n Ui Division LD 46 06 Section V 1 3 JUN ',i^^ xodi PRINCETON SKETCHES ^u^.tr^^i^ THE STORY OF NASSAU HALL BY y GEORGE R. WALLACE CLASS- OF 91 WITH INTRODUCTION HY ANDREW F. WEST, PH.D. GIGER PROFESSOR OF LATIN IN THE COLLECili OK NEW JERSEY ILLUSTRATED G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK LONDON 27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 24 IIEDF'ORD STREET, STRANI Sbc l^inicKcrbocIicr |Jrtss X893 COPYRIGHT, 1893 BY GEORGE R. WALLACE Electrotyped, Printed and Bound by "Cbc Iknichcrbocljcr press, IRcw yorh G. P. Pitnam's Sons INTRODUCTION. The traveller from the West or South, hurry- ing ou his way to New York, is very apt to set- tle down to two hours of dreariness, as his train runs across the flat plain of New Jersey ; yet, if he be an observant tourist, he will have occasion to notice, when half-way onward from Philadel- phia, a distant view of the ^vest. There, three miles away, on an elevated ridge, and backed by a range of blue hills, lies Princeton, embowered in its old elms, the many buildings of the university rising half buried in foliage, some of them silent witnesses of a glorious past, while more of them speak of the present and predict the more glorious future. If he be a graduate, his eye will search the sky line until, in the middle of his view, he sees the slender belfry spire of Nassau Hall, the his- toric centre of the Princeton campus. Perhaps the monotony of the Jersey plain through which he has been riding makes the sight of this clas- i V IN TROD UCTION. sic hill, graced with its green groves aud shel- tering shades, all the more charming; but, whether this be so or not, no Princeton man travelling that way ever fails, on passing Prince- ton Junction, to glance with fondness toward what seems to him, more and more as his years roll on, a true oasis of rest and happiness in his life's itinerary. If his train stops at the Junction he will probably try the three-mile journey and revisit the old place. He \vill notice that the branch road, with its formidable grades and breakneck curves, once planned, as college tra- dition says, by a distinguished professor — well, he will notice that these are " iidem qui semper fuerunt," the same as they ever were — to use the classic words of that old Latin pi'ose book now dead and gone, in which, so many of our alumni Avere prepai-ed for college. And as the puffing little engine toils up the last steep grade towards the Princeton station, though many a change will meet his eye which will gladden him as a lover of Princeton, and sadden him as he misses some cherished landmark, yet he will find many things still unaltered. If he be an alumnus of a generation back, there will be only a few pro- fessors of his old faculty to meet, and pei'haps he is most likely to encounter first some old college servant with a half century's record, such as IN TROD UC TION. Dennis, or Steve, or tlie indispensable and only James Johnson. On glancing around lie will notice at first only the Avonderful change that has come over the place and, as with a wave of an enchanter's wand, transformed the quiet old college into the vigorous and active university. He will see the old college green enlarged into a park of hundreds of acres, stretching out over the hill and do^vn the slope, with its twoscore beau- tiful buildings. He will learn of the growth of the faculty and will ascertain that it has increased in a ratio less only than the num- ber of the students. He will be astonished at the multiplication of ne\v departments, branches of study, elective and optional coui'ses, the museums, observatories, laboratories libraries, appai-atus, the various athletic grounds, and the many club-houses, and other organizations of the students. All these will seem new and strange to him, wdth the subtle fascination of the old and the ever striking charm of the new beauty. But if he stays a day or two, most of the lineaments of the old college as it was to him take sliape again and revive, and the campus ai'ound Nassau Hall will still be found, as of old, the centre of all the university life. Truly so and remarkal)ly so in the beau- VI INTRODUCTION. tiful October evenings, as the leaves are begin- ning to turn and tlie processions of students sinLriniT the colleore sono-s move to and fro ; or better yet, in the still long evenings of May and June, just before the seniors leave and their sing- ing sounds from the steps of Old North, when all the historic memories of the place, all the old student life at Princeton, back to the dim remi- niscences of the Revolution and the colonial time seem to be evoked by the ever new magic of the old music. There under the trees planted in the time of Washington, the figures of the lievo- lution reappear to student imagination — Madi- son, Witherspoon, Ellsworth, Stockton, Freneau, Rush, " Light-horse Harry " Lee, the Bayards, Livingstons, Frelinghuyseus, and all that com- pany of noble souls who used their swords to achieve American freedom, or their j^ens to sign the Declaration of Independence and frame the Constitution of the United States. But our prosaic muse is running away Avith us, and we are getting into the domain of Mr. Wallace's book. Suppose our traveller cannot stop at Princeton Junction. Suppose he is far away from Princeton. Then let him i-ead this book, \vritten newly by one who has lately passed out from under the Princeton elms. They too are the same as they ever were — but a little INTRODUCTION. Vli older, a little grander, a little more majestic. This book will take the reader in spirit to the old academic shades. There he may recline on the mellow sward and hear the seniors singing, and re-create in his own imai>;ination that little world of university life, now lost to his sight, but living as truly as ever in his heart and life. Andrew F. West. CONTENTS. I. — In Goon Old Colony Days II. — The Rf.volution III. — Thk Halls .... IV. — Ante Bellum .... V. — Administratkjn t)F James McCosh VI. — Princeton University VII. — Under the Princeton Elms . VIII. — The Princeton Idea 1 29 53 72 lOI 128 149 179 Know all Men by there Prerents, That I p£h^ ^L^Lfi>^^ For and in Confideration of of the Sum of S> i-f^^ /^ru-*^S:> ^ -y^ r*-- -s^ '>^ '^ -^rj- o^-T^ o^ Current Money of the Province of an* t^tr^^Ti^ f^ to me in Hand paid at and before the Enfcaling and DchvCry of thefe Prefents, by "^fJi*- -^-^-^ 01/^ ^a/L^rn^ ^.^u^i;) y-i-^iidu^ ^ /A^jy^lU-y-' ^Vi^^^^c^^ oi^ o^ -7— -V- ^f- >^<^- ''yh '*»f- ^*»^ ni^y^ the Receipt^ whereof I do hereby acknowledge, and myfelf to be therev/ith fully fatisfied, contented and ^aid : Have Granted, Bargained, Sold, Releafed, and by thefe Prefents do fully, clearly and abf^^lutely grant, bargain, fell and releafe unto the faid J}t ■ a^an-ey^ J2fu^yv> Ju^ ^-*.i/r7 SCd-^i-p,^ a^f4iA±,u^ iy/4-j/U> Jn^ayhj ih^/iyK^ /QiJJ/i.^ ^ (^ of^ '^<>r-'-yi^^^~>^ To HAVE and to HOLD the faid '/l*-^ ^ ^^ Qi:^J.=^ ^ -^ -^ -y- unto the faid fjjl Q^a^aL. ^u^rx. ALv -^ -^ "^ Executors, Adminiftrators and Affigns forever. And I the fuld y-^"^^^ (^f.iiry->^-A^ JtP*-' for my Self, my Heirs, Executors and Administrators, do covenant and agree to and with the above-named 0~a^'i,ff^^*^j>ii,rij ^tl^ o^ •yt' '^ "f Executors, Adminiftrators and Affigns, to warrant and defend the Sale of the above-named fLa^^/i^ ^/-^ ,v .<3!u^^>-*^ ^A-.'/i'^ againft all Perfons whatfoever. In V/itnefi whereof I have hereunto fet my Hand and Seal this t-*^ c-cO^-^ -y^^ Day of ^Aj^jJ:3~4f^~B i^ ^wno^; i)oOT, One Thoufand Seven Hundred and Fifty ♦// ''V^ •• Sealed and Delivered, in the Prefence of" 4^ ^ayfyza^ — ^ Jfl^ Uuft^^.jJfJL LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Nassau Hall Bill of Sale of Negro Paper Executed in 1748 President Jonathan Dickinson . . . . Fac-Simile of Advertisement of Lottery i\ "The Pennsylvania Journal," January 16, 1750 President Aaroxn Burr Fac-Similes of Lottery Tickets Marquand Chapel and Murray Hall Nassau Street in Front of the Campus Bill for Refreshments The Old President's House, now the Dean's Scheme of a Lottery for the Use of the Col LEGE OF New Jersey . The Bulletin Elm President Jonathan Edwards Princeton University . Graves of the Presidents . President John Witherspoon The West Campus, from University Place xiii Frontispiece xii xvi 3 5 7 9 1 1 15 19 23 26 27 30 31 35 19 41 XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Old Cannon . OFFrcES OF Administration Clio Hall Alexander Hall. Edwards Hall .... On the Campus — The Potter Woods Prospect — the President's House East College Museum of Historic Art West College President McCosh McCosh Walk The School of Science The Front Campus On the Campus — View from Prospect Bronze Statue of President McCosh in quand Chapel . The Dynamo House The Magnetic Observatory The Halsted Observatory The Working Observatory Under the Elms . Bonner-Marquand Gymnasium The Brokaw Memorial Building and Tank . David Brown Hall Albert Dodd Hall Dickinson Hall Mar Swimming PACE 45 51 55 63 67 75 79 83 93 97 103 107 113 117 131 135 139 143 147 151 155 159 163 169 173 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv PAGE The University Boat-House i77 WiTHERSPOON Hall . . i8i The Chemical Laboratory 185 University Hall . 189 Reunion Hall 193 The Princeton Inn . . 197 N^ <" /a^y'^-''' ■^'•' '^''. .^if "^^ •■^'"'"^^ a^fjit^ ^^./.P^z, >/ y!w!^ J^4i^^J ^- ^ •^v^-^.^^^^^^g^^ I'*' /^' ^ '' 4 «»« ■-^r < )IV||#«MftHfaMQy| is paper was prohahly executed iu Sei)leinher, 174S, at which time T.ov. I'-elchcr mic- in havinir I'rinceton fixed upon as a site for the College. Vid. Hageman s History oj This ceeded in iiavmg Princeton, vol. ii., page 243. PRINCETON SKETCHES. I. IN GOOD OLD COLONY DAYS. Our weary travellers pass along, Cheered by the wildwood's merry song, To where old Princeton's classic fane, With cupola and copper vane, And learning's holy honors crowned, Looks from her high hill all around, O'er such a wondrous fairy scene, Of waving woods and meadows green. That, sooth to say, a man might swear Was never seen so wondrous fair. The Lay of the Scottish Fiddle. In the ancient town of Newark, on the 9th of November, 1748, were celebrated the " Pnblic Acts " of the first commencement of the College of New Jersey. Before the President's liouse six young men in black gowns, standing two and two, formed the head of a column. Behind them wei'e the sixteen crentlemen named as PRINCE TON SKR TCHES. Trustees in the Royal Charter, while in the doorway stood the young President, Rev. Aaron Burr, in robe, bands, and wig, his gentle, intel- lectual face contrasting pleasantly with the shrewd and courtly expression of His Excellency Gov. Belcher, who, as President of the Board of Trustees, stood beside him, gorgeous in the coui't costume of the 18th century. At the oi-der, '' P rogredimiiii juveiies,''^ the procession moves to the church, the candidates walking uncovered. There is "an eles^ant oration in the Latin tongue " by the President, there are learned disputations in Latin by the candidates, an address by the Orator Salutatorius, delivered in " a modest and decent manner," not to mention other imposing ceremonies, before the degrees are conferred, " all which being performed to the great satisfaction of all present, His Excel- lency, with the Trustees and Scholars, returned to the house of the President in the order ob- served in the morning." About two years before, on the 2 2d of Octo- ber, 1746, the first charter of the college passed the Great Seal and was attested by John Ham- ilton, Esq., President of His Majesty's Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Jersey. Although the grants under this instrument do not seem to have been perfectly IN GOOD OLD COLONY DAYS. satisfactory, the Ti'ustees proceeded at once to elect the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson President of the infant institution, and the first term began PRESIDENT JONATHAN DICKINSON. on the fourth week of May, 1747. AVe do not know how many students gathered at Elizabeth Town to enjoy the instructions of the President and his assistant, but the probability is that PRINCE TON SKE TCHES. there were about tweuty. For some years, Mr. Dickinson had been conducting an unchartered school for young men, which accounts for the fact that there was a class ready to receive de- grees one year after the founding of the college. Like the more venerable universities of Europe, Princeton l)egau ^vitll instructors instead of buildinir-*^, and the home of the President was the home of the institution. President Dickinson was a man of remarkable energy and ability. Besides performing his duties as President, he was minister of a large parish and a practising })hysieiaM of some repute. No man was more influential than he in found- ing the college, and the prestige of his great name as a preacher and controversialist, both in this country and abroad, gave it an assured posi- tion from the first. He broke down, however, under the strain of his excessive labors, and died before the end of the first academic year. The Rev. Aaron Burr, a young man of thirty- one, but whose reputation was already made, was elected as his successor, and the college moved to his home at Newark. It was Mr. Buri''s good fortune to l)egiu his administration with the new chai'ter, a mncli more liberal and satisfactory document, \vhieh had l)een procured thi'ouirh the inteivst of Governor Belcher. IN GOOD OLD COLONY DA YS. to appeals for funds at this time shows how thoroughly the college was recognized as a seat of learning without sectarian bias. CotineBicut Lottery. For the Benefit of the College of f^eiu-Jerfey. 