An exchange thus takes exception to an idea advanced by a contributor to the columns of the CRIMSON:

"The Daily Crimson of Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) of February 9th, says of Harvard and its poets: 'The work of our poets is the model of the Western college poetasters, and is, therefore, simply another example of our increasing greatness.' This reminds us of that German home philosopher who never tired of praising his wife's domestic executive abilities. At last the old woman, nourished by the warmth of continual praise, endeavored to run both house and husband. Our German turned to her admiringly and said: 'See here, frau, I like importance, but I will be contemned if I like contemned imputance.' Our German friend used abbreviated expressions, but we can't, you know. The Crimson should know that the difference between a poet and poetaster is that the poet has the imagination, and the poetaster the sense. Further, a Western man generally has more sense than an Eastern man. A Western poetaster, thus overflowing with sense, would show himself rather a poet than a poetaster if he ever imagined so strange a thing as that any college poet could be a decent model for the verses he wishes to palm off as poetry; and he would show himself a sort of Cambridge top rather than a Western man of practical sense if he took Harvard poetry as his model. Why, take but our little Callanan Courant, with its troop of girls bubbling with merry verses of pleasure and gayety, or flowing at times with the easy pensiveness of that semi philosophical leisure that gives an attractive weirdness to a commonplace sentiment, or take the Ann Arbor Chronicle, with its keen appreciation of the humorous in verse, with its true, natural unforced sentiment, with its unborrowed thought, and if Harvard can show any productions excelling these in average she will do well. 'Imagination killed a man,' and we fear that Harvard has a great deal of this quality (i. e., not poetic imagination). As our next door neighbor says: 'A man stuck on himself is the most pitiable of mortals, for he knows not the infinite pleasure of calling himself an ass." The East, on the whole, has too good an opinion of herself. Harvard, Yale and Princeton so frequently announce that they cannot be beat that many gradually believe them. We, too, should like to believe so, but somehow or other we can never induce ourselves to consider a man good who has first to say that he is good."