King Lear.—1.—There are many commentaries on Shakespeare’s plays—by Gervinus, Cowden Clarke, Dowden, Miss Rossi, and so on. The plays are also published separately, with notes, at a very low price: see for instance those in the Clarendon Press series; those edited by the Rev. John Hunter (Longmans & Co.), or Chambers’s School Edition of Shakespeare.—2. There is an excellent Life of Shakespeare by Sidney Lee, just published by Smith and Elder.
Corrigenda.—The sentiment of your poem, “The Power of Love in the Home,” is good, but the form is faulty. “Home” and “alone” do not rhyme, and we think you must have omitted a word in
“O wonderous this love can hold.”
“As if” takes the subjunctive—“were” led. It is not quite true that in time of deep sorrow “Love will chase away all gloom,” though it undoubtedly can do much to relieve the sufferer.
A Cumberland Lassie.—Many thanks for your letter with its pretty view of Derwentwater. We have just been staying at Keswick, and saw the two lakes become one in the flood of early November. We are glad you can appreciate the beauty of your home, and hope the loveliness of Nature will teach you many lessons. Your request is inserted below.
OUR OPEN LETTER BOX.
Miss Martin, The Hawthorns, Sandyway, Lichfield, Staffordshire, informs “Ninette,” Budapesth, that “Somebody’s Darling,” and Hood’s “Song of the Shirt,” are to be found in the “Royal Reader,” Part VI. If “Ninette” likes, Miss Martin will forward her a written copy of each poem on receipt of her address.
Winton asks where the following verse is to be found—
“Come tell all that ye have said and done—