One of the most important of the interesting fac-simile reprints
which have lately found such favour with the public is Paradise Lost, as Originally Published by John Milton, with an Introduction by David Masson (Elliot Stock). Mr. Masson, who describes, with the minute care which is usual with him the circumstances of the first publication, has made his introduction very interesting. He remarks that the Paradise Lost contrasts very favourably with the rest of Milton's poeti- cal works, in the care which had evidently been bestowed on the correction of the press. The spelling, for instance, though fluctuating and capricious, is far better than that which we find in the first edition of the "Samson Agonistos." The interest and value of these exact re- prints are beyond a doubt, but we hope that no attempt will be made to push the use of them beyond proper limits. For ordinary readers, and still more for educational purposes, they are quite out of place.
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