The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-24
>RoF. W. D. MAecLINTocK of J the University of Chicago has dis
 covered what he believes to be

covered what he believes to be two diseases of the college mind. These do not have any relation to the mental crochets which have caused so many of his colleagues In the Windy City to bring themselves great notoriety by their cratic views. The trouble with those gentlemen is probably a surplus of cranky ideas or else plain insanity, but the diseases men, toned by Professor McClintock arc more intangible and require a more scientific explanation. According to this scholar learned men of the day are suffer- ing from over culture. Their minds reach out after knowledge faster than 1t can be conveniently assimilated and conse- quently there reslts an unnatural mental growth which is already proving disas- trous. Such minds borrow the disalu- sions of older men when they should merely be learning. This is the first in- dictment.
 The second is that undeveloped minds tend to a Hamlet-like indecision which prevents their arriving at any definite conclusions. To illustrate, the professor cites the recent clash with Spain. When the unlearned hoards appealed to their scholars for guidance in the patriotic ad- vance on the Dons the scholars eontent- ed themselves with criticising, scolding and lamenting, when everybody knows that learned minds should always direct popular opinion. All of this is very clear no doubt and no one questions that a variety of diseases exist in the college | ind if tla TT,,tt af Professor MacClntock should remember that his audience is not composed en- tirely of college minds and he would make a better impression if he would confine himself to discussing such homely ques- tions as the advsablity of not taking bath which is a topic near to the people and one easily understood.
 The graceful sport of fencing is gradu- | ally being revived in this country, so that now all first class gymnasiums are SUD- piled with masks, foils and all necessary accroutrements for practicing this health- full exercise. Although the pleasant days | have passed when every man of honor had to be a well-trained swordsmap t. hold his head erect among his fellows and our police preclude any great danger from night attacks it is not a bad plan to learn to fence, from the fact that the ex- ercise is highly diverting, healthful and affords fine training in self-defense with other weapons than a sword. It has of ten been said that one of the greatest ad- vantages of fencing is that 1t trains the mind to think rapidly and the eye to see rapidly. Aside from this agility and grace are two prime requisites, so that for women no more ideal athletic train ing could be devised than fencing This is being recognized now, as the prevalence | of the fencing girl will show. How ever, it may be said that all women who fence do not look like the pleasing pie lures which adorn art stores, nor do they affect such graceful poses.
 Captain Daniel Brunn, who was sent out from Copenhagen to make explorations in Greenland, has returned and reports that his efforts have met with gratifying success. He considers the most interesting | of his discoveries to be the ruins of the 1 house in which Hans Egede a famous mismonary, spent so many years Of his | life Egede was the founder of the Green. land mission on that desolate coast, and | for "a huber of years he and his family lived there as teachers of the Esquimaux
 many of whom they converted to Chris tianity. It was 1S2 years ago that Egede sailed away to Greenland in hopes of find- 1 ing there some descendants of the Norse- men whom he might teach, Contrary to his expectations he found, as he believed, no one of white descent. although 1t is probable that the supposed Esqumaux l were distinctly related 10 those early set-