I nevergobbledone poor flat,To cheer me with his soft dark eye, &c.Yale Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.
I went and performed, and got through the burning,But oh! and alas! I wasgobbledreturning.Yale Banger, Nov. 1850.
Upon that night, in the broad street, was I by one of the brain-deficient mengobbled.—Yale Battery, Feb. 1850.
Then shout for the hero whogobblesthe prize.Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 39.
At Cambridge, Eng., this word is used in the phrasegobblingGreek, i.e. studying or speaking that tongue.
Ambitious to "gobble" his Greek in thehaute monde.—AlmaMater, Vol. I. p. 79.
It was now ten o'clock, and up stairs we therefore flew togobbleGreek with Professor ——.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 127.
You may have seen him, traversing the grass-plots, "gobblingGreek" to himself.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 210.
GOLGOTHA.The place of a skull. At Cambridge, Eng., in the University Church, "a particular part," says the Westminster Review, "is appropriated to theheadsof the houses, and is calledGolgothatherefrom, a name which the appearance of its occupants renders peculiarly fitting, independent of the pun."—Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 236.
GONUS. A stupid fellow.
He was agonus; perhaps, though, you don't know whatgonusmeans. One day I heard a Senior call a fellow agonus. "A what?" said I. "A great gonus," repeated he. "Gonus," echoed I, "what's that mean?" "O," said he, "you're a Freshman and don't understand." A stupid fellow, a dolt, a boot-jack, an ignoramus, is called here agonus. "All Freshmen," continued he gravely, "aregonuses."—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 116.
If the disquisitionist should ever reform his habits, and turn his really brilliant talents to some good account, then futuregonuseswill swear by his name, and quote him in their daily maledictions of the appointment system.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 76.
The wordgoney, with the same meaning, is often used.
"How thegoneyswallowed it all, didn't he?" said Mr. Slick, with great glee.—Slick in England, Chap. XXI.
Some on 'em were fools enough to believe thegoney; that's a fact.—Ibid.
GOOD FELLOW. At the University of Vermont, this term is used with a signification directly opposite to that which it usually has. It there designates a soft-brained boy; one who is lacking in intellect, or, as a correspondent observes, "anepitheticalfool."
GOODY. At Harvard College, a woman who has the care of the students' rooms. The word seems to be an abbreviated form of the wordgoodwife. It has long been in use, as a low term of civility or sport, and in some cases with the signification of a good old dame; but in the sense above given it is believed to be peculiar to Harvard College. In early times,sweeperwas in use instead ofgoody, and even now at Yale College the wordsweepis retained. The wordsbed-makerat Cambridge, Eng., andgypat Oxford, express the same idea.
The Rebelliad, an epic poem, opens with an invocation to theGoody, as follows.
OldGoodyMuse! on thee I call,Pro more, (as do poets all,)To string thy fiddle, wax thy bow,And scrape a ditty, jig, or so.Now don't wax wrathy, but excuseMy calling you oldGoodyMuse;Because "Old Goody" is a nameApplied to every college dame.Aloft in pendent dignity,Astride her magic broom,And wrapt in dazzling majesty,See! see! theGoodycome!—p. 11.
Go on, dearGoody! and reciteThe direful mishaps of the fight.—Ibid., p. 20.
TheGoodieshearing, cease to sweep,And listen; while the cook-maids weep.—Ibid., p. 47.
TheGoodyentered with her broom,To make his bed and sweep his room.—Ibid., p. 73.
On opening the papers left to his care, he found a request that his effects might be bestowed on his friend, theGoody, who had been so attentive to him during his declining hours.—Harvard Register, 1827-28, p. 86.
I was interrupted by a low knock at my door, followed by the entrance of our oldGoody, with a bundle of musty papers in her hand, tied round with a soiled red ribbon.—Collegian, 1830, p. 231.
Were there anyGoodieswhen you were in college, father? Perhaps you did not call them by that name. They are nice old ladies (not soverynice, either), who come in every morning, after we have been to prayers, and sweep the rooms, and make the beds, and do all that sort of work. However, they don't much like their title, I find; for I called one, the other day,Mrs. Goodie, thinking it was her real name, and she was as sulky as she could be.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.
Yet these half-emptied bottles shall I take,And, having purged them of this wicked stuff,Make a small present untoGoodyBush.Ibid., Vol. III. p. 257.
Reader! wert ever beset by a dun? ducked by theGoodyfrom thine own window, when "creeping like snail unwillingly" to morning prayers?—Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 274.
The crowd delightedSaw them, likeGoodies, clothed in gowns of satin,Of silk or cotton.—Childe Harvard, p. 26, 1848.
On the wall hangs a Horse-shoe I found in the street;'T is the shoe that to-day sets in motion my feet;Though its charms are all vanished this many a year,And not even myGoodyregards it with fear.The Horse-Shoe, a Poem, by J.B. Felton, 1849, p. 4.
A very clever elegy on the death of Goody Morse, who "For forty years or more … contrived the while No little dust to raise" in the rooms of the students of Harvard College, is to be found in Harvardiana, Vol. I. p. 233. It was written by Mr. (afterwards Rev.) Benjamin Davis Winslow. In the poem which he read before his class in the University Chapel at Cambridge, July 14, 1835, he referred to her in these lines:
"'New brooms sweep clean': 't was thine, dearGoodyMorse,To prove the musty proverb hath no force,Since fifty years to vanished centuries crept,While thy old broom our cloisters duly swept.All changed but thee! beneath thine aged eyeWhole generations came and flitted by,Yet saw thee still in office;—e'en reformSpared thee the pelting of its angry storm.Rest to thy bones in yonder church-yard laid,Where thy last bed the village sexton made!"—p. 19.
GORM. Fromgormandize. At Hamilton College, to eat voraciously.
GOT. In Princeton College, when a student or any one else has been cheated or taken in, it is customary to say, he wasgot.
