Lays of Middle Age, and other Poems. By James Hedderwick.
(Blackwood.)—This is a second edition which is in some respects, and certainly has all the interest of, a new book. For one thing, Mr. Hedderwick published his first edition as far back as 1859,—a fact which,iby-the-way, gives this edition somewhat of the appear- nee of a misnomer. For another, he has omitted some of the poems which appeared in-the-first edition, and has supplied their places with others,—certain of which, such asthe." Jubilee Ode," are not superior to their predecessors. It is perhaps enough here to say that Mr. Hedderwick is the most considerable of recent Scotch poets who have written in English, with the exception of Thomas Aird. Like Aird, he can condense a great amount of sentiment into a phrase. "The majestic agony of words" hits off admirably the style of a " frantic " ultra-Calvinistic preacher.
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