Alas, all vainly doth my heart entreat; Thy magic pipe unfolds but to the moon What wonders thee in faëry worlds befell: To her is sung thy midnight-music sweet, And ere she wearies of thy mellow tune, She hath thy secret, and will guard it well! Unstinted as our extracts have been, there are poems here by the score over which our choice has wavered. Our selection has been made partly with a view to the illustration of the variety and versatility displayed by this new poet in matter and form; and on this principle we are tempted to quote "Girlhood at Midnight" as the only piece of blank verse in Miss Mulholland's repertory, to show how musical, how far from blank, she makes that most difficult and perilous measure. But we must put a restraint on ourselves, and just give one more sample, of the achievements of the author of "The Little Flower Seekers" and "The Wild Birds of Killeevy," in what an old writer calls "the melifluous meeters of poesie." This last is called "A Rebuke." Was there ever a sweeter or gentler rebuke? Why are you so sad? (_sing the little birds, the little birds_,) All the sky is blue, We are in our branches, yonder are the herds, And the sun is on the dew; Everything is merry, (_sing the happy little birds_,) Everything but you! Fire is on the hearthstone, the ship is on the wave, Pretty eggs are in the nest, Yonder sits a mother smiling at a grave, With a baby at her breast; And Christ was on the earth, and the sinner He forgave Is with Him in His rest. We shall droop our wings, (_pipes the throstle on the tree_,) When everything is done: Time unfurleth yours, that you soar eternally In the regions of the sun. When our day is over, (_sings the blackbird in the lea_,) Yours is but begun. Then why are you so sad? (_warble all the little birds_,) While the sky is blue, Brooding over phantoms and vexing about words That never can be true; Everything is merry, (_trill the happy, happy birds_,) Everything but you! The setting of these jewels is almost worthy of them. The book is brought out with that faultless taste which has helped to win for the firm of No. 1 Paternoster Sq., such fame as poets' publishers. A large proportion of contemporary poetry of the highest name, including till lately the Laureate's, has appeared under the auspices of Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., who seem to have expended special care on the production of "Vagrant Verses."