Charleston Goes to Harvard: The Diary of a Harvard Student of 1831, edited by Arthus H. Cole (HC, 1940, $4.50)
This was written when Harvard consisted of only 8 buildings and 250 undergrads. The population of the entire University ( including the Schools of Theology, Medicine, and Law) was only 400. Even the library was small, a mere 30,000 books, which sounds like a lot, but must not be. ( In 1940 when this book was published there were more than 1,500,000.)
Jacob Rhett Motte came from a good family in South Carolina, but most students at Harvard were from Boston, so our friend stood out. Still he managed, maybe because he was a family friend of President Quincy. Jacob liked his studies, just not the food. (Even at Harvard food was bad?)
You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 4/13. (L-bio.)
