HANDBOUND
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF
. ^. v ^ A \ ^ , V A\ yu , A
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COLLECTION
OF
COLLEGE" WOEDS AND CUSTOMS
1
; Multa renascentur quse jam cecidere, cadentque
Quse nunc sunt in honore, vocabula."
"Notandi sunt tibi mores."
HOB. Ara Poet.
CAMBRIDGE:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN BARTLETT.
1851.
e.
3?*
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
JOHN BART LETT,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
CAMBRIDOK:
M E T C A L F AND COMPANF,
PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.
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 cafis to mind
two blue-covered books, turned from their original use,
as receptacles of Latin and Greek exercises, contain-
ing 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 stu-
dent 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 some-
thing 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
IV PREFACE.
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 col-
leges, 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 stu-
dent 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
acknowledge, 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 sub-
jects here treated, he would deem it a favor if he could
receive through the medium of his publisher such mor-
sels 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 acquaint-
ance 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 4tli, 1851.
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 sometimes written B. A.
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 * con-
sidered 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.' Cartels History of
Cambridge [Eng.], 1753."
See BACHELOR.
ABSIT. Latin ; literally, let him be absent ; leave of ab-
sence 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.
1
6 COLLEGE WORDS
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. Waits' s Improve-
ment of the Mind.
ACADEMICALS. In the English universities, the dress pe-
culiar 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 65. 8d. on every undergraduate
whom he finds inermen, or without his academicals. Gradus ad
Cantab.,y. 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 ba.ck to college to put on your academicals. Collegian's
Guide, p. 177.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT. At Harvard College, every stu-
dent 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 acknowl-
edgment, 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. at 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 re-
spondent, or person who is said to keep the act, and his
opponents, and dismissing them with some remarks upon
their respective merits. Brande.
The word was formerly used in Harvard College. In the
AND CUSTOMS. 3
" Orders of the Overseers," May 6th, 1650, is the follow-
ing : " Such that expect to proceed Masters of Arts [are
ordered] to exhibit their synopsis of acts required by the
laws of the College." Quinces 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 yeeres
trained up in University learning (for their ripening in the knowl-
edge of the tongues, and arts) and are approved for their ianners,
as they have kept their publick Acts in former yeares, ourselves be-
ing 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 Magnolia, B. 4, pp. 127, 128.
At some times in the universities of England they have no pub-
lic acts, but give degrees privately and silently. Letter of Increase
Mather, in App. to Pres. Woolsey's Hist. Disc., p. 87.
ADJOURN. At Bowdoin College, adjourns are the occa-
sional holidays given when a Professor unexpectedly absents
himself from recitation.
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 can-
didate, and that he shall be able to pass a satisfactory exam-
ination in 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 YaZe CoZZ.,
1837, p. 8.
4 COLLEGE WORDS
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 para-
digms 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 le 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
Woolsey 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 Reg-
ister, 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,
AND CUSTOMS. 5
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.
TrumbuWs Progress of Dulness, ed. 1794, Exeter, p. 12.
ADMONISH. In collegiate affairs, to reprove a member of a
college fora 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 ad-
monished 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 con-
sider 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, accord-
ing to the text. They were then fined, and ordered to make
restitution twofold for each theft." Quinafs Hist. Harv.
Univ., Vol. I. p. 443.
ADOPTED SON. Said of a student in reference to the col-
lege of which he is or was a member, the college being
styled his alma mater.
1*
6 COLLEGE WORDS
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.
^EGROTAL. Latin, agrotus, sick. A certificate of illness.
Used in the Univ. of Cam., Eng.
A lucky thought ; he will get an " agrotal," or medical cer-
tificate of illness. Household Words, Vol. II. p. 162.
AEGROTAT. 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 at-
tending to his college duties, " though, commonly," says the
Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, " the real complaint is much more
serious ; viz. indisposition of the mind ! agrotat animo
magis quam corpore." This state is technically called
cBgrUude, and the person thus affected is said to be ager.
The Etonian, Vol. II. pp. 386, 387.
Mr. John Trumbull well describes this state of indisposi-
tion in his Progress of Dulness :
" 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 Tally'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 ;
'T is 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 7
In all diseases, 't is expected,
The weakest parts be most infected."
Ed. 1794, Parti, p. 8.
AEGROTAT 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
JEgrotat degree. Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 105.
ALMA MATER, pi. ALMJE 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 Alma. Matres,
assented to by sundry of their children. Terra-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 effi-
ciently, "and called forth literary addresses. It was formed
September 5th, 1821, and the preamble to the constitution
then adopted was as follows : 4 For the promotion of liter-
ature 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 our-
selves 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
COLLEGE WORDS
has been followed in other institutions, and bids fair to ex-
tend 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 be-
fore them. The present year the Alumni of Dartmouth
were addressed for the first time, and the doctrine of Prog-
ress was illustrated by the distinguished speaker in more
senses than one.* 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 Har-
vard. 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 char-
acter, conceived in the spirit of catholic benevolence, asking
no creed but the love of letters, seeking no end but the en-
couragement of learning, and imposing no conditions, which
may 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
* Hon. Levi Woodbury, whose subject was " Progress."
AND CUSTOMS. 9
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, pi. ALUMNI. Latin, from a/o, 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. 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 posi-
tions : 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 ap-
plied for the degree of A. M. to defend what were called
Master'' s' questions ; after this time an oration was substi-
tuted 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 individ-
uals wholly unconnected with any college, but who are dis-
tinguished for their literary attainments. In this case, where
the honor is given, no fee is required.
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 neg-
lect to analysis in his course, he shall be punished not exceeding
ten shillings. Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., App., p. 129.
10 COLLEGE WORDS
APOSTLES. At Cambridge, England, the twelve last on the
list of Bachelors of Arts ; a degree lower than the ol no\\ol.
" Scape-goats of literature, who have at length scrambled
through the pales and discipline of the Senate-House, with-
out 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 any thing.' An
American reviewer, in his remarks on Mr. Webster's Dic-
tionary, 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 signifi-
cation being that given by Mr. Webster, " One who applies;
one who makes request ; a petitioner."
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 schol-
arship.
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.
See JUNIOR APPOINTMENTS.
AND CUSTOMS. 11
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 7/7., Richardson's Diet.
" 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. Tt 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 never used at our colleges, and is
very seldom heard in the other senses given above.
By the twelfth statute, a student incurs no penalty by declaim-
ing or attempting to declaim without having his piece previously
approbated. MS. Note to Laws of Harvard College, 1798.
ASSES' BRIDGE. The fifth proposition of the first book of
Euclid is called the Asses'* Bridge, or rather " Pons Asino-
rum," 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' 1 Bridge,' 1 ''
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 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, pre-
vious to leaving college, to bring together in some conven-
12 COLLEGE WORDS
lent room all the books, furniture, and movables of any kind
which they wished to dispose of, and put them up at public
auction. Every thing offered was either sold, or, if no bid-
ders could be obtained, given away.
AUDIT. In the University of Cambridge, England, a meet-
ing of the Master and Fellows to examine or audit the Col-
lege 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. db 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 mes-
sage 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 any thing 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 me-
mentos.
AND CUSTOMS. 13
B.
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 stu-
dents alone are admissible who have pursued the prescribed
course of study for the space of three years. 2. By extra-
ordinary diploma, granted to individuals wholly unconnected
with the University. The former class are styled Bac-
calaurei Formati, the latter Baccalaurei Currentes. In
France, the degree of Baccalaureat (Baccalaureus Litera-
rum) is conferred indiscriminately upon such natives or for-
eigners as, after a strict examination in the classics, mathe-
matics, and philosophy, are declared to be qualified. In the
German universities, the title " Doctor Philosophise " 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 unat-
tended 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 uni-
versally among the Greeks and Romans, and which was
followecTeven in Italy till the thirteenth century, of crowning
distinguished individuals with laurel ; hence the recipient of
this honor was styled Baccalaureus, quasi baccis laurels
donatus. Branded Dictionary.
The subjoined passage, although it may not place the
subject in any clearer light, will show the difference of opin-
ion which exists in reference to the derivation of this word.
Speaking of the exercises of Commencement at Cambridge,
2
14 COLLEGE WORDS
Mass., in the early days of Harvard College, the writer
says : " But the main exercises were disputations upon ques-
tions, 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 a Batuendo, a business
that carries beating in it : So that, Batualii fuerunt vocati,
quia jam quasi batuissent cum adversario, ac manus conser-
uissent ; hoc est, publice disputassent, atque ita peritise suae
specimen dedissent." Mather's Magnolia, B. IV. p. 128.
The Seniors will be examined for the Baccalaureate, four weeks
before Commencement, by a committee, in connection with the
Faculty. Cat. Wesley an 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 fol-
lowing 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, bachelelte, a damsel, or young
woman ; Scotch, baich, a child ; Welsh, bacgen, a boy, a
child ; bacgenes, a young girl, from lac, 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."
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 CUSTOMS. 15
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.
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 thfcm.
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.
BATTEL. To stand indebted on the college books at Ox-
ford, for provisions and drink from the buttery.
Eat my commons with a good stomach, and battled with discre-
tion. Puritan, Malone's Suppl. 2, p. 543.
Cotgrave says, " To battle (as scholars do in Oxford)
etre debteur au college pour ses vivres." He adds, " Mot
use seulement des jeunes ecoliers de Puniversite d'Oxford."
2. To reside at the university ; to keep terms. Webster.
BATTEL. Provisions taken by .Oxford students from the but-
tery, and also the charges thereon. Webster.
I on the nail my Battels paid,
The monster turn'd away dismay'd.
The Student, Vol. I. p. 115, 1750.
BATTELER. ) A student at Oxford who stands indebted, in
BATTLER. $ the college books, for provisions and drink
at the buttery. Webster.
Halliwell, in his Diet. Arch, and Prov. Words, says,
" The term is used in contradistinction to gentleman com-
moner." In Gent. Mag. 1787, p. 1146, is the following :
" There was formerly at Oxford an order similar to the
sizars of Cambridge, called batlelers (batteling having the
16 COLLEGE WORDS
same signification as sizing). The sizar and latteler were
as independent as any other members of the college, though
of an inferior order, and were under no obligation to wait
upon any body."
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, un-
der 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 dis-
tribute among us our lattlings, or pocket money, &c. Dickens' '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 Baccdlaureus Civilis Legis, Bach-
elor in Civil Law. In the University of Oxford, a Bachelor
in Civil Law must be an A. M. of three years standing.
The exercises necessary to the degree are disputations upon
two distinct days before the Professors of the Faculty of
Law. This degree is not conferred in America.
B. D. An abbreviation for Baccalaureus Divinitatis, Bach-
elor in Divinity. In both the English Universities a B. D.
must be an A. M. of seven years standing. 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 Divini-
AND CUSTOMS. 17
ty, and a Latin sermon is preached before the Vice-Chan-
cellor. The degree of Theologize Baccalaureus was con-
ferred 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. ) An officer in a university, whose chief business
BEDEL. ) is to walk with a mace, before the masters, in
a public procession ; or, as in America, before the presi-
dent, trustees, faculty, and students of a college, in a pro-
cession, 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 substi-
tute, 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 Presi-
dent 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 ; spec-
tantia.' 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. Yak 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 pre-
serve order during the exhibitions. Laws Yale Coll., 1837, p. 43.
2*
18 COLLEGE WORDS
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.
I asked a bed-maker where Mr. 's chambers were. Gent.
Mag., 1795, p. 118.
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 ask'd
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.
BENE. Latin, well. A word sometimes attached to a writ-
ten college exercise, by the instructor, as a mark of appro-
bation.
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 lias departed hon-
orably. 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 any thing as a gift, or
is maintained by charity. Blackstone.
In American colleges, students who are supported on es-
tablished foundations are called beneficiaries.
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 intermedi-
ate 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
AND CUSTOMS. 19
hatch, at morning and evening ; this they could eat in 1 the
yard, or take to their rooms and eat there. At the appointed
hour for levers, 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, spatter-
ing with the milk themselves and all near them, holding per-
haps their spoons aloft, the only thing saved from the de-
struction, 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.
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 Mile
clerks are required to attend the service of the chapel, and
to deliver in a list of the absent undergraduates to the offi-
cer appointed to enforce the discipline of the institution.
Their duties are different in different colleges. Oxford
Guide.
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.
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.
20 COLLEGE WORDS
B. L. See LL. B.
BLACK BOOK. In the English universities, a gloomy vol-
ume containing a register of high crimes and misdemeanors.
At the University of Gottingen, the expulsion of students is
recorded on a blackboard. Gradus ad Cantab.
Sirrah, I '11 have you put in. the black book, rusticated, expelled.
Miller's Humors of Oxford, Act II. Sc. L
All had reason to fear that their names were down in the proc-
tor'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 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, O ! 't is doubly sweet to bleach.
Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 123.
BLOOD. At some of the Western colleges, this word signi-
fies excellent ; as a blood recitation. A student who recites
well is said to make a blood.
BLOODY. Formerly a college term for daring, rowdy, im-
pudent.
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.
Rebettiad, p. 44.
Theyroar'd and bawl'd, and were so bloody,
As to besiege Lord Bibo's study.
Hid., p. 76.
AND CUSTOMS. 21
BLOW. A merry frolic with drinking ; a spree. A person
intoxicated is said to be blown, and Mr. Halliwell, in his
Diet. 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 word spree,
tight, &c.
My fellow-students had been engaged at a blow till the stage-
horn 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 How.
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, students who are very
strict in observing the laws, and conscientious in performing
their duties, are styled Hues. " Our real delvers, midnight
students," says a correspondent from Williams College,
" are called blue."
I would n't carry a novel into chapel to read, not out of any
respect for some people's old-womanish twaddle about the sacred-
ness 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.
BLUES. The name of a party which formerly existed at
Dartmouth College. In The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117,
22 COLLEGE WORDS
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 any thing worse of a fellow
than to call him a Blue, and vice versa."
See INDIGO and ROWES.
BOARD. The boards, or college boards, in the English uni-
versities, are long wooden tablets on which the names of the
members of each college are inscribed according to senior-
ity, generally hung up in the buttery. Gradus ad Cantab.
Webster.
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 ad-
mission. 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 But-
tery, 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 pun-
ishment to expulsion) it was moved accordingly." Feirce's
Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 311.
BOLT. An omission of a recitation or lecture. A corre-
spondent from Union College, where this word is used, 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 wit-
nessed in the city, we would call a l class meeting,' to con-
sider 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 com-
mittee of good steady fellows were selected, who forthwith
waited upon the Professor, and after urging the matter, com-
AND CUSTOMS. 23
monly returned with the welcome assurance, that we could
have a bolt from the next recitation."
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 dif-
ferent signification. A correspondent writes : " We some-
times 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-0Z/."
BOLTER. At Union College, one who bolts from a recita-
tion.
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 c bolter." 1 "
BONFIRE. The making of bonfires, by students, is not an
unfrequent occurrence at many of our colleges, and is usu-
ally 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 Tmauthorized fireworks or illu-
mination, any students crying fire, sounding an alarm,
leaving their rooms, shouting or clapping from the win-
dows, going to the fire, or being seen at it, going into
the college yard, or assembling on account of such bon-
fire, shall be deemed aiding and abetting such disorder,
and punished accordingly." Laws, 1848, Bonfires.
A correspondent from Bowdoin College writes : " Bon-
fires occur regularly twice a year ; one on the night preced-
ing 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 con-
struction 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 ;
24 COLLEGE WORDS
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 be-
fore 10, P. M., with one of the officers appointed for that
purpose. Students were formerly required to report them-
selves 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 look-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 appointed hour 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 COLLEGE FRESHMAN.
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, fawn-
ing, 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 knowl-
edge 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 loot-
lick.
AND CUSTOMS. 25
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.
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.
BRACKETS. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., 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.
BEANDER. 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 BURNT Fox.
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 ene-
my, but a regular brick. Collegian's Guide, p. 143.
