Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 35.djvu/880

854 story—or, to use the words of the author, he has pieced together the accounts given him by negro slaves in the Barbary states and in western equatorial Africa. Some of the incidents have been actually witnessed by him during some one of his journeys. The persons and places named are of real existence, as are also the languages quoted. The story is illustrated by forty-seven full-page pictures, from original drawings by the author—true delineations of African life and scenery, most of which have been done in Africa from actuality. No concoctor of fiction could invent a more tragic story than this one of a real life which is still happening every day.

The eighth issue of the Annual Index to Periodlcals (W. M. Griswold, Bangor, Maine) is brought down to July, 1889. It contains the lists of titles of articles and authors, in the notation peculiar to Mr. Griswold's indexes, for twenty-five American and foreign periodicals.

Under the title of The Two Great Retreats of History, Ginn & Co. publish in a single volume, where they can be read comparatively, Grote's account of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks, taken from his history of Greece entire, except for a few verbal changes; and an abridgment of Count Segur's narrative of Napoleon's retreat from Russia. The book is designed for school use, and is furnished with maps, an introduction to each section, and explanatory notes by "D. H. M."

The Popular History of California, by Lucia Norman, is published by the Bancroft Company, Ran Francisco, in a revised and enlarged second edition. The first edition, published in 1873, was well received. The "enlargements" bring the story down to the present time. The history of this State presents a considerable variety of incident. It includes periods of discovery and of colonization by the Spaniards; of the prominence of the missions; of the Mexican War and the conquest of the country by the United States; of the discovery of gold and the gold-hunting excitement; of filibustering and vigilance committees; and of agricultural and horticultural development, in which, rather than in gold, California seems destined to find the true source of its wealth.

Three language-studies of different character, each having its peculiar value, are published by Ginn & Co. The Practical Latin Composition of Mr. William C. Collar sets forth a method of teaching which has been satisfactorily tried by the author after breaking with the traditional method, and which rests on the principle that the exercise should be based upon the very words of some Latin author. These words furnish him a living model, in which he must find all his material—order, words, idioms, and constructions—and in which he must observe all the points wherein the structure varies from that of his own tongue. He is expected to familiarize himself first with the Latin passage and the details and peculiarities of its construction, and then to execute his exercise, reproducing the words and constructions, but with many changes of form, and in altered combinations; and to refer to the original only for correction and verification.

Next in the group is the Pages choisis des Mémoires du Duc de Saint-Simon, in preparing which Mr. A. N. Van Daell has been actuated by the belief that the study of a foreign language ought to bring students in contact with the master-minds of foreign nations. Too few of such works are accessible to ordinary students. Among the desirable ones is that of Saint-Simon, which "is one of the landmarks of French literature." The selection of such a book as this for class use presupposes a certain degree of maturity on the part of the student. The editor has taken no other liberties with the text than to omit, "as the occasion required," unsuitable expressions or sentences. Notes—all in French—are furnished, explaining difficult expressions and making various points more clear.

The third of Ginn & Co.'s linguistic publications is the translation of the Anglo-Saxon poems, Elene, Judith, Athelstan, and Byrhtnoth, by James M. Garnett. The translations were made in the course of class work, are critical, and are based on carefully revised editions. "Elene" relates to the search for the true cross by the Empress Helena; "Judith" is a version of the Hebrew legend; and "Athelstan" and "Byrhtnoth" relate to battles in Anglo-Saxon history.

In Oceania; Linguistic and Anthropological (Melbourne and London), the Rev. D.