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equipments. The artillery consists of divers joints of rusty
stove-pipe, in each of which is inserted a toy cannon of about one
quarter of an inch calibre, mounted on an old dray, and drawn by
as many horse-apologies as can be conveniently attached to it.
When these guns are discharged, the effect--as might be
expected--is terrific. The banners, built of cotton sheeting and
mounted on a rake-handle, although they do not always exhibit
great artistic genius, often display vast originality of design.
For instance, one contained on the face a diagram (done in ink
with the wrong end of a quill) of the _pons asinorum_, with the
rather belligerent inscription, 'REMEMBER NAPOLEON AT LODI.' On
the reverse was the head of an extremely doubtful-looking
individual viewing 'his natural face in a glass.'
Inscription,--'O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursel's
as others see us.'
"The surgeon's equipment is an ox-cart containing jars of drugs
(most of them marked 'N.E.R.' and 'O.B.J.'), boxes of homoeopathic
pills (about the size of a child's head), immense saws and knives,
skeletons of animals, &c.; over which preside the surgeon and his
assistant in appropriate dresses, with tin spectacles. This
surgeon is generally the chief feature of the parade, and his
reports are astonishing additions to the surgical lore of our
country. He is the wit of the College,--the one who above all
others is celebrated for the loudest laugh, the deepest bumper,
the best joke, and the poorest song. How well he sustains his
reputation may be known by listening to his annual reading, or by
reference to the reports of 'Trotwood,' 'Gubbins,' or 'Deppity
Sawbones,' who at different times have immortalized themselves by
their contributions to science. The cavalcade is preceded by the
'pioneers,' who clear the way for the advancing troops; which is
generally effected by the panic among the boys, occasioned by the
savage aspect of the pioneers,--their faces being hideously
painted, and their dress consisting of gleanings from every
costume, Christian, Pagan, and Turkish, known among men. As the
body passes through the different streets, the martial men receive
sundry testimonials of regard and approval in the shape of boquets
and wreaths from the fair 'Peruvians,' who of course bestow them
on those who, in their opinion, have best succeeded in the object
of the day,--uncouth appearance. After the ceremonies, the
students quietly congregate in some room in college to _count_
these favors and to ascertain who is to be considered the hero of
the day, as having rendered himself pre-eminently ridiculous. This
honor generally falls to the lot of the surgeon. As the sun sinks
behind the Adirondacs over the lake, the parade ends; the many
lookers-on having nothing to see but the bright visions of the
next year's training, retire to their homes; while the now weary
students, gathered in knots in the windows of the upper stories,
lazily and comfortably puff their black pipes, and watch the
lessening forms of the retreating countrymen."
Further to elucidate the peculiarities of the June Training, the
annexed account of the custom, as it was observed on the first
Wednesday in June of the current year, is here inserted, taken
from the "Daily Free Press," published at Burlington, June 8th,
1855.
"The annual parade of the principal military body in Vermont is an
event of importance. The first Wednesday in June, the day assigned
to it, is becoming the great day of the year in Burlington.
Already it rivals, if it does not exceed, Commencement day in
glory and honor. The people crowd in from the adjoining towns, the
steamboats bring numbers from across the lake, and the inhabitants
of the town turn out in full force. The yearly recurrence of such
scenes shows the fondness of the people for a hearty laugh, and
the general acceptableness of the entertainment provided.
"The day of the parade this year was a very favorable
one,--without dust, and neither too hot nor too cold for comfort
The performances properly--or rather _im_properly--commenced in
the small hours of the night previous by the discharge of a cannon
in front of the college buildings, which, as the cannon was
stupidly or wantonly pointed _towards_ the college buildings, blew
in several hundred panes of glass. We have not heard that anybody
laughed at this piece of heavy wit.
"At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Invincibles took up their
line of march, with scream of fife and roll of drum, down Pearl
Street to the Square, where the flying artillery discharged a
grand national salute of one gun; thence to the Exchange, where a
halt was made and a refreshment of water partaken of by the
company, and then to the Square in front of the American, where
they were duly paraded, reviewed, exhorted, and reported upon, in
presence of two or three thousand people.
