The sun., 1897-03-20
rFH BooKs.
urief Reviews OF Important ana EntsrnstinE
Vow PnblicAtions

Briet HSNtoNN ~ hHFottAhN AaeA H-s--1-NAA-a
View Publications
Any reasonable and amiable person must con-
slider IL a pleasure surely TO help himself to an
understanding OF the German language by
means Of such book AS Der Lehrer," tho work
Of Mr.. w. Irving Colby. which appears signif-
cantly in on eighth edition, new and revised wv.
Irving Colby, Oakland, CALI That an author
should have the persplcacity and the ability to
publish a work Of his own hands which is
wanted seems to be n circumstance answering
10 the demands OF perfect justice, and we are
moved to congratulate Mr.. Colby upon his
eighth edition and to wish the Same extreme
good fortune TO every author who deserves
il. German has long been thought TO be
difficult language to acquire, having been COM
rarcd even to the ancient Greek in this particu-
lar. and as We havo suggested. anybody who
has had the fortitude to embark upon tho mo-
mcntous business OF learning German VIII be
certain to welcome anything calculatedto to cheer,
illuminate and rectify the arduous and devious
way, though we are not sure that every student
will be enabled by this method, as MIR. Colby
promises to transact business with Germans
at the end Of FIVE weeks. In the familiar ollen-
dorf the conversations do not seem always to be
peculiarly suited for the facilitation OF what
Is called business. To learn to say in German.
for Instance, that the fat wife Of the con-
.umptivc baker was devoured by lion
rs she promenaded in the garden, however
picturesque the accomplishment may be, is not
10 advance ones self particularly and strictly In
knowledge of the business vernacular. though 1t
might be useful for the agent Of menagerie
Mr.. Colbys conversations scem to hold them
selves more closely to the purpose. Here Is
glass. Is water in the glassf' "Yes, water Is
in tho glass" "Is the water warmf Yes.
water is warm" "Is leo water warmf' "No.
leo water Is not warm" "Is Ice water cold e
YES ice water is cold" Is Ice water good to
drinkf "Yes, ice water 10 good to drink Ii
warm water good to drink "Oh, no. warm
water is not good to drink" Here We must
draw attention to the circumstance OF the
reiteration OF words constantly needed in
familiar use. OF the advantage OF this there
can be no doubt, but there is to be observed
the further circumstance that the author Is
quite arbitrary in his opinion of the desirability
OF ice water and the objectionability Of warm
water as beverage In this he stamps himself
as person inv ed In the well known American
prejudices and not yet arrived at the acute
dyspeptic period. Tho thousands who sluice
themselves with boiling water In the belief that
this treatment IL necessary and beneficial will
assure themselves that Mr.. Colby does not know
what he Is talking about, and will possibly
choose to learn their German by some other
method, though the matter really Is with
out lInRulStlC 1uporLnuC0L ouL tllto ID uot
the limit of the criticism courted by Mr.. Colby
through the expression of his opinion as 10 what
is good to drink. Der Lehrer" goes on: "Is
coffee good to drink y Yes, coffee is good TO
drink" lis tea good to drinki" "Yes. tea Is
good to drink" "Is milk good to drink r Yes,
milk is good to drink" I" Is lager beer good to
drinkF' .Oh, no. lager beer IL not good Lager
beer is hitter, but milk is sweet and good" Now
this, however much 1t might commend itself TO
the late 7. S. Arthur, II he were still alive and
drinking tea and ice water, strikes US as a very
extraordinary detail Of German preparation. 1t
does not seem to us that 1t Is By any such teach
ing as this that one is be prepared to transact
business with Germans IN Eve weeks. However,
this is, after all, single incident in Mr. Colby 8
book. Later the pupil, Karl says that his
grandfather Is very old. with gray hair and
white beard. and Helene, another pupil.
says that her grandmother is so years old,
both Of which pieces Of information are surely
interesting and in all respects understandable.
Then there is the anecdote about tho railroad in
the Sandwich Islands The Professor narrates
this anecdote to his pupils after telling them Of
the presence of a United, States wsrship in the
harbor of Honolulu and of the unparalleled
beauty Of the American flag. The railroad
is twenty-five miles long, the Professor
says, and runs from Honolulu to Pearl Harbor.
He asked q gentleman IL the trains that
ran on it were fast, and the gentleman
answered that they were pretty fast. though
they were mostly accommodation trains Are
there any stations on the roadl' the Professor
inquired "oh, no." the gentleman replied.
There are. however, some houses. and for
merly it was the custom to stop the trains
at every house for the purpose Of taking aboard
xsgetables, eggs, and matters Of the kind. In
one house there dwelt widow who frequently
had eggs to deliver. One day the train stopped
in front of the widows house. The widow came
out and said to the conductor: / have only
eleven eggs to-day; you had better go on oh.
we're in no hurry the conductor replied; wen
wait for the other one" From this It will be
seen that there are more things in the book than
praise of ice water and q depreciating and dam
aging allegation regarding lager beer. Der
I4ehrer " is on the whole q cheerful and helpful
manual. We believe that it should enable tho
student TO transact business with Germans
eventually, and it is probably no wonder that 1t
has reached an eighth edition.
Maurus Jokai, that wonderful Hungarian
patriot, historian, romance writer and journal
ist, who in his early career met with expert
onces as strange and varied as those Of any
hero of romance, has, In Tho Green Book, -
Harper's) compressed within the limits of
some Ave hundred pages as much material
as would go to the making Of half a dozen
interesting and exciting novels. The subtitle of
the book, of which the present English transla-
lion is by Mrs. Waugh, is Freedom Under the
Snow" and in 1t the author gives the secret
history OF one Of the many revolutionary plots
TO overthrow the autocracy and establish q re-
publican form OF government in Russia in the
early part OF the present century. The timo IL
1928, during the reign OF the Car Alexander L.
Zencida llmarne, woman OF wondrous beauty
and the greatest singer of her day, is at tho
head OF those who are to plan and curry