VOLUME IX NUMBER 10University RecordFEBRUARY, 1905THE HISTORIC ROLE OF FRANCE AMONG THE NATIONS1BY CHARLES VICTOR LANGLOISProfessor of the Sciences Auxiliary to History, Faculty of Letters, The University of ParisIt seems to me very probable that those whoinvited a historian and a professor of history toaddress you today expected him to make historyhis theme. Not, perhaps, that I should choosea topic from my own special field of study,which is too technical, but rather one of thoselarge subjects which historians, whatever thenature of their investigations, are not at libertyto ignore — such subjects being the final end andjustification of all historical investigation.The philosophy of French history is surelya subject of this kind, for the ultimate object ofall labor on the history of a nation is to determine that nation's present position and the direction in which it is moving. Your presencehere proves your interest in all that concernsFrance; it cannot, therefore, be a matter ofindifference to you to learn how this seriousproblem of detecting the real trend of Frenchhistory appears to modern Frenchmen whothink about these things. Of course, such asubject is too vast to be taken in at a glance;moreover, to treat it before foreigners is, for aFrenchman, a task of extreme delicacy. Conscious, however, of bringing to the task ofoutlining the philosophy of French history, if1 Delivered in Cobb Lecture Hall on October 18, 1904.The translation from the French was made by AssociateProfessor T. Atkinson Jenkins, of the Department ofRomance Languages and Literatures. not the requisite abilities, at least an absolutesincerity, I shall make the attempt.First of all, do not be alarmed: I shall notgo back to the deluge. The territory now calledFrance has been peopled by many races sincethe epoch when, the distribution of climatebeing different from that now prevailing, menhunted there the elephant and the mastodon.Modern anthropologists exhume the bones ofthese prehistoric men, and upon them buildspeculations which have, to be sure, some value,but not for our present purpose. The first ofthese primitive peoples to hand down its nameto us — the Celtic people, or perhaps I shouldsay the Celtic aristocracy, the Gauls — flourished two thousand years ago. Gaul was conquered by Rome and profoundly Romanized;it became one of the main centers of Romancivilization and shared in the general destinyof the Roman world; for Roman civilizationwas modified in Gaul, as elsewhere, during theearly centuries of our era by the success of theJudseo- Christian movement and by the adventof the barbarians. These invaders, mostly ofGermanic race, took up their abode in Gaul asin other parts of Romania. Then follows inGaul, as elsewhere, among the ruins of theRoman structure, a long period of turmoil andreadjustment, out of which emerges the feudalsystem- — that is, a system in which, under a327328 UNIVERSITY RECORDroyal authority more or less nominal, the various seigniories lie side by side or interpenetrate,while under each feudal chief are groups ofretainers and subjects. From our present pointof view, this is all that we need to know of thehistory of the regions which are now calledFrance.Not but that frequent attempts have beenmade to seek the beginning of a French nationaltradition in these remote times. Some modernhistorians, examining what the Roman writerssay of the Gauls conquered by Caesar, havethought they succeeded in detecting in themsome of the traits which belong to Frenchmenof our own day. According to these historians,the Romans observed in our ancestors thatnervous mobility, the spirit of quick sympathyand of sociability, vivacity, impetuousness, generosity, the liking for eloquence and partialityfor the "point of honor," as well as the vanityand general frivolousness, which are still commonly ascribed to the French character. I find,for example, in recent books by reputable authors, statements like these : " As for sensitiveness to impressions, we are still the excitablenation spoken of by Strabo ; " and : " The exercise of the will among the French people hasalways been explosive, centrifugal, and direct,as it was among the Gauls" (Fouillee). Theseanalogies run into even greater detail, and fromthe descriptions which Valerius Maximus andDiodorus give of the funeral ceremonies of theGauls, and from the fact that modern Parisiansremove their hats on the passing of a funeralprocession and visit the cemeteries on November2, the conclusion has been drawn that " the cultfor the dead, intenser perhaps and certainlymore lasting among the Gauls than in the citiesof the classic world, was destined to remain oneof the strongest feelings of our nation. Wewould fain be sociable and affectionate even beyond the tomb." These writers are of a schoolwith those who cannot describe the struggle ofVercingetorix against Rome without feeling a sort of retrospective, patriotism, and for whomRome is still the enemy. Henri Martin, an historian much read during the period from 1835to i860, represents this state of mind, peculiaras it seems to us today.Still other writers have attempted to settlethe respective contributions of Rome, of theGallo-Romans, and of the Frankish invaders tothe formation of the French people. Thus, theGermanists maintain that the rule of the barbarians regenerated the decrepit world, and thatthe invaders brought with them certain virtues,and certain original institutions which were theoutgrowth of these virtues. The Romanists, ofwhom M. Fustel de Coulanges is the mostprominent, assert that the Germans, being fewin numbers, were at once swallowed up in thesurrounding populations, and that things wenton nearly the same as before. If we believecertain historians, the feudal system in Francewas a product of the Germanic spirit of libertyand companionship in arms, which acted like aleaven upon a society already fallen into decline.According to others, the feudal system, a phenomenon not peculiar to mediaeval France noreven to mediaeval Europe, is the product ofcauses analogous to those which have called itinto existence in very different environments,for example in Japan.A feudal system arose in Frankish Gaul, aselsewhere, at the time when the central authority, in this case of Roman origin, became powerless to maintain order and safety of person andproperty. Other guarantees were necessary,and they were found, instinctively, in the relation of lord and vassal existing in outline already in the Roman clientele as well as in the" companionship " of the barbarians.Probably the commonest conclusion drawnfrom these conflicting views is that it is a matter of extreme difficulty to sift out, when dealing with these remote times, what is peculiar tothe genius of the particular race, and what aremerely processus common to all societies placedUNIVERSITY RECORD 329under the same conditions. After all, what isthe "genius" of a race? An abstraction, perhaps — merely a word with which we allowourselves to be satisfied, but which may correspond to nothing real and definite. In any case,the Celtic genius of the Gauls, the Germanicgenius of the Franks — without reckoning inthe nameless genius of those ancient elephant-hunters who have left us nothing but theirbones — all these geniuses are now, and havelong since been, so completely fused in theFrench character that to try to separate themwould indeed be a desperate undertaking. Aswell pretend to discern in a river the waters ofits tributaries. Let us therefore refrain entirelyfrom discussions of this kind.The only primitive element whose influencehas certainly been continuous in our history is,not the tie of blood, but the tradition of Rome.First of all, the Roman tongue. The populationof ancient Roman Gaul spoke Romance; thenumber of Celtic words in the Romance dialectsof this region is quite insignificant, and thenumber of Germanic words not large. Districts, like those parts of Brittany where Bretonis spoken, or of Flanders where Flemish is thevernacular, are frontier zones colonized byCelts or Germans at comparatively recent dates.First of all, then, the mother-tongue; second,for the cultivated classes, the idea, the memory,and the regretful admiration of a stable government, of political unity, of peace and a superiorcivilization — in a word, an ideal. This ideal,preserved by the church, which was admirablyconstituted for the purpose, more than oncepowerfully influenced the course of events inFrance.The Roman ideal, fresh and recent in men'sminds, was influential, for example, at the timeof the restoration of the Western Empire inthe year 800. Charlemagne, king of the Franks(both of Gaul and Germany), believed he wasreviving the Roman Empire with the co-opera tion of the Pope; but this artificial restorationcrumbled away in the ninth century. In thatcentury the sons of Charlemagne's son dividedup the new empire. Henceforward there was aking of the western Franks (Gaul), and a kingof the eastern Franks (Germany). Betweenlay a long strip of territory bounded by theScheldt, the Meuse, and the Rhone on the oneside, and by the Rhine and the Alps on theother — the inheritance of Lothaire. These arethe earliest outlines of France and Germany,and here lay their future field of conflict.The Roman ideal was actively influential asecond time, at the end of the tenth century,in the western Frankish kingdom now calledFrance. The king, the heir, in this region, ofthe Carolingian emperors, and consequently ofthe imperial tradition, was at first only a shadow ; for the inner processes of feudal disintegration and reorganization which had beenworking gradually for centuries, ceased withthe period of Carolingian decadence. TheFrankish king was at first weak indeed, beingvery poor. But in 987 it came to pass that theroyal dignity fell to one of the most powerfulfeudal chiefs of the whole region, the ancestorof the Capetian line. From this time on, thetradition of authority, as Rome understood it,which in theory had never once lapsed, becameonce again, in hands able to enforce respect forit, a living force. Instinctively the Capetian kingsmade attempts to exercise the ancient inalienable rights of their throne. They labored hard,without definite plan and foresight, and without at first realizing clearly the nature of thework wrhich they were to accomplish, to undermine in their kingdom the foundations of thefeudal system, a system turbulent and restless,and to substitute a stable government — in aword, the unity and peace of Rome. The evolution thus begun in the eleventh century inFrance, under the leadership of the Capetians,is therefore exactly parallel — though moving inthe opposite direction — to the evolution dating330 UNIVERSITY RECORDfrom the barbarian invasions ; for it tends toreconstitute, within the limited boundaries of adetached section of Romania, a state more orless after the ancient conception of the state;that is, an organized political being or entity,centralized after the manner of living beings.For hundreds of years after the eleventh century the struggle of royalty against the feudalpowers of the French territory, and for the unification of the whole region, forms the basis ofFrench history. This struggle might have ended in defeat. Not all the early Capetians wereprinces of great merit — far from it; but, asluck would have it, they succeeded one anotherfrom father to son without disastrous interregnums and without quarrels over divisions of theinheritance. They made incredible mistakes;such, for example, as allowing the king of England, who already owned, as heir of the ancientdukes of Normandy, several great continentalfiefs, to acquire by marriage the whole southwest of France. But, again as luck would haveit, at the most critical moment, at the beginningof the thirteenth century, the French monarchPhilippe Auguste was a man of ability andenergy, while his principle antagonist, JohnLackland, king of England, was a most contemptible fellow. After Philippe Auguste, whocaptured from John Normandy, Anjou, Maine,and Poitou, and witnessed the political ruin ofsouth France brought about (to the profit ofnorth France) by the crusade against the Albi-genses, the work was done : it was decided thatthere should be one France — not two, Langue-doil and Languedoc, nor more than two — andthat the " France of the King " should little bylittle swallow up the whole of the French territory. The work of Phillipe Auguste was not,of course, done in a day; scores of years andstreams of blood were needed to smother theindependence asserted by Brittany, Flanders,and what was left of other feudal powers, andespecially to wrest the southwest from the English. But finally, through indescribable suffer ings, France emerges. From the thirteenthcentury onward, and especially after the Hundred Years' War, France is indisputably a state,and the leading state in Europe.She is the first in date on the continent ; foras yet there is no Germany. The kingdom ofthe eastern Franks, whose head vainly made useof the Carolingian title of emperor, remains ina state of anarchy. There is as yet no Italy;for the pope is carefully looking after that matter. There is as yet no Spain.She is the first in power; for France's onlyrival, the England of that day, has the mortalenmity of the Scotch, of the Irish, and of theGauls, and is neither so large, nor so populous,nor so wealthy, nor so triumphantly active asFrance. England is confined in a part of anorthern island, while the name, the language,the men and things of France have overflowedthe known world. The expansion of France,one of the most striking phenomena of mediaevalhistory, began very early, much before Capetianpolicy had brought about a unified France.French Normans took .England from the Anglo-Saxons, and