.<^... ' ^^,.4 **. .0^ 6 " " » . ^ 4y '^A ^ ^♦ 'J.'' ^^ ♦ "j.^ SKETCH HISTORY OF HARYARD COLLEGE. SKETCH HISTORY OF HARVARD COLLEGE. AND OF ITS PRESENT STATE, BY SAMUEL A. ELIOT BOSTON: CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN 1848. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, By S. A. Eliot, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. boston: printed by freeman and bolles, devonshire street. PREFACE The following short account of Harvard College was originally intended to be an abridgment of President Quincy's full and interesting History ; and the design has been so far followed that his authority has been deemed sufficient for the state- ment of the facts appropriate to a brief narrative. But it was not thought necessary that the small book should be a mere abstract of the large one. Other sources of information have, therefore, been consulted, different views occasionally j)resented, and the opportunity has been taken to make some additions to the history of the College. Still it is proper to say that a prominent motive for this work VI PREFACE. was the wisli to excite rather than to gratify curi- osity ; and to induce the perusal of the more elabo- rate book, by giving brief intimations of the various subjects of interest which are there treated at length. Mr. Peirce's History stands upon the same high ground of authority, for the shorter period to which it relates, as President Quincy's ; and reference to it has been constantly made, with similar confidence, in the following pages. The Appendix contains a list of donations to the College, both from the legislature and from individ- uals, on which much labor has been bestowed. It was first prepared three or four years ago ; was revised, to be communicated to a committee of the legislature the last mnter, and has now been re- examined in every part, and carefully corrected. The liability to error is so great in such a catalogue of particulars, extending over the space of two cen- turies, that entire freedom from mistake can scarcely be expected, notwithstanding the pains taken, and the aid obtained, in forming the list. The librarian, PREFACE. Vll Dr. Harris, a learned antiquary, has furnished some important items ; and all the names, dates, and sums of the private donations have been diligentlj inves- tigated hj Mr. Edward Richardson. The records of the General Court were thoroughly searched, for all appropriations to the College, by Mr. George W. Peck. The plan of the College enclosure has been com- piled from original deeds, as far as practicable. The descriptions in those early documents are so imper- fect, that the boundaries of the more ancient estates must be, in some degree, a matter of conjecture. The limits of the recent purchases, however, are well ascertained. August. 1848 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1636 — 1640. Page Grant of " the Court," for establishing a College . . 3 Bequest of the Rev. John Harvard . . . . . 6 1640 — 1654. DuNSTER, President 8 College Laws 9 « Seal 12 " ClL^RTER 13 Dunster's Resignation and Death 15 r 1654 — 1672. Chauncy appointed 16 His PECULIAR Opinions 16 Indian Graduate 19 Eliot's Indian Bible, etc 19 Donations to the College 20 X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1672—1684. Page PREsroENT Hoar 22 Discontent in the College 23 Hoar's Resignation and Death 23 OaKES APPOINTED — HIS SHORT Te EM 24 President Rogers 25 Donations 25 1685—1701. Increase Mather, President 26 His Influence 28 New Charter of the Colony . . . . . .28 Proposed Charters for the College 30 Donations 31 Graduates 32 Manners 33 1701—1707. Vice-Presidency of the Rev. Samuel Willard ... 34 1707—1725. Presidency of John Leverett — ins Character . Growth of the College — Graduates Thomas Hollis Professorship of Divinity " OF Mathematics .... Claim of Instructers to Seats in the Corporation System of Instruction and Discipline . Jealousy of the College Election of the Rev. B. Wadsworth . 36 37 39 41 43 45 51 52 54 TABLE OF CONTENTS. XI 1725—1737. P»g« Claim of Episcopal Ministers to be admitted to the Board OF Overseers ^"^ Donations ^^ 1737 — 1774. President Holyoke chosen ^ Isaac Greenwood, Professor of Mathematics ... 61 Nathan Prince, dismissed 62 Kev. George Whitefield 63 Controversy . .65 Harvard Hall burnt 68 Rebellion "70 Professor Wigglesworth 72 Professor "Winthrgp 72 Tutor Flynt 73 Mrs. Holden 74 Graduates 75 Thomas Hancock 76 Rev. Samuel Locke 77 Hersey and Boylston Professorships 78 Treasurer Hancock 79 1774 — 1780. Dr. Langdon chosen President Removal of the College to Concord . Degree of LL. D. conferred on Washington Constitution of Massachusetts . Paper Money, depreclvtion of the Currency Db.. Langdon Resigns 80 81 83 84 86 XU TABLE OF CONTENTS. 17S1 — 1806. Dr. Joseph "Willard chosen 90 Professors of Anatomy and Chemistry .... 91 System of Prizes 91 College Catalogue 94 Visit of President Washington 95 Members of the Corporation, and of the immediate Gov- ernment 96 1804—1810. Fisher Ames 97 President Webber 97 Professorship of Natural History founded ... 97 Dr. Ware, Hollis Professor 99 1810 — 1828. EiuECTioN OF Dr. Kirkland 101 Progress of the College . 103 Great amount of Donations 105 Discipline . 106 Controversy revived respecting Seats in the Corporation 106 Professorships filled and founded 108 Professional Schools established 108 Dr. Kirkland's Resignation and Death . . . .110 Present State of the College Ill Studies, Course of 112 Stimulus to Exertion 115 College Buildings 115 " Funds 116 " Discipline 118 Medical School 119 Law School 122 TABLE OF CONTENTS. XUl THEOLOGiCAii School Page . 123 Scientific School . 125 APPENDIX. Law of 1642, creating a Board of Overseers . . . 129 Charter of 1650, incorporating the President and Fellows 130 The Harvard Family in England 134 Monument of John Harvard, at Charlestown . . 138 Epitaphs 140 Address of the President and Fellows to Washington in 1789 150 Reply of Washington 152 List of Grants prom the Legislature .... 153 " Donations and Bequests from Individuals . . 158 Plan of the College Enclosure 188 ERRATA. Page 105, line 15 from top, for received read made. « 140, « 3 « « " Flmt " Plynt. "■ 155, " 5 " " the date 1754 should be placed in the margin. HISTORY OF HARYAED COLLEGE. 1636 — 1640. It is a source of mingled regret and satisfaction, that the earliest history of civilized man in this country is so recent, that there is little room for tradition and little opportunity for fiction. What is called the poetry of history is lost, and we are obliged to limit ourselves to a view of facts which lie distinctly before us, within the easy reach of a careful eye. If there be no fic- tion, however, surrounding the facts with its misty, yet pleasant illusions, there is often poetry in the facts themselves ; there is grandeur in the firm resolve, there is sublimity in the noble purpose, there is pathos in the afflictions, and beauty in the affections, of our forefathers. They are often regarded as men of iron mould, who cared little for their own sufferings, or for those of others ; who had made up their minds to be martyrs, rather than submit to dictation in matters of conscience, and to make martyrs of such as would not 1 xJ HISTORY OF yield to them. A much truer view is to consider them as men who were willing to brave danger and hardship, not with insensibility or indifference, but with a full perception of the disagreeableness of the task, for the sake of obeying the dictates of their own consciences ; and who simply expelled from their commonwealth those who stubbornly refused to comply with requisitions which they deemed essential. They were a voluntary association, and had certainly a right to prescribe the rules of their own society. That they were not men of a stony insensibility, might be shown by proofs with- out number ; but the history of the College leads us rather to the consideration of the nobleness of their natures, their high aspirations, and their determination to cultivate their intellectual, moral, and religious powers, under the most difficult circumstances that can well be imagined to interfere with such a purpose. What can show this better than their resolution to establish a College by public authority, recorded within six years from the earliest settlement of Boston, when they had encroached so little on the wilderness, that they did not venture to place the school more than two miles back from the waters of the bay ; and when the whole civilized population amounted to only a few hun- dreds of persons, scattered thinly from Ipswich to Cohasset, and from Watertown to Boston ? The terri- tory thus occupied extended forty or fifty miles, north and south, and six or seven, east and west ; and nearly in the midst of this narrow strip, on an extended plain bordering a pleasant river, did our forefathers deter- mine that a school or College should be founded. It HARVARD COLLEGE. 6 was not a barren determination ; for in 1636 they ap- propriated .£400 to this purpose, and in the following year appointed twelve of the principal men of the Col- ony " to take order for a College at Newtown," where they had decided that suitable buildmgs should be erected. What manner of men were these, who, at such a time, when they were few and feeble, surrounded by savages, in a country whose resources were yet to be developed, and of which so little was known that it might be said to be even unexplored, when dangers were imminent, and only the more alarming because they were undefined, could deliberately plan and exe- cute the establishment of a school for the maintenance of good learning ? Is it possible not to honor such men, — acquainted with the advantages of civilized life, yet sacrificing them all for conscience' sake, — knowing the importance of mental cultivation, and determined to sustain it under the most adverse cir- cumstances, — willing to contribute largely of their means to a purpose that was never to repay a penny in a direct form, — and resolved, that, if they succeeded at all in their perilous enterprise, they would succeed as well-instructed Christian men, and not as mere con- querors of savages, or speculators in gold, or silver, or lands ? They contemplated being the fathers of a great people, and with this magnificent idea before them, they did all in their power to promote the well-being of the generations to come, who were to be like the stars of heaven that cannot be numbered. This noble example of Massachusetts is not only in 4 HISTORY OF itself admirable, but it has the distinction of being en- tirely without parallel in the history of the world, either before or since. The colonies of ancient days were so radically unlike those of modern times, that no com- parison whatever can be instituted ; nor is there much similarity between the character of English settle- ments, and that of such as have been derived from other nations of modern Europe. But even among the colonies of England herself, there may be observed very great diversities ; and nowhere, out of the limits of New England, was there that deep impression of reli- gious feelings and motives which constituted the most obvious element in the character of our Puritan fathers. The prominent distinction of some of the other planta- tions, like those of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and, at a later period, of Georgia, was, that they were de- signed to be free from all exclusiveness, that they were open to men professing all opinions on religious sub- jects, provided they were peaceable citizens ; and this, certainly, is praise enough, and, in the judgment of some persons, it is a higher encomium than can be passed on the first settlers of Massachusetts. At all events, it is very different from what must be said of our fathers. They had not reached this idea of uni- versal toleration ; nor were they so anxious for imme- diate success, as to be desirous to encourage all comers, by whatever motives they were influenced. They wished to plant a church. This was their leading idea, the idea that seems never to have been absent from their thoughts and their wishes. It was to be their own church, of course ; established and main- HARVARD COLLEGE. 5 tained on such principles, and in such a form as seemed to them consonant with Scripture and reason ; and they did not intend to have it intruded on by Antinomians, Antipoedobaptists, or anybody else that did not stand on the same platform as themselves. Thus it hap- pened that they became exclusive, that their church officers were their state officers, and their church members their only freemen and voters. In their earliest years the settlements of Plymouth and Salem were essentially ecclesiastical governments ; and the principal difference between them arose from the superior wealth and numbers that were soon found in the Massachusetts colony, and which gave the pre- ponderance to the more northern settlement. But it must always be remembered, that the exclusiveness and bigotry of our fathers were confined to matters of re- ligious faith and church government. On all other subjects they entertained the largest and most liberal views. Their leaders were men of well-cultivated minds, and they intended that their successors should be so too. Religion was the first object with them, as of right it should be with us, and with all men ; but they did not neglect the subordinate ends of life, since they are all means of that religious progress which they desired to make ; and thus when the College was founded, it was done, not merely that the churches might have able pastors, but that " learning might not be buried in the graves of the fathers." However well disposed the leading men of the Colony might have been to this object, and however great was the influence they exercised over the community, they b HISTORY OF could scarcely have succeeded in the plan, but for the manner in which they were seconded by those individ- uals who were most favored with this world's goods, and by the interest which was early excited in many persons in England, for sustaining such a remarkable effort for intellectual cultivation amid the trials incident to the situation of the colony. In 1638, two years after the grant by the " the country " of c£400,the Rev. John Harvard, of Charlestown, gave by his will the sum of ^779. 17. 2. in money, and more than three hundred volumes of books. It is to be lamented that so very little is known of a man whose name is deservedly commemorated in that of the College, to which his bequest was so timely and so bountiful an aid. He had been but a few months in the Colony, though long enough to acquire the re- spect of his associates, and to excite in himself the strongest sympathy with the effort to extend the means of education. He was a scholar, as well as an ortho- dox divine, and a practical Christian ; and it is a strik- ing characteristic of the age, and of the individual, that a man of such character, and in such circumstances, should have been found in his position. The sum above named was but the half of his property, and must be esteemed equal to six or seven times the same nominal amount at the present day, — sufficient, certainly, to secure to its possessor the comforts of life, as they would then have been esteemed. And yet he leaves his native country, a voluntary exile, and resorts to the feeble settlement of a scanty colony, in an unknown wild, and preaches the gospel to the little flock that can HARVARD COLLEGE. 7 be found there to attend his ministrations. If there be such a thing as strength in the human character, or elevation of purpose, and superiority to worldly advan- tages, in the human heart, surely they were exhibited by John Harvard. From the date of his bequest the College may be considered as established. Other private persons were induced to follow his example, and funds were fur- nished to such an extent as to make it pretty certain that the infant seminary would not be suffered to fall or languish for want of suitable nourishment. The first class was formed in 1638, the year in which Harvard's bequest was received, and then started from its foun- tain that intellectual stream which has never ceased to flow with a widening and deepening current for two centuries. It would be interesting to trace the effect which the early establishment of the College, and the importance attributed by our fathers to education, have had upon the character of the Commonwealth, and the reciprocal influence which the College and the neighboring city have had upon each other ; but they are sufficiently obvious, perhaps, in the favor which, at nearly all periods, has been shown by the State to insti- tutions and means of education ; in the intellectual cul- tivation which is valued in the city ; and the freedom from scholastic prejudice which may be considered an honorable characteristic of Harvard College. As long as expansion of mind, and the development of mental power and physical resources, are thought advantageous to so- ciety, the debt of gratitude due to those who secure such blessings to their posterity should not be forgotten. HISTORY OF 1640—1654. It does not appear, in any record, to whom was in- trusted the principal charge of the government and instruction of the College during the first two years of its existence ; but in 1640 the Rev. Henry Dunster arrived from England, a man so eminently qualified, by his learning, his ability and his virtues, for the ofhce of president, that he seems to have been placed in it at once, by a sort of acclamation and general consent. Immediately upon his arrival he was waited on by the governor, magistrates, elders and ministers ; and, as he afterwards said, such " promises, encouragements, and allurements" were held out to him, as decided him to accept the appointment. Whatever may be thought of the result to his own comfort and happiness, there can be no doubt that his acceptance was singularlj^ beneficial to the institution. Probably the College has never had a more able, faithful, devoted officer than Dunster. His labors were not confined to the toils of instruction and government ; but, in the midst of these, he was obliged to struggle, and not always successfully, for the means of support for himself, the College, and the more needy of his pupils. He was greatly instru- mental, also, in procuring the enactment of the Charter of 1650, which, as it subsists to this day, connects us directly with the fathers of the State and of the College. The republic of letters remains under the original laws by which it was created ; and it is no small proof of HARVARD COLLEGE. JJ the wisdom with which they were devised, that, not- withstanding many attempts at improvement, and amidst the vast, the ahuost incredible changes which have taken place, since their enactment, in everything around the College, — in the organization of society, in manners, habits, wealth, knowledge, and numbers, — the very first plan of the Corporation should still remain unaltered, and the constitution of the board of Overseers should have been modified but once. The laws for the government of the house have not continued thus unchanged, though marked by no small amount of the wisdom of that age, which perhaps might, with good effect, have been preserved in the practices of the present. At least, let the youth of our day look back for six generations, and consider with how much patience they would submit to rules against which the young men of two centuries ago never thought of rebelling. It is not altogether easy for us to imagine that there were boys and young men in those early days. When we think of ancient times we are apt to picture to ourselves ancient men ; and to forget that there were sons, as well as fathers, two centuries ago. But the following law of the Dunster code presents to us a vivid picture of the manners required then, which have long been superseded by a style of which the improvement upon fashions that have passed away may admit of a question. " They [the students] shall honor, as their parents, the magistrates, elders, tutors, and all who are older than themselves, as reason re- quires, being silent in their presence, except when asked a question, not contradicting, but showing all 10 HISTORY OF those marks of honor and reverence which are in praiseworthy use, saluting them with a bow, standing uncovered," ^ &c. The use of their mother tongue was prohibited, and perhaps so much might be effected by law even now ; but it would be entirely unsafe to predict what would be the substitute for it in familiar use. 2 Latin, surely, would scarcely be thought of. The mode of discipline authorized by the " seven- teenth rule" is a recorded proof of what otherwise might hav«^ rested on obscure tradition only, that our fathers, in common with their contemporaries gene- rally, were not well informed upon one characteristic of human nature, at least. The degrading and brutal- izing effect of stripes has been so often, so eloquently, and so learnedly demonstrated in modern times, and has been shown, besides, by the experience of so many ages, that it has become a matter of especial wonder that the generations which grew up under such a lia- bility did not relapse into barbarism, rather than make any further progress towards civilization. We, of the nineteenth century, sympathize deeply, and even pain- fully, with the feelings, wounded and indignant as ihey must have been, of a future baronet, a governor, three * Honore prosequuntor, ut parentes, ita magistratus, presbyteros, tutores, suosque omnes seniores, prout ratio poslulat ; coram illis ta- centes nisi interrog-ali, nee quiequam contradicentes, eis exhibentes honoris et reverentise indicia qu8ecunque laudabili usu recepta sunt, incurvato nimirum eorpore salutantes, aperto capite adstanles, &c. Quincy's History, vol. i. p. 577. 2 Scholares vernacula lingua intra CoUegii limites nullo prsetextu utuntor, nisi ad orationem aut aliud ali(iuod exercitiuna publicum An- glice habendum evocati fuerint. Ibid. i. 578. \ HARVARD COLLEGE. 11 presidents of the College, and thirty-seven ministers of the gospel, to say nothing of the less distinguished in- dividuals, all of whom were exposed, for the four years of their college life, to the cruelty permitted in the fol- lowing law, sanctioned by the benighted Dunster. " If any student shall violate the law of God and of this College, either from perverseness, or from gross negli- gence, after he shall have been twice admonished, he may he ivhipped, if not an adult ; but if an adult, his case shall be laid before the overseers, that notice may be pubHcly taken of him according to his deserts. In case of graver offences, however, let no one expect such gradual proceedings, or that an admonition must neces- sarily be repeated in relation to the same law." ' The enforcement of the " twelfth rule " would, in these days, certainly afford frequent occasion for both the admonition and the rod, and one cannot but suspect that, even then, the police of the College must have had some calls for activity, both in word and in deed. " No scholar shall buy, sell, or exchange anything of the value of sixpence, without the approbation of his pa- rent, guardian, or tutor. But if he shall do so, he shall be fined by the president, according to the meas- ure of his offence." ^ ^ Siquis scholarium ullam Dei et hujus Collegii legem, sive animo perverse, seu ex supina negligentia, violarit, postquam fuerit bis admoni- tus, si non adultus, virgis coerceatur ; sin adullus, ad Inspectores Col- legii deferendus erit, ut publice in eura pro meritis animadversio fiat ; in atrocioribus autem delictis, ut adeo gradatim procedatur, nemo ex- pectet, nee ut admonitio iterata super eadem lege necessario fiat Quincy's History, vol. i. p. 578-9. 2 Nullus scholaris quicquam, quod sex denarios valeat, nuUo paren- tum, curatorum, aut tutorum approbante, emito, vendito, aut commu- 12 HISTORY OF In 1640 the court granted to Harvard College, in perpetuity, the right of ferry between Charlestown and Boston ; a right of no inconsiderable value at that time, and the increasing revenue of which was very proba- bly regarded, and intended, as a resource to meet the growing wants of an institution that must needs increase with the progress of the colony. Subsequent legisla- tion has rendered this grant memorable, and the loss which the College has ultimately incurred has, perhaps, been the means of calling forth efforts, which have certainly been needed, to supply deficiencies that would not have existed if the original grant had remained' un- touched. However deeply, therefore, the friends of the College may regret the course which has been pur- sued, they may well rejoice at the abundant evidence, from innumerable sources, of the general determina- tion to support and increase the prosperity of the in- stitution. In December, 1643, a vote was passed by the gov- ernors of the College to adopt a common seal, in a form which has the qualities of simplicity and appropriate beauty. Three books were spread open on a shield, and upon them was inscribed the word Veritas, ex- pressing, in the most emphatic manner, the object of the institution, and indicating the most prominent means by which it was to be attained. It does not appear that this device was ever engraved, or used ; though it has the merit of being more comprehensive, and more sim- ple, than the first seal which was actually used, and tato. Quum autem secus fecerit, a preeside pro delicti ratione multa- bilur. Ibid. i. 578. HARVARD COLLEGE. 13 which had the motto " In Christi Gloriam." This, as it would be ordinarily understood, conveys the erro- neous impression that the institution was designed to be, or that it actually was, a theological school ; and such an idea is still more directly countenanced by the motto subsequently introduced, and which is still in use, Christo et Ecclesi^. Veritas includes every spe- cies of truth, and is therefore more strictly in unison with the known plan and character of the College, The simplicity of the device, characteristic of that age, recommends itself to the best taste of all ages. In 1642 and 1643 many large donations of money, types, books, &c. were made by persons in England, and in the colony. Some of the money which came from abroad was taken by the General Court, and inte- rest was allowed for it, at the rate of more than nine per cent. This was continued for many years, and then discontinued for some time ; till at length, in 1713, the original sum was repaid, with interest at six per cent, from 1685. In 1650 the College charter was granted, and, probably, it was because this remained for a long period the only act creating a body corporate, that the board which it organized came to be designated, in this community, the corporatio7i ; and even now, when innumerable similar acts have been passed, the corporation^ in familiar conversation, means that of the College. By this act the property of the school, to the amount of c£500* of annual income, was exempted from taxation. ' Pounds sterling must have been meant, as the currency of infe- rior value, called lawful, had not yet been created, and was not au- 14 HISTORY OF Notwithstanding these various gifts and grants, from individuals and the legislature, the position of the Col- lege must have been one of great want. The wealth of the entire community was not large, and the portion of it devoted to the College, by even a distinguished liberality, was not sufficient to save either teachers or scholars from the real evils of actual poverty. For fourteen years Dunster was their fellow-laborer and friend, their guide and instructor ; and might, perhaps, have continued at his post much longer, had he not fallen into a fatal error, in the estimation of our fathers, that destroyed his usefulness to them. It excites our astonishment, certainly, to find what importance was then attached to opinions and practices which seem now of little moment. But so it was. Of equally little real moment, probably, are many of the points agi- tated at the present day ; and we must judge leniently, therefore, of the infirmities of our predecessors, as we would not be hardly dealt with by those who are to come after us. In 1653, Dunster fell under suspicion of favoring the Antipoedobaptists ; a suspicion which soon ripened into certainty ; for, unable to withhold his countenance from thonzed till 1652 ; nor was its market value ascertained till 1653. [See Felt's Massachusett's Currency, pages 31-3.] In 1753 a resolve was passed, by the provincial legislature, reiterating the exemption of the property of the College, in consequence of the attempt of the town of Braintree to levy a tax on Bumpkin Island, in Boston harbor, then and still belonging to the College ; and a natural interpretation of the resolve might be that the lawful currency was intended. But this is controlled by the necessary construction of the charter, which remains in force to this day, and which was granted at a period when none but sterling money was known. HARVARD COLLEGE. 15 what he believed to be the truth, he preached in pubHc against the administration of baptism to infants. The orthodox spirit of the whole colony was instantly- roused ; and the strongest, because involuntary, testi- mony is borne to the intellectual power and moral in- fluence of Dunster, by the alarm his defection excited, and the harsh measures dictated by that feeling ; while his conscientiousness is attested by the meekness of his submission to the rebukes which were sternly adminis- tered. It is a perfect illustration of the ecclesiastical character of the colonial government of that day, thai he was " indicted hy the grand jury for disturbing the ordinance of infant baptism in the Cambridge church." ^ He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to receive an admonition on Lecture day, and to be laid under bonds for good behavior ; and the next year, in October, 1654, he was compelled to resign the presidency of the College. He retired to Scituate, in the jurisdiction of Plymouth colony, where he shortly afterwards died. In compliance with his dying request, his body was brought back to Cambridge, that it might rest near to the College which he had loved and served so faith- fully.^ The Bible that belonged to him, of which the 1 Quincy^s History, vol. i. p. 18. 2 A monument was erected over Dunster's remains, which, appa- rently, was the model upon wliich the monuments to other presidents, buried in the Cambridge church-yard, were afterwards constructed. But it had become defaced by time, and perhaps by ill usage ; the in- scription had disappeared, and there was even much doubt whether the monument reputed to be his was really so. Upon investigation, however, the flowers in which his body had been aflectionately em- balmed were discovered in the coffin, and thus all uncertainty as to the 16 HISTORY OF Old Testament is in the Hebrew, and the New in the Greek language, both fine specimens of early printing, has been presented to the College by his descendants, and, as a relic of so interesting a man, so mild and for- giving a Christian, so learned and so diligent a presi- dent, it is one of the most valuable books in the Library. 1654—1672. The next president, the Rev. Charles Chauncy, came from the town to which Dunster retired, and while equally eminent for learning, ability, and conscientious- ness, he held opinions so different from those of his honored contemporary, on the controverted point of the sacrament of baptism, that he was not only willing to baptize infants, but thought it necessary to the effi- cacy of the rite, that it should be a total immersion, and not a mere sprinkling. This was an error on the other side of the narrow line in which our fathers walked ; and, when Chauncy became president of the College, he was required not to preach publicly anything op- posed to the received doctrine on this, and on one other subject on which he differed from the Massachusetts church. He had the idea that the Lord's Supper could be rightly administered in the evening only. But this spot was removed. A new inscription, prepared by Mr. Charles Folsom, the learned superintendent of the Boston Atheneeum, was placed upon the repaired monument in 1846. See Appendix. HARVARD COLLEGE. 17 also he was obliged, if not to renounce, at least to con- fine to his own breast. He was a Puritan who, in the days of Laud, had suffered persecution "for opposing the making of a rail ahout the ' communion tdble^^ " in the parish church of Ware, of which place he was then minister.* He submitted to power, and made a recan- tation, for which he never afterwards ceased to re- proach himself; and it was not long before he was silenced and suspended by Laud, in consequence of new recusancy, and betook himself, in 1638, to the Colony of Plymouth, to avoid a persecution which he could neither endure nor resist. He was there invited to assume the labors of the ministry, but declined, on ac- count of his peculiar views on the two points above-men- tioned, and went to Scituate. Here he was reordained, and here he remained till 1654, when, Puritanism being in the ascendant in England, he prepared to return to his ancient parish of Ware. On his coming to Boston to embark, the vacant presidency of Harvard College was offered to him, though not without a restriction upon publicly declaring his peculiar opinions. He accepted the proposition, and was enrolled in the cat- alogue of honored and esteemed heads of the Col- lege. The temperament which led him first to resist oppression, and then to yield to it, — now, to decline being silent, and afterwards to consent — was very pecu- liar in that age, however common in later days, and one would think it little adapted to command the re- spect of the unbending fathers of New England. It is manifest, however, from every contemporary opinion 1 See Peirce's History, p. 20, and Quincy's History, vol. i. p. 24. 2 ^ 18 HISTORY OF of him, that he had their respect, and, notwithstanding his comparative infirmity of purpose, that he deserved it. He came to New England with a high reputa- tion for scholarship, a reputation fully justified by the rank he always maintained here, and the success of his literary labor in the instruction of the students at the College. As a divine and a theologian, also, he was highly esteemed by those most competent to judge, as well in his own as in succeeding times. Cotton Mather, who was graduated seven years after the decease of Chauncy, and might, therefore, have remembered him, and whose father. Increase Mather, was graduated in the early part of Chauncy's presidency, passes a warm eulogium upon his literary and ministerial character, and speaks of the respectful remembrance in which he was held by the many worthy men who received their education under him. Although he had passed the prime of life at the time of his election, being then sixty-five years of age, his presidency was prolonged to the term of seventeen years, as he continued to labor with un- tiring industry till his death in February, 1671-2, in the eighty-second year of his age. Peirce copies from Mather the following anecdote, which is interesting enough to be often repeated. " The Fellows of the College once leading this venerable old man to preach a sermon on a winter day, they, out of affection to him, to discourage him from so difficult an undertaking, told him, ' Sir, you'll certainly die in the pulpit;' but he, laying hold on what they said, as if they had offered the greatest encouragement in the world, pressed the HARVARD COLLEGE. 19 more vigorously through the snow-drift, and said, ' How glad should I be, if what you say might prove true.'"* During the term of office of " this venerable old man," the only Indian, who ever passed through the four years of College life, took his degree. Several were induced to attempt the civilizing process of a learned education ; and at one time, the " Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England and the Parts Adjacent " erected a hall for their accommodation, at a cost of between =£300 and .£400. The effiDrt was soon given up, however, as the Indian constitution was found incompatible with those habits which are requi- site for literary attainments. Even Caleb Cheeshah- teaumuck, as this solitary Indian graduate was eupho- niously called, soon died of consumption. The build- ing erected for the special accommodation of the na- tives was, therefore, appropriated to other purposes, and for some time was used as a printing office, which gained great renown in its day, and deserves to be commemorated in the records of human disinterested- ness and perseverance, on account of its connection with one extraordinary development of them. If ever these qualities were shown, they were conspicuous in the life and labors of him who so well earned the hon- ors of apostleship, and who has left behind him a name illuminated with the undying light of self-sacrificing beneficence. It was, perhaps, in the Indian College, certainly by the Cambridge press, that John Eliot's In- dian Catechism, Testament and Bible were printed, ' Peirce's History, p. 30. 20 HISTORY OF with several other books prepared for the same purpose, by the same indefatigable hand. The whole history of this enterprise, of converting the Indians to Christianity, is one which, for the honor of human nature, and of the religion we profess, should never be suffered to fade out of recollection. It is a delightful instance of the spirit of charity, the very essence of Christianity, work- ing its best effects upon the best minds ; and it is of infinite worth, as a proof how entirely independent of all those circumstances, which are commonly thought to constitute success, is virtuous effort. The Indians have perished, the translations are valueless, except as literary curiosities ; but the name of John Eliot shall be had in everlasting remembrance, and shall shine as the stars of the firmament. About one half of the graduates under President Chauncy became ministers of the gospel, and several others held posts of distinction in civil life. Two were Chief Justices of the Colony ; one was afterwards Chief Justice of the Colony of New York, and successively Governor of Massachusetts and of New Hampshire ; and three became presidents of Colleges, viz. : two of Harvard, and one of Yale. The donations to the College, at this period, were nu- merous and interesting ; indicating, in various ways, the state of the Colony in respect to its resources, the affec- tionate regard of the community, and the liberality of many persons in England, as well as here, towards this school in the wilderness. Two of the most considera- ble, which have remained available to the present day, are the bequest of Edward Hopkins, of .