The pardon was a long time coming. Some 90 years ago, C. Yardley Chittick broke curfew and snuck away from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., with, among other students, Humphrey Bogart, to watch a fire. Last week, at what was for Chittick his 90th class reunion, the school's head and board of trustees formally "cancelled all punishments" for the escapade. Those assembled gave him a standing ovation.

Chittick, who lives at the Pleasant View Retirement Community in Concord and will be 108 in October, led his alma mater's graduation day parade.

We spoke with Chittick, who's been officially recognized as the nation's oldest living patent attorney, yesterday. We asked whether he had ever had a hand in patenting something everyone would be familiar with. He grew frustrated when he couldn't remember the last name of the client he worked for, but he certainly remembered the invention. It's the device that transfers the oil from a delivery truck into the tank in a home's cellar and alerts the driver when the tank is full.

We also asked Chittick where he went to college (MIT) and law school (George Washington University) but neglected to ask him about having met Thomas Edison and taken an 18-page test given prospective employees. Chittick passed with flying colors, as his actual scored test in the archive of the Thomas Edison museum proves. But he turned Edison's job offer down to work for a golf club manufacturer, golf being one of his passions.

As we spoke, Tiger Woods was playing a sudden-death match with Rocco Mediate. We explained that we didn't want to keep Mr. Chittick from watching the finale of the U. S. Open, but we had one last question. Does he still pursue any hobbies? It turns out he does.

Last week, thanks to a friend who gave him a practice net, Chittick was out on the lawn at Pleasant View whacking golf balls. "It's a little shaky, but he's still got a good swing," an aide who looks after him said. Now that's a lot more amazing than just making it to 107.