the minutest changes in the form of words in the same or different languages are strictly subject to law, and that by the admission of any guesswork a science of etymology is at once rendered impossible. These lectures are therefore divided into two parts. In the first the Author treats of the body or outside of language, i. e. the sounds in which it is clothed in the second he examines the conceptions which form the soul or inside of language, their combinations and ramifications, their growth, their decay, and their resuscitation.

If it be true that language is the expression of mental impressions produced by sensuous objects, the divergence of dialects is in great part explained, while any attempt to invent a philosophical language which may serve for all nations implies the possibility and the necessity of classifying all that is known or can be known as the basis of a corresponding dictionary of signs both written and spoken. Such an attempt was made by Bishop WILKINS; but an examination of his system (LECTURE II.) shows that this artificial language, which, to serve its purpose, must be permanent and unchangeable, would constantly shift under the advance of knowledge. Artificial language would therefore be the exponent of the whole system of our notions: real language is the expression of general ideas admitting of indefinite expansion or modification. The former, in the words of LOCKE, would be the result of judgment, which seizes on the differences of ideas; the latter is the offspring of wit, which is contented with marking their real or apparent resemblance and congruity.

The conclusion that language is the expression of such general ideas carries us directly to the nature of human reason, and to the elements or roots from which language has grown up. We are thus brought to examine the theory which assigns the origin of speech to onomatopeia or the deliberate imitation of inarticulate sounds. This theory is held, however, in two ways. Some scholars, deriving all words from roots, according to the strictest rules of comparative grammar, regard the roots as in their own nature interjectional, a position, in reference to which it is prudent to remain neutral: others, deriving our words directly from cries and interjections, would throw etymology back into a state of chaotic anarchy. By the law of phonetic change, known as GRIMM's law, such a word as the English fiend, the German feind, the Gothic fijand must in Latin, Sanskrit or Celtic begin with the tenuis p. Accordingly in Sanskrit we find the root piy, to hate, of which the participle piyant would correspond exactly with the Gothic fijand. There are also the roots bhi, to fear, and púy, to decay, with many derivatives, all of which, with those

from the former root, would be confounded by the theory which traces all such words back to an interjectional fi!

In the Third Lecture, the Author treats, at length, of the physiological alphabet and examines the structure of the organs of speech. The instrumentality of these organs in the production of vocal and consonantal sounds and syllables, is in each case illustrated by a diagram. Having thus ascertained the exact nature of vowels and consonants, the Author in the Fourth Lecture treats of the laws of Phonetic change, as exhibited in languages with rich and poor alphabets, and of the results of imperfect articulation. The causes of phonetic change are to be sought partly in muscular relaxation, resulting from the unwillingness to pronounce any given letter distinctly, and partly in dialectic growth, which points to an early condition of speech in which articulation was so vague as to lend itself to very different interpretations. From this it would appear that all language consisted origi. nally of open syllables, of one consonant followed by one vowel, or of a single vowel; and the fact is important that some existing languages retain this simple structure.

The Fifth Lecture on GRIMM's Law, which classifies the changes undergone by roots and words in Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Slavonic, Lithuanian, Gothic, and High German, is fol. lowed by an appendix on words for fir, oak, and beech, which curiously illustrate the history of the arrival and early civilisation of the Aryans in Europe.

The etymological principles involved in the preceding lectures, show the worthlessness of conjectures founded on the outward resemblances of words. In the Sixth Lecture the Author endeavours to prove this more clearly by establishing and illustrating the four following points: (1) That the same word takes diflerent forms in different languages, (2) that the same word takes different forms in one and the same language, (3) that different words take the same form in different languages, and (4) that different words take the same form in one and the same language. The evidence for these positions demonstrates what would otherwise be incredible in the results of comparative philology. The Sanskrit word for a cow-pen has assumed in Greek the meaning of a palace, and has given rise to such derivations as cohorts, courts, courtesies, and courteousness. In the same way there is not an inch of ground which cannot be bridged over between forms so differing from each other as the French larme and the English tear.