"The scene presented was worth seeing. The windows of the American
and Wheeler's Block had all been taken out, and were filled with
bright female faces; the roofs of the same buildings were lined
with spectators, and the top of the portico of the American was a
condensed mass of loveliness and bright colors. The Town Hall
windows, steps, doors, &c. were also filled. Every good look-out
anywhere near the spot was occupied, and a dense mass of
by-standers and lookers-on in carriages crowded the southern part
of the Square.
"Of the cortege itself, the pencil of a Hogarth only could give an
adequate idea. The valorous Colonel Brick was of course the centre
of all eyes. He was fitly supported by his two aids. The three
were in elegant uniforms, were handsomely mounted, rode well and
with gallant bearing, and presented a particularly attractive
appearance.
"Behind them appeared a scarlet robe, surmounted by a white wig of
Brobdinagian dimensions and spectacles to match, which it is
supposed contained in the interior the physical system of the
Reverendissimus Boanerges Diogenes Lanternarius, Chaplain, the
whole mounted upon the vertebrę of a solemn-looking donkey.
"The representative of the Church Militant was properly backed up
by the Flying Artillery. Their banner announced that they were
'for the reduction of Sebastopol,' and it is safe to say that they
will certainly take that fortress, if they get a chance. If the
Russians hold out against those four ghostly steeds, tandem, with
their bandy-legged and kettle-stomached riders,--that gun, so
strikingly like a joint of old stove-pipe in its exterior, but
which upon occasion could vomit forth your real smoke and sound
and smell of unmistakable brimstone,--and those slashed and
blood-stained artillerymen,--they will do more than anybody did on
Wednesday.
"The T.L.N. Horn-et Band, with Sackbut, Psaltery, Dulcimer, and
Shawm, Tanglang, Locofodeon, and Hugag, marched next. They
reserved their efforts for special occasions, when they woke the
echoes with strains of altogether unearthly music, composed for
them expressly by Saufylur, the eminent self-taught New Zealand
composer.
"Barnum's Baby-Show, on four wheels, in charge of the great
showman himself, aided by that experienced nurse, Mrs. Gamp, in
somewhat dilapidated attire, followed. The babies, from a span
long to an indefinite length, of all shapes and sizes, black,
white, and snuff-colored, twins, triplets, quartettes, and
quincunxes, in calico and sackcloth, and in a state of nature,
filled the vehicle, and were hung about it by the leg or neck or
middle. A half-starved quadruped of osseous and slightly equine
appearance drew the concern, and the shrieking axles drowned the
cries of the innocents.
"Mr. Joseph Hiss and Mrs. Patterson of Massachusetts were not
absent. Joseph's rubicund complexion, brassy and distinctly
Know-Nothing look, and nasal organ well developed by his
experience on the olfactory committee, were just what might have
been expected. The 'make up' of Mrs. P., a bright brunette, was
capital, and she looked the woman, if not the lady, to perfection.
The two appeared in a handsome livery buggy, paid for, we suppose,
by the State of Massachusetts.
"A wagon-load of two or three tattered and desperate looking
individuals, labelled 'Recruits for the Crimea,' with a generous
supply of old iron and brick-bats as material of war, was dragged
along by the frame and most of the skin of what was once a horse.
"Towards the rear, but by no means least in consequence or in the
amount of attention attracted, was the army hospital, drawn by two
staid and well-fed oxen. In front appeared the snowy locks and
'fair round belly, with good _cotton_ lined' of the worthy Dr.
Esculapius Liverwort Tarand Cantchuget-urlegawa Opodeldoc, while
by his side his assistant sawbones brayed in a huge iron mortar,
with a weighty pestle, much noise, and indefatigable zeal, the
drugs and dye-stuffs. Thigh-bones, shoulder-blades, vertebrę, and
even skulls, hanging round the establishment, testified to the
numerous and successful amputations performed by the skilful
surgeon.
"Noticeable among the cavalry were Don Quixote de la U.V.M.,
Knight of the patent-leather gaiters, terrible in his bright
rectangular cuirass of tin (once a tea-chest), and his glittering
harpoon; his doughty squire, Sancho Panza; and a dashing young
lady, whose tasteful riding-dress of black cambric, wealth of
embroidered skirts and undersleeves, and bold riding, took not a
little attention.
