CURRENT LITERAT URE.
A VOLUME OF VERSE.
Myrtle and Oak. By Rennell Rodd. (Forbes and Co., Boston, U.S.A. $1 net.)—Sir Rennell Rodd has put together a selection 1..oin his volumes of verse with a special purpose for readers on the other side of the Atlantic. Some of the poems are well known; that one, for instance, which begins with-
" My England, island England, such leagues and leagues away, It's years since I was with thee, when April wanes to May."
A few are now published for the first time, among them " L'Envoi," from which we quote the following stanzas
Go through that greater England The years have reconciled,
And touch the kindred blood that flows Through mother as through child I
And say to that new England For you, too, were we sung, And in your heart the note must be
To which our strain is strung! And greet me that great England
My feet have never trod, Whose heroes are our heroes And whose God must be our God."
The whole volume, which may be taken to represent the poet at his best, exhibits an uncommon wealth of thought and feeling expressed with much felicity and technical skill. The strongest note that is struck is that of patriotism ; but the music has a large compass, and whatever the theme, it is adequate. Here it may be heard in a minor key :-
" FOR A GRAVE.
Pansies first and violets blue, While our thought is full of you, While they name you soft and low, Lest the heart should overflow. Roses in a little while.
When we learn again to smile, When our sorrow finds relief In the sympathy of grief. Lilies last in later years, After time has dried our tears, Such as brother Lippo paints In the hands of happy saints."
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