Page:Poetry, a magazine of verse, Volume 7 (October 1915-March 1916).djvu/197

New Books of Verse myself when I had crossed a field safely. I went on, expecting at every turn to see a sentinel step out from the shadow. But he did not appear. And I owe Mrs. Conkling a personal gratitude.

Alliteration should not be relegated utterly to the past, if only technique be not too flagrant. To discard the right word because it beckons alliteration is as forced and affected as to over-indulge the smooth tempter. However, in A Beethoven Andante, "The wood-wind warbled wisely" is a good deal of a mouthful, and might have made even Swinburne recoil. It seems to me that the most finished product of this book is the Symphony of a Mexican Garden, which was printed in the first number of ; one stanza of which is:

The Little Town, perhaps because nearer the heart of today, invites re-reading:

P.D.