There are persons who do not believe in popular education at all. A recent correspondent, a man of immense wealth, wrote: “Mechanics and sewing women should confine themselves to industrial education, and not aspire to the knowledge of literature and art.” Would it be possible to produce works on literature and art for the people which a man of that type could approve? An author of some pretensions, without much reputation in literary lines, tried to place a work of his own on the list of the C. L. S. C. _in lieu_ of one on the same subject already adopted. Failing to win a place for his own, he proceeded in another book savagely to criticise the preferred volume. Would it be possible for this disappointed author to approve any book on his specialty that might be placed upon our course? A certain youthful professor in an American college sneered at the idea of anybody enjoying the poetry of Homer or of Virgil unless he could read it in the original. Would it be possible for this literary fop to appreciate the books which seek to present the best thoughts of the old authors in classic English? Dear fellow-student: Feel free to offer criticisms which may be helpful to the Board of Counsel. We do not modify our policy for every criticism received. But we weigh conscientiously and carefully all that is said in favor of or against the prescribed books. From year to year our course has been modified. I stand ready at all times to accept the best books; to abandon the best we have for anything better that may be placed within our reach. And as our experience broadens, helpful criticisms multiply, and authors understand our peculiar needs, we shall approach more and more nearly to the ideals which now shine above us. Do not, I beseech you, fail to protest against false, querulous and impertinent criticisms, and against that hyper-criticism which delights in nothing so much as in pointing out faults and defects, losing sight of the great things in excessive eagerness to detect slight inaccuracies. Remember that no book is placed upon the course that does not have the personal approval of the best critics, and remember, moreover, that it will never be possible to provide a book which is above criticism. As one of our Counselors writes: “Good books have always been criticised upon some points adversely. Plato freely criticises Homer. Quintilian criticises Cicero. Cicero criticises Demosthenes. Addison criticises Milton. And in each instance no doubt real faults were pointed out. The most enlightened French critics used to pooh-pooh Shakspere. They did likewise with Dante.”