London and Westminster : City and Suburb. By John Timbs,
F.S.A. 2 vols. (Bentley.)—Curiosities of London. By John Timbs, F.S.A. New Edition. (Longmans.)—It is now some years since Mr. Timbs made himself a name by the publication of the second of these two works. The reissue of it now, enlarged' and improved, is a wise mea- sure, and the book is more than ever likely to be generally useful. Its arrangement may not be wholly free from faults, and we may miss from its pages some things which seem to us worthy to rank among the curiosities of London. But we must say that Mr. Timbs has done his beat as a compiler, and that the results of his industry are marvellous. We cannot speak so highly of the first book, which has not the same excuse for its existence. It is merely a cent° of odds and ends cut out and abridged from all places without method or meaning. The transi- tions of style from Mr. Timbs himself to the Saturday Review, and from the critic of some book to the book which is being criticized, ace often too abrupt, and we alternately wonder at the mildness of the Saturday, the acerbity of Mr. Timbs, and the vigour with which an author passes judgment upon his own writings. Putting this slight confusion aside, we have a right to remonstrate when two fair volumes are made up of newspaper cuttings. These cuttings are often curious, and there is much interesting matter in Mr. Timbs'a work. But he carries the principle of compilation too far, and though we do not object to it when—as in the other book —all the selections are referred to distinct heads, a mere string of extracts is rather tedious than otherwise.
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