New-York tribune., 1908-06-13
Literary Wesvs and Crfffc;c,n

man and Its Sequence" He is intere.,.a .,
most exclusively in the question Of authorship
60 'hat the essay is little more than an admir-
apie' but somewhat irrelevant piece of textua1
Ni'cism' Were Ii not for the fact that i'm
proving the multiple authorship of "r,iers ,bo
FioWnan, Mr.. Manly had to summarize the
Poem the contribution would have wholly missed
I's proper aim This aim, take It. is to set
lorth the nature and historical significance of
mat great group of poems which, for more than
TWO hundred years. were every Englishrnan's
lips. and almost adored as inspired prophesv
by the great leaders of the Reformation But
less than two pages out of the erudite fortv-
eight touch this matter directly Without
oehttlihs the value Of textual criticism. the read
er may well conclude that Mr. Manly has
swerved widely from the purpose of the History
were every contributor to approach his special
topic as this distinguished scholar has his own
the enterprise would benefit only the minute
critics, not the lovers of literature Happily
though the twelve other writers of this volume
have studously kept in their own private note
books all details that do not make clear i'm
portant historical bearings
The Rev ]. P. Whitneys estimate of WycIif and
the Lollards, in his chapter on Religious Move
ments in the Fourteenth Century" is not onIv
readable. but exceedingly sane; without dispar-
agement, Mr. Whitney shows that wyclifs intel
lectual influence was not SO enduring, and his lit
erary influence not great as tradition has
made them. Mr.. G. C Macaulay's treatment of
John Cover is substantial and straightforward
Professor George Saintsburys two chapters on
Chaucer and the English Chaucerians combine
wealth of information and genial yet acute. crit
icism with his familiar vivacity OF style Doubt
less the two most widely interesting topics are
the Rev T. a. Walkers English and Scottish
Education. Universities and Public Schools the
Time of Colet" and Mr.. Francis r. Gummere's
Ballads" The former is handled briefly. but
without niggardness. and is relieved with light
touches about student life. Mr.. Gummere is
tonishingly successful in pressing verita BILE
cyclopedia of ballads into a few pages without
a dull skimping paragraph. His is a perfect
short essay this huge and fascinating sub
ject. The byway exploration which.
have said. distinguishing feature Of the
Cambridge History, are nearly all in the field of
Scottish literature in this second volume Four
important chapters deal solely with language
and writings from north Of the Tweed. and two
others partly devoted to the subject
Mr.. T. N. Padelford's study of Transition Eng
lsh Song Collections and Mr. Walters review
of Political and Religious Verse to the Close Of
the Fifteenth Century likewise discourse upon
themes untouched by most students. but withal.
profitable
A review Of the History cannot end without
mention OF the we'll sifted and ordered bibli
ography appended to each volume. Compiled by
each contributor for his own topic, 1t is made
Ceptionaily valuable by the descriptive and criti
cal comments the works there listed AS an
aid TO even the more advanced specialists, it is
almost worthy of separate publication.