"In blue-gray coat, with buttons on the cuffs,
First Modern Pride your ear with fustian stuffs;
'Welcome, blest age, by holy seers foretold,
By ancient bards proclaimed the age of gold,'" &c.[22]
But it was by the would-be reformers of that day alone that such
sentiments were held, and it was only by the severity of the
punishment attending non-conformity with these regulations that
they were ever enforced. In 1796, "the sumptuary law relative to
dress had fallen into neglect," and in the next year "it was found
so obnoxious and difficult to enforce," says Quincy, "that a law
was passed abrogating the whole system of distinction by 'frogs on
the cuffs and button-holes,' and the law respecting dress was
limited to prescribing a blue-gray or dark-blue coat, with
permission to wear a black gown, and a prohibition of wearing gold
or silver lace, cord, or edging."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._,
Vol. II. p. 277.
A writer in the New England Magazine, in an article relating to
the customs of Harvard College at the close of the last century,
gives the following description of the uniform ordered by the
Corporation to be worn by the students:--
"Each head supported a three-cornered cocket hat. Yes, gentle
reader, no man or boy was considered in full dress, in those days,
unless his pericranium was thus surmounted, with the forward peak
directly over the right eye. Had a clergyman, especially, appeared
with a hat of any other form, it would have been deemed as great a
heresy as Unitarianism is at the present day. Whether or not the
three-cornered hat was considered as an emblem of Trinitarianism,
I am not able to determine. Our hair was worn in a _queue_, bound
with black ribbon, and reached to the small of the back, in the
shape of the tail of that motherly animal which furnishes
ungrateful bipeds of the human race with milk, butter, and cheese.
Where nature had not bestowed a sufficiency of this ornamental
appendage, the living and the dead contributed of their
superfluity to supply the deficiency. Our ear-locks,--_horresco
referens_!--my ears tingle and my countenance is distorted at the
recollection of the tortures inflicted on them by the heated
curling-tongs and crimping-irons.
"The bosoms of our shirts were ruffled with lawn or cambric, and
'Our fingers' ends were seen to peep
From ruffles, full five inches deep.'
Our coats were double-breasted, and of a black or priest-gray
color. The directions were not so particular respecting our
waistcoats, breeches,--I beg pardon,--small clothes, and
stockings. Our shoes ran to a point at the distance of two or
three inches from the extremity of the foot, and turned upward,
like the curve of a skate. Our dress was ornamented with shining
stock, knee, and shoe buckles, the last embracing at least one
half of the foot of ordinary dimensions. If any wore boots, they
were made to set as closely to the leg as its skin; for a handsome
calf and ankle were esteemed as great beauties as any portion of
the frame, or point in the physiognomy."--Vol. III. pp. 238, 239.
In his late work, entitled, "Memories of Youth and Manhood,"
Professor Sidney Willard has given an entertaining description of
the style of dress which was in vogue at Harvard College near the
close of the last century, in the following words:--
"Except on special occasions, which required more than ordinary
attention to dress, the students, when I was an undergraduate,
were generally very careless in this particular. They were obliged
by the College laws to wear coats of blue-gray; but as a
substitute in warm weather, they were allowed to wear gowns,
except on public occasions; and on these occasions they were
permitted to wear black gowns. Seldom, however, did any one avail
himself of this permission. In summer long gowns of calico or
gingham were the covering that distinguished the collegian, not
only about the College grounds, but in all parts of the village.
Still worse, when the season no longer tolerated this thin outer
garment, many adopted one much in the same shape, made of
colorless woollen stuff called lambskin. These were worn by many
without any under-coat in temperate weather, and in some cases for
a length of time in which they had become sadly soiled. In other
respects there was nothing peculiar in the common dress of the
young men and boys of College to distinguish it from that of
others of the same age. Breeches were generally worn, buttoned at
the knees, and tied or buckled a little below; not so convenient a
garment for a person dressing in haste as trousers or pantaloons.
Often did I see a fellow-student hurrying to the Chapel to escape
tardiness at morning prayers, with this garment unbuttoned at the
knees, the ribbons dangling over his legs, the hose refusing to
keep their elevation, and the calico or woollen gown wrapped about
him, ill concealing his dishabille.
