The June Monthly

The opening article is a sharp attack on the practice of working one's way through college; an ordinary "working-student," forced to earn money, is likely, it is said, to sacrifice health, intellectual ideals and social enjoyment; men with uncommon endowments may succeed, the majority must fall. Here undoubtedly is a difficulty; but the writer would have done well to bring out the other side more distinctly-that not a few men work their way without losing the best fruits of college life, and that for some men the necessity of supporting themselves is a wholesome discipline. And what counsel has the writer to give those who must work in order to get a college education? Another problem of college life is discussed in the editorial article-the frequent impotence of the Freshman in the presence of the elective pamphlet with its maddening array of courses; the suggestion made, namely, that there be larger provision of advice for the first-year student, deserves careful consideration. Both these articles are well conceived, and the same thing may be said of the other prose contributions. In "Some English Outskirts" the writer has caught the spirit of rural England; it is a pleasing ramble to which he invites us. Part II of. "The Sins of the Fathers" brings out the point of the story: the inheritance of morbid and maniacal impulses; the peculiar feature is that the girl's suicidal mania is developed by her lover's inherited morbid appetite for psychological analysis-an interesting point, skillfully worked up. Two anecdotes, concerning a dog and an anaesthetic; give comedy and tragedy, with freshness and local coloring. The poetry of the number has more than the average excellence. The Lloyd McKim Garrison Prize Poem, "New England", is entitled to hearty praise; the cheery, manly tone, the felicitous choice of descriptive terms, and the musical swing of the lines give it permanent value. "The Sound of the Sea" is a fairly successful experiment in rimed hexameters; one may object to the quasi-rimes "heaven" and "even," "fonder" and "wonder," as well as to the expression "memory of remembered faces"; but the verses are in general melodious, and the dreamy sadness of tone reflects one side of the effect of the sea-sounds. The other poetical pieces are creditable in thought and wording; they all show a good ear for rhythm. "The parting of Lancelot and Guinevere" has the tender solemnity of the old romances. "In the City," "Sunrise," and "Prisoners," describe certain aspects of nature, and "Love's Perfect Hour" is a happy translation from the French. The general excellence of the number is occasionally marred by inaccurate or doubtful words and expressions.