The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-10-04


and greatly enlarged aud Improved, By ahauncy
4. oodr'ch, Ii. d., and ooh Psrfe,, u. u =
Springfield. Mass Published by G. 4 C. Merri-
am, State ST., 1864.
The issue of this splendid volume forms an
important era in the history of American
scholarship and American letters. Containing
1910 pages, large royal quarto, it touches the
extreme limit in size OF one-yolame Diction-
airy, without assuming the cumbrous dimen-
sions of an encyclopedias. The various points
in this revised and illustrated edition upon
which special labor has been expended, and
which call for particular notice, are
/. ETyMoLoGY. This department has been
under the supervision of the learned DIR. G. A.
F. Main of Berlin, Prussia, who has devoted
five years OF constant labor to 1t, and who has
undoubtedly made in it very important contri-
buttons to English philology.
2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
by Prof. Hadley of Yale College, a most admi-
rable summary, and setting forth succinctly
and clearly the structure and growth of the
language.
3. VOCABULARY, which contains 10000
more words than any other Dictionary in the
language; ll4.OOO in all; DIR. Worcester's con-
tanning 100000. At the same time, pains have
obviously been taken to reduce the list of words
to the smallest possible compass. A large
number of salfexplaining compounds, and
words SO purely scientific and technical, or SO
nearly gone out of use, as to be rarely seen,
have been rejected from this edition.
4. SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS. The lists of
Military, Legal, Medical, Musical, and general
Scientific terms and words, revised and elabo-
rated by experts in the several departments =
such as Lowell Mason. Prof. j. D. Dana, etc.
s. PICTORIAL ILLUSTRATIONS, 5000 In
number, judiciously selected, engraved with
elegance; in part scattered through the vol
ume in connection with the words illustrated,
but all grouped in classes at the end of the vol
une. These constitute very attractive and
valuable feature of the work. * s5.i5
6. TABLES. Not only such as appear,
though in a less perfect and elaborate form, in
other similar works, but several of great val
ue which are given 10 this work alone. Among
these we have examined with great instruction
andpleasure, "The Explanatory and Pronounc-
lag Vocabulary of the Names of Noted Fieti-
tious Persons, Places, ETC." by VIM. A. Wheel
err, Esq, a graduate Of Bowdoin College, class
Of 1853 This table is entirely original in con-
ception and plan, is executed with singular a.
bi ity, and adds greatly to the value Of the
book. efa Laaaa saaf
Z. DEFINITIONS. By almost universal con.
sent, Webster's, has ever since its first publi-
c.tion, been regarded as the best defining Die
tioaary in the language. Clearness OF concep-
ito l,nicety OF discrimination. and language sim
pie. perspicuous, comprehensive, without re-
dundency or circumlocution, characterize the
definitions of the great photographer. From
test comparisons of the present with former
editions, and with other works, we are very
sure, that no other Dictionary extant can give
as full and as precise an account of all the au-
thorized Specifications Of all the Legitimate
words in the language, as Webster's Unabridg-
ed Of 1854. sslgt lalss4 p srsa.sissJ
The whole work is magnificent monument
olitterary labor and of llberality of pecuniary
outlay. Thirty different scholars have been
employed upon it at highly compensated labor,
and the equivalent of thirty years Of toll have
been expended upon this edition alone. We |
do not wonder that the Publishers point to the |
result with pride, and claim with more conf
dence than ever before, that whoever gets |
Webster will SECT the Best"