laudable expressions of honor and reverence that are in use; such as uncovering the head, rising up in their presence, and the like.  And particularly undergraduates shall be uncovered in the College yard when any of the Overseers, the President or Fellows of the Corporation, or any other concerned in the government or instruction of the College, are therein, and Bachelors of Arts shall be uncovered when the President is there.”  This law was still further enforced by some of the regulations contained in a list of “The Ancient Customs of Harvard College.”  Those which refer particularly to this point are the following:—­

“No Freshman shall wear his hat in the College yard, unless it rains, hails, or snows, provided he be on foot, and have not both hands full.

“No Undergraduate shall wear his hat in the College yard, when any of the Governors of the College are there; and no Bachelor shall wear his hat when the President is there.

“No Freshman shall speak to a Senior with his hat on; or have it on in a Senior’s chamber, or in his own, if a Senior be there.

“All the Undergraduates shall treat those in the government of the College with respect and deference; particularly, they shall not be seated without leave in their presence; they shall be uncovered when they speak to them, or are spoken to by them.”

Such were the laws of the last century, and their observance was enforced with the greatest strictness.  After the Revolution, the spirit of the people had become more republican, and about the year 1796, “considering the spirit of the times and the extreme difficulty the executive must encounter in attempting to enforce the law prohibiting students from wearing hats in the College yard,” a vote passed repealing it.—­Quincy’s Hist.  Harv.  Univ., Vol.  II. p. 278.

On this subject, Professor Sidney Willard, with reference to the time of the presidency of Joseph Willard at Harvard College, during the latter part of the last century, remarks:  “Outward tokens of respect required to be paid to the immediate government, and particularly to the President, were attended with formalities that seemed to be somewhat excessive; such, for instance, as made it an offence for a student to wear his hat in the College yard, or enclosure, when the President was within it.  This, indeed, in the fulness of the letter, gradually died out, and was compromised by the observance only when the student was so near, or in such a position, that he was likely to be recognized.  Still, when the students assembled for morning and evening prayer, which was performed with great constancy by the President, they were careful to avoid a close proximity to the outer steps of the Chapel, until the President had reached and passed within the threshold.  This was a point of decorum which it was pleasing to witness, and I never saw it violated.”—­Memories of Youth and Manhood, 1855, Vol.  I. p. 132.