GOVERNMENT. In American colleges, the general government is usually vested in a corporation or a board of trustees, whose powers, rights, and duties are established by the respective charters of the colleges over which they are placed. The immediate government of the undergraduates is in the hands of the president, professors, and tutors, who are styledthe Government, orthe College Government, and more frequentlythe Faculty, orthe College Faculty.—Laws of Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, pp. 7, 8.Laws of Yale Coll., 1837, p. 5.
For many years he was the most conspicuous figure among those who constituted what was formerly called "theGovernment."—Memorial of John S. Popkin, D.D., p. vii.
[Greek: Kudiste], mighty President!!![Greek: Kalomen nun] theGovernment.—Rebelliad, p. 27.
Did I not jaw theGovernment,For cheating more than ten per cent?—Ibid., p. 32.
They shall receive due punishmentFrom Harvard CollegeGovernment.—Ibid., p. 44.
The annexed production, printed from a MS. in the author's handwriting, and in the possession of the editor of this work, is now, it is believed, for the first time presented to the public. The time is 1787; the scene, Harvard College. The poem was "written by John Q. Adams, son of the President, when an undergraduate."
"The Government of College met,AndWillard[31] rul'd the stern debate.The wittyJennison[32] declar'dAs how, he'd been completely scar'd;Last night, quoth he, as I came home,I heard a noise inPrescott's[33] room.I went and listen'd at the door,As I had often done before;I found the Juniors in a high rant,They call'd the President a tyrant;And said as how I was a fool,A long ear'd ass, a sottish mule,Without the smallest grain of spunk;So I concluded they were drunk.At length I knock'd, and Prescott came:I told him 't was a burning shame,That he should give his classmates wine;And he should pay a heavy fine.Meanwhile the rest grew so outragious,Altho' I boast of being couragious,I could not help being in a fright,For one of them put out the light.I thought 't was best to come away,And wait for vengeance 'till this day;And he's a fool at any rateWho'll fight, when he can RUSTICATE.When they [had] found that I was gone,They ran through College up and down;And I could hear them very plainTake the Lord's holy name in vain.To Wier's[34] chamber they then repair'd,And there the wine they freely shar'd;They drank and sung till they were tir'd.And then they peacefully retir'd.When this Homeric speech was said,With drolling tongue and hanging head,The learned Doctor took his seat,Thinking he'd done a noble feat.Quoth Joe,[35] the crime is great I own,Send for the Juniors one by one.By this almighty wig I swear,Which with such majesty I wear,Which in its orbit vast containsMy dignity, my power and brains,That Wier and Prescott both shall see,That College boys must not be free.He spake, and gave the awful nodLike Homer's Didonean God,The College from its centre shook,And every pipe and wine-glass broke.
"Williams,[36] with countenance humane,While scarce from laughter could refrain,Thought that such youthful scenes of mirthTo punishment could not give birth;Nor could he easily divineWhat was the harm of drinking wine.
"ButPearson,[37] with an awful frown,Full of his article and noun,Spake thus: by all the parts of speechWhich I so elegantly teach,By mercy I will never stainThe character which I sustain.Pray tell me why the laws were made,If they're not to be obey'd;Besides,that WierI can't endure,For he's a wicked rake, I'm sure.But whether I am right or not,I'll not recede a single jot.
"James[38] saw 'twould be in vain t' oppose,And therefore to be silent chose.
"Burr,[39] who had little wit or pride,Preferr'd to take the strongest side.And Willard soon receiv'd commissionTo give a publick admonition.With pedant strut to prayers he came,Call'd out the criminals by name;Obedient to his dire command,Prescott and Wier before him stand.The rulers merciful and kind,With equal grief and wonder find,That you do drink, and play, and sing,And make with noise the College ring.I therefore warn you to bewareOf drinking more than you can bear.Wine an incentive is to riot,Disturbance of the publick quiet.Full well your Tutors know the truth,For sad experience taught their youth.Take then this friendly exhortation;The next offence is RUSTICATION."
GOWN. A long, loose upper garment or robe, worn by professional men, as divines, lawyers, students, &c., who are calledmen of the gown, orgownmen. It is made of any kind of cloth, worn over ordinary clothes, and hangs down to the ankles, or nearly so. —Encyc.
From a letter written in the year 1766, by Mr. Holyoke, then President of Harvard College, it would appear that gowns were first worn by the members of that institution about the year 1760. The gown, although worn by the students in the English universities, is now seldom worn in American colleges except on Commencement, Exhibition, or other days of a similar public character.
The students are permitted to wear blackgowns, in which they may appear on all public occasions.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 37.
Every candidate for a first degree shall wear a black dress and the usual blackgown.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, p. 20.
The performers all wore blackgownswith sleeves large enough to hold me in, and shouted and swung their arms, till they looked like so many Methodist ministers just ordained.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 111.
Saw them … clothed ingownsof satin,Or silk or cotton, black as souls benighted.—All, save thegowns, was startling, splendid, tragic,But gowns on men have lost their wonted magic.Childe Harvard, p. 26.
The door swings open—and—he comes! behold himWrapt in his mantlinggown, that round him flowsWaving, as Cæsar's toga did enfold him.—Ibid., p. 36.
On Saturday evenings, Sundays, and Saints' days, the students wear surplices instead of theirgowns, and very innocent and exemplary they look in them.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 21.
2. One who wears a gown.
And here, I think, I may properly introduce a very singular gallant, a sort of mongrel between town andgown,—I mean a bibliopola, or (as the vulgar have it) a bookseller.—The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. II. p. 226.
GOWNMAN, GOWNSMAN. One whose professional habit is a gown, as a divine or lawyer, and particularly a member of an English university.—Webster.
Thegownmanlearned.—Pope.
