So the Squire of Eliot House is leaving! The news isn't exactly a surprise, but there were those of us who were hoping that the powers that be in such matters would relax their rules and that R.B. himself would decide not to resign.
If ever a man has made a House into a respected institution, with a gentlemanly tradition of good living behind it, it is Professor Merriman. He has been and he is Eliot House personified. Without him, the place will not seem quite the same.
It is fortunate that there is as good a choice to succeed him as Professor Finley, a distinguished scholar who is well liked by the staff of tutors as well as by the undergraduates and who is completely capable of taking over where Professor Merriman leaves off. But it will be many years before he can fill his predecessor's shoes as the star of the House Christmas play or as the chief rooter for the Elephant football team and crew.
In ten years Professor Merriman has made of the dry bones of the House Plan a living, vital creation. What he has given Eliot House is something that will remain after him as a part of the elusive but ever-present tradition that is Harvard.
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