How to Form a Library Part 7

_Milton._--A Complete Concordance to the Poetical Works of Milton. By Guy Lus.h.i.+ngton Prendergast, Madras Civil Service.

Madras, 1857. 4to. Originally published in 12 parts.

---- A Complete Concordance to the Poetical Works of John Milton. By Charles Dexter Cleveland, LL.D. London, 1867. Sm.

8vo.

The Rev. H.J. Todd compiled a verbal Index to the whole of Milton's Poetry, which was appended to the second edition of his life of the Poet (1809).

_Pope._--A Concordance to the Works of Alexander Pope. By Edwin Abbott, with an Introduction by Edwin A. Abbott, D.D.

London, 1875. Royal 8vo.

_Shakespeare._--The Complete Concordance to Shakspere: being a verbal Index to all the pa.s.sages in the dramatic works of the Poet. By Mrs. Cowden Clarke. London, 1845. Royal 8vo.

---- Shakespeare-Lexicon: a Complete Dictionary of all the English words, phrases and constructions in the works of the poet. By Dr. Alexander Schmidt. (Berlin and London), 1874. 2 vols. royal 8vo.

---- A Concordance to Shakespeare's Poems: an Index to every word therein contained. By Mrs. Horace Howard Furness.

Philadelphia, 1874.

---- A Handbook Index to the Works of Shakespeare, including references to the phrases, manners, customs, proverbs, songs, particles, etc., which are used or alluded to by the great Dramatist. By J.O. Halliwell, Esq., F.R.S. London, 1866. 8vo. Only fifty copies printed.

_Tennyson._--A Concordance of the entire works of Alfred Tennyson, P.L., D.C.L., F.R.S. By D. Barron Brightwell.

London, 1869. 8vo.

_Tennyson._--Concordance to the works of Alfred Tennyson, Poet Laureate. London, 1870. "The Holy Grail," etc., is indexed separately.

---- An Index to "In Memoriam." London, 1862.

_Costume._--A Cyclopaedia of Costume or Dictionary of Dress, including Notices of Contemporaneous Fas.h.i.+ons on the Continent.... By James Robinson Planche, Somerset Herald.

London, 1876-79. 2 vols. 4to. Vol. I. Dictionary. Vol. II.

General History of Costume in Europe.

_Councils._--Councils and Ecclesiastical Doc.u.ments relating to Great Britain and Ireland. Edited after Spelman and Wilkins, by Arthur West Haddan, B.D., and William Stubbs, M.A. Oxford, 1869. Vol. II. Part I. 1873. Vol. III. 1871.

8vo.

---- England's Sacred Synods. A Const.i.tutional History of the Convocations of the Clergy from the earliest Records of Christianity in Britain to the date of the promulgation of the present Book of Common Prayer, including a List of all Councils, Ecclesiastical as well as Civil, held in England in which the Clergy have been concerned. By James Wayland Joyce, M.A. London, 1855. 8vo.

_Dates._--See _History_.

_Dictionaries._

(_English._)--One of the most useful English Dictionaries is the "Imperial Dictionary" by Ogilvie, which has been edited with great care by Charles Annandale.[16] The vocabulary is very full, the etymology is trustworthy, and the definitions are clear and satisfactory. The engravings which are interspersed with the text are excellent, and greatly add to the utility of the Dictionary.

For years preparations have been made for a Standard English Dictionary, and at last the work has been commenced under the able editors.h.i.+p of Dr. James A.H. Murray. In 1857, on the suggestion of Archbishop Trench, the Philological Society undertook the preparation of a Dictionary, "which by the completeness of its vocabulary, and by the application of the historical method to the life and use of words, might be worthy of the English language and of English scholars.h.i.+p." The late Mr. Herbert Coleridge and Dr.

Furnivall undertook the editors.h.i.+p, and a large number of volunteers came forward to read books and extract quotations. Mr. Coleridge died in the midst of his work, and upon Dr. Furnivall devolved the entire editors.h.i.+p in addition to his other onerous duties as Secretary of the Philological Society. He projected the admirable system of sub-editing, which proved so successful. As the work proceeded several of the most energetic and most competent workers undertook to sub-edit the materials already collected, each one taking a separate letter of the alphabet. Some two million quotations were ama.s.sed, but still the man was wanting who would devote his life to forming the Dictionary from these materials. In course of time Dr. Murray came forward, and in 1878 he prepared some specimens for submission to the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, who agreed to publish the Dictionary. The first part was published in 1884, and the second in 1885.[17] It is hoped that in future it will be possible to issue a part every six months. At present the alphabet is carried down to Batten. This is one of the most magnificent pieces of work that has ever been produced in any country, and it is an honour to every one concerned. To the Philological Society who conceived it, to Dr. Murray and his staff who have devoted so much labour and intellect to its production, and to the Clarendon Press who have published it to the world.