Oft has some fair inquirer bid me say,What tasks, what sports beguile thegownsman'sday.The College, inBlackwood's Mag., May, 1849.
For if townsmen by our influence are so enlightened, what must wegownsmenbe ourselves?—The Student, Oxf. and Cam., Vol. I. p. 56.
Nor must it be supposed that thegownsmenare thin, study-worn, consumptive-looking individuals.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 5.
See CAP.
GRACE. In English universities, an act, vote, or decree of the government of the institution.—Webster.
"AllGraces(as the legislative measures proposed by the Senate are termed) have to be submitted first to the Caput, each member of which has an absolute veto on the grace. If it passes the Caput, it is then publicly recited in both houses, [the regent and non-regent,] and at a subsequent meeting voted on, first in the Non-Regent House, and then in the other. If it passes both, it becomes valid."—Literary World, Vol. XII. p. 283.
See CAPUT SENATUS.
GRADUATE. To honor with a degree or diploma, in a college or university; to confer a degree on; as, tograduatea master of arts.—Wotton.
Graduateda doctor, and dubb'd a knight.—Carew.
Pickering, in his Vocabulary, says of the wordgraduate: "Johnson has it as a verb active only. But an English friend observes, that 'the active sense of this word is rare in England.' I have met with one instance in an English publication where it is used in a dialogue, in the following manner: 'You, methinks,are graduated.' See a review in the British Critic, Vol. XXXIV. p. 538."
In Mr. Todd's edition of Johnson's Dictionary, this word is given as a verb intransitive also: "To take an academical degree; to become a graduate; as hegraduatedat Oxford."
In America, the use of the phrasehe was graduated, instead ofhe graduated, which has been of late so common, "is merely," says Mr. Bartlett in his Dictionary of Americanisms, "a return to former practice, the verb being originally active transitive."
Hewas graduatedwith the esteem of the government, and the regard of his contemporaries—Works of R.T. Paine, p. xxix. The latter, whowas graduatedthirteen years after.—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 219.
In this perplexity the President had resolved "to yield to the torrent, andgraduateHartshorn."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 398. (The quotation was written in 1737.)
In May, 1749, three gentlemen who had sons aboutto be graduated.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 92.
Mr. Peirce was born in September, 1778; and, afterbeing graduatedat Harvard College, with the highest honors of his class.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 390, and Chap. XXXVII.passim.
Hewas graduatedin 1789 with distinguished honors, at the age of nineteen.—Mr. Young's Discourse on the Life of President Kirkland.
His class whengraduated, in 1785, consisted of thirty-two persons.—Dr. Palfrey's Discourse on the Life and Character of Dr. Ware.
2.Intransitively. To receive a degree from a college or university.
Hegraduatedat Leyden in 1691.—London Monthly Mag., Oct. 1808, p. 224.
Wherever Magnolgraduated.—Rees's Cyclopædia, Art. MAGNOL.
GRADUATE. One who has received a degree in a college or university, or from some professional incorporated society.—Webster.
GRADUATE IN A SCHOOL. A degree given, in the University of Virginia, to those who have been through a course of study less than is required for the degree of B.A.
GRADUATION. The act of conferring or receiving academical degrees. —Charter of Dartmouth College.
After hisgraduationat Yale College, in 1744, he continued his studies at Harvard University, where he took his second degree in 1747.—Hist. Sketch of Columbia Coll., p. 122.
Bachelors were called Senior, Middle, or Junior Bachelors according to the year sincegraduation, and before taking the degree of Master.—Woolsey's Hist. Disc., p. 122.
GRAND COMPOUNDER. At the English Universities, one who pays double fees for his degree.
"Candidates for all degrees, who possess certain property," says the Oxford University Calendar, "must go out, as it is termed,Grand Compounders. The property required for this purpose may arise from two distinct sources; either from some ecclesiastical benefice or benefices, or else from some other revenue, civil or ecclesiastical. The ratio of computation in the first case is expressly limited by statute to the value of the benefice or benefices, asrated in the King's books, without regard to the actual estimation at the present period; and the amount of that value must not beless than forty pounds. In the second instance, which includes all other cases, comprising ecclesiastical as well as civil income, (academical income alone excepted,) property to the extent ofthree hundred poundsa year is required; nor is any difference made between property in land and property in money, so that alegalrevenue to this extent of any description, not arising from a benefice or benefices, and not being strictly academical, renders the qualification complete."—Ed. 1832, p. 92.
At Oxford "a 'grand compounder' is one who has income to the amount of $1,500, and is made to pay $150 for his degree, while the ordinary fee is $42."Lit. World, Vol. XII. p. 247.
GRAND TRIBUNAL. The Grand Tribunal is an institution peculiar to Trinity College, Hartford. A correspondent describes it as follows. "The Grand Tribunal is a mock court composed of the Senior and Junior Classes, and has for its special object the regulation and discipline of Sophomores. The first officer of the Tribunal is the 'Grand High Chancellor,' who presides at all business meetings. The Tribunal has its judges, advocates, sheriff, and his aids. According to the laws of the Tribunal, no Sophomore can be tried who has three votes in his favor. This regulation makes a trial a difficult matter; there is rarely more than one trial a year, and sometimes two years elapse without there being a session of the court. When a selection of an offending and unlucky Soph has been made, he is arrested some time during the day of the evening on which his trial takes place. The court provides him with one advocate, while he has the privilege of choosing another. These trials are often the scenes of considerable wit and eloquence. One of the most famous of them was held in 1853. When the Tribunal is in session, it is customary for the Faculty of the College to act as its police, by preserving order amongst the Sophs, who generally assemble at the door, to disturb, if possible, the proceedings of the Court."
GRANTA. The name by which the University of Cambridge, Eng., was formerly known. At present it is sometimes designated by this title in poetry, and in addresses written in other tongues than the vernacular.
Warm with fond hope, and Learning's sacred flame,ToGranta'sbowers the youthful Poet came.