In the Seventh Lecture on the powers of roots, the Author examines the theories of Greek philosophers on the nature of language. The ana

lysis which shows that all names, even those which are most special, are really general terms, expressing originally a general quality, would lead us to look for clusters of roots, in all of which this original idea would be found as a common element under indefinite modifications. This fact is illustrated by tracing the derivations of the root Mar, which from the original meaning of crushing, pounding, or destroying by friction, gives the Greek mýlê, the Latin mola, the English mill, the words mortal and immortal, the Sanskrit maru, a desert, the Latin, mare the sea, the Greek Arês, the Latin mulceo, the English mild, with many words for memory, love, hope, and grief.

The Eighth Lecture treats of Metaphor. The schools of the last century contented themselves with building up theories how language might have sprung into life, and how religion and mythology might have been revealed, invented, or put together. The philology of the present age adopts the inductive method, which since the days of Lord BACON has revolutionised all physical science, and fully bears out the assertion (first definitely made by LOCKE) that all words expressive of immaterial conceptions are derived by metaphor from words expressive of sensible ideas. These metaphors may be either radical or poetical. A metaphor is radical when a root of which the idea embraces one class of objects is applied to another class which exhibits some characteristic in common with the former.

Thus

a root meaning brightness, may furnish names not only for the sun or fire, but for the spring of the year, the brightness of thought, or the joyousness of thanksgiving. These metaphors, which may be traced in almost every word, are to be carefully distinguished from poetical metaphors, in which a noun or verb, ready made and assigned to one definite object or action, is transferred to another, as when the rays of the sun are called his hands or fingers, or as the dawn is said to give birth to the sun, because the sun seems to spring from her lap. From the former come the Sanskrit and Greek names for the Great Bear; from the latter, the tales which related how SAVITAR, the Sun, and the Norse God, TYR, came each to bave a hand of gold. There is obviously no limit to the multiplication of such tales, which must spring up when the original meanings of words are either wholly or in part forgotten, while the word itself is retained. As long as the word DYAUS meant simply the sky, there was no room for personification; when the remembrance of this meaning was impaired, every epithet which had been applied to ZEUS as the sky might become the source of a mythical tale. If in the old phrase it had been said that the morning

:

leaped forth from the face of the sky, the tale afterwards ran that ATHENÊ (or AHANA, the Dawn) sprang fully armed from the forehead of ZEUS. This is the origin of all systems of mythology and the Ninth Lecture treats of the form which that system assumed among the Greeks. The constant and earnest protests of their philosophers, the instinctive feeling which impels even their epic poets to drop the language of mythology in the moments of genuine feeling, show how completely that mythology was distinct from their religion. This distinction is brought out in the Tenth Lecture, which treats of the several names assigned to the Supreme Aryan God, whether known as DYAUS, ZEUS, JUPIter, or TYR.

In the Eleventh Lecture the Author examines the myths of the Dawn, as they are grouped around the names of SARAMA, HERMEIAS, SARANYU, the ASVINS, (or DIOSKUROI), AHANA, USHAS, ATHÊNÊ, ORTYGIA, &c. and he arrives at the conclusion that the dawn and the sun furnish the chief burden of the myths of the Aryan race.

In the last lecture the Author shows that the tendency which produced the ancient mythology must be at work in all ages and countries. Many mythical tales spring now, as of old, from popular etymology. The Grecian stairs at Lincoln are a mere corruption of the old English Greesen, or steps. The word Barnacles, in the sense of spectacles, seems to be connected with the German brille, which is a corruption of Beryllus. Barnacle, as a shell, is the Latin pernacula, so called from its similarity to a leg of pork. Barnacle, as a goose, is apparently an anglicised form of Hibernica, or Hiberniculæ, as being caught in Hibernia or Ireland. From the confusion of these last two words, sprang the astounding myth that the Barnacle goose was produced from the shell of the Cirrhopode; and this alleged fact was believed by GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS, by HECTOR BOECE, and by a Scotch Privy Councillor of the time of CHARLES II. These instances of the influence of words on thoughts may carry us into regions of the most momentous controversies. Much of the rancour, and many of the misconceptions prevailing between thinkers would be removed by a rigorous examination of general terms (such as Belief, Nature, Church, the Infinite), which are now used in senses utterly vague or contradictory. Ether has of late taken the place of caloric; but ether itself is an abstraction, useful for the purposes of physical speculation; and as long as it is thus used as an algebraic sign for an unknown quantity, it can do no harm. The mischief begins when language forgets itself, and makes us mistake the word for the thing, the quality for the substance.