"Not all at once did pantaloons gain the supremacy as the nether
garment. About the beginning of the present century they grew
rapidly in favor with the young; but men past middle age were more
slow to adopt the change. Then, last, the aged very gradually were
converted to the fashion by the plea of convenience and comfort;
so that about the close of the first quarter of the present
century it became almost universal. In another particular, more
than half a century ago, the sons adopted a custom of their wiser
fathers. The young men had for several years worn shoes and boots
shaped in the toe part to a point, called peaked toes, while the
aged adhered to the shape similar to the present fashion; so that
the shoemaker, in a doubtful case, would ask his customer whether
he would have square-toed or peaked-toed. The distinction between
young and old in this fashion was so general, that sometimes a
graceless youth, who had been crossed by his father or guardian in
some of his unreasonable humors, would speak of him with the title
of _Old Square-toes_.
"Boots with yellow tops inverted, and coming up to the knee-band,
were commonly worn by men somewhat advanced in years; but the
younger portion more generally wore half-boots, as they were
called, made of elastic leather, cordovan. These, when worn, left
a space of two or three inches between the top of the boot and the
knee-band. The great beauty of this fashion, as it was deemed by
many, consisted in restoring the boots, which were stretched by
drawing them on, to shape, and bringing them as nearly as possible
into contact with the legs; and he who prided himself most on the
form of his lower limbs would work the hardest in pressure on the
leather from the ankle upward in order to do this most
effectually."--Vol. I. pp. 318-320.
In 1822 was passed the "Law of Harvard University, regulating the
dress of the students." The established uniform was as follows.
"The coat of black-mixed, single-breasted, with a rolling cape,
square at the end, and with pocket flaps; waist reaching to the
natural waist, with lapels of the same length; skirts reaching to
the bend of the knee; three crow's-feet, made of black-silk cord,
on the lower part of the sleeve of a Senior, two on that of a
Junior, and one on that of a Sophomore. The waistcoat of
black-mixed or of black; or when of cotton or linen fabric, of
white, single-breasted, with a standing collar. The pantaloons of
black-mixed or of black bombazette, or when of cotton or linen
fabric, of white. The surtout or great coat of black-mixed, with
not more than two capes. The buttons of the above dress must be
flat, covered with the same cloth as that of the garments, not
more than eight nor less than six on the front of the coat, and
four behind. A surtout or outside garment is not to be substituted
for the coat. But the students are permitted to wear black gowns,
in which they may appear on all public occasions. Night-gowns, of
cotton or linen or silk fabric, made in the usual form, or in that
of a frock coat, may be worn, except on the Sabbath, on exhibition
and other occasions when an undress would be improper. The
neckcloths must be plain black or plain white."
No student, while in the State of Massachusetts, was allowed,
either in vacation or term time, to wear any different dress or
ornament from those above named, except in case of mourning, when
he could wear the customary badges. Although dismission was the
punishment for persisting in the violation of these regulations,
they do not appear to have been very well observed, and gradually,
like the other laws of an earlier date on this subject, fell into
disuse. The night-gowns or dressing-gowns continued to be worn at
prayers and in public until within a few years. The black-mixed,
otherwise called OXFORD MIXED cloth, is explained under the latter
title.
The only law which now obtains at Harvard College on the subject
of dress is this: "On Sabbath, Exhibition, Examination, and
Commencement days, and on all other public occasions, each
student, in public, shall wear a black coat, with buttons of the
same color, and a black hat or cap."--_Orders and Regulations of
the Faculty of Harv. Coll._, July, 1853, p. 5.
At one period in the history of Yale College, a passion for
expensive dress having become manifest among the students, the
Faculty endeavored to curb it by a direct appeal to the different
classes. The result was the establishment of the Lycurgan Society,
whose object was the encouragement of plainness in apparel. The
benefits which might have resulted from this organization were
contravened by the rashness of some of its members. The shape
which this rashness assumed is described in a work entitled
"Scenes and Characters in College," written by a Yale graduate of
the class of 1821.
