T HE HESPERIAN.
fully, at the cost of necessary quiet for class-work.
At times classes have been so disturbed by unneces
sary noise in the halls as to make it an impossibility
to proceed with class work. This noise has been caus
ed, not by those who studied in tl e halls, but- by a
few noisy persons who had a leisure hour and did not
wish to study r . It, seems possible to reach these with
: Out disturbing.all. .There are. very .few, however, who
can study in the crowded 2x4 foot room, sarcastical
ly called the study and reading room. Placing fifty
chairs in that one room does not furnish the required
'l place for waiting"an'd sttfdying. If the privileges soj
long in practice areJ to be taken from us, we should!
' have Someplace where students could meet and not
be under the necessity of remaining absolutely quiet,
but where those who wished to converse, do general
reading, etc.,' might do so. We humbly oiiggest that
if no other places are at the disposal of the faculty,
that they partition off, mat and furnish with seats, the
several alcoves on the different floors and thus pro
vide a sort of rendezvous lor the students. This
would not disturb the classes in the adjoining room
any more than classes in adjacent rooms disturb each
other. We need some place and why not have it?
cal before we can expect a large enrollment of stu
dents. Something should and must be done, and if
not this plan, some plan akin to it with the same
aims ought to be adopted.
We learn from the Ariel that the board of regents
of the State University of Minnesota have taken a
step which, in our mind, has Jong seemed a possible
solution of that problem, troubling them as us, as to
how to adapt and conduct the Agricultural College
so as to meet the wants of the class for which it was
organized. With them as with us, that college has
been mainly one of theory, not receiving the' support
or confidence of the farmers of the state. They have
bridged the difficulty, as far as is possible under ex
isting circumstanceSjby appointing an advisory board
of seven representative farmers; thus seeking to com
bine the practical and theoretical; meanwhile silenc
ing complaint by placing in the hands of the- farmers
themselves the most direct means of influencing the
'management It is true that such a step might not
proVe a "panacea for all the evils of our present sys
tem." Vet' it' would certainly be a move forward and
an earnest on the part of regents and faculty, that it
is their aim to"make of the Agrirultural College an ef
ficfent and practical School where the farmer's son
may 'find an agricultural training and be encouraged
iKllie pursuance of that vocation which a college ed
ucation so often induces him to leave. Why could
not such, a policy be established here? We are all on-
lyIpo well aware Jha.t our Agricultural College is not
. - ;-r- f ' . t ' '- .-" . .
a.succesS that theory alone istaught, that- something
isji?ededto:jpspfre jthg formers op our state, "with
more confidence "than they now feel, and that the col
lege must be shown to be practical as well as theoreti-
DREAMS OF YOUTH.
The path of life, to youthful eyes,
Lies glittering on before,
And seems a sparkling sea of bliss,
With pearls along the shore.
Sweet dreams of joy inspire the mind,
And, eager for the prize,
She trips o'er diamonds at her feet.
Nor turns her dazzled eyes.
Hope, on her airy wing, descends,
And lights the golden scene;
Her wand unto the heart eonvcys
New charms before unseen.
Thus all seems lovely and serene,
Hcyond the present care;
No hopes or dreams or fond desires,
Hut have their fullness there.
GENERAL TOPICS.
Mr. II. Rider Haggard, who has acquired so much notorie
ty through the publication of his remarkable book entitled
'Shc,"has written an article in the Contemporary Review, in
which he attempts to give the public his views on fiction in
general. It is needless to say that the article is interesting;
anyone who possesses imagination enough to write such a
book as the one just mentioned, could not fail toex'cite some
interest in what he had subsequently written; especially as it
has a direct bearing upon the very subject by which Mr. Hag
gard has become so famous. Hut, although we are prepared
to receive most of this writer's views on fiction with implicit
confidence in his superior judgment, we cannot refrain from
differing with him in two or three points. Mr. Haggard's
temper would probably not be ruffled much by anything we
may say regarding him, even if he should ever be so fortu
nate!?) as to run across this number of this great western col
lege periodical. Therefore we feel no apprehensions that our
feelings may be cruelly lacerated by the eminent writer of
fiction in a scathing reply to our humble criticism.
Mr. Haggard starts out by depicting the trials and difficul
ties which the average writer of fiction has to contend with,
from the fact that hundreds upon hundreds of novels are be
ing written every year. Many of these cannot certainly meet
with success, and therefore the unfortunate authors of them
must necessarily suffer. This result, according to Mr. Hag
gard, is chiefly from. the fact that a great number of these
would-be authors, without having any of the qualities
which constitute good 'authors, foolishly imagine that they
can write as good, or even better, novels than the average,
and, unfortunately, proceed to put their delusions into prac
tice. We entirely agree with Mr. Haggard in what he says of this
state of affairs, but are inclined to disagree with him as to the
cause which he assigns. No doubt there are many who think
themselves qualified to produce good works of fiction, who
have not the first requisites for 'such1 a'n "undertaking, but to
lsay that the want of interest felt for many works is owing to
the lack of literary skill displayed, is assuming entirely too
much. Public opinionjalthough it is the ultimate judge in
