Poems of England. (Macmillan and Co.)-This selection of English patriotic
poetry, with notes by Mr. George and Mr. Arthur Sidgwick, is, on the whole, a satisfactory one. It, at any rate, includes no poem which ought not to be there. We miss, however, one or two poems which unquestionably ought not to have been passed over. For example, we ought to have had Macaulay's splendid "Battle of Naseby "-one of the most stirring poems in the language. Again, Macaulay's "Epitaph on a Jacobite" should have found a place. The lines- " By thove white cliffs I never more my see. By that dear language that I epske liki thee; Forget all feuds, and shed one Engish tear, O'er English dust—a broken heart lies here,"
are full of the highest patriotism. Still more serious is the omission of Doyle's "Red Thread of Honour" and also his "Balaclava." We think, too, that a place should have been found for Canning's "Pilot that Weathered the Storm." Still the selection is, as we have said, on the whole satisfactory, and we trust that it will be very widely used. The love of country is a thing which can be taught, and ought to be taught, and the best school is undoubtedly patriotic poetry.
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