An English Grammar. By Professor Maetzner. (Murray.)—This is a stupendously
elaborate work, which only the patience of a German professor could have brought to completion. It is an exhaustive treatise, from every conceivable point of view, on the grammar of our language. We cannot but appreciate it as a high national compliment ; at the same time, we must confess to some astonishment that an English grammar should be carried to a far greater length than any Greek grammar with which we are acquainted. One would suppose that our tongue was not so complex and intricate as to require for its discussion three closely-printed octavo volumes, averaging each 500 pages. The work is translated by Mr. Clair James Greco, a Follow of the Philologi- cal Society, who must be himself a man of singular enthusiasm in linguistic studies. He tells us in his preface that Professor Maetzner's work is something quite unique, embracing as it does a thoroughly philosophical account of the history of the English language. It is in- teresting to know that the learned professor was the son of a house- painter, and has risen from this humble position, after holding various educational appointments, to be, at last, the head master of a college at Berlin for the higher training of girls.
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