PROGRESS OF PUBLICATION.

Tug New Year has opened with little of literary novelty. The moat important works which start with 1835, are two Dictionaries ; Que by Mr. CHARLES RICHARDSON, the other by Mr. JAMES KNOWLES, each possessing some distinctive features of its own, although the palm must be yi,s1ded without hesitation to the first- named work.

The arrangement of A New Dicti0/740 qf the English Lan. guage, by CHARLES RICHARDsON, is founded upon the plan which Dr. JOHNSON put forth as the proper mode of proceeding with his great undertaking, though he did not in the eXecution adhere to his own scheme : it was to exhibit—" first, the rteitural and pri- mitive signification of words, then to give the consequential, and then the metaphorical meaning; and the quotations were to be arranged according to the ages of the authors." The task which our great philologer left unfulfilled has been performed by Mr. RICHARDSON, if not with the critical acumen and wonderful dis- crimination by which JOHNSON was enabled to perceive the minutest shade of meaning in words, and to fix it exactly in hits definitions, yet with a patient labour in research and collections which JOHNSON, we suspect, never possessed, and with means at his disposal, by the resuscitation of our ancient writers, which JOHNSON certainly never had. Judging from the specimen before us, the result will be to present the world with the most complete Dictionary that ever was published, as regards the etymology and primitive meaning of words, the successive growth of their secondary significations, the gradual advance and changes of the language, the vast body of quotations from all our authors,

whether ancient or modern, and in consequence, the skeleton history of the English language, which it indirectly presents : it will, in short, be a work indispensable to every one who is curious in his mother tongue, and without which no library can be con- sidered complete.

Though we have limited our praise to the specimen before us, this was scarcely needed. The Dictionary has already appeared

as the Lexicon in the Encyclopwdia Met ropolitana, where it excited considerable attention and drew forth much praise. But in its in- dependent form it will be increased by upwards of a third, be sub- ject to a careful revision, be enriched by the author's additional knowledge, and simplifiel by his increas:d experience; thus cornbining, as it were, the freshness of a novelty with the mechanical:

advantages attendant upon a new edition. •

Mr. KNOWLES'S Critical Fac-simile, Pronouncing, and Expla- natory Dictionary of the English Language, is an endeavour to simplify WALKERS and SHERIDAN'S mode of marking the pro- nunciation of words, and to correct the errors of each system. The first object—simplicity—he has attained ; and though at first his method of spelling seems strange, a little attentive practice will in most cases be found to confirm his mode. Pronunciation at once exact, full, and finished, can never be learned from books. Their use is not so much to teach, as to guide,--amongst several ways of pronouncing a word, to point out which should be chosen, as- sumino.° that time inquirer can utter it in each different way. We have stated what Mr. KNOWLES thinks the leading feature of his book : another is, that his Dictionary contains upwards of seventy-seven thousand words, being some twenty thousand more than CH ALMERs'S TOD'S JOHNSON s, and double the number of WALKER'S. It is in this point of view, in our opinion, that its use will consist. So far as we can judge from one number, these additions will comprise proper names and scientific terms derived from learned languages, both of which, since WALKER published, have been infused into our language in so large an extent. Now these are precisely the words on which a guide is wanted, and Mr. KNOWLES is at present the only one to be had.

One of the novelties of' the season is Mr. COLBURN'S Improved Edition of the Modern Novelist; a publication which is to consist of revised and illustrated editions of some of the best works of fiction, in a handsome shape, and at a moderate price. The ex- ternal appearance of the first number is attractive; the printing and paper beautiful, and the execution of the engravings superior. The subject chosen to begin with is Pelham; one of the most successful works of the author, and in point of character the most unique and distinctly marked. The mixture of the dandy and the philosopher, the combination of' the Benthamite and the man of a coterie, are new, yet true ; and the lighter passages exhibit some of the most sparkling and successful satire of EDWARD BUL- WER. Of course these observations apply to the gay ; of the grave we think as we have always thought.

Besides the novel itself, we are presented with an introductory Preface, which gives an account of the circumstances that turned Mr. Bug.wEa's mind to authorship, as well as of his first attempts, and his unsucessful anonymous negotiation with a " celebrated publisher." Mortimer, or Memoirs of a Gentleman, the original tale on which Pelham was founded, follows the Preface ; and is certainly one of the most singular curiosities of letters. We do not speak of its merit, but of the psyrfect germ which it exhibits of all this writer's qualities. The opening passages are those of Pelham, almost word for word; there is the accidentally foiled elopement of his mother; and, though not so full or so skilfully applied, the sarcasms on the system of education pursued at our public schoels and colleges. In short, in this story of some five- and-thirty pages, we have in the lighter parts glimpses of his sparkle, his brilliancy, his satire, and even of his eloquence; in the serious, we see his exaggeration, his substitution of incidents for events, of devils for villains, and of startling and improbable charges for the truth and consistent development of a well-studied and natural course of action. A striking likeness cf the author forms a fitting frontispiece. The want of portraits was always felt in the " Standard Novels." The feeble fancy and imperfect skill of most modern artists render their illustrations at least insipid. Of the character of the other embellishments of' the Modern Novelist, we will not judge from the unfortunate vignette design—have already praised the mere engraving.

