At the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who at the final
examination in the Senate-House are classed as Wranglers, Senior
Optimes, or Junior Optimes, are said to go out in _honors_.

I very early in the Sophomore year gave up all thoughts of
obtaining high _honors_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._,
Ed. 2d, p. 6.


HOOD. An ornamented fold that hangs down the back of a graduate,
to mark his degree.--_Johnson_.

My head with ample square-cap crown,
And deck with _hood_ my shoulders.
_The Student_, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. I. p. 349.


HORN-BLOWING. At Princeton College, the students often provide
themselves at night with horns, bugles, &c., climb the trees in
the Campus, and set up a blowing which is continued as long as
prudence and safety allow.


HORSE-SHEDDING. At the University of Vermont, among secret and
literary societies, this term is used to express the idea conveyed
by the word _electioneering_.


HOUSE. A college. The word was formerly used with this
signification in Harvard and Yale Colleges.

If any scholar shall transgress any of the laws of God, or the
_House_, he shall be liable, &c.--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._,
Vol. I. p. 517.

If detriment come by any out of the society, then those officers
[the butler and cook] themselves shall be responsible to the
_House_.--_Ibid._, Vol. I. p. 583.

A member of the college was also called a _Member of the House_.

The steward is to see that one third part be reserved of all the
payments to him by the _members of the House_ quarterly
made.--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 582.

A college officer was called an _Officer of the House_.

The steward shall be bound to give an account of the necessary
disbursements which have been issued out to the steward himself,
butler, cook, or any other _officer of the House_.--_Quincy's
Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 582.

Neither shall the butler or cook suffer any scholar or scholars
whatever, except the Fellows, Masters of Art, Fellow-Commoners or
_officers of the House_, to come into the butteries, &c.--_Ibid._,
Vol. I. p. 584.

Before the year 1708, the term _Fellows of the House_ was applied,
at Harvard College, both to the members of the Corporation, and to
the instructors who did not belong to the Corporation. The
equivocal meaning of this title was noticed by President Leverett,
for, in his duplicate record of the proceedings of the Corporation
and the Overseers, he designated certain persons to whom he refers
as "Fellows of the House, i.e. of the Corporation." Soon after
this, an attempt was made to distinguish between these two classes
of Fellows, and in 1711 the distinction was settled, when one
Whiting, "who had been for several years known as Tutor and
'Fellow of the House,' but had never in consequence been deemed or
pretended to be a member of the Corporation, was admitted to a
seat in that board."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. pp.
278, 279. See SCHOLAR OF THE HOUSE.

2. An assembly for transacting business.

See CONGREGATION, CONVOCATION.


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. At Union College, the members of the
Junior Class compose what is called the _House of
Representatives_, a body organized after the manner of the
national House, for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the
forms and manner of legislation. The following account has been
furnished by a member of that College.

"At the end of the third term, Sophomore year, when the members of
that class are looking forward to the honors awaiting them, comes
off the initiation to the House. The Friday of the tenth week is
the day usually selected for the occasion. On the afternoon of
that day the Sophomores assemble in the Junior recitation-room,
and, after organizing themselves by the appointment of a chairman,
are waited upon by a committee of the House of Representatives of
the Junior Class, who announce that they are ready to proceed with
the initiation, and occasionally dilate upon the importance and
responsibility of the future position of the Sophomores.

"The invitation thus given is accepted, and the class, headed by
the committee, proceeds to the Representatives' Hall. On their
arrival, the members of the House retire, and the incoming
members, under the direction of the committee, arrange themselves
around the platform of the Speaker, all in the room at the same
time rising in their seats. The Speaker of the House now addresses
the Sophomores, announcing to them their election to the high
position of Representatives, and exhorting them to discharge well
all their duties to their constituents and their common country.
He closes, by stating it to be their first business to elect the
officers of the House.

"The election of Speaker, Vice-Speaker, Clerk, and Treasurer by
ballot then follows, two tellers being appointed by the Chair. The
Speaker is elected for one year, and must be one of the Faculty;
the other officers hold only during the ensuing term. The Speaker,
however, is never expected to be present at the meetings of the
House, with the exception of that at the beginning of each term
session, so that the whole duty of presiding falls on the
Vice-Speaker. This is the only meeting of the _new_ House during
that term.