southern Italy and Sicily from theGreeks and the Saracens. Several of the crusades were French expeditions, and a majorityof the Christian principalities of the East — thekingdom of Jerusalem, the Latin empire ofConstantinople, the dukedom of Athens, etc. —were founded and governed by French knights.Nor is this all. For reasons which it is, ofcourse, extremely difficult to specify, there occurred, in this formative period from the eleventh century onward, a remarkable outburst ofartistic effort in all directions. Of all thevernacular literatures of the Middle Ages theFrench is the most original, the most pleasing,and the only literature which exercised a universal influence. In its day it was known andimitated everywhere within the confines ofChristianity. French was understood by cultivated people, not only in England, where theNorman dialect was for a long time the officialUNIVERSITY RECORD 331language, but also in imperial territories (theNetherlands, the Rhine countries, etc.), in Italy,and in the East. Foreigners took a hand inwriting in French, or in Provengal, and succeeded very well. It is well understood thatcertain French poems of the Middle Ages, whoseoriginals are lost, are preserved only in translations or adaptations in German, Anglo-Saxon,Dutch, Norwegian, Icelandic, Italian, and Greek.The " courtly " ideal of French aristocratic society of the twelfth century was adopted by theupper classes of all Europe. In the matter ofthe arts of architecture and decoration, theFrench styles — the " Cistercian," and especiallythe " Gothic," which is the most characteris-ticalfy French of all styles and whose earliestattempts are to be seen in the immediate neighborhood of Paris — were not at all confined toFrance. Modern archaeologists have drawn upthe long list of mediaeval monuments built beyond the French borders by Frenchmen, or inimitation of French models ; they are foundeverywhere — in Castile, Bohemia, Hungary,and Palestine. Village churches in Cyprushave an astonishing resemblance to those of ourown villages in the departments of the Oise andSeine-et-Oise. Moreover, numerous texts bearevidence that French fashions and manufacturesin matters of costume and care of the personwere received outside of France with no lessfavor than French art and literature. In aword, mediaeval civilization — or, at the veryleast, the refined evidences of civilization — hadin all Christian countries a French coloring.One more consideration. During this periodit was to the schools at_ Paris that the mostgifted clerics of all nationalities came to finishtheir studies in literature and theology. Fromthe tenth century on, Paris is the intellectualcapital of Europe. A current saying was thatthe world was governed by three powers: thePapacy, the Empire, and Learning. The firstresided at Rome, the second in Germany, andthe third at Paris. Another common saying, quoted by Chretien de Troyes in the prologueto his Cliges, and certainly repeated long beforehim, was to the effect that Learning (clergie)and Military Power (chevalerie), after dwellingfor a time in Greece and next in Rome, werenow settled in France, whence, it was to behoped, they would never depart:Puis vint Chevalerie a RomeEt de la Clergie la someQui or est en France venue.Dieu doint qu' ele i soit retenueEt que li leus li abelisseTant que jamais de France n'isse ! 2A list has been drawn up of well-knownmen of the thirteenth century, and later, whobelonged to the University of Paris either asteachers or as students; the greatest names inthe history of the church and of mediaevalthought are found in this list. We may note,to be sure, that the greatest names are notFrench names: Albert, a German; St. Bona-venture and St. Thomas, Italians ; Roger Baconand Duns Scotus, Englishmen, etc. But whatof that? The fact remains that the reputationof France in science, some six or seven hundredyears ago, was as great as its renown in art andliterature and in material achievement.Here is, then, the main fact. At a certainmoment in mediaeval times, France, thanks tothe advantages of her geographical position, tothe abilities of her people, and to other circumstances (chance perhaps must be credited withsomething) — France was historically far inadvance of all other countries, and from allpoints of view. In modern times the benefits ofthis leadership have been gradually lost, andmore or less completely so. Why? How?These two serious and difficult questions nowcall for an answer.2 Then Knighthood came to Rome,Along with the sum of Knowledge,Which now has come into France:God grant that she be kept here,And that the place so content herThat never again will she leave France !332 UNIVERSITY RECORDIf we ask ourselves, today, how the affairsof France ought to have been guided so as tosecure permanently the advantages of leadership, the answer seems plain. There were required, first, such an administrative organization of the country as would render her totalmilitary and financial strength constantly available ; second, a systematic annexation of thenorthern and eastern provinces belonging to theancient inheritance of Lothaire — provinceswhich, thanks to German anarchy, were stillhesitating between France and Germany — as apreparation for the inevitable time when rivalstates should appear on the European continent ;and third, that France, when the discovery ofnew continents had wonderfully enlarged thehorizons of human activity, ought to have foreseen that the future belonged to those Europeanpeoples which should "swarm over seas," andthat the forces of national expansion were to beguided accordingly.To reproach the French kings for not havingconceived this political program, and especiallyits third article, would doubtless be absurd. Moreover, it is certain that the first two articles, relatively easy of conception, were not so easy ofexecution as one at this distance might imagine.And yet, allowance being made for obstaclesarising from unfavorable circumstances, we arejustified in saying that France has sufferedcruelly, since the beginning of modern times,from the incapacity of those who have governedthe country. Nearly all of her rulers shamefully neglected opportunities and made endlessmistakes. Other states — Prussia, for example— have plainly owed their greatness to the prudent and persevering policies of a succession ofintelligent kings. France, for her part, was moreoften than not ruled by narrow-minded men,of very ordinary ability. Two exceptions maybe cited — Henry IV. and Cardinal Richelieu;but that is all.The first article — that concerning interiorpolicy — needs no extended comment. The old French monarchy, even under Louis XIV.,never managed its finances well, nor, as a consequence, did it ever command armies at all comparable, for instance, to those of Frederick II.of Prussia. Nor did France ever have a solidadministrative framework ; consequently thestate benefitted by only a small percentage ofthe national strength.The opportunity to annex without muchtrouble the best parts of Lothaire's territorieswas lost by the end of the mediaeval period.The kings of the house of Valois were so littlealive to their duties toward the country thatthey handed over to their younger sons wholeprovinces, thus setting up once more the ancientfeudal arrangement which the early Capetianshad labored so hard to destroy. One of theseyounger sons founded, in the fourteenth century, the great house of Burgundy, which, by aseries of conquests and family unions, added toits French domains the imperial Netherlandsand almost all the northern part of ancientLotharingia — a great but fragile power, oftoo rapid growth. Louis XL shattered it, buthe did not succeed in taking real possession ofthe fragments. He was not in a position toprevent the daughter of Charles the Bold fromcarrying over by her marriage the imperial territories of Burgundy to the house of Austria.Truly, a disastrous marriage and one fraughtwith incalculable consequences ! To crown thesemisfortunes, the son of this marriage marriedthe heiress of Spain — Spain which, by theunion of Castile and Aragon, had just beenraised to the rank of a first-class power.Thenceforward, to conquer the Low Countries,France must enter into conflict with Germanyand Spain in coalition. This was much toundertake ; in fact, too much. The' immediatesuccessors of Louis XL preferred to waste timein leading romantic expeditions into Italy, withthe result that French blood was spilled for fiftyyears in that country, to no appreciable effect —for the mere pleasure of it. When this insanityUNIVERSITY RECORD 333was over, it was getting late, for the Reformation had started the civil wars and aroused newforces in every direction. France at last, on theproper field, entered upon the fight with Spainand Spain's allies. She won very slowly, in theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some ofthe Lotharingian provinces: Alsace, Franche-Comte, Lorraine; but none from the Netherlands. The pride of Louis XIV., excited to aridiculous height by his too easy victories overmoribund Spain, availed nothing against thepatriotic energy of the United Provinces ofHolland, which had become free and Protestant.In a word, three and a half centuries after theend of the Middle Ages France is hardly anylarger than she was under Charles VII., althoughnot a decade has gone by without seeing frightful hecatombs of human lives ; and round abouther formidable states have grown up, limitingher and watching her. No, assuredly not — thesecond article of the program was not carriedout as it ought to have been.What shall be said of the third ? Did France,who in mediaeval times had colonies in theEast and in southern Italy, and whose maritime populations were noted for their adventurous spirit — Normans, Bretons, Basques,Provengals — did France secure her legitimatepart of the new continents, repositories of virginwealth and future cradles of the human race?There is not the least doubt that if the royalgovernment had been capable of a settled policyin this matter, great things would have been possible. France of the sixteenth, seventeenth, andeighteenth centuries was full of people whowould have been glad to set out, as they saidthen, " for the islands ; " " they took their hatsand set out for the islands "— this was the current phrase. But in high places there was verylittle effort made to smooth their way. Nevertheless there arose spontaneously, or nearly so,more than one New France beyond the seas —in the islands of the Indian ocean, in Hindustan,in the Antilles, in North America (the St. Law rence Valley, the region of the Great Lakes, theMississippi Valley). But France was unableto utilize, as England did, her civil and religiousdiscords to propagate her race. The Huguenots, driven out of France, did not take ship onsome " Mayflower " and found elsewhere a NewFrance ; the royal government would not havepermitted them to live, even in the far ends ofthe earth, under the -fleurs-de-lis. They werescattered in England, Holland, Prussia, Switzerland, and elsewhere, where they quickly gaveup their nationality — a dead loss to the Frenchnation. What could we expect? The royalgovernment, absorbed in its European wars, itseyes fixed on the classic battlegrounds ofFrance and Italy, felt not the slightest interestin the French empire born beyond the seas, andmade foolish use of it as small change for obtaining concessions. The decisive episode in thehistory of the modern world belongs to theeighteenth century; it is the abdication ofFrance, in favor of England, as a colonial powerand as the mother-hive of nations. Englandthen began in its turn an enormous advance,the effects of which in all probability will beprolonged indefinitely through the ages to come.In spite of this, France continued, up to theend of this period (to 1789), to keep the firstrank among civilized states. We must not forget that under Louis XIV. the population ofFrance alone still represented 40 per cent, of thetotal of the great powers of Europe. The costlymistakes of Louis XV. in colonial matters werehardly noticed at the time, and only much laterwere their effects seen. Finally, in all that didnot depend directly on the government, as inletters, art, and science, France had easily maintained her supremacy. Of course, in even thesefields she is no longer without rivals. Italyhas had her day in the Renaissance ; the Franceof Henry IV. and of Louis XIV. has no one tocounterbalance Shakspere on the one hand, orVelasquez and Rembrandt on the other; England and Germany, with Newton and Leibnitz,334 UNIVERSITY RECORDinaugurate gloriously their work in science andphilosophy. But France remains the sensoriumcommune of thinking Europe, and still sets thefashion. Learned men of all countries have notceased to use French as a medium of communication, while Frenchmen continue in contentedignorance of any language but their own. Inthe eighteenth century, as in mediaeval times,the style Pompadour and the philosophy of theencyclopedists were in their day the style andthe philosophy of the king of Prussia and theGerman princes, of the empress of Russia andthe Swedish aristocracy, of all-powerful statesmen in Spain, Portugal, Tuscany, and elsewhere. Proofs need not be cited; no one candispute the fact that France was looked uponin the eighteenth century as a second fatherland,the intellectual home of all educated men. Thiswas true of those who smiled at her weaknesses,,and even of those who disliked France or detested her.At this time (1789), one hundred and fifteenyears ago, occurred an accident which profoundly disturbed the course of Europeanhistory. All that seemed accomplished by theevolution of the preceding centuries was suddenly called in question by the French