Revietv of Dr. Finsch's ' Die Papageien.' 273 



the information of ('' the beggars "), the benighted naturalists 

 of Europe^, whether this is the style in which Indian field natu- 

 ralists converse, or, at the least, those with whom Mr. Hume as- 

 sociates ? or are we to take it as being only a sample of that lan- 

 guage of the future " 100 years hence, when Enghsh is spoken, 

 as it then Avill be, by 500 millions of people?" {t. c. p. 4). 



Not content with next gracefully indicating in these choice 

 lines, 



" ' Him as prigs vot isn't his'n, 



Ven he's cotched 'ill go to pris'n,' " 



the proper abode of Dr. Finsch, Mr. Hume further threatens 

 him, and authors like him, with the pillory — "and if the 

 learned authors escape the pillory they so richly deserve (and 

 it shall be no fault of mine if they do), at any rate we have 

 the consolation of knowing, that posterity if it cannot ' quod ' 

 them ' will quod/ " etc. {t. c. p. 3). There is something sub- 

 limely comical in this gentleman's threat to " pillory " those 

 authors whose principles of nomenclature differ from his 

 own. That Mr. Hume, single handed, is fully capable 

 of providing an abundant supply of the appropriate missiles 

 is not impossible. But who will assist in erecting the 

 pillory ? 



There is also another form of pedantry which greatly ex;er- 

 cises Mr. Hume ; that " curious custom of parading brief 

 descriptions in what is supposed to be Latin ; as prefixes or 

 tags to full, sound, sufficient English or German ones " {t. c. 

 p. 3). "The motives that lead authors into this somewhat 

 meaningless practice " (/. c.) are then analyzed, all that is 

 ungenerous being attributed to them, while the self-evident 

 reason escapes Mr. Hume's powers of conception. We are 

 then assured, in solemn, prophetic tones and with a startling 

 confidence, untempered by even a single, favourite, unctuous, 

 saving adjuration of "D. V.," "that 100 years hence, when 

 English is spoken, as it then will be, by 500 millions of 

 people, any of their writings that survive, will do so only in 

 expurgated editions from which all the ' Latin ' has been care- 

 fully expvinged" {t. c. p. 4) . Then it is seriously suggested that 

 Latin should be discarded and that all descriptions should be 



