The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-01-12
GLIMPSE AT HARVARD.
A Conversation in Students Room.

| Some Facts As To How the Students Live
A Remarkable Little Cambridge Boy
| Who Has a Passion For Collecting
| Snakes.
| cpd give five years of my life to be the
captain of the winning foot ball team"
| The speaker was Harvard Freshman,
| tall handsome gentlemanly young fel-
low from one of the western states. He
was reclining Oh the cushioned seat in
the bow window of his spacious room on
| the fourth floor of one of the new domi-
tories which was ready for occupancy
this fall term for the first time.
| A cheerful fire was burning in the open
| CRATE. A junior and law student and
| others were present and the conversation
was about the game of football. The
| Freshman was enthusiastic but the
| junior had seen too many severe injuries
| during his college experience to be who'll
| ly blind to the danger of the game.
| OF course be liked to see the game.
His interest in the Harvard eleven, made
ing interest to him, but he admitted
that the real attraction is similar to that
which draws thousands to the gladiatorial
arena in the days of Rome and that
draws men to prize fights at the present
time. 1t is only a matter of degree. !.
But the talk did not finger very long
upon football. There IS very little to be
said about that at Harvard now. The
subject of board and lodging proved
more interesting and some astonishing
contrasts were developed in the way the
students live.
One law student had been late at the
first of the term and found all the places
filed in the great dining room at Memoir
ial Hall. He went across the street to
the Foxcroft club house. This is an
old colonial mansion. with graceful
swelling front on each side Of the door
that is decided improvement on bow
window. All the partitions in the lower
floor have been removed making a spac-
ious dining room. The club is cooper
alive students club. The price of every
thing is regulated by the actual expense
and if there is any profit at the end of
the year it is credited to the mem bers.
Such students as desire wait upon the
tables, receiving their board in compen-
| sation.
| The law student spoke of the cheap
ness and excellence of the food, and read
| from a bill of fare for that days dinner,
| which is served at six O'Clock. Tea,
| coffee and cocoa of excellent quality and
| liberal quantity are three cents each; a
| glass of milk two cents; white bread,
two slices, one cent; graham bread, CORN
bread, graham gems, one cent; cheese,
| butter, pickles, one cent? ginger bread
and cookies one cent; apricot, peach,
mince, apple, cranberry pie, five cents a
piece; oranges, apples, bananas, two
cents; preserves, four cents; roast beet
bage, three cents; tewed tomatoes.
three cents; mashed or sweet potatoes,
three cents; baked rice pudding, five
cenJs; cream cakes, four cents fruit
cake, one cent; California peaches, four
cents; apple sauce, four cents. There are
|
you simply write down what you want
and add up the total. and sign your
| name. If you are a novice you will
surely forget to write down "butter
one cent" and consequentlysSyo you won't
get any, but will have to write another
! order for it Oh another card. You are
also likely at first to forget to order a
slice Of bread or potato, etc.
It would be difficult for you to eat
more than 25 cents worth, no matter
what your capacity. The average dinner
amounts to 20 or 90 cents. A breakfast
and lunch many students eat less than
| Is cents worth, and yet have an ample
amount of excellent and we'll cooked
| food.
| 1t will be seen that man can eat just
as much or just as little as he pleases,
and not pay cent for anything that he
| does not eat. The cost for week rarely
goes above 81. and plenty of good food
can be had for IS.
The young man from Ohio said that
| food at colleges was very much cheaper
| in the West. At the college he had re-
Gently attended the highest board was
only So. SO a week, and good board was
had for ST. SO. Meats of ali kinds were
very much cheaper in the West.
| The room 10 which this conversation
was going on is large and handsomely
| furnished in hard wood, and the large
bow window with the cushioned seat
| is really luxurious. There is every
modern sanitary convenience en- every
| floor of the building, but the tramp up
three flights of stairs is very tiresome
! A bedroom adioins the sitting room, and
for these two rooms the Freshman pays
| 5000 year. This does not include the
gas and coal for which he has to pay
extra. and which amounts to a good deal
| in the course of year. The law student
| h 8 room IN private house. 1t is quite
! as near to the college recitation buildings
and boarding houses as the Freshman 8
rooms. 1t is not as large or MS luxuri-
GUS, but it has a better view from the
| windows, is up but two flights in hand
some modern house with every conven-