Page:Literary studies by Joseph Jacobs.djvu/77

 CROSS'S 'LIFE'

HESE long-expected volumes have been compiled with great tact. Mr. Cross has aimed at making them a self-revelation of his wife's career and character, and he has been for the most part successful in the discharge of this difficult undertaking. Some slight confusion may be at times caused by the uninterrupted printing of extracts of diverse tone, date, and subject; this might have been obviated by judicious 'spacing' between the successive entries. There are obviously many omissions, and some of the materials already utilised in Miss Blind's little book would have borne repetition. At times, too, the reader may feel the need of comment or illustration, while the continental descriptions might have been curtailed. But, these slight deductions made, the book is remarkably satisfactory in tone, and is especially noteworthy for a rigid abstinence from anything that could pander to mere curiosity.