7 DECEMBER 1901, Page 24

The Bubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. (Brimley Johnson, London; A. C.

Curtis, Guildford. 2a.)—We welcome this charming little reprint of the first edition of FitzGerald's "Omar" for several reasons. In the first place, it is in itself a very pretty little book, exquisitely printed on paper which recalls the thick glazed yellow paper on which the "sweet-scented manuscripts" of Persia are written, and has a very well designed title-page. Next, it is the product of a local press (the Astolat Press, Guild- ford). It is always pleasant to see the decentralisation of artistic production. Finally, the reprint is of the first edition. Now the first edition was no doubt immensely improved on in later years by FitzGerald, but none the less one is glad to have a reprint of the original text of the translation.