Revolution.The French Revolution means France rid ofthe government which had always failed toutilize her maximum strength and so to profitby her historical advance as to secure for heran unassailable position of leadership. TheRevolution means France mistress of her destinyfor the first time, her strength multipliedtenfold by glowing and generous passions.Monarchical Europe, united against her, attempts to crush her under its weight, but without success. Then she takes the offensiveagainst Europe, in the role of emancipator ofpeoples. Henceforward it is not a question ofwhether or not France shall get the Low Countries and the Rhine as a frontier. All that the ancient monarchy had been scheming for invain during three hundred years was gained atthe first stroke, and more besides. But hermomentum carried France farther. Could shecheck herself? Had she stopped in time, theill effects of ancient blunders might have beencounteracted. Everything was still possible.This was one hundred and ten years ago; letus see what happened.It was in the nature of things that soon theold instinct for rule and conquest should bemingled, in the revolutionary consciousness,with the thought of freeing other peoples. Thisspirit may, in fact, be observed as early as 1792.It was therefore infinitely probable that sooneror later the strength of France, magnified by theRevolution, should be appropriated and put touse by some general favored by fortune, to forward his own selfish enterprises. But this generalmight have been a moderate, prudent, and sensible man. If only he had been a born Frenchman! But the place was taken by Napoleon,by a captain, Italian by blood and education, aforeigner to our traditional views and opinions,a man haunted by colossal chimeras, and onewhose head had been turned by his amazingsuccess. He made use of France, and of allthe nations that revolutionary France hadalready annexed or allied, as instruments wherewith to build an empire like that of Rome, andtc embody in his person Alexander and Caesar.And here, we may note, is the third crisis whenthe memories of imperial Rome strongly affected the course of French history. Possessedof this weapon, the most formidable everwielded by the hand of man, Napoleon trampledwith horrible violence upon all that opposed hisdreams, regardless of the harvests of hatredwhich he was thus preparing. He was allowed,as you know, to walk for ten years in his wakingdream; to enter as master Vienna and Berlin,Madrid and Moscow. The French empire reachedfrom the North Sea to the regions beyondthe Adriatic ; it was surrounded by vassal prin-UNIVERSITY RECORD 335cipalities ruled over by members of the imperialfamily. We are filled with amazement that sucha paradox, the bare idea of which would haveseemed so supremely absurd to Voltaire and hiscontemporaries, should thus have been realized.Later, the day dawned for the inevitablebreaking-up, and France suffered once morefor having leaders careless of her interests andof their own duties. With his old-fashionedambitions all directed toward the Mediterraneancountries of Europe and Asia as a center, Napoleon at the zenith of his career was as powerless as Louis XV. to discern the fast-increasingimportance of the great territories of the NewWorld; he carelessly let slip from his graspLouisiana and the Mississippi Valley — a thirdpart and the very heart of the United States —just as formerly Louis XV. let go the valley ofthe St. Lawrence. Thus he finally destroyed thework of the French pioneers of North America.To offset this, he thought he had conqueredEurope. But he had not taken into consideration the facts that the strength of France wasnot unlimited, and that the sympathy awakenedfor revolutionary France would at last turnagainst Napoleonic France, whose brutal domination was justified by no ideal. He took noaccount of the energies developed among themost inoffensive peoples by the harsh mannerin which he treated them. In his most prosperous years he never succeeded in overcomingEnglish tenacity; defeated in Spain and Russia, Germany, after her prostration at his hands,rose and overwhelmed him. After Waterloo hecoolly washed his hands and departed, leavingFrance more contracted than she had been onthe eve of the Revolution, bled to exhaustion,her revolutionary aureole gone, surrounded onall sides by new or rejuvenated states whosedesire for vengeance was far from being satisfied by his downfall.The history of France in the nineteenth century, which at first sight seems rather confused, unfolds quite logically when, to consider it, weplace ourselves at the right point of view. Wemay explain it thus: France, when hardly recovered from the Napoleonic disasters, triedagain to carry through the revolution, the firstattempt at which had turned out so badly. Thehistory of France in the nineteenth century isthe history of a great effort to restore and reapply the principles of the French Revolution.There were counter-strokes and reactions, whichgive an impression of incoherence; but if welook closer, we see that the effort has alwaysbeen made in the same direction — anti-monarchial, democratic, and secular.The first attempt was in 1830. But this wastoo soon; the revolution of 1830 was quicklyside-tracked by the liberal bourgeoisie for theirown advantage. At this time, nevertheless,France won back the sympathies of some of theoppressed nations and democratic parties whosegood- will, proffered in 1790, had been lost tothe nation through Napoleon.The second attempt was in 1848. But thetime even yet had not come. The revolution of1848 traversed in a few months the arc whichthe revolution of 1789 had taken fifteen yearsto describe. Hardly cured by bitter experienceof her liking for "the emperor" who had deluged her with "glory," France accepted, inmemory of Napoleon, a restoration of the empire. This Napoleon said : " The empire meanspeace," but he made war. There were popularwars, quite in the manner of revolutionarytimes, as, for example, that which brought aboutthe creation of a kingdom of Italy ; but he conducted the war in such a way that the newItalian state could believe itself, and of coursedid believe itself, under no obligation of gratitude. There were absurd wars like that withMexico. At last the incapacity of the government and its incredible presumption broughtupon the country the unparalleled disasters of1870, involving the profoundest military hu-336 UNIVERSITY RECORDmiliation, Germany unified by victory, and theamputation of two provinces.The third attempt was in 1870, under theshock of these calamities. But even the Franceof 1870 was hardly prepared for a regimefounded on liberty; so that this third attemptalso came near failing in the face of renewedattacks on the part of the royalists (1873).This danger, however, was averted, and littleby little the republic settled solidly upon a definitive foundation. "As there was never anyrevolution in France except to establish a republic, there have been no revolutions since therepublic has been in existence." The thirtyyears that have just gone by are the most peaceful of our history ; the country was never morequiet or prosperous than it is today.But while all these events were happeningthe face of the earth was changing. Consideredapart, France of today is incomparably strongerfrom every point of view than the France of1789; but, relatively, the opposite is true, because everything around her has grown — theproportions are no longer the same.Under Louis XIV. the population of Francerepresented 40 per cent, of the total populationof the great powers of Europe; in 1789, 2J percent. ; in 1900, hardly 10 per cent. In 1789France was the most populous state; at thepresent time, from this point of view, shefalls behind Russia, Germany, Great Britain,and Austria-Hungary. In 1789 she was themost homogeneous of European states; infact, almost the only one unified ; now almost allthe European states are as well organized asshe. The very effect of the Revolution was tocreate numerous national centers and to reduceFrance to the rank of one people among European peoples. Moreover, Europe as a whole hasdeveloped rivals. The field of transformationhas been so wide that today the largest, therichest, and the most influential of civilizedstates is in North America. Still other powersare making their appearance beyond the United States, in the Pacific islands. The axis of theworld is being shifted. In these days an historical advance of several centuries may becaught up in thirty years, as Japan has shown.And who would venture to lay claim, in theworld such as it now is and promises to be, toa permanent leadership? There is no longerany military primacy possible among so manynations of equivalent strength.No one nation can be first among all nations.The marvelous changes brought about in thenineteenth century in the distribution of socialgroups have made this primacy impossible, notonly from the military point of view, but fromevery point of view. Who, or what people,would venture to lay claim in the present worldto any sort of hegemony — intellectual, artistic,or scientific? There was a time when one needonly know what was written in French ; literarymen of all countries are today informed aboutthe masterpieces of all nations, even those ofRussia and Scandinavia, and no one is satisfiedwith his own national literature alone. As forscience, we realize nowadays that its pursuit isthe collective work of humanity as a whole ; allpeoples are in collaboration, and in the commonproduct it is hard to isolate and weigh the exactcontribution made by each. No one can say, inthe majority of scientific fields, to whom scienceowes the most — whether to the learned men ofGerman, of English, or of French speech.Frenchmen who have studied the history oftheir country, and who are acquainted withother countries, therefore put aside the dream —once fully realized, but henceforward antiquated— of an exclusive and preponderant influenceemanating from France in military, artistic, orscientific fields. They have good reasons fornot indulging in this dream; but none the lessthey ask themselves what is destined to be, inthe collective life of humanity, the role assignedto France, in the light of her past, by historicalprobability. Each of the great modern nationshas its individual features which the centuriesUNIVERSITY RECORD 337have developed and which must be respected.What, then, constitutes the individuality ofFrance among modern nations? Here is precisely the question in which I intended the present address to culminate.Recently, various solutions have been proposed in France, some of them diametricallyopposed to others.The author of a book entitled La Patrie fran-caise, ses origines, sa grandeur et ses vicissitudes— an author little known, but one who personifies and represents a school — writes : " Theflag of France is distinguished from all othersby the fact that it is always accompanied or preceded by the Cross. This cross is undeniablythe symbol of the mission fulfilled on the earthby our country, and one which other nationsv/ould like to snatch from her." This authorbelieves that the essential and traditional role ofFrance is that of eldest daughter and pillar ofthe church, the Catholic church : Gesta Dei perFrancos.Michelet, the head of another school, declares,on the other hand, that what is peculiar toFrance is that she has always sacrificed herselffor "causes" of universal interest, for theliberty and welfare of mankind; she is "themost humane of nations, who alone, as historyshows, possesses the genius of sacrifice." Hasshe not given her blood to free the UnitedStates, Greece, Belgium, Poland, Italy ? " Inthis country alone strength and ideality are atone, valor and right — two things which havevanished from the earth," etc. To Michelet andto his generation the national traditions ofFrance are the ideals of justice, liberty, equality,and solidarity; her "mission" is to propagatethese principles among men ; she is for all time" the champion of reason and fraternal equality,the soldier of right." "France," said ErnestRenan, "is that nation which performs disinterested acts for the benefit of the rest of theworld." And another declares, in the samespirit : " If France ever thought of giving up her disinterested, social, and humane spirit, shewould lose without possible compensation whathas always been the source of her moralpower;" and: "The great reason for thepowerful influence exerted by France on othernations has been that she has never ceased toconcern herself with the destinies of mankind."It is impossible to accept, in its entirety, eitherof these two theses.The first belongs to an unimportant minority.It has been a long time since France appeared inthe role of the champion of Catholicism. Pepinthe Short, Godfrey of Bouillon, St. Louis, andeven Napoleon III. as defender of pontificalRome a*gainst Garibaldi, are far in the past.The real eldest daughter of the church, as allknow, is Spain. It would even seem thatFrance, historically speaking, is the nationwhich among the Catholic nations has playedthis part the least. But it is quite useless to insist further on this point.The second thesis is very characteristic of themid-nineteenth century. It is not entirely andradically false, for it cannot be doubted that therationalistic and sentimental program of theRevolution was the crystallization of opinionswhich had been very popular for centuries. Fromthis point of view it is true that the French tradition falls in very well with the humanitarianprogram of the Revolution. And it is true thatthe Revolution formulated definitely an ideal ofliberty, equality, fraternity, and justice, and imposed it with a new vigor upon succeedinggenerations in France, even