1753- Biimh.^^ SS This ^'^'^^^^ entitles the Pofilfibr to fuch Prize as may be drawn againll its Number, (if demanded withitj.fix Months after the Drawing is iS.niflied) fubjed'cTo a Deduiflion of i c per Cent.' W New-Jersey Cclkge LOTTERY. -yP IS TICKET intitles the PoffelTor 'to firch Pnzf as fha'.l be yes." ' At dinner they drank small beer or cider, and at suj^per, milk or chocolate. Young gentlemen who chose to indulge in that luxury were occasionally permitted to make " a dish of tea " in their apartments. At five o'clock in the morning a large horn was blown in the entries, which, as a Freshman of the day sadly remarks, sounded like the last trumpet. This blast summoned the students to morning prayers. The students were not al- lowed to leave their rooms without permission^ except for half an hour after morning prayers or recitation, an hour and a half after dinner, and from evening prayers until seven o'clock^ on the penalty of four pence for each offence. Other collei^e laws throw a curious lio-ht on the customs of the academic body in colonial days. " None of the students shall play at cards, or dice, or any other unlawful game, upon the penalty of a fine not exceeding five shillings for the first offense ; for the sec- ond, public admonition ; for the third, expulsion. No jumping, hollaring, or boisterous noise shall be suffered in the college at any time, or walking in the gallery in the time of study. No member of college shall wear his hat in the college at any time, or appear in the dining ' To judge by the fac-simile of tlie bill of William Hicks, the an- nual Commencement dinners must have been somewhat more festive in character than has generally been supposed. IN GOOD OLD COLONY DAYS. 21 room at meal time, or in the hall at any public meeting, or knowingly in the presence of the superiority of the college, without an upper garment, and having shoes and stockings tight. Every scholar shall rise up and make obeisance when the President goes in or out of the hall, or enters the pulpit on days of religious worship. Every P>eshman sent of an errand shall go and do it faithfully, and make quick return. Every scholar in college shall keep his hat off about ten rods to the President, and five to the Tutors." The annals tell us that Oliver Ellsworth, of the class of 176(3, was summoned before the college tribunal, charged with violating the last- named rule. Mr. Ellsworth made his defence after the following manner : " A hat is composed of two parts, the crown and the brim. Now this hat has no brim, consequently it is not a hat, and I can be guilty of no offense." The logicians of the Faculty found the syllogism correct, and the defendant was discharged, al- though it afterwards came out that the brim had been torn off with a view to making a test case. The student who displayed this legal sagacity was afterwards appointed Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The old inns and taverns were no small feat- ure of Princeton student life of the eighteenth century. Big, lumbering mail coaches, private carriages, heavy freight wagons, droves of cat- 22 PRINCETON SKETCHES. tie — the whole body of land communication be- tween Philadelphia and New York rolled through the little town. Those wonderful coaches put on in 1766, which made the journey between the two cities in the unprecedented time of two days, and won for themselves the name of " flying-machines," dashed by the campus daily. All this travel enriched a num- ber of inns whose names only remain. We hear of tavern signs such as " Hudibras," "Con- federation," "Gen. Washington," " The College," " Red Lion," " City Hotel," " Mansion House," " Nassau Hotel," of which (excepting the last) the names only I'emain. We catch glimpses of students mingling with travellers in the wide inn-rooms, and indulging occasionally in heavy drinking and wild pranks, greatly to the scan- dal of " the superiority of the college." It was at the " Nassau Hotel," kept by John Joline, " as arrant a tavern-keeper as any in Christendom," that Jas, K. Paulding, assisted by Washington Irving, composed that spark- ling burlesque, published anonymously as Tlie Lay of the Scottish Fiddle. In the thii-d canto is a description of a convivium, w^hich scarcely tallies with the rigid rules and solemn portraits that have come down to us from our academic ancestors. IN GOOD OLD COLONY DAYS. 25 " Around the table's verge was spread Full many a wine-bewildered head, Of student learned, from Nassau Hall, Who, broken from scholastic thrall, Had sat him down to drink outright Through all the livelong, merry night, And sing as loud as he could bawl, Such is the custom of Nassau Hall. No Latin now or heathen Greek The Senior's double tongue can speak, J^u/iiors, from famed Pierian fount, Had drank so deep they scarce could count The candles on the reeling table." while the " emulous Freshmen " were in a still worse condition. Such bouts, we may believe, were rare. But in the middle of the jollity, a travelling fiddler arrives, " And many lads and lasses, too, A buxom, witching, merry crew, As love's true gramayre ever knew, From country round have come, they say. To dance the livelong night away. Flew ope the door and in there came Full many a dancing, loving dame, With chintz short-gown and apron checked And head with long-eared lawn cap decked. And high-heeled shoes and buckles sheen. And bosom prank'd with boxwood green, With these, well paired, came many a lad With health and youthful spirits glad. To caper nimbly in Scotch reel. With toes turned in, and outward heel." 26 PRINCETON SKETCHES. We will leave this goodly company to dance the night away. Some hours later the " students learned " will return to Nassau Hall, slipping quietly down the long corridors and turning their keys with a delicate consideration for the repose of the tutor next door. Next morning at five o'clock, in gown, with shoes and stock- ings tight, they will be in their accustomed chapel seats, looking like veritable incarnations of the rigid rules we read about. Some years later, in shabby continentals, they will be fight- ing the great battles of American independence, or, under the dignity of full-bottomed wigs, advocating in state and national halls the great measures of freedom. For among these stu- dents, whose fresh, youthful faces peep out from behind the classic masks, are those whose names will be held sacred by succeeding generations — men destined to guide armies, frame laws, sign with their own hand the Declaration, and one who will frame the document which makes us a nation and sit with honor in the presi- dential chair. Neio-yerfty, December I?, 1763. S C H E M E LOTTERY, For the USE of The College oi New-Jerfey THE Legiflature of the '^Colbny - of JVcw-yer/ey, ^ having been . pleafed to countenance thk^ rifing ;Sp« oY I^earning,- fo far as to pafs an A&:, enabling th^ Tfuftees^ 'credl and draw :\ Lottery, for raifing any Sum, not exceeding ''I'JiseeThouftfid Pduij^s Proflipiatioa jVloncy ; it is hoped, that the generous Defign in making, thi^s-^'aw,:- wilt ^carri«^ into Execution, by all thoie who wifh welhto .tHi>Injtitutioh,^(»riVvhoaBe defirous of prompting ufeful Kfio\Mildge in tliefe «infanj; Countries, and preparing our own fif out^ to fuftain tke^^ljubli^^ Offi^,! if^Ghi^fc^ flud State. The following Schcrrie js calculated fori;3J|ingjjhe S'5^;of T\Vo '1l^"ouf3n(|, Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine founds ..'Eighte*{\,'^hilljngs.- affd'Sixy&rM^'Procla- mation Money: There arc to be- ^3.33' Nickels' at'TJiirty Shillinj^ach',. whereof 4488 will be fortunate, -fubjeCl to'V5"per^Cerft. DeducSlion, viz. Number of Frizes. "iVfue of each. Tefal Value. I of £' 1 000 is ■c . 1000 i X)f 750 is 750 I of 500 is 500 4 of .200 are 800 10 of 100 arc I '000 20 of 50 arc 1000 50 of 20 are 1000 100 of 10 are 1000 4299 I of Firft drawn 3 20 are. is- 12897 20 I Laft dra' wn 32-10 is 32-10 4488 Prizes. 8845 Blanks. 13333 .Tickets, at Thirty Shillings -each, is £■ 19999-10 So that it is evident there are not Two Blanks to a Prize. The Drawing is to begin on the fourth Dayof^r/7 next, at 7Vi7^w-i/^// in Princeton, or as foon before as the Lottery is filled; under the Infpedion of three of the Truftees of the College. Robert Ogden, and William Peartree Smith, Efqrs, oi Elizabeth- Tow//; JoNATi-TAN Sergeant, Efq; of Mii/c/tv/^W, • and ' Mr. Ezekiel Forman, Merchant, oiPri?iceton^ are appointed Managers, and will be under Oath for tho faithful Execution of their Truft. Tickets may be liad of the feveral Managers; and o( theunis Bey, Efq; in the County of Bergen; Dr. Samuel Tuttle, at Morris-Toiun; John OgJeii, and NeLemiab Baldwin, Efqrs, and IA\. IVilliam Camp, at Neivark; Mr. "yofcpb JVcodruff', at Elizabeth-Toi^n; James Parker, "Eic^i at IVoodbridge; "John Johnjlon,' Efq; at Verth-Aniboy,. John Tavlor, Efq; at Middletoiun; Mr. James Robin/on, at Freehold; John J'/ethc'rilt,-'E['t:[; near Cranbury ; James Hade, Efq; 3tA^e-w~ Bruufwick; Hendrkk F!Jl:er, Efq; near Bound-Broook; William Ihomfon, Efq; and Mr. Peter Schenck, at Milftone; Richard Stockton, Efq; and Mr. Jonathan Baldwin, at Princeton; George Reading, Efq; zl Amitjell; .John Hart, Efq; it Hope-well; John Hackett, Efq; at the J/;;/5;/ /ro/;- IVorks; Samuel "Tucker, Efq; atTrenton; the Hon. John Ladd, Eily.^t G/ouci;/ler; Ed-ward Kea/Iuy, Efq; at Salem; jyilliam Pfttterjon, Efq; at Chri/Line-Bridge; Mr. D.ivid Sleuart, at Rcedy-Ijlandi Elibu Hall, Efq; at Oilarara, Cecil County, and Col. Peter Ba)-(ird, at Bohemia. THE BULLETIN ELM. 11. THE REVOLUTION. Nor shall these angry tumults here subside, Nor murders cease, through all these provinces, 'Till foreign crowns have vanished from our view And dazzle here no more, — no more presume To awe the spirit of fair Liberty ; Vengeance must cut the thread. Philip Freneau, Class of 1771. The college had not been settled in its new home a year, when it was saddened by the death of President Burr. He had all of that charm- ing personality and grace of manner which so distinguished his brilliant son. His tomb is in the Princeton graveyard, that " Westminster Abbey of America," as it has been called, and the moss-grown letters of the inscription bear eloquent testimony to the affectionate regard which he inspired : " O infandum sui Desiderium Gemit Ecclesia, plorat Academia ; Ait Coelum plaudit, dum ille Ingreditur In Gaudium Domini." 