BRICK MILL. At the University of Vermont, the students
speak of the college as the Brick Mill, or the Old Brick
Mill.
BULL. At Dartmouth College, to recite badly ; to make a
3
26
COLLEGE WORDS
poor recitation. From the substantive bull, a blunder or
contradiction, or from the use of the word as a prefix, signi-
fying large, lubberly, blundering.
BULL-DOG. In the English universities, the servant of a
proctor is thus designated.
The proctors, through their attendants, commonly called bull-
dogs, received much certain information, &c. Collegian's Guide,
p. 170.
BULLYISM. The following account of lullyism at Yale Col-
lege, is taken from an entertaining little work, entitled
Sketches of Yale College. " Bullyism had its origin, like
every thing 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 pro-
cessions, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 27
strong party proposed a change : but the supporters of an-
tiquity pleaded the venerable character of the customs identi-
fied 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 butty the lat-
ter 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 pro-
cession 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."
BURIAL OF EUCLID. "The custom of bestowing burial
honors upon the ashes of Euclid with becoming demonstra-
tions 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 Fac-
ulty) 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
28 COLLEGE WORDS
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 mum-
bling of a cracked drum, to the opened 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 com-
mitted 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 proces-
sion, are placed on 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 inter-
est in the observance of this custom at Yale College has not
AND CUSTOMS. 29
since that time diminished, may be inferred from the follow-
ing 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 Trib-
une.
" 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 ' Leus,'
and fortunately was not betrayed. The hall being full at
half past ten, the doors were closed, and the exercises com-
menced 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 Pro-
gramme, 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 appro-
priate pieces. A large coffin was placed before the altar,
within which lay the veritable Euclid, arranged in a becom-
ing winding-sheet, the body being composed of combustibles,
and these thoroughly saturated with turpentine. The com-
pany 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 com-
plement 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
3*
30 COLLEGE WORDS
the south end of the Colleges, where they were saluted with
three hearty cheers by their fellow-students, and then con-
tinued 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 dis-
banded, and returned to their desolate habitations. The
affair surpassed any thing 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 ex-
ercises 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 re-
flected the image of old Euclid. In the body of the corpse
was a triangular hole, made for the post mortem examina-
tion, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 31
half a mile south of the Colleges. 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 appear-
ance. 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. Having 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, light-
ing our torches by the dying fire, we retraced our steps with
feelings suited to the occasion." pp. 74-76.
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 ap-
pointed, 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 re-
quested at the exercises, which consist of two poems, a trag-
edy, and a funeral oration. A coffin is laid out with the
" remains " of the book, and the literary exercises are per-
formed. 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,
32 COLLEGE WORDS
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 suc-
ceed festivities, which are usually continued until daylight.
Burning of Zumpfs 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 burning
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,, pi. 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 Branded Diet. Science, Lit., and Art.
BURSARY. The treasury of a college or monastery.
Webster.
2. In Scotland, an exhibition. Encyc.
BURSCH (bursh), pi. BURSCHEN. German. A youth ; espe-
cially a student in a German university.
ttnb (jat t>et SB it r f d) fein elt> im SSeutef,
@o pumpt er Me ^Uiffer an,
AND CUSTOMS. 33
ttnb benft ; erf iff bocfc #Uerf eitet
93om 25 u r f $ e n birf jum 93ette(matt.
Crambamluli Song.
Student life ! Burschen life ! What a magic sound have these
words for him who has learnt for himself their real meaning.
Hewitt'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. Brande.
" 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 per-
fect 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 po-
litical tendencies." Vol. XV. p. 3.
BURSE. In France, a fund or foundation for the mainte-
nance of poor scholars in their studies. In the Middle Ages,
it signified a little college, or a hall in a university. Web-
ster.
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 ; the
derivation is uncertain.
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, cling-
ing 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.
BUTLER. Anciently written BOTILEK. A servant or offi-
cer whose principal business is to take charge of the liquors,
food, plate, &c. In the old laws of Harvard College we
34 COLLEGE WORDS
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 or-
dered 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 BUTLER'S FRESHMAN. 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 stand-
ing, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 35
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 else-
where. 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 privi-
lege he paid a small annual sum. He was bound, in con-
sideration 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 con-
tract 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.
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 Uni-
versity, speaks as follows : " As the Commons rendered the
COLLEGE WORDS
College independent of private boarding-houses, so the But-
tery 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 subse-
quent 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.
President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse pronounced
before the Graduates of Yale College, August 14th, 1850,
makes the following remarks on this subject : " The orig-
inal 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 drinka-
bles of not very stimulating qualities were sold, to remove
the temptation of going abroad after spirituous liquors. Ac-
cordingly, laws were passed limiting the sum for which the
Butler might give credit to a student, authorizing the Presi-
dent to inspect his books, and forbidding him to sell any
thing 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 re-
strained him by bringing his habits under inspection. There
was nothing to prevent his going abroad in quest of stronger
AND CUSTOMS. 37
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 ' pun-
ishment 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 cor-
rection, Sir ; if you 're for the Butteries with me, I '11 lie as
close as Diogenes in dolio. I '11 creep in at the bunghole,
before I '11 mount a barrel,' (fee. (Ac. 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 as-
cending 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 resi-
dence ; 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 l eating one's way into the church or to a doctor's
4
38 COLLEGE WORDS
degree.' Supposing, for example, twenty-one days' resi-
dence are 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 but-
tery, therefore, is a punishment which suspends our collegiate
existence while the cross remains, besides putting an embar-
go 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 le 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
Undergratuate, 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 di-
rected. 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, Vol. I. p. 107. 1750.
BUTTERY-BOOK. In colleges, a book kept at the buttery,
AND CUSTOMS. 39
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, to-
gether 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. HalliweWs 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.
BUCK. At Princeton College, any thing which is in an inten-
sive degree good, excellent, pleasant, or agreeable, is called
buck.
BYE-TERM. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., stu-
dents, who take the degree of A. B. at any other time save
January, are said to " go out. in a bye-term "
40
COLLEGE WORDS
c.
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.
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.
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 num-
ber. The Etonian, Vol. II. p. 217.
Used in the English universities.
CAPUT. Latin, the head. In Cambridge, Eng., a council of
the University, by which every grace must be approved be-
fore it can be submitted to the senate. It consists of the
Vice-Chancellor, a doctor of each of the faculties of divinity,
law, and medicine, and two masters of arts, chosen annual-
ly by the senate. Webster. Cam. Cal.
CARCER. Latin. In German schools and universities, a
prison. Adieus Germ, and Eng. Diet.
2Botlten i(;n fcrauf t>ie Olurnbcrgcr emn
2Bit nic&trf, to nictyttf inrf < at c e r fyemn.
Wallenstein's Lager.
AND CUSTOMS. 41
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 Bohri^s Stand. Lib., p. 155.
CAUTION MONEY. In the English universities, a deposit
in the hands of the tutor at entrance by way of security. 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.
CHAMBER. The apartment of a student at a college or uni-
versity. 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. Quinafs 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 offi-
cer 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 ; he does not hold
his office for life, but may be elected every three years.
Webster.
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
4*
42 COLLEGE WORDS
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 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 les-
sons are read, by the students appointed by the Dean for that
purpose. Gradus ad Cantab.
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 did n'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 mean-
ing 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. Where-
upon 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 follow-
ing 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 wood-piles." Sketches of Williams College, p. 79.
CHORE. In the German universities, a club or society of
the students is thus designated.
Duels between members of different chores were once frequent ;
AND CUSTOMS. 43
sometimes one man was obliged to fight the members of a whole
chore in succession. Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 5.
CHUM. Armenian, chomm, or chommein, or ham, to dwell,
stay, or lodge ; French, chomer, 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.
I am again your petitioner in behalf of that great chum of litera-
ture, Samuel Johnson. Smollett, in Boswett.
In this last instance, the word chum is used either with the
more extending 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.
CLASS. A number of students in a college or school, of
the same standing, or pursuing the same studies. In col-
leges, 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 distinc-
tion are denominated classmen, answering to the optimes and
wranglers in the University of Cambridge. CraWs Tech.
Diet.
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 pur-
suing the same studies ; to form into a class or classes.
Webster.
44 COLLEGE WORDS
CLASS BOOK. Within the last twenty or thirty years, a
custom has arisen at Harvard College of no small importance
in a historical point of view, but which is principally deserv-
ing 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 hun-
dred 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 faith-
ful 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 pre-
pared 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 the prizes, deturs, parts at Exhibitions and Com-
mencement, degrees, etc., of all its members. Into it are
also copied the Class Oration, Poem, and Ode, and the Sec-
retary'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 Sec-
retary, 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 candi-
date, and keeps in his possession the Class Fund, which is
sometimes raised to defray the accruing expenses of the
Class in future times.
AND CUSTOMS. 45
In the Harvard iana, 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' CAP. At Hamilton College, it is customary for the
Sophomores to appear in a class cap on the Junior Exhibi-
tion day, which is worn generally during part of the third
term.
CLASS COMMITTEE. At Harvard College a committee of
two persons, joined with the Class Secretary, who is ex
ojjicio its chairman, whose duty it is, after the class has
graduated, during their lives to call class meetings, when-
ever they deem it advisable, and to attend to all other busi-
ness 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 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 con-
tained 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
46 COLLEGE WORDS
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 con-
clude 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 ap-
plause 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
AND CUSTOMS. 47
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." Fame's Works, pp. xxvii., 439,
ed. 1812.
An account of Class Day, near the close of the last cen-
tury, may not be uninteresting. It is from the Diary which
is above referred to.
" 20th (Thursday). This day for special reasons the vale-
dictory poem and oration were performed. The order of the
clay 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 Jack-
son. 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.
Alterations were continually made in the observances of
Class Day, and in twenty years after the period last men-
tioned, its character had in many particulars changed. In-
stead of the Latin, an English oration of a somewhat sport-
ive 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, tl^e class commonly re-
paired to Porter's Hall, and there partook of a dinner, not
always observing with perfect strictness the rules of tem-
48 COLLEGE WORDS
perance 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 pre-
tending 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 ex-
tent, 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 ac-
cordingly 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 Mar-
shals 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 pro-
nounced, 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 Har-
vard Hall, accompanied by their friends and invited guests,
where a rich collation is provided.
AND CUSTOMS. 49
After an interval of from one to two hours, the dancing
commences in the yard. Cotillions 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
arid small. They then assemble under the Liberty Tree,
around which with hands joined they 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.
CLASSIS. Same meaning as Class. The Latin for the Eng-
lish.
[They shall] observe the generall hours appointed for all the stu-
dents, and the speciall houres for their own classis. New Eng-
land'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.
There are some men who read for honors in that covetous and con-
tracted 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 exam-
iners a present of all their Latin and Greek the moment they left
the schools. The Collegian's Guide, p. 327.
CLASSMAN. See CLASS.
CLASSMATE. A member of the same class with another.
The day is wound up with a scene of careless laughter and merri-
ment, among a dozen of joke-loving classmates. Harv. Reg.,
p. 202.
CLASS MEETING. A meeting where all the class are as-
sembled for the -purpose of carrying out some measure,
appointing class officers, or transacting business of interest
to the whole class.
5
50 COLLEGE WORDS
In Harvard College, no class, or general, or other meet-
ing of students can be called without an application in writ-
ing 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.
While one, on fame alone intent,
Seeks to be chosen President
Of clubs, or a class meeting.
Harv. Reg., p. 247.
CLASSOLOGY. That subject 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
4 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.
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 class-
mates. 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."
AND CUSTOMS. 51
COAX. This word was formerly used at Yale College in the
some 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 but-
ter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood ; so
the coaxing of tutors bringeth forth parts." Prov. xxx.
33.
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 ex-
amination, which takes place at the end of every term be-
fore the Warden and Tutor.
Read some Herodotus for Collections. The Etonian, Vol. II.
p. 348.
COLLECTOR. A Bachelor of Arts in the University of Ox-
ford, who is appointed to superintend some scholastic pro-
ceedings in Lent. Todd.
COLLECTORSHIP. The office of a collector in the Univer-
sity 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 1007. , 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 gen-
eral sense, a collection, assemblage, or society of men, in-
vested with certain powers and rights, performing certain
duties, or engaged in some common employment or pur-
suit.
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
52 COLLEGE WORDS
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 in-
stitution 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 desti-
tute of means, who were here to live under particular super-
vision. 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 de-
gree, that at one time the colleges included nearly all the
members of the University of Paris. In the English uni-
versities 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 piouc per-
sons, 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 under-
graduates, 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 ho,w poor students at six o'clock can rise.
Poem before ladma ofHarv. Coll., 1850.
AND CUSTOMS. 53
COLLEGER. A member of a college.
We stood like veteran collegers the next day's screw. Harvar-
diana, Vol. III. p. 9. [Little used.]
COLLEGE YARD. The inclosure on or within which the
buildings of a college are situated. Although college in-
closures 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.
COACH. In the English universities, this term is variously ap-
plied, as will be seen by a reference to the annexed examples.
Every thing 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 instruc-
tion. 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.
5*
54 COLLEGE WORDS
COACHING. A cant term, in the British universities, for pre-
paring 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 hy the trickery of private coaching
(tutoring) than by mental improvement, depends, &c. The Col-
legian's Guide, p. 15.
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 un-
lawful 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 withdraw after dinner,
for wine, dessert, and conversation. Webster.
COMMEMORATION DAY. At the University of Oxford,
Eng., this day is an annual solemnity in honor of the bene-
factors 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 Can-
tabrigiam, '* 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 55
Four Senior Sophisters came from Say brook, and received the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts, and several others commenced Mas-
ters. Clap's Hist. Yale Coll., p. 20.
A scholar see him now commence
Without the aid of books or sense.
TrumbuWs Progress of Dulness, 1794, p. 12.
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, Magis-
trates, 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 y e Barge wherein the Gov'r, Maj. Gen'l, Capt. Black-
well, 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 Wads-
worth, which continued from 1725 to 1737, " it was the cus-
tom," 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 in-
vited gentlemen, and immediately moved from Harvard
Hall to the Congregational church." After the exercises of
the day were over, the students escorted the Governor, Cor-
56 COLLEGE WORDS
poration, 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 proces-
sion, and substituting the Boston Lancers as an escort, in-
stead of the " body guards."
The exercises at the first Commencement are stated in
New England's First Fruits, above referred to, as fol-
lows : " Latine and Greeke Orations, and Declamations,
and Hebrew Analysis, Grammatical!, Logicall, and Rhetori-
call of the Psalms : And their answers and disputations in
Logicall, Ethicall, Physical, and Metaphysicall questions."
At Commencement in 1685, the exercises were, besides Dis-
putes, four Orations, one Latin, two Greek, and one He-
brew. 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 disputa-
tions on theses or questions in Logic, Ethics, and Natural
Philosophy commenced. When the disputation terminated,
one of the candidates pronounced a Latin ' gratulatory ora-
tion.' 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 ad-
journment then took place to dinner, in Harvard Hall ; from
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, except-
AND CUSTOMS. 57
ing the President's prayers at opening and closing the ser-
vices. 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 was 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 exer-
cises the President conferred the degrees. This, I think,
may be considered as the summary of the public perform-
ances on a Commencement Day. I do not recollect any
Forensic Disputation, or a Poem or Oration spoken in Eng-
lish 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 exer-
cises. Under this date, in the MS. Diary of Judge Sewall,
are these words : " Mr. President after giving y e Degrees
made an Oration in Praise of Academical Studies and De-
grees, Hebrew tongue." In 1688, at the Commencement,
according to the same gentleman, Mr. William Hubbard,
then acting as President under the appointment of Sir Ed-
mund 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. The first English
oration was made by Mr. Jedidiah Huntington, in the year
1763. The last Latin syllogisms were in 1792, on the sub-
jects " Materia cogitare non potest " and " Nil nisi ignis
natura est fluidum." The first year in which the performers
58 COLLEGE WORDS
spoke without a prompter was 1837. There were no Mas-
ter's exercises for the first time in 1844. To prevent im-
proprieties, 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 pe-
riod, 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 Win-
throp 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 y e 3d part of y e 103d Ps. was sung in y e Hall."
