During the past two years the college has been going through a literary revival. All the papers are showing marked ability. Their work, not only in quantity, but in excellence, is greater than it has been before within the memory of present undergraduates; while the competition for places on the various editorial boards is keener than ever.

A number of causes have brought about this state of things. In the first place, the English department of the University has been much improved. Only two of the present members of that department, the professors, were here when the class of '82 graduated; the rest are new men.

Moreover, the plan of the prescribed themes and forensics has been so arranged that the students as a whole do more and better work in this branch. Then, too, electives have been added, not only in literature, but in composition. All these reforms have acted directly upon our college papers by bettering them.

This interest in English composition has had another effect upon the students. The man who works hard over his English, and is supposed to have literary ability, is not deemed a grind, in just the same way that a great classical or mathematical scholar is. He who writes for the college papers gets a popularity, small to be sure, but in kind, somewhat like that of the athlete. It is, in a certain degree, a credit to the class. Accordingly, many who cannot distinguish themselves in athletics, are beginning to look upon a place on an editorial board as a good way to become favorably known in college.

Then the number who are training for journalism is larger than ever before. All such are likely to try to get on some paper here.

Lastly, a certain amount of credit is due to the present senior class. Eighty-six has an unusually large number of men of good literary ability. The example of these men has been a spur, not only to their classmates, but to lower classmen. They have both improved the already existing college papers, and have founded the Monthly, a magazine of uncommon worth. On the whole, it looks as if the present time would figure in tradition, as have those years in the seventies, when the Lampoon was founded.