"Some members were seized with the notion of a _distinctive
dress_. It was strongly objected to; but the measure was carried
by a stroke of policy. The dress proposed was somewhat like that
of the Quakers, but less respectable,--a rustic cousin to it, or
rather a caricature; namely, a close coatee, with stand-up collar,
and _very_ short skirts,--_skirtees_, they might be called,--the
color gray; pantaloons and vest the same;--making the wearer a
monotonous gray man throughout, invisible at twilight. The
proposers of this metamorphosis, to make it go, selected an
individual of small and agreeable figure, and procuring a suit of
fine material, and a good fit, placed him on a platform as a
specimen. On _him_ it appeared very well, as a belted blouse does
on a graceful child; and all the more so, as he was a favorite
with the class, and lent to it the additional effect of agreeable
association. But it is bad logic to derive a general conclusion
from a single fact: it did not follow that the dress would be
universally becoming because it was so on him. However, majorities
govern; the dress was voted. The tailors were glad to hear of it,
expecting a fine run of business.
"But when a tall son of Anak appeared in the little bodice of a
coat, stuck upon the hips; and still worse, when some very clumsy
forms assumed the dress, and one in particular, that I remember,
who was equally huge in person and coarse in manners, whose taste,
or economy, or both,--the one as probably as the other,--had led
him to the choice of an ugly pepper-and-salt, instead of the true
Oxford mix, or whatever the standard gray was called, and whose
tailor, or tailoress, probably a tailoress, had contrived to
aggravate his natural disproportions by the most awkward fit
imaginable,--then indeed you might have said that 'some of
nature's journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they
imitated humanity so abominably.' They looked like David's
messengers, maltreated and sent back by Hanun.[23]
"The consequence was, the dress was unpopular; very few adopted
it; and the society itself went quietly into oblivion.
Nevertheless it had done some good; it had had a visible effect in
checking extravagance; and had accomplished all it would have
done, I imagine, had it continued longer.
"There was a time, some three or four years previous to this, when
a rakish fashion began to be introduced of wearing white-topped
boots. It was a mere conceit of the wearers, such a fashion not
existing beyond College,--except as it appeared in here and there
an antiquated gentleman, a venerable remnant of the olden time, in
whom the boots were matched with buckles at the knee, and a
powdered queue. A practical satire quickly put an end to it. Some
humorists proposed to the waiters about College to furnish them
with such boots on condition of their wearing them. The offer was
accepted; a lot of them was ordered at a boot-and-shoe shop, and,
all at once, sweepers, sawyers, and the rest, appeared in
white-topped boots. I will not repeat the profaneness of a
Southerner when he first observed a pair of them upon a tall and
gawky shoe-black striding across the yard. He cursed the 'negro,'
and the boots; and, pulling off his own, flung them from him.
After this the servants had the fashion to themselves, and could
buy the article at any discount."--pp. 127-129.
At Union College, soon after its foundation, there was enacted a
law, "forbidding any student to appear at chapel without the
College badge,--a piece of blue ribbon, tied in the button-hole of
the coat."--_Account of the First Semi-Centennial Anniversary of
the Philomathean Society, Union College_, 1847.
Such laws as the above have often been passed in American
colleges, but have generally fallen into disuse in a very few
years, owing to the predominancy of the feeling of democratic
equality, the tendency of which is to narrow, in as great a degree
as possible, the intervals between different ages and conditions.
See COSTUME.
DUDLEIAN LECTURE. An anniversary sermon which is preached at
Harvard College before the students; supported by the yearly
interest of one hundred pounds sterling, the gift of Paul Dudley,
from whom the lecture derives its name. The following topics were
chosen by him as subjects for this lecture. First, for "the
proving, explaining, and proper use and improvement of the
principles of Natural Religion." Second, "for the confirmation,
illustration, and improvement of the great articles of the
Christian Religion." Third, "for the detecting, convicting, and
exposing the idolatry, errors, and superstitions of the Romish
Church." Fourth, "for maintaining, explaining, and proving the
validity of the ordination of ministers or pastors of the
churches, and so their administration of the sacraments or
ordinances of religion, as the same hath been practised in New
England from the first beginning of it, and so continued to this
day."
