300
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. in. APRIL 15, m
guage. Grimms and Potts and Skeats and Murrays
may have gone and come, but Mr. Pearson pursues
a way of his own with a charming insouciance.
Beginning with the assumption that all languages
took their origin at Babel, he undertakes with a
light heart to act as " clruggerman" to the confused
tongues of earth, and finds no difficulty in bringing
them into accord.
As he starts with the express axiom that ' ' all vowels are interchangeable with one another " (p. vi), and is not exacting enough to require that the words compared should resemble one another in form or meaning, it is easy to see that Mr. Pearson works in conveniently plastic material. Any man having the run of a large number of dictionaries could pile up verbal accumulations such as we have here without limit. The author always starts with the Hebrew as the basis of comparison, and we learn on an early page (vii) that Heb. mshurah and our measure are cognates. So long as he deals with strange vocables from the Yoruba and Umbundu dialects he has us at his mercy, but when, on the same page (4), he assures us that in Latin mamma, amo (Heb. abaft, to love), and anima are all related words, we begin to have our doubts. We confess our inability to criticize the words mustered from the Libyan, Nika, and Hausa languages, but when in direct sequence he quotes as words of affinity in Latin comes, cumulus, gemino, homo, amita,a,nd cum, we are confirmed in our fears that Mr. Pearson is not a safe guide. Instead of criticizing further, we merely note that French sceur is brought into line with serai, will be ; Lat. sero; Heb. zera, seed ; Jap. soryo, eldest son that the latter part of fer-tile is to be compared with Heb. til, to moisten gently with showers (p. 30), and obedient with Heb. obd, to serve, to labour (p. 24) !
Municipal Paries, Gardens, and Open Spaces of
London. By Lieut, -Col. J. J. Sexby. (Stock.) WHILE fulfilling all to which its title pledges itself, Col. Sexby's book is likely to disappoint those unreasonable folk who would fain have more. An account of parks, gardens, and open spaces which omits all mention of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park, St. James's Park, and the Green Park, to say nothing of Highg^ate Woods or Epping Forest, scarcely seems to fulfil its promise. The excuse advanced is, however, adequate. Col. Sexby deals only with those spaces that are under municipal control, and are for the most part in- cluded in what is known as the County of London. Hyde Park, Regent's Park, and St. James's Park are held meanwhile to be national rather than municipal lungs, and their history has already been written. On the other hand, Epping Forest and Highgate Woods are outside the municipal radius. The spots with which the Colonel deals are " those which are maintained by the London County Council at the expense of the ' Metropolitan ' ratepayers," together with disused burial-grounds and spots under the care of conservators, private bodies, &c. Within these limits, the observance of which is necessary if the work is not to constitute in itself a library, there are abundant materials for the historian, and the list of places dealt with occupies many pages of index.
The author seems a little more familiar with the southern spaces than the northern, and his arrangement is only partially alphabetical, even as regards the more important spots. When he begins with Battersea Park, which he follows up,
almost in the order indicated, by Blackheatl
Bostal Heath, Brockwell Park, and Dulwic
Park, it seems as though he had determined upo
an alphabetical order. The plan, if ever cor
templated, seems to have been abandoned, and eve
near the outset Plumstead Common " comes m
cranking in." The information concerning th
various spots is pleasantly historical, antiquariai
and literary. So much as is known about th
origin of names is given ; the circumstances unde
which the spots came into municipal or othe
possession are narrated ; and the story is told c
such persons of interest as have been residents o
or near the spot or are in any way associated wit
it. The illustrations, which are both numerous an
well selected, consist largely of photographs, bu
include many reproductions of old plates, such a
Sadler's Wells with the New River in 1756 ; Lir
coin's Inn Fields, as originally designed by Inig
Jones ; Queen Elizabeth's Walk in Clissolcl Par!
as it existed in 1800 ; and the source of the Ravens
bourn in Keston Heath. The volume will form a
attractive and indispensable portion of every collet
tion of works on London.
The English Catalogue of Books for 1898. (Sampso
Low & Co.)
THE sixty-second annual issue of 'The Englisl Catalogue of Books ' has appeared a little later thai usual (a fact of which an adequate explanation i given), and is once more welcome. In addition ti its other claims on attention, it supplies for th first time a list of the names and addresses of th< principal publishers of the United Kingdom, a usefu appendix, the want of which we have often felt.
t0
We must call special attention to the following notices :
ON all communications must be written the nam< and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately To secure insertion of communications corre spondents must observe the following rule. Lei each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspond ents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication " Duplicate."
CORRIGENDA. P. 167, col. 1, 1. 9 from end, foi "Algeria" read JEgina, and for " Paris," 1. 8, read Poros. We alter these names at MR. LEVESOJJ- GOWER'S request, but the words were in the MS. as we gave them.
NOTICE.
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