NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC.
A late eminent scholar was in the habit of advising his friends, when in doubt which of two books to buy: "If one of them is a Dictionary, always buy the Dictionary:"—and the noble library which he bequeathed to the public shows that he himself always acted upon this principle. What he said of Dictionaries generally, will apply with particular force to the very admirable Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art; comprising the History, Description, and Scientific Principles of every Branch of Human Knowledge, with the Derivation and Definition of all the Terms in General Use, edited by Professor Brande and Dr. Cauvin, with the assistance of many eminent literary and scientific gentlemen, of which the second edition is now before us. Our impression on opening it was, that Notes & Queries would find its occupation gone: and, although it is obvious that such cannot be the case, we feel sure that if all Querists upon ordinary subjects would turn to this excellent compendium of general information before transmitting to us many such inquiries as we now receive, they would at once be put in possession of the information of which they are in search; and we should be spared a very considerable amount of labour. The object which the proprietors proposed to themselves in the one closely printed volume of which the
book consists, has been to supply the place of those large Encyclopædias and Dictionaries of modern times which are either too voluminous or too special for ready reference and general use; and to produce, in a form which should admit of its being carried about, a work which, without entering into long details of theories, &c., should exhibit an abstract of the principles of every branch of knowledge, and a definition and explanation of the various terms in Science, Literature, and Art, which occur in reading or conversation, with that facility of reference and precision of statement which ought to be the distinguishing features of a useful Dictionary. Thanks to the knowledge and good judgment of the editors and their assistants, this object has been so successfully accomplished, that Brande's Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art, may be pronounced as at once a valuable substitute for a small library, and an indispensable accompaniment and key to a large one.
The new volume (the sixth), which has just been issued, of Messrs. Rivington's handsome edition of The Works and Correspondence of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, is one of peculiar interest, inasmuch as in addition to his Tracts on the Laws against Popery in Ireland, and his Reports of the House of Commons on the affairs of the East India Company, and the Charges against Warren Hastings, it contains his Hints for an Essay on the Drama, and the Essay towards an Abridgment of the English History in Three Books.
BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES
WANTED TO PURCHASE.
A Narrative of the Proceedings in the Douglas Cause. London, Griffin, 8vo. 1767.
Clare's Poems. Fcap. 8vo. Last edition.
Poetic Wreath. 8vo. Newman.