Bayard Taylor would doubtless prefer to be known and judged, is that which his friend Mr. Boker has brought together in "The Poetical Works of Bayard Taylor." * "Poetry," says Mr. Boker, in the preface which he has contributed to the volume, "was the literary element in which Taylor lived and moved and had his being; to which all other efforts and all other ambitions were subjected, as vassals to a sovereign; and to success in which he gave more thoughtful labor, and held its fruits in higher esteem, than all the world and all the other glories thereof. He traveled pen in hand; he delivered course after course of lectures in the brief nightly pauses of his long winter journeys; he wrote novels, he wrote editorials, criticisms, letters, and miscellaneous articles for the magazines and the newspapers; he toiled as few men have toiled at any profession or for any end, and he wore himself out and perished prematurely of hard and sometimes bitter work." His solace, we are assured, during all this wearing and soul-hardening toil, was his pursuit of an art for which his reverence was boundless. "To him," continues Mr. Boker, "poetry was a second religion, or an intellectual continuation of that natural, moral sentiment which lifts man above himself and his fortunes in his aspiration after immortality and supernal life. He held that no achievement of man was comparable to the creation of a living poem. He saw, with other thinking men, that the work of the poet is more like the work of God than any other earthly thing, since it is the only product of art that is assured of perpetuity, by the safety with which it can be transmitted from generation to generation. He believed himself to be a poet-of what stature and quality it is now for the world to decide-and in that faith he wrought at his vocation with an assiduity, and a careful husbanding of his time and opportunities for mental and for written poetical composition, that was wonderful as an exhibition of human industry, and in its many and varied results, when we take into consideration his wandering life and his diversified and exacting employments."

That the author should place a high estimate upon work produced under such difficulties, and as the result of such exalted aspirations, was natural and perhaps inevitable; and Mr. Taylor made no attempt to conceal the fact that he set a greater value upon his poetry than the public seemed disposed to concede to it. As we pointed out on a previous occasion, the burden of many of his later poems was the somewhat querulous complaint of unappreciated genius; but, amid all his disappoint

* The Poetical Works of Bayard Taylor. With a Preface by George H. Boker. Household edition. Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co. 12mo, pp. 341.

the verdict of that posterity which should bring to the inquisition calmer feelings and larger views. Our own opinion coincides with his, to this extent, at least, that his poetry will be relatively more highly esteemed hereafter than it was during the author's life. One of the most deeply rooted and widely prevalent of human instincts appears to be that which holds intellectual versatility and intellectual depth to be incompatible qualities; and there can be no doubt that the variety and copiousness of Mr. Taylor's literary work did more than anything else to divert attention from his achievements in that field whose fruits he himself esteemed most highly. The reputation which he earned as traveler, novelist, critic, essayist, and lecturer, tended to confuse the impression which his poetry alone might have made; and the generally accepted idea of him was that he attempted too many things to win the highest success in any. Longfellow's "Hyperion" and "OutreMer" are left entirely out of account in the common estimate of his literary standing; and it can hardly be doubted that, if his productiveness as a novelist had kept pace with his work as a poet, he would have failed to attain that undisputed primacy which he now holds in American literature. It is said of Macaulay that the only criticism that ever really touched him was the implication that such opulence of knowledge and brilliancy of style were inevitably linked with superficiality of thought; and, whether it was correct in his case or not, a wellnigh universal truth is embodied in the proposition that excellence in any pursuit so exacting as poetry can be reached only by according to it an unreserved and undivided allegiance.

For this reason, we think, as Mr. Taylor's work in other fields is gradually forgotten, his work as a poet will be more highly esteemed; but whether any portion of that work is "assured of perpetuity" seems to us a matter of very grave doubt. The fatal defect of Mr. Taylor's poetry seems to us to be clearly implied even in Mr. Boker's touching description of the circumstances and sentiments which controlled its production. To him poetry was a manufacture or a fabric rather than an inspiration; and his art was too conscious-with too much of what the Germans call intention-to reach those celestial harmonies which are the irrepressible utterance of spontaneous singing. His literary method appears to have borne too close a resemblance to that of Southey-another Protean worker - who would write the history of Brazil before breakfast, an ode after breakfast, then the history of the Peninsular War till dinner, and an article for the "Quarterly Review" in the evening; and the fate of the one poet is only too likely to be the fate of the other.

