As another school year closes, we found this rather timely
letter written by a student on behalf of his classmates at the end of their May
10, 1806 exam. Echoing the sentiments of
generations of students upon the submission of coursework, he wrote to their
instructors: “We hope it may have proved to your satisfaction; & if you
should have observed any faults, we wish they might be excused.”
Later, the students shed some light on why they might have
felt the need to write such a letter as they describe their work (and
behavior!) over the past year:
“We likewise embrace this Opportunity to show our gratitude
to you our dear Teachers, whose patience we have very often put to the Test
& have grieved you by our disobedience to your kind admonitions &
advice, in which you certainly have not been wanting, & by not paying a
proper attention to our Studies; but we hope you will forget what has happened
already, since it is our wish to be more obedient to your admonitions in future
& to pay a more strict attention to our Studies”
The four-page letter was bound at the
end (pp. 359-362) of a volume of exams from Old Salem Museums & Gardens’ collection of
student exercise books. We recently
digitized an additional ten volumes, bringing the total number of volumes in the digital collection to twenty, and we will be adding more in the coming weeks!
