English Drama. By J. Logie Robertson. (W. Blackwood and Sons.
2s. 6c1 )— We may wonder that English drama at schools has been so long confined to Shakespeare, for it is a hard task for boys to grasp the meaning of many lines. That they still retain an admiration for the dramatist while learning whole pages by heart is a triumph for Shakespeare. The idea of Mr. Robertson to provide speci- mens of good plays from Marlowe to Sir Henry Taylor is admir- able, and doubtless he will come to be regarded as the bene- factor of all schoolboys. We can even foresee an improve- ment in a boy's English prose and in his conversation. What has the schoolboy now as a polite education between Shake- speare's comedies and the comic operettas and topical songs of the day. Once or twice a year perhaps a play of Sheridan is acted by the sixth form. This capital selection of scenes from famous plays should remove the reproach. Not only is it a text-book with excellent notes, but a neat and handy col- lection of English dramatic masterpieces.
We are glad to record the appearance of Vol. XIX. of The Church Worker (Sunday School Institute, 2s. 4d.), "A Magazine for Sunday-School Teachers, and Church-Workers Generally," and full of suggestive hints and thoughts for the readers for whom it is intended.—Teachers may find a use for Lessons on Israel in Egypt and the Wilderness, by the late S. G. Stock, revised by the Rev. T. Turner and T. Rutt, with Notes by J. Pollard (same publisher, 2s.) The book has been before the public for many years and is now revised.— With this we may mention In the Beginning : Stories from Genesis for Children, by Mrs. E. R. Conder (Elliot Stock, 3s. 6d.) The difficulties are great, and Mrs. Conder at least introduces the idea which must be presented sooner or later, that the Creation narrative is not to be taken literally.
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