"On the second Friday afternoon of the fall term, the Speaker
usually delivers an inaugural address, and soon after leaves the
chair to the Vice-Speaker, who then announces the representation
from the different States, and also the list of committees. The
members are apportioned by him according to population, each State
having at least one, and some two or three, as the number of the
Junior Class may allow. The committees are constituted in the
manner common to the National House, the number of each, however,
being less. Business then follows, as described in Jefferson's
Manual; petitions, remonstrances, resolutions, reports, debates,
and all the 'toggery' of legislation, come on in regular, or
rather irregular succession. The exercises, as may be well
conceived, furnish an excellent opportunity for improvement in
parliamentary tactics and political oratory."

The House of Representatives was founded by Professor John Austin
Tates. It is not constituted by every Junior Class, and may be
regarded as intermittent in its character.

See SENATE.


HUMANIST. One who pursues the study of the _humanities (literæ
humaniores)_, or polite literature; a term used in various
European universities, especially the Scotch.--_Brandt_.


HUMANITY, _pl._ HUMANITIES. In the plural signifying grammar,
rhetoric, the Latin and Greek languages, and poetry; for teaching
which there are professors in the English and Scotch universities.
--_Encyc._


HUMMEL. At the University of Vermont, a foot, especially a large
one.


HYPHENUTE. At Princeton College, the aristocratic or would-be
aristocratic in dress, manners, &c., are called _Hyphenutes_. Used
both as a noun and adjective. Same as [Greek: Oi Aristoi] q.v.



_I_.


ILLUMINATE. To interline with a translation. Students _illuminate_
a book when they write between the printed lines a translation of
the text. _Illuminated_ books are preferred by good judges to
ponies or hobbies, as the text and translation in them are brought
nearer to one another. The idea of calling books thus prepared
_illuminated_, is taken partly from the meaning of the word
_illuminate_, to adorn with ornamental letters, substituting,
however, in this case, useful for ornamental, and partly from one
of its other meanings, to throw light on, as on obscure subjects.


ILLUSTRATION. That which elucidates a subject. A word used with a
peculiar application by undergraduates in the University of
Cambridge, Eng.

I went back,... and did a few more bits of _illustration_, such as
noting down the relative resources of Athens and Sparta when the
Peloponnesian war broke out, and the sources of the Athenian
revenue.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 51.

IMPOSITION. In the English universities, a supernumerary exercise
enjoined on students as a punishment.

Minor offences are punished by rustication, and those of a more
trivial nature by fines, or by literary tasks, here termed
_Impositions_.--_Oxford Guide_, p. 149.

Literary tasks called _impositions_, or frequent compulsive
attendances on tedious and unimproving exercises in a college
hall.--_T. Warton, Minor Poems of Milton_, p. 432.

_Impositions_ are of various lengths. For missing chapel, about
one hundred lines to copy; for missing a lecture, the lecture to
translate. This is the measure for an occasional offence.... For
coming in late at night repeatedly, or for any offence nearly
deserving rustication, I have known a whole book of Thucydides
given to translate, or the Ethics of Aristotle to analyze, when
the offender has been a good scholar, while others, who could only
do mechanical work, have had a book of Euclid to write out.

Long _impositions_ are very rarely _barberized_. When college
tutors intend to be severe, which is very seldom, they are not to
be trifled with.

At Cambridge, _impositions_ are not always in writing, but
sometimes two or three hundred lines to repeat by heart. This is
ruin to the barber.--_Collegian's Guide_, pp. 159, 160.

In an abbreviated form, _impos._

He is obliged to stomach the _impos._, and retire.--_Grad. ad
Cantab._, p. 125.

He satisfies the Proctor and the Dean by saying a part of each
_impos._--_Ibid._, p. 128.

See BARBER.


INCEPT. To take the degree of Master of Arts.

They may nevertheless take the degree of M.A. at the usual period,
by putting their names on the _College boards_ a few days previous
to _incepting_.--_Cambridge Calendar_.

The M.A. _incepts_ in about three years and two months from the
time of taking his first degree.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng.
Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 285.


INCEPTOR. One who has proceeded to the degree of M.A., but who,
not enjoying all the privileges of an M.A. until the Commencement,
is in the mean time termed an Inceptor.

Used in the English universities, and formerly at Harvard College.

And, in case any of the Sophisters, Questionists, or _Inceptors_
fail in the premises required at their hands ... they shall be
deferred to the following year.--_Laws of 1650, in Quincy's Hist.
Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 518.

