New-York tribune., 1881-11-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.


HAaPEEs P0PTIAYE G9 cYcoPAhDoe 15S PADolna % period g
57d Be BENsOS j. LOSING Lib '''7'
SyO. PIP. WI, l6Oo auon+ T. is in
The scheme of this work S cAo' - Cor
tended to record in the form mos' coz tba ris
Tor of ouF country. tbe biographies W -
.,;.t,od mon an evp anatoH OF pohuc"i my
-. con roversIes. etc. and variety OF "'".i
,lirs ,,o,,, OF less intimately conLcJtcu "''
IL, ofra,rs 70 which allnsions are oileh i'"U' "
,,ooLs and NEWSPAPERS to the bewiideTmeh' sur
-, ,,-ao NJ vce-justrncted readers There is no
y. .ber single work which will give tno various '"
formation offered here by Mr.. LOSING N""'' Va -
We can frd in voauiuo1s histories, some ol u ~
biographical dictionaries some oil II III ''''iai
treatises. some Of it in the he5 OF
,-,r,,a,,ors 4 GREAT deal f it the ordi-
nary inquirer do,s hot find at I'
beooueo J., has not the necessary clews 10 gHde HIS
search Let us suppose that a reader meets Win
,.f.r,oc Ia the COLLAPSE vf tie cFedIt sys en- "' 4"
tho tro,lles caI,sed bv engaging foreign oihcei' 0
tbo revolutionary army: he wishes an e2piaha'lo"
and docs not know where to look iorlt. M '"''',
s,ionlies his want under the titles NIvou' -
op5 ..Foreirl Officers in 'he Contneh'a' Army
The amount Of out-of-the-way ml"r4Hal'o" 80,
nisbed in such articles, ara lie
90 cncrcut or once current phrases eN-
Is very handsomely printed in clear type ana hI"'-
trotod with about one thousand portraits ana oiheI
c,,ts ipclpding many that are both valuable anu
cnrfops II must he admitted, however
tba+ in ore particular Mr. Lossings WORK
~ sinrulqriv detective ana tu"'
tbe distribution of his materials ne
seems to have very little conception ol tle 'uNu'-
mental rule in alphabetical arrangements '""'
title must be entered under its most lhPoi. am VI
most easily remembered word; and ne mas place"
GREAT many Of his articles where no o.e ""u'u
think of looking for them. The deail an" ~ u"''' ~
he Soto are described under Death Tie rgid
LEGISLATION Of the early New-Eugland settlers Is
treated undcr Early and are early military
oDaratio,s in Missouri early Jesuit missions etc.
The story Of Fort Sumter is tod under EVacua-
tion Fall and Relief" but is not alluded TO
under Sumter where alone one Wouid expect 10
find IL A speech OF Lord Iiillsboruughs o' coIohal
affairs is quoted under Lord" PecuhaUueS OF
Indian character are mentioned under IIdi's'
Phipps's search for sunkcn Spanish e2!IeonS IS
registered under Treasures from the sea-
The story Of the embassy from Governor brao'!u 10
Massasolt is narrated under Barbarian Monarch
description of the first personal encounter Oh lho
floor of Con ress, illustrated with fac shniIe ~
protesoue woodcut Of the period, has actually
been entered under the word Decormn' 'he
process of removing distinctions 70 the n"VIg2t!"h
OF the James River after the evacuation ol EIch-
nond by an odd slip of the pen Nh Losing calls
the River Rchmondl is described under 4, by the
astonishing title Tea Gus Torpedo Fishing I
der Y we have an article on YearnnGs for Peace
and under w one on "WTgngug II PenusyI-
yania" Such entries are more IN the
STYLE of young lady's scrap book
than of q cyclopgdia Great Chain across the
Hudson River" Great Fire in Charleston"
"Greed cause Of Disaster" and several pages OF
articles beginning with the word First" arc fur
fber specimens of mistaken arrangement. Mf.Lo>sing
has also erred we think, by an excessive and un-
systematic subdivision of topics. single subject Is
often entered under multiplicity OF titles. Why
sbyald there be one article on "Wichcraft tSacml,'
and another on Witches of Salem"? Why should
there be seven articles in on the City OF Baiti-
more Including ope with the odd title
"Baltimore ExcitedO besides an article in NJ
on the attack upon Massachusetts troops in
that cltyR The biography of George Washington is
given in no fewer than tbirty-one articles IN ".
The natural result of this system lack of SYSTEM
is in, essant repetition and looSeness OF treatment
Precision indeed is rot one Of Mr. LOssine'S merits.
His account of the Toeration Act of Maryland may
be cited as an example Of wild inaccuracy the bar
ren and careless articles American Literature and
the Draft Riots in New-York models of the kind
OF futile dallance with topic which encyclopedias
ought to avoid and the treatment OF the subjects of
slavery and abolition is inadequate il melancholy
degree.