We have to notice the sixth and concluding volume of
The Works of Robert Burns. (Edinbmgh : Paterson.)—This volume contains the letters of the poet during the five years which he spent at Dumfries, a consider- able number, and among them some of importance, appearing for the first time. The editor thinks that unpublished letters still remain, to reward the efforts of future explorers. Meanwhile, it is curious to see how Allan Cunningham's " Biography " is transmuted into romance by the light of what we have. Following these letters is the interesting correspondence between Burns and George Thomson, who sought from the poet verses for a collection of Scotch melodies. Burns's excellent critical faculty comes out in these letters. It is interesting to remark that Thomson was the grandfather of the late Mrs. Charles Dickens. An appendix of various documents and an. index complete the volume. The editor and the publishers may be congratulated on having produced what must be called the standard' edition of Bums.
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