evening continued for many years. In a manuscript journal kept during the year 1793, notices to the following effect frequently occur. "Feb. 24th, Sunday. The singing club performed Man's Victory, at evening prayers." "Sund. April 14th, P.M. At prayers the club performed Brandon." "May 19th, Sabbath, P.M. At prayers the club performed Holden's Descend ye nine, etc." Soon after this, prayers were discontinued on Sunday evenings.

The President was required to officiate at prayers, but when unable to attend, the office devolved on one of the Tutors, "they taking their turns by course weekly." Whenever they performed this duty "for any considerable time," they were "suitably rewarded for their service." In one instance, in 1794, all the officers being absent, Mr., afterwards Prof. McKean, then an undergraduate, performed the duties of chaplain. In the journal above referred to, under date of Feb. 22, 1793, is this note: "At prayers, I declaimed in Latin"; which would seem to show, that this season was sometimes made the occasion for exercises of a literary as well as religious character.

In a late work by Professor Sidney Willard, he says of his father, who was President of Harvard College: "In the early period of his Presidency, Mr. Willard not unfrequently delivered a sermon at evening prayers on Sunday. In the year 1794, I remember he preached once or twice on that evening, but in the next year and onward he discontinued the service. His predecessor used to expound passages of Scripture as a part of the religious service. These expositions are frequently spoken of in the diary of Mr. Caleb Gannett when he was a Tutor. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning and evening, generally the College choir sang a hymn or an anthem. When these Sunday services were observed in the Chapel, the Faculty and students worshipped on Lord's day, at the stated hours of meeting, in the Congregational or the Episcopal Church." —Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. pp. 137, 138.

At Yale College, one of the earliest laws ordains that "all undergraduates shall publicly repeat sermons in the hall in their course, and also bachelors; and be constantly examined on Sabbaths [at] evening prayer."—Pres. Woolsey's Discourse, p. 59.

Prayers at this institution were at one period regulated by the following rule. "The President, or in his Absence, one of the Tutors in their Turn, shall constantly pray in the Chapel every Morning and Evening, and read a Chapter, or some suitable Portion of Scripture, unless a Sermon, or some Theological Discourse shall then be delivered. And every Member of College is obliged to attend, upon the Penalty of one Penny for every Instance of Absence, without a sufficient Reason, and a half Penny for being tardy, i.e. when any one shall come in after the President, or go out before him."—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, p. 5.

A writer in the American Literary Magazine, in noticing some of the evils connected with the American college system, describes very truthfully, in the following question, a scene not at all novel in student life. "But when the young man is compelled to rise at an unusually early hour to attend public prayers, under all kinds of disagreeable circumstances; when he rushes into the chapel breathless, with wet feet, half dressed, and with the prospect of a recitation immediately to succeed the devotions,—is it not natural that he should be listless, or drowsy, or excited about his recitation, during the whole sacred exercise?"—Vol. IV. p. 517.

This season formerly afforded an excellent opportunity, for those who were so disposed, to play off practical jokes on the person officiating. On one occasion, at one of our colleges, a goose was tied to the desk by some of the students, intended as emblematic of the person who was accustomed to occupy that place. But the laugh was artfully turned upon them by the minister, who, seeing the bird with his head directed to the audience, remarked, that he perceived the young gentlemen were for once provided with a parson admirably suited to their capacities, and with these words left them to swallow his well-timed sarcasm. On another occasion, a ram was placed in the pulpit, with his head turned to the door by which the minister usually entered. On opening the door, the animal, diving between the legs of the fat shepherd, bolted down the pulpit stairs, carrying on his back the sacred load, and with it rushed out of the chapel, leaving the assemblage to indulge in the reflections excited by the expressive looks of the astonished beast, and of his more astonished rider.

The Bible was often kept covered, when not in use, with a cloth. It was formerly a very common trick to place under this cloth a pewter plate obtained from the commons hall, which the minister, on uncovering, would, if he were a shrewd man, quietly slide under the desk, and proceed as usual with the exercises.

At Harvard College, about the year 1785, two Indian images were missing from their accustomed place on the top of the gate-posts which stood in front of the dwelling of a gentleman of Cambridge. At the same time the Bible was taken from the Chapel, and another, which was purchased to supply its place, soon followed it, no one knew where. One day, as a tutor was passing by the room of a student, hearing within an uncommonly loud noise, he entered, as was his right and office. There stood the occupant,[59] holding in his hands one of the Chapel Bibles, while before him on the table were placed the images, to which he appeared to be reading, but in reality was vociferating all kinds of senseless gibberish. "What is the meaning of this noise?" inquired the tutor in great anger. "Propagating the Gospel among the Indians, Sir," replied the student calmly.

While Professor Ashur Ware was a tutor in Harvard College, he in his turn, when the President was absent, officiated at prayers. Inclined to be longer in his devotions than was thought necessary by the students, they were often on such occasions seized with violent fits of sneezing, which generally made themselves audible in the word "A-a-shur," "A-a-shur."

The following lines, written by William C. Bradley when an undergraduate at Harvard College, cannot fail to be appreciated by those who have been cognizant of similar scenes and sentiments in their own experience of student life.

 "Hark! the morning Bell is pealing
    Faintly on the drowsy ear,
  Far abroad the tidings dealing,
    Now the hour of prayer is near.
  To the pious Sons of Harvard,
    Starting from the land of Nod,
  Loudly comes the rousing summons,
    Let us run and worship God.

 "'T is the hour for deep contrition,
    'T is the hour for peaceful thought,
  'T is the hour to win the blessing
    In the early stillness sought;
  Kneeling in the quiet chamber,
    On the deck, or on the sod,
  In the still and early morning,
    'T is the hour to worship God.

  "But don't you stop to pray in secret,
    No time for you to worship there,
  The hour approaches, 'Tempus fugit,'
    Tear your shirt or miss a prayer.
  Don't stop to wash, don't stop to button,
    Go the ways your fathers trod;
  Leg it, put it, rush it, streak it,
    Run and worship God.

  "On the staircase, stamping, tramping,
    Bounding, sounding, down you go;
  Jumping, bumping, crashing, smashing,
    Jarring, bruising, heel and toe.
  See your comrades far before you
    Through the open door-way jam,
  Heaven and earth! the bell is stopping!
    Now it dies in silence—d**n!"

PRELECTION. Latin, prælectio. A lecture or discourse read in public or to a select company.

Further explained by Dr. Popkin: "In the introductory schools, I think, Prelections were given by the teachers to the learners. According to the meaning of the word, the Preceptor went before, as I suppose, and explained and probably interpreted the lesson or lection; and the scholar was required to receive it in memory, or in notes, and in due time to render it in recitation."—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. 19.

PRELECTOR. Latin, prælector. One who reads an author to others and adds explanations; a reader; a lecturer.

Their so famous a prelectour doth teach.—Sheldon, Mir. of
Anti-Christ, p. 38.

If his reproof be private, or with the cathedrated authority of a prælector or public reader.—Whitlock, Mann. of the English, p. 385.

2. Same as FATHER, which see.

PREPOSITOR. Latin. A scholar appointed by the master to overlook the rest.

And when requested for the salt-cellar, I handed it with as much trepidation as a præposter gives the Doctor a list, when he is conscious of a mistake in the excuses.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 281.

PRESENTATION DAY. At Yale College, Presentation Day is the time when the Senior Class, having finished the prescribed course of study, and passed a satisfactory examination, are presented by the examiners to the President, as properly qualified to be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. A distinguished professor of the institution where this day is observed has kindly furnished the following interesting historical account of this observance.

"This presentation," he writes, "is a ceremony of long standing. It has certainly existed for more than a century. It is very early alluded to, not as a novelty, but as an established custom. There is now less formality on such occasions, but the substantial parts of the exercises are retained. The examination is now begun on Saturday and finished on Tuesday, and the day after, Wednesday, six weeks before the public Commencement, is the day of Presentation. There have sometimes been literary exercises on that day by one or more of the candidates, and sometimes they have been omitted. I have in my possession a Latin Oration, what, I suppose, was called a Cliosophic Oration, pronounced by William Samuel Johnson in 1744, at the presentation of his class. Sometimes a member of the class exhibited an English Oration, which was responded to by some one of the College Faculty, generally by one who had been the principal instructor of the class presented. A case of this kind occurred in 1776, when Mr., afterwards President Dwight, responded to the class orator in an address, which, being delivered the same July in which Independence was declared, drew, from its patriotic allusions, as well as for other reasons, unusual attention. It was published,—a rare thing at that period. Another response was delivered in 1796, by J. Stebbins, Tutor, which was likewise published. There has been no exhibition of the kind since. For a few years past, there have been an oration and a poem exhibited by members of the graduating class, at the time of presentation. The appointments for these exercises are made by the class.

"So much of an exhibition as there was at the presentation in 1778 has not been usual. More was then done, probably, from the fact, that for several years, during the Revolutionary war, there was no public Commencement. Perhaps it should be added, that, so far back as my information extends, after the literary exercises of Presentation Day, there has always been a dinner, or collation, at which the College Faculty, graduates, invited guests, and the Senior Class have been present."

A graduate of the present year[60] writes more particularly in relation to the observances of the day at the present time. "In the morning the Senior Class are met in one of the lecture-rooms by the chairman of the Faculty and the senior Tutor. The latter reads the names of those who have passed a satisfactory examination, and are to be recommended for degrees. The Class then adjourn to the College Chapel, where the President and some of the Professors are waiting to receive them. The senior Tutor reads the names as before, after which Professor Kingsley recommends the Class to the President and Faculty for the degree of B.A., in a Latin discourse. The President then responds in the same tongue, and addresses a few words of counsel to the Class.

"These exercises are followed by the Poem and Oration, delivered by members of the Class chosen for these offices by the Class. Then comes the dinner, given in one of the lecture-rooms. After this the Class meet in the College yard, and spend the afternoon in smoking (the old clay pipe is used, but no cigars) and singing. Thus ends the active life of our college days."

"Presentation Day," says the writer of the preface to the "Songs of Yale," "is the sixth Wednesday of the Summer Term, when the graduating Class, after having passed their second 'Biennial,' are presented to the President as qualified for the first degree, or the B.A. After this 'presentation,' a farewell oration and poem are pronounced by members of the Class, previously elected by their classmates for the purpose. After a public dinner, they seat themselves under the elms before the College, and smoke and sing for the last time together. Each has his pipe, and 'they who never' smoked 'before' now smoke, or seem to. The exercises are closed with a procession about the buildings, bidding each farewell." 1853, p. 4.

This last smoke is referred to in the following lines:—

 "Green elms are waving o'er us,
    Green grass beneath our feet,
  The ring is round, and on the ground
    We sit a class complete."
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

 "It is a very jolly thing,
  Our sitting down in this great ring,
  To smoke our pipes and loudly sing."—Ibid.

Pleasant reference is had to some of the more modern features of
Presentation Day, in the annexed extract from the "Yale Literary
Magazine":—

"There is one spot where the elms stretch their long arms, not 'in quest of thought,' but as though they would afford their friendly shade to make pleasant the last scene of the academic life. Seated in a circle in this place, which has been so often trampled by the 'stag-dance' of preceding classes, and made hallowed by associations which will cling around such places, are the present graduates. They have met together for the last time as a body, for they will not all be present at the closing ceremony of Commencement, nor all answer to the muster in the future Class reunions. It is hard to tell whether such a ceremony should be sad or joyous, for, despite the boisterous merriment and exuberance which arises from the prospect of freedom, there is something tender in the thought of meeting for the last time, to break strong ties, and lose individuality as a Class for ever.

"In the centre of the circle are the Class band, with horns, flutes, and violins, braying, piping, or saw-filing, at the option of the owners,—toot,—toot,—bum,—bang,—boo-o-o,—in a most melodious discord. Songs are distributed, pipes filled, and the smoke cloud rises, trembles as the chorus of a hundred voices rings out in a merry cadence, and then, breaking, soars off,—a fit emblem of the separation of those at whose parting it received its birth.

"'Braxton on the history of the Class!'

"'The Class history!—Braxton!—Braxton!'

"'In a moment, gentlemen,'—and our hero mounts upon a cask, and proceeds to give in burlesque a description of Class exploits and the wonderful success of its early graduates. Speeches follow, and the joke, and song, till the lengthening shadows bring a warning, and a preparation for the final ceremony. The ring is spread out, the last pipes smoked in College laid down, and the 'stag-dance,' with its rush, and their destruction ended. Again the ring forms, and each classmate moves around it to grasp each hand for the last time, and exchange a parting blessing.

"The band strike up, and the long procession march around the College, plant their ivy, and return to cheer the buildings."—Vol. XX. p. 228.

The following song was written by Francis Miles Finch of the class of 1849, for the Presentation Day of that year.

 "Gather ye smiles from the ocean isles,
    Warm hearts from river and fountain,
  A playful chime from the palm-tree clime,
    From the land of rock and mountain:
      And roll the song in waves along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And grand and hale are the elms of Yale,
        Like fathers, bending o'er us.

 "Summon our band from the prairie land,
    From the granite hills, dark frowning,
  From the lakelet blue, and the black bayou,
    From the snows our pine peaks crowning;
      And pour the song in joy along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And grand and hale are the towers of Yale,
        Like giants, watching o'er us.

 "Count not the tears of the long-gone years,
    With their moments of pain and sorrow,
  But laugh in the light of their memories bright,
    And treasure them all for the morrow;
      Then roll the song in waves along,
        While the hours are bright before us,
      And high and hale are the spires of Yale,
        Like guardians, towering o'er us.

 "Dream of the days when the rainbow rays
    Of Hope on our hearts fell lightly,
  And each fair hour some cheerful flower
    In our pathway blossomed brightly;
      And pour the song in joy along,
       Ere the moments fly before us,
     While portly and hale the sires of Yale
        Are kindly gazing o'er us.

 "Linger again in memory's glen,
    'Mid the tendrilled vines of feeling,
  Till a voice or a sigh floats softly by,
    Once more to the glad heart stealing;
      And roll the song on waves along,
        For the hours are bright before us,
      And in cottage and vale are the brides of Yale,
        Like angels, watching o'er us.

 "Clasp ye the hand 'neath the arches grand
    That with garlands span our greeting,
  With a silent prayer that an hour as fair
    May smile on each after meeting;
      And long may the song, the joyous song,
    Roll on in the hours before us,
      And grand and hale may the elms of Yale,
        For many a year, bend o'er us."

In the Appendix to President Woolsey's Historical Discourse delivered before the Graduates of Yale College, is the following account of Presentation Day, in 1778.

"The Professor of Divinity, two ministers of the town, and another minister, having accompanied me to the Library about 1, P.M., the middle Tutor waited upon me there, and informed me that the examination was finished, and they were ready for the presentation. I gave leave, being seated in the Library between the above ministers. Hereupon the examiners, preceded by the Professor of Mathematics, entered the Library, and introduced thirty candidates, a beautiful sight! The Diploma Examinatorium, with the return and minutes inscribed upon it, was delivered to the President, who gave it to the Vice-Bedellus, directing him to read it. He read it and returned it to the President, to be deposited among the College archives in perpetuam rei memoriam. The senior Tutor thereupon made a very eloquent Latin speech, and presented the candidates for the honors of the College. This presentation the President in a Latin speech accepted, and addressed the gentlemen examiners and the candidates, and gave the latter liberty to return home till Commencement. Then dismissed.

"At about 3, P.M., the afternoon exercises were appointed to begin. At 3-1/2, the bell tolled, and the assembly convened in the chapel, ladies and gentlemen. The President introduced the exercises in a Latin speech, and then delivered the Diploma Examinatorium to the Vice-Bedellus, who, standing on the pulpit stairs, read it publicly. Then succeeded,—

  Cliosophic Oration in Latin, by Sir Meigs.
  Poetical Composition in English, by Sir Barlow.
  Dialogue, English, by Sir Miller, Sir Chaplin, Sir Ely.
  Cliosophic Oration, English, by Sir Webster.
  Disputation, English, by Sir Wolcott, Sir Swift, Sir Smith.
  Valedictory Oration, English, by Sir Tracy.
  An Anthem. Exercises two hours."—p. 121.

PRESIDENT. In the United States, the chief officer of a college or university. His duties are, to preside at the meetings of the Faculty, at Exhibitions and Commencements, to sign the diplomas or letters of degree, to carry on the official correspondence, to address counsel and instruction to the students, and to exercise a general superintendence in the affairs of the college over which he presides.

At Harvard College it was formerly the duty of the President "to inspect the manners of the students, and unto his morning and evening prayers to join some exposition of the chapters which they read from Hebrew into Greek, from the Old Testament, in the morning, and out of English into Greek, from the New Testament, in the evening." At the same College, in the early part of the last century, Mr. Wadsworth, the President, states, "that he expounded the Scriptures, once eleven, and sometimes eight or nine times in the course of a week."—Harv. Reg., p. 249, and Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 440.

Similar duties were formerly required of the President at other American colleges. In some, at the present day, he performs the duties of a professor in connection with those of his own office, and presides at the daily religious exercises in the Chapel.

The title of President is given to the chief officer in some of the colleges of the English universities.

PRESIDENT'S CHAIR. At Harvard College, there is in the Library an antique chair, venerable by age and association, which is used only on Commencement Day, when it is occupied by the President while engaged in delivering the diplomas for degrees. "Vague report," says Quincy, "represents it to have been brought to the College during the presidency of Holyoke, as the gift of the Rev. Ebenezer Turell of Medford (the author of the Life of Dr. Colman). Turell was connected by marriage with the Mathers, by some of whom it is said to have been brought from England." Holyoke was President from 1737 to 1769. The round knobs on the chair were turned by President Holyoke, and attached to it by his own hands. In the picture of this honored gentleman, belonging to the College, he is painted in the old chair, which seems peculiarly adapted by its strength to support the weight which fills it.

Before the erection of Gore Hall, the present library building, the books of the College were kept in Harvard Hall. In the same building, also, was the Philosophy Chamber, where the chair usually stood for the inspection of the curious. Over this domain, from the year 1793 to 1800, presided Mr. Samuel Shapleigh, the Librarian. He was a dapper little bachelor, very active and remarkably attentive to the ladies who visited the Library, especially the younger portion of them. When ushered into the room where stood the old chair, he would watch them with eager eyes, and, as soon as one, prompted by a desire of being able to say, "I have sat in the President's Chair," took this seat, rubbing his hands together, he would exclaim, in great glee, "A forfeit! a forfeit!" and demand from the fair occupant a kiss, a fee which, whether refused or not, he very seldom failed to obtain.[61]

This custom, which seems now-a-days to be going out of fashion, is
mentioned by Mr. William Biglow, in a poem before the Phi Beta
Kappa Society, recited in their dining-hall, August 29, 1811.
Speaking of Commencement Day and its observances, he says:—

 "Now young gallants allure their favorite fair
  To take a seat in Presidential chair;
  Then seize the long-accustomed fee, the bliss
  Of the half ravished, half free-granted kiss."

The editor of Mr. Peirce's History of Harvard University publishes the following curious extracts from Horace Walpole's Private Correspondence, giving a description of some antique chairs found in England, exactly of the same construction with the College chair; a circumstance which corroborates the supposition that this also was brought from England.

HORACE WALPOLE TO GEORGE MONTAGU, ESQ.

"Strawberry Hill, August 20, 1761.

"Dickey Bateman has picked up a whole cloister full of old chairs in Herefordshire. He bought them one by one, here and there in farm-houses, for three and sixpence and a crown apiece. They are of wood, the seats triangular, the backs, arms, and legs loaded with turnery. A thousand to one but there are plenty up and down Cheshire, too. If Mr. and Mrs. Wetenhall, as they ride or drive out, would now and then pick up such a chair, it would oblige me greatly. Take notice, no two need be of the same pattern."—Private Correspondence of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, Vol. II. p. 279.

HORACE WALPOLE TO THE REV. MR. COLE.

"Strawberry Hill, March 9, 1765.

"When you go into Cheshire, and upon your ramble, may I trouble you with a commission? but about which you must promise me not to go a step out of your way. Mr. Bateman has got a cloister at old Windsor furnished with ancient wooden chairs, most of them triangular, but all of various patterns, and carved and turned in the most uncouth and whimsical forms. He picked them up one by one, for two, three, five, or six shillings apiece, from different farm-houses in Herefordshire. I have long envied and coveted them. There may be such in poor cottages in so neighboring a county as Cheshire. I should not grudge any expense for purchase or carriage, and should be glad even of a couple such for my cloister here. When you are copying inscriptions in a churchyard in any Village, think of me, and step into the first cottage you see, but don't take further trouble than that."—Ibid., Vol. III. pp. 23, 24, from Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 312.

An engraving of the chair is to be found in President Quincy's
History of Harvard University, Vol. I. p. 288.

PREVARICATOR. A sort of an occasional orator; an academical phrase in the University of Cambridge, Eng.—Johnson.

He should not need have pursued me through the various shapes of a divine, a doctor, a head of a college, a professor, a prevaricator, a mathematician.—Bp. Wren, Monarchy Asserted, Pref.

It would have made you smile to hear the prevaricator, in his jocular way, give him his title and character to face.—A. Philips, Life of Abp. Williams, p. 34.

See TERRÆ-FILIUS.

PREVIOUS EXAMINATION. In the English universities, the University examination in the second year.

Called also the LITTLE-GO.

The only practical connection that the Undergraduate usually has with the University, in its corporate capacity, consists in his previous examination, alias the "Little-Go," and his final examination for a degree, with or without honors.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 10.

PREX. A cant term for President.

After examination, I went to the old Prex, and was admitted. Prex, by the way, is the same as President.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

But take a peep with us, dear reader, into that sanctum sanctorum, that skull and bones of college mysteries, the Prex's room.—The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

Good old Prex used to get the students together and advise them on keeping their faces clean, and blacking their boots, &c.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. III. p. 228.

PRINCE'S STUFF. In the English universities, the fabric of which the gowns of the undergraduates are usually made.

[Their] every-day habit differs nothing as far as the gown is concerned, it being prince's stuff, or other convenient material.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. xv.

See COSTUME.

PRINCIPAL. At Oxford, the president of a college or hall is sometimes styled the Principal.—Oxf. Cal.

PRIVAT DOCENT. In German universities, a private teacher. "The so-called Privat Docenten," remarks Howitt, "are gentlemen who devote themselves to an academical career, who have taken the degree of Doctor, and through a public disputation have acquired the right to deliver lectures on subjects connected with their particular department of science. They receive no salary, but depend upon the remuneration derived from their classes."—Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 29.

PRIVATE. At Harvard College, one of the milder punishments is what is called private admonition, by which a deduction of thirty-two marks is made from the rank of the offender. So called in contradistinction to public admonition, when a deduction is made, and with it a letter is sent to the parent. Often abbreviated into private.

"Reckon on the fingers of your mind the reprimands, deductions, parietals, and privates in store for you."—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848.

  What are parietals, parts, privates now,
  To the still calmness of that placid brow?
    Class Poem, Harv. Coll., 1849.

PRIVATISSIMUM, pl. PRIVATISSIMI. Literally, most private. In the German universities, an especially private lecture.

To these Privatissimi, as they are called, or especially private lectures, being once agreed upon, no other auditors can be admitted.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 35.

  Then my Privatissimum—(I've been thinking on it
  For a long time—and in fact begun it)—
    Will cost me 20 Rix-dollars more,
    Please send with the ducats I mentioned before.
    The Jobsiad, in Lit. World, Vol. IX. p. 281.

  The use of a Privatissimum I can't conjecture,
  When one is already ten hours at lecture.
    Ibid., Vol. IX. p. 448.

PRIZEMAN. In universities and colleges, one who takes a prize.

  The Wrangler's glory in his well-earned fame,
  The prizeman's triumph, and the plucked man's shame.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

PROBATION. In colleges and universities, the examination of a student as to his qualifications for a degree.

2. The time which a student passes in college from the period of entering until he is matriculated and received as a member in full standing. In American colleges, this is usually six months, but can be prolonged at discretion.—Coll. Laws.

PROCEED. To take a degree. Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, says, "This term is still used at the English universities." It is sometimes used in American colleges.

In 1605 he proceeded Master of Arts, and became celebrated as a wit and a poet.—Poems of Bishop Corbet, p. ix.

They that expect to proceed Bachelors that year, to be examined of their sufficiency,… and such that expect to proceed Masters of Arts, to exhibit their synopsis of acts.

They, that are approved sufficient for their degrees, shall proceed.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 518.

The Overseers … recommended to the Corporation "to take effectual measures to prevent those who proceeded Bachelors of Arts, from having entertainments of any kind."—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 93.

When he proceeded Bachelor of Arts, he was esteemed one of the most perfect scholars that had ever received the honors of this seminary.—Holmes's Life of Ezra Stiles, p. 14.

Masters may proceed Bachelors in either of the Faculties, at the end of seven years, &c.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 10.

Of the surviving graduates, the oldest proceeded Bachelor of
Arts the very Commencement at which Dr. Stiles was elected to the
Presidency.—Woolsey's Discourse, Yale Coll., Aug. 14, 1850, p.
38.

PROCTOR. Contracted from the Latin procurator, from procuro; pro and curo.

In the University of Cambridge, Eng., two proctors are annually elected, who are peace-officers. It is their especial duty to attend to the discipline and behavior of all persons in statu pupillari, to search houses of ill-fame, and to take into custody women of loose and abandoned character, and even those de malo suspectcæ. Their other duties are not so menial in their character, and are different in different universities.—Cam. Cal.

At Oxford, "the proctors act as university magistrates; they are appointed from each college in rotation, and remain in office two years. They nominate four pro-proctors to assist them. Their chief duty, in which they are known to undergraduates, is to preserve order, and keep the town free from improper characters. When they go out in the evening, they are usually attended by two servants, called by the gownsmen bull-dogs…. The marshal, a chief officer, is usually in attendance on one of the proctors…. It is also the proctor's duty to take care that the cap and gown are worn in the University."—The Collegian's Guide, Oxford, pp. 176, 177.

At Oxford, the proctors "jointly have, as has the Vice-Chancellor singly, the power of interposing their veto or non placet, upon all questions in congregation and convocation, which puts a stop at once to all further proceedings in the matter. These are the 'censores morum' of the University, and their business is to see that the undergraduate members, when no longer under the ken of the head or tutors of their own college, behave seemly when mixing with the townsmen and restrict themselves, as far as may be, to lawful or constitutional and harmless amusements. Their powers extend over a circumference of three miles round the walls of the city. The proctors are easily recognized by their full dress gown of velvet sleeves, and bands-encircled neck."—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. xiii.

At Oxford, "the two proctors were formerly nearly equal in importance to the Vice-Chancellor. Their powers, though diminished, are still considerable, as they administer the police of the University, appoint the Examiners, and have a joint veto on all measures brought before Convocation."—Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 223.

The class of officers called Proctors was instituted at Harvard College in the year 1805, their duty being "to reside constantly and preserve order within the walls," to preserve order among the students, to see that the laws of the College are enforced, "and to exercise the same inspection and authority in their particular district, and throughout College, which it is the duty of a parietal Tutor to exercise therein."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 292.

I believe this is the only college in the United States where this class of academical police officers is established.

PROF, PROFF. Abbreviated for Professor.

The Proff thought he knew too much to stay here, and so he went his way, and I saw him no more.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 116.

  For Proffs and Tutors too,
  Who steer our big canoe,
    Prepare their lays.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. III. p. 144.

PROFESSOR. One that publicly teaches any science or branch of learning; particularly, an officer in a university, college, or other seminary, whose business is to read lectures or instruct students in a particular branch of learning; as a professor of theology or mathematics.—Webster.

PROFESSORIATE. The office or employment of a professor.

It is desirable to restore the professoriate.—Lit. World,
Vol. XII. p. 246.

PROFESSOR OF DUST AND ASHES. A title sometimes jocosely given by students to the person who has the care of their rooms.

Was interrupted a moment just now, by the entrance of Mr. C———, the gentleman who makes the beds, sweeps, takes up the ashes, and supports the dignity of the title, "Professor of Dust and Ashes."—Sketches of Williams College, p. 77.

The South College Prof. of Dust and Ashes has a huge bill against the Society.—Yale Tomahawk, Feb. 1851.

PROFICIENT. The degree of Proficient is conferred in the University of Virginia, in a certificate of proficiency, on those who have studied only in certain branches taught in some of the schools connected with that institution.

PRO MERITIS. Latin; literally, for his merits. A phrase customarily used in American collegiate diplomas.

