The more learned the examiner, the more kind and indulgent is he to the candidates. Sainte-Claire Deville, the famous French chemist, had to be declined by the authorities at the Sorbonne as an examiner, because he used to answer his questions himself to save the candidates trouble. "How do you prepare oxygen?" he would ask. "By heating chlorate of potash, don't you?" "Yes, sir." "You place the chlorate of potash in a thin glass flask, don't you?" "Yes, sir." "Now a small quantity of manganese bi-oxide, mixed with the chlorate of potash, enables you to obtain the oxygen at a much lower temperature, does it not?" "Yes, sir." "Very good--now, another question." And so forth. * * * * * On the other hand, there are examiners who make it a rule to bully the candidates, or, worse still, to snub them. They will ask preposterous questions with the mere object of disconcerting them. "How long would it take the moon to fall to the earth?" I once heard an examiner ask a candidate to the _baccalauréat ès-sciences_. A facetious examiner once got his due from a young Parisian candidate. After asking him a few "catches," and obtaining no answers he suddenly said to him: "Do you know how much cloth would be required to cover an ass?" "I do not, sir," replied the lad, "but if you are anxious to know, I will ask your tailor." The audience laughed heartily, and the examiner, seeing that this time the laughter was not on his side, congratulated the boy on his wit, and immediately asked him a few sensible questions, which were answered respectfully, and proved that the candidate had his subjects as ready as his wit. * * * * * I was once asked to examine the French and German classes of an important English school. I wrote to "my lords and gentlemen," saying that my knowledge of German was not such as to enable me to find fault with other people's. The governors answered that it did not matter, and I was directed to proceed to the Examination. I got over the difficulty by sharing the work and the fees with an able German, who prepared the questions and corrected the copies. VIII. ENGLISH BOYS ON FRENCH COMPOSITION.--"GO AHEAD" IS NOT IN FRENCH "ALLEZ UNE TETE."--HOW BOYS SET ABOUT FRENCH COMPOSITION.--A WRITTEN PROOF OF THEIR GUILT.--HOW LARGE ADVERTISEMENTS CAN HELP THEM.--A STUMBLING-BLOCK CLEARED AWAY. You have achieved a great success when you have succeeded in getting into young boys' heads that French is not English replaced by equivalent words to be found in a dictionary. This is the way boys generally set about writing a piece of English into French.