HARVARD PRIOR TO YEAR 1750

Albert Matthews '82, who recently read a paper on "Harvard College before 1770" at a meeting of the Memorial Society, is now editing a work of unusual significance which is being prepared by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. Under the direction of Mr. Matthews the Society is gathering all the corporation records and historical works on the College up to 1750. A complete history of this period, heretofore scattered and defective, will be compiled in one work.

Having been the editor of many publications by the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and several other equally important associations Mr. Matthews has probably acquired a complete knowledge of the customs and rules in the early days of the College and is an authority on the history of the period upon which he is writing. Mr. Matthews is the author of a sketch on commencement in the seventeenth century, which will probably interest present undergraduates.

The first commencement took place in September, 1642, when Governor Winthrop was president. Immediately difficulties arose over the proper celebration of this event. The Overseers found it necessary to prohibit on this day not only "plum cake but roasted, boiled and baked meats, and pies of any kind." The students were "strictly forbidden to leave their chambers after 9 o'clock," and tutors were provided to watch in each "College," as the buildings were then called.