  Then, every crime atoned with ease,
  Pro meritis, received degrees.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, Part I.

PRO-PROCTOR. In the English universities, an officer appointed to assist the proctors in that part of their duty only which relates to the discipline and behavior of those persons who are in statu pupillari.—Cam. and Oxf. Cals.

More familiarly, these officers are called pro's.

They [the proctors] are assisted in their duties by four pro-proctors, each principal being allowed to nominate his two "pro's."—Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xiii.

The pro's have also a strip of velvet on each side of the gown-front, and wear bands.—Ibid., p. xiii.

PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR. In the English universities a deputy appointed by the Vice-Chancellor, who exercises his power in case of his illness or necessary absence.

PROVOST. The President of a college.

Dr. Jay, on his arrival in England, found there Dr. Smith, Provost of the College in Philadelphia, soliciting aid for that institution.—Hist. Sketch of Columbia Coll., p. 36.

At Columbia College, in 1811, an officer was appointed, styled Provost, who, in absence of the President, was to supply his place, and who, "besides exercising the like general superintendence with the President," was to conduct the classical studies of the Senior Class. The office of Provost continued until 1816, when the Trustees determined that its powers and duties should devolve upon the President.—Ibid., p. 81.

At Oxford, the chief officer of some of the colleges bears this title. At Cambridge, it is appropriated solely to the President of King's College. "On the choice of a Provost," says the author of a History of the University of Cambridge, 1753, "the Fellows are all shut into the ante-chapel, and out of which they are not permitted to stir on any account, nor none permitted to enter, till they have all agreed on their man; which agreement sometimes takes up several days; and, if I remember right, they were three days and nights confined in choosing the present Provost, and had their beds, close-stools, &c. with them, and their commons, &c. given them in at the windows."—Grad. ad Cantab., p. 85.

PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE. In Yale College, a committee to whom the discretionary concerns of the College are intrusted. They order such repairs of the College buildings as are necessary, audit the accounts of the Treasurer and Steward, make the annual report of the state of the College, superintend the investment of the College funds, institute suits for the recovery and preservation of the College property, and perform various other duties which are enumerated in the laws of Yale College.

At Middlebury College, similar powers are given to a body bearing the same name.—Laws Mid. Coll., 1839, pp. 4, 5.

PUBLIC. At Harvard College, the punishment next higher in order to a private admonition is called a public admonition, and consists in a deduction of sixty-four marks from the rank of the offender, accompanied by a letter to the parent or guardian. It is often called a public.

See ADMONITION, and PRIVATE.

PUBLIC DAY. In the University of Virginia, the day on which "the certificates and diplomas are awarded to the successful candidates, the results of the examinations are announced, and addresses are delivered by one or more of the Bachelors and Masters of Arts, and by the Orator appointed by the Society of the Alumni."—Cat. of Univ. of Virginia.

This occurs on the closing day of the session, the 29th of June.

PUBLIC ORATOR. In the English universities, an officer who is the voice of the university on all public occasions, who writes, reads, and records all letters of a public nature, and presents, with an appropriate address, those on whom honorary degrees are conferred. At Cambridge, this it esteemed one of the most honorable offices in the gift of the university.—Cam. and Oxf. Cals.

PUMP. Among German students, to obtain or take on credit; to sponge.

  Und hat der Bursch kein Geld im Beutel,
  So pumpt er die Philister an.
    Crambambuli Song.

PUNY. A young, inexperienced person; a novice.

Freshmen at Oxford were called punies of the first year.—Halliwell's Dict. Arch. and Prov. Words.

PUT THROUGH. A phrase very general in its application. When a student treats, introduces, or assists another, or masters a hard lesson, he is said to put him or it through. In a discourse by the Rev. Dr. Orville Dewey, on the Law of Progress, referring to these words, he said "he had heard a teacher use the characteristic expression that his pupils should be 'put through' such and such studies. This, he said, is a modern practice. We put children through philosophy,—put them through history,—put them through Euclid. He had no faith in this plan, and wished to see the school teachers set themselves against this forcing process."

2. To examine thoroughly and with despatch.

First Thatcher, then Hadley, then Larned and Prex, Each put our class through in succession. Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

Q.

Q. See CUE.

QUAD. An abbreviation of QUADRANGLE, q.v.

How silently did all come down the staircases into the chapel quad, that evening!—Collegian's Guide, p. 88.

His mother had been in Oxford only the week before, and had been seen crossing the quad in tears.—Ibid., p. 144.

QUADRANGLE. At Oxford and Cambridge, Eng., the rectangular courts in which the colleges are constructed.

  Soon as the clouds divide, and dawning day
  Tints the quadrangle with its earliest ray.
    The College, in Blackwood's Mag., May, 1849.

QUARTER-DAY. The day when quarterly payments are made. The day that completes three months.

At Harvard and Yale Colleges, quarter-day, when the officers and instructors receive their quarterly salaries, was formerly observed as a holiday. One of the evils which prevailed among the students of the former institution, about the middle of the last century, was the "riotous disorders frequently committed on the quarter-days and evenings," on one of which, in 1764, "the windows of all the Tutors and divers other windows were broken," so that, in consequence, a vote was passed that "the observation of quarter-days, in distinction from other days, be wholly laid aside, and that the undergraduates be obliged to observe the studying hours, and to perform the college exercises, on quarter-day, and the day following, as at other times."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 216.

QUESTIONIST. In the English universities, a name given to those who are in the last term of their college course, and are soon to be examined for honors or degrees.—Webster.

In the "Orders agreed upon by the Overseers, at a meeting in Harvard College, May 6th, 1650," this word is used in the following sentence: "And, in case any of the Sophisters, Questionists, or Inceptors fail in the premises required at their hands,… they shall be deferred to the following year"; but it does not seem to have gained any prevalence in the College, and is used, it is believed, only in this passage.

QUILLWHEEL. At the Wesleyan University, "when a student," says a correspondent, "'knocks under,' or yields a point, he says he quillwheels, that is, he acknowledges he is wrong."

R.

RAG. This word is used at Union College, and is thus explained by a correspondent: "To rag and ragging, you will find of very extensive application, they being employed primarily as expressive of what is called by the vulgar thieving and stealing, but in a more extended sense as meaning superiority. Thus, if one declaims or composes much better than his classmates, he is said to rag all his competitors."

The common phrase, "to take the rag off," i.e. to excel, seems to be the form from which this word has been abbreviated.

RAKE. At Williams and at Bowdoin Colleges, used in the phrase "to rake an X," i.e. to recite perfectly, ten being the number of marks given for the best recitation.

RAM. A practical joke.

  —— in season to be just too late
  A successful ram to perpetrate.
    Sophomore Independent, Union Coll., Nov. 1854.

RAM ON THE CLERGY. At Middlebury College, a synonyme of the slang noun, "sell."

RANTERS. At Bethany College, in Virginia, there is "a band," says a correspondent, "calling themselves 'Ranters,' formed for the purpose of perpetrating all kinds of rascality and mischievousness, both on their fellow-students and the neighboring people. The band is commanded by one selected from the party, called the Grand Ranter, whose orders are to be obeyed under penalty of expulsion of the person offending. Among the tricks commonly indulged in are those of robbing hen and turkey roosts, and feasting upon the fruits of their labor, of stealing from the neighbors their horses, to enjoy the pleasure of a midnight ride, and to facilitate their nocturnal perambulations. If detected, and any complaint is made, or if the Faculty are informed of their movements, they seek revenge by shaving the tails and manes of the favorite horses belonging to the person informing, or by some similar trick."

RAZOR. A writer in the Yale Literary Magazine defines this word in the following sentence: "Many of the members of this time-honored institution, from whom we ought to expect better things, not only do their own shaving, but actually make their own razors. But I must explain for the benefit of the uninitiated. A pun, in the elegant college dialect, is called a razor, while an attempt at a pun is styled a sick razor. The sick ones are by far the most numerous; however, once in a while you meet with one in quite respectable health."—Vol. XIII. p. 283.

The meeting will be opened with razors by the Society's jester. —Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

  Behold how Duncia leads her chosen sons,
  All armed with squibs, stale jokes, dull razors, puns.
    The Gallinipper, Dec. 1849.

READ. To be studious; to practise much reading; e.g. at Oxford, to read for a first class; at Cambridge, to read for an honor. In America it is common to speak of "reading law, medicine," &c.

  We seven stayed at Christmas up to read;
  We seven took one tutor.
    Tennyson, Prologue to Princess.

In England the vacations are the very times when you read most. Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 78.

This system takes for granted that the students have "read," as it is termed, with a private practitioner of medicine.—Cat. Univ. of Virginia, 1851, p. 25.

READER. In the University of Oxford, one who reads lectures on scientific subjects.—Lyell.

2. At the English universities, a hard student, nearly equivalent to READING MAN.

Most of the Cantabs are late readers, so that, supposing one of them to begin at seven, he will not leave off before half past eleven.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 21.

READERSHIP. In the University of Oxford, the office of a reader or lecturer on scientific subjects.—Lyell.

READING. In the academic sense, studying.

One would hardly suspect them to be students at all, did not the number of glasses hint that those who carried them had impaired their sight by late reading.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 5.

READING MAN. In the English universities, a reading man is a hard student, or one who is entirely devoted to his collegiate studies.—Webster.

The distinction between "reading men" and "non-reading men" began to manifest itself.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 169.

We might wonder, perhaps, if in England the "[Greek: oi polloi]" should be "reading men," but with us we should wonder were they not.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 15.

READING PARTY. In England, a number of students who in vacation time, and at a distance from the university, pursue their studies together under the direction of a coach, or private tutor.

Of this method of studying, Bristed remarks: "It is not impossible to read on a reading-party; there is only a great chance against your being able to do so. As a very general rule, a man works best in his accustomed place of business, where he has not only his ordinary appliances and helps, but his familiar associations about him. The time lost in settling down and making one's self comfortable and ready for work in a new place is not inconsiderable, and is all clear loss. Moreover, the very idea of a reading-party involves a combination of two things incompatible, —amusement and relaxation beyond the proper and necessary quantity of daily exercise, and hard work at books.

"Reading-parties do not confine themselves to England or the island of Great Britain. Sometimes they have been known to go as far as Dresden. Sometimes a party is of considerable size; when a crack Tutor goes on one, which is not often, he takes his whole team with him, and not unfrequently a Classical and Mathematical Bachelor join their pupils."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 199-201.

READ UP. Students often speak of reading up, i.e. preparing themselves to write on a subject, by reading the works of authors who have treated of it.

REBELLION TREE. At Harvard College, a large elm-tree, which stands to the east of the south entry of Hollis Hall, has long been known by this name. It is supposed to have been planted at the request of Dr. Thaddeus M. Harris. His son, Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, the present Librarian of the College, says that his father has often told him, that when he held the office of Librarian, in the year 1792, a number of trees were set out in the College yard, and that one was planted opposite his room, No. 7 Hollis Hall, under which he buried a pewter plate, taken from the commons hall. On this plate was inscribed his name, the day of the month, the year, &c. From its situation and appearance, the Rebellion Tree would seem to be the one thus described; but it did not receive its name until the year 1807, when the famous rebellion occurred among the students, and perhaps not until within a few years antecedent to the year 1819. At that time, however, this name seems to have been the one by which it was commonly known, from the reference which is made to it in the Rebelliad, a poem written to commemorate the deeds of the rebellion of that year.

  And roared as loud as he could yell,
  "Come on, my lads, let us rebel!"

* * * * *

  With one accord they all agree
  To dance around Rebellion Tree.
  Rebelliad, p. 46.

  But they, rebellious rascals! flee
  For shelter to Rebellion Tree.
    Ibid., p. 60.

  Stands a tree in front of Hollis,
    Dear to Harvard over all;
  But than —— desert us,
    Rather let Rebellion fall.
    MS. Poem.

Other scenes are sometimes enacted under its branches, as the following verses show:—

  When the old year was drawing towards its close,
  And in its place the gladsome new one rose,
  Then members of each class, with spirits free,
  Went forth to greet her round Rebellion Tree.
  Round that old tree, sacred to students' rights,
  And witness, too, of many wondrous sights,
  In solemn circle all the students passed;
  They danced with spirit, until, tired, at last
  A pause they make, and some a song propose.
  Then "Auld Lang Syne" from many voices rose.
  Now, as the lamp of the old year dies out,
  They greet the new one with exulting shout;
  They groan for ——, and each class they cheer,
  And thus they usher in the fair new year.
    Poem before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., p. 19, 1849.

RECENTES. Latin for the English FRESHMEN. Consult Clap's History of Yale College, 1766, p. 124.

RECITATION. In American colleges and schools, the rehearsal of a lesson by pupils before their instructor.—Webster.

RECITATION-ROOM. The room where lessons are rehearsed by pupils before their instructor.

In the older American colleges, the rooms of the Tutors were formerly the recitation-rooms of the classes. At Harvard College, the benches on which the students sat when reciting were, when not in use, kept in piles, outside of the Tutors' rooms. When the hour of recitation arrived, they would carry them into the room, and again return them to their places when the exercise was finished. One of the favorite amusements of the students was to burn these benches; the spot selected for the bonfire being usually the green in front of the old meeting-house, or the common.

RECITE. Transitively, to rehearse, as a lesson to an instructor.

2. Intransitively, to rehearse a lesson. The class will recite at eleven o'clock.—Webster.

This word is used in both forms in American seminaries.

RECORD OF MERIT. At Middlebury College "a class-book is kept by each instructor, in which the character of each student's recitation is noted by numbers, and all absences from college exercises are minuted. Demerit for absences and other irregularities is also marked in like manner, and made the basis of discipline. At the close of each term, the average of these marks is recorded, and, when desired, communicated to parents and guardians." This book is called the record of merit.—Cat. Middlebury Coll., 1850-51, p. 17.

RECTOR. The chief elective officer of some universities, as in France and Scotland. The same title was formerly given to the president of a college in New England, but it is not now in use.—Webster.

The title of Rector was given to the chief officer of Yale College at the time of its foundation, and was continued until the year 1745, when, by "An Act for the more full and complete establishment of Yale College in New Haven," it was changed, among other alterations, to that of President.—Clap's Annals of Yale College, p. 47.

The chief officer of Harvard College at the time of its foundation was styled Master or Professor. Mr. Dunster was chosen the first President, in 1640, and those who succeeded him bore this title until the year 1686, when Mr. Joseph Dudley, having received the commission of President of the Colony, changed for the sake of distinction the title of President of the College to that of Rector. A few years after, the title of President was resumed. —Peirce's Hist. of Harv. Univ., p. 63.

REDEAT. Latin; literally, he may return. "It is the custom in some colleges," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "on coming into residence, to wait on the Dean, and sign your name in a book, kept for that purpose, which is called signing your Redeat."—p. 92.

REFECTORY. At Oxford, Eng., the place where the members of each college or hall dine. This word was originally applied to an apartment in convents and monasteries, where a moderate repast was taken.—Brande.

In Oxford there are nineteen colleges and five halls, containing dwelling-rooms for the students, and a distinct refectory or dining-hall, library, and chapel to each college and hall.—Oxf. Guide, 1847, p. xvi.

At Princeton College, this name is given to the hall where the students eat together in common.—Abbreviated REFEC.

REGENT. In the English universities, the regents, or regentes, are members of the university who have certain peculiar duties of instruction or government. At Cambridge, all resident Masters of Arts of less than four years' standing and all Doctors of less than two, are Regents. At Oxford, the period of regency is shorter. At both universities, those of a more advanced standing, who keep their names on the college books, are called non-regents. At Cambridge, the regents compose the upper house, and the non-regents the lower house of the Senate, or governing body. At Oxford, the regents compose the Congregation, which confers degrees, and does the ordinary business of the University. The regents and non-regents, collectively, compose the Convocation, which is the governing body in the last resort.—Webster.

See SENATE.

2. In the State of New York, the member of a corporate body which is invested with the superintendence of all the colleges, academies, and schools in the State. This board consists of twenty-one members, who are called the Regents of the University of the State of New York. They are appointed and removable by the legislature. They have power to grant acts of incorporation for colleges, to visit and inspect all colleges, academies, and schools, and to make regulations for governing the same.—Statutes of New York.

3. At Harvard College, an officer chosen from the Faculty, whose duties are under the immediate direction of the President. All weekly lists of absences, monitor's bills, petitions to the Faculty for excuse of absences from the regular exercises and for making up lessons, all petitions for elective studies, the returns of the scale of merit, and returns of delinquencies and deductions by the tutors and proctors, are left with the Regent, or deposited in his office. The Regent also informs those who petition for excuses, and for elective studies, of the decision of the Faculty in regard to their petitions. Formerly, the Regent assisted in making out the quarter or term bills, of which he kept a record, and when students were punished by fining, he was obliged to keep an account of the fines, and the offences for which they were imposed. Some of his duties were performed by a Freshman, who was appointed by the Faculty.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1814, and Regulations, 1850.

The creation of the office of Regent at Harvard College is noticed by Professor Sidney Willard. In the year 1800 "an officer was appointed to occupy a room in one of the halls to supply the place of a Tutor, for preserving order in the rooms in his entry, and to perform the duties that had been discharged by the Butler, so far as it regarded the keeping of certain records. He was allowed the service of a Freshman, and the offices of Butler and of Butler's Freshman were abolished. The title of this new officer was Regent."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. p. 107.

See FRESHMAN, REGENT'S.

REGISTER. In Union College, an officer whose duties are similar to those enumerated under REGISTRAR. He also acts, without charge, as fiscal guardian for all students who deposit funds in his hands.

REGISTRAR, REGISTRARY. In the English universities, an officer who has the keeping of all the public records.—Encyc.

At Harvard College, the Corporation appoint one of the Faculty to the office of Registrar. He keeps a record of the votes and orders passed by the latter body, gives certified copies of the same when requisite, and performs other like duties.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848.

REGIUS PROFESSOR. A name given in the British universities to the incumbents of those professorships which have been founded by royal bounty.

REGULATORS. At Hamilton College, "a Junior Class affair," writes a correspondent, "consisting of fifteen or twenty members, whose object is to regulate college laws and customs according to their own way. They are known only by their deeds. Who the members are, no one out of the band knows. Their time for action is in the night."

RELEGATION. In German universities, the relegation is the punishment next in severity to the consilium abeundi. Howitt explains the term in these words: "It has two degrees. First, the simple relegation. This consists in expulsion [out of the district of the court of justice within which the university is situated], for a period of from two to three years; after which the offender may indeed return, but can no more be received as an academical burger. Secondly, the sharper relegation, which adds to the simple relegation an announcement of the fact to the magistracy of the place of abode of the offender; and, according to the discretion of the court, a confinement in an ordinary prison, previous to the banishment, is added; and also the sharper relegation can be extended to more than four years, the ordinary term,—yes, even to perpetual expulsion."—Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 33.

RELIG. At Princeton College, an abbreviated name for a professor of religion.

RENOWN. German, renommiren, to hector, to bully. Among the students in German universities, to renown is, in English popular phrase, "to cut a swell."—Howitt.

The spare hours of the forenoon and afternoon are spent in fencing, in renowning,—that is, in doing things-which make people stare at them, and in providing duels for the morrow.—Russell's Tour in Germany, Edinburgh ed., 1825, Vol. II. pp. 156, 157.

We cannot be deaf to the testimony of respectable eyewitnesses, who, in proof of these defects, tell us … of "renowning," or wild irregularities, in which "the spare hours" of the day are spent.—D.A. White's Address before Soc. of the Alumni of Harv. Univ., Aug. 27, 1844, p. 24.

REPLICATOR. "The first discussions of the Society, called Forensic, were in writing, and conducted by only two members, styled the Respondent and the Opponent. Subsequently, a third was added, called a Replicator, who reviewed the arguments of the other two, and decided upon their comparative merits."—Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Philomathean Society, Union Coll., p. 9.

REPORT. A word much in use among the students of universities and colleges, in the common sense of to inform against, but usually spoken in reference to the Faculty.

  Thanks to the friendly proctor who spared to report me.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 79.

          If I hear again
  Of such fell outrage to the college laws,
  Of such loud tumult after eight o'clock,
  Thou'lt be reported to the Faculty.—Ibid., p. 257.

RESIDENCE. At the English universities, to be "in residence" is to occupy rooms as a member of a college, either in the college itself, or in the town where the college is situated.

Trinity … usually numbers four hundred undergraduates in residence.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 11.

At Oxford, an examination, not always a very easy one, must be passed before the student can be admitted to residence.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 232.

RESIDENT GRADUATE. In the United States, graduates who are desirous of pursuing their studies in a place where a college is situated, without joining any of its departments, can do so in the capacity of residents or resident graduates. They are allowed to attend the public lectures given in the institution, and enjoy the use of its library. Like other students, they give bonds for the payment of college dues.—Coll. Laws.

RESPONDENT. In the schools, one who maintains a thesis in reply, and whose province is to refute objections, or overthrow arguments.—Watts.

This word, with its companion, affirmant, was formerly used in American colleges, and was applied to those who engaged in the syllogistic discussions then incident to Commencement.

But the main exercises were disputations upon questions, wherein the respondents first made their theses.—Mather's Magnalia, B. IV. p. 128.

The syllogistic disputes were held between an affirmant and respondent, who stood in the side galleries of the church opposite to one another, and shot the weapons of their logic over the heads of the audience.—Pres. Woolsey's Hist. Disc., Yale Coll., p. 65.

In the public exercises at Commencement, I was somewhat remarked as a respondent.—Life and Works of John Adams, Vol. II. p. 3.

RESPONSION. In the University of Oxford, an examination about the middle of the college course, also called the Little-go.—Lyell.

See LITTLE-GO.

RETRO. Latin; literally, back. Among the students of the
University of Cambridge, Eng., used to designate a behind-hand
account. "A cook's bill of extraordinaries not settled by the
Tutor."—Grad. ad Cantab.

REVIEW. A second or repeated examination of a lesson, or the lesson itself thus re-examined.

  He cannot get the "advance," forgets "the review."
    Childe Harvard, p. 13.

RIDER. The meaning of this word, used at Cambridge, Eng., is given in the annexed sentence. "His ambition is generally limited to doing 'riders,' which are a sort of scholia, or easy deductions from the book-work propositions, like a link between them and problems; indeed, the rider being, as its name imports, attached to a question, the question is not fully answered until the rider is answered also."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 222.

ROLL A WHEEL. At the University of Vermont, in student parlance, to devise a scheme or lay a plot for an election or a college spree, is to roll a wheel. E.g. "John was always rolling a big wheel," i.e. incessantly concocting some plot.

ROOM. To occupy an apartment; to lodge; an academic use of the word.—Webster.

Inquire of any student at our colleges where Mr. B. lodges, and you will be told he rooms in such a building, such a story, or up so many flights of stairs, No. —, to the right or left.

The Rowes, years ago, used to room in Dartmouth Hall.—The
Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.

Rooming in college, it is convenient that they should have the more immediate oversight of the deportment of the students.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 133.

Seven years ago, I roomed in this room where we are now.—Yale
Lit. Mag., Vol. XII. p. 114.

When Christmas came again I came back to this room, but the man who roomed here was frightened and ran away.—Ibid., Vol. XII. p. 114.

Rent for these apartments is exacted from Sophomores, about sixty rooming out of college.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 26.

ROOT. A word first used in the sense given below by Dr. Paley. "He [Paley] held, indeed, all those little arts of underhand address, by which patronage and preferment are so frequently pursued, in supreme contempt. He was not of a nature to root; for that was his own expressive term, afterwards much used in the University to denote the sort of practice alluded to. He one day humorously proposed, at some social meeting, that a certain contemporary Fellow of his College [Christ's College, Cambridge, Eng.], at that time distinguished for his elegant and engaging manners, and who has since attained no small eminence in the Church of England, should be appointed Professor of Rooting."—Memoirs of Paley.

2. To study hard; to DIG, q.v.

Ill-favored men, eager for his old boots and diseased raiment, torment him while rooting at his Greek.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 267.

ROT. Twaddle, platitude. In use among the students at the
University of Cambridge, Eng.—Bristed.

ROWES. The name of a party which formerly existed at Dartmouth College. They are thus described in The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117: "The Rowes are very liberal in their notions. The Rowes don't pretend to say anything worse of a fellow than to call him a Blue, and vice versâ."

See BLUES.

ROWING. The making of loud and noisy disturbance; acting like a rowdy.

  Flushed with the juice of the grape,
        all prime and ready for rowing.
  When from the ground I raised
        the fragments of ponderous brickbat.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 98.

The Fellow-Commoners generally being more disposed to rowing than reading.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d. p. 34.

ROWING-MAN. One who is more inclined to fast living than hard study. Among English students used in contradistinction to READING-MAN, q.v.

When they go out to sup, as a reading-man does perhaps once a term, and a rowing-man twice a week, they eat very moderately, though their potations are sometimes of the deepest.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 21.

ROWL, ROWEL. At Princeton, Union, and Hamilton Colleges, this word is used to signify a good recitation. Used in the phrase, "to make a rowl." From the second of these colleges, a correspondent writes: "Also of the word rowl; if a public speaker presents a telling appeal or passage, he would make a perfect rowl, in the language of all students at least."

ROWL. To recite well. A correspondent from Princeton College defines this word, "to perform any exercise well, recitation, speech, or composition; to succeed in any branch or pursuit."

RUSH. At Yale College, a perfect recitation is denominated a rush.

I got my lesson perfectly, and what is more, made a perfect rush.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIII. p. 134.

  Every rush and fizzle made
  Every body frigid laid.
    Ibid., Vol. XX. p. 186.

This mark [that of a hammer with a note, "hit the nail on the head"] signifies that the student makes a capital hit; in other words, a decided rush.—Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

In dreams his many rushes heard. Ibid., Oct. 22, 1847.

This word is much used among students with the common meaning; thus, they speak of "a rush into prayers," "a rush into the recitation-room," &c. A correspondent from Dartmouth College says: "Rushing the Freshmen is putting them out of the chapel." Another from Williams writes: "Such a man is making a rush, and to this we often add—for the Valedictory."

  The gay regatta where the Oneida led,
  The glorious rushes, Seniors at the head.
    Class Poem, Harv. Coll., 1849.

One of the Trinity men … was making a tremendous rush for a Fellowship.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 158.

RUSH. To recite well; to make a perfect recitation.

It was purchased by the man,—who 'really did not look' at the lesson on which he 'rushed.'—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 411.

Then for the students mark flunks, even though the young men may be rushing.—Yale Banger, Oct., 1848.

  So they pulled off their coats, and rolled up their sleeves,
    And rushed in Bien. Examination.
    Presentation Day Songs, Yale Coll., June 14, 1854.

RUSTICATE. To send a student for a time from a college or university, to reside in the country, by way of punishment for some offence.

See a more complete definition under RUSTICATION.

  And those whose crimes are very great,
  Let us suspend or rusticate.—Rebelliad, p. 24.

  The "scope" of what I have to state
  Is to suspend and rusticate.—Ibid., p. 28.

The same meaning is thus paraphrastically conveyed:—

  By my official power, I swear,
  That you shall smell the country air.—Rebelliad, p. 45.

RUSTICATION. In universities and colleges, the punishment of a student for some offence, by compelling him to leave the institution, and reside for a time in the country, where he is obliged to pursue with a private instructor the studies with which his class are engaged during his term of separation, and in which he is obliged to pass a satisfactory examination before he can be reinstated in his class.

It seems plain from his own verses to Diodati, that Milton had incurred rustication,—a temporary dismission into the country, with, perhaps, the loss of a term.—Johnson.

  Take then this friendly exhortation.
  The next offence is Rustication.
    MS. Poem, by John Q. Adams.

RUST-RINGING. At Hamilton College, "the Freshmen," writes a correspondent, "are supposed to lose some of their verdancy at the end of the last term of that year, and the 'ringing off their rust' consists in ringing the chapel bell—commencing at midnight —until the rope wears out. During the ringing, the upper classes are diverted by the display of numerous fire-works, and enlivened by most beautifully discordant sounds, called 'music,' made to issue from tin kettle-drums, horse-fiddles, trumpets, horns, &c., &c."

S.

SACK. To expel. Used at Hamilton College.

SAIL. At Bowdoin College, a sail is a perfect recitation. To sail is to recite perfectly.

SAINT. A name among students for one who pretends to particular sanctity of manners.

Or if he had been a hard-reading man from choice,—or a stupid man,—or a "saint,"—no one would have troubled themselves about him.—Blackwood's Mag., Eng. ed., Vol. LX. p. 148.

