The Press.
London, England, 1854-11-25 00:00:00

Ballad of the Battle of Alma. London : Effingham

Wilson.
AN anonymous poetical effort, written in plain ballad
style, and framed upon the reports of " Our own
Correspondents." It gives evidence of poetic feeling
and descriptive power, which, perhaps, future subjects
may develop. '

William Bogartles Own Joe Miller. London: Ward
and Lock.
A TOLERABLE collection of jokes of this century,
though most of the good ones are too well known to
need republication. It is to the credit of the editor
that the fun is quite free from vice or brutality, and
that the jokes will bear repetition in any company.

NOVEMBER 25, 1854.

THE RIVAL DIRECTORIES.•
Tin angry rivalry between these publications makes
it an invidious task to notice them together. They
pretend to occupy exactly the same ground. Cer-
tainly they are both London Directories, but com-
parison between them would be as unjust as between
any two kinds of a commodity at widely different
prices—calico at 4d. and 7d. a yard, for example, or
tea at 2s. (Id. and 4s. Bd. a pound. The one article is
cheaper, the other is better. Watkins's Directory is
offered at a pound—Kelly's at thirty, or to non-sub-
scribers thirty six, shillings. There appears to us
just as much of difference in quality between them
as might he expected from the difference in price.
Kelly's Directory contains the number of 152,410
distinct names or firms. Watkins gives 142,0tX) such
names. Here there is a considerable difference in itself.
The pages of Kelly extend to 2,020, those of Watkins
to 2,480, and much of the print of the former is
smaller than that of its rival. As to the binding—
an important point in so bulky a volume—any one
can see at a glance the superiority of the higher-
priced book. Mr. Watkins deserves great credit for
his highly-ingenious invention of an external index ;
but, without infringing on that patent, Kelly's Direc-
tory is aiso supplied with an index not less conve-
nient, we think, though undoubtedly less expensive
to produce.
As to the accuracy of these publications, the term
must, in the collection of such an immense mass of
details, be merely comparative. From the changes
which are daily taking place among the residents of
London, no Directory can possibly do more than
exhibit an approach to accuracy. The deaths alone,
taken at 1,20(1 per week, must evidently be a source
of continual change, and the alterations by removal
must perhaps be more numerous than through death.
It' it were possible, therefore, to produce a perlectly
accurate Directory to-day, it would be very inaccu-
rate to-morrow. But such an enormous volume must
be some time in passing through the press; and for
every day of that time changes are progressing. By
great vigilance it is possible to ensure accuracy on
important details near the date l.f publication, but
such details, though they show commendable indus-
try, cannot be taken as a sample of the whole bulk of
the work. From the changes in constant progress,
then, a considerable deduction must be made from
the accuracy otherwise to be expected in any volume
so bulky as these.
Further, there must of necessity be many mistakes
in names and addresses from the great labour inci-
dent to the compilation of such a mass of them. A
private person may receive a dozen letters in a day,
and no two of them addressed exactly alike, though
they all reach him in safety. A parade of trivial
errors, therefore, should count for nothing, as they
are incident to the very nature of the book. On
this point, also, we must be content with an approach
to accuracy.
But, making allowance for such unavoidable imper-
fections, we must express our opinion that Kelly's
Directory conies as near to ac' uracy as the most
exacting could expect, and much nearer than
persons who are at all acquainted with the difficulties
of such an undertaking would be inclined to antici-
pate. The writer states this from a pretty extensive
acquaintance with the metropolis, and a pretty close
examination of the Directory in its several parts.
The information is, on the whole, not only most
correctly given, but most conveniently arranged.
The Directory is really a most complete analysis of
the social and industrial life of London as exhibited
outwardly in its offices, residences, trades, and pro-
fessions.

And this London is really a world in itself. By
the very ingenious map prefixed to Kelly's Directory
we see in an instant that the plan—and London
may be said to branch out on every side much
farther—extonds eight miles from east to west, and
four and a half from north to south. This gives an
area of thirty-six square miles, or 21,000 square
acres, densely covered, for the most part, with bricks
and mortar. The idea of indexing these apparently
innumerable buildings, and of supplying not only
the names of the householders, but of classifying
them in every manner convenient for reference,
would seem ut first sight as difficult a task as to
number sands on the seashore, and, indeed, it is
only by many years of application that the task has
been done so well as we see it at present performed.
Kelly's Directory has been fifty-six years in exist-
ence ; each year has added something to its com-
pleteness, and the present publication, we are bound
to say, exhibits a decided improvement on all its
predecessors. It is very questionable whether such
a publication can be approached, much less distanced,
at a start, or even in a few years. Whether its
present excellence may not have been accelerated by
competition, we do not stay to inquire. We speak of
the volume as it is—as a great boon to the mercantile
community of this vast city, and as most creditable

• Post-office London Director y,18:15. Loudon: Kelly and Co.
Watkins's Commercial and General London Directory and Court
Guide for 105. London : Longmana.