The best pieces in the current number of the Advocate are the stories, of which there are several well worth mentioning. "Ruth," by J. A. Graydon '01, is the third of a series of Irish folk tales, which the writer is contributing to the Advocate. The scene of the story is Rosselea, and the characters are a Catholic priest and a family of peasants. There is less plot and characterization in "Ruth," than in either of the two previous tales; but the story is clear, vigorous and wholesome. Two lovers quarrel and separate, but are again joined at a crisis in the life of the heroine. Simple and straightforward, "Ruth" is the type of story that the undergraduate reader thoroughly enjoys. Very different from "Ruth," is J. P. Sanborn's frail story, "Conclusions." Like Cyrano de Bergerac, the writer may be said to "set forth to capture a star and then to stop to pick a flower of rhetoric." In style and treatment, "Conclusions" is good and clever. But it has the tone of the over-done, and throughout it there is constant striving for effect. "The Point of View," by J. G. Cole sC., is a pleasant sketch of a not very ingenious sort. The plot is conventional and the characters are common place. The writer shows an extensive acquaintance with Boston "taverns," and some slight knowledge of girls. In "The Tin Goddess," L. D. Humphrey '01 contributes a story of the expanded daily theme type. "A Serious Question" is a choice bit of realistic description, greatly marred by an anti-climax.

Of the poetry, "To Agnes," by Leopold Roberts 1L., is a very pretty sonnet, while "Septenary" and "November" contributed anonymously are representative undergraduate verses. "I Saw Thee Sleeping," by "H. W. B.", is a fair attempt at lyrical poetry. The editorials are concise and timely.