"For Their Country," a short story by Margaret
Trafford, is vivid in plot and truly heroic in moral, but somewhat
deficient in technique, particularly at the beginning. Miss Trafford
should use care in moulding long sentences, and should avoid the
employment of abbreviations like =etc.= in the midst of narrative text.
"That Sunny Smile," by John Russell, is a cleverly optimistic bit of
verse whose rhythm is very facile, but which would be improved by the
addition of two syllables to the third and sixth lines of each stanza.
The rhyme of =round you= and =found true= is incorrect, since the second
syllables of double rhymes must be identical. "The Evil One," by
Narcissus Blanchfield, is announced as "A Prose-poem, after Oscar
Wilde--a long way after." As an allegory it is true to the facts of the
case; though one cannot but feel that there is room for a freer play of
the poetic imagination in so great a subject.

* * * * *

=Toledo Amateur= for October is a literary publication which reflects
much credit upon its young editor, Mr. Wesley Hilon Porter, and upon the
several contributors. "Twilight," a correct and graceful poem by Miss
von der Heide opens the issue. "A Sabbath," by Mary Margaret Sisson, is
a sketch of great merit, though not wholly novel in subject. The
hypocrisy of many self-satisfied "pillars of the church" is only too
well known both in life and in literature. At the very close of the
piece, the word =epithet= is used in a slightly incorrect sense, meaning
"motto." =Epithet=, as its Greek derivation shows, signifies an
=adjective= or descriptive expression. "The Workers of the World," by
Dora M. Hepner, is another sociological sketch of no small merit,
pleasantly distinguished by the absence of slang. "Not All," by Olive G.
Owen, is a poem of much fervour, albeit having a somewhat too free use
of italics. The words and rhythm of a poet should be able to convey his
images without the more artificial devices of typographical variation.
Another questionable point is the manner of using archaic pronouns and
verb forms. Miss Owen seems to use both ancient and modern conjugations
of the verb indifferently with such subjects as =thou=. "A Day at Our
Summer Home," by Emma Marie Voigt, is a descriptive sketch of
considerable promise, and "My First Amateur Convention," by Mrs. Addie
L. Porter, is a well written chronicle of events. "The Wild Rose," by
Marguerite Allen, is a poem of n