"Of the rank and file on foot it is useless to attempt a
description. Beards of awful size, moustaches of every shade and
length under a foot, phizzes of all colors and contortions,
four-story hats with sky-scraping feathers, costumes
ring-streaked, speckled, monstrous, and incredible, made up the
motley crew. There was a Northern emigrant just returned from
Kansas, with garments torn and water-soaked, and but half cleaned
of the adhesive tar and feathers, watched closely by a burly
Missourian, with any quantity of hair and fire-arms and
bowie-knives. There were Rev. Antoinette Brown, and Neal Dow;
there was a darky whose banner proclaimed his faith in Stowe and
Seward and Parker, an aboriginal from the prairies, an ancient
minstrel with a modern fiddle, and a modern minstrel with an
ancient hurdy- gurdy. All these and more. Each man was a study in
himself, and to all, Falstaff's description of his recruits would
apply:--
"'My whole charge consists of corporals, lieutenants, gentlemen of
companies, slaves as ragged as Lazarus in the painted cloth, where
the glutton's dogs licked his sores; the cankers of a calm world
and a long peace; ten times more dishonorable ragged than an
old-faced ancient: and such have I, that you would think I had a
hundred and fifty tattered prodigals lately come from
swine-keeping, from eating draff and husks. A mad fellow met me on
the way and told me I had unloaded all the gibbets and pressed the
dead bodies. No eye hath seen such scarecrows.'
"The proceedings on the review were exciting. After the calling of
the roll, the idol of his regiment, Col. Martin Van Buren Brick,
discharged an eloquent and touching speech.
"From the report of Dr. Opodeldoc, which was thirty-six feet in
length, we can of course give but a few extracts. He commenced by
informing the Invincibles that his cures the year past had been
more astounding than ever, and that his fame would continue to
grow brighter and brighter, until eclipsed by the advent of some
younger Dr. Esculapius Liverwort Tar Cant-ye-get-your-leg-away
Opodeldoc, who in after years would shoot up like a meteor and
reproduce his father's greatness; and went on as follows:--
"'The first academic that appeared after the last report was the
_desideratum graduatere_, or graduating fever. Twenty-seven were
taken down. Symptoms, morality in the head,--dignity in the walk,
--hints about graduating,--remarkable tendency to
swell,--literary movement of the superior and inferior maxillary
bones, &c., &c. Strictures on bleeding were first applied; then
treating homoeopathically _similis similibus_, applied roots
extracted, roots Latin and Greek, infinitesimal extracts of
calculus, mathematical formulas, psychological inductions, &c.,
&c. No avail. Finally applied huge sheep-skin plasters under the
axilla, with a composition of printers' ink, paste, paper,
ribbons, and writing-ink besmeared thereon, and all were
despatched in one short day.
"'Sophomore Exhibition furnished many cases. One man hit by a
Soph-bug, drove eye down into stomach, carrying with it brains and
all inside of the head. In order to draw them back to their proper
place, your Surgeon caused a leaf from Barnum's Autobiography to
be placed on patient's head, thinking that to contain more true,
genuine _suction_ than anything yet discovered.
* * * * *
"'Nebraska _cancers_ have appeared in our ranks, especially in
Missouri division. Surgeon recommends 385 eighty-pounders be
loaded to the muzzle, first with blank cartridges,--to wit, Frank
Pierce and Stephen A. Douglas, Free-Soil sermons, Fern Leaves, Hot
Corn, together with all the fancy literature of the day,--and
cause the same to be fired upon the disputed territory; this would
cause all the breakings out to be removed, and drive off
everybody.'
"The close of the report was as follows. It affected many even to
tears.
"'May you all remember your Surgeon, and may your thoracic duck
ever continue to sail peacefully down the common carrotted
arteries, under the keystone of the arch of the aorta, and not
rush madly into the abominable cavity and eclipse the semi-lunar
dandelions, nor, still worse, play the dickens with the
pneumogastric nerve and auxiliary artery, reverse the doododen,
upset the flamingo, irritate the _high-old-glossus_, and be for
ever lost in the receptaculum chyli. No, no, but, &c. Yours
feelingly,
'Dr. E.L.T.C.O., M.D.'
