Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/367

Rh The printed Theses will shew you who took their Degrees of right In my absence the Faculty recommended for honorary Degrees the Rev' d Jo. Rogers and the Rev'd W. Miller and Mr. M'Kean the Lawyer at New Castle. From this last reference we are not far out of the way in claiming for Dr. Peters the authorship of the warning note uttered by the Trustees in the previous year against " conferring too many Honorary Degrees." But this Commencement was without Hopkinson' s rhythm and sweet notes. Dr. Peters writes the story to Dr. Smith : I am sorry to tell you that a foolish but tart difference has arisen between the Faculty and our good Friend Francis Hopkinson on account of a grammatical squabble, wherein Mr. Hopkinson was the Aggressor, but he did not mean to offend any of the Faculty, only to expose Stuart the Printer; I should not mention this, but only to inform you that the Faculty applied to Sam. Evans to write the Dialogue and to Mr. Jackson to write the Ode for them, 4 Mr. Duche and Mr. Hopkinson declining to have anything to do with it by means of this Squabble about the Grammar. My endeavours to reconcile prov'd unsuccessful. 5 It is unfortunate that we have not at this time any publick performance more worthy of being laid before the publick. You must make the best Apology you can. the college at the expense of the English, a design rather the result of indifference than of intent and perhaps of a want of appreciation of its importance, although Mr. Kinnersley would naturally foster it would be thought a branch in all its details over which he was supreme. That the matter was a grave issue can be seen in the force of the Minute of 8 February, where it is stated that " Mr. Kinnersley's time was entirely taken up in teaching little Boys the Elements of the English language, and that speaking and rehearsing in Publick were totally disused to the great prejudice of the other Scholars and Students and contrary to the original Design of the Trustees' ' and " it was particularly recommended to be fully considered by the Trustees at their next Meeting.." This, though, was not done until the meeting of 12 April, at which however Dr Franklin did not attend, when he, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Coxe and Mr. Duche were appointed a committee to confer with Mr. Kinnersley how this might be done as well as what assistance would be necessary to give Mr. Kinnersley to enable him to attend this necessary service, which was indeed the proper business of his Professorship." But no report was made, and the next reference to the matter is at the meeting of 13 June, just referred to, by which it would seem it was more conven- ient to accept Mr. Kinnersley's denials than to pursue the matter further. vertiser of 21 July, copies of which he distributed with advantage to his Mission. When he received his Dublin degree he sent Dr. Martin " a letter of thanks * * * also one of the Liverpool papers containing the Dialogue and Ode which made part of the Exercises at the College," Life and Corresp. i. 326, 331. 5 This foolish but tart difference arose out of the publication by "Andrew Steuart for the College and Academy of Philadelphia, MDCCLXII" of a Short Introduction to Grammar for the Use of the College and Academy in Philadelphia, being a New Edition of 'WhittenhalFs Latin Grammar with many Alterations,
 * These were sent to Dr. Smith who had them printed in the Liverpool Ad-