stanzas rendered the
thing transparent to the audience during the delivery, as was quite
manifest from the general movement of their risibles. But Wheelwright
was himself as ignorant of the pun as the faculty were, until both were
enlightened the following week, when the real author caused it to be
published in the _Cistula Literaria_--an interesting journal, edited by
a committee of the junior class--with a capital "N" and a superfluous
"t" in the monosyllable referred to, as it appears in the present
memoir. The conceit was _Nott_ thought a bad one, and those who were
not in the secret gave my hero more credit for his metrical skill, than
he has ever received since.

Thus borne along upon the current with his class, Wheelwright was
admitted _ad gradum in artibus_--a certificate of which fact he took
care to have elegantly filled out upon the largest and handsomest
scroll of parchment that could be procured. It was of course verified
by the signature of the Reverend Praeses, and decorated with an enormous
seal, representing, very appropriately in the present and many other
instances the Temple of Science perched upon an _inaccessible_ hill. At
the base of the hill, stood the goddess of Wisdom with her favorite
bird (the owl) upon her shoulder, and pointing the attention of young
aspirants to its beetling summit. The motto was "_Perseverantia omnia
vincit_," a very consoling legend to the numerous alumni proceeding
annually from this venerable university.

With the subject of this history, and perhaps with many others also,
the puzzle was to construe this splendid testimonial for the
edification of his simple-minded parents, when he came home with the
burden of his blushing honors. But in this effort we question whether
he ever succeeded. Indeed it has always been a grave matter of doubt
among philologers, whether the document was even capable of being
rendered into English, in conformity with the laws of any language
which the human race has ever spoken, since the low Dutch and the
Basque dispersed our ambitious ancestors at the building of Babel.

CHAPTER V.

HE CHOOSES A PROFESSION.

"Here let us breathe, and happily introduce a course of learning, and
ingenious studies."--_Shakspeare._

"The whole world cannot again prick out five such, take each one in his
vein."--_Idem._

Having thus completed his classical studies, and come off, as we have
seen, with the customary academic honors, the next subjec