"Dr. O., we notice, has added a new branch, that of dentistry, to
his former accomplishments. By his new system, his customers are
not obliged to undergo the pain of the operations in person, but,
by merely sending their heads to him, can have everything done
with a great decrease of trouble. From a calf's head thus sent in,
the Doctor, after cutting the gums with a hay-cutter, and filing
between the teeth with a wood-saw, skilfully extracted with a pair
of blacksmith tongs a very great number of molars and incisors.
"Miss Lucy Amazonia Crura Longa Lignea, thirteen feet high, and
Mr. Rattleshanks Don Skyphax, a swain a foot taller, advanced from
the ranks, and were made one by the chaplain. The bride promised
to own the groom, but _protested_ formally against his custody of
her person, property, and progeny. The groom pledged himself to
mend the unmentionables of his spouse, or to resign his own when
required to rock the cradle, and spank the babies. He placed no
ring upon her finger, but instead transferred his whiskers to her
face, when the chaplain pronounced them 'wife and man,' and the
happy pair stalked off, their heads on a level with the
second-story windows.
"Music from the Keeseville Band who were present followed; the
flying artillery fired another salute; the fife and drums struck
up; and the Invincibles took their winding way to the University,
where they were disbanded in good season."
JUNIOR. One in the third year of his collegiate course in an
American college, formerly called JUNIOR SOPHISTER.
See SOPHISTER.
2. One in the first year of his course at a theological seminary.
--_Webster_.
JUNIOR. Noting the third year of the collegiate course in American
colleges, or the first year in the theological
seminaries.--_Webster_.
JUNIOR APPOINTMENTS. At Yale College, there appears yearly, in the
papers conducted by the students, a burlesque imitation of the
regular appointments of the Junior exhibition. These mock
appointments are generally of a satirical nature, referring to
peculiarities of habits, character, or manners. The following,
taken from some of the Yale newspapers, may be considered as
specimens of the subjects usually assigned. Philosophical Oration,
given to one distinguished for a certain peculiarity, subject,
"The Advantage of a Great Breadth of Base." Latin Oration, to a
vain person, subject, "Amor Sui." Dissertations: to a meddling
person, subject, "The Busybody"; to a poor punster, subject,
"Diseased Razors"; to a poor scholar, subject, "Flunk on,--flunk
ever." Colloquy, to a joker whose wit was not estimated, subject,
"Unappreciated Facetiousness." When a play upon names is
attempted, the subject "Perfect Looseness" is assigned to Mr.
Slack; Mr. Barnes discourses upon "_Stability_ of character, or
pull down and build greater"; Mr. Todd treats upon "The Student's
Manual," and incentives to action are presented, based on the line
"Lives of great men all remind us,"
by students who rejoice in the Christian names, George Washington,
Patrick Henry, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Charles James
Fox, and Henry Clay.
See MOCK PART.
JUNIOR BACHELOR. One who is in his first year after taking the
degree of Bachelor of Arts.
No _Junior Bachelor_ shall continue in the College after the
commencement in the Summer vacation.--_Laws of Harv. Coll._, 1798,
p. 19.
JUNIOR FELLOW. At Oxford, one who stands upon the foundation of
the college to which he belongs, and is an aspirant for academic
emoluments.--_De Quincey_.
2. At Trinity College, Hartford, a Junior Fellow is one chosen by
the House of Convocation to be a member of the examining committee
for three years. Junior Fellows must have attained the M.A.
degree, and can only be voted for by Masters in Arts. Six Junior
Fellows are elected every three years.
JUNIOR FRESHMAN. The name of the first of the four classes into
which undergraduates are divided at Trinity College, Dublin.
JUNIOR OPTIME. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who
occupy the third rank in honors, at the close of the final
examination in the Senate-House, are called _Junior Optimes_.
The third class, or that of _Junior Optimes_, is usually about at
numerous as the first [that of the Wranglers], but its limits are
more extensive, varying from twenty-five to sixty. A majority of
the Classical men are in it; the rest of its contents are those
who have broken down before the examination from ill-health or
laziness, and choose the Junior Optime as an easier pass degree
under their circumstances than the Poll, and those who break down
in the examination; among these last may be sometimes found an
expectant Wrangler.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed.