£500, and the HARVARD COLLEGE. 21 annuity of William Pennoyer, which, at the time, was <£34 per annum, and is now about £50. Both of these were for the benefit of the indigent ; the former to be used for educating boys at the grammar school of the town of Cambridge, as well as young men at the Col- lege, and the latter for this purpose only. 1672—1684. The first two presidents of the College were edu- cated in England; but from 1672 to the present time, our Alma Mater has been under the charge of men who were her own alumni, who received all their instruc- tion from her, and who devoted themselves to repay the debt by laboring, in every way, to promote her pros- perity. The tender plant was beginning to take root, and acquiring some degree of the vigor necessary to enable it to contend with the untoward circumstances against which it was destined to struggle. This slight change in the selection of the president was attended, or followed, by a course of events which marks strongly the practical persuasion, entertained by the colonists of that day, of the future importance of their settlement, and of all that belonged to it ; of their conviction that a time was coming, when the College would be what it could scarcely be considered then, a large and emi- nent institution for the instruction of a numerous peo- ple. An oflnce in a school for twenty or thirty young men, could have been no object for strong compe- 22 HISTORY OF tition, nor the source of any excitement of feeling, un- less the day had been anticipated when to have borne an early part in conducting it would be recognized as a claim to extended reputation, and to the grati- tude of unnumbered multitudes ; and this expectation, ever present to our fathers, of the future growth of their little settlement, must be remembered in account- ing for the emulation for the presidency of the College, which is sufficiently manifest in the history of the next few years. In less than twelve years and a half from the death of President Chauncy, three persons of distinction began and terminated their presidential career. The first of these was Leonard Hoar, the earliest graduate of Har- vard who received this appointment ; and though not a native of the soil, he came to this country in childhood, received his education here, and returning to England in the time of the Commonwealth, became the regular minister of a parish at Wanstead, in Essex. At the restoration he was ejected for non-conformity, and, hearing of the death of President Chauncy, he came again to New England, with the hope of succeeding him in office. The government of the Colony sup- ported him in his views, and he attained the object of his ambition in July, 1672. But, however acceptable he may have been to the authorities of the Colony and of the College, he seems to have been far less so to those over whom he was appointed to act. The stu- dents soon began to show symptoms of discontent and displeasure, though it cannot be ascertained what was the exciting cause of these emotions. It is intimated HARVARD COLLEGE. 23 that the young men were sustained, or encouraged, by- some persons of maturity and note in the vicinity ; but it is left quite uncertain what was the foundation for the rumor, and to what all this uneasiness is to be ascribed. One can hardly avoid the suspicion, that some part of it must be attributed to a feeling of rivalry ; and yet it may easily have been the case that Dr. Hoar was one of those not uncommon persons, who, though excellent, and even wise, in many relations, have yet mistaken their vocation ; and thus that the dissatisfaction was justified by his unfitness, in some respect or other, for the place he had assumed. In about a year from his election no less than four members of the Corpora- tion, a body consisting of but seven gentlemen includ- ing the president, resigned their places together ; a grave act of grave persons, of which the most natural explanation is, that there was some substantial cause of discontent. Cotton Mather says the students used to " tur7i cudweeds and travestie lohatever lie did and said, with a design to make him odious,'^'' — a design in which they appear to have succeeded, but which seems scarcely compatible with our idea of the Puritan youth of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. President Hoar was the first of the heads of Harvard College who belonged to the medical as well as to the clerical profession. He obtained a diploma as Doctor of Medicine from the University of Cambridge, while in England, though there is no information of his hav- ing practised that profession. He retained his office till March, 1675, and after his resignation he lived but seven months, dying, as President Quincy says, in ob- scurity and sorrow. 24 HISTORY OF The Rev. Urian Oakes, the minister of Cambridge, was his successor, as president pro tempore^ retaining his position as pastor of the church. He, too, was born in England, but, coming over in childhood, he was ed- ucated at Harvard College, and then went to England, where, like Hoar, he was regularly settled ; and, hav- ing returned to this country, with so many others of the non-conformists, he became, in the first place, minister of Cambridge, and then president of the College. He officiated, for five years, as a merely temporary occupant of the chair, and was not formally installed till Febru- ary, 1680. He is believed to have countenanced those who expressed their dissatisfaction with his predecessor ; and he certainly resigned his seat in the Corporation within a year after Hoar's appointment. The most reasonable, as well as the most charitable, construction of his conduct is, that the complaints against the late president were not without some just foundation ; for Oakes has left behind him the reputation of having been " a man of bright parts, extensive learning, and exalted piety," ' — a reputation clearly inconsistent with any factious conduct, or personal jealousy. The eu- logy on his tomb-stone in Cambridge church-yard, so far as it may be allowed any weight, confirms the idea of his being guiltless of all fault in this or any other matter.' He died in July, 1681, and was succeeded by his classmate, John Rogers, a graduate of 1649. This gentleman was the son of the Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, of Ipswich ; and had applied himself first to the study of theology, and afterwards to that of medi- * Peirce's History, p. 45. 2 gee Appendix, HARVARD COLLEGE. 25 cine. He continued in office for two years only, which may account for his having made no very permanent impression on tiie College in any way, though he was highly esteemed for his abilities and acquisition's, and greatly loved for the amiableness of his temper. He had been chosen during the pro tempore occupancy of Oakes, but declined assuming the post at that time ; and thus lost the opportunity of exerting a longer, and therefore more efficient, influence by the many virtues he possessed. President Rogers may be considered as the first layman who held the office of president of the College ; for though he preached for a time, he was never regularly ordained, or settled over a parish. During the twelve years in which there was such a rapid succession of presidents of the College, dona- tions for its support continued to flow from both public and private bounty, as they had done before, and even with a stronger current. The legislature, or " the Court," as it was called, contributed to the maintenance of the pi'esident, and individuals here and in England gave largely both in money and in books. There was a voluntary contribution from many of the towns in the colony, for a new edifice, to the amount of .£2,200 currency ; Dr. John Lightfoot and Dr. Theophilus Gale gave their entire libraries ; Sir John Maynard gave books to the estimated value of £400, and Joseph Brown to the value of £100 ; Sir Matthew Holworthy sent no less than £1000 in money, and Henry Ash- worth, and Nathaniel Houlton (or Hulton) of London, £100 each.* The hearts of our fathers must have ' For other donations at this period see Appendix. 26 HISTORY OF been gladdened by such frequent and beneficial remem- brance of them, such sympathy with their situation, and such aid to their efforts. 1685—1701. We have now reached a period of great importance in the history of the Colony, and of much interest in that of the College ; though, as the attention given to the latter, by its president, was quite sub(jrdinate to that which he bestowed on other employments, its progress cannot be ascribed so much to his efforts as might oth- erwise have been the case. Increase Mather, the next president, was a man of strong character, extensive and various acquisitions, and of very uncommon per- sonal influence. He lived at a critical period in the history of the Colony, when, from the increase of num- bers and resources, and the progress of ideas, the mode of government which had hitherto been maintained here was to be essentially modified ; the ecclesiastical character of the commonwealth was to be radically changed, and the separation of church and state into distinct spheres of action, towards which there had been a tendency for some time, was to be fully accomplished. Some of the last steps in the completion of this revolu- tion were destined to be taken by the very man who, in his day, wielded more of ecclesiastical influence than any other person, and was better fitted to be the repre- sentative of the ruling elders, pastors, and teachers of a HARVARD COLLEGE. 27 preceding generation than any other individual among his contemporaries. He was the first of the presidents who was born on this side of the Atlantic, and was a striking specimen of the peculiar talents and character- istics of the Puritan of New England, combining the knowledge which is power, with the disposition to use it, uprightness with shrewdness, and the wisdom which leads to preparation for another world, with that which secures the advantages of this. He was the minister of the North Church in Boston, and was eminently suc- cessful as a preacher ; while his attainments in the theology, the literature, and the science of the day gave him a high rank among the most prominent men of his time ; and his activity and energy of character produced in him what the apostle Eliot called " a lead- ing spirit." Such he undoubtedly possessed ; for he ap- pears to have claimed, and taken, the lead in all affairs relating to the church, the state, and the college. His ambition, if not excessive, was certainly great, and his talents and character enabled him to secure those posi- tions and that influence which are supposed to be the appropriate gratifications of ambition. There is room, however, to suspect that the question, often suggested to the most successful, would have been not altogether inappropriate to him, " What fruit have ye of those things ?" The biography of Increase Mather is almost the his- tory of the colony during his time, and is interesting and instructive, though of less importance in its connec- tion with the College than in its relation to the commu- nity at large. He continued to be the pastor of the 28 HISTORY OF North Church, and, in 1688, he accepted a mission to England, which necessarily took him away from both the church and the college for several years ; and thus he was priest, politician, and president at once, though it was impossible for him to perform the duties of more than one of these characters at a time. He was sent to England, as one of the agents of the colony, with the especial object of securing the charter from the assaults which had been made upon it by Charles 2d, and An- dres, and thus of rendering it the permanent inherit- ance of Massachusetts, and the perpetual Palladium of her rights ; and it is not a little singular that a man of precisely his character, despatched on just such a mis- sion, should have returned, not only without any con- firmation of the former charter, but with a new instru- ment, that granted by William and Mary in 1692, which speedily, and effectually, and forever destroyed the predominance of the church over the state. Still more extraordinary is it that he should have been known to have been the principal author of the new charter, and yet should have retained his great influ- ence, and used it successfully in bringing about the peaceful introduction of a new organization of society. From that time freeholders, and not church members only, had a voice in the public councils ; and the church of which he was a proud and honored leader, was cur- tailed of that power which she had exercised for sixty years in "the Bay." This was not the only essential modification of the rights enjoyed under the former charter. The appointment of- the governor, judges, and military officers of the colony was given to the HARVARD COLLEGE. 29 king, who had never before exercised any such power; the colonies of Plymouth and Maine were united to Massachusetts, and New Hampshire was separated from it. The influence which Mather effectually ex- erted, in reconciling the people to all these vast changes, can be attributed only to the general conviction of his integrity, and of his ability to obtain for them all that could be secured by any one. The narrative of his life and labors is extremely well given by President Quincy, in his History of the Col- lege, and is a valuable contribution to the history of the country ; but, as it has more relation, in fact, to the colony, than to the institution over which he presided, it may be sufficient to refer the reader to the above-men- tioned excellent account. Engaged, as he was, with his church and the colony, Mather never devoted his whole energy to the improvement of the College, but simply gave it what attention he could spare from other matters. He never would reside at Cambridge, though repeatedly required to do so by the Corporation. He complied at one time, but, after a few weeks, returned to Boston, and continued there, with the exception of his residence in England, till his resignation. The only probable solution of this submission of the College authority to his convenience is, that the partial attend- ance of the president on the instruction and government of the school was, really, well and sufficiently made up by the two officers who, with the title of tutors, had the principal charge of the house. Mr. John Leverett and Mr. William Brattle were these successful young men. The former became afterwards eminent in various 30 HISTORY OF offices in the province, especially as president of the College ; and the latter was for twenty years the min- ister of the church in Cambridge, for several years a member of the Corporation, and, for a little while, the treasurer. This last office he held only as the execu- tor of his brother, Thomas Brattle, who had previously filled it for the long term of twenty years. The constitution of the College seems to have been a favorite subject of management, in political circles, during the time of Increase Mather. No less than three diffijrent charters were proposed in the years 1696, 1697, and 1699 respectively, which would have essentially changed the organization of the College, but which did not go into permanent operation, though they passed both branches of the legislature, for want of the executive or royal sanction. In 1700, anew draft of a charter was prepared " to be solicited for to his Majes- ty." But this also failed, and the charter of 1650, obtained by Dunster, remains as the venerable source of collegiate authority to this day. President Quincy's account of the intrigues of those times should be read, as a valuable contribution to the political and ecclesias- tical history of the Commonwealth ; and it will amply repay perusal, fot it is written with the sagacity of one who understands the artful manoeuvres of others, with- out the disposition to imitate them, and with the fear- lessless which characterizes intelligent honesty. Donations received both from " the Court," and from individuals in the colony and in England, contin- ued to sustain the still feeble seminary. It may be ob- served, however, that the public allowance to the pres- HARVARD COLLEGE. 31 ident was materially smaller than it had been at many- periods before ; the worthy members of the great as- sembly probably thinking that pluralities were as little desirable here as in the mother country, and that they should not give full pay without a full equivalent in time and labor. Of the private donations the largest was that of Governor Stoughton, who erected a build- ing for the use of the students, at the cost of c£ 1000, — a very noble gift in the condition of the colony at the time. But the most memorable bounty, not from its amount — though that was not inconsiderable — but from the consequences which followed it, was the bequest of Robert Thorner, of London, who left ^£"500 to Harvard College. This was not only in itself a valuable aid, but it led others to know and to assist, to a far greater extent, an institution which was deemed worthy of his attention and favor. The constant benefits wjiich, from the foundation of the College to a period long subsequent to the revolutionary war, have been received from Eng- land, and which, indeed, have not been unknown in our own day, are singularly honorable to the phi- lanthropy, and expansion of views, which must have characterized our benefactors. It is natural enough that natives and inhabitants of New England should feel so deep an interest in the school, as to lead them to contribute to its support ; but the aid which has been received from England cannot fail to be regarded as exhibiting a still loftier and more disinterested love of the learning, religion, and freedom which have been cultivated here, and which were anxiously looked for from what was once a remote outpost of civilization. 32 HISTORY OF Though the pecuniary resources of the College were thus increasing, by the liberality of persons at home and abroad, yet the actual narrowness of its means may be exemplified by the following extract from the records : " At a meeting of the Corporation at Harvard College, April 8, 1695, Voted, That six leather chairs be forth- with provided for the use of the library, and six more before the commencement, in case the treasury will allow of it.'''' The position of the institution may be inferred to have been both eminent and useful, from the increased numbers found upon the catalogue of graduates, and from the honorable distinction attained, in afterlife, by many whose names are there recorded. During the period of Mather's presidency and influence, including three years after his resignation, there were educated at Cambridge not a few persons who afterwards held prominent offices, viz., two who became chief justices, and five others who were judges of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, three judges of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, and two of that of New Hampshire, two governors, and two lieutenant-governors of provinces, one president of Harvard, and one of Yale, College. Be- sides" these, one hundred and thirteen ministers were prepared for the pulpits of New England ; and thus it appears that large provision was made here for the support both of the law and the gospel. As a slight indication of the College manners of that day, it may not be amiss to make the following extract from the records of the Corporation, under the date of June 22, 1693 : " The Corporation having been informed HARVARD COLLEGE. 33 that the custom taken up in the College, not used in any- other Universities, for the commencers [graduating class] to have plumb-cake, is dishonorable to the Col- lege, not grateful to wise men, and chargeable to the parents of the commencers, do therefore put an end to that custom, and do hereby order that no commencer, or other scholar, shall have any such cakes in their studies or chambers ; and that if any scholar shall oifend therein, the cakes shall be taken from him, and he shall moreover pay to the College twenty shillings for each such offence." It is not easy to imagine what could have made this plum-cake so dangerous and disreputable. But for whatever reason, whether for its accompaniments, or simply because it was forbidden, it seems to have been a favorite article with the commencers ; for there are, in the records, repeated renewals of the prohibition, which indicate repeated breaches of the law. Com- mencement day seems to have begun, about this time, to become a sort of Saturnalia for the whole neighbor- hood ; at least, not long after this date, we find men- tion of new precautions for the preservation of order, such as procuring the attendance of justices of the peace, a police guard by day, and a watch by night, for several days and nights together ; — pretty clear indi- cations of new manners in the land of the Pilgrims, The spirit of license, on these occasions, went on increas- ing, down to the early part of the present century, when it seemed somewhat to subside, perhaps because the interest of the day was superseded by that of other 3 34 HISTORY OF festivals ; and it was, at length, entirely quelled by the great reform of modern days — the temperance reform. Justices and sheriffs are no longer required to exercise their functions, and the most important duty of the con- stable is to check the inconvenient rush of the crowd at the church door. 1701 — 1707. The few next succeeding years glided on in great quietness, the College being under the direction of the Rev. Samuel Willard minister of the Old South Church in Boston, who succeeded to the powers and duties, though not to the title, of president. As the govern- ment at length positively required that the president should reside at Cambridge, Mr. Willard, desirous of retaining his connexion with his church, and his resi- dence in Boston, was never inaugurated, but exercised the functions of president under the title of vice-presi- dent. Thus were the requisitions of the government evaded, and the real good of the College postponed to the convenience of its head for six years more. Mr. Willard, however, seems to have satisfied the demands of the public in the office, as there was a general ac- quiescence in the arrangement, both by the other offi- cers of the College, and by the legislature of the pro- vince. He was a man of distinguished ability, and a divine of extensive learning, and uncommon powers of elocution 5 while the modesty and courtesy of his de- HARVARD COLLEGE. 35 meaner conciliated esteem and affection, as much as his talents and acquirements commanded respect. An extraordinary proof of his reputation is afforded by the fact that his " Compleat Body of Divinity," in nine hundred pages folio, was first published in 1726, nineteen years after his death, being the first folio volume issued from the New England press. It may be ques- tioned if any parallel to this can be found in the history of theology. Great, however, as was the reputation of vice-president Willard with those of his own time, nothing especially worthy of note occurred in the his- tory of the College, during the period in which he occu- pied the first seat in its government. The number of students remained about the same, liberality towards the school continued to show itself, and the education of the young men was largely directed, perhaps a little more so than usual, towards preparation for the minis- try of the gospel. 1707 — 1725, The presidency of John Leverett is one of the most interesting periods in the history of Harvard College, and was distinguished by the ability and success with which he conducted its administration, and by the importance of the events which occurred during his term. Some of these events indicated the singular favor with which the institution was regarded by indi- viduals at home and abroad, and were attended with 36 HISTORY OP a large increase of its usefulness at the time, and of its permanent means of future usefulness. Others seemed to show an opposite feeling, a great and active discontent with the organization of the College, and a wish to place it under different influences. The singu- lar fitness of Leverett for the office of president will be evident to all observers from the success which reward- ed his labors — a success which might have been antici- pated by those who were acquainted with his character, and with the circumstances of his life which contributed to prepare him for the station. He had been connected, personally, with the College for a long term of years, as a student, a tutor, and a member of the Corporation. He was a layman, yet had studied theology enough to entitle him to receive the degree of bachelor of divinity, and to qualify him to preach, which he did for a short period. President Leverett was also a scholar, a man of science, and a man of affairs, and acquaintance with the world, having practised in the courts of law, having been speaker of the House of Representatives, a member of the Council, and Judge of Probate, and finally having had a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court; all of which offices are well adapted to give practical knowledge, if it be not already possessed. He was one of the first persons in America who were chosen members of the Royal Society in England — an honor which, as it has been but rarely conferred, may be presumed to indicate a very high contemporary reputation. We have no means of judging directly of his literary and scientific attainments, as he has left no works behind him which may be com- HARVARD COLLEGE. 37 pared with those of others in his day ; but he may be estimated justly by what he accomplished, and by the respect and affection he inspired. Mr. Peirce says of him,^ " He had a ' great and generous soul.' His nat- ural abilities were of a very high order. His attain- ments were profound and extensive. He was well acquainted with the learned languages, with the arts and sciences, with history, philosophy, law, divhiity, politics ; and such was his reputation for knowledge of men and things, that ' in almost every doubtful and difficult case,' he was resorted to for information and advice He possessed all those attrac- tions which are conferred by the graces ; being from the sphere in which he always moved, a gentleman, as well as a scholar and a man of business." One of the effects of the devotion of this eminent man to the education of young persons at Cambridge was the increase of the number of those who resorted to Harvard College for instruction. Notwithstanding the recent establishment of Yale College, which would naturally withdraw those who would otherwise have resorted to us from the sister province, the average number in the classes was more than doubled in Pres- ident Leverett's time ; and, indeed, it reached a point that was not greatly surpassed for more than half a century. It was a period, too, of financial embarrass- ment, and even of distress ; so that the growth of the College must have been in spite of many adverse cir; cumstances. Nor was there any decline as to the character and high position attained, in after life, by the » Peirce's History, pp. 122-3. SS HISTORY OF young men who were led to Caunbridge by his influ- ence, and were educated under his care. Three of the graduates between 1706 and 1728, were afterwards governors, and two of them were lieutenant-governors of provinces, two were judges, and five others chief justices of the Supreme Courts of different provinces, one was rector of Yale, and two became professors in Harvard College ; and of the whole number, 449, there were 207 that became ministers of the gospel, the renown of some of whom has descended to our day. The legislature were so well pleased with the ap- pointment of President Leverett, that they raised the usual annual grant from ,£50 or £60, which had been given respectively to vice-president Willard, and Presi- dent Mather, to £150, which had been sometimes granted to their predecessors. Individuals also gave, at various times, considerable sums in furtherance of the high object sought at Cambridge, and in aid of the efforts of the president and other officers of the Col- lege. But the grand event of the period, — that which, from the generous and elevated character displayed in it, and the important permanent consequences that have flowed from it, has excited and must always continue to excite, the deepest sentiments of gratitude and respect, in all who can sympathize with noble impulses, — was the establishment of two professorships, the one of Divinity, the other of Mathematics, by an individual who had no other inducement to this liberality than phi- lanthropy, in its widest and highest meaning; — the love of his fellow men, and the desire to promote their HARVARD COLLEGE. 39 improvement by the cultivation of their understandings and their hearts, by showing them truth and duty, and persuading them to seek the one and perform the other. The reason for his selection of Harvard College, as the recipient of his bounty, was, in part, the love of civil and religious liberty, which burned in his heart with peculiar intensity, and which he believed to be illus- trated by the history of Massachusetts and of her College ; and, in part, his having become particularly acquainted with the institution through his uncle, Rob- ert Thorner, whose executor he was, and his having seen much of President Mather in London. But, from whatever cause his attachment arose, nothing could exceed the constancy with which he adhered to it when formed, or the kindness which he seems to have transmitted to his heirs and successors, so that the name of Hollis is enshrined in the memory of the alumni as scarcely less sacred than that of Harvard himself. His first donation was made in 1719, and consisted of goods to the value* of .£104. 4. 7. This was followed by several others of the same sort, and by presents of books, within a short time. He then sent over funds for ten scholarships, or for supplying ten indigent students with the sum of =£10 per annum, each ; and in 1722 he founded a Professorship of Di- vinity, with a salary of c£80. His donations of books and other articles were very frequent afterwards ; and it appears by a record of the Corporation, dated Sep- tember 23, 1725, that he had, at that time, given to the ^ These goods were sold here for £300 currency ; and at that period tliis was equal to about £150 sterling. 40 HISTORY OF College what was valued at i^3670. 13. 0^. It was subsequently to this date that he established the Profes- sorship of Mathematics ; so that his donations must, in the whole, have reached nearly ^6000, including large numbers of books, together with types and other arti- cles. The loss of the College books of account for this period has rendered it difficult to verify the dates and amounts of his several donations, and to ascertain with precision their entire sum ; but there are memo- randa and letters preserved, which fully confirm the estimate given above, and would perhaps justify a higher one. A remarkable circumstance attending his bounty, a circumstance as unusual as it is indica- tive of wisdom, is, that he gave all this, not by a will, to be carried into eifect after his death, but that he stretched forth his living hand, and showered down abundant blessings without delay. He was thus enabled to see that his intentions were executed at once, and that arrangements were made on his own plan, at least in the beginning. At the same time, he was by no means wedded to a precise and narrow scheme ; for the generosity with which he bestowed his wealth was only the overflow of that liberal spirit which was his characteristic in all things, and which was as rare in that age as it is honorable in all ages. He was a Bap- tist, and yet he laid the foundation for a theological professorship in an institution which he knew had always considered and treated his opinion on the sub- ject of baptism as a pestilent heresy ; whose first presi- dent had been deposed, and " indicted by the grand jury," for questioning the divine right of infant baptism ; HARVARD COLLEGE. 41 and to which he was reluctant to send his portrait, when asked to do so, lest it should be obnoxious to some whom he desired to benefit. On other points he was accounted orthodox, yet so little important did he deem it that all men should think as he did, upon dogmas which have been for ages under discussion, that, in preparing the rules for his professorship, he required no subscription to a creed, nor any other confession of faith than " that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the only perfect rule of faith and prac- tice." It was indeed " recommended to the electors, that at every choice they should prefer a man of sound and orthodox principles, one well gifted to teach ; of a sober and pious life, and of a grave conversation." It is at once obvious, that a recommendation is not a rule ; and the inference is irresistible, that, in deliber- ating upon this important instrument, he refused to insert a rule comprehending all these particulars. It is evident from President Quincy's account,' that the words "of sound and orthodox principles," were not the words of Hollis ; and even if they had been so, that the orthodoxy which he would desire was not that which would be insisted on here, is shown as conclusively as can be required, by the fact that he himself was not orthodox in that sense ; by the fact that he expressly and particularly desired that being a Baptist might not operate to the exclusion of a can- didate for his professorship ; and by the fact that he himself inserted into his rules the words requiring that belief in the Scriptures, and that nothing else in the ' Quincy's History, vol. i. pp. 248-9. 42 HISTORY OF shape of creed, or confession of faith, was ever to be demanded of his professor.^ It is impossible that Chris- tian liberality should go farther ; and one cannot but look with surprise, as well as respect, upon a man who, in that age, could escape the contagion of bigotry, which had been propagated by descent, and strength- ened by example, in almost every sect of Christendom. That it was a degree of freedom from mental chains far beyond that to which our New England fathers had then generally attained is shown, by the long continued system of management to place the professorship of Divinity " under proper regulations," to use the lan- guage of the overseers, and is illustrated by the follow- ing extract from Judge SewalPs Diary. " January 10th, 1721. Overseers of the College met at the Council Chamber, to consider Mr. Hollis's proposals as to his ' A year or two before this time Mollis had been a member of a meeting of Dissenting clergymen and others, held for devising means of promoting peace in a controversy w^hich had arisen re- specting the doctrine of the Trinity in some of the churches of the West of England. He was a member of a committee of this assem- bly that prepared " a paper of advices," with the design of healing the breaches that had been made. The object of the paper was to dis- countenance creeds expressed in words difiering from the language of Scripture. It was proposed by some members of the assembly to annex to this a declaration of their own faith in the Trinity, but this was opposed on the ground that it would have the eflect of making the doctrine a test question, and, in reality, of requiring a declaration of faith, if they themselves thought it necessary to make one. The proposition was rejected by a vote of fifty-seven to fifty-three, and Mollis "rejoiced" at this result. Thus he gave the most decisive evidence of his freedom from any wish to make his own belief the standard of orthodoxy, as there is no doubt of his faith in the doctrine in question. See " Letter to Gov. Lincoln in relation to Marvard Uni- versity, by F. C. Gray," 2d ed., p: 21-Q. HARVARD COLLEGE. 43 Professor of Divinity. Debate was had in the forenoon about the article ' He shall be a master of arts, and in communion with a church of the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, or Baptists.' I objected against that arti- cle, as choosing rather to lose the donation than accept it. In the afternoon I said, ' One great end for which the planters came over into New England was to fly from the cross in baptism. For my part, I had rather have baptism administered with the incumbrance of the cross, than not to have it administered at all. This qualification of the Divinity professor is to me a bribe to give my sentence in disparagement of infant bap- tism, and I will endeavor to shake my hands from hold- ing it." 1 In later times the orthodoxy of New England has had opponents to contend with that were not then known ; but it cannot be plausibly urged that the man, who was deemed heretical himself, should have been willing to clothe the presbytery, or the congregation, with power which he did not assume in establishing his own professorship. Certain it is, that he never re- quired conformity to his own peculiar views of Scrip- ture truth ; and it is clear that he did not design to per- mit others to prescribe their peculiarities ; so that the only way in which the trust can be administered in the spirit of Mollis, is that it be administered in the spirit of charity and freedom. The other great benefaction of Hollis, the establish- ment of a professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, was made a few years later. He proposed 1 Quincy's History, vol. i. p. 251. 