24 DECEMBER 1864, Page 20

devoted to prose and the other to poetry, has gone

on ,the time- honoured principle of selecting passages from the classical French authors, with a view to giving specimens of good French. This object he has effected admirably, but we think that without sacrificing it he

might have found extracts which would have been rather more lively. Perhaps, however, lively school-books are not the best adapted to a

teacher's wants, and we willingly bow on this head to the author's great experience. He has added very concise notices of all the great French writers, those from whom he does not give extracts as well as those from whom he does.