The morning call., 1892-01-02
LITERATURE.

THE CENTURY DICTIONARY : BY the
Century Company. tNew York: The Cen
fury Publishing Company. Sixth volume.
1916 pp.. S10) The sixth and last volume of
that great work THE Century Dictionary"
has just been issued. 1t commences with
the word ''Strub' and continues to the
close, and completes one of the most
stupendouS literary productions ever pro-
duced within limited time. The preface
issued with the first part is dated May l,
1889, the supplementary note to the preface
issued with the last part, October /, 1891.
Between these dates has been published, in
tn enty-iour parts which have followed one
another with almost mt cbanieal regularity,
a dictionary Of 7046 large quartO pages. con-
tanning, from the printers point oil view,
tBO-tlIrdS as much matter as the Encycl0-
p8dia britannica, and including about
5U0G00 definitions of over 215.000 words,
$4,000 defined phrases, 300,000 Illustrative
quotations and 5000 cuts. The labor involved
in this achievement Is enormous. To have
published any serious work of such size i'll
that time would have been remarkable
exploit; the fact that the work is die
tlonaTy, which was planned on an ideal be-
fore regarded as unattainable, and which
has practically attained tins IDEAL, makes
the result little less than extraordinary. To
form a faint idea of what the making Of
this book meant, one has but to consider
the difficulty of collecting such disconnected
matter (fOr the entirely new" words, def
nlti0ns and quotations in the Century" al
most outnumber all that the dictionaries
Which preceded it contain) the care in
yolved In the statement and notification OF
millions Of more or less isolated facts, and
the labor of producing, with such variety
of material, a geographically faultlesS
page. 1t is hardly necessary to say that
this wonderful rapidty of publication was
possible only by reason OF the long, eiab-
rufa III form .Cpa- 4
on the whole book before page Of ii was
sent to the press. So careful was this prep
aTatiOn, so methodical and well ordered the
execution of the plan. that punctuallty and
rapidty were never allowed to degenerate
into haste. 1t should also be added that the
dictionary could have been produced only
by a force exceptionally well qualified
for the task; under division of
the labor by which each received the part
for which he was best fitted; with an intel
ligent discrimination between work which
could be done rapidly and that which could
not, and with untifing energy on the part OF
those responsible for its progress.
The creators of the dictionary have been
guided throughout by a clear and sympa-
thetiC appreciation OF the demand Of c0u-
temporary science ana practical lie, and
have striven to make ii, in its way, an EN-
bOdlment of the knowledge and Of the high
est thought and aspirations OF the nineteenth
century.
The sixth volume contains its full share
of important and interesting articles. The
definitions Of sun and sun-spOt-bOth by
Professor c. \. 1Oung-with their engrav-
ings illustrate well its encyclopedia rich
ness, as do also such articles as those under
transit, temple, swallow, sub, substance,
trOi with its reproduction OF instantaneous
photographs by Muy BRIDGE, trust. etc. The
volume also exhibits the usual large num-
Der OF admirable cuts, such as those under
tabard, testudo, tiger, tOboggan, tomb, tube
lpneumatic1 tunnel, typesetting- machine,
Venus, victory, YideStrelda, Nidua, Vidu-
iuR.
1t closes with list of over 5000 authors
and authorities cited in the course of the
work, and with what IS, perhaps, the most
Interesting single thing il cOntains-a re-
print Of the list of amended spellings rec
by the English Pathological So
ciety and the American Pathological ASso-
citation, headed by an introduction which
leaves no doubt where the editors of the
dictionary stand as regards spelliDgretOrm.
W lille this list, which has as Yet almost no
actual usage TO support il. and was indeed
intended only as step toward sonnet hing
more complete, could not properly be in-
corporated in the body of the dictionary,
Professor Whitney believes that no lexicog-
rapher should ignore it.
No one wh5 desires to keep abreast of the
times can do So without having in his liz
brary this most excellent book, which brings
down to date everything that one may wish
20 know about the English language.
OHeTed by the Dewing Company.
GERTRUDE-By Ruth Ward Kahn. lead
vile, Colo: Published for the authOr) This
is a poem Of eighty-fYe stanzaS. in which is
told the story OF Gertrude, "a Jewish out
cast. who. driven from England. finds her
self among barbarians in the north and is
about to be offered as a sacrifice when the
chief comes to her reScue. She then under
takes and does inculcate a spirit Of advance
ment among the people by whom she is sur-
rounded, and does much to lead them cut OF
the baTbaTic ways IN which they have been
living believing that In doing good in this
way she In measure atoneS for the past
The poem possesses great deal of literary
merit. and it goes far to sustain the many
things that have been said
VI this young lady's ability as poetess.
HoNIIIEs OF SCIENCE - BY DIR. Paul
CaTuS. Chicago: Inc Open Court Pub
listing c mpany. Cloth, gilt top. 800 PIP,
81 50) This is a volume consisting Of a COL
lection OF short editorials which originally
appeared IN THE Open Court" They dis
cuss religious, moral and social questions
from the standpoint OF what might briefly
be characterized as the religion OF science.
TIE "Homilies Of Science are not hostile
tiOnal growth, but are hostile only toward
the dOgmatjc conception of these religions;
nor are they hostile toward treethought.
This book Will interest a large number of
people.
4" The Duchess of POwsyland Is the first
number ia the new year that is added TO
the Boston series. known as The Tucker
Library" issued by Benjamin X. Tucker OF
that city. This novel IS by Grant Allen,
was awarded a prize If $1,000 for his
powerful work Of fiction, Whats Bred in
the Bone" 1t is a captivating story Of the
career OF an Amer can girl WHO married
title, having become united by matrim0ny
with the first rank Of the British peerage.
II is well written, entertaining and senSa-
tiOnaL 1t involves a charge of murder
brought against the Duchess, who is ac-
cuSed Of the murder. by poison, of her hus-
band. Upon the trial 1t was made to APP
pear that the accusation was groundless,
and that the Duke had died By his own
hand.
"A Southern Heritage" is a title of
new novel written by William Horace
Brown. and added to the vanity Fair
Series " by Edward Brandus e Co. Of New
York. the publishers. In this book Mr..
Brown, who has already made good namo
for himself in the "Slaves OF Follv." gives
very charming and highly entertaining story
"a DOuLbeIh Ilic uuIlHS tt!e war Tines anu
thereafter The charm of the
novel, aside from its literary merit, is that
the story is told in a most pleasing manner.
and holds the attention OF the reader from
first to last.
'Mademolselle Ike" that bright little
story published by Charles Ii. Sergel & Co.
of Chicago, is to be translated into French
to appear as a feuilleton in the Debats of
Paris. Arrangements are also in progress
for a dramatic version Of 1t, both for En-
gland and America.
Magazines and Other Notes.
With the January number 1.-THE Magazine
Of American History" opens the twenty
seventh volume OF q periodical that is so
well known that it needs no booming. The
character of the articles that have been
presented in the past are guarantee for
what will be offered in the future All its