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1775. They were then private for five years, on account of the
times. The early exercises of the candidates for the first degree
were a 'saluting' oration in Latin, succeeded by syllogistic
disputations in the same language; and the day was closed by the
Masters' exercises,--disputations and a valedictory. According to
an ancient academical practice, theses were printed and
distributed upon this occasion, indicating what the candidates for
a degree had studied, and were prepared to defend; yet, contrary
to the usage still prevailing at universities which have adhered
to the old method of testing proficiency, it does not appear that
these theses were ever defended in public. They related to a
variety of subjects in Technology, Logic, Grammar, Rhetoric,
Mathematics, Physics, Metaphysics, Ethics, and afterwards
Theology. The candidates for a Master's degree also published
theses at this time, which were called _Quæstiones magistrales_.
The syllogistic disputes were held between an affirmant and
respondent, who stood in the side galleries of the church opposite
to one another, and shot the weapons of their logic over the heads
of the audience. The saluting Bachelor and the Master who
delivered the valedictory stood in the front gallery, and the
audience huddled around below them to catch their Latin eloquence
as it fell. It seems also to have been usual for the President to
pronounce an oration in some foreign tongue upon the same
occasion.[11]
"At the first public Commencement under President Stiles, in 1781,
we find from a particular description which has been handed down,
that the original plan, as above described, was subjected for the
time to considerable modifications. The scheme, in brief, was as
follows. The salutatory oration was delivered by a member of the
graduating class, who is now our aged and honored townsman, Judge
Baldwin. This was succeeded by the syllogistic disputations, and
these by a Greek oration, next to which came an English colloquy.
Then followed a forensic disputation, in which James Kent was one
of the speakers. Then President Stiles delivered an oration in
Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic,--it being an extraordinary occasion.
After which the morning was closed with an English oration by one
of the graduating class. In the afternoon, the candidates for the
second degree had the time, as usual, to themselves, after a Latin
discourse by President Stiles. The exhibiters appeared in
syllogistic disputes, a dissertation, a poem, and an English
oration. Among these performers we find the names of Noah Webster,
Joel Barlow, and Oliver Wolcott. Besides the Commencements there
were exhibitions upon quarter-days, as they were called, in
December and March, as well as at the end of the third term, when
the younger classes performed; and an exhibition of the Seniors in
July, at the time of their examination for degrees, when the
valedictory orator was one of their own choice. This oration was
transferred to the Commencement about the year 1798, when the
Masters' valedictories had fallen into disuse; and being in
English, gave a new interest to the exercises of the day.
"Commencements were long occasions of noisy mirth, and even of
riot. The older records are full of attempts, on the part of the
Corporation, to put a stop to disorder and extravagance at this
anniversary. From a document of 1731, it appears that cannons had
been fired in honor of the day, and students were now forbidden to
have a share in this on pain of degradation. The same prohibition
was found necessary again in 1755, at which time the practice had
grown up of illuminating the College buildings upon Commencement
eve. But the habit of drinking spirituous liquor, and of
furnishing it to friends, on this public occasion, grew up into
more serious evils. In the year 1737, the Trustees, having found
that there was a great expense in spirituous distilled liquors
upon Commencement occasions, ordered that for the future no
candidate for a degree, or other student, should provide or allow
any such liquors to be drunk in his chamber during Commencement
week. And again, it was ordered in 1746, with the view of
preventing several extravagant and expensive customs, that there
should be 'no kind of public treat but on Commencement,
quarter-days, and the day on which the valedictory oration was
pronounced; and on that day the Seniors may provide and give away
a barrel of metheglin, and nothing more.' But the evil continued a
long time. In 1760, it appears that it was usual for the
graduating class to provide a pipe of wine, in the payment of
which each one was forced to join. The Corporation now attempted
by very stringent law to break up this practice; but the Senior
Class having united in bringing large quantities of rum into
College, the Commencement exercises were suspended, and degrees
were withheld until after a public confession of the class. In the
two next years degrees were given at the July examination, with a
view to prevent such disorders, and no public Commencement was
celebrated. Similar scenes are not known to have occurred
afterwards, although for a long time that anniversary wore as much
the aspect of a training-day as of a literary festival.
