at the Fellows'
table in hall, and in their seats at chapel; of wearing a gown
with gold or silver lace, and a velvet cap with a metallic tassel;
of having the first choice of rooms; and as is generally believed,
and believed not without reason, of getting off with a less number
of chapels per week. Among them are included the Honorables _not_
eldest sons,--only these wear a hat instead of the velvet cap, and
are thence popularly known as _Hat_ Fellow-Commoners."--_Five
Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 13.

A _Fellow-Commoner_ at Cambridge is equivalent to an Oxford
_Gentleman-Commoner_, and is in all respects similar to what in
private schools and seminaries is called a _parlor boarder_. A
fuller account of this, the first rank at the University, will be
found in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 20, and in the Gradus
ad Cantabrigiam, p. 50.

"Fellow-Commoners have been nicknamed '_Empty Bottles_'! They have
been called, likewise, 'Useless Members'! 'The licensed Sons of
Ignorance.'"--_Gradus ad Cantab._

The Fellow-Commoners, alias _empty bottles_, (not so called
because they've let out anything during the examination,) are then
presented.--_Alma Mater_, Vol. II. p. 101.

In the old laws of Harvard College we find the following: "None
shall be admitted a _Fellow-Commoner_ unless he first pay thirteen
pounds six and eight pence to the college. And every
_Fellow-Commoner_ shall pay double tuition money. They shall have
the privilege of dining and supping with the Fellows at their
table in the hall; they shall be excused from going on errands,
and shall have the title of Masters, and have the privilege of
wearing their hats as the Masters do; but shall attend all duties
and exercises with the rest of their class, and be alike subject
to the laws and government of the College," &c. The Hon. Paine
Wingate, a graduate of the class of 1759, says in reference to
this subject: "I never heard anything about _Fellow-Commoners_ in
college excepting in this paragraph. I am satisfied there has been
no such description of scholars at Cambridge since I have known
anything about the place."--_Peirce's Hist. Harv. Coll._, p. 314.

In the Appendix to "A Sketch of the History of Harvard College,"
by Samuel A. Eliot, is a memorandum, in the list of donations to
that institution, under the date 1683, to this effect. "Mr. Joseph
Brown, Mr. Edward Page, Mr. Francis Wainwright,
_fellow-commoners_, gave each a silver goblet." Mr. W