In spite of its traditional violence we always look forward to the first month of spring. All the more do we hail it when, as in the present case, it brings with it the Easter season. The name Easter is supposed to have been derived from Oestre, the heathen deity of Spring, in whose honor the ancient Teutons held their annual festival. Since the Christian era, however, Easter has been in sole commemoration of the Resurrection. During the centuries following its inauguration many quaint customs have sprung up and passed away. In parts of Ireland there is still a belief that on Easter morning the sun dances in the sky. The use of eggs for decoration and as playthings for children at this season is of very early origin. Nowhere is this observance now so common as in the capital of our own country. By immemorial custom, on the Easter holiday, the grounds of the White House are thrown open to the sport of children, who come from far and near to roll their Easter eggs across its sloping lawns. It is a pleasant sight to see the home of the nation’s chief executive so completely in the hands of frolicking children. EVENT AND COMMENT The National University Mr. Andrew Carnegie has offered the sum of ten million dollars to the government of the United States to endow a national institution for the promotion of the higher scientific research. While the generosity of the donor is universally acknowledged, there are some who question the practical value of the proposed university. “Why,” they ask, “devote this vast sum to the special education of a select few, while thousands of our children can only with difficulty obtain the rudiments of a common education?” If the endowment in question were intended merely for the present generation, this question would be difficult to answer. In reality, however, the very form and nature of the gift show that it is dedicated not to the individual but to the race; and it is chiefly under the leadership of the scientific specialist that the race advances. It is his work rather than the influence of the common schools that has given to mankind the steam-engine, the telegraph, and the electric light. Heretofore, however, the development of men like Watt, Morse, Bell, and Edison has been wholly dependent upon chance and their own phenomenal perseverance. Who can say how many more of such men have been lost to the public service through mere want of opportunity? It is this opportunity that Mr. Carnegie’s gift would insure to coming generations. As our great military school at West Point supplies the nation with men educated for military leadership, so this institution will create and perpetuate a corps of savants, forever at the service of the whole people. One cannot but feel that with this gift Mr. Carnegie has exercised an even wiser forethought than in his many other generous benefactions. Wireless Telegraphy