The Admissio _Inceptorum_ was as follows: "Admitto te ad secundum
gradum in artibus pro more Academiarum in Angliâ: tibique trado
hunc librum unâ cum potestate publice profitendi, ubicunque ad hoc
munus publicè evocatus fueris."--_Ibid._, Vol. I. p. 580.


INDIAN SOCIETY. At the Collegiate Institute of Indiana, a society
of smokers was established, in the year 1837, by an Indian named
Zachary Colbert, and called the Indian Society. The members and
those who have been invited to join the society, to the number of
sixty or eighty, are accustomed to meet in a small room, ten feet
by eighteen; all are obliged to smoke, and he who first desists is
required to pay for the cigars smoked at that meeting.


INDIGO. At Dartmouth College, a member of the party called the
Blues. The same as a BLUE, which see.

The Howes, years ago, used to room in Dartmouth Hall, though none
room there now, and so they made up some verses. Here is one:--

"Hurrah for Dartmouth Hall!
Success to every student
That rooms in Dartmouth Hall,
Unless he be an _Indigo_,
Then, no success at all."
_The Dartmouth_, Vol. IV. p. 117.


INITIATION. Secret societies exist in almost all the colleges in
the United States, which require those who are admitted to pass
through certain ceremonies called the initiation. This fact is
often made use of to deceive Freshmen, upon their entrance into
college, who are sometimes initiated into societies which have no
existence, and again into societies where initiation is not
necessary for membership.

A correspondent from Dartmouth College writes as follows: "I
believe several of the colleges have various exercises of
_initiating_ Freshmen. Ours is done by the 'United Fraternity,'
one of our library societies (they are neither of them secret),
which gives out word that the _initiation_ is a fearful ceremony.
It is simply every kind of operation that can be contrived to
terrify, and annoy, and make fun of Freshmen, who do not find out
for some time that it is not the necessary and serious ceremony of
making them members of the society."

In the University of Virginia, students on entering are sometimes
initiated into the ways of college life by very novel and unique
ceremonies, an account of which has been furnished by a graduate
of that institution. "The first thing, by way of admitting the
novitiate to all the mysteries of college life, is to require of
him in an official communication, under apparent signature of one
of the professors, a written list, tested under oath, of the
entire number of his shirts and other necessary articles in his
wardrobe. The list he is requested to commit to memory, and be
prepared for an examination on it, before the Faculty, at some
specified hour. This the new-comer usually passes with due
satisfaction, and no little trepidation, in the presence of an
august assemblage of his student professors. He is now remanded to
his room to take his bed, and to rise about midnight bell for
breakfast. The 'Callithumpians' (in this Institution a regularly
organized company), 'Squallinaders,' or 'Masquers,' perform their
part during the livelong night with instruments 'harsh thunder
grating,' to insure to the poor youth a sleepless night, and give
him full time to con over and curse in his heart the miseries of a
college existence. Our fellow-comrade is now up, dressed, and
washed, perhaps two hours in advance of the first light of dawn,
and, under the guidance of a _posse comitatus_ of older students,
is kindly conducted to his morning meal. A long alley, technically
'Green Alley,' terminating with a brick wall, informing all, 'Thus
far shalt thou go, and no farther,' is pointed out to him, with
directions 'to follow his nose and keep straight ahead.' Of course
the unsophisticated finds himself completely nonplused, and gropes
his way back, amidst the loud vociferations of 'Go it, green un!'
With due apologies for the treatment he has received, and violent
denunciations against the former _posse_ for their unheard-of
insolence towards the gentleman, he is now placed under different
guides, who volunteer their services 'to see him through.' Suffice
it to be said, that he is again egregiously 'taken in,' being
deposited in the Rotunda or Lecture-room, and told to ring for
whatever he wants, either coffee or hot biscuit, but particularly
enjoined not to leave without special permission from one of the
Faculty. The length of his sojourn in this place, where he is
finally left, is of course in proportion to his state of
verdancy."


INSPECTOR OF THE COLLEGE. At Yale College, a person appointed to
ascertain, inspect, and estimate all damages done to the College
buildings and appurtenances, whenever required by the President.
All repairs, additions, and alterations are made under his
inspection, and he is also authorized to determine whether the
College chambers are fit for the reception of the students.
Formerly the inspectorship in Harvard College was held by one of
the members of the College government. His duty was to examine the
state of the College public buildings, and also at stated times to
examine the exterior and interior of the buildings occupied by the
students, and to cause such repairs to be made as were in his
opinion proper. The same duties are now performed by the
_Superintendent of Public Buildings_.--_Laws Yale Coll._, 1837,
p. 22. _Laws Harv. Coll._, 1814, p. 58, and 1848, p 29.

