It is a melancholy truth that certain students in Harvard College continually violate the confidence reposed in the whole body by the authorities at Gore Hall. When men are allowed wide freedom with the reserved volumes belonging to the University, it seems only reasonable to expect them to feel, from a sense of honor, some responsibility in the use of said books. Yet such is not the case. It is a frequent occurrence for a valuable book to disappear from the shelves just before important thesis are due in some course. The book sometimes reappears a few days after the theses have been handed in, often it does not. It is interesting to conjecture what will happen in the case of a certain book, now out of print, which is urgently needed by the students in one of the advanced Philosophy courses. The volume disappeared just after the date for handing in the theses was fixed by the instructor.

Another dishonest practice is that of concealing books in the reading room while the man who has been using them is absent for an hour or two. There is no absolute check upon these habits on account of the liberal way in which books are left at men's disposal; therefore, as dishonesty is everywhere prevalent, we find cases of it at Harvard. The only consolation is that, whenever offenders are found out, their cases are summarily disposed of by the Faculty.