SALTING THE FRESHMEN. In reference to this custom, which belongs to Dartmouth College, a correspondent from that institution writes: "There is an annual trick of 'salting the Freshmen,' which is putting salt and water on their seats, so that their clothes are injured when they sit down." The idea of preservation, cleanliness, and health is no doubt intended to be conveyed by the use of the wholesome articles salt and water.

SALUTATORIAN. The student of a college who pronounces the salutatory oration at the annual Commencement.—Webster.

SALUTATORY. An epithet applied to the oration which introduces the exercises of the Commencements in American colleges.—Webster.

The oration is often called, simply, The Salutatory.

And we ask our friends "out in the world," whenever they meet an
educated man of the class of '49, not to ask if he had the
Valedictory or Salutatory, but if he takes the
Indicator.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. II. p. 96.

SATIS. Latin; literally, enough. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the lowest honor in the schools. The manner in which this word is used is explained in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, as follows: "Satis disputasti; which is at much as to say, in the colloquial style, 'Bad enough.' Satis et bene disputasti, 'Pretty fair,—tolerable.' Satis et optime disputasti, 'Go thy ways, thou flower and quintessence of Wranglers.' Such are the compliments to be expected from the Moderator, after the act is kept."—p. 95.

S.B. An abbreviation for Scientiæ Baccalaureus, Bachelor in Science. At Harvard College, this degree is conferred on those who have pursued a prescribed course of study for at least one year in the Scientific School, and at the end of that period passed a satisfactory examination. The different degrees of excellence are expressed in the diploma by the words, cum laude, cum magna laude, cum summa laude.

SCARLET DAY. In the Church of England, certain festival days are styled scarlet days. On these occasions, the doctors in the three learned professions appear in their scarlet robes, and the noblemen residing in the universities wear their full dresses.—Grad. ad Cantab.

SCHEME. The printed papers which are given to the students at Yale College at the Biennial Examination, and which contain the questions that are to be answered, are denominated schemes. They are also called, simply, papers.

  See the down-cast air, and the blank despair,
  That sits on each Soph'more feature,
  As his bleared eyes gleam o'er that horrid scheme!
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 22.

  Olmsted served an apprenticeship setting up types,
    For the schemes of Bien. Examination.
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

  Here's health to the tutors who gave us good schemes,
          Vive la compagnie!
    Songs, Biennial Jubilee, 1855.

SCHOLAR. Any member of a college, academy, or school.

2. An undergraduate in English universities, who belongs to the foundation of a college, and receives support in part from its revenues.—Webster.

SCHOLAR OF THE HOUSE. At Yale College, those are called Scholars of the House who, by superiority in scholarship, become entitled to receive the income arising from certain foundations established for the purpose of promoting learning and literature. In some cases the recipient is required to remain at New Haven for a specified time, and pursue a course of studies under the direction of the Faculty of the College.—Sketches of Yale Coll., p. 86. Laws of Yale Coll.

2. "The scholar of the house," says President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse,—"scholaris ædilitus of the Latin laws,—before the institution of Berkeley's scholarships which had the same title, was a kind of ædile appointed by the President and Tutors to inspect the public buildings, and answered in a degree to the Inspector known to our present laws and practice. He was not to leave town until the Friday after Commencement, because in that week more than usual damage was done to the buildings."—p. 43.

The duties of this officer are enumerated in the annexed passage. "The Scholar of the House, appointed by the President, shall diligently observe and set down the glass broken in College windows, and every other damage done in College, together with the time when, and the person by whom, it was done; and every quarter he shall make up a bill of such damages, charged against every scholar according to the laws of College, and deliver the same to the President or the Steward, and the Scholar of the House shall tarry at College until Friday noon after the public Commencement, and in that time shall be obliged to view any damage done in any chamber upon the information of him to whom the chamber is assigned."—Laws of Yale Coll., 1774, p. 22.

SCHOLARSHIP. Exhibition or maintenance for a scholar; foundation for the support of a student—Ainsworth.

SCHOOL. THE SCHOOLS, pl.; the seminaries for teaching logic, metaphysics, and theology, which were formed in the Middle Ages, and which were characterized by academical disputations and subtilties of reasoning; or the learned men who were engaged in discussing nice points in metaphysics or theology.—Webster.

2. In some American colleges, the different departments for teaching law, medicine, divinity, &c. are denominated schools.

3. The name given at the University of Oxford to the place of examination. The principal exercises consist of disputations in philosophy, divinity, and law, and are always conducted in a sort of barbarous Latin.

I attended the Schools several times, with the view of acquiring the tact and self-possession so requisite in these public contests.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 39.

There were only two sets of men there, one who fagged unremittingly for the Schools, and another devoted to frivolity and dissipation.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 141.

S.C.L. At the English universities, one who is pursuing law studies and has not yet received the degree of B.C.L. or D.C.L., is designated S.C.L., Student in or of Civil Law.

At the University of Cambridge, Eng., persons in this rank who have kept their acts wear a full-sleeved gown, and are entitled to use a B.A. hood.

SCONCE. To mulct; to fine. Used at the University of Oxford.

A young fellow of Baliol College, having, upon some discontent cut his throat very dangerously, the Master of the College sent his servitor to the buttery-book to sconce (i.e. fine) him 5s.; and, says the Doctor, tell him the next time he cuts his throat I'll sconce him ten.—Terræ-Filius, No. 39.

Was sconced in a quart of ale for quoting Latin, a passage from
Juvenal; murmured, and the fine was doubled.—The Etonian, Vol.
II. p. 391.

SCOUT. A cant term at Oxford for a college servant or waiter.—Oxford Guide.

My scout, indeed, is a very learned fellow, and has an excellent knack at using hard words. One morning he told me the gentleman in the next room contagious to mine desired to speak to me. I once overheard him give a fellow-servant very sober advice not to go astray, but be true to his own wife; for idolatry would surely bring a man to instruction at last.—The Student, Oxf. and Cam., 1750, Vol. I. p. 55.

An anteroom, or vestibule, which serves the purpose of a scout's pantry.—The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 280.

Scouts are usually pretty communicative of all they know.—Blackwood's Mag., Eng. ed., Vol. LX. p. 147.

Sometimes used in American colleges.

In order to quiet him, we had to send for his factotum or scout, an old black fellow.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XI. p. 282.

SCRAPE. To insult by drawing the feet over the floor.—Grose.

  But in a manner quite uncivil,
  They hissed and scraped him like the devil.
    Rebelliad, p. 37.

                             "I do insist,"
  Quoth he, "that two, who scraped and hissed,
  Shall be condemned without a jury
  To pass the winter months in rure."—Ibid., p. 41.

They not unfrequently rose to open outrage or some personal molestation, as casting missiles through his windows at night, or "scraping him" by day.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 25.

SCRAPING. A drawing of, or the act of drawing, the feet over the floor, as an insult to some one, or merely to cause disturbance; a shuffling of the feet.

New lustre was added to the dignity of their feelings by the pathetic and impressive manner in which they expressed them, which was by stamping and scraping majestically with their feet, when in the presence of the detested tutors.—Don Quixotes at College, 1807.

The morning and evening daily prayers were, on the next day (Thursday), interrupted by scraping, whistling, groaning, and other disgraceful noises.—Circular, Harvard College, 1834, p. 9.

This word is used in the universities and colleges of both England and America.

SCREW. In some American colleges, an excessive, unnecessarily minute, and annoying examination of a student by an instructor is called a screw. The instructor is often designated by the same name.

  Haunted by day with fearful screw.
    Harvard Lyceum, p. 102.

  Screws, duns, and other such like evils.
    Rebelliad, p. 77.

One must experience all the stammering and stuttering, the unending doubtings and guessings, to understand fully the power of a mathematical screw.—Harv. Reg., p. 378.

The consequence was, a patient submission to the screw, and a loss of college honors and patronage.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 26.

I'll tell him a whopper next time, and astonish him so that he'll forget his screws.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XI. p. 336.

What a darned screw our tutor is.—Ibid.

Apprehension of the severity of the examination, or what in after times, by an academic figure of speech, was called screwing, or a screw, was what excited the chief dread.—Willard's Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. p. 256.

Passing such an examination is often denominated taking a screw.

  And sad it is to take a screw.
    Harv. Reg., p. 287.

2. At Bowdoin College, an imperfect recitation is called a screw.

  You never should look blue, sir,
  If you chance to take a "screw," sir,
  To us it's nothing new, sir,
    To drive dull care away.
    The Bowdoin Creed.

  We've felt the cruel, torturing screw,
    And oft its driver's ire.
    Song, Sophomore Supper, Bowdoin Coll., 1850.

SCREW. To press with an excessive and unnecessarily minute examination.

  Who would let a tutor knave
  _Screw _him like a Guinea slave!
    Rebelliad, p. 53.

  Have I been screwed, yea, deaded morn and eve,
  Some dozen moons of this collegiate life?
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 255.

  O, I do well remember when in college,
  How we fought reason,—battles all in play,—
  Under a most portentous man of knowledge,
  The captain-general in the bloodless fray;
  He was a wise man, and a good man, too,
  And robed himself in green whene'er he came to screw.
    Our Chronicle of '26, Boston, 1827.

In a note to the last quotation, the author says of the word screw: "For the information of the inexperienced, we explain this as a term quite rife in the universities, and, taken substantively, signifying an intellectual nonplus."

At last the day is ended, The tutor screws no more. Knick. Mag., Vol. XLV. p. 195.

SCREWING UP. The meaning of this phrase, as understood by English Cantabs, may be gathered from the following extract. "A magnificent sofa will be lying close to a door … bored through from top to bottom from the screwing up of some former unpopular tenant; "screwing up" being the process of fastening on the outside, with nails and screws, every door of the hapless wight's apartments. This is done at night, and in the morning the gentleman is leaning three-fourths out of his window, bawling for rescue."—Westminster Rev., Am. Ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 239.

SCRIBBLING-PAPER. A kind of writing-paper, rather inferior in quality, a trifle larger than foolscap, and used at the English universities by mathematicians and in the lecture-room.—Bristed. Grad. ad Cantab.

Cards are commonly sold at Cambridge as "scribbling-paper."—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 238.

The summer apartment contained only a big standing-desk, the eternal "scribbling-paper," and the half-dozen mathematical works required.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 218.

SCROUGE. An exaction. A very long lesson, or any hard or unpleasant task, is usually among students denominated a scrouge.

SCROUGE. To exact; to extort; said of an instructor who imposes difficult tasks on his pupils.

It is used provincially in England, and in America in some of the Northern and Southern States, with the meaning to crowd, to squeeze.—Bartlett's Dict. of Americanisms.

SCRUB. At Columbia College, a servant.

2. One who is disliked for his meanness, ill-breeding, or vulgarity. Nearly equivalent to SPOON, q.v.

SCRUBBY. Possessing the qualities of a scrub. Partially synonymous with the adjective SPOONY, q.v.

SCRUTATOR. In the University of Cambridge, England, an officer whose duty it is to attend all Congregations, to read the graces to the lower house of the Senate, to gather the votes secretly, or to take them openly in scrutiny, and publicly to pronounce the assent or dissent of that house.—Cam. Cal.

SECOND-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the title of Second-Year Men, or Junior Sophs or Sophisters, is given to students during the second year of their residence at the University.

SECTION COURT. At Union College, the college buildings are divided into sections, a section comprising about fifteen rooms. Within each section is established a court, which is composed of a judge, an advocate, and a secretary, who are chosen by the students resident therein from their own number, and hold their offices during one college term. Each section court claims the power to summon for trial any inhabitant within the bounds of its jurisdiction who may be charged with improper conduct. The accused may either defend himself, or select some person to plead for him, such residents of the section as choose to do so acting as jurors. The prisoner, if found guilty, is sentenced at the discretion of the court,—generally, to treat the company to some specified drink or dainty. These courts often give occasion for a great deal of fun, and sometimes call out real wit and eloquence.

At one of our "section courts," which those who expected to enter upon the study of the law used to hold, &c.—The Parthenon, Union Coll., 1851, p. 19.

SECTION OFFICER. At Union College, each section of the college buildings, containing about fifteen rooms, is under the supervision of a professor or tutor, who is styled the section officer. This officer is required to see that there be no improper noise in the rooms or corridors, and to report the absence of students from chapel and recitation, and from their rooms during study hours.

SEED. In Yale College this word is used to designate what is understood by the common cant terms, "a youth"; "case"; "bird"; "b'hoy"; "one of 'em."

  While tutors, every sport defeating,
  And under feet-worn stairs secreting,
  And each dark lane and alley beating,
  Hunt up the seeds in vain retreating.
    Yale Banger, Nov. 1849.

  The wretch had dared to flunk a gory seed!
    Ibid., Nov. 1849.

  One tells his jokes, the other tells his beads,
  One talks of saints, the other sings of seeds.
    Ibid., Nov. 1849.

  But we are "seeds," whose rowdy deeds
    Make up the drunken tale.
    Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

  First Greek he enters; and with reckless speed
  He drags o'er stumps and roots each hapless seed.
    Ibid., Nov. 1849.

  Each one a bold seed, well fit for the deed,
    But of course a little bit flurried.
    Ibid., May, 1852.

SEEDY. At Yale College, rowdy, riotous, turbulent.

And snowballs, falling thick and fast As oaths from seedy Senior crowd. Yale Gallinipper, Nov. 1848.

A seedy Soph beneath a tree. Yale Gallinipper, Nov. 1848.

2. Among English Cantabs, not well, out of sorts, done up; the sort of feeling that a reading man has after an examination, or a rowing man after a dinner with the Beefsteak Club. Also, silly, easy to perform.—Bristed.

The owner of the apartment attired in a very old dressing-gown and slippers, half buried in an arm-chair, and looking what some young ladies call interesting, i.e. pale and seedy.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 151.

You will seldom find anything very seedy set for
Iambics.—Ibid., p. 182.

SELL. An unexpected reply; a deception or trick.

In the Literary World, March 15, 1851, is the following explanation of this word: "Mr. Phillips's first introduction to Curran was made the occasion of a mystification, or practical joke, in which Irish wits have excelled since the time of Dean Swift, who was wont (vide his letters to Stella) to call these jocose tricks 'a sell,' from selling a bargain." The word bargain, however, which Johnson, in his Dictionary, defines "an unexpected reply tending to obscenity," was formerly used more generally among the English wits. The noun sell has of late been revived in this country, and is used to a certain extent in New York and Boston, and especially among the students at Cambridge.

  I sought some hope to borrow, by thinking it a "sell"
  By fancying it a fiction, my anguish to dispel.
    Poem before the Iadma of Harv. Coll., 1850, p. 8.

SELL. To give an unexpected answer; to deceive; to cheat.

For the love you bear me, never tell how badly I was sold.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 94.

The use of this verb is much more common in the United States than that of the noun of the same spelling, which is derived from it; for instance, we frequently read in the newspapers that the Whigs or Democrats have been sold, i.e. defeated in an election, or cheated in some political affair. The phrase to sell a bargain, which Bailey defines "to put a sham upon one," is now scarcely ever heard. It was once a favorite expression with certain English writers.

Where sold he bargains, Whipstitch?—Dryden.

  No maid at court is less ashamed,
  Howe'er for selling bargains famed.—Swift.

Dr. Sheridan, famous for punning, intending to sell a bargain, said, he had made a very good pun.—Swift, Bons Mots de Stella.

SEMESTER. Latin, semestris, sex, six, and mensis, month. In the German universities, a period or term of six months. The course of instruction occupies six semesters. Class distinctions depend upon the number of semesters, not of years. During the first semester, the student is called Fox, in the second Burnt Fox, and then, successively, Young Bursch, Old Bursch, Old House, and Moss-covered Head.

SENATE. In the University of Cambridge, England, the legislative body of the University. It is divided into two houses, called REGENT and NON-REGENT. The former consists of the vice-chancellor, proctors, taxors, moderators, and esquire-beadles, all masters of arts of less than five years' standing, and all doctors of divinity, civil law, and physic, of less than two, and is called the UPPER HOUSE, or WHITE-HOOD HOUSE, from its members wearing hoods lined with white silk. The latter is composed of masters of arts of five years' standing, bachelors of divinity, and doctors in the three faculties of two years' standing, and is known as the LOWER HOUSE, or BLACK-HOOD HOUSE, its members wearing black silk hoods. To have a vote in the Senate, the graduate must keep his name on the books of some college (which involves a small annual payment), or in the list of the commorantes in villâ.—Webster. Cam. Cal. Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 283.

2. At Union College, the members of the Senior Class form what is called the Senate, a body organized after the manner of the Senate of the United States, for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the forms and practice of legislation. The members of the Junior Class compose the House of Representatives. The following account, showing in what manner the Senate is conducted, has been furnished by a member of Union College.

"On the last Friday of the third term, the House of Representatives meet in their hall, and await their initiation to the Upper House. There soon appears a committee of three, who inform them by their chairman of the readiness of the Senate to receive them, and perhaps enlarge upon the importance of the coming trust, and the ability of the House to fill it.

"When this has been done, the House, headed by the committee, proceed to the Senate Chamber (Senior Chapel), and are arranged by the committee around the President, the Senators (Seniors) meanwhile having taken the second floor. The President of the Senate then rises and delivers an appropriate address, informing them of their new dignities and the grave responsibilities of their station. At the conclusion of this they take their seats, and proceed to the election of officers, viz. a President, a Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The President must be a member of the Faculty, and is chosen for a term; the other officers are selected from the House, and continue in office but half a term. The first Vice-Presidency of the Senate is considered one of the highest honors conferred by the class, and great is the strife to obtain it.

"The Senate meet again on the second Friday of the next term, when they receive the inaugural message of the President. He then divides them into seven districts, each district including the students residing in a Section, or Hall of College, except the seventh, which is filled by the students lodging in town. The Senate is also divided into a number of standing committees, as Law, Ethics, Political Economy. Business is referred to these committees, and reported on by them in the usual manner. The time of the Senate is principally occupied with the discussion of resolutions, in committee of the whole; and these discussions take the place of the usual Friday afternoon recitation. At Commencement the Senate have an orator of their own election, who must, however, have been a past or honorary member of their body. They also have a committee on the 'Commencement Card.'"

On the same subject, another correspondent writes as follows:—

"The Senate is composed of the Senior Class, and is intended as a school of parliamentary usages. The officers are a President, Vice-President, and Secretary, who are chosen once a term. At the close of the second term, the Junior Class are admitted into the Senate. They are introduced by a committee of Senators, and are expected to remain standing and uncovered during the ceremony, the President and Senators being seated and covered. After a short address by the President, the old Senators leave the house, and the Juniors proceed to elect their officers for the third term. Dr. Thomas C. Reed who was the founder of the Senate, was always elected President during his connection with the College, but rarely took his place in the chamber except at the introduction of the Juniors. The Vice-President for the third term, who takes a part in the ceremonies of commencement, is considered to hold the highest honor of the class, and his election is attended with more excitement than any other in the College."

See COMMENCEMENT CARD; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SENATE-HOUSE. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the building in which the public business of the University, such as examinations, the passing of graces, and admission to degrees, is carried on.—Cam. Guide.

SENATUS ACADEMICUS. At Trinity College, Hartford, the Senatus Academicus consists of two houses, known as the CORPORATION and the HOUSE OF CONVOCATION, q.v.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 6.

SENE. An abbreviation for Senior.

  Magnificent Juns, and lazy Senes.
    Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

  A rare young blade is the gallant Sene.
    Ibid., Nov. 1850.

SENIOR. One in the fourth year of his collegiate course at an American college; originally called Senior Sophister. Also one in the third year of his course at a theological seminary.—Webster.

See SOPHISTER.

SENIOR. Noting the fourth year of the collegiate course in American colleges, or the third year in theological seminaries.—Webster.

SENIOR BACHELOR. One who is in his third year after taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It is further explained by President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse: "Bachelors were called Senior, Middle, or Junior Bachelors, according to the year since graduation and before taking the degree of Master."—p. 122.

SENIOR CLASSIC. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the student who passes best in the voluntary examination in classics, which follows the last required examination in the Senate-House.

No one stands a chance for Senior Classic alongside of him.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 55.

Two men who had been rivals all the way through school and through college were racing for Senior Classic.—Ibid., p. 253.

SENIOR FELLOW. At Trinity College, Hartford, the Senior Fellow is a person chosen to attend the college examinations during the year.

SENIOR FRESHMAN. The name of the second of the four classes into which undergraduates are divided at Trinity College, Dublin.

SENIORITY. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the eight Senior Fellows and the Master of a college compose what is called the Seniority. Their decisions in all matters are generally conclusive.

My duty now obliges me, however reluctantly, to bring you before the Seniority.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 75.

SENIOR OPTIME. Those who occupy the second rank in honors at the close of the final examination at the University of Cambridge, Eng., are denominated Senior Optimes.

The Second Class, or that of Senior Optimes, is larger in number [than that of the Wranglers], usually exceeding forty, and sometimes reaching above sixty. This class contains a number of disappointments, many who expect to be Wranglers, and some who are generally expected to be.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 228.

The word is frequently abbreviated.

The Pembroker … had the pleasant prospect of getting up all his mathematics for a place among the Senior Ops.—Ibid., p. 158.

He would get just questions enough to make him a low Senior Op. —Ibid., p. 222.

SENIOR ORATION. "The custom of delivering Senior Orations," says a correspondent, "is, I think, confined to Washington and Jefferson Colleges in Pennsylvania. Each member of the Senior Class, taking them in alphabetical order, is required to deliver an oration before graduating, and on such nights as the Faculty may decide. The public are invited to attend, and the speaking is continued at appointed times, until each member of the Class has spoken."

SENIOR SOPHISTER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a student in the third year of his residence is called a Senior Soph or Sophister.

2. In some American colleges, a member of the Senior Class, i.e. of the fourth year, was formerly designated a Senior Sophister.

See SOPHISTER.

SENIOR WRANGLER. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the Senior
Wrangler is the student who passes the best examination in the
Senate-House, and by consequence holds the first place on the
Mathematical Tripos.

The only road to classical honors and their accompanying emoluments in the University, and virtually in all the Colleges, except Trinity, is through mathematical honors, all candidates for the Classical Tripos being obliged as a preliminary to obtain a place in that mathematical list which is headed by the Senior Wrangler and tailed by the Wooden Spoon.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 34.

SEQUESTER. To cause to retire or withdraw into obscurity. In the following passage it is used in the collegiate sense of suspend or rusticate.

Though they were adulti, they were corrected in the College, and sequestered, &c. for a time.—Winthrop's Journal, by Savage, Vol. II. p. 88.

SERVITOR. In the University of Oxford, an undergraduate who is partly supported by the college funds. Servitors formerly waited at table, but this is now dispensed with. The order similar to that of the servitor was at Cambridge styled the order of Sub-sizars. This has been long extinct. The sizar at Cambridge is at present nearly equivalent to the Oxford servitor.—Gent. Mag., 1787, p. 1146. Brande.

"It ought to be known," observes De Quincey, "that the class of 'servitors,' once a large body in Oxford, have gradually become practically extinct under the growing liberality of the age. They carried in their academic dress a mark of their inferiority; they waited at dinner on those of higher rank, and performed other menial services, humiliating to themselves, and latterly felt as no less humiliating to the general name and interests of learning."—Life and Manners, p. 272.

A reference to the cruel custom of "hunting the servitor" is to be found in Sir John Hawkins's Life of Dr. Johnson, p. 12.

SESSION. At some of the Southern and Western colleges of the United States, the time during which instruction is regularly given to the students; a term.

The session commences on the 1st of October, and continues without interruption until the 29th of June.—Cat. of Univ. of Virginia, 1851, p. 15.

SEVENTY-EIGHTH PSALM. The recollections which cluster around this Psalm, so well known to all the Alumni of Harvard, are of the most pleasant nature. For more than a hundred years, it has been sung at the dinner given on Commencement day at Cambridge, and for more than a half-century to the tune of St. Martin's. Mr. Samuel Shapleigh, who graduated at Harvard College in the year 1789, and who was afterwards its Librarian, on the leaf of a hymn-book makes a memorandum in reference to this Psalm, to the effect that it has been sung at Cambridge on Commencement day "from time immemorial." The late Rev. Dr. John Pierce, a graduate of the class of 1793, referring to the same subject, remarks: "The Seventy-eighth Psalm, it is supposed, has, from the foundation of the College, been sung in the common version of the day." In a poem, entitled Education, delivered at Cambridge before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, by Mr. William Biglow, July 18th, 1799, speaking of the conduct and manners of the students, the author says:—

 "Like pigs they eat, they drink an ocean dry,
  They steal like France, like Jacobins they lie,
  They raise the very Devil, when called to prayers,
  'To sons transmit the same, and they again to theirs'";

and, in explanation of the last line, adds this note: "Alluding to the Psalm which is always sung in Harvard Hall on Commencement day." In his account of some of the exercises attendant upon the Commencement at Harvard College in 1848, Professor Sidney Willard observes: "At the Commencement dinner the sitting is not of long duration; and we retired from table soon after the singing of the Psalm, which, with some variation in the version, has been sung on the same occasion from time immemorial."—Memoirs of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. p. 65.

But that we cannot take these accounts as correct in their full extent, appears from an entry in the MS. Diary of Chief Justice Sewall relating to a Commencement in 1685, which he closes with these words: "After Dinner ye 3d part of ye 103d Ps. was sung in ye Hall."

In the year 1793, at the dinner on Commencement Day, the Rev. Joseph Willard, then President of the College, requested Mr. afterwards Dr. John Pierce, to set the tune to the Psalm; with which request having complied to the satisfaction of all present, he from that period until the time of his death, in 1849, performed this service, being absent only on one occasion. Those who have attended Commencement dinners during the latter part of this period cannot but associate with this hallowed Psalm the venerable appearance and the benevolent countenance of this excellent man.

In presenting a list of the different versions in which this Psalm has been sung, it must not be supposed that entire correctness has been reached; the very scanty accounts which remain render this almost impossible, but from these, which on a question of greater importance might be considered hardly sufficient, it would appear that the following are the versions in which the sons of Harvard have been accustomed to sing the Psalm of the son of Jesse.

1.—The New England Version.

"In 1639 there was an agreement amo. ye Magistrates and Ministers to set aside ye Psalms then printed at ye end of their Bibles, and sing one more congenial to their ideas of religion." Rev. Mr. Richard Mather of Dorchester, and Rev. Mr. Thomas Weld and Rev. Mr. John Eliot of Roxbury, were selected to make a metrical translation, to whom the Rev. Thomas Shepard of Cambridge gives the following metrical caution:—

 "Ye Roxbury poets, keep clear of ye crime
  Of missing to give us very good rhyme,
  And you of Dorchester, your verses lengthen,
  But with the texts own words you will y'm strengthen."

The version of this ministerial trio was printed in the year 1640, at Cambridge, and has the honor of being the first production of the North American press that rises to the dignity of a book. It was entitled, "The Psalms newly turned into Metre." A second edition was printed in 1647. "It was more to be commended, however," says Mr. Peirce, in his History of Harvard University, "for its fidelity to the text, than for the elegance of its versification, which, having been executed by persons of different tastes and talents, was not only very uncouth, but deficient in uniformity. President Dunster, who was an excellent Oriental scholar, and possessed the other requisite qualifications for the task, was employed to revise and polish it; and in two or three years, with the assistance of Mr. Richard Lyon, a young gentleman who was sent from England by Sir Henry Mildmay to attend his son, then a student in Harvard College, he produced a work, which, under the appellation of the 'Bay Psalm-Book,' was, for a long time, the received version in the New England congregations, was also used in many societies in England and Scotland, and passed through a great number of editions, both at home and abroad."—p. 14.

The Seventy-eighth Psalm is thus rendered in the first edition:—

  Give listning eare unto my law,
    Yee people that are mine,
  Unto the sayings of my mouth
    Doe yee your eare incline.

  My mouth I'le ope in parables,
    I'le speak hid things of old:
  Which we have heard, and knowne: and which
    Our fathers have us told.

  Them from their children wee'l not hide,
    To th' after age shewing
  The Lords prayses; his strength, and works
    Of his wondrous doing.

  In Jacob he a witnesse set,
    And put in Israell
  A law, which he our fathers charg'd
    They should their children tell:

  That th' age to come, and children which
    Are to be borne might know;
  That they might rise up and the same
    Unto their children show.

