12 JANUARY 1924, Page 22

With his customary learning and a pinch of Pre- Dynastic

wit, Professor Wyld writes yet another missionary tract on behalf of the goddess Philology. The absence of any hint that he enjoys poetry somewhat lessens the force of his thundered persuasions. Under his guidance the picturesque phonetic spellings of the sixteenth and seventeenth century ladies, in fust and cuss and jine and lam, &c., besides giving us a healthier respect for the Cockney dialect, help to vindicate hundreds of suspicious rhymes. An " occasional " spelling on p. 28 might be considered " germain " to the subject ; and even a Professor of Philology cannot be forgiven a reference to Lord Rochester's Rehearsal.