We note with great satisfaction the appointment of Mr. J.
W. Ma.ckail to succeed Dr. A. C. Bradley as Professor of Poetry in the University of Oxford. Winners of the Newdi- gate have not invariably' distinguished themselves in after life, but Mr. Mackail's services to literature, whether as trans- lator, critic, commentator, or historian, have more than fulfilled the high promise of his undergraduate days. His short history of Latin literature is a masterpiece 'of conaise yet luminous criticism, while his felicitous renderings of Virgil in prose and Homer's Odyssey in verse serve to illustrate his command of a style at once flexible and distinguished. Such a record affords an ample guarantee that Mr. 3fackail will prove at all points a worthy successor to the distinguished scholar who now vacates the Chair of Poetry at Oxford.
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