"The instrument proceeds to declare," says Quincy, "that he does
not intend to invalidate Episcopal ordination, or that practised
in Scotland, at Geneva, and among the Dissenters in England and in
this country, all which 'I esteem very safe, Scriptural, and
valid.' He directed these subjects to be discussed in rotation,
one every year, and appointed the President of the College, the
Professor of Divinity, the pastor of the First Church in
Cambridge, the Senior Tutor of the College, and the pastor of the
First Church in Roxbury, trustees of these lectures, which
commenced in 1755, and have since been annually continued without
intermission."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. II. pp. 139,
140.
DULCE DECUS. Latin; literally, _sweet honor_. At Williams College
a name given by a certain class of students to the game of whist;
the reason for which is evident. Whether Mæcenas would have
considered it an _honor_ to have had the compliment of Horace,
"O et præsidium et dulce decus meum,"
transferred as a title for a game at cards, we leave for others to
decide.
DUMMER JUNGE,--literally, _stupid youth_,--among German students
"is the highest and most cutting insult, since it implies a denial
of sound, manly understanding and strength of capacity to him to
whom it is applied."--_Howitt's Student Life of Germany_, Am. ed.,
p. 127.
DUN. An importunate creditor who urges for payment. A character
not wholly unknown to collegians.
Thanks heaven, flings by his cap and gown, and shuns
A place made odious by remorseless _duns_.
_The College_, in _Blackwood's Mag._, May, 1849.
_E_.
EGRESSES. At the older American colleges, when charges were made
and excuses rendered in Latin, the student who had left before the
conclusion of any of the religious services was accused of the
misdemeanor by the proper officer, who made use of the word
_egresses_, a kind of barbarous second person singular of some
imaginary verb, signifying, it is supposed, "you went out."
Much absence, tardes and _egresses_,
The college-evil on him seizes.
_Trumbull's Progress of Dullness_, Part I.
EIGHT. On the scale of merit, at Harvard College, eight is the
highest mark which a student can receive for a recitation.
Students speak of "_getting an eight_," which is equivalent to
saying, that they have made a perfect recitation.
But since the Fates will not grant all _eights_,
Save to some disgusting fellow
Who'll fish and dig, I care not a fig,
We'll be hard boys and mellow.
_MS. Poem_, W.F. Allen.
Numberless the _eights_ he showers
Full on my devoted head.--_MS. Ibid._
At the same college, when there were three exhibitions in the
year, it was customary for the first eight scholars in the Junior
Class to have "parts" at the first exhibition, the second eight at
the second exhibition, and the third eight at the third
exhibition. Eight Seniors performed with them at each of these
three exhibitions, but they were taken promiscuously from the
first twenty-four in their class. Although there are now but two
exhibitions in the year, twelve performing from each of the two
upper classes, yet the students still retain the old phraseology,
and you will often hear the question, "Is he in the first or
second _eight_?"
The bell for morning prayers had long been sounding!
She says, "What makes you look so very pale?"--
"I've had a dream."--"Spring to 't, or you'll be late!"--
"Don't care! 'T was worth a part among the _Second Eight_."
_Childe Harvard_, p. 121.
ELECTIONEERING. In many colleges in the United States, where there
are rival societies, it is customary, on the admission of a
student to college, for the partisans of the different societies
to wait upon him, and endeavor to secure him as a member. An
account of this _Society Electioneering_, as it is called, is
given in _Sketches of Yale College_, at page 162.
Society _electioneering_ has mostly gone by.--_Williams
Quarterly_, Vol. II. p. 285.
ELEGANT EXTRACTS. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a cant
title applied to some fifteen or twenty men who have just
succeeded in passing their final examination, and who are
bracketed together, at the foot of the Polloi list.--_Bristed's
Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 250.
EMERITUS, _pl._ EMERITI. Latin; literally, _obtained by service_.
One who has been honorably discharged from public service, as, in
colleges and universities, a _Professor Emeritus_.
EMIGRANT. In the English universities, one who migrates, or
removes from one college to another.
At Christ's, for three years successively,... the first man was an
_emigrant_ from John's.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._,
Ed. 2d, p. 100.
See MIGRATION.
