THE FRENCH ROOM.

The opening of the French room in Matthews Hall will be welcomed by all, as fulfilling a very important need in a very pleasant way. What the Cercle Francais has in recent years not been able to accomplish for various reasons, will now be done by this room under the supervision of the French Department. Daily the value of a knowledge of French is becoming more apparent; of the first officers chosen for service abroad nearly all knew French, and this it was which, other things being equal, determined their selection. In the future the same will doubtless hold true. Thus any man who for sees a possibility, however slight, of his entering active service should begin early to train himself in this fundamental part of his preparation. For languages cannot be learned in a few hours of intense application; it is rather by a slow and unconscious process of assimilation that they are mastered. And for this, nothing is quite so valuable as the reading of foreign newspapers and talking with natives of foreign lands, both of which are being offered by the organizers of the French Room.