Dedications : rat .dnthology. Compiled by Mary Elizabeth Brown. (G.
P. Putnam's Sone. 10s. 6d. net.)—Tbis enter- taining volume is the fruit of is pleasant excursion in one of the bypatbs of literature. The practice of dedicating books has passed through three stages. Originally it was the spon- taneous expression of an author's affection for a friend, at whose feet he laid the children of his Muse. It then, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, took on a purely commercial aspect: the author sold his praises to the highest bidder, sometimes for patronage, sometimes simply for cash-- in the golden days of Queen Anne the current price for the dedication of a play varied from five to ten guineas. It is much to Oliver Goldsmith's honour that, in spite of his perpetual want of pence, he was one of the first to break away from this degrading habit. Nowadays we have reverted to the older practice, and a dedication is used as is sign of personal friendship or of literary allegiance.
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