reputation had trembled on the brink of ruin it gave no sign. Gayly it
went on its way.

People began to comment on the paper as being "snappy" and "up to date";
they called it "breezy" and "wholesome." Now and then an appreciative
note from a distant graduate would make glad the editorial sanctum.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the magazine became more and more the
organ of speech for the community. Persons who had never ventured into
print--who, perhaps, never would have ventured--summoned up courage to
send to this more modest paper articles that were received with welcome.
Being first efforts and words that their authors had long desired to
speak they were stamped with a freshness and spontaneity that was
delightful; if at times the form was faulty it was more than compensated
for by the subject matter. Furthermore, many of the contributions were
of excellent quality.

Then there gradually came a day when the timid _March Hare_ had more
desirable material than it had room to print. A part of this was
political, for the school classes in current events had aroused in the
students a keen interest in international affairs. As a consequence good
political articles had been eagerly sought for. Other contributions were
of scientific nature and appeared from time to time in the columns
devoted to such matter. The great mass of material sent in, however, was
unclassified and found its way into the department labeled: _Town
Suggestions_; or into the pages known as: _Our Fathers and Mothers_.
Neither of these departments had originally been featured in the _March
Hare_ plan; they came as a natural outgrowth of the paper. Parents had
things which they wanted to say to one another or to their boys and
girls. There was many a problem to be threshed out, threshed out more
intimately than it could have been in a larger and more formal paper.
The questions debated never failed to interest the elder part of
Burmingham's population and frequently they appealed to the youngsters
as well. In fact, it was not long before these departments were merged
into a sort of forum where an earnest and vigorous interchange of
opinions 'twixt young and old took place.

And all the while that the sprightly _March Hare_ was thus leaping on to
success, Mr. Arthur Presby Carter sat quietly in his office and watched
the antics of this youthful upstart. He was surprised, very much
surprised; indeed he had, perhaps, never been more surprised in all his