In general no book (not being a book arranged in alphabetical order, as a dictionary, encyclopedia, &c.) ought to be printed without a _table of contents_. The trouble to the author of making a table of contents is very small, and the expense to the publisher in printing it is in general imperceptible. Modern English books rarely sin in this respect; foreign books, however, both French and German, are frequently wanting in a table of contents. The invaluable collection of the fragments of Greek historians lately published in Didot's Series--a work indispensable to every critical student of ancient history--has no table of contents, referring to the pages, prefixed to each volume. The _Poetæ Scenici Græci_ of Dindorf is without a table of contents; and a similar want is a serious drawback to the use of the cheap and portable edition of the Greek and Latin classics published by Tauchnitz at Leipsic. Lastly, an _index_ adds materially to the value of every work which contains numerous and miscellaneous facts. The preparation of a good index is a laborious and sometimes costly task; the printing of it, moreover, adds to the price of the book. Many of the indexes to the English law-books are models of this species of labour; the indexes in the Parliamentary Reports are likewise prepared with great care and intelligence. Even a meagre index, however, is better than no index at all; and where the publisher's means, and the demand for the book, do not admit of the preparation of a copious index of subjects, an alphabetical list of names of persons and places would often be an acceptable present to the reader of an historical or scientific work. L. CAXTON MEMORIAL. The inquiries addressed to me by Mr. BOLTON CORNEY in your paper of the 15th of November appear to amount to this:--Whether the whole or part of the expense of his proposed volume will be defrayed out of the fund appropriated to the Caxton Memorial? To this question, so far as my own information extends, I can only give a negative reply. The Society of Arts, in compliance with a request preferred to them by the subscribers at their last meeting, have accepted the charge of the Caxton Fund; and it is sufficient, for my present purpose, to state that negociations are now in progress between the Council and the Dean and Chapter, for liberty to erect a suitable memorial within the precincts of Westminster to the memory of William Caxton. This is as it should be; the memorial, be it what it may, statue, obelisk or fountain, or even a niche in a wall, should be substantial and enduring, calculated to remind the passing stranger that within the precincts of Westminster, William Caxton first exercised in England the art of printing. This circumstance forms one of those epochs in the history of civilisation which deserve public commemoration; and any memorial of Caxton should be placed as near as possible to the scene of his literary labours.