12 OCTOBER 1918, Page 20

Pearl. Rendered into Modern English Verse by E. J. B.

Kirtlan. (C. H. Kelly. 2s. 6d. net.)—Thl remarkable English fourteenth. century poem, "Pearl," which Dr. Gollancz has brought to the notice of our generation, has attracted several translators, but Mr. Kirtlan's verse rendering is welcome, even though some of his rhymes are unfortunate. The theme of a father who meets again in Paradise the little child whom he had lost is of eternal significance, and the many charming descriptive passages stand out clear from the mediaeval moralizing, which is as ingenious as it is wearisome.