44 HISTORY OF it in 1726, and the first professor was chosen in May, 1727. Besides these large donations from his own resources, he frequently obtained the assistance of his friends and family, to whom he had imparted a portion of his own interest in our College ; so that he was not only generous himself, but the cause of generosity in others. It is proper to record of him, that he was a successful merchant ; and perhaps the surviving influ- ence of his example may be perceived in the great liberality, which has, in later times, been shown to the College by the successful merchants of Boston, who have made it their pride to prove themselves emulous of the munificent Hollis. The following sentences are from the discourse be- fore the Governor and the General Court, on the death of Hollis, by his friend and correspondent, Dr. Benja- min Colman, April, 1731 : " Mr. Hollis merits to be named among great men, and to stand before kings. The honors which the Gen- eral Court have again and again done to his name and memory are pillars of gratitude for future generations to look on with great veneration. That which is sin- gular in -the piety and benefits of Mr. Hollis to these churches was, that, though he was not strictly of our way, nor in judgment with us on the point of infant bap- tism, yet his heart and hand were the same to us as if we had been one in opinion and practice with him ; and in this let him stand a teaching pattern and exam- ple to us of a noble. Christian, catholic and apostolic spirit of love, which makes those that differ in lesser matters to receive one another to the glory of God, and HARVARD COLLEGE. 45 a shining testimony against a narrow party spirit, which is too much the disgrace and detriment of the Protest- ant interest. " To the honor of my country I must add that it was some account Mr. Hollis received from us, of the free and catholic air we breathe at our Cambridge, where Protestants of every denomination may have their children educated and graduated at our College, if they behave with sobriety and virtue, that took his generous heart and fixed it on us, and enlarged it to us ; and this shall be with me among his distinguishing praises, while we rise up and bless his memory." We must now turn to events of a different character, circumstances which gave much anxious labor to Presi- dent Leverett and the members of the Corporation, and attracted the active interest of the whole province. A controversy arose as to the true tenure of a seat in the Corporation ; whether it should be occupied by resi- dent instructors only ; or whether, as then was and had long been the case, others, who were neither resi- dents nor instructors, might properly be members of the board. It is for many reasons to be regretted that such a discussion should ever have occurred ; and still more to be lamented that it should have been repeated at the distance of a century ; especially because, in both instances, there was a good deal of bitter conten- tion, and a manifestation of irritability in the parties, arising from the blindness of opponents to that which seemed perfectly apparent to the advocates. This, cer- tainly, is not unknown, perhaps not unusual, in contro- versies between the best and wisest men, when they feel 46 HISTORY OF themselves either oppressed, or unjustly assailed ; and the frequency of its occurrence makes it not the less, but the more, painful. It is not worth the while, nor is it practicable, in this brief compend, to go much into the details of this twice-fought battle. It will be suffi- cient to state the general grounds taken on each side, and the manner in which the question was, in both cases, settled, as well by the silent judgment of the public, as by the positive decision of votes of the Over- seers, or of the legislature. At both periods probably, at the later one certainly, great reliance was placed, by those who claimed a majority of seats in the Corporation,' on the technical and collegiate meaning of the word " fellows," as used in England, and in the Charter of the College ; and it was proved to have the signification of instructors, and resident instructors. It was contended also, that dona- tions were made to those who held such offices in the College, by that title, and for the reason that they per- formed the duties implied in it ; and thus the contem- porary signification of the word, as used and generally understood in this country, at the time of the incorpo- ration of the College, was unequivocally shown ; and if such were the first fellows, such, it was said, should have been all, or at least a majority of their successors. On the other hand, it was contended that, though the word " fellows " included in its meaning the officers re- 1 The arguments used in the discussion, in President Leverelt's time, by the claimants of seats in the Corporation have not been well pre- served ; but much may be inferred from the replies of their opponents, which have been transmitted to our day. HARVARD COLLEGE. 47 ferred to, yet it meant many other descriptions of persons also ; and that even students, undergraduates, were quite as much " fellows," in one very common sense of the word, as the instructing officers ; and that this was as well known here as in England, at that time, was proved by donations made to the College for the benefit of " fellows," who were then understood, and have been always understood, to be students, and the income has accordingly been appropriated to their use ever since the funds were given. Another meaning of the word, as common then as now, and known as long as the English language has been known, is precisely equiva- lent to the meaning of the Latin word of which it is a translation, and simply designates an associate, or mem- ber of a society for whatever purpose. Any one, therefore, who is chosen a member of the Corporation, becomes, from that fact, a " fellow " of the College, in the sense of the charter, whether interpreted with legal strictness or otherwise. In short, it was urged that the word had too many acknowledged meanings to be tied down to one exclusive signification. With regard to residence at Cambridge, it was shown that one of the gen- tlemen named in the Charter a " fellow," was, within a few months afterwards, settled as the minister of Rox- bury ; to which place he, of course, removed, but did not thereby lose his seat at the board. This was con- sidered a contemporaneous commentary on the charter. The singular disproportion in such an apparatus of teachers, consisting of a board of seven persons, of whom at least six were to be instructors, when the number of students averaged less than thirty, for many 48 HISTORY OF years, could not be overlooked. To have such a super- fluity of masters, in the midst of so great a scarcity of everything else, could hardly be deemed consistent with the economy which poverty rendered necessaiy in those early days. Arguments from justice and expediency were also urged by both parties. On the one side it was con- tended that justice required that those who were per- sonally, deeply, and exclusively devoted to the govern- ment and instruction of the students, should be in all things, and should be recognized to be, the efficient and real heads of the College ; while it was also expedient, as a stimulus to exertion, that those whose reputation was most nearly concerned in the success of the insti- tution, and who would therefore be under the influence of the strongest motives to promote its prosperity, should have the unrestrained power to do so, in any way which they judged best — an argument which would be much strengthened by the consideration of the inexpe- diency of allowing all such measures to be controlled by gentlemen actively engaged in other pursuits, and who were neither resident in Cambridge, nor person- ally acquainted with the peculiar business of the Col- lege. On the other side it was said, that justice to the com- munity would not permit a permanent institution to be so organized as to allow individuals, in successive gen- erations, to prescribe their own duties and salaries ; that, in the course of time and events, human sel^shness and weakness would manifest themselves, as has been often the case in similar institutions for public purposes ; HARVARD COLLEGE. 49 and therefore that such an organization would have been obviously unsafe. On another ground it was contended, that expediency could in no way have sanctioned a sys- tem so entirely at variance with the jealous republican- ism of the people of the State. It would be sure to become obnoxious, even if it did not deserve to be so ; while there was, certainly, danger that it would merit the odium it might incur. The very fact brought forward to show the propriety of constituting the instructors alone " fellows," was regarded as decisive against the claim. Gentlemen almost exclusively engaged in the instruction and discipline of youth are not, usually, in the best condition to acquire that experience in affairs, and acquaintance with men, which, to say the least, are extremely desirable in the management of the exterior concerns of a large literary institution. Arrangements for instruction must be adapted to the state of the times, and to that of the world around, as well as of that within, the College walls ; and of this state men: en- gaged in the active business of life are likely to be better judges than the literary man, and the student. However the weight of argument may really incline, the fact is certain that this controversy has been twice settled, upon considerations like these, substantially in the same way, confirming the right, and the propriety, of conferring places in the Corporation on gentle- men who are not engaged in the instruction of the pu- pils, but who gratuitously bestow such an amount of attention upon the concerns of the College as their other pursuits will permit, and as circumstances require. By constituting this board in part of resident instruc- 4 50 HISTORY OF ters, and in part of non-resident gentlemen, the law, the precedents, and the expediency of the case seem to be alike satisfied. Just weight is given to the sug- gestions of experience in instruction and management ; the wants of the public are better known and consid- ered than they would be, if studious and retired men only were interested in the prosperity of the College ; and the purity of both parties is best secured by giving the control of the funds to one, and the income of them to the other, and by having some persons besides the incumbents to prescribe the duties of offices that must be sometimes irksome and always laborious. It will be regarded as fortunate, by those who hold the views which may now be considered as established, that the first discussion of this subject arose during the official term of President Leverett. His high character, and the wide-spread reputation he enjoyed, gave him a weight with the community which few of his " fellows " have ever enjoyed ; while his personal connection with the College, as a student and an officer, ran back to within less than forty years from its establishment, and within twenty-six from the date of the Charter, and might well add authority to his interpretation of the instrument, with the comparatively early working of which he was practically acquainted. He died in May, 1724, a few months only after the settlement of this controversy ; and it is no injustice to any of the distinguished men who have held the same office, either before or after him, to say, that he has not been sur- passed in learning, wisdom, and general fitness for the place, by the most illustrious of those who have occupied the same chair. HARVARD COLLEGE. 51 The later years of his life were rendered uncom- fortable, not merely by the controversy which has been mentioned, but by unreasonable complaints made at the board of Overseers, and in the legislature, about the condition of the College in respect to dis- cipline and instruction, and by the insufficiency of the means contributed by the College, and the legisla- ture, for his personal support. His time and talents were wholly devoted to the institution ; and it was not well that a man so remarkably qualified for the situa- tion by knowledge, wisdom, and skill, should be allowed to struggle with poverty, and to encounter the ills of privation to himself and his family, as well as the una- voidable discomforts of the office. The suspicion is almost forced upon any one who reflects upon the cir- cumstances, independently of any direct testimony, that the opposition to Leverett's administration was, to some extent, factious, and not well founded in the con- dition of the school. This suspicion gains strength when we know, as a matter of record, that there were some active, influential, and disappointed men, ready to seize every opportunity to show how much better the College might have stood under other auspices. The system of instruction and discipline was then essentially different from that which has succeeded it in our own day ; but, when we recollect the character, and the scholarship, of the men who were formed by it, we cannot refuse to acknowledge its efficiency in the development of the faculties of the students. The brightest scholars of our time might find it unpleasant to make, in public, a viva voce translation of a passage 52 HISTORY OF of Scripture from Hebrew into Greek, every day in the College chapel, when they could not have time to turn to the Septuagint ; and the most docile might now be expected to rebel against a daily visit to their chambers by a tutor or proctor. Yet such were the requirements, a little more than a century ago ; and it will be well if the different methods of the present day shall convert the ingenuous youth who now inhabit the halls of their fathers into men as wise, firm, and virtuous as those who rendered illustrious the history of the country, in the years preceding the Revolution. The spirit of jealousy manifested in the legislature, and in the board of Overseers, appeared in the ap- pointment of a committee, by the latter body, to make a visitation of the College, to investigate the causes, and devise a remedy, of the " very bad condi- tion " into which it had fallen. No result ever followed this measure ; and it must be regarded simply as an evidence of the existence, in the minds of some indi- viduals, of a disposition to complain, which has not been without a parallel at other periods. President Quincy is inclined to ascribe this feeling to the religious views of the people, which differed, even then, from those of some of the College officers ; but Mr. Peirce ascribes it more to political influences, and to the democratic spirit of the community, with which the governors of the seminary were suspected of not sympathizing. Perhaps both kinds of prejudice had an influence then, as they have often had at other times. In religion, the College has been pretty frequently suspected of too much liberality, and in politics, of too bigoted a con- HARVARD COLLEGE. 53 servatism. It is a fair presumption that those who are accused of faults of an opposite character are not justly chargeable with either ; and the friends of the College may reasonably aver, that it has been generally in ad- vance of the age in the principles and the practice of a true Christian charity, while it has often allowed its contemporaries to go beyond it in the pursuit of theo- ries of political liberty, which are apt to become prac- tices of political license. The first step, however, which was taken by the Corporation, upon the decease of President Leverett, was received by the legislature with great favor. The Rev. Joseph Sewall, pastor of the Old South Church, in Boston, a man in the highest esteem in the religious community for the soundness of his orthodoxy, and the fervency of his piety, was chosen to fill the vacancy in the office of president. His congregation, however, refused to give up their claim to his labors, and Dr. Sewall declined taking the office, without their consent. The next choice fell upon the Rev. Benjamin Col- man, pastor of the Brattle Street, or Manifesto Church, as it was called, from the particular declaration of rights and sentiments made by that church at its organization. Dr. Colman was its first pastor, and the acknowledged leader of the more liberal party in theology and church government. His nomination would have been, there- fore, by no means so acceptable to the majority of the -legislature as that of Dr. Sewall ; and the Corporation endeavored to obtain the usual grant towards the presi- dent's salary, before proposing his name. But the legislature would grant nothing without knowing the 54 HISTORY OF individual who would receive the salary ; and Dr. Col- man would not trust to their making any addition to his support, after his appointment. Thus a man of emi- nence, and of unquestionable qualification for the office, was prevented from assuming its responsibilities. The next selection was of a candidate, who, if not so high in the esteem of the religious public as Dr. Sewall, was by no means liable to the suspicion of he- retical tendencies. The Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth was pastor of the First Church in Boston, and was highly and justly respected for his ability and his attain- ments, the unpretending quietness of his manners, and the resolution and firmness of his character. Both he and Dr. Colman were members of the Corporation at the time ; and though this may be considered an ob- jection to the choice of either, yet it must be recollected that the nature of the office is such that suitable per- sons to fill it are not, and never have been, numerous ; and every election has shown the difficulty of finding candidates whose character fitted them for the station, and whose circumstances might induce or permit them to accept it. At all events, the election of President Wadsworth was not unacceptable either to the public or the legislature. The latter immediately granted the .£150 which had been allowed to his predecessor, and gave, what they had never done before, =£1000 towards erecting a house suitable for his residence. Their sat- isfaction may, perhaps, be ascribed, in part, to the elec- tion of Mr. Nicholas Sever as a member of the Corpo- ration, to fill the seat vacated by Mr. Wadsworth. He was one of the tutors who had recently claimed admis- HARVARD COLLEGE. 55 sion to the board as a right, on the ground that they were the " fellows," intended in the Charter, — a claim which seems to have been supported by a large number in the popular branch of the legislature ; and, now that the claim of right had been defeated, it seemed a respectful deference to the known views of an influen- tial party, that their candidate should be selected to fill a vacancy. Thus, upon the accession of Wadsworth, the College was in an unusual degree of favor, notwith- standing the recent appointment of a committee of the Overseers to inquire into the causes of its reputed " bad condition," and to suggest the proper remedy ; and for a time the school went on without the frequent ac- companiment of contemporary complaint. 1725—1737. However peaceful were the signs of the times when Wadsworth was chosen, and however distinguished for gentleness, firmness, and good judgment was the char- acter of the President, it seems to have been the fate of the College to be perpetually the subject, or the occa- sion, of controversy. The next discussion affecting its interests arose from a source little to have been antici- pated, and affords a striking instance of the power of the human mind to convince itself of the purity of its intentions, and the soundness of its present views. " Freedom to worship God " in the manner which might seem to themselves most suitable and agreeable. 56 HISTORY OF will, without doubt, be admitted by all to have been one of the objects of. primary importance to the colonists both of Plymouth and of Massachusetts ; and in con- nection with this liberty, freedom from all the princi- ples, and from the rule, of episcopacy. It will hardly be denied that there was a most hearty aversion, on their part, to that form of church government, to the ceremonies of its ritual, and to many of the articles of its creed, as interpreted by a portion, at least, of its members ; nor that this aversion was as cordially re- ciprocated by the other parly, whose open contempt was somewhat qualified by a secret dread of such stern, uncompromising opponents. The whole form and order of church government of the two sects, their whole habit of thinking and feeling upon religious sub- jects, were as far asunder as it would seem possible for men professing the same religion to carry them. The Puritans abhorred the title of Bishop, and the Episco- palians disdained to recognize any such officer as a teaching, or ruling, elder. While these feelings of mutual dislike were in full force, towards the close of the seventeenth century, a few feeble attempts were made to establish, in Boston, a church on the principles of episcopacy. They met with very little favor, but the claims of those associated for the purpose were exceedingly bold, in the times when Andros, Dudley and Randolph affected to be rep- resentatives of an absolute king in New England, and subsided again with the renewed security of secular lib- erties. But the number of persons attached to the ser- vice of the Church of England gradually increased, and HARVARD COLLEGE. 57 in the early part of the eighteenth century an episcopal church was permanently established, and shortly after- wards a second was added. The King's Chapel and Christ's Church were the first assemblies of the Church of England in Massachusetts, and were regarded with mingled surprise and indignation, by the descendants of those who left their homes and came to the wilderness for the very purpose, among others, of avoiding the sight of the surplice and the mitre, and of being freed from the power of bishops and archbishops. If the mere existence of the Church of England among them produced such a state of apprehensive sensibility, what must have been their serious alarm, when the Rector (as he was called) of Yale College promulgated his distrust of the validity of Presbyterian ordination ? A star fell from heaven. There was a backward tendency towards the darkness of former times ; and apprehension was not confined to the influx of strangers, but the defection of those of their own household was feared. Dr. Cutler, the bold avower of this remarkable change of opinion, came to Boston, the air of New Haven being no longer congenial to his temperament, and was appointed Rector of Christ's Church. It was not long before he and Dr. Miles, of the King's Chapel, devised a plan for obtaining admis- sion to the Board of Overseers of Harvard College ; and in order to reach this exaltation, they humbled them- selves so far as to assume a title used, probably, for the first and only time, and for this especial purpose, by Rectors of the Church of England. They demanded to be admitted as " teaching elders" of the town of 58 HISTORiT OF Boston, one of the six towns named in the act of 1642, whose teaching elders were to constitute a part of the Board of Overseers. That board, however, contained too many " strict constructionists " of the act, to admit that clergymen of the Church of England could ever be the technical teaching elders of the law, or to im- agine that such an interpretation could possibly have been within the limits of the intention of those who founded the College, and who were exiles from all they loved at home, for the purpose of expressing their utter abhorrence of that very church government. The question was argued more than once, and was, on each occasion, settled by a decided vote against the appli- cants. That it should ever have been raised may well be a matter of surprise, to those who are acquainted with the haughty contempt of the Church of England for Puritans, and who can judge of the probability of the success of the demand made, in such a manner, upon such a body as the Overseers of Harvard College. The remainder of the term of Mr. Wadsworth's presidency was a period of comparative peace. At least, no distinct controversy arose, and things were suffered to go on, in the usual course of academic in- struction and discipline. There was, indeed, some complaint among the Overseers, of the declining and feeble state of the College, in both these essential points of education ; but that no prevalent dissatisfaction ex- isted may be inferred, not only from the learning, dili- gence, perseverance, and ability of President Wads- worth, and Professor Wigglesworth (on the Hollis foundation of Divinity,) but from the increased liber- HARVARD COLLEGE. 59 ality of the legislature, and the continued and enlarged bounty of individuals. The General Court gave about :£1700 sterling, and individuals at home and abroad as much more, during the twelve years of President Wads- worth's continuance in office. These donations were not all in money, but consisted, in part, of books, silver plate, philosophical apparatus, &c. The largest gift was that of Hollis, for his Professorship of Mathematics, founded in 1726, for which he appropriated .£1170 currency, equal to ^390 sterling ; while he procured other important donations from his brothers and friends. It should not be forgotten, too, that, in this age, as well as at other periods, the College was largely indebted to the better sex. Mrs. Mary Saltonstall gave what was equivalent to about £300 sterling, and Mrs. Anne Mills a considerable sum. Other important contributors were Mr. John Frizzle, Thomas Fitch, John Ellery, and the Rev. John Cotton. President Wadsworth himself left a bequest of ^110 currency to the College; though this was scarcely necessary to prove his devoted attach- ment to the institution. The care and industry with which he labored for it are shown by the many and important documents in his handwriting preserved in the College archives, displaying his constant attention to the external, as well as the internal, interests of the house ; and by the success of the instruction given in his time, and of course, in great part, by his personal labor. There was the same succession of men of dis- tinction in their after lives, who had received their edu- cation during that period, as has been pointed out under other heads of the College. There were Judges and 60 HISTORY OF Chief Justices, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of different provinces, three alumni who received degrees from foreign academic institutions, viz. : two from Ox- ford, and one from Edinburgh ; one member of the Royal Society, and one Professor of Mathematics. A little more than one third of the whole number of grad- uates became ministers of the Gospel, and there are many others whose honorable reputation has descended to our own day. 1737—1774. The presidency of the successor of Wadsworth, the Rev. Edward Holyoke, a minister of Marblehead, was memorable as the longest of the whole series ; and al- though it was a very successful and prosperous one, yet it was marked by the occurrence of many and serious mis- fortunes. The first on this catalogue of evils was the misconduct of a professor, of so grave a character as to require his removal from office. Isaac Greenwood had been appointed Hollis Professor of Mathematics, imme- diately on the establishment of that foundation ; and, notwithstanding some misgivings as to the correctness of his deportment, he was accepted by Hollis on the nomination of the Corporation. Mr. Greenwood had been in England a year or two before, had sought the acquaintance of Hollis, and had shown himself well qualified, as to all literary and scientific attainments, for the post he desired to fill. But the prudent and HARVARD COLLEGE. 61 honorable merchant was displeased by a certain extrav- agance in the expenditure of the young man, and some- thing more than displeased at his sudden departure, without taking leave of him whose patronage he had been seeking, and, what was of more consequence, without discharging the debts his extravagance had led him to incur. Hollis, therefore, wrote to his friends in the Corporation, that he should not approve the nom- ination unless it were unanimous, which circumstance he should regard as indicating the probability of the reformation of the candidate. For some years the choice of the Corporation seemed justified ; but, in 1736, so much scandal was caused by the notoriety of the intemperate habits of the professor, that he was admonished of the necessity of more self- control, if he desired to retain his office. The admo- nition was of little avail ; and, in 1738, it became necessary to remove him from a position in which his example was at once odious and dangerous. His dis- missal was rendered inevitable by continued transgres- sion, but was accompanied with the forbearance that is due to human infirmity. It is not a little singular, that the only other similar case of dismission from the College, for this offence, should have occurred but two or three years afterwards. Nathan Prince, a man of sufficient character and attain- ments to have been appointed tutor in 1723, during the presidency of Leverett, and to have been made a member of the Corporation in 1728, began, in 1741, to show by his conduct and offensive demeanor that he had yielded to the same temptation, and was no 62 HISTORY OF longer a suitable person to be intrusted with the train- ing of youth. The proceedings against him originated with the Overseers ; and, although this was in violation of the practice, and, indeed, of the right, of the Corpo- ration to take the initiative in all executive matters, yet, as the delinquent was, unhappily, a member of their own board, it was both natural and becoming that they should allow others to proceed against one who had become personally obnoxious to themselves.^ ' " The Corporation were, apparently, willing to bear the assump- tion of the Overseers in order to escape the necessity of silting in judgment on a fellow-member. To avoid, however, the efiecl of the precedent, they passed, on the 27th of April, 1742, the following votes, intended, in the language of Lord Coke, to be " an exclusion of a con- clusion : " " Whereas the honorable and reverend the Board of Overseers of Harvard College did, upon the 18th of February last past, vote the removal of Mr. Nathan Prince (one of the Fellows and Tutors of the College) from all otRces relating thereto, on account of sundry crimes and misdemeanors, whereof he was convicted before them, and which he had been charged with at said board by some of the Corporation as well as the Tutors of said College, and also did recommend it to the Corporation to fill up the vacancies made by said Prince's removal ; and although we apprehend that (according to the Charter of said Harvard College) aflairs of this nature ought to originate with the Corporation, yet, inasmuch as so many of the Corporation have been either complainants against the said Prince, or have been aspersed or maltreated by him, so that there is not left a majority of said Corpora- tion, who may be thought by him or by others, (as we understand) to be indiflerent judges in this affair; and inasmuch as we apprehend that, under all circumstances, it will not be for the interest and peace of the said College that he should continue any longer in ofilce therein ; therefore (saving all rights given to the Corporation by their Charter) they passed the following votes : 1. That Mr. Joseph Mayhew be a fel- low of the Corporation in the room of the said Mr. Prince. 2. That Mr. Belcher Hancock be a tutor in the room of said Mr. Prince, and that for three years." Qumcy"s History, vol. ii, pp. 35-6. HARVARD COLLEGE. 63 Prince was the brother of the annalist, Thomas Prince, and was accounted superior to him, both in abil- ities and acquirements ; but his unhappy propensity destroyed the value of his talents and learning, and so affected his character that he seemed insensible to his degradation, and attempted to resist the authority of the College. He wrote a pamphlet to show the illegal- ity of his dismissal ; and it was not till force was directed to be applied, if necessary, for his removal from his room in the College, that he yielded the point and re- tired. Another occurrence, which may be considered a misfortune to the President and other officers of the Colleg3> at this period, though it left no permanent ill effects on the institution, was the influence acquired and exerted by Whitefield, and the direct and repeated attacks he unscrupulously made upon the religious state of the seminaries of New England generally, and of Harvard College in particular. The extraordinary power of the eloquence of Whitefield over the commu- nity, even at the early age when he first preached here, has left ineffaceable traces upon the history of the country ; as it has affected, in no slight degree, the reli- gious manners and habits of the people, from his day to our own. That general and violent excitement, com- monly called a revival of religion, became frequent and prominent as the result of Whitefield's preaching ; ^ ^ Something of a similar character had been the effect of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, at Northampton, in 1736, four years before the visit of Whitefield ; but the consequences produced by the latter were far more extensive and violent, and the epoch of his com- ing may be fairly, as it is commonly, considered as that of revivals. 64 HISTORY OF and he who by his skill in elocution can so stir the hearts of a whole people, and produce permanent influ- ences on their character, must be confessed to wield great and even formidable power, and to be subject to an equally formidable responsibility. At the first breaking out of this religious frenzy, it was deemed inspiration ; and it was not till the fever of the brain had passed off, that it was discovered that the out- pouring of the spirit of Whitefield was not always followed by the influence of the spirit of holiness. There was no suspicion, however, in the beginning, of the want of genuineness in any of the " conversions " which w^ere so numerous ; and the Overseers even passed a vote, " earnestly recommending it to the President,* Tutors, Professors, and Instructors, by personal application to the students under impressions of a religious nature, and by all other means, to encourage and promote this good work." ^ No wonder that the immediate agent in " this good work " should have thought himself an instrument in the hand of God, and should have sin- cerely believed that he spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost ; nor is it at all surprising that so exalted a position should have been accompanied with higher pretensions than comported with the wisdom acquired in the first twenty-six years of human life. It is evi- dent that he felt his power, and was not always re- strained, in the use of it, by reflections which might have influenced persons of more moderate claims. His denunciations of the Colleges, made with little consid- eration for the feelings of the officers and students, 1 Quincy's History, vol. ii. p. 43. HARVARD COLLEGE. 65 were altogether more violent than circumstances seem to have warranted. " As to the Universities, I believe it may be said that their light has become darkness — darkness that may be felt, and is complained of by the most godly ministers." " Tutors neglect to pray with and examine the hearts of their pupils. Discipline is at too low an ebb." " Tillotson and Clarke are read, instead of Shepard and Stoddard, and such like evan- gelical writers." ^ Ill-considered charges of this sort were repeated so often and so long, as to prove that they did not spring from accidental misapprehension, which might have been corrected, but from a steady purpose to bring dis- credit upon the College. At last, after such a course had been pursued for four years, the whole faculty of the College joined in a protest against his statements, denying their truth, and exposing their want of evidence, and their " uncharitable," " censorious," and " slander- ous" character. Whitefield replied, and Dr. Wiggles- worth, the Hollis Professor of Divinity, responded to his pamphlet by another, in which he speaks with a degree of severity to which his mild nature could not have been roused but by extreme provocation.^ ' Quincy's Hist. vol. ii. p. 41. 2 To the charge that " Tutors neglect to pray with their pupils, Wigglesworth's reply is, that, if Whitefield meant that social worship, morning and evening, was not maintained, " it is so vile a slander, that we can hardly believe you met with a single man who was false and bold enough to give you such an account of us." But if Whitefield meant that, besides morning and evening prayers, tutors did not take their pupils into their own chambers and pray with them again, Wig- glesworth inquires, " What law of Clarist hath made this the ordinary 5 66 HISTORY OF President Holyoke also entered the lists in defence of the College, and added an appendix to Dr. Wiggles- duty of tutors, that you should thinlc a neglect of it such a reproach that the world ought to hear of it ? " To his charge, that " Tutors do not examine the hearts of then- pupils," Wigglesworth replies, " To examine our own hearts is indeed a great duty, but that it is our duty ordinarily to examine tlie hearts of others is not so clear. The Son of God hath said, (Rev. ii. 23,) " I am he who searches tJte rdiu and hearts ; would you have tutors invade his prerogative ? or would you introduce the Popish practice of auric- ular confession ? If you meant only to assert that the souls of pupils are not taken care of, by saying that here, as in the Universities of England, " Christ and Christianity is scarce so much as named among them," it is a very injurious and false representation, as you might easily have known, had your ears not been more open to evil reports than to good ones." As to the charge that " discipline is at a low ebb," Dr. Wiggles- worth replies, " This reproach we had little reason to expect at the time you published it. We had just turned out one tutor for corrupt principles, and expelled a professor for immoral practices. It is not to be supposed that a government which does not spare its own officers would at the same time wink at the faults of its children." In reply to the charge that " books such as Tillotson and Clarke- were read, and evangehcal writers neglected," Dr. Wigglesworth states that, for almost nine years, Tillotson's works had not been taken out of the library by any undergraduates, and Clarke's works not for two years ; " and he publishes a formidable list of ''-writers reckoned evangelical, so often borrowed by undergraduates as scarcely ever to be m the library." Dr. Wigglesworth concludes his letter by " putting it personally to Whitefield's conscience," what good end he proposed to himself by thus publicly calumniating the College ? " It is easy to see many thing."