IT would seem that at last the royal road to learning had been found. Most of our readers in Cambridge have already heard of the great increase in our facilities for learning which the kindness of our instructors proposes to offer next year. It is intended that, on two or three evenings of the week, the instructors in the various languages shall hold readings, like those we have at present by Professor Child and Professor Palmer, so arranged that in the course of four years every undergraduate may, without undertaking any extra work, be able to become acquainted with the writings of the best authors in each language. The Greek and Shakspere readings, which have already proved so successful, will be continued, with the addition of the Iliad and the Canterbury Tales. Selections will also be read from Greek and Latin poetry and prose, and from the modern languages; and Professor Paine will continue his illustrations on the piano of the compositions of the great musicians.

To hold such a course of readings will be an additional burden on our instructors; but, judging from the interest that has been already shown, they will find their kind efforts properly appreciated, for there are many students who are glad to make use of so favorable an opportunity to gain a wider knowledge of ancient and modern literature and of music. The courses in the foreign languages will also be useful, from the practice that they will give in following the text without being obliged to think of the separate meaning of each word; and only such philological, historical, and grammatical comments as are absolutely essential will be made.

There is, to be sure, some danger that the knowledge thus obtained will be very shallow, but of course it depends on each man how regular and attentive he will be and how he will use his opportunities. However, we should think that, with due care, a great deal might be learned with very little trouble; and the courses in Greek and Latin, at any rate, will serve as an experiment to determine how far the student is capable of "comprehending the spirit" of a difficult language without the aid of careful study on his part and of elaborate comments from his instructor.

The President's Report says that no more electives can be offered until the number of undergraduates has risen to eight hundred, - we suppose partly on account of the lack of money for salaries, - so that we ought to be more warmly grateful to our instructors for their kindness in voluntarily increasing their duties. Old Harvard certainly deserves to be the largest real University in the country, for she seems never to tire of increasing and improving the opportunities she offers for intellectual development, and is doing her best to rank high, in more than mere numbers, among the educational institutions of the world. We have good reason from the past and present to predict a great advance for her in the future.