Axel. A Poem, translated from the Swedish. By the Rev.
R. Muckles- ton, M.A. (Bell and Daldy.)—The subject of this poem is a rather
common-place romance about a young lady who followed her Swedish lover to the war in man's clothes, and was only discovered by him as she lay dying on the field of battle, whereupon, as in duty bound, he goes mad. Probably the charm of the original is to be found in the style.
This of course vanishes in the translation, which, though the versifi- cation is agreeable and elegant, would not attract attention as an original composition. The name of Mr. Muckleston assures us that "Axel" is a good specimen of Swedish literature, and in that point of view it would have had great interest if he had given us some little information as to the name, date, and character of the author. But there is not a line of preface—all we know is that it is "translated from the Swedish."
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