29 30 PRINCETOl^ SKETCHES. For the next decade a singular fatality seemed to hang over the presidential office. Jonathan Edwards was called from Massachusetts, and took charge of the college in January, 1758. He had just crowned his reputation as a pulpit orator and thinker by publishing his treatise on The Free- dom of the Will, which gave him a place at once among the first philosophers of the world, and w^hich still holds its position as the greatest met- aphysical work America has pro- duced. During the few months his term his PRESIDENT JONATHAN EDWARDS. (^Qlirse witll tllP Senior class produced so profound an impression "that they spoke of it with the greatest satis- faction and wonder." He had just begun his administration under the happiest auspices, when an unsuccessful inoculation brought on a disease from which he died on the 22d of March. THE REVOLUTION. 33 He was in Princeton only long enough to leave her the heritasre of his name. In rapid succession the illustrious names of Samuel Davies and Samuel Finley* were writ- * The following quaint letter from President Finley to the Rev, Eliezer Wheelock, who was the founder of Dartmouth College, is in the possession of the college : — Prinxeton, Dec. 13, 1761. Revd. & Dr. Br. I thank you for your Favour by Mr. Pomroy & your son, I am also under obligations for other like Favours, to which my con- stant Hurry, or want of Opportunity, prevented making any Return. Indeed, Hurry has been for years my constant plea ; & is so now. Wou'd have wrote you a line in ye Fall, but heard you was to be this way in October, which prevented me. I examined your Son, & tho' he was less prepared than ye Rest of his Class, yet consider- ing his age & good sense, I concluded he wou'd make a pretty good Figure in it, after some time, shou'd God grant him Health to Study: & so admitted him. And I can honestly say, yt his being your Son had no small influence on me ; & you may assure yourself, dear Sir, yt your recommendations at any Time, will tveigh heavy wth. me. I have not had opportunity to consult ye Commissioners for In- dian Affairs ; but, if they are enabled to Support two at College I have not ye least Doubt of their Compliance with your Proposal. I speak dubiously because I have not yet got into ye State of affairs, & have none present of whom to enquire. I shall do all in my Power for your Son's welfare. As to ye State of our College Mr. Pomroy can inform you. May ye Lord Jesus be with you, & prosper your Undertakings ! If God help me not I surely Sink. I am [superscription.] Your affectionate Br. To The Revd. & very hble. Servt. Mr. Eliezer Wheelock Saml. Finley. at Lebannon In Connecticut. By favr. of ye Revd. Mr. Benjamin I'omroy. 34 PRINCETON SKETCHES. ten on tlie roll of our Presidents, until in 1768 Di". John Witbers[)oon, the great War Presi- dent, was called to the chair. It scarcely needed the presence and example of so distinguished a Son of Liberty to arouse the enthusiasm of the student body in the great conflict which was rapidly coming to a crisis. Newsletters and the little weekly papers of the neighboring cities were eagerly read. Scarcely a day but some traveller climbed down from a dusty coach with new stories of oppressive measures in Boston or patriotic resolutions passed by the Bui-gesses of Vii-ginia. The little band of patriots in Nassau Hall were true to the inspiration of that name. We catch glimpses of excited discussions around the great log fires of the inns, and fiery orations in the newly organized debating societies. Occasionally more positive demonstrations were indulged in. In July, 1770, when the news came that the merchants of New Yoi-k had broken through their i-esolutions not to import, there was great indignation at Princeton. A solemn procession was formed. The students, clad in black gowns, assembled in the centre of the college yard, and there, with fitting ceremonies, the bell tolling, they burned the letter which asked the mer- chants of Philadelphia to concur in the action of iT3 THE REVOLUTION. 37 New York. All the students of this patriotic assembly, we are informed in a letter written by James Madison, were clad in American cloth. Among their number were a score of men who were to rise to distinguished positions in the State. That little group of about a hundred undergraduates sent four men to the Continental Congress, two to the Constitutional Convention, and eleven to the Federal Congress. It contained five distinguished Judges, four Gov- ernors of States, one Attorney-General, a Vice- President and a President of the United States. During this period Philip Freneau had begun to write those Poems of the Revolution, which made his name a household word through the years of that struggle. On the commencement stage of 1771, he joined with Hugh Bracken- ridge in a poetic dialogue on " The Rising Glory of America." No less than sixteen of the poems published in his own edition of 1795, were written while in college. Freneau was a classmate and close friend of Madison, and, down to the time of his death in 1832, was ac- customed to entertain his friends with stories of their college life, which, unfortunately, have not been preserved. In January, 1774, there was another patriotic outbreak. It was the time when Governor 38 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, was making his unenviable reputation, and fighting the battles of tea with Boston. A raid was made on the steward's quarters, and his entire winter's store of tea carried oft' to the campus. " AVe there burned near a dozen pounds, tolled the bell, and made many spirited resolves." The efligy of Mr. Hutchinson, a canister about his neck, burned merrily Avith the tea. It would require a large number of volumes to record the deeds of the Princeton men during the war. Two of her graduates and thi'ee of her officers signed the immortal Declaration, nine of the fifteen college graduates in the Con- stitutional Convention owed allegiance to Nas- sau Hall, and even a catalogue of her sons who brought honor to her name in field and forum would become tedious. One staunch and rugged figure, however, stands out so prominently, and with so striking a personality, that he has identified himself in- separably with the history of his country and his college. Six feet tall and splendidly pro- portioned, he is said to have l)een second only to Washington in bearing and presence. His portrait in Nassau Hall shows a face with strongly marked features, a massive chin, a broad forehead, and an eye full of fire and THE REVOLUTION. 39 decision. John Witberspoon joined in the first call for a Provincial Congress of New Jersey, and took an active part in preparing her repub- lican constitution. In June, 1776, he was sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he championed the then doubtful cause of inde- PRESIDENT JOHN WITHF.RSPOON. pendence. When a timid member suggested to him that the colonies were not yet ripe for that step, he ans\vered, with characteristic Scotch vigor: "In my judgment, sir, we ai'e not only ripe, l)ut rotting." When the Declaration Avas nnder del)ate, and the House ^vas hesitating, Dr. Witherspoon 40 PRINCETON SKETCHES. arose, and, iu tlie words of an eye-witness, " cast on the assembly a look of inexpressible interest and unconquerable determination, while on his visasre the hue of ao:e was lost in the flush of burning patriotism that fired his cheek." He closed his appeal with these words : " For my own part, of property I have some, of repu- tation more. That reputation is staked, that property is pledged, on the issue of this contest ; and although these gray hairs must soon descend into the sepulchre, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country." An incident ^vhich occurred a few weeks after the Declaration was published, shows how President Witherspoon's services to liberty were recognized, both by friends and foes. The British troops of Staten Island arranged a little anto da fe. Eftigies of the three Generals, Washington, Lee, and Putnam, were planted in a row, and before them the commanding figure of the venerable Doctor, who was represented as reading an address to his compatriots. The soldiers crowded around to enjoy the rigor moi'tis of the unfortunate gentlemen, and found great satisfaction in hurling imprecations at "the rebels," as they suffered the agonies of translation. THE REVOLUTION. 43 The central position of Pj'inceton, and the bold stand taken by the cluster of influential men re- siding here, drew upon the devoted village more than her share of attention from the enemy. For three years after the opening of hostili- ties no commencements were held. The few students who remained to pursue their studies were voted their degrees at meetings of the Board of Trustees, held as opportunity offered. The President, with other officers of the college, was engrossed in public services, and a large number of students were fighting in the ranks. At one time the number of undei'gi'aduates was reduced to ten. New Jersey was a battle-ground, and as the tide of war swept back and forth along the old highway, Nassau Hall afforded barrack-room, first for one army, and then the other. There was never a time, however, when some members of the Faculty were not engaged in giving instruction to those who remained, and on each succeeding year a few degrees were conferred. On the first of January, 1777, a brigade of Hes- sian troops arrived at Princeton, and were quar- tered in the church and college. The recitation rooms in the basement were used to stable the horses, and the benches carried upstairs for firewood. 44 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Early on the morniug of the third, the col- umn set out to join Cornwallis at Trenton. The American army, shut in by the Delaware, was to be crushed that day, and the war ended. The whole ^vorld knows how Washington, leav- ing his camp-fires burning to deceive the enemy, swept around his flank, and fell upon the bri- gade at Princeton. The first regiment of the Hessians had reached Stony Brook by the lower road, when they encountered in the gray dawn the troops of General Mercer, who had come to destroy the bridge, and hinder a pui'suit by Cornwallis. A sharp contest, and the enemy were driven back throu2:li the town to the collesfe. The main column of AVashington's army found the rest of the brigade drawn up along the ridge just west of the present seminary grounds. Before an at- tack could be made they retreated to Nassau Hall, where doors were barricaded and win- dows broken out, in preparation for defence. Here, again, they made no serious stand, but on Washington's advance broke into open retreat. Some cannon shots fired by the Americans left marks on the walls, which can still be seen, and one ball, entering the chapel window, crashed through a full-length portrait of George II., re- moving his Majesty's head. Washington hur- THE OLD CANNON. THE REVOLUTION. 47 rieil on to Morristown, where he went into winter quarters, but the sick and wounded were left at Princeton, and Nassau Hall was used as a hospital for six or eight months. In the desperate fighting at Stony Brook General Mercer fell, mortally wounded. The old Hale house is still standing on the battle-field, and the curious visitor can see the bullet marks on the woodwork, and the room in which General Mercer died. The battle left as a legacy two British cannon, both of which have had an eventful history, and one of which has become the great totem of the college. When the enemy finally left New Jersey, the college was a complete wreck. Every accessible piece of wood, even to the flooring, had been used as firewood. All the ornaments, collec- tions, and scientific apparatus were entirely destroyed. The library was burned or carried off, and years afterward some of its volumes were found in North Carolina, where they had been left by soldiei-s in Cornwallis' army. The Trustees at once took steps to repair the ruins, but the funds had fallen, and so late as 1782 only a few rooms in the basement and one or two above were fit to use. The rest of the building remained ruinous and tenantless. The Marquis de Chastellux, visiting Princeton 48 PRINCETON SKETCHES. about this time, t'oimd only forty students enrolled. The commencement of 1783 was a notable event in the history of the college, and heralded the advent of a brighter era. Congress was then holding its sessions in the library room of Nassau Hall, and as a coui'tesy to their Presi- dent, Elias Boudinot, who was a Trustee, and to the college which had placed its rooms at their disposal, the delegates, a number of whom were Piinceton men, resolved to adjourn, and attend commencement in a body. An extended stage was erected in the church to accommodate the distinguished guests. On it were seated the Trustees and the graduating class, the whole of the Congress, the Ministers of France and Holland, and the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. Ashbel Green, afterwards President of the college, was valedictorian. He closed his oration with an address to George AVashington, which seems to have sustained Princeton's reputation for effective eloquence. The General, with characteristic modesty, blushed deeply, and, meeting the orator next day, congratulated him in such flattering terms that the valedictorian was [)ut to the blush himself. At this time General Washington begged the honor of presenting the college with fifty THE REVOLUTION. 