Lines in Memory of H.K. White, by Prof. William Smyth, inCam. Guide.
GRATULATORY. Expressing gratulation; congratulatory.
At Harvard College, while Wadsworth was President, in the early part of the last century, it was customary to close the exercises of Commencement day with agratulatory oration, pronounced by one of the candidates for a degree. This has now given place to what is generally called thevaledictory oration.
GRAVEL DAY. The following account of this day is given in a work entitled Sketches of Williams College. "On the second Monday of the first term in the year, if the weather be at all favorable, it has been customary from time immemorial to hold a college meeting, and petition the President for 'Gravel day.' We did so this morning. The day was granted, and, recitations being dispensed with, the students turned outen masseto re-gravel the college walks. The gravel which we obtain here is of such a nature that it packs down very closely, and renders the walks as hard and smooth as a pavement. The Faculty grant this day for the purpose of fostering in the students the habit of physical labor and exercise, so essential to vigorous mental exertion."—1847, pp. 78, 79.
The improved method of observing this day is noted in the annexed extract. "Nearly every college has its own peculiar customs, which have been transmitted from far antiquity; but Williams has perhaps less than any other. Among ours are 'gravel day,' 'chip day,' and 'mountain day,' occurring one in each of the three terms. The first usually comes in the early part of the Fall term. In old times, when the students were few, and rather fonder ofworkthan at the present, they turned out with spades, hoes, and other implements, and spread gravel over the walks, to the College grounds; but in later days, they have preferred to tax themselves to a small amount and delegate the work to others, while they spend the day in visiting the Cascade, the Natural Bridge, or others of the numerous places of interest near us."—Boston Daily Evening Traveller, July 12, 1854.
GREAT GO. In the English universities the final and most important examination is called thegreat go, in contradistinction to thelittle go, an examination about the middle of the course.
In my way back I stepped into theGreat Goschools.—TheEtonian, Vol. II. p. 287.
Read through the whole five volumes folio, Latin, previous to going up for hisGreat Go.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 381.
GREEN. Inexperienced, unsophisticated, verdant. Among collegians this term is the favorite appellation for Freshmen.
When a man is calledverdantorgreen, it means that he is unsophisticated and raw. For instance, when a man rushes to chapel in the morning at the ringing of the first bell, it is calledgreen. At least, we were, for it. This greenness, we would remark, is not, like the verdure in the vision of the poet, necessarily perennial.—Williams Monthly Miscellany, 1845, Vol. I. p. 463.
GRIND. An exaction; an oppressive action. Students speak of a very long lesson which they are required to learn, or of any thing which it is very unpleasant or difficult to perform, as agrind. This meaning is derived from the verbto grind, in the sense of to harass, to afflict; as, togrindthe faces of the poor (Isaiah iii. 15).
I must say 't is agrind, though—(perchance I spoke too loud).Poem before Iadma, 1850, p. 12.
GRINDING. Hard study; diligent application.
The successful candidate enjoys especial and excessivegrindingduring the four years of his college course.Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 28.
GROATS. At the English universities, "ninegroats" says Grose, in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, "are deposited in the hands of an academic officer by every person standing for a degree, which, if the depositor obtains with honor, are returned to him."
To save his groats; to come off handsomely.—Gradus ad Cantab.
GROUP. A crowd or throng; a number collected without any regular form or arrangement. At Harvard College, students are not allowed to assemble ingroups, as is seen by the following extract from the laws. Three persons together are considered as agroup.
Collecting ingroupsround the doors of the College buildings, or in the yard, shall be considered a violation of decorum.—Laws Univ. at Cam., Mass., 1848, Suppl., p. 4.
GROUPING. Collecting together.
It will surely be incomprehensible to most students how so large a number as six could be suffered with impunity to horde themselves together within the limits of the college yard. In those days the very learned laws aboutgroupingwere not in existence. A collection of two was not then considered a sure prognostic of rebellion, and spied out vigilantly by tutoric eyes. Agroupof three was not reckoned a gross outrage of the college peace, and punished severely by the subtraction of some dozens from the numerical rank of the unfortunate youth engaged in so high a misdemeanor. A congregation of four was not esteemed an open, avowed contempt of the laws of decency and propriety, prophesying utter combustion, desolation, and destruction to all buildings and trees in the neighborhood; and lastly, a multitude of five, though watched with a little jealousy, was not called an intolerable, unparalleled violation of everything approaching the name of order, absolute, downright shamelessness, worthy capital mark-punishment, alias the loss of 87-3/4 digits!—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 314.
The above passage and the following are both evidently of a satirical nature.
And oftengroupingon the chains, he hums his own sweet verse,Till Tutor ——, coming up, commands him to disperse!Poem before Y.H., 1849, p. 14.
GRUB. A hard student. Used at Williams College, and synonymous with DIG at other colleges. A correspondent says, writing from Williams: "Our real delvers, midnight students, are familiarly calledGrubs. This is a very expressive name."
A man must not be ashamed to be called agrubin college, if he would shine in the world.—Sketches of Williams College, p. 76.
Some there are who, though never known to read or study, are ever ready to debate,—not "grubs" or "reading men," only "wordy men."—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 246.
GRUB. To study hard; to be what is denominated agrub, or hard student. "The primary sense," says Dr. Webster, "is probably to rub, to rake, scrape, or scratch, as wild animals dig by scratching."
I cangrub outa lesson in Latin or mathematics as well as the best of them.—Amherst Indicator, Vol. I. p. 223.
GUARDING. "The custom ofguardingFreshmen," says a correspondent from Dartmouth College, "is comparatively a late one. Persons masked would go into another's room at night, and oblige him to do anything they commanded him, as to get under his bed, sit with his feet in a pail of water," &c.
GULF. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., one who obtains the degree of B.A., but has not his name inserted in the Calendar, is said to be in thegulf.