"The Commencement Day in the modern sense of the term--that is, a
gathering of graduated members and of others drawn together by a
common interest in the College, and in its young members who are
leaving its walls--has no counterpart that I know of in the older
institutions of Europe. It arose by degrees out of the former
exercises upon this occasion, with the addition of such as had
been usual before upon quarter-days, or at the presentation in
July. For a time several of the commencing Masters appeared on the
stage to pronounce orations, as they had done before. In process
of time, when they had nearly ceased to exhibit, this anniversary
began to assume a somewhat new feature; the peculiarity of which
consists in this, that the graduates have a literary festival more
peculiarly their own, in the shape of discourses delivered before
their assembled body, or before some literary
society."--_Woolsey's Historical Discourse_, pp. 65-68.
Further remarks concerning the observance of Commencement at Yale
College may be found in Ebenezer Baldwin's "Annals" of that
institution, pp. 189-197.
An article "On the Date of the First Public Commencement at Yale
College, in New Haven," will be read with pleasure by those who
are interested in the deductions of antiquarian research. It is
contained in the "Yale Literary Magazine," Vol. XX. pp. 199, 200.
The following account of Commencement at Dartmouth College, on
Wednesday, August 24th, 1774, written by Dr. Belknap, may not
prove uninteresting.
"About eleven o'clock, the Commencement began in a large tent
erected on the east side of the College, and covered with boards;
scaffolds and seats being prepared.
"The President began with a prayer in the usual _strain_. Then an
English oration was spoken by one of the Bachelors, complimenting
the Trustees, &c. A syllogistic disputation on this question:
_Amicitia vera non est absque amore divina_. Then a cliosophic
oration. Then an anthem, 'The voice of my beloved sounds,' &c.
Then a forensic dispute, _Whether Christ died for all men_? which
was well supported on both sides. Then an anthem, 'Lift up your
heads, O ye gates,' &c.
"The company were invited to dine at the President's and the hall.
The Connecticut lads and lasses, I observed, walked about hand in
hand in procession, as 't is said they go to a wedding.
"Afternoon. The exercises began with a Latin oration on the state
of society by Mr. Kipley. Then an English _Oration on the
Imitative Arts_, by Mr. J. Wheelock. The degrees were then
conferred, and, in addition to the usual ceremony of the book,
diplomas were delivered to the candidates, with this form of
words: 'Admitto vos ad primum (vel secundum) gradum in artibus pro
more Academiarum in Anglia, vobisque trado hunc librum, una cum
potestate publice prelegendi ubicumque ad hoc munus avocati
fueritis (to the masters was added, fuistis vel fueritis), cujus
rei hæc diploma membrana scripta est testimonium.' Mr. Woodward
stood by the President, and held the book and parchments,
delivering and exchanging them as need required. Rev. Mr. Benjamin
Pomeroy, of Hebron, was admitted to the degree of Doctor in
Divinity.
"After this, McGregore and Sweetland, two Bachelors, spoke a
dialogue of Lord Lyttleton's between Apicius and Darteneuf, upon
good eating and drinking. The Mercury (who comes in at the close
of the piece) performed his part but clumsily; but the two
epicures did well, and the President laughed as heartily as the
rest of the audience; though considering the circumstances, it
might admit of some doubt, whether the dialogue were really a
burlesque, or a compliment to the College.
"An anthem and prayer concluded the public exercises. Much decency
and regularity were observable through the day, in the numerous
attending concourse of people."--_Life of Jeremy Belknap, D.D._,
pp. 69-71.
At Shelby College, Ky., it is customary at Commencement to perform
plays, with appropriate costumes, at stated intervals during the
exercises.
