The Influence of Baudelaire in Francs wad England. By G.
Turquet-Milnes. (Constable and Co. 7s. 6d. net.)—We cannot help feeling that the " Baudelairian spirit" is almost ridden to death in these pages. Mr. Turquet-Mihaes is apparently quite clear as to what he means by it, and analyzes it for us neatly under three heads : (1) "The faculty of self-analysis and self- torment in love "; (2) "Pursuit of sensation at any cost with its inevitable consequences ; perversity and madness on the one hand, mysticism on the other" ; and (3) "Moral anarchy, overwhelming pessimism, and terrible solitude of the soul." It may perhaps be questioned whether this unattractive receipt really accounts for the essential merits of Bandelaire's poetry ; but it satisfies Mr. Turquet-hlilnes, who proceeds to trace the" Baudelairian spirit" through the works of a score of French and English poets. His criticisms are sometimes of interest, though we are never convinced of their profundity. Surely to find the " Baudelairian spirit" in the drawings of Beardsley and the music of M. Debussy is to be deceived by the most obvious superficialities.
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