The seventy-eighth Psalm was the one usually sung, an ac-
count 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 Com-
mencement 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 de-
gree." At present, on Commencement Day, every candi-
date 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. In ]722, in the latter
part of President Leverett's administration, an act was
AND CUSTOMS. 59
passed " for reforming the Extravagancys of Commence-
ments," 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 Ly-
. quours 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 meals
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 llth 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." Tn 1749, the Corpo-
ration 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 Com-
mencement expenses, so as may best correspond with the
frowns of Divine Providence, and that they take effectual
care to have their sons 1 chambers cleared of company, and
their entertainments finished, on the evening of said Com-
mencement 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
60 COLLEGE WORDS
than festival entertainments," the " first and second degrees
be given to the several candidates without their personal at-
tendance " ; 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 al-
lowed 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 propo-
sition made by the Overseers to the Corporation in 1759,
recommending a "repeal of the law prohibiting the drink-
ing 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 intoxi-
cating 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 Com-
mencement was a season of hilarity and festivity ; the min-
isters 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 Com-
mencement, 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 man-
ner.' " The proposition, after much debate, was rejected,
AND CUSTOMS. 61
and u public Commencements were continued without inter-
ruption, except during the period of the Revolutionary war,
and occasionally, from temporary causes, during the re-
mainder of the century, notwithstanding their evils, anoma-
lies, and inconsistencies."
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 moccasins ; 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 accom-
modate 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. Farther 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-swallovvers, 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
6
62 COLLEGE WORDS
lay curled up under the adjoining hedge, " forgetting and
forgot," and again by the drunkard, reeling, cursing, and
fighting among his comrades. 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.
11 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.*
" 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 !
* " Men, some to pleasure, some to business, take ;
But every woman is at heart a rake."
AND CUSTOMS. 63
u 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 recog-
nized 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, mon-
keys, bears, and rope-dancers, and hold their revels just
beneath the windows of the tabernacle where the literary
triumph is enacting.
1 Turn sffiva son are
Yerbera, turn stridor ferri tractaeque catenae.' ' :
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 c heaving in
sight and looming up,' as the sailors say. Pyramids of
Egypt ! can ye surpass these enormous piles ? The com-
mon 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 l the music of the spheres.' Anon, three enor-
mous white wigs, supported by three stately, venerable men,
64 COLLEGE WORDS
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, He-
brew, French ! These scholars knew every thing."
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 sugges-
tion 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 Com-
mencement, 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 pre-
serve order and attend on the justices. Among the writ-
ings 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 intoxi-
cated in the hall or out of it ; the first time."
The following extract from the works of a French trav-
AND CUSTOMS. 65
eller 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, every thing 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 col-
leges. It is a day of joy for Boston ; almost all its inhab-
itants assemble in Cambridge. The most distinguished of
the students display their talents in the presence of the pub-
lic ; and these exercises, which are generally on patriotic
subjects, are terminated by a feast, where reign the freest
gayety and the most cordial fraternity." Brissofs Travels
in U. , 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 Sep-
tember 13th, 1702, while that institution was located at Say-
brook, at which four young men who had before graduated
at Harvard College, and one whose education had been pri-
vate, received the degree of Master of Arts. This and sev-
eral Commencements following were held privately, accord-
ing 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 complet-
ed, 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, Gov-
ernor 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 solemn-
6*
66 COLLEGE WORDS
ly named our College by the name of Yale College, to per-
petuate the memory of the honorable Gov. Elihu Yale, Esq.,
of London, who had granted so liberal and bountiful a dona-
tion 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 com-
fortable 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 re-
ferred to above : "Commencements were not to be pub-
lic, according to the wishes of the first Trustees, through fear
of the attendant expense ; but another practice soon pre-
vailed, 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 dis-
tributed upon this occasion, indicating what the candidates
AND CUSTOMS. 67
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 Technolo-
gy, Logic, Grammar, Rhetoric, Mathematics, Physics, Meta-
physics, Ethics, and afterwards Theology. The candidates
for a Master's degree also published theses at this time,
which were called Qucestiones magistrates. 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.*
" 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 de-
scribed, was subjected for the time to considerable modifica-
tions. The scheme, in brief, was as follows : The saluta-
tory 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 disputa-
tions, 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 Presi-
dent 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
* See under THESIS and MASTER'S QUESTION.
68 COLLEGE WORDS
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 vale-
dictory 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 Com-
mencement 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 stu-
dent, 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 4 no
kind of public treat but on Commencement, quarter-days,
and the day on which the valedictory oration was pro-
nounced ; 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
AND CUSTOMS. 69
up this practice ; but the Senior Class having united in
bringing large quantities of rum into College, the Com-
mencement 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 Com-
mencement 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.
At Shelby College, Ky., it is customary at Commence-
ment 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,
70 COLLEGE WORDS
COMMENCEMENT CARD. At Union College, there is
issued annually at Commencement a card containing a pro-
gramme 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, in-
vitations 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 Magnolia, 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.
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 schol-
ars 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 Univer-
sity of Oxford, Eng., who is not dependent on the founda-
tion for support, but pays for his board or commons, together
with all other charges. Corresponds to a PENSIONER at
Cambridge.
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.
CraWs Tech. Diet.
AND CUSTOMS. 71
Oh, could the days once more but come,
When calm I smoak'd in common room.
The Student, Vol. I. p. 237. Oxf. and Cam., 1750.
COMMONS. Food provided at a common table, as in col-
leges, 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 super-
intendence 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 his-
tory," says Mr. Quincy, " has discontent with commons
been more just and well-founded, than under the hus-
wifery of Mrs. Eaton." " It is perhaps owing," Mr. Win-
throp 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 proposi-
tion 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 under-
graduates 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 invi-
tation 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."
72 COLLEGE WORDS
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 ordi-
nary 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 " (vege-
tables), " 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 sub-
stance 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
AND CUSTOMS. 73
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 pro-
vided.
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 build-
ings, 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 Com-
mons, " the officers to be exempted only by the Corpora-
tion, 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 regime, " 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 con-
tinues, " their proceedings were violent, illegal, and insult-
ing, yet the records of the immediate government show un-
questionably, 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 com-
plaints."
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. llth, 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,
7
74 COLLEGE WORDS
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 seasonable 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 pro-
vide 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 usual-
ly 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 under-
graduate." 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. Un-
like 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
AND CUSTOMS. 75
meat, allowing a pound to each person. On Monday and
Thursday the meat was boiled ; these days were on this ac-
count commonly called " boiling days." On the other days
the meat was roasted ; these were accordingly named
" roasting days." Two potatoes were allowed to each per-
son, 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 din-
ner. 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 replen-
ished 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.
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 sys-
tem, 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 pro-
visions." In the plain but emphatic words of one who was
76 COLLEGE WORDS
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 some-
times 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 for-
mer 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
colleges 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 desira-
ble places for boarding than at present. But however ne-
cessary, the Steward's department was always beset with
difficulties and exposed to complaints which most gentle-
men 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 Stew-
ard 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,
AND CUSTOMS. 77
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 man-
ners 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 com-
mons 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 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.
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 else-
where. It is now rarely heard among us. A correspond-
ent observes, that ' it is used in England among musicians.'
I have never met with it in any English publications upon
the subject of music."
7*
78 COLLEGE WORDS
The word is not found, I believe, in any dictionary of the
English tongue.
COMPOUNDER. One at a university who pays extraordi-
nary 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 ladma, Harv. Coll.
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 Lev-
erett, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 79
at Boston, in a state of penance. He presented his confes-
sion to Mr. Pemberton, who thereupon became his interces-
sor, 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 in-
deed 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 and Cambridge, the assembly
of Masters and Doctors for transacting the ordinary business
of conferring degrees, electing officers, passing graces and
dispensations, &c. Cam. and Oxf. Cols.
CONSERVATOR. An officer who has the charge of pre-
serving the rights and privileges of a city, corporation, or
community, as in Roman Catholic universities. Webster.
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."
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
80 COLLEGE WORDS
young offender against the laws of soberness and chastity.
Gradus ad Cantabrigiam.
CONVICTOR. Latin, a familiar acquaintance. In the Uni-
versity 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 A. M., or Doctors in
either of the three faculties. Oxf. Cal.
CONVOCATION. In the University of Oxford, England, an
academical assembly, the business of which extends to all
subjects connected with the credit, interest, and welfare of
the University, a restriction only being prescribed to the
enacting of new and the explaining of old statutes. 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 convoca-
tion into a congregation, after which the business proceeds
as usual. Oxf. and Cam. Cals.
COPUS. " Of mighty ale, a large quarte." Chaucer.
The word copus and the beverage itself are both exten-
sively used among the men of the University of Cambridge,
England. " The conjecture," says the Gradus ad Canta-
brigiam, " is surely ridiculous and senseless, that Copus is
contracted from Episcopus, 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."
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. In the older American col-
leges, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 81
perverse, seu ex supina negligentia, violarit, postquam fuerit
bis admonitus, si non adultus, virgis coerceatur, sin adultus,
ad Inspectores Collegii deferendus erit, ut publice in eum
pro meritis 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 Fel-
lows 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 con-
tinue in force until this Court or the Overseers of the Col-
lege 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 gf 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 man-
ners 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.)
82 COLLEGE WORDS
" ' 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 toler-
ated a law authorizing so degrading a treatment of the mem-
bers 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 occa-
sioned 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 re-
vised 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, ob-
served, 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 ab-
surdities." 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 re-
AND CUSTOMS. 83
garded 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 hesi-
tated, and appointed a large committee 4 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 prac-
tice 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 box-
ing 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
4 Sophimores.' * 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 re-
markable, 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
* The old way of spelling the word SOPHOMORE, q. v.
84 COLLEGE WORDS
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 according-
ly 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 punish-
ment 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
4 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 play-
ing 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 who-
soever 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 treat-
AND CUSTOMS. 85
ment of the young may account for this system being laid
aside at the universities ; although, as is well known, it con-
tinues 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. Quin-
cy 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 c at a meeting of the Corporation? or introduced by
the formula, c It is ordered by the Corporation? without stat-
ing 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 after-
wards they were frequently, though not uniformly, inserted."
- Vol. I. p. 274.
CORK. ) In some of the Southern colleges, this word, with
CALK. 5 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.
COURTS. At Cambridge, England, the squares or acres into
which each college is divided. Called at Oxford, quad-
rangles, abbreviated, quads. Gradus ad Cantab.
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 learn-
ing questions and answers by rote : in the cant phrase of under-
graduates, by getting crammed. Whately's Logic, Preface.
For many weeks he " crams" him, daily does he rehearse.
Poem before the ladma of Hani. Coll., 1850.
8
86 COLLEGE WORDS
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. 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.
2. 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 '11 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.
r a m t> a m b u U, barf tfl fcer Xitel
JDetf XranN, fcer ftcfy bei urn* betx>at;rt.
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 an-
swers 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.
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.
AND CUSTOMS. 87
CRAMMER. One who prepares another for an examination.
The qualifications of a crammer are given in the follow-
ing 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 re-
duces their quantity, dwelling chiefly on the c 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 man-
ner 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 exami-
nations, 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 corre-
sponding art, called Cramming" p. 229.
I shall never forget the torment I suffered in cramming long les-
sons in Greek Grammar. Dickens*s Household Words, Vol. I.
p. 192.
CRAM PAPER. A paper in which are inserted such ques-
tions as are generally asked at an examination. The man-
ner 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,
88 COLLEGE WORDS
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.
CROWS-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 crows-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 crows-foot, and the
custom is now discontinued, although an unsuccessful at-
tempt 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 crows-foot, to act as vanguard. Harv. Reg-.
p. 377.
The corded crows-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, crows-foot, cap, and all.
Holmes' s Poems, 1850, p. 109.
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
Q would seem to stand for quadrans, a farthing ;
but Minsheu says it was only half that sum, and thus partic-
ularly 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, q. But in Cambridge they use this letter, a little f ;
thus, f, or thus, s, for a farthing." He translates it in Latin
AND CUSTOMS. 89
calculus panis. Coles has, " A cue [half a farthing] minu-
tum." 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 hue. Orig. of Dr., iii.
p. 271.
He never drank above size q of Helicon. Eachard, Contempt
o/C/.,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-cosmo graphic, (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 Win-
gate, who graduated thirteen years after, says : " We were
allowed at dinner a cue of beer, which was a half-pint."
CURL. In the University of Virginia, to make a perfect reci-
tation ; to overwhelm a Professor with student learning.
CUT. To be absent from a recitation or any college exercise.
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 exer-
cises.
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 abid-
ing. Poem before Y. H. of Harv. Coll., 1849.
8*
90 COLLEGE WORDS
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 Eng-
land and America.
To cut Gates. To enter college after ten o'clock, the
hour of shutting them. Gradus ad Cantab., p 40.
The two rudimentary lectures which he was at first forced to at-
tend, are now pressed less earnestly upon his notice. In fact, he can
almost entirely " cut" them, if he likes, and does cut them accord-
ingly, as a waste of time. Household Words, Vol. II. p. 160.
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 Col-
lege 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."
AND CUSTOMS. 91
D.
D. C. L. An abbreviation for Doctor Civilis Legis, Doctor
in Civil Law. At the University of Oxford, England, this
degree is conferred five years after receiving the degree of
A. B. The exercises are three lectures.
D. D. An abbreviation of Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor in Di-
vinity. At the University of Cambridge, England, this
degree is conferred on a B. D. of five, or an A. M. of twelve
years' standing. The exercises are one act, two opponen-
cies, a clerum, and an English sermon. At Oxford it is
given to a B. D. of four, or an A. M. of eleven years' stand-
ing. The exercises are three lectures. In American col-
leges 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 under-
stand 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.
92 COLLEGE WORDS
He, unmoved by Freshman's curses,
Loves the deads which Freshmen make. MS. Poem.
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 Ameri-
canisms, " 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 re-
semblance between the above definitions, and the appear-
ance 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.
DEAN. An officer in each college of the universities in Eng-
land, 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 se-
verely, if they make any default, according to the quantitye
and quality e of their trespasses.' When flagellation was
enforced at the Universities, the Deans were the Ministers
of Vengeance." In the older American colleges, whipping
and cuffing were inflicted by a tutor, professor, or presi-
dent ; the latter, however, usually employed an agent for
this purpose.
See under CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.
AND CUSTOMS. 93
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 Profes-
sional School, if deemed expedient by the Corporation. Laws
Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 8.
DEAN'S BOUNTY. In 1730, the Rev. Dr. George Berke-
ley, 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 re-
turn 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 estab-
lishment of that Dean's lounty, to which sound classical learning
in Connecticut has been much indebted. Hist. Sketch of Colum-
bia 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 lan-
guage of conversation. The adverb decently (and possibly
the adjective also) is sometimes used in a similar manner in
some parts of Great Britain."
94 COLLEGE WORDS
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, prac-
tised 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.
DECLAMATION BOARDS. At Bowdoin College, small
establishments in the rear of each building, for urinary pur-
poses.
DEDUCTION. In some of the American colleges, one of the
minor punishments for non-conformity with laws and regu-
lations is deducting from the marks which a student receives
for recitations and other exercises, and by which his stand-
ing in the class is determined.
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. " Deg-
radation consisted in placing a student on the list, in conse-
quence 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 de-
graded to the bottom of his class for his misdemeanors when
AND CUSTOMS. 95
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 agree-
able 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 Wool-
sey, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of
Yale College, " laid aside not very long before the begin-
ning of the Revolutionary war, was still more characteristic
of the times. It was a method of acting upon the aristo-
cratic 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. t Every student shall be called by his
sirname, 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 colo-
nial, 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
96 COLLEGE WORDS
was upon the bench, which gave him, of course, a high
place." pp. 48, 49.
