13 JULY 1901, Page 26

The Porter of Bagdad, and other Fantasies. By Archibald Mac-

niechan. (G. N. Morang and Co., Toronto. 4s.)—We mean no sort of patronage when we say that these word pictures are chiefly notable for their place of origin. Verso comes first in a nation's literature, and we have bad some good Canadian verse; then comes poetical prose, marking a certain stage of culture. Poets are born; but the writers of poetical prose are made. There is some very good work in these little studies of Nature and the heart. Mr. Macmechan paints for us foregrounds and landscapes, and sometimes human moods, showing now and again not only a certain graphic power, but also insight. It is easy to have too much of this kind of thing. We hope that the writer will go to work of a more substantial kind.