* very hurtful to us, which you might have in view, such as discour- aging benefactors, injurmg tlie seminary in estate as well as name, and preventing pious parents from sending their children to us for ed- ucation. A private notice of what you heard to the disadvantage of the College, instead of traducing it, was what the governors had a right to have expected of you, if not as a Christian, at least as a gen- HARVARD COLLEGE. 67 worth's pamphlet, which closed a controversy that ex- hibited the ability with which the affairs of the College were managed, and was a specimen of the jealousy with which its proceedings are usually watched, and of the readiness with which even unfounded charges against it are seized on by a portion, at least, of the community. If there really were any design of " dis- couraging benefactors, injuring the seminary in estate as well as name, and preventing pious parents from sending their children to us for education," the attempt failed in the most satisfactory manner ; for donations were not infrequent at this very period, and the num- ber of students continued as great as before ; while a few years later, the general attachment of the public to the College, the pride felt in the institution, and the filial affection to their Alma Mater of her now numerous sons, which prompted their efforts to sustain her, were all most signally shown. That these feelings were deeply seated and widely spread, throughout even the whole of New England, was sufficiently proved upon the occurrence of another calamity, which must be enumerated among those which happened while Holyoke was in the chair. In 1764, Harvard Hall, containing the library, philosoph- ical apparatus, and all the little collections of objects of lleman, since you acknowledge you were very ci\nlly treated and kindly entertained." After proving that Whitefield had " very injuriously and sinfully mis- represented the College," Dr. Wigglesworth concludes with a prayer that he may be " brought to such a temper of mind and correspondent conduct, as to be prepared to receive forgiveness from God and man, and may obtain it from both." Quincy's History, vol. ii. p. 49 to 51. 68 HISTORY OF interest belonging to the College, was destroyed by- fire — an event than which one can hardly imagine any- thing more appalling, or apparently more overwhelm- ing, to an institution which had always been compelled to struggle with poverty within and around, and which now lost, in one stormy winter's night, the scanty but precious accumulations of a hundred and twenty-six years. On the 24th of January, 1764, were destroyed the books given by John Harvard, Sir Kenelm Digby, Sir John Maynard, Dr. Lightfoot, Dr. Gale, Bishop Berkeley, and other distinguished benefactors ; the types, Greek and Hebrew, and many books, presented by the first Thomas HoUis ; the curious telescopes, the globes, the philosophical instruments, and a long cata- logue of articles, which, if they had been preserved to our day, would have been of incalculable and inexpres- sible interest to the literary and scientific inquirer, as well as to the historian, the antiquary, and the bibli- ographer.^ It must have been painful, even distressing, to the ofhcers and the few students remaining in Cambridge during the vacation, to witness the inevitable destruc- tion of so much that was the source of recollections and hopes alike pleasant and inspiring, and on which the utility of their lives seemed to depend. Dark indeed must have been the morning when the ashes of Har- vard Hall were buried in the falling snow, when a frightful contagious disease was threatening the whole community, and when the sense of irreparable loss was ^ Many of the early records and accounts are supposed to have per- ished in this fire. HARVARD COLLEGE. 69 aggravated by the knowledge of the restricted means that would, or could, be applied to the restoration of what it was possible to replace. But our fathers were not men to sit down in listless, inactive despondency. The legislature was in ses- sion ; and, in fact. Harvard Hall was occupied by them at the time of the calamity, in consequence of the alarm excited by the existence of the small- pox in Boston ; and at the instigation of Governor Barnard, they immediately resolved to erect a new building in place of that which had been destroyed while in their possession, and at once appropriated ,^2000 to the purpose. The Corporation and Over- seers were equally prompt, in appointing committees to solicit aid, wherever their personal acquaintance, or the knowledge of the crushing calamity extended ; and the zeal of these gentlemen, seconded by the energy of the people of New England, and the generous sympa- thy of many in the parent country, who showed the most liberal spirit upon the occasion, soon resulted in putting the College in possession of a better building, a better library, and a better collection of instruments. There remained to be deplored the loss, which will be more and more lamented by every succeeding genera- tion of alumni, — the actual, specific gifts of those ven- erable men who, as they were the earliest, must be esteemed the kindest, and have ever been held among the most honored and distinguished of our patrons. One more misfortune of no inconsiderable magnitude marked the administration of Holyoke, and this was a rehelUon of the students, which interrupted the business 70 HISTORY OF of the College for more than a month. Some indica- tions of a relaxation of the primitive strictness of man- ners in the young men have been adverted to, particu- larly the disorders which occurred at Commencement, and against which constant votes and regulations were passed by the Corporation, apparently with little effect. To avoid the repetition of such scenes, the festivities of Commencement were sometimes entirely omitted, and a vote conferring degrees was privately passed, without the usual display of academical acquirements by the graduating class. But no disturbances or discontents, amounting to anything that could be called a demon- stration of a spirit of rebellion, are recorded till the year 1767, when that grievance which, for fifty years after- wards, continued to be a fruitful source of trouble, the bad quality of the commons provided for the students, produced the serious explosion which was then denom- inated a rebellion. At all periods of the previous his- tory of the College, the management of the business of purveying had been a large part of the employment of the Corporation ; and it is amusing to see, term after term, and year after year, the formal votes, passed by this venerable body of seven ruling and teaching elders, regulating the price at which a cue (a half pint) of cider, or a sizing (ration) of bread, or beef, might be sold to the student by the butler. There is reason to believe that the quality of the provisions, in 1767, was not exactly what is required by the more delicate youth of the present day ; and perhaps it was less carefully adapted to the general organization of the human stom- ach and palate than was really desirable,' But whether 1 See Peirce's Historj^, p. 219. HARVARD COLLEGE. 71 rightfully or wrongfully, the College was for a long lime exposed to the very serious evils, and the injurious reputation, which accompany and follow any exhibi- tion of a turbulent spirit by the young men — evils which are of sufficient magnitude to require great care to avoid them on the part of the officers, and which, one would think, might be so impressed on the minds of ingenuous youth, that they would be willing to make some sacrifice, and submit to some real inconvenience, rather than incur them. It must not be supposed that President Holyoke's long term was marked by nothing but misfortunes, though so many, and so heavy, troubles occurred. On the contrary, few periods of the College history have been more distinguished by the general favor, by the eminence of those concerned in its government, the well-founded reputation gained in after life by its pupils, or the liberality shown towards it by its benefactors. A new era began, a little before President Holyoke's connection with the College, which has become more and more important, with the extension of the institu- tion, down to our own day. The establishment of two professorships, by the generous and highminded HoUis, gave the President who, previously, had only tutors to aid him in the instruction and government of the Col- lege, the assistance of two men of eminence in very important departments of learning. The president's labors must have been much lightened by such coop- eration •, and Holyoke was happy in his connection with men, not only distinguished for their learned attain- ments, but endowed with those qualities of mind and heart 72 HISTORY OF which inspire affection and respect, and render the intercourse of life agreeable. Edward Wiggles worth, the first Hollis Professor of Divinity, was one in whom the best elements of human character were happily mingled. He was learned, liberal, sagacious, mild, and firm, and there- fore well qualified to add reputation to the College. His literary taste and cultivation were of a high order ; and it is a proof of his virtues, no less than of his ability, that he should have maintained the post of Pro- fessor of Divinity, in this jealous and watchful commu- nity, for forty-four years, not only without reproach, but to the general acceptance. The successor of Greenwood, too, in the chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, was one of those uncommon men, who accomplish much that is honorable to themselves and to all who are associated with them. Belonging to a family than Avhich none has been more illustrious in the history of Massachu- setts, John Winthrop was eminent for his attainments in science, and distinguished himself among all, not merely at home but in Europe, who devoted themselves to similar pursuits. His communications to the Royal Society, of London, were numerous and acceptable ; and his scientific knowledge was made available for valuable purposes on more than one occasion. He took great pains to make accurate observations of a transit of Venus in 1761, and with the aid of the Governor, who procured the use of a vessel belonging to the Province, he went to Newfoundland for the purpose, and was quite successful in his object. The longi- HARVARD COLLEGE. 73 tude, comets, meteors, and earthquakes successively engaged his attention ; and his treatises on these subjects were published in the Transactions of the Royal Society. He was well known and in high re- pute as a literary man also, and as a general scholar ; and was not undistinguished as an honorable and faith- ful public servant, at a time when neither honorable men, nor suffering in the service of the country, were of rare occurrence. The name of Winthrop loses nothing in connection with the professor, however high it stood in previous times, or however it has been illus- trated in later days. Another coadjutor in the toils of instruction at this period was Henry Flynt, who held the office of tutor for the singularly long period of fifty-five years ; a man whose learning, industry, judgment, moderation, and decision, made him an important contributor to the good order and scholarship of the College. It is re- markable how many of the officers of this period served for terms of time much longer than the usual average. Holyoke himself was President for thirty-two years from 1737 ; Wigglesworth was professor for forty-four years from 1721 ; Winthrop for forty-one years from 1738 ; and Flynt was tutor for fifty-five years from 1699. All the four acted officially together between sixteen and seventeen years, and three of them for twenty-seven years ; and they must have had much reason to be satisfied with the general prosperity of the College, and the favor manifested towards it, by the public and by individuals. The legislature made annual grants to the president and professors, and erected in 1762-3} 74 HISTORY OF the building which still bears the honored name of Hollis, besides restoring Harvard Hall, after the fire ; while private persons contributed largely, and more frequently than before, to the support and ornament of the cherished institution. One of the donations, of so interesting a character that it deserves to be specially commemorated, even in the briefest account of Harvard College, is the gift of a chapel, which was erected at the expense of a family in London. Mrs. Holden was the widow of a wealthy Dissenter, who had been emi- nent, not more for his success in life as a merchant, than for the virtues which adorned his station and his faith ; and she and her daughters delighted in the ex- ercise of the benevolence which had been characteristic of the husband and father. They gave orders that a new chapel should be built at their charge ; and tradi- tion says that they only expressed surprise that so small a sum as c£400 should have been found sufficient for the purpose. Holden Chapel still stands ; and, though diverted from its original purpose, and sadly disfigured by additions and alterations, it yet gives evidence of the pleasing taste in architecture which seems to have characterized the middle of the last century, more than any other period of our history. It is due to the mem- ory of such Christian friends, that the monument of their bounty should be preserved, or renewed. An attempt made in 1762, to establish another Col- lege, in the western counties of the Province, which was for a time favored by Gov. Barnard, was defeated by the efforts of those interested for Cambridge, and as they thought, for good learning ; and was banished HARVARD COLLEGE. 75 from recollection, for a long period, by the great out- break of public sympathy and energy, which were combined to repair the losses occasioned by the disas- trous fire in 1764. Disastrous it must be called ; and yet the universal resolution that was exhibited, to rein- state the College in its prominent position, was an inval- uable pledge of future security ; and it must have cheered the heart of every officer, and friend of the school, to witness the efforts made, at home and abroad, by public bodies and private persons, to replace the materials and apparatus for the prosecution of aca- demic studies. This is one of the cases of such fre- quent recurrence, in which, in the course of Providence, great good is ultimately, and sometimes speedily, brought out of a seemingly overwhelming calamity. Another source of gratification, as well to the other officers as to President Holyoke, in the later period of their labors, was the honorable distinction attained by their pupils, in those pursuits and duties of life for which their College education was intended to prepare them. The usual proportion of professional men, cler- gymen, lawyers, and physicians, is found in the cata- logue at this period ; and the names of not a few who afterwards distinguished themselves in the service of their country, in civil and military life, during the perilous struggle that was approaching. Samuel Ad- ams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, John Adams, Jonathan Trumbull, Timothy Pickering, have become familiar names in the history of the most important epoch of the country's history ; and there were many others who served as well and faithfully as these, 76 HISTORY OF though it might be in less conspicuous stations. Hol- yoke did not live to witness all the eminence of his pupils, though he must have seen the promise of their opening career, and must have felt the full assurance of faith in their characters, and their success. Another event of the most cheering influence, as an omen of the future prosperity of the College, was the establishment of a professorship by a merchant of Bos- ton, Thomas Hancock, the coryphssus of the band who have since followed his example of munificence. In 1764 he bequeathed c£ 1,000 sterling to the President and Fellows, for the purpose of creating a professor- ship of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages. This was the first professorship ever founded by a native of New England ; and it has proved but the precursor of a long list of donations for similar purposes of instruc- tion, which have, at successive periods, marked the honorable ambition to be remembered for the good they have done, characteristic of the enlightened and liberal merchants of Boston. Altogether, the thirty-two years of Holyoke's presi- dency are among the most prosperous in the history of the College ; and to this result he himself contributed largely. His learning was extensive, his judgment sound, his manner dignified, his temper firm and gentle. A man with such qualifications would be sure to com- mand the esteem of his contemporaries, and to leave behind him a long and grateful memory of his virtues and his wisdom. Not content with the service rendered dur- ing the better part of his life, he contributed to the pecu- niary resources of the institution, as he had been accus- HARVARD COLLEGE. 77 tomed to do to the means of individuals desiring to re- ceive a Cambridge education/ He was sometimes thought to be blunt in his manners ; but a consideration of the somewhat formal politeness of the last century may suggest a doubt whether he were not, in reality, only a little in advance of his age, in adopting the free- dom and ease of familiarity. On all public occasions he was remarkable for the dignity of his deportment. His long and successful administration afforded a most striking contrast to that of his immediate succes- sor, who held the office only about three years and a half. He was chosen in March, 1770, without any opposition ; and, what was then not less remarkable, he was the first person chosen. That he was a man of note must be inferred from the single fact that he was selected for this important station ; for he left no trace of himself upon the College, or upon his times. Samuel Locke was the minister of Sherburne, and was graduated in 1755. Thus he must have been the youngest person ever called to the President's chair, unless he were very unusually advanced in age at the time of taking his degree. Well would it have been for him, if he had been wise as well as young ; but his conspicuous situation only made more lamentable the misconduct which led to his sudden retirement. What the nature of his offence was is not stated by the his- torian of the College, and it is quite unnecessary to inquire minutely into the delinquency of the only Presi- dent ever suspected of an immorality. He passed the remainder of his life in preparing boys to enter the ' See the anecdote told by Dr. West, Quincy's History, vol. ii. p. 120. 78 HISTORY OF College to which his administration had proved so little valuable ; and a few persons, still living, have a respectful memory of him as an instructor, in the seclu- sion of Natick, or Sherburne. The interest felt in the College was shown during his term, by the continuance of grants made by the legislature, in aid of the salaries of the president and professors, by the foundation of two new professorships, and by donations of smaller amounts from individuals here, and, even at this late period, from many in Eng- land and Scotland. The professorships were those founded by Dr. Ezekiel Hersey and Nicholas Boylston, the one of Anatomy and Physic, the other, of Rhetoric and Oratory. The funds, though large, .£1,000 for the former, and .£1,500 for the latter, were not sufficient for the maintenance of professors, and were allowed to accumulate for several years. The late Dr. John War- ren was appointed the first Hersey professor, in 1783, and the Hon. John Q. Adams the first Boylston profes- sor, in 1806. ' Besides these considerable donations from friends at home, there were many tokens of remembrance from persons of less note and wealth, but no less desirous to promote the usefulness of the College ; and what is not a little striking, considering the aspect of public affairs, there were eight or ten gifts from persons in London and Edinburgh ; one from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and one from the Edinburgh Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge, consisting of money, books, prints, and other articles of value. The interest and good will of a large party in Great HARVARD COLLEGE. 79 Britain were not diminished by the revolutionary signs of the times. An event, from which nothing was anticipated but an increase of resources and patronage, but which re- sulted in nothing but vexation and annoyance to the government of the College, was the election of the Hon. John Hancock to the office of treasurer in July, 1773. From 1764 to that date, he had been a frequent and a liberal contributor to the funds of the institution ; and it was presumed that he would watch over them with the same pleasure with which he had enlarged them. It appeared, indeed, that he intended to watch over them, and keep them under his own eye, though not exactly in the manner contemplated by the Corpo- ration ; whose alarm may easily be imagined when they found their treasurer had ordered all their bonds, and other evidences of property, to be carried to Phila- delphia ; which was then almost as much a foreign country, and was quite as distant, measuring distance by time, as England is now. It is difficult to imagine what could have been the motive for this conduct, or for his long neglect of the interest of the College ; but it is sufficiently evident that, as it was injurious to the seminary, it could not have been beneficial to the repu- tation of the renowned revolutionary patriot. A circumstance, of no moment in itself, but strik- ingly indicative of the thoughts which passed through men's minds at this period, is the alteration, which took place in 1773, in the manner of printing the names of the students, in the triennial College Catalogue. Before that date they were arranged in the supposed order of 80 HISTORY OF rank of the families to which they belonged ; a task, one would think, of some difficulty, where so few were of any rank at all. But from that time, the republican estimate of the value of dignities prevailed ; and the order of the alphabet superseded the precedence of a justice of the peace, or a captain in the train bands. 1774 — 1780. The choice of the next president was a matter of no small difficulty. The troubles and perils of the times occupied all minds, and indisposed men to under- take new duties, which had no relation to public events. Nine months were passed in unsuccessful attempts to elect a successor ; and, for the first, and only, time in the history of the College, recourse was had, at length, to a neighboring Province, to supply the want which could not be provided for, as it seemed, in Massachu- setts. Dr. Samuel Langdon, of Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, assumed the chair in October, 1774 ; and in about six months from that time, the battle of Lex- ington was fought, an army began to assemble at Cam- bridge, the College buildings were converted into bar- racks, and the government and students were removed to Concord, to carry on, as well as they could, the business of instruction and learning, in a country vil- lage, without halls, or any of the usual means and ap- pliances of instruction. They continued at that place fourteen months ; the HARVARD COLLEGE. 81 library having been conveyed first to Andover, and a part of it afterwards to Concord, by order, and at the expense, of the Provincial Congress. In the summer of 1776, they returned to Cambridge, and there the institution has remained ever since, with no greater change than has arisen from its gradual development, the increase of its resources, and its ready adaptation to the varying wants of the community. There was very great danger of its removal a second time, in the autumn of 1777, for the accommodation of the pris- oners of war from the field of Saratoga ; but this was happily averted by the energy of the Corporation in procuring other lodgings for these troops, and yielding to the pressure only so far as. to surrender to their use the building known as the College House, which stood near the site now occupied by the church of the first parish. The celebration of Commencement was omitted for several years ; a circumstance which very clearly indi- cates how completely men's hearts and thoughts were engrossed by the events of those days. There was no time to spare for listening to academic displays, to the metaphysical discussions, or the learned contests of youthful students. Nothing was interesting but the stern encounter of men with men, — the practical logic of the court room, the glowing eloquence of Faneuil Hall, or the intense excitement of the battle. It must have been difficult for the students to compel their attention to the acquisition of the knowledge of past times, when everything in the present was so full of deep interest ; and it would be no cause of suprise if 6 82 HISTORY OF their numbers had dnTiinished, or their reputation for proficiency had fallen off. It is, however, observable, that there seemed no decay of either sort ; the num- bers remained about the same as before, and the names of those who afterwards became eminent, in church and state, are neither few nor far between. The event which occupies most space in the records of the Corporation at this period, — and very reasona- bly does so, as it was of extraordinary importance, and connected the College, far more than was natural or desirable, with the political agitations of the time, be- sides embarrassing the administration of the seminary with infinite and unnecessary perplexities, — was the conduct of their treasurer, who not only carried the movable property to Philadelphia, but neglected to make out any annual account, and refused either to perform the duties of the office, or to resign it. He was so important a personage politically, that the Cor- poration, in the midst of their anxiety about the ac- counts, did not dare to use the tone of remonstrance which would have been addressed to any other man ; and it is painfully interesting to observe how they shrank from offending one who cared so little for their wants, or their rights. They repeatedly asked, in a very respectful, and almost submissive, manner, for a statement of accounts which they could not get, and for the restoration of their property, which they did not obtain till 1777, and then only by sending a special messenger after it to Philadelphia. The accounts of Treasurer Hancock were not finally adjusted and the balance due from him paid, till after his death, by his HARVARD COLLEGE. 83 executors. He was a man of so considerable an estate that there could have been no fear of ultimate loss ; but the love of delay, and the entire and wanton disre- gard of the appropriate duties of an office he would not resign, and of the feelings and reasonable desires of men who deserved his respectful attention, have caused a greater loss to him than he could have antici- pated at the time. Another event, of a more agreeable character, was the bestowing of an honorary degree on General Washington, after his brilliant success in driving the British forces from Boston. This was the first docto- rate of laws ever conferred by Harvard College ; and, though it may not seem a peculiarly appropriate re- ward for military achievements, yet it must be remem- bered that Washington was not merely a military man ; that he had already given large evidence, in his native state, of that wisdom, moderation, ability, and con- stancy, which mark a man likely to prove equal to all occasions, and to influence all the circumstances by which he may be surrounded. It was to the civilian, and not to the successful military commander, that the degree was given ; and if, at the moment, there were any deficiency of proof of his actual attainments to justify the compliment, it must have been revealed to the prophetic eye of the College government, that the time was not far distant when the degree would derive honor from having been conferred on him. Never, in the history of nations, has there been a more difficult and delicate task than fell to the lot of our fathers in devising and organizing a form of government ; and 84 HISTORY OF never was there an occasion when a knowledge of every kind of law, " utriusque juris, turn natures et gentium, turn civilis,'''' was more imperatively demanded by the exigencies of the case, or more satisfactorily exhibited by the leading minds of the country. Among them Washington was conspicuous ; and when it be- came his duty to support the Constitution adopted, and to execute the laws framed under it, no man could have shown a more enlightened and comprehensive acquaintance with his legal duties. It was the union of high intellectual and moral qualities, which produced the matchless character that can scarcely be too greatly admired and loved. It was not inappropriate, then, for the College to tes- tify its respect for such a man, in the only way in its power ; by conferring a degree which, even at that time, was suited to the capacity he had shown, and which was destined to be rendered a greater honor to all others, from its having been received by Washing- ton. Nor can this act be urged as a reason for doing the same to other holders of office, whether military or civil, unless, like him, they confer dignity on the place they fill, rather than derive from it their own title to respect. It is pleasing to recall to mind the tribute paid to Harvard College, at this period, by the eminent men who formed the Constitution of Massachusetts. In that instrument the progress of good learning, and of the College, is especially commended to the care of the legislature ; and they are enjoined " to cherish the inter- ests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries HARVARD COLLEGE. 85 of them ; especially the University at Cambridge, pub- lic schools, and grammar schools in the towns," &c. The rights of the President and Fellows were carefully secured, and the organization of the Board of Over- seers was provided for ; and all this was done with the immediate cooperation and assistance of the Corpora- tion. James Bowdoin, the President of the Convention for forming the Constitution, and afterwards Governor of the State, was a member of the Corporation of Har- vard College, at the time ; and deserves honorable and grateful mention for his faithful services in the cause of sound learning, and universal education, as well as for his other valuable labors. Nothing could have been more honorable to all parties, leaders and followers, than the recognition of the importance of education, and of the principal institution for intellectual cultiva- tion in the State ; as nothing will be more lamentable than to witness any decline of the interest felt, and ex- pressed, by our fathers, in that most valuable of all rights, the right of improving intellectually and morally. One of the earliest acts of the revolutionary legisla- ture of the Province was to sequester the property of refugee Tories ; and one of the best uses to which pro- perty acquired by so poor a title could be put was to supply some of the many wants of the suffering Col- lege. Accordingly the legislative conscience was, in some degree, quieted, by making the library the recipi- ent of a good many volumes which had escheated to the State in that way. In April, 1778, in answer to the memorial of the Corporation, requesting liberty to purchase some of the books which had been seized, the 86 HISTORY OF legislature made a free gift of about four hundred vol- umes of very miscellaneous, but standard, and valuable, works. It was a fortunate circumstance that the College had secured the services of a londjide treasurer, before the period when paper money was freely issued by Con- gress, and the several States ; and before that course of depreciation was begun, which added not a little to the trials and perplexities of the time. The history of the depreciation of the currency, during the war of the rev- olution, is very interesting ; and to any one who under- stands the operation of a constantly and rapidly falling circulating medium, and the painful effects of the return to a more solid basis, the mere statement of the value of the paper money, of the many various emissions, at successive dates, presents a series of pictures full of details of misery, — poverty extending, and courage to meet it failing, — the spirit of speculation excited in some, and of covetousness in others, — and the tempta- tion to violate the rules of honesty often proving too strong for the virtue of both government and people. There must have been, also, no small degree of confu- sion, in the multitude of local and general emissions, at every possible rate of discount, while a few were able to maintain themselves at par for a time ; and this con- fusion must have been increased by the number and variety of coin, and other measures of value, which were in common use. There were the original sterling coin of Great Britain, and what was called the " law- ful " money of Massachusetts, twent5^-five per cent, less in value ; the dollar of Spain, and at a little later period HARVARD COLLEGE. 87 the livre, and the Louis d'or, of France ; so that it must have given pretty active employment to an industrious man, to keep himself accurately acquainted with the state of the money market during the revolution. We have had, in our own time, local derangements of the currency ; and sometimes more extended and general depreciations, which have speedily produced most dis- astrous convulsions in the body politic. But our expe- rience of such evils, great as they have been, is hardly sufficient to enable us to comprehend the miseries of our fathers, under the blighting influence of that deluge of continental and provincial paper, which seemed to sweep off, in its progress, the whole property of the community ; which aggravated every other evil, in- creased every other burden, and threatened to nullifv the very successes that promised, from time to time, to decide the contest in our favor. The College accounts, of this period, are full of preg- nant statements on this subject, which may serve to illustrate the course of events, and help us to form a judgment of the almost incomprehensible state of the currency. Under the date of December, 1778, is the following entry in Treasurer Storer's Journal : " Bills on France, two setts . . . ISO Dolls. Exchange 300 per cent. . . 540 " 720 Dollars is £216.'" By March, 1779, another hundred per cent, is added to the rate of exchange, and we find the following entry : " Bills on France . . . 600 Dollars Exchange at 400 per cent. 2400 " 3000 DoUars is £900/' 88 HISTORY OF In December, 1779, occurs the following : '• Bills on France ... 420 Dolls. Exchange 2400 per cent. . . 10,080 " 10,500 Dolls, is £3,150." In February, 1780, they had reached 2,900 per cent, advance, and in March, 1781, there is an entry to the following effect : '• Bills on France . . . 1,200 Dolls. Exchange 5,500 per ce7it. . . 66,000 " 67,200 Dolls, is £20,160 ! " What sort of pounds these were, in which the ac- counts were kept, may be judged by the following entries : • " September 17S0. Occasional Expenses Dr. 1 Ream of paper, to the Steward £150. 0. 0." "March 1781. Occasional Expenses Dr. 50 quills, to the Steward . . £22. 10. 0." When a ream of paper cost f 500, and a quill $1.50, exchange might be expected to stand pretty high. In November, 1780, the sum of .£441. 18. is charged for four corporation dinners, being .£110. 9. 6. for each oc- casion, and £15. 15. 7f . for each person, equivalent to $52.61 for a dinner. The explanation of such a charge is to be sought in the quality of the currency, rather than in that of the viands, probably ; as the half-dollar dinner furnished on similar occasions at the present day is, doubtless, as good as that which cost more than $50 in 1780. HARVARD COLLEGE. 89 In 1784, the treasurer made a schedule of the certifi- cates belonging to the College, with their nominal and specie value. The former was $100,100, the latter 825,787, or about one fourth part of the sum for which they were issued. The College did not bear the whole of this loss, as many of the certificates were purchased at a large discount ; but the fall was still so great as to oblige the Corporation to reduce, for a time, the rate of interest that should be allowed, on donations which had been made before the depreciation began. The troubles of these times were great, not less in the College than in the country generally ; and Presi- dent Langdon was unfortunate, in having a larger share of them than fell to the lot of even most other promi- nent men. It appears that, notwithstanding his toils for the support of the institution, which were certainly untiring and heavy, he did not succeed in acquiring sufficiently the respect and good will, either of his asso- ciates in the immediate government, or of the pupils. The latter, with the aid and encouragement of some of the former, adopted the very extraordinary measure of voting him unfit for his place ; and strangely, and pas- sionately, accused him of " impiety, heterodoxy, and unfitness for the office of preacher of the Christian religion." That these accusations were as groundless as they were harsh, is rendered probable by the prompt- ness with which they were recalled by those who made them, as soon as he had resigned the presidency, and by the whole tenor of his life and conversation. What was the secret source of ill will, it is difficult to discover, or to imagine ; and we have only to lament their effect 90 HISTORY OF upon him, leading him suddenly to retire, under the shock of the chagrin and disappointment such proceed- ings were adapted to produce. 