Ephemera. By Lord Lyttelton. Second Series. (Murray.)—We are always glad
to read the productions of so accomplished a writer as Lord Lyttelton, and glad also to see them in a permanent form. The volume before us contains a number of lectures and articles which the author has produced during the last seven years. They deal for the most part with religious and educational subjects, and to criticise them would be to meddle with controversies which, on the present occasion at least, we wish to avoid. We may point out, however, to our readers as specially worthy of consideration the five educational essays, one of them dealing with education generally, another, which was first published as an appendix to the Report of the Schools Inquiry Commission, on "The Conscience Clause," and two more which are discussions on the principles and the working of the Education Act. The account of "A Visit to the Canterbury Colony" is the most readable of the papers. We assure Lord Lyttelton that though he does not credit the Spectator with under- standing a joke, we quite appreciate its humour. We shall quote a jeu d'esprit which many of our readers will enjoy, whether they have seen it before or no :— " Ric tandem invites requiescit Georgius ills Archidiaconus de Taunton, Qui ohm Georgius sine Dracone Audiebat. Amicorum, dum vivebat, deliciae: Whiggonun, Radicalium. Rationalistarum, Pbilo-Gladstonorum qnotquot entnt, Flagrum in defessum, acerrimum : In Clericorem Convoeatione Lepidissimus, facundissimus: In Baronibus Sea humanis at Hagleioeolis Sive bovinis in Cecil, aped East Brent atitumnalibus, Comminuendis, In denegando De Eccles's., de Republica, De omnibus rebus at quibusdam aliis, In piseium venatione Null secundus: Seipso judice Error= expers, Per vices reruns quantaslibet Immutatus algae immutabills."
"Sine Dracone," it should be explained, must be Englished by "with-
out the drag-on." "In Baronibus seu humanis," Sze., alludes to his attack upon Lord Lyttelton himself, and to his presence at the East Brent harvest-homes, whore he attacks "barons of beef."
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