Charles Knight's School History of Engkend. (Bradbury and Evans.) —This
is an abridgment of Mr. Knight's popular history, executed by "a member of his family" under his superintendence. It is not merely a collection of extracts, but a re-casting of the larger work—or, to use Johnson's coarse illustration, "the cow has not had her horns and tail cut off, but-has been made to have a calf." The fault of such a work is that is apt to be dull, and this abridgment is not entirely free from that
reproach. It is, however, still capitally adapted for school use, whore no graces of style would render it acceptable in these days of novels and story-books. It is extremely accurate, so far as we can judge, and fair in its tone. And although there are not often separate chapters on the growth of the national industry or the progress of literature and the arts, these topics are never neglected. It is not a mere chronicle of the Kings of England, but a history of England from the earliest times to the year 1850.
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