9 JANUARY 1897, Page 25

Quarterly portions of The Oxford English Dictionary (Claren- don Press)

are : " Disburdened—Disobservant," Vol. III., edited by Dr. James A. Murray; and " Flip—Flexuore," Vol. IV., edited by Henry Bradley, M.A. The latter editor mentions in his prefatory note the curious fact that "out of 1,812 words con- tained in this section, not more than 35 existed in Old English." In Dr. Murray's portion, ont of 1,660 there is but one,—viz., "dish," which intervenes in the midst of a multitude of Latin or French derivations with the prefix " dia.*