  That they upon the mighty God
    Their confidence might set:
  And Gods works and his commandment
    Might keep and not forget,

  And might not like their fathers be,
    A stiffe, stout race; a race
  That set not right their hearts: nor firme
    With God their spirit was.

The Bay Psalm-Book underwent many changes in the various editions through which it passed, nor was this psalm left untouched, as will be seen by referring to the twenty-sixth edition, published in 1744, and to the edition of 1758, revised and corrected, with additions, by Mr. Thomas Prince.

2.—Watts's Version.

The Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Isaac Watts were first published in this country by Dr. Franklin, in the year 1741. His version is as follows:—

  Let children hear the mighty deeds
    Which God performed of old;
  Which in our younger years we saw,
    And which our fathers told.

  He bids us make his glories known,
    His works of power and grace,
  And we'll convey his wonders down
    Through every rising race.

  Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
    And they again to theirs,
  That generations yet unborn
    May teach them to their heirs.

  Thus shall they learn in God alone
    Their hope securely stands,
  That they may ne'er forget his works,
    But practise his commands;

3.—Brady and Tate's Version.

In the year 1803, the Seventy-eighth Psalm was first printed on a small sheet and placed under every plate, which practice has since been always adopted. The version of that year was from Brady and Tate's collection, first published in London in 1698, and in this country about the year 1739. It was sung to the tune of St. Martin's in 1805, as appears from a memorandum in ink on the back of one of the sheets for that year, which reads, "Sung in the hall, Commencement Day, tune St. Martin's, 1805." From the statements of graduates of the last century, it seems that this had been the customary tune for some time previous to this year, and it is still retained as a precious legacy of the past. St. Martin's was composed by William Tans'ur in the year 1735. The following is the version of Brady and Tate:—

  Hear, O my people; to my law
    Devout attention lend;
  Let the instruction of my mouth
    Deep in your hearts descend.

  My tongue, by inspiration taught,
    Shall parables unfold,
  Dark oracles, but understood,
    And owned for truths of old;

  Which we from sacred registers
    Of ancient times have known,
  And our forefathers' pious care
    To us has handed down.

  We will not hide them from our sons;
    Our offspring shall be taught
  The praises of the Lord, whose strength
    Has works of wonders wrought.

  For Jacob he this law ordained,
    This league with Israel made;
  With charge, to be from age to age,
    From race to race, conveyed,

  That generations yet to come
    Should to their unborn heirs
  Religiously transmit the same,
    And they again to theirs.

  To teach them that in God alone
    Their hope securely stands;
  That they should ne'er his works forget,
    But keep his just commands.

4.—From Belknap's Collection.

This collection was first published by the Rev. Dr. Jeremy Belknap, at Boston, in 1795. The version of the Seventy-eighth Psalm is partly from that of Brady and Tate, and partly from Dr. Watts's, with a few slight variations. It succeeded the version of Brady and Tate about the year 1820, and is the one which is now used. The first three stanzas were written by Brady and Tate; the last three by Dr. Watts. It has of late been customary to omit the last stanza in singing and in printing.

  Give ear, ye children;[62] to my law
    Devout attention lend;
  Let the instructions[63] of my mouth
    Deep in your hearts descend.

  My tongue, by inspiration taught,
    Shall parables unfold;
  Dark oracles, but understood,
    And owned for truths of old;

  Which we from sacred registers
    Of ancient times have known,
  And our forefathers' pious care
    To us has handed down.

  Let children learn[64] the mighty deeds
    Which God performed of old;
  Which, in our younger years we saw,
    And which our fathers told.

  Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
    And they again to theirs;
  That generations yet unborn
    May teach them to their heirs.

  Thus shall they learn in God alone
    Their hope securely stands;
  That they may ne'er forget his works,
    But practise his commands.

It has been supposed by some that the version of the Seventy-eighth Psalm by Sternhold and Hopkins, whose spiritual songs were usually printed, as appears above, "at ye end of their Bibles," was the first which was sung at Commencement dinners; but this does not seem at all probable, since the first Commencement at Cambridge did not take place until 1642, at which time the "Bay Psalm-Book," written by three of the most popular ministers of the day, had already been published two years.

SHADY. Among students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., an epithet of depreciation, equivalent to MILD and SLOW.—Bristed.

Some … are rather shady in Greek and Latin.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 147.

My performances on the Latin verse paper were very shady.—Ibid., p. 191.

SHARK. In student language, an absence from a recitation, a lecture, or from prayers, prompted by recklessness rather than by necessity, is called a shark. He who is absent under these circumstances is also known as a shark.

  The Monitors' task is now quite done,
    They 've pencilled all their marks,
  "Othello's occupation's gone,"—
    No more look out for sharks.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 45.

SHEEPSKIN. The parchment diploma received by students on taking their degree at college. "In the back settlements are many clergymen who have not had the advantages of a liberal education, and who consequently have no diplomas. Some of these look upon their more favored brethren with a little envy. A clergyman is said to have a sheepskin, or to be a sheepskin, when educated at college."—Bartlett's Dict. of Americanisms.

This apostle of ourn never rubbed his back agin a college, nor toted about no sheepskins,—no, never!… How you'd a perished in your sins, if the first preachers had stayed till they got sheepskins.—Carlton's New Purchase.

I can say as well as the best on them sheepskins, if you don't get religion and be saved, you'll be lost, teetotally and for ever.—(Sermon of an Itinerant Preacher at a Camp Meeting.)—Ibid.

As for John Prescot, he not only lost the valedictory, but barely escaped with his "sheepskin."—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. X. p. 74.

That handsome Senior … receives his sheepskin from the dispensing hand of our worthy Prex.—Ibid., Vol. XIX. p. 355.

  When first I saw a "Sheepskin,"
    In Prex's hand I spied it.
    Yale Coll. Song.

  We came to college fresh and green,—
  We go back home with a huge sheepskin.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 43.

SHIN. To tease or hector a person by kicking his shins. In some colleges this is one of the means which the Sophomores adopt to torment the Freshmen, especially when playing at football, or other similar games.

We have been shinned, smoked, ducked, and accelerated by the encouraging shouts of our generous friends.—Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

SHINE. At Harvard College this word was formerly used to designate a good recitation. Used in the phrase, "to make a shine."

SHINNY. At Princeton College, the game of Shinny, known also by the names of Hawky and Hurly, is as great a favorite with the students as is football at other colleges. "The players," says a correspondent, "are each furnished with a stick four or five feet in length and one and a half or two inches in diameter, curved at one end, the object of which is to give the ball a surer blow. The ball is about three inches in diameter, bound with thick leather. The players are divided into two parties, arranged along from one goal to the other. The ball is then 'bucked' by two players, one from each side, which is done by one of these two taking the ball and asking his opponent which he will have, 'high or low'; if he says 'high,' the ball is thrown up midway between them; if he says 'low,' the ball is thrown on the ground. The game is opened by a scuffle between these two for the ball. The other players then join in, one party knocking towards North College, which is one 'home' (as it is termed), and the other towards the fence bounding the south side of the Campus, the other home. Whichever party first gets the ball home wins the game. A grand contest takes place annually between the Juniors and Sophomores, in this game."

SHIP. Among collegians, one expelled from college is said to be shipped.

  For I, you know, am but a college minion,
  But still, you'll all be shipped, in my opinion,
    When brought before Conventus Facultatis.
    Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

He may be overhauled, warned, admonished, dismissed, shipped, rusticated, sent off, suspended.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 25.

SHIPWRECK. Among students, a total failure.

His university course has been a shipwreck, and he will probably end by going out unnoticed among the [Greek: polloi].—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 56.

SHORT-EAR. At Jefferson College, Penn., a soubriquet for a roistering, noisy fellow; a rowdy. Opposed to long-ear.

SHORT TERM. At Oxford, Eng., the extreme duration of residence in any college is under thirty weeks. "It is possible to keep 'short terms,' as the phrase is, by residence of thirteen weeks, or ninety-one days."—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 274.

SIDE. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the set of pupils belonging to any one particular tutor is called his side.

A longer discourse he will perhaps have to listen to with the rest of his side.—Westminster Rev., Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 281.

A large college has usually two tutors,—Trinity has three,—and the students are equally divided among them,—on their sides the phrase is.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 11.

SILVER CUP. At Trinity College, Hartford, this is a testimonial voted by each graduating class to the first legitimate boy whose father is a member of the class.

At Yale College, a theory of this kind prevails, but it has never yet been carried into practice.

  I tell you what, my classmates,
    My mind it is made up,
  I'm coming back three years from this,
    To take that silver cup.
  I'll bring along the "requisite,"
    A little white-haired lad,
  With "bib" and fixings all complete,
    And I shall be his "dad."
    Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854.

See CLASS CUP.

SIM. Abbreviated from Simeonite. A nickname given by the rowing men at the University of Cambridge, Eng., to evangelicals, and to all religious men, or even quiet men generally.

While passing for a terribly hard reading man, and a "Sim" of the straitest kind with the "empty bottles,"… I was fast lapsing into a state of literary sensualism.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 39, 40.

SIR. It was formerly the fashion in the older American colleges to call a Bachelor of Arts, Sir; this was sometimes done at the time when the Seniors were accepted for that degree.

Voted, Sept. 5th, 1763, "that Sir Sewall, B.A., be the Instructor in the Hebrew and other learned languages for three years."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 234.

December, 1790. Some time in this month, Sir Adams resigned the berth of Butler, and Sir Samuel Shapleigh was chosen in his stead.—MS. Journal, Harv. Coll.

Then succeeded Cliosophic Oration in Latin, by Sir Meigs.
Poetical Composition in English, by Sir Barlow.—Woolsey's
Hist. Disc., p. 121.

The author resided in Cambridge after he graduated. In common with all who had received the degree of Bachelor of Arts and not that of Master of Arts, he was called "Sir," and known as "Sir Seccomb."

Some of the "Sirs" as well as undergraduates were arraigned before the college government.—Father Abbey's Will, Cambridge, Mass., 1854, p. 7.

SITTING OF THE SOLSTICES. It was customary, in the early days of Harvard College, for the graduates of the year to attend in the recitation-room on Mondays and Tuesdays, for three weeks, during the month of June, subject to the examination of all who chose to visit them. This was called the Sitting of the Solstices, because it happened in midsummer, or at the time of the summer solstice. The time was also known as the Weeks of Visitation.

SIZAR, SISAR, SIZER. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., a student of the third rank, or that next below that of a pensioner, who eats at the public table after the fellows, free of expense. It was formerly customary for every fellow-commoner to have his sizar, to whom he allowed a certain portion of commons, or victuals and drink, weekly, but no money; and for this the sizar was obliged to do him certain services daily.

A lower order of students were called sub-sizars. In reference to this class, we take the following from the Gentleman's Magazine, 1787, p. 1146. "At King's College, they were styled hounds. The situation of a sub-sizar being looked upon in so degrading a light probably occasioned the extinction of the order. But as the sub-sizars had certain assistances in return for their humiliating services, and as the poverty of parents stood in need of such assistances for their sons, some of the sizars undertook the same offices for the same advantages. The master's sizar, therefore, waited upon him for the sake of his commons, etc., as the sub-sizar had done; and the other sizars did the same office to the fellows for the advantage of the remains of their commons. Thus the term sub-sizar became forgotten, and the sizar was supposed to be the same as the servitor. But if a sizar did not choose to accept of these assistances upon such degrading terms, he dined in his own room, and was called a proper sizar. He wore the same gown as the others, and his tutorage, etc. was no higher; but there was nothing servile in his situation."—"Now, indeed, all (or almost all) the colleges in Cambridge have allowed the sizars every advantage of the remains of the fellows' commons, etc., though they have very liberally exempted them from every servile office."

Another writer in the same periodical, 1795, p. 21, says: The sizar "is very much like the scholars at Westminster, Eton, &c., who are on the foundation; and is, in a manner, the half-boarder in private academies. The name was derived from the menial services in which he was occasionally engaged; being in former days compelled to transport the plates, dishes, sizes, and platters, to and from the tables of his superiors."

A writer in the Encyclopædia Britannica, at the close of the article SIZAR, says of this class: "But though their education is thus obtained at a less expense, they are not now considered as a menial order; for sizars, pensioner-scholars, and even sometimes fellow-commoners, mix together with the utmost cordiality."

"Sizars," says Bristed, "answer to the beneficiaries of American colleges. They receive pecuniary assistance from the college, and dine gratis after the fellows on the remains of their table. These 'remains' are very liberally construed, the sizar always having fresh vegetables, and frequently fresh tarts and puddings."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 14.

SIZE. Food and drink from the buttery, aside from the regular dinner at commons.

"A size" says Minsheu, "is a portion of bread or drinke, it is a farthing which schollers in Cambridge have at the buttery; it is noted with the letter S. as in Oxford with the letter Q. for halfe a farthing; and whereas they say in Oxford, to battle in the Buttery Booke, i.e. to set downe on their names what they take in bread, drinke, butter, cheese, &c.; so, in Cambridge, they say, to size, i.e. to set downe their quantum, i.e. how much they take on their name in the Buttery Booke."

In the Poems of the Rev. Dr. Dodd, a size of bread is described as "half a half-penny 'roll.'" Grose, also, in the Provincial Glossary, says "it signifies the half part of a halfpenny loaf, and comes from scindo, I cut."

In the Encyclopædia Britannica is the following explanation of this term. "A size of anything is the smallest quantity of that thing which can be thus bought" [i.e. by students in addition to their commons in the hall]; "two sizes, or a part of beef, being nearly equal to what a young person will eat of that dish to his dinner, and a size of ale or beer being equal to half an English pint." It would seem, then, that formerly a size was a small plateful of any eatable; the word now means anything had by students at dinner over and above the usual commons.

Of its derivation Webster remarks, "Either contracted from assize, or from the Latin scissus. I take it to be from the former, and from the sense of setting, as we apply the word to the assize of bread."

This word was introduced into the older American colleges from Cambridge, England, and was used for many years, as was also the word sizing, with the same meaning. In 1750, the Corporation of Harvard College voted, "that the quantity of commons be as hath been usual, viz. two sizes of bread in the morning; one pound of meat at dinner, with sufficient sauce [vegetables], and a half-pint of beer; and at night that a part pie be of the same quantity as usual, and also half a pint of beer; and that the supper messes be but of four parts, though the dinner messes be of six."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Coll., Vol. II. p. 97.

The students of that day, if we may judge from the accounts which we have of their poor commons, would have used far different words, in addressing the Faculty, from King Lear, who, speaking to his daughter Regan, says:—

       "'T is not in thee
  To grudge my pleasures,…
    … to scant my sizes."

SIZE. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., to size is to order any sort of victuals from the kitchens which the students may want in their rooms, or in addition to their commons in the hall, and for which they pay the cooks or butchers at the end of each quarter; a word corresponding to BATTEL at Oxford.—Encyc. Brit.

In the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 21, a writer says: "At dinner, to size is to order for yourself any little luxury that may chance to tempt you in addition to the general fare, for which you are expected to pay the cook at the end of the term."

This word was formerly used in the older American colleges with the meaning given above, as will be seen by the following extracts from the laws of Harvard and Yale.

"When they come into town after commons, they may be allowed to size a meal at the kitchen."—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 39.

"At the close of each quarter, the Butler shall make up his bill against each student, in which every article sized or taken up by him at the Buttery shall be particularly charged."—Laws Yale Coll., 1811, p. 31.

"As a college term," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "it is of very considerable antiquity. In the comedy called 'The Return from Parnassus,' 1606, one of the character says, 'You that are one of the Devil's Fellow-Commoners; one that sizeth the Devil's butteries,' &c. Again, in the same: 'Fidlers, I use to size my music, or go on the score for it.'"

For is often used after the verb size, without changing the meaning of the expression.

The tables of the Undergraduates, arranged according to their respective years, are supplied with abundance of plain joints, and vegetables, and beer and ale ad libitum, besides which, soup, pastry, and cheese can be "sized for," that is, brought in portions to individuals at an extra charge.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 19.

To size upon another. To order extra food, and without permission charge it to another's account.

If any one shall size upon another, he shall be fined a Shilling, and pay the Damage; and every Freshman sent [for victuals] must declare that he who sends him is the only Person to be charged.—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, p. 10.

SIZING. Extra food or drink ordered from the buttery; the act of ordering extra food or drink from the buttery.

Dr. Holyoke, who graduated at Harvard College in 1746, says: "The breakfast was two sizings of bread and a cue of beer." Judge Wingate, who graduated a little later, says: "We were allowed at dinner a cue of beer, which was a half-pint, and a sizing of bread, which I cannot describe to you. It was quite sufficient for one dinner."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 219.

From more definite accounts it would seem that a sizing of biscuit was one biscuit, and a sizing of cracker, two crackers. A certain amount of food was allowed to each mess, and if any person wanted more than the allowance, it was the custom to tell the waiter to bring a sizing of whatever was wished, provided it was obtained from the commons kitchen; for this payment was made at the close of the term. A sizing of cheese was nearly an ounce, and a sizing of cider varied from a half-pint to a pint and a half.

The Steward shall, at the close of every quarter, immediately fill up the columns of commons and sizings, and shall deliver the bill, &c.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 58.

The Butler shall frequently inspect his book of sizings.—Ibid., p. 62.

Whereas young scholars, to the dishonor of God, hinderance of their studies, and damage of their friends' estate, inconsiderately and intemperately are ready to abuse their liberty of sizing besides their commons; therefore the Steward shall in no case permit any students whatever, under the degree of Masters of Arts, or Fellows, to expend or be provided for themselves or any townsmen any extraordinary commons, unless by the allowance of the President, &c., or in case of sickness.—Orders written 28th March, 1650.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 583.

This term, together with the verb and noun size, which had been in use at Harvard and Yale Colleges since their foundation, has of late been little heard, and with the extinction of commons has, with the others, fallen wholly, and probably for ever, into disuse.

The use of this word and its collaterals is still retained in the
University of Cambridge, Eng.

Along the wall you see two tables, which, though less carefully provided than the Fellows', are still served with tolerable decency, and go through a regular second course instead of the "sizings."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.

SIZING PARTY. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., where this term is used, a "sizing party" says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "differs from a supper in this; viz. at a sizing party every one of the guests contributes his part, i.e. orders what he pleases, at his own expense, to his friend's rooms,—'a part of fowl' or duck; a roasted pigeon; 'a part of apple pie.' A sober beaker of brandy, or rum, or hollands and water, concludes the entertainment. In our days, a bowl of bishop, or milk punch, with a chant, generally winds up the carousal."

SKIN. At Yale College, to obtain a knowledge of a lesson by hearing it read by another; also, to borrow another's ideas and present them as one's own; to plagiarize; to become possessed of information in an examination or a recitation by unfair or secret means. "In our examinations," says a correspondent, "many of the fellows cover the palms of their hands with dates, and when called upon for a given date, they read it off directly from their hands. Such persons skin."

The tutor employs the crescent when it is evident that the lesson has been skinned, according to the college vocabulary, in which case he usually puts a minus sign after it, with the mark which he in all probability would have used had not the lesson been skinned.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1846.

Never skin a lesson which it requires any ability to learn.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 81.

He has passively admitted what he has skinned from other grammarians.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1846.

Perhaps the youth who so barefacedly skinned the song referred to, fondly fancied, &c.—The Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.

He uttered that remarkable prophecy which Horace has so boldly skinned and called his own.—Burial of Euclid, Nov. 1850.

A Pewter medal is awarded in the Senior Class, for the most remarkable example of skinned Composition.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 29.

Classical men were continually tempted to "skin" (copy) the solutions of these examples.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 381.

To skin ahead; at Hamilton College, to read a lesson over in the class immediately before reciting.

SKIN. A lesson learned by hearing it read by another; borrowed ideas; anything plagiarized.

  'T was plenty of skin with a good deal of Bohn.[65]
    Songs, Biennial Jubilee, Yale Coll., 1855.

SKINNING. Learning, or the act of learning, a lesson by hearing it read by another; plagiarizing.

Alas for our beloved orations! acquired by skinning, looking on, and ponies.—Yale Banger, Oct. 1848.

Barefaced copying from books and reviews in their compositions is familiar to our students, as much so as "skinning" their mathematical examples.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 394.

SKUNK. At Princeton College, to fail to pay a debt; used actively; e.g. to skunk a tailor, i.e. not to pay him.

SLANG. To scold, chide, rebuke. The use of this word as a verb is in a measure peculiar to students.

These drones are posted separately as "not worthy to be classed," and privately slanged afterwards by the Master and Seniors.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 74.

"I am afraid of going to T———," you may hear it said; "he don't slang his men enough."—Ibid., p. 148.

His vanity is sure to be speedily checked, and first of all by his private tutor, who "slangs" him for a mistake here or an inelegancy there.—Ibid., p. 388.

SLANGING. Abusing, chiding, blaming.

As he was not backward in slanging,—one of the requisites of a good coach,—he would give it to my unfortunate composition right and left.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 166.

SLEEPING OVER. A phrase equivalent to being absent from prayers.

You may see some who have just arisen from their beds, where they have enjoyed the luxury of "sleeping over."—Harv. Reg., p. 202.

SLOW. An epithet of depreciation, especially among students.

Its equivalent slang is to be found in the phrases, "no great shakes," and "small potatoes."—Bristed.

One very well disposed and very tipsy man who was great upon boats, but very slow at books, endeavored to pacify me.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 82.

  The Juniors vainly attempted to show
  That Sophs and Seniors were somewhat slow
  In talent and ability.
    Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

SLOW-COACH. A dull, stupid fellow.

SLUM. A word once in use at Yale College, of which a graduate of the year 1821 has given the annexed explanation. "That noted dish to which our predecessors, of I know not what date, gave the name of slum, which was our ordinary breakfast, consisting of the remains of yesterday's boiled salt-beef and potatoes, hashed up, and indurated in a frying-pan, was of itself enough to have produced any amount of dyspepsia. There are stomachs, it may be, which can put up with any sort of food, and any mode of cookery; but they are not those of students. I remember an anecdote which President Day gave us (as an instance of hasty generalization), which would not be inappropriate here: 'A young physician, commencing practice, determined to keep an account of each case he had to do with, stating the mode of treatment and the result. His first patient was a blacksmith, sick of a fever. After the crisis of the disease had passed, the man expressed a hankering for pork and cabbage. The doctor humored him in this, and it seemed to do him good; which was duly noted in the record. Next a tailor sent for him, whom he found suffering from the same malady. To him he prescribed pork and cabbage; and the patient died. Whereupon, he wrote it down as a general law in such cases, that pork and cabbage will cure a blacksmith, but will kill a tailor.' Now, though the son of Vulcan found the pork and cabbage harmless, I am sure that slum would have been a match for him."—Scenes and Characters at College, New Haven, 1847, p. 117.

SLUMP. German schlump; Danish and Swedish slump, a hap or chance, an accident; that is, a fall.

At Harvard College, a poor recitation.

SLUMP. At Harvard College, to recite badly; to make a poor recitation.

  In fact, he'd rather dead than dig;
        he'd rather slump than squirt.
    Poem before the Y.H. of Harv. Coll., 1849.

  Slumping is his usual custom,
    Deading is his road to fame.—MS. Poem.

  At recitations, unprepared, he slumps,
  Then cuts a week, and feigns he has the mumps.
    MS. Poem, by F.E. Felton.

The usual signification of this word is given by Webster, as follows: "To fall or sink suddenly into water or mud, when walking on a hard surface, as on ice or frozen ground, not strong enough to bear the person." To which he adds: "This legitimate word is in common and respectable use in New England, and its signification is so appropriate, that no other word will supply its place."

From this meaning, the transfer is, by analogy, very easy and natural, and the application very correct, to a poor recitation.

SMALL-COLLEGE. The name by which an inferior college in the
English universities is known.

A "Small-College" man was Senior Wrangler.—Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 61.

SMALL-COLLEGER. A member of a Small-College.

The two Latin prizes and the English poem [were carried off] by a Small-Colleger.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 113.

The idea of a Small-Colleger beating all Trinity was deemed preposterous.—Ibid., p. 127.

SMALLS, or SMALL-GO. At the University of Oxford, an examination in the second year. See LITTLE-GO; PREVIOUS EXAMINATION.

At the Smalls, as the previous Examination is here called, each examiner sends in his Greek and Latin book.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 139.

It follows that the Smalls is a more formidable examination than the Little-Go.—Ibid., p. 139.

SMASH. At the Wesleyan University, a total failure in reciting is called a smash.

SMILE. A small quantity of any spirituous liquor, or enough to give one a pleasant feeling.

  Hast ta'en a "smile" at Brigham's.
    Poem before the Iadma, 1850, p. 7.

SMOKE. In some colleges, one of the means made use of by the Sophomores to trouble the Freshmen is to blow smoke into their rooms until they are compelled to leave, or, in other words, until they are smoked out. When assafoetida is mingled with the tobacco, the sensation which ensues, as the foul effluvium is gently wafted through the keyhole, is anything but pleasing to the olfactory nerves.

Or when, in conclave met, the unpitying wights Smoke the young trembler into "College rights": O spare my tender youth! he, suppliant, cries, In vain, in vain; redoubled clouds arise, While the big tears adown his visage roll, Caused by the smoke, and sorrow of his soul. College Life, by J.C. Richmond, p. 4.

They would lock me in if I left my key outside, smoke me out, duck me, &c.—Sketches of Williams College, p. 74.

I would not have you sacrifice all these advantages for the sake of smoking future Freshmen.—Burial of Euclid, 1850, p. 10.

A correspondent from the University of Vermont gives the following account of a practical joke, which we do not suppose is very often played in all its parts. "They 'train' Freshmen in various ways; the most classic is to take a pumpkin, cut a piece from the top, clean it, put in two pounds of 'fine cut,' put it on the Freshman's table, and then, all standing round with long pipe-stems, blow into it the fire placed in the tobac, and so fill the room with smoke, then put the Freshman to bed, with the pumpkin for a nightcap."

SMOUGE. At Hamilton College, to obtain without leave.

SMUT. Vulgar, obscene conversation. Language which obtains

 "Where Bacchus ruleth all that's done,
  And Venus all that's said."

SMUTTY. Possessing the qualities of obscene conversation. Applied also to the person who uses such conversation.

SNOB. In the English universities, a townsman, as opposed to a student; or a blackguard, as opposed to a gentleman; a loafer generally.—Bristed.

  They charged the Snobs against their will,
    And shouted clear and lustily.
    Gradus ad Cantab, p. 69.

Used in the same sense at some American colleges.

2. A mean or vulgar person; particularly, one who apes gentility. —Halliwell.

Used both in England and the United States, "and recently," says
Webster, "introduced into books as a term of derision."

SNOBBESS. In the English universities, a female snob.

Effeminacies like these, induced, no doubt, by the flattering admiration of the fair snobbesses.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 116.

SNOBBISH. Belonging to or resembling a snob.

SNOBBY. Low; vulgar; resembling or pertaining to a snob.

SNUB. To reprimand; check; rebuke. Used among students, more frequently than by any other class of persons.

SOPH. In the University of Cambridge, England, an abbreviation of
SOPHISTER.—Webster.

On this word, Crabb, in his Technological Dictionary, says: "A certain distinction or title which undergraduates in the University at Oxford assume, previous to their examination for a degree. It took its rise in the exercises which students formerly had to go through, but which are now out of use."

  Three College Sophs, and three pert Templars came,
  The same their talents, and their tastes the same.
    Pope's Dunciad, B. II. v. 389, 390.

2. In the American colleges, an abbreviation of Sophomore.

  Sophs wha ha' in Commons fed!
  Sophs wha ha' in Commons bled!
  Sophs wha ne'er from Commons fled!
    Puddings, steaks, or wines!
    Rebelliad, p. 52.

The Sophs did nothing all the first fortnight but torment the
Fresh, as they call us.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.

The Sophs were victorious at every point.—Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

My Chum, a Soph, says he committed himself too soon.—The
Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 118.

SOPHIC. A contraction of sophomoric.

  So then the Sophic army
    Came on in warlike glee.
    The Battle of the Ball, 1853.

SOPHIMORE. The old manner of spelling what is now known as
SOPHOMORE.

The President may give Leave for the Sophimores to take out some particular Books.—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, p. 23.

His favorite researches, however, are discernible in his observations on a comet, which appeared in the beginning of his Sophimore year.—Holmes's Life of Ezra Stiles, p. 13.

I aver thou hast never been a corporal in the militia, or a sophimore at college.—The Algerine Captive, Walpole, 1797, Vol. I. p. 68.