See under PLACE.
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 con-
ferred pro meritis on the alumni of a college ; or they are
honorary tokens of respect, conferred on strangers of dis-
tinguished reputation. The^rs^ 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.
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 A, 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 con-
test 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 con-
test? 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
DEMI, ) The name of a scholar at Magdalen College,
DEMY. } Oxford, where there are thirty demies or half-
AND CUSTOMS. 97
fellows, as it were, who, like scholars in other colleges, suc-
ceed to fellowships. Johnson.
DETERMINING. In the University of Oxford, a Bachelor
is entitled to his degree of A. M. 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 under-
graduates." 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 ; also, as far as the state of the funds admits, to
those members of the Junior Class who entered as Sopho-
mores, 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 Sopho-
more year, have, during that year, made decided improve-
ment 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 hooks ; 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 Chatterbox.
DEN. One of the buildings formerly attached to Harvard
9
98 COLLEGE WORDS
College, which was taken down about six years ago, 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 inter-
nally, 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 charac-
ter, to whom Mr. Wiswal seemed to be more attentive than
was consistent with the character of a true and loving hus-
band. 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 her-
self 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 to 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 99
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. Har-
vard Register, 1827 - 28, A Legend of the Den, pp. 82 - 86.
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.
Resolves that he will be, in spite of toil or of fatigue,
That humbug of all humbugs, the staid, inveterate " dig."
Poem before ladma of Harv. Coll., 1850.
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.
100 COLLEGE WORDS
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 ho admit-
tance. Ibid. , p. 377.
Hopes to hit the mark
By digging nightly into matters dark.
Class Poem, Haro. Coll., 1835.
He " makes up " for past " digging."
ladma Poem, Harv. Coll., 1850.
DIGNITY. At Bowdoin College, "dignity," says a corre-
spondent, " is the name applied to the regular holidays, vary-
ing 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 ob-
solete dighted.
DIPLOMA. Greek, SiVAco/ia, from 6WAoG>, to double or fold.
Anciently, a letter or other composition written on paper or
parchment, and folded ; afterward, any letter, literary monu-
ment, 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 physi-
cians, agents, &c. Webster.
DISCIPLINE. The punishments which are at present gen-
erally adopted in American colleges, are warning, admoni-
tion, the letter home, suspension, rustication, and expulsion.
Formerly they were more numerous, and their execution
AND CUSTOMS. 101
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, admoni-
tions, confession in the Hall, publicly asking pardon, degra-
dation 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 Dis-
course says : " The old system of discipline may be de-
scribed in general as consisting of a series of minor punish-
ments 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 ; * deprivation of the privi-
lege of sending Freshmen upon errands, or extension of the
period during which this servitude should be required be-
yond 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 degra-
dation. 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, SUS-
PENSION, &c.
DISMISS. To separate from college, for an indefinite or lim-
ited time.
See under IMPOSITION.
9*
102 COLLEGE WORDS
DISMISSION. In college government, dismission is the sepa-
ration 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 ex-
amination, to be well qualified for such readmission. Col-
lege Laws.
DISPENSATION. The granting of a license, or the license
itself, to do what is forbidden by law, or to omit something
which is commanded. In colleges, an exemption from at-
tending a college exercise.
All the students, who are under twenty-one years of age, may
be excused from attending the private Hebrew lectures of the Pro-
fessor, 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 follow-
ing 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 pro-
posed. 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 103
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.
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 col-
leges, 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 ladma, Harv. Coll., 1850.
Agreed ; but I have another dodge as good as yours. Col-
legian's Guide, p. 240.
DOMINUS. A title bestowed on Bachelors of Arts, in Eng-
land. Dominus Nokes ; Dominus Stiles. Gradus ad
Cantab.
DON. In the English universities, a short generic term for
all university authorities.
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.
104 COLLEGE WORDS
DORMIAT. Latin ; literally, let him sleep. To take out a
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 MARKS. It was formerly the custom in Harvard
College with the Professors in Rhetoric, when they had ex-
amined 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.
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, Biog-
raphy, p. xxii., ed. 1812.
See THEME.
DOUGH-BALL. At the Anderson Collegiate Institute, Indi-
ana, 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 univer-
sities. 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 pre-
scribed, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 105
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 re-
spective 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 cufis,
First Modern Pride your ear with fustian stuffs ;
* Welcome, blest age, by holy seers foretold,
By ancient bards proclaimed the age of gold,' " &c.*
But it was by the would-be reformers of that day alone
that such sentiments were held, and it was only by the sever-
ity 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 diffi-
cult to enforce," says Quincy, " that a law was passed ab-
rogating the whole system of distinction by l frogs on the
cuffs and button-holes,' and the law respecting dress was
limited to prescribing a blue-gray or dark-blue coat, with
Education : a Poem before <X>. B. K. Soc., 1799, by William Biglow.
106 COLLEGE WORDS
permission to wear a black gown, and a prohibition of wear-
ing gold or silver lace, cord, or edging." Quinces Hist.
Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 277.
A writer in the New England Magazine, in an article re-
lating 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 cocked 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 her-
esy 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 moth-
erly 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 liv-
ing 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 recollec-
tion 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 respect-
ing 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
AND CUSTOMS. 107
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 1822 was passed the " Law of Harvard University,
regulating the dress of the students." The established uni-
form 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 stu-
dents are permitted to wear black gowns, in which they
may appear on all public occasions. Night-gowns, of cot-
ton 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 al-
lowed, 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
108 COLLEGE WORDS
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.
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 demo-
cratic equality, the tendency of which is to narrow, in as
great a degree as possible, the intervals between different
ages and conditions.
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 improve-
ment 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 va-
lidity 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 con-
tinued 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 es-
teem very safe, Scriptural, and valid.' He directed these
AND CUSTOMS. 109
subjects to be discussed in rotation, one every year, and ap-
pointed the President of the College, the Professor of Divin-
ity, 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 inter-
mission." Quinces Hist. Harv. J7nr.,VoI. II. pp. 140, 141.
DULCE DECUS. Latin ; literally, sweet honor. At Wil-
liams College a name given by a certain class of students
to the game of whist ; the reason for which is evident.
Whether Mcecenas would have considered it an honor to
have had the compliment of Horace,
" O et presidium et dulce decus meura,"
transferred as a title for a game at cards, we leave for
others to decide.
E.
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 '11 fish and dig, I care not a fig,
We '11 be hard boys and mellow. MS. Poem.
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 pro-
10
110 COLLEGE WORDS
miscuously from the first twenty-four in their class. Al-
though 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 1 "
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 '11 be late ! "
" Do n'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 Elec-
tioneering, as it is called, is given in Sketches of Yale College,
at page 162.
EMERITUS, pi. EMERITI. Latin ; literally, obtained by ser-
vice. One who has been honorably discharged from pub-
lic service, as in colleges and universities, a Professor
Emeritus.
ENCENIA, pi. Greek cyxatW, a feast of dedication. Fes-
tivals 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.
ENGAGEMENT. At Yale College, the student, on enter-
ing, signs an engagement, as it is called, in the words follow-
ing : "I, A. B., on condition of being admitted as a mem-
ber of Yale College, promise, on my faith and honor, to
observe all the laws and regulations of this College ; par-
ticularly that I will faithfully avoid using profane language,
gaming, and all indecent, disorderly behavior, and disre-
respectful 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.
AND CUSTOMS. Ill
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.
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 effi-
ciency. 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 organ-
ized, 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 Tyngsboro', May 20,
1849.
The favorite beverage at fires was rum and molasses,
commonly called black-strap, which is referred to in the fol-
lowing lines, commemorative of the engine company in its
palmier days.
" But, ! let black-strap's sable god deplore
Those engine-heroes so renowned of yore !
112 COLLEGE WORDS
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 tenden-
cy to draw the attention of the students from their college
duties, was in part the cause of the dissolution of the com-
pany. Their presence was always welcomed in the neigh-
boring 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 dis-
charged 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 as-
sisted to extinguish.
EUNDEM GRADUM. Latin, the same .degree. In Amer-
ican colleges, a Bachelor or Master of one institution was
formerly allowed to take the same degree at another, on
AND CUSTOMS. 113
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 impor-
tant 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 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.
The House of Convocation consists both of regents and non-
regents, that is, in brief, all masters of arts not honorary, or ad
eunJems from Cambridge or Dublin, and of course graduates of a
higher order. Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xi.
EXAMINATION. An inquiry into the acquisitions of the
students, in colleges and seminaries of learning, by ques-
tioning 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 exam-
inations, 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
10*
114 COLLEGE WORDS
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 examina-
tion 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 vis-
ible. One after another left the hall, some in a slow, others
in a hurried manner, but all plainly showing that their situ-
ation 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
y e 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 y e Philosopher's room while a committee
of y e Corporation and Overseers, and all y e Immediate Gov-
ernment were engaged in examination of y e Freshman
Class."
AND CUSTOMS. 115
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 qualifica-
tions of students, by interrogatories, proposing problems, or
by hearing their recitals ; as, to examine the classes in col-
lege ; to examine the candidates for a degree, or for a li-
cense to preach or to practise in a profession. Webster.
EXAMINER. One who examines. In colleges and semi-
naries 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.
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 particu-
lar 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
116 COLLEGE WORDS
the class, the College, or the public, shall give any treat or enter-
tainment 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 any thing 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 exhib-
iting 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 Dor-
chester, and if there be none such, to one of the town of
Milton, and in want of such, then to any other well deserv-
ing that shall be most needy.' " p. 77.
EXHIBITION. In colleges, a public literary and oratorical
display. The exercises at exhibitions are original composi-
tions, 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 trans-
late English into Latin nor Latin into English," their com-
mittee " 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 recom-
mending to the Corporation a conformity to these sugges-
AND CUSTOMS. 117
tions, 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 Pres-
ident and Tutors, shall publicly exhibit specimens of their
proficiency, by pronouncing orations and delivering dia-
logues, 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 omit-
ted, 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 memo-
randum : " 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 en-
tertaining part of the Exhibition performances.
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
118 COLLEGE WORDS
settled for the maintenance of scholars in the English Uni-
versities, 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.
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 high-
est censure, and is a final separation from the college or
university. Coll. Laws.
In the Diary of Mr. Leverett, who was President of Har-
vard 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 sev-
eral classes of undergraduates being present, after a full
opening of the crimes of the delinquents, a pathetic ad-
monition 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 119
F.
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 com-
mitted by undergraduates, and it is their special duty to en-
force the observance of all the laws and regulations for main-
taining discipline, and promoting good order, virtue, piety,
and good learning in the institution with which they are con-
nected. The faculty hold meetings to communicate and
compare their opinions and information, respecting the con-
duct 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 as-
sembly 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 sub-
sequently 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." Branded Diet., Art. FACULTY.
In some American colleges, these four departments are
established, and sometimes a fifth, the Scientific, is added.
120 COLLEGE WORDS
FAG. Scotch, faik, to fail, to languish. Ancient Swedish,
wik-a, cedere. To drudge ; to labor to weariness ; to be-
come 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 in-
tensely as any man at Cambridge. For three years, he declares,
he only slept four hours a night, and allowed two hours for refresh-
ment. The remaining eighteen hours were spent in study. Ibid.,
p. 48.
How did ye toil, andfagg, and fume, and fret,
And what the bashful muse would blush to say.
But, now, your painful tremors all are o'er,
Cloath'd in the glories of a full-sleev'd.gown,
Ye strut majestically up and down,
And now yefagg, 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 who does menial
services for another boy of a higher form or class.
But who are those three by-standers, that have such an'air of sub-
mission and awe in their countenances ? They are fags, Fresh-
men, 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. Haruardiana,
Vol. II. p. 106.
His fag he had wellnigh killed by a blow.
Wallenstein in Bonn's Stand. Lib., p. 155.
Under the title FRESHMAN SERVITUDE will be found an
account of the manner in which members of that class were
formerly treated in the older American colleges.
2. A diligent study, 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 121
After another hard/a^ 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, fyc.
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 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 !
11 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 Com-
mencement evening, of a number of students on horseback,
fantastically dressed in masks, &c.
FAT. At Princeton College, a letter with money or a draft is.
thus denominated.
FATHER OR PRELECTOR. In the University of Cam-
bridge, 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 em-
ployed in examining those students who appear most likely to
contest the palm of glory with their sons. Gent. Mag., 1773, p.
435.
11
122 COLLEGE WORDS
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. The meaning of this word seems, by the annexed
extract from a letter from the University of Vermont, to be,
to deceive, to cheat. " A man writes cards during exami-
nations to ''feeze the profs ' ; said cards are ' gumming
cards.' "
FELLOW. A member of a corporation ; a trustee. In the
English universities, a residence at the college, engagement
in instruction, and receiving therefor stipend, are essential
requisites to the character of a fellow. In American col-
leges, it is not necessary that a fellow should be a resident, a
stipendiary, or an instructor. In most cases the greater num-
ber of the Fellows of the Corporation are non-residents, and
have no part in the instruction at the college.
At Harvard College, the tutors were formerly called resi-
dent fellows. Quinces 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.
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 privi-
lege of dining at the Fellows' table, from whence the appel-
lation originated.
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
AND CUSTOMS.
123
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 any thing about Fellow-commoners in college
excepting in this paragraph. I am satisfied there has been
no such description of scholars atCambridge since I have
known any thing about the place." Peirce's Hist. Harv.
Coll, p. 314.
It is probable that this order, although introduced from the
University of Cambridge, England, into Harvard College,
never received any members, on account of the evil in-
fluence which such distinctions usually exert.
A Fellow-commoner at Cambridge is equivalent to an Ox-
ford 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 Uni-
versity, will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p.
20, and in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, p. 50.
" Fellow-Commoners have been nick-named ' Empty Bot-
tles ! ' They have been called, likewise, l Useless Mem-
bers ! ' l The licensed Sons of Ignorance.' " Gradus ad
Cantab.
The Fellow-Commoners, alias empty bottles, (not so called be-
cause they 've let out any thing during the examination,) are then
presented. Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 101.
A Hat Fellow-commoner is the son of a nobleman, a
baronet, or eldest son of a baronet, who wears the gown of
a Fellow-commoner with a hat, and is admitted to the de-
gree of A. M. after two years' residence.
FELLOW OF THE HOUSE. See under HOUSE.
FELLOWSHIP. An establishment in colleges, for the main-
tenance 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.
124 COLLEGE WORDS
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 Fel-
lowships of the House." Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I.
p. 279.
FELLOWS' ORCHARD. See TUTORS' PASTURE.
FERG. To lose the heat of excitement or passion ; to become
less angry, ardent; to cool. A correspondent from the Uni-
versity of Vermont, where this word is used, says : " If a
man gets angry, we 4 let himfergj 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.
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 mulcts began, at Harvard Col-
lege, 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 aggre-
gate of offences and punishments.
Absence from prayers, . . . . - ; 002
Tardiness at prayers, 001
Absence from Professor's public lecture, . . .004
Tardiness at do. ... 2
Profanation of Lord's day, not exceeding , . .030
Absence from public worship, . . . . . 009
Tardiness at do. 003
111 behavior at do. not exceeding . . 016
Going to meeting before bell-ringing, . . . .006
Neglecting to repeat the sermon, . . . . 009
Irreverent behavior at prayers, or public divinity lectures, 016
Absence from chambers, &c., not exceeding . . 006
Not declaiming, not exceeding 016
Not giving up a declamation, not exceeding . . 016
Absence from recitation, not exceeding . . .016
AND CUSTOMS. 125
.
Neglecting analyzing, not exceeding
Bachelors neglecting disputations, not exceeding .
Respondents neglecting do. from is. 6d. to
Undergraduates out of town without leave, not exceeding
Undergraduates tarrying out of town without leave, not
E
o
8.
3
1
3
2
1
d.
