Examination periods always leave a host of tragedies in their wake. Thus when one of them is discussed in detail; you may be sure that it is especially poignant.

One spirited gentleman on the eve of ordeal hit upon the commendable scheme of drowning anxiety in wine; and incidentally lubricating the cerebellum. He did the job so thoroughly that when the examination had begun the effects had not yet worn off. But there was no occasion for regret; the scheme seemed to be working nobly. The subject matter was available; in fact, it was wellmarshalled and happily fluent. There was only one defect; the sordid mechanics of writing had slipped away.

The carefree scholar began his first line auspiciously. But when he came to the end of the line, the expediency of decending to the next failed to penetrate his enthusiastic absorption in his subject. Consequently, he continued his line on across the wide expanse of the board, and only when he reached the end of that did he begin afresh. A beautiful examination was the product, but the dreadful irony of it all is that only one third of it appeared in the blue book.