‘A romance in verse, covering eighty-nine pages, and dedi-
cated to the white maidens of England. The poetic merit is
unequal, and the lyrics have something lacking. Zeus, too, is too
great and important a god to have ‘slept daintily,’ and why was
Robert Browning’s evil example followed in writing Phoibos for
Phoebus, and Bacchos for Bacchus? especially as Cytherea,
Cypris, and Charicles are allowed to remain in more familiar
guise."—TZhe Bristol Times.
‘‘¢A Gentleman of Cambridge’ has written, in ‘ The Tale of
Archais,’ a volume which will make pleasant reading for ‘ The
White Maidens of England,’ to whom it is dedicated. The
writer's technique is good ; he has a pleasant vein of fancy; but
he lacks utterly originality. The tale is an echo of Keats; the
lyrics with which it is interspersed are echoes of Mr. Swinburne,
of Tennyson, and sometimes of Mr. Gilbert. These lines
might be a very bad imitation either of Mr. Swinburne or of
Tennyson:
*O Kill me with the purple of Your Mouth !
_ And Slay me with the Gold of Your Forehead !
And bring me with you to the swarthy south!
And bury me in your desire’s bed !’”
—The Saturday Review.
“ This is not a very pretty story. The passions and adventures
of Charicles and Archais are in a sickly, sensuous vein, which
does not strike us as particularly Hellenic; or if Hellenic, it is
Hellenic of the decadence. And when Zeus and Aphrodite in-
tervene, it is in a fashion characteristic enough of their dis-
reputable duties, but barely edifying. However, the ‘Gentleman
of Cambridge,’ though he has not good taste, has a certain
command of facile rhythm. This is a fair sample:
; ‘ ARCHAIS.
‘Cold is the kiss of the stars to the sea,
The kiss of the earth to the orient grey
That heralds the day ;
Warmer the kiss of a love that is free
As the wind of the sea,
Quick and resurgent and splendid.
‘ CHARICLES.
‘ Night her bright bow-string has bended :
Fast flies her arrow unsparing
Through the beech-leaves,
Ether it cleaves
Rapid and daring.
Ah ! how it strikes as with silver! how the
sun’s laughter is ended !’
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