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One of the special features for the Easter number of the "Ladies' Home Journal" is Rudyard Kipling's New Animal Stories.

"The New Financial Law," "The Puerto Rican Relief Bill," "The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty," and "Literature as a Profession," are a few of the many live topics discussed in "The Forum" for April.

"The Arena" for April devotes considerable space to the question of "Expansion-Past and Prospective," publishing two articles on the subject by Hon. H. D. Money, and J. M. Scanland.

The April "Century" is rich in pictorial illustration, its special art

features including a frontispiece engraved by Cole, a full-page plate of H. O. Tanner's painting, "The Annunciation;" Castaig's Paris pictures and Du Mond's decorative treatment of "The Groves of Pan," a poem by Clarence Urmy. From the "Talks with Napoleon,” in this number, it appears that the Emperor was so fully resolved to make his home in America, in the event of defeat at Waterloo, that he had bills drawn upon this country for whatever sums he chose to take. He told Dr. O'Meara that he had "spent sixteen millions of ready money," of his own, before the battle. "I have probably as much money as I shall ever want," he said at St. Helena, "but I do not know exactly where it is." "Fashionable Paris" is brought vividly before the reader by Richard Whiteing's pen and Castaigne's pencil.

CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY

Branch,

VOL. XLIX.

No. 5.

Having been a student at two German universities, Jena and Leipzig, at one Swiss university, Lausanne, and at one in France, Grenoble, where I am now, (February) it may not be uninteresting to the readers of the MONTHLY if I send them some of my observations.

It is well known that in Germany the instruction is given almost wholly by lectures and the instructor is not generally acquainted with his hearers until they present themselves for examination as candidates for a degree. I do not know how it is elsewhere, but here the professors know their students personally and call them by name to recite. In fact, those I have been listening to are on friendly and familiar terms with their students, invite them to their homes, and engage in all sorts of sports and games with them. Until recently

it was almost impossible for a foreigner to take a degree at a French university. A degree carried with it certain privileges which the government did not see fit to grant them, and was not simply a recognition of scholarship, as it is in Germany. Now, however, most of the Gallic universities give the degree of Doctor as a certificate of attainments, and the inducements to come here are much stronger than before. Aside from the opportunity to acquire an easy familiarity with French, the educational advantages are scarcely inferior to those of Germany. I was led to come to Grenoble largely by a remark once made by the veteran philologist, Michael Breal, that if he had his university life to live over again he would begin at Grenoble. And indeed it is a beautiful as well as an interesting place. The scenery is equal to some of the fin

est in Switzerland. There is scarcely any winter and the city is pervaded with an air of culture. I think Americans who come to France for any purpose except sight-seeing make a mistake in confining themselves to Paris. If we want to know a people, the metropolis is not the best place for the purpose. This is especially true of a city like the French capital, which is, I suppose, the most cosmopolitan in the world. One who has not been on the ground scarcely realizes in how many respects the provinces differ from the magnificent city on the banks of the Seine. While it is true that France is full of dialects, I cannot see that the French spoken by the cultured class differs at all in the different parts of the country. The same remark applies to the speech of French Switzerland. Good French in one locality is good French in every other.

I have made some experiments on myself and some observations on others in the study of colloquial speech that I

that I find interesting. When I arrived in Jena, I called upon the well known professor Rein and among other things asked him to direct me to the best private tutor he knew. He sent me to a recent graduate of the university, who he thought would answer my purpose admirably. I was not disappointed. His instruction was so thorough and so unremitting that in about two months after the

lectures at the university opened I had but little difficulty in understanding what was said. It is true I had a fair reading knowledge of the language, but could scarcely speak it at all. Comparing this method with that of some of my acquaintances who simply attended lectures for what they could catch, it seemed to me to be greatly superior. One must not only hear and see but reproduce with unending repetition, and it is a great advantage to have some one at hand to rectify mistakes. When in Switzerland I lived with a private family and I am doing the same here. For the acquisition of a language, this has some advantages and some drawbacks. Unless those who constitute it are more than usually intelligent, the round of common talk and the stock of familiar phrases are soon used up and there is an end of progress. Fortunately the French are very affable and generally ready to engage in conversation with any one, especially a foreigner, who is fairly fluent in their language, so that there is no lack of opportunity for practice. practice. On the other hand, their éxcessive politeness too often leads them to compliment your pronunciation more than it probably deserves. Nowhere is it more necessary for one who wants to get at the facts to be on his guard against fine phrases. I find it very hard to become accustomed to this terribly exaggerated politeness. German