10 OCTOBER 1891, Page 12

tive pieces which he has put together in this volume

as "idyls."

An idyl is a little picture ; and these are little pictures. But the usage of the term is commonly limited to descriptions of the pleasant kind. Idyls are "sweet," or "beautiful," or " peaceful ;" if they are pathetic, the pathos must have refinement in it. Mr. Emerson's idyls might rather be characterised as "sombre," "squalid," and the like. The fourth is an exception, but it is very brief. The mood does not seem to snit him. There is a certain power about his drawing ; but he has a preference, it would appear, for the seamy side of life which makes the work anything but attractive.