Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology. By J. Thomas, A.M., M.D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1874.
A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer.Edited by J. Thomas and T. Baldwin, assisted by several other gentlemen. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. (Sold at 25 Bond St., New York)
Next to a dictionary of the language we rank dictionaries of persons and places, as works of reference for those engaged in writing, and, indeed, for all intelligent readers as well. We hear of so many men of eminence, or of localities so nearly alike in orthography, that we never feel entirely at ease without reference to a good authority; so that, for the mere purpose of identification, books like these are worth all they cost. The period and country at and in which a given subject lived, his occupation, his contemporaries, and for what he was distinguished; the county, state, or kingdom in which a certain city or town lies, serve all ordinary uses. Should we desire more, we can at our leisure resort to the encyclopædias or individual biographies for fuller information. Of course these works would be more acceptable if written from our point of view; but that we cannot expect for a long time to come. Meanwhile, being reasonably impartial, as we have found them to be so far as we have examined, we accept them as the best attainable. Lest the fact that they are each in one volume should convey an inadequate idea of their extent, we may state that the Biographical Dictionary has 2,345 closely-printed royal octavo pages, and the Gazetteer xviii.-2,182 pages of the same size and compactness. We know of no works of the kind so convenient and full in all matters for which they are ordinarily consulted.
A Dictionary of the English Language.By Joseph E. Worcester, LL.D. Boston: Brewer & Tileston. 1874.
As it would be quite superfluous to advise any one to get a dictionary at the present time, we content ourselves with asking our readers to get the best—Worcester's Unabridged. We have warmed towards this author, among other reasons, because he is less of an iconoclast than some of his fellow-lexicographers. It has grieved us not a little to see our favorite words maltreated as if they had no personality about which to be sensitive, or pedigree whereof to be proud. We can scarcely recognize them in the new dress, or rather mask, in which they are often presented. Were we a boy again, not a hair of our head would rise at a specter, and we should have an additional reason for refusing allegiance to a sovereign who held only a scepter—though the sun should still refuse to set on her dominions.
In saying this we would by no means disparage a standard in spelling. When some new Ursa Major shall arise who will not only give us an uniform, harmonious system of orthography, but such substantial reasons in favor of it as will satisfy the learned and confound all opponents, we may yield to the general verdict. But we are not at all on the lookout for such a contingency while our language is in the process of formation, and expect to possess our Worcester Unabridged in peace for many long years to come. The work has lxviii.-1,786 pages quarto, and is quite as full, we believe, as any other extant in the various tables, grammatical and other information having a bearing on the main purpose of the volume.
The same publishers also issue Worcester's Comprehensive Dictionary, Worcester's Primary Dictionary, and A Pocket Dictionary, compiled from the quarto and school dictionaries of J. E. Worcester, by Loomis J. Campbell; for those who desire inexpensive and portable manuals.