The Creighton Chronicle . tand it, I do not mean to assert thatpeople in general do not perceive the difference between ashallow play by a clever writer and a profound one by a ; they perceive the superiority of the latter though unableto tell in what its superior excellence consists. An illustrationwill serve to make this point clear. I was once struck withthe vivid color of a flower; it was so rich that no artificial colorcould compare with it. Curious to learn the cause of this bril-liancy of hue, I examined one of the petals under a microscopeand found that the surface, instead of
The Creighton Chronicle . tand it, I do not mean to assert thatpeople in general do not perceive the difference between ashallow play by a clever writer and a profound one by a ; they perceive the superiority of the latter though unableto tell in what its superior excellence consists. An illustrationwill serve to make this point clear. I was once struck withthe vivid color of a flower; it was so rich that no artificial colorcould compare with it. Curious to learn the cause of this bril-liancy of hue, I examined one of the petals under a microscopeand found that the surface, instead of being smooth, as it ap-peared to the naked eye, was covered with innumerable papillae,in consequence of which there was presented to the sight fouror ^.ve times the amount of color contained on an equal area offlat surface. Thus the difference between a work of genius andone of cleverness is apparent to all but it needs the aid of acultured mind to determine in what this difference consists. TIMOTHY J. MAHONEY, 1857-1917. A GROUP OF DUBUQUE COLLEGE BUILDINGS—Dubuque, Iowa. THE MYSTERY OF HAMLET 481 For an ordinary audience, the play of Hamlet has nomystery. The plot unfolds itself in a series of striking scenesthat appeal to the eye as well as the ear, and so engross theattention that no time is left for speculation. It is only whenthe play is carefully studied, when the separate threads of theplot are traced out and the various characters, especially thatof the hero, are scrutinized that the mystery becomes what is remarkable, nearly every commentator invents adifferent theory to explain it. There are two elements of mystery in the character ofHamlet: the question of his sanity, and the apparent contradic-tion between his words and deeds in the matter of avenging hisfathers murder. There is no use wasting time in discussing whether Hamletwas really insane. Common sense at once assures us that no oneoutside of Bedlam would undertake to write a play with a mad-ma
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