27 DECEMBER 1919, Page 18

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent reeqne.1

The London Mercury for December (2s. Od. net) reached us somewhat late in the month, but it was worth waiting for. Mr. Squire, the editor, contributes a long and thoughtful poem on The Moon " in which there are some fine stanzas, especially towards the close.

" A time there was when Life had never been,

A time will be, it will have passed away ; Still wilt thou shine, still tender and serene, When Life, which in thy sister's yesterday Had never flowered, will have drooped and faded "-

leading up to the reflection that the moon, when man has ceased to exist, will " be lovely alone for none." A pretty

song is printed from James Elroy Flecker's unpublished drama Hassan. Mr. Saintsbury has a long and interesting article on "Eighteenth Century Poetry," emphasizing the merits of

Dyer's " Grongar Hill " and Mrs. Greville's " Prayer for Indif ference." We wonder how many readers will share his admir- ation for the lady's verses. Mr. Conrad pays a handsome tribute to the late Stephen Crane. Mr. Hewlett has an attractive paper on the possibility of genuine self-revelation, illustrated mainly

from Dorothy Wordsworth's journal. We are glad to learn from the editorial notes that the immediate future of this literary

monthly is " securely guaranteed " by a large number of yearly subscribers.