Remarks on Military Flogging, is a short, sensible, but dear tract, upon this important matter. The author appears to be practically acquainted with the subject, and is consequently sober in his statements and views; and though advocating " the entire abolition" of flogging, freely admits the necessity of severe punish- ment, and the general bad composition of the Army, or at least the number of bad characters to be found in every regiment. As a substitute for the lash, he recommends solitary confinement and hard labour ; to lessen the temptations to intemperance consequent upon idleness, he would establish (will the Duke's Horse Guards?) a library and reading-room in every barracks, and make some new regulations as to the distribution of provisions ; to raise the morale of the Army, he would throw open promotion to the ranks. The most difficult point is untouched by this writer,—the means of pre- serving discipline when opposed to an enemy in the field, by the dread of a punishment both summary and severe.

Mr. P. PETIT has sent us his Grammar of the French Language ; and his Practical Exercises, "calculated, by their adaptation to the author's Grammar, to acquaint the French Student with the Idiom, Genius, and Phraseology of that Language." The writer's opinion coincides with that we have expressed in the remarks on Interpaged Translations; and his books are composed upon the principle that a satisfactory knowledge of a language can only be acquired by study. The Grammar is full and diffuse, but clear ; and though the compendious method " by which the English student may become acquainted with several thousand French words within a few moments," is a little exaggerated, the three rules are very curious and very useful. The Practical Exercises are complete and progressive ; but when we look at their number, and at the numerous rules of the Grammar, we do not wonder at idle adults giving ear to promises of royal roads to learning.

The Annual Biography and Obituary, for the past year, con- tains eight-and-twenty memoirs, besides the usual brief notices of persons who had any kind of claim upon the public attention. The reading of the " Lives " is easy, and, from the well-known character of the individuals, possesses a kind of personal interest ; and the shorter " Deaths" have great variety. Of the value of this description of compilations and biographies, we have formerly spoken.

The Fourth Volume of the History of England (in L AnnNER's Cycloprdia) is "continued from Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH." It commences with the Spanish preparations for the invasion, and ends with the death of JAMES the First. There is much speciti- cality, and apparently a good deal of research, in this anonymous successor of Sir JAMES. His style is neat, and his narrative dis- tinct, without being very striking ; but he has scarcely attained the mental height necessary for the historian.

The Book of the Reformed Parliament, of which the second edition lies before us, furnishes the most complete record that we have yet seen of the proceedings of the two last sessions, as they appear in the votes of the Members. The plan is something- similar to that we adopted in the Spectator; but instead of giving the votes on four or five divisions only, as they appeared from time to time in this journal, we have the votes of Members on fifty-eight divisions in each session, arranged in parallel lines. The votes of the Peers on twelve important questions are also given, with the protests entered on the journals. This little book will be found a very seasonable aid in the necessary catechizing of Members on the hustings. Many will be found to have voted the wrong way ; but the number of absentees—of Representatives who have systematically neglected their duty—is very much greater.

The Sixth Number of Social Evils and their Remedy, contains the best of the Reverend C. B. TAYLER'S tales we have yet read. The title is " Live and Let Live, or the Manchester Weavers ;" the subject a strike, or rather a succession of strikes; the chief characters, a selfish Unionist leader, who neglects his family for the paper and the pot-house—a weaver who is a religious man and a teacher at a Sunday school—and his friend a Deist, an influen- tial man in strikes, but rational, and who is finally converted by Abel Cooper. In the introductory Address, there is a little sinking of tone with regard to political economy, if compared with the author's former denunciations ; and in the story itself he has consented to borrow some facts from Mr. BABBAGE, illustra- tive of the worldly evil of strikes.

The Christian Teacher is a new Magazine, addressed to the religious public. The more theological papers we shall leave to

the "serious" reader ; but there is an interesting article on the Corn-law Poet, containing some personal anecdotes of the man, and a good deal of information on his habits, especially his early peculiarities, and supposed dunce-like character—which may be

recommended to all, The Parents' Cabinet of Amusement and Instruction, which has arrived at its Twenty-Eighth Number, though we believe we- have now seen it for the first time, is a little work intended, ap- parently, to present the most striking facts of any subject in a popular form to children. The present brochure contains "Pom- peii" and " Mosquitoes and Gnats of South America ;" the former a dialogue possessing an historical, the latter a natural in- terest; and we prefer the latter, though both are informing and well done.

Among the other publications received, we observe Mr. MER- RICK'S Translation of ALBRECHTSBERGER'S Methods of Harmony, Figured Base, and Composition ; and the Tables qf the Revenue, Population, Commerce, 4.c. of the United Kingdom and its De- pendencies, from 1820 to 1833, both inclusive. It is called on the titlepage Part III.; but we think from the glance we have given,. it is not the Third Part, but embraces three parts. We can no more for present.