with regard to literature. There should be a combination of the 

 German painstaking accuracy and of the generally superior apprecia- 

 tion of art in literature of the French. This would produce admirable 

 results in American universities. 



For a long time there were few students from the United States 

 in France, for it was very difficult to obtain the French Doctor's 

 degree. It is to Mr. Harry A. Furber, of Chicago, that Americans are 

 indebted for the possibility of obtaining the degree of " Docteur de 

 PUniversite"," which corresponds to the German "Doctor of Philo- 

 sophy," without being obliged to fulfill all the requirements de- 

 manded of French students. We should encourage our young men 

 and young women to go to France for the study of the Romance 

 languages, in order that we may have later in this country a better 

 appreciation of the Romance literatures. This would be felt, not only 

 in the colleges and universities and by the students there, but almost 

 immediately by the general public. The scholars who would have 

 acquired in France, or under instructors animated by the same 

 ideas, the French taste for literary art, would write reviews and crit- 

 icisms which would have a great influence on the people who read 

 journals and magazines. In this respect let us say that the opinion 

 of the American public with regard to French life, as seen in many 

 novels, is entirely erroneous. It should be the duty of American 

 students of French literature to correct this false impression and 

 to show that nowhere in the world is family life nobler and more 

 respected than in France. 



A professor in an American college assumes a great responsibility 

 when he attempts to direct his pupils in the study of the Romance 

 literatures. In most of our colleges the teacher of literature is also 

 the teacher of the language in which that literature is written, and 

 he should try to teach literature when he teaches the reading of 

 the language. It is, therefore, interesting to see how much reading 

 is done in our institutions of collegiate grade. Professor Henry 

 Johnston Darnall, of the University of Tennessee, has calculated most 

 patiently from catalogues the number of pages read in undergraduate 

 French courses in twenty colleges in the following Southern States: 

 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. 

 The largest numbers were 3772, 2991, 2705, 2516, and 2100. The 

 smallest number was 423, and the average was 1795. The courses 

 were generally of two years; some were of three, and very few of 

 four. We should endeavor to raise the average number of pages read 

 to at least 2500 in two years. This can be done by giving parallel 

 reading, from the first year, ascertaining by an examination, either 

 written or oral, whether the work assigned has been well done. As 

 given in the catalogues the texts read seem to have been judiciously 