There is one aspect, however, of this conscious and methodical wooing of the Muses which has received less cordial recognition than it seems to us to deserve. In what we may call technical proficiency -in workmanlike mastery of his art-Bayard Taylor is in our opinion superior to any other American poet. His skill and facility in versification are truly extraordinary; and, though he tried a much wider range of forms and combinations than almost any of his rivals, there will be found, even in the most difficult ones, remarkably few of those strained meanings, limping lines, and imperfectly expressed ideas, which so often disfigure the work even of the great masters of the art. We have reread a considerable portion of the collected poems with attention directed especially to this point; and the result is that we are more profoundly impressed than ever with Mr. Taylor's wonderful dexterity in the art of verse-making.

It is due chiefly to this exceptional skill in versification that Mr. Taylor's translations from other poets are in general so satisfactory. We imagine that his translation of Goethe's "Faust" is the work by which Mr. Taylor will be longest kept in remembrance; and in it the skill of which we have spoken is exhibited in its highest and richest development. The translation is not only verbally literal in its exactness, but it reproduces the meter, the rhythm, the very movement and music of the original verse in all its varied and intricate forms. The sufficiency of the English language to all possible demands that can be made upon it has seldom or never been more signally demonstrated; and the translations of the selected passages with which he embellished his lectures on German literature are only less remarkable. For this reason, too, his imitations of other poets were good in a quite unusual degree. The parodies which he introduced into his "Diversions of the Echo Club" are the best of the kind with which we are acquainted-reproducing not merely the external forms (which is a comparatively simple matter), but the dominant moods and tendencies of feeling in the authors chosen for experimenting upon.

These translations and parodies are omitted from Mr. Boker's collection, and so are the drama of "The Prophet" and the dramatic poems of the "Masque of the Gods" and "Prince Deukalion." With these exceptions, the volume contains the entire poetical works of Bayard Taylor, including all the poems published in a collected or separate form during the author's life, and also “a not inconsiderable number of heretofore unpublished poems, which were found among his manuscripts, in a more or less finished state." In arranging the contents of the volume, no particular scheme seems to have been followed, the poems being neither grouped according to subjects and treatment nor placed in their chronological sequence. This seems to us a disadvantage.

THE accumulation of the instruments of knowledge in our public and private libraries and in minor collections of books has been so rapid during the last

hundred years, and is now so great, that it may be justly said that the necessity of increasing the store is no longer so pressing as the necessity of learning how to use the instruments that have already been provided. Much of that aimless, unsystematic, and frivolous reading, which our public libraries have fostered rather than restrained, is no doubt due to the utter inability of the great majority of readers to select for themselves those books which are best worth attention; and it should be regarded as not the least important of the regular duties of a librarian to furnish such readers with advice, guidance, and assistance. Under this guidance, wisely and discreetly applied by properly accredited persons, it is not unreasonable to believe that a large part of the time and energy now wasted in dawdling over books of mere amusement might be diverted to studies which would widen the mental horizon of the individual reader, and which could hardly fail to elevate the general standard of culture in the community.

Fortunately, some of the most influential of our librarians are beginning to take this view of their functions. Mr. Justin Winsor, the able and accomplished Superintendent for many years of the Boston Public Library and now of the Harvard University Library, has lent to it the weight of his name, and what is more, of his example; and there are indications of a speedy conversion on the part of others. "I believe it to be," says Mr. Winsor, “a part of the duty of a public librarian to induce reading and gently to guide it, as far as he can, because I know that as a rule there is much need of such inducement and guidance. I am no great advocate of 'courses of reading.' It often matters little what the line of one's reading is, provided it is pursued, as sciences are most satisfactorily pursued, in a comparative way. The reciprocal influences, the broadening effect, the quickened interest arising from a comparison of sources and authorities, I hold to be marked benefits from such a habit of reading. It is at once wholesome and instructive, gratifying in the pursuit, and satisfactory in the results."

As a specimen of the way in which such assistance may best be rendered, Mr. Winsor has compiled a little book, which is a monument of patient industry and extensive knowledge. In 1875, when the first fervor of the centennial period impelled many readers at the Boston Public Library to follow the history of our Revolutionary struggle, Mr. Winsor, then Superintendent of the Library, prepared some notes which should aid them in their researches. These notes admirably subserved their immediate purpose ; but they were rightly regarded as too valuable to be confined to one library or to answer the requirements of a merely transient interest, and he has accordingly expanded them into "The Reader's Handbook of the American Revolution."* The book may be described with tolerable accuracy as a sort of index to the entire literature of the Revolutionary period,

*The Reader's Handbook of the American Revolu

tion-1761-1783. By Justin Winsor. Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co. 16m0, pp. 328.