EMPTY BOTTLE. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the sobriquet
of a fellow-commoner.
Indeed they [fellow-commoners] are popularly denominated "_empty
bottles_," the first word of the appellation being an adjective,
though were it taken as a verb there would be no untruth in
it.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 34.
ENCENIA, _pl._ Greek [Greek: enkainia], _a feast of dedication_.
Festivals anciently kept on the days on which cities were built or
churches consecrated; and, in later times, ceremonies renewed at
certain periods, as at Oxford, at the celebration of founders and
benefactors.--_Hook_.
END WOMAN. At Bowdoin College, "end women," says a correspondent,
"are the venerable females who officiate as chambermaids in the
different entries." They are so called from the entries being
placed at the _ends_ of the buildings.
ENGAGEMENT. At Yale College, the student, on entering, signs an
_engagement_, as it is called, in the words following: "I, A.B.,
on condition of being admitted as a member of Yale College,
promise, on my faith and honor, to observe all the laws and
regulations of this College; particularly that I will faithfully
avoid using profane language, gaming, and all indecent, disorderly
behavior, and disrespectful conduct to the Faculty, and all
combinations to resist their authority; as witness my hand. A.B."
--_Yale Coll. Cat._, 1837, p. 10.
Nearly the same formula is used at Williams College.
ENGINE. At Harvard College, for many years before and succeeding
the year 1800, a fire-engine was owned by the government, and was
under the management of the students. In a MS. Journal, under date
of Oct. 29, 1792, is this note: "This day I turned out to exercise
the engine. P.M." The company were accustomed to attend all the
fires in the neighboring towns, and were noted for their skill and
efficiency. But they often mingled enjoyment with their labor, nor
were they always as scrupulous as they might have been in the
means used to advance it. In 1810, the engine having been newly
repaired, they agreed to try its power on an old house, which was
to be fired at a given time. By some mistake, the alarm was given
before the house was fairly burning. Many of the town's people
endeavored to save it, but the company, dragging the engine into a
pond near by, threw the dirty water on them in such quantities
that they were glad to desist from their laudable endeavors.
It was about this time that the Engine Society was organized,
before which so many pleasant poems and orations were annually
delivered. Of these, that most noted is the "Rebelliad," which was
spoken in the year 1819, and was first published in the year 1842.
Of it the editor has well remarked: "It still remains the
text-book of the jocose, and is still regarded by all, even the
melancholy, as a most happy production of humorous taste." Its
author was Dr. Augustus Pierce, who died at Tyngsborough, May 20,
1849.
The favorite beverage at fires was rum and molasses, commonly
called _black-strap_, which is referred to in the following lines,
commemorative of the engine company in its palmier days.
"But oh! let _black-strap's_ sable god deplore
Those _engine-heroes_ so renowned of yore!
Gone is that spirit, which, in ancient time,
Inspired more deeds than ever shone in rhyme!
Ye, who remember the superb array,
The deafening cry, the engine's 'maddening play,'
The broken windows, and the floating floor,
Wherewith those masters of hydraulic lore
Were wont to make us tremble as we gazed,
Can tell how many a false alarm was raised,
How many a room by their o'erflowings drenched,
And how few fires by their assistance quenched?"
_Harvard Register_, p. 235.
The habit of attending fires in Boston, as it had a tendency to
draw the attention of the students from their college duties, was
in part the cause of the dissolution of the company. Their
presence was always welcomed in the neighboring city, and although
they often left their engine behind them on returning to
Cambridge, it was usually sent out to them soon after. The company
would often parade through the streets of Cambridge in masquerade
dresses, headed by a chaplain, presenting a most ludicrous
appearance. In passing through the College yard, it was the custom
to throw water into any window that chanced to be open. Their
fellow-students, knowing when they were to appear, usually kept
their windows closed; but the officers were not always so
fortunate. About the year 1822, having discharged water into the
room of the College regent, thereby damaging a very valuable
library of books, the government disbanded the company, and
shortly after sold the engine to the then town of Cambridge, on
condition that it should never be taken out of the place. A few
years ago it was again sold to some young men of West Cambridge,
in whose hands it still remains. One of the brakes of the engine,
a relic of its former glory, was lately discovered in the cellar
of one of the College buildings, and that perchance has by this
time been used to kindle the element which it once assisted to
extinguish.