He now begins to … be anxious about … that classical acquaintance who is in danger of thegulf.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 95.
Some ten or fifteen men just on the line, not bad enough to be plucked or good enough to be placed, are put into the "gulf," as it is popularly called (the Examiners' phrase is "Degrees allowed"), and have their degrees given them, but are not printed in the Calendar.—Ibid., p. 205.
GULFING. In the University of Cambridge, England, "those candidates for B.A. who, but for sickness or some other sufficient cause, might have obtained an honor, have their degree given them without examination, and thus avoid having their names inserted in the lists. This is calledGulfing." A degree taken in this manner is called "an Ægrotat Degree."—Alma Mater, Vol. II. pp. 60, 105.
I discovered that my name was nowhere to be found,—that I wasGulfed.—Ibid., Vol. II. p. 97.
GUM. A trick; a deception. In use at Dartmouth College.
Gumis another word they have here. It means something like chaw. To say, "It's all agum," or "a regular chaw," is the same thing.—The Dartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 117.
GUM. At the University of Vermont, to cheat in recitation by usingponies,interliners, &c.; e.g. "hegummedin geometry."
2. To cheat; to deceive. Not confined to college.
He was speaking of the "moon hoax" which "gummed" so many learned philosophers.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 189.
GUMMATION. A trick; raillery.
Our reception to college ground was by no means the most hospitable, considering our unacquaintance with the manners of the place, for, as poor "Fresh," we soon found ourselves subject to all manner of sly tricks and "gummations" from our predecessors, the Sophs.—A Tour through College, Boston, 1832, p. 13.
GYP. A cant term for a servant at Cambridge, England, atscoutis used at Oxford. Said to be a sportive application of [Greek: gyps], a vulture.—Smart.
The wordGypvery properly characterizes them.—Gradus adCantab., p. 56.
And many a yawninggypcomes slipshod in,To wake his master ere the bells begin.The College, inBlackwood's Mag., May, 1849.
The Freshman, when once safe through his examination, is first inducted into his rooms by agyp, usually recommended to him by his tutor. The gyp (from [Greek: gyps], vulture, evidently a nickname at first, but now the only name applied to this class of persons) is a college servant, who attends upon a number of students, sometimes as many as twenty, calls them in the morning, brushes their clothes, carries for them parcels and the queerly twisted notes they are continually writing to one another, waits at their parties, and so on. Cleaning their boots is not in his branch of the profession; there is a regular brigade of college shoeblacks.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 14.
It is sometimes spelledJip, though probably by mistake.
MyJipbrought one in this morning; faith! and told me I was focussed.—Gent. Mag., 1794, p. 1085.
HALF-LESSON. In some American colleges on certain occasions the students are required to learn only one half of the amount of an ordinary lesson.
They promote it [the value of distinctions conferred by the students on one another] by formally acknowledging the existence of the larger debating societies in such acts as giving "half-lessons" for the morning after the Wednesday night debates.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 386.
HALF-YEAR. In the German universities, a collegiate term is called ahalf-year.
The annual courses of instruction are divided into summer and winterhalf-years.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. Ed., pp. 34, 35.
HALL. A college or large edifice belonging to a collegiate institution.—Webster.
2. A collegiate body in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In the former institution a hall differs from a college, in that halls are not incorporated; consequently, whatever estate or other property they possess is held in trust by the University. In the latter, colleges and halls are synonymous.—Cam. and Oxf. Calendars.
"In Cambridge," says the author of the Collegian's Guide, "the halls stand on the same footing as the colleges, but at Oxford they did not, in my time, hold by any means so high a place in general estimation. Certainly those halls which admit the outcasts of other colleges, and of those alone I am now speaking, used to be precisely what one would expect to find them; indeed, I had rather that a son of mine should forego a university education altogether, than that he should have so sorry a counterfeit of academic advantages as one of these halls affords."—p. 172.
"All the Colleges at Cambridge," says Bristed, "have equal privileges and rights, with the solitary exception of King's, and though some of them are calledHalls, the difference is merely one of name. But the Halls at Oxford, of which there are five, are not incorporated bodies, and have no vote in University matters, indeed are but a sort of boarding-houses at which students may remain until it is time for them to take a degree. I dined at one of those establishments; it was very like an officers' mess. The men had their own wine, and did not wear their gowns, and the only Don belonging to the Hall was not present at table. There was a tradition of a chapel belonging to the concern, but no one present knew where it was. This Hall seemed to be a small Botany Bay of both Universities, its members made up of all sorts of incapables and incorrigibles."—Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, pp. 140, 141.
3. At Cambridge and Oxford, the public eating-room.
I went into the public "hall" [so is called in Oxford the public eating-room].—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 231.
Dinner is, in all colleges, a public meal, taken in the refectory or "hall" of the society.—Ibid., p. 273.
4. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., dinner, the name of the place where the meal is taken being given to the meal itself.
Halllasts about three quarters of an hour.—Bristed's Five Year in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.
AfterHallis emphatically lounging-time, it being the wise practice of Englishmen to attempt no hard exercise, physical or mental, immediately after a hearty meal.—Ibid., p. 21.
It is not safe to read afterHall(i.e. after dinner).—Ibid., p. 331.
HANG-OUT. An entertainment.
I remember the date from the Fourth of July occurring just afterwards, which I celebrated by a "hang-out."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 80.
He had kept me six hours at table, on the occasion of a dinner which he gave … as an appendix to and a return for some of my "hangings-out."—Ibid., p. 198.
HANG OUT. To treat, to live, to have or possess. Among EnglishCantabs, a verb of all-work.—Bristed.
There were but few pensioners who "hung out" servants of their own.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 90.
I had become … a man who knew and "hung outto" clever and pleasant people, and introduced agreeable lions to one another.—Ibid., p. 158.