to the point of leading Frenchmen into chivalric interventions —often ill-managed and sometimes resented — inthe affairs of others. But the error of Micheletand his following lay in believing in a quasi-providential and indefeasible "mission," as ifhumanity were destined to remain always, so tospeak, under the influence and ascendency ofthat nation which was the first to open newhighways into the future. We can easily seehow they were led here into an exaggeration:338 UNIVERSITY RECORDthey insisted, in an indirect way, on reservingfor France a sort of primacy; a military orintellectual supremacy being excluded, they substituted a primacy of dominating and guidingforces in the direction of progress, enlightenment, and emancipation. We are better informed nowadays ; we have learned that in thefuture such a primacy will be divided up likethe others. All peoples have henceforward auniversal role. As one of our orators has said :"they are like vessels, which, fitted with electric searchlights, and with prows directedtoward the horizon of a better civilization, aresweeping the horizon with their lights. Whoknows from which vessel, or from what people,will come the brightest signal, the most piercingray?"As a reaction against the usual insistence bythe Catholic idealists and the revolutionaryidealists upon identifying the destiny of Francewith "the genius for sacrifice" — sacrifice ofthe national interests to those of the church orto those of humanity — and under the stress ofmistakes committed in the name of these theories, a new school has grown up since the formalestablishment of the republic, which advocatesthe contrary policy of national egoism, a policyfavoring business and colonial activity. "Wehave done enough for others, it is time to takethought for ourselves." Surely nothing couldbe more natural than this defensive movement,and, if it had always been guided by enlightenedmen, nothing perhaps could be wiser. But atthe same time it is plain that nothing is moreforeign to the careless and generous spirit of thenation. France hears the bourgeois virtuespreached to her; but she has always acted thepart of the grand seigneur.Where, then, is that originality, the inheritance of a long past, which France is bound torespect and cultivate for her own good and thatof others? Let us see. The French people(I mean now the majority of cultivated peoplein France) has always been very secular and very free in its thought ; in France people beganvery soon to speak on any and all subjects without reserve and without prohibition; and thiscomplete liberty, which contributes not a littleto the life and ease of our literature, is yet, formany foreigners, the object of remark and ofenvy. The French mind and the French language, moreover, are generally credited withcertain eminent qualities : precision, clearness,logic. Quite as much as her ancient ascendancy these qualities have won for France forcenturies past her traditional role of mediatorbetween the nations. If there has been in themodern world any parallel to the ancient universality of Greek culture, it has been the diffusionof French culture among the intelligent classesof all countries. Thus it is that our Frenchwriters have been " the secretaries of the humanmind" — in other words, they have excelled inthe labor of sifting out what is precious orexquisite in foreign civilizations, with a view toenjoying it themselves and of enabling the wholeworld to enjoy it. These are remarks whichmight easily be expanded; the subject is oneworthy of reflection. Mankind surely has needof a mediator between its different groups, anation where the new faith, which shall be atonce rational and social, and which has not yetbeen put forward to replace the old decrepitbeliefs, shall be worked out in an atmosphere ofabsolute intellectual liberty. It is true that Iwas reading lately a book of a German professorin which he predicts that this mediating nationwill be Germany ; and a book of an Italian professor who claims it will be Italy, the venerablemater gentium. And, b)^ the way, why shouldnot this nation be the United States, where allthe races of the old continent have met and beenfused ? There is no doubt that each of the greatpeoples of the wrorld has good reasons to destinethis fine role to its own country. But if theseare illusions, they are beneficent illusions ; let uskeep them. It is a sign of the times that weshall now witness a competition for this pacificUNIVERSITY RECORD 339office of mediator. The future will decide. Weshall see.In any case, the people, whichever it may be,that shall perform the duties just mentionedmust needs be a healthy, vigorous, and growingpeople. France then would be constrained torenounce her candidacy if it were true that shehad fallen into a decline, as has recently beenrumored. Depopulation, alcoholism, parasitismin government circles, and what not? Volumeshave been written in France to discuss this question. A whole literature full of an enervatingpessimism has appeared to uphold the affirmative. A newspaper sent a circular to persons ofnote to inquire as to their opinion. Some answered "Yes;" others, "No;" others, "Perhaps." An Englishman answered : " SurelyFrance is decadent, since Frenchmen are foundwho ask such a question." Heaven knows it isnot impossible that even a great and noblenation should fall one day into decadence: Nilpermanet sub sole. Men have seen it happen.Flistory records that strange decline of vitalitythat came upon Spain in the late sixteenth century and from which she has not recovered.But no one who knows France of today can convince himself that she is seriously ill. She hashad attacks, at different times during the lasttwenty years, of malignant diseases which shehas victoriously cast off — an evidence of a goodconstitution. On the material side, she hasmaintained her rank. One cannot know exactly,of course, what a modern military organizationis worth until it is tested by a shock, and it iscertainly true that "where a battalion is constituted in France, a regiment springs up inGermany, and an army corps in Russia;" butthere are reasons for hoping that the Frenchorganization is what it ought to be, and numbers are not everything. We have seen and may seetoday certain well-organized states, active andfirm on their feet even if diminutive in stature,who are commanding the respect of states ofcolossal size. Morally speaking, do we not believe that the world would lose something iftomorrow French authors should cease writingand French artists no longer express their conceptions of beauty? It seems plain that whathas made a few Frenchmen afraid of a possibledecadence — a fear which is at present groundless — is simply the discomfort due to an uneasyand imperfect realization of the situation whichI have endeavored to describe clearly in yourpresence today: the all-important fact thatFrance, who in former days exerted a preponderant influence because of her historical position in advance of other nations, is today onlyone among many, una inter pares. " For thirtyyears now,'' exclaimed recently M. JulesLemaitre, " there has been no special pleasure inbeing a Frenchman ! " It is quite natural thatFrenchmen of the end of the nineteenth centuryshould have had some difficulty in accustomingthemselves to these new conditions which thegeneral evolution of human societies has imposed rather rudely on their country. Hencethis uneasiness, which is betrayed in some byexhibitions of excessive humility; in others, byoutbursts of pride. But our eyes are nowopened : we are proud — and why should we notbe? — of a very glorious past; we rejoice inthe attention which this past secures for us fromnations whose future seems brighter than ours ;and we are confident, lastly, that France willremain, by virtue of the sincerity of her efforts,one of the forces, one of the lights, and one ofthe graces of humankind.340 UNIVERSITY RECORDTHE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHRISTIAN UNIONFOR THE AUTUMN QUARTER, 1904In response to inquiries from members of theChristian Union and others as to the precisesignificance of the Union, the following statement of its scope and purposes has been issuedby the President of the Union and the Chaplainof the University./. GENERAL ORGANIZATIONThe Christian Union of the University ofChicago embraces all the organized religiousactivities existing in the University. These are :(i) the Sunday morning services; (2) theweek-day chapel assemblies; (3) the YoungMen's Christian Association; (4) the DivinitySchool Branch of the Y. M. C. A. ; (5) theVolunteer Band; (6) the Young Women'sChristian League; (7) the Woman's Union;(8) the Brotherhood of St. Andrew; (9) theUniversity Settlement. The progress of theseactivities is reported every month at the meeting of the Board of the Christian Unionwhich is one of the official ruling bodies of theUniversity.//. REGENT REORGANIZATIONIn order to secure greater definiteness andeffectiveness, the Christian Union was reorganized at the opening of the year 1904-5. In consequence of this reorganization the ChristianUnion is subdivided into chapters, as follows:(1) the Chapter of the Junior Colleges; (2)the Chapter of the Senior Colleges; (3) theChapter of the Graduate School ; (4) the Chapter of the Divinity School; (5) the Chapter ofthe Law School ; (6) the Chapter of the Medical School; (7) the Chapter of the School ofEducation; (8) the Chapter of the Friends ofthe University ; (9) the Chapter of the Faculty.Each of these chapters elects its own executivecommittee of five.The purpose of this reorganization is to utilizeas effectively as possible the hitherto unorgan ized and unused forces in the University, available for religious and benevolent work in theUniversity and in the city. It is known thatthere are many students in residence who havein their homes been accustomed to take activepart in work of this sort, and who will be gladto know of opportunities to continue such activity while residing at the University.Various kinds of work needing to be donewill, from time to time, be laid before the chapters, and the members will have the opportunityto engage personally in such work as they arefree and disposed to do. Some of these formsof activity are :I. Co-operation with the University Settlement and other social settlements :(1) Financially, by securing small regular contributionsto be paid at the Sunday service or otherwise ; (2) bypersonal service, each chapter committee to act in turn forone month to place workers, through the office and recordsof the Christian Union, the Secretary of the Union assisting the Chaplain in preserving continuity.II. Co-operation with city charities:(1) By aiding the district officers of the Bureau ofCharities ; (2) by acting as agents of penny savings banksand of the Home Library Association.III. Co-operation with city churches andmissions :(1) By furnishing teachers and workers; (2) by assisting in entertainments for the poor; (3) by aiding evangelical services in the city ; (4) by co-operation with theVolunteer Band and with other mission organizations.IV. Promoting fellowship:(1) At public worship on Sunday; (2) at the openingof the year or Quarter; (3) in all meetings and classes;(4) in the Christian Associations and Societies and Halls ;(5) through the committees of the Associations; (6) inother ways to be developed by the chapter committees.V. Promoting devotional meetings :(1) Of the Y. M. C. A.; (2) of the Y. W. C. L. ; (3)in Halls and Houses ; (4) in groups.UNIVERSITY RECORD 341VI. Aiding in the Chapel service :(i) isy encouraging reverence and attention; (2) bysuggestions to the Board of the Christian Union ; (3) byinvitation where the service is not required ; (4) in otherways to be developed by the chapter committees.VII. Aiding public worship:(1) Through the committee on public worship; (2) byservice as ushers or assistants ; (3) by making arrangements for the seating of groups of students from theseveral Houses.VIII. Aiding the editors of the Daily Maroonand other agencies of publication in securingattention to the expressions of religious life, andin correcting the mistakes and misrepresentations which frequently appear in the daily press.IX. Enlarging the membership roll of theChristian Union, as a witness to the reality ofinterest in religion and benevolence in this University, and as an expression of a general purpose to show that we desire to be useful toothers.It will be seen that the chapters of the Christian Union are not designed to create organizations additional to those referred to at the opening of this report, but rather to draw the generalbody of the University, through its distinct divisions, into still broader and closer co-operationwith the organizations already existing (I.above)*It will be seen, further, that membership ofthe Christian Union is based upon no subscription to creed and upon no specific financialobligation. All are invited to become memberswho desire to see the religious life of the University, interpreting the term in the broadest possible way, maintained and promoted, and whovalue the opportunity to engage so far as theycan in religious and philanthropic work.During the Autumn Quarter many membersof the University enrolled as members of theUnion. It is believed that, with this explanationof its broad and yet specific purposes, manymore will wish to co-operate in their accomplishment. A new opportunity for signing the membership roll will shortly be offered. ///. THE WORK OF THE UNIONFollowing are condensed accounts of the activities of such of the organizations embracedin the Union as have reported for the AutumnQuarter, 1904:I. THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONThe Young Men's Christian Association