ESQUIRE BEDELL. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., three
_Esquire Bedells_ are appointed, whose office is to attend the
Vice-Chancellor, whom they precede with their silver maces upon
all public occasions.--_Cam. Guide_.
At the University of Oxford, the Esquire Bedells are three in
number. They walk before the Vice-Chancellor in processions, and
carry golden staves as the insignia of their office.--_Guide to
Oxford_.
See BEADLE.
EVANGELICAL. In student phrase, a religious, orthodox man, one who
is sound in the doctrines of the Gospel, or one who is reading
theology, is called an _Evangelical_.
He was a King's College, London, man, an
_Evangelical_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d,
p. 265.
It has been said by some of the _Evangelicals_, that nothing can
be done to improve the state of morality in the Universities so
long as the present Church system continues.--_Ibid._, p. 348.
EXAMINATION. An inquiry into the acquisitions of the students, in
_colleges_ and _seminaries of learning_, by questioning them in
literature and the sciences, and by hearing their
recitals.--_Webster_.
In all colleges candidates for entrance are required to be able to
pass an examination in certain branches of study before they can
be admitted. The students are generally examined, in most
colleges, at the close of each term.
In the revised laws of Harvard College, printed in the year 1790,
was one for the purpose of introducing examinations, the first
part of which is as follows: "To animate the students in the
pursuit of literary merit and fame, and to excite in their breasts
a noble spirit of emulation, there shall be annually a public
examination, in the presence of a joint committee of the
Corporation and Overseers, and such other gentlemen as may be
inclined to attend it." It then proceeds to enumerate the times
and text-books for each class, and closes by stating, that,
"should any student neglect or refuse to attend such examination,
he shall be liable to be fined a sum not exceeding twenty
shillings, or to be admonished or suspended." Great discontent was
immediately evinced by the students at this regulation, and as it
was not with this understanding that they entered college, they
considered it as an _ex post facto_ law, and therefore not binding
upon them. With these views, in the year 1791, the Senior and
Junior Classes petitioned for exemption from the examination, but
their application was rejected by the Overseers. When this was
declared, some of the students determined to stop the exercises
for that year, if possible. For this purpose they obtained six
hundred grains of tartar emetic, and early on the morning of April
12th, the day on which the examination was to begin, emptied it
into the great cooking boilers in the kitchen. At breakfast, 150
or more students and officers being present, the coffee was
brought on, made with the water from the boilers. Its effects were
soon visible. One after another left the hall, some in a slow,
others in a hurried manner, but all plainly showing that their
situation was by no means a pleasant one. Out of the whole number
there assembled, only four or five escaped without being made
unwell. Those who put the drug in the coffee had drank the most,
in order to escape detection, and were consequently the most
severely affected. Unluckily, one of them was seen putting
something into the boilers, and the names of the others were soon
after discovered. Their punishment is stated in the following
memoranda from a manuscript journal.
"Exhibition, 1791. April 20th. This morning Trapier was rusticated
and Sullivan suspended to Groton for nine months, for mingling
tartar emetic with our commons on ye morning of April 12th."
"May 21st. Ely was suspended to Amherst for five months, for
assisting Sullivan and Trapier in mingling tartar emetic with our
commons."
Another student, who threw a stone into the examination-room,
which struck the chair in which Governor Hancock sat, was more
severely punished. The circumstance is mentioned in the manuscript
referred to above as follows:--
"April 14th, 1791. Henry W. Jones of H---- was expelled from
College upon evidence of a little boy that he sent a stone into ye
Philosopher's room while a committee of ye Corporation and
Overseers, and all ye Immediate Government, were engaged in
examination of ye Freshman Class."
Although the examination was delayed for a day or two on account
of these occurrences, it was again renewed and carried on during
that year, although many attempts were made to stop it. For
several years after, whenever these periods occurred, disturbances
came with them, and it was not until the year 1797 that the
differences between the officers and the students were
satisfactorily adjusted, and examinations established on a sure
basis.
