Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-11-29
Correspondence Memphis PrBLIc LEoFER.l
Boston, Nov. Oath, 1879.

BOSTON, Nov. Z4th, 1919.
Ny previous letter was confined
almost entirely to Boston in this
propose to give your readers a briei
sketch of Harvard University, or more
particularly student life at Harvard.
This university received its first en-
dowment in the early part of the
seventeenth century, and since then
has made rapid strides to her present
eminence. Very probably she is now
the wealthiest educational institution
in the United States, and certainly he;
the largest attendance of students.
Only recently a bequest Of nearly
half a million dollars w6s left
her two hundred thousand
dollars of which Is presently available.
In many respects Harvard has under
gone some radical changes; this being
especially observable in the manner
and customs of the student. Hazing,
that relic of former barbarism, only
exists in tradition; fights between
''town' and town no longer occur.
and the lion and the lamb-the Sophie
more and the Freshman sleep peace
fully together. Nocturnal raids upon
the hapless Fresh. have been abandon
ed, and he may now indulge in rosy
dreams of home, undisturbed by semi
forebodings of being tossed ia a
blanket, dGcked under the pump;
or made to play the principal id
some equally disagreeable pastime.
The only existing bette noir
which rufles the otherwise calm
serenity of the Harvard student is
chapel, whittier the bells call him at
aquarter to eight to listen to a chap
ter Of Scripture, a prayer, and to join
in a hymn.
Strict attendance at the chapel by
the undergraduates is compulsoryand
When the bell rings they may be seer
by hundreds darting from the dormi
tories, drawing on and %butioning their
coats as they scurry across the quad.
Tradition hath it that they sometimes
attend equipped in an ample ulster and
a pair Of boots, but that SANDER 20
doubt emanates from some mehda-
cious Yale man.
A large proportion Of the students
board at Memorial Hall. which is I'm
der the exclusive control OF the
Harvard Dining Association, whose
members aggregate wei six hundred
college eOnsumptiyes," as Dennis
Kearney in ose sense appropriately
styled them.
This building, as its name would
imply, was erected (by the Alumni
to the Harvard students who persisted
In the late war, and its cost is estima
ted at between six and seven hundred
thousand. The original design was to
make an art gallery Of it, which wIs
partly carried out, as the presence 0
many pictureS and busts attests,
but eventually upon the re.
quest Of the students, this
hall, larger and more elegant
than our finest hotels eau boast, was
given to the Harvard Dining Associa.
alton, ITO what base uses We may re.
turn, Horatio! e. A spacious gallery
OverhangS the entrance of the dining
hall, which is not ~unfrequentl,
thrOnged with visitors, curious to SCI
this n of the few phases Of student
life open to their inspection.
Occasionally one more eager thar
pOliJe DeSlectS 70 remove his hat
while in the presence of this angus
asSemblage, Al omission on which h,
is iorcibly reminded by the 'liye tLun
der" of near a thousand stamping feet
At times a daring freshman will en-.
gage in a Irritation With some eoquat
fish maiden in the gallery, and is onl,
recalled to reason BY the tumult
uous applause of his fellow students
Speaking of ''maidens" &C., remind
me Of the Annex" which is wha
might be styled the feminine part o
Harvard. 1t is rumored q use chi
word advisedly) that there are between
ten and twenty young ladies IN th,
University. but beyond this vagu,
and prOvokaagly unsatisfactory infor.
nation CD the stNdents are in the pro.
&undest Ignorance.