M. C. Koefoed: Anm. af Kaper, Tysk Grammatik. 171 her side. Thus rather before a comparative came to mean ἐπ slightest perceptible degree of excess. It is a very interesting fact that the Old Norse comparative heldr, which corresponds to Engl. rather in its original meaning of «by preference», German /Zieber, is also used in the same down-toning way as the Modern Engl. rather. Thus it is often found before another comparative: G. κυα honum heldr ráðligra at fara i Krossavik, said it was rather more advisable to go to Κι; even redundantly just as in English: með ollum þeim lunnendum — , sem betra er at hafa heldr en ón at vera, — which it is better to have rather than be without; and before an adjective in the positive degree: einn sá hlutr er heldr undarligr mun þykkja, a thing that may seem rather wonderful. This use of heldr is still kept up in Norwegian dialects; thus I find in Ross, Norsk Ordbog: D’æ hella kallt, it is rather cold; han œ eldre helde so eg, he is older rather than I. — As there cannot, of course, be any connection between this use of Že/dr in Old Norse and Norwegian dialects, and a development that took place in English in the eighteenth century, this is another instance of how the same linguistic phenomena may develop themselves quite independently in two languages, thereby proving that the same mental forces which are seen to be at work in the development of language in modern times, have also been at work in the earlier stages of the history of language, though they may not work exactly in the same order, and consequently not produce the same results in different languages at the same time. In this particular instance Norwegian has got the start of English, on other points the case may be reversed. Thus the now obsolete use of so for how in Chaucer, mentioned by the author on page 107: Zord, so ye swete! is very common this very day in colloquial Norwegian: Gud, så sved du er!, or in children’s (and young ladies’) language: å gid, så moro det var! Goodness, how amusing it was! These shall also be my parting words to Mr. Stoffel’s book. Frederiksstad. Aug. Western. J. og Ernst Kaper, Tysk Grammatik for Latinskolens överste Klasser. 2. Udg. Kbhvn. 1900, Gyldendal. 162 S. Overlærer Kaper har udgivet sin tyske Grammatiks störste Udgave i en noget udvidet og ændret Skikkelse; som Medudgiver har han benyttet sin Sön, cand. mag. E. Kaper. — Det forekommer Anm., at allerede den forrige Störsteudgave var for vidt- ' The following quotations are taken from Fritzner’s Dictionary.