Advocate.

By far the best contribution to the current number of the Advocate is an anonymous sonnet on Great Britain's recent reverses in South Africa. It is one of the pieces of verse seen once in a while in the Advocate which will stand second reading.

The short stories in the number are too ambitious in going beyond the real field of undergraduate fiction, which is undergraduate fiction, which is undergraduate life. The first story in the present number, "Dalton's Awakening," deals with emotions and situations utterly beyond the scope of the author. No amount of "realistic" phrasing can cover the gaping breaks in the plot. The greatest philosophers and moralists have wrangled over the problem upon which this story is based, and the solution given here besides being inadequate, is morbid. The effect left by the story is one of mawkish sentiment.

"On Deck," which follows, is much brighter. The style is refreshingly simple, and the short description which begins the story serves its purpose admirably.

The third story is again melodramatic. It is set in a foreign country peopled with impossible characters, and again brings in the unfortunate man who has married the wrong girl. Technically the story is poor.

"Charity" is the only story in the number which can attempt to reach the sympathies of an undergraduate. Here the reader is brought into the spirit of the story in a sketch which has the real College tone.

The parting editorial of the 1900 Advocate board is too egotistical to be interesting. The other editorial is a convential echo of the president's report.