The duties of the _Inspector of the College Buildings_, at
Middlebury, are similar to those required of the inspector at
Yale.--_Laws Md. Coll._, 1839, pp. 15, 16.

IN STATU PUPILLARI. Latin; literally, _in a state of pupilage_. In
the English universities, one who is subject to collegiate laws,
discipline, and officers is said to be _in statu pupillari_.

And the short space that here we tarry,
At least "_in statu pupillari_,"
Forbids our growing hopes to germ,
Alas! beyond the appointed term.
_Grad. ad Cantab._, p. 109.


INTERLINEAR. A printed book, with a written translation between
the lines. The same as an _illuminated_ book; for an account of
which, see under ILLUMINATE.

Then devotes himself to study, with a steady, earnest zeal,
And scorns an _Interlinear_, or a Pony's meek appeal.
_Poem before Iadma_, 1850, p. 20.


INTERLINER. Same as INTERLINEAR.

In the "Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D.," a Professor at Harvard
College, Professor Felton observes: "He was a mortal enemy to
translations, '_interliners_,' and all such subsidiary helps in
learning lessons; he classed them all under the opprobrious name
of 'facilities,' and never scrupled to seize them as contraband
goods. When he withdrew from College, he had a large and valuable
collection of this species of literature. In one of the notes to
his Three Lectures he says: 'I have on hand a goodly number of
these confiscated wares, full of manuscript innotations, which I
seized in the way of duty, and would now restore to the owners on
demand, without their proving property or paying charges.'"--p.
lxxvii.

Ponies, _Interliners_, Ticks, Screws, and Deads (these are all
college verbalities) were all put under contribution.--_A Tour
through College_, Boston, 1832, p. 25.


INTONITANS BOLUS. Greek, [Greek: bolos], a lump. Latin, _bolus_, a
bit, a morsel. English, _bolus_, a mass of anything made into a
large pill. It may be translated _a thundering pill_. At Harvard
College, the _Intonitans Bolus_ was a great cane or club which was
given nominally to the strongest fellow in the graduating class;
"but really," says a correspondent, "to the greatest bully," and
thus was transmitted, as an entailed estate, to the Samsons of
College. If any one felt that he had been wronged in not receiving
this emblem of valor, he was permitted to take it from its
possessor if he could. In later years the club presented a very
curious appearance; being almost entirely covered with the names
of those who had held it, carved on its surface in letters of all
imaginable shapes and descriptions. At one period, it was in the
possession of Richard Jeffrey Cleveland, a member of the class of
1827, and was by him transmitted to Jonathan Saunderson of the
class of 1828. It has disappeared within the last fifteen or
twenty years, and its hiding-place, even if it is in existence, is
not known.

See BULLY CLUB.


INVALID'S TABLE. At Yale College, in former times, a table at
which those who were not in health could obtain more nutritious
food than was supplied at the common board. A graduate at that
institution has referred to the subject in the annexed extract.
"It was extremely difficult to obtain permission to board out, and
indeed impossible except in extreme cases: the beginning of such
permits would have been like the letting out of water. To take
away all pretext for it, an '_invalid's table_' was provided,
where, if one chose to avail himself of it, having a doctor's
certificate that his health required it, he might have a somewhat
different diet."--_Scenes and Characters in College, New Haven_,
1847, pp. 117, 118.



_J_.


JACK-KNIFE. At Harvard College it has long been the custom for the
ugliest member of the Senior Class to receive from his classmates
a _Jack-knife_, as a reward or consolation for the plainness of
his features. In former times, it was transmitted from class to
class, its possessor in the graduating class presenting it to the
one who was deemed the ugliest in the class next below.

Mr. William Biglow, a member of the class of 1794, the recipient
for that year of the Jack-knife,--in an article under the head of
"Omnium Gatherum," published in the Federal Orrery, April 27,
1795, entitled, "A Will: Being the last words of CHARLES
CHATTERBOX, Esq., late worthy and much lamented member of the
Laughing Club of Harvard University, who departed college life,
June 21, 1794, in the twenty-first year of his age,"--presents
this _transmittendum_ to his successor, with the following
words:--

"_Item_. C---- P----s[41] has my knife,
During his natural college life;
That knife, which ugliness inherits,
And due to his superior merits,
And when from Harvard he shall steer,
I order him to leave it here,
That't may from class to class descend,
Till time and ugliness shall end."

