A Lexical Concordance to the Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe
Shelley. Compiled and arranged by F. S. Ellis. (B. Quaritch.)—We hope, for the sake of the author, that the admirers of Shelley's poetry are more numerous than he thinks. "Outside the circle of pro- fessed students," he has "never met," he tells us, "with a single person who could lay claim to have read more than two or three of hie most celebrated lyrics." We do not know what a "professed student" is ; must he belong to a "Shelley Society," or is he per- mitted to enjoy the poet in his own study ? The writer of this notice knows his Horace pretty well by heart, but never thought of calling himself a "professed student" of Horace's poetry. And does Mr. Ellis mean that he never met with any one (exceptis excipiendis) who had read more of Shelley's poems generally than two or three of his most celebrated lyrics ? His words grammatically mean that, out of an uncertain number of "most celebrated lyrics," no one not a professed student had read more than two or three. It is ungracious, however, to carp at the most commendably brief and unassuming preface with which Mr. Ellis introduces to the world this vast work, a great work indeed, and manifestly the outcome of a great love. His industry and enthusiasm are truly admirable.
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