7 
THE AET OF WETTING PRECIS. 
BY JOSEPH INCE, 
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE. 
Contributions forwarded to this Journal have, of late, outrun the space avail¬ 
able. Formerly (and specially during the autumn months) it was a source of 
some anxiety to raise sufficient matter; now, the new conditions under which 
pharmacy is placed, and the rise of kindred associations, have changed the as¬ 
pect of affairs. London is not indifferent to the interests of the country, nor 
to the value of these affiliated societies; on the contrary, these organizations are 
the highest personal compliment that can be paid, if imitation be the sincerest 
flattery, and there is no right-hearted man who does not know that association 
is the electric spark which first creates and then conserves vitality. 
Yet beyond doubt offence is given most unwillingly by the manner in which 
these “ Provincial Transactions ” are reported—the inexorable claims of space, 
not the Editor must be held responsible. Every year the difficulty will become 
more apparent, and larger demands for room must necessarily arise. Three 
remedies have been suggested. 
First, the addition of an extra sheet. Devoutly is it to be hoped that such an 
element of weakness will never be introduced except in cases of extreme emer¬ 
gency. 
At this moment it is not possible to wade through the various scientific Jour¬ 
nals which appear at regular intervals, and under which our tables groan. The 
least tendency to dilution should carefully be avoided. 
II. The issue of a second, Provincial Journal which might enter into friendly 
competition with our own. The scheme has met with unqualified disapproval 
whenever and wherever it has been mentioned ; and as gold and silver are 
stamped with the Hall mark, so is it thought no Journal can have sterling merit 
which does not bear ‘ London ’ on its title-page. Knowing however the prac¬ 
tice of the Continent, and that the little city of Antwerp, itself essentially com¬ 
mercial, produces a capital Journal de Pharmacie, we may hope to see the day 
when the spirit of Pharmaceutical literature shall rise higher than the smoke of 
Leeds, and superior to the damp influences of Liverpool. 
A third remedy remains, capable of immediate application, and which for 
many reasons I earnestly desire to recommend—the Art of writing Precis. 
An abstract is one thing, a Precis is another—the abstract is a talent within 
the easy reach of every educated person. The precis is an accomplishment 
which requires for its full mastery about two years. 
There are two kinds of abstract—the first good up to a certain point. It 
consists in giving a summary of important facts or thoughts, and this when ap¬ 
plied to books, is called Analysis. The second variety occurs where the resume 
reflects the reporter’s not the writer’s views—Thus u Mr. Disraeli in his bril¬ 
liant, but rather flippant manner, observed—” and in like one-sided criticism 
the public is presented with a garbled version of the debate. Some of our cheap 
newspapers adopt this method, which for its exercise involves neither skill, nor 
study—it may be reprobated as dishonest literature, and is beneath contempt. 
I need not recall the famous letter of Montalembert on this subject in which he 
contrasts the trick writing of the Paris Journals with the general fearless ho¬ 
nesty of the English press. 
Precis is the art of reporting in abstract, spoken or written words, retaining 
and reproducing the individual characteristics of the author. 
Marvellous examples of this class of composition are daily to be found in the 
columns of the ‘ Times ’ paper, nor can any better guide to its acquirement be 
suggested. The writer just quoted, confessed his blank astonishment at the 
dexterity with which the essence of either a short speech or of an elaborate ora- 
