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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.