A gift of books as a reward, originating in the bequest of Edward Hopkins, in the year 1657, to Harvard College.

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1806.  

        Some in a Detur place their chief delight,
While some in drinking choose to spend the night;
Vacation, Detur, Sleep, nor midnight bowl
Like Molly’s smile could ne’er enchant my soul.
The Repertory (Boston), Aug. 1.    

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1836.  The “deturs” have been given out, and I have got Akenside’s Poems. They are the best “deturs” that have been given out this long while, they say; they are bound most beautifully (all alike) in yellow calf, and—what I consider very appropriate—have the College arms stamped on the covers, in gold.—J. R. Lowell, ‘Letters,’ i. 10. (N.E.D.)

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1849.  Get a “Detur” by all means, and the square medal with its cabalistic signs.—Letter to a Young Man cited by B. H. Hall, ‘College Words,’ p. 158 (1856).

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