2d p. 228.
The word is frequently abbreviated.
Two years ago he got up enough of his low subjects to go on among
the _Junior Ops._--_Ibid._, p. 53.
There are only two mathematical papers, and these consist almost
entirely of high questions; what a _Junior Op._ or low Senior Op.
can do in them amounts to nothing.--_Ibid._, p. 286.
JUNIOR SOPHISTER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a student
in the second year of his residence is called Junior Soph or
Sophister.
2. In some American colleges, a member of the Junior Class, i.e.
of the third year, was formerly designated a Junior Sophister.
See SOPHISTER.
_K_.
KEEP. To lodge, live, dwell, or inhabit. To _keep_ in such a
place, is to have rooms there. This word, though formerly used
extensively, is now confined to colleges and universities.
Inquire of anybody you meet in the court of a college at Cambridge
your way to Mr. A----'s room, you will be told that he _keeps_ on
such a staircase, up so many pair of stairs, door to the right or
left.--_Forby's Vocabulary_, Vol. II. p. 178.
He said I ought to have asked for his rooms, or inquired where he
_kept_.--_Gent. Mag._, 1795, p. 118.
Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary, cites this very apposite passage
from Shakespeare: "Knock at the study where they say he keeps."
Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, says of the word: "This is noted
as an Americanism in the Monthly Anthology, Vol. V. p. 428. It is
less used now than formerly."
_To keep an act_, in the English universities, "to perform an
exercise in the public schools preparatory to the proceeding in
degrees." The phrase was formerly in use in Harvard College. In an
account in the Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I. p. 245, entitled New
England's First Fruits, is the following in reference to that
institution: "The students of the first classis that have beene
these foure yeeres trained up in University learning, and are
approved for their manners, as they have _kept their publick Acts_
in former yeeres, ourselves being present at them; so have they
lately _kept two solemn Acts_ for their Commencement."
_To keep chapel_, in colleges, to attend Divine services, which
are there performed daily.
"As you have failed to _make up your number_ of chapels the last
two weeks," such are the very words of the Dean, "you will, if you
please, _keep every chapel_ till the end of the term."--_Household
Words_, Vol. II. p. 161.
_To keep a term_, in universities, is to reside during a
term.--_Webster_.
KEYS. Caius, the name of one of the colleges in the University of
Cambridge, Eng., is familiarly pronounced _Keys_.
KINGSMAN. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of King's
College.
He came out the winner, with the _Kingsman_ and one of our three
close at his heels.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed.
2d, p. 127.
KITCHEN-HATCH. A half-door between the kitchen and the hall in
colleges and old mansions. At Harvard College, the students in
former times received at the _kitchen-hatch_ their food for the
evening meal, which they were allowed to eat in the yard or at
their rooms. At the same place the waiters also took the food
which they carried to the tables.
The waiters when the bell rings at meal-time shall take the
victuals at the _kitchen-hatch_, and carry the Same to the several
tables for which they are designed.--_Laws Harv. Coll._, 1798, p.
41.
See BUTTERY-HATCH.
KNOCK IN. A phrase used at Oxford, and thus explained in the
Collegian's Guide: "_Knocking in_ late, or coming into college
after eleven or twelve o'clock, is punished frequently with being
'confined to gates,' or being forbidden to '_knock in_' or come in
after nine o'clock for a week or more, sometimes all the
term."--p. 161.
KNOCKS. From KNUCKLES. At some of the Southern colleges, a game at
marbles called _Knucks_ is a common diversion among the students.
[Greek: Kudos]. Greek; literally, _glory, fame_. Used among
students, with the meaning _credit, reputation_.
I was actuated not merely by a desire after the promotion of my
own [Greek: kudos], but by an honest wish to represent my country
well.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, pp. 27,
28.
_L_.
LANDSMANNSCHAFT. German. The name of an association of students in
German universities.
LAP-EAR. At Washington College, Penn., students of a religious
character are called _lap-ears_ or _donkeys_. The opposite class
are known by the common name of _bloods_.
