Review of New Board's First Number

With the current Advocate, the new board makes its first bow to the College public; and on the whole the number is creditable. The first editorial, "An Appeal to the Fair Minded," makes a plea for the addition to the tablets in Memorial Hall of the names of the Harvard men who fell fighting under the Stars and Bars. This question has been for some time agitated in the graduate publications as well as in the Advocate; we may hope that,--perhaps with the aid of the Forum,--its resurrection will result in a more satisfactory decision. But perhaps the time is not yet ripe.

That the editors did not expect the first editorial to carry much weight, is shown by the second--on "The General Uselessness of Editorials." We are led to believe that when the editors have nothing particular to say, they will use this space for other matter. 'Tis well.

When Mr. Sanger blew off "Steam," the result was a creditable poem in Kiplingian vein. One or two infelicities of phrase fail to destroy our pleasure in verse where sense and music are happily combined. And we can overlook the exigencies of internal rime.

"Elevating S" is a clever sketch by Mr. P. W. Thayer. The subject is not new; a rich philanthropist summons a Common loafer to dine because he wishes to life "one of these poor men . . . . from the street to a position of trust." There is, however, a striking novelty of diction which blinds us to the triteness of the material; and the author's style fairly bristles with delightful neologiams--such as "largesse."

It would not be fair to Mr. H. L. Rogers to judge "The Petty Larcenist" on the instalment plan. The most that we can ask of a serial is that it will help dispose of the next issue; and we can be reasonably sure that those who have made the acquaintance of S. Mosbaugh White, Esq., will want to know how he fared at El Paso.

"The Greatest Love Story Ever Written" does not live up to its title. "'Just like you,' reproached Jimmy," "'What's the matter?' I sympathizes," "'My versatility be hanged!' exploded Jimmy," and other Meredithian touches, fail to give a threadbare subject absorbing interest.

"The Madonna" is a sonnet which does not transmit to the reader the emotion under which the writer so evidently labored. The Spenserian stanza by Mr. Cummings, "Summer Silence," is excellent.

Mr. Dunbar's timely rehearsal of the history of "Hollie Hall" completes the number. There is, as far as I know, but one untrue statement in his interesting article. "Also many of the prominent professors now in the University lived in Hollis, among them being. . . Copeland. . . ." (The error is in tense).

On the whole, the number is a good one: and the new board is to be congratulated on its first effort.

Enrico Caruso will sing in "Pagliacei" in Boston, March 18.