1781 — 1806. The successor of Dr. Langdon was the Rev. Joseph WiLLARD, of Beverly, who was inaugurated on the 19th of December, 1781, and who fully justified the choice of the governors of the College by the ability, energy, learning, piety, and dignity, which formed and adorned his character. Coming to the chair at the moment when the mingled successes and disasters of the country, the universal poverty, and the intense interest in public affairs, turned the thoughts of the young, as well as of the old, from the pursuit of know- ledge to that of gain or renown, he yet succeeded in reviving, to a great extent, the spirit of learning, the desire for education, and the respect to which litera- ture and science are, under all circumstances, justly entitled. New life was infused into the management of the College, in all its departments ; and such was the discipline maintained, no doubt in part by the per- sonal dignity and influence of Dr. Willard, that, although during the long term of twenty-three years that he occupied the position of President, severe punishments were sometimes inflicted for serious offences, yet there is no record of any of those combinations among the students for resisting, or insulting, the authority of the HARVARD COLLEGE. 91 government, which have been termed rebellions, and v^hich have not been so entirely unknown in earlier, ind later, periods of the College history. An important extension of the usefulness of the ;jollege took place in President Willard's term, by the Teation of new departments of instruction, viz. : in Anatomy, the Theory and Practice of Physic, and 'hemistry. In 1783, a professor was appointed, on the oundation established by Dr. Ezekiel Hersey, in 1772, or the first-mentioned purpose ; and, principally by he zeal and ability of the incumbent, the late Dr. ohn Warren, a school of medicine was in fact begun, 1 connection with the College. In 1788 Dr. Cumming ;ave <£300 sterling, in 1790, the widow of Dr. E. Hersey then Mrs. Derby) gave c£ 1,000 more for the support of le medical and surgical department, and in 1794, Dr. ^bner Hersey added oS'SOO for the same purpose. In 791, a foundation was laid for a professorship of chem- 3try, by the gift of .£1000 from Major William Erving. ?hus began regular instruction in a profession which lad hitherto received no specific attention at Cambridge, lotwithstanding its acknowledged importance ; and rom this origin has sprung the Medical School, which las obtained deserved distinction in our day, and now eflects lustre on the institution in which it had its com- nencement. Another important addition to the usefulness of the /ollege was made, under the presidency and influence of )r. Willard, by the establishment of a system of prizes, liat,from the mode in which it was begun, and in which t has been uniformly conducted, has produced conse- 92 HISTORY OF quences of the most favorable character to the institu- tion as well to its pupils. The difficulties and dangers surrounding this mode of stimulating the faculties of the young are so many, that it must be considered a proof of the sagacity of those who founded the prizes, whether they invented or only adopted the plan, that they should have succeeded in accomplishing much good, and at the same time, in avoiding nearly all the evil which frequently accompanies it. There was nothing in the College of the nature of a prize before the time of President Willard ; unless that character might be ascribed to the donations which were made, to the more meritorious of the young men, from a portion of the fund left by Gov. Hopkins, for the benefit both of the College, and of the Grammar School in the town of Cambridge. But the resemblance between a present for general good character and respectable attainments, and a prize for particular excellence, is so faint, that it is proper to say the prize system was introduced at this period. The first prizes were founded in 1794, by that en- lightened and constant friend of the College, Governor Bowdoin, who left a legacy of c£400, for the purpose of giving premiums, of moderate amount, to the au- thors of the best dissertations on subjects to be given out by the officers of the College. In order to secure impartiality in the judges, and calmness in the competi- tors, the names of the writers were not to be known, even to those who were to award the prize, until after judgment had been passed ; and then only those of the successful writers. Thus was secured the prominent HARVARD COLLEGE. 93 advantage belonging to this kind of stimulus, — vigor- ous industry and exertion of naind ; while all the evils incident to active competition, jealousy, envy, sus- picion of unfairness, and the mortification of public failure, were successfully avoided ; and the young men were taught to toil for the sake of self-improvement, and the honor which naturally waits on such efforts, and not for the baser motive of gain, or the odious ex- citement of personal superiority over anxious competi- tors. The good fruits of this system have been so striking, that it cannot be too strongly recommended for imitation, in all cases where it may be found applicable ; and where it is not suitable, the question of the ex- pediency of giving premiums at all should, at least, be well considered. The great evils of direct and open competition, for specific prizes, have been too often and too deeply felt, to be renewed without strong induce- ments. In 1803, the same plan was adopted for promoting the acquisition of knowledge in the profession of medi- cine, by another steadfast and judicious friend of Har- vard College, Ward N. Boylston, Esq. who founded a prize for essays on subjects connected with the study of anatomy, physiology, and therapeutics. The sub- jects were to be given out, and the premiums awarded, by a large committee of physicians, eminent for their attainments and character ; and, although the appara- tus arranged for the purpose, which continues un- changed to the present time, may be somewhat more cumbrous than is necessary, yet there can be no doubt of the value of the system by which the study of medi- 94 HISTORY OF cal science has been eminently promoted ; and which has done its full share in producing that habit of accu- rate research, and cautious reasoning, for which the faculty in New England are not undistinguished.' In looking over the catalogue of the graduates, of this period, one is struck both with the .resemblance to previous times, and also with the very great difference, which are nowhere more obvious than in that record of generations that are passed, and are passing, away. The resemblance is in the proportion of Harvard alumni who have attained distinction in the learned professions, in politibs, literature, or science ; the difference is in the great number of new posts which were to be filled, the increase of honors received from other Colleges, and from the multifarious new societies which sprang into existence with the republic, and which still continue to be multiplied, with the characteristic activity of Ameri- can ambition. The degrees from distant and foreign institutions, as well as the honors conferred by our own, and the membership of many literary and scientific associations, are generally put on record in the Cata- logue, and afford to coming generations an opportunity to look, with grateful respect, on men who performed well the duties of difficult positions, who were among the founders of some of our most valuable institu- tions, and who will leave behind them an enduring memory of the virtues which rendered them dear in private life, and honored in public station. Many of ' The best plans may be used too frequently. Is there not some danger that premiums, awarded by committees, are becoming- too conmion, and too easily obtained ? HARVARD COLLEGE. 95 Dr. Willard's pupils are still living, to command the respect and attachment of society, and to reflect a por- tion of their well-earned reputation on the institution in which they were trained, and on the instructors of their youthful intellects. Harvard College may justly be proud of th^ children of that age who " rise up and call her blessed." One of the most interesting occurrences of this pe- riod was the visit of President Washington to New England, in 1789, — an occasion which called forth the expression of those deep and earnest feelings of re- spect and attachment to him, which have nevdr varied for a moment in this whole people. The Corporation shared the universal sentiment, and presented an ad- dress to the President, in terms the most respectful and honorable.^ Men's hearts, at that time, were glowing with grati- tude and hope. The dangers of the revolutionary war were over ; the gloomy days of the Confederation, the days of weakness and confusion, were past ; a govern- ment had been organized, and there was good reason to expect that industry would revive, and wealth in- crease ; and that prosperity at home, and respectability abroad, would repay the country for her long sufferings, and produce a state of things which had never been known in Massachusetts. Much of this was soon real- ized ; and it is pleasant to contemplate the rapid growth of the country from the moment of the adoption of the Constitution, its development in every direction — pop- ^ See Appendix for the address and the reply. 96 HISTORY OF Lilation, wealth, arts, commerce, manufactures, litera- ture, science. The College felt the general blessing of a stable government and reviving credit, and was soon enabled to restore to their original value the donations which had been almost annihilated by the prodigious depreciation of the currency, and of the stocks in which the College property was invested. Great praise is due to the assiduous and skilful labor of Treasurer Sto- rer, in retrieving the property by judicious purchases in a rising market. The other associates of President Willard, in the Corporation, were Doctors Cooper, La- throp, and Howard, Governor Bowdoin, Judges Lowell, Gushing, and Wendell ; and the labors of instruction were shared with Dr. Edward Wigglesworth/ the son and worthy successor of the first Hollis Professor of Divinity ; Dr. Tappan, who succeeded him in the same chair, Samuel Williams and Samuel Webber, Hollis Professors of Mathematics ; Stephen Sewall and Eliph- alet Pearson,^ Hancock Professors of Hebrew and other Oriental languages ; Dr. John Warren, Hersey Profes- sor of Anatomy and Surgery ; Dr. Benjamin Water- house, Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic ; and Dr. Aaron Dexter, Erving Professor of Chemistry. Most of these gentlemen are yet remem- bered, with well-deserved respect, by many belonging to the generations that have come after them ; and their united labors sustained, and increased, the rising reputa- tion and usefulness of the College they served. ' Drs. Wigglesworth and Pearson were also of the Corporation HARVARD COLLEGE. 97 1804 — 1810. The honorable and useful career of President Willard was terminated by death in September, 1804 ; and it was not till December, 1805, that the Corporation were able to unite in the choice of a successor ; Dr. Pearson, in the mean while, performing those duties of the office of president, which were indispensable to the proper management Of the society. The first election was of the Hon. Fisher Ames, a man whose brilliant mind and ardent temperament, combined with his pure and sin- gularly elevated character, could not have failed to shed lustre on the office, and to raise still higher the reputa- tion of the College. It was considered at the time, and has been regarded ever since, by those who are aware of the circumstance, as a serious disadvantage that the institution could not obtain the services of this eminent public man. But the state of his health, which was feeble, and other considerations of a private nature, prevented the College from receiving the benefit which the mere association of his name would have conferred upon it. The next choice fell upon Professor Webber, who, for seventeen years, had filled the chair of Mathemat- ics with good repute, and had always been assiduous and discreet in the service of the College. Not gifted with those brilliant powers which fascinated the con- temporaries of Fisher Ames, he was yet qualified, by his attainments, his good sense, and uprightness of 7 98 HISTORY OF character, for a post in which judgment, integrity, and knowledge are requisites of the greatest importance. He was a man of quiet and modest manners, and not conspicuous for the easy dignity of deportment which was a striking characteristic of his predecessor ; but he was efficient in government, and was much re- spected by those whom he directed, and those with whom he cooperated. The undiminished confidence of the community in the institution during his administra- tion, assisted as he was by the able men about him, was shown by grants from the legislature, and contri- butions from individuals. The grants were, first, of a license for a lottery, to procure the means of erecting a new building, and, second, of a township of land in Maine. The aid of individuals was given by a sub- scription of more than thirty thousand dollars, for the purpose of creating a Professorship of Natural History. Subscriptions of this sort were not so common at that time as they have become since ; and it must be con- sidered a decided proof both of confidence in the ad- ministration of the College, and of the strong and gen- eral desire of improving the means of education, that such things could be done, at a period when what may be called wealth was comparatively rare. These feelings were not so much centred in the president as had been the case in the past history of the seminary, because he was now surrounded by a much more nu- merous and important body of instructors than formerly ; still, much of the affection, or disaffection, which shows itself as a public sentiment, towards the College, may always be traced to the personal influence, the activity, HARVARD COLLEGE. 99 the good judgment, of the president, or to his deficiency in those qualities which insure the respect and good-will of his contemporaries. President Webber's connection with the College, as its head, was not long enough to enable him to make any deep imprint on its condition, or greatly to aflfect its relations with the public ; but the occurrences of his time were not wanting in interest, or importance. The year before his election to the office of president, one of those events occurred which serve visibly to mark the progress of society, or at least a change, which, however it might have been suspected or anticipated by careful observers, had given no open evidence of its existence. A great effect has been produced upon the reputation, the prosperity, and the usefulness of the College, by the election, in 1805, of Dr. Henry Ware, who was known to be a Unitarian, to the Hollis Profes- sorship of Divinity. An animated controversy on the propriety of the choice immediately arose, and was continued for several years ; there was, indeed, a storm of discussion, the distant rolling and reverberation of which may, even yet, be occasionally heard. The elec- tion should not, however, be regarded as a cause, so much as it was an effect, of a change of public opinion in the neighborhood ; which for many years had been silently going on, and of which the evidences are to be sought in the character, and manner of preaching, of the clergy in this part of the Commonwealth, and the spirit of investigation and of independence of mere authority, which were conspicuous in their congregations. The right of private judgment, upon religious subjects, was 100 HISTORY OF claimed for themselves by the Pilgrim fathers ; but it was reserved for a subsequent generation, not only to exercise their own right, but cordially to admit that of others ; and thus to establish and profess a freedom from dictation, and from all influences not arising from argu- ment and example, as perfect as can be desired. It would not be easy, nor perhaps would it be useful, to trace minutely the consequences of this change in the theological character of the College. Some of the most obvious were, the alienation of those who adhered to the sound orthodox views of their fathers ; the estab- lishment of new schools, the extension of older institu- tions not suspected of heresy, and the decline of the inclination of the legislature, " especially to cherish the interests of the University at Cambridge ; " and, on the other hand, the increased encouragement given by those who agreed in opinion with the College officers, or who loved the freedom they claimed and allowed, and were determined to extend, if possible, its benefi- cent influence. These views ofler a probable explana- tion of some existing facts ; and the inference would naturally follow, that the number of students would not increase, so fast as it would have done under other cir- cumstances, while the means of education would be supplied, both earlier and more extensively than they would have been, had no change taken place. As the spirit of freedom in religious, as well as political, and all other relations, is unequivocally the spirit of the age, the friends of the College may hope that the con- siderable means and apparatus of education, accumu- lated at Cambridge, will not always be expended upon a HARVARD COLLEGE. 101 smaller number of students than might enjoy the benefit of them ; and that the fears of heretical influences will subside, since experience has long since proved them to have no substantial foundation. The controversy on the subject of the Hollis Professorship of Divinity con- tinued, directly or indirectly, for many years ; and con- tributed to the progress of that change of religious opinions, which has never ceased to spread through the community, and the effects of which are not, even yet, fully developed. President Webber died in 1810, after a term of only four years — years by no means want- ing in the distinction derived from the approbation of the wise and good, nor in that which arises from the reputation afterwards attained by the alumni of the day. 1810 — 1828. It was not long after the decease of President Web- ber, that from among several prominent candidates for the vacant office, a selection was made by the Corpora- tion of one who possessed, in a remarkable degree, the most important qualifications for a place calling for the exercise of very various powers, — a place in which discernment should be combined with benevolence, de- cision with discretion, firmness with mildness, dignity wdth kindness. The Reverend Dr. John T. Kirkland was well known to be largely endowed with all these qualities ; he was intimately associated with all the most prominent literary men of his day, and was ac- 102 HISTORY OF knowledged, throughout the country, to be an eminent preacher, and an accomplished writer. His election was hailed by the friends of the College with the satis- faction of the confident hope, inspired by his high and appropriate character, for which was soon substituted the certainty, of the extension of the resources and rep- utation of the institution. The College was a point around which the interest of the whole community in which it is placed was strongly attracted at this time ; especially, by the theological controversy which was going on, by the great efforts made by one party to take the control of the seminary from persons willing to profess sentiments which were at variance with those of the great mass of the public, and which had hitherto been maintained in unquestioned ascendency, and by the resolution of the other party to defend their posi- tion, and never to sacrifice liberty of thought, any more than freedom of action, to violence or intrigue. A new organization of the Board of Overseers took place, in the same year in which President Kirkland was chosen ; and though there was no connection be- tween the two events, yet this circumstance contributed, with others, to keep alive an active interest in the con- cerns of the College generally ; while the derangement . of every species of business constituting the ordinary occupations of the people, arising from the political occurrences of the day, left men at leisure to attend to other matters than those which usually engaged their thoughts. These circumstances should be taken into consideration, in explaining the causes of the growth of Harvard College at this period ; and, when all due HARVARD COLLEGE. 103 allowance is made for thsm, there will remain a large surplus of increase and prosperity, which must be refer- red to the direct influence of the clear head, the warm heart, the genial manners, the wisdom, and the virtues of Dr. Kirkland. He commanded the respect of his associates, the ardent attachment of his friends, (and they were among the wisest and best men that ever formed part of our community,) and a peculiar sort of fondness, so to speak, of the students. Many an act of kindness, accompanied with the look and the word of kindness, touched the heart of the pupil, and bound it to the president, more strongly than anything but sym- pathetic interest can do ; and, amid all the turbulence which young men are so prone to show, and which they sometimes did show during his term of seventeen years, never did one student, under any circumstances, fail to exhibit outwardly the respect and love he could not but feel in his heart for the president, who was his friend and counsellor as well as his governor. The period of Dr. Kirkland's presidency must be considered a remarkable one in many particulars, which were honorable at once to him, to the officers associated with him, and to the community in which he lived. The number of students and of instructors was increased, and higher qualifications were required in both. There was more activity in the system of things ; by which the standard of scholarship was raised, and a general culti- vation of mind effected, which, though not unknown before at Cambridge, has, since Dr. Kirkland's time, come to be regarded as, in some considerable degree, characteristic of a Harvard education. There was, par- 104 HISTORY OF ticularly, a marked improvement in the common style of English composition, attributable, no doubt, to the combined influence of the presence and example of several members of the immediate government, distin- guished for the felicity of their manner of writing, to the clear and brilliant thoughts, in clear and brilliant language, that abounded in Dr. Kirkland's discourses, and were listened to often enough to produce a sensible effect, and to the increased richness of the intellectual cultivation of the school. Thus, in the department of instruction, the president cooperated heartily and effect- ively with the other officers ; and the charm of his un- rivalled temper, and practical wisdom, smoothed every obstacle, and lightened every toil. In another sphere, he labored with those friends of the College who were not within its walls, but who pro- moted largely that development of the institution which has contributed to render his administration memorable. It cannot be doubted by any one who knows the history of the time, and looks over the list of benefactors to the College at this period, that the personal influence of the president was exerted, and was felt, in a most re- markable degree. Doubtless there was in the commu- nity a spirit of enlightened liberality, which needed only to be aroused and directed ; and it was precisely this which was done by Dr. Kirkland. No man contributed more, by precept and example, to excite a wise benev- olence ; and it was often turned towards the College by his counsel and influence. Some of his friends gave their personal exertions, and others communicated of their wealth, to promote the interests of education at HARVARD COLLEGE. 105 Cambridge ; and he had the satisfaction of seeing the growth of the institution in ahnost every direction, as the result of the many and various efforts made in its behalf. New departments of instruction -were opened within the walls ; two new professional schools were connected with the College, one of them, with the aid of the especial efforts of Dr. Kirkland and his particular friends ; and a third, which had been founded earlier, was greatly extended. The apparatus for instruction was increased, and an important addition was made to the buildings. Private benefactions were multiplied ; and the legislature was induced, for the first time for nearly thirty years, to contribute a liberal sum of money to increase the means of education. The dona- tions and bequests, received during Dr. Kirkland's pres- idency, were so many and so large, greatly exceeding in amount those which have been received in any other period of seventeen years, and reaching the truly vast total of nearly four hundred thousand dollars, a great part of which was obtained by his personal efforts and influence, that he must be classed among the greatest pecuniary benefactors of the College. He was not sup- posed to be distinguished for financial ability ; but there was something in the elevation of his character and purposes, the wisdom of his designs, the benevolence of his heart, the suavity of his manners, and the contagion of his example, which commanded the resources of others, as if they had been his own ; and few men among us have had the control of larger possessions, or have used that control more wisely. The occurrences of his time, though generally of 106 HISTORY OF SO encouraging a character, were not all of this agree- able nature ; but were occasionally well adapted to try the equanimity of the calmest temper, and the re- sources of the most sagacious judgment. The disci- pline was one source of difficulty, as it can scarcely fail to be at any time ; but more especially was this the case, at that period in the history of the country, which may be regarded as the transition epoch of the manners of the age. The sternness of the habits of the elder portion of mankind towards the younger had not passed away from the laws, so much as it had from the customs of the country ; and the change from the real, as well as the theoretic, authority of the old, to the practical influence of the young, was not likely to be effected without a struggle, however little doubt there might be as to the issue of the contest. It had begun before President Kirkland's day ; but was not brought to a close till long afterwards ; and was the origin of a great deal of annoyance to all the governors of the College, and of effervescence in the community, as well as in the academic halls, at frequent intervals, for many years. A still more serious evil was the revival of the con- troversy of the preceding century, respecting the or- ganization of the College, and the right to seats in the Corporation. It was impossible that this subject should be discussed without painful excitement ; and, though no man could have been more able to throw oil on the troubled waters than President Kirkland, yet it must be regarded as a calamity that the waves should be so rough as to require such an effort. The general grounds HARVARD COLLEGE. 107 of argument on this subject have been stated, in refer- ence to the discussion which took place in President Leverett's time, and need not be repeated. Another trouble to the President, and to all inter- ested in the extension of the means of education, was in part the consequence of the growth of the College, which was so gratifying in other points of view, and which was the very object of efforts innumerable and unwearied. With the increase of officers, which was uncommonly rapid, there was an unavoidable increase of expense ; especially, as in the eagerness of all par- ties, both the founders of the offices, and the governors of the College, it frequently happened that a professor was appointed, when the funds destined for him were quite insufficient for his support, and the deficit was to be drawn from the charge for instruction to the students. Of course this charge was increased, till it became somewhat burdensome to all, and a heavy load to those whose circumstances were at all straitened. The class of persons who might be considered as in this condi- tion was large and deserving, as it usually is, and en- listed often, and strongly, the ready sympathy of the President. He distributed, with constant generosity, from his own income ; he presented particular cases of promise to his wealthy friends, and secured their as- sistance ; and, of course, he gladly availed himself of all the funds of the College which could be placed at his disposal for this purpose. From all these resources the amount he obtained and distributed was very con- siderable ; especially in the years during which the grant of ten thousand dollars per annum was received 108 HISTORY OF from the legislature ;i and the good he effected, if not commensurate with his generous wish, was singularly- great, and the affection he inspired, as much by the manner as by the gift, was as enduring as the grateful recollection of his benignity. The professorships in which appointments were first made, during Dr. Kirkland's presidency, were — The Rumford Professorship, on the Application of Science to the Useful Arts ; The Smith Professorship of the French and Spanish Languages and Literature ; The Alford Professorship of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity ; The Eliot Professorship of the Greek Language and Literature, and The Royall Professorship of Law. Besides these, two others were founded, viz. : The McLean Professorship of Ancient and Modern History, and The Perkins Professorship of Astronomy and Mathe- matics. The Dexter Lectureship on Biblical Criticism was filled ; the Boylston Prizes for Elocution were founded ; and additional instruction was given to undergraduates in Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, Physiology, and Elocution. Material additions were made to the library, and to the cabinets belonging to the College. The 1 One quarter part of the amount was appropriated by the act to the relief of indigent students. HARVARD COLLEGE. 109 Medical School was greatly enlarged ; and, by its re- moval to Boston, the decisive step was taken, which insured its indefinite progress. The Law School, now one of the leading schools of the country, was estab- lished ; and the Theological School, the first in the United States on unexclusive principles, was founded, and placed in connection with the College. All this extension, on every side, necessarily im- plies a vast deal of zealous labor, in which many per- sons must have cooperated ; and it would be unwise, as well as unjust, to limit one's views, in accounting for it, to a single source of growth. The professors and the Corporation must have exerted themselves effectu- ally, each in his sphere ; and many of those in society, who possessed resources of wealth, must have been willing to be led in the useful path of a wise liberality, in order that such results should be obtained. But, while the whole must be regarded as the consequence of the combined labors and merits of many, the first place must be assigned to him who is entitled to it by the unanimous award of his contemporaries, who was regarded with a respect and affection never surpassed, and whose memory is cherished by multitudes as one of the precious recollections of their lives. The defects of Dr. Kirkland's character were neither of number nor of weight enough to justify, for a mo- ment, a forgetfulness of his virtues. The careless- ness which made him write his sermons upon mere scraps of paper, in an almost illegible hand, and the physical indolence which made him neglect to tran- scribe or arrange them, might excite a smile, rather 110 HISTORY OF than provoke a frown ; and were sure to be forgotten, and forgiven, by those who listened, with impressible hearts to the lessons of wisdom and virtue with which his discourses were filled. And the College could well pardon inattention to matters of detail, in a president who did so much to raise the reputation of the institu- tion, who contributed so largely to its extension in every direction, who brought into its management so much intellectual vigor, and into its treasury so large an amount of substantial wealth. The previous history of the College, honorable as it is in its whole course, offers no parallel in brilliancy and usefulness to the presidency of Dr. Kirkland ; and the ambition of any future presi- dent may well be satisfied in attaining an equal eleva- tion of renown, an equal influence with the commu- nity, a like affectionate respect from his contempora- ries, and as strong and universal a love for his mem- ory in those who come after him. Dr. Kirkland's connection with the College was dis- solved in 1828 ; and he lived, for several years, in com- parative retirement, suffering from the effects of a par- tial paralysis, with powers of body and mind consider- ably impaired ; but with the same undisturbed and delightful temper, and with an occasional flash of those clear and profound thoughts, that intellectual humor, and those generous affections, which, in previous years, had been the delight of all who knew him. His de- cease was attended by every circumstance that could mark the deep interest of the public, and prove the existence of those sentiments of reverence and love which pervaded the hearts of all. HARVARD COLLEGE. Ill The history of the College can be pursued no far- ther. The improvements, the extension, and the pa- tronage of the institution, the talent engaged in its service, and the devotion of a portion of the disposa- ble wealth of the community to its interests, have all been witnessed as heretofore ; and there is as much reason to be hopeful for the future as to be grateful for the past. But the present time has been, perhaps, too nearly approached. The remainder must be left to the memory, and the fidelity, of those who succeed us in maintaining one of the most important, and most hon- orable, institutions of the country. It may be useful, however, to close with a statement of the actual condition of the College, and of the schools connected with it ; in order that those who are not per- sonally familiar with the seminary, may form a judg- ment of the means and advantages for education which it offers, and that some errors with regard to its organ- ization and resources, which have prevailed very gen- erally, may, if possible, be corrected. Harvard College, or University, as it is sometimes, though not with strict propriety, called, is one institu- tion, but is divided into five quite distinct departments, which have separate instructors,^ separate funds, differ- ent pupils, and different objects. These are the academ- ical department, or Harvard College as originally con- stituted, and the Theological, Law, Medical, and Scien- tific Schools, which have been gathered around it. They are all under the general management of one board, of seven members, called legally " The President * In a few instances the same person teaches in two departments. 112 HISTORY OF and Fellows of Harvard College," subject to the visitato- rial power of the Board of Overseers, which consists of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Sen- ate of the Commonwealth, and of fifteen clerical and fifteen lay members, who are chosen for life, or until they resign their office. The funds, which have been given for the support of these various schools, have been placed in the hands of the Corporation, as the President and Fellows are commonly called. That board has also the power of appointing all officers, of every de- scription, subject, of course, to the approval of the Overseers ; and they are bound to prescribe the gen- eral rules by which each department is to be governed, and to see that they are carried into effect. Young men are admitted, when qualified by a pre- scribed amount of literary attainments, into the aca- demical department, at about the average age of six- teen ; and they pursue the usual course of a four years' college education, under the immediate instruction of seven professors and four tutors, who teach the learned languages, mathematics, natural philosophy, meta- physics, moral philosophy, rhetoric and elocution, the evidences of religion, both natural and revealed, po- litical economy, and the modern languages.^ Besides these branches, which are taught by recitations and lec- tures, and by exercises in-composition and declamation, the undergraduates are required, or have the opportu- nity, to hear lectures on Chemistry, History, Anatomy, * For instruction in the modern languages, four especial teachers, to whom the principal languages of Europe are native, have been em- ployed for some years. HARVARD COLLEGE. 113 Mineralogy, Botany, Astronomy, the application of Science to the useful Arts, and on the means of pre- serving health. Besides attending the lectures, they may give such an amount of time and attention to these various subjects, as can be spared from the studies which call for more steady and devoted application. During the first two years all the studies are prescribed, and a pretty thorough knowledge is obtained of Greek, Latin, and Mathematics ; and the study of History, Rhetoric, Metaphysics, Chemistry, ancT^odern Lan- guages is begun. In the last two years of College life the pursuit of the higher branches of mathematics, and the attainment of critical skill in the ancient languages, together with fur- ther acquaintance with the modern languages, are made elective studies ; and the others which have been enu- merated are continued, in order to complete what is re- garded as necessary for the foundation of those acquire- ments, and those habits of mind, which are indispen- sable to all who desire to be considered as cultivated or well educated men, in the present age of the world. In the regular course prescribed nothing more is at- tempted, as nothing more can be done, than to lay the foundation of actual knowledge, and impart the power of future acquisition ; while opportunity is offered, at the same time, for the discovery of any of those partic- ular tastes, or powers, the existence of which points out the course for which some persons are particularly prepared by their Maker. With this view it may be thought not unwise, that so great a variety of studies should be presented to the young men ; for, though it 8 114 HISTORY OF is quite impossible that their education should be thor- ough and extensive in all of them, yet a few members of every class may find that they have a turn for one kind of pursuit, and a few for another, which would never have been discovered, but for the opportunity here offered. This system seems peculiarly well adapted to a country like this, where every man's faculties are stim- ulated by the hope of success and distinction, to which there are no artificial checks. If he has uncommon powers he wants to know it ; and there is no better way to enable him, or others, to discover their existence, than by giving him, in youth, an opportunity to try sev- eral of the different kinds of cultivation for which he may be fitted. The plan pursued has been the result, not so much of deliberate design on the part of the governors of the College, as of circumstances, and of the desire of numerous benefactors of the institution to provide instruction on their favorite subjects. The con- sequence is a great variety of studies, mixed in, as well as can be expected, perhaps, with the systematic course which must be contemplated by all who design to give a thorough education. A bequest of fifty thousand dollars has recently been made, though it is not yet in possession of the College, to enable it to support and educate, in the most suitable and thorough manner, any young person who may discover rare powers, in any depart- ment of mental activity, even before the usual age of entering College. The application of this fund will, no doubt, afford examples hereafter, both of distinguished success, and of occasional disappointment. Young men within the College walls are incited HARVARD COLLEGE. 