stranger; and it seems to me, for example, that one would need to have a truly Scottish soul to fully lay hold of the beauties of the "Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots, on the Approach of Spring." ANGELO DE GUBERNATIS, 1896. To me the fundamental basis of the æsthetic worth of a work of art lies in its form and meaning, and this in the songs of Burns is perfect. His verses sound easy and sweet, like a piece of music, the rhythms and refrains, the majors and minors move and follow and alternate with a graceful and alluring playfulness that combines the smoothness of a reed with the stately march of lofty poetry. MARIO PILO, 1896. Little wonder is it that Burns is worshipped from the Orkneys to the Tweed. He has extraordinary richness of language, wealth of imagery, gracefulness, vivacity, tenderness of feeling, and a sincerity which sometimes, as in the Tragic Fragment," becomes affecting. 16 ANTONIO FOGAZZARO, 1896. Robert Burns seems to me to be worthy to be admired among the most admired, for he became and remained a great poet in a condition of life in which others would have become less than man. ARTURO GRAF, 1896. FLEMISH. I consider your Burns one of the most beautiful poets of whom humanity has cause to be proud. I admire and love him as a friend, as a brother in the spirit. He is at one and the same time strong and sweet, and has nothing in common with those scribblers in metre, these rhetoricians, those impostors who are the plague of literature, and who, unfortunately, too often usurp the place and influence of the poets of Nature, artists, and born geniuses. GEORGE EEKOUD, 1896. Your great National Poet, Robert Burns, who is so well known in Flemish Belgium. I have translated several of his most beautiful songs, and my very good friend, Frans de Cort, the Flemish poet, has translated at least fifty. On the occasion of his centenary, my daughter and I have composed several verses in honour of the illustrious Poet and inimitable songster of the whole world. EMMANUEL HEIL, 1896. DANISH. Scotland's greatest poetic Genius. GEORG BRANDES, 1875. HUNGARIAN. From Louis Kossuth in exile, to Robert Burns in immortality." Is king o' men for a' that.' KOSSUTH'S Inscription in Album at Alloway Cottage. This great Genius, who has rendered himself immortal throughout all free nations. MAURUS JOKAI, 1896. ROUMANIAN. O Burns, thou joy of my young heart! A spark of thee, and of thine art, Hath wandered with me far and long! QUEEN OF ROUMANIA (CARMEN SYLVA "). A. C. WHITE. REVIEWS. The Carmen Series: Edited by Galloway Kyle. THE POEMS OF MICHAEL BRUCE, with Memoir and Review of the notable Logan Controversy, by John MacFarlane. (London: The Author's Association, 47 Fleet Street.) THIS is an admirable brochure of 127 pp., one of a most commendable and useful series issued by the Author's Association of London. We regret that the demands on our space rendered it impossible for us to bring the series, and especially this example of its merits, under the notice of our readers at an earlier date. Mr MacFarlane's masterly treatment of the ever-recurring Logan controversy is sufficient of itself to convince the doubtful of the wrong done to the "Scottish Keats " by the unscrupulous and unprincipled Logan, who, unfortunately, was entrusted with the posthumous publication of the compositions of the gifted but ill-fated Michael Bruce. The "Ode to the Cuckoo" is imperishable, and sufficient of itself to immortalise the "sleepless soul” that perished all too soon. The volume contains all that Bruce is said to have written, and the task has been sympathisingly done by the Editor, enabling the unprejudiced to form a just estimate of Bruce's powers as compared with the depreciations which are indispensable to the Logan attacks on his memory. We note that the volume is dedicated to the Federated Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies, which, coupled with the modest price (Is in paper covers and 2s 6d in cloth), ought to ensure it a wide sale in both of these spheres. We heartily commend it to our readers. CATALOGUE OF THE M'KIE BURNSIANA LIBRARY-Holograph MSS.; Paintings; Engravings; Etchings; Photographs; and Relics. Compiled by David Sneddon. (Kilmarnock: Standard Printing Works, October, 1909.) WHEN the M'Kie Library was purchased and handed over to the Kilmarnock Corporation for preservation in the Burns Monument Museum, a catalogue of the same was drawn up by Mr M'Kie, which was too meagre in detail to do anything like justice to the Kilmarnock collection or serve as a handy guide to the numerous enquirers who desired to make use of it within a reasonable time. As a matter of fact, much of it was not catalogued at all, consequently the difficulties in the way of the searcher for information were almost insuperable. To put matters on a better footing, Captain Sneddon voluntarily undertook the laborious task of going over the whole collection systematically and grouping the various departments under distinguishing headings in a reliable catalogue, to which reference could be made with the minimum of trouble. reflects the highest credit upon the To give some idea of the compre The result is now before the public, and compiler as a model work of the kind. hensiveness and business-like methods adopted by Captain Sneddon we need only enumerate the headings under which everything of interest is scheduled in most orderly fashion :-The Burns Holograph MSS. (the most extensive and valuable in the world) head the list; then