458
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ID* s. v. JUNE 9, im.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.
Halcluytus Posthumus ; or, Purchas hi<* Pilgrimes.
By Samuel Purchas. Vols. XI. and XII. (Glas-
gow, MacLehose & Sons.)
As frontispiece to vol. xi. of Messrs. MacLehose's noble reprint of * Purchas his Pilgrims ' appears a facsimile of the title-page to the third part of the original work. The instalment here supplied com- prises matter of exceptional interest. A large portion of the eleventh volume consists of a trans- lation of the travels of Marco Polo, apparently the work of Purchas himself. In an address to the reader, p. 306, he complains that " the translation which I had of Master Hakluyt's from the cor- rupted Latine, being less than nothing (nimirum damno auctus fui), did me no steed, but losse. whiles I would compare it with the Latine, and thought to amend it bv the Italian ; and was forced at last to reject both Latine and English, and after much vexation to present thee this, as it is, out of Ramusio." Ramusio or Rannusio was the Italian translator of Marco Polo and other travellers. A word-for-word translation was not attempted in English of what is called " the worthiest Voyage that perhaps any one man hath written," but " the sense in all things substantial!, with longer Re- lations than I have admitted in others." Among other noteworthy contents the first place in order belongs to Friar William of Rubruck [Ruysbroek], a thirteenth-century explorer of Tartary. Roger Bacon is given in Latin, as is Sir John Mandeville. Al Hucen's Life of Tim our brings in, of course, the life and adventures of Bajazet.
Vol. xii. is occupied with China, of which a very interesting account is extracted from the Jesuit missionaries. It is curious, however, to find the Chinese credited with mercy in the infliction of the death penalty. Among the illustrations are maps of Tartary by Hondius and of China by Hondius and Purchas.
The King's English. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) THE authors of this manual have availed themselves of a close familiarity with the ' New English Dic- tionary,' so far as that priceless work has expended, to deal with common errors in writing English prose. With that end in view, they illustrate from respectable authorities, literary and journalistic. the errors in style and expression which are of most frequent occurrence. A task of the kind is interminable. While admitting, then, the justice of most of the complaints that are made, we feel that the task is inadequately discharged, and that though certain offences are severely castigated others no less common and flagrant escape al censure. Such was, indeed, bound to be the case in what is, after all, an initial and a tentative effort. An arraignment of the work likely to be more generally heard is that it errs in the direction of pedantry, and that a close observance of the rules it imposes would have a tendency to repress individuality and to cramp style. In the case o writers such as Carlyle, Emerson, and George Meredith the use of neologisms is to be expected Such are of frequent occurrence, and we dare noi censure their employment.
Let us indicate some of the faults of omission o
hich we complain. When reference is made (p. 5
the use in The Times of the phrase " These
manoeuvres are by no means new, and their recru-
descence is hardly calculated to influence the develop-
nent of events" it is the latter portion of a
hrase vile as a whole that is gibbeted by being
mnted in italics, while the first half, which
s meaningless, is passed over without hostile
comment. Why not write "These manoeuvres are
not new"? and why substitute "by no means,"
.vhich conveys in a passive sentence an uncalled-for
dea of action? "Can I accomplish a thing?" " By
no means. " Here the use of the phrase is intelligible
md justifiable. As used by The Times, and by
nany another periodical, it is wrong. Misquota-
tions are, of course, to be avoided. These are not
always to be escaped. Many instances of error are
advanced, and innumerable others arrest attention.
Recently we noticed a slip on the part of a ripe*
scholar, who, quoting, as he supposed, from *II
Penseroso,' said :
His daughter she in Saturn's time [reign] Such mixture was not held a crime [stain]. Malapropisms are numerous. In some professional evidence in a noted murder case it was said that the body lay prone on the bad: " She writes com- prehensively enough " is used by Charlotte Bronte For comprehensibly. Perspicuity is commonly used for perspicacity ; reverend is not seldom employed when reverent is intended. It is more remarkable to find in reputable journalism mistakes in number between substantive and verb. Such common errors as the ordinary use of Cui bono ? are illustrated ; the phrase is said to be a notorious trap for journalists. The "spirit of the staircase," employed by Mr. Morley, is almost as bad as "to the foot of the letter." "Between you and I," though ordinarily a conversational error, is sometimes written. Re- liable is condemned, but it is held to have estab- lished itself. Those who respect the language will not allow it to pass without protest. * k Those sort" is a colloquialism, the use of which is illustrated from Trollope as well as Corelli. Some curious instances of tautology are cited. "From whence" is not included among them. Apart from the value (often great) of its suggestions, the book constitutes diverting and edifying reading.
The Fool of Quality. By Henry Brooke. Gulliver's Travel^, and other Works by Jonathan. Swift* (Routledge Sons.)
THESE works are the latest additions to "The Library of Early Novelists." edited for Messrs. Rout- ledge by Mr. E. A. Baker, M. A. Wholly unlike the- previous works of the same series is the pious and edifying book first mentioned, which is later in date than most, though not than all, of its predecessors in the list. With it, is printed the biographical preface by Charles Kingslev, which did so much to popularize the work in Christian circles. From family sources, which had previously been tapped with no very remunerative result, Mr. Baker has drawn a life of the author more comprehensive and trustworthy than is elsewhere obtainable. During the lifetime of the author ' The Fool of Quality ' was republished bv John Wesley (with excisions) as ' The Life of Henry, Earl of Moreland,' by which name it was best known to us in our boyish days. Not the least part of its charm consists in its mystical piety, derived from Jacob Boehme, which- Wesley banished. Among those whom this fine book appears to have impressed is Thackeray, whose 'Newcomes' seems to owe something to its* inspiration. Its perusal is warmly to be commended