6
6
3
Undergraduates tarrying out of town one week without
10
Undergraduates tarrying out of town one month without
9,
10
Lodging strangers without leave, not exceeding
Entertaining persons of ill character, not exceeding
Going out of College without proper garb, not exceeding
Frequenting taverns, not exceeding ....
Profane cursing, not exceeding ....
Graduates playing cards, not exceeding
Undergraduates playing cards, not exceeding
Undergraduates playing any game for money, not exceeding
Selling and exchanging without leave, not exceeding
Lying, not exceeding .......
Opening door by pick-locks, not exceeding
1
1
1
2
5
2
1
1
1
5
1
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Liquors prohibited under penalty, not exceeding
1
3
6
Keeping prohibited liquors, not exceeding
1
6
fi
6
Going upon the top of the College, ....
Cutting off the lead, ......
Concealing the transgression of the 19th Law,* ' .
Tumultuous noises,
Second offence, ........
3
3
6
6
6
6
Rudeness at meals,
Butler and cook to keep utensils clean, not exceeding
Not lodging at their chambers, not exceeding
Sending Freshmen in studying time,
Keeping guns, and going on skating, ....
Firing guns or pistols in College yard,
Fighting or hurting any person, not exceeding
5
1
1
2
1
6
9
6
C
* In reference to cutting lead from the old College.
11
126 COLLEGE WORDS
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 mulcts, yet " they proposed
that, in lieu of an increase of mulcts, absences without justi-
fiable 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 pun-
ishment for disorders, confinement, and the performance of
exercises during its continuance, should be enjoined."
Quinces 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 ex-
ceeding two dollars, by the President ; all above two dollars,
by the President, Professors, and Tutors, at a meeting.
"Of fines," says President Woolsey, in his Historical Dis-
course 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 tardi-
ness or coming in after the introductory collect; of four-
pence 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 play-
ing at cards or dice, or for bringing strong liquor into Col-
lege ; 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 suc-
cession, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 127
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 Col-
lege 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 Col-
lege has but little tendency to better their hearts and reform
their manners ; that pecuniary impositions act only by touch-
ing 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 ne-
cessitous by fear of fine would be extremely cruel and un-
equal. 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 prac-
tice, 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 inappropri-
ate to mention the following occurrence, which is said to
have taken place at Harvard College.
Dr. , in propria persona, called x 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 reason-
ing." " 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
128 COLLEGE WORDS
who the learned author is ? " t * 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
sangfroid, " 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 't is just
the change, Sir," said the student, coolly.
FIRST-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng-
land, the title of First-Year Men, or Freshmen, is given to
students -during the first year of their residence at the Uni-
versity.
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 Jish. 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. 53.
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 "Jish " 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
AND CUSTOMS. 129
meaning of this word. " Any attempt to raise your stand-
ing by ingratiating yourself with the instructors, will not
only be useless, but dishonorable. Of course, in your inter-
course with the Professors and Tutors, you will not be want-
ing 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.
l One who attempts to ingratiate himself with his
FISHER. ) instructor, thereby to obtain favor or advantage ;
one who curries favor.
FISHING. The act performed by a. fisher.
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.
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 Pres-
ident 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
130 COLLEGE WORDS
animal." In many colleges in the United States, this word
is applied to a bad recitation, probably from the want of dis-
tinct 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 rep-
resent 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 envi-
able. 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 corre-
spondent from Williams College says : " Flunk is the com-
mon word when some unfortunate man makes an utter fail-
ure 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.
The verb to fizzle out, which is used at the West, has a
little stronger signification, viz. to 'be quenched, extin-
guished ; to prove a failure. BartleWs Diet. Ameri-
canisms.
The factious and revolutionary action of the fifteen has inter-
rupted the regular business of the Senate, disgraced the actors,
and fizzled out. Cincinnati Gazette.
AND CUSTOMS. 131
2. To cause one to fail in reciting. Said of an in-
structor.
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 reci-
tation.
Weather drizzling,
Freshmen fizzling.
Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 212.
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.
FLOP. A correspondent from the University of Vermont
writes : " Any 4 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 indi-
vidual declares that they ' are all on a side,' and gives up,
or 4 rolls over ' by giving his opponent ' gowdy.' " " A
man writes cards during examination to c feeze the profs ' ;
said cards are 'gumming cards,' and he flops the examina-
tion if he gets a good mark by the means." One usually
flops his marks by feigning sickness.
FLUMMUX. Any failure is called a flummux. In some col-
leges the word is particularly applied to a poor recitation.
At Williams College, a failure on the play-ground is called
& 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 did n't put it into Pokerville for two mor-
tal hours ; and perhaps Pokerville did n't mizzle, wince, and finally
flummix right beneath him. Field, Drama in Pokerville.
132 COLLEGE WORDS
FLUNK. This word is used in some American colleges to
denote a complete failure in recitation.
This, 0, [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 & flunk, or die,
Who, when John pleased be captious, dared reply.
Yak 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, tune,
Of tutors' note-books, and the morrow ' flunk.
Ibid., Feb., 1851.
The words flunk and funk are sometimes used to denote
any fault or failure.
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.
FLUNK. To make a complete failure when called on to re-
cite. 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. /. C. Neal.
FLUNKING. Failing completely in reciting.
Flunking so gloomily,
Crushed by contumely. x
Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIII. p. 322.
AND CUSTOMS. 133
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 GallinieriNov. 1848.
FOOTBALL. For many years, the game of football has
been the favorite amusement at some of the American col-
leges, 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 Col-
lege. 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 fa-
vor 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, Harvard iana, Yale Banger, &c.
See WRESTLING-MATCH.
FORENSIC. A written argument, maintaining either the af-
firmative 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 as-
signed 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 affirm-
ative 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
12
134 COLLEGE WORDS
of a forensic dispute, which has now been shortened into
forensic.
For every unexcused omission of a forensic, or of reading a foren-
sic, 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 lec-
tures, 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 Penn-
sylvania, the boarding-houses for the students are called/0rs.
FOUNDATION. A donation or legacy appropriated to sup-
port an institution, and constituting a permanent fund, usually
for a charitable purpose. Webster.
In America it is also applied to a donation or legacy ap-
propriated especially to maintain poor and deserving, or other
students at a college.
In the selection of candidates for the various beneficiary foun-
dations, 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 College, 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.
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.
AND CUSTOMS. 135
" Halloo there, Herdman, /<?#/" 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 morn-
ing, 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."
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 Fresh-
man. 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. Archaol. Attica, Edit. Oxon., 1675, B. VI.
FRESHMAN, pi. 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
Freshmen.
136 COLLEGE WORDS
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 al-
lowed 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 ofHarv. Coll., 1798, p. 61.
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 in-
scribed " 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 ap-
pointed for that purpose, " the class," writes a correspondent,
" form a procession, 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 mem-
ber 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 eve-
ning 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 Proc-
tors.
AND CUSTOMS. 137
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 mem-
ber 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 Fresh-
man Class who performs the official errands of the President,
for which he receives the same compensation as the PARIE-
TAL 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 mem-
ber 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
12*
138 COLLEGE WORDS
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. This is the name given by the
students to the laws of a college. 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.
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, ap-
pears at the present day strange and almost unaccountable.
That our forefathers had reasons which they deemed suffi-
cient, 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 cen-
tury, " no sooner had the President pronounced the conclud-
ing ' 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.
.
AND CUSTOMS. 139
"2. No Undergraduate shall wear his hat in the College yard
when any of the Governors of the College are there ; and no Bach-
elor 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 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 uncov-
ered 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 Gov-
ernment of the College) for any of his Seniors, Graduates or Un-
dergraduates, 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 Freshfrian 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 inquir-
ing who is there.
" 14. No scholar shall call up or down, to or from, any cham-
ber in the College.
"15. No scholar shall play football or any other game in the
College yard, or throw any thing across the yard.
140 COLLEGE WORDS
11 16. The Freshmen shall furnish bats, balls, and footballs for
the use of the students, to be kept at the Buttery.
" 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."
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 tuto-
ribus et collegii sociis exceptis, recentem sive juniorem, ad
itinerandum, aut ad aliud quodvis faciendum, minis, verberi-
bus, vel aliis modis impellere licebit. Et siquis non grada-
tus in hanc legem peccaverit, castigatione corporal i, expul-
sione, vel aliter, prout prsesidi cum sociis visum fuerit puni-
etur." 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 study-
ing hours, without leave from one of the Tutors, his own
Tutor if in College." Peirctfs 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 meet-
ing of the Corporation in Cambridge, March 27th, 1682,"
at which time notice was given that " great complaints have
AND CUSTOMS. 141
been made and proved against , for his abusive car-
riage, 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 rec-
ommended 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, inconven-
iences.' v 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.
Quinces 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 ser-
vices 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 fol-
lowing 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
142 COLLEGE WORDS
College if he did not comply with its regulations, he took up
his connections and returned home.
The following account of this system, as it formerly ob-
tained at Yale College, is from President Woolsey's Histor-
ical Discourse before the Graduates of that Institution, Aug.
14, 1850. " Another remarkable particular in the old sys-
tem 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 l 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 143
11 ' The Freshmen are forbidden to wear their hats in College yard
(except in stormy weather, or when they are obliged to carry some-
thing 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 ap-
pear 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 up-
per 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 detain-
ing 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 per-
son who sent them. When called, they shall attend and give a re-
spectful answer ; and when attending on their superior, they are
not to depart until regularly dismissed. They are responsible for
all damage done to any thing put into their hands by way of er-
rand. 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 with-
in 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 ban-
ister 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 enter-
ing 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
144 COLLEGE WORDS
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 Dec-
laration 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 ex-
empted from the duty of running upon errands in 1804."
pp. 54-56.
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 de-
mand, 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,
AND CUSTOMS. 145
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 follow-
ing 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.
FRESHMAN, TUTOR'S. In Harvard College, the Fresh-
man 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 Proc-
tor'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.
G.
GAS. To deceive ; to cheat.
Found that Fairspeech only wanted to "gas " me, which he did
pretty effectually. Sketches of Williams College, p. 72.
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
13
146 COLLEGE WORDS
days. But such days were held in all times, and did not
want a judge to invent them."
Corne,
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,
Wich like old plate upon a gaudy day,
's brought forth to make a show, and that is all.
Goblins, Old Play, X. 143.
2. An entertainment ; a treat.; a spree.
Cut lectures, go to chapel as little as possible, dine in hall sel-
dom more than once a week, give Gaudies and spreads. Gradus ad
Cantab., p. 122.
GENTLEMAN-COMMONER. The highest class of com-
moners at Oxford University. Equivalent to a Cambridge
Fellow- Commoner.
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 ap-
propriate ; 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.
Yak Banger, Nov., 1850.
Upon that night, in the broad street, was I by one of the brain-
deficient men gobbled. Yale Battery, Feb., 1850.
2. 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 147
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.
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. " Gonws,"
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.
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 sig-
nification 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.
148 COLLEGE WORDS
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. Har-
vardiana, 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
thy own window, when " creeping like snail unwillingly " to morn-
ing 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 149
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 a Goody, 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.
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 gov-
ernment 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 undergrad-
uates 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.
KuStore, mighty President ! ! !
KaXS/xej/ vvv the Government. Rebettiad, 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 Government of College met,
And Willard ruled the stern debate.
MS. Description of a Government Meeting in 1787, by J. Q. Adams.
GOWN. A long, loose upper garment or robe, worn by pro-
fessional men, as divines, lawyers, students, &c., who are
called men of tJie gown, or gownmen. It is made of any kind
13*
150. COLLEGE WORDS
of cloth worn over ordinary clothes, and hangs down to the
ankles, or nearly so. Enryc.
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. Co//., 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 menshave 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 Caesar's toga did enfold him. Ibid., p. 36.
2. One who wears a gown.
And here, I think, I may properly introduce a very singular gal-
lant, a sort of mongrel between town and gown, I mean a bib-
liopola, or (as the vulgar have it) a bookseller. The Student, Vol.
II. p. 226. Oxf. and Cam.
GOWNMAN, ) One whose professional habit is a gown,
GOWNSMAN. \ as a divine or lawyer, and particularly a
member of an English university. Webster.
The gownman learned. Pope.
For if townsmen by our influence are so enlightened, what must
we gownsmen be ourselves ? The Student, Vol. I. p. 56. Oxf.
and Cam.
GRACE. In English universities, an act, vote, or decree of
the government of the institution. Webster.
AND CUSTOMS. 151
GRADUATE. To honor with a degree or diploma, in a col-
lege 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 l the active sense of this word is rare in
England.' I have met with one instance in an English pub-
lication where it is used in a dialogue, in the following man-
ner: '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 academi-
cal degree ; to become a graduate ; as he graduated at
Oxford."
In America, the use of the phrase he was graduated, in-
stead of he graduated, which has been of late so common,
" is merely," says Mr. Bartlett in his Dictionary of American-
isms, " 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 grad-
uated. Ibid., Vol. II. p. 92.
Mr. Peirce was born in September, 1778 ; and, after being grad-
uated 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 per-
sons. Dr. Palfrey's Discourse on the Life and Character of Dr.
Ware.
2. Intransitively. To receive a degree from a college or
university.
152 COLLEGE WORDS
He graduated at Leyden in 1691. London Monthly Mag., Oct.,
1808, p. 224.
Wherever Magnol graduated. Rees's Cyclopedia, Art. MAGNOL.
GRADUATE. One who has received a degree in a college
or university, or from some professional incorporated soci-
ety. Webster.
GRADUATE IN A SCHOOL. A degree given in the Uni-
versity of Virginia, to those who have been through a course
of study less than is required for the degree of A. B.
GRADUATION. The act of conferring or receiving academ-
ical 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
nil. Hist. Sketch of Columbia Coll, p. 122.
Bachelors were called Senior, Middle, or Junior Bachelors accord-
ing to the year since graduation and before taking the degree of
Master. Woolseifs Hist. Disc., p. 122.
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 ora-
tion, 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 imme-
morial to hold a college meeting, and petition the President
for ' Gravel day." 1 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."
AND CUSTOMS. 153
GREAT GO. In the English universities the final and most
important examination is called the great go, in contradis-
tinction 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.
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 ladma, 1850, p. 12.
GROATS. At the English universities, " nine groats" says
Grose, in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, " are depos-
ited 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 them-
selves 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
154 COLLEGE WORDS
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 mis-
demeanor. A congregation of four was not esteemed an open,
avowed contempt of the laws of decency and propriety, prophesy-
ing 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 intoler-
able, unparalleled violation of every thing approaching the name of
order, absolute, downright shamelessness, worthy capital mark-
punishment, alias the loss of 87| 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 ex-
pressive 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.
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 ani-
mals 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 any thing they commanded
him, as to get under his bed, sit with his feet in a pail of
water," &c.
GULFING. In the University of Cambridge, England, " those
AND CUSTOMS. 155
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 hav-
ing their names inserted in the lists. This is called Gulf-
ing" A degree taken in this manner is called " an -ZEgro-
tat 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.
The verb to gum is also in very common use ; neither is
confined to college.
He was speaking of the " moon hoax " which " gummed " so
many learned philosophers. Yak Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 189.
GUMMATION. A trick ; raillery.
Our reception to college ground was by no means the most hos-
pitable, 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, as
scout is used at Oxford. Said to be a sportive application
of ytty, a vulture. Smart.
The word Gyp very properly characterizes them. Gradus ad
Cantab., p. 56.
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.
156 COLLEGE WORDS
H.
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 are 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 col-
leges, 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.
HARRY SOPHS, or HENRY SOPHISTERS ; in reality Hari-
sophs, a corruption of Erisophs (epto-o^o?, valde eruditus).
At Cambridge, England, students who have kept all the
terms required for a law act, and hence are ranked as Bach-
elors of Law by courtesy. Gradus ad Cantab.
See, also, Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 818.
