Celestina; or, The Tragick - Comedy of Calisto and IfelZoeci. Englished from
the Spanish of Fernando de Rojas by James 15Iabbe, 1639. (David Nutt.)—Mr. James FitzMaurice Kelly, who furnishes this volume with an introduction, dedicates it to Mr. Barrie, as being the work of "a renowned forerunner." We can. not see that De Rojas was a forerunner of Mr. Barrie in any but the most accidental way. As for the story, whatever attractions it may have had for its own generation, it seems, for the most part, tedious and not very decent. These "Tudor Translations," as they are called, whatever their merits of style, are scarcely worth the trouble that is being spent upon them. It is a fashion, and not a very reputable fashion, to admire them. Their literary merit and intrinsic interest seldom account for the acceptance which they seem to obtain.
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