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the war, be it noted) published a book called " The judgment of pupils on subjects of tuition." This book has much to teach us. Particularly instructive are the diagrams, especially that in which history and languageteaching are placed side by side as the two subjects most liked and most disliked. Lobsien draws up a list in numerical order of popular and unpopular subjects and says, in regard to the latter: " The number of subjects disliked substantially exceeds the number of popular ones. The first three of the former category are, in the judgment of boys: Grammar, catechism, bible history and, in the judgment of girls, grammar, geometry, catechism" (pages 37 et seq.). Thus in both cases grammar, or languageteaching as it is often called, holds pride of place among unpopular subjects. Language-teaching and catechism are both among the disliked, but the former is so much more detested than the latter that Lobsien finds it worthy of special mention (p. 47). This expression of the vox populi is too clear to be disregarded.
Within this category of universally unpopular subjects there are certain special features of sufficient interest to detain us a few moments. In the first place, a clear distinction is made between " foreign languages " and " language-teaching ." Lobsien classifies subjects positively liked and on page 37 we are told that, " according to the German replies, the boys positively like only gymnastics, drawing and history; the girls, gymnastics, needlework and foreign languages." It is noteworthy that girls are fonder of foreign languages than boys. Moreover, women learn them more easily. Without entering into an exhaustive study of this interesting phenomenon, I should like to mention three main reasons. Firstly, the female speaking apparatus may remain more elastic than the male (Cf. the proverbial garrulity of women). Secondly, women have a better memory than men for words having an emotional content. (Women love flattery; they remember every compliment ever paid to them. Even the most backhanded compliment they accept as genuine, which means that they to some extent make good the lack of emotional content in the words themselves. The amorous literature of all countries, especially anti-feminist literature, furnishes evidence of this). A third factor is the feminine love of secrets. Women and girls interlard their talk with foreign phrases far more frequently than men and boys. ^This love of secrets would seem to have a sexual as well as a social basis and need not concern us here. Sufficient to state that the female sex has a special preference for foreign languages and post hoc (not necessarily propter hoc) considerable talent for acquiring them. This fact is of the greater interest when compared with another passage in Lobsien's book, which says that once again it is girls who particularly detest language-classes. On page 48 we read: " Grammar is the subject most disliked and girls have a peculiar distaste for it."
We have thought it important to draw attention to the distinction made between foreign languages and grammar, since it shows that dislike