EXAMINE. To inquire into the improvements or qualifications of
students, by interrogatories, proposing problems, or by hearing
their recitals; as, to _examine_ the classes in college; to
_examine_ the candidates for a degree, or for a license to preach
or to practise in a profession.--_Webster_.
EXAMINEE. One who is examined; one who undergoes at examination.
What loads of cold beef and lobster vanish before the _examinees_.
--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 72.
EXAMINER. One who examines. In colleges and seminaries of
learning, the person who interrogates the students, proposes
questions for them to answer, and problems to solve.
Coming forward with assumed carelessness, he threw towards us the
formal reply of his _examiners_.--_Harvardiana_, Vol. III. p. 9.
EXEAT. Latin; literally, _let him depart_. Leave of absence given
to a student in the English universities.--_Webster_.
The students who wish to go home apply for an "_Exeat_," which is
a paper signed by the Tutor, Master, and Dean.--_Alma Mater_, Vol.
I. p. 162.
[At King's College], _exeats_, or permission to go down during
term, were never granted but in cases of life and
death.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 140.
EXERCISE. A task or lesson; that which is appointed for one to
perform. In colleges, all the literary duties are called
_exercises_.
It may be inquired, whether a great part of the _exercises_ be not
at best but serious follies.--_Cotton Mather's Suggestions_, in
_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 558.
In the English universities, certain exercises, as acts,
opponencies, &c., are required to be performed for particular
degrees.
EXHIBIT. To take part in an exhibition; to speak in public at an
exhibition or commencement.
No student who shall receive any appointment to _exhibit_ before
the class, the College, or the public, shall give any treat or
entertainment to his class, or any part thereof, for or on account
of those appointments.--_Laws Yale Coll._, 1837, p. 29.
If any student shall fail to perform the exercise assigned him, or
shall _exhibit_ anything not allowed by the Faculty, he may be
sent home.--_Ibid._, 1837, p. 16.
2. To provide for poor students by an exhibition. (See EXHIBITION,
second meaning.) An instance of this use is given in the Gradus ad
Cantabrigiam, where one Antony Wood says of Bishop Longland, "He
was a special friend to the University, in maintaining its
privileges and in _exhibiting_ to the wants of certain scholars."
In Mr. Peirce's History of Harvard University occurs this passage,
in an account of the will of the Hon. William Stoughton: "He
bequeathed a pasture in Dorchester, containing twenty-three acres
and four acres of marsh, 'the income of both to be _exhibited_, in
the first place, to a scholar of the town of Dorchester, and if
there be none such, to one of the town of Milton, and in want of
such, then to any other well deserving that shall be most needy.'"
--p. 77.
EXHIBITION. In colleges, a public literary and oratorical display.
The exercises at _exhibitions_ are original compositions, prose
translations from the English into Greek and Latin, and from other
languages into the English, metrical versions, dialogues, &c.
At Harvard College, in the year 1760, it was voted, "that twice in
a year, in the spring and fall, each class should recite to their
Tutors, in the presence of the President, Professors, and Tutors,
in the several books in which they are reciting to their
respective Tutors, and that publicly in the College Hall or
Chapel." The next year, the Overseers being informed "that the
students are not required to translate English into Latin nor
Latin into English," their committee "thought it would be
convenient that specimens of such translations and other
performances in classical and polite literature should be from
time to time laid before" their board. A vote passed the Board of
Overseers recommending to the Corporation a conformity to these
suggestions; but it was not until the year 1766 that a law was
formally enacted in both boards, "that twice in the year, viz. at
the semiannual visitation of the committee of the Overseers, some
of the scholars, at the direction of the President and Tutors,
shall publicly exhibit specimens of their proficiency, by
pronouncing orations and delivering dialogues, either in English
or in one of the learned languages, or hearing a forensic
disputation, or such other exercises as the President and Tutors
shall direct."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. II. pp.
128-132.
A few years after this, two more exhibitions were added, and were
so arranged as to fall one in each quarter of the College year.
The last year in which there were four exhibitions was 1789. After
this time there were three exhibitions during the year until 1849,
when one was omitted, since which time the original plan has been
adopted.