SOPHISH GOWN. Among certain gownsmen, a gown that bears the marks of much service; "a thing of shreds and patches."—Gradus ad Cantab.

SOPHIST. A name given to the undergraduates at Cambridge, England. —Crabb's Tech. Dict.

SOPHISTER. Greek, [Greek: sophistaes]. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the title of students who are advanced beyond the first year of their residence. The entire course at the University consists of three years and one term, during which the students have the titles of First-Year Men, or Freshmen; Second-Year Men, or Junior Sophs or Sophisters; Third-Year Men, or Senior Sophs or Sophisters; and, in the last term, Questionists, with reference to the approaching examination. In the older American colleges, the Junior and Senior Classes were originally called Junior Sophisters and Senior Sophisters. The term is also used at Oxford and Dublin. —Webster.

And in case any of the Sophisters fail in the premises required at their hands, &c.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 518.

SOPHOMORE. One belonging to the second of the four classes in an
American college.

Professor Goodrich, in his unabridged edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, gives the following interesting account of this word. "This word has generally been considered as an 'American barbarism,' but was probably introduced into our country, at a very early period, from the University of Cambridge, Eng. Among the cant terms at that University, as given in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, we find Soph-Mor as 'the next distinctive appellation to Freshman.' It is added, that 'a writer in the Gentlemen's Magazine thinks mor an abbreviation of the Greek [Greek: moria], introduced at a time when the Encomium Moriæ, the Praise of Folly, by Erasmus, was so generally used.' The ordinary derivation of the word, from [Greek: sofos] and [Greek: moros] would seem, therefore, to be incorrect. The younger Sophs at Cambridge appear, formerly, to have received the adjunct mor ([Greek: moros]) to their names, either as one which they courted for the reason mentioned above, or as one given them in sport, for the supposed exhibition of inflated feeling in entering on their new honors. The term, thus applied, seems to have passed, at a very early period, from Cambridge in England to Cambridge in America, as 'the next distinctive appellation to Freshman,' and thus to have been attached to the second of the four classes in our American colleges; while it has now almost ceased to be known, even as a cant word, at the parent institution in England whence it came. This derivation of the word is rendered more probable by the fact, that the early spelling was, to a great extent at least, Soph_i_more, as appears from the manuscripts of President Stiles of Yale College, and the records of Harvard College down to the period of the American Revolution. This would be perfectly natural if Soph or Sophister was considered as the basis of the word, but can hardly be explained if the ordinary derivation had then been regarded as the true one."

Some further remarks on this word may be found in the Gentleman's
Magazine, above referred to, 1795, Vol. LXV. p. 818.

SOPHOMORE COMMENCEMENT. At Princeton College, it has long been the custom for the Sophomore Class, near the time of the Commencement at the close of the Senior year, to hold a Commencement in imitation of it, at which burlesque and other exercises, appropriate to the occasion, are performed. The speakers chosen are a Salutatorian, a Poet, an Historian, who reads an account of the doings of the Class up to that period, a Valedictorian, &c., &c. A band of music is always in attendance. After the addresses, the Class partake of a supper, which is usually prolonged to a very late hour. In imitation of the Sophomore Commencement, Burlesque Bills, as they are called, are prepared and published by the Juniors, in which, in a long and formal programme, such subjects and speeches are attributed to the members of the Sophomore Class as are calculated to expose their weak points.

SOPHOMORIC, SOPHOMORICAL. Pertaining to or like a Sophomore.

  Better to face the prowling panther's path,
  Than meet the storm of Sophomoric wrath.
    Harvardiana, Vol. IV. p. 22.

We trust he will add by his example no significancy to that pithy word, "Sophomoric."—Sketches of Williams Coll., p. 63.

Another meaning, derived, it would appear, from the characteristics of the Sophomore, yet not very creditable to him, is bombastic, inflated in style or manner.—J.C. Calhoun.

Students are looked upon as being necessarily Sophomorical in literary matters.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 84.

The Professor told me it was rather Sophomorical.—Sketches of
Williams Coll., p. 74.

SOPHRONISCUS. At Yale College, this name is given to Arnold's Greek Prose Composition, from the fact of its repeated occurrence in that work.

  Sophroniscum relinquemus;
  Et Euclidem comburemus,
  Ejus vi soluti.
    Pow-wow of Class of '58, Yale Coll.

See BALBUS.

SPIRT. Among the students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., an extraordinary effort of mind or body for a short time. A boat's crew make a spirt, when they pull fifty yards with all the strength they have left. A reading-man makes a spirt when he crams twelve hours daily the week before examination.—Bristed.

As my … health was decidedly improving, I now attempted a "spirt," or what was one for me.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 223.

My amateur Mathematical coach, who was now making his last spirt for a Fellowship, used to accompany me.—Ibid., p. 288.

He reads nine hours a day on a "spirt" the fortnight before examination.—Ibid., p. 327.

SPIRTING. Making an extraordinary effort of mind or body for a short time.—Bristed.

Ants, bees, boat-crews spirting at the Willows,… are but faint types of their activity.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 224.

SPLURGE. In many colleges, when one is either dashy, or dressed more than ordinarily, he is said to cut a splurge. A showy recitation is often called by the same name. In his Dictionary of Americanisms, Mr. Bartlett defines it, "a great effort, a demonstration," which is the signification in which this word is generally used.

SPLURGY. Showy; of greater surface than depth. Applied to a lesson which is well rehearsed but little appreciated. Also to literary efforts of a certain nature, to character, persons, &c.

They even pronounce his speeches splurgy.—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

SPOON. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the last of each class of the honors is humorously denominated The Spoon. Thus, the last Wrangler is called the Golden Spoon; the last Senior Optime, the Silver Spoon; and the last Junior Optime, the Wooden Spoon. The Wooden Spoon, however, is par excellence, "The Spoon."—Gradus ad Cantab.

See WOODEN SPOON.

SPOON, SPOONY, SPOONEY. A man who has been drinking till he becomes disgusting by his very ridiculous behavior, is said to be spoony drunk; and hence it is usual to call a very prating, shallow fellow a rank spoon.—Grose.

Mr. Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms, says:—"We use the word only in the latter sense. The Hon. Mr. Preston, in his remarks on the Mexican war, thus quotes from Tom Crib's remonstrance against the meanness of a transaction, similar to our cries for more vigorous blows on Mexico when she is prostrate:

"'Look down upon Ben,—see him, dunghill all o'er,
  Insult the fallen foe that can harm him no more.
  Out, cowardly spooney! Again and again,
  By the fist of my father, I blush for thee, Ben.'

"Ay, you will see all the spooneys that ran, like so many dunghill champions, from 54 40, stand by the President for the vigorous prosecution of the war upon the body of a prostrate foe." —N.Y. Tribune, 1847.

Now that year it so happened that the spoon was no spooney.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 218.

Not a few of this party were deluded into a belief, that all studious and quiet men were slow, all men of proper self-respect exclusives, and all men of courtesy and good-breeding spoonies. —Collegian's Guide, p. 118.

Suppose that rustication was the fate of a few others of our acquaintance, whom you cannot call slow, or spoonies either, would it be deemed no disgrace by them?—Ibid., p. 196.

  When spoonys on two knees, implore the aid of sorcery,
  To suit their wicked purposes they quickly put the laws awry.
    Rejected Addresses, Am. ed., p. 154.

They belong to the class of elderly "spoons," with some few exceptions, and are nettled that the world should not go at their rate of progression.—Boston Daily Times, May 8, 1851.

SPOONY, SPOONEY. Like a spoon; possessing the qualities of a silly or stupid fellow.

I shall escape from this beautiful critter, for I'm gettin' spooney, and shall talk silly presently.—Sam Slick.

Both the adjective and the noun spooney are in constant and frequent use at some of the American colleges, and are generally applied to one who is disliked either for his bad qualities or for his ill-breeding, usually accompanied with the idea of weakness.

He sprees, is caught, rusticates, returns next year, mingles with feminines, and is consequently degraded into the spooney Junior. Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 208.

A "bowl" was the happy conveyance. Perhaps this was chosen because the voyagers were spooney.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1849.

SPOOPS, SPOOPSY. At Harvard College, a weak, silly fellow, or one who is disliked on account of his foolish actions, is called a spoops, or spoopsy. The meaning is nearly the same as that of spoony.

SPOOPSY. Foolish; silly. Applied either to a person or thing.

Seniors always try to be dignified. The term "spoopsey" in its widest signification applies admirably to them.—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

SPORT. To exhibit or bring out in public; as, to sport a new equipage.—Grose.

This word was in great vogue in England in the year 1783 and 1784; but is now sacred to men of fashion, both in England and America.

With regard to the word sport, they [the Cantabrigians] sported knowing, and they sported ignorant,—they sported an Ægrotat, and they sported a new coat,—they sported an Exeat, they sported a Dormiat, &c.—Gent. Mag., 1794, p. 1085.

I'm going to serve my country, And sport a pretty wife. Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854, Yale Coll.

To sport oak, or a door, is to fasten a door for safety or convenience.

If you call on a man and his door is sported, signifying that he is out or busy, it is customary to pop your card through the little slit made for that purpose.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 336.

Some few constantly turn the keys of their churlish doors, and others, from time to time, "sport oak."—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 268.

SPORTING-DOOR. At the English universities, the name given to the outer door of a student's room, which can be sported or fastened to prevent intrusion.

Their impregnable sporting-doors, that defy alike the hostile dun and the too friendly "fast man."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 3.

SPREAD. A feast of a more humble description than a GAUDY. Used at
Cambridge, England.

This puts him in high spirits again, and he gives a large spread, and gets drunk on the strength of it.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 129.

He sits down with all of them, about forty or fifty, to a most glorious spread, ordered from the college cook, to be served up in the most swell style possible.—Ibid., p. 129.

SPROUT. Any branch of education is in student phrase a sprout.
This peculiar use of the word is said to have originated at Yale.

SPRUNG. The positive, of which tight is the comparative, and drunk the superlative.

  "One swallow makes not spring," the poet sung,
  But many swallows make the fast man sprung.
    MS. Poem, by F.E. Felton.

See TIGHT.

SPY. In some of the American colleges, it is a prevailing opinion among the students, that certain members of the different classes are encouraged by the Faculty to report what they have seen or ascertained in the conduct of their classmates, contrary to the laws of the college. Many are stigmatized as spies very unjustly, and seldom with any sufficient reason.

SQUIRT. At Harvard College, a showy recitation is denominated a squirt; the ease and quickness with which the words flow from the mouth being analogous to the ease and quickness which attend the sudden ejection of a stream of water from a pipe. Such a recitation being generally perfect, the word squirt is very often used to convey that idea. Perhaps there is not, in the whole vocabulary of college cant terms, one more expressive than this, or that so easily conveys its meaning merely by its sound. It is mostly used colloquially.

2. A foppish young fellow; a whipper-snapper.—Bartlett.

If they won't keep company with squirts and dandies, who's going to make a monkey of himself?—Maj. Jones's Courtship, p. 160.

SQUIRT. To make a showy recitation.

  He'd rather slump than squirt.
    Poem before Y.H., p. 9.

Webster has this word with the meaning, "to throw out words, to let fly," and marks it as out of use.

SQUIRTINESS. The quality of being showy.

SQUIRTISH. Showy; dandified.

It's my opinion that these slicked up squirtish kind a fellars ain't particular hard baked, and they always goes in for aristocracy notions.—Robb, Squatter Life, p. 73.

SQUIRTY. Showy; fond of display; gaudy.

Applied to an oration which is full of bombast and grandiloquence; to a foppish fellow; to an apartment gayly adorned, &c.

  And should they "scrape" in prayers, because they are long
  And rather "squirty" at times.
    Childe Harvard, p. 58.

STAMMBOOK. German. A remembrance-book; an album. Among the German students stammbooks were kept formerly, as commonly as autograph-books now are among American students.

But do procure me the favor of thy Rapunzel writing something in my Stammbook.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 242.

STANDING. Academical age, or rank.

Of what standing are you? I am a Senior Soph.—Gradus ad
Cantab.

  Her mother told me all about your love,
  And asked me of your prospects and your standing.
    Collegian, 1830, p. 267.

To stand for an honor; i.e. to offer one's self as a candidate for an honor.

STAR. In triennial catalogues a star designates those who have died. This sign was first used with this signification by Mather, in his Magnalia, in a list prepared by him of the graduates of Harvard College, with a fanciful allusion, it is supposed, to the abode of those thus marked.

    Our tale shall be told by a silent star,
  On the page of some future Triennial.
    Poem before Class of 1849, Harv. Coll., p. 4.

We had only to look still further back to find the stars clustering more closely, indicating the rapid flight of the spirits of short-lived tenants of earth to another sphere.—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. p. 66.

STAR. To mark a star opposite the name of a person, signifying that he is dead.

Six of the sixteen Presidents of our University have been inaugurated in this place; and the oldest living graduate, the Hon. Paine Wingate of Stratham, New Hampshire, who stands on the Catalogue a lonely survivor amidst the starred names of the dead, took his degree within these walls.—A Sermon on leaving the Old Meeting-house in Cambridge, by Rev. William Newell, Dec. 1, 1833, p. 22.

Among those fathers were the venerable remnants of classes that are starred to the last two or three, or it may be to the last one.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 6.

STATEMENT OF FACTS. At Yale College, a name given to a public meeting called for the purpose of setting forth the respective merits of the two great societies in that institution, viz. "Linonia" and "The Brothers in Unity." There are six orators, three from Linonia and three from the Brothers,—a Senior, a Junior, and the President of each society. The Freshmen are invited by handsomely printed cards to attend the meeting, and they also have the best seats reserved for them, and are treated with the most intense politeness. As now conducted, the Statement of Facts is any thing rather than what is implied by the name. It is simply an opportunity for the display of speaking talent, in which wit and sarcasm are considered of far greater importance than truth. The Freshmen are rarely swayed to either side. In nine cases out of ten they have already chosen their society, and attend the statement merely from a love of novelty and fun. The custom grew up about the year 1830, after the practice of dividing the students alphabetically between the two societies had fallen into disuse. Like all similar customs, the Statement of Facts has reached its present college importance by gradual growth. At first the societies met in a small room of the College, and the statements did really consist of the facts in the case. Now the exercises take place in a public hall, and form a kind of intellectual tournament, where each society, in the presence of a large audience, strives to get the advantage of the other.

From a newspaper account of the observance of this literary festival during the present year, the annexed extract is taken.

"For some years, students, as they have entered College, have been permitted to choose the society with which they would connect themselves, instead of being alphabetically allotted to one of the two. This method has made the two societies earnest rivals, and the accession of each class to College creates an earnest struggle to see which shall secure the greater number of members. The electioneering campaign, as it is termed, begins when the students come to be examined for admission to College, that is, about the time of the Commencement, and continues through a week or two of the first term of the next year. Each society, of course, puts forth the most determined efforts to conquer. It selects the most prominent and popular men of the Senior Class as President, and arrangements are so made that a Freshman no sooner enters town than he finds himself unexpectedly surrounded by hosts of friends, willing to do anything for him, and especially instruct him in his duty with reference to the selection of societies. For the benefit of those who do not yield to this private electioneering, this Statement of Facts is made. It amounts, however, to little more than a 'good time,' as there are very few who wait to be influenced by 'facts' they know will be so distorted. The advocates of each society feel bound, of course, to present its affairs in the most favorable aspect. Disputants are selected, generally with regard to their ability as speakers, one from the Junior and one from the Senior Class. The Presidents of each society also take part."—N.Y. Daily Times, Sept. 22, 1855.

As an illustration of the eloquence and ability which is often displayed on these occasions, the following passages have been selected from the address of John M. Holmes of Chicago, Ill., the Junior orator in behalf of the Brothers in Unity at the Statement of Facts held September 20th, 1855.

"Time forbids me to speak at length of the illustrious alumni of the Brothers; of Professor Thatcher, the favorite of college,—of Professor Silliman, the Nestor of American literati,—of the revered head of this institution, President Woolsey, first President of the Brothers in 1820,—of Professor Andrews, the author of the best dictionary of the Latin language,—of such divines as Dwight and Murdock,—of Bacon and Bushnell, the pride of New England,—or of the great names of Clayton, Badger, Calhoun, Ellsworth, and John Davis,—all of whom were nurtured and disciplined in the halls of the Brothers, and there received the Achillean baptism that made their lives invulnerable. But perhaps I err in claiming such men as the peculium of the Brothers,—they are the common heritage of the human race.

 'Such names as theirs are pilgrim shrines,
  Shrines to no code nor creed confined,
  The Delphian vales, the Palestines,
  The Meccas of the mind.'

"But there are other names which to overlook would be worse than negligence,—it would be ingratitude unworthy of a son of Yale.

"At the head of that glorious host stands the venerable form of Joel Barlow, who, in addition to his various civil and literary distinctions, was the father of American poetry. There too is the intellectual brow of Webster, not indeed the great defender of the Constitution, but that other Webster, who spent his life in the perpetuation of that language in which the Constitution is embalmed, and whose memory will be coeval with that language to the latest syllable of recorded time. Beside Webster on the historic canvas appears the form of the only Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States that ever graduated at this College,—Chief Justice Baldwin, of the class of 1797. Next to him is his classmate, a patriarchal old man who still lives to bless the associations of his youth,—who has consecrated the noblest talents to the noblest earthly purposes,—the pioneer of Western education,—the apostle of Temperance,—the life-long teacher of immortality,—and who is the father of an illustrious family whose genius has magnetized all Christendom. His classmate is Lyman Beecher. But a year ago in the neighboring city of Hartford there was a monument erected to another Brother in Unity,—the philanthropist who first introduced into this country the system of instructing deaf mutes. More than a thousand unfortunates bowed around his grave. And although there was no audible voice of eulogy or thankfulness, yet there were many tears. And grateful thoughts went up to heaven in silent benediction for him who had unchained their faculties, and given them the priceless treasures of intellectual and social communion. Thomas H. Gallaudet was a Brother in Unity.

"And he who has been truly called the most learned of poets and the most poetical of learned men,—whose ascent to the heaven of song has been like the pathway of his own broad sweeping eagle,—J.G. Percival,—is a Brother in Unity. And what shall I say of Morse? Of Morse, the wonder-worker, the world-girdler, the space-destroyer, the author of the noblest invention whose glory was ever concentrated in a single man, who has realized the fabulous prerogative of Olympian Jove, and by the instantaneous intercommunication of thought has accomplished the work of ages in binding together the whole civilized world into one great Brotherhood in Unity?

"Gentlemen, these are the men who wait to welcome you to the blessings of our society. There they stand, like the majestic statues that line the entrance to an eternal pyramid. And when I look upon one statue, and another, and another, and contemplate the colossal greatness of their proportions, as Canova gazed with rapture upon the sun-god of the Vatican, I envy not the man whose heart expands not with the sense of a new nobility, and whose eye kindles not with the heart's enthusiasm, as he thinks that he too is numbered among that glorious company,—that he too is sprung from that royal ancestry. And who asks for a richer heritage, or a more enduring epitaph, than that he too is a Brother in Unity?"

S.T.B. Sanctæ Theologiæ Baccalaureus, Bachelor in Theology.

See B.D.

S.T.D. Sanctæ Theologiæ Doctor. Doctor in Theology.

See D.D.

STEWARD. In colleges, an officer who provides food for the students, and superintends the kitchen.—Webster.

In American colleges, the labors of the steward are at present more extended, and not so servile, as set forth in the above definition. To him is usually assigned the duty of making out the term-bills and receiving the money thereon; of superintending the college edifices with respect to repairs, &c.; of engaging proper servants in the employ of the college; and of performing such other services as are declared by the faculty of the college to be within his province.

STICK. In college phrase, to stick, or to get stuck, is to be unable to proceed, either in a recitation, declamation, or any other exercise. An instructor is said to stick a student, when he asks a question which the student is unable to answer.

But he has not yet discovered, probably, that he … that "sticks" in Greek, and cannot tell, by demonstration of his own, whether the three angles of a triangle are equal to two, or four, … can nevertheless drawl out the word Fresh, &c.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 30.

S.T.P. Sanctæ Theologiæ Professor. Professor in Theology.

A degree of similar import to S.T.D., and D.D.

STUDENT. A person engaged in study; one who is devoted to learning, either in a seminary or in private; a scholar; as, the students of an academy, of a college or university; a medical student; a law student.

2. A man devoted to books; a bookish man; as, a hard student; a close student.—Webster.

3. At Oxford, this word is used to designate one who stands upon the foundation of the college to which he belongs, and is an aspirant for academic emoluments.—De Quincey.

4. In German universities, by student is understood "one who has by matriculation acquired the rights of academical citizenship."—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 27.

STUDY. A building or an apartment devoted to study or to literary employment.—Webster.

In some of the older American colleges, it was formerly the custom to partition off, in each chamber, two small rooms, where the occupants, who were always two in number, could carry on their literary pursuits. These rooms were called, from this circumstance, studies. Speaking of the first college edifice which was erected at New Haven, Mr. Clap, in his History of Yale College, says: "It made a handsome appearance, and contained near fifty studies in convenient chambers"; and again he speaks of Connecticut Hall as containing thirty-two chambers and sixty-four studies. In the oldest buildings, some of these studies remain at the present day.

The study rents, until December last, were discontinued with Mr.
Dunster.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 463.

Every Graduate and Undergraduate shall find his proportion of furniture, &c., during the whole time of his having a study assigned him.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 35.

  To him that occupies my study,
  I give, &c.—Will of Charles Prentiss.

STUMP. At Princeton College, to fail in reciting; to say, "Not prepared," when called on to recite. A stump, a bad recitation; used in the phrase, "to make a stump."

SUB-FRESH. A person previous to entering the Freshman Class is called a sub-fresh, or one below a Freshman.

           Praying his guardian powers
  To assist a poor "Sub-Fresh" at the dread examination.
    Poem before the Iadma Soc. of Harv. Coll., 1850, p. 14.

  Our "Sub-Fresh" has that feeling.
    Ibid., p. 16.

Everybody happy, except Sub-Fresh, and they trying hardest to appear so.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 103.

The timid Sub-Fresh had determined to construct stout barricades, with no lack of ammunition.—Ibid., p. 103.

Sometimes written Sub.

Information wanted of the "Sub" who didn't think it an honor to be electioneered.—N.B., Yale Coll., June 14, 1851.

See PENE.

SUBJECT. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a particular author, or part of an author, set for examination; or a particular branch of Mathematics, such as Optics, Hydrostatics, &c.—Bristed.

To get up a subject, is to make one's self thoroughly master of it.—Bristed.

SUB-RECTOR. A rector's deputy or substitute.—Walton, Webster.

SUB-SIZAR. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., formerly an order of students lower than the sizars.

  Masters of all sorts, and all ages,
  Keepers, subcizers, lackeys, pages.
    Poems of Bp. Corbet, p. 22.

           There he sits and sees
  How lackeys and subsizers press
    And scramble for degrees.
    Ibid., p. 88.

See under SIZAR.

SUCK. At Middlebury College, to cheat at recitation or examination by using ponies, interliners, or helps of any kind.

SUPPLICAT. Latin; literally, he supplicates. In the English universities, a petition; particularly a written application with a certificate that the requisite conditions have been complied with.—Webster.

A Supplicat, says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, is "an entreaty to be admitted to the degree of B.A.; containing a certificate that the Questionist has kept his full number of terms, or explaining any deficiency. This document is presented to the caput by the father of his college."

SURPLICE DAY. An occasion or day on which the surplice is worn by the members of a university.

"On all Sundays and Saint-days, and the evenings preceding, every member of the University, except noblemen, attends chapel in his surplice."—Grad. ad Cantab., pp. 106, 107.

SUSPEND. In colleges, to separate a student from his class, and place him under private instruction.

  And those whose crimes are very great,
  Let us suspend or rusticate.—Rebelliad, p. 24.

SUSPENSION. In universities and colleges, the punishment of a student for some offence, usually negligence, by separating him from his class, and compelling him to pursue those branches of study in which he is deficient under private instruction, provided for the purpose.

SUSPENSION-PAPER. The paper in which the act of suspension from college is declared.

  Come, take these three suspension-papers;
  They'll teach you how to cut such capers.
    Rebelliad, p. 32.

SUSPENSION TO THE ROOM. In Princeton College, one of the punishments for certain offences subjects a student to confinement to his chamber and exclusion from his class, and requires him to recite to a teacher privately for a certain time. This is technically called suspension to the room.

SWEEP, SWEEPER. The name given at Yale and other colleges to the person whose occupation it is to sweep the students' rooms, make their beds, &c.

Then how welcome the entrance of the sweep, and how cutely we fling jokes at each other through the dust!—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 223.

Knocking down the sweep, in clearing the stairs, we described a circle to our room.—The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.

  A Freshman by the faithful sweep
  Was found half buried in soft sleep.
    Ibid., Nov. 10, 1846.

  With fingers dirty and black,
    From lower to upper room,
  A College Sweep went dustily round,
    Plying his yellow broom.
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 12.

In the Yale Literary Magazine, Vol. III. p. 144, is "A tribute to certain Members of the Faculty, whose names are omitted in the Catalogue," in which appropriate praise is awarded to these useful servants.

The Steward … engages sweepers for the College.—Laws Harv.
Coll., 1816, p. 48.

One of the sweepers finding a parcel of wood,… the defendant, in the absence of the owner of the wood, authorizes the sweeper to carry it away.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 98.

SWELL BLOCK. In the University of Virginia, a sobriquet applied to dandies and vain pretenders.

SWING. At several American colleges, the word swing is used for coming out with a secret society badge; 1st, of the society, to swing out the new men; and, 2d, of the men, intransitively, to swing, or to swing out, i.e. to appear with the badge of a secret society. Generally, to swing out signifies to appear in something new.

The new members have "swung out," and all again is harmony.—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.

SYNDIC. Latin, syndicus; Greek, [Greek: sundikos; sun], with, and [Greek: dikae], justice.

An officer of government, invested with different powers in different countries. Almost all the companies in Paris, the University, &c., have their syndics. The University of Cambridge has its syndics, who are chosen from the Senate to transact special business, as the regulation of fees, forming of laws, inspecting the library, buildings, printing, &c.—Webster. Cam. Cal.

SYNDICATE. A council or body of syndics.

The state of instruction in and encouragement to the study of Theology were thus set forth in the report of a syndicate appointed to consider the subject in 1842.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 293.

T.

TADS. At Centre College, Ky., there is "a society," says a correspondent, "composed of the very best fellows of the College, calling themselves Tads, who are generally associated together, for the object of electing, by the additional votes of their members, any of their friends who are brought forward as candidates for any honor or appointment in the literary societies to which they belong."

TAKE UP. To call on a student to rehearse a lesson.

  Professor took him up on Greek;
  He tried to talk, but couldn't speak.
    MS Poem.

TAKE UP ONE'S CONNECTIONS. In students' phrase, to leave college.
Used in American institutions.

TARDES. At the older American colleges, when charges were made and excuses rendered in Latin, the student who had come late to any religious service was addressed by the proper officer with the word Tardes, a kind of barbarous second person singular of some unknown verb, signifying, probably, "You are or were late."

  Much absence, tardes and egresses,
  The college-evil on him seizes.
    Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, Part I.

TARDY. In colleges, late in attendance on a public exercise.—Webster.

TAVERN. At Harvard College, the rooms No. 24 Massachusetts Hall, and No. 8 Hollis Hall, were occupied from the year 1789 to 1793 by Mr. Charles Angier. His table was always supplied with wine, brandy, crackers, etc., of which his friends were at liberty to partake at any time. From this circumstance his rooms were called the Tavern for nearly twenty years after his graduation.

In connection with this incident, it may not be uninteresting to state, that the cellars of the two buildings above mentioned were divided each into thirty-two compartments, corresponding with the number of rooms. In these the students and tutors stored their liquors, sometimes in no inconsiderable quantities. Frequent entries are met with in the records of the Faculty, in which the students are charged with pilfering wine, brandy, or eatables from the tutors' bins.

TAXOR. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., an officer appointed to regulate the assize of bread, the true gauge of weights, etc.—Cam. Cal.

TEAM. In the English universities, the pupils of a private tutor or COACH.—Bristed.

No man who has not taken a good degree expects or pretends to take good men into his team.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 69.

It frequently, indeed usually happens, that a "coach" of reputation declines taking men into his team before they have made time in public.—Ibid., p. 85.

TEAR. At Princeton College, a perfect tear is a very extra recitation, superior to a rowl.

