CURRENT LITERATURE.
Words Spelled in Two or More Ways by Different Authors, with an Attempt to Settle their Orthography. By Robert Sullivan, LL.D. (Dublin : M. and J. Sullivan.)—This little book ought to lie on the table of all who write, and whose minds occasionally feel misgivings as to the cor- rectness of some test of spelling. Are they to spell "despatches" with an i or an e? Is there to be a final e to some words which look bare with- out it and wrong with it, and is the letter z still a member of the Eng- lish community? All such questions are answered by Mr. Sullivan • with much acuteness. He corrects a good many common mistakes, and assigns reasons for some popular prejudices. We do not know, indeed, what the Saturday Review will say to his remark that " apophthegm " is more correct, but "apothegm" is generally employed. We are afraid he will not convert the Times to the right spelling of diocese, holiday, che- mistry, develop. We differ from him as to the pronunciation of the word "bass," which he says should either be written " base " or pronounced according to its spelling. This is surely trenching on the province of the great benefactor of the race of beer-drinkers, and comparing the Mem- ber for Derby to a singer at the opera. Again, it is surely expedient to write "banns of marriage" according to the present usage, in order to distinguish the word from "ban," a curse. Perhaps, however, we are pre- udiced in favour of the double n by observing that the Times spells "bans" with one, and the Times is so certain to be wrong, and so obstinate in wrong-doing, that the fact of its adopting one mode of spelling is generally conclusive of evidence that the other is right.
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