29 JANUARY 1910, Page 46

Selected Tales of Mystery. By Edgar Allan Poe. Illustrated by

Byam Shaw. (Sidgwick and Jackson. 12s. 6d. net.)—These pictures seem rather half-hearted. The artist has not penetrated far below the surface. Take, for instance, the scene where the gold-bug is dropped through the eye of the skull to indicate the spot on the earth which will give the position of the buried treasure. The two figures might be modern American farmers, such as are familiar to us in Harper's Magazine, discussing the crops. There is much more chaaacter in the scene in the bedroom illustrating "The Case of M. Valdemar."