21 JANUARY 1865, Page 20

CURRENT LITERATURE.

Gathered Leaves. By Frank Smedley. (Virtue Brothers.)—We question if Mr. Yates and the other friends of Mr. Smedley have been wise in collecting all his fugitive pieces. Clever writer as he undoubt- edly was, his genius did not lie in the direction of poetry, and these verses will scarcely increase his reputation. Few of them rise above the average level of magazine poetry. Here they all are, how- ever, in purple and gold, exquisitely printed and bound, for all who. wish a memorial of one of the most unfortunate and most genial of man- kind. With them is something better than they, Mr. Yates's cordially appreciative sketch of his friend's life.