The New York herald., 1865-07-02
YALE COLLEGE.
Our New Haven Correspondence.

/
| ~>-~~>~~~>~>~~~>~~~~~~~ rs
Our New Haven Correspondence.
/ New HAVEN Conn, June 20, 1865
The return Of this fesve season. the carnival time Of
Yale, found this famous City Of Elms enjoying even
| more than its ordinary share Of beauty.
For nearly week before the time every hotel and
| boarding place crowded with those anxious to wit
ness the exercises Of the great 'wooden spoon exhib
| uon."
Everybody who knows Yale knows what this is.
He who is verscd in the modern history Of this ancient
and venerable institution knows that this performance
is most brilliant occasion, 'when wit with its highest
flashes helps to entertain and beauty most elaboratey
| ad dorned, lends its presence
| SPOON CEREMONY.
The preliminary arrangements for "wooden SPOON"
usually regarded the most honorable Of the college,
nearly folows-The junior class select nine
from their number, who are distinguished for their
general good qualities These nine Immediately organize
| themselves into bona fde secret society,
badge gold spoon, and known in the college world
as "Ctchleaureat." They decide who shall have the
spoon how the exercises Of the exhibition shall be
| performed and who Of their number shall per-
form them. They trim the hall, control the Seats sell
| ing none, but rescrving all for their particular
friends They determine all the secrets of the OCCASION
| and keep them until publicly divulgcd by the pro-
gammes three four minutes before the be-
gin. The earliest mention Of the wooden spoon which
we have found in the of somewhat extensive
researches is in tho Gentemans Magazine for 1885, then
under the charge Of sylvanus Urban The passage occurs
in reply to communication Of December 1894 rea-
tive the acadcmca archaeology of the Granta one Of
the colleges at Cambridge. 1t is follows
proceed 10 notice the queries Of your ingenious
pondent 1t may not, perhaps, be improper to mention
one very remarkable parsonage which, either through
inadvortency or design, he has passed in total
Gill I'm dNyG v.tc 1.,,lr1
wight (for what Cause know not) is annually the uni
yersa butt and laughing stock Of the whole Senate
House. he is the last Of those young men who take
honors in his year. and is called junior ofDe yet
withstandng his being in fact superior to them all the
guisheG bachelors think themselves entitled to shoot the
poiness arrows OF their clumsy wit against the Wooden
To- ara BORN he wS ro II sy
mouths; senior opnes with silver; Junior optime with
wooden and ot polio With eaden ones :" We have also
In the course of our Investigations strayed upon the fol-
lowing from another rare old book 81
VINO while he lives must WELD the boosted prize
Whose value all can feel, the weak, the wise;
Displays in triumph his distinguished boon
The solid honors Of the wooden spoon.
Thes incidental references give us indeed, no clue to
the date OF Its origin but only assure US that at that
remote me II was q recognized and permanent insttu-
ton So much for its trans Atlantic antiquity and fame
But, without crossing the water may vndicate its
claim to venerable old age There are many traditions
still preserved among us which connect the wooden
apoon with the times Of the ancient and obsolete
college Commons" The story runs thus-A jack.
knife given to the homeliest cane to the hand.
soonest and a spoon to the one who ate the most How.
was certainly presented as recently as the year 1929 ' II
tho curious and inquistve inquire why the spoon thus
bestowed was OF wood must leave the their
own ing Nous reflections Should We however venture
any explanation OF our own It would be as follows:
Inc man VINO ~us % .e oI. oi sucn an appetite as 70 DC
rations Of ''commonso regarded a very unfor.
