Story Poems for Young and Old. Edited by E. Davenport.
(Cassell and Co.)—The editor, who has already brought out poetry- books for boys and for girls, now tries his hand (or is it her ?) on a more comprehensive selection. This he divides into five parts, which are entitled, " Stories of Childhood," " Stories of Heroes," " Stories of Animals," " Legendary Stories," and " Miscellaneous Stories." With the exception of the fifth, these parts have as much as possible been made up from writers of the present century. This is quite right. They have the modern tone about them ; one must remember not to blame if this or that favourite is wanting ; copyright considerations probably have intervened. It is thus, doubtless, that we must account for the absence of what is per- haps the finest thing of the kind written in this century, the " Ballad of the 'Revenge.' " The " Stories of Childhood" have per- haps too great an average of sad ones among them. We would not find fault with such a beautiful poem as Mr. F. Langbridge's " Exit Tommy ; " but others are harrowing rather than pathetic— "The Lucky Sixpence," for instance—and without much literary merit, 'as far as we can see, to make compensation. In the second part, " Stories of Heroes," Mr. E. Gosse's "Cruise of the ' Rover ' " is not a bad substitute for the missing " Ballad of the 'Revenge.' " Among the others, we may mention " Phillips of Pelhamville," by A. Anderson, a story of the railway, a theme not unfruitful of romance ; " George Lee," a fireman's story, by Hamilton Aide
and Mr. Whittier's "Two Elizabeths," Elizabeth of Hungary, to wit, and Elizabeth Fry. Of the " Stories of Animals," we would specially mention " Don Jose's Mule, Jacinths,' "—" for children,' we are told, but others too will admire it. The book is carefully printed, but we observe in " The Prophecy of Capys," " Lucumoes of Arnus," for "Lucumoes of Arnus."
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