THE LITERARY PLEBISCITE.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—In your interesting article on " The Comparative Popu- larity of Literary Men," you assume that the readers of the Journal of Education belong, "in general, to a special class,— the class of Teachers ;" and you also imply that the 500 com- petitors for the prize were men. Now, so far as my personal knowledge enables me to judge, I should say that the readers of the journal in question belong at least as much to other classes as to that of teachers. Barristers, clergymen, and a great many ladies are among its regular readers; and, of about twenty of my own acquaintances, who, like myself, compete for the prizes offered every month, not one is a professional teacher, and almost all are girls or young married ladies.
I may add, as I was one of the supporters of Kinglake, that I placed him on the list on the strength not of " The Invasion of the Crimea," but of " Eothen," which, like you, I regard as one of the most brilliant books of the century.—I am, Sir, &c.,
EMILY DEARMAN BIRCHA.LL.
Bowden Hall, Gloucester, December 1111t.
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