49 giUDeas. The Trustees accepted the gift, and voted to expend it in a portrait of the General, to be painted by Peale, of Philadelphia. The picture is full length, and represents the battle of Princeton in the background. It still hangs in the room where Congress met, adorning the fi'ame which was occupied by G-eorge 11. , before that gentleman, in the excitement of the mo- ment, lost his head at the battle of Princeton. The closing years of Dr. Witherspoon's ad- ministration were devoted to those prosaic labors which repair the i-avages of war. The minutes of the Board of Trustees are full of orders for restoring the buildings and schemes for filling the empty treasury. The venerable President retired to Tusculum, his country- place, about a mile from the college, and found a partial relief from ceaseless activity in enjoy- ing to some extent, to use his own phrase, a life of otium cum dignitate. With advancing age, his eyes [)aid the penalty for excessive labors, and the last days of the old patriot were passed in blindness, a trial which he endured with Miltonic heroism. No place in America is more charged with memories of the Revolution than Princeton. The houses which the heroes of that struggle honored by their presence are still pointed out. 50 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Every entering student must go over tlie battle- field and see just where the war for American independence was decided. The mossy stones of the ancient burying-ground bear names made familiar by the great struggle. The old cannons speak of the days when they knew the smell of powder, and Nassau Hall, second only in the wealth of its associations to Independence Ilall, seems to look out from every antique ^villd()W with a consciousness of its dignity and service in a former day. It is not strange that Avith such an atmosphere and such ti'aditions, Prince- ton men have learned to consider the claims of their country, and have for a century and a half distinguished themselves in her service. III. THE HALLS. The young patriots of Princeton found it impossible to live without a forum. The col- lege had from the first given particular atten- tion to training for public speaking. As early as 1750, a Freshman writes that they were required to "■ dispute once every week after the syllogistic manner," and shortly after we find the Seniors delivering monthly orations. The short administration of President Davies materi- ally strengthened and confii'med this tendency. Himself a finished orator, and the most eloquent preacher of his day in America, he communi- cated to the students much of his own enthusiasm for the ars artium. It was at the commence- ment of 1760, a year after President Davies' inauguration, that " Mr. Benjamin Rush arose, and in a very sprightly and entertaining Man- ner delivered an ingenious Harangue in Praise of Oratory. Then followed a Forensick Dis- pute in English, in which it was held that 'The 53 54 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Elec^ance of an Oration nuich consists in the words being Consonant to the Sense.' " " The elegant, pathetic valedictory oration," which concluded the exercises, adds its testimony to-- the fact that the art of speaking was at that time very generally and successfully cultivated. It was among such a body of orators, fired l)y the burning questions of the time, that Prince- ton's venerable halls had their l)irth. These organizations were first known as the Plain Dealing and the Well Meaning Societies. Un- fortunately, the records of the early societies have perished, and the exact dates and circum- stances of their origin cannot be positively determined. Dr. Giger, in his History of the CUosophic Society, proves conclusively that the Well Meaning Society was in existence in 1765, and presents evidence of its foundation in that year by William Patterson and others. Dr. Cameron, the historian of the American AVhig Society, says of the Plain Dealing Club : " We are satisfied that it was in existence in 1763 and was founded at an earlier date, probably in 1760." Whatever the birthdays of these club?' may have been, there is no doubt that for some years they flourished side by side, and devoted themselves mainly to the discussion of political questions. The rivaliy soon became so intense, THE HALLS. 57 however, that their discussions assumed a de- cidedly local character. The battles of Fred- erick the Great, and the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, were alike forgotten in a " paper war," of which only the distant echoes have reached us. Fierce satires and innumer- able lampoons were exchanged by the combat- ants, to the great edification of the college at large. We cannot find just what the casus belli was, and indeed one of the spectators of the strife, writing under the name of . " Censor," assures us that after conversing with persons in as well as out of the societies, he was utterly unable to learn the cause of all this " clatter of violence." The Faculty finally decided that the only way to restore peace was to kill the societies, and consequently an edict was issued some time in the )^ear 1768, closing their doors. The only relic of their existence which has survived the la[)se of time is a quaint old diploma, issued by the Plain Dealing Club in 1 766. " OMNIBUS ET SINGULIS " Has literas lecturis, notiim sit, quod Josephus Has- brouck:, a. B., perdigne se gessit dum inter nos versatus fuit, et proeterea quamdiii se ita gesserit, omnia ejusdeni privilegia jure sibi vindicet. Cujus sigillum commune 58 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Plain Dealing Club, nominaque nostra subscripta Testimonium sint." [seal.] [signatures.] "Datum Plain Dealing Hall in Aula Nassovica quarto calendas Octobris, Anno Aerae Christi millesimo septingentesimo et sexagesimo sexto." For about a year there were no societies, but after tbe smolve of tlie battle had cleared away and the passion of the " paper war " was in a measure forgotten, they were permitted to revive again under different names. On June 24, 1769, James Madison, with some of the members of the Plain Dealing Club and some other students, foi'iiied the American Whig Society. On the eighth of June, 1 770, seventeen under-graduates met and reorganized the Well Meanino; Club under the name of the Clio- sophic Society. For fifty years, these dates of 1769 and 1770, resj^ectively, appeared on the diplomas and medals of the reorganized societies as the years of institution. In 1820, laowever, the Clio- sophic Society decided to assume the date of the foundation of the parent club, and since that time has written Funditur 1765. The AVhigs have never seen fit to follow this exam- ple, partly because it is impossible to determine THE HALLS. 59 the exact year in wliicli the Plain Dealing Club was founded, and partly because they are con- tent to point to the reorgauizers of 1769 as their charter members. Both societies are fortunate in the illustrious coterie of men whose names head their rolls. The rechristened societies were received into the favor of the Faculty, and assigned rooms on the fourth (now the third) floor of the college. Shortly after, the " paper war " broke out again, though in a milder form. Lampoons were read before the college in the Prayer Hall, or posted up on the doors. Some idea of these 2:)roduc- tions may be formed from the following speci- men, written by Philip Freneau, the poet of the Revolution, in honor of an unfortunate member of the Cliosophic Society. THE DISTREST ORATOR. " Occasioned by R. A 's memory failing him in the midst of a public discourse he had got by rote." Six weeks and more he taxed his brain, And wrote petitions to the Muses — Poor Archibald ! 't was all in vain, For what they lent your memory loses. Now hear the culprit's self confess In strain of woe, his sad distress : 6o PRIMCETOt^ SKETCHES. " I went upon the public stage, I flounced and floundered in a rage, I gabbled like a goose ; I talked of custom, fa}ne and fas/iiofi, Of moral evil and compassion ; And pray what more ? " My words were few, I must confess, And very silly my address — A melancholy tale ! In short, I knew not what to say, I squinted this and the other way. Like Lucifer. " ' Alack-a-day ! my friends,' quoth I, ' I guess you '11 get no more from me — In troth I have forgot it ! ' ! my oration ! thou art fled, And not a trace within my head Remains to me. " What could be done ? I gaped once more, And set the audience in a roar ; They laughed me out of face. 1 turned my eyes from north to south, I clapped my fingers in my mouth, And down I came ! Many a modern Clio and Whig who reads these lines will smile as he recalls his own maiden efforts, and reflect that times have not changed so much after all. THE HALLS. 6 1 These mimic battles were soon obscured under the shadow of a more portentous war- cloud. On the 29th of November, 1776, tidings reached the college of the approach of the enemy. " Our worthy President, deeply affected by the solemn scene, entered the hall where the students were collected, and, in a very affecting manner, informed us of the im- probability of continuing there longer in peace ; and after giving us several suitable instructions and much good ad- vice, very affectionately bade us farewell. Solemnity and distress appeared in almost every countenance. Several students that had come five or six hundred miles, and just got settled in college, were now obliged, under every disadvantage, to return with their effects, or leave them behind, which several, through the impossibility of getting a carriage at so confused a time, were obliged to do, and lost their all." In the general confusion, the halls did not escape. Although something in the way of college instruction was en evidence throughout the war, and degrees were given to a few stu- dents every year, the halls were entirely discon- tinued, and when peace was finally restored, the few hall men who remained in connection with the college returned to find those sacred chambers ^vhicl^ had guarded their mysteries in sad and utter ruin. 62 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Clio was the first to revnv^e. Her old room was repaired, and on July 4, 1781, the first meeting was held and the work of the society resumed. The Revolution almost destroyed the Whig Society. There were but two Whigs in the class of 1781, and in 1782 but one member of the hall in college. In the spring of that year, however, the society was revived, and met in the colleo^e library until their room was re- paired. On the 4th of July, 1783, at the celebration of the national Jubilee, the halls for the first time elected an orator to represent them before a public audience. The orators of the day spoke before Congress, which was then sitting at Princeton, and afterwards dined with its Presi- dent, and other invited guests, at Morven, the old Stockton homestead. From this time do^V'n until 1840, the halls united in selecting a man to read the Declaration of Independence on each returning Liberty Day. The custom of aj^point- ing four orators from each hall to represent it on the evening before commencement, originated some time between 1783 and 1792. Until 1865, these orators were elected by vote of their ]-e- spective halls. Old graduates tell of the notable canvasses and elaborate intrigues by which oratorical aspirants sought to gain the coveted THE HALLS. 