115 to good conduct and diligence, by the system of awarding parts, as they are called, at the exhibitions which take place each year, and at the annual Com- mencement. The rank of these parts shows the posi- tion in the class of those who receive them, reference being had as well to general character and deportment, as to scholarship. They are assigned by the faculty according to a scale of marks kept by each officer, pointing out the quality of recitations, the number of absences, &c., and the aggregate of all the marks de- cides the rank of the scholar. Good conduct is also encouraged by presents of books, of standard value, to meritorious young men in the second year ; the fund for which is a bequest of Edward Hopkins. Particular efforts are induced by the offer of prizes for dissertations in English, derived from the income of a fund given for this purpose by Governor Bowdoin ; and an addition has been recently made of prizes for Latin verse, from the same fund, which has increased sufficiently to permit this extension. Prizes for elocution are also distributed, annually, from the fund left by Ward N. Boylston, Esq. Among the means which have long been found efficient in stimu- lating young men to steady exertion, should be enu- merated the various societies existing in the different classes, to which admission is to be obtained only by maintaining a good rank as a scholar ; no slight auxil- iary, certainly, to the distinctions awarded by the gov- ernment. Four of the College buildings are occupied by the undergraduates as lodgings, and afford accommodation 116 HISTORY OF for about half of their number. Four other buildings are used for public purposes. Harvard Hall contains a lecture-room, the cabinet of minerals and shells, with a few fossils, and a large room for Commencement din- ners, and other occasions on which the alumni assemble. In this room are the portraits of some of the officers and benefactors of the institution. Holden Chapel is converted into lecture-rooms, used at present for the lectures on anatomy and chemistry. University Hall contains the chapel and several recitation and lecture- rooms. Gore Hall contains the library, amounting to about fifty- four thousand volumes. The funds which have been given for the support of the academical department, which is the earliest of the schools here established, the original and true Harvard College, are the following : Funds given by various persons towards the payment of the salaries of Professors, and maintaining the Botanic Garden, $279,713.44 Funds appropriated to the Library, 16,549.43 Funds for prizes, - . 7,610.50 Funds for exhibitions, or aid to indigent students, . . 28,788.81 The stock account, or general fund derived from unre- sti'icted donations, and from occasional balances. The actual value of this fund at the present time does not exceed 140,000.00 Total, .... $472,662.18 The income of this sum, at five per cent, per annum, which is as much as can be obtained, on an average of years, is $23,633.11 ; whereas the annual expenses of the College now exceed $40,000. It will be observed HARVARD COLLEGE. 117 that more than $330,000 are appropriated, by the do- nors, to salaries of professors, the library, prizes, and exhibitions ; while, besides these objects, there are sala- ries to be provided for many other necessary officers, and funds for repairs, and unavoidable expenses of various descriptions ; so that it can be no matter of wonder to any one who considers the facts, that an an- nual deficiency of about $20,000 is to be made up by a tax on the students. This is about $75 or 880 each ; and if it were by itself, not mingled with other charges necessarily incurred, in consequence of the removal of the young man from the paternal roof, it would by no means be regarded as excessive, for the amount of instruction obtained. Good schools, in many parts of the country, for younger persons than undergraduates, often cost as much, and even more. It is undoubtedly burdensome to many, and for that reason the importance of the beneficiary fund is very great ; and the advantage derived from it, as well as from another fund in the hands of trustees for a like purpose, is inestimable. But it is easy to see that so large an apparatus of officers and buildings can hardly be maintained at less cost ; and that the best way in which the liberally-disposed can now serve the interests of education at Cambridge, is by un- restricted donations. It should be seen, also, that the pecuniary resources of the College, properly so called, instead of amounting, as is supposed by many persons who take a hasty glance at the annual statement of the treasurer, to nearly $800,000, in reality amount only to the above- named sum of i 472,000 ; and even from this a large 118 HISTORY OF deduction should be made, on account of property of an unproductive nature held by the College. In fact, the productive funds of the seminary do not exceed $390,000. The discipline which has been maintained in Harvard College, for the last forty years, can scarcely fail to be considered, and will probably be admitted by all, ex- cept, perhaps, some of those who have become unfor- tunately amenable to it, or their friends, to be the mild- est which is at all consistent with the assembling, and constant association, of two or three hundred young men, at the time of life suitable for the serious purpose of education. The irksomeness of the process, which cannot always be overcome by the perception of its ne- cessity, combines with the vigorous current of animal life, to produce occasional displays of a vivacious na- ture ; and though these may not show any great depth of depravity, yet, as they are undeniably " of a bad and dangerous tendency," and interrupt the proper business of the place, some restraint must be put upon the few who cannot control themselves, for the sake of the greater number who can. It would be difficult to show how a milder system could be pursued than has long been adopted ; and, in fact, the occasional com- plaints which are heard from sufferers, are generally directed not against the form, or degree, of punishment, but against the finding of the facts in the particular case. The punishment is rarely considered too great for the offence, but the victim is not the offender. Or, if that cannot be denied, then palliating circumstances affect the parent, or relative, much more deeply than HARVARD COLLEGE. 119 the officers ; and nothing but an unnecessary sternness on their pari, can account for the infliction of any pun- ishment at all. While such are the complaints respect- ing the Cambridge system of discipline, impartial ob- servers will not be prompt to decide, that it is too strict, or too severe. The first separate school which was connected with Harvard College was the Medical School, for which the earliest donation was given in 1772, by Dr. Ezekiel Hersey, and in which the first appointment of a professor was made in 1783. Other donations and appointments soon followed, and the school began to be well known, and esteemed, as early as the beginning of the present century. Dr. Warren, the first professor of Anatomy and Surgery, resided in Boston, and gave a portion of his lectures in the city. The nature of the study made this an almost inevitable practice ; both from the facilities for instruction which might be better obtained there, and from the importance of securing the services of the most eminent men of the profession, who would naturally be found in the largest town. The school was considered, however, as situated in Cambridge ; and undergraduates, as well as professional students, were permitted to attend the lectures given at the Col- lege, for a fee somewhat less than other persons. After the establishment of a hospital of considerable extent in Boston, the advantages to be obtained there by the student, in every department of the profession, were manifestly so much greater than could be procured at Cambridge, that a strong effort was made by the pro- fessors to cause the removal of the institution to Boston, 120 HISTORY OF with the consent and aid of the Corporation. It was thought by some persons that this was inexpedient, as regarded the welfare of the College ; and of doubtful propriety, considering that the seminary was in Cam- bridge, and the donations for medical purposes were made to the College. It was said, however, in re- ply, that the welfare of the general institution would be best consulted by having regard to the welfare of each part, and by placing each where it could enjoy the greatest advantages, at once for growth and im- provement ; and that the donations were made to the governors of the College, and not to a mere incorporeal personification ; that the Corporation were expected to exercise a sound discretion in the application of the funds to the purpose pointed out ; and in one case, at least, express provision was made by the donor, for applying the fund to a professorship elsewhere, if the Corporation deemed it advisable. The latter views prevailed.^ An application was made to the legisla- ture for aid ; and through the strenuous efforts of the medical professors, in conjunction with those of the pres- ident, and some members of the Corporation, a portion of the large grant made in 1814 was appropriated to the purpose of erecting the Medical College in Mason street, Boston. From that epoch the growth and prosperity of the school has been uninterrupted ; and at the present 1 As an inducement to the government to consent to the removal of the school to Boston, the professors agreed to deliver, without charge to the undergraduates, a portion of the lectures heretofore given in Cambridge, vi^hich the undergraduates had been permitted to attend, on payment of a fee. HARVARD COLLEGE. 121 time, lectures, of the highest value, are given every year, by seven professors in different departments, and the students have every advantage which can be de- rived from attendance on the hospital practice. The liberal scientific spirit of Dr. J. C. Warren has been shown, by his placing in the school an extensive anatomical cabinet, containing the donations of Dr. Nichols, formerly of London, and others, and a large number of preparations by himself. Valuable additions have already been made to this collection by Dr. Hay- ward and Dr. Lawrence. A fund has been given by Dr. Warren for its preservation and increase, and it is probable that a few years will produce a museum which will bear a not unfavorable comparison with the best which can be found elsewhere. A new building, on land given by Dr. G. Parkman, far more extensive than the former one in Mason street, has been erected for the purposes of this school, in the immediate vicinity of the hospital ; and nothing now seems wanting to the rapid and great increase of the number of pupils, but a more general acquaintance with the advantages offered by the means of instruction accumulated, and the talents and experience of the professors. Degrees are given to those who, after attendance on two courses of lectures, one of which must have been in this school, shall be found, upon examination, properly qualified. A dissertation on a medical sub- ject is required from each student who is a candi- date for a degree. The fees charged are $3 for ma- triculation, $80 for the full course of lectures, and $20 for graduation. 122 HISTORY OF The Law School dates, strictly, from the year 1817, when Professor Stearns was appointed to take charge of students who might choose to pursue their profes- sional course at Cambridge, and avail themselves of his instruction, and of the incidental advantages to be found there. Chief Justice Parker was, indeed, ap- pointed the preceding year, but did not reside at Cam- bridge, and gave only a partial attention to the instruc- tion of members of the school. 'It was principally, therefore, to the care and learning of Mr. Stearns, that it was indebted for its earliest success. In 1829, an im- pulse of great importance w^as given to this department, by the appointment of Judge Story and Mr. Ashmun to take charge of it. After four years of valued service, Mr. Ashmun was removed by death from the station which he honored, and his place was supplied by Pro- fessor Greenleaf. Under the joint administration of Professors Story and Greenleaf, the school continued to extend in numbers, importance, and resources, for about twelve years ; and since the death of Judge Story, it has maintained its position under the care of Professor Greenleaf, and, for one year, of Judge Kent, who has been succeeded by Judge Parker, of New Hampshire. The course of instruction in this school is not unlike that pursued in other establishments of the kind. The reading of the students is directed by the professors, who examine into the results of study, and the attain- ments made by their pupils ; lectures are delivered upon the most important branches of law, following in general the course of some text book ; and moot courts HARVARD COLLEGE. 123 are held, under the direction of the professors. An attendance of eighteen months, or three terms, is re- quired for a degree. The library belonging to this school is very valuable, numbering about twelve thou- sand volumes, and having cost, without including large donations, more than $35,000. The Law School is now so extensively known, and its direct and incidental advantages are so highly appreciated, it has so long maintained an elevated rank, and the prospect of its continuing in a similar position is so favorable, that it may be considered as well established in public favor. The annual fee paid for all its advantages is one hun- dred dollars. The funds appropriated to the Law School amount to 141,855.76, a large portion of which has accumulated from its own resources. It has also paid the sum mentioned above, for its library. At a future period this department will have the advantage to be derived from the great bequest of the late Mr. Bussey, which will probably afford the means of ap- pointing two additional professors. The Theological School first began to be spoken of, as a separate institution, at about the time when the Law School commenced its career. Instruction in theology had, for a long period, perhaps from the foun- dation of the College, been given to graduates ; at first by the president, and at a later date by the Hollis pro- fessor, or by the two together; but, in 1816, an effort was made to extend the means of this instruction, and a society was formed for the purpose of " promoting theological education in Harvard College." Something was effected at that time ; a considerable sum was raised 124 HISTORY OF by subscription, and placed in the hands of trustees ; but more was done by the reputation of the Hollis pro- fessor, and the Dexter lecturer. An increased number of students in this department, or resident graduates, as they were called, soon began to appear ; and after a few years, another effort was made by the friends of the College, and of Unitarian Christianity, and some- what more than money enough was obtained to erect a separate building for the use of the school. Gradually the funds for the support of the institution have been growing, till they now amount to upwards of $84,000, and two professors have charge of from twenty to thirty pupils. It has happened, singularly enough, that the connec- tion of this school with the College has been thought disadvantageous by the especial friends of both institu- tions. The patrons of the school have thought it to be harmed by its union with the College, and the par- ticular friends of the academic department have thought this to be injuriously affected by having a Unitarian school associated with it. An injury to its reputation, with other denominations of Christians, it may have been ; but, as the reciprocal influence of the school and College on each other is practically nothing, it seems impossible that the real character of either should suffer by the connection. The Theological School has no more direct influence on the College than the Law School — not so much, indeed, — and it seems to be forgotten by many persons, that the only connection between them, as between any other two departments, is, that they are under the general direction of the HARVARD COLLEGE. 125 same board, the Corporation. There is little or no association between the students in any two depart- ments, and the funds are entirely distinct. Not a dol- lar given to the College has ever gone to the Theo- logical School ; and it may safely be predicted that none ever will go. The annual charge for instruction is low, being less than $70, while there are considerable funds for the aid of indigent students. Three years are deemed necessary for a proper course of preparation for the duties of the profession. The bequest of Mr. Bussey will probably afford to this school, as well as to the law department, the means of supporting two more pro- fessors. The Scientific School is the last which has been established in connection with the College, and indeed its existence is of so very recent a date, that less can be said of its actual condition than of its design, and the intentions of those who have contributed to create, and who will labor to direct it. It is proposed that systematic instruction shall here be given in physical and exact science generally, and in those branches more especially, which are particularly necessary for the better development of the resources of the country, and the cultivation of those faculties of the mind ap- propriate to that pursuit, in which Americans are cer- tainly not deficient. It has, for a long time, been the wish of some of the professors of the academic de- partment, that an effort should be made to establish a school of science of this kind ; and no one can doubt its adaptation to the condition of the country, nor the 126 HISTORY OF facilities for conducting it which Harvard College affords. More than one of the professors has time at his dis- posal, entirely free from any duty to the undergradu- ates, which he could, with propriety, devote to the in- struction of more advanced pupils ; and of these it is presumed that many will be found ready and anxious to avail themselves of the opportunity, and to pay the moderate fee which will be requisite to support the school. If anything be necessary to prove the adaptation of the plan to the state of the country, it may be found in the alacrity with which Mr. Lawrence, a gentleman not only of wealth, but of discernment, came forward, as soon as the project was made known to him, to promote the scheme by a rare liberality towards a branch of it which was provided with neither funds nor professors. He has founded two professorships, viz. : those of En- gineering and of Geology, and has given funds for the erection of two buildings, one of which is to be the labor- atory and lecture room of the professor of chemistry, while the other is to contain the lecture rooms and col- lections of the professors of geology and engineering. Another proof of the fitness of the times for the plan of promoting the cultivation of science, was the readiness with which a subscription of twenty-five thousand dol- lars for a telescope and observatory was filled up. Astronomy is one of the studies to be pursued in the Scientific School, and the late splendid bequest of one hundred thousand dollars to this department, by Mr. Edward B. Phillips, secures to the College the means of cultivating that science. HARVARD COLLEGE. 127 With such assistance from the generous, and with the aid of the accomphshed men who have already- taken places as professors in the school, it is impossible not to indulge in pleasing anticipations of the useful- ness and reputation of this department, and conse- quently of the interest that will be more and more widely felt in the prosperity and progress of Harvard College, which we have traced, in brief outline, from the earliest settlement of Massachusetts to the present time. The contrast between what it was in 1642, and what it is in 1848, is striking. The first four classes con- sisted of twenty pupils, and the instructors were the president and, perhaps, a tutor or two. There was a single building for the accommodation of the entire institution, and somewhat less than three acres of land constituted the whole of its fixed property. At this moment, the pupils, in all the departments, number six hundred, with a good prospect of increase ; the in- structors are twenty-three professors, four tutors, and three teachers of the modern languages. Besides these, are two astronomical observers, two librarians, and various other oihcers of government, of account, and of record. The buildings are thirteen in Cam- bridge, including the Observatory, and one in Boston, and another is to be immediately erected in Cambridge. The enclosure in which are situated the greater number of the buildings, contains twenty-three or twenty-four acres, and the institution possesses, besides, various pieces of real estate in the chies of Cambridge and Bos- ton. Its other property, for the purposes of all the de- 128 HISTORY OF partments, amounts to about seven hundred thousand dollars. There is nothing more striking in the character of the College, throughout its whole history, and especially in its later years of development and expansion, than the ease with which, from its organization, and its un- observed influence over reflecting minds, it is enabled speedily to adapt itself to the varying and growing wants of the public. Its organization is a singular specimen of skill and good fortune combined. It is sufficiently under direct responsibility to the commu- nity, through the large and constantly changing Board of Overseers ; it is sufficiently steady in its course of action, from the comparatively slow changes which take place in the Corporation. It is eflicient in instruc- tion, from securing the services of leading minds in every branch of knowledge ; and it is tolerably sure of future growth, from the influence it has justly acquired in the community by its usefulness. As long as it shall retain this power of adaptation to the public wants, as long as knowledge shall be desired, freedom valued, religion and virtue reverenced, may Harvard College continue to perform its appropriate duties, bestow and receive its appropriate honors, be cherished by the public, and live in the hearts of its alumni. APPENDIX THE ACT ESTABLISHING THE OVERSEEKS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. " At a General Court held at Boston, in the year 1642. " Whereas, through the good hand of God upon us, there is a College founded in Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex, called Harvard College, for the en- couragement whereof this Court has given the sum of four hundred pounds, and also the revenue of the ferry betwixt Charlestown and Boston, and that the well ordering and managing of the said College is of great concernment ; " It is therefore ordered by this Court, and the au- thority thereof, that the Governor and Deputy Governor for the time being, and all the magistrates of this juris- diction, together with the teaching elders of the six next adjoining towns, viz. Cambridge, Watertown, Charlestown, Boston, Roxbury, and Dorchester, and the President of the said College for the time being, shall, from time to time, have full power and authority to make and establish all such orders, statutes, and constitutions, as they shall see necessary for the insti- tuting, guiding, and furthering of the said College, and 9 130 APPENDIX. the several members thereof, from time to time, in piety, morality, and learning ; as also to dispose, order, and manage, to the use and behoof of the said College, and the members thereof, all gifts, legacies, bequeaths, revenues, lands, and donations, as either have been, are, or shall be, conferred, bestowed, or any ways shall fall, or come, to the said College. " And whereas it may come to pass, that many of the said magistrates and said elders may be absent, or otherwise employed about other weighty affairs, when the said College may need their present help and counsel, — It is therefore ordered, that the greater num- ber of said magistrates and elders, which shall be pres- ent, with the President, shall have the power of the whole. Provided, that if any constitution, order, or orders, by them made, shall be found hurtful to the said College, or the members thereof, or to the weal-public, then, upon appeal af the party or parties grieved, unto the company of Overseers, first mentioned, they- shall repeal the said order, or orders, if they shall see cause, at their next meeting, or stand accountable thereof to the next General Court." THE CHARTER OF THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, UNDER THE SEAL OF THE COL- ONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, AND BEARING DATE, MAY 31ST, A. D. 1650. " Whereas, through the good hand of God, many well- devoted persons have been, and daily are, moved, and stirred up, to give and bestow, sundry gifts, legacies, lands, and revenues, for the advancement of all good lit- erature, arts, and sciences, in Harvard College, in Cam- bridge in the county of Middlesex, and to the mainte- nance of the President and Fellows, and for all accom- modations of buildings, and all other necessary pro- APPENDIX. 131 visions, that may conduce to the education of the English and Indian youth of this country, in knowledge and godliness. " It is therefore ordered and enacted by this Court, and the authority thereof, that for the furthering of so good a work, and for the purposes aforesaid, from henceforth, that the said College, in Cambridge in Mid- dlesex, in New England, shall be a Corporation, con- sisting of seven persons, to wit, a President, five Fel- lows, and a Treasurer or Bursar ; and that Henry Dunster shall be the first President ; Samuel Mather, Samuel Danforth, Masters of Art, Jonathan Mitchell, Comfort Starr, and Samuel Eaton, Bachelors of Art, shall be the five Fellows ; and Thomas Danforth to be present Treasurer, all of them being inhabitants in the Bay, and shall be the first seven persons of which the said Corporation shall consist ; and that the said seven persons, or the greater number of them, procuring the presence of the Overseers of the College, and by their counsel and consent, shall have power, and are hereby authorized, at any time, or times, to elect a new Presi- dent, Fellows, or Treasurer, so oft, and from time to time, as any of the said persons shall die, or be re- moved ; which said President and Fellows, for the time being, shall for ever hereafter, in name and fact, be one body politic and corporate in law, to all intents and purposes ; and shall have perpetual succession ; and shall be called by the name of President and Fellows of Harvard College, and shall, from time to time, be eligible as aforesaid, and by that name they, and their successors, shall and may purchase and acquire to themselves, or take and receive upon free gift and do- nation, any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, within this jurisdiction of the Massachusetts, not exceeding five hundred pounds per annum, and any goods and sums of money whatsoever, to the use and behoof of the said President, Fellows, and scholars of the said College ; and also may sue and plead, or be sued and 132 APPENDIX. impleaded by the name aforesaid, in all Courts and places of judicature, within the jurisdiction aforesaid. *' And that the said President, with any three of the Fellows, shall have power, and are hereby authorized, when they shall think fit, to make and appoint a com- mon seal for the use of the said Corporation. And the President and Fellows, or major part of them, from time to time, may meet and choose such officers and servants for the College, and make such allowance to them, and them also to remove, and after death, or removal, to choose such others, and to make, from time to time, such orders and by-laws, for the better order- ing, and carrying on the work of the College, as they shall think fit ; provided, the said orders be allowed by the Overseers. And also, that the President and Fel- lows, or major part of them with the Treasurer, shall have power to make conclusive bargains for lands and tenements, to be purchased by the said Corporation, for valuable consideration. " And for the better ordering of the government of the said College and Corporation, Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the President, and three more of the Fellows, shall and may, from time to time, upon due warning or notice given by the President to the rest, hold a meetmg, for the debating and concluding of affairs con- cerning the profits and revenues of any lands, and dis- posing of their goods (provided that all the said dis- posings be according to the will of the donors) ; and for direction in all emergent occasions ; execution of all orders and by-laws ; and for the procuring of a gen- eral meeting of all the Overseers and Society, in great and difficult cases ; and in case of non-agreement ; in all which cases aforesaid, the conclusion shall be made by the major part, the said President having a casting voice, the Overseers consenting thereunto ; and that all the aforesaid transactions shall tend to and for the use and behoof of the President, Fellows, scholars, and officers of the said College, and for all accommodations of APPENDIX. 133 buildings, books, and all other necessary provisions and furnitures, as may be for the advancement and educa- tion of youth, in all manner of good literature, arts, and sciences. And further, be it ordered by this Court, and the authority thereof, that all the lands, tenements, and hereditaments, houses, or revenues, within this juris- diction, to the aforesaid President or College appertain- ing, not exceeding the value of five hundred pounds per annum, shall, from henceforth, be freed from all civil impositions, taxes, and rates ; all goods to the said Corporation, or to any scholars thereof appertaining, shall be exempted from all manner of toll, customs, and excise whatsoever. And that the said President, Fel- lows, and scholars, together with the servants, and other necessary officers to the said President, or College ap- pertaining, not exceeding ten, viz. three to the Presi- dent, and seven to the College belonging, shall be ex- empted from all personal civil offices, military exer- cises, or services, watchings, and wardings ; and such of their estates, not exceeding one hundred pounds a man, shall be free from all country taxes or rates what- soever, and no other. " In witness whereof, the Court hath caused the seal of the colony to be hereunto affixed. Dated the one and thirtieth day of the third month, called May, anno 1650. r -, Thomas Dudley, Governor.^"* [l. s.] [A copy of the original, engrossed on parchment, under the signature of Governor Dudley, with the col- ony seal appendant, is in the custody of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.] 134 APPENDIX. FAMILY OF REV. JOHN HARVARD. As every particular connected, however remotely, with the name and memory of this distinguished man, possesses a profound interest for all who have derived benefit from his wise liberality, it will not be inappro- priate to mention the facts that the name and the family still exist in England ; and that those who claim con- nection with our founder, are in positions not unbecom- ing their honorable origin. A correspondence has been carried on between Presi- dent Everett, and a gentleman who now bears the name of John Harvard, who is a Dissenter, and a min- ister of the Wesleyan Church, for the purpose of ascer- taining, if possible, some farther particulars of the life of him who gave that name its celebrity. But the ob- scurity is irremediable. The traditions of the family go no farther back than to 1680, forty-two years after the death of our John Harvard. President Everett has kindly permitted the insertion of the following extracts from an interesting letter addressed to him, dated Ply- mouth, England, August 31, 1847 : " It has indeed been a high satisfaction to me to be certified more fully than before, of the eminent esteem in which the name of my venerable ancestor is held in the United States, and to have the history of the insti- tution which, by the grace of God, he was enabled to establish. I desire, in behalf of myself and family, to return you our best thanks for the pleasing and accu- rate information on these subjects, of which your kind- ness, and that of the Fellows of your College, have put us in possession. For myself, I regret that I am not more worthy of the honored name which, more fully than any member of my family, I bear. APPENDIX. 135 " I am thankful to possess more precise and accurate information respecting your founder, than was furnished by our family traditions. You will not wonder, how- ever, that our information is both scarce and vague, when you consider the following facts, which, as a member of the family, I regard with some interest. 1. We have nothing at all to help us of a documentary kind. 2. My grandfather, from whom all our information has been derived, and who died about four years ago, was an only child, and was born some months after the death of his father. 3. We have made every inquiry in our power, and never been able to find any person not of our immediate family bearing the name of ' Harvard.' It seems as if the fatal disease, which removed your venerable founder to his reward, had ad- hered to the family from his day to the present ; allow- ing the name to be transmitted only in one line to the members of the family now living. By consumption, in its incipient or matured forms, 1 have been bereaved of five brothers and three sisters. " I have enclosed a memorandum of the family, which is, perhaps, somewhat more definite than that which was conveyed to you by Mr. Somerby, and which may not be uninteresting. " I regret that no portrait of ' John Harvard ' has descended to us ; otherwise we should have had much pleasure in transmitting to you at least a copy of it. " Apologizing for the length of this communication, which is to be ascribed to the kindness with which it has been invited, I remain, with much respect, Your obedient servant, John Harvard." The following is the memorandum above referred to: 136 APPENDIX. TABLE OF GENEALOGY. The family tradition reaches as far back as 1680, or about forty-two years after the death of John Harvard, the founder of Harvard College. John Harvard was born about the year 1680. His son, John Harvard, was born in 1709, and re- sided at Somerton. His son, John Harvard, was born in 1739, and re- sided at Bristol. He was married to Edith Hayard, of Bath, in 1760, and died in the following year, just before the birth of His son, John Harvard, who was born in Bristol, in the year 1761, and died in August, 1843, aged 82. In 1789, he was married to Mary Otley, of London, who still survives, and by whom he had these four sons, now living : 1. William Martin Harvard, born 1790. He is a Wesleyan minister, now residing at Maidstone, in Kent; having just returned from a mission in behalf of the Wesleyan church in Western Canada. He has three sons, who are Wesleyan ministers, viz. : Henry Moore, Midsomer Norton, Somersetshire ; George Clough, Bridgewater, Somersetshire ; Stephen Parks, Penrith, Cumberland. He has five other sons, the eldest of whom is now in the United States, but it is not known where. 2. John Harvard, born in 1792. Holds office under the Corporation of London. Has one son, John, born 1819 ; now a Wesleyan minister, Plymouth, Devon. 3. Henry Moore Harvard, born 1805. In the civil service of the Honorable East India Company at Ben- ares. He has no son. Samuel Hayard Harvard, born 1807. Residing at Stoke, near Norwich. He has one son, Robert, born 1829. APPENDIX. 