Cantabs are late readers, so that supposing one of them to begin at seven, he will not leave off before half-past eleven, thus clearing more than four hours' consecutive work, his only intermission being to take a cup or two of tea, sometimes, but not often, accompanied by a slice of bread-and-butter. One solid meal a-day is the rule; even when they go out to sup, as a reading-man does perhaps once a term and a rowing-man twice a week, they eat very moderately though their potations are sometimes of the deepest. Some students go to their private tutors in the evening; not unfrequently two or three meet in one another's rooms alternately to read some classical author or talk problems together a very sociable way of acquiring learning. Such is the reading-man's day; as to how the rowingman passes his I say nothing for the present. He is the abnormal development of the type, and the consideration of his pursuits need not now be dwelt upon. THE CANTAB LANGUAGE. "A quoy Pantagruel dist; Que diable de languaige est cecy? Par Dieu, tu es quelque hereticque. 'Seignor, non,' dist l'escholier, 'car libentissement des ce qu'il illucesce quelque minutule lesche du jour je demigre en quelqu'ung de ces tant bien architectez monstiers."-RABELAIS, LIV. II. CHAP. 6. NE of the first and most necessary things to be ac Ο ΝΕ quired by a resident in a new country is some knowledge of its language. Even in the few pages we have thus far gone through, terms have frequently occurred which required explanation; and without some insight into the Cambridge vocabulary, it would be impossible to describe Cambridge life intelligibly, or to understand a true description of it. I therefore subjoin a list of the principal cant terms and phrases in use, translating them, when possible, into equivalent slang of our own. Gownsman.-A student of the University. Snob.-A townsman as opposed to a student, or a blackguard as opposed to a gentleman; a loafer generally. Cad.-A low fellow, nearly=snob. Reading. Studying. A reading man.-A hard student. A rowing man-(ow as in cow).—A hard case, a spreër. Shipwreck.-A total failure. Mild, Epithets of deprecation, answering nearly to the phrases, "no great shakes," and "small potatoes." Shady, Slow, Fast.-Nearly the French expansif. A fast man is not necessarily (like the London fast man) a rowing man, though the two attributes are often combined in the same person; he is one who dresses flashily, talks big, and spends, or affects to spend, money very freely. Seedy. Not well, out of sorts, done up; the sort of feeling that a reading man has after an examination, or a rowing man after a dinner with the Beefsteak Club. Bumptious.-Conceited, forward, pushing. Brick.-A good fellow; what Americans sometimes call a clever fellow. To keep in such a place.-To live or have rooms there. Hang-out. To treat, to live, to have or possess (a verb of all work.) Like bricks, Like a brick or a bean, Like a house on fire To the nth To the n+1th Intensives to express the most energetic way of doing anything. These phrases are sometimes in very odd contexts. You hear men talk of a balloon going up like bricks, and rain coming down like a house on fire. No end of-Another intensive of obvious import. They had no end of tin, i. e. a great deal of money. is no end of a fool, i. e. the greatest fool possible. Pill.-Twaddle, platitude. Rot.-Ditto. Bosh-Nonsense, trash, p2vapía. He Lounge.--A treat, a comfort (an Etonian importation). Coach.--A private tutor. Team. The private tutor's pupils. Subject. A particular author, or part of an author, set for examination; or a particular branch of Mathematics, such as Optics, Hydrostatics, etc. Getting up a subject.-Making one's self thoroughly master of it. Flooring a paper.-Answering correctly and fully every question in it. Book-work.-All mathematics that can be learned verbatim from books-all that are not problems. Cram.-All miscellaneous information about Ancient History, Geography, Antiquities, Law, etc.; all Classical matter not included under the heads of Translation and Composition. Composition.-Translating English into Greek or Latin. Original Composition.-Writing a Latin Theme, or original Latin verses. Spirting.-Making an extraordinary effort of mind or body for a short time. A boat's crew make a spirt when they pull fifty yards with all the strength they have left. A reading man makes a spirt when he crams twelve hours daily the week before examination. Commons.--The students' daily rations, either of meat in hall, or of bread and butter for breakfast and tea. Sizings.--Extra orders in hall. Don.-A Fellow, or any College authority. "The names of the Bachelors who were highest in the list (Wranglers and Senior Optimés Baccalaurei quibus sua reservatur senioritas Comitiis prioribus, and Junior Optimés, Comitiis posterioribus) were written on slips of paper; and on the backs of these papers, probably with a view of making them less fugitive and. more entertaining, was given a copy of Latin verses. These verses were written by one of the new Bachelors-and the exuberant spirits aud enlarged freedom arising from the termination of the Under-graduate restrictions, often gave to these effusions a character of buffoonery and satire (the writer was termed Terrae Filius, or Tripos, probably from some circumstance in the mode Questionists, or men who have just taken their Posted. Rejected in a College Examination. Wrangler, Senior Optimé, Junior Optimé.-The First, Second, and Third Classes of the Mathematical Tripos. Senior Wrangler.-The head of the First Class in Mathematics. Add to these some words previously explained, as gyp, sporting-door, questionist, etc., and a number of London slang words with which Punch has made us familiar, e. g. lush and grub, for meat and drink; weed, for cigar; tin, for money; governor, for father; sold, for exceedingly disappointed or deceived; and a few pure Greek words, of which the most generally used are vous (sense) and Kudos (credit, reputation), and you have a tolerable idea of the Cambridge vocabulary-chiefly confined to the Undergraduates (except in the technicals like proctor, of his making his appearance and delivering his verses), and took considerable liberties. On some occasions we find that these went so far as to incur the censure of the authorities. Even now the Tripos' verses often aim at satire and humor. [It is customary to have one serious and one humorous copy of verses.] The writer does not now appear in person, but the Tripos paper, the list of honors with its verses, still comes forth at its due season, and the list itself has now taken the name of the Tripos. This being the case with the list of Mathematical honors, the same name has been extended to the list of Classical honors, though unaccompanied by its classical verses."-Whewell on Cambridge Education preface to Part 2. |