65 honor. To remedy the evils growing out of this method, in 1804 it was decided to choose the orators in a contest before Judges elected from the graduate members of hall. Tliis plan con- tinues to give complete satisfaction. Shortly after this change, a further stimulus was given by offering four medals to be contested for by the speakers, and the Maclean Prize of $100 to be awarded for the best written oration. In 1870 Mr. Charles R. Lynde presented to the college the sum of $5,000, the interest of which is divided into three prizes, to be competed for annually by three senior debaters chosen from each hall. There are, of course, a number of other prizes offered by the college for excellence in writing, speaking, poetry, and debate; but although hall emulation extends to the contests for them, the prizes themselves are offered to the college at large. Each hall has also an elaborate "■ prize system," by which it seeks to stimulate its own members to their best work. The fire of 1802 brought another heavy dis- aster upon the societies. Their rooms were just under the belfry where the conflagration bi-oke out, and their property, including many valu- al)le records, was almost completely destroyed. Old Nassau Hall seems to be rather indifferent to fire, though, and it was only a short time 66 PRINCETON SKETCHES. before the gutted rooms a\ ere repaired, and fiir- nislied with an increased splendor. AVe have an account of the appearance of Clio in 1805, as it came from the hands of the renovators. " There were four raised platforms, one on each side. On the north side were the chairs and desks of the prin- cipal officers, upholstered with red damask. Settees were placed against the walls, and chairs formed the other seats. The floor was covered with an expensive carpet. The window curtains were of white dimity and red damask. A chandelier was suspended by iron chains from the centre of the curved ceiling, and lustres hung around the walls, with glass lamps in the sockets. The walls were covered with velvet paper of a beautiful pattern. The room in summer was unpleasantly hot, the ventilation being very imperfect, and when the mem- bership increased it became almost intolerable. . . . To crown all, the roof leaked badly." The quarters of Whig, across the hall, doubt- less shared ^vith those of Clio both the elegance and the discomforts of this description. 1838 is writ laro-e in the histories of the halls. In that year they moved into those beautiful Greek temples which live in the memories of the alumni of more than fifty years. They were in the Ionic style. The columns of the hexastyle porticos are copied from those of a temple on the Ilissus, near the fountain of Callirhoe in Athens. The temple of Dionysus, THE HALLS. 69 in the Ionian city of Teos, furnished a model for the buildings in other respects. Elegantly furnished and equipped with good libraries, these halls formed in many respects the centre of college life. In them, generations of men have passed through the metamorphosis from stammering and blushing freshmen to suave and eloquent seniors, and then gone forth to honor their halls in the pulpit and at the bar. Thou- sands of alumni cherish in the tenderest corner of their hearts, memories of long hours spent in the recesses of the old libraries, of life-long friendships formed within those mysterious doors, and of exciting crises on the floors, when the gray-haired ministers and learned Judges of to-day were compassing heaven and earth to carry a motion of adjournment or bending all their energies to entangle their President in the meshes of parliamentary law. The old halls have gone. They had become inadequate to the growing needs of the college, and in 1889 the work of demolition was begun. In their places, stand two splendid temples of white marble. The pure Greek of the old buildings has been retained, and the double fa9ade on the southern side of the quadrangle looks like a glimpse of the Acropolis. Within these buildings are commodious librai'ies, read- 70 PRINCETON SKETCHES. ing-rooms, club rooms, aud in each a spacious seuate-cLamber, where proper resolutions con- cerning the great questions of literature and politics will continue to be argued and adopted. In their origin, the halls of Princeton have much in common with similar organizations formed in the provincial colleges. Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, and Columbia, all had literary clubs foi'med on practically the same basis. The unique thing about the Prince- ton halls is that they seem to have absorbed the good old Calvinistic doctrine of " final per- severance." Of the many societies which were contemporaries of Clio and Whig in their younger days, not one remains. They have either disappeared altogether, or have been absorbed in the Greek-letter fraternity move- ment and entirely lost their original character. Both of the Princeton halls have had repeated requests to establish chapter houses in other colleges, but they have uniformly refused to join the fraternity movement. The result has been most happy for Princeton. Instead of a number of small competing frater- nities, she has two noble and venerable institutions, large enough to engage in heroic competitions for literary honors and dignified enough to stay out of petty rivalries in college THE HALLS. 7 1 affairs which do not directly affect their in- terests. At each returning commencement, the fathers gather to revive old memories, and hear what the undergraduates have been doing in the pre- ceding year. The mysteries which are concealed behind those marble columns and massive doors are too awful to be divulged, but it is said that inquisitive persons who linger near the portals, occasionally hear rumblings of thunder like unto the ten-j)in games of Heinrich Hudson, and the muffled sounds of voices and applaud- ing hands. It is inferred from these phenomena that there is within the halls some magic influ- ence which warms the blood and rene^vs the youth of the gray-haired fathei's, and that the younger members, catching the spirit of their sires, come forth with renewed enthusiasm for their halls, a veneration for tlieir past, and an increased confidence in their future. IV. ANTE BELLUM. During the last few years of Dr. Wither- spoon's presidency, the burden of administra- tion had been carried by the Vice-President, Samuel Stanho[)e Smith ; and on the death of the old War President in 1794, there was no question as to who should be his successor. The history of Princeton can be rudely divided into three epochs. The first, extending from its foundation in 1746 to the close of the century, was marked by a remarkable cluster of brilliant men who were identified with the college either as ofiicers or patrons. In the stirring events of that heroic age, these men rose to an eminence which o-ave their colle2;e a singular prestige throughout all the colonies, and even beyond the sea. Her reputation re- ceived added lustre from the young alumni, an unusually large proportion of whom became men of distinction and wide influence. George Washington, writing to his adopted son, a 72 ANTE BELLUM. 73 student in Princeton at the time, after referring to some change in the course of study which had been recommended by one of the tutors, says: Mr. Lewis was educated at Yale college, and, as is natural, may be prejudiced in favor of the mode pursued at that seminary ; but no college has turned out better scholars or more estimable characters than Nassau. Nor is there any one whose president is thought more capable to direct a proper system of education than Dr. Smith." Similar expressions in the letters of other eminent men show how closely Princeton, as an institution, was identified with the life of the time. With the dawning of the nineteenth century began an epoch of less dramatic if not less sub- stantial influence. The long list of senators, governors, cabinet ofiicers, judges, and other prominent men in Dr. Maclean's history, who held diplomas from Princeton, shows that her influence had not abated. At the same time they were not so distinctively known as Prince- ton men, and the college itself did not stand out so prominently before the country. It must be confessed, too, that at the begin- ning of the century an unfortunate policy in the discipline of the college had the effect of increasing the disorders it was intended to sup- 74 PRINCETON SKETCHES. press. A spirit of opposition to authority became prevalent, which developed at times into open wai'fare. Organized rebellion and wild pranks were punished with a Draconian rigor, displaying more sternness than tact ; and the natural result w^as, not only to lessen the enthusiasm of alumni, but also to perpetuate a tendency to outbreaks, the reports of which injured the reputation of the college. The resf)onsibility for this injudicious course seems to have rested in some degree with the Trustees. They interfered to an unprecedented extent with the details of administration, and Avere naturally less competent to deal with difficult questions than the President and Faculty, who were on the ground, and were thoroughl}?^ ac- quainted with all the aspects of every case which arose. The temptation to such outbreaks was greater then than it is now. There was very little athletic w^ork of any kind, and efforts in that direction were regarded with scant favor by a Faculty which had not learned the value of these exercises in teaching self-control and en- couraging a manly spirit. As a result, the irrepressible vitality of healthy young men found outlet in many a cunningly devised and daringly executed plot. A (piaint entry upon ANTE BELLUM. yy the minutes of the Faculty, in the closing years of Dr. Witherspoon's administration, shows the attitude of that body toward athletics, and records the first appearance of base-ball at Princeton. "Faculty met Nov. 26, 1787. — It appearing that a play at present much practiced by the small boys among the students and by the grammar scholars with balls and sticks, in the back campus of the college, is in itself low and unbecoming gentlemen and students ; and inasmuch as it is attended with great danger to the health by sudden and alternate heats and colds ; as it tends by accidents almost unavoidable in that play to disfiguring and maim- ing those who are engaged in it, for whose health and safety as well as improvement in study as far as depends on our exertion, we are accountable to their parents and liable to be severely blamed by them ; and inasmuch as there are many amusements both more honorable and more useful in which they are indulged, — Therefore the Faculty think it incumbent on them to prohibit the students and grammar scholars from using the play aforesaid." College government, too, was a much more difhcult thing then. It is hard for the under- graduate of to-day, when the tone of the college is so distinctively Christian, to realize the moral atmosphere of seventy-five years ago. French philosophy was still fashionable, and French skepticism was carefully cherished by yoimg 78 PRINCETON SKETCHES. men as the badge of polite learning and freedom. The gay and reckless spirit which always accompanied this philosophy of life was not wanting. It was necessary to ride hard, drink deep, and fear nothing. At one time there ^\ ere only twelve students who acknowledged their adherence to the old faith, and even so late as 184:1, when the venerable Dr. Theodore Cnyler was an undergraduate, the little band of Chris- tians were dubbed the religiosi, and met in a little room in the top of Old North. When we remember, too, that good prepara- tory schools were rare then, and the men in college were, as a rule, much older than they are now, it will not seem strange that the enforcement of proper regulations was no easy task. After the '20's, the spirit of disorder gradually subsided, and during the peaceful reigns of Presidents Carnahan and Maclean, the college gathered strength for the brilliant university era which ^vas heralded by the inauguration of Dr. McCosh, in 1868. Washington Irving's published works give us a glimpse of the student life under Dr. Smith, as it appeared to the genial writer for Salmagundi. Under date of February 24, 1807, appears " Memorandums for a Tour to be Entitled ANTE BELLUM. 