Chapter 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In an abbreviated form, _impos._

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

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

See BARBER.

INCEPT. To take the degree of Master of Arts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

INTERLINER. Same as INTERLINEAR.

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

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

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

See BULLY CLUB.

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

_J_.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See WILL.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JUN. Abbreviated for Junior.

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

JUNE. An abbreviation of Junior.

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

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

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

"In the old time when militia trainings were in fashion, the authorities of Burlington decided that, whereas the students of the University of Vermont claimed and were allowed the right of suffrage, they were to be considered citizens, and consequently subject to military duty. The students having refused to appear on parade, were threatened with prosecution; and at last they determined to make their appearance. This they did on a certain 'training day,' (the year I do not recollect,) to the full satisfaction of the authorities, who did not expect _such_ a parade, and had no desire to see it repeated. But the students being unwilling to expose themselves to 'the rigor of the law,' paraded annually; and when at last the statute was repealed and militia musters abolished, they continued the practice for the sake of old association. Thus it passed into a custom, and the first Wednesday of June is as eagerly anticipated by the citizens of Burlington and the youth of the surrounding country for its 'training,' as is the first Wednesday of August for its annual Commencement. The Faculty always smile propitiously, and in the afternoon the performance commences. The army, or more euphoniously the 'UNIVERSITY INVINCIBLES,' take up 'their line of march' from the College campus, and proceed through all the principal streets to the great square, where, in the presence of an immense audience, a speech is delivered by the Commander-in-chief, and a sermon by the Chaplain, the roll is called, and the annual health report is read by the surgeon. These productions are noted for their patriotism and fervid eloquence rather than high literary merit. Formerly the music to which they marched consisted solely of the good old-fashioned drum and fife; but of late years the Invincibles have added to these a brass band, composed of as many obsolete instruments as can be procured, in the hands of inexperienced performers. None who have ever handled a musical instrument before are allowed to become members of the band, lest the music should be too sweet and regular to comport with the general order of the parade. The uniform (or rather the _multiform_) of the company varies from year to year, owing to the regulation that each soldier shall consult his own taste,--provided that no two are to have the same taste in their equipments. The artillery consists of divers joints of rusty stove-pipe, in each of which is inserted a toy cannon of about one quarter of an inch calibre, mounted on an old dray, and drawn by as many horse-apologies as can be conveniently attached to it. When these guns are discharged, the effect--as might be expected--is terrific. The banners, built of cotton sheeting and mounted on a rake-handle, although they do not always exhibit great artistic genius, often display vast originality of design. For instance, one contained on the face a diagram (done in ink with the wrong end of a quill) of the _pons asinorum_, with the rather belligerent inscription, 'REMEMBER NAPOLEON AT LODI.' On the reverse was the head of an extremely doubtful-looking individual viewing 'his natural face in a glass.' Inscription,--'O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursel's as others see us.'