Among the most pleasant of traditions with which Harvard is surrounded is that of the number of Great Men teaching in the classrooms. Nowhere has the roll of names been more brilliant than in the Department of English Literature. For the last year however, the undergraduates concentrating in English have been watching with ill-concealed dismay the increasing regularity of the gaps making their appearance in the ranks of these "Figures" associated with the English Department. The lamented death of Professor Hurlbut, the resignations of Professors Copeland and Perry, and Professor Lowes' temporary residence at Oxford, have been some of the causes resulting in the prevalent opinion that the field of English has been suffering a gradual decline.

For that reason especially, the names of Professor Elton of the University of Liverpool and Professor Patch of Smith College among the new appointments to the College of Arts and Sciences for the next academic year are more than welcome additions. Their appearance as lecturers in particular courses will serve to bolster a falling superstructure. Contemporaneous with the departure to England of one of Harvard's most brilliant scholars and popular teachers, the second appearance of the English authority is opportune in balancing the deficit occasioned by the loss of Professor Lowes. The acquisition of both men represents a definite step by the administration to maintain the reputation which the English Department of Harvard enjoys at present.