368 APPENDIX I 



VIII. L'ENTENTE CORDIALE. 



It is beginning to be quite evident that the day is past when 

 thoughts, ideas, and the possession of truth are national and the 

 property of one particular people. The tendency of this generation 

 is fast towards denationalization. Foreign methods when proved 

 to be better than our own are no longer looked upon askance 

 because they are foreign, but are beginning to be adopted; just as 

 abroad practical American ideas have found widely a favorable 

 reception. The intrinsic value of ideas is an asset too precious to be 

 long ignored by any wide-awake nation. 



In 1897, Ferdinand Brunetiere gave a course of lectures in 

 French at Johns Hopkins University which were notable and be- 

 sides attracted popular attention. He was invited to Harvard 

 University, where he gave three lectures on Moliere. The charm 

 and magnetism of the man will not easily be forgotten by anyone 

 privileged to hear him. Since that time the French lectureship 

 fund provided by Mr. James Hazen Hyde of the Class of 1898 has 

 made it possible for Americans to pass in review a long line of dis- 

 tinguished French men of letters; for not only have these gentle- 

 men lectured at Harvard University, but after finishing their course 

 there, usually have also lectured in many places in the United 

 States and Canada. The distinction of the lecturers and the variety 

 of the topics treated has naturally called attention to France, a 

 country for which American sympathy has been strong and lasting 

 from old colonial days. The following are the names of the eminent 

 lecturers who have visited our shores and their subjects: 



1898. Rene Doumic: Histoire du romantisme francais. 



1899. Edouard Rod: La Poesie dramatique francaise. 



1900. Henri de Regnier: Poesie francaise contemporaine. 



1901. Gaston Deschamps: Le Theatre francais contem- 

 porain. 



1902. Hugues Le Roux: Le Roman francais et la societe 

 francaise. 



1903. L. Mabilleau: Idees fondamentales de la politique 

 francaise. 



1904. A Leroy-Beaulieu, de ITnstitut: Christianisme et 

 democratic. 



1905. Rene Millet, ambassadeur: La France et ITslam dans 

 la Mediterranee. 



1906. Anatole Le Braz: La France celtique. 



