* * * * " In dark lieu of Heaven,"
Francis Thompson was given the " sacrosanct cajoleries " of numbers that shall endure with our language. The latest book about him (Francis Thompson and his Poetry, by the Rev. T. H. Wright. Harrap. 2s. net) has some phrases that evoke keener compre- hension of an imagery so gorgeous that it dazzles and at first dismays, and some plain common-sense criticism, too, such as " although as an errand-boy he left much to be desired, as a poet he never forgot on what errand he was sent." No critic could do justice to " C,oryrnbus for Autumn," " Orient Ode," or " The Hound of Heaven." Francis Thompson must be read and marked : he may hardly be explained without- being explained away, for his ultimate appeal is not to mind but to the unconscious. Mr. Wright has done well, however. One could not wish for a more sympathetic and penetrating essay : may it send many to the poems them- selves, to " Unfurl the flaming of a thousand dreams."
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