A Sailor writes from one of H. M. ironclads, Feb. 2nd, 1902:—“We know many of the ‘Songs of a Child’ by heart. I can say every word of ‘Love Knots’ and ‘Why I Kissed the Soldier Boy’ and ‘Towards Sadowa.’ I have never touched a drop of drink since I read ‘Drink’s Curse.’ God bless the child who wrote these songs.”
A soldier writes from one of tho blockhouses in South Africa:—“Will you let another ‘soldier boy’ thank you for that grand poem ‘Why I Kissed the Soldier Boy’? It goes to every soldier’s heart straight as a die. I simply love it. It is human to the backbone. What a splendid poem ‘The Lure Witch of the Alpine Glen’ is; and I have read ‘The Wandering Waif and the King’ over and over again. How I and my mates have laughed over ‘The Raid of Ruby Roses’ from Sandringham. We all hope Part II. will soon find its way here.”
Under date June 15th, 1902, Mr. George Jacob Holyoake writes:—“Dear Lady Florence, ‘Abel Avenged’ is a splendid heresy, splendidly set forth. It supplies what Milton omits, and what only a free spirit could conceive, only an intrepid mind could express. The wealth of thought in that epic and in the ‘Sceptic’s Defence’ is wonderful.”
The Herald of the Golden Age for June says:—“This additional volume of poems, written by Lady Florence Dixie between the ages of twelve and seventeen years, is a phenomenal production for one so young, and it will, apart from the additional poems which are still awaiting publication, establish her reputation as a poet. The dramatic tragedy, entitled ‘Abel Avenged,’ evidences the doubts which orthodox religious teaching produces in the minds of many children. It reminds one so strongly of Milton’s style and depth of thought as to make one wonder how a girl of fourteen could have been the author. Some of the poems which are written in lighter vein are very charming and idyllic; two of the best of these are ‘Before the lights come in,’ and ‘King Taija.’ A strong humanitarian note is sounded in the poem entitled ‘A Ramble in Hell,’ which is an impassioned protest against the iniquities of Vivisection, and demonstrates how early in life the gifted authoress became a champion on the rights of animals.”
In a long review of an advance copy of the book in The Agnostic Journal of May 10, “Saladin” remarks in his “At Random” sketch:—“The lyric [of the poem ‘Saladin’] is deft and musical, but it is the little schoolgirl’s chivalrous treatment of him who was Christendom’s most formidable foe that entitles the lines to distinction. To try a person or a cause by his or its intrinsic merits, and not in the light of the extrinsic prejudices with which it has come to be encrusted, is, in addition to the function of a poet, the deed of a heroine.... The child’s precocious rejection of religious orthodox is recorded in the ambitious dramatic effusion, ‘Abel Revenged,’ an earnest and gifted child’s succedaneum for Byron’s ‘Cain.’ The assault upon Orthodoxy is, of course, delivered not from the critical or historical, but from the moral side. The teaching of the Church is impugned on the ground of its incompatibility with truth and justice, and—nobly characteristic of the writer—for its disregard of the sufferings of sentient creatures.... Any really educated lady of rank and fortune can secretly hold unpopular tenets, but it takes a Douglas to avow them. The volume here is of gold.”
The Dumfries Standard, under date June 28, says:—“These poems exhibit a degree of intellectual daring and a maturity of speculative thought in the realms of religion and morals that are amazing, and a literary talent hardly less so. In ‘Abel Avenged’ one reads with a feeling of astonishment the inexorable directness of the child’s logic and the skill with which she discharges her function of critic in the action of a drama.”
The Northern Weekly of July 19 remarks:—“‘Songs of a Child’ shows a passionate love of Nature, high ideals and a noble longing for truth, and sympathy with all living things.... ‘A Ramble in Hell’ you cannot forget once you have read it. Lady Florence has fronted the riddle of the Universe in many poems and asked questions that are daring and heterodox. ‘The Sceptic’s Defence’ is full of questions prompted by the mystery and the misery of the world. ‘Abel Avenged’ is amazing as the production of one so young.”
Young Oxford for July says:—“In these songs the golden thread of genius runs alike through tender lyric and daring drama. That a girl of fourteen should have written ‘Abel Avenged’ is one of the marvels of literature. Orthodoxy has created more than one epic, but let us hope that never again will it have opportunity to fashion one from the brain and nerve tissue of a child, for in the vigorous, sympathetic sketch of ‘Cain’ we see a free, truthful spirit beating in defiant despair against the bars of a narrow theology ... the old belief in a vengeful deity were not dead, surely it would be killed by the remorseless logic of the child whose ponderings resulted thus.”
In a letter dated May 1, the Editor of The Golden Age writes:—“Please accept my warmest thanks for the pleasure you have given me, and let me offer you my sincerest congratulations. The world has certainly been the poorer in consequence of the delay in the publication of the poems, for they are both beautiful and remarkable in many ways, to say nothing of the helpful thought and sentiment contained in them. If ‘Abel Avenged’ had been issued as a lost manuscript (re-discovered) by Milton, no one would have doubted the authenticity. Are you Milton re-incarnated? I wonder! The manner in which you have thought out the deepest problems of life and handled them in this poem and in ‘The Sceptic’s Defense’ is remarkable.”
Reviewing an advance copy of this book, The Literary Guide for May says:—“The perusal of the Second Part of Lady Florence Dixie’s poems increases our astonishment at the extraordinary development of her mental powers in early life. The present volume possesses special interest.... Her poetic drama, ‘Abel Avenged’ was written at the age of fourteen, and one knows not whether to be most astounded at the boldness of the language or the fact that at so early a period of life the doubts and obstinate questionings which the work reveals should have arisen at all. The chief personage is Cain, whose character is conceived with striking power and sympathy.... Lady Florence Dixie is a writer who dares to think for herself—one who can, moreover, express her ideas with refreshing vigour and in most cases in unmistakable clearness. The Poetry of Revolt and the Poetry of Sympathy for animal life are distinctly enriched by the publication of this volume. To have performed such a service is an achievement of which any author might be proud. That it should have been done by a child is one of the most remarkable facts in present-day literature.”