LATIN SPOKEN AT COLLEGES. At our older American colleges, students
were formerly required to be able to speak and write Latin before
admission, and to continue the use of it after they had become
members. In his History of Harvard University, Quincy remarks on
this subject:--
"At a period when Latin was the common instrument of communication
among the learned, and the official language of statesmen, great
attention was naturally paid to this branch of education.
Accordingly, 'to speak true Latin, both in prose and verse,' was
made an essential requisite for admission. Among the 'Laws and
Liberties' of the College we also find the following: 'The
scholars _shall never use their mother tongue_, except that, in
public exercises of oratory or such like, they be called to make
them in English.' This law appears upon the records of the College
in the Latin as well as in the English language. The terms in the
former are indeed less restrictive and more practical: 'Scholares
vernaculā linguā, _intra Collegii limites_, nullo pretextu
utentur.' There is reason to believe that those educated at the
College, and destined for the learned professions, acquired an
adequate acquaintance with the Latin, and those destined to become
divines, with the Greek and Hebrew. In other respects, although
the sphere of instruction was limited, it was sufficient for the
age and country, and amply supplied all their purposes and wants."
--Vol. I. pp. 193, 194.
By the laws of 1734, the undergraduates were required to "declaim
publicly in the hall, in one of the three learned languages; and
in no other without leave or direction from the President." The
observance of this rule seems to have been first laid aside, when,
"at an Overseers' meeting at the College, April 27th, 1756, John
Vassall, Jonathan Allen, Tristram Gilman, Thomas Toppan, Edward
Walker, Samuel Barrett, presented themselves before the Board, and
pronounced, in the respective characters assigned them, a dialogue
in _the English tongue_, translated from Castalio, and then
withdrew,"--_Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ._, p. 240.
The first English Oration was spoken by Mr. Jedediah Huntington in
the year 1763, and the first English Poem by Mr. John Davis in
1781.
In reference to this subject, as connected with Yale College,
President Wholsey remarks, in his Historical Discourse:--
"With regard to practice in the learned languages, particularly
the Latin, it is prescribed that 'no scholar shall use the English
tongue in the College with his fellow-scholars, unless he be
called to a public exercise proper to be attended in the English
tongue, but scholars in their chambers, and when they are
together, shall talk Latin.'"--p. 59.
"The fluent use of Latin was acquired by the great body of the
students; nay, certain phrases were caught up by the very cooks in
the kitchen. Yet it cannot be said that elegant Latin was either
spoken or written. There was not, it would appear, much practice
in writing this language, except on the part of those who were
candidates for Berkeleian prizes. And the extant specimens of
Latin discourses written by the officers of the College in the
past century are not eminently Ciceronian in their style. The
speaking of Latin, which was kept up as the College dialect in
rendering excuses for absences, in syllogistic disputes, and in
much of the intercourse between the officers and students, became
nearly extinct about the time of Dr. Dwight's accession. And at
the same period syllogistic disputes as distinguished from
forensic seem to have entirely ceased."--p. 62.
The following story is from the Sketches of Yale College. "In
former times, the students were accustomed to assemble together to
render excuses for absence in Latin. One of the Presidents was in
the habit of answering to almost every excuse presented, 'Ratio
non sufficit' (The reason is not sufficient). On one occasion, a
young man who had died a short time previous was called upon for
an excuse. Some one answered, 'Mortuus est' (He is dead). 'Ratio
non sufficit,' repeated the grave President, to the infinite
merriment of his auditors."--p. 182.
The story is current of one of the old Presidents of Harvard
College, that, wishing to have a dog that had strayed in at
evening prayers driven out of the Chapel, he exclaimed, half in
Latin and half in English, "Exclude canem, et shut the door." It
is also related that a Freshman who had been shut up in the
buttery by some Sophomores, and had on that account been absent
from a recitation, when called upon with a number of others to
render an excuse, not knowing how to express his ideas in Latin,
replied in as learned a manner as possible, hoping that his answer
would pass as Latin, "Shut m' up in t' Buttery."
A very pleasant story, entitled "The Tutor's Ghost," in which are
narrated the misfortunes which befell a tutor in the olden time,
on account of his inability to remember the Latin for the word
"beans," while engaged in conversation, may be found in the "Yale
Literary Magazine," Vol. XX. pp. 190-195.