HARVARD WASHINGTON CORPS. From a memoran-
dum 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, " Tarn 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
AND CUSTOMS. 157
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. Solo-
mon 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 3onor and the cap-
tain of the company. Mr. Frisbie, a Professor in the Col-
lege, 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 4 flag by angel-hands to valor
given'!" Within the last two years it has wholly disap-
peared from its accustomed resting-place. Though departed,
14
158 COLLEGE WORDS
its memory will be ever dear to those who saw it in its bet-
ter 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 Flail. The regular time for exercise was
after the evening commons. The drum would often beat be-
fore 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 pa-
raded and fired a salute ; Mr. Porter treated the company."
Again, on the 12th of May, same year, " H. W. Corps pa-
raded 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 hav-
ing 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 stude nts
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
AND CUSTOMS. 159
a writer in the Harvard Register, published in 1828, " to de-
termine 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 with-
out further notice. Who can tell what eagerness fills its
ranks on an Exhibition day ? with what spirit and bound-
ing 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 their 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.
160 COLLEGE WORDS
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 fiaze, to
dead, to spree, in one word, to be a Sophomore. Oration before
H. L. of 1. O. of O. F. t 1848, p. 11.
To him no orchard is unknown, no grape-vine unappraised,
Xo farmer's hen-roost yet unrobbed, no Freshman yet unhazed .'
Poem before Y. H., 1849, p. 9.
T T is the Sophomores rushing the Freshmen to haze.
Poem before ladma, 1850, p. 22
Never again
Leave unbolted your door when to rest you retire,
And, vnhazed and unmartyred, you proudly may scorn
Those foes to all Freshmen who 'gainst thee conspire.
liid^ p. 23.
The various means which are made use of in hazing the
Freshmen are enumerated in part below. In the first pas-
sage, 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 !
Harwrdiana, VoL HI. p. 254.
AND CUSTOMS. 161
A Freshman thus writes 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 key-holes, or throw a whole pailful on to one of us from the
upper windows. Harvardtana, Vol. III. p. 76.
HEADS OF HOUSES. The masters of the different col-
leges in the English universities are so called.
HEADS OUT. At Princeton College, the cry when any thing
occurs in the Campus. Used, also, to give the alarm when
a professor or tutor is about to interrupt a spree.
See CAMPUS.
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 dulness 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, hy William Biglow.
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, \. e. to become in-
toxicated, is allied with the above expression.
Or men " get high " by drinking abstract toddies ?
Cfulde 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 estab-
lished charter and custom. Oxf. and Cam. Cals.
HISS. To condemn by hissing.
This is a favorite method, especially among students,
14*
162 COLLEGE tVORDS
of expressing their disapprobation of any person or meas-
ure.
I '11 tell you what ; your crime is this,
That, Touchy, you did scrape and hiss.
Eebelliad, 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.
HOE IN. At Hamilton College, to strive vigorously ; a met-
aphorical 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 the 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.
HOLD INS. At Bowdoin College, "near the commence-
ment 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. Pingo to cut a number of emblematical
devices, such as the caduceus of Mercury, the wand of
^Esculapius, the owl, the cap of liberty, &c. ; and these
AND CUSTOMS. 163
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 point-
ed out the works of eloquence, and the wand of ^Esculapius
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."
HONORS. In American colleges, the principal honors are
appointments as speakers at Exhibitions and Commence-
ments. 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 Col-
lege, in the order in which they are usually assigned : Val-
edictory 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 schol-
ar. Latin or Greek poems or orations or English poems
sometimes form a part of the exercises, and may be as-
signed, 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 Ora-
tions, 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.
164 COLLEGE WORDS
HOOD. An ornamental 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, Vol. I. p. 349, Oxf. and Cam.
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 con-
tinued as long as prudence and safety allow.
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
designates certain persons to whom he refers as " Fellows
AND CUSTOMS. 165
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 Vas settled, when
one Whiting, " who had been for several years known as
Tutor and 4 Fellow of the House,' but had never in conse-
quence been deemed or pretended to be a member of the
Corporation, was admitted to a seat in that board."
Quinces Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. pp. 278, 279.
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 study 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 adilitus of the
Latin laws, before the institution of Berkeley's scholar-
ships which had the same title, was a kind of sedile 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.
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 man-
ner of the national House, for the purpose of becoming
acquainted with the forms and manner of legislation. The
following account has been funished 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
166 COLLEGE WORDS
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 impor-
tance and responsibility of the future position of the Sopho-
mores.
"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 com-
mittee, 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 Soph-
omores, announcing to them their election to the high posi-
tion 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 ac-
cording 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 com-
mon to the National House, the number of each, however,
being less. Business then follows, as described in Jeffer-
AND CUSTOMS. 1G7
son'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."
See SENATE.
HUMANIST. One who pursues the study of the humanities
(litera humaniores), or polite literature; a term used in
various European universities, especially the Scotch.
Brande.
HUMANITY, pi. HUMANITIES. In the plural signifying
grammar, rhetoric, the Latin and Greek languages, and
poetry ; for teaching which there are professors in the Eng-
lish and Scotch universities. Encyc.
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
Of ""Apia-rot, 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.
IMPOSITION. In the English universities, a supernumerary
exercise enjoined on students as a punishment.
168 COLLEGE WORDS
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 attend-
ances 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 deserv-
ing rustication, I have known a whole book of Thucydides given
to translate, or the Ethics of Aristotle to analyze, when the of-
fender 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 some-
times two or three hundred lines to repeat by heart. This is ruin
to the barber. Collegian's Guide, pp. 159, 160.
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 pre-
vious to incepting. Cambridge Calendar.
INCEPTOR. One who has proceeded to the degree of A. M.,
but who, not enjoying all the privileges of A. M. 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 de-
ferred 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
Anglia : tibique trado hunc Jibrum una cum potestate pub-
lice profitendi, ubicunque ad hoc munus publice evocatus
fueris. Ibid., Vol. I. p. 580.
AND CUSTOMS. 169
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 accus-
tomed 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 Rowes, 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 fol-
lows : " I believe several of the colleges have various ex-
ercises of initiating Freshmen. Ours is done by the
4 United Fraternity,' one of our library societies (they are
neither of them secret), which gives out word that the initia-
tion is a fearful ceremony. It is simply every kind of oper-
ation 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
15
170 COLLEGE WORDS
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 communica-
tion, 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 speci-
fied 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 mid-
night bell for breakfast. The ' Callithumpians ' (in this In-
stitution a regularly organized company), ' Squallinaders,'
or 4 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 exist-
ence. 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, tech-
nically ' Green Alley,' terminating with a brick wall, inform-
ing 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 com-
pletely 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 to-
wards 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
AND CUSTOMS. 171
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 same
office existed in Harvard College, and was held by one of the
members of the College government. His duty was to ex-
amine 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 re-
pairs to be made as were in his opinion proper. The
same duties are now performed by the Superintendent of
Public Buildings. Laws Yak Coll, 1837, p. 22. Laws
Harv. Coll, 1814, p. 58, and 1848, p. 29.
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 ladma, 1850, p. 20.
Sometimes written Interliner.
Ponies, Interhners, Ticks, Screws, and Deads (these are all col-
lege verbalities) were all put under contribution. A Tour through
College, p. 25. Boston, 1832.
INTON1TANS BOLUS. Greek, ps>\os, a lump. Latin,
bolus, a bit, a morsel. English, bolus, a mass of any thing
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 corre-
spondent, " 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
172 COLLEGE WORDS
of valor, he was permitted to take it from its possessor if he
could. In later years the club presented a very curious ap-
pearance ; 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. It has disappeared
within the last ten or fifteen years, and its hiding-place, even
if it. is in existence, is not known.
See BULLYISM.
J.
JACK-KNIFE. At Harvard College it has long been the cus-
tom for the ugliest member of the Senior Class to receive
from his classmates a Jack-knife, as a reward or conso-
lation 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 Uni-
versity, 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* has my knife,
During his natural college life ;
That knife, which ugliness inherits,
And due to his superior merits,
* 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 173
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 Leo-
minster, 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, immediate-
ly transferred to his columns with this introductory note :
" Having, in the second number of ' Omnium Gatherum ' pre-
sented to our readers the last will and testament of Charles
Chatterbox, Esq., of witty memory, wherein the said Charles,
now deceased, did lawfully bequeathe 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 in-
sert 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 fam-
ily of the 4 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 * orders,
Descending to time's utmost borders,
* Mr. Biglow was known in college by the name of Sawney,
15*
174 COLLEGE WORDS
To noblest bard of homeliest phiz,
To have and hold and use, as his ;
I now present C s P y S r,*
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. 231, 270.
Tradition asserts that the original Jack-knife was termi-
nated 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
and was thus frequently addressed by his familiar friends in after
life.
* Charles Pinckney Sumner, afterwards a lawyer in Boston, and for
many years sheriff of the county of Suffolk.
AND CUSTOMS. 175
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.
JOE. A name given at Yale and Hamilton Colleges to a
privy. The following account of Joe-Burning is by a cor-
respondent from Hamilton College : u On the night of the
5th of November, every year, the Sophomore Class burn
4 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 l 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, with-
out saddle or bridle. The burning continues usually until
daylight."
Ponamus Convivium
Josephi in locum,
Et id uremus.
Convivii Exsequice y Hamilton Co/7., 1850.
JUN. Abbreviated for Junior.
The target for all the venomed darts of rowdy Sophs, magnifi-
cent Juns, and lazy Senes. The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.
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.
176 COLLEGE WORDS
JUNIOR. Noting the third year of the collegiate course in
American colleges, or the first year in the theological sem-
inaries. 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 as-
signed. 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."
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 com-
mencement in the Summer vacation. Laws of Ham. Coll., 1798,
p. 19.
K.
KEEP. To lodge, live, dwell, or inhabit. This word, though
formerly used extensively, is now confined to colleges and
universities.
Inquire of any body you meet in the court of a college at Cam-
bridge 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. Fork's Vocabulary, Vol. II. p. 178.
AND CUSTOMS. 177
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 Shakspeare : " 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 pro-
ceeding 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 man-
ners, 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 term." Household
Words, Vol. II. p. 161.
To keep a term, in universities, is to reside during a
term. Webster.
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 vict-
uals 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.
178 COLLEGE WORDS
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 fre-
quently with being ' confined to gates,' or being forbidden to
4 knock? in ' or come in after nine o'clock for a week or
more, sometimes all the term." p. 161.
KNUCKS. From KNUCKLES. At some of the Southern col-
leges, a game at marbles called Knucks is a common diver-
sion among the students.
L.
LANDSMANNSCHAFT. German. The name of an asso-
ciation 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 Ameri-
can 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 ora-
tory or such like, they be called to make them in English.'
This law appears upon the records of the College in the
AND CUSTOMS. 179
Latin as well as in the English language. The terms in
the former are indeed less restrictive and more practical :
'Scholares vernacula lingua, intra Collegii limit.es, nullo
pretextu utentur.' There is reason to believe that those
educated at the College, and destined for the learned profes-
sions, 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 instruc-
tion 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 Oilman, Thomas Toppan, Edward Walker, Samuel
Barrett presented themselves before the Board, and pro-
nounced in the respective characters assigned them a dia-
logue 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 Woolsey remarks, in his Historical Discourse :
" With regard to practice in the learned languages, par-
ticularly the Latin, it is prescribed that ' no scholar shall
use the English tongue in the College with his fellow-schol-
ars, unless he be called to a public exercise proper to be
attended in the English tongue, but scholars in their cham-
bers, 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,
180 COLLEGE WORDS
except on the part of those who were candidates for Berk-
leian 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 merri-
ment of his auditors." p. 182.
The story is current of one of the old Presidents of Har-
vard 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."
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 uni-
versity, together with a wreath of laurel ; an honor bestowed
on thdse who excelled in writing verse. This was an an-
AND CUSTOMS. 181
cient practice at Oxford, from which, probably, originated
the denomination of poet laureate. War ton.
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
16
182 COLLEGE WORDS
Trustees ordaining, that, ' until they should provide further,
the Rector or Tutors should make use of the orders and in-
stitutions 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 Trus-
tees went no farther than to provide for the religious educa-
tion of the College, and to give to the College officers the
power of imposing extraordinary school exercises or degra-
dation 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 sub-
scribed. 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
o'rder of the legislature. That honorable body, being impor-
tuned to extend aid to the College, not long after the time
when President Clap's measures had excited no inconsider-
able 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 mys-
teries which it sealed up from some of the members, they
ordered the code to be translated. From that time the num-
berless 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 universi-
ties, but especially the University of Oxford. The other
colleges which were founded before the Revolution, viz.
New Jersey College, Columbia College, Pennsylvania Uni-
versity, Brown University, Dartmouth, and Rutgers College,
AND CUSTOMS. 183
" 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 viva
voce. Brande.
In American colleges, lectures form a part of the colle-
giate 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.
LEM. At Williams College, a privy.
LETTER HOME. A writer in the American Literary Mag-
azine, thus explains and remarks upon the custom of pun-
ishing students by sending a letter to their parents : "In
some institutions, there is what is called the 4 letter home,''
which, however, in justice to professors and tutors in gen-
eral, 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 heart-
rending epistle, addressed, not to himself, but to his anxious
father or guardian at home. The document is always con-
ceived in a spirit of severity, in order to make it likely to
take effect. It is meant to be impressive, less by the hei-
nousness 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
184 COLLEGE WORDS
indited, not because it is understood, but because it is mis-
understood and exaggerated by the recipient. While the
student considers it a farcical proceeding, it is a leaf of trag-
edy 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. 369.
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.
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 appro-
bation of the Master and Fellows so to do. Gradus ad
Cantab.
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 examina-
tion ; 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 185
LIBERTY TREE. At Harvard College, a tree which for-
merly stood between Massachusetts and Harvard Halls re-
ceived, about the year 1760, the name of the Liberty Tree,
on an occasion which is mentioned in Hutchinson's posthu-
mous volume of the History of Massachusetts Bay. " The
spirit of liberty," says he, " spread where it was not intended.
The Undergraduates at Harvard College had been long used
to make excuses for absence from prayers and college ex-
ercises ; 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 ex-
ercises, 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 lib-
erty ! 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 an-
other 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 Col-
lege ; and the scholars were brought to a sense and ac-
16*
186 COLLEGE WORDS
knowledgment of their fault, and a stop was put to the re-
volt." 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 proba-
ble that this was the case even at an earlier date. At pres-
ent 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 Com-
mencement,) after cheering the buildings, to encircle this
tree, and, with hands joined, to sing their favorite ballad,
" Auld Lang Syne." They then dance around it, and after-
wards 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 '11 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 CUSTOMS. 187
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 accompany-
ing lines will show, written in commemoration of the Rebel-
lion of 1819.
"Wreaths to the chiefs who our rights have defended ;
Hallowed and blessed be the Liberty Tree :
Where Lenox * 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,^ 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.
LITERARY CONTESTS. At Jefferson College, in Penn-
sylvania, " 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
* A black man who sold pies and cakes.
t Written after a general pruning of the trees around Harvard College.
188 COLLEGE WORDS
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 insti-
tution."
At Washington College, in Pennsylvania, the contest per-
formances are conducted upon the same principle as at Jef-
ferson.
LL. B. An abbreviation for Legum Baccalaureus, Bachelor of
Laws. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., a Bachelor of
Laws must be an A. B. of six years' standing, and must keep
the greater part of several terms. The exercise is one act.
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 col-
leges are regulated on this point by different rules, but in
many the degree of LL. B. is given to an A. B. 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 the University of Cambridge, Eng., a Doctor of Laws
must be an LL. B. of five years' standing ; or an A. M. of
seven. The exercises are two acts and one opponency. In
American colleges, this degree is honorary, and is 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 ex-
amination by the Professor and another Doctor in the Faculty.
LOAF. At Princeton College, to borrow any thing, whether
returning it or not ; usually in the latter sense.
LONG EAR. At Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, a student
of a sober or religious character is denominated a long ear.
The opposite is short ear.