I had gained such a reputation for dinner-giving, that men going to "hang out" sometimes asked me to compose bills of fare for them.—Ibid., p. 195.
HARRY SOPHS, or HENRY SOPHISTERS; in reality Harisophs, a corruption of Erisophs ([Greek: erisophos],valde eruditus). At Cambridge, England, students who have kept all the terms required for a law act, and hence are ranked as Bachelors of Law by courtesy.—Gradus ad Cantab.
See, also, Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 818.
HARVARD WASHINGTON CORPS. From a memorandum on a fly leaf of an old Triennial Catalogue, it would appear that a military company was first established among the students of Harvard College about the year 1769, and that its first captain was Mr. William Wetmore, a graduate of the Class of 1770. The motto which it then assumed, and continued to bear through every period of its existence, was, "Tam Marti quam Mercurio." It was called at that time the Marti Mercurian Band. The prescribed uniform was a blue coat, the skirts turned with white, nankeen breeches, white stockings, top-boots, and a cocked hat. This association continued for nearly twenty years from the time of its organization, but the chivalrous spirit which had called it into existence seems at the end of that time to have faded away. The last captain, it is believed, was Mr. Solomon Vose, a graduate of the class of 1787.
Under the auspices of Governor Gerry, in December of the year 1811, it was revived, and through his influence received a new loan of arms from the State, taking at the same time the name of the Harvard Washington Corps. In 1812, Mr. George Thacher was appointed its commander. The members of the company wore a blue coat, white vest, white pantaloons, white gaiters, a common black hat, and around the waist a white belt, which was always kept very neat, and to which were attached a bayonet and cartridge-box. The officers wore the same dress, with the exceptions of a sash instead of the belt, and a chapeau in place of the hat. Soon after this reorganization, in the fall of 1812, a banner, with the arms of the College on one side and the arms of the State on the other, was presented by the beautiful Miss Mellen, daughter of Judge Mellen of Cambridge, in the name of the ladies of that place. The presentation took place before the door of her father's house. Appropriate addresses were made, both by the fair donor and the captain of the company. Mr. Frisbie, a Professor in the College, who was at that time engaged to Miss Mellen, whom he afterwards married, recited on the occasion the following verses impromptu, which were received with greateclat.
"The standard's victory's leading star,'T is danger to forsake it;How altered are the scenes of war,They're vanquished now who take it."
A writer in the Harvardiana, 1836, referring to this banner, says: "The gilded banner now moulders away in inglorious quiet, in the dusty retirement of a Senior Sophister's study. What a desecration for that 'flag by angel hands to valor given'!"[40] Within the last two years it has wholly disappeared from its accustomed resting-place. Though departed, its memory will be ever dear to those who saw it in its better days, and under its shadow enjoyed many of the proudest moments of college life.
At its second organization, the company was one of the finest and best drilled in the State. The members were from the Senior and Junior Classes. The armory was in the fifth story of Hollis Hall. The regular time for exercise was after the evening commons. The drum would often beat before the meal was finished, and the students could then be seen rushing forth with the half-eaten biscuit, and at the same time buckling on their armor for the accustomed drill. They usually paraded on exhibition-days, when the large concourse of people afforded an excellent opportunity for showing off their skill in military tactics and manoeuvring. On the arrival of the news of the peace of 1815, it appears, from an interleaved almanac, that "the H.W. Corps paraded and fired a salute; Mr. Porter treated the company." Again, on the 12th of May, same year, "H.W. Corps paraded in Charlestown, saluted Com. Bainbridge, and returned by the way of Boston." The captain for that year, Mr. W.H. Moulton, dying, on the 6th of July, at five o'clock, P.M., "the class," says the same authority, "attended the funeral of Br. Moulton in Boston. The H.W. Corps attended in uniform, without arms, the ceremony of entombing their late Captain."
In the year 1825, it received a third loan of arms, and was again reorganized, admitting the members of all the classes to its ranks. From this period until the year 1834, very great interest was manifested in it; but a rebellion having broken out at that time among the students, and the guns of the company having been considerably damaged by being thrown from the windows of the armory, which was then in University Hall, the company was disbanded, and the arms were returned to the State.
The feelings with which it was regarded by the students generally cannot be better shown than by quoting from some of the publications in which reference is made to it. "Many are the grave discussions and entry caucuses," says a writer in the Harvard Register, published in 1828, "to determine what favored few are to be graced with the sash and epaulets, and march as leaders in the martial band. Whilst these important canvassings are going on, it behooves even the humblest and meekest to beware how he buttons his coat, or stiffens himself to a perpendicular, lest he be more than suspected of aspiring to some military capacity. But theHarvard Washington Corpsmust not be passed over without further notice. Who can tell what eagerness fills its ranks on an exhibition-day? with what spirit and bounding step the glorious phalanx wheels into the College yard? with what exultation they mark their banner, as it comes floating on the breeze from Holworthy? And ah! who cannot tell how this spirit expires, this exultation goes out, when the clerk calls again and again for the assessments."—p. 378.
A college poet has thus immortalized this distinguished band:—
"But see where yonder light-armed ranks advance!—Their colors gleaming in the noonday glance,Their steps symphonious with the drum's deep notes,While high the buoyant, breeze-borne banner floats!O, let not allied hosts yon band deride!'T isHarvard Corps, our bulwark and our pride!Mark, how like one great whole, instinct with life,They seem to woo the dangers of the strife!Who would not brave the heat, the dust, the rain,To march the leader of that valiant train?"Harvard Register, p. 235.
Another has sung its requiem in the following strain:—
"That martial band, 'neath waving stripes and starsInscribed alike to Mercury and Mars,Those gallant warriors in their dread array,Who shook these halls,—O where, alas! are they?Gone! gone! and never to our ears shall comeThe sounds of fife and spirit-stirring drum;That war-worn banner slumbers in the dust,Those bristling arms are dim with gathering rust;That crested helm, that glittering sword, that plume,Are laid to rest in reckless faction's tomb."Winslow's Class Poem, 1835.
