New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-07-12
ADEFENcE OF MR.. sTERNs BOOK.

To the EditOr Of The TrtbHHc.
SIR: Last Mondays issue Of The TRIBUNE
contained letter purportlng TO crucise Sudden und
Paudereien by Mr.. stgmon l. Stern, Principal OF the
German Department OF the Laurent School OF Ian
guages The writer Of the letter states that hs crt
cisln is based upon the advance sheets of the work
in question. Now, these advance sheets are not adj
vance sheets Ia tho honest ptatIOn Of that term
but in reality, specimen sheets consisting Of twenty
four pages (or one-tenth Of the work. and these
nut together prOmiscuous manner, without any at
tempt at congruty And upon this, forsootn that
the gentleman asserts that, as to method Mr. Stern
Is simply without any, either natural or artificial There
is no plan to this book reasoned out beforehand there
- only capricOus jumping from Que thing to another
without any association or connection oi ideas a
belonged moral consciousness may consider SUCH treat
ment VI book element OF criticism. Let ~ pass 10
the gentlcman's grammatical corrections: Vol NIT
eoldenen Blatteru Up. 42) lie enormously supposos
should DO rectned by substituting Won" for init"
Tbs context demands mit" as it reads in the book,
inasnuch as the tree was fully covered with and not
full Internally OF godenen B.iltern. In Wo war
Gutenberg gebOren %. 81 the gentleman would au-
tocratcay ampltate Of the limbs OF the already
irregular verb werden," thinking doubt, that the
great masters the German language all wrong
and that werdcn should not nor Of right ought TO be
allowed to have word or wurIe in the imperfect
tense. -, -, -
children Bella Anna OTTO and Louis aud their teacher,
whom the aulhOf ttn OF GOctnel
names Wilhelm Melster jsee D. 3D. sgDatue 10 ctteT.l
Well the children naturally address him Mr. Meister.
OF in German everything but German being eXcudeO
Herr Mcster. 50 mcrOscOplcal critic heIO discovers
"A gave error the teacher should Lot DO addressed BY
Ius name, Herr MrlsCr IN finding fault with Pro-
fe.sor scrnss definitions, a.: Ey, not good (p 79l,
ne fails realize that the teacher - trying cIucIdate
llo meaning The WORD eva 10 youthful minds, sud
not To- exyOuud theological or philosophical dogma.
Bur II happens that Ia tho text tho dehutlOn Is exact
Tur GENT eman thinks DE Huter lhrer Muttor"
Is wrong. Well. Il happens that Aupa. uuaoQunned
with the German for "s.andmOther.' makes Use OF
those words when Herr Mcistcr Immediately outs her
short aud says: Die Mut.er Won meaor Mutter
Dss IsL meme GrOssmuteI, Ilaulrm Anna" IL Is
aIlv refreshing from crclsni the follow
ing alr-mIuded evidence OF the value VI the work by
Professor BOchtr OF Harvard COLLEGE: what a charm
ing book you made OF H. II giyos desire
be- beginner German. shall try the book win my
cLlIcn and know tuey VIII Ike aud DC carried aI0ug
BIZ II without feeling lis difficulties = this by Pro
lessor Seeiye, Of Amborst: q charmed
Win the implicitly and grace OF your exercises"
or author personally IL l. sufficient to say that ne
has been three years Principal Of The German Depart
mont IN Professor aurents School OF Languages, Lee
turer on German Language, and Lecturer At the Normal
school OI Amherst College Yours very respec tulIy,
Aelr-l Ork, july 10, 1879. MAX COHEN.