It is, moreover, an honour to the country which now possesses a well-grounded hope of having, at no distant day, the finest Historical Dictionary ever produced.

In this connection the _Encyclopaedic Dictionary_, now in course of publication by Messrs. Ca.s.sell, should be mentioned as a valuable work.

Up to a few years ago it was impossible to obtain any satisfactory etymological information on English words from our Dictionaries. Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood partly removed this reproach by the publication of his very valuable "Dictionary of English Etymology" in 1859,[18] but in this work Mr.

Wedgwood only dealt with a portion of the vocabulary.

Professor Skeat commenced the publication of his indispensable "Etymological Dictionary of the English Language" (Clarendon Press) in 1879, and in 1884 he produced a second edition. In 1882 Professor Skeat published "A Concise Etymological Dictionary," which is something more than an abridgment, and a book which should find a place in all libraries of reference.

A Glossarial Index to the Printed English Literature of the Thirteenth Century. By H. Coleridge. London, 1859. 8vo. This was one of the earliest publications which grew out of the preparations for the great Philological Society's Dictionary. Stratmann's Dictionary of the Old English Language (third edition, Krefeld, 1878) is an indispensable work. A new edition, prepared by Mr. H. Bradley, is about to be issued by the Clarendon Press.

Of single volume Dictionaries, Mr. Hyde Clarke's "New and Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language as spoken and written" in Weale's Educational Series (price 3_s._ 6_d._) is one of the most valuable. I have time after time found words there which I have searched for in vain in more important looking Dictionaries. Mr. Clarke claims that he was the first to raise the number of words registered in an English Dictionary to 100,000.

The Rev. James Stormonth's "Dictionary of the English Language, p.r.o.nouncing, Etymological, and Explanatory," is a work of great value. It is so well arranged and printed that it becomes a pleasure to consult it.

Those who are interested in Dialects will require all the special Dictionaries which have been published, and these may be found in the Bibliography now being compiled by the English Dialect Society, but those who do not make this a special study will be contented with "A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century, by J.O.

Halliwell" (fifth edition, London, 1865, 2 vols. 8vo.), which is well-nigh indispensable to all. Nares's Glossary (1822-46, new edition, by J.O. Halliwell and T. Wright, 2 vols. 8vo. 1859) is also required by those who make a study of Old English Literature.

The following is a short indication of some of the most useful working Dictionaries:

_Arabic._--Lane.

_Greek._--Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, both in 4to. and in abridged form in square 12mo.

_Latin._--The Clarendon Press publish a Latin Dictionary founded on Andrews's edition of Freund, and edited by C.T.

Lewis and C. Short, which is of great value. Smith's Dictionary, both the large edition and the smaller one, and that of Riddle are good.

_French._--The Dictionaries of Fleming and Tibbins, and Spiers, keep up their character, but for idioms the International French and English Dictionary of Hamilton and Legros is the best. For smaller Dictionaries Ca.s.sell's is both cheap and good. Bellows's Pocket Dictionary has obtained considerable fame, but those who use it need a good eyesight on account of the smallness of the type. It is, however, beautifully printed. The Standard French Dictionaries of that language alone are the n.o.ble work of Littre and the excellent Dictionary of Poitevin (2 vols.

4to.). For early French G.o.defroy's elaborate work, which is now in progress, must be consulted.

_German._--Fluegel's German and English Dictionary still holds its own, but Koehler's Dictionary is also excellent.

Hilpert's and Lucas's Dictionaries, both good ones, are now out of print. Of Standard German Dictionaries Grimm's great work is still in progress. Sanders's Dictionary is also of great value.

_Danish and Norwegian._--The Dictionary by Ferrall, Repp, Rosing and La.r.s.en is good.

_Dutch._--Calisch (2 vols. 8vo. 1875).

_Hebrew._--Fuerst, Gesenius.

_Icelandic._--Vigfusson.

_Italian._--Baretti's Dictionary still keeps up its character, but Millhouse's work is also good.

_Portuguese._--Vieyra.

_Russian._--Alexandrow.

_Sanscrit._--Monier Williams. Boehtlingk and Roth.

_Pali._--Childers.

_Spanish._--Neumann and Baretti, and also Velasquez.