tunate fellow To him, then belonged wooden spoon,
in accordance with familiar maxim respecting those
unusually unlucky
And now leaving all traditions and ancient records
into the regions OF certainty The inst tuition OF
the wooden spoon, In its modern FORM established
in the junior year Of the class OF 1s4s
The idea, VIC have learned from conversation with
its author suggested by the tradition we have cited
above and tho historical fact Of similar at Cam
% the student whose namo was as ON p
Of appointments at junior exhibition. Gradually the
principal control of the aar was placed In the hands Of
II may be Interesting to note some Of the principal
features in this second stage when the plan had become
organized aud established Happears that the editors Of
ment Of the second term OF each collegiate year, some
reliable individual from the junior class whose duty
call meeting OF the class for the choice Of three
from each division to be the 'spoon committee was
then the duty ofthe COicaueat to meet at tho call Of
the committee aud elect their representative, The
Tho spoon committee also made all necessary arrange
ments dnd selected the president Of the occasion,
whom II devolved make the presentation, with such
reflections might be necessary and appropriate II ID
scarcely nsedul 70 state .a' IN many respects this
others entirely abandoneu Thus the editors Of the
L1eray have no longer any concern in the arrangement
the election meeting OF each class Us called by the
vious committee, and the title Cschicaureai applied
only to the members OF the spoon committee.
II may be further added that ut present the officers OF
the spoon always chosen by the committee from
their own number, which is no longer confined TO the
non-appointment men, but includes those who
ecied being, par rceence generous, aable upright
and in fine, high minded, thorough gcntleuion They
the OF particular party but OF the
friendly, social element Of their entire class.
So too the spoon exhibition is longer held at tho
tmo Of junior exhibition and as burlesque on its
hlut lie Df lhl
attractions of presentation week, by It's independent dis
play Of literary excellence wit and comic humor set of
Such in brief is the history Of the wooden spoon We
have taken pleasure tracing It's progress from
honorcd and remote beginning up to Its present dignity
THE cocHLEAuRrAn THIS YEAR
were T. b. Bennett, G. 4. Brown l. II. Chapman w. W.
Farnam, =. v. ID. Garre,son L. Eampman, H. Redmond,
| II. T. Sloane, A. z. Wslworth.
TnE WOODEN srooS PROMENADE CONCERT
The first exercise OF the week, the "wooden Spoon
| Promenade Concert" OF unusual brisncy.
Rarely has such an assemblage Of beauty and
fashion been collected within this city. The brilliant
dresses of the ladies contrasting well with sober black
which fashion prescrbes the dress suit for the gentle
men, all moving with easy grace to the sweetest Of
Hemsrnier's band formed picture on which the eye
| was satisfied With gazing
THE woJrEN sroOs FxHiBTlOy.
Tuesday evening the long expected time Of the spoon
Never was Muse Hall graced by such an audience as
that which filed its every inch only OF sitting but also
OF standing The ball iisef elegantly decorated
Large spoons trimmed with flowers extended around
1
gallery 10 gallery was stretched the motto In hoc scno
vnc" over the middle Of the stage the device Of
| the CochLdurcoi.
II consisted Of shield divided into four squares In
the lower left represented very small mnn coming
out of the little end Of large horn In the lower right
Phi Beta Kappa key reversed In the upper left two
crossed spoons and IL the upper right balance In the
| lower scale OF which was spoon and In tho upper
man falling out aud the motto Meme teket upharsin
Tue curtain rose upon eight young standing around
an enormous bud, which leavcd out and hc who
was to receive the spoon stepped out from tho
| centre of q tipair o. dco.n Thus the opening
load was performed. The Latin salutatory, usually
expected 10 afford plenty OF fun, did not disappoint
expectation The change from sonorous Latin 10 uncas-
sca aud even ine,egsnt English struck most udcrousy
upon the ear and furnished opportunity for many good
hits upon the faculty and the freshmen, who next 10
the faculty, the favore subject FOR college jokes
Oh, oranes" the Grafton commences 'Qui, on this
eaubrioue occasionem hc assemblunt vdcro presena-
tonem Of the lgna cochears vos sa1uto gratuor.
Oh corpus universaatis OF Prex professors tutore