'The Stranger in New Jersey; or, Cockney Travelling'.' " Chapter IV is outlined as follows : " Princeton — college — professors wear boots ! — students famous for their love of a jest — set the college on fire and burned out the professors ; an excellent joke, but not worth repeating — Mem. American students very much addicted to burning down colleges — reminds me of a good story, nothing at all to the purpose — two societies in the college — good notion — encourages emulation, and makes little boys fight ; — students famous for their eating and erudition — saw two at the tavern, who had just got their allowance of spending money — laid it all out in a supper, got fuddled, and d d the professors for nincoms, n. b. Southern gentlemen . . . commencement — students give a ball and supper — company from New York, Phila- delphia and Albany — great contest which spoke the best English . . . students can't dance — always set off with the wrong foot foremost ..." Washington Irving never had any experience with the disciplinary side of college life, but he seems to have made up for it by a close and conscientious study of its convivial aspects, and he and his jovial confreres were well-known and welcome guests at the ancient Princeton inns. The most memorable event in the annals of President Smith's administration was the de- struction of Nassau Hall by fire, on the 6th of March, 1802. The building was completely gut- ted, the library and most of the philosophical apparatus destroyed, and nothing was left of 82 PRINCETON SKETCHES. the college save the bare, brown walls. These old walls, built of a ferrous sandstone, have survived the sack of the edifice by the British, and two subsequent conflagrations. Erected with provincial honesty, and of a material alike indilfereut to fire and weather, they are as staunch and clean to-day as when the rural Jerseyman came, with open-mouthed wonder, to the dedication of the largest building in America. A thorough investigation was made, but with- out finding any proof of incendiarism. The Trustees issued an address to the "inhabitants of the United States," asking for aid ; the President returned from a western and southern tour with $40,000, and in a short time the collesre was rebuilt in a substantial manner. At the commencement of 1806, fifty-four men were graduated, the largest class down to that time. There were about two hundred men in college ; the number of students was constantly increasing, and the outlook was very gratifying, when suddenly the " Great Rebellion " of 1807 broke out, in w^hich the rebels were worsted, with loss of half their number. For some reasons not certainly known, a spirit of discon- tent had been growing, which finally culminated in open revolt. ANTE BELLUM. 85 The conspirators made their arrangements with the boldness and skill of many Catilines. Old North was stocked with provisions for a long siege, troops were thoroughly organized, and on a prearranged signal every door was barricaded, and all the lower windows blocked with firewood. History leaves us to imagine the onslaught of the President and his trusty cohort of instructors, the threats of dire punish- ment, and the stern defiance hurled from the deep embrasures of third-story windows. Within the beleaguered walls, the ancient order of the Roman Republic was revived with a fidelity which reflects the highest credit on the classical instruction of the college. Two consuls held sway over an elaborately organized state. It is not known whether internal feuds, famine, or overwhelming assaults from without led to capitulation, but certain it is, that after several heroic days the tutors were again in possession of the entries, and ^^ fortes viri of the repub- lic were reduced to the ignominious position of disorderly students. A guard of citizens was called in to protect college propert}^, and an investigation insti- tuted which resulted in the dismissal of a num- ber of offenders and the censure of others. The men were not satisfied, however, and presented 86 PRINCETON SKETCHES. a petition which was regarded by the Faculty as offensive. The students were assembled, and informed that the roll would be called ; that every student might answer to his name and either separate himself from the combina- tion or adhere to it. " When this business was about to be begun, one of the leaders of the association rose and gave a signal to the rest, and they rushed out of the hall with shouting and yelling. . . . The Faculty declared to the students that those who were going in this riotous manner were now suspended from the College." Out of two hundred students, one hundred and twenty-five were suspended, nearly half of whom afterwards returned. Thus ended the Great Rebellion, — a fantastic episode, but one which left a deep mark on the college. It was many years before the catalogue again showed an enrolment equal to that which preceded the siege of Old North. On the retirement of President Smith in 1S12, Dr. Ashbel Green, the valedictorian who had enjoyed the honor of addressing Washington and the Continental Congress in 1783, was unan- imously elected by the board to succeed him. Dr. Green entered upon the duties of his oflice with a nervousness and trepidation which may have contributed a little to the realization of ANTE BELLUM. 87 the difficulties he feared. " My first address to the students," he says, " produced a considerable impression, insomuch that some of them shed tears. This greatly encouraged me ; but the appearance was delusive or fugitive. Notwith- standing all the arrangements I had made, and all the pains I had taken to convince them that their own good and the best interests of the institution ^v'ere my only aim, I had the mortifi- cation to find that the majority of them seemed bent on mischief." One cannot escape the con- viction that the oood Doctor exa2:2:erated the situation a little, for only a year or two before, a committee of visitors had reported " that during the present session the students of the college have been in general attentive to their studies, and that great order and regularity have been observed in the dininir room." ^ o ' The following letters from President Green are interesting as showing his views upon the state of affairs. Princeton, April 12, 1S15. Rkvu. & DEAR Sir : I yesterday received three copies of your sermon entitled the "Gospel Harvest," for which I sincerely thank you. On the envel- ope to request an account of the "glorious revival" of religion in the college here. It has been truly glorious. We number between 40 & 50 hopeful converts, in the last four or five months. But the trustees of the college, at their last meeting, have directed me to publish the statement whicli I made to them on this interesting sub- ject. I am now preparing it for the press, & expect it will be PRINCETON SKETCHES. Although from the first "every kind of insub- ordination that they could devise was practiced," published in a few days. A copy shall be immediately forwarded to you. This morning I have had the great gratification to learn, by a letter from Mr. Cjallaudet of Hartford, that a remarkable revival of religion has liegun in Vale college. By his representation it appears that there is a wonderful similarity between what is taking place at Yale, & what was witnessed here in January last. Labourers in the gospel vineyard, & reapers of the gospel harvest, will, I trust, be pro- vided by these dispensations of divine grace «S: mercy. If any thing short of the power of God could convince infidels of the excellence of evangelical principles, I should suppose it would be a view of the change which is made on the tempers & in the lives of those, On whose hearts these principles have made a practical impression. Never, certainly, have I seen youth so amiable, & in all respects so promising, as the mass of those who now compose the students of Nassau Hall. A year ago this was far, very far, from being the fact. The change has manifestly been wrought by the finger of God, & to him be all the praise. I wait with a degree of impatience for the communication which you have promised to make. With best regards to Mrs. Morse, I am, affectionately & sincerely Your friend & brother Dr. Morse. A. Green. Princeton, June 14, 1S17. Revd. & dear vSir : You are not ignorant that the present Vice President & professor of Mathematics & Philosophy expects to vacate his place in the college here, at the end of the present session. It will be highly injurious to the interests of the institution, if the important professorship in ques- tion be either left open, or badly filled. Yet to find a person calcu- lated, in all respects, to fdl it advantageously, may be a matter of no small difficulty. Such a person I do not know. I know a number who have science enough. But not one whom, on the whole, I could recommend. The design of this letter is to request you to look round you & make inquiries, in your region of country & acquaint- ANTE BELLUM. 89 the first flagrant outbreak occurred on the 9th of January, 1814, when " a little after nine ance, for a suitable man to take the place of professor Slack. As to the Vice Presidency I think it most probable that it w ill be attached to Mr. Lindsly, if he will consent to take it. It is much to be regretted that this office was ever instituted. It is utterly useless ; & it has proved a millstone about the neck of the present occupant, which has had more influence to sink him than every thing beside. The contemplated professor ought to be a man of religion, & of ac- commodating temper & manners ; & a young man will do better than an old one. Nothing can exceed the peace & order of the college from the com- mencement of the session till the present time. We have not had a case of discipline. But this was the fact also last winter, till within ten days of the riots. I hope the present calm is not the precursor of another storm. That storm, however, has not hurt but helped us. I believe there never was such an accession of students to the college, in the Spring of the year, since it existed, as there has been this Spring. The house is full, & there are 8 with Mr. Lindsly, waiting to enter. Such is the issue of the gloomy prognostications of some, who probably wished what they foretold, & are vexed that their pre- dictions have proved to be false. I have always believed & said that the publick would bear us out in a strict question of discipline ; «S<: that the college would not sink but rise under it. The late occur- rence has verified this opinion, even beyond my own calculations. A former rebellion was the consequence, undoubtedly, of a total relaxation of government ; & the institution instantly sunk & never rose again under the administration in which it occurred. With these unquestionable facts staring them in the face, it does seem a little strange that certain men speak & act as they do. For two or three weeks past there has been an increasing seriousness in college, but as yet there is nothing more. Whether it will vanish or continue, time alone can determine. With affection & respect Yours truly Revo. I)k. Jamks Richards, A, Green. New Ark, New Jersey. 