ofthe University opened the Quarter seriouslyembarrassed by the loss of the president and thechairmen of the bible-study, religious-meeting,philanthropic, finance, and social committees.The men who were interested in the activities ofthe Association set themselves to the task ofreconstruction. Because of the thorough workof the previous year, the problem was madeeasier. The different offices were filled asrapidly as was consistent with the plan of thework. Mr. Axelson became acting president,thus leaving the position of chairman of themembership committee vacant. Mr. W. A.Butcher took up the work of the bible-studydepartment. Mr. Axelson assumed the responsibility of the social committee and promoted itsspecial function of arranging the opening reception. Mr. Waterman assumed the work of thereligious-meeting and philanthropic committeesuntil late in the autumn, when Mr. L. E. Sunderland undertook the former. Mr. R. W. Bab-cock continued as the chairman of the missionarycommittee. Messrs. W. J. Lauck and J. F.Moulds became chairmen of the finance andmembership committees respectively. Thus theworking force was once more nearly complete.The results achieved will speak for themselvesand tell the story of what actually did occur.Snell Hall has been filled, and a la 'ge waitinglist of applications for rooms is always on file.The clubroom is visited constantly, and the pooltable is seldom unused. The members of theHall have been brought into intimate relation bytwo house parties and two informals.The social life of the organization has beenconfined to the annual reception, which was heldin Hutchinson Hall on October 22, and fourdinner parties at the Men's Commons.342 UNIVERSITY RECORDThere has been and is no regular employmentdepartment, but more men have applied for andreceived aid from the Association than everbefore. Over twenty men have been helped tosecure positions where they could earn part oftheir way. An indefinite number have receivedaid in different ways.The philanthropic department, while not large,has been carefully planned and conducted.Three gymnasium classes have been organizedand conducted at the University Settlement.The average attendance was twelve and thetotal enrolment about thirty-five. Besides, someof the men have been doing religious censuswork and active mission work.The missionary department has held twomeetings. One class has been studying " Japan."Mr. E. A. Henry conducted the class, whichmet five times, with an average attendance ofeight and an enrolment of twelve.The religious meetings have been strong andhelpful, though not largely attended. Elevenmeetings have been held. The average attendance was twenty-five. One meeting was for thepromotion of the Bible-study department, twofor mission study ; two were addressed by menoutside the University, Messrs. L. W. Messerand Allen Burns ; one was a dinner at the Men'sCommons and was addressed by Professors J.M. Coulter and E. D. Burton, and Mr. W. A.McKnight; six were devotional and led bystudents.The Bible-study department has not fullyrealized what was intended. Something, however, has been done. Nineteen different classeshave met regularly every week. Sixteen ofthem are studying the " Life of Jesus ; " two,the " Life of Paul ; " and one is a normal classfor leaders taught by Professor E. D. Burton.One class was Episcopalian and was taught byRev. Simon B. Blunt. There were two Graduate School classes, one from the Medical School,and one from the Law School. The otherclasses were made up of undergraduate mem bers. The average attendance at the studentclasses was six. The average attendance at theleaders' class was eighteen. The class enrolmentwas 129. The Association men helped to promote the Sunday morning class, conducted byAssistant Professor C. W. Votaw, of the Divinity School. The attendance at this class wasthirty-three men the first Sunday and seventeenmen the last Sunday. Two of the fraternitiesconducted Bible classes in their own chapters.Ten fraternities have men in the Bible classesand actively aid in promoting the work of thatdepartment.Financially the Association closed the yearwith a clean record and presents to the new yeara clean sheet. This is due largely to the strongbacking given the Association by the businessmen of the city, who are becoming more andmore interested in the work at the University.The officers and committee men for the coming Term are the following :President, Charles F. Axelson, 1907.Vice-President and Chairman of Membership Committee, John Frye Moulds, 1907.Recording Secretary, Charles E. Latchem, 1908.Chairman of Bible Study Committee, W. Avery Butcher,1905.Chairman of Religious Meeting Committee, LeslieErnest Sunderland.Chairman of Finance Committee, W. Jett Lauck, Graduate School.William J. Waterman,Department Secretary.II. THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN LEAGUEThe Autumn Quarter has been for the YoungWomen's Christian League one of extensioninto new fields as well as growth in departmentspreviously organized.The College of Education department hasbeen organized, with a regular Wednesdaymorning meeting and an average attendance oftwenty. A small restroom is being furnished.In response to a strong demand, an ExchangeBureau for special student service has beenestablished. A regular Sunday vesper serviceUNIVERSITY RECORD 343has been maintained, in addition to the weekday meetings. The morning watch is being observed by a number.An affiliated association has been organized atStetson University, Florida, with one of theLeague members as president. The Facultywomen have shown a more active interest inthe League, inviting groups and individuals totheir homes.The growth of the League is something thatcannot fully be estimated in figures. The membership has increased 50 per cent; the attendance at devotional meetings has doubled; theTuesday " Twilight Hour " has become a strongfeature of the work; instead of five Biblegroups, there are fifteen; the social functionsshow the same numbers in attendance, but thegrowth in the spirit of fellowship is marked. Afreshman passing the League room one morning during the first weeks of the Quarter askedif " a party was on." It was merely a group ofmembers chatting together and explaining tonew girls the intricacies of matriculation andadvising them about board and rooms.But the most welcome advance is the spiritualdevelopment of many of the members and theconsequent change in the atmosphere of theLeague. The Metropolitan Conference at LakeForest last May gave to the twenty-five committee leaders a fuller comprehension of thescope of the work, and the ten days at LakeGeneva in September and the four days at thePeoria state convention resulted not in enthusiasm merely; the young women had time,unhindered by pressing duties of college orhome, to consider the work as a whole, to discussplans with girls from other colleges and universities, and to study themselves in relation toGod and and their fellows, under the leadershipof the national secretaries.It was the Geneva spirit which pervaded thetwo hundred and fifty personal letters written inSeptember to incoming students; it was theGeneva spirit which has given to many others a longing for a deeper knowledge of God. It wasthrough the enthusiastic reports of the returningdelegates that members were made ready to getthe most out of the helpful week's visit subsequently received from two of the secretaries,Miss Conde and Miss Vose.Back of these influences from without, however, have been the agencies of the quiet everyday work of the League. Scarcely one wouldhave attended the convention, had not personalinvitations been diligently given. The largenumber attending the summer conference wasthe far-reaching result of a matter which seemedmore purely a social event; but every socialfunction of a Christian organization serves twopurposes. The quadrangle fete held last springunited all the University women in a commonpurpose ; it did more — it awakened an interestin the object of the League, and gave all a participation in the representation at the conference.But behind all the personal invitations and allthese efforts have been the circles of prayer, thedevotional morning hour, the faithful committeework, planning, praying, executing — everything from posting bulletins to leading bibleclasses — seeking to live out in everyday collegelife the motto adopted by the cabinet at its firstfall meeting, " that in all things He might havepre-eminence."Ada B. Hillman,General Secretary.III. THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREWThis is an association of communicants of theEpiscopalian church, resident at the University.At the beginning of the Quarter the Brotherhood had four members. It now has eight. Theassociation has never expected a large membership, because few churchmen are willing to takethe two vows necessary to admission into theorder : a vow to pray daily for the extension ofChrist's kingdom among young men, and one tomake an earnest effort each week to bring someyoung man within reach of the teachings of the344 UNIVERSITY RECORDchurch. These two vows are really all that aBrotherhood man or chapter assumes. Themembers have fulfilled their vows and havepledged themselves to nothing else. It may beadded, however, that the Brotherhood attendsin a body, once a month, a celebration of theholy eucharist at 8 o'clock in the neighboringparish church. Some of our members are attempting to arrange an entertainment for ourStock- Yards mission church. That, however,is not done by the Brotherhood itself. The workof the order consists solely in fulfilling the twovows already mentioned.Bernard I. Bell.IV. THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER BAND FOR FOREIGN MISSIONSWeekly meetings were held during the Autumn Quarter. These meetings were partly devotional and partly given up to business. Wealso held one social evening. We were represented at the monthly meetings of the CityVolunteer Union and once entertained theUnion.New students already volunteers were discovered and allied to our band, and at least onestudent decided to become a foreign missionary.The most important feature of the Quarter'swork was taking the initiative in a movement tocorrelate all the various missionary interests andmissionary committees in the University.There were fifteen members in our band.Carlos M. Dinsmore, Leader.V. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SETTLEMENTThe uncertain state of the new building andthe unfinished heating plant have prevented theSettlement from furthering any new work, andprevented many of the activities from beginningat the usual early date.The organized clubs have met as in otheryears, and have shown a spirit of co-operationthat is most encouraging. The adult clubs haveoffered to do more financially, and have assistedthe residents in many ways. The athletic association of young men hasorganized a Junior association, which has playedsome successful team games with the Juniors ofthe Lake High School. The head resident hasoffered a silver cup for the basket-ball contestsbetween the Settlement athletic clubs.Three clubs are preparing plays. The Athletic Association is studying Julius Ccesar withMr. Walter Burke. Rev. John Stockwell isassisting the Young Woman's Club in the staging of a play, and is giving short talks on thedrama. The physical-culture class of youngwomen is soon to give a little farce.The Library has been moved into an unfinished room in the new building. This has developed the great need of a reading-room that isopen all the time, and also the need of a children's library room. It is expected that both ofthese needs will be supplied when the newbuilding is finished.The Savings Bank has about its usual numberof patrons, showing that the people in the neighborhood are recovering from the strike of lastsummer.The probation officer of the Stock YardsDistrict has over a hundred boys and a few girlsin her care. She has been able to keep in schoolmany of the foreign-speaking boys, who heretofore have gone to work as soon as they wereconfirmed, or spent their time on the street untilthey were of legal working age.Neighborhood visiting. — The Settlement findsneighborhood visiting essential to a healthysettlement life. The personal side of the life in aneighborhood of mixed nationalities, and theintimate relationship with the men and womenwho confide their troubles to the residents, cannot be reported. Perhaps it is the husband whocomes and asks for advice. Oftener, it is thewife who feels helpless with her many littlechildren, and an incompetent or cruel father.Or it may be a discouraged labor-unionist, orone who sees ideal conditions ahead for theworkers ; or an old man or woman who knowsUNIVERSITY RECORD 345that he can find a hearing for all his woes ; orperhaps children who enjoy the Settlement dollor picture-books. These are the human relations that give a richness to life at the Settlement and that caused one of the new and youngresidents to say : " It is thrilling to be able tomix in with these human problems."Much of the activity is a process of seed-sowing which may bear flowers and fruit farfrom the place of sowing. The Settlement doesnot believe in pulling up the roots to observe thegrowth; but sometimes the fruit is brought tothe very door of the seed-sower, and often a tinybud is cherished because it is a sign of vitality,hidden perhaps for many years. This is feltwhen a prominent saloonkeeper gives as his reason for closing promptly at midnight that he isafraid of "those fierce women over the feed-store ; " when another begs permission to havea Sunday afternoon entertainment; and aproperty-owner asks the Settlement for permission to have " a decent, law-abiding saloon " onehundred and fifty feet from the gymnasium.The citizens near the city garbage dump complained that children were picking over the refuse on the dump to find rubber bands and othersalable articles for the junk-dealers. They knewthat the Settlement would bring all the forces tobear upon this one question. The factory inspector was asked to fine the junk-dealer for hiring boys under fourteen years of age. The chiefof police was asked to order the policeman tokeep children off the dump. This order hasbeen obeyed.Five saloonkeepers were fined because theresidents were witnesses against them for keeping open on election day. The saloonkeepersexcused themselves by saying they had neverbefore known the ordinance to be enforced.Sanitary and health ordinances are enforcedbecause the " fierce women " know the law, andnever enter complaints until sure of the facts;and then they follow up the cases to see that thedepartments have enforced the law. While some things have been done to createthis wholesome regard for enforcement of thelaw, much has yet to be done; and "eternalvigilance" is found to be the price of living inthe Stock Yards district.The result of seed-sowing in the club life wasseen in the experience of a postman, whose boybelongs to one of the Settlement clubs, a branchof the Anti-Cruelty Society. This society hasdone good educational work. This postmanstopped the head resident on the street and said :" The druggist in here wants to join the Anti-Cruelty Society because he saw what I was ableto do one day last summer." And then he toldhow one hot day an overloaded lumber team wasstalled in front of the drugstore. The driverwas angry, and brutal in his treatment of thehorses, but they were unable to move the load.The postman said : " I went into the drugstore,called up the lumber firm, and asked them tosend another team of horses to help this one outof the hole. 