TEMPLE. At Bowdoin College, a privy is thus designated.

TEN-STRIKE. At Hamilton College, a perfect recitation, ten being the mark given for a perfect recitation.

TEN-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., these are allowed to take the degree of Bachelor in Divinity without having been B.A. or M.A., by the statute of 9th Queen Elizabeth, which permits persons, who are admitted at any college when twenty-four years of age and upwards, to take the degree of B.D. after their names have remained on the boards ten years or more. After the first eight years, they must reside in the University the greater part of three several terms, and perform the exercises which are required by the statutes.—Cam. Cal.

TERM. In universities and colleges, the time during which instruction is regularly given to students, who are obliged by the statutes and laws of the institution to attend to the recitations, lectures, and other exercises.—Webster.

In the University of Cambridge, Eng., there are three terms during each year, which are fixed by invariable rules. October or Michaelmas term begins on the 10th of October, and ends on the 16th of December. Lent or January term begins on the 13th of January, and ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday. Easter or Midsummer term, begins on the eleventh day (the Wednesday sennight) after Easter-day, and ends on the Friday after Commencement day. Commencement is always on the first Tuesday in July.

At Oxford University, there are four terms in the year. Michaelmas term begins on the 10th of October, and ends on the 17th of December. Hilary term begins on the 14th of January, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. But if the Saturday before Palm Sunday should be a festival, the term does not end till the Monday following. Easter term begins on the tenth day after Easter Sunday, and ends on the day before Whitsunday. Trinity term begins on the Wednesday after Whitsunday, and ends the Saturday after the Act, which is always on the first Tuesday in July.

At the Dublin University, the terms in each year are four in number. Hilary term begins on the Monday after Epiphany, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. Easter term begins on the eighth day after Easter Sunday, and ends on Whitsun-eve. Trinity term begins on Trinity Monday, and ends on the 8th of July. Michaelmas term begins on the 1st of October (or on the 2d, if the 1st should be Sunday), and ends on December 16th.

TERRÆ FILIUS. Latin; son of earth.

Formerly, one appointed to write a satirical Latin poem at the public Acts in the University of Oxford; not unlike the prevaricator at Cambridge, Eng.—Webster.

Full accounts of the compositions written on these occasions may be found in a work in two volumes, entitled "Terræ-Filius; or the Secret History of the University of Oxford," printed in the year 1726.

See TRIPOS PAPER.

TESTAMUR. Latin; literally, we testify. In the English universities, a certificate of proficiency, without which a person is not able to take his degree. So called from the first word in the formula.

There is not one out of twenty of my pupils who can look forward with unmixed pleasure to a testamur.—Collegian's Guide, p. 254.

Every testamur must be signed by three out of the four examiners, at least.—Ibid., p. 282.

THEATRE. At Oxford, a building in which are held the annual commemoration of benefactors, the recitation of prize compositions, and the occasional ceremony of conferring degrees on distinguished personages.—Oxford Guide.

THEME. In college phrase, a short dissertation composed by a student.

It is the practice at Cambridge [Mass.] for the Professor of Rhetoric and the English Language, commencing in the first or second quarter of the student's Sophomore year, to give the class a text; generally some brief moral quotation from some of the ancient or modern poets, from which the students write a short essay, usually denominated a theme.—Works of R.T. Paine, p. xxi.

Far be it from me to enter into competition with students who have been practising the sublime art of theme and forensic writing for two years.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 316.

  But on the sleepy day of themes,
  May doze away a dozen reams.
    Ibid., p. 283.

Nimrod holds his "first theme" in one hand, and is leaning his head on the other.—Ibid., p. 253.

THEME-BEARER. At Harvard College, until within a few years, a student was chosen once in a term by his classmates to perform the duties of theme-bearer. He received the subjects for themes and forensics from the Professors of Rhetoric and of Moral Philosophy, and posted them up in convenient places, usually in the entries of the buildings and on, the bulletin-boards. He also distributed the corrected themes, at first giving them to the students after evening prayers, and, when this had been forbidden by the President, carrying them to their rooms. For these services he received seventy-five cents per term from each member of the class.

THEME-PAPER. In American colleges, a kind of paper on which students write their themes or composition. It is of the size of an ordinary letter-sheet, contains eighteen or nineteen lines placed at wide intervals, and is ruled in red ink with a margin a little less than an inch in width.

Shoe-strings, lucifers, omnibus-tickets, theme-paper, postage-stamps, and the nutriment of pipes.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 266.

THEOLOGUE. A cant name among collegians for a student in theology.

The hardened hearts of Freshmen and Theologues burned with righteous indignation.—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

The Theologs are not so wicked as the Medics.—Burlesque
Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 30.

THESES-COLLECTOR. One who collects or prepares theses. The following extract from the laws of Harvard College will explain further what is meant by this term. "The President, Professors, and Tutors, annually, some time in the third term, shall select from the Junior Class a number of Theses-Collectors, to prepare theses for the next year; from which selection they shall appoint so many divisions as shall be equal to the number of branches they may assign. And each one shall, in the particular branch assigned him, collect so many theses as the government may judge expedient; and all the theses, thus collected, shall be delivered to the President, by the Saturday immediately succeeding the end of the Spring vacation in the Senior year, at furthest, from which the President, Professors, and Tutors shall select such as they shall judge proper to be published. But if the theses delivered to the President, in any particular branch, should not afford a sufficient number suitable for publication, a further number shall be required. The name of the student who collected any set or number of theses shall be annexed to the theses collected by him, in every publication. Should any one neglect to collect the theses required of him, he shall be liable to lose his degree."—1814, p. 35.

The Theses-Collectors were formerly chosen by the class, as the following extract from a MS. Journal will show.

"March 27th, 1792. My Class assembled in the chapel to choose theses-collectors, a valedictory orator, and poet. Jackson was chosen to deliver the Latin oration, and Cutler to deliver the poem. Ellis was almost unanimously chosen a collector of the grammatical theses. Prince was chosen metaphysical theses-collector, with considerable opposition. Lowell was chosen mathematical theses-collector, though not unanimously. Chamberlain was chosen physical theses-collector."

THESIS. A position or proposition which a person advances and offers to maintain, or which is actually maintained by argument; a theme; a subject; particularly, a subject or proposition for a school or university exercise, or the exercise itself.—Webster.

In the older American colleges, the theses held a prominent place in the exercises of Commencement. At Harvard College the earliest theses extant bear the date of the year 1687. They were Theses Technological, Logical, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Mathematical, and Physical. The last theses were presented in the year 1820. The earliest theses extant belonging to Yale College are of 1714, and the last were printed in 1797.

THIRDING. In England, "a custom practised at the universities, where two thirds of the original price is allowed by upholsterers to the students for household goods returned them within the year."—Grose's Dict.

On this subject De Quincey says: "The Oxford rule is, that, if you take the rooms (which is at your own option), in that case you third the furniture and the embellishments; i.e. you succeed to the total cost diminished by one third. You pay, therefore, two guineas out of each three to your immediate predecessor."—Life and Manners, p. 250.

THIRD-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the title of
Third-Year Men, or Senior Sophs or Sophisters, is given to
students during the third year of their residence at the
University.

THUNDERING BOLUS. See INTONITANS BOLUS.

TICK. A recitation made by one who does not know of what he is talking.

Ticks, screws, and deads were all put under contribution.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 25.

TICKER. One who recites without knowing what he is talking about; one entirely independent of any book-knowledge.

  If any "Ticker" dare to look
  A stealthy moment on his book.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 123.

TICKING. The act of reciting without knowing anything about the lesson.

And what with ticking, screwing, and deading, am candidate for a piece of parchment to-morrow.—Harv. Reg., p. 194.

TIGHT. A common slang term among students; the comparative, of which drunk is the superlative.

  Some twenty of as jolly chaps as e'er got jolly tight.
    Poem before Y.H., 1849.

               Hast spent the livelong night
  In smoking Esculapios,—in getting jolly tight?
    Poem before Iadma, 1850.

  He clenched his fist as fain for fight,
  Sank back, and gently murmured "tight."
    MS. Poem, W.F. Allen, 1848.

  While fathers, are bursting with rage and spite,
  And old ladies vow that the students are tight.
    Yale Gallinipper, Nov. 1848.

Speaking of the word "drunk," the Burlington Sentinel remarks: "The last synonyme that we have observed is 'tight,' a term, it strikes us, rather inappropriate, since a 'tight' man, in the cant use of the word, is almost always a 'loose character.' We give a list of a few of the various words and phrases which have been in use, at one time or another, to signify some stage of inebriation: Over the bay, half seas over, hot, high, corned, cut, cocked, shaved, disguised, jammed, damaged, sleepy, tired, discouraged, snuffy, whipped, how come ye so, breezy, smoked, top-heavy, fuddled, groggy, tipsy, smashed, swipy, slewed, cronk, salted down, how fare ye, on the lee lurch, all sails set, three sheets in the wind, well under way, battered, blowing, snubbed, sawed, boosy, bruised, screwed, soaked, comfortable, stimulated, jug-steamed, tangle-legged, fogmatic, blue-eyed, a passenger in the Cape Ann stage, striped, faint, shot in the neck, bamboozled, weak-jointed, got a brick in his hat, got a turkey on his back."

Dr. Franklin, in speaking of the intemperate drinker, says, he will never, or seldom, allow that he is drunk; he may be "boosy, cosey, foxed, merry, mellow, fuddled, groatable, confoundedly cut, may see two moons, be among the Philistines, in a very good humor, have been in the sun, is a little feverish, pretty well entered, &c., but never drunk."

A highly entertaining list of the phrases which the Germans employ "to clothe in a tolerable garb of decorum that dreamy condition into which Bacchus frequently throws his votaries," is given in Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., pp. 296, 297.

See SPRUNG.

2. At Williams College, this word is sometimes used as an exclamation; e.g. "O tight!"

TIGHT FIT. At the University of Vermont, a good joke is denominated by the students a tight fit, and the jokee is said to be "hard up."

TILE. A hat. Evidently suggested by the meaning of the word, a covering for the roof of buildings.

  Then, taking it from off his head, began to brush his "tile."
    Poem before the Iadma, 1850.

TOADY. A fawning, obsequious parasite; a toad-eater. In college cant, one who seeks or gains favor with an instructor or popularity with his classmates by mean and sycophantic actions.

TOADY. To flatter any one for gain.—Halliwell.

TOM. The great bell of Christ Church, Oxford, which formerly belonged to Osney Abbey.

"This bell," says the Oxford Guide, "was recast in 1680, its weight being about 17,000 pounds; more than double the weight of the great bell in St. Paul's, London. This bell has always been represented as one of the finest in England, but even at the risk of dispelling an illusion under which most Oxford men have labored, and which every member of Christ Church has indulged in from 1680 to the present time, touching the fancied superiority of mighty Tom, it must be confessed that it is neither an accurate nor a musical bell. The note, as we are assured by the learned in these matters, ought to be B flat, but is not so. On the contrary, the bell is imperfect and inharmonious, and requires, in the opinion of those best informed, and of most experience, to be recast. It is, however, still a great curiosity, and may be seen by applying to the porter at Tom-Gate lodge."—Ed. 1847, p. 5, note a.

TO THE n(-th.), TO THE n + 1(-th.) Among English Cantabs these algebraic expressions are used as intensives to denote the most energetic way of doing anything.—Bristed.

TOWNEY. The name by which a student in an American college is accustomed to designate any young man residing in the town in which the college is situated, who is not a collegian.

And Towneys left when she showed fight. Pow-wow of Class of '58, Yale Coll.

TRANSLATION. The act of turning one language into another.

At the University of Cambridge, Eng., this word is applied more particularly to the turning of Greek or Latin into English.

In composition and cram I was yet untried, and the translations in lecture-room were not difficult to acquit one's self on respectably.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 34.

TRANSMITTENDUM, pl. TRANSMITTENDA or TRANSMITTENDUMS. Anything transmitted, or handed down from one to another.

Students, on withdrawing from college, often leave in the room which they last occupied, pictures, looking-glasses, chairs, &c., there to remain, and to be handed down to the latest posterity. Articles thus left are called transmittenda.

The Great Mathematical Slate was a transmittendum to the best mathematical scholar in each class.—MS. note in Cat. Med. Fac. Soc., 1833, p. 16.

TRENCHER-CAP. A-name, sometimes given to the square head-covering worn by students in the English universities. Used figuratively to denote collegiate power.

The trencher-cap has claimed a right to take its part in the movements which make or mar the destinies of nations, by the side of plumed casque and priestly tiara.—The English Universities and their Reforms, in Blackwood's Mag., Feb. 1849.

TRIANGLE. At Union College, a urinal, so called from its shape.

TRIENNIAL, or TRIENNIAL CATALOGUE. In American colleges, a catalogue issued once in three years. This catalogue contains the names of the officers and students, arranged according to the years in which they were connected with the college, an account of the high public offices which they have filled, degrees which they have received, time of death, &c.[66]

The Triennial Catalogue becomes increasingly a mournful record—it should be monitory, as well as mournful—to survivors, looking at the stars thickening on it, from one date to another.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 198.

  Our tale shall be told by a silent star,
  On the page of some future Triennial.
    Class Poem, Harv. Coll., 1849, p. 4.

TRIMESTER. Latin trimestris; tres, three, and mensis, month. In the German universities, a term or period of three months.—Webster.

TRINITARIAN. The popular name of a member of Trinity College in the University of Cambridge, Eng.

TRIPOS, pl. TRIPOSES. At Cambridge, Eng., any university examination for honors, of questionists or men who have just taken their B.A. The university scholarship examinations are not called triposes.—Bristed.

The Classical Tripos is generally spoken of as the Tripos, the
Mathematical one as the Degree Examination.—Ibid., p. 170.

2. A tripos paper.

3. One who prepares a tripos paper.—Webster.

TRIPOS PAPER. At the University of Cambridge, England, a printed list of the successful candidates for mathematical honors, accompanied by a piece in Latin verse. There are two of these, designed to commemorate the two Tripos days. The first contains the names of the Wranglers and Senior Optimes, and the second the names of the Junior Optimes. The word tripos is supposed to refer to the three-legged stool formerly used at the examinations for these honors, though some derive it from the three brackets formerly printed on the back of the paper.

Classical Tripos Examination. The final university examination for classical honors, optional to all who have taken the mathematical honors.—C.A. Bristed, in Webster's Dict.

The Tripos Paper is more fully described in the annexed extract. "The names of the Bachelors who were highest in the list (Wranglers and Senior Optimes, Baccalaurei quibus sua reservatur senioritas Comitiis prioribus, and Junior Optimes, Comitiis posterioribus) were written on slips of paper; and on the back of these papers, probably with a view of making them less fugitive and more entertaining, was given a copy of Latin verses. These verses were written by one of the new Bachelors, and the exuberant spirits and enlarged freedom arising from the termination of the Undergraduate restrictions often gave to these effusions a character of buffoonery and satire. The writer was termed Terræ Filius, or Tripos, probably from some circumstance in the mode of his making his appearance and delivering his verses; and took considerable liberties. On some occasions, we find that these went so far as to incur the censure of the authorities. Even now, the Tripos verses often aim at satire and humor. [It is customary to have one serious and one humorous copy of verses.] The writer does not now appear in person, but the Tripos Paper, the list of honors with its verses, still comes forth at its due season, and the list itself has now taken the name of the Tripos. This being the case with the list of mathematical honors, the same name has been extended to the list of classical honors, though unaccompanied by its classical verses."—Whewell on Cambridge Education, Preface to Part II., quoted in Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 25.

TRUMP. A jolly blade; a merry fellow; one who occupies among his companions a position similar to that which trumps hold to the other cards in the pack. Not confined in its use to collegians, but much in vogue among them.

  But soon he treads this classic ground,
  Where knowledge dwells and trumps abound.
    MS. Poem.

TRUSTEE. A person to whom property is legally committed in trust, to be applied either for the benefit of specified individuals, or for public uses.—Webster.

In many American colleges the general government is vested in a board of trustees, appointed differently in different colleges.

See CORPORATION and OVERSEER.

TUFT-HUNTER. A cant term, in the English universities, for a hanger-on to noblemen and persons of quality. So called from the tuft in the cap of the latter.—Halliwell.

There are few such thorough tuft-hunters as your genuine Oxford
Don.—Blackwood's Mag., Eng. ed., Vol. LVI. p. 572.

TUITION. In universities, colleges, schools, &c., the money paid for instruction. In American colleges, the tuition is from thirty to seventy dollars a year.

TUTE. Abbreviation for Tutor.

TUTOR. Latin; from tueor, to defend; French, tuteur.

In English universities and colleges, an officer or member of some hall, who has the charge of hearing the lessons of the students, and otherwise giving them instruction in the sciences and various branches of learning.

In the American colleges, tutors are graduates selected by the trustees, for the instruction of undergraduates of the first three years. They are usually officers of the institution, who have a share, with the president and professors, in the government of the students.—Webster.

TUTORAGE. In the English universities, the guardianship exerted by a tutor; the care of a pupil.

The next item which I shall notice is that which in college bills is expressed by the word Tutorage.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 251.

TUTOR, CLASS. At some of the colleges in the United States, each of the four classes is assigned to the care of a particular tutor, who acts as the ordinary medium of communication between the members of the class and the Faculty, and who may be consulted by the students concerning their studies, or on any other subject interesting to them in their relations to the college.

At Harvard College, in addition to these offices, the Class Tutors grant leave of absence from church and from town for Sunday, including Saturday night, on the presentation of a satisfactory reason, and administer all warnings and private admonitions ordered by the Faculty for misconduct or neglect of duty.—Orders and Regulations of the Faculty of Harv. Coll., July, 1853, pp. 1, 2.

Of this regulation as it obtained at Harvard during the latter part of the last century, Professor Sidney Willard says: "Each of the Tutors had one class, of which he was charged with a certain oversight, and of which he was called the particular Tutor. The several Tutors in Latin successively sustained this relation to my class. Warnings of various kinds, private admonitions for negligence or minor offences, and, in general, intercommunication between his class and the Immediate Government, were the duties belonging to this relation."—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. p. 266, note.

TUTOR, COLLEGE. At the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, an officer connected with a college, whose duties are described in the annexed extracts.

With reference to Oxford, De Quincey remarks: "Each college takes upon itself the regular instruction of its separate inmates,—of these and of no others; and for this office it appoints, after careful selection, trial, and probation, the best qualified amongst those of its senior members who choose to undertake a trust of such heavy responsibility. These officers are called Tutors; and they are connected by duties and by accountability, not with the University at all, but with their own private colleges. The public tutors appointed in each college [are] on the scale of one to each dozen or score of students."—Life and Manners, Boston, 1851, p. 252.

Bristed, writing of Cambridge, says: "When, therefore, a boy, or, as we should call him, a young man, leaves his school, public or private, at the age of eighteen or nineteen, and 'goes up' to the University, he necessarily goes up to some particular college, and the first academical authority he makes acquaintance with in the regular order of things is the College Tutor. This gentleman has usually taken high honors either in classics or mathematics, and one of his duties is naturally to lecture. But this by no means constitutes the whole, or forms the most important part, of his functions. He is the medium of all the students' pecuniary relations with the College. He sends in their accounts every term, and receives the money through his banker; nay, more, he takes in the bills of their tradesmen, and settles them also. Further, he has the disposal of the college rooms, and assigns them to their respective occupants. When I speak of the College Tutor, it must not be supposed that one man is equal to all this work in a large college,—Trinity, for instance, which usually numbers four hundred Undergraduates in residence. A large college has usually two Tutors,—Trinity has three,—and the students are equally divided among them,—on their sides, the phrase is,—without distinction of year, or, as we should call it, of class. The jurisdiction of the rooms is divided in like manner. The Tutor is supposed to stand in loco parentis; but having sometimes more than a hundred young men under him, he cannot discharge his duties in this respect very thoroughly, nor is it generally expected that he should."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 10, 11.

TUTORIAL. Belonging to or exercised by a tutor or instructor.

Even while he is engaged in his "tutorial" duties, &c.—Am.
Lit. Mag., Vol. IV. p. 409.

TUTORIC. Pertaining to a tutor.

A collection of two was not then considered a sure prognostic of rebellion, and spied out vigilantly by tutoric eyes.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 314.

TUTORIFIC. The same as tutoric.

  While thus in doubt they hesitating stand,
  Approaches near the Tutorific band.
    Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.

  "Old Yale," of thee we sing, thou art our theme,
  Of thee with all thy Tutorific host.—Ibid.

TUTORING FRESHMEN. Of the various means used by Sophomores to trouble Freshmen, that of tutoring them, as described in the following extract from the Sketches of Yale College, is not at all peculiar to that institution, except in so far as the name is concerned.

"The ancient customs of subordination among the classes, though long since abrogated, still preserve a part of their power over the students, not only of this, but of almost every similar institution. The recently exalted Sophomore, the dignified Junior, and the venerable Senior, look back with equal humor at the 'greenness' of their first year. The former of these classes, however, is chiefly notorious in the annals of Freshman capers. To them is allotted the duty of fumigating the room of the new-comer, and preparing him, by a due induction into the mysteries of Yale, for the duties of his new situation. Of these performances, the most systematic is commonly styled Tutoring, from the character assumed by the officiating Sophomore. Seated solemnly in his chair of state, arrayed in a pompous gown, with specs and powdered hair, he awaits the approach of the awe-struck subject, who has been duly warned to attend his pleasure, and fitly instructed to make a low reverence and stand speechless until addressed by his illustrious superior. A becoming impression has also been conveyed of the dignity, talents, and profound learning and influence into the congregated presence of which he is summoned. Everything, in short, which can increase his sufficiently reverent emotions, or produce a readier or more humble obedience, is carefully set forth, till he is prepared to approach the door with no little degree of that terror with which the superstitious inquirer enters the mystic circle of the magician. A shaded light gleams dimly out into the room, and pours its fuller radiance upon a ponderous volume of Hebrew; a huge pile of folios rests on the table, and the eye of the fearful Freshman half ventures to discover that they are tomes of the dead languages.

"But first he has, in obedience to his careful monitor, bowed lowly before the dignified presence; and, hardly raising his eyes, he stands abashed at his awful situation, waiting the supreme pleasure of the supposed officer. A benignant smile lights up the tutor's grave countenance; he enters strangely enough into familiar talk with the recently admitted collegiate; in pathetic terms he describes the temptations of this great city, the thousand dangers to which he will be exposed, the vortex of ruin into which, if he walks unwarily, he will be surely plunged. He fires the youthful ambition with glowing descriptions of the honors that await the successful, and opens to his eager view the dazzling prospect of college fame. Nor does he fail to please the youthful aspirant with assurances of the kindly notice of the Faculty; he informs him of the satisfactory examination he has passed, and the gratification of the President at his uncommon proficiency; and having thus filled the buoyant imagination of his dupe with the most glowing college air-castles, dismisses him from his august presence, after having given him especial permission to call on any important occasion hereafter."—pp. 159-162.

TUTOR, PRIVATE. At the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, an instructor, whose position and studies are set forth in the following extracts.

"Besides the public tutors appointed in each college," says De Quincey, writing of Oxford, "there are also tutors strictly private, who attend any students in search of special and extraordinary aid, on terms settled privately by themselves. Of these persons, or their existence, the college takes no cognizance." "These are the working agents in the Oxford system." "The Tutors of Oxford correspond to the Professors of other universities."—Life and Manners, Boston, 1851, pp. 252, 253.

Referring to Cambridge, Bristed remarks: "The private tutor at an English university corresponds, as has been already observed, in many respects, to the professor at a German. The German professor is not necessarily attached to any specific chair; he receives no fixed stipend, and has not public lecture-rooms; he teaches at his own house, and the number of his pupils depends on his reputation. The Cambridge private tutor is also a graduate, who takes pupils at his rooms in numbers proportionate to his reputation and ability. And although while the German professor is regularly licensed as such by his university, and the existence of the private tutor as such is not even officially recognized by his, still this difference is more apparent than real; for the English university has virtually licensed the tutor to instruct in a particular branch by the standing she has given him in her examinations." "Students come up to the University with all degrees of preparation…. To make up for former deficiences, and to direct study so that it may not be wasted, are two desiderata which probably led to the introduction of private tutors, once a partial, now a general appliance."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 146-148.

TUTORSHIP. The office of a tutor.—Hooker.

In the following passage, this word is used as a titulary compellation, like the word lordship.

  One morning, as the story goes,
  Before his tutorship arose.—Rebelliad, p. 73.

TUTORS' PASTURE. In 1645, John Bulkley, the "first Master of Arts in Harvard College," by a deed, gave to Mr. Dunster, the President of that institution, two acres of land in Cambridge, during his life. The deed then proceeds: "If at any time he shall leave the Presidency, or shall decease, I then desire the College to appropriate the same to itself for ever, as a small gift from an alumnus, bearing towards it the greatest good-will." "After President Dunster's resignation," says Quincy, "the Corporation gave the income of Bulkley's donation to the tutors, who received it for many years, and hence the enclosure obtained the name of 'Tutors' Pasture,' or 'Fellows' Orchard.'" In the Donation Book of the College, the deed is introduced as "Extractum Doni Pomarii Sociorum per Johannem Bulkleium."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. pp. 269, 270.

For further remarks on this subject, see Peirce's "History of
Harvard University," pp. 15, 81, 113, also Chap. XIII., and
"Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D.," pp. 390, 391.

TWITCH A TWELVE. At Middlebury College, to make a perfect recitation; twelve being the maximum mark for scholarship.

U.

UGLY KNIFE. See JACK-KNIFE.

UNDERGRADUATE. A student, or member of a university or college, who has not taken his first degree.—Webster.

UNDERGRADUATE. Noting or pertaining to a student of a college who has not taken his first degree.

The undergraduate students shall be divided into four distinct classes.—Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 11.

With these the undergraduate course is not intended to interfere.—Yale Coll. Cat., 1850-51, p. 33.

UNDERGRADUATESHIP. The state of being an undergraduate.—Life of
Paley.

UNIVERSITY. An assemblage of colleges established in any place, with professors for instructing students in the sciences and other branches of learning, and where degrees are conferred. A university is properly a universal school, in which are taught all branches of learning, or the four faculties of theology, medicine, law, and the sciences and arts.—Cyclopædia.

2. At some American colleges, a name given to a university student. The regulation in reference to this class at Union College is as follows:—"Students, not regular members of college, are allowed, as university students, to prosecute any branches for which they are qualified, provided they attend three recitations daily, and conform in all other respects to the laws of College. On leaving College, they receive certificates of character and scholarship."—Union Coll. Cat., 1850.

The eyes of several Freshmen and Universities shone with a watery lustre.—The Parthenon, Vol. I. p. 20.

UP. To be up in a subject, is to be informed in regard to it. Posted expresses a similar idea. The use of this word, although common among collegians, is by no means confined to them.

In our past history, short as it is, we would hardly expect them to be well up.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 28.

He is well up in metaphysics.—Ibid., p. 53.

UPPER HOUSE. See SENATE.

V.

VACATION. The intermission of the regular studies and exercises of a college or other seminary, when the students have a recess.—Webster.

In the University of Cambridge, Eng., there are three vacations during each year. Christmas vacation begins on the 16th of December, and ends on the 13th of January. Easter vacation begins on the Friday before Palm Sunday, and ends on the eleventh day after Easter-day. The Long vacation begins on the Friday succeeding the first Tuesday in July, and ends on the 10th of October. At the University of Oxford there are four vacations in each year. At Dublin University there are also four vacations, which correspond nearly with the vacations of Oxford.

See TERM.

VALEDICTION. A farewell; a bidding farewell. Used sometimes with the meaning of valedictory or valedictory oration.

Two publick Orations, by the Candidates: the one to give a specimen of their Knowledge, &c., and the other to give a grateful and pathetick Valediction to all the Officers and Members of the Society.—Clap's Hist. Yale Coll., p. 87.

VALEDICTORIAN. The student of a college who pronounces the valedictory oration at the annual Commencement.—Webster.

VALEDICTORY. In American colleges, a farewell oration or address spoken at Commencement, by a member of the class which receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and take their leave of college and of each other.

VARMINT. At Cambridge, England, and also among the whip gentry, this word signifies natty, spruce, dashing; e.g. he is quite varmint; he sports a varmint hat, coat, &c.

A varmint man spurns a scholarship, would consider it a degradation to be a fellow.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 122.

The handsome man, my friend and pupil, was naturally enough a bit of a swell, or varmint man.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 118.