An account of the manner in which Commencement has been observed
at other colleges would only be a repetition of what has been
stated above, in reference to Harvard and Yale. These being, the
former the first, and the latter the third institution founded in
our country, the colleges which were established at a later period
grounded, not only their laws, but to a great extent their
customs, on the laws and customs which prevailed at Cambridge and
New Haven.
COMMENCEMENT CARD. At Union College, there is issued annually at
Commencement a card containing a programme of the exercises of the
day, signed with the names of twelve of the Senior Class, who are
members of the four principal college societies. These cards are
worded in the form of invitations, and are to be sent to the
friends of the students. To be "_on the Commencement card_" is
esteemed an honor, and is eagerly sought for. At other colleges,
invitations are often issued at this period, usually signed by the
President.
COMMENCER. In American colleges, a member of the Senior Class,
after the examination for degrees; generally, one who _commences_.
These exercises were, besides an oration usually made by the
President, orations both salutatory and valedictory, made by some
or other of the _commencers_.--_Mather's Magnalia_, B. IV. p. 128.
The Corporation with the Tutors shall visit the chambers of the
_commencers_ to see that this law be well observed.--_Peirce's
Hist. Harv. Univ._, App., p. 137.
Thirty _commencers_, besides Mr. Rogers, &c.--_Ibid._, App., p.
150.
COMMERS. In the German universities, a party of students assembled
for the purpose of making an excursion to some place in the
country for a day's jollification. On such an occasion, the
students usually go "in a long train of carriages with outriders";
generally, a festive gathering of the students.--_Howitt's Student
Life of Germany_, Am. ed., p. 56; see also Chap. XVI.
COMMISSARY. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., an officer under
the Chancellor, and appointed by him, who holds a court of record
for all privileged persons and scholars under the degree of M.A.
In this court, all causes are tried and determined by the civil
and statute law, and by the custom of the University.--_Cam. Cal._
COMMON. To board together; to eat at a table in common.
COMMONER. A student of the second rank in the University of
Oxford, Eng., who is not dependent on the foundation for support,
but pays for his board or _commons_, together with all other
charges. Corresponds to a PENSIONER at Cambridge. See GENTLEMAN
COMMONER.
2. One who boards in commons.
In all cases where those who do damage to the table furniture, or
in the steward's kitchen, cannot be detected, the amount shall be
charged to the _commoners_.--_Laws Union Coll._, 1807, p. 34.
The steward shall keep an accurate list of the
_commoners_.--_Ibid._, 1807, p. 34.
COMMON ROOM. The room to which all the members of the college have
access. There is sometimes one _common room_ for graduates, and
another for undergraduates.--_Crabb's Tech. Dict._
Oh, could the days once more but come,
When calm I smoak'd in _common room_.
_The Student_, Oxf. and Cam., 1750, Vol. I. p. 237.
COMMONS. Food provided at a common table, as in colleges, where
many persons eat at the same table, or in the same
hall.--_Webster_.
Commons were introduced into Harvard College at its first
establishment, in the year 1636, in imitation of the English
universities, and from that time until the year 1849, when they
were abolished, seem to have been a never-failing source of
uneasiness and disturbance. While the infant College with the
title only of "school," was under the superintendence of Mr.
Nathaniel Eaton, its first "master," the badness of commons was
one of the principal causes of complaint. "At no subsequent period
of the College history," says Mr. Quincy, "has discontent with
commons been more just and well founded, than under the huswifery
of Mrs. Eaton." "It is perhaps owing," Mr. Winthrop observes in
his History of New England, "to the gallantry of our fathers, that
she was not enjoined in the perpetual malediction they bestowed on
her husband." A few years after, we read, in the "Information
given by the Corporation and Overseers to the General Court," a
proposition either to make "the scholars' charges less, or their
commons better." For a long period after this we have no account
of the state of commons, "but it is not probable," says Mr.
Peirce, "they were materially different from what they have been
since."
