160
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. v. FEB. 21, 1900.
'interest of the whole. What appears to us most
significant is the account of the terrible oppression
and misrule under which the peasant and working
classes generally live.
Studies in Poetry and Criticism. By John Churton
Collins. (Bell & Sons.)
WHATEVER Prof. Churton Collins has to say upon literature is worthy of attention. His reprinted criticisms, which are dedicated to Sir Oliver Lodge, are accordingly entitled to take their place in 'library form. Of the seven articles now reprinted, one on ' The Poets and Poetry of America' has ap- peared in The North American Review ; others are taken from The Quarterly,^ The Contemporary, The .National, and The Westminster Gazette; while one on ' The True Functions of Poetry ' has not pre- viously seen the light. Some of these have, it is said, been enlarged ; and some, including the essay on the poetry of Mr. William Watson, have been en- tirely rewritten. These essays are of different value, those which come last, on ' Longinus and Greek Criticism ' and * The True Functions of Poetry,' being the best. In ' Miltonic Myths and their Authors ' Prof. Collins dwells on the various assaults that have been made upon the reputation of the great tpoet, and denies very confidently the possibility of his having any share in the ' Nova Solyma,' a matter on which the last word may not yet have been spoken. To Mr. William Watson he is just, and to Mr. Gerald Massey generous. In his dealings with American poets we are not always at accord with him. In the general estimate we almost con- cur, but our favourite poems are not the Professor's. What is said of Thomas Bailey Aldrich is just and almost adequate, while Joaquin Miller is judiciously appraised. The censure, at least, upon Walt Whitman is merited, as is the praise of Col. Hay. In the fine essay on ' The Functions of Poetry ' we ^should have liked to see mention of Wither, whose verses, fluent and facile as they are, have insight -and feeling as well as grace.
Imaginanj Conversations and Classical Dialogues. By Walter Savage Landor. Essays, Dialogues, and Thoughts of Giacomo Leopardi. Translated by James Thomson (B. V.). Edited by Bertram Dobell. Thoughts on the Games of the Present Discontents, tfcc. By Edmund Burke. The Spectator. Edited by George A. Aitken. Vols. I. and II. Rasselas. By Dr. Samuel Johnson. (Routledge & Sons.)
"Six welcome volumes, representative of many more, are now added to " Routledge's New Universal Library," one of the most important of modern con- 'tributions to cheap literature in its highest form. Landor's ' Jm aginary Conversations' contains the Kjreek and Roman dialogues from the copyright edition edited in 1876 by John Forster. A second volume, soon to be expected, will contain the
- Dialogues of Sovereigns,' and will in due course be
followed by the remaining conversations. Thom- son's translation of Leopardi is edited by Mr. Bertram Dobell, the poet's friend, publisher, and patron. In this more than has previously been published is given to the world, and the editor supplies some deeply interesting information con- cerning the translator, together with what is, to a certain degree, a parallel between the two writers. To some extent, accordingly, this is a new work. Burke's ' Thoughts on the Causes of the Present Discontents ' and a tractate closely connected with
it form the opening volume of a new edition of
Burke, which must necessarily include many
volumes. The new edition of ' The Spectator,'
which is to be in six volumes, will supply in an un-
abridged form Mr. Aitken's eight-volume edition
produced in 1898 by Nimmo. With its notes and
other matter this may be regarded as the best and
most serviceable issue obtainable. In its present
shape it is a miracle of cheapness. The concluding
volumes will be eagerly expected. ' Rasselas ' is
also the first volume of an edition of Johnson which
will extend to several volumes. When complete,
these works will constitute an important addition
to a collection of singular value and importance to
the reader of limited means.
The Poems of Richard Crashaw. Edited by J. R.
Tutin. (Routledge & Sons.)
A NOTABLE addition to "The Muses' Library" is made by the publication of Mr. Tutin's edition of Crashaw, which is ushered in by Canon Beeching's Introduction. Editions of Crashaw multiply. This, which contains 'Steps to the Temple,' 'Carmen Deo Nostro,' 'The Delights of the Muses,' and the posthumous poems, is cheaper than any, and better than most.
|]toiiejes to <&0nt*g0n'btni*.
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D. NICHOLSON ("Straight is the line of duty"). MR. EUGENE TEESDALE stated at 6 th S. viii. 219 that these lines " were written by William Maccall, author of 'Elements of Individuality,' &c., and a personal friend of Thomas Carlyle."
CLIFTON ROBBINS ("Spick and span ). Much information will be found at 1 st S. iii. 330, 480; v. 521.
CORRIGENDUM. Ante, p. 131, col. 2. 1. 22 from foot, for "South American " read North American.
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