The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-31
LITERATURE.


@,HE CENTURY DICTIONARY = Fifth
GEgg volume. New York: The Century
.YaSA CompanyJ The fifth volume of this
great. carefully prepared and most
instructive work has been issued. and it is
announced that the sixth and last volume
will be ready in autumn. This volume,
prepared with the same studious care that
has characterized the preceding ones,
brings the work down to "Stro-," and the
words defined now number about 1S5, 900.
The bulk of the volume is devoted to the
letter rs, which, rs far as Stroll, occu-
pies Tic pages, with about 1850 words.
The entire letter will I'LL 500 pages, occupy
Ing more space than any other letter of the
alphabet in this dictionary. The number
OF words commencing with this letter is the
more surprising when it is considered that
no effort has been made to swell the total,
but, on the contrary, careful selection has
constantly been exercised 1t would have
been easy by the admission of self-explain-
ing derivatives, such as the elder dictionaries
freely include, and of new words" from
unauthOritatiye (unscientific and unliteraTy)
sources, to have increased the list by many
thousands. Few persons are aware to what
extent the coinage of words (born only to
die by irresponsible persons is carried. The
Century Dictionary presents substantially
all words possessing any degree OF actual or
possible vitality that could be discovered in
the literature of language.
In the above enumeration tranSitive and
intransitive uses of the same verb, and SUBJ
stantatlve and adjective uses of the same
word, are counted but once being entered
under one head in the dictionary instead of
twice as i'll the older dictionaries (Where
they are entered separately as different
"wOrds'). If the old method of enumera-
tion had been adopted the count given would
have been greatly exceeded.
The fifth volume is more distinctively lit
erary in character than those that preceded
1t. owing to the greater proportion of lit
erary words in K and s. 1t contains, how
ever, many important scientific terms, as
spectrum, spectroscope, Saturn, etc., and a
glance at the pages will show many unusu-
ally interesting definitions, as under ship,
rife, shoe, relation, relief, run, rack, safe,
star, stean-engine, stand. etc, with hundreds
OF exquisite engravings of art-objectS.
The Century Dictionary" has been most
critically examined by the best scholars and
professional men, and it is remarkable TO
note the unanimity of commentator the
work has received. 1t is not only diction-
airy OF the English language, but it is a com
plete and valuable cyclOpedia, treating of
matters that are known and of matters that
are but little known. This work is bound
TO be recognized as the standard. The die
tlonary is sold only by subscription. The
pany.
THE LIFE OF ST. ALoYsIUs GoNzAGA-
Edited by Rev. j. f. Y. OCOnnor. S. j.
Cloth, ZIG pp., 81. This is a life of the
saint that has, in view of the approaching
tercentenary of his birthday in heaven
which is to be observed by the Catholic
Church next month the world 0veT-been
prepared by the students of the rhetoric
class of go Of st. Xavier College of New
York. 1t Is very interesting account of
the life of this young saint. whose existence
was short, but who in his short life set such
beautiful examples and whose name and
noble deeds have spread to the remotest
limits of the earth The work, which is not
translation of any previous one published,
but made up from material taken from the
best sources, is dedicated to the young
men and young women OF America as a
short remembrance "of that dear friend of
God, the pure, the beautiful, the holy St.
Aloysius, who, by his beautiful life and the
fragrance Of his virtues, taught US that we
too, with the help of God, who loves US, can
keep from sin, and even amid the whirl Of
evil around us can live holy lives and win
the blessed crown of eternal Joy which God
promises to those who love Him." 1t is a
book full OF good teachings. Offered by a.
Waldteufel.
ERIC BRIGHTEYEs-By II. Rider Hag-
gard. New York: The United States
Book Company. 321 pp., cloth and paper
edltl0nS.) This Is a romance founded on
the lcelandic sagas, the heroic or mythic
traditions handed down among the Morse
men and kindred people. From the very
peculiar production of the Morse sagaman
the author has evolved a very interesting
suited to the readers of the present
time, and he awakens an interest in the
lives OF the old-time Norsemen, preseE ting
exquisitely drawn pictures of life, simple
and heroic. The principal characters in
the romance are Eric Brighteyes, who lived
IN the South before Thangbrand preached
the White Christ in Iceland. Eric was
noted for strength, beauty and daring, but
he was not the first in good luck and
Gudruda the fair aud Swanhild the father
less, who lived not far from where the
Westman Islands stand above the sea, two
women, who were half sisters and the fair
est in the land, but who had nothing in
except their blood and hate: and it
is of these that Haggard has a tale to tell.
The book is offered by Payot, Upham & Co.
SESAME AND LILIES" by John Ruskin,
LID. brentwood edition. New York:
Charles Il. Merrill & Co. Cloth, $50 pp.,
ST 50) This is the seventh volume Of the
authorized Brentwood edition of the works
OF John Ruskin with separate introduce
ton by Professor Charles Eliot Norton, and
is printed from type and on paper selected
by the author just before his recent illness.
This volume is made 10 of two lectures by
Ruskin. The one is 'Of Kings Treasures"
which is lecture on what treasures are
hidden in books, and the second is "Of
Queens Gardens, in which RuSkiD deals
with women, their dignity, their education
and their power. These lectures are very
interesting and show the great power of
Ruskin, but as the editor says: 1t should
be remembered that it was written twenty
five years ago or more, and that in the
course of these years the changes in social
and intellectual conditions have been such
as to alter many points Of view, without,
however affecting the general scope of
vision"
THE BELFoRD NOVEL SERIES. New
York: The Bedford Company The latest
addition to the Bedford series of novels in
cludes "Mont-Oriol, translated from the
French of Guy Maupassant, translated by
Craig, with numerous illustrations by E. II.
Bell; in Spite of Himself" by Dubut de
Laforest, translated by Frank Howard
Howe; "Germinie LacerteuX." from the
French of Edmond and Jules de GOncourt;
Nile. Renee Mauperin," realistic novel
from the French of Edmond and Jules de
Goncourt; Widowed Wife, Welded Maid"
tran slated from the French of James Schon-
berg by Ferret, and MARY Magdalen," by
Edgar Status. These books form quite an
addition to the series that this firm has laid
before the reading public and will be well
coined by many who are fond of realistic
novels of the sensational class. Those from
the French are particularly realistic. Of
fered at the various bookstores.
A LIFE FOR A LOVELY l.. T. Meade
New York: The United States Book Com
pany 332 pp., cloth and paper editions.)
This is another very interesting novel by
the author of "A Girl of the Period"
" Frances Kane's Fortune" and other
works. la this, as in the other works by
this very pleasing writer, there is an ex-
cellent plot, and the characters, who are ex-
ccedingly realistic, are pleasant people
to meet in a book of this character. The
interest of the story is well sustained from
beginning to end. The author has proven
himself an author of higher rank than the