The papers distributed at international exhibitions are often very oddly worded.  Thus, an agent in the French court of one of these, who described himself as an ``Ancient Commercial Dealer,’’ stated on a handbill that ``being appointed by Tenants of the Exhibition to sell Show Cases, Frames, &c., which this Court incloses, I have the honour to inform Museum Collectors, Librarians, Builders, Shopkeepers, and business persons in general, that the fixed prices will hardly be the real value of the Glasses which adorn them.’’

In 1864 was published in Paris a pretentious work, consisting of notices of the various literary and scientific societies of the world, which positively swarms with blunders in the portion devoted to England.  The new forms into which well-known names are transmogrified must be seen to be believed.  Wadham College is printed Washam, Warwick as Worwick; and one of our metropolitan parks is said to be p 190dedicated to a saint whose name does not occur in any calendar, viz., St. Jam’s Park.  There is the old confusion respecting English titles which foreigners find so difficult to understand; and monsieur and esquire usually appear respectively before and after the names of the same persons.  The Christian names of knights and baronets are omitted, so that we obtain such impossible forms as ``Sir Brown.’’

The book is arranged geographically, and in all cases the English word ``shire’’ is omitted, with the result that we come upon such an extremely curious monster as ``le Comte’ de Shrop.’’

On the very first page is made the extraordinary blunder of turning the Cambrian Archaeological Association into a Cambridge Society; while the Parker Society, whose publications were printed at the University Press, is entered under Canterbury.  It is possible that the Latin name Cantabrigia has originated this mistake.  The Roxburgh Society, although its foundation after the sale of the magnificent library of the Duke of Roxburgh is corp 191rectly described, is here placed under the county of Roxburgh.  The most amusing blunder, however, in the whole book is contained in the following charmingly nai:ve piece of etymology _a! propos_ of the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire:  ``On sait qu’en Anglais le mot Ride se traduit par voyage a! cheval ou en voiture; on pourrait peut-e^tre penser, de!s le de’but, qu’il s’agit d’une Socie’te’ hippique.  II n’en est rien; a! l’exemple de l’Association Britannique, dont elle,’’ etc.  This pairs off well with the translation of Walker, London, given on a previous page.

The Germans find the same difficulty with English titles that the French do, and confuse the Sir at the commencement of our letters with Herr or Monsieur.  Thus, they frequently address Englishmen as Sir, instead of mister or esquire.  We have an instance of this in a publication of no less a learned body than the Royal Academy of Sciences of Munich, who issued in 1860 a ``Rede auf Sir Thomas Babington Macaulay.’’