Our invalid was better in the morning, but cold, disgusted, and impatient. His swollen eyelids each looked like a ripe plum. He said that he could not open his eyes. I told him to lie still and keep them shut then, a remark which he thought peculiarly unfeeling. We decided to send this Knight of the Sorrowful Figure with John and Victor down to Zermatt, while Spangler and I would wait and play " mumble-the-peg" until their return, which might be next day and might be- never! Not a cheerful prospect; but, as the jester said in the woods of Arden, "Travellers must be contented."

Before they had fairly started, however, we heard shouting from below; and soon the two guides Bic reached us from the lower cabin, in which they had spent the night. We therefore again moved on, but very slowly. The new-fallen snow made the walking very difficult, and much sitting down in slippery places reduced our clothing to a total wreck, concerning which the less said the better. There were many "mauvais pas ;" but we passed them all at last, and towards noon we reached the lower cabin. The doctor from Zermatt was there, and also four able-bodied ruffians bearing a sedan-chair. We were now safe at last; and after another drink around of chocothere was nothing else left, we started

late, for Zermatt.

Our welcome in the village was most enthusiastic. Everybody- English, German, French — was delighted to see us, and the "Matterhornbesteiger" were the heroes of the hour. In the

chapel at Zermatt prayers were offered for the Queen of England and on our account for President Garfield, and thanks. were given for our safe

return.

As for our own party, an Englishman who was there afterwards said: "I never saw anything like it. Every one of those Americans rushed right out into the street and crowded around, and I actually thought that every one of those ladies was going to kiss the Professor!"

But not one of them did!

I afterwards received from "John the Baptist" the following letter, which will be of interest as the composition of an illiterate but very intelligent man. I give it literatim. It will be noticed that while the construction of the sentences is generally correct, the words are mostly spelled by ear, not an easy thing to do in the French language.

MONSIEUR JORDAN.

VALTOURNENCHE, le 16 Decbre, 1881.

CHER MONSIEUR, — J'ai reçus vôtres lettres le 15 courent, laquelle a été pour moi un grand plaisir, premièrement en aprenant que Mer Gilbert était parfaitement géri. Je regretais toujours de ne pa vous avoir prié de me donner de ses nouvelles en arivents dans vôtres patrie. Je vous prier de le saluer bien de ma part, et en même tempts le remercier du cadou que vous m'avez remis en son nom à Saas. En second lieu je vois avec plaisir que vous ne vous êtes pas contenter de me payer largement mes servisses de l'été passé. Vous voulez encore travailler pour me donner une renomée parmi les Américains, s'est plus que je ne merite. Je vous en remercie infiniment. Je regrète beaucoup d'être dans l'impossibilité de pouvour vous en rendre le reciproque. Je ne

peut faire autre chose que de vous souéter des jours heureux plain de Santées et d'Amour pour les Alpes Pennines. Je vous prie de saluer toutes l'honorables compagnie que vous aviez avec vous l'été passé. Maquignaz et les Bics vous font ses salutations.

Recevez une bonne poigné de main de celui qui voudroit être longtents

Vôtre serviteur,

AYMONOD BAPTISTE.1

1 The following is a translation of this letter: —

MR. JORDAN:

VAL TOURNANCHE, Dec. 16, 1881.

DEAR SIR, -I have received your letter of the fifth current, which has been for me a great pleasure, firstly in learning that Mr. Gilbert was perfectly cured. I regretted always not to have asked you to give me news from him in arriving in your own country. I pray you to salute him well for my part, and at the same time to thank him for the present which you gave me in his name at Saas. In the second place, I see with pleasure that you have not contented yourself with paying me liberally for my services of last summer. You wish still to work to give me a fame among Americans. It is more than I merit. I thank you for it infinitely. I regret much being in the impossibility of being able to render you a reciprocal service. I can do nothing more than to wish you happy days full of health and of love for the Pennine Alps.

I pray you to salute all the honorable company which you had with you last year. Maquignaz and the Bics send you their salutations.

Receive a good shake of the hand from him who would long be

Your servant,

AYMONOD BAPTISTE.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE COLLEGE

A

CURRICULUM.

RECENT writer on the German system of education, turning from his subject for a moment's contemplation of the American system, is moved to say that the most striking characteristic of the latter is simply its want of system. Instead of being part of a definite whole, well ordered or ill ordered as the case may be, each feature of the American system has been developed with little regard to its relation to the others; and this confusion in development has been made worse by our characteristic misapplication of names, an example of which is seen in our indiscriminate use of the terms "college" and "university." In many a so-called college in America the chief work done is the teaching of the elements of grammar and arithmetic. The "university idea" is often regarded as fully met by the addition to such a college of a Normal School, a professor or two in Law or Theology, and a self-supporting "College of Music."

Yet in spite of all eccentricities in name or form, we can recognize the existence of a certain definite type of school which we may call the American college. There are many variations in this type of school, — variations due to geographical position,

to the excess or deficiency in denominational zeal, or to the exigencies of the struggle for existence. For the fiercest conflicts of the average American college have not been with the black giant Ignorance, but with the traditional wolf at the door. In other words, this new country has not been liberal in its support of higher education; and moreover the funds available for this purpose have been used to found a multitude of weak schools rather than to make a few schools strong. There have been several reasons why this is so, and there are some reasons why it has been well that it is so; but these questions I do not care to discuss now. The law of the survival of the fittest can be depended on to rectify sooner or later all mistakes. of this kind. Suffice it to say that we recognize the existence of the American college, and that this college possesses a more or less definite college curriculum. Of the changes in this curriculum I wish now to speak.

I shall not try to follow out in detail its history prior to the time when its germs were brought to us from England in the landing of the Pilgrims. We can go back in England to the time when the philosophy of Aristotle constituted the college course. Then the entire curriculum was taught by a single teacher, the man of universal knowledge. This teacher for the most part gave his instruction by dictation. The students noted down the contents of old books, which the master himself had copied before; the place of the teacher was simply that of a medium of communication between the ancient manuscripts and their later duplicates.