&nom Booxs.—English class-books continue to form &large propor- tion of
the works of this class which come under our notice. The field is still in a great degree unoccupied, while teachers are beginning to recognise the importance of the study, not only for its own sake, but as the first and most natural, the earliest, and the most effective beginning of that education which is given by the instrumentality of language. Messrs.. Rivington publish a series of cheap and useful books under the title of English School Classics. Each volume is supposed to contain work suf- ficient for a term, the level of attainments supposed in those for whom they are intended being that of what may be called "the middle of ax school," or more technically, " the fourth form." The series is under the editorship of Mr. Francis Storr, B.A. Each volume contains with the text explanatory notes of the simpler kind and illustrations. —To his edition of Thomson's Seasons—Winter, Mr. Bright pre- fixes a general preface, which we would commend to all teachers who may feel, as they may well feel, some perplexity about teach- ing "English." Everything, at first sight, seems so easy and to want so little explanation. When the teacher comes to measure the ignorance of his class, he will be inclined to think that it wants too much. We would certainly recommend the method which Mr. Bright details. To, teach " English " as a subsidiary to Latin is an easy enough task, as least as never failing to supply materials for the teacher. To teach it inde- pendently is another matter, and this is exactly what we would recom- mend Mr. Bright's preface for. The editor does the First and Second Books of the Paradise Lost, Twenty of Bacon's Essays, Macaulay on Moore's Life of Byron, and Macaulay on Boswell's Johnson. Besides these,. we have Selections from Wordsworth, and Wordsworth's Excursion—the Wanderer, by H. W. Turner ; and Southey's Life of Nelson ; Simple Poems, by W. E. Mullins ; Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, in four parts, by J. Surtees Phillpotts ; Scott's Lady of the Lake, in three parts, by R. W. Taylor; Scott's Waverley, by H. W. Eve ; Selections from the Spectator. by Osmund Airy ; Browne's Religio Medici, by W. P. Smith; Goldsmith's Traveller and Deserted Village, by C. Sankey; and Selections from Burns's Poems, by A. M. Bell. It will be seen that there is here provided an extensive variety. The series is of a most genuinely useful kind, which we strongly recommend to teachers. One thing which will add to its practical utility is the arrangement of mach of the annotation in the form of questions.—Mr. J. W. Hales has edited Goldsmith's Traveller and Deserted Village. (Macmillan.) His notes are particularly rich in illustration, which an extent of reading in English literature quite uncommon enables him to give, and they have also a vigour and liveliness such work often wants. In the same connection, we may mention Purnell's Hermit, with Life, Notes, 4-c., by J. B. Allen. (Longmans.) Mr. Allen prefixes useful hints for analysis, hints for parsing, &c.-- The Lycidas and Epitaphiwn Damonis of Milton, by C. S. Jerram (Longmans), is an elaborate work, in which an English classic is pre- sented to us with all the care and completeness which are commonly bestowed upon Greek and Latin master-pieces. An excellent introduction, chiefly dealing with the subject of pastoral poetry, is prefixed to the text, which is accompanied throughout by copious notes, extending the 193 lines of Lycidas to more than forty pages. An appendix, "On the Etymology of Some Words in the Lycidas," follows ; and another on the passage, "Besides what the grim wolf," &c. We have also William Hogg's translation of the poem into Latin hexameters (1694), which those interested in the controversy on "Recent Latin Verse " may profitably compare with Mr. Calverley's version. There must be something wrong, by the way, about the line "Me dolor, me Bari nec opina injuria fati." Is not me a misprint for et, which both the metre and the syntax demind ?-1.n tho " Clarendon Press Series" we have Cowper, the Didactic Poems of 1782, with Selections from the Minor Pieces, A.D. 1779-1783. Vol. I., with Introduction and Notes, by H. T. Griffith. (Clarendon Press.) Mr. Griffith prefixes a vigorous defence of Cowper's character, which will be read with interest. The notes are few and brief.—Elementary Lessons in Historical English Grammar, by the Rev. R. Morris, LL.D. (Macmillan), is a work which the author hopes may be "advan- tageously used as an introduction " to the author's well-known, "Historical Outlines of English Accidence." From the same author and publisher we get, as one of the series of "Literature Primers," English Grammar. This, it will be understood, is a class-book of modern English.—We have to mention the Kensington Series of Lesson- Books, in six books. Edited by J. Werner Laurie. (Laurie.)—In " Collins's School Series," we have Lessons in Domestic Economy for Elder Girls, by Joseph Hassell ; and The Modern Elocutionist, by A. Comstock, M.D., and J. A. Main (Collins.)—A Short Geography, on the Principles of Comparison and Contrast, by John Markwell (Long- mans), aims at giving interest and connection, the greatest possible helps to memory, to geographical facts. The writer says of himself that "he has used as much diligence in keeping out mere names as other geographers use in dragging them in." Generally he seems on the right tack, and we can commend his book, as far as that can be done before the experiment of actual use. In the same connection may be mentioned Philips's Handy Atlas of the Counties of England. By John Bartholomew. (Philip and Son.)—In religious knowledge, we have a series of Manuals of Religious Instruction, edited by the Rev. John P. Norris (Rivington),—The Old Tes- tament, by E. J. Gregory ; The New Testament, by C. T. Winter ; and The Book of Common Prayer, by the editor ; each one divided into five parts, one of which is intended to occupy a year.