28 FEBRUARY 1914, Page 29

A. K. H. B. (T. Nelson and Sons. le. net.)—The

"country parson" was probably the best loved of all middle-Victorian essayists. The fame which ho won in the "sixties" led to an excessive revulsion in later years, when it was the fashion to name him as a type of the platitudinizer and the senti- mentalist. We commend the pious thought which has led Mr. Charles Boyd to make a selection from his father's work and to issue it in this cheap and handy form. A man who could write such true and touching words as are to be found in " Beaten " ought not to be forgotten, and we hope that this pleasant book will go far to revive the reputation of "Boyd of St. Andrews."