28 JULY 1928, Page 25

It would be superfluous in these columns to refer to

Mr. Waley's genius. All lovers of his translations of Chinese poems and of the first three parts of The Tale of Genji, will be eager for the sequel to that Japanese masterpiece, which is now before us—Blue Trousers, by Lady Murasaki (George Allen and Unwin, 10s. 6d.). New readers may find the opening chapter's, with their references to unfamiliar charac- ters and past events, a little trying, but, if they will have patience they will be swept along by a pageantry of words and find themselves in a land of flowers and spices, among people whose names are lovely as poems.

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