pelled to say, a strange contrast to his accidental companions. The general editor of the Primers of history and literature is Mr. John Richard Green, the historian; and how Mr. Green, with his well-known judgment, tact, and taste, could, otherwise than on sheer faith, have accepted Professor Nichol as a competent guide in the department of English Composition, is simply incomprehensible.

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Literary composition is putting words together, in order to convey our thoughts to others." Professor Nichol preludes thus; and little can costermongers, muffin-men, and newspaper-boys be conscious of what they are incidentally doing, as, while hawking their wares, they fill the streets with clamour. The Professor's beginning is not one of promise. How far his sequel is in keeping with it will be seen before we shall have done.

"In making usage the absolute or sole standard of accuracy and taste, there is some confusion between cause and consequence. I am likely to act rightly, if I follow the example of good men ; but it is not their example which makes my action right. I am pretty sure to compose correctly, if I follow approved models. But why are they [these] approved? An author may be famous for political or moral influence, or even for the

strength of his imagination, and yet be far from a model of style. If he be a model, it is because he has, in his writings, conformed to the laws of grammar and taste. The rules you find in grammars were not made by the grammarians, whose province it is to state and explain, nor by the writers of books, whose province [duty] it is to obey them, but by the genius of the language.” P. 16. That morality, as regards its sanction, depends on convention, the author would not, we surmise, maintain; and the point is one which we are not going to discuss. That linguistic usage, however, depends on convention, is indisputable. We are referred, for its warrant, to "the genius of the language." But this most inconstant thing, unless it be incessantly refashioned by a succession of divine revelations, must be the work of man. In brief, we differ from the author, in not having recourse, as he has, to the supernatural, or else to the unintelligible, in order to find the ultimate justification of usage in speech. If he had not ventured beyond his depth, he would have forborne to talk, as he does, about some confusion between cause and consequence." But a truce to generalities. Before proceeding to remark on our would-be instructor's precepts, we shall make some quo

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tations, to show the sort of English which, as coming from his own pen, we suppose he must hold to be exemplary.

وو

"Observe, that 'I esteem you more than they' or more than them' is equally correct in grammar." P. 23. If this be right, we may say: "The Thames or the Severn is equally a river." Equality is predicable of things contemplated, not alternatively, but copulatively.

“Other wrong uses of pronouns and particles fall to be considered under the head of Ambiguity." P. 33. The English translation of the invernacular phrase italicized is "fall under consideration."

"Warnings like the following may be indefinitely multiplied from the works even of justly celebrated authors." P. 40. The "warnings" consist of a string of sentences exemplifying verbal blunders; and the collection of specimens is aptly swelled by its introduction.

"We should not be left to grope for the meaning among a maze of words." P. 44. As well might we say: "Among my soup I found only one oyster."

"Note, that little is gained by the substitution

...

1 Likewise, at p. 111: "A long or a short syllable . . equally have the acute accent." See also pp. 18 and 28, post.

may

of 'we' for 'I.'

Construct the sentence, if possible, so as to avoid either [both]." P. 53.

"The obscurity of the condensed style is generally due to an abuse of ellipses." P. 55. "Due," as used here, and again at p. 117, is not the best of modern English.

"We should be as simple, in our choice of words, as we can be, without rejecting any of the conspicuous advantages which, by the very fact of its being, in its vocabulary, a composite language, the use of English affords." P. 74. According to this, "the use of English" is "a composite language."

"If you had said 'flapping,' we would have laughed." P. 76. The English of England here requires "should.”

"Similes should, therefore, neither be [be neither] trite nor fantastical." P. 77.

"Those who write against time are persistently verbose." P. 94. An ignorant substitute for "uniformly."

"Use no unnecessary adjectives: rather employ nouns that are self-sufficient." P. 94. Usage has not given "self-sufficient" the signification of "self-sufficing," or any but that of "conceited" or the like.

"The luggage of particles is an impediment to

strong speech, and a jar in the harmony of style."

"Especially shun the frequent repetition off conjunctions and of pronouns. The shortness of the Latin 'veni, vidi, vici' is, in this respect seldom attainable," &c. P. 95. The author in ! tends something quite other than what he says which is, that "the shortness of the Latin, in: respect of frequent repetition of conjunctions and ! pronouns, is seldom attainable in English."

"But, when each particular is so emphasized," &c. P. 96. As the particulars referred to, more than two, are unspecified, the proper word, ir prose, is "every." Landor, speaking for Horne Tooke, notes this punctuality of good English.

5

1 We have, in like manner, at p. 98: "Will you ride to tow to-morrow?' might be written, in Greek or Latin, in five different ways. But, even in English, there is, in this respect, conside able latitude." In what "respect"? Vague is, again, the use <f "in this respect," at p. 59.

2 Contrast: "The merchant died leaving six young sons an daughters, and bequeathed £10,000 to each child."

3 "Each" is misused at p. 116, also.

4 Works and Life, Vol. iv., p. 184.

5 Lord Macaulay is notably free from the error adverted t Nevertheless, he writes, in one place: Only eight thousan copies were printed, much less than one to each parish in th kingdom." History, Chap. xxi. The parishes, a multitude, ar not spoken of in the previous context; and hence "every parish' is demanded. Further, "much less," relative to "copies," is no