Notoriously，thiscontingentis，onthewhole，aseriousdrawbacktothecauseoflearning，butitaddsappreciably，andaddsahighlyvaluedcontribution，tothenumberenrolled;anditgivesalsoacertain，highlyappreciated，loudtone（\"collegespirit\"）
tothestudentbody;andsoitisfelttobenefitthecorporationoflearningbydrawingpublicattention。Corporatemeansexpendedinprovisionfortheseacademicaccessories——\"sideshows，\"ascertainill—disposedcriticshavesometimescalledthem——arecommonlyfelttobewellspent。PersonswhoarenotintimatelyfamiliarwithAmericancollegelifehavelittleappreciationofthegravesolicitudegiventothesematters。
Duringsomeconsiderablenumberofyearspast，whiletheundergraduateenrolmentattheuniversitieshasbeenincreasingrapidly，theattitudeoftheauthoritieshasprogressivelybeenundergoinganotablechangetouchingthesemattersofextra—scholasticamenity。Itisingreatmeasureacontinuationofchangesthathavevisiblybeengoingforwardintheolderuniversitiesofthecountryforalongerperiod，anditisorganicallyboundupwiththegeneralshiftingofgroundthatmarkstheincursionofbusinessprinciples。
Whiletheauthoritieshaveturnedtheirattentionprimarilytotheundergraduatedivisionanditsnumericalincrease，theyhaveatthesametime，andlargelywiththesameendinview，endeavouredtogiveitmoreofthecharacterofa\"gentleman’scollege\"，thatistosay，anestablishmentforthecultivationofthegracesofgentilityandasuitableplaceofresidenceforyoungmenofspendthrifthabits。Theimprovementsoughtintheseendeavoursisnotsomuchtheincreaseandaccelerationofscholarlypursuits，asafurtheringof\"social\"proficiency。A
\"gentleman’scollege\"isanestablishmentinwhichscholarshipisadvisedlymadesubordinatetogenteeldissipation，toagroundinginthosemethodsofconspicuousconsumptionthatshouldengagethethoughtandenergiesofawell—to—domanoftheworld。Suchanideal，moreorlessovertly，appearstobegaininggroundamongthelargeruniversities;and，needlesstosay，itisthereforealsogaining，byforceofprecedentandimitation，amongtheyoungerschoolsengagedinmoreofastruggletoachieveasecurefootingofrespectability。