TWO ANTHOLOGIES.
Childhood in Verse and Prose. An Anthology chosen by Susan Miles. (Oxford University Press. 7s. 6d. net. ) Religious Lyrics of the 14th Century. Edited by Carleton Brown. (Oxford University Press. 10s. 6d. net.)
NOT all the antipathy that, in certain circles, stirs at the mention of anthologies has any power, it seems, to stop the
free flowing of such books from the presses. Evidently they are profitable and popular, and the light their popularity
throws on the tendencies of the age is considerable. There is, Of course, no end to the subjects available; already they have ranged from boxing to bedside books ; and now Mrs. Miles has given us an Anthology on the subject of Childhood.
Let us say at once that if all anthologies were as good as this -one is, there would be far less excuse to grow tetchy when they are mentioned, for Mrs. Miles has done her work exceed- ingly well.
Alluring though the subject of Childhood is to the antholo- gist, it would be difficult to find one more likely to lead him astray into nauseating sentimentalities : it may be some guide to Mrs. Miles' method, therefore, to mention that she has allotted Dickens only two items to Lamb's thirteen, and has been careful to include that most perfect of all epitaphs
Jane Lister, dear childe, died Oct. Vth, 1688," from the cloisters at Westminster. The editor is not catering for sentimentalists : "the book," she writes, "is intended for those lovers of literature who happen also to be lovers of children ; it is not intended to appeal directly to the-maternal instinct." It is a wide field that has been gleaned—a field that ranges from the fourteenth century till to-day and that includes both prose and verse. For convenience the
book has been divided into sections : "This Tender Age," "The Christ-Child," "New Wax is Best for Printyng„" &c. If we must find something to quibble at in this excellent selection it is that, although translations (since obviously some arbitrary lines had to be drawn) were not included, we think that such a ruling need not have necessitated the exclu-
sion of Bible extracts. We miss the story of the Shunammite woman's son.
Mr. Brown's Anthology is made of sterner stuff ; and because he has been at no pains to popularize his book, we are afraid it will not get the attention from the general reader that it deserves. Not only are the lyrics comprising this selection older than Chaucer, but many of them are in unfamiliar dialects ; and, as if further to alienate us from his cause, Mr. Brown has had recourse to two obsolete letters. Yet there is an appeal in his book quite outside the scholarly attention it must attract : for those who are willing to take a little trouble for their pleasures it has much to offer. Just as the sight of some vivid Doom in a quiet country church can convey more to us of the mediaeval mind than all the tales historians may tell, so almost any one of these lyrics has the magic whereby we may win to the same immediate grasp of a forgotten mentality ; the actual phraseology of them, their spontaneous and delicious rhythms, the simplicity and rightness of their metaphors, and the single-mindedness of their subject-matter help to a far more sympathetic under- standing of the mediaeval mind than any amount of descrip- tive history Luneli t,er of loueli eye, qui dostu me so wo Borful ter of sorful eye, thu brekat myn herte a-to.
Thu sikest sore, Thi sorwe is more Than mannis muth may telle ; Thu singest of sorwe, Manken to borwe Out of the, pit of hello. Luueli ter of loueli eye, qui dostu me so vso
Sorful ter of sorful eye, thu brekst myn herte a-to."
Since the book is arranged chronologically, the poems of the last half are easier to grasp than those of the first ; and it is as well for the general reader (to whom we are especially commending this work) to begin there and to work backwards. A full and excellent glossary is provided and a brief intro- duction. It is intended, we are glad to learn, that the present collection shall be followed by similar collections from the
thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. C. HENRY WARREN.
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