'Who are you to order out ourhorses ? ' was the answer that came back to me,and I said : ' I wear the badge of the Anti-Cruelty Society — that is the reason I called youup.' 'All right, we'll send up the team,' someone answered, and he did at once." Then thepostman opened his coat and showed me thelittle badge of the Anti-Cruelty Society, whichhe had secured through his son.During the fall, the head resident spoke before the Michigan Federation of Women's Clubson " Child Labor," and the Massachusetts Federation on " Working- Women's Organizations."In Boston she gave eight talks in ten days on thetwo subjects : " The Public School as a SocialCenter," and " Significant Aspects of the StockYards' Strike." Talks were also given twice inNew York on the last subject. Seven differentlabor unions have been addressed on " SocialCircles." One talk was given to the students ofthe department of political economy at the University of Wisconsin, and two to the Consumers' League of Milwaukee on "The Con-346 UNIVERSITY RECORDsumer's Responsibilities " and " The PublicSchool as a Social Center."Christmas week at the Settlement. — Friday,December 23, at 8 p. m., came the Boys' Entertainment — tree, music, candy, and horns presented by Santa Claus. Director W. M. R.French, of the Art Institute, gave Browning's" Pied Piper," illustrating it by colored, freehand drawings. This was the most successful boys' Christmas party we have ever had.Saturday afternoon was the annual Christmasparty given by Mr. Charles A. Marsh andfifty children from the primary department ofthe Hyde Park Baptist Sunday school, to fiftyof the children of the Settlement neighborhood.This is always a delightful occasion. Fridayand Saturday and Christmas morning are allbusy times for Kris Kringle of the Settlement.Gifts are put in bundles and sent to the homes,as mysteriously as possible, so that the childrenmay not feel under obligations to anyone, butto that big-hearted, giving spirit called SantaClaus. Many Christmas dinners went out inthe same way. The McDowell Club of littleboys prepared two trees which they took to twofamilies — one where there was a sick motherat the hospital, and another where there was aninvalid boy. Monday two parties of children —ten each — were taken to homes in Hyde Parkfor their Christmas party.Tuesday one hundred children, in a specialcar, were carried to St. Paul's parish house fora dinner and tree. This is the sixth year such aparty has been entertained by the St. Paul Sunday school. Wednesday afternoon three classesof girls from the gymnasium — sixty-five in number — :had their party, Christmas tree, games,and candy. Thursday, the Children's Hour andthe Sewing Class of girls — about sixty in all —had their party in the afternoon. At 8 o'clockthe Woman's Club, with their husbands andchildren — two hundred strong — were entertained by the children who, dressed in green andred, were attended by Santa Claus from his little rustic cottage to the tree as they sang theirChristmas carols. Friday at 2 p. m., twenty oldpeople had a joyful time around the beautifultree. The carolers sang; the tree was lighted;coffee and coffee cake were served after a grandmarch in which the carolers each chose an oldlady for partner. Santa presented an enormousstocking filled with surprises for each guest.There were present Irish, German, Polish,Bohemian, French, Lithuanian, and colored oldpeople. Friday evening a young girls' club hada charming little party, differing in characterfrom all the rest. Mrs. Burton Hanson, assistedby Mrs. Puterbaugh, gave a program of singingand reading. Miss Masaryk, a Bohemian,dressed in the Moravian peasant costume, toldoi Christmas in Bohemia.This ended the Christmas parties, a week ofgood-will. The Settlement had more money andmore personal service offered this year than inany previous one. And all felt that the Christmas parties were of a higher order than everbefore.Mary E. McDowell,Head Resident.To these reports it should be added that theWomen's Union of the University, on Sundaymornings has established and maintains, in Lexington Hall, a creche for the care of young children whose parents wish to attend the religiousservices of the University or of neighboringchurches.The careful reading of these department reports will doubtless prove nothing less than arevelation to many who still imagine that thereligious and benevolent activities of the University are of a wholly incidental and desultorycharacter. It will be seen that precisely thereverse is true. It is shown, further, that theco-operation contemplated in the reorganizationdescribed at the beginning of this report has, insome directions, notably in the case of theYoung Men's Christian Association, been heretofore actually in progress. What is sought stillUNIVERSITY RECORD 347further in the new organization is a broader andcloser working together, and a simplification ofthe means whereby every individual disposed tohelp in any direction may find it immediatelypracticable to do so.Nathaniel Butler,President of the Christian Union.FRENCH COLLEGES OPEN TO AMERICAN STUDENTSPROGRAM FOR 1905The Alliance Franchise is a national organization for the propagation of the French languagein France and its colonies and among foreignnations. It counts among its officers and members many distinguished French scholars —Gaston Boissier, Claretie, Lavisse, Vandal,Breal, Paul Meyer, Monod, Brunot, etc. Inthis country, thanks to the active participationof M. Jusserand, the French ambassador, aindthe French consuls, notably M. Pesoli, and hisassociates in Philadelphia; of M. Giroud, ofGirard College ; M. Vurpillot, of the Universityof Pennsylvania; Mr. James H. Hyde, in NewYork — its most generous benefactor; and ofHarvard, Columbia, Haverford, and Chicago,the work is being energetically forwarded bylectures and instruction.The Paris Central Bureau has recently issueda Program of its Summer Schools, to whichAmerican students are freely invited, on payment of a subscription of $5, for single courses,and of $10 a month for a ticket for the wholecourse or of $20 for the two months, and 25cents for each lecture. Instruction will be givenin the French language, its history, grammar,literature, and, practically, in conversation — inits best methods, in French history, geography,and institutions. The museums and monumentsof Paris will be visited under the guidance ofnotable experts, and those of Rouen will also beseen and explained.The universities of Grenoble, Dijon, and Bes-ancon will also have summer schools. At Grenoble last summer a graduate and fellow of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. J. P. Wicker-sham Crawford, continued his studies as therepresentative of the Cercle Frangais of theUniversity of Pennsylvania and of the AllianceFrancaise of Philadelphia, and his report of hissuccessful studies there gave a capital accountof the advantages offered to an American student in France.Thanks to M. Hyde's generous benefaction,an American, Professor Barrett Wendell, ofHarvard University, is now lecturing in theUniversity of Paris, and American students areboth teaching and studying abroad ; while thesummer schools of the University of Pennsylvania, of Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, and Chicago, offer courses in the French language andliterature of real value to those who take advantage of this latest addition to our universities,This international exchange of scholars andteachers has recently been encouraged by theGerman emperor, who invites Americans tocome to German universities, and advises German teachers and students to attend those ofthis country. One of the best fruits of the St.Louis Exposition was the attendance there ofmany famous foreign professors, who madecareful inspection of American colleges, lectured at many of them, renewed acquaintancewith the professors who had been their pupilsabroad, and gave their own countrymen a veryflattering description of the good methods andresults of the work they had seen in Americancolleges and universities.The French Alliance deserves the credit ofhaving been the first to undertake instruction inFrench for foreigners at home and abroad, andthe summer schools established under its carein French universities and in those of thiscountry will be an effective way of securing anincreasing international exchange.THE WORK OF THEODORE THOMAS AT THE UNIVERSITYThe last concert conducted by TheodoreThomas at the University was the second in the348 UNIVERSITY RECORDseries given by the Chicago Orchestra at LeonMandel Assembly Hall, under the auspices ofthe Quadrangle Club. It was on the evening ofDecember 5 ; on January 2 Mr. Thomas wastoo ill to take his usual place ; and on January 4came the sad news of his death.This was the second year that Mr. Thomashad conducted a series of concerts at the University, and he seemed to take an especial pleasure and satisfaction in presenting his programsin a hall so fully adapted to musical interpretation, particularly to the subtler and quietereffects. He felt a responsiveness and appreciation in his audiences, and knew that here was anactual educational opportunity along the linesof the highest art.As an indication of the sense of almost irreparable loss felt by the University over the deathof Mr. Thomas, the following tribute from thePresident of the University is repeated :The sense of sorrow caused by the death of TheodoreThomas is universal throughout the city of Chicago. Hiswork has been done for all classes and conditions of people. There is no element of our population but what hasbeen delighted again and again by his music, and his famehas truly been a pride to the whole city. Members of theUniversity, therefore, in common with the whole city, paytheir tribute to him as a matchless musician and a noblebenefactor of Chicago. At the same time, as an institution which aims at higher learning, the University haspeculiar reason to feel thankful for his influence in elevating musical taste and his steadfast adherence to thehighest ideals of art. We shall always remember withspecial gratitude his kindness during the last year inbringing his orchestra to Mandel Hall and thus puttingthe best music at our very door. Words can express onlya small part of what we feel ; but no one who knew Mr.Thomas, or knew the devoted following that he had at theUniversity, can doubt that his memory will be long cherished among us. The loss to all is very great, one whichwe cannot now fully appreciate.Regarding Mr. Thomas and his influence,Professor Harry Pratt Judson, Dean of theFaculties of Arts, Literature, and Science, alsovoiced a common sentiment of the University inthe words spoken at the time of Mr. Thomas'sdeath : In the death of Theodore Thomas Chicago loses one ofits greatest forces of enlightenment. His work since theUniversity has been here has been most important andfar-reaching. I feel as if in a certain sense the light hasgone out. Of course, the Chicago Orchestra will continue its work and will be, we hope, a permanent and mostvaluable institution. Still we cannot forget the greatwork which Mr. Thomas has done for Chicago and formusical culture — a work which has made the permanentorchestra possible, and the influence of which will go onfor generations.As a matter of peculiar interest the last program given at the University by Mr. Thomas,which was an especially successful one, is herereproduced in full :Symphony No. 2 BeethovenRondo, " Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks " Strauss" The Country Wedding " GoldmarkOverture, " Tannhauser " WagnerIt is also of an almost pathetic interest to notethat in the program prepared in advance by Mr.Thomas for his concert at the University onFebruary 6 there is included the " March Fune-bre " by Chopin-Thomas.On the evening of January 2 the followingprogram, the third in the series, was given underthe direction of Mr. Frederick A. Stock, whowas the assistant leader of the Chicago Orchestra when Mr. Thomas was alive :Overture to " Benvenuto Cellini " Berlioz" Traume " WagnerWaldweben, " Siegfried " WagnerSymphony No. 2, C Major, Opus 61 SchumannSymphonic Poem No. 2, " Phaeton," Opus 39Saint-Sains" Heart- Wounds " ) _ . _. , A „ .