Principles of Rhetoric. By A. S. Hill. (Harper, New York
; Sampson Low, London.)—The title of this book sounds, perhaps, rather forbidding; but for all that, it is a book one may take up at a spare moment and open at random, with some interest and profit. The author's object is to teach us how to choose and use our words, how to arrange them, and how, if we have to argue, wo may host produce conviction in our hearers or readers. Of course, this can only be very imperfectly accomplished by means of precepts and directions ; and it must, as is well known, be the fruit of long con- verse with the best writers. But we will say that our author has put together some very useful and interesting hints, and ho usually gives reasons for his rules, and these strike us as generally sensible and to the point. If we want to be clear, we should read Macaulay diligently, and observe specially how cleverly he managed his pro- nouns (he would repeat the noun, rather than be obscure), the careless and unskilful use of which trips up so many writers, There are some good remarks on " fine writing," the thing of all others to be avoided, more particularly in our own day, when some newspapers and magazines are always beating about the bush, rather than call a spade a spade. We are very properly warned against the danger of fanciful analogies, a snare in which many groat men, Bacon and Ruskin among them, have been caught. There is really much useful Aud entertaining matter in this little volume.
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