A Practical German Grammar in Bloomington, MN

Mr. Beresford-Webb, like Mark Twain, is seized with a divine despair at the eccentricities of German nouns. Private students are advised "not to make too great a point of mastering the rules for the declensions and genders, as the numerous exceptions may only tend to dishearten them and to weary them with the language before giving it a fair trial." And again, "very few rules can be given for the numerous foreign words of such frequent use in German." It must be remembered, however, that the written thought is as necessary as swift speech, and that examiners trouble the face of the earth. The simplification of German declensions justifies any means adopted, and possibly Mr. Beresford-Webb is justified by results when he adopts the division according to gender; we question, however, whether he has made the most of his opportunities in dealing with foreign words.