pointing out all the original sources, and including most of the second-hand authorities. Taken as a whole, it covers with completeness the leading events from 1761 to 1783; but it is also subdivided into topics which, arranged in their chronological order, enable the reader to confine his researches to any particular period or event in which he may happen to feel an especial interest. A citation of a few of the topics at the beginning of the book will convey an idea of its arrangement: "In Massachusetts, 1761-1765-Writs of Assistance"; "In the South, 1761-1765"; "Stamp Act, 1765-1766"; "In General, 1767-1775"; "Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770"; "The Tea Party, December, 1773”; “Boston Port Bill, 1774”; “Continental Congress, 1774," etc., etc. In order to indicate the method of treatment in detail, we will describe the section under "Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775." Its contents are classified as follows: "Earliest Accounts," "British Accounts," "Later Special Accounts," "Accounts in General Histories,' In Biographies," ,""New Hampshire Troops," "Connecticut Troops," "Who commanded?" "Death of Warren," "Plans and Maps," "Views, etc.,' ," "The Monument," "In Fiction."

The references are not merely by title to a particular book or pamphlet, but to the chapter and page; and a word or two of descriptive analysis usually indicates what may be found there. The usefulness of the book to students of the Revolutionary history can hardly be over-estimated; and it is to be hoped that Mr. Winsor will be encouraged to prepare those other handbooks on themes of history, biography, travel, philosophy, science, literature, and art, which he promises should the present volume succeed.

SINCE Dryden attempted to substitute for the genuine poems of Chaucer a translation of them into what he considered better English, various efforts have been made to "modernize" and otherwise render them acceptable to the general reading public; but, fortunately, in this as in many similar cases, the sane instincts of literary taste have refused to tolerate such tampering with the work of a great master, and those who really love poetry and care to read Chaucer at all, prefer to drink directly from that well of English pure and undefiled." To the average reader, however, who can not be expected to possess a special knowledge of early English, Chaucer's poems present unquestionable difficulties. The obsolete words, the antiquated spelling and grammatical forms, and the unusual meters, discourage and repel; and, for lack of a little scholarly knowledge which would impart to these seeming barbarisms a flavor and a fragrance of their own, he is cut off from one of the richest and freshest sources of poetical enjoyment in our language. A popular edition of Chaucer's poems must, therefore, not only present a pure and complete text, but must also be furnished with such aids in the way of notes and interpretative comments as will render the reading of the original text comparatively easy.

It is a pleasure to be able to say that these requirements are fully met in the new Riverside Edition,* which may be pronounced unqualifiedly the best edition of Chaucer in existence. The editorial work of Mr. Gilman is admirably adapted to the needs of the general reader, while furnishing at the same time a complete and carefully collated version for students. The body of the text is that of the Ellesmere manuscript, which has long been regarded by scholars as the best, but which has only recently been rendered accessible to the public; and for comparison and correction the great Six-Text edition of the "Canterbury Tales" has been utilized for the first time. The chronological order of the poems adopted by the Chaucer Society is followed, and also Mr. Furnivall's arrangement of the "Canterbury Tales." The poems of doubtful authenticity, which have always hitherto been printed with the others with no indication of their possibly spurious character, are placed at the end in a group by themselves. An extended introduction comprises a sketch of "The Times and the Poet," a brief essay on Astrological Terms and Divisions of Time," another on "Biblical References," and a valuable section on "Reading Chaucer," containing simple and comprehensive rules for pronunciation, based upon the researches of Professor Child and the elaborate work of Mr. A. J. Ellis on "Early English Pronunciation." An especially commendable feature of the work is the plan adopted by Mr. Gilman of placing the notes and explanations of difficult words at the bottom of each page, thus saving the reader the perpetually recurring annoyance of turning to a glossary, where he must often distinguish the different parts of speech and choose between conflicting definitions. If the explanations seem at times inadequate, the reader must bear in mind the editor's pertinent suggestion that a good edition of Webster or Worcester is as useful in reading Chaucer as in reading Shakespeare, and is often necessary to the intelligent reading of much more modern writers.

authors of "Apple Blossoms." The conception which it carries out is a remarkably happy onethat of linking the native wild flowers of New England, in the order of their procession through the year, with descriptions of them in verse and pictorial representation. The verse is ingenious and graceful, but derives its chief interest from the fact that it is the work of two children, rather than from any intrinsic merit. Many readers will doubtless compare it with "Apple Blossoms," in the hope of finding indications of poetic growth on the part of the youthful authors; but in this, we imagine, they will be disappointed. The facility of versification is as striking as ever; but the verses, especially those of the elder of the two sisters, appear to us to have lost much of that simplicity and naturalness which constituted the chief charm of the earlier volume. Self-consciousness, that bane of spontaneity, has supervened, and it is painful to find a child talking about "aching brows," and "conscious pangs," and "dumb yearnings," and the other cant of the ecstatic school. For such a poem as that on "Bloodroot," a rigid diet of Crabbe and Goldsmith should be prescribed. Mr. Gibson furnishes twenty-four illustrations, which are tasteful in design and artistic in treatment.