follow Holograph MSS. other than Burns's; Editions of the Poet's Works, chronologically arranged; Editions without dates; Foreign Editions and Translations; Imperfect Editions; Clarinda Correspondence; Single Poems and Chapbooks; Burnsiana, arranged chronologically; Burnsiana without dates; Burnsiana Scraps; Pamphlets, &c., bound in volumes; Scrap Books; Music; Miscellaneous Items; Relics, &c.; Oil Paintings; and lastly, Etchings, Engravings, and Photographs. The Burns Library (the most complete in existence), we may mention, has been catalogued, not merely with bare titles and dates, but with the title typography so indicated that the particular edition can easily be recognised. The Kilmarnock Museum is indispensable to the Burns student, and Captain Sneddon's catalogue, in a sense, is a home educator. It is published by the Corporation at the modest price of sixpence, which puts it within the reach of the humblest. Edited, THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS. The Afton Edition. IN common with all editions of our National Poet, this latest is to be welcomed for several reasons. It proves a widening interest in Burns, a growing appreciation of his genius and position in British literature, and it will probably extend present knowledge of him and his works by adding to the circle of his readers and students. All these things it may accomplish and yet fall short of the standard of perfection which, there can be no doubt, the publishers honestly think it has reached. There are two classes or orders of readers to be catered for--1st, the general, for whom the approximately correct presentation of Burns in the mass meets all practical requirements; and 2nd, the more critical and exacting adherents of the Burns cult who emphasise the necessity of an immaculate text and the accurate statement of biographical facts in both outline and detail. To the former this Afton edition will chiefly appeal; to the latter it offers little of fresh interest, if we except its musical and artistic features. These are of interest to all. Its claims for public attention rest upon the Annandale introduction, Mr Shepperson's drawings, the reproduction of the Skirving portrait of the Poet, and the melodies, with instrumental accompaniments, composing the fourth volume. The portrait is after D. O. Hill's calotype of Skirving's crayon, and is printed on tinted paper. It comes nearer a reduced fac-simile of the original than any other we have seen, and is so beautifully done, and so full of Burns character-of his personal fascination, social charm, and the fire of genius apparent in the large glowing eyes-that one could wish an enlarged Skirving so executed to take the place of the Nasmyth in the prevailing conception of the Poet's personality. In the Afton plate the modelling is admirable, in respect of both the massive head and individual features, the shading is managed with exquisite subtlety and skill, and the reflected light under the chin is at once delicate and effective, Of Mr Shepperson's drawings we are frankly nowise enamoured. He has missed the artistic treatment of reality, the character of lowland scenery, and his figure models are not after anything we know of the Scottish type. "The Twa Brigs" is wholly destitute of congruity, and a nude " Cutty Sark" is perpetrated in complete disregard of what her name demands and how she is described in the poem. Some of the drawings, like “To a Mouse,” are vigorous and sufficiently realistic; but so far as they aim at being literal they are obvious, and so far as they are imaginative they rarely serve to illuminate the text. Turning to Mr Colin Miller's work, it seems to be uniformly excellent and judicious. The old airs are given in all their native simplicity, and to the preservation of that quality the accompaniments have been adjusted. The latitude Mr Miller has allowed himself is outlined in a Preface marked by common sense and sympathetic discrimination. A selection of songs has been made from those in common demand and most suitable for general use, but as the number chosen extends to one hundred and ten or thereby, and all the standard favourites seem to be included, it must be conceded that the limit is far from being ungenerous. Concerning the melodies, the editor has followed the simple principle of adopting those most in use. He has not hesitated to discard the airs to which Burns wrote some of the songs when they demand a voice of exceptional compass. To the same end the keys are kept as low as possible, to suit the melodies to the average voice. A great deal might be said in favour of Mr Miller's methods and objects, in so far as they tend to give the songs of Burns a new and wider vogue, to overcome the silly prejudice against them on the score of vulgarity; and to lead up taste to a true appreciation of their beauty, both musical and poetic. The musical editor's aims carry their own commendation, and his achievement is wholly praiseworthy. Coming more than a decade after the compilation of the Centenary and Wallace-Chambers editions of Burns, and an interval of great activity in the Burns section of the literary world, Dr Annandale had certain great advantages when he undertook his editorial and biographical labours. He is obviously not a specialist in Burns literature, and, what is more surprising, he has not kept abreast of current enquiry and criticism. Almost at the outset of the "Sketch of the Poet's Life " he falls into some of the irritating little mistakes |