Mr. R. L. Megroz has succeeded in a difficult task,
that of surveying (in Francis Thompson, Faber and Gwyer, 12s. 6d.) the whole field of a poet whose imagery is as rich and recondite as any in our language save Shakespeare. He quotes Mrs. Meynell : "in Francis Thompson the majestic Latin word is forged hot on the anvil of the artificer. No old English in the making could be readier or closer." The fine frenzy of the" Corymbus," whose words froth in the veins of autumn, the subtleties of perception and the high and secret passion of the "hound of Heaven," and that most characteristic and magical poem of all—the "Orient Ode "—are criticized with tenderness and truth. Mr. Megroz has 'made us find new beauties in what we already Rive, and that is the highest function of a Critic. - We could have read less of comparisons with Patmore, Crashaw, or even Shelley, for we come to praise Thompson, not to bury him under a load of comment. But that is a small matter. We welcome this book, for it will find new readers for a great poet and many a " havening heart" in which his verse may " ancho..' the fre;ghtage of its virgin ore."
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