90 PRINCETON SKETCHES. o'clock the treineudous explosion took place of what has been denominated the hig craclcerr At two o'clock that niorninsi: the oiitbuildiu2:s of the college were discovered to be on fire. The steward, with the aid of the tutors and some orderly students, extinguished the flames so quickly that the greater part of the college knew nothing of it. In the morning it appeared that arrangements had been made " for some mighty work of mischief " in the Prayer Hall. Loose powder, a quantity of tinder, and a keg were found on the stage of the hall before the pulpit. The intention had evidently been to divert attention by the conflagration outside, and then spring the mine within. The day passed quietly, however, until about nine o'clock, when a tremendous crash shook the entire building. The President, who was walk- ing in his study at the time, hastened to the scene. In the second entry he found the re- mains of an '' infernal machine," which had been constructed from the huo;e hub of a wao-on wheel, loaded with several pounds of powder. The adjacent walls were cracked from top to bottom, nearly all the glass in the vicinity was broken, and a large piece of the bomb had been driven through the door of the Prayer Hall. The President acted with so much vigor and ANTE BELLUM. judgment in discovering and punishing the per- petrators that he had no serious trouble after- wards. I cannot resist the temptation to quote one little incident from his autobiography, which throws a curious light on the primitive methods of discipline in the days when there was no Mat. Goldie,* armed ^vith the terrors of a proctor's authority : " At length, however, the disorder was extended to the entries of the college. When this took place I, on a cer- tain evening, took a candle in my hand, and went to the passage through which the mass of students return from supper. They passed me in perfect silence and respect ; but as soon as they got out of sight in the upper entries, some of them began the usual yell. The vice-president ran through the crowd and seized one of the small rogues in the very act of clapping and hallooing, took him up in his arms, and brought him through the whole corps, and set him down before me, as I stood with the candle in my hand, talking to a crowd that I had called about me. I seized the opportunity to address them at some length, and to endeavor to reason, to shame, and to intimidate them out of their folly. ... It certainly had a good effect." The close of the college year witnessed an- other interesting scene on the commencement sta2:e. Winfield Scott, still suiferins: from the glorious wounds of war, was passing through * College proctor from 1870-1892. 92 PRINCETON SKETCHES. Priucetou on liis wa}' from the uortli. He was borne to the platfoi'ni, where " all united in clamorous gi'eetings to the young, wounded sol- dier, the only representative that they had seen of a successful, noble army." The valedictorian had taken as his theme, " A Patriot Citizen in Time of AVar." By permission of the Faculty, changes were made which gave it a personal reference, and the future Major-General was able to understand how Washington felt under a similar ordeal, thirty-one years before. The commencement of that day had a pic- turesque accompaniment, which reminds one of an old harvest festival in Merrie Englande. The crops were all garnered, and the country folk for miles around flocked to the town to see the dis- tinguished visitors and celebrate the end of an- other season's toil. The street in front of the college and the church where commencement ex- ercises were held resembled a county fair. Hun- dreds of men, women, and children surrounded the booths, tables, and wagons, where venders praised the virtues of their cheap wares, or com- forted the crowd with cider and small beer. At intervals the street was rapidly cleared, and tumultuous cheers greeted a bunch of panting horses as they dashed down the highway for the local sweepstakes. Boys and men played for '■*d\\ the whole, the greatest man he had met with. Those were the golden days of Edin- burgh, when John Leslie and Sir AVilliam Ham- ilton were delivering their lectures, when the redoubtable Francis Jeffrey was training the guns of the Edinburgh Keview, and " the great unknown " was entertaining the world w^ith his Waverley Novels. Edinburgh did not require as much commonplace daily study as Glasgow, but the atmosphere of the place ^vas literary and philosophical, and under its genial influence the ripening powers of the future metaphysician besran to show their real victor. Mr. McCosh had been in the university a very short time, before his abilities were recos:- nized and he won and maintained a hi<2:h rank and an influential position among the students. The new science of geology interested him greatly ; he read deeply in })liilosophy, and, at times, in fact, gave his theological studies ;i rather I06 PRINCETON SKETCHES. subordinate place. After completing his course he shrank from entering the ministry at once, doubting his fitness, and devoted another year to readiuiz;. In the spring of 1834 he was finally licensed by the Presbytery of Ayr, a member being ap- pointed to tell him he must make his preaching more popular and less abstract, leaving out such phrases as transcendental and the like, — an ad- monition which the young minister endeavored patiently and successfully to obey. This is not the place to give an account of Dr. McCosh's long and eventful service in the ministry, his various pastorates, and his fearless leadership in fighting Establishment and founding the Free Church of Scotland. In 1850 he published his Method of Divine Government, a book which has gone through at least twenty editions, and which at once established his reputation as a writer and thinker. The year 1852 saw him installed as Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at Queens College, Belfast. For sixteen years he devoted himself to teaching and research in those fields of knowledge to which his genius called him, writing a number of books, and throwing him- self eagerly into the philosophical battles of the time. In the midst of this active and absorbing MCCOSH WALK. ADMfNISTRATION- OF JAMES McCOSH. IO9 life, be came home, one May evening, fi-om Lis work in Queens, and found a despatch announ- cing that he had been elected President of Princeton College. Before the election of Dr. McCosh the stu- dents were unanimously in his favor, and when, on the 20th of October, 18G8, the Tripoli was reported off Sandy Hook, they were prepared to give the newly arrived President a rousing reception. In the words of the Lit. "Grossip" of that time : "As the hands of the clock crept around to four, there arose from the college a shout, the Nassau shout, which always draws a crowd. Then there was a rushing to the depot, and a marshalling of students. Soon the shrill whistle, and after, the ' down brakes,' announced that he had come — announced the arrival of McCosh. Of course there was cheering again, the old cheer of the Nassaus, and the procession moved towards the Presi- dent's house. . . . Arrived at the house, the stu- dents formed in semi-circle about the front, when Dr. Atwatcr, Acting President, introduced to them Their Real President, Jamks McCosh. He, stepping forth, was received with loudest hurrahing." That night the Triangle resounded to the tread of marching columns, rockets shot uj) into the uight, and the old cannon glowed red to its very heart, under the roar of a blazing no PRINCETON SKETCHES. bonfire. A \veek latei*, the iuauguration. Every- body is here. The new President is welcomed by polished addresses in English and a learned s^^eech in Latin. That evening the campus is gay with flaring calcium lights and the mellower rays of colored transparencies for the first time since the visit of Lafayette. Dr. McCosh's long experience as a teacher, his important service in developing the Uni- versity of Belfast, and his intimate acquaintance with the educational methods of Europe and America, gave him a special fitness for the task with which he was confronted. His fii'st report to the Board of Trustees indicated that a strong hand was upon the helm. Among the eight recommendations he offered, are two of special significance. The first was that " Encouragement should be given to the founding of scholarships or fellow- ships, to be earned by graduates at a competition and fitted to promote high scholarship, and retain young men of ability for a longer time at their favorite studies." It was the President's o})inion that the attainments of the great majoi-ity of students was as high in America as in Europe. But he found in the new world no selected body of men doing post-gi'aduate work along special lines and cultivating a high grade of scholarship. ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES McCOSH. Ill It was to meet this need that the recom- mendation was made. As a result, there are no^v^ a dozen fellowships in various de23artments offered to the graduating class, and the remark- able roll of scholai's and professors Avho have been graduated under Dr. McCosh, shows how successful his policy has been. The second recommendation concerned the introduction of electives. In 1868 the candidates for degrees were confined to a four-years' required course in Latin, Greek, and mathe- matics, with a little science and philosophy. It was felt that some place should be found for the new studies which the great advances in science had developed, and at the same time the degrees must not be suffered to lose their meaning. It was found impossible to require additional studies while retaining all old ones, and the elective system was devised to meet the difficulty. During the twenty years of his administration, this elective system was care- fully matured, under the judicious and j^rogres- sive direction of the President. Step by step, the number of electives was increased, until required work in classics and mathematics became confined to freshman and sophomore years, and tlie upper classmen could make their choice from an inviting schedule, containing as I 1 2 PRIXCE TOM SKE TCHES. great a number of brauches as are usually taught in the universities of England, Scotland, and Ii'eland, and nearly all the branches taught in Germany. The spirit of Dr. McCosh's administration is well expressed in a sentence or two from his closing address : " I said to myself and I said to others, We have a fine old college here, with many friends ; why should we not make it equal to any college in America, and, in the end, to any in Europe ? The friends of Princeton saw I was in earnest, and nobly did they encourage me." " In those days I was like the hound in the leash ready to start, and they encouraged me with their shouts as I sprang forth to the hunt." Tlie enthusiasm was contagjious. The students talked of the "new era," and generous alumni responded liberally to the Doctor's calls for funds. Money poured in. New chairs were endowed, and buildings went up as if by magic. There has scarcely been a time since 1868 when some part of the campus has not been littered with the stones and lumber of a new build- inf. The Halsted Observatory was risins^ when Dr. McCosh was inaugurated. In his speech on that occasion, the incomino^ President declai-ed ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES McCOSH. II5 with great applause from the students, that every college shouhl have a gymnasium for the body as well as for the mind. It was not two years before he had the pleasure of dedicating what was then the best gymnasium in America. Shortly afterwards, Dickinson Hall was opened with its comfortable recitation rooms. In 1871 Reunion Hall added a dormitory for the rapidly increasing number of students. Two years later the Chancellor Green Librar}^ was completed. In the same year Mr. J. C. Green started the Quadrangle of the School of Science, the stately Gothic facade of which ornaments the eastern campus. Then followed Murray Hall, devoted to the use of the Philadelphian Society. In rapid succession University Hall, AVitherspoon, the new President's Mansion, Marquand Chapel, Edwards Hall, The Biological Museum, and the Art School were added, not to mention some less imposing buildings. Before the rapid multiplication of buildings had gone far, a landscape gardener was employed to prepare a plan for the extension and improve- ment of the campus. Dr. McCosh took a great interest in this -work, and had the grounds laid out somewhat on the model of the demesnes of English noblemen. Dozens of deformed trees and shrubs bowed to his orders, and hundreds Il6 PRINCETON SKETCHES. of new ones were planted under liis directions. On more than one uncertain April