The Hanging of the Crane, and other Poems of the
Home. By H. W. Longfellow. Illustrated. (Longmans.)—Among the other poems are "The Children's Hour," "Maidenhood," and "The Golden Milestone." The illustrations are eight in number, and are as good as what we commonly get from the other side of the Atlantic are wont to be. There are some interesting bibliographical notes, "The Hanging of the Crane" was written on a theme originally suggested to Mr. T. B. Aldrich. As he did not avail himself of it, Longfellow used it himself. The proprietor of the Ledger paid $3,000 for it. It contains about two hundred and eight lines. Three pounds per line is good pay, though we think it has been surpassed here. In the poem, "To a Child," there is a curious instance of coincidence. The line, "The buried treasures of the miser, Time," occurs in it. Years after its composition, Longfellow wrote, "What was my astonishment to- day in reading for the first time in my life Wordsworth's beau- tiful ode "On the Power of Sound," to read, "All treasures hoarded by the miser, Time." Some critics who are so ready to see conscious imitation where there is really only accidental coincidence, may note this with advantage.
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