The money collected at the Eton Montem, now wisely abolished, was called
"salt." In the {322} _Consuetudinarium vetus Scholæ Etonensis_, taken from
a MS. in the library of Corpus, Cambridge, and the Harleian MS. 7044, p.
167., and printed by Professor Creasy in his _Account of Eton College_,
p. 73. (from whose work I take the extract), the following passage
occurs, under the head "Mense Januario." I would remark, that Montem was
changed from January to Whit-Tuesday, about a hundred years since:--
"'Circiter festum Conversionis Divi Pauli ad horam nonam quodam die
pro arbitrio moderatoris' (ex consueto modo quo eunt collectum
Avellanas Mense Septembri), itur a pueris ad Montem. Mons puerili
religione Etonensium sacer locus est; hunc ob pulchritudinem agri,
amoenitatem graminis, umbraculorum temperationem, et Apollini et
Musis venerabilem sedem faciunt, carminibus celebrant, Tempe
vocant, Heliconi præferunt. Hic Novitii seu recentes, qui annum
nondum viriliter et nervose in acie Etonensi ad verbera steterunt
_sale primo_ condiuntur, tum versiculis qui habeant _salem_ ac
leporem, quoad fieri potest egregie depinguntur. Deinde in recentes
epigrammata faciunt, omni suavitate sermonis, et facetiis alter
alterum superare contendentes. Quicquid in buccam venit libere
licet effutire, modo Latine fiat, modo habeat urbanitatem, modo
caveat obscoenà verborum scurrilitate, postremo et lacrymis
_salsis_ humectant ora genasque' et tune demum veteranorum ritibus
initiantur. Sequuntur orationes et parvi triumphi, et serio
lætantur, cum ob præteritos labores tum ob cooptationem in tam
lepidorum commilitonum societatem."
It seems that "salting" was a sort of initiation, like that which
prevails among our Teutonic brethren, where the "Fuchs" is raised to the
sublime degree of a "Brandfuchs," "junge Bursch," "bemorstes Haupt," by
successive promotions. Not improbably in after times, especially at the
Universities, like "passing the Line," it admitted of being commuted for
a money payment. The exact nature of the "salting" at Eton I cannot
explain; perhaps your able correspondent, R.O., may afford information
on this head.