3 NOVEMBER 1888, Page 23

Victorian Hymns : English Sacred Songs of Fifty Years. (Regan

Paul, Trench, and Co.)—The editor has collected in this volume about one hundred and thirty original and about thirty translated hymns, which have been published during the fifty years of Queen Victoria's reign. Hence the title. We are glad to see that the art of hymn-writing is not lost. It takes a long time before a hymn can become an accepted favourite; yet some of these bid fair to become such. " Abide with me : fast falls the eventide," " Brief life is here our portion," " For thee, 0 dear, dear country !" are among the hymns which the Church owes to the last half- century.