That "Venus and Adonis" is an essay, written by Darwin on his theory of evolution, was one of the enlightening bits of information revealed in a recent Intelligence test given to members of sections in English A. The results of the test show a wide range of opinions in the Freshman class, together with the great American tendency to take a chance. Unique ideas were produced in almost every case where a difficult question was asked.
The name of such a man as Hilaire Belloe, for instance, was the subject of much conflict of opinion. He was characterized impartially as an American lawyer, an Irish novelist, an American poetess, and a French pugilist. Even such a literary figure as Henrik Ibsen had his "Hedda Gabler" described as an insect.
The matter of names was apparently the Freshmen's greatest stumbling block. One of these, George W. Cable the author, was among the most confusing. One man, whose paper otherwise was particularly good, said that Mr. Cable was an opponent of Washington during the Revolution, who, under the name of Conway, attempted to stop him from crossing the Delaware.
In the variety of answers that were obtained, the test compares very favorably with one of a similar nature which was recently given at Boston University. The word "demagogue" was there defined as "an inevitable circumstance", "a form of government controlled by evil circumstance," "a god worshipped by African tribes," and "the nickname of the Republican party." The population of France was cautiously estimated by some to be about 18,000 while other more generous individuals put the figure at 1,000,000,000 people.