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occupies a separate place, though in the same department. Each is so individual and independent, in form of expression, mode of illustration, and the whole treatment of subjects, that, with entire harmony of opinion, there is no repetition, and scarcely a similarity of argument. In this respect, Dr. Dewey is particularly prominent. He is original. And one characteristic of his originality, not often found in this connection, is the simple, common-sense manner, in which he treats the highest themes. He makes religion intelligible, and in the best sense practical. He brings it out of schools and churches into the street and life. With profound reverence for God and all things sacred, he writes like a man among men. Neither mysterious nor mystical, he is sober, earnest, profound, and perfectly simple. No one can read his pages candidly, and not find himself engaged in something real, and something that belongs not to verbal questions or outward interests, but to the whole man and the endless existence.

But to speak of Dr. Dewey's merits as a writer or reasoner, is quite unnecessary. We desire only to make the volume known as something more than a republication, though as such alone it would have been welcome; for the former volume it is not easy to find, and this is not only more full, but far superior in execution and whole appearance.

II.

Ecclesiastical Reminiscences of the United States. By the Rev. EDWARD WAYLEN, late Rector of Christ Church, Rockville, Maryland, eleven years resident in America. New York. 1846. 8vo. pp. 501.

FROM Some expressions, which met our eye on first opening this volume, we supposed that the author must be a Roman Catholic. Thus, in his preface, he speaks of the "Church Catholic growing up so strong amid surrounding strife and disunion;" and to "Catholic readers, nothing," he says, "relating to their fellow-Catholics of the United States can be altogether uninteresting; and it is for Catholic readers that this book is written." On reading further, however, we find that he is a veritable son of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and by “fellowCatholics of the United States," speaking as an Englishman, he means, the members of said Episcopal Church here, amounting "to two millions, under twenty-eight bishops and thirteen hundred inferior clergy." The work, however, is anything but catholic. A more thoroughly sectarian volume, marked by greater bigotry and exclusiveness, it has seldom fallen to our lot to take into our hands. The author, it seems, came over to this country in 1834, and soon after visited Boston, where in the pro

gress of the Church since 1775 he finds much to comfort him. At that period "the heathen [Congregationalists, and others] had come into the inheritance of the Lord, and laid Jerusalem on heaps." "The property of the Church had been alienated." "Her enemies had confederated together against her-Edom with Moab - the Philistines," etc. Not so now. Other sects are on the decline, while Episcopacy is triumphant. A "considerable portion" of the Unitarian sect "has since," the writer informs us, "lapsed into transcendentalism." This information will be new to many of his readers, and equally so the intelligence given on the next page, that during the author's "first winter" in Boston, (1834, we infer,) the "cold" there "frequently caus ed a fall in the thermometer of 20 degrees below zero"! Next summer the writer makes a tour into New Hampshire, where he picks up a "bear story"; learns something more about "dissenters," and arrives at the conclusion that Calvinism in New England has "given birth to all the Socinianism, transcendentalism, universalism, and atheism, which is now rife in that section of the country." On his return he stops at Salem, and devotes some fifty or sixty pages to an account of the "witchcraft delusion," "Puritan cruelties," etc. He afterwards gets to Philadelphia, attends the "General Convention of 1835" there, gives a long account of the "Kenyon College troubles," comes back to Rhode Island, and indulges in reflections on the consequences of "sustaining religion" by the "Voluntary system," which, says he, are "just such as might be expected." "In several parts of New England" Sunday "is not in any manner [the italics are his] distinguished from the other days of the week." "All the avocations of business and pleasure go on as usual." He descants on the "prevalent infidel opinions among the farmers of Connecticut," and other matters of like sort. He finally takes orders and settles in the ministry at Jamestown (Cannanicut Island), but soon leaves and bids "farewell to New England," not however without much laudation of Episcopacy there and remarks on the decline of Congregationalism, and especially Unitarianism, which "few of the younger members of Unitarian congregations understand or care about." Thus we get through nearly one half of the volume, and the rest is made up of similar materials. We spare our readers a further analysis. We think that the prayer of the American (Episcopal) Church must be, that it may be delivered from its friends. Such writers as Waylen do more than any, or all other causes to awaken hostile feelings towards it. It is but justice to add, that Episcopal journals have themselves exposed the gross inaccuracy of many of his statements respecting their own Church.

We congratulate the writer on having finally escaped from a country from which, the "conservative" influence of the Church

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notwithstanding, "close carriages and coaches, public and private," are "so universally banished"; for "it is a fact," says he, "which I can feelingly [so he prints] attest, that during the whole term of my residence in the United States I never saw one"! What is almost as bad, the people here do not even understand the word "city," which designates, or should designate the place which is the residence of a Bishop, whereas here it is "applied," he says, "only to large corporate towns, with or without a resident bishop." After all, however, we cannot make up our minds to be very severe on Mr. Waylen. He is a foreign- . er, not very liberally endowed by nature and but moderately educated, - a well meaning man, we should say, but very credulous, accepting as true everything advantageous to his Church found in boastful pamphlets, and gasconading speeches at anniversary meetings of its members, of which several amusing examples might be given. The author might have taken as the motto of his work a sentiment which he endorses, and which we present as it stands on his page, not omitting the capitals:They [other denominations] are sects WE THE CHURCH."

L.

A Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English Language: to which are added Walker's Key to the Pronunciation of Classical and Scripture Proper Names, much enlarged and Improved; and a Pronouncing Vocabulary of Modern Geographical Names. By JOSEPH E. WORCESTER. Boston: Wilkins, Carter & Co. 1846. Royal 8vo. pp. lxxvi. and 956.

FOR ordinary use this is undoubtedly by far the best Dictionary of the English language now before the public. The scholar will still, as he has need, turn to Johnson, Richardson, and occasionally to Webster, but he will find here many helps which they do not afford, either singly or combined; and to one, learned or unlearned, who is not furnished with the productions of these three distinguished lexicographers, there is no work which, for all the various purposes for which a dictionary is consulted, will yield the assistance he will derive from Worcester. We cannot within the limits of a brief notice present a full statement of its merits. As a vocabulary of the English language the author has taken great pains to render it as complete as the nature of the case admitted, having added "nearly 27,000 words not found in Todd's edition of Johnson." These he has collected from various sources, and especially from an extended course of reading, and he has been particularly careful to "note such words as are technical, foreign, obsolete or antiquated,

local or provincial, low or exceptionable," a labor from which young writers and all persons whose taste is not yet formed, or who are not intimately acquainted with the best usage, will derive great benefit. For words of recent origin or doubtful propriety authorities are cited. A large portion of the words, especially such as relate to the arts and sciences, have been defined anew, and others have undergone careful revision as to their orthography, etymology, signification, etc. Much care, too, has been bestowed on the pronunciation. This was very .necessary. Since Walker wrote, fifty or sixty years ago, the standard of polite pronunciation has undergone some change, and the London publishers of Walker have found it necessary to revise his system. With respect to "words of various, doubtful or disputed pronunciation" he gives the authorities for the different modes, thus enabling the reader to make an enlightened choice. Some extremes we have been pleased to see beginning to be corrected of late in the prevailing mode of pronouncing vowels, - an effect which we believe may be attributed, in part at least, to the use of Mr. Worcester's " Comprehensive Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary" published several years ago. Thus lads and misses from some of our schools, and many public speakers gave to the a in such words as fast, last, etc. the short sound as in hat, fat, instead of the intermediate sound between that and the Italian sound, as in far, father, which, we suppose is the sound now given to it in the best circles here and abroad. We still sometimes hear the last syllable of the word, often, pronounced with a full sound, like the numerical ten. Worcester gives nine authorities, nearly all which are ever quoted to settle cases of disputed pronunciation, all of which represent the sound of the last syllable by fn; not one represents it by ten. We should like to have the teachers of our youth look to this.

There is a great deal of useful subsidiary matter found in Mr. Worcester's volume, and the grammatical forms and inflections of words are given more fully than in any previous dictionary. To Walker's "Key to the Classical Pronunciation of Greek, Latin and Scripture Proper Names," he has added some notes from English critics, and a few of his own.

L.

Lectures on Education. By HORACE MANN, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Boston: Wm. B. Fowle & N. Capen. 1845. 12mo. pp. 338.

THIS Volume, which has been before the public some months, has drawn less attention than we should have expected, except that everything on the subject of Education is received with

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Mr. Mann goes into

singular indifference. No one is really indifferent to such facts and truths as are here given, when fairly considered. Few publications have met our eye on this hackneyed theme, so fresh, so suggestive, so rich in illustration, entertaining and pungent in sarcasm, serious and moving in appeal. There are seven Lectures, on different subjects, but all having direct relation to the means, objects, or management of common school education. Five of these lectures were prepared for the annual Conventions, which Mr. Mann was required to attend in the several counties of the State, for five years after he took the office of Secretary of the Board of Education. The other two lectures, on "School Libraries" and "School Punishments," were delivered before Teachers' Associations, Lyceums, etc. The whole was prepared for the press, and published in this convenient form, by a special and unanimous vote of the Board. These lectures are meant for the people. no profound discussions, and proposes no new or extended theories but shows the common wants of our schools, the prevalent errors of opinion and practice, the mournful neglect of preparation for the work of teaching, and the low and ruinous idea of economy in regard to education, in most legislative bodies, and among many parents who are economical in nothing else. His historical views of education, particularly in relation to its "dignity and its degradation," present a solid amount of facts, with which few probably are familiar, and which none can study without profit. Throughout the whole there is a high moral tone, which must strengthen in every reader the sense of individual accountableness on this subject. There is likewise a pervading discrimination, freedom from extravagance and extremes, which some may not expect to find, especially on such questions as those pertaining to school discipline.

Were we to criticise, we should advert to a fault which we have noticed before in this writer, though there are few instances in this volume, namely, the use of new and hard words, quite unnecessary, particularly in a writer of so varied and rich a Vocabulary. "We are derelict from our duty"—"If a child appetizes his books" are expressions which should not appear in a work on Education, and could be spared everywhere. H.

Correggio: a Tragedy, by Chlenschlager. Sappho a Tragedy, by Grillparzer. With a Sketch of the Autobiography of Ehlenschlager. Translated from the German. Boston: Phillips & Sampson. 1846. 12mo. pp. 303.

UPON comparing this translation of Correggio, not cursorily, with our copy of the original, we find a few errors and several omissions; and it strikes us that the translator, in attempting to VOL. XLI. 4TH S. VOL. VI. NO. III.

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