Show A CRITIC TREED in no respect to la the present age more superficial than in the matter of its reading whether it be poetry history fiction t brio bric a brao brac or what not the generality of readers have nearly always something else on their winds minds or something else to do or but little time to spare from one cause or another and thus the reading 99 amounts oftener than otherwise to a hasty basty glance over a few of the pages but not always to so much as evan ev n that it Is related of an english critic that he recently contributed to a literary paper an alleged review of the queen of sheba a volume by thomas bailey aldrich the critic said it was like the authors ao other poems an american critic at once protested against such a conclusion for reasons which seem to be incontestable and this brought forth the defense by one of the Englis mans friends that be meant the poem was worth no more than other poems the soundness of the amerious Ameri oms Is position bowe howe verwill scarcely be questioned by the ra reader ader after being advised that abe queen of sheba Is in not a poem stall at all nor a series of poems but to is a novel in prose I 1 this circumstance prompts the sarcastic news ew bd of chicago to observe stat it will doubtless occur to many literary men that it is a very good plan not to pass an opinion on a book without a study of the title page or at least without inquiring of some trustworthy friend whether the volume contains poetry or a discussion of rules for whist the precaution may seem simple and timorous but it would have saved mr andrew lang for instance from his bis little imitation of don otes adventures with the windi windmill nill |