During the administration of President Holyoke, from 1737 to 1769,
commons were the constant cause of disorders among the students.
There appears to have been a very general permission to board in
private families before the year 1737: an attempt was then made to
compel the undergraduates to board in commons. After many
resolutions, a law was finally passed, in 1760, prohibiting them
"from dining or supping in any house in town, except on an
invitation to dine or sup _gratis_." "The law," says Quincy, "was
probably not very strictly enforced. It was limited to one year,
and was not renewed."
An idea of the quality of commons may be formed from the following
accounts furnished by Dr. Holyoke and Judge Wingate. According to
the former of these gentlemen, who graduated in 1746, the
"breakfast was two sizings of bread and a cue of beer"; and
"evening commons were a pye." The latter, who graduated thirteen
years after, says: "As to the commons, there were in the morning
none while I was in College. At dinner, we had, of rather ordinary
quality, a sufficiency of meat of some kind, either baked or
boiled; and at supper, we had either a pint of milk and half a
biscuit, or a meat pye of some other kind. Such were the commons
in the hall in my day. They were rather ordinary; but I was young
and hearty, and could live comfortably upon them. I had some
classmates who paid for their commons and never entered the hall
while they belonged to the College. We were allowed at dinner a
cue of beer, which was a half-pint, and a sizing of bread, which I
cannot describe to you. It was quite sufficient for one dinner."
By a vote of the Corporation in 1750, a law was passed, declaring
"that the quantity of commons be as hath been usual, viz. two
sizes of bread in the morning; one pound of meat at dinner, with
sufficient sauce" (vegetables), "and a half a pint of beer; and at
night that a part pie be of the same quantity as usual, and also
half a pint of beer; and that the supper messes be but of four
parts, though the dinner messes be of six." This agrees in
substance with the accounts given above. The consequence of such
diet was, "that the sons of the rich," says Mr. Quincy,
"accustomed to better fare, paid for commons, which they would not
eat, and never entered the hall; while the students whose
resources did not admit of such an evasion were perpetually
dissatisfied."
About ten years after, another law was made, "to restrain scholars
from breakfasting in the houses of town's people," and provision
was made "for their being accommodated with breakfast in the hall,
either milk, chocolate, tea, or coffee, as they should
respectively choose." They were allowed, however, to provide
themselves with breakfasts in their own chambers, but not to
breakfast in one another's chambers. From this period breakfast
was as regularly provided in commons as dinner, but it was not
until about the year 1807 that an evening meal was also regularly
provided.
In the year 1765, after the erection of Hollis Hall, the
accommodations for students within the walls were greatly
enlarged; and the inconvenience being thus removed which those had
experienced who, living out of the College buildings, were
compelled to eat in commons, a system of laws was passed, by which
all who occupied rooms within the College walls were compelled to
board constantly in common, "the officers to be exempted only by
the Corporation, with the consent of the Overseers; the students
by the President only when they were about to be absent for at
least one week." Scarcely a year had passed under this new
_régime_ "before," says Quincy, "an open revolt of the students
took place on account of the provisions, which it took more than a
month to quell." "Although," he continues, "their proceedings were
violent, illegal, and insulting, yet the records of the immediate
government show unquestionably, that the disturbances, in their
origin, were not wholly without cause, and that they were
aggravated by want of early attention to very natural and
reasonable complaints."
During the war of the American Revolution, the difficulty of
providing satisfactory commons was extreme, as may be seen from
the following vote of the Corporation, passed Aug. 11th, 1777.
