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 the shift in public sentiment that came in with the Revolution, however, the new spirit of freedom soon asserted itself among the undergraduates; “freshman servitude” fell into disrepute, and with increasing prosperity, the students began to imitate the English system of employing outside men or boys for their chores. The Faculty, as usual, resisted all idea of change, but by the beginning of the new century the new order had established itself, and the genus “‘scout”’ was developed.

Following the lead of the original “Moor,” the scouts were oftenest gentlemen of color, soft-spoken and smiling genii of the lamp (and boots), who also beneficently controlled—for a small consideration—the elements of fire and water in their masters’ domains. One of the most noted of them was Charles Lenox, who flourished in the eighteen-twenties, and was known, perhaps from his dignified mien, as “Dr. Charles.” From his name one would never imagine that he was an African; nor did he exhibit the usual qualities of his race. He first came into notice as a peripatetic vender of pies and cakes; but his deftness and reliability soon transformed him into the collegians’ favorite valet. By his industry in collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the dormitories, from old boots to cigar-stumps, and by his frugality in