VERGER. At the University of Oxford, an officer who walks first in processions, and carries a silver rod.

VICE-CHANCELLOR. An officer in a university, in England, a distinguished member, who is annually elected to manage the affairs in the absence of the Chancellor. He must be the head of a college, and during his continuance in office he acts as a magistrate for the university, town, and county.—Cam. Cal.

At Oxford, the Vice-Chancellor holds a court, in which suits may be brought against any member of the University. He never walks out, without being preceded by a Yeoman-Bedel with his silver staff. At Cambridge, the Mayor and Bailiffs of the town are obliged, at their election, to take certain oaths before the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor has the sole right of licensing wine and ale-houses in Cambridge, and of discommuning any tradesman or inhabitant who has violated the University privileges or regulations. In both universities, the Vice-Chancellor is nominated by the Heads of Houses, from among themselves.

VICE-MASTER. An officer of a college in the English universities who performs the duties of the Master in his absence.

VISITATION. The act of a superior or superintending officer, who visits a corporation, college, church, or other house, to examine into the manner in which it is conducted, and see that its laws and regulations are duly observed and executed.—Cyc.

In July, 1766, a law was formally enacted, "that twice in the year, viz. at the semiannual visitation of the committee of the Overseers, some of the scholars, at the direction of the President and Tutors, shall publicly exhibit specimens of their proficiency," &c.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 132.

VIVA VOCE. Latin; literally, with the living voice. In the English universities, that part of an examination which is carried on orally.

The examination involves a little viva voce, and it was said, that, if a man did his viva voce well, none of his papers were looked at but the Paley.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 92.

In Combination Room, where once I sat at viva voce, wretched, ignorant, the wine goes round, and wit, and pleasant talk.—Household Words, Am. ed., Vol. XI. p. 521.

W.

WALLING. At the University of Oxford, the punishment of walling, as it is popularly denominated, consists in confining a student to the walls of his college for a certain period.

WARDEN. The master or president of a college.—England.

WARNING. In many colleges, when it is ascertained that a student is not living in accordance with the laws of the institution, he is usually informed of the fact by a warning, as it is called, from one of the faculty, which consists merely of friendly caution and advice, thus giving him an opportunity, by correcting his faults, to escape punishment.

  Sadly I feel I should have been saved by numerous warnings.
    Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 98.

  No more shall "warnings" in their hearing ring,
  Nor "admonitions" haunt their aching head.
    Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 210.

WEDGE. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the man whose name is the last on the list of honors in the voluntary classical examination, which follows the last examination required by statute, is called the wedge. "The last man is called the wedge" says Bristed, "corresponding to the Spoon in Mathematics. This name originated in that of the man who was last on the first Tripos list (in 1824), Wedgewood. Some one suggested that the wooden wedge was a good counterpart to the wooden spoon, and the appellation stuck."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 253.

WET. To christen a new garment by treating one's friends when one first appears in it; e.g.:—A. "Have you wet that new coat yet?" B. "No." A. "Well, then, I should recommend to you the propriety of so doing." B. "What will you drink?" This word, although much used among students, is by no means confined to them.

WHINNICK. At Hamilton College, to refuse to fulfil a promise or engagement; to retreat from a difficulty; to back out.

WHITE-HOOD HOUSE. See SENATE.

WIGS. The custom of wearing wigs was, perhaps, observed nowhere in America during the last century with so much particularity as at the older colleges. Of this the following incident is illustrative. Mr. Joseph Palmer, who graduated at Harvard in the year 1747, entered college at the age of fourteen; but, although so young, was required immediately after admission to cut off his long, flowing hair, and to cover his head with an unsightly bag-wig. At the beginning of the present century, wigs were not wholly discarded, although the fashion of wearing the hair in a queue was more in vogue. From a record of curious facts, it appears that the last wig which appeared at Commencement in Harvard College was worn by Mr. John Marsh, in the year 1819.

See DRESS.

WILL. At Harvard College, it was at one time the mode for the student to whom had been given the JACK-KNIFE in consequence of his ugliness, to transmit the inheritance, when he left, to some one of equal pretensions in the class next below him. At one period, this transmission was effected by a will, in which not only the knife, but other articles, were bequeathed. As the 21st of June was, till of late years, the day on which the members of the Senior Class closed their collegiate studies, and retired to make preparations for the ensuing Commencement, Wills were usually dated at that time. The first will of this nature of which mention is made is that of Mr. William Biglow, a member of the class of 1794, and the recipient for that year of the knife. It appeared in the department entitled "Omnium Gatherum" of the Federal Orrery, published at Boston, April 27, 1795, in these words:—

"A WILL:

BEING THE LAST WORDS OF CHARLES CHATTERBOX, ESQ., LATE WORTHY AND MUCH LAMENTED MEMBER OF THE LAUGHING CLUB OF HARVARD UNIVERSITT, WHO DEPARTED COLLEGE LIFE, JUNE 21, 1794, IN THE TWENTY-FIRST YEAR OF HIS AGE.

 "I, CHARLEY CHATTER, sound of mind,
  To making fun am much inclined;
  So, having cause to apprehend
  My college life is near its end,
  All future quarrels to prevent,
  I seal this will and testament.

 "My soul and body, while together,
  I send the storms of life to weather;
  To steer as safely as they can,
  To honor GOD, and profit man.

 "Imprimis, then, my bed and bedding,
  My only chattels worth the sledding,
  Consisting of a maple stead,
  A counterpane, and coverlet,
  Two cases with the pillows in,
  A blanket, cord, a winch and pin,
  Two sheets, a feather bed and hay-tick,
  I order sledded up to Natick,
  And that with care the sledder save them
  For those kind parents, first who gave them.

 "Item. The Laughing Club, so blest,
  Who think this life what 't is,—a jest,—
  Collect its flowers from every spray,
  And laugh its goading thorns away;
  From whom to-morrow I dissever,
  Take one sweet grin, and leave for ever;
  My chest, and all that in it is,
  I give and I bequeath them, viz.:
  Westminster grammar, old and poor,
  Another one, compiled by Moor;
  A bunch of pamphlets pro and con
  The doctrine of salva-ti-on;
  The college laws, I'm freed from minding,
  A Hebrew psalter, stripped from binding.
  A Hebrew Bible, too, lies nigh it,
  Unsold—because no one would buy it.

 "My manuscripts, in prose and verse,
  They take for better and for worse;
  Their minds enlighten with the best,
  And pipes and candles with the rest;
  Provided that from them they cull
  My college exercises dull,
  On threadbare theme, with mind unwilling,
  Strained out through fear of fine one shilling,
  To teachers paid t' avert an evil,
  Like Indian worship to the Devil.
  The above-named manuscripts, I say.
  To club aforesaid I convey,
  Provided that said themes, so given,
  Full proofs that genius won't be driven,
  To our physicians be presented,
  As the best opiates yet invented.

 "Item. The government of college,
  Those liberal helluos of knowledge,
  Who, e'en in these degenerate days,
  Deserve the world's unceasing praise;
  Who, friends of science and of men,
  Stand forth Gomorrah's righteous ten;
  On them I naught but thanks bestow,
  For, like my cash, my credit's low;
  So I can give nor clothes nor wines,
  But bid them welcome to my fines.

 "Item. My study desk of pine,
  That work-bench, sacred to the nine,
  Which oft hath groaned beneath my metre,
  I give to pay my debts to PETER.

 "Item. Two penknives with white handles,
  A bunch of quills, and pound of candles,
  A lexicon compiled by COLE,
  A pewter spoon, and earthen bowl,
  A hammer, and two homespun towels,
  For which I yearn with tender bowels,
  Since I no longer can control them,
  I leave to those sly lads who stole them.

 "Item. A gown much greased in Commons,
  A hat between a man's and woman's,
  A tattered coat of college blue,
  A fustian waistcoat torn in two,
  With all my rust, through college carried,
  I give to classmate O——,[67] who's married.

 "Item. C——— P———s[68] has my knife,
  During his natural college life,—
  That knife, which ugliness inherits,
  And due to his superior merits;
  And when from Harvard he shall steer,
  I order him to leave it here,
  That 't may from class to class descend,
  Till time and ugliness shall end.

 "The said C——— P———s, humor's son,
  Who long shall stay when I am gone,
  The Muses' most successful suitor,
  I constitute my executor;
  And for his trouble to requite him,
  Member of Laughing Club I write him.

 "Myself on life's broad sea I throw,
  Sail with its joy, or stem its woe,
  No other friend to take my part,
  Than careless head and honest heart.
  My purse is drained, my debts are paid,
  My glass is run, my will is made,
  To beauteous Cam. I bid adieu,
  And with the world begin anew."

Following the example of his friend Biglow, Mr. Prentiss, on leaving college, prepared a will, which afterwards appeared in one of the earliest numbers of the Rural Repository, a literary paper, the publication of which he commenced at Leominster, Mass., in the autumn of 1795. Thomas Paine, afterwards Robert Treat Paine, Jr., immediately transferred it to the columns of the Federal Orrery, which paper he edited, with these introductory remarks: "Having, in the second number of 'Omnium Gatherum' presented to our readers the last will and testament of Charles Chatterbox, Esq., of witty memory, wherein the said Charles, now deceased, did lawfully bequeath to Ch——s Pr——s the celebrated 'Ugly Knife,' to be by him transmitted, at his collegiate demise, to the next succeeding candidate;… and whereas the said Ch——-s Pr——-s, on the 21st of June last, departed his aforesaid 'college life,' thereby leaving to the inheritance of his successor the valuable legacy, which his illustrious friend had bequeathed, as an entailed estate, to the poets of the university,—we have thought proper to insert a full, true, and attested copy of the will of the last deceased heir, in order that the world may be furnished with a correct genealogy of this renowned jack-knife, whose pedigree will become as illustrious in after time as the family of the 'ROLLES,' and which will be celebrated by future wits as the most formidable weapon of modern genius."

"A WILL;

BEING THE LAST WORDS OP CH——S PR——S, LATE WORTHY AND MUCH LAMENTED MEMBER OF THE LAUGHING CLUB OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, WHO DEPARTED COLLEGE LIFE ON THE 21ST OF JUNE, 1795.

 "I, Pr——-s Ch——s, of judgment sound,
  In soul, in limb and wind, now found;
  I, since my head is full of wit,
  And must be emptied, or must split,
  In name of president APOLLO,
  And other gentle folks, that follow:
  Such as URANIA and CLIO,
  To whom my fame poetic I owe;
  With the whole drove of rhyming sisters,
  For whom my heart with rapture blisters;
  Who swim in HELICON uncertain
  Whether a petticoat or shirt on,
  From vulgar ken their charms do cover,
  From every eye but Muses' lover;
  In name of every ugly GOD;
  Whose beauty scarce outshines a toad;
  In name of PROSERPINE and PLUTO,
  Who board in hell's sublimest grotto;
  In name of CERBERUS and FURIES,
  Those damned aristocrats and tories;
  In presence of two witnesses,
  Who are as homely as you please,
  Who are in truth, I'd not belie 'em,
  Ten times as ugly, faith, as I am;
  But being, as most people tell us,
  A pair of jolly clever fellows,
  And classmates likewise, at this time,
  They sha'n't be honored in my rhyme.
  I—I say I, now make this will;
  Let those whom I assign fulfil.
  I give, grant, render, and convey
  My goods and chattels thus away:
  That honor of a college life,
  That celebrated UGLY KNIFE,
  Which predecessor SAWNEY[69] orders,
  Descending to time's utmost borders,
  To noblest bard of homeliest phiz,
  To have and hold and use as his;
  I now present C——s P——y S——r,[70]
  To keep with his poetic lumber,
  To scrape his quid, and make a split,
  To point his pen for sharpening wit;
  And order that he ne'er abuse
  Said Ugly Knife, in dirtier use,
  And let said CHARLES, that best of writers,
  In prose satiric skilled to bite us,
  And equally in verse delight us,
  Take special care to keep it clean
  From unpoetic hands,—I ween.
  And when those walls, the Muses' seat,
  Said S——r is obliged to quit,
  Let some one of APOLLO'S firing,
  To such heroic joys aspiring,
  Who long has borne a poet's name,
  With said knife cut his way to fame.

 "I give to those that fish for parts,
  Long sleepless nights, and aching hearts,
  A little soul, a fawning spirit,
  With half a grain of plodding merit,
  Which is, as Heaven I hope will say,
  Giving what's not my own away.

 "Those oven baked or goose egg folded,
  Who, though so often I have told it,
  With all my documents to show it,
  Will scarce believe that I'm a poet,
  I give of criticism the lens
  With half an ounce of common sense.

 "And 't would a breach be of humanity,
  Not to bequeath D—-n[71] my vanity;
  For 'tis a rule direct from Heaven,
  To him that hath, more shall be given.

 "Item. Tom M——n,[72] COLLEGE LION,
  Who'd ne'er spend cash enough to buy one,
  The BOANERGES of a pun,
  A man of science and of fun,
  That quite uncommon witty elf,
  Who darts his bolts and shoots himself,
  Who oft hath bled beneath my jokes,
  I give my old tobacco-box.

 "My Centinels[73] for some years past,
  So neatly bound with thread and paste,
  Exposing Jacobinic tricks,
  I give my chum for politics.

 "My neckcloth, dirty, old, yet strong,
  That round my neck has lasted long,
  I give BIG BOY, for deed of pith,
  Namely, to hang himself therewith.

 "To those who've parts at exhibition
  Obtained by long, unwearied fishing,
  I say, to such unlucky wretches,
  I give, for wear, a brace of breeches;
  Then used; as they're but little tore,
  I hope they'll show their tails no more.

 "And ere it quite has gone to rot,
  I, B—— give my blue great-coat,
  With all its rags, and dirt, and tallow,
  Because he's such a dirty fellow.

 "Now for my books; first, Bunyan's Pilgrim,
  (As he with thankful pleasure will grin,)
  Though dog-leaved, torn, in bad type set in,
  'T will do quite well for classmate B——,
  And thus, with complaisance to treat her,
  'T will answer for another Detur.

 "To him that occupies my study,
  I give, for use of making toddy,
  A bottle full of white-face STINGO,
  Another, handy, called a mingo.
  My wit, as I've enough to spare,
  And many much in want there are,
  I ne'er intend to keep at home,
  But give to those that handiest come,
  Having due caution, where and when,
  Never to spatter gentlemen.
  The world's loud call I can't refuse,
  The fine productions of my muse;
  If impudence to fame shall waft her,
  I'll give the public all, hereafter.
  My love-songs, sorrowful, complaining,
  (The recollection puts me pain in,)
  The last sad groans of deep despair,
  That once could all my entrails tear;
  My farewell sermon to the ladies;
  My satire on a woman's head-dress;
  My epigram so full of glee,
  Pointed as epigrams should be;
  My sonnets soft, and sweet as lasses,
  My GEOGRAPHY of MOUNT PARNASSUS;
  With all the bards that round it gather,
  And variations of the weather;
  Containing more true humorous satire,
  Than's oft the lot of human nature;
  ('O dear, what can the matter be!'
  I've given away my vanity;
  The vessel can't so much contain,
  It runs o'er and comes back again.)
  My blank verse, poems so majestic,
  My rhymes heroic, tales agrestic;
  The whole, I say, I'll overhaul 'em,
  Collect and publish in a volume.

 "My heart, which thousand ladies crave,
  That I intend my wife shall have.
  I'd give my foibles to the wind,
  And leave my vices all behind;
  But much I fear they'll to me stick,
  Where'er I go, through thin and thick.
  On WISDOM'S horse, oh, might I ride,
  Whose steps let PRUDENCE' bridle guide.
  Thy loudest voice, O REASON, lend,
  And thou, PHILOSOPHY, befriend.
  May candor all my actions guide,
  And o'er my every thought preside,
  And in thy ear, O FORTUNE, one word,
  Let thy swelled canvas bear me onward,
  Thy favors let me ever see,
  And I'll be much obliged to thee;
  And come with blooming visage meek,
  Come, HEALTH, and ever flush my cheek;
  O bid me in the morning rise,
  When tinges Sol the eastern skies;
  At breakfast, supper-time, or dinner,
  Let me against thee be no sinner.

 "And when the glass of life is run,
  And I behold my setting sun,
  May conscience sound be my protection,
  And no ungrateful recollection,
  No gnawing cares nor tumbling woes,
  Disturb the quiet of life's close.
  And when Death's gentle feet shall come
  To bear me to my endless home,
  Oh! may my soul, should Heaven but save it,
  Safely return to GOD who gave it."
    Federal Orrery, Oct. 29, 1795. Buckingham's Reminiscences,
    Vol. II. pp. 228-231, 268-273.

It is probable that the idea of a "College Will" was suggested to Biglow by "Father Abbey's Will," portions of which, till the present generation, were "familiar to nearly all the good housewives of New England." From the history of this poetical production, which has been lately printed for private circulation by the Rev. John Langdon Sibley of Harvard College, the annexed transcript of the instrument itself, together with the love-letter which was suggested by it, has been taken. The instances in which the accepted text differs from a Broadside copy, in the possession of the editor of this work, are noted at the foot of the page.

"FATHER ABBEY'S WILL:

  TO WHICH IS NOW ADDED, A LETTER OF COURTSHIP TO HIS VIRTUOUS AND
  AMIABLE WIDOW.
   "Cambridge, December, 1730.

"Some time since died here Mr. Matthew Abbey, in a very advanced age: He had for a great number of years served the College in quality of Bedmaker and Sweeper: Having no child, his wife inherits his whole estate, which he bequeathed to her by his last will and testament, as follows, viz.:—

 "To my dear wife
  My joy and life,
  I freely now do give her,
  My whole estate,
  With all my plate,
  Being just about to leave her.

 "My tub of soap,
  A long cart-rope,
  A frying pan and kettle,
  An ashes[74] pail,
  A threshing-flail,
  An iron wedge and beetle.

 "Two painted chairs,
  Nine warden pears,
  A large old dripping platter,
  This bed of hay
  On which I lay,
  An old saucepan for butter.

 "A little mug,
  A two-quart jug,
  A bottle full of brandy,
  A looking-glass
  To see your face,
  You'll find it very handy.

 "A musket true,
  As ever flew,
  A pound of shot and wallet,
  A leather sash,
  My calabash,
  My powder-horn and bullet.

 "An old sword-blade,
  A garden spade,
  A hoe, a rake, a ladder,
  A wooden can,
  A close-stool pan,
  A clyster-pipe and bladder.

 "A greasy hat,
  My old ram cat,
  A yard and half of linen,
  A woollen fleece,
  A pot of grease,[75]
  In order for your spinning.

 "A small tooth comb,
  An ashen broom,
  A candlestick and hatchet,
  A coverlid
  Striped down with red,
  A bag of rags to patch it.

 "A rugged mat,
  A tub of fat,
  A book put out by Bunyan,
  Another book
  By Robin Cook,[76]
  A skein or two of spun-yarn.

 "An old black muff,
  Some garden stuff,
  A quantity of borage,[77]
  Some devil's weed,
  And burdock seed,
  To season well your porridge.

 "A chafing-dish,
  With one salt-fish.
  If I am not mistaken,
  A leg of pork,
  A broken fork,
  And half a flitch of bacon.

 "A spinning-wheel,
  One peck of meal,
  A knife without a handle,
  A rusty lamp,
  Two quarts of samp,
  And half a tallow candle.

 "My pouch and pipes,
  Two oxen tripes,
  An oaken dish well carved,
  My little dog,
  And spotted hog,
  With two young pigs just starved.

 "This is my store,
  I have no more,
  I heartily do give it:
  My years are spun,
  My days are done,
  And so I think to leave it.

 "Thus Father Abbey left his spouse,
  As rich as church or college mouse,
  Which is sufficient invitation
  To serve the college in his station."
    Newhaven, January 2, 1731.

"Our sweeper having lately buried his spouse, and accidentally hearing of the death and will of his deceased Cambridge brother, has conceived a violent passion for the relict. As love softens the mind and disposes to poetry, he has eased himself in the following strains, which he transmits to the charming widow, as the first essay of his love and courtship.

 "MISTRESS Abbey
  To you I fly,
  You only can relieve me;
  To you I turn,
  For you I burn,
  If you will but believe me.

 "Then, gentle dame,
  Admit my flame,
  And grant me my petition;
  If you deny,
  Alas! I die
  In pitiful condition.

 "Before the news
  Of your dear spouse
  Had reached us at New Haven,
  My dear wife dy'd,
  Who was my bride
  In anno eighty-seven.

 "Thus[78] being free,
  Let's both agree
  To join our hands, for I do
  Boldly aver
  A widower
  Is fittest for a widow.

 "You may be sure
  'T is not your dower
  I make this flowing verse on;
  In these smooth lays
  I only praise
  The glories[79] of your person.

 "For the whole that
  Was left by[80] Mat.
  Fortune to me has granted
  In equal store,
  I've[81] one thing more
  Which Matthew long had wanted.

 "No teeth, 't is true,
  You have to shew,
  The young think teeth inviting;
  But silly youths!
  I love those mouths[82]
  Where there's no fear of biting.

 "A leaky eye,
  That's never dry,
  These woful times is fitting.
  A wrinkled face
  Adds solemn grace
  To folks devout at meeting.

 "[A furrowed brow,
  Where corn might grow,
  Such fertile soil is seen in 't,
  A long hook nose,
  Though scorned by foes,
  For spectacles convenient.][83]

 "Thus to go on
  I would[84] put down
  Your charms from head to foot,
  Set all your glory
  In verse before ye,
  But I've no mind to do 't.[85]

 "Then haste away,
  And make no stay;
  For soon as you come hither,
  We'll eat and sleep,
  Make beds and sweep.
  And talk and smoke together.

 "But if, my dear,
  I must move there,
  Tow'rds Cambridge straight I'll set me.[86]
  To touse the hay
  On which you lay,
  If age and you will let me."[87]

The authorship of Father Abbey's Will and the Letter of Courtship is ascribed to the Rev. John Seccombe, who graduated at Harvard College in the year 1728. The former production was sent to England through the hands of Governor Belcher, and in May, 1732, appeared both in the Gentleman's Magazine and the London Magazine. The latter was also despatched to England, and was printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, and in the London Magazine for August, 1732. Both were republished in the Massachusetts Magazine, November, 1794. A most entertaining account of the author of these poems, and of those to whom they relate, may be found in the "Historical and Biographical Notes" of the pamphlet to which allusion has been already made, and in the "Cambridge [Mass.] Chronicle" of April 28, 1855.

WINE. To drink wine.

After "wining" to a certain extent, we sallied forth from his rooms.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 14.

Hither they repair each day after dinner "to wine."

Ibid., Vol. I. p. 95.

After dinner I had the honor of wining with no less a personage than a fellow of the college.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 114.

In wining with a fair one opposite, a luckless piece of jelly adhered to the tip of his still more luckless nose.—The Blank Book of a Small-Colleger, New York, 1824, p. 75.

WINE PARTY. Among students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., an entertainment after dinner, which is thus described by Bristed: "Many assemble at wine parties to chat over a frugal dessert of oranges, biscuits, and cake, and sip a few glasses of not remarkably good wine. These wine parties are the most common entertainments, being rather the cheapest and very much the most convenient, for the preparations required for them are so slight as not to disturb the studies of the hardest reading man, and they take place at a time when no one pretends to do any work."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 21.

WIRE. At Harvard College, a trick; an artifice; a stratagem; a dodge.

WIRY. Trickish; artful.

WITENAGEMOTE. Saxon, witan, to know, and gemot, a meeting, a council.

In the University of Oxford, the weekly meeting of the heads of the colleges.—Oxford Guide.

WOODEN SPOON. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the scholar whose name stands last of all on the printed list of honors, at the Bachelors' Commencement in January, is scoffingly said to gain the wooden spoon. He is also very currently himself called the wooden spoon.

A young academic coming into the country immediately after this great competition, in which he had conspicuously distinguished himself, was asked by a plain country gentleman, "Pray, Sir, is my Jack a Wrangler?" "No, Sir." Now Jack had confidently pledged himself to his uncle that he would take his degree with honor. "A Senior Optime?" "No, Sir." "Why, what was he then?" "Wooden Spoon!" "Best suited to his wooden head," said the mortified inquirer.—Forby's Vocabulary, Vol. II. p. 258.

It may not perhaps be improper to mention one very remarkable personage, I mean "the Wooden Spoon." This luckless wight (for what cause I know not) is annually the universal butt and laughing-stock of the whole Senate-House. He is the last of those young men who take honors, in his year, and is called a Junior Optime; yet, notwithstanding his being in fact superior to them all, the very lowest of the [Greek: oi polloi], or gregarious undistinguished bachelors, think themselves entitled to shoot the pointless arrows of their clumsy wit against the wooden spoon; and to reiterate the stale and perennial remark, that "Wranglers are born with gold spoons in their mouths, Senior Optimes with silver, Junior Optimes with wooden, and the [Greek: oi polloi] with leaden ones."—Gent. Mag., 1795, p. 19.

  Who while he lives must wield the boasted prize,
  Whose value all can feel, the weak, the wise;
  Displays in triumph his distinguished boon,
  The solid honors of the wooden spoon.
    Grad. ad Cantab., p. 119.

2. At Yale College, this title is conferred on the student who takes the last appointment at the Junior Exhibition. The following account of the ceremonies incident to the presentation of the Wooden Spoon has been kindly furnished by a graduate of that institution.

"At Yale College the honors, or, as they are there termed, appointments, are given to a class twice during the course;—upon the merits of the two preceding years, at the end of the first term, Junior; and at the end of the second term, Senior, upon the merits of the whole college course. There are about eight grades of appointments, the lowest of which is the Third Colloquy. Each grade has its own standard, and if a number of students have attained to the same degree, they receive the same appointment. It is rarely the case, however, that more than one student can claim the distinction of a third colloquy; but when there are several, they draw lots to see which is entitled to be considered properly the third colloquy man.

"After the Junior appointments are awarded, the members of the Junior Class hold an exhibition similar to the regular Junior exhibition, and present a wooden spoon to the man who received the lowest honor in the gift of the Faculty.

"The exhibition takes place in the evening, at some public hall in town. Except to those engaged in the arrangements, nothing is known about it among the students at large, until the evening of the performances, when notices of the hour and place are quietly circulated at prayers, in order that it may not reach the ears of the Faculty, who are ever too ready to participate in the sports of the students, and to make the result tell unfavorably against the college welfare of the more prominent characters.

"As the appointed hour approaches, long files of black coats may be seen emerging from the dark halls, and winding their way through the classic elms towards the Temple, the favorite scene of students' exhibitions and secret festivals. When they reach the door, each man must undergo the searching scrutiny of the door-keeper, usually disguised as an Indian, to avoid being recognized by a college officer, should one chance to be in the crowd, and no one is allowed to enter unless he is known.

"By the time the hour of the exercises has arrived, the hall is densely packed with undergraduates and professional students. The President, who is a non-appointment man, and probably the poorest scholar in the class, sits on a stage with his associate professors. Appropriate programmes, printed in the college style, are scattered throughout the house. As the hour strikes, the President arises with becoming dignity, and, instead of the usual phrase, 'Musicam audeamus,' restores order among the audience by 'Silentiam audeamus,' and then addresses the band, 'Musica cantetur.'

"Then follow a series of burlesque orations, dissertations, and disputes, upon scientific and other subjects, from the wittiest and cleverest men in the class, and the house is kept in a continual roar of laughter. The highest appointment men frequently take part in the speeches. From time to time the band play, and the College choir sing pieces composed for the occasion. In one of the best, called AUDACIA, composed in imitation of the Crambambuli song, by a member of the class to which the writer belonged, the Wooden Spoon is referred to in the following stanza:—

 'But do not think our life is aimless;
    O no! we crave one blessed boon,
  It is the prize of value nameless,
    The honored, classic WOODEN SPOON;
  But give us this, we'll shout Hurrah!
    O nothing like Audacia!'

"After the speeches are concluded and the music has ceased, the President rises and calls the name of the hero of the evening, who ascends the stage and stands before the high dignitary. The President then congratulates him upon having attained to so eminent a position, and speaks of the pride that he and his associates feel in conferring upon him the highest honor in their gift,—the Wooden Spoon. He exhorts him to pursue through life the noble cruise he has commenced in College,—not seeking glory as one of the illiterate,—the [Greek: oi polloi],—nor exactly on the fence, but so near to it that he may safely be said to have gained the 'happy medium.'

