ollege, "he purchased a country seat, with about ninety-six acres
of land." On his return to London, in 1733, he sent a deed of his
farm in Rhode Island to Yale College, in which it was ordered,
"that the rents of the farm should be appropriated to the
maintenance of the three best scholars in Greek and Latin, who
should reside at College at least nine months in a year, in each
of the three years between their first and second degrees."
President Clap further remarks, that "this premium has been a
great incitement to a laudable ambition to excel in the knowledge
of the classics." It was commonly known as the _Dean's
bounty_.--_Clap's Hist. of Yale Coll._, pp. 37, 38.

The Dean afterwards conveyed to it [Yale College], by a deed
transmitted to Dr. Johnson, his Rhode Island farm, for the
establishment of that _Dean's bounty_, to which sound classical
learning in Connecticut has been much indebted.--_Hist. Sketch of
Columbia Coll._, p. 19.

DEAN SCHOLAR. The person who received the money appropriated by
Dean Berkeley was called the _Dean scholar_.

This premium was formerly called the Dean's bounty, and the person
who received it the _Dean scholar_.--_Sketches of Yale Coll._, p.
87.

DECENT. Tolerable; pretty good. He is a _decent_ scholar; a
_decent_ writer; he is nothing more than _decent_. "This word,"
says Mr. Pickering, in his Vocabulary, "has been in common use at
some of our colleges, but only in the language of conversation.
The adverb _decently_ (and possibly the adjective also) is
sometimes used in a similar manner in some parts of Great
Britain."

The greater part of the pieces it contains may be said to be very
_decently_ written.--_Edinb. Rev._, Vol. I. p. 426.

DECLAMATION. The word is applied especially to the public speaking
and speeches of students in colleges, practised for exercises in
oratory.--_Webster_.

It would appear by the following extract from the old laws of
Harvard College, that original declamations were formerly required
of the students. "The Undergraduates shall in their course declaim
publicly in the hall, in one of the three learned languages; and
in no other without leave or direction from the President, and
immediately give up their declamations fairly written to the
President. And he that neglects this exercise shall be punished by
the President or Tutor that calls over the weekly bill, not
exceeding five shillings. And such delinquent shall within one
week after give