Two of the stories in the last Advocate show to a very marked degree the influence of those two masters of the art of writing short stories. Richard Harding Davis and Rudyard Kipling, The follower of Mr. Davis is R. T. French and the title of his story is "Lord Angus." Lord Angus is a St. Bernard dog, and his character is an original one, so far as it goes, - at any rate it was certainly not in any way "cribbed" from Mr. Davis. Johnny, however, and "the owner," have appeared again and again in stories by the author of "Gallagher," who is very fond of portraying just such people, and the manner too in which they are spoken of, the suggestive little touches of style, are much the same. Nevertheless the story does not lose much even though it invites comparison with work of such acknowledged excellence. The conversation is well done, the boy is true to life, and the plot, though very improbable, is one of those that have pleased men ever since time began.

The follower of Mr. Kipling is Charles W. Shope, but he follows Mr. Kipling in a different way from that in which Mr. Davis was followed in "Lord Angus." It is the incidents not the characters of "The Lilac Witch," that are drawn from Mr. Kipling, as anyone who has read "The Light that Failed" will admit. Henri of "The Lilac Witch," is utterly unlike Dick, of "The Light that Failed," as Sophie is utterly unlike Bessie but cutting a picture to pieces with a palette-knife is very like blur with the same instrument, even when the one is done out of jealousy and the other for revenge, and "The Lilac Witch" suffers more from the comparison which it invites than does "Lord Angus." Still the story is much above the average, and is decidedly better than the last one by the same author, both in diction and form.

"A Dance on the Susquehanna," by W. D. Howe is a pretty good sketch, especially when one takes into account the fact that almost all the plot is implied rather than expressed. The three most important events of the incident are told, very briefly, yet quite vividly, and there are a few words of introduction and conclusion. That is all, yet the plot is entirely clear.

"Worth," by Henry B. Eddy, is more pretentious than any of the former poetry by the same author, and better. There are a number of rough places in it, but it is, on the whole, well done.

If "Sisyphus to Merope," by Algernon Tassin were not so long it would be much improved. The vocabulary is not varied enough to make so extended an enlargement on one theme effective.

A time when the 'varsity crew is so much in need of funds as it is at present is hardly a judicious one at which to complain of the financial management of our athletics, as is done in the "Topic of the Day." Our present duty is to set the crew on its feet; after we have done that it may be well for us to make plans for future economics, but at present the condition of the crew is such that if they are to hope for success they must have money, and that quickly.

At a meeting of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, held in New York recently. it was voted to make the Interscholastic Tennis Tournament, held annually at Harvard, a national tournament. - Ex.

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