day has the tall form of the President been seen on the campus, as he walked about with shoots and cuttings under his arm, carefully deciding where they should be idaced. The contrasting styles and architectural beauty of the ncAv buildings were well setoff by the smooth sweep of shady lawns between, and the result is a campus which was some years ago pronounced by the President of Harvard the most beautiful in America. This material development was paralleled by not less extensive additions to the teaching force. In 1868 there were ten professors, four tutors, t^vo teachers, in all sixteen engaged in instruction, besides three extraordinary lecturers. In enlarging the teaching corps, as demanded by the expanding curriculum and the growing number of students, it was found difficult to secure the kind of men desired. A system of training pi'ofessors was accordingly introduced: College Fellows were started as tutors and instructors, finally ^vorking into full professor- ships. As a result of this method, nearly all the younger members of the faculty are Prince- ton men. In 1888, the teaching force consisted of thirty-five professors, three tutors, and ADMINISTRA TION OF JAMES McCOSH. I 1 9 several assistants and lecturers, in all upwards of forty. Dr. McCosh criticised the European univer- sities for their utter neglect of students outside of tlie class-room. He felt that, without in any way infringing on the liberty of students, it was possible to take an interest in their welfare, and come into contact with them in a personal way. It was his determined policy to endeavor to impress upon the incoming professors, a sense of their responsibility in this direction. The kindly Doctor was not content with enfor- cing regulations for the preservation of college morals. He opened his doors and received the students with unstinted hospitality into his spacious mansion. Many an alumnus cherishes in his memory a picture of that tea-table, a few students around it, the Doctor at the head, leading the conversation with his strong, cheery voice and slight Scotch accent ; his wife Isa- bella, " the mother of the students," opposite him, pouring tea and making friendly inquiries. What student of the last administration does not remember Isabella McCosh ? No under- graduate could be sick for a day without hear- ing her gentle rap at his door ; without receiving the benediction of that sweet, motherly face, and enjoying the light ministrations of her I20 PRINCETON SKETCHES. hands. A[)petizing broths, and delicacies in snowy napkins came over from Prospect, and it is feared that occasionally a liomesick student found it pleasanter to be on the sick-list under the jurisdiction of Mrs. McCosh than on the roll of active service under the professors. And when the beautiful infirmary which now graces the hill-crest on the campus was first projected, it could have received no other name than that which it now bears : '• The Isabella McCosh Infirmary." There were some matters of discipline requir- ing attention, and the new President took hold of them with a prudent yet vigorous hand. Hazing in particular was at tliat time a general practice, and was carried at times to almost brutal extremes. On one memorable occasion a freshman was observed in chapel with a smooth and shining expanse of head that would have rivalled the display of the baldest octo- genarian. The President sent for Chancellor Green and took legal advice. The prospect of a criminal action and a course in the State prison brought the offenders to their knees. They all confessed, promised never to do it again, and were pardoned. Tlie result of such a course was a vast abatement of the evil. In fact, after a few years scarcely any hazing was ADMINISTRATIOiV OF JAMES McCOSH. 121 practised, if we except a little harmless " guy- iug " on the cam[)us. In the eai'ly 'TO's it was fonnd necessary to take measures against the Greek-letter frater- nities. Althouo;h under the ban of colleo-e law, they had gradually worked their way in, and finally were openly avowed, by the display of badges upon the campus. In their train came disaster to the two old literary halls. At that time the representative orators and de- baters were chosen, not by contest, as at present, but by popular election. The fraternity men in the halls intrigued for their own men, literary qualifications were largely overlooked, and tlie institutions were becoming reduced to disorderly lobbies. Literary life was dying out. The halls took the (juestion up themselves, and became divided into two warrins: factions — the fraternity and the anti-fraternity men. The influence of these organizations extended outside of the halls. They cons^iired to protect their men from discipline, and on one occasion a single suspension was followed by an open outbreak. Under these circumstances the Presi- dent threw his heavy sword into the scales of the anti-fraternity men. There was vigorous o})position from the hostile faction and great excitement throughout the college, but frater- 122 PRINCETON SKETCHES. nities had to go, root and brancli. Rid of this disintegratiug element, Whig and Clio revived, the college recovered its ancient spirit of unity, and now the most pronounced enemies of fraternities are the students themselves. Possibly this chapter would not be complete without some reference to the '' Cannon War " with Rutgers. By some process, not exactly understood, the Rutgers boys came to believe that the smaller of the two cannon left here after the battle of Princeton belonged to them. Ac- cordingly, in the spring vacation of 1875, when the campus was deserted, a large force from New Bi'uuswick made a night raid upon Prince- ton, dislodged the object of attack by a vigorous onslaught of picks and shovels, and with great valor carried their trophy back to Rutgers. When the spring vacation was over, and only a hole in the ground was found in place of the cherished totem, great was the wrath among the Nassaus. A campaign was organ- ized at once, and a long column set out for the banks of the Raritan, breathing out threatenings and slaughter. The cannon had been too safely secreted, but a museum in con- nection with the college was taken, and some old muskets carried back by way of reprisal. At this point diplomacy intervened. The ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES McCOSH. 1 25 ardor of the combatants was restrained, while the two Faculties ap[)ointed committees to look into the matter. Of course, an examination of the records could lead to only one decision. The relic was brought back and })lanted again with appropriate ceremonies ; long iron rods were twisted around it and embedded deeply in cement to prevent a repetition of the theft, and the temple of Janus was closed. At the commencement of 1888 Dr. McCosh surrendered the keys which he had held for twenty years. It was a deeply impressive sight to see that tall and rugged figure, that massive head fringed with locks of white, that strongly featured face furrowed with the lines of thousiht and shining with the lio-ht of a o C o gracious soul, as the retiring President told the story of " Twenty Years of Princeton College," and transferred the responsibility of his beloved college to another. " I take the step," he says, " firmly and decidedly. The shadows are lengthening, the day is declining. My age, seven years above the threescore and ten, compels it, Providence pohits to it, conscience enjoins it, the good of the college demands it. I take the step as one of duty. I feel relieved as I take it." The mantle of Elijah has fallen u[)on Elisha. 126 PRINCETON SKETCHES. While we leave the college in the hands of another, let us take a look at the venerable ex-President in the home of his old ao-e on Prospect Avenue. The large bow windows of his library look over forty miles of rolling Jersey woods and meadow-land to the blue line of the Navesink Highlands. Here he has employed his time in revising the more impor- tant of his published works. That task com- pleted, his active mind resents the increasing infirmities of age, and demands some employ- ment. His mind turns to the j)ast, and his indefatigable pen is busy upon a series of sketches entitled '•'■ Incidents of My Life in Three Countries^ This task also is finished. If we would learn the spirit of the man and receive a parting benediction from his venerable hands, let us look over his shoulder, as his pen traces the words of the closing soliloquy : " Farewell, hill and dale, mountain and valley, foun- tain and stream, river and brook, lake and outflow, forest and shady dell, sun and moon, earth and sky. I have lived among you, I have been closely acquainted with you, I have watched you and your aspects and wandered much among you, I have delighted in you and loved you, and my heart lingers among you. I feel that there is nothing wrong in this, for I know that ye are all the works of God. Ye may have been defiled by the deeds of men, but ye are yourselves chaste. The air that ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES McCOSII. 12/ breathes from you is pure and exhilarating ; I will not forget you. In my everlasting existence I may hope to revisit you and renew my ardor. " Welcome, what immeasurably exceeds all these — Heaven with its glory ! Heaven with its angels that excel in strength ! Heaven with the spirits of just men made perfect ! Heaven with Jesus Himself so full of tenderness ! Heaven with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." VI. PKIXCETOX UXIVERSITY. In President McCosb's closing address, he said : " I think it proper to state that I meant all along that these new and varied studies, with their groupings and combinations, should lead to the formation of a studiiim gcncrale^ which was supposed in the Middle Ages to constitute a university. At one time I cherished the hope that I might be honored to introduce such a measure. From my intimate acquaintance with the systems of Princeton and other colleges, I was so vain as to think that out of our available materials I could have constructed a university of a high order. . . . The college has been brought to the very borders, and I leave it to another to carry it over into the land of promise." lu this country particularly, the term univer- sity is used with a vast amount of latitude. In the absence of any legal or definite historical criterion, the name has been used without care- ful discrimination, and has, in many cases, been appropriated by institutions which are clearly beyond the pale of any definition, however generous, tlieir only justification being an am- 12S PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. I 29 bitiou to some day deserve the title. In Europe, new institutions are not nearly so numerous. The older seats of learning hold this name by a well-earned prescription, and even where new schools are started, an instinctive conservatism prevents the hasty assumption of university rank. The tendency in America seems to be to reserve the strict use of the term for institutions which have the four faculties : arts, law, medi- cine, and theology; but history does not justify this limitation. Salerno, Bologna, and Paris were universities when they had but one faculty. It is thought by others that a curriculum offering a wide range of studies, with freedom of choice to the student body, constitutes a university. But, since there is no one to say just where the line must be drawn as to extent of courses and freedom of choice, the definition is of little practical value. The English univer- sities are merely examining and degree-granting bodies, with more or less closely affiliated col- leges under them. But, judged by this standard, many of the foremost universities of the ^vorld must abandon their claim to that distinction. The German conception seems to be that a university is an institution designed to promote no PRINCETON SKETCHES. oi'io^inal research and enc()urao:e the work (>f specialists. It woukl seem, then, that, histur- ically, this title has been applied to seats of learning which, either by the wide range of courses offere*»**«I1* ».»««,^..,, isw*>f.*- ^ 1 1012 00026 5514