—Lessons for the Ecclesiastical Year, by the Rev. J. B. Draper (Church of England Sunday School Institute), supplies materials for les- sons. We have also to mention The Life of Christ, by the Rev. R. B. Gardi- ner. (Longmans.) It is described on the title-page as "Selections from the Gospels, chronologically arranged, with supplementary notices from parallel passages." In fact, it is an uncontroversial harmony, and may very well be useful Among classical text-books we have The Antigone of Sophocles, one of a series of " Sophocles in Single Plays for the Use of Schools," by Professor Campbell and Evelyn Abbott. (Clarendon Press.) The notes are founded on those of 'Professor Campbell's larger edition, with such modifications as may suit them for the wants of young scholars.—From the Clarendon Press we have also Extracts from Livy. By H. Lee-Warner. Part L contains "The Caudine Disaster." It has a map, judiciously disencumbered of all but the necessary names, an introduction, and notes.—Selections from Livy, Books VIII. and IX., by E.' Calvert and R. Saward. (Rivingtons.) The map is not so good as, though of course it is more extensive than, that of the volume just mentioned. Caudium, for instance, is to be seen, but there is nothing to mark out the "Forks." We are inclined, though, it must be said, after a very partial inspection, to prefer the notes of the former. In the speech of Herennius Pontius, there is a good illustration of the use of the indicative and subjunctive re- spectively with the relative following is. He says of the third course proposed, admitting the Roman army to capitulation on terms, "Ea {sententia] est qua, neque amicos parat nequo inimicos tollit," and shortly afterwards of the Roman race, "Ea eat slum vista quiescere nesciat." It is noted in both editions ; but Mr. Lee-Warner's explanation "the identical one, which, as a matter of fact," &c., is plainer than " just the course which," the note of the other editors. The indicative is used because, there being three courses, and two having been mentioned, one only remained,—" it is of three the course which," &c.—We cannot admire the principle of " catechisms," which, for the most part, save the labour of indolent teachers, and therefore must withhold our praise from the Catechism of Roman History, edited by Elizabeth M. Sewell. (Longmans.) Nor can we commend the Outlines of Roman History, by the Rev. B. G. Johns. (Lockwood.) To use plain language, Mr. Johns does not know his subject. It is not a satisfactory account of the Agrarian laws to say "that one object of them was to drive out the Patricians from the State lands, and divide them into freeholds among the Plebeians." On the same subject, again, the term "possess," in the sentence "that no one should possess more than 500 jugera," is misleading. "Occupy" is the right equivalent of possideo. When it is a mere question of borrowing from other histories, there are extraordinary blunders. Take this account of Didius Julianus :—" Didius seems to have been chosen Emperor by the soldiers because he was a man of great wealth, which they thought he would bestow largely upon them, even if he did not bribe them to elect him. But the same men that wantonly chose him, after three years as wantonly put him to death." As a matter of fact, he did bribe them, the very sum being well known ; he did not reign three years, but somewhere about sixty days, and the Prmtorians who chose him were overpowered by the legions of Severus.—Mr. Albert Watson publishes a text, after his larger edition, of .3f. Milli Ciceronis Epistolce (Clarendon Press.) —We have also A First Latin Reader, by the Rev. T. I. Nunns (Clarendon Press), which seems systematic and to begin ab ovo. From the same source we also have a contribu- tion to a study now unhappily rare, crowded out as it is in the fierce competition of the schools, that of the Hebrew language,— A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, by S. R. Driver.—In mathematical and physical science we have Euclidian Geometry, by Francis Cuthbertson (Macmillan), an effort to improve upon Euclid more likely, we should think, to be successful than the effort to supersede him.—In the series of "Seeley's Cheap School Books " we got Euclid, edited by L. B. Seeley. (Seeleys.) The volume contains Books L-VL ; XL, 1-21; XII., 1-2. A useful feature is that the symbols permitted to be used in the Cambridge examinations, and these only, are employed. The editor adds a brief appendix of omissions in Euclid. The whole con- tains nearly two hundred pages, and this, on respectable paper, and with clear type, is a marvel of cheapness for the price of a shilling. In "Collins's School Series" we have The Elements and Practice of Algebra, by James London (Collins); and Pure Mathematics, by E. Atkins (Collins), being one of this publisher's "Advanced Science Series; and in a third, "The Elementary Science Series," Elements of Zoology, by M. Harrison.—We have also to notice Brinkley's Astro- nomy, revised, &c., by J. W. Stubbs and Francis Btiinnow, a second edition (Longmans); a third edition of an Introduction to the Science of Heat, by T. A. Orme (Groombridge); and Astronomy, by Norman Lockyer (Macmillan), one of the admirable "Science Primers."—In technical education we have Workshop Appliances, by C. P. B. Shelley (Longmans).—Here also may be mentioned Linear Drawing, by C. Christian Mast (Bean); and Vocal Music for School Use, by F. Leslie Jones (Longmans).—In the department of foreign languages we have New Guide to French Conversation, by V. de Fives (Lockwood), "a twenty-sixth edition;" La Verbs, a Complete Treatise on French Conjuga- tion by Emile Wendling (Harris, Gosport ; Simpkin and Marshall, London); Syntax, Second Reader, and Dialogues, being volumes of " M. Contanseau's middle-class French Series" (Longmans); Italian and French Dialogues, by Antonio Lanzi (Triibner); and Pictures of Nature and Travel from A. von Humboldt, with English notes by C. A. Buckheim (Norgate).
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