Ballads and Poems. By Dora Si g erson (Mrs. Clement Shorter). (James
Bowden. Ss. 6d.)—On the whole we prefer the " ballads" to the "poems."' "False Dearbhorgil," for instance, is a very spirited piece of work. But ballads are too long to quote, and naturally..do not lend themselves to extract. Here is a specimen of the writer's quality from the "poems" :— "SPRIXe Seem: TO IRELAND. "Weep' no more, heart of my heart, no more !
The night has passed, and the dawn is here, The cuckoo calls from the budding trees And tells us that Spring is near.
Sorrow no more, beloved, no more For see, sweet emblem of hope untold, The tears that soft on the shamrock fall There turn to blossoms of geld.
Winter has gone with his blighting breath, No more to chill thee with cold or fear,
The brook laughs loud In its liberty,
Green buds on the hedge appear.
Weep no more, life of my heart, no more! The birds are carolling sweet and clear; The warmth of Summer is in the breeze, And the Spring—the Spring Is here."
This is poetry ; but the metre has a serious defect. The first and third lines should be rhymed as well as the second and fourth. This is imperative except where the four-lined stanza is practically a couplet, written in four for convenience' sake. But these lines are too long, making the rhymes too far apart. Of course this would have cost more pains. . We cannot help thinking, that Mrs. Clement Shorter is too sparing of pains, as indeed are forty-nine verse-writers out of fifty.
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