Songs of a Session. By Moetyn T. Piggott. (A. D.

Innes and Co.) —Here we have something like "Punch's Essence of Parliament." The proceedings of the last Session are described in humorous verse, which, though varying in quality, is certainly worth a longer life than it could have enjoyed in the columns of a weekly newspaper. Here is part of a dialogue between the Sage and Young William :—

'You are young.' said the Sage. ' but you cling to the view That the whole of the world must be .ours; Now show how the Transvaal's connected with you, 'I am tired of your questions, and sick of your din,' And what business you have with the Boers.'

Answered William! 'obey my behest—

Be off. or I'll treat you as one of my kin, And order your instant arrest,'"

And here are some stanzas after the fashion of," It was a Famone

Victory" "They ray it was a shocking sight

Atter the fight was o'er.

For dead and wounded measures lay Encumbering the floor. But things like that, yen know, can be With such a fine Majority.

No praise our good Prince Arthur won,. No praise Sir John won he. Why, 'twas a very natural thing,' Said earnest Historic,.

'Nay—nay—my little girl,' quoth he, 'It was a fine Majority.

But few appeared to worry much, Or some would even laugh.' 'But what good did they ever do?' Qaoth saucy Biograph.

• Why, that I cannot tell,' said he; 'But 'twits a fine Majority."

The Xneid of Vergil, Books Translated into English

Verse by James Rhoades. (Longmans and Co.)—Mr. Rhoades well maintains his character as a translator who combines, in a quite extraordinary way, fidelity to his original with elegance and vigour. It would be impossible to keep closer generally to the Latin than he has done in rendering the following ("In smiama custos Tarpeim Manlius arcis") :—

" Manlius, before the Temple standing guard,

Held the high Capitol, the royal roof New bt istling with the thatch of Romulus ;

And here in gilded colonnades, the goose

Fluttered in silver, shrieking that the Gauls Were at the gate; and lo the Gauls were wag Among the brushwood, hard upon the Shielded by darkness and night's cloudy boon, Of gold their locks and golden their attire, They glitter in strip.-d cloaks, their milk-white necks Circled with gold ; two Alpine javelins each They brandish, and long bucklers guard their limbs."

The only objection that we have to make here is to "before the Temple standing guard." This gives the idea of a sentinel, whereas, of course, Manlius was roused from sleep (" alarum crepitu excitus M. Manlius "). There are passages that baffle Mr. Rhoades as they must baffle every one. Here is the scene of "eating the tables"

" All else, it chanced, consumed, When, driven by lack of food, they turned to munch The thin flour-'ace, with hand and venturous teeth Invade the circle of the fatdal crust Nor from the out-pressed squares refrain them."

Here the stately measure of the blank verse is an additional difficulty. A powerful ballad-writer might make the incongruity less obvious. "Out-pressed squares" is obscure. The damper was circular, with marked squares on it. Dryden shirks it altogether, Conington has "impress of the sacred square." Here is the death. of Euryalus

"In death rolls Earyalas; the blood runs o'er His beauteous limbs, and on his shoulder sinks The faint neck : asa bright flower, by the plough Shorn through, droops dying, or poppies weary-necked, By a chance shower o'er-weighted, droop the head."

This is scarcely so good as the passage first quoted, though it is. almost literal. Here is a simile rendered with much spirit :—

" As °Mimes, ranging the deep forest-lairs,

An unfed lion, by mad hunger urged, If haply he bath spied a fleet-foot goat,

Or towering-antlered stag, uproars his mane, and hangs

Over the rent flesh, couching ; the foul gore Drenches his cruel mouth."