whatsoever was praised in the fool's presence he had the same retort for everything. Sometimes he would add reproachfully: "And do you still believe in authorities?"

"Spiteful! Malignant!" his friends began to say of the fool. "But what a brain!" "And what a tongue!" others would add. "Oh, yes, he has the talent.”

It ended in the editor of a journal's proposing to the fool that he should undertake their reviewing column. And the fool fell to criticizing everything and everyone, without in the least changing his manner, or his exclamations.

Now he who once disclaimed against authorities is himself an authority, and the young men venerate him, and fear him.

And what else can they do? One ought not, as a general rule, to venerate anyone; but in this case, if one didn't venerate him, one would find oneself quite behind the times.

Fools have a good time among cowards.

Once upon a time an angel flew over the earth and passed above a swampy forest. Where he was going or what he was seeking one cannot say, for the ways of angels are beyond man's understanding.

Now in the swamp lived a nixieman, a sort of strange water monster. He was hairless and naked with a skin like a frog's, and great staring eyes—an uncouth being. He lived in the water under the roots of great trees, where he fed upon the creeping things of the forest and made a muddy bed among the water-weeds. At night he would swim down deep into the water of the lake among the lily-pads. Here he would listen to the frogs

and try to imitate them. He may have been too dull to know happiness, but he was at least one of God's creatures.

But now the angel saw and pitied him. He came down into the depth of the forest and picked up the nixie. He rose higher and higher and left the forest. Then the nixie wondered to see how broad and fair the earth was -much greater and better than his home in the morasses. Finally they left the stars below them and went even as far as the gates of heaven. But the angel said to himself, "I have done enough for this foul creature!" So he let the nixie fall, and he fell down into the dismal forest, where he lay crushed and groaning.

The nixie had seen the gates of the heavenly city, and he could think of nothing else. So he dragged his broken body away from the water to the uplands. Here above him at night he could see the stars shining, and beyond he knew was the city. He crawled steadily upward. The sun was hot for a water creature. His body became dry and stiff and turned black. As he climbed heights nearer the sky, his way became brighter and harder. At last he could go no further.

Again the angel flew by and saw him. "He has seen the gates of heaven and is trying to climb to them!" thought the angel. So he picked him up and flew with him until they came again to the gates of heaven; then the nixieman forgot all he had suffered. But the angel said to himself, "This time he must be satisfied!" So he left the nixie and entered the city.

Is it not odd that such a monster should have such ambition? Perhaps you are wearied with the tale, for with you everything is fine and pleasant, and you are as far removed from the nixie as the angels are. Yet it might be interesting to you to learn how this strange

being with eyes made for darkness and a body made for living in filth was so foolish as to dream of entering heaven.

A LIST OF USEFUL BOOKS FOR STUDENTS OF THE VOICE AND ITS USE IN SPEECH

This list is not exhaustive nor exclusive. Books on the subject are legion and could not all be named. Those named are reliable and accurate. Students who use them should distinguish between English and American authors and usage. English speech and American speech are quite different, and statements that are right about one may be not right about the other.

The Voice-W. A. Aikin. Longmans, Green & Co.

The Natural Method of Voice Production-F. G. Muckey. Scribners.

The Organs of Speech-G. H. von Meyer. Appleton & Co.

The Elements of Experimental Phonetics-E. W. Scripture. Scribners.

An Introduction to Phonetics-Laura Soames. The Macmillan Co.

The Sounds of English-Henry Sweet. Oxford University Press.

The Sounds of Spoken English-Walter Rippman. Dutton & Co.

Lisping and Stammering-E. W. Scripture. Scribners. The N. E. A. Alphabet with a Review of the Whipple Experiments-Raymond Weeks and others. The New

Era Co.

The Standard of Pronunciation in English-T. R. Lounsbury. Harpers.

The Voice and Spiritual Education-Hiram Corson. The Macmillan Co.

The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue-H. C. Wyld. Murray, London.

The Growth and Structure of the English LanguageO. Jesperson.

A Modern English Grammar-O. Jesperson.

The two books by Jesperson may be obtained of G. C. Stechert & Co., New York.