Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 11.djvu/167

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

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examples of any-kin, fele-kin, many-kin, no- kin, other-kin, sere-kin, swilkin (swilk-kin), same-kin, this-kin, whilk-kin, what-kin. But shis'n is imitated from him, where the n is due to association with my, mine, thy, thine. This is explained, s.v. hisn, in the same neglected work. WALTER W. SKEAT.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

The New Vohimes of the Encyclopaedia Sritannica. Vol. IX., being Vol. XXXIII. of the Complete Work. (A. & C. Black and the Times.) WITH the present volume the great task of bringing up to date the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' is vir- tually accomplished, the end of the alphabet being reached. A supplemental volume, perhaps more, will serve as a general index to the whole work, and will facilitate reference, but the information to be supplied is presumably complete. Vol. IX. com-

? rises the alphabet between Strachey and Zwolle. t opens with an essay by the Rev. Prof. Collins upon methods and results in modern theology. This, which is written from a Broad Church stand- point, naturally opens out controversy, and is therefore unsuited to our columns. It is too late to suggest alterations, but in the case of a great printing centre such as Strasburg the Latin names Argentina, Argentoratum, &c., might be repeated. An important article on ' Strategy,' by Col. Hen- derson, should be read by the side of one even more important on 'Tactics,' the preparation and com- position of which have occupied no fewer than four authorities or experts. A good account of the late Bishop of Oxford is by the Rev. W. Hunt, who speaks of him as excelling all Englishmen as a master of every department of the " historian's work, from the discovery of materials to the elaboration of well-founded theories and literary production." Sudan is treated by Prof. Keane, and so far as re- gards the French Sudan, which " since the decree of 18th October, 1899, has been only a geographical expression," by M. Paul Louis. Recent events assign importance to the paper on 'Sugar,' which is by Messrs. Alfred and V. W. Chapman.

It is only in the last quarter of a century, since the investigations have been undertaken of M. Bertillon and others, that a full study of suicide has been possible. It is a curious fact, considering the long-current assertion that in November English- men committed suicide through the spleen, that whereas the number of suicides per million in England and Wales averages 75 and in Ireland only ll 17, in France it reaches 180, and in Saxony the ll enormous total of 392. Many striking conclusions i may be drawn from the statistics. Thus, while in II Denmark the rate per million is 251, in Norway it is only 69 and in Sweden 92. Under ' Sunday ' the extension of the observance of what is called "the Lord's Day" is noted. 'Surgery' and 'Surgical Instruments' chronicle naturally a great recent advance. An anonymous and appreciative life oJ Mr. Swinburne is accompanied by a good portrait from a photograph. A life of John Addington Symonds is judicious, but reticent. A brilliant life of Taine is by the Hon. Maurice Baring. Taxation ' and * Technical Education ' are natur-

ally important articles, with which, however, there is no temptation to deal. With the word tele we reach a series of scientific articles of the highest value : ' Telegram,' ' Telegraph," Telephone,' 'Tele- scope.' Great advance is chronicled under the last leading. Under ' Tenniel ' is given a capital repre- sentation of the fine ' Dropping the Pilot.' We do not agree with Mr. Gosse that the popular estimate of the genius of Tennyson was excessive ; nor do we bhink it necessary to wait until another generation is reached for a final estimate. The portrait which accompanies the life is unfamiliar. Under the prefix therm come a series of interesting articles such as 'Thermodynamics,' 'Thermometer,' &c. 'Tides' are treated of by Prof. Darwin. 'Titan Cranes' have the fine illustration with which the reader is probably familiar. The unsigned life of Tolstoy, which is accompanied by a portrait, is one of the longest in the work, though that of Queen Victoria is naturally longer. ' Trade Marks,' ' Trade Organization,' and 'Trade Unions' are all of great practical interest. An appreciative memoir of Henry Duff Traill is a natural and an expected feature in the volume, to which, had he lived longer, he would probably have been a contributor. Much attention will, of course, be paid to ' Transvaal,' the history of which is told at length. Considerable space is, of course, devoted to the United States. A comprehensive title is that of 'Woman,' by Lady Jeune. Mr. Lucien Wolff writes on ' Zionism,' and Mr. F. T. Marzials on 'Zola.'

' Le Retour a la Ferme ' of Troyon, the ' Love and Life ' and ' Orpheus and Eurydice ' of Mr. G. F. Watts, Mr. Whistler's portrait of his mother, and the ' Capitulation of Sedan,' by Herr Anton von Werner, are among the reproductions of famous pictures. Other illustrations comprise a fine photo- graph of Queen Victoria, views of typewriters, a portrait of the German Emperor, and some striking views to illustrate water supply.

It is pleasant to congratulate the editors and the management generally on the completion of their great task. We have no statistics, but we feel pretty confident in stating that no previous encyclo- paedia has obtained or merited equal support.

MR. R. LYDEKKEB has contributed to the Quar- terly Review a paper on ' South American Animals and their Origin,' which shows extraordinary know- ledge of several intricate zoological problems. Until that vast land has been explored by competent naturalists in a manner far more thorough than at the present seems possible we cannot come to any series of conclusions which may not hereafter be subject to rearrangement, if not reversal. The extinct and contemporary animal life of South America seems to point to a southern continent, or at least to some land connexion having once existed with the Far East. We apprehend, however, that students of geology will find several difficulties in admitting such a conclusion. The megalotherium, a large ground -sloth as big as an elephant, may possibly be still in existence, though we fear it is unlikely to be so. It has been looked for more than once, but never come upon. That the ground-sloth was contemporary with man cannot be reasonably questioned ; and it is fairly certain that at one time in Patagonia some of the natives kept it as a domestic animal. What can their motive have been for this ? Did the creature supply them with milk, or was it retained for some mystical reason ? Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu' The Queen of the Blue-