\ String Orchestra Grieg" Spring )Suite, from the Ballet " Casse-Noisette," Opus 71aTschaikowskyI. Ouverture Miniature.II. Danses caraeteristiques :(a) Marche ; (b) Danse de la Fee dragee ;(c) Trepak, Danse russe ; (d) Danse arabe;(e) Danse chinoise ; (f) Danse des Midi-tons.III. Valse des Fleurs.A LECTURER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF PARISThe striking lecture entitled "La traditionhistorique de la France," which appears elsewhere in this issue of the University Record,UNIVERSITY RECORD 349was delivered, in French, in Cobb Lecture Hall,on October 18, by Professor Charles VictorLanglois, of the University of Paris. M. Lang-lois was born in Rouen in 1863, was graduatedas an archivist-paleographer at the ficole desChartes, and became a lecturer at the Sorbonne.He now occupies a professorship of the sciencesauxiliary to history.He is distinguished especially in two lines ofwork. The first is mediaeval French history,represented by a history of Philip III (1887) \a collection of documents on the history of theParlement (1888); a series of formularies(1890-98) ; a volume on the period of the lastCapetians of the direct line, in M. Lavisse'sHisioire de France (1903) ; and a very interesting volume, published last year, on Frenchsociety in the thirteenth century as exhibited inten of the romances of adventure. Secondly, hehas published three exceedingly useful worksin the field of historical methodology: (a) incollaboration with M. Stein, a large treatise onthe archives of France (1891-93) ; (b) in collaboration with M. Seignobos, an Introductionto the Study of History, which has been translated into English (1897) ; and (c) his Manuelde bibliographic historique (2d ed., 1901-4), ahandbook indispensable to all historical workers.M. Langlois interests himself largely in general educational questions. His volume entitledQuestions d'histoire et df enseignement (Paris,1902) has been crowned by the French Academy. His visit to Chicago was made on thereturn from St. Louis, where he had served asa member of the international jury on educational exhibits.A FORTHCOMING VOLUME OF THE BARROWS LECTURESThe University of Chicago Press will issuein the near future a volume of the Barrows Lectures delivered in 1902-3 in India, Ceylon, andJapan by Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall, presidentof the Union Theological Seminary, New York.Dr. Hall was the third incumbent of the Lecture ship founded by Mrs. Caroline E. Haskell, hispredecessors being the late President JohnHenry Barrows, of Oberlin College, and Principal A. M. Fairbairn, of Mansfield College,Oxford. The intention of the founder was topromote the consideration of the essential principles of the Christian religion by educated members of other religions in India and the Far East.International interest in the Lectureship hasbeen awakened by reason of the breadth andkindliness of the founder's purpose, and the cordial reception given the Barrows lectures in theOrient.The course of lectures contained in the forthcoming volume was delivered by Dr. Hall ineach of the five university cities of India : Calcutta, Allahabad, Lahore, Bombay, and Madras ;also in Kobe, Kyoto, Tokio, and Sendai, Japan.Parts of the course were given at Benares,Delhi, Poona, Madura, and Vellore in India ; atColombo and Kandy in Ceylon; and at Oka-yama, Nagoya, and Osaka in Japan. It is saidthat in all of these places the audiences werelarge, and that many marked expressions of appreciation were bestowed upon the lecturer.The general title of the course is Christian Belief Interpreted by Christian Experience, and thelectures, six in number, discuss the followingsubjects: "The Nature of Religion;" "TheChristian Idea of God Interpreted by Experience;" "The Lord Jesus Christ the SupremeManifestation of God ; " " The Sin of Man andthe Sacrifice of Christ ; " " The Ideas of Holiness and Immortality Interpreted by Experience ; " " Reasons for Regarding Christianity asthe Absolute Religion."A SERIES OF OPEN LECTURES ON THE CRANEFOUNDATIONOn January 10, 1905, a series of twelve openlectures on the Crane Foundation was begun inCobb Lecture Hall by Professor Paul NicolasMilyoukov, of Russia, who is Professorial Lee-350 UNIVERSITY RECORDturer on Russian Institutions. The general subject of the series is "The Revival of theSouthern Slavs," and the dates and titles of theseparate lectures are as follows :January 10 — "The General Features of the NationalLife in the Balkans."January 13 — " Croatia."January 17 — " Servia."January 20 — " Montenegro and the Albanian Question."January 24 — " Bosnia and Herzegovina."January z'j — " Bulgaria."January 31 — " Bulgaria " (concluded).February 3 — " Macedonia and the Macedonian Question."February 7 — " Economics, Social Structure, Trade,ana Finance in the Balkan States."February 10 — "Political Life, Political Parties; thePress in the Balkans."February 14 — "Literature in the Balkans."February 17 — "International Situation in the Balkans:Views as to the Future."Professor Milyoukov also gave a series oftwelve lectures on "Russian History and Institutions " during the Summer Quarter of 1903.In 1892 he was Magister of History in theUniversity of Moscow, Private Docent in Russian History at the same institution from 1886to 1895, and Professor Ordinarius in History atthe University of Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1897-8.LECTURES ON THE HASKELL FOUNDATION FOR 1905Professor George F. Moore, Ph.D., D.D., ofthe Harvard Divinity School, began in the Assembly Room of the Haskell Oriental Museumon January 25 a series of six lectures on theHaskell Foundation. The general topic of thecourse is "Fundamental Problems in the History of Religion," and the subjects of the lectures, with the dates, are as follows :January 25 — " The Origin of Religion."January 26 — " The Emergence of Gods."February i — " The Chief Factors in the Evolution ofReligion."February 2 — " The Relation of Religion to Morals."February 8 — " The Conception of Religion as a Wayof Salvation." February 9 — " The Future of Religion in the Light ofits History.THE FACULTIESOn the evening of January 30 Dr. James H.Canfield, Librarian of Columbia University,gave an address in Haskell Oriental Museumbefore the Chicago Library Club.Assistant Professor Albert H. Tolman, of theDepartment of English, spent three Quarters ofthe year 1904 abroad, chiefly in England andScotland." Co-Education : I. A Stage of EducationalDevelopment," is the title of a contribution, inthe January (1905) issue of Harper's Bazaar,by President William R. Harper.On February 1 a special lecture to students inthe Medical Courses was given by ProfessorialLecturer James Nevins Hyde on the subject of" Leprosy in the United States and its Colonies."" The Relation of Graduate Study to GeneralCulture" was the subject of an open lecture,,given in the Law Building on February 3, byProfessor Josiah Royce, of Harvard University.Miss Mary E. McDowell, Head Resident ofthe University of Chicago Settlement, spoke on" Our Proxies in Industry " before the WestEnd Woman's Club of Chicago on January 20,Professor Ernst Freund, of the Law School,was in charge of the local arrangements for themeeting of the American Political Science Association at the University during the holidays." The End of International Dueling " was thesubject of an address before the GraduateSchools in Cobb Lecture Hall on January 19.The speaker was Mrs. Lucia Ames Mead, ofBoston.An illustrated lecture on St. Petersburg wasgiven on January 6 before the West End Woman's Club of Chicago by Associate ProfessorJerome H. Raymond, of the Department ofSociology.UNIVERSITY RECORD 351"The Psychology of Conversation" was thesubject of an address, on January 23, before theEnglewood Woman's Club of Chicago, by Professor George E. Vincent, of the Department ofSociology.Under the auspices of the Department ofPolitical Science an address was given in CobbLecture Hall on February 2 by Mr. CollinFyfTe, of Chicago, on "The Financial Systemof Chicago."" Diplomats and Diplomacy " was the subjectof an address before the Fortnightly Club ofChicago, on January 26, by Professor HarryPratt Judson, Head of the Department of Political Science." Public Buildings " was the subject of anaddress in Fullerton Hall of the Art Institute,Chicago, given on January 26 by ProfessorCharles Zueblin, of the Department of Sociologyand Anthropology."King Lear" was the subject of a lecturebefore the Englewood Woman's Club of Chicago, on January 16, by Professor RichardGreen Moulton, Head of the Department ofGeneral Literature.At the annual session of the State HistoricalSociety of Illinois, at Springfield, on January25, Associate Professor Edwin E. Sparks, of theDepartment of History, was elected a memberof the board of directors.On the evening of February 2 Professor William D. MacClintock, Dean of University College, spoke under the auspices of the HenryGeorge Lecture Association of Chicago on" Poetry and the Common Life."Dr. Burton E. Livingston, of the Departmentof Botany, has been appointed to the staff ofthe Bureau of Soils in the United States Department of Agriculture, and will begin his newwork at the close of the Winter Quarter.Professor Charles R. Barnes and Dr. HenryC Cowles, of the Department of Botany, have been appointed delegates from the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science tothe International Botanical Congress at Vienna."Problems of the Juvenile Court" was thesubject of an address by Professor Charles R.Henderson, Head of the Department of Ecclesiastical Sociology, before the National PrisonCongress held at Quincy, 111., in October, 1904."A School that Makes Its Own Textbooks andTools " is the title of a contribution, descriptiveof the University Elementary School, in theChicago Tribune of January 22. The articlehas a number of illustrations of remarkableinterest.During the month of January the UniversityPreachers have included Dr. Orrin P. Girford,of Buffalo, N. Y. ; Dr. Frederick E. Dewhurst,of the University Congregational Church, Chicago; and Dr. Armstrong Black, of Toronto,Canada.Professor Shailer Mathews, of the DivinitySchool, discussed " The Promotion of Research"at the "Round Table" conference on the teachingof church history, held during the recent meeting of the American Historical Association inChicago.On January 25 Mr. William Norman Guthrie,Lecturer in General Literature, gave an addresson the " Didactic Element in Art " in FullertonHall of the Art Institute, Chicago. Mr. Guthriealso lectured on the subject of "Maeterlinck"at the same place on January 28." Roman Baths " was the subject of a lectureon January 11, in Fullerton Hall of the ArtInstitute, Chicago, by Assistant Professor Gordon J. Laing, of the Department of Latin. Itwas given under the auspices of the Chicago Society of the Archaeological Institute ofAmerica.At the "Round Table" conference of theAmerican Historical Association at its recentmeeting in Chicago, Associate Professor EmilyJ. Rice, of the College of Education, presented352 UNIVERSITY RECORDthe subject of "The Preparation of the Elementary Teacher " with reference to the teaching ofhistory.On the evening of January 27, 1905, the members of the Beta of the Illinois chapter of PhiBeta Kappa held a reunion and dinner inHutchinson Hall. Professor George S. Good-speed, of the Department of Comparative Religion, who is president of the local chapter,presided."The Evolution of Realism from Shakspereto Ibsen" was the subject of an address onJanuary 17 before the Chicago Woman's AidSociety in Sinai Temple. It was given byAssociate Professor Camillo von Klenze, ofthe Department of Germanic Languages andLiteratures."Irrigation Law" is the title of a series offive open lectures, given in the Law Building byMr. John Maxcy Zane, Professorial Lecturer onthe LawT of Mining and Irrigation, beginningon January 12. Mr. Zane was formerly a member of the Utah bar, and so, conversant withthe practical phases of his subject.Professor Charles R. Henderson, Head ofthe Department of Ecclesiastical Sociology, waschairman of the jury for Group 139, Charitiesand Corrections, at the World's Fair in St.Louis. Mr. Henderson was awarded by theExposition authorities a gold medal for studiesand services in Charity and Corrections.At the seventeenth annual meeting of theAmerican Economic Association, which washeld at the University of Chicago from December 28 to December 30, 1904, Professor J.Laurence Laughlin, Head of the Department ofPolitical Economy, presented a paper on "TheTheory of Price and Some of its Applications."On the evening of February 3 the Universityof Chicago Dramatic Club will present in LeonMandel Assembly Hall a modern comedy, bySidney Grundy, entitled A Pair of Spectacles;and through the generosity of the club it is expected that the University Settlement willreceive from the proceeds a large financialbenefit.The department of book reviews in the newmonthly magazine called First Aid, which is tobe the official journal of the American WhiteCross First Aid Society, is to be conducted byAssociate Librarian Zella Allen Dixson. Theleading article in the March number will be thefirst of a series by Professorial Lecturer Nicholas Senn on " First Aid Societies in Europe."Professor Charles Zueblin, of the Departmentof Sociology, gave an address on January 14before the South Park Improvement Association of Chicago at its third annual meeting.The