"Whereas by law 9th of Chap. VI. it is provided, 'that there shall
always be chocolate, tea, coffee, and milk for breakfast, with
bread and biscuit and butter,' and whereas the foreign articles
above mentioned are now not to be procured without great
difficulty, and at a very exorbitant price; therefore, that the
charge of commons may be kept as low as possible,--
"_Voted_, That the Steward shall provide at the common charge only
bread or biscuit and milk for breakfast; and, if any of the
scholars choose tea, coffee, or chocolate for breakfast, they
shall procure those articles for themselves, and likewise the
sugar and butter to be used with them; and if any scholars choose
to have their milk boiled, or thickened with flour, if it may be
had, or with meal, the Steward, having reasonable notice, shall
provide it; and further, as salt fish alone is appointed by the
aforesaid law for the dinner on Saturdays, and this article is now
risen to a very high price, and through the scarcity of salt will
probably be higher, the Steward shall not be obliged to provide
salt fish, but shall procure fresh fish as often as he
can."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. II. p. 541.
Many of the facts in the following account of commons prior to,
and immediately succeeding, the year 1800, have been furnished by
Mr. Royal Morse of Cambridge.
The hall where the students took their meals was usually provided
with ten tables; at each table were placed two messes, and each
mess consisted of eight persons. The tables where the Tutors and
Seniors sat were raised eighteen or twenty inches, so as to
overlook the rest. It was the duty of one of the Tutors or of the
Librarian to "ask a blessing and return thanks," and in their
absence, the duty devolved on "the senior graduate or
undergraduate." The waiters were students, chosen from the
different classes, and receiving for their services suitable
compensation. Each table was waited on by members of the class
which occupied it, with the exception of the Tutor's table, at
which members of the Senior Class served. Unlike the _sizars_ and
_servitors_ at the English universities, the waiters were usually
much respected, and were in many cases the best scholars in their
respective classes.
The breakfast consisted of a specified quantity of coffee, a
_size_ of baker's biscuit, which was one biscuit, and a _size_ of
butter, which was about an ounce. If any one wished for more than
was provided, he was obliged to _size_ it, i.e. order from the
kitchen or buttery, and this was charged as extra commons or
_sizings_ in the quarter-bill.
At dinner, every mess was served with eight pounds of meat,
allowing a pound to each person. On Monday and Thursday the meat
was boiled; these days were on this account commonly called
"boiling days." On the other days the meat was roasted; these were
accordingly named "roasting days." Two potatoes were allowed to
each person, which he was obliged to pare for himself. On _boiling
days_, pudding and cabbage were added to the bill of fare, and in
their season, greens, either dandelion or the wild pea. Of bread,
a _size_ was the usual quantity apiece, at dinner. Cider was the
common beverage, of which there was no stated allowance, but each
could drink as much as he chose. It was brought, on in pewter
quart cans, two to a mess, out of which they drank, passing them
from mouth to mouth like the English wassail-bowl. The waiters
replenished them as soon as they were emptied.
No regular supper was provided, but a bowl of milk, and a size of
bread procured at the kitchen, supplied the place of the evening
meal.
Respecting the arrangement of the students at table, before
referred to, Professor Sidney Willard remarks: "The intercourse
among students at meals was not casual or promiscuous. Generally,
the students of the same class formed themselves into messes, as
they were called, consisting each of eight members; and the length
of one table was sufficient to seat two messes. A mess was a
voluntary association of those who liked each other's company; and
each member had his own place. This arrangement was favorable for
good order; and, where the members conducted themselves with
propriety, their cheerful conversation, and even exuberant spirits
and hilarity, if not too boisterous, were not unpleasant to that
portion of the government who presided at the head table. But the
arrangement afforded opportunities also for combining in factious
plans and organizations, tending to disorders, which became
infectious, and terminated unhappily for all
concerned."--_Memories of Youth and Manhood_, Vol. II. pp. 192,
193.
A writer in the New England Magazine, referring to the same
period, says: "In commons, we fared as well as one half of us had
been accustomed to at home. Our breakfast consisted of a
good-sized biscuit of wheaten flour, with butter and coffee,
chocolate, or milk, at our option. Our dinner was served up on
dishes of pewter, and our drink, which was cider, in cans of the
same material. For our suppers, we went with our bowls to the
kitchen, and received our rations of milk, or chocolate, and
bread, and returned with them to our rooms."--Vol. III. p. 239.