HAT FELLOW-COMMONER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., the popular name given to a baronet, the eldest son of a baronet, or the younger son of a nobleman. AHat Fellow-Commonerwears the gown of a Fellow-Commoner, with a hat instead of the velvet cap with metallic tassel which a Fellow-Commoner wears, and is admitted to the degree of M.A. after two years' residence.
HAULED UP. In many colleges, one brought up before the Faculty is said to behauled up.
HAZE. To trouble; to harass; to disturb. This word is used at Harvard College, to express the treatment which Freshmen sometimes receive from the higher classes, and especially from the Sophomores. It is used among sailors with the meaningsto urge,to drive,to harass, especially with labor. In his Dictionary of Americanisms, Mr. Bartlett says, "To haze round, is to go rioting about."
Be ready, in fine, to cut, to drink, to smoke, to swear, tohaze, to dead, to spree,—in one word, to be a Sophomore.—Oration before H.L. of I.O. of O.F., 1848, p. 11.
To him no orchard is unknown,—no grape-vine unappraised,—No farmer's hen-roost yet unrobbed,—no Freshman yetunhazed!Poem before Y.H., 1849, p. 9.
'T is the Sophomores rushing the Freshmen tohaze.Poem before Iadma, 1850, p. 22.
Never againLeave unbolted your door when to rest you retire,And,unhazedand unmartyred, you proudly may scornThose foes to all Freshmen who 'gainst thee conspire.Ibid., p. 23.
Freshmen have got quietly settled down to work, Sophs have given up theirhazing.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 285.
We are glad to be able to record, that the absurd and barbarous custom ofhazing, which has long prevailed in College, is, to a great degree, discontinued.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 413.
The various means which are made use of inhazingthe Freshmen are enumerated in part below. In the first passage, a Sophomore speaks in soliloquy.
I am a man,Have human feelings, though mistaken FreshAffirmed I was a savage or a brute,When I did dash cold water in their necks,Discharged green squashes through their window-panes,And stript their beds of soft, luxurious sheets,Placing instead harsh briers and rough sticks,So that their sluggish bodies might not sleep,Unroused by morning bell; or when perforce,From leaden syringe, engine of fierce might,I drave black ink upon their ruffle shirts,Or drenched with showers of melancholy hue,The new-fledged dickey peering o'er the stock,Fit emblem of a young ambitious mind!Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 254.
A Freshman writes thus on the subject:—
The Sophs did nothing all the first fortnight but torment the Fresh, as they call us. They would come to our rooms with masks on, and frighten us dreadfully; and sometimes squirt water through our keyholes, or throw a whole pailful on to one of us from the upper windows.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.
HEAD OF THE HOUSE. The generic name for the highest officer of a college in the English Universities.
The Master of the College, or "Head of the House," is a D.D. who has been a Fellow.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 16.
Theheads of houses[are] styled, according to the usage of the college, President, Master, Principal, Provost, Warden, or Rector. —Oxford Guide, 1847, p. xiii.
Written often simplyHead.
The "Head," as he is called generically, of an Oxford college, is a greater man than the uninitiated suppose.—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 244.
The newHeadwas a gentleman of most commanding personal appearance.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 87.
HEADSHIP. The office and place of head or president of a college.
Most of the collegeHeadshipsare not at the disposal of the Crown.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, note, p. 89, anderrata.
TheHeadshipsof the colleges are, with the exception of Worcester, filled by one chosen by the Fellows from among themselves, or one who has been a Fellow.—Oxford Guide, Ed. 1847, p. xiv.
HEADS OUT. At Princeton College, the cry when anything occurs in theCampus. Used, also, to give the alarm when a professor or tutor is about to interrupt a spree.
See CAMPUS.
HEBDOMADAL BOARD. At Oxford, the local governing authority of the University, composed of the Heads of colleges and the two Proctors, and expressing itself through the Vice-Chancellor. An institution of Charles I.'s time, it has possessed, since the year 1631, "the sole initiative power in the legislation of the University, and the chief share in its administration." Its meetings are held weekly, whence the name.—Oxford Guide. Literary World, Vol. XII., p. 223.
HIGH-GO. A merry frolic, usually with drinking.
Songs of Scholars in revelling roundelays,Belched out with hickups at bacchanal Go,Bellowed, till heaven's high concave rebound the lays,Are all for college carousals too low.Of dullness quite tired, with merriment fired,And fully inspired with amity's glow,With hate-drowning wine, boys, and punch all divine, boys,The Juniors combine, boys, in friendly HIGH-GO.Glossology, by William Biglow, inserted inBuckingham'sReminiscences, Vol. II. pp. 281-284.
He it was who broached the idea of ahigh-go, as being requisite to give us a rank among the classes in college.D.A. White's Address before Soc. of the Alumni of Harv. Univ., Aug. 27, 1844, p. 35.
This word is now seldom used; the wordsHighandGoare, however, often used separately, with the same meaning; as the compound. The phraseto get high, i.e. to become intoxicated, is allied with the above expression.
Or men "get high" by drinking abstract toddies?Childe Harvard, p. 71.
HIGH STEWARD. In the English universities, an officer who has special power to hear and determine capital causes, according to the laws of the land and the privileges of the university, whenever a scholar is the party offending. He also holds the universitycourt-leet, according to the established charter and custom.—Oxf. and Cam. Cals.
At Cambridge, in addition to his other duties, the High Steward is the officer who represents the University in the House of Lords.
HIGH TABLE. At Oxford, the table at which the Fellows and some other privileged persons are entitled to dine.
Wine is not generally allowed in the public hall, except to the "high table."—De Quincey's Life and Manners, p. 278.