Mr. Prentiss, in the autumn of 1795, soon after graduating,
commenced the publication of the Rural Repository, at Leominster,
Mass. In one of the earliest numbers of this paper, following the
example of Mr. Biglow, he published his will, which Mr. Paine, the
editor of the Federal Orrery, immediately transferred to his
columns with this introductory note:--"Having, in the second
number of 'Omnium Gatherum' presented to our readers the last will
and testament of Charles Chatterbox, Esq., of witty memory,
wherein the said Charles, now deceased, did lawfully bequeath to
Ch----s Pr----s the celebrated 'Ugly Knife,' to be by him
transmitted, at his college demise, to the next succeeding
candidate; -------- and whereas the said Ch----s Pr----s, on the
21st of June last, departed his aforesaid college life, thereby
leaving to the inheritance of his successor the valuable legacy
which his illustrious friend had bequeathed, as an entailed
estate, to the poets of the university,--we have thought proper to
insert a full, true, and attested copy of the will of the last
deceased heir, in order that the world may be furnished with a
correct genealogy of this renowned _Jack-knife_, whose pedigree
will become as illustrious in after time as the family of the
'ROLLES,' and which will be celebrated by future wits as the most
formidable _weapon_ of modern genius."

That part of the will only is here inserted which refers
particularly to the Knife. It is as follows:--

"I--I say I, now make this will;
Let those whom I assign fulfil.
I give, grant, render, and convey
My goods and chattels thus away;
That _honor of a college life,
That celebrated_ UGLY KNIFE,
Which predecessor SAWNEY[42] orders,
Descending to time's utmost borders,
To _noblest bard_ of _homeliest phiz_,
To have and hold and use, as his,
I now present C----s P----y S----r,[43]
To keep with his poetic lumber,
To scrape his quid, and make a split,
To point his pen for sharpening wit;
And order that he ne'er abuse
Said ugly knife, in dirtier use,
And let said CHARLES, that best of writers,
In prose satiric skilled to bite us,
And equally in verse delight us,
Take special care to keep it clean
From unpoetic hands,--I ween.
And when those walls, the muses' seat,
Said S----r is obliged to quit,
Let some one of APOLLO'S firing,
To such heroic joys aspiring,
Who long has borne a poet's name,
With said Knife cut his way to fame."
See _Buckingham's Reminiscences_, Vol. II. pp. 281, 270.

Tradition asserts that the original Jack-knife was terminated at
one end of the handle by a large blade, and at the other by a
projecting piece of iron, to which a chain of the same metal was
attached, and that it was customary to carry it in the pocket
fastened by this chain to some part of the person. When this was
lost, and the custom of transmitting the Knife went out of
fashion, the class, guided by no rule but that of their own fancy,
were accustomed to present any thing in the shape of a knife,
whether oyster or case, it made no difference. In one instance a
wooden one was given, and was immediately burned by the person who
received it. At present the Jack-knife is voted to the ugliest
member of the Senior Class, at the meeting for the election of
officers for Class Day, and the sum appropriated for its purchase
varies in different years from fifty cents to twenty dollars. The
custom of presenting the Jack-knife is one of the most amusing of
those which have come down to us from the past, and if any
conclusion may be drawn from the interest which is now manifested
in its observance, it is safe to infer, in the words of the poet,
that it will continue
"Till time and ugliness shall end."

In the Collegiate Institute of Indiana, a Jack-knife is given to
the greatest liar, as a reward of merit.

See WILL.


JAPANNED. A cant term in use at the University of Cambridge, Eng.,
explained in the following passage. "Many ... step ... into the
Church, without any pretence of other change than in the attire of
their outward man,--the being '_japanned_,' as assuming the black
dress and white cravat is called in University slang."--_Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 344.


JESUIT. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of Jesus
College.


JOBATION. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a sharp reprimand
from the Dean for some offence, not eminently heinous.

Thus dismissed the august presence, he recounts this _jobation_ to
his friends, and enters into a discourse on masters, deans,
tutors, and proctors.--_Grad. ad Cantab._, p. 124.


JOBE. To reprove; to reprimand. "In the University of Cambridge,
[Eng.,] the young scholars are wont to call chiding,
_jobing_."--_Grad. ad Cantab._

I heard a lively young man assert, that, in consequence of an
intimation from the tutor relative to his irregularities, his
father came from the country to _jobe_ him.--_Gent. Mag._, Dec.
1794.