Although much can be said in favor of the commons system, on
account of its economy and its suitableness to health and study,
yet these very circumstances which were its chief recommendation
were the occasion also of all the odium which it had to encounter.
"That simplicity," says Peirce, "which makes the fare cheap, and
wholesome, and philosophical, renders it also unsatisfactory to
dainty palates; and the occasional appearance of some unlucky
meat, or other food, is a signal for a general outcry against the
provisions." In the plain but emphatic words of one who was
acquainted with the state of commons, as they once were at Harvard
College, "the butter was sometimes so bad, that a farmer would not
take it to grease his cart-wheels with." It was the usual practice
of the Steward, when veal was cheap, to furnish it to the students
three, four, and sometimes five times in the week; the same with
reference to other meats when they could be bought at a low price,
and especially with lamb. The students, after eating this latter
kind of meat for five or six successive weeks would often assemble
before the Steward's house, and, as if their natures had been
changed by their diet, would bleat and blatter until he was fain
to promise them a change of food, upon which they would separate
until a recurrence of the same evil compelled them to the same
measures.
The annexed account of commons at Yale College, in former times,
is given by President Woolsey, in his Historical Discourse,
pronounced at New Haven, August 14th, 1850.
"At first, a college without common meals was hardly conceived of;
and, indeed, if we trace back the history of college as they grew
up at Paris, nothing is more of their essence than that students
lived and ate together in a kind of conventual system. No doubt,
also, when the town of New Haven was smaller, it was far more
difficult to find desirable places for boarding than at present.
But however necessary, the Steward's department was always beset
with difficulties and exposed to complaints which most gentlemen
present can readily understand. The following rations of commons,
voted by the Trustees in 1742, will show the state of college fare
at that time. 'Ordered, that the Steward shall provide the commons
for the scholars as follows, viz.: For breakfast, one loaf of
bread for four, which [the dough] shall weigh one pound. For
dinner for four, one loaf of bread as aforesaid, two and a half
pounds beef, veal, or mutton, or one and three quarter pounds salt
pork about twice a week in the summer time, one quart of beer, two
pennyworth of sauce [vegetables]. For supper for four, two quarts
of milk and one loaf of bread, when milk can conveniently be had,
and when it cannot, then apple-pie, which shall be made of one and
three fourth pounds dough, one quarter pound hog's fat, two ounces
sugar, and half a peck apples.' In 1759 we find, from a vote
prohibiting the practice, that beer had become one of the articles
allowed for the evening meal. Soon after this, the evening meal
was discontinued, and, as is now the case in the English colleges,
the students had supper in their own rooms, which led to
extravagance and disorder. In the Revolutionary war the Steward
was quite unable once or twice to provide food for the College,
and this, as has already appeared, led to the dispersion of the
students in 1776 and 1777, and once again in 1779 delayed the
beginning of the winter term several weeks. Since that time,
nothing peculiar has occurred with regard to commons, and they
continued with all their evils of coarse manners and wastefulness
for sixty years. The conviction, meanwhile, was increasing, that
they were no essential part of the College, that on the score of
economy they could claim no advantage, that they degraded the
manners of students and fomented disorder. The experiment of
suppressing them has hitherto been only a successful one. No one,
who can retain a lively remembrance of the commons and the manners
as they were both before and since the building of the new hall in
1819, will wonder that this resolution was adopted by the
authorities of the College."--pp. 70-72.
The regulations which obtained at meal-time in commons were at one
period in these words: "The waiters in the hall, appointed by the
President, are to put the victuals on the tables spread with
decent linen cloths, which are to be washed every week by the
Steward's procurement, and the Tutors, or some of the senior
scholars present, are to ask a blessing on the food, and to return
thanks. All the scholars at mealtime are required to behave
themselves decently and gravely, and abstain from loud talking. No
victuals, platters, cups, &c. may be carried out of the hall,
unless in case of sickness, and with liberty from one of the
Tutors. Nor may any scholar go out before thanks are returned. And
when dinner is over, the waiters are to carry the platters and
cloths back into the kitchen. And if any one shall offend in
either of these things, or carry away anything belonging to the
hall without leave, he shall be fined sixpence."--_Laws of Yale
Coll._, 1774, p. 19.