AND CUSTOMS. 189
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 Deduc-
tions." 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 con-
dition, 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, was 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 Hoi-
worthy Hall, at an expense of about $ 24,500, the lottery
having produced about $ 29,000. Quincy^s Hist.ofHarv.
Univ., Vol. II. pp. 162, 273, 292.
M.
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 intran-
sitively. 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.
190 COLLEGE WORDS
sleeping, a luxury, however, which is sadly dimin-
ished by the anticipated necessity of making up back lessons.
Ilarv. 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. Gra-
dus 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 tyran-
nical 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.
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, Vol. I. p. 115., Oxf. and Cam.
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 Cor-
poration, 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 under-
graduates shall be uncovered in the College yard when any
of the Overseers, the President or Fellows of the Corpo-
ration, or any other concerned in the government or instruc-
AND CUSTOMS. 191
tion of the College, are therein, and Bachelors of Art 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 fol-
lowing:
" 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 Bach-
elor 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 observ-
ance was enforced with the greatest strictness. After the
Kevolution, the spirit of the people had become more re-
publican, 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 stu-
dents from wearing hats in the College yard," a vote passed
repealing it. Quincy" 1 ^ Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. II. p. 278.
" In connection with the subject of discipline," says Pres-
ident Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse before the Gradu-
ates 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, is to be referred back to the English uni-
versities. Thus the Oxford laws require that juniors shall
show all due and befitting reverence to seniors, that is, un-
dergraduates to Bachelors, they to Masters, Masters to Doc-
tors, 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
192 COLLEGE WORDS
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 regu-
lations 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 per-
son." 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 Col-
lege : " 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, howev-
er, 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 afterward rose to the honorable rank of
Chief Justice of the United States, and to many other ele-
vated 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 per-
AND CUSTOMS. 193
versity, and told that this was not a hat within the meaning
and intent of the law, which he was required to do his obei-
sance 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 supe-
riors 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 alterna-
tive remained to him but to resume his full-brimmed beaver,
and to comply literally with the enactments of the collegiate
pandect." pp. 179, 180.
MARK. The figure given to denote the quality of a recita-
tion. In most colleges the merit of each performance is ex-
pressed 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 re-
main as a member of college. At Yale the marks range
from zero to four. Two is the average, arid 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,
for omitted lessons made up by permission, and of the
marks given for examination by the instructor and the ex-
amining committee at the close of the term." From the
aggregate of these numbers deductions are made for delin-
quencies unexcused, and the result is the rank of the student,
17
194 COLLEGE WORDS
according to which his appointment (if he receives one) is
given. Laws yniv. at Cam., Mass, 1848.
That 's the way to stand in college
High in " mar&s," and want of knowledge !
Childe Harvard, p. 154.
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 are
required to run a pin through the names of those present.
MARSHAL. In the University of Oxford, an officer who is
usually in attendance on one of the proctors. Collegian's
Guide.
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 occu-
pied in the College buildings. One of the most splendid
entertainments of this kind was given by Mr. Kirkland, after-
wards 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 caus-
ing much sport, and not unfrequently much mischief.
MASTER. The president of a college. This word is used
in England, and was formerly in use in this country, in this
sense.
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, Mas-
ter of Arts. Webster..
AND CUSTOMS. 195
They, likewise, which peruse the questiones published by the
Masters. Mather's Magnolia, B. IV. pp. 131, 132.
MASTER OF THE KITCHEN. In Harvard College, a per-
son 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 " dis-
creet and capable." Laws of Harv. Coll., 1814, p. 42.
MASTER'S QUESTION. A proposition advanced by a can-
didate 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 pro-
ceeded Masters, to maintain in public questions or proposi-
tions 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, " Quaestiones in
Philosophia Discutiendre in comitiis per Inceptores
in artibfus]. In 1669 the title was changed to " Qusestio-
nes pro modulo discutiendse per inceptores." The
last Masters' questions were presented at the Commence-
ment in 1789. The next year Masters' exercises were sub-
stituted, 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 Col-
lege, from 1787 onwards, there were no Masters' valedic-
tories, nor syllogistic disputes in Latin, and in 1793 there
were no Masters' 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
19G COLLEGE WORDS
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 stu-
dents, times of entrance into college, remarks on their char-
acter, &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.
bid., 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. Wot.ton.
In July, 1778, he was examined at that university, and matricu-
lated. 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 ad-
mitted 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 ad-
mitting 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
AND CUSTOMS. 197
the college ceases. As a punishment, the matriculation cer-
tificate of a student is sometimes taken from him, and dur-
ing the time in which he is unmatriculated, he is under espe-
cial probation, and disobedience to college laws is then pun-
ished 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, Cam-
bridge, England, is always known and spoken of by Eng-
lishmen.
The " Maudlin Men " were at one time so famous for tea-drink-
ing, 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 Col-
lege, 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.
See MERIT ROLL.
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 conse-
quence, but they finally concluded to train. At the ap-
pointed time and place, they made their appearance armed
cap'ti-pie for grotesque deeds, some on foot, some on horse,
with banners and music appropriate, and altogether present-
ing 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 offthe ground by the commanding officer. They were
never called upon again, but the day is still commemorated."
M. B. An abbreviation for Medicina Baccalaureus, Bachelor
of Physic. At Cambridge, England, an M. B. must keep
17*
198 COLLEGE WORDS
the greater part of nine several terms, and may be admitted
any time after the sixth year from the degree of A. B. The
exercises are one act and one opponency. At Oxford, Eng-
land, the degree is given to an A. M. of one year's standing.
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 Medicina Doctor, Doctor of Physic.
At Cambridge, England, an M. D. is bound to the same
regulations as an LL. D. At Oxford, an M. D. must be an
M. B. of three years' standing. The exercises are three dis-
tinct lectures, to be read on three different days. In Ameri-
can 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, ) A name sometimes given to a student in medi-
MEDIC. \ cine.
Seniors, Juniors, Freshmen blue,
And medics sing the anthem too.
Yale Banger, Nov., 1850.
MEDALIST. In universities, colleges, &c., one who has gained
a medal as the reward of merit. Ed. Rev. Gradus ad
Cantab.
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 its
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 exer-
AND CUSTOMS. 199
cises. 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 sin-
gular 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 ad-
mission. The strangest questions were asked by the ven-
erable 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 in-
vited, 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 anxieties 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
200 COLLEGE WORDS
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 sub-
jects 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.,* 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 ren-
dered Filius Steti."
A graduate of the class of 1828 writes : * 4 1 well remem-
ber 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 examina-
tion that I was made Professor longis extremitalibus, 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
* DOCTOR OF MEDICINE or STUDENT OF MEDICINE.
AND CUSTOMS. 201
enter the houses of the inhabitants of Cambridge, unbidden,
though not always unwelcome guests. This practice, how-
ever, 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 Tri-
ennial 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 Medieinse in Universitate Harvardiana consti-
tuta, Cantabrigise in Republica Massachusettensi. Canta-
brigise : Sumptibus Societatis. MDCCCXXXIII. Sanguinis
circulations post patefactionem Anno CCV."
The Prefaces of 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.
11 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 counte-
nance.
" 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
202 COLLEGE WORDS
language, and therefore unintelligble. 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 Med-
ical 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 Joco-
sorum) ; 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 significa-
tion, the word ' medical ' having the same force as * sanative ' (sa-
nans), 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. Profes-
sors 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 re-
markable 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
AND CUSTOMS. 203
for all, declare that, of all societies, this is the most ancient, the
most extensive, the most learned, and the most divine. We estab-
lish 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 per-
fection ; in this respect alone they agree with us, in admitting
only the masculine gender (' masc. gen.').*
" 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 in-
structed on these points, I will not longer detain you from the book
and the picture.t 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.
* Referring to the masks and disguises worn by the members at
their meetings.
+ A picture representing an examination and initiation into the So-
ciety, fronting the title-page of the Catalogue.
204 COLLEGE WORDS
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 mat-
ters 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 rem-
edies. 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.*
" 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 Uni-
versity) 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
* 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 205
will show with how much fidelity we have performed the task im-
posed 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 Haytise quondam, M. D. Med.
Fac. honorarius." *
" Gulielmus Cobbett, qui ad Angliam ossa Thomse Paine
ferebat, M. D. Med. Fac. honorarius." t
"Johannes-Cleaves Symmes, qui in terrse ilia penetravissit,
M. D. Med. Fac. honorarius." J
" ALEXANDER I. Russ. Imp. Illust. et Sanct. Feed, et Mass.
Pac. Soc. Socius, qui per Legat. American, claro Med. Fac.,
4 curiositatem raram et archaicam^ regie transmisit, 1824,
M. D. Med. Fac. honorarius."
"ANDREAS JACKSON, Major-General in bello ultimo Amer-
icano, et Nov. Orleans Heros fortissimus ; et ergo nunc Prae-
sidis Rerumpub. Feed, rnuneris candidatus et 'Old Hickory,'
M. D. et M. U. D. 1827, Med. Fac. honorarius, et 1829 Pra-
ses Rerumpub. Feed., et LL. D. 1833."
" Gulielmus Emmons, Prsenominatus Pickleius, qui orator
eloquentissimus nostrse setatis ; poma, nuces, panem-zingibe-
ris, suas orationes, ' Egg-popque ' vendit, D. M. Med. Fac.
honorarius." II
* Christophe, the black Prince of Hayti.
t It is said he carried the bones of Tom Paine, the infidel, to Eng-
land, to make money by exhibiting " them, but some difficulty arising
about the duty on them, he threw them overboard.
t He promulgated a theory that the earth was hollow, and that
there was an entrance to it at the North Pole.
Alexander the First of Russia was elected a member, and, suppos-
ing the society to be an honorable one, forwarded to it a valuable pres-
ent.
|| 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 deliv-
18
206 COLLEGE WORDS
" Day et Martin, Angli, qui per quinquaginta annos toto
Christiano Orbi et prsecipue Univ. Harv. optimum Real
Japan Atramentum ab 'XCVII. Aha Holbornia' submini-
strarunt, M. D. et M. U. D. Med. Fac. honorarius."
" Samuel Patch, socius multum deploratus, qui multa ex-
perimenta 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
4 obumbrati ' sunt et Med. Fac. honorarii."
" MARTIN VAN BUREN, Armig. Civitatis Scriba Reipub.
Feed, apud Aul. Brit. Legat. Extraord. sibi constitutus. Reip.
Nov. Ebor. Gub. 4 Don Whiskerandos ' ; ; Little Dutchman ' ;
atque 'Great Rejected.' Nunc (1832), Rerumpub. Feed.
Vice-Prseses et l Kitchen Cabinet' Moderator, M. D. et Med.
Fac. honorarius."
" Magnus Serpens Marls, suppositus, aut porpoises aut
horse-mackerel, grex ; i 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." *
" Capt. Basil Hall, Tabitha Trollope, atque Isaacus Fid-
dler 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. Honorariww."
A college poet thus laments the fall of this respected so-
ciety :
ered, from his cart on Boston Common, from which he sold various
articles.
* Tibbets, a gambler, was attacked by Snelling through the columns
of the New England Galaxy.
AND CUSTOMS. 207
" 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? *
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 any thing 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.
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 Prejitiss, in Rural Repository, 1795.
Many years ago, some of the students of Harvard College,
* Referring to the degree given to the Russian Alexander, and the
present received in return.
208 COLLEGE WORDS
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 re-
plied 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 at 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."
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 exer-
cise. 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 209
Who never misses declamation,
Nor cuts a stupid recitation.
Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 263.
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 an-
nounce 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 ex-
hibition ; 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 con-
ceited 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 Com-
mencements when degrees are conferred.
They had their weekly declamations on Friday, in the Colledge
Hall, besides publick disputations, which either the President or the
Fellows moderated. Mather's Magnolia, B. IV. p. 127.
Mr. Mather moderated at the Masters' disputations. Hutchin-
son's Hist, of Mass., Vol. I. p. 175, note.
Mr. Andrew moderated at the Commencements. Clap's Hist, of
Yale Coll., p. 15.
18*
210 COLLEGE WORDS
Mr. Woodbridge moderated at Commencement, 1723. Wool-
sey's Hist. Disc., p. 103.
MODERATOR. In the English universities, one who super-
intends 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. Wood-
bridge acted as Moderator. Clap's Hist, of Yale Coll., p. 27.
He [the President] was occasionally present at the weekly decla-
mations 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 '11 lie in bed and take our ease.
Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 123.
MOONLIGHT. At Williams College, the prize rhetorical ex-
ercise 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.
MOONLIGHT RANGERS. At Jefferson College, in Penn-
sylvania, 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
AND CUSTOMS. 211
are all required to have instruments which will make the
loudest noise and create the greatest excitement.
MOSS-COVERED HEAD. In the German universities, stu-
dents during the sixth and last term, or semester, are called
Moss-covered Heads, or, in an abbreviated form, Mossy
Heads.
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 recita-
tion-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.
MUS. B. An abbreviation for Musica Baccalaureus. Bache-
lor 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 Musicce, 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.
212 COLLEGE WORDS
It might perhaps suit some inveterate idlers, smokers, and drink-
ers, but no true son of the Muses. Yale Lit. Mag. y Vol. XV. p. 3.
While it was his earnest desire that the beloved sons of the Muses
might leave the institution enriched with the erudition, &c. Judge
Kent's Address before *. B. K. of Yale Coll, p. 39, 1831.
N.
NAVY CLUB. The Navy Club, or the Navy, as it was for-
merly called, originated among the students of Harvard Col-
lege 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 ascer-
tained which led to its formation. At a later period its ob-
ject 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 ap-
pointments 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 jol-
liest 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
AND CUSTOMS. 213
woods, near the place where the house 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 np 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, at-
tended 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 often 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 they 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
214 COLLEGE WORDS
the society. The excursion down the harbor was omitted
for the first time the present year, 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 com-
posed 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 descrip-
tion ; the Chaplain, the most profane ; the Surgeon, a dab-
bler in surgery, or in medicine, or any thing else ; the En-
sign, 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 con-
stitute 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 mem-
bers 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 doorway 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 ap-
pointments, have refused to resign their trusts in the Navy
AND CUSTOMS. 215
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 Ad-
miral 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 Jn 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'* 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
t ALL SIZES ' on the other. This shovel was about two
feet square. The idea of carrying real, bona fde spades
* See DIG. In this case, those who had parts at two Exhibitions are
thus designated.
216 COLLEGE WORDS
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 oovers. The Surgeon rode a beast which " '.might well
have been taken for the Rosinante of the world-renowned
Don Quixote. This worthy -iEsculapius 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, pqsts, &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."
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 Univer-
sity 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 de-
grees," says Grose, in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar
Tongue, " the students proceed to the schools, to be ques-
tioned 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.
AND CUSTOMS. 217
" Ques. Who was your father ? Ans. I do not know.
" The last is probably the only true answer of the three ! "
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.
NON ENS. Latin ; literally, not being. At the University of
Cambridge, England, one who has not been matriculated,
though he has resided some time at the University ; conse-
quently is not considered as having any being. A Freshman
in embryo. Gradus ad Cantab.
NON PARA VI. Latin ; literally, I have not prepared.
When Latin was spoken in the American colleges, this ex-
cuse was commonly given by a scholar not prepared for
recitation.
With sleepy eyes and count'nance heavy,
With much excuse of non paravi.
Trumbuirs Progress of Dulness, 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, England, the term in which a
negative vote is given in the Senate-House.
NON-READING MAN. See READING MAN.
NON-REGENT. In the English universities, a term applied
to those Masters of Arts whose regency has ceased.
Webster.
See REGENT.
NON-TERM. " When any member of the Senate," says the
19
218 COLLEGE WORDS
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 de-
linquents 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.
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 Univer-
sity of Vermont.
