Review of Illustrated

The Illustrated opens its year with a few words of advice to the much-advised Freshman, a collection of excellent photographs, and a number of only fairly interesting articles on very interesting subjects. For 1917, Dean Hurlbut has issued a call to public service, and W. J. Bingham '16, one for class spirit. The articles include one on "Freshman Customs at Cornell," one on "A Summer's Quest in Brazil," and one by R. N. Williams '16 on the Davis Cup Matches of last July. A leading editorial, "Routineers and Explorers," and a series of explanations of their choice of colleges by Freshmen at Princeton, Yale, and Harvard respectively complete the table of contents and form the most interesting part of the number.

There is danger in the editorial, for it fails to distinguish between the explorer and the mere aimless wanderer. Perhaps the four years of college are intended for "mental browsing," but unless some of that which we browse on is digested, wherein lies its value? A little too much emphasis is laid by the editorial on going out for everything, not quite enough on doing well what you do.

Mr. Anderson, of Princeton, seems to have chosen his college on a basis of reason. Not the weakest of his arguments is that of the preceptorial system, in which the relations of professor and pupil are close. At Princeton alone of the larger colleges did he find such a system developed. The other men have made their choice on less substantial grounds, but the undergraduate has to learn from them, as from the first, that the standard of the college is set by the man--that it is what Harvard men say and do more than anything else that wins recruits and gives Harvard its place in the community.