Provocative, half deferential,
Too anxious to provoke a laugh,
Too vague where logic was essential.

So, struggling on to bridge the gaps
That seventeen from sixty sunder,
And causing at his best, perhaps,
A mild and intermittent wonder,
At least he recognised the truth
That there are other ways of earning
The sympathy of clear-eyed youth
Than by a mere parade of learning.

And yet I think his pupils may
In after years, at camp or college,
Admit that in his rambling way
He added to their stock of knowledge;
And, as they ruefully recall
His "jaws" on CLAUSEWITZ and JOMINI,
On BALZAC, HEINE and JEAN PAUL,
Think kindly of their dug-out dominie.

* * * * *

"Hide-bound red tape rules the day." SIR F. MILNER'S _Letter to
"The Times."_

It is much more effective than ordinary unreinforced variety.

* * * * *

A Happy Family.

"A milk deliverer 31 years of ago, who applied for exemption,
said his father was an Atheist, his mother was 'all the other
way about,' and his brother was a Socialist, and if he went away
there would be war at home. He considered that he should stay at
home to keep the peace."--_Western Evening Herald._

But a merciful tribunal, thinking that he was more likely to find it in
the trenches, only exempted him for a month.

* * * * *

THE NATIONAL SCAPE-GOAT ASSOCIATION.

My companion had come into the compartment hurriedly just as the train
started. He was a small, middle-aged, sandy-haired man with a straggling
tufted beard, the sort of beard that looks as if it owed its origin
rather to forgetfulness than to any settled design. The expression on
his face and, indeed, over his whole body was a deprecating one. He
reminded me of a dog who has transgressed and begs humbly for
forgiveness. He had no newspaper, and accepted the offer of one of mine
with a deference of gratitude that struck me as excessive. Soon after
that we slid into a conversation about the War and made most of the
usual remarks.

"It's wonderful," he said, "how the country maintains its financial
stability. Five millions a day, you know. It's a pretty big sum, and yet
nobody seems to feel it. Here we are, for instance, you and I,
travelling first-class."

"My next season-ticket is going to be third-class," I said. "All
business has been hi