Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 33.djvu/284

272 Sentiments in Relation to Feeling and Conduct") he recognizes the belief in a future life as favoring high ideal ends, while disbelief depresses the mental energies, and fosters selfish enjoyments at the expense of social activities. He condemns theological organizations which condition their fellowship on the acceptance of creeds, and commends the constitution of the Free Religious Association as the best platform for a religious organization. "An æsthetic worship guided by truth" is, he thinks, a benefit to the human race.

The final chapters on "The Education of the Religious Sentiment" have already appeared, in substance, in "The Popular Science Monthly." They present strong arguments for unpartisan scientific instruction in the history of religions, and the complete secularization of our public schools as the fairest and most practicable means of preserving their integrity and usefulness. The book, as a whole, stimulates thought and holds the attention of the reader. In connection with "A System of Psychology" and "The Problem of Evil," it justifies us in ranking its author among our ablest philosophical thinkers.

this handsomely-printed volume the author has collected a large number of the curious doggerels used by children in counting-out for the purpose of determining who shall be it in certain games. He details the customs as practiced in Great Britain and America, and gives many examples, such as—

 One-erzoll two-erzoll zick-erzoll zan, Bobtail vinegar, tickle 'em tan; Harum squarum, virgin marum, Zinctum, zanctum, buck!"

The author then shows that children of all civilized and semi-civilized races have similar practices, and repeat doggerels with common characteristics; examples are given in twenty languages, including Japanese, Hawaii, Marâthî, Arabic, Turkish, Bulgarian, Basque, and all the modern languages of Europe. The collection of rhymes numbers nearly nine hundred, of which about four hundred and seventy-five are in English. This wide distribution of the process of counting-out, and the fact that in all languages certain features of the doggerels are common, point to great antiquity for the custom, which, the author claims, originated in the superstitious practice of divination by lot—sortilege. This view is borne out by many analogies between ancient methods of divination and the existing children's games. One chapter treats of conjurations, exorcisms, and charms current in early times; another discusses the question whether these rhymes are derived from Latin prayers, and points out the extraordinary literary fraud perpetrated in 1840 by John Bellender Ker. In another chapter the author shows that, to a certain extent, the changes in English rhymes are influenced by geographical environment. In a few instances the exact date at which a given doggerel was composed can be ascertained by its local coloring. The marked influence of German immigration in America is manifest in even these children's rhymes, many of which are of German origin; for example—

Ana, mana, bona, mike, Barcelona, bona, strike, Care, ware, frow, frack, Hallico, ballico, wee, wo, wack!"

This undergoes a great many variations. A brief chapter relates to the Anglo-Cymric Score, and the second part of the work contains eight hundred and seventy-seven rhymes grouped under the various languages. The material for this volume was gathered by correspondence, and orally; the sources of the rhymes are indicated in nearly every instance by the initials of the contributors. A bibliography of the works consulted is one feature of the work, which is the first to appear on the subject of folk-lore since the establishment of the Society of American Folk-Lore. The volume appeals to all who recall the happy hours of their childhood. Several English literary papers have announced this work as written by Mrs. Carrington Bolton—an absurd blunder. The author is known by his publications on chemistry and bibliography, and was professor in Trinity College, Hartford, for many years.