Dates Made Easy. By J. H. Hawley. (Relfe Brothers.)—There is,
in our opinion, nothing so unsatisfactory and unremunerative from an educational point of view, as the learning by rote strings of dates, which to some is an easy, to others an almost impossible task. The exigencies of examinations, however, require these atrocious combinations of numbers to be retained in the memory, whether the faculty required in their retention be present or not. To assist the unfortunate non-possessor of this faculty, the method expounded in this book has been devised. It differs con- siderably from others with which we are acquainted. The first consonant of each significant word in the sentence stands for a number ; and as the whole of the consonants are laid under contri- bution, there are two letters at least for each digit, which enables considerable variety to be made use of. Some of the sentences are very ingenious, and can be easily remembered. " The Bostonians throw the tea to the deep," gives the date of that event. We recommend the plan to those who need such a help. It will serve its purpose quite as well as some of the more elaborate ones given in expensive lessons.
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