The History of Windsor Great Park and Windsor Forest. By WILLIAM MENZIES, Resident Deputy Surveyor. Accompanied by 2 coloured Maps, and illustrated with 20 Photographs by the EARL of CAITHNESS and Mr. BEMBRIDGE of Windsor. Dedicated by permission to Her Majesty the Queen. Imperial folio, pp. 66, price £8 8s. half-bound in morocco, with gilt top. [Aug. 24, 1864. THE purpose of this work is to give an account

of the Park and Forest of Windsor which shall be not only interesting in itself, but also of practical utility to all persons engaged in the management of timber. The Author has therefore given a description of the several plantations, and he has been enabled to trace their history from the commencement of each, with an exactness which it would probably be impossible to attain in the history of any other estate in England.

The researches which have had their result in the present work were forced on the Author about nine years ago, when he found that he could not fulfil his duties as Forester without knowing the ages of the trees and the dates of the plantations, and possessing accurate data for the prospective valuation of growing timber. As no records had been kept on Windsor Forest, he betook himself to the places which appeared likely to afford information, such as the British Museum, the State-Paper Office, the Libraries at Windsor Castle and Blenheim, and the Land Revenue Record Office. In the course of a few years he found that there existed, and that he was able to identify in Windsor Park, a series, quite unequalled, of plantations from the time of Queen Elizabeth to the present day.

These plantations have been carefully measured; and the age and size of each, with their contents and numbers per acre, are given in a tabular form- -a large Map being annexed, so that any may find them, and, by comparison, may judge of the age or condition of their own woods. No such authentic record, the Author believes, has yet been presented to the public; and probably the materials for drawing up such a record could not be found on any other property in England.

During his researches into the purely arboricultural history of Windsor he became acquainted with many curious and interesting facts, hitherto unknown, illustrating chiefly the history of the picturesque Old Pollards of the Park and Forest, the old Forest Laws and practices regulating the rights of the Crown and the Commons. In these enquiries he was materially aided by Lord Macaulay.

An account is given of the various changes and improvements effected by the successive Rangers of the Great Park, commencing with the Ranger

ship of Baptist May, who first filled this office, in the reign of Charles the Second, down to that of the Prince Consort. Much of this history the Author believes to be entirely new, as he has compiled it chiefly from unpublished letters in the Blenheim Library, and from the Manuscript Letter Books of the Constables of the Castle, which have been brought to light only within the last three years.

From the year 1791, the Author is able to adduce the testimony of living witnesses among the Woodwards, Commoners, Swineherds, &c. of many of whom, as belonging to a class of English peasantry now almost extinct, some curious and interesting anecdotes are related. A full account is given of the establishment of Norfolk and Flemish Farms under George III. and it is shown that although not profitable at first, they gave a great impulse to the improving of farming land in the raising of green crops, draining, liming, and keeping clean. In reference to this subject, the Author notices the report made by Mr. Kent to the King on a system of grazing by a mixed stock of deer, cattle, and horses-a system which experience has shown to be the best. The year 1815 was of great importance in the history of the Park, as the awards were then announced for the definition of property and the settlement of complicated rights previous to the disafforesting or enclosing of Windsor Forest. A notice of these awards is followed by an account of others which secured to the Crown the possession of lands extending from New Lodge to Sandhurst, and of the four Royal trees standing on the land allotted to the Crown between Highstanding Hill and New Lodge. An account is then given of the buildings for the Royal Lodge at the Conservatory built for the Prince Regent-of roads cut in the Park between the years 1815 and 1825, and of the extent of ground added to the Park down to the last named year; from which time it may be said that progress was almost stopped till 1850, when the Board of Woods, Forests, and Public Works was subdivided, and the Prince Consort brought his whole influence to bear on the improvement of the Crown property. The Author makes no attempt to give a full detailed description of all that has since that time been attempted and executed, but a brief statement is given of the principal works accomplished, in the reclaiming and drainage of stiff clay land, the systematic improvement of the pasturage of the Park, and of the breeds of cattle.

The Author acknowledges gratefully the encouragement and assistance which he received from the Prince Consort, and the Commissioners of Woods, when his labours in ascertaining the age and history of the plantations became accidentally known to them. On the death of the