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
AND CUSTOMS. 219
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 Canta-
brigiam, " is, in the modern phrase, to exclude duns, or
other unpleasant intruders." It generally signifies, how-
ever, 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 every thing was last placed. Col-
legian'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 alle-
giance and abjuration appointed by the Parliament of Eng-
land. In his Discourse before the Graduates' of Yale Col-
lege, 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 declara-
tion, appointed by an act of Parliament made in the first
year of George the First, entitled, An Act for the further
220 COLLEGE WORDS
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 oc-
curred 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. *
Oi'Apioroi. Greek ; literally, the bravest. At Princeton Col-
lege, the aristocrats, or would-be aristocrats, are so called.
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.
AND CUSTOMS. 221
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."
OPTIME. The title of those who stand in the second rank of
honors, immediately after the wranglers, in the University
of Cambridge, England. They are divided into senior and
junior optimes. Webster.
See POLLOI.
OVERSEER. The general government of the colleges in
the United States is vested in some instances in a Corpora-
tion, 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 con-
nected with it, to ratify the appointment of instructors, and
to hear such reports of the proceedings of the college gov-
ernment 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 pas-
sage.
My back equipped, it was not fair
My head should 'scape, and so, as square
As chessboard,
19*
222 COLLEGE WORDS
A cap I bought, my skull to screen,
Of cloth without, and all within
Of pasteboard .
Terrce-Filius, Vol. II. p. 225.
Thunders of clapping ! As he bows, on high
" Prases " his " Oxford " doffs, and bows reply.
Childe Harvard, p. 36.
It is sometimes called a trencher cap, from its shape.
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.
P.
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 parti-
tion-wall, from the root of part or pare. Pertaining to a
wall. Weoster.
AND CUSTOMS. 223
*
At Harvard College the officers resident within the Col-
lege 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 al-
lowed 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 parietal 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, Parielals.
Four rash and inconsiderate proctors, two tutors, and five parie-
tals, 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 parietals would forget themselves.
Ibid., Vol. III. p. 399 et passim.
Did not thy starting eyeballs think to see
Some goblin parietal 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 parietals.
Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 44.
Reckon on the fingers of your mind the reprimands, deductions,
parietals, and privates in store for you. Oral. H. L. of L 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.
224 COLLEGE WORDS
PART. That which is assigned to a student to be performed
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
disperse, except when the mock parts are read, or the offi-
cers of the Navy Club resign their trusts.
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.
Often, too, the qualifications for a part are discussed in
the fireside circles so peculiar to college. Harv. Reg., p. 378.
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 A. B.
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 MAN. At Oxford, one who merely passes his exam-
ination, and obtains testimonials for a degree, but is not able
to obtain any honors or distinctions. Opposed to CLASS-
MAN, q. v.
" Have the passmen done their paper work yet? " asked Whit-
bread. " However, 1 the schools, I dare say, will not be open to the
classmen till Monday." Collegian's Guide, p. 309.
AND CUSTOMS. 225
PATRON. At some of the colleges in the United States, the
patron is appointed to take charge of the funds, and to regu-
late the expenses, of students who reside at a distance. For-
merly, 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 Philosophies Doctor, Doctor of
Philosophy. " In the German universities," says Brande,
" the title ' Doctor Philosophise ' 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, 1 can reach
The height of my ambition, I must peach.
The Gallinipper, Dec., 1849.
PENE. Latin, almost, nearly. A candidate for admission to
the Freshman Class is called a Pene, that is, almost a Fresh-
man.
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 de-
rived 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 JEngl., D. 3.
PENSIONER. French, pensionnaire, one who pays for his
board. In the University of Cambridge, England, and in
that of Dublin, a student of the second rank, who is not de-
pendent 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.
226 COLLEGE WORDS
PHI BETA KAPPA. The fraternity of the * B K " was im-
ported," says Allyn in his Ritual, " into this country from
France, in the year 1776 ; and, as it is said, by Thomas Jef-
ferson, 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 rnotto indi-
cate, 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 in-
quiring into its nature and design.' The subject occasioned
considerable debate, and a petition, of the nature of a com-
plaint 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 exer-
tion which have ever been held out to the students by the
AND CUSTOMS. 227
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 esti-
mates of the Faculty of the College, and of generally re-
garding those estimates. Having gradually increased in
numbers, popularity, and importance, the day after Com-
mencement 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 stfciety at Cambridge
were formerly accustomed to hold semi-monthly meetings,
the exercises of which were such as are usual in literary as-
sociations. 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 in-
itials of its motto, <S>iAoo-o$ia, Biov Kv/Sepi^TTjs-, Philosophy, the
Guide of Life.
A further account of this society may be found in Allyn's
Ritual of Freemasonry, pp. 296 - 302, ed. 1831.
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.
Unt> (?at t>er SDurfcfc tetn ett> im &eute(,
(So pumpt cr t>ie ^iti^er an.
And has the Bursch his cash expended ?
To sponge the Philistine 's his plan.
The Crambambuli Song.
228 COLLEGE WORDS
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 narrow-
mindedness, a contracted mode of thinking and meanness,
is usually connected with it, and in some colleges in the
tlnited States the name has been given to those whose
characters correspond with this description.
See SNOB.
PHRASING. Reciting by, or giving the words or phrase-
ology of the book, without understanding their meaning.
Never should you allow yourself to think of going into the reci-
tation-room, and there trust to " skinning it," as it is called in
some colleges, or "phrasing," as in others. Todd's Student's
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, Vol. II. p. 49. London, 1827.
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 congratula-
tion 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
tfie Author of the best composition of the following several
kinds : 1. A Latin Oration. 2. A Latin Poem, in hexame-
ters. 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.
u The candidates are to be, all, Gentlemen who are now
AND CUSTOMS. 229
members of said College, or have taken a degree within sev-
en 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 Ber-
nard 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
20
230 COLLEGE WORDS
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 Colo-
nies. The work is respectfully noticed by the 4 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
4 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, men-
tioning ' 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 learn-
ing 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. 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. "Bucking-
ham's Miscellanies frnm 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 semi-
nary, by an English king, was cordially welcomed by the
critical journals of the time." Kendall's Travels, Vol. III.
p. 12.
AND CUSTOMS. 231
For further remarks, consult the Monthly Review, Vol.
XXIX. p. 22 ; Critical Review, Vol. X. p. 284 ; and the
Monthly Anthology, Vol. VI. p. 427.
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 pimp-
ing, which signifies little, petty.
Did I not promise those who fished
And pimped most any part they wished.
The RebeUiad, 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.
PLACE. In the older American colleges, the situation of a
student in the class of which he was a member was for-
merly decided in a measure by the rank and circumstances of
his family ; this was called placing. The Hon. Paine Win-
gate, 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 stu-
dent 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
any thing which more sensibly affects the feelings of ambi-
tion than the rank which a man is allowed to hold. This
excitement was generally called up whenever a^ class in col-
lege was placed. The parents were not wholly free from in-
fluence ; 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
232 COLLEGE WORDS
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 influ-
ential 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
) laced (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 Col-
lege Buttery , where the names of the four classes of under-
graduates 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 con-
form to the custom of putting the names in alphabetical
order, and they have accordingly so remained since the year
1772." PeiVce's Hist, of Harv. Univ., pp. 308-311.
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.
AND CUSTOMS. 233
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 per-
son who can object to the degree an opportunity of signify-
ing 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 mono-
syllable 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 ope word PLUCK." p. 288.
PLUCKED. A cant term at the English universities, applied
to those who, for want of scholarship, are refused their testi-
monials 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 under-
graduate 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.
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-Chancel lor.
Oxford Guide, p. xii., 1847.
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.
20*
234 COLLEGE WORDS
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.
POLLOI. of noAAoi, the many. In the University of Cam-
bridge, 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 Wran-
gler. " 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 con-
taining 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.
PONS ASINORUM. Vide ASSES' BRIDGE.
PONY. A translation. So called, it may be, from the fleet-
ness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass
over places which to a common plodder present many
obstacles.
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., p. 12, 1849.
Their lexicons, ponies, and text-books were strewed round their
lamps on the table. A Tour through College, p. 30. Boston,
1832.
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.
AND CUSTOMS.
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 Col-
lege. 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.
PONY. To use a translation.
POPPING. At William and Mary College, getting the advan-
tage 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 Lit-
erary Miscellany, Vol. II. p. 56 ; Amherst Indicator, Vol.
II. p. 123, etc.
PORTIONIST. One who has a certain academical allowance
or portion. Webster.
SEE POSTMASTER.
POSTMASTER. In Merton College, Oxford, the scholars
who are supported on the foundation are called Postmasters,
or Portionists (Portionista) . Oxf. Guide.
PR^ESES. The Latin for President.
" Prases " his " Oxford " doffs, and bows reply.
Childe Harvard, p. 36.
Did not the Prases himself most kindly and oft reprimand me ?
Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 98.
PRAYERS. In colleges and universities, the religious exer-
236 COLLEGE WORDS
cises 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
1 ancient and laudable practice was revived ' by the Corpo-
ration. 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 fre-
quently 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."
AND CUSTOMS. 237
" 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, if they taking their turns by course weekly." When-
ever 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. Tn 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. At Yale College, one of the
earliest laws ordains that " all undergraduates shall publicly
repeat sermons in the hall in their course, and also bach-
elors; and be constantly examined on Sabbaths [at] evening
prayer." Pres. Woolsey^s Discourse, p. 59.
A writer in the American Literary Magazine, in noticing
some of the evils connected with the American college sys-
tem, 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 cir-
cumstances ; when he rushes into the chapel breathless,
with wet feet, half dressed, and with the prospect of a recita-
tion 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 col-
leges, 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 direct-
238 COLLEGE WORDS
ed 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 shep-
herd, 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 ex-
pressive looks of the astonished beast, and of his more aston-
ished 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 im-
ages 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, 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 Col-
lege, 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 gen-
AND CUSTOMS. 239
erally made themselves audible in the word " A-a-shur,"
" A-a-shur."
PRELECTOR. Latin, pralector. 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
prceleclor 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 pr&poster gives the Doctor a list, when he is con-
scious 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 exami-
nation, 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 in-
teresting 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 estab-
lished custom. There is now less formality on such occa-
sions, 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, pro-
nounced by William Samuel Johnson in 1744, at the presen-
tation of his class. Sometimes a member of the class ex-
240 COLLEGE WORDS
hibited 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 exhib-
ited by members of the graduating class, at the time of pre-
sentation. The appointments for these exercises are made
by the class.
" So much of an exhibition as there was at the presenta-
tion 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 informa-
tion 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 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 rec-
ommended for degrees. The Class then adjourn to the
College Chapel, where the President and some of the Pro-
fessors 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 A. B., in a Latin discourse. The President then
responds in the same tongue, and addresses a few words of
counsel to the Class.
AND CUSTOMS. 241
" 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."
In the Appendix to President Woolsey's Historical Dis-
course 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 re-
turn 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 exam-
iners and the candidates, and gave the latter liberty to re-
turn home till Commencement. Then dismissed.
" At about 3, P. M., the afternoon exercises were ap-
pointed to begin. At 3, the bell tolled, and the assembly
convened in the chapel, ladies and gentlemen. The Presi-
dent 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 JVfeigs.
Poetical Composition in English, by Sir Barlow.
21
242 COLLEGE WORDS
( Sir Miller,
Dialogue, English, by < Sir Chaplin,
( Sir Ely.
Cliosophic Oration, English, by Sir Webster.
( Sir Wolcott,
Disputation, English, by < 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 Commence-
ments, to sign the diplomas or letters of degree, to carry on
the official correspondence, to address counsel and instruc-
tion to the students, and to exercise a general superintend-
ence in the affairs of the college over which he presides.
At Harvard College it was formerly the duty of the Pres-
ident " 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 Quin-
cy'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 exer-
cises 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 associa-
tion, which is used only on Commencement Day, when it is
AND CUSTOMS. 243
occupied by the President while engaged in delivering the
diplomas for degrees. " Vague report," says Quincy, " rep-
resents 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 Eng-
land." Holyoke was President from 1737 to 1769. The
round knobs on the chair were turned by President Holy-
oke. 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.
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."
244 COLLEGE WORDS
The editor of Mr. Peirce's History of Harvard University
publishes the following curious extracts from Horace Wai-
pole's Private Correspondence, giving a description of some
antique chairs found in England, exactly of the same con-
struction with the College chair ; a circumstance which cor-
roborates 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 six pence 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 pat-
tern." Private Correspondence of Horace Walpole, Earl of Or-
ford, 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 neigh-
boring 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 church-
yard 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 aca-
demical phrase in the University of Cambridge, England.
Johnson.
AND CUSTOMS. 245
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 joc-
ular way, give him his title and character to face. A. Philips,
Life of Abp. Williams, p. 34.
See TERRJJ-FILIUS.
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 sancto-
rum, that skull and bones of college mysteries, the Prex's room.
The Yak 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. Am-
herst Indicator, Vol. III. p. 228.
PRINCIPAL. At Oxford, the president of a college or hall
is sometimes styled the principal. Oxf. Col.
PRIVATE. At Harvard College, one of the milder punish-
ments is what is called private admonition, by which a de-
duction 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 ringers of your mind the reprimands, deductions,
parietals, and privates in store for you. Oration before H. L. of
I. O. of O. F., 1818.
What are parietals, parts, privates now,
To the still calmness of that placid brow 1
Class Poem, Harv. Coll, 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 usu-
ally six months, but can be prolonged at discretion. Coll.
Laws.
21
246
COLLEGE WORDS
PROCEED. To take a degree. Mr. Halliwell, in his Dic-
tionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, says, "This
term is still used at the English universities." It was for-
merly 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.
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 pro-
euro ; pro and euro.
In the English universities, 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 stalu
pupillari, to search houses of ill fame, and to take into cus-
tody women of loose and abandoned character, and even
those de malo suspeclce. Their other duties are not so
menial in their character, and are different in different uni-
versities. Cam. Cal.
" The proctors act as university magistrates ; they are ap-
pointed 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 undergrad-
uates, is to preserve order, and keep the town free from im-
proper characters. When they go out in the evening, they
are usually attended by two servants, called by the gowns-
men 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
AND CUSTOMS. 247
in the university." The Collegian's Guide, Oxford, pp.
176, 177.
The class of officers called Proctors was instituted at
Harvard College in the year 1805, their duty being " to re-
side constantly and preserve order within the walls," -to pre-
serve 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 Col-
lege, which it is the duty of a parietal Tutor to exercise
therein." Quinces 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 Prqff 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.
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
248 COLLEGE WORDS
those who have studied only in certain branches taught in
some of the schools connected with that institution.
PRO-PROCTOR. In the English universities, an officer ap-
pointed 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. Cols.
More familiarly, these officers are called pro's.
They [the proctors] are assisted in their duties by four pro-proc-
tors, each principal being allowed to nominate his two "pro's"
Oxford Guide, p. xiii.. 1847.
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, Pro-
vost 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 Trus-
tees 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." Gradus ad Cantab., p. 85.
PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE. In Yale College, a com-
AND CUSTOMS. 249
mittee 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 Treas-
urer and Steward, make the annual report of the state of the
College, superintend the investment of the College funds, in-
stitute suits for the recovery and preservation of the College
property, and perform various other duties which are enu-
merated in the laws of Yale College.
PUBLIC. At Harvard College, the punishment next higher in
order to a private admonition is called a public admonition,
and consists in a deduction from the rank of the offender, ac-
companied by a letter to the parent or guardian. It is often
called a public.
See PRIVATE.
PUBLIC DAY. In the University of Virginia, the day on
which "the certificates and diplomas are awarded to the suc-
cessful candidates, the results of the examinations are an-
nounced, 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
\\ ho 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 is
esteemed one of the most honorable offices in the gift of the
university. Cam. and Oxf. Cols.
PUNY. A young, inexperienced person ; a novice.
Freshmen at Oxford were called punies of the first year. Hal-
liwelVs Did. 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
250 COLLEGE WORDS
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 phi-
losophy, 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."
\, *
Q. See CUE.
QUAD. At Oxford, the quadrangle or rectangular court of a
building.
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.
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 