In the journal of a member of the class which graduated at Harvard
College in the year 1793, under the date of December 23d, 1789,
Exhibition, is the following memorandum: "Music was intermingled
with elocution, which (we read) has charms to soothe even a savage
breast." Again, on a similar occasion, April 13th, 1790, an
account of the exercises of the day closes with this note: "Tender
music being interspersed to enliven the audience." Vocal music was
sometimes introduced. In the same Journal, date October 1st, 1790,
Exhibition, the writer says: "The performances were enlivened with
an excellent piece of music, sung by Harvard Singing Club,
accompanied with a band of music." From this time to the present
day, music, either vocal or instrumental, has formed a very
entertaining part of the Exhibition performances.[24]
The exercises for exhibitions are assigned by the Faculty to
meritorious students, usually of the two higher classes. The
exhibitions are held under the direction of the President, and a
refusal to perform the part assigned is regarded as a high
offence.--_Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass._, 1848, p. 19. _Laws Yale
Coll._, 1837, p. 16.
2. Allowance of meat and drink; pension; benefaction settled for
the maintenance of scholars in the English Universities, not
depending on the foundation.--_Encyc._
What maintenance he from his friends receives,
Like _exhibition_ thou shalt have from me.
_Two Gent. Verona_, Act. I. Sc. 3.
This word was formerly used in American colleges.
I order and appoint ... ten pounds a year for one _exhibition_, to
assist one pious young man.--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I.
p. 530.
As to the extending the time of his _exhibitions_, we agree to it.
--_Ibid._, Vol. I. p. 532.
In the yearly "Statement of the Treasurer" of Harvard College, the
word is still retained.
"A _school exhibition_," says a writer in the Literary World, with
reference to England, "is a stipend given to the head boys of a
school, conditional on their proceeding to some particular college
in one of the universities."--Vol. XII. p. 285.
EXHIBITIONER. One who has a pension or allowance, granted for the
encouragement of learning; one who enjoys an exhibition. Used
principally in the English universities.
2. One who performs a part at an exhibition in American colleges
is sometimes called an _exhibitioner_.
EXPEL. In college government, to command to leave; to dissolve the
connection of a student; to interdict him from further connection.
--_Webster_.
EXPULSION. In college government, expulsion is the highest
censure, and is a final separation from the college or university.
--_Coll. Laws_.
In the Diary of Mr. Leverett, who was President of Harvard College
from 1707 to 1724, is an account of the manner in which the
punishment of expulsion was then inflicted. It is as follows:--"In
the College Hall the President, after morning prayers, the
Fellows, Masters of Art, and the several classes of Undergraduates
being present, after a full opening of the crimes of the
delinquents, a pathetic admonition of them, and solemn obtestation
and caution to the scholars, pronounced the sentence of expulsion,
ordered their names to be rent off the tables, and them to depart
the Hall."--_Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 442.
In England, "an expelled man," says Bristed, "is shut out from the
learned professions, as well as from all Colleges at either
University."--_Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 131.
_F_.
FACILITIES. The means by which the performance of anything is
rendered easy.--_Webster_.
Among students, a general name for what are technically called
_ponies_ or translations.
All such subsidiary helps in learning lessons, he classed ...
under the opprobrious name of "_facilities_," and never scrupled
to seize them as contraband goods.--_Memorial of John S. Popkin,
D.D._, p. lxxvii.
FACULTY. In colleges, the masters and professors of the several
sciences.--_Johnson_.
In America, the _faculty_ of a college or university consists of
the president, professors, and tutors.--_Webster_.
The duties of the faculty are very extended. They have the general
control and direction of the studies pursued in the college. They
have cognizance of all offences committed by undergraduates, and
it is their special duty to enforce the observance of all the laws
and regulations for maintaining discipline, and promoting good
order, virtue, piety, and good learning in the institution with
which they are connected. The faculty hold meetings to communicate
and compare their opinions and information, respecting the conduct
and character of the students and the state of the college; to
decide upon the petitions or requests which may be offered them by
the members of college, and to consider and suggest such measures
as may tend to the advancement of learning, and the improvement of
the college. This assembly is called a _Faculty-meeting_, a word
very often in the mouths of students.--_Coll. Laws_.