long but otherwise admirable poems. It is not to be expected that critics will ever agree as to the comparative merits of different poets, but the great majority of the poems in this volume have stood the severe test of time, and have assuredly won their way to the first rank. Two, only, will be new to most readers because they are now out of print, viz., that of Dr. Symonds at page 121 and that of Henry Sidgwick at page 221, but in my judgment they are not unworthy of their companions. As to the notes, they are intended for readers who are not familiar with the poems, and I can only claim originality for the note on Herrick's "Gather ye rosebuds" and for that on Macaulay's "Jacobite's Epitaph." My acknowledgments are due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., the authorized publishers of Longfellow and Lowell, for permission to use poems by those authors. October, 1907. R. J. C. |