The Philosophy of Modern Rumbug. (Longmans.)—A volume of easy and
useless declamation against practices more or leas foolish or blameworthy. It is scarcely worth while to notice such things, but perhaps it is as well to tell the writer that he is mistaken in thinking that oritics are universally "authors who have failed," and are compelled to.fall hack upon criticism for a livelihood. There is a class of pro- fessional critics most of whom never dream of writing a book, which is, indeed, an unprofitable, not to say ruinous, undertaking. But a very large proportion of criticism is the work of men who give it the leisure of other avocations. It would be unfair to let the writer suppose that his recipes for attracting favour from these judges are likely to be successful. It shows an almost affecting simplicity to suppose that an unusual binding or an eceentrie title will have a pro- pitiating effect. The writer of "The Book of Snobs" finishes by humorously intimating that he is himself one of the greatest of the genus. What are we to say of a gentleman who, inveighing against the humbug of classical quotations, writes the following, which we give
the reader in fac-simile :— '0 ci lidOiAtairir viec?
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