Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/356

352 first acquainting the Faculty with their Sentiments in the several Points in which they differed from them and conferring with them thereupon. At the following meeting, 10 March, young Duche now taking his seat as Trustee. Mr Peters from the Committee appointed to examine the Draught of the Laws proposed by the Faculty and read at the last Meeting of the Trustees reported that they had conferred with the Provost and Vice Provost there- upon, and had made such Alterations therein as to them appeared just and proper which they now submitted to the Trustees, and their amended Draught being read, debated, altered, settled, and approved of, they are now ordered to be entered as Statutes in Force. These are very primitive and particular, and in strong con- trast to the broader statutes of reason and self-respect which prevail to-day. One need not wonder that the boys of that day were stung into forwardness and mischief, by a restraint that their spirits rebelled against. The boys of to-day are the same in natural force aud youthful elasticity as were their ancestors in adolescence ; but education in its many changes within a cen- tury has submitted to none greater than the abandonment of impossible rules of propriety and frequent chastisements. These Rules and Ordinances of 1761 close with the word chastised, but the alternative is a money penalty, and the worth of a chas- tisement is but sixpence : the pence are numbered but the strokes may be without number. Who would not rather suffer the certain pence rather than the uncertain strokes. Alexander Graydon entered the Academy about this period ; but a visita- tion of Yellow Fever early afforded him a welcome holiday. "About the year 1760 or 1761, to the best of my recollection, the city was alarmed by a visitation of the Yellow Fever. six weeks its fortunate consequence." 1 He describes some of his early duties. " The task of the younger boys, at least," for he was but about eight years of age when he entered, consisted in learning to read and to write their mother tongue grammati- cally, and one day in the week (I think Friday) was set apart for the recita- tion of select passages in poetry and prose. For this purpose each scholar, 1 Memoirs ) p. 43.
 * * * The schools were shut up, and a vacation of five or