Among the new volumes of the " Home University Library
" (Williams and Norpte, ls. net each), which have just been published, is one by Mr. Charles Tower upon Germany of To- Day. This is not so much a criticism of the spirit of modern Germany as a careful account of her constitution, her admini- stn. ti m, her commerce, and her arts. It will give to its readers a sound basis of fact which they will find most useful
in endeavouring to appreciate more imaginative works upon the same subject.—Another volume is Professor W. T.
Brewster's The Writing of English. He divides his material into two main parts, the first of which deals with "composi-
tion," or the arrangement of material, and the second with "style," or the combination of words into sentences. Con- sidering the pitfalls into which writers on this question arc liable to fall, we are ready to grant that Professor Brewster's success is considerable, though to much of what he says we should be sorry to subscribe. For instance, he sums up his remarks upon style as follows :—
" The fundamental rule of writing is, then, to 'write with your eye on the object.' And the second is not at variance with it : Be as exact, use as interesting expressions as your subject and your audience will allow you to, and write as smoothly as you can ; but do not cultivate style, or daily with a style."
We are moved to ask where, in that case, do Sir Thomas Browne and Mr. Henry James come in? We must add an expression of our gratitude to Professor Brewster for giving us such a number of interesting and amusing quotations. Amongst them is a truly appalling fifteen-line sentence by Walter Pater, and this delightful comment of Mark Twain's, " Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is
the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of the Atlantic with his verb in his mouth."—We can only find space to mention Plant Life, by Professor J. B.
Farmer, and Professor Bury's somewhat provocative History of Freedom of Thought.
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