137 By the above statement it appears that there are now living fourteen males who bear the name of Harvard ; — two, my father and myself, who have the name of John Harvard. As I think I mentioned before, we judge ourselves to be descended from William, the brother of your founder ; but we can speak with no approach to cer- tainty of anything more than the above. (Signed) John Harvard. Plymouth, August 31st, 1847. The following is a copy of a memorandum of the admission of Harvard to Emanuel College, Oxford : 1627. Job : Harvard P. Dec. 19 — Mid —A.M. 35. Another is as follows : 1628. Job: Harvard. P. A.B. 31. M. 35. The probable meaning is, that John Harvard was admitted a Pensioner in 1627, took his Bachelor's de- gree in 1631, and his Master's degree in 1635. " Mid." perhaps refers to the county (Middlesex) from which he came. 138 APPENDIX. MONUMENT TO JOHN HARVARD. The burial-place of the founder of Harvard College had long ceased to be nnarked, by anything which designated the spot in the church-yard, where reposed the mortal remains of one whose name and memory are truly imperishable. Even the slab which, with the primitive simplicity of New England habits, tells the name and age of the deceased, was gone ; and tradi- tion, only, pointed out the place consecrated to his ashes. His best monument has always been the growing insti- tution to which he gave such an efficient impulse. How- ever unnecessary to his renown, therefore, it was not creditable to those who had enjoyed the benefit of his munificence, that no act of theirs should show their gratitude and their respect ; and it was to remove this blemish upon their own fame that the alumni determined, in 1837, that an obelisk of granite should be erected, not to preserve his memory, but to show their own sense of obligation, to point to his example with honor, and to indicate to coming ages the veneration in which his character was held by one of the many generations he had blessed. The first suggestion of this project came from him, who was destined, a few years later, to hold the first place in the government, as he had long held a distin- guished rank among the alumni of the College ; and the plan met with that ready adoption, in the commu- nity, which indicates its adaptation to the feeling of the times, and was followed by the prompt execution char- acteristic of New England activity. In just a year from the date of the dinner party where the monument to Harvard was first talked of, a subscription of one dollar from each person had been collected, which amounted to enough for the purpose ; and a monument, APPENDIX. 139 of a chaste and suitable design, had been prepared. It was completed, and set in its place, with appropriate ceremonies, on the 26th September, 1828, when the Hon. Edward Everett delivered an address marked by those just thoughts, and that eloquent language, which have so often characterized his speeches, and delighted his audiences. The following sentences extracted from it describe the monument, and repeat the inscriptions : " It is constructed of our native granite, in a solid shaft of fifteen feet elevation, and in the simplest style of ancient art. On the eastern face of the shaft, and looking towards the land of his birth and education, we have directed his name to be inscribed upon the solid granite ; and we propose to attach to it, in a marble tablet, this short inscription, in his mother tongue : •' On the twenty-sixth day of September, A. D. 1828, this stone was erected by the Graduates of the University at Cambridge, in honor of its Founder, who died at Charlestown, on the twenty-sixth ^ day of September, A. D. 1638. " On the opposite face of the shaft, and looking westward, toward the walls of the University which bears his name, we have provided another inscription, which, in consideration of his character as the founder of a seat of learning, is expressed in the Latin tongue : " In piam et perpetuam memoriam Johannis Harvardii, annis fere ducentis post obitum ejus peractis, Academiae qusae est Cantabrigiae Nov-Anglorum alumni, ne diutius vir de htteris nostris optime meritus sine monumento quamvis humih jaceret, hunc lapidem ponendum curaverunt." ' Harvard died on the 14th day of September, O. S., corresponding more nearly to the 24th of the present style. 140 APPENDIX. EPITAPHS ON PRESIDENTS DUNSTER, CHAUNCY, OAKES, LEVERETT, WADSWORTH, HOLYOKE, WILLARD, WEB- BER, AND KIRKLAND, TUTOR FLINT, AND PROFESSOR WIGGLESWORTH. 1 HENRICUS . DUNSTER i PRIMUS . COLLEGII . HARVARDINI . PRASES VIR . PIETATE . DOCTRINA . PRUDENTIA . INSIGNIS OBIIT . SCITUAT^ . AN . M.DC.LIX. HUC . TRANSLATUM . EST . CORPUS UT .QUOD . ILLE . IN . VOTIS . HABUERAT PROPE . ACADEMIAM . A . SE . TUM . NUTRITAM . IN . CUNABULIS EX . RE . FAMILIARI TUM . RITIBUS . DISCIPLINIS . LEftlBUS . INSTRUCTAM REQUIESCERET MONUMENTUM . HOC . INIURIA . TEMPORIS . DIRUPTUM SOCII . /ETERNUM . ACADEMIC . DECUS . CURANTES EEFICIENDUM . JUSSERUNT . AN . M.DCCC.XLV. ^ This epitaph, and those upon Presidents Joseph Willard and Sam- uel "Webber, were written by C. Folsom, Esq. at the request of the Corporation, in 1846, when the monuments of the Presidents buried at Cambridge were repaired, and a marble slab was placed on the College tomb, in which were deposited the remains of Presidents Willard and "Webber. The others are copied from the " Epitaphs from the Old Burying-Ground in Cambridge. "With Notes, by "William Thaddeus Harris." 1845. APPENDIX. 141 1672. Conditura Hie est corpus Caeoli Chaunc^i S. S. Theolog-ise Baccalaur: et Collegii Harvardini nov-Angl. Per XVII annorum spatium, prtesidis vigilantissimi, viri plane integerrimi, concionatoris eximii, pietate pariter ac liberal i eruditione ornatissimi. Qui obiit in Domino Feb. XIX. An. Dom. M.DC LXX.I. et setatis suae, LXXX.II. 16S1. Ukiani Oakesii, cujus quod reliquum est clauditur hoc tumulo; Explorata integritate, summa monim gravitate, Omniumque meliorum arlium insigni peritia, spectatissimi clarissimique omnibus modis viri, theologi merito suo celeberrimi, concionatoris vere mellillui, Cantab, ecclesiae doctissimi et ortliodoxi pastoris, in Collegio Harv. Prsesidis vigilantissimi, maximam pietatis, eruditionis, facundise, laudem adepti; Qui, repentina morte subito correptus, in Jesu sinum efflavit animam Julii XXV. A. D. M.DC.LXXX.I. memoriiE ; ^tatis suae L. Plurima quid referam, satis est si dixeris unum hoc dictu satis est — Hie jacet Oakesius. 142 APPENDIX. Hie jacent Reliquiae Honoratiss. et Rev. admodum Dom. JoHANNis Leverett, Armig. qui Majoribus oriundus illustribus, illustrius nomen reddidit quam accepit. Virtus et Pietas, Sapientia et Gravitas juventuti fuere Laurea, nee non Senectuti Corona. Majcstas et Authoritas in oculo, voce, vultu; Benignitas et Humanitas in corde re- sederunt ; in Secundis moderatus, in adversis constanti et infracto fuit animo. Maritns et Pater amantissimus, amicis dulcis et fidus, prudens Consiliarius, fortis Auxiliarius. LingTiarum et Artiuni Academicarum inter peri- tissimos nee minus in Jurisprudentia et Theo- logia quam in Philosopliia conspicuus. Omnes fere Honoris gradus conscendit et ornavit. Juvenem admodum luirata est et plausit Academia Tutorem primari- um et Socium ; ut ct postea Communium Domus Pro- locutorem, De Probatione Testamentorum judicem, et in Superiori Tribunali Justitiarium ; Regi a consiliis assLstentem et in variis Legationibus honorificis et moment osis sagaci- ter et integr^ versantem, contemplata est universa Patria. Tandem Collegii Principalis et Societatis Regiae soci- us cooptatus, Scholse Prophetarum ad annos sedecim pari Authoritate et Lenitate prassidebat : donee morte in- stantanea Deo visum sit a Filiis Prophetarum Dominum e Lectoet Somno in ccclum as.sumere, Maii m" MDCCXXIV. ^Et. LXH. APPENDIX. 143 Sub hoc Marmore conditum est Corpus Viri admodum Reverendi D. Benjamin Wadsworth nuper Collegii Han^ardini Prsesidis lectissimi ; olim primse Ecclesise apud Bostonienses Pastoris fidelissimi. Qui Scientia tam Divina, quam Humana, Pietate & Charitate, Prudentia & Humilitate, Pati- -entia & Fortitudine, Diligenlia & Fidelitate prge plurimis claniit, imo et harum omnium Virtutum Exemplar edidit vividum ac illustrissimum : Quiq postquam munere Pastoris Ecclesise per spatium triginta eirciter Annorum ; et deinde Prsesidis Academiae Annos quasi duodecim fideli- -ter perfunctus fuerat. Spa Beatse resur- -rectionis, et Solamine Verborum Apostoli I. Pet. I. III. ad 10. ex Corde atque Ore ema- -nantium obiit in Domino die Martii de- -cimo sexto, Anno MDCCXXXVII. ^t. 68. Pretiosa est Oculis Domini^ Mors Sanctorum. 144 APPENDIX. M. S. Viri admodum reverend! Pariter atque honorandi Edvardi Holyoke ; Qui, Praestanti decoratus ingenio ; Doctrina instructissimus ; Arte moderandi apprime felix ; Prfeclarus eloquentia ; Mira in rebus suo tempore exequendis Accuratione preeditus ; Moribus ornatus sanctissimis ; Integritate preesertim ab omni parte intacta ; Collegii Harvardini PrcEsidis, A jacto fundamento undecim munus, Amplius triginta annis, Cum summa laude sustinuit Ac dignitate. In vita insuper privata Edidit imitandum omnibus exemplum. Conjugis amantissimi ; erga liberos pietatis ; Urbanitatis in hospites ingenufe comisque ; Summi erga amicos studii et eonstantis ; Pauperibus elargiendi saepissime ; Religionis erga Deum, mediante Christo, insignis. Vita demum optime peracta, Animam Jesu commendavit, expiravitque, Calendis Juniis, Anno Christi nati MDCCLXIX. ^tatis suae LXXX. APPENDIX. 145 JOSEPHO . WlLLAED . S . T . D . LL.D. Collegii . Harvardini . Praesidi . XIII. Biddefordiae . In . Provincia . Manensi . Nato Abavi . Simonis . De . Republica Proavi . Samuelis . De . CoUegio Bene . Merentium . JEmulo Novae . Bedfordiae . Mortuo . An . M . DCC .Iv . ^tatis . Suae .LXVI Viro . Integerrimo . Strenuo . Docto . Pio Theologiae . Astrononiise . Et . Grascarum . Literarum . Apprime . Perito Ecclesise . In . Beverleio . Pastori . Fidelissimo Qui . Quum . Tutor . Primum . Ac . Socius . In . Academia . Fuisset Postremum . Eandem . Dum . Incomraodis . Belli . Recentibus Elanquescerat Suscipiens . Erexit . Sanis . Instruxit . Disciplinis . Et . Tanta . Cum . Gravitate . Candore . Benignitate Per . XXIII . Circiter . Annos . Administravit Ut . Egregiam . Apud . Omnes . Sibi . Comparavit . Opinionem Senatus . Academicus H . M. Ponendum . Curavit. 10 146 APPENDIX. ± Hie . Situs . Est Samuel . Webber . S . T . D. Praeses . Collegii . Havardini . XIV. Byfeldiae . In . Agro . Essexiensi . Natus Vir . Probus . Gravis . Mitis . Sedulus Doctrina . Ac . Pietate . Insignis Qui Quum . Tutor . Primum . In . Academia . Fuisset Inde . Per . Annos . Circiter . XVII. Mathematicas . Disciplinas . Summa . Cum . Laude . Professus . Esset Atque . Tandem . Ad . Gubernacula . Sederet Subita . Eheu . Morte . Correptus Decessit . Meritis . Quam . Annis . Cumulatior An . M . DCCC . X . ^tatis . Sua; . LI. Hoc . Monumentum Senatus . Academicus , P . C. An . M . DCCC . XLVl. APPENDIX. ^^^ The monument to Dr. Kirkland is erected on Har- vard Hill, at Mount Auburn. On the north side is the following inscription : Joannes . Thornton . Kirkland V.D.M.S.T.D. Decessit , Aprilis . Die . XVI A.D.N. MDCCCXL JEtatis . Suae . LXIX On the opposite side — JoANNi . Thornton . Kirkland Viro . Hoaorato . Dilecto Auctoritate . Suavitate Ingenii . Acumine . Serraonis . Venustate Et . Animi . Quadam . Altitudine Praestanti Academiae . Harvardianae Per . Annos . XVII . Faustos . Prssidi ^quo . Vigilanti . Benigno . Pio Alumni . Grate . Memores Hoc . Monximenlum . Ponendum. Curaverunt 148 APPENDIX. Huic tumulo mandantur exuviae Viri adraodum venerabilis Henrici Flynt Armigeri Academiae Harvardinae Alumni, Ejusdemque (circiter annos sexaginta) Socii et Tutoris Magna ex Parte Primarii, Equanimitate vix sequiparanda Praediti : Pietate, Probitate, et Eruditione conspicui : Studiis Historicis, Politicis et Prsecipue Sacris, Et inter Sacra Propheticis, Maxime addicti : Concionatoris gTavis, solidi et pungentis : Qui Charitatis Catholicae Exemplar Haud aspernandum Bonis omnibus exliibuit Et Graviorum Religionis Cliristianae Tenax De Minutiis fuit parum solicit us. Tandem Plenus Dierum Et Longsevitate saturatus Annum JEtatis Octogesimum quintum agens, Inconcussa spe beatae Immortalitatis Efflavit Annimam, Decirao Tertio Februarii, Annoque Salutis humanae Millesimo Septingentesimo Sexagesimo. APPENDIX. 149 1765. Huic tumulo mandantur exuviae Viri Reverendi Edvardi Wigglesworth S. T. D. Senatus Harvardiiii plus annis quadrag-inta Socii : Theologiae Professoris HoULsiani primi ; Cui muneri Perspicax ingenium, ratiocinandi facultas eximia, mens Peritia rerum humanarum divinarumque accurala, Stylus concinnus lucidusque in rebus exponendis ordo, Et quoque pietas ab iiieunte astate insigiiis, Morumque probitas Hunc ante alios idonemn fecerant : Ipsiusque deinde praelectiones Ad doeendum mire accommodatas, Literatis item omnibus probatissimas reddiderunt. In Controversiis Temperatus, aequus, candidus, Simul et acer, nervosus, prspotens extitit. In domo sua, et inter cives, Conjux peramans, parens benevolentissimus ; Paterfamilias Justus, mansuetus, clemens ; Amicus comis, ardens, constans ; Egentibus liberalis ; Consulere cupientibus adilu facillimus Animo placido, hilari, benigno, In rebus vel secundis vel adversis immoto, Observantiam ubique concOiavit et amorem. Partes sibi concreditas fideliter exequendo, Mentis ad extremum usque spii'itum compos, Christo vixit. In Christo Spe immortalilis beataB erectus, XVI Januarii, A. D. M.DCCLXV, ^tatis LXXHI, suaviter obdormiit. 150 APPENDIX. ADDRESS TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON. October 27, 1789. To the President of the United States : Sir, — It is with singular pleasure that we, the Presi- dent and Fellows of Harvard University in Cambridge, embrace the opportunity which your most acceptable visit to this part of the country gives us of paying our respects to the first magistrate of the United States. It afforded us the highest satisfaction to find this large and respectable nation unanimous in placing at the head of the new government the firm and disinterested patriot, the illustrious and intrepid soldier, who, during her struggles in the cause of liberty, braving every difficulty and danger in the field, under the smiles of a kind Providence, led her armies to victory and triumph, and finally established her freedom and independence. Nor were we less gratified when we found that the person whose military skill and exertions had been so happily succeeded, actuated by the same spirit of pa- triotism, did not decline the toilsome and arduous office ; but listening to the voice of his country, left the tran- quil scenes of private life to secure those blessings, we were in the utmost danger of losing. We were fully persuaded that the man, who, during so great a length of time, and in the most trying circumstances, had been accepted by the multitude of his brethren, would, in this new station, enjoy their entire confidence and en- sure their highest esteem. Nor have we been disap- pointed. Permit us. Sir, to congratulate you on the happy establishment of the government of the Union, on the patriotism and wisdom which have marked its public transactions, and the very general approbation which the people have given to its measures. At the same APPENDIX. 151 time, Sir, being fully sensible tbat you are strongly im- pressed with the necessity of religion, virtue, and solid learning for supporting freedom and good government, and fixing the happiness of the people upon a firm and permanent basis, \Ve beg leave to recommend to your favorable notice the University entrusted to our care, which was early founded for promoting these important ends. When you took the command of the troops of your country, you saw the University in a state of depres- sion — its members dispersed — its literary treasures removed — and the Muses fled from the din of arms then heard within its walls. Happily restored, in the course of a few months, by your glorious successes, to its former privileges, and to a state of tranquillity, it re- ceived its returning members, and our youth have since pursued without interruption their literary courses, and fitted themselves for usefulness in church and state. The public rooms which you formerly saw empty, are now replenished with the necessary means of improv- ing the human mind in literature and science ; and everything within these walls wears the aspect of peace, so necessary to the cultivation of the liberal arts. While we exert ourselves, in our corporate capacity, to promote the great objects of this institution, we rest assured of your protection and patronage. We wish you, Sir, the aid and support of Heaven while you are discharging the duties of your most im- portant station. May your success in promoting the best interests of the nation, be equal to your highest wishes ; and after you shall have long rejoiced in the prosperity and glory of your country, may you receive the approbation of Him who ruleth among the nations. Joseph Willard, President of the University. 152 APPENDIX. ANSWER OF PRESIDENT WASHINGTON. To the President and Fellows of Harvard University, in Cambridge ■ Gentlemen, — Requesting you to accept my sincere thanks for the Address with which you have thought proper to honor me, I entreat you to be persuaded of the respectful and affectionate consideration with which I receive it. Elected by the suffrages of a too partial country to the eminent and arduous station which I now hold, it is peculiarly flattering to find an approbation of my con- duct in the judgment of men whose reverend characters must sanction the opinions they are pleased to express. Unacquainted with the expression of sentiments which I do not feel, you will do me justice by believing confidently in my disposition to promote the interests of science and true religion. It gives me sincere satisfaction to learn the flourish- ing state of your literary republic — assured of its efficiency in the past events of our political system, and of its further influence on those means which make the best support of good government, I rejoice that the direction of its measures is lodged with men whose ap- proved knowledge, integrity and patriotism give an un- questionable assurance of their success. That the Muses may long enjoy a tranquil residence within the walls of your University, and that you, gen- tlemen, may be happy in contemplating the progress of improvement, through the various branches of your important departments, are among the most pleasing of my wishes and expectations. George Washington. APPENDIX. 1^ TABLE I. GRANTS BY THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS TO HARVARD COLLEGE, FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO THE PRESENT TIME. FROM THE STATE RECORDS. Date 1636 1639 1640 1646 1650 1653 1654 1657 1666 1672 1675 1682 1692 1694 1695 1702 1708 1709 1711 1712 1713 1715 1716 1717 1718 £ Sterling. £ Lawful. Towards a school or College, 400 Cambridge and Watertowii rates, £30 12^. and £20, . . . . 50 12 Ferry between Boston and Charles- town, To Pres. Dunster, to be paid in grain or rates, 100 The Charter exempted the College from taxation on real property to the value of £500 sterling per annum. Two thousand acres of land. [Never obtained.] £100 per annum, for seven years, 700 Five hundred acres of land granted to President. To the President, . . . . 20 £150 per anniun to the President for three years, 450 £100 do. do. seven years, . 700 £100 do. do. ten years. 1000 " Merriconeag in Casco Bay, with 1000 acres adjacent," granted to President and Fellows. [This grant was de- feated by adverse claims.] To the President, . . . . 100 Do. . 150 Do. £50 per annum for six years, 300 Do. £60 " " " " 360 Do. £150 » " three » 450 Do. for repairmg his house, 12 1 2 Do ISO Do 180 Do. £190 at 291 per ct. disc, from sterl. 133 19 Do. 190at33| " " 126 13 4 Do. 190 at 40 " " 114 Do. 180 at 40 « « 108 Do. 180 at 45 " 99 For erecting Massachusetts Hall £1500 at 45 per cent, discount from ster- ling, Amount carried forward, 825 1957 4 4 4602 1 2 154 APPENDIX. Date 1719 1720 1722 1723 1725 1726 1727 1735 1736 1737 1738 1741 1743 1746 1747 174S 1750 1752 Amount brought forward, To the Pre!*ident £180 at 50 per cent discount from sterling-, For the new building, £2000 at 50 per cent, discount from sterling, Two hundred and fifty acres of land in the town of Lunenburg, sold for £120 at 50 per cent .... To the President, £400 at 50 pr ct. disc " " 150 "57 « « u 150 "60 " « « 220 "64 " 360 "64 " For President's House, £1000 at 64 per cent, discount, . To the President, £360 per annum for eight years is £2880, at 64 per cent, discount, .... To Prof Wigglesworth, £50 at 78 per cent, discount, .... To the President, £120 at 76 per cent. discount, .... To Prof Wigglesworth, £16 13^. 4d. at 76 per cent, discount, . To the President, £200 at 76 per cent discount, .... To the President, £300 at 79 per cent discount, , . • . To Prof Wigglesworth, £16, 13^. 4d. at 79 per cent, discount, . To the President, £150 at 79 pr ct disc To Prof. Wiggles'tJi, 30 " 79 " To the President, 200 " 79 " To Prof. Wiggles'th, 25 " 79 " To the President, 240 " 83 " To Prof Wiggles'th, 25 " 83 To the President, 300 " 84 « To Prof Wiggles'th, 75 " 84 " To the President, 350 " 85 " To Prof. Wigglesworth, 125 at 85 per cent, discount, To the President, £336 13^. 4d. at 90 per cent, discount, . To Prof. Wigglesworth, £200 at 90 per cent, discount, .... To Prof Wintlu-op, £50 at 90 percent. discount, To the President, £250 at 90 per cent, discount, £ Sterling 1957 4 4 90 1000 1036 16 11 28 16 4 48 63 60 200 64 10 60 79 4 129 12 360 3 10 31 10 6 6 42 5 5 40 16 4 5 48 12 52 10 Amount carried forward. 18 15 33 13 4 20 5 25 5540 12 8 APPENDIX. 155 Date Amount brought forward, 1753 To Prof Wigglesworlh, £100 at 90 per cent. di.scount, To Pruf Winthrop,£60 at 90 pr ct. disc To tlie President, Tu Prof Wigorlesworth, To Prof Winthrop, . To Rubbi Judah Monis, instructer in Hebrew, I755.T0 the President, £250 per annum, for six years, .... To Prof Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, . iTo R. Monis, .... 1757 To Prof Wigglesworth, £100 for four years, To Prof Winthrop, £90 per annvim for four vears, .... To R. Monis, .... 1758 1760 1761 To *\ie President, To Prof Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, 1762 To the President, To Prof Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, . Towards erection of a new building (Mollis Hall,) .... For materials for the same. One si.vty-tourth part of twelve town ships in Maine, 1763 To the President, To Prof. Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, To Prof Sewall, Towards the new building. For defraying arrearages on the same, 1764 To the President, To Prof Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, To Prof Sewall, To Andrew Eliot, butler, For a " water engine," Amount carried forward, . 5556 12 8 14,978 18 10 ^ At this period, the currency was changing from paper to specie J and although it may not have been completed by this year, yet, as there are no means of ascertaining the exact diflerence, the nominal amount is allowed. £ Sterling. 5540 12 8 10 6 £ T-a\vful. 4602 1 2 190 150 20 1500 200 190 40 400 360 18 20 20 230 90 80 250 100 90 2000 500 250 100 90 30 17b3 530 7 2 250 100 100 40 75 10 6 100 156 APPENDIX. Date Amount broug-ht forward To students for losses by the burning of Harvard Hall To others belonging to the College, suflerers by the lire Towards rebuilding Harvard Hall 1765 To the President, To Prof Wiggles worth, To Prof. Winthrop, . . . . To Prof Sewall, Towards rebuilding Harvard Hall, 176G To the President, . . . , To Prof Wigglesworth, To Prof Winthrop, .... For rebuilding Harvard Hall, 1767 To the President, £200 per annum for seven years, To Prof. Wigglesworth, £100 per an- num for nine years, excepting the year 1772, when £80 only were allowed him, . To Prof Winthrop, £100 per annum for nine years, To Prof. Sewall 1768 1769 1770 1771 £ Sterling r^55Q 12 8 " " £40 per annum, for six years. Four eighty-fourth parts of towns in Maine. Three sixty-fourth parts of other towns in Maine. 1775 To the President, . . . . 1777 " " £242 4s. 5d. which, at the average rate of depreciation for that year,' was worth about To Prof Wigglesworth, £189 175. 8d. worth about ..... To Prof Winthrop, £180, worth about To Prof Sewall, 100, To the President 400, which in that year was worth about To Prof Wigglesworth, £200, worth about To Prof Winthrop, £180, worth about To Prof Sewall, 100, " To the President, 1000, of which Amount carried forward, 1778 1779 5556 12 8 24,447 See Felt's History of Massachusetts Currency, pp. 186 and 196 APPENDIX. 157 Date 1780 1781 1783 1784 1786 1814 £ Sterling £ Lawful. Amount brought forward, 5556 12 8 24,447 3 7| the average value in that year was about 67 To Prof. Wigglesworth, £500, worth about 34 To Prof Sewall, £290, worth about 19 6 4 ToProfWmtlirop,500, " 34 To the President, £7497 10^. which, at fortjr for one, is ... . 187 6 3 To Prof. Wigglesworth, £3500, which, at forty for one, is worth 87 10 To Prof Winthrop, £800, which, at forty for one, is worth 20 To Prof SewaU, £2080, which, at forty for one, is worth . . . . 52 To Prof Wnhams, (in specie,) . 175 To Prof Wigglesworth, « 150 To Prof Sewall, « 47 19 To the President, . . . . 261 13 4 To the Professors, £105 each, . 315 To the President, . . . . 232 10 To Prof Wigglesworth, 233 7 8 To the President, . . . . 483 6 8 To Prof Wigglesworth, and Prof Pear- son, £241 13s. 4d. each, . These sums are respectively equal to Amounting to 483 6 8 5556 12 8 27,330 9 6h $24,696.14 $91,101.59 $115,797,731 Ten sixteenths of bank tax, $10,000 a year for ten years, .... Total, $100,000.00 $215,797,731 Besides the above grants of money and lands, a lottery was author- ized, in 1765, to raise £3,200 " for the new building," probably Harvard Hall. In 1785 £200 per annum were ordered to be paid by Charles River Bridge Corporation, as a compensation for the ferry which had been granted to the College in 1640. In 1792, the same sum was taxed upon West Boston Bridge Corporation. In 1794, a lottery was granted to raise £S000 for a new building, and in 1806 another, to raise $30,000 for a sunilar purpose. In 1809, a township of land in Maine was given to the Massachusetts Agricultural Society for the Professor- ship of Natural History. 158 APPENDIX. TABLE II. DONATIONS, CONSISTING PRINCIPALLY OF SUMS OF MONEY, AND ARTICLES ESTIMATED IN MONEY, GIVEN BY INDIVIDUALS TO HARVARD COLLEGE. Date 163S 1639 1642 Rev. John Harvaed, [A question is raised by Presitlent Quincy whether this bequest amount- ed to more than the half of this sum. the phraseology being that he gave " the moiety of his estate." But the earliest records imply that the moiety amounted to the sum above named ; and the testhnony of the Rev. Thom- as Shepard, his contemporary, and the minister of Cambridge, is positive to the fact that the property of Har- vard amounted to .£1600. He also gave 320 volumes of books.] Mr. Joseph Glover gave a "font of printing letters." [This font of types was perhaps bequeathed to the College by Mr. Glover, who was a printer, and who died on the passage to this country. His widow afterwards became the wife of President Dunster.] The Honorable Magistrates and Rev- erend Elders, books valued at . Mr. Henry Pool, .... Mr. Theophilus Eaton, Mr. Richard Russell, .... Mr. Edward Jackson, Mr. Wory, Mr. Parish, merchant, Some gentlemen of Amsterdam gave ^£49, " and somcthin>g more,'''' to- wards furnisliing a printing-press with letters, Mr. William Hibbons, ") Procured from Mr. Thomas "Welles, > divers gentle- Mr. Hugh Peters, j men and mer- chants in England for books for the hbrary, Amount carried forward, . 1254 17 2 £ Sterling. 779 17 2 200 10 40 9 10 a 4 3 49 150 Mass.Currency. APPENDIX. 159 Date 1643 1644 Amount brought forward, Mr. Holbrook, schoolmaster at Essex, England, . • . . A person in England, unknown, . Rev. Mr. Greenhill, minister of God word at Stepney, Mr. George Glover, Mrs. Glover, .... Mr. Bridges, ) Mr. Greenhill, V Utensilstothe value of Mr. Glover, ) A gentleman not willing his name should be known, Mr. Willis, merchant, of Boston, . Captain Welles, of Roxbury, Mr. Israel Stoughton, of Dorchester, Mr. Richard Parker, of Boston, woollen draper, Mr. John Pratt, of Hartford, His Majesty's Colonies in eight years gave as follows, viz. : Massachusetts, Hartford, New Haven, Plymouth, (town of ) . LadyMoulson, .... Mr. Bridges, .... Sundry other persons unknown, . [These three sums, amounting to X162. 16. 4, were paid into the " country treasury," where they re- mained till 1713, when they were repaid with interest at six per cent, per annum, from 1685, — £15 per annum having been allowed from 1643 to 1685.] Mr. Richard Harris, a great silver salt, valued, in 1654, at £5. 1. 3. at 5s. per ounce, and a small trencher salt, valued, in 1654, at 10.s. . Mr. Thomas Langham, a silver beer bowl, valued at ... . Mr. Venn, fellow commoner, one fruit dish, one silver sugar spoon, and one silver tipt jug. Extract from the Colony Records. 1644. — " Upon advice from the Com- missioners of the United Colonies for general care to be taken for the en- couragement of learning and en- trance of poor schollers in ye College Amount carried forward, £ Sterling. 1254 17 2 22 2 10 7 2 10 20 50 7 10 5 4 4 191 3 4i 39 1 35 1 3 4 13 100 50 12 16 4 Mass.Currency. 5 11 3 3 3 10 1839 17 2^ 160 APPENDIX. Date 1650 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 Amount brought forward, at Cambridge, it is ordered that the deputies shall commend it to the sev- eral townes (and the elders are de- sired to give their furtherance hereto) w^ith declaration of the cause which was propounded by the said Commis- sioners, and hath been put in practice already by some of the other Colo- nies, viz., of every family allowing one peck of corn, or 12d. in money or other commodity, to be sent to the treasurer for the College at Cam bridge, or where else he shall appoint in Boston or Charlestown." From a letter of Dunster's to the Commissioners, in 1647, it appears that this contribution amounted to about ^50 per annum. Quincy's History, p. 15-17, vol. 1. John Newgate (or Newdigate) of Bos ton, gave by his will an annuity of £5, being 5 per cent, interest on [This armuity was sold in 1844 for $333.33.] John Glover, an annuity of £5, . [This annuity continues to be paid, and is a charge on a building in Dock Square.] Sundry gentlemen, and the town of Charlestown, towards the repairs of the College, Sir Kenelm Digby gave books to the value of Mr. Samuel Parris (sometimes spelt Parish) a silver tankard, valued in inventory of College plate Nov. 18, 1674, Edward Hopkins, Governor of Hart- ford Colony, gave in " corn and meate," according to Treasurer Dan- forth's account, .... [The facilities of conveyance may be judged of by the charge of £1. 6. for transport to Cambridge. By his will, which was proved in 1657, he gave £590 to trustees for the pur- pose of " breeding up hopeful youth in a way of learning both at the Grammar School and College for the Amount carried forward, . 1899 17 2^| 559 5 6 £ Pterling 1839 17 2^ 60 Miiss.Currency. 100 100 25115 6 7 10 100 APPENDIX. 161 Date 1658 Amount brought forw^ard, public service of the country iii future times." This bequest was not paid till 1718, and then by a decree of the Lord Chancellor it was put in tru for the benefit of the College and Grammar School at Cambridge^ where it has remained ever since, though not with the entire acquies- cence of the friends of Yale College, some of whom have urged that it was probable Governor Hopkins intended this legacy for the benefit of that institution. The date of the establishment of Yale College does not favor this idea.] Captain Richard Sprague, of Charles- town, by his last will and testament gave to the College thirty ewe sheep, with their lambs, valued at £30. [In College Book No. 1, p. 44, is the following receipt: "Rec'd of f by] me, John Richards, treasurer of Harvard College in Cambridge, of Thos. Danforth, late treasurer of the said society, six fat cattle, and two oxen, valued at £35 in current country pay, and is in lieu of the sheep he the said Thos. Danforth rec'd for the legacy of Capt. R Sprague to the said College. Sept. 7, 16G9.] Sir Richard Daniel, Knight, gave many books to the library. Mr. William Colburn, of Boston, gave in money, .... Mr. John Freik gave books to the val ue of Mr. Latham, minister of Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Mr. William Paine, merchant, gave, to be laid out in lands, Mr. Jn. Paine, merchant, of Boston, gave [These gifts of Jn. and William Paine were laid out for the purchase of land lying north of the old meet- ing house, as far as Harvard Hall, Amount carried forward, 11 £ Sterling. [Mass Currency. 1899 17 2hj. 559 5 6 5 . 1904 17 21 1139 5 500 35 5 10 20 10 162 APPENDIX. Date 1658 Amount brought forward, beins: the lot bought of John Betts, m 1661/ Ml-. Strang-uish, of London, gave [The donations from England are put down as having been in the cur- rency of England, whether it be so stated, or not, in thd College books Sums may have been translated in the College records into lawful mo- ney, as it was called ; but if this were the case, the result would not often be stated in a precise number of pounds, like the above gift ^ The inhabitants of a certain place (supposed to be Eleutheria, Bahama Islands) out of their poverty gave Mr. Edward Tyng Mr. John Ward, of Ipswich, by his will gave the remainder of his estate to the College ; whereof received in horses, valued at £72. [Treasurer Danforth credits in his account, " By pt. [payment] of Mr. Ward's legacy £94," and charges for a " loss i7i a colt, had in payment of said legacy, £1. 10 ," showing the amount real ized. Mr. John Willet gave the bell now hanging in the turret. [By the word now must be here meant a date not later than 1668, as the record of the donation, in College Book No. 3, is in Treasurer Danforth's handwritin^ ^ Mr. John Wintlu-op gave books to Ihe value of 1659 John Dodderidge, Esq., of Fremington, in the county of Devon, gave an an- nuity of £10 "towards the main- tenance of poor scholars," forever. [It was paid for twenty-four years, but never since, notwithstanding many attempts to recover it.] Robert Keyne, of Boston, merchant, gave to tJie College a legacy of £100, and the half of a house which was valued at £147. 10., and was afterwards sold for £150, [Robert Keyne must have been a man not merely of substance, as ap- Ainount carried forward, £ Pterlins;. iMass.Currencjr. 1904 17 2i 10 124 1139 5 6 10 86 10 240 20 250 2278 17 2i 1505 5 6 APPENDIX. 163 Amount brought forward, pears by so considertible a legacy to the tDollege, and of distinction for courage and conduct, as appears by his having been the first Captain of the Artillery Company, Init of excel lent sense and discretion, and a mod est appreciation of hmiself worthy of being always had in remembrance as appears by the following sen tences in his will with regard to the disposition of his legacy : " my desire is that it shall be improved (not about the buildings or repairs of the College, for that I think the cozuitry should do and look after ^) but for the use and help of such poor and hopeful scholars," &c. And again: "Therefore because I have but little insight in the true ordering of scholars and other things thereto belonging in a College way, and so possibly may dispose of my gift where there is less need, and that it might do more good if it was dis- posed of in some other way, / arn wiUhig to refer it to the Fresident^ Trustees and Overseers^ that are en. trusted with the care and ordering of the College, and scholars or stu- dents, with the things thereto be longing." The approbation of pos- terity should be bestowed on such wise self-renunciation, as an offset for the rebukes which Capt. Keyne endured from the church, and the penalties he paid to the Court, in his own day, for making too much profit on his merchandise.] Richard Saltonstall, Esq., being m England, sent over goods which cost there .... and money to the amount of I The currency in which this mo- ney was paid cannot be a.scertained. It IS supposed to be sterling, from its having been sent from England. It has also been .suppo.'jed — see Peirce and Quincy — that this was in pay ment of his father's legacy to tlie College.] Amount carried forward, £ Sterling. 2278 17 2^ 100 220 Mass. Currency. 1505 5 6 2598 17 2^ 1505 5 6 164 APPENDIX. Date! Amount brought forward, 1660]Mr. Henry Webb bequeathed a dwell- ing house in Boston, [The house stood on the ground now occupied by tlie bookstore of Messrs. Little & Brown, and the estate still belongs to the College.] Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley, be- queathed a part of his library, and the reversion of his house and lands. I The College came into possession in 1711. The lands in Rowley were sold, and a farm in Waltham, called the " Rogers Farm," was purchased, and this again was sold, in 1835, for $5000.] 1664 Thomas Pierce, senior, of Charlestown, left a legacy of .... Capt. Penelton gave, in lumber, Mr. Rowss, of Charlestown, saddler, I legacy, .... Mr. Francis Willoughby, Mr. Wilson, of Boston, merchant, gave a pewter flagon, Bridget Wynds, of Charlestown, legacy of .... Several" persons of Portsmouth, N. H engaged to give sixty pounds per annum for seven years, (of this amount Mr. Richard Cutts gave £20 per annum), and the town, in 1673, voted that what remained un- paid of this sum should be levied on the inhabitants, Henry Henley, Esq., of Lyme, Dorset- shire, A gentleman in England, by Pete Sargent, 1670 Another gentleman in England, by the same, William Pennoyer, an annuity, from the rents of an estate in Norfolk England, for the benefit of "two fellows and two scholars," valued at [This annuity continues to be paid, and yields about £50 per an- num ] 1671 James Penn, elder of the First Church in Boston, bequeathed an annuity, to be paid out of the rents of his £ Sterling. 2598 17 2 |Mass,Currency. 1505 5 6 50 Amount carried forward, 27 27 20 680 1 5 2 10 16 10 4 420 !352 17 2h 2004 5 6 APPENDIX. 165 Date j£ sterling Amount brought forward, . 3352 17 2^ 1671 farm at Pulling Point, to the elders and deacons of the First Church, " for the maintenance of some poor scholar or scholars at the College," [This legacy continues available to the present day.] 1672 Mr. Henry Ashurst, (the same, proba- bly, who was afterwards Sir Henry, agent of the Colony,) . . . 100 A contribution was made this year in forty-four towns, for the erection of a new building for the College ; and, with the exception of four, viz. : Do- ver and Exeter, N. H., and Kittery and Scarborough, in Maine, they were all within the present limits of this Common weahh ; the most north- erly being Newbury, the most south- erly, Weymouth ; and Concord be- ing the most westerly, except those on or near the Connecticut River, viz. : Northampton, Hadlev, Hat- field, Springfield, and Westfield Boston gave £800, and the whole amounted to . . . . Sir George Downing, a graduate of the first class, gave, towards the same object, 5 1674 A gentleman in England, by Peter Sarffent 24 1675 Dr. John Lightfoot, of England, be- queathed his whole library, compris- ing many volumes of Oriental liter- ature. 1676 Judith Finch left a legacy of £1 in corn, from which the College real- ized, 1678 Theophilus Gale, D. D., bequeathed his library, which was more than equal to all that was in the College library before. 