From a little work by a graduate at Yale College of the class of
1821, the accompanying remarks, referring to the system of commons
as generally understood, are extracted.
"The practice of boarding the students in commons was adopted by
our colleges, naturally, and perhaps without reflection, from the
old universities of Europe, and particularly from those of
England. At first those universities were without buildings,
either for board or lodging; being merely rendezvous for such as
wished to pursue study. The students lodged at inns, or at private
houses, defraying out of their own pockets, and in their own way,
all charges for board and education. After a while, in consequence
of the exorbitant demands of landlords, _halls_ were built, and
common tables furnished, to relieve them from such exactions.
Colleges, with chambers for study and lodging, were erected for a
like reason. Being founded, in many cases, by private munificence,
for the benefit of indigent students, they naturally included in
their economy both lodging-rooms and board. There was also a
_police_ reason for the measure. It was thought that the students
could be better regulated as to their manners and behavior, being
brought together under the eye of supervisors."
Omitting a few paragraphs, we come to a more particular account of
some of the jocose scenes which resulted from the commons system
as once developed at Yale College.
"The Tutors, who were seated at raised tables, could not, with all
their vigilance, see all that passed, and they winked at much they
did see. Boiled potatoes, pieces of bread, whole loaves, balls of
butter, dishes, would be flung back and forth, especially between
Sophomores and Freshmen; and you were never sure, in raising a cup
to your lips, that it would not be dashed out of your hands, and
the contents spilt upon your clothes, by one of these flying
articles slyly sent at random. Whatever damage was done was
averaged on our term-bills; and I remember a charge of six hundred
tumblers, thirty coffee-pots, and I know not how many other
articles of table furniture, destroyed or carried off in a single
term. Speaking of tumblers, it may be mentioned as an instance of
the progress of luxury, even there, that down to about 1815 such a
thing was not known, the drinking-vessels at dinner being
capacious pewter mugs, each table being furnished with two. We
were at one time a good deal incommoded by the diminutive size of
the milk-pitchers, which were all the while empty and gone for
more. A waiter mentioned, for our patience, that, when these were
used up, a larger size would be provided. 'O, if that's the case,
the remedy is easy.' Accordingly the hint was passed through the
room, the offending pitchers were slyly placed upon the floor,
and, as we rose from the tables, were crushed under foot. The next
morning the new set appeared. One of the classes being tired of
_lamb, lamb, lamb_, wretchedly cooked, during the season of it,
expressed their dissatisfaction by entering the hall bleating; no
notice of which being taken, a day or two after they entered in
advance of the Tutors, and cleared the tables of it, throwing it
out of the windows, platters and all, and immediately retired.
"In truth, not much could be said in commendation of our Alma
Mater's table. A worse diet for sedentary men than that we had
during the last days of the _old_ hall, now the laboratory, cannot
be imagined. I will not go into particulars, for I hate to talk
about food. It was absolutely destructive of health. I know it to
have ruined, permanently, the health of some, and I have not the
least doubt of its having occasioned, in certain instances which I
could specify, incurable debility and premature death."--_Scenes
and Characters in College_, New Haven, 1847, pp. 113-117.
See INVALID'S TABLE. SLUM.
