Page:Samuel F. Batchelder - Bits of Harvard History (1924).pdf/362

 days she seems to have been regarded with a good deal of respect, perhaps not unmixed with pity; for her de- mise was celebrated by B. D. Winslow of 35 in a poem much more serious in tone than most of its kind. For forty weary years or more
 * She trod these classic shades…

Yes! she who many a bed hath made
 * In years forever past,

With decent rites at length is laid
 * To sleep upon her last.

The attentive reader must have observed that the most universal attribute of the early personnel appears to have been extreme senility; the next, extreme intemperance. Making every allowance, the deduction remains that the students’ rooms, committed to such caretakers, were not precisely models of sanitary neatness. And the conclusion is only too well borne out by what is known of the standard of cleanliness in other domestic departments of the University. It is but honest to add that no false notions were held about the value of such services. The regular charge for the sweeper was but 2s. 6d. per quarter, which sum was not