1679 Joseph Brown, bequeathed and in books, .... [This legacy, it is said in the records, was probably never re- ceived.] John Smeadley, of Concord, 1680 Henry Clark, of Hadlev, . Richard Russell bequeathed £100 Maps. Currency. 2004 5 6 10 Amount carried forward, . 3481 17 2h 4502 6 2 2277 6 2 14 6 100 50 10 50 166 APPENDIX. Date I 1680 1681 1682 I 1683 1687 1690 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 Amount brought forward, of which was received in provisions only David Wilton Sir Matthew Holworthy bequeathed " to be disposed of by the directors as tiiey siiail judge best for the pro- motion of learning and promulga- tion of the Gospel." Capt. John Hull, . . . . Capt. Samuel Scarlett bequeathed an annuity of £7, but nothing more was ever realized than Sir John Maynard, " his majesty's ser- geant at law," eight chests of books, valued at Mr. Henry Ashworth bequeathed Mr. Joseph Brown, "| fellow com- Mr. Edward Page, > moners, Mr. Francis Wainwright ' gave each a silver goblet. [Mr. Wainwright graduated in 1686. The other two do not appear to have received degree.] Deacon William Trusedale bequeathed £40 — " and still remains due to the College," says the record. Rev. Thomas Shepard gave a silver goblet. William Brown, senior, bequeathed Robert Thorner, of Baddesley, in the county of Southampton, bequeathed [This legacy was given while President Mather was hi England but in consequence of certain pro visions in the w^ill, the last payment was not made till 1781. lii that year Treasurer Storer acknowledges the receipt of £200 m full of ihit^ legacy.] Rev. Edmund Brown, of Sudbury, bequeathed .£100, which the College never obtained, notwithstanding ttie executor was sued for it. Madam Mary Anderson gave Nathaniel Hulton, senior, citizen and Salter of London, Thomas Gunston. of Stock-Ne wing- ton, Hon. Robert Boyle s:ave £45 per an Amount carried forward, £ Sterlins. 3481 17 2A 10 1000 Mass. Currency. 4502 6 2 400 100 500 100 50 564117 21 4748 19 6 APPENDIX. 167 Date 1697 169S 1705 1708 1713 Amount brought forward, num " for the salaries of two minis ters to teach the natives in the Chris tian Religion." [No payment of this annuity was made till 1710, when, in compensa- tion for the delay, it w^as agreed that double the amount should be paid for sbc years, and after that, £45 were regularly paid till 1785. This makes its duration equivalent to a period of 81 years, and the sum re- ceived, in all, £3645.] Mr. EUakim Hutchinson gave £10, declaring his purpose to give £10 per annum as long as the govern ment should be such as he approved [He continued the benefaction till his death in 1717, when the whole amount received was] Hon. William Stoughton erected building, called Stoughton Hall [the first of that name] at the cost of In 1700, probably, the same gen tleman gave a large silver bowl 48^ oz., and a goblet, 21 oz. Capt. Richard Sprague, late of Charles town, Benjamin Brown, of Salem, bequeath- ed for indigent .students . Thomas Brattle, Esq., for a mathemati- cal instructer or professor, [At this period began the de- preciation of the currency of the Province, in consequence of the issue of bills of credit by the govern ment. Specie disappeared, and the bills increased in number, and di- minished in value, till after 1750, when a large sum in silver was re ceived from England, to reimburse the expenses of the Colony in the French war, and formed a sufficient basis of circulation till the war of the Revolution. The rate of depre ciation is adopted generally on the authority of Mr. Felt, though mem- oranda in the College records, and some private sources of information have been consulted, and occasion Amount carried forward, I £ Sterling. 5641 17 2 ' iMas5.Currency. 4748 19 6 3645 15 12 9 200 1000 400 200 200 9302 9 111 6748 19 6 168 APPENDIX. Date 1713 1714 1716 1717 1718 1719 Amount brought forward, ally followed. Probably prices in the money market were not so defi nite as they would have been in a larger and more wealthy commu nity, and the rates here given must be considered as generally, rathei than universally, correct.] Thomas Richards, £30, at 33^ per cent, discount, is equal to Rev. Daniel Williams, an annuity of £60 for the support of two preach- ers among the " Indians and Blacks,' representing a capital [This annuity has long since ceas- ed to be paid ; but the unexpended balances have laid the foundation of a fund which now amounts to $15,000, and upward.s, the income of which is still devoted to the original purpose.] William Brown, of Salem, for indi- gent students, £100, at 40 per cent discount from sterling money, or 15 per cent, from the standard of the Province, General Nicholson gave a number of books. Rev. William Brattle, of Cambridge, £250, at 40 per cent, discount Madam Hutchuison, widow of Elia- kim H., £10, at 50 per cent, dis- count, John Walley, Esq., £100, at 50 cent, discount, THOMAS MOLLIS. [The first do- nation from this distinguished bene- factor was received this year, and was followed, as will be seen, by many generous gifts in subsequent years. The present list of them has been made out, with much care, from original documents, — many of them in Hoilis's own hand, and oth- ers being accounts by the College treasurers of the funds received from him.] This year, in Massa- chusetts currency, £296. 16. 1^, which, at 50 per cent, discount, is equal to per Amount carried forward, £ Sterling. 9302 9 li; 20 1000 60 5 50 148 8 01 10,73518016748 19 6 Mass.Currency. 6748 19 6 APPENDIX. 169 Date Amount hroug-ht forward, 1720 Hon. Samuel Brown, of Salem, £150, equal to HoLLis gave, this year, a large num ber of books, and in money£665. 5, or 1721 And the next year £1784. 13., equal, at 54 per cent, discount, to 1722iHoLLis gave many valuable books, a portrait of himself, and money to the amount of £332. 10. currency which, at 57 per cent, discount, is equal to 1723 Capt. Ephraim Flynt, of Concord, £100 at 60 per cent, discoimt Samuel Gerrish, books valued at £10 £ Sterling. 10,735 18 0^ /5 332 12 820 19 Mass.Cnrrency. 6748 19 6 currency, or .... . Henry Gibbs, of "Watertown, £100. equal to Madam Mary Saltonst all, wife of Gov, Saltonstall, gave £100 currency, or HoLLis gave many books for the libra- ry, and hi money £5S0, which, at 60 per cent, discount, is 1724 Thomas Danforth, Esq., of Cambridge, £100, at 64f per cent, discount, John Frizzle, Esq., bequeathed £150, equal to HoLLis presented books to the value of and procured more from the follow- ing persons, viz. : John Mollis, liis brother, to the value of Thomas Hollis, his nephew, Dr. Isaac Watts, Rev. Joseph Hussey, and probably from Mr. Harris, of London. [The value of the above four gifts is not stated.] 1725 Mrs. Anne Mills bequeathed £50, dis- count 64| per cent. Hon. Gurdon Saltonstall, Governor of Connecticut, bequeathed £100 which, at the same discount, is HoLLis gave three valuable cases of books, (cost not stated.) and pro- cured a large number, also, from the following persons : Rev. Dr. Guise, of Hertford, IVIr. Ducane, of London, 5 guineas Amount caiTied forward, 43 4 3^ 40 4 40 40 232 35 6 8 53 100 64 17 13 4 35 6 8 12,769 84 6748 19 6 170 APPENDIX. Date 1725 1726 1727 1729 1730 1731 1731 Amount brought forward, . towards purchase of Mr. Boyle's sermons, Edward Leeds, of Hackney, William Woolley, of Clapton, Hack- ney, and probably John Lloyd, of London. HoLLis sent to the College, besides another large number of books, money to the amount of £1,170 currency, which, at 66| per cent. discount, is This Avas for his professorship of Mathematics. He also procured a present of Greek and Hebrew types from a friend of his, which cost £117 of our currency, or in London And he induced the two following gentlemen to send a donation of books to the library, viz. : Dr. Richard Mead, and Mr. John Reynolds, timber merchant, London. Rev. Thomas Cotton, of London, £100 for President's salary, . And £100 for books, at 66f per cent, discount, .... HoLLis gave an apparatus for exper- imental philosophy, wliich cost in England . " . And presented many valuable books given by himself and liis friends. John and William Vassal gave each a silver tankard, weighing about 20 ounces, worth probably about . Madam Mary Saltonstall beqeathed £1000,average discount 70 per cent. Col. Samuel Brown, of Salem, left by his will £60 to the College, for the purchase of a piece of plate Discount that year about 68 per cent. ..... Mr. John Chester, of Connecticut £50, equal to Mr. Nathaniel Hollis, brother to Thomas, .... Mr. Thomas Hollis, son of Nathaniel Amount carried forward, £ Pterlin?. 12,769 84 5 5 390 39 33 6 33 6 126 10 10 10 300 19 4 16 100 13,842 3 O4 6748 19 6 Mass.Currency, 6748 19 6 APPENDIX. 171 Date I Amount brought forward. 1732 and heir to Thomas, who died in I January of this year, . 1733 Rev. Dean Berkeley procured for the College a valuable collection of Greek and Latin books. , Mr. Thomas HoUis also presented a valuable collection of books, and 1734 the next year he gave Hiiutiier. 1737 Hon. Thomas Fitch, of Boston, be queathed ^300, discomit 77 per cent President Wadsworth, £110, at 77 per cent, discount, is . Rev. Dr. Guise, ) presented some Rev Dr. Watts, \ books, and Dr "Watts gave all his own works, as they appeared. 1738 John EUery, of Hartford, £150, at 78 per cent, discount, . James Townsend, of Boston, £500, for the Hollis Professor of Divinity 1739 Hon. Tliomas Hutchinson, £300, foi the Hollis Professor of Divinity, Mrs. Dorothy Saltonstall, of Boston bequeathed £300 for indigent scholars, discount 78 per cent. 1742 Daniel Henchman, Esq , presented 100 ounces of silver for the bene fit of the Professor of Divinity, Mrs. Holden, widow of Mr. Holden of London, — merchant, and gov ernor of the bank of England, — and her daughters, gave for the building of a chapel, 1743 President Holyoke, £100, at 80 per cent, discount, .... 1744 Hon. Colin Campbell, of the Island of Jamaica, gave a new transit instrument, and repaired the qua- drant, at a large expense. Hon. Andrew Oliver, presented a folio Bible for Holden Chapel. 1747 Daniel Henchman, Esq., bequeathed, £250, at 85 per cent, discount, equal to [This bequest, as well as the previous gift of 100 ounces of sil- ver, was for the bentjt of the Hollis Professor of Divinity, pro- Amount carried forward, £ Sterling. 13,842 3 200 69 25 6 33 110 66 66 22 10 400 20 37 10 Q. Mass .Currency. 6748 19 6 14,891 9 01 6748 19 6 172 APPENDIX. Date 1747 1748 1750 1752 Amount brought forward, vided he was "in full communion with some Congregational or Presbyterian Church, and laught the principles of the Christian re ligion according to the well known confession of faith drawn up by the synod of the churches in New England." Otherwise the interest was to be given to some deserving indigent student.] Col. John Vassall gave a very valu able reflecting telescope. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel made a large donation of books, through the Bishop of Cloyne, by whose influence they were procured. Mr. Francis Archibald, and Mr. William Davis, of Boston, gave some anatomical preparations. Hon Judge Dudley bequeathed for an annual lecture £133. 6. which, at 90 per cent, discount, is Mr. Henry Slierburne, of Port mouth, N. H., £100, at 90 per cent, discount, Rev. Ebenezer Turell, of Medford, is supposed to have given the an- tique chair, called the President's chair; but at what period is not known. It is only a tradition that it was received during the presi dency of Holyoke. Admiral Warren gave a fme reflect- ing telescope. William James, Esq., of Jamaica, medical books, to the valu'^ of [At this date, the process of a restoration of the currency to a specie basis was in progress ; and the College found itself a loser by the foregoing extraordinary de- preciation, to the extent of 75 per cent, of its property invested in bonds, and notes. The income of the foundations of the Hollis pro- fessorships was reduced from £80 per annum to £20. See copy of a memorial of the Corporation to Amount carried forward, . 14,939 15 84 674S 19 6 £ Sterling. IMass.Currency. 14,891 9 0| 6748 19 6 13 6 8 10 25 APPENDIX. 173 Date 1752 1758 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 Amount brought forward, the legislature in 1779, among the files in the safe at the library.] Daniel Henchman, the income to be divided between the two HoUis professors, .... Thomas HoUis, of Lincoln's Inn, grandson of Nathaniel Holl through his son Thomas, made his first donation of books to the library tliis year. [It consisted of Milton's Works, 2 vols., and 44 vols, of tracts, all in quarto. This was the forerunner of many simi- lar gifts.] Samuel Epes, Esq., of Ipswich, be- queathed, without any restriction, the sum of . Henry Flynt, Esq., the worthy tutor of fifty-five vears' standing, be- queathed £700. O. T., for the ben- efit of the tutors, and £112. 10 O. T , or 50 Spanish dollars, for the benefit of one or more needy scholars. These sums are equiva lent, respectively, to and Hon. "William Dummer bequeathed, for the purchase of books and for the benefit of the Hollis professors, .... Hon. Thomas Hancock, gave a fine reflecting telescope. Stephen Sewall, A. B., for the pro- fessor of Hebrew, £100, O. T., . Samuel Dean, A. M., tutor, ^ pre- Stephen Sewall, A. B., and > sent- Andrew Eliot, A. B. ) ed a clock for the Buttery, [A general subscription was made this year for the purpose of repair- ing the loss occasioned by the de- struction of Harvard Hall by fire. The names of the donors, with the sums they contributed, are pre- served in the College Records, but it will be sufficient to state here the sum received from the several towns or counties. They were os follows.] Amount carried forward. £ Sterling. 14,939 15 83 70 11 5 15,021 81 M.isg. Currency. 6748 19 6 66 13 4 300 66 13 4 133 6 8 13 6 8 4 7332 19 6 174 APPENDIX. Date 1764 1765 Amount brought forward, Boston, Charlestown, Marblehead, Salem, Worcester County, Cambridge, Gloucester, Newbury, Barnstable County, Other places, . £476 6 25 13 53 17 98 6 9 33 2 65 12 6 28 19 23 5 11 6 57 15 Thomas Hollis, of Lincoln's Tnn, And a case of books containing 56 vols. Books were also present- ed by the following persons, viz. : Dr. Drummond, Archbi^;hop of York, Benjamin Avery, LL.D. Dr Lardner, Mr Peter Livius, N. H. Mr. Nathaniel Neal, Rev. William Harris, of Honiton, Devonshire, Joseph Jennings, Rev Jonas Merriam, Rev. John Usiier, of Bristol, R. I. The Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, The Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent, . . . . Dr. Erskine, of Edinburgh, and Dr. Fothergill, of London, presented valuable boband, Dr. E. Hersey, Mrs. Sarah Winslow, for the aid of the town of Tyng.sborough, in support- ing a minister and a sclioolmaster, Hon. James Bowdoin, for prizes for dissertations. Dr. Erskine, a frequent benefactor in former years, again gave a num- ber of books. Major William Erving, for a profes- sorship of chemistry. Also many of the boolis of his hbrary. Mr. Edward Savage presented a portrait of Gen. Washington Col. John Trumbull, a portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio. Dr. John Cuming, for the professor of Physic, £300 sterling, Thomas Brand Mollis, many valua- ble books. Dr. Lettsom, of London, in addition to several gifts previously made, this year presented a valuable col- lection of minerals, numbering more than 700 specimens. Dr. Abner Hersey, of Barnstable, bequeathed, for the Professor ol Physic, 18.274 73 17,993 14 9 Converted to dollars, and carried forward, $141,197 04 £ Sterling. 18,274 7^ Mass.Currency. 13,186 16 6 133 6 8 1006 1 7 1367 10 400 1000 400 500 180 APPENDIX. Date 179S 1800 1801 i8o: 1805 1806 Amount brought forward, . Jonathan Mason, of Boston, for the Professor of Di- vinity, $500, Ward N. Boylston, for the purchase of medical and surgical works, $500, ...... He also presented, at sundry times, a number of books of this description, together with prints &c. Dr. John Nichols, of London, presented a large num- ber of anatoiiiical preparations, calculi, engrav- ings, iScc. L'Saumel Shapleigh, late librarian, gave a piece of real estate in Kittery, and the " residue " of his estate for the increase of the library. Tlae sum obtained from this bequest was Ward N. Boylston, Esq. an annuity of $100, for prizes (or dissertations on medical subjects, equal to the sum of $2000, which was afterwards obtained for it, A subscription was raised for establishing a Botanic Garden, and a professorship of Natural History, for which purposes there was contributed the sum of Thomas Brand Hollis bequeathed, for the library, £100 I sterhng, 1811 Samuel Dexter, for a lectureship, for the critical expo- I sition of the Scriptures, .... 1812 Mary Lindall, of Charlestown, for indigent scholars, I £100, 1814 Esther Sprague, of Dedham, for the professor of the Tlieory and Practice of Physic, . . . . Samuel EHot, for professorship of Greek Language and Literature, 1815 Samuel Parkman, for a professorship of Theology, a I township of land in Maine, for which was obtained I afterwards the sum of 1816 Count Rumford, for a professorship, or lectureship, on the application of science to the arts, Abiel Smith, for a professorsMp of the French and Spanish Languages, A subscription for establishing a Theological School in connection with the College amounted to . Ward N. Boylston, for prizes for elocution, an annuity of $50, afierwards $60, subsequently $1000, . Israel Tliorndike, for the purchase of books, for theo- logical library, Judge Wendell, twenty half eagles, for a Christening basin, ; Israel Tliorndike presented the Ebeling Library, which Amount carried forward. Dollars. 141,197 04 1817 181S 297,408 14 APPENDIX. 181 Date! I Amount brought forward 1S19 Theodore Lyman, Jr. presented the Panorama of Athens, valued at Drs. James Jackson, John C. "Warren, John Gorham, Walter Channing, and Jacob Bigelow, professors in the Medical School, presented a library to the Med- ical Collej^e. Ward N 1820 1821 1822 1823 1825 1826 1829 Boylston presented many volumes to the Medical Library. Moses Brown bequeathed to the Theological Institu- tion, Several gentlemen gave to the Mineralogical Cabinet about Thomas Gary, for aid to theological students, bequeath- ed the "residue " of his estate, which amounted to about Thomas Palmer bequeathed his library of 1200 vol- umes, valued at Andrew Ritchie presented a valuable collection of minerals. An anonymous donation, of which the income is to be given to the most distinguished scholar among the indigent members of the senior class. Subscription for a professor of Mineralogy and Geol- ogy, James Perkins, for a professorship, such as "the President and Fellows, with the concurrence of the Overseers, shall judge to be most useful," James Winthrop bequeathed his collection of coins, valued at S. A. Eliot gave the Warden Library The Jjinnaean Society gave their coUection of animals, shells, minerals, &c. valued at .... William Breed left a portion of the residue of his prop- erty, to be giv^en by his executor " to objects of charity, or for the promotion of learning, piety, and religion, especially among the rising generation."" In pursuance of this direction, his executor, the Hon. P. O. Thacher, appropriated to the College A person unknown gave, for the purchase of books, . Rev. F. Parkman presented 400 models of crystals. 'vVilliam H. Eliot gave a copy of the " Description de I'Egypte, Another subscription was made in this year for the benefit of the Theological School, and the Societyi for the Promotion of Theological Education in Har- vard University was formed. The sum collected at this time was .1 Nathan Dane, for a Profesi'orship of Law, . . J George Partridge, for the Theological School, . Dollars. 297,408 14 2,500 00 2,000 00 2,300 00 3,690 00 2,500 00 1,200 00 1,200 00 20,000 00 253 00 5,000 00 300 00 2,000 00 50 00 1,000 00 19,322 23 10,000 00 2,000 00 Amount carried forward, .'372,633 37 182 APPENDIX. 1830 1831 1832 1834 Date Amount brought forward Subscription for a Professorship of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care, to which Rev. Henry Ware, Jr was first appointed, Eben Francis, treasurer, gave the amount of his com mission from the Mollis Funds, for a clock for the Library- Christopher Gore* gave the residue of his estate, of which $38,000 are reserved for annuities bequeathed by him. The whole, ultimately receivable by the College, amounts to Thomas Perkins, for an essay on the efiects of intern perance, and for another on the importance of indus- trious habits in youth, Isaiah Thomas bequeathed books from his library, to the value of Thomas W. Ward gave an interesting collection of Crania, casts, and drawings, which had belonged to the late Dr. Caspar Spurzlieim, valued at about 1833 Samuel Livermore, of Portsmouth, N. H. bequeathed his whole library of {ureiga law, 300 volumes, val- ued in the inventory of his estate, at Rev. George Cliapman, intestate, desired that the res idue of his estate should be given to Harvard Col- lege, for the benefit of indigent students in the The- ological School. This wish was carried into eflect by his heirs, and the sum received from the late Jonathan Chapman, his brother, was Joshua Fisher, for the foundation of a Professorship of Natural History, ^ John McLean,! for a Professorship of History, Rev. Dr. Eliphalet Porter, fur promoting Tlieological Education, 1835 Sarah Jaclcson, for the aid of indigent theological stu- dents, William Pomerov, for the same object, Dr. William J. Walker, half the proceeds of a share in the Athenaeum, Hannah C. Andrews, for the Theological School, Joshua Clapp, for do. The class graduating in 1836 gave 111 volumes to the Library. N. Dane, in addition to $10,000 given in 1831, for the Law School, Thirteen gentlemen subscribed $10 each for a portrait of Chancellor Kent, to be placed in the Law Li- brary, ^Several gentlemen subscribed for the purpose of rais- 1836 1838 Amount carried forward. Dollars, 372,633 37 547,955 09 * This bequest was made in 1826. t Tliis bequest was made in 1821. APPENDIX. 183 Date Amount brought forward, ing- a fund, the income of wliich should be loaned to meritorious students, and the sum contributed was placed in the hands of trustees for this purpose. Ii amounted to $12,050, Thirty genilemeu also contributed $100 each for an Astronomical Observ^atory, Dr. T. M. Harris save 400 volumes to the Theologi- cal School. The heirs of the late William Taylor, Esq. gave about 700 volumes to the College Library Timothy Walker bequeathed to the Theolog-ical School 1839 Joshua Clapp, a second donation to the Theological I School, JMrs. Mary Tufts, for do 1840 John Foster, for the aid of professional students, Dr. F. Parkman, for a professorship in the Theologi- cal School, 1841 Mrs. Cragie bequeathed a valuable collection of shells. The Misses Dunster, only surviving descendants of President Dunster, presented his Bible, of which the Old Testament is in Hebrew, and the New Testa- ment in Greek Henry Lienow devised one half of the residue of his estate to Harvard College, for the use of the Theo- logical School. There has been received from it, up to tliis time, August, 1848, the sum of The Society for Promoting Theological Education in Harvard College, gave for increasing the amount appropriated to the Dexter Lectureship on Biblical Criticism, the sum of 1842 The Association of the Alumni, for defraving in part the expense of providing a large hall for public meetings, Francis Peabody presented a valuable telescope. Chief Justice Shaw, a copy of Stuart's portrait of Washington. A subscription was made for the College Library by thirty-four gentlemen, to the amount of 1843 W. N. Boylston bequeathed, to be paid on the death of Mrs. Boylston, for the fund for prizes for Elocu- tion, Do. for the fund lor prizes for Medical Essays, Do. for the fund for an Anatomical Museum and Library Room, " A few friends of science " presented, through Prof Webster, a collection of minerals and fossils, wliicli cost Doll ars. 547,985 09 Amount carried forward. 613,617 74 184 APPENDIX. Date 1844 1845 1846 1848 Doll firs. Amount brought forward, , . 613,617 74 Prof. Gray gave a collection of specimens of the rocks and minerals of New York and New Jersey, David Sears, for the erection of an Observatory Tower A subscription for a Telescope, and other instruments necessary for an Observatory, was raised this year, to the amount of Horace A. Haven bequeathed, for the purchase of mathematical and astronomical works for the Li- brary, ......... Israel Munson bequeathed unconditionally, William Prescott bequeathed, for the purchase of books for the Library, Leverett Saltonstall, for aid to indigent students, Alexander Vattemare presented some valuable books. David Sears, towards a fund for the salary of an ob- server, ......... Peter C. Brooks, for erecting a house for the Presi- dent, Hon. Thomas Grenville, of London, gave, through President Everett, XlOO for the purchase of books for the Library, Miss N. Kendall, for the Theological School, . Dr. George Parkman gave the land on which has been erected the new Medical School building. A subscription was made among the friends and pu- pils of Dr. Abbott, of Exeter, N. H. for the founda- tion of a Scholarship to be called by his name. The sum subscribed was "William G. Stearns presented a set of silver keys, with a case. A subscription for a fund to support an astronomical observer and his assistants for two years was made, which amounted to A subscription for the purchase of the skeleton of a Mastodon was made, to the amount of , A subscription for the new Medical School build- ing, A. W. Fuller, for the Theological School, . Dr George Hay ward, 152 models, of various forms of disease, to the cabinet of the Medical School. Dr. J. C. Warren, a cabinet of preparations to Medi- cal School, valued at Also a fund for the preservation and increase of the same, 5,000 00 Abbott Lawrence, for the Scientific School, . . 50,000 00 Edward B. Philhps bequeathed for the Observatory, 100,000 00 858,067 74 APPENDIX. 185 Dollars. To these gifts may be added the following dona- tions which have been made to the College, but are not yet received, being made payable at a future day: 1841 |The bequest of the late Benjamin Bussey of the re- mainder of his whole estate, one half of which is to "be applied to the maintenance of a Manual Labor School upon his estate in Roxbury, and the other half is to be divided into equal parts, for the benefit of the Law School and the Theological School, connected with the College. The whole estate now amounts to about 320,000 00 1845 The bequest of Jolm Parker, Jr. Esq. for the educa- tion of boys who show uncommon talent, whether before or after the period of entering College, and giving them the most thorough instruction in the branch of knowledge for which they are peculiarly ^•^^I'fi^d' • • 50,000 00 ,370,000 00 186 APPENDIX. TABLE III. REAL ESTATE GIVEN AT VARIOUS PERIODS BY INDIVID- UALS AND THE TOWN OF CAMBRIDGE TO HARVARD COLLEGE. Date I 1638 [Town of Cambridge gave 2| acres of land, 1645 Mr John Buckley gave part of a garden containing about 1 acre and a rood, 1646 Israel Stoughtou gave 200 acres, on the northeast side of Neponset, about Mother Brook, and 100 acres on Blue Hill side, Rev. Nathaniel Ward gave 600 acres, Major R. Sedgwick, two small shops in Boston. 1649 Matthew Day, part of a garden of which Mr. John Buckley gave his share in 1645, Town of Cambridge gave a farm, at Shawshin (now Billerica,) 100 acres, to which Henry Dunster added 100 acres, Robert Cook gave to the College a grant from the General Court of 800 acres, whicli were never ob- tained. John Coggan gave a parcel of marsh land, lying in Rumney Marsh, John Hayward gave 30 acres, lying in Watertown, 1660 Rev. Ezekiel Rogers gave the reversion of liis house and lands, which were sold, and a farm at Wal- tham, purchased, called Rogers farm, which pro- duced, in 1835, $5,000. Henry Webb gave his house and land which he pur- chased of H. Phillips, formerly owned by S. Oliver. The town of Cambridge, 3 acres, .... Town of Cambridge gave 30 acres of land and three commons, Richard Champney gave 40 acres, more or less, near the falls on Charles River, John Hayward gave his house-lot at Watertown, 24 acres, Rev. Daniel Russell bequeathed 1000 acres at Winter Harbor, of wliich the College never obtained pos- session. Samuel Ward gave Ward's Island, Edward Jackson, 400 acres, 1652 1656 1662 1664 1672 1678 1681 Acres. 2f Amount carried forward, 200 100 6oa 100 100 30 40 24 400 1,700^ APPENDIX. 187 Date Amount brought forward, 1683 Town of Cambridge, 20 acres and three commons in Lexington, 1689 Do. in Cambridge Rocks, in the 1st division, 12 acres, 2d « lot 36, 12 acres 1695 Theodore Atkinson gave a piece of land at south ward of Boston, about 20 rods. {Not obtained ) 1696 Samuel Sewall and wife gave 500 acres, at Peta quamscot, 1702 William Stoughton gave 23 acres of land in Dorches ter, and salt meadow 1707 Town of Cambridge,Cambridge Roclcs, lot 66, 7^ acres "77, 1| ' " 12, 1^ ' 1718 Proprietors of the town of Rutland, in Boston, gave 250 acres, 1724 Town of Cambridge, 3 acres, .... 1731 Samuel Brown gave his estate purchased of Eleazer Giles, 200 acres ; also, stock belonging to his farm Isaac Royall gave 2,120 acres, or thereabout, Thomas Pownall, late Governor, gave 500 acres, for founding a Professorship of Political Law. These lands had been sold for taxes during the Revolu- tionary war, without the knowledge of the Gov- ernor, and the College never obtained from them more than enough to cover the expense of regain- ing possession. 1801 Samuel Shapleigh bequeathed all his real estate. 1814 Samuel Parkman gave a township of land in Maine, which was .sold for ^5,000, Thomas Cary bequeathed his real and personal estate. 1820' 1826 1841 C. Gore bequeathed all his real estate after provid- ing for certain legacies. Henry Lienow bequeathed a portion of his real and personal estate. Total Acres. 17001 20 12 12 500 23 % 1| 7^ 250 3 200 2,120 188 APPENDIX. PLAN OF THE COLLEGE ENCLOSURE. The size and limits of the following estates, as marked on the plan, are correctly given, from drawings or descriptions accompanying the deeds conveying the lands to the College ; and as they are comparatively recent purchases, no material doubt can arise respect- ing the accuracy of the delineation. The Bigelow Estate, purchased of the heirs of Abraham Bigelow, in 1835, The Foster Estate, purchased also in 1835 The Parsonage Lot, purchased of the First Par ish of Cambridge, in 1833, The Meeting House Lot, purchased the same year, of the same party, measuring about The Sewall Lot, in 1805, The Wigglesworth Lot, purchased of the heirs of Professor Wigglesworth, in 1794 . . The Appleton Pasture, of the heirs of Dr. Ap pleton, 1786, the part now remaining in the College enclosure, measuring probably about Acres. 1* 2* ^ lOO" 88 TOOT H Of the remaining lots, those of Sweetman and Betts present the least difficulty in fixing upon their precise situation. Sweetman's is described as being a lot of one acre, at the corner of the road leading to Charles- town, and running south to " the new building," which, in 1677, the date of the deed, was probably the second Harvard Hall. As the second Harvard stood almost exactly on the spot where the present building of the same name now stands, the situation and probable bounds of the lot are ascertained with tolerable precision. APPENDIX. 189 Betts's piece is described as being an acre and a rood in size, and as situated north of the Meeting House lot, and bounded by the Common on the west, Sweetman on the north, and land of the College on the east. The Fellows' Orchard is described in Buckley's deed to President Dunster, as being an acre, which he and others purchased of Goodman Marritt. Its place is fixed by tradition only ; but as that is unbroken and uncontradicted, it is an authority which cannot lightly be set aside. The lots of Eaton and Goffe are presumed to have been situated as marked on the plan, although no deeds or descriptions have been found, except the original grant from the town, of an acre and one eighth to each of those persons. There is great probability that these were the lots ; and that Goffe's land was purchased by the College is a matter of tradition, while Eaton's might have been taken in part payment of the debt he owed to the institution. There remains only the original appropriation by the town of two acres and two thirds to '' the school. This appears on the plan reduced to two and a quarter acres ; and it must be regarded as a pretty close ap proximation, considering the vagueness of the descrip tions given of so many of the adjoining lots, the pre vailing inaccuracy of measurement in those days (before land was sold by the square foot, and before square inches had become appreciable,) and making allowance for the quantity which has been taken by public authority for widening the streets, which, in the seventeenth century, were merely lanes. Considerable reductions must have been made, for this purpose, of all the ancient lots bounding on the Common, on Brain- tree, now Harvard street, and on the Charlestown road, now Kirkland street. The quantity of land contained in the several pieces last enumerated is K-f^^ acres ; which, added to the 188 APPENDIX. PLAN OF THE COLLEGE ENCLOSURE. The size and limits of the following estates, as marked on the plan, are correctly given, from drawings or descriptions accompanying the deeds conveying the lands to the College ; and as they are comparatively recent purchases, no material doubt can arise respect- ing the accuracy of the delineation. Acres. The Bigelow Estate, purchased of the heirs of Abraham Bigelow, in 1835, IJ- The Foster Estate, purchased also in 1835 . 2^ The Parsonage Lot, purchased of the First Par- ish of Cambridge, in 1833, 4^ The Meeting House Lot, purchased the same year, of the same party, measuring about . -^q% The Sewall Lot, in 1805, ■^%% The Wigglesworth Lot, purchased of the heirs of Professor Wigglesworth, in 1794 . . . 4J- The Appleton Pasture, of the heirs of Dr. Ap- pleton, 1786, the part now remaining in the College enclosure, measuring probably about 2 ip; 9 : Of the remaining lots, those of Svveetman and Betts present the least difficulty in fixing upon their precise situation. Sweetman's is described as being a lot of one acre, at the corner of the road leading to Charles- town, and running south to " the new building," which, in 1677, the date of the deed, was probably the second Harvard Hall. As the second Harvard stood almost exactly on the spot where the present building of the same name now stands, the situation and probable bounds of the lot are ascertained with tolerable precision. APPENDIX. 189 Betts's piece is described as being an acre and a rood in size, and as situated north of the Meeting House lot, and bounded by the Common on the west, Sweetman on the north, and land of the College on the east. The Fellows' Orchard is described in Buckley's deed to President Dunster, as being an acre, which he and others purchased of Goodman Marritt. Its place is fixed by tradition only ; but as that is unbroken and uncontradicted, it is an authority which cannot lightly be set aside. The lots of Eaton and Goffe are presumed to have been situated as marked on the plan, although no deeds or descriptions have been found, except the original grant from the town, of an acre and one eighth to each of those persons. There is great probability that these were the lots ; and that GofTe's land was purchased by the College is a matter of tradition, while Eaton's might have been taken in part payment of the debt he owed to the institution. There remains only the original appropriation by the town of two acres and two thirds to " the school." This appears on the plan reduced to two and a quarter acres ; and it must be regarded as a pretty close ap- proximation, considering the vagueness of the descrip- tions given of so many of the adjoining lots, the pre- vailing inaccuracy of measurement in those days, (before land was sold by the square foot, and before square inches had become appreciable,) and making allowance for the quantity which has been taken by public authority for widening the streets, which, in the seventeenth century, were merely lanes. Considerable reductions must have been made, for this purpose, of all the ancient lots bounding on the Common, on Brain- tree, now Harvard street, and on the Charlestown road, now Kirkland street. The quantity of land contained in the several pieces last enumerated is Kyuu acres ; which, added to the 190 APPENDIX. ISy'o^j- acres included in the more recent purchases, makes the whole enclosure amount to a little more than 23J- acres. The situation of the buildings is marked on the plan as follows : No. 1. Hoi worthy Hall, erected in . . . 1812 2. Stoughton " » " . . 1804-5 3. HoUis " « " . . 1762-3 4. Holden Chapel, » " . . 1744 5. Harvard Hall, erected in 1764, to replace the second Harvard Hall, which was burned in January of that year. 6. Is what was called the Brew House in the early part of the last century. It was after- was included in the College Wood Yard. 7. The first Stoughton Hall, erected in 1700. 8. Massachusetts Hall, erected in 1719-20. 9. Dane Hall, erected in 1832, enlarged in 1845. 10. The site of the church of the First Parish in Cambridge, which was built in 1756 and taken down in 1833, when the present edi- fice was erected. 11. The President's House, erected in 1726-7. 12. Probable site of the Indian College. 13. House owned and occupied by the Professors VVigglesworth ; removed in 1844. 14. University Hall, erected in 1812-13. 15. House formerly occupied by Professor Sewall, the first Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages. 16. Gore Hall, erected for the library, in 1839-42. 17. Site of the former Parsonage House, taken down in 1843. 18. ■» Houses occupied by Professors Felton, Walk- 19. [ er, and Pierce. Nos. 19 and 20 were 20. ) erected by the College in 1844. ^ H285 83 ^g A^ .*•., ^^ ""^O"^ ^y.o. "V^ ' «N ^^ ^..^^ o^^ii^^ -0^_^' o_ -> r^ • ©lis ♦ <•? ^ o VJIak * at ^ y '^^ ' -r-^c V -rr,.' ^■«-' "q.'»o^ r^ ♦ fMli^ • <*n tl'O' ♦J •^^^^ ^^^^^' 'J^ .-i^ •^^^^^ ^^f* V ><5 .* J^ ^d ^oy 0(0 ^ ^r'^^^T^* -e.^ V ^^^/ .• .^^^^^. 1 *» -^ ^ ^V . . ^ ' • -» '^^ A*2^ c « •! ° * " ' .-^ ^^ *--•' V^' N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962