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THE POETS' BIRDS. 



By PHIL ROBINSON. Author of "Noah's Ark," &c. 



" Mr. Phil Robinson's neiff volume — .1 book which may be described as one half classi- 

 fied extracts from the poets, the other half a humorous defence of birds whom they 

 have neglected or maligned — is a very pleasant one. The one half of Mr. Robinson's 

 book may be set against the other ; and an anthology which contains poems like 

 Shelley's ' Skylark,' and a hundred touches, at once truthful and imaginative, from 

 Keats and Byron and Burns, and many a lesser poet of the country like Grahame or 

 l.eyden, more than compensates for a certain want of variety in the allusions to green- 

 finches and crakes, and a too great tendency to describe all the less important song- 

 birds as 'twittering.' But either half is very pleasant reading, and more especially to 

 those who combine with a love of poetry some knowledge of the woods and fields." — St. 

 James's Oazett«. 



" Mr. Phil Robinson has hit upon a happy idea. . . . Throughout the book one is 

 struck both by the authors exceptional knowledge of bird-nature and by his not less 

 exceptional industry in the accxunuiation of material. . . . We can hardly be too hearty 

 in our praise. The work is not only of great interest but of solid usefulness." — Derby 

 MerctUT. 



" Both informative and entertaining." — Scotsman. 



" A simply delightful book."— niustrated London News. 



" Mr. Phil Robinson writes so charmingly and so originally that he cannot be quite 

 let oir for having given us so much of the jioets and so little of himself in this fat and 

 well-filled volume. His book consists mainly of extracts from English verse, strung to- 

 gether by certain short essays or remarks in the peculiar Robinsonian style of humour. 

 What little of his own Mr. Robinson does vouchsafe us is as usual pretty and graceful 

 cnoui^h— one half close observation in natural history, the other half delicate fancy and 

 playful solenmity of his wonted mock-serious sort. There Is a vast deal of genuinely 

 valuable criticism underlying most of our author's seemingly playful and extravagant 

 strictures, and rising writers of the new school, who attend so closely to all the delicate 

 refinements of form in poetry, might do worse than take a leaf as to their treatment of 

 matter out of his amusing book. It is needless to .add that .Mr. Robinsons fowls are 

 studied from tlie very life, that out of the fulness of knowledge and observation his 

 tongue has spoken words of wisdom on all the fe.ithered things ft-om China to Peru, and 

 (rom lingland to the Cape of (Jood Hope. Nobody is bettor fitted by nature and 

 opportunity to nroduce just such a work, with just such a mixture of strong literary 

 ILivour, wide information, and minute zoological accuracy." — Pall Mall Gazette. 



" The book is decidedly entertaining, and contains much information of a useful kind," 

 —Literary World. 



•' A very charniinjj book, its only fault being that it is a little too encyclop.xdic in 

 character, ami that its author, in his laudable desire to be absoliiicly exh.iustive, has not 

 given us as much .as we should have liked of his own orii;iii.al .and unique humour. There 

 is no other work like this in the liiiglish lannu.age ; anu dip into it where we will, we are 

 iurc to find really delightful reailing." — World. 



"The book is remarkable both in its conception and execution, and does preat 

 Iion<iur U) the diligence and jialient toil of one whose knowledge of linglish i)oetry in 

 il^ lull extent can hardly be surpassed." — Tablet. 



CIIATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly, W. 