That the commons at Dartmouth College were at times of a quality
which would not be called the best, appears from the annexed
paragraph, written in the year 1774. "He [Eleazer Wheelock,
President of the College] has had the mortification to lose two
cows, and the rest were greatly hurt by a contagious distemper, so
that they _could not have a full supply of milk_; and once the
pickle leaked out of the beef-barrel, so that the _meat was not
sweet_. He had also been ill-used with respect to the purchase of
some wheat, so that they had smutty bread for a while, &c. The
scholars, on the other hand, say they scarce ever have anything
but pork and greens, without vinegar, and pork and potatoes; that
fresh meat comes but very seldom, and that the victuals are very
badly dressed."--_Life of Jeremy Belknap, D.D._, pp. 68, 69.
The above account of commons applies generally to the system as it
was carried out in the other colleges in the United States. In
almost every college, commons have been abolished, and with them
have departed the discords, dissatisfactions, and open revolts, of
which they were so often the cause.
See BEVER.
COMMORANTES IN VILLA. Latin; literally, _those abiding in town_.
In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the designation of Masters
of Arts, and others of higher degree, who, residing within the
precincts of the University, enjoy the privilege of being members
of the Senate, without keeping their names on the college boards.
--_Gradus ad Cantab._
To have a vote in the Senate, the graduate must keep his name on
the books of some college, or on the list of the _commorantes in
villâ_.--_Lit. World_, Vol. XII. p. 283.
COMPOSITION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., translating
English into Greek or Latin is called _composition_.--_Bristed_.
In _composition_ and cram I was yet untried.--_Bristed's Five
Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 34.
You will have to turn English prose into Greek and Latin prose,
English verse into Greek Iambic Trimeters, and part of some chorus
in the Agamemnon into Latin, and possibly also into English verse.
This is the "_composition_," and is to be done, remember, without
the help of books or any other assistance.--_Ibid._, p. 68.
The term _Composition_ seems in itself to imply that the
translation is something more than a translation.--_Ibid._, p.
185.
Writing a Latin Theme, or original Latin verses, is designated
_Original Composition_.--_Bristed_.
COMPOSUIST. A writer; composer. "This extraordinary word," says
Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "has been much used at some of
our colleges, but very seldom elsewhere. It is now rarely heard
among us. A correspondent observes, that 'it is used in England
among _musicians_.' I have never met with it in any English
publications upon the subject of music."
The word is not found, I believe, in any dictionary of the English
tongue.
COMPOUNDER. One at a university who pays extraordinary fees,
according to his means, for the degree he is to take. A _Grand
Compounder_ pays double fees. See the _Customs and Laws of Univ.
of Cam., Eng._, p. 297.
CONCIO AD CLERUM. A sermon to the clergy. In the English
universities, an exercise or Latin sermon, which is required of
every candidate for the degree of D.D. Used sometimes in America.
In the evening the "_concio ad clerum_" will be preached.--_Yale
Lit. Mag._, Vol. XII. p. 426.
CONDITION. A student on being examined for admission to college,
if found deficient in certain studies, is admitted on _condition_
he will make up the deficiency, if it is believed on the whole
that he is capable of pursuing the studies of the class for which
he is offered. The branches in which he is deficient are called
_conditions_.
Talks of Bacchus and tobacco, short sixes, sines, transitions,
And Alma Mater takes him in on ten or twelve _conditions_.
_Poem before Y.H. Soc., Harv. Coll._
Praying his guardian powers
To assist a poor Sub Fresh at the dread Examination,
And free from all _conditions_ to insure his first vacation.
_Poem before Iadma of Harv. Coll._
CONDITION. To admit a student as member of a college, who on being
examined has been found deficient in some particular, the
provision of his admission being that he will make up the
deficiency.
A young man shall come down to college from New Hampshire, with no
preparation save that of a country winter-school, shall be
examined and "_conditioned_" in everything, and yet he shall come
out far ahead of his city Latin-school classmate.--_A Letter to a
Young Man who has just entered College_, 1849, p. 8.
They find themselves _conditioned_ on the studies of the term, and
not very generally respected.--_Harvard Mag._, Vol. I. p. 415.
CONDUCT. The title of two clergymen appointed to read prayers at
Eton College, in England.--_Mason. Webster_.
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