JOE. A name given at several American colleges to a privy. It is
said that when Joseph Penney was President of Hamilton College, a
request from the students that the privies might be cleansed was
met by him with a denial. In consequence of this refusal, the
offices were purified by fire on the night of November 5th. The
derivation of the word, allowing the truth of this story, is
apparent.

The following account of _Joe-Burning_ is by a correspondent from
Hamilton College:--"On the night of the 5th of November, every
year, the Sophomore Class burn 'Joe.' A large pile is made of
rails, logs, and light wood, in the form of a triangle. The space
within is filled level to the top, with all manner of
combustibles. A 'Joe' is then sought for by the class, carried
from its foundations on a rude bier, and placed on this pile. The
interior is filled with wood and straw, surrounding a barrel of
tar placed in the middle, over all of which gallons of turpentine
are thrown, and then set fire to. From the top of the lofty hill
on which the College buildings are situated, this fire can be seen
for twenty miles around. The Sophomores are all disguised in the
most odd and grotesque dresses. A ring is formed around the
burning 'Joe,' and a chant is sung. Horses of the neighbors are
obtained and ridden indiscriminately, without saddle or bridle.
The burning continues usually until daylight."

Ponamus Convivium
_Josephi_ in locum
Et id uremus.
_Convivii Exsequiæ, Hamilton Coll._, 1850.


JOHNIAN. A member of St. John's College in the University of
Cambridge, Eng.

The _Johnians_ are always known by the name of pigs; they put up a
new organ the other day, which was immediately christened "Baconi
Novum Organum."--_Westminster Rev._, Am. ed., Vol. XXXV., p 236.


JUN. Abbreviated for Junior.

The target for all the venomed darts of rowdy Sophs, magnificent
_Juns_, and lazy Senes.--_The Yale Banger_, Nov. 10, 1846.


JUNE. An abbreviation of Junior.

I once to Yale a Fresh did come,
But now a jolly _June_,
Returning to my distant home,
I bear the wooden spoon.
_Songs of Yale_, 1853, p. 36.

But now, when no longer a Fresh or a Soph,
Each blade is a gentleman _June_.
_Ibid._, p. 39.


JUNE TRAINING. The following interesting and entertaining account
of one of the distinguishing customs of the University of Vermont,
is from the pen of one of her graduates, to whom the editor of
this work is under many obligations for the valuable assistance he
has rendered in effecting the completeness of this Collection.

"In the old time when militia trainings were in fashion, the
authorities of Burlington decided that, whereas the students of
the University of Vermont claimed and were allowed the right of
suffrage, they were to be considered citizens, and consequently
subject to military duty. The students having refused to appear on
parade, were threatened with prosecution; and at last they
determined to make their appearance. This they did on a certain
'training day,' (the year I do not recollect,) to the full
satisfaction of the authorities, who did not expect _such_ a
parade, and had no desire to see it repeated. But the students
being unwilling to expose themselves to 'the rigor of the law,'
paraded annually; and when at last the statute was repealed and
militia musters abolished, they continued the practice for the
sake of old association. Thus it passed into a custom, and the
first Wednesday of June is as eagerly anticipated by the citizens
of Burlington and the youth of the surrounding country for its
'training,' as is the first Wednesday of August for its annual
Commencement. The Faculty always smile propitiously, and in the
afternoon the performance commences. The army, or more
euphoniously the 'UNIVERSITY INVINCIBLES,' take up 'their line of
march' from the College campus, and proceed through all the
principal streets to the great square, where, in the presence of
an immense audience, a speech is delivered by the
Commander-in-chief, and a sermon by the Chaplain, the roll is
called, and the annual health report is read by the surgeon. These
productions are noted for their patriotism and fervid eloquence
rather than high literary merit. Formerly the music to which they
marched consisted solely of the good old-fashioned drum and fife;
but of late years the Invincibles have added to these a brass
band, composed of as many obsolete instruments as can be procured,
in the hands of inexperienced performers. None who have ever
handled a musical instrument before are allowed to become members
of the band, lest the music should be too sweet and regular to
comport with the general order of the parade. The uniform (or
rather the _multiform_) of the company varies from year to year,
owing to the regulation that each soldier shall consult his own
taste,--provided that no two are to have the same taste in their