The laurel crown, according to Brande, "was customarily given at the universities in the Middle Ages to such persons as took degrees in grammar and rhetoric, of which poetry formed a branch; whence, according to some authors, the term Baccalaureatus has been derived. The academical custom of bestowing the laurel, and the court custom, were distinct, until the former was abolished. The last instance in which the laurel was bestowed in the universities, was in the reign of Henry the Eighth." LAWS. In early times, the laws in the oldest colleges in the United States were as often in Latin as in English. They were usually in manuscript, and the students were required to make copies for themselves on entering college. The Rev. Henry Dunster, who was the first President of Harvard College, formed the first code of laws for the College. They were styled, "The Laws, Liberties, and Orders of Harvard College, confirmed by the Overseers and President of the College in the years 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, and 1646, and published to the scholars for the perpetual preservation of their welfare and government." Referring to him, Quincy says: "Under his administration, the first code of laws was formed; rules of admission, and the principles on which degrees should be granted, were established; and scholastic forms, similar to those customary in the English universities, were adopted; many of which continue, with little variation, to be used at the present time."--_Hist. Harv. Univ._, Vol. I. p. 15. In 1732, the laws were revised, and it was voted that they should all be in Latin, and that each student should have a copy, which he was to write out for himself and subscribe. In 1790, they were again revised and printed in English, since which time many editions have been issued. Of the laws of Yale College, President Woolsey gives the following account, in his Historical Discourse before the Graduates of that institution, Aug. 14, 1850:--