following directors of this association areconnected with the University: ProfessorGeorge E. Vincent, Professorial Lecturer Francis W. Parker, of the Board of Trustees, andMr. Charles A. Marsh, a trustee of the DivinitySchool.The fiftieth anniversary of the founding ofDearborn Seminary, which has been in affiliation with the University of Chicago since 1899,was celebrated on January 18, 1905, at the roomsof the Chicago Woman's Club, by a reception,an address of welcome, reminiscences, songs,and a poem entitled " Dearborn." Miss EvelynMatz, a graduate from the University in theclass of 1897, is the present head of theSeminary.The President of the University was in attendance at the meeting of the Association ofAmerican Universities held in Baltimore, Md.,on January 12, 13, and 14; and on January 28he was the guest of the Eastern Alumni Association of the University of Chicago, which gaveits annual luncheon at the Fifth Avenue Hotelin New York. Dean Eri B. Hulbert, of theDivinity School, was also a guest of the AlumniAssociation." Studies on the Plant Cell " is the title of aseries of contributions now appearing in theUNIVERSITY RECORD 353American Naturalist — the work of AssistantProfessor Bradley M. Davis, of the Departmentof Botany. They give the present status ofcytological investigations in botany and a criticaldiscussion of some important phases in this fieldof research. Mr. Davis will spend the summerof 1905 at the Marine Biological Laboratory,Woods Hole."Contraband of War" was the subject of apaper by Professor Harry Pratt Judson, Deanof the Faculties of Arts, Literature, and Science,before the first annual meeting of the AmericanPolitical Science Association, which was held atthe University of Chicago from December 28 toDecember 30, 1904. Professor Judson is a memberof the Executive Council of this Association,which was organized a year ago at New Orleansand already has a flourishing membership.At the second annual prize contest in oratory,held on January 11 in the Fine Arts Building,Chicago, under the auspices of the HamiltonClub, Mr. Schuyler B. Terry, of the class of1905, represented the University of Chicago.The subject of his oration was "AlexanderHamilton, the Patrician Statesman." The otherinstitutions represented were Knox College, andthe Universities of Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan. The first place was won by the speakerfrom Knox College.The December number of the lournal of Political Economy has for its opening article a contribution on "Conditions in the Cattle Industry,"by Assistant Professor William Hill, of theDepartment of Political Economy ; " Capital asa Competitive Concept " is contributed by Assistant Professor Herbert J. Davenport, of thesame Department; and "Occupations in theTwelfth Census " is an article by Assistant Professor John Cummings, also of the Departmentof Political Economy.For the civic exhibit of the new MunicipalMuseum of Chicago, to be held in the PublicLibrary on February 13, Professor Charles Zueblin, of the Department of Sociology, hascharge of the collecting and arranging of material bearing on public art; Miss Jane Addams,Head of Hull-House and Lecturer in Sociology,is responsible for the housing exhibit; andProfessor George E. Vincent, of the Department of Sociology, has general supervision aspresident of the board of directors."Where is the West?" is the question discussed in the opening pages of the Februarynumber of The World To-Day by the editor,Professor Shailer Mathews, of the DivinitySchool. Mr. Mathews also contributes to thisnumber an illustrated article on "Culture inthe West ; " and among the illustrations of thearticle is a portrait of Professor Richard G.Moulton, Head of the Department of GeneralLiterature, who is spoken of as "probably theleading University Extension lecturer in theUnited States,"" Beverly Hills " is a reading lesson derivedfrom an excursion by the second grade of theUniversity Elementary School, which is contributed by Elsabeth Port, of the Faculty of thatSchool, to the January number of the Elementary School Teacher. Miss Lorley A. Ashle-man, of the School of Education, writes upon" The Teaching of a Language in the Elementary School ; " and George W. Myers, Professorof the Teaching of Mathematics and Astronomyin the same School, discusses the question" What is Accuracy in Elementary Arithmetic ?"Beginning with the evening of January 12 aseries of three popular lectures on the Bible wasgiven during the month of January, in LeonMandel Assembly Hall, by Professor ShailerMathews, of the Department of SystematicTheology. Mr. Mathews' subject was "TheGospels." On February 23, March 2, andMarch 9, the President of the University willcontinue the same series at the same place, hissubject being " The Work of the Old TestamentSages." These lectures are given under the354 UNIVERSITY RECORDauspices of the Hyde Park Guild of the Religious Education Association.Professor Samuel W. Williston, of the Department of Paleontology, contributes to theNovember-December (1904) issue of the lour-nal of Geology a " Notice of Some New Reptilesfrom the Upper Trias of Wyoming." The article has six illustrations. Mr. Stephen R. Capps,Assistant in Physiography in the UniversityHigh School, and Mr. E. D. K. Leffingwellcontribute to the same number an article on" Pleistocene Geology of the Sawatch Range,near Leadville, Colo.;" and Professor RollinD, Salisbury, Head of the Department of Geography, has an illustrated contribution on " ThreeNew Physiographic Terms."Professor Frank F. Abbott, of the Department of Latin, has the opening contribution inthe January issue of Modern Philology, whichis entitled "The Evolution of the Modern Formsof the Letters of Our Alphabet." Mr. Abbottincludes with this a plea for pure paleography.To the same number Dr. Edith Rickert, of London, who received her doctor's degree from theUniversity in 1899, contributes a fifty-six pagearticle on " The Old English Off a Saga ; " andMr. Milton A. Buchanan, of the Department ofRomance Languages and Literatures, has anarticle on " A Neglected Edition of la Leyendadel Abad don Juan de Montemayor."The sixty-sixth contribution from the HullBotanical Laboratory appears in the Januarynumber of the Botanical Gazette, and is entitled"The Relation of Soils to Natural Vegetationin Roscommon and Crawford Counties, Michigan." It was written by Dr. Burton E. Livingston, of the Department of Botany, and has afull-page colored map on soils and vegetation.Briefer articles in the same number are contributed by Assistant Professor Bradley M.Davis, of the same Department, the first beingentitled "Fertilization in the Saprolegniales," and the second, " The Sexual Organs and Spo-rophyte Generation of the Rhodophyceae."In the January issue of the American lournalof Theology Professor George B. Foster, of theDepartment of Systematic Theology, has, underthe head of " Recent Theological Literature," areview entitled "A Liberal Manifesto;" Dr.Edgar J. Goodspeed, of the Department ofBiblical and Patristic Greek, writes upon "ASyrian Patriarch ; " Professor George S. Good-speed, Professor Ira M. Price, and AssistantProfessor Herbert L. Willett write upon " SomeRecent Old Testament Literature;" ProfessorFranklin Johnson, on " New Light on the German Reformation;" and Professorial LecturerAlonzo K. Parker and Professor Charles R.Henderson, on "Some Recent MissionaryLiterature."At the joint debate in Leon Mandel Hall onJanuary 21, between teams from the Universityof Minnesota and the University of Chicago,the latter team won in the discussion of thequestion, " Resolved, That the United Statesshould continue its present policy of opposingthe combination of railroads." The representatives of the University were Mr. Albert N. Mer-ritt, of the Graduate School, and Mr. ArnoldB. Hall and Mr. Horace G. Nebeker, of theLaw School. Professor Harry Pratt Judson,Dean of the Faculties of Arts, Literature, andScience, who was formerly a member of thefaculty of the University of Minnesota, was thechairman of the evening. The judges wereChief Justice Bishop, of Iowa; Justice Marshall, of the Wisconsin Supreme Court; andProfessor Edward S. Reinsch, of the Universityof Wisconsin.Studies in General Physiology is the title oftwo new volumes, issued by the University ofChicago Press — the work of Professor JacquesLoeb, formerly Head of the Department ofPhysiology, now connected with the Universityof California. Part I contains 430 pages ; PartUNIVERSITY RECORD 355II, 375 pages ; and there are numerous illustrations. These volumes now make accessible Professor Loeb's well-known researches concerningthe effects of salt solutions upon life-phenomena,and give a resume of his other investigationsalong similar lines. The following chapter-headings will give some idea of the scope ofthe work : " On Instinct and Will in Animals ; ""Experiments on Cleavage;" "On the Limitsof Divisibility of Living Matter;" "Remarkson Regeneration ; " " The Influence of Light onthe Development of Organs in Animals ; " "ThePhysiological Effects of Electrical Waves."" The Open Mind," " Exploration in AncientRuins," and " The Outlook in Religious Education" are the opening editorials by PresidentWilliam R. Harper in the January issue of theBiblical World. "What Should the ChurchesDemand of the Theological Schools?" is thesubject of a contribution by Professor Ernest D.Burton, Head of the Department of New Testament Literature and Interpretation. It wasoriginally presented as a paper before the Baptist Congress at Louisville, Ky., on November8, 1904. "The Prophetic Message of Hosea"is the ninth study by the President of the University in the series on the Prophetic Elementin the Old Testament. Under the head of" Exploration and Discovery " Associate Professor James H. Breasted, of the Department ofSemitic Languages and Literatures, summarizesthe results of archaeological research in Egyptduring the last season.The opening contribution in the January issueof the American lournal of Semitic Languagesand Literatures is entitled " Political, Religious,and Social Antiquities of the Sargonid Period,"and is written by Mr. Allen H. Godbey, aFellow in the Department of Semitic Languagesand Literatures ; the second contribution, whichis a " Geographical List to R. F. Harper's ' Assyrian and Babylonian Letters,' Vols. I-VIII,"is by Mr. Olaf A. Toffteen, a Fellow in the Department just mentioned ; and Associate Professor James H. Breasted has in the same issuean article on "The Report of Wenamon," andalso one on " The Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt,"the former being a partial preprint as it willappear in the fourth volume of Mr. Breasted'sAncient Records of Egypt now being printedby the University of Chicago Press, and thelatter also appearing in the Abhandlungen(1905) of the Royal Prussian Academy."Problems of Municipal Administration" isthe opening contribution in the January issue ofthe American lournal ¦. of Sociology. It waswritten by Jane Addams, Head of Hull House,Chicago, who was the Convocation Orator ofthe University on December 20, and who is alsoa Lecturer in Sociology. The article was givenoriginally as an address before the Departmentof Politics in the International Congress of Artsand Science at St. Louis in September, 1904.Associate Professor William I. Thomas, of theDepartment of Sociology, contributes "TheProvince of Social Psychology," which also wasdelivered as an address before the congress justmentioned. The editor, Professor Albion W.Small, Head of the Department of Sociology,pays a tribute in this number to Gustav Ratzen-hofer, who died at sea on his return from theSt. Louis Congress of Arts and Science, inwhich he was an important participant.The chairman of the Committee of LocalArrangements for the annual meeting of theAmerican Economic Association in Chicagoduring the holidays was Mr. Charles R. Crane,who established at the University the CraneLectureship on Russian Institutions. Associated with him, as Secretary, was Assistant Professor John Cummings, of the Department ofPolitical Economy. Other members of thecommittee were Professor Albion W. Small,Head of the Department of Sociology; Professor George E. Vincent, of the same Department; Professor J. Laurence Laughlin, Head356 UNIVERSITY RECORDof the Department of Political Economy;Assistant Professors Thorstein B. Veblen, Herbert J. Davenport, and William Hill, of thesame Department; Professor Charles R. Henderson, Head of the Department of Ecclesiastical Sociology; Professorial Lecturers, Messrs.George R. Peck and Graham Taylor; Mr.Franklin McVeagh and Hon. Francis W. Parker, of the University Board of Trustees ; andPresident William R. Harper.At the third annual convention of the Religious Education Association, which begins inthe Old South Church of Boston on February12, 1905, President William R. Harper, chairman of the Executive Board of the Association,is to make the response to the address of welcome; at the same convention Professor John M. Coulter, Head of the Department of Botany,will make an address upon " Science as a Teacher of Morality ; " and Assistant Professor ClydeW. Votaw, of the Department of Biblical andPatristic Greek, will speak upon " The Field ofReligious Education in America." At latersessions of the convention the President of theUniversity will give an address on the subject:" What Can Universities and Colleges Do forthe Religious Life of Their Students ? " Professor Charles R. Henderson, Head of the Department of Ecclesiastical Sociology, will discuss"The Part of the Home in Religious Education;" and Assistant Professor Herbert L.Willett, of the Department of Semitic Languages and Literatures, will speak of " BiblicalInstruction at the Summer Assembly."