Thomson : The Seasons, and The Castle of Indolence. " Clarendon
Press Series." Edited, with Biographical Notice, Introductions, Notes, and a Glossary, by J. Logie Robertson, M.A. (Clarendon Press, Oxford.)—There was a time when Thomson's " Seasons " was the most popular book of poetry in the country. It was to be found in every house, and even in the cottages of the poor. The poem appeared when Pope's star was in the ascendant, when the heroic couplet was in vogue among versemen, and when it is generally supposed that the love of natural beauty had waxed cold. Yet it won its reputation at a bound, and, in spite of obvious defects of taste, deserved the favour it received. Thomson's love of Nature was profound, and a more faithful observer of her aspects never lived. This is the secret of his success in "The Seasons," for its episodes, dear in years long past to young women of sentiment, are poetically worthless. In the history of English poetry, the poem must always occupy a distinguished place, for it revived a love that was "deep in the general heart," but needed the strong voice of a poet like Thomson to give to it full expression. Over "The Castle of Indolence" the poet seems to have laboured for fourteen or fifteen years. While it shows how profoundly he had felt the genius of Spenser, the poem is thoroughly original, and an exquisite thing of its kind. If the reader is a little disposed to find fault with its monotony, he must remember that the poet takes him into a land of drowsy-head, and that the verse is in accordance with the theme. Mr. Robertson is thoroughly familiar with his subject, and his explanatory notes, intended, be it remembered, for young students, are very minute and copious. He considers that "Thomson furnishes in The Seasons' the best introduction to the study of Wordsworth's poetry," a doubtful statement, we think, since the methods of the two poets are wholly different. Apart from a patient and watchful love of Nature, what have they in common? The text of" The Seasons" in this edition is from that of the year 1746, which received the author's revision ; but the editor has examined earlier texts, and points out "all the alterations of real interest." His illustrations from other poets will be of service to the readers for whom this volume is designed. Mr. Robertson also lays claim to having corrected many faults that appeared in the early Lives of Thomson, and "have continued to infest his biography ever since."
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