"The President then proceeds to the grand ceremony of the evening, —the delivery of the Wooden Spoon,—a handsomely finished spoon, or ladle, with a long handle, on which is carved the name of the Class, and the rank and honor of the recipient, and the date of its presentation. The President confers the honor in Latin, provided he and his associates are able to muster a sufficient number of sentences.

"When the President resumes his seat, the Third Colloquy man thanks his eminent instructors for the honor conferred upon him, and thanks (often with sincerity) the class for the distinction he enjoys. The exercises close with music by the band, or a burlesque colloquy. On one occasion, the colloquy was announced upon the programme as 'A Practical Illustration of Humbugging,' with a long list of witty men as speakers, to appear in original costumes. Curiosity was very much excited, and expectation on the tiptoe, when the colloquy became due. The audience waited and waited until sufficiently humbugged, when they were allowed to retire with the laugh turned against them.

"Many men prefer the Wooden Spoon to any other college honor or prize, because it comes directly from their classmates, and hence, perhaps, the Faculty disapprove of it, considering it as a damper to ambition and college distinctions."

This account of the Wooden Spoon Exhibition was written in the year 1851. Since then its privacy has been abolished, and its exercises are no longer forbidden by the Faculty. Tutors are now not unfrequently among the spectators at the presentation, and even ladies lend their presence, attention, and applause, to beautify, temper, and enliven the occasion.

The "Wooden Spoon," tradition says, was in ancient times presented to the greatest glutton in the class, by his appreciating classmates. It is now given to the one whose name comes last on the list of appointees for the Junior Exhibition, though this rule is not strictly followed. The presentation takes place during the Summer Term, and in vivacity with respect to the literary exercises, and brilliance in point of audience, forms a rather formidable rival to the regularly authorized Junior Exhibition.—Songs of Tale, Preface, 1853, p. 4.

Of the songs which are sung in connection with the wooden spoon presentation, the following is given as a specimen.

"Air,—Yankee Doodle.

 "Come, Juniors, join this jolly tune
  Our fathers sang before us;
  And praise aloud the wooden spoon
  In one long, swelling chorus.
    Yes! let us, Juniors, shout and sing
      The spoon and all its glory,—
    Until the welkin loudly ring
      And echo back the story.

 "Who would not place this precious boon
  Above the Greek Oration?
  Who would not choose the wooden spoon
  Before a dissertation?
    Then, let, &c.

 "Some pore o'er classic works jejune,
  Through all their life at College,—
  I would not pour, but use the spoon
  To fill my mind with knowledge.
    So let, &c.

 "And if I ever have a son
  Upon my knee to dandle,
  I'll feed him with a wooden spoon
  Of elongated handle.
    Then let, &c.

 "Most college honors vanish soon,
  Alas! returning never,
  But such a noble wooden spoon
  Is tangible for ever.
    So let, &c.

 "Now give, in honor of the spoon,
  Three cheers, long, loud, and hearty,
  And three for every honored June
  In coch-le-au-re-a-ti.[88]
    Yes! let us, Juniors, shout and sing
      The spoon and all its glory,—
    Until the welkin loudly ring
      And echo back the story."
    Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 37.

WRANGLER. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., at the conclusion of the tenth term, the final examination in the Senate-House takes place. A certain number of those who pass this examination in the best manner are called Wranglers.

The usual number of Wranglers—whatever Wrangler may have meant once, it now implies a First Class man in Mathematics—is thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Sometimes it falls to thirty-five, and occasionally rises above forty.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 227.

See SENIOR WRANGLER.

WRANGLERSHIP. The office of a Wrangler.

He may be considered pretty safe for the highest Wranglership out of Trinity.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 103.

WRESTLING-MATCH. At Harvard College, it was formerly the custom, on the first Monday of the term succeeding the Commencement vacation, for the Sophomores to challenge the Freshmen who had just entered College to a wrestling-match. A writer in the New England Magazine, 1832, in an article entitled "Harvard College Forty Years Ago," remarks as follows on this subject: "Another custom, not enjoined by the government, had been in vogue from time immemorial. That was for the Sophomores to challenge the Freshmen to a wrestling-match. If the Sophomores were thrown, the Juniors gave a similar challenge. If these were conquered, the Seniors entered the lists, or treated the victors to as much wine, punch, &c. as they chose to drink. In my class, there were few who had either taste, skill, or bodily strength for this exercise, so that we were easily laid on our backs, and the Sophomores were acknowledged our superiors, in so far as 'brute force' was concerned. Being disgusted with these customs, we held a class-meeting, early in our first quarter, and voted unanimously that we should never send a Freshman on an errand; and, with but one dissenting voice, that we would not challenge the next class that should enter to wrestle. When the latter vote was passed, our moderator, pointing at the dissenting individual with the finger of scorn, declared it to be a vote, nemine contradicente. We commenced Sophomores, another Freshman Class entered, the Juniors challenged them, and were thrown. The Seniors invited them to a treat, and these barbarous customs were soon after abolished."—Vol. III. p. 239.

The Freshman Class above referred to, as superior to the Junior, was the one which graduated in 1796, of which Mr. Thomas Mason, surnamed "the College Lion," was a member,—"said," remarks Mr. Buckingham, "to be the greatest wrestler that was ever in College. He was settled as a clergyman at Northfield, Mass., resigned his office some years after, and several times represented that town in the Legislature of Massachusetts." Charles Prentiss, the wit of the Class of '95, in a will written on his departure from college life, addresses Mason as follows:—

 "Item. Tom M——n, COLLEGE LION,
  Who'd ne'er spend cash enough to buy one,
  The BOANERGES of a pun,
  A man of science and of fun,
  That quite uncommon witty elf,
  Who darts his bolts and shoots himself,
  Who oft has bled beneath my jokes,
  I give my old tobacco-box."
    Buckingham's Reminiscences, Vol. II. p. 271.

The fame which Mr. Mason had acquired while in College for bodily strength and skill in wrestling, did not desert him after he left. While settled as a minister at Northfield, a party of young men from Vermont challenged the young men of that town to a bout at wrestling. The challenge was accepted, and on a given day the two parties assembled at Northfield. After several rounds, when it began to appear that the Vermonters were gaining the advantage, a proposal was made, by some who had heard of Mr. Mason's exploits, that he should be requested to take part in the contest. It had now grown late, and the minister, who usually retired early, had already betaken himself to bed. Being informed of the request of the wrestlers, for a long time he refused to go, alleging as reasons his ministerial capacity, the force of example, &c. Finding these excuses of no avail, he finally arose, dressed himself, and repaired to the scene of action. Shouts greeted him on his arrival, and he found himself on the wrestling-field, as he had stood years ago at Cambridge. The champion of the Vermonters came forward, flushed with his former victories. After playing around him for some time, Mr. Mason finally threw him. Having by this time collected his ideas of the game, when another antagonist appeared, tripping up his heels with perfect ease, he suddenly twitched him off his centre and laid him on his back. Victory was declared in favor of Northfield, and the good minister was borne home in triumph.

Similar to these statements are those of Professor Sidney Willard relative to the same subject, contained in his late work entitled "Memories of Youth and Manhood." Speaking of the observances in vogue at Harvard College in the year 1794, he says:—"Next to being indoctrinated in the Customs, so called, by the Sophomore Class, there followed the usual annual exhibition of the athletic contest between that class and the Freshman Class, namely, the wrestling-match. On some day of the second week in the term, after evening prayers, the two classes assembled on the play-ground and formed an extended circle, from which a stripling of the Sophomore Class advanced into the area, and, in terms justifying the vulgar use of the derivative word Sophomorical, defied his competitors, in the name of his associates, to enter the lists. He was matched by an equal in stature, from that part of the circle formed by the new-comers. Beginning with these puny athletes, as one and another was prostrated on either side, the contest advanced through the intermediate gradations of strength and skill, with increasing excitement of the parties and spectators, until it reached its summit by the struggle of the champion or coryphæus in reserve on each of the opposite sides. I cannot now affirm with certainty the result of the contest; whether it was a drawn battle, whether it ended with the day, or was postponed for another trial. It probably ended in the defeat of the younger party, for there were more and mightier men among their opponents. Had we been victorious, it would have behooved us, according to established precedents, to challenge the Junior Class, which was not done. Such a result, if it had taken place, could not fade from the memory of the victors; while failure, on the contrary, being an issue to be looked for, would soon be dismissed from the thoughts of the vanquished. Instances had occurred of the triumph of the Freshman Class, and one of them recent, when a challenge in due form was sent to the Juniors, who, thinking the contest too doubtful, wisely resolved to let the victors rejoice in their laurels already won; and, declining to meet them in the gymnasium, invited them to a sumptuous feast instead.

"Wrestling was, at an after period, I cannot say in what year, superseded by football; a grovelling and inglorious game in comparison. Wrestling is an art; success in the exercise depends not on mere bodily strength. It had, at the time of which I have spoken, its well-known and acknowledged technical rules, and any violation of them, alleged against one who had prostrated his adversary, became a matter of inquiry. If it was found that the act was not achieved secundum artem, it was void, and might be followed by another trial."—Vol. I. pp. 260, 261.

Remarks on this subject are continued in another part of the work from which the above extract is made, and the story of Thomas Mason is related, with a few variations from the generally received version. "Wrestling," says Professor Willard, "was reduced to an art, which had its technical terms for the movement of the limbs, and the manner of using them adroitly, with the skill acquired by practice in applying muscular force at the right time and in the right degree. Success in the art, therefore, depended partly on skill; and a violation of the rules of the contest vitiated any apparent triumph gained by mere physical strength. There were traditionary accounts of some of our predecessors who were commemorated as among the coryphæi of wrestlers; a renown that was not then looked upon with contempt. The art of wrestling was not then confined to the literary gymnasium. It was practised in every rustic village. There were even migrating braves and Hectors, who, in their wanderings from their places of abode to villages more or less distant, defied the chiefest of this order of gymnasts to enter the lists. In a country town of Massachusetts remote from the capital, one of these wanderers appeared about half a century since, and issued a general challenge against the foremost wrestlers. The clergyman of the town, a son of Harvard, whose fame in this particular had travelled from the academic to the rustic green, was apprised of the challenge, and complied with the solicitation of some of his young parishioners to accept it in their behalf. His triumph over the challenger was completed without agony or delay, and having prostrated him often enough to convince him of his folly, he threw him over the stone wall, and gravely admonished him against repeating his visit, and disturbing the peace of his parish."—Vol. I. p. 315.

The peculiarities of Thomas Mason were his most noticeable characteristics. As an orator, his eloquence was of the ore rotundo order; as a writer, his periods were singularly Johnsonian. He closed his ministerial labors in Northfield, February 28, 1830, on which occasion he delivered a farewell discourse, taking for his text, the words of Paul to Timothy: "The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness."

As a specimen of his style of writing, the following passages are presented, taken from this discourse:—"Time, which forms the scene of all human enterprise, solicitude, toil, and improvement, and which fixes the limitations of all human pleasures and sufferings, has at length conducted us to the termination of our long-protracted alliance. An assignment of the reasons of this measure must open a field too extended and too diversified for our present survey. Nor could a development of the whole be any way interesting to us, to whom alone this address is now submitted. Suffice it to say, that in the lively exercise of mutual and unimpaired friendship and confidence, the contracting parties, after sober, continued, and unimpassioned deliberation, have yielded to existing circumstances, as a problematical expedient of social blessing."

After commenting upon the declaration of Paul, he continued: "The Apostle proceeds, 'I have fought a good fight' Would to God I could say the same! Let me say, however, without the fear of contradiction, 'I have fought a fight!' How far it has been 'good,' I forbear to decide." His summing up was this: "You see, my hearers, all I can say, in common with the Apostle in the text, is this: 'The time of my departure is at hand,'—and, 'I have finished my course.'"

Referring then to the situation which he had occupied, he said: "The scene of our alliance and co-operation, my friends, has been one of no ordinary cast and character. The last half-century has been pregnant with novelty, project, innovation, and extreme excitement. The pillars of the social edifice have been shaken, and the whole social atmosphere has been decomposed by alchemical demagogues and revolutionary apes. The sickly atmosphere has suffused a morbid humor over the whole frame, and left the social body little more than 'the empty and bloody skin of an immolated victim.'

"We pass by the ordinary incidents of alienation, which are too numerous, and too evanescent to admit of detail. But seasons and circumstances of great alarm are not readily forgotten. We have witnessed, and we have felt, my friends, a political convulsion, which seemed the harbinger of inevitable desolation. But it has passed by with a harmless explosion, and returning friends have paused in wonder, at a moment's suspension of friendship. Mingled with the factitious mass, there was a large spice of sincerity which sanctified the whole composition, and restored the social body to sanity, health, and increased strength and vigor.

"Thrice happy must be our reflections could we stop here, and contemplate the ascending prosperity and increasing vigor of this religious community. But the one half has not yet been told,—the beginning has hardly been begun. Could I borrow the language of the spirits of wrath,—was my pen transmuted to a viper's tooth dipped in gore,—was my paper transformed to a vellum which no light could illume, and which only darkness could render legible, I could, and I would, record a tale of blood, of which the foulest miscreant must burn in ceaseless anguish only once to have been suspected. But I refer to imagination what description can never reach."

What the author referred to in this last paragraph no one knew, nor did he ever advance any explanation of these strange words.

Near the close of his discourse, he said: "Standing in the place of a Christian minister among you, through the whole course of my ministrations, it has been my great and leading aim ever to maintain and exhibit the character and example of a Christian man. With clerical foppery, grimace, craft, and hypocrisy, I have had no concern. In the free participation of every innocent entertainment and delight, I have pursued an open, unreserved course, equally removed from the mummery of superstition and the dissipation of infidelity. And though I have enjoyed my full share of honor from the scandal of bigotry and malice, yet I may safely congratulate myself in the reflection, that by this liberal and independent progress were men weighed in the balance of intellectual, social, and moral worth, I have yet never lost a single friend who was worth preserving."—pp. 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11.

Y.

YAGER FIGHTS. At Bowdoin College, "Yager Fights," says a correspondent, "are the annual conflicts which occur between the townsmen and the students. The Yagers (from the German Jager, a hunter, a chaser) were accustomed, when the lumbermen came down the river in the spring, to assemble in force, march up to the College yard with fife and drum, get famously drubbed, and retreat in confusion to their dens. The custom has become extinct within the past four years, in consequence of the non-appearance of the Yagers."

YALENSIAN. A student at or a member of Yale College.

In making this selection, we have been governed partly by poetic merit, but more by the associations connected with various pieces inserted, in the minds of the present generation of Yalensians. —Preface to Songs of Yale, 1853.

The Yalensian is off for Commencement.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol.
XIX. p. 355.

YANKEE. According to the account of this word as given by Dr. William Gordon, it appears to have been in use among the students of Harvard College at a very early period. A citation from his work will show this fact in its proper light.

"You may wish to know the origin of the term Yankee. Take the best account of it which your friend can procure. It was a cant, favorite word with Farmer Jonathan Hastings, of Cambridge, about 1713. Two aged ministers, who were at the College in that town, have told me, they remembered it to have been then in use among the students, but had no recollection of it before that period. The inventor used it to express excellency. A Yankee good horse, or Yankee cider, and the like, were an excellent good horse and excellent cider. The students used to hire horses of him; their intercourse with him, and his use of the term upon all occasions, led them to adopt it, and they gave him the name of Yankee Jon. He was a worthy, honest man, but no conjurer. This could not escape the notice of the collegiates. Yankee probably became a by-word among them to express a weak, simple, awkward person; was carried from the College with them when they left it, and was in that way circulated and established through the country, (as was the case in respect to Hobson's choice, by the students at Cambridge, in Old England,) till, from its currency in New England, it was at length taken up and unjustly applied to the New-Englanders in common, as a term of reproach."—American War, Ed. 1789, Vol. I. pp. 324, 325. Thomas's Spy, April, 1789, No. 834.

In the Massachusetts Magazine, Vol. VII., p. 301, the editor, the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., of Dorchester, referring to a letter written by the Rev. John Seccombe, and dated "Cambridge, Sept. 27, 1728," observes: "It is a most humorous narrative of the fate of a goose roasted at 'Yankee Hastings's,' and it concludes with a poem on the occasion, in the mock-heroic." The fact of the name is further substantiated in the following remarks by the Rev. John Langdon Sibley, of Harvard College: "Jonathan Hastings, Steward of the College from 1750 to 1779,… was a son of Jonathan Hastings, a tanner, who was called 'Yankee Hastings,' and lived on the spot at the northwest corner of Holmes Place in Old Cambridge, where, not many years since, a house was built by the late William Pomeroy."—Father Abbey's Will, Cambridge, Mass., 1854, pp. 7, 8.

YEAR. At the English universities, the undergraduate course is three years and a third. Students of the first year are called Freshmen, and the other classes at Cambridge are, in popular phrase, designated successively Second-year Men, Third-year Men, and Men who are just going out. The word year is often used in the sense of class.

The lecturer stands, and the lectured sit, even when construing, as the Freshmen are sometimes asked to do; the other Years are only called on to listen.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 18.

Of the "year" that entered with me at Trinity, three men died before the time of graduating.—Ibid., p. 330.

YEOMAN-BEDELL. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the yeoman-bedell in processions precedes the esquire-bedells, carrying an ebony mace, tipped with silver.—Cam. Guide.

At the University of Oxford, the yeoman-bedels bear the silver staves in procession. The vice-chancellor never walks out without being preceded by a yeoman-bedel with his insignium of office.—Guide to Oxford.

See BEADLE.

YOUNG BURSCH. In the German universities, a name given to a student during his third term, or semester.

The fox year is then over, and they wash the eyes of the new-baked Young Bursche, since during the fox-year he was held to be blind, the fox not being endued with reason.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 124.

A LIST OF AMERICAN COLLEGES

REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK, IN CONNECTION WITH PARTICULAR WORDS OR CUSTOMS.

AMHERST COLLEGE, Amherst, Mass., 10 references.
ANDERSON COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, Ind., 3 references.
BACON COLLEGE, Ky., 1 reference.
BETHANY COLLEGE, Bethany, Va., 2 references.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE, Brunswick, Me., 17 references.
BROWN UNIVERSITY, Providence, R.I., 2 references.
CENTRE COLLEGE, Danville, Ky., 4 references.
COLUMBIA [KING'S] COLLEGE, New York., 5 references.
COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, Washington, D.C., 1 reference.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, Hanover, N.H., 27 references.
HAMILTON COLLEGE, Clinton, N.Y., 16 references.
HARVARD COLLEGE, Cambridge, Mass., 399 references.
JEFFERSON COLLEGE, Canonsburg, Penn., 8 references.
KING'S COLLEGE. See COLUMBIA.
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE, Middlebury, Vt., 11 references.
NEW JERSEY, COLLEGE OF, Princeton, N.J., 29 references.
NEW YORK, UNIVERSITY OF, New York., 1 reference.
NORTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF, Chapel Hill, N.C., 3 references.
PENNSYLVANIA, UNIVERSITY OF, Philadelphia, Penn., 3 references.
PRINCETON COLLEGE. See NEW JERSEY, COLLEGE OF.
RUTGER'S COLLEGE, New Brunswick, N.J., 2 references.
SHELBY COLLEGE, Shelbyville, Ky., 2 references.
SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE, Columbia, S.C., 3 references.
TRINITY COLLEGE, Hartford, Conn., 11 references.
UNION COLLEGE, Schenectady, N.Y., 41 references.
VERMONT, UNIVERSITY OF, Burlington, Vt., 25 references.
VIRGINIA, UNIVERSITY OF, Albemarle Co., Va., 14 references.
WASHINGTON COLLEGE, Washington, Penn., 5 references.
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, Middletown, Conn., 5 references.
WESTERN RESERVE COLLEGE, Hudson, Ohio., 1 reference.
WEST POINT, N.Y., 1 reference.
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE, Williamsburg, Va., 3 references.
WILLIAMS COLLEGE, Williamstown, Mass., 43 references.
YALE COLLEGE, New Haven, Conn., 264 references.

THE END.

FOOTNOTES:

[01] Hon. Levi Woodbury, whose subject was "Progress."

[02] Vide Aristophanes, Aves.

[03] Alcestis of Euripides.

[04] See BRICK MILL.

[05] At Harvard College, sixty-eight Commencements were held in the old parish church which "occupied a portion of the space between Dane Hall and the old Presidential House." The period embraced was from 1758 to 1834. There was no Commencement in 1764, on account of the small-pox; nor from 1775 to 1781, seven years, on account of the Revolutionary war. The first Commencement in the new meeting-house was held in 1834. In 1835, there was rain at Commencement, for the first time in thirty-five years.

[06] The graduating class usually waited on the table at dinner
        on Commencement Day.

[07] Rev. John Willard, S.T.D., of Stafford, Conn., a graduate
        of the class of 1751.

[08] "Men, some to pleasure, some to business, take;
          But every woman is at heart a rake."

[09] Rev. Joseph Willard, S.T.D.

[10] The Rev. Dr. Simeon Howard, senior clergyman of the Corporation, presided at the public exercises and announced the degrees.

[11] See under THESIS and MASTER'S QUESTION.

[12] The old way of spelling the word SOPHOMORE, q.v.

[13] Speaking of Bachelors who are reading for fellowships, Bristed says, they "wear black gowns with two strings hanging loose in front."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.

[14] Bristed speaks of the "blue and silver gown" of Trinity Fellow-Commoners.—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 34.

[15] "A gold-tufted cap at Cambridge designates a Johnian or Small-College Fellow-Commoner."—Ibid., p. 136.

[16] "The picture is not complete without the 'men,' all in their academicals, as it is Sunday. The blue gown of Trinity has not exclusive possession of its own walks: various others are to be discerned, the Pembroke looped at the sleeve, the Christ's and Catherine curiously crimped in front, and the Johnian with its unmistakable 'Crackling.'"—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 73.

"On Saturday evenings, Sundays, and Saints' days the students wear surplices instead of their gowns, and very innocent and exemplary they look in them."—Ibid., p. 21.

[17] "The ignorance of the popular mind has often represented academicians riding, travelling, &c. in cap and gown. Any one who has had experience of the academic costume can tell that a sharp walk on a windy day in it is no easy matter, and a ride or a row would be pretty near an impossibility. Indeed, during these two hours [of hard exercise] it is as rare to see a student in a gown, as it is at other times to find him beyond the college walks without one."—Ibid., p. 19.

[18] Downing College.

[19] St. John's College.

[20] See under IMPOSITION.

[21] "Narratur et prisci Catonis
          Sæpè mero caluisse virtus."
            Horace, Ode Ad Amphoram.

[22] Education: a Poem before [Greek: Phi. Beta. Kappa.] Soc., 1799, by William Biglow.

[23] 2 Samuel x. 4.

[24] A printed "Order of Exhibition" was issued at Harvard College in 1810, for the first time.

[25] In reference to cutting lead from the old College.

[26] Senior, as here used, indicates an officer of college, or a member of either of the three upper classes, agreeable to Custom No. 3, above.

[27] The law in reference to footballs is still observed.

[28] See SOPHOMORE.

[29] I.e. TUTOR.

[30] Abbreviated for Cousin John, i.e. a privy.

[31] Joseph Willard, President of Harvard College from 1781 to 1804.

[32] Timothy Lindall Jennison, Tutor from 1785 to 1788.

[33] James Prescott, graduated in 1788.

[34] Robert Wier, graduated in 1788.

[35] Joseph Willard.

[36] Dr. Samuel Williams, Professor of Mathematics and Natural
        Philosophy.

[37] Dr. Eliphalet Pearson, Professor of Hebrew and other
        Oriental Languages.

[38] Eleazar James, Tutor from 1781 to 1789.

[39] Jonathan Burr, Tutor 1786, 1787.

[40] "Flag of the free heart's hope and home!
          By angel hands to valor given."
            The American Flag, by J.R. Drake.

[41] Charles Prentiss, who when this was written was a member of the Junior Class. Both he and Mr. Biglow were fellows of "infinite jest," and were noted for the superiority of their talents and intellect.

[42] Mr. Biglow was known in college by the name of Sawney, and was thus frequently addressed by his familiar friends in after life.

[43] Charles Pinckney Sumner, afterwards a lawyer in Boston, and for many years sheriff of the county of Suffolk.

[44] A black man who sold pies and cakes.

[45] Written after a general pruning of the trees around Harvard College.

[46] Doctor of Medicine, or Student of Medicine.

[47] Referring to the masks and disguises worn by the members
        at their meetings.

[48] A picture representing an examination and initiation into
        the Society, fronting the title-page of the Catalogue.

[49] Leader Dam, Armig., M.D. et ex off L.K. et LL.D. et
        J.U.D. et P.D. et M.U.D, etc., etc., et ASS.

        He was an empiric, who had offices at Boston and
        Philadelphia, where he sold quack medicines of various
        descriptions.

[50] Christophe, the black Prince of Hayti.

[51] It is said he carried the bones of Tom Paine, the infidel, to England, to make money by exhibiting them, but some difficulty arising about the duty on them, he threw them overboard.

[52] He promulgated a theory that the earth was hollow, and that there was an entrance to it at the North Pole.

[53] Alexander the First of Russia was elected a member, and, supposing the society to be an honorable one, forwarded to it a valuable present.

[54] He made speeches on the Fourth of July at five or six o'clock in the morning, and had them printed and ready for sale, as soon as delivered, from his cart on Boston Common, from which he sold various articles.

[55] Tibbets, a gambler, was attacked by Snelling through the
        columns of the New England Galaxy.

[56] Referring to the degree given to the Russian Alexander,
        and the present received in return.

[57] 1851.

[58] See DIG. In this case, those who had parts at two
        Exhibitions are thus designated.

[59] Jonathan Leonard, who afterwards graduated in the class of
        1786.

[60] 1851.

[61] William A. Barron, who was graduated in 1787, and was tutor from 1793 to 1800, was "among his contemporaries in office … social and playful, fond of bon-mots, conundrums, and puns." Walking one day with Shapleigh and another gentleman, the conversation happened to turn upon the birthplace of Shapleigh, who was always boasting that two towns claimed him as their citizen, as the towns, cities, and islands of Greece claimed Homer as a native. Barron, with all the good humor imaginable, put an end to the conversation by the following epigrammatic impromptu:—

         "Kittery and York for Shapleigh's birth contest;
          Kittery won the prize, but York came off the best."

[62] In Brady and Tate, "Hear, O my people."

[63] In Brady and Tate, "instruction."

[64] Watts, "hear."

[65] See BOHN.

[66] The Triennial Catalogue of Harvard College was first
        printed in a pamphlet form in the year 1778.

[67] Jesse Olds, a classmate, afterwards a clergyman in a
        country town.

[68] Charles Prentiss, a member of the Junior Class when this was written; afterwards editor of the Rural Repository.—Buckingham's Reminiscences, Vol. II. pp. 273-275.

[69] William Biglow was known in college by the name of Sawney, and was frequently addressed by this sobriquet in after life, by his familiar friends.

[70] Charles Pinckney Sumner,—afterwards a lawyer in Boston,
        and for many years Sheriff of the County of Suffolk.

[71] Theodore Dehon, afterwards a clergyman of the Episcopal
        Church, and Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina.

[72] Thomas Mason, a member of the class after Prentiss, said to be the greatest wrestler that was ever in College. He was settled as a clergyman at Northfield, Mass.; resigned his office some years after, and several times represented that town in the Legislature of Massachusetts. See under WRESTLING-MATCH.

[73] The Columbian Centinel, published at Boston, of which Benjamin Russell was the editor.

[74] "Ashen," on Ed.'s Broadside.

[75] "A pot of grease,
          A woollen fleece."—Ed's Broadside.

[76] "Rook."—Ed.'s Broadside. "Hook."—Gent. Mag., May, 1732.

[77] "Burrage."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[78] "That."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[79] "Beauties."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[80] "My."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[81] "I've" omitted in Ed.'s Broadside.

            Nay, I've two more
          What Matthew always wanted.—Gent. Mag., June, 1732.

[82] "But silly youth,
          I love the mouth."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[83] This stanza, although found in the London Magazine, does not appear in the Gentleman's Magazine, or on the Editor's Broadside. It is probably an interpolation.

[84] "Cou'd."—Gent. Mag., June, 1732.

[85] "Do it."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[86] "Tow'rds Cambridge I'll get thee."—Ed.'s Broadside.

[87] "If, madam, you will let me."—Gent. Mag., June, 1732.

[88] See COCHLEAUREATUS.

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