See NON PARAVI and NON VALUI.
LAUREATE. To honor with a degree in the university, and a present
of a wreath of laurel.--_Warton_.
LAUREATION. The act of conferring a degree in the university,
together with a wreath of laurel; an honor bestowed on those who
excelled in writing verse. This was an ancient practice at Oxford,
from which, probably, originated the denomination of _poet
laureate_.--_Warton_.
The laurel crown, according to Brande, "was customarily given at
the universities in the Middle Ages to such persons as took
degrees in grammar and rhetoric, of which poetry formed a branch;
whence, according to some authors, the term Baccalaureatus has
been derived. The academical custom of bestowing the laurel, and
the court custom, were distinct, until the former was abolished.
The last instance in which the laurel was bestowed in the
universities, was in the reign of Henry the Eighth."
LAWS. In early times, the laws in the oldest colleges in the
United States were as often in Latin as in English. They were
usually in manuscript, and the students were required to make
copies for themselves on entering college. The Rev. Henry Dunster,
who was the first President of Harvard College, formed the first
code of laws for the College. They were styled, "The Laws,
Liberties, and Orders of Harvard College, confirmed by the
Overseers and President of the College in the years 1642, 1643,
1644, 1645, and 1646, and published to the scholars for the
perpetual preservation of their welfare and government." Referring
to him, Quincy says: "Under his administration, the first code of
laws was formed; rules of admission, and the principles on which
degrees should be granted, were established; and scholastic forms,
similar to those customary in the English universities, were
adopted; many of which continue, with little variation, to be used
at the present time."--_Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 15.
In 1732, the laws were revised, and it was voted that they should
all be in Latin, and that each student should have a copy, which
he was to write out for himself and subscribe. In 1790, they were
again revised and printed in English, since which time many
editions have been issued.
Of the laws of Yale College, President Woolsey gives the following
account, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of that
institution, Aug. 14, 1850:--
"In the very first year of the legal existence of the College, we
find the Trustees ordaining, that, 'until they should provide
further, the Rector or Tutors should make use of the orders and
institutions of Harvard College, for the instructing and ruling of
the collegiate school, so far as they should judge them suitable,
and wherein the Trustees had not at that meeting made provision.'
The regulations then made by the Trustees went no further than to
provide for the religious education of the College, and to give to
the College officers the power of imposing extraordinary school
exercises or degradation in the class. The earliest known laws of
the College belong to the years 1720 and 1726, and are in
manuscript; which is explained by the custom that every Freshman,
on his admission, was required to write off a copy of them for
himself, to which the admittatur of the officers was subscribed.
In the year 1745 a new revision of the laws was completed, which
exists in manuscript; but the first printed code was in Latin, and
issued from the press of T. Green at New London, in 1748. Various
editions, with sundry changes in them, appeared between that time
and the year 1774, when the first edition in English saw the
light.
"It is said of this edition, that it was printed by particular
order of the Legislature. That honorable body, being importuned to
extend aid to the College, not long after the time when President
Clap's measures had excited no inconsiderable ill-will, demanded
to see the laws; and accordingly a bundle of the Latin laws--the
only ones in existence--were sent over to the State-House. Not
admiring legislation in a dead language, and being desirous to pry
into the mysteries which it sealed up from some of the members,
they ordered the code to be translated. From that time the
numberless editions of the laws have all been in the English
tongue."--pp. 45, 46.
The College of William and Mary, which was founded in 1693,
imitated in its laws and customs the English universities, but
especially the University of Oxford. The other colleges which were
founded before the Revolution, viz. New Jersey College, Columbia
College, Pennsylvania University, Brown University, Dartmouth, and
Rutgers College, "generally imitated Harvard in the order of
classes, the course of studies, the use of text-books, and the
manner of instruction."--_Am. Quart. Reg._, Vol. XV. 1843, p. 426.
The colleges which were founded after the Revolution compiled
their laws, in a great measure, from those of the above-named
colleges.
LEATHER MEDAL. At Harvard College, the _leather Medal_ was
formerly bestowed upon the _laziest_ fellow in College. He was to
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