rsonal pronoun =one=. This
pronoun has no place in good poetry, and should always be avoided by
means of some equivalent arrangement. In the second stanza it appears
that the authoress, through the exigencies of versification, has fallen
into the paradox of calling the "fair green shoots" "roots!" Perhaps we
are mistaken, but our confusion is evidence of the lack of perspicuity
in this passage. A rather more obvious error is the evidently transitive
use of the verb =abound= in the last line of this stanza. Be it known,
that =abound= is strictly an intransitive verb!

"The Soul of Newcastle," an historical article by John M'Quillen, begins
in this number; and describes the Roman period. We regret the misprint
whereby the name =Aelii= becomes =Aelu=. The presence of a Hunnish
=umlaut= over the =u= adds insult to injury! Mr. M'Quillen writes in an
attractive style, and we shall look forward to the remainder of the
present article.

"Heart Thirst," by Vere M. Murphy, is a very meritorious lyric,
containing an ingenious conceit worthy of a more classical age.

* * * * *

As the literary contributions to the UNITED AMATEUR for January are
mainly in the form of verse, I shall devote most of my attention to
them. Poetry, like the poor, we have always with us; but the critic is
moved to remark, as he casts back in his mind over the last twenty years
of amateur publishing activity, that on the whole the tone of amateur
poetry is distinctly higher than it used to be. Banal verse we still
have in larger amounts than we should; but the amateur journals of a
decade or two ago had reams of it. On the other hand, they contained not
a few poems with more than a passing spark of the divine fire. The
promising fact is that in the poetry of today's journals we get much
more frequent glimpses of this true inspiration. In passing, the critic
cannot forbear calling attention to Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth" in the February
=Brooklynite=, which attains the highest levels of lyric expression,
although only the simplest of figure and diction are employed. It is not
often that one runs across a poem so simple and yet so pregnant with
sincere emotion.

The first poem in the UNITED AMATEUR arouses mixed feelings. "Give Aid,"
by Julia R. Johnson, presents a thought that cannot be too often or too
strongly stressed in this gloomy old world. Mrs. Johnson, furthermore,
has carved out her own poetic medium, alternating two tet