determined to hold the first one at Athens in 1896. “Greek royalty was already enrolled among the patrons of the scheme, Greek patriotism might be relied upon for material and effective support. Such at least was the opinion of M. Bikelas, the Greek member, the greatest modern Greek man of letters, exerting by the charm of his manner, the weight of his character and the gifts of his liberal hand, such an influence on the evolution of modern Greece as no other single man has been able to deploy. The event showed the correctness of his judgment and the weight of his personal influence. The president of the International Committee was received in Athens with enthusiasm, a wealthy Greek merchant of Alexandria, M. Averoff, caused the ancient Stadium to be restored and newly lined with Pentelic marble at his personal cost. A princely gift of a million drachmæ, other lavish personal contributions, and what amounted to a subsidy from the Greek Government completed the necessary fund. A very considerable legacy to the state from the brothers Zappas, designated for the furtherance of physical culture, was through the untiring persistency of M. de Coubertin, aided by two devoted Greek friends, M. Antonopoulo and Alexander Mercati, appropriated by government consent for Olympic purposes. The enterprise was therefore brilliantly launched. “The succession of Olympic Games is well known: after Athens in 1896, Paris in 1900, St. Louis in 1904, London in 1908, Stockholm in 1912, Berlin (designated for 1916 and actually prepared but lapsed owing to war) and Antwerp in 1920. Each has been more amazing than its predecessor: in the number of nations represented, in the number and quality of competitors, in the greater perfection of preparation for each sport, in the number of sports clustered around the Olympic week of field and track events, in the social arrangements for better acquaintance among competitors and the ever-growing throng of visitors, and above all in the passionate interest of all peoples in all lands.... While track and field sports are the nucleus of the sport-plexus, they are not the whole of it. Nor is sport in the narrow sense the whole of it. All kinds of outdoor exercises and games have attached themselves to the Olympic week of track and field athletics—central and focal in modern as in ancient Olympiads—to such an extent that no national Olympic council can provide for all in the arrangements for the Olympiad to be held. Instead of an Olympic week we already have Olympic months and a very powerful movement was started some years ago to include winter sports of every kind, and expand into an Olympic year. It has become absolutely necessary, if there are to be Olympiads, that contraction should be substituted for expansion in the number of admitted sports or games represented by federations, national or international.