More substantial viands are provided for the public appetite in "The Homes of America,"* edited by Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, and elaborately illustrated with upward of a hundred engravings, presenting in one connected view a sort of picturesque history of American domestic architecture. The first section, covering the "Colonial Period," includes views of the Philipse manor-house at Yonkers, of the Roger Morris house, of "Beverley," of the Van Rensselaer manor - house, and the Schuyler mansion at Albany, of Sir William Pepperell's house at Kittery Point, Maine, of "Hobgoblin Hall" at Medford, Massachusetts, of the old Bryant homestead at Cummington, of Washington's headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey, of the home of John Howard Payne, of nine mansions in Virginia, including Mount Vernon, and of many others in various parts of the country. The second section, entitled "Later Period," contains views of the residences of General Worth, the Hon. John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton; several views of "Old Morrisania"; the Adams homestead; "Cedarmere," the residence of William Cullen Bryant; the homes of Longfellow and Lowell at Cambridge; and the residences of Ralph Waldo Emerson and A. Bronson Alcott. The "Modern Period" is more copiously illustrated, comprising no less than fifty-two views, among which are nearly all the more noteworthy mansions and villas along the Hudson River and at Newport; "Armsmear," the famous Colt mansion; "Cedarcroft," the home of the late Bayard Taylor; "Ogontz," the former residence of Jay and Dora Read Goodale, authors of "Apple Blossoms." New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 4to, pp. 92.

The Homes of America. With One Hundred and Three Illustrations. Edited by Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 4to, pp. 256.

Cooke, near Philadelphia; “Lochiel," the home of the Hon. Simon Cameron, at Harrisburg; the Ohio home of President Hayes; the Probasco mansion at Cincinnati; a Planter's home on the Mississippi ; a house and garden in Charleston, South Carolina; and a home in Florida. The frontispiece is a large and very beautiful view of the main front of the White House at Washington. Mrs. Lamb's descriptive text is judicious in its comments and very interesting in its historical reminiscences; and the book, as a whole, is one whose value will far outlast the festive season which calls it forth.

Another superb volume, which in a certain sense complements the last, is "Landscape in American Poetry," with illustrations after original drawings by J. Appleton Brown, and descriptive text by Lucy Larcom. The great majority of the pictures represent actual scenes described in the verses of Bryant, Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier, Bayard Taylor, and others of our poets; thus securing, in addition to their artistic beauty, the interest of personal and literary associations. Merely as pictures, however, their value is very great-anything more exquisite than some of the designs being difficult to imagine, while the engraving is fine and delicate. Miss Larcom's text shows both familiarity and sympathy with her subject, and is made the vehicle for some of the choicest morsels of descriptive poetry to be found in American (or in any) literature. In the volume, as a whole, Art and Poetry are very gracefully wedded, and seem destined to live a long and happy life together.

Still another book in which utility and beauty are very happily combined is “Art in America," + by S. G. W. Benjamin. In it the author has aimed to give an historical outline of the rise and growth of American painting and sculpture, and, by a critical comparison of the work of the leading artists, to indicate the characteristic qualities of each. He has, as is usual with him, brought together many facts which the student of art will find it convenient to know; but his text is chiefly important as furnishing the vehicle for a series of woodcuts whose execution is a marvel of delicacy and beauty. It would really seem that the art of engraving on wood could be carried to no higher point than is attained in some of them. These pictures were much and justly admired as they appeared originally in the pages of "Harper's Magazine,” but, as here printed on thick, laid and tinted paper, one gets a new sense of their excellence.

Strictly speaking, Colonel Waring's "Tyrol and the Skirt of the Alps " does not belong in the list

* Landscape in American Poetry. By Lucy Larcom. With Illustrations on Wood from Drawings by J. Appleton Brown. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Large 8vo, pp. 128.

+ Art in America. A Critical and Historical Sketch. By S. G. W. Benjamin. Illustrated. New York: Harper & Brothers. 4to, pp. 214.

Tyrol and the Skirt of the Alps. By George E. Waring, Jr. New York: Harper & Brothers. 4to, pp. 171.