TO THE EDITORS OF THE CRIMSON:-

IN last Monday's issue of the Echo appeared an exceedingly unjust letter on Freshman Mathematics signed J. C., 81, whose mathematical attainments are superior, I hope, to his logical. There may be a disparity in the tact of impartation between the tutors alluded to, but that does not warrant the statements or conclusions of J. C., '81. If a student understands a subject himself, there is no danger of appearing ridiculous at the blackboard. It is true that comparatively few students take mathematics after the Freshman year. The cause, as it seems to me, is this: students come to college with a worse fit in mathematics, as a general thing, than any other subject, and the struggles against conditions in the Freshman year, in which too much mathematics is crowded, creates no sympathy for cosines and asymptotes. The fault, therefore, is primarily in the fitting schools. Having had the same "misfortune" as the writer in the Echo, I am perfectly free to say, for mathematics is not my forte, that J. C., '81, appears to me as ridiculous in his new position as he was, according to his own statement, at the blackboard.

I., '81.READINGS FROM SHAKSPERE.TO THE EDITORS OF THE CRIMSON:-

AMONG the courses of Evening Readings given in the various departments of the University, one of the most popular is Professor Child's course of Readings from Shakspere. Professor Child, however, confines himself almost wholly to explanations of the text, doing little to bring out the individuality of Shakspere's characters. As a supplement to his valuable instruction, could not Mr. Riddle be induced to read one or more of these plays in Sanders Theatre, with a view to giving us a clear understanding of each character?

No one, certainly, is better able to do this than Mr. Riddle, of whose reading of Cleopatra I heard Mr. George W. Curtis say, "He had never before realized that a man could so thoroughly identify himself with the character of a woman as to make you forget that the woman was not speaking."

Should Mr. Riddle be willing to read he would gratify many of the students who have expressed a strong wish to hear him and he would be sure of a large and appreciative audience.

H. G. H.