I dine at the "high table" with the reverend deans, and hobnob with professors.—Household Words, Am. ed., Vol. XI. p 521.
HIGH-TI. At Williams College, a term by which is designated a showy recitation. Equivalent to the wordsquirtat Harvard College.
HILLS. At Cambridge, Eng., Gogmagog Hills are commonly calledtheHills.
Or to theHillson horseback strays,(Unasked his tutor,) or his chaiseTo famed Newmarket guides.Gradus ad Cantab., p. 35.
HISS. To condemn by hissing.
This is a favorite method, especially among students, of expressing their disapprobation of any person or measure.
I'll tell you what; your crime is this,That, Touchy, you did scrape, andhiss.Rebelliad, p. 45.
Who will bully, scrape, andhiss!Who, I say, will do all this!Let him follow me,—Ibid., p. 53.
HOAXING. At Princeton College, inducing new-comers to join the secret societies is calledhoaxing.
HOBBY. A translation. Hobbies are used by some students in translating Latin, Greek, and other languages, who from this reason are said to ride, in contradistinction to others who learn their lessons by study, who are said todigorgrub.
See PONY.
HOBSON'S CHOICE. Thomas Hobson, during the first third of the seventeenth century, was the University carrier between Cambridge and London. He died January 1st, 1631. "He rendered himself famous by furnishing the students with horses; and, making it an unalterable rule that every horse should have an equal portion of rest as well as labor, he would never let one out of its turn; hence the celebrated saying, 'Hobson's Choice:this, or none.'" Milton has perpetuated his fame in two whimsical epitaphs, which may be found among his miscellaneous poems.
HOE IN. At Hamilton College, to strive vigorously; a metaphorical meaning, taken from labor with the hoe.
HOIST. It was formerly customary at Harvard College, when the Freshmen were used as servants, to report them to their Tutor if they refused to go when sent on an errand; this complaint was called ahoisting, and the delinquent was said to behoisted.
The refusal to perform a reasonable service required by a member of the class above him, subjected the Freshmen to a complaint to be brought before his Tutor, technically calledhoistinghim to his Tutor. The threat was commonly sufficient to exact the service.—Willard's Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. I. p. 259.
HOLD INS. At Bowdoin College, "near the commencement of each year," says a correspondent, "the Sophs are wont, on some particular evening, to attempt to 'hold in' the Freshmen when coming out of prayers, generally producing quite a skirmish."
HOLLIS. Mr. Thomas Hollis of Lincoln's Inn, to whom, with many others of the same name, Harvard College is so much indebted, among other presents to its library, gave "sixty-four volumes of valuable books, curiously bound." To these reference is made in the following extract from the Gentleman's Magazine for September, 1781. "Mr. Hollis employed Mr. Fingo to cut a number of emblematical devices, such as the caduceus of Mercury, the wand of Æsculapius, the owl, the cap of liberty, &c.; and these devices were to adorn the backs and sometimes the sides of books. When patriotism animated a work, instead of unmeaning ornaments on the binding, he adorned it with caps of liberty. When wisdom filled the page, the owl's majestic gravity bespoke its contents. The caduceus pointed out the works of eloquence, and the wand of Æsculapius was a signal of good medicine. The different emblems were used on the same book, when possessed of different merits, and to express his disapprobation of the whole or parts of any work, the figure or figures were reversed. Thus each cover exhibited a critique on the book, and was a proof that they were not kept for show, as he must read before he could judge. Read this, ye admirers of gilded books, and imitate."
HONORARIUM, HONORARY. A term applied, in Europe, to the recompense offered to professors in universities, and to medical or other professional gentlemen for their services. It is nearly equivalent tofee, with the additional idea of being givenhonoris causa, as a token of respect.—Brande. Webster.
There are regular receivers, quæstors, appointed for the reception of thehonorarium, or charge for the attendance of lectures.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 30.
HONORIS CAUSA. Latin;as an honor. Any honorary degree given by a college.
Degrees in the faculties of Divinity and Law are conferred, at present, either in course,honoris causa, or on admissionad eundem.—Calendar Trin. Coll., 1850, p. 10.
HONORS. In American colleges, the principal honors are appointments as speakers at Exhibitions and Commencements. These are given for excellence in scholarship. The appointments for Exhibitions are different in different colleges. Those of Commencement do not vary so much. The following is a list of the appointments at Harvard College, in the order in which they are usually assigned: Valedictory Oration, called alsotheEnglish Oration, Salutatory in Latin, English Orations, Dissertations, Disquisitions, and Essays. The salutatorian is not always the second scholar in the class, but must be the best, or, in case this distinction is enjoyed by the valedictorian, the second-best Latin scholar. Latin or Greek poems or orations or English poems sometimes form a part of the exercises, and may be assigned, as are the other appointments, to persons in the first part of the class. At Yale College the order is as follows: Valedictory Oration, Salutatory in Latin, Philosophical Orations, Orations, Dissertations, Disputations, and Colloquies. A person who receives the appointment of a Colloquy can either write or speak in a colloquy, or write a poem. Any other appointee can also write a poem. Other colleges usually adopt one or the other of these arrangements, or combine the two.
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 inhonors.
I very early in the Sophomore year gave up all thoughts of obtaining highhonors.—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 withhoodmy 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 wordelectioneering.
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 theHouse, 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 theHouse.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 583.
A member of the college was also called aMember of the House.
The steward is to see that one third part be reserved of all the payments to him by themembers of the Housequarterly made.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 582.
A college officer was called anOfficer 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 otherofficer 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 orofficers of the House, to come into the butteries, &c.—Ibid., Vol. I. p. 584.
Before the year 1708, the termFellows of the Housewas 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 theHouse 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 thenewHouse 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 thehumanities (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 calledHyphenutes. Used both as a noun and adjective. Same as [Greek: Oi Aristoi] q.v.