galleries of the church opposite
to one another, and shot the weapons of their logic over the heads
of the audience. The saluting Bachelor and the Master who
delivered the valedictory stood in the front gallery, and the
audience huddled around below them to catch their Latin eloquence
as it fell. It seems also to have been usual for the President to
pronounce an oration in some foreign tongue upon the same
occasion.[11]

"At the first public Commencement under President Stiles, in 1781,
we find from a particular description which has been handed down,
that the original plan, as above described, was subjected for the
time to considerable modifications. The scheme, in brief, was as
follows. The salutatory oration was delivered by a member of the
graduating class, who is now our aged and honored townsman, Judge
Baldwin. This was succeeded by the syllogistic disputations, and
these by a Greek oration, next to which came an English colloquy.
Then followed a forensic disputation, in which James Kent was one
of the speakers. Then President Stiles delivered an oration in
Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic,--it being an extraordinary occasion.
After which the morning was closed with an English oration by one
of the graduating class. In the afternoon, the candidates for the
second degree had the time, as usual, to themselves, after a Latin
discourse by President Stiles. The exhibiters appeared in
syllogistic disputes, a dissertation, a poem, and an English
oration. Among these performers we find the names of Noah Webster,
Joel Barlow, and Oliver Wolcott. Besides the Commencements there
were exhibitions upon quarter-days, as they were called, in
December and March, as well as at the end of the third term, when
the younger classes performed; and an exhibition of the Seniors in
July, at the time of their examination for degrees, when the
valedictory orator was one of their own choice. This oration was
transferred to the Commencement about the year 1798, when the
Masters' valedictories had fallen into disuse; and being in
English, gave a new interest to the exercises of the day.

"Commencements were long occasions of noisy mirth, and even of
riot. The older records are full of attempts, on the part of the
Corporation, to put a stop to disorder and extravagance at this
anniversary. From a document of 1731, it appears that cannons had
been fired in honor of the day, and students were now forbidden to
have a share in this on pain of degra