About ten years after, another law was made, “to restrain scholars from breakfasting in the houses of town’s people,” and provision was made “for their being accommodated with breakfast in the hall, either milk, chocolate, tea, or coffee, as they should respectively choose.”  They were allowed, however, to provide themselves with breakfasts in their own chambers, but not to breakfast in one another’s chambers.  From this period breakfast was as regularly provided in commons as dinner, but it was not until about the year 1807 that an evening meal was also regularly provided.

In the year 1765, after the erection of Hollis Hall, the accommodations for students within the walls were greatly enlarged; and the inconvenience being thus removed which those had experienced who, living out of the College buildings, were compelled to eat in commons, a system of laws was passed, by which all who occupied rooms within the College walls were compelled to board constantly in common, “the officers to be exempted only by the Corporation, with the consent of the Overseers; the students by the President only when they were about to be absent for at least one week.”  Scarcely a year had passed under this new regime “before,” says Quincy, “an open revolt of the students took place on account of the provisions, which it took more than a month to quell.”  “Although,” he continues, “their proceedings were violent, illegal, and insulting, yet the records of the immediate government show unquestionably, that the disturbances, in their origin, were not wholly without cause, and that they were aggravated by want of early attention to very natural and reasonable complaints.”

During the war of the American Revolution, the difficulty of providing satisfactory commons was extreme, as may be seen from the following vote of the Corporation, passed Aug. 11th, 1777.

“Whereas by law 9th of Chap.  VI. it is provided, ’that there shall always be chocolate, tea, coffee, and milk for breakfast, with bread and biscuit and butter,’ and whereas the foreign articles above mentioned are now not to be procured without great difficulty, and at a very exorbitant price; therefore, that the charge of commons may be kept as low as possible,—­

“Voted, That the Steward shall provide at the common charge only bread or biscuit and milk for breakfast; and, if any of the scholars choose tea, coffee, or chocolate for breakfast, they shall procure those articles for themselves, and likewise the sugar and butter to be used with them; and if any scholars choose to have their milk boiled, or thickened with flour, if it may be had, or with meal, the Steward, having reasonable notice, shall provide it; and further, as salt fish alone is appointed by the aforesaid law for the dinner on Saturdays, and this article is now risen to a very high price, and through the scarcity of salt will probably be higher, the Steward shall not be obliged to provide salt fish, but shall procure fresh fish as often as he can.”—­Quincy’s Hist.  Harv.  Univ., Vol.  II. p. 541.